Wednesday, September 30, 2009
McGuire's 2010
Last night concluded our last McGuire's service of 2009. It's a seasonal service we do from March - September. I'm excited already at the prospects of McGuire's 2010. This past year we completely overhauled the format as well as the feel of McGuire's to a more "chilled out reggae type vibe". 2010 will have a new fresh look. Get ready!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Always game for something new
So this weekend I get to try my hand at filming and editing an extended video piece for a service. I've always been fascinated by the film editing process and I seem to have a good eye for what makes a good edit. I just never have had the chance to do it....until now. They say for every 1 minute of film it equates to 1 hour of editing. Needing a 5 minute piece on Sunday, my goal is to squash that silly notion as nothing more than an old wive's tale. We shall see. Be sure to come to Shoreline this weekend. The video will be used at the close of this weekend's service. Let me know if I did OK.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Vegas Baby, Vegas!
This past February we did a series called "On The Road Again". This was a continuation of a series we do yearly (last year it was called "Road Trip"). In both series, we talked about serving the community locally, nationally and globally. I've been charged with leading a national missions trip in the fall. We are headed to none other than (cue the fanfare build-up music from 'Vegas Vacation'), "Fabulous Las Vegas". Not a bad place to have to do a missions trip.
Las Vegas is one of the most electric cities in the world. It is quickly becoming the destination place for high quality, unbelievable entertainment. No place has better nightclubs, more gambling, unlimited entertainment options and unbelievable buffet spreads! At the same time, there is no place that needs Jesus more than Vegas. Having been raised in SoCal, Vegas was a family vacation destination for us. As I became an adult, weekend trips to Vegas were always a fun way to escape the SoCal mundane lifestyle. I've always had a place in my heart for Vegas.
Shoreline is partnering with a church plant in Vegas called "The Verve". They are actually launching services started in 2010. However, they're already there getting to know the community and working on a meeting location, etc. We got to know this church through their lead pastor, Vince Antonucci (an Itallian like myself). Vince was lead pastor of Forefront Church in Virginia Beach. Eric Partin, our head honcho pastor, had been following his blog and read about them launching a "church in the bar service". This was something Eric had a vision of doing at Shoreline. So Sam, Eric and myself went to Virginia Beach to observe the bar service and get some ideas to take back to Destin. Their service became a blueprint for what we now call our "Church @ McGuire's". Earlier this year, Vince felt the Holy Spirit pushing him to launch a church in Vegas. After much thought and prayer, Vince left Forefront to start this church on the strip of Las Vegas.
Our role there on this trip will be to help them in meeting people in the community. This will include some or all of the following: handing out water bottles, giving out snowcones in the park, putting door hangers on doors, free car washes, serving casino workers, and bringing coffee to people in the Town Square mall. We'll also get a chance to hear the vision of "The Verve" and attend a local church in the area to see what Vegas is currently doing, etc.
The cost of the trip is $1200 per person. This includes airfare, food, lodging, transportation and a donation to the Verve. The trip dates will be Oct 15-18. I'm hoping you will come out there with me. It will be an amazing trip. We're looking at no more than 8-10 people to go. If you're interested in being a part of this experience, please comment back and we'll get you some information!
Las Vegas is one of the most electric cities in the world. It is quickly becoming the destination place for high quality, unbelievable entertainment. No place has better nightclubs, more gambling, unlimited entertainment options and unbelievable buffet spreads! At the same time, there is no place that needs Jesus more than Vegas. Having been raised in SoCal, Vegas was a family vacation destination for us. As I became an adult, weekend trips to Vegas were always a fun way to escape the SoCal mundane lifestyle. I've always had a place in my heart for Vegas.
Shoreline is partnering with a church plant in Vegas called "The Verve". They are actually launching services started in 2010. However, they're already there getting to know the community and working on a meeting location, etc. We got to know this church through their lead pastor, Vince Antonucci (an Itallian like myself). Vince was lead pastor of Forefront Church in Virginia Beach. Eric Partin, our head honcho pastor, had been following his blog and read about them launching a "church in the bar service". This was something Eric had a vision of doing at Shoreline. So Sam, Eric and myself went to Virginia Beach to observe the bar service and get some ideas to take back to Destin. Their service became a blueprint for what we now call our "Church @ McGuire's". Earlier this year, Vince felt the Holy Spirit pushing him to launch a church in Vegas. After much thought and prayer, Vince left Forefront to start this church on the strip of Las Vegas.
Our role there on this trip will be to help them in meeting people in the community. This will include some or all of the following: handing out water bottles, giving out snowcones in the park, putting door hangers on doors, free car washes, serving casino workers, and bringing coffee to people in the Town Square mall. We'll also get a chance to hear the vision of "The Verve" and attend a local church in the area to see what Vegas is currently doing, etc.
The cost of the trip is $1200 per person. This includes airfare, food, lodging, transportation and a donation to the Verve. The trip dates will be Oct 15-18. I'm hoping you will come out there with me. It will be an amazing trip. We're looking at no more than 8-10 people to go. If you're interested in being a part of this experience, please comment back and we'll get you some information!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Community
I'm so proud of our Creative Arts teams. Each week they present amazing pieces that support the message of the speaker. But more than the art they create, I'm proud to be apart of a team that supports one another....a team not just in it for the sake of the task but for the relationships that can formed and created. We're about to launch a new semester of lifegroups. I'm excited about the services we're putting together for the lifegroup push. Some of the stories we're hearing from lifegroup attendees are just awesome! That leads me to some questions for you: How have Shoreline lifegroups impacted you? What's been your favorite group you've seen or been apart of? What lifegroup would you like to see that's not been created? Comment back.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Best All Time Movie Sountracks and Sound Bytes
Hey everybody...it's been a minute since I've blogged. My problem is that I want to have something really meaningful to say instead of just typing whatever. This obviously takes a little time for me - thus, the long droughts between posts. I've been "highly encouraged" to just start blogging...especially since my blog gets advertised every other week or so in the services. So here we go.
This time I could use your help. In a few weeks, we're going to start a series entitled "Be Kind Rewind". It will be a play off the movie. In the movie, they do homemade versions of famous movies. We'll be taking the following movies and pulling the biblical principals from them.
September 6:
Groundhogs Day
Biblical Principal: Make the most of every day
September 13:
O Brother Where Art Thou
Biblical Principal: Baptism / Redemption
September 20:
Princess Diaries
Biblical Principle: In the movie, the woman doesn’t live like a princess. She finds out she’s royalty and has to learn how to live that way. Eric will be talking in the message about understanding who you are in Christ and living that way. This is a perfect follow-up message to the week prior.
One of the creative elements we'll be doing each week is a medley of various soundtracks or songs from movies each week to kick off the service. In them, I'd like to create spots where the band plays instrumentally and we actually have a Video DJ mix in audio/video bytes from the most classic of lines from the movie. It would be similiar to the church "b-day medleys" we did with 6-7 songs in a medley.
So what I could use is your favorite movie soundtracks that would be doable for our band and actually one liners from movies. It doesn't necessarily event have to be a "sountrack" per say...it could be a recognizable song from the movie. Please comment back with your picks! Examples: "You Heart Will Go On" - Titanic, "Danger Zone" - Top Gun, "Power Of Love" - Back To The Future, etc.
This time I could use your help. In a few weeks, we're going to start a series entitled "Be Kind Rewind". It will be a play off the movie. In the movie, they do homemade versions of famous movies. We'll be taking the following movies and pulling the biblical principals from them.
September 6:
Groundhogs Day
Biblical Principal: Make the most of every day
September 13:
O Brother Where Art Thou
Biblical Principal: Baptism / Redemption
September 20:
Princess Diaries
Biblical Principle: In the movie, the woman doesn’t live like a princess. She finds out she’s royalty and has to learn how to live that way. Eric will be talking in the message about understanding who you are in Christ and living that way. This is a perfect follow-up message to the week prior.
One of the creative elements we'll be doing each week is a medley of various soundtracks or songs from movies each week to kick off the service. In them, I'd like to create spots where the band plays instrumentally and we actually have a Video DJ mix in audio/video bytes from the most classic of lines from the movie. It would be similiar to the church "b-day medleys" we did with 6-7 songs in a medley.
So what I could use is your favorite movie soundtracks that would be doable for our band and actually one liners from movies. It doesn't necessarily event have to be a "sountrack" per say...it could be a recognizable song from the movie. Please comment back with your picks! Examples: "You Heart Will Go On" - Titanic, "Danger Zone" - Top Gun, "Power Of Love" - Back To The Future, etc.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Rest
Here is a recent Creative Arts newsletter "spiritual nugget" I sent out to our Creative Arts teams:
It has been almost a 3 month layoff for me on sending out a monthly newsletter. To be completely honest, I’ve just been ridiculously busy. Here’s a little run-down: I transition/moved my entertainment company from my home office into an office out in Grayton Beach , moved into a new house and have been gigging every Saturday since the beginning of April not to mention playing in the band every weekend at Shoreline since Easter! Heading into the middle of summer (can you believe we’re already halfway through 2009?), I’m catching my breath and I plan on enjoying the rest of this summer season. I love this time of year! The days seem to get a bit longer. There are summer cookouts, community events, boats on the harbor, hammocks (wait, I don’t have a hammock), etc. The humidity levels are in full swing and highway 98 seems to back up more and more in both directions from Brooks Bridge to highway 331. Good times :-)
In a year where the economy and world conditions have taken our personal stress levels to an all-time high, it’s more important than ever to take time to rest, relax and rejuvenate ourselves both physically and spiritually. Mark 6:31 says, “And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ No human is capable of working endlessly like a machine.
When God rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done (Gen 2:2), He was modeling for humanity His intention for a weekly day of rest. Clearly, he did this for the sake of Adam and Eve (and for us) because God Himself does not tire or need to “rest”. I took this past weekend off from Shoreline (traveling for my entertainment company to New Orleans) and this weekend I’m taking an extended break from Friday through Monday to be with my family down in Ormond Beach, FL for the July 4th holiday. 2 weekends off in a row!! I’m excited and am definitely in need of this. I notice when I do that, I come back fresh and ready to serve and work like never before! I encourage you to do the same. Take time to enjoy your family over the summer. Time flies by so quickly and you don’t want to be looking back wishing what you “could’ve done”.
On the spiritual side, take this time to “rest in the spirit”. In the midst of all life’s troubles and worries, know that you can lean on God. When the world seems to be spinning out of control, you can rest in His love and assurance that He is in control and you DON’T have to worry. Philippians 4:13 sums it up well. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” God beckoned David to the same kind of reflective stop in the midst of chaos and turmoil. Even as “nations raged” and “kingdoms were moved”, The Lord entreated the king to “come and behold the works of the Lord,” and “be still and know that I am God.” (Ps 46:6, 8 and 10).
When the twelve disciples returned from their preaching tour (Mark 6:7, 12, 30), Jesus took them aside for a bit of rest and relaxation (Mark 6:31). Rest may seem to be the last thing we need, given the world's obsession with productivity and our culture's reputation as a “leisure society.” But God wants us to adopt His values, not the values of our culture. One thing He values is leisure. He values work as well. Work is a gift from God and is essential to our nature. Even so, work was never intended to define our identity. God does not measure our worth by our productivity. He loves us for who we are—the way He has made us to be. Rest is something God Himself does (Gen. 2:2), which means that rest is good in and of itself. In fact, God actually commanded His people Israel to rest (Ex. 20:8–11).
Have you determined how much time you actually need to spend at work? Have you carefully considered how to balance your time and energy between workplace commitments and your family? Are you perhaps working too much, not because the job demands it, but because you won't trust God to supply your needs through a reasonable amount of work? Perhaps you need to take Jesus' advice: “Come aside… and rest a while.”
It has been almost a 3 month layoff for me on sending out a monthly newsletter. To be completely honest, I’ve just been ridiculously busy. Here’s a little run-down: I transition/moved my entertainment company from my home office into an office out in Grayton Beach , moved into a new house and have been gigging every Saturday since the beginning of April not to mention playing in the band every weekend at Shoreline since Easter! Heading into the middle of summer (can you believe we’re already halfway through 2009?), I’m catching my breath and I plan on enjoying the rest of this summer season. I love this time of year! The days seem to get a bit longer. There are summer cookouts, community events, boats on the harbor, hammocks (wait, I don’t have a hammock), etc. The humidity levels are in full swing and highway 98 seems to back up more and more in both directions from Brooks Bridge to highway 331. Good times :-)
In a year where the economy and world conditions have taken our personal stress levels to an all-time high, it’s more important than ever to take time to rest, relax and rejuvenate ourselves both physically and spiritually. Mark 6:31 says, “And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ No human is capable of working endlessly like a machine.
When God rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done (Gen 2:2), He was modeling for humanity His intention for a weekly day of rest. Clearly, he did this for the sake of Adam and Eve (and for us) because God Himself does not tire or need to “rest”. I took this past weekend off from Shoreline (traveling for my entertainment company to New Orleans) and this weekend I’m taking an extended break from Friday through Monday to be with my family down in Ormond Beach, FL for the July 4th holiday. 2 weekends off in a row!! I’m excited and am definitely in need of this. I notice when I do that, I come back fresh and ready to serve and work like never before! I encourage you to do the same. Take time to enjoy your family over the summer. Time flies by so quickly and you don’t want to be looking back wishing what you “could’ve done”.
On the spiritual side, take this time to “rest in the spirit”. In the midst of all life’s troubles and worries, know that you can lean on God. When the world seems to be spinning out of control, you can rest in His love and assurance that He is in control and you DON’T have to worry. Philippians 4:13 sums it up well. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” God beckoned David to the same kind of reflective stop in the midst of chaos and turmoil. Even as “nations raged” and “kingdoms were moved”, The Lord entreated the king to “come and behold the works of the Lord,” and “be still and know that I am God.” (Ps 46:6, 8 and 10).
When the twelve disciples returned from their preaching tour (Mark 6:7, 12, 30), Jesus took them aside for a bit of rest and relaxation (Mark 6:31). Rest may seem to be the last thing we need, given the world's obsession with productivity and our culture's reputation as a “leisure society.” But God wants us to adopt His values, not the values of our culture. One thing He values is leisure. He values work as well. Work is a gift from God and is essential to our nature. Even so, work was never intended to define our identity. God does not measure our worth by our productivity. He loves us for who we are—the way He has made us to be. Rest is something God Himself does (Gen. 2:2), which means that rest is good in and of itself. In fact, God actually commanded His people Israel to rest (Ex. 20:8–11).
Have you determined how much time you actually need to spend at work? Have you carefully considered how to balance your time and energy between workplace commitments and your family? Are you perhaps working too much, not because the job demands it, but because you won't trust God to supply your needs through a reasonable amount of work? Perhaps you need to take Jesus' advice: “Come aside… and rest a while.”
Friday, June 5, 2009
Blogging Again...
My goal when I initially started this blog was to post something every week. I thought it'd be easy but I'd have to say I was severely misled. It's hard! But I'm going to try and stay at least a little more consistent.
Last winter, I went to the "Telluride MountainFilm On Tour" that was held in WaterColor. I only went one day and saw about 6-7 short films. I was truly moved by one particular short film called "Pickin and Trimmin". It was a documentary about a barbershop in North Carolina. This shop has been around forever (still is today) and is the hallmark of this particular town. In the shop, they have what they call the "back room". There, a bunch of guys (mainly seniors) play music throughout the day. Some people come to the shop just for the music...not the haircut.
I didn't used to be a fan of bluegrass music. My father was a huge fan of it and it was on non-stop in the family vehicles. I looked to eject the cassette tapes at the first available opportunity. However, as I have gotten older, I've grown to have a huge appreciation for it. The music seems so pure and it requires so many moving instrumental parts to be successful. I love that team work concept! The director of the movie recently made a return trip to the shop and took some footgage of some guys jammin. As soon as the movie is available to buy, I will be getting it for sure.
Hope you enjoy it!
Last winter, I went to the "Telluride MountainFilm On Tour" that was held in WaterColor. I only went one day and saw about 6-7 short films. I was truly moved by one particular short film called "Pickin and Trimmin". It was a documentary about a barbershop in North Carolina. This shop has been around forever (still is today) and is the hallmark of this particular town. In the shop, they have what they call the "back room". There, a bunch of guys (mainly seniors) play music throughout the day. Some people come to the shop just for the music...not the haircut.
I didn't used to be a fan of bluegrass music. My father was a huge fan of it and it was on non-stop in the family vehicles. I looked to eject the cassette tapes at the first available opportunity. However, as I have gotten older, I've grown to have a huge appreciation for it. The music seems so pure and it requires so many moving instrumental parts to be successful. I love that team work concept! The director of the movie recently made a return trip to the shop and took some footgage of some guys jammin. As soon as the movie is available to buy, I will be getting it for sure.
Hope you enjoy it!
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