via rss reader
via emailThe Start Of Something Great
March 28th, 2009
As we roll out the new pastors’ blogs, I’m seeing something of a dream come true for the pastors: We want to know you, and we want you to know us. Now, I prefer to do this sort of thing at Starbuck’s, but since $3600 worth of Mocha Lattes is not in my budget, how about I jump in and (re)introduce myself to you?
the short version
I grew up in Moultonborough, NH until going to college at UNH, where I studied communication and music. That’s also where I met Kelly, my future wife. We were married in 1993 and we have 5 fantastic kids together (I can honestly say I cherish her more now than ever).
My relationship with Jesus started in college after a very unique summer of reading my brother’s old bible for 8 to 12 hours a day. I had professed faith at 6 years old, but it was this intense time in the Word that convinced me of the truth of the gospel and the certainty that Jesus was my only hope.
I started attending DEC in 1989 and soon started serving in the worship ministry. It was here at DEC that I learned to serve and to grow and to love the Body of Christ. Eventually, I was brought on staff as DEC’s Worship Pastor in July of 2000.
That’s it in a nutshell. Now I wish I could lean back and sip my latte while YOU chat for a while.
so talk to me
If you have a topic you’d like to see discussed in my blog, let me know! I’d love to hear from students, grandfathers and single moms; longtime affiliates of DEC and those who are struggling to fit in. Everyone! If you’ve got a minute, leave a comment and let me know.
Maybe in between sips we can strike up a good conversation…
Jean-Paul said:
So cool so cool - now I get to read the musings of those I look to for spirirtual guidance and inspiration. First posts - have read them all and looking forward to “hearing”, reading more.
Topics huh? Just one that gets me all the time - connected with Tom’s post in a big way…so here it is…can’t seem to push the “stuff” out of my brain long enough to “be still” - try as I may, layng in bed, on my knees, reading the word - always seems to be something that creeps in (frustrating the snot out of me) and there I sit feeling like I have totally failed my God. Yeah, I know He needs nothing from me, nor do I have anything of any value for Him, but just because He asked Be Still and know that I am God, I want to be able to respond in kind - make sense. Do I spend more time, I’d love to spend 8 to 12 hours a day in scripture, but then my family would be on the street in short order - do I do some sort of warm-up.. feel pretty lost on this one..
What do you think?
KenL said:
“Off the record” … I love it! Great name!
I just waded into someone else’s blog about why she wears a dress to church and can’t stand all of those casual churches that don’t care about being respectful toward the Creator and Savior.
I’m hoping not to have started a war. (I didn’t use the word “Pharisee” or the phrase “whitewashed tombs,” by the way.)
It might be good to describe the other side of that question, why we are open to people who don’t know the rules of church before they walk in the door.
It might be great to see some of what the Worship Team has been discussing, too. The hows and whys and whatnot of worship. (If that sentence doesn’t have a higher “w” concentration than just about any I’ve ever written, I’d be very surprised.)
Chris said:
Thanks JP & Ken - those are both great ideas! Excellent use of w’s, Ken. I’m proud of you.
KenL said:
The W’s were really underrated … sadly, their album “Fourth From the Last” turned out to be second from the last.
Oh, wait, that’s not what you meant …
katie brouse said:
Love it! Informational, insightful, entertaining… I didn’t think I’d have the time/interest to read blogs, but I was surprised.
As a sidenote, I think Ken L should start his own blog. You crack me up, Ken!
katie brouse said:
Uh…scratch that sidenote about Ken. I just continued reading and see that he does, indeed, have a blog. Guess I’ll need to figure out RSS feeds.
Tim Golden said:
thanks for the into… though i’d love to sit @starbucks with ya and down a few it’s not in my budget either.. though since taking Finical Peace University @durhame I guess i could put into next months budget… like you I’m glad to see the pastor blogs come to life!! what a great way for us to look under the hood and see the engine that drives dec..soooo many topics to choose from hard to just narrow down to a few.. how about your thoughts on “worshiping with out music” and what does that look like.. I’ve always been interested in learning how to better worship god and since i cant carry a note it’d be great to learn more about how i can truly worship god in other tangible ways…nothing like starting you off with a deep topic
Chris said:
@Katie - thanks for stopping by! And I agree - Ken can be one of the funniest guys I know. And sometimes he does it on purpose!
He’s also a pretty deep guy.
@ Tim - That’s a great idea. Actually, you’ll see it woven into a lot of my posts. I’m going to share more next week about how I think we need to refine our understanding of worship. But I agree that the “worshiping without music” topic could lead to some great conversation! Thanks Tim!