Worship Leadership

I once had a class by the same name as the title of this post. I'll just say this, I was disappointed. Since I have my feet in both camps (worship and pastorate), I thought I'd put down what I would like to see in a worship leader.

I get frustrated with music/worship-types many times because they are often theologically shallow and performance/entertainment driven. My view is very opposite of this philosophy. In Hebrews, worship/praise is described as a metaphorical sacrifice: Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. --Heb 13:15

In light of this, the worship leader is like the priest, and his responsibility is to see to it that the sacrifice is acceptable to God. This goes WAY beyond musical talent. One of the most popular worship leaders today is David Crowder. To put it gently, this guy is not cute. On top of that, his voice really isn't that great either. What he has, though, is complete dependence on Jesus, which comes through often in his music.

Without dragging this on too long, honesty, humility, and heart go a lot further for me than technical precision and flare. Also, churches really need to get away from the professional musician mentality. Instead, worship leaders need to coach people on how to best let their heart and passion shine through their musical expression. Sure God wants and deserves our best, but my best is different from everyone else's best. I guess I just want to say that a worship leader should bring out the best in people, so that we can all corporately praise God with a spirit of unity, and with one mouth glorify the only Savior, Jesus Christ.

Also, ministers of music should not make and distribute illegal copies of copyrighted music. If you don't like it, write your own music.

Mission Accomplished

Well, another semester has ended and I got my grades back. Three A's and one A-. This puts me in a really good position to graduate seminary with honors (3.8 GPA or higher). This was a really tough semester since it was the first one after I became a supervisor at UPS, and I was also trying to study church planting, and I was building a website and blog. I'm pretty sure there was some divine action going on behind the scenes, so a big thanks goes to the Holy Spirit for those grades.

Boy, I tell you there is nothing like messing up in front of a group of people. I was leading worship today and I really messed up some words, important words at that. It was totally due to my not formatting the song sheet like I normally do. It was a new song and the lyrics were way too small. Lesson learned. I was talking about how so many Christmas songs talk about the Christmas story but don't talk about atonement and the purpose of Christmas. So where did I mess up? Of course, on the words that dealt with the atonement! I think Satan may have had a part in that, since I did not pray like I normally do. By the way, the song was called "Joy Has Dawned." It's really great when the words are sung right!

I do not know which is more disappointing to me: that I distracted from the worship of God, or that I publicly displayed my imperfections. I'm afraid I'm honestly more concerned about the latter. I have a pretty big codependency streak inside me that I hate. I want so bad for people to like me, and I really take rejection hard. I often feel that respect and friendship are based on my abilities, and if I don't perform then people will stop being my friend.

Rich Mullins wrote a song called "Brother's Keeper," and the chorus goes:

I will be my brother's keeper
Not the one who judges him.
I won't despise him for his weakness
I won't regard him for his strength.

I'm afraid that the reason I am so bothered by messing up in front of people is that I'm afraid that they will judge me in the same way I have judged others, and I probably deserve it, but I don't like it.

So let's agree not to judge each other on merit, but in love and forgiveness, on the basis of how Jesus feels about us. And feel free to throw this back in my face whenever I need it!

Christmas Eve

I am getting ready for the Christmas Eve service tomorrow night. I just had a couple of thoughts about the whole Christmas experience.

--Christmas is too busy!! Between 12+ hour shifts at my "part-time" job, preparing for finals at school, shopping, digging out of the snow, and trying to think about Jesus, something's got to give. I, personally, cannot plan or participate in a big Christmas Spectacular event. I think that this is why I've always preferred very intimate, small, and meaningful worship times around Christmas. Churches should really stop trying to compete with professional productions and just keep it simple. Honestly, we should really quit adding to the chaos of the season, and instead provide a remedy.

--Christmas should be liturgical. I, myself, have never been to a Christmas mass, but I really have the desire to be a part of something old and constant and true around Christmas. There is something so beautiful about the simplicity of candles and an unplugged service. I don't know what it is, but I just crave that kind of thing every year, and I can never find it. (Yeah, I'm still waiting to be put in charge of the world, I know). Also, I hear the Christmas story out of Luke and Matthew every year and I really don't get tired of it. In my opinion, it's OK to do the same songs and Scriptures (i.e., liturgy) around this time simply because there are 48 weeks until the next time we do it.

--Christmas should focus on Jesus. It sounds obvious to say this, but again, everybody wants to put their own new twist on Christmas, so it becomes about abstract things like peace, joy, and love. These are great, but I'm not a hippie. Also, I find them very domesticated concepts, since Santa preaches the same message.

May God richly bless you with His "presence" this Christmas ;) I'm gonna go buy some candles.

On a More Personal Note

I have been writing a lot about issues I feel passionately about, but I also wanted to use this blog to keep people up to date about what condition my condition is in.

Work has been busy!! Sure, the overtime is nice, but it has been wearing me out! I worked 20 hours of overtime the same week as my finals. But things are finally winding down. I still haven't done any Christmas shopping yet, and I still haven't gotten my grades.

Basically, I'm just really tired.

I've got a unique church situation going on. My church planting professor is the interim pastor for a church "replant" close to the school. He asked me to do music for the church, since their previous musicians quit. So, I don't know if I can be called "minister of music" yet or not, but I'm gonna have fun there. They are really nice people, and they seem to like my singing. I hope I can get some preaching opportunities there, as well, before my time is done this summer.

Jennifer (the old ball and chain) still lives with me as far as I know. I see her briefly on the weekends. It's been pretty rough on both of us, working so hard and not having any time together. I'm still praying for the day when we will both have day jobs with banker's hours so we can enjoy each other's company. She's been working very hard at Wal-Mart, dealing with inventory and thousands of customers. She's such a trooper.

If anyone out there in Internet-land wants to buy me a Christmas present, then by all means follow that instinct. My wife says I'm hard to shop for, but I always know exactly what to get me. Basically, I don't like useless stuff, or stuff that takes up space. I want things that serve an important purpose. For example, a restaurant gift card would allow me to have time with my wife or a friend. A decorative thing would take up space that we don't have. I could wear a nice shirt or pants to church every few weeks. As for books or movies, I am very picky about what I buy, and I don't have much shelf space (thank you seminary!!). I also really don't care for things that are impersonal.

Jennifer is very easy to shop for. Just get her some girly crap. Just kidding! She likes frogs, she uses lots of lotion, candles, stuff like that, and if you REALLY want to impress her, get her a gift card to Starbucks. Through process of elimination I have found out that she doesn't like power tools, sports memorabilia, anything with potty humor, or ancient books on theology. What a weirdo!!

Merry Christmas to all, and let me hear from some of you!!

Evangelism

If I were a betting man, I'd wager dollars to donuts that for the vast majority of Christians, evangelism is the hardest part of their personal walk with God. And I'm sure I'd win a lot of donuts. I know that this is something that I struggle with. In fact, almost all of my evangelistic encounters were to fulfill requirements from school. Why is it so hard??

I've got several observations that I've made from my personal experience that I hope will help whoever reads this to be the witness for Christ that we are each called to be.

#1- The single, absolute most important component to evangelism is prayer. Pray for specific people by name for their salvation. Get others to pray for them as well. Pray for boldness to steer conversations into religious waters and not to shy away from difficulties. But above all, PRAY!

#2- An often overlooked part of actually presenting the gospel is listening. Ask open ended questions. In my experience, people have a lot to say about religion and their beliefs, and they are not really shy about it, when asked politely. Also, part of good listening is showing genuine interest and respect for the other person. This is part of what is commonly called "winning the right to be heard." Most people are turned off by sales pitches and high pressure tactics, but many will respond positively and listen politely when they are treated like a person and not a prospect.

#3- Say anything!! I want to encourage people to take baby-steps. For me, personally, I don't like to do things unless I know I will be good at it. I know my wife is the same way. That makes evangelism intimidating, like if I mess up, the other person will go to Hell. Remember, God can do a lot with our little bit, but we have to do something: talk about who God is, invite them to church (and make sure to meet them there and sit with them), tell them how Jesus changed your life, tell them what Jesus did, just as long as you say something. Especially when you pray beforehand, I know you'll be surprised at what God can do with your "little" efforts.

You don't have to give an amazing answer for everyone's questions. Jesus didn't. Just realize that there are millions of Americans who want to go to church, but don't feel comfortable because they don't know anyone. They are waiting for someone to go with them. Will you invite someone to meet Jesus??

Visioneering -4- The Bible

I feel like I came across almost anti-Bible for the previous post. For the record, I am not.

I know some of you out there in Blog-land are going to hate this, but I am an inerrantist. I believe the Bible is completely true and accurate, and even more, the only objective authority in our life. Having said that, as my theology professor says, "The Bible is not the fourth person of the trinity." I get a little weirded out when churches start singing hymns and choruses of praise to the Bible, such as "Holy Bible, Book Divine," or "Ancient Words."

I also get a little nervous when people start using the biblical inerrancy platform to say that their interpretation is also inerrant on everything. Here we see the fuzzy line between the Bible's authority and my authority.

Here's my point. I love the Bible; I want to live like the Bible tells me; I want others to love the Bible and read it every day. However, LECTURE IS BORING!! I want to explore other ways to teach the Bible to people without boring them and putting them to sleep. Lecture is NOT the only God-ordained way to teach and preach. This is why video, art, music, and drama are so important. They capture the attention and imagination better than a boring lecture (TWO boring lectures if you also go to Sunday School!).

Nobody better accuse me of taking the Bible lightly. I am, however, very open to accusations of how I take the Bible to others, so long as you don't lecture me.

End Communication.

Visioneering -3- Groups

I may need to write more about this, but I was on a roll, and thinking about how I've seen many Sunday School/Small Group times done. I think a lot of it is not very beneficial.

Before I begin, I just want to say that the main purpose of group time should NOT be merely getting through the lesson. Nor is it just about fellowship. But there should be priorities, and groups should be given as much time as necessary to get through all their business.

FIRST of all, the highest emphasis should be on meeting group members' needs and prayers. And by prayers I mean specific prayers for the members in your group, what their struggles are, what their needs are that week, what is stressing them out, etc. I cannot overemphasize the need I see for people to start obeying all the biblical commands to bear each other's burdens and pray for one another. The apostle Paul often uses the language of "struggle" for intercessory prayer. Could you say that about your prayer life??

SECOND of all, groups need to get to know each other. This is why I don't like Sunday School, because there is no time to get to know the others in the group. Some people call this the process of "going from friendly to family." Sometimes the fact that my best friend just died is more important than what some dude across the country wrote about Leviticus.

THIRD of all, groups need to be heavily involved in evangelism. This is another area where the Sunday School model doesn't work well. Because of the overemphasis on the Bible, the whole experience is disorienting and weird to outsiders. But when outsiders can meet in non-threatening areas (such as homes) and see tangible expressions of God's love for others, a lot of the awkwardness disappears. Groups should be open to outsiders, and groups should be concerned when they don't have outsiders on a consistent basis.

NOW, groups should use the Bible. Groups can worship with a Psalm, or offer a prayer prayed by the saints of old. Group members should hold each other accountable for spending time with God in His word every day. Groups should talk about whether or not certain actions are biblical. Groups should encourage each other to do the right thing because it is in the Bible.

What I want to get away from is task-driven teachers who sacrifice everything for the sake of the lesson. The teacher is not the authoritative dispenser of truth. Rather, groups should learn to walk together with the Truth, that is, Jesus. I don't think there's ever a point where we go beyond needing the Bible, but there is a point where we need to start doing and being church for one another, as opposed to getting up early on the weekend just to listen quietly to someone.

Visioneering -2- The Followers

I was talking to a guy at work today about his life and he told me he "wasn't the best in school."

Here's a guy who's a hard worker, easy to get along with, good at math, and other things, but because he had trouble with some reading skills, his school experience was negative.

Obviously there are different kinds of smarts. Most public schools only test and reward book smarts, or even more specifically, English smarts. Thankfully there are some that have intense art, computer, music, and shop classes to develop children according to their own skill set.

What does this have to do with church? Too many times, the leaders in the church are the book smart or people smart. More and more I see that God has put so many people together in very different ways, and then the Holy Spirit comes along and gives different gifts to people. For instance, how great would it be for a church to have an encouragement ministry, or a media ministry that goes beyond DVD's and electric guitars? How cool would it be to have real art inside the church? I know some people that just like to meet new people and socialize all the time. Certain types of people get upset at these social butterflies because they don't get many tasks done, or do they?? I would love to have a church full of people that just want to make friends and make people smile.

Of course the church is more than a social club, but with our society's high mobility and the breakdown of the family, we really need a place where you can be yourself, help others, and learn about the nature of God in more tangible ways than just listening to a preacher. What some would call mere "socializing," I call deep fellowship. Again, different people have different gifts and skills.

Everyone in a church should have the feeling that they are making a valuable contribution to the life and health of the church body, even youth and young adults.

Visioneering -1-

One of the main reasons I wanted to start blogging was to get my ideas and vision and whatnot for church planting out on the web for all to see ("all" meaning the 20 people who will read this). So two months into this thing, I guess it's about time.

Purpose and Mission

I see my personal purpose in life as reaching the next generation for Christ. Basically, I want to give people all the stuff I never had. I want to invest myself in others, mentor them, find opportunities for them to use their gifts, encourage them, and turn them into the kind of people who will do the same things for others. Basically, I want to do everything I can to make people successful (though in more of the spiritual and relational sense as opposed to financially).

Another mission of mine is to treat everyone like they matter to me, because they do. I crave personal time and attention, yet nobody has it to give. I want to be the kind of person that if I can't personally help you do something, I will send you to the person who can. People matter to me, because they matter to God. Bill Hybels claims this too, but not in the same way that I do. In such an impersonal society, the church needs to be much more intentional and proactive in connecting people to other people, and providing an environment for friendship to bloom and flourish. Bottom line for me, mission is NEVER about tasks, but it is ALWAYS about people. It's a shame that in so many churches people don't have time to connect because they're too busy doing stuff. Thank God for bean counters, but they better be counting beans with others for others.

Lastly, but most importantly, I want to have and to instill in others a passion for Jesus. Jesus is worth getting excited about. He's big enough to build and govern the universe, yet close and personal enough to give total attention to us whenever we call (and many times when we don't). Jesus loved me personally enough to save me out of a sinful lifestyle, he promised to be with me through the tough times and work in them for my good, to give me the ability and desire to do good on earth, and finally to rescue me from death and take me to be with him forever when my life is over.

These values and philosophies govern much of what I do (I wish it was all, but I am not perfect yet). Wherever I go, whatever I do, I take these principles with me. It makes me sad that so many others don't have these values, but God uses all kinds of people at all different stages of maturity. I praise God for the diversity in the universal church and look forward to every opportunity I may have to be a partner with Jesus in building his kingdom in this world.

Naming the Elephants, part the first

In my conversations with people, I am amazed by all the reasons people have for following certain religions: "Jesus Christ will give you peace in your life," "Judaism meets my spiritual needs," "Meditation helped me be a better person," "Satanism is for people with brains," "I just try to follow my heart," and many more.

One guy I talked to said, "I shouldn't matter if what we 'believe' is true or not, as long it helps you be happy and a better member of society."

Frequently, people will cite the ancient Indian proverb about the blind men and the elephant, (one blind man feels the trunk and says "an elephant is like a snake." Another blind man feels the leg and says "an elephant is like a tree" and so on and so forth...) saying that all religions are trying to describe God, but every religion itself is incomplete and needs to learn from others in order to have a more informed view of God. There is some truth to this. However, three religions on earth make the claim that the elephant already told us what he is: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. So disregarding these, all other religions are indeed blind and groping around a dangerous animal.

If we are honest, we will realize that most religions (though not all) teach very similar points of morality, such as don't kill, don't steal, and help those in need. This points to the fact that there may be something transcendently unifying in all of us humans--perhaps our creator?
All this is to say, Christianity is not a self-help religion, although it does help people. Christianity is about being restored to God because of the life and death of Jesus. My sins and your sins are acts of treason against our Creator, and Jesus paid the death penalty in your place.

Christianity is not about man's attempt to find God, it's about God's attempt to find you and rescue you and make you into something new and beautiful!