I'm not a huge Driscoll fan like some of my friends. I'm not anti-Driscoll or anything silly like that. I just don't worship him like Matt Doan and Seth Beasley. But I read this list that he taught at his Boot Camp and I loved it.
Six Framing Questions for Preaching the Word
1. What does Scripture say? - The Biblical Question
2. What does the Scripture Mean? - The Theological Question
3. What is my Hook? - The Memorable Question
4. Why do people resist this truth? - The Apologetic Question
5. Why does this matter? - The Missional Question
6. How is Jesus the Hero/Savior? - The Christological Question
These are a great beginning to sermon preparation and a great check when you think you are finished. I'm going to start using them. I think Doan might have showed these to me once before.
Showing posts with label Preaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Preaching. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Love Video - WE HAVE AUDIO!!
Here's the video that introduced my sermon this past Sunday. I ran in the back doors at the end of the clip. It was pretty fun. Thanks to Tammy Harris and Dan Parsons for helping make it. Tammy did the editing and some directing and Dan used his amazing steady-cam gear and fancy HD camera to film it. Let me know what you think!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Interesting Church Day
I preached today in both of our services. Celebration (8:45am - leans more blended/traditional) went really well. Our crazy video, that I will post later, was good. The people laughed. I wore a suit and said, "Finally Pastor Dave is gone and I can dress the way that I really want to." They also thought that was funny. I got some great feedback from people that I don't normally hear from, so that was cool.
Then in Elevation I did the same thing and it went well for the most part. I had a person planted in the service that was going to tell what it was like for a new person at Calvary. That was pretty good too. I tried to reduce the guilt trip factor of it a little bit. But then things started to go a little weird. My hands-free mic went out and so I had to use the hand-held one. That always bums me out.
Then this random homeless man with a big bag and an artificial leg walks into the room in the middle of the sermon and walks all the way up the center aisle to the front row. Don't get me wrong. I am very comfortable with people of all different backgrounds and situations coming to our church, but when you are on stage and somebody is walking up to the front row in the middle of the sermon - it throws you off a bit. Especially when they are talking kind of loud and you're not sure if it's to you or to themselves. He took about two minutes to get all his stuff put down and then sits right in the front center seat. Then he starts talking out loud to me. He was being very supportive, but really loud. He starts pulling stuff out of his bag. Remember, I'm still trying to preach. Also, our church has stepped up our security since the church shootings in Colorado on the same day that we had a man come on our stage in the middle of Pastor Dave's sermon. So I see one of our police officers that attends the church move up to about two rows behind the man, whose name I found out after church was Bill. The officer told me later that he was just watching what was being pulled out of the bag in case it was a weapon. Then i see one of our elders come and walk up to Bill. Remember, I'm still preaching. I say, "It's OK, let's keep going. It's cool." So then the elder sits down next to Bill and he was awesome. He puts his arm around him and starts talking with him and is able to help Bill listen without being "too" disruptive. I also see one our church psychologists move up into a position pretty close to the man at this point. Remember, I'm still trying to preach. Then a woman who was friends with Bill walks up the center aisle and high-fives Bill and sits about two seats over and then proceeds to fall asleep. Remember, I'm still preaching.
So at that point I keep preaching and I'm talking about love. Of course. I was proud that our church handled this potentially bad situation with love. We didn't kick him out. We didn't treat him poorly. But we did take precautions. We had an armed police officer and a trained psychologist waiting only steps away with one of our elders lovingly helping the man engage in the service.
I met the man after the service. He was still talking with the elder about 35 minutes after the service. He met another elder who did the same stuff in the Marine Corps as Bill did. Let me just say that this was one of the more difficult preaching services for me. It wasn't bad, but it sure was really distracting to me and everyone else. In the future I think I might address the situation a bit more. Not a lot. But maybe just stop and say. Let's pray and get re-focused. I went way overtime because I was so distracted and slow. I felt like I couldn't remember what was on my notes and what I was supposed to say next. It was weird.
So in eternity's perspective it was a good Sunday. From my communicator's perspective it was horrible. But hey, more people will remember today than most other services.
Thoughts? Were you there? What did you think?
Then in Elevation I did the same thing and it went well for the most part. I had a person planted in the service that was going to tell what it was like for a new person at Calvary. That was pretty good too. I tried to reduce the guilt trip factor of it a little bit. But then things started to go a little weird. My hands-free mic went out and so I had to use the hand-held one. That always bums me out.
Then this random homeless man with a big bag and an artificial leg walks into the room in the middle of the sermon and walks all the way up the center aisle to the front row. Don't get me wrong. I am very comfortable with people of all different backgrounds and situations coming to our church, but when you are on stage and somebody is walking up to the front row in the middle of the sermon - it throws you off a bit. Especially when they are talking kind of loud and you're not sure if it's to you or to themselves. He took about two minutes to get all his stuff put down and then sits right in the front center seat. Then he starts talking out loud to me. He was being very supportive, but really loud. He starts pulling stuff out of his bag. Remember, I'm still trying to preach. Also, our church has stepped up our security since the church shootings in Colorado on the same day that we had a man come on our stage in the middle of Pastor Dave's sermon. So I see one of our police officers that attends the church move up to about two rows behind the man, whose name I found out after church was Bill. The officer told me later that he was just watching what was being pulled out of the bag in case it was a weapon. Then i see one of our elders come and walk up to Bill. Remember, I'm still preaching. I say, "It's OK, let's keep going. It's cool." So then the elder sits down next to Bill and he was awesome. He puts his arm around him and starts talking with him and is able to help Bill listen without being "too" disruptive. I also see one our church psychologists move up into a position pretty close to the man at this point. Remember, I'm still trying to preach. Then a woman who was friends with Bill walks up the center aisle and high-fives Bill and sits about two seats over and then proceeds to fall asleep. Remember, I'm still preaching.
So at that point I keep preaching and I'm talking about love. Of course. I was proud that our church handled this potentially bad situation with love. We didn't kick him out. We didn't treat him poorly. But we did take precautions. We had an armed police officer and a trained psychologist waiting only steps away with one of our elders lovingly helping the man engage in the service.
I met the man after the service. He was still talking with the elder about 35 minutes after the service. He met another elder who did the same stuff in the Marine Corps as Bill did. Let me just say that this was one of the more difficult preaching services for me. It wasn't bad, but it sure was really distracting to me and everyone else. In the future I think I might address the situation a bit more. Not a lot. But maybe just stop and say. Let's pray and get re-focused. I went way overtime because I was so distracted and slow. I felt like I couldn't remember what was on my notes and what I was supposed to say next. It was weird.
So in eternity's perspective it was a good Sunday. From my communicator's perspective it was horrible. But hey, more people will remember today than most other services.
Thoughts? Were you there? What did you think?
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Kind of a Huge Day
Here is how today went:
1. In both main services today, my new position was announced to the whole church. Now, it's for real.
2. I preached in the Elevation service today and it went pretty well. I was really pleased, especially with the tough preparation week.
3. Then we went looking at houses this afternoon. We actually found one we want to put an offer on tomorrow. I will do a separate post about that.
4. I went to our Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF) Leaders meeting to check it out and introduce myself to them at 4pm.
5. I spoke at my last Student Ministries Parent Meeting on my Top 10 Last Words to Parents of Teens. It was pretty cool. I will post the text of that later this week.
Pretty busy and eventful day. I'm tired.
1. In both main services today, my new position was announced to the whole church. Now, it's for real.
2. I preached in the Elevation service today and it went pretty well. I was really pleased, especially with the tough preparation week.
3. Then we went looking at houses this afternoon. We actually found one we want to put an offer on tomorrow. I will do a separate post about that.
4. I went to our Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF) Leaders meeting to check it out and introduce myself to them at 4pm.
5. I spoke at my last Student Ministries Parent Meeting on my Top 10 Last Words to Parents of Teens. It was pretty cool. I will post the text of that later this week.
Pretty busy and eventful day. I'm tired.
Pray for Me if You Read This
I am sitting in my office at 6:45am right now and I got here 25 minutes ago. I like to get to church really early on the days I preach. I look over my notes and my PowerPoint one last time. I practice my "talk" one more time out loud. I love the method of out-loud practicing. Some don't. I think it's a total personal preference thing.
I am about to spend some time in prayer and then practice a bit and then I can go be a part of all the ministry preparation that takes place before everyone shows up. After I'm ready to speak mentally and spiritually, I like to stay busy and not think about it. Usually I will have to make a trip to the restroom. I have done this pretty much before every "talk" I have given for the past 15 years. The body has strange reactions to public "performance."
So anyways, please pray for me if you read this. Pray that God would speak through me and that my flawed and faulty memory would work better than it usually does.
I am about to spend some time in prayer and then practice a bit and then I can go be a part of all the ministry preparation that takes place before everyone shows up. After I'm ready to speak mentally and spiritually, I like to stay busy and not think about it. Usually I will have to make a trip to the restroom. I have done this pretty much before every "talk" I have given for the past 15 years. The body has strange reactions to public "performance."
So anyways, please pray for me if you read this. Pray that God would speak through me and that my flawed and faulty memory would work better than it usually does.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Big Day
I have lots of driving and meetings with fun people today between Santa Ana and San Diego. I will post about it tonight.
I am preaching this Sunday on 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12. It's a pretty cool passage where Paul basically says that if you are going to present the gospel to people, you need to do it right, with integrity. No swindling, no flattering words, just be real and self-less. I like that message. He talks about the importance of loving like a mother and caring like a father for the people in our life that we care about. Good stuff. I'm feeling a bit behind and sort of rusty this week in my sermon preparation. I realized that I haven't preached in Elevation since mid-November. That's almost two months. I need to get the cobwebs of my preaching chops. Hopefully I won't suck.
Prediction - a comment by Victor that will say "You probably will suck."
I am preaching this Sunday on 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12. It's a pretty cool passage where Paul basically says that if you are going to present the gospel to people, you need to do it right, with integrity. No swindling, no flattering words, just be real and self-less. I like that message. He talks about the importance of loving like a mother and caring like a father for the people in our life that we care about. Good stuff. I'm feeling a bit behind and sort of rusty this week in my sermon preparation. I realized that I haven't preached in Elevation since mid-November. That's almost two months. I need to get the cobwebs of my preaching chops. Hopefully I won't suck.
Prediction - a comment by Victor that will say "You probably will suck."
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Preaching Today
I'm preaching today in Elevation on 2 Samuel 7. Pray for me if you think of it. The service is from 10:45-12noon.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Crazy Day Confessional
Yesterday was an incredibly busy day. I only worked a few more hours than I normally do, but it was just that I was leading and speaking in every environment I was in.
#1: High School Group at 8:45am. The Kenya team presented to the High School students for about 35 minutes. I probably did too much talking, but we didn't have a video that we were supposed to have so we showed a slideshow of pictures with us talking about it.
#2: Elevation service at 10:45am. I preached in our second main worship service for about 35 minutes. I spoke on the story of David & Goliath as we are doing a series on the life of David. I liked the angle for this almost overly well-known story. The series is called THE PURSUIT: DAVID'S HEART FOR GOD. The whole series is supposed to be about us pursuing having the kind of heart that David did. So the angle on the Goliath story was, "What about David's heart caused him to be able to face the giant so quickly and without hesitation?" What about his heart allowed him to see the world so differently than everyone else? You can listen to it and see the notes and PowerPoint here. I felt like it was a pretty good morning. I felt differently than I ever have before preaching a sermon. I honestly didn't feel like preaching on Saturday. It was an odd feeling. Usually I am a bit nervous in a pumped up sort of way, but I was just apathetic. So I prayed about it a bunch - even into that early morning random wake-up time (4am) when I was out of it and I just started praying and dozing and praying and dozing and praying some more. Then I went into church and prayed while driving. Then I practiced my talk once more and I felt much different. Then I went into the Worship Center at about 7:40am and prayed some more. After that, I was ready.
#3: All Student Ministry Staff Meeting at 12noon. I spoke at our volunteer training on the first point of our Mission Statement - REACH THE SEEKING for about an hour. It was good, but by now I was getting tired and so were people listening to me - many of which were in all three of these sessions.
#4: Lighthouse Area Fellowship at 5:00pm. This is our church's small group program. I lead our first Lighthouse of the fall and it was pretty good - a bit quiet at some points, but a decent start. Poor Kevin was in all four of these meetings. I feel sorry for anyone having to listen to me this much.
So a crazy day, but a good day. I'm happy to be chilling at home this morning. I'm tired, but grateful.
#1: High School Group at 8:45am. The Kenya team presented to the High School students for about 35 minutes. I probably did too much talking, but we didn't have a video that we were supposed to have so we showed a slideshow of pictures with us talking about it.
#2: Elevation service at 10:45am. I preached in our second main worship service for about 35 minutes. I spoke on the story of David & Goliath as we are doing a series on the life of David. I liked the angle for this almost overly well-known story. The series is called THE PURSUIT: DAVID'S HEART FOR GOD. The whole series is supposed to be about us pursuing having the kind of heart that David did. So the angle on the Goliath story was, "What about David's heart caused him to be able to face the giant so quickly and without hesitation?" What about his heart allowed him to see the world so differently than everyone else? You can listen to it and see the notes and PowerPoint here. I felt like it was a pretty good morning. I felt differently than I ever have before preaching a sermon. I honestly didn't feel like preaching on Saturday. It was an odd feeling. Usually I am a bit nervous in a pumped up sort of way, but I was just apathetic. So I prayed about it a bunch - even into that early morning random wake-up time (4am) when I was out of it and I just started praying and dozing and praying and dozing and praying some more. Then I went into church and prayed while driving. Then I practiced my talk once more and I felt much different. Then I went into the Worship Center at about 7:40am and prayed some more. After that, I was ready.
#3: All Student Ministry Staff Meeting at 12noon. I spoke at our volunteer training on the first point of our Mission Statement - REACH THE SEEKING for about an hour. It was good, but by now I was getting tired and so were people listening to me - many of which were in all three of these sessions.
#4: Lighthouse Area Fellowship at 5:00pm. This is our church's small group program. I lead our first Lighthouse of the fall and it was pretty good - a bit quiet at some points, but a decent start. Poor Kevin was in all four of these meetings. I feel sorry for anyone having to listen to me this much.
So a crazy day, but a good day. I'm happy to be chilling at home this morning. I'm tired, but grateful.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Preaching Text-Fessional
I'm over doing the videos for these things because I hardly ever watch anyone else's videos - especially YouTube links. I don't know why. I'm usually blogging in a setting/environment where I can't just be watching videos all the time. Anyways, here is my Preaching Confessional on this morning's sermon.
We began a new series today called "The Pursuit - David's Heart for God." This will be a 14 week series through the life of David and how we can be people who pursue the heart that David had for God. My talk today was called "The Internal Pursuit" as we looked at David's anointing to be king and how God says, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
I think the morning went pretty well for me. I was a bit distracted by some other aspects of the morning that weren't going totally according to plan and I tend to be the kind of person that wants things to happen the way they are supposed to happen. Part of this is my weakness and part of this is people doing what they have committed to doing. But I'm not going to get into that here. I haven't preached in Elevation since August 5th which is actually not that long, but it seems like so much has happened since then with VBS week, then going to Africa for two weeks, and then getting sick for about a week. All this just made me feel like a stranger in my own church and feel a bit off when it came to preaching. I think I was connecting with people for the most part and I think they were genuinely challenged. I said a couple things that I'm not sure if people would get upset about. 1) I talked about how there are other churches in the area with fancier youth rooms and ministry "stuff" than we have. I was making a point that I can get jealous about those things but I have to remember that those are not signs of ministry success in God's viewpoint. I just hope that people didn't just think I was whining about not having a Student Center. 2) I said how I don't like how most churches just have successful white-collar businessman for their elders and how I don't think that is a sign of potential leadership in the church in God's eyes. I just hope people aren't mad at how maybe our church could be viewed that way. I don't think that's how we choose elders, but it could be perceived that way.
We also had people write a phrase on a piece of foam that can stick on their mirror or window as a reminder. The phrase could be something like "God looks at the heart." This way people can remember the "Pursuit" series everyday and not just Sundays.
The rest of the sermon went reasonably well. I think that people understood the challenge. I think that people understand the series. I think that people are thinking about this concept. It was a weird morning for me and a good morning at the same time. I'm looking forward to getting into prep tomorrow for my talk next Sunday on the David & Goliath story. It will be interesting to preach on one of the most famous Bible stories to ever exist. I think Noah's Ark and David & Goliath are probably the two most famous Bible stories. So how do I make it memorable??????????? I have some ideas.....
We began a new series today called "The Pursuit - David's Heart for God." This will be a 14 week series through the life of David and how we can be people who pursue the heart that David had for God. My talk today was called "The Internal Pursuit" as we looked at David's anointing to be king and how God says, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
I think the morning went pretty well for me. I was a bit distracted by some other aspects of the morning that weren't going totally according to plan and I tend to be the kind of person that wants things to happen the way they are supposed to happen. Part of this is my weakness and part of this is people doing what they have committed to doing. But I'm not going to get into that here. I haven't preached in Elevation since August 5th which is actually not that long, but it seems like so much has happened since then with VBS week, then going to Africa for two weeks, and then getting sick for about a week. All this just made me feel like a stranger in my own church and feel a bit off when it came to preaching. I think I was connecting with people for the most part and I think they were genuinely challenged. I said a couple things that I'm not sure if people would get upset about. 1) I talked about how there are other churches in the area with fancier youth rooms and ministry "stuff" than we have. I was making a point that I can get jealous about those things but I have to remember that those are not signs of ministry success in God's viewpoint. I just hope that people didn't just think I was whining about not having a Student Center. 2) I said how I don't like how most churches just have successful white-collar businessman for their elders and how I don't think that is a sign of potential leadership in the church in God's eyes. I just hope people aren't mad at how maybe our church could be viewed that way. I don't think that's how we choose elders, but it could be perceived that way.
We also had people write a phrase on a piece of foam that can stick on their mirror or window as a reminder. The phrase could be something like "God looks at the heart." This way people can remember the "Pursuit" series everyday and not just Sundays.
The rest of the sermon went reasonably well. I think that people understood the challenge. I think that people understand the series. I think that people are thinking about this concept. It was a weird morning for me and a good morning at the same time. I'm looking forward to getting into prep tomorrow for my talk next Sunday on the David & Goliath story. It will be interesting to preach on one of the most famous Bible stories to ever exist. I think Noah's Ark and David & Goliath are probably the two most famous Bible stories. So how do I make it memorable??????????? I have some ideas.....
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Preaching Text-Fessional
I don't feel like making a video confessional and Victor was talking about worship text-fessionals on his blog so I liked the idea. Plus, I only watch people's videos about half the time.
I enjoyed this morning in the Elevation service at Calvary Church very much. We were talking about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in our Lost in Translation series. This is a recurring series where we have a small amount of messages on an area of God, theology, or Scripture than tend to get confused or "Lost in Translation." I won't get into details of my points here, but the key thing is that we are baptized "in the Holy Spirit" at conversion and we are all baptized "into the Body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:13). So we are radically changed for a purpose - to serve others as a member of the body.
I felt a good connection and energy in the room. I think I was communicating pretty clearly and with a good dynamic of speaking strong with conviction and then conversationally talking as well. Something I talked about was believing what is already true about ourself - that we have the Holy Spirit within us and we are new creations. I could have explained more about how we can believe that even when life is hard or when we still sin, etc.
We had a cool response station where people came up and dipped a cloth into dye to represent spirit baptism and then they placed that dyed cloth onto a larger canvas which represented the body of Christ. Everybody seemed pretty into it. Anna Gold and Nicole Gniffke helped make it happen. Here's a picture of it from my phone.
Victor and the band did a great job. As much as I give that guy a hard time and my job is to keep pushing him to continue to grow, he has the most rich, easy to sing with, beautiful voice of any worship leader I know. (Did I just say beautiful???). Victor - you are really good at what you do! Keep giving God the glory, but I love you man.
I enjoyed this morning in the Elevation service at Calvary Church very much. We were talking about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in our Lost in Translation series. This is a recurring series where we have a small amount of messages on an area of God, theology, or Scripture than tend to get confused or "Lost in Translation." I won't get into details of my points here, but the key thing is that we are baptized "in the Holy Spirit" at conversion and we are all baptized "into the Body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:13). So we are radically changed for a purpose - to serve others as a member of the body.
I felt a good connection and energy in the room. I think I was communicating pretty clearly and with a good dynamic of speaking strong with conviction and then conversationally talking as well. Something I talked about was believing what is already true about ourself - that we have the Holy Spirit within us and we are new creations. I could have explained more about how we can believe that even when life is hard or when we still sin, etc.
We had a cool response station where people came up and dipped a cloth into dye to represent spirit baptism and then they placed that dyed cloth onto a larger canvas which represented the body of Christ. Everybody seemed pretty into it. Anna Gold and Nicole Gniffke helped make it happen. Here's a picture of it from my phone.
Victor and the band did a great job. As much as I give that guy a hard time and my job is to keep pushing him to continue to grow, he has the most rich, easy to sing with, beautiful voice of any worship leader I know. (Did I just say beautiful???). Victor - you are really good at what you do! Keep giving God the glory, but I love you man.
Monday, June 25, 2007
A Crazy Day
To start this off, when Grace was born four years ago I took two weeks off from work and we didn't leave the house for two weeks. We were so overwhelmed it was unbelievable.
With Ella I am still taking about two weeks off, but because she was born a bit early I had a couple things I had to do this weekend and we have a four year old. So it's definitely not the same.
1. On Thursday, the day we came home from the hospital, I coached Grace's first soccer game.
2. On Saturday I left for an hour to go to go to a wedding rehearsal.
Then the crazy day came on Sunday.
1. I preached in Elevation. OK this is a huge deal for me because usually I completely obsess about preaching in there. I usually prep for hours and try to have it finished by Wednesday so I can practice it out loud and then make refinements that day. Then I practice it once on Thursday, Friday, and again early Sunday morning. That wasn't going to happen this week so I studied ahead of time, wrote the whole talk on Monday morning, and turned in all my PowerPoint and Bulletin information by Monday afternoon. Then I didn't think about the talk until Friday. I looked at it on Friday and sent a couple PowerPoint edits in to Nicole and Trevor (they make everything look good). Then I practiced it once on Saturday and about half of it on Sunday morning. Then I preached the sermon while having "newborn exhaustion" from lack of sleep and it was OK. I don't think it was great. I was a bit slow in my mind. There was a cool live art piece being made on stage too. It was awesome, but it's always weird when everyone is looking at the art and not at you. The service ended up being really great even if I wasn't great. That's my prayer every week. It goes like this, "Lord, if I suck today may it bring you glory and if I'm awesome today may it bring you glory." I seriously pray that every time I preach.
2. I went home and crashed for a couple hours.
3. I performed the wedding ceremony for Brock Buoniconti and Deanna Herring. It went really well. I thought there was a good blend of humor, fun, and a sense of sacredness to it. So I got home from that at about 8:00pm and hung out with Bea and Ella while Gracie was sleeping.
So it was definitely a different sort of first few days after Ella was born compared to Gracie. But now I am really off for the rest of this whole week. 7 days of no responsibilities and just being together as a family. I love it.
With Ella I am still taking about two weeks off, but because she was born a bit early I had a couple things I had to do this weekend and we have a four year old. So it's definitely not the same.
1. On Thursday, the day we came home from the hospital, I coached Grace's first soccer game.
2. On Saturday I left for an hour to go to go to a wedding rehearsal.
Then the crazy day came on Sunday.
1. I preached in Elevation. OK this is a huge deal for me because usually I completely obsess about preaching in there. I usually prep for hours and try to have it finished by Wednesday so I can practice it out loud and then make refinements that day. Then I practice it once on Thursday, Friday, and again early Sunday morning. That wasn't going to happen this week so I studied ahead of time, wrote the whole talk on Monday morning, and turned in all my PowerPoint and Bulletin information by Monday afternoon. Then I didn't think about the talk until Friday. I looked at it on Friday and sent a couple PowerPoint edits in to Nicole and Trevor (they make everything look good). Then I practiced it once on Saturday and about half of it on Sunday morning. Then I preached the sermon while having "newborn exhaustion" from lack of sleep and it was OK. I don't think it was great. I was a bit slow in my mind. There was a cool live art piece being made on stage too. It was awesome, but it's always weird when everyone is looking at the art and not at you. The service ended up being really great even if I wasn't great. That's my prayer every week. It goes like this, "Lord, if I suck today may it bring you glory and if I'm awesome today may it bring you glory." I seriously pray that every time I preach.
2. I went home and crashed for a couple hours.
3. I performed the wedding ceremony for Brock Buoniconti and Deanna Herring. It went really well. I thought there was a good blend of humor, fun, and a sense of sacredness to it. So I got home from that at about 8:00pm and hung out with Bea and Ella while Gracie was sleeping.
So it was definitely a different sort of first few days after Ella was born compared to Gracie. But now I am really off for the rest of this whole week. 7 days of no responsibilities and just being together as a family. I love it.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Preaching Confessional #2
This video is my confessional after preaching in both services today on Philippians 1:12-20 called Whatever it Takes.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Tired
I just realized that by Thursday I will have arrived at church by 8:00am or earlier for 11 straight days. That's not good. Then I will have Friday off and work all day on both Saturday and Sunday. Then Monday morning I leave for Hume Lake for the Youthworkers Retreat up there. I will definitely need the break. I am not basking in my busyness. That is not admirable. I am not liking being this busy.
It also didn't help that I went to the world's longest Angels game last night where the Angels pitchers got lit up for 9 runs losing 9-5. It was a good time with Peter Pizzuto, Matt Davis, and Jason Krusiewicz. I had Jered Weaver on my Fantasy Team and he was blasted for 5 earned runs in less than two innings. Not what you hope for. As Peter and I were walking in he was bragging that his Fantasy Team had Curtis Granderson (lead-off hitter for Detroit) and he predicted that Granderson would hit a lead-off home-run off Weaver. Well, guess what? That's exactly what he did. Peter should play the Lotto.
I'm tired from all this because I went to bed at almost midnight and the alarm went off at 5:30am and I have to be able to think clearly enough to finish writing my sermon for Sunday today after being in morning meetings until 12noon. I preach in both services this Sunday. Should be fun!
It also didn't help that I went to the world's longest Angels game last night where the Angels pitchers got lit up for 9 runs losing 9-5. It was a good time with Peter Pizzuto, Matt Davis, and Jason Krusiewicz. I had Jered Weaver on my Fantasy Team and he was blasted for 5 earned runs in less than two innings. Not what you hope for. As Peter and I were walking in he was bragging that his Fantasy Team had Curtis Granderson (lead-off hitter for Detroit) and he predicted that Granderson would hit a lead-off home-run off Weaver. Well, guess what? That's exactly what he did. Peter should play the Lotto.
I'm tired from all this because I went to bed at almost midnight and the alarm went off at 5:30am and I have to be able to think clearly enough to finish writing my sermon for Sunday today after being in morning meetings until 12noon. I preach in both services this Sunday. Should be fun!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Preaching Confessional #1
Here is my first Preaching Confessional. This was from our Elevation Service today. Also, our combo service was great. Matt Davis was awesome and the band did a really great job. The kids were pretty into it too.
The title of this message was "Why are you so happy? The heart of a bridgebuilder." Philippians 1:1-11. Crossing series. You can listen to the message, see the PowerPoint, and the bulletin notes at this website.
The title of this message was "Why are you so happy? The heart of a bridgebuilder." Philippians 1:1-11. Crossing series. You can listen to the message, see the PowerPoint, and the bulletin notes at this website.
Preach this Morning
I preach this morning in about four hours. The consultant people will be here. I'm not nervous about them, but it just adds another layer to the day.
It has been too busy of a weekend and it makes me sad. Planet Wisdom was good. It was a great conference with a better turnout than in the past couple years. Only one other pastor asked me how many people go to our church. I really don't understand what gives people the freedom to ask that question. I was at church from 8am-1pm and then 5pm-10:30pm on Friday and then 8am-6pm on Saturday. Then I will be at church from 7am-2pm and 6pm-8pm today.
I'm excited to preach today and for our JH/HS Combo Service. They are always high energy and fun and honestly less work. Matt Davis is preaching too so it should be awesome.
6pm tonight we get the preliminary report from the CONSULTANTS. Should be interesting.
It has been too busy of a weekend and it makes me sad. Planet Wisdom was good. It was a great conference with a better turnout than in the past couple years. Only one other pastor asked me how many people go to our church. I really don't understand what gives people the freedom to ask that question. I was at church from 8am-1pm and then 5pm-10:30pm on Friday and then 8am-6pm on Saturday. Then I will be at church from 7am-2pm and 6pm-8pm today.
I'm excited to preach today and for our JH/HS Combo Service. They are always high energy and fun and honestly less work. Matt Davis is preaching too so it should be awesome.
6pm tonight we get the preliminary report from the CONSULTANTS. Should be interesting.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Church Consultant Tomorrow
We have something very interesting taking place tomorrow and the rest of this weekend at our church. We are having a church consultant come and analyze our church to help us be more effective in our big-picture ministry. We are having Gary McIntosh who founded the McIntosh Church Growth Network come with his team. He is also a professor at Biola and has written tons of books on Church Growth, Staffing Issues, Church Strategy, etc. They are going to interview one-on-one almost all (20) of the pastors and directors as well as 10 key administrative assistants. Then they are doing focus groups on Saturday with different segments of the church - lay leaders, regular attenders, people who have been at Calvary less than two years, elders, etc. Then on Sunday they come and observe the services and different ministries. Then they meet with elders and staff to give some preliminary thoughts on Sunday evening. After that, they do some demographic work of the surrounding community and do two different questionnaire surveys to a sample of the congregation - one is on worship services and the other is more general. Then in a few months they go over the complete findings and give us a big report.
It's kind of a weird deal. My appointment is at 11am tomorrow with Gary McIntosh and it should be interesting. I want to be honest. I want to be real. I want to be kind. I want to not be the complainer. I want to show the things I love and the things that are frustrating. So I will post more thoughts on this after the process.
Oh yeah, and by the way, we have this huge Student Conference at our church this weekend called Planet Wisdom. It's always a good thing, but a lot of work for us and kind of a pain in some ways. But I'm excited for the kids to grow from it. Mark Matlock, Sean McDowell, The Skit Guys, Addison Road, etc. Should be good. Should be tiring.
Oh yeah, and I preach on Sunday in Elevation with the consultant guy watching - eek!
It's kind of a weird deal. My appointment is at 11am tomorrow with Gary McIntosh and it should be interesting. I want to be honest. I want to be real. I want to be kind. I want to not be the complainer. I want to show the things I love and the things that are frustrating. So I will post more thoughts on this after the process.
Oh yeah, and by the way, we have this huge Student Conference at our church this weekend called Planet Wisdom. It's always a good thing, but a lot of work for us and kind of a pain in some ways. But I'm excited for the kids to grow from it. Mark Matlock, Sean McDowell, The Skit Guys, Addison Road, etc. Should be good. Should be tiring.
Oh yeah, and I preach on Sunday in Elevation with the consultant guy watching - eek!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Awkward thoughts on Virginia Tech
I don't know why and I feel really guilty about this, but I just have never felt genuinely sad about the killings in Blacksburg, Virginia. I'm not connecting emotionally with it. I obviously find it sad and horrific, but something in me doesn't really change or really care in a way that causes me to live differently. I have probably thought more about the shooter than the victims. I feel like he is as much a victim as a villain. The signs were all over the place about this guy. He refused to let anyone in. It seems like several people tried to connect in some way with him, but he just shut everyone out. I hope and pray that we can reach our fringe/weird kids in our youth group and neighborhood.
I actually feel more emotional after writing this, but it still is more of a news story than something real. I feel like I have to mention it in my sermon this Sunday, but I'm nervous that it might sound forced or contrived.
So I do pray for the families and friends affected by this, but I am unsure of what's wrong with my emotional connection. Does anyone feel similar thoughts in any way?
I actually feel more emotional after writing this, but it still is more of a news story than something real. I feel like I have to mention it in my sermon this Sunday, but I'm nervous that it might sound forced or contrived.
So I do pray for the families and friends affected by this, but I am unsure of what's wrong with my emotional connection. Does anyone feel similar thoughts in any way?
Friday, April 06, 2007
Good Friday
I'm giving a three-minute talk on one of the Seven Last Words of Christ tonight for our Good Friday service. We are having a bunch of contemplative worship, 7 mini-sermons by different pastors on these last words that we are calling Famous Last Words. We will have the first four pastors sitting on stools on stage and do those four in about 12 minutes and then sing some more songs and then have the next three pastors sit on stools and give the final three. Then we will have communion elements all over the stage steps and people can come up in groups and serve each other communion.
I'm speaking on what we have as the second to last statement of Christ. "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" - Luke 23:46. This was actually a traditional bed-time prayer for Jewish children and comes originally from Psalm 31:5. The powerful act that Christ completes with such child-like humility is astonishing. Also, that He is quoting Scripture with His very last words is a remarkable example. He was depositing His spirit to the Father for safekeeping, but He had the power and authority to take it again at any time - John 10:17-18.
I'm looking forward to sharing that in 180 seconds and then spending a lot more time than that remembering and reflecting on the sacrificial death of our Lord.
Any other plans from people from other churches?
I'm speaking on what we have as the second to last statement of Christ. "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" - Luke 23:46. This was actually a traditional bed-time prayer for Jewish children and comes originally from Psalm 31:5. The powerful act that Christ completes with such child-like humility is astonishing. Also, that He is quoting Scripture with His very last words is a remarkable example. He was depositing His spirit to the Father for safekeeping, but He had the power and authority to take it again at any time - John 10:17-18.
I'm looking forward to sharing that in 180 seconds and then spending a lot more time than that remembering and reflecting on the sacrificial death of our Lord.
Any other plans from people from other churches?
Friday, March 23, 2007
Surfing and Sabbath
Right now I'm in the middle of my morning of sabbath and I thought I would type a quick post. I just got back from going surfing down at 41st St in Newport Beach. I had an awesome time today. Last week I seriously sucked. I haven't got a new board yet, but today I surfed a ton better. I was dropping in with no problems and was able to get some good snaps off the top on a couple waves. I was so thankful to God for allowing me to have some fun out there. I was singing this old school worship song that goes "O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. O Lord we magnify your name. O Lord we glorify your name. Prince of Peace, Mighty God, O Lord God Almighty." I forget what Psalm that is but it is a Psalm and I love it. Pure worship. I was praying for direction and guidance for our church and for my life. Really good stuff.
I was listening to Mike Erre's Preach It series that he gave me. It's 10 hours of talking about preaching and teaching God's Word. Awesome stuff. I'm really growing from it and feeling challenged to 1)do something like it with people at Calvary 2)continue to hone my teaching with some of the principles from it.
Now I'm going to relax and shower for another hour and a half and then go pick up Gracie.
Peace.
I was listening to Mike Erre's Preach It series that he gave me. It's 10 hours of talking about preaching and teaching God's Word. Awesome stuff. I'm really growing from it and feeling challenged to 1)do something like it with people at Calvary 2)continue to hone my teaching with some of the principles from it.
Now I'm going to relax and shower for another hour and a half and then go pick up Gracie.
Peace.
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