BabuLife

Legalism is a Chain

Yesterday our Pastor, Tim Howey, continued through the book of Colossians.  Week 4 brought us through the topic of legalism.  The one thought that God taught me yesterday was to always remain graceful to those who may be blinded by the veil of legalism. 

He covered everything from shorts to coullates (SP?) rock beats to back masking, and moving lights to haze machines.  Seriously...it was a powerful message.  I believe everyone in that room walked out thinking about the things that they are legalistic about.  We all have our own rules and regulations which make us judgemental of others whether we believe it or not.  If you're a jeans wearing church goer...you know you've looked at those new people coming in at least once and thought "those poor souls, why don't they just understand that they can be comfortable in the liberty of Christ like me and wear cool jeans?". 

Tim didn't just tell you what the Bible says about this topic, he also told his own personal story of dealing with this issue in his life.  It's worth a listen if you've been down this road or know someone who has.

Check out the audio here.  It's also on iTunes if you subscribe to the Grace Church Podcast.

Auditions

So early tomorrow (Saturday) I will be sitting and listening to 6 people sing and play instruments to see if they can be a part of our worship team. This is a task that really makes me somewhat uncomfortable.  I will be given the opportunity to be Simon Cowell for 3 hours.  What I do love is seeing who's been sitting out there in our church with untapped musical talent.

There was once a time where the worship team had no type of audition process.  When we began to kick it up a notch, it became clear that some sort of process needed to be established to raise the level of excellence brought each Sunday.  Each singer brings in a soundtrack CD to sing to and we go from there.  Some of the things people joining our team must be able to do are:

• Sing harmonies - This is HUGE.  We do a lot of harmony on choruses to songs. 
• Lead a song - I like to mix it up on Sundays.  Giving people in the church a view of a team of people that all participate instead of just me every week.  I'm looking to make this even more of a true statement.
• Flexible/adaptible - You MUST be able to adapt on the fly.  This is something that can be learned over time, but some hint of it will need to be evident.
• Handle criticism - Oh yeah...you will need to be able to take some positive critiquing and get over yourself to be on our team.  Swallow the pride and work to make each song more effective in leading the church to worshipping God.
• Heart for God - This is truly the first item.  If you don't have a relationship with God...you can NOT lead people to worship.  If you don't know Him, you can't lead others to Him.

Would any of you add to this list?  The tough part always comes after the audition. Having to tell people to wait or that this may not be the ministry for them is difficult to do.  What do yo think?

Rhythm Crossing Launches

For those of you out there who are fellow Grace Church bloggers, you might recall Joe Givens from our Weekend Service Team a couple of years ago.  Joe was instrumental in bringing up the level of our production and directing of each service.  He also took the lighting stuff to a new level.   Changing our lighting from "on and off" to "dim up and dim down".

Joe moved to New England to join the crew at ESPN Classic.  He's responsible for that wonderful classic sports programming you see every day. 

Swing on over and check out his site called Rhythm Crossing.

FOH Recording Sessions - Day 1

Well my little post last week actually got us moving on getting back in the studio.  (Man that little sentence makes me sound like a rock star).  I've always wanted to say "I can't wait to get back in the studio" (add a really obnoxious snobby rock star voice with that).

Last night the 4 amigos stayed late after praise team rehearsal to begin working on the layout of our original tunes.  We got through one in about an hour and a half.  It was probably our easiest one since it was the most completed.  I like the tune, kind of has a special place in my heart as the lyrics were written three years ago during a job loss and complete "trust in God" phase of my life.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this little baby turns out.

Our first CD was initially supposed to have been a compilation of updated versions of Hymns. When we began meeting and working out the songs, we realized...we just weren't having much fun.  We weren't into it, therefore our creativity just wasn't happening.  We walked away with 4 of the 13 songs being Hymns.  Not too bad. We scrapped most of them and just did a bunch of cover tunes of worship songs that our church loved to sing.  It was a fun project, but I have a feeling it'll be much different since they weren't songs birthed from our hearts and lives.  Don't get me wrong, we put our hearts into every recording, but there's something different about bringing out a song God has given to you and sharing it with others.

So let it be written...Day 1 of the Friends of His recording sessions has begun on July 27, 2006 from 9:15pm - 10:30pm.  We'll see how long this project takes.

There is a new category called "Friends of His Recording Project".

Make it Happen Video

This past Sunday we did a skit portraying a motivational seminar speaker.  It was quite funny.  Brad is a cut up as the speaker named Jerry Wilson and my wife sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in my ear.  Oh yeah...I was in the skit too.  Unfortunately no video of the skit...however, our video pro, Doug has posted his great intro video to the skit.  It's got the PERFECT cheezy motivational speaking music.  Great job Video Doog!  I sent him a photoshopped image and he decided the Saturday night before at around 12am he would go the extra mile and make a video.  These are the types of people that "Make it Happen" every Sunday.  I love my team!!!

Check it out here.

40 Days of Prayer

My blogging buddy/Fellow MK friend Dan Ohlerking posted about this prayer opportunity over the past few weeks.  Check out ChildrensCup.org and join the many other bloggers out there praying for children around the world.  Here's the blog.

You Never Let Go

"And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on, a glorious light beyond all compare. And there will be an end to these troubles but until that day comes, we'll live to know You here on the earth...Oh no You never let go, through the calm and through the storms. Oh no You never let go, every high and every low, Lord You never let go of me." - Matt Redman (You Never Let Go)

I love this song right now.  It's awesome.  Matt Redman is an incredible songwriter that is very gifted at writing music that speaks to the heart of men and our relationship with God.  Check it out on iTunes here.

Gaza Update - Meeting the Neighbors

Here's the latest blog entry on parents site regarding their work in Gaza.  Their blog is a protected site.  If you are interested in abtaining access, please send me an email.  Thank you for your prayers and support!

21 July, 2006

Last night, James went to some friends' house for dinner(until midnight). People around here eat very late and the kids (even those as young as 2 or 3) are still awake. The majority of them are Muslim You can see the hurt in their eyes, regardless of how "macho" or strong they try to act. They can't understand why Americans, who "have everything", would leave the comforts of home to come live here with them. God has put this people on our hearts because He wants to do amazing things with and in them. He has already begun!

Our neighbors came over for coffee yesterday and the conversation quickly turned to the Gospel. As Tass shared about the sacrifice Jesus made for them (and all of us), they were quite intent to listen. They've noticed the books we have in the library (Bibles and Christian literature)and are wanting to borrow them. But for their safety as well as ours, we can't let them. If they are found with the books in their home, it would not be good for either of us. You may recall the Afghani man who was thrown in prison a few months ago for converting to Christianity from Islam. In our home, they are free to read whatever they want, for as long as they would like. We just pray for wisdom and to be led completely by the Lord because when we are lacking and He's not leading, we can get into trouble.

Today, two young women who live nearby, spent the day with Karen showing her how to cook some of the native Middle-Eastern dishes and sharing in a "language lesson" between Arabic and English.  Once the food was prepared, we invited a few others and we all sat down to a great lunch! There is something about "breaking bread" together, that the Lord knew, would unify those who partake in the meal. We joked and laughed together as we shared the food as one big family. Our guests were so comfortable with us, they began asking questions about our faith. One of them asked why we believe Jesus died on a cross? Well, Tass gave a wonderful lesson on the cross using their own belief as Muslims, and he was able to plant some questions in their minds -- planting seeds of hope for the Lord to water. And we are confident He will! Please water these seeds with your prayers.

We want to thank you for all your prayers. It means so much knowing that so many of our friends and family are committed to lifting us up "for such a time as this." May God bless you and we look forward to hearing from each one of you.

Just Rattlin' and Hummin'

Found myself listening to a nice mix of U2 this weekend.  Ahhhh...the eighties U2.

A Friend Needs Prayer

Rich Kirkpatrick, a blogging friend of mine, has been posting recently about the uncertainty of some tests he's gone through for cancer.  Swing over there and have a look at his story as he daily updates what he's going through.  Add him to your prayer list too please!

-Ben