When Artists Fall...

Let's face it. Nobodies perfect - even artists'! I know...I was just as surprised as the next guy!

And when we're not perfect people notice. It's even more noticeable for those of us who lead from the platform each week. So what do we do when artists fall, when sin creeps in? How should they be treated when they're not completely walking in the way of Christ?

Two words - with love. Just because they're out front doesn't mean they/we are any better than the guy sitting in the third row from the back on the left that's going through a nasty relationship battle. We're all in this journey together, and we're all going to have these moments where our 'halo' has slipped - again.

So we love them back to the right place by being there for them when they need us...by listening to them and giving them good, spiritual guidance...by pointing them back to God's Word for the hope and restoration they need...and yes, there may be a time of sitting out until they are in a better place spiritually. That's accountability and that's Biblical. 

I had one of my younger team members call me recently to say that maybe he should sit for a spell. He recognized some behaviors in his life that we're of God and decided that it was more important for him to get right with God before he served up front. WOW! If only half of our adults could figure this out...

Understand that we, as a team, talk about this a lot. If you're not right, before I have to say something to you or ask you to sit, search your heart and make certain you can lead like Jesus. It's an expectation that we have of each other on the team. And this has served our church well in the past, and will continue in the future. Our worship is better because of the awareness and commitment to self-select when things are not going well.

Does it impact the sound or flow of the worship on Sunday? Yes...but the Spirit fills in the gaps in ways that I simply cannot put into words.

So when we fall - artists - we don't allow Satan to keep us down and tell us we're worthless because of sin. We stand up under the power and grace of our Savior, press on to that which He has called us, and through repentance and forgiveness get back in the game. Don't EVER let him tell you that you don't matter or that you let someone down. As I preached on this past Sunday, YOU ARE VALUED AND LOVED BY GOD!

I get knocked down, but I get up again, ain't nobody gonna keep me down!!! (Name that song,,,)

See ya in church...

Leading Artists...

I actually got to lead some artists last night at rehearsal! Reminds me how much I love doing it and how I've missed it over the past months. Now that Pastor Mike is on board I can truly focus on developing and growing artists who love to honor God with their skills, abilities and talents.

Leading involves listening to what they have to say and the questions they ask. Just because we say something doesn't mean that it gets heard the same way we said it.

Artists by themselves are a different bunch. Creative thoughts flow regularly through our minds...concepts connect at the most inopportune time...solutions pop up in the weirdest and strangest places. We're much like Doug, the dog from the movie "Up!". We are easily - Squirrel! - distracted...

But what I've discovered from most artists in church ministry is this - they want the freedom to express and share, but they want to do it in a way that points people to the Truth of the Gospel, not to themselves. They desire direction that will help the bigger picture be seen, not just what they're doing.

That's such a welcome twist from the culture around us - notice me, notice my stuff, look how pretty...Squirrel! (sorry) We're taught to do stuff that gets us noticed, to make noise so our voice gets heard above the crowd.

The Bible teaches that we are to be content in everything. We're not supposed to be drawing attention (pun intended) to our abilities or skills, but instead using those things to point people to the One who gave them to us.

As I lead our team of artists here, my prayer is this:

• May we never forget the One who gave us the ability, skill and passion for our art (all forms).
• As we offer our art as an act of worship, may we always point people to Him as our source.
• As we take our place on the stage/platform each week, may we do so in humility and in honor of the King.

Have fun leading - whether out front or behind the scenes. Do it all for the glory of God.

See ya in church...

He IS Worth The Risk

Had a great time Sunday teaching on Risky Living for God. It's not always an easy subject to talk about when you really break down what Jesus is calling us to do. He challenges our priorities on many different occasions. Even to the point of saying that even our family should not get in the way of serving Him. (Luke 9:57-62) 

But if we, Christians, really were willing to risk our lives and our beliefs for the Kingdom of God, I have to wonder if we'd still have all the problems we have today.

Christianity is under attack like never before in our country. And the really sad part about it is the church - the Christians - aren't doing much about it. In fact, there are many who say the most silent voice in our country now is the Christian. Why is that? Why are we allowing evil to win on so many fronts? Why aren't we willing to take the risk to be the voice? 

You've heard the famous line, "the best way for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing" (Karl paraphrase).

Well, welcome to the time of good men doing nothing.

But that's about to change around here. We've decided that, as a church, we're going to BE salt and light to a dark world. We're going to SHARE the gospel with those who need to hear it. We're going to STAND in the gap when justice needs to be done. We're going to SERVE those who need our help, be it the poor, the widow, the fatherless, the downtrodden - whomever may need it.

And no one's going to tell us we CAN'T do it. We're not going to back away from threats or persecution. (By the way, we have no clue what that looks like here in the states. Don't know the last time an American lost their life for the gospel on American soil...)

We know that He is worth the risk. We know that we DON'T go it alone when we stand for truth. We know that we go with the strength and power and grace of Christ - so we go without question.

I hope that each of you that read this will take a moment to reflect on your own walk with Christ. Are you willing to risk relationships for the sake of the gospel? Are you willing to risk the 'comfort' of your life if God called you away today? Are you willing to give EVERYTHING you have for the sake of the call of Christ?

He's worth it...

New Times = New Sound

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we are in a new and exciting time here at FBC Pocatello!

That also dictates a new look, sound and feel to how we do music and other creative art thingies...

But what doesn't change is the heart of who we are and what we do as musicians.

• The focus is and will always be to bring glory to God through our songs.
• The goal will be to invite and include the people gathering weekly to worship with us. (I know that we will never get 100% of our people to sing along, clap or do whatever form of worship works for them. But that is NOT our goal. That is unrealistic to expect that kind of buy-in from any church.)
• The heart of the team members each week will be on display, like it or not. It's my job to make sure that hearts and minds are focused on Him before we take the stage.
• We will present the best we have in worship music each week, no matter how many or how few musicians we have. 
• All of our artists' - from painters to sculptors to drama - will be prepared to bring their skill and ability to glorify the King.

Read through the book of Psalm(s) and see how diverse the worship music was. From no music to cymbals, drums, stringed instruments and many voices (choirs) - different sounds to convey different moods or tones; different sounds to communicate with different groups. All for the glory of God.

Worship Leaders, musicians, artists - don't try so hard to be the newest or hottest sound or art out there. Do what God speaks into your heart. Listen to the heart of the church and try to meet that need for art. Whether it's music, artistic renderings, drama, dance - whatever - do it all for the glory of God. And do it in such a way that it connects to WHO your church is NOW, not who you want to be tomorrow. That will come in time.
Focus on NOW.
Focus on connecting to today's body.
Build that foundation and then see what God brings to help you 'expand' your horizons.
Trust me...it'll blow you away!

See ya in church...

In Case You Haven't Heard...

I have the cutest grandson in the universe!
Oh, and he knows it, too.
This picture was a few months back and he was starting to figure out the camera thing was pretty cool to look at and play with.

Daniel is amazing. He's as perfect as a baby can be...he's got parents who love him more than he will ever know...he's got grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, great grandparents, etc. who will do anything for him and love him with an unending love. And he hasn't got a clue - at least not yet - how deep and how vast this love is for him.

It makes me wonder about our relationship with God. As the years go on, how 'comfortable' do we become with His love and care for us? How often is that taken for granted? Are we coming to God each day with this same awe, this same curiosity and desire to know Him as little Daniel does to everyday life? Or is it simply becoming routine?


How great is the love that the Father has for us? How deep and wide and far His love reaches. Beyond the depths...beyond the highest peaks...beyond the farthest star, His love is there. On my darkest days, during my most difficult days this love is what carries me to the next step I need to take. It's not always easy - but it's ALWAYS there.

Just like Daniel will never be able to lose the love I have for him, my Father will never stop loving me. What an amazing gift!

I pray you'll have an encounter with the One who loves you more than you will ever know, and that it will impact you in such a way that you can't help but share it with everyone you meet!

See ya in church...

And We're Back...

Been a long, long time since I last wrote or read anything in the land of blogs! With the new changes here at FBC Pocatello, it's time to get back on track with my posts'.

It's been an amazing journey over the last two years of transition. God has been here doing some incredible work in my heart and life, as well as in the body itself. It certainly is a new day and a new year for ministry, for change, for growth and for the Kingdom growth. We've seen many new faces come and begin to connect with us...we've seen some old faces return and recognize the health and heart of the body in its new place...we've seen hurt and pain be replaced by healing and hope. God is moving...God is working...God is in control!

Since my last post, many things have transpired:

• A new senior pastor, Mike Popovich. Great pastor, great leader, great man of God, great husband and father. He is God's man for us and it was God's timing that made this a perfect fit.
• A new vision and direction that has focused us on the right things first - "FBC Pocatello exists to invite people into a relationship with Jesus Christ and help them become fully devoted followers of Him." Pretty straightforward and simple - and yet just what the church needs to be doing.
• A renewed passion to serve the poor and least of these in our community. The Food Pantry team is growing and meeting some simple needs. In January alone they served close to 1200 people. Who knew we could do something like that? God did!
• A heart to give and serve is growing in unique ways...we had a family donate a car to the church and on Christmas Eve gave it away to a single mom who's care (ironically) blew up two weeks after we received the car. AND, there may be another vehicle in the works very soon...
• A need arose in our congregation for some work on a home. Started out to be a fairly major bath remodel which then turned into the roof needing to be completely torn off and replaced. So the body rose up...a dozen volunteers showed up on a Saturday at 9 and by 6 that evening the entire roof had been torn off, resurfaced with OSB board, papered and re-shingled. WOW!

I don't say this to 'show off' what we are doing. I don't say this to get 'points' for Kingdom admission.
I want people to know that God IS in control - even when we don't or can't see it. I have to admit that, before now, we really weren't allowing God to be God or to be in control. We all had our agendas, our ideas, our 'pet projects' that we wanted to protect. But we - rather I didn't stop to focus intently on what He wanted. And it cost me...it cost us, the church...and it broke the heart of God. I'm glad to say that those days and attitudes are behind us now. As I mentioned there has been much healing around here and a renewed hope for the next steps.

We're back - not just to be here to be here. But we're back as a body to make an impact for the Kingdom of God in Pocatello. We're committed to being the church that gets after it for God's sake, not ours. We're committed to being the church that takes a risk for the Kingdom, no matter how the world may look at it. We're committed to taking the Gospel to the places it needs to be taken to, locally and abroad.
It's an exciting time for FBC Poky...and it's really good to be back!

See you in church...