Moving again

You can now find me at paulhaugen.wordpress.com We're going to run this blog through our website and you can't do that from typepad. sorry!

I'm moving

well at least my blog is. You can find all the wonders of this little blog and many more upgrades at paulhaugen.typepad.com please change your links and come check it out. I'm still working out some design stuff, so be patient as it looks kind of plain now, but it'll get better for sure.

When Jenn and I were searching for a church to hire me, we spent 10 months learning what we were looking for. We felt like we wanted to be in a place where we could be involved in other areas of ministry in addition to music and in particular, we wanted to be involved in missions. Well ask and you shall receive I suppose because now, Jenn and I are going, with 10 other people from our church to the horn of Africa. In January we're taking off for two weeks and helping missionsaries that are already there impact the lives of the people there. It's really exciting. Perhaps the coolest part of this whole thing is that a bulk of the team is made up of people from our Worship and Arts department here at the church. Three of the guys from the band and two singers are going which is incredibly exciting. Because of the make up of the team, the name of our trip is "Rock the Horn '08." I'm pretty excited about it so I thought I'd share the logo with you, which was designed by one of the guys on the team, named Justin. We've got a long way to go with support raising and preparing spiritually and culturally, but it's going to be an exciting time for sure!

Chick fight wii style

So Friday night, Jenn and I got to hang out with our friends Micah and Erica. We hit up the Olive Garden, had some laughs and then went back to their place to, of all things, play video games. Micah and Erica just bought a wii and so we went to check it out. You must understand that my wife is not a video game player. She doesn't get, doesn't do it and has never had an interest...until now. We boxed, bowled, tennised and raced all night having a great time. Check out what happens when my wife and Erica go toe to toe on wii boxing.

Internet People

So I saw this video today about people made famous by the Internet. I'm not sure what's worse; that there are this many people who have garnered notoriety by sitting in front of a web cam, or that I actually get a majority of these references.

Actor turned Pastor?

Did you guys know taht Joel Osteen was in Captain Ron?

I love Wednesdays

My weekly schedule is a little different than most. I work Wednesday through Sunday and take Monday and Tuesday off. Generally speaking it's pretty nice. Every Monday and Tuesday I can soak in two full days off and get to do things around the house without having all of the "Saturday" things to do. I can have dinner ready for Jenn when she gets home (sometimes) and I can do things like rearrange our bedroom. All-day projects aren't really possible for me on a Saturday when it's the one day I have between Friday and Sunday to get things done, so my schedule works out pretty well. The only bummer has been that Wednesday, my first day back was meeting day. Starting at 9:30 and going almost non-stop until 3:00 I would be in meetings. It would be possible for me to come in on a Wednesday and not be able to sit down and work in my office until 3:00! So, today, I am basking in the glory of having no meetings. We've changed around the schedule so that our meetings are on Thursdays which allows me the freedom to get settled into the week and actually prepare ahead of time for things like choir practice, band practice or this Sunday. As I'm typing this, I have just become aware that I am talking about how great it is that no meetings on Wednesday allows me to work and I'm using it to blog. Maybe that means I ought to get back to work.

Clara and Nora

Some of you may know, but my sister, Alison, and her husband, Craig, recently had twin girls. So I wanted to introduce you all to my two new nieces, Clara and Nora. We got to hang out with the whole family over Labor Day and these two are pretty awesome. I mean they don't do tricks or anything, but I'm pretty sure they're geniouses. Problem runs in the family.

Ok...I'm back

So after two months and change, I am feeling bloggy again. Now, there are some of you who were, let's say, pleasantly persistent, asking me to post again; Well, here you go. I'd like to point out some changes in this here blog, as I've been doing a little house cleaning. You'll notice that I'm focused a little more on linkage now. If you read this thing, I'd love to know it and be able to link you. If you go to Clovis Hills, then I definetely want to know about it so I can put you on here! I won't make any promises, like I have in the past, about my posting activity. What I will do is say that I've enjoyed the break and am excited to be a regular blogger again. You can look for some new elements to my little corner of the blogging world that will, hopefully make you want to stop by on a regular basis!

I have overdosed on the internet

Okay, so I used to only check my email. It was a beautiful thing. I would go on, listen to the little hums and blips of my dial-up connection, log into my account (I used Juno back in the day. Remember Juno?), check my mail and be done with it. All was right with the world. Somewhere between then (circa 1999) and now the internet has spun out of control and it has become just a little daunting. first I got into blogging and I had to link to everyone and have them link to me. Much of my day was spent figuring out how to drive traffic to my site so that people could hear (or read) my unique voice in the blogosphere. Since "content drives readership," though much of my blog has been relegated to videos I find on youtube or the occasional random piece of clip art. That's not enough though, because now I'm also balancing myspace and facebook, trying to mangae my top 8, poke, tag, and write on walls all while actually getting some work done. So here's the deal. For the next couple of weeks, while we prepare for our new website to launch (www.clovishills.com), I will be revamping, downsizing and stepping away from the wacky world of social networking. When I come back (hopefully the new site launches the beginning of July) I will have a blog geared toward Clovis Hills peeps. Hopefullly it'll be a place where people can get to know some of our musicians and me a little bit better so they feel like they know us when they walk in the church rather than just seeing us on stage. I'll be posting with my boss on a regular basis (it'll be in my schedule, probably 2-3 times a week) and while it will still have room for the random stuff that happens in my life, it will be mostly focused on worship. I think that's the stuff I want to talk about; what worship is, who I am as a worship leader and regular joe and who some of the volunteers are that make this thing go. I'm hoping to include video, more photos and a few surprises here and there. So I'll see you in a couple of weeks! Before I leave though, let me leave you with this little video that may help you better understand how I've been feeling. Enjoy!

Crazy times keep gettin' crazier

So this weekend has been insane. On Saturday we had a party to celebrate my mom being Breast Cancer free for 5 years. It was a big day. We called it the pink party, so everyone, including myself wore pink. I know what you're thinking; "Paul, how can someone as cool as you rock a pink shirt?" Well don't worry dear friends, I did and it looked sweet. Okay, anyway. The party was up in Oakhurst and was crazy with family from all over the country, and friends. My sister, Alison was the brains of the operation and her and Jenn threw down a pretty sweet get together. My brother did a video slideshow (made on a mac, thank you very much) and I wrote a song and sang it for my mom. All in all I'd say we're pretty fantastic kids. If that wasn't enough we had church on Sunday where a transformer blew at the start of 2nd service. The power was down for only a couple minutes as our crack technical team rolled right through, but it was long enough to make things awkward, as Kimberly and I tried to yell from the stage to keep people entertained. After church we had a rehearsal for next week's service, because I'll be gone all week in Chicago at the Willow Creek Arts Conference. Today I went over to Dana's and laid down some vocals for a song we're working on for our upcoming "Heroes" series. Now I'm helping Jenn get ready for summer school, sending out a few last minute emails and trying to find time to pack for a few days in Chi-town. Oh the insanity! This summer is going to be pretty break-neck as well with rolling out some vision for the fall (music wise), recording, conferences, a much needed vacation and two series where our pastor will be gone. I think I need a nap.

Lance Armstrong is a Weenie

Okay, no he's not, but that was the most clever title I could come up with to talk about riding my bike to work. I'm finding that when I ride in the morning it's a pretty sweet time to prepare for the day. I haven't quite figured out that whole focusing and thinking about specific things, because truth be told much of the time I'm thinking how much easier it would be to drive, but I turn on the iPod, rock some tunes and cruise. I think I like it so much, not because it gives me time to think about stuff, but because it gives me a period of time where I can think about nothing other than pedaling and the occasional bit of traffic. I've often struggeled with finding time to turn the world off and the 6 miles to work and 6 miles back give me the time to do that. So before and after work my only problems are the sweat on my forehead and the pain in my booty.

My new favorite thing

Saturday Night Live used to be incredibly funny. Back in the day (as the kiddies say), with guys like Will Ferrell, Chris Farley, and Mike Meyers, it was the best thing on TV. Over the past couple of years I have been pretty unimpressed until Dana showed me Deep House Dish. If you haven't seen it, you should spend all summer getting caught up on it, because it is pretty much my new favorite thing. Enjoy!

this is my 100th post

I know some of you veteran bloggers may scoff at a measley 100 posts. You may think that to only post 100 times in about a year is pitiful. "It's barely twice a week." you may say, or you might quip, "How can you be serious about blogging and it take you this long to hit the magic 100?" Well it was hard for me so BACK OFF!! Anyway, I was just about to write and check in since it has been a ridiculous amount of time since I blogged last and then blogger notified me that I have written 99 posts making this one number 100. Man that was a long messy sentence. 100 blogs is a big deal I think. I started this thing about a year ago and have been reasonably faithful to it, which if you know me is a big deal (I'm a good starter, not a good finisher). I've been learning a lot about myself this year along these lines; finishing things. I've been reasonably successful at accomplishing some of my goals this year and would like to continue that process. Here's what's on tap. You all can help keep me accountable. 1)I am stuck (still on 40 pounds lost). I go back and forth between feeling really good about it and feeling like I could have been a lot farther. No more guilt though, I'm back on the wagon. It was this time last year that I started this crazy little weight loss game and I aim to finish it. 2) I am going to run in the race for the cure in Fresno in October. It's a 5k which shouldn't be too bad, but I get tired driving that far, so I'm hoping to survive a summer of training in the Central Valley heat. 3) Our church is poised to see some pretty amazing growth happen starting this fall with thousands of families excpected to move in all around us. It means that our church is positioned to really meet people's needs and connect with all of these young families. It also is an opportunity to get that much better in what I do, which means recruiting more musicians, creating three really solid bands as opposed to one band made up of 20 interchangable musicians and hopefully taking our act on the road a little bit in the next year doing conferences, retreats, camps and things like that. With all that going on, the next 100 posts are sure to be exciting! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for all of the haps coming up. by the way. It has been about the busiest I've ever been in my life and I am now officially (well almost) on top of it, which means that I'll be setting aside more time to blog. My goal is every day; Content drives readership!

a little treat for my generation

the nickname game is on

PDub? I'm not sure. that's what is in the lead so far for my new nickname. Here's the thing though. I don't really feel comfortable saying, "ok, that's the winner, that's my nickname." there's something disingenuous about that. So the real winner is when I start getting called something. So if you see me on a regular basis and you think I should be called something like Pauly Haug-O-licious, you've got to make it happen. If you're embarassed to say it, that's a good gauge that I'd be embarassed to be called it. You all make the call though!

Gettin' funky with the Prez

I know what you're thinking; President Bush got a mosquito down his pants while in Africa for Malaria awareness day, but no. He's actually dancing. Good thing dance rhythm is not a requirement for holding political office.

give me a nickname

Okay, so here's the deal. I was talking with a Liz and Rhonda last night after choir practice and realized that I am un-nicknamable (that's right, it's a word, at least it is now). Throughout my life I have given people nicknames that have stuck without getting one back. I have been around other nickname givers who I would say are in the same boat. For those of you who know him, what do you call Mike Berk? See, you can't do it. Here at the church there are people named DMac, Kmac, DCam, DLove, what am I supposed to be called, PHaug? Come on, let's get serious. So I'm throwin' down the nickname gauntlet. Here are the rules: 1) The name has to stick! 2) It has to be something that people will embrace and that I would be proud of as well, otherwise you're just laughing at me and that's not cool. 3) It has to be creative (for years I was called just by my last name, which worked, but come on, that's not a nickname. I contend that it can't be done! Prove me wrong!

Dairy Queen Commercial

Jenn and I were hanging out with our friends, Micah and Erica , the other day when we started talking about funny commercials (I know, we're lame). The natural jump from this conversation was to find these funny commercials on YouTube. Here is the result of this search.

I was lame. Now I'm back.

I have not posted since March 9th. That is a month long absence from the blogosphere and I confess I have not minded so much. There are good reasons for not blogging, like planning my wife's surprise birthday party, planning and rehearsing for Easter, my in-laws coming in to town and a whole mess of other things. needless to say, it has been pretty busy around here. However, I am back and badder than ever(okay, I'm probably not badder than ever, I just kind of wanted to say that)! Anyhoo, I thought if I was going to jump back in I needed to do it with both feet. I needed to write about something that has some bite to it ya know? So where do I go when I need to find something good to write about? I steal it from Dana. He sent me this email and I decided taht this would be what pushed me back to the blogspot. Enjoy. Imagine you are a veterinarian working at a local zoo in Taiwan. You're going about your day; enjoying life; working with animals and living out your dreams. Just as you are thinking "my life can't get any better" you go to feed one of those beloved creatures and BAM!!! A friggin' crocodile bites your stinkin' arm off!! Okay, working at a church during Easter is not that bad.

Pimp my volunteers

I was talking to an old friend of mine last night after band practice and was telling him about Clovis Hills and found myself going on and on about how cool it is to work here. I've talked before about how much I love my job and yadda yadda, but I've never really talked about how cool it is to play with these amazing musicians. As I was driving in today I was listening to an original by one of the guys in the band and was blown away by his playing. One of the things that I love is that so many of these guys are playing in other bands outside the church and are getting to be creative. It's cool to see so many musicians go out and be creative on a regular basis and then have them all come back together and mix it up here. In light of that, I thought I'd take a minute or two pimp some volunteers, and show off their sites. South of Shaw - One of our drummers and fellow blogger, Dana is their drummer. you can check out some videos and listen to some of their songs. They've got a new CD coming soon! You can also check out his blog here. Torrent Raine - Doug is one of our guitar players and Rhonda is in our choir, "New Day." They're still in the early stages, but placed high in a competition for unsigned bands at Spirit West Coast last year. Go check 'em out!

Weight Loss Update

weight lost this week: 3.5 lbs Total weight lost: 41.5 lbs. I have officially kicked the 40 pound barrier in the flabby arse!

Tired of the Mac Rumors? Create Your Own.

So now who's going to tell me they know when Leopard is coming out?

Just something for the middle of your day

wow

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our band here at Clovis Hills. Here's his audition tape.

my bad

today, a little birdy told me that I have some links that are no longer accurate and that I had not fully spread around the link love that I should of. This thoughtful reader and relatively new blogger indicated that something seems missing from my blog by not having him there. So I offer this blog as a formal appology and ask that you all check out the newest addition to my "friends" section, Mike. Aside from being the guy that deserves the most credit for teaching me how to be a Christian, he also married Jenn and me. He and his wife, also named Jen, have been actively involved in my life and my growth. So to not have him in my link list is to not do justice to the entire linking system. I appologize. So without further delay, I give you (long dramatic pause)... Mike.

nice

Finding it hard to keep track of all of your remote controls?

Can't afford one of those swanky, touch-screen universal remotes?

I have the answer to all of your problems...

The Remote Wrangler!

Weight loss update

as of Monday, I dropped another 3 lbs! I have lost a total of 38 lbs and am on the verge of hitting my next major goal of 40. So let's practice, "Paul would you like a snickers?" "No thank you."

weight-loss update

sorry I didn't post about this, earlier in the week, but I have not had great access to my blog this week because of the aforementioned computer problems.

I'm back on track with this fat ragamuffin thing and kickin' my weight-loss goal (80 lbs!) in the b-hole! I lost 5 pounds last week (the first week that I've been really hitting it every day in a while) and am feeling good. I'm on to stay this time (I hope) cuz the race for the cure is just around the corner!

updates my booty!

so Sunday morning I strolled into my office at 7 am in an attempt to get everything ready for the services that lay ahead, when I noticed that windows had installed an update. "well great!" I said to myself. "I like updates, who doesn't like updates?"

So the geniuses at microsoft set it up so that my computer would restart on its own and that everything would be ready for me when I got there. Awesome. Except that now I can't connect to the internet, iTunes or our network at the church, from my office. Thanks a crap load Mr. Gates!

So I've spent the last couple days floating around and using the office of our Women's Pastor while she's at a conference and apparently this thing is getting fixed.

I am unable to burn CDs for my choir or access some of the files on my network. To sum it up, Windows has not made my life easier.

don't worry though, my five year plan to convert the entire office to Macs is in effect. In the mean time, maybe I can find a typewritter that works around here.

Jesus Camp

Jenn and I watched "Jesus Camp" last night. It's the documentary about Pentacostal Christians and the indoctrination (the word of the Children's Minister in the film) of their children. These are the words I would use to describe it: wow. weird. umm? sad.

go go gadget beatbox?

The big goal

I have set a goal for myself that I may not meet until I make it public. I've told a couple of people about it and now it's time to make it official. In October I am going to run in the "Race for the Cure" here in Fresno. It's a 5k and I know some of you are thinking, "what's so big about a 5k?" to which I will respond, it's hard for me so back off! sorry about that. My mom will celebrate 5 years cancer free in June and so I want to run to raise money for a cause that's close to my heart. The other reason is that I've hit a new low in the weight loss struggle and slipped back to only 30 lbs lost. I was losing fairly consistently, then we moved and I've maintained at around 30 to 35 pounds for and now with my birthday, the super bowl and Valentine's I have officially been heading in the wrong direction. I'm back in action now and this is the big goal, to be in good enough shape for this run. I'm not a runner. in fact, I get tired driving 3 miles so I'm not really sure how this is going to work, but I'm doing it. The buzz phrase for the next few months is "think pink."

What's your blogging personality?

I saw this on Rhonda's blog and thought it would be cool, though I'll be honest it looks a little girly. It asks 4 questions and tells you the type of blogger you are. Gotta be honest, mine is pretty right on, especially the part, well no, all of it. What can I say?

Your Blogging Type is Confident and Insightful

You've got a ton of brain power, and you leverage it into brilliant blog. Both creative and logical, you come up with amazing ideas and insights. A total perfectionist, you find yourself revising and rewriting posts a lot of the time. You blog for yourself - and you don't care how popular (or unpopular) your blog is!

What's Your Blogging Personality?

Funny Shirt

I love t-shirts! I was in a t-shirt store in a mall in Sacramento earlier this week with my brother in law and I was reminded about how much I love them. You can communicate profound truths or put a smile on someone's face, which is why I share them with all of you. So in honor of this renewed love affair with funny t-shirts, I give you... Lice is Nice!

My new addiction

I was a little skeptical about stepping into the blogosphere, I'll admit, but as I'm sort of hitting my stride after almost a year of doing it I can say confidently that I love blogging. I love the community and the conversations that have developed. I love stepping into the world of other people and seeing what makes them tick. For so long however, I was a blogging elitist. While the rest of the world was trolling for pictures of 12 year old girls who like like they're 30 on MySpace, I have been a writer, an artist, a thinker. I didn't need the message boards or the pop up adds, I was fine sharing my thoughts with the world. I'm not sure what happened between then and now, but I am full on addicted to MySpace. That is my confession. I have a page and I friggin' love it! Though I go in stages of checking or updating it is this world of tunnels and trances that can make even the most efficient person lose all track of time and spend hours listening to music, reading blogs and searching for friends from high school. So I now give you permission to call me a loser and welcome me to the myspace era. I feel so lame saying this but, will you come and be my friend?

My Valentine

I am not an attractive man. I can admit it. Let's not get carried away here, I mean I'm not horribly disfigured either, but the point is that because I'm not an attractive man Valentine's Day is all the more special. It's special, because there is a woman who loves me anyway. Through the course of the day I'll get cutesy emails and voice messages, we'll have dinner and see a movie all the while, she's giggling away over me (and me over her too). I love it! It's the only day of the year where I really look forward to the lovey-dovey (I can't believe I just typed that), mushy, over the top displays of affection. It wouldn't be Valentine's day without it! So here's my over the top display of affection... I'm in love with a woman who... is smarter than I know what to do with, is more beautiful than I deserve, is a better person than I am by far, is funnier than people give her credit for, cares about others, has decided to spend the rest of her life with me when she could have gotten someone a lot better and lastly (here it comes) is my best friend. Call me lame, call me a cissy, I don't care. I love my wife. Happy Valentine's Day Sweetness.

Living with Envy

So on Sunday afternoon Jenn and I took off to hang out with my sister and brother-in-law. They are now the only members of the immediate family who do not live in Fresno (which is probably a sad commentary on my family, though I'm not sure if it's sad for them or sad for us that we all still live in Fresno). Anyway, because I have developed into an amazing "iVangelist" I have converted my sister, brother, and mother-in-law to using macs. There's even a rumor floating around that my dad (a die hard PCer) is dipping his toe into the mac world. Now, I'll make this short because I am not nearly this dorky to post about computers two days in a row (no offense to anyone who may love these posts or have their own blog dedicated to macs. I love you and think you're great, but I'm just not that guy). The trouble is that while my family is living in this beautiful world, which Steve Jobs has created for them, I am forced to sit and enviously play with their toys until I get one of my own. I call this, "Photo Booth in Envy."

The end of the line?

so my iBook G4, which is almost 4 years old is officially toast. I have tried everything in my power, which admittedly is not much and I have come to the end of the line I'm afraid. Que the sappy music... We've had many good years, the iBook and I. We've gone cross country and back, shared pictures, music and blogs with the world, and we've even frolicked through a meadow or two (okay that's not really true). I believe that it's time to say goodbye to my beloved machine. There are those of you who may take this as a sign that macs are not durable and some how are not as good as PCs. Do not be fooled my friends. That's the devil talking, for I am not deterred. I'm looking forward and Jenn and I are going to buy a fantastic machine when Leopard comes out. So for the next few months, I may be mac-less, but in no time, I will be up an running again, better than ever. I am still hoping for a miracle, so if any of you have any thoughts or suggestions, I would be happy to dialogue. let's now have a moment of silence for this beloved computer who was a friend to many...ok. Now I'm going to go get some dinner.

Apple store coming to Fresno?

So I nearly wet my pants yesterday as my brother told me some exciting news. There is talk that an apple store will be heading to Fresno. Now, my brother "knows everything" so I felt compelled to check this out for myself and believe it or not, I found this article: Holy Crap! The aparently are already hiring apparently. I believe the song goes "'tis so sweet to trust in Steve Jobs (now would be a good time to read the disclaimer in the top right corner).

life in the middle

I was reading a buddies blog the other day and it got me thinking that I have a hard time hanging out in extremes. Politically, theologically, methodologically, etc. When it comes to life, I tend to hang out in the middle. Particularly on this whole emergent church thing. I'm going to a conference in June where Brian McLaren is speaking and though I want to write him off as some nut job, I really dig a lot of what he has to say. I've heard some talks from him and he gives a call for the church to be community focused, to be missionally minded and to jump in the ring on social issues. Can't argue with that right? The more I hear him talk, though, the less I hear him talk about Jesus and though, giving him the benefit of the doubt as a pastor and Christian leader, I assume that he is passionately in love with Jesus. I sometimes feel like he leads with Christ-like principles rather than leading with Christ. I have friends on both sides of the how- do-we-do post-modern ministry debate, whom I love and respect, and while I admire their passion and convictions on much of these issues, I still find myself somewhere in the middle. What do I know anyway right? I wonder if McLaren would have lunch with me at this conference. That'd be pretty cool huh? I probably couldn't understand a lot of what he has to say though (he's pretty smart. I'm not that bright). I think I'll just stick to loving Jesus, leading others in worship of Him and care passionately about people and things that God cares about. What do you think? Maybe these will explain both sides: Chuck Colson Emergent - The group Brian McLaren is very involved with

Tell me who you are

I've been blogging now for about 9 months with varying degrees of frequency and I have a very consistent group of people that comment. I love comments. They encourage me to blog more. I try and make people laugh, think or just update them on my life and so comments are great, because they let me know who's stopping by and enjoying what I'm writing. For those of you who comment, thank you. There are, however, two other groups of people who read my blog and I have no idea who you are or what you think. The first group is those who read and then tell me face to face that you read it and liked something I had on here, or they post annonymously. What's up with that? Blogging is supposed to be an online community. I comment and link all the time, so where is the love. The second group is more sneaky. You are the ones that sneak in, stay a while and then leave without a trace. I can see you on my site feeder, and know where you came from, yet you force me to guess who you are. I assure you, it's safe to publicly proclaim that you are my friend or that you have read my blog. So I'm issuing a challenge. If you read this post, you must comment. Even if it's just to tell me that this challenge is stupid. I'm coming up on a year of blogging and I need to know who my peeps are. Come on, take the challenge.

Funny shirt of the semi-regular basis

There may be nothing more enjoyable to me than funny t-shirts. Especially shirts that are of the cheesy Christian variety. Even more especially when they are severely out of date. I give you, the greatest evangelistic tool known to man. Air Jesus

Cool churches and their lame brothers and sisters

So a lot of the blogs that I check out are of other worship leaders. I like checking out what other "regular joes" like me are doing at their churches. As I was perusing one of my favs, I was turned on to another discussion about churches being relevant, that was started by this guy. I usually like these discussions about what works and what doesn't, and what the church should and should not be, but in this case I think it spun about out of control. The writer of the original blog, Andrew Osenga writes about churches being sketchy, and though he did his research about doctrinal beliefs and sermon content he's still pretty erked that churches are "lying to people to tell themt he truth" and maybe rightly so. My real problem comes when people started making comments on this guy's blog. There's like 17 comments weighing in on whether or not churches should play secular music as a gimic or change logos to be about Jesus instead of the product they were initially selling and everything in between. Who cares!? My call is here in Fresno/Clovis, to reach people with the gospel of Jesus, and God, the creator and innovator of all things has given us art and film and music as tools to reach a lost and dying world and to glorify Him, so that's what I'm going to do. Are these conversations beneficial? Sure. Should we spend time evaluating our methods and our effectivness? Absolutely. But I worry that we can fall into the trap of raggin on other churches and how they don't do it right instead of being focused on the gospel. After all, non-christians aren't having discussions about whether or not churches are being effective. If they come, they should see Jesus. If it takes U2 or Jack Bauer to do it, then let's go for it.

My church is better than your church!

Tuesday nights are great for me. A few of the guys from the band come over to my place and we have a little bible study (we're in Luke). Because of a prayer request of mine we got to talking about competition amongst churches. I wonder how many churches in this area feel like we're in competition. Do we think we're better than them? Do they think they're better than us? The funny part of this is that before joining staff here at Clovis Hills, I was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ (an interedenominational, college ministry focused on evangelism and disciplship) and we always thought no church did it right! So if my church is working to be better than yours and your church is working to be better than mine and parachurch orginizations think we all suck, then who's caring about lost people? Who friggin' cares what other churches are doing? What if churches were focused on fulfilling their calling and reaching lost people and were genuinely happy for other churches when God blessed them? College students think we are too churchy, some people in our church think we're not churchy enough and all the while people still need Jesus. I'm so glad to be on staff with people who don't get caught up in that and who are surrendering their lives to work at fulfilling the call God has given us.

Funny shirt

you may notice that I have just titled this funny shirt, because I can not continue lying by saying that this is the funny shirt of the week, as I do not post one of these anywhere close to weekly. But I liked this one and I'd like to dedicate it to all my hommies with learning disorders around the world! Dyslexics of the world untie!

More MLK pics

Here are a couple more...see post below!

MLK Celebration

I've been waiting to post this until I had pictures, and here they are! On Monday, our choir, New Day, and our band were asked to sing at a celebration honoring Dr. King at Warnor's Theatre. The building was friggin' freezing and the event was pretty poorly planned. Regardless, we had an amazing time. It was pretty interesting singing gospel music in front of nearly a thousand African Americans, but I think an experience that helps us all grow. It was also the debut for some of the guys in the band at church who started their own thing on the side. They don't have a name yet, but they rocked so hard, they don't need one. Check out the pics!

this is utube huh? Am I famous yet?

funny shirt of the week

I've been cautioned by other bloggers, that while this platform can invite authenticity it is always wise to write with a sense of discretion, as there are an unknown number of people reading. However, I feel like I need to get this off my chest. You know, share it with the whole world. So brace yourselves, I'm about to get transparent and vulnerable. Here goes... I'm afraid of clowns. I've said it (boy that feels good). Seriously though, they freak me out; Mimes too. Maybe it's the painted smiles, I'm not sure. In light of that, this "funny shirt of the week" is perhaps not so much funny as it is a warning. Either way, I hope you enjoy. It's True

2006 survey

I know my blogging as of late has consisted mostly of failed promises to blog more and pilfering stuff from other people's blogs and I'm sorry for that. So...I promise to blog more and this is something I stole from someone else's blog. 2006 Survey 1.) Where did you ring in 2006? In my apartment with Jenn watching "When Harry Met Sally" 2.) What was your status by Valentine’s Day? Married, but unemployed (I was working part-time at Chili's) 3.) Were you in school (anytime this year)? Yes 4.) How did you earn your keep? Chil's and leading worship at Clovis Hills 5.) Did you ever have to go to the hospital? yes, my mom was in a car accident so I went to the waiting room. Does that count? (she's fine by the way, thanks for asking) 6.) Did you encounter the police? yes - I witnessed a car accident and told them my story. 7.) Where did you go on vacation? Montana 8.) What did you purchase that was over $500? Martin DC-Aura guitar 9.) Did you know anybody who got married? two of Jenn's cousins, my friends Lauren and Robert and Jason and Danielle 10.) Did you know anybody who passed away? no 11.) Have you run into anybody you graduated high school with? an ex-girlfriend (awkward) and a bunch of "I slightly remember you" kinda people since moving back to Fresno 12.) Did you move anywhere? Fresno 13.) What sporting events did you go to? Giants game, and the World baseball classic 14.) What concerts did you go to? none (pretty lame huh?) 15.) Are you registered to vote? Yes 16.) If so, did you do your patriotic duty on Nov. 7? Yes I did 17.) Where do you live now? Fresno, CA 18.) Describe your birthday. Jenn and I met my family in Turlock (not because it's awesome or anything, but it's in the middle) and had a family dinner at Red Robin. I got some sweet gifts, played golf during the day and got to hang out with my wife. 19.) What’s the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2006? went into full time ministry that wasn't with Campus Crusade 20.) What is one thing you regretted this year? getting off course a bit with the weight loss 21.) What’s something you learned about yourself? I'm more creative than I thought. 22.) Any new additions to your family? not yet (wink wink) 23.) What was your best month? any of the last 5. I'm doing what I love to do, it doesn't get much better. 24.) For what pop culture landmarks will you remember 2006? Grey's anatomy season 3 (I know, I'm a girl), Pursuit of Happyness and the year I started this blog. 25.) How would you rate this year with a scale from 1 (crappy) to 10 (excellent)? one of the hardest and best years of my life...8.5 Have you taken the survey?

The beauty of a solitude day

Normally, my days off consist of sleeping in, not showering until just before Jenn gets home (around 3:00 or 3:300) and sitting around watching a movie or playing Playstation. I have discovered today, however, the beauty of solitude. I still slept in, but then spent some extended time in the word (I know, super spiritual huh?) as well as reading other books. I've been chilling on this super comfortable love seat in the bedroom all day listening to some Jimmy Needham and not even looking at the TV. What a great day it has been. I even showered right away this morning, for those of you who were wondering. So I think this is my new tradition. So here's my question for you... Do you solitude?

Ikea Commercial

So I saw this on Carlos Whitaker's blog and then went and found it and put it here. I know that's lame, but this is friggin' hilarious.

Welcome to 2007!

So I realize, it's been 2007 for a few days already, but I'm going public with my New Year's Resolutions! Not resolutions so much, but things that I'm trusting God for. 2006 was incredibly hard and yet so satisfying and sweet. For 10 months I looked for a job and went through the roller coaster of where would God have Jenn and I, and then Clovis Hills came around! This year Jenn and I were forced, more than ever, to trust in and lean on Jesus. This year was not just about finding a job, but it was about growing in Him and crossing the bridge between chapters of our life. So now that we're here and firmly planted in Clovis, I figure it's time to write out some of the things that I want to trust God for this year. 1) Finding a creative outlet of my own - I have loved the opportunity that being a worship leader gives me to be creative. I have been able to focus soley on music and more specifically worship. I've been writing a ton and becoming a better musician, but this year I'm hoping to find an avenue for doing my own music, seperate from the church. 2) I want to see Clovis Hills become a worshipping church. I'm trusting God that people who come on Sunday will feel freedom to respond to the Lord in worship. I'm not talking about dancing or clapping for the sake of it, but that we'd see genuine responses to who God is. 3) This is the year we get out of debt. The plan is in motion and if God keeps providing the funds, we'll be debt free be the end of this year. 4) I want to lose 80 pounds. I've lost 30 and, though the holidays were rough, I've maintained pretty well. Now it's time to kick it in the booty and start dropping the pounds. 5) I want to see real depth in my relationships with people here at the church. I'm pretty good at keeping things surfacy, but we've been here long enough that it's time to persue genuine relationships. I think that's it. Not asking too much right? I've got a year.