Intentionality

"US" Keys to a good vocal blend

2011-08-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

It’s an inside joke among worship vocal teams. But it’s one of those jokes that make you grimace more than it makes you laugh.

How many times have you heard this in a soundcheck before the service? One of the vocalists will ask “Excuse me, Mr. Soundman, but could I get more of me in the monitors?” More often than not, this is a telltale sign that the vocal team has handed over, by default, the whole concept of vocal blend to an often-frazzled, overworked soundperson who just feels lucky if the equipment doesn’t blow up that week.

I don’t believe that the vocal blend is primarily the job of the soundperson—he or she already has way too much to worry about. A pleasant vocal blend is primarily the job of the vocalists, and if a good blend is there from the start, the soundperson can add the polish to make it spectacular.

Begin At The Beginning

What should be the role of the worship vocal team? In my experience, the objective of the vocal team, whether they’re a mass choir or a small ensemble, is to add depth, texture and power to the lead worship vocalist.

In other words, the worship leader’s vocal forms the predominant sound, and the worship vocal team supports the lead vocal. But without a clear objective or strategy, vocal teams typically sound like a bunch of people singing more or less together (usually less).

True Blend

A true vocal blend is developed far away from microphones and soundchecks. It starts by establishing a clear objective and then with a mutual commitment from everyone to listen and contribute to a “unified sound.”

How does a team start to develop a “unified sound”? First, sit down together and honestly analyze the unique attributes that each vocalist brings to the mix. Who is the loudest singer? Who is the softest singer? Are there stylistic differences? Do some of your vocalists sing with a broad, classical vibrato? Do some sing with an alternative edge?

There are two things to keep in mind at this point: 1) subtle differences can create a pleasing dynamic to an overall blend; and 2) not-so-subtle differences can be huge obstacles to a good blend, so everyone must be willing to modify their originality for the sake of the unified sound.

Listen For The “Us”

It’s a simple, yet inescapable truth: if you want to blend with each other, you have to listen to each other. More specifically, you have to stop listening only for your individual sound; and start listening for the group’s unified sound. If you like acronyms, it’s a natural…listen for the “Us.”

Here’s how you start. At a vocal rehearsal, step away from the mics, monitors, and stage; and gather around the piano or guitar, or simply huddle in close and sing a capella. Choose a simple, familiar worship song and start to sing. Have everyone close their eyes if it helps the group focus…and really listen. Ask yourself, “Am I singing too loud so I’m sticking out?” Then pull back. Or, “Am I singing too soft?” Then sing louder. Also ask yourself, “How does my vocal style fit with the group as a whole?” If necessary, modify it to fit the group.

If your team is ready to commit to the “Us,” you’ll be amazed how quickly your signature blend will begin to emerge. It’s fun. It’s exhilarating. And that’s just the starting point.

Now Step Up To The Mics

Once your group has developed your blend away from the microphones, getting a good vocal mix through the sound system becomes much easier. Everyone already knows the adjustments they have to make to achieve the “Us,” so the soundman can start with everything level and then tweak as necessary.

There are many other vocal details to cover (ending consonants, timing, dynamics, harmony structure) but knowing how to develop your group’s signature blend is foundational.

It all starts by listening for the “Us.”

--Paul Herman

10 Things Every New Believer Should Know

2011-07-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

(via Brian Mavis)

Recently, a twenty-something friend became a Christian, and he asked me, “What are the top ten things for a new Christian to learn within the first year?” (Apparently, he is a David Letterman fan.)

This is a wise question because if you are off by a few degrees at the start and you travel that path for a while, you will be off by miles later. I know that from experience. I have been a Christian for over twenty-five years, and God has had to redirect me on multiple things because of what I mistakenly believed early on about being a Christian. And it is better to learn sooner than later.

So here are the ten things (not necessarily in any particular order) that I thought my new Christian friend should sink down deep into his heart, head, and hands as he travels his first year with Jesus:

The one thing that the Bible emphasizes more than us loving God and people is that God loves us. He loves us first and most. God isn’t in heaven plucking a daisy saying, “I love you” when you obey and “I love you not” when you sin. He cannot not love you (Rom. 5:8 and 1 Jn. 4:16).
Your motivation for and the purpose of learning, serving, worshipping, giving, reaching, reading, praying, etc. is to grow relationally more in love with God and people (Mt. 22:36-40).
You not only are saved by grace, but you grow by it, too. A common trap for new and growing Christians is trying to clean up their lives without God’s help. This is a false equation: The less you sin = the less you need God’s grace. You can’t sin less and love more without the strength of God’s grace.
Don’t trample all over the Great Commandment (love God, love people) trying to obey the Great Commission (go and make disciples). New and enthusiastic Christians often do this. Instead, lead people to Jesus by loving people to Jesus (1 Cor. 13:1-3). If they ask you why live the way you do, humbly and simply share with them why you put your hope in Jesus.
Love your neighbors—your literal neighbors—the ones you have, not the ones you wish you had.Do this because you are a Christian, not just because you want them to be Christians.
Focus on Jesus, His cross, His resurrection, and His kingdom. When you confessed Jesus as the living Lord and Messiah, you never said—and will never say—anything more meaningful. Jesus is God with skin. No other “religious leader” (Moses, Buddha, Muhammad) is His equal. They were mere men; Jesus is God who became a man. He is the center and circumference—the hub and rim of all of life and creation. All of the world’s greatest gifts—love, life, truth, grace, etc.—have a name. Jesus.
God cares about your whole life, not just your “spiritual life.” It is a mistake to think that God is only concerned about a section of your life called “your soul” or “your spirit.” God cares about and is to be Lord of all of your life—personal, emotional, social, familial, financial, physical, vocational, sexual, intellectual, and so on.
Love other Christians who go to different churches (or no church at all) and who aren’t like you. Unfortunately, many Christians and churches view their “brand” of Christianity as the only true or most true type of Christianity. They may not think they are the only Christians, but they do think they are the best or most right ones. This is a prideful and sinful attitude that grieves Jesus and dismembers His body. Strive for unity in the body of Christ by praying humbly and thankfully for other Christians.
Pray with your Bible open. There are many different spiritual exercises (fasting, solitude, serving, etc.), but the two most important ones are communicating and communing with God through prayer and listening to and learning about God through the Scriptures. Prayerfully read about Jesus (in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Prayerfully read about the beginning of the church in a book called Acts. Prayerfully read some letters written by Christians for Christians—some good ones to start with are James, Philippians, and Ephesians.
Find a Christian mentor. You will need help and encouragement in this journey with Jesus. Ask an older Christian (of the same gender as you) to mentor you. Look for someone who displays the attitudes and actions that were described above. Be a blessing to them in return.

Christianity is not a list, but a life; it’s not a chart, but a charter. But new Christians will learn new things. Some of those things will be true but not important. Some things will be off by degrees that can lead them astray. Other things will be just plain wrong. Help new Christians learn to follow Jesus by being their best at what matters most to Him.

A Major Worship Obstacle

2011-03-31T08:43:00.000-07:00

**This was written by a friend of mine, but it's so good, I really wanted to share it with you!!**

One of the biggest obstacles for many people in worship comes when it’s time to sing a song or a line they don’t fully mean or haven’t fully lived up to.

Lines that declare that we’re ready to sacrifice everything, when giving 10% of our income feels like a harder sacrifice to make than martyrdom. Songs about God’s glory being our greatest passion, when it’s usually our greatest afterthought.

Some choose not to sing these lines or songs at all. They wouldn’t dare sing something they don’t mean or live. Others sing them, but feel like they’re being hypocritical.

Both of these groups miss an essential truth of worship:
Worship isn’t an assessment of my performance but a statement of my intention.

If I had to completely mean and live every word every time I sang it, I would never sing. Nobody would. Even the men who wrote the Psalms.

By still singing, we’re not being hypocritical. We’re training our flesh to submit to our spirit. We’re stating our intentions. We’re saying, “Make this true, Lord. I want my life to catch up to the truth I’m singing.”

I want your glory to be my greatest passion.
I want to be willing to sacrifice everything for you.

It’d only be hypocritical if we had no intention of living up to these declarations.

And consider this: even if you had your act completely together, you’d still be just as unworthy to sing a single syllable. But God has commanded you to worship anyway. And that’s because your performance and feelings aren’t the admission price for true worship... Jesus’ blood is.

So continue to sing. Continue to worship. Let the discrepancy between the words you’re singing and the life you’re living be an engine for repentance. Not a cause for shame or silence.

--Corbett's note: if you liked this, check out stevenfurtick.com for more.

Conan's farewell speech: Kinetic Typography

2011-03-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

This is amazing cool!!

Conan O'Brien Kinetic Typography from Jacob Gilbreath on Vimeo.

Buy-in Takes Being Heard

2011-01-12T06:16:00.000-08:00

When you are part of a team, sometimes you don't get your way. That's reality. Sometimes even when you've made your best case for what you see as the best or only solution, the majority or the team leader will go a different way. It's crucial that when the decision is made, everyone jump on board.

"So we're taking the conservative approach instead of the higher risk/reward tack that I wanted."
"So we're going down a road that I've already been down and I'm certain it won't work."
"So we're going to make that hire instead of this other person that I've got a great gut feeling about."

Regardless of what the decision is, it's imperative that every team member jump on the bandwagon and become the final decision's biggest cheerleaders.

What does it take for that to happen? If the members of your team are leaders or even people with opinions at all, they will need to feel that they've been heard. Assuming that the team is made up of people who are more about the success of the team or organization than they are about just getting their own way (perhaps that's a large assumption)... If people are about team success, they will be able to go along with the decision a lot better if they believe that their ideas were heard and given proper consideration.

Failing in this will often lead to team members undercutting the decision that was agreed on. Divisiveness... lobbying... passive aggressive non-action... These are common when people haven't bought in.

Leaders, if you want your team to buy in to the decision -- even if they disagree -- you must make them feel heard. You may have to let your meeting go beyond the 90 minutes you had planned. You may need to table a decision until everyone is heard. You may have to listen when you're already sure of what to do. But failure to do so guarantees that people walk away feeling unheard, unvalidated and hedging on the decision made.

Give your team a chance to be heard and they will buy in!

Doritos Superbowl Ad

2011-01-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

Is this blasphemy?

What do you think and why?

You want style points, go watch figure skating...

2010-09-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

Many of you know I'm a huge LSU Tigers fan. I just read a great piece at an LSU blog -- And The Valley Shook. If LSU/College Football interests you, check it out:

Delusional Optimism Is Not Disappointed

Fox Sports currently ranks LSU as the "fifth most disappointing team" in the country. Here's what they say:

The Tigers are 2-0, but it took the NCAA's microscope to neutralize their first opponent (North Carolina) and the best possible draw from the SEC East (Vanderbilt) to get them there. As luck would have it, their next two games are against Mississippi State and West Virginia, two teams that have floundered so far this season. Is Les Miles really this lucky? No. Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn should get three L's for the Mad Hatter and put him officially on the hot seat.

As the founder of the Delusional Optimism campaign here at ATVS, I'm officially sick of this crap. It's not that Fox Sports, an entity that has consistently proven through their horrid bowl game coverage that they know less than nothing about college football, is ripping on LSU. It's that this is a consensus view.

The dominant storyline on LSU is always the most negative one the media can find. Is it because ~~ESPN~~ ~~FoxAlabama~~ ~~bloggers~~ ~~the Illuminati~~ ~~the Eastern Media Conspiracy~~ everybody hates LSU? Of course not. It's because the media is lazy. Once they find a storyline, or a meme, the media simply makes every fact fit that storyline. And the media meme is that LSU isn't that good.

T Kyle King, a pretty bright guy and a great Georgia blogger who I'm positive has no anti-LSU agenda, left LSU off of his Blog Poll ballot. Why? Because LSU still has to prove something to be ranked. Remember, LSU is a team that finished 3^rd in the SEC last year, won 9 games, finished in the top 20 in every poll, and played in a January 1^st bowl. This year, all LSU has done is been one of two teams to beat two BCS teams in its first two games (and the only one to do win both of those games on the road). Now, what exactly does LSU have to prove just to make the ballot?

And this is not to say Kyle is wrong. He could very well be right. Besides, he's absolutely entitled to rank whoever the hell he wants, so please don't read this an attack on his ballot - that is 100% not the point. The point here is that a fairly neutral fan has an extremely negative impression of LSU, and I don't think his opinion is an outlier. It fits the narrative.

And it's a narrative LSU fans largely control. LSU beat Vanderbilt by TWENTY FOUR points. LSU fans have largely treated the game as a nail biter, and the nation at large has followed our lead. Oh, but it was close in the third quarter? Fine. In the UNC game, LSU was beating the Heels by 20 points in the fourth quarter. A young team lost focus and let UNC back in the game, needing a stop on the last play to seal a victory that, frankly, should have been sealed an hour before. Was this portrayed as a young team letting a team off the mat (which is hardly a flattering narrative anyway)? Of course not. By and large, it's been portrayed as a nail biter as well, and many outlets stated that UNC outplayed LSU. Which, I guess is true if you only watched the fourth quarter.

However, the most negative storyline was adopted not just by the mainstream media and most neutral fans, but by LSU fans. Think about how a 17-14 LSU win over Mississippi State, keyed by several drops by wide open receivers, would play in the media. Think what the message boards would look like. Hell, you don't have to imagine, take a gander at what they looked like last year. Then contrast that with the largely positive reaction to Auburn's win over MSU.

LSU is 11-4 over it's last 15 games. There are eight BCS conference teams who have a better record over the same span. Eight. And one of them is Cincinnati, who just got pantsed by NC State. Fifth most disappointing team in the country?

Only if you're disappointed by wins. You want style points, go watch figure skating.

Lessons Learned Sailing

2010-09-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my friend Mark took me sailing. Probably I listened to too much Jimmy Buffet growing up, but I’ve always thought that I would make a good sailor. I’m sure Mark would tell you I have a lot still to learn but I believe there are many life lessons to learn from sailing.

Something I learned on our little adventure is that your destination dictates your methods. For the most part, we weren’t heading anywhere. We went out onto the lake and for the most part we sailed wherever the wind would take us. Our sailing was much less about trying to get anywhere specific and more about keeping the sail in a good position to build as much speed as possible. There wasn’t a lot of wind that particular day, so we often found ourselves waiting for a “puff” of wind to catch the sail and get us moving. Now our destination was very important when it was time to go home. Speed and the perfect heel were less important than successfully arriving at the boat slip from which we departed and our actions reflected that… namely Mark took back the helm. ;-)

Here are a few conclusions I drew from our trip that I believe relate to our every day life.

You can do a lot of work and cover a lot of ground, but without clear goals and/or destination, you’re probably not accomplishing much. I see this in my own life as I navigate through a very busy ministry season and an increasingly complex home life… if I don’t set clear goals for myself—both at work and at home—I’m mostly ineffective.

You can’t make the wind blow. God’s Holy Spirit is compared to a wind in the bible and just like that day on Saylorville Lake, we can’t make the wind blow, but we can raise and position the sails. We can build disciplines and routines into our lives (prayer, worship, bible reading, solitude, etc.) that position us for movement when the Holy Spirit “blows.” We can’t make it blow, but we can become ready for when it does.

I hope this is as meaningful for you as it has been for me. Who knows… maybe we’ll pass each other on the lake sometime.

Bugatti Veyron vs. Euro Typhoon Fighter Jet

2010-08-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

This is worth watching if you like fast things!

Upception - Trailer

2010-07-31T20:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen Inception yet, but this clever mash-up makes me want to see it more than the actual trailers do...

Props to Scott Hodge for sending this along.

Doing What You Should

2010-07-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

How important is it to be well-rounded? I feel I’ve lived over half of my life with that goal… becoming well-rounded. Today, I believe that was a poor goal because it caused me to spend less time on the things I’m good at and more time on the things I’m not… and will never be. Instead, I want to spend more time developing the skills in which I already excel and less time performing tasks for which I have small aptitude. Perhaps you should consider the same.

Now it seems that if we all just stopped doing those things we either don’t like or are not good at, the whole world would come to a screeching halt and there’d be total chaos and anarchy, and there’s truth to that. But if we commit ourselves to prioritizing those activities through which we contribute the most value – and at the same time allow those around us to do likewise – we’ll eventually find that we are more productive and that more gets done.

There are things that I’m great at that you might struggle with. In the same way, there are activities at which I’m completely inept that you could do with no problem… you might even enjoy it. In the book of 1st Corinthians, the bible compares the local church to a “body” in which there are many different parts – all very important. The best results come when eyes function as eyes, feet function as feet, and so on. If the feet aren’t on the job, our knees and elbows can fill in, but a 10K race may be out of the question. Your organization is no different – when all of the players are in the right positions; when everyone is sitting on the right seat of the bus (to borrow from Jim Collins in "Good to Great") our organizations are primed for success. The secret, then, isn't to become well-rounded, but by allowing everyone to function where they thrive (or in their "sweet spot" as we say at Crossroads) we develop a well-rounded organization.

What does that look like for you?

What are you doing now that you should begin looking for an opportunity to delegate?
What are the areas at which you excel that you should begin to spend more time developing?
Are you comfortable focusing on what only you can do, or do you need a packed calendar to feel productive?

Peace,
Corbett

p.s. For a much better and in detail presentation on this topic, I recommend “The Next Generation Leader” by Andy Stanley.

A look behind-the-scenes

2010-07-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

(this article was originally posted on the Crossroads blog and e-newsletter on July 9th)

This morning I watched a video of a ridiculously cute 2 year old belting out the Lord’s Prayer. Amazing!! You can watch it here. Music means a lot in the life of most churches and Crossroads is no exception. Our Creative Arts team often gets comments and suggestions regarding Sunday music, so I thought I share a little behind-the-scenes look at how the music for Sunday gets chosen.

The Big Idea
First, it’s all about the sermon. The message that’s being preached from the pulpit is the linchpin of everything else we do. Pastor Glen supplies our team with his message topics as well as scripture references and themes in advance, so we start there. What is the “Big Idea” that we’re trying to get across. We look at what other service elements are planned for that day, for example drama sketches, videos, communion, baptisms, etc. Every single element – including the praise songs – needs to point people toward the Big Idea of that day.

Song Selection
There are currently about 70 songs on the Crossroads song rotation list. They can be categorized by Theme, Tempo & Key. We first look at the list, pulling out songs that seem to speak to the theme of the day. Now this is subjective, of course, so we depend on a lot of prayer for this step. We ask God to draw us to the songs that will help people worship Him and be open to His word. Next, we look at the Tempo of songs. You’ve probably noticed that we generally start things out upbeat. That’s on purpose. We want Sunday mornings to be a celebration of all that God is doing and has done. It’s hard to celebrate to a dirge. Depending on what other elements are involved, we often let the tempo slow down a bit as we approach the message. Our hope is that every Sunday, there can be times when people can forget about words on screens, forget about the band, and just feel alone in the room with God. Worship is very personal and everyone approaches it differently, but we strive to create an atmosphere where people can approach God with their defenses lowered and focus their attention and affection on Him. And finally the Key a song is played in factors in as well. Without going to deep into music theory, I can tell you that certain keys “lead in” to certain keys better than others. If you have a music background, you may be familiar with the “Circle of 5ths.” This is one tool we use.

What makes the cut
One thing that you may have noticed is we don’t worry about how old a song is. It really doesn’t factor in at all. We try to choose songs that are going to resonate the most with our crowd. Sometimes those songs are relatively new… sometimes they’re over 100 years old. We have at Crossroads adopted a “modern style” of music, because we believe it resonates best with the guests that we hope to draw in. We also will constantly be looking for new songs to use as we worship our unchanging God. But there’s no way we could ever ignore the wealth of incredible songs that have been penned through the ages… there’s too much value there. The challenge then is taking songs that were written for a different culture, and making them meaningful in our culture. Some make the transition relatively unchanged… some receive a higher degree of tweaking.

Well, there’s a lot more that could be written about this process and for some of you, this may have created more questions than it answered, but I would love to say “THANK YOU” to the incredible Creative Arts teams at Crossroads who invest so much into making Sunday mornings meaningful. If you have more questions, I’d love to talk about what we do. Call or email and we’ll get together… Starbucks is my personal favorite!!

In Christ,

Corbett

Ministered or Ministers

2010-06-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

Who makes up Crossroads Church… (A) the ministers or (B) those who are ministered to? If you answered (B), I think we’re suffering from some misconceptions.

Now don’t misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting that Crossroads is all about Glen or myself or any of the other staff. In fact, it’s the total opposite, but I believe that far too often, we equate ministry with “that stuff the pastors do.” If the church is growing and an area has a need, we hire another staff. Too many teens – hire more staff. Too many hospital visits – hire more staff. A church-wide desire for outreach – hire a staff person.

A church should never hire staff to do ministry!

To do so takes us right back to the Old Testament where the Levites and priests were the only ones with access to God. It’s a very unhealthy dynamic and it’s un-biblical as well.

The bible certainly speaks about vocational clergy, but in Ephesians 4:11-12 it narrowly defines their purpose: “It was he who gave some to be … pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”

The bible describes it as

[Pastors Prepare] --- [God’s People Minister]

As a Pastor, when I DO ministry, instead of training or preparing someone else, I’m stepping outside of my job description and I’m stealing an opportunity for one of God’s people to fulfill their calling. Ministry is for the Body.

So to answer the original question, the answer is (A). Crossroads is all about the ministers… YOU ARE THE MINISTERS!!

Peace,
Corbett

I want to laugh...

2010-05-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

Watch this video from the Drive conference hosted by North Point team.

I want to laugh, but this hits WAY too close to home. I'm sure we've (worship leaders) all been guilty of this... probably more than anyone wants to think.

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

5 Minute Leadership Course

2010-04-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some nice quick leadership lessons. I'll apologize in advance for number 2... it's the principle that is important!!

Lesson 1:
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.
The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.
When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor.
Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.'
After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.
The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.

When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?'
'It was Bob the next door neighbour,' she replies.
'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'

Leadership Principle:
If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Lesson 2:
A priest offered a Nun a lift.
She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg.
The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.
The nun said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'
The priest removed his hand but, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.
The nun once again said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'
The priest apologized 'Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.'

Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.
On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, 'Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.'

Leadership Principle:
If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Lesson 3:
A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.
They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.'
'Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Bahamas , driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.'
Puff! She's gone.
'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.'
Puff! He's gone.
'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager.
The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.'

Leadership Principle:
Always let your boss have the first say.

Lesson 4
An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'Can I also sit like you and do nothing?'
The eagle answered: 'Sure, why not..'
So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Leadership Principle:
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson 5
A turkey was chatting with a bull. 'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.'
'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.'
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.
The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.
Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.
He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Leadership Principle:
BS might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there..

Lesson 6
A little bird was flying south for the winter.. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.
While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out!
He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.
A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Leadership Principle:
(1) Not everyone who dumps on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out is your friend.
(3) And when you're in deep, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

Consider yourselves trained! =)

The Priority of a Worship Leader

2010-03-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

As the leader of the Crossroads Creative Art Teams, I get to lead our congregation in corporate worship quite often. I'm sure there are lots of questions you may have about that job -- or maybe not -- but either way, I think I will take a few moments of your time to talk about what is important for a worship leader.

First off, even when I'm leading the band onstage, I'm not the only worship leader. Our lighting team leads worship, our sound team leads worship, our media team leads worship, the Crossroads Kids volunteers who provide such an excellent and fun learning environment for our kids are all helping to lead worship. So my thoughts on the priority of a worship leader are not just for myself and others who sing into a microphone... they are for any and all who give their time and talents to help guests and members alike, approach God in worship on Sunday mornings.

What's the most important part of being a worship leader? Here are my top 3 priorities:

To love and follow Christ completely
To love those around me (beginning with my family and my teams)
To lead others in worshiping

The moment I get those 3 out of order, my effectiveness goes into the tank. No matter how well I sing or play and no matter how well our band performs, if my corporate worship is not built upon the foundation of private worship, then I'm just a clanging gong, to steal a phrase from the Apostle Paul. (Don't get excited... I didn't say "cowbell")

But when I arrive on Sunday, full of the knowledge and the presence of the Holy Spirit... when I have invested in and reflected the love of Jesus in the lives of my wife, my kids and my team members, then I'm prepared to worship God jointly with my church family, knowing that many will look to me to lead.

You also are a leader. You have influence. What are the most important things for you to consider as you bring that influence to bear with your friends, your kids, your co-workers, etc?

Protecting Your Kids (online, etc)

2010-03-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, I need to get back to work on my blog. If you're one of the few that still check it from time to time, thanks! I'll try to do better.

For now... read this!! It's by Tim Stevens and it's soooo important.

ok, so copying this post has not gone well... skip over to Tim's blog and read it there

If You Don’t Protect Your Kids in the Digital World–Who Will?
by Tim Stevens

Our kids are growing up in a different world. Here are a few things we do (or have done) to keep our kids safe…
Internet filtering – Curiosity killed the cat and can do great harm to kids as well. We have used different products to filter and monitor our kids internet activities. Monitoring tells us where they are going. Filtering keeps bad stuff away that could hurt them. Currently we are using Family Safety which is a free add-on product that we have loaded on every computer they access. Not only can we restrict sites based on ourvalues–we can also monitor what sites are capturing their attention. And we can change (ease) these restrictions as they get older.
Computer game time — on a school day, they get 30 minutes of electronic game time (whether computer, Wii, Xbox, iPod, whatever). On non-school days, they get an hour. This limit forces them (mostly the boys) to find other things to do. They all love reading, and I think that is partially because we haven’t allowed their time to be monopolized by staring at a screen.
Cell Phone privileges - we didn’t get cell phones for our teens until they were in 9th grade. Why then? Because that is when it became inconvenient to us that they didn’t have one. It was never really a safety issue–in middle school there was always a friend nearby who had a phone they could borrow.
Cell Phone Limits – this is about helping them stay in the present and not always being pulled away into other conversations. Our cell phones have unlimited text messaging, but we actually pay an additional fee (called “Smart Limits” by AT&T) to limit the number of text messages and the time of day it works for phone calls (other than to us, of course).
iPod Touch restrictions – our 7th grade son saved his money for a long time until he was able to buy an iPod Touch. The first thing I did was took it, enabled the “restrictions” feature, locked it out from Safari (internet surfing) and YouTube, set a password, and gave it back to him. I don’t need my adolescent son walking around with a pocket full of temptation.
Email monitoring - when they first got email privileges, I restricted their incoming messages to an approved list to protect them from child predators. After awhile, I lifted that restriction but continued to monitor all their incoming and outgoing email. As the teens are getting older and more responsible, I’ve gone from 1) Monitor everything, to 2) Monitor occasionally, to 3) “You know I can monitor it if I want,” to 4) I trust you.
Facebook monitoring – similar to email, we monitored all of their Facebook activity when they first began using it (around 8th grade). Then it was “as needed.”
TV time — the biggest blessing to parents has been the invention of the DVR (or TIVO). Our kids don’t channel surf. There is no reason. We just keep the DVR stacked with shows that won’t hurt their hearts (which, of course, changes as they age). They get a limited time to watch, and when they do they can skip commercials (which saves time AND limits the consumer mentality from taking over). Parents: Think of a DVR as a parenting tool, not a tech gadget.
I haven’t even talked about the content of movies or shows, but the bottom line: You are the parent. If you don’t protect them from the digital world, who will? At the same time, if you don’t prepare them to live in a digital world without your oversight, who will? I am constantly doing the countdown: I know I have 17 months left to prepare Heather to totally stand on her own in the world. So we are constantly reevaluating our limits and lifting them as she is ready. It’s fun to go to the kids and say, “You’ve been doing great, making good choices. I’m going to ease the restriction in this area because I think you can handle it now.”

Parenting isn’t an exact science, so what would you add or change?

Water Bottle Labels

2009-12-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to decide which one... what do you think?

or...

#1 or #2? Leave your answer in the comments.

Amazing Sand Painting

2009-11-19T06:25:00.000-08:00

Take 8 minutes and watch this all the way through. Art is powerful. I believe art is at it's best when it speaks to real feelings and when it engages more than one of the senses. This is simply amazing!

Pharisees and other thoughts

2009-11-18T22:48:00.001-08:00

Wow... I thought my alma mater was strict. I was poking around on the website of a local Bible college and in the FAQs I find this rule:

What are the music standards?
Music should glorify God and be a direct reflection of the life of a Spirit-filled believer. Songs or styles which are strongly identified with unbiblical movements or worldly practices are not allowed (Romans 12:1-2). Such music includes rock, rap, country, new age, jazz, and any "Christian" music that borrows these styles (I John 2:15 ). We do not wish to lead students toward music which is questionable or which might violate believers' consciences.

Seriously? How far can I carry a cup of water on the Sabbath, oh Bearded Ones?

In other news...

Here's a shout out to some people who really stepped up this week: Nicole H, Trevor T, & Mark S... you guys rock, literally! I arrived at rehearsal Sunday am only to quickly realize I could not sing a note. Nicol stepped up to lead and Mark did a fantastic job changing keys at the last minute. Trevor smiled and rolled with the whole thing. Thanks, team... you're the best!

GREAT time in Granger, IN last week attending the First Impressions and Lasting Impressions workshops, both led by Mark Waltz. He has written books by the same names. READ THEM if you serve a church and think that people matter!! Much love to my traveling buddy (and driver) Chad W.

Looking forward to the Bob Castelline band leading worship at Crossroads on Dec 6. I'm not going to preach or speak or anything... just going to worship and enjoy!

November 29th we begin the Advent Conspiracy. So cool! We're not just "remembering the reason for the season." We're remembering the reason we exist... Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All. Hope you'll join me!

Peace.

Factual or Inspirational

2009-10-22T15:52:00.002-07:00

This story comes from Kem Meyer:

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"
The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so blessed that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

We can choose to give just the facts or we can choose creativity. We can relay information or we can inspire. As we write, draw or speak, we can simply show what is, or we can invest ourselves to take people to a different level... a different understanding of what's already plain to them.

Be inspirational!

Cultivate'09 & Story Chicago -Making Up For Lost Time

2009-10-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

It seems like forever since I've attended a ministry/leadership conference. I may just go to two next week. I've been kind of eyeballing Story Chicago for a while now, wondering if I could get away for it. Today I finally did some checking into Cultivate '09 and it sounds like a perfect compliment to Story. Add in the fact that one is Tuesday and the other is Wednesday/Thursday and both within 45 minutes of each other... I smell a road trip!

I also smell a need to hit up some relative/friend in the Chicagoland area and avoid the cost of a hotel room... not that Crossroads wouldn't pay for a hotel room, but that's money that could be spent on ministry.

So who wants me? Honestly the closer to Aurora/Chicago the better as I'd rather spend my time catching up with friends than driving an hour home.

If you're within a decent drive of Chicago, and care about communication in or around church, check these two out. They both look amazing in their own rights. It takes a lot for me to want to be away from my family for three days, but this might just be the ticket.

Thinking like a guest

2009-10-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

I read a great post by Dawn Nicole Baldwin over at the Connect blog. Dawn writes about "seeing through new eyes [again]." It has really bothered me, and so I've been trying to think about what would most add value to the experience of a guest at our weekend service. Don't get me wrong... the most important thing that can happen is for a person to be confronted with the furious love of Jesus and to find out that the Gospel story is his or her story.

But while that may be our intent on every weekend, how often do our methods become barriers to that event occurring?

So I've tried to put myself in the place of a guest... a guest unfamiliar with typical church environments, and I've made a list of what I believe would most impact a guest on a typical weekend at Crossroads, or any other church for that matter. Here's the list:

Quality signage at entrance to parking lot.
Close parking spots clearly marked as reserved for visitors.
Helpful, friendly greeter opening door; offering help.
Second layer of reception coupled with helpful lobby signage.
Helpful, friendly, confidence inspiring helpers registering children for class. Someone offering tours of children's ministry rooms.
Friendly, helpful usher prepared to confidently help find the right seat.
Seating that helps a guest feel close to others (not isolated on a row) but not too close (no one really likes someone they don't know in the adjacent seat).
Activity in the auditorium that is easy to understand and capable of keeping an outsider's interest. (like the trivia questions at a cinema before the feature)
A service that is engaging, easily followed by a novice, and not full of elements that are too cryptic or understandable only to insiders.
Not too long... leave them wanting more, not dreaming of the door.
Give them a reason to leave slowly... Encourage conversation and connection following the service.
Friendly, knowledgeable greeters thanking them for coming and ready to answer questions or inform about possible next steps.
Let them leave with something in their hands that they appreciate and that reminds them of Crossroads.
Polite, respectful, warm follow-up, giving them a reason to want to come back.

What do you think of my list. What did I leave out? What is off-base? I'd love to have your feedback in the comments section of this post.

Book Review: Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham

2009-10-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

Bottom Line: I liked it and my wife liked it.

Important footnote to be placed somewhere above the bottom line: It may not be the revolutionary solution to all your problems as a wife and mother.

A few years back I picked up a copy of Marcus Buckingham's Now, Discover Your Strengths. Loved it. Took the Strenth Finders Online test and got a pretty good look at the themes in my life that are potential strengths.

So when Thomas Nelson contacted me about reviewing Find Your Strongest Life, I was definitely interested. I got the book in the mail and an odd thing happened. My wife Tricia picked up the book before I got a chance to, and read the intro and the first few chapters. She brought it to me, impressed by the info she gleaned just from those first few pages.

Buckingham's basic tenet is that women can draw enough strength from life to feel fulfilled, loved, successful, and in control. He states that the SIGNs of a strong life (mind the acrostic) are:

Successful
Instinctively looking forward to tomorrow
Growing and learning
Needs fulfilled

Here is Marcus Buckingham talking about the book:

Overall, Buckingham echoes the lesson learned in his previous books which is: Focus on your strengths -- the things you do well, easily and that make you glad you did them -- and you'll be happier and more successful. This makes an incredible amount of sense when we're talking about a work environment. I'm just not sure that it can always be that simple when speaking to the non-negotiable requirements of motherhood.

Still the principles are solid and will benefit the working wife and mother who can put them into play in her life. This book is definitely for the woman who is frustrated by her attempts to juggle career, family, marriage, and her other relationships and responsibilities. For the older CEO-type whose kids are already out of the nest... skip this and go read Now, Discover Your Strengths.

From a Movement to a Museum

2009-10-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

So how does a movement avoid becoming a museum? Unfortunately that's the general progression. At some point, the focus on "where we're going" becomes a focus on "where we've been," or even worse, "what we used to do."

From the Protestant Reformation to the Great Awakening, there is a history of Movements in Christendom, mass + velocity + direction, to steal an idea from Dave Ferguson. But benchmarks are reached, goals are achieved and what was once an all out striving to do what is unthinkable, becomes a satisfied glance backward at the already accomplished.

And we start saying things like, "That's too risky..." "That could bring the whole thing crashing down..." or "We have too much to lose."

And then we start naming buildings after people.

Very Cool Art Piece

2009-07-09T07:24:00.001-07:00

This isn't the post I've been threatening--that's still to come--but this was too cool not to share. I have friend (What up JS?) at the Savannah College of Art and Design and while looking him up, I came across this Senior Project by a different SCAD student. Enjoy!

Hotter than ever?

2009-06-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

This is Scott Hodge, the pastor of the church Tricia and I attended before moving to Iowa and joining with Crossroads. I'm so proud... ;-) Oh and that's Mike Jones in orange, sporting the massive goatee...

Scott Hodge Live! from The Orchard on Vimeo.

Intentional fitness planning

2009-05-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it wasn't intentional, but with the transition and all, my exercise habits have deteriorated considerably and I'm not as lithe and energetic as I like to be, so...

It's time to get healthy. I'm going to have to trim some of the treats out of the diet for a while, but mainly I need an exercise plan. I've thought a little about P90X but after a lot of research, I think I'm going this route... Thanks, Los for the tip.

Job update plus links for catching up

2009-04-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

I'm letting people know about some news going on in our lives and of course it becomes obvious that many people have no idea where we are right now! =) So if you have any interest in what's going on for the Reeves family right now, try reading these 3 posts... they should bring you up to speed.

1. First mention
2. Big News
3. Early Update

Beyond that, we got some great news today... Tricia applied for the one and only job opening in the Norwalk school system--a 6-12 Gifted position. She interviewed for it this morning and we found out this afternoon that she got the job. AWESOME!! We are very excited!

I wish I could say that I'm surprised, but if you know Tricia, you know that she is not only one of the best teachers you'll ever meet, but she's the person you want on your team. She adds value to every thing she's a part of, and I'm very blessed to be her husband!

When I asked for prayers on Twitter this morning, many of you prayed and I humbly thank you. There were so many reasons why she might not get picked for this position, and yet she was anyway and we believe that it's our God making a way for us and confirming his calling of our family to Norwalk/Des Moines and to Crossroads Church.

It's definitely bittersweet to leave behind Illinois, (just as it was hard to leave Birmingham and Lanett/West Point) but we know that we still have awesome family all over the U.S. and are now able to add to that. So excited about serving at Crossroads. So excited that God is blessing my family. So excited to serve alongside PG and the rest of Crossroads' awesome staff.

Can't wait to see what the future holds!

Redeeming culture... all of it

2009-04-18T20:08:00.001-07:00

This Sunday (4/19) we're using a great U2 song as we talk about our relational need for each other--the need we have for unity. "One" illustrates that very well, I believe. Plus it's a great song, and its going to be fun to play (and I hope fun to listen to).

U2 is in a special category because while they are far from being a "christian band," many of their songs delve deeply into spiritual and Christian themes. So they kinda get a pass in some church circles.

AC/DC, however does not get a pass! No one would ever mistake their lyrics for christian. But here is a great church in South Carolina taking a shot at redeeming a very un-Christian anthem. What do you think?

HIGHWAY2HELL_JUSTIN from Jiggle Snort on Vimeo.

This freakin' rocks!!

2009-04-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

props to Terrace Crawford for sharing and to Calvary Chapel for ROCKIN my friday!

Since You've Been Gone...

2009-03-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm officially in the once-a-month club when it comes to blogging. Sorry about that. If you don't follow me on Facebook or Twitter, I'll try to fill you in a bit.

For the past two weekends I've traveled to Crossroads Church in Des Moines, IA, where I'm serving as the Pastor of Congregational Development. Currently, what that looks like is me focusing upon and leading the Arts teams (Band, Vox, Tech, etc) and as we move forward, I'll be helping in the areas of leadership development and first impressions, as well as small groups.

Crossroads is a great church full of talented, dedicated people who are ready to move to the next level organizationally to reach their community, Norwalk and Des Moines, for Jesus Christ. They are an evangelistic congregation in a denomination not generally known for evangelism. Under the leadership of our Lead Pastor, Glen Blumer, Crossroads is in many ways setting the bar for RCA churches when it comes to strategy and mission.

Something you might not know about the RCA is that it has a very high Dutch population. What this means practically is that I'm (at 6'3") one of the shortest men there. I'm hoping we can start a church league basketball team... I wouldn't be able to get off the bench, but we could dominate in the paint!

I'm hoping to get back to a more consistent level of posting here at Intentionality. Thanks for sticking around, and get off your duff and check out Twitter and Facebook. Much more interaction for sure. And if you haven't yet, definitely get a blog reader... I use Google Reader.

Okay, that's it.

A Prayer for Our Church...

2009-02-12T08:47:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted. As my friend Mike Jones was saying, Facebook and Twitter seem to be the enemy of blogs. Another of the pastors at the Orchard, Larry Boatright posted this which he attributed to John Piper... it's amazing and it's my prayer for my churches (the Orchard AND Crossroads) and even more so, the Church universal.

A Prayer for our Church

Oh, Lord, by the truth of Your Word, and the power of your Spirit and the ministry of your body, build men and women at (name of your church here)…

Who don’t love the world more than God,

who don’t care if they make much money,

who don’t care if they own a house,

who don’t care if they have a new car or two cars,

who don’t need recent styles,

who don’t care if they get famous,

who don’t miss steak or fancy fare,

who don’t expect that life should be comfortable and easy,

who don’t feed their minds on TV each night,

who don’t measure truth with their finger in the wind,

who don’t get paralyzed by others’ disapproval,

who don’t return evil for evil,

who don’t hold grudges,

who don’t gossip,

who don’t twist the truth,

who don’t brag or boast,

who don’t whine or use body language to get pity,

who don’t criticize more than praise,

who don’t hang out in cliques,

who don’t eat too much or exercise too little;

BUT

who are ablaze for God,

who are utterly God-besotted,

who are filled with the Holy Spirit,

who strive to know the height and depth of Christ’s love,

who are crucified to the world and dad to sin,

who are purified by the Word and addicted to righteousness,

who are mighty in memorizing and using the Scriptures,

who keep the Lord’s Day holy and refreshing,

who are broken by the consciousness of sin,

who are thrilled by the wonder of free grace,

who are stunned into humble silence by the riches of God’s glory,

who are persevering constantly in prayer,

who are ruthless in self-denial,

who are fearless in public witness to Christ’s lordship,

who are able to unmask error and blow away doctrinal haze,

who are tough in standing for the truth,

who are tender in touching hurting people,

who are passionate about reaching the peoples who have no church,

who are pro-life for the sake of babies and moms and dads and the glory of God,

who are keepers of all their promises, including marriage vows,

who are content with what they have and trusting the promises of God,

who are patient and kind and meek when life is hard.

That is a mouthful... That is challenging!

Big News for the Reeves family

2009-01-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

For those of you that have been praying for me and my family since July, I can never say thank you enough. God has been faithful and has shown us our next step. On March 2nd, I will become the Pastor of Congregational Development for Crossroads Church in Norwalk, Iowa (Norwalk is a suburb of Des Moines). I've believed this was going to be the case for quite a while, but my friend, Pastor Glen Blumer and I were determined to insure that this was God's will... not just a fun thing for us. So we've taken baby steps and trusted the decision to the leadership of this three-year old congregation, and it has been one confirmation after another.

There's just a good vibe at this place and I'm excited to jump in and serve with my new family.

The road to Des Moines still has a few obstacles... our house in Morris has not sold and this seems to be just about the worst time in my lifetime to sell a house. We're trusting that God's got it under control, though. Plus, Tricia and I want to let the kids finish out the school year if at all possible. So beginning in March, I'll be commuting to Norwalk on Thursdays, staying the weekend and coming back to Morris on Sunday afternoon. Our family will all move to Norwalk in June.

The next few months may seem like a hard time for our family, but the truth is, I'll see my family more than I do now. And the 9 hour roundtrip commute every week... it's shorter than my current 10 hours a week drive to and from work in Lemont.

Leaving Morris will be bitter sweet; most of our best friends are here. Leaving Timberline Knolls will also be a somewhat sad day, as I've grown to love the young ladies that we're helping get their lives back on track.

But to be right in the middle of God's will and see the awesome things that he's going to do... that I can't wait to see. I hope we can go there together, even. I'll try to keep you all in the loop via my blog, so if you talk to someone and they ask what we're up to, be sure and send them to corbettreeves.com.

Thanks! Peace,
Corbett

What does your marketing tell about you?

2009-01-18T09:17:00.000-08:00

I don't really want to get into the argument about whether or not churches should be involved in marketing. For the purpose of this post, understand that I believe marketing is anything you do to affect the way others perceive you or your organization. For example, I don't want my neighbors to think I'm a lazy, bad person to live by, so I cut my grass, conduct general upkeep on the outside of the house and keep trash and toys picked up out of the yard. I don't want our friends to think we generally live in a pig sty, so I straighten the living room and close all other doors before someone comes over. It's all marketing -- affecting the way others perceive us.

So what it your organization communicating to others?

If you're are a church, do you claim to be focused on impacting your community, but program exclusively for those who come through your doors?
If you're a business, do you claim to be focused on customer service, but reward your employees for profit and not for how satisfied customers are?

By the way, I'm trying to sell my house...
Maybe you're like me and it's time to revisit what your marketing is really saying?

5 Reasons Why Consensus Sucks

2009-01-16T17:59:00.000-08:00

I read this today from Tony Morgan's blog and thought it was definitely worthy of passing on. Enjoy!

I’m growing more and more convinced that the worst thing an organization can do is try to reach a consenus about something. Think government. Think church committee meetings. Think declining big business.

On the surface, reaching a consensus seems like a positive thing because it means people have agreed to move in the same direction. That’s a good thing isn’t it?

Actually, I’m not convinced that’s the case. For example, here are:

5 Reasons Why Consensus Sucks

1. It embraces the status quo. Change, whether positive or not, is not human nature. We would prefer for things to remain the way they are today. So, when people get together to discuss the possibility of doing something a little different in the future, it’s normal for the majority to avoid making changes.
2. It gives the malcontents an equal voice in your decision. Reaching consensus gives everyone a voice at the table. When that happens, even the negative, bitter folks that don’t really embrace the vision have the opportunity to pull the rest of the group away from what could really be the most desirable outcome.
3. It short circuits the radical ideas that lead to the biggest breakthroughs. The big, bold ideas won’t see the light of day. Yet those are the ideas that could potentially lead to the best innovations. Consensus brings people back to the middle where the majority approves but mediocrity reigns.
4. It leaves unresolved conflict on the table. At the opposite ends of a decision are distinct opinions which, if left unresolved, could potentially lead to division. Consensus prevents tough conversations from happening. It gives people the freedom to jump to compromise without engaging a healthy debate.
5. It discourages people from dreaming big dreams. Want to neuter the creative-thinkers and entrepreneurs and visionaries in your organization? Force them to reach consensus with the rest of the crowd. These are the people that make you uncomfortable. They can drive you crazy. That’s OK. They’ll just go work someplace else if you keep forcing them to compromise their dreams.

What do you think? Do you agree? Or, have you actually seen consensus work? What would you add or delete from the list?

Let’s try to reach a consensus on whether or not consensus sucks.

Again, that was from tonymorganlive.com. If you don't subscribe to his blog, you probably should.

Peace,
Corbett

Facebook and iPhones

2009-01-04T19:57:00.001-08:00

So for my wife's birthday I got an iPhone. (don't ask how that
happened...I don't understand it either but I'm not asking silly
questions.)

Toward the end of December, my wife talked me into a Facebook
account. I can't really say I jumped at the idea but it's been fun
catching up with some old peeps.

Between the two, I've never been more aware of how small the world
is. I am now reaquainted with friends from every stage of my life
thus far. And it is all literally at my fingertips, 24/7. I'm
feeling quite the technophile.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not ready to start Twittering just yet, but
who knows?

Peace,
Corbett

Sent from my iPhone

Volunteering

2008-12-27T21:31:00.000-08:00

For about the last 14 years, I've concerned myself with recruiting volunteers. Student coaches; sponsors, and drivers; musicians; small group leaders; communion speakers; sound, lighting and computer techs; vocalists... I've recruited them all.

For the last 5 months, I've been on the other side of the table. I've been working a "real job" and trying to volunteer at my church. Now I know it's different when you work a lot of evenings and weekends, but I've been extremely frustrated with my inability to dive in and commit major time to serving.

I don't feel guilty... I've truly done the best I can. But as I head back into full-time church staff work, I'm going to remember the past 5 months, and I'm going have a lot more grace for those who tell me they'd like to commit... they just aren't able to right now.

If you are working a full-time job and still putting in significant hours at your church, my hat is off to you. You have more respect from me than ever. You are the reason the Kingdom of God is coming / is here. You are the reason more and more people are growing in a relationship with God and are experiencing true life change. To the volunteers at the Orchard, New Community or Crossroads... may God bless everything your hand touches, and may your service in God's kingdom be fruitful.

Peace,
Corbett

test 3

2008-12-23T04:08:00.000-08:00

okay...i'm really sorry to keep sending these!!!

test2

2008-12-21T23:48:00.001-08:00

test2...

Test

2008-12-21T23:38:00.000-08:00

Test... trying to get this thing on Facebook (yes... I've given in. Want to be my friend?)

Favorite Christmas Present...

2008-12-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

(so far!)

Close second...

Free Itunes download

2008-12-19T06:32:00.001-08:00

Here's my Christmas present (part 2) for you. Click here to download a free song from itunes...O Come, O Come Emmanuel performed by Enya. Very cool! (Only good for a limited time...the week of Dec 18, I think)

Church stuff

2008-12-19T06:20:00.001-08:00

Hey, it's been over a month...wow. A lot of stuff is going on, but more about that later. Here's my Christmas present (part 1) for you. If you feel like I'm picking on your church... well I probably am. Enjoy!

Ministry Opportunity

2008-11-15T01:35:00.000-08:00

Hey blog friends, I want to let you know about a ministry opportunity that is a possibility for me and my family. A church in Iowa has interviewed me to be their Pastor of Congregational Development, which would include oversight over Spiritual Gifts Development, Leadership Development, Community Group Development, First Impressions and Worship Arts. Quite an extensive list, eh? Those of you who know me well probably realize that this looks like a list patterned after my deepest desires. Throw in a little preaching and I'm in hog heaven!

Perhaps the best thing about the position would be serving with a man that I consider to be a great friend, although I've known him less than four months. Do you ever meet someone and just "click?" That what happened with this pastor and me, and it wasn't just me... Tricia loves him and his wife (and the Ryan-ster) as much as I do. All in all, very exciting!

Here's where you come in...

More than anything else in this world, I want to serve my God 100%. For me that starts with my own relationship to Him as his child. Next it shows in how I love my wife and my kids (in that order!). And third, but definitely right up there, is my calling to serve him as a pastor. I've pledged my life to serve Him, especially by equipping His people and building His Church. To do that best, I want to be exactly where He wants me to be. I'd rather be called by God to sit in a box on the side of the road, than to occupy the highest pulpit in the land, but be there without His spirit.

My God has been faithful to always open the right doors and close the right doors... always for His glory, not mine. If you love me, this is what I want you to do:

Pray for God's leading in my heart, and in the heart of those who are selecting the man for this position. I believe that we are being called there by God's holy spirit and I hope that is the search teams conclusion as well, but I only want to go if it is the will of God. Is this where He wants me?

Will you pray? Nothing bad will happen to you if you don't pray (and you won't receive good luck if you forward this to 10 friends in the next 10 minutes...man I hate those chain-letter emails!) but I'd really appreciate a few more people asking the Lord of Creation to answer as He sees fit.

Thanks! I'm taking a little trip to meet with the search team and do a little worship leading in early December.

I love you guys! I'm glad to have you as family.

Corbett

The Frustrations of a Freshman Quarterback

2008-11-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

Takeaways Give No. 1 Alabama OT Win Over LSU, 27-21

We outplayed them in every category except QB to QB. Our freshman QB gave up four interceptions, including both of their first half scores. Their QB did alright, but he was nothing special. I hate to say it, but wait til next year.

I'll be back!

2008-11-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

Laptop is broken... getting the run-around by Best Buy... only internet access is at work when I should be working... grrrr!!!

I'll be back one day, blogosphere. Until then... peace!

Money thoughts

2008-10-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a friend the other day and she was discussing some financial issues that she's having. I'm sure that's a rarity today, right?

Anyway, it made me thankful for a financial class that Tricia and I took about 9 years ago, Financial Peace University. It's a thirteen session class meeting once a week in a small-group setting, developed by a guy named Dave Ramsey. I can't say enough good things about it, and now it's well known enough that it's usually pretty easy to find a nearby class that's starting soon.If you've ever wished you had more money, knew what to do with the money you have, or just wished that you and your spouse could agree on money, FPU is for you. It's also great if you're married, getting married, never planning to marry or if you're single, single again or at times wishing you were single.

Check it out at daveramsey.com You'll never regret it.

Successful Surgery

2008-10-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

My son, Will had to have a bit of surgery yesterday (10/23). Not much fun watching your kids put to sleep, but everything went as well as it could have and he should have no more issues. Thanks for all of the prayers! It means a lot to Tricia and I that so many of you remembered us and lifted Will up to God for protection. And if you didn't know, don't feel bad...we didn't really advertise that it was happening.

But he did great. Here's a phone pic I snapped as he lay recovering afterward. That's popsicle number 2.

He'll just be laying around for a few days, so I'm looking forward to some extended Star Wars Lego action.

I'm so thankful to God for his protection.

Pumpkin Thoughts

2008-10-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

It's obviously Pumpkin Time around the Reeves house...

And as the weather gets colder, I'm praying that our family will draw closer. My new job is a great opportunity for me to be able to have an impact on some lives that are desperate for it. But it has a very serious drawback. My most common shift is from 3p - 11:30p...not the best shift to draw when your kids are in school and your wife works days.

So what do you do? Since I no longer get the quantity that I'm used to, I have to make the most of every moment I have. Here's what that looks like...

It's generally my job to wake the kids up about 6:30a. Now that routine often involves crawling into bed with them for some "snugglin" before I give piggy-back rides down to breakfast.
I love to play xbox and blog/read blogs. I don't do either of those when my kids are home (or watch TV) unless I'm playing or watching with them.
I take special pains to remain calm and have fun with them, even while getting ready for school (often very hectic time) because now there are no "throw-away moments." Every minute I spend with them, whether I'm making breakfast or they're brushing their teeth, is a big percentage of the time I get to spend with them daily. There is no time to waste.
An afternoon off is something to celebrate. Yesterday, my son came home from kindergarten singing some "restaurant song" that mentioned Red Lobster. So where did the Reeves family spontaneously go for dinner?
An evening at home is something to treasure. I don't often get to see my kids off to bed anymore, so where we used to just "say our prayers," now I take it as a special privilege to really pray over my kids. More than ever I need God's power shielding them, revealing Himself to them, and giving me strength to stay focused on the things mentioned in these four other bullets.

I don't look to continue this work schedule forever, but while I'm in it, I'm going to let it drive me to focus on making the most with the time that I have where I'm needed the most: at home.

Best Quote Ever!

2008-10-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

"Better to have your enemies inside the tent, pissing out, than outside the tent, pissing in."

--Lyndon B. Johnson

Running For President

2008-10-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I can honestly say, I never expected it to go this far, but since I've received so much support, (and since it can't be as hard as what I'm doing now) I've decided to rise to the occasion and officially accept my status as a write-in candidate for the Presidency of the United States.

Click here to watch the latest national media coverage, including how it all began.

My name is Corbett Reeves... and I approved this message!

My daughter, the Diva

2008-10-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

So, I knew that my daughter was a bit of a diva, but now she's recruiting background vocalists.

BTW, they're singing along with a song from Disney's Camp Rock performed by the actress from the movie along with Beaker from the Muppets.

New job and other stuff

2008-10-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

Back in August I posted about some of the new things my family would be exploring -- namely new job and new church.

Well both of those have been figured out, for the time being, at least.

We've been attending the Orchard Church Community in Aurora since the beginning of August. It's always hard to really start feeling at home and plugged in to a new church, but that's really starting to happen.

This Monday, I began my new job, serving as a Behavioral Health Specialist at Timberline Knolls in Lemont. It's a whole new world for me, but it's opened up avenues of ministry that I could never have experienced as a church staff member. Very challenging...very rewarding.

Whose Fault is this Banking Crisis?

2008-10-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

The following post is copied entirely from Tim Stevens blog - Leading Smart. Very interesting info for right now... check out Tim's blog...very good stuff!

Corbett

*********

Everyone wants to pin blame for the huge banking crisis--and thus economic slowdown--that we are experiencing right now. Whose fault is it?

I have no idea. I'm not smart enough to understand all the issues.

But I did find this article very interesting. It was printed in the New York Times nine years ago. Portions below, read the original article here. Emphasis by me.

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending

By STEVEN A. HOLMES

Published: September 30, 1999

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.''

Demographic information on these borrowers is sketchy. But at least one study indicates that 18 percent of the loans in the subprime market went to black borrowers, compared to 5 per cent of loans in the conventional loan market.

In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.

''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''

(Continue reading here...)

It's possible Peter Wallison was a prophet. Or, perhaps, just a smart economist who knew that if you loan money to a bunch of people who can't afford to pay you back--it might just come back to bite you some day.

It's okay, though, because there are no consequences. We, the taxpayers of these United States, will bail out the lenders and the borrowers. In fact, we'll bail out anyone. Even the Red Cross continues to spend money it doesn't have, and this week asked the government for a $150 million bail out.

Again, I'm not smart enough to figure it all out. But I've decided I'll continue to only spend money that I have. And I'll save a little, cause when the government raises my taxes to pay for this mess, I'll need to be ready.

****************

Amen, brutha!

Cruisin' for Cajun

2008-09-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

Tricia and I received theatre tickets for Drury Lane this week. To save time, I picked her up at work in Naperville, planning to find a place to eat along the way. So as we head up Rt 59 we're looking for some good Cajun food. I made a few calls to folks I thought may have some 411, but no one came through for me. We ended up going here.

It wasn't bad, but we weren't blown away. Next time
we head to Naperville for Cajun, I'd like to try here.

But the real crime is that we didn't realize that just a mile away from Drury Lane was this place.

Mmmm... I'm way over due for some awesome Cajun food. There may be a Jambalaya or Gumbo on the schedule soon. Speaking of Cajun cookin', the Bayou Bengals are gonna open up a can of something on Mississippi State tonight. I'll be at church, but due to the miracle of DVR, I'll get to enjoy it commercial free a little later tonight

Feeling powerless

2008-09-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

We live in a culture of "I can get it done." We have tools and networks, resources that allow us to accomplish pretty much whatever we set our mind to. The web has definitely been an empowerment tool for most of us who've not been to afraid (or lazy) to engage. It's amazing what I can get done sitting at my kitchen table using my laptop and a little broadband.

Realizing this, the last thing I would ever want to do as a company or organization is to make a client/customer (especially a potential client/customer) feel powerless... unable to accomplish what he/she is accustomed.

I need a new spray hose thingy for my kitchen sink. It is under warranty. I have been calling the company since June. I've yet to speak to a real person or even been able to leave a voicemail. I've received messages that the offices are closed; please call back within business hours DURING their posted business hours. I've received messages that the call log is too heavy; please try back at a later time. Currently, I've been on hold for 22 minutes and counting. My hope is to be able to order the replacement part that I need -- hopefully covered by their stated warranty -- and do a simple fix to my kitchen faucet. If that doesn't happen soon, I'll have to replace the whole faucet and I promise I will never again use a product by this company.

I will however be glad to tell everyone about my frustration with this company (in appropriate situations of course).

The things I will be glad to share are exactly the kinds of things that no company or organization wants to be said about them. GRRRRRRRRR!!!!

Faucet update: After 52 minutes on hold, I spoke to a human and the good news is, I had a solution in about 5 minutes... not necessarily the solution I was hoping for (they're sending a replacement, but a different model) but a solution, nonetheless. Surely there's a better way to handle these things.

Unpleasant thought

2008-09-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

During my bible reading/quiet time today, I had an unpleasant thought, but one that strikes me as true, and I'm hoping for your feedback on it.

"Most of the evil perpetuated by those who do not follow Christ, can be laid at the feet of Christians who failed to love."

Leave a comment if you agree, disagree or if you just think that I'm a nutcase...

Home Alone

2008-09-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

Tricia and the kids just left for our annual trip to Fairfield, Illinois to visit her Grandpa and some more of her mom's family. I can't go 'cause I have a little cold, and there'll be a 6 month old there with some pretty major health issues and sick people are banned. Bummer!!

I hate being home without Tricia. I'm just pretty useless. Even though I'm a fairly decent cook, I'll probably exist on grapes, granola bars and cold cereal. Maybe I'll throw Subway in there, too.

Update and why I didn't listen to Christian music

2008-09-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

This past week was pretty intense. My bro-in-law got married and the entire family was in it. I performed the service, Tricia sang, Katy was a flower girl and Will was the ring bearer. [pics to come] Very cool, very draining.

Congratulations to Jim and Erin Visinaiz as they begin their life together!

On another note, I won't apologize for having Led Zeppelin, Counting Crows and U2 mixed in with David Crowder and Lincoln Brewster on my ipod. The fact is good music is good music and for many years most Christian music was very, very bad. For example...

I know it's painful, but you've got to listen to this whole thing... Because Jesus is like a mountie -- ZAP!!

Taking a Trip

2008-08-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

I'm excited about this weekend. Tricia and the kids and I are going to spend the Labor Day weekend with some friends that we've met recently and grown to love already: Glen and Sally Blumer. They live just south of Des Moines in Norwalk, Iowa. I've only been to Iowa once and that was just traveling up the western side on a trip from Louisiana to Montana. Can't say that I remember much about the state.

I guess the main thing I know about Iowa is how much fun I've had teasing Dave Ritter about how bad the Hawkeyes have been in football the last few years.

Glen and Sally are cyclists like Tricia and myself are, so I'm on my way to buy a bike rack that will go on the back of my minivan. Turns out it's hard to find a 4-bike carrier that attaches to the trunk/rear door instead of requiring a hitch receiver. But I found one almost by accident at Dave's Bikes in Joliet. Hope it's a good one...I'll let you know.

So any more cyclists out there? Where is your favorite place to ride?

My Plans or God's Plans

2008-08-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

I find it hard at times to know when something is what God wants and when it is just what I want. One of the hardest decisions I've had to make recently came down to this. For almost a year, I've believed that my next step in ministry was to be a church planter. But for now, Tricia and I do not believe that is what God is calling us to do. The desire is there, but we don't want to be anywhere that God is not directing us to be.

For many reasons, I guess, becoming a church planter seemed like the obvious move for us. But as I read books, blogs and articles; as I listened to podcasts about church planting, the one thing (the only thing!) they all agreed on was this: Do not plant a church unless you are 100% sure that God has called you to plant the church. After much honest discussion and evaluation, Tricia and I don't believe that we have been so called. Yet! I still hope that this is in my future. I get pretty stoked at the thought of it.

So what does this mean for our family's immediate future... I'm so glad you asked.

It means that we are planning to stay in Morris for the next 8 months or so. The kids have started school here and we'd rather not take them out. Tricia has also started her school year (teaching) and would like to be able to finish the school year if at all possible. So if you're in Morris, you might see us around.
It means that I have to get job! Sticking around means certain bills have to be paid, but I'm not going to jump into a local ministry position just for a paycheck. I definitely want to be in my next ministry position for several years at least. In the mean time, I'll find something to do in the surrounding area. (This would be a good time to call with an offer!!!!)
It means that we'll be plugging into a local church (local meaning with 30-45 minutes). Even if my job isn't to be a pastor currently, I'm still called (as each of you are) to plug into a local gathering of Christ-followers and use my gifts to help that church accomplish the Jesus Mission. We've visited a few churches...we may visit a few more, but one has become a likely choice.

Of course we still have lots of questions about what the future holds and we're on our knees, asking God to show us where He wants us, but we are confident that right now we are being faithful. God hasn't shown us what is coming next, so right now we will listen for His voice and follow Him however He leads us. More than anything else we want to follow His plan, no matter what that does to our plans.

Book Review - Wild Goose Chase

2008-08-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

I've had a little bit of time on my hands of late. The kids are at school, Tricia is at work and I'm... well, I'm keeping busy, but I've gotten pretty good at Spyro [update: I've beaten it] on my son's DS and I've been able to tear through a few books. I thought maybe I'd clue you in on a few of them. Up first, "Wild Goose Chase" by Mark Batterson. **One reader will win a free book from this blog--details below**

Here's an excerpt from the introduction:
"Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit--An Geadh-Glas, or 'the Wild Goose.' The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it's like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something that institutionalized Christianity has missed out on."

And speaking of what happens when we are born of the Spirit and begin following Jesus...
"Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure."

This book is a call to adventure... a spirit-filled adventure that is achieved by actively seeking what God wants for each of us and in turn being released from certain emotional/spiritual "cages" that hold us back from the adventurous life or as Batterson puts it... "clipping the wings of the Wild Goose."

If you enjoyed "In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day," Batterson's first book, you'll love Wild Goose. In a Pit challenged us to face our fear and find our greatest successes on the other side of the fear. Wild Goose shows what's holding us back and then shows a way out. One very cool challenge that Batterson gives is to formulate a list of Life Goals and at the Wild Goose site you can download a "how to". You can also read Mark's List from his blog.

If you're like me, you want your life to be more than just something that you "got through." I want my life to make a difference, to be world-changing; and I want to live an adventure. I'm really glad that Mark has written this book. Very applicable to where I am right now.

You can get it online at cbd or amazon and probably several other book sites. Or you can win one from me. I will give a free copy to the person who in the comments of this post guesses one of my life goals... my biggest travel goal with my family is to... _________ First person who guesses gets a copy. (be sure I can contact you).

New blog - what are my intentions?

2008-08-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

So here it is... the new blog that I promised way back in June. Why the change?

1) To accompany a major change in my life -- leaving one of the best jobs in the world, leading the arts teams at NC3 in Morris, to step out into the unknown... all because we feel this is what God is saying right now.

2) To signify a new paradigm of blogging. Before it was meandering and musings. Now things will be more intentional -- thus the name (and the graphic). It's been often said that if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time. I am making every effort from now on to be laser-focused.

My old blog will still be available (I won't be updating it) at meanderings-corbett.blogspot.com and I'll try to throw a link up on the sidebar to make it easy to get there. 120 posts covering the last year and a half of my life... many of which are slightly better than birdcage liner quality. You'll have to be the judge.

As for the new, I'll be laying down some big stuff about what the Reeves are doing currently and what the future may (or may not) hold for my family.

I'm glad you're along for the ride. Better buckle up!