Here are a few pictures from the 1/2 marathon. I can’t wait to do it again. I’m totally hooked.

I made it! I had a great time and I honestly think I’ll do it again. I had been saying that after this I was giving up running, but I think that came from all the time I was having to spend training. It was so much fun. My mile pace was about what I had been training at. The reason for the slow pace at the start was because around mile 2 I had to make a pit-stop and there was a line. The clock keeps a-ticking despite Nature’s calling.

Murfreesboro is having a 1/2 marathon in October. Who’s with me?

I will be running in the Country Music 1/2 Marathon tomorrow. If you wish to use in-race tracking to follow my progress, my race # is 10688. You can either go to the official site or to the Tennessean’s marathon page to live vicariously through me.

I’ll update the site with my time and perhaps some pictures tomorrow.

I’ve decided to take part in CSS Naked Day. Which means the site is not making use of its CSS to style the content. In short, you see the content but not the presentation.

every stripe.

every bruise.

every piece of flesh ripped from His body

every slap.

every splinter from the cross He bore.

every step He took towards Calvary.

every fall.

every second of ridicule.

every rock thrown.

every scornful laugh.

every hammer blow.

every bead of sweat.

every drop of blood.

For without these, we are all lost.

Glorify Him for what He did. Don’t shed a tear in sorrow for..

HE’S ALIVE!!

Perry Noble returns.

To all senior pastors:

1. Deal with your pride and insecurities
   1. Exodus 4:1
   2. If God put it in your heart to say or do it and you don’t say or do it you are not a prophet of God.
   3. It’s not your job to keep everyone happy.
   4. “If you’re not offending someone then I don’t think you are preaching the gospel.”
   5. You were called. You didn’t volunteer.
   6. Go back to where you were when God called you. Because He hasn’t changed His mind.
   7. I Cor. 1:26-31
   8. Don’t quit
2. Use your staff
   1. Exodus 4:2
   2. Allow them to serve so you can lean on them
   3. Pay your staff well
   4. Honor them. Send them home or give them time off if they are working to much.
   5. Hebrews 13:17
3. Take God-directed risk
   1. “Pull the cord.”
   2. Exodus 4:3-5
   3. Difference between God-directed risk and stupid risk
   4. “Grab the snake by the tail.”
4. Understand that at times it’s going to hurt
   1. Exodus 4:6
   2. You will be criticized
5. Follow His leadership
   1. Exodus 4:7
   2. You’ll have to deal with some pain and discomfort but if you follow God, He will heal you.
   3. God will not let you stand alone.

Music and Technical Production

Lee:

• Know the Bible backwards and forwards. Read the Bible like it’s your job.
• Be accountable
• Be mentored
• Rest
• Replace yourself - find someone that can replace you. You need a break.
• Hone your craft - Go to as many concerts as you can
• Practice
• Budget your personal money for lessons, concert attendance, conferences
• Do only what you can do well and when you can do it. Your service will not make or break on whether you have a band, a cool video, or whatever.
• Record your rehearsals. Make copies and give to the band.
• Newspring does a full run through of every song, then a full service (video, graphics, etc.) run through before service on Sunday morning.
• Try to be culturally relevant in your song selection. In saying that, play to your strengths. Don’t pull out R&B gospel if you can’t play it.
• Everyone plays to a click.
• Start rehearsal with your most familiar song.
• Only people that are playing or singing that week participate in practice.
• Everyone uses IEMs.

Joel:

• Buy good quality equipment. Make due with what you have until you can afford at least medium grade stuff.
• Surround yourself with people that are good at what they do. Just because you are the guy in charge don’t feel like you have to know everything. Hire or get to volunteer a lighting guy, a video guy, set design guy, etc.
• All cabinets are isolated. Allows the musician to crank and get the tone they need without interfering with the house mix. The amps are on stage for easy access.
• Very low stage volume.
• Room has a 0.9 second delay.
• If you’re using wedges and someone says they can’t hear something, find something to turn down to compensate.
• The drummer and bass player both have Buttkickers.

Communications/Blogging


10 Steps for becoming blogging BFFs

1. Know your primary audience
2. Post regularly
3. Keep posts short
4. Don’t sell yourself - Don’t just talk about your successes
5. Use humor - without humor a lot of people won’t return for a second read
6. Stop attacking other people or ministries
7. Remember that blogging isn’t private - Other churches, the media, church members, people you work with could potentially all read your blog
8. Be a thought leader
9. Don’t listen to your critics or at least some critics - Think about what their motivation is for criticizing your blog. Figure out what God wants you to do and do it.
10. Reveal the real you - Do what you know

Continue to figure out what God wants you to do. Be Obedient!

Make growing ministries feel small. Use technology to keep in touch with your ministry.

Perry Noble time.

An alarm needs to go off in the church leadership

3 questions:

1. What is it God wants to do in your church? 
   1. Time - You will only know what God wants you to do if you spend TIME with him.
   2. Effort - When God tells you what to do, go all out doing it. When He tells you quit telling Him that you can’t do it. And use people that can actually do the job. If you’re a singer that can’t sing, don’t plan to sing. If you’re going to do the work of God, you’re going to have to spend some money. If Vegas can spend money on gambling, why can’t the church spend the money to reach people for God?
2. What are the barriers that stand in our way?
   1. Refusal to change - Don’t hamstring the creative effort. God buried Moses because it was time for change. "You can dig in the valley and you’ll die there too."
   2. Jealousy - Be careful what you speak against something, be careful because if God is in it, you’re screwed.
   3. Lack of understanding - Churches are hitting a wall because we have no idea what we’ve got ourselves into.
3. What do we want to celebrate?
   1. It is our job to celebrate God. Not to push a political agenda or save the planet. "It is not my job to push a political agenda from this stage, my job is to preach the word of God." God does not celebrate that someone recycles or that a certain person got elected, He celebrates when someone steps over that "line of faith" and accepts Him as his Lord and Savior.
   2. "God set our butts on fire!" Don’t get comfortable with what you are doing.

I’m excited to be here in Anderson, SC for the Unleash Conference. My plan is to attend Tony Morgan’s Communications/Blogging session and as I am the drummer at Liberty, the Music and Technical Production session.

In the event that anyone is planning to follow me, my plan is to Twitter (Tweat?) during each session, then write a longer blog post at the end of the session. My Twitter link is here. A Twitter account is not necessary to follow my tweats.