Category Archives: Leadership

Preaching in the Mirror: Satan is Real

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Well hello again!

I’ve been away from the blog for over 2 months and this is the post I come back with???

Not sure what I’m thinking, this might get a little crazy. I won’t blame you if you decide to go surf youtube videos instead of reading this post.

To quickly bring you up to speed…since my last post I have been on vacation in Germany with my wife, sold the first house I ever owned, moved in with my in-laws for 3 weeks, then moved into an overpriced rental in downtown Calgary, and started a new job under bumpy circumstances.

All of these things are of the physical world. I can, to some extent, control them. Some of these things were awesome, some of them in the middle, and some of them have made this recent transition a lot more difficult than I expected.

And then there’s the spiritual world. It’s throwing me curveballs that I did not expect.

And so I bring you Part 3 of the Preaching in the Mirror series – “Satan is Real”

disclaimer: you might think I’m psycho and I’m ok with that

The word “coincidence” keeps coming to mind. I don’t know if I believe in it or not. I lean towards not, but somehow the word keeps creeping in to my vocabulary. (Please forgive a few long sentences here. Also, the following is just to provide you with context. Insert your our circumstances in place of mine)

Is it a coincidence that I face spiritual attack in my personal life that I’ve never faced before right as I start out as Creative Pastor of a worship service that I believe God wants to use in huge ways to draw people in the city of Calgary to Himself?

I don’t know…

Is it a coincidence that at the same time the church faces a difficult issue that has a lot of emotions and layers attached to it and could potentially be devastating to a lot of relationships if Satan has his way?

I don’t know…

Is it a coincidence that these spiritual attacks come in a church that has grown by over 1,000 people (many of those new believers) in 3 years in a city that has plenty of comfortable, wealthy people who would tell you they have no need for God?

I don’t know…

I can’t say for certain. But I do know that I believe it is NOT a coincidence at all. I believe that when God is moving powerfully Satan pulls overtime to try and put a stop to it. He attacks the individual with gossip, jealousy, anger, bitterness, self-righteousness, greed. He brings out the big guns of depression, substance abuse, and pornography. He knows all the tricks.

Satan is real, and he wants to destroy you. This isn’t a story in a movie. This is real. This is happening.

If God has placed you in a position of influence over other believers you can be sure that attack will come hard and fierce, especially if you’re seeing fruit in your ministry. Pastors, worship leaders, small group leaders, parents, teachers, CEOs, you name it. It will come. It will appear in ways you do not expect.

Personally I’d like to ignore everything I’ve just previously said. I would much rather live my life, have my 3 weeks vacation, collect my pay check, and feel good about my contribution to society than admit there is a battle raging for my soul.

Except I can’t.

I can’t because I know that will lead me to destruction. I can’t because imprinted in the very fibre of my being is a desire for relationship with the God who has something far greater for me than pay checks and feeling good about myself. This God gives us a purpose. This God reaches out to us and says, “I have something far better for you than anything you could hope to attain on your own.” This God gives us victory in the battle. This God has provided a way out.

Jesus, the God-man. The only one who has defeated all of the things that Satan uses to destroy us. He has defeated Satan and death. He is our rescue. He is the God who saves us. He is the atonement. He is the grace giver. He is the restorer. He is the victorious one.

Do Battle

Worship Your Face Off

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12

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I am sick of trying to ignore the battle. I am sick of seeing the destruction around me and in me. I am sick of my own excuses. I am sick of my lack of faith, lack of prayer, lack of courage, lack of perseverance in the fight. I am sick of fighting alone.

I will do battle. Worship is my weapon of choice.

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Bring it

The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf. – Deuteronomy 1:30

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Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. – Deuteronomy 7:9

Leaving Well

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24 Days

That’s all the time I have left in my current role as Worship Arts Director at Saanich Baptist Church.

I’m young, I’ve only got 7 years of ministry experience under my belt.  In those 7 years I have seen a few comings and goings of ministry staff.  I’ve noticed things about each one.  I’ve especially admired those who have remained committed to their church until the very last day they collect a pay cheque.  I have noticed how much the people they are leading and serving have appreciated that commitment.  I have noticed that it makes it much easier for the next person who comes in to fill that gap.  I have also tragically witnessed the disarray, frustration, and fizzling out of church goers who perhaps felt abandoned by the staff member in transition.

When I told my Sr. Pastor that I was leaving I told him I would be committed to the very end.  I meant it.  I meant it because I respected and appreciated him.  I meant it because I love the people I serve.  I meant it because my congregation deserves the very best I have to give.  I meant it because I truly believe it will make me a better leader as I transition into what’s next.

24 days.

You’re probably not going to be surprised to hear this but it’s hard.  The temptation is certainly to coast.  I’m excited about vacation.  I’m excited about the new ministry opportunity that awaits me.  And that’s just it, it’s waiting.  It will wait.  It’s not going anywhere.  And for right now this is where I am, this is where I want to be, and this is the opportunity God has given me.

I have 4 Sundays left.  4 Sundays to lead the congregation I love in worship of our amazing God.  24 days of coffee conversations with volunteers.  24 days of thanking, giving, serving, loving, listening, teaching, striving, and singing my guts out.  24 days of solid ministry.  And 25 days from this moment I’ll sigh a deep sigh, and smile, and say, “that was awesome”.

We all come to times of transition.  Don’t miss the opportunity in front of you by looking past it to something that hasn’t even arrived yet.  You won’t please everyone on your way out, because you can never please everyone.  But stay committed to the end, for your sake and those who are counting on you.

Let’s do this!

Worship Training

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We’re all born with every skill we will ever need imprinted in our DNA to be called upon at any moment from our endless knowledge database with all the muscle memory to perform said skill at the level of a virtuoso.

…right?

No, I guess not.

In which case an opportunity to learn new skills and be given the tools to develop and grow is something we should jump on, especially as musicians.  And that’s exactly what our worship teams did this past weekend.

I’ve run a few worship team training events and they’re a little different every time.  I feel like this past Saturday was our best yet.  Here’s a rundown of how it went.

I planned it as a 2 hour event (the poster above is a lie).  I figured if we keep it short we’ll have an easier time getting them out to the event and keep them engaged throughout.

There was candy (everyone loves candy) and coffee as people arrived.  We started off with 10 minutes of chatting about stuff that had to do with everyone, some reminders on in ear monitors, reminders about being on time for rehearsal, small stuff like that.

From there we transitioned into an instructional video on stage presence put together by Gateway Worship.  It’s a fantastic video and if you’re looking for something to help teach this important concept to your teams I would highly recommend it.  You can find it here.

The next hour and a half was devoted to individual instrument instruction.  Since I’ve been involved in the Worship Victoria project I’ve gotten to know some incredible musicians from other churches.  I made some phone calls, sent some emails, and asked some of those individuals to come and do some instruction time with our players.  For a few honorarium dollars I had a room full of some of the best musicians in our city ready to spend an intensive hour and a half with our team to help give them some new tools in their tool box.

Leading up to the event I had given the instructors some ideas about what they could spend time focusing on with their instrumentalists.  Every section had different needs.  We covered off electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, vocals, audio, drums, and piano.  They all had a pack of 6 chord charts with a CD of those songs in matching keys to use if they needed some examples.

The sessions were a huge success.  The place was buzzing after the hour and a half and I received a lot of positive feedback from members of the team.

That’s it.  Not really a magic formula but if you’re looking for somewhere to start with your next training event maybe this will point you in the right direction.

My humble advice?

1. If you choose the instructors route then get musicians your players will look up to and respect, not to mention make sure they’re good teachers.

2. Plan something for the whole group.  The stage presence video applied to everyone, not just vocalists and so everyone was engaged with it.

3. Give them something they can put to use right away.  Teach them something new, but make sure you don’t go too far past their capabilities or they might just get discouraged.

4. Have fun.  This is an awesome community building opportunity.  Laugh lots.

Rockstar

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John the Baptist was a Rockstar

That dude had tons of followers everywhere he went.  People wanted to know what he had to say.  They wanted to know what he was up to, where he was going, what he had for breakfast (…I hear it was locusts).

The funny thing about John is that he didn’t really talk like a rockstar.  He was never promoting his next book.  He was never promoting his next worship album.  He was never promoting his line of camel hair cardigans.

All John did was promote his cousin…and his cousin was Jesus.

here’s some direct quotes from the rockstar himself

“I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord(Jesus).’”

John 1:23

“[Jesus] must become greater; I must become less.”

John 3:30

“The Father loves the Son(Jesus) and has placed everything in his hands.”

John 3:35

Being involved in worship ministry in the North American church it can sometimes be hard to escape the label of “rockstar”.  It may not be your fault but there is generally a certain way that worship leaders are treated that can be dangerous.  It’s culture’s fault really.  But it’s also true that many worship leaders crave that kind of treatment.  And that’s a dark road to travel down.

It is very likely that you will experience points in your life when people will follow you.  They might really want to hear what you have to say.  They might think your music is amazing, or that you’re a brilliant song writer, or that you have an incredible voice.  They might say a whole lot of great things about you…

…and when they do…what are you going to say?

Because you could take those compliments served up on a silver platter of “finally someone is recognizing how hard I work” and cash them in at the emotional bank.

Ooooorrrr

You could respond in a way that gives all the glory to Jesus, like John did.  Don’t be fake about it.  EVERYONE can see through fake humility.  Practice humility.  And remind yourself that it’s all about Jesus.  Lead worship like it’s all about Jesus.  Interact with your volunteers like it’s all about Jesus.  Speak to your congregation like it’s all about Jesus.  Write songs like it’s all about Jesus.

And when you face that tension of rockstar and servant…well, you get the idea.

Discipleship: The Chicken or The Egg?

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I’ve got some questions about discipleship and how it relates to worship.

Let’s start by saying that churches in North America are pretty weird for the most part.  Sometimes I wonder how we came to all look so similar.  I guess it was inevitable since we are influenced by pop culture.  I’m often stuck in this strange zone of loving how we “do church” and really not loving it sometimes.  Sometimes I think our efforts of doing church look something like a toddler trying to use power tools.  It can be hilarious, and it can also be really dangerous.

Whatever “church” looks like the mission is still the mission: we are called to make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19)

And here’s where it get’s confusing.  As a worship leader you are always hoping for the most engagement or singing possible.  You likely evaluate this engagement after a Sunday service at some point.  If you decide that engagement could be better or louder then you will probably try to choose more of the favourite songs, maybe a more exciting intro to the service, maybe turn up the volume 3 DBs, maybe buy 4 more LED lights (which is my personal favourite), or add more singers for the next Sunday and try it all again.

I think you could argue that our efforts; be it lights, music, creative elements, humour, free coffee and such actually help to get people to church.  That’s not a bad thing at all.  But what happens when we get them in their seats?  Do we want them to start learning the church-isms?  Singing, passing the plate, the sitting-standing dance, etc.  Actually it’s more important that we disciple them, that we teach them.

I’ve led worship at conferences as well as pastor’s and church leader’s retreats. Those are always the times when the engagement and singing is loudest.  Aside from this group knowing the songs well there’s an important factor here: they are disciples and they showed up ready to encounter God.

I’m not interested in tricking someone into engaging in worship.  I am, however, very interested in discipling someone into engaging in worship.  So do I do that by creating a more exciting atmosphere?  I honestly don’t know.  But I think it has more to do with showing them Jesus and his truth than it has to do with anything else.

How do you know when it’s time to make things more exciting to engage people?

How do you know when you’re trying too hard to be exciting and you just need to open the Bible and let God speak?

…this is all coming from a young man who really loves lighting, guitar solos, 4 minute instrumentals, and experimenting with dubstep beats in Logic Pro 9.