butchwhitmire.com

A New Adventure

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:41:00 +0000

Dear Arts Team Friends –

I wanted to take a moment to tell you about a personal adventure I’ll be taking in the near future. A little background: Five years ago, I felt God’s call to move into ministry at GCC. So, I left my career to come to GCC. Next to marrying Chris, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have not for a moment doubted my calling, nor regretted my decision to follow that call. However, over the past several months, I have had this sense of completion - a sense that I have helped take our teams to the place God has asked of me, but that there are higher, better places God has in store for our team. I have also sensed that God wants someone else to help lead us there.

After several weeks of processing this with Tim Stevens and Mark Beeson, I have decided to step down from the paid ministry at GCC, return to the marketplace, and remain at GCC as a volunteer minister and a future member of the Administrative Council (Church Board of Directors.) I love our church, it’s mission, and it’s values. I trust and respect the leadership of our Senior Management Team. I cannot think of a better place in which to serve and worship.

My experience as pastor of creative arts has been amazing and has helped move me closer to God. I am grateful for having been given this opportunity. I am grateful for having been able to serve with each of you - it’s meant more to me than you could ever know. Over the next few weeks, Tim and the SMT will be working on my transition plan. My goal is to leave and lead well through this change and help position our team and our church for an amazing future.

It’s been a true pleasure to have been your pastor. Thank you for continually sacrificing and serving Jesus with your gifts in our church. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Your Friend in Christ,

- Butch

Wisdom

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:41:00 +0000

I've been privileged enough to find some of the talks given at TED by Barry Schwartz and thought I should share this with you. Grab a cup of Joe and enjoy!

Transformational

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:24:00 +0000

Years ago, I worked with a woman named Jane who was a phenomenal computer programmer. She specialized in an older language called Cobol, which in the computer world, is a language comparable to Latin. That is, its a language that's dead or at least dying. In the company where we worked, many of our automated systems were driven by Cobol and as a result, she was a person in demand. Not only because of her special knowledge, but also because she had a positive attitude and a she was a very hard worker. Everyone wanted Jane working on their project team. In short, Jane rocked.

As time passed and the company grew, it was decided (and rightly so) that the systems that had for many years given the company it's competitive edge, needed to be upgraded to a more robust system, a better and more reliable platform. This, we all believed, would help to ensure the company's long-term survival. It meant moving away from the old language and to a newer one.

As a result, the company took on a huge initiative and for quite a while Jane grew even more in demand. As other programmers began migrating code, they called upon her to translate her native language to theirs. She worked hours upon hours and months upon months until tens of thousands of lines of code had all been rewritten.

The thing that puzzled me about Jane was that she worked like a maniac to ultimately make herself obsolete. She had to have known that after the code had been migrated, the need for her skill at our company would have been reduced to almost nil. It was a little like she was digging her own grave - except instead of using a shovel, Jane used her keyboard. The astounding thing was that she did this with a relentless pursuit of excellence and with an amazing attitude. Jane was willing to risk her own immediate comfort to get others and herself to a better place.

It's been years since I watched all of that and I'm not sure what ever happened to Jane, but if I were a betting man, I would bet that it was something wonderful, something transformational. Self-sacrifice is foundational to our Faith and the greatest expression of love. My Faith and my experience tells me that we are all charged with the task of making ourselves obsolete, of transferring what we know to others, to our youth, to our coworkers, and to our supervisors and leaders, so they can move to a better, more reliable platform.

Now, don't get me wrong. I want to be, and I think we all should be, life-long learners. I believe we all need to sharpen our skills, remain strong in intellect and virtue, and stay true to our calling. We should in everything, be the very best we can, for as long as we can. But I also believe we are all eventually called to attempt to help eliminate our jobs, to hand off, to make room for others, to move others to the next level, to create opportunity, to migrate our current reality to something new, something better.

I believe something wonderful, something transformational for everyone comes from that.

Too Many Jellies for the "Nones?"

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:50:00 +0000

I read a compelling article last night in the November 6th issue of The Week magazine called Losing our Religion. A new study by researchers at Trinity College found that 34 million Americans have no religious affiliation - about 15 percent of the US population. That number was at 8 percent in 1990. This group is referred to as the Nones.

Less than 10 percent of the Nones are atheists. The others 90-plus percent believe in something higher but not the God as described in the Bible. They are "skeptical about organized religion and clerics while still holding on to the idea of God."

The article also concludes that while all religious institutions (churches, mosques, synagogues) have seen the decline, the hardest hit are mainstream Protestant churches (including mega churches) seeing declines in attendance of 20 percent of more in recent years.

The article also states that "denominational loyalty has eroded as church-goers 'shop' for new congregations they hope will better suit their values and tastes."

I have witnessed this, perhaps you have, too.

Church shopping. While this is never been a goal at GCC to reach the already churched, I have experienced this phenomenon on my own teams. Some people leaving for the greener pastures of other churches and some people coming into our church looking for something better. There are many church choices in our community. There is a church available for almost every teaching or worship flavor you could want. And, if your favorite flavor is not available locally, you can probably find your flavor easily on the Internet - what you want, when you want it. It's a church consumer's paradise. Or is it?

I recently attended a one-day seminar conducted by Chip Heath, a professor of organizational behavior at the graduate school of business at Stanford university and co-author of Made to Stick. He cited a study about choice and the sales of jelly. A table was set out offering 25 flavors of jelly for a week. Many people stopped by to visit the table and few sales were made. The next week, same store, same table, 6 flavors were on display. Fewer people stopped by, but sales of jelly were 10 times greater.

Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why Too Many Options Lead to Dissatisfaction (check out his TED talk - 19 minutes) tells us that many choice options lead to consumer paralysis, mental confusion, and regret about possibly having made the wrong choice. The result? No choice at all or extremely heightened dissatisfaction with our choice. Could this be the mental and spiritual condition of the Nones? Of church shoppers?

It seems many people are stopping by the church jelly stand in America, but few are buying.

While I do not have the answers to these questions, I think they must be asked and considered:

Are church planters, with the good intention of reaching niche segments of the lost, inadvertently creating choice-saturated markets that create confusion and regret for all church consumers?

Is it possible that the multi-site growth initiatives of mega churches around the country are actually hurting the church as a whole by adding more choice options to already crowded geographical and cyber church markets?

I believe in the multi-site movement. I think it helps big church become small for consumers who are better served by a smaller congregation. However, I think it will be imperative that churches strongly consider what it means to inject another church into a market even and especially if it's flavor is different.

Don't Forget the Fun

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:07:00 +0000

Who would have thought? People will actually choose the harder path if they think it's fun. Brilliant.

"You're Just Thinking ... "

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:57:00 +0000

When I was a younger man, I enjoyed some success in the marketplace. A gentleman in the corporate marketing department had taken the time to notice my work and eventually saw fit to move me and my family to the company's headquarters.

It was wonderful to work around influential people in the company and the industry in which I worked. My supervisor reported to the VP of Marketing, Bob, and my cubicle was located about 25 feet away from Bob's door. I often found myself walking from my desk past Bob's office on a mission to solve the world's problems (and because it was the only way to the restrooms.)

One day, I walked past Bob's office for my typical 10:30 am coffee relief and Bob called out to me from his office, "Hey, Butch! Come in here."

"Huh? ... Me?" I was really nervous. "Bob knows my name!" I thought, "What could he want? Am I getting fired? Promoted?"

Bob got up from his desk, pulled me into his office, shook my hand and went on to say, "You know Butch, I've been watching you walk past my office for a few months now, and you always have your head down. I thought you were avoiding people, being aloof, and not very friendly ... "

" Looks like, fired, " I thought.

He went on, "But as I watched you more, I realized you're just thinking. You're just deep in thought, aren't you?"

My mouth was agape, as I thought about what he'd just said to me, and I realized that what he said was true. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

"I like it that you spend time thinking, Butch, but I thought you might want to know how that comes off around here. I realize that's not you. So, you may want to pull your head up, smile, and greet some people on your way to wherever you're going. I think that will help you with your peers."

I can't thank Bob enough for that interaction. It was honest, direct, and helpful. It reminded me that sometimes, it's simply the mechanics of our interactions with others that derail our best intentions.

Pull my head up and smile. Yes, so absolutely simple.

Yet, it was something I had forgotten to do. I never intended to to communicate negatively, but I had. I never meant to be "aloof," but I was coming across to my peers that way.

Sometimes I think Christians fall into that same trap (and I'm including myself, here.) We have the best of intentions in how we relate to others outside of Christ, but our communication mechanics are just bad. We make a comment about the "un-churched" not realizing that the "un-churched" guy is sitting in the next booth.

Or sometimes, I am in the middle of producing a service and I forget to look up and smile at the people I pass by people in the auditorium, as if the work I am doing is more important than the people I am doing the work for.

I'm going to focus more on my mechanics, and on keeping my head pulled up. Maybe, I'll connect more with my team and that un-churched guy in the next booth.

Worthy

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:20:00 +0000

The Innovate '09: Exposed conference is over and I am both elated and exhausted at the same time. I've slept well the past two nights resting assured my teams gave it their all. By their all, I mean their all: every bit of energy, every ounce of strength, all their focus and time.

During the Q&A portion of Tim Steven's session Original or Recycled, a woman asked a question about how we go about determining if an arts element is "worth it." I had to pause a bit; it was a good question.

In the midst of answering I began to flash back at everything that went into preparation of the of the 10-minute Disney musical spoof we performed as the opening arts element. I remembered the hours Kristin spent writing it, that Dan spent on the music, that Kelli spent on choreography. I thought about all the time spent by the props people, the sound technicians, the lighting techs and the media operators. I considered all the actors who spent 15- 20 hours each rehearsing on stage and at home.

There were hundreds of man hours spent for first ten minutes of Innovate '09; probably thousands of man hours hours invested into the two-day event as a whole.

"Will it be it worth it?" It's a question every leader must ask of himself and be able to answer clearly before embarking on an activity that requires great effort. To get at the answer, I ask myself another question:

What is the potential of this activity to affect the greatest positive change in the world?

I believe God (incarnate as His son, Jesus) and His church are the hope of the world. I believe that both in my heart and in my head. Humanistic solutions (government, technology, economics, education, etc.) don't seem to be working very well. This is evidenced by our present world condition.

So for me, any time we can help the greater Church with a servant's spirit of reverence, respect, humility, and hope, then that activity is worthy of our best effort and greatest commitment.

The churches served by Innovate 09 were more than worthy of that sacrifice and giving them that time and effort was pure joy.

Bubbles

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:59:00 +0000

When I was a kid, I loved blowing bubbles. My sister and I would buy the brightly-colored bottles of bubble fluid, unscrew the tops, and hurriedly dip our fingers into soapy liquid to find the plastic wand that awaited inside. Eventually, we'd skewer one of the two circles on either end of the wand and remove it dripping glycerin and water all over our shoes. We debated about which circle should be held and which should be blown through: the larger ring or the smaller? My sister thought the little circle was fun, because you could blow through it really hard and roughly one-million, small bubbles would come spraying out. I could see the logic in her reasoning, but the small ring had ridges embossed on it, so I concluded it was designed to be a grip. However, the real reason I liked holding the small end and blowing through the larger circle was that it seemed to give me the greatest chance to blow big bubbles - which I tried to create with each dip and subsequent exhale.

There's beauty in watching a large, perfectly-formed bubble as it slowly expands and then gently tears away into effortless flight - water, soap, and air in harmonious tension floating hypnotically away. Light shimmers off these crystalline globes as they dance off into the distance with whatever breeze they court. Simply magnificent.

How long the bubble "lived" depended on the pressure of the air both inside and outside of its elastic "skin". Too much pressure on the inside and the bubble would expand and explode. Too much outside and the bubble would collapse upon itself. Bubbles are created and take flight only when they exist in a perfect state of tension between opposing pressures.

Volunteer ministries can be like bubbles. Have you ever seen a volunteer ministry form, take flight, and then soar? Have you seen a ministry fly for a while and then collapse? Or explode? I'll be doing a breakout session with Kim Volheim to discuss some ways to keep your volunteer ministry in perfect tension at Innovate '09: Exposed. I hope to see you there.

On the Mountain

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:25:00 +0000

This is my friend Angie Henry. You probably know her if you've been at GCC or watched our services online; she's been singing here for years. She has both a beautiful voice and heart.

Angie made me aware of something I would like to share: Angie's friend, Christa Wells is an award-winning songwriter and singer. She's probably most know for the song, "Held" sung by Natalie Grant for which she won GMA's songwriter of the year in 2006.

Turns out Christa is releasing a new CD this year, Frame the Clouds and Angie sang with her on the song, On the Mountain (just hit the link for a free download copy with the password "granger") It's a great song.

To top it off, Christa, Angie, and a bunch of other killer musicians will be performing a house concert on October 5, 2009 at Kim and Brad Stewart's home 10061 Harrison Rd. Osceola, IN. 46516. 574-679-9399

6-6:30 social/food
6:30-7/7:15 Seth Bible opener
7/7:15p.m. Christa and the gang!!!

"To support our guest artists, a minimum donation of $15/person or $25/family is suggested. All proceeds will go directly to the musicians."

I hope you can attend!

Innovate '09 Awaits: Three Weeks Away

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:39:00 +0000

I'm getting juiced about Innovate 09: Exposed as programming plans are coming together for two days of teaching, art, community and fun. It's gonna be a roller coaster ride and there's room for you on the train. Register here. We'll see you on the 24th!

Arts Ministry Legends

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:03:00 +0000

Had a visit from a couple of Facebook friends and arts ministry legends, Jason Moore and Len Wilson. These guys are a couple of powerful ministers who specialize in helping churches develop and implement worship services for years. They own a company called Midnight Oil Productions and have co-authored several books on the subject of worship design. We spent a late night on Saturday and into Sunday morning swapping war stories, thinking out loud, and encouraging one another. If you are looking for some new ideas and perspectives on your team, your worship, your structure, these gentlemen can be of help. Thanks, Len and Jason.

Artistic Values: Good v. Good ... er?

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:51:00 +0000

Great artists are passionate about what they do. They care about their art. Many artists spend their entire lifetime working to perfect their craft. When we create and execute a weekend at GCC, we utilize many art forms and many different artists. These include: vocalists, actors, sound engineers, video producers, writers, lighting technicians, musicians, set designers, graphic designers, camera operators, painters, dancers .... the list goes on.

Because artists are so invested in what they do, they can tend to value their particular art over another. This makes perfect sense to me. I mean, why wouldn't you attribute value to something you've thrown your life into? I believe it's that kind of focused passion that separates the good artist from the great artist. However, a singularly focused passion can create tension with other artists, and potentially derail a novel plan.

Let's say we have a creative, out-of-the-box idea for an arts element in our service. For example, say we want to fly a tuba player out into the audience while accompanying the band with sparklers on his feet. (I know ... but it's the best thing I could come up with.)

Our media director could say, "That tuba player flying around might block the video screens. Do we really want to do that?"

The lighting designer may say, "I don't know ... the tuba might reflect light into the eyes of the audience or cast a distracting shadow. Do we really want to do that?"

The audio engineer might say, "We may not be able to hear the tuba very well the audio mix while he's playing. Do we really want to do that?"

The IMAG camera operator, "The magnesium burning from the sparklers may cause white streaks across the video capture. Are you sure?"

Our band leader might say, "A tuba? I don't know if a tuba will mix well with an electric guitar. Really?"

The tuba player could say, "Uh ... I've never played my tuba suspended from wired 25 feet in the air ... I may not be able to hit the staccato 64th notes."

These are all valid statements of value the artists ascribe to their art: clear views, great sound, excellent IMAG, amazing music, etc. In fact, these are all great values. But, to accomplish the dream of the flying tuba player, some artistic values unfortunately, need to be sacrificed. In this case, the spectacle of the flying tuba player could be the value that overrides all others.

On any given weekend, we face a myriad of conflicting, good values and we must decide between them all. For instance, our lighting guys and drummers beg me not to use the plastic drum shield; our drummers feel caged and the shields are almost impossible to keep clean of fingerprints. They can cause lighting and reflection problems. However, we have together agreed that great sound for everyone is a higher value than having a little cleaner look on stage.

I believe a key role of any arts team leader is to help the team understand the priority of the good values and to properly coach artists when those values may need to shift. Effectively doing so creates less turf-guarding and allows fresh ideas to emerge.

How do you define your conflicting good values and prioritize them?

Walking the Good Walk

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 11:20:00 +0000

We ended our Summer Vacation at The University of Notre Dame yesterday by participating in the Logan Center's annual Logan's Run 5K race. (I should state that Chris, Alex, and Audrey actually ran in the race - I took the photos :-)) Someone has to, right?

The Logan Center is a local organization that helps people in our community with disabilities reach their desired quality of life through advocacy, resourcing, and services.

It's an amazing place.

Our son Alex has been involved in several of it's programs including Theatre Troupe and Teen Nights. I was moved to see so many people gathered in support of those with special needs. I think I was most moved when I saw some young people with disabilities carrying this sign which was a reminder to me of the significance of a life well-lived.

The Foursome

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:43:00 +0000

I love getting to perform with these guys! From left to right: Mark Myer, Paul Bertha, me, Greg Teghtmeyer. These are the four friends who comprise The Foursome, the video series (we call them golfisodes) from the Sand Traps series at GCC. These guys are funny and men who love God; what could be a better combo? Make sure to check out all the golfisodes and the messages at http://www.gccwired.com/. Mark Meyer was absolutely hilarious as "The Shyster" on week two. I couldn't stop laughing during the filming of week three! (coming next Sunday) Make sure to bring a golfing buddy next week. Heck, bring your clubs and play a round of 18 with him after services!

Innovate 09: Exposed

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:47:00 +0000

Coming September 24th and 25th. Register here. Register now. It's going to rock.

Taking Flight with Creativity

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:00:00 +0000

My Friends Len Wilson and Jason Moore have hit another one out of the park with their new book, Taking Flight with Creativity: Worship Design Teams that Work.

I found this to be a straight-forward and helpful tome for artists and leaders of artists. I like it's simplicity and it's almost "flight book" style. It's a both "pre-flight" and "in-flight" checklist on how to get your arts program off the ground and keep it flying.

Thanks, Len and Jason.

Objects in Motion

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:45:00 +0000

I bet Isaac Newton was a much better golfer than me. He knew a lot about the physics of motion. He even wrote about it:

"An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an outside force."

We shot a four-part video for our communication series, Sand Traps. You can watch the video and the rest of the service here. So I've been on the golf course a few evenings lately.

Occasionally, I was allowed to take a real swing during the shoot. I would watch my ball soar until the forces of gravity and friction acted upon it and it would land, one time even where I hoped it would. Had there been no outside forces acting upon it, Newton's First Law of Motion says my ball would have continued on it's trajectory forever and ever and ever.

It occurs to me that people are subject to the same laws as my golf ball. That is, people tend to stay in motion, on the same trajectory, until some force acts upon them. I know it was that way for me. I look back at my life and realize there was a time that I was on a bad trajectory. Fortunately, I had a friend in the marketplace nudge my trajectory. After getting to know me, my family, my life, and some of my issues, he invited me to church. He nudged me and that little nudge changed the course of my life for good, forever and ever and ever.

25 Years ago .... The Reunion

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:32:00 +0000

This weekend was my 25-year, high school class reunion. I had a great time hanging out with longtime friends and reuniting with those whom I had lost touch. My graduating class was right around one hundred students, so everyone knew everyone and I liked that.

Our arch rivals, the Niles Vikings, also held their reunion at the same hotel, on same night, at the same time. They were about three times larger than us, and therefore had a much larger turnout. It was great having them there though, and it turned out that the rivalry wasn't as big as I had believed. We all floated between the two reunions and by the end of the night, we had a wonderful time together. I laughed so much my face hurt. My crowning achievement was stealing the Niles Viking Helmet and wearing it back to the Brandywine Bobcat reunion - I think I look pretty good in Viking wear. It was a grand and triumphant entry; I was king of the world for a few minutes.

As part of the reunion committee, I helped plan much of the evening's festivities. Fortunately, there were a lot of vintage "80's" photos rife with the fodder of many great jokes: big hair, spandex, stone-washed jeans, mullets, and ill-formed mustaches. It was enormous fun.

There were somber moments in the evening, though. The memorial for our deceased classmates was one. There were six in our class who had died; five men, one woman. I knew them all a little and presided over that part of the evening. I spent a lot of time looking at their photos this week and preparing slides with their pictures.

The son of one of the men who died came to one of the weekend activities with his mother. He was there looking for people to tell him their memories of his father. His father had died nine years earlier while he was still a young boy.

It was profoundly moving for me to consider what it would be like for one of my children had I been the one who died nine years ago. Alex would have been eight and Audrey only five.

I thought, "What would my classmates have told my children about me? Would my life be remarkable? Or even memorable? Loving or selfish? Would I be known as severe or kind? A man who loved God or the World?"
I am thankful for that young man. I'll be thinking of him and of my children and how I might want to be remembered after I am gone.

A Great Week at Willow Creek

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:54:00 +0000

Just over a week ago, I attended the Willow Creek Association's annual Arts Conference. This year's conference was entitled Wonder and it inspired just that. I was able to bring three other folks from my team this year: Jeff, Kristin, and Elle. It was a great trip just because we got to spend a little more time with each other. They are good friends and gifted artists. I was honored with the opportunity to teach a breakout on leading arts ministry and to do a video showcase with the team. We also participated in the Film Festival and were awarded first place in two categories and the "Best of Show" for Kristin and Cody Baker's short "What Used to Be True." Even if you have already seen this, it's worth a another look. I am proud of our team. They work hard, they honor God, and they really make me laugh ... a lot. I think this will make you laugh, too.

Weekend Arts Preview Clue

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:30:00 +0000

OK. I'm not going to tell you what we are doing this weekend for the arts programming, but I will tell you this weekend may be the most face-melting rock experience ever at Granger Community Church.

So, come to church; bring a friend. You and your friend will be happy about that. I promise.

Just to pique your interest, here's a little clue about what you'll experience this weekend:

This legendary rock band released their first album in 1978 and later produced a "Best Of" CD they dedicated to their manager who died at the age of 57.

Can you name the band we'll be covering this weekend?

First Wednesday - Creative People Embracing Their Creator

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:51:00 +0000

Photo by R Mark Beeson From GCC Weekend

I hope you had a chance to attend tonight's First Wednesday service. I think it may have been one of my favorite, all-time GCC experiences; it simply moved me. I sensed in my spirit that the rest of our church may have been moved a little, too.

My position at the church gives me a unique perspective. I have the privilege of being a part of the team that produces our services. I get to be a part of the process that begins with a group of people standing in a room staring at a blank whiteboard and ends with what you see on our weekends or First Wednesdays. Throughout that process, I often find myself with my mouth gaping in awe as I watch gifted people surrender their gifts; creative people embracing their Creator. It's as beautiful a thing as any I have witnessed in my life.

Flying Solo

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:23:00 +0000

Photo by R Mark Beeson
From GCC Weekend

How can you not love this young man! Seth Bible. Yep, you heard it right. His name alone is enough to turn me into a Calvinist - seems predestined to be a worship leader. I hope you are fortunate enough to spend a moment with him sometime. You'll leave the encounter better off - I know I always do. While Seth has been on our platform multiple times, this is the first time he's led the worship team alone. Trace, Dan, and Jason have been pouring everything they have into him to help ensure his success. Seth soared this weekend and I couldn't be more proud of him or my team. Well done, men!

The Story Behind the Story

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Photo by R Mark Beeson
From GCC Weekend

I enjoyed last weekend for several reasons; one reason was this drama (you can watch it and the entire service here) Phil, the older gentleman sitting on the fishing dock has been a part of the GCC arts ministry for years and been on our platform dozens of times. He's a good man and a good friend to our church, and to me. The script was adapted from a story from Phil's life. He shared it with us all at a drama team meeting about a year ago. I though Kristin Baker did a great job morphing his childhood story into poignant dialog where an older man imparts wisdom and virtue into the younger. This was Ryan's first weekend on our weekend platform. He did an amazing job. It was inspiring to watch Phil pour into this younger, less-experienced actor. So much is added when the drama and the story of the actors behind it are almost the same. I think it creates an uncommon degree of authenticity that truly helps prepare hearts.

"Go On ... (gasp) ... Without Me"

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:00:00 +0000

I often think of the scene in that movie ... you know, that movie ... the one where the guy gets shot in the leg. He lets out an agonizing cry and grits his teeth. Then he continues on with a profound limp in his walk. He keeps going and going, bleeding and bleeding, dragging his shot leg through the jungle until eventually, his good leg tires and fails. He falls to the ground exhausted, unable to go any further. His comrades gather around him and he looks up at them and with a sad determination and says, "Go on ... (gasp) ... without me." He gives up - exhausted and resolved that he is finished.

Ever been there?

I consider of my Faith walk and the legs that carry me along my life journey. One leg is my Faith, my relationship with Christ, my Spirituality. The other leg is my Being -my physical, mental, emotional health; my relationships with others. With both legs good and strong, I move swiftly and assuredly through the jungle.

But sometimes I catch a bullet from the enemy in one of my legs. And I start relying solely on the other leg to carry me along. It's funny how I think I can go on and on like that ... never removing the bullet and thinking all along that I can be helpful to my comrades.

This summer Chris and I will be taking some time to rest on vacation. To patch up and get ready. I hope you take the time to do the same ... you may have taken a bullet you didn't even feel at the time.

Top Five Quotes from People Who NEED to Attend the June Workshops at GCC:

bwhitmire@gccwired.com (Butch Whitmire) — Mon, 11 May 2009 21:11:00 +0000

#5) "Great Commission? I thought that's what Realtors make."

#4) "My First Impression was J-J-J-Jimmy S-Stewart."

#3) "I wanted Less Clutter and Less Noise so I told my son to go clean his room and turn off the stereo."

#2) "Kids say the darnedest things ... and then we just smack 'em!"

#1) "Let's not call it a split ... let's call it a Multi-Site!"

You need to come to the workshops at GCC June 25-26, 2009.