My Worship Revolution

After a day and a half of travel, we finally reached our first hotel in Chenai, India tonight!  We took about a 19.5 hour flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with an hour stop in Taipei, Taiwan for gas.  We got a day hotel for about 4 hours there, then flew another 3 hours or so to get here.  Tonight we are in a nice hotel and will leave tomorrow for another 10-12 hours of bus and train travel to eventually reach Tenali.

I actually feel surprisingly good after all the travel, although I think that foreign plane food is about as bad as it gets and that’s all I’ve had for the past day and a half.  I did have half of Jon Gaw’s burger at the airport in Malaysia and it’s the best Burger King has ever tasted to me!
The team is definately a bit tired after all that travel, but it’s nothing a good nights sleep can’t fix!  Already I have had moments where I sense that God is at work in me, preparing my heart for the rest of the trip.

It was pretty wild riding through the streets of India with lots of honking and crazy driving.  We passed large office buildings and small hutlike villages.  People sleeping on sidewalks and trucks, and people infected with leprosy.  I look forward to what the next 12 days brings.  Please continue to pray for us as we take this last leg of a long journey.  It’s currently a quarter to 1 in the morning here, so I better go get some rest for that journey. 
Thank you again for all your prayers and support.  I’ll keep you posted whenever possible.  Also the teams website will continue to be updated when it can be.

Wow, I can’t believe that in just over 48 hours I will be on a plane headed to India to stay there for 2 weeks!  Luckily, my amazing wife did lots of shopping for me this week to get me ready to go.  She knows that if it had been left to me, I’d be running all over the place on Sunday afternoon for the needed supplies!
I am so excited to get there and to see how God is going to work in the lives of myself, those on the team, and the people we will be ministering to.  Check out this schedule for our trip.  (Thanks Dave)  During our time there we will be busy!  Here are a few of the things that we will do:

• Crusades on 5 tsunami islands
• Host a pastor’s conference for over 500 pastors
• Dedicate 8 water wells people in and around Revolution have funded for villages with no clean water
• Dedicate a church those same people gave to have built
• Provide bunk beds for Bible College students
• Medical Camps
• Provide food for the needy

To see a video highlighting three of the projects we raised money for, click here.

What an amazing opportunity this is going to be to see God work in so many different ways.  I have already been so blessed to see Him provide all of the finances to make this trip possible through the generosity of so many friends and family members.  I ask that all of you would keep me in your prayers in the next few days as I prepare to leave and then while we are gone.  Here are some specific ways that you can be praying for me personally:

• That I would get everything dialed in for the next 2 weeks in the next 2 days
• For Rachel as we’re apart for 2 weeks (and hopefully she misses me!)
• That He would give me His heart for the Indian people
• That he would lead me as I prepare a 15 minute message and a 10 minute altar call for the crusades
• That myself and the worship team would be anointed to communicate Christ through our worship
• Above all, that I would get out of God’s way and allow him to work through me

You can learn more about our team and prayer requests for our entire team on our India Update Webpage.  That page will be updated as much as possible while we are gone, and if we ever get around any computers while we are gone, I will make an effort to update this page as well.  Thank you again to all of you who are partnering with me in this through prayer, finances, and emotional support.  I can’t wait to share with you all when I return home.

Ever heard someone share their faith and it felt more like a sales pitch than anything else? Ever been trained how to share your faith and feel like you’re presenting Amway? Unfortunately, this is the picture that many non Christians and even some Christians get when they hear the word “evangelism.” Here’s a drama we did at Revolution several weeks ago having a little fun with that idea and just tackling that hurdle right up front. video – script

Saturday night was an awesome night at our second Tapestry event. Tapestry is our coffeeshop night designed to give people a place to relax and invite friends as well as creating a venue where local artists and musicians can be highlighted. Dave already did a great review of the night if you want to check it out, and I’ll steal a few of his pics cause my camera sucks in dark rooms!

This time we had music performed by Stacy Clark, Hank Floyd and Mike Barnet. I’ve enjoyed Mike’s music for several years now and it was awesome to have us join us. That’s him in the bottom picture below. Many of you know that I hate country music, but I was amazed by how much I loved Hank Floyd. They were amazing musicians and put on an awesome show. I’d actually love to catch another show of theirs sometime if I get the chance. Don’t worry, I’m not about to start listening to Tim McGraw now or anything! Stacy Clark also did a great job opening the night. She moved here about 9 months ago from New York to work more on getting her music out. It was great having all three musicians there.

Huge thanks also to Scott Laumann and Deborah Allen who brought some art to display. Below is a picture of Scott’s stuff, a series based on a quote by Dallas Willard. Overall it was an awesome night. It’s fun to connect with others at our church and to be able to support the local artists and musicians. Thanks to everyone who came out and to everyone who helped make it happen. I look forward to doing it again!

Yesterday, Rachel and I went up to Laurel Pines, a camp in Big Bear, with Michelle and Drew to lead an extended time of worship during their high school camp. It was an awesome night. It is so fun to just let God lead and to see students engaging with God as they worship.

Upon returning home, somewhere around midnight, we found a letter on our door. Here’s what it said:

Dear neigbor,

The City Of Long Beach Community Development Department is
applying for a permit to operate a Walk-In Center at 601 Pacific Ave., Long Beach, Ca 90813. This facility will provide services and training to at risk persons ages 16 thru 24.

One of the programs the center will offer is a “GANG
DIVERGANCE PILOT PROJECT” to assist in the personal development of at risk youth. This program is not limited to, but will reach out to:

Youth beginning to see problems with law enforcement, gang affiliation or have probationary involvement.

Youth who may have substance abuse problems.

This center will provide services to more than five thousand clients a year and employ a staff of twenty two, without on-site parking. Street parking is very limited; and if this center is permitted to open, parking may be impacted within the entire area.

A uniformed guard will be stationed within the facility for the protection of staff but will not patrol the nearby bus stops or streets. We, the residents, will have to deal with graffiti and trash that may be generated by the facilities at risk clients.

MEETING
This is your opportunity to voice your opinion regarding the proposed permit.
Meeting Date: August 8, 2005
Meeting Time: 2:00 p.m.
Place: City Planning and Building Dept., 7th
Floor Large Conference Room

The letter then added the representative to contact and where to get info. This left me thinking. When did our parking situation become more important than trying to make an impact on the lives of at risk youth? I understand that possesions and appearance of an area are important, but when did the possibility of trash become more important than helping others?

It saddens me to see what some of the values of our community have become. While there may be some legitimate concerns to be addressed, I personally would welcome those trying to make a positive impact on the community and the people who live here. Yes, at times there are costs to helping others, but at what point do we look ahead and see positively changed lives being well worth the costs of inconvenience?

Wow, I have a bit of blogging to catch up on! Normally I figure once it’s past, I missed it. But there’s a few things I think are worth throwing up here, so here we go. The first one is some pics from our worship community gathering at Bolsa Chica State Beach last Saturday. We had a great time playing beach football, roasting s’mores, and singing around the fire. I look forward to more chances for our community to connect in the future!

Hey Bret, this one’s for you. This guys 20 now, but here’s a video of him doing a drum solo at 12 years old…12!!! This kid is insane! Maybe we can get him at Revolution as a sub. [via]















watch video

For those of you who weren’t able to be at church on Sunday, or who read this blog but don’t attend Revolution, here’s the video we made to start our series called “Be A Link.” There are lots of very common fears that people have in sharing their faith with other and being a part of linking them to Jesus, and we had a good time making light of some of those. The idea came from a similar video I saw done by Rancho Community Church several years ago. You’ll need Real Player to view it. Hope you like!
Download Video

If you didn’t know, I’m currently in class every Monday night at Vanguard University working to finish up my BA.  Each class is 5 weeks long, and tonight was week 1 of Teaching and Preaching with Bill Dogterom.  The next 4 weeks will consist of us teaching scripture, but tonight he talked about our personal life preparation for preaching.  He shared things that we should be working on in different areas of our life, and a lot of them were great reminders.  They were things that resonated with me as things I need to stay focused on even as a worship leader in a church, and many of them are things that anyone could benefit from.  The ones with astericks are the ones I think I need to work on the most in my life right now.  Here’s the area’s of life and some of the things he talked about:

Spiritual
-Study of the word
-Prayer as relationship (silence, solitude, listening to God)*
-Rest (Sabbath, regular seasons of retreat)
-Accountability circles*
-Fight against sin as if your life depends on it

Social/Relational
-Family is priority after God and yourself*
-Have quality friendships*
-Love the people you pastor
-A good attitude is critically important
-Don’t take yourself to seriously, have a sense of humor

Mental
-Read – read books that expand vocabulary, books you disagree with, out of your proffesional subject and old books*
-Stimulation – have a friend you can argue with
-Develop a mind cleansing hobby

Emotional
-Don’t operate heavy machinery on Monday
-Monitor your moods but don’t give in to them*
-Give yourself a break, you’re only human
-Be sensitive to the continuing quiet despair that signals burnout
-Learn how to laugh
-Feed your soul (art, music, nature, etc.)*
-Get help when you need it

Physical
-Exercise regularly*
-Get rest
-Eat properly*
-Learn to relax
-Pace yourself

Like I said, lots of great reminders in there for me.  Any of em pop off the screen for you?

It’s always nice to see people from our community supporting other artists in our community. So, that being said, here’s a couple of dates that Adam Rose and his band are playing. If you need a place to go hang and hear some good music, check him out one of these nights:

Sunday July 24th – Viper Room
8852 W. Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood
7 pm
$8 with flyer (get from Adam)/$12 at the door

Thursday August 4th – Hard Rock Cafe
Universal City Walk
10:30 pm
$8 with flyer/$10 at the door