Hey, You! Get Into My Choir! (Sunday Setlist 02-02-14)

The stage at Northside Baptist Church's building (without the worshipers.) 

As I write this, it is Wednesday night and I'm still smiling thinking about this past Sunday.
You see, we did something a little different than the norm.

I forced some people to sing in the church choir Sunday morning.

Well, maybe not forced, but pressured them into it for sure.

I'd done this a few years ago at my former church and it went well, so I tried it again.

Wednesday night in choir rehearsal, I explained to the choir what we'd be doing.  I told them that, Sunday, everyone would just sit with their families, then during the fellowship portion of the service, they were to each bring someone into the choir loft with them. I knew this would cause people to laugh and cut up and have conversations like:

Congregant : "I'm not going up there!"
Choir member: "Why not? Do you not love Jesus?"

Once we were all in place, I'd take a few minutes to discuss worship and how important it is that we smile and worship with more than just our words...

If we are just singing the words on the screen, that's not worship. That's just singing.
Worship has to start with our heart,
that overflows into our thoughts,
then that overflows into our facial expressions and voices.

Sunday, when our impromptu choir began singing "Shout To The Lord" (a song I felt confident everyone would be familiar with), I was blown away by the volume and by the great sound the choir had. Many of our choir members chose people to bring up that had been in the choir before or who they knew could sing well.
It sounded great! I was blown away by both the beautiful harmonies and the expressions of worship in smiles, raised hands, etc. It was a day of worship I won't soon forget.

Big thanks to Tonya Rice for posting the video to facebook.

There were other great moments in the service too.
Here's a full list of what we did Sunday...
click the song title to go to lifeway and hear the exact version we did.
                                                                       

Sunday School Report/Announcements - John                                                                       

Sing To The King                                                           

Come Christians, Join to Sing     (An updated arrangement of a good old hymn)

Welcome / Prayer / Kids Message - David                                                       

Lord, Reign In Me                                                                                   

Choir Special - Shout To The Lord                                                                  

The Wonderful Cross                                                               

Offertory Prayer                                                                                                    

Offertory Interlude                                                                                               

Message - David

Invitation - Wherever He Leads I'll Go

Closing Prayer

Looking back on this, I see that I was very 1990's in my song choices.
But that's ok with me. I wanted to stick with songs most people would be familiar with.
It was a good day worshiping God with my church family.

How would you react if someone forced you onstage on Sunday morning?

This post is part of the blog carnival at TheWorshipCommunity.com. You can go here to see what other churches are doing in their services around the world.

Sunday Setlist 12-08-13

First, a quick recap, since I haven't blogged much recently.
In mid-September of this year my family and I started on a new journey when I accepted a full time ministry position at Northside Baptist in Jasper, AL.

-My first Sunday was September 22nd. This church for years has worshiped with a blended worship style using only piano and organ.
-My second Sunday, the organist (who had played here for 50+ years)  turned in her resignation. Upon receiving this news, I was afraid I had done something to offend her, but she quickly let me and the church know she felt like it was just the right time. As usual, God has a way of working these things out, because that same week we filled the position from within the church and began discussing the possibility of adding a keyboard.
-My 6th Sunday, we added guitar and percussion to the praise band.
-My 11th Sunday, we added the keyboard we'd been researching. (We chose the Kawai MP6 for it's ease of use and great sound.)

-Yesterday, my 12th Sunday at Northside, we added another percussionist and our other percussionist played mandolin some (and will likely play bass soon.) Have I mentioned the fact that the Northside church family is dripping with musical talent? I should have. I'm looking forward to utilizing all these soloists and musicians more in the future.

I am LOVING this process, every part of it:
-Getting to know the folks here.
-Working with our 40-50 voice choir.
-Adding people to the praise band, allowing more folks to be a part of the worship leading process.
-Working with the sound guys to get the best possible sound from our system.
-Watching the church family worship God and enjoy the music.

There is still a growing list of things I want to accomplish.
This list seems to get longer everyday. A few of these things I'm working on include:
-Evaluating the current sound system to see if it can meet our growing needs. Comparing options for either a hearback system or maybe just getting a new digital board with personal monitor iphone app capabilities.
-Adding a full drum kit and bass player. The only thing holding this up is the sound system issues.
-Incorporating a vocal praise team.
-Continuing to tweak the service flow.

While we work through all of those, we continue to strive to glorify God in our services every week.
Here's what we did to accomplish that yesterday, along with a  few notes...
__________________________________________________________________________
Prelude - Organ  (I said we got a keyboard. I never said we got rid of the organ.)
Sunday School Report - John

Sing To The King (Billy James Foote)
O Come All Ye Faithful (contemporary hymn arrangement)

Welcome / Prayer - David

Fellowship Song  - Angels From The Realms of Glory (contemporary hymn arrangement)

Children's Message - David

Your Name (Paul Baloche) w/ new Christmas themed 1st verse from Baloche's Christmas album.
Looking back, I think I should have done the chorus to this another time or two. Based on the raised hands and worshipful expressions in the room, I think people were really connecting with it.
Cornerstone (Hillsong)
This was our first time to sing this as a congregation. The youth choir sang it a month or so ago for the first time at Northside. I was a little surprised how many people sang out on it since it was new. It went great.  I had planned ahead of time to trim the 3rd verse and choruses at the end. But, when doing it, it felt like we ended too soon. I definitely wish I had kept the song going longer.

Offertory Prayer

Choir Special - Do You Hear What I Hear? w/ solo by Jill Bailey.
This was the first time our choir and praise band did a song together. It sounded great. We've been having some choir mic issues in recent weeks (mostly because I moved the choir mics a month ago and they didn't perform as well where I put them.) but this week we tried something new with the mics. Based on feedback I've received so far, it sounded great to others too.

Message - David
Invitation: I Have Decided To Follow Jesus (Hymn)
Closing Prayer
Postlude - Organ
______________________________________________________________________

I continue to see how God has led my family and I to Northside. I know we're where He wants us to be.
We're looking forward to seeing what He has in store for us here in the weeks, months, and  years to come.

Want to get updates on all my posts? You can like Tales From Street Road on facebook.

This post is part of the blog carnival at TheWorshipCommunity.com. You can go here to see what other churches are doing in their services around the world.

Sunday Setlist - September 8th 2013 - Goodbyes, Tears, and Laughs.

I'll admit, this should probably be 3 or maybe even 4 separate posts, but I'd rather just get it all out there because all this happened on the same day.

This past Sunday was my last day on staff at Westwood Baptist Church.
When planning the Sunday morning service, I really wanted to take the focus off of me completely, but it was hard not to pick some of my favorite songs knowing it would be the last time I'd lead them with this group of worshipers.

Here's what we did, and why, along with some video clips. (Thanks to my mother in law, Karen, for the videos)

Special Music: Deep Down (Selah)- Kara Kinnaird, Heather Potts, and myself.
We had done this song together a few times over the past couple years. My life was threatened by at least 4 people if I didn't include it one of my last Sundays.


Days Of Elijah (Darlene Zschech)
I had never heard this song prior to joining Westwood in 2001. It was one of our favorites then and still gets everyone on their feet when we sing it. Such a powerful song that focuses on our returning Savior. I especially love the drum solo we always start with.


My Savior, My God (Aaron Shust)
I picked this one for two reasons..1.It is a solid worship song the church knows well that would be a little more mellow that the previous two songs. 2. Because of the first line of the verse. "I am not skilled to understand what God has willed what God has planned. I only know at His right hand stand one who is my Savior." I teared up for the first time that morning singing that line. Trusting in Him as my family makes this transition.

Welcome / Announcements / Fellowship
As I looked over the announcements to be made, I purposefully skipped mentioning my ordination or farewell fellowship to take place that night. It just felt a little self serving to say anything about it. I was tempted to say "There's some kind of fellowship tonight. I heard rumor that people like cheesecake." But I avoided that temptation and didn't say anything.

One thing that I did out of the ordinary is I paused to take some pics of everyone. I even went as far as to say "Bear with me while I do this. But then again, if you don't like it, what are you going to do? fire me?"
I was not expecting my hands to begin shaking as I took the pics. They started shaking because the realization that this is the last time I'll see this view hit me like a ton of bricks. So I apologize that these pics are so blurry.

Power In His Blood Medley (HYMNS)
This is just an arrangement of hymns that I put together years ago. I love hearing the Westwood musicians jam on this. I wouldn't generally describe them as southern, but they know how to groove on this when asked. Lots of fun and a perfect song of celebration while coming out of a fellowship time.


10,000 Reasons (Matt Redman)
Love this song. Picked it because of all the reasons I have to Praise God.


Offertory Prayer

Choir Special: Saved (Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir)  - Solo by Kara Kinnaird
As soon as knew when my last Sunday at Westwood would be, I asked Kara to sing this song. It's one of my absolute favorites and I love to hear her sing it.

Your Name (Baloche)

Message: Bro. Steve

Invitation: I Surrender All (HYMN)
Closing Chorus: Sing To The King  (Billy Foote)

It was a special day to all, as evidenced by this picture of The Lovely Kristi and Joseph hugging. THIS IS A MIRACLE YA'LL.

That service was very powerful to me. I was encouraged. I was spiritually fed. I was led in worship by the musicians, the choir, the praise team, and the congregation. I am SO thankful for every day I was allowed to serve this church family.

Now on to Sunday night...
Sunday night I was ordained into full time ministry.

I thought it might be emotional because I was leaving but the emotion I felt was also fueled by the seriousness of the service and...
knowing that all these people were praying for me, praying with me, supporting me,
knowing that God had clearly let me know His will and that I was following it,
knowing that my Dad would have been bursting with pride if He had been there,
It was all very moving.

I'll admit... I cried like a baby.
But tried to hide it as I looked towards the floor in prayer most of the time.
(Note To Self: The next time you participate in an ordination service make sure the candidate has tissues nearby in case he becomes a teary/snotty mess.)

I will never forget some of the things the men said to me as they prayed with me.

(I guess I could have laid down on the step and looked a little more like Jabba The Hut. {sigh} Oh well, I guess I'll keep my weight comments for another blog entry.)


I will also never forget the words that my "best good friend" Joseph shared with me as he challenged me during the charge to the candidate.

Not only did he encourage me to be myself and not compare myself to other worship leaders, but he also ended by sort of singing and dancing the song "Brother Friend" including the part where you say "you're my beginning and my end" and point to your butt.
It was precious.
Sorry, no video is available.

The day ended with a farewell fellowship. We were given lots of encouraging words and hugs. We were also given a ton of cards and unexpected gifts. It was a fun time with lots of laughs. But it was also very special for me and my family.

One of my favorite ladies at WBC, Mrs. Elaine Fuller, asked me if I would accept this rose. I'd be a fool not to. I'm definitely going to miss her, Mrs. Olive, Mrs. Maxine, and many others who have been special to me over the years.

As we left there that evening, I walked into the main office, removed my church keys from my key ring, and placed them in my empty office mailbox for the office staff to find the next morning. We walked out of the office with no one else around.
We climbed into the car and started to leave. Instead of just pulling out onto the road, I took a right turn, taking us all the way around the building one last time. The boys asked me what was wrong.
I was crying.
Kristi was crying.
We were holding hands and I drove.
I explained to the boys we were just thinking about the past. This church ministered to us when Ethan was born, when Gavin was born, when Kristi's Grandfather passed away, when my father and grandmother passed away, and every other day over the past almost 13 years that we've been members.
I explained to them how excited I am about our future and about what God is doing with our family.

By the time I was done talking we were almost out on the highway.
I think that's when Kristi said something like...
Can you believe that idiot (Joseph) ended his talk with "Brother Friend?!?"
It was the perfect way to stop the tears and starts the laughs.

This post is part of the blog carnival at TheWorshipCommunity.com. You can go here to see what other churches are doing in their services around the world.

Why I've Resigned From 2 Jobs In 3 Days

The title is true. I've turned in my notice at both of my jobs this week. 5 months ago I never would have thought I'd be writing that sentence today. But a lot can happen in 5 months.

In May, I received this email at my church email address.

My immediate thought after reading this was "Sure. I know a couple guys." I clicked 'forward' and sent the email on to some folks I know. I thought that was the end of it, but God had other plans.
A week or so later, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I tried to convince myself that I should just ignore it because I wasn't looking for another ministry position, but God just wouldn't let it go. I was pretty happy with my full time job in industrial sales, and very happy in my part time worship leader position at Westwood.  Why would God not get off my back about this? So I did something crazy. I prayed about it.

For some reason, God led me to send in a resume. There were a number of conversations, interviews, and lots of prayers over the next few months. The whole time I was praying for God to give me a clear sign about what He wanted me to do. I was also praying for clear stop signs if I was moving in the wrong direction at any point.

So last Sunday, I led worship at Northside Baptist and was voted in. Wednesday, I let our choir and praise band know of my decision. Friday, I turned in my notice at my full time job. And today, I tearfully shared what God has been doing in my life with the folks at Westwood.

Here's what I read to them today...

To my dear Westwood family,
In January of 2001, Kristi and I visited Westwood for the first time. Since then Westwood has not only been our church, you all have been family to us. That is why it is so hard to write this letter.
After much prayer seeking God's will, I am announcing my resignation from Westwood Baptist effective 2 weeks from today, Sunday September 8th.
I have accepted a full time position of "Minister of Music and Outreach" at Northside Baptist in Jasper. When I first heard about this open position, I immediately thought of other people who might be interested in it because I was not looking to make any changes. But over time, God would not allow me to stop thinking about it. Since then Kristi and I have diligently prayed for God to reveal His will to us and He has.
I am so thankful for the experiences, relationships, and ministry God has allowed us to be a part of here at Westwood. I feel like this church family has ministered to me and my family as much or more than I've ministered to the church. You were there for us for the birth of both Ethan and Gavin. You were there for us in times of loss, such as when my father passed away. You were also a key part, through every person involved in our Children's ministry, in helping to lead both my boys to accept Christ as their Savior. In addition to all this, the entire music ministry and our Sunday School class has been such a blessing to us.
I will always refer to Westwood as my home church and will always consider you family.
As my family and I head into this new mission field for us, I have 2 requests of you. 1) Will you support us in prayer and 2) will you do me the honor of ordaining me into the ministry, thereby agreeing with me that worship ministry is God's calling on my life?
Thank you so much for allowing me the honor to serve with you these past 12 1/2 years as a member and these past 9 1/2 years as a staff member.
I now know what Paul felt when he wrote
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you."
With love for you all,
-Shawn & Kristi

The next month or so is going to be very emotional. I am excited about the new position. I am excited about what God is doing in my life and in my family. But I am also going to miss my Westwood family and fellow staff very much.

I'll likely be posting a lot more in the days to come, journaling this whole process. As I make this transition, I'm going to invite you to do two things..

1. If you live anywhere near the Forestdale community of Birmingham, AL and are looking for a home church, you should visit Westwood Baptist. I can tell you, from 12 years of being a member there, that it is a loving and welcoming church that is worth checking out and getting involved in.
2. If you live in the Jasper, AL area, come join me at Northside Baptist as I get to know that church family and we work to show and share God's love in that community.

Sunday Setlist: April 22, 2012

Westwood Baptist Church sanctuary as seen from the choir loft.

Sunday morning was...interesting..

Don't get me wrong, everything went well.

There were no musical, technical, or logistical train wrecks that I am aware of.

But things didn't exactly go as I expected.

I'll list below what we did, why I planned it that way, and what was the outcome.

We opened with a moment of silence, and a prayer of remembrance of the1 yr anniversary of April 2011 tornadoes that effected our area last year. I expected it to be a moving time of prayer and thought that would lead well into singing about " the joy of The Lord" being our strength. Instead, I stumbled over every word trying to explain what we were doing. I've definitely been more eloquent before. I know I got the point across. But it didn't go as smooth as planned.I just had trouble finding the right words and stumbled over the few I did find.

Holy Is The Lord (Tomlin)

Expected good middle to upbeat opener that would get everyone engaged in worship.

Song went well. It is nice to see more people lifting their hands in worship, especially when singing the line "We stand and lift up our hands for the joy of the Lord is our strength." Should have planned another song after this one though. It felt like slamming on the brakes to end this song and stop the worship for announcements.

Welcome / Announcements / Fellowship.

A Mighty Fortress (choir arrangement) 

This is a choir arrangement of the great hymn with an added chorus. It is a favorite of our church from approx 10 yrs ago. It is upbeat and powerful, both musically and spiritually.

The song sounded great, but I had forgotten how high it was. I could see people disconnecting from it the further into the song we got. It's a lesson I learned years ago about this song, but had forgotten.

Song Of Moses (Keyes)

We've done this newer song 3 or 4 times in the past 6 months. The first time we did it, I spoke of the history of this "Song of Moses." in Exodus. Everyone really let loose on the chorus "The Lord shall reign forever and ever." It was very moving. This time was a little different. I think the previous song had been so long and high that folks were a little worn out to try this high song as well. My voice was even strained on the higher notes. Plus, I didn't intro it well and again stumbled over my own words. The song went fine. I expect not many even felt about it like I did, but it just didn't feel quite right. (or maybe I didn't?)

Offertory prayer - Deacon

Choir Special - This Is Your House (Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir) 

Choir sounded great as always.

Transitional chorus: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Hymn, chorus only)

Message

Invitation: Your Name (Baloche)

Closing: Sing To The King (Tomlin)

Worship Leaders, Have you ever stumbled over your words and wrecked what you thought was going to be a great time of worship?

Worshipers? If you were at Westwood, what did you think? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

This post is part of TheWorshipCommunity.com's Sunday Setlist. Check it out to see what other worshipers are doing around the world.

I'm Gonna Get Fired

Here's the article I worte for this month's church newsletter, "The Builder".
I might get fired. =)

One of my favorite things about Sundays is standing around after the service talking with people. There are two subjects that almost always come up. The first, is my attire that day. “I see you wore a coat & tie today? Did you wake up too late to iron your shirt?” (The answer is usually "yes".) The second most talked about topic is the songs we sang during the services. I recently heard about a group of people who gathered in the parking lot after a service. As they were talking and hanging out, they began discussing a song we rarely sing at Westwood “I’ll Fly Away”. Specifically, they were discussing whether it was appropriate for use in a worship service. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the song. To summarize, the songs basically says: When I die, I’m going to fly to heaven and sing hallelujah forever. So, I began to wonder that same question myself. Is this an appropriate song for worship? My first concern was with the word “fly”. Will we actually fly? This research led me to Psalm 90:10 where it says we live for 70 or 80 years then we “fly away”. In the Hebrew, the word used there is `uwph which means "to fly". So, yes. According to Psalms, we die and then we fly. How cool is that?

My second thought about this song was about what isn’t said in the song. There’s no mention of God, Jesus, His grace, His mercy, or anything that God has done. The only time God is mentioned in the song is when we sing about His “celestial shore”. The lyrics don’t really speak of God or to God. So I would have to say “no”. This is not a worship song. It is simply a song of celebration about our future. Any glory given to God is implied in the fact that we will "fly away" to heaven because we have a relationship with him and we’ll sing Hallelujah (Praise the Lord).

So, now I’m left with the question of “is it appropriate for use in a service?” My answer is “it depends on the service”. I think there are times when we gather in fellowship and the setting is perfect for us to sing a celebration song such as this one. But when we gather on Sundays to worship, I think I’d like to use all the time we have together to sing about and to our Heavenly Father. I think you'd agree that's the best way we can spend our time together. Now I’m just left to wonder if there’s a biblical reference to an “Old Gospel Ship”.

One other thing I think has to be mentioned...Remember that group in the parking lot I told you about? As they discussed this song and some things they’d like to see in our worship services, a bird left a nice present on one of their shoulders. I’m not saying that means anything. I’m just saying …

Hallelujah By & By,
Shawn

Sunday Setlist 03-22-09

First, Happy Birthday Ethan!!! My son turned 5 today.
(This was written 03/22. But not posted until days later.)
Also, 5 years ago I accepted the interim worship leader position at my church.
What a wild 5 years it's been.

Here is a list of what we did in our AM worship service today, followed by a vlog where I go into a little more detail and briefly discuss what's on my mind regarding my 5th anniversary on staff.

I’ll Fly Away - Instrumental Walk In Music - Rhythm Section Only
(Real southern version, had people clapping along)
Announcements
Mighty To Save(G)
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)(D)

Welcome / Fellowship

Nothing But The Blood (F)
(southern, hymn arrangement)
Great is Your Faithfulness (C)

Offertory Prayer

Choir Special: Jesus Paid It All (C-D)
(mellow version of the hymn, added new harmony line with each verse. Great job by choir)

Transitional Chorus: Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus (much slower, simple, piano only version than earlier, focusing on "Oh Precious is the flow..."

Message: Bro. Steve “Truth For Life: Good news for the Guilty” (Psalm 51:1-19)
Invitation: Just As I Am
Closing Chorus: Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) (MISC)
Chorus Only



Sunday Setlist 03-22-09 from Shawn Stinson on Vimeo

This entry is my part of what is going on on Fred McKinnon's website. I encourage all of you to check it out and blog about your worship service, even if you didn't lead it.

Sunday Setlist 03-08-09

This entry is part of what's gone on at this website.
Check it out to learn about worship services at other cool churches.

Here's what we did Sunday - with a video to follow going into more detail.
I tried something new on the video this time. Let me know what you think.

Orchestra Prelude: Open My Eyes That I May See (Hymn)

Announcements

Open My Eyes That I May See (Hymn)
He Is Exalted (Shane & Shane)

Welcome & Fellowship

Hosanna / Praise Is Rising (Baloche)
Unashamed Love (Ten Sheckle Shirt)

Offertory Prayer: Deacon

Choir Song: When I Think About The Lord done w/ Student Drama Team

Message: Bro. Steve - 10 Commandments (Lying)

Invitation: Only Trust Him
Closing Chorus: He Is Exalted



Sunday Setlist 03-08-09 from Shawn Stinson on Vimeo.

Phil 4:4-8

Just a few passages...

God is good. He lead me to this this week. First, a translation from The NIV, then the same passage from The Message. Good stuff.

NIV

4Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. 5Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

The Message

4-5Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! 6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 8-9Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Vacation

Why does going on vacation have to be so much work??

I'm going on vacation tomorrow and I've done more work today as a result of it than I have in the past week combined. I had to get everything done in one day that normally do in a week at work, I've had to make sure everything is organized at church, I'm currently in the process of getting my car ready (Did you know Anthony's car wash has wireless internet?), and I've still got to go home and start packing. We're going to the beach for a few days, and getting everything in order so that we can go has almost been enough to make me just want to stay home. Almost.

Eating with Hitler

So I started reading "Blue like Jazz" by Donald Miller again last night.

I was reading this about 6 months ago and I lost it amongst the piles of junk in my office.......I like the word amongst. It makes my mouth feel like it's accomplished something. That "g" followed by an "st" is not something you can do without putting some real work into it. ....Anyway, When I found it last night, I decided if I was really going to read it, I should probably start again from the beginning. I'm glad I did.

In case you haven't read it, it's a guy discussing Christianity from a non religious perspective. Basically he takes a look at being a Christian from the perspective of someone who hasn't grown up in church. Example....Have you ever considered that Noah's Ark is an awful story. Yes, it's the story of God saving his chosen man, and a bunch of animals. But really it's about God going.."That's it! I'm done with the rest of you. Let's see how long you can swim." I'd never really thought about it that way before. It's kinda funny that we consider it a good story for children and we even go as far as making it the theme for many nurserys. Come to think of it though, I don't think I've ever seen a wall border in a nursery displaying all the floating lifeless bodies. That part is often left out.

Anyway, while reading it again, I read story that Don tells from his childhood, when he first experienced real guilt due to the fact that as a child one Christmas he'd spent all his money on himself and didn't get his mother a good present. Instead he used what was left over to buy her some crappy book she'd never really want. He ends his tale of guilt by saying the following... " And while they ate and talked and chatted away another Christmas, I felt ashamed and wondered silently whether they knew they were eating with Hitler."

Some how that phrase seems to fit so well how I feel sometimes. After some internal debate, I'm going to make a confession to all of you. I feel guilty about the worship service that I led last night. (For anyone who doesn't know, I work part time at my church leading the music.) I purposefully picked songs that meant something to me, and avoided the normal hymns that we typically do on a Sunday evening. When I planned the service, I was tired of doing songs I didn't get anything out of just to keep everyone happy, so I thought it would be a good time to put together a service that I would enjoy.

As the service began, God spoke to me clearly, not in an audible voice, but through the expression on the faces of those who came to worship. He said to me "you've been selfish." I knew right away that those worship songs chosen were not going to assist anyone in having an experience with God. Instead, the majority of the congregation either stood their silently, or tried to sing a song that clearly meant nothing to them. It was like looking at a bunch of people who were at a funeral for someone they didn't know. They looked sad, but somehow not effected in any real way.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anything about style of songs (I'm sure they'll be future blogs about Contmeporary vs. Traditional worship) , I'm simply saying that the song choices were made based on what I wanted to do and nothing else. As a worship leader, I feel it is supposed to be my job to facilitate a worshipful experience, regardless of the style of music. I know you can't please everyone, but it's definately not right to try to please only myself.

Thankfully, God is forgiving and full of grace. He and I got everything straightened out last night. But, guilt is an awfully stong emotion. I think it's fair to say that "Last night I felt ashamed and wondered silently whether they knew they were being led in Worship by Hitler."

Monday, Monday

My mornings have become the best part of my days recently. That's the time I get to see my family.

Ethan was in such a good mood this morning. Kristi is on Spring break this week so they got to sleep in somewhat. But when I had to explain to him that I had to go to work, he looked so sad. He asked me if I was going to "talk to God" and "sing songs" those are the things he says I do at church. I had to explain to him that I had to go to work not church. He then smiled real big and said "Daddy works with Biiiggg trucks!" I just laughed and said, yes Daddy is going to work with the big trucks. I think my son thinks I'm a truck Driver. But he thinks thats really cool so I'm okay with it too.

When I got to work, my day got a little less than happy. 3 people have quit recently and that has increased the work load on the rest of us. Beginning immediately I have to start working the rental counter again on a regular basis and closing every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. That means I won't be getting home until 7pm each of those nights. I'm really beginning to dislike some of the things about my job right now. While I'm not looking for another job, I can tell you that I'd be open to exploring my options.

I'm at the church right now. We've got a work night scheduled to continue to work on the stage for the Easter drama. It rained alot today. I hope people show up. We've still got alot to do and we're running out of time to do it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not getting stressed in any way. I'm just hoping that we get enough done today that I can still have some nights off in the next three weeks. I really enjoy spending time with my family and I'm beginning to feel the effects of begin gone so much.

I'm lucky to have a wife who understands what God has called me to do and can put up with the difficult schedules periodically.

I wish I had something to do...

So here I am. (My Space).

I've been blogging on Livejournal for a while now and everyone seems to have abandoned it for myspace so I thought I'd try it out.

I've been looking at other people's myspace and theirs are all creative and cool looking. It's gonna take me a while to make mine interesting.

For now, all I have to offer is some basic info about me, my family, and what is going on in my life....

I realize even now that I should stop typing this and do something else. But, I need a break for everything else so here I am.

I titled this "I wish I had something to do" as a sarcastic title.

I should be working on one of these many tasks that I'm involved in right now....

Home.... Finaliza everything with our new house. We moved into the house we built this past weekend and still haven't finished moving everything. plus I've got to get all my financial stuff in order so that I can close on the house early next week. I really hope I have enough money to pay for the closing costs on the house I just built.

Penske.... I'm supposed to ma making and logging 50 in person sales calls and 50 telemarketing calls each week. I've been making the calls, but haven;t found the time to properly log them. I'm supposed to have the past two weeks logs with me at a meeting on Thursday. I hope I can make it happen.

Church..... We're in the process of putting together an Easter drama. There's too much that needs to be done with that to list here. Also, I really need to plan special music for the next two months. That is always so difficult to do. I really wish there were another way to do it than me having to ask people, but having a sign-up sheet has it's own problems.

Storehouse... 1.) I need to find a way to make this ministry more successfule in doing ministry. 2. )I need to find a way to raise $15,000. to help fund this ministry for 2006.

And, one last thing. Today is my 8th wedding anniversary. And due to all of the above, I'll see my wife approximately 20 minutes all day. I'm glad she's so supportive of me.

Did I mention that she's pregnant?....... I may be in trouble. =)

Cracking The Code

I read the Da Vinci code last week. Although I have a real problem with the things it presents as facts regarding the life of Christ, I really enojyed the book. A great mystery.
I don't want to give anything away in case you haven't read it, so I won't. I'll just say that reading it helped me to realize that I know so little about the God/man that I worship. Not only have I never read the entire bible, but I also couldn't argue with most of the things in the DaVinci code simply because I am not knowledgeable enough to do so. How embarrassing!
I was going to get involved in reading the Narnia chronicles next, but I think that will have to wait until I've at least studied through Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John again.

Only A Matter Of Time

Well, it's only a matter of time before I get fired from job #1.

I realized today that I have achieved none of my sales goals for 2005. That's really sad. But, to make matters worse, another guy in my same position has not only reached his goals but has surpassed me the past few months. He's more than quadrupled my revenue numbers in the last quarter.
=(

Actually I don't think I will get fired. I think everyone is aware that I tried my hardest and that the majority of his revenue has been a fluke. It's been a result of the increase in demand in the southern half of the state (all his Territory)due to the hurricanes.

I know this isn't a great journal entry. And to anyone reading it, it sounds pretty depressing, but I wanted to be sure to get this is writing that way I can look back in 2006 and hopefully this will encourage me to go even further to secure get more new business.

It also makes me wonder...
am I a sales guy who also leads worship?
Or am I a worship leader who also is in sales?
I think there's a big difference.

Just another manic Sunday

well, I was too zonked to post anything last night. I came home from church and went to bed before 10. I think I'm turning old fast. If I'm not careful I'll end up listening to Big band music and A.M. talk radio and enjoying it.

...DANG, I already do that!! Oh well.

Yesterday was busy, but fun. Did the normal church stuff. We sang a new song in the AM service "Blessed Be Your Name". It went pretty well. Some folks stood and really got into it. As usual, some were some who just sat and didn't even sing.
I really don't understand those folks. Is it fair to assume that because they don't even try to sing unless it's a song they grew up with that they don't understand what worship is? Is that judging them too harshly? Do I even have the right to judge them?
And if I want them to be involved does that mean I should lead songs I know they'll get into. Boy, that will be fun, NOT!

I also helped my sister-in-law (wife's sister)and her family move yesterday. Joseph also came and helped. I am thankful that I have a group of friends who are willing to do that for each other. I feel kinda sorry for the folks in the world out there who have to pay a moving company. I assume that means they don't have any real friends. How sad.

The students from church are going to fuge Monday. I really wish I could go with them. I haven't been involved in something like that in a long time. I guess I'll just have to send my prayers along with them.

I guess that's about it
Later.