How's the Weather Up There?

As a kid, I always towered above most of my friends. Because of my height, I heard some of the same lame comments that have been floating around since Goliath was in preschool. In fact, I can remember my shoe size being the same as my age for many years. When I was 11 I wore a size 11 shoe. Each year I went up a size with my age until I finally maxed-out at a size 15. My perception of my height and shoe size was relative. I didn't think anything about it until people made comparisons. I just knew if my shoe felt too small or just right. My concept of height wasn't in comparison with everyone else.

We see the same thing throughout our lives. Our view is shaded by experiences and location. When I meet some of our church family for the first time, I often hear "you're a lot taller than you seem on stage". Their view is shaded by their location. Until they are actually up next to me, their perception is not a true one. Let me put it like this. All of us have experienced a change in our perception of the size of an object. The further we are away from something, the smaller it seems. It's not until we're right up on it that we are able to examine it for what it truly is and access it's true size.

Keep all of this in mind when you think about God. Our reaction to Who He is, is based upon our perception. Who is God to you? What mental image do you have of Him? Theologian A.W. Tozer puts it like this; "How you think about God will determine who you become. You are a byproduct of your God-picture. And that internal picture of God determines how you see everything else."

I ended up growing to 6'4", which is not that unusual. However, God can not be measured by anything that we can comprehend or imagine. We can't really access just how big God is from a distance. We have to be up close, next to Him to get a true view. We will never dream big dreams with a small view of God. In fact, if your "God-sized" dreams seem easily accomplished, then your view of God is small. Get to know Him up close. Only then will you see your dreams become bigger than your immediate surroundings and take on a form that only God could accomplish.

The Immanuel Choir

We had another awesome rehearsal again tonight. We are only 13 days away from our trip to San Antonio to lead worship at the Southern Baptist Convention, and are people are pumped. We sang a song tonight called Mountain Mover in preparation for Sunday morning, and it flat out rocked. I can't wait for Sunday Morning. Please continue to pray that God will heal my voice. I still can't talk much louder than a whisper with no relief in sight. I'm praying also that when my voice comes back I will sound like Larnelle Harris.

Taking the Hits

It has been really interesting to see how God is using this blog in the lives of others. I've had several, both verbally and in writing, share different stories with me about how the blog has encouraged them, or how someone they told about the blog enjoys reading it, etc. It has recently been brought to my attention that we have readers in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida, Colorado, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina - all in addition to California. What an awesome honor that is. I hope that each of you continue to find something here that inspires you, encourages you, and that makes you laugh.

Along those lines, something that we have recently begun within the Immanuel Choir is servant teams. Each of these teams have different responsibilities with the worship ministry. We have a team that comes in to help pull all of our music once a week. This team is responsible for getting all of the orchestra's folders prepared for rehearsal and worship services, as well as getting the praise team's music put together. Another team is our welcome team. This team greets all of our choir members each week at rehearsal, but more specifically, they meet and greet first time visitors. Part of their responsibility includes registering our first time guests, partnering them with another choir member, and helping them to get their music. By partnering them with another choir member, this guest immediately feels welcome and no longer feels alone in a room full of strangers.

The purposes behind servant teams are many. The top 3 would be:
1) For people to make an investment in their ministry. I have found that when people cease to be one of the many and actually take ownership in their ministry, they will become more faithful. We have seen proof of this at Immanuel.
2) To serve the Lord. How simple is that?
3) To enable the people to do the work of the kingdom.

When your people feel validated in what they are doing, they will do it with excellence. Empower your people to lead and you will see a ministry take off to regions you would have never before imagined.

Convinced

How often do we say things like "I'm praying for revival"; or "I long for the day when we see a bunch of people saved"; or "we just need more programs in the church to reach more people"? Give me a break. What we need is for people to be sold out to a God they claim is real and living in their heart. We need people who will stop at nothing to see people saved, have a passion to see lives changed, and seriously long to see families restored. Now, is there anything wrong with praying for revival or wanting to see a "bunch" of people saved? Absolutely not. But, we have grown into a church who sits idly by and hoping for something instead of a proactive church who is willing to beat the bushes for lost people and make an investment in their lives. Revival starts with me. It starts with you. It's not something God is going to do in the life of a man or woman who continues to do the same thing they've always done while expecting different results. That is the definition of insanity.

The church is in desperate need of people who will not only pray for revival but will earnestly seek a deeper relationship with Christ. To pray for it is not enough. Act on your faith. If you truly believe that God is Who you say He is, then ask yourself this question: "what is keeping me from telling the world about this God that I know personally?" I'll tell you what I think it is. I don't think most people know God as well as they might have us think. I'm not talking about knowing the answers to a Sunday School lesson. I'm not even talking about having the "Romans Road" memorized. I'm talking about knowing the Savior of the universe in an intimate and personal way.

As a huge fan of a TV Show, we talk to people about it, we try to convince others why they should watch this show, and we make it our personal mission to keep everyone up to date as the plot thickens with each episode. We don't sit and fret about how to explain the storyline. We don't feel our palms get sweaty and our knees buckle as we consider asking someone if they watched last night's show. But, when it comes to telling someone how we were lost and on our way to hell until God saved our soul, we chicken out and talk about how that's not our gift. Something has to change.

Revival is an action - it's not an event. It is the result of your desire for a deeper relationship. We can sit by no longer and pray for things that we would like to see but are not willing to work for. Spend time with Him. Tell everyone you see about Him. When (and I do mean when) they accept Him, let's get them involved in the relationship. I pray new Christians don't learn from most of us. If they do, they will end up on the sidelines instead of in the game.

Now, what will you do with this challenge? Will you talk about how harsh it was? Will you speak of how much you agree? Will you think of how it relates to someone else instead of taking a long hard look at yourself? Or will you accept the challenge, get on board, and help me win this community for Christ? Is it time for a change - or are we going to repeat the cycle and keep doing things the same way?

Choir Feature

From time to time I like to feature certain people in the worship ministry that are going above and beyond in the name of Jesus. Today, I want to highlight Rrrrrrrosa Galarza. Rosa has been a constant source of encouragement and is always willing to step up and help. This past week she stepped in for Ellen so that she could go out of town to help her parents in Iowa. What a servant attitude! Thanks, Rosa, for everything you do for the sake of Christ. You wear His name well. And to all of the Immanuel Choir and Orchestra ~ You guys rock! I count it a blessing at every thought of you!

Ministry Highlight

I had the opportunity to meet by phone with Lavon Gray today. Lavon is the Minister of Music at First Baptist Jackson, MS. He will be the worship leader for one of the worship sessions with our choir and orchestra in San Antonio, TX at the SBC. During our talk we discovered that we had one year in common when we were both at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. I seem to run into "Southwesterners" more often than you may think. There are many of us in the ministry, praise the Lord! Lavon is leading his choir to St. Petersburg, Russia from May 31st - June 9th. Lavon, I am praying for you as you minister in the name of Jesus. I can't wait to hang out in San Antonio and hear about what God did on that trip.

I hope our Immanuel family knows what a great Pastor God has blessed us with. We seem to take for granted people and things over time. The things that we've been experiencing and witnessing at Immanuel are not happening everywhere. We should marvel in the presence of God at what He is allowing us to be a part of. Serve Him with everything you have this week. Do not allow negativity to creep in to any aspect of your life. A negative attitude is the beginning of destruction. Stay positive, giving thanks to God in every situation.

UFC 71

It was a very entertaining night of fights as I settled down for a 2 1/2 hour slugfest. Yes, I did it. I spent the outrageous amount of money on the pay per view. But, I had to see the Chuck Liddell/Rampage Jackson fight. For those who don't know, I am a huge UFC fan. This is not the fake stuff...it is real mixed martial arts. Also, those who are not familiar with my background, I am a trained MMA fighter with blackbelts in Karate and Judo. I was also a decorated wrestler with 2 national championships to my credit in college. (Okay, neither of those last two statements are true. In fact I've never been in a fight in my life. But, it felt really cool typing it.)

If you are interested in getting together for the next UFC pay per view, let me know. Everyone can bring $5 each, and we can pay for the thing together. I'll provide the food. Just know that I get in to it. If you're a fan, or would just like to come and hang out, let me know. It would be a great time of fellowship as we cheer for someone to get knocked out.....in the name of Jesus, of course.

Drained

Wow! I've never led worship with laryngitis before. I must admit it was a very stressful and frustrating experience. It is amazing how God teaches you in moments like these. As much as I am convinced that God called me to Immanuel it is humbling when He shows you how much He doesn't need you. He is simply allowing me to be a part of what He is doing. Ministry is not a "have to" thing, it's a "get to" thing. It is insane that I "get to" be in ministry vocationally. What an honor that is!

It looks as though I am not going to be singing the national anthem at the 66ers' Game afterall. I have absolutely no voice left after today's worship services. However, I am excited that Anne-Johnston Brown will be able to sing tomorrow at the game. Our Pastor is going to be throwing out the first pitch, as well. I hope he has been practicing. Can you imagine him not even getting the ball to homeplate? Well, now that I think about it, it's not that hard to imagine. But, it would still be embarrassing. I'm pulling for you Pastor. I know (hope) you can do it.

Pray that I get my voice back soon. I can't stand to be without it. I think the kids are enjoying not having Daddy hound them about things today, though. I guess there are blessings for someone in every situation, huh?

Just another Saturday Afternoon

I got online last night to see that the Immanuel Choir I Believe video had received 195 hits. This afternoon I checked again and found that it has now gotten 279 hits. Wow! I had no idea it would be this popular. It is a good measuring stick to gauge the need for this vehicle for worship. I'll look into it a little more. Give me your comments on how valuable of a tool this may have been for you in sharing the gospel with others. Perhaps you've found it difficult to share Christ with a particular person and this video gave you the "in" you were looking for. Let me know those type of things. I am always looking to do ministry in new and creative ways if it means reaching the lost, encouraging the saint, or worshiping the King.

I am feeling a little better today, although, still extremely tired. I feel like my voice is coming back a little better today. I hope it just keeps getting better. I missed the Pastor's Golf Tournament today but felt I was better served to rest and get over this than to hit a ball around and risk missing church tomorrow. Not to mention that my golf game is not something others would want to see. Keep encouraging others to view I Believe at www.youtube.com. If you don't have the link for them, just tell them to get on youtube and do a search for my name or immanuel choir. As a reminder, let me know if this video has been a ministry tool for you and how. I'll look forward to hearing from you.

Not Good

It seems that every 18 months or so I get some kind of sickness that sets in and decides to take up residence in my throat. I guess it's that time again. I started feeling worn down last weekend, but thought it was just that....lack of rest. But, it seems I wasn't that fortunate. I have "the croup"...for lack of a better term. My throat is on fire, my head is pounding, my body is tired, and my voice....well, it's all but gone...and I have what feels like a large gold fish settling down for a long winter's nap in my throat. Will a healing come before Sunday? I can feel like death but still lead worship....but I need my voice. I'm up at 12:30am blogging because I just can't get comfortable. Pray with me that this is short lived. Okay....I'm sleeping 'til noon tomorrow. Good night.

Sneak Preview

Thank you to all of you who have viewed the Immanuel Choir singing I Believe on youtube.com. As of early this afternoon (my time) we had nearly 100 hits. Wow! That goes way beyond what I expected. Get that link to your friends, co-workers, family, and fellow church members. It would be awesome to have a church video have more hits this week than all of the other junk out there. Let's make it our mission to get as many hits on that video as possible.

This Monday is Memorial Day (for those of you without calendars). In our morning worship service this Sunday we will have a tribute to our fallen military men and women. On this Memorial Day we choose to remember. Shortly after the beginning of our service we will play a video that I wrote and a friend of mine, Larry Wheeler (the voice of 90 seconds) made for us. But, you don't have to wait until Sunday. Click on the following link and get a sneak preview of it. If you are referring it to friends, along with the I Believe video, you can give them this blog address or tell them to go to youtube.com and search for jeff bumgardner. Check out the video and let me know what you think! Memorial Day Video

I Still Believe

Many have asked for a copy of this past Sunday morning's video of the Immanuel Choir singing I Believe. I felt the easiest thing to do would be to post it online. You should check it out. Let me know what you think.
Just click on this link: The Immanuel Choir sings I Believe

I Believe

Wow! What an honor it was this morning to sing a song that the Lord had chosen to write through me. Immanuel Choir and Orchestra - thank you so much for indulging me and pouring yourself into it. You "sold it" and really made the difference. People have shared with me today how encouraged they were by your ministry. It is an amazing feeling to sing a song that was birthed from your heart and to hear others use it to convey a message. Each of you are the reason I do what I do. You are such an awesome blessing and I thank God that I get the opportunity to serve alongside you. See 'ya Wednesday!

Sunday Night 2

I really enjoyed my time with Bobby Welch today. I was filled with a respect for him during, and following, his stint as President of the Southern Baptist Convention, but now it's on a more personal level. I was privileged to hang out with both he and our Pastor tonight following the worship service. A man who could have spent his time talking about himself and all of the things he had accomplished instead spent most of his time encouraging me. I'm so thankful for guys like that. Continue to pray for Bobby Welch and his ministry as God continues to use him to challenge, encourage, and impact the Kingdom.

Sunday Night

What a sweet time of worship we had tonight. I believe it was probably the most powerful evening service we've had since I've been at Immanuel. The crowd was great, it was a very energetic environment, and God showed up. What more could you ask for? Bobby Welch was with us all day today and shared his testimony tonight. If you were not there you missed an incredible time. God is doing a great work at Immanuel!