Changes.
As a famous songwriter once wrote, “The times they are a changin.” This statement is applicable probably more than ever in my wife’s life and mine. My name is Josh Poore, and I just graduated from college about a month and a half ago. About three weeks ago I got married, about a week and a half ago we moved to Birmingham from Jackson, MS, and a week ago I started working at The Church at Brook Hills. It’s been pretty fast and furious for Lydia and me, as one can imagine. However, through experiencing all of these physical changes in our lives, I have been reminded of a couple important spiritual truths: a) I am consistently inconsistent, and b) God is sovereign and never changes.
Just like the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, I am constantly thrilled and enticed by other things that claim they can satisfy my soul. As a result I find myself pursuing these things that are themselves like me, changeable. It’s like “striving after wind,” as Solomon describes it in the book of Ecclesiastes, and not at all satisfying. On the flipside…
God is eternally unchanging, as He Himself says in Malachi 3:6, which is contradictory to how, in the next verse, He describes Israel, who has “turned aside” from God’s “statutes.” However, there is hope, as He continues in verse 7: “Return to me, and I will return to You.” The truth here is both inescapable and beautiful: only when I, who am constantly moving, remember and submit to the fact that I am anchored by God, who is eternally immovable, can I truly have peace in this life.
I think the same truths apply for music in worship services. As we all know, worship music is constantly changing, but the subject of these songs must always be our everlasting and unchanging God.
The hope I have for my family and ministry at Brook Hills is that we may always cling to Christ, who is the solid rock. “All other ground is sinking sand.”
What’s Next?
We welcome two new interns this week and I wanted to take the opportunity to dive into why it is a priority for us to invest in the next generation.
Last Friday, a few guys from our staff returned from a conference in Chicago. Darlene Zschech spoke about this topic during one of our sessions and my heart was almost shouting an audible ‘AMEN!’ This is not a new concept for us at Brook Hills. We have been making a very intentional shift towards disciple-making and away from kingdom building (our own kingdoms). But, it was encouraging to see someone of great influence among worship leaders globally, speaking with the same voice. It was also beautiful to hear how this has played out in the life of a ministry who has made discipleship a priority for over a decade. Since many of you probably didn’t have the privilege to hear her, I will try to summarize her comments here and add some thoughts of mine as well.
I believe we are at a place in the global church, where the harvest is coming at us like never before. This puts us as leaders at a crossroads. We can either choose to continue building our own kingdoms, or we can choose to empower those coming behind us.
We, meaning anyone currently leading in ministry, need to realize the importance of reproducing. This is vital whether you are 20, 40 or 60. This doesn’t need to be something that threatens us, but instead shows us that our finest days are ahead. What a privilege we have to become a bridge for future ministers to cross–headed to places we never even dreamed.
All throughout scripture, we see that God’s plan is for His people to pass His work from generation to generation. Here are a few places found in Psalms.
Psalm 45:16-17
Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land. I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.
Psalm 71:16-18
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.
Psalm 145:1-13
I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.
All of these passages show the beauty that is reproduction ministry. We must realize we are one more link in a chain. Just as we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, let us hold high those who will follow us. May they find us faithul with the calling on our lives.
Check back later for Part 2 of this post. Trying not to be too longwinded.
Planning Ahead
It is a constant challenge for us to plan upcoming worship services prayerfully, biblically, creatively, and far enough in advance that we are not too constrained by time. We’ve gotten pretty good at looking 4 weeks out to generate ideas, and then we focus the lens a little more each week so that we are pretty much set 1-2 weeks ahead. We work with our pastor to make sure we know where God is leading him in the weeks ahead so that we can support as best we can where he is going to be and what best conveys God’s message each week. However, putting together a 22 minute video piece combined with scripture recitation and live music with a click track in two weeks is not abnormal with our team.
Excel has been the easiest program for us to use for planning and creating orders of worship, but lately we’ve been toying with something new. Planningcenteronline.com is a web-based program that allows you to plan and create worship orders for use on Sundays. While this does somewhat re-invent the wheel for us (again, yay Excel), the really cool part is the volunteer coordination tool. We can upload all of our volunteers and then schedule them through the website. Then they can view upcoming worship orders. Band and vocal volunteers can even download music, eliminating the need for us to create rehearsal CDs and packets each week. You can schedule reminder emails for services and rehearsals that are sent out automatically. When someone responds that they are unable to volunteer, the program generates a list of people from your database that have the same skill you’re looking for and whether or not those people are available on the date you need. This program basically integrates aspects of Excel, iCal and iTunes and houses them in one central location.
Although we are not quite ready to launch this with our volunteers, we should be up and running soon. I’ll keep you posted on how it works. In the meantime, check it out and see if it could work for you.