Are we really thankful for everything?

What a year this has been. There have been ups and downs. Exciting moments and disappointments.

But this Thanksgiving, as every Thanksgiving in the past, I have far more to be thankful for than I have to be disappointed about.

Truthfully, as Christians, we should find things to be thankful for even in the midst of our disappointments.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote, "we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed."

Paul had a laundry list of things to be down about. He was beaten, jailed, and ridiculed countless times. He was even stoned for his proclamation of Christ.

Yet, Paul could say things like, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us- ward" in Romans chapter eight.

Not sure about you, but I've never been beaten because of my love for Jesus. I've never been thrown into jail or stoned because I trusted in and proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There are many around the world who face this reality on a daily basis, however.

One of the more publicized cases is that of American pastor Saeed Abedini who has been imprisoned in Iran for practicing Christianity.

Abedini, an American citizen, has been forsaken by our country's leadership and is being forced to reside in one of the most hostile prisons in Iran. All for his confession of Christ.

One of the more potent reminders of how Christians are treated in the Middle East came in the form of a picture of Coptic Christians praying in a burned out church in Egypt.

Two weeks ago we learned of Christians going before firing squads in North Korea.

The plight of the Church in China is all too familiar with those of us who regularly pray for their safety.

So, you, American Christian, really have nothing to be disappointed about compared to what our brothers and sisters face on a daily basis in many regions of the world.

And what about our brothers and sisters in the Philippines who recently faced one of the worst typhoons in history and still showed up to church, or what was left of it.

We will have our pick of churches to attend this weekend. We won't have to hide in a basement to worship. We won't be faced with threat of imprisonment or death just because we evangelize.

I would urge you all to give thanks to God for everything in your life today–the good, the bad, and even the ugly. You are blessed far beyond what you deserve.

While you give thanks today, please also say a prayer for our brothers and sisters across the world who have every right to be disappointed and unthankful, yet still give God glory in the face of oppression.

My Thanksgiving Prayer

Lord, today I bless Your holy name. There is none like You. No one can stand against You, and no earthly power compares to You. I thank you for the many blessings in my life. Family–my beautiful wife and three children, and parents who raised me to fear & love You. 

I thank You for my church family, my job, my home, my car, everything You've provided. I thank You for every good thing You've given. But Lord, I also give You glory for the disappointments. 

That time when I thought I had the job of my dreams only realize it wasn't going to happen. I'm thankful that You allowed my freelance sports writing gig to end which allowed to me to step into the ministry You've called me to. 

I'm thankful for the health scare I had in April when my blood pressure was ridiculously high and I could barely walk uphill without having to stop and catch my breath. Without that experience I might not have lost 84-pounds in six months. Oh, and thank You for the grace you've given to stay focused in that journey. 

Lord, You know I'd be here all day if I had to recall everything I'm thankful for. But as the days, months, and years pass, I'll never cease to give You all the praise for everything in my life–good and bad. 

Lord, I want to pray for my Christian brothers and sisters across this world who cannot serve you without the fear of jail or death. I pray for Pastor Saeed. I also pray for the American leaders who have forsaken him. 

I pray for Christians all over Asia who have to hide to worship You. I pray for the oppressed Christians in the Middle East. Lord, please continue to comfort and help those in the Philippines as they recover from the devastating Typhoon Haiyan. I also pray for the continued peace and prosperity of Israel. I pray all these things, in the matchless name of Jesus, amen. 

A Response to John MacArthur's Strange Fire Conference

After a few weeks off to refocus and redesign the site, I've decided to make a brief comeback before the relaunch to address some recent news concerning John MacArthur's Strange Fire Conference.

I am Pentecostal through and through. I was dedicated at 17 days of age in a Pentecostal church. I spent the first eight years of my life in an Independent Pentecostal Holiness church and for the last 23 years I've called the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) organization my tribe.

I want to make it clear from the get-go, however, that the Kingdom of God knows no division. I will continue to worship with many blood-bought, born again Christ-followers regardless of their denomination, creed, or secondary teachings. 

That said, I must address some disheartening statements made these last few days by noted theologian, author, and minister John MacArthur.

MacArthur's conference apparently was birthed out of his yet-to-be-released book Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship. 

It appears that the book has a lot to say about the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. If MacArthur's opening statements at the conference are any indication, the book will accomplish much in an effort to slander many Christ-exalting men and women.

Part of MacArthur's opening address reportedly included the following statement:

There are a half a billion of professed Charismatics. For some frame of reference, there are a billion Roman Catholics, and 14 million Mormons. So you see that this is a massive issue. And yet, nobody would fault pastors for confronting Mormonism for their false view of God, Christ, and Salvation. 

By many measures, John MacArthur should be considered a pioneer of faith in 21st Century America. Yet, someone as deeply rooted in the Word of God as MacArthur should understand that comparing Pentecostals to Mormons is, at best, laughable.

MacArthur must realize that neither of those enormous religions even gets the essentials right. There's absolutely no comparison here.

MacArthur reportedly continued:

Am I discrediting everyone in the movement? No. I think there are people to desire to worship God in a true way. They're caught up in this as well, though, because intention is not enough. But the movement itself offers nothing to enrich true worship. 

Surely, John MacArthur doesn't view "true worship" as the act of gratitude that Pentecostals exuberantly portray in church every Sunday, right? 

True worship is less what we do on Sunday and more the reflection of the consecrated life we live before our maker throughout the week. True worship has little to do with the tongue-talking, exuberant style of praise you see in most Pentecostal churches.

The Apostle Paul–noted tongue-talker–wrote in Romans 12:1 that we should present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God which is our reasonable service or our spiritual worship. Any theologian worth his salt will tell you that means living as though we are dead to self and alive to Christ and His ways. That's the essence of true worship–not our joyous style of praise.

If true worship is what we're judging Pentecostals by, my home church alone sacrificially helps around 100 needy families every month with emergency food boxes and has served 250,000 hot meals since 1995 while averaging only 75-80 attendants on a weekly basis. Sounds to me like we know plenty about true worship.

One more MacArthur quote:

The charismatic movement continually dishonors God in its false forms of worship. It dishonors the Father and Son, but most specifically, the Holy Spirit. Many things are attributed to the Holy Spirit that actually dishonor him. In many places in the charismatic movement they are attributing to the Holy Spirit works that have actually been generated by Satan.

Matthew 12:25-26 NIV – "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?"

Jesus said that, by the way.

This is the easiest of MacArthur's statements to refute. By far.

By MacArthur's own admission, Pentecostalism is the fastest growing movement on the planet. People are coming to Christ in droves all across the world in Charismatic services. The unmistakable tug of the spirit is active in our services and sermons.

Why would Satan be so ignorant as to generate a movement that is leading literal millions of people to Christ?

Half-a-billion people worldwide consider themselves a part of this movement. That makes Pentecostalism one of the top Christ-essential protestant movements ever.

Yet, instead of applauding the efforts of countless men and women–pastors, teachers, and missionaries–for making such a vast difference for the Kingdom of God, John MacArthur has attacked us.

It is not my intention to attack or rebut cessationalists with this post. I refuse to debate cessationism vs. continualism in this space.

My contention here is John MacArthur's reckless, arrogant, and irresponsible actions at this conference.

Strange Fire has become a three-day Pentecostalism bash-fest. I find that incredibly detrimental to the Kingdom of God.

I'll be the first to admit, there is some "strange fire" out there. I've been witness to plenty of it during my 31 years. But using the fringe to color the full canvas makes a horribly disfigured painting.

I am thankful for many in mainstream protestantism that have stood with Pentecostals during these last few days. The unity you've portrayed in the face of unprovoked attack on an integral part of the body of Christ is encouraging.

I won't hold out hope for an apology from John MacArthur. But in the interest of the Kingdom, I'm praying he does so.

Kingdom Building in the Slums

Fresh out of seminary armed with a vision and a heart for souls you hit the ground running in the community to which you are called. Hopefully, you build a pretty solid foundation over several years and before you know it, your church plant is growing.

Chances are, that's your dream. No fault in dreaming. I'm sure many, if not most, church planters have had a similar dream at some point. It's easy to dream that way. And that's certainly reality for a few. 

There's a segment of ministers, however, who dream differently.

This segment of planters and/or pastors long to reach the lowest of the low, the poorest of the poor. In other words, the least likely for astronomical growth and self-support segment.

I have some experience in this area. I serve in a church that my dad planted almost 20 years ago in what would be considered a bad part of town.

Our church is in that part of town where you catch someone breaking into a parishioners vehicle during a worship service. It's also that part of town where families turn up in droves to receive food assistance four times a week.

We're still there–offering emergency assistance and attempting to meet the spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional needs in one area of Chattanooga, Tennessee's inner-city.

There are ministries who are attempting to offer the same kind of aid in more desperate parts of the world.

Living Bread Ministries is one such group. Living Bread's mission is to plant missional churches among the global poor and equip them to care for their communities.

Specifically, Living Bread reaches out to the favelas or shanty towns of Brazil.

Ever heard of Brazilian shanty towns? The best favela in Brazil would make Chattanooga, Tennessee's worst housing project look like Beverly Hills. Take our most crime-ridden housing project and subtract running water, electricity, police presence, and basic building structure.

According to LBM's founder and president G. Patrick Hubbard, there is no organized vision to plant churches among the very poor. But, he continues on his blog, "there should be."

Rather than focus on what the global church isn't doing, however, let's focus on what Hubbard and Living Bread are doing.

Since 2004, LBM has planted eight missional churches among the urban poor in the least evangelized region of Brazil. According to its official website, however, one of LBM's goals is to spark a global movement for church planting among the poor and needy.

In other words, Hubbard and Living Bread are all about advancing the Kingdom of God in the farthest reaches of the earth.

There was someone in the Bible who had a similar purpose. His name was Jesus.

In one of the premier Messianic prophecies, Isaiah penned the words:

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

In the book of Luke, Jesus took the pulpit of the local synagogue and read that very scripture to the religious crowd. The crowd promptly ran him out of town and would have killed him then and there had God's plan allowed.

While the crowd was ticked at Jesus' assertion that He was the fulfillment of that prophecy, outreach to the poor has never been popular among the overly religious.

True Kingdom building is an uphill battle and Living Bread is building the Kingdom in some of the least evangelized and most desperate parts of our world.

That's God's dream.



Visit livingbread.org. Look at, pray for, and consider supporting the work that Patrick and Barbara Hubbard are doing among the desperately poor. 

Revival: Is it in you?

Revival is a word that always conjures up many different emotions in my spirit and my mind.

On the physical level, my mind automatically shifts to thoughts of consecutive nightly worship services and anointed preaching. That thinking then leads to thoughts of long services, lack of rest, and the eventual loss of my voice from leading worship.

My spirit-man, however, skips past the vocal labor of leading worship 11 times in 10 days (we sing a minimum of 30 minutes in every service), how tired we eventually will become, or the length of the service. Indeed, the spirit inside of me jumps for joy at the prospect of a renewed focus and a revived heart.

After experiencing in a time of revival 12 of the last 14 days, my voice is certainly in recuperation mode, but my spirit-man is rejuvenated. I'd dare to say he's doing cartwheels at the moment.

Until you know what it's like to give of yourself, your talent, and of the anointing God has placed in your life, only to have it completely renewed and ready night after night for nearly two weeks, you can't completely understand the level of revival I'm talking about.

God has called us, as carriers of the anointing, to have revival inside of us.

It's one thing to hear an awesome sermon, have it speak directly to you and be renewed in your mind, body, and spirit. But it's an entirely different thing to carry revival and have it constantly renewed by seeking after God.

In 2 Chronicles 34, the story of Judah's King Josiah is told. Josiah took the throne at the age of eight. Verse three of that chapter explains that at the age of 16, eight years into Josiah's reign, he began to seek God. The second half of that verse says that four years after he began seeking God, Josiah started one of the greatest times of revival in Judah's history.

King Josiah began tearing down the altars of the false gods and centers of idolatry that had caused the people of Judah to stray. From that starting point, Josiah then began repairing the temple of God that had fallen into a state of disrepair after 100 years of neglect.

The repair of the temple led to the recovery of the Book of the Law. The finding of the Torah led to Josiah's reinstatement of the Covenant Law, which led to the most complete observation of the Passover in 400 years!

Talk about a revival!

The greatest revival in Judah's history began with Josiah seeking after God in the four years prior to the beginning of the revival. The revival began in Josiah's life.

It all started with a king's dedication to God.

Is it in you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5kiBWjXfWs

Proud to be an American?

The most patriotic week on the calendar is upon us–the time when we celebrate the birth of this great nation called America.

We'll celebrate with a cookout and fireworks, maybe sing a couple rounds of "God Bless America" and feel all nostalgic about our freedom.

As a southern American, patriotism was ingrained into my psyche soon after I learned to talk. As a Christian growing up in the southeast, patriotism took on a whole new level of relevance.

There is perhaps no segment of the population quite as patriotic as southern, Christian men.

It's not uncommon for churches across this country to perform Fourth of July plays, musicals, and retrospectives during the first week of July. Old Glory, that good ole' red, white, and blue flag, has a prevalent place on the property of many churches in every state.

We as Christians should take our freedom and our rights very seriously. After all, isn't freedom what grace is all about? Maybe that's why American Christianity and American patriotism are so closely held in our hearts.

The question in my mind is, should we be so patriotic in this day and age?

Should we, as Christians, be proud to be Americans considering the awful atrocities that take place on American soil in the name of freedom these days?

Thanks to our Supreme Court, there are more than one-million babies are aborted in this country every year. Since the court's decision on Roe vs. Wade in 1973, more than 56 Million babies have never even had the chance to experience the freedom that we hold dear.

10 years prior to that fateful decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Holy Bible, which we hold even more dearly than our American freedom, should not be read in public schools. It also decided that prayers to the God who gave us this freedom in the first place, shouldn't be uttered in government institutions.

50 years after prayer and the Bible was taken out of the public sector and 40 years after Roe vs. Wade, the same court has recently decided that marriage between two members of the same sex should be allowed despite the will of the people declaring otherwise in the state of California.

The court also decided to place the government's stamp of approval on such unions by allowing federal benefits to be extended to these couples.

That's three landmark decisions in 50 years time–all of which are a slap in the face of God and His holiness.

But I'm not just picking on the Supreme Court here.

Just last summer at a major political party gathering the names of God and Israel were lustily booed upon inclusion to the party's re-election platform after public backlash forced a PR nightmare upon a sitting president.

I'm proud of the men and women who gave their lives to earn and protect the freedom that I hold dear. My heart breaks for families that have sent husbands, wives, sons, and daughters off to war in the name of freedom never to return.  That will never be lost on me.

But to say that I am "proud to be an American" right now, might be an overstatement.

As an American Christian, I have dual citizenship. My allegiance to this country is merely physical and temporary. I'm only an American by birth.

The truth is, I've been born again. And this time, I was born into an heavenly Kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:28). In reality, I'm now a foreigner in a strange land.

According to 1 Peter 2:9-12, I'm a part of a nation within a nation. I worship and serve the King in a kingdom that is perfect and has no term limit.

Now that's something to be proud of.

Laying Aside the Weight

Well, it's been a month since I posted last.  And this time I have a really good excuse.

My last post was on Memorial Day night. Coincidentally, the day after Memorial Day was the beginning of a new me.

For most of my life I've been a little too friendly with food. Junk food, fast food, food loaded with sodium, and super sized portions have all too often been on my personal menu.

About three years ago, my wife and I took part in a "Biggest Loser" competition at church. We lost a combined 80 lbs then. We both kept it off for about a year. Then, slowly but surely as life circumstances changed and a child was added we gained everything back and then some.

When I began struggling to catch my breath after a short walk on a recent fishing trip with my boys, I began to realize something had to change in my life.  I topped the scales at 333 lbs (the largest I've ever been) on Memorial Day evening.

Since that night, I have cut my calories by about 75-percent a day. I'm now eating around 2,500 calories a day, which tells you what my food consumption was on a normal day before I began this transformation.

About a week into my diet, I had my regular yearly eye doctor visit. At this visit I was told my blood pressure was extremely high. 154/103 to be exact. Two subsequent blood pressure readings weren't much better. This only added to my determination to get the weight off.

35 days after I began this new lifestyle (I refuse to use the d-i-e-t word), I have lost 22 lbs and I feel better than I have in at least three years.

In addition to my new eating habits, I'm exercising everyday and I walk/jog an average of 3-4 miles on a daily basis.

My ultimate goal is a complete lifestyle change.

I've started eating healthier foods. My portion sizes are cut in half. And I've eliminated red meat and junk food while taking on a daily exercise regimen.

Beginning this new adventure has meant less blog posting of late. But this new way of life is starting to become routine. I'm certain that will mean more blogging.

I'm laying aside the weight that has far too long been a hindrance in my life.

As bad news grows, glory awaits

It has become a nightly ritual. I sit down at the computer and catch up on the day's news. The local, national, and world news is all right there at my fingertips.

I scan through the headlines.

"Man charged with killing Alaska couple, assaulting toddler"

"Marine killed after Texas shooting spree"

"Moore tornado death toll stands at 24"

Bad news is everywhere. It grows on a daily basis.

Trouble and heartache has multiplied exponentially in our world as the population has grown and technology has exploded.

We witness terrible natural disasters as they happen hundreds of miles away. We see political turmoil as it plays out across the globe. We anxiously flip from channel to channel as a massive manhunt takes place for terrorists.

This is not just a symptom of our culture's information overload. This is the symptom of a world gone stark raving mad.

These are the symptoms of a sinful world in dire need of salvation.

Horrible news is on the rise. There are wars and rumors of wars. Disastrous weather phenomena is becoming more frequent. Evil men are, in the words of the King James Bible, "waxing worse and worse."

People are calling good evil, and conversely calling evil good.

These things have always happened, but the intensity is nearing a peak.

It's becoming increasingly difficult for me to digest all the news that I purposely expose myself to on a daily basis. My heart aches for those who have lost loved one's to natural distaster. The wickedness of man casts a dreaded pall upon nearly every breaking news story.

In Matthew 24:8, Jesus said events of this type would be the beginning of birth pangs. If you know anything about birth pangs or contractions, you know the intensity grows with each passing hour leading up to the glorious birth of a newborn child.

Birth pangs are awful. It's painful to see friends and family endure such horrible tragedy. Even the pain of complete strangers is almost too difficult to imagine.

But with each moment of pain, something glorious draws near. With each tear shed in fear and terror, tears of joy await those who long for His coming.

What is our aim in these tragic days?

Reach out to the hurting. Bind up the brokenhearted. In the midst of our world's horrible reality, continue to proclaim the good news. Pray, pray, and pray some more.

Endure the pain.

A glorious morning awaits.

Celebrating a Church Milestone

I have been in church quite literally all of my life. Dedicated at 17 days old, nearly every childhood memory I have involves church and/or church family.

For much of the first 10 years of my life, my dad, James Barker, was an evangelist. We always had a home church where dad was a part of the leadership, but he also preached revivals and had his own television ministry.

After many years of ministry in various roles, my dad started a church in 1993.

I was 11 years old when he and a friend, Thomas Tallent, who we met at a seven week revival in 1989, rented a storefront building in Rossville, GA. At the time, I had no clue the ride that was awaiting my family and I.

While church planting has experienced a renaissance in recent years, starting a church from scratch has always been a huge undertaking. Regardless of how much money or how many people you may have to get the church launched, if it's not a God thing it won't last.

That is precisely why Sunday, May 19 was such a special day in the history of the Joyful Sound Church in Chattanooga, TN. Many church plants simply do not become thriving churches that last 20 years, so we celebrated this milestone.

Granted, our church has never really busted at the seams with congregants. We had a steady run in the late 90's with an average of just over 100 people at most services. For much of the last decade, however, we've seen steady decline from those numbers.

While there has been a decline in average attendance for some time now, much of the original leadership remains intact. On top of that, Joyful Sound has become a training ground of sorts for ministry.

Through various community outreach programs, Joyful Sound remains a vital ministry hub in Chattanooga's inner-city.

Four leadership teams of six people leads two afternoon services for the homeless and needy of our community, in addition to our three regular services, on a weekly basis.

Over the last 10 years, we've served nearly 20,000 hot meals to the homeless, elderly, and needy and we continue to provide emergency grocery assistance to more than 1,000 families each year.

Two of our leaders from the past 20 years are now pastors. One planted his own work in nearby East Ridge, TN in 2011 and the other turned an existing, formerly declining church into one of the largest Churches of God in the Chattanooga area.

Our current leadership consists of eight ministers who not only preach the word, but minister to the physical needs of our community as well. Those eight ministers are being developed and trained to one day become planters, pastors, and leaders within our city and beyond. I'm ecstatic to be a part of that group.

The harsh reality may be that church plants don't usually last 20 years–especially when the second half of those two decades has seen steady decline. Statistics prove many church plants close up shop within just a few years.

But the church plant I have attended for the last 20 years was and still is a God thing. I have a feeling that Joyful Sound being the hands and feet of God in the East Lake community of Chattanooga, TN may have something to do with that longevity.

 

A Full Plate of Ministry... and Life

When I began this blog, I had intentions of posting at least twice a week. I did exactly that for three weeks and then a little thing called ministry and life happened.

I'm not going to spend this post making excuses for my lack of posting, but between revival, numerous special ministry services, and my 11th anniversary something had to take a back seat.  That something was this blog.

Not that I'm apologizing for doing ministry. It's what God has called me to do. And ministry will be my primary focus, outside of my family of course.

Part of that ministry is this blog. And it will be treated as such in the future.

In addition to helping out with revivals and leading many worship services these last few weeks, my wife and I took a weekend off to celebrate our 11th anniversary.

Despite the rigors of traveling over six hours to spend one sunny day at the beach, it was so worth it. Never underestimate the physical and emotional renewal that just getting away for a couple of days can bring.

It has definitely been a full plate of ministry and life in recent weeks, but I'd rather have a full plate to begin with and leave it empty than to have nothing going on at all.

 

Worship Experience: Reflections from April 21

I'm a little late getting to this post, but Sunday was an especially draining day physically and we just started revival at the church. Life happens. Ministry happens. And blog posts get pushed back. It's not the end of the world.

Here's this week's Worship Experience!

Sunday Morning Reflections

I need to learn more hymns. Well, it's not that I need to "learn" them per se, I just need to practice, update, and actually sing more of the hymns that I know.

I lead two hymns and I alternate them two every other week. Victory in Jesus (page 120) and We Shall See the King (page 120) are very good songs and we do them well, but I'd really like to mix it up a bit more every now and again.

I love to do hymns in a traditional style, but I'd really love to modernize some hymns and do them on a regular basis.

Worship leaders, how have you done this? How do you stay respectful to the song that many generations grew up singing while updating it to fit the modern mold? I'd love to hear some incite.

Sunday Morning Setlist

• We Shall See the King


• Counting on God


• Let it Rise


• There is a River

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qQos4iEyAo

(Disclaimer: The use of this clip does not in any way equal an endorsement of this ministry. It was the only usable clip of this song and you've gotta admit the spanish subtitles are wicked awesome.)  

 

Sunday Evening Reflections

I knew Break Every Chain was going to be a powerful song for our church in this season when we learned it last year.  The song and the anointing on it in this season has been nothing short of amazing at our church.

As a singer, I know my limitations. I know how high and how creative I can be with my voice under normal circumstances. But "normal circumstances" are out the door when it comes to singing under the anointing. And singing this song under the anointing is a rush physically and spiritually.

I feel the anointing more often than not on stage, but there are times, mainly when my physical body is tired or stressed, that it's much more difficult to get into that anointed flow. Sunday night was not one of those times, even though I was quite tired physically.

During the song, I felt a strong unction that God was breaking chains of intimidation off of someone in the church. I spoke that word and have since received confirmation that those specific chains were indeed broken during the worship service.

That's the power of worship. It's not a song, or a style, or a singer. It's God rushing into an atmosphere that is saturated with His praise. As Hebrews 2:12 says, Jesus, our brother, even proclaims the name of God in the midst of a worshiping congregation.

According to that Hebrews reference, in an atmosphere that welcomes His presence, Jesus walks among those engaged in worship and literally speaks the names of God into our spirit.

Do you need a healing? Worship and He'll speak Jehovah Rapha. Are you stuck in a financial bind? Worship and He'll speak Jehovah Jireh. Are you battling a spirit of intimidation? Worship and He'll speak Jehovah Nissi.

There is incredible power in your outward expression of worship.

How has God used you in a worship service? Have you felt His presence and left the building changed after a time of intense worship and praise?

Sunday Evening Setlist

• Super Victorious


• This is how we overcome


• I Am


• Break Every Chain

Worship Experience: Reflections from April 14

Sunday Morning Reflections

Ah, Hymns of the Spirit. When the old regular red back won't do, there's always Hymns of the Spirit. I have fond memories of singing from the songbook, which coincidentally is also red. I have seen the book in green as well, but I digress.

My memories of Hymns of the Spirit come from our time at the Boynton Church of God over two decades ago. I was young, quite young in fact, but when I hear songs like "I'm Glad He Lifted Me Out" and the classic "I'd Tell the World" my mind automatically shoots back to the early 90's when we'd sing those songs over and over and over again.

When I heard my mom singing "Come and Dine" this morning as Sunday School was dismissed (Yes, we still have Sunday School. And don't judge. Sunday School is only a slightly less hip way of saying 'Small Groups'.), I just had to ask her to lead it as our first song of the morning.

Despite the blank stares from many members of the praise team who couldn't quite recollect the song from deep inside their inner hymnal memory vault, we sang the song to a fairly good response.

I felt the spirit in the song and I thought it was the perfect opener for a Sunday morning.

Sunday Morning Set-List

• Come & Dine


• Promises One by One


• Can't Nobody


• Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)

 

Sunday Evening Reflections

As a member of the Church of God, I've had to refrain from learning, partaking in, or otherwise orchestrating non-spirit-led choreographic routines in our worship services. That is, until we learned Deep Cries Out by Bethel Worship.

Granted, there's not a ton of choreography that goes with the song, but we move to the left and move to the right a few times in the song. Not quite Electric Shuffle level, but close.

Truth is, I love the song. Our young people love the song. And I'm pretty sure the worship team loves the song. So, we do the song.

We learned a new song in practice as well. "We Give You Glory, Glory" by Bryn Waddell went over really well during the service. The band and I sang this song as a special because we haven't practiced it with the vocalists yet. Needless to say, I cannot wait till this one is ready to sing in worship.

http://vimeo.com/36834913

Sunday Evening Set-List

• Friend of God


• Deep Cries Out


• Heaven on Earth

 

Worship leaders, how was your worship experience Sunday? Have you learned anything new recently? Do you do hymns anymore? Have any recollections of past hymns and worship services? Come on and share in the comments. I'd love to hear from you!

 

Are you listening to Kingdom Voices?

There are so many voices in today's culture. Anyone with a laptop or even a smart phone can lift up their voice with little to no repercussion or accountability. People are saying many things and there are many delivery methods for those voices to be heard.

What are you listening to?

Are you listening to opinions about politics, sports, and/or religion? Are you listening to the many voices attempting to confuse your mind about the truth?

With so many people trying to speak into your life, how do you know who to siphon off and who to open up to?

Do we just go with the flow culturally and allow all these voices to take up valuable real estate in our heads? Are we all so desperate to hear some new thing that we just allow anything to infiltrate our spirits?

I believe it's time that we begin to shut-off some of the noise. There are some voices that have no legal right to be in your head.

Most political voices in this day and age serve to distract and divide—two things a kingdom person should never allow in their anointed mind. Many religious voices in this culture want to deceive and deploy false doctrine into tickled ears. Other cultural voices want to offer idols and those voices will even teach you how to worship those dumb idols, as Paul called them in 1 Corinthians 12:2.

In Romans 12:2, the Apostle Paul also said to not be conformed to this world's superficial customs, but to be transformed by the continual renewing of your mind. If that happens, you will be able to prove, discern, and detect what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

We must listen to kingdom voices in this age. We must not allow the world's culture to invade our thought process, our doctrinal values, or our churches.

But how can we tell a kingdom voice from a cultural voice? Truth. You won't hear truth taught by culture. According to culture, there is no truth. Everything is relative.

How do you determine truth when mainstream religion has even become a source of falsehood? You determine truth by the Word of God. Not by your personal theology or by the experience your friend had at the hip new culturally relevant church down the street.

You must continually renew your mind on a daily basis by hearing, reading, & studying the word. It must become a part of you.

When that happens, not only will you recognize a kingdom voice you might just become one yourself.

 

Social Media Discretion Advised for Kingdom People

Lately, I've been a bit disturbed at the speed and ferocity with which Internet rumors are posted and re-posted via Facebook and Twitter by supposed church folks.

Before you know it, some off-the-wall falsehood about a preacher has spread to thousands of people with the mere click of the "Share" or "Re-Tweet" button.

I'm to the point where I must ask, what purpose does it serve to spread this story? Whether you had insider info from your cousin's, best friend's, ex-boyfriend or not, we as kingdom people should not have the desire to spread false news about someone else within the kingdom. That goes for outside the kingdom as well. Rumor and gossip in all its forms is wrong—very wrong.

But something is especially discouraging when folks who are supposedly blood bought, sanctified Christians get some kind of rush out of posting and re-posting the latest juicy rumor regarding Joel Osteen or Joyce Meyer.

Unfortunately, preachers and kingdom people are not the only one's to fall into the cross-hairs of fellow "Christians."

In this hyper-aggressive, super-disrespectful age of political discourse, politicians fall prey to falsehoods and misrepresentation by our always-eager-to-expose-some-obscure-Satanic-agenda, uber-evangelical brethren as well.

Case in point is this mis-represented story that went viral in a hurry.

Let me point out that I'm as uber-evangelical as the next guy. I don't agree with much of what certain mainstream televangelists have to say. I certainly don't identify myself as a political liberal.

But we hurt our cause, our name, and HIS kingdom when we post, repost, tweet, and re-tweet stuff that simply is not true. And even if it is true, why would we take joy in seeing a ministry fall, provided that ministry was teaching even a shred of truth?

I'm all for calling out heretical preachers and wingnut politicians when the story is from a reputable source. But this ministry-bashing based on internet hoaxes and vicious viral sharing of politically charged lies really needs to stop.

Especially when it's God's people fueling the fires.

Worship Experience: Reflections from Sunday, April 7

Worship Experience will be a weekly post at joelabarker.com. As a worship leader, I want to share with others what God is doing in my church with the worship team.

My hope is that "Worship Experience" will become a hub of sorts for worship leaders everywhere to share their Sunday experiences, set lists, service recaps, etc.

Now, for this week's Worship Experience.

Worship Experience: April 7

Sunday Morning Reflections

Ever get that feeling that half the congregation stayed up way too late on Saturday night? Yeah, thought so. I get it every week, too.

But that's part of the burden and the joy of being a worship leader. You start out cold and tired and by the time you hit the final note, people are really expressing their love and emotionally lifting up their Savior.

This Sunday was no different. And, as usual, by the time "How Great is our God" ended, our folks were there, in that wonderful, service-tone setting, atmosphere of worship.

No matter how many times that song is sung or how much weight is added to Chris Tomlin's wallet when we sing it, there's almost a ready-made atmosphere of worship by the time we finish up.

Sunday Morning Set-List

• Victory in Jesus


• Promises


• How Great is our God

Sunday Evening Reflections

Sunday evening services are almost always polar opposites of Sunday morning. Folks have had a chance to eat, rest, and reflect on Sunday morning for a while.

The atmosphere of worship is usually set before the worship team even begins its first song on Sunday evening. Our service starter, Missy Tallent, usually prays down an atmosphere before I even get the mic.

Those are the fun services. We, as the worship team, can just step right in and flow.

On Sunday evening, we started off with "Break Every Chain" because the flow was already moving that way.

Typically, I follow the Worship Leader Manual by starting off with a fast song (I have no idea if such a manual exists, but I imagine if it does the first chapter contains only the words "OPEN WITH A FAST SONG"), but sometimes—usually on a Sunday evening service—there's no need to get folks pepped up with a one of those mind numbingly-clap-on-the-off-beat-to-feel-the-Spirit kind of songs.

So, we moved the fast song all the way down to No. 2 on the list.

The song that really resonated was Israel Houghton's "Your Presence is Heaven to Me." God has used that song incredibly in this current season we are in at Joyful Sound Church.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMgGExYzzYI

 

Sunday Evening Set-List

• Break Every Chain


• Oh Happy Day


• Show Me Your Glory


• Your Presence is Heaven to Me

How did you feel about your Sunday worship service(s)? What songs are you singing in this season? How does the congregation react when/if you go against The Manual? Do you even care about The Manual?

 

I lead worship at the Joyful Sound Church in Chattanooga, TN.

Introducing Joelabarker.com | Worship, Church, Community, Kingdom

Welcome to joelabarker.com! I'm so excited to get this blog launched. As I said in the first post "Ready. Set. Go!", this site is nearly one year in the making.

Over the last year, I have basically had to relearn blogging. After five years writing about sports for various websites and publications, I figured I should take my time in venturing out into a new area of the blogosphere.

Yes, sports was and still is a favorite hobby. Yes, I still know way more than I should about the 4-3 defense, 40 yard dash times, and the MLB trade deadline. But, ministry and the church is my life.

The content that will be covered here is hardly new to me, but, believe it or not, there is a difference between writing about quarterback hurries and church communications.

So, what will I cover here at joelabarker.com? Let's refer to the site header for starters.

Worship

If you've read my about page you know that I am a worship leader. If you've been in church longer than a minute you should know what a worship leader does.

I may cover new songs or worship service experiences in this space from time to time, but more than likely I will cover worship in the deeper sense—the lifestyle of worship.

After all, what we do on Sunday is merely an outward expression of an inward attitude.

Church

No, I will not be critiquing church services, preachers, pastors, etc. Way too many blogs have taken on that fools errand.

I will blog about the church. You know, that whole pillar and ground of the truth thing. (1 Tim. 3:15)

I hope to cover topics ranging from the state of the church to church communications to marketing and planting. My plan is to go as in-depth as possible on issues like church benevolence ministries and outreach.

Community

The word "community" in the context of a blog or website is quite different from the use of the word in a church context.

Sure, I want to build an online community around my site. But my ultimate hope is to play my small part in inspiring leaders to really effect change in the way they view their real-life communities. I'm not just talking about their local neighborhoods, but I want to see communities of believers, churches, pastors actually working together for a change.

We should be sharing ideas, best practices, and resources. Like the Acts 4:32 church.

That's not to say that I'll be preaching at or grumbling about the inward-focused churches or pastors who'd rather eat their own shoe than collaborate with other ministers (Yes, there are plenty of them out there). That's not what I'm about and that's definitely not what this blog will be about. I want to see John 13:35 lived out loud.

Kingdom

Ultimately, I want to be all about the kingdom. I want this site to be all about the kingdom. I want everything I do, say, write, preach, and sing to be all about the kingdom.

If it's for the kingdom, I'm all for it.

Everything written on this website will have a kingdom mindset at its very core.

Hopefully that brief overview explains my starting point for this website. I'd love to hear your input on the ideas presented in this introductory post. What's your take on the worship > church > community > kingdom topic?

 

image courtesy of flickr creative commons user jayneandd

Ready. Set. Go!

If you call yourself a writer, it only stands to reason that you actually write from time to time.

For five years I called myself an aspiring sportswriter. During the last of those five years, writing about sports—football in particular—was how I made money. Not much money, mind you, but money nonetheless.

Then something strange happened. I completely lost my desire to write about sports. Totally stopped, almost cold-turkey, and decided that was no longer going to be my path.

During the last year I've barely written at all. To say that the decision was all mine wouldn't be completely accurate.

For years I struggled between desiring a career in sports media or pursuing the call God had placed on my life. Almost exactly one year ago, I decided that God's call was far too important for me to ignore.

Of course, my freelance pool drying up and my being forced back into the "real world" to make money had something to do with that, but looking back I can see God's hand orchestrating those circumstances into place.

Part of that calling is this blog. Writers have to write. It's just what we do.

What will this blog be about? Honestly, I'm not totally sure myself. I know what I think it's going to be. I know the direction I feel to begin with, but the ultimate purpose of this blog is still somewhat of a mystery to me.

It will begin as a place for me to share thoughts on the church, ministry, worship, and the advancement of the kingdom of God.

I should be able to cover countless subjects based under those headings.

Good writers tend to keep things entertaining and thought provoking at the same time. I'll certainly give that my best shot on this site.

Bare with me on these first few posts. As I said earlier, I haven't written regularly in nearly a year. There's bound to be some rust.

I plan to publish at least two articles per week here at joelabarker.com. If you want those posts automatically delivered to your email inbox, you can subscribe to the blog in the sidebar.

Feel free to comment and/or leave feedback.

I want to start a conversation and I want you be a part of it.