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.

Outreach Weekend

So this weekend was the biggest weekend I've had since coming to Clovis Hills. It was our big Christmas Program. We had three services and the whole thing was about sharing the gospel through drama, music and dance. Every element made up one big story and was interspersed with Pastor Steve tying it together with short mini-messages. It was pretty cool. We had 40 people renew their commitment to Jesus, and 20 people made a decision to follow Christ for the first time! Not to mention that there was a children's service and 33 kids came to Christ! It was such a cool thing to be a part of. There were a ton of volunteers who made it possible, from musicians and actors to the people who prepared food for us. Praise God for an amazing weekend.

Funny shirt of the week

I was pretty good about putting one of these up every week for a while and have since gotten off track. Well, the funny shirt of the week is back. Merry Christmas!

I'm still alive

When I was in LA at school, if I went a long time without dropping my parents a note or phone call or something, I'd inevitably get an email from my mom asking, and I quote, "are you alive?" That would be the entire email. No, "how ya doin'" no, "do you need money." Just "are you alive." Well, yes, I'm alive. I've gotten a little lazy when it comes to blogging, but it's probably because we are in the middle of the Christmas season and since people go to church during Christmas, it means I'm working a lot, particularly on our three evangelistic services this weekend. Here are some pictures of the set (sorry for the quality, I took them on my phone, which possibly makes them cooler. I love my phone): I'm going to be honest, I really love my job. I'm sure there are those of you who think I'm sucking up to my boss, but she probably doesn't read this anyway. I really love what we're doing. I'm getting to be creative in ways I never have before. I'm writing, I'm getting better at the guitar, though there are some that may disagree with that, and I'm still in the middle of ministry, which is awesome. In two weeks we saw 8 people come to Christ! Who comes to Christ at church? Well apparently, people at Clovis Hills do. It's awesome! Unbelievable musicians, an opportunity for me to grow and develop into a great worship leader, a chance to connect with guys in the band and with young couples at our church and in the midst of it, people are coming to know Jesus. How cool is that? So in the absence of something cool to write or a funny video to show, I'm sucking up. Sorry. Maybe I'll have something better to post in the near future. Pray for us this weekend, that a whole bunch of people would meet Jesus for the first time at our big outreach weekend.

The Simplicity of Leading Worship

So it's Christmas time and we're preparing for our big outreach weekend and it's been a lot of work. I'm really excited and think it's going to be great, but I'm really missing just leading worship. I'm working out of my weaknesses, doing mostly administrative stuff, and want really badly to be leading Clovis Hills in some songs of praise. I guess I'll just have to wait till January. But if you're in Clovis in 2007, you should come check us out. It's gonna be fantastic!

Back in LA

so our friends, Christa and Abe, just popped out their third kid and we took our two days off to come down and see. Karter Brianne Percival was born Friday December 1st and now Abe is outnumbered 4 to 1. That's a whole lot of women in one house! Good luck buddy.

Funny I'm a Christ follower video

So a lot of people have made comments about me wearing sandals to church. Well maybe we should all take a lesson from these two.