It is Crazy around here these days it is hard to believe I will be leaving the town I have called home all of my life in just two more days. I am excited to start this new chapter and I am grateful for the opportunity.

I ask for prayer. My family is stressed and I am stressed and so there is no one to help calm us down so we have been pretty mean to each other the last few days…haha….

I have boxes everywhere and can barely move around but it is all good

I will post pics at some point

Chris Day has a friend that is putting out an experimental blog

go HERE

So I have officially accepted a position at a Church in Greenville SC.

I will be the Next Generation Pastor. This position will cover Youth, Children and Education Depts. The idea is that I will equip the Church to move and thrive into the next generation. Youth and Children are the leaders of the next Generation and I will be charged with Educating the current Generation on how to develop them.

I am excited scared and worried. This is my first full time position and I have such strong ideas about what I want to do but at the same time I have to remember to allow myself to learn as well.

I have never heard something this silly sounding

Story

I was supposed to be posting a youtube video of my last worship set with the youth praise band at our church. It was an amazing day but alas my friend forgot the camera so I have no video.

I have been working with this group off an on over two years amounting to the sum of about 16 months.  These last 4 or five months I have trained an adult leader to be the  new guitar player  a high schooler to be the new bass player and refined the middle schooler that I had taught drums into a more consistent musician and two middle school students to backup me up singing.

Sunday morning was my masterpiece. My pastor told me that. After I thought about it it made sense. A masterpiece is a culmination of all one’s work, effort, sacrifice and energies into one great work. And Sunday certainly was. I saw a group of 5 people not counting myself do something that five months ago would have been impossible. THey came together with one voice and one sound and lead God’s people to the throne in worship. It was AWESOME. I can’t brag on them enough. I was so proud I literally was shaking, the regular worship leader was so impressed with our drum he asked him to join the adult band next week.

I am at best a sporadic blogger.

At least for the time being.

The truth is I am getting closer and closer to starting a new ministry position and I have no doubt (should time permit that I will have much more to think about.

Today what is on my mind is the same thing that has been on my mind for two weeks now, MOVING. I am packing up my house and venturing into all the corners that have long been forgotten and neglected by myself and my family. I have found some very interesting things as well as some odd and disgusting things.

I have wondered as I reflected on this phenomenon, if that is the way our lives become. As we neglect our spiritual side do we collect cobwebs. As we ignore our shortcomings, or worse, outright sins and try to hide them in the recesses of our minds do they cause more and more damage that we can’t detect. Until one day we are attacked by a problem.  Is this what happens to so many pastors who fall and fail spiritually. We must be on guard constantly and keep our corners clean and tidy.

I have been a musician most of my life and there was a period when all I wanted in the world was to be a professional Christian artist.  As I got older I lost touch with that desire. I did not, however, put down my instrument, a guitar by the way. I led worship for my various youth groups but deep down leading worship did not satisfy that “God calling” burning in my heart.

When I took my first church as a youth pastor, it was quickly recognized that I could help update the church’s worship style with my experience, and soon found myself as the Youth AND Worship Pastor. It wasn’t long and I began to be asked why I didn’t just focus on music. I was told repeatedly by numerous individuals that I possessed a unique talent for worship leading. There was a problem though…..I didn’t feel the way they perceived me. What really got me going was teaching, hanging out with, befriending , counseling and mentoring teens, still does BTW.  But people didn’t understand.  I can remember an associate  pastor getting angry with me because I refused to admit that I was called to be a full time worship leader, and he confused me.

Let’s set the record straight. My voice is average at best, I play rhythm guitar and do nothing special or spectacular with it, just basic chords and I don’t have a really dramatic flair when I sing or play. Usually I just stand with my eyes fixed on the sheet music or chord charts or with my eyes closed. So where was all this laud for being a “talented” worship leader coming from? What made me so special in other people’s eyes?

I recently was encouraged by studying the life of David. Here was a man who was as talented a musician as ever was. He wrote beautiful  songs to the Lord and played beautifully, so much so even the king wanted him to play for himself.  But despite all that God had called David to be something else, KING.  But what made David so great in his worship? What was that spark? The answers for him and for me are the same. PASSION!!

What people see on stage is not me trying to lead them to worship. I don’t “create” a worship experience. Once we get the technicals down with the band and I stand on stage I don’t worry if people are following or not. See the thing that I believe get people is that when I get up and sing or play I am truly worshiping. I am totally and hopelessly fixed on GOD my GOD, Lord, SAVIOR, and Friend. The passion the burns within, the love that is kindle inside my heart overflows. It is genuine. Same for David, he was so hopelessly in love with God he couldn’t stand it. His love exploded from his heart and no matter what his calling was or what he was doing he recognized that his GOD deserved his praise.  To that I say ditto.

It isn’t me “leading” people to worship it is people following me to God and recognizing the same thing that I do.  Should it not be that way in every Christians life?

Let me know what you think