11% Day

It has been said that we humans are using less than 10% of our brains. I was never much of a science-person so I have no idea how such a figure is even quantified… whatever.

Stay with me…

When I have a day off, I like to spend the morning by myself; I make a pot of coffee (yes, a whole pot), listen to some odd ball music, and read. Sometimes its the bible, other times it’s something that just stretches my thinking… it’s my version of ‘sabbath‘.

What I realized recently is on that days like this, I find new levels of clarity… new levels of creativity… it’s like I blew right past the 10% mark and am actually using upwards of 11% of my brain and it FEELS AMAZING!

Why is that?

It’s as if we can get so bogged down in all of the routines, the rigamarole, the requests, the highs and the lows of any given day –> week –> month, that our brains just become numb to anything outside of what directly in front of us.

I’m not okay with this.

We have to be able to hit the pause button. I’m convinced that prolonged exposure to the race that is our lives can be paralyzing.

Do you feel stuck? Like you haven’t had on original thought in months? When was the last time that you had a few hours to just relax? A day when you didn’t have people taxing every waking moment? Some time to just connect with God without a list of tasks involved?

I’m no prophet, but I can tell you that without a good rest every now and then, you will burn out… or spin out of control. Your effectiveness to “do ministry” will come to an end… and sadly, you’ll act like you never saw it coming.

We need boundaries. You have to be able to unapologetically guard some time to re-charge. Having a sabbath made the top ten in God’s rules… just sayin’.

- Sent from my brain on an 11% day.

Confessions of a Church Video Director – The Dumbest Thing I ever Said

Today I uttered what may have been the dumbest words I have ever strung together:

I wish I had time to pray.

What?

This morning, I had time to:

• Shower and get ready for work.
• Make (and wait for) coffee.
• Stop by the bank on the way to the office.
• Set-up and light the studio for a couple of video shoots.

While I was setting up lights, I read a tweet from a co-worker who was at our weekly staff prayer time. He was really glad to be there.

And then it happened.

I said, out loud: “I wish I had time to pray.”

As soon as I said it, I thought about slapping myself.

I confess to over-scheduling my days. I confess to finding a thousand other things to do before I look for the slightest margin to seek the One I claim to do these things for. I confess to allowing myself to feel overwhelmed.

Lord, forgive me for thinking that anything on my schedule is more important than time with you.

How is your prayer time?

Sharing Your Stage

A few years ago while I was still working in the freelance video world, I had an opportunity to work on a show with the amazing Gregory Hines. While I’d love to regale you with the part of this story where I got to hang out backstage and talk about life and fatherhood with him (coughNAMEDROPPERcough), there really is a point to this.

He was an incredible performer; one of the best I’ve ever seen. You see, most of the content of his stage show was a showcase of his amazing tap-dancing ability. (If you have no idea what I’m writing about, click HERE) About 2/3 of the way through his show, he made an announcement that anyone who brought their tap shoes should line up by the stage and wait their turn. I remember thinking, “Come on; who in their right mind would bring their tap shoes to a Gregory Hines show?” You might be as surprised as I was to find out that about 30 people had done just that. I learned that this was a common practice for Mr. Hines… nearly every time he did a live show, he would allow anyone with enough courage to try it an opportunity to share his stage.

One by one, he welcomed every person in line to center stage, stood to the side, and said the same thing:

“Show me what you got”

Easily adding another 30 minutes or more to his show, he gave each person their own moment. Some showed great skill, others stumbled through… Mr. Hines watched each one with the same level of interest, and when they finished he applauded their effort with great enthusiasm.

As I ponder that experience, I’m convicted about how often I tend to be critical rather than encouraging towards those who haven’t learned or experienced all that I have… times that I default to feeling threatened by some one who may show me up in my chosen field rather than being excited about the gifts and talent of a young person who is finding their passion… moments when I have shrugged my shoulders and walked away when I could should have offered an a vote of confidence.

I want to be better. I want to be a teacher… an encourager.

Just one of those moments when I realize again that He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30 ESV)

Thanks for reading this.

What ever happened to music videos?

OK… I grew up in the 80s… which means that when your favorite band came out with a new “album” (literally on vinyl, or cassette tape), it wasn’t official until you saw the accompanying video for the title song. Any talk of music had to include the question, “Yeah, but did you see the video?”. Apparently that era has passed. Done. Old School. This makes me sad.

To me, a good music video can make a mediocre song tolerable, and a great song all the better. I stumbled across this recently and it lit me up like a Christmas tree! Forget what you might automatically think about Hanson, this is a great video:

(Go watch it in HD and blow it up to full screen; the casting of the extras was so good too… I love the energy in the big street dance portion!)

I love the premise; a hearkening back to a great scene from the original Blues Brothers. Great visuals, great editing, and it makes me want to listen to a song that I might have written off as something from an old band trying to get back in to the mainstream, but I love it!

Dang it… now I want to shoot a music video. =/

Charleston Blizzard 2010

Everyone down here in the Low Country of South Carolina is freaking out tonight; it’s been snowing for a few hours! No big deal to many, but to us, it’s pretty cool!

 

Making Time

“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” -Harvey MacKay

I recently had about an hour to kill while I waited for my daughter to finish her shift where she works. I had no wi-fi, so messing around on the laptop was out, so I pulled out my new 2010 calendar and a notebook and used the time to think about the coming year. I made sure that my date book had all of my standing meetings, important family dates, and holidays all noted.

Then I started thinking about some of the sermon series that we have coming up at Seacoast and jotted down a few ideas that I will come back to at some point, even if just for a jump-start to other ideas. I grabbed my bible and looked up a couple of verses that came to mind as I pondered some themes and jotted them down as well.

What is going on?

This doesn’t ever happen… Me, just sitting, thinking, dreaming. But, I can’t tell you how amazing it felt! I’ve heard about people doing this, but it always seems to be the uber-cool people like Carlos Whittaker and Anne Jackson… not me. Yet, there I was.

I learned how valuable time like that is. Can I do it all the time? Probably not… but I’d like to have a goal of making time each month when I can get away from all that is ‘normal’ so I can think, organize, and dream… even if only for an hour.

Do you make this kind of time for yourself?

First-time flyer?

Over the last 10 years or so, I have had to do a lot of flying… not as much as some, but well more than others. When it comes to airport security, I know the drill: get in line, have your boarding pass and ID ready… take off your shoes, no liquids, gels or aerosols in your bags, laptops & camcorders must be removed from your bag for inspection… it can be a little unnerving! And while I’m quite familiar with all of this, it never ceases to amaze me that every time I fly there is someone near me in line that seems to have no idea how this process works. They’re not prepared, can’t seem to find their driver’s license, and are ready to walk though the metal detector wearing their shoes! Don’t they know how much they’re slowing down the process? The rest of us have places to go, coffee to buy and gates to wait at!

You know I have to spin this…

Over the past 25 years or so, I’ve been going to church a lot. Not as much as others, but well more than enough. When it comes to church time, I know the drill. Get up, get ready, get the kids ready, get everyone in the car, get through traffic, get the car parked, get the kids signed-in, get greeted for the third time, get your bulletin… sing along and have your bibles out. And while I’m quite familiar with all of this, it never ceases to amaze me that every once in a while, we get someone at church that has no idea how this process works. They don’t know where to park, they don’t know how to get their kids checked in… they don’t know the words to any of our songs. Don’t they know how much they’re messing up our routine? The rest of us have to fill in all of the blanks on our sermon hand-out and get to lunch before the Methodists get there!

When was the last time you helped a first time flyer?

The Fun Theory

Maybe I’m jumping the gun by not putting a great deal of thought into this post… or maybe that’s exactly what I should do in this case!

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you are likely someone engaged in creative or technical work at a church… With that in mind, we all know how much work goes into any given week… and that there’s usually still stuff that carries into the next week! Well, my friend Neil Greathouse did a great post recently about making sure that you have fun as a staff; I couldn’t agree more! Funny thing is how intentional we have to be at times just to schedule time for fun.

I truly believe that we can get to know each other very well while we’re in the trenches, making the stuff happen. But I also believe that when we goof-off a little, clown around some, and occasionally laugh until we cry, that we learn to really enjoy each other. These are the bonds that show each other our true strengths, and weaknesses. These are the bonds that make problems easy to solve. These are the bonds become worth fighting for. The “fun” can make the “work” worth doing.

Are you having fun?

Screens and noises

This is a post where I’m calling myself out… and maybe there’s a reader or two that can relate as well.

So much of what I do, professionally and personally, involves screens and noises. At work, I’m either shooting or editing video, various screens and noises required… at home, I love to watch movies and various shows with my family, usually with my laptop open, watching my twitter and facebook feeds, all in the name of staying connected. Even when I’m out and about I get a steady stream of texts and tweets on my phone to the point that if several minutes go by without one, I get a little antsy.

I met a friend for coffee a couple of nights ago. Oddly enough, this is a friend that I met via a connection made through twitter… and while our friendship began behind avatars and direct messages, I now count him as one of my closest friends. Regardless of the ease of engaging (or avoiding) people electronically, there is nothing that can ever replace the real connection that can only come when we interact face to face.

Here’s my problem: I’m not making enough time for these connections… maybe I should say that I’m not leaving room for these connections. When my wife asks me if I’d like to run to the store with her, I need to recognize that it’s not that she needs help picking up everything that she has a coupon for… it’s about time together. Time with no TV on, time with no phones chirping, time to just be “us”, even if it is in the grocery store.

Remedy: Take time to unplug. Obviously, I need to make a living so there will always be a good chunk of my day tied up with my electronics… but beyond that, I need to use my time wisely to really connect with people who mean so much to me.

Bottom line: Never use screens and noises to replace faces and voices.

Dead Beautiful

In the summer of 2006 I was privileged to visit Prague, Czech Republic. I was able to spend one entire day walking those amazing streets. I lost track of how many pictures I took; it was an incredible day. One of the highlights was a visit to what would be considered to be the National Cathedral of the Czech Republic. I was blown away by the intricate architecture as we stood in line outside… more detail than any other building exterior I had ever seen.

Upon reaching the door, I was charged an entrance fee… I don’t even remember how much it was because I had already stopped blinking and my jaw had dropped open… the interior was even more beautiful than the outside was, and I was only in the foyer. I walked slowly to the main hall, taking in every sight… after a quick left turn I was looking into one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Every thing was beautiful… every brick, every tile, every window, every light fixture…. simply beautiful. I didn’t take a single picture that would accurately depict what a beautiful place this is.

After wandering around for a while, I asked one of the locals what kind of services they hold in such a place… “None”, he said. “None?”, I asked… “Nope”, he answered. “Christmas, Easter, anything?” I continued… “No, they don’t hold any services here” he answered. My awe of the beauty of this place was met with immeasurable sadness.

I have no idea who the people were who started the construction of this great cathedral in the 13th. century… I can’t even imagine how many hours of preparation took place, how much money had to be raised, how many months or years of construction… but I could see in every detail how much passion went in to this House of God. It was so obvious that these people had a heart and a reverence for God, and that this church would stand for many years as a place where people could connect with God… and yet, here we were, hundreds of years after it’s construction was started… tourists in this place. This once proud church now stands as a mere monument to something that once was. Dead. Beautiful. My heart broke.

How close are some of our churches in America to being tourist attractions? How many places that were built or converted to be places where broken people can connect with God are in danger of becoming somthing else? We need leaders who will not bow to any status quo, who will follow the voice of Christ where ever he leads, and who will challenge God’s people to never settle for anything less than the Gospel.

Lord, God… make me that kind of leader.