foolishnotions.net

ok… last photos for the day.  they are wrapping day one up.

installing the 3rd point…

tomorrow we hook up these….

and i have to watch this…

then the fun begins… programming!

thanks for stopping by everyone!!!

had to go pick up my unbelievably handsome boy from school for the 3:00 hour.  didn’t want you to feel like i forgot.  i am so thankful to work in a place that allows me leave, go get my son and bring him back to work with me.  what a blessing.

he was a little excited about the left over crunch n munch in the kitchen… so it was an eating picture or no picture. and since it’s my blog…

…more lighting pics at 4:00pm

so, i’ve been trying really hard not to miss raising of the truss.

then i get this twitter…

doh! i missed it… this is what i walked in to…

12:00pm… everyone gone to go eat.  where are their priorities?!?!?!?

11:00am
ahhh. found a better camera…

today we start our journey from this…

to something more or less like this…

10:00am…

sidenote: this is my 200th post!!!
happy bi-cent’post’ial, foolishnotions.net!

i thought the popular questions about my trip seemed a little strange at first. then i remembered i wrote this post in close proximity to my trip and figured i should probably answer some of these questions here.

1. Q: (from twitter) “have fun, learn lots…. come home.” (ok, not really a question unless you know the source… just trust me there was a question in there.)
   A: i think my literal response to this was, “come home? are you really serious? no way you can get rid of me that easily!”
2. Q: did they offer you a job?
   A: this is a hilarious question. i was like a tadpole in the middle of lake erie down there. ummmm, no. they did not offer me a job.
3. Q: will i ever be as poplular as carlos? (not me - someone asked if they could be as popular)
   A: you know? i don’t think anyone is as popular as carlos. i don’t think carlos is as popular as carlos. it’s all just a figment of everyone’s imagination. i’m kidding. carlos wants to make a difference. if that means unabashedly promoting the fool out of his website… then so be it. he’s using it for god’s glory. so, if you dare be so brave… go for it.
4. Q: are you trying to learn how to become a mega church?
   A: i am trying to learn what i can from others who are making a big impact in their communities because i want to make an impact in mine. i have learned a lot of things that can be applied in my life and my job and i have seen things that work great in other places but would not work at all for me. i have no desire, whatsoever, to become just like anything or anyone but what god desires in his heart for me to be. that goes for my church too. i can tell you, very certainly, we are very different church. we have unique purpose in our community. i have no idea to what numeric number the rock will grow. but i want to reach as many as we possibly can. only god knows what that really looks like.
5. Q: (quoted directly from my website) “I don’t want to point out the obivious but Ernie is bald with a goatee and so is Los…. Is there a pattern developing. Just asking… Glad you are home.”
   A: yes, there is an pattern. an epidemic, actually. it’s called male pattern baldness. wikipedia says, “researchers suspect that several genes inherited from both parents play a role in androgenetic alopecia. paternal hair loss has been shown to correlate with chances of alopecia in sons, while variations in the androgen receptor gene (AR), which can also correlate with baldness, are X linked and thus inherited from one’s maternal grandfather or grandmother.” there is more. so, if you are not regretting asking this question yet, and would like to learn more… you can read all about it here.
6. Q: is your blog holding up under the ragamuffin effect?
   A: bluehost.com handled it quite nicely, actually. and most of my 300 or so new visitors left. so, i don’t think my blog is in danger of crashing this week.
7. Q: did you learn lots?
   A: yes. i got to see first hand a lot of things, technological and otherwise, that i had never seen up close before. they had some phenomenal ideas about children’s and small group ministries. but all of this, though impressive, was not my greatest take away. i was challenged the most by the obvious quality of their management and leadership. their team was unified, well organized and had a common goal fueled by a clear vision. it was glaringly obvious. and since i am, by my artistic nature, a little organizationally challenged, i think this is what i learned the most from.
8. Q: are you looking for a job?
   A: no. i am exactly where god wants me. i posted this post a few weeks ago to share something in my life that i believe many people go through but keep buried inside. but at the time of it’s writing i was pretty much over it. god had dealt with the issue quite handily. you see, i have quit before. i said, no more, to ministry life and went and pursued a vocation that had nothing to do with the church (or, so i thought). you know what i figured out through that experience? i can’t run away from the calling god has put on my life. quitting turned out to be little more than a detour. i landed right back on the course god had plotted in the first place. so, frankly, i realized quitting is futile. god has seared the vision of this house on my heart. i love my church. i love the leadership in this house. i love my city. yes, it gets hard… it’s demanding and draining sometimes. i feel inadequate constantly. but none of that really matters. because it’s not about me. and my god is more than enough.
9. Q: was it hard to come home?
   A: no. i could not wait to get home. atlanta is beautiful but the traffic was horrendous and i missed my family and my church. i was anxious to put into practice all the information i have filled my head with over the past few months. i talked to pastor b on the way home. i was telling him how going all these places and seeing how god is using others has been awesome. but i have been more amazed by how these experiences have worked together to make my heart beat harder and stronger for the vision of the rock. he quoted someone he recently heard say, “they are my people, but this is my tribe.” that could not hit it more squarely on the head. i hold my new friends dear. they are my people. but here is where my family is.. here is where god’s work is for me.
10. oops. i only have nine. so the last question is for you.
    Q: what do you want to know? do you have questions about technology in the church and what it means specifically for us at the rock? do you question why i and others have traveled all over to see other churches? is there anything you have been wanting to ask someone on staff but never have? ask.
    A: (this is you… comment below.)

oh snap! (wow - i NEVER say that)  i found a computer.  yay!!!!  the thought of living computer-less for 5 days, i would have to say, was significantly less than appealing to me.   this hotel has a fitness room too - cool.  that’s another blog post.

wow… it’s been crazy the past 5 weeks.   here’s the highlites…

• unleashed
• get ready for easter
• easter
• strike easter set
• put up new set
• schedule major light install (for the week of the 14th!!! :-D)
• get ready for myles munroe
• myles munroe [!!!] (…yet another blog post.  i’m so behind)
• edit down myles munroe messages
• cut all the gafa music for creation in may
• get ready for new series, alpha
• go to atlanta - why?  glad you asked…

you know, i’ve known about this trip for a while but it’s almost like i didn’t want to say it out loud for fear it would go away.  plus, the planets pretty much had to line up to pull this off in soooo many ways.  but here i am.  in a hotel in alpharetta, ga thinking about what questions i get to ask carlos and his amazing team tomorrow.  that’s right. i’m meeting the ragamuffin.  i am so excited.  if that were not enough, on friday i am going to northpoint to see brad bretz and his team in action.  saturday - i’m not sure about yet.  sunday, i will be at buckhead again to see carlos and his team pull it all together.  why i’m here in a nutshell…

• wow. what an opportunity.
• i am here because i need to see things that i never even considered.
• i am here because i want my methodology to be challenged.
• i am here because i want my imagination to be stretched.
• i am here because i want my heart to be seared by a vision that i am sure dwarfs my own.
• i am here because…. well, to ask myself what if?
• i am here to see my own wilmington, nc in a whole new light.

this is why when carlos told his readers to ask him anything and he would answer, i asked if i could come.  thank you for saying yes, carlos.  i’ll see you and katie tomorrow.

thank you to all of you who helped get me here.

on the drive to atlanta today i discovered
that next week i will be meeting with 2 more
people who i am just as excited about connecting with.
more about that later.  gotta go to bed now.

well, lets see, catalyst ended last week - wow. that’s all i can say. check out what went on here, or here, here or here. typically, we have somewhere the neighborhood of 250 adults in the main auditorium. Sunday we had 428. eight filled out a connection card saying they made a decision to follow christ. i saw a few more hands than that during the service. it was a truly amazing day.

what else? oh, yeah…

• myles munroe is coming this weekend
• our new series, alpha, starts next weekend
• gafa production, creation, is in full swing - lots of music to cut
• our new lights are being installed in 2.5 weeks
• and, i dare try to go out of town next week for 5 days including a sunday.

weeeee… here we go!!!!!!

i just finished the series graphic for alpha. i am very excited about this three week series. pastor ron will be talking about our true source… the alpha. i have been a little obsessed with typography lately and was looking forward to doing a piece that lent itself to cool uses of text. i was a little sad, though, when i got done and realized that there is another expression of alpha in this graphic that most really won’t get.

so, for you rockers who read my blog, your reward for diligently stopping by is you get a little extra inside information on the word alpha. in graphic design we use special channels called “alpha channels”. ok, if that link spooked you, here’s my super simple explanation. alpha channels are grayscale and are used to define specific areas in order to make the process of image correction, enhancement and transparency adjustment much easier and more precise.  now, that would preach. … but i don’t do that - not in my skill set i’m afraid.

ok, so pastor ron’s message will include absolutely no information about alpha channels. his version will be much, much better. but, at least now you can make someone you are standing next to in church think you are super smart and spiritual with your own insight into the word alpha. you’re welcome.

the only thing i’ll miss about the cold
weather is cranking the heat up full blast
in my car and driving with the windows down.

yay! spring is almost here!!!