Sunday Review 11/15

Not sure why, but we do "There's Something About That Name" differently every time we attempt it. I'm sure that's my fault somehow. It's always good, just different.

The Praise Team was on fire this week. Loved the first set with "Mighty to Save." Great guitar solo by Claude in one section. I just wonder if anyone else heard it?

I really love the lady's ensemble. Great job once again girls!

Next week, we have baby dedication. Our latest edition is already excited (LOL). Can't wait to see what God has in store!

Sunday Review 11/8/09

I know I sound like a broken record, but I thought we had another really good service this week. Attendance appeared to be up and I saw several new first-time visitors. It really is an exciting time to be a part of West End Baptist Church.
After last week's "near miss," the Praise Team returned to the type of quality service we've come to expect and Melanie's solo was a great change of pace for our special music.
Justin did a GREAT job with the message and I really enjoyed coordinating the song "Draw Me Close" with the sermon. There was more movement during the invitation than I can remember in a long time.
I'm grateful to be a part of the West End family!

In Christ,
Michael

Sunday Review 11/1/09

I'll be the first to admit that sometimes we just don't seem to have "it." Today was one of those days. The Praise Team did two sets we've done several times before; but, for some reason, I just wasn't really feeling "it" today. Great songs, great effort, but just so-so results. Oh well, we'll do better next week.

One big plus: the acapela start to The Solid Rock was a great idea...thanks Terry.

One observation on today's sermon: If Jesus never specifies "how" the sower casts his seeds but only describes the soil on which the seeds land, why do so many church's assume that their way of sowing is the only acceptable one? Just a thought...

Have a Great Week!
In Christ,
Michael

Sunday Review 10/25/09 FRIEND DAY

Let me begin this post by admitting that I have never been a fan of "promotional days" that churches often pull just to artificially inflate their numbers for one or two Sundays a year. I have personally been invited to attend (and have attended) "Friend Days" at other churches. I always felt a bit out of place, mostly due to the fact that I was leaving my own church which I was faithful to and to which the person that invited me knew I was faithful to, just to make a one time appearance and help "pack the pews" of another church where I would likely never visit again!

However, what I witnessed this morning at West End Baptist Church was something quite different. From the moment we announced this campaign weeks ago, our emphasis was on the un-saved and un-churched, as well as those who traditionally attend church but might be without a church home at present. While I'm sure that some present did indeed leave their own churches to be with us today, I know that the majority fell into one of the above three categories.

The end result was an attendance of approximately 300 (298 is the exact number I was told)! To God be the glory! In my time at West End, this was the most unified effort at evangelism that I have witnessed. Currently, there seems to be an enthusiasm and anticipation in the air at what God is about to do in our presence. Most are realizing that West End's best days are not behind it after all and that they are now fortunate enough to be witnessing what it takes to truly build a church, the right way! The pieces are slowly being put into place and I'm excited (and priviledged) to be a part of it. I can't wait to see what happens next week!

As for my review of today's music; in one word: AWESOME! We did have one hiccup in the introduction of the first set, but the musicians all pressed on until we could get the train back on the tracks. Audience participation was much better during the second set, and I was amazed at how many of our visitors actually knew the words to our selections. I guess not all the other churches in our area stick to traditional hymns and southern gospel after all (did I just say that? That's a topic for a later post! lol). Today's service was an example of "blended worship" at it's best.

The choir was the best I've stood in front of. Most don't even realize that our choir has more than doubled in size in just the past three months! We've added dedicated people who actually consider it an honor to sing God's praises as part of a larger group. Those are the people God can use. Neither He nor I have much use for those who came and went when they weren't awarded a solo (ouch! I said that too didn't I?). Thank you choir! You finally "get it!" We are not performing for our congregation, we're singing praises for our savior! Now wait and see what we can do...and He can do through us!

Next Sunday we'll see how much fruit the seed we sowed this week will bear. I can hardly wait!

God Bless!
Michael

Sunday Review 10/18/09

Awesome, spirit-filled Praise and Worship time this week. Great Call to Worship, Praise Team was on fire, and the choir special was as good as ever. Follow that by a very inspirational sermon on sowing seed and God is bound to move...right?

Just one question: What is so important that it can't wait until 15 minutes past twelve to get home to? Maybe it's just me, but the spirit was quenched beyond recovery while witnessing the mass exodus from the back rows as we were preparing for the invitation. Anyone who's ever been to church knows that is the most important time of the service by far, yes? Decisions might be made affecting someone's eternity or which church they call home. I'm just sayin' (and probably shouldn't be).

Anyway, a special thanks this week to our rhythm and accompaniment musicians for showing up on a chilly Saturday morning for an extra rehearsal. I certainly noticed the improvement on Sunday. We are now blessed with a guitarist for "the band." I'm looking forward to working with Claude, he is truly an answer to prayer.

"Friend Day" next week. Hope the house is packed! Wouldn't it be great to see someone make the most important decision of their life? That's alot more important than where their church membership lies. What if we ALL brought just ONE?

In Christ,
Michael

Sunday Review 10/11/09

Today was another in a long line of good services. I am constantly amazed at how things always seem to come together musically...even when I have my doubts. To God be the glory!

Honestly, even up until around 9am, I didn't think we would pull off "Sing, Sing, Sing." I am slowly learning never to underestimate the West End musicians. GREAT job by all, you really brought your A-game this week!

What I learned from today's Praise and Worship: Our congregation claps better on songs that are a "little" slower than today's feature. I almost got amused on the platform at all of the "off-beat" clapping going on! But...at least most endured for as long as they could keep up, lol.

About choir today: Where was everyone? We had 26 present for practice Wednesday night but only 11 in service this morning! At least I can can say that those who were there gave their all. "Holy is He" was as good as it's ever been, even shorthanded.

I'm already looking forward to and planning for both next Sunday and especially Friend Day. Please pray that God will continue to work through our music department...and through you if you're a part of that.

God Bless!
Michael

Sunday Review 10/4/09

Okay, did anyone else get that the pastor was upset over the lack of Friend Day contracts submitted today? I certainly did and I COMPLETELY agree with him. I mean, it's not as if we're inviting people to come hear an Amway presentation or something. We're inviting them to come and experience something that could totally change their lives. We're offering to expose them to the gospel and a decision that could impact their future for ETERNITY! For someone, WEBC Friend Day 2009 could be the day they make the most important decision of their life! I hope others got the message as vividly as I did.

As for today's music, I thought things went quite smoothly. There were once again more technical issues revolving around our electric drum set, but I'm sure only Terry and I noticed. He does a great job compensating when the equipment isn't behaving just right. It frustrates me to see him so frustrated over this piece of junk our local music store sold us (I'm not printing the name of the "only" music store in town in hopes that they'll decide to do the right thing and stand behind what they sold us...but, I'm not holding my breath!).

I really enjoyed today's special music. Those guys have been visiting for a while, and then two of the three joined the church during today's invitation. If I would have known that, I would have asked them to sing weeks ago! (BTW, I'm almost certain the third plans to follow suit and join very soon as well.)

Once again, the choir loft was almost completely full today, and we only sang the Call to Worship. I almost hated to waste those numbers, but I finally feel like we're entering into a "growth phase" and will be adding seats soon so I did as I had felt lead to do earlier in the week.

Speaking of growth, remember this time a year ago when the choir loft was also full? For some reason (experience?), I just never felt comfortable that we would retain those "new" choir members. I think most just wanted to test out the new guy and see what I was all about. I even remember telling one of our deacons that alot of that was what I considered "wildfire"...put out as quickly as it blazed up. These days, our new folks seem truly dedicated and inspired to sing praises for all the right reasons. To God be the glory!

Have a Great Week!
In Christ,
Michael

Wednesday Choir Practice

Just wanted to say thank you for those who attended choir practice this week. We had our largest group in recent memory.

Things are really starting to take off and it's really exciting. We have three new choir members that have joined in the past two weeks and several more that I have my eyes on. I really appreciate those that accepted my challenge.

I said when I came to West End last year that my goal was for the choir to equal at least 20-25% of our weekly attendence. We are now meeting those numbers and may soon pass them. I guess we'll just have to grow a bigger church to match our choir, huh???

Now...one last thing...we need more MEN! Bring 'em if you got 'em ladies!

Enjoy the rest of your week!
In Christ,
Michael

And Even the Adults Too Shall Eat Cake!

Today our family celebrates the anniversary of the birth of our matriarch (that means it's Susan's birthday for those who didn't follow that). As you can see in the above photo, Ally made her mom a delicious red velvet cake which we sampled before she left for work Sunday night. It was awesome! So moist you could barely cut it with a knife with homemade cream-cheese icing. I think Ally's baking skills should become a traditional part of our "cake-eating" ritual.

I am very proud to call Susan my wife and the mother of my children. There is not a more perfect picture of God's grace on the planet. She and I have shared every possible emotion.

The loss of our first child, then the birth of our first son and daughter. Just when we thought we had "our family" in-house, God saw fit to literally "give" us another daughter. When our plan was to become foster parents in order to bless others, God saw fit to instead bless us with our little angel, Alex. Then, just eight months ago, we got to experience the birth of our youngest (and last!) son, Eli.

Susan is the best friend anyone could ever hope for. She works as a hospice nurse and has selflessly worked to help support our family during my time of unemployment. I have witnessed her come to the aid of family, friends, and patients alike whenever asked and never expect anything back in return.

Like most marriages, our fifteen-plus years together has at times been a roller-coaster, but there's no one else I'd rather ride it with. When something is truly God's will, not even satan himself can change it.

Thanks for the ride honey! I love you!

Happy birthday!

Celebrate the life God gave you.....and "eat cake!"

Michael

Sunday Review 9/27/09

WOW!
Awesome service this morning all the way around.

The day kicked off with our children's choir sounding as good as I've ever heard them. And, I must say, our little Alex was just adorable singing along on the front row. I didn't even know that she knew those songs! Also, the two little girls that sang solos both have beautiful voices...we'll be hearing from them again soon!

Praise and Worship was great as well. "Blessed Be Your Name" is definitely one of our church's favorites.

Then, to conclude our musical portion of the service, our lady's choir provided the icing on the cake. I'd been looking forward to this one since we practiced it last Wednesday. Our ladies' voices were just angelic. Hands down the best I've heard from an all-ladies choir!

Great job young and old (okay..."older") alike!
I'm already looking forward to next week!

In Christ,
Michael

The West End Music Challenge 2009

I would like to officially issue a challenge to all West End choir members:

Within the Next Two Weeks, invite one person to join our choir!

I already spoke to my target yesterday, and I know some others already have their sights set on someone. Let's make it a group effort! Just invite one new person to help us with the Christmas cantata...I'll worry about trying to retain them after that!

Happy Hunting!

Sunday Review 9/20/09

Another good service yesterday. It looked like attendance was up a little to me. We only had three empty seats in the choir loft, and I can easily name three "regulars" who were not with us yesterday! I'm looking forward to the day when we need to add more chairs up there! Something tells me it won't be long...

The choir sounded terrific; much better than the last time we tried that song! That day, myself, along with every other man present, forgot to sing the second verse. The one labeled, "Men Only!" I think maybe I overcompensated and oversang yesterday to make sure it didn't happen again.

The Praise Team was good, but it just never feels the same without the drums. I really miss Terry when he can't make it! I just don't understand those churches who believe percussion instruments were spawned by satan...they should probably look "under the hood" of their pianos (ask me to explain if you don't get that, lol).

I'm already looking forward to next week's service! See you Wednesday!

In Christ,
Michael

Let Them Eat Cake...Part II

Another birthday has come and gone...Our oldest daughter, Ally recently celebrated her 12th birthday. Consequently, she participated in her first volleyball game at her middle school on that same day. As one of the starters, she has been designated as the "setter". We are so proud of her. She is quite the competitor and loves most any sport. We're so glad that she always has a great attitude and displays wonderful sportsmanship.

Ally entered our lives on September 9th, 1997 as a healthy, bouncing bundle of joy. Our blonde bombshell has been referred to quite often by our family, as "Blondina". Ally is kind to others, intelligent, and full of compassion. She typically roots for the underdog and thrives on helping others and pleasing those in authority. She was voted captain by her volleyball team and was recently chosen as an FCA leader. (Fellowship of Christian Athletes)

For her birthday this year, she requested an IceCream Cake along with one of her favorite meals, Taco Soup. Her daddy and I happily obliged. Her oreo blizzard cake made its way to our home and straight to our mouths! Surrounded by family, she blew out the candle signifying another year had passed by. We look forward to celebrating many more years with Ally...our beautiful Blondina as she is lovingly called. Please pray for her as she continues to grow into a precious young lady and finds God's path for her life...and as I have said before, above all, celebrate the life God gave you in them and Let Them Eat Cake!!

Sunday Review 9/20/09

Once again, another good service yesterday. Congregation participation during our Praise and Worship time was as good as it's ever been, especially during the first set.

Our crowd really enjoys the more up-tempo songs; well, at least it seems most do. I thought we literally transitioned well from PRAISE with "You Are Good," to WORSHIP during "Draw Me Close."

Justin's special was good as always and was a fitting conclusion to the music part of our service (...except for that embarassing sound his guitar made initially, LOL).

Wednesday night, the choir will begin, in earnest, working on this year's Christmas contata. I'm looking forward to this Christmas season already!

See you soon!
In Christ,
Michael

Sunday Review 9/06/09

Man, I LOVE a 3-day holiday weekend...but I HATE the 4-day work week that follows! Am I the only one that feels a day behind already this week?

This past Sunday (was it just two days ago?) was one of our ordinary services.
...Perhaps it's just me, but I'm looking forward to God giving us an extra-ordinary service pretty soon. We have had a few of those in the past in case you might have missed them and I'm sure there will be more to come.

Anyway, I thought things went well musically. The choir was good and the praise team members present stepped up for those who were unable to attend due to illness, births, or vacations. We have become quite versatile in the past several months in that regard.

I was, once again, very proud of my family for our medley, "Cherish the Cross." I am very blessed to not only have a talented family, but especially blessed that they are all willing to use those talents for the Lord. I think we should hurry and teach Alex and Eli an instrument so they don't feel left out!

Although I have always made it a practice to NOT comment on sermons, I will make an exception and say that I thought Justin did an exceptional job this past week. It is very refreshing to hear it said from the pulipt that we should all seek out our own God-given ministries and not always seek out the church's approval or endorsement. Far too many church's attempt to "lay claim" to every members individual efforts in order to make themselves look good or attract larger numbers. Our bigger inspiration should be to labor for the "church of the living God"...not necessarily just West End Baptist Church. Well done and well said, Justin!

Sunday Review 8/30/09

What can I say, the music-side of yesterday's service went quite well...the audio/visual side, not so well.

I immediately new we were in trouble when the visiting speaker, Johnathon Herron, handed me a disc before service and stated that it contained his "Powerpoint."  Now, those of you with even limited computer knowledge will know that "Powerpoint" is a visual presentation software used to present slideshows and other presentations.  We very rarely use "Powerpoint" during our services.  So rarely, in fact, that the newest version had not been downloaded since we upgraded our computer some three months ago.

God bless Marshall (our "Video Presentation Specialist").  He labored to get things settled before service began but; unfortunately, didn't quite get things aligned before we began.

The first Praise and Worship set went seemlessly (albeit, longer than I had realized) and we moved into the "Greeting" portion of the day as usual.  That's when I began to notice, on the BIG screen for all to see, that Marshall was adjusting the monitor controls for our second set. 

Needless to say, almost everyone in attendance was familiar with the song "In Christ Alone."  However, being familiar with a tune and being able to sing the lyrics from memory are two very different things.  Basically, without the use of our projection system, the Praise Team presented a quite stirring rendition while our congregation hummed along, looking quite lost and much like a calf at a new gate.

O well, expect the unexpected I always say.  Even with the hiccup in production, things went very well musically.  The choir's version of Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) was quite inspiring and the service moved along as expected.

I'm continually amazed at how well our choir pulls things together on Sundays, even when attendance at rehearsals on Wednesdays has been quite scarce.  Wonder what we could accomplish if everyone (that possibly can) attended practice each week???  Maybe God only knows...  Or, maybe one day we'll find out...

Before I close, I would like to express my appreciation for our instrumental accompanists.  Our interim pianist, Joey, has done an excellent job filling in for Linda while she's been away.  Those are huge shoes to fill!  I am always amazed at how Terry can step in on Sundays after working out of town all week and provide exactly the drum licks I was looking for.  I can honestly say I have never worked with a more talented drummer.

And...I should also mention, Marshall and his crew always do an excellent job upstairs with the projection system.  None of what went wrong Sunday was in any way their fault...just the usual annoying computer glitches.  Thanks to all our volunteers!

Thanks to all who sang and glorified God yesterday as well!  See you at the "next appointed time!"

In Christ,
Michael

"Let them eat cake!"

August 21st...Evan's 14th birthday. (Consequently it also marked his first week of high school.) Born four weeks early in 1995, he was an answered prayer. Weighing in at 6 lbs. 15 oz., he was barely able to cry. His breaths were shallow, his chest was retracting, and he was turning a light shade of blue. A new mom's worst nightmare. I was paralyzed with fear for my baby. Before we knew it, he was rushed to a larger hospital that specialized in neonatology. Those few short days of sickness seemed like years at the time. Michael and I were young and really didn't understand any of the medical jargon whispered all around us nor did we understand how this could be happening to our son. All we knew was that we wanted to take home a healthy little boy.

...Obviously, he made a full recovery. He's a great kid; smart, funny, ambitious, and handsome. Unfortunately, wonderful attributes don't make a mother worry any less. In fact, I probably worry more!


A friend recently recently told me about a book entitled, "If Satan Can Get Your Firstborn..." I haven't read or researched this book yet, but just the title speaks volumes to me. Younger children always watch and learn, so to speak, especially their older siblings. My goal as a mother is to protect him and love him, but to also teach him to protect his own testimony and to be mindful of how his three younger siblings look to him for their own behavior modifications.


As parents, we do pick our battles; and, as far as I'm concerned, raising a teenager is a daily battle. If you start to lose the small ones, or think they don't matter, it will have a domino effect. Before you know it, all of your pieces are down and you have nothing left.


I encourage you to fight for your child. Love them enough to let them hate you (if that's what it takes), and; through it all, celebrate the life that God has given you in them. ...And, as often as possible, let them eat cake...especially on their birthday!

God Bless!
Susan

Welcome

In celebration of my one year anniversary as Worship Leader, Susan and I have decided to start this blog dedicated to the awesome things God is doing through our church's music department. Check back often (or subscribe below) to read reviews of previous services, preview upcoming services, and to remain informed about what's happening at West End.
We also plan to occassionally give you a glimpse into our personal lives and those of our four children.
We hope you enjoy our site and that God will use it to expand the reach of West End Baptist Church.

Talk to you soon!
Michael