bandaids for bullet holes...

Hi gang, at Sunday Set List on Fred McKinnon’s blog.
Man, I am thankful to be home again. And nice to be missed…
I’ve been out of town now for four Sundays.
As you may know, I use a lot of cloth in my stage designs. I made it back just in time for our creative team meeting on Tuesday. It was so sweet to hear requests from people (and our pastor), if we could possibly have cloth on the stage this week, now that I am home….

This week, the stage is simple, the worship is simple, the message is simple…

Our Sunday Set List this week:
Instrumental Opener (Wow! Nice Celtic kick)

Worship Set 1
All We Need (Charlie Hall)

Welcome & Greet

Turkey Street Video (it isn't posted yet, but for the last couple of years we've had a running series of Turkey videos, which are goofy and fun)

Worship Set 2
Fire Fall Down (Hillsong Untied)
Exalted (Yahweh) (Chris Tomlin) – chorus of Awesome God

Video:
Africa Missions Trip

Message: (Part of the series of “Band Aids for Bullet Holes”)
Africa Missions Trip and Servants Heart (our outreach ministry)

Worship Set 3

Holy is the King (this is what was listed on our sheet but it isn't the actual name. Need to research it)

(reprise of Exalted (Yahweh)

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all!

I have so much to be thankful for. I am so thankful for the creative arts ministry team that I serve with each week. I am thankful for my wonderful husband of 21 years (our anniversary was on Back Friday). I am thankful for all my family and friends.
But, most of all…I am thankful for having a personal relationship with God. He rocks my world!

P.S. The best thing happened today, my daughter-in-law, visited at my church today with my grandbabies!! It was so wonderful worshipping together. Here is a picture of my grandson worshipping in the aisle. My granddaughter is in the foreground. So cute!

What are you thankful for?

stepping over the line...

I was driving in for worship set up this morning and realized that I was really excited to get back to Virginia. Specifically I was excited about being back in the groove of setting up staging for our worship. I really missed it. It was fun to connect with the super dedicated team I serve with. It was great to be hands on again, implementing staging on the fly. I even had to stop off at a drug store to buy some safety pins, since my pPod bag (with all the tools, etc I use to set up) is at someone else's house.

I guess that is a sure sign that you are called to serve, when you step over the line to total commitment.

My friend Beth talks about a line that she sees between those that serve and those who participate. What is really interesting is people that are simply participants often don't feel connected.

I feel, to feel connected you have to step over the line...
the line to serve...
the line to be in a small group...
the line to commit...

I have a friend that has been skipping church recently. And it really sounds like she is ready to step down from serving...I'm just waiting for it. I've been hearing it coming for months now. In essence, she is trying to slowly step backwards over that line of demarcation. Next, I'll hear she doesn't feel connected anymore. Gee, I wonder why?
It's sad really.

What side of the line are you on at the moment?

visiting Geist...

Geist Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Gathering Music

Praise Songs (set list 1)
Let It Rise (Big Daddy Weave)
As The Deer (trad. arr. Salvador)
Breathe (Passion)

Moment for Children
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer

Offering
Offering music (performed)
People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield

Message: “It’s About Time” Mark Briley
Response to Message (performed)
Today (Jadon Lavik)

Communion

Closing Song
Everyday (Hillsong)

just a thought...

I really enjoy participating in the the Sunday Set List Carnival at Fred McKinnon's blog. The conversations are often inspiring.

This week on Windbag the Worship Leader we got chatting in the comments about utilizing old goldies (or "vintage songs" as HL likes to call them) in worship sets.
"Not only are they new for the younger generation, and that the older folks really connect...but unchurched people have no clue what is "old" or "new". A great song is simply that, a great song..."

Sadly, for a few years the vintage songs got thrown out with bath water.
I was blessed early on to have a worship leader who insisted on adding a vintage song almost every week. Along with a secular song that fit the message. Man, we caught a lot of flack for that.
What are your thoughts on adding "vintage songs" into worship?

on the road…

I am currently on the road. My youngest brother had heart surgery on Election Day. He lives in Indianapolis and had his heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. I flew to Indy, picked up my mother and we drove to Cleveland for his surgery. Then we returned to take care of his three young children, until he recovered enough to come home.

Once we settled back here in Indy, I decided to visit my mother’s church, Geist Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Well, technically not my mother’s church, but the new North Campus of their church.

I always find it very interesting to look at a church from a guest’s point of view.

Geist Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Worship set 1
Forever (Tomlin)
Holy is the Lord (Tomlin)
Grace Flows Down/You Are My King (Christy Nockels)

Moment for Children
Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer

Offering
Offering Music (performed)
The Invitation (Steven Curtis Chapman)

Message: Casting Your Vote

Musical Response to Message (performed)
Rise Up (Zehnder)

Communion

Closing Song:
Fairest Lord Jesus (Passion Worship Band)

Geist is now one church at two locations. They expanded to a second location (North Campus) this year and it is a very successful campus launch, with 100 unique new families when they launched.
I’ll be blogging more about my impressions later this week, in between continuing to care for my brother. I am also going to try to meet their main worship leader and encourage them to participate here.

This is part of the wonderful group of people over at Sunday Set List Carnival on Fred McKinnon's blog.

Do you get a chance/like to visit other churches?

finally...

I am trying to catch up. I thought I would have had more time to keep my blog updated. But, that didn’t happen. It has been a frenzied week.
Between the hospital shuffle, medical complications, internet availability and connectivity, travel to Cleveland and back to Indianapolis, my mothers house and my brothers house and caring for my brothers three children and dog it just didn’t happen. Today is my first day that I’ve had a chance to actually catch up.
Thanks for checking in and bearing with me…

church marketing....

I watched a show on advertizing and internet presence.
They were discussing the current state of the economy; and how often businesses will make the mistake of cutting back on the money spent on advertizing. This is a mistake. You need to spend your money on marketing.
Often times I find that some churches eschew the terminology of marketing. But the reality is that whether you are intentionally designing a marketing plan or not you are still marketing.

Keeping in mind your target demographics and location, you need to make sure people can find you. Understand that a large majority of people aren’t looking in the newspaper anymore. They are dong goggle searches.

You would think that in this day and age that people would understand that the internet is a cheaper and more efficient means of advertizing.

Whether your clicks are organically high or you pay per click you need to get yourself get your clicks higher.
Their suggestions:
Insure that you include in your title: keywords and where you are located
Make sure your first paragraph tells exactly what you are doing
If people get there they better find the right information or they will click away.

So, is your website effective?

and I voted...

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!
...oh, in all of that craziness this week, I voted by absentee ballot. My brother, his wife and my mom did the same thing., since we will all be in Cleveland on election day. It's that important.

heart surgery and the Lion King...

Man, it has been a hectic couple of weeks.
I went to Indianapolis and have returned and now am getting ready for my big trip to Indianapolis-Cleveland-Indy-Southern Illinois-Indy-Lion King-home.
As you may know, my youngest brother is having heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.
I'm flying to Indianapolis today. I'll pick up my mother there and we are driving to Cleveland tomorrow, where my brother will have his surgery on Monday. He and his wife have been in Cleveland since Wednesday getting tests.
We will be there for a couple of days, while he has his surgery, then return to Indy to help watch his three young children.
After he returns to Indy, mom and I will head south to visit my 92 year old grandmother.
We will return after a couple of days and then we are going to go see the Lion King!
Then I will head back home to Virginia.
In between all this I am working at a different Starbucks this week. That's another story in it self entirely.
And trying to coordinate a stage design (or two).
Yesterday and this morning been sending messages back and forth to our creative team, as the gal who was working on the stage backdrop has gotten sick and not able to complete this weeks design and her family has been sick all week. Poor thing.
This morning we are trying to arrange to have part of the remainder of the cardboards from the cardboard testimonies picked up (she lives 45 minutes away from the church) and transported to the church. Fun stuff.
Thankfully I work with a super team who is picking up the slack and praying for my family.
On that note, I'm am letting God handle this and going to go take my clothes out of the dryer to pack.
How has your week gone? What are you doing this weekend?