The Louie Giglio Vlog

Sunday's Video

On Sunday, we ran a "baby dedication video" as our families came up on stage.



Baby Dedication Video from Todd Wright on Vimeo.

The service was really neat. I tried to grab some video from the sanctuary, but my angle was all weird and people stood in front of the camera!

It's The Little Things...

So, Friday night I'm working late getting a video ready for Sunday. It's going well; I'm enjoying myself but I'm getting a little sleepy. I figure a snack might just do the trick.

Now, most folks think of crackers or fruit or something like that when they hear "snack." Not this guy. No. I wanted a cookie. Or some ice cream. Something delicious.

But the cupboards are bare. I opt for peanut butter toast, which is a pretty decent snack. I get the toast ready and go to the fridge for some ice for a nice, tall glass of Diet Dr. Pepper.

And that's when I see this:


Yes, sir. That's a Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich.

Friday night indeed.

One of my favorite blogs is written by author Robert Rummel-Hudson. Hudson is the author of Schuyler's Monster: A Father's Journey With His Wordless Daughter.

Hudson's daughter, Schuyler, was diagnosed with Bilateral Perisylvian Polymicrogyria, a disease that left Schuyler unable to speak. Robert has written extensively about his daughter, the enormous stress of keeping a family together through such a horrific experience and his own reactions to the world as Schuyler becomes more and more engaged in culture.

I love Robert's blog, Fighting Monsters With Rubber Swords. In addition to documenting Schuyler's challenges and victories, he also blogs a good bit about his travels as an author and what he continues to learn as a dad.

For quite some time, Schuyler has used the "Big Box of Words," a device that allows her to communicate with the world. If I understand the timeline, she's had this same blue talking computer for a long time. Not long ago, Robert began to talk about the new BBoW that Schuyler would be getting. And two days ago, she got it...




I don't know the Hudson family personally. But I sure am pulling for them! I've been very impressed with how they've shared Schuyler's story with the world.

Best Movie Soundtrack Song Ever...

Don't lie.
This one takes you back, doesn't it?
I watch this and I'm in ninth grade again.

Dang it.
I gotta' watch Robin Hood now.

Props to Brody for reminding me of this one. One of my favorite tunes!

Getting Ready for Easter!

Here's our new "Easter parking promo" we shot Wednesday morning. This one went pretty fast...editing went quick, a little excerpt from the Fail Blog and we were good to go. Mark did a great job.


Parking Promo from Todd Wright on Vimeo.

Ignatius...

Mark linked this over at his site. So great. As somebody who's done a little bit of "travel ministry," this sort of thing is funny and sad all rolled into one.


Ignatius from travis hawkins on Vimeo.

Love This...

In The Crowd...

Thought it might fun to document some of my most unforgettable concert experiences. Truth be told, I don't go to many concerts these days. And it's not just a matter of convenience; I generally don't feel all that excited to attend "shows" any more. Oh, of course, there's a list of greats that I'd go see, but for the most part, my concert days are over.

But I used to go a lot. Well...maybe not a lot, but I tried to attend and many as humanly possible.

Now, before we hit my "unforgettable" concerts list, you'd do well to remember that, as a teenager, I was actually pretty devout. I never had much of a wild-phase in my life. (That's not to say I haven't had phases where I acted completely selfish and unfaithful to God, though.) You would also benefit by knowing that I loved Christian music. Loved it. Many of the shows that make this list are probably from random festivals or multiple-act shows I tried to attend.

So, in no particular order, here are my unforgettable concerts.
#1. DAKODA MOTOR COMPANY
I think I found these guys first on radio. When I got the chance to attend "Atlanta Fest" as a teenager and I heard these guys would be there, I got really excited.

For me, this band represented a whole new phase of pop/rock in Christian music. In fact, this was probably one of the first "Christian" bands that I had heard that didn't necessarily sing that many Christian things. I was intrigued by their sound (what I'd later learn as "California rock") and their overall approach to music.

I was fortunate in that they played a great deal at the "Edge Stage" at the Festival. This was basically a building at Six Flags (where "Atlanta Fest" was held) that they turned into a club-like venue. I'm not sure why Dakoda played so many times...maybe they didn't have a lot of other bookings...I'm not sure.

I just know that I loved them and I found their laid-back, random approach to humor and performance to be something I had been missing. (And I didn't even know it!)

I did a little searching and found out that Dakoda got back together in 2007 for some reunion shows and seem to be planning a new record. I found some of the reunion clips on YouTube. Can't say that I necessarily dig those tunes as much as I used to, but the fact remains that I will never forget seeing a band that impacted me so much in a very close, live setting.

Anybody else remember this band?

FAILBLOG makes me laugh...

(LIST)

• Kicked off our Life Group tonight. We had a blast. Like, for real....a BLAST.
  
  
• There are a few things in life that will always be mind-blowing...a hug from the kids, John Mayer singing "Free Fallin'" and my wife's chocolate chip cookies.
  
  
• One of our kids ministry leaders told me today that Jonah was a great little worship leader. I'm still smiling on that one, gang!
  
  
• I am ruined for Hammond organ. I always thought they were cool, but Tim G. at Bethel has proven it - the Ham is the coolest instrument around.
  
  
• I'm still amazed at how hurts hang on. Recently remembered an old spiritual injury and it suddenly ached again. God keeps reminding me that I've got a long road ahead of me.
  
  
• If you're not doing Ross King songs in your church, you're missing out. (I'd suggest Praise The Lord, Glorified In Me, You Alone Can Satisfy or Just As I Am if you can track it down.)
  
  
• I recently got a worship CD that I know tons of people are loving. And I hate it. I'm nervous some of my worship pals will ask me what I think. I don't want to sound like a jerk!
  
  
• I've got a ton of stuff to do and I need to buckle down and get it done.
  
  
• I was completely humbled and convicted by some amazing missionaries today.
  

A New Record...

For you RSS folks, this post will appear here as well as over at toddwrightband. That's the site where I typically journal about my music specifically. Please forgive the double-posting. (I hope to do more writing over a the toddwright site in the very near future!)

Over the past few months, a few folks have asked me about recording a new record. No large outcry by any means, but rest assured I have been thinking a lot about a new album how to go about it. Here are some of my thoughts about the process.

SONGS: Plain and simple...I just don't have enough songs for a new record. I've got four or five that I feel pretty confident about, but the rest of them are either unfinished or just don't measure up yet. I also had been working under the assumption that when I went back to track a new record I would do as many "new" songs as possible. In this case, I'm using "new" to describe songs that I have yet to use congregationally. While this is great for creativity and excitement and even marketing, the plain truth is that worship songs need to be sung. I need to get these songs in front of people...to adjust them and arrange them...heck, even rewrite them if need be! Of course, since teaching new songs to a congregation is already a tricky process, it might take me awhile to unveil these tunes and see how they go over.

CULTURE CREATION: I have this dream of doing something way different with the next record. I think we can all agree that music is going through some significant changes these days. Online distribution, pay-what-you-want and DIY attitude are creating both opportunities and obstacles for new music creation. I'd love to this next record as a non-record. In fact, I have this dream of dedicating my time to tracking tunes under-the-radar and then unveiling them in some sort of subscription system - this would essentially be taking a "TV" approach to music creation. I create a larger body of work and then ask folks to invest in some way (payment, sign-up, referalls, etc.) in an effort to receive these songs in some sort of subscription format. The challenges here are numerous. Trying to track a large body of work like this would probably require a song-by-song recording process which would be difficult to pull off in a given studio. Grassroots marketing is a fickle field at best, and I'm not quite sure I could garner the sort of "tribe" following needed to create some sort of sub-culture allure.

There's a chance I could utlize my SongDiscovery community blog to maintain a song catalog, but I'd also have to find another way to make songs available for non-SD folks.

MONEY: Raising money for a record doesn't concern me all that much. I feel pretty confident that I could raise enough funding for a record...I'm just not sure that I want to right now. Fundraising takes time and energy, and I barely enough of those two for everyday life!

For those of you who pray for my ministry, pray that I'll be wise and creative and a good steward of God's gifts. If you've got ideas (no matter how crazy) on how the next record can do something different in it's approach or application, feel free to share in the comment box!

2 Vids...

One of these videos is hilarious.

One of them is awesome and brilliant and maybe one of the smartest takes on copyright drama ever. (As capitalistic as I tend to be, I tend to side w/ the hippies on this one.)

Okay. First up...the hilarious.


And now, the smart one.

Nina Sings "Copying Isn't Theft" from Reel 13 on Vimeo.

PICS FROM THE PARK!

...in case you forgot

What Your Preacher Thinks...

10 Things Your Pastor May Be Thinking

1. I got this. I got this. I am the man. Here it comes. You suckers better get ready.
   
   
2. Good grief, that worship set was long. Sheesh. Way to bring the room down, guys.
   
   
3. John Piper. John Piper. John Piper. John Piper.
   
   
4. Where are my kids? Why are they sitting way back there? Are they talking during my sermon? Oh...they're gonna' get it!
   
   
5. This stupid headset will not stay straight. Grrr....just give the me the old school lapel mic, dude.
   
   
6. These people are not getting this.
   
   
7. That joke seemed way funnier in my mind.
   
   
8. Why is my wife looking at me like that? Did I pronounce something wrong again?
   
   
9. Did I just preach heresy?
   
   
10. How does Osteen do it?
    

Okay...add yours to the list! What are some things your pastor might be thinking. Preachers...what are we missing?

THE TENS...("Blessed Be Your Name")

The Tens is a blog series where I look at songs that have consistently stayed in CCLI's Top 10 List over the past five years. In each post, we discuss what makes these songs great and why they're important to churches.

For this post, we'll be looking at Matt Redmans beloved tune, "Blessed Be Your Name."

WHERE I HEARD IT FIRST:
I actually don't remember where I heard this one first, but I think it might have been on the radio. I know a band called Tree63 did a cover version and I think that may have been my first experience with the tune.

WHY IT'S SUCCESSFUL:
This one seems pretty easy...I mean, a song built around the idea of giving God honor even when our lives are difficult? Of course, people are going to respond to that! Here are a couple of things that I think work for this song.

• Poetry. Matt and his wife wrote fantastic lyrics here. They've written a lyric that is broad enough to fit any situation, yet poetic enough to be personal. Even when we're experience joy...we still understand what a powerful message this song carries.
  
  
• Honesty. This lyric still dwells in the hypothetical. We're singing these things "in faith" many times...almost reminding ourselves that we're supposed to be blessing God during trial. And then we hit that amazing line..."though there's pain in the offering." You know, that song probably would have done good enough without that line, but I'm so glad it's in there. Because suddenly it becomes real to us. We sing that and realize that we're not singing some feel-good campfire song. We're singing about real-life.
  
  
• Simplicity. This is an easy song to follow. The verses are pretty wordy, but the tune is just paced so well. This is really a great example of a song that invites on a journey. I don't this a tune you can easily just sing one part of...you gotta' go all in, right?
  

3 TAKES:
I typically respond to worship songs in three ways: as a worship leader, as a songwriter and as a worshiper. Of course, those three things are constantly overlapping, but they each individually shape how I think about a given song.

• Worship Leader - We read a lot about "laments." Lately, I've seen a lot of worship leaders talking about the need for the more confessional nature in worship. We all face desperate times - times when we feel far removed from God's care - and I agree with those that posit the need for songs that let us express as much. However, this can often be one of the many things that works theoretically but that poses so much trouble in its application. Laments are hard to pull off, folks. They're hard to place in a set, hard to maintain an energy level when playing, and hard to write. (Believe me on that one!) As a worship leader, I love this tune because it's so balanced. Yes, it's a song of hope and dependence, but it's also a song of honesty. I know that almost anytime I play this tune, somebody's going to connect with it. And usually, it's a lot of "somebodies."
  
  
• Songwriter - Most any songwriter is probably going to have a weird response to a four-minute song that is essentially the same four chords over and over again. And this tune isn't that different...I'm still amazed that it works so well. Personally, I think the pre-chorus is the key in keeping this song alive. I think the melody of the "every blessing" section is so great - not only is it a pretty cool melodic twist, but the lead-up to the chorus is fantastic songwriting.
  
  
• Worshiper - When this song is played by a good band with a great arrangement, it's fantastic. When it's not, well...it's not. This is that old standard thing so many of us face. How do you turn off your "musician mode" in worship? How do you stop listening to the tempo and watch for transitions and participate fully in the worship experience? Each of us have our own ways of making that happen, but I'll be honest, this song is often a hard one for me to sing along with. This has nothing to do with Matt's songwriting, but rather a very strong tendency for bands to rely on a crowd's excitement rather than to build energy into the tune using their skills. Personally, I'm always gonna' favor a big, ethereal version of this song. Of course, it works simplified, but I think big, rocking versions of this tune are so great for congregational worship.
  

So, what about you?
Thoughts on "Blessed Be Your Name"?
Got thoughts on why it's such a success?
COMMENT BELOW!

MY SON IS A PROPHET...

My son, Jonah, has always loved super heroes. He's never been a "train kid" or "sports kid." Ever since he was old enough to know the difference, he's been fascinated with the supernatural. Heroes, Star Wars, aliens, robots...the kid digs.

When he was really small, he got a lot of hero stuff for Christmas. In fact, Marvel used to make these kid-friendly hero action figures...little squatty versions of Captain America and Hulk and Wolverine...all smiles and age appropriate. He dug the Spider-Man movies because the commercials played constantly. Pretty normal hero fan stuff. Until we rented an animated Avenger's movie.

The movie was filled with heroes we had never heard of. Jonah enjoyed the movie, but he was most fascinated with a hero called IRON MAN. Suddenly, our four-year old could think of nothing else but Tony Stark's titanium alloy hero creation. The problem was that no one else seemed to know who Iron Man was. You couldn't find toys or movies or pajamas or anything with this little red man on it. But strangely, as Jonah turned five, we began to see more Iron Man toys. Why? Because Marvel knew something that we didn't.

When Jonah heard that there was an actual Iron Man movie being made, he lost his mind. It was a dream come true, and trust me, now we have the Iron Man pajamas. (They even light up.)

I found a strange pride in it...like my son had some sort of unique sense of what was cool long before the other kids did. (I'm kinda' messed up.) But we didn't dwell on it.

Chapter 2....

When we moved to Tyler, Jonah discovered a video game at a friend's house. The game was Marvel Ultimate Alliance. It had all the guys Jonah liked. But he didn't come home talking about Hulk or Iron Man. Suddenly, he was all about Deadpool. I'd never heard of Deadpool. I researched it a little, found out that Deadpool was one of the more creative, if lesser known, Marvel characters, and didn't think much of it.

And then, I see this...



Did you see the guy with the two swords? Red shirt? Flying around like a crazy man? Yep, you guessed it.

DEADPOOL.

Somehow, Jonah has picked another winner. And now, I'm reading rumors of a Deadpool movie in the works. Can it be? Does my son have some sort of sixth sense for marketable hero blockbusters?

Man, I hope so. Somebody get me Jerry Bruckheimer.

(LIST)

1. Bethel's got a lot of cool video ideas in the works. I am excited, but feeling very incapable.
   
   
2. I'm pretty sure I could my wife to make out with me if I learn that song from ONCE.
   
   
3. I'm amazed at how fast Jonah is growing up. It's starting to bother me, in fact.
   
   
4. The new U2 record is so great. Yeah, I'm still talking about it.
   
   
5. Another great record is Indelible Grace's Beams Of Heaven. I may actually like it better than the newest one.
   
   
6. Kristen and I start a new Life Group in 1 week. It's gonna' be great!
   
   
7. Parents across the country are upset because Barbie is now "inked." (HERE) My favorite quote from the story?
   "Some parents remarked that they wouldn't buy a Barbie with tattoos, as it encourages girls to show off their bodies."
   Yeah...'cause Barbie's never ever done that up until now.
   
   
8. I turn into a total girl when I meet someone else who watches "Sober House." I get all giddy and start quoting scenes back and forth for hours. Dr. Drew is like the father I never had. (Just kidding, Dad.)

Wowee!

Most of you know that the big news in January was the inclusion of my tune "The Cross Of Christ" on Worship Leader Magazine's SongDISCovery program. I still feel so honored to be a part!

Imagine my surprise when Ryan posted this on Wednesday.


It's hard to see, but at the top of the list sits "The Cross Of Christ" in the 2nd issue of 2009.

Now, how do force myself into the third issue? Huge scandal? Get arrested for stalking Paul Baloche?

By the way, Paul B. is playing an event here on April 5. I will be there.

THE TENS..."How Great Is Our God."

The Tens is a blog series where I look at songs that have consistently stayed in CCLI's Top 10 List over the past five years. In each post, we discuss what makes these songs great and why they're important to churches.

For this post, we'll be looking at Chris Tomlin's "How Great Is Our God," a song that's quickly risen to the top of CCLI most popular songs. For each of these posts, we'll be following this template.

WHERE I HEARD IT FIRST:
Many of us typically hear new worship songs in our churches, then go out and find the album with the tune. In the past, Chris has often introduced new songs in a live version via the Passion organization, then placed full-studio versions on his individual releases. I don't think "How Great Is Our God" had appeared anywhere before, though. If I'm remembering correctly, I think it was the first or second radio release, but I heard it first on the record.

WHY IT'S SUCCESSFUL:
I think there are a few reasons why the church has latched onto this song. A couple of those reasons are consistent with most anything that Chris releases.

• First off, I think the song is emotive. Chris has done a fantastic job on the melody here. It's almost impossible to sing this song without becoming a bit excited by the overall "feel" of the way this melody works.
  
  
• Secondly, it's singable. Think about it - slow tempo, a chorus that easy to remember and a dash of the unique ("sing with me...")
  
  
• Third, it's a tune that hangs on that chorus. That's why the acapella choir part at the end of the studio version (and in live settings, too) is so cool...because it's the crux of this piece. The chorus is simple, but smart, songwriting.
  
  
• Fourth, it's about God. We hear people complaining all the time about how there are so many "me" songs in worship. And that's true - there are a lot of those out there. Personally, I don't think those are all bad, but I do think that Christ-followers are prone to engage more fully and passionately with songs that are about God and not ourselves.
  

3 TAKES:
I typically respond to worship songs in three ways: as a worship leader, as a songwriter and as a worshiper. Of course, those three things are constantly overlapping, but they each individually shape how I think about a given song.

• Worship Leader - Like it or not, "How Great Is Our God" has all the qualities of the old standby. It's one of those tunes that's crossed denominational, regional and age lines. You can throw this one into a set and be guaranteed that folks are going to know it. The danger with songs like that is that you can kill them quickly. My worship leader "take" on this tune is that it has to be placed just right in the set. I've got to really be watchful and aware of when I utilize this guy. Placed correctly and wisely in an order of worship, it can be a powerful tool to make sure our focus is on God alone. Placed wrongly, or used too much, and this song feels about an hour long.
  
  
• Songwriter - As a songwriter, I marvel at this song. Personally, I've never really liked the verses that much. They're easy to sing and remember, which is good for worship songwriting, but I've always felt that the great chorus overcomes whatever shortcomings might happen in the verses. I think the bridge is fantastic...maybe one of the best worship bridges written in a long time. ("Bridges" tend to be the most difficult part of songwriting.) Tomlin and crew did a great job on this one...the strengths are so abundantly strong that the weaknesses don't even matter. I still think the song is too high. This might seem like a worship leader concern, but as a worship writer, I work really hard at being sensitive to congregational comfort when it comes to range. Sometimes, those can't be totally avoided, but the songwriter in me think the song would have done just as well a step or two lower.
  
  
• Worshiper - I like this tune. It's got tons of stuff I dig...percussion, cool acoustic work during the verses, really great texture. Personally, I never felt it was the most awesome-song-ever, but I completely understand its appeal. This is one of those that's run its course for me.
  

So, what about you?
Thoughts on "How Great Is Our God?"
Got thoughts on why it's such a success?
COMMENT BELOW!

Pray For Mark...

Hey gang...

For some of you Bethel folks, this will hit home, but I'm asking any and all who stop by here to pray for my friend, Mark Tunnell and his wife, Kellie. I haven't known Mark and his family very long, but they are amazing examples of faith during a very hard time.

A few months back, Mark was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Mark went through all sorts of stuff...surgery, treatment options, etc. God was faithful to strengthen Mark and Kellie and to bless them during that journey. In December, it appeared as if Mark had come through the sickness and was on the way to a full recovery.

In mid-February, Mark started experiencing some seizures and intense pain and I just got word today that Mark is back in the hospital. At this point, the doctors are unsure of what's going on and Mark and Kellie are desperate for answers.

If you could, you please pray for Mark and Kellie Tunnell? I'm praying for wisdom and peace for Mark and Kellie. I'm also praying for agreement among the doctors. If you've ever spent anytime in a hospital, regardless of the illness, you know it's a scary, frustrating thing. Mark and Kellie are confident that God is in control. Mark has a great attitude, facing pain and the unknown like a champ.

I'd really appreciate it. If you'd like to drop a word of encouragement to the Tunnells, you can leave a message for them at their Facebook group. (Search "Praying for Mark Tunnell.) Or you can shoot me an email message and I'll be happy to forward it to them. (toddwrightband@gmail.com)

Thank you for praying, guys. It would mean so much to this family.

TWITTER IS TOO BIG. AND EVIL.

At 1:00pm on Tuesday, I posted this:

"I cannot overstate my love for Quaker Chewy Granola Bars. Well...all of them except Oatmeal Raisin. (That's an abomination.)"

At 1:35pm, I received this email:

"Hi, twright76 (twright76). QuakerTalk (QuakerTalk) is now following your updates on Twitter. Check out QuakerTalk's profile here:
http://twitter.com/QuakerTalk You may follow QuakerTalk as well by clicking on the "follow" button.
Best, Twitter."

Quaker is on Twitter.

The end is near.

Update: At 1:46pm, I receive this:

"@twright76 If you love Chewy's you will LOVE the True Delights. Here's a $1 off coupon. (link)"

Dang it, I'm gonna' have to follow them now because they're pwning on Twitter. Curse you, Quaker Oat Man.

TOP TEN...AND TEN...AND TEN

Some of you might not find this interesting, but it's fascinating to me.

CCLI TOP TEN FEB 2009
1. How Great Is Our God
2. Blessed Be Your Name
3. Here I Am To Worship
4. Mighty To Save
5. Open The Eyes Of My Heart
6. Everlasting God
7. Shout To The Lord
8. Holy Is The Lord
9. Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
10. Forever

CCLI TOP TEN FEB 2008
1. How Great Is Our God
2. Blessed Be Your Name
3. Here I Am To Worship
4. Open The Eyes Of My Heart
5. Shout To The Lord
6. Holy Is The Lord
7. You Are My King
8. Forever
9. Lord, I Lift You Name On High
10. Come, Now Is The Time To Worship

CCLI TOP TEN FEB 2007
1. How Great Is Our God
2. Here I Am To Worship
3. Blessed Be Your Name
4. Open The Eyes Of My Heart
5. Shout To The Lord
6. Lord, I Lift Your Name On High
7. Come, Now Is The Time To Worship
8. You Are My King
9. Forever
10. Holy Is The Lord

CCLI TOP TEN FEB 2006
1. Here I Am To Worship
2. Open The Eyes Of My Heart
3. Blessed Be Your Name
4. Come, Now Is The Time To Worship
5. Shout To The Lord
6. Lord, I Lift Your Name On High
7. Forever
8. God Of Wonders
9. You Are My King
10. How Great Is Our God

CCLI TOP TEN FEB 2005
1. Here I Am To Worship
2. Open The Eyes Of My Heart
3. Lord, I Lift Your Name On High
4. Shout To The Lord
5. Come, Now Is The Time To Worship
6. You Are My King
7. Forever
8. God Of Wonders
9. You Are My All In All
10. Breathe
________________________
In truth, CCLI does 2 accounting per year. One in February, one in August. But I thought it would be fun to discuss these lists here on the blog.

What is it about these songs that make them mainstays of our worship experiences? What are the qualities of these songs that make them so universal, and thereby successful? Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be looking at each song and analyzing it from a few perspectives: as a Christian, as a worship leader, and as a songwriter.

I think it's gonna' be a blast. Stick around...love to know your thoughts on these tunes!

Russell Martin just kicked off a new thing over at his blog called the "Online Songwriter's Showcase" and I posted a new tune on there.

A lot of you may remember me doing an episode of "SongWrighting," where I played a couple of verses and a chorus of a new tune called Forever Faithful. Well, thankfully, I finished the tune and tracked a real simple demo of it. I'm still missing the riff that I keep hearing in my head, but I was so jazzed by Russell's idea, that I threw it up there anyway!

So far, there are three tunes on the site. I'd encourage all you worship songwriters to give it a try!

Check it...

What Your Worship Leader Is Really Thinking...

Ten things that your worship leader could be thinking during church...

1. Man-I-hope-I-make-that-chord-here-it-comes-oh-please-let-me-make-that-chord-okay-ready-bar-the-second-make-the-Aminor-lift-the-pinky-drop-the-1-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-oh-man-that-stunk-crap-i've-got-to-play-that-four-more-times-before-this-song-is-over.
   
   
2. Why did I stay up so late last night?
   
   
3. What are the words to the second verse?
   
   
4. I need more me in the monitor.
   
   
5. I'm never doing this song again. This is embarrassing.
   
   
6. OH NO I THINK I PUT THE CAPO ON THE WRONG FRET...WAIT WAIT DON'T START THE SONG...oh. Nevermind.
   
   
7. I'm hungry. I wonder if there any leftover donuts around here.
   
   
8. Hey! We sound pretty good.
   
   
9. Hey! We sound pretty awful.
   
   
10. Why isn't the pastor singing? He looks mad. Is he mad at me? Did I sing something heretical?

Am I wrong, worship leaders? What else should be on this list?

Why You Should Follow John Mayer's Blog...

He's calling it Battle Studies and it's one of the favorite sites I'm following these days.

JAMAICA!

Early this morning, a team from Bethel left for a week of ministry in Jamaica. Sounds like a sweet gig, I know, but in fact, these folks are going to be doing a ton of construction and clean-up for the "New Generation Camp," a fantastic Bible camp for Jamaican children.

In addition, the Bethel team will host a Field Day for the nearby "Basic School" for children ages 3-6, a school desperately in need of strong male influences that are healthy and Godly.

We ran this video this morning as a way of reminding our people here to be praying for our team. I am constantly humbled and inspired by Bethel's passion for taking the message of Jesus wherever He calls us.



Jamaica Promo from Bethel Bible Church on Vimeo.

A Thousand Words...

Monkey Chow Diaries, Day 6

BREAKFAST SONG...

I love urlesque.com. Mostly because it will almost always be something completely random and time-wasting. (Just the way I like it...)

In fact, when I saw this on Urlesque the other day, I didn't even watch it before opening blogger to link it. The thumbnail, coupled w/ Urlesque's skillfull blurb, was enough for me to know that this was worth sharing.




Thank you, internet.

Monkey Chow Diaries, Day 5

When You're Married To a LOSTie...

A little backstory: I was a full-on LOST fan for the first two seasons. And really, my loss of passion wasn't intentional. Unfortunately, during the 3rd season my schedule got very busy and I just got too far behind. (It probably didn't help that I also didn't particularly enjoy the third season. Just a personal preference, but it wasn't as good as the two previous collections.)

My wife, however, has remained faithful. She's a huge fan of the show without resorting to spending hours on messageboards and thinking through massive plot theories. (I'm looking at you, LB.)

Over the past month or so, I've actually been able to be around when she watches it which has revealed a few things that I believe are consistent in many LOST/non-LOST relationships.

1. Expect numerous gasps that seem completely unwarranted. This happens a lot at our house. Kristen will be watching it and then some random, nondescript item will show up on the screen. Imagine, say, a dark blue ink pen perched on the edge of an old well. "OH MY GOSH!" "OH MY GOSH!" "THIS IS SO WEIRD!"
   
   
2. Expect dismissal when asking a question. This happens when during a scene that makes some sense, you try to get some clarity. Say, when Jeff Fahey walks out of the cockpit and tells Jack something like, "Don't guess we're going to Idaho," and you ask your wife what's important about the clip. Then she waves her hand in the air and sighs, Ug. It's too long to tell, Todd.
   
   
3. Expect to be completely wrong. Even when you're right. So, Sawyer walks out onto a pier to meet Michael. They shake hands and smile back at Locke and you say, "Oh, wow. Michael's back." Then your spouse spits, "No, that's Richardson. He used to be Michael, but now he's not."
   
   
4. Expect to be tempted to get back into the show because of the music. Let's be honest...this show has the best soundtrack ever. It's ambient and weird and creepy and without structure and when you hear it, you think that you're a part of something epic. Can you imagine how weird a CD would be of all LOST soundtrack music?

Monkey Chow Diaries, Day 4

And now for the scriptural mindfreak of the day...

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

John 16:7

Props to Ross S. for digging into this with staff yesterday. "To your advantage" is still amazing to me...trying to focus on it this week.

TAPEWORM

Monkey Chow Diaries, Day 2 (because you can't look away...)

THIS.IS.COOL.

Mondays Are Back...

Some of you know that I am officially finished with my worship commitment over at the Immerse Bible Study. I thought it would be good to thank the Immerse team and maybe even try to process some of my thoughts on worship the past couple of months.

• THANKS! I cannot thank Randy Prosperi and Ross Conner enough for this awesome opportunity...it was an absolute pleasure to serve on Monday nights. Both of these guys are passionate about serving college students in the Tyler area and I'm glad to have partnered with them in that! In addition, I've been encouraged by students like Scott Conaway, "Dal," AdrianA. and Danielle who are so faithful to serve each week. And I can't forget our musicians...Andrew Pulley, Paul James, Jason Scott, Dale Bradley, Aaron Laird, David Moody and Justin Romack all added their considerable talents to worship and it made a huge difference.
  
  
• I've learned a lot over the past few months. I've been challenged by the need to get to know a new crowd quickly and to work toward finding songs that "work." This is always a hard balance...finding songs that people like but also serving those people as a pastor. I've enjoyed their passion. The Immerse crowd is diverse - but one consistent element is their passion for the Father. I've been inspired by that.
  
  
• I'm glad to have my Monday nights back! I've loved doing it, but it will be nice to spend Monday nights at home again!
  
  
• I've got nothing but good things to say about this experience...some folks have asked about my "leaving." Let me assure you that all is well. This transition out was talked about long before I started, so it wasn't any huge shocker. I look forward to hearing (and hopefully seeing-in-person) more great things about Immerse on Monday nights!

Thanks to all of you who have watched the online broadcasts, asked me about Immerse, commented on blogs, etc.

Who knows what I'll take on next....

How Monkey Chow Made Me Love YouTube...

I don't remember any of the specific info about when I first learned of YouTube. I do remember hearing Kidddddd Kradddddick mention it one morning and figured I'd check it out. (Did I use enough Ds in his name?)

And somehow, someway, though some unseen providential hand, I came across

THE MONKEY CHOW DIARIES

I remembered it this past weekend, and thought I might use the blog to let you all share in the beauty of this online documentary. Unfortunately, this guy stopped making videos, which is sad.

I (Heart) Penelope