Created for Worship

You were created to be a worshipper.

The understanding of that statement alone carries with it a great weight of responsibility. It has nothing to do with a stage. Instead, it has everything to do with a lifestyle. Our lives are to exemplify Jesus Christ in every aspect.

Our Thought Life - every thing that we think on should honor God.
2 Corinthians 10;5 says "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Our Actions - 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that our old selves have passed away and that all things in our lives have become new. ALL THINGS! EVERYTHING! ALL!
That means our attitudes. That means our approach to ministry. That means our desire to serve. That means our home life. That means the pettiness of our pride that allows us to be offended over nothing because we think everything is, or should be, about us. That means that what we "think" does not matter anymore. Instead, it should be about WHO we know.

Our Worship - Theologian and Worship Leader Steve Camp says "a powerful doctrine sung in glory to Christ with an impure life is noise to the ears of our holy God. Submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the obedience to the Word of God are marks of the worthy walk of faith. However, when Biblical standard are dishonored and unrepentant sin persists we must adhere to the instruction of the Word-stop the music until life is right. (Amos 5:23-24)"

May every aspect of our lives bring glory to the living God. We were created for that purpose. Most people seek their whole lives for "their purpose" and to "find themselves". As believers, we should KNOW what our purpose is...to glorify God and to worship Him forever. This is the chief end of man. Live your life to accomplish the purpose you were created for. Only then will you discover the meaning of the abundant life Christ offers.

There's Always Something Going On

It was a pretty busy weekend, so I haven't had much time to blog. Here's a list of things that are going on right now:

1) I just purchased two gifts online that are guaranteed to arrive by Christmas Eve. Hmmmmmm, can you say "nervous".
2) I spent most of the weekend looking at the bottom of a trashcan. No, I wasn't curious about it's interior contour.
3) Our Christmas Worship Concert was a great success. I am so proud of the Immanuel Choir and Orchestra.
4) I sang at the funeral of a great man today. What an honor to be asked.
5) Caleb and I went shopping tonight for some last minute things that I just happened to hear about. Why do we not hear about these things in November?
6) We are flying to Georgia on Wednesday night. Our flight leaves at 10:50pm and arrives in Atlanta at 6am. I sure hope our children sleep. I sure hope this wasn't a mistake.
7) Clash of the Choirs comes on tonight. I plan on watching.
8) We're doing Christmas early since we are going out of town. I don't want to drag Christmas gifts across the country....twice. Santa Claus is coming to town tomorrow night at my house.

What Are You Getting?

So, I'm just a little curious. For those of you who are willing to let the rest of us in on your little secret, I would love to know what your "surprise" is. If you would, post a comment telling me what that "BIG" gift is that you are getting your significant other. Husbands, what is that one special gift that you are buying your wife. Wives, what will it be this year that your husband is going to gasp over?

I want to take this little poll to see what this year's leading gift type is going to be for men and women. Will it be electronic gadgets that men will find under the Christmas tree this year? Will it be that sparkling "best friend" that women will discover beneath the bow and wrapping paper? Here is your chance to speak. Let us all in on the secret. If you feel it necessary to keep the surprise a secret, post your gift idea as Anonymous by not signing in to blogger. That way, no one is the wiser.

I Got Elfed

So, I decided to try to elf our family. It was pretty funny. They only let you do up to 4 people at a time, so baby Ella was left out of this one. But, we made one of her with the kids, too. You can check out our dance of four HERE .

Let me know what you think. And, try it out with your family. It's great for a laugh.

Featured Servants:

Tonight was the last night of the dessert theater at Immanuel for the musical "It's a Wonderful Life". Tomorrow night will be general admission and will be the last performance. Our worship ministry does at least 2 musicals per year, and I am amazed every time by the directing and leadership of Lisa Lyons. Lisa is on the worship staff at Immanuel as our Outreach Productions Coordinator. She is one of the very best directors I've ever seen. Her attention to detail is amazing, and she ties it all together and makes it a ministry to those she is working with. Everyone who knows her and has the benefit of working with her is better for it. God has blessed Immanuel with Lisa Lyons.

Her husband, Lee, is also an incredible talent. Every musical displays an incredible set that is designed and built by Lee. I'll try to get some pictures on as soon as I get them. Not only does it look good, it is incredibly functional and helps to make the story come to life. If you've never had the opportunity to see one of our productions and are going to be in town, take the opportunity to visit Immanuel tomorrow night at 5:30. You'll be glad you did.

Dan Takes Flight

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I have a pretty crazy clan of friends. But, this one is tops of the list in 2007. A friend of mine in Tennessee, Dan "the man" Craddock, strapped on some crazy concoction and took to the air. You've got to watch the video to really understand it. High above his house.......Dan - you are officially the only person I know who has a wind sock on his house. Congratulations!

Bridging the Gap

As a worship pastor in most churches across America, in any given worship service we are responsible for drawing people from 4-5 different generations into a sweet intimate worship time. That can be a real challenge at times. At Immanuel, we are passionate about reaching young families, building a hope and a future for Immanuel and the community we are called to serve. As a result, our older generations can feel left out and like they have no part in leadership.

One thing I have been passionate about is bridging the gap between generations. Many, when thinking of senior adults, feel that all they do is gripe and complain. Though true with some of them, some of my biggest supporters have been senior adults. I have some seniors who call me on a weekly basis to encourage me and pray for me. Here is a generation that can pour Godly wisdom into me. Many times I have to look beyond their approach to ministry, which can seem dated and irrelevant to our present culture. However, their passion and desire to make a difference is relevant.

Tonight, we are "bridging that gap" between generations, again. We are having our children choirs and Senior Adult choir go out carolling together. They will break into groups and sing in various neighborhoods. But, that's not the best part. After they sing, they will come together for hot chocolate and snacks. It's during that time that our Senior Adults will each share their favorite Christmas song and why it means so much to them. Then, our children will have the same opportunity. We want our mature generations to pour into and become spiritual grandparents to our younger generations. Instead of drawing lines in the sand and writing off whole generations of people, as leaders we need to find strengths in everyone and plug them into areas of ministry where they can flourish and make a difference. They are still on this earth because God still has a plan for their lives. I would love to see that plan lived out in the life of the church, and give them a reason to trust and support my ministry as I seek to serve Him.

Christmas Banquet

I was asked to provide music for a Christmas banquet that was held last night. The banquet was for pastors and staffs of the Inland Empire Baptist Churches. I am all about loving on and encouraging other pastors and staffs, so I was all for it. I asked a couple of friends of mine, Darrin Thurber and Mike Levitsky, to play with me. Darrin is an acoustic guitar guru and Mike is unreal on drums. Mike is actually sponsored by these guys . If you go to their site, click on the artists link and then on outlaws. You'll find Mike listed there.

It was a great night. We did some cool arrangements of some carols, a Third Day Christmas song, a Paul Baloche tune, and then we ended with one that I wrote called Bethlehem. It was a lot of fun, a great time of worship, and great food. Anytime I get the opportunity to worship and lead in worship is a good night for me.

Dinners, Musicals, and Concerts, oh my

Sing with me, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." Well, that's how the song goes. But, in our hectic lives full of appointments, school functions, staff parties, Christmas shopping, and traffic jams, the joy and wonder that we knew as children somehow disappears. How can we get that back? Well, I'm glad you asked.

I absolutely love Christmas. To me, it IS "the most wonderful time of the year". However, I have to be intentional about making it such or I fall into the trap of looking at the circumstances around me and I miss what Christmas is all about. Without the manger, there would have never been a cross. Without Bethlehem, there would have never been a Calvary. Without a birth, there would have never been a death and resurrection. I find that teaching these truths to my children and celebrating THAT during this time of year, helps our family to stay focused on the TRUE meaning of Christmas.

Now, understand me. I don't see anything wrong with playing Santa Claus and enjoying the magic of Christmas that makes my kids eyes light up. We do that as a family, as well. As kids, my children are excited about what they are going to get for Christmas. The gifts. The lights. The FOOD! But, as they grow, I want to have invested more in them than that. As they mature, they'll understand what we've taught them and the TRUTH in that story will come to life for them. Be intentional about investing in others during Christmas. That is the only way that I've found to make the distractions go away and the true meaning of Christmas to take center stage.

Friday

Well, it's Friday, and I have a lot on mind. So, I thought the easiest way to blog today would be to make a list. It seems that is the going thing these days in the blogging world anyway. So, I...must...give...into....the....pressure.

1) It has rained ALL day today. In SOCAL, when it finally does rain, it pours.
2) We are having Abby's 6th birthday party tomorrow. Jody made 36 cupcakes for 10 kids. Hmmmmm....I wonder if there will be enough cupcakes???
3) I dropped in on a rehearsal last night for the Christmas musical. It is going to be awesome.
4) I just found out that my parents had a drive-by shooting at their store. No one was hurt, but the front glass was shot out by two bullets. (And they were worried about me coming to the gang-infested state of California. Please.)
5) My 7 year old eats constantly. I didn't think that started until at least 13.
6) The SEC Championship is this Saturday. It's sad when the best team in the SEC isn't even in the game. But, the Georgia Bulldogs will be in a BCS Bowl. I can't wait.
7) Today is the last day of November. That's crazy.
8) I'm working on a surprise for Jody for Christmas. She's gonna cry.
9) The Cowboys are 11-1. Super Bowl bound!
10) This Guy called me today with an idea. He lives in GA where they are in the midst of a severe drought that is threatening their water supply. His idea is for everyone in the Atlanta area to buy a case of water from Wal-Mart and pour it into the lake. That should pretty much take care of their water shortage. I like it!

Well, I've got another choir rehearsal in the morning in preparation for our Christmas Worship Service on December 16th. We also have the birthday party tomorrow and a parade we're supposed to go to. So, I'm going to go and take my wife out tonight. She deserves it. So do I.

Another Worship Tool

Yes, again this involves Paul Baloche. I've just found that he is putting some great things out there for worship leaders at little or no cost. Check out his website at LeadWorship.com . You can put in your email address and receive updates and download options. Also, there are a ton of songs on this site that you can download demos of and band charts for....all for free. Yes, that's right. FREE! What a great tool. Thanks, Paul, for putting great worship leading tools into the hands of worship leaders around the world.

Kingdom Minded people make me happy.

Collection of Note

As a worship leader, I am always on the look out for great music that is scripture based and facilitates worship. With the constant change in worship styles and formats, it is difficult to meet the needs of everyone with one product. However, Integrity Music has just released a new Paul Baloche CD that is a great tool for worship. The name of the CD is "Our God Saves" and has several great worship songs. But, what really makes this a cool tool is that it saves the worship leader tons of time in writing charts and/or searching for chord charts online. It is an enhanced CD that has the leadsheets on it along with instructional video clips that give you tips on different guitar techniques in playing each song. If this fits your church's worship style then go check it out. It's sure to be a great tool for you and your fellow worshipers.

Have You Ever.....

This blog is specifically for you Worship Pastors out there. Most of you will be able to relate to many of the following "have you evers". Each of these is an original that I've dealt with at some point in my ministry. I decided to take some of the crazy things I've had happen along the way and compile a list. I hope that others of you will find the humor in them.

HAVE YOU EVER.....

1)...had someone start off a derogatory remark with the words "with all due respect"? That's usually just a "polite" way to tell you off and still feel like they did you a favor.
2)...had someone write you an ugly note on their tithe envelope to give you a "message from the Lord"? In most cases, if that amount you wrote is any indication of your normal tithe, I don't trust the messages you are hearing from God.
3)...called to apologize to someone for some petty little thing that you didn't even know you did because it had gotten back to you that they were upset...only to have them tell you that it didn't bother them? Really? So, it didn't bother you so much that you told 49 of your closest friends? I'd really hate to upset you.
4)...had someone complain that the sound in a church service is so loud that it is damaging their hearing, yet refuse to move to a quieter spot in the church because they like their seat?
5)...had someone who can't sing, can't play an instrument and can't hear try to tell you how to lead worship?
6)...had someone shake their fist at you during a worship set and try to get you to change the tempo to suit their opinion of how that song should go?
7)...had someone stand on the front row and hold their lighter up, igniting a 1 foot flame in the air as you sang that last worship song just before the Pastor's message?
8)...received a letter that threatened you physically because you didn't tell everyone to give a standing ovation to the children's choir director? (I was looking over my shoulder for a month for that crazy lady.)
9)...tripped on that last step going up onto the stage in front of an entire congregation. (And I was the guest worship leader for that day. I wonder if they lost my phone number. I haven't heard from them.)
10)...had to send a chaperon home from a student choir tour? (Yep. Did that one, too.)
11)...partnered with another church to come do a mission in their town for them, only to receive a bill from them for the water and electricity you used while staying in their dirty high school Sunday school class?
12)...received an email, card, or phone call from a church member that was full of encouragement and appreciation that made dealing with all of the other stuff worth it? I HAVE!

Snapshot

My family and I did something yesterday that has been a long time coming...we had family pictures taken. We went to a park nearby and took some pretty cool shots on an old bridge. A good friend of our ministry, David White , took the shots for us. It was amazing to view the pictures. Because I'm with my kids everyday, I don't get to step back and see them growing up. Looking at these pictures made me realize how much they've changed, and are changing.

It's the same way in my walk with Christ. I get frustrated with my progress and feel at times that I'm not growing or becoming what He created me for. But, He is able to step back and see how far I've come. He sees the big picture and already knows the place He has for me to arrive. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could take snapshots of our spiritual lives? We'd be able to see ourselves maturing over time. Or, perhaps in some cases, not maturing at all.

Christmas Time!

As November ends and December begins, the days on the calendar are quickly being marked off. It is amazing how quickly time is flying by. The preparations that seemed too early to begin in August, appear to have begun just in time as we find ourselves on the doorstep of opening night for the Christmas musical. This year's musical is "It's a Wonderful Life". It is very much like the movie, but we've written in a spiritual element that is sure to stir the heart. Our hope is that people will be able to relate to the real life situations of the characters and understand that God has a unique plan for each of us. We were created for a purpose. If we make ourselves available to Him, we will see God achieve His will in our lives in ways we never dreamed possible.

Tickets are already on sale. December 6th, 7th, and 8th is a ticketed dessert theater, and the evening of the 9th is a non-ticketed general admission. Tickets are going fast. If you've not yet purchased yours, please make plans soon to bring your family to the Immanuel Christmas Musical, "It's a Wonderful Life". It's the perfect jump-start to the Christmas season.