Jonah # 1 August 26, 2007
Posted by jonesy24 in Read Through, The Bible - it's quality stuff!.add a comment
So… despite the fact I’m way behind on readthrough on this thing… I’ve decided to blog about Jonah!
Check this guy out.
God tells Jonah to go to the “great city of Nineveh” and preach against it because of it’s wickedness. BUT… Jonah ran. He what? What was the man thinking? There’s a difference between not knowing God’s will, or not knowing God at all and rebelling against his will… but Jonah knew fine well what God wanted – and still he ran.
Did he somehow think that by running away on a boat, he would somehow escape God’s will? Seems to me like he got what to be scared of in the wrong order.
Anyhoo… it was basically a deliberate choice to turn his back on God.
God is our father, who loves us beyond comparison. He knows the bigger picture. He only wants our best. Dad truely does know best.
A Great worship leader August 24, 2007
Posted by jonesy24 in Worship.4 comments
1. Great worship leaders… are consistent. Anyone can lead a great worship moment every once in awhile. The strongest worship leaders have a knack for consistently leading worship in an effective and meaningful way.
Great worship leaders… have learned how to build a worship set in a consistent and systematic way, without feeling like they’re quenching the Spirit of God if they prepare well.
Great worship leaders… know how to make the lion’s share of a set out of songs that are fresh yet familiar, God- centered and easily engaged by all age groups.
Great worship leaders… know how to let the songs lead worship and give the worshiper language for worship. They feel no pressure to say-a-lot or pray-a-lot to keep energy flowing.
2. Great worship leaders… are equippers. The most appreciated worship leaders have a streak of a trainer and mentor running through them. They are not content to have the platform all to themselves over a few years.
Great worship leaders… know how to enjoy the process of building lifelong friendships with developing worship leaders – particularly those who value their input and share like-mindedness on key levels.
Great worship leaders… know how to mentor over time, without feeling any pressure to release people to lead worship before they are developed musically, emotionally or skillfully.
Great worship leaders… know how to become older brothers and sisters in worship leading, and not to simply protect themselves in the “always-leading” worship leadership role.
3. Great worship leaders… are pastoral. These worship leaders have a wider skill set than just playing an instrument, leading worship and leading a band.
Great worship leaders… actually care for, and shepherd, their worship teams. Great worship leaders “pastor” the congregation as they lead worship.
Great worship leaders… know when to ask someone to join a team, because their hearts are right, and how to ask someone to take a break because their hearts are askew from the central mandate of the team – to serve.
4. Great worship leaders… are proficient. Worship leaders who play their instrument well have a much longer sustainability factor within a changing congregation than do those who are weak technically and cannot handle a diversity of demographic or need in a local community.
Great worship leaders… are able on their instrument. They are not always the most proficient musician on the team; in fact, they are sometimes the least!
Great worship leaders… have just enough arranging ability to take a rag tag team, intuitively know what songs they can pull off smoothly, and what songs they simply cannot, and make them sound sweet together in simple arrangements.
Great worship leaders… practice privately, and keep their own chops up personally or with lessons.
5. Great worship leaders… understand authority. These worship leaders understand what mutual submission is all about. They recognize the mantle that the lead pastor carries for the congregation, and they do all they can to defer to, and support, that leader.
Great worship leaders… know how to honor time limits, ask teachable questions, and share the pastor’s vision for the church in song selection and event preparation.
Great worship leaders… do not push their way into worship leading or other roles – they offer their gifts, and then allow God to make a place for them to lead. They are not pushy or forceful – they are centered, and full of trust in God to make a place for their leadership.
Great worship leaders… graciously receive input, and even pursue it – especially from the lead pastor and common (non-musical) worshipers in the congregation.
6. Great worship leaders… are passionate. The passionate will always lead, no matter the sphere or situation. Inspiring worship leaders carry a blend of passion and restraint in their toolbox.
Great worship leaders… are exhuberant, without becoming cheerleaders. In other words, they approach the moment of worship with enthusiasm, yet that enthusiasm is tempered with gentleness and a lack of need to generate outward emotion to feel that they’ve done their job.
Great worship leaders can separate their personal emotional state from what the moment calls for in the group they are leading (I don’t know that this art is learned by any other mode than longevity in worship leading experience).
Great worship leaders… love God and the secret place, and worship frequently, for extended times, on their own.
Last night – it was interesting to say the least. August 24, 2007
Posted by jonesy24 in LAN/BF2, What's happening with me....add a comment
Well, last night was a success. Dan, Andy, Tim, Gareth and myself (representing re:hope) completely destroyed the other team at Battlefield 2. We did…obviously… go easy on them, and of course… I was special forces, again.
So, just to clarify about the week before that… because apparently certain lower ranked individuals believed I was the reason why we lost that week. Yes – I was special forces – It could be said that it’s part of my job to take out their UAV, Sat, and Arty – however, that’s on the basis that the rest of the team are doing their jobs and not leaving the main base (with our only tank, might I add) defenceless. So, next time… if you want me to take out the enemy’s home base… make sure and defend ours.
So, apart from our glorious victory last night, the only other exciting thing that happened was once Gareth and I got off the train. 2 guys jumped us, and for their trouble – got a beating (all in self defence of course). I’m actually sick of how this place is going to the dogs. Apparently the police don’t have control of the streets anymore??? Let’s see… 2 stabbings in the last week, plus us being jumped for no reason what so ever?
Re:Hope…maybe i’ll be moving up sooner than you think. Haha.
God last, when he should be first. August 16, 2007
Posted by jonesy24 in Books, What's happening with me..., You and me.2 comments
The author of the book I’m reading writes:
“We as humans have a natural self-preservation mechanism we got at birth that tends to take the road of least resistance. Honestly, it takes a lot less effort to turn on some music, that talk to God, right?”
“But why do we need a catastrophe in our life, to cry out to God? Because that’s the way our automaton society works. We go to work, we make money, we spend more than we make, so we work harder. And around and around we go. We are a self-sufficient people that will only break for God, with pain. Remember what happened after 911? Church attendance went through the roof! Why? Because people know, deep down, that they need God – but our culture preaches a different message.”
I don’t want to be the type of Christian who’s only time spent with God is the prayer for the parking space, or when I hit rock bottom. That’s not a personal relationship with God. That’s more like…’we’ve met before’ and occasionally catch up – when I need to. If we don’t listen to God, and give him time to speak – what makes us think God will listen to us whenever we fall back on him as our last resort? I’m not saying he won’t listen, but why should he if we don’t?
So… it’s important to give God time to speak. It’s important to spend a bit of time on a regular basis in the quiet, solely waiting on God to speak.
Also, we can’t just run to God in the bad times, when we have nothing else to turn to. God’s not a last resort. He should be the first one. It’s important to spend equally, if not more time with Him, in the good times as well as the bad.
Silence August 13, 2007
Posted by jonesy24 in Read Through, The Bible - it's quality stuff!, You and me.add a comment
I’ve been reading a book recently about Music. I’m not done yet, but so far… it’s awesome. So far, I’ve taken 2 main things from it…one of which I’m blogging about at the moment.
In Kings (the first one) – Elijah goes and stands on the mountain.
“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him…”
God’s voice wasn’t in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire, but in/as a gentle whisper. In the quiet place… it’s where we can hear… the gentle whisper of God.
It’s kind of like what that song says as well…
In the secret, In the quiet placeIn the stillness You are there
Rob Bell says: “Why is Silence so hard to deal with?Why is it so much easier for us to live our lives with a lot of things going on all the time than to just be in silence?We’re constantly surrounded by “voices” that are influencing us on how to think, feel, and behave.Movies, music, TV, internet, cell phones, and a never-ending barrage of advertising.There’s always something going on, always noise in our lives, but maybe there’s a connection between the amount of noise in our lives and our inability to hear God. If God sometimes feels distant to us, maybe it’s not because he’s not talking to us, but simply because we aren’t really listening.”
So… First of all: Why is silence so hard to deal with? Apparently, from what I understand from Elijah’s experience is… God speaks to us in the quiet times: In the silence. So it’s obviously important to set time aside, not only to spend time with God, but to solely listen in silence for his quiet voice.
