We had a great time of worship.  We had an open mic time and in the second service it went clear till the end of the service so we sang one more song, took the offering and then dismissed everyone.  Then I said if you want to stay and worship we’ll do the last two songs.  We had probably close to 60 or 70 people stay and worship and we didn’t finish until 12:30 more than 15 min. after the service is supposed to end.  

We’ve done this a few times before and we have never had that many people stay.  I hope this is a sign that our body has a growing desire to praise our heavenly father.

A really interesting morning.  I had an encounter with God during rehearsal.  We were practicing Made to Worship when I was struck with this feeling that I was surrounded by God almost inside, it was above, below, beside, in front of me and behind me.  Probably one of the more intense encounters I’ve had with my creator.  It wasn’t very long but powerful none the less.  As we started to go through the service (breaking a string in the process)  I started to get this sense from the holy spirit that as a church we are beginning to turn a corner.  To begin to move forward, away from some of the things that have plagued us over the last year and a half.  I am seeing the leadership of the church becoming united on one vision and direction for the church.  I am seeing our people more passionately responding to God during worship.  Our church is on the cusp of being a full fledged house of prayer.  I can’t wait to see what God wants to do next.  My prayer for our leadership is that we can catch what God wants and that we can communicate clearly with our congregation.

Missions weekend…

Well this week as a band we were reminded that in our greatest weakness God comes through and shows us his strength.  We were only playing 6 songs and one was a prelude.  So I figured rehearsal would be quick.  WRONG!  The first five songs went really smooth.  Then we got to This is Our God.  I can’t even begin to describe the musical issues we were having with it.  We probably spent 20-30 min. on just that song.  Finally I was feeling like we were beating a dead horse.  I’m beginning to wonder if this song in particular really messes with things in the spiritual realms.  This is the first time we have done it since I introduced it.  This is what happened one of the weeks I was introducing it.  I am going to do some more digging into this song and we’ll see what I find.  I just feel that every time I’ve done this song the devil tries really hard to get in the way.  In our prayer time before the service we gave what we had brought, our talents, gifts, hands, feet, instruments voices, to God.  We can do nothing apart from God.  Every good and perfect gift comes from God. Jesus is the only one who can make our offering truly holy.  we said this is yours, especially the songs we are having trouble playing.  When we turned if over to God he took over and it was an awesome time of worship.

Worship was good, not great.  Musically we were fine, and I was definitely getting lost in worship.  However, as has been the case the last few weeks the congregation seems to be getting less and less engaged.  I know that there is a lot of uncertainty for many in our congregation.  With the economy where it is there are certainly things to be concerned about.  Like John said in his sermon, “it’s easy to be a man or woman of faith when things are going well.”  But when things start going bad is really when you find out what your faith is in.  God is in control, no matter how bad and messed up things seem, he has a plan.  One great thing that happened was Betsy Moll was back in church for the first time in months.  She really enjoyed worship.

Today message and service was on God’s providence.  

The activity of God which brings His purposes to pass

So many times our finite minds can’t even begin to grasp the infinite mind and infinite vision of God.  I don’t know why my voice is messed up and I don’t know why my shoulder started bothering me (my shoulder is doing better).  Sometimes I want to say to God “why are you taking this gift away from me.”  I really feel God has called me to be a Worship Pastor.  To train, equip and encourage the local church in worship and worship leaders, pastors and musicians across the country.  I think how could I do any of this with my voice the way it is.  But I know that God is trying to get my attention, however I have no idea yet what work he is wanting to do in my life.  It may be he wants me to rely on him and not on my vocal gifts.  It may be that he wants me to be still and quiet.  I’m just not sure.  

I have a appointment with an ENT this wednesday at 10am and that should begin to give me a better idea of the degree of damage on my voice.  Please pray, I am fairly concerned about how extensive the damage is and what the recovery time is going to be.

But God is in control.

Worship was really great yesterday.  Both services were really engaged.  During the first service we were playing Trading My Sorrows when in the middle of it our lighting director came up to interrupt me.  (This is not a bad thing) (actually reminds me a lot of Prayer Quake)  Following the holy spirits leading he shared that when the youth group was stuck at the border they were singing that song on the steps of the customs building.  When they got to the chorus they shouted YES LORD

We say yes Lord, YES LORD yes yes Lord

Yes lord, YES LORD, yes yes Lord

Yes Lord, YES LORD, yes yes Lord Amen

I have some interesting thoughts about the Holy Spirit and two services that I’ll share tomorrow.

Freedom is less than two weeks away!!!

Worship was great this morning.  We did an acoustic set meaning we had two acoustics, keys, cello and voices.  It was a neat morning.  John preached the last sermon of the series Unchristian and it was about being judgmental.  Scripturally we based it off the passage in John that talks about taking the plank out of your own eyes before you try to take the speck out of your brothers.  He also touched on the fact that we will be judged according to how we have judged.  It’s not wrong to pass judgment however we must be very careful that we are honest about our own sin.  

We sang Love the Lord by Lincoln Brewster this morning.  I have been hesitant to introduce this song to our congregation for a couple of reasons.  One it is a very repetitive song, not that repetitive is bad (cause it’s not) it’s just a little more extreme in this case.  The other is that I have kind of become accustom to the songs that our church really latches onto.  I tried to preface the song with the scripture that the idea comes from…

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Basically it says that we should talk about, discuss, burn into our minds the commandment that we should Love the Lord with all our Hearts, souls, mind, and strength.  Every part of us should love our Lord.

On a personal note.  I have been having a lot of problems with my voice and it seems to be getting weaker every week.  I couldn’t even make it through practice on Thursday night.  I am going to try to see and Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Specialist this week.  Please pray that it is not too bad and that I have not done any permanent damage.

This weekend I am in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I am visiting my uncle, aunt and there three kids.  My uncle is the worship pastor at a church plant.  They meet in a school so they have to set up and tear down basically the whole church every weekend.  Sound system to changing tables and rockers for the nursery.  Here is their website.

My uncle is a great worship leader and phenomenal guitar player.  He also has an uncanny knack of finding other great musicians to play with him.  He has a great sense of where to interject either a prayer or share a thought.  He shared and prayed a lot about the financial crisis.  I asked him after the service if there was a reason he spoke so much about the financial crisis, since in Arizona we haven’t seen many effects of the wall street issues.  His congregation has many who work for Wachovia and there is a lot of uncertainty.  There are also many gas stations that don’t have fuel.  

My uncle really has his finger on the pulse of his church.  He has also taken over leadership of the small groups at his church.  I am proud to call him my uncle and lucky that I have his experience and wisdom at my disposal.  His dad, my grandfather, was my greatest spiritual influence and I see so much of Him in my uncle.  My grandfather went to be with the Lord a little over a year ago and I know that he would be so proud of my uncle and what he is doing.

Pray for my uncle’s church, that they would see continued growth both spiritually as well as numbers.  An pray specifically that there space situation would be resolved.  Their rent to the school they meet at was doubled making finances even tighter.

As I mentioned in my first post, there is a marked difference between the first and second services.  Not that there are not people worshiping, it’s just as a whole the second service seems either apathetic about singing to God or unengaged. I’m not sure what has been going on in the second service.  It seems as though it has been a progression from just being kind of weird to, like today, just plain bad.  

Today (in second service) as we began our five songs to end the service, we started with How Great is Our God which is one of our churches favorite songs and during the last chorus I stepped back from the mic to let the congregation sing.  What I heard, or didn’t hear, surprised me.  I was having trouble hearing the congregation singing.  Then I moved to teaching the new song He is Lord.  The next song was This is Our God and where thing got dicey.

As we were singing I began to get angry.  But I wasn’t angry, if that makes sense.  As I looked across the congregation I saw people sitting as if they were lounging around watching a TV show.  Even when we were singing the bridge there was so much apathy about it.

Freely you gave it all for us, surrendered your life upon that cross

Great is the love poured out for all, this is our God

Lifted on high from death to life, forever our God is glorified

Servant and King, rescued the world, this is our God

How can you sing those words and yet be apathetic?  After the service someone referred to what I was feeling as “holy anger.”  This is what I felt God saying…(this is not what I shared in the service)

How dare you sit there pretending to worship Me.  Your lips move yet your heart stays silent.  WAKE UP!  Your hearts are focused on other things.  I alone am worthy of praise.  

Obviously I did not share these words because they would have done more harm then good.  What I did share was the bridge that we were just singing.  I tried to draw our attention to the cross and to Jesus.  I spoke of how through the cross and Jesus sacrifice we no longer relegate the presence of God to the holy of holies in the temple.  We no longer need a priest to intercede for us.  Jesus is now our great high priest who intercedes on our behalf directly to the Father.  Jesus is the one that leads us to God’s presence.  It’s not a song, a particular worship leader, a cool musical arrangement that ushers in the presence of God.  It’s Jesus.  Yet many sang that bridge with such apathy and a disconnect between lips and hearts that God was angered.  God is a jealous God.  He will not share his Glory with another.

This is what God the LORD says— 
       he who created the heavens and stretched them out, 
       who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, 
       who gives breath to its people, 
       and life to those who walk on it:

  ”I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; 
       I will take hold of your hand. 
       I will keep you and will make you 
       to be a covenant for the people 
       and a light for the Gentiles,

  to open eyes that are blind, 
       to free captives from prison 
       and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

  ”I am the LORD; that is my name! 
       I will not give my glory to another 
       or my praise to idols.

Isaiah 42:5-8

I’ll talk in length later this week on why the cross is crucial to worship.  I hope that God uses this to stir our hearts to be more vigilant in our pursuit to see Him glorified.  Please also pray fervently for the second service.  There is some kind of spiritual oppression going on, the prayer team and myself are not sure what it is or where it is coming from, but as we seek the lord this week we pray that he would open our eyes to see what (right now) is hidden.

Well everyone (and by everyone I mean peter, brian and my wife),

I have officially taken the plunge into the world of blogging.  I have been told it’s hard at first to consistently update you blog but gets easier over time. (and hopefully better)

When I write about our worship services I will be focusing more on the spiritual side as opposed to the musical side of things.  We could be the greatest band in all the world but if God is not being worshiped in our services we should all be fired.  Sometimes the musical side of things will enhance our worship and sometimes it will distract.  My goal is that the music takes a back seat to what God is doing through our worship.

9-21

I normally play guitar and lead our services but because of a lack of drummer I became the drummer today. (and Scott led)  It was kind of weird sitting at the back of the stage.  When I lead I tend to watch the congregation to see how they are responding.  By watching the congregation I can get a feel for where they are at in their worship: are they engaging with God, are they distracted, what is distracting them.  When I see that people are not engaged I pray that God would show me how I might help them connect with God.  Sometimes I say something, sometimes I just need to be silent, and other times I will repeat the chorus of  song, it really just depends on what I feel God wants me to do.  

Today I felt separated from the congregation.  Part of it was I was playing an instrument I am not as comfortable with so I was really focused on my playing.  The other part was I was at the back of the stage and couldn’t see everyone in the congregation.  It was hard to get a feel where the congregations was at.  One thing that I did notice and have been noticing over the last few weeks is that the first service is far more responsive and engaged then the second service.  I’m not sure why that is…this is something I will have to investigate more and I’ll keep you updated.

Well that’s it for my first post. Off to the Hymn Sing