This, in short, is a simple yet very effective way to address the problem of having your nose stuck in a music stand on stage.

Back in the old days of contemporary worship (the “old days” meaning just a couple of decades ago), worship teams were tied to a music stand that held paper music that was copied from a songbook or hymnal. If you were a guitar player or worship leader, you might have a chord chart consisting of only words and chords. This is how I led worship for many years in a former ministry: a control sheet (detailed order of service) and a bunch of chord charts sitting on the stand. For a long time I put the chord charts in a notebook and would have to flip the pages every couple of songs. Our worship team vocalists did the same thing.

The problem with being tied to the items on your music stand is that it puts an emotional barrier between you and the congregation. When you’re constantly worried about playing the right chords or singing the right words,you can’t focus on the more important task at hand. You are more concerned about the technicalities of worship leading than the spiritual dynamics of what is happening in the congregation.

I should point out that is a small but important distinction between the worship team and the worship band. The worship consists of the worship leader and the vocalists (or worship choir, if you use one). The worship band, of course, are the instrumentalists. It’s almost inevitable that the band will have some form of sheet music or charts. While they should be well-rehearsed, there’s no critical need for them to memorize their music. (But as a general rule, the better they know their music, the more fully they can enter into worship. The instrumentalists are leading worship through their example.)

The worship leader and vocalists, on the other hand, should try to remove any barriers that keep them from engaging with the congregation and with God. (When the worship leaders aren’t engaged, the people in turn don’t engage in worship very well.) At our church, the vocalists don’t use music stands at all, but we have the words projected on the back wall. (This is a mirror image of what the congregation sees, except in the case of special music as noted above.) It does mean you need to have your vocal parts memorized. But once you do this a few times, it’s no sweat.

Even when I play guitar on the worship team, I do my best to have all the music memorized. I still use a music stand to hold a control sheet and chord charts just in case, but even as an instrumentalist I find it very freeing to not rely on any charts or written music. (This would probably be impossible for instrumentalists that rely on sheet music.)

Even when I’m in situations where there is no projection in the back of the sanctuary, I try to rely on the music as little as possible when I’m leading worship. I have found the extra preparation to be well worth it because I can focus on actually leading worship instead of getting bogged down in musical details. I certainly don’t do it perfectly, but once I started doing this I began to enjoy leading and playing even more.

Questions: How can you help your worship team (and yourself) commit more of their worship set to memory? Has your church considered installing a projector in the back of the sanctuary just for the worship team? If you already do this, how it is working?

There’s really no way to measure or quantify the influence you have on someone’s life, but just for kicks, I wanted to estimate the number of hours I’ve spent with these guys since their freshmen year. This is not only face-to-face time in class, but also time spent doing homework for my classes, in several semesters of guitar lessons (which most of them have taken), worship teams, serving in Chapel in one form or another, advising appointments, conversations, and whatever else may have come up where they have either spent time with me, or have done something I’ve asked them to do. The best estimate I can come up with is somewhere around 4,000 hours, including all five students.

4,000 hours. That’s an awful lot of time. That represents 167 straight days, or around 2 years of 8-hour workdays. It’s incredibly humbling to think these students have opened their lives to my teaching and influence for that amount of time.

SLCC is a small school; there are other school with graduation ceremonies this month that would dwarf ours. But when you look at the numbers, even at a small school like ours, one single teacher, over time, has enormous potential to influence someone’s life. This fact drives me to my knees, seeking God’s wisdom in how I can become a better teacher and lead our program more effectively.

But guess what? You don’t have to be a teacher or have a title to influence someone. The fact is, you’re probably already doing it and don’t even know it. We all influence others, every day. The issue is what we do with that influence. And for those of us who lead, teach or spend intensive amounts of time with people helping them become better Christian leaders, 4,000 hours is a big deal. Perhaps this is why James 3.1 says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

So, congrats guys (and gal), you made it through! I’ve done my best to point you in the right direction. Now go change the world!

Questions: Who has God put in your path to influence, teach or lead? (This could be formal or informal; the best teaching doesn’t usually happen in a classroom.) What is one concrete step you can take right now to improve yourself so that you can better influence others?

“Further On Up the Road” is a great song because of it’s simple yet driving beat, poetic imagery and its allusions to the afterlife. It’s hard to tell exactly where Springsteen is coming from spiritually, but he seems to have a strong belief that there’s “something” out there beyond the grave. This goes right along with the rest of contemporary culture in its interest in the supernatural and afterlife. I’m thankful that as a Christian my hope for the afterlife is secure in Christ.

Here are a couple of versions of this song for your listening pleasure. The first is Springsteen’s album version. He also released another version of the song that has a more Irish feel, but I don’t care for it much. The second clip below is Johnny Cash’s version, which has a totally different feel, but I like equally as well.

And the fact that Mr. Springsteen plays a Telecaster just adds to the coolness…

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4.6-8)

Each night at bedtime we read the Bible and pray together. In our prayer time, Melanie or I usually begin, then Ben finishes. Most of the time he closes his prayer this way: “Jesus, I will love you and I will serve you, and do whatever you say. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

That pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it?

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18.1-4)

What makes this song great? For me, it’s a positive, uplifting anthem to the beauty of the world we live in. We hear so many depressing stories about the state of the world today that it’s refreshing to hear about good things all around us! All we have to do is open our eyes to see the beauty and diversity of planet Earth and the people who live here. In addition, the song has a lot of energy and a simple but great guitar riff.

Life is what we make of it. We have the choice to make each day good or bad. Will you go through this day or week and see it as beautiful, or will you see it as terrible? We can’t control what happens to us or around us, but we can control what happens within us.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (Genesis 1.31)

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4.8)

What makes this song great? The honesty, poetry of the lyrics, artistry and performance, the music, message – it’s the whole package.

Below is the album recording as well as a low-fi concert version. Enjoy!

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3.7-11)

1. I personally think it’s a great song.

2. A performance or recording is available online (via youtube, etc.) so I can include it in the post (so everyone can hear it).

This is incredibly unscientific. There are no polls, critics or other official measurements. These are just songs I personally like. Some of them will be familiar, and some will be new to you. My list will cover a range of periods, styles, genres and artists. Some are Christian, some are not. But they all have one thing in common: they are worth hearing and appreciating.

So beginning next week, tune in and let me know what you think about my choices!

My apologies to all the ladies who play guitar – I can only write from a guy’s perspective.

Saturday afternoon I took my son Ben “guitar shopping” with me. (He knows that going to a music store will not be a quick process, but I quickly silenced his protests with the promise of ice cream from McDonald’s…) This was the second time that week I’d gone guitar shopping. I’ve haven’t bought anything, mind you, and don’t intend to for a while. I’m trying to decide on what kind of electric guitar to purchase. All the while I’m saving up some extra cash.

Why all the time and trouble to look for a guitar? Because I have what is known as “The Fever.”

You can’t just go out and buy any old guitar. There is a special connection between and guy and his guitar, and you have to keep searching until you find the right one. You may not know exactly what you’re looking for, but you’ll know it when you find it. It just feels right.

After you’ve played a guitar for a few years it starts to feel like part of you. I bought my Taylor 414ce in 1997 and it has been a faithful companion ever since. (I love Taylor guitars, by the way. They’re expensive but worth every penny.) You love the feel of the guitar in your hands. The little nicks and scratches aren’t flaws; they’re beauty marks. Even the familiar smell when you take it from the its case is strangely comforting.

When I walked into the music store today, I don’t know if she saw me. But she caught my eye, and I asked if we could visit for a while. She obliged, and once she was in my hands I felt that special something that only happens once in a while. She told me we could make beautiful music together. But I couldn’t take her home with me today. Maybe someday soon we’ll be together.

As I turned to leave, I said, “What’s your name?”

Telly, she said.

I have a feeling it’s not the last time we’ll see each other.