the sheep, coin, and son

I know, I know....I said it was coming back for good, and it turned out to be false. The more I think about it, this blog has kind of been a microcosm of my pursuit of God. Hot and cold.

Mostly cold.

However, I've been thinking and praying a lot lately and something really hit me pretty hard yesterday. You always hear people saying things like "God is my best friend" and stuff like that, but sometimes it's hard to pinpoint exactly what that means or how that could be true of something not physically there.

Then I started thinking about how fickle I am with God and how I'll go a few months and really actively pursue him with all my heart, and then I'll go just as long going through the motions and all that stuff. Any other friend would get fed up with me (understandably) and at the very least have a little hesitation in their heart about being there for me again and again and again after I take them for granted.

But then I read the 15th chapter in Luke. Jesus tells us three different parables about "people" being separated from God. In the stories about the lost sheep and coin, the seeker actively looked for the lost. He "joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home" according to verse 5. How friggin' ridiculous is that? Not only does he find the lost and without hesitation take him home, but he does so joyfully?

In the third parable, Jesus talks about the son who not only wandered from his dad, but he blew his inheritance and was basically a jerk the whole time. The father waited patiently at home, and the second his son decided to come back, he not only didn't hesitate to welcome him, he threw a P-Diddy size party in honor of it.

I'm more thankful than ever to be able to worship a God with my music, words, and life that has patience and grace for me that I don't even come close to deserving.

worship leader

If any of you ever get the chance to see Kirk Franklin in concert.....GO.

About 3 years ago, I was playing electric guitar for a worship band at a conference in Tennessee where about 15,000 youth attended. One night, they had Kirk Franklin come and put on a concert. It was by far, the one of the best worship experiences I've had. The man is incredible! I've never seen an artist capture their audience like he did. So, if any of you ever hear of him coming any where near (5 hours or so) from Champaign, let us know.

I'd highly reccommend listening to any of his CD's. Even if you you aren't a fan of R&B (like me) or Gospel music, Franklin deserves a listening to. Right now, Kortny's family is going through a tough time with her Grandma. Last night, I downloaded Franklin's new album called, "Song for the Storm, Volume 1". Like anything else he does, the Album is genuine and encouraging. I highly, highly recommend it to buy and keep in your library for a day where you need some encouragement...

getting *blogged* down

Whoa. This isn't what I had in mind when I started this thing. I wanted to post on here at least once a week. By the looks of things, it seems like it has been about once a quarter or so. I have a million excuses why I haven't been posting. Some of them are legit, (working 1 full time, & 2 part time jobs) and some of them aren't. (watching the Cardinals win the World Series, thankyouverymuch)

The cool thing about being a worship leader is that I have accountability to be able to worship on a weekly basis and pick out songs I think will make God more famous. But even with that, some times I can forget the most important aspect of the whole thing. My personal relationship with Jesus. I can try to think of all the cool stuff we can do or the new songs we can sing, but it's empty unless I make an extra effort to hear what God is saying to me.

How about you?

Are you getting wrapped up in daily things that are blocking your view of Him? Are you getting wrapped up in *church* things and not taking time to ask God why you're doing it? Or what it is He wants you to do?

idea.

I went running tonight and had an idea. I want to throw it out to you all and let me know what you think. I've been praying a lot and thinking a lot about our worship at Quest. I really want people to connect with the music we're playing and have people make the songs be their songs. I want people to be able to sing them and have them mean something personal in their own life.

So when I got to about mile 23* in my run, I thought about this idea: what if people shared how God has spoken to them through a particular song WHILE it's being played? We could have a short video clip of a person sharing their heart, we could read a paragraph they wrote, they could be mic'ed and share... And it could be any song. An old hymn they sung growing up, a song we sing at Quest now, or one that we've never sung. Maybe when our church sees that these songs we sing aren't just for Sunday morning, but that they can actually be alive and have God speaking in them, we may just get somewhere.

What do you think?
Did I make any sense, or did I just ramble?


* (more like mile 1.25 in my run)

connecting...

I don't know if you've noticed, but we've been blessed to have a good number of new people walk in our doors the past couple of weeks. I get real excited when I meet these new people, but something that I read in our devotional caught me off guard. In the 2nd week, Mike asks the following question:
"Ministry is more than just meeting needs; it's about connecting with the person in need. What does that mean to you in your life?"

When I thought about this, I had to step back and think why I am I going out of my way to talk to the newcomers at our church? Is it because I'm excited that our church may be growing? I think my reason should be that someone new has walked into the door that has their own story. They have their own issues. They have their own questions. And I should be excited that I and my church can minister to them and hopefully grow in our walk with Jesus together.

When I read this question, I also thought about music and the arts. When we sing a song on Sunday morning, are we singing it because we think people will think it's cool and can sing along to it? Or are we singing it because that song just may meet someone where they are at, and connect them with God? This can be true with any art...

question...

I appologize for taking a while between posts, but with school starting, I've been a little pre-occupied. Don't worry, I've been keeping up with the devo though....

But I have a quick question for you...what if I told you to "remember Jesus"?

How would you feel?

Thankful?
Convicted?
Encouraged?
Indignant?
Inulted?
Misunderstood?

side-tracked

This doesn't have anything to do with the devotional we're talking about, but I thought I'd let you all know of a new band who just released their debut album this week. They're called Leeland, and the album is called Sound of Melodies.

It's some of the most refreshing music I've heard in a while and is no bones about worshiping God. The lead singer is only 17 years old, but his song writing and heart for God in his lyrics are mature far beyond his years. Songs like "Beautiful God" and "Yes You Have" are especially fun to worship with.

Good--real good stuff.