Worship Together Blog

Faithful in the small things...

I was chatting with a friend who is a worship leader the other day and he was telling me about a guy at his church that approached him about helping out in worship. My friend informed him that there was a pretty big rotation of musicians for Sunday morning, but that the church could really use some help at a small recovery ministry that met on Friday evenings.

After spending a day "praying about it", the guy told my friend that he would not be able to do the Friday ministry and emphasized that he really wanted to play on Sunday morning.

You've probably had similar experiences. There's the musician in your church that is certain that if he/she could only play with the band, their playing would certainly take worship to a whole new level!

We have to be careful of those who are unwilling to serve in small ways. Even after you've "paid your dues" doing the not-so-glamorous worship gigs, we should never assume that we've arrived and therefore not consider helping out when there's a need.

I believe it's those "I really don't want to do this" things that makes God smile. We are most like Jesus when we are giving, knowing that we are getting nothing in return. No money, no warm fuzzies, no important people saying "you're great".   

It's important to keep a balanced diet of service. Sure, sometimes we will get the opportunity to do great things. Praise God for them! But let's not give up serving the least with our gifts.

Church Gear Swiping

Dear church music gear swiper,

This is a plea. I am calling on your sense of kindness and compassion. Please stop swiping gear from different worship venues without letting someone know or bringing the item back once you are done.

When I was rehearsing for worship last Wednesday night I realized that the monitors weren't working, so I went to the soundboard to investigate. I noticed you had swiped 2 cables that connected the soundboard to the monitor sends on the snake.

I corralled one of the students who helps out with sound and blamed him for the swipe. He assured me that it was you and he went and swiped the 2 cables back that I needed from where you left them!

It seems like every time I lead worship, someone is scrambling around to find a music stand, guitar stand, mic cable, or a hundred other items. I'm beginning to think that you are a modern day church "Robin Hood" who is stealing from the ministries who have gear and giving the stuff to the ministries who don't.

About a year ago, you were swiping my music stand every week. I would find it in your Sunday School class and swipe it back, only to find it missing again the next week. I even put a "Do Not Remove" sticker on it, but you disregarded it.

Last Christmas, the church bought about 12 poinsettias to set along the front of the stage. By the time Christmas rolled around, we were down to about 6. Every week we would loose a couple of them. "Why? Why? Why?". If you needed a poinsettia, I would have bought you one!

I've been assured from season worship pastors that there is someone like you in every church, finding interesting things and moving them to places where no one can find them. Please stop before all my volunteers quit or the church has to purchase a gun vault to lock up everything between services! :)   

The Iraq War, Elections in Zimbabwe, Barack Obama and GMA Music Week

You are probably asking yourself what in world these 4 things have in common. The answer is simple: Nothing! Which is what makes this year's Gospel Music Week activities bittersweet for me.

There's a lot going on in the world. I can't remember a time when it felt so much like the world was unraveling before my eyes. Or perhaps I'm just taking more notice. Every day seems to bring more news of civil unrest, car bombings, injustice, and back biting among politicians.

Enter GMA Week.

Throngs of young guys wearing girl jeans, shirts that are too hot for the weather, and perfectly planned messed up hair. Who's hot and who's not. Who rocks and who is lame. The time when it's fair game to judge others, hoping we aren't judged.

Yet inside this bubble called the Christian Music Industry, Jesus is alive and moving. And for every self-centered artist or unscrupulous music exec, there are multitudes of Jesus followers who really believe the truth of God in music can change lives.

So even though it feels strange to be celebrating our "accomplishments" as an industry, I believe the message of Christ in our songs is the answer to all the troubles in this world. The hope of the world is not a political leader, it is our God, strong and mighty.

"Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord'. 1 Cor 1:31

 

The Reality of the Music Biz

Pictured here is Matt Maher's guitar player Kenny sitting in the hallway at GMA week. The rest of the band left him to guard the gear while they went to watch Third Day perform...

Live from New Song Cafe

We're downtown Nashville today for GMA week shooting 25+ New Song Cafe's with worship leaders Brenton Brown, Chris Tomlin, Steve Fee, Matt Maher, Leeland and more. Brenton and Chris just finished up showing and teaching some new songs. All I have to say is there are lots of great new songs coming from these guys!

a Greater Voice (Cont.)

A year or so later, my wife and I felt God was calling us to adopt a child. As we waded through the endless paperwork, the question was asked about what race of child we would accept. We dove into the Scriptures and they confirmed what we felt in our hearts. In God's eyes, there's no difference. Therefore, we cannot discriminate based on race.

We knew part of our family would really struggle with an African American child, but we were willing to hold the high ground and not give in. We didn't expect the opposition we received from my friend and pastor at the time (different from the first pastor). He was afraid for us and our biological son that we would be opening ourselves up to hardship. Was his advance well-meaning? Yes. Was he dead wrong? Yes.

I guess I can sum all this up this way. There's wisdom in the counsel of many; however, God's Word trumps the wisdom of man. I'm thankful that Jesus didn't listen to the well-meaning disciples who didn't want him to go to the cross.

What's God calling you to do?

a Greater Voice... (Cont.)

There have been two times in my life where the counsel I received from spiritual leaders was not right. The first was several years ago when I was leading student worship at my church. God was really moving in my life and I really believed that God was calling me into full time ministry. An opportunity came to lead worship for a new church start in our area. My wife and I prayed about the opportunity and really felt that this was God working out what we were already feeling.

However, when I met with my pastor and explained all that had happened and that we felt called to go, he straight up told me that it wasn't God's will for me. You see, the pastor of the new church was very well known and the new church would start meeting within 10 miles of our existing church. My pastor feared that the new church would hurt attendance. Therefore, his counsel was tainted. In the end, I went. Both churches thrived and many more were brought into the Kingdom, I believe, because I listened to God and not my pastor.

(to be continued..." 

a Greater Voice...

One of my friends told me about a time when he sat down with his pastor for consul prior to entering law school. My friend was seeking spiritual guidance for the type of law that he would practice once he graduated. My friend was interested in criminal law, but his pastor strongly discouraged him from this and suggested that perhaps divorce law would be more palatable. "You don't want to defend criminals", the pastor said.

Well, in the end, my friend did become a criminal attorney. And, yes, he does defend many folks that most of us would avoid on the bus. However, I believe God is using him in a powerful way. Yes, he sees people at their worst, but this is not unlike how God sees us!

So the question comes up, "Can it be God's will to go against the advice of a spiritual leader?". Let's get a couple of things straight. Do most pastor's genuinely care about people and try their best to offer Godly advice? Yes. Are pastor's human and prone to short-sightedness and error? Yes.

The Bible says that there is wisdom in the counsel of many. Certainly there are many Biblical examples of people who did not heed wise counsel and paid dearly for it. However, there are also many examples of "well meaning" believers who got it completely wrong. 

(to be continued...)

Party on, Wayne!

Some of my earliest gigs as a musician were in seedy little clubs and bars in the Nashville area. At 17 years old, I was thrilled with the opportunity to play music for others to enjoy. I didn't care that I had to breathe a fog of clove cigarette smoke for 3 hours and wash down all my equipment in the end. I just wanted to play somewhere - anywhere!

Looking back over the last 23 years (yes, I turned 40 last year!), I've played birthday parties, graduation parties, wedding parties, frat parties, formal parties, and "I don't have a reason, but let's party" parties.

So what I'm trying to say, other than it took me awhile to get with God, is that music is an essential ingredient for a party. Sometimes you can just put on some music and a party will break out! This sometimes happens here at work on Fridays when Kent Draughon (our straight-laced Director of Administration) blares "Brick House" by the Commodores from his office.

Isn't this what our worship songs should be about? There are many good reasons to party, but none better than the reality that God loves us and has given us His Son so that we can party with him forever in heaven!

So let the party begin!

No April Fools Joke

This week EMI Christian Music Group announced several job cuts in an effort to offset shrinking physical CD sales and a changing music market. Thankfully, EMI CMG Publishing did not loose any staff.

Earlier this year, EMI announced plans to eliminate 1,500 to 2,000 jobs worldwide in a major restructuring of their record operations.

Please remember these folks and their families in prayer as they transition.