You Like The Peas? My Kiddo Does!

Here's little Levi jammin to some 'Imma Be' by the Black Eyed Peas. It came on the radio and I cranked up to see if he would respond. My other son Ezra didn't seem to care too much.

LifeChurch.tv Worship Pastor Confessional #6

Marc Broussard at LifeChurch.tv Tulsa!

Ok, so it's not really Marc Broussard but I would possibly like to cover most of his stuff. If you've not heard of Marc, go ahead and set aside $50 and download his entire catalog. He's flipping amazing!

Someone captured this song that we did this week at church and so I'm re-posting it for you to see. FYI, we do a secular cover song at the beginning of each experience at the Tulsa campus. This is a very intentional move that has proved to be a very useful tool for people to invite others. It has also been a great tool to break down walls that an unchurched person may have about church not being relevant, or that we lack the capacity to recognize where they are.

The cool thing about this is that we get to acknowledge that the world asks great questions through the medium of music, and we're recognizing those questions and offering the greatest answer through Jesus.

Another effect these songs have is that we've re-trained our culture at the Tulsa campus. Several other campuses at LifeChurch.tv do a "walk-in" song like we do and we've noticed that in a very consumerist culture, people actually arrive early and each experience is almost 80% full (est) by the end of this first song. Other campuses that don't do these songs often notice a large portion of attenders stroll in all the way through worship.

Okay, so enough of my explanation...here's the video.

Lifechurch.tv Tulsa Worship Confessional #5

Here's the latest thoughts and concerns from yours truly. I'd love to get feedback about what you guys like to know about and what piques your interest!

Enjoy

Sing-A-Long

If you listen to my campus' free worship podcasts, you'll know that we often do songs by Phil Wickham. He just released a live album (Singalong) and he has made 15 tracks available for download FREE! Go check it out HERE!

You'll have to subscribe to his newsletter, but it's worth it!

The 4th Confessional

Enjoy!

7,000 Seats Filled With Screaming Women

Last week I went to Ft. Worth, TX for my wife's company's national rally. She has a home business selling Premier Designs Jewelry. I go to the national rally each year as part of the entertainment.

This is a HUGE contrast to my normal week. I go from working in a progressive church setting, to a business setting but with a contemporary church feel. The production level is huge. Every time we go on stage, a team of people mic us up, using tiny wireless headsets and tegaderm adhesive. The production level is crazy huge!

There were two things that grabbed my heart while I was there. We heard from missionaries in over 70 countries who Premier supports. It was awesome to hear what God is doing around the globe and here in the states as well.

Also, every rally, there is a huge patriotic performance. This year, I came out to do a solo to an older song called, "Somebody's Praying You Through." The stage was set up with about 75 men and women who have lost someone in the military or currently have a loved on serving abroad. The narrator talked about honoring those we lost, and their families left behind. I about lost it! I had to pray for God to make me a cold-hearted unemotional butt-hole just to make it through the song! Anyway, here are a few pics of my time last week!

I Wish I Could Solo

Jammin' with Derrick and Chris
Originally uploaded by Cooper-S-Harrison

Yeah, this is Chris Hyde. He's good. I'm staring at him wondering if I can fool the crowd into thinking that I'm actually jamming with him. It's more like I'm looking at his guitar thinking to myself, "hmm, I have no idea how to play that..."

BUT. My friend Chris did teach me the sig-lick to Sweet Home Alabama which I play quite well now. Thanks buddy!

American Idol Fans....Anyone?

If you are a fan of American Idol, and happened to be watching this season. You might remember Alaina Whitaker, one of the top 24 finalists. Well, miss Whitaker attends our campus in Tulsa and since Alli, my normal BGV gal is gone on her honeymoon, I asked Alaina to sing.

So, be sure to come by this weekend, bring some friends and hear Alaina sing Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love....happy times to be had by all!

Worship Podcast

Here's a new podcast from the Tulsa campus. Would love your feedback! What do you think of the overall mix, song selection, transitions, and so forth?

Post-Easter Update on Lifechurch.tv Tulsa

Easter this year was a bit mind blowing for me. This is for a number of reasons but the greatest of which was that we launched the second Tulsa area campus mid-January. We asked people to move to the campus based on their geographical location to it, and to help partner with us in the vision God has given to our leaders. Over 700 people went to start that new campus of Lifechurch.tv

The weekend before we launched South Tulsa, we had over 3,000 people in attendance at the Tulsa campus. After that we dropped down to the 2,200 - 2,300 level for a few weeks. On Easter, we saw 3088 people walk through the doors and 43 people indicated a decision for Christ! It gets even cooler...South Tulsa had over 1,000 people in attendance for their Easter experiences. That means, in the Tulsa area, over 4,100 people came to Lifechurch.tv, and 50 people made a decision to follow Jesus!

THAT...is mind blowing!

There are a few things that we did here at the Tulsa campus this past weekend. Usually for Easter I rent a lot of lights and we do a big production, of sorts. But this year we opted to have church like every other weekend, so as to present a more accurate picture of what the church is like for newcomers. Kent Shaffer wrote about his experience visiting our campus this past weekend here. There's some photos there.

A few things we did were:

• Had an attender paint a giant mural of our new series graphic on the building exterior
• Before worship, the band played "The Pretender" by the Foo Fighters while I used a Guitar Hero guitar and sang the song as the video of Guitar Hero played behind me.
• Created a new Guest Services booth to centralize the place for questions and information for the attenders. This was heavily staffed with fully capable and knowledgeable people.

Overall, the weekend went exceptionally well. This week we have baptisms which I'll post about how we do that next week!

For The Love Of The Game

Okay, I guess I'll be dropping a name or two in this post. (please excuse me.) Some friends of mine have just released an album that you can get in iTunes (here) or at any place you can buy music. Rob Beckley and Noah Henson go to the Tulsa campus of Lifechurch.tv and are active in lifegroups. Their band Pillar is a well established Christian rock band and are worth a listen if you've never tried em out.

Here are some points if you need convincing:

• Great music for working out / running / Nascar racing / shootfighting
  
• The guitars produce a WALL OF SOUND that might make pieces of your face melt off
  
• Arguably one of the best drummers in their industry...watch out Carter!
• Noah has cool hair....a white dude with Marley-esque dreds
• Who doesn't love a bass player named after Superman?
• Rob is the real deal. Inspiring guy who truly loves to serve his friends and church
• Because I said so....sorry that's the new parent in me trying it out on you!

So, go check out their new album. Good stuff...

What's Been Canceled?

I realize that my posts are somewhat sporadic. The past couple of weeks have been busy for poor Derrick. (Sorry, I don't normally speak in the third.) Last weekend I finished my jet-set life and started my journey home. That's where it hit the fan.

We were trying to leave DFW on a private charter but due to fog, our pilots couldn't get to us. So we waited, thinking any moment they would arrive and we could make our way to Irvine, CA. Finally, after a few hours, we were off....sort of. Due to a strong headwind we weren't moving as fast as planned. When we arrived in Irvine, I was already late for my return flight home to Tulsa. So, I got a flight to Dallas arriving at 12:00am. Chris, my campus pastor didn't want me to drive all night for fear that I'd run off the road. (I fall asleep at the wheel easy..btw.)

Premier got me a hotel room, and at 5:30am the next day I arrived at DFW to get my 6:50 flight to Tulsa....which was canceled. Whoops...I was supposed to lead worship...good thing Stephen Cole was prepared. The Tulsa campus experienced worship live via satellite and I continued to book another flight...hoping to lead worship. The band was ready, but then my flight was canceled again. Okay, not going to make the 10 o'clock experience.

Then my next flight was delayed every hour, on the hour. Not going to make the 11:30 experience. It seemed that at any moment the fog would lift and we'd be on our way. So, finally we board the plane at 3pm. Around 3:45 the pilot comes on and says that the airline canceled our flight but that he had gotten it re-instated. WHAT? THEY CANCELED THE FLIGHT WE WERE SITTING ON? THE NERVE! So, we left, made it into Tulsa at 4:50pm. I completely missed church.

All of this because of fog. I mean, snow...no problem. Rain...it's okay. Fog.....everything collapses. I guess it was important to see the runway...you know, to stay on it and everything. Okay, now I've told my story....don't feel sorry for me. Well, you can if you want. Moral of the story...hindsight is 20/20, when your flight cancels don't assume the next one will work out....just go rent a freakin car!

A Private Jet You Say?

My wife is involved in a company called Premier Designs. She sells this brand's jewelry in ladies' homes across NE Oklahoma. She has been doing this for almost 9 years and loves it! Each year the company has a national rally in Dallas. Usually I go there for a week to learn a bunch of music and perform for the crowd with an ensemble. *Before you snicker, this gets us free room, board, and admission to the event!

In January the company has regional rallies across the U.S. The founders of the company asked for a quartet and I was called upon to assist! The cool thing is that I will be traveling to Orlando tomorrow and then hopping on the founder's private jet to go with them to the other sites! HOLY FREAKIN COW!!! Andy and Joan Horner are two of the nicest, most giving, godly people I have ever met...so traveling with them on their private jet is a little bit of a mind blower! I'll blog a little bit about my travels as the weekend unfolds but I really wanted to highlight what a honor it is to get to spend time with the Horners.

Andy and Joan started the Horner-Premier Foundation in 1992 to help protect the company's philosophy, purpose, and plan. A major part of that plan was to finance missionaries around the world. So, now that the Horners are no longer the President of the company, they spend a lot of time traveling to other countries and visiting the people that Premier funds. I will enjoy picking their brains about what God is doing and what they're excited about.

Okay, this was my inspiring post. From now on, just selfish pictures of me on a private jet and basking in "the life" that I will never live! Look out Creflo!

Hmmm, not so special.

I grew up in a church where we would have a special time each and every week. It was indicated in that week's bulletin as a "message in song," or a "special." The truth of the matter is that usually it wasn't all that special. It was usually just mediocre. I think that, truth be told, we could have labeled most of them as "sub-pars." As in, "let's all git ready now as sister Donna comes up here to perform a sub-par!" The sad fact is that, in my opinion, the church perpetuates the musically un-talented to keep at it. This is demonstrated each season of American Idol where we watch as countless people believe that they have a beautiful voice because: a. their momma says so, and b. "I sing in my church!"

I don't really believe that we're doing these people a favor by coddling them just to be nice. I feel that it is much better to just tell them the truth. I'm not saying to tell them they're dreadful (with a British accent.) The unfortunate dilemma is that most likely you'll be crushing a dream, and slapping them with a reality check which will cause them to think about past performances....much like the video below...




So, all I'm saying is that we owe it to people to lovingly tell them if they are serving in an area where they just aren't gifted. It's worth it to us and to them to help plug them into an area of ministry that fits better. If you work with volunteers...I would love to hear any good stories on this subject.... *note: The video is not to make fun of the young woman, just to laugh along with her.

Huh??? What just happened?

So, we've been replacing our analog console with a digital one this week. Let me just say that I feel a little overwhelmed! Here's the deal. With a good ol' analog board, you can take a look at it and determine where things are plugged in, what knob is what...etc. With a digital board, everything is in layers...lots.....and lots......of layers!

So three days later, we're still figuring out what to do. In due time I'm sure....in due time!

For all the techy people - we've switched from a Soundcraft GB8 to the Yamaha LS9. Good times!

The Big Show

We have this thing we do at Lifechurch.tv each year. It is the Big Show. Basically, it's an event to honor our volunteers for their hard work, and to let them know what God has done through their efforts. Lots of vision casting, and entertainment. We completely re-did our lobby and made it feel like a club environment. Then the band donned our best 80's garb, and proceeded to melt the faces of all the volunteers with our rock! Here's a few pics. Cool night.

Nashville Bluegrass

So I've never really been that big of a bluegrass lover. Last night we went to a local club in downtown Nashville called "The Station Inn." I got to hang out with Todd Roy our Regional Campus Pastor, Brandon Frazier, and his wife Kacie. Good times. Brandon took us to this little place. At first I was a little afraid for my safety but that feeling quickly waned with the realization that we were surrounded with people that were a tad bit older than us. (Usually middle-aged people don't get all riled up and punch you in the ear.)

The place was old. I'm talking like, possibly condemning the building old. There were pictures of people that I didn't know at all. Then the band got up and started to play some face melting bluegrass. Well, bluegrass doesn't really melt your face as much as it twists it...mine at least. However, the guys in the band were freaking amazing! I've never in my life seen someone play a mandolin (wiki) faster than this guy. The band was comprised of four instruments: mandolin, upright bass, acoustic guitar, and banjo. They would take turns soloing which was nice. The waitress came by and asked what we wanted to drink, I asked what they had, she responded, "Beer." Hmmm, my choices were pretty limited. I did have a "thing of popcorn."

Okay, so to wrap up this post, one thing I noticed was that there is apparently some sub-culture that exists with bluegrass. The lead singer guy would impressionate some bluegrass legend and the place would erupt with laughter. They would call out songs written about other bluegrass legends and we quickly realized that we were mere observers in this event. We had no real point of reference to appreciate all that the singer was talking about. We knew we must be missing out on something big....not sure if we really wanted in but the music and the thing of popcorn were good.

My thoughts went to our church. How many times have I made someone feel like we did. Told inside jokes and dropped names as if the first timer would actually know what I was talking about. We don't have beer or things of popcorn. The best we have is McAlisters Sweet Tea and Krispy Kreme.....but hopefully the music is good!

I'll Do It Myself!

Man, lately I've been preparing for an upcoming mission trip to Costa Rica. Yes, we'll be at the beach. Yes, we'll be suffering for Jesus. Now, I am co-leading the trip and we're breaking it up into two parts: construction and music. Yep, you guessed it...I will NOT be leading the construction phase! Here's what I've been dealing with...

I've secured a band, entailing one bassist, one guitarist, and one drummer...wait, make that four drummers. What I mean is that I have secured four separate drummers and all of them have backed out on me. The most recent was only two weeks ago! So, I'm relying on a relationship I started to build with a local in Puerto Viejo named Charlie. Charlie is an old rocker! He is a larger than life character and Charlie doesn't know Jesus.

So, should I be afraid that I don't have a drummer? Or should I instead be looking at this situation and thank God that He has got something brewing? I'm gonna go with the latter. Be praying for me and for the team if you get a moment. Pray for safety in traveling. Pray for relationships that we've established to be deepened and that we would be able to share Jesus with those who don't know him! I'll post pics soon!

Costa Rica....I'm coming soon!

So I'm nearing the final stages for the upcoming trip to Costa Rica. Can I confess that I honestly have no idea what I'm doing at this point? I shouldn't confess that should I?....good point, never mind that last thought.

Last year our motley crew of folks pulled off some truly amazing feats. I have great memories of that trip! Here's a slide show LINK ( Be sure to watch for Adam's interesting Slide choice during his Free Bird solo!)

Anyway, now I've got 3 guys lined up to form a band and I'm putting together a set list for the clubs we'll be playing in at night. I'm trying to coordinate the flights, schedules, money, and paperwork...plus disseminating the communication to the right folks. I know it sounds like I'm complaining, however, it is more of a "oh crap this is really happening" whine than a complaining whine.

At any rate, the trip will be amazing. I've talked to several of the people going and I cannot wait to see what God does on this trip. Please pray for the team and for my leadership to continue to be developed while I'm there.