Merge Worship

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.

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?

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. 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.

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?

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.

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.

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. :-)

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?

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?

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

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

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.

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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.