My First Haiku

The Bible is open

My mind and spirit renewed

I live in shalom

inspired by Psalm 119:165 -

Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.

I've been thinking about bad poetry recently. After a while I decided that since I don't write poetry I am in no position to criticize! So while thinking about the structures of haiku (official definition given below) I suddenly managed to write one! I'll be gloating about this for quite some time, that's for sure!

"Haiku (俳句, haikai verse^?) listen (help·info), plural haiku, is a form of Japanese poetry, consisting of 17 moras (or on), in three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 moras respectively.^[1] Although haiku are often stated to have 17 syllables,^[2] this is inaccurate as syllables and moras are not the same. Haiku typically contain a kigo (seasonal reference), and a kireji (cutting word). In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line, while haiku in English usually appear in three lines, to parallel the three phrases of Japanese haiku.^[3] Previously called hokku, haiku was given its current name by the Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki at the end of the 19th century."

From Wikipedia

Fatal Mistake Bosses Make

I recently had lunch with an old friend of my wife, who was also a former music student of mine. She was telling me about the little ways her current employer tried to short-change her and how she foiled them.

For example, she was placed on 3 months of probation when she was first hired. And just about the time her boss was supposed to tell her if she was to be confirmed as a permanent staff of that company (with the appropriate pay increase), her boss arranged to go for a very long trip to Europe. That would have left her hanging in the air for more than a month while waiting for his decision.

Other employees would have just waited for the boss' return and hope to be confirmed then. She sent the boss an email informing the boss that she did not wish to waste her time in that company if she was not going to be confirmed as a permanent staff. Her boss called her immediately just before he left the country to promise her that she would be confirmed as staff. And he kept that promise, she got the pay raise she deserved.

Another case: the company was expanding and she found out that the new staff hired were going to be paid more than she was, even though she was doing the bulk of the work. She told her boss directly that if she was not going to be paid what she was worth, she would resign. She got her pay increased to match that of the new staff.

In Asian societies this type of behaviour from an employee is unthinkable. But because my friend was so forthright with her boss, he knew that she would not backstab him or sabotage him behind his back. Also, when she joined her current company to do admin work, she found the whole company's admin all in a mess and she spent lots of time and effort to sort everything out for them. The people hired for that job before her quit within 1-3 months, and left everything in chaos. She single-handedly fixed up everything without any help from the other staff (they didn't know anything) or the boss (who didn't know anything either).

In other words, she could get away with this type of behaviour because she had already proven her value and loyalty to the company!

People with that kind of drive, initiative and forthrightness are an asset to any company they choose to work for. But if you want to lead employees of that calibre, you must know the value of your people and pay them accordingly.

Colossians 4:1 (NIV) - Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

One tendency we have as fallen human beings is to boast about how cheaply we managed to buy something. It's nothing new, even Solomon commented on buyers who try to drive a hard bargain.

Proverbs 20:14 (NIV) - "It's no good, it's no good!" says the buyer; then off he goes and boasts about his purchase.

But if you try that when it comes to buying the labour of your staff, especially with employees who genuinely know their market value, they will resent you. And eventually leave. Don't deceive yourself. You can try your hardest to find staff who will work for you for less than their market value, but let me tell you that you are losing time and peace, as well as risking the reputation of your business when the lousy staff you hire produce work that is worth as much as you pay them.

Pastor John Lim of Living Faith Church regularly preaches to employees that if they work as unto the LORD (Col 3:23-24) the LORD will often move them out of a company that is exploiting them and underpaying them. Christian bosses, please meditate on this. If you find that your staff retention rate is low and your good staff keep leaving, the problem may not be the devil, the economy, how greedy employees are these days or any other excuse you cook up. It might just be that God really doesn't like how you underpay your staff!

Another way bosses cheat their staff is by paying them late.


The hired men of that era were daily-rated workers. They were economically even worse off than the slaves, who would have food and lodging provided for them. The principle we see here is not that we should pay our staff daily (that would be a huge admin hassle) but that we pay them on time, on the day and date we promised to pay them. Don't use weekends, public holidays or your own overseas business trips as excuses to make your staff wait for their wages.

Why would some bosses delay the wages? You see, the longer the wages stay in the company's bank accounts, the more interest the company stands to earn on that bank account. Yes, given today's interest rates it isn't really a lot of money compared to the resentment and ill-will you build with your staff if you do that. But some employers are penny-wise, pound-foolish.

What about shrewd bosses?

Shrewd bosses pay their staff above market rate. That way they will always have their pick of the best employees available for their business. Some people call this foolishness, or say that it is bad stewardship of the money God has entrusted them. Let me show you two examples of shrewd employers from Scripture.

Genesis 41:38-44 (NIV) - So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, "Make way!" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt."

Background – Joseph had just interpreted Pharaoh's dream, saving the lives of the people of Egypt. I do not know the market rate for diviners or dream-interpretation in those days, but I can safely assume that you don't hand over the kingdom to them for successfully interpreting only one dream!

But Pharaoh was shrewd. If he paid Joseph overwhelmingly well, he knew that he would secure Joseph's loyalty AND have Joseph's wisdom and insight near him when he needed it. Also, what kind of threat would Joseph be to Pharaoh if Joseph was employed by another kingdom?

(Quick tip: the staff you should pay the most are the ones that you most fear working for your competitors…)

Of course it was a gamble. But in those days you don't survive long as Pharaoh unless you are a good judge of character. In the few minutes Pharaoh saw Joseph in action, he quickly weighed up Joseph's character and trusted his gut-feeling that said this strange foreigner who was hidden in his prison was the kind of person he wanted on his staff. And in the years to come Joseph would prove him right.

Luke 19: 16-17 (NIV) - "The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'

In the parable of the minas, the newly crowned king awarded his best performing servant a huge promotion. Which makes sense, if he can grow one mina into ten, what do you think he can do with ten cities? Some Singaporean bosses I know will tell this servant "Sorry, the economy is bad, this time I give you half a mina but you must still grow it into ten minas for me, otherwise your job is in danger…"

Of course, within a month these bosses will be complaining about how this ungrateful servant left them for greener pastures!

If you had this servant working for you, how much of your money would you entrust to him? For me I'd probably hand this servant all I have and mortgage my home further! By the way, this attitude of investing your money and attention to where you see results does not apply only to high performing staff. It also applies to marketing campaigns as well. If you are the boss you must track the advertising campaigns you pay for and see which are the ones that bring you the most customers, the highest spending ones and the most loyal ones. And invest in those campaigns accordingly.

It is foolish to cut spending on advertising blindly or solely on advertising cost. You need to track your returns from each campaign. And if you are not directly supervising each campaign yourself, your marketing director must be ready to account for these campaigns to you, to tell you which are the highest-performing campaigns and recommend that you invest further in those marketing channels.

Final note: I left out the last reason why my friend was so daring, and would take no nonsense from her boss. She had a background in sales and marketing. As long as you know sales and marketing, you will always have work, because every business needs people who can increase their sales. And that is why she often has people offering jobs to her.

Conversely, if you do not know sales and marketing but only possess specific skills, then you are in trouble should market changes ever render your skills obsolete. And if you are a boss or business owner who is unable to bring in sales for your business, you are at the mercy of those who can, because your business cannot survive without those people.

OK, this post has gone on long enough! I know I'm supposed to write more on worship ministry, and I will do so soon. Please email me or leave a comment if you find this post on Christian business helpful or if you'd like me to write more on this topic. In the meantime, be blessed!

Deuteronomy 24:14-15 (NIV) - Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

When You Meet Simon the Sorcerer

May was the month I studied the Book of Acts. And when I looked into Acts 8 one day over dinner (I was eating by myself and flipped open my Bible for fun) some thoughts came to me.

Acts 8:9-11 (NIV) - Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.

In this day and age we are likely to meet Simon the Sorcerer again, spiritually speaking.

Witchcraft and sorcery, obvious use of the occult for self-gain, is not only easily available, it is now fashionable. When I was a teenager I would see the occasional book on spells in the bookshop and think it was a joke. Now you can get detailed instructions on performing and casting spells for free. Just search online!

Because it is now so much easier for people to practice sorcery again, it is likely that we Christians will meet a real genuine sorcerer (or a Satanist or a person with occult powers) sooner or later.

Acts 8:12-13 (NIV) – But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

When was the last time you preached to a Satanist? Or maybe a priest of some other religion, who happened to have supernatural powers? I used to assume that they would never give up the powers they had and turn to Christ, because in order to get their powers they probably sold off their souls permanently and weren't interested in getting them back.

But Satanists do turn to Christ. I know one personally. And I know two powerful evangelists who have no hesitation to declare the resurrection, love and power of Christ to Satanists, witches and priests of other religions. And they do have some success, mainly because they were gutsy enough to pray for God to show signs and miracles to others through them.

You would think that a witch who could curse people with deadly sickness or get winning lottery numbers from spirits would not be impressed when you pray for them and they get healed of headaches. But they are. I have heard of them breaking down and crying when God heals them in the name of Jesus. Of course, these two evangelists have seen God heal more than just headaches through them. But it started from them daring to pray for signs and miracles to confirm the Word they preach.

One thing though, it requires you to accept that signs and miracles are still available to the Body of Christ today. If you believe that the Book of Acts was just meant to be a fluke, a transitional period, and signs and wonders are not meant for us today, then you will have great difficulty witnessing to Simon the Sorcerer when you meet him again.

Acts 8:14-17 – When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

This was a turning point in Church history. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Samaritan believers was not only a reminder to the apostles that the command of Acts 1:8 (to preach the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and all the earth) was still in force, it was also a sign of reconciliation between the Jews and the Samaritans.

And yet in the midst of the Holy Spirit's demonstrated approval of the reconciliation, someone much more worldly-minded could miss or ignore the significance of this event…

Acts 8:18-19 – When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."

First, he may have been looking at the whole matter from the perspective of potential profit. If he could bring the Holy Spirit upon anyone whom he laid hands on, he may have been thinking about charging people for receiving the Holy Spirit.

But I personally don't think this is the reason, because as long as the apostles did not charge for laying on of hands, Simon the Sorcerer could not charge for it either. No one would pay him for the Holy Spirit if they could receive the Holy Spirit free of charge directly from the apostles, right?

Second, he may have assumed that the apostles themselves received this ability as a result of giving someone else money. Or that they achieved this ability at great personal sacrifice and training, and deserved to receive monetary compensation for all their efforts and dedication.

This was most probably how he himself received his powers. He either paid someone who had those powers to teach him and then practiced and trained very hard to master those powers, or he sought out spirits to teach him. And in case you do not know, those spirits would have demanded a heavy price from him in one way or another in return for giving him those powers. They may have demanded animal (or even human) sacrifices or that he perform elaborate rituals that are time-consuming and difficult.

(in a nutshell, that is what my ex-Satanist friend taught me about the nature of witchcraft and sorcery…)

So Simon probably thought that was how it was for the apostles. Look at Peter's response.
Consider Peter's rebuke. When Peter rebuked Simon for thinking he could buy the gift of imparting the Holy Spirit, Peter was implying that this gift was free of charge also. It was not given only to those who had the money to pay for it. That was not how the apostles received this gift, or the gift of working miracles. They received all their gifts from the LORD freely, and so they likewise imparted them freely too (Matt 10:8).

Acts 8:20-23 (NIV) – Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."

This is a serious matter. Once you think you have to buy the gift of God, instead of receiving it freely on the basis of faith, the above passage tells us that your heart is not right before God (vs 21), it is wickedness (vs 22) and you are full of bitterness and captive to sin (vs 23).

Does this also apply to trying to buy the gift of God with good works, piety and devotion? Think about that…

Acts 8:24 (NIV) – Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."

Now we come to the final question: was Simon the Sorcerer saved? Why did Simon the Sorcerer make this offer?

Yes, I believe so, because he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31). But he certainly had a faulty understanding of his salvation. Remember, the Apostle Paul had not yet appeared on the scene to explain in greater depth how we can freely approach God on the basis of faith in what Jesus has done for us on the cross and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Eph 2:18).

Notice that when Peter ordered Simon to pray to the Lord (vs 22), Simon refused and asked that Peter pray for him instead (vs 24). This tells me that Simon himself was still afraid of approaching the LORD in prayer, especially when he has sinned. His own faith was not yet established to the point that he could pray to God himself and know God will freely pardon him (Isa 55:7).

This has two implications for us that I would like us to ponder together:

1) Do we believe we have to buy from God what he has freely given us on the basis of faith?

If we believe that, and teach others the same, our hearts are not right before God. Moreover, we will find ourselves captive to bitterness and sin (vs 23) as Simon the Sorcerer was. We will find ourselves stumbling when we try to work for what God has already given us, instead of believing God's Word and trusting in his goodness.

2) People who have a background in sorcery or witchcraft usually have greater difficulty believing in the goodness and forgiveness of God.

Please be patient with them, especially in this area. They need more time and effort to be established in this aspect of the Christian faith. So if you are the one who will follow-up with them after they believe in Jesus or if you have to disciple them, pay careful attention to this area. It is very easy for them to slip up and start relating to God the same way they relate to whatever deities or spirits they served before. And we don't want that to happen!

Conclusion: I personally believe that we will encounter more people with occultic powers in this day and age. We need not be intimidated, in fact, we should be confident as we share Christ with them. The case of Simon the Sorcerer gives us some lessons and thoughts to consider, and we will do well to learn what we can from this passage of Scripture. Be blessed!

Saturday or Sunday Services?

Personal Blog (for once)


My church is moving premises. They're going to meet at a place is that is pretty small for the current congregation size, so the leadership decided to start a Saturday evening service as well, in addition to the usual two (one Chinese and one English) services on Sundays.

The worship director has tentatively decided that whoever serves on Saturdays need not serve on Sundays. So I've been thinking about that quite a bit. Should I ask to serve on Saturday or Sunday? Or just go where I'm needed?

Saturday - pros

• I get my Sunday mornings free. I'll then have SOME hope of attending seminars and workshops and all that.

Saturday - cons

• I'll have to re-schedule my Saturday afternoon teaching. Not sure if that is possible
• What if I have gigs on Saturday night?

I know this will shock some of you, but I am NOT on staff at my church. Really. I make a living teaching freelance and doing various secular gigs. When I have to manage all that AND spend time with my family, serving at church has to be VERY carefully monitored to make sure I don't go overboard there and neglect my family, work or my health.

It's a tough balancing act, and most of the time something drops! :)


Of course it would be good if I were on church staff, but it just isn't happening. At one point there was negotiation going on with a church that wanted me to work there full-time, but it was to be worship ministry AND other stuff. And in the end it didn't work out (much to the relief of many people in my church!)

And that also explains why my teaching articles are so sporadic, and why I had to take a big step of faith to work more on my new book this month. I have to juggle writing with secular gigs and teaching. There is so much more stuff I'd like to write and put up to serve the body of Christ, but it is difficult to manage all of that.

So the truth is out. There is no church financing my Invisible Worship Musician ministry, so thank God it is inexpensive to run! :D And whenever I get thank you emails from people who are on my email list, it warms my heart and makes all the time, effort, prayer and Bible study feel as if it counts for something in the big picture.

Ah well, I guess it all boils down to where I am needed. Maybe I'll try to catch the director one day and ask him what he thinks would be best and where would I be the most useful!

The Fallback Worship Song

If you ever study Old Testament worship, you will discover that the most popular worship song there is "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." You will find that it appears at key points in Israel's history. For example;

1. When David brings the Ark into Jerusalem (1 Chr 16:34) and institutes a ministry of constant prayer and praise unto the LORD;
   
2. At the dedication of the Temple Solomon built unto the LORD, when the priests and Levites sang praises to the LORD and his glory filled the Temple like a cloud (2 Chr 5:13). When the people saw that they continued singing the same song (2 Chr 7:3);
   
3. When the armies of Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir attacked Judah, King Jehoshaphat appointed singers who sang an abbreviated version of this song as they marched to the battle (2 Chr 20:21-22). And the LORD gave them a glorious victory.
   
4. When the people of Israel returned from exile and rebuilt the Temple of the LORD, they sang this song when the builders laid the foundation (Ezra 3:11) and it was so loud that it was even heard from far away.

So you can say that this is the fallback worship song, the song they sing whenever the common people want to declare the praises of God. This song was so ingrained into the souls of the people that you can easily unify their praises when you start singing this song. And when you unify the praises of the people, the glory of the LORD is comes upon us (2 Chr 5:13).

What are the Fallback Worship Songs of your church?

It is easy to dismiss the importance of the Fallback Worship Song. In this day and age we have mountains of worship CDs available, and we are totally spoilt for choice when it comes to the songs we have available for congregational worship. To make things worse, there are many people who take the Scripture's admonitions to sing new songs unto the Lord (Psa 33:3, 96:1) to mean that we should not be regularly and deliberately teaching and reinforcing the right Fallback Worship Songs to our churches.

I disagree with that.

I firmly believe that as we teach our church people new songs we also need to regularly reinforce some of the old songs, the ones that truly speak to our people's hearts, the ones that will be the timeless truths you want people to remember when crisis strikes and their faith is tested. In other words, we need to keep them familiar with the Fallback Worship Songs of your church.

When you do that, this is how your congregation benefits:

1)The Fallback Worship Songs become a familiar starting point from which they can learn new songs.

Consider the following passages:

Psalm 106:1-3 (NIV) – Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise? Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.

And

Psalm 107:1-2 (NIV) – Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this — those he redeemed from the hand of the foe

Notice how the two Psalms start in the same way and yet continue differently? The people can ponder the goodness of the LORD and contrast it with their own sinfulness (the theme of Psalm 106) or they can ponder the goodness of the LORD and see it demonstrated in many ways in their lives (the theme of Psalm 107).

The beginnings of these two psalms show us that a Fallback Song can allow us to launch off into newer worship songs and give the people a context to remember them.

2) Fallback Worship Songs help shape their confessions of faith

Psalm 118:1-4 (NIV) – Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Let Israel say: "His love endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say: "His love endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever."

What do your church people really believe about God? Depending on your denomination, they may tell me that they embrace the Westminster Confession of Faith, or maybe the Baptist, Scottish or Mennomite Confessions.

But I am not referring about a statement of doctrine here. I am talking about what they hold on to when the boss tells them they are fired, the bills are piling up on the table and the creditors are hounding them. I am asking about who God is to them when the phone rings and it is from the hospital about their kid, or the doctor takes out their medical report and asks them to take a seat before he/she continues.

Who is God to them then? THAT is their confession of faith.

The Fallback Worship Songs help shape their confession of faith. The newer songs just sung in passing in church and quickly forgotten, have little or no effect on it. Why do I say that? Because a genuine, dependable trust in God takes time to develop. Sometimes it can even take generations.

2 Tim 1:5 (NIV) – I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

The Fallback Worship Songs in your church arise when the worship leaders reinforce the songs that already resonate with the people of that church. In other words, the worship leaders must give time for the lyrics to sink into the hearts of the people. That takes time, patience and deliberate effort, like that of a farmer working his field for harvest.

3) Fallback Worship Songs remind the people of the faithfulness of God.

Ezra 3:10-11 (NIV) – When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:

"He is good; his love to Israel endures forever."

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

Ever had those moments when you suddenly hear an old song and it brings back a flood of memories to your mind and heart? In the Old Testament, God had his people deliberately use this song for the purpose of telling his people that he has remained the same. The people have sinned and fallen so far away from God, ever since the time David brought the Ark to Jerusalem and Solomon completed building the Temple. And yet God has not changed. He has remained faithful to them, and true to the promises in his Word.

In my life, one of my Fallback songs is Through It All (Reuben Morgan, 2001 Hillsong Publishing, CCLI 3452774). I still remember vividly that it was the last song I used in the very last worship music class I conducted. I was leaving formal employment with that school then, and my future looked uncertain and bleak.

And ever since that time I have gotten and lost jobs, been humbled by my mistakes and failures and experienced the lowest valleys of my life. Yet in the midst of it all, God has remained faithful to me, picking me up from my mistakes, providing for me and my family, given me wonderful learning experiences and brought me to beautiful places of rest for my soul.

When we use the Fallback Worship Songs of our own churches, we remind the people that God has stayed the same, from the time they first learned this worship song up till now. They may have been exalted by the Lord since then or humbled by their own mistakes and failings, but the LORD still remains faithful to them.

Conclusion:

A farmer is deliberate in preparing his field and choosing the seed he will sow for his harvest. A pastor prays and seeks the Lord for the sermons he preaches to build up the faith of the flock God entrusted to his care. Let us, as worship leaders, be just as diligent to seek the Lord and sow the right Fallback Worship Songs into the hearts of his people!

Facing Up to Pride and Ego

As I start the writing of yet another book, I face again the problem of what I call Writer's Ego. It's what I call this sense that my book HAS to be one way or another, a specific length or a particular writing style, so that I can look good.

It's kind of like what some people struggle with when they begin to operate in the gift of prophecy. They have a particular idea of what a prophet is supposed to sound like and talk like, and so they end up sounding weird, fake and artificial.

(For the record, I am a charismatic and believe that the gift of prophecy is still valid for today. I believe that claiming that it is no longer available for today's Christian is to make significant parts of the New Testament irrelevant. And I am very uncomfortable with any theology that does that!)

Some, for example, try to speak in King James Version English to make themselves sound more impressive. Either that, or they add on more than what they are supposed to say because they have this subconscious idea that they have to prophesy a few chapters worth of material for it to be counted as a valid prophecy.

Hmmm... this seems very related to me feeling the need to write in a more academic tone and fulfil a certain quota of words and pages in order to make my next book more impressive than my first!

By the way, this speaking in weird English isn't something that only charismatics do. I remember once during my university days there was an anti-charismatic who circulated to my cell group his arguments against certain charismatic beliefs. What irritated me the most was not his doctrinal errors or logical fallacies; it was his pitiful attempt at writing like Charles Spurgeon when he did not have the necessary grasp of the English language to do it.

(That, and some of the most horrendous spelling mistakes ever. I almost vomited when he claimed that a particular scripture was from 1st Timidity!)

Now just because someone writes in an academic tone or tries to speak King James English doesn't mean that they are trying to puff themselves up and look impressive. I for one spent a lot of time getting the academic tone OUT of my writing, because almost all earlier my writing was for school exams and assignments. So I had a very strong academic tone in my writing.

And yes, I sometimes slip back!

And I can imagine a believer who only reads the King James Version of the Bible, or a version that is similar in language and grammar, prophesying in that language style if he or she spends hours each day reading that Bible aloud.

But it is a struggle to keep the ego and pride out of what we do. The need to look more impressive, especially when you do not feel that confident, is really powerful. And that applies whether we are talking about prophesying or writing a book on how to recruit, understand and lead church musicians and singers!

So what do I want my next book to be like? I pray that it will be like Haggai's prophecy, recorded for us in this passage of Scripture:

Haggai 1:13-14 (NIV) - Then Haggai, the LORD's messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: "I am with you," declares the LORD. So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spiritof the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God.

I want my next book to be as simple and succinct as possible, just like Haggai's prophecies in general. It HAS to be, because of all the ground I need to cover with it! And yet I want it also to stir up the spirits those who read it, to give them the understanding and courage they need to serve the LORD effectively in the worship ministry.

So will I succeed? That really remains to be seen. But I can promise you that I am taking the whole writing process seriously. I am also spending dedicated time in the Scriptures so that my mind will be more tuned to God's frequency.

Will I be able to keep the Writer's Ego out of this book? When the book is ready, you be the judge!


P.S. To find out more about the next book and pre-order it, head over to
http://invisibleworshipmusician.com/nextbook.htm now!

The Next Book!

Find out about the next e-book I am writing, and pre-order here...

Chinese Service Musings

In my church, we have a Chinese service and an English service, and to save ourselves loads of scheduling grief we have the same band playing for both services on Sunday. We practice for the services on Wednesday evenings, first for the Chinese service, then for the English one.

Couple of things I noticed after playing for the Chinese services for about half a year. First, the melodies for the Chinese worship songs tend to be quite active. In other words, they tend to fill up all the main counts of each bar, just like the melody of All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name, for example. Because of that there isn't really much room to add in more musical elements without making it distracting or gimmicky.

That's actually great for the musicians, because we can quickly run through the songs, play a simple bare-bones accompaniment, and that's good enough. Rehearsals for the Chinese songs get done really quickly, in about half the time we take for the English songs. Sometimes the Chinese backup vocalists stay behind and sit in for the English service rehearsals, and watch us struggle through all the stuff we need to put in for the English songs. I wonder if they feel as if we are not putting in as much effort for them as we are for the English service?

(Side Note: my brother – as in blood brother, we-have-the-same-parents kind of brother – has started playing on the worship team also, playing keyboards. Because he is less confident than I am, he is of course happy at having to play a lot less for the Chinese worship songs!)

Another thing I noticed also is that the worship leaders for the Chinese service are more dependent on hand signs rather than vocal cues. That's pretty frustrating for me, because I believe in vocal cues. Hand-signs only direct the musicians; they don't lead the congregation. If you are using mainly hand-signs, you are more a lead singer than a worship leader, since you are singing TO the congregation rather than leading them in THEIR singing. Are you with me?

God knows, I did try to explain that especially to the Chinese worship leader scheduled on the most recent Sunday. I encouraged her on a number of occasions to use vocal cues, and even demonstrated them for her a few times. She'd just tell me it's really difficult, and I'd try my best to explain to her (in my pathetic Chinese) that it's difficult only if you are obsessed with keeping up with a slick vocal performance. If you are more focused on leading the congregation than on your own singing it is very easy!

Anyway, I do understand why she might be struggling with this. Bear in mind that she doesn't see other Chinese worship leaders using vocal cues, whether in church or on the Chinese 'worship' albums. So within her immediate circle and exposure she doesn't see any immediate confirmation of my advice. And showing her how well the musicians respond to my vocal cues during the rehearsal just doesn't seem to impress her for some reason. *sigh*

That's the force of habit for you!

One thing playing for a wide range of worship settings has shown me is that there is an equally wide range of worship ministry cultures. Those who are afraid of offending others will take that to mean that there are no absolutes in worship ministry, no methods that are more effective than others, and claim that I am dogmatic and carnal by insisting that things be done my way.

I choose to see things differently.

I choose to believe that when you've seen a wide range of worship cultures and settings, you can see what works universally and what doesn't. And what works universally is usually based on how people really are, because fundamentally we all struggle with the same issues and problems. Or to express it in Scripture:

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man."- 1 Cor 10:13 (NIV)

And because most of the time people in the congregation are not able to read the minds of worship leaders and will therefore need something more obvious to direct them than hand-signals given to musicians, vocal cues are still going to work no matter what the language, what the culture or whatever the music style used.

Of course, if I ever come across any exceptions I'll definitely keep you posted!

In case you missed my previous blog post, I'm writing an e-book about worship musicians and singers. Do send in your book title suggestions and the questions you'd like me to answer in this e-book. I want to make it as useful as possible to people in worship ministry, so help me by giving me your questions! You can email me here.

Thanks!

Send Me Your Questions!

Quick announcement: I'm going to write my NEXT e-book soon. It's been stewing around inside me for quite a while and I think it's time to sit down and start on it NOW. So I'm going to need your help in two areas (for now):

1) Help me think of a suitable book name about recruiting, understanding and leading worship musicians and singers. Names are really a big challenge for me, so far all I've come up with is "Herding Cats - How to Recruit and Lead Church Musicians and Singers". What do you think?

2) Give me all the questions you have about recruiting and leading musicians and singers. Questions like: Should you pay your church musicians? I want to make this e-book as useful as possible to as many people as possible, even to non-musicians who may have to lead worship teams.

Please don't feel shy to either email your questions or leave them on my blog here. Thanks!

P.S. So email me with your suggestions for the book title and your questions about musicians and singers! And ask your worship team people to send in their questions too! :)

WARNING – Is Your Soul in Danger of Being Snared?

I've been pondering this alot recently: the prosperity of the soul.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (3 John 2, NKJV)

According to that passage of Scripture, if our souls prosper all the areas of our lives will prosper. That's something that I really want, especially when I realized Matt 25:14-30 suggests that we are to double the wealth God has entrusted to our stewardship. 3 John 2 tells us to seek the prosperity of our souls, and that will set the other areas of our lives right. That includes our physical and financial health.

It's like the idea expressed in Matthew 6:31-33.

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJV)

Matthew 6:31-33 tells us that giving priority to God's kingdom leads to our material needs being met. Let's face it, for some people that alone will be a drastic improvement! But I find myself desiring more than that. So I kept asking myself, how do I cause my soul to prosper, so that I can prosper in all the areas of my life?

Yelling at Jessiah

In the meantime, I've also realized that I have been quite bad-tempered towards my elder son recently. I would yell at him when he doesn't follow my instructions or when he tells me absolute nonsense to make excuses for his mistakes. The troubling thing is, my reactions are entirely out of proportion. Jessiah is actually a great kid, very obedient AND a fun kid to be with. Why am I blowing up when he occasionally messes up in some very small matters? Why am I having anger problems? Here's one of the reasons I discovered.

My Soul Ensnared

Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go,
Lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul. (Prov 22:24-25, NKJV)

This passage of Scripture tells us that one way to end up with anger problems (and your soul ensnared) is to associate with bad-tempered people.

When I first looked at this passage, it seemed like such a cop-out. I can't imagine saying to someone "The reason I'm bad-tempered is because I've been hanging around bad-tempered people…" It sounds like I'm just trying to make excuses for myself and avoid the blame! But if I reject this verse I am saying that I am that unchangeable in my character, that what can drag others down won't drag ME down.

If I ever think that I am too good for this verse, you'll know for certain I'm deluded!

I got my soul ensnared when I chose to associate with two bad tempered people in particular. I did my best to be calm and even-tempered with them, but after many years I grew tired of it. In the end I started blasting at them whenever they wilfully chose to ignore my boundaries.

Actually, they didn't really get it at the beginning, because they were not really bright. They were the sort who only understood very hostile words, blindingly obvious threat displays, throwing stuff around the house and other things you learn from watching Hong Kong and Taiwanese soap operas (That's why I don't like my kids watching TV). My blasting was like what you'd get from those hard-core teachers who could structure a scolding into lecture notes and sermon points. So by the time they understood what I was doing, discovered that I saw them as bratty kids and talked to them accordingly, they ended up feeling like fools.

Yeah, I made them realize they were fools and that I wasn't to be messed with. But at what cost? My soul got ensnared and Jessiah suffers for it. If I go on like this I am more a fool than they are!

Conclusion:

Maybe, just maybe, I'll have to get my soul out of this snare first before it can really start to prosper as God intended? I've decided that I need to deal with this anger problem before it gets worse and before I infect Jessiah with that same spirit. So if I ever come across anything useful or enlightening from the Bible, I'll certainly let you know!

In the meantime, do learn from my mistake. Don't let your soul get ensnared. Keep people with chronic anger issues as far from your life as possible. I was proud and thought that those angry people couldn't affect me. I was wrong and now have to get myself out of this fix. Please don't make the same mistake I did!

Be blessed, everyone!

P.S. And pray for me of course! Pray that God will grant me wisdom and patience… Thanks!

Hosanna (Paul Baloche) Worship Leader Tutorial

Hosanna (CCLI Song No. 4662491) by Paul Baloche and Brenton Brown is a great fast song to use for a worship set. This video shows how I'd do this song in small group or even for congregational worship. Pay attention to how I structure this song, it's different from how Paul Baloche does it in his album.



One thing I've grown to appreciate is how Youtube allows me to add notes and comments to my playing and singing as it goes along. You get a behind-the-scenes look at my thought processes and reasoning, and see how I actually apply the principles and concepts I teach in my e-book, Invisible Worship Musician.

So enjoy the video! Please leave your comments, either in the comments section of this page or on the original video page at Youtube. And feel free to share it with your worship team people or other worship leaders you know! :)

Drumstick exercises

One of my friends, Chingmei, shared this video with me via Facebook a few weeks back. I think it's a great video, with a drumstick exercise that I find pretty challenging.

Here's the vid.



If you find it useful, share this with your drummer friends! And if you don't play drums, watch it and you'll discover that a drummer's life isn't as simple as everyone else thinks it is... :)

Be blessed!

Random Musings (really)

Personal blog post

"I'm sorry, I can't make it back for lesson. I'm still stuck at school..."

And with those words my afternoon's teaching appointment was cancelled. It would have been nice if the student actually thought of calling me BEFORE I made the trip and was standing at his doorway, right? But for some strange reason I wasn't irritated or upset in any way. Maybe it was because of the agreement we had, that I would still be paid in the event of any last minute hiccups like this.

Or maybe it's because it's a hot, still Singaporean afternoon.

I don't know how other people feel about it, but I feel very serene and calm in the midst of the heat. I walked away from the student's place, through our local HDB flats and headed towards the bridge over a canal to feed the fish with some expired bread that I brought along from home for this purpose. It's good to have some time alone for myself.

... ...

One thing about me - I am very much a loner.

I don't mind being by myself. In fact, I quite enjoy it. Don't get me wrong; I love talking with people especially in a coaching setting; and public speaking leaves me feeling high for a long time after that. But this is one afternoon I am glad to be by myself, enjoying the stillness and allowing myself to soak in the serenity around me.

Being a loner means that I am better at the Christian stuff that is best done alone - prayer, bible reading and bible study. If you consider my other interests and pursuits, such as research, music and ancient styles of 'conflict resolution', you'll realize that they are very much loner-style activities too.

Of course this means that I have to work very much harder at the Christian stuff that requires living in community, like all the 'one anothers' we see in the New Testament, such as exhort one another, forgive one another, encourage one another and all that. So I don't get to gloat very much over people who struggle with the prayer and bible reading stuff. :)

It's rare to really really click with a loner. There are so many different types of loners, with different flavours of personality traits, so they don't necessarily get along with each other. :) The greatest compliment I ever gave someone was to say "When I am with you, I feel as if I am by myself." I wonder how many ladies would see THAT as a compliment! :D

... ...

I made it to the bridge, took out my bread and started feeding the fish with it. I usually go there on Monday mornings with Jacques. We stop there for a while to feed the fish before we continue on to my in-laws place and he goes to his kindergarten classes. The fish feed differently on the bread when it's a hot Tuesday afternoon, I noticed!

Thought of getting more bread to feed the fish with, but the only shop nearby is a Sheng Siong supermarket. I'm boycotting Sheng Siong, so I decided not to get the bread from there. The fish will just have to wait for another day!

Just in case you are not from Singapore, we Singaporeans usually buy our groceries and foodstuffs either from supermarkets (which are air-conditioned, dry and smell better) or wet markets (which are not air-conditioned, they are wet, smellier but the food is fresher). Sheng Siong was running supermarkets but recently bought over a few wet markets. And very soon after they bought over those wet markets they inflicted a 30% rent hike on the stall holders renting the stalls there.

What was their excuse? They claimed that the hike was necessary to pay for bank interest fees, taxes and maintenance fees. I don't buy that. Sheng Siong should have already calculated how much they could earn from buying over the wet markets; and if they were not going to earn enough to recoup their investment through rentals, why should the stallholders and their customers be penalized for it?

Some people speculate that Sheng Siong is deliberately trying to drive the stall holders away so that they can appeal to the government to convert those wet markets into supermarkets. I don't know about that, but I won't be surprised if this happens. Anyway, the wet markets Sheng Siong bought over are not near my place, so it doesn't make any difference if I boycott them. Besides, the stallholders are the ones who suffer if the wet markets are boycotted. I'd rather boycott the Sheng Siong supermarkets, let Sheng Siong feel the pinch directly!

... ...

Yeah, it's pretty rare for me to blog without any teaching points whatsoever. Well, if you find this and read it, it's because you were really looking for it. Thanks for reading! :)

This Weekend...

A couple things on my heart this weekend:

The resurrection - If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Cor 15:19-22, NIV)

This weekend we remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection. Through this we receive forgiveness of our sins and justification.

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification (Rom 4:25, NIV).

Personally I believe it is so easy for us to let this truth be crowded out of our hearts through the things of this world. Or we may get too caught up with getting our lives in shape that we forget that we are working out of a position of victory and success, that in God's eyes the matter is settled through the death and resurrection of Christ, and we are now to walk the land and claim the victory.

Without the cross and resurrection, Christianity would be only a self-development program amongst many, such as NLP, the Sedona Method and even Ho' oponopono. We cannot reasonably expect to have more results in our lives than practitioners of those methods if we forget the cross, the very source of our power!

Servanthood - For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. (Luke 22:27, NIV)

Even before the crucifixion, Jesus was still pouring out his heart to his disciples and serving them. If we get so caught up with preparations for our church Easter service that it all becomes a burden, then we'd have missed out on the meaning of Resurrection Sunday. It's not about putting on the most impressive show or the most elaborate song and dance routines. It's about remembering the reason for our hope, celebrating it with our siblings-in-Christ and maybe seeing yet another person born into the Kingdom of God as we commemorate this occasion.

So if you are getting frazzled by a demanding choir director or worship team leader, or if you are the one doing all the frazzling, stop! Take a deep breath, drink some water and focus your heart and mind on Jesus, who stooped down to wash our feet even before his crucifixion. How do you think he would feel if we forgot his gentle and humble heart and let ourselves get caught up with complex chord progressions, weird vocal harmonies or we end up losing our joy and peace because of trying to organize a slick show?

Anyway, that's what I’d like to share for now. Be blessed and may you have a joyful weekend remembering the reason for our hope and faith!

Guitar Chords for Worship

Dave Hartwell (from Worship the Rock) did this great video on people's five favourite chords. Check this out! I'm sure that it'll give you some fresh ideas for your guitar playing.



And do let the other guitarists in your church know about this video too!

If you like the vid, please head over to Dave's page on Youtube and leave a comment. Thanks!