The Ark in Jan
Alisha (who is the Fusion coordinator for The Ark), left me voice mail yesterday, asking if I could take care of coordinating worship for The Ark in January. She will be out of town and won't be able to do it. Pretty much putting this here as one way of reminding myself that I have to do it!

• Jan 12: Worship for Sunday Service
  
• Jan 22: Worship on a Wed night during communion

Kevin is back by the 5th, so he'll probably do Sunday worship as usual.
On the 22nd we need some worship going on during communion. I'll see if Kevin, or maybe Michael, could do it.
posted by James at 8:27 AM

CD Team 2 on the 4th
CD Team 2 is playing on the 4th of Jan. Nichole is going to be out of town, so Denna will be leading.
posted by James at 8:18 AM

More on the 28th
Michael called last night (Thanks!) and let me know that two more people have told him they aren't going to be here the 28th. Kevin's family is going skiing, and Ashley is going to a wedding. I kind of figured Kevin wasn't going to make it. When he told me there was a small chance he wouldn't make it, I just knew he wouldn't. So, the band now consists of:

• Michael, lead vocal, guitar
  
• Nick - drums
  
• Nathan - bass
  
• Meg - guitar, viola
  
• Jaime - background vocals - possibly some lead

Like I said in the last entry, this is quite a bit less than normal. In fact, some people have said, "How can we do it with so few people?" But... most bands consist of about this many people! Lead guitar, rythmn guitar, bass, drums, and two vocals.

The more I think about it, the more confident I become. I think it is actually going to be a great oppurtunity for Michael to lead, Jaime to sing "on her own", and all the musicians to shine. Yeah... with so few people mistakes are easier to notice... but it also means you can't count on getting lost in the mix. You're it! (Not to add any more pressure. :-)). Anyway, I think it is going to be great. I am thinking about moving practice to 2:00 though. I'll call Michael and see what he thinks.

I really think it is going to be a great time of worship!
posted by James at 7:12 AM

Christmas break
Wow... I'm not going anywhere for Christmas, and I hadn't heard anyone else was, so I kind of assumed the entire band was going to be around. We are playing on the 28th. Turns out most of them will NOT be around!

Talked to Michael and he'll lead. Here is who we think will be around, and what songs we'll be doing:

• Michael - lead vocal, guitar
  
• Nick - drums
  
• Kevin - bass
  
• Nathan - guitar
  
• Meg - viola, guitar
  
• Ashley - background vocals
  
• Jaime - background vocals

So, even though that is quite a bit less that normal, it is plenty! Even if Kevin goes skiing (small change), we could still move Nathan to bass and we be in good shape. And the songs:

• Deeper
  
• I Lift My Eyes Up - never version
  
• Here I am to Worship
  
• I Could Sing of Your Love
  
• Breathe

And we might learn "Dance in the river"... although with a different team than normal and already learning a new version of "I Lift My Eyes Up", I'm not sure. But it is possible.

I know that some people are worried that without the whole team, things will be "off". But I dont' think so. I think everyone who will be here has great skills/heart and I think God will use you guys. I think it is going to be great.
posted by James at 11:26 AM

Saturday
Its been a busy "week". Jim Richards has been here since Saturday, and I've been doing stuff at the church before and after work, so haven't had time to update till now!

Saturday was very cool. The worship team did great. I think a number of adults were very surprised. They said how great everyone did. Quite a few teens from the Ark came down, which was cool. Jim did an alter call and I think 5 or 6 kids got saved!

As I said, worship was great - even though I think some people were a bit nervous when it started. After service they did a song or two at the request of Pastor Joe, and then just kept going... until Scott said, "Well my voice is getting sore, so I guess that's it." A few things to note for next time:

1. If someone is praying during the intro of a song, and the intro is over and they are still praying.... don't start the song! Stay in the intro. Nichole (and maybe Nat) got "walked on" because the song started and they were still playing. That was the only "flow" problem we had, and I think it was just because people were a bit nervous.
   
2. If we are going long, and someone gets tired, voice is sore, whatever; don't end the service! We usually have 3 people who can lead on stage, at the mics, at any point in time... and we usually have backup muscians as well. If God is doing something and its all flowing along, don't stop! Or even if we are just jamming and having fun... don't stop - at least until everyone is ready to stop.
   

All in all it was very cool. Oh... and Jaime and Erika did their "little moves" during praise... just for me! :-) It was cool. Thanks!
posted by James at 11:19 AM

Next 6 months
Pastor Rick has finished the next calendar, and this time instead of a 4 months, its for 6 months! I think he did that to get everything on there up to the mission trip to Costa Rica!

He asked for my input, so we've got all the worship team dates (when the cd teams play, when the band plays, band practice, etc.) plus the addresses for both this blog and the Fusion Worship - Costa Rica 2003 blog, are on there. Looking over the schedule there is some pretty cool oppurtunities for the team. Pastor Rick wants to do a total worship night again, this time in Feburary. And we are going to have the youth team do it. I think that will be so awesome, and another chance for us to grow as a team. Also there are some things associated with the mission trip, such as overnight trips, etc. and the worship team will be taking part in those too.

Its just very cool to have this all mapped out so we know where we are going, what we need to pray for, etc. Also Jonathan is here from Costa Rica, and we are going to start talking about the logistics of having the worship team play there... Things are moving forward!
posted by James at 7:11 AM

This Saturday
I was thinking about worship this Saturday, when Jim Richards is here, last night before I went to bed. I then woke up at 3:30, worship songs going on in my head, and started thinking about it some more. Since it was 3:30 and there isn't much to do, ;-), I started praying about it... and I got very excited. I know that God is going to do some AWESOME stuff this Saturday night. This is such a great oppurtunity for us to lead other people into worship. Some people that have never experienced this kind of intimate worship with God.

Brother Jim is going to be here for 5 days, teaching, bringing us a new and awesome word from God. I don't think it is a coincidence that the Fusion Worship team is kicking off this event. We will be setting the tone for the rest of the week! I think Saturday night is going to change some people's lives! They will never be the same again, because they are going to see a side of God in worship that they have never seen before. They are going to draw closer to Him and hear His voice. It is going to be awesome!

You guys really need to pray this up. Get your hearts ready! Be ready to lead people in worship... but most importantly, be ready TO WORSHIP. As you go before the Father, and you worship Him, you will lead others in. EXPECT great things on Saturday. I really feel that something great is going to happen, and that God is going to take the team to a new level. Be prepared!
posted by James at 4:18 AM