Warning, bubble bursting, thoroughly raw post commencing now...read no further if you by some chance hold us Farrens in some undeserved place of sainthood. (Which if you do, this should help adjust that a bit).

My truly amazing daughter Madison and I got into a spectacular fight this last Saturday. And If you know the Farrens at all, you know that we are a very passionate clan...we love big, and we fight big. And to be fair, this test of wills did not ensue over some small frivolous matter. No, this “ruin a whole day miserable” episode was wrapped around the intricacies and responsibilities of adulthood, or more to my very loudly made point, the lack thereof. 

The reality is I could not be more proud of Madison, who is 21 this July, and lives almost an hour away about to start her Senior year of college. She's a bonafide rockstar in my book, but even still, some things just need to be said right?!

Of course as with any epic fight, it escalated quickly, and lasted longer than it should have. I was right, (yep, still sticking to my guns on that) but my delivery was less than desirable. There may or may not have been some slamming of fist on tables, and through a litany of now regretted words I finally had the last word…but at a heavy emotional cost to us both.

But here is the real kicker, of all the weekends for this to happen, it just so happens that this was the weekend Madison and I were scheduled to lead worship together the following Sunday morning...oh the maddening mystery of Divine timing. 

We did not speak the rest of the day after this episode, and due to a party we were both attending that evening she ended up spending the night and riding with me to church. It was a somber start of a morning to say the least. 

As we were walking across the parking lot into the church, I asked Madison why we would still show up to lead worship even after having such a crappy weekend, and she replied quickly, "Because He is still worthy of our worship". Well said daughter, well said.

But as we continued into the building, her response got me thinking about something in a completely different way. Even after all my years of leading worship, knowing full well that it has nothing to do with my worth or perfection, I will admit to still wrestling the question of hypocrisy every time I step onto the stage in a broken or messy state of being. 

But it's not just a worship pastor problem. I would make a very unscientific yet experienced observation that roughly half of all attendees walk into church on any given Sunday feeling more or less hypocritical. But prompted by the Holy Spirit, just before the second service started I actually read for maybe the first time the actual Webster's definition of a hypocrite. Here goes...Hypocrite: "a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs". And just like that, for the first time I truly got it. 

Week after week I stand and declare that God is great and worthy of all of my adoration and praise. Sunday after Sunday, I passionately exhort almost 600 other people to join me in that refrain. And showing up and continuing to sing about His greatness even after a really rough weekend is the one thing keeping me from being a hypocrite...because for me to keep silent or stay away would most certainly classify me by the definition of "a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs". If He was worthy of praise last Sunday, He's still worthy of it this Sunday, in spite of me. His love and affection for me has never wavered, and so neither should my response to it. My belief in who He is remains the same. Declaring the greatness of our God in our times of greatest brokenness and mess does not make us hypocrites...it makes us believers!

Harsh as it may sound, for the first time ever I now see that there are way more hypocrites at home on Sunday than are sitting in the pews. And I'd rather stand with my hands raised next to messy, broken, yet hope filled people, than become a hypocrite. I refuse to let the enemy blackmail me with his lies and accusations...if we have placed our belief in the goodness and kindness of the one true God, let's stop behaving in a way that disagrees with that belief.

Show up. And not just on Sunday, but every day. Make the enemy eat his words. Take back your God given righteousness. Stand on your brokenness and lift an even louder praise...no longer bridled by guilt or shame...we are hypocrites no more!

It may not feel or look anything remotely close to Christmas outside, but there is something in the air that brings back that ol’ “It’s after Labor Day, better get ready for Christmas” feeling. A season enjoyed by some, dreaded by others, but necessary for any who are involved with music in the life of a Church. At All About Worship we are here to help you navigate your way through the challenges and on to a successful season of Christmas cheer and high fives from your Pastor.

First up is how and why you should recruit a choir. So let’s begin with why.

1. It looks, sounds, and feels like Christmas: Blame it on Hollywood Producers if you want, but we all have an iconic image of choirs at Christmas lodged into our brain that actually began at the birth of Jesus with choirs of angels. It’s Biblical and it satisfies the itch.
    
2. It gets people involved…at a temporary level: Pastors are supernaturally driven to see the gifts of their people developed. Most worship leaders are concerned about letting people on the team who are may not be the best at singing or those whose abilities are an unknown. The solution is a Christmas Choir. A chance to let people be a part of something in a group setting where voices are blended and there is no promise of further involvement. A win-win situation.
    
3. Talent scouting: Through the process of rehearsals you will have an opportunity to audition people without having an audition. While you may find some who don’t sing very well, you will also find some diamonds in the rough. People who you didn’t know could sing. Once identified, if you want, ask them to be a part of the regular team.
    
4. It Boosts Attendance: More people involved means more people will show up for the special service. (Also a great reason to include a Children’s choir in your plans as well)
    
5. It’s Fun: Gatherings are a big part of Christmas and it can be a lot of fun. Have people bring snacks and let there be an element of social time.

Ok so now you’re motivated to do it. But now ‘the how’ comes to the forefront so here are some tips:

1. Decide if you’re a recruit/plan or a plan/recruit: If you have a specific piece of music you want to do, it might determine the kind of voices that you are looking for. Thus changing how you will recruit. For example a men’s number will obviously not include the ladies. It might also be that the piece is complicated or that you only have sheet music so a certain level of knowledge or skill is required to participate. However you can also recruit and see whom you get. Then adjust your plan accordingly.
    
2. Determine the Qualifications and Commitment: Make a list of the requirements for participation. Make sure to think about Age, Gender, Ability, Part they Sing, and whether they need to attend your church. You will also want to be able to communicate when rehearsals and events are.
    
3. Ask the Traditional Ways: When it comes to asking for participation most people immediately turn to the bulletin or ask for time during the announcements. A sign up table in foyer or/and a web based sign up form can add some names.
    
4. Ask the Non-Traditional Ways: Have your pastor or announcement person ask the congregation for a show of hands of who has ever been in choir.  Take a moment and look around as these are prime targets for recruitment. If you feel comfortable in doing so, put a little social pressure on these people from the stage to participate.
   
   While the above mentioned methods are good, hands down the best way to recruit is to ask personally. But who to ask? And more specifically what to ask? The best way is to ask anyone, “Do you know anyone who sings?” or “Do you know anyone who was ever in choir?” That’s when people will tell on their friends and neighbors. Giving you the opportunity to approach that person and say, “I heard you used to be in choir?” and then ask them to be a part of the group.
    
5. Have the next step determined: Make it easy to do and clear to understand what to do next. Do they need to fill out a form or just show up at this place on this date?
   
   I would recommend getting people to put their name to something as it can have a higher level of cementing their decision. People are more likely to come if they have signed up rather than if they can decide later if they are coming or not.
    

Hopefully you have inspiration and motivation surging through your veins at this very moment for an amazing Christmas season. In the coming weeks through articles and podcasts we will be discussing what to sing, how to teach people their parts even if they can’t read music, and where to find those resources. But for now, get started because it’s almost the middle of September and time is running out.

For thousands of younger Gen Xers and older Millennials who were raised in the church, much of our maturing as worshippers is marked by the poetic lyrics and fluid vocals of the duo known as Shane & Shane. I personally remember having Be Near on repeat during a difficult season of transition in my personal life. And I don’t know about you, but just about every guy in my high school youth group could be found working their double strum on acoustic guitar at any given moment.

But it wasn’t just their original songs that sunk deep into the hearts of their listeners. Barnard and Everett also have this uncanny ability to take songs recorded years earlier or made popular by big names such as Hillsong or Passion and make them fresh and accessible to our generation of worshippers. 

They are capitalizing on this significant gift through their latest ministry effort called The Worship Initiative (TWI). I recently got the chance to talk with Shane Barnard at length and hear more about their journey through ministry, how they juggle it all, and their hopes for the future. Hopefully you’ll find the perspective and insight he offered up as encouraging as I did.

When I asked him to share the story of how the vision of The Worship Initiative came to be, he jumped right into an impassioned explanation. They had been doing the touring, writing, and recording thing for years and gotten to experience worship from and with just about every kind of stage, venue, and demographic. As they got to know hundreds of worship leaders from everywhere you can think of, they began to see a gaping hole . . . that being the understanding of the true weight of the calling of the worship leader.

A scripture that they’d read hundreds of times and even used as a sort of mantra throughout their ministry also played an enormous role in their starting TWI. Colossians 3:16 says,

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”

One day a word jumped off their pages in a way that opened their eyes afresh – THROUGH. These times of worship they were leading on a regular basis were not just a means to an end. They actually serve as one of the primary ways the Church conveys the message of Jesus to raise up a generation of Christ followers who can change the world. Yet somehow, this position has gotten watered down to nothing more than a song leader in most church settings. They suddenly felt a whole new level of responsibility.

So the two set out to discover a way to pour into worship leaders around the world, both spiritually and practically. They started by taking a more personal look at their own gifts and bents. Barnard says about Everett, “I can’t think of a better salesman or evangelist . . . He’s just loud, funny, always cutting up, and can win anybody over to do anything . . . and unleashing that in an overseer role and our relational PR person has been awesome to watch. I think God dumped the PR side and evangelist side of Shane so hard into him that I think we still have yet to see what God is going to do in that regard.” Whereas for Barnard, his skill in songwriting and producing contends with just about anyone you could name. Over the last 20 years of ministering together, they’ve learned to “embrace who God has made [them] and not be disappointed in that anymore but just know that this is how God has made [them].” They’ve worked incredibly hard to figure out how to balance all of the overlap between their personal and professional lives, which is inevitable when you’ve worked so closely together for that long. “You would think we would have some kind of system after 20 years, but we are getting better. I would say that a few words come to mind . . . simplifying, strategizing, doing things on purpose. These are the things that have kind of been a banner over our lives the last two or three years.”

For a long time, all the different aspects of their lives were spread out all over the DFW area of Texas. Their studio was far south, much of their steady worship leading opportunities were at a church in the heart of Dallas, and they were living a good jump from either of those. So they are in the process of bringing all of those components closer together so that doing life with the families, church community, and ministry partners is easier. Taking this step has made it easier to grow their efforts with The Worship Initiative more rapidly.

So what is The Worship Initiative and what does it look like for someone to participate or take advantage of these resources?

Basically, an individual can pay a yearly fee and access a list of over 150 (and constantly growing) worship songs that each have multiple tutorial videos and charts accompanying them. These videos break down how to play the songs in different keys, on different instruments, and with varying skill levels. A worship leader on staff at a church can also pay an annual group fee, based on the number of people, for his team to be able to access everything as well. There are also craft training videos for everything from the different instruments and vocals to tech/production and using the number system. If that’s not enough, the site has an entire section dedicated to heart training, where they break down all the different spiritual and practical components for worship leading with the likes of John Piper and Ben Stuart. There are even creative devotionals to accompany every song on the different TWI records. TheWorshipInitiative.com truly is a wealth of knowledge and wisdom for anyone looking to grow as a leader or team member, and there are still exciting things to come. Shane shared a bit about what’s ahead for TWI. “Our next phase of The Worship Initiative is to create what we’re calling learning paths. Some people love to be given a world of information to explore on their own. But most people would really love to be told what to do to get from point A to point B. We will take our existing content and add to it and give them a year long path to stick to and see measurable growth in both skill and leadership.”

Given the length of time and the platform they’ve had over these last two decades, I asked Shane how he feels his perspective of worship both personally and within the Church has evolved over the years.

“I think worship, and even the idea of worship, has come a long way, in a good way. I think we’ve seen a pretty good uptick on understanding the Romans 12:1 life of worship. I often think back to a time when I was leading worship in a basement or college dorm room for several years, and it was always the oddest songs ever.” He recalled singing, with hands lifted, Make It Right by Kenny Marks (and yes, I might’ve gotten a solid 30 second serenade over the phone . . . it’s fine!) and other obscure songs that really had no purpose or meaning to the one worshipping. Yet, what we see all throughout the Psalms is “this gut-wrenching, very honest, it is okay to pour out your heart to the one who cares for you mentality. . . and that language is okay.” He remembered hearing the words to Breathe for the first time, where it says “I’m desperate for you,” and thinking “is this okay to have this kind of language in front of people? But yes, it is okay even in a congregation or corporately to say ‘I am thirsty for You in a dry land where there is no water.’ In fact that can be really helpful to the person sitting next to you. That can be us ‘singing spiritual hymns and songs to one another’, just that opening up of the heart and the embracing of singing those honest songs and using them to allow ‘the message of Christ to dwell among us richly.’”

Learn more about The Worship Initiative, as well as Shane & Shane, at www.theworshipinitiative.com. Here at All About Worship, we believe in what these guys are doing and the ministry they are fostering. We can’t wait to partner with them in the future as God continues opening those doors.

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Israeli forces found and killed the Hamas leader after a year of hiding.

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Original Air Date: September 05, 2020

Guests:

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Washington – The ruptured steel pipe at the center of the 2012 hydrocarbon release and fire at the Chevron U.S.A. Inc. refinery in Richmond, CA, was corroded and should have been replaced, concludes a report released by the Chemical Safety Board and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.