Today’s service was an update of Pastor Jeff’s Olympic trip. He has spent the past 11 days in Vancouver at the Winter Olympics. He went with a group called AMI Sports Chaplains. This was his 6th trip. The sermon time was given to him to share stories and pictures about his journey and the opportunities he was given to share Christ at the games. I also put together a video of pictures he sent to me for a mission moment. Here were today’s songs.

Everlasting God

Be Thou My Vision

You Alone (Crowder)

Come Just As You Are-Response

It turned out to be a decent service. I had a good time and the people really seemed to connect with the message from today. Tonight we will be bringing back the Engage worship service at CKBC. This is the contemporary service that was started last year that was revamped over the past few months. We are bringing it back this evening and there’s much excitement. I don’t know what we’re singing there yet, or I’d tell you. Maybe later.

Pastor Jeff\’s Olympic Adventure If you want to check it out, here’s a link to the video shown in the service this morning. Hope you enjoy it! Be blessed today.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:9

Now, I’m going to ask for a little bit of blogger/preacher/I’m writing this to make my point and you’re not leeway. This thought came to me today as I was spending some time this morning with my great friend, sister, and mind-sharer, Danielle Endejan. As we were talking about life and the struggles and joys, she said something that struck me. She said that she hated that she was so stupid and that she wished she would just be able to get the things that God has shown her so she can move on. Right at that instant I had a gospel moment. We are God’s sheep and He wants to lead us. We get in trouble when we think we know the way and try to lead ourselves. Then we run into walls and fall off cliffs and stuff like that. The beauty in the falling is that He is always there to catch us. After He catches us, He gently points us back in the right direction. His delights in us even when we are stupid and continue to try and do our own thing. What I said to Danielle is that His brilliance is my greater in our stupidity. I know that I have done some stupid things in my lifetime in the name of helping people or being ‘that’ guy. You know, the helper guy that everyone comes to. There are a few times that I get this right, and it’s not because of anything I’ve done. It’s mostly because there are SO many times that I mess things up because I’m trying to work on my own power and I end up doing more harm than good…so I think. But sometimes those situations get turned around for good and then I realize that God just made himself look brilliant in my stupidity. I have had to learn that it’s okay for me to make God look brilliant. I’m not that smart. My knowledge of ANYTHING comes straight from Him. He put it there. He sustains it. I’m not that good of a songwriter. I’ve tried to do that on my own. I stink. But when I take the time to focus on what God wants to say through me, it generally comes out so much better. I am sooooo okay with that.

Are you able to take glory in your stupidity? Are you ready to embrace your inner sheep? What things have you done that were really stupid that God turned into something great? Are you willing to accept that it’s not about your amazing ability to do anything and that it’s waaaay more about how masterful and intricate the thoughts of God really are? That’s a big thing to let go of in your mind. I know it is because I struggle with it everyday. My brain partner Danielle struggles with it everyday. She is probably dealing with it right now as I type this at almost midnight on Friday. But it doesn’t stop God from being God. The question is whether or not you will let Him do His thing through you, or will you be stupid enough to keep trying to do it yourself?

I am a musical director at Missouri Baptist University, which means that I spend a lot of time around college students. I have lots of friends there from my time as a student as well. Right now they are coming near to the end of their semester and you can tell that they are starting to feel it. You ask them how things are going and they all give this sigh that says, “I’m so tired of this year and I’m ready to be done.” It seems like only yesterday was August and school was starting up and everyone was excited. Now they are all begging for a break. Spring break is coming in a couple weeks and they are all looking for a break in the action, no matter how small. School for so many students means more than just homework and classes. It means being a part of groups, sports, student government, student ministries (if they attend a faith based school) and who knows what else. They get to the point where they need a break just to sort out their brains and take some time to rest and refocus. There is a goal at hand, and sometimes they can get so busy that they lose that focus and become frustrated with life.

That got me to thinking about my life now that I’m not in school. Right now I am looking for some sort of an opportunity to get away as well. Why? Well, I’ve got a lot of things going on and I realized that I have gotten away from the things that I need to be focused on. I wrote the other day about being able to spend time with my wife putting together bunk beds for my girls. That was a break from the norm for me and I loved it! Sometimes I sit down at the end of the day and think about all the stuff that I DIDN’T do that was 20 times more important than some of the things that I actually did. At that point I know that I’m not focused on my goal. What is my goal? My goal is to glorify God in everything that I do. To truly live a worship filled life. I’m not saying that I’m out doing terribly ungodly things, but I can get sidetracked by the busy things and, as a result, push out the things that really allow me to focus on the my relationship with Christ. It is so easy to do. Little by little you let the distractions of life in and before you know it, you’ve missed like 11 straight days of your daily Bible reading (self confession), and you aren’t writing your daily blog (self confession) and you aren’t sitting down to write music like you should (another self confession). The things that you use to focus on God are just non existent and you don’t know when it happened.

Do you have trouble staying focused on your goal? Do you need to step back and reevaluate where you are right now? Are you so busy with the things around you that you aren’t even facing the right way anymore? I’ve been there and I know what that feels like. What do you do to refocus? I’d like to hear your methods.

This is a little bit off the norm for my posts, but I had to write about this today because it was so fun. I also am writing about this because it was something that I have continuously prayed for. Yesterday a group of boxes containing my daughter’s previously purchased bunk beds came in the mail. They needed to be put together, but Tuesdays are busy days for me so I wasn’t at home. However, Wednesdays are busier than Tuesdays, so I knew that I had to get this bed put up last night. So what did I do? I stopped at QuikTrip and got lots of caffeine and Cheetos (essential building materials) and headed home after choir rehearsal. This project finally got started around 11:15pm. For any of you who have ever built anything from wood pieces in a box, you know that you need more than an hour to put this together. And that proved true again in my life as we didn’t finish this project until 3 in the morning.

There were 2 things that came as a result of this endeavor. 1, my girls think I’m the greatest thing ever because I put their beds together while they were sleep. The other thing that was really cool was that I got to spend some quality time with my wife. I don’t always get to do that as much as I would like. It was a really special time for us and we got to do that together. Of course we were hyped up on fake sugar and fried air, but it was worth it to do something for our girls AND spend that time together.

I learned again last night that I don’t have to buy a whole bunch of stuff to be a hero or someone special in my family. It’s all about the time. I spent time with my girls and I spent time with my wife and I am officially a hero. Even better than being a hero, I’m a husband and a daddy. That’s probably the coolest thing.

Enrich- 3. to add greater value or significance to: Art enriches life.

I use this word in the tagline and vision of worship180 for a reason. No the reason is NOT because it is an ‘E’ word that fit with the other two. That came after the idea. But it’s because of this definition. To enrich something is to add significance to it. To take what was there and make it better. Translate this to the body of Christ and it opens up a little more. I can do some things on my own. I’m pretty good at a few things. But when I bring my list of gifts to the body and add them with everyone else’s, they get enhanced.

I’ve experienced this is a real tangible way last week. I believe I actually wrote a little about this, but I reiterate it again because it fits this theme. I just finished wrapping up a pretty cool song with my friend, Brittany Howard. I consider myself a decent songwriter, even though I’ve been in a bit of a drought. I know that Britt would consider herself a decent writer as well. We came together for a second time to write a song after the first time worked pretty well (the song is, Lift Me was written by the both of us). I must say, this time was pretty tough knowing what we were writing for, but we still had to do it. There were a few frustrating sessions where we basically came away with nothing, but we kept going. This past Friday afternoon was one of the most rewarding times for me as a writer when that last word was written and we played through a whole, completed song. Not only was it cool to finish the song, but it was even better because the my writing experience was enriched by my friend.

This is just one example of how relationships within the body can be used to enrich those involved. Do you have any experiences like this? Do you have any that you would share?

Devos. Quiet Times. Bible Study. Whatever you call them, we all strive to do them. But why? Why is it that we are all so bent on making sure we get these times in on a daily basis? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that this is a bad thing. I mean, I work hard at trying to spend that daily time with God as well. I just remember a few years back wondering just WHY I was doing it. I was struggling with the idea that it had become just a part of the daily routine and not something that I was doing to actually look to spend time with God and really have an encounter with Him. And when something becomes a simple routine for me, it generally gets knocked out of the box because I get bored. I have struggled with this off and on for my whole Christian life. Lately, I have really tried to focus more on the opportunity to spend time with someone I love that loves me that much more. This has really changed my perspective. When I take the time daily to spend with God, it makes me totally happy. When I don’t take the time to do that, I’m pretty much messed up. This has seemed to help me seeing that I am such a social person. This is the time that I get to hang out with God.

Have you ever stopped to think about the purpose of your quiet times and devotions? Have you built yourself into a rut because this is something that you are ‘supposed’ to do? Or are your times spent with God purposeful and meaningful and special where you go expecting to hear from Him and you expect to be led? I’ve been on both sides and I tell you, I love being in the place where that time is special and meaningful. I had just dealt with this and I thought that I’d put this thought in your heads as well…

I said that I was going to try to write a response to this morning’s service. I was reminded by my friend Tara that I needed to. I felt sort of pressured into it, but you don’t fight short people.

This morning was interesting. I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out, but it ended up working okay. The church really seemed to engage with the whole theme of Black History Celebration. There were a couple things that didn’t work out the way that I would have liked, but the songs went pretty well. I even had to step up and play a song that I didn’t know for a woman who sang an impromptu solo. Tara, I hope this helps you and you’re satisfied with this response. If it’s too vague for you (which I sort of left it that way), you can always just ask me when you see me again. Have a good Monday morning! There will be a new blog waiting for you.

This one should be fun, or funny. I haven’t done many Black History Month Celebration Services at church. Mostly because I’ve been in mostly African American churches for the better part of my life. Either way, I don’t really know what to expect this morning. This could either be really cool or really awkward. I really don’t know. Here’s the set.

Opening Song- Lift Every Voice and Sing

Bless that Wonderful Name of Jesus

What A Mighty God We Serve

I Worship You Almighty God

Again, I don’t really know how this will play out. I may have to write a response to the service later today…

It’s your big solo. You’ve practiced for weeks to hit all the right notes. Your powerful bridge is to die for. You’re about to knock this thing out of the park. The intro starts and the anticipation builds. You open your mouth to sing and…absolutely nothing comes out. You keep trying because you’re supposed to sing and everyone is looking at you and expecting you to sing, but there’s nothing. What’s even worse than that, when something does come out, it’s that mousy squeak that you never want to hear. It is such an embarrassing moment and it seems like it last for 6 years and you feel 3 inches tall and you run and hide and you try to rip out your vocals chords. Okay that’s a little extreme, but as a singer that’s sort of how it feels.

I share this because it happened to me last Sunday. I was singing at my church and I had been fighting a cold all last week. I got ready to sing a song in preparation for the sermon and it just wasn’t there anymore. This song felt as if it lasted for 20 minutes. Not only was I vocally shot, but my confidence was gone and started forgetting words. Here’s how you know when you didn’t do that well…when it was over the pastor says something like “we appreciate your dedication for coming out even when you were so sick”. That’s not a compliment on how well you did. That is more of a comment to say, we know you tried but you weren’t that good. Now Jeff may read this and think that he didn’t say that, but it was similar. Hey, sometimes those of us who sing for a living have days where we aren’t on top of our game. Last Sunday was DEFINITELY one of those for me.

Well, I don’t know the last time I’ve written one of these, but I’m rather excited about where things are right now. This has been a busy week for me. Not only are things moving along with the SpiritWing 25th Anniversary Reunion, but as well with music a little closer to home. I mentioned earlier this week (I think) that I was starting to put together some pieces that would allow me to record some music at home. That actually happened this week. I was able to purchase the music software for my computer and I was able to purchase the hardware that I needed to be able to use my keyboard to input the music and sounds that I’ve come to love. What does this all mean? It pretty much means that I finally am able to start the recording and producing process. I am so very excited to finally be working on a CD! There’s a bit of a buzz in our house right now as this starts to come together. I will definitely keep everyone posted, but this is big news for us. I also hope to take a writing day in the near future to write some new stuff as well. Thanks to everyone for your support as we’ve tried to get to this point. I would love your prayers as we try to make this work. I even bought a printer today that prints directly on CDs. This means that I need some of my graphic designing friends to help me come up with some cool designs. This is getting SO big in my brain!!!

I can only imagine how fun this is really going to be. I know it’s going to be tough too because I’ve never done this before. It’ll be a big learning process for me. I’ll try to post my progress for you. Once I get some good recordings I’ll be sure to put them here first. So thanks to all of you readers. I hope to reward you all soon.