This week marked two things I can't believe are here already.

It seems like only yesterday tiny Jadyn was asleep on my chest 9 days after being born (lower left hand photo above). We spent her 1st birthday at the Lake (photo 2). Her 2nd birthday was more low key and spent it at the house (photo 3). I didn't make it for her 3rd birthday due to Asher's premature delivery in Hilton Head (picture 4) and the craziness that ensued in June and July. And I didn't make it today because of our M-F launch.

I was however very humored to see the following Facebook Status update from Andrea this morning.

ANDREA: it's your birthday sweetie!
JADE: it is?
ANDREA: yes, you are four now
JADE: I don't want to be four, I want to be three

Typical woman always lying about her age and wishing she were younger :)

As much as I love Jadyn and as important as she is in my life, her turning 4 wasn't the biggest thing that happened this week.

At 9:00:00 PM on Monday we launched our Monday-Friday presence into the talk radio universe. If I can't believe Jadyn is turning 4 because time has flown by, the M-F radio presence is the exact opposite. I can't believe this is finally here because sometimes it felt like it was never going to happen.

But ohh has it happened. The week has been incredibly busy and I am still trying to find my routine (and get the new website done). For the most part there have been few errors - actually surprisingly few to be honest. And I think once things settle down, this is going to be a lot of fun.

Opening night was a blast. We opened for sure with Charlottsville, VA, Saginaw, MI, and Warner Robbins, GA. The remaining of our 30 launch affiliates will come online within the next week or so.

Afterwards we (myself, Allen, Anita, and Phil) went out (at 12:15 am) and celebrated at Taco Mac. Got some drinks. Had some queso dip. And even though there were times I never thought that day would come, it finally did, and it was great!

Check out the photos from the first night and leave some comments if you'd like. Be sure to invite Allen and I to be your friends on Facebook as well. We'll be using that a lot more in the coming months.

I once went to Juarez, Mexico with 40 other people to build 2 houses in about 25 hours. It was July and if memory serves me correct it was 195°. It was crazy and exhausting.

We had laid the foundation. Put up the studs and drywall. Spackled. Etc. All that was left was to lay the roof. All I had to do was bend the shingles over the roof and nail them to the side of the house. Simple right?

Well I think I am doing just a fabulous job and one of the adult leaders - who mind you built his own house with his bare hands - comes up and says, "you've been working hard, why don't you take a break."

I retreat off the ladder and grab a Sprite from the cooler. About five minutes later I look over and see the adult leader ripping out what I had just done!

That's right folks, I sucked so bad at handiwork that it wasn't good enough for an impoverished family who before we showed up didn't have a home. Pretty humbling, huh?

Now I don't blame this youth leader. He was right to do it. The worked suck - despite my hard efforts. The lesson was simple: I am not good at construction.

Fast-forward 10 years later.

I buy a house. And while I have to admit I was a little nervous about the financials (who isn't?), I was more nervous about the fact that I am not real handy around the home.

It's been great though. Since buying the house I have:

• Installed a bathroom faucet
• Installed fingerprint locks
• Installed garage shelves (no pics)
• Installed a kitchen faucet

But nothing like this. You may remember the horrendous day I had back in August.

$1,100 dollars later, I had a fixed air conditioner, a de-molded ceiling and wall, and a giant hole in my ceiling.

After getting sick of spending so much money I decided to try and patch the giant hole myself. So I went to Home Depot and bought what I thought I needed. And at last, the project is done. It looks good. Not great. But good.





Two conclusions came from the project: First, I hate popcorn ceiling now more than ever. I almost didn't buy the house because of it. It aesthetically looks awful. However, I hate it even more now as it is near impossible to spread to match the current ceiling - and was surprisingly the hardest part of this project.

But the more important lesson is how important it is to do things that help us overcome our insecurities. I freely admit I legitimately feel like less of a man because of my lack of handyman skills.

Maybe I shouldn't. And I am not saying all men need to be Mr. Fix-It. Nor should they feel insecure if they aren't. But I do. And it has been very affirming completing these projects.

We all think about our insecurities a lot - that's what makes them insecurities - but how much time do with think about what needs to be done to overcome them?

I often feel like the least forgiving place in this world is the place that should be the most. As the saying goes, "the church seems to shoot their wounded."

This saddens me how few people recognize how imperfect we all are, and how all sin is equal in the eyes of God. When will we try to be as forgiving as God.

I know I can't post them all, but if you follow Post Secret, you will be astonished how many of them are about carrying around guilt and shame years - sometimes even decades - after something happened.

...Women who are vegans because egg yolks remind them of their abortions

...Men who feel bad about the way they treated people in high school

...First time sexual experiences that were not what they expected

...Mothers missing their daughters because they don't speak after and event

...Fathers knowing they should never have left their kids

...Business deals that fell through

...Friends mistreating and taking advantage of other friends

Stop carrying the guilt around with you. God forgives - even if we don't.

Be sure to visit Post Secret for more interesting looks into the human condition.

If you aren't a psychologist you can go ahead and stop reading this post. Alright, all psychologists now? Here's the question I pose on this proverbial, digital couch: why is it that I truly like Erik, but I can't stand JaSoN...

Ohh, you'd like a little bit of context.

Sure.

See, Erik is the creator of AllenHuntShowSucks.com. We sometimes exchange as much as 15-20 e-mails a week. He tells me when he goes on vacation. I tell him when I am sick. I generally care for him as a human being. He's an atheist. He pretty much hates everything I stand for. Our relationship reminds me of Professor X and Magneto in the movie X-Men. We are bitter sworn enemies, but we have a fondness and respect for one another that seems to transcend the enemy thing.

JaSoN on the other hand is an annoying blog commenter at TruthTalk Live (a Christian radio show, on Christian stations that Allen and I sometimes fill in on). JaSoN and I's relationship is strictly bound to the blog. He tells me I don't believe in Sola Scriptura. I tell him Sola Scripture isn't even in scripture, so we must rely on theological concepts like the Wesleyan Quadrilateral to pick up where scripture leaves us. I really could careless about him. He's a Christian. We probably basically agree on about 95% of the main issues related to our faith. But for the 5% we disagree on, I want to punch him in the face. Our relationship reminds me of Peter La Fleur and White Goodman in the movie Dodgeball. We are bitter, sworn "brothers", and thanks to atonement for sin, we will have to spend eternity with one another.

So Dr. Internet, do you have enough to figure out why I truly like my "enemy" but dislike my "brother"?

I know. I don't have an answer either. I have been puzzling about this for months now.

I guess if I had to pinpoint it, my real distaste for some other Christians probably stems from what I would call the "bastaderization" of the Gospel. We have reduced the Bible to be "the owner's manual of life" and it has all the answers. We come up with inconsistent theology, and we proof text certain scriptures to make our point more convincing.

But the way I see it, there are some questions the Bible doesn't answer (i.e. How do you make a plane fly? How do you start a heart after a heart attack? Why are some people always depressed?). And that is where we turn to science or medicine or psychology.

And whether preachers would like to admit it or not, there are gray issues in the Bible (i.e. Why does it seem perfectly acceptable for Solomon to sleep around, but I can't? Is is wrong to use English swear words? Is masturbation a sin? Is it ok to pass the homeless guy on the street and not help him out?). And that is where we turn to scripture, reason, experience, tradition, and prayer.

In the end, I guess it is that I seem to forget that I need to approach JaSoN with grace and patience and love, because I think it doesn't matter. Sure we disagree, but his opinion of me won't have any effect on his life or eternity. Where as, psychologically speaking, with Erik I seem to think the way I interact with him could have an eternal difference.

I should probably pray about that inconsistency of behavior.

Thanks Doc. This session has been great.

I logged into Facebook the other day and came across an interesting news feed. Apparently, even though my Aunt & Uncle had a wedding more than 20 years ago, it wasn't official until December 26, 2007; at least according to Facebook. I hope their first year of marriage is a good one. Finally their bastard children (Julia you better be laughing) have been vindicated. I think I found this all the more ironic because of what happened to me four days earlier...

My (ex-)girlfriend and I broke up three days or so before Christmas. This is now the 9th time in life I have gone through the infamous "breakup conversation" - it's never fun. But two things happened in this breakup that never happened in any other: she changed her Facebook status in the middle of the (2.5 hour!) conversation¹. The most fascinating thing happened because of this: before she even left my house, I had 13 text messages, phone calls, e-mails, or Facebook messages.

All this got me thinking about communication and how it is changing. Out of the 13 communiques, the best by far was where person A saw on Facebook I was "no longer in a relationship." He proceeded to text message person B, who was driving with her sister to South Carolina. Person B then proceeded to text message person C. Person C then left me a voicemail. I was unable to pick up the call due to the fact that all this happened within 10 minutes of the Facebook "change," and as it turned out, I still had about an hour left to the conversation.

But this isn't about breakups, this is about communication, and how it is changing. I came across an article on Newsvine about how computers are writing financial news stories. Why? Because they can publish within .3 seconds of companies' initial post to NYSE & NASDAQ!! This is a huge advantage to hedge traders.

This also makes me reflect on a conversation I was having with a radio friend the other day about how churches and pastors miss the point in communication. Whether good or bad, Americans have about a 7-minute attention span before it "wants" a break². This is largely due to the fact that most TV shows are 21 minutes long and have 9 minutes of advertising per half hour. Yet pastors wonder why when they get up to speak for 30 minutes (which is actually short for most pastors) people are bored and uninterested.

Communication fails to be communication if it doesn't communicate. I know profound! But seriously, think about that. It's a simple point, but often missed in the communication fields. Pastors fail to communicate by failing to change styles because their arrogance makes them think of course people want to listen to them talk for 45 minutes, they are brilliant. It doesn't take Steve Jobs to tell us that newspapers and book are dying off because people aren't reading. Radio is slowly dying as well.

None of these communication forms will ever die off completely. They will just continue to become less relevant unless they change. The challenge for the next wave of ministers and communicators is to look for ways to communicate in a way that is Facebook official.

For the past 2 years I have to admit I felt a little like Dorthy wondering around Oz trying to find her way home. No, not because a tornado picked me up and plopped me in some imaginary land with munchkins and flying monkeys. I felt like I have been in Oz because I never felt like my previous church (which was my place of employment) was ever home. On October 21st, I stepped in through the doors at Stonecreek Church in Alpharetta, GA and I have to say, it feels really good to be "home again."

Now I don't mean to be belittling to Mount Pisgah by any means. Mount Pisgah was and is a great church. If you're 30-40, have three kids, and like a church that tries its best to blend traditional and semi-contemporary it is great. But it just wasn't my style. And that's ok. But being back "home" has just reminded me how important it is to have a "home."

I like being at Stonecreek because it feels like being at Northpoint, only smaller (which I like). Worship is young and contemporary and rockin'. The sermons are extremely biblical and applicable. I haven't gotten involved yet (even though I have been tempted) because I feel right now it is important for me to just "go to church." But most importantly, it's a place that I would feel comfortable bringing my non-Christian friends.

But my point with all this isn't really about how much I like Stonecreek. Rather, my point is how important it is to be in a church where you experience the presence of God. Especially in the South, church becomes a check-listed item that just needs to get done in the week. But it shouldn't be like that. Every time (ok not every time) I enter a sanctuary I think about the reverence the Jews would have when entering the temple. About how it was a place that was so holy, there was a room where only the high priest could enter and only once a year, and they would tie a rope around the priest in case his sin that year caused him to die in the presence of the Holy God.

Sure, God is everywhere, and the sanctuary is no more "holy" a place than anywhere else. But the presence of God is important. And no matter it if is at Mount Pisgah, Stone Creek, Northpoint, Northcoast (Jefferson & Chris if you are out there, still my favorite church even though I turned down your job offer), or anywhere else; experiencing the presence of God, even if for only an hour a week, is so completely vital to a full life. Unfortunately, you aren't going to find it from the man behind the curtain. This abundant life can only find it at your home church.

I did something this week that I have only done three other times since graduating college: I took a full, 2-day weekend. I have worked 6-days a week 108 of my 111 weeks of employment (except vacation). I am not complaining about this. But this 4th 2-day weekend got me thinking about why I don't take more of them. And then that brought me to the realization that I think Jesus probably pissed off a lot of people sometimes. Why? Because he wasn't afraid of "wolf criers."

I have two people I work with that are awful wolf criers (you know, as in the boy who cried wolf). But instead of crying about a wolf, they come to me with projects that are usually last minute and always an emergency, with the tone that their department is more important than everything else going on (even though the "Worship" department is what is always tasked as what is most important). I'll spare the details. But sure enough, at the end of this week, I had another wolf-crying session from one of the two and it got me thinking about Jesus.

Jesus wasn't afraid of "wolf criers." I think a passage in Mark sums this up the best:

Mark 1:35-39 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" 38Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Now a little context. Jesus had just got done healing many people in Capernaum. So, naturally, when people caught wind of this, everyone who was sick came to him. Pretty noble right? I mean, healing people is way more important than producing a video. Yet Jesus "figuratively" stares them in the face, in all their pain, and says, I have better things to do (including rest) and I am sorry, but I need to stick to that.

Jesus knew two things: 1.) what His mission was, and 2.) that He, being fully man, was limited by time and energy to meet the expectations of everyone. These are two things I am not sure I am good at. I do think I am better at #1 than I am at #2, but it doesn't matter if I know what my purpose is, yet fail to hold to it. I can't blame people for coming and asking. I can really only blame myself for being more concerned with what they think of me over what my purpose is.

Last night, I received a text at about 11:32 pm from my friend Erin who is an Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Angels Strike Force Girl. The text was informing me of the important news that they recently got to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at the most recent Angels game and it was on YouTube. For those who care, here is the video, she is the one second from the left.



Now, when I think of Erin I think of one thing: Christmas (and the time she shot somebody in the face with the t-shirt gun at the ballpark, but mainly Christmas). Why do you ask? Because she is the only person I know who has a countdown to Christmas and starts singing Christmas songs in August.

I moved on and decided to unpause my Comcast DVR to watch The Colbert Report and what do I see.....Stephen Colbert in a Christmas hat. I know, weird. I thought it was a rerun. But alas, it wasn't. His point: the day before was June 25th, or halfway to Christmas.

Between Erin & Stephen it got me thinking about Christmas. It actually got me thinking about two things about Christmas: 1.) how much I hate the Christmas season, and 2.) how Jesus was actually probably born in June or July (due to the fact shepherds were out in the field which would fit more in the summer months not winter).

Andy, aren't you a Christian, how can you say you don't like Christmas? I have many reasons really. I think about the materialism associated with Christmas, and Jesus' anti-materialism message, and have to chuckle, if not cry a bit, thinking about the irony.

I also think about how what a facade Christmas has become. Think about it, people who never attend church, who don't really align themselves with Christian beliefs, always seem to "have" to make it to Church on Christmas? And as ministers, we cater to the seemingly American-ingrained nostalgia associated with Christmas and we wouldn't dream of not signing carolls, putting up trees and lights, etc... I always wondered why churches didn't approach Christmas like they do, well, June. Why doesn't Christmas look like this past Sunday?

My mother became a Christian my senior year of high school. I remember having a conversation with her later on that year and she was telling me one of the things she never realized is that Church wasn't like Christmas every Sunday (and that all the Bible wasn't just like Psalms). This had a profound impact on me as I started to wonder how many people think all there is to Christianity is signing Christmas Carols, worshiping a baby, and something about myrrh (what the heck is that anyways).

True Christianity doesn't get displayed at Christmas time. True Christianity is what happens in October, March, and yes, even June.

Well I know somewhere in the O.C., Erin is appalled at me. But at least in about a month it will be Christmas season for her. Which now that I think about it, she spends 5 months of her spiritual journey focusing on Christmas, so I don't really have a problem with her - its all the rest of us ;)

P.S. They sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" wrong. It is "root, root, root for the Cubbies." The only way to sing that song.

I was at Hand in Hand the other night (a bar in the Highlands) and amidst the conversation, Oasis's Wonderwall began to play and it took me back. Wonderwall always reminds me of one thing: doing pot.

See that's what songs do to me, they make me remember stuff.

Confessions of a Broken Heart will always remind me of driving on the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne, Australia. Runaway Train will always remind me of my paper route in 4th grade. The Difference will always remind me of traveling by bus through the French countryside with 40 8th graders. Comfortable will always remind me of Laura. I Believe by Blessed Union of Souls will always remind of of riding the bus through Inverness Lakes in middle school. Clumsy by Chris Rice will always remind me of Nate and I walking into Bob's apartment in the Willows. American Dream will always remind me of Jerusalem, Israel. Strawberry Wine will always remind me of sitting on the bus on the way to Mexico thinking of Emily. Gold Digger will always remind me of baby Jadyn. Jesus Take the Wheel will always remind me of Rachel and her hate for Carrie Underwood. Hanging by the Moment will always remind me of driving down I-75 with CJ on the way to Hilton Head. Come What May will always remind me of driving up to Big Bear with Cheria in Daren's suburban. Freshman will always remind me of driving down Aboite Rd. Emotionless will always remind me of my roommate Taylor and I talking about my relationship with my father. And that my friends, is just a quick cursory look at my Top Rated Songs in random order in iTunes.

Weirdly enough, Wonderwall was the "song of the Borgmann/Borne/Hoffman ski trip" in 8th grade where I first encountered pot, and to my credit I turned it down on my first offer. It wasn't until spring break later on that year that I did pot (which reminds me of You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette). But You Oughta Know didn't come on this night at Hand in Hand. Wonderwall did. But thinking of my stint with pot at 14 years old got me to think about life change - as 8th grade was also the year I encountered God.

I think one of the most frustrating things about being a minister is that you are making your entire life about "life change" but you rarely get to see life change. I used to want to be a doctor, and I think to myself, that would have been easier to some degree. I would make my life about saving people's physical life, sometimes I would fail, but when I would succeed, I would know it. But in being a minister I rarely get to see what I succeed or fail with, and that is really discouraging - no matter how "successful" & "talented" people tell me I am.

So what do I do? I think about what I am grateful for. I am grateful for people like Nate Hasty, Bob Caley, and Pat Rowland. I want them to know that because of them, my life was changed. Because of them, I didn't follow the drug path in high school. Because of them, I turned from my selfish ways (well, I am trying to). Because of them, I made a purpose out of my life to follow God and hopefully instill life change in others. I just hope my life will be an oasis of life change like these great men and not a mirage.

I am sorry I haven't been posting very much, it has been some crazy days here in Georgia. I won't go into all the boring details, but last night I directed a Michael W. Smith concert and it was awesome.

Now I know what you are thinking: Michael W. Smith, that guy is so lame. And to some degree I would agree with you. He is a little dated (heck, his songs remind me of Freshman year of high school). And frankly, as far as concerts go, it was pretty "lackluster." But from a video director perspective, it was one of the best events I have ever done - and that made it rockin' for me.

Now I have been quoted as saying that one thing I love about worship is that it goes beyond music. And frankly, there are few times I feel closer to God than when I am working (probably only behind playing with Jadyn and traveling). But what I usually mean by that, is that there are moments where I look at something and I realize something fits just so unbelievably perfect, and it was so accidental, but still so perfect, that it had to be the hand of God. It are these moments where I truly feel a part of a father/son relationship with God. Just as a father and son might build something together, there are many times where I feel I am "building" something together with God.

Last night was by far an event that had the most amount of these moments. Athletes refer to these moments as being in the "Zone". I never describe it like that. I describe it more as a partnership. These times are just some "zone" I happen to have stepped into by accident or luck, it is a partnership with the Creator of the Universe, working together, and having a blast doing it.

I needed this too. April/May has been an awful month for me. As my friend Kyle puts it, it was coming at all sides: family, work, personal. It isn't that things are awful, it's just one of those times where you need some good alone time with your Heavenly Father, and working more hours sure as heck doesn't give you that. But this event did, and for that I am grateful.

I have had other "major" events in my short career (Mel Gibson & Lee Strobel Passion of the Christ, etc... ), but this by far was the best. It was a close to perfect as possible, I just wish it was with someone who could have really "rocked the house" ;) (like the Jeremy Camp concert I get to direct in October).