The vocals are great, but it's the text that rocks the house

One of my best friends in the whole world sent me this link this afternoon. If this doesn't hit us where we live in the church today I don't know what does.



I received a book last week (unchristian: what a new generation really thinks about christianity ... and why it matters) that points to some sobering realities about how those who do not embrace christianity actually perceive those who do. I've not gotten too deep into the book yet, but skimming the chapter headings will give enough information for this post. In short, here are some snapshots of how those who do not embrace Christianity see professing Christians:

• Hypocritical: Christians say one thing but live something entirely different.
• Get Saved!: Christians are insincere and concerned only with converting others.
• Antihomosexual: Christians show contempt for gays and lesbians.
• Sheltered: Christians are boring, unintelligent, old-fashioned, and out of touch with reality.
• Too Political: Christians are primarily motivated by a political agenda and promote right-wing politics.
• Judgmental: Christians are prideful and and quick to find faults in others.

If that's the way professing Christians appear to those who do not profess a relationship with Christ, then who in the world would want to be one? We gotta change how we do and say stuff to each other and to the world. Gloria Gaither's text is a good start.

All Good Gifts

While I personally thrive under clear skies and bright sunlight, the low barometric pressure that accompanies the weather we have today is giving me a sinus headache that makes me want to just lie down and take a nap. I am, however, delighted that we are finally having a good soaking rain. As I looked out from the car, a wonderful worship text came to mind … particularly the last line of the first stanza:

We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land,
But it is fed and watered by God's Almighty hand.
He sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes and the sunshine, and soft, refreshing rain.

All good gifts around us are sent from Heaven above;
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all His love.

He only is the Maker of all things near and far;
He paints the wayside flower, He lights the evening star.
The wind and waves obey Him, by Him the birds are fed;
Much more to us, His children, He gives our daily bread.

All good gifts around us are sent from Heaven above;
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all His love.

We thank Thee, then, our Father, for all things bright and good:
The seed-time and the harvest, our life, our health, our food.
Accept the gifts we offer for all Your love imparts,
And what Thou most desirest, our humble, thankful hearts.

All good gifts around us are sent from Heaven above;
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all His love.

This wonderful text was probably written before the industrial revolution distanced the average person from dependence on the land for daily sustenance. As I endure my headache, I thank God for the soft, refreshing rain that has fallen all day today. How we have needed it! But I’d really like to have clear weather Friday and Saturday because of the State Band Competition we are hosting.

Mercy drops ’round us are indeed falling … but for the showers we plead. That’s enough to think about for now.

deep insight from Aaron Shust

This will also be posted at my quote library blog. I stumbled on it today through worship.com ... delighted to find it a profound answer to a question we often wrestle with in helping the worship teams we lead find a balance.

"There are two definitions in the Hebrew for worship. One is a bowing and bending of the knee, and the other is labor and service. Take any given Sunday morning. You’ve got a band on stage that is working hard to play their instruments, to make sure they’re playing accurately. Chances are they’re not lost in the rapture and the beauty of God. They’re focused on making sure their guitars are in tune. But that, in God’s eyes in the Hebrew word, qualifies as worship. It’s labor and service.
"On the flip side of the stage, if the people out there are hearing the words, their hearts are embracing the words; they’re getting lost in the emotion of the music, and they’re worshipping through bowing and bending of the knee. It’s comforting to know that I can do this work. I can make sure the guitars are in tune and warm up my voice, and God sees that as pleasing worship."

~Aaron Shust

Through a Glass Darkly

This past Tuesday, my senior pastor, the minister of discipleship and I attended a workshop at the associational office. “Leading from Your Strengths: Discovering Uniqueness, Developing Unity” led us through a fascinating look at our own, God-given personality traits and what those may mean for how we relate to ourselves and to others, particularly to others with whom we work.

Before the workshop we took a couple of on-line personality inventories that generated reports that told us about ourselves. Some of the information we already knew. The reports just clarified and labeled some things for us. Other information … particularly some details about how our individual personality tendencies impact our relationships with others … was brand new. We learned some very important things about ourselves and about each other.

Many people understand that there are sometimes vast differences between the way we see ourselves and the way others see us. A shy person might be surprised to learn that others may misperceive her as aloof and arrogant … but that is an important thing to know. One of the things I learned about myself explains some things I have experienced over the past several months … and it may explain some things others have experienced with me as well. Here is a verbatim from my report:

SELF-PERCEPTION:
Morris usually sees himself as being:
Considerate
Good Natured
Team player
Thoughtful
Dependable
Good Listener

OTHERS’ PERCEPTION:
Under moderate pressure, tension, stress or fatigue, others may see him as being:
Nondemonstrative
Unconcerned
Hesitant
Inflexible

And, under extreme pressure, stress or fatigue, others may see him as being:
Possessive
Detached
Stubborn
Insensitive

What this tells me is not that I can say, “That’s just how I am,” and expect others to get over it. Rather, this information is a tool that helps me to pay to attention and to balance these tendencies so that I can be more effective as a minister. Some people still won’t understand me, but that’s enough to think about for now.

So I'm a Dog

Our association held a workshop for senior pastors and staff led by Trish Cloud of Pastors Coaching Network. Before the workshop, we took an online personality style evaluation (with which some readers may be familiar) based on the DiSC analysis. The premise is that by understanding my personality makeup and that of those around me, we will be able to maximize each other's strengths and cover for each other's weaknesses. What it does is to help describe personality tendencies and how those play out in interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships.

The way it boils down is this:

• D = Dominant = Lion = "Power" - How you accept problems and challenges
• i = Influencer = Otter = "Popular" - How you will accept new people and information
• S = Steady = Golden Retriever = "Peaceful" - How you accept change and pace
• C = Cautious = Beaver = "Perfect" - How you will accept established procedures and rules

Here's how I scored:

• Lion - 5%
• Otter - 73%
• Golden Retriever - 100%
• Beaver - 82%

I find it interesting that our other full-time pastoral staff member is 100% on the Golden Retriever scale as well. Our senior pastor is 100% on both the Lion and Otter scales. What an interesting mix we have. We are planning on having our other two staff ministers to take the analysis as well, then have a lively discussion on how this impacts our working relationships. (Incidentally, I think the lovely wife is a Lion/Beaver.)

According to the analysis, the talents and strengths I bring to the team are:

• Adaptable
• Patient and Empathetic
• Flexible
• Good at reconciling factions -- calming and add stability
• Turns confrontation into positives
• Dependable team player
• Will gather data for decision-making
• Builds good relationships

The analysis generates a 26-page report with all kinds of useful information. Why am I blogging about this? Well, according to the StrengthsFinder (another instrument we took but did very little with in the workshop), writing is a useful tool in at least one of my top 5 strength areas:

1. Intellection
2. Input
3. Learner
4. Ideation
5. Connectedness

I'm not giving you the whole 26 pages, but I will bore you with one final insight ... and perhaps the most useful one of the workshop. According to the report (which is fairly accurate):

• I usually see myself as being considerate, good natured, team player, thoughtful, dependable, good listener.
• Under moderate pressure, tension, stress or fatigue, others may see me as being nondemonstrative, unconcerned, hesitant, inflexible.
• And, under extreme pressure, stress or fatigue, others may see me as being possessive, detached, stubborn, insensitive.

I had some other thoughts on the leadership front concerning this analysis that I will reserve for another time.

That's enough to think about for now.

Report from Catalyst 2007 (part 2)

I am grateful to those who stepped up to fill my shoes last Wednesday night as I was in Atlanta for the 2007 Catalyst Conference. We were at the first Catalyst in 2000 and have not missed since. The highlight of Catalyst for me is not the music (ironic?) but rather the incredible teaching we get in a brief span of 2 days. This year the speakers included Andy Stanley (always hugely practical), Patrick Lencioni (author of Death by Meeting), Shane Claiborne (who??), Francis Chan (deep humility, incredible talk), Sunday Adelaja (didn’t get to hear him), Rick Warren (or him), John C. Maxwell (you’ll read my notes from his talk below), Craig Groeschel (another incredible talk from deep humility), Dave Ramsey (had to leave halfway through to get back home for band parent responsibilities), and Erwin McManus (missed him, but will hear the CD when it comes).

John Maxwell’s leadership DNA profoundly influenced the birth of the Catalyst Conference. Even though he is now only marginally involved in the planning and execution of the conference (he has empowered others to act and released them to the task), he will probably always be a palpable presence. This year he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement award (given to one influential leader every year at the conference) and spoke briefly to us. He narrowed it down to one word of advice to young (and middle-aged, like me) leaders. That word:

Intentionally add value to people every day.

• The best way to do that is to function from within your strength zone … doing what you do best.
• The greatest sin of a leader is to put himself/herself first.
• You are either adding value to others or you are subtracting it … one or the other.
• Adding value takes intentionality because we are by nature subtractors of value (selfish).
• How do we go about doing this?

1. Value people. Really value them for who they are.
2. Make yourself more valuable (grow, learn, improve).
3. Know and relate to what other people value.
4. Do the things that God values.

Reading Maxwell, you might think that he would come across as a hard-driving, get it done, no excuses business coach. When you hear him speak, you begin to hear his heart for loving others and seeing them grow into all the potential God has placed within them. His words are great advice for everyone … leaders and followers alike. That’s enough to think about for now.

Reflections on Catalyst 2007 (part 1)

Our church staff goes to the Catalyst conference in Atlanta every year. We went to the first one when it was hosted at NorthPoint Community Church, and we've not missed one since. That first year I think there were probably about 3,000 in attendance. The teaching is absolutely incredible ... like drinking from a fire hose. The past 4 years or so, the conference has been so large that they had to move it to the Gwinnett Convention Center ... to the huge arena there. I think there were close to 12,000 this year. I call this entry "part 1" because I will likely blog more once I've had a chance to process what I encountered there.

This year was a little strange for me, because I wasn't feeling well. Don't really know exactly what was wrong, but headache and queasy stomach were part of it. One of our group offered to take me back to the hotel, but I didn't want to miss any teaching (especially knowing that I would have to leave on Friday at noon and miss Erwin McManus and Andy Stanley's closing).

Not everyone will have the same response as I have. We are all individuals with unique perspectives and needs. This is how I encountered the experience:

• Crowds - I absolutely love the teaching ... but negotiating the concourses with the crowds drives me up the wall.
• Exhibitors - I enjoy getting to encounter some of the exhibitors, but I'm frustrated that I never win anything they're giving away. OK, so last year I won a t-shirt from Columbia International University (gave it to my teenage son), but my pastor won an iPod when there was only one exhibitor giving anything away ... and last year he won a rolling laptop case. Why not me?
• Worship - I'm a little biased here. As a minister of music, it frustrates me when people say worship and really mean music and singing ... as in "We'll have some time for worship, and then the speaker will talk." Folks, worship is more than just music. It also frustrates me when people categorize some music as "praise and worship" and limit our thinking and experience to just certain styles.
• Music - The incredible giftedness of the musicians is inspiring, but I find it impossible to sing healthily with the volume levels imposed on the house. If I tried to balance that, I would end up damaging my voice ... and it's the only one that God has given me. Some in my group look at me funny because I don't yell along with them ... and I have trouble getting them to understand.
• Worship - this happened to me at one of the early Catalyst conferences ... and it has happened often at Catalyst: sometimes the Holy Spirit tells me just to sit down, be quiet, and listen when all around me are singing out loud. Sometimes that happens. This year I had to sit down some of the time because I was under the weather. Just because I'm not standing and doing the same thing everyone else is doing doesn't mean that I'm not worshiping. Incidentally, Romans 12:1-2 says a lot about worship, but nothing about singing.
• Music - Steve Fee has written some great songs that I love and use in our worship services, but as a worship leader he has an uncanny ability to take a song and extend it until I check out. It makes me think of the indictment in scripture "they think they will be heard for their many words." I'm all for camping out at a profound place in worship, and recently I have encountered some teaching that has made me look for more opportunities to do just that in our worship services. But don't try to get me worked up by driving a great worship song into the ground.
• Music - Steve Fee has written some great songs that I love and use in our worship services, but he always looks like he could use a bath and a shave. (OK ... I'm old).
• Music - It was great to see Todd Fields leading again (he's getting old like me). I'll be looking for his new song "Let Me Sing" very soon. I've already tried to find it on CCLI, but there is apparently an agreement with Todd that prevents them from putting words or lead-sheet up. I have an old e-mail address for Todd, and I'll be contacting him soon.
• CDs - because we had to leave early on Thursday (had to wrestle with some strategic issues as a staff), we missed Rick Warren. Because I had to leave early on Friday, I missed Erwin McManus and Andy Stanley. We always get the CDs, and I can't wait until they come so I can hear what I missed.

That's all for now. More about Catalyst later.

Two parables on worship and unity

BLOGGER'S NOTE: I'm making up for lost time with this entry. It was what my choir and contemporary worship leadership team received on Wednesday evening, September 26 before a combined worship service the following Sunday (9/30).

Since the whole ministerial staff was out of town the last time we had a combined worship service, I have little information on how things went. It always makes me nervous because of the tendency we have to be divided over worship style issues. Two parables follow: 1) the Aesop fable I shared with the Sanctuary Choir and with First Light on the Wednesday evening before that Sunday, and; 2) a joke that may teach.

At one time the Fox and the Stork were on visiting terms and seemed very good friends. So the Fox invited the Stork to dinner, and for a joke put nothing before her but some soup in a very shallow dish. This the Fox could easily lap up, but the Stork could only wet the end of her long bill in it, and left the meal as hungry as when she began. “I am sorry, said the Fox, “the soup is not to your liking.”
“Pray do not apologize,” said the Stork. “I hope you will return this visit, and come and dine with me soon.” So a day was appointed when the Fox should visit the Stork; but when they were seated at table all that was for their dinner was contained in a very long-necked jar with a narrow mouth, in which the Fox could not insert his snout, so all he could manage to do was to lick the outside of the jar.
“I will not apologize for the dinner,” said the Stork:
“ONE BAD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER.”

__________________________________

The new rabbi of an old congregation found himself in an awkward situation. Week after week, when the Shema was said, half the congregants would stand, and half stay seated. Each group yelled at the other to sit back down or get up on their feet. Baffled by this cacophony, the rabbi turned for advice to the housebound elder of the synagogue. “Is it the tradition to stand during the Shema?” he demanded.
The old man answered, “No, that is not the tradition.”
“Then the tradition is to sit during the Shema!”
The old man answered, “No, that is not the tradition.”
Then the young rabbi said to the old man, “We can’t continue like this. Whenever we get to the Shema, the congregants fight, yelling at each other about whether they should sit or stand….”
“Aha!” the old man interrupted, “That is the tradition!”

This Sunday morning each of us will be both guest and host in worship. We may have visitors who need to see the love of Christ demonstrated. That’s enough to think about for now.