Bucket-Mouths and Paper-Mouths

It has been a GREAT weekend! Spent the day Saturday fishing with my 23 year-old, Brandon. We had a fun day on the lake hooking a few bass and Brandon landed an 11" crappie. Any time that Brandon wants to spend a day with his dad, I will take advantage of it.


Then today my wife, Bonnie, and I hit the lake and my bride hooked her very first bass. It was an awesome evening of fishing, talking and just hanging out together.

A Great Night & A Lazy Day

Had some friends over last night for a bonfire, s'mores, root beer floats and yard games. What a great evening!

Today has been soooooo hot it has been difficult to get much done outside, so just chillin' indoors and enjoying the AC.

Can't wait for tomorrow and the concert/bbq at Huber Park...it is going to be a ROCKIN' day!

Concert in The Park

I can't wait for this coming Sunday and the concert at Huber Park by Some Assembly Required! Sat through rehearsal last night with the band and the set list is simply awesome. This is going to be a ROCKIN' concert!

Hope to see a huge crowd for the show! If you haven't told someone already...get busy and spread the word that there is going to be a GREAT band at Huber Park this Sunday afternoon along with FREE burgers and hot dogs. The fun starts at 3PM...DON'T MISS THIS EVENT!!!

An Evening with The Police

What a great concert! Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland put on an outstanding show. The boys have aged a little (Andy Summers turns 65 this year and is almost a decade older than the other band members) and they definitely don't bounce around like they used to, however the musicianship is still very solid and has even improved with age.

It was a fun evening! Bonnie and I had great time!

Night Time Phone Calls and the Police

Not sure why, but I have not been sleeping well the past few nights and the opportunity came last night to go to bed early and catch some extra sleep. And it never fails...get all cozy and comfy...start drifting into oblivion...and the phone rings!

My wife, Bonnie, answers the phone...says "just a minute" and urges me to take the call. It was a call requesting I come and see the POLICE on Tuesday and in SAINT PAUL to boot!

Wow! What a thing to wake a guy up! It's not every day you get a call to go see the POLICE! But we are not talking about the boys in blue. It was an invitation to go see Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland (the Police reunion tour) at the Excel Energy Center in Saint Paul. An acquaintance had an extra pair of tickets and wanted to give them to Bonnie and I. Yep...free tickets for one of the hottest concerts tours of the summer.

So...tonight my bride and I are headed for Saint Paul for an outstanding evening of music by three of the best musicians on the planet. WOO! HOO!

Rockin' Day

A truly rockin' day. The band at Meadow this morning was HOT! Daryl pulled off some driving leads during the opening jam tune...Dallas (a friend of Ben's) filled in on drums today and sounded like he had been playing with the band for a long time...Jim Brophy filled in on bass, it was great to have Jimbo back as part of the band for the day. The rest of the set was killer as well.

Ben taught this morning and did a great job!

Meadow in an incredible church!

Then...spent some time this afternoon at the Jordan Arts Festival mixing sound for Tone Control, a band made up of some friends from Meadow (Tim and Brandon), a buddy from high school (Bob) and a couple of new friends (Bruce and Kevin).


It was a good day...great music...bright sunshine...and good friends.

Back to The 50's



What a great day for a car show! Over 11,000 classic hot rods and rat rods at the State Fair grounds. The drool factor was high!

Spent the day with Jim, Ethan and Rick wandering around looking at some simply outstanding cars, swapping stories of our first car, favorite muscle cars from when we were kids and just hanging out.

An awesome way to spend a day!

Evan Almighty

It was date night last night and we went to see Evan Almighty (the sequel to Bruce Almighty).
The movie surprised me. I thought it was going to be rather cheesy, unable to live up to all the hype surrounding it. It turned out to be good movie...funny, clean, and engaging.

So if you are looking for a good date night movie or are in need of a good laugh, check out Evan Almighty!

Well...I am off to meet up with some guys from Meadow for the Back to the 50's car show at the state fairgrounds! Over 11,000 customized and restored cars are registered so far! This is going to be a great day!

A Motivating Wednesday

I have been looking forward to today for a couple of weeks now. Zig Ziglar, Colin Powell, Tom Hopkins, Jeff Taylor and others are at the Target Center for a leadership, motivation, communication seminar.

There is so much to learn in the area of leadership and communication. I am really pumped about what will be shared about team building, mission, and effective communication.

Not only is it a great line-up of motivational speakers...I get to hang out for the day with Tim! He is a great guy for whom I have a great deal of respect and admiration.

It is going to be a great day!

What a Sunday!

Today was the first time I have taught on a Sunday morning in about a year.

I really enjoy small group teaching, one-on-one's, a group of people getting together over a cup of coffee...stuff like that. There is just something about Sunday mornings, being under all the bright lights, unable to read people's faces/reactions, the size of the crowd, that just scares me to death.

But you know...God is good...things went really well. Set-up, sound check and everything went without a hitch and the band had a great worship set. The message was on Abraham...a guy I can really identify with...and I really had a good time teaching.

I am firmly convinced that the teacher learns more from the message than do the listeners. God really drove home the point for me as to how I really need to simply trust Him and His plans and stop leaning on my own understanding of things.

I am thankful for the opportunity to teach and am truly grateful for an awesome church like Meadow!

Foo Fighters in Church?

You bet! We are in the middle of the iParent series here at Meadow and the band has been doing an outstanding job of working in songs by Everclear, Avril LaVigne and Foo Fighters to help connect parents to their kids world,

Here is a tease of what we experienced this past Sunday.



Come check us out this coming weekend and see what's in store!

I wish...

I wish Meadow had been around when my kids were little. We have the most awesome children's program with MeadowKIDS and the stuff coming up for this summer is simply awesome!

Also, the iParent series, which begins this coming Sunday, has a boat-load of info I wish Bonnie and I had when we dove into parenthood. The principles of this series are totally timeless and are applicable for parents of small kids, parents of teens, parents of adult kids and those waiting to be parents. You are NOT going to want to miss one Sunday of this series!

Tell your friends, neighbors and co-workers about the iParent series. Help others to take their wish for a solid family life and turn it into a reality!

Great Start to a Great Day

Just wrapped up the morning session of The Garage men's community group. What a great start to the day.

We kicked off the morning with a hearty breakfast cooked over an open fire in the backyard firepit. There is nothing like the smell of burning oak logs, fresh coffee, sizzling bacon, fried potatoes and eggs in the morning. This is the way life was meant to be lived! (the discussion and time spent hanging around was good too!)

This afternoon I am off to help a buddy put a transmission in a 1959 Pontiac Starchief. Grease, wrenches, air tools, good friends, it just doesn't get any better than this!

Forward Momentum

I read an interesting quote today from Paul Lee Tan:

"Between the airplane and every other form of locomomtion and transportation there is one great contrast. The horse and wagon, the auotmobile, the bicycle, the locomotive, the speedboat and the great battleship--all can come to a standstill without danger; and they can all reverse their engines or their power, and go back."

"But there is no reverse about the engine of an airplane. It cannot back up. It dare not stand still. If it loses momentum and forward drive, then it crashes. The only safety for the airplane is in its forward and upward motion. The only safe direction for the Christian to take is forward and upward. If he stops or if he begins to slip and go backward, that moment he is in danger."

What at great reminder that we need to keep growing, learning and moving forward in our relationship with Jesus.

Simple things as a daily quiet time, prayer, serving others, living out what we are learning (obedience) are all essential in helping to keep the forward momentum going. There really is not a point where we can say we have "arrived" and stop doing what we need to grow.

There are times when we coast in our relationship with God. We let the pressures of the day, the things of life and distractions take prioity over growing in Him. That's when we start to get into trouble.

Stay focused, keep growing, continue daily dependence on God and keep the forward momentum going. That is the lesson I learned today.

Home From a Roadtrip

Rolled in about 2AM yesterday morning from a roadtrip to Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana with Ben. We went to Granger checkout the Maximzing the Arts workshop and the Getting a Grip on Groups workshop that were held on Friday.

We learned some good stuff at the workshops. Ben had the opportunity to learn from their creative team and seemed to be truly inspired by the "off-the -hook" videos they create.

I was able to hear from their connections team as to the role groups play at Granger and how they do what they do. It was also to good to reconnect people I have met at previous workshops and Dustin Maust from the Granger staff.

The best part of the roadtrip was the opportunity to get to know Ben better. Traveling by car for 18 hours round trip, makes for lots of time to talk and learn more about the people you travel with. Ben really is a great guy and I am glad he is on staff here at Meadow.

We stopped off in Janesville on the way to Granger and on the way home to catch a meal with his folks. What a great family!

As fun as the trip was, it is good to be back home.

Garage Doors, Salesmen and Meadow Spring

Okay...so what do these three things have in common? Alright...I'll tell you.

Our garage door after having served the house faithfully for 32 years has decided that it is finally time to move on to the landfill. Needless to say we need at new garage door.

This is where Larry enters the picture. Larry is a customer service rep with a well-known local garage door company and he came out to assess our garage door needs. We started to chat (big surprise there) and talk came around to TVs, technology and the like (found out he was a science/technology major in college).

Well...I began to share with him about the big venue expansion/tech project we just completed at Meadow. (Most of the conversations I have with people end up being about Meadow. I LOVE this place) He was really amazed at how we, as a portable church, do what we do. He thought it was pretty cool, actually.

So...sensing an open door, I took advantage of the opportunity and extended an invitation to come and see just how the whole thing works with doing church in multiple venues.

Turns out he lives in Blaine...but...he has two daughters in their twenties who would be interested in checking out Meadow.

He may come on a Sunday as well as the technology we are using to do simultaneous video venues has him genuinely intrigued.

I gave Larry my card with all our contact info on it. Hopefully he will check out our website, listen to a message, see some of the things that are happening at Meadow and make the trip to be with us on a Sunday.

You never know who you are going to meet in the course of a day and the opportunity God lays at your feet. Could be a home repair that opens the door to engage, invite and encourage someone to see what exciting things God is doing at Meadow!

I Love Community Groups!

Man...what a great night for group last night. We had to postpone meeting for a week because of illness, but we were back together again last night. What a great group to hang out with!

We wrapped up our Bible Basics study. It has been a really good couple of weeks as we have been going over where the Bible came from, how the books are laid out, a very simple survey of Old and New Testaments, how to study the Bible using the observation/explanation/application method of study and how to use various Bible study tools.

It has been fun seeing the "ah ha" moments as we have been covering this subject. The end result is that we have a better understanding of the Bible and folks have a desire to dig into it and see what God has to say them.

Plus it was fun to spend some time together, hanging out and catching up on life!

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

Have been battling a head cold since Monday.
Dude...I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.
Can't wait for this thing to go away!

Opportunity...

Sometimes opportunity seemingly comes from out of nowhere. That's what it is was like this week.

Bonnie and I decided to take a few days vacation and hang out in Rochester. It was a chance to unplug from the busy-ness of the venue expansion and relax a bit.

As part of the "relaxation" portion of the vacation, Bonnie booked the both of us for a one hour massage. One of the rules of the spa was that the massuse would not engage in conversation with the client. That it was to be an hour of quiet, theraputic massage in a peaceful environment. For me that would be very stressful as I tend to be a social person who likes to chat.

Well...the massuse I had was an older Ukrainian woman with quite the gift for conversation and for that I was glad. She really opened up about her life in the Ukraine, her family (her dad was a military pilot), the shift from communism to capitalism and her move to the United States in 1995. I just asked questions and she opened up more and more about her life.

As the conversation continued, I found out she has a daughter and grand-daughter in Burnsville and she visits them regularly. Well...that opened the door to tell her about Meadow. I was able to share with her the great things happening at our church. As the session concluded, I was able to give a business card with info about Meadow and invited her to visit us the next time she was in Burnsville. Not sure if she will...but the opportunity was there to make invitation. The results are in the hands of God.

Then today...made plans to spend the afternoon with my son. Its not often that a 23 year old wants to spend time with his dad...so you have to seize that opportunity when you can.

As we spent the afternoon together he shared about some friends of his who have put together a pretty decent band and are in need of a guy to run sound. He said that he was going to start mixing sound for them and he wants to learn more about it.

Well...this is a request that is right up my alley. Told him if he was willing to show up on Sundays , I would be willing to teach him everything I know about it (didn't think he would take the bait). He AGREED! You could have knocked me over with a feather.

Opportunities to invite people to Meadow are all around us. Sometimes they are blatently obvious, sometimes they are subtle...but the opportunities are there. We need to take advantage of them when they present themselves. We simply have to make the invitation. It really is that easy.

Another Reason to Pray

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Mark 14:38

Was reading through Mark 14 this morning for my quiet time and this verse just kind of jumped out at me. Here Jesus gives us another reason/benefit for prayer. To have the strength in spirit and body to stand strong against temptation.

When you hear the word “temptation” what goes through your mind? Is it images of obvious temptation? Being tempted toward obvious sin? Those large, looming, gargantuan sins that we quickly and easily dismiss and say “Well, of course I wouldn’t do that.”

You really don’t need to keep watch for giants. They are rather apparent and are seen from a distance.

What we need to keep watch for are the subtle temptations. Those that are less obvious. You know the kind, those small, seemingly insignificant compromises we make that lead to spiritual drift.

You see, the enemy of our souls is cunning and crafty enough to know that if he confronted us with obvious, blatant temptation and sin, we would immediately recoil and turn the other way. But, if we can be lured to make small, seemingly un-noticed compromises throughout the day/week/month…if we drift just a little off course…little by little…day by day…skipping quiet times for “more important endeavors”…going forward on a course of action without prayer…fixing our gaze on things we ought not to be looking at…shading the truth for our own benefit…we soon find that over the long haul we are way off course in our lives. We become distant in our relationship with God, our marriage becomes rocky, we begin to stay away from our small groups and church friends and our attitude toward life just plain stinks.

It is because we have not been keeping watch. I have this image in my mind what those subtle temptations look like. In my minds eye, they are like Gollum from “Lord of the Rings”. Small, dark, slimy and subtle. Whispering in your ear, unrelenting, self-absorbed and afraid of exposure.

Through prayer, we can ask God to show us the areas we are vulnerable. You will be surprised at what God will reveal to you. But as He shows you the areas of your weakness, and you are honest about them, share them in confidence with a trusted friend (exposing those areas to the light) and surrender those areas to God’s control and be watchful and guard against those areas, you will find you are growing stronger in moral strength and growing closer to God as well.

“Watch and pray…” Wise words to which to pay attention.

R-E-L-A-X

Every once in a while, a person needs to take a few days to get away and relax.

Bonnie and I are taking a couple days to get away to do just that. The first day has gone pretty well. Just spent some time walking around, checking out some shops and just enjoying a day together. Wednesday afternoon it will back to the normal routine, until then, we are forgetting about time schedules and are just enjoying the opportunity to unwind and take it easy.

The Power of Connection

It is amazing what intiating a simple conversation can bring about.

This past Sunday, we launched a new venue at Meadow Spring called "Big Screen Cafe". It consists of a 50" plasma screen TV in the lobby of the Marcus Theater where we meet on Sunday mornings. The "Big Screen Cafe" is a simulcast of all that we are doing live in Meadow Live (which meets in theater #6).

Any way...the lobby of the theater is open to the hallway of the mall where the theater is located and the 50" TV is strategically placed so that those who walk by the lobby of the theater are able to see the TV.

Well, this past Sunday, a gentleman was waiting for a store to open in the mall and he wandered into the lobby of the theater. He saw the TV, and the group of people in the lobby and looked a bit puzzled. I walked over and introduced myself and he did the same and asked what was going on. That started a great conversation with Clarence. After chatting for a bit, he was hooked as to what we are doing here at Meadow with multiple venues meeting at the same time, each with a different atmosphere and with the message being simulcast to the venues. He said he would be back with his wife to see more of what we are doing as a church in a movie theater.

The power of connection. It is amazing what can happen if we simply engage people in conversation.

Lessons From a Chicken...

Okay...so not a chicken with feathers and stuff. More like in someone who is lacking in courage.

This week at the Weds Men's AM group at Panera we started taking a look Gideon to see what we can learn from his life. He definitlely wasn't the bravest of men. When he is first mentioned in the Bible, he is found hiding, doing his farm work in the confines of a winepress. And he was not a man of great faith...at least at the beginning of the story.

Yet as we read about Gideon we see that he grew in his knowledge of God and grew to trust God as he stepped out in obedience to the things that God was telling him.

Did you catch that? Gideon learned to trust God by obeying God. And as a result some amazing things took place. Things that were beyond Gideon's wildest dreams. He went from being a coward hiding in a winepress to being a mighty warrior and leader of a nation as he learned to simply obey God and trust Him with the outcome.

Through it all he learned that God sees the big picture, that God knows the beginning from the end. God had a game plan for Gideon's life and He has a game plan for your life. Will you trust Him?

Are you "hiding"? Are you fearful to step out and do that which God has called you to do? The adventure of a lifetime begins with one step. Take a lesson from a "chicken" and take that first step of faith. You will be glad you did. And come join us at Panera, 6AM next Weds to learn more of what it can mean to take God at His Word!

This Saturday at The Garage

Do you have a handle on your schedule or is your schedule handling you?

If we are honest for just a moment, most of us guys would have to admit that our schedules are as out of control as a car with no brakes speeding down a narrow mountain road. We are driven by the tyranny of the urgent.

If this description hits home for you, then make plans to join us this Saturday, 8AM for The Garage. Topic for the day will be "Getting a Grip on Your Schedule" and we will be looking at how we can restore balance to our lives.

For more info on The Garage, a group for men, contact me at dave@meadowonline.org

Numbers...ARRRRGGGGH!

Not the crime drama Numbers. I actually like that one! No, I am talking about line by line analysis of information we need as we refine our vision and strategy for multi-venue services. And there is a boatload of info to go over. And over. And over.

After the brain-drain today has been, I am looking forward to spending time with my Tuesday Community Group tonight and just relax hanging out with friends.

By the way, the Weds AM Men's Group is still meeting at 6AM at Panera and we are going to be tackling a series by Men of Integrity. If you happen to be up before breakfast, come and join us!

To Those Who Wait...

We have all heard the old adage, "good things come to those who wait". This is certainly about to come true for a good friend of mine, Dave Koen.

I first met Dave about 16 years ago when he was a student at the Bethany College of Missions and he was on a practicum team that was serving at the church I was attending. We hit it off right away. And since that time Dave has been a tremendous influence in my life. His example of faithfulness and reliance upon the Bible, his commitment to prayer, his daily walking out the things that he believes without compromise, and his commitment to wait upon God's timing for the purposes that God has for him have served as a huge challenge and encouragement to me.

Dave is a guy that has been good at waiting. As a single man in the culture in which we live, he has committed himself to God's standard and has not given in to the cultural pressure to disregard God's standards and "go for the gusto". Dave has patiently waited for God's timing and provision for a life-mate.

Well...good things do come to those who wait. Dave is getting married this weekend to a wonderful woman and I could not be happier for him! I am looking forward to celebrating with the future Mr and Mrs Koen this weekend.

Way to go Dave!

A Couple Days in The Woods

This last week has been pretty awesome. Last week Friday I get a call from my buddy Chad who says he is heading out to another friend's property on Saturday to cut down some trees and wanted to know if I was interested in joining the fun. Well...given my passion for power tools, the sound of high revving two-cycle engines and flying sawdust, of course I said "Yes"!

So Chad, John (the friend with the property), Joe and myself spent the day on Saturday clearing some of the dead fall and cutting down a huge old oak (it was dead for quite some time). This old oak was definitely huge. John's saw has a 36" bar and it wasn't even close to going all the way through the trunk of this woodland behemoth. It felt great to just be out in the woods, hanging out with friends and accomplising a mission together. It's important to clear out the dead wood so that the young trees have enough light and space to be able to grow.

Then a couple of days later, I packed my bags and headed for the woods of western Wisconson to spend some time clearing dead fall of another kind. I spent Monday afternoon through Wednesday morning in a prayer cabin at Wilderness Fellowship to be with God in solitude to clear out what has been "dead" in my own life. No sound of chainsaws, no smell of two-cycle exhaust. Just me in a cabin in the woods with my Bible and couple of good books to spend quality time alone with God without distraction.

You see, we occasionally have to take a look at our lives and clear out the "dead fall". We need to seek to remove from our lives whatever is impeding our truly living out God's purpose.

I learned alot from those days in the woods. The most important thing was how much I really need God and how easy it is to allow distraction and the busyness of life drive a wedge between God and myself.

So...if you ever get the chance, spend some time in the woods, get alone with God, let Him clear the dead fall from your life so you can know Him better.