Cracking the Worship Ministry Code

My pastor was talking with me the other day about a tuition centre in Singapore that causes the students who enroll there to score well in the Singapore mandarin (Chinese) language exams even if they are weak in the language. They have figured out what the Ministry of Education is looking for at every level of the exams, and so they focus intensively on those areas. In other words, that tuition centre has cracked the code for the Singapore Chinese examination system.

What that centre has done for Chinese exams is what I have done for worship ministry. I have cracked the Worship Ministry Code.

To some people that sounds like no big deal. I am sure I am not the first to have cracked it. Maybe I am just the first to express it this way and really explore what it means to worship ministry and our Christian lives. When I interact with other worship leaders online, I find that many of them from other countries have cracked the code also, just that many of them don't give the Scriptural backing for what they do and why it works.

So when I say I cracked the worship ministry code, I am not saying that I am the only one or that I am the best worship ministry teacher around, OK?

To some other people, this claim is the very heights of presumptuousness. They believe that worship ministry is complex, difficult and requires very detailed leading and guiding from the Holy Spirit for every step and every nuance. Even worse, they believe that the Holy Spirit will often be leading them to do weird or flaky stuff to prove their obedience to him and to show how little they depend on formulae, principles and techniques.

These people usually unsubscribe from my emails after some time, because they disagree with me so much. And that is fine with me. I am here to serve those who find value in what I teach, not to irritate and provoke those who think differently!

How can we be sure that we can crack the worship ministry code? How can we know that worship ministry can be simple, straightforward and easy to teach?

1) God is consistent

That's very important, because worship has to be pleasing to God. If God is inconsistent, in other words, he keeps changing his character or his requirements, then there is no code to crack. In such a case, worship ministry would be complex, difficult and require detailed and nuanced leading from the Holy Spirit every step of the way. And we can have no assurance that we can get it right this time, even though we may have got it right many times before.

Heb 13:8 (NIV) - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

And because God is consistent, we know that what pleased him before in the Bible will please him now. We can be confident that the prayers he answered before are the same ones that he will answer now. We know that what he esteems and values in times past are what he esteems and values now.

And we can think, pray and act accordingly!

2) God is consistent in accepting us

Not only is God consistent, he is also consistent in accepting us. If God is harsh, demanding and unmerciful, there is still hope that we can please him IF we meet up to his high standards and requirements. But the Bible reveals that God is consistent, faithful in showing us mercy in spite of our sins and transgressions.

Mal 3:6 (NIV) - "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

3) God desires that we meet him in worship

God isn't putting up with our praises and worship. He isn't enduring it, hoping that we will get it over and done with as soon as possible. He finds it pleasing, that is, he enjoys it.

Psalm 69:30-31 (NIV) - I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.

Because he finds it pleasing, he has made it possible for us to worship him acceptably, through Jesus Christ.

Heb 13:15 (NIV) - Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Important point though: our worship is not automatically accepted through Christ, because some believers choose to make their status in Christ of no effect. They do so by trusting in their own works to make them acceptable before God, rather than the finished work of Christ.

Gal 5:4 (NIV) - You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

So we can say that offering God an acceptable sacrifice of praise is easy. All we need to do is to surrender our pride and self-righteousness…

Conclusion:

When we put all those factors together, we end up with a theology that makes meeting God in praise and worship something natural and simple for us as believers. So if praising God acceptably is natural and simple, why should facilitating praise and worship not be natural and simple too? Why do people in worship ministry want to make things more complicated and difficult than how the Bible teaches it?

Those who have read my book Invisible Worship Musician know that the first five chapters are about the myths and misunderstandings common in worship ministry. I realize now that I had to explain all those factors so you can understand that not only is there such a code for worship ministry, but that it is very simple to find, understand and make use of.

And once you have cracked the worship ministry code, everything else (how to choose the songs, how to lead the worship, what should the musicians play) flows very naturally and logically from there.

But it all starts with the right theology, knowing that God wants us to encounter him in praise and worship and that he has made it possible for the meek and humble to approach him easily. And if you truly grasp this, you find yourself growing in boldness and confidence in your prayer and worship life.

And that's always good!

Lessons from Last Friday

I led worship for the Lunchtime Fellowship of Living Faith Church last Friday, and the worship went much better than usual. So here's a breakdown of what was different and what stayed the same last Friday, so you can see what probably caused the people to keep on praising God and not want to stop.

1) Songs: they were

1. Show Your Glory by John Greene (F major)
   
2. Be Exalted by Brent Chambers (G major for the chorus, then A major)
   
3. Glory to The Lamb by Larry Dempsey (C major)

One thing all the songs had in common was the glory of the Lord. That was deliberate, as I felt in my heart that was what God wanted me to pay attention to for that worship session. Despite my cynical and skeptical exterior, there are times when I believe I hear from the Lord and do what I think he wants me to do.

Judging from how well the people responded to the songs, I think I heard God correctly that day!

But what if I was wrong? Or if I do not have any specific theme or leading from the Lord for the songs? I am not too concerned with that, because there are only two possibilities when it comes to choosing the theme for the worship set: either I am right or I am wrong. If I am right, that's great! But if I chose wrongly or failed to hear God correctly, then another Scriptural truth kicks in and starts taking effect.

Phil 4:8 (NIV) – Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

In other words, as long as we effectively use our songs to help the people take their minds off the things of this world and set their minds on heavenly things (Col 3:2), we will fulfill command given us in Phi 4:8. And Paul says that the God of peace will be with us. We will experience the peace of God in a powerful way (Phi 4:9).

Many worship leaders I know worry about choosing the right songs for a worship set. I hope this helps to take away the pressure!

2) The People

Another huge difference – the people were early that day. Usually we have only a handful of people when the service starts and the rest trickle in near the end of the worship set. (Yes, I must admit sometimes I am less thick-skinned than usual and start wondering if my singing is really THAT bad?) But last Friday most of the people arrived during the first song. And it also included a few people I know to be hardcore worshippers, people who take God with serious reverence. When these people are present, the spirit of the fear of the LORD that is upon them can spread to the rest of the congregation, especially if you have enough of them around so that they feed off and strengthen each other.

And that is what happened last Friday. The congregation kept on singing and the momentum kept growing. I felt bad to be watching the clock for the right time to hand the service over to the pastor. Anyway, the pastor had the option to tell me to extend the worship session (as he has done on a few occasions) but he did not tell me to do so this time, so I handed the service over to the pastor.

Important Points:

Firstly, I evaluated my success at leading worship not by some hazy, intangible concepts but by 2 Chronicles 5:13, whether the praises were unified. If you ask me to evaluate and critique a worship session, I'd also look at the worship leader and the musicians, but for that Friday there was no need to do that, since the worship leader and the only musician was me. That part didn't change.

Secondly, it is very humbling for me to admit that my success at leading worship last Friday was not largely due to how well I sing or play music, or how anointed I am. It was because of a few people in the congregation who happened to be there earlier than usual, and these people helped spur the rest of the people on (Heb 10:24).

I say that because I am convinced that New Testament worship ministry based more on participation rather than performance. So as long as I keep up to certain standards in my song selection, my singing and my music, I have done my part as a worship minister. And the rest is in the hands of the congregation, whether they will join me in declaring the goodness and glory of the LORD. So if things do not go that well I don't bear much of the blame. But that means that when things do go well I cannot claim much of the credit either!

This is my question for you: when you are NOT serving in the worship team, are you sitting near the front and supporting the worship team as much as you can? Or are you hiding near the back or even worse, skipping the church services? If you are not just trying to show off or gain acclaim for yourself, but have a genuine heart for worship ministry, then support the worship team for the glory of God. Sing louder, flow with the worship leader, sit (or stand) nearer to the front. Smile at the worship leader (yes, trust me, that makes a huge difference!).

In other words, be one of those people whom worship leaders and musicians greet with the words "Thank God you're here!"

Be blessed!

Lesson From A Loser Love-Song

I was buying groceries at a supermarket near my home one day, and they started playing one of those Loser Love-Songs over the sound system. *sigh*

Loser Love-Songs is what I call those songs in which the guy gets dumped by his girlfriend and he starts mooning over her and getting all whiney and weepy. Maybe she figured out that he was that sort and that's why she left him in the first place? I wouldn't be surprised!

You can guess I get disgusted with those songs…

But that day in the supermarket, I suddenly realized there was a Biblical truth in THIS Loser Love-Song.

It's called 不要對他說 (Don't Say This To Him) and it is the guy begging the girl not to say certain things to her new boyfriend (the one she is dumping him for). If you want to check out the song, you can hear it in the video below:


The Biblical truth I noticed came out in these words

不要對他說　夜裡會害怕
Don’t tell him you are afraid at night

別說你多睌都會等他的電話
Don't say you will stay up late just for his phone call

別說你只喜歡他送的玫瑰花
Don't say that you love only the roses that come from him

因為這些　是我僅有　殘留的夢
These are my broken dreams


What suddenly struck me was the realization that even though it was a Loser Love-Song (and was setting my teeth on edge) what the composer was asking for is actually something Biblical. He was asking for intimacy, in other words, that there be something that be kept as an exclusive experience between him and his lover.

I believe this is what we earnestly desire when it comes to our romantic lives, a sense of communicating and connecting with someone of the opposite gender so deeply and on an exclusive level. This is what is described in the following passage:

Song of Solomon 4:10-12 (NIV) - How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!

Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon.

You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.

Not only is this sense of exclusivity shown to be desirable in women, it is also urged upon men as well.

Proverbs 5:16-17 (NIV) - Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.

One thing about this sense of exclusivity, we hurt ourselves and the people we open ourselves to if we do it prematurely, or to the wrong people. That's why we need to give ourselves time in any romantic relationship, time to see if this person is someone who can be trusted with our secrets, especially our weaknesses or past mistakes.

Be especially cautious of people who take your weaknesses or past mistakes and use them against you when during quarrels and arguments. Cut these people out of your life immediately. You will regret getting even closer with such people, that I can promise you. These people are what I consider the thorns in the flesh, the messengers of Satan that you should avoid like the plague.

And if they can be harsh and unforgiving to you before marriage, remember, you are totally at their mercy after marriage. Either that or you be prepared to live the rest of your life putting on a false front before your spouse or wondering when any skeletons in your closet will be discovered or when your past will finally catch up with you.

It doesn't have to be like that.

But it does mean that you be very discerning about the people you share the deepest, most intimate (exclusive) secrets of your life with. It may mean waiting longer for the right person, or it may mean investing time, money and effort in getting sound Christian counseling and pastoral care for your life first, so you will be able to discern the right person when he or she arrives.

Will it be worth it? I can't answer that question for you, but would you rather be the one standing outside an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend's window singing a loser love-song?

One More Day In The Gym

I was digging through all my old emails recently and I came across this old post by Scott Wesley Brown. It's called One More Day In The Gym. It's an insightful post, one that I really resonate with, and I'd like to share it with you. You can check it out at

http://www.worshiptherock.com/profiles/blogs/one-more-day-in-the-gym

And if you enjoyed the post and found it helpful, do take a couple of moments and drop Scott a comment or note to express your appreciation.

Again, the post is here: http://www.worshiptherock.com/profiles/blogs/one-more-day-in-the-gym

Be blessed!

Teachers of Pet Topics

2 Tim 2:15 - Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (NKJV)

I love the small group ministry.

Whatever you call it at your church, Cell Group, Carecell, LifeGroup (at my church) or whatever, it's a great way for the people in your church to bond together and build genuine Christian fellowship, as well as to grow in the Word of God.

And growing in the Word of God through a small group ministry is very simple. You don't have to discuss deep stuff or seek out special materials for Bible study; you just need to pay attention during that week's sermon, take good notes, think through the sermon again before the meeting and discuss the sermon with the rest of the people there. That means you'd be exposed to the sermon four times rather than the usual one time. And that helps a lot in retaining the message!

What if you are the one leading the discussion? That's also easy too. If people only talk about what was covered in the sermon, you don't need to do a lot of extra work. And if they ask about stuff that wasn't covered in the sermon or you haven't learned about, you just need to say "I'm not too sure about that. Let me bring it up with the pastor and I'll get back to you?"

You can't get any simpler than that, right?

A problem arises, however, if you are the one leading the discussion, a difficult topic comes up and you feel the need to answer the question even if you don't have enough understanding from the Bible to answer it.

I've seen people doing that. They can't stand saying "I don't know", so they have to squeeze out of themselves some answer somehow or other. And the easiest way to do that is to reduce the question to one of their pet topics, such as love, righteousness, faith, the blood of Christ or something like that, even if it isn’t relevant to the question.

Let me be blunt here: if you can't take saying you don't know and want to give answers to Bible questions in your small group meeting, then put in the necessary work to actually give good answers. And that means beginning that life-long journey of growing in God's Word, to know the whole counsel of God, rather than just your 2-3 favorite pet topics. Become a believer of the Word, rather than just a believer of your favorite parts of the Word!

If you are new to studying the Word of God by yourself, you can start by reading a chapter of the Bible every day. Read it aloud to yourself, and go back to the chapters you have read for the two days before that too. That way you will read three chapters daily, and one will be new to you. If you are involved in the worship ministry, studying the Book of Psalms is a must. Put that as a priority above going for the next overseas worship conference or reading some worship devotional book.

It will be a life-long journey, and it can get frustrating at times.

It takes time and effort to get familiar with a book of the Bible to the point when you can use it, and the reason why some people end up as pet-topic teachers is because they don't feel that they can learn the Bible even if they put in effort. Or they don't want to put in the necessary work.

So what happens? They may look for other teachers and just swallow wholesale the teaching and Bible interpretations of those teachers. That's fine if you have enough understanding of the Bible to discern and evaluate Scripturally the teachings they bring you, whether through online sermons, books, teaching CDs or even commentaries. But if you don't, you are in danger of exchanging your own errors for the errors of others.

And an error, even if held with all sincerity, is still an error!

I remember one day I was reading a teaching by a popular preacher.

Mark 11:23 (NKJV) - For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

The preacher claimed that this verse meant that when we face challenges in life, we are to take authority over them and speak to them, commanding them to get out of our lives in the name of Jesus. He also claimed that Jesus appeared to him in a vision and said that NEVER in the New Testament were believers told to pray to God about their problems. They were to exercise their God-given authority over their problems.

How interesting. When I first read that, all it took was a second to remember the Lord's prayer (Matt 6:9-13) where Jesus told us to pray to God to deliver us from the evil one (vs 13). There is also an example from David in Psalm 6, where we find David speaking to his problems (vs 8) as well as praying to the LORD about them (vs 4).

So we can see that what he claimed Jesus spoke to him in a vision was not true. All it took was just a passing familiarity with the Bible to keep this error from sinking its roots into my mind. Not too difficult, was it? Of course, there will be other doctrines which will be more difficult to evaluate. One way to help us evaluate teachings – ask yourself if the teaching is what the Bible actually says or what someone else says it means.

For example, in Exodus 12:32 we read that Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to take the Israelites and leave Egypt, and also to bless him. That is a direct statement of Scripture. If someone claims that Pharaoh was thus trying to obtain blessings that are not rightfully his, since blessing is only for those with a covenant with God, now that is an interpretation. We evaluate this interpretation by asking:

1. Is this idea directly stated in the Bible? If it is, are there any other verses that balance it out or give another perspective?
   
2. If it is an interpretation, are there other verses that support that interpretation? And, more importantly, are there verses that do not support that interpretation?
   
3. If that interpretation is accurate, how much do you need to re-look other beliefs and opinions that you already hold?

And if you come from a Word-of-Faith background, you need to be especially strict with your Scripture interpretation. Because, speaking frankly, we from the Word-of-Faith movement have more than our fair share of false teachers and sincere Bible teachers with some mistaken interpretations here and there. Because of that, believers from other parts of the Body of Christ sometimes find it hard to take us seriously.

So we have to hold ourselves to an even higher standard of Bible interpretation than the rest of the Body of Christ!

Conclusion:

So whatever part of the Body of Christ you come from, or whatever your denomination or beliefs, if you are heading the Bible discussions or studies in your small group, I urge you to put in the best effort you can to know the Bible. It takes effort, that is why we are commanded to be diligent about it (2 Tim 2:15). But if you find it hard to spur yourself towards the work and diligence necessary for this, just remember, his approval, his "well-done, good and faithful servant!" as your reward!

Worship Leaders - Song Selection Made Easy

Hi, everyone!

Here's an IPhone App that worship leaders should find very useful! Whether you lead worship for your church congregation or at a small group level, SongSuggest for the IPhone will save you loads of time and effort when picking songs for your worship set.

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If you are like thousands of other worship leaders, picking songs each week can be a frustrating process. You don’t want to pick the same songs all the time, but you dont want to sing boring stuff or too many new songs each week.

SongSuggest will help you quickly find the ideal song. Many worship leaders use it during their weekly planning times or in the actual service as they try to replace a song that no longer fits!

SongSuggest has over 600 songs. These songs cover the most loved, the most familiar songs sung by the english-speaking christian church around the world for the last 30 years. All the great hymns and choruses are in there.

Why only those songs? Well what use is a song suggestion tool – when you, your team and congregation don’t know the suggested songs.

This is not a planning tool, it will not replace your binder – but it will help you come up with songs your team and congregation already know and love.

Great Features:

• Preloaded with over 600 beloved songs
• Add to Your Binder
• Search for Lyrics & chords
• Watch Song videos on YouTube
• Listen to song clips in iTunes

With SongSuggest you will…

Always have a great song for any occasion! - No more frantic flipping through that huge song binder minutes before the service…

Quickly build a set of amazing songs your congregation loves.

Use it to find one song idea – or plan your whole setlist. This is not meant to replace prayerful planning, but it will jog your memory when you can’t think of anything. It’s also helpful when you are in transit, or away from your desk to start next weeks set list – no matter where you are!

Discover long forgotten yet loved songs awaiting a comeback & your musical makeover.

You will be surprised at all the great songs you have forgotten… also remember many new Christians have never heard these songs – so add your own creative sauce to the old, and mix them with the new.

See your congregation gain confidence in their corporate worship.

Ever been to a concert when the artists starts to sing their popular and familiar songs… remember how the audience responded? You get the same dynamic here. Your congregation or small group will be free to be expressive and authentic in their worship when you use the familiar songs.

Just so you know - I have no business or affliate arrangement with the creators of this iPhone app. In other words, I get no commission or financial benefit should you purchase this app, but I am suggesting that you check it out because I sincerely believe you will find it a great help for planning your worship sets.

Click over to http://www.worshipapps.com/products/songsuggest and check it out now!

Be blessed!

Dawning Realization

Personal Blog Post:

I went through the whole Bible in 2009 (one of those Bible-in-a-year plans) and decided that this year I'd focus on studying the New Testament as well as take another round through the Book of Psalms.

As I went through the Psalms this year, I just kept feeling that something was missing but I couldn't put my finger on it. I only figured it out when I re-visited this group of Psalms.

Psalm 25:1-7 (NIV)

¹To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; ² in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. ³ No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.
⁴ Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; ⁵ guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. ⁶ Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. ⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.

Psalm 26:1-3 (NIV)

¹ Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. ² Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; ³ for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.

Psalm 27:1-6 (NIV)

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
² When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. ³ Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
⁴ One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. ⁵ For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. ⁶ Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.

This set of verses is an example of what I call the Crisis Psalms (first mentioned in this post). I didn't talk very much about that season of my life on this blog, but let's just say that a lot of the teachings during that season came from personal experiences and pain. :)

Anyway, what I realized when I re-visited that set of verses was this: the horrible, oppressive sense of being continuously under seige was gone. It's kinda like when a war veteran picks up the rifle he used in the infantry trenches and realizes that he's not in that war anymore.

Not saying that my life is smooth sailing now, but I finally took a look back and realized that I've come a long way since then. During those days, I couldn't even begin to imagine life being better than the continual struggle I faced then.

Of course I have moved on to more advanced problems, but now I have the added confidence of knowing that our LORD is faithful. As the hymn-writer so aptly put it, "T'was grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home..."

And that's the point of this post. If you are facing any serious struggle or crisis right now, and it's affecting your clarity of vision and you find yourself losing hope, take courage. Hang on to your confession of faith and keep trusting our faithful LORD. Before you know it, you will find that you are past the worst of the storm, and much stronger in your faith for that experience!

Be blessed!

Paying Your Church Musicians

Once we start on a topic involving money, watch the temperatures rise! People tend to get emotional about this issue. Some musicians see it as a matter of respect, others as a means of making a livelihood. Some church leaders and members may feel think, 'it's a ministry, people should do this entirely on a voluntary basis'.

People can get very confused when discussing this, and end up at cross-purposes with each other just because there is a large spectrum of musicians, work assigned to musicians, and different levels of pay. So here are some questions that will help you clarify the matter and help in your decision making.

Important Note:

All this is written for church leaders and pastors who are in a position to decide on church musician salaries. If you are a musician, don't take my material and use it to try and get yourself paid. That's not what it's meant for!

1) How much work is a musician doing? Is the musician

• Just playing?

• For some services or all?

• Leading the practices and settling the music arrangements for a not-so-musical worship leader/pastor?

• Small group leader (giving some form of pastoral care) for the rest of the musicians?

You will have to decide on how much work should they do before it's justified to pay them. This will be largely based on how much you want from the musicians (demand), how easy it is to find what you want (supply) and how much time it takes to fulfil those duties (price).

I had this conversation once. A member of church staff was asking me how to find and hire a pastor who would be highly qualified, possess a wide range of skills, be willing to go the extra mile especially in terms of working overtime AND do it all for a wage that is lower than the market rate.

I had to tell her that if they do not already have such a church member with such qualifications volunteering in the church, it's nearly impossible to find such a person. I threw the question back at her: if you were highly qualified, widely skilled and habitually go the extra mile for whatever organization you work for, would you rather do it for lower wages or for higher?

And if someone whom you don't know (from another church, perhaps) claims to be highly qualified, widely skilled, willing to go the extra mile and is willing to work at your church for a lower wage, wouldn't you be suspicious? I know I would be!

Some churches bring musicians on staff, but they also give the musicians other duties as well. They may double as administrators, do some pastoral work, lead other musicians or even write songs for the church. Most musicians I know dream of a cushy job where they are paid a good wage for sitting down behind their instruments and doodling all day, but if they ARE good musicians, they will have skills and abilities that carry over to other types of work as well. Consider the precedent we see in this passage of Scripture:

2 Chronicles 34:12-13 (NIV) - … The men did the work faithfully. Over them to direct them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descended from Kohath. The Levites—all who were skilled in playing musical instruments- had charge of the laborers and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries, scribes and doorkeepers.

The ability to lead other musicians carries over to the ability to lead other people. The attention to detail that some people bring to playing music is great for admin and accounts work, while the creativity some musicians have carries over to other forms of expression as well (such as writing).

2) Where does your church stand on the performance and participation scale?

If your church is more performance-based (putting up a show to wow people) rather than participation-based (getting worshippers to sing their hearts out), then what you want from your musicians will probably harder to acquire. It can take many years to develop skills suitable for performance, and not everyone with such skills actually enjoys putting up a show week after week, service after service... It will be easier to justify paying musicians for such specialized skills.

But if your church is more participation-based, and your vision is to mobilize a large portion of your congregation to volunteer, then you cannot indiscriminately pay all the volunteers. So you will have to plan out some guidelines, such as those who serve at small group do so on a volunteer basis, while you pay those who serve for the main service. If you come from a small church, start having some idea about it now, so you aren't caught off-guard when your church expands.

What I personally believe is that if your church believes in mobilizing the people for the ministry, especially for the worship ministry, then you will want to pay the musicians who lead and teach the other musicians.

1 Tim 5:17 (NIV) - The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

But if you want to pay your musicians based on the principles of how you pay church elders, what you require from your church musicians should also be based on what the Bible expects from elders. More on that later…

3) Besides paying musicians, other things you can do for your musicians include just paying for petrol and guitar strings (many musicians appreciate even such small gestures) or making sure they have food if they are playing for an evening service. You may want to sponsor them for a seminar/conference or pay for them to take a couple of months of music lessons.

One church I know gives a stored-value farecard for travelling on the Singapore public transport system to two of their musicians. Those two musicians are foreign students studying in Singapore, and such students usually have a tight budget (Singapore public transport isn't cheap). You can guess how much they appreciate this gesture! Use a bit of creativity in finding ways to show appreciation to your church musicians. And sometimes simple ideas are the best.

4) Finally, ask yourself what are YOUR expectations from the musicians?

If you pay them, what else do you expect from them other than turn up and play? Are they going help you manage the equipment too? Are you expecting their 90% attendance for Sunday services? Evening bible study meetings? Small group fellowships? Will your church expect a certain level of consistency and discipline in their personal prayer and devotional life? And if you pay for their music lessons, are they committed to serving in the church that is investing in them?

And here is the question I do not often hear addressed: when do you stop paying a musician? For example, if you appoint a musician to teach the rest of the team and this musician does not teach effectively, are you going to stop paying him or her? Once you pay musicians a wage, they have a corresponding obligation to your church. And if they agree to that obligation and you find that they are unable to fulfil it, what are you going to do? How will you handle the situation?

More complications that can arise: For example, if you decide to pay only the head musician and not the rest of the band, that could give problems. What if I am one of the musicians and I happen to think the guy in charge is a total incompetent, a waste of church resources, and that the money would be better spent on ME? The same thing applies even if you pay every musician but pay the head musician a bit more.

Yes, money complicates things. Then again, Paul doesn't avoid these issues. In the above passage (1 Tim 5:17), he said the elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor (financially). This opens a can of worms - how will you know if they are doing well? Who decides? What will you do if church members disagree with your assessment? Handling all these worms is part and parcel of a pastor's or church leader's job.

So if you are new to this, I hope this post has helped you anticipate and plan for any problems that might come up, so that you will not be caught off-guard when issues arise. Be blessed!
 

Business and Spiders

I've been asked to continue writing on Christian business, so I will. :) It'll take a while, so in the meantime I'm just going to share this short and insightful article on what businesses spiders like...

http://davedee.com/blog2/2010/07/are-spiders-ready-to-attack.html

Keep your fingers crossed, I want to write about this from a Christian perspective soon. There are some excuses Christians tend to use to be lazy in their marketing, I want to expose them the next time I write about Christian business. Stay tuned! :)

Recognizing Arrogance

This is the question I received via email.

"Should we recruit experienced worship leaders and musicians who would like to join our worship team from another church which we know they possess arrogance and think that they are better than the leaders of our church?"

Looking at the question, I think the answer is simple: No. Have nothing to do with arrogant people, but rather avoid them. Truly arrogant people cause more damage than they are worth. But how would we recognize people who are arrogant?

What I experienced with my life is this: because I am confident in many things (or at least look confident) and can express my viewpoints strongly, insecure people find me threatening. And they therefore accuse me of being arrogant. That's OK, because it's less dangerous to me than the people who feel threatened by me and hide it until one day they just blow up at me out of nowhere.

That used to happen to me often at one of my previous day jobs. Even though I was so low in the company hierarchy that practically anyone else in the staff could get me fired, I intimidated my immediate manager unknowingly, not by arguing or threatening, but just by how I carried myself day-to-day. So my manager didn't give me the immediate feedback I needed to do better, he just held his feelings in check until he finally blew his top…

So, how do you tell if someone is confident or just arrogant? There are 3 signs to look out for.

1) How they talk to other people:

Psalm 73:6-8 (NIV) -Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

Arrogant people show their true colors in their words. Their words are threatening (as in the above passage) and boastful.

Psalm 75:4 (NIV) - To the arrogant I say, 'Boast no more,' and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horns.

The arrogant use their words to attack the righteous (Psalm 31:18) and mock them (Psalm 119:51). They would tell lies (Psalm 119:69) in order to falsely accuse the righteous (Psalm 119:78). In contrast, the confident feel no need to attack other people in order to make themselves look good.

2) How they treat other people:

Exodus 18:10-11 (NIV) - He said, "Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly."

This passage tells us that God sees the way Pharaoh treated the Israelites as arrogance. The Israelites were subjected to forced labour (Exo 1:11) and their newborn sons were mercilessly killed (Exo 1:22). Why were they so harshly abused? Probably because Pharaoh did not think the Israelites had a God that he was angering with his behaviour (Exo 5:2).

Arrogant people see others as resources to exploit or as threats to be neutralized (Exo 1:10-11), rather than people with the same needs and wants as they have. When you see someone treating others only as resources ("he has money to give me, she can help me get my dream job") or as threats ("I better make sure the boss won't give him MY promotion") you know you have an arrogant person right there.

3) How they respond to instruction and correction

Nehemiah 9:16 (NIV) - But they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and did not obey your commands.

Nehemiah 9:29 (NIV) - You warned them to return to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen.

Sometimes arrogant people put on a façade to get what they want from others. That's why it can be hard to recognize them at times. Here is one more sign of an arrogant person: he or she does not accept teaching or correction.

Watch how a person behaves when given teaching or correction. If he or she accepts it humbly or expresses any disagreement with you in a peaceable way, you know this person is not arrogant. However, if this person despises your words or suggestions, or totally ignores them, you know you have a problem right there.

Conclusion:

You do not need to have arrogant people in your worship team. In fact, it is better to keep them out. If you truly embrace worship ministry as participation, rather than performance (http://invisibleworshipmusician.com/article01.htm), you'll find that you do not need very musically skilled musicians to serve in your church. In my experience it is possible to prepare adults (with no music background) to play keyboards for church within 3-9 months. That's because worship music that works is not technically difficult.

But if you want to keep them out of your worship team, you'll need to be able to recognize them. You'll also need to make sure you don't reject confident people by mistake! Try these guidelines for recognizing arrogant people and let me know how they work for you?

Be blessed!

Performance vs Participation

I recently got a few questions via email, and these questions I feel deserve more detailed answers. (So it will take a while, please be patient!) The first email is actually about the core of worship ministry conflicts.

You see, all the genuine worship ministry disputes and conflicts I've seen so far are about the model of worship ministry. There are two models we are offered in Scripture, and when we understand them we will:

1. Know why someone who disagrees with us thinks and behaves the way they do; AND
2. Know what are the problems WE may run into and the blind spots we have.

The Two Worship Ministry Models (Paradigms) – Performance vs. Participation

A Performance-based worship ministry is based on a person or a group of people ministering while the rest of the people (if any) watch. We see this in the Bible quite often, primarily in the Old Testament. The Performance style of worship ministry really took on in a major way when God implemented the Levitical Priesthood.

But In The New Testament…

Firstly, the worship is now based on a spiritual re-birth and status (http://jvworship.blogspot.com/2009/03/spirit-and-truth.html); secondly, all believers are priests and therefore are to be directly involved with the ministry of praise and worship (1 Peter 2:9).

I talk about these two models of worship ministry in greater detail in my next book (http://invisibleworshipmusician.com/nextbook.htm), because both of them can be defended from Scripture, both are prone to being taken to extremes and abused, and because you need to find the right mix of both in order to find the best fit for your church.

In the Email I Received

A Chief Musician finds himself serving under a worship leader who changed the focus of the church music team from a performance-model, i.e. duplicating the original versions of songs, playing to clicktracks (metronomes) and taking pains to get the sound mix right, to participation. In theory, that sounds really good, very spiritual and in line with the New Testament.

However:

1. The worship leader takes in newbies who are not as musically skilled and does not challenge them to improve. This results in the newbies not being interested to improve. They turn up late for rehearsals and without having practiced their parts by themselves first (wasting the time of the rest of the band);
2. The worship leader takes away what created the good sound mix in the first place, such as the drum screen (allows the drum volume to be controlled by the sound ministry), and puts up a very unbalanced band on the stage (a bassist, pianist, drummer and FIVE guitars????). This can be VERY distracting for the congregation!;
3. The worship leader advocates mentoring (the senior musicians imparting skills and knowledge to the newer musicians, then moving out of the way to allow the newbies to rise up) and yet he does not allow the chief musician to teach the newbies how and what to play.

You can guess what this does to the morale of the serious team members who were there before. They would end up cynical and frustrated, especially with the clichés and platitudes that usually accompany such a change. Usually, when such changes happen, the leaders implementing such change will usually say things like:

1. "it's all about the heart";
2. "let God do the rest"; AND of course the biggest one –
3. "Don't you trust God?"

So you can see very clearly that this situation is a clash of two worship models, between Performance and Participation.

I know I push very strongly for the Participation-model of worship ministry. You can see examples here at http://invisibleworshipmusician.com/article01.htm. But that doesn't mean that anything goes, because the Bible doesn't teach participation for the sake of participation. The Bible teaches:

1) Participation for the sake of edification

1 Cor 14:26 (NIV) - What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

2) Participation for the sake of unity

Eph 4:11-13 (NIV) - It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God…

And unity in worship is very important, both in the New Testament…

Romans 15:5-6 (NKJV) - Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Emphasis mine)

… and in the Old.

2 Chronicles 5:13-14 (NIV) - The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever."

In other words, if you pursue participation totally, without any discernment, you end up with chaos and disorder. You can rationalize it and call it "freedom in the Spirit", but the fact remains: you need a certain degree of order (1 Cor 14:33) in order that people can effectively participate and contribute (1 Cor 14:26) for the edification of everyone gathered.

Likewise, if you pursue a performance model of worship ministry totally and without any discernment, you may end up alienating your worship team and your congregation, while burning yourself out. As long as you go to any extreme, you will be alienating people and making them more likely to choose the other extreme.

And the congregation suffers.

Conclusion:

So this is what I would urge you to do. Do everything in worship ministry, not for the sake of performance or participation only, but do everything for the sake of unifying the singing of the congregation, that they may be edified.

For example, I can play a lot on the piano and it can look really fancy. But I can do that because I know what works for unifying the praises of the congregation. I know when it will work and when the rest of the band doesn't let me. I know when the congregation is ready for it and when the people are not, so I won't fall flat on my face when I try it. When I play piano for worship, I play what I play so with the unity and edification of the people in mind. And it works!

I know, I sound very confident. Or is it arrogance? That's a good question, in fact, that is the very next topic I was emailed about. So stay tuned for the next post, when I look at the issue of arrogance vs confidence!

Be blessed!

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!