Reminiscing

I once took a personality test as part of one of those DISC assessment evaluations that revealed that I am what the test called “a traditionalist.” My first response was, “Really? I don’t think so.” But as the test went on to explain how, I had no choice but to agree that the assessment was accurate. I then became quite introspective of different traditions that I maintain without even realizing it. Here just a few notables:

1. I always watch Notre Dame Football games on Saturdays in the fall. If I’m unable to watch, it’s a pretty devastating thing to me.
2. I must wake up in my own house on Christmas morning. I refuse to travel on Christmas Eve because it will keep me from doing so.
3. Every trip to Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH, I always make a point to pay homage to the exact spot my best friend threw up after riding the Magnum XL-200 back in high school.
4. And I find it hard to keep some of those songs that really impacted my personal salvation out of a worship set on any given week.

In particular, the songs from the “Passion: Our Love is Loud” from 2002 are ones that will always be dear to me. That was my very first Christian Music CD. In fact, it was given to me by my Youth Pastor at the time who also led worship for the contemporary service in our church.

Listen to this to understand my worship roots.

One of the main reasons he gave it  to me (other than witnessing) was to learn the songs on it. I was a somewhat talented drummer in high school and he had asked me if I wanted to play drums in the Youth Band he was going to create. I said sure, took the CD, and listened away. I had no idea what kind of impact it would end up having in my life.

It just seemed like every track filled me with joy and love in ways I had yet to experience. Do you have a song like that? Maybe a group of songs? An “era” of music?

I always love to put one of those songs (which are now all over 10 years old) in the worship set when appropriate so that I can sing like I did when I was 15 again.

Do you go to a church with “traditional worship?” Traditions can be a powerful thing to the faith of many. The task at hand for worship leaders is to know that new traditions are created every day by different people in different age groups by different races and the list goes on and on…

Traditions help us to remember some of our most fond moments in life…like our salvation. Never scoff at tradition. There is much to learn from our past and how God brought us here. There is also much to be excited for what God has in store for us in the days to come. I often wonder… “What will God do today that I will remember 10 years from now?”

Never Compromise

On your beliefs that is....

Of course, compromising in the ministry world with congregants, church council, and church staff happens every day. Whether it's at a vision meeting, deciding on the new sanctuary carpet color, or if Worship Team rehearsal should be at 8am or 8:30 am, we become accustomed to compromising and feeling good about the outcome. But if you are ever faced with a bona-fide challenge to your faith, you MUST be prepared to answer from your heart, jump up to your feet and take a stand for Jesus.

Never think that you are doing God a favor by not expecting a miracle.

A heart warming story that is straight out of the songwriting manuscripts of Mark Schultz is playing out as we speak in my family. My wife's sister and her husband have been expecting their first child about a month ahead of Ashlie's and I's second, but they were met with quite troubling and faith rocking news from the very beginning. On the first ultrasound, it was discovered that their little one was growing an underdeveloped heart. The news was devastating. Their doctor even went as far as to recommend that they "terminate the pregnancy." They immediately refused that option, and we all immediately began expecting God to make good on their stand of faith.

The past months have been really difficult for all of us. I can't tell the story as well as they do, so do me a favor and go to their blog an encourage them today. You will be filled with encouragement by reading, I can promise you that.

http://scarlettsstory.blogspot.com/

Seriously, go there. It would mean the world to them.

Never think that you are doing God a favor by not expecting a miracle. You can't set the bar too high for him to reach. You can't make any situation easier for him to fix. You can't "let him off the hook." By compromising your expectations of the all knowing, all powerful, all encompassing, creator of the universe, died for your sins, rose from the dead, worthy of all praise God... you are simultainiously doubting those very things.

Raise the bar high for God today. Be encouraged when you watch Him step over it by not even breaking sweat.

I know this is a pretty short post, but I believe that the answer here is crystal clear. No need to explain any compromise. In the words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."

Writers Block

For those of you (including myself) patiently waiting for my latest blog posting; thank you for your patience. I’ve been dealing with quite a bit of writers block. You know, the kind where you just can’t get behind an idea 100% so you scrap it in search of another one…. Then that one turns out to be a dead end too. Round and round it goes, where it stops, nobody knows… I particularly have this problem with songwriting. Do you ever write music? It’s TOUGH isn’t it! And it’s especially a mind over matter battle with me.

I’m somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to music …. I mean everything. I know this because all of the WFRN staff members took Tom Rath’s “Strengths Finder” test last Fall to see what our top 5 strengths are. Once armed with that information we can better leverage our staff and place them in positions where they are most likely to succeed. My top Strength: “Maximizer”

According to Rath, a Maximizer is a person takes something that is already good, and focuses all of their energy on making it not only great, but extraordinary. For example, the folks at Apple who are constantly working on new developments for the iPhone, or the folks at Google trying to make their company the all and end all for internet info, or the folks at Facebook tweaking social networking into a device we can not longer live without. I couldn’t agree more that I am “that guy.” I am constantly striving to make everything I do the absolute best. I go full speed ahead on concepts that I fully grasp and have an instant idea on where to take it. But with that in mind, it is particularly difficult for me to produce an organic creation from scratch without disliking it immediately, scrapping it, and then starting over.

So in an effort to mold myself into a patient, and more flexible musician, I’ve tried these steps to help clam me down and commit to an idea without getting too frustrated.

1.      I’ve found it’s easier to write the music first. I find that if I can get something down I like to listen to, it will give me a good idea of the mood and rhythm the lyrics need to follow.

2. Get an idea for what I want to say. The poetry can come later. Pray, pray, pray and pray about how God wants you to approach the word He gives you. Plan it out, and then begin to find alternate words and phrases with alliterations, rhythms, and rhymes that fit into the song.

3. Don’t grow impatient! If you come to a road block, walk away from it for a little while and come back to it once your frustrations have gone and you can try again. This is a great thing for Maximizers because it allows them to walk in on a concept already in creation and take it to the next level. (I still have an unfinished song from middle school that I haven’t yet found the perfect words for, but I’m not going to give up on it.)

4. Don’t be afraid to ask others for their opinion. Very important though: make sure you ask people who won’t say, “Oh, I love it!!” Don’t ask your mom, don’t ask your dog. Go to that person who you know will give an honest, yet critical opinion that you know you can accept. Criticism is hard. But it’s necessary. You may be your own worst critic (like me) but third party insight can ignite something in you that you didn’t think of, and it could give your song new life.

Experiencing some writers block? I hope this encourages you to battle through it. Few things can be more difficult to do than writing an original song, but few things are more rewarding.  

That Song... Again?

Yep… you all know a song like this. The song that was really popular for an extended period of time in your church, even in church worship all over the country and all over the world. Everyone knows all of the words so you keep playing it…and playing it……. And playing it….....

Oops… You over did it. It’s was a shame too. It’s such a great song and the lyrics are so true, but now it seems so “played out” that you feel like you shouldn’t play it again because you’re afraid people will start groaning over the sound of that now infamous opening guitar strum.

I think we all have a song in our repertoire that we’ve done this to. Which one is it for you?

I spoke with BEC recording artist Jeremy Camp recently about this situation that seems to be common in churches everywhere and I asked him which song is that song for him. He said, “I think that it would have to be “Mighty to Save”…. I’m about “mighty to saved” out.  Ha, don’t get me wrong, I love the song man, and I know that it’s touched a lot of people for Christ and I’ll continue to worship with it, but it just seems like I’ve done it a million times.”

Let me say I think there is a solution. And I got my inspiration for this solution from none other than Mr. Camp himself.

If you’ve done the song so many times, chances are, you’ve become numb to the emotions that the lyrics were meant to bring. So here are some steps you can take to revive a song that has been left for dead in your church:

"... try to find all of the biblical references to the song title.."

1. Instead of playing music and singing the song, read it like a poem. Break down the normal phrasing and concentrate on some of the most insightful expressions and ask God to reveal what he wants you to learn from them.

2. Do a concordance search in your bible and try to find all of the biblical references to the song title and those lyrics that you’ve been praying over. For “Mighty to Save,” the words in the title come from Zephaniah 3:17 AND Isaiah 63:1 (NIV) My personal favorite phrase from this song is “author of salvation” which can be found in Hebrews 5:9 (NIV). After you’ve found the song in the bible, read the context of those verses, pray about how they interact, and grab new inspiration for the song.

3. Take time to share your experience with your Pastor, your Worship Team, and the Congregation next time you put it in the set list. Let them know that the song has a new renaissance and it will never mean the same to you as it used to.

There are few greater feelings than hearing an old song like you’re hearing it for the first time. Having that intimate experience with God… like you’re finally hearing what He’s meant for you to hear the whole time. It’s humbling. And it will make you crave more of them.

That song again?     Yeah… That song.


Cody Collier is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and serves as Worship Leader at LifePoint Church in Goshen IN, and as Midday Radio Host at Family Friendly 104.7/93.7 WFRN. 

Gaining Perspective

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy with a couple of important commitments the last couple of weeks. One of them was the Sunburst Half Marathon Race and preparation. The other was an opportunity to give the message at my church instead of leading worship. Both events required copious amounts of energy, both mental and physical, and I'm glad to finally be back on the keyboard.

The Sunday I was preaching however, I had my first opportunity to do something I had not done in over 3 years: Attend a church service where the Worship Leader... was not me. It's true. I hardly ever take vacation, (tisk, tisk, I know) and when I do its normally for another Sunday worship event where I'm leading anyway. So all week, I was able to spend time learning, dissecting, and overseeing the church's worship team instead of actually rehearsing and performing. Then come Sunday morning, I was able to just sing, clap, raise my hands, and worship from the seats with everyone else.... It was an awesome experience! And it helped that it was being lead by a very capable and talented worship team lead by A.J. Miller. (name drop ;)

"Walk around the sanctuary and see what everyone else sees. "

So as Worship Leaders, I encourage you to get a new perspective. Create a system so that you train up leaders within your worship team so that you occasionally have time to step away from the microphone and focus on other aspects of running a worship ministry that need you... Like:

     1. Spend some time in the sound booth. Talk with the media team and ask them about their needs. Let them know that you care about them and want to work with them to help them succeed. Relationships are everything.

     2.  Proofread some slide shows. Maybe there is a small typo that keeps bothering you but you always forget it needs a permanent fix... such as it reading "every body" instead of "everybody".

      3. File and organize your music. Couldn't find enough copies of "How He Loves" so you just printed off 10 more? Maybe sometimes you accidentaly pass out music in two different keys? Spend some time organizing your music library so you can save some paper, time, and frustration later.

      4. Give some direction in rehearsal. Walk around the sanctuary and see what everyone else sees. Maybe change up the staging a little if the piano is blocking the congregation's view of the guitarist, etc.

      5. And the best part: WORSHIP on SUNDAY MORNING! It's an awesome and relieving feeling to be able worship without responsibility. Not only will you be filled, but your worship team will be proud to have been trusted to play on their own... and the trust you build there is priceless.

Get a New Perspective. Learn. Apply. Improve. Worship.


Cody Collier is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and serves as Worship Leader at Goshen First Church of God in Goshen IN, and as Midday Radio Host at Family Friendly 104.7/93.7 WFRN.

Nightmares

You are sound asleep.........zzzzzzzzzzzzz........zzzzzzzzzzzz......

The next thing you know, you're in church! Everything seems normal. You probably see the regular faces, the building feels familiar, and you are there to take care of your responsibility as Worship Leader on a Sunday morning. Then all of a sudden, something goes terribly wrong. Your guitar breaks a string, the projector doesn't work, you didn't run any copies of music, your microphone isn't on....and more than likely... you're aren't "dressed for the occasion" either! AND oh yeah, It's time to start and there isn't any time to fix any of it!!

How embarrassing!! How could this happen?? You work so hard and pay such close attention to detail that this couldn't possibly be happening to you!! Now what are you supposed to do?? Run? Cry?

How about wake up?

This has happened to me more times than I can count. I don't know why, but it seems like some of the things that I care about the most end up being the main storyline of my dreams at night. My work at WFRN, My family, and of course leading worship at my church...and it can be really frustrating! Why do the things that bring me so much joy in life also bring so much distress?

I take it as a good sign. Kind of.

What if I had that dream that I narrated above, and after all of those things happened, I responded with happiness, or even worse... indifference. I think that would "say" more about my dedication to my responsibilities than a response of distress does. Our responses to situations reveal how we actually feel, who we really are, and what we are made of.

When was your last "nightmare" and what was it about? How did you react? Most of the time after my initial reaction, I then resort to laughter. Mainly because after I wake up I realize how absurd my dream was, but while I was still in it, it seemed SO REAL!

"Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life" -Matthew 6:27


Nope. 

But its hard not to. I think expressing a little concern over your responsibilities is a healthy practice. Just try not to lose any sleep over it.

Cody Collier is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and serves as Worship Leader at Goshen First Church of God in Goshen IN, and as Midday Radio Host at Family Friendly 104.7/93.7 WFRN.

Endurance Training

I run.

I run far.

I’m going to be running a Half Marathon on June 4^th. 13.1 miles through the South Bend metro area and finishing (hopefully I make it there) on the green turf of Notre Dame Stadium. As long as the weather cooperates and I remain healthy and uninjured, I will complete the biggest and most demanding physical feat of my life.

So how do running and worship ministry go together? Good question. I’m going to attempt make it through this entire post without making of those cliche' “run the race of life” analogies and rather suggest to you that your ministry has the ability to endure more and more as you become a solid team of individuals committed to accomplishing a enormous feat.

I’m talking about goals. Do you have any?

Worship Ministry is more than playing four or five songs on Sunday, picking four or five more songs for next Sunday, rehearsing, and making team schedules. Yes, those are some of the more managerial duties for keeping the ministry afloat, but it’s not anything that you can post on a bulletin board and say, “We want to get ‘here’!”

Find out where “that place” is for your ministry. Have conversations with your pastor about how the worship in your church would ideally look. Be realistic, but be adventurous too. Cover the entire process in prayer and let God show you where he wants you to lead His people. And once you set a plan to take baby steps toward that goal, maintain the passion, determination and vision until you reach it.

Like the body of a runner, as your ministry pursues its goals it will become stronger. Small tasks will become easier, and the next big test won’t seem so exhausting. When you reach a goal, celebrate… then set a bigger one. God wants to see ministries flourish and become stronger and He'll do all He can to help. He is the best personal trainer you could ever have when running the race of life.

…rats, I almost made it ;)

Cody Collier is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and serves as Worship Leader at Goshen First Church of God in Goshen IN, and as Midday Radio Host at Family Friendly 104.7/93.7 WFRN.

Music Prayers

The other day I had a great conversation with Mark Schultz. We talked about his family, his world tour, and why he always writes songs that make us all cry, but the reason he called me up was to let me know that he had just finished recording his very first instrumental album. (Many of you know that Mark is a very gifted pianist.) I was like, "Wow Mark, instrumental? You have such a way with words, why would you want to take them out of the music?"

He said, "Well, ya' know when I get a couple of extra minutes I like to sit down at the piano and, before long I'll poke out a melody that begins to well up so much emotion inside that I feel like the piano is a part of me... like an extension of who I am."

I bet that those of you who play an instrument  understand exactly what he means. I sure do. A piano player myself, I can feel the energy of God flow through my body, down my arms, into my hands, and through every fingertip; on its way to making a joyful noise that gives glory and honor to HE who makes it all possible.

VERY Long Story Short: When I was young I was sick. And ever since I've been better, one lasting side effect of that has been my ability to recall words. It's very difficult to say exactly what I feel and think of words that I want to use. For some reason the words don't come to me. So I shared this with a pastor back in college and he told me to think of it like this: "You are an artist... words are too limiting"

Since then, I like to play what I call music prayers. A music prayer is when you don't say anything, but just play music and speak to God though each note and progression. Music is such an expressive art, You can say so many things depending on volume, intensity, speed, style, pitch, expression, and the list goes on and on.

Try to play a Music Prayer this week. It doesn't have to be an improvisation. Maybe to start,  pick a piece of music that you like to sing, but just play the music. Concentrate on each note and let each one be a word in your music prayer. Let me know how it goes by commenting on this blog post. It might take a few tries to find your prayer style, and that's Ok! Grab your guitar, piano, saxophone, drum set, violin, harmonica, trumpet, what ever it is that you play,...and pray. I find that sometimes it's much easier to say exactly what I want to say, by not saying anything at all.

Cody Collier is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and serves as Worship Leader at Goshen First Church of God in Goshen IN, and as Midday Radio Host at Family Friendly 104.7/93.7 WFRN.

Clean Your Glasses

I’ve had glasses ever since I was a sophomore in High School. I never made the jump to contact lenses because I don’t like the idea of something in my eye, and I haven’t had any laser correction because well, it’s too expensive. So I’ve come to have a pretty close relationship with my glasses over the years that I happen to enjoy because of the way they enhance my life… by both offering me clear vision and as a fashion accessory.

But my favorite activity to share with my glasses is: Cleaning them. Much like getting glasses for the first time, it’s that moment where you didn’t realize how poorly your vision was until your could see well! I get that feeling every time I clean my glasses. But then that leads me to think: “I wonder how long I’ve been looking at things like that?”

Worship Ministry can provide a lot “Didn’t see that before” moments if we are willing to be flexible and try new things. As leaders of music, we have to be on guard about settling into a style that we prefer; instead of finding out what inspires your congregation, gets them singing, and helps first time visitors meet Jesus the very first time they walk into your church’s doors.

Recently I cleaned my glasses and agreed to do a song that was going require a lot of work that “I didn’t have time for.” God slapped be around a little bit for trying to make excuses then laid out a blessing I never saw coming. I loved it, the band loved it, and the people singing and clapping along loved it.

Sometimes your vision can be clouded enough to hide some serious blessings. Do you need to clean your glasses?

Cody Collier is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and serves as Worship Leader at Goshen First Church of God in Goshen IN, and as Midday Radio Host at Family Friendly 104.7/93.7 WFRN.

Out Of Gas- The Quarter Tank Rule

Late last week, I ran out of Gas.... Literally.... I was about a mile from home, and the car finally coasted to a rest on the shoulder. I know, I know,....you're saying. "Codeman! How can you run out of gas??!! They have warning lights for stuff like that!"

I know. And that light was on too... but for some reason, I thought that I could make it anyway.

So on my jog home I had some unexpected time to talk to God about how I could let this happen. Sure, I knew I was low on fuel. I had a gauge that was buried below "E," plus that little orange light next to the gas gauge that looks like a gas pump was on too. But I ignored all of those signals and pressed on anyway (even passing two gas stations on my way) and now had nothing left but the consequences of my actions.

Sound familiar?

When our energy tanks run low in ministry, its easy to convince ourselves to keep going and ignore the warnings. And in the midst trying to conserve what little energy we have left, we try to find ways to "coast" and take short cuts thinking it will help us to keep going... and the whole time we are trying to squeeze every little drop out of our tanks, our tanks run lower and lower....and the ministry suffers because of our conservation. So...Why don't we stop and get some more gas?

Let me encourage you to make a change... both in your car, and in your ministry habits. Adopt what I am calling the "Quarter Tank Rule." When you get down to 1/4 tank left... stop and get more! Don't risk it! We all know that when we run low, we start to conserve. So do yourself a favor and fill-up before you get there! Take a day off! Recharge! Pray about ways to energize yourself that will work best! Even if you don't feel tired yet, work it into your schedule to do anyway. A tank that's not as empty doesn't take as much to refill, but if you abuse yourself and run it dry, it may take more time, and it will be more difficult to recover.

The Quarter Tank Rule is designed to eliminate panic, shortcuts and coasting. You won't have to worry about conserving. Put the pedal to the metal and use it up!... Just remember to keep putting gas in it!

Cody Collier is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and serves as Worship Leader at Goshen First Church of God in Goshen IN, and as Midday Radio Host at Family Friendly 104.7/93.7 WFRN. 

Welcome!

Hi! Welcome to my Weekly Worship blog! Every week, I hope to share some insights with you about Worship Ministry and dialogue with you about worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ! I'd love if you would follow my blog, ask me questions, and be involved in making this blog a great resource for Worship Leaders, Music Ministers, band members, vocalists, and anyone else who has a love for worshiping God!

I'll never claim to be an expert on anything, but may challenge you on occasion to think critically about how you currently do things to see if there may be a better way to lead your church to worship. All churches do things differently. I look at this place as an opportunity for us all to learn something from someone else, and share what is working in our churches.

Another part of this blog will be interviews with Christian music artists, nationally, and internationaly known worship leaders, as well as local worship leaders to get the pulse of how churches are worshiping around the world and in our own back yards. I pray that this will be a blessing to everyone who reads it! Feel free to comment, tell other people, and spread the word about the WFRN Weekly Worship Blog! It has begun!!!!!



Cody Collier is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and serves as Worship Leader at Goshen First Church of God in Goshen IN, and as Midday Radio Host at Family Friendly 104.7/93.7 WFRN.