Faith In Action

This morning I was mingling by the front doors of the school (our church) when a beautiful African woman with crutches walked through and waited inside. I humbly approached her and introduced myself and she told me her name was "Rhumbi". (I am sure I just butchered the spelling)

When we started our call-to-worship at the first service, she walked all the way to the front and sat in the first row - pretty uncommon, especially in a Lutheran church.  Then Nick W., who specifically works with refugees at Lutheran Services in Iowa, came up to the front and sat next to her.

While leading worship today, Nick was engulfed in a pretty serious prayer session with God. I could tell he he was pleading with God, from the furrowed brow and serious look on his face.

Today, Pastor Scott gave a pretty compelling talk about "walking the walk" when it comes to our faith. And then he invited "Rhumbi" to come forward and give her testimony which was heartbreaking. Seriously heartbreaking. Rhumbi was from Zimbabwe and has experienced tragedy that we can barely comprehend.  She was selected to come to America for a brighter and better future - to escape the torment that she endured in her home country.  But her testimony wasn't necessarily filled with hope and joy; she is still broken and hurt by the actions of Americans. After 7 months of being in America, "Rhumbi" said she doesn't have any friends.  And my heart was broken.

One of my favorite verses is 1 John 3:18 which reads:  "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

I played my "spiritual leader" card today and told my wife that we need to sign up to join Lutheran Services "Circle of Friends" program to befriend a refugee family (or families).  What really broke my heart is that I expected to see a line of people "walking the walk" today, but I was only the 4th name on the list.  I was honestly disappointed and discouraged today.

And God's timing is impeccable. While I write this, Tim Hughes' song "God of Justice" just cycled on in iTunes.

God of Justice, Saviour to all

Came to rescue the weak and the poor

Chose to serve and not be served

Jesus, You have called us

Freely we’ve received

Now freely we will give

We must go, live to feed the hungry

Stand beside the broken

We must go

Stepping forward keep us from just singing

Move us into action

We must go

To act justly everyday

Loving mercy in everyway

Walking humbly before You God

You have shown us, what You require

Freely we’ve received

Now freely we will give

Fill us up and send us out

Fill us up and send us out

Fill us up and send us out Lord

Feeling neglected?

It's my busy season obviously so the Worship Groove has been very quiet the past few months. My apologies! I promise I will refuel and start typing away soon!

In the interim, check out my buddy's site: Thomas Lift.

Bill Butler is an amazing, talented painter and I love his latest work which you can find here.

http://thomaslift.com/blog/?page_id=143

Blessings!

One of many reasons why I love my son, Jonah

My youngest son, Jonah, has taken a liking to my cologne. I suppose that I should be flattered that my sons want to be more like Daddy. So our new routine during shower time is this:

1. Lather up the kid real good with soap and shampoo. Rinse.
2. Lather the kid up with Old Spice Sport body wash. Rinse.
3. After I have him dried off, we apply a generous amount of moisturizing lotion.
4. And then the best part. He carefully samples each one of my cologne bottles (sadly, I have about 10 of them) - sniffing each one with deep breaths.
5. After we narrow the selection down to half, he selects his favorite.
6. I spray a small amount on his hands which he rubs together, pats his face and rubs on his tummy and arms.
7. Then he proudly declares, "Mommy! Smell me! I got some of Daddy's smellies on!"

I gotta admit - that's one kid I definitely love snuggling after that routine. ;)

Christmas Present

I am one of the luckiest guys I know. I realize that's a rather bold statement but when I reflect on my wife and kiddos, it warms my heart and I smile inside-out.  They are perfect in my life.

I think my wife is one of the best mothers on earth...and if there were a contest someday on Oprah to determine the best mom, I'm pretty sure she'd be a finalist, especially if I was one of the judges. hehe.

So here's the point of my post.

Wanna know what my wife bought me for Christmas?  A business.  

She is an encourager and wants to help me pursue my dreams. A couple of years ago she arranged for some studio time so I record some of my music.  And this year I like to think that she out-did herself.

She met with a financial advisor to figure out the tax/IRS stuff, set up business accounts with the bank, ordered credit cards and checks for the business, set up a PO box, and even blew up my brand logo and had it framed.

She's miles ahead of where I am with the business. But it was the swift kick in the butt that I needed and I am looking forward to kicking off this adventure in 2009.  

I will likely journal some of my learnings and milestones as this unfolds and I will share some of the good stuff with you.

Chivalry is not dead

This morning we got sacked with a snowstorm. Huge Colorado-esque flakes fell from the sky and quickly covered the road. The wind made no excuses as it ripped through our town enveloping all.

As I dropped off the boys for school, the line of cars was much longer than normal as I expected. We patiently waited our turn and they hurried indoors to safety. As I turned the corner to head to work, I watched a young boy and his younger sister dashing up the sidewalk toward the school. His sister was lagging behind and slowing him down.

But then the unexpected happened. He stopped, turned back and grabbed his younger sister's hand to help her walk the rest of the way. My heart swelled. I wish their parents could have witnessed this sibling love.

I wonder how many opportunities like this I miss with my own children?

See you in 40 days

I've decided to take an Internet fast. I am finding that I spend endless unproductive hours reading Facebook status updates and blog postings that really don't do much for me. There are things I'd rather be doing like spending time with my wife and kids, reading my Bible more, praying, starting my own business, reading books for leisure, and write music. So I'm not going to be checking Bloglines any more. I'm going to stay off of Facebook. And I'm not going to chase sports scores online.

I have to use it for my volunteer worship position...that's my only exception. Tabbing out music, finding online devotions, posting the setlists, etc.

So...I'll see you in 40 days or later.

Godspeed,
ECC

And the MRI says...

About a year and half ago, we got drilled by a snow storm. Since my snow blower was functioning more like garage decor (it wouldn't start), I shoveled the driveway and sidewalks by hand that winter. On this particular day, I did something rather foolish. I was pushing the snow by running with this shovel. The momentum allowed me to force the snow the edges of the driveway faster. Except on this day, I hit a crack, jammed the shovel and jarred my shoulder. Excruciating pain. And to make matters worse, I did it twice.

I went to the doctor's office and we took x-rays which came back fine. He prescribed some pain killer meds for me and gave me some stretching exercises. I was told to schedule another appointment if it didn't get better.
My shoulder healed but remained sore. It was sore to bend it certain ways and to lay on my right side. It was sore when I lifted heavy things or wrestled with my children. But it didn't necessarily hurt. Until 2 weeks ago.

Somehow I managed to jar my shoulder again. I really don't recall how or when I did it but I know it happened two weeks ago. It hurt so bad that I would turn the volume on the radio or use my wipers with my left arm. If I raised it more than 45 degrees, it hurt. Bad.

So off to the doctor I went and we finally took a closer look by a MRI. Yesterday they called and said that my rotator cuff is torn.

This is interesting news to me. I am at a point of burn out with the worship ministry. Apathy has set in and I am not feeling healthy right now. If my orthopedic doctor recommends surgery, my guitar playing days will be postponed for quite some time. I am slowly working in two new worship leaders so the timing is what intrigues me. Should surgery happen, then it may be time for Mark and Brad to lead for a while. It would perhaps give me the break I need to regroup, refuel and re-energize as a worship leader.

I need healing for my shoulder and my soul.

Post Election Email

A friend of mine sent this email to me today. I thought it was worth publishing...

Dear Friends,

For months now my email Inbox has been besieged by nearly hysterical warnings about what will happen if this man/woman or that man/woman becomes President. I have been encouraged to be worried, afraid, concerned, prepared for disaster, and a whole host of other maladies if this happens. I do not deny the importance of this election, but it seems to me that we need a dose of perspective. So I would like to start my own email concerning this election. It's a "True/False" test.

I'd like for all of us to take it.

True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, Jesus will still be King.

True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, our responsibilities as Christians will not have changed one iota.

True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the greatest agent for social change in America will still be winning the hearts and minds of men and women through the gospel, not legislation.

True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my primary citizenship will still be in this order - (1) the Kingdom of God , (2) America , not vice-versa.

True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the tomb will still be empty.

True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the cross, not the government, will still be our salvation.

True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, our children will still be more concerned with whether or not we spend time with them than with who is President.

True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my neighbor will still be my neighbor, and loving him/her will still be the second greatest commandment.

True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my retirement will still not match my treasure in Heaven.

True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, "Jesus Is Lord" will still be the greatest truth in the Universe.

True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, we will still know that God is in control.

How did you score?

The Stomach Bug

Admittedly, that was a first for me today. I was up during the night with an awful stomach bug and wasn't sure if I could lead worship today.  I called my back-up and took him by surprise so we agreed to play it by ear.

Hopped up on Imodium AD, I took the worship stage very weak today praying that God would see me through this day.  A few times, just moving around during worship, seemed to suck the breath right out of my lungs. Other times, I would have been perfectly content to play laying down.  And thankfully that gurgling sound in my stomach never surfaced.

Reminds me of this verse from 2 Corinthians 12:8-9.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:8-9a).

I hope that God's power was perfect today...

Klampert.com

Okay...this is somewhat of a shameless plug but if you read my blog, then you should read Joel Klampert's blog too.

I use a tool called Bloglines.com which helps me keep track of mostly the posts of many bloggers and other sites. The tool searches for new content and organizes it online in one central place letting me know when an update takes place.

One site that I follow in particular used to be called CECWorship but recently changed to Klampert.com. So I just updated Bloglines so I can now follow Joel's posts on a daily basis.

So why should you read his blog? Here are my top 10 reason:

1. Joel has an awesome heart for worship and God (not necessarily in that order)
2. We gravitate toward the same style of music which is pretty eclectic in nature.
3. We have almost the same family situation - young kids and married for 11 years.
4. He is authentic and honest. He doesn't mask his feelings but wears his emotions on his sleeve.
5. He's a Mark Batterson fan and was train-wrecked by "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day."
6. He's into GOOD design and is a web/graphic designer.
7. He has a heart for the multi-site church.
8. He's turned me onto music I hadn't heard of before especially "Worth Dying For"
9. He's well-read and likes the same kind of authors and books as I do.
10. He's bald like me.

Don't just take my word for it, see for yourself.

The Alpha Worship Muzzle

We kicked off our fall Alpha class a few weeks ago and our NorthBranch band is leading the music portion. We're incredibly blessed to be in our new space which we call The Station - an older warehouse that was completely remodeled and renovated by members of our church. They even built a decent size stage complete with a new drum kit, floor monitors and enough media equipment to put together a decent size band and sound.

As we lead music for Alpha, we were instructed to keep things low-key so that we don't scare off people who are new to the church and to Christianity. I struggle a bit with this approach because I have met other Christians on fire for God...and that fire was contagious. I wanted some of that in my life. So I think we're a bit unauthentic when we just go through the motions of worship. Further, I think we're dishonoring God. Worship music helps usher in the Holy Spirit and the presence of God...the Holy Spirit and the presence of God changes hearts and lives. So why would we want to worship God with a worship muzzle?

The other night, my family was up at The Station for dinner and participating in worship (music) in the back. As we tore into our worship set, I looked down the aisle past all of the seated members of the class and spotted my 3 year-old dancing wildly with his hands raised upward to Jesus. It was one of the most beautiful things I had seen in a while and I felt a huge grin break across my face. I wish the church could have seen it as he was demonstrating what authentic worship was all about.

New Life Worship

I have this thing for New Life Worship. They are the worship arm of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Their music simply resonates with me and I am drawn in...closer to God. They are a big catalyst for me connecting with God so I use them A LOT during worship.

What's sweet about New Life Worship is it's comprised of a bunch of artists including many great musicians from Desperation Band and of course Ross Parsley. Jared Anderson also has a couple of solo albums that really rock as well.

Last week they had the Enter Conference in Colorado Springs at the church. It was a conference geared toward the worship leader and I was dying to go...especially since New Life Worship was unveiling a new album and several artists were going to be there (Paul Baloche, Gateway Worship, etc.) Unfortunately I couldn't afford to make the trip on my own and stopped short of contacting some people networked through couchsurfing.com. I just found out last night they are doing a Seminars4Worship Conference in Grand Rapids, MI which would be about an 8 hour drive for me. Again I am tempted but I don't think I can pull it off since it's a week from today.

Someday I will go, but for now I need to stand on the sidelines and watch the game.

The Vow and the Vision

Our church just finished a week long "season" of 24/7 prayer to commemorate the launch of The Station - an empty warehouse we recently converted into a home for our community. The Station will be used for classrooms, worship and office space. So we devoted a room to pray for a week and the church responded by signing up for an hour slot until the schedule was full.

I took a 2-hour slot this past Friday in which I spent the first hour worshiping God through song with some other folks from the worship team. Then from 12 - 1 AM I spent some God and Erik time in the prayer room.

I picked up a book I read a few years ago called "The Vow and the Vision" by Pete Grieg. And I cut to the chase and opened up the vow at the back of the book. Ah...the book came to life for me and the next thing I knew, I was kneeling on the floor, clutching a cross and reciting these words.

Fool that I am, I vow my whole life, all that I have and all that I am to be true to Christ in the grace of our Holy Spirit for every day the Father grants me. So help me God.

Weak as I am, I vow my whole life to be kind to people: to see Christ in others, to serve Christ in others and to show Christ to others in the joy of the Holy Spirit for the glory of our Father. So help me God.

Small as I am and wherever I am, I vow my life to the Gospel of Christ. Today, together, we offer to spend ourselves on behalf of the broken and poor in the power of the Spirit, giving our whole life that you might be loved in every language, tribe and nation in our generation for the glory of our Father. We will not live for ourselves. So help us God.

‘Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess’ Hebrews 10:23-25

What Would Jesus Do?

I have had some sort of marketing, advertising and interactive role for the past 12 odd years. A year ago I moved back into a brand management and advertising role from an interactive position. While I've enjoyed the work and the opportunities to work on high level projects, one thing has become noticably clear to me.
There is much more grace in the web and interactive world.

Why? Because you can easily fix your mistakes.

In advertising if you screw up some of your errors are permanent and more important costly.

So what does all this mean? Well...I think if Jesus had a vocation in the present day, he'd give up carpentry to be a web designer. It's full of grace.

Greater things have yet to come...

God continues to pour out his blessing and favor over our family for some reason. We were able to sell our house, find a new house and get our kids enrolled in school in a short, short time. He has released me to start a small business as well and as my wife reminded me today, "Greater things have yet to come..." Reminds me of this awesome Bluetree tune re-recorded by Mr. Chris Tomlin.

You're the God of this city, You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation, You are
You're the Light in this darkness, You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless, You are

There is no one like our God, there is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here

"God Of This City" led by Chris Tomlin and written by Bluetree

Thanks for the curveball, God!

Our house has been on the market for a few months, but I had given God an ultimatum in my head. "Sell our house by the end of August, and I'll know we're supposed to move to Ankeny. Don't sell it and maybe that's Your sign that we're supposed to make West Des Moines home."

God's really not in the business of making deals with us. Just read Proverbs in the Bible.

Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Proverbs 19:21 You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've grown quite discontent and anxious about selling our house. I grew to resent the fact that I needed to keep the lawn nicely mowed and house squeaky clean. I was growing restless and somewhat desperate.

So imagine my surprise when an offer came through from our second official showing. Our realtor tipped her hat to us and said, "I wouldn't have ever imagined that in this market you would have been able to sell your house with only two showings." But somehow we did.

Now we embark on finding a new home which is not a small task. We plowed through a bunch of homes yesterday and still have no idea where we'll end up living. Guess I gotta give the plan back to God on this one.

Big Dream

For a while...okay...for a few years I've wanted to design and produce t-shirts. I have a journal of ideas that I've kept for a while.

A couple of weeks ago, I felt released to start this business so I finally registered a website name and landed on a brand name for my shirts & gear.

I am now working on the business plan, designing some shirts, and researching the best ways to produce these shirts.

So stay tuned to learn more about...

Lighten Up Gear
www.lightenupgear.com

The Shack

Have you heard of William P. Young yet? My wife and I like to refer to him as Willie P after watching a video interview of him on the 722.org website.

William Young is the author of The Shack which is currently featured on the NY Times best selling lists. There’s also this great article about Willy P and The Shack on the NY Times website.

I first heard about this book from my friend April, who has to be one of the most well-read persons I know. So when she tells me it's one of her favorite books, I DON'T take it like a grain of salt. Instead, I rush out and snatch up the book. In this case, I ordered a copy from my local library which ironically had two people on the waiting list when I returned it.

This book messed with me in a good way but it also opened up my eyes to some of my faults. The two major themes I took away from this book are: 1) I don’t trust God as much as I think I do and 2) I haven’t figured out what total surrender looks like for me yet. I am slowly trying but it’s not something that happens overnight. Case in point: I am struggling why our house hasn’t sold when we think it’s God’s plan that we’re supposed to live near our church in Ankeny. It’s hard to let go of control and trust God with this decision…and to be at peace with it completely.

So I keep trying to give it over to Him but the control freak in me has issues with that. I think that's why I always drive instead of my wife. ;)

Anyway, if you haven't read The Shack yet, please do yourself a favor and check it out. And definitely check out the video on the 722 site.

Self-Medication

Facebook. The guitar. MySpace. Email. Video games. Television. CNN. ESPN. Music. . .

They are all obstacles that prevent me from feeling fulfilled. Yet I still chase after THOSE. They serve as self-medication to what I think is the prescription to helping me not feel stirred up. But if I would just pause for a second, I would realize that none of those things are calling. No. It's really God's Word that is calling.

Joshua and Our March

Joshua 6:15-17

On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD.

Our house has been listed on the market for approximately four weeks without any bites. It's been a bit discouraging to tell you the truth, and we're finding it difficult to remain patient and to trust in God.

Earlier this week, a colleague had asked me if we've had any luck selling our house. I jokingly said, "Not yet although we may need to march and pray around the house 7 times."

On Wednesday night at band practice we talked about moving when God says move. You don’t wait. You don’t process it. You don’t ask your wife. You move. Simple as that. That really stuck with me because so many times I say I’ll pray about something…or I’ll need to think about it before I act on something God is clearly telling me to do.

So yesterday, Logan is out in the garage helping me put away my lawnmower and tools. He asked me about my day and I said it was “good.” “What made it a good day, Daddy?” he asks, which clearly catches me by surprise. Logan had a rough day and really needed some Daddy time so I took the time to tell him about my day.

“So Diane is your boss?” He asks. I confirm. “Mommy’s boss is Josh,” he responds. “Yeah, but I like to call him Joshy,” I say to him with a smile. “I like to call him Joshua,” Logan says without blinking. “Joshua, as in the guy who marched around the city 7 times, then they blew their horns and the walls came down.”

“Woah. Did he really just say that?” I think to myself.

“Logan, how would you feel about walking around our house 7 times and praying for it and our family?” I ask wondering how he’ll respond.

I could barely keep up. He was blazing a trail around the house and several times I had to tell him to slow down so I could keep up. He started throwing out some cool stuff while we prayed and marched around our home. “Evil and bad stuff is not welcome here! Go away devil! We wanna be free!”

Then the last lap we laid hands on the house and prayed for it and blessed it. When it was over, I held him and prayed over him. It was really a blessing. We went inside and told Erin about our 7-lap adventure around the house. Her eyes got big and she said, “Boys, we need to blow our trumpets outside! C’mon let’s go!” Logan led the charge and was outside before the rest of us. Before we knew, he was yelling at the top of his lungs, “In the name of Jesus, we bless this house!”

And for that moment in time, we stood indignant before the Lord and blew our trumpets. We all made trumpet noises and then put our hands in together for one more big cheer. I’m sure we frightened the neighbors but who cares. Who cares!

Later that evening when the boys were snuggled into their bed, our friend Joshua stopped over. I hadn't realized he was coming, and I probably haven't seen him for a couple of months. Was his timing coincidental? I don’t think so. It was God-ordained.

One thing's for sure...if we do move, you can bet we're gonna march around the house seven times praying for it before we move in.

Thanks for the affirmation and for speaking to us this week, God. We love you!

Amen.