developing lifestyle worshipers

Last night, I got the privilege to take some friends to Passion 2011 Live Link.  The event was hosted at Center Stage in Atlanta but was being broadcasted all over the world.  Passion was celebrating their CD release, “Awakening,” which is out today.  So thousands of people joined in live over the internet from all over the world.  We were so privileged to be a part of the few hundred at the live venue.  It was a blast.

You might be wondering how I got to be a part of this privileged group – I don’t really know.  I’ve supported Passion ministries over the years by sending lots of students, so I think this was a way to say thanks by allowing me to bring people to the event.  The group that went with me sure thinks I’m something now since they felt like VIPs.  It was just an honor to worship alongside the quality people that went with me.  Just to be in the presence of Jesus is enough though.

But OG will never be the same after meeting Matt Redman in the parking garage.  ”Dude, he’s so famous.  Everytime I meet a famous person, I have a nervous breakdown.  I’m going to have one again just thinking about it.”

We were led by Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, Matt Redman, and Kristain Stanfill, and they played most of the songs off of the new CD release.  I would really recommend you pick up these 12 incredible new worship anthems.  You can get it on Amazon or iTunes or we will have it in the bookstore soon.

And if you want to see the live event, it is up for 24 hours here at this link:  http://livelink.268generation.com/

Last night, as I worshiped alongside a few hundred rowdy people and joined electronically by thousands of others, I thought what a great time it is to be alive.  Never has the church had such a worldwide opportunity.  Let’s make the most of it!

I’ve been challenged as of late by a very wise and creative worship leader to hone my skills as a leader.  One of the things he asked me this month was: “How do you help train and develop your worship team?”

Hmmm.

“Does it count that I took the people who recorded a worship CD last year to a Chris Tomlin concert?”

“Umm.  Yeah, that’s real good, but uh…what else have you done?”

It made me realize that since I had such quality people, I wasn’t doing anything to help encourage or develop our team intentionally.  It wasn’t that we weren’t improving and doing great things, I just wasn’t charting the course too much more than making song selections, creating service elements by my lonesome, and developing personally as a worship leader.  I wasn’t equipping.  I wasn’t intentional.

That changed last night.  Last night, we pushed practice back to 6:30 to make sure everyone (every person who has a role on Sunday as far as musicians or tech team) had time to have their gear in place and seated down front together before we began (per the merciless countdown – and yes, I’m going to start talking each week right at 6:30).  We started with some development, prayer, overview of Sunday’s services, then musicians and tech team all got in their place and went through the service.

It went great!  There was huge improvement last night on so many different levels.  We also recorded last night’s practice for our band to listen to on Planning Center over the next few days to hear what needs some work (yeah, I told them that after practice).  Talk about a humbling experience.

The only thing I was worried about doing weekly training time was not staying fresh and me scrambling for something to share each Wednesday.  So I spent a bunch of time thinking, reading, and praying about what our core worship values as a team should be.  After much work, here’s what I landed on:

1. Humility – leading with perspective
2. Credibility – leading with integrity
3. Capability – leading with excellence
4. Availability – leading with presence
5. Unity – leading with selflessness

If our entire worship team models these traits, we will see amazing God-sized results from our ministry.  Since we have many volunteers that rotate in once a month, I had to decide how to go over these topics regularly.  My plan is to spend a month on humility – a little different focus each week, but so that every volunteer will hear that thought at least once.  Then I will move to the next value the following month and so on.  When we get to month six, I’m starting all over again with different applications but the same big ideas.  I don’t think we have anything more important that those values to constantly strive for.

I also want to post the thought from practice each week so that all our volunteers can at least be exposed to the thought.  So here goes:

Humility – leading with perspective

God seeks worshipers who worship in spirit and in truth

I had a hard time grasping this verse for a long time.  For me to truly understand what Jesus meant by this statement in John 4:23-24, I had to reverse it.  What would worship look like if it wasn’t in spirit and in truth?  What would it look like if it was in flesh and in lies?

Worship in the flesh is offering worship only when we feel like it.

Worship full of lies means singing words that our lives don’t back up.

As a worship team, we must desire to be the kind of worshipers that God himself seeks.  Worshipers who worship in spirit and in truth.

If you haven’t heard the buzz around the church world, a secret sort of leaked out last week. The rumor mill has been buzzing that Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin are planting a church in Atlanta, GA. Is it true?

Yep.

Actually, some of it is incomplete. Matt and Beth Redman and the Nockels (Watermark) supposedly will also be helping. The Passion Church doesn’t have too many details yet except for the fact that it is happening.

Here’s the word right from Louie’s mouth:

062708-the-answer-is-yes-short

I have issues with this church plant. Not the fact that there are mega, satellite churches already in the area. Not the fact that Louie is a member of North Point and best friends with Andy Stanley and planting a church in the same town.

My problem is that I thought the same thing you did when you found out: wow, what an incredible church that’s going to be!

And that is a completely ungodly focus if we think that a church will be more effective based upon well-known, polished leaders (by the way, I’m not bashing these guys at all, the two of them have done more in my life than I can even count). God is still in the business of using the weak things in this world to shame the strong. And my first thought (as well as yours probably) was how impressive that church would be before the doors open up. The church is not a couple of leaders, it is a body of people.

If people come to see Giglio and Tomlin, they might forget what church truly is about.

I pray that this church’s ministry is global in its impact. I pray they do so much for the Kingdom! I am so excited about what God will do through this team because I truly believe in their hearts and their persepective of serving a very big God.

I am more upset about you and me. I am worried that we all were awestruck hearing about this lineup. I pray that we all remember who truly changes lives and He is moving in every church, regardless of name, leaders, place, size, budget, or potential.

When Jesus is the main deal, things will happen.