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!

Kate Sings

All my kids love to sing, but it seems as though Kate is one who has a song in her heart all the time. So, with my new phone, I decided to start recording some of these tunes, which tend to come out at meal time. Here is the first one I recorded! More to come!

FTT

I am writing this from my mom's house in Lakeside, CA, the town where I grew up. We came out to see my mom be in a parade tomorrow in Coronado. Since we don't have FITS this year, I could actually come. Taking a little time on the web, I came across this article by Jon Orberg that I really resonated with. I think often I get either caught up with the stress of life, or the stress of ministry, and even at times complacency in ministry, and fail to recognize what God's intention for life really is. Like many of us, the day to day routine often takes away from God's desire that we not just exist, but that we truly live, which is the root of our salvation. It even brings some perspective into this very trip...to take some time and just live.

Here is a great shot I love...it is of Ben at the end of the second game. Papelbon came in and closed it out after Qualls had given up the lead in the eighth. It was so frustrating to watch Doug Davis pitch so strongly into the 8th just to have it thrown away. What is funny to me about this picture is that the guy who took it was a Dback's fan along with 2 others who had taken the Fenway tour with us earlier. One of hte ladies in that group had made the comment that she was glad Qualls hadn't come in the night before cause he would have blown the game. Ironic that the next night, he did come in and did blow the lead.
Anyway, what a great trip. We had so much fun and I have to say, I love Boston! What a great city. If you ever get a chance to go there, you need to check it out. And make sure you take a duck tour when you are there. Well worth it!

Real quick before I get off the free wi-fi and get a bite before heading to home, here is a picture of the first pitch of the Monday night game that the Dbacks won. It was a great game, a great pitchers duel between Haren and Beckett. We were sitting in grandstand section 31, row 9 and had a really nice view of the stadium (not that there is a real bad view). We were in a section with several Dback fans, and to tell you the truth, I was surprised by the number of Dback fans who were there. There was a father and son from Awatukee, as well as a father and son from NorCal who were fans. Anyway, it was cool to have a few others to cheer with. Only had one Sox fan curse me under his breath as Ben and I walked back to the subway station. Other than a short rain delay, it was a great night of baseball! We loved it.