It's the last night of Vacation Bible School tonight. We run our VBS Sunday-Thursday because of the inevitable Friday drop off. We did Group's Power Lab curriculum this year. We've been really happy overall with Group's stuff. There are a few things that could be tweaked, but overall a good product.
I have been in charge of music this year. It has been a blast. The songs are really catchy, which is a bonus. It's been fun to learn to the motions....the kids have really gotten into the worship time. Our program is on Sunday, I hope we get a good turnout, as many are drop-in kids, or your normal VBS hopping kids.
My mind was wondering last night about the possibility of doing another Bible school is August as school is getting ready to head back into session. Avenue doesn't have a formal children's ministry, but if we did, I think it could be dynamic. It could really make an impact in our community- especially where we are located. It would really be a integrated experience as children are much more open to that than adults are. This may be something to pray about in the upcoming weeks. Until then, I am looking to end well with Bible school and head to vacation on Sunday!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The CD is Finished
I am proud to finally say that our worship team's CD is finally finished. It took a lot longer than I expected, mostly because of scheduling issues. Last week, we met on Monday for a final day of recording, then we mixed the CD on Wednesday. We're listening over the latest mix to see if we want to make any changes before sending it off for duplication and packaging. I may be speaking too soon, but I don't think we'll be changing much.
The title of the CD is Come To The Well. The imagery is of Jesus and the Woman at the Well (John 4:1-26). Jesus tells the woman "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would haev given you living water." Our prayer has always been that those who are thirsty for God might come to Avenue and experience God's living water.
The title of the CD is Come To The Well. The imagery is of Jesus and the Woman at the Well (John 4:1-26). Jesus tells the woman "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would haev given you living water." Our prayer has always been that those who are thirsty for God might come to Avenue and experience God's living water.
The Song list for the CD is....
- Friend of God
- Love the Lord
- God of Wonders
- No One Like You
- Surrender
- Love Song
- You Are Holy
- I Am Free
- Your Love is Extravagant
- Amazed
- How Great is Our God
We are hoping that the CD will be available in August or September. We plan on having a CD release party of sorts here at the church centered around a time of worship. You can pre-order the CD by contacting me. We are asking for $10 for all pre-orders and $12 after August 3rd.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Back From Annual Conference
I attended the Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference this weekend in Princess Anne, Maryland. As an appointed student pastor, I am required to go. This was technically my second annual conference, but I did not attend because Andrea's due date was during conference. So on Friday, I made the 80 minute trip to University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Conference was.....about what I expected. This year, there was very little business to take care of. Aside from Friday, there were little resolution and/or debate. This may be a good thing because as recently as two years ago, there was much debate and tension on some hot topic issues. So, rather than business, we listened to report after report from various committees and teams.
Bishop Marcus Matthews preached during the opening sessions and told the conference that we must continue to move ahead as a church to reach new people. He said that we cannot put new wine into old wineskins and must be innovative in our approach to evangelism and discipleship. Then we sang a 200 year old hymn accompanied by the pipe organ. I think this is my biggest concern about conference. You have all these pastors and church leaders together and we listen to reports, rather than dialogue/model ways to reach those who do not know Christ. There was nothing modern about the worship services. It was business as usual, as if it were 195-something.
There were some good things about conference. As a young pastor, and a student, I am still learning other pastor's names, faces, and places. This weekend, I was encouraged to have several good discussions with pastors I knew, and some I didn't. That was probably the most helpful thing of the weekend.
Another great thing was one of the students from my church went forward during ordination about believing that God was calling him into some sort of ministry. It was exciting to pray with him, especially as he is a student that I have a lot of time and prayer invested in.
Finally, it was nice to do conference with Andrea and Abbie. While they did not attend conference, we stayed together in a hotel. I would come home in the afternoon and swim with them in the pool and had dinner together one evening. It was nice to be together as a family.
Conference was.....about what I expected. This year, there was very little business to take care of. Aside from Friday, there were little resolution and/or debate. This may be a good thing because as recently as two years ago, there was much debate and tension on some hot topic issues. So, rather than business, we listened to report after report from various committees and teams.
Bishop Marcus Matthews preached during the opening sessions and told the conference that we must continue to move ahead as a church to reach new people. He said that we cannot put new wine into old wineskins and must be innovative in our approach to evangelism and discipleship. Then we sang a 200 year old hymn accompanied by the pipe organ. I think this is my biggest concern about conference. You have all these pastors and church leaders together and we listen to reports, rather than dialogue/model ways to reach those who do not know Christ. There was nothing modern about the worship services. It was business as usual, as if it were 195-something.
There were some good things about conference. As a young pastor, and a student, I am still learning other pastor's names, faces, and places. This weekend, I was encouraged to have several good discussions with pastors I knew, and some I didn't. That was probably the most helpful thing of the weekend.
Another great thing was one of the students from my church went forward during ordination about believing that God was calling him into some sort of ministry. It was exciting to pray with him, especially as he is a student that I have a lot of time and prayer invested in.
Finally, it was nice to do conference with Andrea and Abbie. While they did not attend conference, we stayed together in a hotel. I would come home in the afternoon and swim with them in the pool and had dinner together one evening. It was nice to be together as a family.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Trip to Yankee Stadium
This past thursday, I had the opportunity to go to Yankee Stadium for the first time. I was pretty excited about the opportunity. While I don't think I'll ever make it to every city where there is a Major League team, I certainly would mind trying. (My friend Shane has two more to go, and it looks like he'll get them this year.) So I jumped on the opportunity to go visit the headquarters of the Evil Empire.
For all it's lore, legend, and history, I really didn't think Yankee Stadium was that much to look at. The concourses are small, and so are the space between the rows of seats. Evidently, we're bigger now than in the 20's (Thanks Krispy Kreme). I had the chance to go to Monument Park. The first part was very underwhelming (re: disappointing). There were just the players numbers with a plaque of some sort with highlights. When you turn the corner, you see the full bronze plaques, which is more of what I was expecting.
The game was everything you could ask for in a game. The Blue Jays had control for most of the game. The held a 2-run lead heading into the 9th inning when they brought closer BJ Ryan to the mound. Ryan let one run in (I think it was A-Rod when Matsui hit him in). So with Matsui on base, Jason Giambi walked up to the plate to pinch hit. He quickly was in an 0-2 hole with 2 outs. It looked like the game was over. Then Ryan grooved a pitch which Giambi destroyed to his a 2-out pinch hit, walk-off home run. (It's hard to believe that was the first one in Yankee history.) The place was electric.
All in all, it was a great day and a great game. So far on my slate, I will be at the Orioles v. Astros in a week. Then I get to see my Pirates take on the Phillies in Philly. There is talk of heading to Shea Stadium to see the Mets later this summer.
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