5.24.2008

Prideful Character

Webster's dictionary defines pride in the following ways:

1. the quality or state of being proud; a reasonable or justifiable self-respect; delight or elation arising from an act, possession or relationship.

2. proud or disdainful behavior or treatment.

In Isaiah 14, the Word says, "How have you fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn." Morning star in Latin actually means Lucifer. The language of the scripture starts to change as Lucifer's language is quoted again and again saying, "I will raise my throne above the stars of God...I will make myself like the Most High" (vs 13-14 NIV). A few years ago Ron Kenoly was doing a seminar for worship leaders and stated that the only one to ever get thrown out of heaven was a worship leader. Everyone who was attending laughed, but the room got quiet very quickly as the weight of the statement took hold.

And therein lies the rub for worship leaders, as the Word clearly defines those who may ascend the holy hill of the Lord, "He who has clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalm 24). Pride is not clean; it is the most classic stealer of potential, as pride feeds all the wrong components needed for a healthy inner being. We were never designed to receive glory, only to give glory. That is why when people wrongly try to take it for themselves, it will eventually end up blowing them up, so to speak. Humility is the antidote: "To be clothed with humility" (1 Peter 5:5). Humilty is your strongest secret weapon in life. Pride and humility, just like light and dark, have a very hard time hanging out together. Pride, which seems to show itself so slowly, and often in the form of self-righteousness, has always been the downfall of the prominent, so-called successful person.

One of the fastest ways to confront your own heart if it is out of line, is to simply look at your hidden life of service. Servanthood will quickly reveal your true measure of humility, especially serving and giving where no one knows about it. So let's keep it simple; become a low maintenance servant. Not needing accolades and not seeking constant affirmation, just happy to serve. It's the least we can do. When it comes to worship, it should be the most unselfish and most important thing we ever do--for Him alone, and through Him by grace. In other words, emptying ourselves of all we are and offering our lives again as a living sacrifice for His glory.

Just some thoughts on what has been on my heart lately. God has a way of kicking our butts sometimes, but it's always to get us back on track to better serve Him. If your like me, realizing this is the hardest and most uncomfortable thing to confront. Sometimes we need to take a step back, look at ourselves in the mirror, and battle our internal struggles head on...

Will you desire to be more attractive or important than others?
Are you serving for God or for yourself?
Who will receive the glory today?

More to come VERY soon...

2.19.2008

What a "Novel" Idea


So I know I said I was going to review a new album 2 weeks ago, but I have been pretty busy working on some new stuff. The review is on it's way, but I wanted to post so that you at least had someting new to read from me. Anyways, for those of you who know me really well, you know that I don't necessarily like reading. In fact, I don't like reading at all! The weird thing is that I have purchased a few books on worship lately that have really attracted me to reading. With that in mind, I got a gift card to Borders, and bought a few books on ministry and leadership. I sat here at my desk and read through numerous reviews and book descriptions for the last few hours and finally decided on four. I would definitely check them out. I hope to be able to review them along with a book I am reading currently.

While in the Bay Area a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of staying with a great family during my weekend trip. One of the people in the family is an author of Christian fiction novels. He had his publisher send me an advance unedited copy of his new book coming out this summer. To my amazement I have not been able to put this book down. I'm a huge fan of John Grisham books (or stories I should say as I would rather watch the movie than read the book) and it is along those lines. Check back soon for that review as well.

Now for the new books that I just ordered from Borders.com:

"The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical" by Shane Claiborne:
A few of my close friends have been reading this book and have urged me to get it and read it. So this will be the first one I read out of the four.

"The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living with a Grande Passion" by Leonard Sweet:
This is the one I am most excited about! It talks about how Starbucks thinks about it's business and how they have values that they incorporate into their daily "experience" that churches should learn from. Being an ex-Starbucks employee I know about most of these and can't wait to see how to incorporate that into our corporate church setting.

"The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church" by Alan Hirsch
This book talks about the early church of Jesus' day and how we can adopt some of the methods of the early church to share the gospel with those who have either fallen away from the church or for those who have never been to church. I suppose it's kind of a bare bones approach to evangelism.

"Summoned to Lead" by Leonard Sweet
A retelling of the Ernest Shackleton story to showcase the fine arts of leadership that emerged from his failed expedition I don't really know who Ernest Shackleton is, but I'm sure you can Google him). The author urges people to re-vision their leadership and look at their plan from a different angle. From the reviews I read it rethinks your normal "leadership" book and put things into a new outside the box perspective where "leaders don't see a vision they hear one." I'm also very excited about this particular book.

If any of you have read any of these books and would like to comment on them, I would love to hear about what you thought about the books and what you gained from them. I promise I will get another album review up by the end of the week, even if it kills me...

1.23.2008

Review: "Saviour King" by Hillsong



As promised, this is my first review of new Worship albums. This is my first "public" attempt at putting my thoughts down for others to read. I decided to start with this particular album because it has single-handedly changed my worship life. I literally listen to this album everyday! I have it on my iPhone and listen to it when I'm showering or while going to sleep at night. I love worship and I think this album exemplifies where "corporate" worship is going in the future.

As I have aforementioned, this album is called "Saviour King," and it is the newest release from the worship team at Hillsong Church in Sydney Australia. This is the same team that brought us such great songs as "Shout to the Lord" and "Mighty to Save." I personally have liked every album they have put out, but I feel that this is definitely the best album they have made to date.

One thing that I would really like to note about this album, and other Hillsong albums for that matter, is that the songs on the album are not written by one person, but by a group of very talented songwriters from the church. Some of the writers are worship leaders, but some of them are not. Some of the songs are written by drummers, bass players, or friends, and they are so powerful that the church, as large as it is, has been changed by their writing and relationship with God that is evident through their lyrics. While all of the songs are great, I would like to review a few my favorites:

"Here in My Life" - This is my favorite song on the album. I really like songs that tell a story. This song talks about struggling to understand God's power and how God finds us in even the toughest circumstances. The chorus is very powerful. It says, "You are my freedom, Jesus, You're the reason, I'm kneeling again at your throne. Where would I be without you here in my life." Musically speaking this is more of a power ballad with a great chord structure and excellent dynamics. Melodically speaking, it is a very easy song to learn and should definitely be sung at churches across the world.

"Hosanna" - This song is written by Brooke Fraser. She is a very talented song writer. She is originally from New Zealand and moved to Sydney after signing a record contract with Sony Music Entertainment New Zealand. Her newest release in 2006 called "Albertine" is fantastic, but I prefer her worship writing to her solo project. For this particular tune, the chorus lyrics are taken from a song that was written in the early 90's called "Hosanna in the Highest." While the melody has been reworked, the message is still the same. The verse lyrics talk about how a new generation is rising up within the church and is growing stronger in God and really understanding what Jesus did for us on the cross. It talked about how Jesus' blood washed away our sins and how we want to declare that to the world! This is song is a ballad, but it does have a great steady rockin' vibe to it. It is packed with tons of energy. In addition to that I am a huge fan of Brooke's voice and I really enjoy hearing her sing. She has sung on a few worship leader's albums. She sang with Tim Hughes on a song called "Clinging to the Cross" from his recent "Holding Nothing Back" album. This is another song and album you should check out if you have a chance. You should definitely keep and ear out for this 24 year old New Zealander. She is definitely going to make a huge impact in the "Post-Modern/Next Generation" worship scene.

"In the Mystery" - This is a great driving song written by Joel Houston, who is the son of Brian Houston the lead pastor of Hillsong. The cool thing about Joel is that he doesn't look like your typical "worship leader." He's got kind of a scruffy look to him. He has long hair and a few tattoos on his arms. Looks can be deceiving. When it comes to song writing and delivery, he is one of the best. Now I have to admit, this is a great song but it took a while to grow on me. I really didn't like this at first, but now it is one of my favorites that I would love to do, along with "Here in My Life," at my church. This song talks about declaring the power of God's name, praising God, calling out to Him and running to Him. The chorus really hits on God displaying His love for us and how we are alive in the mystery of this thing called God's love. It's weird how we don't always understand how God can love us as much as he does, but none the less the God of the universe, Creator of all things, would send His Son down to earth and live among us just to die for us. That is truly a mystery to me, and I feel that this song definitely tells our generation about this part of our history as a church.

All in all, this album rocks. I prefer the more thoughtful worship tunes, but there are tons of rockers on this album. Overall the level of musicianship on this album is outstanding and awe inspiring. There are about 4 or 5 different leaders that all deliver spectacular vocals and really bring you into worship. I also have the DVD of this particular worship concert and I have to tell you, you can see the spirit of God in the place just by watching the DVD. Imagine a stadium filled with 30,000 people praising God with everything that have. The first time I watched it, I had chills from the second song through the end of the concert. This is an inspiring bunch of people that are changing the world one album at a time.

Coming up next week, I will be reviewing Steve Fee's newest release "We Shine." Stay tuned for that...

11.26.2007

Trying Something New

Okay so after a few months of some friends bugging me, I have decided to start blogging. This is my first attempt at putting my thoughts down in a public format. The intent and purpose of this blog is to talk about WORSHIP. This is not to be confused with the singing aspect of corporate church gatherings, but to talk about different ways in which we worship God. We will be talking about the musical, spiritual, and missional aspects of worshipping God. Please feel free to comment anytime, I would love to hear what you have to say. I am open to pretty much any type of discussion on the subject. I will also be recommending resources that I have found helpful, and I will be reviewing new Christian/Worship cd's to keep you all informed of the great music that is out there.