Friday, May 16, 2008

"The Jesus Mobile"



As I'm "in between" vehicles right now, we've been fortunate to be able to have 3 vehicles with 4 drivers in one neighborhood to get by thanks to my in-laws....

Today I'm sporting a Honda Civic from my parents appropriately called "The Jesus Mobile"- (See Pic). This had become a trademark with my parents- growing up we had a Ford escort called "T.J.M" as it was adorned with a PTL bumper sticker and others... I feel like I'm 16 again...

A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law's Tracker had a bright orange "Exotic Feline Rescue Center" bumper sticker on it.... I wondered what thoughts go through one's mind watching a dude getting out of a vehicle like that... As a bonus, that also comes with a nice, leopard print shoulder strap- I just hope people got past the word "Exotic"....

All that being said... I'm thankful for the faith I was brought up in, the family (on both sides) I get to do life with, and my trip down memory lane in "The Jesus Mobile" today...

Hopefully my new ride will be provided for in the next few weeks- until then, I'm off to the revival!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

"Finish + 1"







This weekend at Granger we showed a video where two of us were transplanted into the video game Halo... you should be able to watch it here on May 5th and beyond...

Ben (the cool young dude in the pics played my son) and I had had about seven hours of video shoot time most of which was done in the green room- our video guys are amazing.

My great friend Jeff Petersen runs point for the GCC video/arts team and I've been honored to be able to work with him on several projects over the years. He spent over three weeks tallying up over 150 hours of time in writing, shooting, editing and anything else that has to do with getting this project done all for a five minute video. Jeff's a Finisher + 1.

Leader's like Jeff know:
  • Great ideas are overrated... getting something done is much more difficult

  • A lot of projects, businesses, and ministries can function can be average and even good taking a vision to 80-90% of completion....

  • But, the reality in most endeavors, 80-90% of something is really nothing so we risk having it be a complete waste of time..
  • However, greatness comes when someone or some team takes the vision to the finish line... The final edits are made with minor improvements to the small details in a video, a good message is rehearsed a few more times to be sharp, or some final adjustments are made to a web-site to make the user experience a little easier...

The final thought is about the +1. Jeff and I have talked about how one extra hour in any drama, video edit, or any endeavor can add just that little extra "something" to the art.

I know when I cut corners. I know when I think to myself, "if I just had more time, that could have been so much better"... I know when I'm spread thin and kicking out a bunch of mediocrity...

What will it take to focus on finishing + 1? What project or vision are you working on that is getting diluted or is mired in the "it's good enough" stage?

Jeff's a great finisher. There aren't too many people out there like him. It was inspiring to see him work... (for the record, I didn't intentionally shoot a pic of him bending over...... dude....)