WORSHIP. PERIOD.

A good buddy of mine got married this weekend.

Good times all around. I sang. I toasted. I Best-Manned.

Sitting at the rehearsal, chatting with the officiating pastor (who also happens to be my pastor/boss and the father of the bride) we got to discussing the many weddings and rehearsals we’d both done in the past. We were joking about the tendency for there to be too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to wedding rehearsals. I remarked that I made it my own rule not to acquiesce to anyone’s requests or demands unless they’re the lady wearing the white dress on the big day. You may have plenty of fantastic ideas about what I should sing, how I should stand, what I should wear, when I should stand or sit and more, but if you’re not the bride you’re likely not going to get much of a response from me, Aunt Liz.

It’s the bride’s day. It should be all about her. Sure there are lots of things everyone else would prefer or enjoy or rather see, but this ain’t your rodeo. Wait your turn. (Or perhaps you already had your turn.)

As we discussed it, I realized there were some parallels there. I thought about how easy I found it to keep that kind of focus and endure the occasional snide remarks and indignant glares in a wedding context, but found it a different animal altogether at the ol’ church gig.

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A friend and I were having a conversation about how often we all overuse the term “ironic” when in fact the events in question were merely “coincidental”. I saw a comic one time who has this whole bit about how nothing in Alanis Morisette’s song “Ironic” is actually ironic. Pretty funny.

“A traffic jam when you’re already late. No, that’s not ironic, that’s just a pain in the butt. There’s nothing ironic about being stuck in a traffic jam when you’re late…unless you’re a town planner, and you’re late for a seminar of town planners at which you were giving a talk on how you solved the problem of traffic congestion in your area and couldn’t get to it ‘cuz you were stuck in a traffic jam.”

So, that being said, I guess I found it coincidental – not ironic – that a concept and a passage from 1 Chronicles and Psalm 84 has been popping up in my noggin a lot in the last day or two. I had been thinking about writing a blog about “gatekeeper worship” for a little while now, and I’ll explain that a bit further down. Then this weekend I was reminded of that because our weekend service was focused on a theme called “pictures of eternity” and the song “Better is One Day” made an appearance. I remembered a devotional I’d done with our team a while back talking about the Sons of Korah, the gatekeepers at the temple, to whom this Psalm is attributed. I filed the thoughts away again, now mashed together with this whole gatekeeper idea I had rolling around.

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Ok, pet peeve time. You’re at a worship rehearsal, running through the set list for an upcoming service or event. You meander through the song a few times and nobody is 100% sure if we’re repeating this chorus or if the outro is the same as the intro or if we’re ending on 4 or 1. Everyone looks to the leader and he shuffles his pages, clearly moving to the next song and then he casually drops the bomb: “Ok, that’s good, we’ll just let the spirit lead on that one come Sunday.”

At this point a scene usually kicks on in my mind that portrays me darting across the stage, tackling the dude and shaking him mercilessly. I have anger issues, apparently. Qualified therapists, feel free to email me.

So, why does this bug me so much? Is it that I don’t believe the spirit can lead us in a different direction on Sunday, or that we shouldn’t leave room to adjust ourselves based on what God is doing at that moment as we lead? Yes, that’s it.

Just kidding. (I trust that was obvious.)

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“Sunday’s Coming” Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

So what are you Easter plans for worship? If you don’t know by now, ya might be in trouble…

This is usually a busy time for worship-types and I just wanted to throw one little thought/reminder in there amid the chaos. Just something I’ve been thinking about as our Good Friday service approaches.

I’m sure many of you have Good Friday services ahead of you, and I wanted to encourage us to make sure our path to the empty tomb (Sunday) goes through the Cross. I know we know the end of the story and the Cross is not the end and we need to rejoice in the resurrection, yeah I get it. That being said I think we need to stop and pay our respects, so to speak, at the foot of the Cross as part of our Easter celebration.

Remember: The joy, celebration and gratitude inspired by the Risen Christ is informed by an understanding of what He gave up and went through to get there. The physical agony….and, as I’m focusing on in my preparation these days, the agony of separation from the Father.

I don’t think it’s a mistake that the sacrifice made by the Godhead involved a Father giving His Son rather than His own life, as it were. I think that image drives home the agony for us as we consider how much easier it would be for us to give our own lives instead of that of our own child. Anyone with a son or a father can slip on those shoes and imagine the cost, I think.

So, as you take the journey and see the sights this Easter, have your people stop at the Cross on this year’s tour. Maybe leave the “and now I am happy all the day”s for Sunday…instead, stop and acknowledge the agony of that God-forsaken Cross…and how do we respond in worship? We look at the characteristic of God that drove Him to do it – His love for us. Acknowledge His sacrifice and enjoy His love in gratitude.

That’ll make Friday Good.

Oh, how He loves you and me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.
He gave His life, what more could He give;
Oh, how He loves you, Oh, how He loves me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.

Jesus to Calv’ry did go,
His love for mankind to show.
What He did there brought hope from despair.
Oh, how He loves you, Oh, how He loves me,
Oh how He loves you and me.

Oh, how He loves you and me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.
He gave His life, what more could He give;
Oh, how He loves you, Oh, how He loves me,
Oh, how He loves you and me.

I’m sitting in my office, at a desk which I’ve recently moved to the other side of the room.  Funny thing is, this is about where it was when I first moved into this office.  If you’re like me, sometimes you just need a change of scenery.  Every once in a while don’t you just need to do some rearranging?

Well, that’s kind of a weak way to introduce an idea but I needed a way to get the word “rearranging” in there somehow.  Thanks for continuing to read.

Recently when I was preparing an upcoming service, I was going over some song choices.  I found myself thematically drawn towards a certain song that was a great fit lyrically with where we were going.  My first reaction was to dismiss it because of where it would be located in the flow of the service.  “I can’t use that one, it’s a “fast” song and I need something more reflective here.”

Needless to say, I caught myself and gave my head a shake.

Sometimes I think we get bound by an arrangement of a song as we first heard it or learned it.  Or maybe it’s how the song appears on an album.  Whatever it is, how often do you revisit a song’s arrangement with “no holds barred”, so to speak?

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I love those soccer announcer dudes. Best part of soccer if you ask me (those of you who know me will know that likely that’s the only good part about soccer, in my view, but I digress. Keep doin’ yer thing, Beckham.)

Goals are one of those things that can be a bit “buzz word”-ish, and some of us artist types can get a bit skiddish and shy away from that stuff. I really do think that setting goals makes a difference in our ministries.

What are your goals for your worship ministry in 2010?

If you don’t typically engage in this process, I encourage you to give it a try. They can be from the practical to the ethereal, and everything in between – a balance of ‘em all is gets my vote. Do you have punctuality issues with yourself or your team? Set a goal to clear it up this year. Give yourself steps: I will be 15 minutes early for every service and rehearsal this year. Does your flock need a fresh infusion of new songs? Set a goal of discovering and teaching some new worship tools to your congregation this year and pursue it with passion. Maybe your crew needs some grounding and teaching in the theology of worship. How can you meet that need this year? Make a plan and work it.

My encouragement to us all with the calendar about to flip once again is to take some time with God to consider what He might have for each of us and our ministries this year and to set some goals to get us there. What an opportunity to give Him the thanks and praise you’ll have this time next year when you can look back and see the ways God has carried you and yours to meet those things He set in your heart a year ago! Sure things will change, new needs will arise, and some of the goals you set now will need to morph and adjust as time passes. But none of those things negate the benefit of time spent with God considering what paths he’d have you follow over the coming year.

Something to consider: Throw yourself in the deep end from time to time. I like to try and consider with God some dreams for our ministry that seem so outrageously large that only He could accomplish them. That way, if and when they come to pass, only He gets the credit. It’s a good thing to purposely set ourselves up for a reminder of who’s driving the bus, now and again.

So, what are some of your goals this year? Let’s share ‘em with each other and run the race together!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…also the time when church staffers often walk around in a perpetual state of trying-not-to-punch-peopleness. I know, I know, it’s not supposed to be that way and if our ministry is doing that to us we need to reassess our priorities and build in some margin and leverage the time and key word buzz word cliche etc. The reality (at least for me and many colleagues with whom I converse and cavort) is that it is just a plain old busy time and some days that gets the best of even the most balanced of humans. There, I’ve ranted and feel centered now. Thank you.

So yes, Christmas has its challenges in ministry, and certainly worship is no exception. One of the challenges I personally struggle with each year is how we worship (speaking corporately and through music in this instance) at Christmas? Obviously there’s no shortage of carols out there. That being said, if you’re like me you’ve noticed that – from a worship standpoint – some of them come up lacking. Perhaps a better way to say it is that they mostly seem to be of one style as a group. Think about it: Most Christmas carols – speaking strictly of the “religious” ones – are declarative or storytelling types of songs. They recount the details of the events at the first Christmas, but don’t really give the singer an opportunity to tell God how great He is in that context, for example.

Let me stop and qualify my statements here for a second. I love Christmas carols. Love them. I’m fairly certain my father was the inspiration for Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold character in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Christmas music comes out at his house on August 26th (I kid you not). So I come by a love for all things Christmas honestly, in that regard. I also firmly believe there’s room in our worship for what I call declarative songs. Certainly there was room in the Bible for declarative Psalms. What I am getting at, however, is that I think we need a balance in our corporate worship settings and unfortunately the traditional Christmas songs as a group don’t seem to afford us that opportunity. I’m sure I’m not the first guy to suggest that sometimes leading worship is a struggle against just singing a bunch of familiar songs that make people feel warm inside, right?

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In doing some random surfing and reading today, I ran across this quote:

“Worship is the strategy by which we interrupt our preoccupation with ourselves and attend to the presence of God.”
-Eugene Peterson

Huh. Well said, ‘Gene. I get the “message”. (See what I did there?)

I really like the part that talks about worship means interrupting our focus on ourselves, but the word that stuck out to me the most was “strategy”. Worship is a strategy? It didn’t take me more than one read through the quote to agree on lots of levels (I’m sure Mr. Peterson would be relieved at the news of my concurrence).

Strategy: a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result.

When it comes to your leadership, do you have a plan? A method? A series of maneuvers? Or maybe the first question would be do you have a specific goal or desired result?

This might seem like obvious or assumptive questions, but I bet they’re not as easily answered in all cases as we might hope. One other question that spins out of this train of thought is the idea of metrics – How do you measure success? Is it how many hands were raised, or is it how many DB of volume your congregation put out in their singing, or is it how much the offering hauled in? I’m being a bit coy, but have you every thought about how you measure success in terms of your worship ministry? Some people are (understandably) a bit leery of things like mission statements and vision mantras and all that jazz, but I do think examining how you will evaluate success in your context is a worthwhile exercise (I plan to blog a bit more about that soon).

Mission Impossible

Those are some things to think about on a macro and long term level, for sure, but I also think Peterson’s definition can be hi-jacked and used as our mission as worship leaders for the Christmas season.

This is your mission, should you choose to accept it.

This Christmas, amid the consumerism, the me-focused culture, the go-go-go busyness and the schmaltzy sentimentality (which I’m a sucker for, incidentally)…in the midst of all that, YOU, o worship leader, your goal this Christmas is to come up with and implement a strategy by which your people interrupt their preoccupation with themselves and attend to the presence of God.

Sounds like a challenge, doesn’t it? It is.

But you love a challenge, I know you do. So get at it.

How often would you say you take risks in your worship leadership?

I guess maybe I need to define what I mean by risk in this case. When I say taking a risk in leading worship I’m referring to those times you get an idea for your worship event or service that makes you immediately want to reach for the Rolaids. You get nervous and excited at the same time. Your mind starts firing a flip-book of reasons this idea could go off the rails and crash, but your gut keeps pushing it. Maybe it’s as simple as a song choice, a different music style, or a spoken word/drama. Maybe it’s a complete deviation from your typical order of service. Maybe it’s a media element. Maybe it’s even a strong word you feel you need to share with your congregation.

The common theme in the risk I’m referring to is the presence of these competing thoughts: “It could be really good, or it could go really bad.” Been there? I was there this week. After being reminded of some things concerning these risks I thought I’d share what I’m learning about the importance of venturing into this scary territory occasionally.
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