PORN at New Community

For the last five weeks, our church has been doing a 5 week series called PureSex which we got from Granger. I didn't realize how deeply the subject matter had seeped into my family until this morning. I fixed my 5 year old, Katy breakfast and the following dialogue took place. As a bit of a preamble, my daughter often spells words for emphasis, but as she is only in preschool, she often misspells them. This was such an occasion.

After I'd poured the milk on her Fruity Pebbles, Katy told me, "Dad... you forgot something!"
I said, "What?"
She said, "We forgot to P - O - R - N!"

Now of course she was trying to spell pray, but in light of how often the words porn and sex, have been thrown around in planning meetings and services for the last two months, this was too funny!

Box Scores: April 29 & May 6

Here are the box scores for the past few weeks. On April 27, attendance was 277 at our two Sunday morning services; a 9 person (3%) increase from the same weekend last year. On May 6, attendance was 297 at our two Sunday morning services; a 29 person (11%) increase from the same weekend last year. Ouch.

new look?

So I haven't posted lately because every time I look at my blog I get inspired to change the look of it.

Let me just say, I know absolutely nothing about web design or html or anything of the sort. I do have Adobe Go Live and I think that it is a page design program or something. So I surf around looking for tutorials or samples or something, trying to learn just enough HTML so that I can do what I want for my blog without ACTUALLY learning HTML.

You people who design blogs and web pages...hats off to you. You're way too smart!

Probably part of my problem is that my blog provider gives fewer options as far a templates go. They do let you do whatever the heck you want, if you can write the code, but again I tell you that HTML is far beyond me.

I could change, but the beauty of this provider is that it's totally free. Very cool!


Very late...must sleep.

Later

SNL Skit

Ok, this is for the NC3 band. We talked about this skit from SNL tonight and I come home, turn on American Idol just to hear that Barry Gibb is going to be the next celebrity singing coach. TOO FREAKING FUNNY! Enjoy...

Ray Charles, Ahmet Ertegün and Malachi

I'm trying to think of someone else, but right now I can't think of any one person that I'd rather hear sing than Ray Charles. Elvis is right up there--cheesy, maybe but he's still the king. No one's music can grip me like those two...especially Ray Charles. Not that there aren't bands I like better or albums I'd rather have, but just on the basis of the power of a vocalist...that intangible "wow, that's cool" factor.

Tonight I watched a PBS special on Atlantic Records and especially Ahmet Ertegün, its founder and legendary main man. The music that Ertegün produced is simply out of this world. Very inspiring!!

At the end of the show, the PBS style credits were rolling (the remote was out of reach) and the soundbite for the National Endowment for the Arts ran. They had a slogan that really resonated. "Because a Great Nation Deserves Great Art." Nice phrase.

It got me thinking about the beneficiary of art. I've thought of another phrase, with a nod to the spinmeisters at the NEA: "A Great God Deserves Our Best Art" Now I'm not saying its catchier than the original or anything...it just helps me re-focus on why I'm so blessed to be serving God and His Church as part of a great Arts Team. And to also re-focus on who the audience is--God.

The people in the chairs as well as the people on the stage are members of the same choir which exists to bless God with beauty, honor and humility.

I was reading in Malachi this morning. His message from God was all about their attitude toward God. "Because you do not set your heart to honor me..." That was what brought down God's condemnation on their sacrifices, their marriages, their kids, their tithes...everything. Scary.

It's not always the first thing I think about, but when I go to bed tonight (in a few minutes) I will pray for God to help me 'set my heart to honor him.'

And for you, here's some very good art (the song, not the video)...



Good night!

Something to ponder...

Got 9 minutes to change the way you think of church?



well...

Congratulations Steve and Shannon!

Brendan Matthew Mahnke was born about 5:45 this morning. He's a boy, he weighed about 6 lbs and some change...all fingers and toes accounted for. Steve is one of my best friends but he's an uber-geek so in about 5 years a few of us are gonna have to teach the poor kid to play baseball. =)