Merge Worship

shutting down the studio

2010-02-23T12:30:00.001-05:00

I'm shutting down the studio over here at mergeworship.com for a little while. I'm hoping to relaunch it in the future. Please check out the new blog here. Thanks for your friendship and connection.

Free Graphics

2010-02-08T14:58:00.009-05:00

I am in the middle of trying to overhaul my blog and have been a little light on the postings over the last couple of months. I thought I'd drop in and throw on some graphics we've been using recently. The first one is for our church's series "REACTS". We've been going through Acts 1-6 and using RE words for the first through "renew/reignite/revolution". Anyway...we went through 5 designs and I'm including the top 3 here. Also, at the bottom you'll see a Valentine Graphic I did for a friend. Feel free to use any of these you'd like if you find reason for them.

(The one we chose)

(My favorite)

(Another look)
(Valentine's Series)

It was interesting to hear from people about what they saw in each graphic. Our responses ranged from water-electricity on # 1, modern-"the devil" on #2 & ancient-Survivor on #3.

What do you see?

Free Me

2010-01-27T00:57:00.003-05:00

I spent some time at a spot outside of Nashville in prayer and reflection. I rarely take the time to get away just for that but was so blessed that today was one of those days. I thought I'd share one of my prayers here with you:

Free me from desire to be self-important
Free me to trust
Free me from unhealthy pretense
Free me from an unhealthy sense of duty
Free me from yesterday & free me to tomorrow and today
Free me from self-doubt and self-inflicted scars

What things do you want to be freed from or to?

Book Review: PRIMAL by Mark Batterson

2009-12-22T15:43:00.003-05:00

I got an advance copy of PRIMAL from the good folks at Multnomah Publishing and Random House. I've been reading it as I could during the busyness of the Christmas season in church life. I've made it through a few chapters but figured the release day would be a good day to give you my take so far.

When I started reading it I was a little taken back by the idea that they wanted us to encourage people to make it their first book of the new year. Twenty pages in I realized that that's exactly what it should be. I've found myself challenged and left wanting to be closer to who Jesus calls us to be. Mark's writing style, that I came to know on his blog, speaks clearly in the early part of this book. He has a way of stripping away a lot of the trappings that we use to talk to each other without ever saying anything. When I read him I don't think about his theological bent but about my own heart. I don't find myself just listening to a lot of christianese strung together but really hearing the heart of the matter, and having my heart challenged to change. The one thing I can say succinctly about this book is that I walked away from two parts early in crying to find a place of prayer and reflection.

I can't wait to finish Primal but it's not a quick read for me. It's one of those books that I feel like is reading me. I've been left very dissatisfied after my reading; not with the book, but with the condition of my heart. It's delivering on its promise to "an invitation to rediscover the compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy that turned the world upside down two thousand years ago. It is an invitation to be astonished again."

You can purchase the book on Amazon here: http://ow.ly/OHhL

It's Been A While

2009-12-04T13:11:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a while since I posted, but I'm honestly taking a bit of a break from blogging. This season of life has been rewarding and revealing and I just need some time to process in my own head before I share it with the world. (or the 100 people who stop by here regularly {and I LOVE you guys and gals!}) I'll leave this post with something I read today that totally resonated with me.

"Love to worship? Pray for Iranian Christians who long to 'shout to the Lord' but usually have to sing quietly and in secret." -From IRAN 30 (http://twitter.com/iran30)

This so speaks to why I work with them and why I respect those who worship Christ in closed environments so much. My heart hurts for their oppression and longs to live with their level of passion.

Amazing News

2009-11-18T10:49:00.004-05:00

I just got some amazing news from my friends @Iran30. They just announced that Maryam and Mazrieh were released after 259 days in prison. I've been overwhelmed and amazed at the response from twitter and facebook friends. People have really responded and it has shown me that people are indeed praying for those being persecuted for their faith. God is indeed good. All the time.

You can check the entire article here:

http://elam.com/articles/Released/

Honesty

2009-10-29T18:19:00.004-04:00

My heart has been a little wrecked recently. There's more than one explanation as to why that could be the case but none are really worth rehashing here. I was surprised by the way my heart has been revealing itself recently. Just the other day I sat down at the piano and this chorus came flowing out:

I want to tear down the walls of apathy and make believe

Take off the mask I wear of everything is perfect here

I wonder if I will ever find a place where I can just be me

I want to live...honestly

Now I hadn't been doing a ton of thinking about living honestly but I will say that I live (and have for the past couple of years) in a state of what I call "holy discontent". My heart has been heavy with the desire to be a great leader, a phenomenal Dad, a wonderful husband and a difference maker in the world for His sake. And the truth is that on any given day I feel like I stink at a number of those things but I don't know who I'd actually say that to. I have a great wife, amazing family and wonderful friends but some days I still feel all alone.

In many ways I think I just want to be able to be real. Human. Honest. Broken.

Do you ever wonder if you'll ever find honesty? Do you ever dream of a place where you can share all your stuff and hear truth and love in response? I do.

Powerful Video from Compassion

2009-10-19T17:27:00.002-04:00

This is worth 15 minutes of your time. Check it out and bring your kleenex.

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo.

doing the devil's dirty work

2009-10-06T13:56:00.007-04:00

{stepping onto the soap box}

Yesterday's phone call wasn't the one I wanted to get. I love getting the calls about exciting things happening in ministry. Even the calls about life crises are welcome because they force me closer to Christ. This was one of those calls. The friend who had to move. Not because they'd done anything wrong but because someone else trashed them. Ruined their reputation. Tried to destroy their life and ruin their marriage.

I know this friend pretty well. Not perfect, but honest. I was sickened that the pain they've experienced (tragic loss, personal sickness) was multiplied by their church family. Petty disagreements led to personal assault and what was once fun and games became life or death.

The accusations being thrown around had almost destroyed a family. I was reminded in that conversation that accusation of the brothers was somebody else's job.

Revelations 12:10--

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.

Some people close to my friend have been doing the devil's dirty work and I wish they'd stop.

{stepping off of soap box}

A Jesus Manifesto

2009-09-29T12:30:00.003-04:00

It's been a minute or two since I last blogged. The family and I have been on vacation and I'm just getting back into the groove.

I wanted to share something with you that I read before leaving for vacation. It's called "A Jesus Manifesto" and it was written by Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola. Not the most obvious pairing on the planet, but a great testament to the truth that they've agreed to in this document. Here's a taste of what they have to say:

What is Christianity? It is Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Christianity is not an ideology. Christianity is not a philosophy. Christianity is the “good news” that Beauty, Truth and Goodness are found in a person. Biblical community is founded and found on the connection to that person. Conversion is more than a change in direction; it’s a change in connection. Jesus’ use of the ancient Hebrew word shubh, or its Aramaic equivalent, to call for “repentance” implies not viewing God from a distance, but entering into a relationship where God is command central of the human connection.

I challenge you to take a few minutes and visit their site. Read the manifesto and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart. If you're like me (and let's hope you aren't ;-), expect to be confirmed, convicted, challenged and motivated. My prayer is that we would all embrace Him and make it our mission to make Him known.

An Eternal Song

2009-09-08T11:09:00.004-04:00

I shared this illustration with our congregation this past Sunday in worship and I thought it would be worth sharing here. We were finishing up our set with a little old school Tomlin; "We Fall Down". As we sang the chorus in rehearsal ("We cry holy, holy, holy") I began to reflect on the eternal nature of the song we were singing.

We hear the song being declared from eternity past in Isaiah 6. Isaiah describes seeing seraphs surrounding the throne of God singing continually "holy, holy, holy is the Lord almighty. The whole earth is filled with His glory."

We see the song declared in the eternal future by these same creatures in Revelations 4. John describes them singing "holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. Who was and is and is to come". This triggers a worship offering from the 24 elders that I can't wait to see.

The point is that there is an eternal song happening right now. At this very minute those creatures are somewhere in their "holy, holy, holy" song. How powerful is it that at any moment of any day we can join their song and sing the eternal praises of our God?

I encourage you to think about that imagery the next time you hear those words in a song. Allow yourself to connect to that eternal song and appreciate the depth and wonder of an eternal song to our eternal King.

OFF TOPIC---Disney & Marvel

2009-09-01T12:41:00.003-04:00

So this is going to be a little off the beaten path, but honestly I wanted to just do something fun. I heard yesterday that Disney is going to be buying Marvel. This prompted a 30 minute discussion with my 8 year old son about what Disney/Marvel pairings would be the funniest or clearest connection. He even asked if I thought they could do the deal in time to get Mickey and the gang on the roster of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. (I told him I doubted it.)

Here's a list of some of my faves from our discussion. (btw...if you don't know who some of these people are, I need you to up your nerd quotient a little bit before continuing) :-)

Iron Man & Buzz Lightyear

Frozone & Iceman

Deadpool & Goofy (also known as the laugh track)

Thor & Stinky Pete (They both use a hammer/axe type deal...work with me. Besides, you can't say Thor & Stinky Pete out loud without laughing. Go ahead and try it....told you.)

Minnie Mouse and Jean Gray (both with more power than anyone credits them for)

Donald Duck and Gambit (similar accents)

Dash and The Human Torch

Cruella DeVille and Mystique

Mickey and Captain America

What are some combos you'd like to see or that would make you laugh out loud?

covert rebellion

2009-08-19T13:34:00.002-04:00

I'm reading a new devotional called "Solo" by Eugene Peterson. In the first devo (on Gen. 3:1-10) he challenges the reader to confess ways that they've rebelled against God. I began listing my transgressions aloud and then I heard the still, small, overwhelming voice of God in my heart say...

"You're confessing the overt rebellions, what about the ones that fly under the radar? The covert ways you rebel against me. Your refusal to trust. Your refusal to hope. Your willingness to just live and get by. I want all of you. I want you to be ALL MINE."

Boys and girls, the word for today is "conviction". See you on the other side.

what moves me

2009-08-12T10:25:00.003-04:00

I was watching The West Wing last night while I couldn't sleep and this scene was in that episode. The young lady in the scene wants to say thank you to a teacher who is retiring and has asked for the President to issue a proclamation for her. I'll wait until you finish...

This scene moved me and I'll tell you why. I'm moved by a lot of things, but consistently I'm moved by people making a significant impact on the lives of others. It's why some of my favorite moments in life haven't been musical or public. It's the phone call from an old friend telling you how much you meant to them. It's sending an email to my childhood pastor to tell him "a lot of what I do has a little 'Steve' in it. It's the teenage drummer crying when I left my last church because of our friendship. It's receiving an email that says thanks for your encouragement or sending an email that thanks someone not for what they did or do, but for who they are to you.

Relationships matter to me. Honestly, I'm not that moved by title or position. I love the opportunity to lead, but the opportunity to impact others is what motivates me to keep going. Be encouraged all of you who give your life trying to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Someday you'll get your call too. The one I'm hoping for is "well done good and faithful servant".

Is there anyone out there who is missing a moment like this phone call from you? You might not be able to get the President on the line but I'm sure they'd love to just hear it from you.

duty for beauty

2009-08-04T11:14:00.003-04:00

I had a thought over the weekend that kind of haunted me. Here it is:

What would I change about my life if it were being filmed 24/7?

Don't worry; this isn't going to be one of those "God is already watching your life 24/7 so change it anyway" kind of posts. It did challenge me to think of what I would do differently. I'd probably:

Pray more & stress less
Spend more time listening than talking
Spend less time tweeting
Play less Halo and play more board games with my kids
Spend less time watching TV and more time reading
Hug my wife more
Never ignore my kids when they want to do something
Spend less time on Facebook and have my "face in the book" more (that's a Tony Sutherland special)

All these things are good, but as I thought them through I had an overwhelming response rise in my heart. On my journey to try and know God I've gotten to the place where relationship has replaced religion and it is a wondrous thing. I'm going to work on some of these things and change where I need to but I'm not going back to viewing God as a taskmaster keeping galactic tabs on my dos and don'ts.

I refuse to trade beauty for duty. How about you?

the value of knowing where to look

2009-07-30T11:30:00.004-04:00

I love helping others figure out how to navigate the issues going on in their life/team/church/organization. It makes me feel alive to help other people. I've given advice over this last month on social networking, worship team policies, connecting a firewire hard drive to a USB only computer and church service formats. I love seeing others succeed. I have my bouts with personal ambition and jealousy when others go further than I do, but at my heart I'm a servant leader who believes in supporting the dreams of others.

I'm becoming convinced that one of my strengths moving forward will not be knowing all the information but knowing where to find information. I am building more relational capital by sharing information freely than I ever did by trying to keep my sources on lock down and appear smarter than I am. I have my former church to thank for that to a large degree. They helped open my heart even more to how to bless others.

There is a paradigm shift from being the guy (or gal) with all the answers to being the gal (or guy) who can steer someone to thought and on their own process to find answers. It's one of the reasons I'm always linking to others. Sometimes it can get annoying if you turn into some one's personal google, but people truly appreciate someone who knows where to find answers.

Do you share your knowledge freely? Any thoughts on how this applies to your world? I'd love to know your thoughts.

"We Don't Want Your Baton"

2009-07-28T14:16:00.003-04:00

The guys over at Church Crunch have posted a dynamite blog today. Check it out below and sign up for their rss feed and continue to get great stuff from John and crew.

This is a Guest Post by Nate Beaird.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to make a historical film for the 75th anniversary celebration of some local churches. Reviewing the script, I read about the power of the Great Commission and the momentum it gave the individuals who followed it.

It was an unforgettable experience. After completing the project I walked away amazed.

I learned about the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the birth of these churches. My generation knows very little about the stories of old, yet, I believe to work together effectively, the different age groups need to become acquainted with each other.

Some from my generation call the “older” generation “out of touch,” but I know the truth: The older generation has been more in touch with the heart of God than I may ever be. These are the people who have lived through the history I read about in school, the open range cowboys, the civil rights activists, the veterans of wars fought for my freedom, those who knew and loved Christ before I ever lived.

They have been faithful to their calling, and are cheering me on to be faithful to mine.

What is my calling? My generation, just like Noah, Moses, Esther and other heroes of the Bible who had a heart for their home, and their generation. No one is going to be able to reach my generation as well as… my generation. That means new methods must be used, “out of the box” ideas, maybe even ideas that are possible and feasible, but previously unheard of.

More thoughts after the jump…

Just as the pioneers of these local churches were trusted to build a church, so must we be infused with trust to push forward for our generation. We are visual. We are relational. We are unlike any previous generation before us, which is probably why we’re misunderstood.

We pierce our face and buy jeans with holes already in them.

So!? It’s time, Church, to let appearances go. Our passion for Jesus eclipses the naysayers and bonds us to any age group that lets us worship by reaching people on a different level. We may need to be patient at times. We don’t want to just attend church, we want to be apart of something that’s making a difference. We don’t pledge our commitment lightly, but once we find something to live for, we’ll die for it.

For the past 15 years God’s been breeding an army so massive, so passionate, so united, that Christianity as we know it will be rocked to the very core. We are kingdom-minded with no strings attached. As the older generation is like Elijah, we are like Elisha, asking for a double portion of God. We are reckless and fearless for God. If he says we can do it, we believe we can.

Peter Craig, of the 24-7 Prayer Movement, writes in “The Vision”:

Their DNA chooses Jesus.
(He breathes out, the breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings.
They’ve had a blood transfusion with Jesus.

Their words make demons scream in shopping centers.
Don’t you hear them coming?

Herald the weirdos!
Summon the losers and the freaks.
Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes!
They walk tall and trees applaud, Sky scrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension.

I realize there are issues we all could work on. The older generation worries about how low my jeans hang and I can’t get up to go to a prayer breakfast at six in the morning.

Nonetheless, we will not unite our generations by bickering about our weaknesses, so, what if our strengths got some talk time? If we were to combine the older generation’s wisdom, knowledge, and experience, and our networking, strength, and passion the possibilities would be endless.

“We” are not the future; we are the today. “They” are not the past, they are the today. We are not the next of “them,” we are the first of “us.”

We don’t want them to pass the baton to us, because that means their race is over. We want their blessing on our baton, so we can run together.

We Will Featured on Iran30.org

2009-07-24T00:19:00.000-04:00

My song, We Will, is being used on Iran30 in their video to promote prayer for Iran. These are trusted friends of mine and I'm thankful for the opportunity to play a small part in helping bring awareness to what God is doing in this country. You can check out the video by clicking here.

God has been gracious enough to do some cool things with this song through us giving it away over the last year. We're making it available for sale for the first time now. You can purchase either the single or the background track if you'd like to perform it in your own church. You can get it by clicking on one of the buy it now buttons below. 25% of the profit will go back to Iran30 and their ministry. Thanks and feel free to link and tweet away. :-)

We Will (Single) $0.99

We Will (Background Track) $5.99

angry

2009-07-22T15:55:00.002-04:00

(begin rant)

I'm angry today. Pissed would be a better word, but my Mom doesn't really like it so it couldn't be the title of this post. I'm going to share something that I loathe here today. I got a new twitter follower today who will remain nameless, but reminds me of all these guys who buy up time on BET on the weekend to ask you to send them money for them to give you a prophecy.

Get your golden key here. Buy my prosperity package there. Here a scam. There a scam. Everywhere a scam scam.

This guy in particular has a pretty famous parishioner who he ordained and is the logo for my fantasy basketball team. He has a church in NYC and a TV show and website. All dedicated to the greatness of him and how you can give him or his associate's money to prophecy over you. You can also get a prophecy for free mailed to you right after you provide him with all your pertinent information. In researching him briefly, I found several of his followers on Amazon debating about one of his books. Here's some of their direct quotes:

"I am an example, he awaken me as to who God is in me and who Iam in God....so guess what??? I DO NOT PLAY GOD...I am God." (I think I threw up in my mouth a little after pasting that)

"You are a child that's why you can't hear the Lord's voice. God is a gentleman. He does not MOLEST kids. Good luck with your irrational mind." (this was in response to someone being critical)

This stuff really makes me angry. I've heard the testimonies. After I called the 800 number XYZ happened to me. One preacher in particular stopped a woman testifying to God's provision of a house to make sure she added "after I laid my hands on you" in several places. Are you serious?!

How about this? "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols." (Isaiah 42:8)

These men prey on people so poor and desperate that they are looking for saving wherever they can find it. They distract people from the one, true source of salvation and freedom; Jesus. They are wolves among the flock and this pastor, for one, wants to kick them out forcefully.

I normally don't use this space for rants, but this is something that has been stuck in my craw for a while now. I'll leave with these words from 2 Peter 2:

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them–bringing swift destruction on themselves.2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

And all God's people said amen.

(end rant)

blank slates

2009-07-15T16:09:00.001-04:00

I've been trying to think about something profound to blog about, but this last week has left me with somewhat of a blank slate so I thought I'd share these verses.

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. ---Lamentations 3:22-23

Here's to being thankful for blank slates.

retreat can be a good thing

2009-07-09T15:56:00.004-04:00

This season of life has been fascinating for me. I've alternated from extreme days of multiple ideas (like a random twitter idea I got in the shower this morning) to days of feeling completely barren creatively. On top of all the stuff going on with my Mom (who recently underwent a stem cell transplant for cancer treatment) and adjusting to a new church with a very different environment than I'm used to, I'm being deeply challenged in my faith.

Don't get it twisted, not challenged in my faith as in "wondering about the validity of Jesus and Christianity", but challenged in the mode of "why do I believe what I believe". As I said in an earlier post, "I hate walls" and I'm willing to go beyond my narrow circle to hear what other Christ followers are saying and what the Holy Spirit is speaking to them. I won't rehash that here, but I will say that there are so many voices out there. And there are extremists in every camp.

The real genesis of this came when I was listening to Derek Webb's new CD. He uses some pretty provocative word pictures to ask some pretty pointed questions about our practice as believers. As I listened and explored I found myself reading a post called "Should Christians Be More Worldly?" on John Mark McMillan's blog. (love his song "How He Loves Us" btw) I didn't finish reading it because I just began to get overwhelmed.

It's the same feeling I had when reading "A New Kind of Christian" by Brian McLaren. (Not a resource I'm recommending by the way. I only recommend that book to close friends who I think it would benefit which has been a grand total of one person since I first read it. For a book I'd recommend without hesitation on the topics of freedom in Christ that will challenge you, check out "Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning or "Messy Spirituality" by Mike Yaconelli) Just this overwhelming since of "I don't want to miss it". I don't want to live my life in a wasteful way and I need to reevaluate my view of what God's purpose for our lives as believers is. The bottom line is that I desperately want to please Jesus. I want to please Him in every way that I can so I search for Him. I search for ways for the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to me as Jesus said He would.

When I get overwhelmed like this I am finding I have one of two responses. I either shut down and ignore those feelings for a bit or I retreat to Jesus and His Word. I'm all for pushing forward, growing and stretching but I will say that I think sometimes the best thing to do is retreat. Go back. Find out exactly what Jesus said. Allow the Holy Spirit to use His Word to challenge you. So I'm taking a step back from the controversy and the company line. I'm retreating to the solitude of Scripture. Because one thing that my "wall breaking" lifestyle always does is lead me back to Him. And I love the adventure.

Do you need to retreat? Where do you find you go to find your footing?

forever is a long time to hold a grudge

2009-06-30T11:15:00.005-04:00

I've been thinking about grudges/offenses/hurts/unforgiveness (especially as it relates to other believers) for a little while now. I've got a couple of people in my life who make me cringe when I think about them because thoughts about that person take me back to a not so fun time together. I will say up front that I have been extremely blessed. My life has been free from traumatic events. I have no abuse to forgive. No great injustice to grieve over. I've got no story like my friend Danny Wallace. (check him out for an amazing story of God's faithfulness in a life that could have been filled with bitterness and struggle)

What I do have is insecurities and a list of grievances of people who have treated me unfairly. That list is shorter than it used to be, but I've been reviewing the list and came to this conclusion. 90% of the people on that list are believers. According to what I see in Scripture, I'm spending eternity with these folks. So here's what I'm thinking...forever is a long time to hold a grudge.

Do I really think that four millenniums from now I'm still going to be ticked at brother so and so for what they said in the 90s? How ridiculous is that? So if it's true that forgiveness will come eventually, why not start the process now?

Who's that person in your world that you're going to be in eternal fellowship with that you avoid today?

Let's get this forgiveness thing started today. I'm not sure if we'll be forgiving each other in heaven, but eternity is a long time to dodge someone. There's going to be more important things to do with our time then.

Sanctify them in truth...Your Word is truth

2009-06-23T12:06:00.002-04:00

I spent some time with my Mom this weekend. She and I got about an hour and a half together. It was precious time. We talked about life, pastoring, calling, relationships, mission, healing and holiness. She is coming out of a stem cell transplant and this is expected to be a tough time for her. But here’s what I noticed.

Her love for Jesus is deeper. It’s as if this time of physical purging has honed her focus on what really matters. When we talked about holiness, it was interesting to hear her take on it. Basically it was this. “If you really know Jesus and understand to some degree the depths He went to to save you, you would avoid sin because you’d want to please Him in every way.”

Jesus asked the Father to do this; “Sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17) As we talked I realized one of the truths of this passage. I began to see the seasons of my life with more clarity and acknowledge that my level of “sanctity” (for lack of a better term) was directly proportionate to the amount of time I spent engaging God in Scripture.

Now; people who know me will tell you I’m not very “sanctified” by old school standards. I joke about everything. I’d probably fail most of your holiness tests. I’m really comfortable with the truth that my righteousness is filthy rags to Him and that I’m in desperate need of Jesus’ saving grace to make it through.

With that said, I am intensely interested in pleasing Him. I’m not overly into pleasing everyone anymore. I’m slowly coming to the reality that my life needs only to please my God and my family. For me it’s less about whether I hit a certain target or do or don’t do certain things on a list of church prescribed holiness. It’s about making sure the condition and intent of my heart pleases Him.

Honestly; little else matters. When I blow it there it feels like my world is coming apart. When I know He’s pleased, even the storms feel like ocean breezes on a sunny vacation day. And how do I know when He’s pleased? When I look in His Word and find out what pleases Him and walk in that. When I allow His truth to be my sanctification. If I were in the TBN world still I would say “allowing His truth to be my sanctification brings my soul satisfaction”. Well!!! (said with a little organ music in the background)

Can I get a witness?

i hate walls

2009-06-10T15:51:00.003-04:00

The title of this post won't be a shock to those who know me. I'm not a fan of walls, rules, consequences (for me...big believer in them for others), concrete and stiff mattresses. The only things I really like being impenetrable are my house, car and the airplane I'm flying in.

*DISCLAIMER* I'm very thankful for the heritage that I've been given and the passion I was trained in to study scripture, believe in a God who is close to us and to treasure His truth and presence.

With that said, I grew up in a denomination that, at the time, was pretty rigid. Don't wear jewelry. Don't wear wedding rings. Don't wear shorts. Don't. Don't. Don't. In some ways I think we could have played Tesla's "Signs" in a worship service and people would've been into it.

At my first church job I had a 16 year old ask me in all seriousness; "Baptists aren't going to heaven, right?". (Don't worry @EdStetzer I told him you guys were golden. Like Ed ever reads this thing:-) I was like WHAT?!?!? I think that kind of upbringing had something to do with my disdain for concrete.

Don't get me wrong. I believe in absolute truth. I believe Jesus is the only way anyone gets to know God and gain eternal life. I'm not talking about walls of divine truth or clear guidelines for holy living.

I hate the walls we make. Walls of denomination. Walls of worship styles. Walls of race. Walls of "if everyone else was just more like me". And here's why...

I went to a conference that was filled with hardcore reformed speakers and attended widely by students at a local Southern Baptist Seminary. I would not consider myself reformed, didn't go to seminary and am a charismatic believer. But I learned a TON! I was inspired by the commitment to the Word, to Jesus and to His Church. I had God reveal things in my heart that needed to be repented of and I had my dedication to His purposes strengthened. I know friends that would not have gone because of the walls they've erected in their hearts.

I'm in no way saying "don't belong to a denomination" or "don't ascribe to a certain stream of theology". Don't get it twisted. I get that we all have a place of deep belonging, but I also understand that there is a greater Body beyond the one I meet with on a weekly basis. And here's the real deal. I believe God is HUGE. Bigger than our walls. So broad that our walls can't contain Him and by hemming ourselves in we diminish a full picture of who He is.

I'm not saying embrace every teaching under the sun, but I am saying embrace every brother and sister. The reason I hate walls is because I believe my particular outlook on life, minuscule understanding of God and personal worship preferences can't contain the whole of the greatness of our God and that other people, with other viewpoints can help me see Him more clearly. I'm on a lifelong pursuit to know Him in "the fellowship of His sufferings and the power of His resurrection" and I believe that pursuit shouldn't be restricted by walls that He didn't put up.

How can you reach beyond your own walls and learn from someone else?

BTW you can check out audio from the sessions by clicking here. I'd recommend Mark Driscoll's talk on "Ministry Idolatry" for any of my ministry friends.

i have a problem

2009-06-01T11:05:00.007-04:00

I have a problem. Ok. I have several problems, but the one I wanted to share today is this. I punish myself. If I mess up I feel like I deserve the worst for it. It doesn't matter what it is. Sin. Anger. Offense. If I blew it I think I should pay. It's one of the reasons I tend to be gracious in my relationships. I have a definitive handle on how much I need grace.

At any rate, I'm beginning to see this place of brokenness in my 7 year old son. If he doesn't succeed at something he feels the failure deeply. If he mistreats a friend he'll beat himself up for it. Just this last Thursday he asked Misty to punish him for being mean to a friend. We told him a simple apology would do (it was a small thing) but he was sure he deserved punishment. It broke my heart.

There are times as a Dad that are joyous. Thursday wasn't one of those days. I wept on the way home as I saw this broken place in my son so clearly. I prayed and called my Dad to ask for prayer and wisdom. When I got home my son and I had a heart to heart.

I told my little man that my love for him was unconditional and that I wanted to help him navigate this emotional minefield. He told me I was going to make him cry and I told him it was ok. We talked for about 15 minutes about being able to recover for mistakes and being able to receive grace. At the end of that time I held him and prayed over him.

I cried openly asking God to heal the brokenness in my buddy and asking him to help me be a great Dad. Judah hugged me and was clearly uncomfortable with the fact I was crying that way. At the end of my prayer he squeezed me tight me and said "Daddy don't cry". I told him I was ok and he said "I was really worried you were going to get water on my hair while you were praying".

I love having a 7 year old boy. Never a dull moment.

5 Albums You're Probably Not Listening To (but should be)

2009-05-22T12:19:00.012-04:00

I thought it would be fun to share a few albums that might not be on your radar but should be on your iPod. At another time, I might do some categorized recommendations, but for now I'll share some albums that stay in my rotation. So, with that said, here's four newer albums and one classic gem.

1. Jonny Lang-Turn Around

This is a gospel album from an accomplished blues guitarist. Jonny Lang has a great, soulful voice. Dude can also kill a guitar. Favorite tracks are "Don't Stop for Anything", "One Person at a Time", "Thankful" (featuring Michael McDonald) and "Turn Around". Do yourself a favor and check this beast of a record out. Good from beginning to end.

2. Marc Broussard-Keep Coming Back

If you're not familiar with Marc Broussard, all of his stuff is worth picking up, but this latest album is chock full of 70s soulful goodness. Think Bill Withers/Tower of Power kind of vibe. Favorite tracks are "Hard Knocks", "Come in From the Cold" (live) and "Man for Life". Definitely a great throwback album with great musicianship and production.

3. Fellowship Church-Closer to the Start

This is not your Daddy's church worship project. It feels more like a good pop album that happens to be worship and outreach focused. It's also not your average church album's production. Everything is crisp and clean on this record. Favorite tracks are "God So Loved", "Shores of Mystery", "Til You Throw it Away" and "New Creation". Pick this one up if you're a little tired of "normal" worship music and use as inspiration to shake your own worship times up a bit.

4. Brooke Fraser-Albertine

To say I love this album would be an understatement in the arena of saying I merely love Coke. This is easily my favorite album I've purchased in the last 2 years. Brooke is a great writer and her voice is like fresh air. Favorite tracks are "C.S. Lewis Song", "Shadowfeet" and "Albertine". There really isn't a track on the CD I don't like. When the bridge of the "C.S. Lewis Song" hits and she sings "we are not long here..." it hits me like a ton of bricks every time. You can also hear Brooke singing on some Hillsongs United records. She wrote their song, "Hosanna" among others.

5. Cannonball Adderly-Somethin' Else

This is the best jazz record most people have never heard of. It's right on par with Miles Davis' Classic "Kind of Blue". Cannonball is a tour de force on sax and the rest of the band is smoking hot. Favorite tracks are ALL OF THEM! This record has my favorite version of "Autumn Leaves" ever recorded. The sax solo to kick off the improvisations on "One for Daddy-O" still slays me even though I can sing along with the entire solo note for note. If you're jazz collection is missing this iconic project pick it up now. You won't regret it.

What are the albums that get continual love in your iTunes?

Tribes: A Group Blogging Project

2009-05-11T11:37:00.003-04:00

This is a part of the Tribes Group Blogging Project based on Seth Godin’s book “Tribes”.

“Leadership happens out of the corner of your eye, in a place where you weren’t watching”.

It’s so true that the genesis of great leadership often goes unnoticed. One of the great challenges of leadership, in my opinion, is seeing that potential and developing it in others. To embrace their hope and help them pursue their dreams.

Seth says that everyone knows the “leadership tricks” but it’s really about creating an experience for your tribe. If that’s the case, and I believe for the most part it its, then leadership is about helping people connect. Helping them “care” about your cause. If your “cause” is getting people clean water like in the case of charitywater.org then make them feel the thirst of others and see clearly how they can make a viable change. If your cause is making people better bloggers then do what John Saddington (yes he gets 2 separate links. he's the guy who started this tribe up.:-) does and constantly give people tools to do more and go farther.

One thing I’m noticing more and more about leadership is that it really cares about others. It reminds me of when the love chapter of the Bible says “love is not self-seeking”. The leaders I truly admire are like Tasmin Little. (mentioned on p.123) She cares more about getting classical music heard and appreciated then she does about the profit she’s losing from giving her CD away. Seth did the same thing by asking people to give away their audio copy of his book at the end. Or guys like Shawn Wood and Anne Jackson who used their influence in the last year to get people to buy shoes, sponsor children and provide clean drinking water for people in need. By caring more about the message than the bottom line, these people inspired me to find out more about their cause and to spread the word.

I wonder. How many people could we affect if they could see that we care more about their connection than our reputation? If they understood that your chief concern as a leader was seeing their dreams soar? I loved Seth’s last line about hope. “Without it, there is no future to work for.”

Where would we be as leaders if we oozed commitment and hope? Better yet, where would our “tribes” be? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

100th Post...time for perspective

2009-05-07T14:42:00.003-04:00

So this is my 100th post. It feels like I've done a lot more but the numbers don't lie. It's odd that this would happen today. I'm going to go ahead and say that this will be one of my most vulnerable posts I've written.

It's been one heck of a week. (my more liberal brothers and sisters can feel free to substitute an alternate work for heck) I went on Monday to visit my Mom in the hospital. She's been battling cancer (I refuse to capitalize that word) for right at 2 years now. It's been an amazing journey of learning to see God's hand in the little things in life.

Then today I got the call that a long time, close friend is dealing with another type of cancer. He's angry. Trusting. But angry. And I can't blame him. Ed's not much older than me. I cried for him and his family after I got the news. Just closed the door to my office and cried. I'm crying now. Life is so precious. I'm beginning to understand more about why King David described life as a "vapor".

To be honest, it's a bit overwhelming at times. Knowing that this life is temporary and it will be over often before we want it to be. This season of my life is not easy. I've thought about how old my kids might be when it's my time to go. Wondered about why I haven't done more things of significance and wondered if I ever truly would.

You see, I want to live a life that matters. But days like today make it difficult to find that pulse. When you see the world of those you love flipped on it's ear it's a jarring thing. (not nearly as jarring as what they are going through to be sure) The perspective I'm gaining is that I HAVE TO GET BUSY DOING WHAT I'M CREATED TO DO.

Maybe you're like me and can't find that thing. Maybe there's a persistent deficiency that haunts you. For me it's lack of discipline and self worth. I get hung up on my shortcomings and rarely celebrate my longcomings. (i just made that word up. my creative moment of the day) But you know what...in the end I want my life to count and I know you do to. What can we do to get busy living? How can I harness the impact of this season and the weight of today into forward momentum? If anyone has the answers, please let me know. Because I'm trying to find them and the view's a little hazy through my tears.

a commitment to change

2009-04-29T15:00:00.002-04:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately on the commitment it takes to generate change. Creating culture rarely happens overnight. It (usually) means doing the back breaking work of plowing fields and tearing down walls. This came clear to me on Monday. I was helping my Dad spread mulch in their yard. We'd already picked up a truck full of mulch and we were doling out load number two. I realized in that moment that most things of value take TIME.

Take on the challenge
Invest in the outcome
Marry yourself to the vision
Engage the process

One tough thing about being a leader is that part of you wants to look for the easy way out. Whether that means acquiescing to those who want to refuse change or settling for the status quo. That's much easier to do. And frankly, there are a lot of people willing to settle there.

I'm not one of those guys. I want to see people move forward and the Church grow and innovate. My prayer is that more people will be willing to spend TIME on seeing change happen.

What ways do you take the TIME to build culture where you serve and lead?

btw...my friend Chris said I should say that I just came up with that acrostic so no one would think I stole it from a book. :-)

return to reverence

2009-04-23T16:12:00.002-04:00

Last night I had a daunting thought. Sometimes I treat God too casually. I mean, I get that He wants relationship with us and that we should "talk to Him like we talk to a friend". But I was reminded that He's not just another friend.

He's beyond another relationship to be pursued. He's more than just another interest. He's beyond being a part of my life. Scripture says He is life. I've spent a lot of my time trying to figure out how to fit His life into mine instead of asking how to fit my life inside His.

I LOVE the truth that Jesus loves us like we are. I embrace the fact that my imperfections are opportunities for His strength to be made perfect. And deep down inside I KNOW that my life is empty and useless outside of His presence and purpose. I want to be more Him and less me.

I'm feeling a tug on my heart back to reverence. Not the "you don't wear anything but a suit to church" (or a dress for the ladies) reverence. But a "God is holy and so far beyond my comprehension that I need to evaluate my continual respect level for Him" reverence.

So I guess what I'm saying is more of a prayer... Jesus help me to hold You in higher esteem. Help me to latch on to Your truth beyond my current circumstances. Help me to hold on to Your Word as the truth in every situation. Thank you for being my friend. I love you for that. But I also want to honor You as my King. Teach me that balance...amen.

How do you practice reverence?

where is leadership pointing?

2009-04-15T12:28:00.005-04:00

I had a thought today. (congratulatory notes accepted) Could one of the reasons that people leave in leadership transitions in churches be because we as leaders have failed to connect them beyond ourselves to the source of our passion and drive? Could it be that we may have led well, but not really introduced true community to the people we led? I do understand that sometimes people will leave when you exit. It's happened to me in places. I get that people enjoy different styles and connect to various leaders/pastors in a special way. I still resonate and connect with people I helped lead/pastor in various churches but, if I'm doing my job well, I'm steering every one's heart toward Him. A proof that ministry is done well, in my mind, is that when you leave people stay because their connection to God is deeper than a personal connection to you.

One of my personal practices in this area is to deflect all the praise to God and accept criticism for myself. Not to be self deprecating, but to steer people to God in the good and to walk with them through the bad. I'm finding that continually refusing to embrace praise and pushing to embrace community is one way to deepen the bonds of friendship and also build the relational capital to help steer people's hearts past minutia to what really matters.

When it's all over, I doubt the Lord is going to ask me how well people resonated with me personally. I feel He's much more likely to ask how much of my life I spent steering people to the only true hope in this world.

How do you steer people closer to Jesus and deeper into community?

crown Him with many crowns

2009-04-09T15:38:00.003-04:00

This weekend we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love this time to reflect on the goodness and greatness of a God who came to earth. Who lived and died and now lives again.

His victory is eternal.

His love is never ceasing.

His mercy is amazing.

His worth is unending.

I want to share with you the verses of a hymn we will be singing and would encourage you to take some time this week with these lyrics (and/or the Gospel story) and remember the work of the cross and the freedom available now to all who dare to believe that Jesus is real and His word is truth.

Crown Him With Many Crowns

Verse 1

Crown Him with many crowns the Lamb upon His throne
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but it's own
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity

Verse 2

Crown Him the virgin's Son the God incarnate born
Whose arm those crimson trophies won which now His brow adorn
Fruit of the mystic rose as of that rose the stem
The root whence mercy ever flows the Babe of Bethlehem

Verse 3

Crown Him the Son of God before the worlds began
And ye who tread where He hath trod crown Him the Son of Man
Who every grief hath known that wrings the human breast
And takes and bears them for His own that all in Him may rest

Verse 4

Crown Him the Lord of life who triumphed over the grave
And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save
His glories now we sing Who died and rose on high
Who died eternal life to bring and lives that death may die

Verse 8

Crown Him the Lord of lords who over all doth reign
Who one on earth the incarnate Word for ransomed sinners slain
Now lives in realms of light were saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night their God, Redeemer, King

why this is my favorite team

2009-04-07T09:52:00.002-04:00

The Tarheels are National Champions...again. This is their 4th title in my lifetime and it's always a fun thing. However, this team is different for me. Special. And here's why.

When we won the title in 2005 it was a welcome home for Coach Williams and a welcome back to our program. The next year, little to nothing was expected of this team. Then comes Frasor, Hansbrough, Green and Ginyard. Four guys who none of us knew. I loved Felton, May, McCants and that crew but I probably cheered harder for that 2006 team then I ever had. They reminded me of what it felt like to be a fan again. I pulled for us through the lean years, but this was different. There was a special connection for me to these gangly group of freshmen.

I love this team because they gave me a reason to cheer. They worked their butt off and showed us all what could be done when people come together with a common purpose and a willingness to work toward that end. They gave my 7 year old the same euphoric feeling I had as a 6 year old in 1982 watching my Dad's favorite college team bring home a national title. They came back (albeit mostly because of poor projected draft position) and came back on a mission. They brought joy to the Tarheel experience and proved that old Coach Roy could win with his own crew.

Honestly, I'm thankful that I got to pull for these guys and will always appreciate this ride from 2006-2009. I hope my son will get to experience a journey like this. And I get this will make me sound like an old fogey, but with the proliferation of early exits to the NBA, I'm not sure he will.

Thanks Tyler, Ty,Wayne, Bobby, Danny, Mike, Marcus, Deon, Coach Roy and crew. It's been amazing.

My Twitter Crew

2009-03-31T12:30:00.002-04:00

Get your twitter mosaic here.

These are the folks currently following me on Twitter. I'm thankful for the relationships that are forming and growing there. Do you use twitter? If so, hit me up @adamherod.

praying for change

2009-03-25T15:52:00.002-04:00

Life is not as stable as it used to be. A lot of friends and friends of friends are losing their jobs and there are less jobs to be had. You'd think I'd be praying for change to take place in our economy, but I'm not.

I'm praying for a change in the way people view themselves. I'm praying that the inability to depend on our cash or flash to sustain us will lead us to reevaluate our own independence. I'm praying that instability will lead us to Jesus. I'm praying that people will "fall on the stone & be broken" (Mt. 21:44) and realize their utter dependence on God to be the giver of all good things.

I'm going to start encouraging people in my sphere of influence to point people beyond their temporal turmoil and toward eternal truth. Paul said it this way:

"If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied." (1 Cor. 15:19)

We have a hope that transcends this life. A hope that is stable, dependable and unchanging.

It's funny really...the change we need is a someone who is always the same. Just another paradox and a reason to love and share the mystery and person of Jesus.

iPhone 3.0 Give Away

2009-03-24T22:00:00.002-04:00

For those of you iPhone preaks out there, this blog is giving away some upgrades to the 3.o OSX. Go check it out if you're interested!

http://www.singlegrain.com/blog/50-more-iphone-30-beta-giveaway/

If you don't know about the awesomeness of 3.0, you can check it out here:

http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/03/17/iphone-30-wrap-up-cut-and-paste-mms-push-and-more/

I'll be back with another post tomorrow afternoon.

John Piper on Never Let the Gospel Get Smaller

2009-03-20T13:33:00.003-04:00

I was challenged and inspired by Piper's post today. You can see the original link here, but here's the text:

Here is a simple exhortation that I have been trying to implement in our family:

Seek to see and feel the gospel as bigger as years go by rather than smaller.

Our temptation is to think that the gospel is for beginners and then we go on to greater things. But the real challenge is to see the gospel as the greatest thing—and getting greater all the time.

The Gospel gets bigger when, in your heart,

grace gets bigger;
Christ gets greater;
his death gets more wonderful;
his resurrection gets more astonishing;
the work of the Spirit gets mightier;
the power of the gospel gets more pervasive;
its global extent gets wider;
your own sin gets uglier;
the devil gets more evil;
the gospel's roots in eternity go deeper;
its connections with everything in the Bible and in the world get stronger;
and the magnitude of its celebration in eternity gets louder.

So keep this in mind: Never let the gospel get smaller in your heart.

Pray that it won’t. Read solid books on it. Sing about it. Tell someone about it who is ignorant or unsure about it.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel.... For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

I don't know about you, but these are all the things I want to see happen in my life. How's the Gospel becoming "bigger" to you?

Free Graphic Friday (courtesy of CreativeMYK)

2009-03-20T13:21:00.001-04:00

Here's the graphic we're using for this month's series:

I found this over at CreativeMYK

A BIG shout out to Jeff Boriss who designed this originally.

amazing faith

2009-03-19T10:58:00.002-04:00

As many of you know, some friends of a friend lost their 8-year old after his battle with Leukemia. His Dad posted something today that I felt was worth passing on. It's his honest prayer from the grave side of his son. I wept as I read it and hope that you will take the time to pray for this family today. Here's what Preston had to say:

Our Father Who Art In Heaven

Heavenly Father, I stand before you with an humbled heart. I know that I cannot hide my feelings from You and would not even try. I am glad You know my thoughts. I will not have to explain this note to You. My heart aches from missing the little one you entrusted to my care for a short while. I know he came home to you in good standing. I went to the grave today to sit on the bench and just listen to the birds chirping and feel the wind blowing across this land which you designed. I could not help but feel Your Holy presence as I just sat there with my wife. We wept before you as we talked over a closed tomb. We are assured that one day we will be allowed to enter your land of paradise. We await your return and beg a speedy one. We have some friends and family that are not ready to go just now. Please speak to their hearts and prepare them for the road ahead. We do not want them to be lost when You return. We have tried to be faithful yet our hearts ache. We have written the words as you gave them to us and many are blessed by them. I do not regret one word of it for it is the truth; but I must confess I am a bit jealous of You today. You have something I covet with my heart. Please forgive me if it is sin but I do not believe it is. I am honored that you allowed us a little time with one of Your most precious and valuable gifts. If You would not think it inappropriate, could you just give him a hug each morning and a kiss each night till I can be there to do it myself. You are The God of this universe and my creator and I mean no disrespect. I only speak from the hollow of my brokenness. Do not be slow to speak to me in days to come for I will harken thee. You have my attention O Lord. I will take rest upon your strength because mine is filthy. As we journey through this life help us in our sorrow till it becomes joy. We do solemnly vow praise to You for You are HOLY! Praise be to God in the highest!! Rejoice people! Rejoice and lift loud praises to a strong and mighty King! He will deliver us! Jesus Christ is Lord! Forever Live King Jesus! Amen

(original source: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/theclownfish)

back to basics

2009-03-18T13:31:00.005-04:00

There is a push in my life to get back to the basics of what really matters. A calling back to prayer. A calling back to family being priority. A calling back to the words of Jesus and how His character should shape my life and decisions. I heard that John Maxwell said that "Most Christians are educated far beyond their level of obedience." To say I've got a long way to go would be like saying Yao Ming is kind of tall.

What I do find is that when I'm willing to strip away everything I take security in outside of Him; God is waiting to rip down the walls and make my adventure with Him bigger. One of the ways I'm doing this is by reading the Gospels. I've joined with Pete Wilson on his 28 day journey through Matthew and trying to take the time to ask God what He really wants to do in my heart and life.

This process of trying to become more like Him always leads to a tug of war for my heart. Am I really willing to step away from all the things that pull me from Him? Am I really willing to die so He can live? Am I really ready to live life always preferring others? Do I really want to be like Jesus?

It's so easy to get caught up on the theories of how to do church. The right things to say. The right songs to sing and lose focus on the ultimate right in life:

To know Jesus. In the fellowship of His sufferings and the power of His resurrection.

Anyone else down for getting back to basics? How do you make sure your faith is still focused?

My Big Unleash Take-Away

2009-03-12T16:45:00.000-04:00

First off, NewSpring was AMAZING. Completely blown away by all I saw here today. I walked away with one burning though in my heart.

I need more passion for Jesus. Pure and simple.

His bride is a beautiful thing. God loves me beyond what I can imagine and sometimes it's easy to get comfortable with that fact. I pray that this one take away will continue to consume my heart until I'm more blazing for him than I've ever been.

Thanks @perrynoble, @tonymorgan, @shaneduffey, @mcdzl and crew for putting this on and opening your church to us.

Perry Noble--Last Unleash Session

2009-03-12T16:41:00.001-04:00

Perry Noble’s Last Unleash Session—Stay In The Game

• People say, I’m just being the devil’s advocate. “I wasn’t aware he needed a freaking advocate.” :-)
• Questions leaders need to wrestle with
o Who is with me? Exodus 33:12
• The average stay for a pastor is 22 month. Some of you are church hoppers.
• You can’t expect people to buy in to you until you buy in to them.
• Does your church know that you’re there?
• How do you get people to buy in to a vision? Tell them hell can’t take you away from there.
• Satan doesn’t want to split your church, he wants to split the staff. It starts with “I do as much as he does”.
• Your pastor goes through more spiritual warfare than you can imagine. At the end of the day he’s got to know who’s with him.
• Sheep don’t lead the shepherd. Pray for him. Encourage him. But at the end of the day he will be held accountable for what he does or doesn’t do.
• Does your pastor know you’ve got his back?
• You take it for granted if you think your pastor knows whether or not you have his back.
o Am I pleasing You? Exodus 33:13
• Perry got hit on in a bathroom and the Lord told him to invite him to church. (you should watch the video on this one)
• Are you a prophet or a prostitute?
• Do you bring God’s message or do you get paid to give people a service that makes them feel good?
• Do I understand that ministry is received, not achieved?
• We try and receive results when God wants us to receive results.
• We depend too much on our abilities and not enough on the anointing of God.
• God didn’t call us because we were all stars, but because He said “There’s a screw up I can get glory from”.
• God saw EVERY MISTAKE and STUPID THING you’d do before He called you.
• Am I placing limits on me that God didn’t place on me?
• What is the thing that keeps you up at night because people will think you’re crazy?
• You can do exactly what God has called you to do. Don’t dare limit yourself when the unlimited power of God lives in you.
o Will they see you? Exodus 33:14-17
• Are we providing the type of atmosphere where people can “kiss toilets” and leave feeling good about it?
• When the presence of God shows up it brings conviction and change.
• If no one is being changed we have to ask ourselves what kind of environment we’re creating.
• Do you want attendance or repentance? You can have attendance without repentance. Repentance will bring attendance, but we have to preach the Gospel and the truth of Jesus.
• The church is a body…if you close the back door to your body….well…
• When’s the last time as a leader you were desperate for God’s presence?
o What’s next? Exodus 33:18
• We’ve always asked God What’s Next?
• We ask because we don’t want to be a monument or a museum but continue to be a movement.
• We want more than anything else…”Show me Your glory.”
• There’s nothing awesome about NewSpring outside of the presence of God. Take that away and we suck…and you do too.
o What if…
• The pastor dedicated to the people and the people to the pastor
• Their single passion was the presence of God and asking Him what’s next?
• We were serious about changing the trend of people falling away from Christ
• I’m more serious about the church than I’ve ever been
• Men don’t play touch football.
• “I want the ball”
o You can only advance the ball when you have it.
o I don’t want to just encourage others to run the ball.
• I want the ball

Lee McDerment --Worship Breakout Session

2009-03-12T13:43:00.003-04:00

• Priority to you identity in Christ as a worship leader
o You are a child of God
o You are a minister to people, primarily the church.
o You are a musician and an artist
• As a child of God you are indispensable but as a minister you are completely expendable.
• He’s naming things that are greater to God than singing as a worship leader
o Loving your wife as Christ loves the church
o Tithing
• If you aren’t an example of Christ-like character, than we can’t call ourselves a worship leader.
• 4 things about child of God
o knowing God
• all spiritual disciplines need to be done at the request of the Holy Spirit; not because someone else did it that way.
• Ask the question…what does my face time with You need to look like?
o Sabbath/Community
• You can sustain long seasons of ministry if you keep your Sabbath
• Most of you would never think of murdering anyone, but the Sabbath command came before this one.
• Ask Jesus what your Sabbath should look like?
• Jesus spent the Sabbath in community?
• Creative people need community to help us not get off base
• 3 things about serving people
o Work under the authority structure of your church
• One of the great things that helped the sanctification process is doing songs that Perry put out there that weren’t cool.
• If you have a consistent problem with your pastor, you may have an authority problem with Jesus. Jesus wants to push us on submitting to him and will use leadership structure leaders to push our buttons.
• Say yes as often as you can, tell what it will take to do it and be proactive and solutions oriented
o Practice Communication
• Other than the pastor, you speak into the lives of people more than anyone else.
• It is worth your time to think and plan through what you’re going to say from the stage
• You’re there with a microphone…ask God for something!
• You give God more time to work on your heart for what he wants you to say
o Work Hard
• God calls…take steps
• Instant, complete and joyful obedience is the only obedience that pleases God
o 3 Things about being a Musicians
• record yourself and listen back…you have the most critical ear.
• Not listening to playback is like having food in your teeth…get a mirror and a toothpick
• Get to concerts
• You get to see professional musicianship
• You get to see crowd interaction
• You owe it to yourself to see U2
• Expand your vision
• Permission to know what pro really means
• Sing for the king
o Sometimes the big notes and solos need to happen
o Sometimes it’s ok to turn around and just sing for Jesus
o Exercise the craziness of your gift
o Ask God how He wants you to sound…(this is a WOW moment for me…been a long time that I’ve been told to chill)
o The best way to do this is to wait to show world class talent is to wait for a world class moment where people will be like holy crap…what’s going on?!?!?!
• The quiet moments are the most important/formative moments and the stage should be an outflow of that
• Don’t have any other gods before me…including worship ministry/artistry
• Build God’s kingdom and the rest will work itself out
• If a player has “his style” and isn’t willing to deviate from that, they might have bigger issues.
• Listen to playback of what you said and see if it was lucid
• There’s a difference between “that felt good” and “that was good”.
• They do EVERYTHING ON A CLICK
• If you can’t make rehearsal (Monday) you don’t play on Sunday…they base mix/video/everything off the recording they do that night
• Addressing character issues is as simple as knowing that worship isn’t about music, but about your lifestyle

Shane Duffey--Service Planning

2009-03-12T12:16:00.000-04:00

Shane Duffey Creative Arts Pastor @NewSpring

Service Planning:

• One meeting a week…4 Sundays ahead (would rather be 6 and would be cool if it’s 2)
• 1 hour per message
• Do mostly internal advertising…empowering their people to invite people.
• Getting ahead for them is all due to the senior pastor planning ahead.
• People don’t get saved from our creative works/activities. They get saved when the Word is spoken clearly and the Holy Spirit speaks to their heart.
• The rest is eye candy and they try and remove the eye candy.
• Excellence is “getting everything out of the way that obscures somebody’s ability to see Jesus”.
• Sundays @ NewSpring
o 6:15 band comes in
o 6:45 test sync of live video feed and video run
o 7:00 sound check
o 7:45 everyone involved walks through the production sheet (talk through ALL transitions)
o 7:55 countdown starts for a literal service run through 7:55-8:30
o 9:15 1st service starts
o Review after run through and 1st service and anything that doesn’t work gets dropped
• They teach artists to appreciate the process not the product.
• A.B.E..---always be evaluating
• Who has the final say on service elements?
o The speaker or Perry…the speaker has to be comfortable with the service elements to communicate it well.
o You have to be willing to push back both ways, but the speaker has final say.
• Announcements?
o Currently doing video announcements
o The make sure a person comes on stage and welcomes people and makes sure new people know they’re welcome
o They take the offering before worship and during the message and they teach about why they give. (it is worship…scripture 2-3 minute teaching on giving)
• They do communion twice a year and make communion the service. Very gospel focused services.
• When you work with your senior pastor you have to humbly help him understand how planning ahead helps everyone, including him.
o Have conversations about how planning ahead will help us make sure everything lines up
o The further out a pastor gets, the more fluid it can become
o Being well prepared allows to make last minute adjustments more easily.
o If you get your pastor to plan ahead and you don’t get ahead and change the way you do things, he’s a fool to not go back to the way he was doing things.
• They record practices for lighting cues and volunteer directors so the camera guys can be prepped. (WOW!)
• NewSpring has a core group of 5 people and invites other people (staff and otherwise) based on their connection to the content.
• They get an outline ahead of time to come into the meetings with ideas.
• Worship leaders get together and pick sets and cover songs. 90% is done by them and open to suggestions to changes.
• Service Format (default)
o Performance Song
o Video Announcemenct
o Worship Set---3 Songs
o Offering
o Video Roll In
o Perry Speaks
o Maybe a song before invitation
o Perry (or speaker) dismisses with “thanks for being here see you next week”
• Invitation normally happens with a just the keyboard player
• They practice the 6 and 1 principle of the Sabbath.
• If your ministry gets in the way of your relationship, or if your work gets in the way of your Sabbath, you’ve lost.
• If people aren’t on time, make what happens at the beginning the biggest thing.
• Don’t let people steal your joy because of the participation or lack therof.

Perry Noble---Unleash Section 1

2009-03-12T10:36:00.000-04:00

Perry Noble on 2 Kings 7

• Instead of asking Him to build His church, we’ve asked Him to build our church
• It (the church) does not belong to anyone. (elders/deacons) It belongs to Him.
• Getting back to the church we need to wrestle with 3 questions
o Are we willing to embrace change?
• “If you think your poop doesn’t stink. God can’t use you.”
• “Why sit here until we die?”
• I believe every church in America is one or two changes away from doubling in size.
• Churches have been declining in size for the last 30 years. If it was our money, we would do something about it.
• If we reacted to the church as strongly as we reacted to the stock market we would see change.
• If you could do it like you’ve always done it, then He wouldn’t need to speak to us.
• Everyone ca look at other churches and see where they need to change, but can you look at your church and see where it needs to change.
• After being in a church for 5-10 years God asks us to change what we once thought was a good idea.
• We have several people who would give their lives for the grandchildren to see them come to Christ but would not be willing to change their style of music.
• Perry gets his idea that the church should change from the book of Acts. That makes this charismatic dude happy. ;-)
• Thomas taught a skeptics class in the early church.
• Peter taught a class on how to cuss and still be a Christian. Perry teaches that class at NewSpring.
• If what’s going on in your church is manageable it’s not a move of God. Moves of God can not be planned or managed.
• A move of God is messy and if you don’t want messy you don’t want a move of God.
• “NewSpring is the church where sinners go. “They’re all on staff.”
• 4 year old kid said to his parents…”I want to go back to the damn church.” Perry told the parents. “That’s passion. They hired him on the spot.”
• If you’re trying to tell people who can and can’t come to your church, you’re telling God He can’t show up.
• People will leave if we teach on giving. “Just the people who aren’t giving.” :-)
• Perry remembers counting money in the closet of the Fine Arts building at Anderson College.
• He would call people who missed and ask if they wanted to double up on their tithes before he asked if they were sick.
• If it’s God’s will, it’s His bill.
• If you’re a pastor and want to see your church take off, you need to be less involved in the day to day of your church.
• A pastor’s job as related to youth ministry is to fund it.
• We take better care of our senior adults then our money.
• People ask why they have youth. “We spend money on them. Everyone else is.”
• We’ve got to get out of the business of competing with one another and get in the business of completing each other.
• Question 2
o Are we willing to work?
• Our attitude should be that we’re willing to do whatever He asks us to.
• Instead of asking for permission we should place ourselves in submission.
• Working in a church
o Investigate the obvious
• Is there anything going on in your church that you wouldn’t want be a part of if you weren’t getting paid? Is there anything that you’re manufacturing energy for?
• Is there any staff member or volunteer that isn’t getting it done? Sometimes God calls us to hurt people’s feelings. “Brood of vipers.”
• Do you have anyone on stage that can’t sing?
• Have a group of people around you that will keep it real.
o Ignore the jackass
• In the greek jackass is translated “blogger”
• 2 types of jackasses
• the person that takes shots at you without ever attending your church. God calls his church to be above the fray and not to be intimidated by the “jackasses”
• when a move of God is bringing people to Christ who would rather attack it, God or Satan?
• The 2nd jackass is the person who always wants to go “deeper”. “Your only as deep the last person you served.”
• We want more worship. You have 6 other days.
• John Maxwell…”Christians are educated beyond the level of obedience”
• Question 3
o Are we willing to reach the world?
o Overplayed terms
• Contemporary—our pastor wears a sweater vest and we sing songs that makes Him seem like he buys
• Blended—no one in our church possesses a set and will declare where we stand. In an effort to keep everyone happy we reach no one.
• Missional—it’s like a fish saying “I like water. I like water.” We should be missional. Definition---nobody showing up.
• Emergent—we’re a bunch of spoiled church kids who have a problem with authority; included the authority of scripture. We’ve sided with Satan by questioning the word of God and hell will be more crowded because of it.

• Jesus didn’t die so we could form holy huddles in a church to discuss terms while the world around us is dying and going to hell.
• God didn’t call the church to condemn the city, He called us to save our cities.
• “The reason I’m obsessed with numbers because I was one of the numbers.”
• It’s amazing how the church will trust the Holy Spirit for salvation, but not after salvation.

k.i.s.s.ing a men's advance

2009-03-06T11:40:00.004-05:00

A part of me always wants to bring something new and exciting to the table. I'm always wanting to be fresh and current. But the thought hit me today that sometimes I don't need to change the world. I just need to create environments where people can connect to God in worship. And sometimes that means using the K.I.S.S. method.

Here's what brought this home for me today. I'm heading back to VA this afternoon to lead worship at their annual Men's Advance. I am co-leading with my friend Matt Ruckel who took over when I left. Matt and I chose the sets for the weekend and chose songs everyone knows. Familiar. Easy. Simple.

Besides, I'm really not there to impress anyone with my gifts, right? I'm supposed to be there to impress on them the greatness of God. So I'm content this weekend to go in and do older songs and try and provide worship that's like a pair of old, comfy slippers.

Free Graphic Friday

2009-03-06T10:18:00.003-05:00

Here's this week's sermon graphic. Is this something I should continue? Not sure if it's helpful to anyone....

Anyway, I threw this one together yesterday afternoon with another HT to SXC. Feel free to use and pass along.

step 1 in 2.0

2009-03-05T15:17:00.003-05:00

I'm trying out Intense Debate to manage my comments from this point forward. While I will be moving to wordpress soon, this is the first step in stepping it up on the blogosphere for me. It's a fun way to keep track of all of your comments in one spot. You can also add video, youtube videos, smileys and polls to your comments. Good stuff.

Click on the comment line and leave a comment and help me test this out.

Thanks.

how do i reach people who aren't "cool"?

2009-03-05T11:20:00.003-05:00

I love twitter and facebook. I really dig the idea that I can connect to other folks around the country/planet and get to know them. I've shared phone conversations/coffee/lunch/hang out time/halo/iChat/tokbox with people I either a) wouldn't met otherwise or b) lost touch with, all because of the new and beautiful world of social networking.

But, some (if not most) of the people I'm called to serve in the local church setting don't get it.

There's even some that don't like it.

Think it's a waste of time.

Not interested in connecting over facebook/email/twitter.

Folks that in my social networking world wouldn't be "cool".

People who are just as much in need of life change and someone to love them where they are as all my connected friends. People who need friends and go about sharing life in a totally different way than I do.

I really would love it if everyone was like me and communicated and shared life in the same way. But then again, wouldn't that make life boring? :-)

I'm trying to figure this out because, at the end of the day, what matters to me is seeing people connected to and embraced by a God who loves them whether they're "plugged in" or not.

How do you connect with "offline people"? You can talk about them freely because they'll never read this anyway. ;-)

U2 for $3.99 and Other Linky Goodness

2009-03-03T11:55:00.004-05:00

U2's new album (which I'm enjoying right now) is available; today only; for $3.99. You can find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001S6HZTE/ref=dm_ty_alb

I thought I'd include some things that I've been reading recently.

5 Things Churches Must Learn to Survive a post about how we interact with institutions has changed and what the church can learn from that.

The Biggest Sin in Your Church A post from Ed Stetzer (who is quickly becoming one of my favorite guys) about the sin of "the lack of obedience". Great read.

Two Reviews on Tony Morgan's "Killing Cockroaches" book. One practical review and one that made me laugh.

Andy Stanley on Communication 'nuff said.

A Global Translation Tool in REAL TIME in Chat A-MA-ZING

Take Some Risks A post by Craig Groeshcel about transparency in leadership.

That should keep you busy. ;-)

What are you reading right now that's impacting your world?

Free Graphic Friday: Faith Walk

2009-02-27T11:27:00.002-05:00

HT to http://sxc.hu again for the pic that served as the base for this graphic. This is the graphic we'll be using this weekend:

Enjoy and feel free to use, or point out all the stuff that's wrong with it. ;-)

If you're looking for design inspiration, here's some sites I use.

http://vecteezy.com
http://dafont.com
http://sxc.hu
http://istockphoto.com (pay site)
http://morguefile.com

And here's one of the BEST posts I've seen about church graphic resources:

http://churchrelevance.com/free-church-graphics-and-resources-toolbox/

What do you use for inspiration?

We Will---Global Impact Celebration @ Manna Church

2009-02-25T08:45:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite churches recently used "We Will" as the theme for their Global Impact Celebrations. These guys are really doing it. I'm so humbled to have played a part in the life of their church through this song.

Here's the graphic they used:

I went down there last Wednesday and played sax for their set for the opening of their celebration. It was amazing to hear a church full of people singing the words of a song that I wrote. It was even crazier to see "We Will" on every piece of print that they handed out. Just insane for me to see that.

I just want to say thanks to their pastor, Michael Fletcher. Thanks for your heart for Him and for seeing the world changed by Him and for allowing this song to become a part of the worship culture at Manna.

Thanks Wayne for introducing it to them!

You can hear Pastor Fletcher's message to conclude their Global Impact Celebration here:

http://mannachurch.com/pages/sermons.html

It's the Feb. 22nd sermon titled...you guessed it; We Will.

Thanks for rejoicing with me in this moment.

A Prayer of Likability

2009-02-22T16:13:00.003-05:00

Someone called me the other day and said they "needed everyone to like me". That could be the most difficult job description I've ever heard. With that in mind, let's say a short prayer.

"Heavenly Father, please let them love blue jeans and tennis shoes.

Help them enjoy a ranging variety of music and styles.

May they always appreciate quick wit and sarcasm.

And help them to love an overweight, balding guy who's still trying to hold on to being cool.

In Jesus' name.

Amen."

What would you pray in your prayer of likability? (now's also the time when all my friends comment and tell me what I missed in mine)

Free Graphic Friday

2009-02-20T12:43:00.005-05:00

So, I'm not sure if this will be a regular thing, but I thought it would be cool to post the graphic I'm working on for our services. I'm using LIMITED software and not doing a whole lot, so please go easy on me. This week is "Beyond Hope". Here's what I came up with:

HT to http://sxc.hu

A great place to get royalty free hi-res images. Enjoy and feel free to use if needed.

Never Say Always

2009-02-17T11:11:00.003-05:00

I had two conversations this weekend that left me with this impression:

Just because we've always done it one way, doesn't mean we should never try another way.

It's easy to get set in traditions. We experience something great that feels right and over time we settle into routine. Routine becomes ritual and, if we're not careful, we can let sacred moments become sacred cows.

Which leads me to this. In addition to "never say never", should we add "never say always" to our lexicon? I know there are things that are constant. But when it comes to our mode of communication or our format of service, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to drop the word always.

I'm a firm believer that God is, has been and will always be a creator. With that in mind, I'm never saying always again. Oh wait, I can't say never either. :-)

What do you think?

Here I Am to Romance

2009-02-15T12:52:00.002-05:00

So...we remixed "Here I Am to Worship" to "Here I Am to Romance" this weekend. Our Sr. High leader took his wife out on a special date to serenade her. Without further adieu, here's what went down. Enjoy!

Me vs. the Love Chapter

2009-02-14T14:08:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting here on Valentine's day thinking about love. Not just like I love cheeseburgers love, but 1st Corinthians 13 love.

Running through a mental checklist and thinking about how it would look if it was biographical. Here's what I think it would look like.

Love is patient (most of the time)

Love is kind (as long as it's reciprocated)

Love doesn't envy (unless you have something I want)

Love doesn't boast (except when trash talk is neccessary)

And on and on it goes.

I'm trying to love the right way. Thanks to 1st Cor. 13 I know just how far I have to go.

Thinking Through 2.0

2009-02-12T15:45:00.002-05:00

So...This guy has had me thinking a LOT about my blog. The way it looks/feels the purpose of it. Pretty much anything to do with my blog, I've thought about. So...with that said I'm praying/planning for a move for the blog to 2.0. What's involved?

redesign
move to wordpress
intense debate for comments
basically an upgrade in every way

I'm still thinking about the best way to make it happen and I'm open to other's thoughts. (isn't that what this world is about?)

What would you like to see or recommend for blog 2.0?

Prayer in the Front Seat

2009-02-05T18:25:00.006-05:00

I'm coming to the conclusion that there are some things only prayer can fix. You'd think being a worship pastor, I'd already be rolling with that knowledge. But, if I'm honest, I try to fix a lot of things from my small reservoir of knowledge and personal leadership skills.

It hit me like a ton of bricks this week. I really felt like the Lord was telling me; "this next season of your life is going to require prayer over everything else".

I read something Anne Jackson (@flowerdust) said today. "Doing for God isn't the same as being with God". That totally reinforced this view of the preeminent role prayer needs to play in my life as a leader.

Sometimes it's so easy to do and hard to pray.

Sometimes I want to run with the ball before I know the play.

But there comes a time when all I need to do is wait.

It's time to put prayer in the front seat. If anybody needs me; I'll be buckled up in the back loving every minute of it.

Amazing New Tool

2009-02-04T16:22:00.002-05:00

http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2009/02/04/translation-tool-makes-global-a-reality/

You need to check out this new chat with live translation. Very cool stuff.

Thanks LifeChurch.tv for making the Kingdom better connected.

The First Miracle I Ever Saw

2009-01-28T15:46:00.003-05:00

I shared with our team last night the first miracle I ever saw. It is the thing that I continue to go back to whenever my heart is filled with doubt or fear. It dawned on me that I've never shared it here, so here goes.

I was 10 when my Dad broke his femur bone playing basketball. He was in traction for 6 weeks and it wasn't pretty. I was there when it happened.

One Wednesday night after he came home he was in front of our congregation leading what we termed "song service" then. My Mom walked up and said she felt like they should walk together.

So there's Mom and Dad. Walking across the front. Dad barely limping along with his cane.

Everyone was praying. So I bowed my head and said these words...

"If you're going to heal my Dad, I want to see him run."

So I looked up. Dad dropped his cane. And he RAN like the wind.

It's one of the many reasons why I'm passionate about seeing people connect to the presence of God. Once you experience it and see Him change an impossible situation you can't go back from that moment.

There's no explaining away what happened that day. It was and is miraculous.

Do you have a "miracle moment"?

Leave it here or email me at herodad42 at gmail.

Focus

2009-01-27T11:23:00.005-05:00

I'm meeting with our worship team tonight for some pizza and fellowship. Part of our conversation is going to be about our focus.

It's easy to focus on musical/technical execution.

It's easier still to just focus on doing your job well.

It's easy to make worship about the part you play.

But worship isn't about us.

Worship is about Him. His pleasure. His praise. Celebrating His promise.

As a worshiping community, my highest aspiration for us is that we would be worshipers. I'm hoping everything we do in the "artistic" life of our church reflects that hope.

How do you keep your focus where it should be?

A Kidnapping and God's Faithfulness

2009-01-22T15:55:00.004-05:00

I got a call on Sunday from a friend asking for prayer for a missionary. "Ezekiel" is a pastor in Africa. On Friday his wife called and said his 8 year old son wasn't there when she went to pick him up from school. Ezekiel hadn't seen him either. A couple of hours later they received a ransom note.

Someone had their son and wanted 1 million dollars (about 14K US$) for his safe return. Needless to say, Ezekiel doesn't have a million dollars laying around. They contacted him later and lowered the ransom to the equivalent of $4,700.

Ezekiel came up with $1,700 and called for prayer. As a network of believers began to pray, Ezekiel felt led to contact the kidnappers. He told a friend that he couldn't pay them off because it would "open the door for other pastors to possibly have their children taken". He contacted his sons captors and told them: "I'm not giving you any money and I want my son back. You're not dealing with me. You're dealing with God."

He sent his wife and younger child to another village to protect them and prayed. On Monday the Holy Spirit directed him to a certain part of town to look. Ezekiel obeyed.

Ezekiel found his son and took him home.

God is real and God is good.

Difference Maker

2009-01-19T16:32:00.000-05:00

We had a good set of services this weekend. But instead of giving you all my thoughts from that, I'd just like to say happy MLK day! I hope you enjoy this day of celebrating the life of a man determined to make a difference.

What things in your world are you determined to make a difference in? Be inspired today!

Gathering Knowledge vs. Gaining Wisdom

2009-01-16T10:27:00.003-05:00

I had this thought last night that I might have spent a lot of my time gathering knowledge without gaining wisdom. Once Tony Evans said that "wisdom is putting feet to your what you know".

How many times have I read a great book and not implemented what I learned?

How many times have I had an amazing conversation with another leader only to walk away and stay basically the same?

How many times have I read a passage of Scripture or devo and not put feet to it?

How many times has the Lord revealed Himself to me and I've left unchanged?

I have a large appetite (no fat jokes...this time) to read, connect and grow. In this new year I need my life to be about gaining wisdom not gathering knowledge. I'm endeavoring to live the words of James 1:22

"Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself. Do what it says"

And all God's people said...amen.

Ouch

2009-01-14T14:58:00.001-05:00

Just saw this from Leonard Sweet.

"Even Christians are so much better at wearing crosses than bearing crosses."

How true. How painfully true.

How can we encourage each other to live lives that are cross bearing instead of cross wearing?

Weekend Recap

2009-01-12T09:45:00.003-05:00

I just realized that I've not done a post since my last weekend recap. Sorry about that. It's been a crazy week learning the ropes at a new church, new area and all that fun stuff. Anyway...I'll get back on the ball.

With that said...here's my thoughts on the weekend.

Worship Set:

Meet With Me
Holy is the Lord
How Great is Our God/How Great Thou Art
Response: Take My Life

Random Thoughts:

Brian Worley (our Jr. High Pastor) ROCKED his sharing time about being "Uniquely Crafted" while delicately handling his wife's cool pottery. I'll admit I prayed for him every time he picked up those pieces.
The line of the day that made me smile: "I knew you were going to be a good worship leader when I saw your kicks."
Saturday night service was GREAT! Big adjustment for me leading on Saturday, but there was a real sense of worship that night.
Lots of fun being interviewed by Sass. Almost got out of hand with the joking in the 11, but fun none the less.
Mercy caught some stomach thing. I'm trying to figure out a way to blame this on our Senior Teaching Pastor who was out with a stomach thing as well.
The worship team, from the booth to the stage, are all working really hard. It is noted and appreciated!
My man Les said that he was "completely drained" after the 9:15. I LOVE passionate worship leading that leaves us on empty when we're done.
They threw up a graphic in the 9:15 that I'll probably try and tweak some this week. (but we're getting there)

Going to be a great service next week continuing to talk about being "Uniquely Crafted" and how our passions are given to us by God. Bring a friend that is passionate about things other than Jesus right now and let's see their heart change to pursuing something deeper!

Weekend Recap

2009-01-05T14:53:00.003-05:00

Here's a little recap of what went down this weekend in my world.

Worship Set:

Beautiful One
Friend of God
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
Communion
Forevermore

Random thoughts:

It was my first Sunday in a new place so that was a little nerve wracking, but God was faithful. Kept the worship set simple and singable.
No drummer for 2 of 3 services. I would've normally been a little bugged by this, but everything felt like the glass was half full for me. The band reacted well and I think we were still able to carry enough energy.
Great response from the congregation after the services. Seems like everyone is ready to jump into what God wants to do next in worship here at Grace.
I'm definitely a bit of a switch from the norm, but the worship team (band/vocals/AV) all reacted well even when I went off the script.
I really enjoyed getting to lead the people of Grace in worshiping our great God together. (we even had a few clappers in the 11 service)

I think God has brought me to a "weighty" and "challenging" season, but I'm looking forward to tackling this season with my new church family and seeing us become who it is He is calling us to be!

A New Day: late night thoughts

2009-01-03T04:36:00.003-05:00

So I'm up late tonight. Praying about this new leg of my journey. Praying for the people God has called me to serve and lead. Listening to some worship music and reading some Psalms.

Just trying to wrap my mind around all He is doing in this new season. I think the weight of this new assignment is hitting me tonight. (ok. it's actually morning)

One thing I know. I'm not doing this alone. Someone gave my Mom Proverbs 4:12 which talks about wisdom guiding us in unhindered steps.

This is not the time for me to try and do things on my own. I am determined to be obedient to Him and accomplish His vision in the new year.

The only way I can do that is by getting Adam out of the way and trusting "Him who has begun a good work" to finish it.

So, as you think about the be year, what big things has He placed in your heart that you can't do without Him? Let's dream together.

It's Getting a Little Crazy

2008-12-26T23:01:00.006-05:00

So. I'm moving my family in 5 days to a new state. A new city. A new church.

It's always an adventure when we start something new together. This will be Mercy and Judah's first real shot at trying it out. They are 5 and 7 and this is the first move we've made that has hit them. They've been real troopers and have been looking for the positive almost all the time. That's not to say it's been easy. When their peers prayed for them in kid's church:

There were tears shed. By all of us.

One thing I love about transition with Misty and my family is that it pulls us tighter together. It's almost like we know we need to lock it up tight. Knowing that we've been blessed with each other is an amazing feeling and I'm never more aware of how blessed I am then in these times of transition or difficulty.

Our friends have gone beyond any of my expectations to show us how much they love us and Misty has been working like mad to get us ready. She is the rock in my world. I don't tell her I love her enough.

As we've traveled across NC (which is where we're moving back to) the anticipation and anxiety of the move has grown. The reality is settling in.

I'll be leading a whole new set of people in worship next Sunday. They've never seen me lead before. The thoughts are racing through my head.

What if they don't like me?
I can't wait to grow with them and watch them grow.
I'm pumped about where God is going to take us.
I am stoked about the team I'm going to be leading with.
Is Judah's school going to be as great as we think it is?
Will Mercy and Judah find new friends easily?

In short (or not really short) life is just that side of crazy right now. We'd appreciate your prayers and, if you're in the Raleigh area, hit us up when we move down. We're trusting God for great friendships there!

I know this post is a little less efficient and pretty than some of my others, but one of my friends asked me to keep this blog a little more "real" this year. We'll see how that pans out.

btw...I'll be leading worship here in the new year. Drop by if you're around.

10 Things I'm Looking Forward To

2008-12-10T13:37:00.002-05:00

As most of you know, my family and I are moving to Raleigh in the new year. We're going to be part of a great church there. (Grace Community Church) This move is also going to put us in between our two families. With my Mom going through non-hodgkins follicular lymphoma this going to be a HUGE blessing.

I made a top 10 list of things I was going to miss about where I am, so I thought I'd pull a Fox News and give equal opportunity to the other stuff going on in my head. So without further adieu, here's my top 10 list of things I'm looking forward to.

10. Opportunities to deepen our faith with another family of believers
9. The chance to make an impact in North Raleigh with a church that is discovering who she is
8. Working with the worship team and musical folks @ Grace Community
7. Cook Out and Bojangles
6. Being closer to old friends
5. Developing new friendships
4. Tarheel Tickets (hint hint)
3. Working with the Staff and Leadership of Grace Community (can't wait to grow together)
2. Being closer to family.
1. Seeing Grace become a place known for being "without walls" and marked by authentic worship, life change, evangelism and discipleship.

10 Things I'm Going to Miss

2008-12-08T13:55:00.005-05:00

I've only got two weeks or so left with my Greenbrier church family and I'm thinking about all the things I'm going to miss. (don't worry Grace Community...I've got things I'm looking forward to as well) Here's my top 10 list. I'm sure I'll forget something.

10. Lunch at Warrior Grill/Bangkok Garden/Kyoto/Famous Uncle Al's
9. Walking to work
8. Church at the Beach (my favorite service every year)
7. Our pastoral and staff team
6. POWERKIDS
5. All my worship teams
4. Consuming, Spirit-filled worship times with our church family
3. All the people who've helped me and my family grow
2. inROUTE peeps
1. Deep friendships (thank God for online networking)

This could be the single most depressing post I've written. I'd just like for all my Greenbrier family to know that my entire family appreciates and loves you all very much. You've been formative in our walk with Christ and I know God has great things in store for you. Thanks for your continued prayers and investment in us. You've likely meant more to us than you know.

The Cat's Out of the Bag

2008-12-03T16:46:00.003-05:00

So...the cat's out of the bag. My family and I are moving. I'll post some more stuff later, but the long and short of it is that Misty and I believe that God is calling us to be closer to our family. I'd like to go deeper into all the things that led us here, but I'm going to wait until it's all hindsight. Things are always clearer then. My Mom is going through her third round of chemo and Misty's Dad isn't exactly the picture of health. All those things combined with prayer and counsel from wise friends has led us to this place.

In His providence, He's also led us to a cool church (and a great team) that has been in the middle of some transition and is giving us an opportunity to love, lead and grow with Grace Community in Raleigh, NC. We're very sad to be leaving a place we love and friends we treasure, but are also excited about the days ahead. Sometime next week I'm going to post the 10 things I'll miss about here and the 10 things I'm looking forward to.

If you see me or my wife over the next couple of weeks, give us a hug; we'll need it. More details to come. In the meantime, what are your best tips for making a move successful? (especially where young kids are involved)

It's That Time

2008-11-26T12:19:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again. Time for worship leaders to bring their best "thankfulness" set and for pastors to preach their best "thankful" sermons. Sometimes it can be boring to fall into the same old routine. Truth is; I love this time of year. Not because people focus more on being thankful, but because this season begins to focus us on the One that every good gift comes from. Because leaves fall and I'm reminded that this season, whatever it is, isn't my end. That sometimes things have to die to become beautiful again. And that cold times are best spent with warm people.

I love that my family gets together. That friends get closer. Presents come more often and parties are the norm. I relish the hugs that others give that they might normally hold out on. I cherish seeing children marvel at the spectacle of it all. Most of all, I revel in Jesus who gives us a reason to celebrate and a season to treasure.

What do you love about this season?

A Letter to Church Members from Ragamuffin Soul

2008-11-20T16:29:00.003-05:00

Great stuff from 'Los Whitaker over at his blog today. Check it out.

Dear Church Member,

(This is not written to anyone in particular. Rather to every church member of every church out there)

You may like the way your worship leader sings.
You may like the way your worship leader looks.
You may like what your worship leader says.
You may like the songs your worship leader writes.
All that is dandy.
It is actually great to feel those nice, pretty things.
But it is not about you.
It is not about your likes, needs, and comfort at all.
The reason they stand before you is to lead you to a place of unabandoned worship in your Savior.
The reason they stand before you is to display to you a lifestyle of worship that God has called you and them into.
The reason they stand before you is to CHALLENGE you that your level of praise to God Almighty should take a step up.
The reason they stand before you is because God Himself, has called them, TO LEAD YOU in worship.
This means that you need leading.
So stop staring at them, and start following them.

Get The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus to lead worship at your church if you’re in it for kicks and giggles.
But if you are in it to be led…
Swallow your pride and follow your leader.
Los

Dear Church Member from Ragamuffin Soul

$5 for 2 Pairs of Shoes

2008-11-10T15:43:00.003-05:00

Hey everybody. Join me in making a difference this season. One of the bloggers I enjoy, Anne Jackson, is joining forces with Soles4Souls to bring 50000 pairs of shoes in 50 days to people who need shoes. It is just $5 for 2 pairs of shoes. I just donated and it could not have been any easier! Spread the word! You can go to the site by clicking on the banner below. Our Pastor gave a challenging sermon yesterday about making investments in the health and eternal destiny of others and I was glad to see this happening today. Let's use the power of our social networks to exceed their goal! Now go clean out your car and turn that change into change! (I know that was hokey, but it felt good at the time)

Being Like the Holy Spirit

2008-11-06T11:19:00.006-05:00

I hate it when God throws the gauntlet down on me. I was reading Jesus' words this morning on the work of the Holy Spirit and came across this challenging passage.

"Oh, there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting His own ideas; He will be telling you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future." (John 16:12 & 13 NLT)

So, here's the BIG challenge for me out of that. If I'm truly being led by the Spirit then should I "not be presenting my ideas" but "telling what I've heard"? Should I hide myself in prayer until I have clarity about the "future" God has for those He's called me to lead and walk beside?

What a challenge and a call to prayer. How do you play out the call to lead with clarity? How do you "not present your own ideas" and present "what you've heard"?

Consider the gauntlet thrown.

My First Mobile Post

2008-11-04T13:52:00.001-05:00

Today is my first post on the iPhone. I thought I would try this out and see how it works for blogging.

Today is a BIG day for our Country. Hope everyone is going out to vote today. Throw up a prayer for our Country and one for my family as well. We just found that my Mom is going to have to go through with the stem cell transplant and would appreciate your prayers for that.

Did you vote today?

Beyond the Set

2008-10-29T12:09:00.003-04:00

I have the blessing of leading multiple groups of worship teams in our church. I thought I'd share here what we're talking about this week.

I was praying for you guys and our teams this morning and thought it might be good for us to discuss life “beyond the set”. It’s oversimplifying things to think that our sole function as worship leaders and leaders of teams is to create and execute good worship sets. One of the mandates on Greenbrier is the desire to pour into the lives of others. I certainly don’t belittle the work of putting a set together, rehearsing a team and leading people in worship. But, there is another aspect to what we do in the way that we invest in the lives of people on our team.

I’m not just talking about a top down, “the leader sure cares about us”, kind of vibe but a familial feel on our teams that communicates that we are here for each other “beyond the set”. It is so very easy to get into execution mode, but let me give a real world example. How can we best equip our CrosStone (Jr. High) students as worshippers moving forward in their lives...

a) by teaching them the value of rehearsal, excellence, musical passion and exemplary worship enthusiasm?

or

b) by teaching them the value of transparent, real relationships that allow us all to learn and grow from each other and focus our lives on others?

I think both are important, but ultimately who a person is matters much more than what they do. I view our worship teams as another avenue for discipleship and growth in the lives of the people that choose to be a part of worship here. It’s more than a set list. More than a musical experience. More than an exercise in creativity. Worship here should and will go “beyond the set”. Because, ultimately, worship is about more than a musical expression but about a life lived in obedience to Him and committed to seeing His purpose accomplished in the lives of those He places around us. How do you play out worship “beyond the set” with your teams and where can we improve?

I'd love to hear your thoughts as well.

Responding to God in Worship

2008-10-21T16:00:00.003-04:00

I got a question from a friend about being asked to speak on "Responding to God in Worship". I thought I'd share my response here. I told him that I would start with:

a) we respond to God through worship because it is our created purpose
b) worship is not a narrow window involving music in corporate gatherings, although good, there is a greater purpose in worship
c) worship is ultimately what pleases God most; and obedience is what He enjoys that more than anything else we can bring

Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.(1 Samuel 15:22)
Old Testament worship including offering and sacrifices. God makes it clear here that He truly delights in obedience.

d) with obedience as the chief criteria for worship, then everything we do, (work, fun, music, worship as we normally define it, reaching out to someone in need, sharing Jesus, resisting temptation) can fall under the umbrella of worship

What would you say to someone on the topic of response to God in worship?

Killing the Elephant in the Room

2008-10-15T15:09:00.005-04:00

Over the last few weeks I've been forced to have some really transparent conversations with several people. You could say I've killed a few elephants. It's not been my favorite thing to do. When it comes to stuff about me, I'm really an open book. In many ways I'm way too transparent of a guy. But when it comes to "speaking the truth in love" with others (especially when that truth involves difficult topics) I would rather love and cover than reveal and confront.
*Disclaimer: I always love and cover people in front of others. I'm speaking about revealing and confronting directly with the person(s) involved.*

One of the challenges of being a leader in the church environment is our mandate to help others see real life change and create an environment of family. It is easy (and some people prefer) to just let things shake out however they shake out. Allowing things to just go under the radar and never addressing hindrances to true and honest relationships. What's been amazing is that I'm finding that the more willing I've been to just get things out in the open the easier it is to move on and see improvement.

The Bible says "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17) This verse speaks a few things to me.

God puts us in relationships with others so we can sharpen each other.
If you're going to get sharper, sometimes sparks have to fly.
There's two ways to stay dull. Avoid relationships altogether or never let relationships get past the place of clashing.

God allows us to be family so we can help each other grow. I believe that requires us to create an environment of transparency and acceptance that enables true relationships that reach beneath the surface. Most relationships aren't big enough for elephants to live in. I've been encouraged to go to others and confess my frustrations and/or mistakes, confirm my love for them and, in some cases, just agree to drop the past and choose to move forward.

What conversation have you been avoiding that is stopping your relationships from going deep? Who's the person you need to "reset" your relationship with and green light them to speak into your world?

Love Somebody

2008-10-08T17:22:00.004-04:00

I was encouraged this week by what it really means to love somebody. To really share life with them beyond the task in front of us. I shared with our worship team leaders that we should all take the time to let people know we care. When we show somebody that we love them for who they are, not what they provide, we communicate at least three things.

We tell them they are on our heart.
We tell them they are a person, not an asset.
We build relational capital which builds our influence in their world.

How do you show people on your team you care about them?

Through His Eyes

2008-10-01T11:02:00.003-04:00

“How I rejoice in God my Savior! For He took notice of His lowly servant girl, and now generation after generation will call me blessed.” (Mary speaking in Luke 1:47-48)

The iWorship Devotional Bible had this to say about this passage. ”All along, God has had a way of using ordinary people in extraordinary ways to further His plans. Paul commented to one early congregation “Few of you were wise in the world’s eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you.” (1 Corinthians 1:26) And ever since, the church has advanced largely through the work of humble folk.”

I’ve always thought that one of the reasons that God uses “humble folk” to do His work is the simple truth that He says “ I am the Lord. That is My Name; and My glory I will not give to another..." (Isaiah 42:8) I remember asking the Lord once why He used me for a certain thing instead of other more prominent, talented people and He spoke to me; “You know you don’t deserve it.” God is looking for people of humility who desperately want to be used by Him, for Him and to His ultimate glory. It is our goal as worship leaders to see Him glorified in every way and facet of life.

I know that God certainly chose someone who was not “wise, powerful or wealthy” when choosing me to be a worship pastor and to write songs for His church. He looked beyond the surface of who I was and saw His destiny and calling in me. He still does today. The realization of this truth has challenged me, and I want to challenge you, to look beyond the surface of the people we serve with and see the greatness that God sees. I would encourage us all to take a look at our teams (worship or otherwise) this week in a new light. Who is the next servant leader God is raising up. How can we invest in them the way He invested in us? How can we be agents of change in their lives and help them see themselves as a part of God’s greater plan? How do we see them “through His eyes”?

Here's to Being a Little Crazy

2008-09-25T10:16:00.003-04:00

I just saw this video from Apple on another blog. It talks about changing the world. Sometimes when God gives you big ideas everyone looks at you like you are crazy. I've had some of those crazy looks over my time in telling people the visions and passions of my heart. It can be discouraging and disheartening at times, but I was encouraged after this that it's OK to be a little bit crazy. I think I'm going to listen to some Seal this morning. "No we're never gonna survive, unless; we get a little crazy..." Here's to being a little crazy.

Familiar Grace

2008-09-17T19:48:00.004-04:00

This past weekend one of our elders, Mike Hartsfield, was teaching about Jonah. He talked about responses to grace. What stood out to me was the sailors response to grace. These were pagan sailors who cast lots to “see which of them had offended the gods“. (Jonah 1:7-emphasis added) The sailors were confronted with God’s grace when God stopped the storm after they threw Jonah overboard. They cried out in prayer to God to spare their lives and He responded by silencing the seas. Their immediate response was “awestruck by the Lord’s great power, they offered Him a sacrifice and vowed to serve Him”.(Jonah 1:16)

These guys were truly awestruck by God’s power and grace. He was fresh and new. The fact that He would care enough to save them was an overwhelming thought. They had to sacrifice to Him on the spot.Their ship had not been destroyed! Their lives were saved!

Do you remember that day? The day that your life was changed? The day you were saved? I’m afraid the I’m guilty of becoming too familiar with grace. Somehow losing the awestruck wonder that God would come down to die for me. That Jesus loved me (and you) enough to give His all for me. It’s easy to forget sometimes what condition my ship was in when He found me and where my life would be without Him. I believe we’d all do well to “remember His kindness” (Psalms 42:6) and reflect on the truth that He “rescued me from death; You have kept my feet from slipping.” (Psalms 56:13a)

Grace should never stop being amazing. What ways to you remind yourself to be amazed by His grace in your life and keep your amazement fresh?

Quick Thought on Worship and Harvest

2008-09-12T09:08:00.005-04:00

We’ve been talking a lot recently at my home church about “Harvest Time” and God’s desire to bring people away from Him into relationship with Him. Here's something I posted on our church blog about this topic.

I’ve done a lot of thinking about how worship can help play a role on Sunday mornings in this theme. During my devotions yesterday, I re-read the scripture that says, “And if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself”. (John 12:32 NASB)

I know this was Jesus giving a preview of how He was going to die, but I also believe that as we lift Him up in our worship (and our daily lives) others will be drawn to Him. My personal belief is that when we worship with passion, it sparks the longing that God has placed in everyone to be close to Him. When we tap into the eternal nature of worship (read Revelation 4-5) it resonates with the eternity that God has placed in their heart. (Ecclesiastes 3:!1) One way that we can continue to move toward “Harvest Time” in our gatherings is to “lift Him up” and allow the presence of the Holy Spirit to draw people to Jesus. Let’s worship with passion and fire this Sunday morning! I’m looking forward to it.What’s some other ways you see worship and harvest intersecting?

How Personal Evangelism Impacted My Life

2008-09-02T16:31:00.004-04:00

Many of you probably saw my friend Mike Craig sitting with me at church this week. Mike is like a brother to me. Scratch that, he is my brother. I'm exactly a month and a day older than him and enjoy telling people that I've known Mike his entire life. I was thinking on the value of his friendship and what it means to me. That made me think of a mutual friend of ours, Walt Smith, as he's the third of this trio of brothers. (there's more guys who are like brothers to me, but trio works better for this story)

It dawned on me that Walt wouldn't have been my friend if Mike hadn't led him to Jesus. Talking with Mike about it, I found out that he told Walt on his side porch that he "was going to hell if he didn't come to OUR church". While Mike's theology might have needed some work in our younger years, Mike's willingness to reach out didn't just change Walt's life but mine as well. Walt is a great friend. Always ready to go the extra mile to show he cares for me and my family. The first to apologize in a fight and the last to hold a grudge.

I don't have many friends like Walt. Most people will unfortunately go their whole life without a friend like him. Many times I look at evangelism as only a means to get people into heaven or connect them to Jesus, but I was hit this weekend with the fact that Mike's act of personal evangelism had a huge impact on my life. I have another member of my family, because Mike cared enough to reach beyond himself and tell Walt about Jesus. Personal evangelism changes more lives than the one you're evangelizing. Whose world could you change today through personal evangelism?

Why I Blog

2008-08-27T12:22:00.006-04:00

I've been putting a lot of thought recently into the purpose behind why I blog and why I enjoy reading the blogs of others. My life is about relationships, connecting to others and connecting them to God. Blogging is about the ability to share life and what I'm learning with the world around me. It's an avenue to share my heart and passion in a very intentional way. It also gives me an avenue to share in "real-time" something that might have happened that God used to speak to my heart.

Blogging allows me to converse with the world around me. Everyone has a story to tell. From Perry Noble to this lady, Ali, I found today who works for Mercy Ships to my buddy Walt who got to meet Huey Lewis this last week. I enjoy hearing the stories of other people's lives. Blogging allows me that window into others and gives them similar access to what God is doing and saying my world. I was so inspired today by reading Ali's blog for a few minutes. Here's a young lady giving herself totally to see the compassion of Jesus shown to kids in Liberia. I would've never know her story if I had not seen this today.

I know some people view this virtual world and the connectedness of blogging as a waste of time, but for me it's missing the point. I walk away from most blogs challenged and encouraged or praying for someone who has a special need. The point (for me) is that blogs, twitter, Facebook etc. reminds me that life is bigger than me, connects me to the greater body of Christ, expands my view of the world and challenges me to be a better Christian, Dad and leader.

My time with Pete Wilson

2008-08-21T18:43:00.004-04:00

I had a chance last week to spend a little over an hour with Pete Wilson. For those of you who may not know Pete, he is the Pastor of a great church in Nashville. Cross Point Church is a happening place to be and God is doing some great stuff there. I was very thankful for Pete’s time and thought I would share some of our conversation here. This is my first time sharing one of these conversations online so we’ll see how it goes. Here’s some of the quotables from our conversation:

Pete loves seeing God’s grace in action.
Anyone can draw a crowd.
The goal is not church growth, but church health. Cross Point defines church health as 80% in small groups.
Getting out of your own circles expands your faith and gives you expectation and excitement for what God can do.
We have to be open and honest. The generation no longer follows based on titles, they follow you based on authenticity.
There is no influence without relationship.
Teach what you believe over and over and over.
We don’t exist for ourselves.
God is putting on our heart to resource the resource less. (They have an amazing “lunch buddy” plan with kids from a local low-income area they are reaching into)
We believe that God’s ultimate goal for us is our safety and security. While this may be true in eternity, in this life He calls us to live for others and deny ourselves to serve others.

I really enjoyed getting to know Pete and learning from him. Pete is marked by humility and graciousness. I walked away more inspired to be a difference in my world. I asked Pete one final question and it was, “If you had 5 minutes left with your boys, what would you tell them about life and Godliness?” Here’s Pete’s response:

“Let’s assume they’re a little older so that they can better understand some things about life. I would tell them Jesus is worth dying for. That you can’t choose when or how you die, but you can choose how you live. Choose to live this life for Jesus.”

Well-said Pete! Make sure to check out Pete’s blog over @ http://withoutwax.tv. You’ll have a blast and learn something to boot. You can also check out Cross Point @ http://crosspoint.tv

What are your thoughts on what Pete had to share?

Frying Pan Faith

2008-08-06T14:31:00.005-04:00

We have a saying in the south that sometimes you can jump "out of the frying pan and into the fire." I've had some friends recently who have demonstrated incredible faith in the middle of "frying pan" situations. That's why this post is called "frying pan faith". I'd like to share some of their stories here.

I had a friend who had a miscarriage this week. We've been praying with and for them for the last few weeks and asking God to work out this pregnancy according to His plan and ultimately believing Him for life for this child. My wife received an email update after we had heard what was going on. This mother, who had just lost a child, sent out an email extolling the virtues of God's sovereignty. Saying things like, "we trusted in God to do what's best" and "we have peace".

My Mom has been a stalwart of faith through this process of fighting cancer. She has seemed to find an even stronger grip on her faith than I've seen before. There is such a trust in God to not only do what's best, but a sense of peace to wait on Him to see it play out.

Another friend of mine who unexpectedly lost his job two weeks ago volunteered his butt off this week for our VBS. To know what they were going through as a family with kids heading off to college and uncertainty certainly looming in the background, and that he was here EVERY day of the VBS and made it his goal to make an impact in the lives of others and trust in God for providing for him was just incredible! It reminds me of the verse "seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you."

I've been completely moved and motivated by what I've seen out of these people and they way they deal with devastating news with a sense of trust and faith that is supernatural. It seems like we are always hearing of someone turning to drugs, alcohol, adultery or some other form of self-destructive activity to help ease their pain. I'm thankful that I'm surrounded by people that know where to look when difficult times come. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and they are saved"-Proverbs 18:10

It is amazing to me how these stressful moments in life can be so clarifying for us. When life seems to be falling apart, God seems to bring such focus to our lives about what matters. My prayer is that I will live my life with frying pan faith; knowing that there is no situation too difficult to trust God in and through.

The Destructive Nature of Pride

2008-07-16T15:13:00.002-04:00

Musicians always seem to struggle with pride. It’s a constant thorn in the side of most musical and creative people. We’ve all read the scriptures that God “opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” and “pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” I read a new one the other day that really caught me off guard. It was Proverbs 17:19. It says this:

“He who exalts his gate seeks destruction.”

The Hebrew there for “exalts his gate” loosely translates to “glorifies his/her position”. The Bible says that people who do this “seek destruction”. I thought about the numerous times I felt it important to tell other people where “God had taken me"(telling about people I’ve met, worked with, written with). Sometimes this can be shared in very positive ways with close friends or new relationships, but I think most creative people could say that they’ve been in conversations where the person was clearly using those conversations to “exalt their gate”. I’ve been guilty of it. I’m sure you haven’t. ;-) Our heart tells us when we cross that line.

It was eye opening for me to see that when I do this, I’m actually getting the opposite of what I was hoping for. I have done that in the past to try and solidify my standing to the person/people I was talking to, but according to Scripture I was actually seeking out my own destruction. The Bible is full of warnings pointing to the destructive nature of pride, but this was the first one that clearly told me that a prideful person is not only due for destruction (Proverbs 15:25), but actively seeking it. That’s a scary thought.

Those closest to me would hopefully tell you that I’m not the most prideful guy on the planet. I try hard to keep that in check. I pray that God would help me retain humility and be able to spot and stop pride in all its various forms in my life. David actually prayed that God would “cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks proud things” (Psalm 12:3) and instructed that “blessed is the man who does not respect the proud”. (Psalm 40:4)

I see humility as a crucial component in my personal journey to be used by God for His fame and to see people exalt Him. As you pray today for God to use you, let a request for humility be close by. Don’t let the destructive nature of pride convince you that if you are just forceful enough, charismatic enough, gifted enough you will have influence and favor. Peter said it this way after quoting Proverbs 3:4: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” Our position as worshipers and believers should be to have lives that exalt Him. We should let God be the one to exalt us, where He wants us, when He wants us.

There is Purpose and Significance to Worship

2008-07-10T10:23:00.002-04:00

Last night I had the opportunity to share with 20+ Jr. High students about worship. I had planned to talk about the "why, how and where" of worship, but instead felt impressed to share that there is purpose and significance to worship. It was a great time of sharing filled with some fun moments. Here's a little of what we shared:

Worship is about more than singing good songs-There is an invisible world beyond the one that we know. We acknowledge it in our talk of the life after this one and need to acknowledge it in the now and know that invisible things are happening when we worship.
Worship stops the enemy (2 Chronicles 20:22)
It invites His presence (Psalms 22:3)-To this point we talked particularly about how, according to this scripture, God brings His Kingdom rule when we praise. I talked about the "rules" my parents had when I was a kid. The way things are done in the Herod house and that when we worship we invite God to set up His "rules". To come into where we are and dictate His pattern of doing things.
Worship is the activity of eternity (Revelation 4)-When we worship we tap into the eternal stream of worship happening in heaven.

I tried encouraging the kids that if they could grasp that worship was about more than the song, more than a moment, but carried purpose and significance for their life they could receive a passion for the worship of God. I always love the opportunity to share worship with the next generation. Psalm 145:4 says; "One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts." Living out that Scripture is one of my life's passions. I would encourage you to find someone from another generation and recount God's goodness to them.

On a side note, I'd like to ask everyone to pray for my Mom. She has lymphoma and is going to have to go through some more treatment for it. I'm a little low on the faith-o-meter this morning and would love to know that others are joining with me in believing for God's healing to overtake her body. We serve a God whose Name is above EVERY other name. Thanks...adam

The Safest Place to Be

2008-07-07T15:32:00.004-04:00

Friday night we were headed out to see some fireworks in a boat with some friends. About 30 minutes before the show was supposed to start we saw lightning flashing and a storm start rolling in. As we tried to get home the rain started pelting down. My son was a little afraid so I held him close to me. He told me he was scared and I told him that he was in the safest place to be. I asked him if he'd ever been hurt when Daddy was holding him. He said no.

When we got home, I shared with my kids that no matter what the circumstances surrounding them were, my arms were the safest place they could be. The spiritual parallel came clearly to me. No matter what is swirling around us, when we are in the arms of Daddy; it's the safest place to be.

Oil-Painting by Mauricio Quezada

Midnight Baptisms

2008-07-01T16:25:00.004-04:00

After a week of camp, Friday was supposed to be the "settling down" night. Short service. Baptisms in the pool. Brief sharing time. It was anything but. We had about 1.5 hours of young people sharing their talents. Some were serious, some were not. (I don't think I'll ever forget my boy Erik miming to "Me and God". One of the best things I've ever seen. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Thanks for bringing the joy! ) After hearing all these kids share their talents, we settled in for a short 2 song worship time that turned into a half hour of real worship happening. It was awesome to see young folks passionate about Him! We heard a great message about God's mandate for this generation from my new found friend Keith Burch. We had a time of praying over the kids and it was a powerful time of seeing them connect to what God was speaking to them about their future and their role in His plan for the world.

As we wound down the service around 11:45PM, we had about 6 people that wanted to be baptized. Once we arrived at the pool Keith and I were to do the baptisms. There was a sweet sense of God's presence there. I remembered that the last time I was in this pool someone was baptizing me. God's faithfulness is incredible! As we baptized the 4th person one of our staff members took off his shoes and said he "had to get in". God was speaking to him about renewal and fresh direction and dedication. That started the flood gates coming. We had 25+ people out of the 100 that were there come in the water. It was amazing to see what God was doing in the hearts of individuals there.

Some came in because of salvation, some for renewed dedication, some for renewed commitment, some came in because they did not know how else to respond to what God was doing in that moment. More than once a word from the Lord came when people stepped into the water. The Lord spoke to one young man about his call of leadership, to another young lady her call to ministry, to another lady a new day of prayer and faith. One of the most special, to me, was a young lady who feels God is calling her to be a missionary. As she stepped in the pool I heard in my spirit that we are doing for her here what she will one day do for many others on the other side of the world.

It is such a privilege to be a part of His kingdom. I hope that in 12 years some of those kids will stand in that same pool again the baptizers instead of the baptized. God's goodness is faithful from generation to generation and His blessing is for us, our children and to all those who are a far off according to Acts 2:39. I want to send a big shout out to all my camp friends I made this week and those who joined me in worship. May God use you all to change the world for His glory and fame.

My Week @ Camp

2008-06-27T12:08:00.006-04:00

I've been in youth camp the last few days here in NC. This is the camp that I grew up going to. This is where my heritage is. I first felt called into ministry in the back of this chapel and surrendered my musical gifts to the Lord on this altar. I've had the chance to worship with old and new friends and it's been a great opportunity for me to come back and minister to kids around the same age I was when all those things happened for me.

We've had some marathon worship times this week and our speaker has only hit the stage twice. It's been a great time of sensitivity to the Spirit and seeing kids interact with God. Last night was a pretty intense. As we began to worship a simple song came forward that I felt the Lord was directing at one of the brothers at the camp. I called him up and began to sing three simple words. "He is faithful." One of the pastors here got up and spoke about God's ability to seal and keep us. After worshiping for a few more moments we felt the Lord was calling us to give an invitation for people to receive prayer. It was a powerful time of seeing God impact people's lives and speak words into their lives.

I prayed for several kids last night and the Holy Spirit revealed specific words for most of them. We talk a lot in our church about Spiritual Gifts and it is always great to see them in true operation. We had tongues and interpretation, words of knowledge, wisdom and prophecy. I'll be honest and say that I'm always amazed when God decides to speak directly to a person's situation and destiny. He has a way of cutting through to the heart of the matter. The fact that He loves us and died for us is amazing enough on its own. The truth that He remains invested, interested and involved in our daily grind and the over-arching destiny of our lives is almost mind blowing for me.

After having prayed for several kids I walked back to my cabin tired, humbled and fulfilled. Sometimes when God decides to use you in a meeting in a specific way pride is lurking at the door. I could feel myself feeling good about what had happened. That was when it was time to remember that I am completely unworthy. My usefulness to God is only there because my righteousness is not in myself. Whenever I feel a little pride creep in because of something God is doing in my life, I remember the words of Paul. He said:

"For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?
And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"-1 Corinthians 4:7

One of the pastors that I've known for some time prayed for me last night and prayed that God would take the gifts I have and make me less of a vessel and more of a conduit. Not just a container but a open portal. May it be so.

As we near the end of this camp experience, I am more in awe of our Creator than I was a week ago. More in love. More in need. More passionate for this next generation. More passionate to see God "Propel" ( a little shout out to our youth group) those after me ahead of me. Hungrier to see my kids experience Him in a real and tangible way. This trip back has lead me forward. God has done more than expected. I can sum this week up in one word....More...May it be so.

The 4 Re's

2008-06-18T09:00:00.001-04:00

Today I'm posting a document that I sent out to our team worship leaders a few months back. I have a personal process that I walk through about every 6 months and thought I'd share it with them. Here's basically a cut and paste of the email I sent out. I'd love to hear how you review what God is doing in your life.

I just wanted to walk you all through the process I go through on a regular basis with myself. Thinking through these questions should help us all learn more about where God has us and has us doing.

1. Reevaluate

Review what God has done in your area of ministry.

Where have you seen positive progress?

Where would you like to see more improvement?

How can I help you in this process?

Review songs for retirement

Is there a song, or songs, that you over use?

(One of mine has been "Meet With Me". I love that song a little too much for other people's good. I have to “retire” songs to prevent myself from that.)

Retiring a song forces us as worship leaders to be more proactive in finding new or lesser-used songs to keep our worship expressions fresh.

Review your team

Where are your strengths and weaknesses as a team?

What positions could be filled on your team?

Where can we build a sense of family on our teams?

Review yourself

What has God taught you this last year?

What do you feel like God is speaking to you about your team?

Am I where He wants me to be?

2. Re-Up

Recommit yourself to what God has called you to do and whom He’s called you to
lead.
Decide to stay creative instead of complacent.
Fight the urge to stick with the status quo.

3. Reverence

Once you reevaluate and re-up, reverence the holy calling that you have to
lead others into God’s presence.
Take time to be thankful to God for the opportunities He’s afforded you.

4. Respect

Respect those God has placed in authority and given voice to in and over your area of ministry. (i.e. Pastors, fellow Worship Leaders, Elders)

I hope this will be helpful to us all in reviewing and renewing our commitment to lead our church family in worship. Please let me know how I can be a servant to you in your area of ministry. Let’s grow together…adam

Be Where You Are

2008-06-12T10:36:00.004-04:00

I was talking with a friend who was just starting their worship team and they were asking what advice I would give to them for their new team. I think my number one advice, after prayer and getting a basic understanding of worship, would be to "be where you are".

I've been privileged to be a part of many worship teams and can honestly say that most worship teams can sound good right where they are even with minimal skill level. Where most teams get into trouble is by trying to be something they aren't or trying to play something way ahead of their capabilities.

When directing a band musically I try and rate the team in my head on a scale of 1-10 and then choose/create musical arrangements that will suit where we are. If I'm in a long term situation, i.e. my local church, then I start with songs right in the meat of our abilities or a touch behind. Then I gradually introduce more musical/difficult arrangements and pretty soon we're a level above where we are.

Here's a scale that I used in explaining this concept to this particular friend.

A band who is a 5 in skill should be playing songs in the 1-6 range.
A band who is a 7 in skill should be playing songs in the 5-8 range.
A band who is a 10 can play whatever they want.

Where the trouble usually starts is when the worship leader hears a song that is an 8 on the musical arrangement scale and brings it to the team who is just starting out in a 3-5 range. To me, it plays out this way:

If Band A is a 5 and play a 7 they sound like a 3.
If Band A is a 5 and play a 3 they sound like a 7.
If Band A is a 5 and play a 5 they sound like a 5.

Every worship team can look a little better when they are able to be where they are. Part of what we do as worship leaders is help nurture the musical gifts of those on our team and there is great service to them in choosing arrangements that help them shine. Don't let frustration creep in, but rather work diligently to help your team be the best they can be while gently pushing them further in excellence.

The Why, Where and How of Worhsip

2008-06-05T11:39:00.006-04:00

I am getting the opportunity to speak to our kids, over the next two weeks, about worship and prayer. While not an exhaustive list, I thought I'd post here what I'll be teaching on. If your kids are a part of our church, don't let them miss it!

Here's a little taste of what our parents will receive and what I'll be using as a template to teach the kids.

This weekend we discussed the following with your child: (We are including some corresponding Scriptures to help deepen your discussion with them. Please feel free to use some of your personal favorites as well.)

Why Do We Worship God?
o It invites His presence. (Psalm 22:3)
o God deserves it. (1 Chronicles 16:25-33)
o We desire Him. (Psalm 63:1-4)
o It stops the enemy. (2 Chronicles 20:22)

How Do We Worship God?
o Singing (Psalm 9:11)
o Lifting of Hands (The Act of Praise: Psalm 141:2; The Entering of Agreement: Genesis 14:22-24)
o Shouting (1 Samuel 4:5)
o Making Music (Ephesians 5:19)
o Bowing (Psalm 138:2)
o Dancing (Psalm 150:4)
o Repenting (1 Kings 8:48 & 49)

Where Do We Worship God?
o Everywhere (Psalm 150)

What are some of your favorite worship scriptures that didn't make my list?

Seeing Past the Storm

2008-05-28T15:15:00.001-04:00

It’s a cloudy, dreary, rainy day here. Not one of the best days to live near a beach. During a prayer, our (great) Children’s Director was praying and she said:

“Lord. Thank You for the rain. Help us to see what the rain brings. Help us to see the results, not just the dreariness and darkness.”

I thought about all the past and present storms in my life. If only I could take that perspective to “look past the rain” and see the results that it is going to bring. It is so easy to focus on the now circumstance and no further.

Father help me today to see past the storm and find the growth and beauty that Your rain is bringing in my life.

People I'd Like to Meet and a Personal Epiphany

2008-05-28T08:32:00.002-04:00

Recently I’ve had a friend of mine talking to me about who I’d like to, if given the opportunity, hang out with/learn from. I thought of some names that I’d like to get to know and hear what makes them tick. Israel, Paul Baloche, Tommy Walker, Perry Noble, Fred Hammond, Brennan Manning, Glenn Packiam, Bob Kauflin and some others immediately came to mind. This friend started telling me that it could be a real possibility to meet a couple of these guys. Needless to say, I was pretty pumped and then Monday I had an epiphany. (I am still excited about any of those opportunities should they arise)

I was listening to Tommy Walker’s “Just Worship” and was thinking how much I’d like to meet him. I even thought about how much fun it would undoubtedly be to write with him. I’ve listened to him for some time and would love that. As I was thinking about it, it hit me that, when this life is over the only name that will matter in the end is Jesus.

Now I’m all about networking and exploring relationships that God might have His hand on, so don’t think that I’m saying anything against that. God has been faithful to introduce me to the right people at the right time. I’ve been blessed with many things and I am not the type of guy to go 200 MPH to track down someone I admire. Maybe that’s a fault and maybe it’s not. Most of the time, I’m pretty sure it’s a little of both.

What I am saying is this. Monday, I had an epiphany that is causing me to look differently at others and myself. As gifted as all the guys I’ve mentioned are, we all serve the same God and get our inspiration from the same Holy Spirit. God has given them a platform to share their gifts and He has placed me where He wants in His kingdom. While I am believing God for bigger and better things to best utilize the gifts He’s placed in my heart, I no longer want to be impressed by people. Respect their giftings, callings and wisdom? Yes. Seek out relationships that God could use in my life and use me in theirs? Absolutely. Be blown away by a person? I hope not.

In the end, His name is the name that will matter. When we’re singing “Just Worship” around the throne, I’m not going to be looking for Tommy then. (although maybe we’ll write some there) ;-) We’ll all be concentrated on the object of our worship. There’s several people that I would more than welcome the opportunity to meet, work or write with, but ultimately there’s One NAME that matters. His name is Jesus.