I was watching a new show last week- "I Get That A Lot." It's one of those hidden camera shows where at the end, the people get all embarrassed in front of the camera.
Have you had that feeling-that something's so ironic, there must be a hidden camera around to capture your reaction? Once in awhile I'll be reading a verse or passage in the Bible and something will jump out at me, so applicable to my life or exactly what I need to read. Every time it happens I think about these hidden camera shows. (Now I'm picturing Jesus popping out from behind a door and said "Gotcha! You're on TV!" ...)
Anyway, all that to say I read something yesterday that hit me square in the eyes. I've been reading through the Bible Chronologically; I just finished off 2 Samuel, and was struck by this passage:
1 Once again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the Lord told him.
2 So the king said to Joab and the commanders[a] of the army, “Take a census of all the tribes of Israel—from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south—so I may know how many people there are.”
3 But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?”
4 But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab and the commanders of the army went out to count the people of Israel.
10 But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.”
11 The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message: 12 “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”
14 “I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.”
15 So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days.[e] A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south. 16 But as the angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
I don't really understand the significance of some of this, but it reminded me that numbers aren't always important. Maybe that's not the point of the passage; it was just so crazy to me to be praying about focusing on relationships instead of numbers during MPD, and then I read this passage.
So, I there's a loose application of this passage to my daily life (and I'm sure I could go more in depth if I knew my Biblical history better). But what also struck me was David's attitude at the end of the chapter:
17 When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.”
18 That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19 So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him. 20 When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. 21 “Why have you come, my lord the king?” Araunah asked.
David replied, “I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.”
22 “Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. 23 I will give it all to you, Your Majesty, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice.”
24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver[f] for the threshing floor and the oxen.
25 David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.
Wow. I will not present an offering to the Lord that costs me nothing. That verse needs no explanation.
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Worship & Creativity
Yesterday I had the privilege of attending an all-day satellite worship seminar in Sioux Falls from The Green Room; A Place Where Artists Gather. Speakers included Nancy Ortberg, DeWitt Jones, Nancy Beach, Ross Parsley, Efrem Smith, Dan Allender.
Wow, was it good! I thought I was going to learn about leading a worship team. I was secretly hoping for specifics, like how to select appropriate biblical songs, leading a team of different generations and musical styles and views, how to handle conflict. While there were elements of each of these woven into the different messages, I learned a much better lesson.
My strategic, business mind is so focused on the right song with the right words and the right number of verses and chori that I leave no room for creativity. Not only is there no room, I wouldn't let it in if there was! I am detail oriented, which is a huge asset when you're talking about implementing a plan and uniting a group of people for with one purpose. I can lead a team of musicians and a congregation in song. But to try to create an environment where people can enter into the presence of God in spirit and in truth is something I cannot do. Yet.
The first speaker, DeWitt Jones, is an award-winning National Geographic photographer and KOABD (Kind Of A Big Deal. Yes I just made up that acronym). Not until college did I realize that I have creativity. I actually can be a creative person. DeWitt's message was a huge encouragement to me when I think about all the aspirations and dreams that are important to me. I have to "fill my cup" by doing things I love so the creativity will flow. I've been ingrained with the belief that art isn't important because it doesn't make you money; the freedom that comes in college led me to discover creativity within myself - and to enjoy it!
Stay tuned; much more about this seminar to come!
Wow, was it good! I thought I was going to learn about leading a worship team. I was secretly hoping for specifics, like how to select appropriate biblical songs, leading a team of different generations and musical styles and views, how to handle conflict. While there were elements of each of these woven into the different messages, I learned a much better lesson.
My strategic, business mind is so focused on the right song with the right words and the right number of verses and chori that I leave no room for creativity. Not only is there no room, I wouldn't let it in if there was! I am detail oriented, which is a huge asset when you're talking about implementing a plan and uniting a group of people for with one purpose. I can lead a team of musicians and a congregation in song. But to try to create an environment where people can enter into the presence of God in spirit and in truth is something I cannot do. Yet.
The first speaker, DeWitt Jones, is an award-winning National Geographic photographer and KOABD (Kind Of A Big Deal. Yes I just made up that acronym). Not until college did I realize that I have creativity. I actually can be a creative person. DeWitt's message was a huge encouragement to me when I think about all the aspirations and dreams that are important to me. I have to "fill my cup" by doing things I love so the creativity will flow. I've been ingrained with the belief that art isn't important because it doesn't make you money; the freedom that comes in college led me to discover creativity within myself - and to enjoy it!
Stay tuned; much more about this seminar to come!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Vespers.
For the last three years, I've played acoustic guitar/sang for Vespers, an hour of contemporary information worship at my church every Sunday night during the school year. Mainly college students attend, but we do pull in a few adults from the working world once in awhile.
As long as I can remember, I've wanted to be part of a band. Thus far, the dreams that actually have come to fruition in my life, whether small or large, haven't played out like I originally thought they would. The 'band' dream is no different.
This week God showed me how much I've grown in the last few years by being part of the Vespers band- both in my musical ability and my attitude towards leading worship. There were weeks in college that I'd play my guitar for 10+ hours, including church, Cru and Vespers worship times, and practicing for all of those things. My junior year I probably logged over 200 hours playing my guitar, most of which was during group practices. I'm quick to admit I'm not real great, but I'm a whole lot better than when I started, that's for sure.
But even more than my growing ability, my attitude toward musical worship has greatly changed. While originally I wanted to join the Vespers Band just to make music and be apart of the band with some cool people (and also to worship God, but that reason was smaller than the others), I find myself now not really caring about my personal enjoyment or any type of gain from the time of worship. It's about God, and providing an opportunity for others to worship God. Sometimes I just pick up my guitar and worship God in the privacy of my own home, but not everyone can do that. It's my hope that Vespers is a blessing for those who connect with God through musical worship (which is way above another other option on my chart, so typically I do really enjoy it!)
I had a weird ear issue last week in which I couldn't really hear the band at all, but I sang and played anyway, with the hope that people would be able to connect with God, even if I couldn't feel His presence like I usually do. But despite being able to hear well, I felt His presence there without a doubt. Sometimes it seems the only constant thing in life is that God will work unexpectedly!
As long as I can remember, I've wanted to be part of a band. Thus far, the dreams that actually have come to fruition in my life, whether small or large, haven't played out like I originally thought they would. The 'band' dream is no different.
This week God showed me how much I've grown in the last few years by being part of the Vespers band- both in my musical ability and my attitude towards leading worship. There were weeks in college that I'd play my guitar for 10+ hours, including church, Cru and Vespers worship times, and practicing for all of those things. My junior year I probably logged over 200 hours playing my guitar, most of which was during group practices. I'm quick to admit I'm not real great, but I'm a whole lot better than when I started, that's for sure.
But even more than my growing ability, my attitude toward musical worship has greatly changed. While originally I wanted to join the Vespers Band just to make music and be apart of the band with some cool people (and also to worship God, but that reason was smaller than the others), I find myself now not really caring about my personal enjoyment or any type of gain from the time of worship. It's about God, and providing an opportunity for others to worship God. Sometimes I just pick up my guitar and worship God in the privacy of my own home, but not everyone can do that. It's my hope that Vespers is a blessing for those who connect with God through musical worship (which is way above another other option on my chart, so typically I do really enjoy it!)
I had a weird ear issue last week in which I couldn't really hear the band at all, but I sang and played anyway, with the hope that people would be able to connect with God, even if I couldn't feel His presence like I usually do. But despite being able to hear well, I felt His presence there without a doubt. Sometimes it seems the only constant thing in life is that God will work unexpectedly!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
why do people stay with/leave a church?
Taken from churchrelevance.com:
QUESTION:
Do you have any statistics that show the top 5 reasons why people stay or connect with a church? - Debbie :: California
ANSWER:
In recent years, there have been several research studies hoping to discover what motivates church attendance. I previously blogged about research from LifeWay Research and Gallup. Both of those studies offer good insights but can be general.
My favorite resource on the topic is Thom S. Ranier’s book Surprising Insights from the Unchurched. It discusses the following three surveys.
Top 13 Reasons that Unchurched People Choose a Church
(research conducted by Ranier)
1. 90% - Pastor/Preaching
2. 88% - Doctrines
3. 49% - Friendliness of Members
4. 42% - Other Issues
5. 41% - Someone Church Witnessed to Me
6. 38% - Family Member
7. 37% - Sensed God’s Presence/Atmosphere of Church
8. 25% - Relationship Other than Family Member
9. 25% - Sunday School Class
10. 25% - Children’s/Youth Ministry
11. 12% - Other Groups/Ministries
12. 11% - Worship Style/Music
13. 7% - Location
Top 9 Reasons that Church-Attenders Choose a Church
(research conducted by the Barna Group in 1999)
1. 58% - Doctrine/Theology
2. 53% - People Caring for Each Other
3. 52% - Preaching
4. 45% - Friendliness
5. 45% - Children’s Programs
6. 43% - Helping the Poor
7. 36% - Denomination
8. 35% - Like the Pastor
9. 26% - Sunday School
QUESTION:
Do you have any statistics that show the top 5 reasons why people stay or connect with a church? - Debbie :: California
ANSWER:
In recent years, there have been several research studies hoping to discover what motivates church attendance. I previously blogged about research from LifeWay Research and Gallup. Both of those studies offer good insights but can be general.
My favorite resource on the topic is Thom S. Ranier’s book Surprising Insights from the Unchurched. It discusses the following three surveys.
Top 13 Reasons that Unchurched People Choose a Church
(research conducted by Ranier)
1. 90% - Pastor/Preaching
2. 88% - Doctrines
3. 49% - Friendliness of Members
4. 42% - Other Issues
5. 41% - Someone Church Witnessed to Me
6. 38% - Family Member
7. 37% - Sensed God’s Presence/Atmosphere of Church
8. 25% - Relationship Other than Family Member
9. 25% - Sunday School Class
10. 25% - Children’s/Youth Ministry
11. 12% - Other Groups/Ministries
12. 11% - Worship Style/Music
13. 7% - Location
Top 9 Reasons that Church-Attenders Choose a Church
(research conducted by the Barna Group in 1999)
1. 58% - Doctrine/Theology
2. 53% - People Caring for Each Other
3. 52% - Preaching
4. 45% - Friendliness
5. 45% - Children’s Programs
6. 43% - Helping the Poor
7. 36% - Denomination
8. 35% - Like the Pastor
9. 26% - Sunday School
Friday, June 05, 2009
theology.
The last few days I've really been missing a few people and things in my life- one being involvement in leading worship in a corporate setting. Leading worship is one time when I can always, always count on the presence of God in my life. Without fail, I always feel it, despite my nerves or my focus on the music.
I was getting ready for a social gathering tonight with a few friends when I started thinking about this, and Sunday morning worship at my church. As I combed my hair, I started praying for the Spirit to move through the congregation in a new way. I prayed that hearts would be surrendered before God, and those in attendance would be able to focus on Christ and not the feeling they may get from worship.
I don't usually pray days before I help lead a worship service, but for some reason I started to. I thanked God for worship, and other things in my life that I love. Then I started thinking about His mercy, and His grace, and I found myself thanking Him that I can't earn my way to Him. And I thought, I don't know that ever I've thanked Him for it that out of a theological understanding of it...if that makes any sense. A system in which I would have to earn God's love for me makes no sense- there isn't any way I could ever do enough for Him that would make me worthy of His love.
I've never been very "theological." I don't typically think the way others do, especially in talking about theological concepts. But lately I've thoroughly enjoyed digging into God's Word and truly understanding some tough concepts in Scripture. I love it when theology comes up in a conversation with God. And I love making it a bigger part of my life.
I was getting ready for a social gathering tonight with a few friends when I started thinking about this, and Sunday morning worship at my church. As I combed my hair, I started praying for the Spirit to move through the congregation in a new way. I prayed that hearts would be surrendered before God, and those in attendance would be able to focus on Christ and not the feeling they may get from worship.
I don't usually pray days before I help lead a worship service, but for some reason I started to. I thanked God for worship, and other things in my life that I love. Then I started thinking about His mercy, and His grace, and I found myself thanking Him that I can't earn my way to Him. And I thought, I don't know that ever I've thanked Him for it that out of a theological understanding of it...if that makes any sense. A system in which I would have to earn God's love for me makes no sense- there isn't any way I could ever do enough for Him that would make me worthy of His love.
I've never been very "theological." I don't typically think the way others do, especially in talking about theological concepts. But lately I've thoroughly enjoyed digging into God's Word and truly understanding some tough concepts in Scripture. I love it when theology comes up in a conversation with God. And I love making it a bigger part of my life.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
worship.
I took a test on the badlands summer project that evaluated the different ways I connect with God. The highest score was worship. I've always liked music, and I had just learned how to play guitar that year, but worship being the top on the list was a little surprising to me.
Over the last few years I've had the chance to participate in and lead in many worship bands comprised of different people, with different personalities and leadership styles. I've thought about worship a lot in the last couple weeks, mainly because I purposely didn't bring my guitar down to Florida with me. Aside from all I need to learn about Crusade, theology, the Bible and support raising, I'm expecting to learn a lot about myself while here. I think I'm a pretty self-aware person, but I'd like to know myself better.
So, one of these ways is to consider my heart and passion for worship. Why do I love playing guitar and singing, and music in general? Why do I like to lead others in music? Why is it that I feel closest to God through worship? I haven't been able to connect with God as sincerely during worship here at training. Why is that? I don't want to fall into the habit of critiquing worship bands. (Though it's already a struggle! and I don't even know much at all about music and leading bands!) How can I prepare my heart and mind to connect with God in worship when I don't particularly like the style? It's not my place to judge the singers or musicians (or their hair, or clothes...small glimpse into my shallowness).
A bible study I'm in back home went through a book called "Crazy Love" last fall. It was written by Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA. I could tangent into the greatness of the book right now but I won't. His views on life and surrender were so fresh and true to me. I looked him up online and since then I've been listening to some podcasts from him, and his church members, who've preached sermons there. Point of this information: one recent sermon was about worship. The speaker was the church's worship leader, who defined worship as choosing to authentically respond to the person and character of God. His main points were:
Over the last few years I've had the chance to participate in and lead in many worship bands comprised of different people, with different personalities and leadership styles. I've thought about worship a lot in the last couple weeks, mainly because I purposely didn't bring my guitar down to Florida with me. Aside from all I need to learn about Crusade, theology, the Bible and support raising, I'm expecting to learn a lot about myself while here. I think I'm a pretty self-aware person, but I'd like to know myself better.
So, one of these ways is to consider my heart and passion for worship. Why do I love playing guitar and singing, and music in general? Why do I like to lead others in music? Why is it that I feel closest to God through worship? I haven't been able to connect with God as sincerely during worship here at training. Why is that? I don't want to fall into the habit of critiquing worship bands. (Though it's already a struggle! and I don't even know much at all about music and leading bands!) How can I prepare my heart and mind to connect with God in worship when I don't particularly like the style? It's not my place to judge the singers or musicians (or their hair, or clothes...small glimpse into my shallowness).
A bible study I'm in back home went through a book called "Crazy Love" last fall. It was written by Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA. I could tangent into the greatness of the book right now but I won't. His views on life and surrender were so fresh and true to me. I looked him up online and since then I've been listening to some podcasts from him, and his church members, who've preached sermons there. Point of this information: one recent sermon was about worship. The speaker was the church's worship leader, who defined worship as choosing to authentically respond to the person and character of God. His main points were:
- A Choice
-we have the decision to make: will we connect with God or will we stand in a worship service, with the appearance that we care while our hearts are not engaged?
-theological understanding and practical application meet here - Authenticity
-God knows the heart
-Raising hands and clapping doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the condition of someone's heart (he was saying this from the perspective of leading worship) - Response
-The more we know God, the better we will be able to respond.
-Worship is always the response of seeing God.
-We mirror what we worship. If your wedding is all you talk about, is it becoming an idol? If every conversation you are in turns back to your new laptop you just bought, are you possibly worshipping that? (I hope that makes sense; Obviously a new bride or engaged woman is going to talk about her wedding a lot).
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
TCX '05
First, let me say that TCX is the winter conference of Campus Crusade for Christ. There are 10 conferences all over the US- places like San Deigo, Spokane WA, DC, Atlanta, Denver- over 10,000 students participate total. At TCX [twin-cities xperience] 1400 college students in the upper midwest-IA, SD, ND, MN, WI- got together for four days at the Hilton in Minneapolis to go to seminars, listen to speakers, worship, pray and grow!! It's sweet. There. My schpeel is now complete.
Second, I've actually been avoiding blogging about the conference. There is so much to tell! About halfway through the 4 days I remember saying the trip was worth it, but I had more fun the year before. WRONG! I had just as much fun, probably even more. And I learned a lot, too. I learned that I focus too much on the future, and I'm missing what's happening right now. I'm focusing too much on summer project and what I could do after graduation that I am missing the relationships I could be building now and women I could be influencing on my floor.
I learned that I have not been leading with a heart of worship last semester, of which I am very regretful. Being put in the position of leading worship for CRU has been awesome and I love doing, but God showed me that I really was not revealing my heart in doing so. I was too concerned with practices, equipment problems & nerves to truly worship Him. God is so faithful that He continues to teach me something new every day.
Second, I've actually been avoiding blogging about the conference. There is so much to tell! About halfway through the 4 days I remember saying the trip was worth it, but I had more fun the year before. WRONG! I had just as much fun, probably even more. And I learned a lot, too. I learned that I focus too much on the future, and I'm missing what's happening right now. I'm focusing too much on summer project and what I could do after graduation that I am missing the relationships I could be building now and women I could be influencing on my floor.
I learned that I have not been leading with a heart of worship last semester, of which I am very regretful. Being put in the position of leading worship for CRU has been awesome and I love doing, but God showed me that I really was not revealing my heart in doing so. I was too concerned with practices, equipment problems & nerves to truly worship Him. God is so faithful that He continues to teach me something new every day.