Some Things Just Have To Be Said

This weekend at the Journey, Erik gave one of the most profound talks he's ever given. Truly awesome! For those of you who missed it, or maybe just don't go to the Journey, but want to hear one of the best messages about churches you'll ever hear, click here. 

I don't want to spoil anything for anyone but here's just a little synopsis: One of the best things said in the talk is this: Church is not a buffet of services that you can come and consume. WOW! Now that just flips the paradigm of what people think about church on its ear!  If you want to hear the rest, or just have that explained, then I highly suggest you go listen. I promise, you won't regret it. 

Anyway, this week has been a good week so far. There is a lot about myself and life that I'm really examining hard right now. One, I'm not getting any younger. And the days of eating a large Pizza from Papa Johns and then just waiting for it to melt off my body are gone!!! I'm trying to avoid the Homer Simpson spare tire. (And I'm not gonna lie, there's a little one already there.) It's crazy!  I just woke up one day.... and POOF! It was there. (Not really, but that's what it feels like.) So today, I started working out with Shawn. Whew! I didn't realize how out of shape I really am. I mean, I do physical things, and I'm certainly not just morbidly lazy or obese, but I found myself getting winded after walk/jogging 1 mile. That's ridiculous. Not five years ago, I could run 3 miles like it was nothing! Not anymore! 

But that's all about to change. Shawn is the executive pastor of The Journey, and a tried and true workout nut! (I mean that in a good way). He's a former policeman, played every sport in school, very athletic, and a great motivator. He also has a great blog. Check it out here. He's absolutely one of my best friends in the whole world and I love to hang out with him, regardless of what we're doing. 

But I realized something today. We each have things that we're good at and things that we struggle with. For me... I'm great at artistic things and focusing on other people. I absolutely suck at focusing on myself (when it comes to things like staying physically fit, and eating right, and things like that.) I need motivation. Cause I can tell you right now, I'd rather go play eighteen holes of golf and call that exercise, than spend an hour in the gym and really burn some calories. I've started down a path of asking myself, what do I struggle with? It's a hard question to ask of yourself. Cause you have to just face facts and be brutally honest with yourself. You can't lie to yourself, cause in the end, you already know the truth. You can put up facades and fool yourself, but in the end, it's only that: just a facade. I know that I need help staying motivated to keep in shape. And so, though I feel like I want to throw up right now (cause I just got home from working out!), I also feel good knowing that I'm doing something that is going to benefit me in the long run, even though I can't see the results immediately. By the 4th of July, though,.... the goal is to be rockin a beach body once again! Something I haven't seen since..... well..... awhile! 

What do you struggle with? Who's in your life that can motivate you to do something about it? Are you willing to put in the hard work to see the results of change? Or are you happy just living within your facade? Good, hard questions to ask yourself. You may not like the answers you get, but the bigger question to ask is.... are you willing to do something about it? 

Love y'all,

robbie

Here's the songs from this week's Catalyst service:

"King Of Heaven (Open up the gates)" Planet Shakers, "Sing To the King" Cindy Foote, "Saviour King" Hillsong,  "Draw Me Close To You" Marc James, "Lead On" Chris Duran

Finally Friday

Well, Hello all.

Sorry It's taken me all week to post. The Journey's got a lot going on these couple weeks, with the renovation of the new building. We're all excited and can't wait to get in. Please be praying for us that God will continue to provide all the necessary things that we need. I think sometimes we often forget that He is in control and we just need to get out of the way and let Him do what is necessary to guide us where He wants us to be. 

Another reason I've been away is because I've been spending a lot of time on Erik's blog. He has put out a 28 day reading challenge to everyone and is conducting a kind of open discussion about what we're reading. It's very easy stuff to keep up with, and I encourage anyone who is reading this to go visit his site and take part in it. We're reading 1 and 2 Samuel and there has been a lot of good insight from those who are posting comments. It's caused me to read and re-read these books and chapters within the books over and over again. It's helping me to grow tremendously in my scripture knowledge and understanding. I encourage all of you to participate. 

So, tonight, I'm having a cookout for my praise and tech team. (which is kind of good timing, cause this week, Erik's talk is about living in community with each other) We spend so much time getting things ready for Sundays and then executing the plan, that often times, we forget to just get together and hang out. I'm making it a point, this year, to do more of these get togethers. I believe it's crucial to any team, business or otherwise, to spend time together and remove yourselves from the daily "business" that you all participate in together. We have to be about meaningful relationships. The people you spend so much time with in your life shouldn't be just casual acquaintances. These are the people you spend half of your time in life with. Why wouldn't you want to know that you can trust them with your struggles and needs, as well as your celebrations. I can't wait to see these guys tonight and just spend some time asking questions about their lives, how they're doing, and what's going on with them. I want them to know that when I say I care about them... it's not just meaningless words. I really care about them. But I can't make them believe that, if the only conversations that I have with them are about transitions in music and arrangements of songs and telling them "Great job today, guys!". Those platitudes only go so far. And I'm not willing to spend the amount of time that I spend with them, and not know what's going on in their lives outside of church, or have them think that the only thing I care about, when it comes to them, is whether or not they are prepared for Sunday service. 

C- Y'all!

Robbie

Here are the songs from this past Sunday's Catalyst service:

Jesus Is Alive (Fee), Glorious One (Fee or Northstar Worship... I like both of them!), You Are Our God (Me! & the Journey Praise team.... Still not available for download yet. Working on it. Just takes $$$$ If you have $$$$ and want to donate to the cause, we'd love to record this stuff!!!!!!) The More I Seek You (Gateway Worship), Everlasting God (Todd Fields)

Monday morning

Hello all! Happy Monday.

Yesterday was a GREAT day at the Journey. We had 7 people get baptized, both campuses under one roof, and God's spirit was everywhere in that place. What more could you ask for! 

Today I would like to stray off course for a moment. Normally I would tell you what's going on in my life, and what God has put on my heart for the moment. But today, I want to talk about someone else. A few people, actually. My  tech team. This post may be a little long, but it's well worth the read. Pleas take the time to get to know these people below.

I've said it before, but not really gone into great detail, about how they are really great guys (and girls!), but I've never really told you about them. So today, I'd like to take a minute to do that. 

Jon Ayers is our tech team leader. This is a guy, who just about a year ago, God grabbed in a mighty way. John is about as country as cornbread! I love him to death! When he calls me on the phone, I say hello, and then I hear a long drawn out..... Hey. I'm certainly not making fun of him. I just want you to know that he is the definition of "Good Ol' Boy". John came up to me back then and started asking questions about how do you know when God is calling you to step up and become more active in His church. We had a long conversation that lead to him opening up what was going on in his life. And he shared with me all the things that he thought God was pressing on his heart. John is a leader, no doubt. And I knew then, that he would be someone invaluable to the Journey. And he has been ever since. He's straight up a volunteer (as are the rest of his team) and he puts as much time in around there as any of us who are full time staff. He has been doing research (on his own and without anyone asking him) on mixing sound, lights, video editing, and computer programing, because he knows that what he's doing right now is going to help shape the vision of the church and help him to influence more people in finding their place in serving. John, I'm excited to have you on my team. I love you, man, and couldn't do my job without you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

I told you a lot about John, because the rest of the team are pretty much his friends, that he's either recruited, or just helped out when they need it, giving them direction on the team. The attitude of his team is: Get it done, cause it's not about us! It starts with John and then trickles down into everyone on that team. They are an amazing bunch of people. 

Jessie Dillard is one of our audio engineers and computer guys. He's about to get married, even though the rest of us have told him he's crazy!!!! Just kidding Jess! Andrea is a wonderful, beautiful girl, and I'm excited for you. Can't wait for the big day. Jess has been there since the Journey opened its doors. He's a, "I'll do whatever you need me to do" guy. Absolutely irreplaceable!

Jason Harding is probably the newest member of our team, but has jumped right in, taking the reigns by the horn and blazing the way! Jason started coming to the Journey, having a background in sound. He told his wife that he would start coming to church with her as long as he didn't have to get involved! Yeah right! LOL. Jason is just like me. He can't stand to sit around and do nothing when it comes to music and sound. I think it was about two weeks after he started coming that he approached me and said, "hey, you know I have some experience in sound, and if you need any help, I could probably jump back there and do something!" He's now the head audio engineer of Providence campus! 

Kevin Burton...... well, what can you say about Kevin? LOL. Kevin is probably the craziest dude I know. It's a good thing he gave his life to Christ, cause God only knows what kind of brigade he'd be leading if he hadn't! :)  This guy would literally take the shirt off his back for anyone. And I mean anyone. He says he's only part time with the team, cause he likes to serve in other areas, but there has never been a time when someone got sick and couldn't show, or we just needed another person in the booth that day, where he didn't jump in, at a moment's notice and run with the show! Kevin, you are my hero! 

Austin Burton (Kevin's cousin), same thing. Austin is also one of those guys who's constantly asking questions of, where is God moving me, and, how do I get there? Austin started out just standing back there, taking it all in, and then he began to start working with the computers, then the filming, and then audio mixing. He's a good friend and I'm very proud to have him on the team. I can't wait to see what God does with you man! (Side note: his little girl and my son are boyfriend and girlfriend. Just ask them. They'll tell you. They're three years old, by the way!)

Special mention to a couple guys here. Alex perry, and Billy Reed. They are two of the most awesome guys you are gonna ever come in contact with. They predominantly take care of filming all of our services. I think I showed them how to turn on the camera, focus, and zoom. They pretty much took it from there. And we're not talking about a camcorder here. This is a pretty high-tech, sophisticated, piece of filming machine! And if you watch our sermons online at the website, what you see is their handiwork. Thank you guys for all you do. 

Finally, Kim Raffield. But certainly not least! Kim is the daughter of Cindy and Don (who are on my praise team). Kim runs our computer at the West campus. She is a joy of a person to be around. She sits back there, with all of those other knuckle heads I mentioned above, and keeps them in line! She is a strong, seasoned Christ follower. She brings a lot of maturity to any team that she's on, though she's still a very young girl. She's quick to learn, and when tech stuff starts going awry, she's "on like Donkey Kong!" Not too much gets by her, if anything. And those guys back there need a lady to keep them straight. Thanks Kim for all you do! 

So, there you have it. The Journey's A/V squad. There are a few others that jump back there from time to time and help out. And I love, and thank, you guys too. But I wanted to mention the folks who are there week in and week out. They sit back there, push buttons, ride faders, click mouses, film...... oh, and don't forget, they set up every week on saturdays, just so we can have church. If you are a Journey-ite, please go tell them thank you. You wouldn't be sitting there seeing all the cool stuff and hearing all the good sounding music without them. And they rarely, if ever get credit. So today, I wanted to do that. I am more blessed than anyone I know for having these guys (and girl) in my life. They make my job easy. Please say a prayer for them today. Ask God to bless them. Ask God to continue to give them the drive and the want to see His kingdom furthered. And ask God to reveal to them how much they are needed. Cause I don't ever want them to feel like what they do doesn't matter. It does. And to be honest with you, there's no way to measure how much it does! Cause that measurement..... doesn't exist! 

I love you guys with all my heart. May God bless you and your families.

-robbie

The Songs from Catalyst Service yesterday:

Salvation Is Here (Hillsong), Lift High (Eddie Kirkland), Glory To God (Fee), Sing Sing Sing (Chris Tomlin), All Because of Jesus (Fee)