DVD Release (preview)

Hey folks,

Several months ago, I had the amazing opportunity to play violin for a LIVE DVD shoot, with Jeremy Larson, Darren King (MuteMath), and Stacy DuPree (Eisley). And after some time in the editing booth, the DVD is nearly here! Until then, here's a preview...

I get a nice close up at 2:09...also, the song gets quite intense around the 4:25 mark.

Enjoy!



Peace,
Ross

Outsourcing God - book excerpt #21

In light of BLACK FRIDAY and CYBER-MONDAY, I thought it would be appropriate to share an excerpt from my book in progress, Outsourcing God. How does consumerism effect the church?

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(c) 2011 Ross Christopher Donaldson - Outsourcing God.

What is it about the weekly encounter we label “worship,” that causes such a stirring, such life change, or conversely nothing at all?

I believe that in our consumer-driven, materialistic society, we fall prey to the habitual re-creation of an entertainment encounter. And just because I use the term “entertainment,” doesn’t mean I’m referring to a particular style of encounter; contemporary, progressive, traditional, post-modern, blended, etc. Rather I’m referring to the fact that we try and dish out what gives “our people” what they want.

We spend an amazing amount of time calculating what will drive the numbers up and try and meet those expectations unequivocally. If that’s a rock band or pipe organ, we’ll do what brings in the numbers. After a season of positive encounters, we say that things are going well, budgets are in the right place, staffing is secure, and things are generally healthy. However, when these encounters leave us uneasy, we quickly blame the ministry staff, begin questioning the church’s stewardship, and eventually go down the road of, “oh, remember how things used to be…”

It’s a natural place to go. This line of thinking is very normal. However, the fact that we got there in the first place illuminates the real failure. The fact that we can, (in one week and one worship encounter), determine the encounter’s success by the ministry staff’s hard work, excellence and spiritual maturity, and the next week call it a failure, without any hesitation that just perhaps the encounter has something to do with how we arrive, the preparedness of our hearts, and the willingness of ourselves to be challenged, moved, and disrupted, shows how far the church has gone and how we’ve allowed the gods of culture to infiltrate.

Peace,
Ross

Advent > what to do?

Yesterday kicked off Advent, and I'm super excited for all that is entailed in celebrating the season with the family!

Last year, Kate and I decided to SLOW THINGS DOWN from the norm of pre-Christmas behavior, so that we might not rush through the meaning of the season, and potentially miss some really great family time.

This year, we'll light the Advent candle(s) each night, talk about the meaning of this season, and will try and engage in some kind of festive activity.

Here's just a few of the things we'll do over the next few weeks. If you're in St. Louis, you should take advantage of some of the local awesomeness!

EXPERIENCE
Bake & decorate Christmas cookies
Make homemade ice cream
Roasting marshmallows over the fire pit
Go see Christmas lights (there's some great neighborhoods in STL)
Little Drummer Boy (STL)
Shane & Shane concert (STL)

MOVIES/TV
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Christmas Vacation (mostly for Kate & I :-)
Charlie Brown Christmas
White Christmas
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
Polar Express
A Christmas Carol
Elf

Happy Advent & Peace,
Ross

Belated.

We're back to St Louis, and I just wanted to wish everyone a BELATED happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all enjoyed much family-time and the carb-comas.

Now starts the fast paced rat race towards Christmas.

Take your time. Breathe.
Spend time with your family and enjoy the season.

From Kate & I...Happy Thanksgiving and an even happier Christmas season!

Peace,
Ross

Empathy for Thanksgiving.

I want you to consider EMPATHY for Thanksgiving.

Empathy is the human capacity to be in solidarity with one another - to live another soul's story.

Check out this AMAZING video and be challenged by it; and consider empathy for Thanksgiving!



Peace,
Ross

Perplexed (again).

Every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter feast includes one tray that I am always perplexed by...

The relish tray.

I mean, I cannot fathom a time I have ever thought to myself, "man, this meal was great, but would be COMPLETE if I only had a gherkin..."

That is all.

Peace,
Ross

The Tree Goes Up!

That's right, we put the Christmas tree up tonight with the kiddos. 'Twas a fun night of ornaments, lights, and sifting through boxes from the move nearly a year ago...

The girlies loved every minute of it: cookies, Christmas music, nativity scenes


It's about a week early (I know), but after seeing all of the pine trees and lights in Colorado last week, we were just in the Christmas mood.

So we indulged.

Peace,
Ross