Life Change

It's only what you believe will happen and therefore do next that will bring about a life change.
-Bruce Wilkinson

Low Tech Success

There's a reproduction of an old Norman Rockwell magazine cover push pinned to my bulletin board... two fisherman and a dog. It's the return trip home. One man is decked out in fine fly fishing apparel - waders, fly rod, fishing vest, fishing creel, hat with assorted flys attached. His friend, in patched suspendered jeans is balancing an old cane pole on his shoulder... worm and bobber still dangling on the line. The high tech fisherman is shuffling along, smoking a pipe looking at the ground...holding only his fly rod. His body language suggests it wasn't a good day. Frankly, the dog looks happier than he does! His less than high tech friend on the other hand, head forward, glancing at his buddy out of the corner of his eye with a smirk on his face, is carrying three fine looking trout - not on a stringer but on a stick!
This painting speaks volumes to ministers. How easy it is for us to focus our attention on the latest technology and think....this is what makes fishing/ministry successful, but alas, I don't have that. Why was the cane pole worm throwing fisherman successful? He knew where the fish were and he knew what they wanted and needed. Ah....experience! God never intended ministry to be complicated. He says simply, partner with me. Use the tried and true you have (remember David's low tech stones?). Let me do the work. The technology will follow.
Hang in there Pastor. Tight lines!
- Tim Covert

Secrets of Joy

I have told you of the Spaniard who always put on his spectacles when about to eat cherries, that they might look bigger and more tempting. In like manner I make the most of my enjoyments; and though I do not cast my cares away, I pack them in as little compass as I can, and carry them as conveniently as I can for myself, and never let them annoy others.
-Robert Southey (1774-1843)
English poet
(from the book The Secrets of Joy)

Familiar Ways

We sometimes need to be pointed away from the worn valleys of our familiar ways to a mountain of God's assignment.
-Jack Hayford

Eye Opener

Simple things - the smell of autumn leaves, the girgle of river water, a friend's voice - are so easily overlooked...particulary if the canoe has capsized and your belongings are being swept beyond your grasp! The sensation of being overwhelmed at times is common in the flurry of details yet to be accomplished. Your response may be....sensation? ha, it's a fact! What are we chasing so frantically? Where is our focus, truly? Take a deep breath and regain your confidence. God is! And He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). His intended course ultimately leads us down the narrow road to a closer relationship with Him and others - family, friends, neighbors, even strangers. Somewhere on that road His focus is to become our focus, perfecting our preception while honing our ability to make a difference. Don't get lost in the details. Look up and around you, beyond the list. Prepare for an eye opening God encounter with others. And give Him praise!
From one task driven music pastor to another.
-Tim Covert

Excellence Matters

We serve with excellence, because we know an excellent God, and to give Him anything but our best would be disgusting. Offer Him your finest, at whatever stage your finest is at. Not what you want your finest to be, or what you wish it was, but your finest for TODAY. The testimony and impact of serving with excellence is like watching the ripple effect over the ocean - it sends waves out, touching lives in ways that you will never see.
"Sing to Him a new song; PLAY SKILFULLY and shout for joy." Psalm 33:3
-Darlene Zschech

The Song of Birthing

The Bible reveals (Isaiah 54) that songlessness - depression, defeat, discouragement, despair - restricts the possible inflow of new life. The spirit of heaviness blankets souls and suffocates hope. But song has a power to explode despair and expand a space for hope to begin...The distinctive thing about Isaiah's words is that the song he calls for is not just a joyous response to an impending birth; the song declares the promise and sets the atmosphere for its fulfillment! There is a possibility in song's sheer dynamic that continues to this day.
-Jack Hayford

Praise - The Purest Form of Worship

Praise is the purest form of worship, the sincerest form of worship and the most selfless form of worship. Praise does not make demands, negotiations or requests. Praise excels in giving instead of receiving, in answering instead of asking. Praise is the nearest kin to faith. Wherever faith is found, praise dwells also. The Christian who has discovered the secret of praise is also rich in faith, for praise withers when faith falters.
-Cecil B. Knight

Our Goal As Worship Leaders

Our goal as worship leaders is not worship. If our goal is worship, we fix our gaze on outward manifestations rather than on heart responses. Our only goal is God himself. We look only to Jesus Christ. If he is our goal, we will most assuredly worship. There is the danger of "worshiping worship," of striving for an outward manifestation that somehow eclipses last week's experience. We seek a divine encounter with God; outward manifestations of worship are but a reflection of that encounter."
-Bob Sorge

The Art of the Matter

How very easy it is for our attention to be drawn to the art rather than to God; but if the heart is so focused upon loving God, suddenly all the art helps us love Him more fully.
-Ronald Allen / Gordon Borror

Perspective

We are not humans having a temporary spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a temporary human experience.
-Lamar Boschman

Liturgy

Worshipping churches respect their own tradition, are in dialogue with the worship tradition of other churches, and draw from the church's worship practices thoughout history.
-Robert Webber

Fully Engaged In Worship

In fact, regardless of how magnificent the musical moments are, unless your heart is fully engaged in the worship being expressed...it is still only music.
-Darlene Zschech

What Is The Purpose of a Worship Service?

A worship service is convened (1) to serve God with our praise and (2) to serve people's need with His sufficiency.
- Jack Hayford

Passion

Let's become a people so passionate about Jesus that nothing can distract, discourage or disturb us on our quest to bring Him wholehearted worship.
-Matt Redman