I’m fascinated by what Glenn Beck has been doing these last few years.  From leaving CNN to join Fox News Channel, to then leave Fox and begin his own media company at GBTV.com,  it’s either one of the most incredibly brilliant decisions of a genius, or the tragic end to a once great political commentator and entertainer.

But what captures my attention is Glenn’s passion for God demonstrated throughout his radio, television, and subsequent programing throughout the GBTV lineup.  I will not hide my reservations to his particular brand of Christianity (Mormonism), but you cannot argue his love for Jesus and his love for this country.

So when Glenn Beck begins a year long challenge to his viewers and fans, I take great interest.  If Glenn is willing to commit an entire year of his life to a project, I believe that I should vet the merits of his idea.  I’ve said it before to friends, but if this country survives this economic tailspin, much of the reason will be due to Glenn Beck’s tireless efforts to wake Americans up!

What is this challenge Glenn puts forth:  Can we become more like George Washington?

So what does this look like?  Many answers can be found here.  But in simple terms is a yearlong challenge to add virtues and values into our lives via 13 30/31 day focus periods on character traits of George Washington.  Traits like diligence, virtue, honesty, Godliness are included in the upcoming year, but what turned my attraction into desire was Glenn connecting this challenge with 2 Peter 1: 3-8,

According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For this reason I am accepting the Being Like George Washington Challenge.  I wish to not just be like our nations greatest president, but to be more like our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Join me…we can hold each other accountable and encourage each other.  At the beginning of next year, will be better or the same?  I choose to be better!

It’s a simple question really….or is it? Think about it… What moves you to action?

Watching the actions of a madman that tries to overtake a smaller, weaker country may move you to enlist in the Reserves to serve your
country.

What moves you to tears? Watching a movie about a boat where over 1,200 died. What moves you to anger?  Watching a criminal get an early release from a murder conviction because of overcrowding in our prison system.

But what really moves your soul? I mean, what really makes you tick? What is the one thing that makes you so complete, that no amount of money or fame or anything can replace?

For me, it’s always been, and always will be….music.I mean every facet of music. From playing it, to teaching it, to living it vicariously through other performances. I love music. Big time. Anyone that knows me, can tell you that….but what really gets me going it the ability to make someone else feel what I feel about music.

It’s the middle bass drummer on the drum line that has that look in their eyes when they play “that” song. It’s the excitement a student has when they feel and understand what a groove is. It’s the church member that is moved by a performance of a drummer! It’s the groove that the other musicians feel when you’ve played that song better than the CD. It’s that special place that you can take an audience to when you perform.

You see, everybody is different. Everybody has different life experiences. Some people go through life and never get the chance to perform in front of people and hear applause. Some people never get the chance to experience the thrill of performing with an entire marching band at a contest….and win it! Some people never experience playing a song…and moving all the other musicians to tears. Some people never get a chance to play music that moves people closer to God…and maybe even moves God Himself.

What a sad life for the person that never has the chance to experience any one of a million musical experiences.  You see, I believe that music is a gift from God. It has immense power and we, as musicians, can wield that power. How amazing!  Music is magic. It can make you laugh or make you cry. Music can inspire you and compel you. Music is one of the most, if not the most powerful, medium that has ever been created.

Private lessons can be tough. I know. I’ve been teaching and taking them since I was in Middle School. Many is the child that comes into my studio who hasn’t practiced and isn’t ready for the lesson. Many is the student that doesn’t understand why I’m so excited about music. Why? It’s partly because of our society. We’re very busy and we rarely take the time sit down to a family dinner, let alone listen to a piece of music. Most
people’s musical diet consists of the 30 to 40 minutes in the shower and getting ready for work or school. Life is truly passing them by.

They’re missing out. So let me make a few suggestions. The next time you’re listening to the radio….LISTEN!! If a ballad comes on, listen to the words and music, listen to how they flow and work together to make the song move you. Listen to some classical music. Listen to old music, new music, it doesn’t matter, just listen and let the music move your soul.

On your next gig, really listen to what you’re playing. Make the song groove. Lay back and let the other musicians groove on what you’re doing. The next ballad you play, listen to the words and then play the music to make those words mean something.

If you play in church….and you play in a worship band….playing worship songs….WORSHIP GOD!! Instead of playing for money, play, and let the music flow through you. They money will come later, but you have to play first.  It’s not just a gig, it’s a chance to something that not many people on the planet can do, and then you get PAID for it!!

If you’re a student, listen to your music teacher. Soak up what they are trying to teach you and utilize those tools. Use what they know to expand your horizons. Don’t just play a song, make music.  Don’t just be a drummer, or a bass player, or a guitar player…make music.

Music is a gift from God, and I get to make it and teach it. What an honor. But with that honor comes responsibility. It’s my job to not just teach someone how to play, but also to enjoy what they play, and to make music. It’s my job as a musician to play to the best of my ability at all times. It’s my job as a teacher pass on the love of the art form of music. It’s also my job to motivate everybody that I come into contact with
to enjoy music. I mean really enjoy it. Listening to it, playing it, and performing it. I hold that honor in high regard.

That is what moves me.

I wrote this about 15+ years ago, and these words still hold true. As I read them, I can still feel the unbridled passion. In many ways, I miss those days…that old self. But I am working on gong back to that place, but this time, with the wisdom that only age can provide. I thought that over the next several weeks, I would re-post some of my older writings, because truth is always truth, no matter how old the writer may be.

It has been a wild roller-coaster ride over the last few years.  Since leaving “occupational ministry” I have  begun to wear several hats.  I love my life “outside” of the ministry profession.  I have been challenged, blessed, and struggled through self-worth and finding validation through my work, my loves, and my passions.

In other words… I have had my ass kicked and God has STILL been there for me and Sarah.

The website looks a little different…as I do as well.  I have been very slack about posting.  Some of that is due to some real technical issues I have been struggling with, but those have been solved (thanks Tech Support).  But mainly, I have been silent because I feel that at some point, I lost my voice.

Not being in a church leadership position made re-evaluate who I was and what my blog (and my whole live) would be focused on.  And then I realized that nothing changed about the focus…what changed was my audience.  The people who will read this are friends, family, and people I want to be closer to, but also people who are struggling with some of the same issue I have (and still are) dealing with.

For all of you, let me say this: there IS hope.  There IS a reason everything is happening to and around you.  God is ALWAYS there and wants you to be the best you can be.  Lead with all gusto and passion.  Fight the good fight and NEVER give up.

The payoff is STILL worth is and no matter what HAS happened, it’s nowhere near as good as what WILL happen if you focus on leading yourself and others as best as you can!

See you in a day or two and we’ll talk about the lessons I learned at my FIRST GUN SHOW!!  It was a blast!! (Sorry, couldn’t resist)

I recently learned a great leadership lesson from Netflix, the company that offers online flat rate DVD and Blu-ray Disc rental-by-mail and video streaming through gaming devices.  We’ve been trying Netflix out for the past month and had an issue with them last week that did not allow us to watch anything online through our Wii.

We were disappointed, but did not think too much about it.  And then I received this in my inbox this morning:

I was completely blown away by their depth of customer service.  For all intents and purposes, Netflix is a web-based company that is fairly turnkey: they upload the movies and TV show, provide the proper coding, and as long as I am paying my monthly fee, the content is electronically sent to my house.  There is not too much human to human interaction.  And when something goes wrong, I would expect very little by way of acknowledgement.

But they not only acknowledged the problem, they went above and beyond to keep me as a customer; extending my trial period for another day because of the day of service I had lost.

Do we go this far in our companies to keep current and future customers?

We’ve all had problems with services or products within our own companies, and our customers have been the unwitting victims.  And when they bring the problem to our attention, we all usually address it and resolve it as soon as possible.

But do we actively pursue those customers who have had a product or service problem that never brings it to our attention? In other words, what is our strategy for keeping customers when our systems fail?

Someone at Netflix has built a system that reacts when service is interrupted or there is a failure, and is proactive in resolving the problem in an extremely timely manner.

Thank you Netflix, for being a customer service leader in your industry and for helping us to learn a valuable lesson in customer service and satisfaction.