Well, I figured it was time to write again.  It has been a while since I have blogged about anything, mostly because I don’t have the time to do so.  Things here in Vegas are running at a steady 1,000-MPH.  We are working on our $16 Million campus expansion program, our attendance has reached nearly 5000 per weekend during the last 6 weeks, I believe that I am getting a 7-month intern to come work for me in January, and my best friend from Georgia might be coming to work at CRCC Full Time sometime around May.  Lot’s of exciting things are happening.  And even in the midst of all of this, right as I begin to get caught up in all of the whirlwind of life, I am reminded why I am REALLY here.

      The benifit to having such a large staff at CRCC is that there is enough Pastors/Counselors to deal with most everyone and their issues.  But sometimes, we all have to lend a hand; and I have learned that this experience might be just as helpful to me as it is to them.  Last weekend, I was shutting everything down after our second Saturday Evening Service, getting ready for the next morning, and making sure everything was put away correctly, etc.  As I was about to leave the room (I was the only one in there, our Facilities staff was on another part of the campus), and I saw a guy just sitting there, looking at the stage.  Probably late 20’s, jeans, baggy sweatshirt, shaved head.  Now, in Vegas, that’s the typical attire for a good majority of the congragation, or something similar.  But this character was sitting in the last row of a 1250-seat Auditorium, over 20 minutes AFTER the last service.  Call me cynical, but I wasn’t about to walk out and go home, with $50,000 worth of musical instruments on stage, and probably over $500,000 worth of technical gear in the room- and him. 

So, after weighing my options, I decided to approach him.  In my mind, I was prepared to run or fight, an had no idea what this guy was doing, but knew in my head what I THOUGHT he was there for.  After talking to him for only 2 minutes, I realized that I was very, very wrong.  Here was a guy that was broken.  He has a huge drug/alcohol addiction problem, has two kids with 2 girls, and is just in a bad palce in life.  After talking to him further, I learned that he is actually a Christian, and has a pretty solid grasp on what is right and what is wrong.  But like all of us, he gets weak, and let’s the devil invade him with the ways of the world that are available in EXCESS in our town.  He even made an attempt to reconnect with one of the mother’s, to try a make a legitimate family.  But, because of her lack of salvation, she wanted nothing to do with him, and kicked him out Wednesday.  On Thanksgiving Thursday, he was alone and broken, and he tried to commit Suicide.

So here I am listening to this, now only partially listening, because I am nearly numb.  There I was, 10 minutes ago, ready to have Metro P.D. remove the guy from the building.  And now, here he is, telling me that he was sitting at home watching a movie, and something told him to come to church, and wait for someone to talk to him.  Can you say- The Hand of God?!

For guys like me, it’s easy to get caught up in the task at hand.  As fast paced as life in the church is, all you can think about sometimes is getting your "To Do List" done, and accomplish what you need to, in order to help yourself.  Sometimes it’s making the volunteer schedule, sometimes it’s building a set, or buying new microphones, or whatever.  But on this day, I realized that sometimes, and often, I just need to STOP………..And realize that while my life is hectic with work- Somebody’s life is hectic with trouble, and in ruins.  This incident helped me to realize that I’m not here to push buttons or turn knobs.  It’s about MUCH more than that.  Our Information Technology (IT) guy at CRCC proclaims to "hate computers".  The point is, the computers, the buttons, and the knobs?  They are all just excuses to work with people; A vehicle of opportunity to care for people who are hurting.

If I can offer anything to you, as a Christian; Keep an open mind.  You never know who is around you, and you never know how they might need you.  I pray that you don’t emulate my initial reaction, and that you never get caught up in the task, or what you think are are there for.  What if I had only paid attention to what was in my sound booth, and then left. Where would he be?  Or as importantly, where would I be as a Christian, whose job is to "Seek and Save the Lost"?

By the way, if you think about it, pray for a guy named Bryan.  He’s working on getting closer to God, and he needs all the help he can get.

I’ve got so many things going on right now, I’m probably going to be blogging a lot. Construction is beginning on our $15 Million expansion at Canyon Ridge, which means all of the design work that I have done over the last several months will now turn into several months of installation work. These are exciting times. I will post pictures of the progress once there is something interesting to look at. I’ll talk more about the cool gear we are putting in as we get closer. Otherwise, check out DiGiCo Consoles, and Meyer Sound.