No Pressure

I have been a worship leader for the better part of 15 years.  In that time, I have come to appreciate “No Pressure” worship leading opportunities.  When you regularly lead or are employed by a church as a worship leader, people tend to put their two cents in every chance they get:  The music was too loud.  I couldn’t hear Jessica.  Can you play more hymns?  Why can’t I sing more?  Why did you have a keyboard AND a piano?  You play too much Chris Tomlin.  You don’t play enough Chris Tomlin.  The list goes on and on.

That being the case, I really enjoy opportunities where the circumstances don’t allow me to have to “live with” the results.  For example, last week I led worship at my college alma matter.  Was it loud?  Yes.  Was it polished? When you have guys coming from all over the Midwest and practice for an hour ahead of time, no it wasn’t.  Was it honest? You bet.  Was it worshipful?  Absolutely.

I’m sure there were older alums that couldn’t stand the volume, but you know what?  I don’t care!  There may have been people that didn’t like my song choice.  To them, I say, “I don’t care.”  What people saw up front was worship leaders from different denominations, different churches, and different regions gathered together to worship the same Lord and Savior.  The music that was played came from the heart.  It was filled with a passion and freedom that wasn’t restrained by church politics or a congregation member’s personal preference.  So often, our worship is bogged down with these things. 

“Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!”  Psalm 150

Those verses left out things like personal preference, decibel level, and hymn to modern song proportion. 

I encourage you to read 2 Samuel 6.  Why don’t we worship more like David?  Why don’t we dance with unbridled joy in the streets?  A better question may be do we act like Michal?  Do we look down on those who worship differently or not to our personal preference? 

Something to ponder this week…

…and give to God what is God’s…

We have all heard the story before:  The Pharisees and their buddies are following Jesus around and try to corner him…again, even after so many failed attempts.  This time, they try to get him to go against the Roman government, thinking that the Romans would take care of their “Jesus problem.”  When they asked, “If they should pay taxes to Caesar,” he responds by saying, “Give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God’s (Mark 12:17).”  

In my many discussions with church leaders in the area, the subject of finances came up.  Many churches are struggling with a lack of financing these days.  The reasons rage from job loss to property taxes that came early or even as simple as people forgetting their checkbook on a Sunday.  Whatever the case, churches are finding themselves strapped for cash.

As we were talking, I thought of something profound (OK, not so profound or new, but something that is rarely said from the pulpit), I think that we feel like our money is ours to freely give and spend as we please, when in actuality: it’s Gods.

Think about it this way: Who designed you? God.  Who gave you your gifts and talents? God.  Who is ultimately responsible for the paycheck that you receive? God.  So, whose name should really be in that “Pay to the Order of” line?  God.  You see, when you look at your money as God’s, you are forced to see things differently. 

Many of us are going through hard times financially, but no matter what, God will take care of us:

 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light.  But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!  No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.  That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?  Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?  So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.  So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Matthew 6:19-34

Your offering depends on what God is calling you to give.  For some people, that may mean 10% or tithing.  For others, that may be $50 a week or even a month for others.  And for some, that means giving time where you don’t have the money.  Does that mean that by giving you may have to get the 46” LCD TV as opposed to the 60”?  Maybe.  It might even mean canceling HBO or getting the lower satellite package.  What minstry could you help start/fund by putting in $5 a week?  At the end of the day, God promises to take care of our needs and because of that shouldn’t we return just a little bit back to Him?

Simplicity

Every now and then, I like to take a Sunday and lead worship by myself, singing while switching between the guitar and piano.  The comments I get from these weeks always astounds me.  They range from “Wow, I was so moved” to “Why would you do that?” to “How about you don’t do that again for a while…a long while…”

Rarely do I hear any comments, positive or negative, but it seems like the barrage of emails and personal conversations occur only after “solo Sundays.” 

First off, I love Sundays like this.  I mainly love it because it’s an “easy week.”  No extra mid-week evening practice.  Also, my teams appreciate the added week off.  It’s definitely NOT because I need the attention solely on me for a week.  In honesty, I don’t like that pressure on me.  My sub-par guitar and piano skills are exposed and my mistakes aren’t covered up by the rest of the band.  It’s very nerve racking.

But there’s something about the simplicity of it.  Does every week need to be a huge “production?”  Does your faith hinge on whether or not there is a full rock band up on stage every week?

One of my all-time favorite songs is “Heart Of Worship” by Matt Redman.  “When the music fades, and all is stripped away, and I simply come…”  I remember when this song first came out.  It came out in a time when “big production” was the thing in churches.  I remember thinking, “Wow, I’ve missed the whole point of this worship thing.”  Since then, I’ve always made a point to work in a solo Sunday every now and then, if nothing else, to be that gentle reminder that it’s not about us or our preference, but rather it’s about bringing glory to God.

Isn’t that what worship is all about anyway?

Back To School

Now that I’m an adult, the Back to School/Fall season is probably my favorite time of year.  Although it’s a very busy time of year, it’s still great to see the students coming back to school and breathing a little life into the campus.  For students, there’s something about a “fresh start.”  They have a new teacher to learn from.  For college students, it’s a time of moving out from under mom and dad’s roof and doing laundry and cooking on their own.  There’s just a lot of…change.  And if you read last week’s post, you know that change isn’t always the easiest thing.

But there’s something about a new beginning; a fresh start.  I remember that I wasn’t always the best student and relished in the idea of starting fresh with a new teacher.  Someone that didn’t know my faults and short comings.  Someone that didn’t know that I wasn’t big into the whole idea of “homework.”

We get the same new start from God.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”  What a great feeling to know that we are made new in Christ!  It’s like a new beginning.  It’s a fresh start.  It’s hitting the reset button.  Our life is made new through Him because of what He did for us on the cross.  He doesn’t hold grudges.  He freely forgives us…no matter what.