Feels like I haven’t been up early enough to not be rushing out of my mind and flying down the freeway. Today was the first time I’ve been up on time in a while. Thanks @saraperez.
Got to the Palladium on time along with most of our volunteer staff and band….no trailer!
We’re hanging out inside the theater because it’s freakin’ cold outside. Waiting…waiting…waiting…
The trailer is usually at the theater by 8:30ish. We’ve talked about purposely showing up late with the trailer so that our setup team and volunteers are forced to really pull together and work hard and fast. I wish I had planned this but I can’t really take any credit for what happened next.
Trailer gets to the Palladium at 9:10 or so. That’s almost 45 minutes after we usually set up. Didn’t matter!!!!
Our team was sick today! We did new stuff with lights and the stage and they still got set up with plenty of time for the band to warm up, for some worship and prayer time and to go through the lineup several times. Freakin’ awesome.
Everyone seemed to be really calm setting up in a hurry. I didn’t even seem like we were in a rush.
We had some hiccups with video setup. They still got everything done on time. Way to go @txroadshow & @lindasolis.
I’ve learned so much from Ralf. I’m super uptight when it comes to setup on Sundays. He teaches me to chill out. He’s patient and smart. Great work with the band Ralf, it’s an honor to work by your side and I’m better for it.
Band was awesome as usual with the exception of a little stumble on some words. @mike127 is still the best ever. That guy pumps me up.
Mike and Megan picked up a pair of Blackberry Curves. They just got on the cool kids list.
Raised two thirds of our stage up from 18” to three feet! The band was shakin’ in their boots! Can you say “afraid of heights??”
Started a series called “Addict” today. We have a number of recovering addicts who blew us away with their stories. @kevj got real authentic with his own addictions to pornography. He makes it easier for all of us who struggle in that area to man up and kick that addiction. What’s your addiction? Sex? Alcohol? Porn? Gambling? Attention? Drama? Food?
We used a lot of video this week and it went great. Good transitions. I always think I need to micromanage the video and lights but I just need to let go. Sorry guys. I wont do that anymore. You guys do great every week.
Lots of new people at Imagine. Biggest weekend attendance! Woohooo!
I was on the live tweet this weekend and it was cool. Had a chance to interact with some new twitter followers who are diggin’ twurch.
Breakdown is fun. We have a ton of people stick around and help. It would take forever to thank them all but they’re awesome.
So the guys are loading stuff up in the trailer and there are about seven Imagine females huddled up talking…Matt and I know this can’t be going good. Are they complaining about us? Is one of those girls braggin’ on her perfect man…which will just get us in trouble for all the bad husbands we are?? Turned out ok, whew!!
I love Imagine Fellowship.
After service, a woman said to me, “This church is great, I loved it!” Welcome to the club. Imagine is a place where people can be themselves. We’ll take you just where you are introduce you to a God that can turn your life upside down, shake loose everything that you’ve been trying to fix for years and put everything back together again.
So we pulled off another Sunday without any major problems. At the foundation of what we does is a loving God who makes it all possible. I mean, there’s no way such a small team of people should be able to do what we do every week at Imagine. The leaders God has assembled are truly amazing. From those in charge of hospitality, kids and greeting to the strong guys who unload and load the trailer every week, it’s a team effort. Here are some thoughts from today…
We were worried about heavy rain during set up, turns out that wasn’t a problem.
I think I’ve said this before but I really enjoy getting up early to get the trailer.
There was lots of help this morning to unload. That always makes things go more smoothly.
Cast Away is on right now. I would have died on that island.
There was a Ryan Stockton (Did I spell that right?) sighting. So glad he’s back. That guy worked hard today and got a lot done.
Israel was not there today. He’s in Houston helping get the HEB stores back on their feet. Stay safe buddy. Get back here soon.
Lots of problems with the lights but it always gets done in the end. We’ve got some good guys working in that area and they know how to get it done.
I watched very little football today and that is not a good thing. Cowboys v. Eagles tomorrow! It wont be a good week if the boys lose.
Over the last week, we’ve signed up like 10 people on twitter. Twitter is such a good way to get connected. Latest additions include: mjimison, misterlos11, perezr07.
I don’t think we’ve figured out how to really show people how fantastic twitter is for hooking up with other folks at Imagine. I need to work on that this week.
So Kev and I shot some video with Brent. He did his magic and we showed our first series promo video during service. I think it was a big hit. We got some laughs and that’s always good. You can check it out on this blog or here.
I heard through the grape vine that Jennifer and Heather rode to church together. That’s just cool.
Oh nothing, just that MY WIFE AND I ARE EXPECTING A BABY!!!
Scary clouds while we were loading up the trailer. We got the tarp on right before it started raining. Glad we got to use that tarp. One more thing we’re prepared for.
Ralf almost killed himself on the way to the storage place with the trailer. Trailer got a little squirly in the rain. Glad he’s ok, we need that guy on guitar.
The band rocked. If you’d like a list of songs the band does on Sundays, email ralf@imaginefellowship.org and he’ll hook you up.
The folks in kids are amazing. So glad they want to serve and make imaginekids great. After service I went in there to check ‘em out and I heard a kid say to her mom, “I had so much fun!” I love it!
Some idiot cut me off at 6AM this morning. I’m pulling a trailer and this guy is just blind or something. And right before I tell him that he’s number 1, there’s a moment of pause, self control and… I figured he wouldn’t see the international gesture for “you’re a jerk” because it was too dark. God’s always trying to teach me something, today’s lesson: Grow up Ralpho, don’t throw the finger when someone cuts you off.
We had one of our biggest Sundays not including the grand opening. Imagine is seeing steady growth which is the best kind. It’s just a matter of time before it blows up!
My hands are just filthy gross by the time I drive away from the palladium.
Over the weekend, I was following a bunch of people on twitter who were from Galveston and Houston. Scary stuff!
I feel good about this coming week. There’s a ton to do and we’ve got so many crazy fun ideas for the next series.
This past Sunday we told you that in a few weeks we were going to be using Twitter during the sermon. Like most things in life, Twitter is more fun with the more people you have playing along. So here’s what to do. Go to twitter.com and register for a free account. Once you’ve done that, you need to tie your cell phone to it. So go to settings, then devices. Follow the instructions for the mobile phone side of things so you can do your twittering from your phone in the service. One more thing, you need to “follow” imagine fellowship on twitter. So go to the search bar at the top and type in imagine fellowship. Once it comes up, hit follow. That’s it, you’re ready to be a part of one of the first churches in the country to use twitter during church!
If Twitter freaks you out and you don’t understand it, check out the video below from commoncraft.com, they explain it in plain English.
