Worship.  This is by far my favorite topic.  It is something I am very passionate about, and I feel privileged to speak about it.  The reason I am passionate about it though, is because I understand it.  I have a friend that I have been witnessing to lately, and we were talking about spending time with God.  He asked me, “So, what am I supposed to do with Him?”  You see, when people don’t understand what worship is, they can’t get passionate about it.  It becomes something that we do on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights.  It becomes singing words that are on a screen that we aren’t even thinking about what we are saying.  It becomes cliché phrases and heartless remarks.  But, all that can change.  We can start seeing worship for what it truly is, and then become worshipers.

So, what is worship? I could use a common phrase like, “Worship isn’t just singing, it’s a lifestyle.”  But, I won’t.  Instead, let’s look at some attributes of worship, and see how they apply to our lives.

1.      Worship is a choice.   There’s a verse that most of us can quote.  It’s on signs in many of our homes.  Joshua 24:15 says, “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

What you have to understand is this: you will worship something.  Bob Dylan had a song back in the day that said, “You’ve gotta serve somebody.  It may be the devil, and it may be The Lord, but you’ve gotta serve somebody.”  It’s so true.  Whether you want to or not, you will worship something.  Especially this day in age, where we have access to so much, we can make idols out of almost everything.   For some of us, our cell phones have become our god.  For others, it’s hunting or fishing or sports.  For the ladies, shopping.  Wow, that was really stereotypical.  It can be anything.  It can even be ministry if we put our role ahead of God.  Now, none of these things are inherently wrong, but as the old adage goes, too much of a good thing is not good.  When we start to put these things ahead of God and make them the focus of our lives, that’s when it becomes and idol.  God is jealously longing for our attention.  He wants us to choose Him over everything else.  In Ephesians, 5:18-20, it says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.  Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.  Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  The choice is clear.  It is better to worship than to give yourself over to the things of this world, allowing ourselves to be filled with the Spirit.  Here it describes being filled with the spirit as speaking with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.  I choose to be a Spirit filled worshiper.  It also says to sing and make music from your heart.  I don’t think that this was a careless choice of words.  Out of the heart, the mouth speaks.  You have to choose to fill your heart with the things of God, and then, you can overflow from your heart and offer worship to the Lord.



2.      Worship is more than a song.  In 1 Chronicles 16, David has just brought the ark back to Israel.  The ark was where God’s holy presence rested.  It was the tangible object that The Almighty dwelled in.  So when David finally brings it back to Israel, he instates worship leaders, and they lead the people in a song.  In this song, we find some great instruction for worship:

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.
9 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
10 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
11 Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

Worship is singing, but it is also telling.  Worship is giving God praise, but it is also spreading Him to the nations.  One of the best ways we can worship God is to tell people about what He has done in our lives and in the lives of those around us.  We can tell people about the healings we are seeing, we can tell them about how God has changed our lives and our families.  God is worshiped when we bring honor to Him.  It is taking the focus away from ourselves, away from the things of this world, and pointing it all at Him.  He desires ALL our praise.  So when we give Him glory on a daily basis, that is worship.  It is one of the highest forms of worship to tell others about Jesus Christ.

3.      Worship is a sacrifice.  In Romans 12:1, Paul writes, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”  The next verse talks about not conforming to the patterns of this world.  Worship is when we set ourselves apart, which is not always easy.  In 1 Chronicles 24, King David says, “I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”  God is looking for people who will say no matter the cost, I will follow You.  No matter the cost, even if it costs me my life, I will give it all for You.  I imagine this must be what the people who are dying overseas right now must be clinging to.  I can’t even imagine giving my life for God.  I can’t imagine being faced with the choice of seeing my children die, or rejecting my Savior.  Like when Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac, his promised child.  He was willing to lay his son’s life down as worship to God.  Worship can be painful sometimes, but that pain brings us into a process of breaking down the things in our lives until all we have is us and God.  It is taking up our cross daily and following after Jesus, despite the consequences.  This is why I personally get so frustrated at people who will let their circumstance dictate their worship.  They come in to church after having a rough morning, or they aren’t feeling good, or maybe their kid threw up on them right before they were going to leave the house.  Guess what?  HE IS STILL WORTHY!!!!!  No matter what you’re facing, God is still worthy of our highest praise.  Don’t let your situation belittle how much God deserves.  Worship is a sacrifice.



4.      Worship is true.  John 4:23 says, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”  I said earlier how worship is more than just singing songs on a screen, but not meaning the words we are singing.  This is so important.  If we come into our services and don’t even mean what we are singing to God, then our worship is useless.  It is noise.  It is obnoxious.  We have to be truthful with God.  This is why I love spontaneous worship.  It is when I get the chance to go off script and tell God what is in my heart.  We live in a society that is polite, especially here in the south.  We have these kind of conversations, “Hey, how are you? I’m fine, how are you?”  And then we walk away.  We do the same thing to God.  We go into church and sing How He Loves and With Everything, and then we walk away because it was just going through the motions.  God doesn’t want polite worship!!!  He wants truth!  Worship doesn’t have to be happy all the time.  Many of the Psalms are laments.  They are David crying out in anguish and despair.  He was being honest with God.  He was being true.  When we worship God, it should come from the deepest places of our hearts.  The songs we sing are just a corporate declaration of God’s goodness.  They are not meant to be the only words we tell God in worship.  That verse said that the Father is seeking those of us that will worship in Spirit and in truth.  He is looking for us to step up and be true worshipers.



5.      Worship is a weapon.  In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat is going to war with the Moabites and the Ammonites.  In verse 21, it says, "21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.” 22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”  Don’t tell me that worship cannot change your circumstances!!!  Satan wants to stop you from worshiping.  Think back to the last time you were upset about something.  Did you want to go all Disney style and break into song?  No.  Singing is not a natural response to hard times.  But if we can get a hold of this concept, it can change the way life happens.  When we find ourselves in a place of hardships or trials or despair, start worshiping!  Start giving thanks to God and watch as your situation begins to change.  I have a worship leader friend in Switzerland, and he was going through a season of depression.  He stopped singing.  I felt God speak to me very clearly to tell him to lift up his song.  It is in a place of worship that God can break you out of any circumstance that you might be facing.  Worship is the most powerful weapon that we have, and most of us never even use it.  Be strong, be courageous, and give thanks to our Lord!!!

This is not an all-inclusive list of what worship is, but if you can get these fundamentals down and make them a part of your life, you will begin to experience God on a much deeper level than you have before.  Let’s move past worship being a Sunday and Wednesday thing.  Let’s make it and every day, every hour, every minute thing.  We need worship in our lives.  My desire is to see signs and wonders and to experience the deeper things of God.  It starts with a lifestyle of worship.  It starts with us.  We have to draw near to Him, so He will draw near to us.

Ministry is tricky business.  There aren't many establishments that rely on volunteer help as much as the church does.  And not only do we rely on volunteers, but we have to be extra picky of who is volunteering, because we can't just go letting anybody looking after our kids or greeting our guests.  Finding good, consistent volunteers is probably one of the most frustrating parts of running a church. 

What I have found is that many times, especially in younger churches, is that we put people in key roles because they are available to do the job.  They are willing, they show up, they do what we ask of them.  Who could ask for anything better from a volunteer?  It's great!  Except for the occasional times when we realize that the person who is available, isn't necessarily able.  Just because someone can show up and fill a role, doesn't mean they are equipped with the necessary skills to fulfill that duty.  Now, I understand that in early stages of churches, we may not have a choice but to build a worship team with an acoustic guitar, a saxophone, and a tambourine.  Or, put Granny Moses back with the babies, because no one else want to get stuck watching the kids.  The problem is when we allow that to continue to be our norm, instead of finding people who are equipped to be the right people for the position.  If a person has no speaking or organizational skills, and they don't really relate to children that well, they are probably not the right fit for the children's pastor.  If a person has no musical knowledge, but can play guitar and sing a little, but have no anointing to lead, they probably shouldn't be your music pastor.  We put people in positions to get by in a pinch, but then they end up staying there and crippling ministries, because we don't want to hurt their feelings.  Church people are VERY territorial.  Once someone is put in charge of something, you usually have to pry it away from them from their cold, dead hands.  I don't understand that mentality.  As a worship pastor, I want the best people leading the church in worship, even if that means I am not one of them.  If the congregation is used to singing hymns and more traditional music, I am not the man for the job, and I am man enough to admit that.  I think we sometimes feel like it shows weakness to realize you're not the right person for the job, when it in fact shows great strength and maturity.  There could be someone that God has positioned to step up and take a ministry to the next level, but in our pride, we are hindering the move of God in our churches by continuing to do mediocre ministry. 

Pastors, don't just look for the person who is available.  Look for the people who are able.  They may not even realize they are able, but God sometimes shows leaders things about people that they don't even know about themselves.  Look for those diamonds in the rough, those people who need a little bit of pruning to be a fantastic minister.  Then, pour into their lives, mentor them, and help them become someone who can minister with effectiveness.  But please, for the sake of the church, stop holding on to people who are essentially dead weight and are sucking the life out of your ministries.  If they are truly about the church, and not just about a position, they will understand when you go with someone else. 

A good example of this can be found in the parable of the talents.  The rich ruler entrusted 3 people with talents (or money).  Those that delivered good results got rewarded.  The one that did nothing with his talent, but just sat on it, had it taken away from him.  Let's find people who are going to invest what they are entrusted with, not just babysit it. 

I’ve learned a few things over the years I’ve been in ministry.  I’ve learned how to interact with difficult people, how to plan for huge events, how to raise support for new endeavors, and how to neglect my family.  Yeah, you weren’t expecting that last one.

At the last church I was employed at, I was one of two full time staff members.  This meant that an extremely heavy load was placed on me.  Being young and naïve, I figured, if I’m doing work for the church, then I’m doing work for God, so it must be good.  Long days and even longer nights left my wife and at that time recently born child home alone until the early hours of the morning many nights.  All in the name of ministry. 

Since I’ve been out of full time ministry, I’ve learned a few things.  THERE’S NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR FAMILY!!!!!!!!

There are two ways that the Bible often describes God (this is not an all-inclusive list, just two of the descriptive terms): Father, and bridge-groom (or husband for those that don’t call it that).  If we are striving to be more like God/Jesus, we should be striving to be better spouses and parents.  Especially as ministers, we tend to put our churches needs above the needs of those that matter the most in our lives.  The people that sacrifice more than any of our team members are the people that we share our home with.  As we are out there, giving our all for the cause, they are left alone wishing mommy or daddy was around more, or that husband or wife would spend a little more time with them than at the church.

Am I saying that ministry is bad?  Of course not!  However, like with all things that are in scripture, you must have balance in your life.  There’s a time to do work, and there’s a time to just say no.  My biggest problem was that I was intimidated by those two little letters.  NO.  Try it.  Say it out loud a few times.  Nothing catastrophic just happened, did it?  Nope.  Because, it is ok to say no sometimes.  You don’t have to do everything.  You shouldn’t do everything.  Don’t do everything. 

The last thing you want to do at the end of your time in ministry is have regrets of neglecting your family.  That will haunt you way more than the potential people you could have reached had you just put in a few more hours at the office.  Take it from me.  This is one mistake you cannot afford to make.  I am lucky that I have a wife who put up with me.  Now I just have to keep myself in check so that I don’t ever have to make her put up with me again.

Put the first things first.  Be that good spouse.  Be a fantastic parent.  Your family deserves it, and God will honor it.

There's a problem I face a lot in life: I like to fix things. I'm the kind of guy that sees a situation, and I want to be the one to help or fix or just be a part of things. I have this trouble in the church, in work situations, and with friends and family. I'm one of those guys that struggles to say no. I'm sure many of you can relate. We live in a time where everyone is overwhelmed, over stressed, and under fulfilled. I think a big reason why we are dissatisfied, even though we are doing good things, is because we may not be where God is leading us to go to be successful and to flourish.

I was reading in Genesis, and I came across this story. In chapter 26, we see Isaac in the land of Gerar prospering. Abimelech tells him to leave because he's becoming too powerful. Little side note here: sometimes people will be resentful of you if you have God's favor on your life, and they will be threatened by your blessings. Don't let that make you question who you are or what God has for you. Ok, back on track. So, Isaac leaves and starts trying to find his place, and here's where the story picks up:

Genesis 26:19-22 NIV

Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

This story made me stop and think for a while. This man, Isaac, who is blessed of God, leaves the land he's in, and he gets to work. He and his men start digging wells. I did some research. Wells in those ancient days were as deep as 240 feet! And they didn't have any fancy tools like we do today to dig them. It was all done with primitive methods. I bet that was some hard work!!! I do construction for a living, and I HATE when I'm asked to dig a hole. It's hard! And the holes I dig are typically only about 3 feet deep. I couldn't imagine 240 feet.

So he finishes digging the first well. He puts in the work. Makes the sacrifice. And what happens? The herders try to say it's their well. So, Isaac moves on. Digs another well. Same thing happens. Herders come along and quarrel. So, he digs a THIRD well. Finally, no one bothers him. Now he can flourish.

Sometimes, we dig, and dig, and dig some more, and when we get done digging, we realize that all that work wasn't really for us to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Maybe we were digging so someone else could use what we were making. Maybe we weren't supposed to be digging there in the first place. Either way, it's not where we belong. But, sometimes because we've spent the time digging, we will dig in our heels and try to make it work. Hear me when I say this: not every well is a place for you to flourish. Sometimes, we just need to move on and dig again. Let me also say this: not every time that there is opposition in our lives is it the Devil's fault. Sometimes, God moves us away from places to protect us or to bring us to a place of blessing. When Balaam's donkey kept going off the path, it was to protect him. God was trying to warn him that he wasn't in God's will. That being said, let's get back to my point.

Don't be discouraged if your digging just leads to more digging. We often have to wait to find the place that God is leading us to flourish. And when we find that place, we will rest in His promises and be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Yes, sometimes when we dig, we will strike water. That doesn't mean that it is our water to enjoy. It is hard to leave a well that has water, but we will not enjoy it as much if we aren't supposed to be there.

If you are talented, gifted, anointed, smart, hard working, etc., people are going to want you to be a part of what they are doing. They are going to ask you to get a shovel and dig. You have to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to see where it is that God wants you to settle, otherwise, you're digging someone else's well. There's too much water to be tapped into to be concerned over the time you spent digging that well where you didn't belong. This is also true in relationships. People who are dating will stay in toxic relationships because they've done some digging. I like to use this analogy for people who play cards: just because you have a lot of chips on the table, you don't have to keep playing with a hand that's not going to win. Fold, walk away, and try to build back your winnings on another hand. Don't go all in with a pair of 2's! You can trust God when you feel like He is moving you that He has something better in store. Don't cling to the comfortable just because it's familiar. Live a life of faith and step out to a new land an start digging again!

There is a trend that I have begun to see lately among churches that has been troubling me. I have noticed it in all denominations, in many different parts of the United States and across the world. In many cases, church just isn't working.

Let me clarify what I mean by that. People are going to church. Churches across America are growing. People are even getting saved. But week after week, people go to church and leave the exact same way they came in. I'm not talking about salvation. I'm speaking to people who are professing Christians, people who have become complacent in their walks with Christ and have stopped pursuing the deeper nature that He has called us to.

I was reading in Ezekiel the other day. It was in the section where God is giving dimensions for the temple and specifics for the practices of worship in the temple for the priests, etc. These sections, I admit, are often redundant, and I find myself usually skimming these chapters rather than studying them like I do other sections of scripture. However, this time while reading, I decided to pay closer attention and see if there was something I could glean from these verses. This is what I found:

Ezekiel 46:9 NIV

"When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed festivals, whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate."

Whoa. That stopped me dead in my tracks. You mean to tell me that God wanted people to leave worship differently than the way they came in? I know, this is a literal leaving through a different gate. But the application is valid. God wanted all those who came into His Presence to leave differently than the way they came.

Why are we so flippant in our worship that we allow ourselves to come into the house of God, sit (or stand, or even sing and clap) during worship, listen to a well crafted message, and leave completely unaffected? We ought to be having an encounter with a Holy God every time we gather together as believers, an encounter that radically shakes the foundations of our lives so that when we go back out into the world, there is something that has changed inside of us.

This is The Gate Theory.

If you leave the same way you came in, then you did not truly experience God. I can hear the nay-sayers now: "How can you judge me? Don't you know how many people got saved at church today? I am just reserved in my relationship with God."

Here's the deal. I am talking about YOU and GOD. That's it. Are you being challenged every week? Are you seeing a change in your life take place? Is there fruit growing in areas of your life where there wasn't? Or are you still drinking spiritual milk week after week, never desiring the meat?

Look at everyone in scripture that had personal encounters with God. Saul became blinded by Jesus, and was so radically changed that he even had to change his name. Jacob walked with a limp after he wrestled with God. Moses, a man with zero conifdence, became one of the greatest leaders to ever walk the earth. And yet, we are timid, powerless, unaffective "Christians" that aren't making a difference in our families, never mind the world around us.

It's time we changed. It's time we stopped walking out of the same gate we walked into. It's time we started showing up to church expecting change. It's time we started allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us, not the other way around. Don't just be a run of the mill, ordinary church goer. Start seeking after the depths of the presence of God, the places He longs to show us but we've been unwilling to go. Let's run through a different gate. Are you with me?

Greater than/Less than

You are greater than who you think you are. 

When I was younger, I went through a phase in life where I wasn't the most popular kid. In fact, I was probably one of the least popular kids there were. I had really ugly glasses, messed up teeth, horrible hair, and bad taste in clothing. To top it off, I would do really ridiculous things to try to get attention. As you might guess, I had really low self esteem. I felt extremely worthless. I never thought I would amount to anything substantial. The whole reason I am good at music is because my guitar was my only real friend. I would sit on the edge of my bed for hours playing away my sadness. Unfortunately, a lot of people go through this same feeling of worthlessness. Maybe they aren't as dorky as I was, but that doesn't make the pain of not feeling good enough any less real to them. The good news is that I am in good company of people who felt that way.

There are many cases in The Bible that felt like they weren't good enough when God called them to do a great work. Moses, one of the greatest heroes of The Bible, started his journey like this:

God was speaking to Moses, and said: "the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:9-12 NIV)

That didn't convince Moses though. He responded a little later by saying, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” (Exodus 4:1 NIV)

So God gives him signs to show them. But, confidant Moses still is concerned. 

Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Exodus 4:10 NIV)

I love God's response here. He says:

“Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord ? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” (Exodus 4:11, 12 NIV)

And even after that, Moses still had the audacity to ask God to send someone else. 

I wonder how many times God gets frustrated with us. You see, God sees us the way we really are, not how we see ourselves. When I was a kid, all I saw was the nerdy, unpopular kid that no one liked. God saw me as a worship leader and someone who would someday get the opportunity to minister to thousands of people all over the country. God knows what we have inside of us even before we know ourselves. He calls us to greatness even when we feel worthless. 

He saw David as a king, even when he was just a ruddy little shepherd. He saw Paul as a great missionary, even when he was out murdering Christians. And He sees you, doing things you would never dream you can do. He sees your marriage, inspiring people who need to see the things that you've went through. He sees your job or school, knowing there are people there that only you can reach. He sees your hidden talents, your passions, and your skills. We all go through hills and valleys, but it's those things in us that we feel that disqualify us from doing great things that God uses as the very thing to qualify us. 

You are greater than who you think you are. You are greater than what the world says you are. And you will do greater things than what you think you can do if you will submit to God's will and plan for your life. 

So, I was out yard saling today and I had this thought. You see, the way my wife and I see if we want to go is by driving by, taking a quick look, and seeing if anything is appealing. It is actually kind of shallow and we might be missing some hidden treasures, but that's just how we roll.

Music is a lot like that. I know it sounds shallow, but if a musician or band looks like they are not put together well or professional, chances are, I won't listen. If the music isn't recorded well or performed well, I will turn it off and walk away. And this is coming from someone who tries to see the good in everything!

A big problem in our churches today is that they have a mentality that things do not have to be done with excellence because it is "good enough for church." That is one of my biggest pet peeves. The way I see it is if it is going to be good enough for church, it had better be the best possible thing you can bring, because it is for God! The standard for churches should be even higher than they are for the world.

Don't let our churches be just another yard sale that people just drive by and don't even stop at. Lets make it the best it can be, not for a performance, but because God deserves our best in every area of our lives, especially in our churches!!!

One of the most important things that I do as a worship leader is not just playing on Sundays and Wednesdays. It is something that goes beyond my church, my ministry, and my reach. It is raising leaders.

A big part of what I see my ministry being is training up worship leaders and pushing them to grow and stretch to be the best they can be. For many people, that is a difficult thing to do. Some think that if they push others to be their best, they might become better then them. Fortunately for me, that's my goal.

I love having a team of people more talented, more passionate, and more anointed than myself (and I'm not a slacker that is pulling punches). I heard someone say once that if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room. The same is with leadership. Even in top leadership, you should always surround yourself with people who are more equipped than yourself. Insecure people will feel threatened by this, but people who want what's best for their organization, church, youth group, etc. will feel empowered.

This is why it is so important for me to spend time with other leaders, pouring into them, and at the same time, learning from them what they might have to offer. If your ministry is just about playing great songs and not discipling your leaders, you are missing a great opportunity. Don't be afraid to let others shine, because it will make you shine brighter for having the humility to share the spotlight.

In the early church, the Christian community did a lot of things that seemed kind of crazy. They sold all their possessions, they lived together, and they took care of all the needs of everyone around them.

Acts 2:42-47 says:
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

I find it interesting that in this kind of community that modern day Christians would find "cultish," people were being saved daily. We Christians in 2013 barely see any salvations on Sunday mornings, yet these people were seeing them every day. It makes me ask the question, "Why not us?"

I believe the answer to that question is a lack of community. We go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays and pass by people every week that we never speak to. We avoid eye contact and stick to our clicks and leave as lonely as we came. I'm not saying that the answer is to all live together in some commune, but we have to start becoming the community that God intended us to be.

John 17:22, 23 says:
"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

If we can't be united, then we have no voice in this world. All the best sermons and music and illustrations are meaningless if we do not have unity among ourselves. It is in unity that we can take time to get to know the people that we walk by week after week. We can share one another's burdens, our successes and our failures. We can lift each other up. And when we are united like that, the world will take notice, and we will start to see real growth in our community.

I am a guitar player. I love effect pedals and loud amps. I spend a lot of money on getting cool sounds that make what I am playing sound amazing. I spend many hours researching new gear and watching YouTube videos on pedal demos just to find that perfect effect. Unfortunately, I find that I'm not as good at actually playing my instrument as I used to be.

Before I got into all the technology of music, all I had was my guitar and my fingers. I would practice for hours with a clean tone, working on scales and practicing solos. But the more gear I bought, the less technical work I have done lately. I now can put a ton of delay on my sound and make even the simplest of lead lines sound amazing. But have I lost the art of just playing well?

I recently picked up a guitar with no effects and realized how sloppy I was playing. There was no finesse, no singing quality. I could still play fast, but it wasn't clean and pretty. I realized that I have been using my pedal board as an excuse not to practice. I have been covering my flaws with a nice masking effect. And guitarists aren't the only guilty ones of this.

Drummers have enormous sets with way more cymbals and toms than they will ever use. They use a double kick pedal that really just muddies up their flow. Bass players have started using as much overdrive as guitar players (don't get me wrong, I like a distorted bass) and lose the ability to walk their instrument with ease.

We as musicians need to stop hiding behind our gear, strip our selves down on occasion, and get back to practicing. Work on running scales, nailing clean fills, or walking a fat bass line. Then when we put our effects back on, it will be all the better.