Here’s a little theme I wrote for the swirling snow outside today. Sorry the quality isn’t that great, I don’t know why it’s got that fuzz towards the end:

“Investigate Your Calling” is a video Andy & I did for the Nebraska Methodist Church Conference. It’s focus is to spark an interest in younger people to start thinking about going into the ministry with a humorous, testimonial and informational approach. If you know anyone who might benefit from this, please pass it on!

more about “Investigate Your Calling…“, posted with vodpod

Last Sunday our pastor was out of town so he entrusted my colleague, Andy Clabaugh, and I to lead the worship service and give the sermon.  We choose to preach on the topic of Rethink Church, which I blogged about before (Rethink Church…).  In this blog I have attached below the script I read from.  If you’d like to watch the video, which I recommend because Andy makes some great comments too, click here.  Andy and I have been invited to preach at other churches that we are working with for our development consultants positions with the United Methodist churches in the Lincoln and surrounding area.  We feel that this would be a good sermon to use, and tweak it each time to better fit the message to the congregation we are with that morning. Please leave your comments so we can hear about what you have to say about Rethink Church or the sermon.

Rethink Church:

Teaching, healing, feeding the hungry, speaking out about injustices, calling the world to live a life devoted to being faithful… Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to empower His twelve disciples to begin a movement comprised of these elements that we know as “the great commission”.  He said “Go!  Go into the world!”  Let me set a plot…

The date is October 31st, 1517 in in the town of Wittenberg, Germany.  A law-school-dropout-turned-monk would use a few nails and one piece of paper to make the small town the epicenter of a remarkable movement.  Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses that began the “protestant reformation”.

Luther boldly asked his generation to rethink church, as did John Wesley in the 18th Century, or Billy Grahm in the 20th century.  This isn’t a call to find new theology, to move away from our commitment to scripture, or distance ourselves from Wesleyan tradition.  But a call to refocus, narrow our ecclesiology, to ask “What has God called this church to be in the 21st century?”.

We want to challenge those outside the church to envision church not as a static institution, but as a movement.  A movement of people empowered to take ministry into the world.  To challenge ourselves to see our church in a broader way.  Not tied to our worship on Sunday morning, but on all days and all ways, locally and globally, and when it comes right down to it, making a difference in people’s lives.

What if we changed all those glowing exit signs above the doors in our church to signs marked “entrance”?  After all, it was John Wesley who said, “The world is my parish”.  Jesus thought the same way.  Most of his teachings took place outside, with the people, not at a certain time at a certain location with coffee and cookies available.  You see, rethinking church isn’t about moving in a new direction, but doing things the way they were before.  Ya know, Darrel Berg was here this past week and when we were touring the new building and seeing the progress they made, Darrel pointed out something I had not even noticed.  Has anyone recognized something special about the design of Phase 1 out at Village Gardens?  If you look closely you can see a good amount resemblance between it and what is currently Great Hall here on the north side of the property.  Which technically was Phase 1 back in 1893.

When we look at the first lesson of today, James 2, verses 14-17, we hear the writer talk about “faith with no works”.  Right now, the United Methodist Church has been doing great about making sure we have Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open doors and our six signs of discipleship.  We have the faith, now where are those solid acts of works?

In public school we learned about grammar; how it works, what a proper sentence structure is, when to use adjectives, nouns, verbs and other boring stuff.  For a young child, this could be a difficult concept to understand, something that took awhile to grasp onto.  I always asked my teacher why I had to change, I was perfectly fine with the way I wrote and talked.  One of the most confusing things about the English language was how some words looked or sounded the same but meant different things or had different purposes.  It’s time to look at some of our key words differently as well:

What if “church” wasn’t a building, but something we do?  And what if the word “open” in front of our hearts, minds and doors wasn’t an adjective, but a verb?  Calling us to Open hearts, Open minds, and Open doors.  It’s time to redefine what we do.  You might ask me why we have to change.  You might tell me you’re fine with the way things are now.  And I’ll tell you the very same reason my teacher told me, “It’s necessary to be able to communicate with the world”.

In our positions as development consultants with the United Methodist Churches in the Lincoln area, we are encouraging several of our churches to adopt this new rethink church concept.  So how can Trinity, rethink church, in a way that makes us unique?  Well, we think Trinity should be Fresh.

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Fresh:

We’re searching for that feeling you get when you smell fresh laundry.  It feel’s like home, it makes you feel clean, it’s comfort.  We’re searching for the feeling of holding a new-born child, that sense of love, the hope you have for the world he or she grows up in, that sense of awe you have for life.  We’re searching for the feeling of fresh bread from the oven, it’s warm, it’s filling, it’s something to share.  So I’ll pose the question… Why shouldn’t church be the same way?

Before things start going back into overdrive, last week I went up to visit family in the Seattle, WA area.  I had a chance to do a few tourist spots, but more importantly, and the reason for the trip, I had such a blast connecting with my two cousins, Sarah & Beth, and their families as well.  It was a great opportunity to just devote time to getting to know each other better.  God has blessed me with wonderful family.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.  You can click on each image to make it larger and then click your browser “back button” in order to back to the gallery.

At a young age, we all learned what nouns, adjectives and verbs are and how to use them properly.  Boring stuff, right?  I issue a challenge to review these concepts of grammar, specifically how they relate to the church in today’s society.  In almost every definition of the word “church”, it is always referred to as the building where worship is held or the congregation/Christian organization; these are nouns.  What if church was a verb?

What if church wasn’t just a place we go, but something we do?

It’s time to rethink church not in terms of what it is, but what it could be.  We do not need to rethink theology or scripture, but more the way our church makes contact with our communities and the world.  In the first century, Jesus’ ministry made his world rethink faith beyond the walls of the Temple and the synagogues. What if we did the same and challenged ourselves to rethink church beyond our walls and beyond our Sunday morning worship.  We live in a society today where actions speak louder than words.  The question is, “Can we go beyond?”

There was once a church that didn’t know its neighbors.  But they were sure those neighbors could use some help.  So they opened a food pantry and started an after school program … but nobody came.  The congregation was hurt and upset that the people didn’t seem to appreciate the efforts.  But then someone in the church had a great idea.  They said “Why don’t we go ask them what they need?”  We must speak in a way that is relevant to the concerns of those seeking a greater truth and offer them empowerment.  We must offer messages that speak directly to their needs.  That’s rethinking church.

The United Methodist Church’s creed is “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors”.  All this time I’ve interpreted the word “open” as an adjective.  What if we interpreted it as a verb instead?  What if I could Open hearts, Open minds and Open doors?                      ___________________________________________________________

I’d like to examine this philosophy deeper in coming blogs.  Please provide your comments on the subject of rethink church by clicking on the “# Comment(s)” link below.

I’m a huge sucker for fast, flashy virtuosic stuff… Truly in awe at the seemingly impossible things human beings can achieve when minds are set.  I only hope I have the chance to be a part of young musicians life to help guide them on a path to becoming a musician as impressive as this:

BTW, this video comes from the very cool Medici site. Check it out if you get the chance – it’s an incredible resource for classical music performances.

I’m done with finals, hello Summer. Hopefully I’ll have more time to update this now.

From modest beginnings more than three decades ago, Drum Corps International has developed into a powerful, nonprofit, global youth activity with far-reaching artistic, educational and organizational influence. Through the annual Summer Music Games Tour and more than 35 World Championships in 16 North American cities, Drum Corps International provides entertainment to millions through live performances and nationally-televised events. Drum Corps International is Marching Music’s Major League™.

Drum Corps International delivers the message of “excellence in performance and in life” to more than 7.2 million young people, ages 13-22 involved in performing arts in the United States. Active participants in U.S.-based drum and bugle corps hail from more than 15 countries. The annual Drum Corps International Summer Tour includes more than 135 events throughout North America and each summer, some 400,000 fans attend live drum corps events.

Showcasing the best of the best, each year, more than 8,000 students audition for the fewer than 3,500 positions available in top-tier DCI member corps. The average age is 19 and 72 percent are full-time college students. 59.6 percent of the current college students are pursuing music education degrees, while 65 percent of those that indicated they are high school students intend to major in music education.

DCI sets the pace in marching music education. While an exclusive number of students participate on the field with a DCI drum corps, millions follow the corps of DCI by attending competitions, participating in DCI-sponsored educational programs and events, purchasing merchandise, and simply by being fans–following the exploits of their favorite corps in ways reminiscent of the Grateful Dead’s Deadheads, or the Boston’s Red Sox Nation. More than 25,000 high school students attended at least one of 10 major DCI events in 2007 as part of a group, while thousands more attended these events individually and tens of thousands attend performances at local tour stops throughout the country.

These corps are professional marching bands if you will, each member is considered a musician-athlete.  The shows that they put on the field are 12 minutes of running and playing their instruments with amazing tone.  They don’t make mistakes, these guys are perfect.  Every note is correct, every rhythm is together, every flag is in line with the others, nine snare drummers sound like one, every move is executed flawlessly.  They are that good.  

“The Countdown” is an event that will be hitting theaters nationwide on May 13th.  It showcases the best 6 shows from the past 6 years along with highlighting what’s coming up this seasons with the different cores.  I highly recommend checking this out, you won’t want to miss it.  Visit this site in order to learn more information and buy tickets to a showing near you.

I hope that one of the choices will be the video I have attached to this entry.  I recommend viewing it in full screen, so click the bottom right hand icon on the video portion.  For some reason the video doesn’t start till 26 seconds in.  The name of the show is “Harmonic Journey” and it was done in 2003 by the Phantom Regiment.  It is personally my favorite show.  It is outstanding musically and visually compelling.  Turn the volume up all the way and watch it, if you don’t have time to watch the whole thing (which I strongly recommend) then start at time marker 9:00.  If you watch this and don’t get goosebumps the size of mountains from time marker 10:49 to the end of the show, then there is something wrong with you.  This is perfection…

done

A couple of news items:

1. I joined Twitter, so you can follow me on there.
2. I found an amazing article that I’ll be sharing with you in my next blog, you won’t want to miss it.

I’ve decided to create a list of goals for the Summer to help keep me on track and not subject myself to the torment of starting school again and looking back and asking myself “Did I really just play video games for 2 1/2 months?”

1. Compose “The Four Elements: Fire, Water, Air, Earth” for Percussion Ensemble
2. Work on logo, branding, and viral campaign for Trinity United Methodist Church
3. Get good enough at guitar to play and write
4. Master 4-mallet marimba piece, Virginia Tate and work on percussion chops
5. Work on District Youth Team and Small Groups
6. Read The Davinci Code and Rob Bell books
7. Compose “Hope is the thing with feathers…” for SATB choir
8. Work with the Lincoln East Drumline
9. Catch up on TV shows House, Heroes and 30 Rock
10. Get down to 280 lbs.
11. Watch all of Planet Earth
12. Learn a substantial piece on piano
13. Keep my apartment clean (wish me luck on this one haha)
14. Blog more often
15. Create more Trinity Shorts

Technology has become a god in today’s culture. According to the NY Times, the average adult spends 8 hours in front of a screen a day. And when it comes to retrieval of information and news, radio and newspaper are well on their way to being completely phased out. You can graduate from college, get ordained, own a business, meet your soulmate (or stalker), have a job, and waste your life savings all online. The possibilities exponentially grow each and every day.

How many times do you pray a day?
(How many times do you search for the answers from Google?)

How many times do you call your grandparents a year?
(How many times do you check your Facebook in a week?)

How much money do you donate to charity?
(How much money do you spend on iTunes, Best Buy, Amazon, etc…?)

How many nice handwritten letters have you sent in the past five years?
(How many e-mails have you sent in the past five days?)

Technology makes life easy and fun, there’s no question it can be a great and useful tool. But at what point in time do we allow it to take control of our lives beyond a healthy status? In the 1940’s it took us 7 years to develop the atomic bomb, today, new innovations are made in weaponry constantly around the world. Countless hours are wasted in front of screens every day. Because of TV, more children recognize Ronald McDonald than Jesus Christ by a long shot. How does technology affect your everyday life for the better or the worse? How will it affect your grandchildren?

Will Google be worshiped some day?
Proof Google Is God…

Think about it…

The Wind Ensemble is the flagship ensemble of the wind and percussion division of the School of Music. Membership is determined each semester through a rigorous blind audition process. This is my first semester with the group, and a significant developmental achievement. Each player’s role in the ensemble is essential and is irreplaceable (the Wind Ensemble functions on the principle of one player per part – everybody is a specialist).

This semester has been quite a ride under the baton of Dr. Carolyn Barber. Every piece is loaded with technical and stylistic difficulties to overcome individually and as an ensemble. Each piece is cutting edge material, tells a story, and wows the listener. Two extremes to that are the symphonies we have played this semester.

We had the chance to work with the composer Dr. Kim Archer on her 3rd Symphony, 40 minutes of unparalleled musical force. Quite possibly the most powerful piece I’ve ever had the pleasure to play or even listen to. Here is a recording of us playing just the first movement, if anyone would like to hear a recording of the full symphony, let me know:

The second symphony that is for our upcoming concert next week is David Maslanka’s Symphony No. 4. It’s a monumental piece of music that depicts the joy of being present and alive. It is without a shadow of a doubt the most powerful ending you will ever hear. Although I do not have a recording of it since we are performing it next week. I do have a movie that Dr. Barber put together to promote the concert that shows what an average rehearsal of our group is like. We have a very free atmosphere that allows us to be creative, hardworking and have fun while doing so. It can get pretty crazy. I would suggest clicking on the high quality button, check it out: