2009 highlights...

...minor surgery
...my first cruise
...went to Africa
...developed a workout routine
...wrote a lot of songs
...read a lot of books
...my wife and I celebrated 10 years of marriage
...survived the scary 1-2 age transition of my daughter
...my boy turned 5 yrs old and started Kindergarten
...had another great year as worship pastor for Bethany


What were some highlights from your 2009?

Word Wednesday .::75

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Judges 13:17-18 The Message

¹⁷ Then Manoah asked the angel of God, "What's your name? When your words come true, we'd like to honor you."

¹⁸ The angel of God said, "What's this? You ask for my name? You wouldn't understand—it's sheer wonder."

One thing I've been thinking about is how much we really don't understand, this side of Heaven. I think there's going to be a lot of surprises in Heaven, and that's truly something to look forward to. It will be "sheer wonder."

What's your Word?

Book Review - Mad Church Disease

Mad Church Disease by Anne Jackson

The church that I went to during high school had 5 staff pastors. Sadly, 4 of those are no longer in ministry. I also had a total of 4 youth pastors during jr. high and high school. Two of them ended up out of ministry because of inappropriate relationships. That’s just my bubble and my world, and it gets much worse once you travel outside of your own world and see the epidemic that’s been happening in churches across the nation, and one main cause of all this is simply, burnout.
In her book, Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic, Anne Jackson confronts the topic of burnout that is happening with church leaders. I really related with her perspective. As I did, she grew up as a PK (pastor’s kid) and saw the pressures that church attendees rarely see. I very much appreciated her observation of the difference of being a PK and then actually being in ministry as an adult. Even though you may have grown up in ministry, you still don’t see the “ugly” side of the church, until you’re ministering yourself, especially as a staff pastor. Not only did her father suffer burnout, but she went through it as well in her own ministry.
At the beginning of the book, she points out, “Burnout is a disease nobody talks about until it’s too late.” She cleverly compares mad cow disease to the burnout epidemic in churches. Anne feels that there are four areas that should be focused on to overcome the disease: 1. Spiritual Health, 2. Physical Health, 3. Emotional Health, and 4. Relational Health. I really loved how she laid out the book. It had the readability of Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. In other words, it was really easy to read and hard to put down. Another unique aspect was the “Second Opinion” sections. I have never seen this in a book and I really appreciated it. It showed humility and the true desire to help the reader. Props to Anne for that innovation!
A very defining line from the book was, “Since I had allowed spending time with God to be replaced by spending time doing things for God, my spiritual tank had been sucked dry.” It is so easy to get sucked into the busyness of ministry and forget about God…crazy, but true. I, personally, have not suffered any kind of severe burnout, and I will credit that to the pastor I have worked for the last seven and a half years. We are striving to have the simplest ministry we can and keep the main things central. But, I have been exhausted and have been burnt from time to time by the church, and even by fellow staff members, which Anne went through as well. The only one we have, sometimes, is God, and if we are spiritually unhealthy, we are rolling the dice as pastors and as Christians. I recently read in another book that an ounce of prevention is worth way more than a ton of cures. That’s what this book was for me, and I really think anyone who works at a church or in a ministry would benefit greatly from this book. Thanks Anne.

Mad Church Disease Custom Book Covers from Anne Jackson on Vimeo.

p.s. Anne is also a well-known blogger at Flowerdust.net…check it out!

Music Monday 3

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. Everyone likes music, and there are obviously many tastes in music. This is here to see what different types of music are filling everyone's lives. Chime in!

Happy New Year! It's been a crazy year for me, and I'm looking forward to 2010. So...

What was your favorite album(s) in 2009?

I'm gonna go with (in no order)...

your turn...

Worship Confessional 12.27.09

Setlist w/Itunes links:
Everything Glorious - DCB
Blessed Assurance - HYMN
Everlasting God - Brenton Brown
Your Name - Paul Baloche

Flow Sheet from Planning Center

Also part of Sunday Setlist.

Christmas is...

Jesus

Grace

Mercy

Worship

Family

Memories

That's a little what Christmas is to me.

What's Christmas to you?

I saw Jesus shooting Santa Claus

Word Wednesday .::74

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Judges 3:7-8 The Message

The People of Israel did evil in God's sight. They forgot their God and worshiped the Baal gods and Asherah goddesses. God's hot anger blazed against Israel. He sold them off to Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. The People of Israel were in servitude to Cushan-Rishathaim for eight years.

I was just talking to someone this week about God's "harsh judgment" in the Old Testament. God appears to be less merciful, but that's really not the case. You have to look at it from God's perspective. How many times does God's people turn their back on Him or forget Him? The question is how merciful is God. His mercies are new everyday. Don't forget.

What's your Word?

Bethany 101 promo

We're starting a new process in 2010 to help assimilate people into our church. First, we're going to take our whole church through after the first of the year. Here's a promo I made and played this past Sunday:

Music Monday 2

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. Everyone likes music, and there are obviously many tastes in music. This is here to see what different types of music are filling everyone's lives. Chime in!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I am so looking forward to this relaxing week to enjoy the family. This is our first Christmas in our house, because we usually travel. Obviously, most of us are probably playing some Christmas music in the car, at work, or in the home. So...

What is your favorite Christmas album that you have to play every year?

Easy one for me. Mariah Carey's Christmas album is amazing. Gotta play it every year. Definitely the best recording of "O Holy Night" in my opinion.

your turn...

Worship Confessional 12.20.09 CHRISTMAS EDITION

Setlist w/Itunes links:
O Come All Ye Faithful - Third Day
Angels We Have Heard on High - Third Day
Here I Am to Worship - Tim Hughes
O Holy Night - Traditional
Uncreated One - Chris Tomlin (communion)
Joy to the World - mine (Beatles' style)

Flow Sheet from Planning Center

Also part of Sunday Setlist.

Reloaded...

...for another championship, baby. Go Boston!

Songs To Do List

This one's on the top of my to do list for 2010. Love this song and can't wait to lead this in worship...

Jesus Saves from Kingsway Communications on Vimeo.

So, Worship Leaders...What's on your Song to Do list?

Word Wednesday .::73

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Joshua 22:9-29 The Message

CLICK HERE TO READ IT

This was a really interesting story this time around. Here we have some people going out of the box to reach future generations and they're accused of heresy. I guess not much really changes as you look back. I love the message it sends - God is our judge, not man. Love it.

What's your Word?

Integrity Music Christmas Give Away!!

Integrity Christmas Sampler:

"Joseph" - Don Poythress
"Emmanuel" - Hillsong
"The Christmas Hope" - NewSong
"Go Tell" - Israel & New Breed
"Hark" - Israel & New Breed
"Hallelujah" - Darlene Zschech
"O Little Town of Bethlehem" - Hillsong
"He Made a Way in a Manger" - Vicky Beeching
"Holy is the Child" - Joel Auge
"Offering" - Paul Baloche

Share your favorite Christmas song and/or retweet this post for a chance to win!

Music Monday 1

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. Everyone likes music, and there are obviously many tastes in music. This is here to see what different types of music are filling everyone's lives. Chime in!

I thought we would kick this off by talking about methods. I'm from cassette era. I had Sony Walkman and a dual deck boom box in my room that could do high speed dubbing...oh yeah. Obviously things are different now and CD's are becoming extinct. So...

How do you listen to your music?

We are definitely an ipod-friendly house. I have an ipod touch and my wife has a nano. The only exception is that I don't have a way to listen to my ipod in the car, so I'm still rocking the CD's on my drive. Other than that, we're mainly using the ipod.

your turn...

Worship Confessional 12.13.09

Set List w/itunes links:
Forever - Chris Tomlin
You Never Let Go - Matt Redman
Glory to God - Brenton Brown
My Peace - mine

Flow Sheet from Planning Center

Also part of Sunday Setlist.

Birthday Card from my kids

Happy Birthday, Brother

Happy 23rd Birthday to my bro. He was born 9 years after me, so he had to put up with an old man brother throughout life, but he probably makes me laugh harder than anyone else. Click here to check out his blog.

Word Wednesday.::72

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Joshua 4 The Message

CLICK HERE TO READ IT

After Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan, they were to carry 12 stones and build a monument. In our society, we've built monuments as well, but I see a stark difference with the Biblical monument. Our monuments are usually built to honor people. We built them so we wouldn't forget our heritage and so our children could learn about our history. In our diligence to honor our past leaders, we've made the grave mistake that even churches have made: we've forgotten to honor God. That was the sole reason for this monument in Joshua 4. It wasn't to honor the people who crossed, or those who carried the stones, and it wasn't even to honor Joshua, who was one of the greatest leaders in the Bible. It was there to honor God and to make sure that future generations would remember what God did.

What's your Word?

Worship Confessional 12.06.09

Set list w/Itunes links:
Oh Happiness - DCB
Our God Saves - Paul Baloche
Whole World in His Hands - Tim Hughes
Mighty to Save - Hillsong

Flow Sheet from Planning Center

Also part of Sunday Setlist.

Movie Monday LII - LAST TIME

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. I'm a big fan of the cinema, so I decided to break up the Monday blues by talking about movies.

It's been a good run, but this is the last Movie Monday. Thanks for all the comments. It's been fun. Last week, we talked the worst movie, so this week we'll go the other way. So...

What's the best movie(s) you've ever seen?

The question is, what makes a great movie? For me, it's not FX or big budgets. It's two things - a great story and great acting. There's a few movies that come to mind. First, "The Last Castle"...Robert Redford is one of my favorite actors, and this is still one of my favorites. Second, "Tombstone"...Val Kilmer is incredible in this movie, and it's definitely my favorite western. Third, "The Truman Show"...this is Jim Carrey in his first serious role, and I loved every part of this film. Last, but not least, "To Kill a Mockingbird"...this is still my favorite novel, and I absolutely love this story...so ahead of it's time.


your turn...

I'm on it this year

In case you didn't see this on my blog last year, enjoy...



Last night, I put up the Christmas decor, so I won't be getting called out this year. I'm on it.

Word Wednesday .::71

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Deuteronomy 29:29 The Message

God, our God, will take care of the hidden things but the revealed things are our business. It's up to us and our children to attend to all the terms in this Revelation.

I've heard some call this the "cop-out verse", but I don't think it is. I am always extremely suspicious of anyone who seems to have all the answers, because no one does. I heard someone say once that arrogance is never a measurement of intelligence. The second half of this verse is where I was focused. God gives us visions and revelations, and we must respond to them. There's no room for cop-out there.

What's your Word?

We Three Kings - Claymation

This still makes me laugh...