Rainy Saturday and Georgia Football

It was a rainy morning today. IT was great to wake up to the sound of the rain, but my day began at 7:45am, calling the parents of my basketball players to let them know our game was cancelled due to the weather. Today is the day of the Georgia/Florida football game. As I write this, Georgia has turned the ball over 3 times and Florida has scored 14 points off those turnovers. How can you win a game playing like that? Ridiculous.

I'm really excited about tomorrow. Worship in the morning, High School Choir rehearsal in the afternoon, and then the Harvest Festival! I can't wait. Our Student Worship Choir is singing at the Harvest Festival, as well. So, it will be a huge day. My parents and nephew will be at their very first Harvest Festival and seem to be excited to see what it's all about. We will be there with a ninja, a High School Musical Star, and 2 lady bugs.

Perform With Mass Choir in New York City

I was so blown away by our opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall earlier this month. It was one of the top 5 experiences I've ever had. In fact, it was such top quality and put together so well that I've decided to help assemble a mass choir for a concert next June.

The dates are June 9-13. The concert will take place at the famous Lincoln Center in beautiful New York City. This choir will have the honor of singing with Larnelle Harris, Steve Green and Steve Amerson.   Choirs of 6-9 people helped to make up our mass choir at Carnegie. So, don't feel like you don't have enough people to make it happen. If you'd like more information, email me at jeffnjody@gmail.com. Your people will never be the same after this experience. Guaranteed!

La Familia

My parents are in town this week. We are so excited to have them here. Our nephew came with them. So, we're planning to have lots of family time while they're here. This weekend, they'll get to experience their first Immanuel Harvest Festival. The kids are really excited about that. Hopefully, I'll get to post some pictures next week of their costumes. Pretty Cute stuff!

State Convention and FOCM

I am now in Fresno, CA, for the Fellowship of Church Musicians and the California State Baptist Convention this week. I will be on a panel tomorrow with my Pastor, Rob Zinn , discussing Pastor/Worship Pastor ministry relationship, and fielding questions on how to lead a church as a team. Beginning Tuesday, I'll be singing with a worship leading team in the worship services at the State Convention. So, it's a big week for the state, and for me personally. I love hanging out with my Pastor. So the car ride up was nice, and I'm looking forward to our conversations and just learning from him on the ride home later this week.

Somehow, I got a room on the 1st floor, facing the parking lot, on the end of the hall by the front door. I had better not hear a bunch of noise or have car lights shining in my window all night or someone is going to hear about it :-)

More New York News

After the concert at Carnegie Hall, the choir and Travis Cottrell and Melinda Doolittle, set sail in the New York Harbor for a little partying, food, and sight-seeing. It was the perfect ending to an amazing experience.

New York Postings

New York was an amazing experience. We had the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall with two of my favorite vocalists, Travis Cottrell and Melinda Doolittle. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures or video in Carnegie Hall. As a result, the only pictures I have are of the city and some of our adventures. I will be receiving pictures from Carnegie's Photographer soon. When I get them, I will post some performance pics here. But, for now...

Jody and I went to see "Mary Poppins" on Broadway. It was so much fun, and it was the evening of my birthday.



















Later, we decided to walk around downtown, and we went to one of our favorite Delicatessens in New York City. It is right in the center of all of the action in Times Square. And, the food is amazing!





I have other pics of Jody and myself that I'll post over the next couple of days. Check back also for those performance pics that I'll post as soon as I have them.

Going Through Home to Get Home

I am blogging right now from the airport in Atlanta GA, my home state. It feels strange to Have some of my California peeps with me in my home state. We Are on the way back to California after an amazing experience in New York City.

I will post some pictures here and on Facebook soon, and will give you more of the details. But for now, I'll Just sum it up with this: our people who were blessed to be able to make this trip have been approaching me with amazing stories of how God has worked in them during this trip. I believe we will never be the same after this experience.

Be I'm the lookout for some pics in the next couple of days. 

New York Rehearsal Day

Well, today was our big rehearsal day for Carnegie Hall. Our rehearsals were at the Sheraton New York ballroom and was an all day event. Melinda Doolittle came in and addressed the choir. That was pretty cool. But, the rehearsals kicked off with this 200 voice choir singing Happy Birthday to me. What a great way to spend my birthday!

Tonight, Jody and I are at a Broadway Show, Mary Poppins. It has been pretty amazing. I'm looking forward to Brooklyn Tabernacle Church in the morning and singing with this great choir Monday!

In Wisconsin Watching Grass Grow

I am on the way to New York City. The Immanuel Choir is singing Carnegie Hall. But, the stormy weather that has descended upon the Big Apple has delayed our flight almost 2 hours. So, right now we're sitting in the Milwaukee Airport waiting for lunch to be served.

Our people Are so much fun to hang out with that I'm sure the time will go by quickly and we'll be in New York in no time. I'll update you more as things unfold throughout the weekend right here at thechiefend.com. 

A Busy Fall

Fall always seems to be a busy time of year, but this Fall seems extra crazy. I was recently sharing this with a couple of people and they responded with "what do you do?" Now, they know WHAT I do, but they have no idea WHAT I do. Their question is not one that is foreign to me. Often times, even people in the church have no idea what a typical work day looks like for their staff. So, this is your peek inside my October. Here is my schedule for the upcoming weeks:

October 13 6:30pm Choir Rehearsal, 8pm Worship Band Rehearsal
October 15-19 Immanuel Choir at Carnegie Hall in New York City
October 16 My Birthday!
October 20 Choir Rehearsal, Worship Band Rehearsal
October 22 Beene Family/Liberty Quartet Concert at IBC
October 23 UPWARD Basketball (I'm Coaching) all morning
October 24 SUNDAY Worship (7:15am rehearsal, 3 Services, Ministry
Luncheon, 2:30-4:15pm SWC Prep and Rehearsal, Leave for
CA State Baptist
Convention)
October 24-27 Leading Conference, serving as Messenger from IBC,
and Singing on Worship Team at CA State Convention
October 27 Choir Rehearsal, Worship Band Rehearsal
October 28 My Parents Arrive in Town (YEA! We are so excited!)
October 30 UPWARD Basketball (all morning)
October 31 SUNDAY WORSHIP - afternoon rehearsals, Harvest Festival
(if in the area, this is one event you must attend!) SWC
(Immanuel's Student Worship Choir) singing at Harvest
Festival

This is all in addition to the normal everyday office hours, worship planning, building practice tracks, working with soloists, ministry home visits, ministry to those in the hospital, staff meetings, etc...) And where in the world do I fit time in to just hang out with my wife and kids? (But, I do! Somehow.) Now that you are utterly bored reading my schedule, perhaps you can understand a little more about what my Fall looks like. This is JUST October. November is just as crazy. It starts out with a Revival I am leading for a week and ends with our Thanksgiving Eve Service and Immanuel Lights. December is full of rehearsals and the Christmas Dessert Theater. HOWEVER, let me end by saying this:

I LOVE it when my schedule looks this way. This is the most exciting time in the life of my ministry. I find that I am more driven and focused and the product of my work seems to be at a higher level. I feel blessed that the Lord has chosen to give me greater responsibility. And though I grow tired at times, He proves to me that He is my strength.

I know many of your schedules put mine to shame. So, let me encourage you to stay focused, sharp, on top of your game, and make family a priority even in the midst of your business. And above all else, through every detail give God the glory.