precipice...

in a place of wonderment... standing on a precipice...
waiting...


not knowing the next step...
yet, knowing He is faithful...

put one foot in front of the other...

I don't think I can even begin to explain what is happening in my heart right now. What I think I can explain is that for the last year, I have simply been following a series of “open doors” in my life. The biggest majority has to do with human trafficking.
I have been saying for months; that when you actually see and understand the heinous issue of human trafficking, some of us are eternally changed. Knowing too much, to ever consider stepping back into the oblivion of not knowing.

For us (me) the heart's discontent is too great.

Over the last year; I have been transformed into a modern day abolitionist.

The past Sunday evening, at our churches Core Community, one of our lead pastors Chris Campbell shared that he will be changing courses in his life and following a call from God.

I don’t fully have all the answers yet, but I believe it has to do with the “least of these”.(Matthew 25) One of the greatest pleasures in my life has been to serve in the ranks of CrossCurrent Ministries and have my mind truly opened to the “least of these”. I am blessed to partner with and shepherd a variety of people who are consumed with the mission of rescue and restoration. Their zeal has spread through this local church like a little bit of leaven in a loaf and over time we have become increasingly broken over the “least of these” who are waiting to be rescued and restored by a mighty Savior using simple people to do atypical things. I find myself surrounded by intentional folks who embrace the principles of true religion by caring for the most vulnerable in society (James 1:27). We are all learning how to act justly and love mercy and walk humbly. (Micah 6:8) We are recognizing the urgency of the times we live in and rather than merely join in on socially hip causes, we are learning to lead with the Gospel and give Jesus center stage as we move in His power to love unconditionally (God and people) and serve the world.

Maybe God recognizes that deep inside I wonder what it would be like to trade in my coach’s cap, clip board and whistle and actually get in the game? Maybe he’s recognized my longing glances as I watch the people who I love actively jumping into the some of the most broken places in order to rescue and restore the “least of these.” (from “About Last Night” Chris Campbell)

I was in great turmoil when the announcement was made. Losing such a great shepard in our faith community. But the turmoil that was created wasn't about him leaving (though that is tough). I am starting to figure out that it has to do with the human trafficking part of the equation in my life.

I don't know where this is all leading. I have been feeling like Moses, been reading and re-reading Exodus 3.  I do know that I will continue to "put one foot in front of the other" and walk through the open doors.

are you having a great time serving...

Saturday evening, we were so blessed to have Russell Fragar come and share with our worship(both adult and youth) and tech team. It was such a wonderful evening of food, friends, worship and encouragement.Russell served as Music Pastor for the Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia from 1989-2001, back in the days of "Shout to the Lord" and Darlene Zschech. He now lives in Northern Virginia and is personal friends with one of our worship leaders.
He shared a lot of stories and tips, then answered questions.
Just one of his comments: “if you aren’t having a great time in the praise and worship ministry, you’re doing it wrong”.
There were about 30 of us gathered and we were really glad we went out.
Needless to say, those of us who attended woke up at our normal 5:00 a.m. to get ready for worship set up were fired up. It was such fun to be able to serve and it spread to those who hadn't attended.

worship wars...

I believe there is an inherent struggle for people to want to remain the same.

The people say: “What “we did” in the day is still current and relevant. “We want new people to come, yet just fit in and become just like us.”

The lines get drawn based on person's preferences.

What I struggle with is I see people pushing the remain in the past; which for us means late 80's and early 90's. It is ironic that these 30-40 somethings are becoming a graying congregation and they don't see it. I read a book in 2002, entitled “2020 Vision”, by Richard Hamm. It was very enlightening. It talks about how congregations are able to appear to be surviving well (a lot of it is based on the tithing habits of the founding members). Then those members start to die off and all of the sudden they realize there is no one left. What has happened was they didn't have a forward thinking vision to stay relevant enough to remain healthy in the future.

I keep saying that is it is God's will to remain stuck in the past (for this body of Christ), then that is what we are supposed to do. But if it is simply based on what “we want” or “we like”, then we've got it wrong. If you are passionate about following God, I believe you have to constantly step out of your comfort zone to pursue the higher ideal of serving God's vision. It all boils down to what God wants.

There is nothing inherently wrong with either traditional or modern worship styles.

If we listen to Him, we will continue to impact the world. But if we don't listen to Him, based on human nature, this “worship style” battle will continue to rage through the Body of Christ.

when does a logo need to evolve?

Starbucks & XC. Time for a logo change?
Here I go, probably going to get myself in trouble again. It’s time to re-evaluate our XC logo.
Starbucks has cause all sorts of ruckus with it's announcement of a new changed logo yesterday.
But I like it, I get it.

I personally have felt it has been time to re-evaluate XC’s logo for awhile now.

Colors need to be updated?

Is text is bang-on?

Font needs to be updated?

Does it reflect who we have become?

There are ways to update it and not change the overall concept.

Let me be clear, here are just my personal thoughts…

Color palette needs to be updated from 1980’s to a more current color palette.

Keep the X and add the C into the graphic. That is what more people are actually calling ourselves now.
Minimize, lighten in color the Minimize, lighten in color the CROSSCURRENT to the size and color of the Ministries. Keep the all caps &  add .org (?)

Point: It is interesting; our old school people still abbreviate our church C.C., while most of the newer people and groups use X.C. See they are actually picking up the X in our logo, it seems to reflect who we are currently.

Please note: I am NOT a graphic artist, so this is just a conceptual picture, not an accurate example.

Changing a logo – pros and cons

new band set up...

The band set up from January 1, 2012.

This pic was taken during a worship set.
What do you think?

pushing pause, con't...

Being creative requires constant evaluation.

That is where the creative team is at this moment...

What is really in our toolbox at this point in time? We have been in a place where the gifts and talents of the people on the team are shifting.

Stage design, drama, dance, vids, experiential elements are all tools we have had for several years. We are going through an actually time of mourning (what has been) and need to start focusing on what we currently have. Tough place to be.

We are still able to focus on the 5S (5 senses). Which are taste, smell, hearing, sight and kinesthetic (touch). We are in a place of being un(limited). Recognizing that we still can be unlimited in our creation; yet understanding we ARE limited in our actually production.

While we still have tools like dance/movement, interactive/experiential elements, spoken words and much more. We have to face the reality that at this moment in time we do not have the bandwidth to do true dramas and major in-house videos.

Several team members are in a different season of their lives, which doesn't give the time they were able to give before; for writing, direction, production and such.

But this is not a bad thing. This is just the reality of where we are.

So, this is a time of experimentation. What new things are we able to do? Who wants to learn more about owning elements? Who is willing to try to learn new skills? Who have skills that are being used currently? Or are we even supposed to being doing this at all?
I believe we are supposed to continue...but doing what? I am not sure at this point.
One other point...while I personally still finding it easy to create the stage designs each and every week; I have intentionally pushed pause on that also.
This is truly a time to reflect and pray about where we are heading as a team.

pushing pause...

more later...

do people know you and where you stand…

Do they know you as a political pundit?
Do they know you because you are mad about hula hoops?
Most people who know me after a time, know certain truths about me.
One of those truths is that I am in the fight against human trafficking.
One of my sweet girls from Starbucks posted this picture on my facebook page (xoxo Jessica)

"It's a shame they don't use signs like this. We'd be able to fine 'em faster, that's for sure"
So, I ask again…
What do people know about you and where you stand?

this is a ball...

This is a ball…

It is a bouncy multi-colored ball that lights up when you drop it…
I found this bouncy ball at work one day…
It sparked a creative idea in my head…
I often wonder about creativity and how creativity happens.
I keep track of ideas I have that are inspired by the world around me. Sometimes I know exactly what the idea will lead to, other times I do not.
Specifically I deal with stage designing and experiential elements.

For example: one idea that I knew where I was going with it came from a quick simply question from my brother. Which was, “what do you think about QR codes?” This is what happened with that thought.

 

Another idea I had was from a rubber mat at a library. I have no clue when or where I will use the idea (it has to do with the “feel” of walking across the mat). Super bouncy.
This is my reminder of that mat. It's an actual picture of that inspirational mat.

Who knows…it will find a way into some sort of design or experiential element. I just don’t know when or what.
That is the way it is with creative ideas.

 

These are just a few things which have inspired creative ideas for staging & experiential elements:

1. A ceiling (at the Cheesecake Factory)
2. From retail establishments
3. Pony-tails
4. Scrabble board
5. TV
6. Simply exploring on the internet
7. A bouncy ball (which lit up)
8. Watching SYTYCD
9. Reading other creative’s blogs
10. Starbucks
11. Brainstorming with our team
12. Ikea
13. Talking with my brother (several ideas)
14. On top of a ladder
15. Doughnuts
16. Iconography
17. Reading the Bible
18. Old dilapidated church
19. Driving (this one is hard, because I either have to remember or stop and write the idea down)
20. Home Depot (amazing place)
21. The “Lion King” (the stage play)
22. Reading (in general)
23. S.T.O.M.P.
24. Various types of material
25. The stars in the sky

For me, this is the way the creativity happens, or the cookie crumbles, or the ball bounces...

 

why I do, what I do…

She was about 5 years old, smiling from beneath long auburn curls, clutching a teddy bear wearing Marine dress blues. We were chatting and laughing. She told me she was leaving on a plane to go to El Paso (TX).

How much fun! We talked about going “sledding” on the white sand dunes of White Sands Missile Range (in New Mexico).
We started talking about her bear- as her beautiful mom was sharing that all of this wee child’s parents (mom, dad and step-dad) are active duty Marines. Of course, I thanked the mom for her service and shared I was a Viet Nam Era Veteran.
Soon it came out that the reason for their visit to El Paso was to attend the little girl’s father’s funeral; who was killed in action in Afghanistan just this last Friday.
The tears started to well up in my eyes. The little one continued to share that she was the “primary” (beneficiary), and that she was going to get her daddy’s flag at the funeral.
I asked and then hugged them both; and said I would be praying for them this week.
As they were departing we said we would see each other again soon.
I certainly hope so.

Lord, please wrap your loving arms around this charming young child and her mom as they deal with giving so much to preserve our country.
________________________________________
This is part of the reason why I work as a simple barista at Starbucks.
In my life, random people I meet tend to simply share rather important things that are happening in their lives. It just happens. Is it because I take a little bit more time and listen to what they are actually saying? I am not sure. All I know is that this type of thing happens over and over and over again in my life.
- A man whose sister was dying of congestive heart failure.
- Another man, whose dog was suffering from cancer and ultimately died later that week.
- A woman who was dying of cancer (I later attended her funeral)
- Another person, whose best friend has relapsed with aggressive brain cancer.
- I sang Happy Birthday to someone (I do that often), who later shared I was the only person who acknowledge her special day.
- The woman whom I choose to hug, who said it was the first time someone had even touched her in years.
These are just a few of the stories I hear.
So why do I work as a simple barista? Because that is where God wants me to be – touching people’s lives in a seemingly random place like Starbucks.

hooks...

I love "hooks".
It is a means of attracting interest or an enticement. Mmmmm, I love enticement. Something that makes you think again.
For example in music, a hook is a musical idea, often a short riff that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener".
I having trying really hard for a while to create thought "hooks" from one week to the next.
Not easy to do when people don't really buy into the concept.
But, we did manage to accomplish it with the QR codes. It mostly happened because of miscommunication. The presentation of the whole idea wasn't offered in week one of the series; so people were left with the "empty" feeling of why in the world were those strange blocks of dots everywhere? People were curious.
Thankfully, the next week it was explained really well. But, it did create a hook. Nice.
For me this darn kangaroo is a perfect example of a hook. I really liked the short lived series "Fast Forward". In the premiere, just before the first commercial they focused on this picture of a kangaroo-and said remember the kangaroo... Obviously they were going to explain it later in the series. I remembered the kangaroo-it caught my attention. Then the series ended abruptly and they never resolved "the why" of the kangaroo. UGH!
Now the kangaroo haunts me. THAT is a great hook.
So, currently, this picture is my desktop picture, as a reminder to remember the importance of the hook.
I will continue to weave "hooks" from one week to the next.

little cloud of bounciness...

One day I was simply walking into a local library for a meeting. As I was walking in I stepped on a really cool mat in the entryway.
"Wow"! It was like stepping on a little cloud of bounciness. The feeling was very cool and fun. My instant thought was how am I going to incorporate this into an experiential element for - you guessed it - church.

So, I pulled out my camera to "capture" a picture as a reminder of this moment.
Seriously, this is how is works in my mind. I haven't had a chance to use this concept yet. But is is there-in my memory, waiting for the right moment...

musing on creativity...

I’ve been musing about creativity and how it happens in the brain, again.
Honestly, I wonder if I am really creative or if I have more of a gift of extrapolation.

I often note there is a difference between artistic and creative. I don't feel that I am necessarily "artistic". But I do have an intrinsic "nose".
My mind constantly "sees" things that inspire some sort of creative gut check. I "see" a snippet; and think "Oh wow, what am I able to do with that?"
This is the ceiling from The Cheesecake Factory in Columbia, Md.

Another small example: I have used a simple faux mirror to interact with on stage for a dance routine.
After we had done that, I captured this frame from SYTYCD. Way cool! I had an idea, then I saw it somewhere else.

Or even more recently. I was watching SYTYCD and saw this...

I file these "snippets" away in my brain and hopefully my computer. I actually have a file entitled "inspiration & thoughts".
I also will blog about it, mostly just to keep the little idea locked down somewhere until it is needed.

Another key element is being well read. Constantly reading, watching, searching, looking, checking out...

Seriously, I study things like marketing (Very helpful)
Yet another thing I do is keep up with what is currently relevant.
Just this week, I was reading some articles on creativity by googling “how does creativity happen?” Some of the information I gleaned from this search was:
The second link I hit was “How does creativity happen?”, really good stuff.
-Even Albert Einstein once defined creativity as "combinatorial play," referring to the intellectual playfulness aspect of creativity, the putting things together in a new way.
-Ah, “putting things together in a new way”. That makes sense to my mind.
-Amy Tan abnormal chromosome
-and I found an e-book "Untitled"

The biggest revelation that I had during this research was - the average person isn't really wired for creativity and most people aren't willing to do the hard work that is involved in creative process.

heinous act of modern slavery...

"Think slavery ended in 1865? Think again." Believe it or not, modern day slavery exists. Not just overseas, but more than likely in your town. Whether it is domestic slavery, labor or sexual trafficking, it exists.

For the last few months, I have been serving on the Human Trafficking Task Force (httf).
We were tasked by our pastor’s consortium to research and find the gap in our county and to recommend an action plan to address the human trafficking issue in Loudoun County, VA. We did this by:

1. Identify existing organizations in Loudoun and the surrounding areas who are dealing with or have the potential to be dealing with human trafficking on some level
2. Conduct (usually face-to-face) informational interviews with leadership at each of these organizations to identify their awareness level, the strengths of their organization, and the gaps they’ve identified in addressing human trafficking in Loudoun
3. Report on these findings, especially the gaps
4. Brainstorm, based on research, possible recommendations based on findings/gaps

We presented our recommendations to the Loudoun Pastors Consortium yesterday.
This has been an exciting, yet sobering journey. You will see more to come on this issue…

love God, love others, serve the world…

Just a short note to say I love being part of a group of people that seeks to help the lost, the skeptic, and the disenfranchised. We have had prostitutes; one who is now serving as a missionary in China. We have parolee’s; some that have returned to prison that we still minister to. We have our own biker “gang”, who does outreach to prisoners, strippers and many more. This is just a part of who we are.

We are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But there is a true heart of seeking justice.

Submitting ourselves to truly:

seeing the bigger picture...

Just a short note here. I am now serving on a local Human Trafficking Task Force. We are simply a group of people from various churches that have a passion for ending human trafficking. While we are focusing on finding and filling the "gap" here in our county; I keep seeing a much bigger picture.
I'm talking a ginormous, big, hairy picture.
It's hard to completely define at this point but:
It includes creating a dance/performance arts group. And I don't dance (LOL)
Building a place of restoration for victims of trafficking and abuse. Called "La Casita" a little house making a big difference. This concept geared more towards a community center, has been on my heart for years.
Creating some sort of nation-wide coalition of believers to address the issue of modern day slavery.
Creating some way of getting the word out about trafficking. To engage people I meet on the street about the issue. Maybe t-shirts?
Don't know where this is going. I am being transformed. I see it, I don't get where it is going. But, that's o.k. I learned a long time ago, when God is speaking, I just wait, listen and don't ask a lot of questions.
Just letting it percolate...

going, going, gone…

I am sure the only person that will care about this is Jim Drake. I design with a lot of fabric. It is so quick & easy to use, particularly for a mobile church. And it fills up an empty black stage really well.

A couple of years ago you could find tons of material at Walmart for only $1 a yard.
Gotta love Walmart
Then about a year ago, Walmart decided to close out most of their fabric/sewing departments.

So I researched and found one location that still would continue to carry fabric in my area. It’s only 8.5 miles away, but in the DC Metro area that is about a 40 minutes drive. The cost of the fabric slowly crept up to $2 a yard. O.k. I dealt with that. So, every 8 weeks or so, I would travel to Fair Lakes and see what they had in stock. Probably spending $40-$80 each time.

Well, Thursday I made my little trip to the fabric Walmart. Oh, everything was 25% off. Yippee! Then I found out why. They were closing out their sewing/fabric department there also - to make room in the store to convert it to a Super-Walmart.

Ugh! Oh, no…
What am I going to do now?
Yes, I know there are other fabric stores. But when designing on a budget, there is nothing like getting fabric for $2 a yard vs. $4.95 and up at other fabric retailers; especially when it comes out of my personal pocket & when I purchased around 15-20 yards at a time.
I bought extra Thursday. They may get another shipment, so I will make another trip (or two) out there and stock up.
Thankfully I have quite a bit of fabric now in stock. We are currently organizing, hemming and measuring all the material we have on hand.
In light of all the praying and reevaluation we have been doing, I gather it is time to revamp my thinking. We will see where this journey shall lead.

yesterday I went to an adult oriented sex store with a man, not my husband….

Often with me there is a story behind what I say; this is no different.

Here is the back story…
It all began with just a few seconds in time, a few words quoted from a newspaper article.
In a special message given by my friend Greg Genter, May 30, 2010, entitled “My Lavish Lifestyle”. Nestled in his message (about 38 minutes), he briefly mentioned a newspaper article.
This is what he said (quoting from the article)…

3 massage parlors were shut down in Sterling (a local community in our area) because of sex trafficking. Congressman Wolf described the crime as this “Sexual services performed at a businesses operating under the guise of a massage parlor or other business store fronts This establishment is forcing women into sexual trafficking through debt bondage, isolation and other manipulations to keep women indoors at all time, unable to escape.”
Wolf announced his intent to encourage all local officials to begin further investigation into human trafficking In addition he will be asking local religious organizations to begin provided temporary housing for those rescued from human trafficking.

Those few seconds have snowballed.

Since Congressman Wolf had asked specially for faith-based organizations (that new pc word for churches) to step in, our pastors talked and called his office. They got to meet with the Congressman in person.
During that time, we found out that Congressman Wolf’s office had sent out somewhere around 400 letters to various churches in our local area asking for help. Sadly not one responded. We were not one of those churches.
We called simply because of that little blurb in the newspaper that Greg read to us.
One of the things that was shared in that meeting was the police are aware of various locations in our area that are trafficking people sexually (including children) in this area and are prepared to raid them-but the problem is there is nothing really established to provide after care for the victims.

Now the second part; our pastors are involved in a Pastors Consortium in our county. The consortium has decided to take stopping Human Trafficking in our area on as a cause.
Then they contacted and invited in Polaris Project to come and present a training session on how to identify the various types of human trafficking in our neighborhoods. It was cool. We had at least 50 people, representing 9 churches in our county and multiple organizations involved in this issue.

Next, one of the previous members of our church was in town and had lunch with our lead pastor. Just a catch up lunch. During lunch, Dan Clark was sharing what he has been doing in Ohio. He and his wife had started an organization called Doma International, Among others things, Doma steps into the judicial system and stands with the victims of Human Trafficking and provides after care.

This has lead to developing a local Human Trafficking Task Force for Loudoun County/Northern Virginia. I am part of that task force.

Can you see how God is moving to bring all these pieces of a puzzle together?

We are currently meeting. We are praying for discernment for God’s will on what we should be doing to help this issue. Part of it is finding on what is needed to see if we are able to contact all the services we can find in our area and put the pieces of the puzzle together, help them to work together, and then see where the missing puzzle piece is and fill that gap. Then the pastors consortium will take present this plan to their churches and let people know-this is how you can personally get involved.

We know that we will be hosting a second training session on victim identification education program by Polaris Project. This time we probably be using a 2,000 seat venue, And afterwards offering people places to put action behind their feelings of wanting to serve.
It’s in the beginning phases, but we are very excited to see where God is going to lead us.

So back to, why did I go to a adult sex store? A friend thought they might be interested in at least providing materials to their customers and helping support this project. Strange bed fellows you may think, but this connection will reach people that you and I can not reach. The first meeting was a success. They are willing to have materials displayed in their store and they are willing to e-mail their “Friends” list informing them of the next victim identification education program.

What we did may not make sense to you. But it worked. This is a very real issue in many areas; chances are it is happening in your town. You may simply not be able to see it. If it burdens your heart - I challenge you to do something.

envisioning the future…

I envision it now, fb filled with images of Menorahs to commemorate the festival of lights, pictures of Ashura pilgrimages, the meditative thoughts of Bodhi Day, the time of devout and penitential preparation of the soul for the proper and worthy celebration of the great feast of Christmas for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the celebration of family, community and culture of Kwanzaa and, dare I say it?
Christmas Nativities to celebrate the birth of Christians long awaited Messiah…

Today my profile pic isn’t a nativity…but more importantly a reminder of the expectancy….

THIS is what excites me in my faith journey about the season. To imagine what it was like back then...patiently waiting for the long awaited and prophesied Messiah.

Can you imagine the years of anticipation that lead up to this moment in time?

By next year, maybe people of the Christian faith will be posting Nativities, those who simply celebrate the Santa man, could post pictures of Santa & elves...

If you choose not to believe any of it…well, then keep your profile picture of whatever…

Start a revolution…

Don’t muzzle or deny others, but humbly share the excitement that fills your life.