Posted by Blake | Posted in Church | Posted on 28-01-2009
Rumors about churches…
Man, I guess they’re to be expected. And especially about “higher profile” churches. But rumors can be damaging. The sad thing is when rumors are spread not as rumors (like where Pat Patterson will sign to play college football) but told as truth and matter of fact. Like the email I got yesterday.
But first a little background. The church where I serve/attend is a plant of a church in Tupelo. We are still deeply connected to them and are thankful for that. The church in Tupelo just celebrated their ten year birthday. They’ve done tons of good in the community and reached many people. But I can’t think of anyone on the staff who would say that they are perfect or there is not still room to mature and grow in effectiveness as the Body of Christ.
But I got an email yesterday from a friend asking me if something was true of our church in Oxford like it is our sister church in Tupelo. “Is is true that, in order to become a member of The Orchard – Oxford, one must present copies of one’s W-2 for tithing purposes? Someone told me that it is a requirement for membership at the Tupelo Orchard and asked if y’all have the same requirement.”Seriously? I mean….seriously?
Truth is, this “fact” had been spoken about as just a matter of fact for years I’m told. Now I don’t think my friend was making that accusation. But seems to have taken the statement about the Tupelo church as at least possible fact. I simply responded by asking that they find that “someone” and ask them to stop by The Orchard in Tupelo to appologize for spreading lies about them. Or to at least check facts before regurgitating them.
I mean, how damaging can that be to a church’s reputation? How hurtful could it be to ministries and ministers? How lame of a rumor is that in the first place? And to think that it was even heard more than once in a different church’s office? That’s super-extra-lame.
So…if you hear something negative about a church that surprises you, make sure you know your facts before trying to surprise someone else.
I think JT and Dave hate the new traffic cams. They call them traffic scamras. #
@jcchurch So do you have a race on the calendar you’re training for? I need to get consistent with running again. Keep it going, man! in reply to jcchurch#
Posted by Blake | Posted in My So Called Life | Posted on 25-01-2009
More random thoughts to finish out the week.
This week was a big one because of the innaugration. I streamed it on my computer while sitting in my office. I could have gone to watch it with Pat on campus at Ole Miss. But I had a lunch meeting instead that would complicate the schedule. But I did watch. I liked seeing the former presidents and their families. And Obama seemed quite confident. Though I didn’t vote for him or the nations 2nd choice either, I hope the best for this presidency.
Pat wrote a little something on his blog about watching the festivities of Tuesday from Ole Miss on his blog. It made it into the Oxford Eagle as well. I encourage you to read it if you get the chance. Justin also wrote about his feelings watching it from Starkville. Both are great reads.
But the real event of the week happened the next day when LOST began again on ABC. I watched it online the next day. But I didn’t watch the recap episode. I should have. LOST has to be careful. They are close to stretching the plot a little too far, even by their standards. For now, FNL is the best tvshow in the world.
I hate situps. But I’m realize more and more how they will help me grow older more effectively. Total body fitness would help as well.
We’ve entered into our first (and prayerfully hopeful last) situation in dealing with a lying child. But it seems we’re on the upswing. But sometimes it’s absolutely baffling what you experience with your own children.
I love online communities. They can be a chore, they can be a pain, and they can be a joy.
A little over a year ago my family and I began a transition to a new city and a new ministry. There were a lot of unknowns with it. There still are. But God has continued to impress upon me the importance of what we’re doing here in Oxford with The Orchard. And He continues to reveal to me the type of leader and man that my pastor is. And with all those things combined….I’m glad I’m where I am.
Having said that, being a Bulldog here amongst the Rebs isn’t as bad as some might think. But it doesn’t mean it’s the easiest thing in the world either. Maybe I can expound upon that later.
Music can truly transport your mind to different times and places through memories. Sometimes it’s almost a tease the nearly tangible glimpse you get with a remembered song.
Small Group started back last week for us. We’re going through Andy Stanley‘s book It Came From Within. Looking forward to the book, but the time with the people too.
One of our toilets is messed up. Won’t flush right. Won’t overflow either. So that’s good. Even ran a 3′ snake down that sucker.
Posted by Blake | Posted in Stuff | Posted on 25-01-2009
For all the conflict and tension that seems to occur in politics. For all the finger pointing and name calling. And of course the blame game and mud slinging. It makes me sigh a gentle breath when I see two young women writing such a letter to two young girls whose lives have just radically changed. This is cool.
Posted by Blake | Posted in Stuff | Posted on 23-01-2009
How did I miss this? But Andy Stanley was the guy who prayed at the Inaugural Prayer Service. He took some of Prez Washington’s service from 1789. Pretty interesting.
And of course we know that Rick Warren prayed just before the swearing in. What’s your take on “famous” preachers being called upon to pray like this. I would think it an honor probably, whether you line up parallel with the POTUS or not. But I know that some people think it’s on the lame side. What’s your take?
Posted by Blake | Posted in My So Called Life | Posted on 18-01-2009
It’s the weekend. And it’s almost over. But why not throw up some random thoughts?
MSU football recruiting is making me a happy man. Four big announcements this weekend. Hopefully a few more to go. Scout.com has them with the #15 recruiting class in the nation right now with a few more weeks to go. We’ll see what happens.
MSU basketball is making me happy too. After a good start to the season, then a bit of a stumble it seems they’re back on their feet. I thought the season was going to stink. Now we’re 3-0 in the SEC. Even beat Arkansas @ Bud Walton Arena.
LOST starts back this week. I’ve been ready. It’s tied for my favorite tv show ever (maybe.)
Friday Night Lights finished season three on DirecTV this week and then started season 3 on NBC Friday night. I know that seems strange. But rest assured that I think FNL is maybe the best tv show ever. Amazing. Now we gotta see if it gets renewed for a new season or not.
Now since I’ve been thinking of making videos I have been researching good video cameras. I’ve realized that “good” to some people means “astronomical” to me. I’ve had cameras recommened to me that are about the same amount of money as what I made my first year working at a church. Wow. But I know there are some good ones out there.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to try to sell my Canon camera and buy a Nikon. As in the D90.
I want a new theme for my blog here. Might it make me post more?
A friend of mine just started a blog. He also just went back to MSU after working in Jackson for a couple of years as an engineer. Give him a look when you can. Head First.
We don’t have cable. And the rabbit ears don’t pick up much of anything. That’s why we love Netflix and Hulu.com. But my mom thinks since we don’t have cable we can’t figure out what the weather is. So she goes to a weather website to email me the forecast if it’s going to be cold or rain or something. I guess she doesn’t think computers in Oxford can get that info w/o her finding it first. But she’s just looking out for me.
Do any of you ever visit Pandora or Last.fm‘s sites? You can discover some cool music through them. Give them a shot. That’s where I found Owl City. [and if you've not found Owl City....then you should.]
Spring semester starts back for Ole Miss on Wednesday. So that means the busy roads and crowded restaurants and hopping night life are all about to return. But to be honest, I do like the buzz of the place when school is in session. I like it when it’s calm too. I think you can find a good rhythm there.
Posted by Blake | Posted in Church, Web, Youth | Posted on 16-01-2009
Yesterday I came across a video that inspired me. You know of course that I made the Small Group Promo video thing last weekend. It was fun to make, and after editing it and showing it I felt a stirring to make more. But of what? There were a few ideas for the “next” video we could do for small groups at The Orchard. But what else going on at our church?
I remembered being at Innovate08 back in September. They had a film festival where churches brought some of their best videos and showed them. I was pretty surprised. Some were sermon illustrations, some were promos for upcoming events, some were just highlights and innovative announcements. But lots were really good. I’ll try to find a few and put up here soon.
But the video I saw yesterday was a promo video for a Young Life camp out in Arizona. Camp videos can be fun. I remember helping some with the video we showed each session the summer I worked at Camp Ozark (like 12 years ago. wow). They could be intense the last night of editing, and it wasn’t even my job to do it! And BreakThru made a video each year that literally finished rendering minutes before it was shown on the last night. And I made a few highlight videos here and there back in the deck to deck days.
So I know the thrill of seeing lots of different things happening and then having it all come together for something that makes a grand impression. Well, this video below blew me away. Like I said, it’s of Young Life camp. But the guy who made it and the equipment used was exceptional. But to be able to make a video like this would be a dream of mine. Enjoy.
Posted by Blake | Posted in Family | Posted on 13-01-2009
Last Monday we ordered Addie’s camera from Amazon.com. She checked the mail a few times a day every day (even on Sunday). She was so anxious. Especially after the package tracker said that it was supposed to be picked up from Memphis on Tuesday. That is only about 70 miles away.
But it never looked like it was going to come. So I come home from work yesterday and a shrieking seven year old is squealing, “Daddy! Daddy! My camera came! It came in today!” We go inside and see that yes indeed it came, but no one had figured out how to put the batteries in or anything else. It feels good to be needed in this family.
So she has gone nuts with it. She has taken TONS of pics but deleted tons too. She does some self cataloging it seems. But we’ve gotta make sure of what she’s taking pictures of too. Some things don’t need to be put out there: dirty underwear in the floor, her baby brother getting his diaper changed, her mom while she’s sleeping!
But soon she’ll be wanting to show friends and family what she’s creating. So we’re trying to figure out the best way right now. Any suggestions, let me know.
My wife is always wanting to be helpful. She wants me to be “successful” too. So sometimes she realizes I need a little bit of a boost to get rolling. So we talked about different ideas for a video to make for the church about small groups. But she went ahead and and started calling people setting up interviews to get feedback about why people at The Orchard here in Oxford, MS enjoy small groups.
She kept telling me she was “helping me” when really she was nudging me to help myself. But I appreciate her a ton for it. It turned out to be fun and makes me ready to do the next one…what ever it happens to be. But with a few interview appointments spread out over a few days and some friends in town over the weekend too, I pushed back the editing of the video til last night. Like really got started at about 11:30pm. And then the re-edits and tweaks that no one else would probably notice kept me going back over it. So I finished around 3am [aided by the fact this was my first time to use iMovie08] so we could show it in church today. But I’m all good.
Anyhow, here it is. It’s not perfect. But it was fun and a learning experience. I hope for more to come soon. Tell me what you think in the comment.
Man, I guess they’re to be expected. And especially about “higher profile” churches. But rumors can be damaging. The sad thing is when rumors are spread not as rumors (like where Pat Patterson will sign to play college football) but told as truth and matter of fact. Like the email I got yesterday.
