www.worshipnotes.org is up and running...

this issue turned out really good - go check it out

Reasons why Todd hasn't blogged:
1. ipod video
2. sore throat straight from the pit of hades

but mostly the sore throat

How often have we heard that ministry is a service unto God? How is it that we then claim that ministry is a matter of being a servant to the people? Any student of human nature will tell you that, inexorably humans will fail. They will divert from God’s plan. Is it possible to serve a need of the people that is in direct misalignment with ministering unto the Lord? Is there a juste milieu?
Make no mistake about it – there is certainly a contingent of those (believers perhaps) who believe that this diversion from alignment with God is due, in part, to cultural stimuli.
I’m not sure that’s necessarily the case, as humans seem perfectly adroit at messing up their lives without the help of said stimuli. Of course, I don’t think that any determination can be made without further researching the impact that the culture has on people of faith. I am of the belief that cultural stimuli are, in fact, manifestations of weaknesses already present within our hearts and minds; as such, they act as the perfect siren-song of compromise as they are temptations birthed from inside of us and then displayed back to us via modern day media, the global acceptance of various abominations, etc.

Got to spend some time with Lance, Amy and the girls last night. You know, I haven't spent much time with Lance lately, but last night I remembered something.

I hate that man.

Christian bloggers get on my nerves.

“The church has, first, the greatest distribution channel in the world. I could take you to a million villages that don’t have a school, a business, a clinic, a fire department, a post office, but they do have a church. What if you could network those churches to do not just spiritual care, but health care, business development, education?”

What are your thoughts on this quote?

Monday, 12/12/05 - 11:30am
I'm in the kitchen getting lunch when Kristen calls me back down the hall. She's laying on the bed with this confused look on her face.
"Something weird just happened," she says quietly.
Turns out, she's feeling loopy, dizzy and unable to see out of her right eye. Now, for those of you around back in 2002 when Jonah showed up, that's the same way her seizure started. I get on the phone and call the doctor. After three holds, and two re-tellings of the story, the nurse calmly says,
"Todd, Dr. Suiter wants you to take her over to Labor and Delivery due to her past history."

Same day, 12/12/05 - 2:00pm
Still in an observation room. Lights are out. Kristen is laying on a bed, trying to bear a massive headache.

Same day, 12/12/05 - 10:00pm
After running home to put Jonah to bed, I'm at the hospital preparing to sleep on one of those ridiculous chair/beds as Kristen gets Potassium pumped into her system. (That's the diagnosis...her potassium is to low and won't come back up.)

Tuesday, 12/13/05 - 1:00pm
Still waiting on Dr. Suiter to come check Kristen out. Now, we're on potassium pills. It's not much different than the IV - get potassium/get a blood test.

Same day, 12/13/05 - 3:30pm
Dr. Suiter is in the room. Says we'll do one more dose of potassium and check the blood, then go home somewhere around 7:45pm

Same day, 12/13/05 - 8:00pm
I'm at home, Jonah is asleep. Krist and Carol are at the hospital waiting on blood work.

Same day, 12/13/05 - 10:00pm
Krist is finally home. Blood test just before leaving showed potassium still low.

Wednesday, 12/14/05 - 10:30am
Our dishwasher dies.

Season's Greetings to You and Yours!

The Chronicles of Narnia

I guess I'm the only one, but here it goes . . .

I didn't like it.
Don't get all rowdy - let me explain.

1. I think the film developed too slowly. Let's face it - there's a ton of stuff in the book, and I think they wasted time on the "kids in the mansion" stuff. I understand that it was the journey into the wardrobe had to be developed, I just think that they could have got us in there quicker.

2. In the books, there is such a rarity associated with Aslan. There is an amazing sense of mystery; the kids hear about him and hear about him as if an Aslan sighting is one of the most rare things in the world. To see the kids walk into a camp where Aslan has grouped thousands of warriors and, assumedly, spoke with them didn't do it for me. I can't remember if that's how the "meeting" happened in the book, but I just felt that the first meeting with Aslan was too casual.

3. Aslan himself was excellent. The animation was excellent. I'm not quite sure if Liam Neeson was the best choice for voice, but that remains to be seen.

In conclusion, let me say this. When I finished watching Lord of the Rings, I felt the exact same way I had felt when I finished reading it. When I walked out of The Chronicles of Narnia, it wasn't the same. While I certainly appreciated an effort to make a film out of such a worthwhile novel, I did not feel that same glorious sense of wonder and praise.

That's just my take.

Worship Question of the Week

1. When you attend a worship event – church service, camp, concert, retreat, etc. – do enjoy cover tunes better when they sound just like the CD version? Or do you like to hear a team put their own spin on it?

2. As a worship leader, do you like for your stuff to sound as much like the CD as possible? Why or why not?

God and Country

I hear a lot about George W. Bush being a “Godly man.” I hear that from a lot of sources. Some of them I don’t believe – like a guy at the grocery store, for example.

Let it be known that I do, in fact, believe that our current President is a man of faith. I’m not basing this belief on the President’s speeches, because we all know that speeches are often the most general of political expressions. However, over the years, I have seen numerous interviews with various ministers who have met and/or consulted President Bush. Many of these ministers are men that I hold in high regard and I am willing to trust their testimonies as to the President’s understanding of spiritual need.

But let’s take a second to think about those “speeches” I mentioned earlier. Most intelligent Americans (and American Christians, in my opinion) understand that references to faith are present in even the most un-spiritual of Presidential addresses. I’ve heard John Kerry mention God, Al Gore mention God, Bob Dole mention God, Bill Clinton mention God, and you know what?
Some of the stuff they’ve said is pretty good! But do we take them at their word? Probably not. And it’s a good thing – this sort of spiritual distrust we have for those who lead us. Hopefully, we are people that value a holy life more than holy words.

Why do I say all of this? Because it really bugs me when I hear Christian media quote the speeches of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln or other long-gone national leaders and put them forth as proofs that these men were devout.
Any moderately detailed study of Presidential history will reveal numerous things about some of these icons – and some of the things revealed show us that these idolized men weren’t near as devout as we believe. Maybe it’s true – maybe the country was too young to be corrupt and I’m just a jaded political observer, but I submit that picking these quotes out of these speeches is a cheap move.

If we want to talk about how the country was founded on Christian principles, let’s do that. Let’s talk about it, let’s examine entire speeches and voting records and the biographies of these men. Aren’t we the people who cried “character counts” when Monica Lewinsky showed up on our newspapers? If it counts now, it counted then.

Tracking "Promised One"

Recorded to Roland VS-880EX hard disk recorder.

Acoustic was a combination of mic (SM57) and direct to recorder. Also had slight reverb.

Vocal was direct to Roland about three feet away from SM58. (Also had some verb)

Bass was direct w/ 2 effect patches off of Roland.