Session 1: Effectiveness in Worship Leading
Presenter: Tim Hughes
Here are a few quotes from session #1
• Worship Leader Definition: All musicians are worship leaders.
• Worship is a participation sport in a performance culture.
• A worship leader takes his private cry and makes it public.
• Worship is caught rather than taught.
• Worship is a response to God’s initiation of love.
• The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of the emotions in the hearts.
• How do you make people hungry? You eat in front of them!
• Aim for perfection, but settle for excellence.
Today I am going to a conference with 4 of our student worship leaders. I'm looking forward to the sessions and the concert following. But most of all I'm looking forward to the conversations and hangout time with these guys and girl.
One of the things I'm incredibly passionate about, yet don't quite understand, is the idea of worship. I grew up in a church that put a tremendous value on approaching God. Very rarely would they allow teenagers sit in the front row. The only ones who could were the ones who were proven to not be a disturbance during the service. If you were going to approach God in a corporate worship setting, you had to be reverent and they would have no problem asking you to be reverent if you weren't.
The band was horrible. They didn't practice, and most of the time didn't know what they were going to play until someone shouted out a song. But amazingly, I never one time thought, "This is horrible!". Worship always happened. People poured out their hearts. I think this is because the church knew that it wasn't about the music or the band. It was about reverently approaching a Holy God. The music just opened the door.
[I still think its incredibly important to be prepared with your band, and to sound good. It helps the door become wider open, with less distractions and hindrances.]
With that said, I come into worship with an extremely high view of God and his power. It saddens me when I see people come into a worship service, and treat God like He's a casual observer or poker buddy sitting next to them. Even if you go golfing with a dignitary or king during the week, you still bow before him when you're in his throne room.
Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to actually stand before God and his throne. What would I do if I found myself before the God who created all the universe, the God who flooded the earth, the God who became human, the God who subjected himself to mockery and torture? What would I do if I found myself before the God who sacrificed his son so I could worship him freely? Would I make a joke? Would I clap in half time? Would I stay seated, or would I even show up? The band Mercy Me puts it like this:
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all I can only imagine
I guess the better question is, "What does God deserve?"
FANTASY BASEBALL Last night I drafted my Fantasy Baseball team. I got an ok team:
C - Benjie Molina 1st - Adrian Gonzalez 2nd - Howie Kendrick 3rd - Edwin Encarnacion SS - Hanley Ramirez LF - Matt Holliday CF - Matt Kemp RF - Nick Markakis UT - Derek Jeter Other - Alex Rodriguez, Justin Upton, Matt Wieters
SP - Dan Haren, Francisco Liriano, Felix Hernandez RP - BJ Ryan, Max Scherzer P - Yovani Gallardon, Matt Garza, Johnny Cueto Other - Chris Perez, Jered Weaver
DEREK BRINK RELEASE 3RD RECORD Also, my friend just released his third album. The best part is he just got all of his albums on iTunes. Open your iTunes and search for Derek Brink. He's got a good mix of acoustic, rock, angry and light songs. Whatever your flavor, you'll like him. My favorite album is his first one "Grounds". Mainly because I played drums on it. I never recorded drums before, or played to recorded tracks before this, so I'm a little shaky, but the songs are top notch! I'm getting ready to buy his newest record. Haven't heard any of those songs yet.
As part of my vacation, we wanted to head to Flora to visit my Mom. Here are a few things that have happened so far that can only happen in Flora: 1. Hotel attendant knows who I am, where I'm from before I even check in. I guess I went to school with her boyfriend, but I never met her. 2. "Zonk Your Neighbor" night at the American Legion. I'm not exactly sure what that means...I'm not sure I want to know.
3. Run into people you know at Wal-Mart. I've mentioned this before, but this time it's a little different. The Wal-Mart I was at was approximately 60 miles away (Mt. Vernon, IL). I saw and talked to one of the guys I played High School football with, saw my cousins' wife and my other cousin's daughter. 4. The Good Mall: The reason we went to Mt. Vernon is to go to the mall. We pulled up and got out of the car when I overheard this conversation:
Ashlynn: Where are we? Rachel: The mall. Ashlynn: Yeah right! Where are we? Rachel: We are at the mall. Ashlynn: Malls have more than one floor!
Pre-Vacation To-Do 1. Clear out my email inbox 2. Get all of next week's work done. 3. Clean desk 4. Find lodging in Flora.
Vacation To-Do 1. Visit Mom 2. Remodel upstairs bathroom. 3. Change lighting fixtures in hall 4. Paint girls room 5. Vasectomy 6. Visit Windsor Crossing 7. Lots of outings with the girls 8. Finish "IT", "Youth Ministry 3.0" and "Mad Church Disease" 9. Play video games. 10. Sleep until 10am each morning. Post Vacation To-Do 1. Clear out my email inbox 2. Get all of last weeks work done. 3. Clean desk
Every year our church takes our Jr. High students to a conference in town called Jr. High Believe. It's pretty awesome. Thousands of Jr. Highers show up in an arena to hear about God. The conference involves, preaching, worship, and a lot of purposed entertainment.
The best part of the whole conference though is getting leaders involved. These type of events do wonders for students, but it also does wonders for leaders. Many adults are intimidated by teens. When they get around a group of them they revert back to their days in school, and feel the same stares and pressures all over again.
Over night events do wonders to alleviating this problem. Adults are able to spend a little more time with the student and realize that they're just kids needing some one to love them. We had a few new leaders join us on this trip and I was happy to see them build relationships. I know it will do wonders for those students.
Side Note:
It doesn't matter where we go, whether there are 20 students or 3,000 students...some how Kevin, one of my 8th grade guys, always ends up on stage! He has been blessed with the ability to be picked out of a crowd. This will serve him well...unless the draft is ever reinstated.
I recently found out that I'm a lot closer to being done with my Masters Degree than I thought I was. I thought I had 2 classes of Hebrew, 2 electives and an extended research paper to do. Turns out I've completed my electives. Only two more classes and a paper! I could be done in a year!
I found this video of my home town Flora, Illinois. It was made in the 80's when Flora was trying to boost its economy by getting a prison. There were 33 other towns in the runnings. Flora lost...probably because of this video:
I just received this letter from someone. I think its a great opportuninty to help someone out and make some cash!
DEAREST ONE OF GOD
I am the above named person from Kuwait. I am married to Mr.Abram Morgan, who worked with Kuwait embassy in Ivory Coast for nine years before he died in the year 2004. We were married for eleven years without a child. He died after a brief illness that lasted for only four days.
Before his death we were both born again Christian. since his death I decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which the Bible is against. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of $2. 5 Million (Two Million and Five Hundred thousand U.S. Dollars) in the bank here in Abidjan in suspense account.
Presently, the fund is still with the bank. Recently, my Doctor told me that i have seriouly sickness which is cancer problem. The one that disturbs me most is my stroke sickness. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a church or individual that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein. I want a church that will use this fund for orphanages, widows, propagating the word of God and to endeavour that the house of God is maintained.
The Bible made us to understand that blessed is the hand that giveth. I took this decision because I don’t have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are not Christians and I don’t want my husband’s efforts to be used by unbelievers. I don’t want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly way. This is why I am taking this decision. I am not afraid of death hence i know where I am going. I know that I am going to be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14 VS 14 says that the Lord will fight my case and I shall hold my peace.
I don’t need any telephone communication in this regard because of my health hence the presence of my husband’s relatives is around me always I don't want them to know about this development. With God all things are possible. As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the bank here in Abidjan. I want you and the church to always pray for me because the Lord is my shepherd. My happiness is that I lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever that wants to serve the Lord must serve him in spirit and Truth. Please always be prayerful all through your life.
Contact me through my e-mail address for more information’s, any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing another church or individual for this same purpose. Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I Stated herein. Hoping to receive your reply. Remain blessed in the Lord.
I love the story in Luke 24 of the disciples walking to Emmaus. They are walking along downcast when a stranger walks up to them and asks, "Whats the matter, guys?" The look at the man and say, "You must be the only one in the entire city that hasn't heard what happened to Jesus! It's been a rough few days!" The irony, of course, is that the stranger was Jesus...and Jesus obviously knew what had happened. They just didn't recognize who they were talking to.
Is it possible to come in contact with something so great, and yet not recognize it? Can our own worries, our own busyness detract from something greater that's going on?
The Washington Post put this theory to the test. They teamed up with the guy in this video:
Ok, maybe your like me and this doesn't do anything for you. But let me tell you about Joshua Bell. That violin he's playing was made in 1710. He bought it for 3.5 million dollars. It costs no less than $100 p/ticket to go see his concerts. And those seats stink! He makes $1000 a minute and sells out concert halls all around the world. People flock to this guy and his music!
The Washington Post decided to see what would happen if they took something so great out of a concert hall and put it into busy people's lives. The location he's playing in is a crossing in Washington DC for the very people that would go see his concerts. This is what happened:
During the hour he played in this building he made a little over $37. And only a few people stopped. There was no applause after his masterpieces and very little recognition. Hundreds of people had the opportunity sit in on a free concert for on of the greatest violinists in the entire world and they missed it.
Makes me think of all the people, myself included, who gladly give Jesus an hour a week on Sunday morning, but forget about him during the rest of the week. Makes me wonder what I'm missing.
A recent survey has been getting a lot of attention. It's findings show that the fastest growing religious segment in America is the "non-religious". In 1990 86% of people said they were Christian. Today that number has dropped to 75%. The survey also found that all Christian segments are shrinking except for the "evangelical/born again" Christians.
Here is one quote from an article at CNN about how Evangelicals are contributing to the increase of "non-religious"
One in three Americans consider themselves evangelical, and the number of people associated with mega-churches has skyrocketed from less than 200,000 in 1990 to more than 8 million in the latest survey.
The rise in evangelical Christianity is contributing to the rejection of religion altogether by some Americans, said Mark Silk of Trinity College.
"In the 1990s, it really sunk in on the American public generally that there was a long-lasting 'religious right' connected to a political party, and that turned a lot of people the other way," he said of the link between the Republican Party and groups such as the Moral Majority and Focus on the Family.
Unfortunately, I agree with this statement 100%. The evangelicals desires to throw itself in to the political process is counter productive. Sure, people should get out and vote, but the Church crosses a line when it starts setting up tables supporting voting initiatives and asking people to sign petitions or send red envelopes to the White House. We send the message, "In order to be welcomed into this worship service, you must be a Republican." As more people leave the republican party, people are also going to be leaving the Church as well. Not because they want to, but because the Church won't let them in.
Ashlynn has never wanted to get married. Ever. She's never talked about a husband, or a wedding. This is odd because she's very girly. She loves princesses. She loves drawing girls in dresses. But never has she ever thought about getting married. A few years ago she explained to me why she didn't want to get married:
I think she thinks I'm the only guy that she will ever need. Which makes me smile. So, this attitude has kept up...until recently. Recently, while we were all alone, I told her that I wanted her to get married. She started crying. After comforting her, I told her why I wanted her to get married. I explained that she needed somebody to live life with, someone who could take care of her when I'm gone, someone to love her, and someone to help her have kids. After more tears and more explanations she finally agreed that she needed to get married.
(Now I don't think marriage is for everyone, but for Ashlynn it definitely is.)
Once she felt like I was 100% ok with her loving another man, she has started planning out her wedding. She's wrote down a list of attributes that she's looking for in a man. Some of them were:
1. He must love God 2. He must love me 3. He must love me when I'm not pretty. 4. He must take care of me. 5. He must like my Dad.
And then came the book. Ashlynn had a little time at school, so her teacher gave her a blank book to draw in. She brought the book home to show Rachel. As Rachel was reading it, I came in the room. I didn't know what was going on, but Ashlynn's face turned incredibly red...then she started crying. She ran to me and gave me a big hug, saying "I'm going to erase it. I'm going to erase it!" I took the book and read it. Here it is, with the translation:
"I like Ashton"
"Ashton do you want to play Mario?"
"Do you love me"
"I love you"
"I got married"
After reading the book I eased her embarrassment by bragging on her art skills. Afterward I promised that I would never say anything to Ashton (a friend from church). And now you're in on the promise too. Never say anything to Ashton or Ashlynn about this. It's our little secret...until she's a teenager.
I am obviously a tech nerd. I love technology and think that it makes our lives more productive when used properly. However, I believe you can use technology in ways it wasn't meant to be used, thereby inhibiting productivity.
Today, I was meeting a friend (Matt) for lunch at the Bread Company. I arrived a little early, sat down on one of the leather chairs, whipped out my iPhone and did a little work as I waited. At one point, I looked up to glance out the window to see if Matt had arrived. As I did, I noticed another guy doing work on a computer.
There is typically nothing wrong with this site. Lots of people bring in their computers to places like Bread Co, or Starbucks to get some work done. But this was different. This guy didn't just bring in a computer. He brought in a BIG computer. He brought in what seemed to be a 24" iMac! These things are not made to be portable computers!
I couldn't help myself. I tilted my phone up, and snapped a picture. Here it is:
I know I'm a tech snob. I'm working on it. But this is a little much. This is obviously not a portable computer! Granted, the guy is pretty big himself, so maybe picking this thing up is easier for him. But still a little over the line, IMHO. So here's my advice to those looking to delve into portable technology:
"If it is not made to be portable, don't assume it is just because you can lift."
In a few weeks our church is starting its Easter series. I made this graphic to be passed off to the media department. They will make a few revisions and start using it in a few weeks.
I made this image for a .deW series that we are doing on Wednesday nights. We're talking about relationships and families. The goal is to help students to understand that they have a "good" Father.
Session 1: Effectiveness in Worship Leading
