Here are some examples in the church today of the results with art by committee:

Blended worship: This term makes no sense to me. If you blend two perfectly good things such as an orange and fillet mignon you get something perfectly horrible. Blending means you erase the unique value of each separate item and unify it into slop. Traditional music done with an organ does not “blend” with modern worship with an electric guitar. There is no formula that will make those that enjoy these differences enjoy the combination. Not even close.

Plastic plants & beige: To create an environment that is less creative than a hospital why not paint the walls a non-color and arrange plastic plants around it? After all, the goal is to be as non-offensive as possible. Why not? The reason this is a bad idea is the assumption that being non-offensive and bland is a worthy goal. In fact, the goal of a room environment should be to move people into a space that promotes worship, if you are a church. Or, if you a painting a kids room its about stimulating interest–not bore.

Tepid worship songs: Upon hearing our worship industries best offerings, surely there are many gems to be mined. One particular publisher seems to be into “safe” words and phrases that you have heard before. Obviously, theology is not a suggestion. But, language is always moving and good art need not be what you have already seen or heard before. So, these songs are not great songs because they are bland. Its as if the writers by their committees were told to play it safe. I am so glad the likes of Isaac Watts ignored the committee hundreds of years ago. We would have never sung “Our God Our Help In Ages Past” if that was the case.

Do you agree with these examples as being poster children of committee-driven art? Please share your thoughts here!

Some mornings the traffic lights are all green and the four mile drive is effortless. Its as if all is right with the world. No obstacles. The destination appears almost too quickly. My son and I have to actually interrupt our chat and he is off to class.

The most troubling are the days when every single red light is hit, there is traffic and the parent drop off looks like the 91 Riverside freeway during rush hour. There is no way to cut corners, speed up or defy the laws of nature. You simply have to nudge inch by inch.

With all the variations in how a journey on the road plays out you cannot help but wonder if you are headed to the same destination. The truth is that taking the same road will lead you to the same destination, but the conditions, timing and context of your journey determine what that journey looks like. Yes, each one’s road seems different even though we are all on it together.

I remember a musician friend of mine who bemoaned the fact that he got a girl pregnant from a one night stand. His biggest complaint was how all his friends did it and none of them ended up like him. Yes, his life was tormented after this and almost ruined from an unbelievable set of circumstances. But, how about the others that took that same path?

The Bible says that “you will reap what you sow” and makes it clear that our choices will add up. The musician friend of mine took an express lane. But his friends were on the same path. They would find hardship in relationships based on the damage of having multiple sex partners. They would struggle with intimacy and pay a price. My friend got the green lights. His friends had traffic. But they all ended up at the same place–eventually.

One of the biggest barriers to growth as a believer is owning up to the choices or the roads we have traveled. We complain when things do not happen quickly enough which is at times as crazy as someone screaming at the 91 Freeway during peak traffic. “God, I have been praying for a while now, but…”  “Jesus, I have been reading my Bible all week and am still waiting to get some answer.”

If we are on the right road, then whether we have red lights or green lights will not matter. The same is true if we are on the wrong road. Eventually we will pay the price. Or, for the better eventually we will be rewarded.

This not a mean God who set this up. God loves us deeply and He makes this pretty obvious to us. We as Christians choose to live in the moment in our culture today and microwave our spiritual formation rather than cultivate our soul. This is why we need salvation from ourselves. We just do not get it at times.

What we do not get is that the right road hurts at times. We can have obstacles thrown at us that we never imagined. Someone could get cancer, or lose their home or fail in marriage. Being on the right road does not mean nor guarantee that our time on the road is as smooth as they guy’s next to me.

I wrote a song not too long ago that we recently sung in church that mentions one very important yet forgotten word in our faith–providence. Providence is God’s hand in everything. With Providence, life makes sense. It does not matter who occupies the White House, what natural disaster is at play in the news or the circumstances of my personal journey. God is in control and has included me as a unique stitch in His tapestry.

So, we can choose to complain about the red lights. Or, be glad the road of faith we have chosen is taking us to a destination worthy of the sacrifice, pain and suffering this side of heaven deals us.

Be bitter, or be broken. Which will you choose?

Recap: This Sunday Britt delivered a message “Pioneers & Settlers” where he taught our church a language to discuss the differences we may have and how we need each other–focus on discipleship versus evangelism, for instance. We need both! Some of us are wired to settle and others to pioneer.

We had some very good news for us shared! Our mortgage loan was extended for a 3-year period, giving us much needed breathing room. I do believe that us praying as a church has surely loosened things for us as far as God providing in this issue.

Ben Cherry and my daughter Emilie did most of the lead singing Sunday. I really enjoyed Ben, and of course its nice to have a team leading when you can.

Set List: The song set was designed around the theme of the beauty and wonder of God with a reading from Psalm 96. Like the writer of this psalm or song, we gave recognition for how God fills us with wonder from the beauty of His works and ways.

• Beautiful One – Tim Hughes
• Glorious One – Fee Band
• God of Wonders – Casting Crowns
• Providence – Rich Kirkpatrick (I have the lyrics/song on my Facebook music page)
• Cannons – Phil Wickham

Links:

• The video of Britt’s message “Pioneers & Settlers”
• The Worship Community – set lists from all over the place from this Sunday
• Our Sunridge Facebook Page & my Facebook music page

How was your worship weekend? What did you give or offer in worship? Share you feedback, too!

RT @worshiptechie: @rkweblog Was it a Toyota?// #

RT @sunridgechurch: Sunridge, you can do it…only 13 more to get to 500 on our FB Page!! http://twurl.nl/gjh4wi //can you help us out? #

THANKS for all the feedback from my new song this past Sunday –in case you missed here’s video http://twurl.nl/0sarym #

always a treat to be with my daughter at her songwriting/piano lessons #

thanks to @worshiptogether peeps for 10 free Easter songs http://twurl.nl/1rdsl7 #

my son is “helping” me at work today http://twitpic.com/16g6u2 #

RT @bmarch: On my way to San Diego with the kids. Alone. Please pray. God help me.//you can do it Bobby!! #

hanging out with worship team at st. arbucks by trader joes #

@loswhit I am waiting for your CD on vinyl bro! in reply to loswhit #

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Jeremy is the winner, as long as he claims it! Thanks for the fun guys and I hope to see some of you at the conference. Its gonna be great!

Want two free passes? In April in Lenexa, Kansas there is an amazing event for worship leaders! The worshiptogether.com Training Conference (April 12-14) will have the likes of Phil Wickham, Matt Maher, Christy Nockels, Leeland, Brenton Brown, Audrey Assad and more! There are workshops to choose from as well as moving times of worship.

All you have to do to win is comment below. You get extra time in the drawing for adding Facebook and for adding Twitter. That means you can possibly have your name entered three times! Please link back to this post so I can verify where you have shared this. And, if you entered in the last giveaway, you can again–except the nice guy who won!

Ethan had a science project and of course something like mold would be of interest to him. At the science fair you could tell the projects displayed by boys. Everything from a potato gun to fire whirlwinds to mold. The girl–of course–who won did the extraction of DNA from pees!

No boy would even have interest in peas. In fact, girls do not either. But, what would parents and teachers love most? A child that not only loves peas but the extraction of DNA. She rightfully displayed her blue ribbon and also made sure to educate those passing by her display.

Indeed, I am not complaining that my son’s mold experiment did not win. I am simply stating how fun it is to see the difference between the boys and girls at this age–other than most boys being shorter than the girls.

What memory of middle school strikes you the most? If you are a parent, what worries you the most about walking through this with your child?

Doodle this week has pears and grapes with a storm and building. I think it means fruitful building in the midst of stormy times. Your thoughts?

I do respect Oprah and others in popular culture who like the term “random acts of kindness” but they are wrong or at the very least leaving out the process. The act is only part of loving someone. The other part is heart. The saying that hell’s road is paved with good intentions. That leads to another very important and neglected part. Planning.

Our church is doing a campaign called “Got It Covered” and it is a plan that intentionally gives love away to people by simply buying someone’s coffee or meal in line behind you. We made up cards to not say our personal name on them but with a happy smile and our church website and logo.

Often we seem to have two sides to a ministry’s outward focus. We either just tell people stuff–like bullhorn on the corner. Or, we just do stuff for people and tell them nothing–like social activists with no moral compass. Both are wrong. Give me one passage where Jesus himself healed someone and did not do it in person and told of his father? You can’t. Now, he did not let people brag about it. However, he intentionally drew people into his world. This is what Sunridge is attempting to do.

Its not a perfect plan. But, it is a plan. It may not be romantic to put your wife on your calendar but by planning you are putting intent to action. Your heart may feel love, but acting on it with a plan is necessary. In this way, the Got It Covered card helps some of us–albeit imperfectly–to accomplish inviting people to follow Jesus with us at Sunridge.

Now, people can follow Jesus anywhere. Sometimes our own church is not the best place or fit for some.  But, that does not mean we cannot invite people to come be a part of something that is life-changing to us–a community that has a name, place and history! A local church!

I had chance to buy a stranger a coffee. There were no strings attached. I did not have to embarrass him. I just gave him a card and said we wanted to make some people smile. I cannot wait to try it again!

For some of you this seems juvenile perhaps. But, be gracious to the masses of us who need something remedial to jump start a habit of doing something for others. Who knows how this can grow our people to bigger ways of giving love away in the name of Jesus.  Intention. Plan. Love.

It was hard to find songs about the Providence of God. So, I wrote one a while ago and when looking to put together a worship service with the theme of God’s reign it seemed to fit. You can see a copy of the lyrics on my Facebook Musc Page.

Let me know what you think.

Recap: Another wonderful and sweet worship time at the Sunridge Community Church campus this weekend. We once again had our worship vocal team and band lead. And, we introduced a new song I wrote, “Providence” and Emilie sang lead on it. On top of that, we heard pastor Mel say “chick” and “hunk” in a very timely sermon.

Set List: The goal was to focus on God’s reign and His Providence in our music.

• He Reigns – Newsboys
• Today is The Day – Lincoln Brewster
• You Are – Mark Roach
• Providence – Rich Kirkpatrick
• Came to My Rescue – Hillsongs United

Links:

• Link to Mel’s sermon on video
• The Worship Community: set lists from all over from this weekend
• Sunridge Facebook Fan Page
• My music page on Facebook

How did your worship weekend go? Any feedback? Please share.