Article on the church: $110 Billion - by Chris Lagerlof

I read this great article by Chris Lagerlof and I thought that it is extremely valuable to the local church in America. What is the basic function of the spreading of the good news of Jesus? Churches or Christians? Interesting read... enjoy. 

$110 Billion

By slingshot on May 16, 2013

12% isn’t actually a math test; instead it captures a startling statistic I heard. In the last 15 years the church in the west has spent $110 billion on land and facilities and in that same time church attendance has decreased 12%. If true, our strategy to strengthen and expand the Church is failing. Even if the numbers aren’t accurate empirical evidence tells us church attendance is in decline and the church has spent significant dollars on recourses to reach the lost and grow the congregation. I know of three churches personally that have spent over $75 million in capital improvements the last 12 years and 2 of the 3 have actually declined in attendance. I hate to break the bad news, something isn’t working. Sure we can blame it on the composition of our cities changing, the lack of margin people have, or the reality that we are living in a post-church/post-Christian world. There are many excuses…The reality is the current model and paradigm isn’t working. We are familiar with the cliché “if it’s not broken, then don’t fix it.” In the west it seems that we have embraced the model if it’s broke throw a lot of money into it and it will be fixed. How’s that working?

First, you must know, I’m a raving fan of the church and I love the church! Second, my thoughts are aimed at looking at the current state of the church through a different set of lenses…I will get to that shortly. I’ve been captivated by the book of Acts lately. As I’ve read Acts and focused on it, I’ve realized that Acts says nothing about planting and building churches, however Acts is the blueprint for church growth and church planting. What I’ve really focused on is a simple model for church growth that Acts presents. Ready? Here it is…Reach lost people, disciple them and new churches will start and churches will grow. Acts doesn’t present a church planting strategy…It only presents a transformation strategy. It’s that simple. It’s not linear, built on several purposes and it’s pretty cost effective. Acts presents more of a “hear and obey” model as opposed to a “learn, grow and go” model. Which brings me to my next point, have our western models, paradigms, processes emerged as the greatest barrier for expanding and strengthening the church? Maybe another way to ask it since the Holy Spirit is a common denominator in all church growth movements, especially in Acts. Have western models, paradigms, processes become a barrier for the Holy Spirit to do his greatest work?

Now to my point, It seems obvious the western model of start a church, service or campus, reach lost people and then “disciple” them isn’t effective and we’re losing obvious spiritual ground. Well, Acts presents a model that is working in many places globally. It’s simply; convert and disciple people and churches and faith communities will naturally get started. In fact, in places where the church is exploding and expanding there is no real church planting strategy, the strategy is to basically see people come to Jesus and disciple them. When this happens, churches just start and churches just grow, much like we see in the book of Acts. Here is another way to look at it; Kingdom, Disciple, Society, Church. Let me briefly capture what that looks like:

Kingdom: Having a better understanding of the difference between a “church framework” and a “Kingdom Framework”? How do you plant, start, lead a church based on Kingdom principals and not “church” principals?
Disciple: Disciple, not the preacher, is the lowest common denominator.  How do you make disciples who make disciples?
Society: Every society, no matter how tribal or advanced, is built with common domains. Every church mobilizes their members locally and globally into these domains to transform society. In doing this the church becomes the missionary.
Church: Producing disciples that engage in society leads to the church emerging. It is a natural result.  The models are multifaceted.

Interesting isn’t it? So, here are 5 simple things to ponder and questions to ask:
1. Change your focus from being the biggest or best church in the city/area to churching the city/area.
2. Learn from the global church. Unfortunately most books, conferences, etc. focus on western models of church growth. Put on a new set of lenses and your learning hat and discover how the church is expanding and growing globally.
3. Look at your current model of discipleship and ask tough questions about its ability to produce disciples who produce disciples.
4. Read the book of Acts and ask questions like how did the church multiply? What do I learn about church growth? What happened in Acts that’s not happening in my church?
5. Personally and corporately shift to a model of hear and obey. Observe how your existing model creates barriers from this happening in your life and the life of your church.

I hope this helps and my heart is to help you. Let me know how I can serve you as you digest this stuff!

Original Article by Chris Lagerlof

(My favorite quote of this article is: "Disciple, not the preacher, is the lowest common denominator. How do you make disciples who make disciples?" This needs to be engraved into the hearts of every Christian - it is not the churches job, it is your job to tell people how incredible Jesus is!)

Song Review: Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

The story of Peter walking on water toward Jesus has always been a favorite of mine. As a worship leader, I've been looking for a song that did this story justice for so long. I want to recap that a bit if you don't mind. Here is one account of the story from Matthew.

Matthew 14:22-33 (NLT)

Jesus Walks on Water

²² Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. ²³ After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

²⁴ Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. ²⁵ About three o’clock in the morning^[a] Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”
²⁷ But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!^[b]”
²⁸ Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
²⁹ “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the strong^[c] wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
³¹ Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
³² When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. ³³ Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

If we put ourselves in this story, and realize how doubtful we are in our everyday lives, it is no wonder that not many worship songs had been written about it.  In verse 28 we see that Peter's initial emotion was trust yet within minutes he gets reprimanded for having such little faith in verse 31. How and when did this change, or did it? 

I notice three things in this passage that happened. First, he sees the strong wind and the waves. I think this is where most people go wrong when they are stepping out in faith. It isn't often calm seas when Christians step out to follow God in big ways. Notice that Peter no longer was looking to Jesus but to the waves. I can't imagine what was going through his mind during those moments. He gets out of the boat and started walking on the water. That would trip me out, and on top of that there was plenty of distractions around! Wind and waves splashing in his face and he took his eyes off Jesus... wouldn't you?!?!

The next thing we see is that he was terrified! No kidding. Wouldn't you be scared? You just got out of a boat in a storm at three o'clock in the morning and notice that everything around is in utter tumult. You aren't on solid ground, let alone a boat, you are on water... everything you know about water as an experienced boatman comes to mind and you realize that you've never seen anything as heavy as you not sink!

The third thing we see is that he "began" to sink. I think the choice of words is interesting, it doesn't say he sank, it just says that he started. I don't know about you but if you have ever been in a pool you know that it takes longer to say a few words than it does to sink. So, we see him shout "Save me, Lord!" and Jesus grabs him. I wonder how long that took to happen?? Was it a split second or was it more like the torture of quick sand, where anticipation and anxiety can take over.  

Either way, it isn't from the comfortable church pew that he battles this out. Then Jesus' response is hilarious. "You have so little faith, why did you doubt me?" This got me thinking - what is it about our faith now. It seems that we need rationalization for everything, it seems faith is only a word and doubt is a constant reality.  Another thing I noticed is that Jesus recognized Peter's lack of faith and didn't reject him, but extended His hand and grabbed him. This leads me to one of the most simple and honest lines of the song "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" by Hillsong United.  In a place of uncertainty and failing,  Jesus has not failed and He won't stop now (end of verse 2).

This song is challenging. It recognizes the drive that Peter had to trust Jesus, but it calls on the Holy Spirit to be our strength in our most certain doubt and failures. My favorite part is the bridge (like just about everyone else that hears it). Maybe I needed the repetition of these words in my heart to speak truth regarding me stepping out in faith, or maybe I'm just not as smart as most people, but it took almost all 6 times through the bridge before it hit me. My trust has pretty small borders if I am honest with myself. I need Him to help me, I can't do it on my own.

Enjoy this song and it's powerful lyrics. If you read it through quickly you won't be doing yourself any favors. Allow God to speak to you through these words and step out on to the water in trust and faith.

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong United

Verse 1
You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep, my faith will stand

CHORUS
And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Verse 2
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

Bridge
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters, wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior

Here is the video... remember to let God be God in your heart and as you step out in faith. Put your trust in the most capable hands of Jesus and continually seek the Holy Spirit to bring us to a deeper faith in Him.


Original video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw 

This made my day - Easter Recap from the OC

I love to see Jesus glorified through art! It is great to see people who's lives are radically transformed by His love and experience true joy in the hope that He gives them. God has been working in Orange County and we see renewed passion for God.

This video really got me stoked once again on artistic expressions of our lives in Him. This is from Easter this year. It includes a bunch of local churches and is coordinated by Rockharbor. A church that I have come to love and respect.



To view this on the original site: http://costamesa.rockharbor.org/wp-content/themes/rockharbor/embed.php?post=2353&blog=9

What is your expression of Christ's change in your life? What ways do you allow yourself to show those around you? Through words, through relationships, through a smiling face, through art???

Remember where you came from and live like the changed person you are.

5 Reasons to Co-write Worship Songs - by Claire Cloninger

I came across this article that is really true and may inspire a new level of creativity with the community of God. So, I thought I would share.  Read it over and then I'll add a few of my thoughts on the end... you can think of this as an unofficial 'co-write'.



5 Reasons to Co-write Worship Songs - by Claire Cloninger

1. Co-writing is fun.
For pure pleasure there’s nothing like entering a room with one other creative soul, blank paper, guitar or piano, a rhyming dictionary, an idea or two and the prospect of a great song just half a day away. What could be more enjoyable? There’s mystery at the outset and possibility at the finish line.


2. Co-writing is one way around writer’s block.
I remember when my friend and co-writer, Ron Harris, said of me, “Claire’s definition for ‘writer’s block’ is ‘writing with everybody on the block.’” I think he was joking, but actually I have often nudged myself out of a “block” by making a writing appointment. When feeling creatively stale, nothing rejuvenates like settling down to the give-and-take of fresh ideas or a string of fresh chord progressions. Makes me feel like Lucy stumbling out of the wardrobe into the snows of Narnia.

3. Co-writing diversifies your catalogue.
Songwriter Carol Bayer Sager’s songs sound like they were written by a string of different pop composers, from Marvin Hamlisch to Burt Bacharach to David Foster. Why? She co-writes with all of the aforenamed gentlemen.

I love the fact that due to my own co-writing, my catalogue can sound like Paul Overstreet one minute and Paul Baloche the next. The words are mine, but they have taken a ride on some wonderful melodies over the years by writers like Don Moen, Lowell Alexander, Robert Sterling and Gary Rhodes.

4. Co-writing can be done long distance.
I remember the day I received a tape in the mail on which I found Wayne Watson’s beautiful melody and the words “friend of a wounded heart.” My job? Make a song of it. What a thrill to receive a Dove Award for Song of the Year with Wayne that year for our song by that title. And we had never written in a room together. Though I prefer in-person collaborating, this job can be done by phone, e-mail, snail mail or pony express.

5. Co-writing is a microcosm of the body of Christ.
I marvel at those singer-songwriter-producer types who wake up one morning and say, “I think I’ll be a self-contained superstar!” They pick up the guitar, write a dozen hits, produce a killer CD and go on to win every award known to man. But most of us did not get all of the gifts. We got one or two. And we are usually strongest in one.

When I first took my songs to Nashville, I realized that every publisher who signed a song of mine was quick to introduce me to his “in-house tune man.” In other words, he liked my words, but he signed my songs in spite of my tunes. It was not long before I was co-writing.

Like the body of Christ, we in the songwriting community can benefit from each other’s gifts. We are challenged, sharpened and inspired by each other’s “strong suits.” And as we pool the best we have, the result is often that much better.

Originally posted on February 20, 2013 by Worship Leader on worshipleader.com. Seven-time Dove Award Winner, Claire Cloninger is a songwriter and frequent co-writer who makes her home in Fairhope, Alabama.



My Thoughts: 
I have a few additional reasons that I feel are just as important. 

1. It is an opportunity to get a theologian/pastor involved - As a worship pastor, there is nothing more annoying than a great song with NO SUBSTANCE or worse is Biblically misleading. You really want to use it because it is a great tune and a killer melody. But, the song that is interesting and biblically sound, it can be put on repeat and no one in the church would care.
2. Peer Pressure - I think I could just stop there... but I should explain. If you are anything like me, then you may rarely play the songs you write because "they just aren't right yet." For me, co-writing a song means that I might actually play it! It allows me to feel that it is not just my song, but that I am also honoring the co-writers and their expression of worship by playing the song. 
3. Peer Review - There is a reason why every doctorate program includes this little thing called a "peer review".  In plain words, they want to make sure you don't write anything dumb. They fact check, they comment on flow, and they make sure it is able to be understood. The same thing is beneficial with songwriting. Sometimes it is better to have more people commenting and giving productive input on the content, flow, and dynamics of the song. The worst thing would be to hide a song until you finally release it and it sucks. 
4. Wider Audience - Also, if two or three artists get together and co-write a piece (assuming that they are not contracted to write for someone) they are able to each use the same song on their own albums and it spreads to a wider audience faster than one they wrote by themselves.  
5. By The People, For the People - My favorite type of co-write is with a local church congregation or rather for a the church. I was able to collaborate with a guy on my worship team and with the pastors messages (and review) to write a song based on the sermon series we were doing. So, the first 'drafts' or 'trial runs' of the song tested the audience's response to various aspects of the song. After playing it a time or two we realized the final touches that were needed to make it more accessible to the church.   

So, now it is your turn to go co-write a song!  Find someone you trust and just ask them. PS> It might not work the first few times, but keep working at it. 
- Luke

Christmas Time is Here Again

What is God stirring in your heart this Holiday Season for your congregation? Maybe you will highlight a few of those Christmas Hymns that are so near to your church’s heart. Maybe you will have a celebration service incorporating the worship of your church through the arts. Maybe you will have a Christmas choir, a powerful retelling of the meaning of Christmas, a group of carolers singing through your neighborhoods, or maybe you will share a meal with your church - all in honor of the birth of our King. This King came as a lowly newborn baby in a humble manger in a little town long ago. What an incredible paradox! The King of Kings and Lord of Lords entered this earth humbly. I can’t help but think of Matthew 23:12.

This Christmas Season let us ‘make much’ of our King and welcome Him with great celebration and joyful hearts! Let us exalt Him through our singing and join with the Angels as the ‘official messengers of His good news’ or the "herald" worshipers:

           

Hark! The herald angels sing "Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled."
Joyful, all ye nations rise. Join the triumph of the skies.
With the angelic host proclaim: "Christ is born in Bethlehem."
Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Worship Technology 2.0

It is pretty cool what we can do with technology these days. We can put literally $1000s of dollars of outboard gear, computer hardware and network capabilities into these devises we call "smartphones."

Sound techs, now if you go digital you can mix from anywhere in the room with your ipad. Oh, and if you have enough Aux sends to support individual monitors for musicians and singers they can mix their own monitors from stage without even bothering you!!!! Then once you get some basic levels you can switch over to an app that allows you to analyze the sound in the room to get your EQ dialed in. Ever heard of Smarrt??? You can have that in on your iPad for under $100. INSANE!

Visual Techs, there is a world of stuff for you as well. Lighting magazines are filled with new apps and programs to function as a lighting control. And for your screens... here is a fun new projection system that is designed solely to be mobile.



Worship Leaders, there are endless tools for us as well. My favorite are:

• Planning Center Online's mobile app for scheduling and live events. Great for those conversations on stage of "am I playing next week" for someone as scatterbrained as me.
• Evernote!!!! Love this one as a songwriter. I can type out some lyric ideas, record audio clips and photo/videos to hold on to that melody line or lyric that junps out. 
• Shazam. This is a first generation app that still holds it's ground because it is so useful. Listening to the radio or something when you are out? Shazam it and share it to your email inbox. Perfect. 
• Bible App... nuff said.
• Metronome - This will help any worship team if you can utilize it well.
• Dropbox - free cloud sharing is great for storing large files that you may need to access from anywhere.
• There are so many more...

One recommendation if you are using your iphone in a live worship setting... "airplane mode." The other day I heard a call/text (don't know which one) come in when someone was using their phone for click track... not fun.

Figuring out what all those little knobs do...

This post is for any beginner Electric Guitar players and/or worship leaders who feel like they need to brush up on some 'techie'ness or learn about more gear.

I'm always telling electric guitarists to play around with their pedals and find sweet sounds that you can really get inspired by. Most of the time I get blank stares with bewilderment from the beginners as they think to themselves... "I really don't know much, do I?" This is for you, and ME!!

There are a ton of resources online for you! Really the best way to do it is to research what sounds would work for the style you most often play and then track down a few pedals at your local guitar shop to demo them for yourself. But, in order to do that you need to

Take a look at a run down of some of the most basic sounds that Boss put online featuring guitarist Johnny DeMarco. Great simple easy to understand format. Here are a few that I think are useful.

Overdrive

Tremelo

Compressor

If you are a true beginner this site is for you! Find more here: http://www.bossus.com/go/effects_101/

As you learn what there is out there, find out what pedals might sound like paired with other pedals for your style of music! Take a look at some of the interactive stuff on this site:
http://www.bossus.com/experience/interactive_demos/

This is not meant to be a "Boss" heavy review but an page to link you to overviews of options. There are so many brands and unique sounds that you can get lost pretty quickly. So, I just gave demos from one company. Here are some more sites that you can find great pedals from:

http://www.digitech.com/
http://www.fulltone.com/
http://t-rex-effects.com
http://www.ehx.com/
http://www.bossus.com/

If you want to find any mainstream brand:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/
http://www.sweetwater.com
http://www.guitarcenter.com/

Finding Your Space

Playing with other musicians is part of being a musician. Yet, musicians have a stigma about always seeking the spotlight and being flashy, kind of the 'one man band' mentality. However, one of the first things you realize (okay maybe the second or third) as you play with a band is that not everyone can be highlighted 100% of the time.

Finding your space in the group is key.

Good musicianship starts when you can learn how to find your space when playing with others.  I've heard people give tons of analogies for this concept. The most common one I can remember is the 'pie' analogy. Music, or the overall sound, is a whole pie. Each player is a piece of the pie. If there are 5 players in the band and 2 vocalists then we need to divide the pie into 7 pieces. This is NOT saying that they are equal pieces. Part of the strategy behind creating a unique sound is using the space in a way that isn't "cookie cutter" or predictable. The Rhythm section, in more contemporary or modern worship settings, holds a larger piece of the pie along with the lead vocals. If all musicians took that size of a slice of pie we wouldn't have enough to go around and if we all took equal slices it would sound like a huge wall of sound taking out anyone in it's way!

Personally, the style of music that I end up enjoying more is simple in it's mix. The drums, bass, and lead vocals stand out strong and the others support that "core" sound. To all you non-music producers out there, yes, that is what I said. The main things people complain about should be the most present in the mix. If you listen to about 90% of pop music (and worship music) you will find a similar structure. The bass and drums carry the music and the vocals stand out to grab your attention. Before you tune out, hear me out. We get more complaints about the drums and bass when the mix is more flat. Most people don't realize that their ear wants to hear those (well EQ'd) as the foundation for the sound. If the vocals do not stand out, then drums are the first things to complain about. If the drums are not present enough, then we take it out on the bass player. If the bass is not full enough we complain about the overall "loudness" of it.  Most people don't understand the 'sonic landscape', as a friend of mine puts it. But, in that basic mix, the acoustic, electric, piano/keys and BGVs support and bring color to the sound. That is when we can truly shine as a whole!

This video is a great example of sharing the sound-space. It is really a cool way to demonstrate this because of the fact that they are literally sharing one instrument.  The more important thing is that they are sharing the audio area or sound space. Notice how simple each thing they are playing is... but when combined with each other it is full and complete. 




As worship leaders, we need to not only realize that it will sound better to work together. But, that it is biblical!  In Romans 12:10 it says, "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. (NKJV)" In the Message translation, it really sums up this verse with a musical analogy... it says "practice playing second fiddle." Jesus talks about serving, in fact, He serves us even to the point of giving His life!  So, as we are finding our place in the mix we need to learn how to serve each other and support each other best in our roles. In doing this we will learn to serve the congregation as well, allowing them to worship without hindrance or distraction.


The common and famous saying "less is more" truly applies in leading worship. If we bring simplicity to our individual sound it will actually add more to the sound of the group as a whole.

However, there is a time when you do need to be 100% of the sound as a solo musician. I love this next video as an example of that! This is Phil Wickham doing his Singalong 2 album and you'll see that he creates a huge full sound with just vocals, guitar & delay. This video doesn't quite capture the fullness that we felt sitting in the room hearing it live.




Basically, as it says in Ecclesiastes 3, "There is a time for everything." Or you could say, a time to bring forth a full sound on your own, and a time to find your space with the rest of the band.


-Luke

A poem from Kipling about church ministry???

So, if you have been in church ministry for any length of time you know that people in the church are not always polite, kind, and perfect. Jesus is. Christians aren't - but should be moving toward, and striving for, Jesus' likeness.

My wife remembered this poem the other day and shared it with me. I began to think about how true this needs to be for life and was challenged by the implications of this for the Christian who is being persecuted. I'm not saying that church ministers get persecuted by their congregations, but there are a bunch of imperfect people so there is bound to be some conflict. Church ministry is like any other vocation that deals with people (which all do - except monasticism) and there will be problems that arise.

So, read, enjoy and remember this one!

IF - by RUDYARD KIPLING

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
 
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

I think the last line could be adapted...

[ ...Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Worship Pastor, my son!]

Kind of a funny thought. Kind of a challenging realization. But, I know that nothing can be more fulfilling than to have the blessing of leading God's people in true worship!  Pastors, Teachers, Worship Leaders, and church workers - remember 1 Timothy 3 (read the whole chapter) and your calling as a minister.

1 Timothy 3:1-7 (ESV) - Qualifications for Overseers  

"The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil."

Christians (yes this includes all ministers as well), you have a job description as well. Read one of the verses where we find in the bible what it means to be a Christian in Romans 12.

Romans 12 9-21 (ESV) - Marks of the True Christian
"9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

 So, I think Rudyard Kipling got it right in his description of a man. As we move forward in our walks with Christ let us know be held back by what others say/do to us. But, let us hold strong in the values that God has laid for us and when we fail and repent, He forgives.


[Lord, help me to live a life that pleases You. Help me to represent you well and display Your love to those around me. When I'm rejected help me to remember that my identity is found in Jesus. That I am seen by You as pure and holy because of His work on the cross. Help me to exude with joy because of the salvation, freedom and hope you have provided and not get distracted by the issues of the day. Help me to remember You day in and day out and live like it.  - Luke]

Blog review: 'Worship Leaders, We Are Not Rock Stars' by Stephen Miller

My best-friend sent me a link to this post. I think it is really valuable for not only worship leaders but also worship team members and the church body.  I agree that there is a warped sense of 'stardom' with music in the church. We ARE called to excellence [1 Chronicles 25] we ARE NOT called to selfish gain and pride [2 Samuel 6:21-22, Matthew 23:12, Romans 12:16, Psalm 10:3].

The part of this blog that really encourages me is the final section 'Okay Without Affirmation' and the acknowledgement that people are people and church people are still people! As artists, we desire affirmation but we may not get it from the church. As Stephen Miller says in this post, it shouldn't be that way but we find our value and worth in Jesus and His cherishing/sacrificing love for us.

I've been reading a book recently called "The Search for Significance" by Robert McGee. It focuses on debunking the myths/lies that we are bound by and displays where we find true significance; Jesus.

Read this blog (and the book!), think about your own intentions and emotions, and be encouraged by Stephen's words.

Worship Leaders, We Are Not Rock Stars

Enjoy,

Luke

Song Review - You alone can rescue

There is something great about a new song catching on fast. Maybe it is just random chance that people love a song the moment they hear it, but I doubt it. I think there are two things at play; the Holy Spirit and a really great hook!

This song, You Alone Can Rescue by Matt Redman, is obviously inspired by the Holy Spirit and has been a hit this past year. We introduced it around this time last year in preparation for Easter and it was a favorite from the first time through it.

To start off, being the music geek that I am, I really appreciated the placement of the song on the original album (We Shall Not Be Shaken). The first few songs set up a place of dependance for mankind on a God who is faithful and loving. When we come to this song we first take inventory of our place and our state (See verse 1). There is this understanding that God loves us, He is faithful, and His grace is sufficient despite our inability which leads us to a truer understanding of the lyrics in the chorus (and title) "You ALONE Can Rescue".  This incredible God (as we will continue to see throughout the remainder of the songs on the album) is our only hope at true life. 

The Second verse sits in harmony with the first and talks about how God has made a way for us to to be rescued. Notice that this line "when our hearts were far away" connotes that despite our condition His love goes further still! We really have nothing to do with it! Jesus does it!

By far my favorite line in the song is, "You came down to find us and led us out of death". Powerful! Aren't you excited for that. We see in this some rich theology. As Christians, our sin, shame, filth, and death has been taken to the grave, buried and our new life is raised with Christ from the dead. That which was dead now is made new.  So we read this line again, "You came down to find us and led us out of death" and we are reminded once again that this is Christ's work not ours.  I don't know about you, but I trust Him over me any day.

The bridge is just a proclamation of this "highest praise" that the chorus speaks of. "We lift up our eyes, lift up our eyes. You’re the Giver of Life!" Jesus, our Lord, is the Giver of Life and we lift our eyes to Him in humble adoration because of HIS work.

You Alone Can Rescue
Who, oh Lord, could save themselves,

Their own soul could heal?

Our shame was deeper than the sea

Your grace is deeper still

You alone can rescue, You alone can save

You alone can lift us from the grave

You came down to find us, led us out of death

To You alone belongs the highest praise

You, oh Lord, have made a way

The great divide You've healed

For when our hearts were far away

Your love went further still

Yes, your love goes further still

We lift up our eyes, lift up our eyes
You’re the Giver of Life

Great song. 

Thanks Matt for another rich song.

- Luke

Creating an Environment of Worship Visually - WorshipVJ.com

I've been wanting to highlight a friend and show some new creative elements that are being used in Visual Worship Arts and I got an email from him about a session he is leading at the Song DISCovery Creative Conference in Nashville. So, I figured I would pass it on. Take a look. This is pretty fascinating stuff and really brings a new element of creativity to our worship.

Thanks for all that you are doing Stephen. Take a look at his website: http://worshipvj.com/

The Church used to be known for being the most creative, artistic force on the planet. Centuries ago, the Church commissioned visual artists to paint its ceilings, create stained glass images, and architect the most provocative buildings in history. Of course, many agendas, motivations, politics and power struggles were involved in the creative process (which is the same case today)...but at the end of the day, some of mankind's most stunning art was created...art that tells the Story of God!

But along the way, something happened. And a large portion of the Church threw visual art out the window. Beauty no longer had a place in the world of theology...and the Word of God was limited to text on a page and the academic preaching of a sermon. But things are changing.

The Church is welcoming art and beauty back home into it's mission & worship. And it's very exciting to see it unfold. And it's pretty messy, as well.

Pastors are trying to figure out how to manage and lead artists. Artists are learning to be pastors and visual prophets. Churches are making films. Worship leaders aren't leading with just songs anymore...they're leading with visual media! More eyes are on HD screens these days than they are on the cross, baptistry, or pulpit. And with "environmental projection," you can turn your once blank worship center into an image-filled cathedral of Story!

A generation of visual artists is rising up... and it's full of storytellers, film-makers, painters, media directors, graphic designers, VJs, lighting designers, photographers & more! The artist is the new pastor. And the media director is now the visual worship leader.

More than ever, there must be time & space to have conversations about what is happening... and to receive training and teaching so that we can lead and create in ways that bring glory to The Creator. And it's important to have these conversations in community with our musical worship leaders, songwriters and authors.

So all you visual worshipers out there, this is the summons. Come to the Song DISCovery Creative Conference in Nashville this April, and interact with others who are in the same boat as you. Click here to register today! And use code "VJ25" when you register to receive $25 off registration!

Sincerely,
Stephen Proctor
General Session Speaker
Song DISCovery Creative Conference


[Text & Images from: Worship Leader Magazine, Email - Subject: Hone Your Craft as a Visual Artist. Copyright (C) 2012 Worship Leader Magazine All rights reserved. Used by permission.]

New song for Easter! 'Christ the Lord' by Paul Baloche

So excited to sing this song on Easter morning. "Christ the Lord" is a wonderful new song by Paul Baloche echoing the meaning and essence of the hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today".

Here is a video from Paul explaining how to play it. One of the many practical videos that Paul has offered to the worship community displaying his heart for seeing worship leaders equipped for ministry. You can find more at leadworship.com or just search for his videos on Youtube.



The Lyrics are great and give a "sing a new song unto the Lord" feel to this hymn which is seen as foundational to many worshipers. Plus it is fun to play and sing!

Let's do a comparison!

Christ The Lord

VERSE 1
Son of God proved His love
That while we were sinners Jesus died for us
No more shame, no more fear
Our Savior is alive for ever, God is near

CHORUS
Christ the Lord is risen today
The Lamb of God has taken our sins away
Love's redeeming work is done
Raise Your voice! The King has overcome
Hallelu- jah, Hallelu- jah

VERSE 2
By His grace, long ago
Our sins were as scarlet, now they're white as snow
Love was nailed to the cross
His dying and His rising has changed our hearts

CHORUS

BRIDGE
Made like Him, like Him we'll rise
Ours the cross, the grave, the sky
(Repeat)

CHORUS
Christ the Lord is risen today
The Lamb of God has taken our sins away
Love's redeeming work is done
Raise Your voice! The King has overcome, Hallelujah!
Christ the Lord is risen today
The Lamb of God has taken our sins away
Love's redeeming work is done
Raise Your voice! The King has overcome
Hallelu- jah, Hallelu- jah
Oh, Hallelujah!


Here are the lyrics from the original Hymn to compare. The bolded parts are common themes the underlined are direct quotes, and the italics are places where Paul captured the 'overtones' of the meaning:


Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! 
Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia! 
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! 
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia! 

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia! 
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia! 
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia! 
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia! 

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia! 
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia! 
Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia! 
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia! 

[the last two lesser sung stanzas - not in the hymnal at my church]

     Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!
     Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia! 
     Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
     Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

     King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!
     Everlasting life is this, Alleluia! 
     Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia! 
     Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!


All in all, I feel that Paul did a great job bringing new life to this hymn's legacy with Christ the Lord. For people like me to did not grow up singing these hymns, songs like these are much welcomed because we need to hold on to the great content and truths that have stood the test of time. Yet, we get to do so in a way that is enjoyable to us! With lyrics that bring clarity and not mystery.

Thanks Paul, looking forward to this Easter!

Luke

PS> Another great song this Easter (while we are on the topic of hymns) is Evan Wickham's He's Alive. Take a look at that when you get a chance! Great chorus with addicting melodies to "I Know That My Redeemer Lives".

Great article - Urban Church Planting

I know that my blog is more or less geared toward worship leaders and concepts of worship, however, once in a while I come across something that is valuable for ministry in general. This is geared toward church planting and has some valuable ideas and thoughts (even for established church workers).

Take a look!

Article: 10 things to know about planting a church in the urban context
Author: Jerome Gay Jr.
Source: The Resurgence
URL Link: http://theresurgence.com/2012/03/06/10-things-to-know-about-planting-a-church-in-the-urban-context

-Luke

Great Post from Audiotuts+

I came across a great post from Audio Tuts+ that outlines some great ways to clean/avoid extra noise in home recordings.

Enjoy.

How to Minimize Noise In Your Mixes

Björgvin Benediktsson on Mar 1st 2012 

Home recordings are infamous for having noise. Background noise from outside and indoor noises from the air conditioning and people shuffling around in the next room. Home recording studios are usually never sound isolated enough. Even though you might have a great sounding room, with acoustic treatment carefully placed all over, you’re still going to run into sound isolation issues.

The biggest issue is noise, and in the following tutorial I’ll run through a couple of ways you can minimize the amount of annoying hiss and noise from your home recordings.

Image by: subcircle

Home Recording Noise

If you stop what you’re doing and listen to the silence in your studio, can you still hear something? Even with nothing really going on you can still hear the sound of the fan from your computer, and maybe some ambience noise from the outside. Especially if you live in an urban area or an apartment building. Then you’re dealing with a very high noise floor.

That’s the difference between the home studio and the commercial ones. The commercial studios, when quiet, are absolutely quiet. You don’t hear anything from the outside, the computer is in the other room, and the only thing the microphone will pick up is the sound of your instrument.

The Recording Stage

First of all, the best way to avoid dealing with noise is to not record it. Trying to soundproof your room is expensive but using blankets, gobos and such can minimize a lot of the noise. If you have a noisy desktop computer you should try to record as far away from it as you can. If you can’t do that, throw a blanket over it and put some sort of acoustic barrier between the microphone and the computer.

Also, the polar pattern of the microphone matters as well. Sometimes, pointing the microphone away from a noise source will result in a cleaner sound. In a home studio, a cardioid microphone is the best bet because not only can you point it at the sweet spot of the instrument, but you can point the back and sides to the noise where the instrument won’t hear it.

Careful With Compression


The noise floor in a commercial studio is much lower than the noise floor in your bedroom. Since you’re basically dealing with less dynamic range before noise, you can’t compress as much. Any compression at that stage also raises the noise floor since compressors raises the lowest levels of a signal and compresses the highest levels.

So if you’re working with signals that you know have a high noise floor, or recordings that are very soft and delicate, you might notice an increase in the background noise if you push it too hard with a compressor. You might not notice it too much when the mix is slamming and everything is at full blast, but if there’s a breakdown or a quiet part, it might become noticeable.

Clean Up Your Tracks


Edit your tracks. Delete the regions where nothing is going on. If there is a second or two between guitar licks and the noise from the amp is just humming away in the background, cut it out. Unless you’re really going for a live, garage-y sound, amp hum is really a pointless thing to add to your mix.

The same goes for any instrument. If you’ve recorded takes in one pass and there are regions where nothing’s going on, I can assure you can it’s giving you excess noise in the background. Faint atmosphere sounds in the background, headphone bleed and body noises from the players will all be picked up by the microphone, especially if you’re recording something like an acoustic guitar or a vocal.

Clean up your tracks and most of the noise will go away. Make sure the only sound coming from your tracks is music.

Using Gates


Cleaning up tracks can also get pretty tedious. It can be time consuming to zoom in and find the perfect point to cut every region. That’s when gates can come in handy. You can use them as intelligent editors. They lower the volume of your tracks every time they aren’t playing, and open up when they do.

They are a little tricky to deal with since you have to find the right threshold, attack and release but it’s definitely a better return on effort than cleaning up 40 different noisy tracks.

Guitar Hiss

Recently I was dealing with a few noisy tracks. One of the main culprits was a guitar simulator that I had inserted on the guitar tracks. The guitars were sounding great but for some reason the guitar simulator was causing a lot of hiss.

I discovered that the presence knob was turned wayyyy up. Once I turned the presence knob down the his went away, with minimal change in the guitar sound.

Electric guitars, especially when distorted, only sound noisy in the higher frequencies. You’re usually safe to EQ out the highs with either a filter or a high-shelving EQ. Usually it doesn’t do much to the guitar sound, but it can work wonders in making your noise go away.

Subtractive EQ


Boosting your tracks might make them sound better, but it also increases noise. If you’re boosting a lot in the higher frequencies, you’re introducing additional gain in those frequencies. With that extra gain comes extra noise.

Instead of boosting, cut instead. If you cut the low end, it’s the same as boosting the high-end, just without the added noise. Subtractive EQ is a cleaner way to EQ, and although I don’t do it enough, I highly recommend making it a habit.
Less Noise, More Fun

Now that you’ve reduced the amount of noise to your tracks, you can continue piling on the reverb and going crazy with the effects!

Due to their nature, home recordings will always have a little more noise to them. But hopefully, now that you’ve read this you will keep that in mind and try to minimize the amount of noise going in with your instruments

A Brief Overview of the History of Christian Music (in the west)

Here is a fun little overview of the History of Christian Music. I think it is important to note that it is not an exhaustive analysis but an overview. I also think it would be wise to note that it has been shaped and streamlined toward the direction of Christian music in the West.  With that said, I really enjoyed this and wanted to pass it on.

A Brief Overview of the History of Christian Music - by Worship Leader Magazine

Practical Tips For Worship Leaders Video - Jim Altizer

A worship leader friend of mine posted this video about what makes a great worship leader.  There is so much simple, yet widely untold, truth in this video. The practical elements that are shared should be learned by worship leaders allowing them to lead their congregations in more meaningful ways.

Here you go!



You can find some more videos from Dr. Jim Altizer here. Or visit: http://roadmapsforworship.com/

*If you can't see the video go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzHLeExWE0k&list=PLC7E71DF46BADEE3C&index=2&feature=plpp_video

"Sunday Morning Checklist" by Paul Baloche

Paul Baloche gives a great rundown of things to think about when you are planning/leading worship. I've seen lists similar to this before, but what I love about Paul's list is that it is geared toward being spirit led through planning and intentionally minimizing distraction. There is a ton of practical in this post, but you can't help but see the pastoral aspect of Paul's heart and leading. Great blog.  Take notes & enjoy.

 _________

Sunday Morning Checklist

by Paul Baloche

I recently missed three Sundays in a row at my local church because of back-to-back conferences and a ten-day tour through Canada. This is pretty rare but since we were going to have three different people leading worship over that time period, I wrote out some reminders to try and keep things consistent while I was gone. Maybe you have wondered how other leaders think about conducting their services. Obviously there is no formula when it comes to leading worship, but feel free to look over my shoulder and see the guidelines that I asked my substitutes to keep in mind.

Preparation:

• Prayerfully plan your set list, considering the spiritual and musical flow.
• Try to do mostly familiar songs with a maximum of one new song.
• Email set list and lyrics to any new songs ahead of time to Roland, the Tech Guy.

Service:

• Begin with a greeting of some kind. Think “conversational”.
• “Good morning. I’m………..” (Let them know who you are)
• Maybe read a scripture or have the band begin the intro of the first song as you say something like, “Let’s all stand together and turn our hearts to the Lord….”
• Go through the set, being led by the Spirit. Keep talking in between songs to a minimum. Talk as much as you need to in order to keep things flowing but not so much that it distracts or hinders momentum.
• Let people know if you’re going to teach a new song. “I’d like to teach a new song this morning.” (Maybe give a brief “context”, ie.) “This is a song that focuses on the mercy of God” or “This is a song inspired by Psalm 96….”. “Let me sing/teach you the chorus.” Go through the chorus once or twice, and then start the song from the top.
• As you are winding down your last song, be sensitive to what the Spirit is saying or doing. Try to discern the mood or atmosphere and allow the music to support that.
• When it seems appropriate, and while the music is playing lightly, say something like “as a part of our worship this morning lets prepare our tithes and offerings”. At that point, continue the song that you just sang, repeating the chorus a little more softly or instrumentally. Or sing a familiar chorus that is in the same key to keep things flowing.
• When they are finished praying over the offering, cue the band to end on the final chord.
• Please don’t walk immediately into the back room, which is visible to the congregation. That always feels a little “elite” somehow. I would prefer that you sit down in the congregation or walk along the edge of the sanctuary towards the back. Feel free to use the restroom or get a drink of water or whatever.
• Please be alert and prepared to come up at the end of the message. Remember that the pastor teaches maybe 25-30 minutes maximum. Try to be discreet and sensitive to “the moment” as you pick up your guitar, tune, etc. (TIP: I usually re-tune real quick at the end of the offering or at the beginning of the announcements when it’s less distracting. I typically duck down to one knee to take the focus off of me as I tune.) As people are being prayed for, be careful that the dynamics and volume of the back do not get too loud in order to allow for prayers and conversation to happen without distraction. We are there to support the moment, NOT to get people focused on us.
• Thank you for serving the Lord by loving His people and helping them to worship Him.

Well there you have it. My list of essentials may be longer or shorter then yours but it’s important for us to define what kind of experience we hope will occur on any given Sunday. My goal is always to try and eliminate as many distractions as possible, and through the vehicle of music, create an environment that makes it easy for the congregation to connect with God.

Two roles are at play here. One is our priestly role, where we are simply lifting our own hearts to God in worship. The other is our pastoral role, where we invite others to join us in this experience by expressing our praise and thanks to the Lord. We lead primarily by example. To borrow the familiar phrase, “Lead worship at all times and if necessary, use words.”

*To see original post visit: http://www.praisecharts.com/sunday-morning-checklist/