Can't wait to introduce this new song in a few weeks! Check it out and start learning it. It's a good one!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Easter Prep....It's Not Always What You Think It's Going To Be.
This week as we prepare to celebrate Easter, I am surprised at my own feelings as we are in the middle of "Holy Week." In year's past, Easter has been a stressful time for me. I've gotten lost in the planning of a big service, a big production. Wanting so badly to meet people's expectations (although they've never been clearly defined, and I would be willing to say they were just my own expectations putting on the pressure) and pull off a grand event, I would always find myself counting down the hours until it was all over. This year has been completely different. COMPLETELY. Partly because I set out to make things more simple and partly because I realized it's not about the perfect service. It's just about Him.
The past few days my mind has been more consumed with plans for a class I'm teaching (and loving!) and just the regular responsibilities of my job, my family, my life. People will ask, "how are things coming for Easter?" and I have to stop for a moment and remind myself that Easter is just days away! What I've felt though during my regular, busy life is moments of sadness. The past three days I have felt a lot of loss, or more reminders of loss.
Sunday night I made some banana bread. I had a bunch of bananas that were past the point of no return to actually be eaten and almost too black even for banana bread, so I knew it was now or never. I like to make bread or muffins or something breakfasty for my family to enjoy for the week. As always with my banana bread recipe, I had more batter than my bundt pan would hold so I pulled out my cute little loaf pans, greased them up and finished off the rest of the batter. After cooking the bread and letting it cool, I dumped them out of the pans and wrapped the small loaves in tin foil. Without even realizing it, I thought "I'll take one of these to Mema tomorrow." And then it hit me. She's gone. Isn't it crazy how you can forget something so profound and life-changing? Even after nine months, you just forget. In those little moments, you forget that life changed and it's not like it used to be. Some of my fondest memories with my grandmother were shared over food. Our birthdays were in the same week and every year we celebrated with a birthday lunch. It was usually Subway or Schlotzsky's (we really liked sandwiches). After Ava was born, and her health and my grandfather's health were slowly declining, I took them dinner every Monday night. We ate and laughed and Ava entertained. They cheered at clapped every week as Ava showed off a new skill. Convinced she was a genius, they marveled at her progress each week. They snuggled her and they shared wisdom about life with me. I don't remember why that season ended, perhaps the busyness of life just got in the way, but I miss it. Oh, how I miss it. Even when dinners were just Mema and myself at the table because Pepa was too tired to join us. Or when it was all of my family and both of them, laughing, sharing, loving. What I would give to have one more dinner. One more Monday night. So they could see my girls and kiss them and hug them once more. So I could hold her frail hand, ravaged by arthritis, one more time as we prayed for dinner.
Loss is hard. It takes time to let it sink in and even more time to learn how to go in life without that person. In ministry, I've experienced loss. Last week during a class I'm teaching (it's a worship leader training course), I shared about how to deal when people leave. In ministry, it's inevitable. People will leave. They will walk away. They will tell you it's not personal, but it is. It's one of the most personal things. How can it not be personal? When you've poured your life into someone? When you've loved them, trained them, encouraged them, walked through hard times with them, held them up when they needed it, allowed them into your life in an intimate personal way??? And they just leave. And you are left behind. Sad, heartbroken at the sin that has drawn them away or the circumstances of life that takes them somewhere else. It hurts. It hurts so bad. But the only thing you can do is let them go. Trust God with them, and just let go. Sometimes they come back. Sometimes a year goes by and you finally hear from them. Sometimes they are gone and you never see them again. That loss is hard. This week I'm reminded of the loss of two precious people that I invested in and they walked away. It's easy to feel sorry for yourself and have a pity party and think that it was something you did or didn't do. But the truth is, it's not you.
So, what does this have to do with Easter?? On Sunday, we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the perfect work of the cross. He died for me, for you, for the world. He died for my Mema. She knew Him and love Him and is now living pain free with Him. (This makes me smile!) He died for those two that left. The one that is slowly coming back around and the one that is deeper in sin and pain than ever. He died for me. For when I'm sad, for when I'm at my best, for when I'm a complete mess. This Sunday, in churches all over the world, lost and hurting people will walk into a church. They may be coming back after a long detour of running from God. They may be coming for the very first time. They may hear about Jesus for the first time or the five hundredth time. They will come and meet Jesus. The Jesus that gave His life for them and they will come to an altar or say a prayer or make a decision to live for Him, again or for the first time. And I will come and celebrate Jesus and the life that He's given me. The life that sometimes includes loss, but also includes the hope to deal with the loss. That's my Jesus.
Whatever you have to bring this Sunday, whether it's pain, loss, sorrow, joy, depression, hope, or you're looking for a second chance (or a 50th chance), just bring it. Bring all of it. Bring all of you. My heart is expectant.
Here is a new song we will be introducing on Easter Sunday! Get excited about what God is going to do!!!
The past few days my mind has been more consumed with plans for a class I'm teaching (and loving!) and just the regular responsibilities of my job, my family, my life. People will ask, "how are things coming for Easter?" and I have to stop for a moment and remind myself that Easter is just days away! What I've felt though during my regular, busy life is moments of sadness. The past three days I have felt a lot of loss, or more reminders of loss.
Sunday night I made some banana bread. I had a bunch of bananas that were past the point of no return to actually be eaten and almost too black even for banana bread, so I knew it was now or never. I like to make bread or muffins or something breakfasty for my family to enjoy for the week. As always with my banana bread recipe, I had more batter than my bundt pan would hold so I pulled out my cute little loaf pans, greased them up and finished off the rest of the batter. After cooking the bread and letting it cool, I dumped them out of the pans and wrapped the small loaves in tin foil. Without even realizing it, I thought "I'll take one of these to Mema tomorrow." And then it hit me. She's gone. Isn't it crazy how you can forget something so profound and life-changing? Even after nine months, you just forget. In those little moments, you forget that life changed and it's not like it used to be. Some of my fondest memories with my grandmother were shared over food. Our birthdays were in the same week and every year we celebrated with a birthday lunch. It was usually Subway or Schlotzsky's (we really liked sandwiches). After Ava was born, and her health and my grandfather's health were slowly declining, I took them dinner every Monday night. We ate and laughed and Ava entertained. They cheered at clapped every week as Ava showed off a new skill. Convinced she was a genius, they marveled at her progress each week. They snuggled her and they shared wisdom about life with me. I don't remember why that season ended, perhaps the busyness of life just got in the way, but I miss it. Oh, how I miss it. Even when dinners were just Mema and myself at the table because Pepa was too tired to join us. Or when it was all of my family and both of them, laughing, sharing, loving. What I would give to have one more dinner. One more Monday night. So they could see my girls and kiss them and hug them once more. So I could hold her frail hand, ravaged by arthritis, one more time as we prayed for dinner.
Loss is hard. It takes time to let it sink in and even more time to learn how to go in life without that person. In ministry, I've experienced loss. Last week during a class I'm teaching (it's a worship leader training course), I shared about how to deal when people leave. In ministry, it's inevitable. People will leave. They will walk away. They will tell you it's not personal, but it is. It's one of the most personal things. How can it not be personal? When you've poured your life into someone? When you've loved them, trained them, encouraged them, walked through hard times with them, held them up when they needed it, allowed them into your life in an intimate personal way??? And they just leave. And you are left behind. Sad, heartbroken at the sin that has drawn them away or the circumstances of life that takes them somewhere else. It hurts. It hurts so bad. But the only thing you can do is let them go. Trust God with them, and just let go. Sometimes they come back. Sometimes a year goes by and you finally hear from them. Sometimes they are gone and you never see them again. That loss is hard. This week I'm reminded of the loss of two precious people that I invested in and they walked away. It's easy to feel sorry for yourself and have a pity party and think that it was something you did or didn't do. But the truth is, it's not you.
So, what does this have to do with Easter?? On Sunday, we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the perfect work of the cross. He died for me, for you, for the world. He died for my Mema. She knew Him and love Him and is now living pain free with Him. (This makes me smile!) He died for those two that left. The one that is slowly coming back around and the one that is deeper in sin and pain than ever. He died for me. For when I'm sad, for when I'm at my best, for when I'm a complete mess. This Sunday, in churches all over the world, lost and hurting people will walk into a church. They may be coming back after a long detour of running from God. They may be coming for the very first time. They may hear about Jesus for the first time or the five hundredth time. They will come and meet Jesus. The Jesus that gave His life for them and they will come to an altar or say a prayer or make a decision to live for Him, again or for the first time. And I will come and celebrate Jesus and the life that He's given me. The life that sometimes includes loss, but also includes the hope to deal with the loss. That's my Jesus.
Whatever you have to bring this Sunday, whether it's pain, loss, sorrow, joy, depression, hope, or you're looking for a second chance (or a 50th chance), just bring it. Bring all of it. Bring all of you. My heart is expectant.
Here is a new song we will be introducing on Easter Sunday! Get excited about what God is going to do!!!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Observing Lent
I have decided to observe (is that the right word?? celebrate? embrace? participate in???) Lent this year. This will be a first for me. After reading my sister's blog and checking out the Lent Challenge from Margaret Feinberg I decided to particpate! We will be reading through the entire New Testament in the next 40 days leading up to Easter.
Every year, Easter and the months leading up to it are the craziest part of my year. I am busy planning a big service and making sure that all the details for that are not ignored. Most years, if I'm honest, I find myself counting down to Easter because I'm ready for it to be over. I'm ready for a day off to do nothing but sleep and recooperate from the insanity that it usually becomes. This year, NO MORE!! I want to remember Easter and what it's really about. It's not about a big production or the perfect church service. It's simply about Jesus, his sacrifice, his resurrection and the incredible life and power that it provides for us. Those things have been pushed to the back burner in years' past. So this year, my focus will change. I will still plan a service. I will still pay attention to every detail, but not because I'm seeking perfection. It will simply be because I want to help provide an opportunity for others to be reminded of the greatness of our God and the incredible gift of His Son.
I would love for you to join with me! I'll be fasting some things and reading through the New Testament and I have an expectation that this year is going to be completely different for me, and I can't wait!
To follow the 40 day reading plan, print this off!
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0178/8093/files/LentReadingGuide2014.pdf?395
Every year, Easter and the months leading up to it are the craziest part of my year. I am busy planning a big service and making sure that all the details for that are not ignored. Most years, if I'm honest, I find myself counting down to Easter because I'm ready for it to be over. I'm ready for a day off to do nothing but sleep and recooperate from the insanity that it usually becomes. This year, NO MORE!! I want to remember Easter and what it's really about. It's not about a big production or the perfect church service. It's simply about Jesus, his sacrifice, his resurrection and the incredible life and power that it provides for us. Those things have been pushed to the back burner in years' past. So this year, my focus will change. I will still plan a service. I will still pay attention to every detail, but not because I'm seeking perfection. It will simply be because I want to help provide an opportunity for others to be reminded of the greatness of our God and the incredible gift of His Son.
I would love for you to join with me! I'll be fasting some things and reading through the New Testament and I have an expectation that this year is going to be completely different for me, and I can't wait!
To follow the 40 day reading plan, print this off!
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0178/8093/files/LentReadingGuide2014.pdf?395
Monday, February 24, 2014
Who Are You Singing To? Guest Post!!!
Today's post is from Dusty Joplin! Dusty is one of our worship leaders at COTR. He has been on staff here since May, 2012 and leads worship for Awaken College services, Seven youth services, and is usually floating around at one of our campuses leading on Sunday mornings. Dusty and his wife, Alexandra, are puppy parents to Sophie and Endy. He is a super anointed worship leader and we are so glad he's at Church on the Rock!
Who are you singing
to?
by: Dusty Joplin
I love to worship. The
best way I can describe it is in the movie “Chariots of Fire” when he says,
that when he runs, he feels the nearness of God like never before. My
generation has fallen in love with worship too. I have led worship for college students for 6
years now, and have found that unlike my parent’s generation who prefer their 4
songs and a “special music”, college students can worship for hours on end and
love every minute. As I grow as a
worshipper, I constantly have to evaluate and question everything I do. I think it’s something that we all need to do
from time to time. I don’t know about
you, but I HATE going through the motions.
I challenge you to read Psalm 100 before you read on, but if
you don’t (I probably wouldn’t), I’ll briefly touch on what it says. David is pretty much writing what we would
consider song “numero uno” on the set list. I hear it as being extremely
celebratory and “excited to be in the house of the Lord this morning” (Worship
Christianese- guilty as charged). What I
love about this scripture is that David uses the words “Lord”, “He”, “His” and
“Him” 15 times in 5 verses! So I pose
you this question, who are YOU singing
to? For all of you “non-vocalists”, who
are you playing to? You see, David gets
it! Not one time does he use the word
“I”. He does say “we” and “us” but only
to reestablish the goodness and worthiness of GOD, and our dependence on
him.
NEWS FLASH: IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU, OR FOR YOU.
Worship is about God receiving as much glory as we can give
Him, not whether or not we FEEL Him or get the chills during the bridge of our
favorite worship song. Worship is ABOUT him, and FOR him, and TO him. Granted, sometimes in our worship of God, He
chooses to turn it around and make it about US. He speaks truth to our hearts.
He tells us that we are holy, righteous, and set apart. He draws us into
Himself and pours His love on us. That’s
because HE IS A GOOD GOD and he longs to reveal Himself to us. He WANTS worship to be an emotional experience
but let’s be honest, sometimes it’s not.
Will you still CHOOSE to worship him? I would even venture to say, that the more we
make it about Him, the more He pours out on us.
THAT’S the kind of God we are singing to: a God who desires
to spend time with us, much more than we desire to spend time with him. A Living God, who chose to leave his place in
Heaven, put on flesh, and “volunteer as tribute” (for all of you Hunger Games
fans) so that we could live life to the fullest. He is a God full of grace and mercy, abounding
in love, and faithful to meet us right where we are. THAT is the God you are singing to! He is not
far away. He is in your very midst.
I understand this concept is elementary, but for me it was a
“gut check”. I had to reevaluate why I
do EVERY little thing that I do. Am I
raising my hands so people can think I’m really worshipping, or am I raising my
hands as a child reaching up to his Father saying, “Daddy, all I want is you.” Am I dancing because I like the attention, or
am I dancing because my God has “turned my mourning into dancing” (Psalm 30:11),
and I can’t contain the joy I feel in His presence? Am I singing to be heard, to hear myself, or
am I singing straight to my King as if He was (He is) right there in front of
me soaking up all the things I have to say about His goodness, worthiness,
righteousness, and holiness, and smiling because it pleases Him?
Next time you worship, close your eyes and imagine yourself
on stage (not with a worship team), and the King of Kings sitting in the
audience. Now, sing to him, and if you
don’t feel like singing to him, dance for him, or kneel for him, or raise your
hands to him, or simply sit in silence and soak in his presence, but whatever
you do, make it about HIM. He alone is worthy of worship. Stop going through
the motions “doing church”. He doesn’t want your empty words or actions, he
wants your heart.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Creative Night Coming Up!
Workshop: Vocals
We will be adding a new song to our Worship Master List. It's called Your Great Name! I haven't found any good harmony part tutorial videos for this song, but here it is with the lyrics so you can at least be familiar with it.
Workshop: Electric Guitar
This month we will continue working on tone and pedal selection as well as learning specific parts. Please look over the video for All He Says I Am. This is what will be covered this week. There are actually two different electric guitars on this song. Go ahead and learn both parts and we will go over when to play what!
Other workshops this time will include:
Media Training
Photography
Dance
If you know any dancers, please invite them to come!! We will be working on a special dance for our Easter services!
We will see you Thursday night!!!!!
Monday, February 3, 2014
Resource Monday- Stage Presence
Here are some helpful videos on stage presence! My best advice on stage is to be yourself and have fun! If you're not having fun worshiping Jesus, then you're doing something wrong! Enjoy!
Platform Presence from Gateway Worship Team on Vimeo.
Platform Presence from Gateway Worship Team on Vimeo.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Resource Monday- Forever Yours
Hi everyone,
As promised, I am going to start posting some helpful resources every Monday. Today we are featuring training videos for the song "Forever Yours" from Gateway Worship. There are many tutorial videos available for a lot of the songs we do and they are EXTREMELY helpful! Please take advantage of these.
Forever Yours- Piano (Keys 1) (this song is NO JOKE on the piano part!)
FOREVER YOURS_PIANO_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Keys 2
FOREVER YOURS_KEYS_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship Team on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Acoustic
FOREVER YOURS_ACOUSTIC_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship Team on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Bass Guitar
FOREVER YOURS_BASS_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Drums
FOREVER YOURS_DRUMS_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship Team on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Electric Guitar
FOREVER YOURS_FIRST ELECTRIC_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from worshipteamtv on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Harmonies
Soprano-
FOREVER YOURS_SOPRANO_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.
Alto-
FOREVER YOURS_ALTO_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.
Tenor-
FOREVER YOURS_TENOR_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.
As promised, I am going to start posting some helpful resources every Monday. Today we are featuring training videos for the song "Forever Yours" from Gateway Worship. There are many tutorial videos available for a lot of the songs we do and they are EXTREMELY helpful! Please take advantage of these.
Forever Yours- Piano (Keys 1) (this song is NO JOKE on the piano part!)
FOREVER YOURS_PIANO_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Keys 2
FOREVER YOURS_KEYS_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship Team on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Acoustic
FOREVER YOURS_ACOUSTIC_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship Team on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Bass Guitar
FOREVER YOURS_BASS_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Drums
FOREVER YOURS_DRUMS_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship Team on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Electric Guitar
FOREVER YOURS_FIRST ELECTRIC_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from worshipteamtv on Vimeo.
Forever Yours- Harmonies
Soprano-
FOREVER YOURS_SOPRANO_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.
Alto-
FOREVER YOURS_ALTO_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.
Tenor-
FOREVER YOURS_TENOR_WORSHIP TEAM DIRECTOR from Gateway Worship on Vimeo.
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