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Well, nothing is perfect.  But the way the songs and lyrics fit the 3rd week’s message in our “Uncaged” series at SSCC this week was close to it.

I’d planned our closing song in cooperation with Jon Blankenship, who would be preaching this week … but had no idea that the rest of his sermon would literally be full of the actual lyrics and expressions in all of our songs.

I love it when it when that happens!

Overall, it was a more “contemporary” Sunday than normal, with bigger, edgier, louder music.  I expected that I may get a little more pushback than I did, but only one complaint thus far, and it was from a visitor who said they don’t want anything except traditional music.

Walk In:
My Savior Lives

Opening Song:
I Am Free

Worship Set:
Your Name
You Save (original)

Closer:
Christ Is Risen

It was awesome seeing a number of people confessing Jesus as their Lord and Savior in both services!

Sharing this as part of the “Sunday Setlists” event held weekly at TheWorshipCommunity.Com.

I was always the kid entrepreneur.  If it wasn’t Christmas cards, it was All-Occasion cards.  If it wasn’t cards, it was gift wrap or a plea for money to some good cause.  My favorite product to peddle was those decadent chocolate bars in the mouth-watering options of “Krunch”, “Almond”, or “Caramel”.  These were the easiest products to move, as all I really had to do is buy a truck load of them and leave them in our fridge for my Dad to devour.  And he did.  Thankfully, he was good to pay for them.

This time around, it was cards.  But not for the money – no, this kid had a much bigger prize.  It would take my selling more boxes of Christmas cards than there were people in Telfair County, but I was ambitious and had my eyes set on the grandest prize of all:  The blue and yellow Sea Cloud inflatable boat with matching oars and pump.

After weeks of my hands peddling cards to neighbors and my feet pedaling my Huffy Bandit throughout the town, the Sea Cloud arrived.  She was beautiful.  It didn’t take long for all the kids to start arriving … the Sea Cloud became the Saturday talk of Montgomery Circle.

Brandy, my faithful golden retriever, was there, lips-smacking and tail-wagging, when I took the maiden voyage.  A kid like me couldn’t buy a bottle of champagne.  Besides, Wild Turkey or Boone’s Farm was the drink of the elite there in McRae.  Alas, I’m just a kid so I was forced to resort to shaking up a can of Winn Dixie’s “Chek” Cream Soda to anoint the bow of our sea-worthy vessel.  She may not have been ready for the Atlantic Ocean, but this boat was definitely ready to cross over the big pond in our back yard.

Our back yard was a kid’s dream; vast, and surrounded by everything a kid needs for growing up.  The ditch by the road was wide and deep and filled waste high with water after a summer gusher.  The thick green grass ended with a rather large pond surrounded by the vast woods in the back (by vast, I mean, a couple of residential lots) and the Wooley Swamp that Charlie Daniels sung about on the side.  There had once been a metal wire suspended across the pond for us to zip line across but that ended when too many kids dropped off in the middle with their school clothes on.

The pond teemed with life – minnows, fish, turtles, and “Big Mama”, an albino catfish that we all thought was immortal.   There were big willows that wept over the water leaving opportune spots for bream beds …. and snakes and wasp nests.

Without question, the pinnacle of delight on this block of McRae, GA real estate was the secret, yet well-known hideout called “Fort Montgomery”.  This epic fort was built to withstand everything from alien attacks to nosy parents wondering what happened to that pack of Salem Light Ultra 100s on their dashboard.  The addition of the Sea Cloud gave a whole new level of access (and regress) to Fort Montgomery so we began construction on a state-of-the-art pier.

The pier was any flat piece of board we could find from neighboring construction sites.   The board would be nailed in the middle to the biggest branch of one of those willows extending into the water.  It was as good as one of New York Harbor’s piers unless you happened to step on either side of the board.  You had to be careful to never have both feet down at once and always keep one foot in front of the other.

But who cared.  This was the bomb.  Despite the reality that you could simply walk on the path around the pond to enter those dark woods to Fort Montgomery, the new route via Sea Cloud was really the ONLY way to go.  I don’t recall, but I’m pretty sure I came up with a fare of sorts and charged neighbor kids for rides to and from the fort.

The maiden voyage was flawless.  She graced through the water with only the sound of the water drops dripping off the plastic paddles and the occasional slap of water when I’d be forced to shake off that nasty green, slimy mossy stuff off the oar.  I made several laps around the pond and knew I was born for the water.  I was the Captain.  She was my vessel.

I was in kid ecstasy.

Little did I know that the Sea Cloud would soon be involved in crime.
(stay tuned for “The Strong Arm of the Law”)

*personal note:  this is the first post of what I call “Small Town Stories”.  I alluded to this in my New Years Day post but never followed through.  The content of this category is totally different than the focus of the blog.  It’s not about worship or leadership, it’s fun, life stories and memories of growing up in a small town.  As always, memories are that … memories.  Names will be substituted where appropriate, and facts will be blended with fiction, or half-memories.  That’s what makes them fun.  If you enjoy this series, please let me know by commenting.

Friday’s are not typically a super-busy blog day, and perhaps it’s good that I’m writing this today, as it could be controversial.

Here’s the deal.  I don’t think that Christians call each other out quite enough.  My “call each other out” I mean … you know:

*correct, spur, challenge, rebuke.

I recently “called out” a brother in Christ.  I’d been noticing a certain tone and use of slang and abbreviations in his Tweets.  I’d seen one too many “WTF” exclamations and decided I’d call it out.

Granted, each of us have our own standards of what convicts us and what doesn’t.  I suppose what you consider to be coarse language could be subjective, since the Bible doesn’t give us a list of “don’t say that” words.  I also know how cool it is to be “free” of rules.  I also know how rad it is to talk about how unimportant something like that may be in the “grand scheme” of things.

My problem?  Everytime I would see that, I’d say/hear/think that word in my mind.

With much reservation, I said “hey, this sort of bothers me, and I want you to pray and consider it”.  (paraphrase).

A couple of other things I did:
#1.  I made sure he knew I was challenging him in the love of Christ, and to spur us to excellence and holiness
#2.  I made sure he knew that I didn’t consider myself perfect, and was constantly getting challenged myself
#3.  I gave license for this person to “call me out” anytime.

In my case, my friend and brother replied graciously. Fact is, I know this dude, and his heart is golden.   I mean, G-O-L-D-E-N.

So, I can hear it now … “judge not, or you will be judged”.  I’ve heard that Scripture taken out of context a gazillion times.

Aren’t we supposed to hold one another accountable?  Aren’t we called to challenge one another, spur one another towards holiness?
And guess what … if I wait until I’ve got my own act together … or you wait until you’ve got your stuff together, we’ll all walk around only half as we should.

There’s a difference in harsh, critical judgment … “taking the thorn out of your eye rather than the plank in my own” and loving, encouragement.

This is from Christian to Christian.  Yeah, I’m not into calling out and judging those outside the Kingdom of God.

I think that if we’d all get over the fear of being seen as “holier than thou” and start leading and encouraging one another … even with a loving rebuke or correction …  that the Body of Christ would be stronger … more holy … and with that … comes the POWER.

Thoughts?

The Professional Worship Leader.

You can design a masterful flow of songs
You can recite Scripture, encourage, and effortlessly transition between songs
You can close your eyes, raise your hands, and demonstrate physical acts of worship …

all the while, your heart is far from God.

You know just where to raise the key …
You know exactly where the people will start standing because of the response to your arrangement …
You can predict precisely how the mood of the room will be …

all the while, your heart is far from God.

You can play in any key
Your vocal range is mammoth
Your repertoire is endless
Your band is flawless

all the while, your heart is far from God.

You have the look
You have the hair
You have the clothes
You can pause for tears
Stand before the crowd with no fear

all the while, your heart is far from God.

It’s become a job.  A paycheck.
You are skilled.  You can do this in your sleep.
Everyone thinks you are the best worship leader ever …

after all …

You are a “professional”.

——————————————-

Dear Worship Leaders,

Fight the tendency to minister in your own strength and skill.  Let your worship be an outflow of your heart.
There are a million things to distract us from truly being in God’s Presence, and sharing that with others.

Honestly, it’s quite easy to become the “professional” worship leader.
Sadly, many folks don’t discern the difference.

When you stand to minister, your conscience will tell you … is this overflow?  Or is this a job?

—————————————————

I just finished the new book by Ian Cron, “Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and me”.  I was so happy to get the book because I already share a personal connection to the author.  Ian was a spiritual guide at re:create in both 2009 and 2010 so we were able to hang out.  In addition, Ian Morgan Cron will be spending 3-days down here on our beautiful St. Simons Island with me and all of our “Refuge” retreat guests this October 23-26.  (register for 3 days of sabbatical retreat with myself, Ian Morgan Cron, and others at www.refugessi.com)

The other super-cool part of reading this book was that it was available as Kindle or iPad.  I chose the iPad version and LOVED reading it on my iPad2.

Speaking with Ian on the phone recently he said, “Fred, this is totally different than Chasing Francis”.  He was right, it was totally different, yet equally inspiring.

“Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and me” is Ian’s memoir.  Oddly, I suspect it’s only half-finished, as Ian has so many years of ministry, fatherhood, husbandhood, (so that’s not a word) and a life to live.

One of the biggest themes throughout the book is Ian’s struggled relationship with his alcoholic father.  For those who have lived in alcoholism you will identify with his story.  For those who have been blessed to live a life free from the effects of alcoholism you will gain a heart-wrenching insight into what life is like.

You also get glimpses of Ian’s spiritual journey, and the difference between religion for the sake of religion, and a true relationship with Jesus Christ.

I’m a CIA/Spy movie junkie, so that part of the title grabbed my attention.  You don’t really get into great spy stories – I suppose most of those stories were never really told to Ian by his father.

I have a new perspective and understanding for what it’s like for those who grow up in these tough situations.  Perhaps the greater sadness in the story is not the alcoholism, but the desperate plea from a little boy to a young man, searching for his father’s love and approval, and yes, even forgiveness.  Perhaps that gets resolved.  You’ll have to read it to find out!

You can get the book in retail stores, Amazon, and for Kindle or iPad.
Ian’s web site:  www.iancron.com
Ian’s twitter:  @iancron

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”