For almost 8 years now, in multiple cities & very different groups of people, God has used this song to touch my life & the lives of those around me.. An anthem of surrender to The One who truly is our everything. It’s humbling & honoring to be a part of something with that kind of impact and longevity! We finally captured a good recording last night.. Hope you enjoy our version of Everything!
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It’s ALMOST that time!! Only a week and a half away from the Grand Opening official launch of Reach Church!! I can’t believe the time has gone by so fast.. seems like just a few weeks ago we soft launched in October. Living in Austin for about 6 months now, we’ve had the opportunity to meet some incredible people who have been a HUGE asset to our team and gain perspective on the culture of this awesome city. I wanted to share the commercial that will be airing in HD on several local & cable TV stations over the next 10 days (starting today!) in Austin.. If you’re in the Austin area on January 30th be sure to get to C.C. Mason Elementary School in Cedar Park by 10am for the GRAND OPENING of Reach Church!! Check out www.ReachAustin.com for all the details.
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Our brand new church in Cedar Park, TX was blessed to experience a very successful first service yesterday on 10.10.10 at Mason Elementary School. There was much work and preparation that went into getting ready for this monumental day and our entire team gave their all to make it perfect! From the main service to the children, nursery and parking lot, our leadership team stepped up to the plate making it all come together so incredibly well. It was exciting to meet new families and begin new relationships with people from our area, I can’t wait to get to know those who came out to the soft launch service better! For my brothers and I, it was great to get ‘back in the saddle’ so to speak having the opportunity to lead worship in a corporate worship setting. Of course on day one of a brand new church you don’t necessarily know what to expect so it was very rewarding to see people enter into worship and experience God through music. Pastor Chris shared a message from his heart, explaining in detail the vision of Reach Church through the start of a series titled “Come As You Are” and giving some background insight from his family’s experiences leading up to the start of a brand new church in the Austin region. Overall, it was an amazing day with the best team and church family in the world… I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Reach Church!
Here’s a couple pics from our main service area:
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I’m very excited to announce that as of August 1st, 2010, my brothers and I along with an amazing team led by Pastors Chris & Melissa Gilkey have officially moved to Austin, Texas to launch Reach Church! The journey to Austin actually started several years ago when I knew at a young age that music would be a major part of my career, although it’s taken several years and experiences to shape what that would look like. I met Pastor Chris in 2004 and had the opportunity to lead worship for his youth ministry in Youngstown, OH where I began to realize the potential for a long-term connection between us. We have remained connected over the last few years through ministry transitions, a move to St. Louis, MO and now a new opportunity in Texas. Since then, I’ve been on quite a journey of growth & development, excitement & disappointment, seeking & finding, but most important of all following where my heart directed and pursuing my dreams.
Back in September 2008, shortly after moving from my hometown in western PA (near Youngstown, OH) to St. Louis, MO, I became oddly attracted to Austin, TX. What started out as just a curiosity about this city I had never been to, grew into somewhat of an infatuation as I began researching and pursuing all the information I could about the central Texas city. Austin is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” being a musician, that alone was intriguing to me. Keeping this all to myself for quite sometime, I began to quietly seek direction in prayer as well as investigate open opportunities for work in Austin, however I couldn’t seem to draw a practical conclusion or even reasonable explanation for any of this. In early 2009, Pastor Chris and I sat down for a meeting which I had requested in order to gain his perspective on a career opportunity that came my way in a completely different city. During this meeting, I asked him about his next steps and what he was seeing for his future. We came to a point in conversation where Pastor Chris mentioned there was a city that had been on his radar for a few months that he had never been to and didn’t know anybody from but was very intrigued by this place and praying about what exactly that means. He shared some brief facts about this city and I’ll never forget the feeling I had that day in a Chipotle restaurant in St. Louis as he described the demographic and cultural aspects of Austin, the same city that had been in my heart and mind, which I had also been researching for quite some time. I said “it’s Austin, TX, isn’t it..,” our faces both showed the shock of that moment but there was an immediate inner peace for me once the words had been spoken. After that meeting, I put to rest discussions regarding any other opportunities and started to focus all my thoughts and prayers about the future towards Austin.
Over the next several months of 2009, the reality of a legitimate calling to Austin continued to unfold and be confirmed through several others, including our Pastor in St. Louis and the other individuals who have now made the move to be part of this church launch. The first time I visited Austin, I really enjoyed the general demeanor of the people, diverse culture, the southern hospitality with a Texan kick and of course the live music that fills even the airport which together all summed up the well known local slogan “keep Austin weird.” I quickly began to see myself finding a home in Austin, TX.
Many doors have opened to make this move possible and there has been an incredible favor on everything regarding our relocation to Austin including finances, new relationships, restoration of prior relationships and grace for important decisions. What an exciting and encouraging ride it has been so far, even more exciting to know that this is just the beginning! As we move forward in this next phase of life and ministry, your support through prayer and spreading the word to anyone you may have a connection with in the Austin area is greatly appreciated.
The church will be called Reach Church. The vision is to reach Austin & beyond through empowering people to fulfill their God-given purpose. Austin has a city-wide motto which interestingly enough is the same phrase Pastor Chris has been using since the day we met, “Come As Your Are.” Austin is the perfect place to plant a “come as you are” church that combines culture and community by accepting a wide variety of people and ideas. Only 10% of the 1.6 Million people who call the Austin-Round Rock metro area home currently attend church and the median age for Austin residents is 29.6. It’s a young, thriving city and the capital city of Texas with a diverse mix of university professors, students, politicians, musicians, state employees, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers, and white-collar workers.
For more information about Reach Church, progress updates or to give financially to the church plant visit www.reachaustin.com which will be up and running in the very near future. Also, check out our page on Facebook [hhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Reach-Church/143180285728087] and follow Reach Church on Twitter [www.twitter.com/reachaustin] for exciting news & current updates!
Thanks for reading, I can’t wait to update again soon regarding the progress of Reach Church and life in Austin, Texas!
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Revolution’s youth camp, iCamp, at Church on the Rock was a HUGE success this year! Over 150 teens attended and got to participate in team competitions, visit Six Flags, see the new Karate Kid movie, go swimming & eat some great food but the absolute best part of this year’s camp were the services each night. I had the opportunity to lead worship for the nightly services where the campers got to experience God in a brand new way each night through intimate worship and learned about finding their true identity, identifying the call on their lives whether it be marketplace or vocational ministry and the truth about love through powerful teaching of the Word. Here’s a clip of our iCampers singing a chorus from the song “Everything” which they did without any music or encouragement from leadership for several minutes.. those of us on the platform were left speechless and at times overcome with tears at the sight of what was taking place in that room.. a youth revival brought full circle. The following is a short clip of what happened that night.
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Let me start out by saying that I have been on a quest for a tube guitar amp that I truly love & “can’t play without” for several years now. For a number of years I was actually into the modeling thing, using a Boss GT-6 as my front-runner mostly due to ease of use and simplicity of setup, using the unit’s direct out into house system but that got old quick and the pursuit of killer guitar tone was on. Now at times this has been a ‘back-burner’ issue as I’ve been using good amps (Fender Blues DeVille 410/Deluxe 112, Peavey Classic 30, Mesa-Boogie Nomad & Mark V) that sound good for the most part and have pretty decent, even ‘classic’ sound coupled with some my favorite stompbox pedals to really get what I need but it’s all been good.. not great. In the last 6 months this ‘quest’ has really heated up as I’ve tried so many amps but not found anything to really get what I want short of spending $10,000 on a few of my favorites from the boutique & vintage world which still wouldn’t put it all together in 1 versatile, portable package. I came very close to thinking I’d found what I was looking for in the Egnater Rebel 30 (6V6 & EL34 ‘tube mix’ blender, switchable from 1w to 30w) but after reading reviews and finding out they’re made in China coupled with playing through it for about 3 hours I had to keep looking. So here’s the criteria:
Enter the Reason Bambino.
I first heard about Reason as a company back in 2008 shortly after moving to St. Louis, MO and was intrigued because they were a budding boutique amp company located about 5 miles from where I live with a world-class amp designer, Obeid Khan (Crate tube amps, Ampeg tube amps) as one of the owners and lead designer.. pretty cool right? However, after playing through a couple of their larger amps that were the only offerings at the time I was turned off by the shear loudness and cost even though the amps sounded good. It wasn’t until recently that I decided to give this company another look since the release of their new Bambino series. This past weekend I took some time and spent about an hour with the Bambino stack (Head & 112 cab) and I was sold within 5 minutes. Here’s some info on the Bambino from Reason’s website:
Product Overview
The Bambino was born out of a single design objective: to build a low power amp that had the feel and nuance of our favorite larger amps. We’re pleased to say that the Bambino has met that objective and exceeded expectations!
The key to the Bambino’s “big amp feel” lies within its power amp, where a pair of NOS 6AQ5 Beam Power tubes work in Class AB push/pull. Feeding the power amp is Reason’s proprietary StackModeSM front end. The Bambino’s Normal and Bright channels deliver a broad range of classic voices while StackMode provides an unparalleled level of control over the texture, gain and feel of the amp.
In addition to being a great low power amplifier, the Bambino has several features that take it’s usability to a new level. A front panel switch allows you to select between the full 8 watt output or a modest (but still delicious) 2 watts. And a balanced line out with sophisticated cabinet emulation, allow for direct recording, re-amping or plugging into FOH for bigger venues. There is even a Headphone out with Level control for silent rehearsing and recording.
Specifications
Tube Compliment: (2) 6AQ5, (3) 12AX7
Output: 8watts switchable to 2watts.
Operating Class: Class AB Cathode Bias, Push Pull
Channels: Normal, Bright, StackMode
Normal – Volume, Tone, Pull “Thick” switch
Bright – Volume, Treble, Bass, Pull “Bright” switch
StackMode – Normal & Bright channels active, plus Stack Volume
Balance Line Out – Electronically balanced on a TRS ¼” connector
Head Phone Out – ¼” stereo out.
Level Control: For Line Out and Head Phones
Speaker Simulation Circuitry: Inductive load network, cabinet response emulation
Internal Load: for safe silent recording and rehearsal
Footswitchable: Two button footswitch is optionalRETAIL PRICE: $749
Yep.. a handmade tube amp for 750 bucks! So if you go back and reference the list of criteria for what I set out to find in an amp you can see from that description alone how this thing fits the bill. By the way, in case you were wondering after reading that, StackModeTM is sweet! – As with all amps in the Reason Amps family, StackMode allows the Bambino to run Channel 1 (Normal) into Channel 2 (Bright) plus an extra gain stage in a series. Want to get over-the-top grind? StackMode is it! The Bambino also comes in a combo version as well. If you’re looking for more power & volume check out the brand new Bambino Grande with a 10/20 watt power section.
Another quick note if you do play in a church worship environment, small venue or acoustic oriented group, etc., this thing is a low-stage volume solution and audio engineer’s dream! I have yet to try out the direct line out (must admit I’m still a skeptic here) but I have heard it used live in a 3,000 seat auditorium with state of the art sound system and it did sound pretty darn great! I’m also very excited to use it to lay tracks in the studio and from my brief experience with the amp thus far, it seems to have very low self-noise which of course will be great for miking.
So after my experience with this amp a few days ago the verdict is in and I’ve decided to order mine in a custom color design this week (pics to come). One more thing I’d like to mention is my experience thus far with Anthony Bonadio, co-owner of Reason Amps. I reached out to him regarding my interest in this product and since they’re located so close, of course I wanted to see the shop as well as a firsthand overview/demo from the guys who created the amp. He invited me down there and gave me his personal cell phone number right off the bat so I can only image how great the ‘customer support’ will be after the sale.. these guys are down to earth & I’m glad to have the opportunity to support their local American business! I’ll do a follow up post with a review in about 6 weeks after I’ve had a chance to really put it through it’s paces. I am convinced that you can’t find a better boutique amp product for less than the Bambino series but aside from cost, this amp is quite possibly the end of a long quest for the ‘perfect’ product, time will tell. Check out the videos & other review links below as well as Reason’s website for info on custom colors and their other great amp designs.. find your Reason to rock!
User Review from www.guitargear.org
The Gear Page thread – Original Bambino Announcement by Reason
Thanks for reading!
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So an Apple software engineer goes into a bar to celebrate his birthday, throws back a few & most likely ends up having the worst day of his life when he woke up to realize he left the brand new iPhone he was field testing at the bar the night before… Ironically, Apple has a very serious security policy in place, even a ‘secret police’ force tasked with preventing leaks of this nature and products hitting the news media before they’ve been officially announced… I’d hate to explain that one to Steve Jobs! Fortunately for Apple addicts like me, Gizmodo got their hands on the new iPhone and posted a bunch of pics and videos (click here to view) as well as various forms of proof to authenticate the unit. Sure, I feel bad for the 27-yr-old who made the very poor career move of leaving Apple’s new baby in a bar, but then again just another reason to stay sober, especially when carrying around the future best-selling smartphone in history. Regardless, I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these:
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Controversial commercial airing during The Masters golf tournament as Tiger Woods prepares to make his much anticipated return to competitive golf.. ESPN’s poll says most people “Don’t like it” with “Like It” as a close second.. No matter how you look at it, this is a powerful and possibly inspiring spot even if it is solely promoting Nike’s TW line.. One thing for certain is that The Masters viewer ratings will spike to record highs this year, especially if Tiger does well.
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A LIVE performing arts production from the people who brought you THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT
This Sunday, March 28th, 2010 at 7PM Revolution Youth Movement will host “The Ransom“
Featuring::
And a whole lot more!!
Location::
[Click Here for directions]
Check out the commercial below, currently airing on MTV, BET, VH1, E! and network stations in the St. Louis area. Be sure to come out & have a blast on the 28th!!
Today is March 17, better known as “St. Patrick’s Day” all around the world in countries with people of Irish heritage. In the US today, the Chicago River & various fountains including The White House will run green, parades will take place, people will wear green to work (Andy Bernard will wear a “kilt“), peas will be planted, many will celebrate by having a bit too much green beer to drink and then there are those who will go about this day just like a normal Wednesday, like me. So besides John Mayer’s song, the claim that on this day “everybody’s Irish” and an over-hyped excuse to get out and party hard midweek what makes this day so special? Personally, I’ve never really cared much about St. Patrick’s Day, just a normal day with some added humor when I see the hilarious outfits people put together to ‘celebrate’ (doesn’t make much sense to me and I’m actually Irish!) but I decided to do a little research and what I found is most likely not common knowledge but is certainly interesting.
The Man
Little is known of Patrick’s early life, though it is known that he was born in Roman Britain in the fifth century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father and grandfather were deacons in the Church. At the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave. It is believed he was held somewhere on the west coast of Ireland, possibly Mayo, but the exact location is unknown. According to his Confession, he was told by God in a dream to flee from captivity to the coast, where he would board a ship and return to Britain. Upon returning, he quickly joined the Church in Auxerre in Gaul and studied to be a priest.
The Mission
In 432, he again says that he was called back to Ireland, though as a bishop, to save the Irish, and indeed he was successful at this, focusing on converting royalty and aristocracy as well as the poor. Irish folklore tells that one of his teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) to the Irish people. After nearly thirty years of teaching and spreading God’s Word he died on 17 March, 461 AD, and was buried at Downpatrick, so tradition says. Although there were other more successful missions to Ireland from Rome, Patrick endured as the principal champion of Irish Christianity and is held in esteem in the Irish Church.
Holiday Status.. at least in Ireland
1903, Saint Patrick’s Day became an official public holiday in Ireland. This was thanks to the Money Bank (Ireland) Act 1903, an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament introduced by the Irish MP James O’Mara. O’Mara later introduced the law which required that pubs be closed on 17 March after drinking got out-of-hand, a provision which was repealed only in the 1970s. The first Saint Patrick’s Day parade held in the Irish Free State was held in Dublin in 1931 and was reviewed by the then Minister of Defence Desmond Fitzgerald. Although secular celebrations now exist, the holiday remains a religious observance in Ireland, for both the Roman Catholic Church and Church of Ireland.
It was only in the mid-1990s that the Irish government began a campaign to use Saint Patrick’s Day to showcase Ireland and its culture. The government set up a group called St. Patrick’s Festival, with the aim to:
- — Offer a national festival that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebrations in the world and promote excitement throughout Ireland via innovation, creativity, grassroots involvement, and marketing activity.
- — Provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent, (and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations.
- — Project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal, as we approach the new millennium.
The first Saint Patrick’s Festival was held on 17 March, 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was five days long; over 675,000 people attended the 2009 parade. Overall 2009′s five day festival saw close to one million visitors that took part in the festivities that included concerts, outdoor theatre performances, and fireworks.
The topic of the 2004 St. Patrick’s Symposium was “Talking Irish,” during which the nature of Irish identity, economic success, and the future were discussed. Since 1996, there has been a greater emphasis on celebrating and projecting a fluid and inclusive notion of “Irishness” rather than an identity based around traditional religious or ethnic allegiance. The week around Saint Patrick’s Day usually involves Irish language speakers using more Irish during seachtain na Gaeilge (“Irish Week”).[citation needed]
As well as Dublin, many other Irish cities, towns and villages hold their own parades and festivals, including Cork, Belfast, Derry, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, and Waterford.
The biggest celebrations outside Dublin are in Downpatrick, County Down, where Saint Patrick is rumoured to be buried following his death on 17 March, 461. In 2004, according toDown District Council, the week-long St. Patrick’s Festival had over 2,000 participants and 82 floats, bands, and performers, and was watched by over 30,000 people.
The shortest St Patrick’s Day parade in the world takes place in Dripsey, Cork. The parade lasts just 100 yards and travels between the village’s two pubs.
Christian leaders in Ireland have expressed concern about the secularisation of St Patrick’s Day. Writing in The Word magazine’s March 2007 issue, Fr. Vincent Twomey stated that, “it is time to reclaim St Patrick’s Day as a church festival”. He questioned the need for “mindless alcohol-fuelled revelry” and concluded that, “it is time to bring the piety and the fun together”.
Why All the Green?
According to legend, Saint Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish people and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day. Originally the colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. However, over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick’s day grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick’s Day as early as the 17th century. Then in the 1798 rebellion in hopes of making a political statement Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March in hopes of catching attention with their unusual fashion gimmick (Maybe I should wear green today in protest of big government like the health insurance bill? Just a thought..) The phrase “the wearing of the green”, meaning to wear a shamrock on one’s clothing, derives from the song of the same name. –> Hmmm… good to know!
So there you have it, a brief history of St. Patrick and the holiday of his namesake. Of course we have no real way of knowing what this guy was really like or how he went about the things he accomplished but we do know that he wasn’t just a boy who was held captive as a slave or a priest, but a man with a mission.. to spread the news of what he believed to the people of Ireland, a nation in need of Christianity in his time.. St. Patrick put his faith into motion.
Regardless of who you are or what you believe, you still have to wonder what compelled a dude who got captured in his teen years, held as a slave by people who hated him, then finally escaped and became a priest to go back into that nation to deliver a message of faith.. this guy must have passionately believed in his cause! As I looked up this information on the history of St. Patrick I experienced a challenge for today and everyday.. ‘what am I doing right now, today, to make a difference in my world for the cause that I believe in?’ Some may wonder, what is my cause? or even do I have something to believe in? These are important questions that we need to ask ourselves from time to time and be challenged with.
Even as Christians who know what we believe and spend time serving in church, we have to take a step back sometimes and be sure what we do doesn’t just become routine and even mundane to the point where we’re not reaching our full potential to put our faith into motion. It can be as simple as sharing an encouraging word with someone at work or school to let them know you appreciate them for a job well done (especially effective when it’s someone you don’t really care for or get along with.. chances are they know that and not only will you make a difference in their day but you’ll really get a ‘boost’), paying for the next person in line at the drive thru or just letting someone know you care by listening.
We don’t need to be on the front lines of a mission field in a 3rd world country to make a difference, the person in the cubicle next you or the guy spaced out in Starbucks might be your mission field today.. look for opportunities! For me, this is an area where I’ve got to check myself because I get focused on the ‘big picture’ end result and my goal-oriented nature tends to overshadow the opportunity that’s right in front of me.. I overlook it because my focus is elsewhere, or the classic, “I’m too busy”.. or maybe I’m just not looking closely enough? Something so simple as a Shamrock (3 leaf clover) used by St. Patrick to carry out the message of his life calling is a small object most likely used in close proximity to people, simplifying the information so they could understand and experience a realization.. 1 by 1. In the AD 400′s there for sure wasn’t the availability of the presentation technology we have today or even an overhead projector to get an image to a crowd, but it would seem this guy managed to do alright.
I’m challenged by this to remain focused on the big stuff but also to not forget to be on the lookout for a ‘shamrock’ type opportunity. It can be concluded that St. Patrick certainly had a BIG mission (in the above text he is noted as the “principal champion of Irish Christianity”) and an important cause that he gave his life to but the vehicle used to convey the message was often as simple as a tiny plant found between blades of grass. As we go through our day today, whether you have plans to celebrate St. Patty’s day or not, make sure you look for even the smallest of opportunities to make a difference, you might just get to impact someone’s life forever along the way!
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