Change: One of the Only Guarantees in Life

For everyone who was in worship with us this morning and for anyone who may not have been, let me bring you up to speed: This past Monday, I notified Pastor Jimmy Allen and the Staff-Parish Relations Committee that Liz and I would be beginning a new chapter in our life and in our ministry this June. I have received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve as the Pastor of Worship and the Arts at Navarre United Methodist Church, in Navarre, Florida under our former pastor, Alan Cassady, and after a long period of discernment and a lot of prayer, we have decided that it is the best fit for us as a family, for our future and for our ministry.

As I write this, Liz is actually beginning a new chapter of her own, as she began her new job this weekend as a Mission Trip Leader for the mission organization, Praying Pelican Missions (www.prayingpelicanmissions.org  awesome people.. check them out!) She is up in Minneapolis, Minnesota beginning her training process and getting ready to go into the mission field for two months this summer in Miami, FL, Haiti and Jamaica.

Change is something that is all too familiar for those of us who have been part of the United Methodist Church for a while, but it never gets any easier, for the church or for the pastor who is moving. Quick Methodist Lesson: All ordained pastors in the Methodist Church are what we call ‘itinerant’ which in our system means that they work for the at-large Methodist Church and are only ‘appointed’ to the local church they serve from one year at a time and that ‘appointment’ is reviewed annually. While there is a process in place and a lot of consultation goes into the process, ultimately the pastor and the church do not have the final say in who comes and who goes. My situation is a bit different. As a not-yet ordained pastor serving in the Methodist Church, I work for and serve the local church. While I am not guaranteed a job or ‘appointment’ like my ordained co-workers, I have the ability to stay somewhere as long as I feel God is using me, and the decision to leave or transfer to another congregation is ultimately in my hands. That is what makes this so difficult for me; ultimately this was my decision and mine alone. Unlike last year when we lost Pastor Alan, which was totally out of our own control, my decision to move was the result of an almost year-long process of prayer and discernment of what is best for myself, my ministry and my family. I am learning right now what it means to make sacrifices in your life to follow the call God places on that life and how sometimes we are called to put our own comfort and security second, in order to be obedient to the Call of God and for the sake of even greater comfort and security down the road. Woodbine has been my home for the past four years and I count many of you as family on the same level as my own nuclear family.

As I love to write and I think these pivotal moments in life can teach us so much, I am going to write a series of blog posts over these next six weeks about the transition, what it looks like, what it feels like and just exactly how it works. This is actually a very exciting time in the life of Woodbine as well as the church in Navarre, and these two great churches will now be forever linked together through the relationship that Pastor Alan and myself will now have with each of them. The way I like to think about it, Navarre and Woodbine are becoming siblings through this process and it is my prayer that both congregations will have ample opportunities to work together in building the kingdom here on Earth. Another Methodist Lesson real quick: we are called a Connectional Church, which means that no congregation is autonomous or separate, that we are all parts of a greater body; just as Christians, we are all merely ‘parts’ of the Body of Christ. Collaboration, teamwork and cooperation are paramount to who we are as a denomination and I believe we will rise or fall based on how seriously we take that charge in the next 20 years. As you read this, General Conference (the once every four year meeting of the entire Methodist Church) is taking place in Tampa, Florida. Know that this is a time full of as much transition, change and excitement for the entire Methodist Church as a whole right now, as it is for the two local congregations involved in our little transition here in the Panhandle of Florida.

I covet your prayers for myself and for Liz and for all that lies ahead for us. I covet your prayers for the new congregation that I will begin serving in June, as I know you covet their prayers for Woodbine. Begin praying for the transition team here at Woodbine and ultimately the search team that will find my replacement and for the woman or man that will come serve here at Woodbine after me. Finally pray for everyone involved that we would keep our eye on the ultimate prize: Jesus Christ. Pray that we all keep Him at the center of all that is said, done and decided in this process as it leads us all to the next season of life and ministry.

Attached you will find a copy of the letter I submitted to Scott Richardson, the chair of Staff Parish Relations this past week as I am sure many of you (as I would be) would be interested in reading it.

Ben’s Resignation Letter

I leave you this morning with the scripture that has led me through this past year and through this process of discernment.

Ecclesiastes 3

¹To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

²A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

³A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Grace and Peace and Love and Happy Times

-Ben

Thoughts while watching Whitney Houston’s Funeral

Like many people across the country, I made arrangements in my schedule to be up and available to watch Whitney Houston’s Funeral today. With a little ingenuity and some help from my ipad, I managed to air play the service to my TV and watch.

I must first point out the surprise I felt when I heard that there was not going to be a big flashy spectacle of a funeral for her. We all vividly remember the ‘funeral’ of Michael Jackson that took place, and while it was well done, full of awesome musical tributes, and  many heartfelt expressions, it was not what I consider to be a funeral. I guess it shouldn’t have been a big surprise, due to the stature of the person being remembered. So, back to my surprise when the Houston family decided not to rent out a 30,000 seat arena and gather the greatest music, sound, video and lighting talent in the ‘business’ and put on a production. Instead it was announced that there would be a private, family and friends only ‘homegoing’ service at her home church. It was even announced that there would be no cameras and no feed provided for the public.

I can not say how grateful that the latter was not true; how glad I am that they are allowing the service to be seen around the world.

You see, from my perspective, from my profession, they did call in the best talent in the ‘business’ The called in the church, they called in God, and they allowed the entire world to see it.

When was the last time that you saw a true church service broadcast all over the internet, all over the TV like this? When was the last time that NBC, CBS, CNN and who knows how many other networks cut away from programming to hear readings from Romans, John, The Psalms? When was the last time so many people were exposed to Christianity in this way? When was the last time they got a chance to see a church doing church? REAL CHURCH… not TV church, not televangelist church, not “send me $50 and I will send you a piece of the prayer shawl of (insert name here)” church. My wife commented to me, “The only thing famous or flashy about this are the rich and famous people in the pews…” When was the last time you saw actors and artists of the like of Tyler Perry and Kevin Costner talk openly of their faith on such a public screen? Thats they way I see heaven; thats the way I see God. No titles, no special sections, no special dispensation for the rich or famous; everyone equal, everyone loved, everyone welcomed in the eyes of God. It shows how much Whitney’s family ‘gets it.’ Unlike Michael Jackson’s family who went for a spectacle that placed him at the center of the event and signaled him as the thing above all others, Houston’s family placed the true significance on God, on the fact that all the Grammys, the awards, the money had not bought her a special place, that in the end she was nothing more than another child of God, who had gone home all too soon.

The Houston Family gets it; this is their chance to be in the world; to be in ministry with the world, going to where they are and allowing them a glimpse into what it means to be a christian.

As I prepare to preach tomorrow, as I prepare to go to church, I am asking myself, Am I taking full advantage of the opportunities God is giving me to be a light into the world? Am I taking advantage of the chances given to go and be IN the world, not OF the world, but IN the world, in ministry with those who Jesus Christ came to Earth specifically to save. Are the services I participate in and plan inclusive of these people? Do they provide a way for the world to glimpse in and see the awesomeness of Jesus Christ and all it entails?

Let me ask you: are you taking full advantage of the opportunities God is giving you to be a light into the world? Are you taking advantage of the chances given to you when you are IN the world to be the LIGHT to the world? It’s not just funerals of famous people; its trips to the supermarket, its conversations on the phone, its encounters up at the ballparks… its everything! Never underestimate the ability you have to impact the world for Christ.

In my opinion, too much time has been spent talking about Whitney Houston’s struggles, her addictions and her inner demons. Too many pastors and so-called christians have spent too much time questioning her faith, the state of her salvation and have missed the boat that she was exactly like them and 99% of their congregations; broken, lost in sin, in need of grace and love, conflicted. I hope that when my day comes to go home and be with my lord and savior that the people in my life will give me more grace and overlook the stumbles, the missteps, the wobbles in my life and realize that in spite of them, I am a child of God, saved by the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

I am grateful for the chance the world has gotten today to see how Christians react to difficult things, to loss. I am so grateful that world has seen the unifying power the church has and if nothing else come out of this, hopefully one person, somewhere, will turn to Christ and turn to the church in order to make it through this difficult thing we call life. One day, if the church learns to be the light of the world, IN the world and not the light of the world in our gated compound on the outskirts of the world, with our guard tower and guard dogs to keep the world out, maybe this can happen all the time and not need the death of a incredibly talented woman and child of God to make it happen.

Remember our charge tomorrow as we gather in worship, and then remember as you leave church, you enter the mission field… you enter the world… Will you invite the world in to know Jesus Christ, or will you remain in your gated compound, praying to keep the world at bay?

Music in Worship this Sunday February 12, 2012

Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sermon Title: A Better Way of Loving
Scripture: Luke 5:12-26

Key Idea and Message to Convey: Godly love comes in many different forms; we can love for ourseleves (Eros), we can love each other as a couple (Phileos), or we can love solely for the benefit of someone else (Agape). God calls us to love in a way that is selfless and not self-seeking.

Opening Song: Search my Heart
A few weeks ago, I was really struggling with my inability to trust in God with some decisions needing to be made in my life. I came to the conclusion that I was trying to invite God into the confusion in my life and decisions that lie ahead but not succeeding. I realized that I’m ok inviting God into areas of my life where I have it all figured out, but not so much when my heart is unsure and the path seems unclear. While pondering this, Romans 8:26-27 started going through my head… it says:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

When we think about love, espescially at this time of the year, with Valentines Day fast approaching, we often center our thoughts around our heart and the concept that the heart contains our deepest thoughts, hopes, dreams and desires. This Sunday, as we talk about true love, and as we all prepare to celebrate on the 14th  the earthly love that God has put in our lives, lets sing Search my Heart as a call to worship, as a call to ask God and the Holy Spirit to come and enter our hearts, and seek out all that troubles us and heal our concerns and worries. When God is at the center of our heart, things start to fall in place a little bit better.

Worship Set:
Not To Us/Here Is Our King: This is a great medly of songs by Chris Tomlin and David Crowder. Not To Us is one of my favorite songs to start worship with; it simply states where our aim in worship is to be. Often times in contemporary worship, we can get confused or off track and think the aim and focus is on the worship team, or the cool lights, or the video that is shown in worship, or perhaps even a secular song used to illustrate the human condition, but it remains firmly placed on the Cross and on Christ. The opening lines, “The cross before me, the  world behind,” says it all… We leave the worries of the world behind at least for this 75 minutes on Sunday and place the Cross of Christ before us as the center of our focus as we proclaim, “Not to us, but to Your name  be the glory…” Know that as the worship team sings this song, we are singing it as well, crying out, Not to us, the lights, the technology, the building, or anything else but to Jesus Christ be the Glory! It then transitions in perfectly with David Crowder’s Here is Our King. I think of it as ‘Not to Us’ being the anticipation and Here is Our King as the fulfillment of that anticipation, when we fully acknowledge, ‘Here is our King’ and ‘He is Our King.’

Forever Reign: The bridge of this song serves as our confession. In the traditional arena of church, we would accomplish this through a responsive reading, whether the Lord’s Prayer or some other text, but for us in a contemporary context, we sing our confession. It says, “My heart will sing, No Other Name but Jesus” as if to imply that our hearts at time have sung other names to a point of more importance than that of Christ. You are probably picking up by now that we are singing and worshiping a lot Sunday morning around the idea of our heart, the condition of that heart, and where our hearts stand. The scripture that came to mind with this song the first time I heart it was Ephesians 3:14-19. It says,

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—-to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

May we all through singing this song Sunday be ‘rooted in grounded in God’s love’ and may we all come to know TRUE LOVE… the Love of Christ which passes all understanding!

Waiting Here For You- It’s been strong on my heart lately that we can have a tendency to ‘sugar-coat’ things in worship at times. Most of the time it is not on purpose; it is merely the byproduct of only having 60-75 minutes to deal with very complex and complicated issues. Nonetheless, we are a very  broken and weary people who have a myriad of issues and problems in our daily lives that to us appear at times to go ‘unanswered’ by this God that we believe in. These past few weeks, we have been dealing with issues like temptation, and fidelity, and forgiveness, and for many people, we are in the midst of these subjects, in the midsts of finding clarity and trying to find our way out of these issues. For many, we have not overcome yet; we can not just put them back in their neat little boxes and move on with life. This is where this song comes in; this is for all of us out there who are simply waiting, anticipating and knowing that some day, in some way, Christ will help us overcome whatever it is we are dealing with. The lyrics say,

If faith can move the mountains
Let the mountains move
We come with expectation
Waiting here for You, I’m waiting here for You

The song then gets personal, talking about our hearts, their condition, and the fact that God knows that condition.

You’re the Lord of all creation
And still You know my heart
The Author of Salvation
You’ve loved us from the start

How awesome is it that the Lord of all creation knows my heart? How cool is it that the person responsible for Salvation, the one who paid the debt for our very freedom, not only loves us, but loved us from the moment we came to be and will continue to love us throughout our lives and whatever we do to disappoint? If Forever Reign is our act of Confession in worship, then this song is our Response. This is our chance to respond to the call of God and proclaim that we wait here for Him, for his salvation and his presence.

Waiting here for You
With our hands lifted high in praise
And it’s You we adore
Singing Alleluia

Offertory Song: I Want To Know What Love Is – Foreigner-  This song brings up a subject that has spurred a lot of discussion lately here at Woodbine; the inclusion of the secular into worship. Since its beginning, the church has included secular elements and influences into the life of its worship. From the Wesley’s and Fannie Crosby using ‘pub-tunes’ to put their sacred Hymn texts to to make them more singable, to the use of secular movie clips to illustrate a point of a sermon, the secular and the sacred have been borrowing from each other since time has been recorded. We use them not to entertain, not to become more like the world, as some would accuse, but to illustrate the human condition, to establish the point at which each of us comes into worship and allow us to start asking the question, What does the Bible say about this? or How would God have us respond to this? This is one of my favorite songs from the 80′s (not that I was old enough to remember it but I had parents with awesome music taste) and it deals with a person’s struggles to discern and figure out for himself what love really is and what it really means. Isn’t that where we all are? Isn’t that why there is a 50% divorce rate today? Isn’t that our human condition; we are all trying to figure out what love really is? Mick Jones, from Foreigner, who wrote the song said, “I Want To Know What Love Is started off on more of a personal level. I’d been through a lot of relationships that eventually failed, and was still searching for something that could really endure. And that sort of took a life of its own as well. It [the song] became more of a universal feeling. I adjusted that during the recording of it and ended up putting a gospel choir on it. And you know, realized suddenly that I’d written almost a spiritual song, almost a gospel song. Sometimes, you feel like you had nothing to do with it, really, you are just putting it down on paper, or coming up with a melody that will bring the meaning of the song out, bringing the emotion out of the song.” For those of us with faith, we know what that something is; it is Christ. but, many of us are still searching deeper for it and many who will gather with us on Sunday are just starting their search for it. This song provides the perfect illustration of our Human Condition and the perfect launching point for Pastor Jimmy to take us on a journey discovering A Better Way Of Loving.

If using secular music in worship is not your cup of tea, I encourage you to keep that to yourself, and realize it may speak to others around you, and it may serve as an evangelistic tool for some who can not be ministered to otherwise. Be slow to react and complain; the very people you complain to may be those who this technique reaches in the biggest way, and I know nobody wants to be know as the person who kept someone from coming to a deeper faith!  Just remember St. Augustine’s quote that John Wesley liked to use so much, In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.

Closing Song- With Everything- We end worship this Sunday with a simple Cry to God to open our hearts, to see things the way He would have us to see them and to do what He would have us to do. What walls have you built up in your heart that keep you from loving fully? Are you prepared to ask God to come in and tear them down? I use the analogy with myself that when I build up a wall in my heart to either hide something from God or to partition a part of my heart for something other than Godly pursuits, I am asking God to leave a little bit to make room. Our hearts are a lot like a hard drive to me; there is only so much space available, and on a full hard drive, to install a new program, you have to delete something. So, to build up a wall or to partition off space for selfish reasons, means you have to delete a little bit of God. By tearing down those walls and opening up those partitions in our heart, we invite God back in and enter into a deeper relationship. When we sing this song, stand and proclaim with us that you will do just that…

With everything,
With everything,
We will shout forth your praise.

Our hearts will cry
Be glorified,
Be lifted high,
Above all names.
For You our King,
With everything,
We will shout forth your praise.

See you in Worship Tomorrow!

-Ben

Music in Worship This Sunday February 5, 2012

Sunday, February 5, 2012
Sermon Title: Forgiveness: How Do We Forgive One Another?
Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Key Idea and Message to Convey: God loves us, God forgives us; in the same way that he forgave us, we are called to forgive others.

Opening Song: In Your City

It is no secret that Phil Wickham is one of my favorite worship leaders and that his music influences the worship and life of our church. His music has the ability, in my opinion, to connect with believers who think and feel in deeper levels, while still appealing to the masses as well. I have always categorized myself as a ‘Christian with questions’ and this song allows for that. Like a lot of Phil’s music (and the entire album this song comes from) deals  with the ideas and hopes of Heaven and what it will entail. What I love about this song is that it celebrates the sovereignty of God, and the fact that we, the daughters and sons of God will see His kingdom come one day, from within the City of God in Heaven. However, It doesn’t attempt to put a date on when it will be, or try to place a ‘blueprint’ over the concept of Heaven for us of exactly what it will be like down to the very last detail. My favorite line from it is “God we pray that you’d come soon, because we were made to be with you.” We were made to be with Christ and some day, in His city, we will be. However for the here and now, we are on Earth and have to be in ministry on the Earth among the world and with its people. Our best way to satisfy our innate desire to ‘be with [Him]‘ is to join in community, to join in worship, to join in song. Think about that as you sing that song on Sunday and hopefully as you hum it throughout the rest of your Sunday and into your week!

Worship Set:
Victory in Jesus: This is one of my all-time favorite gospel hymns. I can remember sitting next to my Mimi (grandmother) in church and singing this one; more importantly, I remember hoping and praying that we would do this specific hymn, because of how much I liked it. We do this one with a twist…instead of the ‘swing’ feel that most of us are familiar to, we do this as a driving anthem. To those of you music people out there, we do it in 4 instead of 3 and it just adds an entire different level of excitement to it; I hope you agree. Victory in Jesus was written by one of the big names in gospel music, Eugene Bartlett in 1939. In fact it was the last song that he ever wrote. I just love how this song dovetails with Phil Wickham’s In Your City; especially in the last verse, where we sing about the ‘streets of gold, beyond the crystal sea.’ What an awesome example of how new meets old, meets new again! For anyone who says that hymns and gospel songs are dead and irrelevant are just crazy! There so much theology and excitement packed into those songs, and especially this one!

From The Inside Out: Joel Houston, the writer of this song, once said that it “was revelation of who Christ is and what it means to follow Him.” I was first introduced to this song back while serving a church in Americus, Georgia and it has been one of those songs that continues to speak in new ways to me every time we do it in worship. As I like to say, this song is where we make the turn into the message, into the ‘meat’ of what Sunday is about. Up to this point, we will be singing praise and celebrating the victory, the triumphant city in heaven that awaits us, and here in this song, we begin to tackle the issue of changing wo we are at the core to align with Christ; we begin to wrestle with changing ourselves from the inside out and learning how to think differently, and act differently based on a desire to become more Christ-like  instead of from the outside in and merely learn to mimic, follow rules and obey like a mindless drone. At the heart of that ‘inside’ change is this idea of Forgiveness that we are looking at on Sunday. “A thousand times I’ve failed, still your mercy remains…” points out the idea that we fail and disappoint God thousands of times over, yet he forgives us each time. The bridge says “Let justice and praise become my embrace, to love you from the inside out.” As we sing this song, let us become enveloped in praise for God who forgives us for all we do wrong.

Came To My Rescue: This song serves as our chance to cry out in gratitude for the gifts of salvation, love and forgiveness. The bible, but especially the Psalms are filled with imagery of the creation crying out to the creator and being answered; time and time again of God answering and hearing His people. Even though sometimes it took a period of time, just like it does for us today, and even though it was an answer in an unorthodox or unexpected way, He was there regardless; He was present and He answered.
When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honour them.PSALM 91:15 (NLT)

I will confess, praise, and give thanks to You, for You have heard and answered me; and You have become my Salvation and Deliverer.
Psalm 118:21 (Amplified)

Offertory: You Have My Heart: This song is proof that some of the most amazing talent and some of the most amazing worship writers and leaders are right in your backyard. This is a song written by Trey Hill Band (most of which are members of the worship team here at Woodbine) and they cowrote this song. I heard it last week at Winter Revive up at BlueLake and it immediately spoke to me; so much that I tried to work it into the service last week, even with only about 7 hours to learn it myself and then teach it to the band. As usual, God was in the details, and while the song fit last week, it fits even more this week to set up the message that Jimmy will preach. As the song proclaims, our souls wait and our only hope is in Jesus Christ; the one who forgives us. In exchange for that love, that unconditional forgiveness, the least we can do is to cry out to our God and tell Him that he is the true holder of our hearts. I really appreciate Trey Hill and his heart for worship and his desire to be more than a song leader and a writer of theologically shallow ‘feel-good’ music. I especially appreciate his willingness to let us do this song, even before he has recorded it. The next time you see Patrick, Kevin, Travis, Isaac, Trey or any of the guys in Trey Hill Band, take the time to stop and find out from them about what God is doing through their ministry… you will hear some pretty cool stories!

Communion: Not Guilty Anymore: We did this Aaron Keyes song last week and based on the facebook messages and emails about the name and composer, it struck a chord with everyone. The song has such a powerful message that holds true as much for forgiveness as it did for overcoming temptation, so we are going to do it again. This Sunday has the added effect of doing it during Holy Communion, the ultimate time to come and be forgiven and washed of our guilt, shame and the other ‘stuff’  we carry around in our lives.

Here’s a great video on Facebook of Aaron Keyes talking about this song and what it means to him. 

For me, very much like Aaron, this song is the story of my life, of inadequacy and judgement and condemnation instead of grace, love and power in Christ. If this song speaks to your life, would you share it with me so we can share it with the Woodbine Community? If so, message me on facebook or here on this blog and we will incorporate those stories into worship the next time we do this song!

Closing Song: Jesus Paid It All: What better way to respond to communion and bring things back around, than Jesus Paid It all! O Praise The One Who Paid My Debt and Raised This Life Up From The Grave!! We start on a high note proclaiming the sovereignty of God and we end the same way, celebrating the sovereignty of His Son, Jesus Christ, the one born to die, to atone in forgiveness for our sins.

So there we have it… Forgiveness…. and from the sermon on Sunday, I will leave you with this thought: Forgiveness must be granted, it can’t be earned. Trust can’t be granted, it must be earned. See you Sunday!

Ben

Music in Worship This Sunday January 29, 2012

A few weeks ago, I thought it might be neat to let you all into what goes on inside my head during the week’s preparation for Sunday Worship. I try to choose music about 2-3 months in advance at the least, and so often a set of music has been chosen and then forgotten, only to be rediscovered in the week leading up to its corresponding service. When planning worship, I try to sum up what the sermon or message will be into one key idea or thought that can be conveyed through music and then try to craft the worship set as a musical journey that we take together to explore and hopefully answer that question or key idea. I do a bit of study, sometimes more than others in trying to put the songs into context with the sermon and text in mind. So these posts are going to be my attempt to let cyberspace into my head and hear (read) the thoughts of my head as I prepare for Sunday. So Here Goes

Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sermon Title: Breaking Free: Dealing With Temptation and How To Over Come It
Scripture: I Corinthians 10:11-13

Key Idea and Message to Convey: God is present in the mundane and the magnificent in our lives. Even when facing temptation and sometimes succumbing to it, God loves us, God hears us and God forgives us.

Worship Set:

Happy Day: What a great way to start a service by singing about the happiest day that was ever experienced? Happy day is one of my favorite high energy ‘opener’ songs that we do, however I have to be careful about what times of the year we do it. This song speaks very clearly about the crucifixion and resurrection and definitely sets a very victorious tone for a service. I almost used this song Christmas Day morning before being convinced of what a moron I was by my awesome wife. This placement in the Christian year fits much better!

Marching to Zion: Did you know that there was such thing as a Contemporary vs. Traditional battle back in the 1700′s and 1800′s? There was and this song was at the forefront of it! Back in ‘The Day’ most churches only wanted to sing the Psalms and the thought of singing a ‘hymn’ sent people through the roof in much the same way that singing a praise song versus a ‘hymn’ today sends some congregations through the roof. This hymn was written by famous composer Isaac Watts (Joy To The World, When I Survey The Wondrous Cross) and at its time (1707) its opening words were considered to be a tongue-in-cheek to those churches who would not sing it or those congregational members who would walk out of the service during its singing.  (Let those who refuse to sing, who never knew our God) This song has had several titles… originally called “Heavenly Joy on Earth” and then “Come We That Love The Lord” and now modernly known as “Marching to Zion.” So as we sing this song tomorrow morning, remember that the contemporary vs. traditional, loud vs. soft, and every other issue within the church has been going on for years and sometime in the future, people will be singing those “Traditional” songs by Hillsong, Gungor and Crowder!

You Hold My World: Israel Houghton wrote this awesome song that borrows in idea, and partially in lyric from He’s Got The Whole World in His Hands. We first did this Easter Sunday last year and I have loved it ever since. It cries out to God to “Take my Heart, Take my Life and I will surrender to His Will” The chorus declares that “You hold my world in your hands and You wont let Go of me.” As someone who constantly struggles during the week to remember that the fate of my life is not held in the hands of the world, it is reassuring to sing this. I think that we need to be reminded every time we gather in worship that God holds us, God sustains us, God sees us through, and even when the horizon is not visible and we cant see the way out, God never lets go of us!

How He Loves Us: What a great thing to shout at the top of our lungs! HE LOVES US OH HOW HE LOVES US! We are doing this a bit differently tomorrow morning. When talking about lyrics, you will often hear worship pastors talk about lyric direction. They are talking about whether a song dialogues between believers about God (horizontal direction) or between believers talking to God (vertical direction). When we usually sing this, we sing “He loves us” (horizontal direction) Tomorrow we will sing that, in addition to “He Loves You” and “You Love Me” (vertical) I better hear you all sing!!

Everything: This is a new song that we are doing for the first time this morning… You Will Love It.. It speaks to the fact that God is the God of our everything. He is there for us in the good, the bad, in our resting, in our working, in our everything. Such simple words, but such a profound message. Written by Tim Hughes, a british worship pastor, hopefully it will speak to all of you as much as it has to me in the past. Check out the lyrics.

God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping

God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

God in my hoping
There in my dreaming
God in my watching
God in my waiting

God in my laughing
There in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
You are everything

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
Be my everything

OK…well I am off to Blue Lake for Closing Worship for Winter Revive… If I have time later, I will post my thoughts on the offertory song and the closing song on Sunday… Be Blessed and hope to see you in worship on Sunday! Feel free to come up and talk to me afterwards or dialogue with me on here about what you think of these songs and how they speak to you!

Ben

Four Church Services in Two Days: Observations from a Worship Pastor

Very rarely do I get the chance to worship outside the context of the church in which I serve. When I do have a Sunday off, it is typically used to visit one of the congregations that I have served in the past or is spent traveling to or from an event. This year, as I began to plan exactly what I would accomplish on my planning retreat, I made it a priority to attend as many different worship services as possible, so as to gather information on how worship is being expressed in other local contexts and in what ways it is similar and different from our own expressions at Woodbine.

Luckily for me, worship outside the confines of Sunday morning is much more prevelant here in the Greater Akron, Ohio area than it is down in Pensacola, Florida.

So here goes.. some pictures, my observations and the set lists from the four services I attended..

 

Saturday, January 14, 2012 7:00 p.m.
Grace Church

The church appeared very nice and large from the  road. Even not being very familiar with the area and not comfortable driving in the snow and ice, we were able to find it no problems. I was espescially impressed with the signage in the parking lots; for a true first timer, I had no idea knowing where to park and where the main entrance to the building was.

Upon entering, it was obvious that they had converted their old sanctuary into a lobby/atrium. It included

Children's Church Check-in

separate kiosks for youth signup, children’s signup, a bookstore ‘kiosk’ and a very large circular welcome center that was easily identified and found. In addition there were three computers set up on a wall with the

Internet Kiosks with the mission statement nearby

church’s mission statement nearby for sign-ups and getting general information from the internet. Very impressive. When we got there, the 5:30 service was still going on, and they had live video and audio feed coming into the lobby and overflow seating set up.

Upon entering the worship space, I realized that it was multipurpose space, complete with basketball markings in the carpet and hoops suspended from the ceiling. Despite all of this, with the use of creative lighting, it did not appear to be multi-purpose. The stage was very well laid out and visually appealing, with copious amounts of LED lighting.

Worship Space

Service Order:
The band came out right on time and played instrumentally as a ‘prelude’ one of the songs that would be in the set later on as people gathered in the space.
Following that, the pastor came up and did the announcements.
From there, the band continued in worship doing two songs,
Your Love Lever Fails by Jesus Culture
The Power of Your Name by Mia Fields and Lincoln Brewster

Following these, the pastor gave a 41 minute sermon on Change: Lord Change My Finances.

After the sermon, the band did three more songs
Lead Me To The Cross by Hillsong United
King of All Days by Hillsong United
Our God by Chris Tomlin

The offering was taken up during the last song by ushers who passed wicker baskets through the rows of chairs.

Impressions:
The quality of everything was spot on: even as a musician, I found it difficult to find things that I would have done differently.
The sermon was a bit on the long side, but kept my attention. The pastor did a very good job talking about a touchy subject (finances) without offending, or turning people off. The note I wrote in my sermon notes was “What legact for Jesus did I leave behind? and If your finances are not in order, your heart is not in order.”
The only less than great impression for me were the transitions; something that I struggle with at Woodbine. I felt the transition from the second song into the Sermon was too abrupt, however I really liked having the extended worship time after the sermon.

Takeaways:
Scripture Reading: They reference the exact page number of the church supplied bible, and give the name of

Insert inside of Pew bibles

the iphone/ipad app they use/recommend. In addition, they have a great explanation inside of their bibles they have in the chairs. This is something I want us to start doing at Woodbine.
Service Order: I have often wondered about having more worship time at the end of the sermon than at the beginning, but have never done this. I really enjoyed it and I felt like it allowed things to flow much better. We will definitely be discussing this in the weeks to come durin worship meetings at Woodbine.
Welcome Center: They had a book and a CD from the Pastor/Worship Team to give to first time visitors as well as awesome people staffing the welcome center. It was very clearly marked and looked inviting. One of the ladies at the welcome center physically took Liz and I and introduced us to the Senior Pastor; very nice touch. We need to do some work on marking our welcome center and making it visually appealing and noticeable; we have awesome people at Woodbine to work it as well, we just need to get them there!

 

Sunday, January 15, 2012  9:00 a.m.
The Chapel – Classic Service

Three Screens in Worship Center

I knew going into this one that The Chapel is known for being the MegaChurch in Akron and for being very urban as it is on the outskirts of the University of Akron Campus. I purposely went to the Classic Service to get some perspective on a Traditional Worship Context with Choir and Orchestra. It was a neat blend of Traditional, blended and modern worship geared toward a predominately middle-aged to older crowd.
The level of excellence was very high; the music was well done, the announcements and prayers were meaningful and the service did not drag. Anyone who says that traditional worship can not be done well should attend this church.

Interesting Set Design

Service Order
Welcome and Announcements
Crown Him With Many Crowns -Hymn
In Christ Alone – Modern Hymn/Chorus
I Will Sing of My Redeemer- Hymn

Prayer
Offertory
Sermon – 15 minutes – By VideoCast (Senior Pastor)
Holy Communion
The Bread is passed pew by pew while the Choir and Orchestra lead in music
Prayer and Liturgy about the Body
The Juice is passed pew by pew while the Choir and Orchestra lead in music
Prayer, Liturgy and Scripture
Sermon – 15 minutes – Live by Associate Pastor (different at each location)
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing – Hymn

Wide View of Worship Center

I was impressed by the utilization of VideoCast in a traditional context. it was done very well and the senior pastor was very engaging to both his live congregation and the ones watching via TV. What I had never seen before was the idea of having half of the sermon video and the other half live by an associate. This was very effective!

Takeaways:

Communion: I loved how this was done. This was one of the best settings of the liturgy I have ever seen. Obviously, the inclusion of music with the service was liked by the worship pastor, but it really made communion the focus. This is something I would like to see us develop and use at Woodbine as an alternative to intinction.

Gathering Point/Cafe in Lobby

LiveCast: As Woodbine continues to grow, we will have to look at either adding services, livecasting or building a larger worship center. Seeing this done well with live elements mixed in gave me a new perspective on one of our options in the years to come.

 

 

 

 

Sunday, January 15, 2012 11:00 a.m.
Montrose Zion United Methodist Church
Contemporary Service

Children's Sermon

This is a typical United Methodist Church not too far from where I am staying. They have two services, an early traditional service and a late contemporary service. We decided to attend the late service to see how a UMC does contemporary in Ohio. MZUMC is a church that is part of a 4-part cooperative that shares a lead pastor and has campus pastors on each campus. They appear to be very missional minded and have a similar focus to Woodbine.

The facilities appeared a bit gangly and it was difficult to find where the entrance was to the church. Once we got inside, the people were very friendly and we found our way to the worship space easily. We got there about ten minutes before the service and the band was rehearsing. We were some of the only people in there. It was obvious that it was the normal operating procedure to have the band rehearsing that close to the service. Around 11:04 the service got underway. The instrumentation was very interesting; piano, electric drums and four singers. I wondered if this was normal or a result of people being out of town. The people were very friendly and both the senior pastor and the campus pastor made a very good impression and seemed friendly.

Worship Order
Greeting and Welcome
Let It Rise
O Happy Day (gospel spiritual)
How Great is Our God
Kids Message
Prayer
Impromptu version of Alicia Keys Some People Have It All
Give Thanks (as a response to offering)
Scripture Reading (by youth in the church)
Sermon
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus (closing song)

MZUMC reminded me a lot of where Woodbine was three years ago when I got here; very friendly, very nice, and booming with possibilities and potential.  It was obvious that the music was built around the worship leaders passion for jazz piano. I had never heard a jazz gospel version of How Great is Our God. The preaching was very good. The pastor used a clip from the movie, “The Help.” and it worked very well to reinforce her message. A lof the things that affected the service were out of the control of the staff. The worship space is beautiful and large, however needs some tweaking; the screens are too far to the left and right and too high. You have to turn and focus on the screen and nothing else in order to see them. The

View of the Entire Sanctuary

speakers are hidden behind them and the system appeared to be too hot on the left side as well as having way too much reverberation. This is most likely caused due to the lack of any acoustical treatment on the brick walls. This made me very thankful for all the money and time we spent in our worship center on acoustical treatment; for all the constructive complaints we have dealt with about sound levels, it could have been so much worse!
The words were not accurate and it was a constant cat and mouse game between the worship leader and the A/V Team to keep up..once again so thankful for Trey, Ronnie, Lisa and all the people in the media ministry at Woodbine! The entire time I was in the church, my mind kept racing with ideas of how to improve things and how to tweak things; no doubt that MZUMC will have the ability to do awesome things as the church grows with  the facilities and congregation they have. All in all a very nice service and well worth going to. It made me very nostalgic of what Woodbine was like back in 2008 and how proud I am of where we are today!

Sunday, January 15, 2012 7:00 p.m.
The Chapel: The Gathering Service

The final service we attended was at the same church that I had gone to that morning, called The Chapel. I had heard about it that morning and that this would be the second meeting of this service. For the new year, they had merged two services, their Sunday Night Contemporary Service and their Sunday Night College Service together to create a new community called The Gathering. It was done out of a need and desire for their evening

Same Worship Center with Intelligent Lights and Haze

contemporary service to remain on the cutting edge and build new community between the 20-30 somethings and the older members of their congregation. The service was in the same worship center as the uber-traditional service that morning, and I was impressed how with the use if intelligent lights and haze, the atmosphere and look was totally different. Nothing was moved or modified from the morning; it was true shared space and very little set up or breakdown was necessary from morning to night.

Worship Service
Ten Minute Countdown
Welcome Video
Announcements and Explanation of Service
Meet and Greet 30 seconds
Marvelous Light
Beautiful The Blood
Prayer from Worship Leader
My Everything (Tim Hughes)
Long Prayer (no underscore)
Sermon (about an hour)
From The Inside Out
You Wont Relent (Jesus Culture)

ProPresenter Stage Display with separate Countdown Stage Display on Bottom

The music selections were awesome and spot on for the message. I really really enjoyed all of the music. My Everything and You Wont Relent were two of my favorites and we will be doing them at Woodbine very soon! I felt that once again, transitions were lacking. I gave them a lot of grace because, first of all Jesus said to and second of all, it was their second week. The long announcements and the meet and greet time were necessary because of it being the second week and people being in the room who had come for another event. In the future, if the service flowed from the opening video to the opening song, it would be awesome. Also, I am a fan of having musical underscore under prayers. Empty space that is quiet enough to hear the A/C cut on and off can be very distracting to me unless it was intentional; this did not feel intentional.

The sermon was very long, but spot on!! The pastor focused on the need of us to allow God to change us from the Inside Out instead of outside in. He reminded us to love first and give grace and compassion to everyone and bring them along and allow God to change them slowly from the inside. If we judge first, and throw the ‘rulebook’ at them, we never have the chance to reach them for Christ. This resonated very well with me and I found myself wanting to jump up and shout like Madea, Hallelujer!!

Once again, the use of more music at the end was very effective and I really liked it. It gave me the chance to process things and gain perspective and leave the service fully integrated with the message I had received and what I needed to do in order to live it out in my life. All in all, for a twenty something service it was not too long, but for a regular service 90-100 minutes is just too much.

Takeaways:
LIGHTING LIGHTING LIGHTING- it is amazing how much some lighting and haze can really set the mood for a service. We will look into using these elements more as we go on at Woodbine.
Worship at the end of service

So there you have it! My experiences at four services at three different churches! Leave me comments, let me know what you think, and share with me your ideas and suggestions you have gathered from visiting other churches!!

Ben

One Year Later

I am not the greatest sleeper in the world, in fact my wife is convinced something is wrong with me and that I am an insomniac, but I often find my mind racing so fast with my thoughts, memories, plans to be, plans that never came to fruition, people I love, and people I miss that I can not turn it off and rest. Such has been the last few days.

Kelsey and I in Sunny Boy!

Today marks an anniversary that I wish I never had to think about or celebrate, but it has become one of those indelible punctuation marks in the sentence structure of my life. A year ago today, consumed with the never ending worries, concerns and issues of my church, my job, and my journey toward weight loss surgery, I got a phone call that stopped me dead in my tracks. I had been at the hospital for a day full of diagnostic tests, bloodwork and a cardiac workup and noticed several missed calls on my phone from one of my best friends and ‘balloon moms,’ Barbie.’ I called her back and she said she was calling me to let me know that Kelsey Weiner, a friend that I had grown up ballooning with had died. It is difficult to describe that feeling you get in your throat when you hear something like this. I will never forget what Barbie said to me next. “Ben, say something. You’re not supposed to be speechless about this; you are the pastor, you are supposed to know what to say in a situation like this.” She was right; I am the one who typically is expected to have the words to say in those kinds of moments, but they just escaped me. All I could think about was the last time that Kelsey, Liz and I had spent together at a balloon rally in Georgia the year before and how much fun we had. Kelsey was one of the first balloonists that I introduced Liz to when we were dating and one of the first to know that I was going to propose to her. Ballooning can be a cliquey sport at times, and I had worried how this new lady in my life was going to fit into it all, but Kelsey immediately treated Liz like a long-lost friend, a sister and someone who mattered.

Kelsey was on of those people who did everything big. She lived big, laughed big, loved big, cared big and struggled big. Like so many of us she had vices and things

Kelsey in Montreal

that snagged her up and caused her to stumble at times, but even in the midst of those struggles, the love she had for others and life shined through. She was a few years younger than me and I met her the first time at the beginning of my adolescence. I think because both of us had grown up in families where more emphasis was placed on the bonds of love than the bonds of blood alone, we just clicked. We laughed, fought, loved each other, at times hated each other, fell out of touch, and got back in touch. I have a real hard time with the great spans of time where we never talked at all now that she is gone. I wish I could go back and change that; who knows maybe it would have even made a difference. That is something that I will take to the grave with me someday.

Kelsey and her mom Carol circa 2000

A year ago, I was rushing around trying to get all my work done so I could get to the hospital for my pre-op tests.  I had a major national artist coming to do a concert in a few days and was busy preparing for her arrival. I was frantically trying to get ready for all of the music events that take place in a contemporary church at Christmas. I had very little time for my wife, my family, my health, let alone myself because I was so busy. Suddenly after hearing of Kelsey’s death, all of that did not matter anymore. I soon found myself making arrangements to drop all of my responsibilities so I could go be with my ballooning family up in Ohio and to celebrate Kelsey’s life with them. Because of the great friends and family I have, I was able to go do that. It took a wakeup call like losing a friend for me to get my head on straight and realize what the real priorities in life are.

In the year since, I have still been too busy, and put priority on things that do not matter and marginalize things that do, but things are better; I am a happier person. First of all, I am inching in on being 150 pounds lighter than I was a year ago. I deliberately took time off to spend with my family, my wife and my friends this year, even at times of the year where I ‘normally’ would not even think of taking time off. I took the time off to adequately walk through the death of my only grandparent with my nuclear family. I got to see Kelsey’s sister, Carrie, get married and be a part of the ceremony. I got the chance to marry my sister and her new husband and celebrate a new beginning in her life. I got the chance to finally make it out to Albuquerque with my

Kelsey in Sunny Boy after an interesting tether in Montreal

balloon family and do something I had been putting off for the better part of a decade, because other ‘things’ were more important. These were all things that before last year, I would have prioritized lower or ‘rushed’ through in an attempt to get back to my responsibilities at home.

My heart grieves for Kelsey today and the hole that exists here on Earth without her. My heart aches for her brothers and sisters Robbie, Kenny, Carrie and Jamie, her mom, Carol and all of her family, who I count as an extension of my own family. But, I smile too at her memory, of her love of life, and of the fact that we will see each other again someday in heaven.

Kevin, Kelsey and I with Sunny Boy

 

Don’t wait for something like the tragic loss of a friend or family member at a young age to wake you up to what is important in life and what really matters. Celebrate with the people in your life and make time for them. Things can wait, jobs can wait, but this life we have all been given is way too fleeting. When you get the chance to make memories with someone or when someone invites you into their life, accept it; you never know when it may be a relationship that changes you forever for the good.  And while you are at it, will you do me a favor and remind me to do the same? I fall short of this command daily and could use the reminder!

 

To close, I will simply use a quote from Scottish Poet, Thomas Campbell, that my mother taught me during another difficult and life-defining loss:

Liz and Kelsey in Helen, Georgia

To live in hearts we live behind is not to die, but to have everlasting life.

Peace and Rest to my good friend Kelsey and I will see you on the other side.

-Ben

 

It’s all in the serve

Michael W. Smith has a song called ‘All in the Serve’ that is painfully 90′s sounding in its musicality but has a great message in its lyrics and somehow I can’t help but turn it up every time it comes on the radio. It says:

Never gave you nothin’ people couldn’t explain away
Never gave you nothin’ without something to gain
Never could slow down enough to study your face, but now -
I wanna know your name
Hold my feet to the fire
’till I’m breakin’ a sweat
’till I never forget 
your callin’ Keep me 
on the line give me the nerve
Here it’s all in the serve 

The last week has given me the chance to reflect and realize that in everything we do, there is a blessing to be had and sometimes taking a step in a direction we are hesitant to or taking or something time consuming and difficult can forever alter and change the path of our lives and enrich it in ways unimaginable; we are called to give our all, our everything ‘in the serve’ as Michael W. Smith says. It is not enough to give what can easily be explained away by others, it is not enough to give to that which you get something in return for, and most importantly, you are missing out if you do not stop and smell the roses and see the face of God working through you in your service.

Five and a half years ago I found myself fresh out of college and in my first big boy job and I was determined to change the face of church music forever. If it did not have to do with the latest and greatest with worship, music, technology, or innovation, I was not interested in it and did not have time for it. Out of the context of the ministry at that church, the need for someone to disciple, build relationships and mentor some ‘lost boys’ in the youth group arose. I had no problem helping out with youth or even having superficial relationships with the kids, but beyond that, I was busy with more important things and did not see what was in it for me. With a lot of encouragement from the youth pastor at the time, and the three great pastors at the church, I began building relationships with them, and unbeknownst to them, started teaching them about Christ and His teachings. We became quite a motley crew and as time went on grew closer and it was exciting to see them grow together in their relationships with Christ. I will admit that a lot of time was spent listening to them recount the latest horrible/inappropriate/illegal thing they had done and how their parents had either caught them or were going to kill them because they were failing some subject in school. Even after my ministry at their church ended, our relationships continued and the next few years were full of the typical missteps and falters that so many young men (including myself) deal/dealt with. My primary job continued to be the sympathetic and accountable voice on the other end of the phone at 2:00 in the morning and the person that their parents called to ‘talk some sense into them.’ They had ceased to be a ‘distraction’ from my ministry. They had ceased to be ‘the stuff that did not matter’ in life. They had become my friends, my brothers, and  the best object lesson I ever had that we are called to extravagant and sacrificial service to Christ’s church; they proved that even in selfless service, God blesses us boundlessly beyond our expectations.

Groomsmen at My Wedding

As life has continued over the past few years, it has been one of the greatest gifts of my life to see these kids I met when they were barely in high school grow into young men who are going to change the world someday. Some of these guys served as my groomsmen in my wedding, others have brought their girlfriends ‘home’ to  meet Ben and Liz and to see if we approve of their choices. In the past year I have seen one graduate from Fire College, another enroll in college and make huge strides toward getting a college degree and this past weekend, one come to visit and ask his girlfriend to become his wife. Out of a moment of hesitance and reluctance to lead a small group of guys, I have gained some of the most meaningful relationships of my adult life.

So here is the turn; what relationships are you missing out on or have you already missed out on because of your reluctance to serve God and get involved with others? This story is just one very personal example; I know that people in Ray of Hope could tell you of relationships and blessings birthed out of building a ramp. I know Jackie Avalos could tell you of the same birthed out of delivering meals to elderly men and women who are confined to their homes. I know that countless couples in this church could tell you of their marriages being restored as a result of friendship and accountability found in small groups with other married couples.

Ryan and Dayna Get Engaged!!

We all have our reason for not wanting to serve or participate. We can all hear ourselves saying, “I would but it would just interfere with _____________.” I have found that serving, regardless of where it is, helps strengthen the __________ in your life. For me the _________ was music and worship and the service was building relationships with some teenagers who needed friendship and Christ. My service with these guys has formed the foundation for how I lead the worship ministry here at Woodbine. I am way more conscious of building relationships, providing time for more than just the ‘music’ and valuing each person as individuals and celebrating their individuality.

What is the _______ in your life? Where is God calling you to serve or get involved? How could that service grow you, make you a better christian and enhance the _______ in your life?

Finding inspiration in the Psalms

If you are anything like me, there are times of intense creative output and times where things seem to dry up for a season. Time and again I have found that as a christian musician, turning the the psalms, the hymn book of the bible clears out the cobwebs for me and gets my creative juices going again.

Often times, when there is a new song out there that really catches my attention and gets stuck in head, its text is rooted in the psalms as well. For those of you who have been in worship these past few weeks can probably figure out that Kristian Stanfill’s song, ‘Always’ is one of those songs that has grabbed a hold of me and will not let go. Well… what a surprise to find out that when writing that song, the text came out of study and reading of Psalm 3

Psalm 3

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

¹ LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
² Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”

³ But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
⁴ I call out to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.

⁵ I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
⁶ I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.

⁷ Arise, LORD!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.

Kristian’s lyrics go on to paraphrase one of the main points of this psalm to say that “I will not fear, His Promise is True, My God will come through Always.”

I don’t know about you, but fear and doubt are daily struggles of mine, and lately it seems like there is just so much to fear here at Woodbine and in life in general. We have experienced several tragic deaths in our church family, we have had significant obstacles as a staff to overcome. However, the song says, ‘His promise is true, my god will come through Always’ and that is what sustains me; what gets me through; knowing that there is someone in control who has more power than any fear in this world and someone who has a proven track record of being there for us.

The last line of the song that we sing together as a congregation is one of my favorites: “I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord.” In your daily lives, never forget where your help comes from, and dont forget to lift your eyes up and realize that.

While you are lifting  your eyes up, the next time we do this song in worship, feel free to lift your voice up as well, and sing it with us!

Second Fill Time

So I went today for my second fill, almost a month to the day since my first one.

Several things have happened since my last fill, the biggest being me leaving the country on a mission trip for seven days, but I have weathered all of it and am doing great!

I felt so full right after my first fill, but as the month has gone on, that feeling has started to dissipate and by this morning, I was very glad to be getting another one, mainly since I am not allowed to eat anything solid for another week now… 2+2+2… clears… full liquids, mushies…

The other thing I have experienced was my first attack of stress eating/eating to feel better..
Many might say that working in a church is not a stressful job, but you would be wrong; it can be very stressful! This past week has been one of those stressful weeks and as a result, I have found myself losing a lot of sleep this week pondering what to do and how to handle situations, and my old familiar cravings to drown my sadness, nerves, etc in food came right back to me.. The good thing this time was that 1. I don’t have any bad food in the house anymore to eat, and 2. Even if I did, I could only eat about 1 cup of it at a time if I tried. So the other night, when it seemed that the only thing that could wash away the blues was something to eat, my 1/2 cup of rice/bean/chicken combo complete with Jamaican seasoning was there for me and only cost me about 2oo calories…a far cry from the 1.5 gallons of ice cream that would have been consumed in a similar situation four months ago.

So, the fill today went well…hurt a bit more, but no biggie. The grand total as of today is right under 80lbs… I was so close I could taste it!!

Oh well, next time!

Here are some pictures of the scale over the past days and some pics of the torture devices they use to do the fill and a pic of the lap band (not mine of course) itself!

Enjoy and until next time!

Saturday

Monday

Monday’s Picture

Today!!!

The Torture Devices… Lidocaine, Huber Needle, Etc.

Closeup on the needle

The Band

Size Comparison..

Ouch… the port was originally right under that scar, but has migrated due to weight loss