What is that in your hand?

So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A rod.” And He said, “Cast it on the ground,” (Exodus 4:2-3, NKJV)

What a week!

I just poured out my heart trying to get my website up, so that people can find out easily what training I provide.

And to top it all off, I fell sick earlier this week. Those of you who have met me or had lessons with me this week know that now my voice is good for doing Elvis imitations and very little else.

I actually wanted to talk about something else this week, but finishing up my website just triggered off something else in me, so I decided to just flow with that a bit.

When I clicked through my website and read through my text again, I realized the depth and breath of worship-related info and experience I have. Reading my descriptions gave me a somewhat surreal feeling, as if it was not possible for a person to accumulate that much skill and knowledge within a short period of time.

So that got me thinking. How did I ever get it? And how can you get it too?

First, you need to realize that the raw materials you need got whatever ministry you are called for are already in you.

Remember Moses? We tend to look at his calling and his ministry, but forget that his rod, a humble piece of wood, was the instrument he had in his hand at the moment God called. That was the same rod he bashed a few serpent’s heads’ with, brandished in the air to frighten off wolves, and used to poke straying sheep back in line.

I don’t know about you, but if I were Moses and knew that God wanted to use MY rod to do miracles, I’d get a new one, polish it, engrave some cool logo on it (together with my mission statement, website address and contact info) and then present it to God, fully expecting God to be impressed.

Didn’t happen that way.

Yes, I know that we’ll always have to upgrade our skills, strive for excellence and all that. But we have to remember that we do all that with the rod that is already in our hands. That rod which is mundane and normal to us, which we use to get through life, the rod which we most likely despise (make light of)

And that is what I’d like to bring up with you now.

What is that you have in your hand?

It can be just your physical body, your better-than average intellect, your money, your experience with computers, sports or music (as in my case).

Or if you despise all that, then how about your time?

Consider this: if you took 3 years to attend a tae-kwon-do class every week you’d get a black belt by then.

If you read a new chapter of the Bible everyday for three years (15 minutes a day) you’d have finished reading the whole Bible, New AND Old Testament.

If you choose to study one book of the Bible in some depth each month, you’d finish the whole Bible in 5 years. (If you start from Genesis, Obadiah, Haggai, 2 John and 3 John won’t take you a whole month each, trust me).

And you’d have a grasp of Scripture that many people I’ve met don’t have. How about using that to start ministering to God’s people?

Now when you take the rod in your hand and cast it down on holy ground, what’s gonna happen?

That’s right! Just like Moses, it’s gonna become a serpent!

You’re gonna see the evil within your gift. I never knew the dangers and character challengers of a worship ministry until I cast my gifting on the ground. I discovered things within myself that I never knew, none of which I was proud of.

And when that happens to you, you have two choices.

You can run away. “I need to get my heart right” “I need to deal with my inner pride” (makes you sound humble, thus feeding your pride even more) or “I want to serve God for the right reasons” or other religious excuses are perfect for this. Your church leaders will be impressed (I won’t) but at the root of it all you are running away.

Or you can do what God told Moses, which is to stay there, reach out your hand (“Won’t the serpent bite me?”) and grab the serpent by the tail.

And when you do that, you’re saying to God “I can’t take care of the head. YOU take care of it!”

And it will become a rod again. But this time, it’s one that you have seen become a serpent. You know that it’s poisonous, capable of great evil, and that it’s now a rod, an instrument of God’s work and miracle-power, by God’s grace and his grace alone.

When you step forth into whatever ministry you are called for, that God has purposed for you, you begin to live life in such an exciting and fulfilling way, that you’re gonna wonder why on earth you took so long to get started.

So get started!

Prayer time: Well, pray for me that I’ll recover even faster than this. Taking this enforced rest period (“huh? You call this rest?”) to wait upon God even more than usual. Pray with me, that I may hear God clearly concerning details in my life direction. Thanks, everyone!

You Gotta Sing!

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12, NIV)

Those of you who know me longer know that I am driven by dissatisfaction.I can only tolerate staring a problem in the face for how long before I end up compelled to do something about it.

Even in my emails about the drums, guitar and the keyboard teaching that I am doing, you can tell that I get involved with a particular field only if I believe that there are no viable alternatives to what I offer, or there are sufficient problems with what else is available. I rant a lot.

So I'm gonna rant about another topic, vitally important for worship musicians to understand.

You gotta sing!
As I said in my guitar course email, too often we have worship courses created by musicians with musicians in mind. They play Christian music for Christian gatherings and teach others to do the same. The unspoken emphasis is on good music, not on what works for worship.

I remember a conversation I had with one such person. Aw man, he was talented. If you think I'm good, you should have seen him, in raw music skill he had me choking in the dust.

The conversation went something like this:

Him: "Why don't we do THIS chord here instead of that one?"

JJ: "because it clashes with what the worshippers are singing."

Him: "But it sounds richer harmonically."

JJ: "Yes, but it clashes with what the worshippers are singing."

Him: "But it's musically more interesting."

JJ: "Yes, but it clashes with what the worshippers are singing."

Him: "The chord you want here is so conventional and boring. Everyone does that chord."

JJ: "Yes, but it fits in with what the worshippers are singing."

You can guess how the rest of the conversation went. In the end I gave up, and spent my time praying that nobody I taught would ever look at the chord sheet and ask "JJ, why is THIS chord here? Wouldn't it clash with the singing?" I probably would have burst an artery.

God is merciful. Enough said.
Now that you are in the habit of listening, take things a step further and sing, to see if what you play fits with what the worshippers are singing.

Because that's what we are counting on worship musicians to do. In the years before we started to understand music and how to play for worship, we assumed that the musicians would choose chords based on what would support our worship of God, not what tickled their ears musically.

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

Since this is what we wanted musicians to do, this is what we ought to do ourselves. Please, guys, before you get seduced by the Dark Side of the Force, please remember that serving the cell group or congregation is the reason why we minister as worship musicians. Decide everything,
from the key you use for the song to how hard you whack the hi-hat cymbal, based on what enhances the worship for the people of God.

"Test everything, hold fast to what is good…" (1 Thess 5:21)

And the way to really check if what we want to play supports the worshippers' singing is to sing. You wouldn't believe how many musical problems would have been solved if the musicians took the effort to sing along with what they wanted to play in the first place, to see if it fits.

In worship I'd rather you play music that bores you stiff than music that distracts the people in any way.

Now, before those of you who haven't heard me play jump to conclusions and think that I am one of those anti-skill advocates in the worship arena, some of my more advanced students (Dynamic Devotions) have seen me spend ONE HOUR explaining the chord variations to "I Worship You, Almighty God" that fit into the singing.

And I wouldn't have discovered all of them if not for me singing and listening to both the singing and the chords I was playing.

Think about it. If it takes one hour to explain the variations that can arise from "I Worship You, Almighty God", that means that the chord variations do have depth. They effectively add fresh color to the same song and yet do not distract from the worship.

So take the time to sing and listen to what comes out. For those of you who are actively taking lessons from me, you warm my heart when you show me the stuff you discover by yourself by testing your music choices by singing along with what you play.

More than anything else, this joy of seeing you grow is what drives me on in my teaching efforts.

Be blessed!

Who's the mediator?

It never offended me before, but it did now.
I was having a conversation with one of my students, a lady in my Dynamic Devotions Course.
(In case you don't know, Dynamic Devotions is the course I conduct for keyboardists already serving in church and want advanced training in playing keyboards for worship. I cover the subtle details that many musicians miss, details that vastly enhance the worship experience of the congregation. This course also builds them up to the level where they can play the piano prophetically, that is, play down the presence and glory of God through the piano. Think of it as a black belt worship keyboardist class…)
This lady said "In order to lead the people into the presence of God, I HAVE to be close to God. How can I bring them to intimacy with God if I myself am not intimate with God?"
And if YOU believe that, brace yourself. And read what I have to say.
If you HAVE to be intimate with God in order to lead people to that point, you're saying that if you are not, the people CAN'T be intimate with God. You are setting yourself up as the mediator between God and man.
Well, in 1 Timothy 2:5 says "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…"
And when I lead worship, especially for Tuesday Group, I am so conscious of Christ Jesus in every believer present. If for some reason I am not living in the truth of Christ's mediation for me, there are so many others who can be that link, that mediator, that I can be touched by God, be closely embraced by God and be blessed.
That's why I LOVE to lead worship for Tuesday Group, by the way. :) There are so many people there who live in the truth of Christ in them, that at anytime they carry within their bodies the very one who connects God with everyone around them. No wonder the worship at each meeting is so powerful!
Now why then, doesn't that link, that divine connection, occur more often when people worship God? Couple of reasons.
First, there are too few people who truly understand true worship leading, how to really lead worship. They've been given cliches such as "You worship God and the rest of the people will follow." They do what they've been told works by people who can't consistently make it work. And wonder why what they do falls flat.
Second, many people neutralize the Christ in them, making him of no effect. In Galatians 5:4 "You who are trying to be justified (made right, be in right standing) by the law have been alienated from Christ…"
You can tell me all the doctrinal truths you subscribe to, Justification by Faith, Salvation by Grace and all that. All I want to know is this: when you have to meet God face to face, what are you counting on? Are you counting on you doing the right things? Or on Christ having already given himself as a ransom for you, making you good enough?
And let's take this verse a little further.
Mark 12:29-31 "The most important one, Jesus answered, "is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second one is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these."
Since in this passage, Jesus himself said that loving God and your neighbor is considered the law. When you face God, are you able to stand before him with confidence because you love him and your fellow man? Or because he has loved you? When you are counting on you loving God and your neighbor (fulfilling the summary of the law) to be in right standing before God, Christ (the anointed one, the mediator between God and man) is made of no effect to you.
As I said, don't tell me your doctrine. Tell me what really happens within you when you step up in front of the congregation after you've just quarreled with your spouse, yelled at your kids, shook your fist at the person who snatched that last parking lot from you (and realized that's your pastor!)
I personally believe God allows all these things to arise before we lead worship so that we can go back to square one and say "God, it's still ALL about your grace, sufficient for me, your strength made perfect in my weakness."
Before I get flamed by the people who are offended by what I say here, let me make this crystal clear.
I believe in intimacy with God. Really.
But I crave that intimacy with God not for the sake of the people I serve, but for my own sake. I know by now that I am a wineskin for God's people. My experience, my understanding, my deep knowledge of how to lead worship, my music skill and even all my anointing makes me an excellent wineskin. I am one of the best wineskins I know.
But I am nothing without the wine of God. Do you get it?
And that is what's on my mind every time before I lead worship, play for worship or even teach worship. God, give me (or us) the fresh wine!
My intimacy with God tells me one thing: God wants to be with his people and bless them because he loves them. My time with God tells me that I lead worship well not because of my time with God, but that he wants to spend time with us, with his beloved and precious people.
And he does, because someone in the whole group (not necessarily me) has the faith to believe that Christ, the connecting link between God and man, dwells within him or her. And God shows up.
So, worshippers of Jesus Christ, do give thought on what I share here. I'm pouring out my heart to you, hoping that somehow or other God will use my words to speak to you, that you may be blessed.
Prayer time: Thank God! The arrangements for the beginner guitar course are blessed! We are making my Core Concepts for Worship an integral part of the course, as well as teaching some things about how to effectively lead worship. Pray that God will bless us and expand our territory.
And help us ask your close friends and ministry leaders this question: if I were to take all my teaching on how to lead worship and make it a separate course by itself, would they be interested? Ask them to email their thoughts, comments and questions to me at jvworship@gmail.com.
Thanks! Be blessed!

Listen up...

“He who answers before listening - that is his folly and his shame.” Proverbs 18:13

I love to answer good questions from people.

Why? Because I usually know WHY I do something, but it’s when I have to articulate it then I become very clear about those reasons.

Otherwise they’re just kinda hazy in my mind. Get what I mean?

And after the first time I played for the Monday service at Living Faith Church (www.thelivingfaith.org) I was helping a student from that church understand my playing style.

And she remarked “it seems as if you are listening before you play each note.”

And she was right.

It was when she brought it up that I realize that I whenever I play for worship I am listening to the rest of the worship team. If I am playing for a church service with a band I am listening to the rest of the musicians in the band.

(so if there’s anyone who messes up his/her part, yes I am affected. Boy am I affected!)

And I am always listening to the congregation.

When I am leading worship, people seem to be overly amazed at how I just know when to stay at a song and when to move on. Two things, first whenever I lead worship, I always take time to let the song sink into my own spirit first, so that I can understand its unique internal flow, as it were.

And second, I am listening to the worshippers. If their hearts are still on a song, I’ll just stay there.

You’d be amazed how little church musicians really listen.  

Especially keyboardists. Most don’t play the keyboard, they type on it with the same level of emotion and attention they give to the rattling that comes from their computer keyboards when they are frantically rushing their Excel worksheets or Winword documents for the next board meeting.

Hey keyboardists, when was the last time you sat down on the keyboard and listened to the C chord? Yes, in root position? Do you still remember the wonder you felt when you first played those three notes together and experienced the C chord for the first time?

And guitarists, when was the last time you stopped to listen to your simple, open-string E minor chord? Listen to it string by string, then hear the awe-inspiring beauty of this chord as you strum all the strings together. Beautiful, isn’t it?

And drummers, hit a ride cymbal and listen to how long the ring resounds. In the ancient tribal cultures, they’d use percussion instruments to bring themselves to a trance-like state where they felt they could connect with their deities. For us, the Bible repeatedly talks about praising God with the cymbals. Can you hear the glory and holiness of God as you strike the cymbals?

And everyone, try this out the next time you are talking with someone. Just chill out, sit back and really listen.

Let your mind be still and just hear what he or she has to say. Listen for their heart, listen for their inner thoughts. Know that they will be revealed to you if you just calm your own heart and listen to what they are saying, not what you think they mean when they say something.

Don’t be too quick to answer. It is written “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…” (James 1:19, NIV). Let moments of silence arise in the conversation and let God speak to you too. Do a 3-way call with God, as some people put it.

Practice this awesome skill of listening. If you don’t, but hurriedly jump in with your own replies before you’ve truly heard the questions, well, Proverbs 18:13 is very clear in how it describes you.

And that verse implies that if you DO listen before you reply, that is your wisdom and glory.

Let us to be known as people of wisdom and glory, OK?

Be blessed!

Prayer Time: The next intake for the Play Drums for Worship course is open for registration. Thank God for his divine favor in the eyes of worshippers desiring to serve God and his people directly. Pray that I’ll be able to touch the right people with this course, that God will bless me and enlarge the territory of my ministry.

And feel free to forward the drums info email to your friends and ministry leaders too. Thanks, everyone!

Be blessed!