BabuLife

A Worship Transition Story

Every once in a while I'll get a note from a worship leader searching the internet for answers and looking for some advice with a struggling worship team or music transitions. I guess it's because I failed many times that I have the ability to relate with some folks...or I've got a lot of people decieved into thinking I've got my act together.

Back in March I received a note from a worship leader struggling with how to make it through a music style transition.  When you've got folks who long for the days of the pipe organ and hymns with no relatable or relevant music that can inspire and engage those under 50, it's a difficult process and can make you feel quite helpless.  This worship leader didn't want to give up.  I asked her if I could share her story here and she said please do!  Here's her follow up email to me after our back and forth conversation beginning last March.

Dear Pastor:

 

My name is C-----e and I hope you remember me. I am very grateful for your emails. I just wanted to update you on the progress at our church and our music program. We started a praise band and praise team some time ago but, as I had mentioned, we were stuck with the organ which the new (younger) worship committee and trustees wanted to phase out. We had de-funded the pipe organ more than a year ago and it was deteriorating and we had not hired a new organist.

 

All of this has allowed the band to perform more and more often. I can't tell you the how the level of enthusiasm has built as time is going by. There are more and more younger families appearing on Sunday mornings. Momentum simply built week after week.

 

The band and worship team has grown too. It is amazing to see the energy! There are those (mostly older) who are unhappy with change. This has been offset to some extent by having the band play arrangements of the old hymns which the older folks are familiar with. We are developing some tension along these lines however. But, with our Pastor's blessing, as of last week we crossed the point of no return! I did not expect it to happen so soon

 

With the help of the worship committee and the (very enthusiastic) youth group, the organ was "gutted" to make space for the band and praise team to store instruments, equipment, and so on. It had been nearly a month since it played at all and people were getting used to the idea that it was in very bad shape and that organists are hard to find as well.

 

The younger folks for the most part seem like they would be happy never to have to hear it again! I wonder if others have this same experience as we have. Younger people not only don't connect with the organ but are repelled or annoyed by it.

 

Any way, this congregation is now firmly on the path of no return and while we have lost some members so far, we have also gained a number of families. It is so awesome and inspiring to hear the band fire up every Sunday! We are committed to bring new folks to Christ. Those who are unhappy have less progressive churches in the area which they can attend. I will let you know how things continue to develop. We are developing many new programs to reach out to our community.

 

Thank you for your inspiration!

 

God Bless,

 

Watermelon = Ragweed

Four years ago I had an allergy test done.  When the doctor asked if there were any foods that made my throat itch it occured to me...bannanas and watermelon.  I had no idea it was allergy related at all.  When I asked him why, he told me that they've discovered if you are at all alergic to ragweed, you will have a reaction to watermelon and bannanas.  So when I eat watermelon, it's like I'm eating a small amount of ragweed.  Does that stop me?  Heck no!  I loves me some watermelon!

So after eating two very large slices of watermelon, I'm laying in bed with an extremely itchy throat and savoring the flavor of watermelon. 

Does anyone else have a nasty itch in the back of your throat when you eat watermelon?

Get Out of Debt at Grace!

On June 13, Grace Church will be hosting Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class.  During these 13 weeks, approximately 37 people will be commiting themselves to living a financially independent life.  No longer living paycheck to paycheck, no longer using the credit card as a source of savings, and no longer arguing with spouses about finances and how money should be spent.

This class will be facilitated by Tom who has successfully led a small group of folks who recently graduated from FPU eliminating in total $80k in debt and saving $20k.  That's a total of $100k in money saving!  Wow.

While the cutoff for registration was this past Sunday, there's still one last chance to register.  Click here and register online.  The class is $89.95 per family (that's $100 off the retail price).  The FPU folks are giving our church a nice discount.

What: Financial Peace University
When: Wednesday, June 13 - Wednesday, September 12, 7-9p.m.
Where: Grace Church, Lower Level, Children's Worship Room
Is there childcare?: No.  Not during this summer session.

Learn about Financial Peace University
Read Tom's financial category on his blog.

Happy Memorial Day

Thanks to all you vets past and present who have invested in the liberty my family and I have in the United States.  And to all of the families of vets, a special thank you for your sacrifices.  Visit Tom's post here for some great thoughts and ideas to celebrate Memorial Day.

View From the Stage: 5/27/07

Today we had Lynnora on violin. I love it!  Lynnora did awesome.  Having not made rehearsal Thursday night, she just jumped in and did such a wonderful job. Great job team.  This week when prepping the worship, I spent a little more time on the flow between songs.  I think it felt a little more seamless today.  Here's the list:

• Friend of God - Michael Gungor - Bigger Than my Imagination
• Better is One Day - Matt Redman (Friends of His version) - You can purchase this at the info center.
• Come Thou Fount - Public Domain (Friends of His version) - You can purchase this at the info center (yet another shameless plug).
• Amazing Grace - Public Domain
• I Will Trust in You - Jeremy Camp - Carried Me
• Son of God - Starfield - Beauty in the Broken

While the worship was exillirating, it was capped off with a drum solo by Dr. Jon.  Today the topic was spiritual warfare and Video Doog requested a hard core military type drum solo leading into the message.  Of course, what better drum riff than Sunday, Bloody Sunday by U2?  Jon had the worship center shaking!

Video Doog preached a great message on spiritual warfare.  It'd been a long time since Doug had spoken from a pulpit.  He gave a great message inspiring me to peal back the temporal scales on my eyes and see things as they truly are...eternal.  One of the best illustrations I've ever heard reagarding spiritual warfare and the different roles involved in the war. Thanks Doug for working hard on that message and knocking it out of the park. You can listen online here, click the "Spiritual Warfare" folder and download away.

The Heart of An Empire

I was poking around looking at some of the Star Wars Celebration IV stuff and came across an exclusive pink action figure being offered at the conference called "R2-KT".  I found it rather odd that there was a pink figure made available and discovered there's a story behind the figure.

In 2005, Katie Johnson lost her life to cancer at the age of 6.  The Make a Wish Foundation made some of her biggest dreams come true and a group of Star Wars fans also took part in helping Katie and her family. Here a few of the things I noted when reading about her story:

1. Heart of an Empire - A movie about the "501st".  A group of hard core Star Wars fans who do more than just dress up for movie's and conventions.  They costume themselves and visit kids in hospitals and spend time loving families and helping raise funds.
2. Hasbro & Lucasfilm - Both are donating $100,000 to the Make A Wish Foundation of San Diego in honor of Katie.
3. Make A Wish Foundation - What a great cause. 
4. Marketing - What a huge thing for Lucasfilm to have this giant community of fans consistently out there marketing the Star Wars product without lifting a finger.  They jumped on that instead of telling the fans to stop doing stuff using their brand.  Wise choice.
5. Community - Reading the story of this community of Star Wars fans and their passion to do more than just dress up and watch movies struck me.  It's amazing how a cause can rally people together.  The local church needs to get with it sometimes.  Stop "bellybutton looking" and rally to reach people and transform lives for Christ through loving people.
6. Katie's Memorial Video - This just choked me up. 

I think everyone desires to be connected to a cause.  What greater cause than the one God called us to?

Go watch Katie Johnson's memorial video here.

30 Years of Star Wars

Today Star Wars turns 30. May 25,1977 the world of movie making and pop culture changed.  My memory of Star Wars was seeing it at the old Glenwood theater in Overland Park with my folks.  I don't remember much except going home and suddenly all of the Hot Wheels became secondary and Star Wars toys became my primary means of play.  The opening scene of the Star Destroyer chasing the Rebel ship, the stormtroopers busting through the door and the Luke and Leia swinging across the chasm being shot at by Stormtroopers were the things I remember most.  I was hooked.

Is Star Wars done?  Nope.  With a new animated Clone Wars series coming, there will be plenty of opportunities to get future children addicted to the Star Wars galaxy.

Check out the "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed" on the History Channel this coming Monday.

Super Cool Person of the Week: Gina

We've got some great vocalists on our team who invest so much time and effort into making the worship experience at Grace a great place to connect with God.  Gina has been on the team now since 2003.  While Gina has some awesome pipes and can pick out harmonies like nobody's business, there are more important qualities that make her a joy to minister with on the worship team.

Typical artist types can be a little difficult to work with.  We're a mold that has to fight our natural tendencies to be late, become melancholy about life, run on emotional highs and lows or even at times get the diva mentality.  These are problems I don't have to deal with because of the hearts and faithfulness of the team.  And Gina is a leader in this arena. Her "can do" spirit and faithfulness to making the worship excellent are an extreme blessing both to our team and to me personally.  Whether she's singing a lead, or singing a small background part...it doesn't matter.  She "gets it" that she's part of a team and gives whatever role she's playing 100%.  It's been awesome seeing her grow comfortably into the role of a lead worshipper onstage and being a consistent voice and leader in the area of worship at Grace Church.  Thanks Gina for being a part of the team and being such a faithful servant and follower of Christ. Gina is one more reason why I love serving with the team of people on the WST every week.

So when you see Gina...tell her she's SUPER COOL!

Top 10 Albums that Influenced Me..and Yours are?

I've had some stimulating conversations with our Youth Pastor, Jim Williams, about bands and musical influences.  His musical knowledge leaves me in awe.   I was thinking about the albums and music that have had the most influence on me throughout my life.  So...here they are. The ten albums that shaped my musical tastes.  Keep in mind, I'm in no way saying these are the most influential albums of all time...just to me.  And please, drop a comment and tell me yours!

Seven and The Ragged Tiger, Duran Duran - Yes. Seriously.  I was Simon LeBon when I was 10 years old.  The Reflex, New Moon on Monday and Union of the Snake played non-stop in my bedroom as I jumped in front of the mirror pretending to be the 6th unknown member of Duran Duran.  I discovered pop music was more than just Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie when I heard this album.

Kick, INXS - This was THE album that catapulted my interest in music.  It became more than just pre-teen enjoyment fascination.  I knew I wanted to sing.  Nobody was cooler than Michael Hutchence.  This one is still a fave in my book.  My clickwheel still lands on this album from time to time.  My first rock concert, 1988, 14 years old.  My first introduction to the sinful state of man was through the song "Devil Inside".  With a chorus like, "The devil inside, the devil inside, every single one of us the devil inside".  How could a group of pop rockers nail the sinful state of man like that?  I believed that there truly was no hope of overcoming the nastiness everyone has within them.  This song helped influence me to believe I was a sinner and needed a savior.

Green, R.E.M. - Music with a message.  Although I never bought into the "Green" message, I did buy into the music. So what if they had the most basic chord progressions?  This album started my R.E.M. obsession from 1989 - 1993.  This is when I decided I wanted to play the accoustic guitar and sing.  With songs like "Pop Song '89" (first song I learned on guitar), "Orange Crush" and still one of my faves today "Inside Out", I was hooked.  I don't know many R.E.M. fans in my world, most worshipy leaders were influenced most by U2.  Which leads me to my next album...

Rattle and Hum, U2 - I didn't catch the Joshua Tree wave in 1987.  I was busy listening to INXS and arguing with the numerous U2 fans that Kick was better than Joshua Tree.  Rattle and Hum brought U2 into my world big time.  With a feature film to boot, there was no escaping the influence of U2.  With the opening live rendition of The Beatles' "Helter Skelter", I was hooked.  "Desire" and "All I Want is You" were the next songs I learned on guitar back in 1989.  Still a classic.

Faith, George Michael - George Michael grows up on this, his first solo album after WHAM!.  This was also before his exit from the closet.  This one had quite a bit of influence on me...right before I discovered INXS.   Not much substance lyrically on this, just a lot of great hooks. melodies and masterfully put together.   As a matter of fact,  I don't think I could bring myself to listen to this one around the house with songs like "I want your S-x", and "Faith" (not in the faith in Christ sense).  Not good for the little ones here.  Yet, it did have influence on me musically.

Automatic for the People, R.E.M. - Probably one of the most impacting albums for me.  Read my notes on this one here.  Still lands on my iPod playlist at least for a week once a year.  I could put many R.E.M. albums on here, but I just picked the two that impacted me most.

Jars of Clay, Jars of Clay - Christian music can be cool?  This was the beginning of me liking "Christian" music.  Although the album "crossed over" into the secular world with the song "Flood", it was still written with Christ in mind.  Acoustic driven rock for the soul.  I really tried hard to like contemporary Christian music in the early to mid 90's only to get annoyed.  It's really hard to come from listening to R.E.M. and go right into Ray Boltz and Michael W. Smith (both of whom are wonderful songwriters).  Jars of Clay filled that void for me in 1996. By the way, I swear the album cover looks like the male cast from Friends which was kicking into high gear in 1996.

Time, Third Day - This album rocked my world in 2000.  After being in a church that sang nothing but hyms for a year and a half, this disc was like water in a dry desert.  Grace "Baptist" Church was on the verge of birthing a worship time that truly connected people with the Lord with a musical style that was relevant and relatable to the late 20 and early 30 somethings in our church.  For me, Time was the beginning (or the end...depending on your perspective of music preferences) for me.  "I've Always Loved You" (one of my buddy's faves) and "Your Love Oh Lord" sparked a yearning in me to explore worship music and entertain the possibility of being used by God in the area of worship leading.  It was the spark, but the next one was the flame...

Passion: One Day Live, Passion Worship Band - "Do you think we could ever do something like this at Grace?"  This is what I asked my mentor and pastor back in 2000.  We were listening to "You are My King" on this album, hearing the excitement of the crowd on the recording and the authentic worship that sent chills up my spine the first time I heard it.  I'd never heard anything like it.  So many great worship leaders at the beginning of their ministries.  Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, Christy Nockels of Watermark, Matt Redman and even David Crowder (He was just a guy in the background on the DVD of the live event).  This recording catapulted my desire to bring that excitement heard on the CD to the worship at Grace.  We've never looked back.

Facedown, Matt Redman - There are a few key CD's I always tell people they should have in their worship collection.  You've got your Tomlin stuff, Crowder stuff and of course your Redman stuff.  This is the essential worship CD for me that I will always tell people they must have.  It's edgy, it's live...which means it's Matt Redman at his best...leading worship, it captures the moment like no other worship recording, it's more than just a collection of worship songs...each song is crafted to teach us something about the essence of worship.  "Praise Awaits", "Worthy You are Worthy" are two of my faves.  There are lyrics like "You should be the joy of every heart, You should be the praise of every tongue" and "Let worship be the fuel for missions flame" which teaches that the desire to worship God and give all to Him (Romans 12:1) should fuel the flame to reach others for Christ...sharing with others the excitement and joy we have in knowing God.  This is an essential part of my music collection.

Well there you have it.  My top 10 musical influences from the time I was a youngin' about the age of 9 to now.  I could really keep going...especially on the worship stuff.  Maybe another list?

So what I'd like to know is yours.  What albums influenced you musically?  You don't even have to be a worship leader or a musician, I want to hear from anyone about their musical influences. And yes, you can even drop a snide comment about my list!

 

View From the Stage: 5/20/07

This was vision dropping Sunday.  That is to say our Sr. Pastor took to sharing the vision and dream of Grace Church for our community in Southern Overland Park, KS.  Using the illustration of a table, Tim laid out how our dream for Grace is to be a church of thirds.  One third new believers, one third mature believers, and one third seekers (those who are checking out church/christianity and are uncommited to becoming a Christ follower).  Not only is it a good thing to dispense vision to new comers of the church, but also to pump up those who have been labouring...to refresh the mission in their lives.  You can check it out by clicking "The Table" folder at this link.

Music rocked. I love playing with two electric guitars.  Masterful job Scott and Sam!  Little g on the keys is finding his groove.  And Scott nailed Glorious (Sweet vocals!) Way to go fellas!  And Gina has vocals like butta.  Here's the worship list:

• Here is Our King - David Crowder Band - From the album "A Collision"
• Glorious - Chris Tomlin - From the album "See the Morning"
• Shine - Matt Redman - From the album "Beautiful News"
• You Are Holy (Prince of Peace) - Michael W. Smith - From the Album "Worship Again"

I'm really diggin' the song "Shine" by Matt Redman.  Just a great tune with fantastic lyrics.  Love the chorus.

Later!
-Babu