Worship For Whom?

I was in my quiet time today and was hit hard by a simple verse that I've read a bunch of times. It's found in Joshua 24:15, but let me back up to verse 14:

"Now fear the Lord and serve him with all your faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

As I'm reading this, I'm getting smacked in the head about how I lead here in His church. What would the 'gods of our forefathers' look like today in the church? Do I, as the leader of the worship ministry, lead and serve from a place of total and complete surrender to Him and what He wants? Do I consciously chose to serve God? Or do I fall into the trap of trying to please people more than Him, thus making what they want the focus of worship?

This happens more than any of us care to admit in most of our churches. How? We call it a nice thing (and hide behind it) - tradition. In the music end of things, traditional music/services.

We tend to 'worship' a particular service over another, because that's the way it's always been done and that's what works for us. Good, if you never want to connect with the people outside your church. That also means you won't accept/allow art to be used in worship, cause you never did it that way before. You'll never allow dance or drama or readings either, cause you never did it that way before. That's what your 'forefathers' did before you. That worked for them in their time. But ask yourself this question - how's it working for you now?

• Is it drawing people in so that they can meet Christ?
• Is what you're doing more pleasing to a group of people more than it is to God?

If you said yes to the last one, you're not interested in or have a desire to please the Lord, not according to this verse. You are more concerned about what you want instead of what God intended the church to be for. It was NEVER meant to be a 'country club' kind of place, where we let only the 'right people' in. The other less desirable people can just go find another place. The church is here to 'serve us' instead of here for service. That's a selfish, self-serving mindset that I want nothing do to with.

That is why I push back so hard when people try to get me to paint our worship in a neat little box. It doesn't happen that way. If we, the church, really want to impact our communities for the Kingdom of God, then we need to:

• Provide a place where broken, hurting people can come and get the help and encouragement they need - not the crap we THINK they need. The real, tangible kind of help such as food, shelter, good Christian counseling/coaching.
• Provide an environment where the message makes sense in TODAY'S language, not something from 50 years ago. Contemporary sounds DONE WELL, in an environment that reflects the CURRENT AGE, with people who love Jesus!
• Be willing to be uncomfortable for the sake of the lost. We were NEVER called to a comfortable Christianity. I've read the book - no where does it say it is to be comfy! In fact, it's promised that it's gonna be TOUGH! Bring it on!
• Decide WHO you're doing church for in the first place. Seriously, if you want to do church for you the way that YOU want with no regard for anyone else, CLOSE THE DOORS! Post the sign on the front door that says, "Closed due to selfishness. Everyone else can go to hell! Have a nice day." That's what your saying, so don't mince words. Just be honest!

On the other hand, if you decide to serve God and do church for Him, then you're going to have to make some changes and answer some tough questions. What kind of music would connect best with the people we're trying to reach? What type of service would relate best to those same people? How can we use the music and service to communicate the radical love of Jesus to them? What will we need to do to make it happen?
Tough questions that lead to radical change for the Kingdom. It's worth every battle, and worth every loss if even just one soul finds Jesus. So, what's holding you back? Who will you do your worship for? Chose this day whom you will serve...

K

How To Kill Worship

What a title, huh? But this is what happens so often in our churches week after week after week.

We just get so caught up in what WE want and what WE expect that no one thinks about the impact on those that we're trying to reach. How does THAT make sense?

Here's how to kill (or continue to kill) worship in your church (the short list):

1. Keep doing the same things today that you did 10-20 years ago. Jesus never changed, so we shouldn't either, right?
2. Put un-gifted leaders in front of the congregation. Hey, they have 'a heart to worship the Lord,' so we should let them lead. Hear it all the time - doesn't make it right!
3. Have the Senior Pastor lead all the worship music, including the practice time. Hey, he doesn't have enough on his plate. What are we paying him for?
4. DON'T spend money on hiring someone to lead the worship ministry team. We should spend that money on the youth director, because THAT'S our future!
   

Okay, now that the fun part is out of the way, let's get real.

1. You CANNOT effectively keep doing what you did 10-20 years ago and expect to attract the younger, upcoming generations. It was old and dreary then, and that will not draw people in to connect with God, no matter how good the preaching is. GET NEW MUSIC in your church TODAY! Jesus NEVER changed - but His methods to reach people DID!
   
2. Just because you have a gifted singer does not make them a gifted leader. And just because you have a gifted leader does not make them the leader for worship. The right HEART has to be connected with the right GIFTS and the ABILITY to lead others UNDER THE DIRECTION of a Senior Pastor - that's your fit! Yes, they are out there - be diligent!
3. This is how to kill not only the worship, but your Senior Pastor as well. Do you really think you know what he does, what his day looks like? If you do, stop lying to yourself and go ask him. You have NO IDEA what he has to endure as the leader in your church.
4. Help your Senior Pastor out by finding someone to take this leadership position in your church BEFORE you hire a youth or children's person. Stop and think about the flow to your church - where do people come FIRST when they visit? Youth department? Children's ministry? NO - they come to a worship service. Perhaps we should invest not only our finances but our BEST EFFORTS in this area first and then fill the others. If mom and dad can't enjoy worship, chances are they're not going to be bringing the kids back for anything - period.

If you like YOUR church the way it is now, then you need to have your greeters add a phrase to their morning greeting. "Welcome to (our church). We like it the way it is here now, so we're not letting anyone else in. Thanks for coming but you'll just have to go to hell. Have a nice day."
That is what we're saying when we WON'T change. We're slamming the door to heaven in their face and saying that we don't care.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be held accountable for that when I meet Jesus face to face. Change for KINGDOM sake is always the right change. What will it take for you?

Don't kill worship...

Why YOU Should Attend Worship Workshop!

Okay, so there's a bunch of options out there for us, as artists, to attend and learn more about our craft. So what is the big deal about this Worship Workshop Idaho? Why should I come and bring my team with me? What's in it for us?

Allow me:

1. Price and location. First of all, this is affordable. It's low priced on purpose so we can get our teams to attend. $45 is a steal! Trust me, Carl, Leann and Ed are worth a whole lot more, but understand that small(er) churches cannot afford the $150 - $350 price tags PER PERSON to go to a bigger event. And, most of us can get to Burley in less than a day. In fact, most of us can be there in under 4 hours.
2. Refresh and equip. You will be encouraged, challenged and reminded of your calling as a worship musician on Friday night. Sometimes we just need to be reminded and encouraged about this from someone OUTSIDE our home church. To know that we're in this together is a huge encouragement. We'll also leave Saturday with real, practical, applicable tools to take back to our church and put into practice IMMEDIATELY!
   
3. Kingdom impact. What would happen if you came to this event and learned nothing else except how to play together (better) as a team? The impact on your team, first of all, would be incredible. Confidence, connection, fluidity and a new found love for the team. Second, that flows over into your corporate time. Less distractions musically, more intensity for the right reasons, better sound, and the list goes on.
   
4. Your church NEEDS you to come! Seriously, the only way you can really learn is to GET OUT OF YOUR OWN ENVIRONMENT and go be around others who are struggling with similar issues, having success in other areas, and who are striving to be the church that God has called them to be.
   

So no more excuses! Get on the website TODAY and get your team signed up. Even if your team is JUST YOU, come. You will be glad you did!

When IT is Just Not There

Some days we lead out from a place of commitment and expectancy. Not necessarily to God, but to the position we've been called to.

Yesterday was one of those days for me, sadly. And I couldn't put my finger on what exactly the distraction was. I may have still been thinking of my 19 year old dog I had to put down Friday. I may have been thinking about the impact the billboards are having in our community and in our church family. I may have been concentrating too much on the new/former drummer that was playing for the first time in 3 years.

Either way, I was not all together there. And I didn't know it until I really got into the worship set. Just couldn't 'feel' IT. (IT is that sense that you're connecting to God, the body, the team, and everything is pointing to real worship of the King! Everything just seems to make sense and work to create a place of true, genuine worsihp.)

So what do you do in those moments? How do you still lead when IT is not where you want it to be?

You let your team lead and you let the congregation lead you.

Your Team:

• You spend hours and hours teaching and developing your teams each month. If we, as the lead worshippers, don't allow our teams to take the point once in a while, it will become more about YOU leading the worship instead of the team leading worship. If it ever becomes 'Karl' focused worship, that will be my last day. Our team did a great job yesterday of taking the point, even without them knowing they did. But because we practice leading out in different segments and in different ways, it was natural and comfortable for them to do it.

The congregation:

• Let them sing out and lead YOU once in a while. As the lead worshipper, you don't always have to sing for or to them. Let them take the lead and worship from their hearts. It's an amazing feeling and sound when the congregation grabs hold of a song and raises the roof in praise and worship to the King! Encourage them to do it. They know how...so let them! When we don't have the IT factor going on for whatever reason, let them minister to you and thank God that you have a church family that can bring it for the King.

I don't know when I'll fully understand what the issue(s) was on Sunday. I'll talk with Dad about it and hopefully, if it's His will, He'll let me know. I am just thankful that I am surrounded by some incredibly talented, gifted and humble people who know how to keep the worship moving in the right direction - even if I'm off a bit.

Keep leading and keep learning for Him...and tell your teams that you appreciate them and all they do for God each and every week. That's what I'll be doing today!

See ya in church...

Some Days Are Just Harder...

Today was one of those tough days we all have. The only difference on this one is I actually planned for one very tough spot in my day. The rest of the day really was pretty good.

But this afternoon, I had to do one of the most difficult things that any dog owner/lover will ever have to do. I had to say goodbye to our dog, Mindy, of 19 years. She was a black lab mix that thought she was a puppy until the very end. She had started to deteriorate more than a year ago, but she kept coming back with energy and strength. (We have two golden retrievers that are total dorks and full of energy - they helped keep her young.) And we kept saying, "Okay, maybe it's just her adjusting to something and she'll get stronger and be okay." Actually, it was me not wanting to let go.

I consider myself to be a man's man...but when I walked out of the room I cried like a baby. A part of our family is gone. I know that I'll be looking for her again this weekend until it finally settles in that she's not here. That will suck every time!

I know that one day I'll be able to say that it was the right thing to do at the right time. I have to face the fact that her quality of life wasn't what I would want for her. Her future didn't look bright either, knowing that each day was getting harder and harder. But it still sucks.

I made the comment to my wife that it's a good thing we don't treat our human families this way. I can just see Austin and Kia coming home one day and hearing, "Well, dad's pooped and peed on himself again, and his legs don't work. Better put him down!" (Don't judge me...I'm processing!)

I wonder...how many hard days does God have? How many tough choices does He have to make every day? How often does He weep over us and our choices? We don't do the things that He has planned for us, and we complain that it's just too hard. All the while He's thinking, "Trust me, I've got this. I know you're hurting, and I know your pain. Just trust me!"

I guess we don't always believe Philippians 4:13 when it says we can do ALL things... Just because I'm having a hard day doesn't mean I'm going to stop serving my King. And I'm not going to blame Him either. He doesn't give up on me, so there is NO WAY I'm going to give up on Him!

I'm not going to let myself be drawn into the depths of despair and away from the grace of God. My hope is you won't either. Stay close to the King!

See ya in church...

Does Your Pastor Know?

Great challenge today from Perry Noble during the Unleash closing session.
He was calling out pastors to be leaders who were on fire for Jesus. That goes for senior pastor AND for worship leaders, children's pastor, youth pastors, etc. Are you a leader like that

And then he called out the staff - does your pastor know that you've got his back? Does he go into a major fight, take on a major challenge knowing that you, his staff, will stand in the corner with him?

He needs to know that. If you have an issue with your senior pastor, HOW CAN YOU LEAD THE WORSHIP ON SUNDAY? (That's from me, not Perry.) If you haven't taken the time to reconcile with your worship leader (senior pastor), and you are harboring something toward him, your worship on Sunday is crap. It is a foul stench to our God and a BOLD FACE LIE to our congregation. FIX IT!

Once you do, and once you can put yourself in the position to do so, let your pastor know that you will stand with him, that you have his back. He NEEDS to know and he DESERVES to know. It's not an ego thing - it's a respect thing!

Take the time this week to do this. Stand with him and be for him!
We've tell Pastor Bill all the time that we would go off the cliff with him. We won't go behind him - we'll go side by side, because we love him and believe where God is calling him to take us.

So let me ask again...does your pastor know?

See ya in church...

Worship IS The Point!

Why do we do what we do on Sundays? (Or Saturday, Friday...whenever you have worship times) Why do all these people all around the world gather?

I know, it's sounds like it should be a simple, straightforward answer. And yet...

Here's what I still hear coming out of today's churches:

• "We can't 'worship' with anything but the hymns."
• "We can't 'worship' with drums banging in the room!"
• "We can't 'worship' unless we do this, that and the other thing I like."
• "You can only do communion (or other ordinances) when the by-laws say we can."
• "It HAS to be done this way, or else we just can't 'worship'".
• "I'm not going to give anything until I like what we're doing."
• "I just didn't get anything out of 'worship' today."

Not once has anyone raised an argument about this with me and said, "I think what GOD WANTS us to do in worship is..." It is ALWAYS about what 'WE' want and what 'WE' think 'WE' need to worship. Oh, and not to beat a dead horse - WORSHIP IS NOT JUST MUSIC, IT'S A FORM OF WORSHIP! Okay, I feel better.

When will we, as Christians, finally realize that in order for worship to be what God intended it to be, we have to get out of the way and get obedient?

• The kind of worshippers that God desires worship Him in spirit and in truth.
• The true kind of worship ALWAYS carried with it a sacrifice - it cost us something.
• The kind of worship that impacts people is the kind that reveals sin, offers forgiveness and points us to the hope of the cross - to Jesus!
• Worship must have a sense of expectation, an eagerness to meet God at some point.
• The worshipper who is obedient to God and all He calls us to finds his/her worship to be freeing, convicting, inspiring and challenging. The 'outcome' of worship should be a renewed heart, mind and soul with a new found strength to accomplish all that God calls us to do!

The point of our worship HAS to be about what He wants - that's it. How we go about it may change as the culture around us changes, but he message is always the same: giving glory, honor, praise and adoration to God.

What does that look like for you, personally? Is your private worship different than the worship you share with the body? (There should be some similarities) What holds you back from engaging in and expressing yourself in your corporate worship time?

Take some time to wrestle with the question: what do I need to do to change my understanding of who and why I worship?

Hope it's as fun for you as it has been for me...keep me posted!

Mad At Church

We are live! If you're driving around Pocatello, you're going to see a couple of billboards up that have this web address: www.madatachurch.com

Let me ask you a question: have YOU ever been mad at the church? If you're honest, we would all have to answer that with a YES! Somehow, somewhere in our lives, the Church has hurt us. And it is a different for hurt for each and every one of us. But the church, the one that Jesus died for, is supposed to be a place of healing, hope and grace. Unfortunately, it's 'operated' daily by imperfect, sinful and selfish people. ( I can say that because I work in a church!)

So, starting March 22nd, we're going to talk about four key areas where the church has really hurt people, both in the church and outside the church. I invite you to visit the above mentioned web site and hear what it is we're up to, as well as see what we're going to talk about in that time leading up to Easter. Bring your questions, bring your hurt, bring your doubts. Let's see if God can't take those and turn them into something incredible for His glory!

Should be an interesting journey. In the meantime, if you have comments, thoughts, questions, whatever about madatchurch, feel free to drop a note here or at my email karl@fbcpoky.com.

See you in church...

Sunay Done...

WHAT A DAY! God did some amazing stuff today and if you missed it, I hope you don't miss out next week. I think God is up to something pretty amazing at FBC, Pocatello!

• Aaron and the team did a killer job leading us in worship with music. Great set, great sound and in incredible heart!
• We introduced our "10 Minute Party" for our guests today. This is a time set aside after the first 10 minutes of each service JUST FOR OUR GUESTS to meet Pastor Bill and ask questions. Had some great response today...thank you to FBC family for honoring our guests with this time!
• Yes, I did call the church hypocrites today. I meant it. I don't care what excuse you have for not wanting to be all that God called you to be. Get this - He called you, He died for you, and now you need to live for Him if you claim to be a Christian. START LIVING LIKE IT!
• And yes, I did also say that if you weren't willing to kill bitterness and forgive others, stop calling yourself a Christian. You're really just a hypocrite.
• And I meant every word in love, seriously. But if the church can't get out of it's own way when they feel like they've been wronged and forgive, then we need to close the doors and walk away. That should make Jesus real happy, huh???
• Asked folks to surrender themselves today, to let God have first place in their lives. Several hands went up, especially second service. I'll be praying for you all - that God would be able to take His rightful place and direct your life.
• I challenge all of you who are reading this to go and start the process of reconciliation with the person you are still bitter about. Start the conflict resolution process right away. I'd like to be able to pray for you as you do this...so if you can send me an email with a date and time when you're going to have that conversation, I'll be praying. I don't need the details...just when. Send me a note at karl@fbcpoky.com

I seriously cannot wait to see what God is up to. If we could all begin to TRULY LIVE like Christ-followers, this valley would never be the same. This valley would begin to experience revival like it's never seen before.

Hope you'll join my in praying for just that...see ya in church!