May 2013
0 posts
1 tag
I’m finding that for every great piece of art I create, there must be at least five that shouldn’t see the light of day. {yet one more reason quantity is important to creativity}
March 2013
3 posts
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law…...”
– Paul - from Romans 3
“People often asked me then as they do now, “How do you do it?” The...”
– Katie Davis in Kisses from Katie
“The true knowledge of God will always lead us to worship.”
– John Stott
January 2013
1 post
Worship Stuff on my mind.
I’ve been thinking a lot about worship lately. More specifically I’ve been thinking more about our Sunday Gatherings. Sometimes I feel like these get stale. We get into our routine. It’s very common in our culture for church to be something you do. You put in your time, you get some nice encouragement then you go off to live this week basically the same as the last. I think sometimes we...
December 2012
1 post
“The most beautiful thing : that God himself - God incarnate - was the least...”
– Hugh halter
September 2012
3 posts
“When love is extravagant its never wasted.”
– Bob Goff. Story2012
“Creativity, in the Divine sense, is when we see a void, then fill it with...”
– Gary Molander - Pursuing Christ. Creating Art.
“We don’t know where we get our ideas from. What we do know is that we do...”
– John Cleese. Touché John, touché…
August 2012
2 posts
“Mercy: a disposition or inclination to forgive and to be kind.”
– Webster’s
3 tags
An update from me, Natemac!
I’ve made it through my first week at my new ministry in Highland, IN!!! I led this morning with the talented Robert Ebbens who has been leading worship for the Highland campus for the last few months. He’s about to head off to college and so this was both a last sunday for him and a first sunday for me. A great transition that I think we pulled off well.
Today was the first day I led worship...
July 2012
4 posts
“I live in the paradox of having found God, or rather, of having been found by...”
– The way of the worshipper: Buddy Owens
Top 10 fav things about my year in Indy
(not quite in sequential order)
1. A mild winter for this region : )
2. Coming to know and love my dad’s church
3. All my new friends that will make me want to come back to Indy more often!
4. Planning Collide with Jeff Stalnaker
5. Living so close to the Chew family
6. Having more time than I ever thought I’d have to travel and spend time with good friends
7. Audio books...
Everything I needed to know about creativity...
creativesomething:
When someone looks at our lives, does the evidence prove that we follow Christ?
“It is the Christians, O Emperor, who have sought and found the truth, for they acknowledge God. They do not keep for themselves the goods entrusted to them. They do not covet what belongs to others. They show love to their neighbours. They do not do to another what they would not wish to have done to...
June 2012
2 posts
2 tags
I have a job!!! Woo!
I’m excited to announce to everyone I will be joining the team at Suncrest Christian Church as the Worship Pastor for their Highland Campus. Some of you might be saying, “Nate, that church sounds familiar.” And you would be right! Suncrest was the church I interned at for a year right after graduating from Johnson. Since that time, they have been a huge supporter of my ministry in SO many...
4 tags
Zombie Church - a book review
If you like zombie movies and love the church, then you will love this book. Ok, I have to admit, when I read the title I thought, oh this book is gonna be really campy just like all those spoof zombie movies (Sorry, Ty). Tyler Edwards confesses in the first pages his love for horror movies; the cheesier the better. While the surface concept might seem a bit silly at first glance, Edwards is...
May 2012
4 posts
My Default Creative Element
My favorite creative element is Scripture. You can’t go wrong with Scripture. I can come up with a lot of really bad skits. I can cover a lot of popular songs. I can find lots of videos on Bluefish. All of these can be pretty hit and miss in our church services. So I find my best default element is to read Scripture.
God says in Isaiah, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;...
Creativity in Worship
The thing we can always give people is Jesus. This is what they need. So if we are going to sacrifice anything in our worship services, let it be the lights, let it be the artsy videos, let it be the rock n roll music and cover songs, don’t let it be the message.
Its easy for me to sometimes feel this pressure to come up with bigger and better “creative elements” for my worship services. ...
“All of us love miracles. We just don’t like being in a situation that...”
– Mark Batterson - The Circle Maker
2 tags
“From 30,000 feet, creativity looks like art.
From ground level, it’s a...”
– Ben Arment
April 2012
5 posts
“Faith is the willingness to look foolish”
– Mark Batterson | Prayer Circles
1 tag
“We are not here to make ourselves or our churches famous; we are here to make...”
– Tyler Edwards - Zombie Church
Unemployment Part 2
This week I have been discouraged. I am now in the middle of my 9th month of unemployment. I’ve been developing my Graphic Design freelancing, which counts as a job. However, while it is somewhat fulfilling and paying some bills, I feel, more than ever, it is not the culmination of what God has created me for. Have you ever felt like that? What you’re doing isn’t bad, but you feel like...
March 2012
8 posts
6 tags
The Worship Arts Ministry I dream about.
**warning, super long post! : ) **
I was recently asked about the worship arts ministry I dreamed about and found that my answer came woefully short of what a church with big dreams wants to hear. So I hereby amend my previous word-stumblings to this:
I’ve never felt I was a person of “big dreams;” of missions and empires I want to build on my own. But through a little searching, I found...
“We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone...”
– Arthur William Edgar O’Shaunessy.
augh, finding some awesome inspiration lately. Thanks for humoring me : )
1 tag
“If you are a dreamer, come in
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar
A...”
– Shel Silverstein (found at the beginning of the book Inkheart, which I am currently starting)
February 2012
3 posts
2 tags
I strive to intentionally devote a day specifically for these things:
God.
Creativity.
Strategy.
Without these I will be stressed out and probably go insane.
January 2012
5 posts
1 tag
My brain often tricks me into thinking Humility and Confidence are opposites. Humility is to Pride what Confidence is to Discouragement — we need both.
Unemployment and “transition”
I think few things test your self-motivation like unemployment.
… Maybe self-employment. … probably being a stay-at-home mom. …
I don’t think you fully understand the forces working against someone who is unemployed until you have had a healthy dose of it yourself. I definitely thought lots of the things most do about those who can’t find a job. “Geez, what are they doing...
“We’re not too big n we’re not too tough, but when we work together...”
December 2011
8 posts
Sometimes I feel like my life is driving across country with my gps dead and me stuck not knowing how to read the map.
