BabuLife

Another post is up on my Dad's site.  An excerpt from the book coming Fall 2008 is below.  He's currently traveling through the country speaking at various churches so it's been a bit light lately on the posting side of the blog...however, when he does post excerpts...I find myself even more intrigued and surprised by the life my father lived.  He's a totally different man thanks to Jesus Christ himself.  Here's the latest excerpt:

At the Wheel Again

One day Arafat came to visit our base. We sat in a circle all together, talking about various things. I noticed that he seemed to keep staring at me.

After the meeting broke up, he pulled me aside. Looking intently into my face, he said, “What’s your name?”

“Butcher, sir,” I replied.

“No, what’s your real name?” he persisted.

“I’m sorry, sir,” I answered. “Our movement’s rules say we are not to give away our real names. So I must not tell it to anyone.”

“Yes, I know,” he said with a smile. “I made that rule! But I can break it if I want. So what is your name?”

“Excuse me, sir, but I have to keep the rule. I must go by the name Butcher, and that is all.”

He let the matter drop at that point, even though he kept eyeing me. I wondered if he was remembering me from his visits to my parents’ home back in Qatar. I fervently hoped not, because I didn’t want any connections to be made.

Not long afterward, I received a secret assignment that had nothing to do with sniping. I was told instead that on this day, I would be Arafat’s chauffeur! I have no idea how this came about, but I was glad to take the job, because it would put me closer to my hero.

His black Land Rover had bulletproof windows that were darkened, so no one on the street could see who I was driving around. I was told the destination only after he got into the car; he was always very tight-lipped about where he was going next. The biggest rule, however, was this: No stopping for anything or anybody. Full throttle ahead in all situations, no matter how crowded the avenue or narrow the alley. I was to lean on the horn and keep moving, even if I had to jump the car onto the sidewalk.

Soon we were on our way.  Tearing through the streets of Amman, I would sometimes look in my rear view mirror only to see pedestrians shaking their fists at me and cursing. Arafat, on the other hand, always seemed to be pleased when I chauffeured him. “Good job!” he would say. “The only thing is, your driving is going to give me a heart attack!” After another trip, he added, “When I die someday, it won’t be because of bullets, but because you’ve scared me to death on the road.”

I took that as a compliment.

This excerpt is from the forthcoming book "Once An Arafat Man" arriving on shelves Fall 2008 published by Tyndale House. Visit the blog at www.OnceAnArafatMan.com

At the Wheel Again

One day Arafat came to visit our base. We sat in a circle all together, talking about various things. I noticed that he seemed to keep staring at me.

After the meeting broke up, he pulled me aside. Looking intently into my face, he said, “What’s your name?”

“Butcher, sir,” I replied.

“No, what’s your real name?” he persisted.

“I’m sorry, sir,” I answered. “Our movement’s rules say we are not to give away our real names. So I must not tell it to anyone.”

“Yes, I know,” he said with a smile. “I made that rule! But I can break it if I want. So what is your name?”

“Excuse me, sir, but I have to keep the rule. I must go by the name Butcher, and that is all.”

He let the matter drop at that point, even though he kept eyeing me. I wondered if he was remembering me from his visits to my parents’ home back in Qatar. I fervently hoped not, because I didn’t want any connections to be made.

Not long afterward, I received a secret assignment that had nothing to do with sniping. I was told instead that on this day, I would be Arafat’s chauffeur! I have no idea how this came about, but I was glad to take the job, because it would put me closer to my hero.

His black Land Rover had bulletproof windows that were darkened, so no one on the street could see who I was driving around. I was told the destination only after he got into the car; he was always very tight-lipped about where he was going next. The biggest rule, however, was this: No stopping for anything or anybody. Full throttle ahead in all situations, no matter how crowded the avenue or narrow the alley. I was to lean on the horn and keep moving, even if I had to jump the car onto the sidewalk.

Soon we were on our way.  Tearing through the streets of Amman, I would sometimes look in my rear view mirror only to see pedestrians shaking their fists at me and cursing. Arafat, on the other hand, always seemed to be pleased when I chauffeured him. “Good job!” he would say. “The only thing is, your driving is going to give me a heart attack!” After another trip, he added, “When I die someday, it won’t be because of bullets, but because you’ve scared me to death on the road.”

I took that as a compliment.

This excerpt is from the forthcoming book "Once An Arafat Man" arriving on shelves Fall 2008 published by Tyndale House. Visit the blog at www.OnceAnArafatMan.com

Worship Recap: 7/20/08

This week we wrapped up our three week series on global missions called "Reach".  We had the privilege of hosting Matthew Ellison from 1615.org today.  From his message today, you'll learn why Grace has enlisted the help of Matthew to implement our missions strategy for world missions in reaching "unreached people groups". Give it a listen here.

Today was packed with some of my personal favorite songs...Hosanna, Jesus Paid it All, Foreverandever etc.  I had some issues with the first one after hopping onstage to find my ear monitors a little "off".  Something happened (or didn't happen)...whatever it was left the music in my ears seeming as though a blanket was spread across it.  With this issue, I was a bit distracted therefore stumbling on the words of the second verse of "He Reigns" by Newsboys. Ah well...the band followed and did a great job.

During the song "Jesus Paid it All", I literally had chills hearing the voices of the congregation singing out the chorus.  Awesome time of worship.  We also rolled out "God of This City" today.  A great closing to this series.  Check out the story of this tune here.  Pretty amazing.

Here's the music list.  Don't forget you can purchase the songs on iTunes by clicking the titles:

• He Reigns by Newsboys
• Foreverandever etc by David Crowder Band
• Jesus Paid it All ...Kristian Stanfill version
• Hosanna by Brooke Fraser
• God of This City...Chris Tomlin version

Next week starts a new five week series called "The Enemy Within".  We'll be addressing five different issues we all struggle with in life...issues and emotions that impact us...and those in our lives. 

-Babu

Grace Microcast Notes - 7/16/08

After a week off we're back with another Grace microcast.  This week features a conversation with Youth Pastor Jim Williams.  I also sat down with Jonathan Nebel who has been a long time youth member for about 7 years.  Great conversation about navigating a youth group through a church-wide growth spurt.  Oh yeah...almost forgot...you will hear a plea from me hoping that people who listen to the cast will email or phone us with some feedback. Are these little microcasts being listened to? Do you have any topics you'd like us to discuss?  I'm a little insecure. :)

Listen
Subscribe in a podcast reader or listen here.

Links
Student Life @ The Beach - See pics of the High School youth camp that Jonathan talked about.

Student Life Camp - Visit the Middle School Camp page from their recent trip.

www.1615.org - Link to Matthew Ellison's organization. Our guest speaker this Sunday at Grace.

Contact
Email the Grace Podcast at [email protected] or give us a call and leave a voicemail at 206.426.5394. We might even play it on the cast!  Feel free to leave us a comment here as well. We'd love some feedback and topic suggestions.

Authentic Worship Leading

During our church-wide picnic a few nights ago, I had the chance to meet several people who've begun attending Grace recently.  One couple in particular had some very interesting comments about the worship at our church.  I was left feeling very encouraged, and a little fascinated.

After visiting several different churches in Overland Park, they told me how much they love participating in the worship at Grace.  Not just because of the great music, or because of the flashing lights, but because they can sense the authenticity in our worship leading.  Wow.  This honestly is a worship leaders dream comment.

He explained to me that in their visits to churches, they had experienced worship being led by people that appear to be more concerned with "rock star" status...or with the way they looked.  I suppose when you look at me you can tell I really have no concern for my appearance. :)

So I've been pondering this comment and wondered to myself if there truly is an epidemic out there in churches.  What makes a worship leader "authentic" and what makes him a "rock star"?  What makes a band of worship leaders a "Worship Team" and what makes a band of worship leaders simply a "Cover Band"?  Where does the line of prepping for worship on the weekends, taking care that the music is played as accurately as possible, that the vocals are in pitch, that our presence onstage reflects Jesus Christ blur into simply being a performance?

Thanks so much for the kindness given to me at the picnic that evening, seriously made my day.

In addition I ran across a post by a fellow worship leader at Northpoint Church's satellite at Buckhead.  Carlos Whittaker posted this "I Hate it When My Worship Leader...".  There appears to be an undercurrent of dissatisfied worshippers out there in the comments. Interesting conversation.  Feel free to comment there (Currently over 140 comments) or if you like, let me know your thoughts here.

Worship Recap: 7/13/08

Week two of our current series "Reach" at Grace.  Author, speaker and member of TravelingTeam.org, Claude Hickman spoke to us today.  He did an awesome job sharing his heart about the church getting engaged in reaching the world for Jesus Christ.  Between services he grabbed me to ask if we did the "Sing to the King" tune by Billy Foote.  We did...to which he replied first how much he loved that song and then that he and his wife are personal friends of Billy and his wife.  HOW COOL!!!  I told him to be sure and pass along that a little church in Overland Park, KS loves singing his tunes.  Claude also mentioned he'd tell Billy he just made $.08 in royalties thru Grace Church. :)

Today we did a tune that I have had on the radar for about 2 and a half years.  I don't know why we never pulled this one out previously, but we finally did.  "Foreverandever etc." by David Crowder was rocking today.  After feeling some anxiety about this one late last night (I made the mistake of looking up the tune on YouTube to see other churches doing it...and my confidence was weakened a little...just a little) it felt really good to see the church respond to the song.  It seemed like most of the folks in the room were familiar with it....which of course helped.  Great job to the band!

Guitar troubles - after spending some time Saturday restringing my beloved Breedlove, I was extremely disappointed to find that my pickup was on the fritz.  Don't know what happened or why, but thankfully my wife was able to deliver my other Breedlove.  It was actually nice playing it...like an old friend (guitar players understand...anyone else...sorry if I'm creeping you out).

Great week...here's the songlist. Don't forget you can click the song titles to purchase on iTunes:

• Awesome is the Lord Most High by Chris Tomlin
• Everlasting God by Brenton Brown
• Sing to the King by Candi Pearson
• Foreverandever etc. by David Crowder Band
• King of Glory by Chris Tomlin

Tony Snow Dead at 53

Today the U.S. media lost a great news person in Tony Snow.  He was one of my favorites...an awesome communicator, a heart for people and his family.  Here's one of my favorite quotes from Tony Snow:

To have faith is to believe in truth, believe that truth confers special power on those lucky enough to get a little insight, and to know in our hearts that all these things come from God, which is why we should never get too cocky about our successes. - Tony Snow

Student Life @ the Beach '08

This week our High School group from Grace flew down to Daytona Beach, FL for this year's Student Life @ the Beach.  This is a return trip for our youth group after having such success last year.  I have to admit...there's a bit of jealousy on my part.  I mean really...can a High School youth really appreciate being a part of worship led by Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio along with Delirious? and DecemberRadio?  Actually...I think they do.  That's why they went back this year. Check out the picture of Grace's own Youth Pastor Jim Williams on stage before 6000 people getting his "Youth Pastor of the Day" ribbon.  How cool is that?!?

My First Camp Experience
I remember my experience as a High School junior at my first "Christian" youth camp.  Not being a follower of Christ, nor actively attending church...I was very skeptical of the whole thing back in 1990.  My skepticism was fed the first night of our worship gathering.  Not being experienced at all with Christian music, apart from Michael W. Smith and hearing of Amy Grant, left me with a "geekdar" that could smell cheesie music more than a mile away.  And that night my "geekdar" was off the charts.

You see, as a youth, intentions did not matter to me.  If you wanted to reach me, you had to do it within the first hour.  I cared about authenticity...I witnessed several of my "christian" peers getting drunk, getting stoned, picking fights with others (including picking fights with me)...and this was the chance for a Christian organization to redeem it's religion in my eyes.  And this organization failed...

When the man in leather pants, long blond flowing hair and torn shirt walked onto the stage with his Ovation acoustic guitar (sorry Ovation players...this guitar always sets off my geekdar...still does)...I was ready.  Show me something cool that relates to me...I'll even listen to a song with lyrics about God...but...when the first chord started (it was a C chord...I remember because it's burned in my mind)...and the rhythm was familiar...back and forth between a C and F chord...then the lyric:

"Well I guess it would be nice...if I could touch your BIBLE oh no not everybody has got a BIBLE like you."

Oh yes...you read correctly.  Sung to the tune of George Michael's "Faith", this Christian rock singer sealed his and his religion's fate in my mind.  While all the kids screamed and danced, I looked around thinking to myself...organized Christianity is NOT for me.  Am I the only sane person in this lot?  Thankfully I was proven wrong by friends who came from the same place as myself.  People who knew the difference between a religion and a relationship.  I've got more High School "Christian" experiences I might share here one day.

So as our students continue this week on their journey with the Lord, I'm praying for those students who were like me.  Skeptical...waiting for the hypocrisy to show up...tuning in their "geekdar"...

Send a Grace student an email
Student Life has an awesome tool on their website.  If you'd like to send an encouraging email to a student this week, log on to this page right here. Wouldn't it be cool for a student to rcv a note from someone at their church just telling them they've been prayed for?  If you'd like the name of a student and attend Grace, shoot me an email at [email protected] or click the "email me" link below my head on the upper right column and I'll get a name for you.  Keep in mind, notes sent before 3 pm will be given to the student that evening.  After 3 pm and it goes to them the following night.

Visit the camp page for pics and daily updates:StudentLife.com

Oh Baby Hoggify

Got this link from my fellow worship blogging friend Jay Sellers.  I had a good laugh to kick off my Wednesday with this one.

Mac Confessions and a Little Ditty

Ok Mac users...I think I get it.  After spending nearly 4 hours on Garage Band, I have tasted and seen the joy of the Mac.  Am I a complete convert?  Not yet, but I am definitely sold on this nifty tool.  After receiving my copy of "Garage Band for Dummies" through Amazon, I spent some time at the end of the day tinkering with it.  I couldn't get enough...I had to keep adding layers to a little ditty made on the fly.

Here are the tracks I created for a little short recording:

• Rhythm guitar
• Noodling guitar (leadish)
• Vocal
• Pad on the Keys
• Drum Kit (chimes)
• Drum Kit (not sure what it is...maybe a tom?)
• Rock Organ
• Muted Electric Bass

What I found exciting about the program were all the instrument sounds built into Garage Band. The only instruments I played straight into the program were the two acoustic guitars and the vocal part. The rest were played through the embedded keyboard within the program itself.  I converted by Mac keypad into a keyboard...impressive no?  Not a bad little tool for laying down ideas.  It's portable, sounds great and addictive.

So to my Mac friends out there...I get it.

Oh...and here's the little creation I made with Garage Band below.  Keep in mind, this was just made up after hitting the record button...so I'm not looking for any lyrical critiquing here...just wanting to spread the good news of Garage Band.  Enjoy!

Three Years of BabuLife

It just hit me this evening as I sat looking at my archives...BabuLife turned 3 years old on June 1 and I  neglected to mention it. It's been a long time since my first post.  When BabuLife started, I began with the intent to just see what this whole "blog" thing was about. Thanks to the encouragement and creativity of my good friend "The Rooster", I took a leap just to experiment and here I am still going three years later. I've met and networked with several fellow worship leaders, learned from numerous church leaders, connected with Grace Church attenders, and learned the important value of blogging as a communication tool.  It's been fun.

I am always amazed at how people reach BabuLife through  searches.  Here are a few of the most "searched" items through Google, Yahoo etc.

• Great Ordination Gift Ideas - Posted this after being ordained in January 2007.  A great gift given to me by some very dear friends. Glow in the dark hands Jesus still sits displayed on a shelf in my office. Gracers, feel free to stop by sometime to catch a glimpse.  I might even turn the lights off for you.
• Fallen Rock Star - Posted way back in September 2005 at the conclusion of Rock Star INXS. Most of these are hits from Europeans. I've never been able to figure out why.
• Cliff Claven Action Figure - Posted in January 2006. Folks are either looking for quotes from the Cheers character...or looking specifically for this Star Wars action figure...yes he really was in The Empire Strikes Back...looky.
• Doctrine of Hairology - This one was back in July 2006. People like to listen to G.I. Barber teach the all important doctrine of hairology.
• Choosing Worship Songs - Posted back in July - August 2005. Worship folks just looking for some help in putting together a worship service.  It is nice to see folks finding these posts...hope they've been helpful.
• Watermelon = Ragweed - Posted May 2007. Every summer I get quite a few searches on this one.
• Babu - No post for this apart from my "About" page.  Apparently there is a DJ Babu from Hip Hop group "Dilated Peoples". I don't think folks really find what they're looking for here. 

It's been fun these past three years.  Here's to another three.  Thanks for reading, commenting, lurking and rolling.

- DJ Babu (maybe this post will show up in another DJ Babu search now)