July 6: Tuesday Refocus

"Possibly one of the most devastating things that can happen to us as Christians is that we cease to expect anything to happen." Martin Lloyd-Jones

We are caught in the current of the culture and we do not even realize it.  We are swept along by values, expectations, and comparison to a world that is the opposite of the upside-down Kingdom to which we belong as followers of Jesus.  We expect more joy, fulfillment, and life from our culture than we do from our daily dying to self, and life to Christ (Lk 9:23, Eph 2:5).  We see our faith as peripheral, not central.  And therefore give little thought to how Christ desires to work in us and through us.

If I am walking with Christ I can expect that through His Spirit…

…I will be more closely conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29).

…that my mind will be renewed (Rom 12:2).

…that my heart will be transformed (Ezekiel 36:26).

…that I will desire the things of God (Ps 37:4).

…that I will love my enemies, and pray for those who persecute me (Matt 5:44).

…that I will encounter the risen, living Christ (Lk 24).

…that I will grow in love and Godliness (Jn 13:35).

…that I will be generous, and open-handed (2 Cor 9:6-8).

…that I will live primarily as a citizen of heaven (Phil 3:20).

The Spirit is not stagnant.  He slowly sanctifies everyone whom He indwells.  But when we live with holy expectation we will begin to see the Spirit’s movement sanctifying and shaping our lives more deeply than the culture.

Lord, forgive us for not expecting, not desire our lives to be different as a result of walking with you.  May we expect to be different as a result of encountering you daily, moment by moment, again and again.  For Your glory and our good, amen. 

With expectation,

AB

Team Meetings

There is a little ribbon I’ve seen online - the kind that you got for track meets in elementary school - that says, ‘This meeting could have been an email.’ Especially in our (post) COVID world, why would we meet when so much can be communicated digitally? Especially as people who lead teams of volunteers - aren’t we already asking for enough of their time? Truth be told, I’ve never been a fan of meetings, but I do think there are some essential things that happen when you gather a team - yes, even a team of volunteers.

See people.

There is a temptation to see people as objects, serving a utilitarian purpose in accomplishing what we are trying to do in a worship service. When we gather with our team outside of our shared weekend responsibility, we can see them removed from a task, and simply as people. People who have relationships, responsibilities, pain, interests outside of what you get to glimpse for a few hours during your time together.

Be together.

Depending on how many people participate in your team, there may be several people who do not actually know one another. Giving people the opportunity to grow and develop relationships outside of a Sunday service will help to develop trust, camaraderie, and respect - that will serve the team, the congregation, and the songs better as you lead together.

Cast vision.

We can and should lead by example. We can and should work to communicate clearly and effectively in digital correspondence. But there is something different about having your team together to be able to articulate all at once the vision and direction of the team as well as the goals and desires within this area of ministry. I have found team meetings to be an amazing time to teach theology, to help the team see that what we do is so much larger than playing music, sliding faders, clicking slides. I want to be able to connect the 30,000 foot view of this area of ministry, to what the team does week in and week out.

Celebrate.

I tend to be task driven, and when one task is complete, I am ready to move on to the next. When we do not take time to pause, reflect, and remember, we can quickly run ourselves, and our team into the ground. Raise your ebeneezers - those stones of remembrance - mark out God’s faithfulness to your church and the team, let gratitude be a consistent heart posture, honor the work and growth of those who are serving week in and week out as a part of your ministry. One of my favorite pastors was fond of saying, ‘Everyone you meet is under-encouraged,’ may that not be true of anyone on our teams.

Show hospitality.

Our teams pour themselves out to serve God and His people each weekend, how can we as leaders pour ourselves into them? Use your home, use your church building to make a space that is inviting and hospitable for the team. Share a meal, or make some coffee and desserts. Create a space where your team feels valued, safe, and cared for.

Little things over a long period of time make such a difference in shaping people, shaping culture, and serving your team. Don’t use meetings as the place to shotgun information, or vent frustrations, but as a place where people can get to know one another, feel valued and celebrated, and you are able to articulate the mission, vision and values of this particular area of ministry.

June 29: Tuesday Refocus

"Worship is not something we “work up,” it is something that “comes down” to us, from the character of God." - Sinclair Ferguson

Revelation and response are the rhythm of our worship (Rom 12:1).  God reveals Himself, and we respond.  There can in fact be no right worship, without God’s revelation of Himself - thus the reason we cannot ‘work up,’ our worship.  Right worship is the response of our whole lives to God’s revelation of Himself.  And where do we see God’s revelation of Himself?  Everywhere.  

Scripture tells us that no one is without excuse because God’s creation reveals our Creator (Rom 1:20, Ps 19:1).

People, all of whom are made in the image of God reveals some small glimpse of the Father (Gen 1:26, Gen 5:2).  

God’s Word reveals Himself to us - it is living and active, He inspired the Word to be written, He speaks through it even now (2 Tim 3:16, Heb 4:12).  

God reveals Himself through His Spirit, the One through whom we are led in all truth to Jesus (Jn 16:13).  

God reveals Himself through His Son, His great love in sending Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins (1 Jn 3:16, Rom 8:32).  

God reveals Himself in His Church, the ones who are tasked to love one another as Christ has loved us, to display His heart and character in our slow transformation to resemble our Savior in His life, death, and resurrection (Jn 13:35, Rom 6:5).

God reveals Himself in all of our brokenness.  The awareness that we are not - our world is not - as it should be.  God reveals Himself as the one who has come and is coming again to make all things new, wipe every tear, and see every sad thing become untrue (Rev 21:5, Is 65:17).

Don’t work up your worship, open your eyes to a God who has revealed Himself in the darkest places as the One who illuminates our hearts.

Father, reveal yourself to us.  Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to comprehend, and lives to obey.  Let us respond to You with worship.  Amen.

To worship,

AB

Hymns

I am not a cook, but I do love cooking shows. One of the most interesting things to me is the part that time plays in creating a dish. Time strengthens a dish by melding individual ingredients into something cohesive. There is a depth of flavor that is created by time, that no other process can create. I think songs are the same. As a worship leader, I am often surprised how few hymns are included in the regular rotation of the life of a church. Or how familiar worship leaders are with the newest songs of particular writers, worship leaders, churches, or movements, but how little time they spend seeking to understand the songs that have laid a foundation for our faith through the generations.

Maybe you are thinking, but the Bible tells us to sing a new song, why bother with old songs? Here are some reasons to consider hymns:

Depth.

Just like time on my cooking shows, there is a depth to hymns that have been passed down through the generations. Chances are, if hymns have made it through different centuries, various languages, assorted denominations and are still standing, there is probably a reason we still know them and should sing them today. The depth of flavor that hymns offer brings balance to your master song list, and weekly setlists.

Topics and content.

In the wake of September 11th, Matt Redman talked about how many churches were at a loss as to what to sing to give people the space to know how to grieve, lament, and worship. It was in that space that many churches turned to hymns… and where Matt and his wife, Beth, wrote the song ‘Blessed Be Your Name.’ Perhaps less so now than in 2001, but many of our modern songs simply do not have the variety and breadth of subject matter that we can tap into from hymns. If being a disciple of Jesus is about ultimately preparing for our death, what are the kinds of songs that represent the full spectrum of life in a fallen world that we can give our people to both comfort and convict, instruct and equip them for this journey?

Thinking and feeling.

A fellow worship leader once told me that we need thinking songs and feeling songs. We need songs that help form our theology, and songs that allow us to respond to that beautiful truths. One of the things that I appreciate about hymns is the poetic, sometimes archaic language. When we sing words that we do not use in our everyday vocabulary, words that require us to slow down, think, and engage our minds (not just our emotions), hymns begin to slowly reveal more meaning over time.

Connection to the Church.

In the West, we are a people who value individualism like almost nothing else. But when we sing hymns, we are reminded that we are a part of God’s global church that exists throughout time, history, and place. The Church was here long before us, it will be here long after we are gone, and will continue on into eternity. When we sing these songs, we join in their song.

Our culture is obsessed with instant gratification, the latest and the greatest. And praise the Lord for the new songs that are being written for the Church to sing in response to the beauty of our Savior. But often I wonder when someone says, ‘Wow, have you heard the latest <fill in the blank> song?’ if the Church will still be singing that song 100 years from now… or even three years from now. Perhaps there are better markers by which we evaluate what songs we put into our people’s mouths each weekend.

June 22: Tuesday Refocus

“O Lord and Master of my life, keep me from the spirit of indifference and discouragement, lust of power and idle chatter.  Instead, grant to me, Your servant, the spirit of wholeness of being, humble-mindedness, patience, and love.  O Lord and King, Grant me the grace to be aware of my sins and not to judge my brother and sister, for you are blessed, now and ever and forever.  Amen.”  - Prayer of St Ephrem the Syrian

Isn’t it tempting to fill our prayers with the things we hope God will do?  Rather than to seek God’s face, and in silence, entrust ourselves to who He is having us become?  If prayerlessness reveals pride, filling all our prayers with many words reveals how far our hearts are from real relationship with God (Matt 6:7).

‘I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word, I hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.’ Ps 130:5-6

Amen,

AB

Romans 12

After years of reading definitions of worship by others, I have settled on a definition that has stolen the best parts of the definitions of others:

Worship is the right response, of our whole lives to God’s revelation of Himself.

Now, I say this is a definition stolen from lots of definitions, but in reality, we have all stolen our definition of worship from the Apostle Paul:

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.” (Romans 12:1, CSB)

Romans 12:1 shows us the rhythm of worship: God reveals, we respond.

Real worship, true worship, right worship always and only begins when God reveals Himself - when God acts first. Romans 12:1 is no different, showing us the rhythm of revelation and response. In this passage, God has revealed Himself as merciful. Certainly, we see this throughout the previous 11 chapters of Romans, but we also see this throughout the entirety of Scripture. In fact, when Moses asks to see God’s face, God allows His glory to pass before Moses (because no one can see His face and live), and God reveals something about Himself at that moment:

‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.’ (Exodus 36:6-7).

The second rhythm of worship we see in this passage is our response. The offering of our bodies as a living sacrifice. Not just our time or talent, but our very lives. This is not worship relegated to a Sunday service or a mid-week bible study, but an all-encompassing response to God that is evidenced by loving the

‘Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ (Luke 10:27)

For those of us who lead corporate sung worship, we have a responsibility to help people see that our songs of response are only that - a song of response. True worship is the right response of our how lives to God’s revelation of Himself, and there is no corner of our lives that God is not displaying some aspect of His heart, and character. Let’s be worship leaders who help people lead lives of worship, not just worship leaders who help lead songs of worship.

June 15: Tuesday Refocus

“Most Scriptures speak to us, the Psalms speak for us.” —Athanasius

Every experience of being human is represented in the Psalms.  

Fear and peace (Ps 56:3, Ps 91).  

Sorrow and joy (Ps 16:4,11).  

Pain and triumph (Ps 40, Ps 59:10)

And everything in between.

One of the things I find so profoundly moving is that Jesus, being fully God, put on our flesh and bone, and stepped into our brokenness.  Although Jesus was not broken on the inside the way you and I are broken, Jesus uses the Psalms to give voice to his experience of inhabiting a human body.  And we see this clearly on the cross - of all of the ways that the God-man could express His heart at that moment, He uses our words - ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Ps 22:1, Matt 27:46).

Wherever you are in your journey of faith, you can look to the Psalms to give voice to your experience.  And you can look to your Savior, who this very moment inhabits a fully glorified human body, like the one that will be ours when our sojourning is over, and we see our Savior face-to-face (Phil 3:21).

Jesus, we look to You - the one who has taken on our skin and sin.  The One who uses Your Spirit-inspired words to give voice to your experience.  The One who is able to empathize with us as our Great High Priest - and we are grateful to You, and for You.  In Your name, amen.

Looking,

AB

Interview Questions: From A Worship Leader

Last week I wrote for the interviewer, the kinds of questions I would ask as a worship leader if I were trying to hire a worship leader. Questions that help you assess not just the obvious and easy - musical ability, personality fit - but questions that give you a sense of a candidate’s theological understanding of worship, the gathering, and how they function in their role. This week, I want to provide worship leaders with questions that will allow them to do the same - move beyond the surface and give some clarity to what is going on at a deeper level within a church.

Tell me about the working relationship between the pastor and worship leader? Relationships can be tense - especially when you are wearing multiple hats. As a worship leader working with a pastor, this person is often your boss, employer, pastor, coworker, friend, and direct report. Trying to understand what has become ‘normal dynamics’ and ways of operating between the pastor and worship leader will give you a good sense of what is acceptable across the whole staff.

What things did you love about your previous worship leader? Getting a sense of what is valued and celebrated will help you understand in what ways you will be similar, and different than a church’s previous experience. If a pastor, leader, or team cannot name anything, or at bare minimum be able to speak well of someone - regardless of how poorly the relationship has gone - that too will communicate about their culture to you.

Can I speak with your previous worship leader? An interviewee has to provide references, why not also ask for references from the church? This can be another piece of the puzzle of understanding relationships, dynamics, things to be aware of, and things worth celebrating.

How engaged are pastors, elders, staff during the worship gathering? A church will only ever be as engaged in the corporate gathering as their leadership. A pastor’s presence, or lack thereof, communicates to the rest of the church how the worship gathering should or should not be valued. If the pastors, elders, and leaders do not see themselves as leading from the congregation, it does not matter how much they tell you they value the worship gathering, that behavior communicates otherwise.

What kind of training and discipleship have you historically provided for your worship leader, and the volunteers on the team? We invest in what we find valuable. Most churches will say that corporate worship is valuable, but are slow to invest money into quality equipment, and/or haphazard about the discipleship and development they are providing for their worship leaders, musicians, vocalists, sound and tech team. We need both.

If you are a worship leader in the interview process, I know how hard, discouraging, and exhausting that can be. I hope that these questions can open up deeper conversations, and provide more clarity in being able to assess the things you value and what you are hoping to find as you partner with a local body to serve God’s people.

June 8: Tuesday Refocus

“The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His.” - George MacDonald

Humanity can feel heavy.  Even creation groans under the weight of sin (Rom 8:19-23).  Suffering is a part of life - but it was never supposed to be that way.  The sin of our first parents warped and bent everything good, beautiful, and perfect into something other than its original intention.  And on days when I feel especially heavy, especially weary, I find myself yelling out prayers like a storm-tossed disciple: ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ (Mark 4:38).

Is Christ’s presence with us in the boat, with us in flesh, with us by His Spirit not the answer for which I am groaning in those moments?  I ask questions, God answers with Himself.  ‘Put your fingers here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ (Jn 20:27)

My suffering only makes sense when I can see that my Savior has first suffered for me.  My suffering only makes sense when I see that it is accomplishing something larger, and longer-lasting than this moment - it is preparation for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor 4:17).  When we suffer with our Savior we will also be glorified with Him (Rom 8:17).

The suffering of Christ is the answer to my own suffering.  His suffering is complete, once for all (Heb 10:12-13), and has given access to a life where, ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’  Rev 21:4

Jesus, thank you for your withness in our suffering.  Thank you for your own suffering which is final and complete.  Thank you that we will one day stand face-to-face with the One who bears eternal scars.  Amen.

With,

AB

Interview Questions: For A Worship Leader

Regardless of what side of the interview table you are on, interviews are stressful. The stakes are high, the time is too short to know anyone in any depth. Much less to assess their skills, heart, experience, and if their personality will fit well in your specific context. I have been the one being interviewed, and I have had many conversations with pastors, leaders, and search committees looking to hire a worship leader, I am always surprised at the kinds of questions that are asked - some great, some not so great.

If I was looking to hire a worship leader, here are a few questions that would be at the top of my list:

How would you describe the working relationship, and dynamic between you and your previous pastor or pastors? The relationship between a pastor and a worship leader can be tense. Whether the previous relationships have been healthy or completely dysfunctional, hearing how people speak about former coworkers or employers communicates a lot about their hearts. And understanding their history will help give you a sense of the type of hurts they may be carrying into a new team.

What does your workweek look like? The smallest part of the time we as worship leaders spend in our week is the visible part - actually leading the congregation in corporate sung worship. What does preparation look like for this worship leader? How are they using their time not just to execute a weekly service, but to build into and grow the team, grow their own personal relationship with the Lord, and move this particular area of ministry ahead?

What would be the five songs you would want to introduce to any congregation where you are leading? This will help you understand not just the musical leanings of a worship leader, but their theological persuasion as well. Songs are contextual, theology is not. You are looking not just for a competent musician, but a competent theologian to build set lists and shepherd your people from the platform.

What is worship? Basic, I know. But you’re not hiring a musician primarily, you are hiring a theologian and shepherd. It is imperative that the person filling that role has at least a basic grasp on a theology of worship. And an understanding of how worship fits into the corporate gathering, and the rhythms of life.

What is the purpose of the corporate gathering? What you are trying to understand from this question is if the worship leader understands their role narrowly (only responsible for music), or as a small piece of a larger story - and how their role fits into that larger story.

These questions are not exhaustive, but hopefully, they will give you a greater ability to assess not just someone’s musical ability and character, but their personal understanding of worship, and the role of corporate worship in the life of the Church. If you are in the process of looking to hire a worship leader, let me help you ask the right questions, not just for the potential candidates, but of your church culture and organization as you begin that process. Send me an email here.

June 1: Tuesday Refocus

‘Move, I pray Thee, upon my disordered heart; take away the infirmities of unruly desires and hateful lusts; lift the mists and darkness of unbelief; brighten my soul with the pure light of truth.’ - Valley of Vision

My heart is divided, deceitful, and desperately sick, it springs with life and death (Psalm 86:11, Jeremiah 17:9, Proverbs 4:23, Ezekiel 36:26). The heart is complex, and confusing - who can understand their own heart, much less the heart of another (Jeremiah 17:9. Proverbs 20:24)?

I am incapable of changing my own heart, because I do not have a bad heart that needs to be made better, but a stone heart that needs to be made flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).  And this only occurs from Without, not within.  I am only made alive by the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 2:1-10, John 16:13).

The hope of my heart is not trying harder, being better, doing more, but becoming Christ’s.  I need my heart to be transformed to look like the heart of Christ: gentle and lowly (Matt 11:29).

Lord, make my dead heart alive.  Make my calloused heart tender.  Give me a heart like Yours, Lord Jesus.  In Your name, amen.

Asking,

AB

Entertainment | Worship

Last week I wrote about dealing with blank faces. How outward expressions are not always an indication of an internal reality. And how worship leaders may be tempted to try and elicit a response from those gathered corporately. As I was writing that post, I was reminded of this quote from one of my favorite authors:

’The church that can’t worship must be entertained. And men who can’t lead a church to worship must provide the entertainment.’ - A.W. Tozer

Maybe like me, when you think entertainment the first thing that comes to mind is high production value. A very attractional church model: the band is good-looking, the lights, loops, and lasers rival what could be seen at a mainstream concert, and the music is highly produced, and executed flawlessly. This is a service that is more concerned with playing than participation. And to some extent, this model does represent a form of entertainment over leading in worship. But to define ‘entertainment’ this narrowly would be unfair. Because at the core, entertainment is more concerned about passive engagement than high production value.

Regardless of the production value, we entertain rather than lead worship when we are not concerned about engaging our hearts and minds to behold and respond to God. We entertain when we get up and sing, rather than lead people to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice. We entertain rather than lead when we are more concerned about being in our own private worship moment with God, instead of inviting the congregation to engage through song and Scripture. We entertain rather than lead when we choose songs and keys because they sound good, not when they serve the people well. We entertain rather than lead when we are only concerned for smashing a service, rather than deeply forming the people of God. We entertain rather than lead when we do not understand what it is to lead God’s people in corporate worship.

People will default to entertainment because worship is costly. People will default to entertainment because they do not understand that true worship is the right response of our whole lives to God’s revelation of Himself. People will default to entertainment because they have not been led, truly led, by worship leaders who desire to provide the words and environment to respond to the beauty of God as revealed in His Son, His character, His Word, His creation, and His people.

If we want to be worship leaders who lead people in worship rather than provide them entertainment, we must first be worshipers before we are worship leaders. We must be led by the Holy Spirit, to behold Jesus, and to live our whole lives in worshipful response to Him.