newworship blog

Weekend Gaffs

From the last weekend I spoke. A collection of bloopers.

3/29/09 Weekend Review from Jared Wells on Vimeo.

2 Minutes of Inspiration

Whenever you need some kind of generic motivator. Just apply it to whatever situation you are in:)

Axioms - Why is more important than how.

"Why is more important than how."

I had a great time over lunch yesterday dreaming about what God may be doing on the church in Kansas City with a new friend. He asked me a question about how I coach our regional leaders. 

I really believe that one of the very best things I can offer as a leader is clarity on the "why" in what we do. If you have clarity on the "why," 9 times out of 10, it determines the "how."

It doesn't mean I don't teach technique. But, for me it has got to come back to the "why." 

For instance, what style of music should we use? Or what "songs?" Should I say anything between songs? Should we have a drama or dance piece? Would a scripture reading help? etc...

Our mission statement in worship arts at Westside is "to create an environment where people can connect with God." EVERYTHING gets filtered through that. What musical style, what songs choices, whether there is or is not a guitar solo, the flow of the service, whether I say anything, lights, the audio mix, instrumentation etc....is all determined by what we believe will set the table for people come and be inspired to meet with God.

Don't make the mistake of assuming that everyone on the team knows the "why." It needs to be articulated till you are sick of hearing yourself say it. Just about then, they are getting it under their skin. Eventually, you have a whole batch of new people that need to get up to speed. 

If we spend the time to drill down, past technique, past the tactical side of things and get to the core question, we can be much more fluid and decisive. The important groundwork has been laid. Everything else is a result of the more important core value.

Jesus did it best when he said this: Matt. 22:34-40 

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

Merry Tree-Mas!

A friend of mine posts some really interesting tongue in cheek posts on on whatever is currently making him rant. Very funny and intelligent. 

His most current rant was regarding fake trees at Christmas. And the height of the blasphemy, the fake PRE-LIT tree!. Shameful.

As a proud owner of the fake pre-lit tree I was compelled to respond..nay...it was a moral imperative! 

Seriously though it does make you think. Here is my comment below:

"I guess it all depends on how you view it. Personally I am not a fan of all the Christmas decor hoopla. It is fine. And I am not against it. But for a lot of folks the Christmas season is primarily about how it makes them feel; whether that be nostalgic, or cozy or family fuzzy. Nothing wrong with that. (Don't even get me started on the rampant, gluttonous, consumerism that accompanies the holiday in the U.S.) But, unfortunately, these things can often obscure and weigh down the sacred purpose for the holiday. It becaomes more about traditions than about the God of the Universe who has made himself flesh and blood so we could know Him up close. And, he would have the experience of humanity as part of our redemptive story.

I don’t really care if the tree is fake or real. The quality of my Christmas celebration is not determined by the quality of my tree."

Statistics that Count - Wage Earners

If you make $38,000 a year you are in the top 4% of wage earners in the world.  

Fill a room with a hundred people from around the globe and 96 of them with make less money than you. In most cases very significantly less. One third of the planet lives on less than $2 a day.

Axioms - Removing Your Ego

"When you remove your ego from the equation, what is the reality?"

As a guy who regularly struggles with his ego, I can't tell you how much this has helped me. I learned this from Rick Muchow at Saddleback, back in the day.

When dealing with conflict, zoom out to a higher altitude and ask the question. Is the way you are feeling or the direction you are leading a result of what is the right decision; or is it one that protects your wounded or challenged pride? It could be a personal conflict over something very simple. Or it could be a very high level, high risk decision that impacts many people. Does it matter who gets the credit or that the job got done? Do I trust God to be sovereign as my advocate or am I quick to defend the rights I think I have?

Conflict is inevitable in relationships where we are emotionally invested. Our ego/slash pride is often the primary obstacle to getting to the right posture and decision.

James 4:6 :"But He gives us more grace. That is why scripture says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 

Genetic Testing for Everyone

This changes everything guys. And it is only the beginning. Either very cool or very scary. (personally I love it!)

Inexpensive genetic testing. Take home the spit test and get your genetic medical dispositions for $399.

Is the evangelical church ready for the possible moral/ethical implications of this kind of information and technology? This is just another step towards many questions on the horizon in the area if genetics.

Would you take the test? Does it scare/excite you

https://www.23andme.com/

Axioms - The Loving Thing

"What is the most loving thing I can do?"

This is the question that has helped me resolve a lot of issues.

Not, "What will cause me the least grief?"

Or, "What will make this person like me?"

Or even, "What is the popular/politically correct thing to do?"

Often it is asked when you are tempted to go along with someone's dysfunction for fear of the mess they will make if you don't. But the truth is, capitulating to someone's unhealthy patterns is not the helpful or loving thing to do for them. Even if they dislike you for it. It is worth it in the long run.

And sometimes, the most loving thing to do is to not point out the mistake they have made or the gaff they have pulled. It can be a loving thing to guard someone's dignity when they know they are wrong.

1st Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

Much Love,

Troy

Mother Theresa Quote

"There are no great things, only small things done with great love." - Mother Theresa

Axioms

I love Hybels book on Axioms: those sayings that have come up for you over the years that reflect your experience. We all have them. I will share some of mine as they come up. "Passion always leads." One of the things leaders do is bring energy to ideas. For good or for evil, you see throughout history how it is a leaders passion that keeps them in the game and makes them compelling visionaries and communicators. Where does your passion lie? How do you keep the fires hot?

I Dream of a Church

Something I wrote after our church crisis a year and a half ago. I am so blessed to be a part of Westside. I believe this is God is taking us.

I dream of a church that.....
follows Jesus without question, reservation or fear.

values the things Jesus valued, is broken for the things that break Jesus’ heart and rejoices over the things Jesus rejoices over.

is always passionate for the outsider - spiritually , economically and culturally.

is made of people who are authentic, courageous, humble, honest, passionate and
compassionate.

raises up and releases disciples who will in turn do the same.

experiences the undeniable presence of God in worship.

is of such impact and blessing to its community that the city would grieve its absence.

at the front of everyones lips is the recognition that we are part of something enor-
mously larger than ourselves, the Kingdom of God.

are not just hearers of the Word but doers of the Word.

are a people who walk by faith, are messengers of hope and are known by love.

has a vision for the world and acts in a focused, intentional and strategic manner to
change the world for the sake of Jesus Christ.

what occurs through their community can only be attributed to the hand of the Living
God.

Crash and Burn

You may spill from Kasey Robinson on Vimeo.

Want to see a worship leader (me) crash and burn? Pretty funny.

A Fransciscan Prayer

First heard this from Craig Groeschel at Summit.

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

Cherry Picking Jesus

It is easy to do. We embrace the parts of Jesus character that we are comfortable with and de-emphasize the ones we are unsure of. 

It's easy to love the Jesus that embraced children. The Jesus that showed grace to sinners. The Jesus who healed the sick and raised the dead. Jesus the great teacher. The Jesus who Himself rose from the dead in victory over sin and death. 

It is a lot tougher to to embrace the Jesus who said, "pick up your cross and follow me." The Jesus that promised life would be hard. The Jesus who proclaimed Himself to be God "I AM." And what's the deal with cursing the fig tree that had no fruit? Or getting up in Peter's grill "Get behind me Satan? Wasn't Peter well intentioned. Isn't that kind of a disproportionate response? 

He said He came not to bring peace but a sword. He compelled us to give up all we own and sell it to give to the poor. He looked someone in the eye who sincerely wanted to follow him and told them to "let the dead bury the dead." He said at one point that you needed to hate your close relatives in order to follow him. He even said there would be those who claimed to know Him who would be condemned to hell. "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels." yikes! 

This is not the "good teacher," touchy-feely, self-help Jesus of the Oprah crowd. Now, I understand the theological underpinnings for most of what Jesus said. But there is no doubt that he was a confrontational, doesn't-exactly-mince-words Messiah. The same Jesus who was so understanding and gracious with those separated from God would absolutely lambast the wealthy and religious leadership of His day. (By the way, if you wanna have a real wake up call, look at the international income medians to figure out where you may fall in that spectrum.) 

Jesus said a lot of tough things. But I still believe that He is God in the flesh, crucified for the redemption of sin, risen and coming again. And I am deeply challenged to embrace and follow after the wholeness of Christ. Not just the pieces that are easy and politically correct. 

I don't want to cherry pick the character of Christ.

You Teach ‘Creation Care’?

How green is your church? An interesting idea here.

Neue » Blog Archive » Do You Teach ‘Creation Care’?.

Great Quotes from a Famous Atheist

I can't say I disagree:

"He who has a 'why' can endure any 'how'." 

"If they want me to believe in their God, they'll have to sing me better songs... I could only believe in a God who dances." 

- Frederich Nietzsche

The Oprah-ization of Christians

Okay. I'm ticked off today. I'm not mad at Oprah per-say. But I am mad at the fact that so many Christ followers are buying into the new age philosophy of the month on some level in some way and think it's OK.

It's not OK.

I was in California a while ago staying with some friends. Great folks. Been believers for a long time. Leaders in local churches. Been on church staff etc... I discover that one of them has been reading "The Secret." Here's the gist of it;

"every human being has the ability to transform any weakness or suffering into strength, power, perfect peace, health, and abundance.....tracing and uncovering a common truth that lay at the core of the most powerful philosophies, teachings and religions in the world."  

I gently express my concern and she begins to tell me how there are so many helpful truths in the book.

Of course there are.

That is how Satan works. That's how he started in the garden and hasn't given up since. There is always a seed of truth, of something genuinely helpful and intelligent in every conceivable philosophy and religion in history.  

Mormonism is great at family and community. There is great wisdom to be gleaned from Confucism. Bhuddists are some of the most kind and gentle people in the world. Tony Robbins philosophy of positive thinking makes a lot of sense.

Of course there are helpful truths in The Secret! It's about self actualization. Think positive, good things and good things will come to you. A great life through great thinking. Yeah, makes a lot of sense.

This is how The Secret tells people they can find that good life and the success they have all longed for.

Here's what Jesus says. Matt. 16:24-26  Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" 

He says it this way in John. John 12:24-26 "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." 

The worlds philosophy is absolutely the diametric opposite of the what Jesus had to say. And it is absolutely incompatible with the gospel.

It seriously bums me out when Christians think it's OK to immerse themselves in philosophies, often innocently and ignorantly, that are a diluted half-truths designed to sway people into thinking man is basically good and can will himself into self actualization or one-ness with the universe, or whatever the end game du jour is. (How's that for a run on sentence!)

I don't care if it's Tony Robbins, Shirley Maclain, Rhonda Bynes or Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth." It is false teaching, according to the Bible, and nothing short of demonic.

The Bible is INCOMPATIBLE with these philosophies. Jesus was not just another good teacher. He cannot be put alongside Confucius, Bhudda, Krishna, Mohammed, or any other historic teacher. He didn't leave any room for that when He proclaimed to be God in the flesh. You either believe that and worship Him as Lord or you need to believe he was insane. There is no philosophical wiggle room. He made sure of that.

If you aren't a Christ Follower, I don't mean to deliberately be offensive. And I respect the fact that you may choose to believe and act on one of these world views. Jesus cannot, however, be considered alongside these other ideas. Scripture is very clear. 

Don't get me wrong. I like Oprah. I like her show. There are lots of cool and informative, entertaining guests on it. Oprah is not a spiritual authority, however. The Jesus she proclaims alongside all of these other philosophies, is not the Jesus of the Bible. I don't care how many times she hosts Rick Warren or Denzel Washington or how many times she tears up at some kid singing Amazing Grace. She is not the authority Christ followers should be taking their cues from. She may be seeking God and considering Jesus. She may be wounded from an overly legalistic, religious childhood. My heart goes out to her. I pray she does find her life in the Jesus of the Bible.

As leaders in the church, it is incumbent on us to clarify for our people how antithetical these ideas are to the life we have in Christ. Anything short of Christ crucified as a ransom for sin, risen and coming again is false. 

Not sorry for the rant. This is a very big deal.

New Music

Hi All,

Just wanted to highlight an artist I have recently run into. Brooke Fraser is one of the Hillsong worship leaders (wrote Hosanna) and a recording artist in her home country of New Zealand. I am really digging her most recent recording "Albertine." Terrific writing. Gotta love anyone who writes something called "the C.S. Lewis song."

Disproportionate Energy?

According to one source 6 percent of Christians make their decision to follow Jesus after the age of 18. If that is true, how does it impact our efforts in children's and student ministries.

Statistics that Count

From The Advent Conspiracy

"American spend 450 Billion dollars a year in Christmas. It is estimated that it would cost 10 billion dollars to SOLVE the clean water shortage around the planet that causes a majority of diseases in the third world."

This is what's keeping me up at night.