A Letter to a Friend

I went out on a photo shoot with Denny Trimmer (from Solid Rock Photography) yesterday morning. We are shooting three different subjects to use in a creative piece that we will be presenting at NewPointe in a couple of weeks.

Denny shooting Sherry in her kitchen
Here is the concept: In our Design Team Meeting last week... we were given the assignment of writing a letter to the person (or persons) most instrumental in redirecting our spiritual journey. In other words... the person who invested in us to help us get to where we are today (spiritually). It was pretty powerful to listen to each story as we went around the table. It was actually a very emotional experience for everyone who shared.

Well... we decided to use a similar experience in a creative piece for the message series that we were working on. Now... most of the time at NewPointe... we either tell stories LIVE or with video. So we thought that we might try something a little different this time. The idea is to create that old "stacked carousel projector" effect that you used to see all the time for office presentations (before PowerPoint came on the scene). So we are going to create that effect with a series of photographs (shot at about 4 frames a second) and add a dissolve effect to it.

In this photo... we were shooting Sherry as she was driving along beside us.
That was pretty tricky. As I was driving... I had to hang my camera out of my driver side window
to get a shot of Denny... shooting Sherry.
(while watching for oncoming cars in the opposite lane) Too much fun!
It should be interesting. I have the concept and a story board down for this thing... but I've never done anything like it before... so if you have any ideas... please let me know. It will be a cool and different way of sharing some powerful stories... which is something that we value at NewPointe.





You can have great programs, messages, music and media... but a good life change story will beat out all of that stuff (hands down) every time.

What's your story?

This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set List

Here is a list of the songs that you can expect to hear at NewPointe this weekend:

"Unafraid" - Joy Williams

"I Am Free" - The Desperation Band

"Happy Day" - Tim Hughes

"Amazing Grace / My Chains Are Gone" - Chris Tomlin

Plus... experience 8 powerful baptisms with testimony videos and a message from Dwight on how to grow spiritually. You will not want to miss it!

One Tough Day

We took our son, Brandon to college today. Man, was that ever tough. I thought that I was ready... but I guess you're never really ready to see your first born goin' all "independent" on ya. Here are some pics from the day. You won't see any pics of mom and dad though... for good reasons.

The van is packed and ready to go. MVNC... look out!
















Passing Brandon in his car on the way up. By the expression... I don't think he was too impressed.
















The welcome sign on campus.
















MVNC really has their act together. The over all experience was amazing. We didn't have to carry in one thing to Brandon's room from the curb. They had kids and faculty there to haul it all in for you while you parked your car. Plus... every single person that we came in contact with was incredibly friendly and helpful. I was so impressed!
















Brandon and his new roommate, Derrick

New Olympic Sport

I know that the Olympics are over... but I just had to post this:




Too funny!

The Big Give

I spent about three hours this afternoon with folks from three of our NewPointe small groups... building a boxing ring for the Coshocton Boxing Club. Yes... a real boxing ring. It was all a part of our small group's participation in the Big Give project that was started back in July at NewPointe.

Check out the photos:

































To really understand how we ended up helping a boxing club for the Big Give... we have to go back to the month of May when we were shooting a video for Married Life LIVE.

The theme for that particular MLL was Fight Night: Reconcilable Differences. So (obviously) everything had to do with boxing. One of the creative elements for that night was a "mock-umentary" video that Brandon and I were producing that featured a husband and wife (Dave and Melissa Hartman) who were asked (interview style) about all of the things that they do to drive each other crazy in their marriage. In the video, they decide that the only way to solve there differences... is to "duke it out" in a real grudge match. Well... In one part of the video they are seen actually training for the big fight in a boxing gym. So we needed to find a local club that would allow us to bring our cameras and crew in to shoot on location... and The Coshocton Boxing Club was gracious enough to open their doors.

When we arrived... we found an old warehouse with very limited resources and equipment. I mean... the kids were actually fighting in a "make-shift" ring on a concrete floor. I can't even imagine what it would have felt like to fall onto that hard surface after taking a punch.

We were there to shoot a video... but we also had the opportunity to see the good things that were happening at the Coshocton Boxing Club. This is a place where boys and girls can learn to box (competitively) but much more important... they are encouraged to live drug-free and to stay in school. The kids attend the club for like $5.00 a month. The majority of the expenses come out of the pockets of the owners. We could clearly see that Dallas and Lisa do it because they love the kids.

So back in July when we were presented with the challenge to find a community project to help out with during The Big Give... it was clear to us that the Coshocton Boxing Club was a worthy cause.

Well... today... through NewPointe... our small group along with 2 other small groups presented the Coshocton Boxing Club with a professional grade boxing ring! Is that cool... or what?!? There is still a lot to be done... but as soon as it is completely assembled, I will post more pictures. And get this... on September the 6th... they will be using the ring for a big event at the Fair Grounds. Isn't it amazing how God can use some pretty crazy tools (and people) along the way to get his work done... even a boxing ring! I can't wait to share the rest of the story... cause I can guarantee that this is just the beginning.

This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set list

This weekend... as we continue the Prayer Works series... you can expect some more great tunes... including:

"Every Day" - Joy Williams

"Awesome Is The Lord Most High" - Chris Tomlin

"Let Everything / Our Love Is Loud" - Redman/Crowder

"Amazed" - Desperation Band

"Audience Of One" - Big Daddy Weave

It's going to be another great day at NewPointe! Also... don't forget... we will kicking off a brand new season of KidStuf! See you there!

5 Things I Learned From The Summer Olympics

Hi... my name is Danny... and I am an Olympiholic!!!

I can't seem to get enough of it!! While I was on vacation... I stayed up until 3:00 one morning to watch men's volleyball preliminary matches (It wasn't even a semi-final!). I'm into everything from track and field to beach volleyball to (of course) swimming! Yeah... I'm "that guy" who screams at the TV... cheering on my favorite athletes... like they can actually hear me. I really can't help it.

WOW! Was Saturday night exciting... or what??? During the 4 X 100 Medley... U.S. swimmers, Jason Leszac, Aaron Piersol and Brendon Hansen helped their teammate, Michael Phelps make Olympic history. Eight gold medals in one Olympics! Are you kidding me?!? That was HUGE!!!

Did you hear about this?

The Baltimore Ravens had the medal race up on the Jumbo-tron during an exhibition game in Baltimore.

On Friday night, in Jacksonville, Florida... Bruce Springsteen announced that Michael had won his 7th medal... and then proceeded to dedicate the song "Born in the U.S.A." to him! Can you imagine that?

OK... so here are 5 things that I have learned from the Summer Olympics in Beijing:

It takes a team
After the relay victory, Michael Phelps screamed, "I couldn't have done it without you guys," as he hugged his teammates. Even though Michael Phelps is now considered the greatest individual athlete in the history of sports (what are your thoughts on that?). He could never have achieved it without his team. For one thing... there were not enough individual events for a swimmer to single-handedly win 8 medals in one Olympics. Even if there were 8 opportunities for individual gold... he could not possibly be the champion that he is today without his coaches, teammates and family by his side. The fact is... none of us can do life alone. We have to be able to draw from each other's gifts and learn from each other's successes and failures. No matter what you do... it takes a team to win.

To be a champion...
you've got to act like a champion
As I listen to all of these incredible athletes talk about how they got to Beijing... a few things are very evident...

They all train like they are a champion
They all eat like they are a champion
They sleep like they are a champion
They all dream like they are a champion
They all believe that they are a champion

Not a single one of these guys or gals boarded the plane to China... expecting to lose.

What if we really acted like we were Christ followers? What would happen if we all trained like true followers of Christ. Of course... we would have to have the diet of a Christ follower. We can't run this race without praying and being in the Word. If we don't... we will eventually become sick and dehydrated... and fall on our faces right in the middle of the track. We've got to keep our eyes on the prize and believe... like followers of Christ... that we are going to WIN. BTW: disqualification... is not an option.

Sometimes you've just got to play hurt
These Olympic athletes would never have even qualified for their events if they had "thrown in the towel" when they broke a nail (OK... so that was a little extreme)... or called in sick because they "just didn't feel like training today". They got to Beijing by putting their heads down and pushing through the pain and the adversity. In ministry... there are going to be days when we feel (physically) sick. Even more often... we deal with emotional or spiritual fatigue. You know what... sometimes we've just gotta play hurt. And in that moment of weakness... that is when God shows us how strong He is... and how much we really depend on Him.

The United States of America
is still the greatest nation on the planet
I am sorry if you think I am old fashioned by saying this... but I LOVE MY COUNTRY! No matter what people say... no matter how the media tries to "skew" it... not matter how "uncool" it is to say it... I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! There! Deal with it! There has been talk about "Is it a ‘cool’ thing to say, in this day and age?" Sure it is! No... it's not a perfect country... but Kobe Bryant was right when he said... it's still the greatest country in the world.




Don't leave anything in the pool
That is a phrase that I have heard several of the swimmers use throughout the competition. What a great way of describing their best effort. When Michael Phelps finishes a race... he doesn't leave anything in the pool. It means that he gave all he had. There were no regrets. There wasn't one thing that he would have done differently.

WOW! That's how I want to live my life. I sure don't feel like I have always done that up to this point... but it is definitely something to strive for. In September we will be kicking of a new series called "On Month To Live". I can't wait! It is going to be an amazing experience both in the weekend services and in our small groups. So... do you want to learn how to live a life of no regrets? Do you want to learn how to live like you were dying? Do you want to live passionately, love completely, learn humbly, and leave boldly to create a legacy that endures for generations after you’re gone. Then you will not want to miss a single week of this powerful message series.

GO '08

Man... I am so proud of our folks at NewPointe! The Go '08 projects were an unbelievable success. Between the Food Drive and the Community Impact Sunday... we were able to really make a difference in our corner of the world. Here are some of the numbers:








over 1400 volunteers
that's 6300 hour man hours given
on 60 work projects (including everything from serving meals to hospice families, to building ramps for handicap, to picking up trash on the road side, to giving haircuts, to washing cars, to putting on a roof on a house...)
in 15 towns
including 5 school districts
They delivered 9,912 cookies to hospitals and nursing homes
$63,000 worth of labor was donated to our communities

and our goal with the food drive was 1500 boxes...
we collected 1720 boxes of food given to 5 area food banks































































































If you didn't get to be a part of it all... check out the video that we used at the end of last weekend's service:

A Very Unique Wedding

Yesterday afternoon... April and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of a couple of our friends, Dave Mast (NewPointe IT Director) and Jessica Rilke (NewPointe Velocity Director). The wedding was one of the most unique (and fun) weddings that I have ever attended. Our Director of Family Life, Kevin West officiated. It was an outdoor wedding at the beautiful home of Arden and Sue Kaufman. Even though it's early August (and we should have been sweating out there) it was around 78 degrees with a nice breeze. The sky was vivid blue with beautiful white clouds. It could not have been a more perfect day for an outdoor wedding.

It was a very casual wedding too. We were even encouraged to wear shorts. After the wedding... there were the normal wedding festivities.

You know...

The reception... complete with grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and potato salad...

The cutting of the SCRABBLE themed wedding cake...

and then there was...

FISHING! That's right... they told us to bring along our rods and reels... and we went fishing with the bride and groom! Is that cool... or what?!?

Here are a few photos:

Naomi & Natalie Bunn with their big catches of the day



















Not too bad... huh? (Andrew Bunn is checking it out)


















A wise man (Actually... I think it was Kevin West) once said:
"A family that fishes together... stays together."






















Dave and Jess: Congratulations, guys! May this be the beginning of many, many happy years together! And thanks for a great time at your wedding!

Nashville Vacation: PART 2

We are back home from our Nashville vacation. WOW... the rest of the trip just seemed like a blur. Since my last post about Nashville... we decided to make a whirl-wind trip to west Tennessee to visit my 87 year young grandmother. She is one amazing woman. She still lives by herself and gets around great. We really enjoyed our time with Mama Nell and the rest of my west Tennessee relatives.While we were there... we ate catfish at a restaurant called Higg's. And it WAS the best catfish that I have ever had! They also had fried okra (My all-time favorite veggie. Yeah... yeah... I'm a southern boy) and real country ham (You know... the salty kind that makes you drink about 10 glasses of sweet tea). Unbelievable! And the best part was... it was ALL U CAN EAT! (Alright... so now that I am back from vacation... I have GOT to get back to healthier eating habits... huh? But MAN-O-MAN was it ever good stuff!) Here are a few photos from that visit:

Aunt Cathy, Uncle Terry, Mama Nell... and me












The whole gang... after eating WAY too much catfish
(I had to count to 3... and have my uncle Terry "duck" to get my aunt Cathy in the photo)


















Jordan and Mark posing for the camera


















5 of the 15 great grand kids.... (Jansen, Jordan, Madison, Anna & Aly)




















The next morning, April and I made a trip to Russellville, Kentucky to meet up with her family at Lake Malone. We rented a big pontoon boat and spent the entire day out on the lake. It was beautiful out there... extremely hot... but beautiful. Hey... we were on the water... when we got too hot... we would just jump in! It was an absolutely beautiful lake too! We were surrounded by lush green hills and tall "water-carved" rock walls. Here are a few photos from that trip:

This is a panoramic view off of the bow of the boat. Click on the photo to enlarge it.








April's nephew, Landon checkin' out the lake from the front of the boat


















Rock formations and caves surrounding the swimming hole


















April and her sister, Heather... enjoying the water (April's nephew, Caleb in the foreground)


















Here are a couple of other random fun photos from the rest of our vacation:

Watching the 3D Hannah Montana concert on the Disney Channel with the girls. It was pretty amazing... not.













The "3 pool gangstaz"
(I'm not exactly sure what my dad was doing in this photo... but I think it might have been his best impersonation of Spiderman.)

















It is always great to spend time with family. Living so far from them... makes our short visits pretty special. We feel like we are missing out on so much... being so far away. It's nice to have the opportunity get caught up on what's happening in everyone's busy lives. Just seeing how much the nieces and nephews have changed with each visit is a huge reminder of the fact that time isn't slowing down a bit for any of us. It just keeps on ticking away. It really makes you appreciate the fact that every moment is a gift from God. Life is too short to waste any of them... right? We've got to make the best of each one.

This Weekend @ NewPointe: Set List

This weekend we start a new 3 part series called Prayer Works. Here is the set list for the weekend:







"Pray" - PureNRG

"Let The Praises Ring" - Lincoln Brewster

"Your Grace Is Enough" - Chris Tomlin

"Heart Of Worship/Here I Am To Worship" - Redman/Hughes

"When I Pray" - Salvador

"Live Out loud" - Steven Curtis Chapman

Dwight is back and ready to share an unbelievable message in part one of Prayer Works. There is also going to be a time at the end of the services to celebrate all of the great things that happened during GO '08 and last weekend's Community Serve Sunday. It is pretty amazing stuff... so don't miss it! See you there!