It's Monday!

Good morning Team,
Sunshine! I love it! Even cold days are better when the sun is shining!

I was so blessed yesterday as you led God's people in worship. I read an article by Keith and Kristyn Getty about congregational worship. You'll remember them as the composer's of last year's Easter musical, "The Risen Christ." Their emphasis is on composing modern songs in a more traditional hymn setting. One of the main points they brought up is that congregational singing has diminished over the years. They look back at the times when hymns were the prevalent musical form in worship and suggest that contemporary worship lacks the participation of the past. I paid special attention this Sunday to our level of participation in both services. Here is what I noticed:

1. You sang very well this week
2. More people were singing than not singing
3. Participation increased when we sang familiar songs, regardless of whether they were hymns or contemporary songs
4. Participation was greatest on the hymn "How Great Thou Art" but was almost equaled by the contemporary worship chorus "Breathe."

My conclusion is that the familiarity of the song, not the musical style, determines the level of participation. My goal as a worship leader is to select songs that meet certain standards:

1. Is the song theologically sound?
2. Is the song easily sung by the congregation?
3. Is the vocal range of the song within the range of the normal singer?
4. Does the song fit the flow of the worship service?
5. Is the song playable by the band or accompanists?

Another challenge for worship leaders is introducing new songs. This week we introduced a new song in the second service, "You, You Are God." We started it 4 minutes before the service started and did it as a prelude with the band and praise team. I am interested in your comments about starting our second service like that. Did you like it? Dislike it? Suggestions?

This week we will rehearse the choir on Wednesday at 6:15 and the band on Saturday at 10am.

Mark your calendar...

Wednesday, Feb. 18...
2 HOUR EASTER REHEARSAL
6:30 - 8:30 PM

This rehearsal coincides with the children's special Winter Break at the same time.

Have an awesome week!

Dave

Fantasy Football

Hi Team,
I'm in a football mood today! I want to share some photos that I received from my cousin from the Super Bowl. First, check out this link to a very cool story about my uncle...
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09033/946315-155.stm

Now these pictures from Tampa will make some more sense!
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbtXDJszaNGYj

Finally...this is just too cool!

So here's the date...
September 5, 2009...
Noon...
Opening day for
Ohio State football!

Go Bucks!

Dave

It's Monday!

Good Morning Team!

What a weekend!

Coleen and I joined Pastor Dennis and Cheryl and Pastor Andy and Angela and about 1000 others on Friday night and watched several of our worship team members in the OFA presentation of "Grease." Jordan and Kyle Schreiner were in the cast with Jordan bringing the house down with "Beauty School Dropout." I must say that Kyle makes a good T-bird (the black leather jacket gang)! Kit Burdick played bass in the excellent band that did all the accompaniment music. It was a fun night!

Saturday, after a successful Upwards Basketball morning, the staff went to the District Pastor Appreciation luncheon in Syracuse. We had a wonderful meal and great fellowship with about 100 pastors and spouses from across the district.

Sunday morning was blessed by a wonderful time of praise, worship, preaching and communion. Is Jesus FIRST in your life or the CENTER? Wonderful! While we were short handed in the second service due to "Grease," Karen and Phil were wonderful. It is such a blessing to have talented musicians who can play multiple instruments. Phil's ability to play guitar and bass is so handy and Karen is fantastic on keyboard and drums! Thanks Karen and Phil for what you add to our Team!

Sunday night was Super Bowl night at our house as our LittleChurch group got together to fellowship and watch the world champion Pittsburgh Steelers win an exciting game! Cudos to the Arizona Cardinals and their stars Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald for an amazing comeback. But in the end...the team with the best defense won the game...just like always. Hmmm... a life lesson. Check out Ephesians 6: 10-18:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=56&chapter=6&version=31

Finally, Here's my favorite commercial of the night. This ad was not done by a professional ad agency, but an ordinary citizen...Wow!

THE EASTER MUSICAL IS HERE! KICKOFF ON WEDNESDAY AT 6:16PM! WHOHOO!

Blessings,

Dave

My Day Off...

Hi All,

Today is my day off so I thought I would do something that I don't like to do...talk politics. I have gotten quite cynical over the past couple of decades going back to 1992 when Bill Clinton was elected president. I got so tired of the partisanship on both sides of the aisle that I hardly want to read or listen or watch anything political. But today I read a Wall Street Journal article about the Obama Stimulus package and I couldn't keep silent. My hope when President Obama was elected was that he would be able to stand up to the Democratic leaders and say that the good of the country is more important than political gain or payback. Sadly, it didn't take long to destroy that hope. Ten days into the Obama presidency and I have already lost hope that "CHANGE" means anything other than who's gonna get fat on our tax dollars. Here's the article that did me in: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123310466514522309.html

Please comment and tell me I am wrong about all of this!

Dave

It's Monday!

Good morning Team,
Did you worship well yesterday? Was your focus God centered?


It is easy sometimes to get so caught up in the "stuff" necessary to make our worship time meaningful that we sometimes miss the focus of our worship. Let me explain. Here is some of what took place yesterday...

1. 7:00am Coleen and I arrive at the church to turn on the lights, sound system, check the heat, set up and tune guitar, make sure the powerpoint slides are ok.

2. 7:30am First service praise team comes in for rehearsal. Thanks Bob, Joy, Kathy, Sue Camin, Janel, Sherry and Sue Lantz. Check batteries in mics.

3. 8:00am Pray with first service team.

4. 8:05 - 8:15am Help Hal fix sermon slides so they can be used. Thanks Hal and Coleen.

5. 8:15am First service. Pastor Dennis is hitting on all cylinders!

6. 9:30am End of first service.

7. 9:45am Rehearse second service Team. Thanks Denise, Jordan, Jennifer, Coleen, Tiffany, Suzanna, Anna, Janet, Phil, Kyle, Kit, Mike, Karen, Marie. Make sure sound from PT and Band is balanced..great job Marie.

8. 10:45am Pray with second service team.

9. 11:00am Second service. Pastor Dennis is even better second time through the sermon.

As you can see, There is a lot going on every Sunday morning. And that's just with the worship team. How about the children's program, Sunday School, Connections ministry (greeters, coffee, welcome center, ushers), Missions focus, Youth ministry, Finance? It takes a tremendous amount of effort by a lot of people to make Owego Naz what it is. Yesterday, I was busier than ever, but I worshipped wonderfully. God is good.

Sue Camin sent me this video of Buddy Green with the Gaithers at Carnegie Hall.

I had the priviledge of hearing Buddy Green and friends at a coffee house in Nasville with about 50 other people. Enjoy...


Have a great week!

Blessings,

Dave

It's Monday!

Hi Team!
What a packed Sunday morning! I'm still getting use to all the snow this year. It didn't seem quite as heavy last year, but it's still pretty in Upstate NY.
So what did you think of the Gathering Place Project? Thanks to Sue Camin for the awesome model and to Pastor Andy for the cool people! I can't wait to see how you all respond with your pledges. Don't forget that we need them in by this Sunday. What part will God entrust to you for this endeavor?

My fingers are crossed... that our new choir music and Easter musical will come in before Wednesday. We will be rehearsing at 6:15PM on Wednesday and I will have the Spring 2009 CD's ready for you and the February - June Schedule!

Our Easter Event (we need a name) is set for Saturday, April 4th! Mark your calendars now and get ready for a Kingdom explosion. The Owego Naz Worship Choir will headline this special musical night aimed at bringing new believers into the family of God. We will have special guests, the Owego Naz Worship Band and the congregation of Owego Nazarene carrying out the mission of our church!

Did Pastor Dennis inspire you to dig into this book by Gary Thomas? I sure was and I'm not a big reader...you know I'm the Enthusiast! I think we will look further into this book as we learn more about how to know God more deeply and personally. Awesome! If you want this book, let me know and maybe I can get a volume discount :)

Would you all do me a favor? Email, call, snail mail, text or whatever an Owego Naz Worship Choir member and thank them for being a part of what God is doing here in Owego, NY. Encourage them to join us on Wednesday! You are an awesome team and I'm so excited to be a part!

Blessings,
Dave

It's Monday!

Good morning Team,
Coleen and I had a wonderful time in Florida over the past couple of weeks and had Chamber of Commerce weather every day we were there. It was beautiful and restful.
Here we are at Mote Aquarium in Sarasota. We got to see sharks, dolphins and manatee. I touched a manta ray!






Coleen will chat with anyone!!







This is the beach where Coleen's parents live. I listened to Easter music while lounging here. It was tough, but someone had to do it!



THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 6:15PM THE OWEGO NAZ WORSHIP CHOIR WILL BE BACK REHEARSING. I've heard that we may have some new choir members! I'm excited to get back at it. I want to share our plans for Easter with you as well!

Do you have a new choir member in mind? Invite them to join us and send me their name and I'll contact them as well. Lets see if we can grow by 25% for Easter!

One of the benefits of going on vacation and being away from Owego Naz for a couple of weeks is that you gain a fresh appreciation for our Sunday experiences. When you visit other churches, you can see just how blessed we are with our worship here and the outstanding preaching of Pastor Dennis. I am so thankful for the talent and commitment of our worship team. God has great things planned for 2009 and we get to be a part of it!!

Blessings,

Dave