Monday, September 23, 2019

Listen!

When we were kids, I don't remember my mother ever telling us to be quiet or to shut up. She always said--with varying levels of intensity, "Listen!"

I remember driving home from our grandparents house one time. I was probably in 5th grade. Something came on the radio--news mom wanted to hear--and the 2 or 3 or 4 of us in the back of the car were being, well, kids. We were noisy. (This is before the days of DVD players in cars or tablets and phones. Yes, I'm an old dude.)

I have no idea what was so important, but she was insistent: LISTEN! (Probably the 14th time she had to say it.)

I wonder if her word to us kids was a shadow of what God is is calling all of His kids to do.

LISTEN!

Listen, first, to our Heavenly Father. He has so much to say, all which is better than anything we could hear from someone else. Anyone else.
     Listen to Him by reading the scriptures with an open ear. (He who has ears to hear, let him hear...)
     Listen to Him by the promptings in your mind and heart. If you sense you should do something godly, there's a good chance God gave you that sense. Make the phone call. Send the text. Stop and help.
     Listen to Him by listening to those in your faith community. If you hear something that you disagree with, spend time understanding better before you respond in any way.

Can I just pause here to say that for most of my life I've been terrible at this? I have a habit of listening to the people I want to, but not to the people I don't agree with.

I'm learning a great deal about this from my pastor (aka boss). I'm not sure the best way for you to learn, but I know there's a book that has served him really well. In fact, he just walked the whole staff through a session he created that was inspired by the book. So check out Thanks for the Feedback.

And maybe you'll hear the Father's voice coming from the front seat...

Listen!

Monday, September 16, 2019

A Tribute to Bob Kinser

What follows is a tribute to my brother-in-law, Bob Kinser. Pictured here with his dad and me, Bob died tragically on Monday, September 9, 2019. It is also a tribute to Jesus. My hope in posting it here is that it will be a way to remember my friend Bob. My prayer is that these words might open up our eyes to the way Jesus sees us. Regardless of when you read, would you pause at the end and pray for my wife Jackie, who just had to bury her brother, and their father, Melvin, who has lost his only son? Thank you.



Jesus would have loved hanging out with Bob.

Maybe better said, Jesus loved hanging out with Bob. 

Seriously.

Jesus loved to have fun, and no one had fun—that I know, anyway—like Bob Kinser. Jesus laughed a lot. He was fun to be around. And Jesus loved to be around people who were fun to be around.

One of the biographers of His life described it this way:

The Son of Man [that’s just a nickname for Jesus]… The Son of Man feasts and drinks and you say, “He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of…” let’s just say Jesus was a friend of the people that self-righteous people didn’t like.

Jesus loved hanging out with Bob.

How do I know Jesus was fun to be around? Because of the way he LOVED kids! Just like Bob. Have you ever known anyone who loved kids as much as Bob did?

You may have heard this story from one of Jesus’ first followers, a doctor named Luke:

Some people brought their little children for Jesus to bless. But when his disciples saw them doing this, they told the people to stop bothering him. So Jesus called the children over to him and said, “Let the children come to me! Don’t try to stop them. People who are like these children belong to God’s kingdom. You will never get into God’s kingdom unless you enter it like a child!”

You know another reason Jesus loved hanging out with Bob?

Because Bob LOVED animals. Oh, those dogs. From Butch when he was a kid to the, what was it—like 17 dogs living with him when he died? Bob loved dogs. Not justdogs, but especiallydogs.

I can imagine Jesus being out on the boat with Bob when he would take Pete, the Labrador Retriever who loved to swim, out on the river in Petersburg. The wind blowing in Jesus’ long hair and Bob’s… well, mostly bald head. And Bob loving his dog and Jesus thinking, “I remember when Dad and I thought up how much Labs would love water.” Imagine, Jesus watching Bob, made in the image of God, loving an animal made by the imagination of God.

But Jesus also loved hanging out with Bob because Bob HATED injustice. Some of you… okay, most of you could tell a story or two about when Bob would lose his ever-loving mind over some act of injustice. Someone didn’t get treated right at work, or in a restaurant, or anywhere… and Bob would be furious. Not at the person as much as the injustice. (Though sometimes it was hard to tell the difference.) Jesus is a fan of justice too.

In fact, one of my favorite Bible verses was written by one of Jesus’ original disciples. It says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and He will give you everything you need.”

One more. Jesus loved hanging out with Bob because Bob loved to help people. All people. Didn’t matter about skin color, income level, education, or age. He loved helping kids, teenagers, and adults of every age. Bob had the heart — the giant heart — of a servant. And Jesus is a fan of servants. 

You may know this, but Jesus said of himself that even Hedidn’t come to be served but to serve. And to give His life as a ransom for many.

It’s that last line I want to finish up with.

Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for many.

You know... ransom. The money paid to set a prisoner free.

For anyone who feels like — or believes themself to be — a prisoner to guilt, shame, addiction, hopelessness, or anything else, I want to tell you some good news. Jesus died a criminal’s death so you could live a free person’s life. He gave His life as a ransom for your freedom.

Sure Jesus loved to hang out with Bob. We all did. But Jesus loved Bob more than that. He loved him so much that He came to earth as a helpless baby, grew up in the dusty streets of Palestine, wandered around the Middle East as a homeless preacher, and then was killed by religious leaders who couldn’t see that God was walking among them.

Friends, I would hate for you to miss what they missed. Jesus is here. He’s hanging out with us, too. He loves you, too. And if you’ve never thought about the idea that Jesus loves you and loves to be with you, maybe before you leave Bob’s story behind, it’s time to talk with someone.

As one of my favorite Bible teachers says, “Jesus makes life better, and He makes you better at life.” If you’re looking for a way to make life better and ways to be better at life, following the teachings of Jesus is the best way I know how.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Worship Pastor -- a Good Job Title?

About a decade ago, while looking for a church to serve in the ministry of music/worship, I had an interview with a prospective committee. It was a great interview. God moved in the middle of it. We laughed, and we cried, and we talked for a long time.

One of the questions they asked was especially interesting to me.

"What's the difference between a Minister of Music and a Worship Pastor?"

I've thought of that conversation dozens of times. While the difference could be under-stated or over-stated, I'd like to take a quick minutes to talk about why I think of myself as a worship pastor--and hope that those of you in similar positions, regardless of your official title, might do the same.

Why?

As a worship pastor, I find that the more I pastor people between Sundays, the better I can pastor people on Sundays.

By pastoring people, I mean caring for them. Checking in. Spending time outside of rehearsals and services. Shepherding their souls. I love getting to do this.

And how do I pastor people on Sundays?

I think of it in three ways:
   Pastoring people on the stage;
   Pastoring moments from the stage;
   Pastoring people from the stage.

While I certainly have a role to play as a worship leader for all of the people in the room, my primary "flock" is the folks I share the stage with--band, vocals, choir, and those in the tech booth. For those closest to me, I must pray. I seek to know what's happening in their lives. While I'm not their pastor, for many of these folks I'm more of a pastor to them than our senior pastor is. What a beautiful burden!

Also, while I guide the congregation through a worship gathering, there are likely to be a few moments. High praise, joy. Tender worship, intimacy. Transitions in need of a guide. These moments are like fences, brooks, and verdant pastures a shepherd would walk his sheep through. Those moments need pastoring.

And then, as second fiddle to the preacher for sure, I want to pastor the people in the room from the stage. To love them with song selection, and textual expression. To catch the eye of a struggler in the lyric of comfort.  To smile a look of hope to the man struggling to hold his marriage together. This is a beautiful part of my job. I delight to pastor the people from the stage. This horizontal dynamic in worship is priceless.

How about you? If you are the lead pastoral musician in your church, how else do you think of your worship leader as a pastor? If you are among those being led in worship, how do you experience this sort of pastoring?

Monday, September 2, 2019

Needy Much?

I'll start with a confession: I walk into too many rooms needy. Needy of affirmation, or on my unhealthier days, admiration. I'm sorry. It's just true.

I walk into too few rooms needed. Not because of what I have to offer but because of Who I have to offer, Christ in me. (see Colossians 1:27)

This happens when I’m with my peers, my team at work, and my family. On my worst days, even in the meetings and rehearsals I’m charged with leading. 

Please don’t hear me say there aren’t times we stand in need of community—the balm of Godly relationships. Of course those times come. And only our arrogance keeps us from surrendering our needs to those who can meet them. 

I am saying that when we start each week with worship and each day with the Word of life, Jesus through the Scriptures, we will more often be a source of life than a sucker of it.

You may have skipped over those words, reading on auto-pilot. Slow down with me for a moment.

When we start each week with worship—not church attendance, singing, and note taking during sermons. I mean worship: entering the presence of the King of the universe. Sitting at the feet of the Savior. Sensing the power of the Holy Spirit. Caught up in the wonder of the One Who created you, redeemed you, and sustains you. Worship.

And I mean: being with Jesus through the Bible. Not just reading to out of duty, but reading with an awareness that the Author is sitting with you ready to show you things you’ve never seen before. That He may remind you of things you need to have in your consciousness. 

Oh, and when you pray--not because you're supposed to, but because you get to sit with the One who knows the future you're uncertain of, who loves you more than those you love the most, and who wants to hear your heart.

Then our needs get met and we can focus on meeting the needs of others.

Time for me to go "practice what I preach."