Hey Everyone!

I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I thought I would send you all something you might find helpful.  A new website was developed just for people like us…Church musicians, technicians, worsrhip leaders, vocalist, web designers, and others, to talk about music reviews, microphones tips and tricks, Worship Conferences, church advertising, church set lists, a special section for leaders, and dozens of other topics.  I am a moderator on this site, and I oversee all of the technical aspects, Audio, Lighting, Video and projection, Rigging, Technical Production, Service Producers, etc.  It’s a great site to share with churches of other denominations and sizes…to get help, and to help others.  I encourage ALL of you who are involved with church music/production in ANY way…visit this site, join, starting chatting with people about real church issues.  It’s getting bigger and bigger every day!!

SEE THE SITE HERE

I was talking to a non-believer the other day….this person is actually on the other end of the spectrum, but surprisingly, they made it to a Canyon Ridge church service this past weekend.  After this person had attended the service, we got into a conversation about the church.  Their comment, a comment that took them a moment to formulate, was one that took me by surprise.  The comment was one that I would never expect from them, because it was borderline appreciative and complementary to the church (not CRCC, but "the church", the organized religion of America).

They said this, a simple comment, but it invoked a lot of thought:  Your church seems to know the secret.  They said this, in the context of talking about that weekend’s service- how it flowed, how it connected, and how it impacted them.  Their "church history", consisted of MAYBE 100 trips to church, and those 100 trips were split between an early 90’s Baptist church, and a late 90’s Methodist church.  Both very different from the Ridge. 

In the midst of this conversation, I realized the reality of the statement they made.  The fact is, doing church right shouldn’t be a secret….but there are churches all over America that you can walk into this week, and see that to them, it is obviously a secret that they haven’t been let in on.  Why is that?  Why do some churches refuse to learn from others that have figured out a better way?  Why do they insist of staying on a dead or dying path?

This principle isn’t really a secret, and it’s probably something that someone else has said before, but I’ll say it again.  I believe the "secret" to being an effective church lies in two simple ideas: Being Relevant, and being Authentic.  Many churches have heard this relevant idea, and have tried to jump on the bandwagon; but you can see several of them are only going through the motions, just to say they are Relevant.  What is the importance of being relevant?  Well to me, it’s obvious.  Seekers need a church they can connect to.  Having someone reading out of the King James Version of the Bible, using Thee’s and Thou’s….as accurate as the KJV might be, it’s not relevant.  You aren’t going to connect to someone today, in 2007, who is un-churched, with a language that is dead, and hard to understand.  Being relevant means talking to people about real-life issues, and showing them how Biblical principles can help them live their lives right.  To stand on a stage, and recite names, and who begot who, begot who, etc…..that doesn’t help someone overcome addiction, or turn their lives around, or stop beating their wives, or stop being jerks to their co-workers…..but telling them how to live, and what Jesus said about it, and showing examples of how His times reflect our times, THAT’s being relevant.  Doing a teaching series that is a knock off of some reality TV show, or using a very familiar and commercial name doesn’t mean you are relevant…only that you know current events…..how you use those titles as tools, show whether or not you are relevant.  In a sentence, we have to be true to current day needs, convictions and temptations. 

The second "secret", I personally believe, is the one most churches miss.  Being Authentic.  An authentic church is one who is transparent and loving, no matter what.  When someone comes and says "I am hooked on drugs", or "I am addicted to pornography" or anything similar, we have to be an organization that says "you know what, it’s ok.  You are going to be OK, because God loves you, we love you, and we are going to work through this."  To be a church that will come alongside that person, help them if they stumble, and be someone that they can trust, and someone they know won’t judge them- that is being an Authentic church.  I’ve seen too many churches that miss this.  They condemn people who are imperfect (or better put, people who aren’t as good as covering it up), they judge people in the midst of their failure, and they don’t offer hope.  But I thought the church was the hope of the world?   What means more to the lost; a posh church full of suits, rules, and judgment…or a church full of real, sincere, authentic people?

As I was standing in the shower today, mentally going over the rough draft of this blog in my head, I had another thought on this topic.  As I thought about this blog, I realized I was thinking about the "church" as the organization…..but the authentic behavior needs to carry over the "church", the body.  We are the church, not the building.  So this principle has to be carried out in our everyday, away-from-church lives.  This means being real about our faith, and about how Christ forgives.  It’s about breaking the stereotype that church members are hypocritical.  If you live a real, authentically devoted life all the time, seekers see that.

Too many churches, and the people within still think those principles are secrets.  It’s sad, but it’s a fact.  My challenge?  Go out, and live an authentic life for Christ.  We can make a difference for Him, if we show people that Biblical principles are just as effective today as they were 2000 years ago; and that God, as we do, love them, despite their flaws. 

UPDATE:  I have put most of my Set Design pictures up from various sets that we have done around the Ridge since I have been here.  Some of the best pictures were too large for Flickr, but at least you can see some of what we have done over the last couple years.  more Base Camp pictures are on their way soon!

Hey everyone!  Just a quick note, to let you know that I have posted some pictures of the new Children’s Building, the subject of my last blog, on Flickr for you to see.  You can view them HERE.  Please note, I am not a photographer, so they aren’t all that great, but at least you can visualize the things that I have been talking about.  I will add more as I take them.  Also, feel free to check out our new WEBSITE layout here.

News flash: I am a task-oriented person.  I enjoy doing projects at work….installing a new system, organizing backstage, putting a new piece of equipment in, etc. etc.  I thrive off the "1-time-event" mentality….I have a hard time with the everyday upkeep and day-to-day tasks….that’s why I hired Stephen….He does that stuff well.  Over the last 12-15 months, I have had lots of projects come through….King’sFaire, Willow Arts Conference last summer, Worship Under the Stars, installing equipment in the Boardroom, Room 240, Room 320, new speakers in the Auditorium, new console in the Auditorium, several backstage cleanup jobs, etc, etc.  Each one came; was relatively successful, and went. 

Probably one of the most time-consuming projects I had on my plate for many, many months now, as most of you know, was the Children’s Building here at Canyon Ridge.  I got involved with that project within the first month I was on staff here back in September of 2003, and ever since then…in some way or another….at some level or another…..I have been immersed ever since.  When I joined the project, the Audio/Video designers had a very skewed idea of what the rooms were to be used for, so I took it upon myself to take the design….basically throw it in the trash, and start all over again.  During that process, we cycled through several project managers, and even a couple contractors.  Through many, MANY meetings about budget, equipment needs, equipment wants, schedules, more budget meetings, more wants, more budget meetings, more meetings about needs and functionality, and finally, meetings about budget, we arrived on a design; a design that was 99% straight out of my head…a honoring and scary thought. 

During these months, my thoughts were consumed with this project.  I would lay in bed, and sit straight up at 3:00am, because I realized I needed to switch two pieces of equipment, because they wouldn’t work in the order I had them in….or driving down the road listening to the radio, I would suddenly pick up my cell and call the contractor to order a demo of a certain speaker I wanted.  I delegated most of my other responsibilities at the Ridge, so that I could offer 100% of my attention to this new building.  Why?  Because our kids have been getting second rate service and equipment for far too long….and because if my design failed, I failed.  Mentally, I had too much riding on this project to have it not turn out perfect….not because I was worried about what other people would think if it wasn’t perfect….but because I knew something that I kept hidden from the general public:

This project was too big for me. 

I knew it, and the farther I got into, the more it was apparent to me….if I missed even one step, I was sunk.  I had to learn a lot as we went, and pretend like I knew it already.  Doug, our Operations Pastor HAD to have known what a chance he was taking, letting me own so much.  It was a risk he took…a big risk….and for that, I am thankful…I don’t think he knows just how much I learned, how much I enjoyed working alongside him, and how much I appreciated the opportunity to have a leading part in this project. 

Starting about mid-January, I started a 7-day-work-week schedule, no days off, and my shortest work days being 6 hours….my longest weeks totaling 70+ hours at the church.  Again, I am a project guy- I love this stuff.  When I was 15 or 16 at my old church, I would go at 2 or 3 in the morning, just to get in the attic and run new cables to the projectors by myself….but even for me….two solid months of 7 day work weeks can be hard.  But, there was work to be done, and my own self-confidence was riding on this thing….remember, it had to be perfect. 

On a Thursday in February, I was hanging lights in the new High school room….we were supposed to open that Saturday.  I looked around, and was overwhelmed with the amount of work still to be done….I had a list on my computer of things to do; according to that list, I still had seven, 8-hour days worth of work left to do…..in two days.  On the verge of a mini-meltdown (for a calm guy, is a pretty big deal), I didn’t know what to do.  In that moment, Doug walked in, and without really knowing the extent of my stress, announced that we would be pushing our opening back one week…a miracle of sorts….there was still hope. 

That one week is exactly what I needed. 

Last weekend, after months of planning, purchasing, installing, testing, troubleshooting, blood, sweat, tears, several unhealthy words, and lot of waiting and delays…we opened that building to a ton of excited kids.  Things went great….all of the technical systems worked flawlessly (except for a couple user errors, but that’s expected with new gear) in all of the rooms, and the services went well.  The middle/high school services saw about 75 more people than their average this weekend.  They got to enjoy a hired musical artist in their new room; the elementary kids got to see a magician in their room, the preschoolers were amazed by their room, and a puppet show….all going on at once….5 times in two days….without incident.  It was bumpy, and there are things to work out, but nothing failed.

I got to walk around this weekend, and make sure things were all going well, and it was amazing.  I could walk into the elementary room, and see a speaker hanging in a certain position, and think back 10-12 months when I said it should go there, and it was put on a set of blueprints.  I could walk into the preschool room, and see a certain (and expensive) type of connector on the wall, that will help volunteers use the system more easily; and think back to when I specified that very connector.  I could walk into the high school room, and see the theatrical lights hanging in the room, and remember hanging them there myself, and making sure they were pointing in just the right direction.  I could walk in the Lounge, a room with 7 flat-screen LCD TV’s, and remember designing the layout of that room, and then installing it all exactly where I said it would go months earlier.  It was an interesting feeling…because while the technical side of me was happy with all of the equipment decisions I made, it was bigger than that.  What was the most gratifying is that nobody noticed any of it.  2-year-olds didn’t care about my connector on the wall….only that they could enjoy the puppets; the 1st graders didn’t care about speaker placement…only that the magician made a rabbit appear out of a hat; and the high-schoolers didn’t notice lighting placement, or how the TV’s were attached to the truss; they only noticed they could see the band, and that there was a awesome place for them to hang out before the service.  Finally, after 3 years, it wasn’t about cables or light fixtures, or speakers, or microphones or screens….it was about the people who were going to benefit from those tools, and providing them with an overwhelming sensory experience that, in the end, was designed to project God’s Word. 

So, I guess all that to say: Mission Accomplished.  Everyone enjoyed their experience, and didn’t think twice about my work.  The way it should be, and the way I like it. 

I couldn’t write this, without a lot of thank-you’s.  My extensive work schedule took a toll on others besides myself.  First, my wife, Casey.  She dealt with me being at work every single day, without days off, at all hours of the day and night, for several months.  It was hard on her, but she knew it was only for a season, and she hung in there.  Thank you for being faithful, understanding, and loving through it all.  Secondly, Stephen.  I hired Stephen just before Christmas…..I don’t think he had any idea what he was getting himself into….but he hung in there with me every single day…..working without a day off just as much as I did.  Thanks for sticking in there Stephen, your work-ethic and diligence says a lot about you.  Leslie, Stephen’s girlfriend.  I stole Stephen too many evenings that he could have been out on a date with you.  Thank you for being patient and understanding- it makes the stress of the busy schedule easier to deal with.  Doug, as I mentioned above…..he shouldn’t have let me own so much, but he did.  The ability to take my technical vision from conception to implementation, and see it along every step of the way, is something I totally owe to you.  You took a risk…probably regretted it a couple times….but I appreciate it.  Lastly, Mitch and the rest of the Artist Community staff.  You guys accepted my near-non-existence while I was so involved in this project.  You covered for me, didn’t ask me to do things that weren’t pertinent to the new building, and helped encourage me along the way.  To know I had this backing, and that I didn’t have to stress about my other responsibilities, was a blessing.  Thank you everyone.  Without the piece that each of you contributed, I would not have been able to endure the entire process.  Thank you.

So now what?  Yesterday and today were my first day off since mid January, and I have to admit, it’s been interesting.  I really love my job, and what I do, and usually, my days off are spent doing building stuff on my computer….emails, ordering, etc.  But these last two days have been spent doing absolutely nothing…..and it’s freakin’ weird.  I can’t even think about some new thing I need to buy to make the new system work, because it’s all done.  The systems are built, finished, and working.  I can honestly say, other than this blog, I haven’t contemplated a single dang thing for the last 48 hours.  Don’t worry though, it’s far from over.  Even last Monday, they started another major part of the Auditorium expansion.  Tomorrow, I will arrive to work, and technically destroy the remains of Room 100.  After that, we have a huge Projection Screen/Projector install in the Auditorium.  Next week, I have another install project in the Adult Building.  After that, Easter.  After that, yet another install in the Adult Building.  After that, I start working on "Worship Under the Stars" again.  And then King’sfaire again…..all the while, working on the Auditorium project.  It’s fast paced…..and I love it. 

I guess that’s all.  The title of this blog is "A sense of accomplishment…".  I hope you understand, I don’t feel accomplished in the fact that I want you all to look through the new building, and tell me what a great job I did….because I don’t want that.  In fact, I would prefer you to leave such comments out of your reply to this blog, should you choose to leave one.  I feel accomplished because through all the meetings, all the decisions, all the delays, all the logistical issues….the point of it all, was to convey a very important message, in whatever way possible, in the most transparent way possible.  Seeing the kids enjoy their new space this weekend….that IS a sense of accomplishment….and the end to a new chapter written.

Wow.

There it is…2006 summed up in one 3-letter, 1-syllable word.  To date, I’ve seen 23 of these years go by; some of them I don’t remember at all, some I’d rather not, even if I could, and some that will stick in my memory forever.  Regardless, one fact grows more and more apparent to me each and every year…each passing year seems to be shorter than the one before it.  I mean, I just now got used to writing 2006, not 2005 on date-sensitive material.  Now, I have to re-learn it again.  Where did the time go?  What did I do?  What happened?

REFLECTIONS

 I think I can remember almost this entire year.  One of my favorite sayings is that I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast this morning, much less anything that was told to me weeks or months ago…..eluding to the fact I don’t retain a lot of useless facts in my long-term memory.  It wasn’t until recently that someone pointed out to me that I don’t eat breakfast….which may be the key reason in never remembering what I ate…….nonetheless, to say I remember parts of an entire year is, well, impressive. 

I can think back through lots of things…My dad’s retirement party…workings hours and hours to design the AV systems for this Children’s Building…Chris’s Wedding…Worship Under the Stars….Easter….Aaron Peck…the Arts Conference…weekend after weekend serving at Canyon Ridge…playing drums for Chris Tomlin’s "The Noise we Make"…King’sFaire….the nightmare that was Craig’s sabbatical…Hiring Chris…hearing Chris say he was leaving…Fun times with friends ….my wife, Casey…my stupid dogs…waiting for Cory Edwards to stop learning how to do new things….hiring Stephen…..the list goes on and on. 

I did a lot, in the sense I was busy all the time….but what did I DO?  Did I impact you?  Did I impact you POSITIVELY?  Did I make a difference somewhere?  Am I out of breathe for no reason?   We are 24 days from moving in the new building, and things are getting done….I made life-long friends at the Arts Conference….I was part of an incredibly inspiring worship event back east…..all of these things lead me to believe that NO….it wasn’t for no reason…..but the over-analytical part of my brain wonders what didn’t get done, because of the times I got lazy, or I didn’t do it with excellence.  Who got overlooked….who got jilted…..what could I have done better?

I have encountered some truely amazing people this year…and have started what I hope to be, the basis of a life-long friendship with some of them.  At the same time…..it seems this year that close friendships that I had, seemed to dwindle away to nearly nothing…..right before me…..part of life I guess?  Being in Las Vegas a little over three years now has begun to rub off on me a little…..because if I could sum up my 2006 in one motto phrase, it would be "you’ve got to play the cards you’re dealt".  I got a lot of things the way I wanted….I got a lot of things I didn’t want….I got a lot of things I tried not to get, but got anyways….I’ve had things I wanted, but didn’t get.  All of these made me who I am now….whether I liked them at the time or not, I am HOPING that they have made me a better, stronger, happier person.  Time will tell I guess.

Ripples

Usually, reflections in water are caused by the ripples you make.  Look at a pool by a house….you don’t see the reflection of the water on the side of the house, until you begin to make ripples.  But in this case, it was my reflections, that are going to cause the ripples.

What is 2007 going to bring?  I have no idea.  I know the usual….a birthday in May….2 new buildings at church….Easter….Christmas…but past that, what?  I know I am going to make some new friends….and unfortunately, going to lose some too.  But this year, I’m going to cause some ripples.  Not just plug a cable in the wall, but plug it in, and help someone understand that by plugging it in, they are helping bring the Word to someone who has never heard it.  Not just develop friends, but develop friendships that go deeper than the occasional "hello"…friendships that I can learn from, and that can learn from me.  Not just help produce another worship event back east, but create a moment for God to reveal Himself to me and others in a way He never has before.  I don’t want to just do it…..I want to DO it. 

The ones who read this may just be the people who have impacted me the most….some more than others….you know who you are.  For all of you though, thank you for what you have offered me this year.  I hope that in some tiny way, I was able to impact you this year.

Have a great New Year’s everyone…..thanks for being part of my life story…..because of you, it’s sure to be a Best Seller.

Well, right on the heals of Worship Under the Stars came King’sFaire, Canyon Ridge’s fall festival event.  This year, as in years past, we had tons of rides, food vendors, candy, and a concert inside the main auditorium.  This year, our official number was 11,163 people for the overall event.  I was able to slip outside a few times, and it was apparent by the smiles on the faces of the people who walked around that the increase in number didn’t affect the mood of the night.  It was tons of fun, although tons of work.

I got home from Georgia about 1am Monday night (Tuesday morning).  I had planned to work Tuesday, but they had lost my bag somwhere, so I had nothing that I needed in order to prepare myself for the public eye…..so, I took the chance, and caught up on my lack of sleep from the week before.  So, load-in began Wednesday, my crew of the day consisted of Cory and Don, both who were IMMENSELY helpful all week long.  We got to the two rental houses to pick up all of the extra lighting and rigging gear.  We got back just in time to unload, and prepare for Wednesday night service, the last service Sean would be leading in there with the Student Ministry team.  As usual, they all rocked the house.  What a talented group of people.  The night ended with that service, and teardown of the stage.

Thursday was an early day; and myself, Don, and Cory were joined by Jim, a volunteer I have been trying to get involved for months now.  We hung all of the lighting and trussing, and got it all wired up.  Friday, we finished hanging the set, and programmed a few cues for Don, or resident King’sFaire lighting guy to cycle through.  The bands arrived, and began to set up.  They sound checked, and were done by 5pm….A record early ending.  Everything was ready to go…..LIGHT-YEARS easier than the show a week earlier, but just as fun. 

The show started, and it went off well.  Rob Williams did a great job mixing the band, and Don did a great job lighting them.  Pictures of the event will come soon.  Thanks to everyone who hung out in the booth during the show, it’s always great to have people hang out with us in there during the show….some people more than others :).

So, two major events behind me…now what?  Well, no major one-time events on the horizon now.  Now, I have a position to hire, and I am continuing working on the Canyon Ridge expansion project.  Thanks to everyone who helped me make the King’sFaire concert a success….whether you bolted truss together, or just helped me not to stress out, you are all appreciated. 

Hello everyone, long time no blog.  Between not having time to write, and not having anything exciting to write about, I haven’t made it to this page very often.  Now, with two major events behind me, I feel like maybe I can fill a page with something relatively interesting……ok….maybe I can fill a page…..you can decide whether or not it’s interesting.

Worship Under the Stars, in it’s second year this year, was held at the Jekyll Island Convention Center on Jekyll Island, Georgia.  Yes, for the second year, we held an event called “..Under the Stars”, inside a building.  The decision to move inside was made early this year, allowing us to plan accordingly, and not be scrambling at the last minute.  I arrived into Brunswick late Monday evening, just in time to eat at Tokyo Joe’s with my friends Chris and Amanda, and Stephen and Leslie.  Tuesday was consumed with picking up my assistant for the week….Aaron Peck.  As most of you may know, he interned for me at CRCC for 7 months earlier this year, and it was a treat to work with him again….we picked right up where we left off…it was great.  Tuesday night we settled into our beachside hotel room, and met with our crew, a 9-member team that covered all of the technical aspects of the show: Audio, Lighting, Video, Staging, Production, Visuals, etc.  It was a great time of community, a time for a bunch of guys who may or may not have known each other, get to know each other.

Wednesday morning at 10am (ish), the fun began.  Two 24′ trucks pulled up to the back door of the convention center, and rolled open their doors.  Inside, packed floor to ceiling, wall to wall, was all of the lighting, video, and audio equipment I could stand….It was like Christmas…..except that what began falling from the sky wasn’t snowflakes…..it was rain….lots and lots of rain.  So, after unpacking the trucks in the rain, and getting everything inside, we began to unpack the boxes, and hang the equipment.  Everything was done by about 6pm, ready to be used. 

For those of you who kept up last year, I had a lighting console that was apparently manufactured by Satan himself, because it kept crashing, and would never work.  This year, I requested a console that i was familiar with, so that I could fix any problems that arose, and be able to program quicker, because I knew how to operate the console.  I unpacked it, and plugged it in, excited to actually be programming before 1am!  After about 3 minutes of working with it….it was apparent that it too, wasn’t going to work.  The rental company said they had another console that they could bring, but it would be there until about 3pm on Thursday…..the day of our 7pm Dress Rehearsal…….oh yeah….and it is yet another console that I have never used.  So, in an instance, I go from being 4 hours early in programming, to being almost 20 hours late.  I was happy.  I mean, really, really happy.  The benefit was that I actually got to sleep more that night….we finished focusing the conventional lights at about 2am, and we were in our room by about 2:30am…..believe me, an early night. 

The next morning, Fred McKinnon, the event Producer, told us that a 7-bedroom house had been donated to WUTS, and that he wanted us to move over there, with the rest of the out-of-town band members.  He was hoping that it would have that frat-house type feeling….everyone doing their own thing, hanging out in the free time (it was a GIANT house).  I slept there for 4 nights….and I NEVER even SAW another person in the house.  Ever. 

ANYHOO, we get to the Convention Center right before the new console gets there.  Up to this point, everything has run smooth as glass.  No audio issues, some video problems, but nothing a $50 online purchase couldn’t fix.  Even the lighting was going ok, except for the console.  The team was working GREAT together; it was fun to watch them all interact with each other, and get things done.  The console finally arrived, and by 5:30pm, I had started recording cues for the show.  Once dress rehearsal started, I stopped for a while….as it is hard to hear Song #3 in your head, if the band is playing song #6 on stage.  I walked out, and spent a few MUCH-NEEDED minutes on my computer, catching up on some very important things :).  After they were done, about 9pm, I started back again.  My faithful few, Stephen, Leslie, Chris, and Aaron stayed with me almost all night long.  It was a fun night….I got lots of programming done…had a few minutes of play time, including setting the Fire Alarm off on the entire Convention Center Campus…….Twice.  After all of the fuss, I programmed my last cue, and left.  I was back at the house and in bed by 7:30am (I told you 2:30 was an early night).

Friday morning came….at least so I hear……I didn’t actually see Friday until the clock said “PM”.  Aaron and I got up, made it over to the center, finished up some last minute details, and got ready to roll.  Doors opened at 6:30pm, and all of the planning, practice, programming, late nights, emails, phone conversations, was now less than 30 minutes from becoming a reality.  There was an excitement in the room.  We all met together, went over last minute details, and it was time. 

The house lights went down, the opening video started.  During that video, the opening band, Vertical Window, took the stage.  After 30 minutes of their time, they were off stage.  A couple minutes of Transition time, and the House Band for WUTS took the stage.  They sounded AWESOME.  My Audio guy made them sound great..the video looked great, the lighting looked great…it was all coming together….and you could tell in the faces of those in the room, that it was making an impact…..not the audio…or the lighting….but the audio and lighting together with the band and vocal, creating an atmosphere for people to freely worship.  It was amazing.  The show finished off great.  Saturday was even better….a better crowd, it was technically executed better than Friday, and the energy of the room was awesome. 

Friday night, Fred mentioned my name from stage, as “someone who made the whole show happen”.  Now, while I appreciate the unexpected Kudos, my official response to that is this:  While I did have a hand in making sure the event was pulled off successfully, I certainly did not to it alone.  My crew of guys did a TREMENDOUS job…They each did their job 110%, and all did things that were outside of what was expected of them, just to get the job done.  I could not have asked for a better crew of guys.  Technically, these guys rocked…the best of the best.  Personally, i couldn’t have asked for an easier group of people to lead.  Sure, I’ve been stressing about this event for months….but THESE guys….Dennis, Richard, Aaron, Scotty, Justin, Stephen, Chris, Kay….THESE are the people who made it happen. 

So, in this industry, they say with every major event, you should take something away…learn something, that will help make the next as successful, or more so.  As successful as this event was, I have three learnings. 

First, although irrelevant to things “technical”, I realized that there is a hunger for real, true worship in that area of the country.  There were MANY states represented at that event, because people are hungry for worship….not the liturgy or fake worship they experience in their local church….but a real connection….something that almost hinders them from singing, because the Spirit is so thick.  I saw many people experiencing that very thing both nights…and it made me realize something….While the overall “church” there seems to be dying at an alarming rate….the act of freely worshiping, is not.  People who were there were WORSHIPPING…..uninhibited by what other people thought, or what the general consensus is as to what is “ok” in the worship setting…..There were people singing, shouting, dancing, standing, sitting, going forward using the stage as an alter.  My worry is that the local church as a whole isn’t seeing that, and as soon as this once-a -year event is over, so is the ability to worship like that.  Why aren’t the churches latching onto that?  Why do they insist on being dead?  It’s confusing to me. 

The second thing I learned, is conflict-management is a vital piece of leading a team…and more importantly, how you manage it.  I learned this that week; that in order to diffuse a situation, you can’t get emotional, you have to stay perfectly flat and calm.  Secondly, you can’t convince someone who is upset.  When you try to “convince” someone, you are saying that you are right, and they are wrong.  Instead of “convincing” them, you have to make them understand that there is a better way, that needs to be mutually met.  It’s not your way versus their way….it’s the right way versus the wrong way.  That may be common sense for all of you, but I had the “chance” to test that out during that week…..and it got me out of getting my face smashed in…..so, just so you know, it works. 

Finally, my last learning is that when working with teams of people, the smallest things can leave the biggest impacts.  Tuesday night before the event, as I mentioned above, I scheduled a dinner with my crew at a local restaurant, for no other reason other that to just let them all interact with each other, and with me….for them to get to know the people that they didn’t know, and for them to get used to me.  Nobody there has ever said this, but I have a feeling about something…. While I was there, people walk up to me, as ask me NOT if I am Adam, but if I am that guy from Vegas.  This makes me wonder A) why are they talking about me, enough to know where I am from, and B) so what?  Sometimes, it almost seems like a defensive question, like I think I am somebody, or a know-it-all, just because I come from Las Vegas.  Anybody who reads this blog, knows that’s not who I am.  I think having that dinner that night; as simple of a thing as it was; allowed my team to see that I am not some bossy Vegas Director.  I think this helped us all out personally be able to get along with each other, because I made them know that we are all on the same level….but it also helped that when I DID ask for something to get done, they knew I was asking out of a spirit of making something the best it could be, not as an egotistical jerk from Vegas.  All because we ate barbeque together a day before the work started. 

Overall, I think the event was a huge success.  Aaron even mentioned how he felt a renewed passion about worship, music performance, and different styles of worship music.  I think we all came away with a sense of something gained from this event.  I loved working with my team, Fred, and all of the other volunteers that made Worship Under the Stars successful this year.  It was a week with little sleep, and even less food; but I wouldn’t change a single thing about it.

If you want to see pictures of the event, LOOK HERE, courtesy of Chris Moncus.

Volunteer Holocaust…a term that Chris Moncus coined (and graciously let me use in my blog before he used it in his own…thanks Chris!), but a concept that I have been ranting about for nearly 3 years now. 

We were having a discussion about how you have to come to the point where you must accept things, and people, for how they are, and focus on the things you can change, and let go of the things you can’t (for you people who read these blogs in order, this concept will sound familiar…).  For both of us, one of the things that we must make ourselves move away from, is our home churches back in Georgia.  We, for a short period of time, went to the same church, but most of our time was spent at two separate churches.  Those two churches however, shared similar denomination, relative church size, ideas, politics, and lack of vision.