Good Morning.

First, an apology...The response to my book excerpt generated so much email traffic last Monday, that my e-mailbox couldn't handle it. Part of the problem was that I was also being bombarded with spam, which happens periodically. If I responded to you personally, I got your email feedback. However, I know I missed a number of emails, and I really do want to hear what you thought. Perhaps you were sending me your own story. In any event, I don't want to miss what you had to say, so here are the email options again:

Click on one of the response possibilities, please. Then, if you can and will, click on the I've got a story link to share your own tale.

And the winners are:

Marty Cole of Washington

Mike McClurg of Ohio

Lyndsay Naranjo of Florida

Margaret Quezada of Kansas

Duane Toole of Virginia

Congratulations to all of you. Your DVD of Noelle will be on its way to you in the next couple of days.

Blessings,

Vern Sanders

Publisher

Creator Magazine

Good Morning.

Happy Thanksgiving week. I have always found this to be an odd two Sundays to plan, from a worship standpoint. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving on the Sunday before, or the Sunday after the actual day? Neither, for me, is entirely satisfactory. And, when you consider that most of the time the church at which I serve has been in or at the end of a stewardship campaign, it gets complicated. I think our Canadian friends have it much easier, since their Thanksgiving comes on a Monday (for our American readers, just look at the Monday closest to Columbus Day and you'll have an idea), so celebrating on the day before seems much more obvious. By the way, as long as we are having gratuitous Canadian references, American Thanksgiving weekend is also celebrated in Canada as one of the biggest holidays of the year--it's called Grey Cup (inside joke...don't worry if you don't get it). Anyway, since my wedding anniversary is such that it normally takes place on or about Thank ...

We have our winners. Thanks, everyone, for your participation. Look for our next Fantastic Friday coming in December. We'll announce who won tomorrow in this space...

Ok...here we go...here's the info we promised on Monday.

To recap, we have 5 copies of the new Dove-Family-Approved movie Noëlle that, through the generosity of Gener8xion Entertainment, Inc., we are giving away on Friday, November 21. Since contest rules are always somewhat arbitrary, I apologize in advance if the following offends anybody. We have already had a positive response from another company, and we will have at least one more Fantastic Friday giveaway before the end of the year. More on that in a later post...

Here's how we'll select the winners:

O ...

Good Morning.

Christmas is coming...can you feel it? Are you starting to worry if your big Christmas musical presentation will come together? There are predictions in the air that this year's retail season will be (depending upon who you listen to) slow, unsettled, and/or grim. This might just be the year that the "average consumer's" attention will turn to things that have more worth. Reach out and "tell the old, old, story" this year with renewed vigor. I pray that God will work through each and every one of you and your musicians and your congregations as we remind people of the reason for the season.

Christmas is coming to the Creator Leadership Network as well. This Friday (I hesitate to call it Fantastic Friday, but I'll let you be the judge) we're doing something for the first time, and we hope that it turns into a regular thing. As you pro ...

Good Morning.

We're a little bit late this morning, for which I apologize, and I'll keep this missive short. But I hope you feel that the wait was worth it, because this week's Monday Morning Email is outstanding. Hugh Ballou has assembled another stellar cast of contributors: Angie Hollerich, Garret Gunderson, Mark Tewart, and Marcia McFee. You'll want to particularly read Angie's contribution, and if you want to "go deeper" we are here to help. It seems as if finances are on everybody's mind right now, and Angie has made it possible for us to offer her book Money: Is Not the Root of All Evil as an instant download. Just click here to get this wonderful resou ...

Good Morning.

Is there anyone out there that doesn't know there is an election in the US tomorrow? Are you looking forward to the cessation and desistation (is that a word?) of all the political advertising? During the time I lived in Canada (yes...in a former life I was the Director of Choral Activities at an university north of the line), I grew to appreciate the parliamentary system of short election campaigns--generally six weeks or less. There was none of this run for two years to get into position to run for two years stuff that Americans have learned to live with. [pardon me while I get my soapbox] But the thing I learned to appreciate the most while living in Canada was the fact that, as an ex-pat, I could only vote for the president--no senatorial vote, no votes on harbor comissioners, statewide propositions, or local tax bonds. I promised myself when I came back that I would vote in every election and make as informed a decision on everything on every ballot for t ...

Good Morning.

Monday Morning Email readership continues to grow. We now have over 2350 members of the Creator Leadership Network and I want to thank you for being a part of our network of musicians helping musicians do our ministry better. When we started this resource a little more than a year ago, I had no idea we would grow so large so fast, and I appreciate the confidence and trust you have in our ability to serve you and your ministry. We're here to help, if we can...so let us know if there is something we can address that will help you and your ministry. (Sorry...all this political campaigning must be permeating my subconsciousness...)

One of the things that is great about CLN is that I get to meet all kinds of people who are in the process of becoming friends. And, as a side benefit, I get to tell my new friends about my old friends. Actually, to be preci ...

I am not a theologian. I am not a seminary graduate. Take what I say from the standpoint of a wounded, imperfect, and sinful human being to whom God has been gracious through more than 40 years of church leadership. I don‘t stand on my credentials—I stand on God’s promises and healing grace. Therefore, read and evaluate for yourself whether these thoughts might be true for you.

Are the Great Commandment and the

Good Morning.

First, an apology...The response to my book excerpt generated so much email traffic last Monday, that my e-mailbox couldn't handle it. Part of the problem was that I was also being bombarded with spam, which happens periodically. If I responded to you personally, I got your email feedback. However, I know I missed a number of emails, and I really do want to hear what you thought. Perhaps you were sending me your own story. In any event, I don't want to miss what you had to say, so here are the email options again:

Click on one of the response possibilities, please. Then, if you can and will, click on the I've got a story link to share your own tale.

And the winners are:

Marty Cole of Washington

Mike McClurg of Ohio

Lyndsay Naranjo of Florida

Margaret Quezada of Kansas

Duane Toole of Virginia

Congratulations to all of you. Your DVD of Noelle will be on its way to you in the next couple of days.

Blessings,

Vern Sanders

Publisher

Creator Magazine

Good Morning.

Happy Thanksgiving week. I have always found this to be an odd two Sundays to plan, from a worship standpoint. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving on the Sunday before, or the Sunday after the actual day? Neither, for me, is entirely satisfactory. And, when you consider that most of the time the church at which I serve has been in or at the end of a stewardship campaign, it gets complicated. I think our Canadian friends have it much easier, since their Thanksgiving comes on a Monday (for our American readers, just look at the Monday closest to Columbus Day and you'll have an idea), so celebrating on the day before seems much more obvious. By the way, as long as we are having gratuitous Canadian references, American Thanksgiving weekend is also celebrated in Canada as one of the biggest holidays of the year--it's called Grey Cup (inside joke...don't worry if you don't get it). Anyway, since my wedding anniversary is such that it normally takes place on or about Thank ...

We have our winners. Thanks, everyone, for your participation. Look for our next Fantastic Friday coming in December. We'll announce who won tomorrow in this space...

Ok...here we go...here's the info we promised on Monday.

To recap, we have 5 copies of the new Dove-Family-Approved movie Noëlle that, through the generosity of Gener8xion Entertainment, Inc., we are giving away on Friday, November 21. Since contest rules are always somewhat arbitrary, I apologize in advance if the following offends anybody. We have already had a positive response from another company, and we will have at least one more Fantastic Friday giveaway before the end of the year. More on that in a later post...

Here's how we'll select the winners:

O ...

Good Morning.

Christmas is coming...can you feel it? Are you starting to worry if your big Christmas musical presentation will come together? There are predictions in the air that this year's retail season will be (depending upon who you listen to) slow, unsettled, and/or grim. This might just be the year that the "average consumer's" attention will turn to things that have more worth. Reach out and "tell the old, old, story" this year with renewed vigor. I pray that God will work through each and every one of you and your musicians and your congregations as we remind people of the reason for the season.

Christmas is coming to the Creator Leadership Network as well. This Friday (I hesitate to call it Fantastic Friday, but I'll let you be the judge) we're doing something for the first time, and we hope that it turns into a regular thing. As you pro ...

Good Morning.

We're a little bit late this morning, for which I apologize, and I'll keep this missive short. But I hope you feel that the wait was worth it, because this week's Monday Morning Email is outstanding. Hugh Ballou has assembled another stellar cast of contributors: Angie Hollerich, Garret Gunderson, Mark Tewart, and Marcia McFee. You'll want to particularly read Angie's contribution, and if you want to "go deeper" we are here to help. It seems as if finances are on everybody's mind right now, and Angie has made it possible for us to offer her book Money: Is Not the Root of All Evil as an instant download. Just click here to get this wonderful resou ...

Good Morning.

Is there anyone out there that doesn't know there is an election in the US tomorrow? Are you looking forward to the cessation and desistation (is that a word?) of all the political advertising? During the time I lived in Canada (yes...in a former life I was the Director of Choral Activities at an university north of the line), I grew to appreciate the parliamentary system of short election campaigns--generally six weeks or less. There was none of this run for two years to get into position to run for two years stuff that Americans have learned to live with. [pardon me while I get my soapbox] But the thing I learned to appreciate the most while living in Canada was the fact that, as an ex-pat, I could only vote for the president--no senatorial vote, no votes on harbor comissioners, statewide propositions, or local tax bonds. I promised myself when I came back that I would vote in every election and make as informed a decision on everything on every ballot for t ...

Good Morning.

Monday Morning Email readership continues to grow. We now have over 2350 members of the Creator Leadership Network and I want to thank you for being a part of our network of musicians helping musicians do our ministry better. When we started this resource a little more than a year ago, I had no idea we would grow so large so fast, and I appreciate the confidence and trust you have in our ability to serve you and your ministry. We're here to help, if we can...so let us know if there is something we can address that will help you and your ministry. (Sorry...all this political campaigning must be permeating my subconsciousness...)

One of the things that is great about CLN is that I get to meet all kinds of people who are in the process of becoming friends. And, as a side benefit, I get to tell my new friends about my old friends. Actually, to be preci ...

I am not a theologian. I am not a seminary graduate. Take what I say from the standpoint of a wounded, imperfect, and sinful human being to whom God has been gracious through more than 40 years of church leadership. I don‘t stand on my credentials—I stand on God’s promises and healing grace. Therefore, read and evaluate for yourself whether these thoughts might be true for you.

Are the Great Commandment and the