Where Words Fail

One of the great things about having a blog is that you get to share your passions with your readers. I am sure to include at least one scripture in every post I write. I have written about my wife. I have written about my daughter...on more than one occasion. If you look closely, you may even find an occasional reference to sports, movies, or TV shows like "Boy Meets World" sprinkled in to my writing. These are all passions of mine that God uses to reveal things about my world, my life, or myself.

Yet there is one very important area in my life that I have yet to write much about.

Music.

"Music is well said to be the speech of angels." - Thomas Carlyle

More than any other medium, God uses music to reach my heart. Also, I personally believe God most often and most effectively uses me through music.

I am by no means a professional musician. I don't have a record deal or a hit single on iTunes. In fact, I have never successfully written an entire song. The music that I do make doesn't reach millions of people, yet. Rather, I am very much involved in the wonderful world of music ministry. I am now, and have been for years, a guitarist (and occasional bassist, pianist, drummer, or vocalist) on my church's worship team. It is a position that I am humbled and honored to hold. It is simultaneously a privilege and a responsibility for which I could never express enough gratitude. It is a task of which I do not ever grow tired. In short, it is what I am supposed to do.

This is why I was created.

Serving my Lord and leading others into his presence through praise and worship is a truly special experience.

"Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without." - Confucius

So why haven't I written about it before? I'll tell you.

I don't know.

For some reason, I had to hear my entire philosophy on music ministry packaged perfectly into four little lines to trigger my creativity. I know this will be hard to believe at this point, but what got me going on this was, of all things, the chorus of a song.

It was like a kinder, gentler version of God's backhand smacked my forehead. "Wake up!"

"One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain." - Bob Marley

The song is a gospel song. I'm sure that, just like every gospel song, many individuals and/or groups have recorded it. The version I like is performed by the Gaither Vocal Band (another shocker) and features Guy Penrod. It's called "I'm Gonna Sing." Here's how it goes:

"I'm gonna sing just as long as it takes for a song to make sad, heavy spirits free.
I'm gonna keep making music that carries the secret that Jesus is liberty.
I'm gonna turn off the sounds that will drag people down to the pit of despondency.
With a sweet happy tune, He is coming soon for His children like you and me."

Each individual line in that chorus is a worthy aspiration of any member of a music ministry team. Add them up and consider them all together, and you have a very succinct description of what I feel music ministry is or at least should be.

The first parts of each of the first two lines speak of persistence or endurance. Music is something you can learn, improve upon, and share for the rest of your life. Your level of involvement, your position or title, or your church might change many times, but once called, you are a minister.

"Without music, life would be a mistake." - Nietzsche

If you were to call my cell phone, you would hear part of an incredible song off of the Zac Brown Band's latest record. The last part of the chorus says "When I've lived out my days until the very end, I hope they find me in my home with my guitar in my hand." That really illustrates my desire to share God through music as long as I can still breathe air.

The third line in the Gaither song tells of the power that worship music has to lift one's spirit. Now, let me be clear here. I am NOT condemning secular music. I'm not the kind of person who believes we should all listen to only Christian music. In fact, if you were to scan my personal CD collection, you would find a very eclectic array. I just love many types of music. However, I also realize that there are certain genres, artists, or songs that are truly influenced by Satan. They evoke very dark responses and emotions from the listener. These are the sounds that we need to tune out and replace with songs glorifying our Lord God.

The ends of each of the first two lines remind me of the freedom in Christ described in John 8:36 and 2 Corinthians 3:17. When you've been set free in Christ, why wouldn't you want to sing about it? I may have chosen a different word than "secret" in the second line though. It's not a secret. People may not have had the chance to hear the good news yet, but God's love is for everyone on Earth. Nobody is intentionally left in the dark. (As I write, a gut wrenching thought hits me. If I know Jesus is liberty, and the person next to me doesn't know yet, and I don't tell them, have I just turned it into a secret by keeping it to myself?)

"Music is God's gift to man, the only art of Heaven given to earth, the only art of earth we take to Heaven." - Walter Savage Landor

Finally, we come to the last line. Jesus is coming soon to take us home. When he does, what do we have to look forward to? Revelation chapters 4 and 5 describe the throne room of heaven. In particular, the end of chapter 5, starting with verse 11, says this.

"Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped."

Here, we call it Revelation Song. In Heaven, it will simply be all of us giving honor and glory to God.

Holy, holy, holy is The Lord God almighty who was, and is, and is to come.

Sounds like a great praise and worship service, doesn't it?

You see, I have long felt that our job as music ministers or praise and worship leaders is twofold. One, to invite and usher in the presence of God. Two, to guide and lead those around us into that very presence.

I firmly believe, and will believe until my dying day, that when this happens, we all have the most spiritual experience possible on this mortal planet...true, honest worship of the King of Kings.

It is literally the closest we can come to Heaven on Earth.

"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley



Scripture: "Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!" - Psalm 98:4-6

Quote: "Where words fail, music speaks." - Hans Christian Andersen

Bonus Quote: "There's energy there in music. No one ever danced to Houdini." - Penn Jillette

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It's A Simple Game

Wow! I have written 25 posts on this little blog. That's a fairly good start, but I've learned one thing already. I've still got a lot to learn. One thing I could still learn more about is topic selection. I have realized that I often leave a lot unwritten as I search for or even, at times, wait for the perfect idea to use.

What this has led to is me not writing as much as I probably should for fear of posting something of poor quality. If you have known me for very long, this element of perfectionism is not likely to shock you greatly.

When I started this blog, I intended to incorporate observations, responses, and personal beliefs about the world of sports. Two sports quotes seem to apply perfectly to this situation.

One is from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky who said "You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take."

The other comes from the movie Bull Durham. "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains. Think about that for a while."

What these quotes show me is that if I never let an idea see the light of day, it can never have a chance to be great. If I have something to write, I should write. Sometimes it'll be good, and sometimes it'll be bad. Sometimes, it won't matter much at all, but writing is how I will learn and improve. I just need to fight against the doubt and worry that tries to tell me how poorly I am doing.

Perhaps this whole post could have been written as a much shorter passage.

"Don't think Meat. Just throw."

(I hope to have a post soon about my views on music ministry. Stay tuned.)




Scripture: "In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge." Proverbs 14:26

Quote: "Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance." - Samuel Johnson


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The Most Dangerous Word

My daughter is going to be a high school track star. I just know it.

She won't be a sprinter or hurdler either. No, she will be a distance runner, and her best event will likely be the longest one that they offer in UIL competition.

This won't be a result of me forcing her to do something. It's not because I'm trying to relive my missed opportunities vicariously through her like so many pathetic parents do with their kids. It's quite the opposite. I have no desire to run long distances. None at all.

In fact, when I played sports in school, I chose tennis. It's a sport where the running is broken down into very short distances, and there are built in breaks while you wait for the ball to travel from you to your opponent and then be returned to you again. There are longer breaks between points, even longer breaks between games, and still longer breaks between sets. There is actually little to no continuous running at all. That's more my speed.

And that is precisely why I'm convinced my baby girl will end up going to the complete opposite end of the athletic spectrum.

When this concept struck me the other day, the horror that attacked me was the thought that she will want me to help her at times with her training. I can already hear it.

"Hey Dad, I am going to go run a quick five miles. Will you come with me?"

Yikes! Oh well, as long as it's not yoga I guess.

I love my daughter. When that time comes, if she wants me to run, I will want to run with her. I want to be able to run, but I'm in very poor physical condition.

That thought is what clued me in to what is potentially the most dangerous word in our language. But. Three little letters that give us all an incredibly easy way out of facing or enjoying what we could or should be.

But.

I know this isn't a completely original concept. (For example, wait until you see the incredible quote I found for the end of this post.) It is just something that has been been nagging my conscience for weeks now. How much have I weasled out of in life by tacking on a simple "but"?

I'm reminded of a tobacco prevention poster from my school days. It showed rows of straight on photos of various animal hind quarters. The last photo was the remnant of a cigarette. The poster claimed that "Butts are gross." It was effective campaigning. I have never forgotten it. Now, I want to amend it slightly.

Buts are gross.

I don't believe that we can successfully eliminate the word from such a well established lexicon. So, how can we effectively reverse the effects of a but? I suggest simply reversing the but.

When you catch yourself adding a negative but onto a positive thought, just flip it. For example, "I want to write more, but I don't have much time" becomes "I don't have much time, but I want to write more." Now instead of an excuse, it has become a challenge. You've literally created an opportunity for yourself. Now instead of using a but as a reason not to do something, you can use the but to encourage yourself to find a way to make something happen.

WARNING!! Similar to other rules such as "I before E except after C," this rule applies only in cases where it is convenient to apply it. If the statement is something like "I want to jump out of this plane, but I do not have a parachute," DO NOT reverse the but.

Use with caution. Repeat as often as required.

So what's it going to be? What buts are gross in your life? What buts need reversing?

As for me...

I'm in very poor physical condition, but I want to be able to run.




Scripture: "for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught." - Proverbs 3:26

Quote: "The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the buts you use today." - Les Brown

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