I confess that I am a little insecure, ok maybe more than a little insecure. I need feedback. I need to hear how I’m doing. Even if it’s negative at least I know where I stand. It’s something I need. I’m working through it and trying to gain my worth solely from the Father but I’m not there yet.

Partially because of my own need for it I am an encourager. I think I’m an encourager by nature but the fact that I need it myself compels me to give it to others. I try to give substantive feedback not an empty “your awesome” but encouragement from a place of truthfulness. So when one of my team members said to me “I’m thinking about quitting; I’m just not adding anything of value”, my heart was ripped. This from the person I value most on this particular team.

People need feedback, they need to know if they’re performing up to expectations. They need to know they are valued. Even those who seem to be confident and sure of themselves. And they need it from those who have been entrusted with leading them.

I apologized for not communicating how valuable they are and pointed out specific things they were bringing and how it made the whole better. I think it helped in the short term but I need to be mindful of how big a need this is for nearly everyone and not take people for granted.

The Bible is clear about how we should act as leaders. Acts 20:28 says, Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock , among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

The cost of poor leadership is very high. If your lacking in resource ask yourself if you are stewarding God’s people as well as you should. It might unlock the storehouse.

I’ve hesitated to talk to you about this because I’ve been talking about having a book available for going on 3 years now, which is still in the works by the way, so I didn’t want to talk about this until it was a done deal.

About a month ago I began working on an EP with some amazing people at The Grey Room studio in Larkspur Colorado. These guys are very creative, Kingdom minded, and full of vision. I’m so excited for you to hear these songs.

The E.P. will be six or seven songs. We have four tracked so far. Faithful One is pretty true to the original with a full band, I Will Sing has a new chorus and we’ve added a bridge, You Pursue Me is still stripped down and worshipful, and last week the equipment wasn’t working so we decided to write. This Thursday we tracked the song. It talks about the wilderness I’ve been in the last, seems like forever, and the truth of where my faithful, loving Father has been the whole time. So excited about how this is coming together. The other two or three songs are still to be decided.

I spoke to Aaron and Dominick about the project just before Christmas and they agreed to let me work on one song at a time until the money came in. In a matter of about 3 weeks all but a few $100.00 came in incredible unexpected ways. This is going to happen and hopefully in the next 60 – 90 days.

I’ll keep you posted as we get closer. Please pray for us as we  decide what the final few songs should be and prepare to do the final vocal tracking.

Thank you for being a faithful friend.

More pictures here.

God has truly blessed us. As I look back on the last year it has been a year of stretching, growth and sowing and we look forward to an amazing and productive 2012.

But first a little rest. We get the next several days to rest, reflect, and recharge.

I hope you get to do the same. Our prayer is for you to have a restful Christmas break with family and friends.

Merry Christmas from the Trobee family.

Remember Jesus was born “to you”.

Life moves in seasons and I am sensing my season changing.

Summer is coming to an end and the fall is almost in full swing.This fall is going to be different than I expected but good. I have committed to being in Limon until we can make a smooth transition. I feel toward Life in Christ Church like I would feel toward my daughter, if I had one. I want to make sure the new Sr. Pastor will love her and serve her unconditionally. I know everything will come together at the right time.

This fall I will be teaching 3 classes, two I’ve never taught before, at Cornerstone Cottage School; just a little stressed but excited. The School of Worship is gearing up as well. I love mentoring students and walking with them toward their ultimate calling to lead the body of Christ into His presence.

The biggest thing however is traveling to churches to help build worship teams. This fall we have 4 retreats scheduled and have already made a trip to Ohio. It’s been so rewarding to spend time with churches who don’t have the resources to hire a full time worship pastor or send someone to training. They have so much passion and desire and just need a little direction. Over the next several months I will be praying for direction as to how to move forward and would love any ideas, advice, and most importantly prayer.

If you are in a church or know a church in need of a mentor please point them this direction. We are having lots of fun and seeing lots of fruit. This weekend we will be at The Springs Journey right here in Colorado Springs.  You would be welcome to come and take part if you like it’s completely free. Hope to see you there.

Blessings,

Seems as though most of what I hear is very similar to a hundred other songs I’ve heard over the last several years.

Enter Matthew Reed;

From what I’ve read Matthew decided he had a few songs he wanted to share so he self produced this E.P. with the help of some Colorado Springs folks. Which makes me proud.

There are a couple of songs you could use in worship. So far I’ve used “Crash This Place” several times in a couple of different places and it works. People have responded well. It’s a great call to worship.

Here are the lyrics:

vs. 1
Though the waves are flooding the shore
And the ground is shaking in despair
Come and heal this a broken land
We want to know You deeper, to know You deeper

Chorus
Holy Spirit won’t You move in power
Come and crash this place with love
Come and crash this place with love
King of Glory won’t You have Your way here
Come and crash this place with love
Come and crash this place with love

vs. 2
Broken and torn for our crown
For His love is all we need
Come and heal our broken hands
We want to know You deeper, to know You deeper

bridge
Whoa, oh, oh, we are one
Whoa, oh, oh, would Your Kingdom come
On this earth like You promised
In our hearts like a flood

I love the way the song builds and then drops out at the bridge.

Also Matthew is very accessible. I contacted him on Facebook to ask for charts and he responded the same day, and forwarded charts for the whole EP.

You can listen to the whole E.P. here, not just clips.

Check it out and let me know if you use it.
And let me know if you find new stuff as well.

Gimme Shelter | Playing For Change from Playing For Change on Vimeo.

H.T Ragamuffin Soul

If you read this space with any regularity you know I have a great deal of respect for Glenn. He is someone who is absolutely brilliant yet does not live on another planet. Glenn has the unique ability to speak to issues from a place of experience and integrity.

A couple of days ago I had a conversation with a friend about style in worship. He and a friend were discussing how our contemporary worship style has led to a flippant attitude toward God. I immediately dismissed the idea that our style, necessarily, leads to a flippant, casual, or “Jesus is my homeboy” attitude.

Then Glenn, as he often does, shook me awake.

Glenn asks the question: Do the words we use in worship and prayer really matter?

The very first shot out of the gate redirected my attention:

“Worship songs” are not just “expressions of our hearts to God”, they shape what we believe about God.

He is absolutely right. When I do retreats I teach this. We often forget much of the message we heard by Sunday afternoon but were still singing the songs we sang in worship on Wednesday. We as worship leaders hold a very powerful and potentially dangerous tool in our hands. We can use it to build up or tear down. And dare I say your intentions are not the issue. God is very specific about how we should approach Him. As Glenn points out in his response to the statement “its the heart that counts”:

Tell that to Nadab and Abihu– you know, the guys who offered a “strange fire” and got struck down in Numbers 3. Or Uzzah, the guy who struck dead for touching the Ark that was sliding off a cart it should never have been on because David did not “seek the Lord about the prescribed manner.” Where did we arrive at the notion that God does not care about the way that we worship? Or that all that matters is our heart?

Glenn asked the question in a video response to questions asked through “The Worship Community Blog“:

If someone were to get their view of God solely from the songs you’re singing this weekend, what would that “God” look like?

This question should challenge us right down to our shoes. What are we teaching those entrusted to us in the songs we sing and the prayers we pray? I make the case in my retreats that we have more influence over the congregation as worship leaders than the Pastor on Sunday morning.

Its way past time to stop arguing over style. Don’t misunderstand me; style matters but only to those God has called us to reach. It’s not about my preference. It’s about speaking to those God has called us to reach while being unapologetic about proclaiming the truths of God the church has been declaring for two thousand years.

It’s about learning to worship in “spirit and in truth.” The uncomfortable truth is that “the way we worship and pray is the way we believe is the way we live” (or, in Latin, if you prefer: Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi.)

If we will stand on truth and proclaim it loud and proud. God will build His church. When Jesus said in John 12:32 “If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me”.  He was talking about His death and if we will lift Him up in praise, in Spirit and in Truth, He would draw all men to Himself.

Let us never get so caught up in anything that we miss proclaiming the truth of God, which is the power of God for righteousness.

Click through and read the whole thing: Do the words we use in worship and prayer really matter?

Also check out: Video response to Worship Community questions and On the Theology of our worship services.

The pinnacle of Holy week is just three days away and today we remember what Jesus endured for us over two thousand years ago.

So many thoughts run through my mind. Messianic prophecy for one. The fact that without God the odds of all the prophesies about Jesus coming true are 10³⁸ (1 in a 100 billion, billion, billion, billion).

But what is taking up most of my headspace today is the fact that Roman soldiers did not put Jesus on the cross and it wasn’t the nails that held Him there.

Over the last several years I have been engaged in conversations with those in and outside the Church who tell me its barbaric to believe a loving Father would  send His son to be brutally beaten and murdered in the most horrific way to glorify Himself. This line of thinking is based on a faulty premise. Which is the case most of the time in these conversations. We need to be careful not to accept a premise without consideration. Most of the time the question is irrelevant because the understanding behind it is flawed, as in this case.

The Father and the Son are not separate but with the Spirit are one in essence. Essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. They are three in one.

God chose, by Himself, to pay the penalty for sin so we can come boldly into His presence. Ephesians 2 explains that because of Jesus sacrifice we are seated in heavenly places with Him so that for all eternity He can point to us as an example of His goodness, grace, and mercy. God made a good world, we rebelled, but God had a plan. He chose to go the the cross and endure what He endured on Good Friday because He loves us.

It was sin that put Jesus on the cross. Not an angry Father or Roman soldiers and it was love that held Him there.

The mystery kept hidden for generations is now made known to the saints and the mystery is this; Christ in me the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:26-27)

See you Sunday. He is Risen!

Not that I disagree. Our ability to influence, persuade, is very important.

What kind of influence do we want? How do we attain it? Once we have it how do we use it?

Carlos Whittaker nailed this idea last week when he said:

Jesus did not set out to become an influential leader by getting other influential leaders to fall in love with him.
He set out to see people rescued from the grip of death.
And lives changed was the base of his influence.
Not the words of another.

I have fallen into this trap from time to time. I have been blessed to have the opportunity to be around some really amazing people. People who are having a huge Kingdom impact on the world. Looking back I can see how, instead of relying on God to fulfill His call and promise in my life, I have served the man of God well hoping the man of God would launch me into my calling.

It wasn’t a conscious thing and I am aware of how serving another mans vision shows me faithful to carry my own call. David laid down his life for sheep he would never inherit. It’s a subtle shift with  huge implications. We must be faithful servers and stewards and look only to God for what He has for us.

In the last several years I have had the enormous privilege of mentoring dozens of amazing young men who will be world changers. I’m happy to have my influence in the hands of those God has entrusted to me.

Contentment is watching someone you have walked with over several years making good choices, loving his wife, and serving with joy and passion.

Who has God entrusted to you? Pour into them and watch them step into the fullness of their calling. Zig Ziglar  said years ago the way to fulfill your dreams is to help others fulfill theirs. A truth that rings true in my heart today more than ever.

Don’t waste time on superficial temporary fame. Make sure your influence will last.

H.T. http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com

Never stop dreaming.