Happy New Year

A new year upon us, and we make our lists of goals and aspirations.  In my particular situation, as of January 1, I have the opportunity to work in a new church.  New is often exciting.  New helps me assess things I’ve done at other places -- what has worked and what I will want to change. 

That’s not only true of a person in a new position – it’s true for most of us. As we move through life God truly makes all things new.  When it comes to church ministry, it’s a constant desire to serve the Lord and other people that hopefully spurs us on to growth, musically and spiritually. As situations change, we need to be flexible.  More than anything, we need to be true to what God calls us to do.  Maybe this new years weekend you can take a fresh look at your calling – and jot down a word or two you receive from God.

There are so many I’ve worked with who display not only a talent and enjoyment of the music we do, but a fierce dedication to serving the Lord.  They are there, and they are dependable, year in and year out.  These are the people who inspire me and who encourage me to give my very best. 

So as we raise our toasts at midnight New Years Eve, and we raise our glasses to one another, lets lift our lives to the One who made us, and receive His guidance and His peace for this new phase of our lives!  Happy New Year!

Joy to the World

Christmas has arrived.  The wait is over.  We’ve put up the tree, sent the cards, and prepared the gifts.  Amazingly, in a few short hours, this Christmas will be history. 

So let’s not miss it.  Let’s savor the moment this weekend. On Christmas Eve every year, during the singing of Silent Night and the lighting of candles, I sense the awe of being one with Christians everywhere.   It’s as though the activity around us stops, and we are all together gazing into the manger and contemplating the greatest of all miracles.

Let’s make a pact to focus on Him – and Him alone – for a few moments this weekend.  The myriad of things we look forward to doing at Christmastime will wait.  I pray you experience His joy and His peace this Christmas!

Waiting for God

What does it take to wait?  If you think about waiting passively, desparately waiting to for something to happen, it can be upsetting and unnerving.  You can tend to feel helpless in that type of situation.  How did Mary feel when the angel came to her and told her about the huge change that was about to take place in her life?

God shows us how to wait.  First, He’s shown us in the Bible that we’re part of a huge plan for the world, and for all mankind.  We were born into this world for a purpose, and our DNA is such that we were made for specific acts upon the earth.  It was no accident we arrived here at this specific time in history.  Second, our lives take twists and turns that we do not expect, which cause us to wait for the next step.  This is the type of thing we rarely do well with, unless we see the hand of God.

During these ‘desert’ seasons of our lives we ask God for specifics – a job; a spouse; a new toy.  When we dwell on those specifics, we tend to lose our patience and our faith in the future – sometimes even in ourselves.

In ‘Waiting for God,” Henri Nouwen speaks about ‘open-ended’ waiting.  It’s the kind of waiting we can do as a worship leader in a worship service – when we feel the presence of God in the middle of a song.  It’s the kind of waiting many of us are used to doing in the middle of a prayer or sermon.  Let’s not let this happen only on Sunday morning -- we can do this in every moment of our life as well.  

Open-ended waiting can happen only when we trust.  Think of yourself as always ‘in the middle’ of a bigger plan, or a bigger situation than you can see.  Trust the One who made you to reveal to you what to do, when you need to know it – on the next chorus of the song – during the next hour of your life – this next month – this upcoming new year.  Trust the One who promises to reveal many plans, hopes and dreams to you, in His own time.  

'Be Perfect'

Yes, I know – Jesus says this in the Beatitudes, but does he really mean what we think He means?  Never making a mistake?  Is your team ‘perfect’ in that way?   I have never known a praise team that never makes mistakes, and it would frankly scare me to find one.   And I, personally, have made tons of mistakes on the platform.  Does that make me ‘imperfect’?

In school, I often got an A+.  On one occasion I got an F- because I just didn’t understand the subject matter.  I was a perfectionist, and it killed me to make a mistake on a school assignment.  This personality trait made me extremely tense and self-concious.  As I grew older I learned to accept the fact that I would make lots of mistakes, and that God could even use those mistakes, for my betterment. 

Jesus knows we’re not going to be perfect here on earth – His plan for us, as chuch musicians as well as people, is for us to really want God’s kingdom here on earth, and to be used by Him to bring it about.  I believe this type of ‘perfection’ is loving God perfectly, and wanting what He wants – perfectly. 

Now back to the team, and to music.  Music is a ‘living, breathing’ thing – it never happens twice the exact same way, unless, of course, you’re playing a CD, or a YouTube.  That’s exactly what makes live music so exciting – that’s exactly why people feel so engaged when a praise band is leading them into the act of worship.  I’ve had team members come to me after church and say, “ we normally don’t take that last repeat, and we did it today.”  I’ve had drummers start the song in the wrong meter.  I’ve had lead guitar players forget their solo riffs. 

Here’s what I think – what happens during a worship service was meant to happen.  That’s a pretty bold statement – since none of us are perfect and ALL of us will make a mistake one day.  If the musical ‘mistake’ is extremely distracting, it’s most likely showing the need to change something next time.  There are, of course, things like lightning storms which can reek havoc on our sound system – and we have no control over those things.  However -- God can even use seemingly horrendous events for the good. 

If we have prepared our hearts and our music for worship, and make a mistake somewhere, it will show us – and our congregation – that we are most certainly not perfect, and that’s fine.  In fact, it’s WONDERFUL to realize God uses very imperfect people --  who seek to bring His kingdom on earth -- to accomplish amazing things for His glory and honor.

Giving It Our Best Shot

As musicians, most of us deal with conflicting and competing emotions and opinions of ourselves.  When things are going well, we tend to feel as though we’re doing great.  Conversely, when things don’t seem to go as we would like, we tend to judge ourselves pretty harshly.

Resting in the giftings God has given us isn’t easy.  Because of our human nature, we tend to either praise our performance - or condemn our performance -  a lot.  Our self-esteem tends to vascillate between ‘I’m doing great’ and ‘That was really awful’ – back and forth, back and forth like a ping-pong ball. I’ve been shocked sometimes after a church service when someone says, ‘that song truly ministered to me,’ and it was the very song I thought fell flat.  There have been other times when I’ve gotten goose bumps over a song that’s really come together after hours of rehearsal, and I hear nothing from individuals in the congregation.  While we can easily become too reactive to feedback or the lack of it, I believe when we are offering our best to God, He will bless our efforts.  We can just rest in that.

As followers of Christ we want to serve Him faithfully.  Sometimes watching others serve, and comparing ourselves to others, can get in the way of giving OUR best.  We can’t serve faithfully by either mimicking, or by condemning,  someone else’s efforts – each of us is unique.  We stay on track when we keep our eyes on the One we serve, and when we remain true to Him, and to ourselves.