first off. congrats to the Saints, you deserved the win. you played hard and wanted that.
now to my favorite part. the commercials.
i loved the “Keep your hands off my mama” commercial and i thought Budweiser stunk it up, but for my money, this commercial made me laugh at one point than all of the others.
i love the concept and it was well shot.
keep dreaming up good stuff people.
i got to sit by one of my heroes at dinner.
Randy Elrod has been a distant mentor to me for many years and to finally meet him last night was a huge pleasure. Thanks to my buddy Jim Drake for setting dinner up and taking me.
i’m so excited about the rest of the week.
a passage i read in a book sent me to this line of thinking…
instead of trying to create something that is real and authentic, why not actually BE real and authentic?
that’s my paraphrase, but it’s true. i think about creating moments for people to meet God, but are those moments real? are they authentic, or are they just a “production”? i don’t know if every worship leader struggles with this the way i do, but it’s a struggle. i really do want people to be able to relate to the guy who is on the stage in a real way. i don’t want it to be part of the show. i continually pray that God’s heart would shine out when i sing. i’m always telling my team that we have to balance worship and leading. that we need to be intentional on creating moments. i can do all of that and be as unreal and unauthentic as most MTV “reality” shows.
so where is the balance? how do i still create while being true to God, myself, my team and the congregation? i guess i need to go back to the original worship leader…that’s right the warrior poet and king himself…David
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
that last phrase really speaks to me. the whole Psalm is amazing, but asking God to see if there is anything offensive in me and that He would lead me in His way, not mine. that is answer to my question.
my wife and daughter and i are really enjoying MTV’s new show “My Life As Liz”
this weeks episode was all about Liz fighting the popularity system and singing in the school talent show. she sang “The Funeral” by Band of Horses, and did awesome.
kinda poor video quality, and for some reason it’s backwards.
and will probably use my Border’s rewards points to get his new book.
i was first exposed to his work when i checked Fargo Rock City out of the library. i quickly purchased other books of his. i liken him to a modern day Jonathan Swift when it comes to the art of the satirical essay. his essays range in topic from Britney Spears to why he hates soccer. he delves into the racial and socio economic implications of the Lakers/Celtics battles of the 1980’s. then sometimes he just writes about the fact that he has a drinking problem.
this however is why i like Chuck Klosterman. no matter what he writes about….it’s always painstakingly authentic and as true as he can be. he doesn’t hold back to give us nice saccharine overloaded stories. he gets to the dirty, bottom of the the facts. i think that’s what i enjoy. he wants you to be shocked, to disagree with him, to write him angry letters telling him how you feel (well he may not like angry letters, but in my imagination i picture him getting hate mail).
so i invite you to check out Fargo Rock City, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, or IV, and if you disagree with me, well….we can still be friends. i think that’s how Chuck would like it.
(BTW, i was going to devote a post today to how HORRID Taylor Swift performed on the Grammy Awards Show last night, but decided i’d rather write about something that i like.)
Management often works to maintain the status quo, to deliver average products to average people. In a stable environment, this is exactly the right strategy. Build reliability and predictability, cut costs, and make a profit.
Traditional marketing, the marketing of push, understands this. The most stable thing to do is push a standard product to a standard audience and succeed with discounts or distribution.
But for tribes, average can mean mediocre. Not worth seeking out. Boring.
Life’s too short to fight the forces of change. Life’s too short to hate what you do all day. Life’s way too short to make mediocre stuff. And almost everything that’s standard is now viewed as mediocre.
Is there a difference between average and mediocre? Not so much. Average stuff is taken for granted, not talked about, and certainly not sought out.
The end result of this is that many people (many really good people) spend all day trying to defend what they do, trying to sell what they’ve always sold, and trying to prevent their organizations from being devoured by the forces of the new. It must be wearing them out. Defending mediocrity is exhausting.
Seth Godin from TRIBES
by my internet acquaintance John Voelz. whom will become a real acquaintance at Recreate in two weeks. check it out.
This is not for you. We badly need brave men. He must be 23-25 years old, in perfect health, at least six feet tall, weigh about 190 pounds, fluent in English with some French, proficient with all weapons, some knowledge of engineering and mathematics essential, willing to travel, no family or emotional ties, indomitably courageous and handsome of face and figure. Permanent employment, very high pay, glorious adventure, great danger, You must apply in person, 17, rue Dante, Nice, 2me etage, appt. D.
Robert A. Heinlein Glory Road
would you sign up? do you have what it takes? i can’t say that i would. but oh how i wish that i could take the skills and passions i have and run with no fear, full speed into my destiny.
what is it that continually holds me back?
we humans are most alive when we passionately pursue our dreams, live with a purpose, and have a sense of destiny!
Erwin McManus
chuckazooloo