I don't know how many people, if anyone, really reads this blog. But every once in a while I get an email from someone who has read what I have posted or they will hit the comment button and leave me a note. Often times the people who have done that are pastors. I want to share with those of you who use graphics in worship or in your printed material a resource that I use on a weekly basis with all of the graphics that I do here at Charter Oak Church.
I use a good bit of stock photography in my PowerPoint presentations and most recently on our newest billboard. Here is the website that I use - corbis.com. These are high quality, royal free photography that you can use. One of the best parts of the site is the search engine. The AI on it is great!
You have to register your information, but it is free.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Monday Morning QB 07/31/06
Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:
Message: When the Storms of Life Are Raging (Dave preached)
Scripture: Psalm 107:23-32
Service Highlights: Pastor Dave shared with the congregation the things we need to know when the storms of life hit: 1) Storms happen to everyone, 2) The pain doesn't last forever, 3) Sometimes God seems to be silent. Then he gave us three simple things to do: 1) Cry out to God, 2)Let God guide you, 3) Remember to remember God's faithfulness. All very good stuff.
Stats: 427 in worship + 110 in Sunday school
Other: This was by far the lowest attendance of the year. I'm not sure why. I know many people are on vacation, but not everyone. Summer was never meant to be a vacation from worship.
Message: When the Storms of Life Are Raging (Dave preached)
Scripture: Psalm 107:23-32
Service Highlights: Pastor Dave shared with the congregation the things we need to know when the storms of life hit: 1) Storms happen to everyone, 2) The pain doesn't last forever, 3) Sometimes God seems to be silent. Then he gave us three simple things to do: 1) Cry out to God, 2)Let God guide you, 3) Remember to remember God's faithfulness. All very good stuff.
Stats: 427 in worship + 110 in Sunday school
Other: This was by far the lowest attendance of the year. I'm not sure why. I know many people are on vacation, but not everyone. Summer was never meant to be a vacation from worship.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Does My Opinion Matter?
I just received an email from Amazon.com asking me to write reviews for the three books I purchased about two weeks ago. That's the first time they asked me to do that. I know everything at Amazon is computer generated, but I wonder why my name or email came up this time. I have bought at least one hundred books from them, why now?
It also got me thinking about my opinion on these books. I am in a very specific situation in my job here at Charter Oak Church. I am reading or have read these books through the lens of where I am right now in my journey and what my learning needs are right now. That's important for me and only me. So, does my opinion matter to others? Is someone else going to read Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley because I give it five stars and write - "Good book"? I honestly can say I haven't read any reviews on Amazon to determine if I was going to purchase a book or not. I don't care what other people that I don't know think about a book. I do care what people who are my mentors and my heroes think and read. I will ask their opinion. But I know them and they are my mentors and heroes for a reason.
Anyway, I am not going to review the books for Amazon.
It also got me thinking about my opinion on these books. I am in a very specific situation in my job here at Charter Oak Church. I am reading or have read these books through the lens of where I am right now in my journey and what my learning needs are right now. That's important for me and only me. So, does my opinion matter to others? Is someone else going to read Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley because I give it five stars and write - "Good book"? I honestly can say I haven't read any reviews on Amazon to determine if I was going to purchase a book or not. I don't care what other people that I don't know think about a book. I do care what people who are my mentors and my heroes think and read. I will ask their opinion. But I know them and they are my mentors and heroes for a reason.
Anyway, I am not going to review the books for Amazon.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Getting Perspective
Today I have been working on my sermon series for the launch of our new building. In one of my messages I am going to look at how we just accumulate so much stuff. I was deep into my preparation, when I just needed a break. I started walking around to clear my head a bit. I looked outside. Today is Fresh Express at our church. We bring in two truck loads of food and give it out to people.
We haven't had a flood. We haven't been hit by a hurricane. There hasn't been a natural disaster. Yet, there are over 200 people lined up in the parking lot with anything they can find to collect this free food. I'm thinking about all the stuff we accumulate and here are so many people that are here to collect food for the week so they can survive. Talk about getting perspective. Man.
I'm glad we are here to serve these people in our region like this. But how do we tell these people that they matter to God?
We haven't had a flood. We haven't been hit by a hurricane. There hasn't been a natural disaster. Yet, there are over 200 people lined up in the parking lot with anything they can find to collect this free food. I'm thinking about all the stuff we accumulate and here are so many people that are here to collect food for the week so they can survive. Talk about getting perspective. Man.
I'm glad we are here to serve these people in our region like this. But how do we tell these people that they matter to God?
Perspective
I took a few days off this weekend with my family to get away before we kick into high gear with the move to our new facility. With everything that has been going on around here I just needed to do something physical. So I helped Kelli's dad build a deck on to the back of their house. It was 12 feet by 14 feet. I am very sore today. But let me tell you, it feels good to have done some real physical labor. It felt good to see a job completed. And now I am back in the saddle ready for the next 3 months of total blitz.
One funny story that I have to tell about the construction. As we were fininshing up the framing of the deck, I had one more beam to cut off to square up the end of the deck. So I positioned the ladder in such a way that I could easily cut the lumber using my right hand. I climb the ladder up about 10 or 12 feet in the air and I was positioning the circular saw to being cutting when I realized the the part I was cutting off was exactly where I positioned the ladder. Duh! I am so glad I didn't start cutting or we might be down a pastor. I love it when I do dumb things and live to tell about it!
One funny story that I have to tell about the construction. As we were fininshing up the framing of the deck, I had one more beam to cut off to square up the end of the deck. So I positioned the ladder in such a way that I could easily cut the lumber using my right hand. I climb the ladder up about 10 or 12 feet in the air and I was positioning the circular saw to being cutting when I realized the the part I was cutting off was exactly where I positioned the ladder. Duh! I am so glad I didn't start cutting or we might be down a pastor. I love it when I do dumb things and live to tell about it!
Monday Morning QB 07/24/06
Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:
Message: Getting Your Spiritual Life in Order (Dave Preached)
Scripture: Psalm 85
Service Highlights: I was on vacation this weekend, but I do know that we began our time of remembering our current building. We had a couple speak about their memories of Charter Oak Church. They were a part of the founding group back in the 50's who started our church.
Stats: 493 in worship + 99 in Sunday school
Message: Getting Your Spiritual Life in Order (Dave Preached)
Scripture: Psalm 85
Service Highlights: I was on vacation this weekend, but I do know that we began our time of remembering our current building. We had a couple speak about their memories of Charter Oak Church. They were a part of the founding group back in the 50's who started our church.
Stats: 493 in worship + 99 in Sunday school
Friday, July 21, 2006
When We Need God the Most
Yesterday was my worst day at Charter Oak Church. One of our students, and the son of one of our staff members, committed suicide. We gathered together as many students as wanted to be here, any parents, and the student ministry staff and we prayed and read scripture for a while last night.
Lots of tears. Lots of questions.
The student's brother and sister were here. We surrounded them with the greatest amount of love that we could.
Here's what I know, God is faithful to His promises. This student gave his life to Jesus. Now he is spending eternity with his heavenly Father. As much as it hurts here, he is rejoicing for eternity. No more sorrow. No more pain.
Worship the King my brother. See you there.
Lots of tears. Lots of questions.
The student's brother and sister were here. We surrounded them with the greatest amount of love that we could.
Here's what I know, God is faithful to His promises. This student gave his life to Jesus. Now he is spending eternity with his heavenly Father. As much as it hurts here, he is rejoicing for eternity. No more sorrow. No more pain.
Worship the King my brother. See you there.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Monday Morning QB 07/17/06
Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:
Message: Dealing with Day to Day Distractions (Dave Preached)
Scripture: Psalm 55
Service Highlights: Pastor Dave taight about how the complications of life can get in the way of our relationship with God. We can become so distracted by them that we no longer see God in our lives. The key verse was 17, "Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice." Dan did a great job with the monologue to make it real for all of us how easily this invades our families.
Stats: 479 in worship + 117 in Sunday school
Message: Dealing with Day to Day Distractions (Dave Preached)
Scripture: Psalm 55
Service Highlights: Pastor Dave taight about how the complications of life can get in the way of our relationship with God. We can become so distracted by them that we no longer see God in our lives. The key verse was 17, "Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice." Dan did a great job with the monologue to make it real for all of us how easily this invades our families.
Stats: 479 in worship + 117 in Sunday school
Monday, July 10, 2006
Monday Morning QB 07/10/06
Here's the Monday morning QB for this week:
Message: Who Is God? (I preached)
Scripture: Psalm 50
Service Highlights: I fininshed up this weekend by bringing the last few week together by talking about developing a heart of worship. Worship doesn't just happen for an hour in a weekend service; it is a lifestyle. We cannot afford to allow our singing in during our weekend service become like the burnt offering of the Israelites as described in Psalm 50. God is the center, we are not.
Stats: 511 in worship
Message: Who Is God? (I preached)
Scripture: Psalm 50
Service Highlights: I fininshed up this weekend by bringing the last few week together by talking about developing a heart of worship. Worship doesn't just happen for an hour in a weekend service; it is a lifestyle. We cannot afford to allow our singing in during our weekend service become like the burnt offering of the Israelites as described in Psalm 50. God is the center, we are not.
Stats: 511 in worship
Sunday, July 9, 2006
World Cup Is Over
I just watched the end of the World Cup - one word - WOW. I was blown away by this game for so many reasons. Number one - perhaps one of the greatest players of all time, certainly for France, did something ridiculous and was kicked out of the game (red card). Number two - the game ended in penalty kicks, being an ex-keeper, this is the most intense moment in a keeper's life, words can't describe it. Number three - the guy who made the winning goal was not the man of the match (player of the game) - in three different matches throughout the World Cup he made the winning goal.
My final thought on the World Cup actually comes from the closing of ABC's coverage. They played a U2 song called "One". As I listened and I watched the highlights of the World Cup, I thought about the One whom we worship. I doubt that ABC put together the song and the footage to glorify God, but as I watched the best of the best and the passion of the players, I thought this worships God. It was God that endowed those men with such incredible talent. The highlights, for me, were a sacrifice of praise to God.
My final thought on the World Cup actually comes from the closing of ABC's coverage. They played a U2 song called "One". As I listened and I watched the highlights of the World Cup, I thought about the One whom we worship. I doubt that ABC put together the song and the footage to glorify God, but as I watched the best of the best and the passion of the players, I thought this worships God. It was God that endowed those men with such incredible talent. The highlights, for me, were a sacrifice of praise to God.
Monday, July 3, 2006
Monday Morning QB 07/03/06
Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:
Message: Public Restrooms Scare Me (I preached)
Scripture: Psalm 84
Service Highlights: This weekend marked my one year anniversary at Charter Oak Church! Bill and the praise band were off the chart great this weekend. I talked about how we often want some kind of sign from God that he is present in our lives, but the truth is, God is always there. I also challenged our congregation to enter into the muddiness of people's lives so we can let them know God's presence also.
Stats: 462 in worship
Message: Public Restrooms Scare Me (I preached)
Scripture: Psalm 84
Service Highlights: This weekend marked my one year anniversary at Charter Oak Church! Bill and the praise band were off the chart great this weekend. I talked about how we often want some kind of sign from God that he is present in our lives, but the truth is, God is always there. I also challenged our congregation to enter into the muddiness of people's lives so we can let them know God's presence also.
Stats: 462 in worship
Saturday, July 1, 2006
TV Spot
Here's the link for the TV spot on Channel 4 News. I don't know how long it will be active. I'm not sure how they pick out what they want to air, but it was a good plug for Charter Oak Church.
Friday, June 30, 2006
15 Seconds of Fame
Tonight I will be on the 6:00 news. Channel 4 stopped by today for a story they are following about our new facility being burglarized for the second time.
They asked me for a short interview. I don't know what they will show of the interview, but I talked about our excitement about what God is doing at Charter Oak Church and our looking forward to moving in 52 days.
If I could go back there is one thing I would want to add - the why. Why we are excited, why we are growing, why we are doing what we are doing. I would say we are doing all of this because people matter to God. That's what we are all about - making sure people know they matter to God.
I hope you will tune in and see my 15 seconds of fame tonight.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Hero?
A couple of weeks ago I talked about our desire to have a hero.
I love the Spiderman movies. Spiderman 3 will be released in May 2007, but the first trailer is out!! Check out!!
I love the Spiderman movies. Spiderman 3 will be released in May 2007, but the first trailer is out!! Check out!!
Team Work
There are 54 days left until we move. Thanks to Cindy J. and Jeff I. we will be making this move 
as a team effort. There will be no one expected to do this alone. As I have been thinking about team work Iwas watching Hell's Kitchen on Fox the other night. The head chef yells and screams at the people trying to prepare their dinners to do it as a team. I may not have like the way the chef tried to get them to work together, I definitely realized the importance of working together. Those that work together on the show have a much greater chance of winning.
Our "win" is to move all of our stuff from our current location to our new facility without anyone getting hurt or burned out. It will definitely take a team!
as a team effort. There will be no one expected to do this alone. As I have been thinking about team work Iwas watching Hell's Kitchen on Fox the other night. The head chef yells and screams at the people trying to prepare their dinners to do it as a team. I may not have like the way the chef tried to get them to work together, I definitely realized the importance of working together. Those that work together on the show have a much greater chance of winning.Our "win" is to move all of our stuff from our current location to our new facility without anyone getting hurt or burned out. It will definitely take a team!
Monday, June 26, 2006
56 Days
There are 56 days until we begin our move to our new facility. Now that Vacation Bible School has been completed, there is a definite sense of urgency in the staff to think of all of the little details that have to be done in those remaining days.
I couldn't sleep for a couple of hours last night just thinking through some of the stuff that I just don't want to forget to do. Then there is that whole thing of once we move and do all this stuff, we publicly launch our new building on September 16 and 17. We better be ready for that as well.
It is becoming more and more abundantly obvious that this is only going to happen by the hand of God. On our own, we will fail. I have prayed all along that God would reveal himself in such a way that we would all know this has been a God thing. Every day, God is proving that prayer correct. He is an awesome God!
I couldn't sleep for a couple of hours last night just thinking through some of the stuff that I just don't want to forget to do. Then there is that whole thing of once we move and do all this stuff, we publicly launch our new building on September 16 and 17. We better be ready for that as well.
It is becoming more and more abundantly obvious that this is only going to happen by the hand of God. On our own, we will fail. I have prayed all along that God would reveal himself in such a way that we would all know this has been a God thing. Every day, God is proving that prayer correct. He is an awesome God!
Monday Morning QB 06/26/06
Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:
Message: Summer Vacation (I preached)
Scripture: Nehemiah 1-4
Service Highlights: I used the Nehemiah Model to recast the vision Pastor Dave shared with the congregation back in January. Just as Nehemiah needed to remind the people of Jerusalem half way through their work, I wanted to spend some time reminding our congregation the vision God has given to us for 2006 - that the people of this region will know that matter to God.
Stats: 543 in worship and 193 in Sunday school
Message: Summer Vacation (I preached)
Scripture: Nehemiah 1-4
Service Highlights: I used the Nehemiah Model to recast the vision Pastor Dave shared with the congregation back in January. Just as Nehemiah needed to remind the people of Jerusalem half way through their work, I wanted to spend some time reminding our congregation the vision God has given to us for 2006 - that the people of this region will know that matter to God.
Stats: 543 in worship and 193 in Sunday school
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
It's in the Details
Two weeks ago my family went on vacation to Columbia, South Carolina for a week of much need R & R. When we go on summer vacation we typically go to the beach and rent an ocean front house. This year we decided to just spend time with the grandparents. But I also wanted the same set up that we usually have when we rent a house. I like having separate bedrooms for us and the kids. I like having a kitchen and a den to watch a little TV at night.
I went in search of these desires in a hotel in Columbia, SC. I found exactly what I was looking for at The Whitney Hotel. It even has a pool! We reserved a two bedroom suite with a kitchen and a living room. I thought we were set. This is the same hotel that the new University of South Carolina head footbal coach lived for nine months while he waited for his house to be built. I thought this place has to be great.
On paper it had everything we wanted, even a pool. When we arrived and moved into our suite, I quickly realized that, yes, it had everything we wanted, but the execution of the details was greatly lacking. The room was not very clean. I could tell it had been "cleaned" but if you know what I mean, it just didn't have that clean feel. All of the furniture was beat up really badly. I have seen furniture in a frat house in better shape. The pool area was just plain bad, we swam there one time and didn't go back.
One of the really great extras in the suite was a washer and dryer in a separate laundry room right in our suite. We thought this was great, until we tried to do our laundry and the washer didn't work and we had clothes that were totally wet and soapy. It took two days to replace the washer - too little, too late.
There were so many little detail things that were wrong. The funny thing was, my son Caleb, wanted us to fill out the evaluation card when we were getting ready to leave. All I could say is, "there isn't enough time to write everything down." What I didn't say was there wasn't enough space to write it all down.
Our stay at this hotel confirmed in me that details matter and they matter a lot. We can have everything that people are looking for on paper, but if the execution of the details are not there, then people won't be back. I know I won't be back to The Whitney Hotel again.
I went in search of these desires in a hotel in Columbia, SC. I found exactly what I was looking for at The Whitney Hotel. It even has a pool! We reserved a two bedroom suite with a kitchen and a living room. I thought we were set. This is the same hotel that the new University of South Carolina head footbal coach lived for nine months while he waited for his house to be built. I thought this place has to be great.
On paper it had everything we wanted, even a pool. When we arrived and moved into our suite, I quickly realized that, yes, it had everything we wanted, but the execution of the details was greatly lacking. The room was not very clean. I could tell it had been "cleaned" but if you know what I mean, it just didn't have that clean feel. All of the furniture was beat up really badly. I have seen furniture in a frat house in better shape. The pool area was just plain bad, we swam there one time and didn't go back.
One of the really great extras in the suite was a washer and dryer in a separate laundry room right in our suite. We thought this was great, until we tried to do our laundry and the washer didn't work and we had clothes that were totally wet and soapy. It took two days to replace the washer - too little, too late.
There were so many little detail things that were wrong. The funny thing was, my son Caleb, wanted us to fill out the evaluation card when we were getting ready to leave. All I could say is, "there isn't enough time to write everything down." What I didn't say was there wasn't enough space to write it all down.
Our stay at this hotel confirmed in me that details matter and they matter a lot. We can have everything that people are looking for on paper, but if the execution of the details are not there, then people won't be back. I know I won't be back to The Whitney Hotel again.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Monday Morning QB 06/19/06
Here's the Monday Morning QB for this week:
Message: My Hero
Scripture: Psalm 121
Service Highlights: I preached on God our Father being our hero. So often we look for heroes in all the wrong places and we are eventually let down. Our Daddy in heaven desires to be our hero because it his very nature to always be there for us. Jonathan Cooper sang a Steven Curtis Chapman song - I Believe in You.
Stats: 469 in worship + 156 in Sunday school
Message: My Hero
Scripture: Psalm 121
Service Highlights: I preached on God our Father being our hero. So often we look for heroes in all the wrong places and we are eventually let down. Our Daddy in heaven desires to be our hero because it his very nature to always be there for us. Jonathan Cooper sang a Steven Curtis Chapman song - I Believe in You.
Stats: 469 in worship + 156 in Sunday school
63 Days
I have been gone for a while. We were on vacation and I was at Annual Conference. I am going to be posting some comments on this and many other things this week. We are in the middle of Vacation Bible School. There are about 200 kids running around the church. Hopefully I will be able to carve out some time each day and maybe even a couple of times a day to get "caught up" with my postings.
I have also started a count down until we move to our new facility. There are 63 days left. Lots to be done. I need to be reminded every day of the work that needs to be completed here and at the new facility before this move can happen.
I have also started a count down until we move to our new facility. There are 63 days left. Lots to be done. I need to be reminded every day of the work that needs to be completed here and at the new facility before this move can happen.
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