BabuLife

View From the Stage: New Band Part 2

New Band, as I like to call them, led worship yesterday.  Gary on keys has grown a lot since their last worship leading back in November.  Way to go Gary!  Here's the set list:

• Filled With Your Glory
• Once Again
• How Can I Keep From Singing?
• You Never Let Go
• Glorious (new one)

Again, these guys are a HUGE answer to prayer.  Having some folks with skill is great.  But these fellas have much more than that.  A heart to serve and lead others in excellence has made leading both teams a breeze.

Original Band...it's back on next Sunday!

-Babu

Gaza Update - A Wheelchair

This March my folks will be back in the U.S. I cannot tell you how much my family is looking forward to being with them.  Our youngest will get a chance to reaquaint herself with her Sidi (Grandpa in Arabic) and Seti (Grandma).  Every night my two oldest pray for their safety and the work they are doing in Gaza.  They are going to be thrilled to see them again in person instead of a shaky webcam.  They have so many stories to share about God's work in the hearts of the muslim people in Gaza.  Too many to share in one post or even on this blog. Every once in awhile I take a moment to share a prayer request from them or a cool story from their ministry here on my blog. Check out the Gaza category to see past posts.  Thank you to all who pray for them.

This past August a note was put out by my parents about a mother who was raising a family of 8 on her own.  Four of her children are in wheelchairs.  Their father abandoned them moving to the West Bank, remarried and started another family.  My parents wanted to help this family and were able to help the mother financially through their ministry to get the kids ready for school.  They wanted to do more.

Around Christmas a note was passed to their supporters and friends as well as a post on their password protected blog.  They wanted to raise some money for one of the sons in a wheelchair who is very talented with fixing TV's, radios and various electronics.  The rocky terrain and lack of transportation made it extremely difficult for this young man to attend school.  With an education he might have a chance to provide support to his mother and siblings.  The call was put out and Grace Church answered!

Thank you to all who answer the call to provide support to missionaries and their work financially. Through my parents I've learned there is no greater feeling for a missionary than when they are able to love people with gifts from those who know Christ. Grace Church purchased the wheelchair for this young man and brought joy, hope and comfort to a family on the other side of the world, in a small town in Gaza.

The body of Christ is awesome!

Online Churchwide Calendar

Now that the church directory issue may be resolved...time to move on to the new Grace communication item...the churchwide calendar.  We have an Events page listed on our website, which works well for a quick glance at what's up at Grace by demographic.  However, I think a took with more info for our core and membership is in order.  Thanks to ChurchCommunicationsPro.com I found a possible solution.

Below is an html feed from a churchwide calendar I'm toying with.  You're seeing it here first Gracers if you're reading.  Have a look and click on an event.  It should take you to a Grace calendar website where you can view it several different ways.  You can also note it's on my left sidebar if you scroll down.  Leave me some feedback Gracers...do you think this would be a great tool?

Fat Friday Weigh In Week 8

Weeehaaa!!!  Broke 220 this week!  Here's the weigh in:

218

New Test Leper

In honor of R.E.M.'s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, I've been listening to some of their tunes.  As I've mentioned before, R.E.M. had a profound influence on me during my High School years.  The first song I ever learned on the acoustic guitar was "Pop Song '89" off their Green album in 1989.  I drove my mom nuts playing that song over, and over, and over, and over until one day she said, "Ben...it's time to learn a new song". Thanks for pushing me to grow Mom.

So anyway...I pulled out one of their least popular albums from 1996. "New Adventures in Hi-Fi" has some unique tunes to it. Some of their most interesting work in my opinion. While if I sat with R.E.M. over a cup of coffee (Diet Pepsi for me of course) I'd probably find myself disagreeing with them on many political and social issues. I would love to just pick the brain of Michael Stipe to learn about his opinions and observations about Christianity and the church today.  Especially after hearing the song "New Test Leper" on this album. But since I don't have Michael Stipe's ear...I thought I'd see what you all thought.  Does this song speak to the revolution the church has had over the past ten years or so in striving for relevance in the lives of people like Stipe?  Has there been a revolution or is it the same old?  Here are the lyrics:

I can't say that I love Jesus, that would be a hollow claim.  He did make some observations and I'm quoting them today.  "Judge not lest ye be judged." What a beautiful refrain.  The studio audience disagrees.  Have his lambs all gone astray?  Call me a leper.  "You are lost and disillusioned". What an awful thing to say.  I know this show doesn't flatter.  It means nothing to me.  I thought I might help them understand but what an ugly thing to see...(read the rest here).

So I ran across this and thought about how the message never changes, but of course the way it's told and expressed can.  Is the effective way to reach a Michael Stipe telling them "You are lost and disillusioned"?

Just as Paul quoted the poets of the day on Mars Hill back in the book of Acts, it's good to take a moment and disconnect from our "Christiany World" and see how the rest of the world sees us and God.

Any thoughts out there?  When you hear a song like this does it make you mad?

Grace Clip

I can never say enough about the team of people I get to work with every week.  God has truly blessed Grace with people having great skills...but even moreso...hearts that want to provide excellence in all they do because it's their act of worship.

Doug at HoWeCogitate posted a snippet video clip of our lead guitarist at our first Ignite (First Wednesday Worship) at Grace.  Doug does so much leading the video ministry and makes sure everything works as seamlessly as possible.  From making sure all the lyrics are on the screens at the right time (big thank you for not leaving me hanging Doug!), to creating all the cool backgrounds...not just putting movement there...but color-coordinating.  Attention to detail is a huge factor in taking things to the next level.

Here's the clip:

Great Ordination Gift Ideas

So I was ordained last week and received a TON of encouraging notes and pats on the back from wonderful folks.  Wednesday night I was given a gift by some close friends (Bek & Brian) who know me way to well.  Understanding my fascination with cool desk ornaments, they found a great way to help tie my new responsibility as pastor in with my hobby.

If you're looking for a great Ordination Gift for that special someone in your life taking that next step as a responsible pastor of a church...what better than the "Miracle Jesus Action FIgure with Glow in the Dark Hands"? Here he is in the box.  Now as a collector of Star Wars action figures, I take my collecting seriously.  I often choose to leave some boxed so they keep their value.  I decided to go ahead and open Miracle Jesus figuring he probably won't fetch much on ebay in the future.

Here is Miracle Jesus in action changing water to wine and multiplying the fish and loaves.  Talk about action!  Look at that super-articulate miracle hand action!  With a background included in the box, your future pastor-friend can pose this Jesus in front of multitudes on their desk.

I went ahead and joined Miracle Jesus up with some disciples.  My current desk ornaments are now part of Jesus' inner 3 (Peter, James & John).  I don't know, I may have to separate them.  Seems like it might be a bit aggressive for the Prince of Peace?

Thanks to Bek & Brian for the fun gift.  You guys are a hoot!

-Babu

So Yeah...I was Ordained the Other Day...

I've taken a beatin' from a couple of very good friends on their blogs and in the comments here on this blog (Shalee) the past couple of days.  Not really beatin's but just gentle reminders of a very HUGE thing that happened in our family recently.  This past Sunday I was officially ordained as a Worship Pastor at Grace Church. During both services my wife and I were prayed over along with our new Youth Pastor (Jim Williams) and his wife (Kellie).  We are extremely humbled by this honor and also very excited about our new roles here at Grace.  Many folks were surprised that we weren't already pastors to which I reply "I was able to get away with doing the fun work without having to deal so much with other issues a Pastor encounters". In other words, no more passing any bucks at all!  I knew my brief preaching appearance onstage back in October would open the door to more preaching "opportunities".

Does this new role mean I'll be giving up some other areas to focus on Worship?  Absolutely not!  I'll be pastoring the area of prayer/worship and also continue as Communications Director at Grace.  I'm excited about what the future holds for my family.  Thank you to all the Gracers and others who have prayed for my family.  And thanks to all of you in the blogging community whom I have had the privilege to talk to through IM, email and reading all of your wonderful blogs sharing your experiences.

Here's a clip of the big event:

Fat Friday Weigh In Week 7

Could this coming week be the one I break 220? We'll see next Friday.  A loss of 3 lbs this week.  No carbs and no sugar. I added a little caffiene back to the diet but made it 7 days caffeiene-free.  I had HUGE headaches every night last week.  By the way, fellow Gracer and youth director Heath has joined me on the Friday Weigh In.  He lost 5 lbs his first week!  Here's my Friday weigh in:

220

Hello Out There!

Last year after the holidays, I posted something just trying to find out who's out here reading this blog.  While many folks have gotten to know me through this site, I haven't had a chance to meet you!  Also it seems lately many Grace Church people (I like to call you all Gracers) have been stumbling on my site.

So...drop a comment please and just tell me a couple of things:

1. Favorite Movie
2. Favorite Musical group/artist
3. Your website...if you have one. :)
4. Anything else you want to tell me.

I'll kick it off:

1. Duh!  Star Wars (See my ranking of each one here)
2. U2 & Chris Tomlin
3. You're here.  Check out my faves in my blogroll.
4. Ben - You really need to do some more spiritual type posts.  I'm tired of reading about Star Wars and your desperate requests for info from other churches.

Thanks for being a part of this site over the past year!

-Babu