I love my life
When I was in college a friend of mine would always pray, “God You are so big”, I remember thinking “That is the understatement of all understatements” however; I often find myself at a loss for words explaining what He is doing.
I find myself in that situation today.
Last weekend I had the privilege of being with some great people in Limon Colorado leading a worship retreat for Life in Christ Church. This is the first time a church has invited the community to join them. As a result we were blessed to have three churches represented. What a blessing to have different levels of musicians, different places in their walk with the Lord, and different traditions of worship. It created a different but very good environment.
We started on Friday night with Repentance and Dieing to self. It set the tone for the whole weekend. God was faithful and set a tone of reverence and expectation.
Saturday morning we began with Real worship, went into the rewards of loyalty by teaching through the book of Ruth, after which we were prepared to go to the centerpiece of the whole weekend, “walking in intimacy with God”. What does it mean practically to walk in intimacy with God? I know I’m supposed to read my bible and pray but there has to be more, and there is. We finished the morning answering the question “why music?”. If worship isn’t about music then why music?
After lunch we began by explaining what it means to be a “worship leader” and what is potentially wrong with the titles of “lead worshiper” or “lead follower”. We finished the heart portion of the day talking about excellence. What is it and can we offer it?
The practical “how to” portion began at about 2:00 with the purpose and elements of a worship team. What is the purpose of the choir and each individual element of the team. Where does each instrument fit into the sonic space. My friend Andrew did an excellent job with practical music theory. He starts with where we are rather than taking us back to theory 101 it was great.
After supper we went into planning and delivering a worship set and an actual rehearsal for Sunday morning.
I came home exhausted but energized. Seeing the fruit of God’s word and some practical application is always amazing.
If you were going to have a retreat what things would you add or subtract? What did I miss?
Is Excellence Perfection?
Excellence is a word we like to throw around especially in Christian circles. My sons old school used it so much it almost had no meaning. It’s not quite as bad as “Awesome” or “Incredible” but almost.
What does is mean? In regard to performance, our effort, our offering, our worship.
We can look at Hillsong, New Life, Willow Creek, or Mars Hill and say it’s easy for them to offer excellence look what they have. But how can I offer excellence when all I have is an old church piano player and a 13 year old drummer?
Is it possible we have incorrectly linked excellence with perfection?
The dictionary defines “Excellence” as:
“The quality of being outstanding or extremely good”
So far so good but what is the standard by which we determine what is “outstanding” or “extremely good”? Is it Darlene Zschesch, Ross Parsley, Chris Tomlin, or is it the music teacher at the high school?
The dictionary defines “Perfection” as:
“the condition, state, or quality of being free from all flaws or defects”
Is that something we can offer? Do we have within our capacity or control to bring an offering free from “all flaws or defects”?
Vines Concise Dictionary of the Bible gives definitions for each usage of “excellence” here are the key words:
Over and above, The surpassing thing, To differ, A throwing beyond, The act of overhanging or the thing which overhangs, More, Greater, Superior by reason of inward worth, Mightiest, Noblest, Best.
When we talk, or think, about worship the word that is coupled with worship most often is “sacrifice” or “offering”. There are 5 different types of offerings in Leviticus.
Burnt offering, Leviticus 1:3 To show worship, devotion, and ask for forgivenessGrain offering, Leviticus 2:1 To give thanks and recognize God as the giver of blessing and provider of good things
Peace offering, Leviticus 3:1 To ask God for blessing Sin offering, Leviticus 4:1-2 To ask forgiveness for a specific unintentional sin or to become clean after becoming unclean Guilt offering, Leviticus 5:15, 17-18 To make up for cheating, robbing, or destroying anything belonging to the Lord or to the people
These are all things we do, in whole or in part, when we come to worship. All of these require a sacrifice. All of them except the grain offering require an animal from the herd “without blemish”. The grain offering requires “fine flour”.
“Without blemish” can literally be translated “possessing integrity or truth”. Integrity is “the state of being whole or undivided”.
Consider King David in 1 Chronicles 21. Ornan was willing to give everything for the offering even the animals for the burnt offering. But David’s reply should cause us to stop and think, verse 24:
“I will not take what is yours for the Lord, or offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing”
Excellence then is:
“to offer the best I have, something above and beyond or different from the norm, something costly”
What are your thoughts? What am I missing?
Leadership
Ask anyone what they think “leadership” is and you will likely get a different answer from almost everyone.
You will likely receive the John Maxwell definition most often:
“Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less”
Especially from young Christians. Or you will receive some variation of the following:
“The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers”, Peter Drucker.
“The process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”, Wikipedia.
The art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal”, About.com
Dictionary’s are absolutely no help at all. Websters says “the office or position of a leader”. Very insightful.
Robert Fergusson, my favorite Bible College lecturer gave this definition:
True leadership is a God given quality that enables certain individuals to be set over and direct others positively toward both personal development and a common purpose. Either through short term impact or long term investment.
Not that I have a specific beef with any of these definitions. I like the Wikipedia and About.com definitions the least and Robert Fergussons best.
However I would like to offer a greatly distilled definition. A definition descriptive of Jesus leadership and the definition we should use in the body of Christ.
Biblical leadership is:
“Laying down your life for those entrusted to you”
I will expound on my definition later but again I would like to hear what you think first.
Confession Time
Not confession in the literal sense of the term. I may need that as well but not in this space.
I have always spoken my mind here without holding much back and sometimes felt like I’ve been a little too honest. Today I need to process and get some things out of my head. As always I welcome your thoughts. I don’t know where this post is going I’m just mind dumping. So consider that fair warning.
In late 2008 I got very discouraged with some of the things being said in relation to the elections. The way I chose to deal with it was to fast all things political for as long as needed and focus on the one thing that can bring real change. Building the Church.
I was so pleased to hear my pastor tell the congregation yesterday. God’s plan is for us to operate in our gifts and there is no plan b. After the elections last year Dutch Sheets, in a letter to his partners, made the comment, God had a plan 50 years and 50 million baby’s ago it was us. These two statements go the heart of what I’m passionate about. Equipping the Saints.
I understand theologically God does not “need” us as much as He has chosen to work in and through us. Jesus modeled this plan as He walked purposefully to the cross while entrusting the message of salvation to 12 men. That is our task. raising up those who have been entrusted to us, calling out their gifts, making sure they are equipped, and then giving them permission to serve with a covering.
This is my foundational message. 2 Timothy 2:2, teach the teachers to teach.
Recently I separated my political thoughts into a different blog so I could keep this one solely for the purpose of ministry. Last week I posted 3 times concerning Conservatism and Christianity on this blog and began to feel bad about it. It is nearly impossible to separate politics from other aspects of our lives. They are completely intertwined.
I am very busy meeting with young men, serving on a couple of boards, helping different people with social media, as well as preparing for worship team retreats, writing a book, and trying to write songs. All good things but it begs the question:
What things, of eternal significance, should I focus on? In what areas should I focus on building the church? It all runs together and gets a bit confusing at times.
As I read other blogs they are mostly focused on one thing. Should I drop the political discussions and focus on building the church? Should I stop doing all but one thing and do it with all of my passion and effort? Religion and Politics are the two things we are told to avoid however Religion and Politics are two of the most important things we should be talking about. (don’t be too literal with that last sentence)
I realize Most of my problems are between my ears and because I’m in a safe place to deal with my pathologies God is bringing them to the surface. It’s good but hard. I’m developing a lifestyle of prayer and fasting that I’ve never understood before.
I am so thankful for my family especially my amazing wife who believes in me beyond my ability to understand. And thankful for friends who love me enough to tell me the truth.
Pastor Brady finished yesterday with this comment. “God has more gifts to give than people willing to use them” I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want to spend time on things good but not eternally significant. If your still here after 600 words thank you. I’ll keep you posted.
“Leading” Worship
One of the themes I am seeing around the blogosphere and on posting boards is the idea a worship leaders job is to simply worship. People will either follow or not but it’s not the responsibility of the worship leader.
I couldn’t disagree more.
Though there is some truth to the notion that we can’t make people follow and we definitely can’t make people worship however; the idea that the leaders job is simply to stand and worship in front of people couldn’t be more wrong.
Our job as leaders begins well before we stand on the platform in front of the congregation. Every situation is different and we need to make sure we are seeking God for what He wants to say to His people. When were in leadership we must consider every revelation or communication from the Lord as to whether it is for us or for the people we are leading.
We must live in the secret place. Seeking Him and His desire for His people. Leading worship is not about choosing 5 songs in the same key or chord family. It’s not about doing what were, necessarily, comfortable with. It’s about going to the mountain and hearing God’s heart for His people.
After spiritual preparation it’s about preparing your craft. Whether it’s an instrument, your vocal, a video, a congregational reading, or whatever we must prepare ourselves. Remember we must be about excellence not perfection. Excellence is about offering our best not being perfect or even the best.
When we show up to the service we should invite the Holy Spirit to ruin our preparation. We should have been listening to Him through our preparation but it is so critical to invite Him to disrupt the service. Make it clear to Him and the worship team that we are going to go with Him wherever He goes.
Finally when we stand on the platform in front of those who Jesus bought with His own blood, those who He loves so much He would rather die than be without, we must engage them. We must draw them into the secret place with us. Not by manipulating emotions but by being genuine, leading them to the throne and then getting out of the way. Having been with Jesus we should know where they are and what He has given us to say to them should connect with them right away.
I understand sometimes it’s hard work. There is an enemy who knows the power of God’s people in unity worshiping the living God and is actively at work to disrupt that activity. I am not saying if we follow the right formula everything will work. Sometimes it doesn’t. But if it doesn’t it’s not because we weren’t prepared and haven’t done everything within our control to make sure it does work.
Eddie Espinosa says “worshiping in front of a congregation is like eating a 5 course meal in front of starving people”.
Leading worship is about going somewhere and taking as many as will come with us. This is not a passive activity but a very engaging, purposeful, passionate activity. We cannot take responsibility for how “good” the worship was but we must take responsibility for being prepared and engaging God’s people.
Please don’t embrace false humility in any form but especially when it comes to the responsibility of leading God’s people in worship.
Are We Asking The Right Questions?
Over the last several months I have been involved in conversations on blogs and forums surrounding all things related to the corporate worship service and the teams of people who facilitate our corporate worship experience.
The conversations are about everything from style, to heart, to practical aspects related to worship in the church. I hear the hearts cry from these leaders and team members and believe the motivation, for the most part, is good. They genuinely want to create an environment where the people of God can come together without distraction and enter into the presence of God with the community of believers they have chosen to identify with.
Today I ran across a conversation entitled “The Ideal Band Member”. I eagerly clicked the link thinking we were going to talk about the type of person we are looking for to be on our worship team. Someone who possesses a servants heart, a lover of God and His word. Someone who will lay down their life for the Bride of Christ, not positioning themselves for something bigger and better but sincerely serving the house. And oh by the way they are skillful. I was disappointed.
The conversation was about instrumentation. “We have two guitars, a bass, a drummer, and two keyboard players what should we be trying to add next?”
Please don’t misunderstand. This is not an invalid or unimportant conversation. If our goal is excellence this is a valid stream however; in the context of the last several months it made me wonder if we are really asking the right questions.
What is our purpose as leaders in the church in general and worship leaders specifically?
I remember receiving an email telling me I would not be asked to be a part of the worship team because the pastor wanted a cohesive group of musicians. And since I was an unknown they were going to choose people who they knew could deliver. I wanted to scream “our purpose is not to build a cohesive group”. Now if my skillset is not at an acceptable level fair enough but if the reason I am not invited is so you can have a “cohesive group” there may be a misunderstanding of our purpose.
Our purpose is first the equipping of the saints, and second to operate in our gifts. This is the order were given in Ephesians 4:12
“the edification of the body”
I have much more to say on that topic but for now I’ll leave it there.
Certainly when we stand on the platform we must be invisible. Actually transparent is a better word and the best way to do that is to be excellent. Not perfect but excellent. Excellence is giving the best you have which is much different than perfection. This is not an either or proposition. We can, and must, accomplish both. It was God’s idea and He can certainly give us the wisdom to accomplish it in our context. But if were not even asking the question we are grossly missing the point.
If we are faithful with the faithfulness entrusted to us God will give the increase and bring the right instruments/musicians or whatever we need at the right time. People are our purpose and we must never lose sight of that priority.
Why I’m not a 501c3
Having been involved with ministries over the last several years I have seen government become more and more hostile toward church and para-church ministries who take a political stand.
Part of my calling and passion is to speak about political issues and when speaking to culture, faith, and social issues it’s nearly impossible to keep politics out of it. I believe the church should take a vocal stand for what is right from a traditional Biblical world view.
In the 50′s the church walked away from education, media, sports and politics with disastrous results. Also in 1954 a group called the Fellowship of Christian Athletes decided they would not let the enemy have athletics and have been challenging coaches and athletes to stand up for their faith. Now at the close of nearly every athletic event we see a group of athletes from both teams gathered at center court, center ice, or center field to pray together.
Recently we have seen the fruit of Christians involved in media who have the same attitude. Specifically an episode of Law and Order gave the pro life position a very honest and fair portrayal. We are also beginning to see movies and television shows that are family friendly and fair to cultural conservatives.
I believe it is critical that we not only pray (2Chronicles 7:14) but let our prayer inform our involvement. We must not embrace apathy clothed in holiness and piety.
So even though I may receive fewer financial gifts as a result I will not be voluntarily muzzled by the 501C3 rules. I hope this clarifies my choice. I would love to hear your comments.
Is there a purpose for pain?
As I sit here listening to Monday night football from my bed where I have been all day, I wonder about the purpose of pain.
I have ignored my back tooth for almost 5 years because I thought the worst case scenario was in play. My understanding was that the tooth was doomed and would need to be pulled and implants put in place. Big money that I didn’t want to spend until it was absolutely necessary.
Recently my good friend Dr. Garner looked at the xrays and believed it could be restored. So 3 weeks ago he took out the decay, filled the tooth and said lets see how we do. One week later the pain returned and he decided to go ahead and do the root canal. The root canal couldn’t be finished because of the infection in on of the roots so he sent me home with some medication to clam the infection before finishing.
I felt great for a week and today the pain is back so severely that I’m almost wishing i could die. It’s amazing how debilitating pain can be. I know one of the purposes of pain is to let you know something is wrong. Without it we wouldn’t address problems until it’s too late.
Is there any other purpose for pain? Love to hear what you think.
Are Worship Pastors Becoming Extinct?
The Key word here is “Pastors”. We have tons of technicians, musicians, etc. etc. but a shortage of pastors.
Glenn again nails it here. So I will re-post in total
Thanks Glenn:
Over the past seven years, I have served as the Director of the New Life School of Worship, a 9-month program designed to train worship leaders for local churches. We believe that to effectively prepare our students for local church worship ministry they need to be trained in more than music. They need to be grounded in theology, familiar with church history, and responsible with their handling of the Scriptures. Moreover, they need to learn what it means to be a pastor: to shepherd the people under their care.
But it seems that some churches aren’t looking for that. They would prefer a musician who can lead the “singing”, oversee the tech team, and produce recordings of their original songs. None of these are bad expectations, of course. But are we looking for these trade skills at the expense of other, more essential pastoral qualities? Are worship leaders simply highly skilled technicians who have a “steady gig” at a church?
Today’s worship leader may spend more time with his Macbook than with a real book. She may be more familiar with GarageBand than the people in her band. He may be better versed with directing the choir than providing spiritual direction.
Of course, the trade side of being a worship leader and the pastoral side are not mutually exclusive. A person can be good at Pro Tools and at pastoring the people on his team. The trouble is we’ve lost the sacredness of the pastoral vocation. Any person who says their core role is to pray, study, and provide spiritual direction is not as “useful” to the corporation we call church. What else can you do? we ask. Then we proceed to fill so much of their time time with scheduling bands, arranging music, and working with the latest recording software that they are no longer doing any pastoral work. Musicians and singers become cogs in a wheel, things we use to fill slots. True, the administration needs to be done. And yes, musical excellence is valuable. But at what price?
Ross Parsley, the long-time worship pastor here at New Life, is fond of saying that music ministry is not about music; it’s about people. Worship ministry is first a sort of a “helps” ministry that serves the Body of Christ. But more to the point, it is an excuse for us to connect with one another. Music is the table we gather around, the place where we see each other face to face, and then learn how to walk alongside one another in this life of faith.
Perhaps the question every church who hires a worship pastor– and every aspiring worship pastor– should answer is this: What will Jesus ask us about: the music we produced, the services we programmed? Or the people we pastored, the sheep we fed?
Take time today and think about the people on your team. Pray for them. Pick up the phone and call them. Break bread with them. Talk to them about more than the setlist. Remember your calling as a worship pastor, not a music program manager. Clear some of the clutter from your week. Maybe it’s time to appoint others to do the tasks that are keeping you from your role as a shepherd. You have never met a mere mortal. Our music will not last forever; these people will.
Walking Together
Our family has only one car and in a city the size of Colorado Springs with a family as active as ours this can present quite a challenge on some days.
Recently Kim and I were looking at our schedule for the day and realized we needed to be in several different places at the same time. Since I ride my bicycle a lot and don’t have to be dressed professionaly I volunteered to walk from a meeting at the church which is about 5 miles.
It was a beautiful day I had plenty of time and was in no particular hurry so I strode away from the church at a purposeful but leisurely pace. Very soon I began to catch up with a young man just ahead of me. As it became clear I was going to overtake him I began the conversation in my head.
Should I just walk on by? should I acknowledge him, engage him in conversation? should I walk with him? Very soon the decision was made for me. He turned and said “Good Morning, where are you headed?”
As I walked with him I learned he is 21 yrs old from Nevada where he was the son of a prostitute and grew up in a crack house. Began selling drugs at a very early age and at the age of 17 he and his fiance came to Colorado to deliver some sold product where he was arrested and placed in jail in Colorado Springs. While there he received his GED and a certificate in computers. He now holds a good job but does not know how to drive and must rely on others to drive him. Today the ride didn’t show up thus the hike.
We also talked about his faith and his understanding of God and how God had a plan for him. At the end of the line for him I was able to give him my phone number, pray for him and encourage him to press into relationship with the Father who loves him and wants him to walk in the fullness of all He has created him to be.
The longer I study and consider Jesus time on earth the more I am convinced He came at a time without mass media, email, public transportation or interstates. He came at a time when people walked together. I think of Jesus walking for hours along the road with His disciples and the day of His resurrection when He walked to Emmaus with two men. Things were discussed and taught in ways we very seldom have opportunity for in our cars driving 4.5 mph over the speed limit.
Teaching classroom style certainly has it’s place but it’s only the beginning. We must spend time with those entrusted to us walking with them and answering questions in context using our surroundings to teach and illustrate. So much is missed and incorrectly inferred when we download information to those entrusted to us and leave them to work it out on their own.
This week as you are considering the conversations your going to have with those entrusted to you or with your wife, husband, children etc. etc. consider going for a walk.
My Songs
