Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Birthday Pondering

I love birthdays mainly because it is a day when people celebrate you for something you had nothing to do with. I did not do any work 37 years ago. I did not choose the day. I did not choose the parents. I did not choose the doctor or hospital. Yet every year, because of something I had nothing to do with, I get presents and lots of attention. Its the best! I do not like the thought of how long I have been alive mainly because I do not like the thought of how long I have left to live. I do not know how long that may be, but I thank God for the days I have been given. I am the most blessed person with the grace of God because He has treated me way better than I ever deserved. I have an amazing wife. I have an amazing family. I work at an amazing church with an amazing group of people. My life is filled with the amazing grace of God and today I want to give Him thanks! Thank you God for the people you have gifted into my life. I am a blessed man.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Sooooo Sorry!

I know that I have been a slack dawg when it comes to updating my blog lately. I can say that I have been busy, but that's not that good of an excuse. Let's just say I am sorry.

So that you will know what is going on around Hargettville, I though I would give you an update. Brandy and I are going to be having surgeries in October that will hopefully correct some of the issues that have kept us from getting pregnant the last 9 years. We are both a little nervous about the surgery, but excited about the possibilities. Please keep us in your prayers.

At work things are so exciting. We are starting two new satellite services on Sunday morning. I am helping to disciple and oversee the leadership for these new services. God is doing some amazing things. It is a great day at CFA to be sure.

I will try to do better about blogging in the future. Email me and let me know you are reading this at steve@inspireworship.com.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Lessons From Camp

Brandy and I just finished a week at Royal Family Kids Camp. This is a camp that we have participated in for the past three years. The camp ministers to kids 6-11 who have been victims of abuse and are now in the foster system in some capacity. It was once again an amazing week. I always leave this camp having a renewed understanding of why the book of James says that religion that is acceptable to God is to take care of widows and orphans and to keep oneself from being contaminated by this world. 

I could write about so many lessons about life, about love, and about God that God taught me this week through these kids. You may be reading about several of these lessons in upcoming blogs. The lesson that I want to talk about today deals with the Father's attention.

On Thursday I found myself sitting under a tree on the ground watching a ten year old boy blow bubbles. Not just any bubbles but very large bubbles with a large wand that he would dip in a bowl and then wave through the air. I know this does not sound very exciting and to be honest it wasn't. But I sat there with my full attention given to this young boy saying things like, "wow that's amazing" and "that's the biggest bubble I have ever seen." I wasn't really 'that' impressed but I wanted to let this boy know that he had my attention and to praise him every chance I got. Every time that he made a bubble he would look my way to hear my comment. If he messed up and the bubble burst before he could fully form it, he would look my way wondering what my reaction would be. I would simply say, "thats ok you will get this next one." This young boy acted as though he had never had a father that had been so totally engrossed and attentive to his actions. You could tell he was eating it up and soaked in the praise.

It was during this time that the Spirit softly spoke to me again. He said, "This is the same attention that your heavenly Father gives you." At first I thought to myself that God has better things to be attentive to than my bubble making. Then again the Spirit spoke to me and said, "this is why it is so important for earthly fathers to take the time to give full attention to their child's 'bubble making' so they will understand the love of the heavenly Father which is so much greater than the love of an earthly father." If an earthly father knows how to give attention to his child, how much more does the heavenly Father know how to give attention to His child. 

So the next time you find yourself caught up in the mundane and ordinary 'bubble making' take time to look over at your heavenly Father and you just might hear him say 'well done, that was amazing."

Til next time...

Monday, July 7, 2008

Living versus Dying

Do you know that somewhere in our physical development we switch from coming alive to dying. I don't really know when it happens, but I am sure it does. It seems like there comes a point when your body has developed everything it is going to develop and you start to deteriorate or wear down. So I imagine at my age, I have started that deterioration process. At least it feels that way. So I got to thinking, with all this dying in my physical body that is going on, what can I do to make sure my mental and spiritual body are renewed. Paul wrote that we can renew our minds daily. It seems like as long as I am in the renewing process of my mind, I will avoid its deterioration.

So how do you keep your mind and spirit alive when the rest of you is dying? The first thing I came up with is to be creative. Living is creating. Instead of just accepting things the way they are, think of new things. Take a new route to work. Figure out a new way to fix your favorite recipe. Write a song or a poem. Make a new friend. Participate in the one characteristic of life that is just like our Father, be creative. 

The second thing that I thought of was to stop speaking death and start speaking life. Death talk is so depressing. Do you know what death talk is? Death talk is when you tear stuff down instead of building stuff up. Death talk is when you speak ill of people rather than speaking positive. Death talk is when you spend more time talking about the problem than you spend trying to solve it. So stop the death talk and start speaking life to those around you.

The last thing that I want to encourage you to do is to embrace Christ. Why? Because there are only really two things you can embrace, life or death. Christ equals life. Everything else has been set up by the enemy to steal from you, to kill you, and to destroy you. So embrace Christ, His teachings, His love, His power. Then you will truly know what it means to live and not die.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Prayer and Email

We can tell a lot about our priorities by our habits. One of the things that I find myself addicted to doing is checking my email. When I get up in the morning, I want to check it. When I get to the office, I check it. When I get home from work, I want to check it. I don’t know why. Most of the time its just someone peddling the latest pill or wanting me to verify my bank number so they can steal my money. But I have this feeling that I am going to miss out on something important or to not get a message from someone that needs to get ahold of me. 


I wish I had that same urgency about prayer. Don’t get me wrong. If you were to ask me what is more important prayer or email, I would definitely say prayer. But sometimes I get so caught up in the information of this physical world, that I lose my sense of urgency for information from the Spirit. I want to encourage you to join me in developing the “urgency” for our information from above. I don’t want to miss out on the vital information that the Spirit is wanting to give me to make this day a success.


Habit changer ideas:

  • Each time you go to check your email, stop in silence first and see if the Spirit has a message.
  • Each time you send an email, stop and say a prayer for someone on your list.
  • Each time you delete an email, let it remind you to ask God to purge the sins and weights that beset you.
  • Each time you save an email, ask God to remind you of His goodness and faithfulness.


Thursday, June 19, 2008

Summer Musical Arts Camp for Kids

We are excited about being in the middle of our 2nd Annual Theater Camp called S.M.A.C.K. This camp provides an opportunity for kids in 1st thru 12th grade to participate in the world of musical theater. This year we are presenting Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It is going to be an amazing show. We have a lot of kids that had returned from last year. The talent level has increased exponentially. It is amazing to see what these kids can do in two weeks time. Last year's Seussical was a sold out hit and we are expecting the same this year.

One of the things that I love about this camp is that kids who never knew they could sing or dance or act or create sets get an opportunity to try it out and see what they can do. There are so may kids who do not get a chance to be exposed to the arts in this fashion and it is great to be able to do it in a safe Christian atmosphere.

If you are not doing anything on Friday, June 27th at 7:00pm, you need to get a ticket and plan to be at Willy Wonka. It will be worth the effort!

See you then!!!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Off the Beaten Path

The other day I was riding down the road and I looked over and saw this open field with wildflowers and tall grass just blowing in the wind. I pass this field every day on the way to work and do not know why I saw it different on this particular day. I discovered the reason was that God wanted to whisper something to me. I felt like God was pointing out how we all seem so prone to travel the same paths day in and day out, to the point that we even pave the path with concrete or asphalt so that we can drive our cars on it. It's not just roads though. If you look in someone's backyard, you can sometimes see the path they use to walk around the house or to the shed or garden because the grass will be a little more trampled along that path. If you have ever had a dog living in your back yard and walking his patterns, you know exactly what I am talking about. 

On that day when I looked over and saw that field, for a moment I had a thought about how I remember running and playing in fields like that when I was a kid and how fun it would be to go exploring once again in a field like that. At that moment though, I realized that I had "grown up" and become set in my patterns of daily routines and that the field was off the beaten path of my life and therefore would not be fit into my schedule today. That was when I heard God whisper, "I am in the fields not on the beaten paths." 

I was puzzled at first as to what He was trying to say. Then I remembered stories about men like Moses who had to turn from his beaten path to go see a burning bush. Stories about men like Peter who had to leave his boat to go see this man named Jesus. I realized that the comfort and predictability of the beaten path causes us to become confident in ourselves and our ability to handle what we know. This comfort causes us to lose our perspective that includes God. That is why God has a tendency to force us off the beaten paths of our lives when He wants to get our attention. Sometimes He will allow us to be forced into situations that we would never venture into ourselves because it is off our path and He can speak to us there. But God wants to call you and I today to make ourselves turn aside from our beaten path and take a walk through the fields and hear His voice. Go take a walk in a park or sit in a prayer closet. Go see a friend you have not seen in a long time or lay in a grassy field. Whatever is off of your beaten path, try to take time to go there and listen. you might be surprised at who shows up!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Happy Birthday Brandy!

Today we celebrate one of the most important days in my life, the day my wife was born. God has blessed my life by creating on this day thirty (something) years ago the perfect woman. She is a beautiful, compassionate, creative, sensitive, gifted, amazing woman of God. The most important part of that last sentence was "woman of God". Brandy has an amazing faith. That faith is exercised everyday in her love and passion for people. She is a true servant. Paul wrote to the church at Philippi to let the same mind of Christ which caused Him to serve be in us. And it is definitely in my wife. No one works harder and with more passion than my wife. So I know that she is celebrating the life that God gave her on this day thirty something years ago in 1975....oops. But I am celebrating too because God showed His love for me when He created her. I love you pootie!!!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Wisdom Tooth....Urrgghh!

This past week I had to have a wisdom tooth removed. It had chipped about a year and a half ago, and I kept putting it off. I hate dentists. I have no problem admitting that they scare me and I hate going. This tooth finally started causing some pain and so my loving wife made me an appointment. Not being one to miss appointments, I went, had it done, and am now glad I did.

I did have one thing happen during this experience that inspired this blog today. I was in the dentists chair inhaling the goofy gas and growing numb on the left side of my mouth, when all of a sudden one of those demonic thoughts came to my mind. The thought that jumped into my head was, "you are never going to feel good again." At first I felt my heart race and my blood pressure go up. I got ready to ask the nurse to check my pulse because it felt so fast. Then just as quickly as the demonic thought came, a God thought came that said, "this feeling is only temporary and necessary for you to continue the destiny God has for you." I began to relax. I stopped clawing the chair. My blood pressure normalized. I realized that two thoughts were put before me and that I had a choice as to which one I would believe. I knew that God would not give me thoughts that would bring fear, and so it must have been the enemy that said I would never feel good again. I knew that the enemy was a liar and so I could believe the opposite of what he said. I thanked God for the process and had the procedure done. I have not had any pain since the surgery other than where they put the needles in my mouth to numb it. It has been a miraculous recovery.

My encouragement to you today is to choose wisely as to which thoughts will become your meditation in times of trouble. God has thoughts towards you. He declares them in Jeremiah 29:11. His thoughts are about giving you hope and a future, not despair and destruction. If you have been clinging to the thought that what you are going through is permanent, reject it. Speak to yourself if you have to. Remind yourself that this is a season, and seasons change. It is not as important when you get through it as how you get through it. Get through it with your faith intact. Trust in God. He orders your steps and makes your paths straight. He will be with you, even in the dentist chair.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is now upon us and I hope that you have all thought about what you are going to do to show respect and affection to your mothers. I got my present for my mother in the mail today and am looking forward to giving it to her this weekend. I want to take this opportunity on this blog to say how blessed I have been to have a Godly mother who has been a great example of Christ to her children. Things have not always been easy for our family, but my mom always made sure they were fun. People say that I take after my mother in many ways. I take that as a compliment and do not mind it at all. The older I get, the more I feel like my father though. That too would be a compliment for me. 

I do not know that much about child rearing since I do not have one of my own. But you do not have to be experienced to be knowledgeable of the fact that the role of a mother in a child's life is extremely important. To all of you mothers out there (like Christy Jackson...told you I would put your name in this time...) I want to salute you and tell you that whatever sacrifices you may have to make to see your children become the man and woman of God that they are destined to become is worth it! You have been given a grave responsibility and God is counting on you to be an example of Christ. You do not have to be perfect, just loving. My mother is not and never was perfect. But she lived a life of humility before God that let me know that in her imperfection, God was making her strong. So trust God and let Him show you how to raise your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. 

Happy Mother's Day

Monday, May 5, 2008

"Been Long Time"

I am sorry that it has been so long since I have written anything on here. We have been in a time of physical transition moving our offices across the street. This has been exciting while at the same time a little rattling since "the train must keep moving" so to speak.

I wanted to just take a moment today to write about being thankful. Pastor Rick's message yesterday indeed inspired this blog. I want to say how thankful I am for my wife, my family, my friends, and my church. I am a blessed person. God has given me so much grace and mercy and I am in awe of the fact that He has blessed me the way He has blessed me. Sometimes it is so easy to focus on the areas in our life that "hurt" and forget about the areas that are so blessed and strong. So today I will not complain about pain...I will instead rejoice and give thanks for God's many blessings. Maybe you can try that too!!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

All or Nothing

This past month our pastor, Rick Ross, has been discussing the topic of being "all in" for greatness. This past week we heard about how the three hebrew children would not bend or bow and as a result they would not burn. They even went so far in their devotion to say that we are all in whether God delivers us or not because He is still God no matter what my status or circumstance may be.

I think that could be one of the hardest, yet most necessary parts of our faith. The ability to put "all" of our faith in God no matter what. It is hard to come to the place in our walk with the Lord that we say, "I will do what's right and trust God to take care of things, but even if He doesn't take care of things I will still do what is right." What if God does not heal us like we thought he would? What if God doesn't keep our house from being foreclosed upon? What if we lose our job? What if our kid turns out to be a drug addict? Will we still say "blessed be the name of the Lord?" Will we still walk with God and put all of our faith in Him? Or will we start to look for other answers and other solutions.

I think that the 3 Hebrew teenagers had already made some hard decisions before they ever were faced with this life and death decision. The reason they had the strength to pass this test is because they had passed all of the smaller ones along the way. They refused to eat the kings food that went against their Jewish diet. They refused to live life the way the others around them were living. These tests prepared them for the day that a king would order them to be thrown into a fiery furnace. 

I always find it a little difficult to hear people say they will give their life before they will ever deny Christ. They think that if the choice had to be made between denying Christ and living, or confessing Christ and dying, they would be able to choose death. Yet when you look at the small everyday 'tests' that are placed in front of them, they fail every time. When it comes between serving their neighbor or doing something for themselves, they always choose their own interest. When it comes between giving or receiving, they always choose the latter. When it comes between sharing their faith and being ridiculed at work, or keeping their mouth shut and being promoted, they will take the promotion every time.

It is very rare that the choice will come to us to be 'all in' or die. But we do face small choices every day that will prepare us in case that time ever comes. So whatever your test is today, go all in.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

The Transition Part 2

I said at the end of my last posting that I would like to take the metaphor of musical transitions and relate them to everyday life and so here we go. 

As in music, transitions can be especially crucial in our lives and they can stand out as either an affirmation of or an indictment of our character. I have seen many people live a pretty consistent life only to be tainted by the way they went through the transitions of life. These transitions can take on many forms. For instance it can be the loss of a job and the start of a new one. It can be the end of a relationship or the beginning of a new one. It can be the transition from wealth to poverty or just the opposite. It is important to prepare ourself through spiritual disciplines before we ever even get to the time of transition. In other words, plan how you  will transition before you ever get to the place when you have to actually transition.

I talked about the transition of tempo in music in my last posting. This transition is probably the most common type of transition in our lives. We may go from a time when life seems slow or just moderate to a faster pace. Or we may go from a time of extreme busyness to a more reflective season. There are ways we can plan for these seasons. One way is to practice slowing before life gets too fast for you to do anything about it. Get in the slow lane at the grocery store. Get behind the big truck rather than the little sports car at the stop light. Intentionally make yourself slow down. It is harder than you think.

The other comparison that I want to talk about is the "dynamic" transition. Sometimes life seems really loud. So loud that we can't even hear ourselves think, or more importantly we can't hear what God thinks. So practice slowing, but also practice being quiet. Go somewhere and be alone. Don't speak. Don't pray. Just be there, in stillness and meditation. This will prepare you to hear God's voice when things get really loud.

I don't know if I am getting my point across very well today. What I really want to say is better detailed in the book, "The Life You've Always Wanted" by John Ortberg. Basically what he says is that we need to prepare ourself for transitions in life before we ever get there through various spiritual practices. After all, many times it is the transitions in life that really end up defining us. 

Thursday, April 10, 2008

The Transition

Transitions are so important. Not only in music but in life. So many times we think that we are being measured or evaluated by our performance during the verses and choruses, only to be overshadowed by the mistakes we make during the transitions. Yes, I am talking about music and life here. You can take the metaphor as far as you would like. I am going to try and stick to the music side though for this blog.

As a worship leader, band director, or choir director, it is easy to spend most of our time rehearsing the meat of the music, and then stumble as we enter, end, or transition the song. I always tell the band and choir that the first notes are important because it will let people know whether or not they want to keep listening. The end is important because it can overshadow everything you did up to that point good or bad. Transitions also leave us the most exposed and vulnerable musically. That is why it is always important to spend the time you have making sure you not only play the song well, but that you end it just as well.

A few things to watch out for in times of transition: First, watch out for the tempo or even meter changes. Tempo changes can become the intersection that causes the most crashes mainly because it is something that is inside of the leader and not so much written on a page. It is important for the worship leader to communicate in some fashion the tempo or even the feel that he or she is expecting out of the band or choir. So watch out for those tempo changes.

The second transition that can cause major problems is the key change. It is very important to figure out how you can make as smooth of a key change as possible and still get the punch that a key change gives to music. I went to a church one time and cringed at every key change because it usually took the guitarist a measure or so to realize that everyone else had changed keys. So watch out for the key changes.

Lastly I want to say that we need to watch out for the dynamic changes. By dynamics, I mean the volume changes. Worship happens in swells many times and it is important that everyone ride the same wave. If the worship leader is trying to get quiet and more intimate and the drummer and guitars keep slamming it, then the whole dynamic transition is lost. The opposite is true as well. If the worship leader is attempting to build a dynamic swell and the drummer leaves the cymbals for the high hat, you may end up wiping out. So watch out for the dynamic swells in a worship set.

I know that this blog has been filled with metaphors. I hope that you enjoyed and agreed with each comparison and assessment. May all of your transitions be right!!!

(Next time we can talk about life transitions)

Thursday, April 3, 2008

So why submit?

One of the hardest things for us to do sometimes is to submit to the authority that God has placed in our lives. For some reason it seems that we are just wired to rebel. Look at how infants quickly move to rebellion. It seems like they always learn to say no before they learn to say yes. Why do you think that is? I have my theories and as you can imagine, I am now going to share them with you. 

From the moment we are born, we are wired to try and survive. If our body doesn't do all it can to fight off infections and the like, we are considered to be sick because it is not natural for our body to not try and heal itself and live. That is in our unconscious living. In our conscious living, we find that our natural tendency is to protect ourselves and to avoid danger and pain rather than be drawn to it. If someone is drawn to pain or danger, they are considered sick or abnormal. I believe that it is partially (and I mean partially) our survival nature that causes us to rebel against the idea of giving someone else control of our life or someone else the right to have authority over us. We trust ourselves and our intentions towards ourselves. We know that we are always going to look out for our best interest. It is hard to put that responsibility in the hands of another, even if its God. Many of us think that we are submissive when really we are just living in a situation that happens to go with our best interest. It is only when someone asks us to do something that we feel is not in our best interest that our rebellious nature is exposed. 

Whenever people have money to spare, it is easy to tithe. Whenever I have to choose between my cable bill and my tithe, then things get messy. Whenever my boss asks me to work with someone I like doing something I enjoy doing things are great. When he asks me to work with the lazy guy doing something I loathe, my submissive nature has a chance to really be checked.

Why am I saying this? I just wanted to challenge you to ask yourself whether or not you are truly submissive to authority, or just one who seeks out authority that agrees with you. The test of submission only comes when you disagree with the order or the one giving the order. Everything else is just us doing what we do naturally, looking out for our own interest. It is when we are asked to do something against our own interest that true submission is forged. 

Just something to ponder... 

Monday, March 31, 2008

Lessons from Saying Goodbye

This past weekend we all said a goodbye to our dear friend and colleague Bill Ballance who is moving to Montana. God has definitely called him there and so we send him with our love and our blessing. He will definitely be missed around here. People associate Bill sometimes with the facilities he has designed and built. But those of us who know him well will always associate him with the lives that he has endeavored to help remodel. Bill's pastoral heart is so evident and so needed in these days and times. He is definitely an asset to the Kingdom of God and will be used greatly in Montana I am sure.

Having said all of that, I want to just point out a few lessons that we all learn while we are saying goodbye, yet seem so prone to forget once the waving is all done. The first lesson is that relationships trump achievement in the long run. I know that achievement is important. Trust me, I am driven by achievement sometimes to a fault. But when you say goodbye, it is the people that come to the forefront of your mind. You realize that you wished you had spent a little more time with people than with stuff. Bill is a great example of a man that in my opinion knew how to get things done and at the same time love people. He is a great model for us all. So the first lesson is to value relationships. After all, they will be the one writing your legacy when you are gone!!

The second lesson in saying goodbye is that it is possible to stain everything you have achieved by saying goodbye the wrong way. Whenever I left my position in Gastonia, I determined that I would not be one of those staff people that ruin their achievements during their tenure by trashing the place on the way out. I don't mean physically trashing, but verbally trashing the place. My predecessors at Gastonia had a reputation on causing division as they left rather than trying to bring healing and unity. I determined that when I left no one would hear me saying anything negative about my pastor or my church. So I guess what I am trying to say is, keep your mouth shut on the way out. You can ruin all the good you did while you were there by not closing your mouth on the way out. I hear of people leaving the church and holding meetings with people to let them know of all the reasons they are offended and leaving. All that this does is ruin that members reputation on the way out and make it almost impossible for them to come back. Don't burn your bridges with your tongue on the way out!!

The last lesson I want to discuss is a simple one. When you leave, trust God to fill the hole that is there from your absence. Don't try to fill it yourself by your own ideas or schemes. I once had a wise woman tell me that when I left the church I was at, it would be like taking your hand out of a bucket of water. All of the people that I had displaced by my being there would flow into their position. God has a plan. If He has called you out, He will fill the gap. Trust Him and release it.

I know these are not all of the lessons we need to learn. But they are the ones on my mind today so I hope that they help you one day to say goodbye the right way.

Goodbye!!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Easter Trilogy 2008

I hope that you had a great Easter season. This year's season was a little long again since we did three weeks of Easter productions. Don't get me wrong, I love Easter. It is the greatest holiday that we have to celebrate. I am just not used to this long of a production season I guess.

I want to use this blog as a forum to say how blessed I am to be able to work with the people that I work with. Everyone from the staff at CFA to the choir, and most important to me, the orchestra. We have an incredible team of people that always put in their best and it shows. It is so awesome to actually look forward to getting together with the people you work with and the people you worship with. I love my guys (and gals) and love to see them each and every week. I know that we asked a lot of you this season. Thank you for your patience and dedication to His work here at CFA,

You are all the best (with Nacho accent).

Thursday, March 20, 2008

A Canoe vs. A Cruise Ship

Have you ever felt like your life was out of balance? I guess I should also ask if you have ever felt like your life was in balance. I don't know about you but there have been few times in my life when I felt like things were in perfect balance, and even then it only lasted a few moments until something unexpected came along and threw me off again. If you start to think about this balance thing, you can get kind of depressed because you start to feel like you are not achieving something that you ought to be achieving and that you need to work a little harder, which tends to throw you off whatever sense of balance you had achieved up to now. 

I think that it is all about perspective. Have you ever ridden in a canoe? If so, you know that the slightest movement can make you feel like you are going to lose your balance and tip over. Have you ever ridden on a cruise ship? Did you ever feel like any sudden movements would have any impact at all on the ships ability to stay balanced? Probably not, because you could jump up and down, and nothing you did would ever budge that ship.

I have found that the times in my life when I feel the most unstable are the times when I have found myself viewing life from a canoe rather than a cruise ship. What I mean is that sometimes when our "base" is narrow and small we feel like the smallest changes can rock the boat. When we find ourselves disconnected from our family, friends, and most importantly our walk with the Lord, life can feel a lot like a canoe. But when our "base" is wide and large, things can happen all around us and we hardly feel the impact at all. When we feel that sense of connection with our family, friends, and our God, life feels more like the cruise ship.

So how can you get out of that canoe and onto the cruise ship? You can start by widening your base. Reconnect with your family. Don't wait for them to reconnect with you. Be proactive in your relationships. Reconnect with your friends. Most importantly, connect with your God. Your base can't get any wider than that. When you know you are in the palm of God's hand, the winds and waves of life don't seem to rock the boat as hard. Yes, there will still be winds and waves, the question is how will you choose to ride through the storms, in a canoe or a ship.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Easter Trilogy Week 2

We finished week two of our Easter Trilogy yesterday. You can go to concordfa.com to view the production. Yesterday's theme was a Life of Dreams. We portrayed the life of Joseph and how God worked out the dreams in his life. Pastor Rick gave some awesome exhortation on how we need to remain faithful during the time between the inspiration of our dreams and the fulfillment of them. Too many times God's plan is thwarted because of our impatience. 

Abraham's impatience between the time of his dream for an heir and its fulfillment brought about Ishmael. Many times in our lives we try to work out God's plan in our own way and in our own time. The dream is still good and still God's plan for us, but we end up tainting it with our ideas of how it should be worked out. Let's decide to trust God and be patient. His time and His way is perfect. Though we may not always enjoy the path, His ways are higher than ours and are perfect. 

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Living is Growing

This weekend I got to see the many changes in my nieces and nephews that simply come from growing up. Today I got to spend the day celebrating my niece's 3rd birthday. What a joy it is to see her grow and learn and develop into the person that God has created her to be. One of my nephews had his first T-ball practice. Another nephew drove us to the movies with his new driving permit. Another niece showed me how she is learning to read. All of these changes and growth tell me one thing...they are alive. Change and growth is a part of life. The moment we begin to fear and reject change is the moment that we stop living and start dying.

Embrace the new things that God wants to teach you and grow with them. Look back at your spiritual year and see whether or not you are still embracing the changes and the "living" that God wants you to experience, or whether you have become stagnant and stopped "living." If you have started 'dying,' look around you and embrace something new. Learn something new. Do something you have never done before and start enjoying the wonders of "living" once again. Its far better than the alternative.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Easter Trilogy Week One


Easter Trilogy part one is now behind us and we move on to part two. This past weekend was all about the life of Moses and the steps of obedience that led him to become known as a friend of God. 

Moses at one point in his life was not only completely unaware of God's plan, but completely unaware of the one true God, Jehovah. He had been raised in a polytheistic culture where basically anything could be symbolic of one of their gods. Yet even with that background, God got his attention, spoke to him, and changed his life. I don't know about you, but that gives me a lot of hope not only for my life, but for loved ones who I think are unreachable. The fact is that God wants to reach them even more than I want him to reach them. So we can pray with confidence for our loved ones, because God can put a burning bush in their path and speak to them a whole lot better than we can.
Say a prayer even now that God would put burning bushes in our loved ones lives and speak to them out of those experiences.
 

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Easter is Right Around the Corner


I don't know about you and your church, but around here things are hopping getting ready for our Easter Trilogy. Yes, you read it correctly...Trilogy. CFA has now begun the tradition of having an Easter Trilogy which is a three part sermon/drama/musical series leading up to Easter. This year we are doing the life of Moses on March 9th, the life of Joseph on March 16th, and the life of Jesus on March 23rd. This is a great way to build enthusiasm around Easter and provide something that people can invite their friends and family to.
You may not be doing the Trilogy or even an Easter drama, but do something. Easter Sunday should be more than just another Sunday service. It should be an excellent celebration of the most important events in human history. So step it up. Do something outside of the box and make this Easter something memorable for you and your community. 

Monday, March 3, 2008

Give Them the "Lazy Eye"


When I was born, I had the "lazy eye." My left eye was droopy and needed to be operated on in order to look like the right one. This picture was taken after that surgery. The surgery was a success, except for the fact that they took a little too much and now my eye doesn't quite shut all the way. Whenever I sleep, one eyes stays a little bit open. It freaked my wife out when we first got married. But she has learned over time that as long as she can still hear me snoring, I'm OK.

I ran across this picture today in the process of backing up some old photo files and it got me to to thinking about how many times over the years I have been self conscious about that eye. Whenever I would pray in public, I would always wonder if people were looking and wondering why I was praying with one eye open. Whenever I was a Youth Pastor, I always seemed to think that it was necessary to explain to the youth why my eye was messed up. 

After a while I came to realize that the only people who really noticed it were the people that I told about it. I had been having this huge complex over something that other people really never even thought about. I had been handicapping myself with the wrong idea of how people saw me. That "lazy eye" had really never handicapped my ability to see others because I can see almost perfect even without glasses. But that lazy eye had handicapped how I saw myself. 

Today ask the heavenly Father to help you understand who you are in Him and find confidence over any false perceptions that may hinder your ability to minister to others. Stop letting your "lazy eye" handicap how you see yourself or others.


Saturday, March 1, 2008

GPS for the Soul

Recently Brandy and I purchased a GPS to assist us in our traveling for IWM. We had used one on our trip to New York last year and really loved it. It is kind of like having a cell phone, once you have had it, you can't imagine not having it. So we bought one.

The other day Brandy and I were using it on our trip to Chapel Hill and I made the comment that no matter what wrong turn we may make, we can still drive with confidence because the GPS adjusts and gets us where we are going. You know it is kind of that way in our walk with the Lord. We no longer have to feel lost in life. We have the Holy Spirit that will lead us and guide us no matter where we find ourselves. If we will only learn to trust and rely on the Lord's leading as easily as we do that GPS, we will find ourselves not only driving with peace and confidence, but living with it as well.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Where sin abounds...

For many years I always thought that the verse that said, "Where sin abounds, grace doth much more abound," was pretty obvious in its meaning. I always just thought that of course you need more grace when you have a lot of sin. It takes a bigger covering to cover bigger sin.

I have come to appreciate this verse on a deeper level though. It's not that I didn't understand what abounding sin was all about. I just didn't understand fully what abounding grace was all about. For a long time I viewed "grace" as simply being a covering for sin. What I didn't realize is that grace is God's gift to us and that gift is more than a covering for our sin, it is an empowerment for abundant living. For many of us, we think that the abundance of sin has disqualified us for abundance of life, but God makes up for every deficiency from sin through His empowerment and qualifies us for life more abundantly. Willingly receive not only God's covering for your past, but His power for your future.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

From a Puppy's Perspective

Back when I was single, a day came when I thought it might be a good time to get a dog. I was living alone and thought the company would be nice. A friend of mine had just gotten a springer spaniel puppy and told me that some friends of hers who had bought her puppy's sibling had changed their mind and wanted to give away their puppy. So I jumped on the idea of a springer puppy. Once you have seen and held a springer puppy you are totally smitten by them. They are so cute and playful. I decided to name her Maggie.

When Maggie and I got home, I took her out in my back yard to let her get used to her new home. It was hilarious to sit back and watch her simply explore all of her new surroundings. The people that had lived in the house before me also had dogs. Their dogs evidently loved to dig holes. I know because I would always twist my ankle stepping in them when I mowed. Grass had grown over these holes and so you couldn't really see them unless you were looking right down at them. Maggie, being so little, would be walking along and all of a sudden disappear into one of these holes. She would pull herself together, crawl out and keep right on going. I would try to tell her, "Maggie, watch out for that hole", but being that our communication was not that good, she would march right on and fall into the very hole I had tried to warn her about. This happened several times. I found myself saying, "I warned you Maggie, that's what you get when you don't listen."

All of a sudden God spoke very quietly to me and said, "That's how I feel sometimes, I see the potholes in your life coming and try to warn you, but you keep plowing on not acknowledging the fact that I have a better vantage point than you do and can guide you around those holes if you would only let me." I stopped in my tracks, reviewed the situation and then realized I am just like that puppy. I think I know it all. But there is a Master whose ways are higher than my ways and whose thoughts are higher than my thoughts and He can help me navigate through the backyard of life safely if I will only learn to listen.

Today be willing to stop and listen and let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Let His Word be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. God is a loving God who wants to protect and care for you. Trust Him and let Him lead.


Monday, February 18, 2008

It's Kind of Like Golf...


I have been playing golf for about 20 years now. If you added all the times I played up, it might equal the same as someone that has only played for 3 years though. I just don't have the time or the money to play as often as I would like. I love the game. There is nothing better than being out on a beautiful course on a beautiful day surrounded by nature and hopefully some friends or family. It is a great game. There are so many sermons from golf, but I will try to limit my remarks today to a few that I have been thinking about since my game last week.

One of the things that is so frustrating about golf (and there are many) is that no matter how good your swing is or how well you hit the ball, there are so many other variables at play that will impact the success of your shot. You have the wind blowing and effecting your shot. You have the slope of the fairway. You may even have a sprinkler head laying out there that you could not have seen from 250 yards away. But each of these things can play a major role in the success of your shot. I have seen guys hit the most beautiful shot off the tee and then when the ball lands it hits a rock in the fairway and bounces off to the left. On the other hand, I have also seen my Dad hit an ugly shot off of the tee on a par three, but it landed on the cart path, rolled all the way down the hill towards the green, hit a rock or something, kicked over toward the green and landed several feet from the hole. In that case, all of the uncontrollable variables worked to his advantage. There is a golf saying "It's not how you drive, it's how you arrive."

Why am I saying all of this? Life is like golf in some ways. For some of us, we try to hit straight and true and if it wasn't for the little sprinkler heads in the fairways of life, we would always be successful. Then there are some of us that seem to duff the ball off of the tee and then all of the cart paths and rocks in life seem to place our ball in great position. What is so funny is that when the sprinkler head causes our ball to hop up on the green in putting position, we celebrate the sprinkler head and might even thank God for it. But when that same sprinkler head knocks our ball out of bounds, we curse the sprinkler head and complain that they should never be put there.

How many times in life do we praise God for the variables that go our way and then doubt God's love when the same variables do not seem to work in our "favor."? I want to encourage you today to not be double minded but rather single minded in your belief that all things work together for good when we love God and believe in His purpose for our life.

There is another saying in golf that goes something like this, "All that matters is the score card in the clubhouse." In other words, no matter what good looking shots or bad looking shots got you there, all that matters is the final score. That's where God's grace comes in. You see no matter how badly I may feel like my game is going, ultimately I know that in the clubhouse of life I win because Jesus has already shot the perfect game and I get to turn in His scorecard. I have traded my unrighteousness for His righteousness. What a thought! So don't let your game get all bent out of shape because of the variables that are out of your control. Swing strong and confident knowing that in the end...you win!!!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

One of the Pitfalls of Recruitment

There are many pitfalls that you can find when trying to recruit new members in your orchestra or choir. One of the pieces of advice that I give most Pastors is to never be so desperate to recruit that you sacrifice commitment for quick fixes. I have told many Pastors that it is better to have an empty position than to have it filled with the wrong person.

I try to always stay away from making this one mistake...never beg, bribe, or bargain anyone into your worship ministry. If you have to beg, bribe, or bargain to get them into your program, you will have to beg, bribe, and bargain to keep them committed to your program. I would rather not have a position filled than to have it filled with someone who really doesn't want to be there in the first place. I believe that God adds to the church and to the department as He sees fit. Let God bring passionate and competent people to your side before filling the position with someone that will cost you dearly to have to remove later on.

Musicians attract musicians. Develop a passionate group of musicians who are committed to the ministry and other like minded musicians will follow.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

What's Love Got to Do With It....

On this Valentine's Day morning, I can hear Tina Turner in the back of my head singing, "What's love got to do, got to do with it? What's love but a second hand emotion?" I can't help but think that maybe that is what the world today has reduced "love" to, a second hand emotion. But when I look at the Scriptures I see a totally different emphasis and value placed on love. The Bible teaches that love should become the motivating force in everything that we do.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans to owe no man anything except for the constant outstanding debt of love that we owe every man and woman. What an incredible thought that we are constantly indebted to love one another. There is no point in our relationships with others where we can say "I have met my quota of love for you." Selah (think about it)

Paul writes to the church at Corinth that if I do good deeds, if I speak in the languages of angels, if I give my body to be burned and don't have love as the motivating force, then all of those "accomplishments" are in vain. There are many reasons to do nice things for others. Some do it to return kindness shown to them. Some do it to get attention or praise from others. Some do it because they feel obligated to do it. Some may even do it because they think it is their religious duty. But if love is not the driving force, Paul says that compared to the beautiful symphony of love, your actions sound like a clanging symbol.

So what's love got to do with it....I would say it has everything to do with it.

Please let me know if you like our postings by emailing us at www.inspireworship.com. Thanks and Happy Valentines Day!



Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Rambling from a Funeral

Yesterday I sang at a funeral. It was your typical funeral for someone who was not elderly by any means, though up in years. The death was not really expected, so that added to the difficulty in saying goodbye. I have done hundreds of funerals through the years, and as far as funerals go this one was no different than most. 

I got to thinking during the funeral though about how the people that attend a funeral often tell a lot about how that person lived. If a person was really family oriented, there tends to be a large family delegation. If they were really involved in their church, you see a lot of church folks. If they were really involved in some hobby or club like bikers or something, you typically can see it at the funeral. If they were a loner type, you might not even fill up a row. 

Have you ever thought about who is going to show up at your funeral? Have you ever wondered what the snapshot of your life will look like based on who shows up? I did yesterday. You know, sometimes we spend a lot of time trying to live life for people or groups that ultimately will not even notice your departure. I hope the people that show up at my funeral will be a testimony to the fact that I loved my family, my church, and tried to make a difference in the lives of people. I hope that when I die people will say that I made an impact on them not just an impression. I spend way too much energy and worry trying to make an impression and missing opportunities to make an impact. Hopefully, not anymore...

What are you doing to make an impact versus an impression? Just a few ramblings from a funeral...

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Who's getting Who's Attention?

Whenever you are leading people in worship, there is an important question that we must ask ourselves. Am I coming to get God's attention, or am I letting Him get mine? How you answer this question will totally impact how you lead worship.

For instance, if you feel that you have to get God's attention, your worship will be all about trying to impress Him (as if we were capable of that). We would say things like, "Come on people, if you bless the Lord He will come and answer our prayers" or you will clap and shout and dance (kind of like the prophets of Baal) until you have worked yourself up into a tizzy. That approach borders on mysticism. It says that if I say the right thing and do the right thing, God will not be angry or dispassionate towards my situation and will come and intervene on my behalf.

But if you come in with the approach to worship that God is trying to get your attention, then your worship may look a little different. The old chorus says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus.... and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." Is it possible that spiritual things happen in worship because we get spiritual. In other words, is it possible that James was correct (which he was) when he wrote that "if we draw near to God, God draws near to us." So when you lead worship, you are not trying to impress God. Instead you are taking a group of people and hopefully leading them from their carnal approach to things and letting them see God for who He really is. God is never dispassionate towards us. He wants to be involved in every part of our life. But worship that the Father is looking for is in "spirit" and in "truth." Both of these things are eternal things, not temporal. So I think God is looking for people that will get their mind off of the temporal and earthly things, and worship in His arena - spirit.

So when you are leading worship, take serious your responsibility not to get God to come down to your level, but rather help your people get up to His.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Tackling the Hard Issues

Whenever I began Inspire Worship Ministries, I thought that we would be tackling the big issues like developing choirs, orchestras, and illustrated sermons. I was soon awaken to the fact that most issues that face music ministries of churches that average less than 200 are really just all of the “small foxes” that are “spoiling the vine”. Issues like hymns vs. choruses, the sounds too loud, the band doesn’t know how to modulate smoothly. I was awaken to the fact early on in the development of IWM that what is needed most in our medium to smaller size church (which make up 90% of the A/G fellowship by the way) is basic training for a volunteer staffed worship ministry. Let’s face it, the volunteers in these churches are being asked to “perform” in the same manner as the larger churches with paid staff, only without the education, experience, or exposure to be able to pull it off. That is why IWM has taken on the mission of providing basic Biblical and practical training within the local Body. It is our desire to give that volunteer staff the basics they need to succeed. Pray for us as we continue to tackle the hard issues.

The Love of Broadway


Whew!! What an evening we had last night. Three Strands Ministries at CFA hosted a Valentines Banquet and the entertainment was provided by 4 couples singing love songs from 7 different Broadway shows. We of course also had our faithful band playing along. I am definitely not the stage acting kind and really was stretching myself last night. Brandy and I sang “They Say It’s Wonderful” from Annie Get Your Gun and “When I First Saw You” from Dreamgirls.


Someone asked what was the purpose of the show, because there was no Gospel presentation given. It got me to thinking about how the church must be true to our calling to win the lost. But I think that the church also can be a place to offer an alternative to the world for good, clean entertainment. Brandy had some co-workers that visited last night because of the show. One of them left in tears because of how much they enjoyed it. We now have an opportunity to invite that person to other events as a result of our “secular” show. Don’t miss an opportunity to reclaim the arts and music as a tool to introduce the lost to the people of God.

What does IWM do?

Inspire Worship Ministries is designed to be flexible enough to benefit churches of all shapes and sizes. Most people wonder how it is we help churches. So I will give you a hypothetical scenario that shows how our ministry works.

Pastor John Doe calls me and says that he has heard of our ministry and would like some advice on how to expand his worship ministry. I then set up a lunch or dinner appointment and sit down with Pastor Doe and find out as much about his current structure as possible. I then ask the pastor to describe in as much detail as possible what he wants his worship ministry to look like one year and five years from now. Based on this information, I make recommendations on how he might go about putting things in place that will start the church on the path towards his vision.

Sometimes the pastor may have us come in and do a weekend of workshops where we communicate the visions through Biblical and practical instruction. Sometimes we establish a short term mentoring relationship in which case we will be coming alongside them and helping them walk through their transition for up to 13 weeks. I have been told that one of our greatest strengths is that we have lots of ideas. Our consulting is probably our greatest tool for pastors. I do not have all the answers, but I try to help you find them.

As far as cost to the church, our base price is that it not cost us. In other words, we ask for mileage, food, and shelter. Above that, our fee is on an honorarium basis. This ministry is meant to be a service to churches, not a burden.

New Blogging Tools

I think that I have made it into 2008. It seems the world is communicating at a faster and more efficient rate than ever before. I just can't seem to catch up. In the designing of my new website, I decided that it would be easier to use a blogging service that would allow me to update at remote locations, thus the creation of this account. We will see how it works. I hope that you will take advantage of this information and please request certain topics for discussion. One of the purposes in founding IWM is to provide an affordable and accessible resource for churches of all sizes.