If you read this blog on a regular basis, I told you at the end of the year I had a resolution to listen to more music. I have started slow on that, but we are off and running now. My goal is to review a couple CD’s per month. I believe that I can support this music habit now so this should be fun. For February, I only have one to report. Fortunately for you, it’s a good one.

This month I am thoroughly enjoying the new CD by Adele titled 21. I’m not really sure where I’ve been for the past few years seeing that this is her second album. Either way, I’m glad that I ran across this one. I saw the video for Rolling In the Deep on a channel on the digital antenna that we have and was blown away by her voice. So I decided to take a risk on the whole CD. The last time I had done that was when I bought Sara Barellies ‘Little Voice’. And just like that time, I was SUPER happy that I made the purchase. 21 is solid from top to bottom with very few flaws. Maybe it’s her raw, old school, soulful voice. Maybe it’s the piano driven nature of the songs (I have been known to play a little piano myself). Maybe it’s all of the above and a little more. Whatever it is, I listened straight through from beginning to end and didn’t realize I had spent 51.5 minutes according to iTunes. The CD opens up with the aforementioned Rolling In The Deep and and her voice just explodes into the chorus. I fell in love with the song all over again. Her voice carries you all the way through the 12 songs with energy and intensity. It sits nicely on top of the musical arrangements that hang back simply and allow the power and shimmer of this 21 year old voice to do it’s job. No perfect example of that are the songs Turning Tables (my favorite) and Lovesong (favorite 1A).

I could listen to this CD repeatedly, which I have pretty much done since I bought it last week. The words and the vocals make me quite happy even though some of the musical arrangements don’t excite me as much. You won’t be disappointed if you spend money on this one. Grade: A-

Writing this week has been convicting to me. I generally try to write things about worship that are helpful and something that maybe hasn’t been thought about or something that isn’t talked about frequently. This week I went after myself because I did something I wasn’t proud of. At the same time I wanted to give others the opportunity to think about their own approach to worship. And this one is no different.

I’m sure by  now we  have ALLLLLLL heard the statement ‘Worship is a Lifestyle’. I remember the first time I heard that statement. It made so much sense to me as I’m sure it did to a lot of people. Over time that statement has become THAT statement. People now use it with the cliche disclaimer. You know which one. “I know it gets said a lot, but it’s still so true…” That disclaimer that says we have officially overused this once really cool statement to the point that people roll their eyes and tune out whenever we use it but we’re gonna use it right now anyway. I wonder sometimes if we have turned off the concept in our minds as well. I have always heard that Sunday morning should be a celebration of what has happened during the week. If that is the case then the question to ask is what have you been doing this week? Are we living lives of worship that are worth celebrating and sharing with other come Sunday morning? Just a little something to think about going into the weekend. Be blessed friends. Have a great weekend and share the joy of Christ with someone!

I’m thinking that tomorrow is gonna be my first album review of the year. I want to try and do one every month, but I didn’t buy anything last month. Anyway, be on the look out for that tomorrow.

For those of you that are counting out there (that would be me and me), this is post number 200! I wanted to do something special, but I didn’t have anything to give away or any of the cool stuff that was popping in my head. So this is a mental milestone for me. And that’s fine. If I keep pushing along maybe we’ll see something big happen at 300. I did, however decide that I would use this one as a challenge to you my readers and fellow worshipers. As I have observed church services, led church services, wrote about different experiences and been a part of different conversations, I’ve been constantly bombarded with this paradigm shift in worship. Some of it I understand. Some of it I don’t. Some of it I choose not to accept. So without going into all that again (read some of the posts and discussions from a month ago), I have made my own choice. I cannot be okay with where the bar is set. I sort of believe that it’s too low and is causing mediocrity in worship. Can I change the world? Well, not by myself. But can I change myself and directly affect those around me? Heck yeah! What does that look like for me? Well, this whole week has been written based on my one experience this week. I have a unique opportunity to directly inspire my own worship environment. I want to see what happens when I lead with true brokenness and redemption and worship and spirit and truth. Can my own display of worship induce true worship in others? Can I enrich my community of worshipers based on what I do from the stage? Well if I’m not mistaken, that’s what my job is. I guess maybe it’s time to be more intentional about it.

Do you agree that the worship bar in church has been lowered with time? Do you disagree? What do you see when you go to church? Do you think I’m expecting too much? Do you think you have the ability as a worshiper to affect the worship that happens around you on a weekly basis? Your thoughts are welcome and encouraged.

When my dad was little, out of all the things my grandfather used to say (and the stories are numerous as the sand) he had a signature line for his kids. “Remember that you’re a Walls” was what they heard every time they walked out the door. Now, all of my aunts and uncles didn’t adhere to this advice, but my father did. I’m not sure if they ever get the real meaning of that statement. However, they took it to mean that you’re a part of this family and we don’t just go out and do stupid stuff. Someone is watching you and waiting to see what you do. Do what you’ve been taught. My dad took this to heart and even instilled that concept into my life as a child. He didn’t always say the statement, but the message was ALWAYS made clear. When you leave this house you represent this family. Even more, you represent Christ, so don’t be stupid.

Yesterday, I talked about getting to the point where we can feel the freedom in church to worship like no one is watching. With that being said, I believe that the key to that statement is to realize that someone IS watching. I know those seem like opposing statements, so let me explain. We should all strive to connect with God, or shall I say ‘Encounter the Savior’ and do that regardless of what’s going on. But in worship situations, you aren’t the only one there. On a Sunday morning, it becomes a matter of worshiping with others, or ‘Enriching your community’. There is something special about worshiping with others. From my viewpoint, it is always very cool to look out and see people singing and praising and responding to the moment. There is another aspect to this that we sometimes overlook. On a regular basis there is (or should be) someone to walk in the doors of the church that have never been there before. What do they see? What do they experience? What is their idea of worship based on what they see you doing? I would venture to say that some of behaviors and methods in worship we see today come from a generation of people coming into church and mimicking what they saw when they came in the door for the first time. What are we sharing with people who have never entered the church before or haven’t come in a long time? Could it be that the things that we see today and may not like my be a result of what we’ve taught without knowing it?

We have a responsibility as Christians to worship the Creator. We also have a responsibility as hosts to show our guests a good time. When someone comes to your house one of the first things you say is “come in and make yourself at home”. We want people to come in and feel comfortable. We then give them a taste of what it’s like to be in our house. We invite them to be a part of the atmosphere that we create. In essence, we are doing the same thing when people come visit our churches. We are saying to them “come in and be a part of our family and join us in worship.” We invite people to become a part of our created atmosphere. What do they see once they get there? I think it’s something to think about because I can guarantee one thing…they are watching.

Bethany Dillon said it this way. “You are all I need when I’m surrounded. You are all I need when I’m by myself…” The constant in that line of the song was all she needed was Jesus. The situation didn’t matter. Just the fact that she was with Him. This song sort of fits with this post more than I thought when I was thinking about it in my head. I suggest you go and at least read the lyrics. Anyway, back to the story at hand…

Over the past few weeks at The Word at Shaw there have been a lot of cool things happening. We have new people coming. People are getting involved in many different ways. Women’s ministry had their first meeting this past weekend. Lots of good stuff. One of the things that is still just waiting to take off is a dynamic worship experience. I sit during the week like a head coach or an offensive coordinator trying to draw up the best scheme for the week that will fit with the rest of the service and help people worship the Creator. I’m reading a book right now by Ron Jaworski that looks at seven pivotal moments in football history that changed the game. If you love football, you MUST read this book. But I like it because it takes you into the minds of these football innovators. As I was reading this morning I thought how much I feel like that during the week. It also made me think of how frustrated I get when all that planning happens and the execution fails in my mind based on all the prep work.

But then a service like this past one happens and kicks me back into reality. I was really frustrated after Wednesday’s rehearsal and promptly changed the whole set Thursday morning. It hadn’t worked. Sunday morning’s run through was marginal at best in my mind. So I was ready to just push through and chalk this one up to a busted day for me. But before the service started I took some time alone and thought about what I was really there for. Worshiping God. This wasn’t my show or an audition. This was me doing what I love to do. Inviting people to worship with me. The beauty of that concept is this. I should already be worshiping. Meaning that if no one else shows up I’m already doing what I need to do. I thought back to some of my most memorable personal worship experiences-the ones in my living room when I’m by myself just me and God. I look up and I have been sitting there just playing for an hour when I only meant to sit there for 3 minutes to work something out in my head. I couldn’t care less who came into the room or stood there to watch me. I was celebrating with my creator. It reminds me of the passage in 2 Samuel when the Ark was brought back to the city of David. Verse 14 says “And David danced with all his might…” As you read further you read about how he didn’t care who was watching or what he was wearing. He even got criticized for the whole thing. But that didn’t stop him.

I believe that we as a people get so image conscious and people focused that we forget to truly engage with God. “What if someone hears me sing?” “What if I don’t know this song?” “Can I raise my hands?” “Why is he raising his hands?” It takes you 12 minutes to fight through these thoughts in your head and then you’ve basically thought away the whole song portion of a worship service. I think we have to have what I like to call a “shower mentality” to worship. We always talk about how people sing in the shower mostly because no one is there to hear us. How awesome would it be if we worshiped full out like that on a regular basis? Do you think that it might even enhance the worship service? One of my favorite worship leaders and “mentors from a distance”, Paul Baloche said at a conference I attended last year that it’s so easy to lead worship in a room full of worship leaders. They get it. They sing and they hold nothing back. One reason is because we generally know the songs. Also, there’s something amazing about being in a room where EVERYONE can sing. But I believe ultimately it’s because we know what we are hoping to have during a worship service and we can finally do that when we’re all together. It’s refreshing. So I wonder what would happen if this week you went into your worship experience and “danced with all your might” and worship like no one is watching…

First off, Happy Valentine’s Day to all you love birds out there. And for those of you like me, we know that tomorrow is the real celebration. Why, you ask? because of ALL that delicious candy goes on sale as the stores get ready for St. Patrick’s Day. One day I’ll have to share my candyholic holidays. But that’s another story for another time.

Today I’m talking about the Grammy Awards Show that came on last night. Here are a couple of things I’ve realized. I’ve realized that there are just some things that I will never understand. I don’t understand why we like Lady Gaga so much. I believe she has a decent voice. But everything after that makes me want to shoot myself in the face. Putting it nicely, of course. Being a visual person, it’s hard for me to get past an overwhelming visual display and get to the music. Of course, a couple times when I did that then I wasn’t impressed with the music that much. I think I’m just having a hard time accepting the music culture that I live in today. It’s hard for me to accept that auto tuning is just a part of life and that you don’t have to actually be able to sing to be a pop star. It’s will always be hard for me to understand why you would want to wear a peacock costume on stage at any performance. And even with his amazing lyrics over the course of time, I’m not sure why we ever gave Bob Dylan a mic. That was my funny for the day.

Anyway, all that to say I guess that as I get older I’ve found that groove that I like to sit in and I’m okay with that. NOT enough to where I won’t branch out because closed minded behavior hurts you in so many ways, but enough to say that I want music to be music. Period. So to wrap this one up. Here are a couple statements in review for The Grammys 2011:

1. I don’t mind Justin Bieber. Not saying I LIKE him, but I will give him his props.

2. As angry as he is and even with that vein that almost popped out of his forehead, Eminem is still a beast.

3. Rihanna kills it in studio, but is less than stellar live.

4. I am glad to see Gwyneth Paltrow make what I think is a successful transition from Oscar-winning actress to country music star. She’s a performer.

5. Lady Gaga scares me.

6. I want to like Katy Perry because girl has pipes.

7. As much as it will disappoint some of my friends, I am not a fan of Mumford & Sons. They were a solid group but just not my type.

8. Stolen from Derek Webb, Miranda Lambert’s dress made me nervous.

9. More and more I realize that it’s the country artists who seem to do a better job of singing live.

10. I gotta get out more musically so I can know who some of these people are when I watch shows like this. I spent a lot of time on the google machine last night. LOL

Bonus 11: I think Jaden Smith is gonna make more money than his dad in the end. Kid has talent.

I thought I’d use that as my attempt at being clever for the month of February. Unfortunately, it was not that good and it’s only the first. I’ll be asking for more opportunities for humor later on. Anyway, I have been sitting here most of the day just looking out the window and watching this thing we call weather do what it does. I’ve also been taking peeks at the news stations in the area and watching the pendulum swing from informative to a weird sense of panic and warning. I was in the store yesterday when I saw just what people do when they sense an emergency coming. You could find almost anything except bread, milk and D batteries. People are ready for what some are calling Snowpocalypse 2011. I think it’s great! It’s always something to watch people get moving towards something, even if it’s just preparing themselves for an upcoming storm. But it got me to thinking…

Are we moving that way towards Christ? Do we live with a sense of urgency for what He wants us to do? Are we engaging the world with Christ’s love and sharing with them that they need to know that Christ died for their sins and we have a solution for the questions in their hearts and minds? Everyone has been scrambling like crazy to take care of themselves over the past few days getting ready for this storm. Are we sharing that same sense of urgency when it comes to our lives? Even more importantly, are we then sharing that urgency with others who don’t have that relationship with Christ?

In other news, it has been quite awhile since I’ve seen THIS much ice fall from the sky. The streets here are amazing! Keep safe my friends. Stay inside and read some of my old posts, because you have NOTHING else to do, right?