Amazing stuff in music!

A look at music distribution and the pioneers who are changing everything.

Music has been a part of culture, more specifically American culture, since its inception. Whether it's a flute and drums playing a marching tune or the invention of the phonograph transforming parlors everywhere, Americans have always had music integrated into their lives. Yet in recent years, the recording industry has been knocked back on its heels.

In 2007, a Rolling Stone article entitled "The Record Industry’s Decline" had one senior music-industry source predict, "Here we have a business that's dying. There won't be any major labels pretty soon." Two years later, the Big 4 still control more than 80 percent of the market. While it is obvious no one should write obituaries yet, the industry isn’t exactly booming. Even with digital sales continually increasing, the overall health is shaky at best.

CD sales have dropped 48.9 percent since 2000. Approximately 2,680 record stores closed in the U.S. in the past 4.5 years. While upstarts are trying to branch in new directions, the established industry is scrambling for alternative ways to profit, like collecting from the 30-second iTunes clips and cell phones packaged with music downloading. iTunes latest attempt to recapture the album market centers around the iTunes LP, packaged with videos, liner notes, lyrics and discographies.

Recent defections from labels and the continued success of bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have destroyed the ideology that one needs a record label to have commercial success. But these two are titans in the business. Radiohead’s In Rainbows was offered as a download to consumers, letting them pick the price. The pre-release sales profits were still greater than the Radiohead classic Hail to the Thief. Nine Inch Nails’ The Slip was downloaded for free and was downloaded 1.4 million times … and still sold 250,000 copies when released as a physical CD. Not exactly the same concept as a small-time band, struggling to get their name out.

But they are on the cutting edge that may turn this “dying” industry’s loss into long-term gain. The record industry wasn’t getting the job done. Record sales were falling and nothing was changing. The crazy thing is that these strategies, giving music away or letting fans pay what they want, are working. Even for the little guys. Just ask Derek Webb, artist and pioneer of NoiseTrade.

“Better to let [the record] go out there and pass friend to friend and find its audience," Webb says. "As long as their information is coming back to you. Then go and see them all, or offer them something beyond the record that enhances the experience of [it]. I’d rather be a pioneer today than a victim tomorrow."

In 2006, Webb gave away more than 80,000 copies of his Mockingbird record for free online, asking in return for name, email address, postal code and, as part of the process, for fans to invite their friends to download as well. The spike in sold-out shows and record sales was the impetus to create NoiseTrade, a website that enables artists to essentially do the same thing.

NoiseTrade is currently hosting almost 800 CDs, and by offering the service at no cost to the artist, they are taking the same risk they're asking their musicians to take. Judging by the 20,000 downloads in two weeks after the Independence Day 2008 launch, people are liking what they have to offer.

Another new website looking to shake things up is BriteRevolution. Started by another musician, Billy Cerveny, and Nashville entrepreneur Winton Elliott, Brite has the novel goal of bringing music back to its root: music. Hoping to help fans connect on a more regular basis with artist’s music, the current (and expanding) roster of 30 artists put out two songs a month that consumers get access to for a subscription fee.

BriteRevolution is attempting to stand the traditional business model on its head. From their unconventional viewpoint, they don’t tie up the masters for songs, publishing rights or any future obligations. Simply post the songs on the website for two months, and then all rights revert back to the artist. Musicians collect based on number of subscribers and downloads. If their artists have reached a certain benchmark, Brite foots the bill for the recording process.

“We believe in the power of circling the wagon, capitalizing on each other's success,” Cerveny says. “Quality is quality and chances are if you come for one artist, you will end up staying for the other ones. There are a lot of rabbit trails you can chase here, discovering new music.”

Seeing itself as a way for fans to filter through the thousands of bands out there, the artistic community is invite-only. The “musical version of a USDA stamp,” you may not like the flavor of songs, but the quality is always guaranteed. From the 500-600 downloads a day, the early subscribers seem to agree.

The other unique way that Brite operates is their belief in the need to give back. As part of their business model, Brite artists and fans have chosen a number of charities to support with 10 percent of the gross revenue.

“Our catchphrase is that success and philanthropy are different sides of the same coin,” Cerveny says. “Rather than pay lip service to that, we decided to build into that a significant percentage of our gross revenue.”

Both NoiseTrade and BriteRevolution have been around for less than 18 months. Their continued success remains to be seen, and they are by no means the only ones out there trying to do things different. But the system is broken, and they are among the ones trying to fix it.

Halloween, FYI

Why did Martin Luther nail his famous 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church door on October 31, 1517?

He was confronting two religious observances that promoted false saintliness and exploited people’s fear of judgment and purgatory. There’s a curious connection between Halloween and Reformation Day, and it’s more than just proximity on the calendar.

Halloween

Halloween (October 31) is celebrated by millions each year with costumes and candy. Halloween's deepest roots are decidedly pagan, despite its Christianized name. Its origin is Celtic and has to do with summer sacrifices to appease Samhain, the lord of death, and evil spirits. Those doing the pagan rituals believed that Samhain sent evil spirits abroad to attack humans, who could escape only by assuming disguises and looking like evil spirits themselves.

Christians tried to confront these pagan rites by offering a Christian alternative (All Hallows’ Day) that celebrated the lives of faithful Christian saints on November 1. In medieval England the festival was known as All Hallows, hence the name Halloween (All Hallows' eve) for the preceding evening.

All Saints' Day

All Hallows' Day or All Saints' Day (November 1) was first celebrated on May 13, 609, when Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the Virgin Mary. The date was later changed to November 1 by Pope Gregory III, who dedicated a chapel in honor of all saints in the Vatican Basilica. In 837, Pope Gregory IV (827-844) ordered its church-wide observance. Its origin lies earlier in the common commemorations of Christian martyrs. Over time these celebrations came to include not only the martyrs, but all saints. During the Reformation the Protestant churches came to understand “saints” in its New Testament usage as including all believers and reinterpreted the feast of All Saints as a celebration of the unity of the entire Church.

All Souls' Day

All Souls' Day or the Day of the Dead is normally celebrated, primarily by Roman Catholics, on November 2. This is a day dedicated to prayer and almsgiving in memory of ancestors who have died. People pray for the souls of the dead, in an effort to hasten their transition from purgatory to heaven by being purged and cleansed from their sins.

Reformation Day

Reformation Day (October 31) commemorates Luther's posting of his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. This act triggered the Reformation, as they were immediately translated and distributed across Germany in a matter of weeks. The Protestant Reformation was the rediscovery of the doctrine of justification—salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone—and the protest against the corruption within the Roman Catholic Church.

The century before the Reformation was marked by widespread dismay with the venality of the leaders in the Roman Catholic Church and with its false doctrines, biblical illiteracy, superstition, and corruption. Monks, priests, bishops, and popes in Rome taught unbiblical doctrines like the selling of indulgences, the treasury of merit, purgatory, and salvation through good works.

Treasury of Merit

Spiritually earnest people were told to justify themselves by charitable works, pilgrimages, and all kinds of religious performances and devotions. They were encouraged to acquire this “merit,” which was at the disposal of the church, by purchasing certificates of indulgence. This left them wondering if they had done or paid enough to appease God's righteous anger and escape his judgment.

This was the context that prompted Luther’s desire to refocus the church on salvation by grace through faith on account of Christ by imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us. To those spiritually oppressed by indulgences and not given assurance of God’s grace, Luther proclaimed free grace to God’s true saints:

God receives none but those who are forsaken, restores health to none but those who are sick, gives sight to none but the blind, and life to none but the dead. He does not give saintliness to any but sinners, nor wisdom to any but fools. In short: He has mercy on none but the wretched and gives grace to none but those who are in disgrace. Therefore no arrogant saint, or just or wise man can be material for God, neither can he do the work of God, but he remains confined within his own work and makes of himself a fictitious, ostensible, false, and deceitful saint, that is, a hypocrite (Luther W.A. 1.183ff).

Instead of the treasury of merit that was for sale, Luther protested, “The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God” (Thesis 62).

Harvest Party succes

Hey there everyone! Man last night was awesome. We had some great times in the hay maze, I know alot of people got lost and took a spin in the tube that spun, so man I call that a great night.

But most importantly! We got to talk about Jesus, we got to share the amazing gospel with over 100 students last night. That was the best part about last night. We will hopefully have some pictures to put up here later, so that everyone can see what we did.

Thank you to all the people that helped out, from the smuckers, to the small group leaders, to the drivers. Thank you Thank you Thank you!

I have a bunch of things to read today so I will probable post some thoughts on articles I am reading and books so keep up here on the blog for some cool things!

P.A.

Teen Worship

Teaching teens to worship…

It seems like this is something that several youth workers struggle with. How do I get my teenagers to get past that “all eyes are on me” culture/attitude that they are swimming in to the “all eyes on Jesus” mindset that we so long for them to grasp?

I think it comes in time with frequent reminders from that worship is NOT ABOUT US. It is about Him.

If we can stop getting students thinking about themselves and/or the person standing next to them during our Wednesday night rally services, that is a BIG first step.

Time after time I’ve seen students enter in to no-holds-barred worship when the “atmosphere is right”: when the place is filled with teenagers lost in passionate worship… when the music is loud and the band is tight… when the lights are set… and when the smoke machine is on. The camp atmosphere… where it’s hard NOT to enter in. You know what I mean.

But I want to challenge our students to remember that God is worthy of ALL of our praise even when the group is small, when the music isn’t on, when they are not in the church building, and even when they don’t FEEL like it.

Let’s encourage our students to get to a place in their lives where they so comfortable in worshiping God that when they encounter a situation where it is hard, that worship is already a part of who they are and it comes naturally.

One more thing: let’s step outside of ourselves as leaders and lead the way. Some practical thoughts on student worship next week…

8 Keys to personal Prayer

Keys to Personal Prayer

1. Pray In Jesus' Name. Real prayer is Christological. There are numerous New Testament references that talk about the importance of praying in the name of Jesus. Jesus even said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you" (John 16:23). When we pray in the name of Jesus, God the Father hears us. He responds to the prayer that is offered in the name of his Son Jesus.
2. Pray According to God's Will. God is not a Santa Claus in the sky; he does not give us just anything we ask for. But in 1 John 5:14 it says, "If we ask anything according to his will he hears us." This means that when we pray in accordance with his will we can expect an answer.
3. Scriptural Prayer. One the best ways to pray is to pray according to Scripture. John 15:7 says, "If you abide in me, and my word abides in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." If God's word is in us then his desires become our desires, and we can have the assurance that he will answer our prayers. Make sure that your prayers are in line with Scripture.
4. Keep Commandments. "And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him" (1 John 3:22). God honors those who honor his commandments. If you keep his commandments and do what is pleasing, then you can be assured that he will hear your prayers.
5. You Must Believe. "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith" (Matthew 21:22). The Lord wants us to have faith that he will hear our prayers. Hebrews says, "without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). The Lord promises to respond to our prayer of faith.
6. Pray in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prayer. Paul tells us to pray at all times in the Spirit. Romans 8:26 reads, "Likewise the Spirit also helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." We don't always know how to pray or feel like praying, so we need the Spirit's power to help us.
7. Be Persistent. Don't give up if you haven't received an answer to your prayers. Throughout the Bible there are stories of men and women who persevered in prayer. In Luke 18:1-8, there was a little old widow who did not lose heart. James tells us that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
8. Humble Yourself. One of my favorite parables about prayer is in Luke 18:9-14, where the Pharisee and tax collector come before God. The Pharisee was proud and boastful, while the tax collector was humble and asked for God's mercy. We are told that God hears the prayer of the humble. If we humble ourselves in the sight of God, he will lift us up.

Harvest Party TONIGHT

Hey there everyone!

So tonight is the night, at around 4 o clock today everything will be set and ready to go.

Tonight we are having our 3rd Annual Harvest Party, We are meeting at the church at 6:30pm and we have 2 buses here that we will be taking down to the barn where we will meet the rest of the crew that will be there waiting for us!

Tonight we will have food for you, drinks, Hot and cold, a bon fire, a hay maze, amazing games! worship, and a message that could transform the rest of your life here on this planet and beyond! So come tonight bring some friends and get ready for one of the best nights ever in CVMC history!

Make sure you are here by 6:30 and no later because we want to leave here right around that time to make sure we have enough time to do everything!

We will see you tonight!

P.A.

The Coolest and Craziest Harvest Party ever!

Tomorrow night at 6:30 its going down!

3rd Annual Harvest Party is tomorrow night. Show up here tomorrow night at 6:30, hop in our bus or vans. Ride over with us to THEE best hay maze ever, eat some food with us, go through the hay maze a couple times, sit around the camp fire, play some sweet games! Man tomorrow night will be fun!

Bring TONS of friends.

I would love to have to make 2 trips with the bus and vans! That would be wicked awesome!

Also please please please remember that Nov 4th is the deadline for 3dyc! You don't want to miss 3dyc! Dec 28-30th! 149$

We hope to see you all tomorrow night! Dress a little warm because its going to be a little cooler, also we will going through a HAY MAZE so if you have hay fever! Don't go through the Hay Maze please :)

Remember meet here at the church we want to leave right at 6:30 so please be here a little bit before! Talk with you tomorrow night!

P.A.

Scripture verses

So many times, I find myself losing track of the promises that God has already made. Here are some verses on just a few of the incredible promises God has made throughout scripture.

It amazes me, not just how wonderful and perfect God’s promises are, but how faithful He is to fulfill them.

If you are asking what God has been doing for you lately, take a look at these passages. We can rest easy knowing that He is faithful to fulfill them.

And this is what he promised us–even eternal life. 1 John 2:25

For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you. Deuteronomy 15:6

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will– to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:3-6

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. Deuteronomy 28:3

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. Deuteronomy 28:6

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Luke 6:21

My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent men you save me. 2 Samuel 22:3

I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. 2 Samuel 22:4

But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster. 1 Kings 5:4

You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever. Psalm 45:2

And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:13

My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart. Psalm 7:10

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. Psalm 5:11-12

Harvest Party

Hey there everyone! I hope you guys are having an amazing Monday. I know I am not :) I had to wake up.....ohh well God is doing some amazing things here at CVMC. Yesterday at church was awesome because people all around were standing making commitments to surrender to God, because God was asking the question "Can I count on you?"

Amazing stuff yesterday and to God be the Glory!

So this coming Wednesday we are having out 3rd annual Harvest Party out at the Hay maze! Its going to be pretty stinkin awesome. We are going to be having some food, games, bonfire, Hay maze, and some worship around a roaring camp fire, and then a message to wrap up the whole night!

Its going to be so much fun, so come and bring a friend

Its going to be from 6:30 - 9:00 <-------- Notice the change in time please :)

We will be back a little bit later then our normal time! So please be aware of that.

Also for the parents the next 3 months of calendars will be out soon here on the Blogspot they will have all the details of the next 3 months!

Saturday ares fun!

Hey there everyone, I hope you are all have an awesome wet, and cold weekend. I know I am :)

Hey there just wanted to drop some info in your laps.

Tomorrow morning @ 9am we have our Junior high next class with a guest speaker....He is stinking awesome, and also tomorrow night we DO NOT HAVE SENIOR HIGH NEXT CLASS!!!!

I repeat!

HIGH SCHOOL NEXT CLASS IS CANCELED!

So spend tomorrow night finishing up all that homework none of you didn't do this weekend, and spend some time with your family! Or you know what this would just be crazy I know, but why don't you spend the time you would normally spend here and spend time reading the bible, and praying for others.....I know a crazy thought but you will have time.

I hope you all have an amazing week, Remember this wednesday is the Harvest Party. This is going to be awesome! I know its going to be awesome!

Also I am speaking tomorrow in big church, and here is a little video I am using for tomorrow to kick us off! I hope to see ya tomorrow!

Being Honest

Hey there everyone I hope you had a good time last night playing the new game "what would you do for a dollar" I thought it was pretty awesome!

Good try to Keven for the firefly Yoga pose! It was hard, and for the freestyle rap of Mitch hickox was pretty rad! (Thats right I said rad) I hope you all had a great time with the relay race that we set up. I am not gonna lie you guys got into that game alot more then I thought you would so Well done!

Last night guys was pretty insane, being honest with yourself is a really hard thing to do and for those who went home last night and were really honest with yourself, then good job. For those of you who are still working through that stuff thats awesome, please talk with your small group leader or me, we would love sit and talk with you about life and how we can grow together to get closer to Jesus Christ.

Next week men and women is our 3rd Annual Harvest Party! So make sure you guys are here and ready to Rock and Roll! 6:30 - 9:00 so make sure all you parents know that we will be back around 9:00pm next wednesday!

I hope you all have a great weekend! Remember all 3dyc stuff is due by NOVEMBER 4th!

P.A.

Wounds series Finale!

Come tonight and have a massive amount of fun! I would say a copious amount of fun. We have a new Segment we are going to start doing, and also we are going to be finishing up our wounds series tonight!


6:30 - 8:30 tonight!


Be there!

P.A.

3dyc deadline!

Just a little reminder that the 3dyc deadline, is NOVEMBER 4th! I need all money paid by that date and your permission slip turned in!

If you don't have the permission slip go to the archieved blog postings and look for 3dyc registration print that off and bring it in with 149 buck aroonies!

This event will be awesome! I promise.

P.A.

Everybody!

Hey there everyone, man today's weather is stinkin awesome! I am lovin' it.

So tomorrow we are going to be start a new segment in our youth group, and man is it going to be funny! I am so super pumped for it. You will have to come and see what goes down. But this will pry be a regular thing we will do. So be ready for something amazing!

Also tomorrow is our Finale of our wounds series. We will be diving into how to finally get rid of all the junk and all the stuff we struggle with, because we are going to get our minds right, and focused and on the one thing that can actually can make these things better, and that is Jesus! So come tomorrow night ready to take a stand and make a move in your life!



P.A.

Devotion for today.

Did you hear the story about the Native American and his friend? They were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour when the streets were jam-packed with people. On the streets cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, and sirens were wailing. Basically the clamor of the city climate was ear-splitting. Suddenly, the Native American says, "I hear a cricket." His friend looks at him incredulously and says, "Excuse me? You must be nuts! How could anyone hear a cricket in the midst of all this crazy noise?"

"Nevertheless," the Native American said, "I know I heard a cricket."

"Whatever..." said his friend.

So the Native American listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to a big cement planter where some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and to his friend's great amazement, there was a small cricket.

"That's impossible!" exclaimed his friend. "You must have super-human hearing!"

"Not quite," said the Native American. "My ears are no different from yours. It just depends on what you're listening for."

"Maybe- but there's no way I would have heard a little bug in the middle of New York City" said the friend.

"That's because you don't care about crickets" said the Native American. "But I bet you would be amazed at what your ears can pick up when it's a priority. Here, let me show you."

He then reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and unnoticeably dropped them on the pavement. Amazingly enough, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that jingled on the pavement was theirs.

"Get the point?" asked the Native American. "It all depends on what's important to you."

Have you ever thought about how God's voice can be as quiet and hard to hear as a bug in a bush? And not even a burning bush for that matter!

Why is that? Is He trying to play games with us? Why doesn't He send loud and clear messages that can't be missed?

Well speaking of the burning bush, the Israelites in Moses' day got plenty of "in your face" messages- and all that accomplished was the hardening of their hearts.

Our Jesus is a mystery, and He moves in mysterious ways. In fact, I would describe his method of communication as a game of hide and speak. He waits until you are at an incredibly busy and/or stressful time in your life, then secludes Himself and whispers in some obscure circumstance.

God wants to know that you desire to hear His precious voice, that your ears are attuned to spiritual things.

The problem is that most of us have our hearing dial set on the "all world-all the time" station. You know, the one that makes us feel good, is entertaining, has juicy bits of gossip, and most of all never challenges us in our attitudes and/or actions.

If that's you, I would suggest adding another station to your preset: the God channel...although it may not be what you expect:

"Go, stand on the mountain at attention before GOD. GOD will pass by." A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before GOD, but GOD wasn't to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but GOD wasn't in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but GOD wasn't in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper (I Kings 19:11-12)

Without the voice of the Almighty, your life will end up being a long and boring journey down noisy streets with no real meaning or purpose. You will fit into the category that Jesus mentioned when He was here on earth:

Your ears are open but you don't hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don't see a thing. The people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won't have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won't have to look, so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them (Matthew 13:14-15)

In order for you to hear Him, though, He must become supremely important. You must start looking for God anytime, anywhere. Here's the way God describes people that do that:

"But you have God-blessed eyes--eyes that see! And God-blessed ears--ears that hear!" (Matthew 13:16)

Remember, Christ doesn't live in a church- He dwells in your heart. So if you give your heart back to Jesus on a daily basis, I promise that you'll start running into Him everywhere you go!

3dyc registration

Wounds Finale

Hey there everyone I hope you all had an amazing weekend, I know my weekend went way to fast!

Congrats to the mens soccer team for winning regionals this Saturday, It will be fun to head down to Ft. Wayne with ya this saturday!

Alright so this coming wednesday we are finishing up our Wounds series and its gonna be a night to remember. We are going to be diving into James 5: 16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

We have gone over how to identify our wounds, we understand that our wounds effect the way we live, and how we need to offer forgiveness to those who have wounded us. Now its time to fully surrender them to Christ and allow others around us to help us in our battles.

God has placed different people in our path to help us grow stronger and more in tune to Christ. So as we grow in Christ we have to allow Him and others to help us along when times are rough, or when we simply do not know where to go. We are going to be doing something new this Wednesday when it comes to confession, so come and find out what it means to confess at the foot of the cross! God has so much He wants to do in your life but sometimes you just have to go to the foot of the cross!

We hope to see you guys here Wednesday night!

Also today I am posting the 3dyc registration here on the blogspot, so if you don't have it or want to give some to your friends it will be on here and labeled, 3dyc registration!

Be a blessing to someone today!

P.A.

Working through our wounds

Last night was pretty fun watching people walk with chairs on their feet, playing dodgeballbasketballhockeycrazytrashcangame ball :) I know its a long name but its a really fun game :)

I think it was awesome watching you guys discuss the story of Joseph in your groups. God is awesome and God is working on some of your lives. For those who couldn't make it last night we missed you, come next week and hang out with us because we are doing some pretty cool things to end our wounds series. It will be a totally different kind of night next week.

So I hope you can all join us.

A little reminder on the 28th of October we are heading to a a hay maze! Its awesome because its pretty much totally dark in there and its really really fun to go through. We will also have food, games, a bon fire and tons of other things for you guys to do! I hope you all have an amazing weekend. I will be gone this weekend in Ft. Wayne, but I will be back on Saturday for the mens game against Goshen!

Hope to see you on Saturday at the game!

P.A.

Swine flu can't hold us down

Hey there everyone! Tonight is gonna rock we are gonna have a great time. We have got some sweet games we are going to attempt tonight. We have a guest worship leader tonight, and we are going to do a guided discussion tonight on wounds, and the story of Joseph. Its going to be amazing, so I hope that you can all come tonight and hang out with us. I know that a lot of you are busy or sick and we understand that and we will miss you tonight but those who could come we really hope you do because we want to worship God together and hang out and have FELLOWSHIP! ---Thats for my high school next class.

Remember the Harvest Party is coming up in 2 weeks!

6:30 - 9:00pm - Totally free!

Bring everyone you know to this!

Hope to see you tonight!

P.A.

Oct 13, The blackest day of all

So this morning I wake up and its early and cold, and then I drive to my work and I sit down at my computer to update my social networks and get things around for a meeting, and then it strikes me. A long cold shiver goes down my spine, the hairs on my neck stand on end, and I remember this dreadful day.

Oct 13, is the day that the no good, money hungry, moronic president of Taylor University drove his car that TUFW students helped pay for and told the masses as TUFW that they were closing the school down at the end of the year.

So OCT 13th is the darkest day on the calendar. I do not know how I will make it today.

:)

Anyways we do have some things for you guys in youth group.

This wednesday I know that the NR men are playing in regionals against the lakeland Christian school, we all know that we are going to pound them into the ground, so I would say go to the game and leave around 5:30 because we should already be up by 4 goals. So you can make it to youth group. Youth group this week is going to rock hardcore! We have a lot of different things that we are going to be doing and working on. So 6:30 - 8:30 will quite possibly be the funnest 2 hours of your week, possibly of your life!

Also coming up really soon Oct 28th, is our harvest party! You do not want to miss this. It is going to be the party of a life time. So come hear more about it this week.

I hope you have an awesome blackest day of the year!

P.A.

Wounds pt 2

Hey there guys! I hope your weekend was awesome. Mine was really busy, but still really fun.

So this coming wednesday we are going to be talking about wounds again but in a little different way. This last Wednesday was really powerful and a lot of people had some really good stuff that they talked about, and this week we want to give you a chance to talk some more. So this coming Wednesday we are going to be splitting up into our small groups for a the message time and I am going to kind of guide us through a discussion. This will give people the chance to be able to talk freely with others in their small group.

So come ready to have a great time this Wednesday with hanging out with friends, some really funny games, some wicked awesome worship! We have a special worship leader this week. We are changing somethings up for just this Wednesday. So be ready we have got something thinking games again, and some funny ones as well! So this wednesday is gonna be off the chain! I hope you have an amazing week.

Here is an awesome video of one of my favorite bands :)



P.A.

300th Post!

Wow I have been trying to update everyday! Obviously I cant on the weekends I do not have internet at home so this will be my last up for 2 days!

So this weekend guys we have some sweet things for you to check out!

1. Junior high Next class - Sunday morning at 9am, man Len Morris has a heart for teaching Junior high students and He does a great job so come and hang with us on Sunday morning!
2. High school Next class - starts at 7pm this Sunday so do not forget that! We are going to be talking about the Church and what it means to be part of the church. I have lots of fun questions for all of you so it will be good :)
3. Sunday morning services - I liked to call these experiences with God because we can honestly see the heart of God at work when you come to a service. You see brothers and sisters in Christ, you worship a God who deserves to be worshiped, and we open up God's word and learn! That is an awesome experience with God.

Also remember our Harvest Party on the 28th! We are wanting tons of people there! TONS! So please invite tons of friends that night to a pitch black hay maze its gonna be awesome! We are going to have food, games, and a bonfire! Hope to see you there its from 6:30 - 9:00pm!

Also I have the T-shirt design done for this year's 3dyc T-shirt. Its my facebook page picture so if you want to check it out do it! Let me know what you think of it!

I hope you have an awesome weekend brothers and sisters!

P.A.

Last night

Hey there everyone I hope you guys had a great night last night I know I did.

The game we played last night was stinking funny. It was really hard also carrying all that stuff. But good job I got some good pictures, I will hopefully find my cord to plug into my camera so I can download them on here so you can see them!

I really hope last night you guys started to really think about the wounds that we might carry with us. Its hard when we brings topics up that hit us really hard. God wants us to work through our wounds, but also needs us to be willing to give those wounds over to Him, so we can move forward in our relationship with Him. I had some really good talks last night with some of you, and I really hope that you start moving forward with those wounds. Next week we are going to be talking again in our small groups like we did during our Anger series. So next week I will be handing out questions again and dialoguing about different wounds we have.

Alright so last night we handed out 3dyc students forms and here is some information that might help you!

THE COST: 149$ (unless you have raised money through the Auction then it is less)

THE DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 4TH! I will not be accepting anything past NOVEMBER 4th!

so if you have any questions email me at: cvmcadam@verizon.net

Hope you have an awesome day!

P.A.

Wounds Series

Hey there everyone I hope you guys are having an awesome day, so here is the skinny for tonight!

We are starting our new series tonight on wounds. We all have wounds in our past, things we might regret, or maybe even secrets that no body knows. Even though no body knows them we still act out of our wounds. Our behaviors tell us where those wounds are at. So tonight we are going to be looking at some behaviors and wounds and talking about the freedom we have in Christ!

We are going to be looking at Romans 12:1 about how we can renew ourselves in Christ!

At the end of this series I hope and pray that students and leaders a like can look at our lives and pin point some of the wounds in our lives and hopefully identify those as wounds and try to work through those wounds with others and gain Freedom as talked about in Gal 5:1 and John 8:32 with the truth!

So come tonight, and join us for our Wounds series.

We have a brand new game we are playing tonight that requires speed, strategy, and Muscles! So come tonight and hang out with us. Its gonna be a great night tonight here at CVMC!

P.A.

Tuesday = fun fun fun

Hey there everyone I hope that you all are having a super day.

Last night was awesome because I got to hang out with a good friend, and then I went home and got to bed early and God woke me up at 4am and gave me somethings to talk on Wednesday night. Honestly it changed everything I was planning it was pretty cool! So this Wednesday night is gonna be powerful.

We are starting our wounds series and I promise you, you will learn somethings about the nature of God, and how we can grow closer to Jesus by naming somethings in our lives as wounds and dealing with them in a safe place. Now we aren't going to be having a counseling session or anything but we are going to be talking about how we can see our behaviors and track them back to a deeper wound somewhere in our past. God shows us some insane ways of working through our hurts and pains. Where people have been betrayed, stabbed in the back, and killed because of hurts and pains.

So come this wednesday to learn and to discuss some really interesting things about wounds!




P.A.

Monday, a turn of a new leaf

Hey there everyone! I hope you guys had a great weekend. I am sorry for those who come and look at the blog over the weekend and say "Hey I thought He updated everyday" Well I normally do but when I don't get a chance to come over to my office and update, it doesn't get updated. My wife and I don't have internet at home, and we also don't have cable, or anything else really to distract us from hanging with each other, having others over to speak life into their lives, and getting some really good reading time. So I'm sorry I didn't get to update since friday but I think we will all live.

Alright so this coming Wednesday we are kicking off a nice 3 week series called "Wounds" we are going to looking through the story of Joesph in the Bible and talking about His wounds and how they effected his life, and then we are going to look inwardly and look at our wounds and see how they effect us. This series is gonna be pretty sweet because its gonna ask some questions to you that maybe you have never been asked before. So come ready on Wednesday to have some fun but also have some time to answer some questions that you might not have ever been asked.

This Wednesday will be the first day that you guys can sign up for 3dyc! I have all the papers and things for you guys to take home! So be prepared to sign up for a bunch of things. Hope to see you all this Wednesday!

P.A.

Small group outings were AWESOME!

Hey there everyone I hope you all had some amazing time with your small groups last night, I know from some of the stories I heard about it seems that lots of people had a good time. I heard stories from clogging toilets at Hacienda to jumping on people at lazer tag, to eating a almost a whole pizza by HER self! Some good times last night.

Well this Sunday is coming and its going to be a good one! Sunday morning we have Junior high next class being taught by Len Morris and He is off the chain good at being a teacher, I know for those who were there last week you had a great time. Also this Sunday we are having our Senior high group meeting at 6pm - 7pm. Please notice the Time everyone. So come and lets discuss some more about the bible and hanging out with one another. After we we get with our bible study we are going to probably go out to eat somewhere so bring some money to go hang out afterward.

I hope you all are having an amazing day, come out tonight and support the mens soccer team and wear WHITE tonight because its a white out! 5pm - JV and 7pm - Varsity. Hope to see you all there tonight its going to be awesome!




P.A.