Why Generation X doesn't go to church

In a candid conversation yesterday with some of my peeps, here's what I learned about why they don't go to church.

1.Church does not fit into their schedule and culture. It's not only that church is too long, but you can't multi-task at church. It's rude to check your phone and it takes out a big chunk of your day. There's Sunday School, and morning worship, and eating/fellowship. All of this is seen as church and for most black folks, this is an all-day event.

2. Church people are mean. They have bad attitudes and generally do not seem happy. They are unpleasant to be around. They judge all the time and don't get to know people. They don't treat others the way they'd like to be treated. Sure they don't steal or kill, but they don't treat others right. Church people are very hypocritical!

3. Church is not welcoming. Someone is always holding a seat for someone who isn't there and  guests have to find seating elsewhere, or stand, or go to the overflow room (also known as I could've stayed at home and watched church on TV). Would you come back to someone's home if they didn't offer you a seat and you knew they would be there for a while? Someone also expressed that church is exclusionary. If you don't fit a certain mold, you feel out of place.

4. Church people are crazy. God said this. God said that. Don't date - God told me you would be my wife. Wait, what? I didn't get any of these memos. My peeps were extremely leery of all of these specific messages. Basically, when did God become so talkative about so many interpersonal topics?

Now here's the kicker - all of these people believe in Jesus Christ and what He came to do. What I heard from the conversation is that their experience with church does not reflect their values and what they believe the message of Christ is.

It's easy to say "get over it - someone didn't offer you seat," or "you can't make everyone act right" but can you see the problem here? It's not Jesus that's the problem, it's His people. We are the problem!

We are the modern day Pharisees! We think we know so much about God and His word, yet still can't seem to make church a pleasant, welcoming, accepting community where people come drink of the waters of life. And the bad part is that we refuse to change. We refuse to make church shorter, we look down on preachers who make the messages more simple (saying they're not teaching people nothing because it's not fire and brimstone), we don't announce to our congregations not to hold seats, or teach people to be careful and wise about sharing prophesy. Yet we think folks should just "come to church" because its the right thing to do.

Newflash: people don't go to places where they don't feel wanted. They don't go to places that seem laborious. They don't go to places where people who have attitudes go. They don't go to places where the people are pretentious.

My experience as a lifetime church-goer is that we'd rather place all of the burden on the non-church-goer than to place the burden on us to change. Until we change, we can expect for Generation X, Y, and all that follow to remain non-church-goers.

Insecurity issues

I must admit I have issues as a lead worshiper.

I am an average singer. Don't have a great vibrato. Have average range. Don't always sing from my diaphram. I also don't think quick on my feet and my voice sometimes goes out when its hot in my church and the fans are on full throttle. But the average singer thing is my main issue.

It is extremely easy to be intimidated as a lead worshiper when you can't blow. I wish I could rip and run across the scale, but that isn't my strong suit. I love singers who run effortlessly, but that's often the measure we hold everyone by. At least in black church culture. Why is that?

As I've grown in my Christian journey, one of the things I'm more cognizant of is not being wooed by rhymes, runs, and physical attractiveness of something or even an edifice. This goes for a sermon, as well as the music. We (including myself) have got to move past some of the superficial stuff and get to the heart of worship. Don't get me wrong, it's hard to go in when things are pitchy, but it shouldn't be easy to go in just because of someone's ability to sound like Beyonce. (No shade... I love Halo! :)

I may not be able to do the Jason Nelson warm up challenge, but dang it, do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do ain't never hurt nobody. That, I can do all day, every day.

Blessings

P.S. Go on Instagram and check out Jason Nelson's warm up challenges. Some of these people are dope and some are just flat out funny.

NLC's sunrise service on the beach

NLC is my "other" church

This Saturday is New Life Covenant's Sunrise Service on the lovely shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago. (6300 S. Lake Shore Drive) I went last year and it was great.

Get there by or before 4:00 a.m. if you want to find parking. NLC doesn't mess around. These are some church-going folks!

Check out the church's calendar for more info.

Pop-up worship

Reposted from Travis Greene's FB page :)

I love the concept of pop-up worship! If you're in Charlotte, check out Casey J and Travis Greene at this free event Monday at 6 pm.

Rhythm is gonna get you

The funniest thing happened the other night while I was out on a triple date. We were at a Jamaican themed restaurant when the house band started to play a little music. My husband, not a church-goer, commented that Reggae music reminds him of church music. I didn't quite get that until the band went from playing a secular tune to playing How Great is Our God and then How Great Thou Art. "See!" said my husband.

Guess that goes to show that you might hear a praise in an unlikely place. I should've told my hubby you can run, but you can't hide.

Blessings

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord o my soul ) - Matt Redman (with Lyrics)

Sharing a great song I heard on the radio recently. Enjoy!

And it don't stop

A big shout out to all my new subscribers who signed up for the blog at the #UPCAG conference!

Now let's get started.

What did I learn about praise and worship (P&W) while attending our national conference? The beat goes on. (In my Whispers voice - I added the link for the sake of my "new school" readers.)

People don't show, the beat goes on.
Tracks don't play, the beat goes on.
Mics don't work, the beat goes on.
Attitudes flare, the beat goes on.


Bottom line: it don't stop!

Our special musical guest had the worst time with audio, but she pressed through with grace. The mics weren't to our musical director's likings, but everyone kept going. There were people who normally sing on the praise team who didn't (myself included), yet there was still a praise team.

Regardless of the of the obstacles we might encounter, we have to keep going when we are leading others into worship because whether we do or we don't, the "show" will still go on. As praise team leaders/members, it's our job to set the atmosphere and we can't do that if we decide to quit or have an attitude because things don't go right. Let's continue to press toward the mark!

Blessings

Going Hillsong

Since my post about the Hillsong movie seems to be pretty popular, I thought maybe I'd do a little series related to the Hillsong phenomenon.

To be honest, I know the name Hillsong, I know a little about the churches, and that the worship band is extremely popular, but I couldn't name one of their songs. Nonetheless, I'm very excited about their upcoming movie Let Hope Rise because I think its wonderful that a documentary about a worship team with a great message is going mainstream.

Surely, Hillsong has been mainstream for years and I have been a bit oblivious to it. I decided to listen to some of their songs just because I should, as a worship leader.

Their vibe is reminiscent to Coldplay. It sounds like liquid gold. It's contemporary, but not especially trendy. It's lyric-forward. It's worship-forward. It's rock-star-like without the rock-star showiness. It seems sincere and humble. I kinda love them.

Even though I love what I've heard, it's hard for me to picture my uber urban congregation embracing the songs wholeheartedly without force-feeding it. Our congregation, when they listen to Christian music at large, primarily listens to gospel. But maybe this is just my brain going straight to all the reasons why something won't work.

Yes, that's exactly what just happened!

I think what I'll do is find a song that I think will work and give it a try. I'll update you guys later in the year on this.

Blessings!

P.S. Before anyone thinks or says it, I'd just like to add that there are a lot of people who attend small churches, living in their own niche who are not up on a lot of music in the Christian genre. Conversely, there are a lot of people who attend large/popular churches, living in their own niche who are not up on Gospel music. It's all love! We are one!

Anthony Brown & group therAPy - Worth (Official Music Video)

This song right here... if it doesn't take you in, nothing will. Enjoy!

4 things I think I know about worship based on Chicago's Gospel Fest

Chicago Gospel Fest was held in Millennium Park

The 2015 Chicago Gospel Fest was last weekend and the devil was busy messing with the weather trying to keep Christians from coming out. :) I managed to go to the last set Sunday evening. Here are 4 things I think I know about worship based on the four performances I saw:

1. Your remix better be hot.
To be honest, the only song I know by Anthony Brown and group therAPy is Testimony. That song is fire! I'm not sure I would've taken the gamble, but they decided to sing a new rendition. And guess what; it was hot too! Your fans are expecting your main song to slay so you've gotta be sure you don't disappoint.

2. You've got to run a tight ship.
Marvin Sapp had his band with him, but also used tracks. The backup sounded like they were literally on the stage with him. I'm still trying to figure out how he did it! His performance was flawless.

3. You've got to work the heck out of your new song.
Richard Smallwood is one of gospel's finest musicians/writers. He opened with his popular Anthem of Praise and then moved on to their new song Same God. They sang that song for a good 6 minutes. When that song hits the airwaves, my ears are already primed to receive it because they drilled it in my head at Gospel Fest. That's how you get your fans on board!

4. Get the audience to participate.

Israel Houghton getting his praise on!

Israel Houghton was the headliner and you could tell by the number of staff on stage setting up his mic's/technical equipment. It looked like quite the ordeal. While all of the set-up was a bit taxing, he was the only one to use the video screen to project his words. This really helped get the audience involved. Of course it ended up being a fun performance because everyone was singing along and was excited. I still have whiplash from all the jumping around I was doing. :) Whatever program he used to display the lyrics was visually captivating. The colors were fun and you can tell they spent a lot of effort thinking about the visuals.

 

 

 

 

 

My God-brother, Daybreon, my sis Amber, and Me (Nicole) at Chicago Gospel Fest 2015

Well, that's my recap on this year's Gospel Fest. Maybe next year it'll be warm and sun-shiney.

Blessings

Thinking of a master plan (in my Eric B./Rakim voice)

Even though the anointing is always necessary to make a service, you still have to have a plan. If you are like me, you've got a certain formula for how you'd like P&W to play out.

At our church we sing four songs each Sunday so I typically go upbeat, slow, slow, medium tempo/upbeat. I like to start and finish with something peppy. However, considering the way our congregation trickles in, I should save the upbeat songs for last. (Note to self.)

We have a small congregation so we typically don't sing complicated songs. That means we don't do songs that require a lot of vocal skill. I try to select songs that are in a singable key for the average person, don't have a crapload of words, songs that rhyme, and songs without a lot of parts. For example, we sing things that tend to have one or two versus with a chorus in between. (Not a whole of lot vamps, bridges, etc.) I love call and response songs so things like Judith McAllister's High Praise goes over very well with our congregation.

We have song books (actually they are folders so that we can easily add more pages as we increase our repoitoire), but I don't like to use them. People start to focus on the book itself, turning pages, looking down, etc., rather than focusing on worshiping. We also have lyrics on PowerPoint, but that requires someone to do AV. (small church problems) I strongly suggest the use of displaying the lyrics if you have visual capabilities. You'd be surprised at how many people don't really know the words to the songs you've been singing for months. Shoot, I even miss the words at times!

Hats off to the people who wear uniforms; I'm not a uniform kind of gal, but we do coordinate for special services or events. By coordinate I mean we have matching scarves or a flower and we wear black as our base, but ladies can wear skirts, dresses, pants, etc. Guys can wear the color of the scarves in their tie or wear a shirt in that color. We used to buy matching blouses, but that can get tricky when sizes vary.

There's so much to consider in terms of P&W! Sometimes we get asked to sing certain songs by the pastor or others and I try to accommodate. I try to find songs from both Christian and gospel music. We sings some oldies too. You've gotta have something for everyone! I think it's sine qua non that you consider your audience when planning for P&W. You have to know what goes over well and take small risks incrementally. Needless to say you won't please everyone every Sunday, but without a plan in mind you're more likely to flop.


Blessings

Conquer distractions with 5 tips

Crying babies, hecklers, cell phone ringers, loud music coming in from outside the church, drunkards. We've all been in services where there have been distractions. How do we not let distractions ruin the praise and worship (P&W) experience?

Make sure you're squared away early - I have a 3 year old and sometimes (most of the time) she's the main distraction! (Sorry Zoe.) If I don't have her squared away prior to P&W, I can expect chaos. If you're a parent, make sure the child is with the designated caretaker early and let him/her know to keep a special eye out for the child. While we want folks to make a joyful noise, kids can sometimes take it to the next level and sometimes the caretaker is engaging in P&W without realizing the kid is banging the tambourine into a coma. 

Find the right outlet to inform congregants of proper protocol - If you're at a church like mine, there are many people who aren't used to general church protocol. We can't assume that people know how to act during P&W. Sunday morning might not be the best time to say it, but find a way to inform the congregation of your church protocol. Maybe a handout, addressing it in a business meeting, a sign on the bulletin board (if people read it), addressing it during church announcements or during new members class might be helpful.

Give people direction - My new thing to do is to tell people what I want them to do. "Hands in the air," "tell the Lord thank you," etc. This generally stops whatever people are doing because they're listening to you talk and will likely respond. Giving people directions helps them to stay focused.



Work with your ushers - If we had ushers I would totally collaborate with them so that they know to ask individuals to quiet down or excuse themselves from the sanctuary if they are distracting others. You could also ask the ushers to remind congregants to silence their cell phones as they greet them when they enter the sanctuary. "Good morning, glad to see you, come right this way and don't forget to turn down your cell phone please!"

Get gangster - While I don't encourage this tactic as a first resort, sometimes it needs to be employed. This should only be used if the distractions are really bad. In between songs or before you start, you could make a statement in a number of manners:

• "We're not going to stop singing until you bring in your wandering minds and usher in God's presence" (I find this one to be the most effective.)

• "Father God, our prayer today is that you help us not be so distracted while we sing your praises." (A tad passive aggressive, but whatevs)

• "How dare us come all the way to church and act like we're too busy to worship God?!" (Straight gully, but even Jesus turned over those tables in the temple.)

Would love to hear other strategies. Please feel free to share and let me know if you try any of these tips and how it went.

Blessings

What I know for sure

 

Skip Oprah (even though I kind of like her); here's what I know about God for sure...

If God said it, He will bring it to pass!

Many years ago, an evangelist prophetized (is that a real word?) to me that God was going to bless me in my studies and grant me favor. She told this to me right before I was going to undergrad. While I already was awarded an academic and music scholarship, I also applied for another scholarship and received it. I also eventually got other small scholarships and graduated with honors and thought "Ok, God. Thank you for blessing me." However, when I went to school for my cytotechnology certificate at Johns Hopkins, that's when I really saw God open doors for me. The program was very selective (only 5 students per year) and God blessed me to get it. Then I was featured on the front page of the hospital newspaper for the outreach activities I was doing in some of Baltimore's public schools. It ended up being a wonderful experience. I thought "Ok, God. Thank you for blessing me again!" Then I went to graduate school to work on my masters in public health. I received a big scholarship in year 2, and ended up with a job that paid for my last year of school. And then when I got my PhD - just kidding. I stopped at my masters. But anyway, I know that when God says something, you can bank on it. It doesn't mean that I didn't have any challenges, cuz trust and believe my student loans total more than some peoples' homes, but God is faithful! (Put a praise on it right there!)

God will make a way...
When I was preparing to go to Hopkins, I had no money for the program. I mean $0. Not even a student loan. We were coming up to the week I was supposed to be leaving for school with no money. We applied for a private loan with bank even though we had been turned down for others. A few days before I left, that loan came through. Look at God!

And a way.
I suffered a huge accident a few years ago rollerblading. I fractured my left elbow and ended up needing 5 surgeries, a cast, and year of occupational therapy to correct it - only it never was really corrected. At the time, it was my final year in grad school and my capstone project (similar to a thesis) was due. Unlike all of my friends who waited until the last minute to start their papers, I had begun months in advance and had been diligently working on it. When the accident happened, I had already had a solid first draft of about 17 pages. God put it in me to work on that paper early because after the accident, I could no longer type proficiently. Sometimes he makes a way before we even know the way was already made!

God is no respecter of person.
I know that God is able to do anything for anyone. I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer by far, typically a B student, but God has done great things for me in the area of academics.

The blessings of the Lord maketh rich...
Moving past my academic life, I picked up a job that seemed to be pretty good, but I just didn't like the job as much as I wanted to. I applied for a different position in the company for something more related to my studies. I felt really good about the interviews and was very hopeful, but ultimately did not get it. I stayed at the company and about year later, that position opened up again so I applied again. This time I got it and now I have a job that I absolutely love.

And He addeth no sorrow with it.
About a year into the new job, I got a big raise. I'm not going to get into the mechanics of why/how I got it. Just trust me when I say that I didn't ask for it and when they gave it to me all I said was "Thank you God!" I could care less the rationale. It was a huge blessing!

So there you have it. In the words of J. Moss, I'm not telling you what I read. I'm telling you what I know.

God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think! (Eph. 3:20) There, I finally quoted a scripture :)

What I know for sure makes me more than willing to sing praises unto God. Most of the songs that I write are simply songs of praise. I always thought I'd have something deep and pivotal to share with the world, but my testimony is simply God is good and faithful. I am content praising God for all that he's done in my life and I hope that's whats reflected when I lead P&W.

Blessings

She's baaaack - Tasha Cobb's drops new singles

Tasha Cobbs released 3 new singles from her latest project and I couldn't be more ecstatic. All three songs are live recordings and are receiving good reviews from listeners. (Pastor Tasha is retweeting comments from followers on Twitter.)

Check out iTunes and do a search for Tasha Cobbs. Look under the "Songs" category, otherwise you'll probably miss it.

Check out this snippet to the new song "Jesus Saves" here.

Hillsong goes Hollywood... check out the trailer

Typically praise and worship, gospel, and christian music is enjoyed in a car, at a church, at a music festival, or via outlets like YouTube or Pandora. Sometimes there's a concert at a small venue (typically a church). But, for the first time ever, christian music is hitting Tinsel Town!

Hillsong United is coming to the big screen later this year in Let Hope Rise. Fade to Black director, Michael John Warren, is flipping the script to cover the christian band and its rise to christian music stardom. 

Grab yo kids, grab yo wife... make it a church field trip. Let's get out and support Hillsong United!

Coming to a U.S theater near you September 30, 2015.

Good Friday reflection

Now that Good Friday has come and gone, I have to admit, I'm a little shocked that all of our rehearsals and our overall set went off without a hitch! There was a huge difference in the atmosphere of the service this year in comparison to last year. I'm glad our praise team had something to do with that.

I think my mom (the pastor of our church) was the most happy that things went very well. She was proud that we did a good job. She commented that I/we were anointed. However, after listening to the iLead Escape call last night, it got me thinking.

Pastor Sheryl Brady stated that "music cannot create a worshiping heart." She went on to say that music can make you think that you're worshiping, but it can be a foil. This really resonated with me because we sing to tracks every Sunday and I don't think anyone has ever really commented on our anointing before Friday night. The only difference I can note is that we had live music.

So are we anointed when we sing with live music, but not tracks? I didn't do anything differently Good Friday that I don't already do every Sunday.

Are we anointed some times and not others? Was it because we really rehearsed and everything was in order? Was it because I had prayed a bit more fervently that things would go well? Or does live music really sway people's perception of how P&W is going?

I don't know the answer to these questions. Sometimes it's hard to know because I wasn't in the audience so my perspective is quite different.

This is "What I Think I Know About Worship" is all about. Sometimes we think we know much when there's plenty left to be understood.

Blessings!