Golf For Dummies-for Me!

Today I was able to follow my oldest child, Taylor, as she played the back 9 at her second golf tourney of the year. I'm the first to admit, I know nothing about golf. Yeah, being a minister I probably should have learned the standard "trade game" of pastors, but the only times I've been on the golf course..well, I hit every tree on the course. I've just given up on going golfing.

But my oldest has taken to the sport, obviously a tribute to her Unlce who love to play, and so today I got to watch her. I knew nothing about the rules. Heck, I couldn't even see the ball when it went flying through the air. I had to constantly ask her "Where did your ball go?". Anyway, despite my stupidity I picked up on the basics of the game rather quickly. We enjoyed our day together and I must say my legs are tired after 9 holes (she played 27 holes a week ago--what?). So I'll live vicariously through her and watch her play golf. It's more fun that way and I get to spend time with my first born who won't be around much longer.

Waste, Waste, Waste!

So I was shocked today to read here in the New York Times (ok--don't throw apples yet) that Hillary's Campaign has spent $116 million so far-not to mention the $95K Deli bill that was delivered recently. When I read that I went "What?". You've got to be kidding me! Have we gone mad--for that kind of money to be spent on elections and such is a crime. In light of my friends who just returned from Uganda where it costs $32 a month to sponsor an orphan child, that figure would support---are you sitting down--302,000 children for a year.

I think the national elections should be this way...one week only, no ads, no parties, no banners, a debate for all interested candidates-then we vote and get it over with. Are you as shocked as I was with these figures.

Oh--we have a lot to answer for in the end.

The Good Old Days

What happened to the good old days? When I was a child every trip to the Doctor usually ended in the proverbial.."Ok, the nurse will be right in." You knew what that meant. You'd have to turn around and show your second set of cheeks for a brief moment of pain as the antibiotic shot was administered.

I took my 10 year old son to the Doctor today. We've been fighting something with him for over a week and a 4 o'clock wake up this morning with a temp of 100+ was the last straw. As we sat there in the waiting room I remembered with great fear how much I hated going to the Docotr--because of that shot. Now, kids don't fear the Doctor--because their going to give them a Z-pack or some set of tablets.

Where did the good old days go? Do any of you have a memory of this?

The Artistry of Words

I was reminded last night at the performance of SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL how magical words can be. The drama and music of the night was engaging, but after a while you noticed that the rhythm of the story and the rhythm of the night was found in the magical rhymes that are Dr. Seuss. Now, the musical wasn't written by Seuss but was written in a Seuss "style". It made me want to go check out every Dr. Sesuss book in the local library. It made me laugh; it made me think; it made me marvel at the beauty of words. We often don't think about words as beauty and art--but they are. They are coming out with an animated version of HORTON HEARS A WHO on March 14th

So today, if you have a moment, read a Dr. Seuss book and enjoy. You never know what it might inspire you to do.


Pictures from last night's performance are here

Creating Culture-Start Where You Are

I've joined with other creatives to dedicate each Wednesday to talk about creating culture and adding to the culture of our community. You can read about it here on Randy Elrod's site.
This question of creating culture has resonated with me long before Recreate 08 in Nashville. Anyone who knows me knows that I love the Arts and I love the culture of the city which fosters the arts. After some time asking God--why don't you change the culture where I am ( more artistic, more expression, more Starbucks!) I felt the Lord say--"What are you doing to change the culture where you are? Until you do your part, you won't see my part (Not that God is dependent on me to move).

So, this fall, after a 25 year hiatus from the theater, I tried out for a production at our local theater. I had no idea if I could do it, but I tried. I ended up being.. A Buzzard. In fact, I was a Baptist Buzzard (Wallace in Hank The Cowdog). It was a children's play that was produced for our town's annual White Buffalo Days festival. I know, it's not a Broadway type of play, but it was invigorating to join with other artists in my town, many that I knew and many that I didn't, to work for 6 weeks on this production. You can see by this picture, my appearance was...stellar.Not only me, but my two daughters have been bitten by the theatrical bug ( both appeared in ALADDIN and THE SOUND OF MUSIC as well as my son who appeared in RUMPLESTILSKIN. It has even awakened in me a desire to direct a production sometime here in the future or to volunteer to be creative director for our small theater company. Who knows.

It just started with a small desire to change the culture where I live.

A Thousand Hallelujahs!

We heard Mark Roach @ Recreate 2 weeks ago. He did most of the songs off his latest album and I've been listening to it at work. In fact, this week we're doing A THOUSAND HALLELUJAHS! for a calling song before the Worship begins. So we practiced it and practiced it last night (Mark sings it in B not in A and G like the charts say) I wondered why I wasn't singing it like Mark. Was it the hair? Was it my keyboard instead of guitar? Nope--record is in B. So, I'll be transposing that today.

Anyway, all night long in my sleep I kept hearing "Dance with me, sing with me O Lord and I will sing a thousand hallelujahs!" Over and over again. So Mark, if you read this--you were in my dreams. Just don't be there tonight. I need some sleep

One of The Best Buys We've Made

While attending the Creative Fusion conference at Daybreak Church in Grand Rapids last year (site), I learned that they use a large scale plotter printer for a lot of their graphic work on stage. That got me to thinking that this would help with stage design and large scale graphics for the stage. We had previously sent these out to a local printer, but at close to $50 a pop, it was pretty pricey.
At the end of last year, we purchased this large scale printer from HP.( HP DESIGNJET 3100) It has been a dream to work with and we've made all of our in-house promotion posters and advertisements with it since. I even made a 13' wide banner (pieced together in 8 different pieces--using a Poster creator program (which I'll post later) for a background ealier in the month. Everyone should look into
getting a large scale printer. It's heaven!

Seussical Goes On

This is my daughter, Mattie. She is JoJo,the daughter of the Mayor of Whoville in the SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL Jr. Production. She has worked really hard on this part and we're really proud of her. She's been working on the part since November--and all of the family knows all of the music and all of the lines.

One of the benefits of parenthood is seeing your children grow and accomplish their dreams. This made me smile today.

Mr. Bean Goes To Church

This video is hilarious! It's too true how our guests feel coming into our "gatherings". Enjoy

Empty and Beautiful

I finally sat down today and listened to Matt Maher's new cd (we got a pre-release copy @ Recreate 2 weeks ago). It is a marvelous cd--maybe it's because I got to sit with him at supper and talk about worship and ministry. We all fell in love with GREAT THINGS, but for me the one that captured my heart was EMPTY AND BEAUTIFUL--the title cd. A piano based personal expression of praise for what Christ has done for us. I played it over and over again. Check out his site here

Google Sketchup

At Recreate Conference we were to give one of the technologies that we've discovered during the last year that has revolutionized our worship planning. Back in October I discovered a little free program from Google called SKETCHUP . It is a 3D modeling program that is tied into Google Earth. You can get it here. There are also some amazing videos on You Tube that walk you through the tutorials (check out the Sketchup Show (Episodes 1-43 now available and very interesting). It takes some time to master some of the tricks, but when you do, you can model your environment before you build or change any sets. We use it to look at possibilities for stage pieces and emphasis. It's one of the best things I've discovered this year.

What are you finding out there?

A Day In The City

So, today was Prayer and Planning day. Our church has given us 5 designated days to get away, pray, read scripture and plan. I chose today to get away because EASTER is coming and I'm way behind. We have a good idea of what we're doing--just none of it was in concrete. I left early this morning (missed the excitement around here--READ the previous post). I spent the morning at Daybreak Coffee. It was busy, crazy in there with all of the men sitting around talking politics and stuff. Somehow I was able to zone out and read the scriptures and get a sense of God's presence with me. After some time I dove into planning for Easter. We're centering around the Miracles of the Crucifixion (THE NINTH HOUR) for the weeks preceeding Easter. This will also tie into our Maundy Thursday prayer experience where each station will deal with the miracles. It all began to flow together as I focused on each of them individually and then began to sketch and draw what each station would look like. By noon--I was brain fried--but hungry for PEI WEI next door. Now, if you haven't had PEI WEI, you haven't lived. It is the most awesome Chinese food (always get the Kung Pao Chicken). After reading the fortune cookies (says something good is coming in the mail--my tax rebate check?), I went walking around the City of Lubbock's Veteran's Memorial. My dad has a brick here in his honor and I had never walked around the memorial. Very moving--seeing names of some of the older men that I knew when I was growing up. I never found my dad's brick--though now looking online and seeing where it is, I was close and felt that I was--just didn't take the time to scan every brick.

Then it was off to one of my favorite creative places...Lowe's. Anyone else with me? I always enjoy going to Lowe's (1. because we don't have one in town, 2. there's so much that you can stand there and imagine "what can I do with this" My wife used to hate me going to Lowes. I'd come home with all kinds of "oops" paint and big ideas for the house. It was thrilling today to walk down the isles and try to figure out how I could use common building products for sets and worship design. I tried to grab 1 paint chip sample from each bin-like JVO's display @ Recreate...but was too scared to take'm all. So I have a few to play with and see what we can do.

Then off to Sugar Brown's (another coffee shop--ok,ok--it was a little chilly to sit at the park today and finish my planning. Besides they have free wifi there). I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the worship segements for Easter. I surfed and found resources that fit into the themes for the week. Sugar Brown's is an old 7-11 that has been turned into a neat coffee house. It has a great feel and I see so many Christ followers there doing their devos and reading scripture. I felt right at home.

Finally one last stop--to HOBBY LOBBY. Sorry, another creative hangout--where I picked up foamcore board that I couldn't find here in our town. (and for $5.99). On to Mardel's where I was looking for a book I found today on the net about the Miracles of the Crucifixion. Nope--they didn't have it, and the boy told me "We haven't put out our Easter stuff yet!" What? I thought I was behind.

That was my day--how was yours?

Did You Feel The "Ground" Tremble

This happened today--about 40 miles from us. I had already left town when it happened, so I wasn't here but people that were said that they could feel the blast. It rattled the walls and shook the ground. All of this after we sang "Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble" yesterday in worship. I talked about how we had a small earthquake here on Jan. 29--3 something on the Richter scale, but equated when the people of God worship how it shakes the earth. When the blast happened, my cell phone started ringing. People were asking "Did you feel it--the ground trembling?" Of course I didn't, but was a cool connection to what we sang about yesterday.

Worship Set for Sunday, Feb. 17th

Let The Praises Ring--Lincoln Brewster
Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble--Martin Smith
Jesus Paid It All--Passion Version
Above All-Paul Baloche
You Gave Your Life Away-Paul Baloche
Enough-Chris Tomlin

This was our first day to sing "You Gave Your Life Away". It was well received and many commented how much they liked this song. We'll probably sing it a couple of more times before Easter-and use on Easter too.

Pei Wei--My Favorite Place

Tomorrow I get to go to one of my favorite places to eat. Pei Wei Asian Diner is absolutely the best place to eat. I can't wait. It's my comfort food!

Now Here's A Crop We Can Grow In West Texas

Powering 20,000 Homes: The World's Largest PV Solar Farm Open
With an installed peak power capacity of 20 megawatts, world's largest photovoltaic solar power farm has opened in Spain. This farm surpasses the solar farm at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada which is rated at 14 megawatts. The new solar farm consists of 120,000 solar panels and covers 100 hectares (247 acres) in Jumilla, a wine-producing region in southern Spain, where the local Mayor says 300 days of sun a year are guaranteed. The farm's total annual production will be the equivalent of the energy used by 20,000 homes. ...

Humor With Truth

Sometimes humor is more truthful than we want to admit. This is a funny video

Seussical--The Musical

Next weekend, my daughter (middle child) will be JoJo in the local production of Seussical the musical. We are all so proud of her. (No--this isn't her picture--but it will do). Seussical is the delightful combination of most of the Dr. Seuss characters (Grinch, The Who's (Cindy Lou), Horton and Maisy in the story of Horton Hears a Who (which Disney will release in March as a motion picture). It is a great and entertaining musical. If you are in the area...drop on by!

This week a group of 16 Bloggers are detailing their trip to Uganda via their blogs

You can read about their travels here

My New Favorite Song

My new favorite song from Paul Baloche. He gives the back story of how this song was written.

The Jesus Painter

We had the great experience of seeing this artist last week in Nashville.  It was a wonderful exhibit as he painted 3 different faces of Christ during a communion service.  Watch and enjoy!

Score One For Dad!

We're watching the Grammy's tonight--don't know why. I guess it's because Football is over. So we're watching the opening with the duet between Alicia Keyes and Frank Sinatra. I say "that's Alicia Keyes" My 15 year old says--"Dad, that is not Alicia Keyes--you don't know who she is!" Only seconds later they give her the award for Best Female R/B. I dance around the room as I am vindicated! Score one for Dad!

Stop and Hear The Music

One of the stories shared with us this week at Recreate was about Joshua Bell, world famous violinist who did an experiment with the help of the Washington Post. He set up in a Subway terminal and played his violin to see if people would stop and listen to his music. Out of almost 1100 peope, only 30 something did. Would you stop and listen to the beauty that is being played by a world famous musician? Would you stop and listen to the beauty around you? There is beauty around us all the time and we don't tak the time to stop and listen to what is going on around us. Take time this week to stop and listen to the things around you. Stop and look at the sunset. Stop and listen to your child sing or watch them dance. Watch people as they live, laugh and love this week in your community. Stop and hear the music

Coming to a theater near you

Interesting article from NYT on Sunday, Feb. 10.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/theater/10ishe.html?ex=1360299600&en=42b6c05d96e4c714&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

How You Live

I remember when I first heard this song. I sat transfixed in my car just listening to the words. My heart was open at the moment to hear the truth. It really matters not what you do, you know--but how you live. Make the most of every moment. I learned that this week.

I Love This T-Shirt

We found this T-shirt in a Wally World just south of the Marriott on Friday morning. I didn't buy it--but I wanted to. It says so much.

Images of the Week

Altered Books

One of the creative exercises we did this week had to do with a artistic project called ALTERED BOOKS. Basically you take any old book,(and who doesn't have some old books around) and you alter the pages and the cover to make it a journal or a dream book (I made a dream book). You can add things that spark your creativity or thoughts. You can even create new thoughts by using words on the pages and connecting them with circles and lines to create new sentences. Not for everyone--but for the artsy--right on! Can't wait to show you mine--though I can't show you the insides. That's private!

Music Cannot Change The World

An interesting article in light of this week's message to us--don't change the world--change the culture. Perhaps Young is right--music will never change the world, but artists can

KALEIN--The Artist Community

Our final adventure yesterday was an excursion to some land just east of here about an hour. It was an amazing journey not only into some great scenery, but into the large dream that Randy Elrod has for an artistic community/retreat center near here. We boarded our buses with sack lunches and headed out. A beautiful crisp winter day met us. After the terror of Tuesday night and the storms, you were taken by the clear spring like quality of the day. We made our way on 2 charter buses on roads that probably never have seen a charter. Once there we were greeted with 4 or 5 hayrides. As this was the only way to get everyone to the property. We were met there by 4 bonfires, hot chocolate and some more adventures. We made our way to the top of the property to see the rolling hills of Tennessee. Randy dreams big. He dreams of a large lodge here for artists to meet in disciplines (music, art, dance, poetry, drama, writing) and to meet here for master classes. Ulimately the place will have 15 cabins for the artist to stay with the large lodge the main gathering space. We ended the time there listening to Randy talk about the dream. I couldn't help but believe that somewhere he had read THE DREAM GIVER by Bruce Wilkinson. I marveled that he had never given up on this and now (as soon as May 2008) he will begin to see it come to pass. We closed with an Indian (Blackfoot) friend of Randy's who is a Christ follower showing us a Native American Dance of blessing for the land. Circling the fire, we all marveled at the simplicity of the dance and the deep meaning. It reminded me of the old hymn "This is my father's world." We seem to think that since we own title to land, that it's ours. But it's not. It's God's world. This was a truly emotional day--to challenge myself to the dreams that God has given me. Would I be so tenatious as Randy in following and finding my dreams. Amazing.

Dinner with an Artist

A great part of RECREATE has been the interaction with the artists from Integrity, EMI and Word Music Publishing. Either they have come to us or we have gone to them for a concert during the day. All of them are so talented and gifted. On Wednesday evening we happen to walk into the Anchor Church in downtown Nashville and sitting at the front table was Matt Maher. Matt has written some amazing songs for the church (Your Grace Is Enough, For Your Glory). I recognized him and called him by first name (like I was his best friend from home). He was so cordial and what ensued for the next hour was a great conversation not only about his songs, but about his perspective as an artist and the local church. It was a totally enjoyable evening--even though old churches are drafty and we picked the draftiest spot by the window.

A Creative Adventure

One of the creative exercises for us was to go to the Lane Autmobile Museum here in Nashville. Now, you would say " what are a bunch of artists going to a car museum?". It was an exercise in creativity and design. We were met there by a design professor who gave us a semi-lecture on design, then turned us loose with a questionnaire that asked us to observe the cars for different characteristics (scale, color, shape, pattern, etc) and then to apply it to our own work. What a fascinating idea. All of these cars are classis--some of them are one of a kind. Reminded me of the movie CARS and how we all related to some of the characters in the movie. Maybe because of their design, they came to life. This was an exercise I've never done before--so now it's HGTV and NASCAR for me.

Auntie Em, Auntie Em

So, Recreate is known for their surprises for their attendees each year. From special guest artist, to special gifts and special trip--but tonight was SPECIAL. We were hosted by Integrity Music @ the Journey Church (Ecclesia) in the Factory @ Franklin. Its a neat old warehouse. Great meal--then great worship with Paul Baloche, Jared Anderson and others. In the midst of wonderful worship I hear this high pitch noise and I think "What a wicked guitar solo Paul is playing tonight!" Then heard it again and thought "It's a fire!" Then I heard it again and I thought "Tornado". Sure enough there was a Tornado heading toward us. What could we do? We just continued to worship (but be wise and watch the weather). Can you imagine singing "Your Name" during the midst of the storm. It spoke volumes to me--that God does indeed cover you with his wings (Psalm 91). It's not over yet---there are more storms to come--but we're back @ our hotel and keeping an eye on the storms.

All in all--a RECREATE surprise unmatched by no other.

E.T.--Phone Hom

"And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. Hebrews 11: 13b-14"

In the 80's classic movie, E.T (the Extra Terristerial) finds himself on the planet but looking for his home...his planet. I feel like that sometimes. Out there all alone, thinking that no one could feel the way I do--struggle with the same things I do, wonder why God what he does and when he does it.

Tonight I discovered there is a planet called CREATIVES...and there are many aliens like myself who have those same questions. Have you ever met total strangers (like less than 12 hours ago you didn' t know that they existed) and you could carry on life with them for hours? What's the bond---it's the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Creative one who is our bond. I think I've found my planet and I'm phoning home.

CCLI Survey

Today during the opening session we heard from one of the top execs @ CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing) and he revealed the survey that 5700(?) churches took in October over worship styles and trends. Then the RECREATE group took in late Fall and he compared and contrasted the two findings.

If you hate statistics--it would have put you out in a minute. But I love this kind of stuff because numbers tell you stories. Very interesting stuff. Blended worship is declining while two separate styles of worship services (Contemporary and Traditional) are growing. Contemporary is growing the fastest.

Some real confirmation to me of some of the changes that we've adopted in our place of worship. Looks like we are "NORMAL" according to the trends. Can't wait to share the findings with our folks.

All My Bags Are Packed

" All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go... I'm leaving on a jetplane...don't know when I'll be back again".

It's been a whirlwind day. First there was Church ( 2 services--2 different choirs--much multimedia and then a luncheon) followed by a day long effort to get all of my "materials" done for the conference (DVD's, handouts) and packing. My energy is beginning to wane.

We can't wait to go to the RECREATE Conference. For those of you who know me--CREATIVITY is an important part of my life. I'm meeting 99 other ministers that I've never met before. From all across America, Canada and some from Latin America--my muse will be energized.

Hope to update you throughout the week.

Super Bowl---Who cares

It used to be when I was a young lad that I couldn't wait until the Super Bowl. There was a magical mystique about it and I anticipated it's arrival. Maybe it's because my family made a big deal about it. We would get together as a family, just like Christmas eve, and bring the best food and watch the game together as a family. I can remember those classic games with Dallas vs. Baltimore, and Dallas vs. Miami, and Dallas vs. Denver. Those were exciting games. Maybe just the sense of family being together was the key ingredient.

Tonight's game--well, to be honest--who cares. We'll watch for a bit, but we really have no investment in who wins. Maybe if the Cowboys had come through there might have been more interest, but it will be just another game. Besides, I'm travelling this week and I've got to pack.

Still--fond memories of the Super Bowl past--maybe 42 of them, it's time for another memory maker.

What would we do without Wal-Mart?

Ok, this may sound a little strange to those of you living in a large metropolitan area, but we're packing up the family for a day trip to Wally World. Yes, in our little town we only have a "regular" Wally world, but down the road about 30 minutes--they have the MEGA WALMART...who could ask for more. They even have a Wendy's and a Taco Bell.

If you don't know--retailing is limited in the plains of West Texas. So we take our outings as "special family times". Yipee...
Who needs a mall when you have Wally World.

Recreate Conference

I'll be at the Recreate Conference in Nashville next week. Watch this blog to see what's happening. I may audition for the Grand Old Opry... or might cut a record...or I might just enjoy myself so much that I will change from Texas to Tennessee ( Rocky Top you'll always be, home sweet home to me, Good old Rocky Top... )

I'm ready...ready to learn and see new things. This is a new conference for me this year. I usually go with 3 other ministers to a conference..but not this year. Diane is going with me!!

Wonderful Wednesday

Today was another good day. Worship was led by Jeremy Riddle (AT THE CROSS) and a challenging message on Character. I attended the session on Building A Community Paternership led by Carlton Dillard, Worship guy here @ Riverbend. He's so positive and his enthusiasm was electric. An afternoon session on Choir was revealing ( remind me to tell you about POTATO CHIPS) then the afternoon closed with Matt Maher (YOUR GRACE IS ENOUGH) and a delightful talk by theologian Marva Dawn.

Tonight was the Big Daddy Weave concert. It was so good. These are the pictures. The team has decided to call me BIG DADDY DRAKE.

Always The Cook, Never The Diner

Today was amazing. It began with simple worship with Fernando Ortega accompanied by a string quartet. It was quiet and serene ( and if I hadn't had my LaMadeline coffee--I'd have been taking some "zzzz's". Then Marcos Witt (from Lakewood Church) brought the house down with his humor and Latino spin on Worship Leaders ( remind me to tell you about the Lion, Calf, Man and Eagle--it's so true). Breakout sessions were good except the afternoon session where one dear sister felt the need to take command of the class and practically run the session. I wanted to hear the guy talk about Multiple Venues--but she was in control...so that was frustrating.

Tonight we had Phillips Craig and Dean--oh my--what sweet worship with songs such as FRIEND OF GOD, MERCY CAME RUNNING, LET MY WORDS BE FEW and my all time fave---CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. Oh it was wonderful. They raised the blinds on the window (large picture window behind the altar tonight) so we could see the sunset over the Hill Country and the bird flying around. What a magnificent view.

The big thing today for me was the realization that I'm most like the cook in the kitchen who is always cooking for other people (planning worship and such) and never taking most importantly the fact that I have to have this spiritual nutrition for myself or else I cannot lead or prepare worship. It's strange when the Spirit speaks those things to you.

How Great Is Our God

These are pictures of Riverbend Church where the National Worship Leaders Conference is taking place this week. Tonight was the opening session and boy did God ever show up and show out.

Just about the time in the worship service when we were getting ready to take Lord's supper, we began to sing HOW GREAT THOU ART--when we got to the point in the hymn "I HEAR THE ROLLING THUNDER", we heard THUNDER outside (one of those famous Hill Country evening thunderstorms. Riverbend has a wonderful front window that overlooks the Hill Country. We began to see dark clouds and lightening. It was awesome...and to be in a room of 3000 worshippers going after God ( and most of them were worship leaders--so the sound was amazing).

We heard from Brenton Brown (EVERLASTING GOD, HALLELUJAH! YOUR LOVE IS AMAZING) and from Paul Baloche (ABOVE ALL, YOUR NAME, OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART).. What sweet worship it was tonight. We're looking forward to the days ahead and will try to keep it posted here. Tomorrow night is Phillip Craig and Dean--should be good.