Did the worship guy really say “too many Bible studies”?….yes I did…and here is what I meant…
I had the tremendous privilege to preach this past weekend. We just started a new series called “STUCK” and my topic was stress…go figure! I am the poster child of what an “internal-izer” looks like. I was one of those guys that said “nah I don’t sweat that small stuff” and keep it all inside until those little mini explosions and lots of unnecessary casualties. If I would have learned to take care of some of these stresses the moment they happened then a lot of files labeled “Time Wasted” would not be in my hard drive of my life.
We looked at Proverbs 3:1-8. Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of my favorite passages. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will direct your paths and keep them straight” We learned that there are two things this passage asks us to do before we trust God to direct our paths. Believe and be in the Word (Breathe) …Obey and live out your love and faith (Move)….then Trust in the Lord for direction (Let Go) There are some instructions given to us before we turn all our plans over to God.
We must be in God’s word…personal study time…we need to know what God’s word says and even doesn’t say! Psalms says God’s word is like a “lamp to our feet and a light for our path.” Psalm 119
We must do something with our beliefs…we must demonstrate our love and faith. The book of James says we must put our faith in to action to make it complete. James 2 The demons know the Word of God like the back of their hands (or claws or whatever they have) ….and they shudder with what awaits them
Trusting God to direct our lives after following these steps keeps us from stressing the little stuff. It also prepares us for the Dis-stressing times that may will come
OK…here is where the worship guy may have been misunderstood…OK OK OK to be honest I have been stressing that I was misunderstood. I shared on Sunday that I was in discussion with someone who said they were stressing that they felt like they weren’t growing, didn’t have enough time to make a difference, and they didn’t trust God enough and felt guilty about it. I asked if they were in a Bible study or small group or personal study of some sort. They said they were in three Bible studies! I gently asked them how many studies do they need to make a difference? What? Yes…How many studies do you need before you see you should be doing something with your knowledge and faith that you have attained by these studies? My point was knowledge of Scripture doesn’t mean a thing unless it lived out some way. Is 3 Bible Studies to many?….absolutely not! If not one of those studies motivates you to live out your faith….then you are in 3 too many! That was my point. We can never study the Bible too much and we must never stop. I am still amazed how I can read a passage that I have read over and over and still learn something new and fresh the next time.
Jesus encountered extreme Bible study majors in His day. They were called Pharicees. They did absolutely nothing with their knowledge of Scripture other than try to trap Jesus and others with their systems and interpretations of the Law. Jesus called them a brood of vipers.
In the context of stress and my sermon I was trying to encourage people to remove the clutter of their lives so they can focus on the three points of the message Breathing, Moving and Trusting….Be in the Word….Live out the Word … Trust the Word
Did the worship guy really say “too many Bible studies”?….yes I did…and that is what I meant
until we meet again
-the worship guy-Ric
I would welcome your comments especially your stories of how you have learned to put your faith in action.
On Saturday April 7th 2012, my church family at Hope Summit hosted the largest event in our church’s history. Over 5,000 people came to watch a helicopter drop thousands of eggs on to a field at Mayo High School. 2,000 plus kids then invaded that field and gathered all the eggs in eager anticipation of candy treats and even more goodies when they turned in their eggs. One of the bigger causes that drove this event was Operation Hometown Gratitude. Families were encouraged to bring care packages for our Troops stationed all over the world. Thousands of items worth thousands of dollars are now ready to brighten the days of our men and women who wear the uniform.
I am amazed at what a common goal does to bring people together from all backgrounds and ages. Differences and opinions are set aside that do not matter in the big picture. Joy, celebration and excitement is palpable. People share some of their resources to come to the aid of others.
On Sunday Hope Summit Church had a powerful celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. It was great. It was amazing. It was an Easter to remember. Songs and words of hope were shared at three services. Pastor Frank shared in his message that the resurrection of Jesus must impact our here and now and not just the hereafter. Then it hit me like a fresh wind. This Chop Drop reminded me of our church. I am amazed at what a common goal…Jesus Christ… does to bring people together from all backgrounds and ages. Differences and opinions are set aside that do not matter in the big picture. Joy, celebration and excitement is palpable. People share some of their resources to come to the aid of others and to spread the message of Jesus even further.
This is a church that the Resurrection of Jesus has impacted their here and now….not just the hereafter. The impact of this community event is barely visible yet. I can hardly wait to hear some of the stories of the troops who were impacted by Chop Drop 2012! The world is longing for a demonstration of an authentic community in action. It truly is amazing what the resurrection of Jesus does to people who want to make a difference.
Look what it did to 150 plus volunteers…One Resurrection gathered 5000 people together to watch a Chopper drop 30,000 eggs to help hundreds of service men and women. I love this kind of church do you? May we find more and more ways for the Resurrection of Jesus to impact our here and now!
After a powerful day of worship, this worship pastor’s achille’s tendon is a negative email waiting for him after he gets home. I know… I know… I should take the advice of other leaders who “unplug” themselves for the rest of the day. Just take some time to focus on the day, reflect on things learned, and just relax….yeah right! You don’t know what the little red blinking light does to me on my cell phone. I must read this because someone is contacting me! I must contact them back asap. I…must…open…now! (My James T Kirk impression)
So this worship pastor opens the email and finds some criticisms and gets knocked off the tracks…the TRAIN DERAILS….can’t stop thinking about the wording…can’t stop trying to figure out why they would say what they said…in some instances try to figure out who they are (you know the unsigned ones)..trying to find code words for even more personal criticism…gets very defensive…feels worthless…wants to quit AGAIN…looks at the dog and wishes they could trade places!
You know what I am talking about…come on worship people admit it…you have been there. You have a stash of those emails and comment cards stored somewhere. It’s like keeping stitches and bandages that have been removed from wounds…OK maybe not. I admit it…in fact happened to me today! I have a confession to make, the responses I referred to above used to be this worship pastor… not anymore. Don’t get me wrong I still am affected by negative comments…I just have learned some things along the way. I just want to learn to be a better person from any suggestions, comments and actions directed to me…negative or postive. I want to share some things I have learned and hopefully will help you. You don’t have to be a worship pastor either to try these.
number one: never ever respond to an unsigned comment card, letter or email. You may ask well how can I respond if I don’t know who they are? Exactly…so don’t. Actually I take that back. There is one and only one response to unsigned comments…delete or throw away. If someone is not willing to sign their cristicism then they are not willing to help you with coming to a solution. Their only intent is to hurt. So remove the venom and stinger from the scorpion
number two: Read the comment several times…not to find other hidden messages or more criticism…but to make sure you understand to the best of your abilities what is being said. Leave emotion out of it if at all possible. Don’t start wanting to trade your life with your dog yet…be honest do you know how boring a dog’s life is? After you think you understand the basic questions or concerns, start to jot down some responses and possible solutions. Try to stay positive and not just fire back a thesis on why they are so wrong and why you are so right.
number three: If the comment is an email, only respond back with an email one time. Cover the points briefly but try to steer them to a personal meeting. I could have saved a lot of heart ache, sleepless nights, and paranoia from my dog if I would have been brave enought to talk to people in person right away. This is hard and will take time. It is so hard to judge people’s motives on paper or on notes. Since I have really focussed on this approach I have found that some areas of concern and criticism really were just a lack of understanding and communication. Sometimes the “reasons we do things this way here” need extra effort and willingness on my part. Don’t expect everyone to just get without explaining it. You may find you now have an ally and a spokesman or you may just agree to disagree…either way efforts on both sides go a long way
number four: don’t get mad or even. Get excited about what God is doing in your church and make sure you are as contagious as possible. The quickest way to help someone overcome negativity is show them the fruit. If they are still negative over and over again, maybe they are not really concerned about solutions or maybe they are not really excited about anything. Maybe personal preferences trump anything so there is no need to waste any more time. That was harsh but the sooner you know when to hold ‘em or fold ‘em or walk away as the great philosopher Kenny Rogers says, the better.
number five: Make sure your team keeps you honest. Don’t surround yourself people who just say “yes” to you. Surround yourself with people who say “yes” to Jesus. Surround yourself with “vision” people who are willing to walk the talk with you.
number six: exercise and eat better and eat your fruits and vegetables. This may sound trivial but it works. Those of you who are “internalizers” like me need to find ways to “de-stress” better. Since I have started an organized program I find that my mind is clearer, I am more willing to go the extra step for people, I’m less apt to “snap”, and my dog is not so paranoid anymore!
is the worship and arts pastor at hope summit church in rochester, mn
...has been known as the worship guy " for 20 years
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I had the tremendous privilege to preach this past weekend. We just started a new series called “STUCK” and my topic was stress…go figure! I am the poster child of what an “internal-izer” looks like. I was one of those guys that said “nah I don’t sweat that small stuff” and keep it all inside until those little mini explosions and lots of unnecessary casualties. If I would have learned to take care of some of these stresses the moment they happened then a lot of files labeled “Time Wasted” would not be in my hard drive of my life.
