My Worship Revolution

This weekend, Rachel and I went down to Canyon Lake to visit her family.  Well, I love to visit other churches whenever I can and I know some people in the area, so I left her with her mom while I went to check out Life Church in Temecula.  I found out about them through some friends who started going there several years back and have since had the opportunity to get to know their worship pastor, Eric Beeman.
It’s always nice as a worship leader to have the opportunity to be led in worship, and Eric did a great job at leading.  I know he felt like it was an off night, but I couldn’t tell and God was doing great stuff. 

In addition to the worship itself, I always find myself getting caught up in checking out the decor, setup, and technical equipment of any church I go to.  Being that we still don’t know what kind of building we could be in a year from now (or sooner), I was interested to see how they worked in a weekly setup/teardown situation at an elementary school.  They are currently in a series called "I Don’t", a relationship series.  As you walk in the front door there were two dummies there, like the bodies you’d see in storefront windows (no heads…kinda creepy).  One had on a tux and the other a wedding dress.  Next to it was a wedding arch that you walked under, covered in Christmas lights, and a white lamp post near it.  It was a really nice touch that gave you a feel for what was going on and was manageable for a weekly setup and teardown.

They also had some nice setup with their lights for their worship time.  Finally, one of the highlights for me was probably getting to take communion.  I know it sounds odd, but communion has always been a really significant and meaningful sacrament for me, and it’s not very often that I take it at Revolution since I’m leading worship when most people take it.  they happen to do it the first weekend of the month and it was just a great time of reflection and intimacy with Jesus.
Overall it was a great experience and I came away with some refreshment as well as some idea’s to store away.  The thing that I love the most about the church is their vision and passion for church planting.  The church has been in existance for 3 years, has planted 4 other successful churches in that time (one being two blocks from where they meeting), and according to their bulletin are currently averaging about 600 people a weekend.  This obviously resonates a lot with me considering the passion God has given me for church multiplication.  It’s been fun getting to hear about how God is working there and to be in relationship with them in some way.  Great job guys…keep up the good work!

Yes, it has been a very long time since I’ve blogged. I guess I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus without much to say. But I figured it was about time to throw something up here. So I’ll start with something kind of random.

Some of you know that I own a cat which my wife talked me into bringing home from a pet blessing event (not a joke) we were at last August with the street team. I must say I’ve never liked cats much – in fact I’ve hated them – but I just couldn’t say no with her giving me the pouty lip, the Bambricks all helping her out (thanks a lot Rick!), and it was a kinda cute baby kitten. I’ve always been a dog person and can’t wait til I can actually own one. But I must say, over the past year I’ve actually come to like Tigerlily (our cat’s name) maybe a little bit.

Point is, I saw this post on another blog, and I thought it was kind of fun, and most of it even has quie a bit of truth to it. So here’s a list of reasons that you might rather have a cat than a dog as posted by Billy Cox:

• Cats are cleaner than I am – My cat is an indoor cat, takes care of himself, and he hasn’t needed a bath since the first Clinton presidency.
  
• Having a cat prepares you for dealing with self-absorbed people – Dogs are man’s best friend because they are natural liars. You could be the BTK killer, and a dog will still act like your return home is the greatest thing since Kibbles and Bits. Cats on the other hand will wait for you to get with ‘their’ program even if you’re the Queen of England. What better way to prepare you to deal self-centered people than to own a cat?
  
• Cats come in basically one size – There is only a small size variance in all the cat breeds. This means that you don’t have to settle for bad temperament just to get a small pet, and a cat will never leave ‘surprises’ the size of a toaster in the yard nor will a cat ever crowd you out of your favorite recliner (although they may try to take it while you’re up for 1-2 minutes).
  
• Cats are low maintenance pets – If you can manage to keep food in a food dish, water in a water dish, and keep the ratio of litter to excrement moderately high, then you can take care of the average cat. I have taken weekend trips before and simply left plenty of food and water…and the cat did great. As smart as dogs supposedly are, they can’t do anything for themselves, unless it is figuring out how to get food trash out of a sealed trash bag.
  
• Cats respect boundaries – You never see a cat tied to the side of a house or locked in a chain link enclosure. Maybe an outdoor cat will do bad things to wildlife or to a neighbors garden, but you never hear of a cat having to be put to sleep for chasing down and biting a kid. It’s also pretty easy to train an indoor cat which furniture is off limits for them. All you need is a water gun and the self-control to only use it when the cat is about to do something you don’t want it to do.
  
• Cats remind us that we the world doesn’t revolve around us – If you want a reasonably intelligent pet that will keep your feet on the ground without making unreasonable demands, then a cat is the way to go.

Here’s a great website for online resources for worshippers. It’s got links to some great blogs, articles, videos, etc. Check it out:
insideworship.com
[thanks Eric!]

Here’s a funny video on how not to share your faith put out by Igniter Media Group. Fits in great with the “Be A Link” series we recently finished up at Revolution.

Watch “Real Christians Of Genius”

Tonight we had a great discussion as a team at the beginning of worship practice. It came out of the days reading and question from the iWORSHIP Daily Journal. The discussion centered on Matthew 15:7-9. The question attached asked what sort of things you do in worship – personal and/or corporate – that comes more from man made rules than it does a response to God.

The prominant point of our discussion dealt with clapping. Clapping during songs. Clapping after songs. Clapping after prayer as a team before the service. For many people several of these are more of a conditioned response than something that is a genuine expression of worship to God. I have to admit that as a worship leader I often wonder people’s motivation for clapping after an upbeat song. I always hope that it is a clapping for God out of a heart of worship and not clapping for the skills of the musician. I hope that it is an overflow of a joyful heart and not simply something to fill otherwise empty space between the second song and announcements.

The whole discussion was a good reminder to me to always evaluate my own motivation in my expressions of worship. I realized that I too sometimes clap out of conditioning rather than genuine worship. Next time I clap, I will be aware of why I am clapping and be intentional about it, whether it is a creator of energy and excitement in my worship or an expression of appreciation to God.

What are the things that you tend to do in worship that stems more out of man made rules or tradition rather than a genuine heart of worship? I’d love to hear your thoughts. How does God want you to respond to that realization? Does it look like changing your actions or your motivation?

Well, I think I spoke a little too quick on trying to bypass that jetlag.  After getting home I don’t think I really slept well for about a week.  Life is finally kinda back to normal…at least as normal as it gets.  I’m really not one to spend a lot of time processing something after the fact, so I’ve made a conscious effort to try and spend some time reflecting on India.  I guess it helps when lots of people are interested to hear about the trip and ask about it.  I tend to do most of my processing in the midst of an experience, so most of my learnings are what I heard from God during those two weeks in India.  During that time, it was the closest I’ve felt to God for a long time.  I said in my last post that I was going to post those learnings, so here they are (in no real particular order):

• Plant a church built on a foundation of a heart for missions
• There are lots of poor and needy in the city of Long Beach where I can make a difference daily
• Slow down a bit…enjoy life more
• There is a lot of work still to be done in India
• Start exercising and take better care of myself
• Set aside more intentional time to be close to God
• Set aside more time to spend with Rachel
• The name of Jesus has a lot of power…use that power and live in it’s fullness more often
• God has blessed you with a lot materially compared to most of the world…now use it to bless others
• Keep God’s call and vision for my life in front of me constantly in order to stay on course

Interesting that only a few of those are really directly related to India.  A lot of them are things that I believe God has been wanting me to hear, but getting away and being more sensitive to His Spirit allowed me to hear it more clearly.  Tonight I got to share those learnings with my life group and it was a blast.  Sharing them with others has helped me to remember them and be more focused on them.  It was just fun to be able to share some of my experiences with people I care about.  I didn’t realize till I started sharing that I could probably sit and share about my experiences in India for hours on end.  Any volunteers?

Well, we finally landed at LAX last night around 6:15 or so.  It’s great to be home.  Right after landing I went with Rachel, Koble, Hoff and his parents directly to In n Out!  Wow was it good!  I got to bed last night around 11 or so and actually slept pretty well.  I woke up about every hour starting around 4 am, but went back to sleep pretty quickly and I’ve felt fine today.  Hopefully jet lag doesn’t catch up to me!  Here’s a few pics to give you a small taste of India:

For more of a taste of our trip, we’ll be sharing quite a bit at church this next Sunday.  It would be a great morning to come and hear stories, songs, and see a video and pictures.  I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot of time this week getting that video ready! 

India was definitely a life changing experience.  It was probably the closest I have felt to God in a long time, and it was great to hear from him and serve him.  I know that he will continue to speak to me and teach me things from the trip in the days to come.  I have a list of some of the things God has already taught me as a result of India, and I will post that in the next day or two.  But in the mean time, I gotta head out to class.  Let’s hope jet lag doesn’t catch up to me during that!

We’ve been back in Tenali for the past few days and wow is it refreshing.  We even have ac in our rooms!!  It’s crazy the things you take for granted until you don’t have it…like real toilets (we have one of those now, too)!  I got the opportunity to open up with the first message for the pastor’s conference we are hosting.  There were about 200 or so there for the first session and probably 400 there now.  Dave and I decided on the messages at about 1 am and I was up at 10:30, so it was a bit of a stretch, but it was a blast and God worked.

Leave it up to Revolution Church to get Indian pastors out of every comfort zone you can imagine.  At the end of the teaching we had them get into small groups to discuss some questions – think life group.  They sat there like deer in headlights for a few minutes, but once they got goin it was great.  Some of them then came up and shared about God calling them to ministry and it was pretty wild to hear these pastors stories just a little bit.
I teach one more time and that’s tonight.  I’m teaching on persevering through trials from James 1:1-4.  These pastors know trials way beyond anything we ever experience in the U.S.  Just by accepting Christ here you drop to the lowest caste and are often looked down upon by society.  I just pray that God will use me to encourage them in something they probably understand more than any of us ever will.

It has been a blast to see them worship at the conference!  Last night we come in as they’re worshipping and there is a group of pastors dancing in front of the platform.  It was hot and sticky, but before you know it, Hutton was down there dancin up a storm with em!  You’d have been proud of him Beth…he’s got some moves!   This morning Dave Sloan and then Chris Hoff ended up down there dancing so I went down to get a picture of Hoff.  Before I knew it, they grabbed me and there I was dancin for Jesus.  We had a great time celebrating together.  I hope that one thing I can bring back with me is that heart for celebrating and being "undignified" through my body and my spirit for Christ.  No matter what sort of tribulations and challenges these pastors are going through there is such a joy in their lives as a result of the life they have in Jesus.  I want more of that in my daily life.  I want more of that in my daily worship.

That’s right, tonight is the final of our 5 crusades in and around the Repalle area. Tonight I will be giving the message and Dave will call people to respond to Christ. Of course, by the time many of you read this in the morning we will be done with our last crusade and on our way back to Tenalli for more ministry there.

It’s been a rough couple days with lots of people feeling sick. I was happy to have made it through relatively unscathed…until today. Nothing to sever, but let’s just say the grape juice we had this morning didn’t stay down very long. The team went to another wedding this morning and I hung back with a few people to get some rest. I feel much better at this point.

This has definitely been significantly different from anything I have ever experienced, but I have been loving it so much. It has stretched me and I have seen Gd work in such amazing ways through myself and others on the team. On Sunday morning I helped lead half the team as we visited a church in the area. Wow, is there a big difference between the way they do church and we do church. We got there and the church was empty. After about 15 minutes, the pastor got on a mike that could be heard by the whol village and let them know church was starting. We got to meet Suresh’s brother, Sudheer, who translated for us and did some preaching. They really know how to celebrate in their worship here. After Sudheer preached for a while, Chris Hoff and Jessica Mcgrath did awesome jobs giving their testimonies. Paulaa then did an amazing job preching the word of God.

While she was preaching I went to ask one of the translators who was sitting by the pastor if we could invite people forward and pray for healing. He told me that would be fine, an oh yeah, you still have another hor you can fill. So he told me to preach and then invite people forward. That wan’t in the plan! So after Paula we sang another song for them, than I refered back to Psalm 61 which Sudheer had talked about earlier. I talked about Jesus and his healing of the paralytic, and then had a call to pray. Many came forward and our team got to work. It was an awesome morning. The morning was capped off after church when we gather to pray for a man lying on the ground. Our team stepped up to pray and we experienced a radical deliverance for this man. He was set free right in front of our eyes from demonic strongholds and it truly was a life changing experience I believe for several there who had never experienced such a thing. Spiritual warfare is a very real thing and is much more prevalent here than in our American culture.

Much of our team is beginning to feel much better. Please pray for the strengh to finish strong. As I said, it has been an awesome trip for myself, but I do miss home quite a bit. I’ve had the chance to talk with a couple guys on the trip and we shared the same difficulties in missing our loved ones back home. I look forward to seeing family and friends when I return. One thing I have learned is how much harder it is to be away now that I’m married. This is the first time doing something like this since getting married a year and a half ago, and I look forward to spending time with Rachel when I get home. I was actually surprised to hear that many of the guys on the trip who have been married much longer than me on this trip have not been away from their wives for this long either. Just know that if you are reading this and you have a loved one here, you have definitely been on their minds and you are missed.

So here we go.  Tonight we head out to save some more souls, then on to the pastors conference among other things in Tenali.  I’ll try to keep you posted!

Have you ever told someone about Jesus and have them reply with the age old question, "What about the island in the middle of nowhere where they have never heard of Jesus?"  I was at one of those last night.  And I will visit another tonight and 2 more after that.  Yesterday, after dedicating another water well, we drove about an hour to the coast on the Bay of Bengal.  We then waded out into knee deep water with calf deep mud (at least it was kinda like mud) to get to an old motorized boat.  Most of us sat on the roof of the boat for the 45 minute boat ride.  Hoff, Sloan and I took a few minutes before leaving shore to take a little dip.  It felt great in the HOT and HUMID weather here.

After the ride we arrived on an Island with 1200 people living there.  This Island was severely affected by the Tsunami.  Many of them have truly had to start life over.  Being there was like stepping into a time machine.  Fences made of sticks.  Everyone living in grass and bamboo huts.  Very little electricity was available on the Island.  All over there were roaming water buffalo, goats, and chicken.  These people fish for a living, but their village cannot eat the fish because they must sell it inorder to survive.  We were fed an amazing meal there of shrimp and fish that were caught that afternoon.  We were then able to give a medical camp to the people, providing medicine and shots for many sick people of the island.  As they were there we were able to pray over them individually, laying hands on them, praying for healing, and blessing them in the name of Jesus Christ.

After that we held a crusade on the Island where we shared the Gospel with them for the first time ever.  Over 200 Indians accepted Christ for the first time, and that was most of the people there.  There weresome Indian pastors with us there to meet with them. These pastors are moving there to plant a church on the island and walk with these people on the long journey ahead.  We then finished the night by feeding the people of the village.  Suresh told us that it was probably the best meal they had ever had for many of them.

This is just one experience of several from just yesterday alone.  The amount of work to be done here is overwhelming at times.  There are still thousands of villages in Southern India with no good drinking water.  But for the time being, we can make a difference a little at a time.  Luke 15 makes it so clear how much God loves and pursues every individual person.  The people here are so hungry, not only physically, but spiritually for the Good News of Jesus.

Thank you so much for all of you who are praying for me.  It was so great to read your comments and to know that you are thinking of me.  I was able to have a short conversation with Rachel this morning and it was so great to hear her voice.  Please pray for her as I’m over here.  Please continue to pray for myself and the team.  Tonight I have the opportunity to call people to respond to Christ at the crusade.  Pray for the health of our team as we keep up a heavy schedule in foreign conditions.  I can feel that this has already been a life changing experience.  It is so different from anything I have ever experienced on any other missions trip or in any other country.  I look forward to sharing more as the time comes.