Gospel Worship

Ministry to Worship Artists

Fri, 14 May 2010 15:46:48 -0400

I just had a great week meeting up with two great guys from Atlanta who lead worship. Now by Atlanta I also mean Georgia since one of them traveled a bit to meet up. But I digress. As I have been making progress in beginning a ministry to Artists with Worldwide Discipleship Association, I set meeting individually with worship leaders this first few months in order to know more about them and what God is doing in churches in the area of worship and also to encourage men who sit where I have been, who might be needing someone outside their local church to listen.
I have loved being a worship leader and yet I also know the tension that can come between pastors and musicians, members and the worship leader etc. The church isn’t a really safe place on the whole. This is why I believe a vital part of the ministry with the Atlanta Arts Network will also be ministry to worship artists. This portion of my time really gets me excited as I think of the people who need encouragement, friendship, the ability to share in a place and with people who know and have experienced the gospel. When I understand grace and the fact that I am a major mess without Jesus, I can begin to let down my guard and be real!
Ministry to worship leaders for me begins with the gospel. When I can meet with someone who sees and lives out the face that He can’t measure up to God’s love by doing better and is worse off than he can imagine but also more loved and accepted in Christ than he ever dare to dream. Then ministry to worship leaders can begin.
I lived a long time trying to make people accept me by my worship gifts, my education, my experience, my love for others, my service to God....etc.
But do you know what that leads to? Death! Lack of true joy and freedom. Some very near to me reminds me often that the only person I need to focus on is Jesus. Audience of One. When I can live out of the love of Christ rather than making church people like me or for that matter trying to make God like me (by my really bad efforts in the flesh) - I can begin to be free. Knowing that God loves me and allows me to love others only when I remember that He loved me first - from the foundation of the world! Before I could have ever done anything to earn His favor.
That my friend is where ministry can begin. Then I don’t have to come fearing that you won’t like me or think I have such a great ministry, or great teaching, or a great blog. Besides most of the time what I write here is for me anyway!
Please pray for me as I begin to minister to Artists and Worship Artists. I am way over my head here! But God has promised to work through broken messed up people to show that he is really awesome!

Questions to ask

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:32:06 -0400

From a great blog by the ARTS PASTOR - Diary of an Arts Pastor

SEVEN QUESTIONS

1. What is the stated vision or mission for your artistic efforts?

2. What kinds of activities do you have happening at your church that make intentional use of the arts?

3. With regard to the performing arts, what kinds of things do you have going on that you’re particularly excited about?

4. With regard to the visual arts, what kinds of things do you have going on that you’re particularly excited about?

5. Can you share with me a good story? By “good” I mean a story that involves a significant moment of insight or transformation, whether spiritually or personally, whether relationally or missionally, in the life of your congregation. The possible contexts may include: the corporate worship time, a small group setting, a missional outreach, out in the marketplace, or simply something that took place in the thick of life.

6. What concerns do you have about your arts ministry vis-à-vis your church?

7. Where would you like to be in five to ten years from now?

Worship Leaders and Community

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:15:32 -0400

As we have continued our journey toward serving with another ministry, I have continued to see God develop my heart and passion for people who serve in artistic callings. As God has used me over the years, I have begun to see that I am at root a discipler who loves and serves God in the in my music. During my earliest years in ministry I served with a group called Worldwide Discipleship Association, where I learned to disciple young college men. It was during this time that God continued to put men and women in my groups who also participated in leading worship. I loved the opportunity to see them grow in their ability to use their music in a worship setting. As I made the transition to the church as a Worship Pastor and Discipleship Pastor, I saw that there was always an opportunity to not only pastor those who were participating in our worship teams and ensemble, but also build relationships with young men who were leading in worship on campus and during times when I would be away. At Christ Presbyterian, I have really enjoyed working with a friend who in many ways has years of experience leading worship but also has grown as we have been working together. I also have enjoyed seeing another younger leader also serve by leading worship. The opportunity to encourage and coach/disciple these men allowed me to see the ongoing need to develop future worship leaders for the church.
Just this past week I have been working out the details of what ministry would look like for me this coming year. One part of this ministry is to cultivate relationships with worship leaders, younger worship leaders and aspiring worship leaders. In each of these groups, there are various needs that can be met as “Barnabas” is able to come alongside to encourage these leaders in the ministry and in their art.
In my experience, I have found that I needed the relationship with other worship leaders, a “band of brothers” who can provide help, advice, encouragement and friendship. Too often however I didn’t have them or pursue those who were around me. The pastorate even a staff position can be a hard place at times. It is my desire to make the encouragement of worship leaders a primary part of our new ministry. Not only because I certainly would benefit from knowing these guys but also because God desires for us each to belong to one another. We grow best in community. I certainly have grown the most as an artist and worship leader when I have my brothers and sisters around me to encourage me and contribute to the work and worship we have done together.
I am looking forward to seeing God at work in and through my time with Worship Leaders this coming year. Pray that God opens doors. If you know of a worship leader who may appreciate a “Barnabas” let me know!

Discipleship, Community and Arts

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:34:27 -0400

Victoria and I got out the big paper flip chart the other day and began to brainstorm. Sometimes it helps me to think on paper and talk things through visibly. As she and I talked about what were my gifts and what core values also blended with our family, our chart ended up with a venn diagram. It has three circles, Discipleship, Community and Arts.
Discipleship has been a very big part of my ministry focus as I grew and deepened my understanding of what a relationship with Christ looked like, as a student and later staff with Worldwide Discipleship Association. It was there that I saw that Christ’s call to His disciples was to not only to share the gospel to all nations but to make disciples thereby growing the church by multiplication rather than by addition. It also showed me that churches cannot be sustained on the shoulders of one man the pastor!
Community was a second focus, as I have seen God use the community of the church shape my walk. I am a always better and healthier when I have people who are connected to me in community. We also see that as we benefit from being in community with others, we also minister best in a relational “incarnational”, life on life manner. I have seen the benefit of people connected in gospel focused relationships that have at the same time a focus on working out our salvation, living out our faith in our jobs, neighborhoods and play.
Arts is also another big part of my life. Music has always been a part of my world. From my earliest years, I was singing, playing, and making music. I have seen music and arts been a focus in ministry but also struggled to see my heart for creativity grow in ministry as well. To create great art takes work and sometimes the ministry saps the energy from me. However there have been places where ministry and arts blend well. It is my desire to find a place in ministry that allows the artistic side of my life to flourish.
So where are we going from here? I would think that there needs to be a connection of all of these area. When we put our Venn Diagram up, it began to show me that I needed not to just work at art but to create at art. I needed to find a place where community was focused on arts, and where arts included discipleship, where discipleship involved community. We hope that in coming months we can find a place to see God use me as a pastor to artists. Where God would allow artists to grow in community, to see the benefit of being discipled, growing in grace, and also where God can be glorified in artists create great art for the glory of God.
Please pray that God would guide us toward His will in all these things.

Spirit of Skill

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:50:20 -0500

You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, Exodus 28
Sometimes I rush through the parts of scripture that are the descriptions for making the temple, priests robes, tabernacle etc. I remember having to read through the Pentateuch for seminary in a few days. My brain hurt. In this case, I was reading today slower than normal. I hit this passage in Exodus 28 that describes the making of the robes for the priests.

Over and over again this passage communicates that the things created for the worship of God were created with skill. Here God gave them a “spirit of skill!” How does the church reflect this today? How am I creating with a spirit of skill when I put together a worship order or make the bulletin, or write this blog? I use a mac. It gives me a easy and flexible way to create a good looking blog, and yet I know that I could also start from scratch, use other applications to create my own look. It doesn’t matter what we use. We all have basic God given talents and resources to create. God can also give us skill and even a spirit of skill to create for God’s Glory.
The text says that the garments were made for glory and beauty! Wow! How does your work add to the glory of God? How would creativity add to the beauty of the world in which we live?
Make this day a place where you create with skill for Glory and Beauty. Create as God has given you skill in such as way that God is honored and shows up. One way this effect all of us, not just creatives and artists, is to take the words of Paul into mind. 1 Corinthians 10::31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
We are given by the grace of God the ability to work with his values and his purposes. To bring glory and also to work for the peace and prosperity of this world. To work for God’s purposes following the same purposes of the Garden of Eden. This is working that involved tending the garden. This type of working gives us the freedom from the normal trappings of life, money, power, success. As an artist, it is easy to work to please people or to do what is expected only in order to get paid. What would your life and work look like if you were to create skillfully, for God’s purposes and values, seeking to bless those around you, and at the same time drawing peoples attention to the real meaning behind work and creativity.