New Message Series: "The Chronicles of History"

Growing up in a fairly traditional church (before the days of affordable video/DVD's), my "Sunday School" teachers used flannel boards to teach Biblical truth. I remember some of the figures: David and Goliath; Balaam and the donkey; Daniel and the Lions... Beginning in May, I'll start a new series, applying these "chronicles" to us today.

Most people, when thinking about "Bible stories," will immediately think of the great account of David beaning a monstrous man named Goliath in the head with a smooth rock shot from a sling. So on May 1, this is how we'll kick the series off. We'll also devote one Sunday message to the following:

Noah’s Ark
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
Jonah and the Whale
Moses and the Burning Bush
The Walls of Jericho
Elijah and the Fire from Heaven
The Life of Samson
 
My wife and I are heading to Boston this week (April 15-22), as Jessica has qualified for the Boston Marathon and will be running 26.2 miles with thousands of others April 19. There's a city transit that runs along the route, so I'll get to meet up with her throughout the race. I'll be EXHAUSTED by the time she's finished. :) Heh, heh...

John Marsicano will be teaching this weekend, and Brian Hagedon will teach April 25.
May God bless you all this week, and we'll look forward to seeing you upon our return.

Worship Team Consulting

I'm beginning something new!  God has placed on my heart to conduct worship leading seminars, one at a time for local churches here in Tucson. 

As a full-time worship leader for 15 years, it was always a huge chore to coordinate (and find room in the budget) getting a good portion of my worship team to travel to a nearby town to attend a worship leading seminar.  The travel, registration, and meals cost alone for 7-10 people was usually in the neighborhood of $700-$1000 (and if we had to stay over night, it was double that!).  These seminars would usually feature a prominent worship leader from a large church conducting a seminar for dozens of church worship teams at one time.  There was very little time allowed for Q-n-A, and even when there was, we were competing with many others asking questions, and might only have time to ask one or two.  The leaders were forced to be quite generic in their training, as many of the attendees were from all sorts of churches (large, small, in-between). 

There are over 200 protestant churches who employ "worship teams" (as opposed to a traditional choir) in Tucson alone.  The concept I'm running with is that the seminar "comes to you" - conducted at your church, exclusive to your worship team.  I'll be offering to attend one worship team rehearsal, followed by a 4-hour Saturday session with the entire team.  The seminar will be conducted in such a way as to enhance the existing worship style at any given church, not to "change" it.  I have extensive experience as a worship leader in both large and small churches, and relate well to differing styles and the problems/obstacles/issues associated with each.

I'm currently in the process of building a website where pastors and worship leaders can go for more information.  On that site, I will be posting "reviews" of me as a worship leader/teacher.  If you've been on a worship team with me, or have been led in worship by me, I'd be honored to have you write a "review" that I might be able to post on my new site.  Since the site is still being constructed, I'd love it if you might just write that review in the comments section of this blog. 

Whatd'ya think?

Happy Resurrection Day!

How was your day?  Did you spend it with family?  Eat lots of chocolate? 

We had an awesome worship time together this morning at CRC.  Jesus is our HOPE!

Jake, Joe, and I have had steak, eggs, and potatoes, and we're chillin' in front of the TV waiting for Jessica and Kerri to get home from CA.

What did you do today?

Are You Ready for Easter?

Isn’t it interesting how we spend an entire month (some folks a lot longer than that!) getting “ready” for Christmas day? We buy gifts, largely due to the gifts that were brought to the baby Jesus by the Magi. And yet Jesus tells us that the greatest gift anyone can give is to lay down his life (John 15:13). So why don't we spend a little more time getting "ready" to celebrate Resurrection Day?

Now, there’s nothing wrong with buying gifts and presenting them to one another at Christmastime. I’m not kicking off a movement to rebel against the norm. However, I’d love to see God start of movement in our hearts, prompting us to “get ready” for the greatest annual day of celebration – Resurrection Day. That’s the day Jesus gave the greatest gift to you and me – life in abundance! He also took away the greatest power of the enemy – death. Praise the Lord!

So how does one “get ready” for this great day? The answer is simple in its verbiage, but quite difficult in its execution: We prepare to give our lives to Jesus in the same way He gave His life to us. We make conscious decisions to die to ourselves. We consider others before ourselves on a daily basis. We act selflessly in our relationships “to the least of these.” Like I said, easier said than done, eh?
 
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Thank you, Jesus! May You mold and shape us this year once again, to look more and more like You. Amen!