You Gotta Believe (in someone)

We have a pretty good group of musicians in our youth group. We have 3 drummers, 1 great bassist, and a handful of pretty good guitarists, and only one of them is a senior, meaning they will be around for another year too. I usually lead instrumentally with a guitar and vocally as well. There really isn't anyone capable of leading vocally, so I just have done it. I have felt the necessity, over the last few months, to relieve myself of this duty. I had begun grooming someone to take over, and she could do it vocally, but instrumentally and leading a band she is not too confident.

Last week, I decided that I was not going to sing or play as I had a meeting to attend. Then, I received a text message informing me that my lead vocalist was going to be gone. I wasn't panicking, but I was concerned with what was going to happen. I informed the band what was going on, and the junior bassist said, "I will lead it." I had no idea this kid even sang. He organized the songs, the musicians, and the practice.

Tuesday night came, they practiced, and the service began with me in the sound booth and no chance of rescuing them. They played, and from a technical standpoint it was not good. The vocals were off, the singers came in at the wrong place, and there were a number of wrong notes. But I loved it. Not in a way that I was celebrating their failure, but the heart of these students was in the right place. They sang and played and, more importantly, they worshiped from their hearts. The other students felt the awkwardness in the room, but they all got behind them and supported the mess out of the worship team.

So I sat down with the bassist-turned-worship leader today and told him how much I appreciated his heart and how he stepped up to the plate, and I asked him if I could help train him to be the student worship leader going forward. After he got over the initial shock and he realized that I was serious, he got a big smile and agreed to do it.

I love looking past what other people discard or call failures, and believing in someone who maybe doesn't even believe in themselves. It is easy to believe in people that have confidence or are obviously talented in certain areas, but not too many things give me the satisfaction of believing in people that others don't.

This story may or may not have a great ending, I can't predict it. But I do know that I did my part in helping a kid move forward in potentially realizing his dreams and giving him a confidence that he may have never had, and it makes my day!

The Same Power that Conquered the Grave Lives in Me

I have been reading in 1 Corinthians lately, and I just finished chapters 12, 13 and 14. Coupled with that, I am reading Come Thirsty by Max Lucado.

Most everyone that has attended a wedding has heard 1 Corinthians chapter 13, and it is a wonderful chapter, but it is hardly ever quoted in its entirety. You see, chapter 12 and 14 are talking about spiritual gifts, speaking in tongues and prophecy. Those things were taboo in the church that I grew up in. In fact, they

were almost considered demonic. They were only associated with the TV preachers who were always doing crazy, off-the-wall things and were even parodied in the Chevy Chase movie, Fletch Lives. So I never had a personal experience with those types of gifts.

I recall taking a Theology class in college where the professor was saying that those particular gifts were only for the first century and are no longer active today. My first thought, although I had never experienced and had been taught differently, was that that couldn't possibly be right. I mean, why would God give something like that to a select few? Why would Paul encourage us to eagerly desire prophecy if we could not ever find it? Why would God give us such an incredible gift in His Word, then change the rules on us? It just didn't add up. But I kept quiet as I had not studied this, and the professor had more degrees than I had fingers and toes, so I was best to stay in my own world of unbelief. I had to write a doctrinal statement that year, and I had to plagiarize that particular part in fear of either failing or having to defend my stance, which I was unprepared to do.

But from that day on, my eyes were opened to something profound: God's gifts are still available. I attended many different churches who believed the same as my professor, and while there were some great people that were there, there was always some element that seemed to be missing from the environments.

In Come Thirsty, Max Lucado taps into it a bit. He describes people that have cars, start their engines, and then push the cars wherever they go. They have the power under the hood but prefer to use their own power to get them where they are going. Galatians 3:3 say, "You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now are you trying to make it complete by your own power? That is foolish" These people that Lucado describes are foolish.

Now, I am not saying I have it all figured out, and there are definitely some times in my life that I look back and wonder why I was trying to do things with my own power, but I attempt, every day to rely on God's power at work in my life. But as I look back upon those churches and those situations in my life, I see a lot of people doing things FOR God rather than WITH Him or allowing Him to work with us helping Him. I see a lot of Christians that had "a form of godliness but denied its power." 2 Timothy 3:5

God is alive. God is on the move. God's power is at work today. Prophecy, tongues, and those types of gifts are not reserved just for the first century, nor are they just for the TV preachers that swing their jackets around and watch people fall around them, they are for all of us. There is something powerful about tapping into some of those things. There is something powerful about getting to the point of total reliance upon God for life. I think that so many denominations and "religions" have denied God a chance to really move and exercise his power for fear of what it might look like or how it might disrupt their plans. The time for selfishness is over, God's power wants to reside in us and move through us.

God's Provision in a Chevy Tahoe

I was driving home from work tonight and was thinking. Not unusual, as I have 30+ minute drive. But tonight, as I was driving, I was thinking about how sometimes in life, bad things happen. (Think happy thoughts, I know) When bad things happen we usually have no control over them, but we can usually control how we react.

Then I began to think of the little irritations in life (getting cut-off in traffic was what came to mind, imagine that). As that beautiful thought of that woman on her cell phone in the Tahoe whisking by me eating a doughnut and then jetting directly in front of me only to slam on her brakes was playing in my mind, I thought, "what good could come of that?"

Then it hit me. What if, in a moment like that, it was just the split-second delay that you would need to keep you from colliding with the SUV that was running a red light? What if that delay prevented a life-changing or life-altering circumstance? What if God's protection and provision was wrapped in a Tahoe-shaped package with a soccer mom, on her cell phone and eating a doughnut, at the helm?

Book Review: mY generation by Josh James Riebock

Let me preface this review by first telling you the reason why I bought the book. I had never heard of this book or Josh Riebock until a few months ago. He was to be our speaker for high school winter camp for our church. I did no research, and showed up to camp with no expectations. Well, even if I had had high expectations, I believe they would have been met. Josh is an outstanding communicator and has a great way of communicating a story in a funny, yet relevant way, and still hammer home the truth of the gospel message. But the best part of him speaking was his transparency and honesty. I do not recall hearing that much honesty from a speaker before, and it wasn’t a “too much information” type of honesty. So if you are looking for a camp or retreat speaker, he would be a fantastic choice.

That being said, I picked up mY generation after camp and immediately began to read it. It is written in such a way that can capture your attention with some great stories, humor, and some “laying all the cards on the table” moments. It is written so anyone from high school age on up can get something out of it and apply it to their own lives.

The takeaway for me is that it is ok to be honest. In fact, it is more than ok, it should be encouraged strongly to be honest with myself, and those around me. I think Josh does a great job of connecting the dots (if that can be done) of the Y Generation. There are many things that complicate that particular generation, but the search for honest, love and belonging are at the core. Actually, I think it is at the core of humankind, not just the Y Generation.

I love the raw emotion of the book and the way that Mr. Riebock draws you right into the illustrations with his outstanding way of depicting a story. I feel as if I were in the room with him at times. I feel like I can connect with him on many levels in this book, which is a good thing, because now he has my attention.

I also loved the way he tied the judgmental aspect of Christianity into the book. It is hard task to try and be honest in life about struggles, temptations, shortcomings and sins. But it is a much harder task to fit the mold of what some people believe you should be. We couldn’t be like God, so He became like us so that we have a way to be with Him; So even the soapbox and judgmental people (NOT just Christians) have a way to be with God.

Great book, not bad at all for a debut from Mr. Riebock. Can’t wait to pick up Heroes and Monsters which will be out in March!

My Top 10 Worship Albums for 2011

This is by far not an all-inclusive list as I have not listened to some great albums from the last year. For example, I have not heard Phil Wickham’s Response album, and I am sure it would make this list.

Also, I have not included Greatest Hits albums. Chris Tomlin had How Great Is Our God: The Essential Collection released last year, but the songs had all been on albums released in prior years. That album, no doubt would make this list.

So here is MY list of top worship albums released in 2011 (In no particular order):

Passion-Here For You

The title track by Chris Tomlin starts it off right but it doesn’t stop there. You can feel the energy of the Passion Conference on your computer speakers. The guest appearances by Lecrae on Our God with Chris Tomlin and Shadows with The David Crowder Band put this album up over the top. Add to that Kristian Stanfill’s version of Forever Reign and you have a fantastic album.

Phoenix First Worship-Ebenezer EP

This album has 5 songs, 3 of them are outstanding, and one is a remake of th hymn, Come Thou Fount. You Are God is an upbeat anthem. Be Thou Glorified is as close to a modern-day hymn as you will find, and Love Came Down slows it down a bit to give a well-rounded EP

Matt Redman-10,000 Reasons

2 songs on this album give me 10,000 reasons to purchase it. Here for You is a great response song to God, but Never Once is one of my top songs of the year. It blends great melodies, with great swells in dynamics, but also a truth that is comforting to sing to my Creator: that we are never alone.

Hillsong Live-God is Able

Like Hillsong always does, they give us some catchy tunes with great truths, incredible musicianship and songs that will be sung for awhile. God Is Able is one of those songs. Go is another song that I enjoy, as well as their version of Chris Tomlin’s Awakening (which I like as much, if not better than the original). To me, this is not the best Hillsong album ever, but it is still good enough to make this list for sure.

Elevation Worship-For the Honor

Relatively new to the game, Elevation Worship brings a fresh-ness to the worship arena. There is a rawness and an energy that is outstanding. My personal favorite tracks are For The Honor, The Church, and All Things New. My Favorite track was on a previous album, but they brought it back as good as ever, and that is Give Me Faith

One Sonic Society-Forever Reign

When Stu G does any work on an album it is usually worth listening to. This album is no exception. The highlights from this album, to me, are Always, Forever Reign, and The

Greatness of Our God. These songs have been done by other artists, but the versions on this album are second to none, especially Always.

Bethel Live-Be Lifted High

Bethel worship teams just simply know how to worship. Although it isn’t the same as actually being there for the live recording, this is as close as it gets. For me, the gold on this album starts right away with the first two songs, You Are Good and One Thing Remains, with the latter being one of my top 3 songs for the year. Love Came Down is another song that captures the essence of worship and translates it to the listener.

Hillsong United-Aftermath

As with the Hillsong Live album, the two tracks that capture my attention here are Awakening and Go. Not much else here that really gets me, but I have said that about many Hillsong songs in the past, and when I go back and listen years later, they somehow pull me in. So I expect this album to do that sometime in the future.

Jesus Culture-Awakening

Another Bethel offering with Chris Quilala and Kim Walker-Smith, and I could say the same thing here as I said about Bethel Live, so I won’t. Instead, I would say grab this album, and put it on your iPod on repeat and let it play for however long you need to. I love Holding Nothing Back, and I love how they went old school and older school with We Are Hungry and Nothing But The Blood. Some very powerful tunes all throughout the album.

Kari Jobe-We Are

The single. Very pop. Very catchy. A message that we constantly need to remind ourselves as well. Not a typical Kari Jobe song as far as what I am used to, but good nonetheless.

Book Review: Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

I had this book recommended to me by a few people, and was also mentioned in a few books that I had read. I put it on my Christmas wish list and figured if I got it, then I would read it. My sister got it for me, and I eagerly dove into the book.

Mr. Gladwell does a great job of really dissecting what makes epidemics become epidemics. What causes drastic drops in crime rates, a huge jump in retail sales, or Paul Revere’s ability to prepare the colonies for the British. Although there are not necessarily things that you can duplicate per se, there are principles that you can implement to start an epidemic of sorts.

As I look at this book with a church or ministry mentality, I can’t help but think about the power of the few. Really, the 20% of the people within churches are what makes the church what it is. According to Gladwell, the Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen are that 20%. I immediately began to think about who those people were in my life, and how I go about employing them to implement the vision. I am more of the innovator and the visionary type of person. I need the Mavens and Connectors and Salesmen to help me get the vision off the ground and into the community. It really challenged me, and how I can leverage the people around me for ministry.

The only issue I had with the book is that Gladwell suggests in his conclusion that we ought to promote experimentation with our teenagers, and specifically in the area of drugs. He says that they don’t have a huge sticky factor. While I agree that drugs do not have a huge sticky factor in some kids, I think there are more productive things for kids to do other than illegal drugs. He even makes the point that some kids were experimenting with suicide and were successful in their experimentation. There is absolutely nothing productive to come out of that. I feel the same way about underage smoking, drinking, and drugs. He makes the point, too that kids smoke because the cool people smoke. Again, I agree that kids have a measure of that peer pressure and wanting to fit in with certain crowds and be like certain people, but why on earth would we promote something that is illegal and destructive?

Other than the last few paragraphs, I thought this was a terrific book, filled with a ton of insight into how you can create a movement. There is a ton of research and examples that Gladwell draws from. So if you are contemplating starting a movement, pick up the book.

It's Go Time!!!

About 6 or 7 years ago, I worked for Carquest Auto Parts as a store manager. While I was there, I formed some great working relationships with quite a few customers. One of the customers, Tim, was a self-employed mechanic that had built a huge garage on his property and mostly did mechanic work for a masonry and concrete company, but also did general mechanic work. Tim was a GREAT guy, very loyal, hard-working (he also did a paper route early mornings) and a family man. Tim had a few projects in his yard as well. He had an old Jeep Wagoneer, and some other things.

But there was one project that really caught my eye. He had a 1953 Chevrolet Carryall or Suburban. I had heard him talk about his old Suburban a few times, I didn't even know they existed, so I made a trip to his shop to see this thing. This was perhaps the coolest old truck I had ever seen. It was a bit rough, but an Arizona rust-free vehicle. Tim had plans to put a 4-wheel drive chassis underneath it and make it a Grave Digger type of machine. I, on the other hand, had visions of a street rod with a powerful engine and a low stance, but to each their own.

So months went by, and I would ask Tim occasionally about the Suburban, but he had not so much as even touched it. Finally, one day he came to me and said, "My wife wants all of my projects gone. I want to give you first shot at the Suburban if you want it. $300 and it is yours." No brainer. I went to the ATM, got him the cash and was at his house within the week with a flatbed and some winches.

It has some issues: Body is rough, rear end is locked up, interior is shot, and there is no engine. But it has a TON of potential. I have seen this era Carryalls sell for $80,000!!!

Fast-forward to last night, and the Barrett Jackson auction is on the Speed Channel, and I just cannot get that Suburban out of my head. I haven't touched it since I got it, and I need to. It is being stored at my dad's house at the moment because he has the space, so I gave him a call. I told him that it is time to get going on this thing. He got excited, and we started to formulate a plan to get working on it. I am hoping that I can have it on the road sometime this year.

The plans are to get an S-10 longbed frame to put under it to get it rolling. I have an airbag suspension already for it, as well as a fuel injected LT-1 and automatic transmission out of a 94 Z-28 waiting to be installed. once I get those in, the body will be attacked and finished. The body is rough, but can be driven that way. I just need to get the drivetrain done so I can.

Needless to say, I am excited about getting this thing rolling finally! It has been a long time coming. I want to take a cruise to Tim's house and let him take it for a spin!

Inadequacy

This last week I was at a winter camp with 450+ high school students, adult leaders, pastors and other helpers. It was a week I will remember for a long, long time. The two things that I usually am pretty particular about in retreats and camps are the worship and the speaker. To me, those two have the most potential for impact of any other thing at camp. Those are also the two things that I have control over in my own church setting. I am the one leading worship and preaching, and although I am not particularly great at either one, I hold a high standard for both.

So, as soon as we get there, we get checked into our rooms, and we are off to the chapel for round one of worship and preaching. I had previous experience, albeit brief, with the worship leader, and had never heard the speaker previously. My experience with the worship leader was not the most positive experience, and I was not expecting great things from the band. But I had made the decision before I left home that I was not going to let past experiences stop what God could do in this camp, and I am glad I did.

In the very first session, it became very clear that the band was not there to perform or to have a sing-a-long, they were there to worship. It was a breath of fresh air. The presence of God was very evident, and the Holy Spirit was moving powerfully, and we had just barely gotten off of the bus! In later conversations with band members and the worship leaders I could very clearly see that they were there to worship, and there was no other agendas involved.

Next came the speaker, Josh Riebock. This guy right off the bat reminded me of a clean Dane Cook. (Hard to imagine, I know) But he was hilarious! He had us laughing and crying and laughing again. Just when we were totally engaged, he shared some of Jesus' parables in a modern, relevant way, and applied them in a way that made everybody in the place do some soul searching. The first night he talked about listening to God. Night Two was about the Prodigal Son, his brother, shame, pride and confession, which led to great conversation with my high school guys.

Then came the last night. Josh was so honest, transparent and vulnerable. He was in tears at times, telling his story of loss and trying to find God in the midst of his brokenness. I found myself crying as if it were me that was the one that was broken. And then I realized that I was. I am broken. I am in need of my Savior. I cannot go a breath without Him, and the realization of that truth hit me. I knew that I would never be the same again. We had the most impactful time of ministry that night with our group of 50. We were all in tears as our students shared some of their brokenness and hurt. It was a great time, and for most, the best part of camp. But for me, the best was yet to come.

The last morning we got up, ate, and headed to the chapel one more time. Worship began, and I was in the back of the room. We sang a few upbeat songs that were fun and catchy tunes. Then we sang a song by Phil Wickham called Cielo. I had not heard the song until this weekend, and I fell in love. The chorus said, "I can't sing loud enough...when I'm singing for You my God," followed by the second chorus, "I can't bow low enough...at the vision of You my God," before the final chorus, "I can't lift my hands high enough...when I'm reaching for You my God." This resonated in my spirit so much that I was completely overwhelmed to the point of dropping to my knees and the tears streaming violently down my cheeks.

What I realized in that moment is something I have felt many times before, and I hope becomes a constant reality daily, and that is that I cannot give God a.) all he deserves, and b.) all I want to give Him. We will never be able to repay Him, I have resigned myself to that truth. But when I was in that moment, I realized that I couldn't sing loud enough, bow low enough or reach high enough when I am in the presence of God. I feel so inadequate when I worship. I feel like I want to give him is a stack of $100 bills, and all I have is a stack of coins.

And as I type this, I am reminded of the woman that gave two bits to the temple offering and the church folk scoffed. I may not have all that I want, but I will give all that I have.

Book Review: The Purpose of Man: Designed to Worship by A.W. Tozer

I read The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer about six months ago and I fell in love with the author. It was a no-frills type of book that left me wanting to truly pursue God more actively in my life. It was definitely one of the best reads of 2011 for me. So, I was intrigued by some of his author books, and I absolutely love the topic of worship, so the marriage of the two seemed like a match made in heaven for me, and I had some pretty high hopes for the book.

As I began the book, there were a few things that Tozer writes that I do not see eye-to-eye with him on, but I continued the read. Tozer seems, to me, very serious about worship, but also very serious about the style of worship. His opinion is that there needs to be a definite line between worship in the church and popular culture. The two shall not meet. I am not sure if that was a cultural thing 50 years ago, or if it is a testament to his intimacy with God, or if it was simply his unwavering opinion. Either way, I disagree with his opinion, and that is fine, but it gave me a different view of the man that is A.W. Tozer.

The gold in the book, to me, is in the final chapter, where he discusses how to be a worshiper. Tozer tells us throughout the book that our primary purpose, and maybe even sole purpose, is to be a worshiper of God. Everything else in life should stem from that. He indicates that this needs to be the primary purpose of our churches as well. I can totally agree with this, because there are way too many churches that are in the business of entertaining just until the sermon is preached, and worship never is accomplished. I believe that churches across the nation are lacking the power that is available to them, and the access to that power is found through worship.

Finally, Tozer challenges us to be worshipers. He encourages us to take the Bible, a notebook and a hymnal into our worship times with God. Singing songs to God, adoring Him, praising and worshiping Him can really set the stage for some incredible times with Him.

All in all, I like this book a lot, and will read it again some time in my life. I “chewed up the meat and spit out the bones,” especially in regards to Tozer’s stance on popular culture vs. the church, but it doesn’t detract from the fact that the purpose for us is to worship, and we must do what it takes to get ourselves to that purpose.

Is it Thanksgiving Day yet?

I love Thanksgiving. It is not my favorite holiday as that is occupied by Christmas, but I still love Thanksgiving. My wife's family does a big celebration and it is a great time of family, fellowship, football and food.

The food is always great, and my mother-in-law always goes all-out, and she even makes a few things that she knows I like, so how can I not like that? Our responsibility is the pies, which is probably my favorite Thanksgiving Day food, so I have complete control over my Thanksgiving meal satisfaction.

The football is great, too, except when the two day games are blowouts, and I am driving home during the third and final game. But hey, its football!!!

The family and fellowship is usually pretty great as well. I have a bit in common with my in-laws, so the conversation is usually something I can contribute to and also get something out of. The older I get, the more and more I appreciate the presence of family, and I do not take the family times for granted.

But what really makes the day for me is the name of the day, Thanksgiving. I love reflecting on and sharing with others what I am truly thankful for. In fact, this year, as we were driving home, my wife, my 5-year-old and I each took turns saying what we were thankful for. It was a fun exchange, and included some very superficial things as well as some pretty deep things as well, and not just from the adults. I came to really appreciate this exercise, and will most definitely be doing this again next year on our drive home.

But as I was reading in Ephesians last night, I was challenged. Thanksgiving should be EVERY day. Sure, the food won't be the same, the pies won't always be there, football will be over in a few months (I am also thankful for NFL Network), and large family gatherings do not happen each day. But every day we can be thankful. The art of appreciation has faded from the repertoire of most Americans. We have forgotten how to say thanks. We have forgotten how to be thankful. But the good news is that we can return to thankfulness. In fact, Paul tells us in Ephesians that we should be "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything." (Ephesians 5:20)

Thanksgiving should also be used as a replacement strategy, according to Paul. In Ephesians 5:3-4 Paul tells us, "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving."

Instead of sexual immorality, impurity, greed, obscenities, foolish talking, or coarse joking, we should replace all of those with thanksgiving. If you are anything like me, you could write a book with all of the things you could and should be thankful for. God has given us so much and the very least that we can do is to tell Him that we appreciate those things, but also that we appreciate Him.

So, while we wait another 11 months for the day we call Thanksgiving to roll around, let us practice the ritual of Thanksgiving every day.

New Years Resolutions?!?

Okay, so here is the obligatory New Years Day post....

I have never been huge on New Years Resolutions. I am blessed to not be overweight. I am in ok shape. I could eat better and exercise more, and that is always on the table, but I don't really have any huge things that I need to resolve to accomplish.

I do, however, have some goals for this upcoming year. But before I get into that, I heard a very interesting concept surrounding New Years Resolutions. Many people set them and many people fail at them. (Which is probably why I do not set them) So instead of having goals to reach, or maybe just in addition to goals, have a theme set for the upcoming year. Themes such as "deeper," where the goal is to deepen relationships with the people in your life and with God. Maybe the theme is "stronger," or "generosity," or "patience," but whatever it is, it is much easier to attain a theme than it is specific goals. When goals aren't met, the atitude of failure kicks in, and since most people don't like failure, the goals gets left behind. With a theme, it isn't pass/fail, but rather just be and do. I like that.

That being said, one of my themes will be below (see number four), but here are my 2012 goals:

One: Read more. I have set a fairly high goal of reading 50 books between Christmas 2011 and New Years Day 2013. I am usually a 10 book a year guy, so this really ups the ante quite a bit. I am doing this because I do not have the drive, money, or time to go back to school, but I want to learn. Reading books allows me to do this and to be a bit more selective about what it is I get to learn about. Besides, I never really thrived in college, and my wife needs to finish her degree before I even consider a Master's degree.

Two: Write more. This is even a more daunting task for me to consider. I despised English classes in school, and I never was great at communicating my thoughts through writing. My wife, on the other hand, excels at this. I am much better at talking about things and expressing myself that way. But since I do not have an audience at all hours of the day, I feel that a good outlet for me to help retain what I am learning, and also sharpen my skills, is writing. So, this is as good a place as any to hone that skill.

Three: Read through the Bible. I have not done this in a year since college, although I have read the Bible a few times since college. I do not plan on following a reading schedule, but rather reading something every day that has an impact on me. I plan on reading until I get something out of it, put it down, and pick it up the next day and read until I get something out of it, and keep repeating this 366 times. My hope is that I get through the entire Bible, but I will not be entirely upset if it doesn't happen.

Four: Be more intentionally generous. God has blessed me, and not just for me. I need to be more generous with my resources, and that doesn't mean money. I have joy, peace, time, ears to listen, advice, compassion and many other things that I can give away on a daily basis, and I have failed miserably doing so. This year I would like to change that.

Happy New Year!!!! I believe that 2012 is going to be a good one!!!