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Passing The Rain Stick

I did something today that I have never done before. I passed the baton of leadership of the worship in our local church to a young woman that I have had the pleasure of discipling and mentoring for the better part of the past 16 years.

I say ‘passed the baton’ figuratively, of course, but I did actually bestow upon her my beloved rain stick, which was given to me 17 or 18 years ago by someone who told me “every shepherd needs a staff, every worship leader needs a rain stick.” Whenever I’ve looked at it over the years, it’s reminded me of the dual role worship leaders carry – shepherding our flocks, and finding creative ways of leading others into the presence of God, to see Him and to express His infinite worth.

Ruth Pingel is now our primary worship leader. We have seen this call emerging in Ruth for some time, and today was a great day of praying for her and releasing her into this further answering of the call of God on her life. She’s incredibly gifted and anointed by God, and I’m confident she will lead us into realms of worship that we’ve not yet experienced. Praise God!

I’ve had the privilege of leading worship here for over 18 years. For the past few years, I’ve had a great team of worship leaders to work with - Ruth, Bob Floyd, and Paul Shipman -and we will continue to lead as a team, with Ruth heading it up. Trey Allemang, one of our elders, will also work closely with Ruth and the team to closely link the governmental leadership of the house with the worship leadership of the house (a subject in and of itself, which I’ll be happy to expound on – just ask me!).

As for me, Ruth said it well this morning - I am not ‘retiring,’ but being released from local worship responsibilities so that I can better serve the needs of leaders, worship leaders, and congregations in other places, as well as here locally.

I will still be leading ‘tent of meeting’ morning worship/prayer three times a week here, and I’ll still be on the schedule here and there serving with our worship team. Most of my time will be devoted to continuing to be a father type of leader to worship leaders here locally and in other places. I think I will be doing more Bible teaching as well. We’ll see what develops.

Ruth did a great job today of leading us into worship. She pulled out a couple of my songs from a few years ago (I Am Free, Worthy Is The Lamb) as well as a new one she just wrote a few weeks ago (How Majestic Is Your Name), and led us in an extended time of prophetic worship and waiting on the Lord.

It was awesome, and along with the elders, I was aware that the mantle of responsibility and authority was passing to her in that moment, even though we’d not made it ‘official’ yet.

I had the privilege of speaking today, and I talked about Family, Government, and Legacy, before the elders, myself, and others prayed for Ruth.

Here’s a link to an outline of this message. Here’s a link to an audio recording of it.

 

I hope you had a great day with the Lord and His people. See what happened in worship all over the place at theworshipcommunity.com.

No Bad Hair Days

Does it sound egotistical to say that I don't have bad hair days?

I don't mean it that way - I just have hair that I don't have to mess with. If I keep it cut, I just wash it every day, dry it for 10 seconds, run my hand through it, it falls into place. I spray it a little to keep it there - boom, I'm done. I changed styles a few years ago - from swept backward to swept forward. I used to run my hand through it backwards, and it fell into place. So I started running my hand through it forward and it fell into place. Same process, same result.

Until now...

Now I'm experimenting, and I'm having some bad hair days. I want to look a little more 'today', while still acknowledging my eligibility for AARP membership. Now, it's not terrible, but by comparison, it's unpredictable, and I'm having to spend a little more time on it. I can't tell exactly what I want to do with my hair, so it doesn't just fall into place anymore. I know, though, that when I find something I like, I'll...well, I'll like it. It will have been worth the experimenting, bad hair days and all.

I think I'm at that same place with worship right now...

We're doing something in our corporate church worship times that's different for us - we're trying not to drive people out of the room with painfully high volume (I know, I know, it's brilliant - why didn't we think of this before!?). We're trying to hold it to a maximum decibel level of 85dBA. Most sources say it's safe to listen to this volume level for 8 continuous hours (and the music part of our worship hardly ever goes that long, so we should be in good shape!).

Now, that's a significantly lower volume level than we have typically run over the years. We're used to the rock concert feel, and having to shout at each other at lunch to cut through the leftover ringing in our ears. So this is real change for us, and we're experimenting a little, to figure out how to get the result we're after.

We are trying to bring our overall stage volume down --

•  I actually played my acoustic guitar Sunday with no monitor (I heard it 'acoustically'. Strange sensation).
• We didn't have a bass guitar this past week. 
• We're talking about doing without drums periodically (Lord, is this you?).  
• We're training our singers to really think about vocal blending, and trying other instrumental mixing, matching, and minimizing.

I think this is about more than worshiping more quietly...

First of all, we don't want less intensity, just a little less volume. We haven't suddenly become enlightened on the evil of amplified instruments. Its just that 1) We've gotten used to letting loudness signal (maybe sometimes substitute for) passion, and 2) It's just been way too loud!

So 'same process, same result' is not going to work for us right now. We have to find new ways of coming to the presence of God with real passion and intensity, without flipping the 'kick it up!' switch we're so used to. We can't see exactly how to do this yet, and so as we try new things, it may not all 'fall into place'. It's not terrible, but it's unpredictable, and we may have to spend a little more time on it.

But I know when we find something HE likes...we'll like it. Actually, I think God likes the fact that we're in the process, we're in pursuit of Him, and He will help us find new ways up the mountain.

And if we have a few 'bad hair' days in the meantime, so what? We're on a journey, we'll be okay!

Question: what area of your life do find God encouraging you to risk having 'bad hair' days in, for the sake of finding Him in new ways?

Your Gift & Your Life

I recently had the privilege of helping provide the music for the wedding of two young friends of mine, Jon and Bethany. They are a wonderful couple, both very gifted in music, both devoted to God and to serving His people, particularly in the area of leading worship. Their journey through friendship, courtship, and engagement was a joy to observe, as they have lived pure lives, and put God first in the choices and decisions they've made.

At the rehearsal, we worshipped and our pastor invited the presence of God. His presence began to fill the room, and the bride and groom were undone as the Lord began to minister to them. It was a beautiful, powerful moment.

A thought struck me as we were there together in the glory of God. As gifted and talented as Jon and Bethany are, the Lord was not there manifesting His presence because of their gifts and talents - they weren't playing, singing, or doing anything 'gifted' at the moment - He was present, glorifying Himself and making Himself known because the lives Jon and Bethany live are pleasing to Him. They have determined to seek God as their reward, and in that moment, He was rewarding them among their friends and family by being found. 

Here's the phrase that came to my mind -

Your gift will make room for you, but it's your life that will bring the glory of God.

Your gift and talent will cause people to notice you, and they'll make way for you, just like at the gift table at a wedding. If people are crowded around the table, when they see you coming with a gift for the bride and groom, they'll make room for you. But when the bride and groom are opening gifts, although they appreciate the stuff they get, what really blesses them is receiving those things from people they know and love.

People will make way for us to serve them when they see we are gifted, but what they really need - and what they are really hoping for - is the glory of God (God Himself to show up). That will happen, not if we can play the guiltar or sing well (although, hey, it helps!), but if the lives we live honor God.  Develop the gifts God's given you in every way you can, but use them as a tool to express what's in you, don't depend on them. Develop a worship life, and depend on God. When you draw near to Him - in your own time of worship, or when you're leading others - He will draw near to you.

Worthy is the Lamb

"Worthy is the Lamb."

These are some of my favorite words in all of the Bible. The truth contained in that four word phrase from Revelation 5:12 is powerful, eternal, awe-inspiring, all-encompassing, and offers us a timeless definition of what worship is all about. Say it out loud, to Him, right now -- "Worthy is the Lamb!" 

What's He worthy of? Well,...everything!

Because He is the Creator -- not just the assembler of existing things, but the originator of all things, and has chosen to create us to love and serve Him, giving each of our lives unique purpose and the incredible privilege of being able to let Him live in us, which brings praise to His Name -- He is worthy of our full attention, obedience, time, energy, and every resource within our grasp.

Because He is always right -- not just correct, but upright, righteous, honorable, just, completely true and incontrovertibly wise -- He is worthy of all honor and glory, worthy to be obeyed and magnified.

Because He is love personified -- not just good, but goodness itself, unendingly merciful, gracious, wonderful, and kind -- He is worthy of our unbridled expressions of deep, deep love and adoration.

Because He is our Redeemer -- not just someone who bought us for a price, but the innocent Lamb Who in His flawless perfection took our place, dying the death we deserved to die, delivering us from darkness and translating us into the glorious light of His eternal Kingdom -- He is worthy of all praise, glory, honor and thanks, in the form of whispers, shouts, whistles, songs, tears, applause, leaps, [endless list]

Because His worth is immeasurable, incomprehensible, and everlasting, the worship He is worthy of is also. Think about that for a moment -- what God is really worthy of being given can never be completely satisfied, or exhausted, or come to an end. He is so glorious, so magnificent, so holy and without flaw that all His creation proclaiming and demonstrating Who and how He is 24 hours a day for eternity can't even come close to representing Him fully!

That's why the twenty-four elders in Revelation keep casting their crowns at His feet and falling down before Him. They are in constant awestruck wonder at every new aspect of His person, character, and nature that He is revealing! That's the singular aim of God -- to continually reveal Himself, His limitless glory, throughout all worlds to all creatures.

Rev 5:8  When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Rev 5:9  And they *sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
Rev 5:10  "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."
Rev 5:11  Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,
Rev 5:12  saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."
Rev 5:13  And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."
Rev 5:14  And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped.

There's so much more to be said about this, and how foundational an understanding of the infinite worth of God is to the concept and practice of worship. Yet, there's enough in these scriptures to keep my knees bowed and my mouth proclaiming His praise for all eternity.

Worthy is the Lamb!

Harold

Flaps Down

I had an interesting thought a few months ago, as I was with our church elders on a Sunday morning, preparing for a corporate worship meeting. Someone else was leading worship that morning, but I was thinking about how the Lord might want us to navigate through the meeting in order to come into His presence in as full a way as possible.

I began to see a picture in my mind of a plane flying with its flaps down, and I had the sense that there would be a moment in the meeting where we would experience something related to that. Now, the first thought I had was that putting the flaps down on an airplane creates drag, which doesn't seem like a good term to apply to a dynamic worship experience. The second thought I had was, 'I need to spend less time on the Google flight simulator this week.'

I didn't really get what God was saying to me right then, but have you ever had that sense that, even though you don't fully understand, you just know it's God? That's how I felt, so I didn't dismiss it, I began to ponder what He might be saying.

As we started the meeting, one of the leaders exhorted us to yield to God and begin to move towards Him in prayer, praise, and worship.  The worship team began to lead us in a free flowing song without specific words, allowing us each to bring a song from our hearts as an offering to the Lord. Eventually, we came to a moment where you could feel a bit of a lull, where the natural tendency for a worship leader would be to . . . do something -- go to the next song on the list, start the fast song -- let's get this crate off the ground!

Suddenly, I knew we were at the "flaps down" moment, and I understood what that meant. The flaps on the rear surface of an airplane's wings not only create drag when extended, which is good for slowing the plane down to land, but they also create lift, which is necessary for takeoff. Spiritually speaking, of course, we really want lift -- leaving earthly things (or at least a preoccupation with them) behind, ascending into a fuller awareness of God's presence, a place where He will reveal Himself to us as He really is, so we can give Him the worship and honor and praise that He's really worthy of.

The worship leader or others leading the meeting have three choices at these moments:

1) Give it more throttle -- exhort everyone to clap harder, play the fastest, loudest song known to modern man, or employ some other means of trying to get off the ground in our own strength, just hoping we'll clear the tree line by offering time;

2) Don't do anything. Just let it crash to the ground, then pick someone specific, like maybe the sound guy, and look at him incredulously, as though it's not working because he did something, or

3) Put the flaps down! Don't just rush on, but don't quit either. Focus on the purpose, move forward with your sights set higher. Take a deep breath, find some faith, and let the wind of God gather under your wings to lift you upward into a wonderful awareness of Him. Search for God with the realization that, if you'll seach for Him with all your heart, He will be found!

Right in that moment on that particular Sunday morning, I could almost literally feel it as the worship team began to put the flaps down. They began to play and sing as one, doing what they are anointed to do, leading us into an extended period of beautiful, purposeful worship and praise to the Lord that He came and inhabited, according to His promise.

I don't remember how long we sustained that moment of incredible 'lift' into the heavens, but when we finally did move on to some written songs, it was with a great sense of unity, joy, and thankfulness. We had come into the presence of God together, and were now able to worship Him together in spirit and in truth.

The next time you find yourself at this kind of a juncture in a worship meeting (or even in your own time with the Lord), I encourage you -- put the flaps down! Let the wind of the Spirit carry you higher than you can go on your own, don't worry about how long it takes to get there, or how long you plan to stay -- just go with it, enjoy the process of free flight with the Living God!

Harold