Could be one of the reasons GM is in trouble...

OK we've all heard how the American car companies are in trouble. All because of so-called quality issues. Well, here is my experience with cars. The "miles" are the miles the car had on it when it was 'retired' - except for the last two which are still going strong...

1975 Buick Skyhawk - first car i ever bought - 186,000 miles - mom didn't want me driving back and forth to Texas in it even though it was running great. So they helped me get a newer model used car

1985 Buick Skyhawk - 2-door sport, 4-cyl, 5-spd - - 36 mpg, fun to drive, but was killing my knee (knee surgery) so had to get rid of it ughhh...so took the opportunity to go for the v-8

1986 Chevy Camaro - 72,000 miles - but got married, got children, and got no room for kids on our New England trips so was either tie the kids on top, make them a red wagon trailer for them to ride in as i pulled it, or get rid of it...sigh, got rid of it - miss the t-tops.

1989 Mazda 323 - the only foreign car I ever owned - camshaft CRACKED at 68,000 miles - so much for foreign quality

1989 Ford Aerostar Van - first minivan I owned - 286,000 miles with one engine replaced at 140,000 due to my backup driver (vanpool) not believing the temperature gauge UGHHHH

1989 Dodge Grand Caravan - 144,000 miles - their infamous transmission/transaxle trouble bit me - but still got 144,000 miles....

1995 Ford Windstar - 152,000 miles - stopped using, donated to charity

1998 Chevy Venture - 222,000 miles and still going strong as the workhorse (commute to work, all errands, etc.) - affectionately call it my tuner van...will be an upcoming blog :-)

2001 Ford Windstar - 70,000 miles and runs/rides like new - the semi-tuner family van

That's my major car experience. I've had no problems out of ordinary stuff with American cars. So why am I titling this blog entry as "...GM...trouble"? Because of an issue with my tuner van. One of the 'piddly' things that is wrong with my 98 tuner van is the driver's side window will not go up and down correctly. It basically acts like it is drunk, especially when you try to raise it back up. I found out the problem is with the mechanical part, called the regulator.

While checking my trusty eBAY for a guitar tuner and a couple of other totally non-related items, I 'accidentally' (thank you Jesus) found lifetime warranted Chevy Venture window regulators for $32.00 with FREE shipping from a company who has been on eBAY for 10 years with 160,000 transactions and a 99.7% postive feedback. For you non-eBAYERS, that means they are real good. My trusty mechanic who is awesome (Auto Experts) says that he'll install it with 1.5 to 2 hours labor. So total repair should be well under $200.

Just in case, I called the local Chevrolet place and was reminded why I didn't get this repaired by them a couple of years ago. The service rep informed me the entire apparatus has to be purchased for the whole door, and that the part alone is....Mr Fudi, insert drum roll here..... NINE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO DOLLARS.

I said "what?" as I gagged on my dry oatmeal (where are those chick-fil-a milkshakes when you need them???)....and he repeated the same number.

Auto Experts/eBAY, here I come....

GM, thanks but no thanks and hope you survive your crunch....

Later...and be careful out there.

Church of Flocks and Families

There are many things Jesus taught on while He was here. I consider the things the gospel writers chose to write on as Jesus' "greatest hits", because we KNOW Jesus spoke on MUCH more than what they wrote down for us. Two of His greatest hits are the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son.

The parable of the Lost Sheep is about the shepherd who leaves the flock in search of the one sheep who has become lost, isolated from the flock, or perhaps even wandered off. We are not specifically told how the sheep got lost, why he wandered, how, etc. All we know is the shepherd finds out one of his sheep is missing. The lost sheep in the parable is not one who is in search of a flock, or who is being pursued to be asked to join the flock. The lost sheep is already a part of the flock. When it is discovered to be lost, the shepherd actively pursues and searches out the lost sheep and doesn't just lead or bring him back, but even carries him back.

In the Prodigal Son, the son makes known his plans and runs off and squanders everything the father had for him. The prodigal already belonged to the family and was an active member of the family, and then he left with what was his. When he realizes his foolishness and decides to come back to see if his father would just hire him as a servant, what does the father do? He welcomes his son back with open arms, even running off in the distance to meet him, and throws a tremendous celebration in his honor. Again, this is not a new son, or an adopted son, or someone welcomed in off the street. He is a member of the family who has purposefully and actively 'run off' and returns.

What is it about the shepherd and the father that is so poignant and applicable to the church? Love...love for the flock, not only as a group, but for each individual sheep. Love for the family, not only as a whole, but each individual member of the family.

The advice and encouragement I have, for what it's worth, is going to sound simplistic and perhaps even trite to some. But in the extremeness of its simplicity lies its foundational, undergirding truth. Pastors, staff members, leaders, volunteer leaders...love the people in your church as Christ loves the church.

Later...and be careful out there.

Weekend .... Time to relax?

I almost always have full weekends it seems. I went in to work for a while this morning. One thing nice about a little bit of a commute with an easy drive (no traffic, etc.) is you usually get some mental downtime. I headed in about 615 am, cruising through farm country with no live deer to dodge. I finished up what I needed to get done by 1040 and headed back home. I got a couple of errands done on the way home, then had lunch with the boys. After that I had practice with the acoustic gospel group I play with (acoustic guitar) from 1 to 330 or so (was a good practice) and then headed home again. I watched some of the first round of the NFL draft and then observed my oldest son while he cooked the main part of supper for everyone on the grill. He knocked it out of the park, working the grill cooking hamburgers, corn on the cob, and hot dogs. It was goooooooooood.

After supper I got to work on the prayer list and announcements sheet for church tomorrow. I found out a few months ago that only about 30 or so get printed and most of those don't get distributed for one reason or another. So a few weeks ago I took the matter in my own hands and started sending out both *.doc and *.pdf versions of the file to all the Lifegroup leaders with the hope they would share it with their Lifegroups, meaning about 200+ people who are more involved should at least be getting the prayer list. You never can have too many people praying in my opinion.

Hopefully I'll be getting the message notes soon so I can start on the Lifegroup guides which will be based on tomorrow's message. I take the notes and listen to both services to know how to work and wordsmith the guides into a readable, booklet type style complete with questions for the leaders to use with their groups. Some of the Lifegroups use the guides to go into Sunday's message a little deeper, discussing it and just talking about it. The problem with not getting the file pretty soon is there will be a delay in getting them out to the Lifegroup leaders because I haven't had the time lately to take a break at work to do them or finish them up.

Anyways, tomorrow I'll be at the school by around 7am to set up my equipment for playing bass with the worship team. We'll be doing sound checks and then practicing until about 905 to 910. Around 9:20 we'll have prayer as a team and then start the service at 9:30 with the first song. The first service will be over around 10:45 or so, and then we'll re-tune and go over any rough spots before clearing the stage around 11 in preparation for starting the next service at 11:15. The service will be over around 12:30 or so and then I'll be tearing down my part of the sound equipment and my instrument equipment, usually finishing up by around 1pm.

After teardown I'll head home to grab something light for lunch and then get ready to sing/play keyboard with the other gospel group (country gospel) I'm in. I use the keyboad for the drums, basic chord accompaniment, and to play the bass line. We have to be there by 2pm to set up and do a quick sound check, and then will be playing for about an hour starting at 3pm. I should be back to the house by around 4:45pm or so, and then I can drop.

Thats how my weekends are most of the time. The only difference would be that I'm not playing out somewhere every Sunday afternoon.

Why do I stay that busy on the weekend? Is it to make money? No....the reason I go in to work for 3 to 4 hours early on Saturday mornings is to make up for my weekly Tuesday doctor's appointment since that always makes me late to work. I wouldn't turn down the overtime, but since I'm salary, no OT. Is it to see how busy I can be? No... Is it to avoid certain people? No.... Is it to make a name for myself? No...most people don't know I do all that stuff.

Why then???? It's actually pretty simple - the overall reason is to help get the message of God's love for people through Jesus Christ, in all types of ways to all types of people. So if you see me yawn every now and then, be gentle when you poke lol. Come join the fun - I can't think of a better reason to be busy.

Later....and be careful out there.

Blogging for the Blog's Sake

Is it worth blogging? At first I considered this would be a type of journal - putting stuff out there, sometimes nonsensical ramblings, sometimes commentary on things in the news, sometimes more personal stuff. Since I've started this a couple of weeks ago, I've been warned, forewarned, admonished, and threatened to not put anything on here. Sources range from acquaintances to family. Even the news...it has been a main topic recently on almost every news show on tv/radio. Facebook/ myspace/googling/anything internet being searched by companies watching employees/applicants, sports teams watching potential players, colleges watching applicants, etc. And there have been stories of these same entities making fake web-profiles on these sites with the goal of trapping people. Even "anonymous" blogs aren't really anonymous. If you don't know by now, you should ... everything you do on the internet can be tracked to your URL.

Maybe Reader's Digest condensed versions would be ok? For me, this week...

• Monday - had weekly doc's appointment today instead of Tuesday, and work got intenser
• Tuesday - Redskins rumblings about Campbell and NFL draft
• Wednesday - Lifegroup
• Thursday - mominlaw to airport, Worship team practice
• Friday - took leave (sick), later got a little organizing done at the house
• Saturday - working in the morning, group practice, NFL draft

Well that's not going to cut it - I fell asleep just now while writing it myself.

So I'll be writing some stuff that may get some people upset. My answer to them? If you don't want to read it, then, in the spirit of the sneaker genius Nike,

just DON'T do it.

Anyways, I'll be back...sometime...I think...

Later...and be careful out there.

Broken, not Forsaken

Broken people call His name
Helpless children praise the King
Nothing brings Him greater fame,
When broken people call His name.

Lift high...your chains undone
All rise...exalt the Son
Jesus Christ...the Holy One
We lift our eyes to You.

Lift up your heads, oh lift up your heads
Look on Him
Lift up your heads, oh lift up your heads
Look on Him

Lift high...your chains undone
All rise...exalt the Son
Jesus Christ...the Holy One
We lift our eyes to You.

sometimes a song says it best

Later...and be careful out there.

I know you had 900+, but...

Ok - I finally heard some definitive criticism of our church and it was rather interesting...
from a person who's been there a grand total of 1, MAYBE 2 times(2 or 3 years ago)
and after the weekend of our highest attendance ever (this past Easter Sunday).

Apparently the only reason our church is growing is "because of the show" (i.e., the lights, band, etc.), which takes up a total of an average of 14 minutes out of a (usually) 75 minute service. The growth and number of baptisms we have experienced as a church apparently has nothing to do with the 45 minute verse by verse Bible teaching of our Pastor. It has nothing to do with the 282 volunteers (many who get to the school between 530 and 7am and many others who don't leave until 3pm or so) who work to make sure people know where to go and can worship free from many distractions. It has nothing to do with the prayer teams and Lifegroups who meet in peoples' homes during the week and pray for our community, our leadership, and for God's blessing on every aspect of the service.

Wow. What a waste of energy. Why don't we just give out DVDs and/or CDs instead of going to all the trouble? If all it takes to grow is to hand out CDs and DVDs then let's just sell everything, forget the building, just buy a computer (maybe even a MAC) and upload YOUTUBE videos and hope people watch them. Oh yea - we don't have a building to sell because we meet in a school - mmmm... = what a showy place!!!!

Maybe we should get all the churches to sell all their buildings and give the money to 3rd-world countries...except for the computer of course and the money to pay for the internet connection cuz you have to still do the YOUTUBE thing. mmmm maybe all the churches who dress up, have choir robes, and a $20,000 organ and $10,000 baby grand piano should sell everything because its just for looks and sound. Lets just start using megaphones (battery-powered of course) and get rid of the PA systems because they are just for show to just sound better and louder. Get rid of all the lights and just use the light from windows in the building to light up the stage oops pulpit because you don't really need to see anything because that would be just for show.

oh well

rant over

I'm glad I'm part of a church that will do anything it can to reach people far from God so they can hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. It sure beats spinning wheels.

Later...and be careful out there.

Easter rocked

Easter Sunday, or Resurrection Day, was great. The extra practices this week paid off. We adjusted where we needed to and were able to help lead 2 services of people into worship. The dynamics of the worship set were awesome and supported the entire theme of Jesus' resurrection. Over 900 people, more than 50 decisions, a message that brought the gospel home to a lot of people. Overall, Easter was chocked full of good worship time, good 'down'time, good family time...was a full day but was good.

As far as the sound/amp/stage/direct question that I raised before...I think I have a possible reason for the divergent opinions of the use of amps vs direct boxes, etc. I think a person's opinion on the issue depends simply on whether a CD-type, studio sound is wanted versus a live, stage sound. There...that's it.

Let me explain...everyone who has an ear for music can hear the difference between a Live version of Sweet Home Alabama and the studio/CD version of the same song. Live sound has a totally different vibe, feel, and mix of instruments 'overlapping' together - a true amalgamation of tone/sound. Amalgamation is (dictionary.com) "the mixing or blending of different elements, etc.; also, the result of such combination or blending; a homogeneous union."

This is totally different than a studio, or CD sound where individual, direct tracks are fed into a 32 (or more) channel board and then "mix"ed in terms of volume level, panning, et al, with the other channels. I guess another example would be the London Philharmonic orchestra. Even on the CD version of a performance, 107 (love that number) instruments are not individually miked. Why? Because the blending together artificially/digitally, channel by channel, in no way catches the live, naturally "amalgamated" sound of a symphony played all together. Even in the studio they aren't recorded by just one mike, so that there is definitely "overlap" of sound between instruments and sections of the orchestra. You get my drift.

So, in my opinion, that's at least one of the main reasons for the difference of opinion in the use or non-use of amps onstage. This is not to start an argument - it's just discussing opinions/options. The bottom line to me is that there should be an "amalgamation" (haha) of the 2 viewpoints. They both have their strong points and in a live situation, live sound would be best along with still a centralized point of overall control. Why do you still need centralized overall control? Because it's not a concert - but an attempt to bring people into worship in singing, etc.

Any thoughts on it?

Oh and btw - there's a reason why Marshall, Ampeg, Fender, Gallein-Krueger, etc. all still make amps :-).

Later...and be careful out there.