Bump on My Tongue

Bump on My Tongue from J Parker on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from J Parker on Vimeo.

Dear Internet...

Today I acted like Brittney,Whitney, & Mariah. You may recognize this to be a "diva." Sometimes I do this. Just thought I would let you to know.

My apologies.

Constant Frustration

No matter how hard I try, I"m never satisfied with anything. 

Does my constant drive for something better lead to an ongoing frustration which turns into boredom?

Maybe....

Tonight I sit at home, replaying conversations, thinking about our 3 services, design, order, and the talk that I gave today.

I'm even frustrated with the lack of commitment I'm giving to this thing.  

I'll try to be more regular.

Yes... I need a hobby.

Finish Strong

Here's the latest video we did for the last week in our series "One Month To Live"


Finish Strong from J Parker on Vimeo.

The Wilderness

Here is this week's video we did as a intro into my talk.

A big shout out to my director Tommy Smith!


The Wilderness from J Parker on Vimeo.

Leadership

Today like most days we sat down at Stevie's to enjoy Kaufman's finest bbq.  What started out like any other day, ended with some hard conversation about leadership.

  After much thinking and debating: I find this to be the perfect description of what leadership truly is.

"The job of a leader today is not to create more followers, but to create more Leaders."

Ralph Nader

The question we have to ask ourselves is "are we creating more leaders?"

The Room

Here's a video, we just finished...

I'm pretty proud of it.. There were a couple of edits I would have changed, but all in all I like it.

Let me know what you think...

The Room from J Parker on Vimeo.

Living 1/2 Dead

As I've been thinking through our new series " One Month To Live"  I've really had to take hard look at the way I've been living my life over the past year. I've become a pessimist and like the title suggest, perhaps life hasn't been as exciting or full of zeal that it should be.  

 One of my first steps in this initiative was to start the diet that has been posted previously called "Don't Eat Me"  As I stepped on the scale Monday, I was 177 pounds, the lightest I've been since I was a freshman in college. Only 7 pounds to the goal.

The second thing I did was to buy a Ruckus.  (Yes, that's the picture you could be laughing at above)  This probably seems like a shallow or silly thing to do, but to be honest I don't know the last time I had this much fun or felt this free. I never remember having this much fun on my daily drives to work, the store, and around town.  

Make fun of me all you want, but @ 121 miles to the gallon, it's looking like it's gonna cost me $1.50 for gas this month.  If anyone should be laughing, it should be me all the way to the bank.

My list doesn't just stop with these 2 things, but I don't want to bore you.

 You've got 720 hours a month, how are you spending them?  What would you do if you knew you only had one month to live?  What would you start doing? What would you stop? Who would you apologize to?  What would you fix? 

Don't wait, do it now!

As for me and my "man moped" we are on a new initiative.

Don't Eat Me Week #3

Here are my week three results:  Not a bad week, but my pace at which I lose weight has become stagnant.  I've gotta break the plateau.  It's not looking likely this week.  As we speak, I'm laid up on my couch with a bad back!

Pray that I recover fast, or I will become stir crazy.

Don't Eat Me Week #2

2 weeks= 22.6 pounds

Trucking right along!!  I really didn't expect to lose this much weight this fast.  We will see if it keeps happening.  Who knows?

My new target weight is now 170.

"Nothing New Under The Sun"

As I watch " The New Knight Rider" I can't help but think how bad it is.  After 58 minutes of the show, I've realized that they've done a horrible job trying to recreate the original.

 This episode is an exact rip off of Gone in 60 seconds & Fast and The Furious all rolled into one big TV mess.

Why do companies try to do this?  Why can't people be creative, think of new thoughts, come up with new ideas?  I often hear the quote "there is nothing new under the sun".   Sometimes I feel like that's a great cop-out for people not to use their brains or be creative. That's also a misuse of the scripture in it's original context.

 I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't think you've got to recreate the wheel, and many times we should follow the lead if the leader is worth following.

 If you can't use an old idea and make it better, or you decrease it's value or reputation with your use of it, please stop.

When I see " The New Knight Rider" It reminds me of how we Christians have been ripping off  secular ideas for years and claiming them as our own.  Many times in completely embarrassing ways.

 Examples:

Abreadcrum and fish  (Abercrombie and Fitch)

Got Jesus?    (Milk Commercial)

Dance Praise Dance Pad  (Dance Dance Revolution)

Scripture Solitaire             (Solitaire)

Guitar Praise Hero/Christian Rock Band   (Guitar Hero)

Scripture Mints

Hisway- the right way  (Burger King)

Hisway-   this can also be used as the subway logo.

Jesus Christ- The Only Superhero  (superman logo with JC in the middle)

My Victory Lane Is In Heaven  (Nascar)

Jesus Inside  (Intel)

Jesus, Have you spoke to him lately  (Ford)

All Faith  (All State Insurance)

Teenage Jesus Worshiping Christians (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Faith Book  (Facebook)

I could go on for days, but will spare your time.

One day, it would be nice if we were the ones leading the industries and companies were copying us. Right now, it's completely the opposite.  It's no wonder why people make fun of us.  

Our God is creative, and we are made in his image, maybe it's time we start acting like it.

I'm just sayin'

P.S. 1. My prediction is that Knight Rider doesn't make it past the first year.

        2. Ford must be paying big money to make this show happen.

Don't Eat Me Week # 1

Week one= 191

14 pounds the first week.   A lot more than I expected !! Let's see if I can't keep it going.

They say the first week is where you lose a lot of your weight.. Because a lot of if is water weight.  The problem will be keeping it off and progressing downward.

Only 11 hard pounds to go.  maybe if I'm lucky I'll shoot for 20.

Thank you to all of you who are keeping me accountable!

J

Don't Eat Me...

So here's the deal... I've done a lot of looking in the mirror lately and I'm not the man I want to be... I'm not talking mentally or spiritually although those two things need work. But, I am talking physically. 

It all started with this sudden epiphany from God as I climbed to the top of the A & M stadium... ok well maybe it wasn't an epiphany but my own body telling me that I was way out of shape and have been for the past 3 years.

I realized after watching the latest Chase bank commercial and catching their new slogan "Chase Importance" that it hit me.. Even though that's the same message the church has been screaming for hundreds of years and even though  I've stood on stages time and time again proclaiming those exact things... I realized that I've let the unimportant things take over the important things in my life.  One of those is my health.

So here's where I need your help.  I need to lose 25 pounds or so. Right now I'm 205 lbs and for all you math majors out there, you've already discovered my target weight is 180.

Every week, I will be posting a picture of the scale.  I need you to hold me accountable.

My plan: 

1. Increased physical activity (2 miles a night, gym, and vball one or two nights a week)

2. Less caloric intake.  (no more ultimate cheeseburgers and double quarter pounders)

3. An increased amount of protein as well as water ( I hate water)

 Thus burning more calories than consumed causing my body to burn more fat at an accelerated rate, thus causing weight loss.

I need to burn 3500 additional calories a week for every one pound of fat that I want to lose.  That's 70,000 extra calories that I have to burn over the next several months, not including my standard caloric requirements at 205.

So, when you see me, ask me how I'm doing.  According to my site meter on the blog I get an approximate two hundred hits per week.  I will need all of your help.

Thanks

Concerned Sluggard

All Bark And No Bite...

I read this article today from Collide and thought it was dead on...

Today, a lot of the world tuned in as Apple announced the release of updated iPods and iTunes, but no one was really impressed.

Over the past few years, Apple has consistently astonished the world with its new products. From new operating systems, to thinner notebooks, to the new iPhone, Apple has dazzled us and created an expectation that every release to follow will do the same. But there’s no way Apple could hit a home run every time. Today, we experienced this. The release of the new iPod Nano, iPod Touch, and iTunes 8 wasn’t all it was hyped up to be. Nothing really impressive. Nothing we haven’t seen before. Just a pretty new shell. All in time for the holiday shopping season.

Apple has managed to create such hype around every product release that no other company can even match it. Who cares that Microsoft released a new Zune today or that Sony created the worlds thinnest LCD TV? Other companies release and refresh products all the time and no one cares, but when it comes to Apple, the whole world seems to look on. The problem is, when you create so much hype around your products, you must deliver. Apple failed to do that today and the world was let down. So why does this matter?

As a church/business, when you launch a new ministry/venture, event, service, or website, it is greatly important to create a lot of hype around the launch. Build it up, pass out flyer, send mailers and email blasts; whatever works, do it. But be careful. What you are promoting is even more important than the hype itself. If what you’ve built up isn’t all it’s hyped up to be, it will quickly fall flat and fail. If you create an expectation but don’t deliver, people will be disappointed and let down. The newness of something, in itself, is enough to impress for a while, but that will quickly wear off.

Learn from Apple’s mistake: If you are creating hype around a launch, you must deliver beyond the expectations.

 Here's just a few companies who have nailed it with their long term marketing strategies and name.

Kleenex

Chap Stick

Coke

Q Tips

Pampers

By the way:  I still heart Apple!!!

7 Years Later..

Last post I took a look back at what I learned as an intern 7 years ago.

 This week: Things I'm currently learning from the leaders I get to work beside everyday.

Although the list is long, I will keep it brief:

From PB (the boss)

1. Constantly push your staff to new heights, and take them places they never thought they can go. 

2. Just because you are the boss, doesn't mean you get to work less.  

(He is the hardest working, and most driven man I know)

3. Laugh at yourself

4. Work well with your team. (Even though he has the authority to make every decision, he is always asking input from our team)

5. Think Big- always look forward to what is next ahead!

(he is constantly thinking 3-5 years down the line, Rome wasn't built in one day)

6. Learn to separate and set healthy boundaries

 (everyone always wants something from him)

7. Push your leaders to be better leaders

From Steve:

1. Lead well from the second chair

(the man is a great leader, everyone comes to Steve w/all of our junk looking for advice)

2. Learn to rest

3. Persevere in the hard times

4. Invest in mentorship

5. Love people

6. It's ok not have to have all the answers right now.

From Beth:

1. Woman can be great leaders!

2. Delegate well

3. Know your strengths and weaknesses 

Things I'm learning about myself over of the past year:

1. I'm to cynical and judgmental

2. I can't say no

3. It's hard for me to relax and take a day off

4. I hate being called a techie...

Things I Learned As A 19 Year Old Punk Intern

As I was sitting at the table with the two smartest men I know today. The topic of interns came up. As we sat there and talked about it, I finally realized how much I learned as an Intern. Here's the list:

 From CCBC and It's Leadership Staff:  

1. Quit being a punk. 

2. Learn to respect authority. 

(Sorry John Mark, I was a PUNK!)

3. Just because you have an opinion doesn't mean you've got to share it all the time

From Brian:  I could go on and on here, but heres the short list from him:

3. I was a messy roommate!  (Sorry Brian)  

4. Your title and your paycheck don't reflect your importance to a ministry. 

**we could have never made it without him

5. Learn to give yourself away.  

**He bought me more bagels for breakfast than I could ever repay him for.

6. Be yourself, never change who you are just to please others.

7. Loyalty

From Randy:

8. Learn To Take Chances On People

*He took a huge one on me!

9. Invest In Peoples Lives

*It was because of his leadership as a Student Pastor that I'm in ministry today

10.  Be versatile.  

*Don't be good at just one thing! Invest and learn other avenues in ministry

 He would often give me assignments to do that Brian was much better at and could have done in half the time.  He did that to stretch me!!

11. Learn to Delegate:

* I have to admit, I'm still working on this one!!

From Jeremy:

12. Ministry is not just 8 to 5.  Get your butt to work!

*During my first week on the job, I was a little tardy everyday :)  Jeremy sent me a not so nice email explaining to me the importance of what we do, and that I needed to quit being lazy!  I thought that's what working for a church was all about.  I still know many people who think that ministry is 8 to 5. Boy are they wrong! 

13. Be A Team Player

14. Have Fun 

* It was his idea that we go through the car wash with me on top of the car for a video!!

15. Challenge Students Intellectually 

From Holly:

16. True Friendships Are Better Than Anything On This Planet

*I've never laughed so much in my life!

17. Shut Up and Listen To People, because Many times they are trying to pour out their lives to you.

18. Marble Slab Is Good!!!

From Elizabeth:

19. Just because it's not your ministry, doesn't mean it's not important

* I showed up to VBS Drama Practice without knowing my lines, she gave me the look and told me I better memorize them if I wanted to be on stage.  From that day forward, I don't step on any stage un-prepared no matter what it is!  It's my first priority as a speaker!

From Jessica:

20. Learn To Laugh & Don't Take Yourself So Seriously!

Trust Me, That's on a small portion of the list. What a great learning experience!

Thank you guys, and sorry I was a punk!!

Next blog: The things I'm learning today 7 years later!

What Would Jesus Twitter?

I have found myself lately becoming an "evangelist" for Twitter.  The more I research the company, the more I become intrigued by who actually twitters.   

Presidential Candidates, fire stations reporting on the latest fire, airline companies posting huge discounts, CNN, MTV, Whole Foods, Day Cares, Churches, twitter from Kenya, twitter from Hong Kong, twitter from the moon, twitter from mars.  You name it and it's being twittered by and about.

I've began to wonder, why has twitter become so popular?  The same reason, that Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, Loopt, Hictu and Pownce have.

There all based on one simple fact: People need community, they have a need to feel connected, they were created to live, move and breathe with others.  It's started from the very beginning. It was part of the plan.. the divine plan. God has created you and I to do life together, to share, laugh, cry, play and work together. People need community.  Twitter is just another part of that connection.

 

I've slowly seen Twitter and Facebook change the way we communicate as a staff and that as a Church.  It will soon take president in the way we promote series, events and cast vision.

 So would Jesus Twitter? What would he say? Can you even tell a parable in less than 2 sentences? How would he use his 140 characters to change lives?  Maybe since he's Jesus aka God he gets more twitter space? ...I don't know.. I"m just asking

Here's what Twitter constantly reminds me of..  LIFE IS BRIEF!!

You get 140 characters to set the intro, plot, climax and conclusion..  You've got to use those characters wisely to tell your story.

Life is brief, connect with the people around you and Use your 140 characters wisely...

I Live in the Mouse's House

That's right, there is a mouse in my house, and I've named him Walter.  To be honest, Walter although looks very cute kinda scares me. (Not surprising I know)  I mean the little dude crawled right out in the middle my floor and tried to eat my pizza. (Yes I had a plate of pizza on the floor) 

He also tried to hide out in my shoe, so I did what any sensible man would do, I threw pennies at him.  Walter didn't respond well to the pennies, and apparently that's no way to catch a mouse.

Since then I've devised a plan with good ol' peanut butter. We'll see if it works.

As I was thinking about how Walter has taken control of my house, I realize the same thing is true about some of the junk in our lives.  Although it can seem cute & harmless at times, it causes us to live in a way that God doesn't intend for us to live and robs us of our purpose and joy.

What are the things in our lives that no one knows about, and that hide out in the deep cabinets of our soul? What are the things that cause us to miss our purpose and joy? 

What is our plan to rid ourselves away from it?

Just something to think about...

 In other local news:  I'm back on the teaching block this week, thankful to be back because I've missed it deeply.

Just some thoughts about a mouse...

From Concrete to Dust

The last two weeks have been defining moments for me this year, oddly enough with the same God inspired result.  I probably couldn't have been in two of the most different places in the world in back to back weeks.  

The first week, we flew to Chi-Town (my favorite city) for the biggest Creative Arts Conferences in the country.  We had a great time, it was refreshing, relaxing, and a time of renewal for our team.  However we didn't walk out of there with any life changing concepts. At first I was very frustrated, because I had all of these preconceived ideas on what we would take home, and how it would change the way we did church.

 Could it be that a church of 6 or 700 in a country town create services like that of churches that are 10 times our size.  I think the answer is yes...  Maybe not on the same production level, but with the same innovative creative concepts.

What I learned is that we were doing stuff right.  We are in a good place. We are in a place where God wants us to be:  We've got to keep pushing to get better, take chances, fall down and get back up! 

 But in the end, BE SATISFIED and ENJOY WHERE YOU ARE!  

A lot of times, that's hard for me.

After Chi-town we turn right around and make the drive to Mexico.  What a journey!  

For the first times in my life, I experienced the way the rest of the world lives.  With my own eyes I watched and eight year old girl with a stick in hand dig through piles and piles of trash in a land fill to find food and something for shelter.  It turns out that's what she does all day with the rest of her family for life and income. 

I took this picture one night before our VBS just a a simple reminder to all of us to pray for these people! I can't wait to see what God does as we continue to partner with these cities.

My take home from Mexico:  Never take your life for granted.  Enjoy where you are at!

Enjoy your home. Enjoy your family, Enjoy your friends.  For we are in a good place.

God takes me across the country in two totally different economic stratospheres just to say: 

Enjoy, don't take where you are and what it is given to you for granted because one day it can all change.

Seems simple.. huh, but sometimes it's so easy to forget how good we have it. 

Man.. it's good to be home.

 

Leaving Yesterday...

(I Stole that title from a band I once knew.)

I took this picture yesterday on the way to the water park that we rented out.  Yesterday in all of it's chaos was incredible.  We had over 750 in worship and 115 in our Hispanic service... It was a good day with lots of energy. Any time you let a band all under the age of 11 lead worship, there is energy, no matter what they sound like..  I say all that to say I'm thankful to be at this place in my journey together with these people.  It's taken some weird twist to get here, but I'm glad I'm here....

That picture reminds me of the thousands of churches and people around the country that are always looking in the rear view thinking back to the "good old days."  (Sometimes I'm one of them.)

 What were the good old days ? I mean... really? 

Do you even remember them? 

Did you even consider them good days?

I'm glad we are at a place, where we can focus on the big picture.  The one in front of us, the future. 

It's time we quit looking in the past, and start remembering the past is the past for a reason.  

It's time to forgive, forget and celebrate what you've learned.  It's time to move on.. together..

These are the days to step out, trust, love, support, and enjoy where we are going together.

It's time to quit looking back in the rear view, and starting looking ahead..

It's time to do something big.. It's time to dream..  

Let's leave yesterday... shall we?

Ecclesiastes 7: 8

The Black Jelly Bean

As I was sitting at the hospital today, waiting for the boss to get his shoes shined (on my recommendation.)  We met a man name "Dr. Shoe"  As I sat there and watched the man, I was somehow reminded of the black jelly bean.  Let's be honest, no one likes the black jelly bean, they are different, lack color and taste horrible. The black jelly bean is the outcast of the family.  No one wants to associate with it.  In fact, many people will go through bags just to pick them out to throw them away. 

I'm not for sure, why Dr. Shoe reminded me of this.  Perhaps, because he was a little different, extremely hard to understand and may have once in his lifetime been the outcast.

But the man had a passion for shoes, he had a passion for his job, and he had a passion for people.  

I'm thankful that God creates those who are different, I am thankful that God uses a man who shines shoes to remind me that there are those in my life who are the black jelly bean that I need to love on, extend a hand of encouragement to and to pray for.

If we were honest, we've all been the black jelly bean one time or another in our life.  During those times, we look for love, acceptance, and a good hug.  

Who is the black jelly bean in your life?  Don't know of someone?

Perhaps we never notice them because we look over them. 

Perhaps we never notice because we aren't looking.  

I think there is something when Jesus says love your neighbor as yourself.  It's easy to love those who we have a lot in common with, fit into your crowd, and aren't an embarrassment to be around.

Perhaps, to many times, we are Christ followers have said this to the black jelly beans.

It isn't easy to love the black jelly bean, but Christ does just as much as You and I, and he calls us to do the same!

Do You Trust Me?

As I was driving home the other night later than I should have been.  God was really dealing with me on TRUST.  I realize that I put my trust in a car that doesn't have adequate brakes, needs it's oil changed and a front end alignment. Saying all that, I still fly around country road corners seeing only 50 to a 100 feet in front of me a lot faster than I should.  

I have let the address book on my blackberry take over my ability to memorize phone numbers. I have let spell check, fix my need to spell words correctly.  I have let my calendar remind me of big dates that I should remember. I have let twitter and the text message replace my sense to pick up a phone and call someone.  These are the things I put my trust in on a daily basis.

 But because of the past year of my life, I have extreme issues when it comes to trusting in people. There is a chance, that I don't trust everyone I should.  There is a chance I don't trust you.  I'm sorry that this is the case.  It's not you, it's me...

Here's the way lack of trust effects me:

I don't delegate well.

Because I don't delegate well, I may work to much.

I double and triple check mostly everything. By doing this, I sometimes forget the important things because I'm too busy double checking other things. 

I'm sometimes more negative than I should be.

I'm extremely skeptical of a person the first time I meet them.... especially young women in their 20's.

Saying all that, I truly appreciate the people I do trust.  I work on a great staff.  I've got great friends, and an incredible family that are helping me get over these trust issues.

I appreciate the people who trust me, my opinions and my views.

What do you trust?  Who do you trust?  What are the things that have replaced your need to trust in yourself?

 Why do we put more trust in the things that are easy?  Why do we put more trust in the things that will never satisfy or give us purpose? Why don't more people trust Jesus as the Lord of their lives?

Is it perhaps because many people look at us (who follow Jesus) like this guy?

 I read in  the bible that following Jesus won't be easy,

 but a tumor exploding out of your leg and getting kicked in the face by a preacher.

 ouch... that's gotta hurt.  

I don't know about all of that, but I do know God is teaching me it's time to trust again, it's time to be vulnerable with the people I do life with.

Trust.... It can be a scary thing.

I Have High Expectations... on some things.

Some people, mainly the people that I do life with, say that sometimes I set to high of a standard when it comes to our church services and I'm too critical with what we do on Sunday Mornings. They are probably right.

For instance, there is probably never a week that I walk out of a service and truly feel we did everything perfectly. I understand perfect has different context for different people.

This is extremely the case in the baccalaureate service we put on for the H.S. In my mind, it was a disaster! The band doesn't show up, the mic isn't on when people are talking, the stage isn't well lit. The music was to loud during the talking by the principal. The projector shook at times. You couldn't hear the choir, we had no pre-service music, etc.. I could keep going, but I"m starting to bore you.. I would give that service a 7. I would give it a 7 for the concept ,the message, and the technology. It was used in an incredible way. Everything else.... well never mind

I would give our late service Sunday a 9.8 We hit this one out of the park. The feel, the concept, the theme and the worship set was just like we had hoped it would be. I was really proud of our team. The one thing I would change was I would have switched around the songs in the order.

Steve was great! One day, this man will be a great pastor, (however we all pray God doesn't take him away from us anytime soon.)

Saying that I have high expectations ordinarily means that it would be the same throughout every aspect of my life, but I realize it's not.

If you look at my car, which I pay too much money for, it's dirty, if you look at my room, its not well organized...if you look at my to do list, there's so many things to get done that I put off. There are some things I couldn't care a bit about.

It's weird the things people are passionate for, and the things people aren't.

Am I the only person like this? Do you stress out about certain things, and then act the direct opposite about other things in your life?

How can someone think, deliberate, plan, obsess over one thing, and procrastinate about the rest of life? My favorite verse in the Bible is Col: 3:23. Whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart, as for working for the Lord, not for men.

This verse is my favorite, not because I like it, but because it haunts me daily. I realize there are certain things in my life that I am not working with all my heart on for God. Even the little things are for God, and are used to make him famous. I sometimes forget that.

P.S. Yes I realize that God still shows up in services, and that he is sovereign. I just need to be reminded of that on Sunday afternoons about 12:45 when my blood pressure is over 220/100.

I'm a man, i swear.... & possibly a Pharisee

I'm a man, I swear but there are many things that I notice on a daily basis.  Actually I pay attention and notice everything.  I notice the details.  Many people say that's the opposite of the man "who thinks in boxes, and  are also known as waffles"  I sometimes, probably more often than not think like a woman.  There are thousands of small things that I process continuously, and are stored like RAM (random accesses memory) in my head.  (For all you computer geeks, I realized that I'm using RAM in the wrong context so quit bad mouthing me)

One of the things I notice and pay attention to is fashion, I always have, maybe it's because I grew up with 2 women all my life, and maybe it's because I never wanted to dress like my father.

 

I notice what people wear, when they wear it and how they wear it.   I notice when people get new clothes that are around me. I notice the trends, who sets them and who rebells against them.

Here's a list that I kept in my head over the past 6 or 8 months that seems to be hot in the fashion world:  This has a point I promise, just keep reading.

Women:

Skinny Jeans

Ballet Shoes (Flats)

Jeans and High Heels

Tights worn under dresses and skirts

The old school ring that stretches across two fingers that LL Cool J use to wear.

The Color White

UGG Boots with tights worn as pants.

Bright colored dress pants.

Linen Dress. (Not for sure if Linen is the correct fabric, they are the ones the girls wear on the Hills.)

Pregnant Shirts  (not maternity shirts that are for pregnant women, but ones that have a lose flowing bottom) 

Seersucker, or articles of clothing that look similar 

Men:

Beards

Dark Thick Rimmed Glasses.  

The Skinny Tie

Not fastening the top bottom on your dress shirt when wearing a tie. (It says I'm trying to be professional but not to uptight. ) one of my favorites

Chuck Taylors seem to be making a comeback.

Casual shoes with a suit

Driving Loafers without socks

Slip Ons

Argyle

The sweater vest when worn correctly.

multi patterned suits, shirts and ties all worn together.

vector patterns on t-shirts.

V-Neck T-shirts

The Old School Bomber Jacket look

Seersucker 

Big Belt Buckles

Vests with T-shirts and wrist bands if you are artsy or in a band.

Jeans and untucked dress shirts  (Especially true if you pastor a mega church these days)

Things that are dying out:

Pleats... Finally, even though they are still the dominant dress pant.

The Front Tuck.. not as popular as it use to be.  (I still do it)

The Soul Patch unless you are a worship leader at our church.

Gold jewelry

It's funny what people do to look good.  I'm no exception, I lay out my clothes the night before to prepare. I think about weather, what I've worn in recent days, who my target audience is, the look I'm trying to pull off, and of course, where I'm going.  I have this rule where I try not to where the same shirt twice in a month. Ridiculous I know, like anyone else cares what I wear.

Speaking of Looking Good, our softball team really looks good.  Our jerseys are far superior in design than any other team hands down.  I mean, we look good!! People notice when we walk on the scene...

The problem is we stink!!!!  We are bad, we don't care, we are uncommitted, and for most of us, it doesn't really bother us when we lose.   

We play softball like many of us follow Jesus.  We put on this really good show, we act like we've got it all together, we look good on the outside, but it's our souls that scream a different story.  We are uncommitted, we don't care when we don't feel him working in our lives, we don't pray, love our neighbors, or read our bibles.  But, we look good in front of others, and we've got the religion thing down!

Many of us have become the Pharisees. . .I'm excited today after working with Steve on his message about what Sunday is going to unfold in our congregation.  I can't give it away but here's a sneak peek.

Mothers Day , Mariachis, Beer & Jesus

Yesterday was my annual shopping trip for Mother's Day.  Every year, I buy her the same thing, and end up buying a lot more for me than I do for her.  I was determined to change that yesterday. 

 

 I started off heading Here to buy some stuff for the office, but to find out, Target has really nice pants.  So of course, you can't pass up nice pants, especially when they are 20 bucks. So I Bought them.. (1 for me, none for mom)   After Target, my next destination... the mall. 

After several trips around, I wondered into this place:  (And Yes, they do have men's clothes) It turns out they have really nice shirts for 15 bucks.  So I bought two of them!  (3 for me, none for mom) After Forever 21, I ended up in here:  Of course, I couldn't pass up a 6 dollar shirt that apparently has a hole in it!, and more really nice pants. (That's 5 for me, none for mom) Next I ended up here:  So i bought some new flip flops. (6 for me, none for mom)

After the very long day in Dallas, it was nice to come back to K-town for Dinner.  I met the Millers  and Kellie C at a Fine Establishment called The Blue House.  To our surprise, it was Mariachi night which was quite entertaining, even though I didn't know a word they were saying.

Following dinner, we headed back to their house for interesting conversation about toe nails, ear candles, and the large intestine.

About 10 45, we hear a knock on the door, it turns out, it's an old high-school acquaintance of ours who was very, very drunk.  He asked to talk to Grant, actually he wanted to pour his whole life on to Grant.  So for the next 45 minutes, he rambles on about selling drugs, marriage, divorce, babies and leaving the pen. (Huntsville)

After a lot of Thought on that conversation:

Grant Handled Himself In The Same Jesus Would Have.

Here's How:

1. Grant showed the man, he loved him by listening first.

2. He was not judgemental

3. He spoke in ways and context the man could understand.

4. He was patient

5. Grant was honest with him, and gave him loving correction.

6. Grant provided him hope that there was something much better than this.

It's funny how Jesus shows up at all the unexpected times, I was very proud of Grant!

On another note, we have a series called: Beer, Blackjack & Bootscootin' coming to FBC Sunday Nights very soon!

P.S. I ended up buying Mom, a gift card.... I know, I'm ridiculous...

Sunday Deadlines

Deadlines are a funny thing... right, I mean, we all have them, we live by them, for many of us, we die by them, some of us they control our lives.  

For me, because of my job, I have Sunday deadlines and they are always are at the front of my mind, I get up and think about them, I occasionally eat breakfast and think about them... I go to sleep thinking about them. It's like deadlines and I are dating.  I can never get  Sunday deadlines out of my head.  I think one Sunday deadline at a time.  I'm sitting here  in my office on a Thursday night at 10  15 pm because of a deadline...

Wait a minute.  Maybe it's not deadlines at all... 

Maybe it's the fact that I'm so consumed by the thoughts below that the deadlines aren't the real things that drives me.  The deadlines are the things I have to accomplish for these questions to be answered each Sunday in our worship experiences.

What do I have to get done this week in order to create a life changing moment with God?

What can we do better this week?  What can we do that pushes the envelope? What can we do that different.  What can we do that is unexpected.  What have we done in the past that works?  What can we do that draws more people to Jesus.  How to we get more people in this building to hear the gospel? How do we relate to the unchurched? What do they like, what don't they like?  What do they need? How can we create an experience that is life changing.  

Sunday is a beautiful day.

Beta 1.0

Today is Day One, (well actually night one if you will.  It's about 10:30. I swore I was going to bed and hour ago) the first official day in the blogosphere. After many incredible thoughts from this guy:  as well as many others around the country, i figured it was about time to dive in.  
Here's a list of possible topics a long the way:

My Life

The Church (The Arts, Programming, Thoughts and Reviews)

Pop Culture
Apple

Theology

Technology

Design

We will see how this week goes as we get ready for the Mothers Day Weekend.