Blogging in Africa

the internet is not very fast in East Africa, but I wanted to write quickly and tell you that the trip has been a blast!  There will be a lot of pictures and video coming, but for now, just know that it has been unbelievable.  I have been riding the d-train a little bit today and am hoping that everything clears up by tomorrow.  We have a long flight home and I’ll need some time to recover, but it has been unreal!

Mat Kearney

I generally like to think of myself as peppy, fun-loving and more inclined to like songs that are big, driving and anthemic. The fact that I love Mat Kearney’s “Nothing Left to Lose” is somewhat surprising.

His album was released last April, so maybe I’m late to the “scene” but I’m writing about it and you’re not so there.

Sorry about that. His whole CD sounds more like the soundtrack to one of those high school reality shows on MTV where everything is so dramatic and the end of life as we know it is around every corner. He’s got this ability to blend a very cool acoustic feel with hip-hop while also feeling like he’s an emo-kid. Still I can not help loving this thing. I’ve been listening to it all day. So if you like melancholy mood music, than this is your guy. He’s no check check check check it out

worship service?

So I was talking with Liz yesterday and I realized something about our volunteers that I wanted to share with the world (or at least the 4 of you that read this).  There are a lot of bands out there who play various styles of music and a lot of musicians who would say I am this type of drummer or this type of guitar player.

Serving in a church, though, is different.  Our whole team of volunteers is not involved in the planning aspect of our services where we decide what songs we’ll play when.  For the most part, they are scheduled and they come prepared and do an amazing job. 

I realized though, that because many of them have opportunities to play in outside groups or in settings where they can play styles that they know and love, to play here where it’s different every week you have to really love service.

For instance, this week we leave for Africa and Frank, Allen, Karen and Dana, who are all on that team are serving.  We have Thursday rehearsal, Saturday night service, two Sunday morning services and then we leave at 4:00.  They’re not playing and singing because we’re doing a KISS tribute weekend (though that gives me an idea…).  They’re playing and singing because they love serving.  In Africa, we’ll be playing a lot where we can’t do Christian songs so these peeps are learning how to play the ABC’s on the Cajon, and acoustic guitar.

And this group is unique to our church.  Our whole team is like that.  We’re blessed with a lot of talented people, but more than that, with a lot of servants.  Makes my job easier.

So if you see these guys and girls that you think are rock stars, take some time to tell them thanks for all they do.  They work hard for no money to use their gifts and talent to bless people and honor God.

Rock the Horn

We leave for Africa in on Sunday and there is a lot to do (much of which I should be doing now instead of blogging, but that’s beside the point).  Jenn and I went shopping for travel-type stuff and dropped 200 bones at Target.  Granted we bought some clothes that we didn’t need for the trip, but still.  It was friggin’ expensive. 

We’ve got our itinerary now which is jam packed and has us teaching English and music at a school 4 times in our two weeks there, putting on a concert at an orphanage, making some visits to homes and praying for the country and people a lot.  The details make it so much more exciting for me.  It allows me to have a better idea of what we’ll be doing let’s me see a little of how we’ll be able to impact people.  The fact that we get to do a lot of playing is nice too.

Between now and Sunday I’m celebrating my birthday, figuring out how to pack for this thing and preparing for the long flight over there.  Honestly, the 15 – 17 hour flight over there is the thing that has me the most apprehensive.  I deal pretty well with adapting to new places and the idea of being out of my comfort zone in Africa is not too scary, but I don’t sleep well on planes and so I’m trying to get all my music, books and other forms of entertainment in order so that the time will fly (pun very much intended).

Maybe I’ll try this guy’s technique.

27

Today is my birthday.  I like birthdays, mostly because I enjoy being the center of attention and because of all of the presents.  This year feels a bit different though, because I feel like in a lot of ways I am really getting comfortable with who I am and what I’m about.

I’m comfortable in my own skin and feeling like I understand my calling, my passions and my gifts a little better than last year.  All in all, I think I might be maturing.  Don’t get me wrong, I understand that some of you may be thinking that I’m still a punk kid with wholes in my jeans, out of control hair and that I use a capo way too much, and you’d be right, I suppose.  I’m just saying that with each passing year I feel like I’m growing a bit more rather than regressing, which I guess is the goal.

So what’s in store for my 27th year?

Africa in 4 stinkin’ days, plugging away at song writing and trying to get better, a little gigin’, a little recording and loving people.  All in all, it looks like 27 is going to be a sweet year for me!

Rock the Horn gets commissioned

This weekend our Rock the Horn ‘08 team was presented in front of the entire church, prayed for and sent out.  I am so excited about this team and what we’re going to get to do!  We found out a little more of our itinerary and we’ll be spending a lot of time teach music and english to kids and leading worship at a local orphanage as well as making visits to homes and drinking a lot of coffee (a major export in the part of the world we’re going to).  

Depth or Depression?

I’ve been reading a lot of articles, blogs, etc. about worship; what it should be, what it isn’t and all that good stuff.  People my age are crying out that they want more depth and meaning to worship.

I was at a conference recently where 5 recording artists were sharing new worship songs they had written and one of them stopped to thank the panell for writing songs that “finally had some depth.”

Now I understand what they’re talking about and certainly I think there is a whole lot about God and worship that we haven’t even scratched the surface on, but do we really need to have candle lit vigils where we sing about deeply theological concepts every week?  Are we really thinking that we need the word propitiation in a song?  Try making that rhyme!

At Clovis Hills, we’ve gotten comments that suggest we are going deep enough in our worship; that we play 3-4 upbeat songs and call it a day.  But let me ask you this; should we be planning worship sets that are what the American Church “needs” or should we be singing songs that meet the needs our community.  In the Fresno/Clovis area, people work really hard.  They generally do pretty well financially and they are pretty churched, though not always living that out to the fullest.  Shouldn’t we do songs that breathe life into people like that? 

So many people want to return to this liturgical style of worship and let me tell you, I grew up Catholic.  I’ve had about enough of the repitition of the liturgy.  Who wants to chant when we can raise our hands, move around a little bit and sing at the top of our lungs.  To me, that’s life and that’s worship.

what do you think?

‘07 was heaven, will ‘08 be great?

So, aside from the title of this post being, perhaps the lamest thing I’ve ever written, I’m pretty excited about this post.

You see, when milestones roll around like a new year or a graduation or end of something, looking forward at all of the possibilities helps me avoid dwelling on all of the good stuff I’ll miss from this past year.

2007 was a great year for me.  So many things happened that I think if I don’t share these milestones with the three of you that are reading this, it may not be real.

So at the risk of totally ripping off Dana’s blog, here are my highlights of ‘07!

1) A little clarity – Jenn and I have been trying to figure out who we are for the last couple of years.  We both have passions and gifts and at times, her not being able to do ministry full time and my fear of being just a music guy have made us wonder what God was up to.  This year, at least to an extent, we figured some of those things out.  Jenn has had an opportunity to make an impact on the lives of the people she works with that she wouldn’t have gotten had she worked at the church and I have gotten the opportunity to cast vision for and lead a team of rock stars to Africa.  We’re figuring out who we are and, though we’re not there, this year was a big part of the process.

2) Songwriting – I got to do an original song at church this year and it went well.  I’ve also gotten to write a lot and, with a lot of help from the hommies, have gotten to record some ideas and put some songs together.  I don’t think I’ve found my stride as a song writer, but I feel like I’m figuring out more and more of the kind of songs I want to write and who I’m writing for.

3) Pastorization, not just for milk anymore – I know I spelled it wrong, but on the 22nd and 23rd of December, it was announced to the church that I have been licensed to full time ministry, or as my sister likes to say, I’ve been Pastorized.  It’s not so much about the certificate and neither my title, nor my pay scale changes, but the process was great for me as it reaffirmed my calling and makes me feel pretty loved by our team here.  I enjoy so much being on staff here at Clovis Hills.

4) My family – My family and I have not always had a great relationship, but over the last couple of years I feel like we’ve grown closer together.  This year was, far and away, one of the best for my family.  We had a scare early this year when my mom flipped her car.  Amazingly, she was fine (even more amazing when you consider it was a convertible).  Since then it has been nothing but good news.  My sister and brother-in law had the most beautiful twin girls in the world, who I am crazy about and we recently found out that my brother and his girlfriend are expecting a baby in May.  We’ve got onesies coming out of our ears in this family.

So that was 2007, and with Africa just around the corner, weddings, babies and so much more, 2008 promises to be even better!