Celebration Service
As I looked at 2013 in terms of what I personally wanted to accomplish in the name of Lord, as well as how I wanted to impact, lead, and encourage those God has entrusted me to serve; it became clear that I needed to stretch myself in order to be a better leader and servant. In January during the 9:30 service I publically announced that 2013 would be a “reinvention of Jeff Carnie.” Many of you laughed when that was said, however I was very serious. I strongly believe that in order to stay effective for God, and be a relevant leader, you must always be striving to grow; both personally and spiritually.
In January I began taking Jazz piano lessons, let’s see how that goes. I am also committed to playing my bass guitar again. In time, I plan on sharing these gifts during our worship services. Now, the question is, how much time will it take for me to become proficient enough to share with all of you. Only God knows!
Traditionally, in the first quarter of the year “all” Christians are preparing for the celebration of Easter. This year because Easter is being celebrated in March not April, it affords us less time to prepare our program. Immediately after preparing and presenting the Christmas events, our musicians and vocalist had to start rehearsing music scheduled for Easter. As I write this article, I must say I am confident that our group will be ready to present an awesome service for our congregation. Carole and I have said it many times; we are blessed to work with such a great group of dedicated individuals. It is my earnest prayer that all in attendance during this “high time,” Easter will be truly blessed by the message and songs presented. I pray we all enter this season with tender open hearts, I pray your worship experience will remind you of the first time you heard the Easter message, fresh and renewing!
Family of Musicians
Many things have changed since the end of the year, and this is just the first quarter of the year. Itis accurate for me to say, I better hold on tightly to the “Hand of God” if I expect to maintain a handle on all that is happening. As you may recall, in January our bassist George Rivera left our team to go and serve on the ministry team at another church in the area. Shortly after that position was vacant, it was filled by Larvin McLain. As he endeavors to learn our repertoire, please join with our team in welcoming and encouraging him. Another addition to our group is Brett Kihara, he is our electric guitarist. To his credit and our blessing, he is a committed musician; he is passionate about his craft, he is exceptionally disciplined, always prepared when he comes to rehearsal, and most importantly, he’s a team player. He’s not one of those guys who overplays because he can, he picks his spots which adds to the sweetness of the song. That’s discipline! Larvin and Brett, welcome to our family of musicians.
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