Currently, our lead pastor and missions director are in this part of the world and though the devistation caused by China’s massive earthquake less than a month ago has claimed the lives of over 65,000 people, I must confess, I have hardly given it a second thought.

No more.  My friend Micah posted this video and link and so I’m doing the same.  Let’s be a part of bringing help and hope to those so far away that are hurting so badly.

Click here for more information.

Ever wonder what happens before the service starts on Saturday?

Well I’m gonna show you anyway!

Who says Baptists don’t dance?

Last week, the Huffman’s had their 2nd kid, Hailey.  Dustin is our pastor of children’s and family ministries and he and his wife Nichole have become friends of ours. 

On Saturday we visitied them and took some pics.

 Now, these are not pictures of Hailey, but rather of Nichole’s ginormously swollen feet (don’t worry, I got permission to post them here).

Carlos over at Ragamuffinsoul is getting the ball rolling on this thing called Creative Chaos.  He’s asked us to share some creative things that we’ve been doing.  Here’s my take.

I’m reaching back a little far, but last summer we did a six week series called, “Heroes.”  It was a series on the Holy Spirit, who He is and what He does, and we based it around the idea of the TV show; ordinary people with an extraordinary power inside them. 

Our Video/Dram director, Kevin wrote a 6 week miniseries where we were able to watch people grow and change as they embraced the Holy Spirit in their lives.  We built and entire city on stage and watched it change and become renewed over the course of the series and I wrote a song to end the series. 

The coolest thing about the series was that it was one of the times where our department got to completely work together.  Instead of bringing seperate elements, we all had to be on the same page and we all worked together to make this thing happen.  Actors, set designers, musicians and Dave and Kimberly MacNeill who did the preaching.  It was one of the toughest, and at the same time creatively fulfilling things we’ve done since I’ve been here. Â

So on Arpil 6th, we had our first ever worship night here at Clovis Hills.  It was amazing!  All of us who were there were moved in a really special way by God.  We’re doing another one on Sunday night, June 22nd.  If you missed it, you will not want to miss the next one!

 Here’s a little sample of what went down.

Thanks to Deanna Pellerin for putting this together.

We start a new series this weekend called Simple, and preparing for it has been anything but.  Two of our drummers have gone down with injury, which means we’ve had to do some flip flopping, we’re down three guitar players due to vacation, job and/or family stuff and to top it all off, my voice is gone, which wouldn’t be a huge deal except that I’m singing a song this week that is incredibly high and currently, I can’t do it.

I’ve been taking some advice though from a book I’ve been reading, and trying to really focus in on what this song and this series are all about.  I think, in the end, the next few weeks are about saying that the filler in our lives; the stuff we run to or get involved in, good or bad, means nothing, unless Jesus is at the center of it.  The Christian life can get messy and hard to understand at times, and the truth of it is, that it’s not easy.  It is, however, Simple.

I’m looking forward to a chance to dive into the simple truth that Jesus loves me, and just asks that I love him in return.  Everything else, I think, will take care of itself.  It seems perfect, that the song I’m singing is called, “Meaningless.”  So pray for me, that my voice comes back and that rehearsal goes smoothly tonight, but more than that, pray that our church would be drawn closer to Jesus.

This weekend was somewhat of an auspicious weekend for me, as it marked the first time I used my new electric guitar.

To say the least, I was pretty excited. The band was locked in and aside from some early adjustments to the new “axe,” I was feeling pretty good. In fact, after the 9 am service on Sunday, Kimberly said that she thought this was the best she’s felt during a set ever! Just so you know, it’s a good thing when your boss is happy with your work.

By the third service, I was getting a little cocky and even remember looking out and seeing Dana and Allen in the crowd and thinking, “yeah, look who’s rockin’ with the big boys now!” Everything was going great; that is, until “Sing to the King.” I started it as usual and Kimberly did the first verse and then as we repeated the first verse, things started to get hairy. Something just wasn’t right. I’m the music director and so it’s my job to look around and figure it out. Frank’s doing fine, Robert’s locked in on drums, Alan’s not playing because he hears it to, Mesha’s plugging away and Paul…well, I had my capo on the wrong fret. I had started the song in the wrong key and now there was nothing I could do. This all seems a bit jumbled and you may not understand what I’m saying. Let me show you:

Of course, my major disaster has to happen on the one weekend when Kevin McGill is video taping the service!

The other guitar players in the band like to give me a hard time for using a capo, but generally, I get it right. I’ll never hear the end of this one!

This weekend, we’re wrapping up our series called, “Disappointed with God.” It’s been really great to look at appropriate responses to God, when life doesn’t go the way we think it ought.

So many times we tell people that Jesus will solve your problems and that pain and poverty, and hurt will all go away. That’s a lie.

In light of this, I thought I’d share a little video. The speaker is John Piper; he’s a hero of mine, here’s what he has to say about how we should respond to disappointment.

My wife and I watch American Idol. There, I said it. We record it, fast forward through all of the commercials weigh in on all of the people we think should be going home or staying.

All in all, it’s fairly trivial. I mean, does the world really need another pop star? In the middle of this show that celebrates our love of reality television and celebrity all in one, however, is Idol Gives Back.

Last year, this show changed my life. Watching Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell holding the hands of hurting people in Africa made me ask myself, “why are they there and I’m here?”

Jenn and I couldn’t live that way for too long and so we decided to go. Since last year’s show we: challenged a team of people, they prayed and were led, we raised money, prepared spiritually, coordinated with a team over there, went, had an unbelievable experience, and came back.

As we flew back into the states I remember thinking that my life would be forever changed, and that I would never forget. Well, I have forgotten, and my life, unfortunately has gone pretty much back to the way it was before. That is, until Idol Gives back came on again.

I haven’t seen the show yet (it’s waiting for us on DVR), but seeing Forrest Whittaker and his wife last night and their story along with some of the stories we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks of hurting people in Africa, I have to ask myself again, “Why am I not there?” or at least, “why am I not doing more, praying more, telling more people?”

I’ve heard it said that the church is the hope of the world. If that’s the case, why do only 3% of Christians nation-wide say they would give to help fight AIDS? Why do we buy up things and take vacations from our Disneyland lives to go to an even more Disneyland type of place?

I spent 12 days in Africa that I thought would change my life. It took less than 12 days for me to get back into my normal routine and to stop thinking about it.

Buying stuff and taking trips are not bad things. Having fun and enjoying the blessings God has given us are not bad things. When we can’t see past those things into the lives of people with nothing, however, then we have missed it.

Let’s pray for those who are hurting. As a church, let’s remind each other about the things we have seen. Let’s be a people that care about things beyond our bank account. Let’s be the church.

Believe it or not, there will come a day when American Idol is no longer around to raise money and sing songs that inspire. Who will do it when they’re gone? Who will do it now?