Yesterday we talked about what it means to be a worship pastor and if any of you considered that person in your church a pastor or not. I got a few different responses to this. I also got a lot more questions, which is good. Today I want to continue that conversation because I personally think that there are a lot more questions out there about this. Like today’s question, who are they leading anyway?

Without thinking about it too much, I guess some would say that they are probably leading the band that plays with them. On Sunday mornings, they are the ones leading the people in the singing of songs. But I ask you, are you receiving any spiritual guidance from the worship pastor at your church? Do you know if you can? Do you even want to? Again, I know that there are different types of situations as I write this. Some of you may attend a large church where the worship person is not quite accessible. Some of you may attend a smaller church where one of the teens leads the singing. Do you feel as if you are being spiritually by the worship pastor? Or do you feel like they are just a name and a face? Do you feel that you could go to the worship pastor on a Tuesday and sit down and talk to him about anything?

I ask these questions because, as a worship leader, I’m always seeking to make myself better at the job that I do. Like I said before, I wonder what the perception of the worship pastor really is and if there’s a way to change it or justify it. I think that this allure has been created, this glamour status for the worship pastor that makes them almost unapproachable. Sometimes that makes it hard for people to really come to them at any point, Sunday or otherwise. Honestly, I haven’t been on the other side of this coin in a really long time so it’s hard for me to speak from that side as I sit here this morning. What I can say as a worship pastor who is still relatively unknown in his own church, sometimes we know a little bit more than we are given credit for.

We want to be able to share our hearts for worship as well as what has been placed in our minds from what we have heard or read from others. We want to pray for you and with you. We have a heart to see people engaged in true worship that reaches the core of who we are and transforms hearts. You may say, how in the world can that be pulled off in 15-20 minutes on a Sunday morning? Well, it’s not easy but that’s what we are trying to accomplish each and every week. That’s also part of the reason why we craft an entire service behind the scenes. We want to make sure that the message is reinforced from start to finish.

Am I speaking for each and every person that does what I do? Definitely not. Can I know for sure that they all think this way? Not at all. But I know some that share that desire and they are dang good at it. You’d be surprised at what your worship pastor would have to say if you sat down and talked to them. So the question again is, who are these worship leaders leading. The other question could be, are you allowing them to lead you? What are your thoughts? Let me hear them.

So I have to apologize before I really get into this because a lot has happened since I wrote that title. First off, I will say that I have been really productive this week. I started this week getting up early which is something that I’ve wanted to do for awhile. It has allowed me to really get some things done. I’ve written my own chord charts for my singers and musicians for the upcoming concerts. I’ve had 4 rehearsals (not including the one I’m getting ready to attend), and I’ve been doing a lot of stuff in preparation.

Here’s what I haven’t done so far…I haven’t finished the song for my brother in law’s wedding and I haven’t written out the cello and viola parts for the people who will be playing with me. I need to do that. I also have yet to find a job. So my ‘productivity’ seems a little bit hindered in my own mind.

My wife’s new idea is that I do a piano CD of songs that I could record. That would take some money, but not as much as it would take for a full blown project. I have thought about doing something like this. I’ve also thought about getting some equipment to record somet things at home. I don’t know how I would pull it off, but I would love to have some stuff at home to work with.

All of this to say…I’m really feeling discouraged as of late. Earlier this week, my facebook status said something about me having a fragile heart that I continue to put out there knowing that it could be crushed at any moment. Right now I’m feeling totally crushed. I feel that even though I’m working hard on getting music ready for concerts and worship stuff that no one will care and that it will all fall flat. I’m TOTALLY scared that I’m not going to be effective and that I’m wasting time and money on something pointless. Sometimes I question why I’m a musician. I struggle with it even more when I see friends around me who are doing the things that I would love to do. It’s not really a jealousy issue, but I wonder if I missed my chance because I see so many other around me who have made the move. Anyway, like I said, I’m a little discouraged.

And now that I’ve TOTALLY negatively promoted myself, I have a concert that is a little more than a week away at TimberRidge Community Church. Please come out if you can. I’ll have more info up about it as the time comes.

Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow, blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name when I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious name…”Beth & Matt Redman

I shared this yesterday during the worship gathering at Grace Community Chapel yesterday. I don’t think I had really though about it until then, but this is how I’m feeling right now. This is a trying time for me and my family. We are trying to stay focused on what God has for us, but it seems so far away that we don’t really know what we’re focusing on right now. This has been a really tough road for us. For me, it feels like Sunday mornings that we get to worship with others fall within the streams of abundance and the sun that’s shining down. It’s the rest of the week that feels like the wilderness. That’s when we are at home trying to make a couple dollars stretch to pay tons of bills. And when we are doing all we can to keep the hope and faith that God is going to do what He said.

I would be lying completely if I said that this was not a scary time for the Walls’ family right now. However, I can say that we are trying our best to say Blessed be the name of the Lord in all times. We are SOOOOOOOO grateful for the amazing time we experienced with the GCC family yesterday. God really did some powerful things during that service and touched a lot of people. I was impacted as well by the response that the congregation showed us. So thanks, GCC for sharing your love with me and my family yesterday.

Lastly, I would ask all of you to continue to pray for us. As of right now, we don’t have the line up of churches to play for in the month of August as we did for June and July. We will be leading at First E-Free on August 2nd. After that, I might just start holding worship services and concerts in my living room. Who knows? Have a blessed day and week friends. There are a few things in my head, so you’ll more than likely hear from me again this week…

So, I was thinking earlier today that I have had a lot going on lately and hadn’t really told you everything. I think I can get through it all now. This has been a tough week for me, but God is still good. So here we go…

First things first, Eva and I have come to the conclusion that it is time for us to move forward from our current church. Gateway to Grace has been an amazing church. They have shown nothing but love for my family and I for the past 3 years. It has been a tough decision, but God has led us through to this point. Keep praying for us as we make decisions…

Secondly, I’m so excited about what’s coming up next Friday! Story::Song::Life is going to be amazing! God is really pulling some things together and we are completely excited about it this thing. Quick breakdown: This is about songwriters and how we tell our stories through words and songs. This one is going to be so cool because I’m going to be sharing the stage with 3 amazing writers, Eric Bausell, Christy Kelly and Brittany Howard. The goal is for this to be an opportunity for writers to get together, and share this art and their stories. If you’re free February 20th at 7pm, find your way to West Hills Community Church in Town and Country. If you want more information, you can email me at harry.walls4@gmail.com or you can catch up with us at storysonglife@gmail.com. We are in the process of creating a blog for the group as well. I will keep you posted.

Speaking of great things in the works…

I am in the beginning stages of starting to write songs with my aforementioned friend Eric. We have talked about it for awhile and now, we are getting ready to start putting our brains together and see what happens.

Oh, before I forget, Friday night will be videotaped AND we are having an audio recording. This could be an awesome, groundbreaking night and you could be a part of it. Think of it that way…

See? I told you I had a lot of stuff. I’m sure that I’m forgetting something, but that’s all I can think of right now. Thanks to all of you who take the time to actually read what I have to say. I appreciate each and every one of you. Thanks for making me feel somewhat important by keeping up with my life. Be blessed!

So I’m sitting here on campus while I watch the ice fall from the sky. I’m also trying to figure out why I’m here. But that’s beside the point now. I’m writing now to tell you all about an event that’s coming up that I’m really excited about. We finally put it all together and have things in place for the first event that is being called story:song:life.  This event comes from the idea that songwriters are also storytellers and we are sharing our stories through music. It was also created as a way to bridge the gap between Christian and non-Christian songwriters and musicians. We are excited to see this thing take off. The first one will be February 20th at 7pm. It will be held at West Hills Community Church. The goal and desire is to have the event be held at different venues for the sake of variety and involving other people. If you want to hear more about it, be there Friday night. By the way, there’s going to be some good music, too. Along with myself, Brittany Howard, Eric Bausell and Christy Kelly will be performing that night. You don’t want to miss this at all, I promise. If you have any questions, email me at harry.walls4@gmail.com. I might even write something else about this as it gets closer because we are in the process of creating a site for this ministry. Stay tuned…