Clear The Mechanism (Confession of a Worship Leader)

I just got back from breakfast with my men's small group. I love these guys because they challenge me to be a better dad, husband, co-worker, friend... a better man. I am so much more "aware" of the decisions that I am making throughout the week because of my time with these guys.

Well... this morning... I shared with them how I am feeling sort of "distracted"at this time in my life. Distracted by details... expectations... and evaluations. Now don't get me wrong... I realize the importance of all of these things. Details are super important. People have expectations of us that we need to be aware of... and work towards meeting every day (The realistic ones... that is.). And evaluation is an important part of our process at NewPointe. It is crucial to growth and improvement with anything that we do.

It's just that... sometimes I find myself so focused on "How I should do it" that I can't seem to just relax... and DO IT.













Do you remember a TV commercial (I can't even remember the product) where the guy is talking himself through all of the "mechanics" of swinging his golf club? As he stands on the tee box... and goes through the long list of things that he has been taught... computer generated reminders pop up all around him. By the time he's ready to swing... he can hardly see the fairway for these visual reminders.

Well... that's what I feel like right now. It is so hard to focus on the "main thing" because of all of the details going through my mind. Here's what it's like:

Sunday mornings... before we go on stage:

"OK... so on the first song... it's 4 clicks and 4 sticks to start".
"Let's see... was it CAPO 3... or 4 on that third tune?"
"Song #1 is on Protools (drummer starts it)... song #4 is an Igniter video (control room starts it)"
"What is that tempo on the closer again?"
"Hey guys... don't forget to repeat that one phrase on the prechorus."

While I'm out there:

"Augh! I forgot to tell the control room to correct that one word in the second verse."
"Is it just me... or is my guitar out of tune?"
"Are people really connecting with this song?"
"I sure hope we hit that "stop-down" together."
"Oh. man... here comes that really high note!"
"I wonder where April's taking me for lunch today?" (Oh come on... don't you judge me! You've been there!)

There are so many things that go through my mind as I am preparing to lead worship.... and all of this "stuff" can be a distraction when it comes to actually leading.

A friend of mine (Who is also a worship leader) was just telling me how he has to pull away from his team and be alone with God just before he steps out on the stage to lead. He talked about how it "centers" him and helps him to focus on God... and not all of the details. It makes total sense.... but how often do we actually have that opportunity? Our Service Programming team "circles up" and prays before every service. It is one of my favorite moments of the morning. We talk about the importance of our ministry and the effect that it will have on a lot of folks who are searching for Christ at NewPointe this morning. We ask God to come and anoint what we are about to do... and there is always this "WOW! We get to do this!" moment before we step out on the stage. But there is rarely enough time to get alone and "focus" before going out.

Well... I MADE TIME yesterday morning... and it worked!

There was a scene in the movie, "For Love Of The Game" where Billy Chapel (played by Kevin Costner) plays his last game as a professional baseball pitcher... and as he steps to the mound... he takes in all of what surrounds him (the fans, the players, the field, the smells, the lights, everything) and soaks it all in. From there... he focuses in on his catcher and the distance between him and the plate. At that time... he tells himself to “clear the mechanism”, and one by one, each disturbance around him clears out so the only thing left is a “tunnel” from his glove to the catcher.

That is what I experienced yesterday morning. Stepping away from everything for just a little while... and asking God to "clear the mechanism"... and centering on Him before I went out on the stage... changed everything for me. I wasn't as concerned about "what people were thinking"... about the road maps, click tracks, lights, or being evaluated... I was ready to worship. As much as I love being with my team (I've got an amazing team!)... and the camaraderie that we experience backstage before a service... I think that "time alone with God" (for all of us) is going to have to be a priority... to stay focused on "the main thing".

Weekends @ NewPointe: Catching up (again)

Well... here I am again... BEHIND on posting the set-lists for a few weeks. It really has been one of the craziest months of my life. About 3 weeks ago... I had surgery on my left knee. Then... before I could fully recover from that surgery... I end up in the hospital (Where I am... even as I blog) with diverticulitis! This my 5th day in this hospital bed... Auuuugh! But I AM going home TODAY! Woohoo! So... as I wait for April to pick me up... I thought that I would take advantage of this "down time" to do a little catching up on my blog. So enough about WHY I haven't blogged... let's get caaught up...

We just finished up a two part series called DARE YOU TO MOVE. During the series we talked about our plans to launch two NewPointe campuses this fall. Why are we doing this? To reach more people and to help them grow in their relaionship with Jesus Christ. Our people were challenged to move from wherever we are to serving right now and step it up to a whole new level.

• From being a follower to being a LEADER.
  
• From being self-focused to being OTHERS focused
  
• From having an earthly view to having an ETERNAL view

Here are the songs that we used during that series:

Week ONE:

"I Am Free" - Desperation Band

"Sweetly Broken" - Jeremy Riddle

"From The Inside Out" - Hillsong United

"Tell The World" - Hillsong United

"Dare You To Move" - Switchfoot

For week TWO... NewPointe welcomed the Christian rock band, WORTH DYING FOR. The did a fantastic job of leading us in worship and rockin' the Pointe. Here are some of the songs that they led us in worship with... and a couple of pics.

"Salvation Is Here" - Hillsong United

"God of This City" - Chris Tomlin

"Hallelujah" - Unknown

"At Your Cross" - Worth Dying For

"Revolution" - Worth Dying For

"Let It Out" - Worth Dying For

Goodbye, Michael

As I sit here in my hospital bed... a prisoner to "what's good on TV tonight" (yeah right!)... I am absolutely stunned and saddened by the news that another one of the greatest musicians of all time has died. What? Michael Jackson? The "KING OF POP"? Gone? No way!!

While I am taking in all of the tributes on CNN, FOX News, MTV... I try to understand why I am so emotional about his death. Is it selfishness? I mean... is it because I grew up with his music and his groundbreaking videos... and all of that is now OVER? Could it be because (as a musician) I learned more about R&B rhythm, syncopation and tightness from Michael's music than any other artist I have ever studied? Or could it be that I am just feeling sorry for him? Feeling sorry for the strange turns that his life took in recent years. The scandals... the facial changes... and the bizarre behavior.


He had it all... and yet he seemed to live a sort of misunderstood and tormented life. It's just so sad.

I think that maybe the real reason that I am so emotional about Michael's death has more to do with the fact that I connected with Michael (Whether I realized it or not) on many different levels. Michael Jackson and his music had a profound impact on my musical development over the years, my appreciation for quality and excellence, my fascination with creativity and innovation and... well... my LIFE.

Many of his songs were just great songs "musically". They were fun to listen to, to sing, to play and to dance to. But songs like "Heal the World", "Man In The Mirror"and "We Are The World" challenged us to change the way we looked at the world... and ourselves. Who doesn't remember the first time they heard "We Are the World"??? That was HUGE!

Well... whatever you thought of the bizarre things that he did in his later years... you cannot deny the fact that Michael Jackson was one of the most innovative, ground-breaking musical artists of our lifetime. As unusual as he was... Michael Jackson was a musical genius. And for that reason... I have always had a great respect for the artist.

Whether it was the structure and lyric of the songs that he wrote... the creativity and production value of his music videos (Yes... I have the Thriller video on my iPOD)... or his amazing choreography (which every dancer, since, has just emulated)... you cannot ignore the fact that Michael Jackson single-handedly changed the face of the music industry.

Only God knows what went on in the heart of Michael Jackson. If you ask one person... they might say that he was a "freak". If you asked another... they would say that he was a kind, gentle man who wanted nothing more than to make the world a better place with his music.

I (for one) am thankful for the music that he shared while he was with us. As far as I'm concerned... he will always be remembered as one of the greatest musicians of our lifetime.

Goodbye, Michael... you will be greatly missed.

The Great Knee Surgery Adventure

I have been "inactive" for almost a year now... due to a knee injury. That means no softball, basketball, tennis, golf, volleyball for a year! Auuugh! About the only thing that I COULD do without unbearable pain... was ride my bike. It has been a very frustrating year... to say the least. The first doctor that I went to see told me that there was arthritis under my knee cap. Other than a couple of exercises that he gave me to do at home... he never really gave me any hope for getting back to any sort of athletic activity. That WAS NOT the answer that I was looking for. After several X-rays, an MRI and 4 (3 minute) visits over a period of 5 months last fall... I decided to get a second opinion (best decision ever). At my first visit with the new doctor... he gave me a cortisone shot (which worked great for about a week and a half) and then ordered the arthroscopic surgery... immediately. THAT was what I was looking for... answers. I thought that it would be fun to document the experience with photos. So this is what my day at the hospital was like:

On our way to Aultman Hospital in Canton. I think I was trying to keep April awake as she was driving.















Ah yes... that wonderful hospital robe. We were told to arrive at the hospital at 9:15. That's all we knew. I was told that the procedure wasn't supposed to take very long. You know... maybe on my way home by noon??? Yeah... right.









10:00 and still waiting.

















It's all good...
















Finally... the nurse came in to hook up my iv. Looking for a vein in my wrist... so far...no luck.















Still looking for a vein...
















She had to go a little higher up on my arm to find a vein.
















I hate ivs... but you can't let it show... right?

We just found out that my surgery isn't happening until noon now... which means that April has to cancel HER afternoon doctors appointment. Bummer.









11:15... and still waiting.

They didn't take me back until 12:30... and I still didn't go into surgery until around 2:00. I was BORED OUT OF MY MIND!











Back in my room... waiting for the anesthesia to wear off. Going home soon?















4:20 and still waiting to go home...















Yes! Finally! I'm outta here! And I am HUNGRY!

















I was STARVING... so we stopped by Chick-fil-A on the way home... and guess who was in the drive-thru line? Lee Ann and Matt! What are the chances of running into those guys in Canton?

Oh yeah... and Chick-fil-A ROCKS!









Working from home today. As always... the girls are taking great care of me. They are WAY too good to me.








I




LOVE my MacBook Pro. It's the ONLY way to work from home.
















Well... the surgery was a success... but (once they got in there) they ended up doing a lot more than they had originally planned on doing. The plan was just to clean the arthritis out from under my kneecap. They ended up removing quite a bit of cartilage. Doc told April that I was a perfect candidate for a knee replacement. Even though that is not great news... it's so much better than going on with no answers... or the wrong answers.

April and the girls are taking great care of dad. I start therapy on my knee later this week... and if all goes well... I will be able to get back to normal activity before the end of the month. A huge thanks to everyone for their prayers and phone calls.

NewPointe West (Millersburg)

NewPointe will be launching yet another campus this fall in Millersburg, Ohio. The possible site of this new campus is West Holmes High School.

So this past Thursday... a crack team of investigative staffers from NewPointe Community Church met at the school to check out the facilities.

What we found was a pretty amazing building with almost everything that we would need to launch a great church in Millersburg, Ohio. The building is only about 9 years old. It is beautiful! The auditorium is amazing... with comfortable theater seats, great acoustics, a large stage (that was definitely designed with "the arts" in mind). The building includes large classrooms for younger kids space, A food court area that could easily be adapted into older Kid spaces, plenty of parking space and everything else that we would need for a successful launch this fall. It's exciting to be a part of a church that is constantly looking for creative ways to reach more & more people in our community for Christ. And this is just the beginning...

Her are a few pics from the school visit:

The Power of a Video

This past Sunday morning for the last message in the "Living In he Hood" series... Dwight talked about how important it is for our kids to have another adult in their life to speak the truth and help direct their path. Someone to say the same things that we say to them... (because of course... what do parents know? Right?) They need another adult to reinforce the "right things" to do. God's Word says that "He who walks with the wise will grow wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." Proverbs 13:20. And we all know that those who are closest to us... influence us the most.

Well... our video team put together this great video of one of our Student Ministries small groups. The group is led by Nancy Bell. Nancy is a "model leader" for these girls. In the video... the girls in her group share what it means to have someone other than their parents to talk to when they need encouragement... or help making decisions. Check it out:

Someone Like Nancy from NewPointe Community Church on Vimeo.

BTW: Great job... Jeff Conn, Cindy Colucy, Dan Knight and Brad Yoder for shooting and editing this video!

Weekends @ NewPointe: Getting caught up

I am so far behind on my blog... and we have had some pretty amazing music during the Living In The Hood (Parenthood) series.

So... to do a little catching up... here are the songs that we used on May the 10th:

"Ah Ah Ah Yeah" (with our KidStuf singers - opener) - KidStuf

"Here Is Our King" - David Crowder* Band

"Now I Sing" - Benjamin Payne

"Glorious One" - Steve Fee


On May the 17th:

"Carry On Wayward Son" (Instrumental Opener) - Kansas

"No One Like You" - David Crowder* Band

"In The Mystery" - Hillsong United

"Unfailing Love" - Chris Tomlin


The next week (May the 24th):

"All Because Of Jesus" - Fee

"Not To Us / Here Is Our King" - Chris Tomlin / David Crowder

"Awesome is The Lord Most High" - Christ Tomlin

"Everlasting God" - Tomlin

"Parents Just Don't Understand" - D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

And then... this past weekend (for the the final message in the "Living In The Hood" series):

"We Are Family" (Re-mix) - Loosely based on a Jump 5 arrangement

"King of Majesty" - Lincoln Brewster

"Filled With Your Glory" - Starfield

"From The Inside Out" - Hillsong United

This weekend @ NewPointe:

"Satisfy Me" - Decemberadio (get there early... you will not want to miss this!)

"Let God Arise" - Chris Tomlin

"Now I Sing" - Benjamin Payne

"Hungry" - Kathryn Scott

"The River" - Meredith Andrews

So there you go. If you want to check out any of these services... you can always watch them on Vimeo.com (search NewPointe) or go there directly from our web-site once they are uploaded (Usually by the following Wednesday.)

American Idol Update: Grand Finale

Well... it's down to Adam & Kris. At this point it could go either way... but EVERYBODY is saying that all of Danny's votes will go to Kris now. If that is the case... he could win it all tomorrow night. I think (of the two) Kris has the most "marketable" voice. Kris could release a Jason Mraz/One Republic style project and do pretty well with it. Adam will probably make it big on Broadway or in Vegas... but he doesn't have that "recording" voice.

First up...

Adam: He is singing a song that he has already sung earlier in the season... "Mad World". He is going with the "vampire look" for this one. It's a little creepy for me... with the fog and the long coat. He is just a little flat on every note (especially on the last note of the song. He tuned it up before the very end.) This is exactly what I'm talking about... THAT was a Broadway performance.

Kris: He has chosen "Ain't No Sunshine" to sing for his first song tonight. Man... I am really liking this. This performance is so full of emotion. I like what he did with the "I know... I know... I know"... section of the song (That part usually annoys me a little). He changed the melody up some. WOW! That was awesome!

First round definitely goes to... Kris!

ROUND TWO: ding ding. (OK... so that's what Ryan said)

Adam: He's going to have to "bring it" at this point. Kris definitely took the first round. Adam is singing "Change Is Gonna Come" for his second song tonight. The boy can sing... there's no doubt about that. He has pipes that won't quit... and a range with no lid. I like this a ton better than his first song. Cue: The "tongue hanging out of his mouth" scream. There it is. We have seen it each and every week this season. The judges are gushing over that performance. It was strong... but I wouldn't say that it was the "best that he has sounded all season".

Kris: He is singing Marvin Gaye's "What's Going' On" for his second song. From piano to guitar all in one show. Impressive. The unplugged vibe is pretty cool. I think I liked the first song better though. He is a little "pitchy" on this one. This is definitely his genre though. Kara is really getting on my nerves with her overly dramatic critique. She's got this "attitude" thing going on.

Second round goes to... Adam

ROUND THREE:

Adam: For his third song he will be singing a song written by Kara for the show called "No Boundaries". He can certainly "sell" a song. He is all over the place pitch-wise on this one though. I wonder if the judges are going to rave about this performance too??? Good! Randy caught it! It wasn't all that great. His pitch was all over the place. Oh Kara... come on... we KNOW it was your song... but how did Adam do?

Kris: He will be singing the same song. If Kris nails this one... I think he could win the competition. Ouch... his pitch is off too! What is going on? For one thing... it's just too high for him. WOW... did he just drop a word? The song is a little too BIG for him. Not a strong performance.

FWIW: I would love to have heard Allison sing this song. It's not a great song... but Allison would have rocked it anyways! Neither of these guys could nail it down like Allison could have. Sorry... THAT IS JUST A FACT.

My pick for the next American Idol...

Well... I didn't like either one of them all that much. It could go either way tomorrow night. I really... really... don't care.

American Idol Update: FINAL 3

I have to tell you... it is so difficult to continue following the show... with Allison gone. Last week was a HUGE mistake. I still can't believe it happened... but then again... look at Daughtry. Allison will be HUGE with or without the win on AI. I can't wait to see what she does next.

There are only the three guys left. They will each sing two songs on tonight's show. The first song will be "judges choice" and the second is "their choice" As always... I will be blogging in real-time as I watch the show.

First up...



Danny: He is singing "Dance Little Sister" by Terence Trent D'Arby. This style is definitely his "thang". This song doesn't have much of a melody line. Paula picked it... so they can't really complain about it though! He sounds so soulful on this. Oh yeah... he's pulling a Philip Bailey vocal banter with the sax player. Oooh... the sax sounds so "thin". Auuugh! These guys have the best audio team that money can buy... and that's the way they decided to EQ the alto sax? OK... I thought Danny sounded pretty amazing on this. Lots of energy... lots of fun. What a start! Great job, Danny!

Kris: My Opinion: I really thought that Kris should have gone home last week. It should have been Adam, Allison and Danny tonight. Anyhoo: Randy & Kara have chosen "Apologize" by One Republic for Kris to sing tonight. I LOVE this song... one of my favorites. Well... we'll see what Kris does with this song. He's a little pitchy right out of the blocks. There is a very annoying instrument being played on the chorus. What is that??? Could it be that anemic alto sax again? Ha ha! He sounds really good on this song. A few rough spots... but I still liked it. It was a great song choice for Kris. Another great choice would have been something by Jason Mraz.

Adam: Simon to chose "One" by U2 for Adam to sing. WOW! Simon had to get clearance from Bono for Adam to do this tune. Unbelievable! Here he goes: He's a little flat on the first chorus. The guy sings with so much emotion. It's in his eyes... it's in his voice. WOW! I know that they want them to make the song their own... but I'm not sure if I liked what Adam did with it. It didn't just knock me over... but it was good. It was better than Kris' performance.

OK... first round picks for tonight:



























So now... they get to choose the song that they will sing. First up...

Danny: He chose "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker. Hmmmm.... not sure about this one. The arrngement is just too exposed for his powerful voice. He will sound so much better if he "let's it fly" at some point. I hope he does. I don't know about this. I'm just not feeling it. The judges are gushing... I don't get it. Vocal master class??? I don't think so. Oh well... it was nice... but not a final week performance.

Kris: He picked "Heartless" by Kanye West. Let's see what he does with this song. I'm liking the fact that he is pulling this off with his acoustic guitar... and NO BAND!!! Impressive! WOW! I loved it! Great job, Kris! That was amazing! That's the best Kris has sounded all season. He may have some sort of a strategy here. Better late... then never... huh?

Adam: He is singing "Crying" by Aerosmith. This is definitely in his "wheelhouse". Here he goes. First of all... turn the BGV vocal down. She's overpowering Adam. There is something about his vibrato that is just not doing it for me on this song. What a voice! What a range! There's that "tongue hanging out" scream again! He can definitely "bring it"... but I think that I'm just tired of hearing it.


Second round picks...














If I WAS to pick someone to go home tomorrow night... which I will not... but if I were to pick one... it might be... even though he did a great job with his second song tonight... Kris

American Idol Update: FINAL 4

Sorry about the gray text. I know that it's hard to read... but Blogger.com would not let me write in white text for some reason tonight.

This week's mentor is Slash... and the music style is ... what else... classic rock! Obviously... Adam and Allison have an advantage tonight. It will be interesting though to see what Kris and Danny can do with this genre.

First up...

Adam: He is singing "Whole Lot of Love" by Led Zeppelin. The band is absolutely HOT tonight! WOW! What pipes! Unbelievable! The dude can "sky"! Adam is definitely in his element tonight. Un-be-stinkin-lievable! How is anyone gonna top that???

Side note: OK... so Kara is freaking me out a little tonight? Does she think it's Halloween or something? Weird.

Allison: She is singing Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby". She should sound great on this song. Very nice. The vocal riffs after the first chorus were SCHWEEEET! I really wish she hadn't followed Adam. If kris had been next... maybe the sound pallette would have been reset. Man... that's gonna hurt her. Yup... there they go. They are not thrilled with her performance. She still sounded great! Simon said that it was too close to the original. WOW! Now THAT'S a compliment!

First DUET of the night...

Kris & Danny: They are singing "Renegade" by Styxx. Great song! Here they go. Ohhh... Danny definitely doesn't have the rock vibe going. His voice is not quiet "edgy and focused" enough for this rock tune. I think he will have a tough time with his individual song tonight as well. Kris actually sounds better than Danny on this tune... exept for the fact that he is so "pitchy". Can he hear himself??? It was just OK. The band was amazing!

Kris: He is singing "Come Together" by the Beatles. He got to play with Slash! How cool is that?? I'm actually liking this... a lot! He sounds pretty good. He needs to "get into it" with the guitar a little more. He just didn't seem comfortable. It was good... but I don't know if it's enough to get him through this week.

Danny: He is singing "Dream On" by Aerosmith. Man... I sure hope he knows what he is doing here. NOT a good choice. This could really hurt him. Michael Johns did this song last year and absolutely NAILED IT! I just don't see Danny going for those octaves at the end. Does he have the vocals to pull this off? We'll see. Did they just turn him down on the pre-chorus??? What happened? It's not working for me. Yikes! Here he goes (holding my breath). Well... they were definitely high (multi-pitched) notes. Not quite the "sound" that the notes were supposed to have... but he went for it. Impressive! This is just not his genre. He is probably safe though... with Kris still in there.

Another duet...

Adam & Allison: They will be singing "Slow Ride" by Foghat. They should have some fun with this now that the competition is over for the night and they can relax. There goes the tongue! They look so much more comfortable out there together than Danny and Kris did. Definitely rock stars! They sound great together too.

OK... my picks for tonight...









































Going home tomorrow night...

Stories

The single most effective ministry tool that we use at NewPointe is the LIFE CHANGE STORY. We can sit in our creative meetings all week long... and brainstorm all kinds of cool, innovative and impressive creative elements to help support the messages... but a STORY about a person's personal journey to Christ... will always have the biggest impact.

For Easter Sunday... we created a video made up of several stories to set up the song, "How He Loves". We got the concept for the video from Lifechurch.tv... and then created our own. The process was a lot of fun... but also very time consuming. We filmed about 9 different people telling their personal stories of how Jesus Christ radically changed their lives. Then Jane Miller actually watched all of the video footage... and transcribed all of those stories (17 pages in all) so that we could easily select the highlights. John Bunn went through all 17 pages and selected 100 potential phrases and color coded each one. Those 100 story pieces were attached to 3X5 Index cards. The Weekend Design team then got together to read through the cards and assemble a "story board" for the video. Here are a couple of photos of our team during that process:












































After we put all of the pieces together... my son, Brandon got busy editing the video (not any easy job). WOW! If you didn't get to see it on Easter Sunday... you can check it out here:

Easter Chairs from NewPointe Community Church on Vimeo.

The Innovator's Brain

I was reading an article by Phil Cooke on his BLOG, The Change Revolution that I thought was pretty interesting. Check out what he has to say about the innovator's brain:

Research indicates that true innovator's brains are actually different from other people's brains. The big difference is that original thinkers - iconoclasts - innovators - whatever you want to call them, see the world differently than everyone else. Too many of us think "automatically" - in other words, we assume the way things should be, take a lot for granted, and don't challenge our perceptions. But innovators don't make those assumptions, and generally see the world the way it is. The secret of being an innovator? Bombard the brain with new experiences. Force yourself to see the world in different ways. Travel. Meet new people. Think from different experiences. Live a life of novelty. It's no surprise many of our most innovative writers, artists, actors, filmmakers and more were a bit eccentric. They didn't live their lives the way everyone else thought they should. Jesus was a great example of someone who lived outside other people's expectations. As a result, these unusual people produce far more creative work because they refused to see "normal" as normal. What's your experience? Is there a routine you can break out of? What behavior can you shatter that would give you a new perspective on living? - Phil Cooke

WOW! "Bombard the brain with new experiences". What have I done lately... that is not a part of my regular routine? Now that really challenges me to "make time" in my schedule for spontaneity and non-routine activities. That's great... planned spontaneity!

OK ... so here's the deal: I am going to starting doing one "little something" (Hey, it's a start.) that is so totally out of my normal "routine" every week. I don't know exactly what that looks like yet... but something to stimulate creativity and... INNOVATION. I do a lot of creative stuff all week long (It's a part of my job)... but I wouldn't consider very much of it to be truly "innovative". I think we all spend way too much time being "copycat" artists. We are just re-creating other artist's stuff. It takes whole other level of creativity and free-thinking to be "UNIQUE".

So... what can YOU do this week to break out of the expected... the routine? What can you do to wake up your "innovative brain"? Have fun!

The New Music Store in Strasburg

April and I were asked to do the interior design for the new music store that our son, Brandon will be opening soon in Strasburg, Ohio. The owner of the store said that he would like for us to give it a "Jimmy Buffet" feel. He wanted it to be not only a relaxing place to shop for musical instruments and accessories... but also a fun place to learn about music. So... we took a look around the place... came up with a couple of good ideas... and went to work.

There was already an old "kiosk" in the middle of the showroom that was sort of the centerpiece of the store. So... we decided to turn into a "tiki hut". We ordered real thatch, bamboo panels, colorful party lights and tropical accents... and voila... a tiki hut. We also applied palm tree silhouette decals (from wallwords.com) to the walls around the store. All we have left to do is add a couple of 7 ' artificial palm trees... Paint the inside of the hut... and add some bamboo posts to frame it all in. Here are a few photos to show what the store looks like... so far.

This Morning @ NewPointe: Set List

We had an interesting morning at NewPointe. About half way through the closing song... the power went out. It was pretty wild. No "boom" or "crack"... just OFF. So... we had to cancel services for the rest of the morning... as well as the Training Day event for our Service Programming Team. Here are the songs that we used this morning @ NewPointe:

"World That Breaks" (opener) - Britt Nicole

"All We Need" - Charlie Hall

"You Never Let Go" - Matt Redman

"Mighty To Save" - Hillsong United

"You Are My Hope" (closer) - Skillet

We did get (almost) an entire service in. Hopefully... we will be able to post that on Vimeo. It really was a great message... so you should check it out later this week.

American Idol Update: TOP 5

From here on out... it's gonna get really interesting. As far as I'm concerned... we're down to the only 5 contestants that were ever worthy of this competition in the first place. With Anoop and Lil out of the picture... it's all about vocal talent. Allison, Adam, Danny, Kris & Matt will have to sing like they have never sung before. This is "Rat Pack Week". I might be showing my age here... but I love this genre... the standards. It should be a great show. Here we go...





First up...

Kris: He was singing "The Way You Look Tonight". I didn't get home in time to hear him sing... but the recap at the end sounded pretty amazing. I'll have to weigh in on Kris tomorrow... after watching on YouTube.

Allison: She turned 17 yesterday. What a voice for a 17 year old. Tonight.... she sings... "Someone to Watch Over Me". WOW! I love it already! I'm telling you... this girl can sing anything. Listen to the raspy richness in her voice. I love it! She is singing this like she actually lived during that era. She could have WRITTEN this song! WOW.... WOW.... WOW! She is a PRO! Cut the project tonight.... I'm BUYIN' IT! I'm sorry... but obviously... I can't say enough about this girl. OK... Simon is like OUT OF HIS MIND tonight! That was an outstanding performance. I am downloading it on iTUNES tomorrow... no doubt.

Matt:He has been looking forward to this genre. Let's see what he does with "My Funny Valentine". He should sound really great on this. Well... he is a little pitchy on the lower notes at the beginning. Nice "riffing" right before the build. Very nice... big note. I especially liked the ending (Aly agrees with me.). Lowering the key was a good idea/bad idea. It hurt him on the lower notes... but he sounded really great on the high notes.

I'm liking Jamie Fox's advice this week. He is the "real deal". He real has a knack for this coaching thing. You wouldn't think of him being asked to do this... but WOW... what a talent!

Danny: is singing "Come Rain Or Come Shine". Here he goes. Ooooh.... I likey. He sounds fantastic on this... if he doesn't try to "Gokey" it up... he will do great. Man.... what a night! All of these guys sound amazing. He is really bringin' it now. WOW! That was HOT! OK... I'm a Gokey fan again! Great job, Danny!

Man... this is tough! From here on out... just WOW! These are 5 amazing vocalists.

Adam: Is singing "Feeling Good". After hearing Buble sing this... he is going to have a hard time impressing me. I like the "wurly" at the begninning. Nice touch! Does he have to stay up in the stratosphere on every song he sings? It was amazing... but I am getting tired of the high notes with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. It was strong... but what else can he do? I still think that he is a contender... but... show me something NEW, Adam! What a voice! BTW: If you have never heard Michael Buble sing this on the Hit Man: David Foster & Friends show... Check it out:



OVER ALL... great night!

My picks for tonight's show....



























Going home tomorrow night... I hate to say it... but...

American Idol Update: STILL THE TOP 7

Tonight's show is "Disco Hits". OK... so I am totally going to "date" myself here... but disco music was HOT when I was in high school. I have memories of Rivergate Skate Center... skating backwards through the disco lights... in my long sleeve silk shirts... to the Bee Gees and Gloria Gaynor. those were the days.

OK... back to reality...

I didn't get to see the show last Wednesday night. But I can tell you this... I could not believe that Lil didn't get sent home. She must have some sort of underground following that is just out of control. I am so glad that Matt lives to see another week. He deserved the "save" from the judges. That was a good call. After Lil and Anoop go home tomorrow night... They will not need that "save" anyways. It will get very interesting after this week. I am blogging as I watch again this week (in real-time). Again... these are just my opinions.

First up...

Lil: She is singing Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman". I can't believe she made it past last week. This is definitely more her style... but she is all over the place vocally. she is screaming... and I STILL cannot stand that slow vibrato. Auugh! It is time to go home.

Kris: He is singing "She Works Hard For the Money" by Donna Summer. Well... I guess it doesn't have to be performed as a disco song... huh? This is unique. I was wondering why he was going to play his acoustic guitar on this song. He is a little pitchy in places, but it's working. I love the congas and Cajon. It was a fun... original... nice arrangement. I liked it. Cool vibe.

Danny: He singing a song from one of my favorite bands ever... "September" by Earth Wind & Fire. Danny is probably a fantastic worship leader... but he is not bringing anything new to this competition. He is a strong singer... I like him a lot... but again... he's fading for me.

Allison: She is singing Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff". She is amazing! WOW! I'm not crazy about the tempo on this arrangement. This song needs to be driving. The vocals... are... HOT though! Like Randy says... "That girl could sing the phone book!". I think Allison has... what it takes to win this whole thing. Not my favorite arrangement... but she DID sound really good on it.

Adam: He is singing The Bee Gee's hit "If I Can't Have You". Well... we know that it is going to be unique. He is flat at the beginning. He doesn't have the big band to mask some of his "pitch-iness" on this one. He sounds really good on this. Spit it out, Paula!

Matt: For his second life... tonight... he will be singing "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees. Oooh... a hip hop version of the song. I kinda like this feel. Nice falsetto! He sounds great! He never deserved to go home last week. Again... good call, judges! Ugh.... he should never have tried the high ending. He was doing a nice job... and then... THAT! I think he was trying a little too hard... like he had something to prove. He should have stayed down in his "wheel house". It was almost like he had to out-do Adam on the upper range stuff. Oh well... it was still a good over all performance.

Anoop:He is singing yet another Donna Summer song... "Dim All the Lights". I guess she WAS the queen of disco music. Why do they all feel like they need to slow the songs down? OK... here it goes. It doesn't have the right feel to it though. It is sort of a "lazy" upbeat. He is pitchy through the whole thing. Last note was just... ouch! He should be joining Lil on the trip home this week.

My picks for this week:

Allison











Adam













Kris













The two to go home should be Lil and Anoop. Come on, America... please get it right this week! There aren't any more "saves".

My Cell Phone

I have had my "new" cell phone since the first of the year (I realizing that means that it is already obsolete). Of course... it has a camera... not a good one... but it's a camera none the less. At least I can capture moments that otherwise I would have totally missed. The problem is that (until today) I could not get the bluetooth connection to work. I could not get the photos OFF of my phone... and I have had a few shots on there that I wanted to Blog about over the past few months. Well... this morning... my MacBook recognized my phone for the first time. I don't know why... but all of a sudden they are "getting along". So... I thought that I would just post all of the random photos that I found on my phone. Enjoy!

First up:

I like to call this one "My Boss". It features John Bunn, our Service Programming Director. Let me tell you... this guy is ALL BUSINESS.



















Our staff has been participating in a wellness challenge for the past 13 weeks. Here are a few shots from that event.

We had a Staff Wellness Olympics the other day. This is a shot of one of the events that was much like shuffleboard... only we had to hurl staff members in office chairs. Like in shuffleboard... you could actually aim for your opponent to knock them off of a good score. So... you can see how this turned into a crazy and very competitive event for our guys. Too much fun! (And yes... we actually get "work" done too.)



















Another challenge in the Wellness Olympics was "archery". We had 5 minutes to take turns trying to shoot a cup off of another teammate's head with a NERF bow. Here is a shot of our new Technical Director, Dan Knight (It was his first day on the job) with his first attempt... which was successful. Later in the round... Chad Stutzman nailed another cup and won the event for our team.



















Yesterday was the end of the 13 week challenge. Here we find Jerry Vacha and Scott Bell celebrating with a light snack. Mmmm.... breakfast of champions?



















Here is a shot of "my girls". Aren't they gorgeous???



















It's a little hard to see it through the darkness... but this is a 2009 "super charged" Corvette that I had the opportunity to take for a test-drive... 0-80 in less than 4 seconds. WOW! What a rush!



















Doug Sparr helping me get a dryer connected at Brandon's new apartment. I was just a little too... let's say... "chunky" to get in that space. Thanks, Doug!



















Here is a shot of Lee Ann's obvious disgust at some pretty nasty tasting crackers. I can't remember if she knew that I was taking this photo.
























I took this picture while I was playing the keys (Don't try this at home) at the end of one of our services during the "Up Close & Personal" series... just to show what the crowd looked like from the stage.



















Here is our fearless leader, Dwight Mason "bringin' it" at the "Sticks Conference". It was STRONG!



















I like to call this one... "AWKWARD"? We were still waiting on a couple of other guys to get in the van... so it's all good. ( I just couldn't resist.)



















One day... while ordering food at McDonald's... I asked about the "buy one get one free" Indian's ticket special that they had going on. A small sign on the way into the drive-thru advertised that with the purchase of a Big Mac... you could "buy one get one free". The lady in the window... AND THE MANAGER said that they had no idea what I was talking about. Here is a photo that I took as I was leaving the drive-thru. Hmmm... they might want to take a look at that sign... huh?



















Earlier in the year... we had a message series called "XCELR8". As we talked through the different options for the graphic... several of us liked XLR8 (Sorry Dave D')... but we went with the CE in there instead. Well... I was walking through WalMart the very next week... and look at what I found. It's a card game called... XLR8. Hmmm... now THAT'S a great idea for a series title!



















Here is Jody Engstrom "rockin' it out" with Rocky Stull's (Our drummer's little boy) miniature electric guitar. He had it plugged into his rig... and with a little distortion and delay... it sounded amazing! Ha ha! Go figure.



















Here is a shot of Matt Beres taking a picture of our Weekend Design Team working on a storyboard. We needed the shot from a higher perspective. So... Matt got higher for us. What a great guy! ... always going the extra mile for his fellow staffers.



















Here's Brandon and his girlfriend, Allison leading worship at "Wide Eyed Life" at First Christian Church in Canton the other night. It sure makes this dad proud to see him up there leading.



















Is it just me... or does Kevin (in the middle) look a little uncomfortable here?



















Here is a shot of our Operations Team... deep in discussion. I love the fact that our thinking and processes are constantly challenged. There is always room to improve... and this team is a big reason that NewPointe keeps moving the ball down the field... and leading hundreds of people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.



















It's finally SPRING in North East Ohio!!!! That's all. Gotta love it!

This Weekend @ NewPointe

Once again... I am behind on our set-lists. Easter Sunday morning we started a new series @ NewPointe called "He Still* Has The Whole World In His Hands". Already... it has been an unbelievable series. So... here are the songs that used for Easter Sunday morning.

"Jesus Is Alive" (opener) - Todd Fields

"Shout Unto God" - Hillsong United

"Beautiful The Blood" - Steve Fee

"How He Loves" - John Mark McMillon

"Never Let Go/Amazing Grace" (closer) - Matt Redman/John Newton

Then this past weekend... for the second week of the new series... we used the following songs:

"I Run To You" (opener) - Lady Antebellum

"The Solid Rock" - Charlie Hall

"Salvation Is Here" - Hillsong United

"Everlasting God" - Chris Tomlin

"Storm" (closer) - LifeHouse

This coming weekend.. we will be using:

"The Noise We Make" - Passion Band

"Blessed Be Your Name" - Matt Redman

"Amazed" - The Desperation Band

"God Will Lift Up Your Head" (closer) - Jars of Clay


You can always check out our weekend services on Vimeo.com.

Easter Sunday @ NewPointe

We had an unbelievable Easter Sunday morning @ NewPointe. In 3 services... there were over 4500 people who came out to celebrate the resurrection of Christ! The hallways were packed! Check out this photo that Dave D'Angelo took with his camera phone in the hallways after the first service. It was just like a "sea of people".



















Of course... we didn't have any idea how many people would show up... so I had asked a couple of our vocalist to be on "standby" just in case we needed to use our overflow video venue (It makes a HUGE difference when at least part of the experience is LIVE in there.). When I came off of the stage after the first service worship set... somebody caught me in the hall and asked if I had looked into the "overflow" room. Of course I had not had the chance to check it out yet. When I got there... IT WAS PACKED! It was standing room only in the main auditorium... AND in the "overflow". We had an amazing day!

We kicked off a new series on Easter Sunday... called "He's Still* Got The Whole World In His Hands". Dwight's talk was powerful as he wove the Easter story into a timely message of hope for today in these troubled times. We opened the service with Todd Field's song "Jesus Is Alive" into Hillsong United's "Shout Unto God". WOW! What a celebration to kick thing off! We also featured Steve Fee's "Beautiful the Blood" and John Mark McMillon's "How He Loves" (another off-the-charts powerful moment in the service). Then we ended the service with Matt Redman's "You Never Let Go" going into the "Through many dangers... " verse and then the first verse of "Amazing Grace"... back to "You Never Let Go" (We got that idea from North Point worship). It was soooo POWERFUL! Here are a few photos from the actual services.

















































But the biggest highlight of the day... was really our awesome volunteers who went above and beyond the call of duty all morning long (Thank you... thank you... thank you!!! You're the best!) AND our amazing NewPointe folks who answered the call to attend the 12:50 service and "make room" for our guests. Because of your intentionality... we had room for the huge crowds in our first 2 services. Thank you so much for understanding and embracing the mission of NewPointe Community Church! We have so much to celebrate!

Passion

This may come as a surprise to you... but...

I LOVE MUSIC

As a kid growing up in Nashville, my appreciation for music came from my environment... my family, my church, my piano teachers, the talent competitions that I participated in (They don't do that any more because some kid might get his feelings hurt that they didn't win - PLEASE! That is where I decided that I was going to WORK at being a musician. NOW it's "everybody's a winner". That's another post... for another day.), listening to the radio and 45s (Those were those round black things with a whole in the middle), but mostly... from the schools that I was a part of that had great music programs. Music was a BIG THING. There was such an emphasis on the arts that it was actually something you were proud to be a part of.

It saddens me to see our schools having to cut music programs because of a lack of funds... a lack of support. You may have already seen this video... but it is one of the most inspirational things that I have seen in a LONG TIME. Obviously... HERE is a school that has found a way to inspire kids to sing with all of their hearts... and to LOVE music in another way. Check it out:



Is that AMAZING... or what? (There is another version of this song with the director playing the piano. It is just as amazing.) WOW! I guess this proves that it doesn't have as much to do with having the latest tech gadgets and the coolest instruments that money can buy to get kids to sing. It just takes one person with a PASSION to inspire the next generation. It takes a teacher who cares enough about kids to share with them one of the greatest gifts ever given to man... MUSIC. Passion may very well be the greatest resource that we have when it comes to inspiring people to learn and to grow.

BTW: This teacher/director is now one of my modern day HEROES. All of these kids will (no doubt) go on to pursue the arts in some way. THAT is so exciting!

What if we were as PASSIONATE about reaching out to the unchurched and disenfranchised people all around us with God's love? Can you imagine the difference that we could make in our neighborhoods... in our cities... in our world. It just takes people with a PASSION to share with them... THE greatest gift ever given to man. That is the message of God's love and his saving grace in their lives. All of those people that we reach with this message will (no doubt) go on to pursue Jesus in some way. What are we waiting for?

American Idol Update: TOP 7

Tonight's show is featuring "music from the movies". Over the years... there are have been some pretty great songs on the soundtracks of movies. I hope the contestants pick the ones that they sound great singing.... and I sure hope Adam doesn't sing "My Heart Will Go On" from the Titanic.

First up tonight:

Allison: She is singing "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith... from the movie Armageddon. I LOOOOVVVEE this song. My favorite singer on Idol this season... singing one of my favorite movie songs EVER. She is knocking it out of the park! Simon just said the Allison is the only hope for the girls (There are only TWO. Big compliment from Simon there!) .... but I think that she is the ONE TO BEAT in this whole competition. WOW... WOW... WOW.... that was awesome!!!!

Anoop: He is singing a song from the movie, Robin Hood called "Everything I Do I Do For You" by Bryan Adams. Let's see what he does with it. Not a good start... a little pinched off and pitchy. He's opening up a little now. He sounds much better on the pre-chorus. He actually sounds really good on the chorus... but it was still a little pitchy to the end. Over all: Not a bad performance from Anoooooop. I think he may just be safe again after that.

Adam: He is singing the song "Born To Be Wild" by Steppenwolf from the movie, Easy Rider. He is going BIG on this one. What a range! He sounds a little too much like Tina Turner instead of John Kay though. I just want to hear a real "male vocal" on this song. Adam is definitely giving it everything he's got. WOW! Courageous... courageous... courageous! Unbelievable range... impressive vocals... performance was a little over the top though. It was still pretty amazing!

Matt: Matt is singing another Bryan Adams song called "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?". It is from the movie, Don Juan DeMarco. OK... here he goes: He sounds great on this song. He's really opening up on the bridge. Oooops... he wiped out. Maybe too many ad-libs. It hurt him. I am not a big fan of the "yodel voice break head tone" stuff. Not his best performance.

Danny: Danny is singing "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie & Diana Ross. This song is sooo dated. Auuuugh! I am not sure he has the voice for it either. We'll see what he does with it. Well... nothing new here... same sound as last week... and the week before that. Danny is definitely "fading" for me.

Kris: He is singing "Falling Slowly" from the movie, Once. This is a beautiful song. His pitch is just not very accurate on this. It's all over the place. I think maybe that is what he is going for though (You know... sort of like One Republic's lead vocalist.). I just don't think it works on this song though. Again... with the "yodel" voice break thing. Randy and Kara completely disagree on this one. And I have to go with Randy... it was not Kris' best performance.

Lil: She is singing the Bette Midler song, "The Rose". This song is way too slow and her vocal is way too "exposed". It reveals all of her weaknesses. That slow vibrato is just killing me! She can't do anything that sounds modern. Ouch... so pitchy! She needs to go home this week. OK... that's funny... she is actually fighting with Simon. She said that she thought that she sounded really good. That is so sad. Let her go home, America.

My picks for tonight:

Allison ran away with it tonight.... no doubt.











Adam













That's it. I don't have a 3rd pick for tonight. These two vocalists stole the show. WOW!

To go home tonight... Lil Rounds

Vote For April!

There's a series of commercials for California Milk that features different cows auditioning to be the next "Happy Cow". Well... you may have seen it... but the newest commercial in the series just happens to feature a singing cow by the name of April (which is my wife's name). Check it out...



The real coincidence... My wife's sister's name is... HEATHER (OK... now you can cue the twilight zone music).

This Past Weekend @ NewPointe: Set List

I didn't get a chance to post the set list from this past weekend @ NewPointe. This is the first time that we have actually repeated a couple of songs from earlier in a series. So... for the last weekend of our "Up Close and Personal (Getting To Know the Holy Spirit)" series... here are the songs that we used:

"Spirit Thing" (opener) - Newsboys

"Everything To Me" - Planetshakers

"His Grace Is Enough" - Chris Tomlin

"All We Need" - Charlie Hall

"Come Holy Spirit" (closer) - Planetshakers

You can always check out our weekend services on Vimeo.com.

American Idol Update: TOP 8

Woooohoooo! Megan is gone! And wouldn't you know... I didn't get to see the show last week! Now... with Scott leaving this week... and Anoop the next... and then Lil the week after that... we should be able to get on with a great competition. Hey... a guy can dream... right?

OK... so tonight's show will be songs from the year that the contestants were born. Once again... I will be blogging about the show in real-time.

First up...


Danny: He is singing "Stand By Me" from 1980. He's starting out a little pitchy on this one. I think he sounds better on the upbeat "soulful" stuff. I hope this kicks into something with a little more...... OK...... there it goes. That's an interesting groove. Sort of "Al Jarreau-esque". The BGVs and drum mix are driving me crazy this season. Is it just me... or is the kick drum mixed way too "hot" every week? Danny did a great job with the song. I'm not sure I liked the arrangement that much. I am still waiting for him to WOW me back into being a Gokey fan though.

Chris: He will be singing Don Henley's, "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" from 1985. The horns are HOT!!!! WOW! Love it! Chris is doing a nice job. This particular song is not going to show much of his vocal ability. It never really goes anywhere melodically. He needed to ditch the guitar for that performance. It seemed to be a distraction. That was not his best effort. I still like his voice though.

Lil: She is singing "What's Love Got To With It" from 1984. She is singing it straight up... no new arrangement here. I just haven't really liked her since her original audition. She has really struggled since then. She has a very "dated" voice... and so far she has not brought anything new to the competition. She is trying way too hard... over singing... and that is making her vocal go sharp. Ooooh... now she's flat on the very last note. I just didn't like it at all. For the first time (in a long time)... I totally agree with Paula. There was nothing original from Lil again tonight.

Anoop: He is singing "True Colors" by Cindi Lauper. The song was a hit in 1986. This should be interesting. I have to admit... Anoop is sort of growing on me. He CAN sing. He has also been "improving" through the season... where some of my original favorites seem to be "fading". Let's see what he does with "True Colors". He sounds pretty good so far. Smooth vocal. The arrangement is a little "lazy" but it works for this song. He will probably get "picked on" for choosing a "safe" song.

Scott: From 1985... Scott is singing "The Search Is Over". Auuugh! He reminds me of a high school glee club singer. The guitar is not convincing enough. It does not make him a rocker. Auuugh!!! The high notes hurt! Stop! OK... so it was pitchy... it was boring... and it was a bad song choice. Paula is actually "coherent" tonight. She is actually making sense. It's just time for Scott to go home. Come on, America... stop voting for him already!

Allison: She is singing "I Can't Make You Love Me". The song was a Bonnie Raitt hit in 1992. She sounds amazing on this! The GIRL CAN SING!!!! WOW! OK... I'm going out on a limb here. She'll win it all this season. I love her voice! 16 years old... with such a rich... raspy... smooth as silk... and right on pitch... vocal (constantly). Amazing! I TOTALLY agree with Randy... she reminds me so much of Kelly Clarkson.

Matt: His song is from 1985... "Part Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder. I love the shuffle groove on this arrangement! He sounds really great with this style. Nice riffs (for my friend Dan Liebman). GREAT JOB, Matt! That is HIS best performance of the season! WOW!

Last... but not least...

Adam: Well... you KNOW... it's going to be something "unique". Adam definitely keeps you wondering what he's going to do next. Let's see what he does with "Mad World". The song is from 1982. Very strange start... sitting in a chair? It's a little pitchy right out of the gate... but the boy CAN sing. I didn't care for the last note... but it was definitely a courageous move to sing that song int he first place. WOW! Strangely..... I liked it. Noooo way! Simon? A standing ovation? Is that like a first?

OK... so my favorites of the night were:


Allison










Adam










Matt

NewPointe North: Week Two

Tonight was our second service at the North campus in Canton. There were close to 80 folks there. So... we are growing already! It's pretty exciting to see what's happening up there. Our next service is on the Sunday night after Easter. So come on up and check out what God is doing in Canton, Ohio through NewPointe Community Church.

I had asked a friend to take a few photos with my digital camera during the service tonight. Well... while he was shooting I guess he decided to put it in video mode and this is what he caught (It's short, but it will give you a glimpse of the experience):

My Creative Wife

We moved our son, Brandon, into an apartment this past week. It is an older upstairs apartment that needed a lot of work. It was all white walls... fixtures and doors that were painted shut... and old worn carpet when we first looked at it. But after the landlord replaced all of the carpet and laminate... we painted a few of the walls... and April added her creative touch... "voila"... it turned out to be a very nice place for Brandon to live. Everything that April used to decorate Brandon's apartment came from Goodwill, Browse & Buy hospice, The Dollar Tree, or a sale rack somewhere. I thought I would post a few pics... so you can see what I'm talking about:

Here are a few different views of the kitchen. The cabinet doors were in such bad shape that we ended up taking them off and going with a more open look. April went with a "coffee shop" theme in the kitchen. We painted the walls with sort of a gold "cafe" color.


































Here are a couple of different angles on the entry room. April calls it the "word" room (I call it the "tree" room). There is still work to be done on this room... but you can get a good idea of where she is going with it all. The tree will eventually have decorative "words of encouragement" in small black frames hanging from it's limbs. You can also see a bamboo shade that she spray painted and then decorated with suspended frames as well.
































This is my favorite room... the bathroom. April went with a "leaf" theme in here. It looks like a lot of that leaf print... but you are actually seeing the shower curtain and the window curtains (again) in the mirror. We painted one wall in this bathroom that same shade of gold.


































The living room is decorated in a "beach" theme. On the hallway wall... we experimented with a bamboo shade turned on it's side. It looked like one of those fences along a beach front... so we decided to add a little "saw grass" (That April had picked up at Goodwill) and created a very cool "beach" wall.


































Sometimes I think April just likes the challenge of decorating on a small budget. I doubt that anything cost more that $5.00. Most of it was like 50 cents here... and a dollar there. It just goes to prove that you really can be creative without spending big bucks.

This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set List

We had 2 great services today (Actually 3... we had our second service at NewPointe North in Canton tonight). This has been an amazing series on the Holy Spirit. Here is the set-list from this morning @ NewPointe:

"Father, Spirit, Jesus" (opener) - Casting Crowns

"The Difference" - The Desperation Band

"Everything Glorious" - David Crowder* Band

"Inside Out" - Hillsong United

We also baptized 9 people at NewPointe this morning. I always love to see the video testimonies of these people whose lives have been radically changed by God's grace in their lives. POWERFUL! They are always far more powerful than any creative element that we can try to come up with in our meetings.

NewPointe North

Last Sunday night... we started an "every other week" Bible study in Louisville, Ohio (a suburb of Canton)... where later this Fall we will be launching a full-blown version of NewPointe Community Church on Sunday mornings. The North Campus will be a "video venue". That means that we will have a campus Pastor and LIVE band every week... and then the message will be on a big screen. For now... the Bible study is located at Louisville Middle School. The building is pretty amazing! We meeting in an auditorium that will seat about 400 people (with a divider that will open up to about 300 additional seats). For our first time out... there were over 60 people in attendance. Not bad... huh?

We opened the Bible study with a powerful worship set ("Let God Arise","Glorious One", "All We Need"and "Surrender"). Those 60 people sang like there were a thousand people in the room. There was a real sense of excitement and anticipation for something "God-sized" about to happen in Canton. I think everybody there felt like they were at the "grass roots level" of something that (someday) is going to be HUGE! We will meet again next Sunday night at 6:00 PM. So come on out and check out what's happenin' at NewPointe North.

Here are a few pics from last Sunday night.

American Idol Update: TOP 11

Tonight we will hear the top 11 contestants. Last Wednesday night... Jasmine went home. She was one that I predicted to go... but I really thought that Megan would have joined her. I guess they had to send a male and a female to make things even. I really thought that they would have eliminated Anoop instead of Jorge too... after his rendition of "Beat It".

Country music??? Hmmm... let's see... do I have something else to do tonight? Oh well... at least I get to enjoy a few scenes from my home town... Nashville. It makes me homesick though.

First up...

Michael Sarver: OK... he's from Texas... so he may have a little bit of an advantage tonight. He is singing "Ain't Goin' Down" by Garth Brooks. Yeah... he's definitely "selling" the song. WOW... why don't you just pick the hardest country song EVER... to sing, Michael. A gazillion words a minute!!! He should get some credit for that... right? (From everyone but Simon that is. He hates country music). He seems very comfortable tonight... very much in his element. The band is burying his vocals. The mix is probably going to hurt him.

OK... I don't agree with Simon. He doesn't like country music at all... so he is going to pick 'em all apart tonight. Simon couldn't understand the words because of the mix. I thought Michael did a great job with this genre!

Allison Iraheta: This girl can SING! She is singing "Blame It On your Heart" by Patty Loveless. Here she goes... WOW! I love her voice! The raspy-ness of her voice... with this song... is reminding me a little of a young Tanya Tucker. OK... so now I'm really showing I'm from Nashville (and my age). She did great! She is a very confident 16 year old vocalist. One of my favorites.

By the time we get to the TOP 8... this is going to be like the TOUGHEST SEASON EVER.

Kris Allen: He is singing "To Make You Feel My Love" by Garth Brooks... without his guitar. He sings a Michael Jackson song WITH his guitar (odd)... and then he sings a country song WITHOUT it (go figure). He has a very "true" voice... but he can be a little pitchy in places. It fits his style though. I like his tone. Sort of Jason Mraz-esque. I think he did a fantastic job!! WOW! This is tough! Nice falsetto ending. Great job, Kris!

Randy: "Tender dog"???? Too funny!

Lil Rounds: This should be interesting... and a big time stretch for Lil. She is singing "Independence Day" by Martina McBride. Oh... WOW... I can't believe she is going to attempt this song. It is a HUGE song... and one that only Martina can sing (I think). Here she goes. She is singing flat... and little sloppy. She is all over the place on her pitch. That's gonna hurt her. The chorus is a little better... but she's still no Martina. She should have picked a different song for sure. Her slow vibrato doesn't fit this song either. She blew the ad lib at the end too. OK... so maybe she won't make it all the way to the final show. She is definitely fading. I don't know...

Adam Lambert: This is another one that will be very interesting. I can't imagine Adam singing a country song. He will be singing "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. Whuuuu??? OK... this is weird!!! They just said it had to be a country song... right. It doesn't have to sound anything like a country song... OBVIOUSLY. WOW! This is strange. What a range!! The boy can sing. But I'm a little confused... is he moving over to the female vocal side now? THAT was unique.

Scott MacIntyre: Scott is singing "Wild Angels" by Martina McBride. I am not a big fan of Scott. I think he should be judged on his vocal ability... and that is just not happening yet. He did a fairly nice job last week on the MJ song... but I don't think he should have ever made it THAT far. Let's see how he does with this country song. I DO like his piano playing. He sounds like Bruce Hornsby. He is a little pitchy on this... especially now that the band has kicked in. I really expected him to stand up and sing once the band came in. that would have been a nice touch. He should have stayed down on that one part towards the end. That was a little rough. He did OK. Nothing to WOW anybody.

Alexis Grace: She is singing a Dolly Parton tune called "Jolene". She should be fine with the country genre. Ummm... The high ad lib after the first chorus was just HORRIBLE. The whole thing is "pitchy". WOW! That was pretty bad.

I disagree with Randy... I really DIDN'T think that it was a good song choice for Alexis.

Danny Gokey: He is going to be singing Carrie Underwood's "Jesus, Take The Wheel"... Really??? Oh well... I am totally confident that Danny will NAIL IT! Now is that confidence in a contestant... or what? Here we go: He's starting off slow... but he is gonna take off on the chorus. YEP... there he goes!! Not my favorite song... and not my favorite Danny Gokey performance. The BGVs are a little rough on this one too. that doesn't help. It was a courageous song choice. Not his best performance... but he is still a SOLID contender. He is still "the one to beat".

SPIT IT OUT, PAULA! Man... she can't talk. All Simon can do is make fun of his clothes. Really???... from a guy who wears nothing but Fruit of The Loom T-shirts???

next up....

Anoop Desai: He will be singing Willie Nelson's "Always On My Mind". I really thought that he would have been "eliminated" last week. Here he goes: Nice arrangement! He actually sounds pretty good on this. He's a little pitchy on the higher notes... but over all... he is doing a nice job with the song. I can't believe I'm saying this... NICE JOB. I am pleasantly surprised.

Megan Joy: I really don't see how she can last much longer in this competition... but if there was a genre that could "save" her... it's country. We'll see. She is singing "I Go Walking After Midnight" by EVERYBODY. She has a very unique sound to her voice... kinda quirky. She reminds me of Zooey Deschanel. This is just too weird though. OK... so she IS sick. I thought so. You can hear that in her voice. That's too bad. She may actually make to next week with the "sympathy vote"... when she really needs to go home.

Matt Giraud: He is singing "So Small" by Carrie Underwood. I like his piano style. His vocal is good... but not anything amazing. Ooooh... should have left that last note off. It was pretty good up until then. I like his voice... but I don't think he will last much longer.

Simon just compared him to Michael Buble? No way. I don't get that at all.


My picks for tonight (Not over all AI favorites... but "best of show" tonight)...

Kris Allen













Allison Iraheta














To go home...

Megan Joy












Again... this is going to be a tough season. The field is pretty level once you get to the TOP 8. It will be interesting... and probably a little frustrating too.

The "Unleash" Conference at NewSpring Church

John Bunn and I had the opportunity to head south this past week to take in the "Unleash" conference at NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina. We had an amazing time on the trip!

When we arrived at NewSpring Church... we were greeted by at least 200 volunteers in the parking lot (from the car all the way to the front door). Every one of those 200 volunteers smiled and greeted us as we approached the building. When we got out of the car, we were asked, "Where are you folks from?". We told them that we had traveled from Dover, Ohio. They all cheered and made a big fuss over us... and then one of the guys called to someone on a "walkie" to let them know that "Ohio had arrived!" Well... as we got closer to the building, we could here the crowd of volunteers cheering, "Welcome, Ohio!" "We're glad you're here!" WOW! What an amazing "first impression! Not only did they make you feel important... they gave you a sense of anticipation about the rest of the NewSpring experience.

And that was just the parking lot experience.

The remainder of the day, we encountered over 500 volunteers who had taken their vacation time to be there for the conference. UNBELIEVABLE! Everywhere you turned... there was a smiling face to answer your questions and point you in the right direction.

There were over 3300 people attending the conference. The event was sold out and they even had to open up their student ministries auditorium for an overflow. There was a LIVE band in that venue as well... and then they had Perry in HD video for the main sessions. Pretty slick... huh?






The worship was really LOUD... just the way God intended for it to be. They used almost all original music (Written by their worship leader, Lee McDerment)... which was cool... and it sounded amazing... but not many people could really sing along. It was still an incredible worship experience though (You don't have to know the words to the songs to worship).






NewSpring's senior pastor, Perry Noble was the speaker in both of the main sessions. If you are not familiar with Perry... you should look him up online and listen to some of his teaching. The guy brings the truth. He has a unique delivery that (most believe) only Perry can get away with. For instance... here are a few of the scuds that he fired in the 2 main sessions:

• We can’t lead publicly if we aren’t yielded to God privately.
• Do people leave your services saying, “That was a great service.”? Or does God say, “Wow that was a great service.”?
• Satan doesn’t want to split your church—he wants to spilt your staff.
• God most often puts his most powerful gift in his weakest vessels.
• It’s not a bad thing when people leave your church.
• You don’t need to close the back door to the church. The church is a body. If you close the back door to your body… (well... you know). Sometimes an enema is the best thing that could happen to a church.
• People can say what they want about your church but no one can deny the presence of God.
• We don’t want to build a monument and become a museum. We want to continue to be a movement.
• Without Him, we suck…and you do too.
• ABOUT THEIR MUSIC: Yes it’s loud and we like it that way. Some of our senior citizens bring and wear their own earplugs.
• If God tells you to say “balls” in church then say it. Everybody will love it…well, the men will love it. The women who buy their sweaters at Cracker Barrel will hate it.
• Know who sets the rules for me and my family? ME. If you don’t do it someone else will and it will kill you.
• I believe there’s been a major breakdown in communication between the church and Jesus.
• The communication breakdown is this: instead of asking Jesus to build HIS church, we’ve been asking him to build OUR church.
• If you think you’re perfect and your poop don’t stink, God can’t use you.
• I believe that every church in America is one or two changes away from doubling in size.
• Every denomination in America for the past 30 years has been declining. If that was you’re money you’d be doing something about it.
• You will never be comfortable hearing the voice of God if you’re not comfortable with change.
• When’s the last time you went and bought an organ music CD and played it in your car? (So why do churches have organs?)
• Everybody here can look at another church and call the change that church needs to make….but can you do it for your own church?
• How many of you would be willing to give your life for your kids/grandkids to come to know Christ? Okay….how many would be willing to give up your style of music to save your kids/grandkids? (Ouch!)
  
• If what’s going on in your church is manageable then God’s not there. You can’t manage a move of God.
• I’ve always thought it was weird that people plan revivals.
• Don’t ever let the money drive the decision. Let the voice of God drive the decision.
• If it’s God’s will... then it’s God’s bill.
• Pastor, your job when it comes to youth ministry: make sure they have enough money.
• Why do so many teenagers show up to our church? We spend money on them.
• We’ve got to get out of the business of competing with one another (other churches) and instead start completing one another.
• When you pay attention to a jackass, you can’t cast vision.
• The jackass in the church is the person who always screams, “I want to go deeper.”
• You’re only as deep as the last person you served.
• You wanna go deep? Let’s check your giving record and see how deep you really are.
• The people who say, “Y’all are just into numbers,” are the people who have no numbers.
• The reason I’m obsessed with numbers is because I was one of those numbers.

I'll stop there... but there were so many more. Great stuff! Perry just "tells it like it is". He will tell you that he just says it... the way God tells him to say it. WOW! What a day! I also took in a couple of breakout session. One on Service Programming and another on Launching a New Campus From Scratch (Because we are launching a NewPointe campus in Canton, Ohio this fall). It was a great conference... and John and I came back with tools to help us improve what we are doing here at NewPointe... and also to help us grow individually in our relationship with Christ.