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It's finally here. Our new 8-song record releases online on Tuesday, October 14th. We couldn't be happier with it and are excited for all of you to hear it. First crack will go to our faithful Kickstarter backers, and in fact we are sending you fine folks a digital download by this week's end.
The release party will happen at Living Stones Church in downtown Reno at 445 S. Virginia St on Friday, October 17th at 7pm. Our good friends "Oliver's Organ" will be opening that evening.
Entry to the release party is FREE, but a suggested donation of $5 will get you a discount at the merch table. We'll have physical copies of the album for sale as well as brand new shirts made of the finest blend of natural materials on God's green earth.
To all those that played a part along the way, we owe you our thanks, we offer you our gratitude, and we pledge to you an evening you wont forget.
Let's party.
Because of the evangelistic push on the message and the lack of projector for the lyrics, we were highly intentional about picking songs we knew our congregation was the most familiar with. Overall, definitely a day for the books.
Well, we're happy to say that we have returned from tracking eight songs for our new record, "Hopefully Broken" in the hill county just outside Austin, TX and are ready to send it off for mixing. Also, we drank a ton of this stuff:
Our time in TX was fantastic, thanks to an amazing host family, a great crew in the studio, and some of the finest eats Austin had to offer. More details on the record itself coming soon. Thanks for checking in with us!
I have received requests regularly about what songs we play on Sundays. I'll do my best to post set-lists here. This week here at the Reno location of Living Stones, Zimmerman introduced a new song to our congregation, Future/Past by John Mark McMillan (you can watch it here).
After meandering through the corn maze of ropes and suitcases on wheels, you finally approach the counter.
The ticket agent is distracted. You throw your luggage on the scales, waiting for her attention. Anxiously, you check the time, glance at the container of unused bag tags and the pen chained to the counter, then back at the time again. Finally, she turns and asks the most important question of the day. No matter what you've paid or sacrificed to be standing here now, your response will determine your destiny.
"Can I see your ID?"
Whether your traveling, heading into a warzone, grabbing concert tickets at will-call, or using your credit card to buy a really old new vinyl record, your ID is an essential item that goes with you everywhere. The same is true for the worship stage.
Continuing in our series about the most important facets of worship ministry, this time around we'll look at why gospel identity is important for all believers, but especially essential for those in worship ministry.
WHY IDENTITY MATTERS
Jesus repeatedly point out that who we are must precede what we do. We get into dangerous territory when "what" comes before "who". Keller addresses the difficulty of doing ministry without a clear picture of identity:
"At one level we believe the gospel that we are saved by grace not works, but at a deeper level we don’t believe it much at all. We are still trying to create our own righteousness through spiritual performance, albeit one that is sanctioned by our call to ministry.”
You can't do what God has called you to, without a clear understanding of who he has called you to be. Paul Tripp adds this:
"I will either get my identity vertically, from who I am in Christ, or I will shop for it horizontally in the situations, experiences, and relationships of my daily life. This is true of everyone, but I am convinced that pastors are particularly tempted to seek their identity horizontally.”
So before we jump in, lets briefly define gospel identity:
Gospel identity is the recognition in the believer that they have been created by God, participated in the Adam's rebellion in nature and action, atoned for by Christ when he died in their place for their sins, and now belong forever in God's family, both during current sanctification and in the future in God's perfect heaven.
WHO YOU ARE (AND WHO YOU ARE NOT)
Worship leaders have several fake IDs they can reach for. We can try to emulate our mentors or heroes in the worship world. We can try to be what we think the people we're leading want us to be. We can try to play the role of mediator, carrying the weight of connecting the congregation to their Maker.
Knowing your gospel identity will put guardrails between you and the deadly cliffs of being anything outside of what God has asked of you. Rather than entertaining God's apathetic sheep like a rockstar, you can pastor them through tough Sundays because you are a shepherd. When you don't see yourself as the God-man standing between creator and creation, you can lead your people faithfully as a worship leader rather than a worship mediator.
Additionally, if you don't expect to be impressive or perfect, then feedback from your staff or volunteers won't be crushing, because they aren't shattering the fragile glass ornament of your ego. Instead those remarks are received as constructive and useful for consideration in our growth.
AN EASY AND ESSENTIAL CHALLENGE
Knowing and believing that you are forgiven and under God's grace will drastically change how you lead on stage. You'll be free to express gratitude, brokenness, and joy on stage because you aren't captive to the opinions of others. You can rest knowing that God's work moves on despite your imperfect execution or that moment you forgot the lyrics to verse two.
Jesus repeatedly points out that who we are must precede what we do. So then, who are we? We're broken people that God delights in using. We are treasured sons and daughters in His family. We are servants to the highest king to have ever taken a throne.
There's certainly a lot more to be said on this topic, but for the sake of brevity remember: we can't lead others in worship very effectively if we don't first know who we are. Knowing our identity gives us reason to sing ourselves and the boldness to ask others to do the same.
No matter how long you have led worship (and I would argue the longer you've led the more likely you are to err on this issue), I'd challenge you to do something simple. Next Sunday, just before you take the stage, check your ID. In those last moments while people are finding their seats or the pastor on stage is making announcements, whisper to God, "I am yours, and I belong to you". Remember who Christ is and who you are too.
Any healthy forest has trees of different sizes.
Seedlings from decades past eventually grow tall and help the legacy of the forest live on by dispersing seeds of their own. If the distribution of new life stops, the forest has begun to die.
Strategies, methods, beliefs, and target audience make up a local church’s culture or DNA. Shelves of leadership books address the importance of having the right DNA in your organization. Worship ministry is no different.
DNA can encompass the “why” and the “how” of ministry. Some how-DNA will change with time such as music styles or methods. Other why-DNA will remain constant such as the centrality of Jesus (Galatians 1:6–9). Even though how-DNA may change, it’s still essential to define and defend what you want it to be now.
Replicators, Not Receivers
The worship stage is an essential platform for communicating DNA to the church, so teach those on stage to be replicators (think big trees) of your DNA, not just receivers of it (seedlings). Replicators are those who don’t just get the task done, but explain the vision behind what’s happening adding leadership momentum and coverage. Replicators lead their sphere of influence in seeing the greatness of Christ by doing what God has called your church to do.
Vision leaks (every 30 days according to some leadership gurus) so rain vision continually. People forget the why of your ministry long before they forget how to meet the expectations. Without why-DNA, leaders are left with the imperative to obey but without the truth that empowers obedience (2 Peter 1:3). This is dangerous to the soul and the ministry.
"Fresh vision rooted in the gospel helps minimize attrition and collapses."
If you don’t create and manage your church’s DNA, you’ll waste valuable energy redirecting and repairing rather than progressing.
Replicating the Right DNA
1. Decide which hills you will die on.
What doctrines and philosophies are non-negotiable? Don’t drench your worship volunteers with different vision each week. Land on the core things you want them to live and breathe. Be careful of assessing participation in some areas but not others (e.g. valuing a band member’s musical abilities while overlooking a lack of a servant-like heart).
2. Start at the front door.
Make sure volunteers understand what’s important to you from the very start.
Whether you have a formal audition process or not, make sure everyone in the forest you oversee knows the DNA. Anyone putting roots down needs to be briefed with a chance to ask questions.
3. Create touch-points that make sense.
Establish a system of touch-points (meetings, hang-outs, videos, emails, blogs, etc.) between you and key leaders at regular intervals where you intentionally include DNA conversations (see worksheet below). Every system has a shelf life, so ask trusted leaders when a system needs patching, and when it needs an overhaul. Keller’s article on how communication is affected by church size is pertinent here.
4. Assess current leaders.
If you hear someone say something on stage or in a conversation that doesn’t reflect your DNA, pull them aside privately and help them understand why what they said may lead to confusion. Ask them to repeat back the “why-DNA” and “how-DNA” in their own words.
5. Call the fire department before the forest burns down.
Many people won’t confess that they have lost sight of the vision or that they are wrestling with sin until something explodes because of a lack of understanding of the gospel (Proverbs 28:13). Frequently invite everyone in the forest you oversee to say something when smoke appears, and teach them what smoke looks like (loss of traction in victory over sin, burnout, and relational breakdowns).
6. Don’t make DNA a weapon.
Your church’s DNA is likely a mix of biblical mandates, opinions, and specific callings for your church body. Don’t encourage (explicitly or implicitly) the bashing of other camps that do things differently. Good things are happening that aren’t your things, and that’s ok.
7. Be a replicator yourself.
If your leaders don’t understand their role or can’t articulate why you do things the way you do them then you haven’t done your job. Pray for God’s leading in establishing your church’s DNA. Invite the Spirit to lead changes to methods when needed. Work hard at equipping and caring for the whole forest, new seedlings and established trees alike.
Download the Resource
This is a downloadable PDF that includes an outline for leading a meeting or conversation covering DNA issues and a worksheet for developing your ability to connect how-DNA to why-DNA. Customize the resources to fit your context and address the DNA elements most important to your ministry.