As promised on my last BLOG, here's Mikes article on accountability as posted in his most current Newsletter. If you'd like to read more from Mike visit: www.freshwindministries.org
LEADER'S CORNER
Accountability
Ted Haggard's fall from grace reminds us of the need for accountability relationships. Let me offer some quick, challenging thoughts on the subject.
Accountability suggests the lateral, horizontal aspect of life.
• We're accountable to other people.
we count to them (matter) and we count to them (itemize).
• These people need to have some authority in relation to us, which we give them.
• It involves trust of those to whom we're accountable.
• also respect
Accountability presupposes love and acceptance (if you don't love me, I won't level with you).
Accountability presupposes a desire to be well.
Accountability presupposes a determination to relate.
Accountability requires honesty, trust, courage in the one being held accountable.
Accountability requires trustworthiness, discretion, largeness of heart in those holding accountable.
Accountability promotes balance, health, teamness in the sense of not-being-alone.
Accountability is not an adversarial but a parakletial relationship.
Accountability's areas of concern are:
• sin
• responsibility--to agreed upon criteria
• growth
• health
i.e. the tough stuff.
Accountability allows us to be agents of each other's growth and freedom.
Accountability recognizes that none of us is a capable judge of ourselves.
Accountability provides an on-going opportunity to get real, to become truthful, to face our spiritual enemies, to lay hold of the grace to change what should be changed.
Accountability realizes that I can hold off God all day long, but I really start to deal when I tell you,
and that God is the author of this dynamic.
Accountability says "I give you permission to ask tough questions".
• "Have you done what you said you were going to do?" "Why?" "Why not?"
• and the toughest and last question is, "Have you just lied to me?"
Accountability in the church is an opportunity to grow through a relationship that no other relationship on earth provides. No other relationship provides the combination of grace, honesty, forgiveness, forbearance, hope, and power which this can provide.
The goal of Accountability is not success but growth, not perfection but improvement, not flying solo but as part of the flock.
May I suggest a New Year's resolution to get an accountability partner?
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 29, 2007
The Safety Net of Accountability
Yesterday I was eating lunch with a friend. One thing led to another and the conversation got around to the topic of a well-known Christian who, for lack of a better term, fell from grace. Like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son for a cup of stew (Hebrews 12:16, 17) this well-known Christian lost his ministry, his reputation, his family, and his spiritual vitality – all in one short, self-gratifying decision.
Of course he didn’t loose his walk with Christ, his relational position of being a brother in the Lord, forgiveness of sins, the gifts of the Spirit, or eternal life – and that’s important to remember.
At a particularly emotional time in our conversation I found myself leaning over the table and saying to my friend, “All that could have been avoided if he had voluntarily allowed himself to be accountable to someone else.”
“'Accountable?'" My friend looked up. "What do you mean?”
“I wonder if he had ever verbally expressed his struggles to a confidant, someone who could call and encourage him in the weak times, someone who would meet with him and check in with how he was doing in his struggles.”
Accountability.... Say it with me... Accountabilty.
The word itself raises eyebrows. But it need not. Accountability isn’t like the old “Leave it to Beaver” show when you screwed up Ward invites you into the den for a lecture and you renter the world with the dirty tear-stain down your left cheek. Quite the contrary, Biblical accountability presupposes we have a common enemy and that we find ourselves on the front lines of those wars, fighting battles that are uniquely are own, and need back-up support from someone fresh in from leave.
The concept of accountability far exceeds the specifics of sin (though it includes them). It raises the bar to a much more global issue – the fact that we have a real enemy whose soul intent is to drag down the saints of God. (See 1 Peter 5:8.) It doesn’t matter if it’s habitual stealing, backbiting, spreading rumors about others, rage, seeking sexual fulfillment outside of marriage, or taking drugs. In the end Satan wins. He doesn’t care what sin will bring you down. The important thing is that he will use ANY sin to bring you down.
Your accountability person needs to be of the spiritual maturity NOT to get caught up in the specifics (the why’s and how’s) of your sinning but be more in sync with the forces BEHIND the specifics of your sinning. While the two or three of you will often get hit in particular ways (for whatever reason), no one way is worse than another. It’s far beyond all that. The focus needs to be on helping your brother out of the pit (through unconditional forgiveness) and guns need to be aimed at the one viciously assaulting the child of God.
With that level of maturity in mind it makes it easier to confess specific sins. They love you and have your “best” in mind. Sure, they may give you guidelines or advice on how to avoid future pitfalls – and well they should, as they may have attained real victory in your weakest areas and have something to say about that. But, in the big picture, you want them to see far beyond your bruises and casualties of war and assist you in the fight over your soul.
I have know idea if our well-known Christian person had an accountability partner. And it’s easy to say in hindsight this or that could have prevented what went down. But I can tell you that it is much easier to get up after a fall with the ongoing assistance of an accountability partner than trying to crawl out of the smudge on your own.
So, this morning I sit down to have my quiet time. I don’t know what to read (an ongoing struggle) so I decide to pull out a newsletter that my friend Mike Flynn sends out from time to time. I rarely read it (true confession) but this morning I did. And what do you think the subject of the “Leaders Corner” was? Accountability! Way too cool! So I emailed him and asked him to send me a copy of the article in a Word format so I can post it here – which I will do when I get it.
You can read it a forehand at http://www.freshwindministries.org/.
As Mike concluded his writing, so do I:
May I suggest a New Year’s Resolution to get an accountability partner?
Of course he didn’t loose his walk with Christ, his relational position of being a brother in the Lord, forgiveness of sins, the gifts of the Spirit, or eternal life – and that’s important to remember.
At a particularly emotional time in our conversation I found myself leaning over the table and saying to my friend, “All that could have been avoided if he had voluntarily allowed himself to be accountable to someone else.”
“'Accountable?'" My friend looked up. "What do you mean?”
“I wonder if he had ever verbally expressed his struggles to a confidant, someone who could call and encourage him in the weak times, someone who would meet with him and check in with how he was doing in his struggles.”
Accountability.... Say it with me... Accountabilty.
The word itself raises eyebrows. But it need not. Accountability isn’t like the old “Leave it to Beaver” show when you screwed up Ward invites you into the den for a lecture and you renter the world with the dirty tear-stain down your left cheek. Quite the contrary, Biblical accountability presupposes we have a common enemy and that we find ourselves on the front lines of those wars, fighting battles that are uniquely are own, and need back-up support from someone fresh in from leave.
The concept of accountability far exceeds the specifics of sin (though it includes them). It raises the bar to a much more global issue – the fact that we have a real enemy whose soul intent is to drag down the saints of God. (See 1 Peter 5:8.) It doesn’t matter if it’s habitual stealing, backbiting, spreading rumors about others, rage, seeking sexual fulfillment outside of marriage, or taking drugs. In the end Satan wins. He doesn’t care what sin will bring you down. The important thing is that he will use ANY sin to bring you down.
Your accountability person needs to be of the spiritual maturity NOT to get caught up in the specifics (the why’s and how’s) of your sinning but be more in sync with the forces BEHIND the specifics of your sinning. While the two or three of you will often get hit in particular ways (for whatever reason), no one way is worse than another. It’s far beyond all that. The focus needs to be on helping your brother out of the pit (through unconditional forgiveness) and guns need to be aimed at the one viciously assaulting the child of God.
With that level of maturity in mind it makes it easier to confess specific sins. They love you and have your “best” in mind. Sure, they may give you guidelines or advice on how to avoid future pitfalls – and well they should, as they may have attained real victory in your weakest areas and have something to say about that. But, in the big picture, you want them to see far beyond your bruises and casualties of war and assist you in the fight over your soul.
I have know idea if our well-known Christian person had an accountability partner. And it’s easy to say in hindsight this or that could have prevented what went down. But I can tell you that it is much easier to get up after a fall with the ongoing assistance of an accountability partner than trying to crawl out of the smudge on your own.
So, this morning I sit down to have my quiet time. I don’t know what to read (an ongoing struggle) so I decide to pull out a newsletter that my friend Mike Flynn sends out from time to time. I rarely read it (true confession) but this morning I did. And what do you think the subject of the “Leaders Corner” was? Accountability! Way too cool! So I emailed him and asked him to send me a copy of the article in a Word format so I can post it here – which I will do when I get it.
You can read it a forehand at http://www.freshwindministries.org/.
As Mike concluded his writing, so do I:
May I suggest a New Year’s Resolution to get an accountability partner?
Friday, November 30, 2007
Living Into Newness
"Praise the Lord with lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! O sing to God a new song!"
St. Augustine comments: My friends, you have learned the new song: so now forget the old one. We are a new humanity, we have a new covenant with God; so let our song be new; new songs do not emerge from old humanity."
Augustine's timeless words remind me of the early 80's Christian Punk Band called The Altar Boys. In their song, "Life Begins at the Cross." there is a lyric that is hauntingly true.
"People look for life in things that make them die."
As followers of Christ the ideas of "newness," freshness," and "new creation" are implanted deeply in our spirits. Yet, in the spiritual battle, our flesh would have us drink from the old cisterns, rather than the new. In theological jargon: The flesh would have us drink from the Dead Sea, rather than from the refreshing spring-fed waters of the Sea of Galilee.
We have been called heavenward. We are made to be nourished from the Living Manna: new bread and new songs.
Nikki Gumble tells the story of an old bag lady who died and he was called to do the funeral. At the funeral he was astonished to learn that the bag lady was enormously wealthy. Yet, although she had a nice flat uptown, she could never break away from her old life, the old cisterns.
As Royalty, our lifestyles and "watering holes" need reflect the Throne to which we are headed, lest we go undernourished. Let us forget the old food, let us move away from the old song and walk as Easter People, continuously being regenerated and renewed in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Augustine says it better than anyone I know: New songs do not emerge from old humanity.
St. Augustine comments: My friends, you have learned the new song: so now forget the old one. We are a new humanity, we have a new covenant with God; so let our song be new; new songs do not emerge from old humanity."
Augustine's timeless words remind me of the early 80's Christian Punk Band called The Altar Boys. In their song, "Life Begins at the Cross." there is a lyric that is hauntingly true.
"People look for life in things that make them die."
As followers of Christ the ideas of "newness," freshness," and "new creation" are implanted deeply in our spirits. Yet, in the spiritual battle, our flesh would have us drink from the old cisterns, rather than the new. In theological jargon: The flesh would have us drink from the Dead Sea, rather than from the refreshing spring-fed waters of the Sea of Galilee.
We have been called heavenward. We are made to be nourished from the Living Manna: new bread and new songs.
Nikki Gumble tells the story of an old bag lady who died and he was called to do the funeral. At the funeral he was astonished to learn that the bag lady was enormously wealthy. Yet, although she had a nice flat uptown, she could never break away from her old life, the old cisterns.
As Royalty, our lifestyles and "watering holes" need reflect the Throne to which we are headed, lest we go undernourished. Let us forget the old food, let us move away from the old song and walk as Easter People, continuously being regenerated and renewed in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Augustine says it better than anyone I know: New songs do not emerge from old humanity.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Chosen to Bear Fruit
A number of you have mentioned having been blessed by a recent sermon given on Ministry Sunday (August 26, 2007). For you web surfers, this was a day when we were encouraged to sign up for various ministries around our church. Regardless, you should be able to translate into your own culture. Enjoy!
“You did not choose me
But I chose you and appointed you
To go and bear fruit
Fruit that will last.”
John 15:16
Jesus’ words to us this morning are words of purpose, words of destiny, words that invite us into an entirely new level of spiritual activity. The Scriptures this morning invite us into a lifestyle of selflessness, a life wherein our personal agendas are forsaken for God’s personal agenda, for his sake, for his eternal purposes. His purposes aren’t knee-jerk ideas that he sort of makes up as history rolls along – but they are divine purposes that have been thought and through, laid out, and initiated since the beginning of time. God is working – increasing and yeasting – towards a glorious goal: a Day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
And he has chosen you, and he has chosen me, to make his work happen.
He could do it himself, of course, this work of redemption that is. He could lift a finger, wink his eye, or command a legion of Angels to make it happen. But he has engineered his work to include you and me, with all of our human frailties, to bridge the gap between and heaven and earth. Jesus left his work first with 12, then 70, then 120, than 3,000 and then… us.
But here’s my question: Why us? Why has he chosen us for such a monumental task and, at the same time, made us entirely dependant upon him to fulfill that same task – when he could pull off the entire project without us – in a far shorter amount of time and with perfect results? Why has God chosen us to do something that he could have done with a simple snap of his fingers?
Shortly after I gave into the call of Christ in my life I was attending a Tuesday night Bible Study in Miami Florida. We ate pot-luck (always a treat for a single man!), sang songs for about 30 minutes, dove into the Word of God for 45 minutes, prayed, and went home. One evening, the worship leader approached me and asked me if I would bring my guitar on the following week. While I was flabbergasted at the request because he was such a great leader and was doing a perfectly fine job all by himself, I agreed and found myself there at his side, co-leading worship with him the next Tuesday, and the next Tuesday, and numerous Tuesdays after that. He rarely let me lead anything and seemed very specific in what he wanted me to play, or not play. Then one day, quite out of the blue, he asked me to lead one song. Then another, and then another. By the end of the year there were days he didn’t even show up. He had built in me a worship leader.
Reflecting on this I see a couple of thing going on. First, Jay was all about the equipping of the saints (that would be me). He also knew God’s desire is to make leaders in ways that encourage and build the Body of Christ. (This is our model of ministry at Holy Apostles as well.)
But secondly, and as I reflect on this many years later, I think Jay may have had an ulterior motive. Jay liked me. There was something very neat that happened when we talked and ate together. And, when we played music together we had a lot of fun. We laughed and got to know one another. In the process of doing ministry, our joy was made complete. And much of that joy came as a direct result of our forming, growing relationship as we ministered together.
So, back to my question, “Why has God chosen you to do something that he could have done with a snap of his finger?
Three words: He like us. He likes you. And he’ll do about anything to get us into relationship with him. He knows that, as we co-task with him in his work, we will have the joy having of intimate relationship with him.
Pretty cool, huh?
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul tells us that, as the Body of Christ, each one of us has been given unique giftings, or chrisms, which when activated, play into the full function of God’s purposes for the community of faith. Some people are out front. Others you’ll never see, nor will ever know about. Doesn’t matter. We have all been given spiritual gifts – teens and adults alike - and have been given great individual latitude in our own expression of our gifts; all by the same Spirit, and, says Paul, just as God has determined.
And he has chosen and appointed us to go and bear fruit. The word “chosen” in the Greek is leggio – the word from which the word “leggo” comes from. It means to hand pick for a particular purpose in accordance with a particular design or greater work. Pretty cool, eh? When I was a kid I was involved in many sports, but I didn’t get picked to play on any of them. Sure, I sat on the team, but when the coach was looking for someone to send into the fireld, his eyes slowly glazed over when he scanned the bench to me, sitting there at the end of the bench. The good news for us is that each of us have been “Lego-ed,” if you will for God’s work. We have been hand chosen by God to and called into ministry which will bear fruit that will last! Isn’t that wonderful? Look at the person next to you and say to them, “I’ve been chosen by God to bear fruit that will last!”
Between the services and after the second service you will have an opportunity to visit the numerous booths and tables reflecting the many, many ministries at our Church. As you peruse the booths and speak with people behind the tables be asking yourself in the back of your mind a question. The question for you is not, “Has God called me to serve in a ministry,” but “Into which ministry is God calling me?”
Some of us will avoid the call like the plague. We will come up with all sorts of justifications why we shouldn’t do ministry. I know. I’ve been there. The best one I’ve heard is, “I’m not spiritual enough to serve the Lord.” LOL – Like the rest of us are? (I still maintain that the only reason God called me into the Ordained Priesthood was to make sure that I would attend church once a week!) Others will become so caught up and enthralled with all the ministries that they sign up for all of them – and even apply for part-time work at Bahama Mama’s! – and truth be known, will follow through on few of their commitments.
With that in mind I’d like to share with you five pieces of wisdom with the intent of helping you discern which work that is right for you at this season of your walk in Christ.
1. For most people here this morning, there is at least one ministry that God has definitely called you to be active in over the next year. Each of us has a ministry to work in. “I wish they all were prophets,” Moses declared. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good,” Paul writes. There is a perfect “you-shaped” ministry awaiting you in that room. Your job is to find it.
2. The ministry that awaits you can be something that you are inclined to do naturally, yet it may be more-so something you’ve always wanted to do – something you’ve had a deep passion or desire for for quite some time – but have never have had the opportunity to do it.
3. God has not called you to do all the ministries. Limit your involvement to 2.5 ministries. (Ministries that you are “working,” not receiving benefit from.) God wants well-trimmed lamps brightly burning to reflect the face of his Son, not half-lit saints, staggering around like zombies because they are spending all their energies trying to save the world. Relax. We already have a Savoir. Our God is peaceful; he is never stressed out. This morning’s Gospel says it best: "Remain in me and I will remain in you… You can bear no fruit, unless you remain in me.” Good fruit is limited to 2.5 ministries per person. Better fruit is limited to less.
4. Don’t let what the “ministry of consideration” look like, talk you out of your call to sign up for it. It will look different when you get there. God will use you in its continued development.
5. Allow yourself to consider ministries that won’t be “fun.” Truth of the matter is that, while ministry brings joy and a deeper relationship with our Lord, “ministry,” by its very definition, is sacrificial. And, as many here know, God is notorious for calling us into increasingly more difficult acts of obedience as we mature in the Faith.
We often pray, “God, make me more like Jesus.”
(That is a dangerous prayer I might add.)
He says, “Do you really want to be more like Jesus?”
We say, “I do, I do!”
“Are you sure?“
“I am sure!” we assert.
“Alright,” he says. “Do this: Love one another as I have loved you.”
“Gulp!”
As Christians, our penultimate model of what it means to serve others is found in somebody who went completely selfless. Someone who, as Paul writes to the Philippians, “humbled himself, even to the point of death on the Cross.” And his words echo back from the Empty Tomb: “Lay down your lifes' for each other, pick up your cross and to follow me.”
Make no doubts about it: Ministry is sacrificial.
I am reminded of Jesus’ admonition to Peter in John 21 where Jesus said to Peter three times, “Feed My Sheep.” And, when Peter finally gets it, Jesus then adds, “I tell you the truth, when you were young you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
Ministry isn’t always fun. And let it be known that, while we are called “Leggo-ed” to bear fruit that will last, we sometimes see more fertilizer than fruit. But the knowledge that God has called us says, by implication, that he has confidence in us to do the thing he’s called us into (or why would he have called us into it in the first place?). Jesus always leads us into places where He himself has gone. Then he comes back and walks us through the places He’s called us into in the first place. Doing ministry isn’t always fun, but we have the assurance that the Great Shepherd will never leave us or forsake us.
In closing, I want to encourage you – in what ever ministry you choose – to perform that ministry with all diligence and the highest possible standard of integrity. In whatever ministry you have – be it serving coffee or serving wine; teaching a child or teaching an adult; printing office materials or designing liturgies – remember you are an ambassador of Christ, you reflect the ministry of Christ, and (to some, anyway) you will be the only Christ people will ever see. Take your call seriously. Serve humbly and faithfully in your most holy calling. Make everything you do be fueled by a grateful heart and sustained by a moment-by-moment openness to the Holy Spirit.
You did not choose me But I chose you and appointed you
To go and bear fruit Fruit that will last.” John 15:16
“You did not choose me
But I chose you and appointed you
To go and bear fruit
Fruit that will last.”
John 15:16
Jesus’ words to us this morning are words of purpose, words of destiny, words that invite us into an entirely new level of spiritual activity. The Scriptures this morning invite us into a lifestyle of selflessness, a life wherein our personal agendas are forsaken for God’s personal agenda, for his sake, for his eternal purposes. His purposes aren’t knee-jerk ideas that he sort of makes up as history rolls along – but they are divine purposes that have been thought and through, laid out, and initiated since the beginning of time. God is working – increasing and yeasting – towards a glorious goal: a Day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
And he has chosen you, and he has chosen me, to make his work happen.
He could do it himself, of course, this work of redemption that is. He could lift a finger, wink his eye, or command a legion of Angels to make it happen. But he has engineered his work to include you and me, with all of our human frailties, to bridge the gap between and heaven and earth. Jesus left his work first with 12, then 70, then 120, than 3,000 and then… us.
But here’s my question: Why us? Why has he chosen us for such a monumental task and, at the same time, made us entirely dependant upon him to fulfill that same task – when he could pull off the entire project without us – in a far shorter amount of time and with perfect results? Why has God chosen us to do something that he could have done with a simple snap of his fingers?
Shortly after I gave into the call of Christ in my life I was attending a Tuesday night Bible Study in Miami Florida. We ate pot-luck (always a treat for a single man!), sang songs for about 30 minutes, dove into the Word of God for 45 minutes, prayed, and went home. One evening, the worship leader approached me and asked me if I would bring my guitar on the following week. While I was flabbergasted at the request because he was such a great leader and was doing a perfectly fine job all by himself, I agreed and found myself there at his side, co-leading worship with him the next Tuesday, and the next Tuesday, and numerous Tuesdays after that. He rarely let me lead anything and seemed very specific in what he wanted me to play, or not play. Then one day, quite out of the blue, he asked me to lead one song. Then another, and then another. By the end of the year there were days he didn’t even show up. He had built in me a worship leader.
Reflecting on this I see a couple of thing going on. First, Jay was all about the equipping of the saints (that would be me). He also knew God’s desire is to make leaders in ways that encourage and build the Body of Christ. (This is our model of ministry at Holy Apostles as well.)
But secondly, and as I reflect on this many years later, I think Jay may have had an ulterior motive. Jay liked me. There was something very neat that happened when we talked and ate together. And, when we played music together we had a lot of fun. We laughed and got to know one another. In the process of doing ministry, our joy was made complete. And much of that joy came as a direct result of our forming, growing relationship as we ministered together.
So, back to my question, “Why has God chosen you to do something that he could have done with a snap of his finger?
Three words: He like us. He likes you. And he’ll do about anything to get us into relationship with him. He knows that, as we co-task with him in his work, we will have the joy having of intimate relationship with him.
Pretty cool, huh?
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul tells us that, as the Body of Christ, each one of us has been given unique giftings, or chrisms, which when activated, play into the full function of God’s purposes for the community of faith. Some people are out front. Others you’ll never see, nor will ever know about. Doesn’t matter. We have all been given spiritual gifts – teens and adults alike - and have been given great individual latitude in our own expression of our gifts; all by the same Spirit, and, says Paul, just as God has determined.
And he has chosen and appointed us to go and bear fruit. The word “chosen” in the Greek is leggio – the word from which the word “leggo” comes from. It means to hand pick for a particular purpose in accordance with a particular design or greater work. Pretty cool, eh? When I was a kid I was involved in many sports, but I didn’t get picked to play on any of them. Sure, I sat on the team, but when the coach was looking for someone to send into the fireld, his eyes slowly glazed over when he scanned the bench to me, sitting there at the end of the bench. The good news for us is that each of us have been “Lego-ed,” if you will for God’s work. We have been hand chosen by God to and called into ministry which will bear fruit that will last! Isn’t that wonderful? Look at the person next to you and say to them, “I’ve been chosen by God to bear fruit that will last!”
Between the services and after the second service you will have an opportunity to visit the numerous booths and tables reflecting the many, many ministries at our Church. As you peruse the booths and speak with people behind the tables be asking yourself in the back of your mind a question. The question for you is not, “Has God called me to serve in a ministry,” but “Into which ministry is God calling me?”
Some of us will avoid the call like the plague. We will come up with all sorts of justifications why we shouldn’t do ministry. I know. I’ve been there. The best one I’ve heard is, “I’m not spiritual enough to serve the Lord.” LOL – Like the rest of us are? (I still maintain that the only reason God called me into the Ordained Priesthood was to make sure that I would attend church once a week!) Others will become so caught up and enthralled with all the ministries that they sign up for all of them – and even apply for part-time work at Bahama Mama’s! – and truth be known, will follow through on few of their commitments.
With that in mind I’d like to share with you five pieces of wisdom with the intent of helping you discern which work that is right for you at this season of your walk in Christ.
1. For most people here this morning, there is at least one ministry that God has definitely called you to be active in over the next year. Each of us has a ministry to work in. “I wish they all were prophets,” Moses declared. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good,” Paul writes. There is a perfect “you-shaped” ministry awaiting you in that room. Your job is to find it.
2. The ministry that awaits you can be something that you are inclined to do naturally, yet it may be more-so something you’ve always wanted to do – something you’ve had a deep passion or desire for for quite some time – but have never have had the opportunity to do it.
3. God has not called you to do all the ministries. Limit your involvement to 2.5 ministries. (Ministries that you are “working,” not receiving benefit from.) God wants well-trimmed lamps brightly burning to reflect the face of his Son, not half-lit saints, staggering around like zombies because they are spending all their energies trying to save the world. Relax. We already have a Savoir. Our God is peaceful; he is never stressed out. This morning’s Gospel says it best: "Remain in me and I will remain in you… You can bear no fruit, unless you remain in me.” Good fruit is limited to 2.5 ministries per person. Better fruit is limited to less.
4. Don’t let what the “ministry of consideration” look like, talk you out of your call to sign up for it. It will look different when you get there. God will use you in its continued development.
5. Allow yourself to consider ministries that won’t be “fun.” Truth of the matter is that, while ministry brings joy and a deeper relationship with our Lord, “ministry,” by its very definition, is sacrificial. And, as many here know, God is notorious for calling us into increasingly more difficult acts of obedience as we mature in the Faith.
We often pray, “God, make me more like Jesus.”
(That is a dangerous prayer I might add.)
He says, “Do you really want to be more like Jesus?”
We say, “I do, I do!”
“Are you sure?“
“I am sure!” we assert.
“Alright,” he says. “Do this: Love one another as I have loved you.”
“Gulp!”
As Christians, our penultimate model of what it means to serve others is found in somebody who went completely selfless. Someone who, as Paul writes to the Philippians, “humbled himself, even to the point of death on the Cross.” And his words echo back from the Empty Tomb: “Lay down your lifes' for each other, pick up your cross and to follow me.”
Make no doubts about it: Ministry is sacrificial.
I am reminded of Jesus’ admonition to Peter in John 21 where Jesus said to Peter three times, “Feed My Sheep.” And, when Peter finally gets it, Jesus then adds, “I tell you the truth, when you were young you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
Ministry isn’t always fun. And let it be known that, while we are called “Leggo-ed” to bear fruit that will last, we sometimes see more fertilizer than fruit. But the knowledge that God has called us says, by implication, that he has confidence in us to do the thing he’s called us into (or why would he have called us into it in the first place?). Jesus always leads us into places where He himself has gone. Then he comes back and walks us through the places He’s called us into in the first place. Doing ministry isn’t always fun, but we have the assurance that the Great Shepherd will never leave us or forsake us.
In closing, I want to encourage you – in what ever ministry you choose – to perform that ministry with all diligence and the highest possible standard of integrity. In whatever ministry you have – be it serving coffee or serving wine; teaching a child or teaching an adult; printing office materials or designing liturgies – remember you are an ambassador of Christ, you reflect the ministry of Christ, and (to some, anyway) you will be the only Christ people will ever see. Take your call seriously. Serve humbly and faithfully in your most holy calling. Make everything you do be fueled by a grateful heart and sustained by a moment-by-moment openness to the Holy Spirit.
You did not choose me But I chose you and appointed you
To go and bear fruit Fruit that will last.” John 15:16
Let us pray...
Sunday, August 12, 2007
An Alien Culture
The nature of the Kingdom of God is to grow, to expand, and increase; to stretch, widen, deepen, and move forward – and all that happens in unpredictable, sometime scary, out-of-the-box ways which can rarely be foreseen and are designed to stretch us to the limits of the box.
While we know something of the heart of God; let it be said that we know close to nothing about the mysterious movements of God.
The movements – the holy currents – of God are like the wind. They flow to a rhythm quite different than our humanness. God leads us towards a marker. We enter with fear and in-trepidation. We look back on the decision only to see everything was aligned with his sovereign design. Who could have known that? God’s mysterious ways: they can’t be pinned down, second-guessed, or mapped out.
When I was a kid I used to break thermometers, gather mercury in my palms and try to squeeze around with my thumb. I never could trap it, never could get my finger on it, and never could predict where it would go next. God is like that. The more you seek to get your head around his movements, the more illusive he becomes. For those who like to know the end of the journey before the journey begins, there is little comfort here – aside from the fact that there will be an End, that is.
Jesus calls his followers to forsake everything for the reward of following him. He forsook perfection to come here and asks we forsake “here” to find perfection. But it’s a two-way street. He knows we need assurance. Forsaking “all” includes a spiritual transfer. He transfers our fear for trust, our cowardice for an appetite for risk, our rags for riches. Any baggage we give to him he receives and infuses its opposite, heavenly attribute in its place. When you give him your weight he will set you free in his love.
And then, once walking in the Spirit, when we are completely abandoned and intentionally committed to his ways, we must constantly remind ourselves of the alien culture into which we’ve been born. It is a culture of faith, of NOT knowing, of absolute surrender, and of risky, adventurous trust.
The promise of Jesus is that as we walk in faith, completely surrendered to his covenantal love, we will always be cared for, always be provided for, and always be sustained. Though we may find ourselves in places and situations we would never have guessed, we can be sure of his guiding, protective hand that steadies us onward into spiritual maturity.
“Fear not, little flock, for it is you Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”
While we know something of the heart of God; let it be said that we know close to nothing about the mysterious movements of God.
The movements – the holy currents – of God are like the wind. They flow to a rhythm quite different than our humanness. God leads us towards a marker. We enter with fear and in-trepidation. We look back on the decision only to see everything was aligned with his sovereign design. Who could have known that? God’s mysterious ways: they can’t be pinned down, second-guessed, or mapped out.
When I was a kid I used to break thermometers, gather mercury in my palms and try to squeeze around with my thumb. I never could trap it, never could get my finger on it, and never could predict where it would go next. God is like that. The more you seek to get your head around his movements, the more illusive he becomes. For those who like to know the end of the journey before the journey begins, there is little comfort here – aside from the fact that there will be an End, that is.
Jesus calls his followers to forsake everything for the reward of following him. He forsook perfection to come here and asks we forsake “here” to find perfection. But it’s a two-way street. He knows we need assurance. Forsaking “all” includes a spiritual transfer. He transfers our fear for trust, our cowardice for an appetite for risk, our rags for riches. Any baggage we give to him he receives and infuses its opposite, heavenly attribute in its place. When you give him your weight he will set you free in his love.
And then, once walking in the Spirit, when we are completely abandoned and intentionally committed to his ways, we must constantly remind ourselves of the alien culture into which we’ve been born. It is a culture of faith, of NOT knowing, of absolute surrender, and of risky, adventurous trust.
The promise of Jesus is that as we walk in faith, completely surrendered to his covenantal love, we will always be cared for, always be provided for, and always be sustained. Though we may find ourselves in places and situations we would never have guessed, we can be sure of his guiding, protective hand that steadies us onward into spiritual maturity.
“Fear not, little flock, for it is you Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”
Jesus – Luke 12:32
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The Holy Spirit as Purifier
Through His aid hearts are lifted up, the weak are held by the hand, and they who are advancing are brought to perfection. Shining upon those that are cleansed from every spot, He makes them spiritual by fellowship with Himself. Just as when a sunbeam falls on bright and transparent bodies, they themselves become brilliant too, and shed forth a fresh brightness from themselves, so souls wherein the Spirit dwells, illuminated by the Spirit, themselves become spiritual, and send forth their grace to others.
St. Basil: 329-379 AD
St. Basil: 329-379 AD
Thursday, June 14, 2007
PSALM 100
All right, so I'm not exactly a Hebrew scholar. But in my preparations for this Sunday's sermon I discovered some fascinating innuendos in Psalm 100 that aren't apparent to the casual English reader. Take a look at Psalm 100... The Blomquistian Translation:
1 Create ear-splitting sounds and alarms of triumph, ye turf-dwellers; execute labor in your service with gladness, to the Eternal Deity and come into his increasing attention - his turning, facing countenance – singing and shouting victories to his Name.
2 Understand, be absolutely certain, the Eternal is our God; it is he who made us, not we ourselves; we are his tribe, his attendants and the sheep of his pasture.
3 Enter his gates extending your hands in praise, confession, and adoration; go into his courts excitingly lauding him with music; revere him with extended hands, kneeling towards him as your act of adoration.
4 For the Eternal is wildly good, fully bountiful in every way; and his covenanted loving-kindness exists - far exceeds - outside any identifiable time reference of your minds. His stable, active truth remains firm, and continues through all revolutions of time.
1 Create ear-splitting sounds and alarms of triumph, ye turf-dwellers; execute labor in your service with gladness, to the Eternal Deity and come into his increasing attention - his turning, facing countenance – singing and shouting victories to his Name.
2 Understand, be absolutely certain, the Eternal is our God; it is he who made us, not we ourselves; we are his tribe, his attendants and the sheep of his pasture.
3 Enter his gates extending your hands in praise, confession, and adoration; go into his courts excitingly lauding him with music; revere him with extended hands, kneeling towards him as your act of adoration.
4 For the Eternal is wildly good, fully bountiful in every way; and his covenanted loving-kindness exists - far exceeds - outside any identifiable time reference of your minds. His stable, active truth remains firm, and continues through all revolutions of time.
Friday, April 27, 2007
David’s Call
Never forget, my servant prince,
The world from which you came;
A world of shepherds and their sheep,
Of gentle mountain rains.
As then once faithful, so today,
With tender hearts and minds;
Shepherd them with that same heart,
But remember, they are Mine.
Bill Blomquist
©2007 Blomquistian Music, Ltd. ARR
The world from which you came;
A world of shepherds and their sheep,
Of gentle mountain rains.
As then once faithful, so today,
With tender hearts and minds;
Shepherd them with that same heart,
But remember, they are Mine.
Bill Blomquist
©2007 Blomquistian Music, Ltd. ARR
Optimistic Ease
Let us regard no one in terms of their past, where they have been, the notorious sins they so ignorantly committed.
Rather, seek to know them as nothing less than Prince and Princesses, and that, with a glorious future. Commune with potential, nurture dreams, celebrate grace. Judge not where they have been (God has already done that), as it does nothing but dwarf the potential for growth and fellowship that God is offering you through them.
Resolve yourself to a posture of optimistic ease for where they are today. Open your heart to Christ in them and stand in wonder at yet another miracle, boasting of His redeeming grace.
2 Corinthians 5:16,17
Rather, seek to know them as nothing less than Prince and Princesses, and that, with a glorious future. Commune with potential, nurture dreams, celebrate grace. Judge not where they have been (God has already done that), as it does nothing but dwarf the potential for growth and fellowship that God is offering you through them.
Resolve yourself to a posture of optimistic ease for where they are today. Open your heart to Christ in them and stand in wonder at yet another miracle, boasting of His redeeming grace.
2 Corinthians 5:16,17
Monday, April 9, 2007
Jesus Snoopy Crop-duster
The poison of the Resurrection is final. By rising from the dead, Jesus established himself as the Power above all powers, the Lord above all lords, and the King above all kings - both physical and spiritual. All creation bows in his eternal shadow. Yet, with regard to getting rid of the sin in our life, many of us go about the whole process in ways that are substandard to the glorious work of the Resurrection.
Think of the heart as a landscape, acreage that spreads out for miles in all directions. From season to season, various crops burst through the soil. Some of the crops are fruitful – love, joy, peace, for example. Others are remnants of the “old soil”: lying, cheating, stealing, etc. When these crops appear our knee-jerk reation is to immediately implore Christ to put on his snoopy head-gear, get into his yellow biplane, and spray down the thistles of thievery, the stickers of stealing, or the distant 40 acres of adultery with his resurrection poison – much like you or I would do when working in our yards with Weed Kill.
But that type of praxis - that mentality – runs completely contrary to the work of the resurrection. When Christ died and rose again from the grave he plummeted far below the toxic soil of our hearts and got to the root of it all. By rising to life Jesus conquered death. And death lies at the root of every sin.
(I know it’s hard to see that death lies behind something as non-threatening as a couple of people gossiping about another. But, that gossip, when matured and refined and in full bloom, will turn to death, on some level, to some body. Believe me.)
When Jesus captured and destroyed death he rooted out our sin. We no longer have to call upon Jesus Snoopy Crop-duster to poison the weeds. That has already been done (and that, on a much deeper, more permanent level). We rather turn our faith to Jesus, knowing his death has already covered our crops, seek his forgiveness and rise to live in continued freedom and forgiveness.
How does this work out in real life? Well, Instead of constantly examining our fields for crops of weeds and then – when finding them – running to Snoopy Jesus Snoopy Crop-duster to spray his magic resurrection dust we simply spray praise upwards to Christ for his remarkable work on the Cross. We become much less preoccupied with spiritual navel-gazing and much more preoccupied with living out our freedom in Christ out to the fullest, and that, through praise and thanksgiving to the Wellspring of our souls.
Christ died to give us life and a specific purpose. Yet too many of us get sidetracked with too much internal examination. We figure we can't be about God's business until we are fully healed, fully forgiven, or fully Christianised. But that will never happen. You are healed as you go. Here's my adivice on it: Deal with your bad crops appropriately in faith, knowing that God has both rendered your sin powerless and has also forgiven you. Then, and get on with your life, carry on with your God-given created purpose and destiny. You don't have time to be the internal control over the issues of your heart. That's the Holy Spirit's job. You have a job to do!
Bad crops will always arise. And, oddly enough, they will arise in the same soil as the good crops. Jesus, when speaking of the judgment of the nations, indicated that the thistles would grow with the wheat up to the Final Day (Matthew 8:36-43). No big shakes.
While we need to monitor the condition of our gardens and control the thorns of flesh through spiritual discipline, we also need to keep perspective. The real power behind the crops of covetness, acreage of adultery, and lawns of lust has already been eternally rooted out by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we no longer need to run around like fumbling farmers, obsessed with spraying resurrection poison on the tiniest sprouts and forgetting about the other stuff (like loving our neighbor as ourselves, for instance). No, our job is to show the crop of concern to Christ, thank him for taking care of “that one too” at Easter, and rise up [once again] in faith, pressing on in the freedom and forgiveness of Easter.
Think of the heart as a landscape, acreage that spreads out for miles in all directions. From season to season, various crops burst through the soil. Some of the crops are fruitful – love, joy, peace, for example. Others are remnants of the “old soil”: lying, cheating, stealing, etc. When these crops appear our knee-jerk reation is to immediately implore Christ to put on his snoopy head-gear, get into his yellow biplane, and spray down the thistles of thievery, the stickers of stealing, or the distant 40 acres of adultery with his resurrection poison – much like you or I would do when working in our yards with Weed Kill.
But that type of praxis - that mentality – runs completely contrary to the work of the resurrection. When Christ died and rose again from the grave he plummeted far below the toxic soil of our hearts and got to the root of it all. By rising to life Jesus conquered death. And death lies at the root of every sin.
(I know it’s hard to see that death lies behind something as non-threatening as a couple of people gossiping about another. But, that gossip, when matured and refined and in full bloom, will turn to death, on some level, to some body. Believe me.)
When Jesus captured and destroyed death he rooted out our sin. We no longer have to call upon Jesus Snoopy Crop-duster to poison the weeds. That has already been done (and that, on a much deeper, more permanent level). We rather turn our faith to Jesus, knowing his death has already covered our crops, seek his forgiveness and rise to live in continued freedom and forgiveness.
How does this work out in real life? Well, Instead of constantly examining our fields for crops of weeds and then – when finding them – running to Snoopy Jesus Snoopy Crop-duster to spray his magic resurrection dust we simply spray praise upwards to Christ for his remarkable work on the Cross. We become much less preoccupied with spiritual navel-gazing and much more preoccupied with living out our freedom in Christ out to the fullest, and that, through praise and thanksgiving to the Wellspring of our souls.
Christ died to give us life and a specific purpose. Yet too many of us get sidetracked with too much internal examination. We figure we can't be about God's business until we are fully healed, fully forgiven, or fully Christianised. But that will never happen. You are healed as you go. Here's my adivice on it: Deal with your bad crops appropriately in faith, knowing that God has both rendered your sin powerless and has also forgiven you. Then, and get on with your life, carry on with your God-given created purpose and destiny. You don't have time to be the internal control over the issues of your heart. That's the Holy Spirit's job. You have a job to do!
Bad crops will always arise. And, oddly enough, they will arise in the same soil as the good crops. Jesus, when speaking of the judgment of the nations, indicated that the thistles would grow with the wheat up to the Final Day (Matthew 8:36-43). No big shakes.
While we need to monitor the condition of our gardens and control the thorns of flesh through spiritual discipline, we also need to keep perspective. The real power behind the crops of covetness, acreage of adultery, and lawns of lust has already been eternally rooted out by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we no longer need to run around like fumbling farmers, obsessed with spraying resurrection poison on the tiniest sprouts and forgetting about the other stuff (like loving our neighbor as ourselves, for instance). No, our job is to show the crop of concern to Christ, thank him for taking care of “that one too” at Easter, and rise up [once again] in faith, pressing on in the freedom and forgiveness of Easter.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
What to Do During the Praise and Worship Part of Church
Q. I like to sing the songs but what am I supposed to do during “the instrumental?”
A. In short, engage in worship. Close your eyes and think on what the song is saying. Perhaps there is a word or phrase that particularly speaks to you. Use the instrumental time to talk to God about that. Still yourself before the Lord. Listen for his Presence; focus on the peace of his Holy Spirit. You may be surprised at how much you experience God’s love when you’re not singing, praying, or doing anything at all – only being still. Worship along with the instrumental. The musicians use their instrumental as their own “real time” acts of devotion and worship. Listen and “pray along” with them, much as you might listen and pray along with anyone else who is praying on behalf of others. Sing. Instrumentals provide a unique time for the worshipper to draw closer to the Lord. Singing is a way to do that. Not loud singing; but soft, worshipful melodies that flow with the key and tenor of the music. Some people hum. Others repeat a phrase, such as “I love you,” or “I bow to your will in my life.” Others use their prayer languages during this time. Regardless, singing during these “non-singing times” can be tremendously edifying.
Q.What do I do with my hands during worship?
A. In short: use them.
Lift them up. In the early church the default prayer posture was “hands raised, palms up” It was considered a symbol of the worshipper’s complete resignation of the before the every merciful God. Sometimes people lift their hands straight up, fingers forward. This can either be a cry for desperation or complete, un-abandoned worship. (I have a friend who told me once the reason she paints her fingernails such bright colors and adorns them with diamonds and other forms of bling-bling is because, “if the Lord comes back when I’m praising him I want to be the first thing he sees!”) Of course, the lifting of hands isn’t mandatory in worship, but it is an expectation of the way our Lord has established worship. Fold them. Folded hands before the Lord in worship is a powerful act of devotion. Lay them on someone else. Occasionally, it is appropriate to place your hands on a loved one during the singing of a song. God can use the laying on of hands in life-changing ways. The words of the song can be transformed into a prayer for that particular person. We see this happening quite often with parents and their children during the singing of the Benediction (The Lord bless you and keep you…) at our church.
Q. What about clapping, rocking with the beat, jumping around, and other movements of our bodies in worship?
A. I don’t have a problem with it. It actually encourages me in my role as a worship leader.
The Bible actually commands us to clap our hands to the Lord and even come before his presence with shouts, hoots, and hollers of joy. These types of outward displays of enthusiastic worship may seem foreign to our us, but God enjoys seeing the sincere enthusiasm of his children towards him just as much as we enjoy seeing our children lifting our names in praise and honoring us in radical ways. Dancing is also prescribed in the Bible – as is bowing before the Lord. The point is this: it is not the worship postures in themselves that are important in our worship - but the hearts behind them that matter to God. It’s an odd mix – and a delicate balance to behold. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves yet, on the other hand, we don’t want to hold back our worship in any form, either. A good standard is to engage in outward displays of worship that fit both the inner poster of the worshipper and the overall worship happening with the congregation. For example, it would be completely distracting for a worshipper to clap their hands and shout “Thank you God – You are awesome!” during the singing of the Sanctus or during a song like “Sanctuary.” However, during the Doxology or in a song such as “You Are Mighty!” that type of expression would be very appropriate and even invited. Sometimes a person who would ordinarily be quiet may choose to get more boisterous. That’s perfectly fine, as long as it is an outward display of his or her heart. Never fake it in worship. There is a term called the “sacrifice of praise” and that is basically intentionally choosing to praise him even though your heart isn’t in it, thereby making it sacrificial. This type of praise, when presented this was as “offerings,” are very pleasing to the Lord because he sees that you’re out to praise him even if everything in your life would scream not to praise him.
Q. I love our church but we spend alot of emphasis on music. Can worship be done with out music?
A. Yes.
On the very first day I went to Trinity Episcopal Seminary for the Ministry we had chapel. During the Offertory the Lord laid it upon my heart to place a guitar pick in the plate as it passed by. When I questioned the Lord about that he said, “I want to teach you how to lead worship without a guitar.” I can only imagine the ushers counting the money that day and their surprise to find a pick! That entire year was a year of rest away from the guitar. I learned, among many other things, that music and worship are not synonymous. Everything is Worship. From the moment we begin to the dismissal, it is ALL worship. Worship covers not only our outward motions, but our inward thoughts – even our listening. Less obvious things - like saying the Creed, giving monies, and waiting in line to receive Communion - are all actions of the worship.
Q. What is one piece of advice you can give me to get closer to God in Church?
A. Come prepared to meet God. Get there early and arrive with expectation, like you had front row seats to a Coronation. It is a wonderful privilege to attend church and worship. Many, however, race in at the last moment and are unable to shake off the responsibilities coming up later in the day. So they spend their church time so preoccupied with life that they leave falling short of where they could have been that day. Worship involves preparation. In the OT it involved the literal seeking out of an unblemished lamb to present to the priest (non of this automatic cash deposit there!), which took a lot of work – and time. Today is no different. Even a simple Sunday morning prayer said before you hit the ground running, thanking God that it’s Sunday and opening yourself to anything he would have for you at church, is a wonderful way to prepare your heart for worship. There used to be a time when we took Communion once a month. Holy Eucharist was considered so sacred that it took three weeks to prepare for it. When is came around you can be sure that hearts were examined and people were ready to the Body of Christ. There is a direct correlation with the attitude of the worshipper and the overall fulfillment of that day’s worship. When people come in expecting to hear God, expecting to pray and glorify him, they will walk out having done that. Others who show up with dispositions that wont allow for God to bless, touch, or love them will leave fall short of where they could have been. I’m not suggesting that you need to “pump yourself up” spiritually in order to have good Church. For God loves to surprise people – even people with the most anti-Chistly hearts (remember the conversion of Saul in Acts?) Yet, I am saying that one needs to have a posture of openness and sincere honesty when coming into the sanctuary of God - or at least is willing to admit their harness of heart before God, in order for worship in both “spirit and truth” to happen.
Q. Is there a preferred dress code for worship?
A. No. Of course we know that praise and worship is a spiritual activity lifted before our spiritual God and, thus, God is less concerned with how we look than with the condition of our hearts. God radically changed my life when I was in baggies and a filthy t-shirt on a beach some 30 years back. But, today, as I begin to comprehend who God is – more important than my boss, any diplomat, Prime Minister, President, or King of the earth – I have learned that dressing up for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords isn’t all bad. People dress up when they go to work, go to the Rodeo, or even to a wrestling match. Why not dress up to meet Jesus as well?
Q. When people are really worshipping I sometimes find myself wanting to look around. Is it alright to watch others when they worship?
A. Yes. But do so with honor and grace. As I watch people worship it actually draws me into worship. When I see hands up, love on their faces, I too am forced to turn to God, having been boosted by the worship of another in my expression of worship. It is never appropriate to stare at a person in worship with feelings of judgment, mockery, or laughter (in a derogatory sense). A person’s personal expression to God is uniquely theirs and God dwells richly in that sort of intimacy. We never have the right to interfere with that relationship, regardless of what we may know about that person. God punished Micah severely for laughing at and insulting her husband David during his personal expressions of worship. We would be wise to heed that example.
Q. As a songwriter, do you receive royalties?
There are churches that use Blomquistian Music many Sundays of the year. They are scatterd across the USA and are other contries as well. Blomquistian Music is licensed as a publisher and I am lisenseced as a songwriter with CCLI (Christian Copyright Lisencing Incorporated), Portland OR. Any church that is doing music needs to do it legally. While there are many companies that provide copywrite services for churches, CCLI is by far the largest. And, as a part of a church's copywrite requirement, they are surveyed once every couple of years as to what music they do during theruy worship. The survey serves a two-fold purpose: it gives CCLI a peak into the "hot songs" across the country, the songs God is highlighting at any particular time across the world; and it provides royalty payments to those songwriters and publishing companies that the churches have listed in the surveys.
Being a member of CCLI, I receive a computerized print-out of what songs I've written are being played, how many times they have been played (over the survey time - usually a three month window), and upon what media format they are played on (overhead, projection, video, songsheets, etc.) Along with that print-out I recieve a royalty check reflecting the usage. The royalty checks are quite a blessing. But they fluctuate greatly. My largest check was just a tad over $1200.00 and was sent certified mail! Currently I have a recently received royalty check on my desk here for $24.60. Regardless of the amount, I deposited into an account where it is reserved only for the continuatoin of Blomquistian Music - mostly for recording or the purchasing of music computer programs that make it easier to foster my gift. I also am in the habit of tithing that money to NOEL (National Organisation of Episcopalians for Life) a pro-Life Episcopal Ministry that works with pregnant teens and educates against abortion around the globe. Probably more than you wanted to know about. But money is the last thing on my mind when it comes to doing my music in church. I have'nt looked at it recently. But I'm thinking I get about $.9 (nine cents) each time a church marks a song used by "Bill Blomquist."
Hope that is helpful. Shoot me a comment!
A. In short, engage in worship. Close your eyes and think on what the song is saying. Perhaps there is a word or phrase that particularly speaks to you. Use the instrumental time to talk to God about that. Still yourself before the Lord. Listen for his Presence; focus on the peace of his Holy Spirit. You may be surprised at how much you experience God’s love when you’re not singing, praying, or doing anything at all – only being still. Worship along with the instrumental. The musicians use their instrumental as their own “real time” acts of devotion and worship. Listen and “pray along” with them, much as you might listen and pray along with anyone else who is praying on behalf of others. Sing. Instrumentals provide a unique time for the worshipper to draw closer to the Lord. Singing is a way to do that. Not loud singing; but soft, worshipful melodies that flow with the key and tenor of the music. Some people hum. Others repeat a phrase, such as “I love you,” or “I bow to your will in my life.” Others use their prayer languages during this time. Regardless, singing during these “non-singing times” can be tremendously edifying.
Q.What do I do with my hands during worship?
A. In short: use them.
Lift them up. In the early church the default prayer posture was “hands raised, palms up” It was considered a symbol of the worshipper’s complete resignation of the before the every merciful God. Sometimes people lift their hands straight up, fingers forward. This can either be a cry for desperation or complete, un-abandoned worship. (I have a friend who told me once the reason she paints her fingernails such bright colors and adorns them with diamonds and other forms of bling-bling is because, “if the Lord comes back when I’m praising him I want to be the first thing he sees!”) Of course, the lifting of hands isn’t mandatory in worship, but it is an expectation of the way our Lord has established worship. Fold them. Folded hands before the Lord in worship is a powerful act of devotion. Lay them on someone else. Occasionally, it is appropriate to place your hands on a loved one during the singing of a song. God can use the laying on of hands in life-changing ways. The words of the song can be transformed into a prayer for that particular person. We see this happening quite often with parents and their children during the singing of the Benediction (The Lord bless you and keep you…) at our church.
Q. What about clapping, rocking with the beat, jumping around, and other movements of our bodies in worship?
A. I don’t have a problem with it. It actually encourages me in my role as a worship leader.
The Bible actually commands us to clap our hands to the Lord and even come before his presence with shouts, hoots, and hollers of joy. These types of outward displays of enthusiastic worship may seem foreign to our us, but God enjoys seeing the sincere enthusiasm of his children towards him just as much as we enjoy seeing our children lifting our names in praise and honoring us in radical ways. Dancing is also prescribed in the Bible – as is bowing before the Lord. The point is this: it is not the worship postures in themselves that are important in our worship - but the hearts behind them that matter to God. It’s an odd mix – and a delicate balance to behold. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves yet, on the other hand, we don’t want to hold back our worship in any form, either. A good standard is to engage in outward displays of worship that fit both the inner poster of the worshipper and the overall worship happening with the congregation. For example, it would be completely distracting for a worshipper to clap their hands and shout “Thank you God – You are awesome!” during the singing of the Sanctus or during a song like “Sanctuary.” However, during the Doxology or in a song such as “You Are Mighty!” that type of expression would be very appropriate and even invited. Sometimes a person who would ordinarily be quiet may choose to get more boisterous. That’s perfectly fine, as long as it is an outward display of his or her heart. Never fake it in worship. There is a term called the “sacrifice of praise” and that is basically intentionally choosing to praise him even though your heart isn’t in it, thereby making it sacrificial. This type of praise, when presented this was as “offerings,” are very pleasing to the Lord because he sees that you’re out to praise him even if everything in your life would scream not to praise him.
Q. I love our church but we spend alot of emphasis on music. Can worship be done with out music?
A. Yes.
On the very first day I went to Trinity Episcopal Seminary for the Ministry we had chapel. During the Offertory the Lord laid it upon my heart to place a guitar pick in the plate as it passed by. When I questioned the Lord about that he said, “I want to teach you how to lead worship without a guitar.” I can only imagine the ushers counting the money that day and their surprise to find a pick! That entire year was a year of rest away from the guitar. I learned, among many other things, that music and worship are not synonymous. Everything is Worship. From the moment we begin to the dismissal, it is ALL worship. Worship covers not only our outward motions, but our inward thoughts – even our listening. Less obvious things - like saying the Creed, giving monies, and waiting in line to receive Communion - are all actions of the worship.
Q. What is one piece of advice you can give me to get closer to God in Church?
A. Come prepared to meet God. Get there early and arrive with expectation, like you had front row seats to a Coronation. It is a wonderful privilege to attend church and worship. Many, however, race in at the last moment and are unable to shake off the responsibilities coming up later in the day. So they spend their church time so preoccupied with life that they leave falling short of where they could have been that day. Worship involves preparation. In the OT it involved the literal seeking out of an unblemished lamb to present to the priest (non of this automatic cash deposit there!), which took a lot of work – and time. Today is no different. Even a simple Sunday morning prayer said before you hit the ground running, thanking God that it’s Sunday and opening yourself to anything he would have for you at church, is a wonderful way to prepare your heart for worship. There used to be a time when we took Communion once a month. Holy Eucharist was considered so sacred that it took three weeks to prepare for it. When is came around you can be sure that hearts were examined and people were ready to the Body of Christ. There is a direct correlation with the attitude of the worshipper and the overall fulfillment of that day’s worship. When people come in expecting to hear God, expecting to pray and glorify him, they will walk out having done that. Others who show up with dispositions that wont allow for God to bless, touch, or love them will leave fall short of where they could have been. I’m not suggesting that you need to “pump yourself up” spiritually in order to have good Church. For God loves to surprise people – even people with the most anti-Chistly hearts (remember the conversion of Saul in Acts?) Yet, I am saying that one needs to have a posture of openness and sincere honesty when coming into the sanctuary of God - or at least is willing to admit their harness of heart before God, in order for worship in both “spirit and truth” to happen.
Q. Is there a preferred dress code for worship?
A. No. Of course we know that praise and worship is a spiritual activity lifted before our spiritual God and, thus, God is less concerned with how we look than with the condition of our hearts. God radically changed my life when I was in baggies and a filthy t-shirt on a beach some 30 years back. But, today, as I begin to comprehend who God is – more important than my boss, any diplomat, Prime Minister, President, or King of the earth – I have learned that dressing up for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords isn’t all bad. People dress up when they go to work, go to the Rodeo, or even to a wrestling match. Why not dress up to meet Jesus as well?
Q. When people are really worshipping I sometimes find myself wanting to look around. Is it alright to watch others when they worship?
A. Yes. But do so with honor and grace. As I watch people worship it actually draws me into worship. When I see hands up, love on their faces, I too am forced to turn to God, having been boosted by the worship of another in my expression of worship. It is never appropriate to stare at a person in worship with feelings of judgment, mockery, or laughter (in a derogatory sense). A person’s personal expression to God is uniquely theirs and God dwells richly in that sort of intimacy. We never have the right to interfere with that relationship, regardless of what we may know about that person. God punished Micah severely for laughing at and insulting her husband David during his personal expressions of worship. We would be wise to heed that example.
Q. As a songwriter, do you receive royalties?
There are churches that use Blomquistian Music many Sundays of the year. They are scatterd across the USA and are other contries as well. Blomquistian Music is licensed as a publisher and I am lisenseced as a songwriter with CCLI (Christian Copyright Lisencing Incorporated), Portland OR. Any church that is doing music needs to do it legally. While there are many companies that provide copywrite services for churches, CCLI is by far the largest. And, as a part of a church's copywrite requirement, they are surveyed once every couple of years as to what music they do during theruy worship. The survey serves a two-fold purpose: it gives CCLI a peak into the "hot songs" across the country, the songs God is highlighting at any particular time across the world; and it provides royalty payments to those songwriters and publishing companies that the churches have listed in the surveys.
Being a member of CCLI, I receive a computerized print-out of what songs I've written are being played, how many times they have been played (over the survey time - usually a three month window), and upon what media format they are played on (overhead, projection, video, songsheets, etc.) Along with that print-out I recieve a royalty check reflecting the usage. The royalty checks are quite a blessing. But they fluctuate greatly. My largest check was just a tad over $1200.00 and was sent certified mail! Currently I have a recently received royalty check on my desk here for $24.60. Regardless of the amount, I deposited into an account where it is reserved only for the continuatoin of Blomquistian Music - mostly for recording or the purchasing of music computer programs that make it easier to foster my gift. I also am in the habit of tithing that money to NOEL (National Organisation of Episcopalians for Life) a pro-Life Episcopal Ministry that works with pregnant teens and educates against abortion around the globe. Probably more than you wanted to know about. But money is the last thing on my mind when it comes to doing my music in church. I have'nt looked at it recently. But I'm thinking I get about $.9 (nine cents) each time a church marks a song used by "Bill Blomquist."
Hope that is helpful. Shoot me a comment!
Birds of Prey
In this article, based on readings from 1 Kings 15, Fr. Bill encourages the reader to hold fast to the promises of God by “shooing away” the birds of prey that seek to rob us of God’s words and preparations when waiting to hear from the Lord.
Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.” 1 Kings 15:11
There are times in life when what we see is far different than what God has promised us. This was certainly in Abram’s case. God had promised Abram he would one day be a great nation, numbering greater than the stars in the sky, but this was taking much too long and, to his way of thinking, nothing was happening. In the “lull-time” (the time between the giving and the fulfilling of the promise) Abram sought to make something like the promise happen, and that in his own strength and in his own timing. But God stepped in and reaffirmed the original promise to Abram, “Don’t be afraid, I am your shield and your strong reward.” (1 Kings 15:1b)
God asked Abram to take some animals, divide them in half, and lay them out on an open rock in the plain of day, which he did. In due time, God would cause Abram to fall into a deep sleep, surround him with a dreadful darkness, and speak specific words of hope and promise over him (vv.12-16). But for now, Abram waited for God to meet the preparations of his heart. As the day wore on, certain “birds of prey,” eyeing the fleshy tidbits of Abram’s sacrifice there on the rock, circled overhead. Having their way, they rip apart and devour everything that God was doing in that poor man’s life.
But, rising to the occasion, he got pro-active and “drove them [the birds of prey] away.” (v.15) He wasn’t about to let these vultures tear and shred away the sweet offering unto God he had worked so hard to prepare. He needed to protect that.
Funny thing about the heart that has been prepared to receive the promise of God: it is both a sweet savor to the Lord and an enticing snack for the birds of prey. Both Friend and foe are attracted by the preciousness of the saints’ spiritual vulnerability. With that in mind, one activity of saint is to be a guardian of all God has given him or her. We are to be “scarecrows” over the garden of God’s promises in our lives and, to some extent, over the lives of others.
Abram knew what God had promised and protected it as best he could. He wasn’t about to let his sweet offering unto God be gobbled up by a haggle of high-flying, desert rug-rats. He was quick to “shoo away” the birds of prey. He knew that, in order for God’s precious promises to take root on the Rock of his faith, he would have to actively guard the good deposit laid within him, knowing that one day his preparation would meet with God’s promise.
And, later that evening, the smoking firepot appeared. It moved with a favorable certainty through the issues of his preparation. Thus, we read in Hebrews Abram became the father of the faithful, and God became his reward.
Deep Thought: Followers of Jesus need to be guardians of all God has given. We have worked hard preparing our soil for the seeding of God's promise. Thus we are likened as “spiritual scarecrows” over the preparations of we have made to meet God, in garden of our hearts. Think on are the precious seeds in your field. What have you consecrated to God that needs to be guarded and protected? And, name those certain "birds of prey" vying for that same treasure.
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