Hymnology: All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

Recently, I had worked through an arrangement of “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” for worship.  A couple of the upcoming Sundays were calling for a song with this particular emphasis, but I wanted to make it palatable for all types of backgrounds.

HPIM1336.JPG

Here is the story behind the hymn:

Edward Perronet, the son of an Anglican vicar, originally introduced “All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name.” His family was closely associated with John Wesley of the Anglican Church. The verses written by Perronet have been called “The Coronation Hymn.” The lyrics affirm the kingship of Christ and His authority. Much of the imagery used is from the Book of Revelation and from Jeremiah. The music sounds particularly beautiful when played by a violin. One of the more famous stories surrounding “All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name” involves the use of a violin.

A missionary to India named E. P. Scott learned of a wild mountain tribe that had never been introduced to the message of Christ. Since they had never been presented with the gospel, he decided to visit that tribe. When he reached their mountain home, he discovered a group of savages on a war expedition. They took him back to camp and threatened to kill him. He closed his eyes and starting playing ” All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name” on his ever-present violin. The natives were so overcome; they dropped their spears and invited Rev. Scott to stay with them. He lived among them for over two years, converting many to Christianity.

READ MORE

Why We Have Been Leading So Many Hymns Lately

If you are a part of North Side or follow my Sunday’s set list on my blog, you might have noticed I have reintroduced some hymns lately.  While we have always sung hymns over the years, we mainly have used arrangements that others have used, but lately we have been adding some original twists on some classics.

Why might you ask?

Because I believe that Chris Tomlin and Charles Wesley are both my brothers in Christ and both have been blessed to write songs for the Church.  Too many people get stuck in a particular style of worship music that they can’t appreciate how God has gifted the entire Body of Christ over its entire life.

READ MORE

Robert’s Rules of Order vs. the Holy Bible (Which Guides Your Church’s Meetings?)

I’m still in awe of a meeting we had at church last night.  A group of 100 leaders from our church have been gathering together to pray and to plan in this One Initiative our church has been going through.  Last night, we discussed some possible changes that would affect everyone.  From the report that I get from friends, if those type of changes were being discussed in some congregations, it would have gotten ugly.

Let me give you an example.

A friend called me a couple of years ago after a church business meeting.  In tears, he retold of the ungodly things stated among the people of God.  He told me concerning personal attacks that took place.  He told me of the name-calling, the cursing, and the selfishness that pervaded the entire meeting.

He asked me what I thought went wrong.

READ MORE

Derailed by Disunity

Each week, I start out my post from Sunday talking about how great a morning it was.  This week was no different.  The services were a great outpouring of God’s goodness, but I must admit the entire day was amazing of watching the church in action.  In addition to wonderful services, I watched a volunteer team give it their all amidst great setbacks, a Spirit-led business meeting, and a group of guys pushing each other on to selflessness.

In short, I love our church!

Today, we started a new series entitled “Derailed,” where we began our study of 1 Corinthians.  While we looked at Ephesians as a church who got it, this church is the exact opposite.   In 1 Corinthians 1-2, the Corinthian church found themselves way off track from where Paul had planted them.  One particular way they had become derailed was in the area of disunity.  Their preferences of different styles of ministry kept them from unifying around Jesus.  We would be wise not to follow their example.

Today, we worshiped to:

READ MORE

Book of the Week: StrengthsFinder 2.0

This week’s book of the week is Tom Rath’s StrengthsFinder 2.0.  This book was given to me as a gift.  Within each book is a code that allows the reader to take an online survey which determines the 5 top strengths of the reader.  You then can read more concerning your personal strengths. The premise of the book is found …

READ MORE

Critical Listening – A Tip for Unprepared Worship Teams

The manner in which a team member prepares for worship practice is immensely important. If members come to practice unfamiliar with the songs, the time together can easily get frustrating.

The best way to get the most out of your practice time is if you group will engage in critical listening. This is best if they do this on their own, but the process can also be done as a group.

I send out scheduling requests for our musicians at least ten days out from the Sunday they would serve. This allows ample time for preparation. In addition to getting chord sheets and lyric sheets, they also have access to listen to the songs we are going to lead.

While they have ample time to prepare, sometimes it is easy for any of us to get slack on prepartion. It is normal for any of us to resort to passive listening. Passive listening is when the music is going on in the background of the house while you are doing other things. Passive listening is when you just hear sections of the song or get distracted by one element in the song that you forget to really think about what is transpiring. Passive listening leads to unprepared musicians.

There is another way.

READ MORE

Confessions of a Narrow-Focused Church Member

I have a confession to make: I am a narrow-focused church member.  I look at all the possible changes at our church at how it would affect me and mine.  I judge the worth of programs based upon how they benefit me and my family.  If it can make me feel better, I’m all in. I tend to refuse to …

READ MORE

Homes for Hope (What a Year!)

Homes for Hope was started at North Side in 2010. After a message on orphan care in December 2009, we were overwhelmed with the response of families wanting to help out. The interest was so great that Jeff Lethco told me to figure out a way to organize this so we can help people regularly.  The mission behind Homes for Hope is to make orphan care simple. If you have ever attempted to get through the paperwork attached to orphan care, you understand that sounds like an absurd statement. We can’t make orphan care easy, but we can make it simple. Our goal as a ministry is to provide logical steps in the 5 major ways to get involved.

James 1:27 commands us to care for orphans: “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress…” There are many ways to help rescue the 143,000,000 orphans in the world. Here’s how our church is assisting people:

READ MORE

The Armor of God (for the Church)

What a great day at North Side!  We concluded a 3 month tour through the Book of Ephesians today as we studied the armor of God.

While this world is full of trouble, God has not left us defenseless.  In the concluding words of Ephesians, Paul includes directions for the armor of God that is meant to defend Christians.  Covered in his protection, the Church can endure the trials of this world.

I couldn’t think of a better way to end the study than the message today.  Jeff’s words were so good and God used him immensely in my life to really think about the armor of God and how it wasn’t written to the individual but to the church as a whole.  We are to all put on that armor so we can stand firm together!

Today, we worshiped to:

READ MORE

Lift Schedule

Details are coming together for Lift, and our team is getting more and more excited by the day!  People from Greenwood to Summerville or planning on making the trek for this Saturday worship training session, and we could not be more humbled to partner with others to lead churches in worship.

I wanted to provide you with the schedule so you can make your plans.  It’s a funnel type schedule focusing on music, tech, and host teams that work in worship settings.  We start large, go to medium size, smaller groups, and then back all together.

This workshop is for seasoned worship team members and also for those who are just curious if they have the skills needed to join.  It’s free lessons, so nothing to lose!  Not only will we have a lot of information, we are going to have a lot of fun!

Here is our promise: we are teaching principles, not models.  We don’t want you to copy what we are doing, we are going to teach principles that we have been learning that can be applied into any context.  Please list any questions you might have.  You can register here.

See below for details:

READ MORE

Caption Please: Pigeon Suit Guy vs. Bird Feeder

I came across this video this morning and it made my day.  The quality is bad, but it is well worth 18 seconds. The sign reads: “Warning: Due to Overfeeding Some Pigeons May Become Aggressive.” If you were reporting on this story, what would you say?  Caption please…

Why God Might Be Out to Get Your Church

Your church bears the name of Christ.  Most likely, your church was founded for his glory, was organized the way it is for his glory, but churches can get off track.

Our assumption is that God is for every church.  The very fact that it is called a church automatically receives God’s blessing, right?

What if I told you that God was actually against certain churches?  What if I told you that the most powerful being in the world actively opposed certain bodies?

READ MORE

Your Job

Great day at North Side as we are nearing the end of Ephesians.  Today’s big idea: Your Job (Eph. 6:5-9) – For most people, a job is something you endure rather than enjoy.  When we choose to see our performance in our job as an act of worship to God, it not only changes our perspective but probably our level …

READ MORE

Platform Ministry Can Never Replace Relational Ministry

Platform ministry can never replace relational ministry.

This week’s worship training consists of the worship value: availability – leading with presence.

When people are gifted in the arts, oftentimes, they are put on stage to perform ministry.  While time on the stage may be an outlet for ministry, oftentimes, the time off the stage validates the ministry.

Someone can get up in your church and raise the rafters with their vocal pipes.  It will provide emotion, goosebumps, and a positive experience, but it cannot compare with a talented worship leader who is involved in the lives of the people in the church.

READ MORE

Your Church’s Best Days Are Not Behind You

I was talking with a friend the other day concerning the future of his church.  As a pastor in another state, he is working with a congregation that has seen some incredible moments in their history.  The problem is – that’s all they think about.

“Remember when pastor so-and-so did this…remember that revival years ago…remember when all those young families started coming…”

His dilemma was that they had seen God move in the past, and all they wanted to do was to tell of the glory days.

READ MORE

10 Things I Would Have Done Differently as a Father

What a great day with North Side!  While I was hobbling from my foot and stuffy from my sinuses, our congregation carried the worship today as we gave it all we had.

Today, we worshiped to:

To setup the message on fatherhood today, I shared the story of my involvement in the curriculum associated with the upcoming movie, Courageous.  After that and watching the powerful video below, people were ready to sing out, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

READ MORE

End Human Trafficking

At Passion 2011, I had the opportunity to give to some great mission organizations.  Passion does a phenomenal job at their “Do Something Now” center making awareness and giving engaging again.  Each station has you experience what you are giving to before you give to it.  One example is by giving to build wells in impoverished areas, they have you tote a jug of water the length it takes someone to get water in their current situation.

One need that has been really disturbing me as of late is the issue of human trafficking.  Some of the stats you hear are overwhelming.  Children all over the world are being forced into prostitution at a very young age.

READ MORE

Your Marriage

Today, we started our 3rd section through Ephesians.  These final four Sundays, we will see that God still has the whole world in his hands, including your marriage, family, job, and spiritual protection.  This week:

Your Marriage (Eph. 5:22-33) – God has a plan for your marriage.  No matter how far out of control you believe it to be, God’s Word has direction to bring peace into a chaotic situation.  Biblical love and respect can set a broken marriage right again.

Today, we worshiped to:

Loved our time of worship as a family today.  So great to lift our voices and sing such biblical truth as presented in these songs!  Jeff’s message has massive implications.  Whenever you talk about submission, headship, and marriage, you always have everyone’s attention.  If you didn’t hear the message, you need to listen to it.  Many sermons on marriage talks about fixing problems, this sermon was about the purpose of marriage, and once you hear it, it fixes ALL problems.

READ MORE

Overcompensation with My Ankle (And Your Church)

I am still in crippled status.  After 2 weeks in a hard cast, my ankle is still broken from the infamous basketball game.  I am in the boot for 4 weeks gradually applying some pressure on it.  Still on crutches.  Obie said this morning, “Daddy, your crunches go squeak, squeak like a mouse.”

They sure do.

As you look at this picture above, I will ask you, by the look of it, which ankle is hurt?  Of course you would say, the ankle on the left of the picture is the one hurting.

And you would be wrong.

The ankle in the boot feels fine.  No pain, no real discomfort, it’s just annoying to have it confined to a boot.  The ankle that is hurting more is the ankle on the right side of the picture.  I have experienced a real pain deep inside that ankle not confined to the boot.  When talking to my buddy who is a doctor, he said what I’m experiencing is called overcompensation.  Having to put more weight and pressure on the uninjured ankle oftentimes causes more long term damage than the injured ankle.

I firmly believe the principle of overcompensation is happening in your church right now.  You’ve heard of the 80/20 rule.  20% of the people do 80% of the work.  You look at the other 80% of people as if they are broke and so you start putting more pressure on the 20% that isn’t broke.  The problem?  Overtime, you can cause more damage on the 20% if you burn them out.  From the outside, you still can identify those that are not working in the Body of Christ.  Spotting them is as easy as spotting a broken ankle in a cast.

READ MORE

10 Things That Will Kill Your Men’s Ministry

Recently, I was talking to a buddy about why or why not men’s ministries work in certain churches.  I tried to condense what we talked about, so here is a list of 10 things that will kill your church’s men’s ministry:

1.  Hypocritical Leadership – You won’t find perfect men to lead your men’s ministry, but you better find men who are consistently striving towards godliness.  Men can spot fakes easily and provides easy excuses for them.
2.  Getting Too Close and Personal – You need to allow them to get close, but don’t force them to act in a manner against God-given manliness.  Your group can be spiritual without group hugs.
3.  Not Getting Close and Personal Enough – While you don’t force men to be something they are not, don’t also settle for anything less than biblical community.  They need to be close enough to push each other to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24-25).
4.  Cliques – When men come to your church’s functions, you need to remove the clique factor among them.  Make sure to get men with the gift of hospitality (that just means they make people feel welcome) at your doors and get men connected with others in the room.
5.  Trying to Copy the Church’s Women Ministry – Just because your church’s women ministry has a hanging of the greens doesn’t mean you get your guys to decorate the church too.  It works cause it is for women.  Let guys be guys while always challenging them to be men of God.

READ MORE

Walking in the Light

I wish I could have hobbled closer to the choir for this picture, but my cast kept me at this distance.  The picture is of 80-year-old Mama Barnes leading the Faith Home choir today at North Side.  Before the service, she told me she didn’t want to lead the choir because she didn’t want to be a distraction.

I said, “Mama Barnes, the choir sounds great, but your dancing is amazing.  Get up there.”

And boy, did she ever!  Her energy and the choir’s passion in worship changed the room for sure!  I can’t even begin to tell you how loud, not the band, but the congregation was this morning worshiping!

We were so honored to have our partner in ministry join us for this special day.  The Faith Home, 4 decades into ministry, has cared for over 20,000 men and women in the area of Christian recovery for alcoholics and addicts.  When they sang, “If he can make a change in me, he can make a change in you,” such hope and passion came out of their mouths and their souls.  Amazing!

READ MORE

Small Group Values

Following up from yesterday’s post, I want to share the 4 values on which my small group focuses.  There are many great lists out there, but this is my attempt at trying to maintain focus within the group I lead. Small group values: AUTHORITY Make sure each member knows that the authority in the study is the Bible.  The teacher, …

READ MORE

Bad Church Sign: Independent Old Timey…

This week’s bad church sign is seen on many church signs across the Bible Belt. This sign states: INDEPENDENT OLD TIMEY HELL-FIRE BRIMSTONE KING JAMES PREACHING” Wow.  That’s a mouthful. Let me break it down and tell you what it is saying: Independent – We don’t agree with the stances of larger denominations, so we remain independent from everyone else. …

READ MORE

A Different Look

Week 2 of leading worship on crutches.  If that poor stool can make it through today, it can make it through anything!  This cast has made me realize I’m a bit more of a dancer than I realize I actually was 😉

Today, we continued on through Ephesians as we studied:

A Different Look (Eph. 4:17-32) – As a Christian, we are called to lay aside the old self and have a completely different look.  We are no longer to live in our former ignorance, but we are to shine differently than before.

Today’s message was great.  Amazing how God’s Word, written years ago, still has so much power for us today!  The point Jeff ended on was so powerful.  He taught how Paul taught in Ephesians that we are to get together before we try to get holy.  You would think you should get holy before coming to church, but this progression teaches us to get around each other in order to make us holy.

READ MORE

We Are Worshiping On the Wrong Side of the Table

I’m a struggling worship leader.

I’m not poor or unable to find places to lead worship.  I just struggle with the tension in worship leading.

For years, I have learned how to set the table for people to come to worship.  Setup the right mood lighting, pick the right type of music, dress this way, talk that way, and people will come back to the meal you prepared.  It’s like you are setting the environment for a nice restaurant, and you are just hoping you can serve a course that is so unforgettable, the people will come back week after week.

But maybe in churches, we have been guilty of sitting on the wrong side of the table.  What if we stopped expecting to get your needs and wants met in every worship service we attended?  What if we stopped obsessing over the service we were receiving and started focusing on the service we are offering?

READ MORE

Do Buffet-Styled Churches Honor God?

For years, I have bought into the church growth principle that the more choices you give people in a church, the more successful the church will be.

To agree with that principle, you must gauge a church’s success by the number of people who stay at that church.  But is that true success?

Here are the courses that the American church is serving up:

  • Worship – traditional, contemporary, blended, cutting edge, emergent, ancient future, classic, golden, choir, band, hard rock, country western, southern gospel, chandeliers, go-bos, expensive organ, expensive guitar, etc.
  • Discipleship – Sunday school, community groups, small groups, Bible fellowship classes, on-campus, in-homes, co-ed, single, married, guys only, girls only, by hobby-interest, by age, by life situations, etc.
  • Preaching – coat and tie, jeans and t-shirt, podium, table, old, young, hip, wise, screen, video, sermon, message, talk
  • Family Ministries – discipleship times, creative programs, glorified babysitting, “community” sports programs with a side of Christ, men’s ministry, women’s ministry, single, divorced, newlywed, with kids, with small kids, with fussy kids, for fussy kids, puppets, Awanas, GAs, RAs, children’s choir

And the list could go on.

  1. Is God honored when we explain what church we belong to by describing the type of music we like?
  2. Is God honored when we defend our group’s methods within the church rather than celebrating the diversity of the whole church?
  3. Is God honored when we try to woo members from other churches because this program is better than that program?

READ MORE

Does Your Worship Team Need a LIFT?

You know the feeling.  It’s worship practice, and there is something in the room.  Call it stagnation, complacency, hitting a wall, getting settled, or maybe something else, but you know when you work with your worship team and it just seems like you aren’t getting anywhere.  You’ve hit the bottom.

That’s why you need a lift.

On March 26th (UPDATED DATE: we had some scheduling conflicts, and pushing it back makes more sense) we will have a free worship workshop held at North Side Baptist in Greenwood, SC.  At Lift, you can bring your whole team and get equipped on how you can lift your worship, your team expectations, and your team’s abilities.

READ MORE

Focused Lighting

Great Sunday of being the church at North Side!  Today, we worshiped to:

It was the first time I have ever led worship in a cast, but I was so thankful to have such a wonderful supporting team who helped me to a stool and get my guitar and such.  For those of you who know me, you know I don’t ask for help often, so this next few weeks are going to stretch me in all kinds of way!  I did think I was going to jump off the stool a couple of times!

READ MORE

John Piper’s #1 Leadership Tip

The only problem with Passion 2011 was that there was way too much to process and apply.  I’m still going through lessons and trying to implement them into my life.

One of they keynote speakers at Passion was John Piper who recently took a 7-month sabbatical and came back into the public scene the week of Passion.   His message, “Getting to the Bottom of Your Joy” was huge.  Massive implications, but that wasn’t the best part of his involvment.

The next morning, he spoke to the leaders’ group.  He had planned one talk, but then decided at 6:30 that morning to change directions.

That morning, he shared with us his #1 leadership principle he has learned.

READ MORE

Bad Church Sign: God’s Last Name is Not…

I had to pull over on the side of the road years ago to get this one.  This unfortunate church sign states:

“GOD’S LAST NAME IS NOT ‘DAMN'”

I do agree with “the entire congregation.”  That is not his last name.  And probably like this group, I am bothered when I hear people use God’s name in vain by cursing with it.  “GD” bothers me, but so does when I slip up and say, “Oh, my God” and I am not actually calling on him.  Is this sign the best way to combat what people or doing?  Not sure.

Does it bother you when you hear someone breaking the 3rd commandment: “Do not take the LORD God’s name in vain?”

That is one way to break that commandment, but did you know that there is another one that people use much more frequently?

READ MORE

Behind the Curtain

The City has officially launched at North Side today! This is your way to stay in the know about all things North Side. This two-way communication street for North Side. You stay updated and you can also contribute your thoughts, prayers, needs, etc. Sign up today!

Thanks so much to all the help today signing people up.  Our volunteers were awesome getting people connected, and the host team does a fantastic job at connecting people to the life of the church.

I want to say an extra special word of thanks to Jamie Strutton and Jessica Wolfe who worked relentlessly to get the City up by today – you guys are amazing and this has already helped out so many people!

We had a fantastic service today!

READ MORE

Passion 2011 Recap

Still processing all that Jesus did in me and around me at Passion 2011.  I needed to go a day late due to church responsibilities, but college students were texting me telling me how incredible everything was before I even got there.  Being able to worship alongside our students and join them in giving sacrificially to worthy causes was such a fantastic way to begin the year.

I could go on and on about the programming of Passion.  Who wouldn’t love to hear Louie Giglio, Beth Moore, Francis Chan, John Piper, Andy Stanley, and David Platt speak?  Who wouldn’t be overjoyed to be led in worship by Chris Tomlin, David Crowder Band, Matt Redman, Charlie Hall, Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, and other special guests?  No one would deny the energy getting 22,000 college students together for lively worship with incredible, impacting media presentations.  Everyone was impacted by the profound presentations of the needs in the world.

All of that was great, but it wasn’t my favorite part.

READ MORE

I Am Not the Best on the Team

I struggle with pride when I work with others.

Since my mind is constantly evaluating how to improve areas in any level of ministry in which I am even remotely involved, I often lack patience for long meetings with people deliberating over certain options.  My prideful heart wants to inform people that I have a solution that is so grand that no one should even question my ideas.

I know, I have issues.

While I do not verbalize these thoughts, I can easily become frustrated in meetings that I view as time wasters and mentally disengage myself from others.  Even if the improbable chance of my ideas always being the best were true, my attitude needs to be one of service and selflessness (Phil 2:3-5).

As of late, here’s what I am learning:

READ MORE

The Heart of Courageous

I’ve been so thankful for the many prayers prayed on behalf of my work with the upcoming Bible study accompanying the movie Courageous. I can tell you that if Fireproof impacted you, buckle your seat belts for this one.  It speaks to one of the greatest issues in our country today. The state of fatherhood is in trouble, and this …

READ MORE

Felton Burton: A Life Well Lived

A dear friend and brother-in-Christ, Felton Burton, died on December 30th and will have funeral services conducted today at North Side.  The above picture is of Felton and his wife, Doris, attending a Date Night at our church 2 years ago.  They were standing as the couple married the longest in a group of hundreds of couples that night.  I remember thinking that night that they were such an example of dedication and faithfulness.

Felton has been an icon in Greenwood.  I could go on to list his accomplishments, but you can read about those in his obituary provided by his family.

I want to focus on one element in particular about Felton that I loved the most: his commitment to making his life count.

READ MORE

Out of the Darkness

North Side, 2011 has begun – get ready!  What a great day to start off the new year.  While we had a lot of our crew out of town or out of pocket, our team knocked it out of the park.  Woody even called in sick this morning (that’s why I attempted to play bass and keys – boy, I missed him), and we had to change stuff around, but we a great time this morning giving God praise!

Today, we worshiped to:

We started a new series called “This Little Light of Mine” as we continued through our study of Ephesians.

READ MORE

My Favorite Posts of 2010

  In an attempt to recap the year, I wanted to share with you the top 10 posts that I wrote this year.  2010 was a busy year for my family and our church, so it was hard to condense, but I tried.  I kept changing the posts and the order, and I finally just had to give up and …

READ MORE

Most Popular Posts of 2010

  Below are the top 10 posts from my blog in 2010.  As we look forward to next year, I thought I would share these with you readers to take a look back. 1.  Top 5 Bad Christmas Church Signs 2.  Passion Church?! Giglio and Tomlin Church Plant?! 3.  Top 5 Best Christmas Decorations 4.  It’s Official: Eli is Now …

READ MORE

I Could Use Some Courageous Prayers

This week, I am hunkering down and working on the Bible study curriculum for the upcoming movie by Sherwood Pictures, Courageous.  I shared on the blog a while back about how humbling an opportunity it was to work on this project.  As the Kendrick brothers are working on the production side of the film right now for a September 2011 release, I have the task of sorting through the movie themes, taking their direction, and working on some of the Bible studies that will be a curriculum for a church to go through to accompany the movie.

I’ve met 2 of 4 deadlines, but the most difficult are on their way.  One Bible study has been submitted for editing, but now I’ve got to work on the remaining 7.  The goal of this entire project is for men to step up and be the godly fathers that He requires.  There is no telling what God could do through this entire project to impact homes, churches, and even cities if the boys started rising up and become men of God.

As I lock myself away for the next few days, I would surely appreciate some prayer partners.  If you can pray once, or if you can put my name or the word “Courageous” somewhere where you will see it this week and remember to pray each time you see it, anything would be much appreciated.  This whole project has been bathed in prayer and I want make sure that every word that goes down on paper is from God’s leading!

Here’s specifics on how you can pray:

READ MORE