Are you the pencil or the poem?

I love Keith Green and the heart he had for God. If you've never listened to anything he's done, do yourself a favor, and check out his Greatest Hits album. You will not be disappointed. This quote from Keith really struck me today:

”I only want to build God’s Kingdom and see it increase, not my own. If someone writes a great poem, no one praises the pencil they used, they praise the one who created the poem. Well, I’m just a pencil in the hands of the Lord. Don’t praise me, praise Him!”

Are you the pencil, or are you the poem?

Sunday Setlist (s)

This past Sunday was absolutely incredible. The Sunday morning service was life changing. God really lined up the set list for the pastor to drive it home with his message 'Transitional Storms'. It's pretty incredible because the pastor and I typically don't talk about what his message is going to be, nor do I typically tell him what we're playing, so this was all God. Further proves that He knows what He's doing :) . Here's what we played:

1. Salvation is Here (Hillsong)
2. Forever Reign (Hillsong)
3. Rain Down (Scott Lowder) ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okM33nPwEsQ )
4. Washed by the Water (Needtobreathe) we did a cool little transition from Rain Down into the chorus "Even when the rain falls...." .
5. Give Me Faith (Elevation Worship) - This song was absolutely anointed, and lined right up with the message from Mark 4: 35-41 . "Give me faith to trust what You say..."

I always tell our worship band to expect the unexpected, and Sunday night is one of the reasons why. Our pastor never got to the message for the night. God had other plans. Here was our set:

1. Psalm 18 (Let Hope Rise) (Scott Lowder)
2. Our God Saves (Paul Baloche)
3. From the Inside Out (Hillsong)
4. The Stand (Hillsong) - This is where God took over, and the congregation flooded the altar. Our pastor's series on Sunday night has been concentrated on the Holy Spirit. We've really been seeking God in the those services, and tonight God just poured the Spirit out on all of us. "I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe of the One who gave it all. I'll stand, my soul Lord to You surrendered. All I am is Yours."

Probably one of the best Sundays I have ever had at a church. They were absolutely anointed. I'm gonna have a terrible worship hangover today, but I know that God will get me through it!


How were your services this weekend?

Sunday Setlists at theworshipcommunity.com

Toys in Your Cereal Box

So, when I was a kid (yes here comes a walked-a-mile-in-the-snow story) we would pick out our breakfast cereal based on what type of cool toy was in it. We could have cared less what type of cereal surrounded the toy, we just wanted that sweet Garfield pencil topper or the Count Chocula playing cards.

Whatever happened to putting toys in cereal? It makes me a little sad that my kids won't have the joys of digging through an entire box just to get the toy at the bottom. When I think back now though, I realize that those toys really weren't that awesome...

So, where am I going with this? Well, just stay with me here, this could be painful for both of us. Picture God as the box of cereal, all of His goodness is packed in there, all of His grace is packed in there, all of His love (the toy). BUT, with that comes His justness, His punishment, and His correction (the actual cereal).


How often do we forget that we can't just dig in to the parts of God that we like, and worship those. Look at Proverbs 15:32  'Whoever heeds correction gains understanding' and Psalm 1:2 'But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night', we not only worship God for the good he puts in our lives, but also for correcting us, and punishing us for those things that we have done wrong.

Thank Him today for shaping you and guiding you by correcting you. How has He done this in your life lately? Do you struggle with accepting His correction?

Your Sunday Final Four

I have a great friend of mine who is a 'casual' college basketball fan. When I say 'casual' I mean he watches it one month out of the year, March. So, of course, he knows little to nothing about the teams. 


Because of his limited knowledge, he has to find a good way to fill out his bracket. And, as we ALL know, there is no right way to eat a reese's cup, or pick your teams. His preferred method is mascot selection. He opens his laptop and pulls up the mascots from each team for each game and lets his kids (three of them aged 2-5) pick their favorites. Needless to say, the nut from Ohio State named Brutus does not do well!

When it comes to song selection for our worship services, how do we make the selections? Typically, most churches will give about 4 songs, or twenty minutes. So each week, you're narrowing it down to your final four. Do you have a system that helps you to select them? Do your throw them all in a hat and draw four song names? Do you pick them based on 'like' names like "Bring the Rain", "Let it Rain", or "Washed by the Water", and pray for a thunderstorm that morning?

Always be in prayer for God to show you what will glorify His name. Here are 4 quick tips on song selection that have helped me tremendously:

1. The Pastor - Who better to help you select some songs for a sermon series than the leader of the church? Look to him for the church's vision, and to help guide the direction of your worship set. For example, if you're church is really concentrating on mission work, try to work in some mission oriented songs each week to help drive home the message. "Until the Whole World Hears" by Casting Crowns is a great one that we use.

2. The Content - This is a constant struggle for me. There are some songs that I absolutely love and connect with, but they seem to tell a story more than magnify God. For example, "Washed by the Water" by Needtobreathe is a fantastic song, and our band LOVES playing it, but the first half of the song is a personal story. We tend to use the chorus and bridge of this song, "Even when the rain falls....", as a tag to another song. A word to the wise, if you're unsure about it, skip it until you find peace with using it in your set. There have been quite a few songs like that for me.

3. The Connection - Does it connect with you? Do you feel worshipful about it in practice and rehearsal? This is a big one for us worship leaders. How can we lead someone else into the presence of God, when we ourselves can't get there with the songs we choose? Will it also connect with the congregation? Sometimes this is a trial and error process. I've laid to rest quite a few great worship songs that just didn't engage the congregation in worship. I typically give the songs a couple of weeks to pan out.

4. The Church - What is your church's demographic? If you have more young adults than older folks, you may not want to pull out the church organ and bang out a few bars of "Why Me Lord" by the Gaither Vocal Band. I'm all for 'updating' songs and hymns to make them current, but take a look at what generation you are trying to reach.

Plan each week to reach the unchurched as well as those that are a part of the congregation. Above all though, be a God pleaser not a man pleaser, and follow His spirit above all.

So how do you guys go about selecting your worship sets each week? Are there any songs that have/haven't worked for you recently?

This Is My Party...

"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always." - Psalm 105:4
It never fails. Each time we gather at church, whether it be in Sunday school or at the beginning of a church service, someone prays for God to show up. We constantly ask God to be with us, to show up, to move in a big way, but do we ever realize that God is already there? Every Sunday is God's party, and He invited you. He allows you to be a part of it.  He doesn't need to show up, He is already here. Stop asking and start expecting, He has already prepared everything for us...have faith and know that He will be there. "Look to the LORD and His strength...", that's a command to us, the verse doesn't say 'ask for the Lord to attend the service', or 'ask for the Lord to be with us', it says "Look to the Lord and His strength, SEEK His face always." We need to expect God each and every time we meet, because He is already there, waiting on us to attend His party.