Filed under: Ordinary Life | Tags: bands, concerts, entertainment, Leslie
This weekend was supposed to be amazing. It was going to be epic. I had been looking forward to it for months, ever since my beautiful wife splurged on an anniversary present by getting a VIP package to see U2 at the Rose Bowl.
The weekend began when I woke up this past Saturday with a bit of an upset stomach, but thought it was just something I ate. Didn’t feel well enough to go to a friend’s housewarming party that afternoon, so sent my wife without me. I then spent the next few hours in unexpected agony and threw up about 6 times on Saturday. No bueno. I could barely stand and laying down hurt too much, so I spent most of the day and night trying to find a comfortable sitting position.
Sunday was better, but not great. Decided to pull it together and go to the concert since my wife had saved up a lot of money towards this and there was no way we were going to miss the experience. I was managing the discomfort okay, thankful we had easy VIP parking right next to the gate and a short walk to our seats in the 5th row. Spent about half the show sitting down as the Black Eyed Peas opened the night and I thought the intense amount of low end would be the end of me, but I did okay. Glad I did, because we got to see Slash come out and join the Peas doing Sweet Child of Mine. It was an awesome moment.
When u2 came on, it was surreal. The stage was so amazing and the crowd was electric. I was starting to feel pretty good. Unfortunately, I think Leslie caught something similar to me. She wasn’t feeling great during the VIP party, but she decided to ignore it and enjoy the show. About 10:30, 90 minutes into U2’s set, I looked over and she had tears welling up from her stomach pain. I think her tears were also partly because she didn’t want to be the reason we missed out on anything that night. However, I love my wife… way more than I love U2, so we left and missed the last hour of their set. I’ll see the end of the show someday on DVD. I’ll be with my wife for the rest of my life. It was an easy decision. I guess in some ways, it was still an amazing weekend afterall.
Do you know what NKOTB stands for? Do you remember when NKOTB was cool? Remember when they were called New Kids on the Block?
I remember one girl I had a crush on in high school had a New Kids’ poster on her wall. I liked her, but I honestly thought the poster was pretty lame. It turns out, another girl I’ve had a crush on for the past few years was and is a huge New Kids’ fan. She happens to be my wife now and she’s going to see them perform at the Staples Center tonight with her friend Karla who was able to get seats in one of the box suites. I know Leslie is thrilled. She’s been wanting to go since they reunited earlier this year.
All these guys are rapidly approaching 40, but they’re still busting out the same old moves and same old beats. It makes me wonder what other pop groups we’ll see reunited some day. What group would you like to see make a comeback and go on tour for old time’s sake?
Filed under: Ordinary Life | Tags: Calvary, cars, church, communications, concerts, faith, life, marketing, money, travel, vacation, work
I’ve been dealing with money issues lately. Hasn’t everybody?
For me, it’s been this insatiable desire for stuff. We stayed at this old hotel in Reedley, CA that had all this cool, antique furniture. What got me though was the high-def TV in our room. On the drive back from the Sequoias, we stopped in at Circuit City in Bakersfield and I was seriously tempted to just buy a huge TV on the spur of the moment. Even after experiencing all of the beauty of God’s creation and spending a week getting to know some amazing people on a deeper level – all I really wanted in that moment was a great, big TV.
Then on Saturday, we met up with Leslie’s family at a classic car show in San Pedro with these amazing old cars and bikes. I left wanting to get a 1932 Model A hot rod truck, dropped and chopped with a big, exposed engine and white-wall tires. We then met up with my brother and his family at the OC Auto Show, where we also got to see a free Sugar Ray show. I left wanting about a dozen cars, but if forced to choose – I would settle for a 2009 Challenger.
On Sunday, I spent time in the afternoon looking online at new digital cameras after all the glitches we’ve been having with our old one. I could feel my lust for stuff spiraling out of control.
My money issues escalated today as I spent most of the afternoon working through budget numbers at work. The budget I’m in charge of for communications and creative arts is $100,000.00. That’s a small percentage of the church’s total budget, but it still represents the donations of thousands of people. It’s an awesome responsibility that I don’t take lightly.
The irony of it all hit me when I came home tonight to get a letter in the mail regarding our property tax that states that our home is now worth nearly $100,000.00 less than what we agreed to pay for it a mere 2 1/2 years ago.
In the midst of the current financial crisis the nation is experiencing, I can’t help but think that the root of it all is a priority crisis. I fee like I need to go on a spending fast and make sure my priorities are in the right place. I need to figure out if I really do believe that it all belongs to God. Not just the budget at work, but my own budget at home. My prayer is that I would be a good steward of whatever God decides to entrust to me and not get caught up in the constant striving for stuff.
Filed under: Extraordinary Life | Tags: Calvary, church, concerts, friends, life, work
This week I had three distinct moments that blew me away.
On Wednesday, I went over to Saddleback Church with Michael Welles to check out their new student center, dubbed The Refinery. This thing had a big Wow Factor. It’s 40,000 sq feet with 2 state-of-the-art auditoriums, indoor basketball courts, outdoor skate park, baptism area with waterfall, and 2 restaurant areas. It’s completely themed out. Every square inch is thoughtfully and creatively designed to communicate part of their larger vision.
The kicker – it cost around $20 million dollars. I think that as long as real life transformation is occuring and this place acts as a catalyst for growth in student’s lives, then it’s a good thing right? Is it excess spent at entertaining ourselves and blessing the already blessed? Or, is it creativity, excellence and relevance that speaks the truth and love of God above the rest of the competing noise in our OC culture? Is this an essential way to reach these students, who almost in spite of their prosperity, so desperately need the simple message that Jesus came to offer?
Then on Thursday, we got to go as a Calvary staff for a day away to a little demo park they’ve set up on the old El Toro Marine Base. Someday, this will be the site of the Great Park. For now, it’s a little patch of grass and trees next to a stinky mulch pile with a stage set up for weekend concerts. We loaded up onto two sweet, Woodie-style tour buses that a couple from Calvary operate (Brooke and her husband Tom).
The Wow Factor came from the giant orange balloon that takes you 400 feet up in the air. We used this as an opportunity to think about how we’re reaching Orange County as a church and to pray for our community and our nation on 9/11. On a side note – I had two revelations that day – we have an amazing staff and I’m pretty good at boccie ball.
Finally, Leslie and I got to go out last night with my brother and his wife to see Augustana, The Counting Crows and Maroon 5 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (aka Irvine Meadows).
The real Wow Factor moment came when The Counting Crows asked Augustana back ot the stage to join them for a mid-concert encore before Maroon 5 came out. It was a giant jam band that sounded so good together. At one point, during Rain King, I had chills running up my arms. It was such a cool moment of the night. After that, Maroon 5 had a really hard time keeping the crowd engaged as they kept referring to being “back in Los Angeles,” which is an obvious gaff when you’re in the middle of Orange County. They just seemed a little lame compared to the genuinely amazing moments that Adam Duritz created on stage. From now on, when someone asks me “who is your favorite band?” – I’m including the Counting Crows.
What people, places or events in your life have wowed you lately? What things have made the ordinary into something extraordinary?
Filed under: Ordinary Life | Tags: Calvary, church, concerts, entertainment, ministry, music
We are going to have an amazing concert at Calvary this Sunday night. Tyrone Wells, Trevor Davis and Erika Soto will be performing. And it’s only $10. It’s called Concert for a Cause – in support of Project Hangout, a local outreach organization. It’s on the patio, so if you can make it plan on bringing a beach chair and a picnic dinner. You can find out more at www.calvarylife.org/concert
I normally love concerts. I’ll go see almost anyone in concert. I like the whole experience of getting the tickets, filing in with the crowd, seeing all the staging, checking out the lighting, listening to the sound. From rock to country to classical, I like going to a live concert. However, last night my wife and sister-in-law went to a concert and I had absolutely no interest in going with them. It was a George Michael concert. My sister-in-law Shelley is a huge fan. She got tickets to both the Forum show last night and invited my wife Leslie to join her, she also got tickets to the Honda Center show tonight and is taking my brother Tyson along.
Are there any concerts – that even if you were given free tickets to – you would completely pass on? It’s interesting how one person’s passionate pursuit can be another person’s avoid-at-all-cost experience. I wonder if it’s like that for many churched vs non-churched people. Do we think about how great church is for us, how much we look forward to it, will invite friends and family to go with us, and will even go twice in one week? Do we assume everyone else has the same love we do? Obviously the message of Jesus Christ is entirely different than the music of George Michael, but the only reason Leslie went to the concert was because of how big a fan Shelley was. Are we big enough fans of church? Even to the point where our enthusiasm draws others to join in, too?
The Foo Fighters concert last night was good.
I loved the use of a large main stage and then a “surprise” secondary round stage that lowered from the ceiling with drums, keys, mics, etc already loaded on it at an about an hour into the show.
This was a much smaller stage in the middle of the crowd for a stripped down acoustic set with guest violinist Jessy Greene. Out of the 2 1/2 hours, the moments created from this more intimate stage were the best. The band eventually drifted back up the 70′ catwalk, leaving Grohl alone for a powerful, acoustic version of Everlong, before he sprinted back up for a gigantic finish.
The main stage had four moveable LED video screens with a draped fabric color changing back cyc. The main stage actually got kind of tiring because it felt like the lights were constantly in my eyes. The band looked cool with the low-angle back lights, but after a while I got tired of squinting at the stage.
There is a real power in these production choices. How do you get a crowd of thousand to connect to the same moments and stay fully engaged for such a long time. I’ve seen better than last night, but I’ve never heard a crowd that was louder. So, I guess for most, these design choices mixed with Grohl’s charisma really worked as the crowd was amped up to a full roar for most of the set.
It was also great to have a five song encore. It’s completely expected for bands today to do the obligatory encore, but to extend the night to almost 12:30 am and do one show-stopper after the next was extra ordinary.
What was the last good concert you went to? Were there any creative production elements that added to the show in a big way?
My beautiful wife and I just got home from seeing U2 3D. It was fantastically engaging and very well done. From the opening shots that build the excitement and anticipation of what’s to come all the way to the acoustic encore song that plays through the closing credits – it’s a really amazing experience. There were several points where I spontaneously reacted out loud to what was going on and a couple times that gave me goose bumps. The music was great and the visuals were even better. I’ve never seen 3D used that way. It was almost better than the real thing with the combination of impossible to ever experience in person kind of shots along with trippy layering in space of video overlays and graphic elements. If you can find the time, you should really go see this while it’s still showing on an IMAX screen. In fact, I may try to go see it again.
What really had me thinking as I walked out of the theater was how toward the middle of the concert, as they begin playing Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bono puts a white headband on his forehead. The headband and the giant LED wall behind the band says “COEXIST” with the Muslim symbol representing the “C” the Jewish star as the “X” and the Christian cross as the “T.” And as the camera closes in on Bono, he points (ironically at the wrong symbols, since he’s pointing left to right and the phrase he says is right to left) to each of the religious symbols and says, “Jesus, Jew, Muhammad, it’s true…All sons of Abraham. Father Abraham, speak to your sons. Tell them, No more violence, no more fighting, no more bombs, and then leads the crowd in a chant of No More! No More!”
Yes, we should never let our beliefs turn us towards hate or violence for those who don’t share the same beliefs. But, those beliefs do matter and they can’t possibly all be true. Or, is he just saying that the reality of each faith’s common roots are what’s true? Can we recognize, accept and even embrace the truth of our commonalities without abandoning our convictions about the TRUTH? How do we express the truths that God has given us without offending or alienating or disrespecting those who need the truth so desperately? I pray that we are able to find ways to reach a lost world with the wonderful grace and love and even truth that only Jesus can offer.
