Sleepy………………………

I have found a new space in my heart for love. My daughter Breanne Melody Clark is here @ 7lbs. 3ozs. 19.5 inches long, as beautiful as love itself and healthy. She was born @ 10:10am May 1st, ON HER DUE DATE!!! Amazing. Ashley is doing very well, no problems at all. God is so faithful! Faithful! Faithful! We should be released tomorrow, and we can’t wait. Sleepy…………………………… yes………. It’s amazing, this feeling I have for my daughter. I really can’t put her down, I hear her cries when the room is silent and I feel her skin against my hands when I’m just sitting alone. To feel this kind of love for someone other than my wife is new to me, and I’ve already discussed this with Ashley, how we can “love her together” and grow as a family as opposed to both loving her separately and possibly leaving room for division. We look forward to God using this to grow Ashley’s and my relationship closer together and closer to God. We thank everyone for their prayers and support, and our family for their love. I don’t know how soon I will be back on to update again, after sleep………………………….., but I will, so be patient with me. God bless you all.

Sorry it’s been so long…

I really am trying to blog a couple times every week. Last week though……………whew……..glad it’s over. I had a good amount of stuff going on last week and literally had no time for blogging, I wasn’t even able to get all my media and graphic stuff done. However, we have an awesome, unique stage now. We ripped the roof off of our stage and painted what remained underneath black, and we relocated our lights to fit in the new available spaces. It looks sharp. Our justification for all this effort is to be excellent in all that we do. Spending the time to make the stage look great is not too small to be worship. Fortunately, all areas of ministry were covered and it was a victorious week at CFAN, however it was tight and will probably take some extra planning next time we do a big project like that again. John and Emily have officially taken over the music and music-leading side of the Refuge on Wednesdays, and they are doing great. So, keep a look out for a new blog come Thursday or so.  Have an intentional week.

Sunday, Monday, Happy da……..Friday, spend night at hospital day…

Friday night Ashley’s (my wife) contractions were at 5 minutes apart and 60+ seconds long for about an hour and a half, and we were so caught off guard that it took the extra half an hour for us to realize we needed to head for the hospital. So at midnight we called the doc and headed out. When we got to the hospital they put Ashley and I in a monitoring room and hooked Her up to a contraction monitor. For about 2 and a half hours they watched her and the baby. Her contractions were anywhere from 2 minutes to five minutes apart but unfortunately she was not dilating so they sent us home (On the up side, I got 2.5 hours of uninterrupted Man Vs. Wild). It was hard coming home after that, ’cause we were ready for our little girl to be here. Ashley’s contractions have still been going on since Friday night, but not with such consistency. Anytime now we are expecting our little girl. We welcome all of your prayers as we enter this new stage of our lives.

Practice thoughts

We had some sick people last night (including pastor michael) who weren’t able to make it to practice, so we were down in numbers, but I gotta say, we rocked out anyways!! Amanda and Marsha are great singers and I think last night they really shined. I’m excited to have them lead more. And from the back of the pack, here comes Kevin leading Friend of God, and He did a great job vocally and acoustically. I’m excited to see His debut on Saturday for the men’s boot camp (be there!!), and on Sunday for both services. Adam (our sound guy) is really doing a great job, both on live sound and in the recordings. If you don’t already get our worship sets on CD then let me inform you that they are available on the back resource table, I can’t remember if they are 5$ or free. Just check with Scott Curington. Well, that’s all for now, do not miss Sunday. We love to see all of you guys come out to worship and learn with us. And don’t neglect your own spiritual training and learning throughout the week. Sundays are meant for fellowship and to complement your OWN personal walk with Christ, so come ready. Love you all, Scott.

By the way……

I don’t think I’ve posted what church I am from lately, so I am the worship pastor at Church For All Nations (CFAN) and PLEASEEEEEE, check out our website at www.myCFAN.com. God Bless.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Sunday was great. Good worship, good message, funny announcements. We got in a little trouble, OKAY I got in a little trouble Sunday, for running long in the first service. I need to really train myself to watch time even though it’s hard to cut worship short, it just seems unnatural. Second service, however, I kept the 2 slower songs shorter and on point instead of letting them drift a little, and it served to keep the 2 songs punchy and powerful. Overall it went very well.

I played bass on Sunday and I must say I don’t miss it too much, especially when the amp needs repair, and I had to stand 20 feet away from the amp because I don’t normally play and it’s setup to be on the other side of the stage. It was fun, though. Regardless of what I really feel. No, it was. Really. Sincerely. C’mon I’m not kiddin’ anymore!!! Anyways……………

This next week will be fun. We’ve got the men’s boot camp on Saturday with 2 worship sets, make sure you SIGN UP (I didn’t resize that graphic and insert a hyperlink for nothing) and then Sunday we will be doing an acoustic set for both services. This week will be a great week for brushing up on my acoustic guitar, and getting one on one with Kevin our normal rythm guitarist, and with our awesome singers. Each singer is going to lead a song, and I’m trying to convince Kevin to lead one as well.

We are still having more people show up for the earlier 930 service than for the 1100. Which is great, it just means we gotta get the word out for our 1100 service, and get people in so we can tell them about Jesus.

Well, that’s about it for now, check back and feel free to leave a comment. Have a great ministry this week. God bless.

the Refuge

the Refuge is our youth service for ages 12-21 and I’ve been neglecting to include my thought on these services in my blogs so I will now make an attempt to stay up to date and share my thoughts from now on on what God is doing in these services. Last night was the roughest worship set I’ve had in a long time. There was still victory and worship, but not because of anything we did. At least it seems that way. I’ve been including some new leaders (to the refuge not to the church) in song selection and worship leading and they have been doing a great job, props to John Nichols and Emily Cairres, you guys are awesome. Last night our lack of communication caught up with us. I’ve been trying to let these two lead as much as possible so I can work more in the background just helping them develop their skills. Well…….. no one knew exactly what the other person was doing, we were missing chord sheets, and we started late. In the midst of all that, I believe we ended up changing 3 out of our 4 songs that were selected. I don’t care how long someone has been leading worship, this can still happen to the best of them. Oh well, ministry is messy. We took some time to address our mistakes last night, so I think we will be more prepared next time.

Now that I have that out of the way, I can share all the positive things that are happening in the services. Again I want to mention how great it is to have John and Emily, co-leading with me now. Scott Curington, our CFAN media guru, spent a lot of time yesterday working on some new videos for our youth announcements, and they turned out FUNNNNEY, at least I think so. I will include one of new videos below. Yes, unfortunately, my huge nose is the one you will view in this spoof, addressing the serious issue of kids getting lost in the bathrooms during service. I hope you enjoy it.

Worship and energy are what we are really focusing on for the future. Teaching the kids what worship is, and making sure we bring energy as we lead. Ultimately we are praying for the kids to have their own God encounter because that’s what is going to truly change them. Pastor Roy has been adjusting the way that He teaches the youth and I believe it is working. It’s a lot more personal and comfortable. Less outline-ish more application. The stage and light changes we’ve made have helped create our own identity for refuge. That’s all for now I think. Keep checking back, and I’ll keep updating.

Another week another dollar (not really)

You know that could be a whole other blog topic. Anyways…………………

Sunday was a blessing, the people nice and energetic, the set passionate and sincere, the message was relevant. We did a new song this week which is posted below. I did write it and hopefully was clear and creative enough to convey what was in my heart as I wrote this song. It’s always scary releasing a new song to a group of people, seeing what’s going to happen. Now I don’t really sit down to “write” song I just write down what God puts in my heart for Him, so I don’t rate success on if the song blows up or not, because either way I know the song honored God and was from my heart, but I do check how the spirit moves when it’s sang and how well people connect with it. Unfortunately, not all worship leaders know the difference between a christian song and a congregational worship song. Honestly, there is even a difference between a Worship song appropriate for radio, and then a song appropriate for a group of worshippers. There is room for all kinds of music in church but the right WORSHIP song is important when it comes to personal growth for each member of the church and it’s important in the big picture of one Body (the congregation), in one song, from one heart, to ONE God. It’s a shame that too often we forget how personal, powerful, and meaningful worship can be, it just becomes a set to “get through”. When I write a song I try to reach all kinds of people no matter where they are in their walk, the same goes for picking new songs from others too. Although, not everyone is open to all kinds of music styles, we do the best we can. All we can do is focus on the big picture, and remember that all that matters in the smaller picture is that God is in it.

There is a hunger in us for You

A holy passion for life and truth

My heart knows I am nothing without You

Chorus -

From my lips to Your throne

My soul cries for You

Cuz I need Your plans I need Your love

And I’m standing here until I feel you next to me

I need Your hands to guide my life and hold me close

Verse 2 -

Each day I feel You closer still

My heart is aching to be filled

My heart knows I am nothing without you

Bridge –

So hold me closer than I’ve ever dared to go

Surrender is near I just have to learn to let go

Twice as nice, not twice the price

This last Sunday our team experienced our first 2 service set, which involved 6 songs per service. It was an awesome experience and in the future I know 2 services will really be training grounds for improvement. I mean, we now have twice the exposure to worship sets, more time to seek and encounter God in each set individually and as a team, we have more time to play together as a team, and leaders get twice the exposure to leading the congregation in worship. And the number one reason why having two services is important: having the room to reach twice as many people. Having 2 services is really a blessing. We are in this for reaching people, not for pleasing people, reaching people. Growing God’s kingdom is what drives us, it drives our vision. Telling as many people as possible about Jesus Christ and the relationship God wants with us is not only a blessing, but it is the JOY that puts a smile on my face and peace in my heart.

How is God wanting to use you, are you able to pray for your neighbors or the church while you do your desk work, can you buy doughnuts on mondays for everybody (SUPPORT KrispyKreme!!!). It tends to be said either too much or not enough that just because you’re not a pastor doesn’t mean you cannot impact your work place or even start a revival. Anyone filled with the Holy Spirit and with God’s love is a target vessel for God to use. I would even say not to worry about how to change those around you, JUST MAKE SURE YOU ARE LISTENING TO WHAT GOD TELLS YOU TO DO.

Corrections

I must update the previous blog to reflect that I, am in no way, saying that my daughter is an inconvenience, or my wife being pregnant is an inconvenience. In fact I was only referring to cleaning the house as an inconvenience (you know cuz it’s my wife’s job). Ha ha just kidding. I love serving my wife even if it’s a little work. And you know what I have to give credit to my wife because at 8months along she totally cleaned our house on saturday while I was at practice. I have the best wife. And best daughter. Love you both. MWA.