Only Your Love

Can't wait to introduce this new song in a few weeks!  Check it out and start learning it.  It's a good one!

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!!!

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

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.

Creative Night Coming Up!

I am so excited about Creative Night coming up THIS Thursday, February 20.  We will meet at 6:30pm at the South Campus in the Worship Center Sanctuary.  Creative Night is for all current worship and media team members as well as anyone else wanting to get involved.  Last month was our very first Creative Night and it was so great!  After talking with our worship leadership team, we've come up with some ideas of how to make it even better.  In this blog, you will find resources for what we will be going over this time on Creative Night.

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!!!!!

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.

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.

A Word for 2014

Happy New Year!  I'm really excited about this coming year and my resolution is to write more blogs!  I'll do my best :) 

As I was praying for this year and where we are to go as a worship ministry, the Lord led me to this verse.  As soon as I read it I knew this is what God was speaking over us for this coming year.  As I’ve prayed over this word the past week, He has shown me more about these verses and what it might possibly mean for us as a team.  I hope you will embrace this word, dissect this word, and jump in with both feet to 2014 and all that God has for us!

Isaiah 54:2-3 (The Message)

“Clear lots of ground for your tents!
    Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big!
Use plenty of rope,
    drive the tent pegs deep.
You’re going to need lots of elbow room
    for your growing family.
You’re going to take over whole nations;
    you’re going to resettle abandoned cities.
Don’t be afraid—you’re not going to be embarrassed.
    Don’t hold back—you’re not going to come up short.

Clear lots of ground.  

I have seen this already happening.  We moved into a new building at the end of last year.  We have “moved ground” in the natural at both campuses as well as in the spiritual sense through prayer and preparing for more people.  I don’t think this part of the process ever ends.  We need to always be diligent to make room for more.  More people, more opportunities, more services.

Spread out!  Think big!

This is where I tend to get a little scared and stay inside my own head.  I know God can do exceedingly, abundantly above  all we could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20), but sometimes I’m afraid to let myself dream that big.  I look at my own limitations and insecurities and put God in that box.  I limit Him to what I think I can pull off on my own, but not this year!  It’s time to lift the lid and just let our imaginations run wild.  It’s time to start dreaming of what services can and should look like.  Where people’s lives are radically changed and saved because they’ve encountered the presence of God in a new and different way.  That’s what I want to be part of.

Drive the tent pegs deep.

There is so much value in deep roots.  I believe we’ve laid a strong foundation for this ministry to continue to build on, but we can not ever get lazy in going deeper with the Lord.  I love that we will have a worship night once a month called “Deeper.”  My desire is to see those nights be an opportunity for people to do just that: go deeper with the Lord.  We have to consciously seek after Him and make sure we are staying deep in His Word, deep in our prayer lives, deep in our relationship with Him.  The deeper we go, the higher we can build.

You’re going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family.

This excites me!!  The number one killer of a ministry in my opinion is “exclusivity.”  The moment you shut the door to new people coming in, you start to die.  I’ve always wanted this worship ministry to be inclusive, but sometimes saying it doesn’t mean we are actually doing it.  It’s easy to get comfortable with a certain group.  It’s easier sometimes to do it the way it’s always been done.  It’s hard to trust someone new to come in.  Will they work as hard as you do?  Will they get it right?  Will they hold us back?  All of these thoughts and feelings are valid, but if we buy into those thoughts and not let people in, we will grow stagnant.  As our church body grows, our worship family HAS to grow, and I’m ready to welcome them with open arms!  This doesn’t mean that things have to suffer.  This is where good systems and strong expectations help us!  If new people come in knowing what is expected, see the current team working and living up to those expectations (and pushing beyond them), it is easier for a new team member to plug in because there is no question and no uncertainty of where we are going as a unit.

You’re going to take over whole nations; you’re going to resettle abandoned cities.

To be honest, I’m still praying into this one.  I’m not totally sure what God has in mind with this, but I believe it is for us, for this time.  I do believe there are places we have not gone before and things we’ve only talked and dreamed about doing and perhaps this is the time we will revisit those things and venture out in those new directions.

Don’t be afraid!

Fear is the number one thing that holds me back from just diving in and going for it.  It’s scary to be stretched.  It’s terrifying to be asked to go beyond your comfort zone.  But what makes all of this work is that we don’t have to do any of it alone.  We are a team, and we have an incredible leader! (I’m not talking about myself J)  God wants more for us.  He has more waiting for us and when we give it all over to Him, He makes it happen.  We give our best, our most excellent gift and He makes it more.  Do not be afraid to try new things.  Do not be afraid to be stretched.  Don’t let your fleshly tendency to shrink back or run away keep you from where we are going as a team!

Don’t hold back!

I want this year to be a year of new ideas.  Let’s try things.  Some things may work, others may not.  That’s ok!  We will never know unless we try.  Don’t hold back from the team.  Get to know people.  I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again because I believe it with all my heart.  We have the GREATEST worship team on the planet.  Not only are you all super talented, but you’re fun!  We really are a family and I’m so glad that I’m connected to each and every one of you.  Our leadership team is amazing.  They meet with me and give feedback and ideas.  They give life to dead dreams and they challenge and push when we need it.  Each of you are amazing.  The talent level on our worship team blows me away.  You have no idea how many times people seek me out just to tell me how great our team is.  But it’s more than talent.  Your hearts are so pure.  Your love for Jesus, for His church, for each other, it shows when we play and sing.  I truly have the greatest job on the planet because I get to do life with you guys.   

So this year, let’s not hold back.  Let’s not be afraid.  Let’s be willing to drive our tent pegs deeper into God’s Word.  Let’s not be satisfied with where we’ve been, but let’s go further.  Let’s look around and see who needs to be a part of what we’re doing and invite them to join us.  Let’s welcome new people and include them in our worship family.  Let’s push ourselves to give our very best each and every time.  I truly believe that we will look back a year from now and not even recognize the team we are today.  I believe this word and I’m going to stand on it and walk in it this year and embrace all that God has for us, and my prayer is that you will join me.  We are better together.