I love this! For two reasons.

#1 As a Pastor, I listen to stories every week of people living in addiction. In bondage to an abusive partner. In disappointment, because they’ve done everything they can and it’s still not enough. And this phrase comes to mind. DO NOT give control of your life to anything or anyone, because your desire is to make a friend, family member, spouse happy. It doesn’t work. You will walk away hurt, confused and let down.

#2 As a Christ follower, I agree with this statement 100%. When I live my life to please God, I release control of my life to Him and He does with me as He pleases.

Now, back to learning to please Him…

But, I agree. He is hands down the greatest entertainer of all time. Has the most albums sold. The most gold records. The most attended concerts and tours. The most popular performances. He was and is in demand. Probably the last entertainer we saw of this caliber was Elvis. Michael will always be remembered. is that wrong? I don’t think so. I pray that my life is one that affects people in this way.

But, some thoughts…

We experienced a memorial today that was unlike any other. We watched thousands of people in the staples center celebrate his life and millions watched online or on tv. This blows me away. Why did Michael Jackson have such an affect on people? Well, I think he is a very polarizing figure. Here is a musician and artist that people either loved or hated. As I watched the memorial and listened to people on twitter, I tried to understand the perspectives I was hearing. Publicity sells. Good or bad. Michael had a lot of both.

#1 I watched people online, at the memorial talk a lot about God. I am off the opinion, that every time God’s name is proclaimed, people have an opportunity to recognize Him and make a decision about Him. So, I am thankful that God was talked about. Even the apostle Paul proclaimed this. He was grateful that God was preached…even by those who didn’t know God.

#2 Michael was said to be “in heaven” many times at this memorial service. I was very discouraged by a lot of the things I read on twitter today. People ridiculed that “this pedophile” could not be in heaven. That this “sinner” is now feeling God’s wrath. I read horrible things. It was as if Christians, all over this country, could somehow, all of a sudden, know peoples hearts. Please! The only person, that knows whether or not Michael is in heaven…is GOD! Leave it alone.

#3 I read, over and over, how people were frustrated that this “rich man”, “celebrity”, “freak”, “heathen”, was being honored or celebrated, while people were dying in Iraq, or a poor person passed away down the street. I even read a person’s tweet that gave an option. “#1 I honor Michael Jackson, or #2 I honor those who dies in Iraq. I choose #2″. Seriously?!?! Why are we choosing??? Choose to honor ALL life. Not just those who are poor or rich. Those who are at peace or at war. Those who are popular or fighting for our country. ALL life deserves to be honored!

#4 Today, I watched a service that celebrated a life. It celebrated a legacy. Michael had one. And it was NOT the legacy that the media chose to tell. It was a legacy that encouraged peace and unity. It was a life poured out into music and artistry. Michael was was a man that made mistakes and sinned, just like you and me. Many people call him a pedophile. Did you even realize that he was acquitted? I think most people think he was a convicted felon. He wasn’t. And now, the accuser is taking back his story and saying it was a lie. Makes you think…

#5 I saw a family remember their brother, son, uncle, father. I heard some really stupid things today. My strongest “opinion” this day is dealing with Al Sharpton. He’s an idiot. He serves agenda and encourages racism. He makes me sick. And he calls himself a Pastor. I honored Michaels legacy today, by NOT listening to Al Sharpton. Michael stood for peace an unity. Al Sharpton stands for privilege and elitism. You may feel differently, but I believe their are people that abuse their “voice”. I believe Al Sharpton does this. Regardless, I saw friends and family remember a friend, father and family member. I think that today, was one of the first times, we have ever gotten to know michael personally on a “real” level.

So, what is my point to all this? Perspective. I am asking Christians to put their swords down. Michael is not our enemy. I am asking opinions to be real and not play the hypegame. Maybe you didn’t like his music, but he was and will always be, one of the largest artists…ever. Maybe their are more “honorable” deaths. But, I argue that all life is valuable and not thought less of because of privilege or favor.

I pray that Michael knew Jesus. I pray that through this, the family draws closer to God. Michael’s brother Marlin gave an amazing speech today. When I Iistened to him, I felt I was listening to a person who knew Jesus. I pray this is so. I was blown away at the final prayer by Pastor Lucius Smith. It was humble, reverent and it drew our attention upward. One statement was made that stuck with me, “The King of pop, is now kneeling before the King of Kings.” Amen!

But, let us remember. One day, all of us will kneel before God. He will determine who we are and whether or not, “He knows us”. I pray that today, through Michael’s life, people will know our God and will be changed by Him.

Isn’t this prayer enough, to celebrate a life? Even Michael’s?

The last couple of months for me (specifically since fall) have been a whirlwind. Prior to that time, the blog world was the center of communication for me. Times have changed. I have changed. A lot.

Last fall, I was asked to plant a church with a person I respect deeply. His invitation started me on a journey. I evaluated what I do and who I am in Christ. I evaluated the ministry I am a part of and the leaders I work with. Everything went under the microscope and was guided by God’s truth and spiritual guidance. It was a journey that had me looking deep inside to figure out what I really believed and who I was. If you are looking for answers to those two questions, I am sorry to say that I don’t have them. But, I can say that I am clearer in discovering them. I will forever be on this journey. After a couple of months of prayer and reflection, I turned the offer down. I can honestly say that there were tons of pros and cons. In the end, there was not a single factor for the decision I made. It was based on everything around me. The people. The ministry. The job I have. My family. I can say, it is one of the most stressful times I have lived through, regarding making a decision. But I am grateful I had the decision to make.

So why am I so quiet? Well, my focus has changed. I am still here every once in a while. It is an awesome place to think and hash out ideas. It is a great place to gain new perspective, from all of you. And I love the ability to share in depth what is going on in my life. This will continue to happen and it will continue to be at a pace that it demands. But, this is no longer the center of communication for me. Twitter has become a huge part of my life, but beyond all of that, the people I am in living relationship with are getting my attention. It is changing the way I learn, network, care. It is good and it is fruitful. I am enjoying it.

The whirlwind has led me to new relationships, new ministry opportunities, new life experiences, better priorities and definitely a more focused vision. I realized when I lived in the blog world, that it somehow kept me coming back for more, when in fact, I needed to start living many of the things I was learning and saying. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still learn a ton from all of you. Sometimes through blogs, but more often, through voice to voice or face to face communication. I am truly blessed by all the people that are filling my life with wisdom, instruction and encouragement.

So, all this to say. I don’t live here anymore. This is an aspect of my life and will be a place where I come to talk. But this is not where my focus is anymore. Especially in the future. I am busier now than every before. With great things! I actually haven’t read through my Google Reader in months. If you twitter your blog post, I will stop by

Please pray for Table Rock Fellowship. We are beginning a new journey for us. This fall, we go multi site! We are locating our first (yes, that means there will be more) campus just south of us in Phoenix, Oregon. We will be one church, in multiple locations. We want to be less focused on our one building and one location and we want to make sure we are all over our valley in every community. Worshipping and serving in the neighborhoods. I am really excited about this and I ask that you pray for us as a leadership and as a church. We are anxious to see what God is going to do, as we step out in faith.

Amos 5:21-24 (New Living Translation)

Here it is in the Message. This is the version that Tim linked to…

Amos 5:21-24 (The Message)

This article from Yahoo has been floating around the last two days. Mostly negative feedback has been given. That negative feedback is saying, that this article points to the failure of mega churches. I have a little different perspective.

First of all, what is a mega church? It is a church that has a consistent attendance of 2000 or more. Of which there are a recorded, 1300+ mega churches in the USA. The article talks of a survey conducted of mega churches here in the USA. The article found many interesting things. Including the fact that most mega churches are younger than expected. The majority of attendees are between 18-44. But the main focus of all the negativity I have seen, are 2 items taken from the beginning of the article. #1 Mega church goers give less. #2 Mega church goers serve less.

Anyone who is less than supportive for large churches, can easily take those two things and run with them. They can point fingers and say the mega church fosters attenders and not participators. That the mega church is more about feelings than spirit. But I struggle with piling everything into one bag. Generally, these survey’s do, just that.

I am a Media and Worship Pastor at a mega church. We have between 2500-3000 in attendance on any given weekend. We are 12 years old this July. We started with 150 people. So, we have been through most all stages of growth. When I read this survey, I see very few similarities between our church and the mega churches this article speaks of. For instance…

“Nearly two-thirds of megachurch attenders are under 45, double the numbers in Protestant congregations of all sizes. The vast majority are between 18 and 44.”

We held a survey last year and we are divided evenly in thirds with about 55% over 45.

“Nearly a third of megachurch attenders are single, compared to 10 percent in a typical Protestant church. They also tend to be wealthier and better educated”

We have about 30% single and of those both single and married, we are not “well paid”. In fact, we are a very blue collar church.

“megachurch-goers give less money than other churchgoers.”

We actually have a very large percentage that give. I have heard many churches are held together by the 10-15% of people that actually give. We are at over 30% of our people that give. And that is only when we can account for checks. Cash giving, may add greatly to that percentage, as there is no way to determine who gave and how much.

But, more to the volunteering and giving. The negative posts and Tweets I have read, focused on this. According to this article, mostly young an single people are attending these churches and these young people are not giving and they are not serving. The negative comments are saying that young people are selfish, lazy and attenders…not participants. I wanted to respond to that, based on our area and the church I work in.

#1 These survey’s are based on a very small percentage of people that are actually involved in the organization they are surveying. Although they give us great info, it cannot be determined that this information should be held as truth across the entire organization. For instance. They surveyed 25,000 people. The article says there are 5 million that attended mega churches. Obviously, this will not account for all communities and regions of the country.

#2 As to young people, not serving. I am humbled weekly when I watch young people serve. But “service” is changing. It is no longer about handing out bulletins, or making sure there is enough coffee. It is about working at a local food pantry, or habitat for humanity, or raising funds for an organization battling aids. That is where young people today are serving. And, that is where they need to serve. I also contend that young people, single and married, are overwhelmed with schedules. Especially the young parent. School, home care, work, schooling, kids and often all these things together. I do not expect a person in that daily condition and pace, to come on sunday and pass out bulletins. I would hope they can come to take a breath.

#3 Regarding young people not giving. We know that there are different standards in churches as to what is appropriate giving. Is it what you have? Is it 10%. Is it everything? I know that young people (that I see and work with) are giving everything they can. Our community here in Southern Oregon is not wealthy. It is actually one of the lower income areas in the state. When a single mom who is working, going to school and feeding her kids, shows up on Sunday and puts money in the offering, I am blown away that she has managed to have anything left over to give, let alone make it the first thing she gives. I know there are many areas of the country that are wealthy, I can’t speak for them. But I think I can speak for most of the rest of the country that is sparse with wealth and more rural in it’s nature.

I hope that survey’s like this give us talking points. things to improve on. Ways to look clearer at trends and issues. But I would also hope that survey’s like this do not become grounds for church bashing and finger pointing. After reading so many negative tweets about this today, I saw this one…

Today was a bittersweet day in the tech world. Apple’s announcements were big and well received. But, the subsequent failure of AT&T to keep up with Apple’s successes, left me ho-hum.

Here’s the deal. Apple announced software and hardware changes today. Including…
-New Macbook Pro’s. Including a 13″ version for only $1199 (Available today)
-New OS upgrade “Snow Leopard” will be available in September for $129 or $29 for upgrade.
-Reworked Quicktime with new interface and editing capabilities.
-Safari 4. With some great new stability features. (Available today)
-The expected, 3.0 OS for the iPhone. Which will be free (available on the 17th) And it includes tethering and MMS!!!
-But, the biggee! A new iPhone. The iPhone 3GS. The “S” stands for speed which is the biggest feature.

So, here’s where it gets bittersweet. Although there is a new iPhone. AT&T is not offering the new price discount(subsidized pricing) to all existing customers for the iPhone. Only for new customers and existing customers, eligable for an upgrade. And, although the new OS includes tethering and MMS, AT&T isn’t even going to have these feature available on their network till, possibly fall! And it looks like tethering could be EXPENSIVE! (some reports are at $70 a month)

For a new or upgrade eligable AT&T customer, the pricing is…
$99 for existing 8g 3G iPhone (This is available today!)
$199 for new 16g 3GS iPhone (Available the 17th)
$299 for new 32g 3GS iPhone (Available the 17th)
Nice pricing, considering, you can now own the existing 3G for $99! A highlight for Apple in this process, all their prices have been lowered and become almost unbeatable in comparison pricing.

Here is what you get if you are an existing customer not eligable for an upgrade.

As an existing AT&T customer, I would have to pay $200 more, than a person that has never handed AT&T a dime in their life. Not cool! I have never understood why companies choose to devalue their existing customers and increase opportunity for people who may never even be customers. I have been with AT&T for about 10 years and I still get zero, special privilege, Something’s backwards.

UPDATE:
I just talked to a friend and he said that AT&T has released some new info. Neither the rep I talked to at AT&T nor the Apple site knew this info, but it looks like it is for real. Here is a quote from apple insider…

“To qualify for the iPhone 3G S at the advertised $199 (16GB) and $299 (32GB) price points, existing iPhone 3G users will have to have remained customers for what appears to be a year following their purchase. That means current users who bought their iPhone 3G shortly after its launch last year will have to wait a year from their iPhone 3G purchase date to qualify for the new price.”

So, if this is true, it means that I would be able to purchase the new iPhone after July 11th, which is when it was released and I purchased it last year. Funny that even though I have been a customer for 10 years, this still is not enough for me to qualify.

So, yes, I am bummed about AT&T’s decision. But I am very excited about the new iPhone and here is why.
-Speed! Between 2 to 4x faster than the existing 3G iPhone. Although the new iPhone looks exactly the same, the insides have been completely redesigned.
-New 3mp camera. With auto focus and video. Although jailbroken apps can give you video capabilities on the 3G, the new 3G with a better camera, built in video, video editing and auto focus is pretty slick
-Digital Compass. this actually really excites me. I love the ability to have the Maps app actually point me the direction I am going! The built in digital compass auto orientates all maps applications and apps can take advantage of this feature as well.
-Voice recognition. Almost all features of the iPhone can be accessed and managed via voice commands. Make calls, listen to music, select certain system settings. Nice.

All of these features are enough for me to want to own the new version. I even have a buyer for my old iPhone, but alas, I am stuck waiting to see if AT&T will allow any other pricing. In the past, AT&T has allowed all AT&T customers, new and existing, to take advantage of new iPhone pricing for a period of time.. I am hoping in the next week, before the iPhone 3GS is available (the 19th) that AT&T will reconsider.

In addition, I am super excited about the new 13″ Macbook Pro. This option now allows for much cheaper pricing for us as a church as we continue to upgrade office, video and audio systems!

As a Follower of Christ, I struggle. I am faced with daily decision, finances, relationships, health, stresses.

As a Worship Pastor. I struggle. I am faced with being a leader, studying, learning, teaching.

Sometimes it is hard to blend the two. My personal walk/faith and my leadership in the church. It is very easy to infuse who I am, likes/dislike with who I believe the congregation I lead should be and focus only on that. It is very hard to find the balance between what others need to be encouraged/taught and what I need.

I also struggle heavily with a church that seems to appreciate comfort more than character. Too many/too little words. Too many new/old songs. Not enough/too many hymns. Not enough fast/slow songs. Too loud/soft. (And, I have gotten both those complaints in one weekend.) Frankly, we love to complain. I am one of the worst. I admit it. But, I struggle with this personality trait of the church.

The easy thing at this point, is to lead to please them. Pick songs that best meet the demand. Do things that keep the peace. Only do what others recommend. Maybe with a little bit of what I like mixed in. It’s an endless circle of trying to please everyone…except God.

I’m not interested in pleasing people. Sounds harsh, I know. I am constantly critiqued and told something is wrong/too much/not enough/different. Don’t get me wrong, I want critique. But I’m tired of comments, based on opinion or desire. General comments and critique are generally out of line. I am always appreciative and thankful, but even the good ones can be wrong. How many times have you ignored a complaint only to accept a compliment and then even change or adapt what you do based on the compliment, because “people like it”. Who says the compliment isn’t wrong? It’s an endless circle. I’m done.

I am not a Pastor to give you what you want. I am a Pastor, to lead you to what you need.

You need an unending passion for loving the lost.
You need an extravagant joy that only comes from knowing God.
You need a restored life that proves His power.
You need to endlessly stand in awe of a Savior that died for you.
You need to relentlessly pursue the mystery of Jesus.
You need to surrender completely and totally to our sovereign God.

You don’t need style/sound/soft/loud/more/less…

You only need Him. Worship that way. Live that way.

This weekend was a bit different for me. I had the weekend off from leading worship and instead went camping with my son Dakota. Every year, our church holds an event called “Fish Camp”. It is a “guys” only event and we encourage dads and sons to participate. We also have grandparents with grandkids and neighbors with family friends. It is always a blast. The food is incredible and it is such a peaceful and relaxing time. It is held at a camp our church manages for the county called “Camp Apserkaha”. It is right on the shores of a Howard Prairie Lake. Absolutely beautiful!

A shot from the camp shore…

Here’s the fish Dakota caught!

When we got home last night, we came home to this…

A crazy thunder storm. It was awesome! We don’t get them a lot in Southern Oregon, but when do, they remind me of the days we used to visit family in the midwest. I love me a good thunderstorm. Of course, what does the “in” family do when there is lightning and thunder? We grab all our electronics and grab pics/video and audio

A little audio of the thunder…

A little video on the lightning…By the way, we run back into the house at the end of this clip to get the computer out of the rain

Happy weekend to everyone. It’s been a tiring one for me, but I still loved every minute of it. I am writing this post after an awesome week with Joshua in town, a crazy Saturday with a garage sale, rehearsal and the first service of the weekend, a long day of services today, some lunch out with the family and cold stone ice cream. It all makes me happy

This weekend we continued our series “Identity”. We are going through 1 Peter 2 right now. Today we talked about finding our foundation in Jesus. 1 Peter 2:9 says, that we are chosen, holy priests. Verse 10 says “Once you had no identity as a people, now you are God’s”. Love that! We talked about how it is so much more than saying we are something or even being called something, it is all about living as the people we are called to be. When we find our identity in God and take on His calling of chosen people, we will definitely have an affect on those around us. People will see Jesus.

I was leading worship again this weekend. I’ve been off for 2 weeks and have had a cold, so my voice hardly made it through, but it was great to get up there again and sing.

The set list was…

Your Love Is Beautiful – Hillsong
Praise To The Lord, The Almighty – Passion
Glorious – Chris Tomlin
Your Grace Is Enough – Matt Maher (This weekend we retired this song. we may pull it out of the archives at some point, but we decided, this one is worn out for us)
From the Inside Out – Hillsong United
Redeemer, Savior, Friend for communion – Eric Nuzum

No real technical issues. The bass player unplugged at the end of the set on Saturday and his signal was still live. Spooked everybody with a loud pop, but all was good.

Saturday night, I was playing all the wrong notes and singing all the wrong words. It was actually humorous to me. I had a hard time staying clear. I was focused and worshipping, but I definitely wasn’t very sharp. Sunday was much better

We were light on vocalists this weekend, and I only had one electric, so things felt thin. But I am so proud to be working with the musicians and vocalists we have. It is so much fin each week to worship and lead with them.

So, how was your weekend?