a day in awe

i shouldn't be, but i am still so amazed at the continued growth of truenorth church. today was the second anniversary celebration at tnc. record numbers of people came and celebrated the love and grace of our redeemer Jesus Christ. i watched from the rear of the auditorium light booth as the people in the second service sang "how great is our God" with voices loud and hands upraised. it was awe inspiring! people just want to live out a life of praise for Him. it is our desire to glorify Him. awe inspiring.

supernova

i think gary lamb got me watching rock star, supernova. at first i wasn't that engaged but as i have continued to watch i have taken quite an interest in it. first off the set is fabulous! cool lighting and set design. second, awesome band!! these guys rock major league! third, there are some incredible talents up there. dilana has got this thing won i think but things can change. i think this show turns some people off with all the tattooing and piercing but i find that we forget that God loves us all and that they might just take this talent and use it for His purposes. rock on God! peace

been tagged

i have been tagged by the mad babbler gary lamb and so here it goes:

one book that changed your life: pastor rick's purpose driven life
one book that you've read more than once: same as above
one book that you would want on a desert island: the bible 'cause i just don't spend enough time in it - there would be no excuses there
one book that made you laugh: orbiting the giant hairball by gordon mackenzie
one book that made you cry: unlike the lambster, i do cry and it all started with my new life in Christ three years ago - but a chapter in donald miller's "through painted deserts" got to me - when they were stranded in the desert on the way to vegas.
one book you wished had been written: an idiot's guide to God back in the 70's
one book you wished had never been written: i don't know
one book you are currently reading: God's blogs by lanny donoho
one book you have been meaning to read: now, discover your strengths by marcus buckingham and donald clifton
i ain't figured out how to link blogs yet on this mac, but rest assured i will tag four more!
thanks gary!

dead or alive

a couple people wondered if i was dead or alive 'cause i went over a week off the blog. thanks, it was nice to be missed.

outside the box

i love that truenorth church is willing to try different things, sing new songs and think outside the box. we opened today with wanted: dead or alive and our "stainless" band rocked it! our house band "the kelvin bradley quintet" took the day off and the chris brown band from columbia, sc amazed us. these dudes are good!! real good! they are from midtown fellowship in columbia. if you are in their neighborhood, check 'em out. they did their self-penned song "absorb" and had us dancing, spinning and singing. our fearless leader was back from two weeks vacation and appeared in a cowboy suit. to paraphrase, "stevie-d, you are no john wayne"! sorry man, but you know, you think outside the box. i love that about tnc!
hey lcfo - you missed a big one! peace

crazy days

i haven't been feeling on top of my game lately. maybe the intense heat, maybe the ugly conflict between israel and lebanon, or maybe i am just kinda winding down from several weeks of research and purchase of gear for the move to the gym next month. on top of all that comes one of the most distressing stories about a church crisis. in my hometown of nashville, tn, bellevue community church has fired their founding pastor, david foster. my sister serves on the bcc media tech team and she was stunned last sunday when she heard the news. as it has played out this week in the news media and blogsites, it appears that this gut wrenching situation has been escalating for over a year. no matter what the bottom line to this is, the church suffers. people are hurt, split in their feelings. i hope that anyone in ministry that might read this blog will look at this with eyes wide open. it can happen anywhere, anytime. it continues to bring up a fundamental call - are you looking inward or outward? it seems most, if not all, conflicts arise when we lose sight of the most famous five words: "it is not about you"! it is all about HIM! we must get over ourselves. we must keep focus on His direction and not ours. peace