• Disco Bears

    Who says scientists don’t like to have fun? This video proves two things. First, scientists really are stuck in the 70s. Second, you cannot stop the power of disco.

  • Leaving Romeo: Jimmy

    Last week I talked about leaving Romeo and my relationship with our senior pastor, Bob. Next, I want to talk about our music dude Jimmy. Jimmy, like Jason before him, has been an awesome friend to me. There is something about being in that “associate” role at a church that I’ve always found kinship with. 

    Jimmy joined us in November 2007. Like the rest of the staff Jimmy came from “big church land.” Jimmy and Ashley have an amazing personal story. Not only do they have an amazing story, they love talking about it as they realize their pain… ultimately… can and should be used for glorifying God. If you don’t know their story, take them out for a steak dinner and have them tell you!

    It goes without saying that Jimmy is talented. Even if you don’t care for his style of music you have to recognize the gifts God has given him. (Of course, his dad is a musician and music is part of what it means to be in his family.) But in the last 6 months I’ve learned that there is so much more to “The Savage” than just musical talent. 

    In my post about Bob I pointed to two qualities I’ve always looked for in a staff member at the church. Does this person passionately love Jesus? Is he wild eyed enough to follow God and not man? If you’ve ever talked to Jimmy for more than 5 minutes you’ll know the answer to those questions. It’s a scary combination when a man is both talented and passionate about Jesus. As I told his mom a couple weeks ago… that a combination she must be proud of. 

    Jimmy is game for silliness. At his very first staff meeting he jumped on board with the Elf videos we used. I knew right there we’d get along!  There’s nothing worse than a guy who is super talented and “too cool” for silliness. Not the case with Jimmy. (I really was worried about that.) Jimmy is a gamer.

    Jimmy is game for leading Romeo’s worship to the finish line. As I think back on the music at our church over the last 5 years I can think of a single description: Liquid. I liked the music when we first arrived… super vibrant and fun. Then we went through some dark times musically, the people were fine, it was just an issue of preference. From there we went through a steady embrace and transition to where we are now. Music is a big part of what Romeo is now all about as we try to reach Romeo for Christ. The goal is worship excellence. (High quality musically, high quality worship experience) I look forward to coming back to Romeo often and telling him, “the music is solid.”

    Leaving now stinks. After years of toil, snares, and bumps… things are just getting good! And Jimmy is a big part of that. He adds an element to the staff that was missing. 

    Beyond work, Jimmy and Ashley are awesome people. Kristen and I are looking for opportunities to be in Romeo so we can hang out with our new friends. Their daughter cracks me up as she is a synthesis of both of them. She is a little bit wild like Jimmy yet sweet like her mommy. The bad thing is that she has one of those smiles that’s going to cost mom and dad a lot of money! She’s going to get whatever she wants. 

  • “Who are you anyway?”

    Recently, God has been all up in my video about who I am. It’s crazy how easy I get my identity wrapped up in what other people think of me. I suppose being in a public position will do that to you.

    One of the things that Bill Clinton was always accused of as President was that he based a lot of decisions on public opinion. As much as I disdained that style of leadership I recognize it as a legitimate way to handle yourself when all eyes are on you. “Just do what the majority wants and everything will be OK.”

    But I don’t think that’s leadership.

    Adam’s definition of what a leader is: A leader takes you where you don’t want to go on your own.

    Not only do I want to be a leader that takes people where they don’t want to go on their own… I want to be the type of person who is lead by God in ways that I wouldn’t do on my own.

    Confession #1: I’ve gotten wrapped up in being called a leader. I fall into the mistake of thinking people want to know what I think. Instead, a true leader defers to the ultimate source of wisdom, thinking, and counsel. The most appropriate thing I can do as a leader is point someone to ultimate truth found in the Bible. And I recognize that sometimes I do that and sometimes I depend on my own talent, experiences, and personal preferences. I used to be so good at saying, “This is what the Bible says: _______. And this is what I would do if I were in your position: ______________.” It seems that the more people want to recognize me as a “leader” the more I want to emphasize the latter instead of the former. The result is that I’m not always the best leader I can be. Ironic, eh?

    Confession #2: I get wrapped up in being called a pastor. I’ve never been comfortable with that title. But as the year’s have gone by I’ve gotten much less diligent in blushing it off when people call me “Pastor Adam.” I don’t know if it’s that I’ve gotten comfortable with what God has done and others recognize that in me or if I just like being called a pastor? Now, it’s true. That is what/who I am. And I am not ashamed of the title. I am not ashamed of my position. And I am not ashamed of my church. It’s not about shame. I recognize that its a sign of respect for my position yet I’ve always been uncomfortable with being labeled any title. Since I entered full-time ministry I’ve always self-reflected and laughed at God’s slapping me… ME… with the title of pastor. Sure… since I was little… even before I was a Christian… I always knew I’d be in ministry. But I also know who I am. I am biblically qualified to be a pastor and yet I know who I am.

    • Above reproach? As far as I know
    • A one woman man? Heck yes!
    • Temperate? I do my very best to not lose it
    • Self-controlled? To the best of my knowledge
    • Respectable? You tell me
    • Hospitable? Check
    • Able to teach? Check
    • Not given to drunkenness? Been good on that one since early teens
    • Not violent but gentle? By the grace of God
    • Not quarrelsome? Not my thing
    • Not a lover of money? How could I be?
    • Manage his family well? Could always do better
    • Not a recent convert? Check
    • Good reputation? Let me know, OK?

    Confession #3: I want to get more wrapped up in my identity as a daddy and husband than as “Pastor Adam.” Closing in on 6 years of working in churches full time and I know well why some denominations don’t let their pastors marry. The demands on the position are over-the-top hard to balance with a family. People think nothing of about calling me late at night or early in the morning to talk to me or ask me to do something. And I’m always tempted to work every day and most nights for youth group, small groups, meetings, and other stuff that lands on my schedule. I really don’t think this is biblical and I should be more disciplined about saying “Can we talk or do this tomorrow?” In the past 6 years we’ve had countless family meals interrupted, countless dates disrupted, dozens of movies put on pause, play time put on pause for other people so many times my kids hate it when I take a call, times with daddy missed for this and that. Spending quality time with other people’s kids while missing the same with my own. Honestly, I hardly ever noticed. But my wife and kids did. It’s tough being married with kids and being married with kids to a church. Only recently have I been doing some studying in the New Testament and I realized… “Wait a minute! These guys weren’t nearly as available as I am and God still thought they rocked as pastors and leaders.”

    How about you? Who are you anyway?

  • Raiders & 5 Million Legos

    I think this has to do with some sort of marketing campaign or something. But what do you do with a boulder made of legos and a hill in San Franscisco? You reinact a scene from Raiders of course.

  • 10 random Monday thoughts

    It’s a holiday. And a holiday for me means that I tend to get strikingly little done. I may have some big plans for my day… but if I get 1-2 things actually done I’ll be satisfied. Here’s just a data dump of things on my mind.

    1. I’m definitely taking a bike ride today.
    2. It was supposed to rain today, but looking at the satellite I don’t think that’s likely.
    3. I stayed up until 2 AM playing Madden 08 for the Wii. It’s just OK.
    4. This morning I added a ton of people to my friends list on Facebook. Many of them I don’t know personally but are “fans” of YMX on Facebook.
    5. It was fun to head out to Metemora State Park last night to hang with the Fisher’s and Brinker’s. Each time we come home Kristen and I vow to take our kids camping. I don’t really know if that will happen or not. But I hope it will
    6. Everyone is asking us when our house will go on the market. Probably in a few weeks. We have some things we need to do first. We are oddly at peace about the process. We know it’s a good house and are hopeful it will sell at a good price. 
    7. Jimmy was clutch yesterday. I was very pleased with the services over all. I especially liked that he “de-cheesed” the Lee Greenwood song, “God Bless the U.S.A.” 
    8. It was a little weird being my “last day” at Romeo. At the same time, we’re back next week. It’s not like we’re moving right now. The most common question yesterday was, “When do you start your new job?” I start next week and my next trip out west in in a couple weeks. 
    9. I’m shopping for a digital SLR as my wife has broken both our cameras. How do you decide between Nikon and Canon?
    10. Mellen’s Market (the corner store across the street from us) is closing its doors and going out of business later this week. That’s a total bummer.
    11. Bonus random thought: Kristen and I are planning to sell our car and buy a new one when we get to San Diego. We are definitely looking for a small/tiny car that gets great mileage. (I may even get a scooter!) High on our list of cars to look into are the Prius and Civic Hybrid. (American cars) We are also considering some Korean made cars and Mexican cars made by Ford and GM. I just had to get that dig in since Romeo people still think that there is a delineation between “American cars” and “Foreign cars.” No one outside of Michigan has used terms like that since the 1980s… but you still hear and see it here on bumper stickers. Let’s translate that… by “foreign car” they really mean “non-union made car.”

  • Change without compromise: The Gospel

    Today is my last time speaking at Romeo as a staff member. It’s a fun way to go out. So, chances are if you are reading this you won’t be one of the people in the congregation this morning. With that said, I’m enclosing my morning notes to the message.

    Here are my speaking notes

    Here is what is displayed on the screen

  • What $4.05 gas means to Romeo

    gas goes up againNothing. If it doesn’t change how you use your car, $4.05 gas means nothing to you.

    I had this thought as I picked up a cup of coffee this morning at a local gas station and watched people belly up to the pump to offload some cash. I actually hope it hits $5 or $7 per gallon soon. Why? We need to change, that’s why. 

    Yesterday I decided to ride my bike to the library. Its only a couple of miles and its perfectly flat getting over there. I had the time and it was a nice morning so I figured, why not? Our town has a great trail system and even the main road, Van Dyke, has a bike lane to use.

    But a funny thing happened as I was riding. I got flicked off a lot. People slowed down to yell out the window at me. One man even intentionally drove up behind me as I rode down the bike lane and honked at me… angrily telling me I don’t have a right to the road. (Newsflash, it’s legal) It was sad. Because at the same time I was observing something fundamentally wrong with our town: A bunch of fat, angry people yacking on their phones as they drive around… alone. Almost every car had a single passenger… even monster SUVs and minivans. All empty.

    Gas is only going to get more expensive. It crossed $130/barrel this week and it will only be a few days until those prices are reflected at the pump. 

    So what should you do? It’s pretty simple. You should drive less. You should ask your boss if you can alter your job hours to carpool with a coworker. Next time you move, move somewhere close to your work. You should inflate your bike tires and ride around town instead of driving everywhere. You should walk a little more. Maybe you have two cars and you could get by with only one? Maybe your kids need to carpool to soccer? Maybe you should just tell their coach to move practice to your neighborhood instead of a county away? In short. Stop the insanity! 

    We are the reason gas is $4.05 and not $1.79 or less, stop whining and change. I think the government should tax gas more and oil companies should get richer until angry, fat, cell phone happy Americans change their behavior.

    What do you think? How could you change your driving behavior? What’s it going to take before you actually change your gas guzzling behavior?

  • Converting User Names to Real Names

    It goes without saying that I’m a web dork. But I have to be honest and say even in my dorkiness I sometimes get confused on who is who. A blog may be named “Two fish with green eyes” but I know it’s Joe’s blog. And his AIM name is probably “PistolJoe” and I know that too. Then his YMX name is “JoeFish” and his myspace is “GreenfishJoe.” Weird legacy old school web stuff… and it’s plain confusing to me. Yuck, I hate it.

    So in the last few weeks I’ve been changing everyone’s feed titles in Google Reader and AIM screen names to their real names. (Easy options for both) It’s happy on my eyes.

    Real names? Yeah, like the name mommy and daddy gave you when you popped out. You’re name isn’t some weird web-name you use… it’s a first and last name. 

    A vent: Now that I’m completely addicted to twitter [follow me] and now that I’ve been sucked back into myspace… I wish I had a way to edit both of those profiles with people’s real names. Hey myspace and twitter… figure that out!

    Maybe this is why I like the idea of OpenID so much? Having a single, cross-platform profile/login will be commonplace in a few years… the whole “pseudo name” thing really is archaic. 

  • What do you do with a dead moose?

    dead moose in my yardLast night I got hooked on a Discovery Channel show called The Alaska Experiment. I found it fascinating that they could take a few people from all over the lower 48 and they would not only survive in the wild of Alaska, some of them did quite well. 

    Then this morning Kristen sent me a link from an Anchorage paper, it’s hilarious. It helps answer the questions, “What do you do when a moose dies in your yard?” It turns out you can just list it on Craigslist. 

    You could use it for dog food or stuff it and put it (in) your front yard, bear bait, whatever. If you live in the Lower 48, this might be your best opportunity to get a free Alaska moose. I don’t really care; I just want it out of my yard.

    It turns out that about 50 people were willing to come and remove the dead yearling. My favorite response, “I want it. But I can only take a haunch. I got only a small knife and a bicycle.”

    In the last two weeks, as people have learned we are moving to sunny San Diego, they’ve said things like “It’s going to be awesome to not have to deal with snow and wintery weather.” As the TV show proves… humans are very adaptable. We know that thriving in any situation, location, job, church, school, or sports team has 100% to do with our attitude and 0% to do with circumstances beyond our control. It doesn’t matter where we live… we will adapt to the culture and climate for the betterment of the kingdom.

    Every location has positives and negatives. What are some of them for where you live?

  • Always and Never

    As a 20 year old I sat next to Kristen in pre-marital counseling wide-eyed. The pastor knew we were crazy for one another and he said, “Make sure that you limit the times you say “always” and “never.” 

    That’s why I chuckled when I read Seth Godin this morning.

    “I’ll never buy from you again.”
    “I’ll never vote for that candidate if my candidate loses.”
    “I’ll never invest in that stock.”

    Never seems like a really long time, doesn’t it? Practically forever.

    Here’s the thing. People who say ‘never’ actually mean, “until my situation or the story changes materially.” Making bad decisions in the now to honor absolute statements in the past isn’t particularly sustainable. Consumers, short-sighted as they are sometimes, are able to realize this pretty quickly.

    In fact, the only thing shorter than ‘never’ is ‘always.’

    How true is that in your church? In your youth group? 

    Leaders lead people where they “never” wanted to go or “always” avoided. It’s not a popularity contest. Follow God above all else.