A few weeks ago my brother Tim and sister-in-law Emily asked if it would be possible to send some pictures of our new world here in South Carolina. Specifically they requested pictures of our new friends and church life. Fortunately my good friend Rita got a new fancy camera for Christmas and has been taking a number of pictures for a website project we are working on.

Images on Picasa
Images on Flickr.com

In addition to the pictures I will give a quick run down of a Sunday:

6:45 A.M. – Isaac appears at the bed side and inquires “Daddy – you sleepin?” He then crawls across me to the middle of the bed and requires a blanket and a pillow.

7:00 A.M. – Isaac informs me that he will be playing in his room and asks me what path he should take “second path or first path” (a Dora the Explorer reference) Second path is my reply, because First Path is over mommy and Sarah really doesn’t appreciate being a jungle gym in her current state.

By 8:00 A.M. I have seen the entire alphabet at least once and most of the letters lay at my bed side in a pile – I have made most of the sounds all common animals make and had the “How you spell it Daddy?” question at least 10 times.

9:00 A.M. – I have breakfast ready to go. Most Sunday’s include pancakes and Sarah’s favorite Bacon!

Between 10:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M. – I get a shower and make any last minute preparations for video that might be used in the service. 

12:00 P.M. – Lunch

12:30 P.M. – Head over to the church building

Between 1 P.M. and 2:30 P.M. – Setup. Each week we put up black curtains, setup a 12’ x 12’ screen, setup light trees, sound, drum riser, video projections, rearrange about 150 chairs, put up signage (inside and out), redecorate the foyer area, and setup the stage. I work on getting the walls up and then focus most of my attention to the sound board, speakers, video, computers, and lighting. Quite a process. 

Between 2:30 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. – Sound check, band practice, stage lighting setup, and video. Basically we run through everything, make sure media shout is ready, videos are cued and sound checked, the PC is ready to record the sermon, and the band’s sound levels are good. I get to run the lights, sound, and sermon recording for the service and Rita runs the media shout software and the video.

4:00 P.M. – Will’s sound check (always fun to hear what Will is going to say during sound check)

4:15 P.M. – Sarah and Isaac show up and Isaac always has a big hug for his daddy – sometimes he has a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for me.

4:30 P.M. – Doors open, pre-service music is blasting, and I’m generally looking to find some water and something to snack on. Last week Kyle (the before mentioned Rita’s Husband and our very talented drummer) had tater tots to share. Yummy!

4:55 P.M. – Places everyone. 

5:00 P.M. to 6:20 P.M. – The Journey Church Gathering - Where I'm stationed behind a big black sound board, Isaac is in the toddler room and Sarah is rotating to her assigned volunteer role (greeter, toddler room or preschool teacher - depending on the Sunday.)

6:30 P.M. – I go get Isaac from childcare so he can run and play in the sanctuary before breakdown begins. He and most of the other kiddos enjoy the open space and freedom to run and scream.

6:45 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. – Breakdown, time to put it all away. Everyone gets into the act including the ladies and children - folding curtains, moving chairs, and rolling up cords. Isaac loves to help daddy put away the cords but he really enjoys collecting the pins (3-1/2 bolts) that hold the curtain structures together in the special bolt box. He does balance his work life and singing career by stopping from time-to-time to sing something that is on his heart. (Favorites include – Take me out to the ballgame, You are my sunshine, and The Pirates who don't do anything.) If he sees a microphone - watch out. All-in-all it takes a mighty effort of about 8 or 9 of us to put it all up and about 15 of us to get it all down.

About 7ish Sarah heads home to make dinner.

8:15 – Isaac’s bedtime. 

8:30 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. – Small Group Materials are created by a team of people based on the message delivered by Will that evening. Will and I record his message to small group leaders for the week and we generally eat something delicious.

10:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. - Sarah types up the questions, insights, and instructions for the week. I take the recorded sermon message and work with the audio to balance the sound and prepare it for the web.

By 11:30 - the Sermon for the week is posted to the website along with the small group audio message Will recorded earlier and the small group questions and instructions.

Just enough time left for a glass of milk, a cookie, and a kiss before drifting off into dream land. Goodnight…

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