Year: 2009

Jul

2009

What is “Fruit”

As I collect my thoughts related to ministry and building the church I am reminded of how much God is focused on the individual. Jesus was not focused on the crowds and often avoided them. Every moment seemed to be a teachable moment as He walked with the disciples and focused the bulk of His time equipping those entrusted to Him to carry the message of hope when He ascended.

Ephesians talks about how we were each adopted as inheritors, (1:5,11,14) created to do “good things” (2:10) all being carefully fitted together with Christ as the cornerstone to build the temple of God (2:19) given specific gifts and the grace to walk in them (4:7) then it all culminates in 4:16 with:

“the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love”

I believe the reason the church is not serving is primarily because of the leadership of the church but that’s a topic for another day. The question today is what is fruit?

The Bible is full of references to fruit. What is it? Certainly we can refer to Galatians 5:22 and the fruit of the Spirit but is that the sum total of the definition?

In the natural fruit is the result of excess nourishment the plant doesn’t need to survive. Fruit contains seed for reproduction, provides nourishment, and tastes good. Apple trees produce apples not dates and grape vines produce grapes not tomatoes.

Minutes ago I did a Google search of blogs related to John 15:5 and overwhelmly fruit was equated with “souls”. Ultimately everything we do in the Kingdom relates to souls impacted for eternity but are we all evangelists? are we all disciplers? are we all called to street witnessing?

Ephesians 4:11 says He gave some to be evangelists. I count 25 different gifts enumerated in the New Testament. If my primary gift is administration my being perfected in that gift will ultimately result in the church growing according to Ephesians 4:16 but not necessarily evangelism directly the way I read it.

We must all be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks us a reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15) but what is the fruit I will produce as I walk in the fullness of my calling and gift(s)? It can’t be “what I do” because I can do that in my own strength and John 15:5 says I can do nothing apart from abiding in Him. How does Romans 7:4, John 15:5, Colossians 1:10, and others practically manifest in the life of a believer?

The stated purpose of this blog is “a place to process what I am learning as I choose each day to walk with my Savior”. I don’t have this all worked out this is simply what I am processing with Jesus right now. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Jul

2009

Worshiping Worship

Although I don’t agree with much of the theology of Tim Challies, and have taken him to task before, he makes an excellent point about people looking for “great worship”.

We have defined worship incorrectly as a church. I will write more on that later for now, props Mr. Challies.

Although there are things that can be done to enhance corporate worship, there is a profound sense in which excellent worship cannot be attained merely by pursuing excellent worship. In the same way that, according to Jesus, you cannot find yourself until you lose yourself, so also you cannot find excellent corporate worship until you stop trying to find excellent corporate worship and pursue God himself. Despite the protestations, one sometimes wonders if we are beginning to worship worship rather than worship God.

via Worshiping Worship :: worship :: A Reformed, Christian Blog.

Jul

2009

Great Weekend in Nebraska

God is so good,

We packed up the family and headed to our hometown of Ainsworth Nebraska last Thursday looking forward to a very busy weekend.

It was Kim’s 25 year class reunion and I had planned to lead worship at the Ainsworth Assembly of God Church on Sunday morning and having the whole service on Sunday night.

We had dinner with the class on Friday night and enjoyed reconnecting with old friends over a steak dinner. Saturday was a great day of rehearsal and teaching while Kim went to the class picnic. Saturday night Kim was asked to pray at the banquet. Why is the honored 25 year class the one that does all the work? I’ve always wondered that.

Sunday morning was great. The boys were able to play on the worship team with me, which is something I have always hoped for, and the congregation of worshipers made it a really nice service. Kim spoke briefly at the E-Free Church so we were unable to be in church together again.

Sunday night we had more worship and I spoke about what is real worship. I love this topic. Monday was a day of rest enjoying a nice meal with my parents in Johnstown.

Now we are back in Colorado Springs preparing for the next trip. Thank you for your prayer and support. I wouldn’t want to do this without you.

Jun

2009

Bored With Contemporary Worship

I ran across this post from TheWorshipCommunity.com and thought it was worth discussing,

Bored With Contemporary Worship:

Musicademy caused quite a stir when they published this thoughtful post recently.

We don’t want to say it. It sounds like we’re consumers, wanting more entertainment, and we know that’s not the problem. Worse, it might sound like we’re tired of God – when we know we’ve only just scratched the surface of the infinitely creative, dynamically relational being he is.

Hence the collective sigh of relief in the London School of Theology Deep Calls to Deep conference when the outgoing Director General of the Evangelical Alliance, the highly respected and deeply passionate Joel Edwards, used the ‘B’ word without apology or caveat. ‘We’re bored in worship’. You could almost see tense shoulders sag and bright eyes perk up. We’re allowed to say it Our worship has become boring’ It was like permission, not to whine or complain or place blame people do that enough about worship anyway, but to admit the weaknesses in our contemporary corporate worship lives and to begin to address authentic, fundamental and God honouring change.

His full quote expresses it best:

“There is something about the charismatic movement which brought something new and fresh. It came out of something new God was doing.

I am thirsty for something new again. I have to confess to you that mostly on a Sunday morning I am bored And I wonder if one of the reasons why people are not singing is because they too are bored.

It may be a good thing to discover what you would write down if you spent two months noting what songs are sung on a Sunday morning. I cannot believe that so much of our repertoire has become so narrow. So predictable. That the formation of what we do on a Sunday is so utterly predictable. And I think to myself, how come the God who has formed the constellations and put the stars in place and has a new idea every second, doesn’t have something new for us for a Sunday morning? I wonder whether he might not be vaguely bored too.”

And so a conversation is stirring between worship leaders, pastors, songwriters, congregations, and radical thought the communities we are trying to reach, about how we might innovate our worship. No one person, movement or website has all the answers, but we’re pretty sure the questions begin with how we get out of this predictable, narrow, reality-dodging, inward looking spiral towards a creative, indigenous, multi-sensory, outward-looking expression of worship.

via Bored With Contemporary Worship : TheWorshipCommunity.Com.

The original post has some thoughts regarding the problem and solutions but I didn’t want to post them here. I wanted to hear what you have to say about the subject.

Are you bored with Contemporary worship? Do you long for something new and fresh? or are you very content with the way it is?

Jun

2009

To Find Him Where He Can Be Found.

God speaks to me sometimes by sending the same message in different ways over a period of time and then I have what I call a coalescing moment where it all comes together.

I just had one of those when I received a my daily email from the Copelands and from a friend on Facebook from Zimbabwe. We have never met and I don’t know why he found me and asked me to be his friend. He has 6 friends and I am the only one not from Zumbabwe.

Since launching into ministry in January I have had an interesting ride. I am living the dream but have been plagued with fear and doubt shortly after making the decision. Building the kingdom has been in my heart for over 10 years. At a workshop for worship with Job Vijil I knew this is what I was born to do. God has always been faithful so why the worry?

I say He is my strength and my shield, my ever present help in time of need. I’m standing on the Word but I haven’t spoken in in weeks. Instead I have been speaking death. A couple weeks ago my amazing wife scolded me strongly for the way I’m talking and she is exactly right. She is such a blessing to me. The Word of God is the final word but I must put it to work by speaking it out.

I am reminded of a short prayer by Hans Ur von Balthasar I apologize if I’ve posted this before:

Harassed by life, exhausted, we look about us for somewhere to be quiet, to be genuine, a place of refreshment. We yearn to restore our spirits in God, to simply let go in him and gain new strength to go on living.

But we fail to look for him where he is waiting for us, where he is to be found; in his Son, who is his Word. Or else seek for God because there are a thousand things we want to ask him, and imagine that we cannot go on living unless they are answered. We inundate him with problems, with demands for information, for clues, for an easier path, forgetting that in his Word he has given us the solution to every problem and all the details we are capable of grasping in this life.

We fail to listen where God speaks; where God’s Word rang out in the world once for all, sufficient for all ages, inexhaustible. Or else we think that God’s Word has been heard on earth for so long that by now it is almost used up. That it is about time for some new word, as if we had the right to demand one. We fail to see that it is we ourselves who are used up and alienated, whereas the Word resounds with the same vitality and freshness as ever; it is just as near to us as it always was.

Hans Ur von Balthasar, Prayer. Trans. Graham Harrison (San Fancisco: Ignatius Press, 1986)

Today I committ to being in His Word and daily seeking Him in the secret place for His direction. I encourage you to do the same.

Blessings as you walk with Him.

Jun

2009

Frontier School of the Bible update

An update from this post, followed up by this, this, and this.

I received this on May the 6th and it got buried in my inbox. Sorry for the lateness. but here it is.

We’ve been waiting to receive this update and it came this morning. We are praising God for His amazing work!
This morning the Wyoming Department of Education granted FSB a leadership school exemption. This will allow them to operate as they are now without having to be working toward accreditation or licensing.
With this type exemption they are allowed to only grant diplomas rather than degrees, but they are working toward FSB having a religious exemption which would allow degrees to be offered. FSB’s attorneys have never experienced better cooperation with State leaders than with FSB’s situation, and cannot imagine a better development up to this point.
Thank you for the many prayers you have given on behalf of FSB. May God greatly bless you!
Please continue to pray that the details regarding FSB being granted a religious exemption will be worked out.

May

2009

Memorial Day Tribute

May

2009

10 keys for effective worship leaders (10)

1. Submission to the Leader

2. A Lifestyle of Prayer

3. Preparation

4. A Lifestyle of Obedience

5. Excellence

6. A Lifestyle of Personal Worship

7. Humility

8. Vision

9. Love for Gods Church

Todays Key:

10. Love for Gods Word

Last but certainly not least and maybe the most important of the list.

Psalm 1:2 says “blessed is the man whose delight is the law of the Lord”.

Job 23:12 says “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

Jeremiah 15:16 says “Your word to me was the joy and rejoicing of my heart”

1 John 5:3 says “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome”

His commandments are not burdensome. As worship leaders we must know and have a love for His Word. We must be able to rightly divide the word of truth. It is in His word we find wisdom and understanding of how to lead those entrusted to us. Our team day to day and the congregation on Sunday. Unless we have heard from God we have nothing of value to give.

I’ll leave you with this thought from

Hans Ur von Balthasar:

Harassed by life, exhausted, we look about us for somewhere to be quiet, to be genuine, a place of refreshment. We yearn to restore our spirits in God, to simply let go in him and gain new strength to go on living.

But we fail to look for him where he is waiting for us, where he is to be found; in his Son, who is his Word.

Or else seek for God because there are a thousand things we want to ask him, and imagine that we cannot go on living unless they are answered. We inundate him with problems, with demands for information, for clues, for an easier path, forgetting that in his Word he has given us the solution to every problem and all the details we are capable of grasping in this life.

We fail to listen where God speaks; where God’s Word rang out in the world once for all, sufficient for all ages, inexhaustible. Or else we think that God’s Word has been heard on earth for so long that by now it is almost used up. That it is about time for some new word, as if we had the right to demand one. We fail to see that it is we ourselves who are used up and alienated, whereas the Word resounds with the same vitality and freshness as ever; it is just as near to us as it always was.

Hans Ur von Balthasar, Prayer. Trans. Graham Harrison (San Fancisco: Ignatius Press, 1986)

If we are going to be effective in ministry at any level, or in life, we must develop a love for Gods Word. They are the words of life where else can we go. In the busyness of life and ministry I exhort you to be unbalanced in the time you spend with Him.

Blessings

May

2009

10 Keys for effective worship leaders (9)

1. Submission to the Leader

2. A Lifestyle of Prayer

3. Preparation

4. A Lifestyle of Obedience

5. Excellence

6. A Lifestyle of Personal Worship

7. Humility

8. Vision

Todays Key:

9. Love for Gods Church

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says to Peter “I will build My Church”.

The Church is His. They are His people. We have been asked to steward it until He returns.

The Church is not a place for my self actualization, or primarily an outlet for my gift. I have stated many times as leaders we must recognize, call out, equip, and release people into the fullness of their calling and gifting.

However the Church is not a vehicle to be used by me.

Phillipians chapter two says Jesus divested Himself of any self interest and was obedient to the point of death on a cross “therefore” God placed Him. We must have the same attitude.In order to be placed in the fullness of our calling we must lay down our life for the Kingdom.

We must serve His people.

When we have a proper understanding of our position in the body and our responsibility to serve Gods people it brings perspective and gives us more patience knowing God has our best interest at heart. The desire in your heart was put there by God and He wants it for you more than you want it for you. Lay down your life for the kingdom and watch God do a miracle in the body and in you.

Blessings,

Number ten is here.

May

2009

How to fail at blogging

I’m sure in the manual for blogging the chapter under failure says something to the affect of ignoring your blog and not posting for two weeks almost guarantees failure

They say the best way to come back to something is start slowly but I’m going to work hard to catch up then settle in to normalcy, whatever that is, again.

First a little update then finish the 10 keys for effective worship leaders.

It seams like I’ve been very busy but not accomplishing much. The last three months have been frantic with preparation. Planning retreats, preparing messages and worship sets, writing a mini book, re working songs and getting them recorded. It’s been fun and I like to be busy. Now the book is in the hands of trusted friends full of wisdom and the songs are nearly ready to be recorded and the waiting has begun. trying to figure out where to go from here.

I’m trying to rest and trust God for the next step but it’s a struggle. I like to be busy. I have the most amazing wife and great friends who encourage me to “enjoy” this time because things will get busy soon enough. I know they’re right it’s just hard for me to wait.

In a couple of weeks the Enter conference will be underway and I’ll be very busy. You should come and check it out. It’s a great conference I promise you will be fed and encouraged.

Thanks for reading and being a part of this journey.
Blessings,

Year: 2009

What is “Fruit”

Worshiping Worship

Great Weekend in Nebraska

Bored With Contemporary Worship

To Find Him Where He Can Be Found.

Frontier School of the Bible update

Memorial Day Tribute

10 keys for effective worship leaders (10)

10. Love for Gods Word

10 Keys for effective worship leaders (9)

9. Love for Gods Church

How to fail at blogging

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