Just when I said I would post less...

Today, I want to express my displeasure in the lack of response from gospel artists to the Women's March that took place this past weekend.

While several artists and lay people that I follow on Instagram posted encouraging words re: Travis Greene performing at the president's inaugural ball, only one artist posted something about the women's marches. THANK YOU BRIAN COURTNEY WILSON! Somehow, not even the female artists that I follow said anything about it. There's something very wrong with that.

It's amazing how we (the gospel community) can rally behind someone who believes their performance will help advance the ministry by providing music to celebrate a man who makes racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and every other "-phobic" comments, but we can't even acknowledge women fighting for their voices to be heard. This is not to knock Travis Greene's decision - it's his choice to do what he feels is right and it's my choice to voice that I think President Trump is deplorable. The Women's March was about solidarity and standing up for women's rights.

Just to be clear, women's rights are not synonymous with being pro-choice. Reproductive freedom is one piece of the puzzle and if you happen to disagree with that piece, I see that no different than when a minister preaches something you believe to be inaccurate by scripture but you continue to go to that church/follow his or her on social media/donate money to that ministry, etc. Women's rights include issues like equal pay for equal work, the right to affordable healthcare, the right to unionize for a respectable living wage, immigrant and refugee rights, benefits such as paid family medical leave, affordable childcare, and accountability for police brutality which affects people of color disproportionately more than white people. Or better yet, it also includes standing up against someone who in normal conversation said "Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything." in reference to a married women he tried to sleep with. (Read/listen to the entire transcript here). My guess is that a reasonable person would not disagree with fighting for most of these issues.

So praise and worship junkies, if there was ever a time to stand together, especially as women and people of color, this is the time. How about instead of posting self-promoting marketing ads, selfies, and/or ignoring the big events taking place in our society, we speak up about said events and share our perspectives and convictions. It makes for a great praise leader to know and acknowledge what's going on in society at large.

Blessings

Controversy (in my Prince voice)

I'm going to kick off the year with a bit of controversy.

Recently, Pastor Kim Burrell has taken a lot of heat for preaching a sermon where she called out homosexuality as a "perverted spirit." Her sermon was spread via social media and as a result, Ellen DeGeneres cancelled her from appearing on her show where she was presumably going to talk about her role in the soundtrack for the movie Hidden Figures. Her radio show was also cancelled.

Homosexuality in the black church has long been a huge deal and I believe that churches that believe it to be a sin are struggling to find the right balance of addressing it. When you're in the limelight for your music ministry and begin to cross over, it becomes increasingly difficult to find that balance. I suppose this is why Tasha Cobbs and Kierra Sheard haven't crossed over. It's definitely not for lack of talent.

As a worship leader, we get in front of God's people and invite them to come with us to a special place. A place where our hearts are tender to God's call, God's word, and His presence. In this place we become transparent, see our shortcomings, and feel God's grace. It's something we wish everyone could experience. While there is a time for rebuking and reproving, we need to make sure that people feel like they belong in the house of God. It's hard to do that if we don't treat/address sins equally and if we condemn folks to smithereens. Each and every one of us (all sinners) should feel equally convicted for our sins and equally loved because we are God's children. I'm not saying that God wants you to be silent or permissive. I'm saying let's ask God for the right way to deliver His word to his people so that we can be the most effective vessels possible.

In the words of Otis Redding "try a little tenderness." Or for those wanting a scripture "A soft answer turneth away wrath." (Prov. 15:1)

Blessings

This time I'll be different

As you can probably gather from my lack of posts, I gave up at the end of 2016.

I got tired of coordinating, getting shot down, being let down, and getting grilled. But it's a new year and this time I'll be different.

I've decided that this year, I'm going to focus on some very practical goals.

1. I will stop complaining about our lack of a musician. Like, seriously, how long do you keep wining about what is? Time to find something else to complain about.

2. We will sing every song I buy a track for. No more wasting money. I'm sitting on at least 9 cd's because we haven't had rehearsal. Which leads to #3...

3. We will have consistent rehearsals and if no one comes, I will lead praise & worship alone so that we can introduce new songs into the rotation. Now this is probably the biggest goal and I don't like the idea of singing alone to a track, but what's the alternative? Keep singing the same 10ish songs? Nah man.

As far as this blog is concerned, I'm going to be pulling back a bit. My goal is to have one insightful, honest post a month. Quality over quantity. It's so easy to get dragged down the rabbit hole of trying to post every week, but I'm trying to achieve balance in my life. One post a month feels right for me.

My main prayer for the month of January is that God reinvigorates my passion for Him. Leading a praise team is draining and I don't want to lead begrudgingly. If you're reading this blog, I know you feel the same way. I hope that you hang in there with me. It's going to be an awesome year! In Jesus's name.

Blessings

Back to tracks

Just when I thought we had our music situation under control, it looks like we're back to square one. No worries. That's what tracks are for.

I just ordered a gang from Whitmore Music - my favorite place to buy accompaniment cds due to the great selection and quick service.

Here's what we'll be singing in the near future:
All Of My Help - Geoffrey Golden
You're All I Need - Hezekiah Walker
Ten Thousand Reasons (Bless The Lord) - Matt Redman
Awesome God - Maurette Brown-Clark
Amazing - Ricky Dillard & New G
Agnus Dei / Worthy - Third Day
It Is To You - Byron Cage
God Is Great - Ricky Dillard & New G
The Anthem - Todd Dulaney

As you can see have a mix of newer and older songs. I find that we tend to get more participation with gospel so I've ordered accordingly.

I predict that among these songs 10,000 Reasons will be our next big hit.

Blessings

Tips for worship team members part 2

Here's a recap of the final tips for worship members (part 2). If you missed part 1 click here.

6. Treat every second of rehearsal time like it's golden. (Rehearsal time is for rehearsal; not set up, not catching up, etc.)
7. Be spiritually prepared.
8. Don't copy the bad habits of others.
9. Follow instructions well.
10. Know the songs well.

To read more about year tip, check it out here on innovativecwc's blog.

Blessings

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.

6 things to consider when leading P&W

I strongly believe that one needs to prepare for praise and worship similar to how one would prepare to make an important presentation at work. Even though we want the Holy Spirit to bless and annoint us, we need to do our part to help increase the likelihood for success.

Besides choosing your song list, here are 6 more things you should think about when preparing to lead P&W or are singing at an event.

What's the occasion?
Is it a special service? Is there a special theme? This might influence your song list.

What is the congregation/audience like?
This is closely related to the first question. If you're singing at the senior's service, you might pick songs you believe an elderly crowd would enjoy. 

How is the stage set up? 
Are there enough mics for your team members? Is it easy to see the musicians? Are there trip hazards like long cords or speakers in the way? Is there a certain way you need to go to get to the stage?

When are you expected to sing?
Always arrive to a service or event early. You might get called earlier than you were originally told. I think its the Christian-like thing to do to be gracious enough to go early if asked. Conversely, always stay a while after you sing. It will appear arrogant to leave as soon as you're done.

How much time do you have?
Adjust your song list accordingly. It's fine if the spirit hits and you're in your own church and have freedom to go over your allotted time. As much as possible do what you're supposed to do in the time you're supposed to do it in.

What could you easily sing if there are technical difficulties?
What songs are popular or easy to sing if you had to use an alternate musician? What songs are easy to sing if your lyrics can't be displayed for the audience? Can you start a song in the right key if you can't hear the music? Have at least one song in your arsenal for this occasion.

Remember: planning is more than half the battle!