Life Without Me

I just returned from a week long worship leader's conference and something pretty amazing happened while I was gone. The worship band was able to rehearse and prepare for Sunday without me. What?! NO WAY! Try it sometime yourself. It works.

In my life as a missionary and now as a pastor, I have said numerous times that my job is to work myself out of a job. That is, I need to train people to be able to do things I do because there will be a time when I will not be there to do them. Even though I have said this over and over and I believe it is what I need to do I have too often failed in this regard. I tend to hold tightly to the things I am responsible for and give token efforts to make it look like I am "training others". The past several months I have been very purposefully letting go of things. This past week is an example. Normally I would rearrange the rehearsal schedule so that I could work with the team after I get back. Instead of focusing solely on the conference I would work through the week on the Sunday set-list and be e-mailing during seminars or miss out on important hang-out and discussion time with those I went to the conference with. This time I made a commitment that I would let those I left in charge do it and I would not step in unless they asked for help.

Sunday morning came and I showed up to the morning rehearsal not to lead but to play acoustic and sing background vocals. It was great! I had to keep fighting to not take charge but to let K.W. lead. This was one of the most enjoyable services I have had in a while.

Here is what I am trying to get at. No one, not you, not me is indispensable. Nor should we every think we are. The Apostle Paul writes to his dear friend and student, Timothy and tells him "The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others." (2 Timothy 2:2) Yes, Paul is talking about teaching the Word of God but I think the principle applies here. We who are called to ministry are called to be faithful and work hard but we are also responsible to train others to do the ministry along side of us and even train them to be able to do it on their own and eventually train others also.

So the next time you think you are indispensable think about what life would be like without you. Have you been faithful in training others to carry on without you. Jesus did.

Second-hand God

We live in a world of experts. When we need our car fixed we take it to a mechanic. When we need toilet installed we call a plumber. When we need to cook a roast we look to the Food Network stars. I believe this has infiltrated the church and our people too often turn to “God-experts” to get their problems solved instead of going to God Himself. We have become a consumerist society that would rather have someone else do the work for us than spend the time learning to do it ourselves.
Just take a walk through any Christian bookstore and even some of the other bookstores and you will see rows and rows of book written by men and women telling us something about God or something about how we should live our lives to be more successful, blessed, and just plain more spiritual. Now don’t get me wrong, I think there is value in reading books, I have a rapidly growing library myself, but I do think that these countless books often make the problem worse. Stay with me.
The danger in having and relying on “God-experts” is that we live vicariously through them. We rely on them and get our only spiritual food from them second-hand. There is nothing wrong with listening to sermons, reading books, attending seminars, etc. I do it myself and I learn a lot through them. The problem comes when we rely on them for our only source of spiritual food. My pastor is a great theologian. In his sermons he does an excellent job of teaching the truth of God’s Word. If I were to rely on his sermons alone and in effect get my knowledge of God second-hand and I would be lacking. I would not truly know the word of God but rather only what PJ says about the word of God. Are you tracking? As Christians our responsibility is to dive deep into the word of God ourselves.
If I want to lose 20 pounds it would seem silly for me to stand outside 24 hour fitness and look through the windows at the people exercising and never go in. Or what if I stood by the door and asked people what it was like when the exited? I would likely hear responses about how they feel better, have more energy, have lowered their cholesterol and blood pressure. But does any of that do me any good if I don’t enter in myself and climb on the elliptical? NO! People we need to stop doing that very same thing with our faith. We need to stop living through others and start putting the effort into learning ourselves.
I will leave you with these two thoughts. “If crisis were to hit your life today, would your knowledge of God be found to be too thin?” and “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The way to God is vigorous and requires total attention.”

Sunday Setlist

So, I am going to try something different for a while and see how it works. I will be posting our set-list from our most recent Sunday Services. Why? Well, two reasons. #1 It will help me to think through and evaluate and #2 It may give you an idea to try in your own setting.

Sunday May 31, 2009

King of Glory (Engle)
Welcome
Testimony Video
Prayer
"I Am" - video (purchased from Sermon Spice)
Just As I Am
Enough
Let It Rise
Scripture Psalm 57:5, 7-11
Shout to the North
Sing for Joy
Sermon
Sing to the King

What If???

What if? What if we were willing to do something totally crazy for God? What if we were willing to truly step out of our comfort zone in order to love the unlovable? What if we truly practiced childlike faith? What if we stopped trying to compete with the Jones' and spent our energy on sharing the Gospel with them? What if we started living our lives the way Jesus did? What if we attempted great things for God and expected great things from God? What if we marched around Jericho screaming and blowing trumpets or stepped into the Jordan before the waters parted? What if we lived out what we say we believe? What if we were 100% willing to let God do with us whatever He wanted? What if we didn't live looking only at "What was" but looked at what could be? What if we were willing to say "Here am I, send me!"? What if we allowed people to be who they are and not try to make them conform? What if we allowed people to ask any honest question they may have without making them feel inferior or like an outsider? What if we stepped out of the boat? What if?

Whew!

What a crazy month this has been. I feel like I have lived at the church. Easter was a tremendous week but I am glad it is over. Looking forward to a somewhat lighter schedule for the next month.

Choosing the Better Part

So here I am sitting in my office that is way too cluttered, and I am contemplating my schedule for this week. So much to do and so little time. I have to plan for a city-wide prayer and worship event, find the rest of my team for our Seder meal, finalize the drama part of the Good Friday service, prepare the lesson for Wednesday night's Youth Group, work with the senior pastor to plan Sunday's worship service, attend the elder meeting, lead one worship team rehearsal on Thursday and a second on Saturday evening, work with our stage-crew to begin the set prep for Easter and find time to celebrate a family birthday. To top it off I am beginning to feel like I might have adult ADD.

This weeks schedule scares me to death. I look at the week and do not see how I will be able to accomplish everything. I am scared of failing.

This past Sunday P.J. preached on Luke 10:38-42 a.k.a. the "Mary and Martha" passage. I was challenged by what he said. "The biggest enemy of intimacy with Jesus is business for Jesus". I am a pastor and I get paid to "do" ministry it is easy for me to get caught up with the business of ministry. Sometimes I do necessarily enjoy doing the things I do but they come with the job. There are times when I wish I could say no to certain things like "normal" people at our church can. There are times when I get frustrated because it seems like everyone is saying no and I am left holding the ball (notice I said "it seems"). It is times like these that I click into get 'er done mode and I know that I become Martha like and get so busy I forget to choose the better part. I also get so busy that I become jealous of those not helping and begin to complain about them (usually to myself and Jesus).

So why am I writing all of this down to post in cyber-space? It is because it helps me process through the situation. I know that very few, if any other people will ever see this or if they do happen to stumble across it, ever take time to read it. But on the off chance that someone else does happen to read it, maybe it is you who is reading this. I hope that somehow, if even in the tiniest way, it will help you and encourage you. I am also writing this because even in doing so I am realizing that even in the business of a hectic week, I can still choose the better part. I can still find time to steal away and sit at Jesus' feet to spend time with him soaking in all that he wants to teach me. I hope you will do the same

Peace
Todd

Dealing With Discouragement

Ok, so here it is Wednesday evening and I find myself wishing the week was already over. There is nothing huge that has happened to make me feel this way but rather a few seemingly small things. To begin with we had a great opportunity on Sunday morning. We had a guest worship leader in and she did a phenomonal job. As I looked around the sanctuary I saw people with hands raised, some were jumping (ever so slightly), and most were singing with all their might. It seemed as though people were enjoying it. In between the services though at least a half dozen people made it a point to let me know that either they thought it was too loud or that they did not like the style of music. Some were polite about it others were more brusk. I even received a note on our prayer request cards stating that the music that morning was more noise than music.

I think that I am a pretty stable person and one who doesn't need the accolades of man to feel like I am doing a good job yet I was kind of crushed. I walked away feeling like a dear friend had just rejected the gift I was so excited about giving him. I don't like feeling this way and I think I am now more frustrated with myself for feeling dissappointed that I didn't get the huge "thank-you's" and "that was awesome's". I guess after all, I still am relying to much on man for my worth. I know I need to keep my eyes on Christ and look to Him alone for my everything. As the great classic worship song goes, "Jesus, Lamb of God...you are my all in all."

With all this being said, would I do it again? Absolutely, you betcha!

Worship Confession

Worship Set

Let it Rise - D to E
Glorious – G
Holy Is the Lord – G
Enough – D
Scripture: Psalm 119:9-12, 33-34 & Psalm 19:7-10
Speak O Lord – C
Sermon
Better Is One Day (E)
Your Grace Is Enough (G)

Ok, so even though we got a late start for warm-up and rehearsal Sunday morning because of the weather, I felt really good about everything. Not in a prideful way but more of, "this is going to be a rich morning". I felt like the attitude of the band was good and we were truly there for the right reasons, to help people enter into worship then get out of the way as the "body" focused on God.

The first service started well and then it was like I hit a wall. Half-way through "Holy is the Lord" I completely forgot the chords. I WAS LOST! This is a song that I have played hundreds of times and know it very well, yet I blanked out. Thankfully, because of the smaller band I was using chord shapes that had a lot of common tones so I was able to fake it until I found my place again. Despite this however, I could feel the Spirit moving.

My prayer on Sunday mornings is always that the Holy Spirit would open our hearts and minds so we can hear and learn what He wants us to learn. Usually though, I pray that in a general sense for everyone who will be there but this morning I felt like I needed to intentionally pray it for the worship band and more specifically for myself. Man did He answer that prayer.

P.J.'s sermon was on Luke 9 and the overarching idea that he brought was that we are called to a ministry that is way bigger than us. We can only accomplish it when we stop trying to do it in our own strength and truly rely on Jesus to do it through us.

I have a good voice and can sing well. I have been playing guitar since I was 11 years old and am pretty good. I work hard at putting together the worship service and generally it flows well and people enjoy it. I am not prideful about this and I most definitely saturate it in prayer seeking God's direction yet this morning was a tremendous reminder that despite my skills and talents, it is bigger than me. I can only accomplish what God has called me to by fully committing to his call and trusting and relying on Him alone. Why was the morning so rich and despite my flubs on the guitar people seem to genuinely be worshiping? Because God is bigger than me. I am called to give him what I have whether it be a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread or my voice and guitar. Give them to God and allow Him to use them for His glory. You won't be disappointed.

Worship Set

This past Sunday was a good day. We celebrated the Lord's Supper and heard a tremendous message from Luke 8:22-39. I have read that passage countless times and have preached on it myself but it was fresh and new this past Sunday. P.J. shared about about without Jesus we in bondage even though we may not have physical chains on us (Gerasene demoniac) and that the most sane thing we can do is to sit at the feet of Jesus.

Our worship set moved from the proclamation of the greatness of Christ to his sacrifice for us then into the Lord's Supper. After that we proclaimed His power and finished with singing of His awesomeness.

Praise Adonai - Am (Baloche)
Welcome
How Great Is Our God – G (Tomlin)
Jesus Paid It All – A (Hall, Nifong, Grape)
Lord's Supper
Here and Now - G (Baloche, Brown)
King of Glory – E (Powell)
All Hail the Power – E – F#(Baloche arrangement)
Sermon
Indescribable – G (Story)

I know it may seem like I am a Baloche junkie, but I'm not. I love his style and it works well for our congregation.

As we finished up the service with Indescribable it was one of those moments which were so incredibly rich I did not want to stop. Ours is not a congregation that is given to a lot of expressive emotion (although it is changing) but at the last chord there were shouts and applause that burst forth as if a river had just shattered a dam. I try not base the "success" of a service based on emotion but this Sunday people seemed genuinely moved and challenged. I believe that many people caught a glimpse of Jesus that they haven't seen in awhile. Jesus, the God-man who is sovereign over the storms in our lives and has the power to put in our right mind.

Peace!