Have A Seat Mariah
NewSpring Church in SC did an awesome Christmas series this year. Part of that was this rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You”. Mariah Carey has nothing on this girl!
-AOD
The Day That True Love Died
As you know I am A Phil Wickham fan. This isn’t him, but his song done by the geniuses at Fellowship Church and Dex Alexander.
Enjoy Boo Bear!
-AOD
thanks Jace
Crazy Cool New Media!
So I’m reading my blogs and minding my own business, when I come across a link from the MMI guys. The link took me to a site called ChurchStaffBreakRoom.com This site is so cool, for someone like me that is fairly new in the networking world. Basically, if you have a webcam and a mic (equipped on all good Macs btw), you can go to the site and start chatting right away. It’s powered by TokBox, and provides a quick escape to other ministers and people interested in the churchy stuff. (sorry Dave) I must give you a warning, if you click on the “allow this site to use my webcam and microphone” you will be in the chat room right away. I wasn’t quite ready, or knowing what I was getting into and all of a sudden BOOM, I’m chatting with a church planter in Winston-Salem, NC! Crazy! He got my twitter account and “voila” an instant connection.
(note: you can use only audio or only type chats with tokbox if you want. you can also get involved via text too!)
I’m excited how God is using ministry and media in my life. I feel like the connections he has given me in the past couple months will continue to be a blessing and show me what on earth He is doing with my life 
-AOD
EDIT: one hour later…
I was checking my links to see if they worked for this post and I see my good buddy Churchy Dave did a post on this as well, like 4 days ago. Maybe I should keep up with my friend’s blogs a bit better 
Speechless
If you have ever had a drug problem or know someone that does, watch this video from Brian Welch of Korn.
iamsecond.com
-AOD
(ht. Barton)
Playing In My iTunes
Here are some songs and artists that have been playing in my iTunes lately. I was going to include them in my last post, but music requires it’s own. So, here we go…
Phil Wickham-Singalong
Jesus Culture-We Cry Out
Lecrae-Rebel
Fee-We Shine
John Mayer-Where the Light Is
These are the artists I am listening to right now. I kind of go in phases of who I listen to the most. And when I listen, I usually have a group, album or a particular artist I’ll listen to for a lengthy period of time. I don’t always listen to Christian music, but right now it’s what I need for inspiration right now. I love the Dave Matthews Band, Outkast, Foo Fighters and tons of others including pretty much any classic rock. I love the diversity of music, the different styles and complexities. I love hearing what motivates an artist to be who they are. I love hearing the stories from the streets. I love hearing how God has moved to inspire the great writing of some of the great Christian bands.
Our band “Solace” will be playing at the Hampton Coliseum for Arena Racing on January 11th. It’s going to be a much larger crowd than we have ever played for (could be as much as a couple thousand people). Who knows, maybe we will be playing on YOUR iTunes someday.
Come check us out on January 11th at 4pm if you’re in the area.
-AOD
Blessed By These Link-Worthy Sites
Here are a few things across the 15 inch screen that are blessing me right now.
Perry and Steve are my greatest encouragers right now in leadership. (note: subscribe to Perry’s site if you can, his format is difficult to read)
I’m reading this book and it is definitely written by teens, for teens, but us older adults can get so much out of it as well. The premise is that we set our expectations for teenagers way too low. If we expect more out of them, they will rise to the occasion.
This guy makes me laugh. Plus he can be serious when it is time. Lots of family stuff on his blog, love to see other young families figure out life.
My good friend TC always makes a point to seek me out an even ask my opinion about his endeavors. Love workin’ with him.
This video and any other video from this guy and Igniter media is awesome!
Ben writes some of the shortest, yet most meaningful blog posts of anyone out there.
So there, be blessed by these people and their work.
-AOD
What Thoughts Do You Have?
When you are in the “creative process” or just trying to come up with what to do after dinner tonight, what is your thought process? I was asked recently about my thoughts for an event being put together in our area. After hearing some of the quick details, my brain began to move. It moved in the direction of the event, how do we make it great, what would make it great, what will be the name, who will be there, why are we doing this, who will we reach, who will we equip, and so on. These are my reactions when asked to creatively come up with something. So I started to think about the way we process information.
1. Reactionary Thoughts-these are the thoughts you initially have when hearing about an idea. These might also be used for brainstorming and idea mapping. Reactionary thoughts can be very good because they spark other ideas, especially when you share them with other people. Don’t be afraid of these thoughts, even though they can get you in trouble. Share them because more often than not, a “stupid” idea becomes something great!
2. Prayerful Thoughts-after you have reacted to the idea, you take those initial brainstorms and prayerfully consider them. You might ask yourself questions like, what does God have in mind for this event/idea, how can we accomplish our mission through this event, will people be intrigued or bored with this, etc. Sometimes wrestling back and forth with God on how an event should be done is difficult. We have in our minds what WE want to see done, but then God might not agree with you. My advice to that is to LISTEN.
3. Confirmed Thoughts-you have prayed, and scattered your brain to come up with the perfect plan for your event/idea/after dinner plans, now how do you know that you did the right thing? God will send little signals your way to confirm the success. Whether they are people’s comments, someone accepting Christ or controversy that is created, He will confirm whether or not it was His plan. It may not be until the event or idea is done and its now a year later, but if you are truly seeking what God wants for your ministry, school, company or your life…He will let you know.
It’s not goofy to think that God doesn’t care what you do after dinner tonight for fun. He wants to be a part of every aspect of our lives. God can use whatever decision you make. I believe that God has a permissive will and a perfect will. God may permit you to make a decision, but it may not be the best one. This is why you must prayerfully consider the decisions you make. I don’t want to get into a discussion in this post about knowing the will of God, maybe later, but I just want to point out the no matter the decision, God WILL get the glory!
I hope this helps someone out there facing some tough decisions in their life.
-AOD
Silence Is Deafening
Do people tell you that you’ve done a good job? Are you the one that seeks out certain people’s opinion? Do you do your job expecting comments good or bad?
All of us have probably thought of these things at some point. You just get done preaching a message and you are waiting for the first person to come up and say “good job”. You finish a project at work, be it a new network design, great teaching lesson, sweet new photography or bring a neighborhood’s phone lines back online. Whatever your accomplishments, you want to be recognized.
And when you expect someone to say, “good job” and all you hear is crickets…the silence is deafening. You start to wonder if you really did a good job. Do the people really like me? Should I be looking for a new job? You may even start to question your calling. If this is you I have an encouraging word for you…
STOP!!!
You are not here to be a people-pleaser. You are here to be a God-pleaser. If you have heard nothing but silence lately when it comes to your work, to whom are you listening? Our God is not silent! He may not speak to you in a loud voice, but the sense of satisfaction you get after a job well done should come from Him, not just the people around you. I work in youth ministry and sometimes I get students that come up to me a month later to tell me how a lesson impacted them. It means the world when they tell me, but I don’t rely on that alone for motivation.
I don’t want to negate what I’m saying here, but I think it should be said that when you do a good job, it is my experience that some people will tell you. Then, you get a group of people that become your trusted “advisers” if you will, that will affirm whether or not it was a “job well done“. When these trusted people are silent, the silence is deafening! My most trusted adviser is my wife. If she doesn’t make a comment on how things went, I know that I missed it somewhere. My least favorite answer from here is, “yeah, it was good“. I know I probably missed it that night.
It’s important to have a group of people, young and old, that you can trust for their honest opinion. When these people are mum, the Silence is Deafening!
With whom are you surrounding yourself? Are they trusted advisers or yes-men?
-AOD
