Greg Atkinson

Don’t worry: this is a G-rated blog. I was reflecting on what makes me smile these days and what I’ve used as a way to not go insane with all the craziness at church. It’s a special time that I look forward to each night. My wife and I started this months ago. Each night, after the kids go to bed, we pop in a DVD and watch various TV shows or movies together. It sounds simple, but it’s been a great stress reliever and is something we’re able to do together and just enjoy laughing together.

First we watched all 3 seasons of “Arrested Development”. I think that show has one of the greatest and most perfectly cast ensembles ever on television. Then we watched all the “Harry Potter” movies (because my wife had read the books, but never saw the movies). Then we watched all 3 “Lord of the Rings” (because my wife had read the books, but never saw the movies). Then we watched seasons 1-3 of “The Office” (gotta love Dwight!). Now we’ve gone back to Season One of “Lost” and have started working our way through each episode. We’re going to watch every episode of “Lost” and then I’m hoping I can get my wife hooked on my favorite show: “24″. I think if we start with Season One, she’ll get hooked!

The challenge of watching episodes on DVD is knowing when to go to bed. It’s so easy to say, “Let’s just watch one more.” Have you experienced that? I have to make myself stop and go to bed. What shows do you enjoy?

EXTRA:
My Tarheels are back on top. Number 1, baby!

I’m looking forward to seeing some of you later this week at NRB in Nashville. Several of you have emailed me and asked to meet up. If you’re going to be at NRB or live in Nashville, give me a shout (greg@gregatkinson.com).

Saturday I’ll be speaking in the class: “On-Air Church – 10 Attributes of a Winning Program” at 3:45pm – 5:15pm. Sunday, I’ll be part a panel called “How’d You Do That? The Ultimate Q&A”, also from 3:45pm – 5:15pm. The “Ultimate Q&A” class is a chance for you to ask me and a few other panelists anything you’d like. I always enjoy participating in this class at NRB!

Also, Saturday, I’ll be attending the Church Media Reception at 9pm. If you’re going to be there, I’d love to meet you.

Next month I’ll be teaching two classes at NAB in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, April 15th, I’ll be teaching “Which Worship Presentation Software is Right for Your Church?” at 3pm. This class will feature representatives from EasyWorship, MediaShout and ProPresenter. *** I want to make it clear that though we use EasyWorship at my church, I stand behind and endorse all 3 of the above mentioned companies. I encourage churches to try the free downloads of all three and see which is best for their church. ***

On Wednesday, April 16th at 9am, I’ll be teaching “Church 2.0″ – a class based on my upcoming book. This class will stretch and challenge your definition of creativity and innovation. I’ll be talking about Church 2.0 churches and Church 2.0 leaders.

I’d like to once again mention and thank my sponsors for both NRB and NAB: SermonSpice is sponsoring my classes at NRB. eleven72 and ProPresenter are sponsoring my classes at NAB.

I’ll talk more about other conferences I’m speaking at in future blog posts, but for now, would like to simply mention 2 brand new conferences that I’ll be speaking at. Interestingly enough, both are taking place in my hometown of Dallas, TX. One is ECHO and the other is Fusion ’08. I’d encourage you to check them both out. If you attend one or both of these in Dallas, we can work out a time to come visit Bent Tree!

EXTRA:

I’ve been re-reading “Let the Nations Be Glad” by John Piper (the revised and expanded 2nd edition). What a great read. I forgot how much of my philosophy and feelings about worship and missions were shaped by this book. If you haven’t read it, I strongly urge you to check it out HERE.