A Recent Project

We recently had Paul Young, author of "The Shack" come and speak at Central. It was a very compelling and challenging interview. Though we were not able to post it, you can find info about his story online here and it is worth looking up. One thing we did do was a video piece called "letter from God" that we actually did during the instrumental bridge of "how he loves us" as done by Kim Walker. Here is that piece, though done individually, and available for purchase from Worship House Media. Pretty cool!

Eager to...

My kids love to watch movies, especially my youngest, Kate. We have lots of kid movies. One of the movies she likes is Ratatouille. There is a scene in the movie where Remy is hungry and trying to find food. He finds some food, but his conscience in the form of his hero Chef Gusteau convinces him not to steal food, but instead tells him, "Remy, you are better than that. You are a cook! A cook makes! A thief takes. You are not a thief. Food will come, Remy. Food always comes to those who love to cook." The very thing Remy wanted would come not by stealing, but by cooking, preparing what he desired for others to consume. Put another way, by serving.
News of economic struggles abound. Yet the truth is, whether in good times or bad, our cravings rarely change. We desire money or stuff. I often wrestle with those same desires, and have allowed myself to get caught up in trying to figure out how to get more. Yet, the pursuit of that totally changes a persons heart, their motivation for all they do. Matthew 21:6 clearly states this truth when it say, "where your treasure it, there your heart will be also." If what I treasure is a lifestyle that conforms with those around me, or those I look up to, my heart will be fixated on that at the expense of the greater things of God. If I treasure happiness, my heart is fixated on achieving that, and I miss the challenging lessons of life that bring joy and trust through Gods faithfulness in hard times. Jesus' own words later in Matthew 6 remind us that when we seek first his kingdom, he will take care of the rest.
In my quiet time this morning, I read this passage from 1 Peter 5:2-4:

Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

What a great reminder that true riches come from true sacrifice and service. We are encouraged to be eager to serve, rather than greedy for money, and the reward for such eagerness is a crown that never fades, something much more valuable than what this world can offer.

Take Care of Your Business

I have been very fortunate to be able to play music with a bass player named Mel Brown. He just won his second Grammy award in which he played Bass for the tune "Stand Up" on Jennifer Hudson's Grammy winning CD. Not only is he a tremendous musician, he has a lot of experience and wisdom that he has gained over the years that he has shared with myself and others around here. One of the phrases he has used over the last month or so that has really stuck in my mind is the phrase, "you have to take care of your business." Now, he has not necessarily said that to me directly, but in the context of people taking care of that which they have been asked/hired to do, which often in our context has to do with musicians.

I find that so often, people tend to get wrapped up in what others are doing or not doing, having an opinion often very strongly stated, about the negative effects of what others are doing upon their own responsibilities. More directly stated, blaming others for their lack of production. Many of us are guilty of this. The reason I didn't do what I should have, or couldn't do what I was supposed to do had to do with what someone else didn't do for me. The truth is though, all of us need to quit worrying about what others are or aren't doing, and take care of our own business. Do what you were asked to do, at the very minimum to the expectation of those who asked you/hired you to do it, but really, to the fullest you are able to do it. This is the true measure of your own integrity and reliability. If you do your business, and do it well, you will never have to worry about what others are doing. You will have presented yourself professionally and credibly, and people will be more apt to rely on you when they need that service again. But if you are prone to making excuses and not showing up with your business taken care of, you will lose opportunities to do what you do in the future.

I find this principle demonstrates itself in a variety of situations, in employment, volunteer work, ministry, music...you name it. If someone has asked/hired you to do something, take care of your business! If in the process, you can help others be successful, even better. That will be the true measure of your value and success...not what others don't do!

Thanks Mel! Congratulations on taking care of your business, and receiving a your second Grammy in the process!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful new year!

Worship Leader vs. Lead Worshiper

I have heard this term before, but I just read a post linked to one of the blogs I sometimes read that really caused me some thought, some uncomfortable thought actually. The worship leader is the one who gets up and leads the congregation in corporate worship as we know it in most contemporary churches in America. However, Steve Corn in his post here points out that the most effective worship leaders are the lead worshipers, and how he feels like in his own life, he has become less a lead worshiper and more of a worship leader.

I can very much relate to this, as over the years I have struggled with getting more wrapped up in all that goes into leading worship, than consumed in my heart with worshiping the one true God in Spirit and in Truth, which was the whole point in the first place, and something I feel I used to do so much more. I am grateful that I stumbled across this post that reminds me that first and foremost, I am a worshiper of God, and when I am worshiping him, I will be far more effective in leading others to do the same!

I have been a fan of 722 for a long time. If you are not familiar with it, it is a "worship event" to young singles in the greater Atlanta Metropolitan area. It is not a church, but a ministry for all churches and unchurched alike to reach and encourage young singles. For many who know of Louie Giglio, it was something that he and Bill Willits started 12 years ago, that eventually was hosted and supported by Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta, GA.
A couple of years ago, my friend Ryan and I had the opportunity to visit 722 and attend a backstage pass event to see how it works and to connect with some of the individuals that made that ministry happen each week.

Though it wasn't a traditional church type mentality, their goal was to reach and encourage young singles from across Atlanta, and then send them back to their churches to encourage and invest. It was also a very forward thinking musical and teaching environment that is really the roots of the passion music ministry today.

All this is to setup what I just read, that they will be having their last 722 gathering this Tues. night. Jarret Stephens, the lead teacher of that ministry spoke about it here:

Long ago, I was part of a ministry that I had helped start called Oasis, a student worship service that was targeted to Jr. High through College age people, but was really open to everyone. It was a fun service and I think that many people really grew to love and appreciate it. We really tried to do a lot of creative things and experiment with our limited resources, and a lot of people were effected by it. But we too came to the decision that it was time to make a change in order to be most effective at our primary goal, which was to reach and disciple Jr. high - college age students for Christ, and as fun and cool as Oasis was, it was not the most effective in accomplishing it.

I still miss Oasis sometimes, but I do not regret the decision to discontinue doing it in order to try and figure how to do ministry more effective. Many people disagreed, and it took us a while to find out how to accomplish the goal, which is always an ever changing thing, but it was the right thing to do.

So, I applaud the 722 leadership for recognizing what their mission is, and being willing to stop, step back, and prayerfully and intentionally go after how to reach the young singles of Atlanta for Christ in a way that nobody else is. And I praise God for the tremendous impact, both globally and very personally of those who have poured themselves into this ministry for so long! Thanks.

I came across the cool little tool that lets you make videos out of pictures and it is pretty cool. Thought I would put one together from our trip.

Pots and Pans

I have been in a place of seeking God recently. I know that sounds very un-pastor like, or even unchristian. Shouldn't we always be seeking God? Of course. But I confess, I go through dry times, and I have been in one. So I have been striving to pursue God with a greater level of intensity. This practice has involved a couple of things, listening to sermons of people I respect, and reading the works of other people who challenge me in my walk. In addition, I have sought to meditate on scripture I have memorized. This morning I was sitting here in my office looking over my bookshelf for something to read. In the past, I have had subscriptions to Relevant Books, and they would send out a box with music, their most recent magazine, and several books. I tend to be a great book starter and horrible book ender, yet overall, just terribly inconsistent at reading altogether. Anyway, I have a number of books on my bookshelf that I have never read, or even opened for that matter.

My eyes stumbled upon the book, "God is Here; Connecting with him in Everyday Life" by Steve Case, and I was instantly curios. The cover even had an strong endorsement by Tony Campolo. The cover also has the statement, "A modern look at Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God. I have heard of Brother Lawrence many times, and have many people talk about the significance of his writings and life. I even tried downloading and audio book of The Practice but never got through it. I decided I would give this book a try, at least the beginning of it.

The first chapter was a biography of Brother Lawrence, which there really isn't a ton of, but it did give some context to the challenges he faced. It was helpful. But it was chapter 2 that has really drawn me into this book, because it focused on a prayer of brother lawrence that goes like this:

Lord of all pots and pans and things...
Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates.

Often I wrestle with the idea of what is God wanting to accomplish in my life, and there is a tendency to want that to be some grand thing, so great level of leadership or production, or what not. My ego causes me to want to be great in the eyes of men. Yet here is the prayer of a man who wants to be moment by moment in the presence of God, and his prayer is to the God of the big things and the little things, that he would be consecrated to God through humble and menial service...getting meals and washing plates. He goes on to express that times of prayer and times of work are no different, in that both are times of be present with God.

Oh to live that kind of life. To daily, hourly, moment by moment practice being...breathing the presence of God, no matter what I am doing. I guess that's why they call it practicing.

Here is probably my favorite of hers that I have just because she is so animated. It is from another Veggie Tales video (do we let her watch too much...nah!) Anyway, this is from Lyle the kindly viking.

Kate sings Viking Song from Perry Emerick on Vimeo.

This Weekend

So this last weekend, I ended up co-leading worship with Kim in Gilbert. I must confess that my heart was not in it very well. In fact, instead of being ready and excited to lead people in worship, I was anxious and nervous about performing a song well. That happens quite often, I find myself getting self conscious about the technical parts of a song or program and lose focus on the purpose of the day, to come be in the presence of our Lord and to present an offering of praise to him.

As a side note, our speaker this weekend was a guy named Kevin Carlson, a former staff member who went on to plant a church in the east valley. He did an outstanding job and had much for me to ponder as some of what he said I could very much relate to.

At the end of the first service, I went out to get my guitars reset and to do some stuff on stage. I noticed a young couple who had come down to the front looking for someone to pray with. Most of the prayer partners were busy, and the couple after standing around for a moment, began to turn to leave, feeling there was no one to pray with them. So I jumped down and asked them if they wanted to pray, which they did. We spent a few moments talking about what was on their hearts and what they wanted some prayer for, and I prayed for and with them.

As they left, I was reminded of the part of ministry I love...meeting people where they are at, who are desiring to connect with God and ministering to them. That is often the part that gets lost, and it was a great reminder to me of what was important for the weekend as well. God is moving far beyond a song.

I came across this verse this morning in my reading, "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." Eph. 1:17. I think that sums up my prayer right now, that I might now him better. Hey great that we serve a God that wants to be known!