“Potty” brain!

Just when I was starting to question whether or not marijuana should be legalized (how bad can it be), this study comes out…

Very interesting, eh?

An quick recommendation

I’ve started a new site milestoneworship.com, that will continue the discussion that I’ve started here.  There’s lots of other cool stuff over there, so feel free to check it out!

From Traditional and Stoic to Modern and Sublime: Baby Steps to Song–the Importance of Congregational Communication (Part 2)

We’ve been talking lately about the process involved in transforming a traditional church worship program to a contemporary one.  In part one, we discussed the importance of establishing a written vision statement for your ministry.  The next step in my process doesn’t involve the worship leader at all, at least on the surface.  In order to make a smooth transition from “the way we’ve always done it” to a new direction, it is important that every member of your church congregation understand what the new direction will be as well as why the church leadership has chosen to make this shift. 

Perhaps you’ve noticed that up to this point in the discussion, none of the things we’ve mentioned involve incorporating new music into the service.   I believe that you must make absolutely sure that you have as much of the congregation as possible on your side before you try to convince them just how cool your new music can be.  Your path will be much less turbulent if you get a wide support base for the changes you are trying to implement. 

I recommend encouraging your pastor to spend a month or so speaking (in services and other gatherings) about the upcoming changes.  He should spend a significant amount of time discussing the philosophical statement that you’ve agreed upon, and it is best if he can do this in a way that promotes discussion among the congregation.  Questions should be encouraged and treated with respect, but the pastor should not allow the congregation to believe that this is a collective decision.  Rather, he should emphasize (if he can do so honestly) that God is leading in this direction. 

The most resistance you will encounter to change will most likely come from the older members of your congregation.  Be sure to treat what they have to say with gratitude and respect.  Because most of them have been Christians for a long while, they probably do have some wisdom to impart, and–on a practical level–you must understand that they are the most faithful financial support for the church.  If you do not treat them with honor, it is likely that they will make your transition (and maybe your job) impossible.  It is a delicate balancing act to hold to your position and still have respect for others’ opinions, but it is an act that you must perform if you want Divine blessing upon your endeavor.

Next: Defining the need–Financial issues in Worship

From Traditional and Stoic to Modern and Sublime: Reinventing Church Worship (Part 1)

For the past two years, I have been leading worship for a traditional, conservative church, and in that time, I have, I think successfully, led our church from a traditional, hymn based musical style in the service to a contemporary praise and worship style.  To be fair, without the support and constant encouragement from my visionary pastor, I would not have been able to accomplish this task.  Through the bumps in the road,  it was important that I know my pastor was on my side, believing that Providence had placed me here for a Divine purpose.  

While I believe that the best days are yet to come for our worship band, I do feel that we have created a solid and worshipful program at our church.   I’ve been thinking that I should share some of my advice and experience to those who might be interested in helping their conservative, traditional (probably Southern!) church transition to a worship style that will ultimately help them accomplish their Divine calling. I’ve decided to devote a portion of blog to this topic, and I really hope that I might help an aspiring worship leader miss some of the pits and setbacks that I’ve experienced.  I’ll also be placing some of my original music clips and tablature here so that I might help you get started.  Check back often for more discussion, and I always welcome any suggestions, questions and thoughts and that you might offer.

Reinventing Church Worship
In order to “reinvent” the musical portion of your church worship, the fundamental first step you must take as a worship leader involves brainstorming and establishing a guiding (and written) philosophy for your church worship.  The brainstorming process, for me, takes the form of sitting in a quiet room and attempting to answer a series of difficult questions, such as: 

What is worship?
Why do we do it?
Why do we sing in church?
What good does our traditional musical style add to the overall worship of the church?
What good would a contemporary musical style add to the overall worship of the church?
Is music designed for evangelism?  

Once I think that that I’ve answered these questions adequately, I try to bathe each question in prayer and Bible study as an attempt to see if the philosophy and direction I am taking lines up with Scriptural mandates and encouragements.

Once you’ve formed a fundamental statement of philosophy, you should present a written copy to your pastor.  For a Biblical Christian, it is important that you recognize that the pastor is God’s chosen leadership over you, so you must involve him in your discussion.  Many pastors are content with a hands-off approach to the church music, and they will let you pretty much do what you’d like, but you cannot be content with this freedom.  You must make your pastor a cornerstone of your church’s philosophy of music.  Meet with him regularly, and slowly discuss each compenent of your philosophical statement.  Do not rush this step. You should only proceed to the next step of the process when your pastor is fully convinced that you have a viable plan for creating a new musical direction for your church.    As an integral part of the change from traditional to contemporary, your pastor will make your job infinitely easier than it will be otherwise. 

Next:  Baby Steps to Song–the Importance of Congregational Communication

An Immigration Anecdote

Last summer, Dan and Yukiko Murray visited our house while on a brief trip to the United States.  Haley and Yukiko were having a conversation about obtaining a driver’s license in Japan, and Yukiko produced hers as she explained the process.

Haley looked at the intricately adorned card and inspected the Japanese characters below Yukiko’s picture.

“Is this where it tells the person’s eye and hair color?”  Haley asked.

“Um…they’re all the same,” replied Yukiko.

I had never really thought about that before.  Every Japanese citizen has the same hair and eye color.  What if the United States were like that?  What would the authorities print a driver’s license?  While it might save on ink at the DMV, I just can’t get my mind around the idea of living in a country like that.Š