I am 'this close' to pulling the trigger on a podcast production idea.

I've been thinking for a long time that I'd like to host a podcast, but haven't felt like I had the really good idea that would make the podcast a value added experience. Prior to this week, me hosting a podcast would only involve hearing myself blabber about whatever I wanted....

Which may be value added all on its own, but I feel like what I'm on the verge of might not only be semi-entertaining, but helpful to people just like me all across the www.

Internet knows I'm late to the party on this one, but hey - sometimes you have to wait for the right idea before you use the tool. Otherwise, you're just tooling for tooling's sake - and you know what that makes you...

But just in case I'm off base with my idea, if you heard that I was starting a podcast, what would you assume the topic/theme/mission would be? What should it be?

Another strong week of content from American Idol auditions, and I think I can safely say that I'm in for the long haul.

I was moved by the level of talent exuded from from extremely young new artists, and I am enjoying the chemistry of the judges. What's not to like about Jennifer Lopez, right? Kristi thinks I like her only because she's beautiful. But I think that's way off track - I think it's more about the fact that she's really pretty, and so then listening am can I do okay.

Steven Tyler is not pretty or beautiful to me, but he's human and sensible in an surprising down-to-earth way.

I still think that they are passing through way too many average vocalists, and so it makes me wonder how much time they're going to spend in Hollywood - because there are way too many (that they're showing) who are getting through who wouldn't have in years past.

They are hitting home runs with the poignant and moving and emotional contestants on American Idol. Chris Medina's story was almost too much too bear. You can read more about it here, particularly how some cynics are blogging that the tragic story has overshadowed his mediocre audition, but I don't think so. Especially considering my earlier note regarding the passing through of average vocalists - they have at least been consistent in this, even if it's different than in previous years...

Chris has been telling his story through song for a while now. Check out his song he posted on the day he was supposed to marry his fiance. Pretty powerful.

So, who are your early favorites?

Working on a moment for this weekend's service. It's a video that rolls behind the worship leader, as though his or her thoughts are appearing on the screen. It is all about the connection we make spiritually between "feeling it" and "not feeling it."

I think it's probably the first time that we've addressed this kind of phenomenon in one of our church services - the strain in our spiritual journey when we connect too closely our spiritual walk and the feelings that are associated with it.

So let me ask you: Are you "feeling it" right now, spiritually? Are things going well between you, and God, and others? And if not, is it okay to keep pressing on even though you don't currently "feel it?"

If love isn't a feeling, but an active verb, then why do we consistently equate success of failure of our spiritual connectedness and maturity with emotions and feelings?

Is it possible to be at the height of your spiritual maturity and still feel miserable?

I'm not sure. Come to COMMUNITY this weekend or join us online at www.communitychristian.org. You won't regret it, though you might feel like you do... (that was a joke in an otherwise serious post...)

Need I say more?

Thanks Barats and Bereta for bringing this sound-alike dilemma to life...

The clip is pulled from the sketch duo's upcoming film, 'Scott & Zander's Crazy Night.' Enjoy.

The picture to the left here proves that Tony and Elton did, in fact, meet - no matter what Tony says in the clip.

Well, it was an interesting three hours of programming. I think overall I'm going to like the combo of Steven/Jennifer/Randy, but in other ways, it was too early to tell and they seemed to intentionally avoid the tough scenes that we've come to know in these early rounds in previous years. Some random thoughts:

- There were several vocalists who in previous years would not have secured enough support to get through to Hollywood. It's going to be interesting to see how this judging crew makes tough choices in Hollywood with people who might be able to sing but who don't have a chance to win. In most cases in previous years, Simon would shut them down and Randy would be a joiner with him because Randy is a joiner. This week, he joined with JLo and Steven as they let in the medium talent.

- The first night still contained one of my pet peeve segments for the early rounds: the "sing-a-log" to the Miley Cyrus tune "Party in the U.S.A." - and this one was even worse, because they used the Japanese Michael Jackson dude as the first person to sing it. He actually says "I hate the Miley song" or something like that. When he first said that, I thought it odd but attributed it to my inability to understand what he was saying. But then they followed his complete audition with a montage of other awful people singing the song.

So here's what that means: it means that he did not come prepared to sing that song. It means that his first audition was with something else, and then they asked/forced him to sing it. Along with everyone else who sucked. At least this week they added people who were good singing along with it, but I find that whole device to be offensive. Of course they don't know the song and they suck - they weren't prepared to sing it in the first place.

- They have been successful so far in capturing some great stories of hardship and great singers who are trying to overcome great odds. And I really like the few 15 year olds that they have harvested. Can't imagine that they will survive, but (after a too long bio sequence involving the new judges) they have put the focus in the right place - the singers!

Hmmmm.

In previous years, this was a ritual for me. To watch, comment, blog, react, invest, and dive into the culture phenomenon that... is... American Idol.

And now I find myself at a crossroads. While I certainly do not have much optimism for AI without Simon and with J-Lo and Aeroscream, I also don't want to be counted among any of the early rejectors who have decided that it just won't work, without having given it a shot.

So I'm giving myself through the first week of live shows, to see how the chemistry plays out, and to see if it's worth any investment of pop culture capital. It isn't just about the new hosts: it's about the contestants, as well as the other changes they have made to the format to make it successful. I'll be blogging about it - feel free to dive in and comment and react as I give as much of my unfiltered opinion as my own conscience will allow.

Are you watching?

Hey y'all - Happy New Year! Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Excited about the last couple of original videos our media team has crafted for our weekend services. The first is Pew Haul: a parody of U-Haul that imagines what it might be like if there was a service that would get your friends to church when you really just aren't comfortable enough to invite them yourself. Watch it here:

The next clip is called "The Parable of the Sower" - and it's a short retelling of the parable of the sower from Matthew 13, with Slinkys in place of plants. It falls in line with our current series called "Slinky," where we are investigating how the 3 C's of Celebrating, Connecting and Contributing can be used to stretch us and how God is wanting to do that with us right now. We all fit into one of these categories illustrated in the parable - which one are you in? Which one do you want to be in?

Obviously, these videos are available for viewing and sharing on youtube, but if you want to purchase full-res files to be shown in your church's service, you can get them right here at our video store. And if you like 'em and want your church to use them, send your arts director the link as well! Enjoy!