Immersion Worship

So the second week has come and gone, and I’m still feeling great about a lot of things. We had a smaller crowd as expected, but it was still good; we had 81 adults plus kids. There were quite a few new faces that weren’t there on launch day, and some others who were returning. It’s so encouraging.

Music wise, we didn’t quite hit the bar that we had set so high the week before. We did ‘Oh Praise Him’, ‘Your Grace Is Enough’, and ‘Salvation Is Here’ at the top, and while the energy and sound were top notch (especially the vocalists who continue to amaze me with their creativity and harmonies considering my complete absence of any vocal coaching skill), we had a tempo problem, which we think is down to the acoustics of the place and a lack of clarity in what the drums can hear. So, this week, we’re going to try a click track fed through our in-ear monitors to keep us all together. We’ll see how that goes.

Rehearsals have moved to Thursday nights permanently, so that’s cool as well, as it gives an appropriate amount of time between service, rehearsal, and service. I know I need it just to learn the words for all the new material we’re learning.

Finally, my voice held out well, after having no singing voice whatsoever just two days before the service. It’s amazing how the enemy tries to attack us from all kinds of different angles to prevent the church from worshiping God, and it’s even more amazing how God’s goodness always shines through and beats the bad guy down.

I’m pumped for this weekend; we’ve got a couple of a great new tunes to do and a bit longer in worship at the end of the service. The response to the second set has been incredible so far; God shows up and really captures people’s hearts. As a worship leader, not only is it such an encouragement to see God moving amongst His people, but it’s even more encouraging to see people responding to that. There’s nothing quite like the tangible presence of God, and I hope we continue to aim for Him week in and week out.

Now that the adrenaline of ‘Launch Sunday’ has worn off, and I’ve had a few hours to reflect on what happened yesterday morning, and the way it all happened, I’m left with good feelings.

Was it perfect? No. We’re human. There were things that we need to fix. But was it more than we could have expected? Absolutely. In every way.

First of all, my band are the most amazing people on the planet. They’ve all worked so hard, battled through the various issues that come with rehearsing in a rehearsal studio that doesn’t provide any acoustical clarity, put up with me forgetting the words to songs and changing my melodies, and suffered through the pain of adjusting in-ear monitors and wireless mics that keep cutting in and out. But yesterday they were heroic. They were tight, they were switched on, they engaged the congregation, exemplified worship, and had a lot fun doing it. Really, I’m so proud of each and every one of them; I am a blessed man to be able to worship with them.

Secondly, our visuals were fantastic. Jenny masterminded some incredibly vivid and impacting graphics and video that were so simple yet so memorable that I know her work played a huge part in some of the responses we got from visitors pledging to come back. From the countdown to the lyrics to the slides supporting the sermon, everything was right on. Major kudos.

Also, our hospitality was good. We put on a free buffet breakfast and lunch, and I was just amazed to walk in to the area where we were hosting that to see every table occupied by a strange face, and everyone having a good time. These are the people we are there to serve, and it was heart warming to see us beginning to do exactly that.

The launch team have a debrief on Thursday night to talk about what went well and what went not so well, and I’m looking forward to that. I feel like we’ve hit the ground running and launched with some incredible momentum. God’s doing something with us, and I’m incredibly excited to see where this journey takes us.

So, time to look to next week. Bring it on!

It’s down to the wire now; in 5 short days, the church that has been a year in planning will launch. It doesn’t seem like 12 months ago that I was sat in Scott & Mary’s living room with a few friends and a few strangers, talking about the possibility of launching a new church in Orange County. It’s been something quite amazing to see an idea turn in to reality. I remember our first ‘launch team’ lunch, and how relationships began growing. I remember our first Bible study at Scott and Mary’s new house. I remember the first look at the facility we will be meeting in. I remember the first real ’service’ we had as a launch team. And now, in a few days time, there will be a new memory - the first service of the new church. I don’t know that I can put in to words how exciting this is.

We’re all believing for the best. We’ve sent out over 40,000 direct mail invitations, we’ve managed to get one to every student at Vanguard University, and tomorrow 12 interns from Tulsa arrive to join our street team in inviting as many people as we can reach. At our dry-run service last Sunday, we even had one lady arrive a week early in response to our direct mail. We’re all believing for a big weekend.

Leading up to this, the launch team have all been on a 21 day fast, starting December 31st, and ending together with dinner on January 20th. It might not be a traditional fast of not eating, but something else that clutters up our lives. Some are fasting one meal a day. Some are fasting something specific like caffeine or fast food. Rhonda and I have been fasting television. That’s right; no TV. No going to the movies. No playing X-Box. The TV has been off. And I can’t tell you how peaceful our house has been.

To start with, I didn’t find it too difficult. It was nice to find myself reading more than I’ve read in a long time, or to have a couple of hours in the evening to just practice guitar or write songs or record some demo material. The last couple of days have been hard - I just want to get home from work and veg in front of the TV for a while, but it’s still been good (and our TiVo has been saving it all up for us).

The thing that has struck me the most is not the absence of TV, but the presence of peace. This world has become a rat race. It’s busy and restless and cluttered and always on the go, and people wonder why they don’t hear the voice of God as much. God’s Word tells us to “be still and know that He is God”, but there are so many of us moving so fast in our lives that we don’t give any time to the task of noticing Him and everything that He is doing around us.

After I had dropped my wife at her office this morning, I turned off the radio and enjoyed the silence. As I drove to my office, I watched a plane fly overhead on it’s way to Orange County airport, and the way the sun reflected off of it cast some awesome light on the ground, and I had an idea for a song that I think is great. And all of this because I left some room in my life for a few moments of silence.

Here’s my encouragement to you. Carve out some time regularly to get away from the TV and the radio and the Internet and the cellphone, and be still, and know that He is God. I’m not making this encouragement as someone who’s got this mastered - good grief, I’m so far from that place I feel almost hypocritical - but I am speaking as someone who is rediscovering the clarity of God’s awesomeness. Unclutter your life and let Him show you the way.

The new church website just launched…check it out!

www.thesummitoc.com

Last night was the first real full band rehearsal for the new church. It was awesome. Not only is the team beginning to feel and behave and communicate like a team, the sound was great, especially considering the poor acoustics and equipment of the rehearsal studio we’re using.

I mentioned to one of the team that I’m staring to feel a bit nervous and edgy about our upcoming launch service, and they remarked that I don’t come across as nervous, but as someone who’s keeping it together. I think this is a real testament to God’s power; that even when we feel completely incompetent and underprepared, He provides the strength and ability that we need to get the task done, and it has a visible, tangible element to it.

Last night’s rehearsal has begun to solidify some of my nerves; they’re turning from the petrified type of nerves, to the excited type of nerves. God’s got something big planned for us and for O.C., and I’m excited to be a part of it. But that doesn’t negate the fact that I do feel completely inept and incompetent and unable to be the singer, musicians, and, most importantly, leader that I’m called to be.

I suppose in many ways…in fact, in most ways…that’s the best position to be in. Zechariah 4:6 says it all; it’s not by my own power or might that I get things done, but it’s by God’s spirit. By being in the position of feeling vulnerable and inadequate, it forces me to rely entirely on God to carry me through. It forces me to extend my faith and my trust in Him, and only by doing that can I accomplish all the things He’s set out for me to do.

I’m so proud of my team. The unity in goals and approach and encouragement is amazing, and I pray that it continues. They all worked so hard last night and the results were obvious; I can’t wait to get my guitar out and play and sing with them again. And the joy that I experience out of doing this - the feeling of ‘this is what I was created to do’ - is unreal.