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.