3 Months later...

We are now three months into my unannounced blog hiatus.
I've been asked a couple of times about it since November, but really didn't feel a need to explain since it seemed like it would only be a temporary lapse.
Now that I'm fairly certain that it's going to be a while still before you hear from me in blog form, here's a short answer so that you're not put in the dark unnecessarily.
Simply put, I haven't blogged because I'm not really convinced that at this moment, I can do it to a level that would add sufficient value to my readers.

In the limited time I devote to this blog, I think I've done okay, but I know that if this had a little more direction, a clear focus on something more useful to everyone out there than just me and my opinion, it could be really great.

Oh, there's plenty to talk about, all kinds of wonderful things going on, and my mind and heart are as engaged in the journey as ever, but in light of all the great minds and wordsmiths in the blogosphere far wiser and more focused that I could ever be, it seems a little pretentious to me to be meandering along every three days racking my brain to figure out a witty post title on a Wednesday morning when there are so many other places out there that are saying pretty much the same kinds of things I am.

I've just started realizing lately that I'm better off spending what little time I have getting better at what I'm called to do, rather than doing something because everyone else on staff is doing it (Now would be a good time to note that I don't mean to say that no one should have a personal blog, just that for this moment in my life, it no longer feels like the best use of my time). I'm not always this disciplined in other areas of my personal development (I've got leaders in my life who are nodding as they read this), but everyone's got to start somewhere.

You may see more here one of these days with a new header or a different direction, but for now, consider me on a blog hiatus.

Thanks for visiting.

-mo

Only four days left!

Extended periods of silence on this blog usually mean craziness in the editing world, and this entire month pretty much proves that. That being said, in four days, the cat will be out of the bag, as it were, and all the awesomeness will be revealed! (Awesomeness...what a great made-up word..)

Anywho, until then, here's a message from Pastor Troy!


Don't miss this Weekend! from Flamingo Road Church on Vimeo.

Something big is coming...

Experiments in HD

Sooo....we've started using what little space we've got on our one P2 card to film small promo spots in HD for TV, and here is our first fully HD spot...maybe someday I'll post the early experiments that have people tinted in funny colors with pieces of their bodies cut off by the camera.

Mad props to our spokeswoman Ana and to Phil Lashley, our resident After Effects ninja, who made the killer background.

Enjoy!

FRC-192 Cutaway Intro - Ana from Mauricio Tinoco on Vimeo.

I soooo don't look this cool in real life

Bryan from NBphotographix came by church this week to take some headshots of the staff here to be a part of an art project....this is one of the many results:


It's my 30 year old twin!

A prophetic word?

HT to Candice Watters, contributor from The Boundless Line, who quoted this in an article centered around a great explanation on our current economic situation over at Tony Woodleif's blog (who may have got it from someone else, but that's as far as I can keep track of where credit is due on this one).

This was written in 1897:

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.
-Alexander Tyler

...And from the looks of what I'm reading and seeing in the news, the cycle is in full swing.

Thanks, Mr. Spencer

It's an emo night...I can feel it. Sometimes it just hits me, this mentally-and-emotionally drained kind of frustration with where things are at the moment. Even Heroes had that kind of Ecclesiastes kind of vibe to it, all the characters running around trying to make a difference and never really getting anywhere (and what was the deal with Peter starting to use Sylar's power and attacking his own mother like that? Craziness!). Guilty pleasures aside, it's the Dip, as Seth Godin puts it.
The only reason I mention it is because I frequently need to be reminded more than I need to be informed when times like these come around, and posts like this one help keep things in perspective for me. You should definitely check out that link and see his site if you haven't...I just quoted the whole post here because I liked it. If I've still got this blog when I've gotten over the self-consciousness of baring my soul on the internet, you'll be seeing more of this kind of honesty in the stuff I write. At the moment, though, I can totally identify with what he's saying.

Some Christians love to talk about the sins of Obama or gays or the mainstream media, but get really animated when I suggest we need to talk about our own, even if they are listed in the Bible dozens of times.

If the Gospel isn’t grabbing you by the real sins in your real life, just exactly what is the Gospel doing for you? Or you with it?

I don’t like the fact that I can give a really good talk on prayer when I rarely pray.

I don’t like it that I can read Matthew 5:23-24 and, as far as I can recall, never take a single step toward obeying it.

I don’t like that I can sin and then condemn someone else’s sin in almost the same breath.

I don’t like it that I’m convinced people need to understand me, but I take so little time to understand others.

I regret that I’ve spent so much of my life seeking to make myself happy in ways that never led to real happiness at all.

I don’t like it that I’ve accumulated so much stuff I don’t need, and I’m so reluctant to give it away.

It causes me real sorrow that I’ve said “I love you” far to little in my life, especially to the people I love the most.

I don’t like the fact that some of my students think I’m a hero, when I’ve done nothing more than be an unprofitable servant.

I hate the difference between what I know and what I do.

I hate the fact that I can use words like “radical” describing what others should do in following Jesus when I’m the first one to want to play it safe.

I don’t like that part of me that thinks everyone should listen to what I say.

I wish I could see myself as God sees me, both in my sinfulness and in the Gospel of Jesus.

I regret using so little of my life’s time, energy and resources for worship and communion with God.

I despise that part of me that always finds fault, and uses that knowledge to put myself above others.

I am embarrassed by the words I use that come so easily from the tongue but have little root in the heart.

I regret taking so few risks in the cause of living a God-filled life.

I despise the shallowness of my repentance for sin that has caused hurt and pain for others.

I don’t like that part of me that can make up an excuse, even lie, almost endlessly in the cause of avoiding the truth and its consequences.

I don’t like that I can talk of heaven in a sermon or at a funeral, but very little of me wants to go there.

I regret that I have loved my arrogant self far than I’ve loved my self humbled in Christ.

I regret that so much good advice, good teaching and good example was wasted on me.

But I am glad for the endless mercies of the Lord, and the amazing fact that those mercies extend to me, today and every day.

I am glad that Christ my substitute took this sorry life, pathetic obedience and lethargic worship and exchanged it for his perfect righteousness.

I am glad that the Holy Spirit is remaking and raising dead men- even at age 52.

I am glad that one day I will look at all these failures and regrets and they will have been transformed into the very glory of Jesus Christ himself.

I am glad that God has cast the very things I most dislike about myself into the depths of the sea and has removed them as far as the east is from the west.

I am glad that when I return in shame and embarrassment, my Father meets me running, covers me with his gladness and throws me a party in the presence of the naysayers and pharisees.

I am glad that Jesus takes these things I loathe about myself and says “It is finished. Come you good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord. Today you will be with me in paradise.”

I am glad Jesus says “Before I have called you servant, but now I will call you friend.”

I am glad Jesus says “Who condemns you? There is now no condemnation because you are in me and I am in you. If I am for you, who can be against you? Go, and sin no more.”

I'm glad, too.

Prepare to be inspired

Carlos Lascano somehow managed to compress Steph and I's story into a two minute video!

...Or at least this is how I would romanticize it if I had put this together. Seriously, though, this is worth watching a couple of times. I'm proud to be able to work in the same field as guys like this:


A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.


...And it was done mostly with cardboard, paper, and wires. You can read here about how he put it together. Enjoy!

My co-workers are better then yours ;)

They sang and everything...the media team ROCKS!

Stephanie

I could also title this post, Why My Wife is Awesome!

Here is a post she put up over at that other really cool blog I write for, The Elevate Blog. 

I love it whenever she writes or teaches, because she has a way of communicating to the women in our college ministry that leaves a lasting impression each time she takes the lead. I couldn't ask for a better partner in ministry, or a better friend.

Check this out!

As Mauricio and I are sitting down watching CNN's Anderson Coopers's 360 show have discussions about the bailout being rejected and covering Sarah Palin's campaign (discussing it heavily) especially as the vice presidential debates gets closer this Thursday...

One of the commentators mentioned that part of the preparation for the debates is to have a mock-debate where they ask her questions and see how she will answer. They will take measures to ensure she is knowledgeable so she is able to answer "authentically" as opposed to being a puppet and having an advisor speak through her... Hmmmmm..... Now, please don't mistake this post with promoting one political party or candidate over another... it's definitely not about that!

But honestly, that comment is still echoing in my mind.... "she needs to answer authentically" Why? I found the comment very interesting especially considering the discussion tonight in Elevate. Why is authenticity so important during this presidential campaign? Do you trust the platform you're planning to vote on? Do you feel they're authentic enough that they've won your authentic vote? Think about it.... if you don't trust a candidate and feel they're genuine, then you probably won't buy into what they "so-called" represent. Its kind of similar to our relationship with Christ!

...want to read more? Then hop on over to the Elevate blog!

Falling Slowly

I can't believe it's taken me this long to discover The Swell Season...ah, well. Better late than never, I suppose...

Adventures in Ministry

Okay, the just the facts:

1) This weekend, Flamingo Road Church brought over 20,000 pounds worth of water and supplies for Haiti relief.

2) We brought two trucks to collect the supplies. We should have brought four.

3) Supply trailers shouldn't be parked on soft grass, especially when they tip over while filled with a team of church volunteers (and 1 cameraman) packing it with water.

4) Now we are donating a crane

What Ian likes to do while things are rendering...

*Actually, he does productive stuff all the time, I just happened to catch him in one of his stir-crazy moments after a really long day

Lifechange @ Flamingo

I would have posted this earlier, but I needed a few days to recover from the archives-raiding extravaganza that was last week's production schedule...Two days of frantic tape-raiding with eight volunteers and three playback stations running almost continuously (and we still have almost an entire wall of shelves full of tapes we hadn't gone through) yielded its prize: a sick look back at some of the most inspiring interviews profiling the life change that we get to be a part of on a daily basis at Flamingo.

We are a blessed little crew.



Life Change from Flamingo Road Church on Vimeo.

Duude!

My wife plays Rock Band.....that is so hot!

Why the FRC Media Team loves the office staff

I have to admit, we media guys get lonely sometimes. We're in an entirely different building than pretty much everyone else on staff, so when everyone else is celebrating a birthday or freaking out because someone's water broke in the middle of a meeting (which hasn't happened yet, by the way), we continue to edit video behind our glowing screens, blissfully oblivious to all the action that happens next door.

But not today, because today, we got brownies!


Much love to Beverly, who is Garland's assistant and our current favorite person in the office (behind Vicky, who writes our paychecks)

Question

Could Mauricio pull this off?

More Than a Game Epilogue

...and here is the finished product:




More Than a Game Trailer 02 from Flamingo Road Church on Vimeo.

More than a Game

Whew! Sorry for the lack of posting lately, things have been happening a mile a minute here in my world. I've actually been doing more journaling on my own than posting, mainly because there are a lot of things I'm thinking through right now, some of which I'm sure will end up showing up on this page in the near future. 

In the meanwhile, here is the giving video from last week:

Pretty sweet, huh?

Well, that was only the beginning, because we now have a Pre-teaching video (that's the video we use for set changes right before Pastor Troy comes onstage to bring the Word) that we've got to design for the upcoming series that has that same gritty feel.

Fortunately for us, we've got musical fusion-making maniacs like Pastor Brian Fuller who make this easy for us video guys by producing tracks that are so good, they make you want to slap your grandma.

You can listen to it here.

Man, I love this job!

I just stuck my toes into

...the twitter pool...I may have a new addition to that sidebar on the right pretty soon...