Find the One

1-2-3-4
1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and
1-e-and-ah-2-e-and-ah-3-e-and-ah-4-e-and-ah

Basically, each song has a different time signature, a different pace, and when I play, I am hitting one or more pieces of the drum kit at these different times throughout the entire song. It could be on the hi-hat, rack tom, kick drum, floor toms or cymbals. Each song has different combinations throughout: the verse, different from the chorus, different from the bridge. Then you must end the song at the same time as other band members.  Other times I may drop out and the piano still plays, or it's just the singers who continue. Then occasionally, I, or we, must stop in the middle of a chorus or bridge or interlude and all come back in at the same time or different times depending on the song.

Wow!

That's complicated and crazy and hard to keep straight.
You know that's how our lives are also. I believe in a church the size of ours, we have people whose lifestyles are totally different from even the person they sit behind during service. MPBC on any given week will see construction workers, retired people, newlyweds, cat owners, cat haters, people with a long commute, New England Patriots fans and everything in between. Each individual person has their own family and friends, health issues and debt. 

So, the parallels between the drums and the lives of the people are that they are both crazy and each one is different from another.

I have only been playing with the band for about 15 months and in that time I have gotten off beat "uh plenty". When I first started, it was very hard for me to get back on track with the rest of the band.  But as time has gone on and I continued to mess up I found that if I could only find the 1 (which if you look at the example in the beginning, you can see it just repeats itself, so the 1 will come back around), I could get back on track. The trick is being able to recover quickly and don't let that short time of being off beat ruin the rest of the song or set list.

Now comes the encouraging part of the blog.

HARD and REAL as it may be, it is simple.

All the people with different cars and job titles, get off beat in life. Whether it be your tongue that just won't stop moving behind your teeth, a temper that shows itself in the ugliest of ways, that credit card limit, or you may just be feeling burnt out and tired of everyday life. Find hope in knowing that God is always in the restoration business, just as He did with David and Peter when they got "off beat". As we go through this life, our faith and joy often depend on what's happening in that moment in time. Coincidentally, in the measure or two that I'm off beat, I feel the same way, with my mind racing to find the 1 and get back on track.

The "off" moments in our lives will last longer than one song or set list, but as we get "off beat" and try to find the One, know that Jesus will never evade a heart that searches for Him.

Just as God is in the restoration business, Satan is in the guilt business. He will tempt you with many of your weaknesses after you have been humbled before God and gotten back on "track". Satan's goal for the Christian is to make them a rusty tool, dusty and sitting on a shelf. Since he cannot have your soul, he wants you to be unusable for anything that will point to Christ. 

Similar to the drums, if I held on to those times I messed up and kept my focus on that, I would not be able to play ever again because I  would feel like such a failure.  And believe me, that's where Satan wants to keep me.

However, the Holy Spirit being a comforter will ease our minds about the mistakes we make and remind us that God is not a condemner, He will not kick us while we're down and He will not leave us in our affliction. Those things come from the evil one. If we get hung up on our past mistakes and constantly condemn ourselves, then we will never be able to serve Christ to the fullness of his will. What would have happened if Peter didn't forgive himself for denying Christ three times? If he would've said "I'm too much of a failure because of my past transgressions?" As Peter was restored by Christ on the shoreline, we also can be restored through Christ.

I hope you can find encouragement in knowing that no matter how off beat you are, you may even have stopped playing altogether, if you can find the ONE, then there is hope for serving God through the rest of your set list.

I say go for it.

Derek

The Power of Music

Music is a powerful thing. Music has been a part of my life for as long and as far back as I can remember. I remember sitting in Dad’s car as a little girl and listening to classical music. He always said it made a person smarter. I remember my first piano lesson and how I hated it and Mama telling me that I would learn an instrument and learn it well so I had better find one that I liked and stick with it (it wasn’t the piano) 😃 I remember Daddy would sometimes pull out his old tape of instrumentals composed by Michael W. Smith and he would have us close our eyes and try to imagine seeing heaven for the first time. I remember singing my first solo at church when I was about 6 years old. And from the time that I was about 4 or 5 until I was 14 Mama and Daddy would sing a hymn to me before bed every single night. 

One of my earliest memories of actually feeling the Lord’s presence in my life very much involved music... I was about 5 or 6 and we were singing the song “Shout To The Lord” one Sunday morning at church. We always showed a video during the song of different things in nature…. One of the things on the video was waves crashing in the ocean. I remember standing there, singing along, and when the waves part of the video came on the screen I felt the Lord speak into my spirit and say “Do you see that? I made that. And this music. Those notes that make up this song? I made that too.” I came home from church that day and told Mama that when we sang “Shout To The Lord” I felt Jesus. 

That’s the especially beautiful thing about music. Still to this day when I hear those songs by Michael W. Smith I remember thinking about heaven. Or when I hear certain hymns I think about being little and the feeling of peace, safety and contentment I felt as I laid in my bed, in my little pink bedroom, with Mama and Daddy sitting on both sides of me singing those old songs with such rich and meaningful lyrics. Music has a way of embedding itself in our minds and bringing back memories, thoughts and feelings…. and for me, it has and always will be a source of peace and comfort. I have this thing that I do when I’m feeling afraid or overwhelmed. I sing. I usually sing a hymn or a worship song and I’ll sing it until the feeling passes. After the car accident I was in back in December I had dreams about it for about 3 weeks. Almost every single night I would wake up in a sweat after dreaming about the crash in slow motion over and over again. Every night that I had a dream about it I would turn on my light and sing “It Is Well With My Soul” or “Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus” and slowly, but surely the fear would dissipate and I would go back to sleep. 

I love when I’m onstage on a Sunday morning or Wednesday night and I close my eyes during a song and listen to all of the voices around me. I love that God is using something so near and dear to my heart to bring people closer to Him. I love when people say that something I have sung or played has made them feel the presence of Jesus in their lives. There is nothing else like it. I am so thankful for the power that music carries. It has brought me out of many a dark place. I encourage you, the next time you’re at church, to close your eyes during one of the songs and just listen to the voices around you. It truly is a powerful thing.

~Kandace

"Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the Lord, the King. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."-Psalm 98

For All You've Done

I'm excited to announce that our Worship Ministry's 3rd album will be here and available for purchase on Sunday, March 5th.  The album is called "For All You've Done" and features

7 songs (covers) that our church currently sings, 4 original songs that we've written and arranged, and 1 song off of our very first album that we've rerecorded.  With this week's post I would like to give everyone a sneak preview of the album.  The link below is a medley of the songs on the album. 

Enjoy!

"For All You've Done" Medley Link

Worship Big!

Brad

Coffee Cups and Yawns

With this week's post I would like write a word of encouragement to everyone who leads in worship here at MPBC and in other churches everywhere.  One of the hardest parts of leading in worship week in and week out is seeing people each week who don't participate.  They stand there with their arms folded and mouths closed and we get discouraged.  Why aren’t they singing?  Why don’t they have their hands raised?  Do they not love Jesus?  And if they do love Jesus, why do they seem to love their coffee cups more?  Why is it that the only time they open their mouths is to yawn? 

I think that anyone who has ever led worship has asked those questions.  But, here’s the bigger issue.  We look out and see the same faces each week not singing (missing it in our eyes) and we assume that God (the Holy Spirit) isn’t working because He can’t possibly be present and working when the people are so indifferent during worship.  But that’s not true.  In his book, Worship Matters, Bob Kauflin writes:

“The Holy Spirit is indeed present and at work every time the church gathers.  We just need to understand biblically what that means.  When people grasp something of God’s glory, the Spirit is at work.  When people are convicted of sin, the Spirit is at work.  When people receive hope and strength in the midst of a trial, the Spirit is at work.”  Kauflin goes on to say that the Holy Spirit may also choose to reveal Himself through “a heightened awareness of His nearness”.

God probably isn’t going to reveal Himself in some type of spectacular way each and every time we meet to worship together.  But, He is going to show up!  We just don’t know how.  So, we have to trust in His plan and His way.  We don’t know everything that our people are going through.  We don’t know all of their struggles and fears.  But God does.  And we have to believe that He will use us, our music, and our times of worship to minister to each individual situation. 

I’ve been astounded and amazed many times after a service when someone comes up to me and tells me how much the worship time meant to them that morning.  God touched their heart and gave them comfort and peace.  And many times, these are the same people that I thought didn’t care.  They never once sang or lifted their hands or closed their eyes.  They just stood there like statues.  But God was moving and working as only He can. 

So, this week as you lead in worship, and it looks like people are half asleep, just remember that God never sleeps and He’s always present and working.

Worship Big!

Brad

Fresh Air

Here at MPBC, we have what I consider to be a massive worship and music ministry. It includes everything from a children's choir to a full-on recording program where we're a month and a half away from releasing our 3rd album.  We have several teams of musicians and singers and an awesome worship choir who love doing what they do.  Sometimes within these things however, it's certainly nice to give an area of our ministry a breath of fresh air.

Recently, we wanted to bring new life into the way we do our weekly choir practices.  In the past, choir practice was 45 minutes to an hour of banging out parts and harmonies and putting a polish on blending 30 voices together as one.  As nice as the final product can be, it can become a bit stale week after week.  So, last night, we attempted a new idea that Pastor Brad came up with.  Choir practice was a time of worship.  Guess what?....it was awesome. 

The first 5-10 minutes was spent working on new material, then we did something we never get the chance to do as a large church; we got into groups and prayed.  We prayed for each other and for our church.  Pastor Brad lead us in prayer and the Spirit of God was tangible. If only I had a picture!   After that, to practice the songs for the upcoming Sunday, we had a time of worship.  We had a lead singer, 2 acoustic guitars and a guy on a djembe.  Nothing complicated or complex.  Nothing huge.  It was a small and intimate time.  We sang, we prayed and read scripture.  It was clear to see that people genuinely enjoyed their time in choir practice.   From now on, this is what we go for.  Not only are we being productive in getting parts right, but we're spending time with Jesus.  

So if you think you may be interested in choir and want to give it a shot, come up and join us on Wednesday nights in the Reach Center right after service.  We would be delighted to have you!

Peace,

Justin

The Art of the Song

Today, I am going to be writing simply about the art of songwriting. How I take part in it, and why I love it. Fun fact about me: I love writing, and I love singing, and I love unique sound. So, naturally, I fell quickly in love with songwriting. See, when I listen to music, I listen intently. My ear goes beyond the surface of the music I listen to, and it listens for soul. When I hear music, I want to hear the very essence, the very heart of the artist who composed it. I, personally, crave music that means something, which can be quite rare in the world we live in today. This is why songwriting is so important to me! I can be as unique, original and deep as I want when I take what I feel in my heart and pour it out on the pages of my journal. 

Songwriting is a raw process but, to put it simply, I just don’t think too hard about it. When I write a song, I don’t try to make it perfect. I take what is in my heart, and I put it down in words. I believe God blessed me with the ability to do what I do. 99.9 percent of the time, I write about what God has done for me in my life, His love, and His being. That’s a fun one by the way. It’s hard to even wrap one's mind around God’s being, but finding the words to say about it… Like I said, it’s a process. 

In my limited experience, some of the best songs come from the most raw and emotional circumstances. When my heart is overwhelmed, I sit down with my song journal and I take whatever emotion I have, and I use that energy to write a song about the essence of Jesus. If I feel joyful, I write about how wonderful He is. If I feel angry, I write about His peace and comfort. If I feel totally broken, I write about His never failing, never changing, unending LOVE. Words are my release. In fact, I think words are the best release, when used in an uplifting, positive and God-glorifying way. It reminds me of a passage in scripture that comes from Psalm 33:3:

“Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully on the strings with loud shouts.” 

Songwriting literally is creating a new song to sing to the Lord. But I’m going to go a bit further in this chapter to show why this verse is relevant and why I believe what I do about songwriting. Verses 4-7 declare “For the word of the Lord is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; He puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him!” That is why I feel so strongly that music should be meaningful. I’m not saying all music should be deep and have lyrics that go way over the head of the listener, because music is individual and unique to each person. But God, as the passage described, is so vast and wonderful, I want to tell the world exactly what is in my heart about Him.

Sometimes it makes me nervous to present new songs to anyone, simply because I feel exposed. When I pour myself into lyrics, everything I feel is open to critique. But I don’t mind. As long as people know how much I love Jesus, and as long as He is honored by the words that leave my tongue, all is well. So, my friends, that is how I write songs and why I love to do so. (Sidenote: I can be spontaneous and write a fun and happy little song every now and again, but for the most part, I write songs like I described. Just so you know!)

Keep smiling!

Maddie

Where's Your Heart?

To start off the new year, I began rereading a book by Bob Kauflin called Worship Matters.  It's a great book on worship and I highly recommend it to anyone involved in worship leadership.  In one of the beginning chapters Kauflin talks about all of the things that we have made worship out to be:  music, techniques, liturgies, songs, traditions, methods, technology, etc...  Kauflin then points out that while each one of those can certainly contribute to worship, they are not what true worship is all about.  Ultimately, worship is about our hearts.  It’s about what and who we love more than anything. 

Jesus said in Matthew 22:37- “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind” (emphasis mine).  Jesus wants our hearts.  He wants us to love Him more than we love music, our ministries, our loved ones or even our own lives. 

So, as a worship leader, where’s your heart?  What or who do you love the most?  Is it Jesus or is it someone or something else?  I think if we’re being honest, we can all think of times that the # 1 focus of our hearts during worship hasn’t been on Jesus.  And here’s the scary part that Kauflin describes so well from his own struggles with this in his book:  “I learned that I could lead others in worshiping God and be worshiping something else in my own heart”.

Yikes!

Just think about that.  We lead others in worshiping Jesus while at the same time our hearts are far from Him (Isaiah 29:13).  And what’s sad is that I know that I’ve been there and done that far too many times.  It’s so easy for my focus to be on the other things in life that I enjoy, love, or am looking forward to.  And there’s nothing wrong with loving or enjoying other aspects of our lives (family, friends, sports, vacations, etc…).  But you can’t really enjoy and love those things the right way until you love Jesus the most.  And so as worship leaders, our main concern each and every time that we lead can’t be on what songs we are singing, what the lighting will be, or what the song transitions are.  Our main concern has to be the state and focus of our hearts.

So, where’s your heart?

Worship Big!

Brad