Communicating "the Why"

I think many of us have lost sight of "why we do what we do." That's not something that is boding well for the church. It's a message that was known by the wisest leader God ever appointed, Solomon who said, "Where there is no vision, the people perish..."

I recently watched a seminar on leadership by Simon Sinek (Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action | Video on TED.com) that articulates the importance of casting a vision in leadership. The refrain he repeated throughout this 18 minute talk was, "people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." Now, I'm not selling anything per se. We're asking people to "buy-in" with their spirituality, emotion and commitment though.

Most churches communicate in this direction - we are a church (what); we do things this way (how); so you can go to heaven and evangelize others (why).

Instead, shouldn't we communicate in this order? We want to be a part of God's kingdom and invite others (why); so we do things this way (how) and by the way, we are a church (what). Make sense?

People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

Let's apply this to worship. I've said for a long time, "what you win people with, you win them to" (credit to Andrea Anderson who has also long said this). You can't do worship good enough to give someone a spiritual experience that leads them to Jesus. So why put the focus on that? A great worship service, in and of itself is only a foundation for leading someone to Jesus. The worship experience has to be an authentic expression of that faith.

People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

Here's how I apply this to the worship ministry at my church, New Hope Adventist Church.

We want our congregation and attendees to experience transformational worship and know Jesus. (Why)

We use artistic expressions that people know and love to communicate biblical truth and lead them into a spiritual experience. (How)

We are the worship ministry, which is made up of music, technical arts, dance and first impact. (What)

People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

It's time to start communicating the "why" for our congregations and let the "why" redefine us. It should define us from top to bottom. It should shape every ministry, initiative and campaign that takes root in our church. If people perish without a vision, then they must thrive where it is present.

ProPresenter comes to PC! Why you should consider making the switch.

The industry standard of presentation software for top Christian artists and megachurches is now available for YOUR church. ProPresenter has all the features that can take your worship visuals to the next level. I’ve worked with ProPresenter on the Mac platform for several years now and I’m really excited to see it now available on PC. Beyond the typical features of song library, multi-media playback and Bible verse integration, ProPresenter employs more advanced technology that enhance whatever worship environment it’s used in. Let me tell you a little bit about why I love it through how I’ve used it at the two churches I’ve served as worship pastor at.

I worked at a small church plant of about 80 attendees (Hillside Community Church, hillsidecommunity.net) meeting in the city hall of South San Francisco. In the small meeting room we had, there was no platform for the speaker and many complained that they couldn’t see the pastor speak from the back of the room. ProPresenter was the perfect solution for us, because you can run live video straight into ProPresenter and add it as a layer to what is projected onto the screen. Using the simple built-in layout feature, we were able to run the Bible texts and bullet points as lower thirds and use the live video during the sermons.

I now work at a larger church (New Hope Adventist Church, lookingforachurch.org) with a whole new set of priorities and needs. At New Hope, there are several unique features in ProPresenter that have proved helpful. We used to use EasyWorship and had to switch back and forth between applications to project song lyrics, video clips and PowerPoint from the pastor. Within ProPresenter, we can now effectively play and mix all of our media. You can import virtually any type of video file as well as files from other presentation software, like PowerPoint and Keynote.

There are lots of great features contained in ProPresenter; give it a chance at your church! Go to www.renewedvision.com to download the free version (with a watermark on the output) and check out all of the related tutorial resources and documentation.

*Originally written for Best Practices for Adventist Worship.

Cornerstone Song - "How He Loves"

“How He Loves Us.” It’s more than a song title, it is a simple, yet
profound thought. That’s the point that John Mark McMillan was
making when he wrote this anthem of praise and invited others to sing
it with him at the top of our lungs.

The songs author, John, lost his best friend in a car accident. That loss
shook him to his core. It called into question the very nature of God in
his mind. He began to wonder, “if God really loves us, then why
would He allow this to happen to me?” His journey took him deeper
into the understanding of God’s love for humanity. Just like
everything in this world, it can be messy at times because sin has
created a separation between heaven and earth.

But through the salvation that Jesus has given us, we have hope in a
grace and love that knows no end. When we truly understand the
depth and passion of the love God has for us, we see that it transcends
our circumstances and gives us a glimpse of something so much more
meaningful and eternal than we could ever fully grasp on earth. How
He loves us!

 

*Written for the bulletin for February 19, 2011 at New Hope Adventist Church

Cornerstone Song - "He Wants it All"

Nobody likes to look or feel desperate. It’s a state of vulnerability like nothing else. It means, “I’m at a low point and I will do whatever it takes to make it back to where I was.” Desperation is something that we look at as weakness; in fact we treat the word desperate as if it were the definition of someone that is not able to “deal” with their emotions in any given circumstance.

It’s hard to admit it, but we are all desperate. We have all sinned and fallen short, but through the hope we have in Jesus God will adopt us into His eternal kingdom.

In fact, it’s only in that weakness and desperation that the true hope of Jesus can be revealed to us. It’s only in our weakness that we can allow Him to be strong. It’s only in our recognition that He is all that we need that we can in turn truly give it all to Him.

As you worship your Savior today, reach deep down inside to find your own sense of desperation that only Jesus can fill and accept His grace and mercy that He so freely gives in return.

*Written for the bulletin for February 12, 2011 at New Hope Adventist Church

Leading Worship for a Small Group

When I began leading worship in high school, I was the student chaplain and in charge of programming on my academy's campus. I led worship for large gatherings like our vespers and church services on campus. I learned very quickly how to be comfortable in front of a large group of people by doing this and it was valuable in my development as a worship leader, but I believe my experience in college further gave me experience and skills necessary to lead authentically.

When I got to my college campus, I immediately approached the chaplain on campus as well as local pastors, letting them know I was ready to lead worship at their church. Looking back... that seems pretty cocky, but it is what it is! Haha! Of course, none of them called or emailed this freshman they just met to come lead their congregation in worship. However, the campus chaplain recommended I attend a small group that was meeting in the student center every Sabbath morning and offer to lead a song there - so I did, that very weekend.

It went well and so began my experience as a small group worship leader.

I did that for a few months and began leading worship for another small group that met on a weeknight as well... and eventually a in several other small group settings.

In those small groups, I learned a lot about worship leading. The small, intimate setting creates an inescapable confrontation of your own heart, with the hearts of those present. You can't perform for a small group. They are literally 5 feet from you. They see every expression and sense any discomfort, nervousness or vulnerability. You cannot mask it.

As the worship leader, you too can receive immediate feedback from those you lead. You know exactly who is singing... who is worshiping. You can tell whether or not your song selection is on point by how engaged the group is (rather than how great your band sounds!).

To this day, I embrace leading small groups as I would a large group. I put in just as much personal preparation and intentionality. Each month I lead worship for our mid-week "service" at New Hope, which only has 5-20 attendees about once or twice. It's a great opportunity for me to get more personal with some of the most spiritually hungry attendees of our church. I encourage every young worship leader that I mentor to do the same and grow from their experience.

Learning to lead for a small group of people has only increased my abilities to lead for the larger congregations. It has helped me remember to be humble, yet convicted when I lead. To always consider those that I'm leading when I choose songs, which will fill their mouths with a conversation with God. It has helped me understand how to lead a group of people on an authentic journey of adoration and growth; not just "song service" or a performing a "worship set."

Feedback from the Congregation

I get a lot of feedback from my congregation about the worship. It's not a bad thing, but its unfortunate that the few vocal individuals are usually extremely supportive or extremely critical. It makes me think that the truth is somewhere in the middle and I'd really love to hear the thoughts and preferences of those that might be of more moderate opinion.

In an attempt to do that, I've recently launched a survey via Zoomerang. There are a few key questions about the genre and 3 pages that feature a song and specific questions about that songs singability, instrumentation and lyrical content. I hope to get some great insights that will help me get outside the bubble of the worship team.

If you attend New Hope and would like to answer the questions on the survey, click this link.

If you do not attend New Hope, but would like to see the questions, click this link.

I'll report on the results in a couple weeks.

Cornerstone Song - "Jesus Saves"

New Hope’s vision statement is “to be an irresistible influence in our community” and this weekend we’ll be digging into what that really means. As we do this, I think we need to ask ourselves as a community and as individuals, “how am I influencing the community?”

The longstanding and proven method of sharing a testimony or biblical truths with a friend is what we traditionally think of as sharing the good news, but its not the only way. As St. Francis of Assisi put it, “Preach the gospel always, and when necessary use words.”

The way that we live and interact with people tells them something about who we are and what we believe. In fact, that’s exactly what Jesus asked us to do in John 13:34-35. “A new command I give you: Love one another. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Let’s tell the world with our worship, our words and with our lives that “Jesus Saves!” Use every conversation to show people that you have been transformed from a selfish human to a servant of the Living God. They will know us by our love.

*Written for the bulletin for February 5, 2011 at New Hope Adventist Church