Wisdom Moonmy journey of faith

Sitting here after a long day of work and interviews for the All About Worship Podcast. Between yesterday and today I’ve interviewed three different worship leaders: Jared Anderson, Chris McClarney, and Mike Kim. Also been trying to keep my websites updated, All About Worship tweets updated, and take care of emails.

A lot going on in my life right now…full-time day job, husband, father of three kids 4 and under, podcasting, interviewing artists, planning the All About Worship Retreat, working on a website for Darrell Evans, working on the launch of All About Worship Premium, and the list just keeps going. It’s like even when I’m not working, I’m working.

I’ve been listening to a sermon series by Pastor Craig Groeschel (LifeChurch.tv) called “Margin“. The first part of this message series he talks about creating margin in your daily schedule and saying no to things that may be good things, but not what’s best at that time. I’ve been really keeping that in mind lately. Opportunities have come up even just in the past week to be involved in good things, but what I felt would distract me from the more important things that are on my plate right now. I’ve also been very intentional about not being out more than one or two nights a week and spending most nights at home with my wife.

I love to be really active and involved in ministry. I hate not being engaged in ministry leadership. These past two years have been the longest I’ve gone not being in full-time vocational ministry. It feels weird. Every day I go to work I feel out of my element. I feel like I’m not where I really belong.

However, I know that it’s been real good for me to step away from full-time church work for a while and just work out in the world. I’ve learned a lot about myself, about people, and about what it’s like to clock in and out of a job that you’re not really passionate about.

I’m looking forward to all that God has in store this year. I really feel strongly that this is the year of beginning to harvest in many areas of my life.

1. Kansas weather is unpredictable.
I realized how random and unpredictable Kansas weather is. Day before Christmas Eve it was about 50 degrees; Christmas Eve we faced a blizzard. Enough said…I was singing “I’m dreaming of a warm, sunny, California Christmas” in my head.

2. There are still Good Samaritans.
We were driving out of our driveway on Christmas to go to our in-laws 10 miles away. Being the Californian that I am, I didn’t think about the piles of snow from the blizzard. Needless to say we didn’t even make it out of our driveway and got stuck in the snow. I got my snow shovel out and started to dig around the tires. We saw one of our neighbors shoveling snow as well and trying to get out of ourcul-de -sac. I shoveled for a long time, probably 20 minutes, and just couldn’t get our minivan out of our driveway. Our neighbor at this point made it out of our cul-de-sac into freedom. Then, after driving away several yards they stopped. A guy came out of the car with a shovel and ran back to our house and offered to help. He wasn’t even wearing a coat in the below freezing weather! With his help we were finally able to make our way to my in-laws…after 30 minutes of shoveling. We had a few other Good Samaritans help us get our van unstuck that day.

3. I don’t like winter.
When I lived in California I always told people I like winter better than summer. Obviously, winter really doesn’t exist in California. As harsh as summer is here in Kansas, I much prefer it over having snow storms. This past weekend I stayed couped up indoors as much as my wife would tolerate.

4. Playing video games is good for your health.
We were blessed with a Wii this Christmas. Of course, my boys love it, but I love it just as much! I didn’t realize playing video games can be so good for you. I haven’t had my heart pumping so much for a while as I did playingWii sports. My arms and shoulders are still sore. I love all the sports games: tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing, but I think my favorite is tennis. I’m quickly working my way up to Pro level. Anybody wanna challenge me?

5. It’s good to get away from the computer.
I really didn’t go on the computer much this past weekend, which is unusual for me. (My wife says that I’m always on the computer.) I have a lot of things in the works (i.e. new websites, worship retreat, etc.). However, I really just wanted to hang out and enjoy my wife and kids. It was such a blast! I think this was probably my most memorable Christmas ever. There was no drama, no arguments, and no sicknesses.

Thank you, Lord, for such a special Christmas. Thank you for my amazing wife and kids. I am so blessed to have them.

Here are five requirements to Get Hired As A Professional Worship Leader that you might see on a church’s job posting:

1. Must know how to play the acoustic guitar.
If you know how to play the electric, that’s a bonus. You should know how to play eight main chords and you’ll be set to play 90% of worship songs: E, A, B, C#m, G, C, D, Em. If you know how to use a capo, that’s a plus. If you know how to play with a cut capo, you’re hired!

2. Must know how to style your hair.
Hair is key when it comes to leading worship. If you don’t know what the latest hairstyle is, don’t bother applying. If you can grow a cool goatee, you’re hired! If you look cool with highlights, we’ll give you a raise!

3. Must know what’s in when it comes to clothing.
Last time we checked, plaid and tight pants are in. If you can wear tight pants as a guy and not feel insecure, you’ll be at the top of our list. Oh, and don’t forget the latest shoe fads. We even give you a separate budget for stage clothes because we know how important it is to stay relevant.

4. Must know how to imitate.
We’re not looking for someone trying to be original. We want someone who can imitate famous artists, especially when it comes to singing with an accent. Also, you gotta know the lingo used in rock music circles.

5. Must own an iPhone.
You must own an iPhone or be willing to obtain one shortly after hire. This verifies that you are a legit musician. Anyone without an iPhone is not qualified to call themselves a musician or artist. The iPhones is a necessary tool that every musician, especially worship leaders, must have. You must also be knowledgeable in which apps are used by musicians today.

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Obviously, this list of requirements are not really on any church’s job description, at least I hope not. However, it does seem like there’s an image that some “celebrity” and “non-celebrity” worship leaders tend to try to keep these days. I don’t think there is anything wrong with having a goatee or wearing certain clothes, but I do believe we as worship leaders need to check our hearts. Are we more concerned about our image and our cool factor than making sure that people are engaged in worshipping and glorifying God? Is our church more concerned about looking relevant to the seeker that walks into our service than whether our services pleases God or not?

Lord, help us to recognize that being a worship leader is a serious calling with serious, eternal consequences. Help us to be worshippers who worship in spirit and in truth.

The past few days, I’m embarrassed to say, my bottom gums have been swollen. It hurts like heck when I floss. It throbs for over 30 minutes after I finish flossing.

It hit me today that bacteria in your gums is like sin. It’s not really visible to those around you. And, you don’t even notice at first. Then, if you don’t treat it, it starts to multiply and begins to swell up.

Then, when you try to floss and clean it up, it hurts and throbs like nothing you’ve ever known.

When we allow sin to go unchecked in our lives…when we don’t repent and turn from our little sins that don’t seem like a big deal at the time…we become numb to it and it multiplies and takes a hold of you. You don’t even realize what’s happening until it becomes too much to handle.

A regular check of your heart and your right standing with God is like your daily flossing. If you don’t do it, you will end up asking God to change you and wash you clean and it will end up hurting big time because He will have to do some deep cleaning.

Lord, help me to stay in close communion with You each and every day. Let sin convict me to the point of repentence.