WholeHeartedLife

Who Would be to Blame?

"Worship demands purity. Over and over we have seen that the prerequisite to the privilege of entering God's presence is the recognition of personal sinfulness and a willingness to abandon that sinfulness. A consuming desire to be pure and clean is the normal result of being with God. The closer we draw to God, the more overwhelmed we become with our sinfulness... if the corporate worship in the church leaves people unchanged, the church is not really worshiping. If what goes on in the church service does not spur the saints to greater obedience, call it what you will, it isn't worship. Worship always results in a transformation, and the church is edified by it." - John MacArthur, Jr. 

What about you? Have you experienced transformation through worship lately? Who would be to blame? Maybe it's time to get to the root of the challenge.

Song Story

This song has become "my song". I love it's words, it's melodies and most of all IT'S HOPE. The following is the story BEHIND the song - you gotta take 4 minutes and check this out:

 

 Now... here's the song:

Night of Worship is TONITE!

Yeah, we know it's Wednesday Nite. We also know that you worked today. We also know that your a. your yard needs mowing, b. you've got clothes to wash, c. you still haven't finished that project, OR d.  you're just really, really tired and today is humpday.

I'm telling ya... forget about it (at least for an hour) and come on out tonite for our Summer Kick-off "Night of Worship".

You know, Summer is a time for ministry, a time to bless, a time to make a difference. And that's exactly what we plan to begin tonite. So join us tonite at 6:45pm for the purpose of "oneness" - a time to lift our voices and celebrate our Savior together - a time to worship with some that we miss because they attend another service or serve in another area of hyde park. 

(By the way: One of you just said, "What about my kidz?" The kidz can go to kidz choir while the grown-ups will worship together - they NEED to be in kidz choir anyway, right? Excuses gone, call a friend to come with you and don't miss it!)

See ya tonite!

Contemplating Picturesque Lyrics

Great lyricists are amazing. They make you think, challenge your heart, fill you with hope and have a way of pointing you to their inspiration for their song.

So over a year ago I mentioned this song  "How He Loves" by John Mark McMillan, that had so captured my heart and mind. I love the fact on the surface it sounds like a highly passionate worship song but is actually the writers descriptive lyrical picture of a close friend and mentor dying and coming into the presence of God Himself. I love that he is trying to help himself (and us in the process) comprehend in a picturesque way God's holiness, His mercy and grace and how humbling it will be when we truly enter into His presence. In fact, verse 1 is describing what his friend may have encountered/experienced and felt when He saw Jesus...

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight
Of His wind and mercy
All of a sudden I am unaware of
These afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realized just how beautiful You are 
And how great Your affections are for me
Oh, how He loves us so - Oh how He loves us - how He loves us so.

But you know, for me, it gets really interesting in the 2nd verse (or bridge depending on your interpretation) where the lyrics take us:

We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean we're all sinking
And heaven meets earth like a sloppy, wet kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way that He loves us
Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves. 

You know, I've wept at those lyrics... I've worshiped majorly because of those lyrics... I've also now experienced those lyrics as a lead worshiper singing them with every ounce of conviction and surrender that I could muster and I must admit...

I could see how someone who isn't looking deeply into what's being said could miss the depths of what's being sung. The writer doesn't give his interpretation so I will do my best to describe what they say to me: 

• "We are his portion and He is our prize" - his portion of our lives is us - ALL of us. Not the church part or the "spiritual" part but all of us. We belong to Him. (1 Cor 6:19-20). God is the prize that all who trust in Him will receive upon death. We have no way to adequately explain how much of a prize he is until the day that we are physically in His presence.

• "Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes" - I've always believed that the day that I actually see His face will be a day of shame. Why shame? I don't think that, even in the love that He's given me for Himself, I don't believe enough - at least not enough to leave behind totally a life of sin. However (and praise God for the however) I believe that as dreadful as experiencing the presence of the Holy God may seem I also believe that I will also find myself in awe and love with the God who has promised redemption and forgiveness to me by NO MERIT OF MY OWN. Unbelievable...

• "If His grace is an ocean we're all sinking" - imagine falling into the middle of the ocean with no lifejacket, nothing to grab onto and just water in all directions - there would be no hope of survival. That doesn't even describe the depths of God's grace towards us.

Then comes the lyric that rocked my world:

• "And heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss" - to me, this is his way of describing of the reality of heaven and earth meeting, Deity and humanity becoming one in a passionate, all encompassing way. It's kind of messy - it's real - it's passion - it's all or nothing...

• "and my heart turns violently inside of my chest" - when He (and us) come face to face with HIM how will we not be losing it?!? This guy is meeting the Savior - He's in the presence of the One that it says sits upon a mighty throne and is so above all that angels can't even look upon Him and constantly shout "You are Holy". 

• "I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that He loves us" - in spite of all that he is experiencing; in spite of the fact that he just wants to hide; in spite of the fact that it feels as if his heart will burst inside of him this man is overcome by the LOVE OF THE SAVIOR. It is realized that all the regrets and shame that is slamming him in the face are nothing (NOTHING!!!) compared to this love, this incomprehendable love.

He loves us - He loves you. So, what's your interpretation of the lyrics "and heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest - I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us"??? Looking forward to your response.

Night of Worship

Normally for us at hyde park, Sunday evening is for family. After a morning packed with 3 worship services, seeing lives changed and loving us some Jesus, we take the rest of our days to spend time with those we love the most.

However, every once in a while we get together on Sunday Nites for the purpose of "oneness" - a time to lift our voices and celebrate our Savior together - a time to worship with some that we miss because they attend another service or serve in another area of hyde park. Guess what:

It's that time again!!!

On Sunday nite, March 22nd at 6pm we will raise the roof, lift our voices and unashamedly worship our Lord! Make plans now... DO NOT MISS THIS EVENING!

Daddy's Coming!

EVERYBODY has attended a kidz musical program at one time or another. You may have attended as a guest - you most likely all attended as a performer. If you are a parent you know that inevitably there will come a time when your school-age children will have a program where you will go and watch them sing. You'll dress them up pretty (handsomely for the tough boys), you'll get your cameras and make the husband get the video recorder. You'll have an argument before the musical because your husband didn't charge the camera today like you clearly told him to this morning and you're not surprised because he never does what you tell him and...

You know the routine: you go to the function, one parent drops the kidz off at the appointed meeting spot while the other goes to the auditorium to get the best possible seat - the one with the best angle for video (must be close for sound quality reasons) while assuring that you can get the great camera shots when your little one is singing.

You don't care how they sing - you love them and are just tickled to see them perform for you. And the kidz on the other hand - they are singing with their class but they are singing for you. As a matter of fact, when they catch you out of the corner of their eye they actually sing just a little bit harder (just in case you can't hear "them" good enough).

Who are the kidz singing for? They are singing for the people that they love more than anyone else in the world, their parents. That's a picture of our corporate worship.

When we gather in the place of worship together we get ready because "Daddy's" coming; He's coming and He's not coming to be entertained by our excellent singers and extravagant band; No, Daddy is coming to hear you sing to Him.

"Oh, I don't really sing well..." is the excuse - Daddy doesn't care. "When we worship together I'm worshiping, I just do it to myself - after all, I don't want to offend anyone with my voice.". What parent who loves their child isn't thrilled to watch them sing, even when he/she isn't a gifted singer? Maybe as you worship you just need to "catch Him out of the corner of your eye" - it will make you sing just a little harder just in case He can't hear you.

Some of you aren't that familiar yet with Him to actually think of Him as Daddy, much less call Him that. Guess what: He's familiar with you! He delights in you and He loves to hear you sing to Him. He smiles when He hears you sing about Him. He is proud when you talk to others about Him. Nothing would please Him more than for you to stop fighting Him and just begin loving Him.

⁶Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba,^[a] Father." ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Galatians 4:6,7

We sing. We sing LOUD. We sing for Daddy. Sunday's Coming... will you be ready to sing for Him?

A Tension I Deal With

In Sunday's message Pastor made this statement: If there's no tension in you, where's the challenge to your faith? In other words (from the outline) "When you walk by faith God will always take you outside your comfort zone".

This is not my only tension - but none-the-less I began thinking about myself as a worship leader and the tension I find myself dealing with. I find a tension within myself in the challenge I have planning worship week in and week out. That tension is getting beyond the challenge of programming for JESUS rather than people. If you plan worship long enough you will eventually get to the place where you will be challenged by the desire to program in a way that acheives the desired results of the music. But the truth is...

What God needs from me as a worship leader isn't good music - He desires a leader who can present supernatural worship.

Not to be all weird and churchy on you, but our music should be set apart and anointed by God. When we lead worship, that worship needs to hold within it the supernatural - the presence of JESUS, the power to break through all the junk that people bring into the house from their week. Let's face it - they come in from all different places in life: some worshpers, some seekers; some broken hearted, some wholehearted; some offering all they have, some giving God one more chance.

We shouldn't... NO! WE CAN'T just half-heartedly walk into the house of worship acting as if we're doing God a favor by showing up. This is especially huge for the worship leader, singer, band member and A/V tech - but you know it's also important for the believer sitting in the congregation. After all, prayer and worship is not for God's benefit (He doesn't need our worship - He has created beings who were made for the purpose of worship who have and will worship Him for eternity) - worship and prayer is for our benefit.

May we all remember that what we do in woship is not entertainment - it's our spiritual act of worship, singing to the ONE, the only ONE Who holds the power to break the chains that people have in their lives. 

What spiritual tension do you have in you? Teaching? Hospitality? Serving? Healing? Blessing? Whatever you do, do it supernaturally in the power of God.

My Thankful List

I'm in the middle of preparing for Sunday's message but my mind wandered to Thanksgiving (not the food that I will consume, that will probably dominate tomorrow ). I was just thinking about all that I am grateful for this year. This will by no means be complete or in any order of importance (and I'm sure I'll add to this as the day goes on) but I wanted to have some public Thanksgiving and Praise.

• JESUS. You changed my life when You gave me the faith to believe into my relationship with You, God. What You had planned for my life is so far from the plans that I had. Thank You for Your Spirit which leads and guides me through my life.
• My Family. I have the greatest family in the world. My wife is beautiful, loving and exactly "on point" when it comes to decifering the depths of my heart, the root issues. And my children are a constant reminder of God and bring me so much happiness. God uses them to teach me about my relationship with Him.
• The Bible. God is rockin' my world with His! The Word is alive and daily speaks into the issues I struggle with - no matter how large or how insignificant it may seem to me.
• My Friends. When God brought me into His family He placed people in my life that taught me what it meant to love others who are not your family LIKE FAMILY (you may need to read that again ). I was so afraid of who my friends would be (as I only had 1 friend who was a Jesus follower and he lived hundreds of miles away - isn't that amazing?). Those of you who are close friends of mine bring depth into my life and relationship. Thank you for loving me, praying for me, making me laugh - doing life with mike p!
• My Church. Hyde Park rocks!!! We have so far to go but I truly believe that it is God's plan to turn this region upside down using us. It is our goal to help people meet Jesus, once they meet Him to become more like Him so that they might, in turn, help others meet Jesus. Amen? I have often commented that this church today looks like the church of my dreams 10 years ago but goes beyond what I ever saw. Love the body of Hyde Park.
• Lumberton. I DO love Lumberton. I'm like an ambassador. I mean, look, even our web address is www.lovinglumberton.com . I know that the message I preached a couple of weeks ago ("I Got This One!") was eye-opening about our town to say the least, but remember how it ended.

 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
       and his courts with praise;
       give thanks to him and praise his name.

 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
       his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5 NIV)

Now it's your turn - let's blow this up!!! What are you thankful for?

My Breakout Session

On Saturday morning at the "What's Next?" Conference for Baptist Campus Ministry, I led a breakout session called, "The 10 "BE's" of a Lead Worshiper" - here are the notes from that session:

1. Be excellent: to be excellent you must define what excellence looks like; and don't define that by other churches (setting the bar too low). You must be excellent at what you do if you expect it from others. I am sick of the church having such a lack of excellence about it. Demand excellence: rehearsal and practice are not the same thing. I tell our musicians, "Practice is what you do by yourself to grow as a musician, learn songs and prepare to meet with all of us - Rehearsal is what we do when we put it all together. Your lack of preparation negates anothers hard work." Quit making excuses: excuses give me "an out" when i don't give my best. We use people who aren't talented because "they love the Lord" and then wonder why people don't wanna come to our gatherings. There is talent on your campus - they may be lost - a great way to lead them to JESUS is by using them!
2. Be Patient: Ministry is a Cruise Ship, not a Ferarri. Ferarri's are fast and turn very quickly but they only carry 2 people. A cruise ship CANNOT turn quickly but it carries thousands of people - Ministry is like the cruise ship, if you turn it too quick you'll make people sick...
3. Be Humble: this one is hard... because if you do this (lead worship), God made you with this ability to stand before people and perform, and speak, and it takes a certain amount of confidence. If you don't watch out, that confidence will turn into pride. Don't drink the Kool-Aid everyone gives to you (you know what the Kool-Aid is?): "you are SO great! God is using you SO much!". "You have such an annointing!" "You're the reason we come here!" I REPEAT: do not drink the Kool-Aid! It tastes good! don't drink it! It's poisonous... And besides, when you do you STEAL GOD'S GLORY... whenever someone does this, point them back to JESUS... which brings us to...
4. Be a Worshiper: no-brainer, huh? One of the most dangerous things in the world is to become a "professional worshiper". Let me share something with you: God is more concerned with your private worship on Monday morning than He is impressed with your public worship on Sunday. Listen to this:

   21 "I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
          I cannot stand your assemblies.

   22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
          I will not accept them.
          Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, ^[a]
          I will have no regard for them. (We cannot buy God!)

   23 Away with the noise of your songs! (Without the heart the most Theological of songs is noise to You, O God)
          I will not listen to the music of your harps. (Amos 5:21-23 - NIV)
   
   It is possible to "DO" the actions that represent worship without truly worshiping. The actions of worship w/o the heart of worship is nothing more than meaningless ritual.

5. Be Accountable: Who has permission to speak into your life when it is obvious something is out of whack? Who knows you like that? Being a stage personality (no matter how big or small) can be dangerous, what did i say earlier? Don't drink the Kool-Aid! You need a few people who you can let your guard down with... make sure they are as strong or stronger than you (you don't want that to be someone you can push around). It's too easy to fall... make sure there is someone there to keep that from happening. Be diligent about this.
6. Be Challenged: everything you do is a challenge to others, who is challenging you? Blogs... Vision... Be a learner (not a follower) what works somewhere might not work in your context - maybe not now. I was told 9 years ago that what I do NOW would not work in our region. Which brings me to...
7. Be Prayed Up: Direction comes from JESUS! You need a white-hot vision from JESUS, not from another church or someone's blog! Spiritual covering, Spiritual Guidance, Spiritual Eyes (i used to thank God in advance for what He had yet to do but i was believing Him for... "thank you, Jesus, for the drummer you're gonna send." (I told the story of leading our drummer James to Jesus one nite in our parking lot).
8. Be filled with the Holy Spirit: The power of the Holy Spirit will bring you a holy boldness that does not reek of puffed-up arrogance... Boldness is the annointing to

9. Be creative - God is outrageously creative - look at the world! Why are we boring? We have believed the lie that excellence is not a priority.

10. Be Dangerous: We have the power of the Living God on our side, what are we afraid of? BSU should not be a safe-haven for little christian youth group kidz, it should be a dangerous place that JESUS uses to bring light and life onto a campus. Your worship ministry creates the whole atmosphere of the evening - you gotta "bring it!".
11. Be a Question Asker (so go ahead, ask me some questions)

That was the outline... it was well recieved and had some great questions thrown at me. I've said it before, i love ministering with this age group!

a riddle?

I sent some scripture to the worship team on Monday - in the form of a riddle - thought I would share it (and some interpretations) with you, so here it is:

2 Samuel 6:12-16; 20-23

12 "Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, dance before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart...

20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"

21 David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor."

23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death."

This is really serious, but treat it like a riddle - can you figure out why I am sending this to you?

What about the rest of you - your comments?