Mental Musings

PREFACE: This post is not intended for church members to read. Seriously, don't read it. I don't want you to think that I am complaining so that you will pity me. This post is meant for my fellow music ministers. Yes, it's that most wonderful time of the year and what a week! I worked 15 hours Sunday, 18 hours Monday, a mere 9 hours Tuesday, 13 hours Wednesday, only about 4 hours Thursday because it was my day off, 12 hours today, and it looks to be about 5 hours tomorrow before I start the next week with 3 worship services on Sunday followed by three surgery visits in three different cities on the three days prior to Thanksgiving. My wife told me yesterday that my crazy schedule wears HER out. I guess that no matter how quiet I am in the morning, having an alarm go off two mornings in a row at 4 AM does not help her sleep well. Not to mention the problems she has when our youngest son gets upset because I left before he was awake and was not coming home until after he wa...

Just finished watching To Save a Life with the family. It reminded me of life as a teen and how cruel people (including myself) could be to others in school and how fake people (including myself) could act in church. The real question after a movie like that is: how can we help the children, teens and even adults of today deal with life? Are we going to continue walking through life with blinders on or will we take the time to care about others? Why does nothing change? Even when we hear songs like If We Are the Body : "It's crowded in worship today As she slips in trying to fade into the faces The girl's teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know "A traveler is far away from home He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row The weight of their judgmental glances Tells him that his chances are better out on the road "Jesus payed much too high a price For us to pick and choose who should come "But if we are the body Why aren't His ...

ELECTION EVE PRAYER WALK – If you believe we face a crucial election this fall and that we need to seek God for the spiritual change our nation needs, you are invited to an Election Eve Prayer Walk at the Capitol Complex in Annapolis on Monday, November 1, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. For more details or to register to attend, contact Brent Alderman (State Director for Capitol Commission Maryland) at 240-818-3053 or brent.alderman@capitolcom.org .

I have been serving in paid ministry in one way or another since 1982. My first position was as an interim music minister for my home church, Temple Baptist in Big Point, Mississippi, when I was only 17 years old. Since then I have: traveled with a music group on the road for a year, sleeping in homes and performing 6-7 concerts a week; lived overseas in the country of Jordan for a year and half as an International Service Corps volunteer with the then Foreign Mission Board; and served in churches in Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, Florida and now Maryland as a Minister of Music and Youth, Minister of Music and Education, Minister of Music and Administration, and a Music and Worship Pastor. I often hear people comment that it must be nice to have a job where you are around Christians all of the time. I won't lie to you, it is wonderful, but there are some disadvantages. Being around Christians all of the time makes it difficult to find time to witness to the lost outside of the churc...

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, I wanted to bring to your attention some Christian singers/groups who are Hispanic or have Hispanic members. Alma Rivera: www.reverbnation.com/almarivera (mostly English lyrics) Jaci Velasquez: www.jacivelasquez.com (mostly English lyrics) Lilly Goodman: www.lillygoodman.com Jesús Adrián Romero: www.jesusadrian.net Marcos Witt: www.canzion.com/marcoswitt Rojo: www.rojoweb.com Salvador: www.salvadorlive.com (mostly English lyrics) There are many more out there. Feel free to post your favorite Hispanic Christian singer/band.

One of my real passions is listening to good music. I know you would never have believed that about a worship pastor But music is such a subjective thing that what I consider good music could be thought of as trash by others. I can fully appreciate that because of my work in churches. You may not believe this, but at every church I have been to there are people who do not like all of the music that is done on Sunday mornings. But I wanted to share what I look for (or listen for) in music. The Basics: Interesting melody (it must be more than just a few notes repeated over and over) Good harmonic pattern (ignoring proper harmonic sequences can be unique, but some bands obviously have no training in music when it comes to this; try preparing the ears for a key change instead of jumping from key to key with no warning) Variety in keys (try to write in a key other than E because each key has a specific emotional and aural sound) Rhythmic interest (some bands use the same basic rhythm patter...

No, I am not actually speaking about a state of mind...although that could help. This is more about the 20-80 rule. You know, 20% of the people do 80% of the work. However, I am convinced that the numbers need to be updated some because it seems that the correct number is closer to 15-100. On a typical Sunday, we have a need for about 7 people to help with our Multimedia Ministry (sound, lights, projection, video). That is less than 1% of our worship attendance. Now I understand that some of those who attend worship are also involved in other ministries: Bible Study leaders, ushers, greeters, counters, baptismal workers, instrumentalists, choir, praise team, nursery, etc. (I use the etc. to include all of those areas I left out because I am sure somebody will remind me of their ministry area). I am sure that there are some sound people out there just waiting to be used, but we have not been successful in finding them through the normal channels: announcements, begging, word of mouth, p...