Variety Show

Last Friday night we had a Variety Show fundraiser for our Student Worship Choir. It was amazing. Our approach was to bring people in by personal invitation. This seemed to work well. Simply throwing out a blanket invitation leaves you not knowing how many to expect. This way, we were able to plan well, which helped the night to flow smoothly.

We raised over $5500 collectively. However, we issued the money based on what the students raised individually. What I mean by that is we didn't set this up like the Obama tax plan. Instead, you got paid exactly what you raised. We didn't do a share holding approach. So, some kids raised $250 toward their trip. Others raised $530. But, everyone had the same opportunity. I think it can only get better in future years.

I'm so proud of our Student Worship Choir! They are gonna rock it out on tour in June. We are doing some great music that I know will impact them individually as well as those who come to the concerts!

Behind the Scenes

We had a behind the scenes look at the Immanuel Choir last night. We encouraged anyone who had ever thought about joining to come check out a rehearsal and see what we do to prepare for Sundays. Eleven guests came! I was excited to see some faces that we hadn't seen in a while, as well as some new ones that were there for the very first time. All in all, it was a night of high energy and a great time of worship.

The Immanuel Choir is gearing up for a concert on April 8 at Immanuel with Travis Cottrell . This is sure to be a great night of worship. Make sure you are here on Wednesday, April 8 at 6pm.

David Phelps

I'm really excited. Tonight we're at David Phelps' house for a bbq and private concert. How cool is that? He has to be the most incredible tenor (besides Larnelle Harris) that I've ever heard in my life.

Tonight is definitely nothing I could talk my way into in any other circumstance. I can imagine driving up to his house on my own and security telling me to slowly back away from the gate.

So, tonight will be a real treat. I'm so undeserving of the perks the Lord let's me have through others.

Filled

I have had an incredible week this week. I'm sorry I haven't blogged. It has been a jam-packed schedule and I haven't had a single moment to let you know what's going on. I am in Nashville, TN at a worship pastor's METRO conference. It is a round table of worship pastors from around the country. It has been amazing.

Last night, we toured the Nashville Country Music Hall of Fame, had dinner in the rotunda there, and then had a concert at the famous Ford Theater. The concert was the jazz sax player who played on Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You". Following that, Travis Cottrell led us into an amazing time of worship.

Tonight, we had dinner at the famous Heritage Hotel in downtown Nashville. Following dinner we had a time of worship with Michael Neale from People's Church, followed by Natalie Grant. Again...amazing.

I can't remember the last time I just wept during worship like I did when Travis Cottrell led us. I desperately needed to be led in worship...I just didn't realize it. It is amazing how quickly we can be emptied when giving all the time. I hadn't taken enough time for myself to be filled up. It has been great.

Moments like that just make me so desperate to get back to our people and worship with them. Be ready Immanuel. I am so pumped and ready to go to the next level personally, and as a church. Are you on board?

I absolutely love the people I get to serve with at Immanuel. Tonight, with all the rain and cold weather (at least it's cold for Southern California people) our worship band still showed up for practice. I know it's Friday night, but we need a once a month practice in addition to our weekly practices and it is the only night of the week everyone could agree on. Our band is awesome. We've been blessed with some great musicians, but even more importantly these guys are worshippers.

We're leading worship in Riverside on February 28. It's really difficult coming up with a set-list when you are leading worship for people you don't know. I never know if they are familiar with the newest stuff, so we try to keep it balanced. Here's our set-list for that day:

Everlasting God
Love the Lord
Let the Praises Ring
Jesus Messiah
How Great is Our God (everybody knows this, so it's our safety net)
Jesus Paid it All (Passion)
I Know Who I Am
Revelation Song

Come worship with us in Riverside at Mag Avenue at 8:30am on February 28!

The Bumgardner's

We recently had some family pics made. David White , a great photographer friend of ours, shot some beautiful images at a really cool place in Redlands, CA. The house in the background is ours (I wish). He did some really cool things with effects, too. But, no matter how good he is, he could do nothing for my face. I guess I'm stuck with it.

Pour into Your People

Communication is a good thing. Right? Well, in most cases. Unless what is being communicated is not well received. But, that's a different blog for a different day. Here are 3 ways you can pour into others around you and invest in people in your circle of influence:

1) Listen. It has been said that you can leave a conversation having someone say "that is the most interesting person on earth". Or, you can leave a conversation having someone say "that guy made me feel like I am the most interesting person on earth". Don't always feel like you have to talk about yourself. Let others feel important by showing interest in them.
2) Discover what is important to someone and meet that need. For example, if someone's child has made the honor roll, write a letter to them congratulating them on such a great accomplishment. It's difficult to do this on a grand scale. But, in smaller groups, or on an individual basis, it has a huge impact.
3) (Most) Everyone loves birthdays. Make that a big deal to your people. Jody and I recently began hosting birthday parties at our house for our choir members. We invite those who have had a birthday that month to come to our house for a mini-birthday party in their honor. It allows us the opportunity to get to know our people beyond Sunday morning, and it helps them see that you care. And Jody and I care deeply about the people God has placed in our worship ministry. They are the reason we do what we do. Make your people "feel" that important!

What is Worship?

As believers, "what is worship?" should be a question we are constantly revisiting. The question itself holds so many possibilities. I have heard worship described with long definitions full of lofty words and intelligence that I will probably never grasp. However, when speaking of God, worship is simply a relationship.

Now, out of that relationship comes a lot of great stuff. The dedication of our heart's affection and our mind's attention. Our humbly glorifying Him in response to His greatness and His Word. These are the types of things that flow out of a relationship of worship. The fact that we raise our hands and lift our voices in song all in response to WHO God is does not "sincerely" happen unless we are in right relationship with Him.

Check you relationship with the Lord. Has it grown lately? Do you know Him and His word more today than you did previously? If not, all of the things that flow out of that relationship will be greatly diminished. Your praising and singing won't be as sweet. Your prayer life will start to wane. Your passion for spending time with His people will be quenched. And your desire to grow beyond self will be lessened.

If any of these "results" of worship have been compromised lately, it is probably because your "relationship" with God is not as close as it should be.

Ready for a Test

Check out this test. Just follow the instructions given on the video. Let me know how you do.

Issues

All of us want to believe that our opinion about an issue is the right one. Most of us find great pride in offering a solution that ends up being the best one. However, we have to be careful. Pride is a tricky thing. Soon we can find ourselves thinking that no one else's opinion is valid. We tend to find hidden agenda in other people's point of view, and we believe we have all the answers. Pride causes division. It causes growing programs and successful ministries to be ineffective.

Guard your heart. Always question your motive. In all things, honor God.

Music

I recently found out that someone is recording a song that I wrote. My publisher emailed me and let me know about it a few days ago. Pretty crazy, huh? It's exciting to think that it will be on someone's recording. I've hoped and prayed the Lord would use me in whatever way He would see fit, but secretly I wanted to write songs from my heart and have them impact the Kingdom.

In other news, the headline that Obama and Limbaugh are at odds made me laugh. Is this really news?

A Picture is Worth....

I took my family to have pictures made last week. The kids did really well. We were outside, so they were able to run around and act crazy, which is a typical day for us :) So, I'm sure they'll look different in every shot. At one point, Caleb ran off and returned red-faced and sweaty for the next shot. Abby was spinning in circles and her hair became "less than" what Jody had intended when she fixed it. Ella followed the crowd and soon had grass-stained knees and an un-tucked shirt.
All in all, they should be pretty natural shots!

I Would Not Have Gotten a Ticket

For those who don't know, I recently made fun of Travis Cottrell for having to attend traffic school. It was a status update he posted on his facebook page for all to see. So, I took the opportunity to take a jab. It now looks like I'll be putting my name on the roll in one of these "traffic schools" in the upcoming months. Let me explain my story:

It's funny how things work together for the final outcome. If any one of these things had been different, I would not have gotten a ticket.

I was scheduled to lead worship at MetroWest, which is a minister of music roundtable conference. I came to the church to pick up a guitar I needed. I chose to refresh my memory on the chords to the songs I was doing, so I took an extra 10 minutes to do that. Had I not, I wouldn't have gotten a ticket.

As I left the church, I began to pull through the mid-campus drive, to exit onto Baseline. Half way through, I changed my mind and turned the car around to exit onto Webster. Had I not done that, I would not have gotten a ticket.

Pulling through the parking lot, there was construction going on. As a result, I had to exit the south end of the parking lot onto Webster. Because I was going out that far down, I decided just to head south to Greenspot. Had there not been construction in the parking lot, I would have exited further up and I would not have gotten a ticket.

Heading south on Webster, I noticed that the road was closed ahead. As I approached the stop sign, the detour directed me to the right. I waited for the car ahead of me to pull through, then pulled up to the sign and stopped. Had the road not been closed, I would not have gotten a ticket.

I turned right following the detour and was immediately pulled over. As the officer approached, he told me his name and what department he was with. He asked me if I knew why he was pulling me over. I said "no sir". He then preceded to explain that I had almost stopped at the stop sign, but that my tires had not come to a complete hault. Therefore, he was charging me with #972455*%@**^$ or something. Or in other words, running a stop sign.

"But, Sir. I did stop" I replied. But, to no avail. He took my license and went back to his motorcycle. Upon returning he said "Now be careful. We've had a lot of issues at this intersection since they closed the road."

So, should I contest it in court? Isn't that just a lose/lose situation anyway? Or, should I just do traffic school and move on? What would YOU do?

I still contest that had I not been born a guy and were some pretty female that started crying when I was pulled over, I would not have gotten a ticket.

Saddleback

I had the honor of spending the evening with the Metrowest guys, Stan Endicott and Rick Muchow @ Saddleback this evening. It was an amazing night. I'm blown away by that campus everytime I go there.

Rick and Stan are amazing and I've made good friends this week. Well worth it.

Conference

It is always good to meet with guys who do what you do. This week I am meeting with worship pastors from across the state...and one from Tucson. I am gleaning so much. I love to hear what other guys are doing and to build those relationships. Very encouraging and challenging. Good stuff.

We're meeting @ Fellowship in the Pass in their new facility. Lots of fun!