The music being played in churches and flowing out of the hearts of worship leaders is a great way to tell what God is saying to The Church. It is also an indicator as to what the Church wants to say to God and her what spiritual condition is stated in a way that represents current culture.  This is why I’m such an advocate for worship leaders writing great songs for The Church.

But when it comes to writing songs for The Church, there are a few things that I suggest:

1. It must be culturally relevant.  (tip: constantly listen to music and don’t limit it to “Christian” music)
2. It must bring people on an emotional journey. Music is a means of expression. Just being cool sounding is not good enough. (tip: study the instrumentation, chord progressions, and melody lines of the music that moves you)
3. The topics must be wholistic and speak to/about a wide range of topics. Worship music should express gratitude, call us to action, praise God for who He is, etc.
4. It should focus more on the nature of God than the nature of man.
5. It should be written for the average listener, not the critic.  (tip: even though you CAN play something intricate doesn’t mean you should)
6. Songs should be able to be replicated by bands of varying skill levels and instrumentation
7. Melodies should be simple and easy to sing. (tip: write what you can picture them / hear them singing and getting behind both lyrically and musically… envision the crowd early in the writing process)
8. It must be Scripturally accurate
9. It must be done with the right intentions (i.e. - to Unite His Church, to advance His Kingdom, to bring Him glory alone).  (tip: ask yourself, “why am I really doing this?  Am I trying to further my pride or God’s Kingdom?”)

If you write songs for the Church, be patient and put the work in.  Songwriting can be quite frustrating and it is a craft that takes time to develop.  You are going to have to fight through 1000 bad ideas before you come across 10 really good ones.  It takes time.  Let songwriting be a prayerful and not hasty process.  God will speak to you through the process and change you as well.  Bounce your developed musical ideas off people you trust to give you good feedback and accept it humbly and without being defensive.

What if your “competitive nature” or drive to acheive is just a desperate cry of your own insecurity or proof that you are driven by impure motives?

Deep down, I have to admit that at some level I think that if I achieve great things for God then He will be pleased and impressed with my devotion.  But the truth is that God inspects our hearts and is most please with the purity of our hearts and intentions before the content of our achievements.  This truth must force us to carefully examine our intentions for doing the things we’re doing. 

Steven Furtick said something this past week that really challenged me.  He said, “when we want what God wants for the reasons He wants it, I believe we’re unstoppable.”  You see, I feel that I truly am pursuing what God wants for me.  But, Satan wants to pollute that with impure motives.  He wants me to work for man’s approval and my own comforts instead.

So, what does it mean to have pure intentions?  I believe it boils down to this… the purest intention is to please God and to advance His Kingdom on earth.  If we do anything for any other reason, our intentions have been polluted.  Sounds extreme, I know but this is to be our core intention and the heart of all of our pursuits.  This core intention needs to be pure and without the pollution of ulterior motives.  It is and should be all about Him and all for Him.

What pollutants threaten you?

It’s summer and i’m blogging less than normal to give myself a season to relax a bit more.  But, i still want to share with you what’s going on in my heart and hear from you as well. Here’s an excerpt from my Moleskin from my morning session today:

God has NEVER been unfaithful.

It can be easier, at times, to say “God WILL be faithful” than it is to look back at a time of sorrow or tragedy and say, “God WAS faithful every step of the way.”  When we say, “God WILL be faithful,”  oftentimes, we have a preconceived expectation of how God will be faithful.  But, God doesn’t often provide according to our expectations because His knowledge and plans are perfect and ours are not.

I don’t claim to know God’s methods or reasons but here’s the truth: whether we believe it or not, God has ALWAYS been faithful… He was faithful in the holocausts.  He was faithful to all those who have been abused, exploited, and taken advantage of.  He IS being faithful to the thousands of children who are victims of human trafficking today.  This is hard to accept.  But, God is either faithful or He isn’t at all.  That’s the nature of such an absolute title.  There is no such thing as partial faithfulness.

To say that God is faithful is to say that He is consistent in nature and character.  He will ALWAYS be kind.  He will ALWAYS be merciful.  He will ALWAYS be good.  He will ALWAYS be just.  He will ALWAYS act according to His will.  He will ALWAYS love us.  He will ALWAYS have plans for us that are good. You get the point.

When we think that God, in some way, has been unfaithful, it is because our expectations are selfish and our view of God is far too limited.

I encourage you to look for evidence of God’s faithfulness in your own life story.  Maybe there were times in your life that you felt God was absent, unkind, or unfaithful.  He wasn’t.  He was perfectly and completely faithful to you.  I encourage you to look for the evidence of it and ask Him to reveal where and how He was faithful to you in those times.

There are unspoken perceptions about every role in every organization.  Some are positive and some are slightly negative.  You can name a few, I’m sure…  This just comes with the territory.  However, it’s just been on my heart lately for myself to be a part of changing some of the negative perceptions.  I read a blog by Perry Noble (http://tinyurl.com/2b3m9v6) that made me think, “what do our leaders/followers think of us Worship Pastors?” and, “what do I wish they would think about us?”  Here are just a couple of characteristics that I want to have as a Worship Pastor.  I don’t know what your church looks like or what perception people have of you or your worship pastor(s), but here are a few characteristics that I believe are crucial for a worship pastor:

• Our Worship Pastors Are Great Leaders On and Off Stage – Much is entrusted to a worship pastor (especially at my church, Lifechurch.tv).  WP’s at my church get more stage time than Campus Pastors!  A worship pastor bent on leading people no matter what environment he/she is in can carry tremendous leadership weight and can accomplish more than most.
• Our Worship Pastors Add Spiritual Value To The Organization Outside Of Weekend Services/Experiences – that worship pastors would shepherd other staff members, cultivate new leaders, mentor young men and women, etc.
• Our Worship Pastors Are Servants And They Do So Joyfully – that worship pastors would be regularly seen “in the trenches” and not looking for recognition.
• Our Worship Pastors Celebrate Creativity And Champion Innovation – Let’s take the torch of creativity and prove negative perceptions to be wrong.  Let’s innovate within the experience.  Let’s write great songs that unite God’s Church.  Let’s give new musical interpretations and commit to stay relevant.  Let’s make worship more interactive. Let’s take more calculated risks.
  
• Our Worship Pastors Leave Local and Global Footprints – that worship pastors would shape communities through united worship and society through leadership, creative, and technological development.

Let’s not forget the weight that the title “pastor” carries with it.  Ephesians 4:11-12 tells us that God gives the Church pastors so that they may “equip God’s people to do His work and build up the Church.”  That’s much more than just being “the music guy/girl.”  My prayer is that I (and my peers) would handle the influence we’ve been given well and that we’d be used to truly equip and build up God’s Church around the world.

My morning session is a time for me to get alone with God, process where I’m at and what God is saying to me, study His Word, begin to allow God to change me, and write in my moleskin about my spiritual journey.  Here’s an excerpt from today’s morning session:

Proverbs 21:2 - “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” (ESV)

It boils down to this: It doesn’t matter what we feel is right, what matters is how we measure up to God’s standard.

To the true Christ follower, one’s own thoughts, feelings, opinions, and desires do not really matter any more.  Those things have already been “crucified with Christ.”  Now, all that matters is the perfect will of God.

It doesn’t matter if God’s will goes against culture, comfort, or common thought.  The True Christ-follower will gladly surrender to and embrace the way that God has sovereignly laid out.

Compromise is often birthed out of the tension between what God says and what we feel/think or what culture says.  This is why many Christians continue to be rude, spend unwisely, push sexual boundaries outside of marriage, not honor parents/leadership, lack integrity, etc.  I could go on but i think you get the point.  Basically, society and/or feelings have told us it’s ok to do some things that are not ok in God’s eyes.

Today, I realized that I am compromising in my attitudes.  I’m justifying them because “I’m not as bad as ‘so and so’.” But, the fact is that my attitudes are drastically different from what Christ has called me to and what He deserves after shedding His Blood for me.

How has compromise creeped into your life?

Spent some time this past year working with Lifechurch.tv’s Lifegroups & Lifemissions pastors to come up with a common approach/language for leadership development.  Here’s a very brief sneak peek:

Every leader is responsible to continually grow in 3 areas, your Chazown (or, your life-purpose), your Character, and your Capacity (or, your ability to lead others).  A leader who continually grows/develops in each of these areas will be well-rounded and well-equipped to lead in a virtually limitless range of environments.  Here’s how that breaks down:

1. Pursue Your Chazown - Chazown (pronounced Khaw-zone) is a Hebrew word that means dream, revelation, or vision.   Pursuing your Chazown is identifying and living out your life purpose.  Great leaders never stop pursuing their Chazown.  Those who truly pursue their Chazown celebrate how God has uniquely gifted them and realize their own God-given potential. I encourage you to prayerfully explore how you have been hand-wired by God, to reflect on how your life experiences have shaped you, to take a spiritual gifts assessment, to read books like Chazown by Craig Groeschel.  In the fall of 2010, we’ll be launching a life-changing experience called the Chazown Experience specifically designed to help you pursue your own life purpose.
2. Develop Your Character - Character is who you are below the surface.  Developing your character means that you are working with God to develop the inner qualities that give you influence with others.  Character makes leader in it for the long haul.  Character is what makes a leader worth following.  Some ways to develop your character are reading great books such as Habitudes: The Art of Self-Leadership, consistent and prayerful Bible reading (consider a bible reading plan on youversion), honest accountability, etc.
3. Increase Your Capacity - Capacity is your ability to lead others.  Increasing your capacity means that you are intentionally developing skills and expertise.  It also involves refining your unique style of leadership and enhancing your ability to work well with others.  Every leader has a capacity but that capacity is not stationary.  It can and should be developed.  People can increase their capacity through self-awareness, maximizing of strengths, and the utilization of quality tools. I suggest doing the following (but not limited to these alone): take a personality test and study yourself (Myers-Briggs is a good one), take a test to determine/understand/utilize your strengths (check out the book, Strengths Based Leadership), develop your Emotional Intelligence (check out the book, E.Q. 2.0).

Through all this, I highly suggest you find someone to coach you through this leadership growth process.  Sometimes, all it takes is someone listening and asking the right questions for you to have a “light bulb moment.”

Leadership hinges on the people that are following.  In order for people to follow, the leader must fill his leadership tank with 2 types of fuel:

• Relational Equity - Relational equity is acquired when the leader shows that he/she values individuals, appreciates their unique gifts, & genuinely cares about them beyond their ability to accomplish something. Leaders often underestimate the potential of this fuel and many find it difficult to earn because they genuinely don’t care beyond their own scope of value.  Equity is gained by listening, showing interest, small gestures, appreciating, encouraging, praising publically, praising privately, encouraging personal and professional development, etc.
• Earned Respect - Respect is earned through content… content being communicated, content of character, content of actions, etc.  When a leader appropriately takes charge, he/she earns respect.  When a leader displays unwavering moral fortitude, he/she earns respect.  When a leader consistently equips those being led with the tools they need to fulfill their role (i.e. - information, resources, training, etc.), he/she earns respect.  Respect is earned through content.

NOTE: there is another level of respect that is not earned but comes with the position that one carries.  For example, I must respect the President because of his position, whether he earns it or not.  Likewise for a police officer or even my parents.  This is the base level of leadership.  If a leader only leads from his/her position, their leadership effectiveness and sustainability will be greatly diminished.

Lead from a fuel tank that’s full of  BOTH relational equity and earned respect!

I’m so excited each year for a series my church (Lifechurch.tv) does called One Prayer.  This is a series where churches from all over the world join together to share message topics & resources as well as serve together.  I wrote a song last year called “Our One Prayer” that we did to go along with the series. You can listen to it here (feel free to comment). Here’s some more info from www.oneprayer.com :

In June 2010, churches will join forces to share resources, serve our communities and give to a meaningful cause. Because when the Church unites, it’s Unstoppable.

One Prayer began in 2008 to explore the question: We pray to Jesus asking Him to answer our prayers - what if we became the answer to His? In John 17:20-24, He prayed that we would be one, and One Prayer is an opportunity to see what can be accomplished when the Church works together.

For two years, millions of believers around the world have united to pray, learn, and love others. God has worked in amazing ways each year, and we can’t wait to see what He does during One Prayer 2010. Beginning June 5-6, we’ll come together for four weeks as we learn more about our Creator and go out into the world to share, serve and give.

During One Prayer, we’ll be sharing teaching, training, resources, and, most importantly, God’s love with the world. We’ll be learning and growing as a global body of believers while we explore the teaching theme…

Unstoppable

When the Church unites, it’s unstoppable… unstoppable grace, unstoppable compassion, unstoppable evangelism, unstoppable love, unstoppable generosity, unstoppable truth, unstoppable hope…

My Morning Session is my time to engage with Scripture and begin the process of applying it to my life.  Here’s some highlights from yesterday’s morning session:

Our words are a reflection of what’s in our hearts already.

Proverbs 12:18 - “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” (ESV)

My words are an area that I struggle with.  Sometimes, I can be harsh, critical, unloving, impatient, negative, etc.  I often say things without thinking first.  I assume that everyone reading this also struggles with similar things.  I assume this because the Bible tells us that only a perfect person has full control of his tongue (James 3:2).  This passage also tells us that if we learn to control our tongue, we will also be able to control other areas of our lives.  With one word, we can win someone over or create an enemy.  With one word, we can build someone up or tear someone down.  Our words should be something that each of us, as Christ-followers, works diligently to master because, ultimately, our words are a reflection of what’s in our hearts already.

Our words (content and tone) are a great way to tell if we possess the “Fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-26).  The “Fruit Of The Spirit” are the results of living a life connected to, surrendered to, and empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, who lives within each Christ-follower. These are the “fruit” listed in Galatians 5:

• love
• joy
• peace
• patience
• kindness
• goodness
• faithfulness
• gentleness
• self-control

If your heart was overflowing with each of these characteristics, do you think your words would be beneficial or destructive?

Pray that God would work in you and would produce this “fruit” in you.  Pray also that God would change the content and tone of your words.  Pray that they would be beneficial and not ever destructive.  Pray that your words would reflect the “fruit of the Spirit.”