Worship & Priorities

This afternoon I was driving my forklift at work (yes, I have a forklift license) and while I would normally drive the lift with two hands, ten-and-two, I was also sipping from my Tim Hortons’ coffee. When I went to take a sip from my cup, I (unconsciously) swapped my coffee from my left hand to right hand because it made the coffee easier to drink. Don’t ask me why, but I immediately asked myself (not out loud, that would be crazy) why I had made the coffee more important than driving a 3500 pound machine through the narrow halls of my warehouse. Without even thinking about it, I made drinking my coffee a priority over the safety of myself and the individuals running around the warehouse.

Since I also had been thinking about my future in ministry (I do my best thinking on forklifts) it was the insignificant thought of my coffee priority that made me think about priorities in my own worship experiences. Often my weekly worship habits can seem stale so I began to think of ways I can change my worship from driving left-handed to right-handed. Maybe I should do what Carrie Underwood does and just let Jesus Take the Wheel, but I digress…
These were just a few of the thoughts I had about my own experiences. maybe they won't ring a bell with anybody and maybe they'll ring very loud for others but these are simple things that I've been trying to teach myself as I try to sculpt and follow my own journey into full-time minstry.

Spiritual Connection over Musical Perfection: although I play a few different roles/instruments in my church’s worship ministry, when I’m acting as worship leader for a particular week I’m known as the “long practice” guy. In rehearsals, I’m the leader (there are three of us who volunteer to lead) who likes to make sure things sound good, transitions well, and the music is as tight as it can be. This often makes for a longer rehearsal time. I know the music will never be ‘perfect’ but I want it to sound its best. That, however, shouldn’t be my priority in rehearsal. The message, truth, and spirit behind the words of our worship should be what is most prominent in our songs. As a worship leader, if I’m so pre-occupied with thinking how sloppy my drummer is playing (or how sloppy I'm playing the drums), I’m probably not worrying too much about connecting to my God or directing the congregation toward giving any glory to their Creator.

I'm certainly not saying that musical integrity isn't important because it is. In the OT, even David & Solomon sent forth musicians ahead of their armies (1 Chronicles 25, 9:33) and had them present for some of the most important duties and events (2 Chronicles 5). I imagine those musicians took some time to work on their chops to play before their earthly kings. Playing excellently for the Lord doesn’t denote excellence in trade. It simply means giving over our gifts to the Lord with the best of our ability. That is what truly pleases God.

Christ-Centered not Listener Supported: Sometimes playing the same old songs can get a bit dull. Sometimes it’s nice to try and breathe new life into a tune that you’ve played a million times or rearrange a song you’ve only ever played once. Sometimes changing the cadence, feel, or groove of a particular song works really well; sometimes not. Either way, when you’re breathing new life into the musicality of a song make sure that you’re not sucking the life out of it. I’ve caught myself multiple times hoping to impress someone in the congregation by trying too hard to make a song sound cool, trying to over-arrange a song, or contemporize an older song to appease the grey-hairs in the pews. I sometimes need to remind myself that making folks in the congregation happy with the style/genre/volume of a song does not take priority over the depth of its message. The song isn’t about what I think people want to hear. Rather, the sweet sound it makes in God’s ear.
“In writing or leading worship songs, we should never sacrifice clarity on the altar of creativity.” – Bob Kauflin (@bkauflin)


Meaning not Weaning: I think it’s almost essential to have at least one hymn in every set. Just because the song is found in a dusty old book in the pew doesn’t mean it’s outdated. In fact, most hymns have more meaning to our culture now than they ever have! At my own church, it sometimes seems the older songs (particularly a lot of hymns) need a Red Bull or two to sound applicable to the rest of the set. For example, I once heard a (very poor) reggae version of "Tis So Sweet" right after a slow worship song. So, while adding some energy or creativity to an old chorus or hymn is useful at times, it’s important not to take away from the true, pure theology that the songs contain and the heart-felt worship it stirs.

I never want to try and wean the church off the tradition found in the Church’s hymns. Their meaning is so vital to our history, both spiritually and musically, that we need to remember it’s not the sound of the song that takes the priority… it’s the profound statement it makes.


Written Word over Verbal Turd: As a worship leader, I’ve often tried to fill the gaps between songs with verbal tidbits and pieces of self-taught wisdom. At times, this has become more a case of verbal diarrhea more than anything of spiritual relevance. I read another tweet by Bob Kaughlin once saying “The word of God evokes the worship of God”. I took that one to heart and made it a priority to read from God’s Word over anything (un)interesting I have to say; God's words are much better than our own. Make it an important part of your worship ministry to encourage and strengthen worshippers from the mouth of the One they’re singing to.


Count the Cost not the Number of Raised Hands: I often make a judgement of my own abilities of leading worship by the number of raised hands in the congregation. That's not a good thing to do. Whatever instrument/role I have on Sunday morning, I'm most downward to my instrument or upward to the posted lyrics on the back wall. While I don't entirely depends on doing this to play competently, I sometimes also look for the reactions of the worshippers below. Are they clapping? Are they raising their hands? Are they playing their Nintendo DS? In a previous post froma few months ago I drew attention to the sacrifices we need to make in order for our worship to be honest. we're probably not being honest with ourseleves and to God if we're preoccupied to the worship of others.


I realize there are more issues out there but am I missing anything obvious? Are their other priority changes worship we, as leaders, need to make?

Finding It Hard to Love Your Kids

For those that know me well, you’ll probably know I’m a pretty laid back person. However, that doesn’t mean I have the patience of a saint. Fact is, for certain things, I have little-to-no patience; long lineups, slow computers, traffic, and “know-it-alls”. But more than all of these things (to which most of us have no patience for anyway) is kids. I have no patience for rebellious, defiant, degenerate, kids and teenagers. Probably why God never called me to youth ministry. My own kids are not immune. Even though Noah & Aaron are both under the age of three, my patience can also sometimes wears thin with them. Now let me preface by saying I love my kids more than anything and I do not find it hard to love them. It was actually quite easy starting from the moment they were born. Being a father is a pure joy and totally rewarding. I mean that. But that doesn’t mean it’s all fun and games.

My two year old, Noah, is a bright, funny, and happy kid. We love him like crazy and he brings us all kinds of joy. However he’s at that stage in his life where he likes to test Mommy and Daddy’s warnings, gets into things he’s not supposed to, eat things he’s not supposed to, throws a temper when he doesn’t get his way, hits, and often does the complete opposite of what you ask him. Even my 6 month old, Aaron, can be a bit frustrating when all he wants is his mommy’s attention 24-hours a day. Now, all that being said, I do realize that these are stages that all children go through. All children. In fact, it’s these stages that help children learn crucial mental and emotional developmental skills and lessons. That doesn't mean it’s not discouraging, frustrating, or feel like just cause for murder.

Sometimes a learning process for Noah becomes a test of patience for daddy. There’s something in me that just doesn’t comprehend how one cannot learn and understand on initial counsel. Why does Noah still attempt to ride our dog, Morris, like a horse when he’s been told a million times not to? Why does he continue to throw his food on the floor when he’s not happy with the choice of condiment? Why can’t he just wake up one morning and decide to use the potty, doing away with diapers forever? Why not go to bed at 8pm and wake up at 8am like we’ve asked him to?
Is it a physical hearing problem? Of course not.
Is it selective hearing? Maybe.
Is he just a bad kid? Absolutely not.
Then what is it?

I was pondering all this the other day and asked myself, “why do I sometimes find it so hard to love my kids?”. I began to think of my own childhood/teenage years and I began to ask myself how my parents loved me through all the crap I had done. Multiple “principal’s office” visits, greediness, vanity, smoking cigarettes, stealing money from my dad’s underwear drawer, or any other selfish act I did out of spite. Yet, my parents still loved me then as much as they do now. How'd they get through it?!

Many times in the Bible, we’re identified not only as God’s creation (Gen 1:27) but His children (Rom 8:16); His kids (1 John 3:1). I began to think about how many times, as one of His children, I’ve disappointed God; how many times I’ve made God mad. David tells us in Psalm 7:11 that, “God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” Every day? Aw, man…
Yet, He loves us and He loves us like crazy. So much so, in fact, that he gave one of His own kids to prove it (John 3:16-17).

In my thoughts about being patient with my own kids, the Spirit directed me to Romans 5:8-9: "God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” Despite God’s disappointment toward me and you and everyone else, he figured the best way to show his absolute, head-over-heals love for us was to give a big piece of Himself so that we would not lose and end up being with Him in the end.

Even though we might make it hard for God to love us at times, He understands we’re only human. He understands that we’re still growing. Our listening skills are still being shaped and our sins are just another part of our learning curve; crucial mental and emotional developmental lessons in our journey to being more like His son, Jesus. Sound familiar?

I need to take this lesson to heart when dealing with my own kids. They are still in process and learning and developing the same ways as I did. Much like my parents loved me despite my actions, much like God loves me despite my actions, I too will love my kids despite their actions.

Even so, how could you not love these faces?!

6-month old, Aaron

2 (& 1/2) year old, Noah