Chris Elrod

Resolutions...Oh Please!!!

I don't make New Year's resolutions!  In fact, no self-respecting church plant pastor makes New Year's resolutions!  Resolutions are for panty-wearing, mama's boys...not church planters.  If you are a church planter and feel the evil spirits deep inside urging you to make a New Year's resolution, please do the following:

1. Slam you head really hard against the nearest brick wall.

2. Man up and grow a pair!

3. Listen to some Lynyrd Skynyrd at top volume.

4. Walk naked through your entire house three times...passing gas as loud as you can.

5. Say with an authoritative voice to anyone that will listen, "I am a church planter and, by God, I don't live life with regrets!"

6. If anyone challenges you about this, hit them with an extremely mean stare until they are reduced to a crying pile of goo and then yell, "Get your sniveling, resolution-making ass up out of my face!"  (Unless, of course, the person challenging you is your wife. All great - and smart - church planters become panty-wearing, mama's boys when their wives get ticked!!!)

PLEASE NOTE - Perry Noble made a semi-resolution list.  He is excused this year as he's about to become a father and his "man-a-tude" is slightly off right now.  Congrats to the Noble family!!!

Predictions: The 2007 Uncool List

Here are my predictions for what will become "uncool" in the area of church planting and church leadership in 2007.  These are in no particular order.

MySpace - The writing is already on the wall.  With everyone from Fortune 500 companies to grandparents having a MySpace, the online "community" is going to go down as a form of marketing for churches.  Only indie bands and sixth graders will keep using the thing.

Denominations - Jesus' first miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding ceremony has taken on a new meaning thanks to denominational decisions in 2006.  According to the Southern Baptists it was irresponsible, as it could lead people to take a drink of alcohol (the root of all evil).  According to the Episcopals the wedding was that of a same-sex couple.  Denominations have become so bloated with self-importance and extreme left wing/right wing doctrinal statements that church planters will walk away from them in droves!

Mark Driscoll - I like Mark and love his books.  However, his "let's make babies so we can rock the vote" mentality...along with his big mouth will cause him to slide in the cool scale.

Cookie-Cutter Marketing - "Bye-bye" Outreach Marketing, Inc. and "hello" art majors within the congregation.

Self-Help/How-To Books & Conferences - The world of church planting and lead pastors no longer needs more clones and copycats.

Pimping - Shameless self-promotion of one's book, video, church, blog, podcast, Home Shopping Network gadget or conference is getting completely uncool.  Some pimping is okay, but the key word here is shameless.

Expensive Church Technology - Church planters are waking up to the fact that no one really wants to explain to God why a $3 million video wall was purchased for the sanctuary when there are single mothers in the community trying to pay bills while living in their cars.

CEO Pastors - It's called a church not a business.  The New Testament calls it "shepherding" not managing. Church planters are beginning to embrace that idea.

Brian McLaren - Being controversial for the sake of being controversial just gets old after a while.  Maybe Brian's friends at Open Door Church will continue to buy into the crap, but the rest of the world will get past it in 2007.  His 15 minutes are up.

Chris Elrod - See the "big mouth" section in the Mark Driscoll listing above.

Video Venue Multi-Site Churches - When a Texas church plants a video venue location in south Florida the multi-site movement has entered the "absurd" category.  Only "Boomers" and "Purpose-Driven" disciples still buy into the idea that people want to watch sermons on movie screens.  ***This "uncool item" is in no way intended to disrespect those multi-site churches that still use live people to deliver the message.

Extravagant Sunday Mornings - All week strategy meetings by church staff in order to figure out how to stage a Broadway-rivaling show on Sunday will be a thing of the past.  With 20-somethings putting more importance on community, the  popularity of "the worship of worship", KISS concert-styled Sunday services will begin to slide in 2007.

Mega-Churches - Large churches will always be around.  In fact we need them - and I am not saying they are wrong.  I just see a greater importance by church planters being put on shepherding the individual flock and planting new, stand-alone churches.  Because of this there will be more 500-800 member churches and more church plants being launched out of recently planted churches.

Foreign Missions - Africa needs more food, more AIDS vaccines and more money.  It doesn't need more missionaries.  Relief ministry to foreign countries will become cool in 2007 - not street crusades.

Modern Praise Music - Less Chris Tomlin...more Fanny Crosby.

Dave Crowder's Beard - Great music, but his facial hair is really annoying...and uncool.  It's like a post-modern attempt at being ZZ Top.  In 2007 someone will finally snap, hold David down and cut that crap off his chin!!

Uncool Lists - Uncool lists really won't be that cool in 2007.  Especially when they are written by a bonehead church planter in Lakeland. Florida.

Bye-Bye, Bad Guy!

Ding dong, the witch is dead...

Worked with
a Kurdish refugee family
three years ago.
They fled Iraq
after their relatives
were gassed by So-Damn.
No mourning in Lakeland!
No mourning from Kurds!
How many more
wait in line
to take his place...

Sorry normal blog readers.
I was feeling creative...
expressive...
and different...

Warren Zevon And A New PDA

So I'm in kind of the after-Christmas, nothing-much-is-happening, lazy kind of mood today.  I've done a little house cleaning, organized some of the crap on my desk and ate lunch (a little personal recipe I like to call "hot dog in a bowl").  Now I'm just sitting back waiting for the Independence Bowl to start and chilling out to Warren Zevon's "The Wind" compact disc.

Recorded after he was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, Warren was in the last stages of his life.  It is one of the most honest (there's that theme again) and timeless music projects I've ever encountered.  "Keep Me In Your Heart" is one of the songs we play at Compass Point after the service and it always brings a tear to my eye.  Zevon and "The Wind" is always inspiring in that it was written and recorded with so little time and so much still left to say.  If only I had that kind of urgency when I speak and communicate?!?!

I also did something yesterday I never thought I'd do...I ditched my Palm Tungsten E.  Several times over the last year it has crashed while I was one the road or away from my home.  It really sucks because - being ADD - I live by that thing.  When it crashes, I crash!!!

Anyway, I have committed to stop using so much digital stuff because of the unreliability.  So I'm giving the whole HipsterPDA thing a try.  You know, where everything is kept on 3x5 index cards.  The jury is still out, but so far so good.  It does lend itself to doing the Getting Things Done process better, so we'll see.

Honesty

Honesty is of great importance to me.  It is one of the things I look for in friends, staff and leadership.  It is one of the things I strive to be in my personal and public life.  I've never been drawn to "yes men" and find that I prefer the "iron sharpens iron" qualities of a brutally honest person.

I have served on church staffs and under the leadership of pastors that only wanted to hear the positives.  I found all of these churches to be without vision, clear leadership and growth.  While I recognize the need for positive reinforcement (and doll it out on a daily basis to those that work with me), I also know that personal, spiritual and vocational growth can only come with people being brutally honest about your shortcomings.

I learned this lesson in a most peculiar way back in the early 90s when I was just starting out as a Christian comedian.  I'd only been doing the comedy thing for a little over a year with some success.  I had started traveling around the country on weekends, been picked up by a major Christian booking agency, had done some television shows and was getting noticed by some record companies.  I knew the next step was to seek out a manager that was well-connected in Nashville and the CCM scene.  Through a friend I was introduced to Ray Ware, who at that time was (and still is) the manager for Bryan Duncan, Randy Stonehill and Bob Carlisle. He took a call from me and requested a video sample of my work.  Up until that time everyone around me was talking about how great I was doing - really pumping sunshine up my skirt.  I was getting quite a big head and was thinking I was the "next big thing".

A few days later I called Mr. Ware back expecting to hear how honored he was to be chosen to manage such a dynamic artist that was going to redefine how the world looked at Christian comedy.  Instead his first words were, "Chris, I gotta tell ya, I wasn't impressed at all - the comedy material was pretty lame - I think you need to chose another career."  I was crushed!!!  In my shock, disbelief and anger I never heard another word of that conversation.  The gist of it was that he didn't feel like there was anything to manage and that the folks pumping me up - might be nice - but didn't have my best interest at heart.

For days Mr. Ware's words were all I thought about.  I had a few gigs and - needless to say - they sucked because I couldn't shake off what he said.  The anger and shock began to die off and I truly began to look over everything I was doing.  I knew that Nashville could be brutal and that I was competing for a record contract against much more seasoned Christian comedians.  I knew that the "corn ball" humor that worked in Zwolle, Louisiana wouldn't go over with the record guys in Nashville.  After some personal contemplation and many sleepless nights, I called Ray Ware back.

He was kind enough to once again take my call.  This time I asked specific questions and listened to his brutally honest answers.  He should have charged me 10% of everything I made as a comedian for his advice, because it was incredible.  I applied everything he said to my comedy act and business structure...and it worked.  Suddenly I doubled in gigs, was appearing on national radio shows, got more television exposure and was getting calls all the time from record companies - both big and small.

In the end Mr. Ware never managed me and I only ended up staying in the CCM industry another few years.  In those years I had to hear some pretty brutal comments and advice by great folks (Chonda Pierce, Steve Geyer, Scott Hall, Wes Campbell and Leslie Kent) that changed my life for the positive.  It was those lessons that showed me that brutal, honest truth is always a growing experience!

Over the last several weeks I have received both extremely negative and extremely positive emails about my honesty on this blog.  I was challenged a few months ago by a church planter to be as brutally honest on my blog as I am when I speak at conferences or mentor someone. I have taken that advice to heart and have begun to be more honest and authentic in my postings.

Compass Point is not one of the top 25 most innovative churches in America (according to the folks at Outreach), however we are reaching young 20-somethings.  We are on the cutting-edge of future Christian leadership and - with that - brings an understanding of what the future of the church might look like.  From what we (the Compass Point leadership and I) are observing that the coming paradigms will be a threat to the current definition of success and paradigms in church planting.  I truly believe that the mega-church, high-tech church and Purpose-Driven church models are quickly becoming dinosaurs with the coming culture.  I believe that only brutal truth and honesty will help to prepare the way for the next church planters.  So this is why I write.

If you chose to continue to read this blog, please keep two things in mind:

1. I will be brutally honest from now on.  Being inflammatory is not something that keeps me up at night.

2. While I am not always right, I am never unsure! 

President Ford

It's around 3:00 AM and I just caught the news on CNN that President Ford passed away. 

When I was in fourth grade my grandfather checked me out of school to go to Barksdale Air Force Base for President Ford's arrival in Shreveport-Bossier City on a campaign stop.  I can still remember how cool it looked when Air Force One pulled up.  We were told he'd do a quick wave then be wisked away in a limo to fundraiser downtown.  Instead he stepped off the plane and proceeded to work the rope line for a good forty-five minutes.  Because of my grandfather's security clearance I was right on the rope and got to shake President Ford's hand.  When you're nine-years-old there is no greater feeling in the world than to shake the hand of a sitting President.

Since that time I have met several current and former U.S. Presidents, but nothing can compare to that first time with President Ford.  I don't know about the rest world, but he will be missed in the Elrod household!

All In This Together?

Recently Greg Rohlinger, pastor of Palm Valley Church in Arizona put up a great posting on his blog concerning the stuff that Gary Lamb and Ridgestone is going through over the "rappin' Santa" video.  I had a chance to meet Greg several months back up in the Atlanta area and, while our visit wasn't exactly exclusive or long, I found him to be a Godly man and incredible church planter.

With all that said, I respectfully disagree with one point (point #3) that he made in the above-mentioned post.  While I agree that churches should not be in competition with each other, the sad fact is that many are.  I also disagree to some extent with the first sentence, "We're all in this together."  I'm not so sure that all of us are.  Allow me to explain.

I'm a church planter.  Greg is a church planter.  Gary is a church planter.  Not attempting to speak for Greg or Gary, but a church planter's job...his calling...is to reach unchurched people.  Obviously discipling and growing folks in spiritual maturity is also key ingredients in that process.  However, I've never met a successful church planter that wasn't jazzed first and foremost by reaching unchurched people.  It's all we think about.

With that said, I'm troubled by some of the "reasons" I'm hearing for planting churches.  Over the last year I've spoken at a few statewide church plant conferences, I've mentored a few church planters and come in contact with dozens upon dozens of church planters.  I'm amazed at the lack of concern for the unchurched by some.

In the last twelve months I have met church planters/lead pastors who started a church because...

...they were tired of being the #2 man and wanted to call the shots.
...got fired from another church and didn't want to answer to anyone else again.
...didn't like dealing with committees or deacons or both.
...had a revolutionary way of structuring leadership and wanted to show the world it worked.
...their wife thought it was good idea.
...they felt a need to push a particular denomination in the community.
...they were told they would not make good leadership and wanted to prove people wrong.
...they wre too arrogant and bull-headed to get along on a church staff.
...they felt "called" to further the reformation theology/Calvinist doctrine.
...the parent church was declining and that pastor needed somewhere to fall back to for a job/salary.
...they didn't want a church to tell them they couldn't drink or smoke as a pastor.
...it looks good a resume when a big church with more salary wants to hire you.
...they didn't like to sing hymns.
...they didn't like to sing praise songs.
...the other church fired me and I want to cause it to split.
...they wanted a place where home school families could feel comfortable.
...no other church would hire them.
...they didn't want to go through the restoration process for a sin they were caught in.
...church planting was a "tied-me-over" until God revealed what it was He really wanted them to do.
...they had a Master of Divinity and didn't want to waste it.

With all disrespect fully intended, those are stupid...and wrong...reasons to start a church.  If reaching unchurched people is not the goal, do the Kingdom of God a favor...go flip burgers or pump gas...you are not called to be a church planter!!!

My hope is that we will all truly be in this together.  However, I'm seeing a greater trend toward feeding personal needs or emotional baggage in church planters than actually trying to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Question Of Your Honesty

All this machinery making modern music
Can still be open hearted
Not so coldly charted
It's really just a question of your honesty, yeah
Your honesty
One likes to believe in the freedom of music
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity

Some of the greatest lyrics ever penned.  It's also a close representation of my basic mindset concerning most things.  God, family, honesty, risk and time are my greatest commodities.  All else is mindless dribble in the daily ramblings of life.

More on honesty later today.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope you and your loved are enjoying this holiday season as much as Denise and I are.

I'm Having A Sirius Christmas

Santa came a little early around the Elrod house.  Today I got a Sirius Starmate 4 satellite radio system.  This thing rocks!!!  Not only does it get crystal clear sound from coast to coast (without dropping the same station), but you can also program in your favorite music artists so they pop up whenever they are played on one of Sirius' 200+ stations.

It took about five minutes to get the thing plugged and the Sirius folks to activate my account.  Literally, within ten minutes of purchasing the system, I was enjoying great music with no commercial interruptions.  The first song I heard was GNR's "You Could Be Mine".  Upon hearing that, I knew it was divine intervention that I got it.  :-)

Anyway, I was so pumped that I'm just now going to bed (3:30 AM) after listening to a football game, a bunch of music and The Who in concert on it.  You gotta dig that fat guy in the red suit.  He...or she...knew exactly what I wanted!!!

Changed Music And Dropped Batterson

Over the last couple of weeks my tastes have changed and now the blog has begun to reflect it.  First off, my "Recently Played On My Ipod" sidebar changes about every other week.  Not many folks - except for me and some people at Compass Point - give a rip about what I listen to.  Besides, if it's really good I'll just post about in the main section.

However, there are a few blogs that I no longer read on a daily basis.  Since that sidebar section seems to get quite a few hits - and since I received two emails today about "explaining" a recent change - I thought I'd blog about.  Apparently I offended a few regular readers of my blog - which was not my intention.

Along with dumping a link to Compass Point blogger, Forest Smith (because he rarely blogs anymore), I deleted the link to Mark Batterson's blog.  I have stopped reading it on a regular basis. 

The blogs I list in the sidebar are mainly by church planters, for church planters - since that is the majority of who reads my blog.  Over the last few months Mark's blog has become more a source for him to pimp his book than to talk about church leadership, church planting or pastoring.   It seems as if every other posting ends with a pseudo "buy-my-book-while-supplies-last-call-now-operators-are-standing-buy" sales pitch.  I just no longer feel comfortable sending people from my site to Mark's.

In all honesty, I received "In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day" as a gift, read it in about a week and felt it was an okay book at best.  I'm not sure the world needed another "be-all-you-can-be-live-your-destiny-be-a-risk-taker-for-Jesus" Christian motivational book.  However, I did find it to be more meaty and deeper than the fluffy Warren mega-seller "The Purpose Driven Life" or the colossal waste of paper "Your Best Life Now" by Joel Olsteen.

Anyway, sorry to those I offended by deleting St. Batterson from my blogs list.  I've always put quite a bit of value in honesty and authenticity.  Therefore, if I'm not reading a blog on a daily basis, I'm not going to list it under the sidebar title "Blogs I Read Everyday".

And Then Critter Says...

Every Monday night I meet with some college students and recent-grads at a Irish pub here in town for Bible study, community and conversation.  We have this guy named Critter that comes.  He's kind of this complex, emerging pastor-type that graduated from Southeastern University last week that comes up with some really cool thoughts and phrases.  Tonight we're all talking and then Critter says, "Sometimes the best place to hide is in public!"  Kind of a crazy, yet profound thought that really drew me in.  I have no idea where I'm going with this, I just thought it was kind of inspiring.

Congrats To Gary Lamb

Congrats to Gary Lamb and the leadership at Ridgestone.  They have made Slice Of Laodicea's "Hall Of Shame Award" this week for their Christmas Eve video.  I've always had a deep-seeded dislike for the bonehead that runs the Slice website and her mindless online dribble.  That fact that she voted Gary & Company as "shameful" only makes me like him - and the Ridgestone leadership - even more.  Rock on Ridgestone!  You're attracting way more unchurched folks for the cause of Christ that one woman with a microphone and a cheesy radio program ever did!

P.S. - Yeah, she hit a nerve!

Osbourne Lights

One of the cool things about living in Central Florida is that Denise and I can head over to Disney World any time we want to.  Tonight we went over to Disney-MGM Studios' theme park after work to see the Osbourne Family Christmas Lights on the backlot movie set.  It was AWESOME!!!  Not only were there over 1 million lights decorating the street, every fifteen minutes they'd do a "dancing" light display.  Everything would go dark, then the lights would "dance" in time to the music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  Disney techs used over 1200 lighting relays that they custom built in order to make it all happen.  Anyway, it was quite a spectacle and really put us in the Christmas mood.  Oh yeah, they had fake snow showering down from the tops of the bulidings onto the street.  It's as close to a "white Christmas" that us Floridians will ever see!

Music To Throw Up To

So after much thought and consideration, I finally settled on a music choice for my day of illness. I have found that the UFO live classic, "Strangers In The Night" is the perfect compact disc to listen to when struggling with a virus.  The band ROCKS live with Phil Mogg singing his butt off, Pete Way slapping the crap out of his bass and Michael Schenker shredding his axe!

Besides I have found that the songs speak to my virus-induced needs.   "Too Hot To Handle" is great for the nausea, "Hot N' Ready" is great for the fever, "Shoot Shoot" helps when aiming is important, "Doctor Doctor" is what I really need, "Rock Bottom" is what I currently feel like and "Lights Out" is what I hope will happen when I go to bed tonight!  :-)

MC Lamb & The Ridgestone Gang

If you guys have not checked out the Ridgestone promo video for Christmas Eve you are missing out on a great laugh - and a great lesson in marketing to the unchurched!  It's brilliant, hilarious, irreverant and is getting press!!!  They may be uber-white, but Ridgestone is a church that is getting it done!

Home Sick

Sorry for all the blog postings today - I'm bored.  I've been home sick since yesterday afternoon with the some kind of roto-virus. I'm calling it "SpewFest '06"!!!  I'm enjoying the rest, but I'd give a month's pay to keep down toast and ginger-ale!  :-)

Mohler Hits One Out Of The Park

Leave it to Dr. Al Mohler to perfectly convey my feelings about the recent announcement that Mary Cheney (lesbian daughter of Vice-President Dick Cheney) is pregnant.  I've been struggling with a response, as I've had several questions about it from Compass Point folks.  Now I'll just let Dr. Mohler be my spokesperson.  :-)

He Made A Difference

Back in my comedy days I met an interesting and humble man named Charles Kelley while on tour.  I don't remember what town I was in, but I'm sure it was somewhere in Texas.  I remembered that he had been a mortician and he had some children who were in "ministry".  I think that is a mild way of putting it.  His children have helped to shape the Southern Baptist Convention, as well as Mr. Kelly himself.

Charles Kelley recently went home to be with the Lord.  In our brief conversation I was touched by his humility, passion for ministry and love for God.  As a layman, he quietly made a difference in this world.  We could use more folks like him!

I Wanna Meet This Guy

Back on my old blog, I once listed people I'd love to meet.  This guy is my latest addition!

Got Back From The Keys

Denise and I got back from the Florida Keys last night.  We had a restful and relaxing time.  A couple of times a year we just try to get away in order to regroup - this was that kind of trip.  When we go on these "retreats" we don't really have a plan or agenda - other than to unwind.  We talk, hang out, read books, listen to music and well . . . do other couple stuff.  In the world of church planting it is important to take time off and go do couple stuff.  I have always said that you can always plant another church, you can't always find another spouse.  In essence, it's easier to go through the death of a church than the death of a marriage!

The picture is of us standing next to the marker for the southern most part of the United States in Key West.  In the picture, we are actually closer to Cuba than Miami.  We didn't stay in Key West, but drove down to it.  It was a pretty drive, but I'd probably never go back to Key West.  It's one huge tourist's trap.  It reminded me of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Bars, clubs and gay hangouts everywhere.  Not really our cup-o-tea, but was fun to see never the less.

In continuing with our "vacation", Denise and I will work the nursery this Sunday.  I've got Bob Siegel preaching for me.  He's one of our elders and super nice guy.  His understanding of Scripture is incredible.  It's great to know that I don't have to be the guy in the pulpit every single Sunday.  I miss it, but it's good to take a break and not preach every Sunday.

The Christian Coalition's Last Gasp?

I'm not sure how many folks nationwide knew about this, but since it was a Central Florida pastor it's been big news around here.  Check out this article about the recent weirdness at the Christian Coalition.

Sometimes dinosaurs just need to know when to stop fighting to stay alive!!!

In The Florida Keys

Denise and I are currently in the Florida Keys on a weekend retreat.  She and I try to do this once or twice a year - just to get away to pray, relax and rediscover each other.  It's so refreshing and really helps to keep us sharp in shepherding the folks at Compass Point.

We just stepped in off the beach where we laid in a hammock and talked for the last three hours.  It was wonderful!  There was a light wind, clear night, 78 degrees and stars as far as the eye could see.  I just read a posting from Jonathan Herron where he was talking about getting slammed with snow up in Ohio.  Man, I feel for him - but I just can't relate.  :-)

We travel back to Lakeland - and reality - tomorrow.  It's been great, but we're ready to head back completely rested and renewed for the days ahead!

My Portable Church Planter Speakout

The folks over at the Momentum Conference blog have been posting a GREAT section entitled, "Portable Church Planters Speak Out".  If you are a portable church planter - or are planning to be one - you need to check it out!  It's where they asked portable church planters to email in their answers to seven questions about being a portable/mobile church. They've printed up some cool responses by guys like Mark Batterson, Tally Wilgis, Gary Lamb, Perry Noble, Ben Arment and several others.  I sent my in . . . they never put it up on the site.  What can I say?  I get no respect I tell ya (read the previous two lines in your best Rodney Dingerfield voice).

Anyway, instead of waiting for the Momentum guys to come to their senses, I decided to go ahead and post my answers here:

#1 - How long have you been portable?

Three years

#2 - What type of facility do you meet in?  Have you met in any others?

We currently meet in a brand new YMCA.  Before that we met in an apartment clubhouse, another church's social hall and a large hotel conference room.

#3 - How long does your set-up/ tear-down take?

Set up takes about an hour.  Tear down takes about 45 minutes.

#4 - What's your biggest challenge to being portable?

Three things . . .
A) Burn out from setting up and tearing down each week.
B) Trying to darken the facility for lighting.  The gym has skylights and windows.
C) Being at the mercy of another organization's schedule.  About ten times a year we walk in to find several dozen teens asleep on the gym floor because of a YMCA leadership lock-in.  Trying to tip-toe around them with sound and lighting equipment gets to be pretty interesting.

#5 - What do you think is your greatest advantage to being portable?

No building debt/costs (other than rent) and it helps to develop a great work ethic for a church body that is committed to reaching the unchurched.

#6 - What's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to you being in a portable setting?

One morning while we were meeting in the hotel conference room, I was standing in the back welcoming guests as our praise band played.  A drunk hotel employee came up to tell me that the music was too loud - in the process interrupting one of our first time guests.  I told him I would get with the sound person in just a moment to see if we could lower the sound level.  Apparently he got angry because I didn't immediatly handle it and shouted, "You stupid @#!!!%, do it now or I'll beat the @#!!!% out of you!"  He then proceded to shove me against a wall and then took a swing at me.  He missed and fell to the ground where he basically passed out.  All of this was in front of the first time - and last time - guests.

#7 - What do you wish someone would have told you about being portable that would have helped you?

Don't financially skimp on the sound, lighting and stage equipment.  The cheap stuff falls apart after a few months. In essence, you get what you pay for!

Facebook

Compass Point has had a Facebook sight for several months now and it has been incredible for reaching out to college folks.  I finally got around to setting up my personal Facebook sight this afternoon.  I love it because it automatically updates my blog postings from this site to my Notes section of the Facebook site.

Crazy News

I always get a kick at weird and crazy news.  Here is one about a woman that killed her husband over a warm beer and this one is about an airliner that had to land because of . . . well, you're just going to have to read it.

Perry's Post

You have to check out Perry Noble's blog posting today.  It's hilarious, right on base and to the point.  I've never met Perry (however, I did meet Gary Lamb, who met Perry, so I've kind of met him twice removed), but I love his blog . . . read it everyday!

Music Selection

It's 2:49 AM and I'm up. Can't sleep.  It was a GREAT day!  God blessed mightily today, Compass Point folks are the best and the Gators are heading to the BCS championship game.  Beyond all of that, I'm ADD - insomnia comes with the territory.

Denise is asleep and I'm jamming to the new Paramore project, "All We Know Is Falling".  I downloaded the entire album (which I rarely do) off of iTunes today.  I heard enough of the samples to know I'd love the whole thing.  This project rocks!!!  It's probably not real good music for going to sleep by, but it's great for a rockin' celebration for a really good day!
 

It's The Gators!!!

Oh baby, the Gators are going to the BCS championship game!!!  I couldn't be happier if I was twins!

Obviously, the Michigan fans are probably ticked . . . and rightfully so.  They lost one game to the #1 ranked team.  Our one loss came with a #18 team.  However, one national sports talk radio shows has been talking in the last few minutes to some college coaches.  As much as the Fox Sports commentators would have the world believe that the "human element" didn't want a Ohio vs. Michigan rematch, the coaches on this show are saying that they voted for Florida because of their SEC championship win.  These guys realize that the SEC is THE toughest in NCAA. 

Obviously, Florida is going to be the "Rodney Dangerfield" of college football for the next few weeks - no respect.  There is a great argument for Michigan being in the title game and even more argument for a playoff scenario in NCAA football.  However, for the 2006 year, the history is written.  Florida will play Ohio for the National Championship.  Gator Nation is pumped!!!

Maybe, Just Maybe!

Yesterday at this time, it wasn't even in the picture.  Now it looks like that Florida may actually play for the National Championship.  This report just made the wire and I'm hearing alot of talk on the sports shows.  I don't want to jinx it, so I'm just holding my breath!

Revolution

Beginning December 17th, I'm going to begin a fairly large undertaking - preaching through the book of Matthew.  I've been feeling led to preach strictly on Jesus for a few months.  Over the last two years I've really dug into commentaries on Mathew (particularly MacArthur's commentary) and was reminded of the fact that Jesus was quite the rebel.  Thus the title of series will be "Revolution" - focusing on the unconventional way that Jesus lived, taught and thought.

I'm really stoked because we'll start the series the week before Christmas with Christ's genealogy (He came from la ong line of rebels) and finish two weeks after Easter with His ascension.  It's the longest series we've ever done at Compass Point, however we have some pretty crazy things up our sleeve in order to keep it interesting.  Not that the life of Christ is not interesting enough.

Anyway, we started pumping it tonight by dropping the video commercial for it on YouTube and the MySpace sites of our regular attenders.  We've also got a Facebook campaign that will go out the middle of next week. We'll kick the video during the next two services also, as well as the podcast.  By the end of the week they'll be a buzz about it on the local college campuses.  It's crazy how marketing is done these days?  It's even more crazy how little cost is involved with reaching younger 20-somethings!

Gators Baby!!!

The Gators beat Arkansas tonight to win the SEC!!!  Man, I am pumped!!!

Now comes the "great debate" on whether they should play Ohio for the national championship.  Until USC tanked tonight, it was a non-issue.  Now, it's the talk of ESPN and sports radio stations nationwide.

Obviously, I'm biased.  However, I think there are some strong arguments why Florida should play for the national title over Michigan:

1.  Florida won the SEC.  Every coach in the NCAA recognizes that the SEC is toughest conference.

2.  Florida won in the conference with the most Top 25 teams.

3.  Florida beat almost all of those Top 25 teams.

4.  USC lost to an unranked team.

5.  Michigan didn't win their conference - they were second place.

6.  Michigan had a shot at Ohio already and blew it.  They were close, but still blew it.

7.  Michigan plays in one of the weakest conferences in the NCAA.

8.   Michigan played very few Top 25 teams at all this year.

I'm holding my breath for the new BCS poll.   Four hours ago Gator Nation was basking in the SEC championship game.  Now we have a shot at the title.  I won't be able to get much sleep tonight.

A New Vision Of Hell

Forget what you read in the Book of Revelation.  I have a new vision of Hell . . . WalMart on a Saturday afternoon during the month of December.  Every Polk County redneck with a bank card was there.  I'd rather have my face smashed in with a wooden mallet than to go to WalMart!!!