Dress, and other odd reasons for false confidence

13 09 2011

Reading Phil 3 today.  This jumped out at me:

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh   -Phil 3:3

I don’t worship by my flesh. I worship by the spirit of God and I glory in Christ Jesus.  This seems like it’s detached from what we do in America, but I don’t think it is. Paul is saying that those who are of the circumcision think they have some extra access to worship God because of their physical circumcision. This is just funny to think about. They think because the end of their penis doesn’t have the extra skin from birth, that they have extra favor with God. Weird. But to give them credit, it made sense in their day. It was a sign of a covenant between them and God. But what about now? Paul says that WE are the circumcision(the people who have a covenant with God) because we worship by the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus.

It’s all about who is “special” to God. Who gets his attention. Who he notices more. Who he favors. Who’s “in”.

And we are still concerned with this today. And there is nothing wrong with wanting to be near to God and wanting his favor.  It’s how we go about getting it that can get twisted. See, the jews of the day followed all the religious laws and thought that they were earning favor with God.  What about today?  What do we do to earn favor with God?

The first thing that comes to mind (because I lead a worship service every week) is church clothes. There is nothing wrong with signs of honor, I do it everytime I go on a date with my wife, but there IS something very wrong when we genuinely believe God sees or favors us more because of our clothing.  We are coming before the God of the universe. Do we really think that a collar on our shirt or a crease in pants is going to earn us enough points to enter into his presence.

No way Jose. Ain’t happenin’.

He’s God. He’s holy. You can’t come before him just because you cleaned up a bit. And without the blood of Jesus, you would be utterly consumed in His presence (and not in a good way).  Thinking our clothes or hair is going to somehow earn us favor or even saftey in the presence of God is like jumping into a shark tank with your “briar proof” jeans. It just ain’t gonna cut it.

But “It is we who are the circumcision [figuratively], we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh” that can enter into his presence freely.  James 4:6 says that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. That’s why that 20 something that just came to Christ (you know the one, he doesn’t know that the “F” word is not an acceptable adjective anymore) encounters God in incredible ways while the prideful, albeit nicely dressed, church folk seem to struggle to hear from God at all.

So in the end, it’s not about dress or not dress. That’s just an example. We strive to earn God’s favor in countless other ways: work, language, good deeds, being nice, etc.  But what God is after is a heart change. A humbling before the incredible work of his son Jesus and a realization that only be His sacrifice do we have access to God.  And only by the Spirit of God can we worship the father at all (remember John 4?).

So, today I don’t want to feel like I need to measure up to come before God.  I want to worship by the Spirit of God. I want to glory in Christ Jesus, not myself, because, lets face it: I don’t have all that much to glory in on my own. Oh, but in Jesus, nothing is impossible. He can use me and mold me and give me an incredible destiny. Thank You Jesus.


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2. It’s too loud

6 05 2011

Don’t have a lot of time this afternoon, so I’ve decided to address the glaring, yet simple complaint with today’s worship music: “It’s too loud”

I think this one can be summed up in 2 words: BAD MIX

I’ve been in traditional Easter services where the Orchestra is pushing 110 Db and the entire senior community is present and loving it!  So, I think we can say with confidence that when people complain about a 4 piece band running 95Db that the real issue isn’t volume, it’s the mix*.

I have run sound enough to know that when the average person complains about the mix, they generally don’t say things like, “I’m suffering from listening fatigue” or “The cymbals seem harsh, can you roll back the highs a bit” or “The vocals are way out front. Anyway to get them back in the mix.”  Nope, it’s will almost always, “This music is too loud” or, more specifically, “The drums are too loud!”

So, if your a senior or worship pastor:
Invest in some great FOH engineers. Acoustically treat your room. Isolate your gear(you can’t run your rig like The Edge unless you have 10,000 people in your venue). Invest in good equipment. And I promise you this: it will go a long way in unifying your church in terms of music.

If your a congregation member:
Administer some grace, churches aren’t run on elaborate budgets (at least yours probably doesn’t), and it’s likely your leaders are doing their best.  And in the meantime, feel free to offer constructive,  heartfelt, criticism and loving, authentic encouragement. (And try to do more of the latter than the former).

What do you think?  Do you agree? Do you disagree?

*This is a general statement. Sometimes, it’s just TOO LOUD!


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4 Common Issues With Today’s Worship Music

26 01 2011

Over the next few days/weeks, I’d like to address some common concerns and misunderstandings with todays new worship music.  If your a young worship, I know you deal with these. If your an older believer, there’s a chance you have thought one or all of these things. Things like: “Todays new music is too loud” or “Why are the songs so repetative.” (I’m also tossing the idea around of doing a “4 common issues with older music” but that’s for another day) I’d like to address these common issues for 4 reasons:

1. These are generally complaints that divide our generations in worship, which is not God’s heart. At all. As Bob Kauflin has said: “When we segregate our worshippers because of music, we perpetuate the idea that music has more power to divide us than the gospel does to unite us.”  Very challenging

2. If we never address these things, countless believers will continue to walk into church with a heart to worship and walk out discouraged or upset. This shouldn’t be so.  I think misunderstanding and communication are at the root of our problems here.

3. Unity has always been the precursor for outpourings of God. Look at the church right before pentecost: unified. And in Acts 4, even after persecution: unified. It’s almost as if unity is the vessel that allows the church to host a mighty move of the Holy Spirit. And I think that is what most of us really want.

4. I’m hearing some of this in my own congregation and I would love for those of you reading who are a part of riverside to be able to hear my heart, even if we haven’t gotten a chance to talk personally.

So that’s it. I’ll have a new post up in the next few days.  I’d love for this to be a conversation, so feel free to comment. Good or bad.

Cole


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Categories : Songs and Music, Teachings on Worship

What is a worship leader? Part 5

13 07 2010

So far we’ve talked about the role of a corporate worship leader as a teacher and as a prophet. Today, we will be talking about the role of:

EVANGELIST!

This word, much like the word prophecy, get’s thrown around a ton.  There are “evangelical Christians” and there are “non-evangelical christians”.  Some churches hire full time evangelist. Some don’t.  So, I just want to put a few things out there that are for sure.

1. An evangelist is in the 5 fold ministry setup by the early church (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers; Eph 4:11) Kris Valleton at Bethel church on Redding California did an excellent teaching on the 5 fold ministry several weeks ago. You can listen to it on their PODCAST.

2. An evangelist in the widest sense of the word is simply a “bringer of good news.”  Any news. It’s primarily become a religious word, in the same way that salvation or apostle are words we generally associate with the church. Don’t believe me?  Try calling your wife an evangelist next time she tells you some good news.  And as Jesus often did, he took this common word and redirected it toward it’s ultimate meaning.

Today we are using the term “evangelist” in this widest sense of the term. While some who lead worship may be called to the office of evangelist, everyone is not.  So, how are we as worship leaders operating as evangelists?

Our praise declares God’s good news – Whether it’s specifically about the Gospel or not, when we sing we are declaring good news to a broken and hurting world. Now, that’s not to say we are to sing and worship solely for the purpose of declaring good news to others. Worship is, in and of itself, an end. All of creation is moving toward a day when the primary activity of life will be worship. However, God in his goodness uses our times of declaration and praise as a tool to draw people to Himself. I love the picture that Ps 126 gives of this. The Psalmist says:

When the Lord brought back the captives from Zion, we were like men who dreamed
Our mouths were filled with laughter and our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations: “The Lord has done great things for them”

Praise declares good news. I long for the world to see our worship and understand not only that God has been good to us, but that the essential truth that HE IS GOOD.  This world needs a renewed understanding of that.

Worship and Adoration draw peoples attention to God’s beauty –  When someone is amazed by something, you are never tempted to redirect your attention to them, you ALWAYS want to see what they are so impressed with. You don’t walk down the street, see a group of people circled around something and say, “Man, that group of people, they are awesome.”  No.  You want to know what the heck they are circled around.  The same is true in our worship.  When we are enraptured and enthralled with is beauty and goodness, we direct others attention toward him.  I hear people say that we should tone down worship to accommodate seekers.  I want to say this gingerly……

That’s crazy

The world is burning through “things” that are temporarily impressive, but leave them empty and unimpressed, but Jesus is unendingly glorious! What better way to point them toward the one they were made to worship then by unashamedly being caught up in his beauty and glorifying Him?

We could go on and on, but we can end by saying, though our worship and praise are an end in and of themselves, God continually uses worship, worshippers, and worship leaders as tools to bring the good news of Jesus to our world.

Amen

Cole


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To The Glory and Praise of God

26 05 2010

Whenever someone we respect tells us how or what they pray for, we listen intently.  Why?  Because it’s a snapshot of what they really value.  In Philippians 1:9-11 pauls tells us what his prayer for the Philippian church is:

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in the knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — To the glory and praise of God.

There is so much amazing truth here, lets focus in on this last line: “To the glory and praise of God”

While the process is always incredibly important, I think is something to be said about understanding the end goal of anything we do. Without an end goal, we struggle to answer the “why?” question.  I bumped into a old friend of mine a while back who was cooking at a local waffle house. We got to talking and I asked him, “So what’s going on with you?”

“Not much, just working here until I can afford a car.”

“Gotcha”

“yeah, I need a car so I can get a better job”

“Sure”

“And if I get a better job I can get a better apartment”

Do you see how this conversation perpetuated itself?  There was really no end in sight. And after every statement I thought, “So that…….”

You want a nicer car….so that…….oh, sure, so you can get a better job….so that…..oh I see, so you can get a nicer place……so that…….

It never really ended.  There was no “thesis” if you will.

Paul makes it clean what the end goal or “thesis” of  Christians is: the glory and praise of God.  That’s it. Everything is working toward that end. You are filled with his life and are blessed…..so that He is glorified.

You are persecuted, but your faith remains strong…….so that He is glorified

You remain “pure and blameless until the day of Christ“……..so that He is glorified

We reach someone with the glorious gospel of Jesus and that are saved/transformed/and made alive…………so that He is glorified

I’m passionate about praise and worship, not because I like music or even because I like singing to God(though I really do), but because I firmly believe it’s the end goal of all that we do as believers. It’s ALL for the praise and glory of God.

Cole

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Real Response to a Real God

27 04 2010

Have you ever been really really excited. So elated that you couldn’t just contain it on the inside.  So happy that people said things like, “Why are you always smiling?” If you read the book of psalms, you’ll see that David felt this was time and time again because of God’s works and unfailing love in his life: Ps 9:1-6; Ps 28:7; Ps 30:4; Ps 30:11-2 (there are alot more)

When God does things in us, is this our response?  Inexplicable joy that sweeps through our body uncontrollably, causing others to see us and wonder what our deal is?  My good friend and mentor Aaron Keyes told a story from when he was leading worship in Africa (can’t remember where…).  He said that when all the people were praising and they noticed that one person seemed to be reserving themselves, they would actually stop everything.  Then they would ask, “Do you have nothing to be thankful for?  Is something wrong?”

Now, I don’t think this technique would be extremely effective in our culture, but I think we could learn a thing or two from their mindset. When we feel we need to hold back something in our praise or worship, should we ask ourselves, “what is wrong?”  ”Don’t I have things to be thankful for?” “Hasn’t God redeemed and blessed me?”

The term used for praise in the passages I quoted earlier is “yadah.”  It means to be outwardly greatful, to raise your hands, to “shoot” our praise toward God.  Every time David would remember God’s work and character in his life, you find his “yadah.”  Today, fill yourselves with the memory and recollection of his goodness toward your, first in salvation, and then continually in abundant life!  Fill yourself with it until you are overflowing with the uncontainable joy and adoration of our Father. And when people ask you, “What your deal?”  Tell them all about His goodness towards you!

Cole


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Zamar

23 04 2010

Zamar – to make music or play an instrument

Did you know that this word is used 35 times in the book of psalms?

So many times, I get to an instrumental bridge of a breakdown in a song and I feel a sense of loss from the people I’m leading. And not just my folks at SUMC. This is pretty much across the board. There is a sense that words are the only way to express our gratitude to God, but I think the word of God has something different to say about that. I especially like what Ps 149 says:

Let them praise his name with dancing and make music[zamar] to him with tambourine and harp. -Ps 149:3

I am a worship leader. Not many people would disagree with that (well, I don’t think they would anyway), but what about my band? The team that leads WITH me? Are they leading people? I think so. And the word tells us so. In Ps 149 there is a call to make music and dancing that celebrates our God. Pull out a good dance album and give it a listen. Are they a ton of words? Nope. But it makes you want to dance. It FEELS celebratory.

I had a really amazing night a few weeks ago and was on my way home. I honestly just wanted to dance (and I am a terrible dancer). I flipped through the stations on my radio for something that emulated my mood – joyful, excited, celebratory. I tried the christian stations with no luck and I didn’t even waste my time trying the country station! You know what the ONLY song on that emulated my mood?

It was that Ke$ha song: Tik Tok.

Do I endorse the message of this: NO!

But when that chorus hits, it was EXACTLY how I felt. It was high energy, celebratory, and FUN! In that moment, I wasn’t looking for words, I was looking for music that communicated THAT emotion.  There was nothing else that did.  I used to get so frustrated with teenagers when I would DJ for parties because the music they brought me had horrible lyrics. They said they didn’t care of know what the lyrics were, all they cared about was the music. Only now am I beginning to understand what they were talking about.  Not that I condone the music, but there is an honest tension between the “feel” of a song and the lyrical content.

Music can communicate beyond what even lyrics can. Take a band like Maroon 5. Their music is SO fun. The lyrics: not so much. But we listen because what what our mom’s told us growing up is true: “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it”

We are Christians are in need. We are need of musicians who know how to use their instruments not just to emulate Coldplay, but who can interpret scripture, hymns, and new songs. Musicians – take up your commission from the word and learn your craft. We need you to do what you were made to do! Make music that says something without a word. We need it so bad!


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Dignity vs Reverence

20 03 2010

I had someone tell me once that dancing in church was wrong. He said it wasn’t reverent.  I disagree, but I don’t think he meant reverent. I think he meant dignified.  ”It’s not dignified to dance in church. I agree with that. Dignity is horizontal and inward. Reverence is vertical and outward. We aren’t called to be dignified. But we ARE called to be reverent.

I’m reading through the Psalms right now and I hit Ps 113 the other day.  Here’s how it begins:

Praise the Lord. Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.  Let the name of the Lord be praised both now and forevermore.

The word used for “praise the Lord” is hallelujah – a combination of the hebrew word for praise, halal, and God’s name, Yahweh. The next 3 times you see the word praise in this exerpt, it’s just the word “halal.”  So, what does halal mean?  Halal means to shine forth; to extol; to act clamorously foolish!  With that in mind, let’s re-read this verse:

Hallelujah. Halal, O servants of the Lord, Halal the name of the Lord.  Let the name of the Lord be halal-ed both now and forevermore.

So what do we see?  God is worthy of praise that is exuberant and undignified! When we lose our sense of dignity and self reliance we show reverence and honor to God.  And let’s just be real here: presenting ourselves in a dignified manor is exponentially more comfortable than losing ourselves undignified praise.  That moment where we cast off the cultural standards of “respectful” or “distinguished” and embrace a childlike expression of praise is the moment of ultimate reverence!  Why?  Because in that moment we elevate God’s desires above our peers’ desires and in doing so we honor Him.  When we cling to our dignity, we cling to our way. When we release our dignity, we release to His way.

David sets a beautiful example of this is 2 Samuel 6. As He brought the Ark of God into Jerusalem He was “leaping and dancing before the Lord.”(v16).  David was the King. If anyone had an excuse to keep an esteemed, dignified public persona, it was David.  But that’s not what He did.  And when his prize bride (Michal, daughter of Saul) confronted him about his “foolishness,” this is what David had to say:

It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler of the Lord’s people Israel – I will celebrate before the Lord.  I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. (2 Sam 6:21-22)

David points out:

1.  His dancing wasn’t for his wife or anyone else. “It was before the Lord.” Remember what we said at the beginning of this post: Dignity is horizontal. Reverence is vertical.  David wasn’t aiming to be dignified or honorable among his people or even his wife. He was blessing the Lord by “dancing with all his might” (v 14).

2.  He had favor from God: “….who chose me rather than your father.” If you remember, Saul was the king before David.  1 Samuel 9:2 says he was “without equal among the Israelites.” But God dethroned him and put David, this foolish, exuberant, shepherd boy on the throne instead. God’s favor was on David: the undignified king.

3.  He will continue this kind of praise: “I will celebrate before the Lord.” He will get even crazier in his expression: “I will become even more undignified than this.” David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, so how could he become MORE undignified?  By continuing his undignified praise even as his favor and power grew!  It’s one thing for a young king to do this kind of thing, but can you imagine an old king?  Wow, what awkwardness and foolishness!  But what reverence and glory!

4.  He saw that it was silly and humiliating: “I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” I love that David’s heart is to praise God in God’s way, not his own. Praise and Worship isn’t about us, it’s about God. Sometimes we have to step outside of our comfort zones in worship!

I love that this concept challenges me no matter where I am in my walk. I hope it does the same for you.  My prayer is that wherever you are in your journey of praise and worship, you would take that next step forward.  Maybe it’s singing out in worship. Maybe it’s lifting a hand. Or maybe it’s dancing in the midst of a worship service that will think you are nuts!  Whatever it is, take that next step.  When we let go of our dignity, it honors God immensely!

Blessings,
Cole



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Ps 95 – Praise Vs. Worship

24 02 2010

Reading Psalm 95 this morning and was struck by the contrast of praise and worship in the passage.  Read Ps 95 before reading the rest of this.

The Psalmist starts with an invitation to praise: “let us sing” “make a joyful noise” “come in his presence with thanksgiving.”  The word used here for thanksgiving is “towdah.”  It’s used throughout the Old Testament (30 times) and means to give thanks to God for things at hand and things not yet received.  This passage begins as a call to praise God regardless of circumstance. If you feel blessed, praise Him. If you don’t….praise Him! And the psalm continues on to say that the reason for the praise is God’s greatness.  Praise is something we so often struggle with, because at times it may be the overflow of our heart, but at so many other times we don’t “feel” like praising at all. And how do you lift up a shout, or a joyful song, when you feel far from God, or you’ve just lost your job?  How do you dance when someone you love has just died?  In those moments, we have to find our way back to that sole reason for praise: His worth.  Make no mistake about it, Praise is a discipline and sometimes it takes intense amounts of faith.  But those who have walked with God for longer than I will tell you, that there is immeasurable power in the praise that is rooted in faith and not emotion.

Then the psalm moves into a call to worship. It’s not a call to shout or sing or dance.  It’s a call to “worship” and “bow down” and “kneel” before our maker. (the word for worship here literally means: to bow down).  Then the psalmist gives his reason: “For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep of His hand.”  Worship is born of relationship and encounter. You can look throughout the entire bible and see what happened anytime someone encountered God: They worshipped facedown. Worship is so much different than praise. Worship is about an encounter. I would even say that worship isn’t inherently intended to be an incredibly disciplined act (note: I’m not referring to worship in the sense of Rom 12:1, that our lives are worship, but more so that act of communing with God)

There are so many other beautiful passages on worship and praise, but this was just what struck me this morning.

Blessings,
Cole


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Bill Johnson on Worship

15 01 2010

This is the pastor of one of my favorite churches. Great folks seeing amazing revival: salvations, healings, prophecies, etc. And at the center of it all: WorshipIf you wanna check out some of there stuff. Here’s the church’s website.


more about “Bill Johnson on Worship“, posted with vodpod

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