AT&T U-verse, Fox Soccer & Setanta. EPL.

Dear AT&T U-verse:

I just subscribed to your U-verse U200 primarly to get English Premier League Soccer (football in England). I did this by subscribing to your premium Setanta channel for an additional $15 a month. Now only two weeks in, I read that Setanta is going away and something called the Fox Soccer Plus is coming on March 1. I realize you are not behind these changes of venue. I get it. However, when I look to see how to get this via my U-verse, all I get is a black hole of communication. So I am going to call you and ask….hopefully you can still be my TV provider.

Okay. Nice AT&T Tech Lady told me that if I cancel Setanta ($15) and upgrade to U300 ($15, thus a wash) I would receive the Fox Soccer Network (soon to be in HD?) and the Fox Soccer Plus when they add it next month or two. This would be the best of news and makes me want to kiss AT&T U-verse full on the mouth. I pray you are right, Ms. Nice Tech Lady. If so, we’ll live in bliss. If not, a TV divorce might be happening.

Why the Move From www.worshiptrench.com?

Why move from the well traveled and greased worshiptrench.com? Because my role and life has changed. I am now the teaching pastor at NorthWood Church having handed the keys to Brent Minter for the daily driving of the worship ministry at NorthWood.  Since worshiptrench was a tips, tools and best practices blog for worship leading and leadership, I decided to leave all its free tools and leadership resources floating on the cloud. Feel free to grab any of the free tools, some which apply well beyond the worship ministry arena and could be used buy business people and others.

What will I deal with here? Whatever is clanging around in my brain. You might find it a bit eclectic but hopefully never boring or mean-spirited.

Lovestory: A Pursuing Husband (Sermon)

See the message.

Listen to the message.

Because everyone needs someone to love them when they are most unlovable. Some have blown it in life and thought, “I am such a disappointment to everyone who knows me.” Some have defiantly walked away from love rejecting the open arms of God who call us back to relationship. Some have given up, feeling unworthy to ever receive love again. Come find hope and restoration in the amazing love story of a man named Hosea.

Message 1 of the series.

What Clangs In My Head

Welcome to what clangs around in my head. As a thinker and teacher, not all my thoughts and reflections have a platform of expression. This is a place to get them into the light of day where they can become uncluttered, critiqued, and developed into useful ideas.  Some might find the topics here a little eclectic for their tastes. Others might think, “I am not the only one who thinks in such a crazed manner.”  Whatever my thoughts, I will strive to write with a tone of love and respect, even when critiquing,  so that I don’t become another cymbal clanging out meaningless communication in an already noisy world (I Corinthians 13) . Here is a bit more about some things that make my neurons fire more rapidly . . .

Favorites in no particular order

author: Thomas Watson and other puritans

teams: Liverpool FC, Dallas Cowboys, Texas Longhorns, US Olympic

ride: my two runs down Innsbruck Bobsled track (see about page bottom)

preachers: Alistair Beg also John Piper

ancient preacher: John Chrysostom

exercise: rowing/sculling/erg-rowing

upscale restaurant: Saint Emilion, Fort Worth

downscale restaurant: Fuzzy Tacos, Baja Mexican/Taco H

rock music you’ve heard of: Ani Difranco, Radiohead, Alanis Morissette

music you might not have heard of: check out good listens section

jazzers: Avishai Cohen Trio

composers: Prokofiev, Shostakovich and other Russians,

classical piece: Sonata for Violin and Piano II: Lento (d.2 trck.2) (A. Copland)

futbol players: Fernando Torres, Landon Donovan, Steven Gerrard

guy who needs a beatdown: Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather

Stats

family: Piper and three kids (girl, boy, girl)

current calling: Pastor of Teaching, NorthWood Church (11 years)

past callings: worship and communications pastor NorthWood, leader of dropknee worship band, singles minister, college minister

other jobs: swimming coach, distance runners coach, triathlete (back when the knees were young), driving range golf ball picker-upper