Long Time No Blog

Ok, so I got all jazzed about having a blog and then let it die....oh well. Here's what I'm thinking right now.

As most of you know I'm the worship leader at a new church in Leland which runs right now about 110 people, and while numbers make no difference to me the numbers for this story are important. Last night I went to visit PC3 (around 6,000 people) which is our local mega-church. I have absolutely no problem with mega-churches if they become that way due to great teaching and great worship, and they did. What did come to mind though was, as a church grows larger (and all should have that goal, b/c more people should mean more salvation's you have seen) how do you balance between deep worship and a show? Let's be honest for a moment about money. God commands us to tithe to our local church, so more people equals more money. More people also increases the chances that you will have huge talent. With big money and big talent comes "perfect" performances. How then do you be a good steward of the blessings God gives your church and still have a small, deep, worship feel to it? Please don't misunderstand, PC3 honestly surprised me with the amount of real worship I saw, but they were also very very polished and the "choreography" of the service spot on. I don't know if this is making since, but it's a nagging I have now at the prospect of Crosswinds growing. I want to keep the "feel" that we have now, while also using what God gives. I guess many bands go through this and that is why they do tours where they only play small venues like the ones they started in, they miss the "feel" of small clubs. I pray I'll grow with the program as the church grows and as God grows me, but if I were to be thrown into a situation like PC3, well I wouldn't last very long...at this point. Having said that, I cannot wait to be used by God in our quickly growing church!!!

Scott

Worry and Worship

So it's been awhile, but anyway. Today I had an awful cold and had trouble singing and I was worried about it. Sadly but I was more concerned about my voice than the words that came out of it. Shame on me. God moved so hard today in the hearts of people through worship and I was worried about my voice. Thank God for the lessons learned today before worship was over. Thank God for the worship he uses unto Himself to touch us also. Worship of the Creator is an amazing thing in all circumstances. Ok, enough about the weakness of this worship leader. I love learning from my weaknesses!!

Praise the Creator.

Profile Updates

So today the California courts upheld the vote from November that marriage is between one man and one woman. Overlooking the fact that that is Biblical, it is what the people wanted (twice). The first time they voted a court of only 5 overturned what the people wanted and allowed gay marriage. Did you hear that? They OVERTURNED what the people voted for. Why vote if a handful can then say in effect, "you people don't know what you really want so we change it"? So California had to vote again, as crazy as that is, and again voted to define marriage as between one man and one woman. And, again the courts felt the need to take up the issue, but this time they decided that the people do know what they want and upheld the vote. Again, how ridiculous is it that they had to take the case but that's another discussion altogether. All day today on facebook I read about my friends and their friends railing against the decision to uphold what the people want and then equate that to what founding fathers had to say about freedom. Sadly my friends don't get it. The founding fathers recognized our freedom from God and set in motion the voting privileges we have today. They said that the people by vote should decide how they want to be governed and what laws should be in place, now those same people who enjoy that freedom argue when it doesn't go there way. And by the way non of my friends live in California so what's the beef anyway? Again, I'm trying to get past what the issue is (obviously I agree with the people of California, at least on this) and talk about the absurdity of courts deciding if the people know what they really want. Look I cannot take Obama to court because I don't like that he was elected. I cannot talk Bev Perdue to court because I didn't vote for her, and it is insane that some people can take the vote of the people to court simply because they don't like it. I say move to Maine if you want it so bad, or is your only recourse to complain? If you want an issue so bad move to where it is enacted, or are you not wanting inconvenience for your ideals? If the people of North Carolina outlawed my faith I would move in a heartbeat, and let those people have the state they want. Sorry but that's the country we live in. A group of independent states, and the freedom to vote and move how ever you choose. Glad that's done....have fun on facebook and by all means believe that what you do on there changes the world.

Scott

Trend

I've been hearing a lot lately about a trend I'm not sure is a good thing. I've heard people talk lately about how God will take us where we are and is all Loving and it's ok to mess up and none of us are perfect. Which I agree with, BUT. The problem is that we stop there and don't want better. A trend in the church right now is to love all and except all and we are falling short of helping people OUT of their sins. We want to say to the alcoholic, "God loves you and we don't condemn you" see them saved and we walk away to the next unsaved person, believing that the alcoholic is saved and it's all good. The truth in that God wants us broken (Psalm 51), He wants us to become a "new creation" (Col 3, 1 Cor 5), and He wants us to stop sinning (John 8). Now I am not insane enough to think that we stop sinning when we get saved but we need to stop using it as a excuse to continue in sin we enjoy, and as an excuse not to press the new Christian into stopping his or her actions. Now God is Love, but God also hates sin. He wants better for us. It is, in my opinion, immature to have the mindset that we need to love people and except them as they are and not expect better for them. Love wants the best for a person, and the best is not to continue in sin. The truth of the Bible is that God takes us as we are in whatever sin we are in, no matter how big it is, He loves us unconditionally, BUT wants us to stop sinning because it is the best for us. He does not expect that we will not ever sin and is willing and ready to forgive those sins, bu t we have to stop using that as a crutch to not want better, to not want to correct, and the not want to stop our enjoyable sins. I am be no means a legelist and understand fully my weaknesses but we are going down a scary and slippery road when we liberalize Christianity. The church for too long shut people out because of what they have done and we are correcting that, but we cannot do it at the expense of God's standards and justice. In 1 John John says that he wrote that letter so that we don't sin but adds "when you do". He wants us to stop sinning, but knows it's a tough task. Work at it!! It may never happen but not to try does not show evidence of a changed heart or a saved life (James). God excepts all and wants the best for all and that is to "go and sin not more".

Scott

Worship Music

What can't God do through worship music? Ok, that's rhetorical because there's nothing God cannot do. Last night do to unplanned events (hehe God is in control) I had the honor to jam with the band I lead for 8 years and that I haven't played with in a year and a half. My boss ruined the surprise of my surprise graduation party, but b/c of knowing I in turn knew who was coming. I found out that most of the guys and gals from the old G's band were going to be there. On the way home from church God hit me up with the idea of calling them and having them bring a little gear and jam out some worship music. They willingly excepted the invitation and in my opinion the party rocked and God was honored. Yeah it was a tad unrehearsed (that's what a year and a half will do to you) but it was a blessing to my heart to play and lead with those guys again. I am fully planning on doing it again for a night of worship real soon. I know my mom and wife hate that the "surprise" was ruined but I know God was in control the whole time in order to bless our hearts with a blast from the past. If any of you guys form the band read this, know that your phones will be ringing some to do it again, and we will even try to practice and learn some new songs to add to our list.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

 "A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9)

Psalms 33, personal God

Psalms 33
9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth-
15 he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

I haven't written in a while

Busy Busy Busy. I'll come up with something soon.
Read Habakkuk, God is killing me with it right now. It parallels well with Philippians too if you get that far. Have fun, read your Bible, check out Crosswinds this week (new building same God).
Scott

I Will Praise You In The Storm

Habakkuk 1:2-4, 3:17-19
Last Wednesday the Crosswinds worship team began work on a song called "You're Never Giving Up" by Jonathan David Helser (you can listen to it at http://www.aplacefortheheart.org/, click on music player) and the next morning I left for my yearly camping trip with my two best friends. Every year we plan a trip to Cape Lookout on our kayaks. It's about a 4.5 mile paddle out in fairly open waters, which is not that big of a deal...usually. When we got to the launch site on Thursday it was about 20 mile an hour winds at our backs, but the waters looked calm. They looked calm because the white caps were on the back side of the swells due to wind direction. We were set on going out so we set out. It's about .6 mile to the first small island that we can break at. Roughly half way my friend John and I had a serious conversation about life and death and turning back. Turns out the swells were about 3-4 feet with 35-40 mile winds, and we were in 14 foot kayaks with 70 pounds of camping gear...yeah leaning on God came on strong. I began to sing "You're Never Giving Up" over and over. I was literally terrified. 4 hours later we landed safely on Shacklford Banks, ran into a very nice equestrian biologist were thought we were crazy for crossing in the rough seas. That night I read over all 6 passages were Jesus calmed seas. Long story short the trip was great fun playing with wild horses, kayaking about 13 miles total, sleeping on a beach, and watching the sunset over the Atlantic, except for the first 4 hours. I learned in my pitiful state on the seas that I need to learn to lean on God when times are good and terrifying. The real painful part is that we prayed for safety and it only took 10 minutes to forget the promise of peace, painful arrogance in stress and worry. The Word says to praise Him in all circumstances (1 Thess) good and bad. Forgive me Lord for only turning to You in times of terror!! But, thank You for calming to seas!! I will praise You at the peaks of the swells and in the valleys!
Blessings,
Scott

Weekend in Review

Ok, so obviously this weekend was Easter and it was exhausting in the best of ways. Here is a rundown.
-Friday-the day Jesus was beaten and murdered for my sins. We shopped for a stove, and I worked on Easter music.

-Saturday-the day Jesus was busy defeating sin and death. We went to Scott's Hill Baptist Church for an awesome Easter celebration for the kids. I was the parent who made my daughter cry by rushing to what I thought was a special silver egg, when all she wanted was the one with flowers on it...father of the year. Long story short we got both eggs!! Later we had an egg hunt for all who live on our street and their families. It was an awesome time to meet new friends, and Jesse and my wife did a great job putting it together. That night we ate at Port City Chop House, and I woke up with the same tummy ache I would have had with McDonalds...I'm just sayin'.

-Sunday-the day Jesus rolled away the stone!! We got up at 4:30am to get ready for a sunrise service on the beach. It was an amazing time! First off we got to see our old friends from Life who were doing a service right beside us. We got to play 5 songs as the sun came up over our shoulders. It was awesome watching the Easter morning sun come up just as the women and disciples did on the first Easter morning. Later we had two great services at Crosswinds. The first one had low attendance but was still a great service. The second was standing room only!! People really celebrated victory in salvation!! After that we went and had some family time at my sisters house. She's a great host!! And one more Easter egg hunt. Last night I went to bed too late, but exhaustion from Easter celebration is an awesome feeling!!

THE VEIL HAS BEEN TORN!!

Blessings,
Scott

The Veil Has Been Torn!!

Mark 15: 38, "The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."

As I have been preparing for my first Easter as a staff worship leader I have been wrecked by this one little verse in Mark. I have been a Christian since I was 9, I have been active in church for 20 years, I have lead worship for 9 years, and I have been through Liberty University so I at times get lost in being saved because I have been for so long. Christians have a problem with forgetting their past at times and I am one of those. So this Easter, being secure in my salvation, this verse has killed me. In Old Testament times the veil was used to seal off God from people, and only those deemed perfect enough could go past the veil to visit with God, and with Jesus God got sick of that system!! At the moment of Jesus' last breathe the veil tore, making way for all of us imperfect folks to come to His alter and just be with Him, face to Face one on One. It doesn't matter if you are a prostitute, adulterer, drug dealer, murderer, or just one who has a small gambling problem, you are welcome in His presence and salvation can be yours. Now, He will change you and doesn't want you to remain in you sin, but you are welcome to His as you are. The veil has been torn. What an awesome thought! When you go to church these weekend, whether it's to lead others or simply to punch in your yearly Christian time card I hope you feel welcome because you are. Have a great Easter and go beyond the veil.
Blessings,
Scott

tired

I never thought I could be this tired and still be kicking. I've learned over the last month that the illusion of part-time ministry is folly, but I love it. I keep telling myself, "when we are in the building things will calm down". hahahaha. And I laugh. Anyway, I know this is not at all insightful, and doesn't really tie into anything else I have written, and maybe this sounds more like a diary entry, but well I'm tired.

On a side note; we had an awesome time of prayer last night after worship team rehearsal (which was awesome by the by) for the leaders of the town of Belville. We are having some issues with them about our new building, but more to the point we want to see them all saved if they are not, and we want them to rule in a godly manner irregardless how that effects us. We want and pray for acceptance of God's will and not souly our personal needs, though we do ask for those also. Town of Belville we stand with you, and we pray for you!!

Blessings,
Scott

Because my mom reads this...

I love you mom!! Thank you for taking me to church 29 or so years ago and teaching me what a good Christian parent should do for their kids. Thank you helping me through 27 or so years of school and teaching me that education is important. Thank you for caring for my kids, no matter the hour. Thank you for staying with me in whatever church I am at. Thank you for allowing me to follow God even if that meant at times I neglected you. You will always be my mom and one of my closest friends, even if in my haste I let that relationship slip. You and dad are my rocks!! I love you.
Blessings,
Scott

The Church seen through God's eyes

Ephesians 2:19-22; "That's plain enough, isn't it? You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He's using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home." (Message)

The Church as descibed in the Word is not a building, or sprinklers, or ceiling tiles, or bathrooms, or painted walls, or even the stage; it is the people, Christian people. If we ever have to have "church" in a WWII bunker than so be it. If "church" is in a muddy empty lot than so be it. If "church" is in a cramped old dance studio too small for 150 people than so be it. Because the Church is built in the heart of Christ follows, Christ believers, and Christ imitators. WE are the Church where ever we are. This weekend let's be the Church!! It's not an option it's a command from the Word.
Blessings,
Scott

Yesterday

"God would not allow any evil to exist unless out of it he could draw a greater good. This is part of the wisdom and goodness of God." St. Augustine.

Paul say in Romans 5, " Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Now don't get me wrong I did not suffer great pains yesterday, but during any time of hardship from your own prospective it is a suffering. Though I totally understand levels of real and painful suffering. But, I want to tell you about my day. People often say that when you take part in what God wants from you the Devil is more apt to attack, and I believe that. For many months I have been talking to coworkers about starting a once a week Bible study and prayer before work, and yesterday was our first day. I found some great Scripture about green grass (I work for a lawn care company) that had some great context about not worrying and relying on God, we had a great time of prayer that even our boss got involved in, and we were able to share with each other prayer concerns that we can remember throughout the week. In short it was awesome!! So do you get where I'm going? After that the bottom fell out. The first thing I was aware of was a big time frustration with a chemical delivery man who seemed to think that I could lift 2,800 lbs of liquid Nitrogen...I know I'm buff and all but come on. Then he went and out right lied to his boss about me who then spread that lie to my boss. In short it was a mess and really upset me. Then I got a call from my pastor that my Facebook page had some really sickening things on it. I start work at 5:30 in the morning and yesterday I got to playing with cheesy quizzes on Facebook. I blogged about it below but the long and short is that some nasty stuff got on my page that I was 1) unaware was even there and 2) I didn't read fully at the time of the quiz. I looked at the answers and not the nasty explanations. So as a paid worship leader it was not good, and literally made me sick to my stomach. Then I went to church to work and we found out that we may not even get to have church in our new building due to many factors well out of our hands. So it was a decently bad day, wait it wasn;t bad it was interresting. BUT I WAS BLESSED. Later in the day I was reminded that we started our prayer group that day and I smiled ear to ear because in a sick way the Devil reminded me though his attacks that praying and reading the Word are more than the perfect way to start a day, and that ministering to coworkers is always what God wants. While I'm not going to sit here and ask for more attacks, I was blessed through them at the end of the day yesterday. I pray for safety for my family and myself and want and desire God's mercy on my day but, Devil you made me smile and I say thank you for the irritating reminder that God's will is perfect for my life! Praise God! Next time you have a "bad day" remember why, and seek Him more and more, and be blessed in your attacks.
Blessings,
Scott

Watching yourself even when you don't know you should

At 5:30 this morning I played with the quiz things on Facebook that everyone seems to be doing and got bit. I did the one about Superheros, Disney, 80's movies and so on, but then I saw one asking the question "are you insane"? I thought that's odd so I did the 5 weirdo questions. Not being very technical I didn't know that all of the quizzes get posted on my profile and the "insane" one was very nasty, and not at all appropriate for anyone, not just those employed by a great church. To anyone who saw it I am so utterly sorry that something like that was on my page all day, and please know that I was unaware until my great friend and Pastor brought it to my attention. I have been sick over it for the last hour since I saw it and I hope that talking about it will be calming. Please forgive me if it offended you (and it should have), and please understand it was a mistake of ignorance about Facebook protocol. Forgive me!!

Ok, other than that we started our first weekly prayer meeting before work and it was awesome. I found lots of great scripture about green grass for my fellow Christians in the lawn care line of work!!
Blessings,
Scott

Perfection

John 8:2-11 (New International Version)
2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11"No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

I've been thinking about this passage a lot over the last few days, and how it relates to my ministry through worship music. This has been preached on so many times that I am not going to attempt to do so other than to tell how I feel about it, you can make the call how you think it relates to worship music ministry. The fact is Jesus doesn't condemn her BUT also tells her to stop her sinful actions. It is the ultimate loving way to speak to a new Christian on how a Christian should live. He is telling her that she is not condemned by her actions anymore but He also does not approve of them. Does that make since? I love this passage and will take it to heart when dealing with a new Christian, a non-Christian, or matter-of-fact a "mature" Christian. I will not condemn them for their actions, but they should expect that they will be asked to step out of whatever sin they are in. It's not legalism or loftiness, it's truth. OK, enough about that.
Blessings,
Scott

The Mundane and The Zoo

Rebecca and I took the kids to the South Carolina Zoo this weekend and God used it to spur me on. First I must say that the Zoo had great facilities and you could tell that the animals were well taken care of...so don't call PETA!! However, they are still wild animals and you could tell that they were bored in their cages. I say cages but they were in huge habitats that mimicked the natural area where they live. No matter how big and nice the areas were, though, they are not the open wild and caused these animals to show signs of boredom. All the animals had tracks worn where they paced back and forth over and over. We watched a Lion walk in and out of his cave for 10 minutes, and watched a monkey just stare at the back door of his cage and not move. God spoke to me in this!! I thought about this new job at Crosswinds Church, and I thought about our Pastor Chris, and I don't want us to get bored "doing church". As a staff member you can get so wrapped up in the work of church that you can miss out on the Holy Spirit's activity in the same church. I've seen men get lost and go through the motions on Sunday mornings and it's sad, and more importantly it leads to an apathetic congregation unmotivated to save the lost. They are trapped in the mundane like the animals in the zoo. I say this to anyone who reads this to ask for your help!! If you ever since that Chris or myself are simply going through the motions during any church event call us on it! Hebrews 10:24 says, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deed". The Bible asks us to irritate each other in Christ! If you ever see me singing a song just to get it done, or look bored during worship...spur me on. It will happen, let's not fool anyone, so spur me on. If I ever look like a caged wild animal in church, spur me on. If I don't act like an animal in the wild, spur me on. Bottom line, spur me on, and I will spur you!!
Blessings,
Scott

"I Hate Organized Religion"

I heard this recently from a tattoo artist that I was inviting to church. He didn't hate God, he hated church. He was not mean or antagonistic, but he wanted no part of "organized religion". As I sat through a staff meeting at church last night this came to mind as we talked about organization. Now please don't get me wrong I love organization (OCD), but where does this "I hate organized religion" thing come from? I started looking and found a couple of things. Number one; if he is referring to the organized effort by many "Christians" to cast stones at sinners, then I agree. If he is talking about churches so organized that they exclude "outsiders", then I agree. Even if he is talking about what happens at many church leadership meetings, then I agree. Number two; in the book of Acts we read about the real beginning of The Church. Jesus said He would build His church on Peter and that didn't start until after His death, just to clear up my theological stance about when and where. They had some prayer meetings which lead to thousands coming to the saving knowledge of Christ. But, as I read I noticed that it wasn't until chapter 6 that they really began to get organized, and what prompted this? The needy!! The church first organized around an effort to help the needy. Let's all remember that as we plan our church, first and foremost we should plan to help those who need help the most. If my tattoo artist was referring to that, then I disagree. In that case I love organized religion. Next time you hear that from a nonbeliever, agree with him/her and make the case that we should start organization with helping the helpless.
Blessing,
Scott

Best weekend in my brief worship ministry career

Often in church life you get discouraged or even mad, today was the opposite for once. I have been in two miserable church adventures in my life but over the last year things have changed. Rebecca and I got hooked up in Life Community Church and it has refreshed our faith and our confidence in church...and today we officially left that church. We have been at Life for the last year and through Life I got connected with my new church home and job of Crosswinds Church. Skipping many details I lead worship every other Sunday at Life but felt God tugging me into another direction, though I didn't know where, until I met Chris Vernon and The Crosswinds Church team. Two weeks ago I took a job at Crosswinds which meant I had to leave Life, and the word of the week has been bittersweet. Long story short (maybe I'll blog about the whole story one day), today Chris' family and my family went to Life for prayer and jetted over to our church for service. It was a rush getting up early for prayer and the excitement of what is happening through Crosswinds in Leland. The prayer was amazing and they were generous enough to help us out financially, and our service was AWESOME. I say awesome not due to what Chris or I did, but what God did through the people. Today I saw the people of Crosswinds have one of those "break though" moments in worship and it sent chills up my arms and legs. We played "Forever", "Mighty to Save", and "The Stand". We didn't have words on the screen for most of "Forever" but God moved. "Mighty to Save" was new to me, as far as leading it is concerned, but God moved. And "The Stand"...wow what to say but God moved and moved hard. Raising hands is not a necessity for true worship but it is an indicator to the worship team that people are worshipping and being moved by God. Chris' message was on point and has caused me to seriously consider how I am spending my time, I thank him for challenging me! We replayed "The Stand" at the end of service and we could hear the church sing in one voice, "All I am is Yours", giving themselves to Kingdom goals. I for one am a leader who loves to hear the congregation sing, and though it may seem redundant for me to keep saying, "just our voices" I will continue to do so every Sunday because of my love to hear God's people sing from the "pews". More along the business aspect of church we, for a small church, are going to be blessed by the worship team that God is forming. To date we have: two drummers, a bass player, two guitarist, two keyboardists, five singers, myself, and two of the singers are willing to lead songs here and there. All this from a church that right now averages 30-40 adults. My friends God is moving. I decided that I want the band members to always remind each other of this phrase on Sunday mornings "get over yourself". I took this from the book Crazy Love, and I hope it sticks. Those three little words wrap up my philosophy of worship ministry, get over yourself and let God move. He uses us, we do not use Him in corporate worship. We need to be moved out of the way and allow God to intervene in our hearts, minds, and souls as we lead others to the Throne Room. Anyway, great, awesome, amazing, uplifting, overflowing, powerful, and refreshing to my faith Sunday. I love Sundays, worship everyday as if it were Sunday.
Blessings,
Scott

Meeting of the minds??

I had a thought a long time ago about starting a small group once a month for anyone in the area who is in the same line of work as me (Lawn Care, Green Industry), but it has not materialized yet. Shame on me for that! But, I was thinking and planning, and talking to people about it recently and thought about my new job as Worship Leader and wondered if there was anything like that for all of us? I've never heard of it but what a great idea (if I can be so bold) of having all the area Worship leaders/Pastors to meet once a month for a Bible study, hang out, networking session, anything but music (check your egos at the door) time for all of us. Does that sound to anyone else like a good idea? I urge you, in spite of my non-action, to consider starting a monthly Bible study for everyone in your profession. I am going to work on starting one for all lawn care workers, and for Worship leaders. I think it would be awesome for Christians in similar jobs to come together to pray for our businesses or churchs not as competitors but as brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray for me that I and others who get involved can make something like this happen. This post is to allow you info to keep me accountable for...so next time you see me ask me how the Bible studies for Lawn Care Workers and Worship Leaders are going. Any ideas about names for the groups would be much appreciated also...like Green Pasteur's (that looks spelled wrong but spell check said it was right....hmmm) for the Lawn Care one and "Get over yourself" for the Worship leader one.
Blessings,
Scott

Weekend in Review

So, this was my first Sunday as an official staff worship leader (I'm not using the term Pastor until I get ordained out of respect to those who are), and it was awesome!! Working with Chris and the whole Crosswinds team has been a great experiance that I hope and pray will grow into a lifelong partnership in ministry. Today we had a great crowd!! When you have to set up more chairs and it is raining an cold...God is moving in Leland, period. I've been in church work for a long time and it's sad to say that most rainy Sunday's are down Sunday's, but not today. The message God gave Chris was amazing and inspiring. I'm ready to live dangerously for Christ!!

We had a new singer...well new to me, Paul who did a great job, and can expect to be leaned on for all future Sunday's. We played Hosanna, Blessed Be Your Name, Better is One Day, and God of This City. Set-wise it was a standard set for one guitar and singers. The passion for praising God was evendent in the people if the church. We have a ton of work to do in the next few weeks as we continue to prepare for Launch Sunday, but the people who have already shown interrest in playing on the team are fantastic. Though we have so many talented people if I use them all who will be in the seats? What a great problem to have. We already have a full band and 6 plus singers, which is the perfect band in my eyes. I'm looking forward to living in a dangerous way with you all....prepare now for the explotion that God is going to bring into our little corner of Leland, and prepare to take that to the World...that's right the World!!
Blessings,
Scott

Fear of Flying

So, many of you who know me know that I am 100% terrified to fly. I have been in one incident (I call it a crash, my mom disagrees but she wasn't there), I had a tooth break flying into Yugoslavia so that wasn't good (the dentist is my other fear, and the one's in Yugoslavia are nasty at best), and once flew in a twin prop. plane from St. Petersburg to Moscow that reminded me of the plane in "Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom" that they had to jump out of. So anyway I'm scared to fly. The last time I flew was with my dad to Talladega Ala. and I literally had to be drugged...like seriously drugged. I had a panic attack seeing video's of my daughter before the flight, anyway it was a scene man. I'm telling you all this because I had to think about flying again yesterday. Pastor Chris and I both have a passion to see Crosswinds Church plant and fund a church overseas. It's a really cool trend in today's churches to do this. PC3, funds and built a church in Kenya before they even built there building, Lifepoint funds and built a church in Brazil and still meet in a school, and while we haven't nailed anything down yet the words have come out of our mouths that we want to see this happen with Crosswinds. It has been a passion of mine for awhile but something dawned on me yesterday....I would at some point have to fly there!! I was watching a Lifepoint sermon online and the Pastor and Worship Pastor were doing the service remote from Brazil and it hit me, we would have to do that. I mean you can't fund and build a church and never go to it. I prayed about it all last night, and by putting God first I actually became really excited about the idea. And now I want to fly to a little village in Africa and worship with other believers. Now this is easy to say because, heck, we haven't even really really talked about it, but still God is working in me. Can you imagine the awesome trip my kids would get to go on to see remote areas of the world and really get to see real people and not just a tourist trap in some "famous" city overseas? The thought of that and the lessons I and my family would learn from doing something like that kept me up all night in anticipation!! Now, I told Rebecca not to get too excited b/c there's no way I'm flying anywhere other than where God uses us to plant a foreign church. Guys, if you do nothing else this week put God first in all things...period. Putting God first has made my wife really happy with me this week, putting God first made me want to fly somewhere to minister His Word and play music for His people, putting God first has made my lack of sleep vanish so I could spend time with my kids, and putting God first will make Crosswinds explode in Leland and in the world...seriously THE WORLD. Back to flying, God spoke to me last night through my own words to Rebecca, "If we fly there we get to see and minister in ways we could never imagine, and if the plane crashes we get to wake up in Heaven...win, win". God first...period.
Blessings,
Scott

PS-I have a feeling that I will expound on this later and God furthers what He wants to do in this situation and idea!!

Yeah so I work at a church

A long time ago a lady who's name I do not know told me that the hardest thing about being called in to ministry was actually getting to the point where it really happens. Tonight after being called into ministry for the past 15 years or so I took my first job at Crosswinds Church!! It is so surreal taking the job that you have "wanted to be when you grew up". I'm am so ready to dive in, and yet I'm at a loss as to what that means. As a volunteer in a church you can come and go as you please, but now as staff you have to gauge when to say yes and when to say no. It means I not only just simply pick songs but I go to staff meeting, leadership meeting, and God help me finance meetings. Tonight is the night I have longed for and desired for for many years and it still has not processed. Picking songs is easy, teaching music is easy, jamming with the band is easy, but the intangibles are daunting. I have the strength of Christ on my side so it's all good, but as of two hours ago my life as I know it has changed forever. I could not be more thrilled at the church that choose me to serve with them, and it is truly an honor to be with them and worship with them. I will be making many phones calls and sending many e-mails and will soon get out what I will be looking for in the worship team, and more importantly what my thoughts about worship in general are. Pastor Chris has an awesome vision, and we have the prayers of many within and not in our particular church. I cannot what to see what God has in store over the next few months, but I know that God will do great things and I am expecting them to happen. Members of Crosswinds I ask for your prayers and open the door to myself by means of sharing your lives with me. This is going to be a great ride these next few months!!! I will have this surrealness processed soon and the real work can begin...boy o boy the things they don't teach you in seminary!! I will be in contact with you and just a heads up if you are at all musical expect some nudging to come. Thank you for this opportunity and you will have my all (baring in mind I live by God first my family second and the congregation third...as it should be).
I share in Chris' vision and buckle up, it's going to be awesome time in Leland and we all together make an impact to reclaim our small patch of the mission field for the Kingdom and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus Christ. Prepare now to beinging your personal worship to the corporate worship of Sunday mornings. Read and work on Eph. 2:18-22. Let's build this church on Kingdom goals and the cornerstone of Christ!!
Blessings,
Scott

First Sunday at Crosswinds!!

Today was our first Sunday leading worship at Crosswinds Church, so here's the skinny on how God moved at church. Our song list was Friend of God, God of this City, Open Up the Skies, and Surrender. Just being boldly honest it was a little akward due to many factors, choosing not to use microphones, only having one guitar, and just worshipping with new people. Anytime you walk into a new group of worshipers it can take time to "feel" out how they worship God. Worship can take many forms and looks, therefore a learning curve is expected when standing in front of the group. However, over looking those man-made "issues" the day was fantastic. We saw people with a real desire to stand boldly for Christ honor Him through worship music today. We spent about 2 minutes in dead silence listening to God (an idea from the book Crazy Love), and I pray that God spoke as loudly to the others in the room as He did to me. As we go forward I think that Crossinds will be a great place of worship because of the heart of the people there and the desire for seeing God do miricles in the area. Worship goes far beyond the leader and the band and even the concept of music, though all are very important. Worship is the heart of The Church ministering The Word. I look forward to working with the people at Crosswinds in any capacity we all see fit. Again, all in all I had a great day of personal worship, and thoroughly enjoyed getting to see others worship to true Creator God, the Author of Worship, and the Savior Jesus Christ. Worship Him this week by telling others of His saving grace and enjoy watching Him pull them out of the path to hell. God's love is amazing!!! Devote (Acts 2:41-47) yourselves to Kingdom Worship!!!
Blessing,
Scott

PS-I have already heard that Life had a great worship atmosphere also, praise God!!

Dinner with a Pastor

Tonight we were honored to have some good times with Pastor Chris and his family. It's a shame that the Carolina game ruined to first half of the night, but still it is exciting getting to know the family that we may be in ministry with for many years to comes. If it is God's will I will be thrilled to serve with Chris and have our families grow even closer together. Oh and Chuck Taylors rule, period. If you wear Chucks your Theology has to be good!!
Blessings,
Scott

Crazy Love

In case you haven't yet, read the book Crazy Love. I am now on chapter 6 of 10 and it is unreal. Read it and read it now. My favorite quote so far is, "Stress and worry reek of arrogance". The quote is within a great chapter but those 6 words are just ringing in my ear, especially as I get ready to lead worship for a new group of believers.
Blessings,
Scott

Marriage and God

I heard a great message the other day by a TV preacher on TBN. I don't recall his name but he was Bishop somebody or another. He made a point that I had never heard before about the fall of Adam. Pastors have taught on the fall forever and usually focus on the fall of Eve and then Adam and relate it to pride, or selfishness, or wanting to be like God, or blaming the Devil, or somesuch thing. This guy spoke about Adam's fall and thus the fall of man to putting someone, namely his wife, before God. God told Adam not to eat of the fruit and then came Eve with the fruit. Adam, not wanting to disappoint, anger, or disrespect his wife took of the fruit and ate. Adam put his wife before God in his hierarchy of respect, and fell. I heard another pastor recently relate our marriage relationship to a pyramid, with God at the top and the man and wife on the other corners. As we grow closer to God we in turn grow closer together, but no matter God is always on top. And honestly with the shape of some pyramids if only one is growing closer to God while the other is falling away you will grow apart, so work together on your personal relationships with Christ. Ask eachother about your walk with God, pray together about your seperate relationship with the Holy Spirit, and boost eachother when needed if one is stumbling. So, what did we learn from all of this put together? Put God first. Put God before your spouse, your kids, your television, and your facebook. Adam put Eve first and fell. I do not want to fall further from God, I want more of Him so that I may have more of my wife, and I want my wife to have more of Him so that she can have more of me. God first, period. I need to figure out this guys name so I can watch him more.
Blessings,
Scott

PS-The spellcheck thing is not working so sorry for all the mistakes, I'll a spellcheck junky.

What this will be about

I never thought that I would be the type to blog but here I am writting my thoughts to put on the internet...so there you have it I'm a blogger. So be it.

I wanted to start this blog as a means of sharing my thoughts about worship in general but more to the point share about worship from Sunday services at whatever church God leads me to. I want to share songs we did, why we did them in some cases, and my thoughts about how the congregation worshipped the Creator God. You may or may not ever get anything out of this blog but I hope that you will, and that God will use this to help me reach people about His love, grace, and mercy.

So here goes with my first thoughts....scary.

I'm leading some songs this week at an awesome new church called Crosswinds Church (http://www.crosswindslive.com) . I've met with the Pastor (cool guy), and we have met the people of the church (super cool people), and this Sunday I have the incredible oppertunity to lead them in worship through music, and I'm struggling. Those of you who know me know that I am OCD about planning and I usually have a song list in seconds when I am asked to lead somewhere. But in this case I'm at a loss, granted is it only Monday, but still I feel like I should have it by now. Maybe it's because there is a possible leadership role there, maybe it's because I'm nervous about really stepping out into my call, maybe it's simply because it's new people and I don't know their likes and dislikes yet, or maybe it's because I have a crazy week of work this week and barely have time to think about food much less music. Who know's? But being OCD it kinda bothers me. I totally trust that God will give me music well in time, but learning patience is not what I had planned this week (I would put a smiley here but I hate them). On the up side one of my best friends is going to sing with me, and of course I will have my lovely wife with me, and most of all I simply get the honor of worshiping God this Sunday with new friends. As soon as God blesses me with a song list I'll figure out how I want to share it through blog. Until then worship the Lord your God with everything you have, and bring that passion to your church this weekend, remember worship is NOT about the team on stage but the church as a whole if you bring your worship to church you may very well be the worship leader that your pew neighbor needed.

Blessings,
Scott

Just checking

Hey, I'm just seeing if this works, I'll get started later.
Scott