What do you miss about Canada?

Every once in a while someone will ask me “Is there anything you miss about Canada?”.

Sure – mostly friends and family.

But I also miss snow. NOT the cold, just the snow. I’ve got a ton of great memories growing up as a kid sledding, skiing and snowmobiling.

And doing donuts with the car in empty parking lots. (Note for Southerners: For front-wheel drive cars, you need to do donuts in reverse…)

So yeah, I’d love to have one week a year playing in some really serious snow. And then, of course, back to the South…

The folks in the following pics, however, probably have different opinions. A buddy of my Dad sent these to him, and he passed them along…

 

I don’t know who these next people are, but this is just plain funny….

Suddenly the 45 degrees outside seems incredibly lovely…

The Artist’s Way Group

Hey Fun Seekers, have I got a challenge for you…

There’s a book by Julia Cameron called The Artist’s Way.

Some of you may have heard of, although most of you haven’t – but it has sold over 2,000,000 copies. So it’s got some serious legs to stand on…

The tag is “A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self“

And it’s available at your local bookstore or online.

I heard about this book last year from Eddie Kirkland, Mike Bielenberg and Danny Grady – all of whom read the book, did the book’s exercises, and couldn’t stop raving about how it had changed their creative lives.

And I was so excited about it from what they were telling me, that we decided o tackle it as a Music Department Staff. The 5 of us dove into it, in hopes that it might prove to be something to do as a large group with our body of musicians.

Sure enough, it was.

And after just one simple email invitation, 40 of our musicians (instrumentalists, singers, Worship Leaders, songwriters, etc.) told us they wanted to be a part.

40.

And not 40 wannabe’s or hackers or 2nd or 3rd-tier people trying to butter us up for more gigs – I’m talking about the core of our musicians, singers and Worship Leaders. And at 2:00 on a Wednesday afternoon!

So we’ve divided up into 4 groups of 10 (far more manageable, especially since not everyone can make it every single week) and will meet for 14 weeks. The book takes 12 weeks to do, along with an introductory meeting and a summary meeting.

Now here’s the disclaimer: The book is NOT written by a Christian, but there is constant reference to The Creator and, and a Christian, it is extremely easy to view the book and its contents through the lens of the Gospel. You’ve just got to know that going in.

If anything, we who have done it would all say that it has in fact strengthened our relationship with God, especially after seeing His creativity is us, His creations.

On page 3, the author lists 10 basic principles. Three of my favorite are:

#3 – When we open ourselves to creativity, we open ourselves to the Creator’s creativity within us and our lives.

#4 – We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.

#5 – Creativity is (one of) God’s gift(s) to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.

So here’s my challenge to you: Read and do The Artist’s Way with us over the next 12 weeks, wherever you happen to be. While you might not be a part of our meeting, your thoughts, insights and personal stories are welcome, and I’d love to share them with our group (with you permission).

Whether your creative outlet – whatever that might be – has been bruised in the past, or you’ve had a creative dream that you’ve always been afraid of pursuing, this book is for you.

If you feel you’re not creative – well, you’re wrong. Everyone is in some way, and this may be the key to unlock some serious self discovery.

And creativity is not just music. It’s art, sculpture, photography, graphics, writing, stories, novels, poems, scripts, plays, film, teaching, parenting, marketing, stage design, lighting, etc. Even creating routines for Kick Boxing class…

And you’re not too old, either. Or too busy.

And all those other excuses you came up with while reading this? Nope, no good. Sorry…

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Oh, and as an added bonus, here’s the letter that Eddie sent out to our folks, just to get you inspired…

I wanted to invite you to be part of a weekly group we’re about to start on January 28th. We’ll be going through a book/program called the Artist’s Way, which is an amazing 12 week experience that discusses and encourages creativity and writing.
About a year and a half ago, I picked up this book for the first time, and I talked to many of you about it as I walked through the process. It drastically changed my relationship with God, challenged some very deeply held beliefs I had about myself and my writing, and inspired me to begin writing as a way of expressing the creativity that God had placed inside of me. The whole music staff as well as some of the musicians that play here at North Point have already been through this book and have experienced a similar journey, so we really wanted to open it up to you as an opportunity for us to walk through it together as a group. (Talk to Reid, Karyn, Todd, Jared, Mike Bielenberg, or Danny Grady if you want a second opinion)
Basically, the group will meet once a week for 2 hours, and you should know up front that it will involve a pretty good commitment of time over the 3 months. There are readings for each week, as well as homework to do each day, which sounds like a lot, but please trust me… you will get out exponentially more than you put into this process. I really believe that we will walk away from this experience with a much greater understanding of why God has given us all creativity (even people who have never written or created anything before!), and how we can relate to Him through our expressions of that creativity in us.
For those of you that tuned me out because you don’t see yourself as a “writer”: This is totally for you, as well. This group is not, in any way, a “songwriting workshop.” We won’t be bringing our guitars and showcasing music. You won’t have to sing in front of judges while they critique your work. In fact, through the process, you may find a passion for one of a thousand different creative expressions other than music. It’s not just about writing songs (the book is actually written by a novelist/playwright) so please don’t shy away from it. I think you will get a ton out of the experience if you give it a shot.
And please, please, PLEASE don’t think that you need to be a part of this group to be considered a “good musician” and if you don’t join we will never call you again. That’s a lie… so don’t even begin to believe it! This is completely optional and fun, we just wanted to see if anybody would be interested in trying it out together. I know you are all extremely busy people, and this may not fit well in your life right now, we would just love to have you there because we love getting to see you. Period, no strings attached.
Thanks for reading this long email, hope I didn’t totally bore you. Our first meeting will be Wednesday, January 28th from 2pm to 4pm. If you are interested in being a part of the group, please let me know via email before January 19th, so that we can order the right number of books. Looking forward to it, and I hope you can be a part!

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If you do the book, either alone or with a group of your own, let me know! I’d be really cool to take this journey together.

LOST Podcast

ABC’s “LOST” is back on.

YEAH!!!!!

I love that show. Love it, love it, love it!

And one of the big reasons I’ve come to love it so much is because of the community that the mystery of the show creates. Whether talking about it at work or with friends, it’s created a cool community.

One of the coolest communities I’ve found is through the Jay & Jack LOST Podcast.

They’re pretty funny, and great for those long commutes – kinda like hanging out with a couple of your weird friends in your car. Jay’s a recent college grad and Jack is his step-dad, and that alone makes for an interesting scenario!

If you’re into LOST, then check them out. Subscribe via iTunes HERE, or check out their Web site…

There you go. Enjoy!

Sunday Summary – Music: January 25, 2009

Hold On Loosely…

It’s probably happened to most of us at some point. Something we had planned for a while, or had worked really hard on, or were at least really looking forward to got yanked at the last minute.

When I first started working at North Point over 5 years ago, I had something I had worked real hard on get pulled at the last minute. It was probably some music for a title package or programming for a song, or at least something I had put time, effort and care into. Needless to say, I was frustrated. REALLY frustrated.

My boss at the time, Bill DeLoach, calmed me down and let me know something real important about “Creative Survival”. He talked about how, even though the Service programming we do is a big ship, we still need to be able to turn on a dime. That means being flexible and seeing the big picture, right up to the last moment. He taught me about having thick skin and an open mind to critique and other’s opinions. And that there will often be times when we have to give up our work for the better good.

Is that tough to do for a creative person? You betcha.

But here’s what I’ve learned, and continue to learn, day after day, project after project, service after service… Having thick skin is NOT to be calloused and jaded, but rather to understand that an other’s opinion of your work relates to how appropriate your creation is to their overall vision. Their opinion of your work is NOT their opinion of your personality or of you as a person.

It’s tough though, isn’t it, to separate who you are and what you create?

Just look at it this way – people who write bad songs can still be great spouses and parents. And people who write great songs can be horrible spouses and parents.

The greatest band director I ever had was the (Grammy nominated) Jeff Kirk, who directed the Jazz Stage Band and Jazz Combo 1 at Belmont University, both of which I had the privilege of being in for 3 of my 4 years at Belmont. (Man, there’s nothing more inspiring than being the worst member of an incredible band to get you to the practice room!!)

At the beginning of each semester, Jeff would tell the group that when (yeah, not if – when…) you played something wrong or bad, that he would call you on it. And when he did, that it was not a slam on your character or personality, or his dislike of you as a person, but rather a poor choice of notes on your part, and to choose better next time. But if you kept playing those poor choices over and over, then we’d have to talk privately about your character and personality…

And what about an open mind to critique and opinion? Well, first off, an open mind usually means having a closed mouth. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about… It’s having a filter on all the stuff that runs through your head…

Then it means listening. Listening to why that creation of yours isn’t right or the project, or why that song needs to be cut. Perhaps you just didn’t interpret their request properly, or (worse yet) spend too much time investing in something without demoing a rough cut to see if it’s headed in the right direction. Perhaps you need to take a bigger look at a service as a whole, and realize that after revisiting the plan, some things simply don’t fit.

And then, after time, you learn to anticipate what works and what doesn’t.

- How much time and effort is appropriate on a creative project before a trusted opinion is needed to see if it’s heading in the right direction?

- Who offers valued, useful critique that you can build on versus who is naive on the subject? No offense to parents, spouses or co-workers in another Division, but who is knowledgeable enough to tell you if something is actually good or not?

- “See if this is working” goes a long way compared to “I’m done – here you go…”

- Anticipate the level of quality expected. Someone worth their weight will not accept sub-level creative work from you. When you keep refining and reach a level they’re happy with, you’ll know what to deliver first the next time…

These apply whether you’re playing an instrument, singing a song, composing a score, writing a script, acting in a play, painting a picture, or pretty much anything!

Except your taxes. You want to do those right the first time. Trust me, I know from experience….

(OK, long story short, one year my wife and I had 19 different 1099’s and I didn’t know anything about Schedule C or Form SC at the time when I filed. And yes, it is scary when the IRS contacts you.)

So there you go.

Go forth, create with all your heart and soul, but hold on loosely….

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Anyhoo…..

I dove into all that to set up what we did – and didn’t do – this past Sunday.

The plan was to have Andy at Browns Bridge and we at North Point would get the buffered feed. Meaning we had time to do more content at the top of the service.

But we already had an opener, announcements, 2 worship songs and baptism planned – so it was full!

And the opener was a doozy, at least for the electric guitars. One they had to wood shed for hours. Literally hours! Steve Thomason told me he stayed home to practice while his family went to Longhorn Steakhouse and he missed out on a “Flo’s Fillet”. Trust me – for Steve, that’s sacrifice!

But mid-day Wednesday, we got word that Andy wanted to be live at North Point on Sunday to share his Presidential Inauguration experiences, specifically his involvement with the Inaugural Prayer Service. Once we found that out, we all pushed for the video of the prayer to be shown, and he agreed, which was cool.

BUT!!!! That meant something had to go. And in the big picture of things, it was the opener that got the axe.

So you can imagine me texting all the East band guys (especially the guitarists) 2 hours before rehearsal and telling them that the opener got cut.

Were they bummed? Oh yeah. Big time.

But, in the long run, it was obviously the right thing to do.

Oh, and here’s the kicker: The opener was moved to this upcoming week, with a whole different set of musicians having to learn it!

Hah!!

Different singers, different band, you name it. Everyone except the bass player. I just think that’s kinda funny….

And no – I’m not going to tell you what it is. You’ll just have to wait and see…

WORSHIP:

Let God Arise

This is a new(er) Tomlin tune, and we were able to rock it, big time. Actually turned out really good!!

Hands of the Healer

OK, thar she blows…

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East Band – Eddie Kirkland, Steve Thomason, Ben Snider, Earl South, Scott Meeder, John Carrozza, Jennifer Young

West Band – Ryan Stuart, Brad Long, Danny Howes, Wayne Viar, Richard Meeder, Mike Bielenberg, Rebecca Iraheta

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Andy Prays for the President

Just in case you missed it…

Our pastor, Andy Stanley, was asked to pray for our new President at the Inaugural Prayer Service.

Here’s the prayer as it looked in the Service Program:

And here are a couple videos of the prayer from two different camera angles:

Very cool.