My Worship Revolution

So last night was a BBQ and night for last minute preparations at the site for Royal Family Kids Camp where I’m the camp pastor for the third year.
The plan was for me to lead worship with the staff that night.
Plans changed.
I wasn’t there long enough.

Caleb decided he really wanted one of the cookies on the picnic table.
He bolted at the table at the speed of light, jumping on the bench, but not quite getting his hand in the right place to grab the table.
Instead he went face first into the picnic table and continued on, luckily being caught before his melon hit the concrete.
I immediately got there and grabbed him.  My white shirt will never be the same.  It’s got a whole lot of blood on it.

So we ended up at the ER waiting for the doc to come and sew him up with 2 stitches.
By the time we got to that point, he was doing pretty well.
I took some pics with my phone, which sucks.  But here he is waiting for the Dr. to show up and stitch him up.

As a parent, perhaps one of the worst things in the world is having to watch your kid in pain, let alone helping to inflict it.
He did a great job laying down when the doc came.
He laid calmly on the bed.
The Dr.’s were great.  He even had a great time identifying animals on the doctors tattoo sleeve.
He let them clean it up without a peep.
Then came the needle.
It went downhill QUICKLY from there.
And it was my job to hold down his arms and legs while another doctor held his head still.

“Please stop!!”
“I’m scared!”
“What are you doing?!”
“I all done!!!”

We let him sleep in bed with us last night (which I don’t think we’ve ever done).
I think the poor kid was reliving it in his sleep.
He kept kinda waking up saying something about a cookie.
Then I think he told himself not to get the cookie.

Fortunately he was all good this morning.
Even told both grandmas that it wasn’t hurting anymore and the doctor helped him.
Glad he feels that way now, cause it aint what he thought last night!
Here he is showing me his lip out front this morning.

My wife just informed me she already blogged about this also.
Guess I’ll go see her internet take on the night.

And with a kid as energetic and rambunctious as Caleb, I’m afraid this may be the beginning of many ER trips over the next 16 years!
Oh, the joys of parenting.

UPDATE – I just checked out Rachel’s post.  Go to that one and click on the picture for a nice big shot of his stitched up lip.

Some of y'all follow Los' blog.
Yesterday, on this post, he asked this question:

Great question.
And lots of answers there.
I could sit and read all 130+ comments, but…
Especially when it comes to my faith community, it will look a bit different.
So I'd love to know the answer to that questions from you guys.
Especially if you attend CLC.
But even if you don't, bring it.
I wanna hear from my blog and church community.

So what song is it for you?

I got an email the other day from a guy.
He came across my video on YouTube about the Hemophilia ride.
His name is Barry.
Barry has Hemophilia.
One of the dangers, especially in the past, of hemophilia, are the dangers that could come about as a result of blood transfusions.
Because of a blood transfusion, Barry has also had HIV and Hep C since he was 13 years old.
He’s an avid cyclist.
Here’s the email he sent:

Check out the article about Barry riding in Texas.
Very inspiring.

Thank you Barry for the email and the inspiration.
And thank you to all of you who have continued to partner with me in this ride and given toward helping folks like Barry and kids like Zack.

Click here to partner with me in the California Coastal Race for Hemophilia.

Oh yeah…
And just to update y’all, I’m 66% of the way there!

Only 2 1/2 months to go!
Maybe I should start training more…

A while back I went to a Church 2.0 gathering in Santa Cruz and met Frank Johnson.
Frank manages a website called ChristianCruz.com, a resource to help network believers in Santa Cruz.
I got to hear him enough that I’m pretty sure his heart isn’t to create yet another facet of Christian subculture, but hopefully something that can resource and connect Christ followers to be a positive force in the community.  And apparently there are some plans to see more done with the site to make that happen.

You may notice that right now, this blog is highlighted on the front page of the website.
Thanks for the link love Frank!
Head on over there and check out the site a bit as well.

My birthday is in 3 days.
Monday June 8th…I turn 30.
Jesus' ministry started at 30, so I'm expecting big things this year.

Usually I don't say TOO much about my birthday.
I think last year I may have hinted at what I'd like.
This year, I'm unashamedly asking you all to get me a birthday gift.

If you somehow managed to miss the news about my ride, read about it here, and then go here and give to Zach and to hemophilia for my birthday.
5 bucks.
10 bucks.
Whatever you can.

The little Feedburner count to your right says we have 170 RSS readers for this feed.
If half those people, gave 10-20 bucks, we could make a significant difference in the hemophilia community by lots of people all doing a little.

The other thing you could do for me is hook me up with a quick post on your blog, Facebook, twitter, whatever about it.

Thanks again for coming along, and for letting me pimp this ride and this cause on my blog.
You all rock.
I'm getting old.
Out.

Yesterday was our volunteer appreciation dinner we throw each year for our volunteers.
This year we went with a Superhero theme to go with the series we have been in.
Superhero trivia, costumes around the room, Superman party bags, glowing green kryptonite necklaces, tri-tip with baked potatoes, broccoli, and rolls, good ole American Apple Pie desert (you know, truth, justice, and the American way), and a superhero scavenger hunt.
Unfortunately the Power Rangers pinata was kinda a bust when it fell from it's rope during the first person.  Note to self: less candy in the pinata next time.

Here is a video we made as a staff to say thanks.  Not the highest quality recording, but we had a good time making it last week, looking kinda like idiots, and everyone at the dinner seemed to get a good laugh at…errr…with us.
Check it out:

I love this video Brandon sent me a while back.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the power of story telling.
The power film makers have in our culture.
The power to be moved by a good telling of what God is doing in a life or in a community.

It is the job of us as artists to use creative means of communication to capture peoples imagination and put them into the greater story of God's redemptive purpose on earth.

Are you an artist?
If so, how are you doing this?
Are you doing this?

A few days ago the California supreme court voted to uphold prop 8.
After a lull of silence, the Facebook posts about gay marriage began reappearing, and the protests in downtown Santa Cruz commenced.

Truth is, I'm not real passionate about either side of the argument on this one, which pretty much pisses off both sides.
I am, however, very passionate about marriage.
About the sacredness of the institution.

So I have my vote on the solution.
Get rid of marriage as we know it all together.
Hold on.  Let me explain.

The church argument has been that God's view of marriage is between a man and a woman.
I agree.
Well, actually, let me take it a bit further.
Marriage is between a man and a woman who love Jesus and are entering into a covenant in the sight of God, into a relationship that brings about holiness more that happiness, and living out a sacrament that is God's example to the world of the relationship Jesus has with His church.
Uh oh.
By that definition, we really shouldn't allow atheists to be married either.

The argument being made is that we need to protect marriage.
I agree.
But we lost a lot of ground there the moment marriage became a legal, binding contract managed by the government.
So the answer, let's protect marriage by giving it back to institutions of faith.
The state of California simply issues civil unions.  As I believe they already do for homosexual couples.  Except the legal ramifications are the same for whoever it is.

Then, if a couple wants to be married, that is an issue to be taken up at the church.
Am I oversimplifying the argument?
Absolutely.
But I think you get the point.
In most cases, we lost the battle for marriage a long time ago, and I question how we can really salvage it completely as long as it is a government institution.

I say this every time I do this.
I don't usually like to get political here.
But I guess this is kinda a big deal in my state right now.
And it's been on my mind.

I doubt it will ever happen, but there's an idea for ya.
Now don't be shy.
Respond.

P.S. – This is a view shared by Ryan Lipert and I over several coffees.  So if you hate the idea, be sure to comment on his blog too.  I'm sure he probably came up with it…if you don't like it that is. 

I’m teaching this Sunday since Ed and his family get home from Mexico late tomorrow night.
I have a LOT to get done for that today in the midst of a couple meetings as well.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with a few really good communicators.
I listen to great communicators via podcast and conference regularly.
So every time I teach, I feel like I need to hit it out of the park.
I need to teach with the passion of Matt Chandler and the focus of Andy Stanley.
I need to make sure people walk out of there ready to change everything right now!

Let’s not even get started on all the things that are wrong there.
But this morning I read a great article by Wayne Cordeiro from New Hope church in Hawaii. (HT: Ben Arment)

Last summer I played on a softball team, and I often wanted to swing for the fence.  Those balls usually got caught, and you probably won’t be surprised to know none of mine ever made it out of the park.  But when I got on base, I usually scored.

Good reminder for this week.
And oddly enough, it feels like taking that pressure off will make it easier to prepare and more likely to be a great hit after all.
Lookin forward to Sunday.

About 3 weeks ago I shared about my upcoming 600+ mile bike ride to raise money for my cousin who has Hemophilia.
If you missed it get more info here.
And the fundraising page is here.

After 3 weeks, here is the update:

That’s awesome!
Thanks a ton to all who have helped out already!
But that was probably the easier almost half.  A lot of family.
So let’s keep on pushing that bar up for Zack, and better yet, exceed it!
Please, come on by and please help out in any way you can.
Thanks for all of your help and prayers!

And enjoy this little outtake from the interview with Zach for that video.
His original answer about why he couldn’t play football was pretty stinkin funny from a 7 year old boy!

More videos to come too!