BTAG Worship

The Band Guy

2011-01-18T12:49:00.000-08:00

The article below is great! I can relate to this testimony on almost every level (except being a professional musician)!! Most anyone reading this blog probably knows me, for those that don’t, I am not one that likes public attention. I started out playing acoustic guitar in worship nearly 12 years ago and I enjoyed the anonymity of the position, serving in the background. I took voice lessons at age 17/18 and had the ability to sing, but after some brief experiences of leading worship in my twenties I just didn’t want the responsibility or pressure of being in front of a large group leading worship. A little over a year ago I was asked if I would be willing to lead our congregation, our worship leader was stepping down for a time. I prayerfully considered this and my spirit was lead to accept this task. My flesh has often cringed at the task, my talents seem inadequate to lead a group of skilled musicians and many times feel inadequate to lead a congregation of worshipers seeking to enter His presence.

My silent prayer most every Sunday is that God will help me to not, “get in the way”, of what He wants to do. I can honestly say my I am still not comfortable with the “leading” aspect of worship, but I pray that God will work through me in some way to help our congregation enter His presence in worship and that we would bring an offering of worship that is pleasing to Him. Many times leaders aren’t born that way, they develop into that role. God has laid the foundation in their life to enable them to meet the challenges they will face. Moses is a glaring example of this, he did not want to be a leader, but it was His time. Esther is the same, for such a time! God places us where he wants us and gives us all the abilities we need, regardless of what we see in our flesh. We must trust God and lead with His conviction.

Lastly, as a lead worshiper I pray that I can have the same outlook that Paul states below and be, “more focused on how we could build up and encourage others through music, prayers and scripture.” This is our medium of ministry and I pray God gives us the ability to use it creatively to edify the body of Christ.

In Christ,

Steven

Just the Band Guy

By: Paul Baloche

Posted 1/11/2011

“I’m just a band guy”. That was my attitude when I volunteered to play on the worship team at my church almost twenty years ago. I wasn’t really interested in being up front, charged with the responsibility to talk to the congregation let alone “lead” them in some way. That all seemed pretty intimidating, and quite frankly- a hassle. Yeah, that’s right, dealing with people can be a hassle. And so I was content to show up with my guitar rig and dutifully play the appropriate parts behind our Pastor who artfully encouraged worship from the platform.
That all changed the Sunday morning that my Pastor turned to me and said over the microphone so that everyone could hear, “Paul, would you come and lead us in a few songs while I pray with folks at the foot of the stage.” Yikes!! Everything in me was like “Nooooo Waaaaay” but I pretended to be OK with it as I nodded yes nervously approached the mic. I wanted to declare out loud, “I’m just a band guy thank you very much” but it was too late. I was being pulled from the sidelines to front and center, where all eyes stared back at me with profound expectation. I think I screamed a desperate prayer under my breath like, “O God, don’t let me stink and bore people to death.”
That all seems a little silly now but at the time it was fear incarnate.

Down the Road
As weeks turned into months and months into years I began to grow in my love and concern for the people that I served each Sunday. Instead of fearing their disapproval or rejection of me, I began to realize how important our corporate gatherings were to the spiritual health of our congregation. As I became more aware of the different challenges and trials that so many of our members were facing, I began praying and asking God to give me His heart for the people I served. I prayed for wisdom and insight as to how our team could help strengthen our folks not only on Sunday mornings but also throughout the week. I became less preoccupied with striving for a flawless set list and more focused on how we could build up and encourage others through music, prayers, and scripture.

The Progression
The perception of my role went from band guy to worship leader to “lead worshipper” to finally Worship Pastor. I started to experience a shift, in thinking of myself as a Pastor who utilizes music as the primary vehicle in helping others worship and connect with God. Previously, I saw myself as a musician first, who “should probably get more involved in the leadership of the church”.
The church needs leaders. It’s easy for us to sit back and let someone else do it. It’s easy to analyze and criticize the decisions that our Elders or Pastors make. But I learned very quickly how difficult it is to wrestle through the endless array of problems when I stepped up to be an Elder myself. Wow! What a revelation it was.
Since then I have gained such an appreciation for those who are willing to sacrifice hours and hours for the sake of the local church. Everything from the most difficult personal issues of church members to the mundane minutia of buildings and budgets. So many times we want to walk away and leave it for someone else to figure it out, while we sanctimoniously sip our Starbucks from the sidelines and cynically point out the flaws and inconsistencies

Stepping Up
Joni Mitchell sings, “I’ve looked at life from both sides now”. Too many times I played the blame game but I’ve also felt the sting of judgment from the professional complainers. No matter. Jesus said to Peter, “Do you love me? Feed my sheep.” There is the command for us to love, nurture, and feed the people of God- To lay down our lives for the sake of the call. Except thankfully for most of us, these days “laying down our lives” means putting up with the inconveniences of people and leadership, as opposed to being martyred or burned at the stake. Jesus also revealed that too often “the laborers are few”.

Breaking the Sound Barrier in Worship

2010-11-30T10:10:00.001-08:00

I read this article today and it really struck a chord with me. As a worship leader in my church, as with all our worship leaders, I desire for our congregation to “enter in” to worship. Entering in worship takes many outward forms; reverent silence, dancing, loud singing, lifting hands, swaying, clapping, laughing, etc. One thing is common through all of these and that is the sense of connection with the One whom we worship.

The connection with the Holy Spirit during worship is undeniable. There is no questioning when the Holy Spirit takes control of the service, whether music or preaching. It is powerful, overwhelming, exuberant, humbling, uplifting, and on and on I could go. The greatest joy I can experience in worship is the congregation being moved in worship by the same Holy Spirit that moves on me in worship. That is to say when I feel God’s presence during worship and I look up and see that the congregation is experiencing the same presence I am. It’s a cyclical encouragement, if that is even a term, when the congregation senses that I am being moved by the Spirit it frees them to worship more as it is doing the same for me and for the other worshipers that are in the service.

We all worship differently, but I really believe that we should all experience all forms of worship at one time or another in our time with the Lord. He is not one dimensional and did not create us to be one dimensional, He delights in our creativity and diversity as much as he does in our commonality. I challenge each person that would read this today to explore worshiping God outside of your comfort zone with abandon. You may desire to do this while you are alone, as I do from time to time. Going out of your “zone” may mean worshiping without music, or with a different style of music, or lifting your hands, maybe shouting, maybe dancing, spinning, or just being still and knowing that He is God.

Worship with abandon, however you do it. Enjoy the article:

By: Dr. Tim Smith

Posted 11/10/2010

Not many people know about the 3000 islands of Lake Victoria in Uganda. Fewer people have visited them, and even fewer go out to share the gospel with the thousands of people out there. There are lots of good reasons for this: polluted water, hippos, crocodiles, not many can swim and years ago thousands of people afflicted with AIDS were sent out there apparently to die. When they died they left behind hundreds and thousands of orphans and widows throughout the islands. But in the middle of this sad scenario, a bold evangelist built an orphanage on one of the islands – with the help of a great missions group out of Hood River, Oregon. He built 16 homes and put 10 AIDS orphans in each house with an AIDS widow over each house. In one year’s time, all the kids (ages 3-14) got saved and filled with the Spirit! Jesus showed up on this remote island of Uganda.

Maryl and I were privileged to boat out to this island in 2007 with our nephew, Brent Earwicker, a young missionary who, along with his wife and two children, has now given his life to the islands of Uganda. We boated up to the island in the early evening. Though it was too dark to see anybody, we could hear 160 young voices singing a beautiful song of welcome to us from the beach. Once we landed we were surrounded by sweet children who eagerly escorted us in the dark to our huts for the night. We hunkered down under mosquito nets and the noise of bats overhead, for our first sleep on the island. The song floated through my head ‘help me make it through the night’ as I thought ‘if I can just make it to the morning’. I fell asleep.

But before the sun came up, I heard the drums. Hundreds of yards away but as clear as if they were right outside our hut, I heard the voices. Amazing, crystal-clear, young and exuberant voices, singing praise to Jesus with total abandon. It was 5:30 in the morning, not an adult in sight, and these children were singing the loudest praise I have ever heard in my whole life (without a sound system!). The first morning I laid in my cot and wept as their voices came like refreshing waves of joy over and over me. I remember thinking ‘This is it. This is heaven. Pure unadulterated worship. Pure joy. Pure abandonment to Jesus.’ Like a little child…

Later I walked among them during these morning times, and they were so intent on their worship of Jesus, that they didn’t even to seem to notice me. Such focus, delight, devotion – I was humbled. Children getting up on their own accord before the sun, before breakfast, before their chores, no one telling them to do it, singing wholeheartedly, loudly and joyfully! I tried to think of one scenario back in the US where this might occur. Sadly, I was unable to envision it back home. This one moment on a remote island of Uganda has ruined me for life. I came to ‘bring Jesus’ to the island, but He was already there, singing, laughing and dancing with His kids, beckoning me to join in the dance. The story goes on as these children are now evangelists to the other surrounding islands, singing, preaching and living out the Gospel everyday to the poor and needy. The song goes on.

Then we came back to ‘reality’ in the US. The worship leader was amazing to watch as he sang, laughed, and even twirled in delight, worshiping his Lord and Savior for twenty-five minutes before an appreciative congregation. The band was tight and played with exquisite excellence. All the elements of a successful worship experience were there, including great lighting, good song choice and mix, sharp video images, vibrant worship team. You could walk away that day thinking ‘what a great time of worship’, unless you happened to look anywhere besides the platform. Out in the congregation of hundreds of people, a few were singing quietly, many were sipping lattes, most were smiling approvingly, some standing, some sitting.

This whole scenario has given me grave concern for the state of worship especially in the United States. While there are some churches who are experiencing a full worship experience with total involvement in the congregation, they seem to be the exception today rather than the rule. Historically, the church has always gone through periods of time when the music and worship was left to the ‘professionals’ and the average congregant would observe from afar. Now there seems to be a cultural barrier arising in America that many people have gotten comfortable with in their worship experience – I call it ‘vicarious worship’ or allowing others to worship for you and feeling good about yourself because others had a great worship time with Jesus.

Read the rest of the article here

In Christ,

Steven Singleton

Responsible Worship - Reasonable Surrender

2010-09-30T10:10:00.001-07:00

We have been studying worship in our Sunday morning small group. The topic is familiar territory and I have taught the material before. However, two Sunday’s ago we reached the topic of surrendering the past, present and future to God. It hit home and became very personal to me. I began to think of all the responsibilities I have now that I didn’t have when I was younger and all of the fears that I have for the future, most notably my future in Christ! It’s not that I am afraid to lose my salvation at any given moment and it has nothing to do with being afraid to try something new, I love a new challenge.

During our discussion of the topic several of the class members expressed how hard it is for them looking to the future and what God has called them too because their families do not accept their faith in Christ or their Calling respectively. This really touched on a deep rooted fear and it still didn’t dawn on me. The next Sunday night the topic was overcoming fear. It dawned on me during that discussion that my fear of the future has more to do with rejection of people than of Christ. To go further the fear is rooted in my distrust of myself and my past failures. My fear is that if I step out in faith following Christ that I may do something or have done something in the past that will bring dishonor to His name! What a revelation for me personally this has been, I don’t know how to overcome this fear, yet. But I do know this is part of my life that I must surrender completely to move forward in Christ calling on my life.

This brings me to the title of this writing, “Responsible Worship – Reasonable Surrender”. These go hand in hand when you think about it. What is Responsible Worship? Offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, wholly and pleasing to our Lord. So what is Reasonable Surrender in light of Responsible Worship? Giving everything to Christ as your sacrifice to Him. So the sum of this is a complete abandonment of ourselves to Christ, even our fears of the future or fears of our past.

I truly believe if we can learn to do this, we can experience true freedom in Christ. After all how can He carry our burdens if we don’t give them too him?

In Christ,

Steven

Great Services/Amazing God

2010-09-13T06:10:00.001-07:00

Yesterday’s services were awesome! God moved in a powerful way during Sunday school, Worship, Preaching and Communion. It was powerful service the way only God can do, Praise him!!

It started with our College/Career Sunday school for me which we talked about surrendering our past as an act of total surrender to Christ (talking about all aspects of worship). This was a very insightful discussion time about how our past and relationships can hinder our full surrender to Him and even how fully surrendering these things can cause us to be discarded or shunned by friends, family and co-worders. We have some awesome young people who are stepping out in faith to pursue the calling of God on their lives!

Next, was our worship service. We were nervous about introducing a new song in this set, but all nerves went aside as it was obvious that God was in control! He moved through the worship and revealed himself through tongues and interpretation in the service. He showed us just how great a God He is and reassured us of His love.

Then the message by Pastor Dylan was very powerful. Amazingly, only as God can, this message lined up with our Sunday School discussion perfectly. We must accept the forgiveness that Christ offers and move forward to what He has called us to.

Then we took communion together which is always a special time as we reflect on His sacrifice of Love for us.

All in all Great Services!!! God moved from beginning to end and orchestrated the entire thing. He is truly amazing!!!

In Christ,

Steven

My Prayer

2010-07-28T05:19:00.001-07:00

Renew me oh God, set my feet upon a right path.

Guide me by your holy spirit to the life only found in you.

Replace my sinful thoughts and mind with thoughts of You.

Help me to live devoted in all my ways to You.

Father I want to worship You with every action, word, thought and attitude.

I can only do this by Your grace and the power of your Holy Spirit.

Consume all my desire for worldly pursuits

Draw me into who You are that “I” may be lost

I lay myself and all that I represent before you as a sacrifice on an alter

Yet I know that even in giving myself I not even a worthy sacrifice

I am not spotless and without blemish, yet you said you desire for me.

I give what I am, in all of its awkwardness, sinfulness and waywardness

I give it all into the hands of You, my Creator and Sustainer

Wholly surrendered, that is how I must live in order to live

I cannot do it on my own, that is quite clear looking back

You can do it, that is clear looking back

By Your grace I am here, by Your grace only

Lord I don’t want to hinder Your moving in my life any longer

Today, take what I have so selfishly held back from You

Remove my selfish ambition and desires

Replace my heart with Yours

Beware.....

2010-06-28T13:31:00.001-07:00

This is definitely worth reposting!! Great reminder to anyone who leads worship (worships in front of a congregation).

Beware Of The Stage

Paul Baloche

Within our American Idol/Rock Star culture, often the goal is all about having–and keeping–the spotlight. As Christians, we belong to a least-is-the-greatest kingdom that pronounces the exact opposite, and yet worship leaders must regularly wrestle with the dynamics of being onstage in front of crowds.

Even the typical “worship service” setup (platform, microphones, spotlights, etc.), for example, forces its leaders to walk dangerously close to those “rock star” elements while making sure the attention stays solely on God. There are many things that we can do to help us from being infected by our performance culture and as always we find timeless wisdom in the ancient text of Scripture.

There is a Priestly model described in 1 Chronicles as “ministry to the Lord”. The Levites didn’t “lead people” in worship but instead were charged with the task of ‘singing praise to God both day and night, in the temple. They sang to the Invisible God – an audience of One. How often do we minister to God in private? Ideally, worship leading is publicly modeling what we have been doing privately. A healthy habit is to “practice” worship throughout the week by creating some alone time with God and by singing songs and prayers to Him. Often I will go into my church sanctuary by myself or with a few core members of my team and we’ll read Scripture out loud, especially Psalms, which is the vocabulary of worship. We’ll begin to play guitar or keyboard very simply to create a worshipful atmosphere while speaking and singing out psalms and heart-felt prayers. It may feel slightly forced at first, perhaps mechanical, but if you persist in “showing up” to bless the Lord in private, you will begin to sense more of His presence and authority in your outward, public ministry.

The other aspect of our ministry is Pastoral. Guitar players and singers are “a dime a dozen’ as the saying goes. But those who will give their time and talents in service to God and His people are rare. Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” Peter replied, “Yes Lord”. “Feed my sheep.” Ask The Lord to give you HIS heart for the community that you serve. Before you dismiss your team from rehearsal, have them come to the front of the stage and look over the empty seats. Ask them to imagine the people who will be sitting there this coming week and encourage your team to pray for the individuals and families who will be showing up in those seats. This is a powerful exercise to help you and your team cultivate God’s heart and love for the people you serve.

I would encourage you to lean toward more of a conversational tone in your leading style as you begin your service. People don’t like being yelled at, manipulated, or artificially hyped up. Whether you lead fifty people, three hundred, or more than a thousand, aim for being as authentic and sincere as you can. We don’t have to be overly sanguine. People respond best when they sense someone being themselves. In fact I used to always pray something like this under my breath before I walked on the platform. “Lord, at the risk of being boring, please give me the courage to be ‘who I am in You’– nothing more, nothing less.” We all battle our insecurities in different ways but practicing our ministry to The Lord and praying for the people we serve will take us a long way in distinguishing between performance and effective ministry.

Let’s determine to finish well by helping facilitate a lifelong conversation and sense of community between God and the people He has called us to serve.

Why Call it Worship?

2010-05-01T18:22:00.001-07:00

This is an inspiring article about the definition of worship, from biblical perspective. I pray that everyone reads through this and can apply it to their worship of our Savior. I challenge myself to incorporate all of the biblical characteristics of worship into my
worship! Enjoy.....

In Christ,
Steven

Why Call It Worship?
Tom Kraueter
Posted 4/16/2010

Quite some time ago I was preparing to present a worship seminar at a church. As I was setting up my equipment, the minister of music assisted me. At one point he casually mentioned, "I'm so glad you're here. The people of our church seem to have the
idea that worship equals the sermon and the sermon equals worship. To them, there are no other variables. I'm hoping you can help them see a broader picture."

Since that time, I have encountered numerous churches whose worship services vary greatly both in style and in the elements they include in services week by week. Usually, the background (spelled: tradition) of the church dictates the type of service. In many
churches, all the elements of the service are considered "worship." In a broad sense, this is true, but I would challenge us to look more closely at the biblical definition of worship and consider its implications on our services.

Before we go any farther, we'd better attempt to define the term "worship." Christians use the word "worship" to describe all kinds of activities. What we need, however, is to find the biblical definition of the word. You see, I can call anything by another name,
but this does not mean that it really is what I've declared it to be. For example, I could call my guitar a fried egg. This does not, however, make it a fried egg. Simply calling something worship does not make it worship from an honest, biblical perspective.

When I was in seminary, one of the professors had us conduct a word study on the word "worship" in the Bible. We were to look up in our English Bibles all the times that "worship" appears, and see what the original Greek and Hebrew words meant. Based on
this research, we were then to come to some sort of conclusion about what worship really is from a biblical perspective.

When the project was complete and we all shared our findings, I was astounded at the results. Almost everyone in the class came to the same conclusions: (1) worship honors God, (2) it is directed toward God and (3) it requires involvement on the part of the
worshiper. Even a cursory look at worship in the Bible apart from the original languages will show this concept to be true.

...all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD (2 Chronicles 20:18).
Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground (Nehemiah 8:6).
Come, let us bow down in worship (Psalm 95:6).
They came to him (Jesus), clasped His feet and worshiped Him (Matthew 28:9).
...offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1).
So he (an unbeliever) will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!" (1 Corinthians 14:25).
...the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him... (Revelation 4:10).
Worship honors God. There are occasions in Scripture where people rail against God. There are times when some lament the Lord's seeming lack of involvement in the affairs of His people. There are even places where some folks weep and mourn, crying out
to God. All of these may be prayer, but it is not even suggested in the Bible that these are worship. To truly be called worship, it must honor God.

Worship is directed toward God. Let's be perfectly clear: Unless the act is directed toward God, from a biblical perspective it cannot truly be called worship. Worship has God as the focal point, not us.

A few years ago I attended a conference where one of the speakers shared a powerful story. He had been in another city on business with a friend. Since they were there over the weekend, they decided to attend a church on Sunday morning. They found a
nearby church and went to the service. As they left the service that day, the friend turned to the man and said, "You know, I really enjoyed the sermon there this morning, but I didn't get much out of the worship." The man thought for a moment, then looked
at his friend and asked, "Have you ever considered what that's got to do with anything?"

What he was saying was, "Who is the worship for?" Worship is not for us. Worship—in it's truest sense—is directed toward God. It is not for the worshiper. It is for the One being worshiped. To truly be called worship, it must be directed toward God.

Worship requires involvement on the part of the worshiper. Yes, I am aware that there was one time in Scripture when Jacob leaned on his staff and worshiped (Genesis 47:31). However, that is clearly the exception! The overwhelming majority of times the
Bible talks about things like singing, speaking forth words of praise, clapping, shouting, giving, kneeling, and raising our hands. Years ago Robert Webber wrote a book entitled Worship is a Verb. That title makes the point well. There is an involvement that is
necessary in true, biblical worship.

Now that we have defined the term worship, let's go back to where we began. What is wrong with the idea of the sermon being worship? Nothing, unless, of course, you want to be truly biblical in the use of the word. The sermon is clearly not directed toward
God. It may be preached with an intent to glorify God, but it is ultimately directed toward the people. Hopefully the sermon will inspire people to worship, causing them to "see" God and the wonders of His mercy. The words of the preacher may cause people
to ponder an aspect of God or His mercy that may well spur them to worship the Lord. However, the sermon is not—in the strictest, most biblical understanding—worship.

The same understanding is also true for communion. There have been numerous times throughout the years that I was inspired to worship God as a result of partaking of the Lord's Supper. Receiving the communion elements may cause people to worship
Him. Recognizing Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross may motivate the believers to worship, but the act of receiving communion is not directed toward God. It is not—in the true, biblical sense—worship.

Does this mean we stop doing these things? Absolutely not! They are biblical in origin. Scripture makes it very clear that these are activities for the Church. We should be very cautious, however, about referring to them as worship.

In his wonderful book, The Joy of Fearing God, popular author Jerry Bridges made these comments:

It isn't my intent to make a judgment statement about any church service that emphasizes evangelism or body life or teaching. I do believe that such a service should not be called a worship service. A worship service should focus on God. This doesn't mean
that ministry to members of the body or even to unbelievers will not occur. It does mean that the emphasis is on worship of God, ascribing to Him the praise, adoration, and thanksgiving that are due Him. [Jerry Bridges, The Joy of Fearing God, Colorado
Springs, Colorado: Waterbrook Press, 1997. (page 247).]

Praise. Adoration. Thanksgiving. Those are all God-honoring and God-directed. Additionally, they require involvement.

One key reason that we need to understand a truly biblical definition for worship is simple: so we will allow people the opportunity to truly worship. If a church service includes a sermon, communion and even a special song by the choir, it may be a
wonderful service, but there may have been no opportunity for the people to actually worship—to focus on God and adore Him. We must give people time to engage in worship, not just activity.

Let's be honest in looking at worship. Let's not be guilty of calling a guitar a fried egg simply because of our traditions. From a biblical perspective—not a traditional or cultural perspective—worship honors God, requires involvement on the part of the
worshiper and is directed toward God. Otherwise, why call it worship?

Confidence

2010-04-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

Habakkuk 2:4 (New Living Translation)

I love this! In God’s kingdom conventional wisdom gets turned on its head. In our world today if you don’t have “confidence” then you will never get anywhere or accomplish anything. I put the word confidence in quotations because today’s accepted definition of the word is not accurate. Today’s world says that a confident person should be; prideful, arrogant, rude, disrespectful, attractive, etc. These things don’t have to be a bi-product of confidence. In reality they, in many cases, cover up much deeper insecurities in someone’s life.

By contrast in God’s definition a confident person will have these qualities; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galations 5). In my opinion this list is far more difficult and requires far more confidence (faith/trust) in your God than in yourself, which by itself is far more difficult than trusting in what you can do. Should we not be confident in the abilities God has given to us? Of course not, He gave them to us for a reason and wants us to use them. However, we must always be careful to give credit to the One it is due otherwise our pride will overcome us and our lives will be crooked.

May I be a worshiper who recognizes where all my ability comes from and to whom all glory is due. He opens and closes doors and is in charge of the outcome. Let us give Him the glory!!

In Christ,

Steven

Rough Week?

2010-04-16T10:39:00.001-07:00

The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.

You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

Isaiah 58:11 (New Living Translation)

Have you had a rough week? I have, between work and other responsibilities it has been none stop from Sunday through today. Satan has been attacking at every turn and not always so subtle as you might expect. Then being on crutches has only exasperated my mental state! God has used encouragement at unexpected times and his Word to bolster me through as the verse above says so beautifully. I am still trying to recover mentally, but spiritually I know my God is faithful and he has lifted me up and given me water when I was dry. It’s the little encouraging words, actions and nuggets of truth that God lays out before us to help us through tough times. We sometimes just need to take our eyes off of ourselves and lift them up to Him so we can see these little blessings He has prepared just for us.

In Christ,

Steven Singleton

Phenomenal Easter Service

2010-04-05T10:30:00.001-07:00

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”
Mark 16:5-7

We had outstanding Easter service yesterday, the Holy Spirit moved in a special way! The children’s program was very memorable, the 10 Easter blooms and of course, Pastor Dylan’s message was inspiring. God is doing wonderful things here at Bethel and I can’t wait to see where He leads us next!!! I am so excited to be worshiping a risen Savior !!!

Don’t be alarmed when Jesus shows up where you least expect Him.

In Christ,

Steven

Expectation

2010-03-30T05:17:00.000-07:00

I was praying a few months back and thinking about Christ coming and the expectation that we as Christians should have and how we should act as a result of that expectation. I never really resolved the thought and didn’t feel as though God had revealed Himself in this matter until this morning. As I was driving to work thinking about my wife who could go into labor at any moment and wondering when I would be able to hold our son and what he would look like……. BAM!!! It hit me, that’s expectation, that’s what we are supposed to be like! Knowing at any moment our Maker, Creator, Savior could be here and we could see his face for the first time!!

When a woman is pregnant it is said that she is, “expecting” and for good reason. For 9 months she is carrying this child with her and wondering, as are the father and extended family, what does this child look like? Who’s nose will he have? What will his personality be? When will he come? And the list just goes on!! Let us live life expecting!!! Expecting to meet Him at work, church, ball practice, home, vacation or wherever we are. He meets us with his presences to give us a glimpse of his sovereignty and his glory which only gives us a thirst to be with Him for eternity. Live expecting!!!

Matthew 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father

STS

Worship Leaders Heart

2010-03-19T13:58:00.001-07:00

This really expresses my heart as a worship leader and the our focus when we enter in together in worship. For those that don't know Brian and Jenn Johnson lead worship for Bethel Church and are part of Jesus Culture worship group. Very anointed and gifted worship ministers.

Leading Worship - Kim Walker

2010-03-17T16:43:00.001-07:00

Refreshing!!!

2010-03-08T13:07:00.001-08:00

I can’t help but write this today about the services yesterday. It is amazing how God makes himself known in our weakness. Our practice time for worship was very difficult yesterday morning and by all human accounts it should have been a rough worship service. Yes, it did start out rough, but God stepped in and did a work that was not possible by ourselves. He took the meager offering of worship that we brought as a body and honored us with His presence!! How humbled I am to be in the presence of our Creator, to witness how he uses people to deliver prophetic words and admonish us to do His will. All the while being spent in worship and physically drained, but so refreshed. Then His word was delivered with conviction and anointing and souls were saved! PRAISE BE TO OUR GOD!!

I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. Jeremiah 31:25

STS

Weary Worship

2010-02-16T05:21:00.001-08:00

Sometimes we all get very weary in our "work" for the Lord. Sometimes the practices, services, learning new music, etc. can become burdensome to us. I look at it as putting our best offering before the Lord every time we come together. This offering starts for us at home in preparation through prayer and devotions. Our investment is worth the effort because it will yield a return. Scripture says if we seek Him we will find Him, lets seek him together so we may give our best offerings to Him every time we come together to praise His name.

"I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing." (2 Samuel 24:24).

“ I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me” (Proverbs 8:17

“ For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened “ (Matthew 7:8)

In Christ,

Steven

In His Presence

2010-02-08T12:51:00.001-08:00

Something that has been on my heart for some time now is, "finding the intimacy in praise". This is a quote from a prayer on one of Kevin Prosch's songs. Although i am not a fan of Prosch this statement has stuck with me and I see it reflected in our services. I find it frustrating that we cannot seem to break the "barrier" of praise, in this setting I am referring to our faster "praise" songs. Is it a barrier of personality?skill?desire? I don't know the answer to that question and may never, but I pray that God will guide us in this area and allow us to find the intimacy in praise and find His presence from the start of our service to the very end and everywhere in between!!!! i don't want the fast songs in our service to be a vehicle for getting into the worship set, i want it to be as intimate as the worship songs. This may be something only I am contemplating or even praying over, this is just where i am and I pray that we can all find our way on this journey of worship together. Why is that when I have the creator of the universe living in me that I seem to find it difficult to stay in His presence? I want to live in His presence, praise in His presence, worship in His presence. All other things in this life pale in comparison to being with our God.

In Christ,

Steven

Obedience

2010-01-25T11:39:00.001-08:00

My Sunday school class asked if we could study the topic of Tithing this past weekend. At first I was wondering why this would need to be studied, then I realized over the week as I was studying this is something that is needed. I have been taught from the time I was very young about the importance of tithing as a “spiritual discipline”. Please don’t confuse anything in this article for saying that this is a condition of salvation, tithing is not required for salvation. However, as a Christian it is important that we follow Christ teaching and when he taught the Pharisees in Matt. 23:23 he said we should not neglect tithing. Malachi 3 has some very strong words regarding tithing and even says to test God in tithing. Some of the major denominations of our day even go so far as making it a tenant of their movement they believe in it so strongly.

Tithing, at least when you start out, can be purely an act of obedience. However, as you give and realize that the possessions we have are only a result of God allowing us to have them and that He will not be out given. You can’t help but become excited about your giving and begin to look for other ways to give beyond your tithe. I am not sure of the reference right now, but you have all heard that “obedience is better than sacrifice” and I will tell you I believe it. Simple acts of obedience such as tithing and baptism release such rich spiritual blessings in our lives it is hard to explain. I hope that anyone reading this today will consider giving back to God a tenth or 10% of what he has given you. You will be supporting your local church ministries, pastors, facilities and outreaches and even more importantly being obedient to Christ.

You can check out this link for more on the Assemblies of God beliefs on this subject http://www.ag.org/top/Beliefs/gendoct_06_tithing.cfm

In Christ,

Steven

Unchanging

2010-01-12T07:30:00.001-08:00

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God
our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.
He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

James 1:17 (New Living Translation)

This is a comfort to me to know my God never changes! I can count on Him
even when my situation, mood, attitude, circumstance or life changes. I
can know He is there, even when I turn my back, he is there waiting on
me to come to my senses. He wants us to want Him and loves us
unconditionally and wants us to love Him the unconditionally. Can I save
that my love for my savior is not predicated on my circumstance? The
answer is, unfortunately, no.

Lord, in your perfect ways, help me to learn to trust and love You
regardless of my circumstances and depending solely on the unchanging
God.

STS

Lord Come!!!

2009-12-24T05:30:00.001-08:00

On Christmas Eve 2009 I ponder the thought that our God sent His son to earth. Wow, to fathom what that really means just blows me away.

I am listening to music as I sit here with lyrics like, “…a God in outer space doesn’t mean anything to me, So would you come….” And “…come like You promised You would…”. These are heart cries of a Christian that longs to be with our Lord and creator. He did promise he would return for us and the bible speaks of this many times. I personally can’t wait for that day! But, as I sit and think of Christmas I can’t help but think about the fact that He did come…. He came to people that were waiting desperately for their Savior to come. The only problem was that they looked right past Him. He didn’t fit their mold or paradigm of what their Savior was supposed to be, in their minds at least.

This leads me to think of what I expect Christ to be in my life. Are my expectations looking past who He really is? As I celebrate this Christmas I pray that Christ would reveal Himself to me and reshape my expectations of Him. I have a feeling that if I can truly see my Savior for who He really is, I won’t be able to stay the way I am.

God, wash away all that I think or pretend to know of You. Take captive every thought or imagination of who I think you are. Replace my selfish desires of You with Truth.

John 8:19-23

19Then they asked him, "Where is your father?" "You do not know me or my Father," Jesus replied. "If you knew me, you would know my Father also." 20He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come. 21Once more Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come." 22This made the Jews ask, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, 'Where I go, you cannot come'?" 23But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be,[a] you will indeed die in your sins."

Steven

Something Greater

2009-12-18T05:25:00.001-08:00

This really touched my heart this morning when i read it. I have had those experiences in worship where God moves in such a way that it just leaves me in awe. I don't want to go so far as saying that I "live" for those experiences with God, but i will say that I want to be in that place every time I worship. That is worship at home, church, car or wherever I may be. I know I have said that before and I truely mean it. My desire is that each of us would desire God's presence in such a way that when we come togehter corporately God will be in our midst as he states in Matthew 18:20 "...where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there..." I believe that we can hinder his presence if we are not spirtually prepared to visit with Him.

I hope that you enjoy this article as much as I did!

In Christ,
Steven

Immortal, Invisible - "Something Greater"

Posted 12/14/2009 - Laura Story

"In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever.
They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
- Revelations 4: 6-11 (NIV)
There is something mysterious about worship. Even as I child, I remember singing songs like, "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" and "I Surrender All," and feeling all warm inside. Whether it's the thunderous voice of a hundred-person choir or "Amazing Grace" being played by a single violin, there is a tenderness that cannot be explained with words. It's the feeling of being part of something greater than myself. And in the book of Revelation, John gives us a hint of what that "something greater" might be. There are many theories suggesting how the book of Revelation should be interpreted. Some think that John, the self-professed author, is speaking strictly about the end times. Others view the book as a panorama of historical events throughout the life of the church. But either way you slice it, God gave John a vision and what he saw was magnificent. It was so magnificent that John was in too much shock to even stand! The Lord spoke with a voice like a trumpet, and there were angels and other creatures consumed with worshipping the One who sat on the throne. They were bowing low in awe of their Radiant King, singing "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power…"
Though this may not sound like normal worship services at your church or mine, we still may see small glimpses. Here on earth, we will only experience a taste of this splendor. But it is enough; it's enough to remind us that this life is about something greater than ourselves. When we sing praises to our Lord, we join in the chorus that creation has been singing from the beginning of time. And it is the same anthem that we as believers will be singing for all eternity.
God, may I savor each moment in your presence as a glimpse of the glory that is to come. May I never grow weary of singing Your praise.

Be Encouraged

2009-12-10T13:49:00.001-08:00

So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just
the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if
we don't give up.

Galatians 6:9 (New Living Translation)

Its so easy for us to grow weary throughout the year, but even more so during this season with so much to do and seemingly so little time to do it. Be encouraged that we do not labor for earthly rewards, acolades or notoriaty! We labore for a harvest and reading above brings me encouragement that God will honor our persistance in doing good with a harvest! Praise God, the fields are ready and He will bring the harvest!

Don't let being busy bring stress or discouragement. Be encouraged in Christ.

In Christ,
Steven

His Presence

2009-11-20T05:24:00.001-08:00

God has really been dealing with me lately in regard to being lead by the Holy Spirit. Not just merely following a feeling or a intuition, but literally allowing Him to lead me and to take control. I have prayed and asked God to guide my steps, but have I surrendered completely to his guidance? Do I have the heart of Christ within me to know his leading? Hebrews 9: 9 makes a powerful statement regarding worshipers. It states that the, “sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.” Referring to the need of a final sacrifice or pure sacrifice to atone for our sins. What is so powerful to me about this is the statement, “clear the conscience of the worshiper.” As I enter into worship I cannot be hindered by sin if I truly desire Christ presence.

In other words, God will not honor our worship with his presence if we are not covered under his blood. I have been there!! Sitting in a service singing praise and thinking about all of the stuff that I did last week or want to be doing now! The distractions that we allow are a hindrance to our worship and sin in our life because we have made them an idol above Christ! We may say, “its not more important, its just a passing thought.” However, if I valued Christ to the point that I truly desired Him above all other things I would make an effort to devote my time, undistracted. Try having a conversation with your Wife, Husband or best friend while you are involved in thinking about some other activity you will be doing tomorrow. How long do you think it will take before the person you are talking to say, “is everything ok?” or “hello over here!”. They know you are not focused on them. God deserves the same focus of attention.

This, as God is dealing with me, boils down to preparation. Hebrews 9:7 deals with this briefly when it talks about the preparation of the priest before entering into the Holy of Hollies to offer sacrifices for the people. A priest would spend days preparing to enter the inner room and I imagine even weeks or months thinking about it and preparing mentally. After all, this was a life or death matter for him. He would enter this room with a rope tied around his waist and bells on the hem of his robe so if he was not spiritually ready and was killed by the Holy Spirit he could be pulled out. As Christians that are covered by His blood and able to access directly to Christ who intercedes for us at the right hand of the father, we should give the same thought to our spiritual condition before we “enter in”.

It is my genuine prayer that each day I may examine my heart, repent of my sin and be prepared to enter His presence and be lead by the Holy Spirit!

Hebrews 9:7-9 NIV

7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicated that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.

In Christ,

Steven

worship@behteltempleag.com

Background Vocalist

2009-11-05T10:37:00.001-08:00

A great video for anyone that sings! I encourage anyone that reads this to click on this link and learn a few new tips and tricks for vocalist.

http://www.ccli.com/CCLITV/Default.aspx?v=da40bb76-ebae-403e-b55d-13c69bb6845b

Check out some of the other vocal coaching items too, some great stuff on this site.

In Christ,

Steven

Thoughts

2009-11-03T04:27:00.001-08:00

I was reading and article this morning called, “The Story of Worship”. The article details how God has sought true worshipers from the beginning of time. God still seeks true worshipers, those courageous enough to put aside their wants, needs, desires and plans to recognize who is in charge. Worship is a daily act of surrendering ourselves to God, an active way of life, not a once a week experience. We must actively, doggedly, make a choice to surrender ourselves each day. When we fail to recognize our vulnerability in this world and our position relative to the Creator of the universe we risk falling subject to a much worse fate than we could imagine, PRIDE. Let us keep our eyes firmly fixed on him who saved us from a certain fate.

Psalm 141:8 “But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge-do not give me over to death.

Attractive

2009-10-26T09:06:00.001-07:00

^{Titus 2:7-15}

⁷in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, ⁸sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. ⁹Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, ¹⁰not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. ¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, ¹²instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, ¹³looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,¹⁴who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. ¹⁵These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority Let no one disregard you.

This is a great reminder to any follower of Christ as to how we should live our lives. Even more so, as was the subject of Paul’s teaching to Titus, church leaders should live in this way. The NIV version has this translation for verse 10, “…so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.” This is a beautiful way of stating our great commission to tell the world of Christ. We should live in a way that makes Him attractive, because He is!! He delivered us from a life bogged down in sin, diverted from our true purpose, separated from our creator!! What could be more attractive than that? Try a savior who loves us so much that he bothers to know our name, have concern for our daily lives and sits at the right hand or God so that he can plead (intercede) on our behalf. What could be more attractive? For a follower of Christ, nothing.

Lord, That I could live in this way, to bring glory and honor to Your name. That I would worship in this way, to bring glory and honor to Your name. That I could die knowing my life brought glory and honor to Your name. Father, examine me this day and bring to light any area that I may surrender to you. Anything that would hinder or push away someone from the glory of who You are and keep anyone from knowing Your love.

In Christ,

STS

Scripture Song

2009-10-22T07:44:00.001-07:00

While reading in scripture these words lept from the page to my heart:

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways

He does great things beyond our understanding

He said “let there be light in the darkness”

He made this light shine in our hearts

So we know the Glory of God

That is seen in Your face Jesus

We are pressed and perplexed, but not in despair

Persecuted we are not abandoned by You

We fix our eyes on what is not seen

Jesus, be revealed in us

Our treasure is with You

Jesus you will raise us up

Our treasure is with You

Jesus risen Lord of all

STS

Personality of God

2009-10-20T06:06:00.001-07:00

So many times I have been in worship services where I squelched my tears, bound up my feet, steadied my hands, and stiffened my spirit to harness my emotions. However, I can’t help but realize that God is our creator and the one who blessed us with the ability to have Joy, Sorrow, Fear, Reverence and every other emotion we experience. There are numerous places through scripture that detail God’s wrath, anger, blessing, pleasure, love and other emotions. We serve a God that has a full range of emotion and gave us, as we are created in His image, emotions as well. He expresses these emotions differently than we do because He is perfect and does not react emotionally as we do. However, what better way to express our worship to Him than to worship Him with the emotion he gave us.

Yes, we must be careful to be reverent, to approach Him with the honor he deserves. But, as any Father, I believe nothing makes Him smile more than seeing His children laughing, dancing, waiving their hands, crying for joy and calling out our praise to Him in actions and words. To “rejoice with trembling” is a paradox of sorts as it gives you the picture of someone smiling with trepidation. I have come to picture this as a child singing with eyes closed for their parents and peeking to see the look of approval on their face. They sing joyfully and with all their heart hoping to please their parents, imagine yourself in their shoes. You are seeking to bring a smile to your parents face and nothing makes your more happy than to please them. This is similar to us brining praises to our Father in heaven. We come before Him seeking to bring a smile to His face and when he joins with us as we worship nothing makes us happier than to be in His presence.

Being mindful that He is holy and to be reverenced, don’t hold back as I have so many times, worship God with all that he created us to be!

Psalms 2: 10-11 “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. ¹¹ Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.”