Rapt in Reveries

I've moved...

2009-05-30T13:36:00.001-06:00

New blog is now at lukehumbrecht.com. I will no longer be posting on my blogger account. Seeya over there.

It's all Greek to me

2009-05-12T08:06:00.003-06:00

I ordered over $100 of books yesterday. That's not something I normally do in 1 day, but something I had to do if I want to start learning Koine Greek. It's been something I've wanted to do for some time now, and the other day I felt like it was time to begin. Seeing as how I only have a few more months of not being a parent, it seems that timing is logical too.

Why Koine Greek? Because I love to understand and teach the Bible. I get jealous any time I hear a speaker get up and talk about a New Testament passage in that familiar haughty tone, "...In the original Greek it says blah, blah, blah......so this is what this passage REALLY means, but you wouldn't understand would you because you're not as smart as me."

On the surface, I want to punch that guy in the face.

But deep inside, I'm not going to lie....

I want that.

Badly.

But really, I want to understand the orignial dialect and I hope that this will help me in personal study rather than always having to take someone's word for it.

Also, I will be able to make fun of people in a new language.

That's important to me.

iBible

2009-04-27T09:50:00.000-06:00

This is freaking hilarious.

Rwanda Village Makeover

2009-04-21T11:33:00.001-06:00

Donald Miller's Upcoming Release

2009-04-20T10:16:00.003-06:00

This is an excerpt from Donald Miller's upcoming release - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Don is one of my favorite authors and he hasn't put out anything for a few years now. I'm particularly interested in this book as he explores the elements of 'story' and how the in many ways the elements of a good story also apply to our lives.

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Thing About a Crossing

It’s like this when you live a story. The first part happens fast. You throw yourself into the narrative and you’re caught in the water, the shore is pushing back behind you and the trees are getting smaller. The other shore is inches away and you can feel the resolution coming, the feeling of getting out of you’re boat and walking the distant shore, looking back to see where you came from. The first part of a story happens fast, and you think the thing is going to be over soon. But it isn’t going to be over soon. The reward you get from a story is always less than you thought it would be, and the work is harder than you imagined. It’s as though the thing is teaching you the story is not about the ending but about the story itself, about your character getting molded in the hard work of the middle. The shore behind you stops getting smaller, and you paddle and wonder why the same strokes used to move you but they don’t anymore. -You got the wife but you don’t know if you like her anymore and you’ve only been married five years. You want to wake up and walk into the living room in your underwear and watch football and let your daughters play with the dog because the paddling doesn’t move the boat anymore and the far shore doesn’t get closer no matter how hard you work. The shore you left is just as far and there is no going back, there is only the decision to paddle in place or stop, slide out of the hatch and sink into the sea. Maybe there is another story at the bottom of the sea? Maybe you don’t have to be in this story anymore? Maybe you can quit and not have to paddle in place anymore?

It’s been like this with all my crossings. I have a couple boats and take them to Orcas Island and make the crossing from Orcas to Sucia, and it’s always the same about leaving the shore so fast and getting to the middle and paddling in place for hours.

I knew it would be like that when we crossed the country on bikes, too. I sent in my paperwork and did my miles in the mountains here in Oregon and showed up in Los Angels, knowing we would start fast, that the Pacific would fade behind us and we’d be in Phoenix by sunset and then we’d spend all the life of Moses crossing Texas and the Delta and it happened just like I thought it would. We grew into the roads and the roads are where we lived. We slept in rock quaries and on the doorsteps of churches. I slept on the floor of a convenience store just off the caprock in Texas. I put my head by the beer to get some cold air and it didn’t matter to me that I had a condo back home or a bed, because you become the character in the story you are living and whatever you were is gone. None of us thought it would end. We never felt close to the shore. Even in Virginia, we felt as far as Louisiana.

When we left Bob’s dock at midnight I didn’t want to paddle through the night or across the wide inlet. We had to go for hours into the pitch black and the inlet was so large and the dark was so dark for hours we couldn’t make out either shore. We had to guide ourselves by stars, each boat gliding close to another, just the sound of our oars coming in and out of the water to keep us close.

I think this is when most people give up on their stories. They come out of college wanting to change the world, wanting to get married, wanting to have kids and change the way people buy office supplies. But they get into the middle and discover it was harder than they thought and they can’t see the distant shore anymore and they wonder if their paddling is moving them forward. None of the trees behind them are getting smaller and none of the trees ahead are getting bigger. They take it out on their wife, on their husband, they go looking for an easier story.

Robert McKee put his coffee cup down and leaned onto the podium. He put his hand on his forehead and wiped his grey hair back. He said you have to go there, you know. You have to take your character to the place where they just can’t take it anymore. He looked at us with a tenderness we hadn’t seen in him before. You’ve been there, haven’t you? You’ve been out on the ledge. The marriage is over now, the dream is over now, nothing good can come from this. He got louder. Writing a story isn’t about making your peaceful fantasies come true. The whole point of the story is the character arc. You didn’t think joy could change a person, did you? Joy is what you feel when the conflict is over. But it’s conflict that changes a person. He was shouting now. You put your characters through hell. You put them through hell. That’s the only way we change.

I got a boy for my birthday

2009-04-15T08:09:00.004-06:00

Went to the doctor on Monday to get an ultrasound for Megan. It just so turns out that we're going to have a boy. It's kind of sobering to think that I will be responsible to raise a son that will have to navigate through all of the twists and turns of life that I've had to - successes, failures, promotions, rejections, relationships, opportunities, etc.. I'm praying even now that God gives Megan and I the grace to love, lead, and teach him well.

I also have the feeling that he might be a drummer. He couldn't stop moving during the ultrasound. I guess if he wanted to he could play tuba. Tubas are underrated.

Here are a few photos from the ultrasound:

Verbzilla

2009-03-26T17:25:00.002-06:00

Last night I invited a new member into my family of stompboxes. She'll be here sometime next week. She is the Line 6 Verbzilla. This will be my first of the smaller Line 6 stompbox stream. I was considering the Electro Harmonix Holy Grail but after a little google action the Verbzilla seemed to be a little more versatile. I'm particulary excited about the Cave effect and the Octo effect. The Octo setting is a simplified version of how U2's "The Edge" accomplishes his shimmer effect. It seriously makes the guitar sound like a synth underneath the actual guitar tone. The following video gives an idea of what it sounds like. Listen to the sound after he turns up his volume pedal. You can hear the swelling verb and orchestral sound underneath the tone. I like.

Ellary World Tour Day 3 - Late Night

2009-03-15T15:57:00.001-06:00

Ellary World Tour Day 3 - Late Night from Luke Humbrecht on Vimeo.

UPDATE: Ellary on WAY-FM

2009-03-15T14:24:00.003-06:00

Hey Friends,

The WAY-FM competition isn't over yet and we just realized that you can vote twice. As you can tell, we're pretty far behind, but we we'll see what we can do together. If you've already voted on Facebook, you can vote again at the second link below. You can't vote more than once, but you CAN vote at BOTH of the following links.

For Facebook Users (click on the tab called "boxes" and then scroll down.)

VOTE HERE

For Non-Facebook users:

VOTE HERE

MAKE SURE YOU VOTE AT BOTH OF THESE LINKS!

Thanks again. You're beautiful. Ellary is thankful.

Luke

Ellary Needs Your Help

2009-03-14T11:17:00.003-06:00

We just found out that my band Ellary is in a competition on Colorado's Way-FM radio station! We are competing against 2 other bands and we can win if we get enough people to vote for us. You can cast your vote here. As you can see below we have a lot of ground to make up. We'd appreciate your help in getting others to help us with this as well. Feel free to volunteer your status on facebook. It could say something like this:

HELP! - Please go to the following link to vote for "Ellary - We Will Go" in the Way FM band competition!! http://tinyurl.com/bjm2v7

Also, if you don't have a Facebook account you can still vote. Just go to the link and then hit the tab called "Boxes". Scroll down and you should be able to see the poll.

Thanks for your help.

Online Surveys & Market Research

"We Will Go" World Premiere Music Video

2009-03-05T11:16:00.002-07:00

Ellary Music Video - We Will Go from Luke Humbrecht on Vimeo.

Ellary World Tour Day 2 & 3

2009-03-01T21:50:00.001-07:00

Ellary World Tour Day 2 & 3 from Luke Humbrecht on Vimeo.

Ellary World Tour Day 1

2009-02-27T09:48:00.001-07:00

Ellary World Tour Day 1 from Luke Humbrecht on Vimeo.

Slowing Down

2009-02-16T20:24:00.005-07:00

I've been a bit reclusive in my digital presence in the last few weeks, and I'll tell you why. First of all, I think it's good to have seasons of intentional withdrawal. Really, how can anyone keep up with the madness of blogging, facebook, and twitter? ( just for the record, I will NEVER throw a snowball back at you. Nor any vegetables.) Secondly, I got sick - which is nature's way of saying "Hey dumb-dumb, you're not a machine." Unfortunately, many of us are at the point where ONLY sickness can get us to slow down and rest. That's sad.

I went with my wife and best friends to Key West, Florida hoping to get a few days of R & R. I had never been to the Keys, so I pictured leisurely walks on the beach with a balmy, southern breeze. Didn't quite happen like that. On the week we chose, there happened to be record low temperatures that left us with a windy 52 degree air pretty much the entire week. I may have touched the ocean with my foot once that week. We came to find out that it was actually warmer in Colorado. To add to the frustration, two days into the trip I came down with some kind of cold. This cold later turned into a gnarly sinus infection. Thanks to antibiotics, I am almost completely well. Almost.

We decided to go to Florida right in the middle of a series we were doing at Vinelife called "Walking with God". Jason and I took turns speaking in this series, and I was up to bat the Sunday after the freezing/sickening Florida trip. Needless to say, I've had plenty of time to practice what I preach. I've been forced to slow down a little, and actually listen to the stillness of God's whispers. This is something that I pray God will give me grace and strength to continue to do. It's easy for me to continually labor under the guise of productivity. The funny thing is, it never stops. There is always more to do. More people to connect with. More blogs to read. More work to be done. It's the wickedness of my flesh that attempts to keep up with the world at the expense of my walk with God.

Lord, give us grace to walk. Give us grace to listen. Give us grace to be still. Give us grace to abide.

Photos You Must See

2009-01-28T22:16:00.009-07:00

This last week I came across a few links to some incredible photography. I still have yet to gain experience that transcends our point and shoot Canon, so I have tremendous respect for anyone who can frame and capture photos such as these. Please, be inspired.

The Places We Live

The Places We Live by photographer Jonas Bendiksen captures a collection of stunning images takes in slums around the world. The weight of the photos teamed with urban sounds and excellent site design make for an incredible experience.

Inauguration Gigapan Viewer

This is only one photo, but you could spend hours looking at this thing. It is a gigapan photo taken by David Bergman and allows you to zoom in to see the snot hanging off the nose of the dude in the 279th row. If you look carefully you can spot some celebs. That's what I'm after.

Awakening the Book

These photos are taken by one of my favorite photographers - Jeremy Cowart. Taken on the Passion world tour, these images capture worship and culture around the globe.

Can The Church Unleash Beauty And Art?

2009-01-24T17:15:00.002-07:00

This video makes my skin tingle.

Vinelife Church Cardboard Testimonies

2009-01-18T11:30:00.003-07:00

This video was captured on Sunday, November 30th, 2008 when we at Vinelife celebrated together the story that God was writing in each of us. This idea was adopted from a previous video by Hillside Church

Kind of long, but worth the watch.

Vinelife Church - "Changed" from Luke Humbrecht on Vimeo.

Chipotle iPhone App

2009-01-16T10:35:00.004-07:00

My life has been made. Or, will be soon...

Just found out from friend Matt Boudreaux that Chipotle released a mobile ordering app for the iPhone.

Chicken Burrito, black beans, mild salsa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce..........foil

Pause. Let it sink in. Offer thanks to the Good Lord.

OK. Now the bad news. Not even a day after they released this app, Apple discontinued it from the iTunes store for bug and programming issues. Tears.

I feel like I have been teased. I'm praying that they fix this quickly.

This is probably the beginning of a long line of restaurants and businesses that will offer mobile ordering options. That would be a good thing.

Burger King Marketing Madness

2009-01-15T22:23:00.003-07:00

Great ideas typically spread virally. I particularly love the recent marketing for Burger King done by Boulder ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. They are the guys responsible for bringing back 'the King' old BK icon from several decades ago. Also, they Got Burger King to think out of the box on a few things. Take for instance the following ad campaigns....

1) Subservient Chicken - go to the site and type in most common commands (dance, sit, lay down, etc...)
2) Flame Perfume - Burger King launches a perfume that smells like meat.
3) Facebook Sacrifice App - This recently was banned from Facebook, but really a brilliant idea. BK launched a Facebook application that encourages users to remove Facebook friends. Sacrifice ten of them and you got a free Whopper. 233,906 friends were removed by 82,771 people in less than a week.
4) Fake Wallets - BK planted fake wallets all over major cities. Inside was a license from the King, and a bunch of free coupons.

I'm not sure that all of these would necessarily make you want to go out and get a Whopper, but they definitely get people talking. Maybe that's the point.

Routine

2009-01-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

In the church world, we give the general concept of "routine" a hard time. I've been in many a prayer meeting where it is rare for someone to not pray against routine. This thinking makes sense when it comes to mindlessly going through the often comfortable motions of religious activity.

But today, I woke up with the overwhelming desire to get back into my ROUTINE.

I realized that I need a vacation from the last month of my vacation. To be fair, I can't tell you how much fun I've had in the last month finishing my basement, visiting family, hanging with friends and hosting travelers. But I'm ready to get back into a rhythm - physically, mentally, spiritually, etc...

I believe we are wired for certain rhythms and routines. They help us make sure that we are doing what's important to us. I plan to set aside time to re-schedule out my week and make sure I am making time for everything that is important to me.

Best Albums of 2008

2009-01-06T10:48:00.004-07:00

I know I'm a bit late on this, but still thought I'd offer my list:

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
2. M83 - Saturdays = Youth
3. Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - Once Soundtrack
4. Kim Walker - Here is My Song (just got this one, but it's proving to be a great worship album)
5. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
6. Sigur Ros - Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust
7. Ellary - Closer Still e.p. (sorry, had to)

Honorable Mentions:

Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Matthew Ryan - Matthew Ryan Vs. The Silver State
Coldplay - Viva La Vida

Ellary, Jimmy Lakey & the Denver Nuggets

2009-01-01T10:10:00.005-07:00

That's right. Before the Nuggets game tomorrow night, Ellary will be leading a few songs of acoustic worship on the floor of the Pepsi Center with Jimmy Lakey and a few other notable fellows. Afterwards, we're gonna watch the Nuggets dominate the Hornets in what people are calling 'the game of the century' . And then I'm gonna go chill and eat a bacon cheeseburger with Carmello Anthony. Here's the scoop....

Live Out Loud: A Night of Passion and Praise for the Whole Family

Featuring Sean Dunn of Groundwire Ministries and Jimmy Lakey of World Changers International and River’s Promise with musical guests Ellary and Nate Rees.

Pre Game Event:
January 3rd
2:00pm-5:00pm
Game at 7:00pm
Enter at the Grand Atrium

Buy Tickets Here

Celery

2008-12-30T09:00:00.001-07:00

It is good for one to make fun of one's self. In this case, one's musical group.

Rick Warren

2008-12-29T22:44:00.007-07:00

It's no secret at this point that evangelical pastor Rick Warren has recently taken a lot of heat from the left for his views on gay marriage and from the right for his acceptance of Barack Obama's invitation to speak at the upcoming presidential inauguration. If there is one thing I've learned from listening to the media and reading posts from many of the bloggards (cowardly bloggers - phrase courtesy of Tim Stevens), it's that people must have something to be mad about. I appreciate the way that Rick addresses many of these issues in a recent video he recorded for members of Saddleback Church. His tone, his heart, and thoughtfulness are very present in this video. It's worth a watch, especially the second half.

I've been asking myself these questions:

If I were in Rick's shoes, how quickly would I give into the temptation of simply telling everyone what they want to hear?
If I was caught in the middle of a similar conflict, how would I ride the balance of being civil and gracious but still keep a backbone and stay true to who I am?

Holidays

2008-12-22T14:28:00.003-07:00

They're here. It is the time of year when productivity comes to a halt. Everything I need slash want to do begins to mock me ferociously. And I like it. Not so much the mocking part....but more so the being interrupted into a halt. It's good for the soul. In fact, that might be the best thing about Christmas. I'm reminded that it's OK to breathe.

Spiritual Practices

2008-12-08T12:28:00.004-07:00

Christ-followers all over the world have found strength and encouragement through a variety of spiritual practices. For some it is as simple as a daily 5 minute quiet time while for others it can be more of a holistic approach that involves every part of your being. The truth is - we are all uniquely wired and will connect with God in ways others won't.

Some feel closest to God in focused prayer and mediation.
Some feel closest to God when they are serving others as Christ would.
Some feel closest to God when they are doing what they KNOW God created them to do.
Some feel closest to God while studying Scripture and working through theological concepts.
Some feel closest to God through resting in solitude and silence.
Some feel closest to God while hiking in the mountains and beholding creation.

I found early on that when I reduce my experience with God to a 5 minute quiet time, not only is it easy for me to miss God the rest of the day, but it isn't true to how I'm wired. Though I believe that God can be found everywhere if we just look for Him, Scripture also teaches us that we are each unique in design (Psalm 139:14).

For me, I connect with God in three main ways:

1. Study - Scripture, books, podcasts, et cetera. I love to challenge my thinking and my living by listening to different perspectives from gifted teachers and thinkers.

2. Music & Worship - Both playing and listening. Music for me is one of the most direct correlations to the spiritual life I can think of. The rhythms, the melodies, the harmonies. The way multiple people can play the same songs at the same time with different instruments. The fact that you can be out of tune but still be able to get back into tune. There's a lot to chew on...

3. Community - I love being with people. Not all the time. Just sometimes. And when it's the right time, it's great. I love the group that meets in my house every other week. I love the band that I play with and the different people we get to meet. I love being with people that have such raw human potential. And if I can be a part of helping that potential be unleashed, I think much good could happen in our world.

What are the practices that bring YOU closest to God? What makes you feel spiritually alive? How do you best connect with God day-to-day?

I had to do the Elf thing again....

2008-12-06T16:34:00.001-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Photos for Africa

2008-11-24T07:49:00.003-07:00

My good friend Joe DesGeorges recently decided to donate the proceeds of his work to help send orphans to school and put roofs over widows' homes through Vinelife's Village Makeover project. These photos were taken during his recent trips to Rwanda and Zambia. There are over 60 prints to choose from and each are selling for $35.

Go check out the catalog, and order a print yourself.

River's Promise EP

2008-11-20T08:51:00.002-07:00

Jarrod and I just finished the cover for the upcoming River's Promise EP. It will be the debut album in the RP fundraising collection. Keep checking Jimmy Lakey's site for more info on the release date.

Session 3 - Erwin McManus

2008-11-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

What if the church was known to release a movement of dreams and possibilities?

The church should be the epicenter that unleashes human potential.

You were a dream in the mind of God before you took your first breath, don’t you think that you should accomplish this dream before you take your last breath.

The wrong good is better than no good.

Are you sleeping walking through life?

Some people sleepwalk through life, missing opportunities for good.

We should pursue dreams that guarantee our failure because they’re too big.
If your greatest dreams came true, would the world be a better place?

What dreams are trapped under the rubble of your past?

When you were a kid, dreaming came easily.

We live our lives with a focus on our weaknesses, shortcomings, and failures.

Generous and Generative come from the same etymology.

What dreams could you pursue that would create the most good in the world?

What dreams are waiting on the other side of your fears?

There are things that God won’t do for you. Things you have to do yourself.

LeadNow - Session 1

2008-11-15T11:02:00.005-07:00

Erwin McManus

Sometimes “going deep” is more narcissistic.

The reason we build all of our own stuff is because we haven’t been invited to the table. We haven’t earned our right to be heard.

In church, we’d rather have a lot of believers than be surrounded by a few who believe.

Francis Chan

A lot of times we are courageous when it comes to physical things but not when it comes to spiritual things.

Revelation 21:7 – keyword: “cowardly”

Courage comes from intimacy with God.

If you could see God, would there be any fear in you with what’s going on on earth?

If we loved God and loved people would we ever need a sermon about evangelism?

So often we don’t have peace when we’re comfortable.

The more we’re out there doing something courageous, the more we’re close to God.

Jeremiah 1
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

I am his workmanship, CREATED for good works.

God asked Moses: “Who made man’s mouth?”

Sometimes in trying to be humble we insult our Creator.

Give Poverty a Swift Kick- 50,000 shoes in 50 Days

2008-11-10T15:18:00.007-07:00

It’s time to give poverty a swift kick with 50,000 pairs of shoes!

This is the 50,000 Pairs of Shoes in 50 Days challenge. Today is the day. We want to raise enough money to purchase 50,000 pairs of shoes in 50 days. Go to 50000shoes.com

$5 buys 2 pairs of shoes. I just bought a pair of shoes online, so get involved now by going here and buy some shoes today.

And anyone who donates will be entered to win a trip to Mexico to personally deliver their shoes to someone who has never had shoes before.

The organization behind this effort is Soles4Souls, and was featured on Friday in USA Today.

Is Praying the new Losing?

2008-11-10T12:15:00.007-07:00

I recently saw someone's facebook status that read "Praying is the new Losing". There might be more to that statement than a flippant post-election comment. Why is it that Christians seems to pray more when something goes wrong or when the guy they didn't vote for gets elected? Have we inadvertently equated seeking God with losing?

If that's true, then I guess it sucks to be the guy we DID vote for. Apparently he doesn't deserve as much prayer.

If you voted for Obama, will you still be praying for him now that the election is over?

If you voted for McCain, would you still be praying for him if he won the election?

Our 44th President

2008-11-09T21:57:00.002-07:00

by Patrick Moberg

Blue Like Jazz - The Movie

2008-11-03T15:07:00.002-07:00

Apparently, the world's favorite book "Blue Like Jazz" has recently been adapted into a screenplay and is now ready to go into production. Only one problem.....they need someone to fund it. So if you or anyone you know is mega-rich and wants to be the producer of this film, contact Don Miller.

More info at bluelikejazzthemovie.com

Here is a short and hysterical video of Don Miller and Steve Taylor talking about the film.

Dock you men tar ease

2008-10-27T10:27:00.014-06:00

A couple weeks ago I was sitting in Johnny's Cigar Bar in Boulder with friends Jamie, Jon, Eric, & Scott and watching Sigur Ros's Heima documentary on the provided HD flatscreen. While chatting about sports, politics, etc. we came to the usual point in the conversation where I would ask which documentaries they had recently seen.

The conversation went something like this:

Luke: "So which ones have you guys recently seen?"
Guys: "Umm...{crickets}"
Luke: "well...What did you guys think of Grizzly Man?"
Guys: "Didn't see it"
Luke: "WHAT?? Are you kidding me? Spellbound?"
Guys: "Nope"
Luke: "You Guuyyyys. C'mon. King of Kong? You know...the one about the Donkey Kong arcade game competition?".
Guys: "Sounds familiar, but no"
Luke: "WHAT? Awww Geeeezzzz, Holy Mother of Peter! You guys are killing me. I thought you guys were my friends."
Guys: "nope"

So that conversation intitiated what I hope to be a series of weekly documentary viewings by myself and my so called "friends". Last night was the first of these and the selection was Wernor Herzog's "Grizzly Man" which was released in 2005. If you haven't seen this....you must.

The other candidates for our documentary series are:

Hands on Hard Body :: trailer
Spellbound :: trailer
King of Kong :: trailer
Man on Wire :: trailer
Devil's Playground ::trailer
Helvetica :: trailer (Tristan Kelley via Facebook)
Young at Heart :: trailer (Kate Hurley via Facebook)
Jesus Camp :: trailer (Emily Boetcher via Facebook)
Deliver Us From Evil :: trailer (Jon Parrent via Facebook)
Expelled :: trailer (Mark Long via Facebook)
Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? :: trailer (Zack Forbing via Facebook)
What Would Jesus Buy? :: trailer
Promises :: trailer (Eric Doran via Facebook)
Born in Brothels :: trailer (Jon Parrent via Facebook)

What other documentaries would you add to the list?

Facebook comments

Jimmy Lakey & River's Promise

2008-10-23T12:51:00.004-06:00

Last year I had the opportunity of traveling to Rwanda with my good friend Jimmy Lakey. After spending time with the people it was astonishing to see the difference between my pre-conceived ideas of what their greatest need is and what the Rwandan people consider to be their greatest need.

Take a guess...

Clean Water?
AIDS awareness?
Food?
Clothing?
Nope.

Everywhere we went the number one thing that every leaders said was education for orphans. Who knew? (I should clarify that this is in the capital city of Kigali. Remote areas may have different greatest needs.)

The kids walk by the schools every day.....they just can't go in. They can't afford to.

To make a long story short, Jimmy found out that to send a kid to school is roughly $1.93/week. A small price to pay considering this is one of the most significant ways to help end the system(s) of poverty that pervades Africa.

Jimmy has taken this thing to heart and decided to name it River's Promise. Again, you can read the whole story yourself.

Recently, Jarrod Renaud and myself went to work on a logo for River's Promise. Here's what we settled on....

Catalyst Session Highlights Pt.1

2008-10-13T15:15:00.003-06:00

Andy Stanley - Louder Than Words

"We have moral authority when people perceive an alignment between our creeds and our deeds."

"Christians carry the message of forgiveness. There is no excuse for angry, bitter church leaders."

"If you're family even "feels" neglected (whether its true or not), we have lost moral authority in our families."

"Why would you sacrifice a role that no one else can have (father, husband) for a role that many other people could have (pastor, leader)?"

William Paul Young - Author of "The Shack"

"The human soul is more intricate than the entire universe."

Jim Collins - Author of "From Good to Great"

"Good is the enemy of great."

"Most overnight success stories are actually 20 years in the making. Greatness takes work."

"Most leaders fall because of an undisciplined pursuit of growth."

"The common signature between all level 5 leaders is humility."

"If you build your church to be dependent on powerful personalities, you are being irresponsible."

"The presence of a to-do list without a stop doing list is a lack of discipline."

"Everyone in the organization should be able to articulate their responsibilities without needing a job title."

"When you have more than 3 priorities, you have no priorities."

"Good intentions are no excuse for incompetence."

Catalyst 2008 Photos

2008-10-11T09:11:00.003-06:00

A few from from the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, GA. I'll try to post some notes and highlights from the main sessions sometime later today. Truly was another amazing year.

Catalyst Lab :: Reggie Joiner :: In Motion

2008-10-08T10:20:00.002-06:00

These are some of my notes from the first lab session of the day:

Reggie Joiner - "In Motion"

Every Organization is one of three places:

1) They have momentum and are trying to keep it.
2) They don't have momentum and are trying to get it.
3) They are losing momentum and are trying to get it back.

If you want to build something that lasts, you have to be willing to change whatever you build.

Apple built the Macintosh Plus in 1985 and changed the tech industry. But they didn't stop there because they knew they needed to change.

How did Apple get from the Macintosh Plus to the MacBook Air in 20 years. There mission was the same - to create technology that dispersed information, but their system changed drastically year after year to be relevant to culture.

What if we built the church with a mindset that it should change?

The best way to keep a team moving toward a core mission is to frequently upgrade the system. It forces us to remind ourselves what our end game is. Why do we do what we do?

However, we need to clarify which system is going to drive our behavior.

You can't blend systems. If you do, you'll create an experience that some people may like but nobody loves.

Just because you stopped wearing a tie on Sunday morning, doesn't mean that you're now a relevant church.

That's like trying to put new software on an old operating system. Imagine trying to load iTunes on a 1985 Macintosh Plus. It won't work right.

In your organization, are you updating the software or updating the system?

Luke 5:36 - It's like sewing a new patch on an old shirt. Who would wear that shirt?

Every church has critical systems that they need to upgrade:

1) The system that INTEGRATES your leaders.
2) The system that COMMUNICATES truth.
3) The system that CONNECTS people.
4) The system that MOBILIZES the church.
5) The system that PARTNERS with the family.

Effective organizations create a culture that is intentional about changing and recreating systems.

Some of us are afraid to make change because we're more afraid of who we could lose rather than being afraid of who we might not reach. We need to trade fears.

Catalyst 2008

2008-10-07T15:46:00.003-06:00

In a few minutes I leave for the airport to hop on a flight to Atlanta to attend the Catalyst Conference. This will be my 4th year at Catalyst, and I wouldn't miss it for anything. Catalyst consistently has an incredible lineup of speakers, preachers, communicators. artists, & innovators from across the country. The speakers I'm looking forward to the most are Matt Chandler, Seth Godin, Jim Collins, Andy Stanley & Craig Groeschel.

Every year this proves to be a refreshing & renewing week away from everything. Most of the leadership at Vinelife is going this year, so I'm praying that we can take away some fresh wisdom, revelation, & insight to apply in our setting.

I'm going to try to send updates regularly via my blog and/or twitter.

Sarah Palin - Head of Skate

2008-09-28T06:32:00.004-06:00

Let me start by saying that I do not intend to ever use this blog as a venue to announce my political opinions. However, whether you are a Republican, Democrat, or of another political persuasion, there is no way you won't be able to chuckle at this video. I tried to embed the video here, but the margins of my layout cut off half of the video. So just go to the link. You won't regret it.

On another note (not assuming that you are begging for someone else's opinion), if you would like to hear from a Kingdom-minded person that I think is engaging politics well, you should check out Jim Wallis's blog called God's Politics.

New Ellary Album Drops Today!!

2008-09-26T09:00:00.000-06:00

Well, today is the day. Closer Still has officially been released on all of the major digital music retail outlets (iTunes, Amazon, etc.). We've already started getting feedback in, and I'd love to hear yours. You can drop me a line here on the blog or head over to the Ellary Myspace and leave a comment. Also, feel free to tell some friends and give some link love on your blog, facebook, myspace and twitter. We want this album to be heard by as many people as possible so your help is much appreciated. You can purchase a hard copy of the disc on our MySpace as well.

Also, a shout out to Luke Flowers for the insane design work. Make sure to check out his other art and music.

CU Wins! and I Touched Cody Hawkins!

2008-09-19T10:34:00.004-06:00

Yes, that is correct. Allow me to fill you in.

Last night, I was sitting at the Niwot Tavern with Graham and Joe for our normal Thursday night meeting. While in the middle of an engaging conversation about church life, the bartender comes up to us and insists that we take 2 free tickets to the Colorado v. West Virginia game that would be starting in 15 minutes down in Boulder. It took us a few minutes to decide, but then we went for it. So, Joe and I hopped in his truck and cruised down to the game.

Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of football whether it be professional or college. But I do like going to an occasional game. This was in fact my 2nd CU game EVER.

Joe and arrived to the stadium just after CU scored to consecutive touchdowns. We knew because were listening to the radio on the way down. Unfortunately, after we got to the game nothing really happened until the end. West Virginia had scored two touchdowns to tie up the game at 14-14. So we went into overtime....

CU took defense first. West Virginia came down field to get positioned to kick the field goal. They ran the play, and their kick was rejected by the left pole of the field goal. Now it was CU's chance. They came down field, got positioned, kicked the ball, and SCORE! Game over.

So Joe and I watch as the CU fans rushed the field. It was pretty wild and fun, but we were already looking for a way out of the stadium. All of the exits were jam packed with people so Joe suggested that we cross the field to get back to his truck. We went down to the field and I figured that I might run into some other friends to grab a ride home. I started looking but no luck. The cell phone towers were overloaded with calls so there was no option there.

So, here I am in the middle of the field....a dude that has to work to get excited about this kind of stuff. I'm just trying to find my friends so I can get out of the stadium. Then, out of nowhere, right next to me someone starts chanting "Cody! Cody!". I look over and see the CU quarterback Cody Hawkins being hoisted up on the shoulders of the students as a hero. And they start walking him my way.

Now, I know I talk a big game about not being a huge fan of football and such. But something came over me. I felt as if I were ushered into a Rudy-esque moment. As if I was playing a part in sports history by rallying around this guy. There was something electrifying about a mob of students chanting some dudes name. Truth be told - he didn't even play that well, but he is somewhat of a local celebrity nonetheless. So I gave in and patted him on the back as he came my way. I also seized the moment and snapped a couple photos. I touched Cody Hawkins.

Ellary Album Release Date Is Coming Closer.....Still

2008-09-17T21:26:00.003-06:00

That may have been the cheesiest post title I've chosen in Rapt in Reveries history.

But I am finally delighted to announce to the world the upcoming release of our sophomore e.p. - "Closer Still" coming to the digital music community on September 26, 2008. This means that you should really take a moment to minimize your browser window and open up your calendar to make a strict early morning appointment with iTunes on 9/26. For only $6, you can play a part in Inspirational-Rock history! Or, if you're around Vinelife in the next couple weeks, you can get a hard copy of the album on a Sunday morning.

Thanks to everyone who has shown friendship and support in the last year as we've been recording. It means a lot to know there is a community of folks who share the same heart and vision to see Christ worshipped in a broken world. Show us some love and spread the word....

Are these dudes for real?

2008-09-15T08:36:00.003-06:00

My brother sent me this video the other day and I can't figure out if these guys are for real. It seems as if this video came straight from a VHS tape in the late 70's. But at the same time it's too goofy to be real. It just doesn't make sense. All I can figure out is that this is a Christian ska band called Sonseed.

Can someone help me with this one?

Here is another one I found that is also amazing/goofy/laugh-out-loud funny. You got stick around for the dance solo. For me, this one begs the same question - Are these dudes for real?

These definitely are not the best moments in Christian music history, but the comical value deserves some merit. Right??

Don Miller at the DNC

2008-08-28T09:06:00.002-06:00

This past Monday, Donald Miller, one of my favorite Christian writers and author of Blue Like Jazz was asked to pray at the Democratic National Convention held at Invesco Field just down the road. Originally, the Democrats asked the editor of Relevant Magazine, Cameron Strang, and he agreed but then later declined because he thought it might not be a good move for his magazine. Cameron suggested they choose Don and they did. Though Don has come under some fire for doing this, you can get his thoughts here. In case you haven't seen it or would be interested in what he actually prayed, I embeded the video for your viewing pleasure...

On another note, I don't consider my self a huge political guy. But as an evangelical, it has been both interesting and encouraging to see the church across the nation not be given to one candidate or another. This election is showing that evangelicals are moving to no longer be considered a voting block for the Republican party. Which in my mind is good thing. The church should not guarantee their vote to ANY party whether Republican OR Democrat. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God before we are citizens of a country. That means that are values transcend what either party can offer. Though some would consider it naive, I am still a firm believer that the local church, not government, is the hope of the world. That is, of course, when the church is actually being the church.

On yet another note, it seems that Brian Mclaren has a pretty strong opinion as well.

A Question for the Homeschooling Community

2008-08-21T11:58:00.007-06:00

Yesterday, I went down to Denver with Ellary for an interview at AM560 The Light. While we were waiting in the lobby I noticed a magazine cover that had a photo of a handful of kids that looked like they just stepped off the set of Sound of Music. Just then I noticed at the top that this was a periodical for the Christian home educators of Colorado. The cover deemed this quartet as the "Ultimate Family Concert". Now, I am not writing this post to debate for or against the ultimacy of this band's music. They could very well live up to this proclamation, though I won't be purchasing tickets for my family and I next time their tour brings them to Red Rocks or a local bar or an obscure mountain top.

My question for the Christian Home Educators of Colorado is this: In light of current stereotypes in the homeschool world, was this the best choice for a magazine cover?

A special thanks to my iphone for capturing the ultimate moment.

RADIOHEAD does it again...

2008-08-15T16:14:00.004-06:00

The first ever interactive music video. Yet another reason why they are leaders, not followers.

Click the link and drag around the face with your mouse. When you are ready hit the play button.

((House of Cards))

Ellary releases "We Will Go"

2008-08-07T17:04:00.005-06:00

We are officially finished with our latest e.p. titled "Closer Still." The release date is still to be determined, but until then you can go over to the ellary myspace to download "We Will Go" for FREE. Don't say we aren't kind. More to come...

Lead Where You Are - Day 1

2008-08-07T16:55:00.004-06:00

A few quotes from the sessions today:

"If God is passionate about getting it done, He is also responsible for getting it done." - Gary Haugen

"Jesus did not come to make us safe. Jesus came to make us brave." - Gary Haugen

"God, rescue us from all things petty." - Gary Haugen

"Follow your compass, not your clock" - Bill George

"Promote a clash of ideas" - Bill Hybels quoting Colin Powell

"When something feels funky, engage" - Bill Hybels

"When God's high-pressure will collides with your low-pressure will, you get a storm" - Efram Smith

Willow Creek Leadership Summit

2008-08-07T15:46:00.000-06:00

This is my first entry using my mobile telephone. Spending the day at
a leadership conference and getting to hear from some of the most
brilliant minds in the realm of leadership. More to come later....

Sent from my iPhone

Resound Worship Conference

2008-08-05T16:02:00.003-06:00

Getting stoked about a mini-worship conference that were holding at Vinelife on September 12-13. No big names coming in.......just us at Vinelife. I believe that there is much to be learned from the collective experience of those who do this week in and week out. And by the way, when we say "worship", we're not just talking about singing on Sunday morning. Though we will have workshops for musicians, this is for anybody who sees their everyday living as an offering to God. If you're in the area, come hang out with us. All of the info on Resound is available here.

Also, here is a video that my friend Jarrod produced for us:

Resound Worship Conference from Jarrod Renaud on Vimeo.

Walt in the Water

2008-07-25T13:22:00.001-06:00

Wanna see Walt Roberson get thrown in the water?

Walt in the Water from Luke Humbrecht on Vimeo.

iPhone

2008-07-21T11:31:00.003-06:00

I placed my order last Friday. There are none to be had in Colorado, unless you happen to get lucky at one of the Colorado Apple Stores. I considered waiting in line on the day of release, but found out there were already 100 people camping out. Figured that if I could live without one for the last year, I could wait another couple weeks. I expect to have it in hands by this Friday.

Ordered the Invisible Shield to go with it. They use this stuff on helicopter blades. That sounds so awesome and hardcore.

One Year Anniversary

2008-07-21T10:47:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was the blog's one year anniversary. And here I am still blogging. I feel like a proud father. Well, maybe not, but proud none-the-less. I'd say that 62 posts makes for a pretty solid first year for a blog. That averages out to over a post per week. Though some months were slow, I've had much better luck in consistency than with MySpace and Facebook.

So this all begs a questions....Is blogging worth it?

Yes. I would say so. Not only is it an easy venue to write on a regular basis, but it's fun to look back and see what kind of a jackass I was a year ago. For instance, Firestone is no longer killing me. I've actually met a bunch of my neighbors and like most of them. Also, Megan now volunteers on the Oak Meadows HOA. God, bless her soul.

Another great thing is that it also provides an easy way for friends and stalkers to see what's on your mind. I would say more so than other social networking tools. I mean, there is only so much you can say in a status update on Facebook.

Lastly, it's nice to get an occasional comment so I know people are reading this stuff. The winner for the post that generated the most comments was I Wish I could Dance. Thank you Rick Astley. You did it again.

Conferences

2008-07-15T16:50:00.007-06:00

You know what I like even better than conferences - free conferences. There are many that I would attend if I had unlimited time and money. Here are links to a few great conferences who decided to go open source and give away their session lectures for free. Even if you're not a church leader or pastor, there's some good stuff here:

Innovate 2007

Buzz Conference 2007

Text and Context

Multi-Site Exposed

Podcasts I Can't Live Without

2008-07-07T12:30:00.001-06:00

We all have sources of news and inspiration that we return to on a regular basis. For most of us those sources are people, places, texts, blogs, music, art, TV, etc.. In the last couple years, podcasting has become one of those sources for me. Podcasting provides an easy, free way for me to pass time during my 25 minute commute and stay in touch with what's happening in culture and different churches around the country. Here are some of my favorites. Since I am Christian leader I listen to a lot of other church leaders across the states. You may feel that this list is uninspiring and grossly incomplete. I many times feel the same way. Which is why I'd love to know what you've been podcasting lately. Please, post a comment with your current list and hopefully we can inspire each other.

Catalyst Podcast - A leadership filter for current happenings in the church.

NPR - This American Life - First-person stories and short fiction pieces that are touching, funny, and surprising.

Fermi Project - gives listeners a behind-the-scenes experience with thought leaders on the topics of the Culture, the Future, the Church and the Gospel.

KCRW - The Politics of Culture - examines the intersection where the world of politics and culture meet and sometimes collide.

Relevant Magazine - God, life, progressive culture.

The Village Church - Matt Chandler in Dallas, TX.

Cornerstone Simi - Francis Chan in Simi Valley, CA.

Imago Dei Community - Rick McKinnley in Portland, OR.

Mars Hill - Rob Bell in Grand Rapids, MI.

Mosaic - Erwin McManus in Los Angeles, CA.

Elevation Church - Steven Furtick in Charlotte, NC.

North Point - Andy Stanley in Atlanta, GA.

Healer Videos

2008-07-06T17:32:00.001-06:00

Great story from the upcoming Hillsong album. Make sure to watch both videos.

Link from Stephen Brewster and Ben Arment

Walking With God

2008-06-20T22:34:00.006-06:00

I've intentionally slacked off in my blogging in the last couple weeks. That's what happens when you go on vacation. No computer. No email. Simply rest.

We went to Clear Lake, Indiana for a week. Not exactly an exotic vacation destination, but enough to recharge the battery and get a nice tan. It's always good to see the family and catch up with a few close friends.

While I was there, I finished the book Walking with God by John Eldredge. This was the first book I've ever read by John Eldredge. I understand that it is somewhat of a sin to be a Christian male having never read Wild at Heart, but I guess it's for the same reason I've never really joined a men's group at church. They weird me out. Not men. Just groups of men....reading books.

Though, I must say I thought this book was fantastic. It's not deep lofty theology. He doesn't attempt to offer the 5 latest principles for fulfillment. It's simply one year from the journal of a guy who is trying his best to walk with God, listen to God and hear from God. I would consider myself in the same category.

I never heard of this book until I was browsing through the book section of Walmart (I know....shame on me) one day picked it up because I was somehow intrigued by the title. What hooked me is when I read the introduction:

"This is a series of stories of what it looks like to walk with God over the course of about a year.

It is our deepest need, as human beings, to learn to live intimately with God. It is what we were made for. Back in the beginning of our story, before the fall of man, before we sent the world spinning off its axis, there was a paradise called Eden. In that garden of life as it was meant to be, there lived the first man and woman. Their story is important to us because whatever it was they were, and whatever it was they had, we also were meant to be and have. And what they enjoyed above all the other delights of that place was this - they walked with God. They talked with him, and he with them.

For this you and I were made. And this we must recover.

I've spent too many years trying to figure out life on my own. Reading books, attending classes, always keeping an eye out for folks who seemed to be getting the hang of things. I'd notice that the neighbors' kids seemed to be doing well, and I'd think to myself, 'What do they do that I'm not doing? Their kids are in sports. Maybe I should get mine in sports. I'd walk away from a conversation with someone who seemed to be on top of the world, and afterward I'd think, 'She seems so well-read. I'm not reading enough. I should read more. I'd hear that a colleague was doing well financially, and quickly jump to, 'He spends his time managing his money. I ought to do that. We do this all the time, all of us, this monitoring and assessing and observing and adjusting, trying to find the keys to make life work.

We end up with quite a list. But the only lasting fruit it seems to bear is that it ties us up in knots. Am I supposed to be reading now, or exercising, or monitoring my fat intake, or creating a teachable moment with my son?

The good news is you can't figure out life like that. You can't possibly master enough principles and disciplines to ensure that your life works out. You weren't meant to, and God won't let you. For He knows that if you succeed without him, we will be infinitely further from him..."

She's a keeper.

2008-06-16T15:44:00.006-06:00

I love my wife. I really do. I don't know what I'd do without her. I'm not saying this because of something in particular she did for me (although I wouldn't be opposed to coming home to an iPhone 3G in July). I'm just be reminded of how good she is for me. Bear with me, this could potentially sound like a card out of the Christian section of the Hallmark store....

Earlier this week, I was taking a walk in the park near our house and God was showing me what a gift I have. I was reminded that my highest calling as husband is to love my wife like Christ loves the church. That's a serious deal. Furthermore, I realized that as a husband one of the best ways to dampen my intimacy with God is to not focus on being intimate with my wife. And I'm not just talking about sex - though sex is also a good thing :). You can have a lot of sex and still not know that person deeply.

I'm finding that one of the best ways to keep intimacy alive is to simply pray together. I know. It's very elementary. But I find things are better when we pray. The problems don't necessarily go away. I'm just not a jerk as often when I pray.

I'm looking forward to getting away again with Megan this next week. We're going back to Indiana for a week. The family owns a lake cottage up at Clear Lake. I plan on doing some mildly serious wakeboarding.

If you're in the area, feel free to come hang out with us.

Muxtape

2008-06-13T11:25:00.004-06:00

I Heart Technology

2008-06-10T09:00:00.001-06:00

It's time for another geek moment. I have one of these every now and then. Just bought a new camera yesterday. We decided to stick with a Canon because they're basically off-the-hinge. I'm stoked because the video quality on this bad boy is stunning. Hoping to post some more videos in the near future.

Oh....you want to see what it looks like? Gotcha covered.

But there's something else I'm even more excited about. They are now selling wifi storage disks for these cameras. Basically, you never have to plug your camera into your computer. Just turn it on and all of the photos and videos will upload to your computer and out to any social networking sites if you want. Proud to be American.

Church with a clean slate

2008-06-09T09:00:00.002-06:00

For some years now I have felt called to the local church. And not just to be a part, but to help lead it. I don't think there was a distinct moment when I realized this, it just became apparent over time. It's kind of like the way I fell in love with my wife (except I love my wife way more). I'm not really sure at what point in our relationship I fell in love with her. It just became obvious to me that I was, indeed, in love.

I've been in full time ministry for 4 years now. I started of as a youth director and then moved into the creative director position and now I oversee and coordinate everything having to do with our weekend services. Lately I've had to reevaluate how I spend my time and back down from some stuff I love to do. This has been hard because honestly, when I consider all of the roles that are required for a church to function well, I would do them all if I could. But in order to be effective at a few things, I've had to learn to pass off other things. However, no matter which way you cut it, I love the body of Christ. I love doing whatever it takes to see lives change for the better.

As some of us have started to dream about the future of Vinelife, I've been able to take part in some high altitude conversations about the church. The kind of conversations where a few of us dream about what we would do if we had a clean slate. These types of conversations get my blood pumping. Questions come to mind like:

What could and what should the church look like?
What would we do differently from the way we currently 'do church'?
What does the world and our communities need and want from the church?
What do we have to offer that no one else can offer?
Do our communities need more churches and church services?
What has never been done before?

I imagine that these are some of the questions that the early followers of Christ had. That's a weird thought. In the coming months, I'll be giving more time in prayer and study to these very questions. I'll be praying that God would give us the faith and imagination to step into the unknown.

Ellary in the studio

2008-06-08T21:36:00.001-06:00

This is a quick clip of Ellary in the studio recording our sophomore EP. You will hear a section of the song "We Will Go" that will appear on this record. However, the soaring gospel vocals that you hear will not make the cut. It may become a hidden track though. I guess, you'll have to wait and see. You should that I am the one that responsible for the wailing vocals. I have a gift.

Ellary: In the Studio from Luke Humbrecht on Vimeo.

One Prayer

2008-05-28T20:06:00.003-06:00

Getting excited for the month of June at Vinelife. We will be joining close to a thousand other churches representing over half a million people for a June series called One Prayer. Here's the big idea:

If God could answer one prayer for the church around the world, what would your prayer be?

This will be a four week series where every church's lead pastor will preach 'live' the first week. The following three weeks we will show video messages of the one prayer from 3 other pastors/leaders across the country. Every church participating was invited to pre-produce a video message of their one prayer that is now in a database available for download. Though not every church submitted a video message (including Vinelife), there are still over 60 to choose from. This next week our team will sort through these messages and find the other prayers that we will show at Vinelife.

This is a very innovative series that was created by Life Church in Oklahoma. These guys are always pushing the envelope with good ideas. Anyways, you can get more info on one prayer at oneprayer.com.

Facebook

2008-05-20T07:58:00.004-06:00

I have given in to the cultural forces and surrendered to Facebook. Really, it's about convenience. Facebook integrates well with so many other sites. Not sure about my MySpace account anymore. I'm considering deleting it. Anyways come find me on Facebook, you can follow the link above to get to it. Here are some of the other sites I'm on. More to Come.

MySpace
Jott
Twitter
Pownce
Flickr
Skype - lhumbrecht
iChat - revhumbrecht

Me-Hee-Co, I miss you already

2008-05-19T14:49:00.004-06:00

I have now returned from the land of Mexico. I must say it was exactly what I needed at a fraction of the cost of Hawaii. Here are a few highlights from the trip. I posted the rest of the photos on flickr.

New Amigos - First night in Cancun we met Jon and Heather. Some of the coolest people from Canada I've ever met, ay? The first night we chatted at table by the beach for nearly 3 hours. After that, we pretty much spent the rest of our trip with them. Every meal for the next 5 days. Seems strange right? But it was a blast.

Sunburn - On the first day on the beach we tried out the spray on sunblock. What I discovered was that some things were never meant to be made into a spray. The end of the day in the sun left me with a burn that somewhat resembled the shape of North America on my chest and mysteriously placed lines on my back.

Reading - Didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked. But was able to take a jab at a few different books - Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama, Shopping for God by James Twitchell, Branding Faith by Phil Cooke. For the rest of my current reading list check out my Shelfari.

Snorkeling - At different points in the trip we travelled out to Isla Mujeres and Akumal to do some mean snorkeling. Saw some manta rays, baracuda, sea turtles & other colorful fish. The water was incredibly clear. I gotta admit when I first saw the giant manta ray swimming just underneath me, I panicked a bit. Im pretty sure I cursed several times in my snorkel. After all, didn't something like this kill Steve Irwin? I surely didn't want to get stung in the heart like Steve. So, I did the only thing I knew to do - started flailing. Apparently I kicked my snorkeling buddies in the head at different points of our underwater excursions. But it was worth it....

French Kiss - The first night when we were sitting at our table by the beach a kind, a drunken French man mistook me for John Lennon's son and kissed me on the cheek. And I'm not talking a little peck. It was a good 3 seconds. And he his face was scruffly. I've never known what it feels like to have someone else's scratchy face to rub against my face until this moment. The great thing is that I wasn't angered. For some weird reason, this happenstance seemed completely in context. What I mean to say is that it felt right. Afterall, it was our first night in Cancun. I'm hoping that never happens again though.

Parasite - Megan and I had travelled with Jon and Heather down to Akumal on our last full day in Mexico. After several hours of both snorkeling and beach time, we ended our visit to Akumal with a stop at Lucy's Fish Taco shack. There we ordered some ice cream. It was tasty, but I'm pretty sure this is where I picked up my parasite. Needless to say, that night didn't go so well after we got back to our hotel. I am still carrying this parasite. I've named it Petey.

2 Days Until Cancun

2008-05-07T22:18:00.003-06:00

In approximately 36 hours Megan I will be on our way to Cancun, Mexico for a little vacation. I'm pretty stoked because it's been a while since we've taken a real vacation. This will be my first time to the nice part of Mexico. I've been to Juarez three times but that hardly counts as a vacation destination. I seriously need some rest and relaxation, so I will not be taking my laptop with me. Yes, that means no blogging and no email. Not sure how I'm gonna do it. I guess I'll have to give my time to other things...

reading.
walking.
swimming.
praying.
listening.
snorkeling.
sleeping.
eating,
being merry.

New Coldplay Song

2008-04-29T13:34:00.006-06:00

The much anticipated Coldplay album is on it's way. They just released their first pre-release song "Violet Hill" which is available for free at coldplay.com. Also, they released the artwork for their upcoming album. Definitely a change from their typical simplistic designs.

I Could Kill You

2008-04-28T09:53:00.007-06:00

I had some of the college guys over the other night for an innocent game of Texas Hold'em. That is - innocent until some one mentioned that they had seen a video on YouTube of a guy slicing through someone's skin with a card. What they didn't know was that as an adolescent, my friends and I had learned how to throw playing cards in a similar manner. Without saying anything, I picked up a card from the bottom of the burn pile and hurled it at the cabinets on the other side of my kitchen. As you can see, the card never fell to the floor. I'm considering changing my name to Gambit.

Shaun, Steve & Joe would be proud.

Ellary Photoshoot

2008-04-22T16:02:00.004-06:00

Here are a few photos from the ellary photo shoot that went down a couple weekends ago. I must mention that all photos were taken by the one and only Joseph DesGeorges III. These shots were taken in an alley on The Hill in Boulder and also at The Sink restaurant.

Story of Stuff

2008-04-21T15:34:00.003-06:00

Any of us in the business of communicating ideas know that just because an idea is good doesn't mean it will stick with people. Many of us have good ideas but have trouble convincing those around us to care. I've met a lot of passionate missionaries, pastors & entrepreneurs that have so many good ideas but it seems like they can never get any momentum.

On the flip side, there are bad ideas that can gain a lot of momentum. For instance, the Big Mac. Now to be clear, I like the Big Mac. But if I'm honest, deep inside I know every time that I put one in my mouth that it's a bad idea. However, McDonald's has convinced me that I need it. Even after watching the documentary SuperSize, I was left anxious for my next visit to McDonald's.

Even though what separates a good idea from a bad idea is a subjective debate, there are definitely concrete reasons for why certain ideas (good or bad) gain momentum.

One of these momentum generators is simplicity.

Can an average person wrap his or her head around the idea?
Can you sufficiently describe the idea in 1 or 2 sentences?
Does a visual or mental picture come to mind when you think of the idea?

If the answer is "no" to any of these questions than the idea isn't simple enough. We live in an information-rich and time-poor culture. People crave simplicity.

I came across this video called The Story of Stuff. I saw it several months ago, but saw it again recently and was reminded of how they took a complex idea and communicated it simply and effectively. Using basic illustrations and vocabulary no greater than a 7th grade reading level, Annie Leonard describes global and environmental issues in a compelling way. Though I don't agree with the entire content of the video, I still find it creative and simple.

I Wish I Could Dance

2008-04-07T13:10:00.005-06:00

I am not a dancer. But, if there was one thing I could change about my story thus far, I guess I wish I could have picked up some moves by now. My last serious attempt at dancing was at my wedding two years ago. Both Megan and I really had no idea what to do with our feet so we just kissed for 4 1/2 minutes while spinning around in circles. It seemed to work. But I still wish I could cut a rug on the spot, if needed.

I would say my inspiration comes from Rick Astley in his music video "Never Gonna Give You Up".

I want to be the type of guy that can dance into a room, and then when people see me they're inspired to dance too. Kind of like Rick influences the bartender in this video. Seriously, watch the video and pay attention to the progression of events:

0:53 - Bartender is a jerk
0:57 - Bartender starts to loosen up a bit
1:15 - A complete transformation in the bartender. In literally 20 seconds he moves from being a cold-hearted jerk to a dancing convert. Rick Astley, you did it again.
1:34 - Bartender discovers that "the running man" best represents his current emotions.
1:43 - Bartender - "I'm out of here".
2:08 - Because of Rick Astley, not only does the bartender now love life again, but he can't help but make a guest appearance outside of the confines of the dance hall. His enthusiasm propels him to bounce off a random chain-link fence. I do that sometimes.
2:26 - This one could be easily missed, but we see that the bartender makes another appearance with a speedy backflip. Essentially, this backflip represents a hearty "thank you" from the bartender to Rick Astley for another life-changing moment.

Social Networking. Less Work. Ahh.

2008-03-31T13:50:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, I went to lunch with a friend of mine and creator of MySpaceOrYours.net, Heather Buna. She gave me the scoop on a brand new site called "SocialThing!" which is much like FriendFeed. She sent me an invite this morning and I immediately went to check it out. This site is essentially a social networking aggregator. It allows you to view and post to almost every main social networking site through an easy interface.

For instance, I currently have an account with Blogger, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, Pownce & others. I often get overwhelmed by the amount of sites I feel like I have to check to stay current. SocialThing! allows you to store all of your account information for each of these sites and also gathers the friends that you've accumulated on all of the sites. You can also post a comment and choose which sites it will go to. If you select 'all' you can post to everyone of your networking accounts with one click. SocialThing! is still a beta version so they're still working out kinks and such. It's hard to tell whether this will prove to be a time-saving application, but I still think it's a great idea for those with busy lifestyles.

This site is not open to the public yet, but I've been given 2 invites that I can send to anyone. If you're interested, shoot me a comment with your email.

Current Events

2008-03-28T13:47:00.005-06:00

My posts have slowed down quite a bit in the last month. I attribute most of this to a busy season at the church, in my freelance work and at home. To keep you my dearest friends in the know, here are a few things going on...

Ellary e.p. Recording - Every Wednesday & Thursday night for the last few months, the guys and I have been at the studio until 3 & 4 a.m.. This project has been much different than others I have worked on in the past. Since we essentially own the studio and are not paying for recording time, we have the liberty to be able to write and spend as much time as we need in the studio at no additional cost. This is both a great blessing and great curse. Needless to say, I'm pretty tired. Fortunately, we don't have much longer (cross your fingers).
Colorado Pass - This is the first year that I have been able to purchase the Colorado Pass, which is a season long lift ticket to 5 different mountains in Colorado. Great idea right? Well, when I bought the pass I didn't factor in that I would be in the middle of a several month long recording project that coincide with the 2007-2008 ski season. I only have about another month and a half of good riding ahead of me, so the plan is to try to go once a week until the snow begins to suck.

Anniversary - This coming Monday will be my 2 year anniversary. Hard to believe. To celebrate we are going to adopt a 38-year old African man from Rwanda. Not really, although the idea makes me chuckle. Seriously, we will be going to Cancun in May for a little vacation. Thank you, George W. Bush. We will be using our economic stimulus rebate to invest in Mexico's economy. Feel free to generously send over a "Happy Anniversary" comment. Also, if you would like to purchase Megan and I a gift, we are registered on eBay & CraigsList.

Vinelife Unplugged Review

2008-03-25T13:59:00.007-06:00

You might remember that I was part of a recording project last summer called Vinelife Unplugged.

Here is a review of the album from cmcentral.com.

"If you enjoy your worship on the mellow side, if you want to transcend the cluttered landscape and throw out your electronic scheduling device, if you’re longing for a worship experience that feels true…..this is the worship album for you.

"...the project intersects beauty, worship, and art. I can’t stop listening to it."

"First off, it must be said, Vinelife Unplugged is a guitar-lover’s dream. The gently strumming opener “Twenty Three” moves Aaron’ Strumpel’s husky vocal from a thicket of warm harmonies into freely flowing worship over edgy acoustic rhythms, while tender guitar noodling enhances Humbrecht’s “Sweetly Singing.”

"The album’s eleven tracks flow like warm honey; if unplugged is your preference, it just doesn’t get any better than this."

To read the Complete review, go to cmcentral.com.
If you would like to listen to/purchase the album, here are few links:

Hermeneutics Quiz

2008-03-16T23:12:00.002-06:00

I came across this quiz that assesses an individual's ability to interpret and apply Scripture. The correct term for this is Hermeneutics. This quiz is only 20 questions long and ranks you on a scale from conservative to liberal. My overall score came out to be 62 - Moderate.

I would love to know what yours is.

Go ahead and take the test and comment me with your score and label. This should be interesting.

Hermeneutics Quiz

This Will Destroy You

2008-03-04T15:50:00.005-07:00

A couple weeks ago, when I was in Fort Wayne, my friend Jonny told me about the band This Will Destroy You. I must admit I was a little uncertain of this recommendation and for that matter uncertain of all musical entities that deem themselves "post-rock". I figured that this label was just a sly cover for another ambitious hardcore band.

I was wrong.

About a week ago I hopped on iTunes and downloaded their latest self-titled album which has added much value to my music library. They are a 4-piece instrumental band from Texas that have no trouble delivering melodic and emotional soundscapes similar to those of Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky.

Shortly after I downloaded the album, Jonny emailed me to inform me that TWDY was going to be in Denver. So, last night Megan and I and a couple friends ventured to the Hi-Dive bar in Denver to experience TWDY. I must say it was pretty amazing. They played a short set, but long enough to tell a story through their music.

If you haven't heard these guys yet, go check them out. At the very least it makes for great easy listening music during work hours or a time of solitude.

Denver Loves Sex

2008-02-25T15:20:00.003-07:00

A recent study by Forbes attempted to pinpoint the most sinful cities in America. They limited the survey to the 7 deadly sins - greed, lust, sloth, envy, gluttony, pride and wrath. Surprisingly, Denver is considered the #1 most lustful city in America. The survey tracked the sales of condoms and contraceptives in various cities, and here is what they found:

"Denver topped the list with an index of 289, which translates into 189% more contraceptives sales than normally expected for a market its size."

I'm not sure that "lustful" is an accurate assessment seeing as how many married couples use condoms, but it is interesting to know that the general population of Denver likes to have sex. Maybe it has something to do with the altitude.

Across the Universe

2008-02-21T16:47:00.002-07:00

I just saw the movie Across the Universe a couple days ago. It took me a little while to get into it, but I thought is was a splendid film. If you haven't seen of it, it is definitely worth seeing. My only question is, why wasn't this kid in the movie.

Link courtesy of Tim Stevens

LOVE: Where is the line?

2008-02-21T11:10:00.005-07:00

I came across some designers over at the Plow who are wrestling with the issues surrounding what it means to truly love our enemies. When Jesus said "Love your enemies", was he just referring to the guy who cut us off in traffic earlier today? Or does the enemy column also include international terrorists? If so, what would it mean for us to love them? Is it OK to kill the people we're called to love? Some would consider such love as idealism. And not that I have the answers to such questions, but I do often ask - How revolutionary is the love that Jesus showed and the love that Jesus has called us to?"

Suggested Listening: Derek Webb - "My Enemies are Men Like Me"

Indiana Day 2 - 5: Lakes James, Brookside, Go-Karts & Starbucks

2008-02-10T13:04:00.007-07:00

I must apologize for my lack of updates on the Indiana trip. There was no internet connection at the camp we led worship at and any free time we had we spent sleeping. It would take forever to go back and retell the story of the last week. So, I'll just list some of the highlights.

Friday

In the morning, we met my dear friend Eric Spreng at the Espresso Gallery coffee shop.
Drove to Lake James to set up for IGNITE winter camp.
Found a hole in the wall pit BBQ joint and indulged ourselves.
Met camp speaker Nathan Grubb.
Led worship for over 100 highschoolers.
Got hungry. Drove to the nearest Steak and Shake for a Frisco Burger. I got a salad because I'm healthy.

Saturday

Woke up. Took showers invpossibly the nastiest smelling water all of time. I seriously think someone took a poo in the water line.
Led worship for over 100 highschoolers while smelling like poo.
Hung out and had conversation about worship with the IGNITE worship band (also members of the band Sonorous)
Drove Sean and John back to Ft. Wayne. Showed them the ole stomping grounds. Met Eric and Steve at Munchies. I ordered a BBQ chicken unwrap. It was tasty.
Went to Wal-Mart to purchase the DVD "Hotrod". If you haven't seen this movie, go see it. However, it must be watched in the context of an immature male audience.
Drove back to Lake James and took a crazy nap.
Led worship for the Saturday evening session of camp. Our song "Always Remember" seemed to resonate with the students.
After the evening session, we packed up all of our gear and took off to set up at Brookside Church in Ft. Wayne. We had the option of setting up in the morning at 5:00am or setting up that night at 12:00am. We chose the latter.
When we arrived at Brookside at 12:00 am we were introduced to the worship pastor Nick Hudson. Nick and a guy named Rhino were kind enough to help us set up until 2:00am. Just before we left, Nick read Psalm 121 to us. It was a very refreshing moment.
Went back to Jason's Father-in-law's house and crashed at about 2:30am.

Sunday

Woke up and drove to Brookside to lead worship for the two morning services. We met many kind people at Brookside and we are extremely greatful for the way they received us.
Went to Jason's grandparent's house for lunch. I met the parents of my senior pastor and they showed us many never before seen photographs of the Roberson family. Funny stuff. We also celebrated Grandpa Roberson's birthday. He seemed to like that.
Exhausted from the weekend, we drove back to Steve Barcus's house and crashed for the entire afternoon.
Later that night we returned to Brookside to lead worship for their college service. A bunch of our peeps showed up to hang out with us. Specifically Jonny, Travis, Britanny, Angelica, and Brent.
After the college service we packed up we drove out to a little pub called Buckets on the west side of town. Our peeps followed us there.
While at Buckets, sometime in mid-conversation Jonny casually informs the band that Radiohead's In Rainbows has a second disc. Who knew? Fortunately, he had the disc in his car, so we were able to burn the disc and enjoy it for our travels back to dry climate.
Oh yeah, it was colder than anything imaginable in Fort Wayne. Seriously. My mind has no capacity for wind chills of -24 below.

Monday

My Monday looked a bit different than the other guys'. I woke up at about 9:30 am and called up my old friend Ralph. When I say old friend I actually me old. He's probably in his late 70's. I met Ralph at his house and we went to iHop for a little breakfast. It's always a good time visiting Ralph. He tells me about his model A cars, antique clocks and the recent weather patterns of Northern Indiana. It's great.
Afterwards, I went back to the hosue to find the rest of the guys still sleeping. So, I called up Eric and Steve and we went to get some Sushi on the north end of town.
After sushi and joyous recollections of past memories, I ended my time in Fort Wayne with a punctuation better than any trip I have ever taken.....ever. We went go-karting.
It was kind of weird walking into the indoor go-kart track at 2:30 pm, but it was meant to be. Besides, it was Steve's birthday so it was more of a celebration than anything. It was the most fun on go-karts I have ever had. It was the kind where you were actually able to tun into other go-karts. Truly amazing!
At approximately 4:30 pm we packed up and said goodbye to Fort Wayne.

Drive Home

I don't think I need to recap the drive home, but I will mention one moment in particular. Sometime in the middle of the night Jason was driving and opened the cooler to grab a cold Starbucks beverage. He tore off the plastic wrapping and began to shake the beverage as the instructions direct. Suddenly, in some kind of freak accident, the cap popped of as he was shaking the beverage and the chilled coffee found it's way all over the van and all over Jason's head. We all looked at each other in silence for the first 5 seconds and then we let loose. It was the funniest thing I've seen in some time. Definitely was the highlight of the trip coming home.

Indiana Day 1: A Van, Red Bull & Steak and Shake

2008-02-07T22:14:00.002-07:00

We left Denver, CO at 11:30 MST on Wednesday evening and arrived in Fort Wayne, IN at 7:30 MST on Thursday evening for a total travel time of 20 hours. As always, this drive has worked me over. Fortunately, before we departed Colorado we pooled our collective genious and made space in the van for a futon mattress. This one act upgraded our trip from Completely Miserable to Pretty Aweful.

About an hour before arrival, we all stopped to get some Steak & Shake. If you have never had Steak and Shake before then you are surely missing out on God's gift to the midwest. However, it's not as much as a gift an hour after consumption when you are with three other guys in a van. This story will go no further.

There's not much to mention about the drive through eastern Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois besides the surplus of adult superstores on the I-70 frontage road. Seriously, at least one every three exits in some areas. It was both laughable and sad.

We are now winding down and getting ready for a big day tomorrow. Anyone in Fort Wayne wanna have breakfast tomorrow?

2008-02-01T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is the poster for February 10th at Brookside Church. I understand that this photo is 3 years old and we look like porn stars, but we had to use something. So back off.

Ft. Wayne, I'm on my way

2008-02-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that next Thursday, for the first time in history, Ellary will be meeting and greeting Ft. Wayne, IN. That's right, we're packing up the guitars, amps, drums, pyro-technics, midgets, Andrew Keaton and Red Bull and heading to Hoosierland for a quick 5 day trip. Next Friday and Saturday we will be leading worship at the winter retreat for the youth ministry of First Assembly. Then on Sunday we will be heading up to Brookside Church to lead worship for their two morning services and evening college gathering.

As you may know, both Jason and myself are Ft. Wayne natives. So, it will be an exciting moment when we get to walk John, Sean and Andrew through our old stomping grounds. I've started assembling a list of all the FW must-see attractions. Here are a few sites to name a few:

Coney Island
Firefly Coffeehouse
Munchie Emporium
Village Bowl
Henry's Bar
The sweet skyline
La Rez
The Amish in Grabill
Pontiac Street
The nice mall
The mall that used to be the nice mall
Steve's apartment
Ralph Saine (need I say more)
Rave Movie Theater
Headwater's Park
The golf course that Joe, Sean and I lit on fire
Probably everything that Jason used to vandalize
Jerry's Burger Dairy
Obesity
Power's Hamburgers
Hyde Brothers Bookstore
The Old Fort

If you feel that there are any other FW attractions that didn't make this list please notify me promptly.

Quote

2008-01-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

"Unfortunately, many churches are so afraid of making mistakes that they don’t; that’s why the creative process dies. Creativity and failure are twins.”

- Erwin McManus

Winter Retreat

2008-01-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

I came back late Saturday night from our high school winter retreat in Estes Park, CO. It always amazes me what can happen when you take a grip of teenagers up to the mountains for a weekend devoted to God. Being up there took me back to my youth camp days. I remember many defining moments at winter and summer camps back in Indiana. It honors me to be part of creating those moments for a new generation of Christ followers.

And it never gets old. Almost every winter and summer for the past 12 years I've journeyed to a distant place with a new group of kids. And every time it is an entirely new experience.

I led worship during the morning and evening sessions. I'm always a bit uncertain when it comes to leading worship with just an acoustic guitar and a small voice. You never know how people will respond. I was blown away when the kids were literally singing and screaming the lyrics at the top of their voice. That always makes for a good time.

There was girl named Anne that joined us for the first time at the retreat. After the first evening session I asked her how she was doing. She responded "That was intense. I've never been in a time of worship where everyone was so passionate about what they were singing. It all seems so real." That statement came as both an encouragement and discouragement. Why is it so rare for the people of God to worship with any kind of passion?

At this retreat, Anne reminded me of why I do what I do.

Review: Pop Goes the Church

2008-01-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

After a long day at Ziggi's coffee shop, I finished Tim Stevens latest offering - Pop Goes the Church: Should the Church Engage Pop Culture? You might remember from one of my recent blogs that I was selected as part of a group that was asked to review Tim's book and give criticism and critique. I can't quote from the book or give you too many details, but I will share a few thoughts. I've never met Tim, but I can tell you a few things I've learned about him through his book.

Tim is a pastor. This is a good thing to look for when reading a book on this topic for a couple of reasons. First of all, he cares about communicating clearly and effectively before he cares about sounding smart and lofty. You can tell that his main goal is to connect with the reader, not primarily to impress the reader. There's a big difference. Secondly, as a local church leader myself, it is hard to buy into someone's ideas and opinions about local church ministry if you know they aren't involved local church ministry. Tim is grounded. Tim gets his hands dirty week after week. He deals with the same people and the same problems that every church leader faces. This alone gives his words weight and credibility.

Tim is direct. This is another thing I love about this book. He makes no apologies for leveraging pop culture to reach more people. I can't stand it when I see church leaders feel like they have to offer expansive disclaimers every time they do something "edgy". One of PGTC's major themes is if you feel that tapping into pop culture will help you communicate an idea, do it without feeling sorry for the the people who don't like change. Tim quickly convinces the reader of this using mind-blowing statistics, several biblical texts and a handful of real life stories.

Tim has a balanced perspective. There are few things that Tim mentioned in his book that made me sigh with relief. In the many conversations about church relevance, it is very rare to find leaders who still can honestly say that they have hope for the local church. Tim is one of them. While it's true that the church and religious organizations often get in the way of Christ's message, I must confess that I still believe it can and should be the other way around. Furthermore, it is good to hear Tim constantly reinforce the idea that being trendy, cool & buzz-worthy is not the point of the book. Nor should it be the primary focus of the church. But rather we are to leverage these things as tools to help people know that they matter to God. This is refreshing. Especially when I see so many church leaders and bloggers striving to be the next somebody. Some leaders have taken the encouragement to be relevant so far that they have become somewhat narcissistic. Tim warns against this.

Tim is convinced. And so am I. People all over are searching for truth, life and beauty wherever they can find it. The sad reality is that many have tried church in their pursuit of God and have not been able to find Him there. In PGTC, Tim insists that we must turn this around. But why is the church so afraid of truth unless it is packaged with Christian wrapping paper? Is it not true that all truth is God's truth? The church must become a people and a place where life and meaning can be found and this means that we have do things differently. To reach who no one has reached we must do what no one has done.

McManus on Church Decline

2008-01-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

In an article called Cultural Architect: Why Churches Are Declining in America Erwin McManus offers some suggestions on why churches are declining in America.

“My primary assessment would be because American Christians tend to be incredibly self-indulgent so they see the church as a place there for them to meet their needs and to express faith in a way that is meaningful for them,”

“I think the bottom line really is our own spiritual narcissism. There are methods and you can talk about style, structure and music, but in the end it really comes down to your heart and what you care about,” he said.

Holy Ghost Tees

2008-01-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most irreverent yet simultaneously brilliant T-shirt ideas I've ever seen! At this site, you can buy T-shirts that 'speak in tongues'. Or, at least they write out the pronunciation of what many charismatic evangelicals would call tongues. Brilliant. Simply brilliant.

Pop Goes the Church

2008-01-16T15:43:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I returned from a snowboarding trip to find an email with this title in the subject line: "You have been selected to help Tim Stevens!"

Last week, Tim Stevens author of the upcoming book Pop Goes the Church: Should the Church Engage Pop Culture posted an invitation on his blog for 10 church leaders to help him put the finishing touches on his book. Essentially, these reviewers would need to read the book in the next two weeks and offer comments and suggestions on the writing. Now I normally am not the type who responds to such invitations but I like Tim and I like the subject at hand, so I shot his assistant an email.

Lo and Behold, I was selected.

I kind of feel like Charlie from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (except maybe a little less epic). Seeing as how I don't win a whole lot of things, I almost feel like I just found a golden ticket. It makes me wonder what other children from around the world have also found the golden tickets.

I am honored and privileged to be able to play even a small part in helping Tim refine his book. I am a firm believer that the Church should be at the forefront in pointing to signs of life in the culture that surrounds us. God is always at work in unlikely places. We just have to keep our eyes open to recognize Him.

I just got the manuscript today and am looking forward to reading it. I'll let you know when I'm done.

Failure To Launch

2008-01-14T10:23:00.002-07:00

This is an image I created for an upcoming series we are doing at Vinelife called Failure To Launch. It will be a 3 week series about spiritual growth and development. The idea came from a conversation in the blogging world between Dave Ferguson at Community Christian Church, Tim Stevens at Granger. The big idea of this series will be to help people understand spiritual maturity in terms of infancy, adolescence and adulthood:

Spiritual Infancy = Getting Fed
Spiritual Adolescence = Feeding Yourself
Spiritual Adulthood = Feeding Others

I think any of us who have ever grown up immersed in church life have heard the sentiment: "I just feel like I'm not getting fed."
That may be true in many cases, but did Jesus ever intend that the main thrust of our spiritual growth come from weekend sermons?

Bill Hybels and Willowcreek Community Church, one of the most influential churches America, recently released a study called REVEAL. The whole book has to do with how involvement in church programs slash services does not equal spiritual maturity. This excerpt comes from the Chrisitanity Today blog:

"Having spent thirty years creating and promoting a multi-million dollar organization driven by programs and measuring participation, and convincing other church leaders to do the same, you can see why Hybels called this research “the wake up call” of his life.

Hybels confesses:
'We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.'"

So the question is, how are you launching in your spiritual growth? if not, what's keeping you from launching? Are you feeding yourself and more importantly are you feeding others? Do you rely on services and programs or do practice the spiritual disciplines (or spiritual pleasures) so that you can feed yourself?

Smile upon me, 2008

2008-01-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

The year 2008 is here, and I have been thrust into it at a high velocity. I am just now sitting to chronicle my resolutions. I'm 10 days late. Nevertheless, this is a needed moment. So, here I go.

Enjoy life. Don't be sucked into the speed and noise of everyday living.

Play hard. Snowboarding. Wakeboarding. Hiking (maybe not). Camping ( most definitely not). Tennis. Poker. Settlers of Catan (oh yes, Cities and Knights too).

Innovate. Be a leader. Look into the future. Do what no one else is doing. Love who no one else is loving. Learn from innovative people. Don 't conform. Break away from the pack.

Work out somewhat regularly. At least twice a week. Optimistically, three times a week. Drive to Snap Fitness and begin membership, right now. Obtain washboard abdominals.

Listen more. Listen to God. Listen to my wife. Listen to friends. Listen to creation.

Read a lot. Bible. Books. Romans 12, daily. Poetry. More fiction in my reading diet. Blogs. Relevant. Paste.

Write more. Increase blog posts. Comment on other blogs. Write songs with melodies that turn the world upside down. Give more thought to and possibly begin writing a book.

Take some risks. We only have one shot at life. Buy a llama.

Love my wife more. Go on better dates. Let her pick a movie every now and then. Make her laugh more.

Record another record. Got a head start on this one. Hopefully, we'll have an e.p. released by March. Start working on next record.

Design More. Create something daily. Except on Saturdays. Buy a camera. Learn photography. Think outside of the box.

Drink more wine. Learn how to actually pick out different flavors without pretending. Become a perceived wine snob. Buy a couple bottles that are $50 or more. Maybe get into high-end cheese too.

Collect more cigars. Not to necessarily smoke more of them. But mainly to keep a solid selection. Rigorously keep humidor at 70% humidity. Buy new hydrometer. Bet you don't know what that is. Also, continue pursuit of becoming a cigar snob. Become a regular at Jonny's Cigar Bar in Boulder.

Drink more water. Less Coke. Vitamin water will do.

Don't just know, but do. Regularly spend time with "the least of these". Hang out with the poor, not so I feel good about myself, but because I really believe that's where Jesus can be found.

Engage Rwanda. Buy some more mosquito nets. Plan trip in November. Design a T-shirt that represents what we're doing but is also wearable slash trendy.

Communicate better. Speak less for more. Become a great storyteller. Get into people's experience. Respect people's time. Simplify.

Pay off debt. School. Cars. Washing Machine. As much as I can. Pack lunches more often.

Live simply. Don't accumulate stuff. Be content with little. Give some stuff away.

Watch some TV. Specifically LOST, Man s. Wild, the Office, Food Network, absolutely no LifeTime, and secretly Deal or No Deal so I can yell at people.

Child Prodigy

2008-01-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me this video just a little bit ago and I thought it was blog-worthy. It's a story of a 12-year old girl who has visions from God and is able to capture them in paintings. I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the Thomas Kincade-esque style, but the paintings are incredible nevertheless. Another remarkable thing is that she didn't grow up in a Christian family. Her parents are atheists. Goes to show you again that Christians don't own God.

LOST Is Coming Back

2007-12-31T15:42:00.001-07:00

This is the trailer for the new season of LOST. My heart may have skipped a beat while watching it. Can't wait until it starts.

Your Attention Please.

2007-12-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

In the last several months I've been studying about how to effectively communicate an idea in a culture where people are bombarded by ideas from every side. Those of us who live in America have learned to tune out noise and sift through clutter. The average person sees or hears nearly 3,000 marketing messages a day. You probably haven't thought about this because you have learned the art of filtering noise. You don't even pay attention anymore. And neither do the rest of us in the west.

Think about the number of emails you delete without reading.

Think about the number of mailers you throw away every week. Most of which you wouldn't be able to recall who the sender was.

Think about the last church sermon that you actually remember (hopefully it wasn't too long ago.)

Think about the last time you zoned out during a lecture or presentation.

Exactly.

In the book Your Attention Please, Paul Brown & Alison Davis share a startling find -

"A typical issue of New York Times contains more information than the average person in the seventeenth century was likely to encounter during his entire lifetime."

We live in the information age, and it's making everyone nauseous.

Words are like snowflakes. When a few fall, it's beautiful and leaves you in awe. But when it's a blizzard, you're only looking for the nearest retreat.

For those of us who are part of an organization whose success relies on communicating to people, this means we need to rethink our approach. We must find new ways to transcend the noise and make our ideas stick.

Suggested Reading: Your Attention Please, Made to Stick, Communicating for Change

I am now that guy

2007-12-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

It's officially true. I am now that guy. This morning Megan and I had our pictures professionally taken with our dog, Chloe. I never thought I would be this type of guy, but apparently I am. I even did the back-to-back thing with my wife (as seen in the first photo). Never saw this coming. Wow.

It all started when my wife won second place in a pet look-a-like contest in the Yellow Scene magazine. Part of the prize package was a professional portrait of our pet. I wasn't aware that I would be part of this portrait. It was already a bit disturbing to have others tell me my wife looked like my dog (she doesn't), but then I found out that I am now that guy. Again, wow.

However, you gotta admit she's cute.

Vertigo

2007-12-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

We'll be showing this video on Sunday during the service. It's a very creative way to communicate a message. We got this video from Granger Community Church in Northern Indiana. I'm pretty sure they adapted this video from a political campaign in Argentina.

What Would Jesus Buy?

2007-12-07T08:38:00.001-07:00

Christmas season is well on it's way and as usual, the lights, the gifts and the credit cards are following closely behind. Now, I like Christmas. I like the cookies, the trees, the lights, and even the gifts (not so much the awkwardly placed garland). As cliche as it has been for Christians to come out of their caves and attempt to preach a moving message about returning to the "true meaning" of Christmas, it is refreshing to know that some are doing it in a creative way.

Growing up, I remember how year after year I listened intently to the debates over whether school principals were going to hell if they dared to change "Christmas break" to "Winter Break". Subtly, it was said that unless we protected the phrase "Merry Christmas" from its heathen competitor "Happy Holidays" that baby Jesus would be disappointed and sad. But in hind sight, it's ironic to me that the same people that gave themselves to protecting surface level terms in the name of Christ never bothered to comment about over-consumption and debt.

Recently, I came across this movement among Christians called the Advent Conspiracy. It is an idea that was birthed out of Imago Dei in Portland and Ecclesia in Houston.

The idea is simple:

"Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by worshipping Jesus through compassion, not consumption."

Correlating to the launch of the Advent Conspiracy is the release of a new film called What Would Jesus Buy?. Morgan Spurlock, the filmmaker and director of the documentary Supersize Me is the one behind this new film about consumerism and Christmas. Rick McKinley and Morgan Spurlock recently sat down for a live interview at Imago Dei.

It is encouraging to know that we've been able to walk this out in our own community at Vinelife this Christmas season. We're focusing on the idea of missions and compassion by looking through the lens of one of the greatest bands of our time - U2. The series is called When Love Comes to Town.

Also, in a brilliant move by our senior pastor Walt Roberson, rather than giving Christmas bonuses to all of the staff at Vinelife, he decided to buy 100 mosquito nets to send to Rwanda. That's what I call a Christmas bonus.