he's a genius

well, it's official...my son is a genius!
he turned 6months old this past wednesday and this morning he used the potty for the first time. in an age when kids are not allowed to attend kindergarten because they have not yet been potty trained, we now realize how advanced he truly is. we'll be looking into enrolling him at CCU next fall.

Abba, You have given us an incredible gift. thank You for him and thank You for the people who allow me to share my joy through silly and meaningless stories.

thursday part 2

i was right. God blessed it and it was a great night of rehearsal.

Father God, thank You for the teams of musicians You've assembled from our congregation.

thursdays

thursdays are a weekly occurance for me.

each thursday i arrive in the office around 3pm and begin to prepare for choir rehearsal and band rehearsal. today is in-line with that trend. but, so much is working against me today, though. i'm extremely tired. i have a killer headache. i'm ... i've....

wait, let me remind myself again--it's not about me.

i don't know how it is in your church, but here God blesses rehearsals, too. we have productive rehearsals, but equally importantly, we have fun fellowship, group accountability and mutual mentoring.

so, i've decided that i need to put my self-pity away and get ready for a great evening with friends in rehearsal.

God, bless our time together.

ps - gratuitous baby picture.

proud papa

believe it or not, this entry is not about my kids! though, let me say it again: i am proud of my kids and i love them.
but today, i want to tell you about another group that i lead: the LCC worship choir. of them, i am also quite proud.

let me back up and give you some background information.
i don't know the validity of this statistic, but i once heard that the average tenure of a worship/music minister is about 9 months. basically, that gives you either christmas or easter to offend or be offended. so, for the fact that i am nearing 13 years in one ministry makes me a rarity, if not a novelty.
now, the reason i write that is to say that there were many times, in hindsight, that my time here should have been...well...less than 13 years. but, through grace and learning (in both directions), we, as a church, have grown and developed in our understandings and practices of worship.
one of those areas is the worship choir and this is what i've learned about using them in worship:

• like it or not, everyone on the stage is a worship leader. they may be leading toward the throne of God or they may be leading away from Him. but, everyone that is seen is leading someone somewhere. this greatly increases the responsibility of the choir for they are visible.
• music is not inherently worship. it's true that music can be our expression of worship and the truth of the lyrics can teach us in and about worship. excellence in music can create a mood or emotion suitable to the worshipper's sitz im lebben (situation in time). this greatly increases the responsibility of the choir for they must present excellent music.
• the more, the merrier is true when it comes to involving people in service. many servant's spots can only accomodate a certain number of spaces. that may be due to space limitations or expectations of qualifications or credentials or some other like reason. but, the choir is a place that nearly everyone can fit in and be able to fully participate according to their giftedness and preparedness. this greatly increases the responsibility of the choir for they must inclusive and welcoming of everyone.
• all congregational singing is fuller and more robust whenever the singers' noses aren't buried in a book. while hymnals were great tools for many years, modern methods of projection have created a new common element in worship settings. you can worship without hymnals or projection, but corporate worship is enhanced by them. but, when projection is not available in a situation where it is more heavily depended upon, there is no option except to use a book/lyric sheet or to memorize. but, all congregational singing is fuller and more robust whenever the singers' noses aren't buried in a book. therefore, memorization is the preferred option. this greatly increases the responsibility of the choir for they must memorize their notes, rests, rhythms and lyrics, etc.

so, why am i a proud papa?

because the choir did it all! they were outstanding in their presentational leadership. they were outstanding in their preparation towards excellence. they were outstanding in their inclusion of growing numbers. they were outstanding in their memorization. i am blessed to work with these amazing people. rehearsals are always fun, though hard working and yesterday in church, we saw the results: an outstanding performance.

i can see in them the love of the Lord and a true camaraderie and fellowship. they are each to be commended for their work. i can hardly wait until thursday so that we can rehearse again and get ready for our next time to sing!

Lord, You have given us this gift of music. but, today i praise You because You have made music a vehicle of praise and of fellowship. bless our rehearsals and bless each choir member in their lives.