shout to the lord (angry version)

this is great. read marcus curnow's new version of "shout to the lord" and the reason he wrote it.

mistakes we made, things we did right, and what we need to do next time

these are random thoughts and i invite your comments...

things we did right:

1. the message was well communicated through the sermon/teaching, videos, liturgy, and prayer stations
2. people really appreciated the spontaneity of the questions david asked
3. the water loop cd was effective even if we didn't have fountains or the like
4. the lighting looked good, i think (even though it caused the sound system to buzz)
5. chair arrangement seemed to work really well
6. what else?

things we did wrong:

1. there were not enough people there to help set up / tear down. in fact, for the most part it was four of us
2. we didn't publicize enough
3. too many songs in a row that were unfamiliar (or not all that easy to catch on)
4. the scripture wasn't read aloud (yikes)
5. the liturgy wasn't ready in the computer and therefore there was no read prayer from the congregation
6. we should include more silence in the gathering
7. didn't have enough prayer in the gathering
8. words on screen sometimes didn't match what we were singing
9. no email list / guest book
10. what else?
    

things to do next time

1. i think we should meet twice between now and then
2. at the first meeting we should go over these things (wrong, right, what's next), and figure out the theme (we can do that here too)
3. at the second meeting we should have the basics of the sermon pretty much done (videos, topics, etc.) so that the team can come up with ideas for the stations, projected images, videos, etc.
4. we should then figure out if there is anything we need for the prayer stations
5. concise order of worship at the next gathering for team members
6. let's engage the senses better next time--especially sight and smell.
   
7. what else?

john wesley and the well

i ripped this from gavin's blog. i absolutely love it and think you will too.

this is an actual excerpt from john wesley's diary written sometime in the 1700's and serves as good encouragement for us:

• Sunday morning, May 5, preached in St. Ann's, was asked not to come back anymore.
• Sunday p.m., May 5, preached at St. John's, deacons said "get out and stay out".
• Sunday a.m., May 12, preached at St. Jude's, can't go back there either.
• Sunday p.m., May 12, preached at St. George's, kicked out again.
• Sunday a.m., May 19, preached at St. somebody else's, deacons called a special meeting and said I couldn't return.
• Sunday p.m., May 19, preached on the street, kicked off the street.
• Sunday a.m., May 26, preached in meadow, chased out of meadow as a bull was turned loose during the service.
• Sunday a.m., June 2, preached out at the edge of town, kicked off the highway.
• Sunday p.m., June 2, afternoon service, preached in a pasture, 10,000 people came to hear me.

the well episode 1

thanks to all who came out tonight. it was a very small group but we worshipped none the less and i think we all took something beautiful away from the gathering.

we now begin preparations for august 25 at 7 pm. that's right we've changed the time.

tomorrow, i'll blog on the mistakes we made, things we did right, and what we need to do between now and then.

i'll also post pictures from the gathering...stay tuned.

God bless you.

desert detours

i was looking through kim miller's handbook for multisensory worship vol ii today and saw that there was a gathering where they actually laid out a tarp and dumped about fifty pounds of sand on the stage.

the meadow (green meadow umc in alcoa, tenn) filled the entire sanctuary with sand during lent this year.

we filled our sanctuary with hay for vacation bible school a couple weeks ago. what i'm saying is...let your imaginations run wild. we are quick to say, "the kids will love this," when it comes to planning vbs. the truth is: we love it too.

i'm not neccesarily suggesting the sand thing (i'm not discounting it either), but i am saying that it's time for us to get excited about the possibilities at the well. let your imaginations run wild.

water fountains

we need the sound of water throughout the sanctuary for the first gathering. fountains would be great but so far we've had trouble coming up with any... what else could we do that would be cheap?




best band ever

ideas

the theme of the first well gathering is two fold:

1. why bother with church
2. john 4:1-26

with this in mind, read the verses and leave a comment here... what would you like to see happen at this gathering? what images linger? what would make this question and this story relevant to you?

some stuff we need by the first gathering

1. justin's idea of running water throughout the service is great, so we'll need fountains, waterfalls and the like. what else can we do?
2. 2-3 floor lamps (should be about $15-20 each)
3. modeling clay
4. 2 or 3 drop cloths
5. some 8 1/2 x 11 plexi sign holders (a 4 pack is $20)

what else?

prayer station pictures

Here are some links to pictures of prayer stations and sacred spaces:

http://smallfire.org

http://www.vintagechurch.org/photo/

http://gavoweb.blogs.com/photos/connection05/index.html

http://gavoweb.blogs.com/photos/contemplativeworships/index.html

the well @ grace umc mt juliet tn

The gathering has a name and a firm start date.

The Well will begin July 28 at 6:30 PM.