Archive for the ‘Journey’ Category
“Finding Beauty” teaching at NewSong
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Here’s the video of last weekend’s “Finding Beauty” teaching at NewSong Irvine.
Worship Leader Essentials
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Two "essentials" that I think are hugely important in the lives of those who lead worship at The Orchard:
AUTHENTICITY & DEPTH.
Authenticity. Being real and willing to lead out of their own, personal journey. Not afraid to be honest and transparent about their struggles, pain, and brokenness. The same on stage as they are in every day life and conversation (have you ever heard a worship leader who stands up and talks to an audience in a totally different voice than they normally talk in?) Someone who others can look to and say to themselves, "I get that person…they're not all that different from me."
Depth. If the worship leader has an empty soul…..then the only thing they'll really have to offer is authenticity and talent….and neither of those are enough as far as I'm concerned. I want worship leaders who have taken the time to LISTEN…and get quiet. Who make it a priority to wrestle through the scriptures and songs they'll be leading people through. Leaders whose hearts are freshly inspired by the beauty and goodness of God….and who understand that a huge part of what they do in leading worship is sharing that beauty and goodness with others.
I suppose those are pretty important essentials for all of us as followers of Jesus. But they're especially important to me when it comes to those who are standing on stage leading our community into worship each weekend.
Worship Leaders & Pastors – I'd love to hear from you. What "essentials" are at the top of your list?
Hope.
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This past Monday marked five years since my dad passed away. It was a good day actually. Spent it with my mom, sister, and our families. It's always good to be together on "the day."
What a five years it's been. On one hand, there's been a lot of mixed emotions as I've tried to journey past the loss of my father. Grief is a crazy thing. Just when you think you've conquered it, you realize you've been duped.
At the same time, however, my life has also been full of overwhelming joy as I've watched God pour his blessing upon my family and church community. And so of course, I'm extremely thankful.
But the thing that I'm becoming more and more thankful for as times goes by, is this thing called hope. For the first time in my life, I think I'm finally starting to "get it". In fact, I'm not even sure I was able to truly grasp the depth or idea of hope until I found myself in desperate need of it. And now, I find myself becoming more and more dependent upon it as each day passes.
From my journal (8/09):
Hope tells me that…
The future will be better than today.
What's broken will one day be fixed.
What hurts will one day be healed.
What is wrong will one day be made right.
What has been missed, will one day be compensated for.
I'm choosing to embrace this with both hands.
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Valuing The Journey…
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Recently, Amanda and I, and our three kids all piled into our super sweet sexy mini-van for a six-hour road trip up to Minnesota. And I’ll be honest… The first couple hours of the trip were…….well, they were a mess. Horrible actually. Traffic was out of control, my kids were acting possessed by bored demons on crack, I was tired, and frankly…..I just wanted to GET THERE!
Which is EXACTLY what the problem was!
I had become so focused on “getting there” that I wasn’t (at all) enjoying or valuing the journey itself.
I think that’s an easy thing to let happen in our own lives isn’t it? We become so focused on just “getting” to the destination (Heaven/Calling/Destiny/Dream Job/Fill in the Blank…) that we don’t value the journey of actually getting there!
Which is a problem.
Because the journey is the place where God seems to form us and shape us into the people He created us to be.
The bumpy road. The loud children. The heavy traffic. The flat tires. The break downs. It’s all a part of the journey, isn’t it?
Yet, even in those moments I have to believe that there’s something happening beneath the surface. That there’s something in me that is being formed and shaped…..and that is somehow going to make the destination all that much sweeter.
So let’s value the journey – not just the destination.
It sure helped our road trip once I made that decision. (And seriously, thanks Amanda for the motivation…)
Wanna hear more? Click here (direct .mp3 link) to download last weekend's talk at The Orchard where I broke this down further and gave a few practical ways we can value the journey.
Captured by His love…
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It's hard to believe, but this past Sunday, October 12th, marked four years since my dad passed away. And even though the pain and grief is not nearly as sharp as it has been in years past, it still seems so unreal at times. But nonetheless, I am so thankful for God's healing in mine and my family's lives. God has been good to us.
Of course, it's almost impossible to remember my dad and not be reminded of how The Orchard's story is not just a story about God changing a church – but also one about God changing my dad. In fact, this past weekend at The Orchard, I shared something my dad wrote in one of his journals back in November of 2003. God used this to touch a lot of hearts so I wanted to share it here with you. It's a rather beautiful reflection of what God was doing deep in his heart towards the end of his life.
4:31AM
I do not know how to describe what has happened to me. I only know that deep within me, I mean really deep, it seems that something, connected to an understanding of God’s love, has changed me.
I sense that this change is a forever thing. It seems that God never goes back on what He does.
I have been captured by His love.
It is something that I must admit, I never knew existed like I am now experiencing. It is like I have stepped into a new dimension where the height and depth are beyond my comprehension.
I am consumed with a passion to tell people about what I have experienced for the sole purpose of helping them to know that they can have it too.
This love relationship offered to me and everyone by the Father is beyond anything I could ever imagine. I am overwhelmed that I have been privileged to experience it. I know that everyone else can experience it too….
Love is powerless unless it is consented to.
I must confess that I am coming to understand this, and am so grateful for the honor of being loved by the Most High God, and yet I understand that since he is love he can do nothing else but love us.
We were created to be the objects of his love.
When He is invited inside a person, and is allowed to bring their spirit to life, he will love them forever.
• He offers them forgiveness for all sin, past, present and future
• He offers them leadership into the paths of righteousness
• He gives them everything they need, and
• He encourages them to ask Him for anything else they want
The Father delights in answering the requests of those who belong to the Son.
I have a glimpse of what the institutional church has allowed to happen. It has presented a picture of God and Christ that is inconsistent with who they are. As a product of that church, I desire to liberate those who are caught up in it; to save others from it.
I have a passion to take people who are turned off by religion or to religion and turn them on to Jesus Christ and turn them in to devoted followers of Christ.
Lowering Defenses
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Another clip from an interview with me and Mike Jones on the Creative Worship Tour.
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