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In response to myself

Shortly after writing yesterday’s post, I finished reading a book I’ve been reading for far too long (it’s only 120 pages and I’ve been going quite slowly).  I will put the recommendation out there, however – In the Beginning, God by Marva Dawn (actually her pen name).  In this book she makes the case that the foundation for the worship of God is contained in Genesis 1-3.  It’s quite good, actually, and as I said, it’s only 120 pages, you can borrow it if you would like 🙂

Anyway, I came across something in the second to last chapter that was quite an interesting observation about our view of suffering.  She says:

…it seems that only in the wealthy west has suffering become a major reason to doubt God.  In most poorer nations of the world, tribulation is an impetus toward faith and a clinging to the comfort of belief.  Does our affluence make us presume that we can buy understanding?

So, she saying that we many times use pain and suffering as an excuse to blame or ignore God, when in reality, we should be using pain and suffering to run to God!  (I guess that’s pretty much what C.S. Lewis said in the quote I wrote yesterday).

Silly David, pain stinks but God’s love is HUGE.
Just fall deeper in love with Him and cling to Him and He will carry you through the trial (but not necessarily take it away).

🙂

I’ve got another song for you today 🙂

Happy Birthday

For many people today, it is a day to celebrate all things Irish, drink beer, eat corned beef, and wear green.  For our household, however, March 17th means something completely different.

As many of you know, back in July we discovered that Sarah was pregnant.  At first, there was shock, then fear, then much joy.  A few weeks later, we were in the presence of many of our family members and broke the news to them (my dad found out he was gonna be a grandpa on his 50th birthday!)  Then, just shortly after that, we discovered that the baby was gone.

Today was the official due date of our first child.

All sorts of questions come up when pain enters a person’s life.  Especially for those of us who trust in Christ, painful situations hardly ever make sense.  The seemingly universal question, “why do bad things happen to good people?” seems to forever haunt those who experience trials.   Sometimes I wonder if it was something I did, and now am being “punished” for it, but I know that’s more or less irrational thought, and it’s hardly a biblical one.

The best that I can tell is that God gives us trials to bring us to call on His name.  C.S. Lewis puts it this way, “Because we are rebels against God who must lay down our arms, our other pains may indeed constitute God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world to surrender.”  Of course, included in the definition of “deaf world” I think should be Christians.  It’s easy to assume that once we follow Christ, we are no longer deaf to him, but that is so far from the truth in too many cases.


However, God also chooses to put people through trials that are not deaf to Him.  Job, of course, is a perfect example.  He was known as being “upright and blameless” in the sight of God.  That’s a pretty good resume.  Still, God stripped him of every earthly thing he had and his response? 
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.  The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”


May my response always be to praise the name of the Lord no matter what comes my way.


In closing, I would just like to say that maybe somewhere in heaven there is a child who is being loved by his grandmother and a grandmother who is being loved by her first grandchild.  A good friend (who is almost certainly reading this) has sadly lost a few children, perhaps they have met our child too?  Oh to know the mysteries of heaven!  I cannot wait to experience the joy of life with no more pain, suffering, crying or shame (Rev. 21:4) and perhaps meet the child I never knew.


There is a birthday I would like to celebrate today.  On the continent of Africa there is a now 4 year old girl named Sau Assan.  For a while Sarah and I have talked about sponsoring a child, and we picked Sau since she was born on March 17th (and her favorite subject is music, how cool is that?)  I would like to encourage you to consider child sponsorship if you haven’t done so before.  We sponsor through www.worldvision.org but certainly www.compassion.com is also a great place to help a child as well.


If you’re still with me, after this lengthy post, here’s a song to listen to for anyone who has ever lost a child too soon.

Dare to Be a Kid

Think of the last time that you truly in awe of something.
For me, it was when the doors to the sanctuary in Michigan opened to reveal Sarah in all of her bridal glory!
Goodness! 😉
Shortly after that, we experienced some awesome sights in Mexico, but since then, I’ve been hard pressed to be impressed.

Sometimes I tease Sarah a bit when she experiences new things because of the face that she makes when she’s really enjoying something, and she seems to be more easily impressed than me (that’s a good thing).  Like the time when we went to the auto show (the auto show!) and she was walking around like a kid in a candy store!  Then, I took her on her first trip to Wrigley Field.  If you’ve never been, it really is magical, I promise.  She still refers to it with excitement, and can’t wait to go back this summer.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus uses children as an example when He talks about faith?  I mean, children are naive, still learning what it means to be a person, and some don’t have a solid grasp of reality – why on earth would we want to be childlike in our faith?

Now, I’ve never been myself, but I’ve heard plenty of stories of adults who suddenly become kids when entering Disney World.  I’m not talking about adults like me who are kind of kid-like often, I’m talking about well mannered, mature, educated adults that experience a sudden transformation upon entering the magic land of Mickey.  The wonder and awe of the childhood returns as they relive the experience of the cartoons that helped shape them growing up.

Maybe this is just a taste of what Jesus is talking about when it comes to our faith.  Where every experience we have of God is in awe and wonder, not lifeless and boring.  I remember the times when I would “go exploring” out in the woods and the mystery and excitement of it all would enrapture my imagination.  How often do I let the awe, mystery, wonder and excitement of God’s Word take my heart and mind to new places?  Where my time with God is not just “that thing Christians do” but instead becomes the most exciting place during my day where my learning, growth and exploration become thrilling and meaningful!  Jesus also says that our faith should be like that of a child.  See kids are “not smart enough” to know why something isn’t going to work, or why something isn’t magical, they just believe something to be true and it becomes true for them.  Well, imagine a God who can do anything asking you to step out in faith, not knowing what the outcome can be.  With that small, innocent, childlike faith, we can move mountains!

Ok, then!  Let’s learn to be kids again (some of you are thinking that “again” shouldn’t apply to me) and follow Jesus wholeheartedly with excitement, awe and wonder!  In Mark 10:14-15 Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  Children accept a gift with openness and wonder, accept God’s gift and continue on in the wonder of who He is!

Spill Your Guts

First of all, thanks for the notes after the last post – I really appreciate it.  Still working on getting the comments fixed – you can continue to leave messages on facebook if you are led.

Ok, onto the thought I stole from someone else for today:
For many people, unfortunately, Christianity has been whittled down to a series of rules and regulations.  Which is really a pity.  If everything about God were a mighty tree, like that big one from Avatar, rules and regulations would be a toothpick – for a human, not a Navi.  However, more often than not, living a certain way seems to be what’s focused on by too many Christians and God is so much bigger and greater than our rules.  Now, don’t get me wrong, God does give us guidelines for life, but not so we would be bound by all His rules, but so we could be truly free.  For instance, “thou shalt not commit adultery” which to many people sounds so restrictive and limiting, was actually a God designed “rule” for our benefit!  Sex within marriage is one of the greatest gifts God has given us, and anything outside His plan for that diminishes God’s ideal.

Ok, you get the point. 

Sin can tear down not only others, but our own souls as well, but God’s ideal is that we live free from the bondage of sin.  The first gateway to freedom from sin is a relationship with Christ.  Loving Him, letting Him love you, and asking Him to forgive you from when you’ve strayed from His ideal, but for those of us who know Christ, we know that our sin struggles do not just magically disappear.  And that finally leads me to where this post is going…

Do you ever sit down with a friend for some serious accountability?  I don’t mean “I said a bad word after I hit my finger with a hammer,” but some real deep thoughts and struggles?  For me, it hasn’t happened too many times in my life, but those are the most freeing, albeit difficult, conversations I have ever had.  The love and support of fellow believers is a fantastic gift from God and is one of the reasons God has kept me away from much sin to this day.  Being honest with a friend is an awesome thing, but what about being honest with yourself, or even with God?

Imagine getting in a room where there are two chairs placed facing each other, only a few feet apart.  You enter, and sit at one of the chairs, possibly a bit nervous and worried about the conversation about to happen.  The room might even seem a bit cold as you await the time when you will “spill your guts” about what’s happening in your heart.  Then you look up into that chair across from you, which remains empty, and begin to share with Jesus how you have fallen short of His ideal, and ask Him once again to forgive you.  He knows this is a difficult conversation for you, but He listens intently with compassion all over His face, and when you are finished, He stands up, embraces you, and says, “you are forgiven, I love you.”  Suddenly, the coldness of the room melts away, and you lose yourself in the love of Jesus.

Wow.

Freedom.

Freedom from sin and guilt.

Freedom to experience God’s love through His Son Jesus and His never ending love.  No sin to too big to escape God’s love.  If you struggle with sin, and it’s keeping you from a more vibrant relationship with God, Jesus is there with His arms wide open waiting for you, and there are people at your church who will sit with you and help you in your struggle.  It’s important to remember not to say, “God could never love me because I did this…” or something along those lines.  Instead of looking at yourself for what you are (or what you think you are), look at yourself the way God sees you.  If you know Christ, He sees you as a man or woman of God, saved by His love.  If you do not personally know Christ, He sees you as His creation, made in His likeness, and He’s just waiting for You to invite Him into your life.

Have a wonderful rest of your week everyone.

What time is it?

Ok, so my mind is racing about somethings that I was dealing with today, and I can’t sleep. I know you’ve all had those days. So, what better thing to do at 1am than to write a post on my sadly neglected blog that I will probably delete in the morning because it ends up being something that only makes sense at 1am.

Anyway…

I’ve figured something out, and in my immense wisdom, I’m going to share with you.

What I’ve figured out is that I haven’t figured anything out.
Sorry if you got really excited about the next bit of revolutionary thought, but that’s all I’ve got. In our church, I was hired as the “Pastor of Worship”, but it seems that more often that not, I’m more of just the arts coordinator and song leader, which is certainly traditionally what someone in my position would be doing. However, I really feel that I need to work on the “pastor” part of my title, and even more so the “worship” part of my title. As a technician, while I certainly have ways to go, I do pretty well. I even wowed a friend today at how I can deftly maneuver around a lead sheet and can orchestrate both instruments and vocals with relative simplicity (you’re impressed, I know), but that’s not really the point of what I do, is it? Sure, that’s what everyone really sees, and that’s what I learned in school, and certainly if I failed to lead a positive musical experience on Sundays, everyone would notice, but directing a bunch of extraordinarily talented musicians shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for anyone with nearly a masters in music.
The problem for me comes in with the title. I’m not the “minister of music” or even “director”, I’m the “pastor of worship” and it seems to me that is a much bigger responsibility.

It seems that the more God teaches me through His word and through many thoughtful authors about worship, the more I realize how far I am from understanding what that is really all about (not that I thought I knew everything before, I just thought I wasn’t so far from a good understanding). Sure, it’s easy to spout out a definition of worship as “giving worth to God” or something, but we all know it’s much more than just a simple definition.

Worship first starts with me and my heart. That part I do know. Nothing I do on Sunday mornings even matters if I’m not worshiping God and actively pursuing a relationship with Him during the week. This is a real struggle for me much of the time to be honest, and not really for any good reason. It would be easy to say, “I’m really busy” or “I’m just so tired and need time to rest”, but in reality, those sentences are just excuses, and hardly true anyway. A better response would be “I’m too busy not to” or “I’m so tired that I need Jesus to refresh me”, but I don’t get to that point often enough.

I love God. I really do. I am so thankful for Jesus and so desire to live in close relationship with Him. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do spend time with Jesus and He is growing me, that much is true, but I just know I have a long way to go.

I’m struck again with something that I have been reminded of lately about what it means to worship God. John Piper says that the “chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.” Without going too much into what he means, basically, he’s saying that God is most glorified when we find our deepest satisfaction in Him. When we truly live our lives in such a way where our main goal in life is to find peace, rest, joy, hope, and satisfaction in God, He receives the most glory. That comes out in our families, our churches, our jobs, missions, and worship, etc. When I worship God with every aspect of my life, my life will be different, and only God will be able to have the glory.

Well, that was painful. Sorry about that. It’s now 1:30am.
Seriously, leave some comments. I love dialogue! (I know only a few people read this, but it’s good for me to write – it’s kinda like I have a journal that is accessible to the world)

The Most Wonderful Time

HOLY SMOKES!

I’m so sorry that it’s been since September since I last posted, but here we go!

Ah, Christmastime
There’s nothing quite like it. Decorations everywhere, the music (even my chiropractor plays Christmas music, and sometimes sings along), all the crazy shopping, the parties, the FOOD, lots of family, friends, and laughter. I’m getting all nostalgic just thinking about it all 😉
For me, and my Church music friends, Christmastime also means some crazy services to plan for, but we all love it, right?

This year, we’re focusing on imagining what it would have been like to be there that night. Seeing the birth of Christ, witnessing the angels and the shepherds, beholding the glory of a star outshining all others in the sky. Wow. In our drama, two angels first hear about how Christ is coming to earth and notice that the preparations appear to be rather minimal, and wonder how the coming of the Son of God to earth could be such a “small” event. Finally, when they lay eyes on a tiny baby wrapped in cloth in His mother’s arms, they realize that this is a special effect that could only have come from the mind of God. Wow again.

To me, what makes this production so special is that it helps us to envision Christmas in a fresh way. I think it begins to become cliche after seeing and hearing the same story over and over again. We still love to hear it, and we love the season, but the magic is gone.

That’s my hope for this year. That the magic will return for everyone who walks in the doors of our church. That those who have been Christians for years and years will walk out in awe of God’s creativity and power, and that those who don’t know Christ will hear the story in a new way and be blown away by the love of a Savior.

So, Trinity people: invite your friends and family to Imagine Christmas on December 20th. Take them out for lunch afterward, too. It’ll be worth your time, and maybe change their life. Let’s make this a Christmas to remember, and remember again why it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Sunday Set List

This is my first Sunday Set List post. Found out about this blogger named Fred McKinnon – chance to share what we do on Sundays with other worship leaders. View other Sunday Setlists here: http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/09/27/sunday-setlists-62/

So, here we go!

We are currently doing a series entitled “Champion”. It’s about all the things we want to champion as a church – so, not like a sports champion, but just things we want to pursue. Today’s theme was “People Need the Lord”.

Band today:
Piano
Keys
Drums
Latin Percussion (first time ever!)
Bass
Electric Guitar
Acoustic Guitar
Me and 3 vocalists

Songs for today:
Montana (prelude)
Santo Santo Eres (hence the Latin percussion)
Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?
Remedy
God of this City

Our church has a growing presence in different Hispanic communities. First, we have multiple mission trips a year to a few different orphanages in the Baja, Mexico and we also have a ministry to a community in Painesville, OH with many different ethnic groups. So, for this morning, we did a prelude and our first song in our worship set in Spanish. Santo, Santo, Eres (Holy, Holy are You) is cool because it has a nice English translation that we sang in conjunction with the Spanish. It is so awesome to experience the message of God in other languages and cultures. I also think the congregation appeased me kindly and maybe even enjoyed it a bit as well 😉 God of this City was accompanied by some video footage our people and places in our area to help focus us on where we are asking God to come and do amazing things.

Dr. Bob brought it home, as usual. I think the message of the morning was clear and effective. Those of you that were there – what did you think? I’d love to hear your comments.

The Missing Feelings

Well, this post is entirely copied, and taken out of context.
This is part of an article written by John Piper, you can read the article (speaking about being angry with God) here.

Talking about our love and passions for Christ, or our Christian life in general, we many times dismiss our feelings because they “can’t be trusted” or “our passion for God shouldn’t be about feelings” and so on…

Here’s what John Piper has to say about feelings:

This kind of thinking about feelings is one of the reasons there is so much shallow Christianity. We think the only things that have moral significance in the world are acts of volition. And we think feelings like desire and delight and frustration and anger are not acts of volition, but waves that break on the shore of our souls with no moral significance. Small wonder that many people do not earnestly seek to be transformed at the level of feelings, but only of “choices.” That makes for a very superficial saint (at best).

Woah.

It's coming…

What is worship supposed to look like? That, of course, is a huge question that has been asked for thousands of years, and I am sure not about to give some kind of trite answer to that here.

However, I want to put forth these questions:
What is worship supposed to look like for you?
What is worship supposed to look like for your church?

All over the world people of all backgrounds, races, and cultures have decided what worship looks like for themselves. One of the biggest problems that missionaries have had in the past century is going to foreign countries and suggesting to the people that appropriate worship is “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” or “Amazing Grace” and the expressions in their culture are completely invalid. What those people believed is that we were giving them the “American God” but not a god they could relate to, and they lost interest. It wasn’t until we told them to embrace their culture and redeem it for the Lord that they began to see revival. God was now in their language.

So, what about our language?
That’s the funny thing about America right now, we have a bunch of different languages, especially in the church. We have people who claim that true worship is only the hymns of old, we have people who proclaim that unless you’re lifting your hands in surrender during an emotional praise song, you’re not worshiping, and so on and so forth.

What if God is looking for none of that? What if He’s looking for all of that?
So, what’s coming?
Change is coming.
Our church is a few months away from embarking on a new journey in worship. I believe that God has given us so many expressions to worship Him with, but we have kept our creativity in a box.
What if we, as a corporate body could worship God through song, through dance, poetry, drama, paintings, sculpture, and many other things as well? It would be a service not of pattern and predictability, but of wonder. A time when we stand in awe of who God is and express our affections toward Him in incredible ways.
It’s time to create a voice to God that is unique to our church, that is in our language and reflects our hearts.

So, start getting the word out today.

If you sing, play an instrument, dance, act, write stories or poetry, paint, draw, sculpt, rap, or whatever(!) we want you to be a part of this new journey of artists.
More details will be coming in the next month!

I’ll be on vacation next week, so I’ll possibly just have an occasional tweet, but no blog post. Cubs game on July 29th!!!! Hey Chicago, whadda say? “Cubs are gonna win today!”

Have a fantastic week everyone!

Joe and Joanna

This has been an interesting week.

Saving you the long story, I was at the courthouse on Wednesday morning to speak to the nice man behind the big desk about some issues with my license plate and then pay them some money. While I was there, I met a young mom named Joanna.
Joanna has a 7 year old daughter who was with her, and she also was paying for a license plate issue – but it wasn’t her car, she was just the one driving it at the time. Anyway, she has no job, no husband, and no car of her own, so things are a little rough for her, and this was only compounding the situation. I was able to engage her in some conversation and eventually invite her daughter to our performing arts camp next week at church. Also, I was able to find her daughter a ride from Eastlake everyday for the camp. That’s the short story, but I really hope that God begins to do a work in their lives.

Next, comes Joe. Joe is 29 and is from San Diego, CA. For whatever reason, he decided that the picnic tables outside our church was going to be a great place to take an afternoon nap. I too decided that it was a great place to be yesterday and went there to enjoy a nice Chipotle(!) burrito before rehearsal. After he woke up, we had a nice conversation. His parents are atheists, he works for a small company his brother owns, he believes in God, but believes that all religions teach the same thing. We played guitar for a little while until he had to go to pick up his coworkers. I gave him a new testament and my e-mail address and we left.

Please pray for both Joe and Joanna (and her daughter) that God would move in their hearts and help them see that He is Lord. They both also have some life issues that need to be worked out as well.

I am so blessed that God led them to me this week and allowed me to be a small part of their lives. I pray that He will continue the work and change their hearts.

Have a great weekend everyone!

P.S. If you live in the Cleveland area, come out to Blossom on Sunday night at 7:00 to hear Sarah and I sing with the Cleveland Orchestra! (if you come, let me know so we can meet up afterward).