BabuLife

Next Ignite: November 1

If you're in the greater Kansas City area, you're invited to worship with us at Grace Church from 7-8p.m. this Wedneday. 

40 Days of Growth

What a month and a half!  Done with the 40 Days of Community campaign capping off this morning with a celebration service. So many good things happened this month so I'm gonna give a little rundown.

• Weekend Service Team - These guys and gals were stretched in so many ways this month.  Every week the band was pushed to learn new music and they came through.  Yesterday we rehearsed from 8:30am - 12:30pm in addition to the usual Thursday night rehearsal.  I am SO proud of the team I work with and honored to serve with them.  So many people were touched and blessed during this past month due to their service to God this month.  Thank you all!
• Small Group - My wife and I started this campaign leaving a small group that we loved and had been a part of for over a year.  We broke from our group to start a new one only to fall in love with a whole group of other people.  Some of the folks in our new group were not really "small group" types.  With a reach out and a little encouraging they commited to being a part of our group.  One of them reads this blog...thanks for stepping out of your comfort zone Jim!  He even shared his story on the stage during one of the messages on a Sunday morning.  We've decided to keep this group going.
• Communtity Outreach - We saw many new folks cross through our doors and get connected to the church during the campaign.  Not only that, but a TON of spiritual growth began taking shape within the church.  Baptisms, people excited about reading the Bible, praying and memorizing scripture.  We wrapped up tonight with a Trunk or Treat community outreach project.  HUGE SUCCESS.
• Personal Growth - The whole point of this campaign was to help people understand that God never intended us to "go it alone" as a "Lone Ranger" Christian.  Together we accomplish so much more being connected to the Body of Christ.  I think for me the area I grew the most in was delving in to friendships and relationships with folks I didn't know. We're praying together, we're encouraging each other and we're working together.

Thanks to all who have been a part of this campaign and to my small group...thanks for hanging with us every week!  Looking forward to Friday nights dinner!

-Babu

Spitbox

Checkout the new Spitbox site.  Created by Bloggers for Bloggers.  Great place where you can just catch some posts from blogs all over the place.  Just found it through a comment on my prior post and saw they linked a post I did the other day.  Pretty cool!

Fix it Modwest!

My email is down.  So anyone who has sent me anything from about 7a.m. on...I'm NOT ignoring you!  I just can't get emails! 

Fix it Modwest!!!!

Are You Open to Change?

I'm really enjoying my current read "Radical Reformission" by Mark Driscoll.  I'm being challenged in my reading of this book about my "ideas" on how to reach people effectively.  While telling a story about a church that once had a weekend attendance of nearly 9,000 and dwindled down to 100, Mark explains how this church was stuck in a rut.  Here's a little nugget:

"The result of traditionalism is a Christianity that has all of the right answers to all of the wrong questions, because the questions that were once pressing are no longer being asked.  The dying church I mentioned desired to attract the multitude of non-Christians who lived close to them, so they hosted a debate between an atheist and a Christian.  They went to great expense only to have no one from the community attend.  Why?  Because the church did not know that atheism, popular a generation or two ago, is virtually dead today.  This church believed that people are either Christians or atheists and because they didn't know their neighbors, they wrongly assumed that, since their neighbors were not Christians, they must be atheists.  Actually, their neighbors were very spiritual people who spent great amounts of time praying but had no idea to whom."

Thinking outside my "traditional" box is a challenge at times.  What I think and believe works may not really be working for the rest of the world.  Do I conform my approach to reach them?  Or do I attempt to change the world into believing what I think? The world is a fast changing place...we need a church that continually thinks outside the "traditional" box. Are you open to change?

-Babu

Get "The Radical Reformission" by Mark Driscoll

View From the Stage: I Got to Preach! (kinda) 10/22/06

It's been awhile since I've posted a "View From the Stage" moment.  Sunday I stepped into a larger world and "preached" one point of the message on worship.  It was a great opportunity for me to share my heart about the importance of singing corporately and our personal time with God.  Thanks to Tim for coming up with the idea and entrusting me with part of his message.

During my part of the message I had the Grace Weekend Service Team (most of them) share what worship means to them.  I've tooted the horn of my team before on this site...but I'm going to do it again.  YOU ALL ROCK! 

If you feel up to it, you can listen to the message on our website.  The message is located in the "40 Days of Community" file and is called "How to Tell God You Love Him".  I'm after the introduction.  Or you can just subscribe to the Grace Podcast.

Later!
-Babu

"Don't Sing About Jesus Please"

Heading out to sing at a funeral Monday.  This is for a 95ish year old woman who is the mother of one of our church members who just happens to be my great uncle. I was asked by someone in the family to not sing any songs referring to "Jesus".  Hmmm...that's quite difficult.  So far I've got my wife singing "My Jesus I Love Thee" and I'm singing "It is Well" and "Amazing Grace".

Life is brief no matter how old you are.  Live it loud.

Later,
-Babu

Communicate Without Clutter!

Tuesday I headed out to the Wired Churches conference given by Granger Community Church and hosted by a local church here in Kansas.  My world changed Tuesday as a result of my workshop experience with Kem Meyer.  I sat right in front and had the opportunity to as a few questions.  Without telling a long story about communications at Grace...I'll just sum it up by saying this..."What Communication at Grace?"

We've started down some paths only to stop or get a little side tracked putting out little fires here and there or dealing with issues that needed quick attention.  Without having someone on staff as a constant "watchdog" for communications it can be a difficult thing to effectively produce and manage a whole process for the church.  I've been semi-managing and have really discovered it's way more than just producing graphics.  That's where a whole new world was opened up to me.

So now I'm burning to get a strategy put together that will help the people of Grace communicate effectively their ministries and events in a cohesive way that doesn't just communicate individual ministry visions...but really reinforces the church-wide vision of Grace Church. 

Here is just one section of the workshop that just blew me away (keep in mind all you Communications Director-type people that I'm a Worship Leader so if you've already heard this and it's old hat to you...just click to the next blog on your Bloglines):

The 5 Myths of Marketing:

• Myth 1: You are in Control - Your audience is in control of your marketing.  If you create things expecting to "change their perspective", you're going to lose every time.  Adjust your communications methods with the culture.  Eliminate clutter, leave white space, cut down on the noise...people are too busy in life as it is.  They just want the facts.  Understand that you shouldn't go out looking to create conversation...conversations are already happening.  Figure out how you can be a part of them.

• Myth 2: The More Choices the Better - LESS ANNOUNCEMENTS.  That means cut down the clutter in services.  Cut down the clutter in your worship guides on the weekends.  The more elements on a page, the less people hear.  (This is a toughy for us at Grace Church.  We're addicted to announcements during services & in the worship guide.)  As the worship leader standing on the stage during the announcement portion of services, I have the opportunity to see how quickly eyes actually glaze over when we're on the third ministry announcement.  While those involved in the ministry being announced are excited to hear their event talked about on the stage...sometimes it really just isn't the best way to pump people up.

• Myth 3: Advertising Creates Interest & Reinforces the Brand - Focus on the experience your church provides.  Word of mouth ALWAYS is the make or break.  Realize that you must NEVER advertise a false experience.  Advertising cannot fix inconsistent experiences.  Identify who your church is and brand the experience your church will provide a guest.

• Myth 4: It Worked Before So it Will Work Again - Currently, many Fortune 500 companies have trimmed back on their advertising spending in order to focus on customers spreading the word and doing their selling.  Be prepared to chuck what you're doing if the culture is changing. 

• Myth 5: People Care About What You Have to Say - "People need Inspiration not Information".  Turns out based on some research that Kem Meyer found...We remember 10% of what we read...We remember 20% of what we hear...We remember 30% of what we see...We remember 40% of what we do...We remember 100% of what we feel.  You've gotta grab the heart and give folks a reason to come.  Words don't mean a whole lot in the end.

Is it really possible that there is no other marketing/advertising/communications that is better than a personal invite and a positive experience?

Where Do I go From Here?

4 posts in a month during my blog fast.  I gotta say...I really haven't missed it much.  Seriously...I thought I'd have wild withdrawals from not writing everything that's going on in my life, worship related or otherwise.  Does this mean I'm quitting?  Nah...I enjoy it way too much.  Especially the networking.  I've got a lot of time to spend catching up on some of my favorite blogs.

So I'm getting ready to get back in the game.  Here's a shot of me and the youngest.  She's getting hair!  Later.

Babu

I Was Humbled by Annie K. in Haiti

Last weekend I received an email response from a fellow worship leader ministering in Haiti.  I was humbled by her kind words and gently reminded of the truth that really worship is all about the heart.  A fact I know and believe, but just reinforced by the heart of Ann and her love of leading others to worship God without all of the cushy stuff we have at our fingertips in America. She was responding to my "10 Things on Worship Leading", "10 More Things on Worship Leading" and "Choosing Worship Songs" category. 

I asked Annie if I could share her story here on this site and she said "yes"!  Please pray for Annie and other worship leaders working hard to offer God all that they are in physical conditions that are challenging in hopes of helping others see the glory of Christ through worship.  Here's her story:

Hey, My name is Annie K.. I lead worship for an intra denominational church in ministering in English in

Haiti

..  Yep we have them all.. from Mennonites to Assemblies.  My family and I have lived here for 12 years.  This is where God begun the work of erasing the lines of the box I had put him in.  We have a very eclectic team.  I'm the worship leader under the pastor.  We have a fantastic pianist, that but for the grace of God we actually have a grand piano.. HUGE step up from off-key upright we used for years.  (long story) In the last 3 years we went from Hymns only to a combo of Hymns and choruses.  I laughed when I read that the first step for Grace was to buy the older praise books.. THAT’S exactly what we have. (Thank you Lord for internet resources!)  We added drums 2 years ago (no plastic cage though lol )along with a bass guitarist.  Wow, we were humming then.  Now we have 2 other vocalists, and our bass guy.. returned to

Costa Rica

, only to be replaced by a 16 year old anointed Guatemalan young man.  WOW. Any given Sunday we have no less than 3 sometimes 4 different nationalities working to pull worship together. English is the common language but that doesn't mean that every one has perfect English.. So I flip into Creole, to help my Haitian brothers and sisters, and try to slow it down, because I talk fast naturally for my Spanish speakers.  I myself am not a musician, I can read music, I can sing lead.. nope can't sing harmony because I just can't hear it.. frustrating.  I love it when I find people to sing harmony with the team.  We have a transient team because Missionaries that are not pastors, ie lay people like teachers, mechanics, and embassy people and UN people get moved a lot.. So my team consists of who is actually available in our congregation this month.  Very few has a long term commitment to this country.  I think my family, and three other families are the long termers here at this point.  Out of a congregation of 300, we lost 20 key families last year to attrition, for various reasons, and not the things like.. well I don't like the music, but things like "our mission is pulling us to another country" or our contract is up and so we are moving back to ______ fill in the blank for what ever country they may have been from.  We have 1/3 our congregation is Haitian Males who are there to try out their English, about 1 percent of those men are serious and committed to the church.  We just added one such man to the team, as I watched him for over a year and felt that he really has a worshippers heart.  His first answer was no.  I loved that! He came back the next week and said.. Ok I prayed about it and I will try.  Several times a month, I get young men who walk into the church for the first time and come up to me and say.. "I sing" me sing with you week next?"  Most of the time we require a year before you can step into such positions. 

If there was one thing I would add to your list of 10 things to know about leading worship is.. (our motto) We strive for excellence, but only God is perfect and if it (the set) messes up. Let it go right away, and stay in worship mode. One of the things I've learned is I keep a entire section of scriptures printed in LARGE text in my worship book, so that as the spirit leads, I pull these scriptures of encouragement, exhortation for those in between times that we have to change keys or we have a lull, or while a microphone glitches etc.

All of this comes from the point of view that we worship in a large cement building with exposed metal rafters and a tin roof, and open windows.  (it’s a sound tech nightmare).   The words are still projected on a old fashioned overhead projector with plastic film.  We have no A/C  and our sound board has only 6 input places.  Sometimes we have electricity, most times the generator works. Medium temp is usually 90 degrees and higher.

I loved your time line for your team.. ours is like this..

Kendall

family loads into the car at 7:00 sharp, stops by mission generator house to change generators.. (wait 5 minutes for change over) Pray and hit the road.. arrive at church any where from 7:45 to 8:05.. you never know what traffic/road blocks will be like.  My son runs the sound board with a new trainee, they quick set up what we think will walk through the door in the next 15 to 35 minutes.  At 8:30 little kids get the sanctuary for their praise time for 15 minutes or more.  We as a team are praying and going through Gods word in prep.. as the little ones scamper out of the sanctuary to their outdoor classes we, pick up our chairs, move them back into the sanctuary.. and begin to practice.  Which means we will do our service back to back (practice then service)  of course the entire Sunday School classes can hear what we are practicing so we try to keep it low volume, but some weeks its hard.  Hate to upset the teachers and classes.  Any given week team members get called away, or can't get to the church or something unexpected happens.  So unless it’s the pianist (who is Haitian) he always calls me in advance if he can't make it for some strange reason.  We run on the fly.  It has stretched this very organized mother of 6 children, to make changes at the very last minute.. let it go and move on.  Our pianist came from a conservative background where in their church it was the worship leader who started the music and pianist who found what ever key the church was now singing in!  Very different from this style.  I have found myself on a spotty cell phone (very spotty in this third world country) calling for a back up pianist on the way to church when I had no guitarists.  There have been Sunday's when I've said.. Ok.. Lord you'd better bring someone quick or I'll be leading acappela the entire service.. eeks!  We pump praise music through our car, and try not to talk about stuff of the week.. having to drive an hour helps to begin to get your focus in line.

The term vertical mode is new to me, but I intend to use it this tomorrow.. Love that term. 

I didn't mean for it to be so long... Bless you .. keep bloggin, you have blessed me today!

Annie K.