Neil Stephens

Valleys.  Storms.  Rough patches.  

Everyone goes through them. In I Peter, the fiery apostle himself warned us not to be surprised by the fiery trials.

But we are.  Every time, it seems.

"Why me?". Even the least self-centered among us seemingly can't help but repeat it to ourselves. And we have to learn . . . all over again and again . . . that it's not about us.

Or to be more precise, it's not about what WE think is best for us.

The things we think we want and the path we think is…

It grieves me. It absolutely grieves me.

No, I am not being overly dramatic. When I read criticism of worship songs and styles I literally feel pain. Okay, the pain is caused by the tension of gritting my teeth. But it's still pain.

Blogs with titles like "10 Reasons God Hates Modern Worship Songs" (no, that's not an actual blog; just an example) inform us how shallow the lyrics are, that the theology is not explicit enough, that a particular name of The Almighty is not used, or that it's used…

January 2015. I was putting away the music accessorries I had gotten for Christmas because . . . well, I had no gigs coming up.

It was a typical Georgia January day. A bleak afternoon cloaked in the typical post-holiday hangover - an appropriate backdrop for my state of mind.

It struck me that I, like those gifts, was made . . .

“Change sounds pretty but actually looks ugly, feels like hard labor, takes time, and pushes every limit we have.”

              – Shaun King 

These are excerpts from an article by Shaun King, who can best be described as a radical and transparent disciple of Jesus.  You can read the entire article here: Shaun King: 3 Hard-Earned Lessons and Why I Resigned

1. Start a thing as close to the way you dream it being down the road as you can.

For 10 whole years before I started Courageous Church, I dreamed of…

Photo courtesy of Texas Wedding Photographer, Matthew T Rader

The warnings against idolatry – putting anything above GOD – are hard to miss in scripture.  Yet I believe it’s easy to do just that even as we purport to be in the act of worshipping.  There’s a fine line between appreciating an element of worship and making it our focus. Here are a few things to be aware of so we don’t displace GOD in our corporate worship service.

DON'T WORSHIP THE MUSIC 

What song rocks your world? Maybe in the 80s you…

I'm actually incubating a lengthier piece about our ease (all of us) in slicing up someone else.  Until then let me offer these checkpoints from Scott Williams at www.churchleaders.com 

11 Signs That You May Suffer From Ministry Arrogance

1. You spend more time focusing on how others “have it wrong” than you do on the things that you can  improve on.

2. You laugh and shake your head at the stylistic differences of another ministry.

3. You think your worship style is the only way someone could…

A few years ago, two of our worship team members took my wife and me to a worship conference led by Darlene Zschech. The venue was relatively small, and thanks to the remarkable seat-saving skills of our host, I was always on the front row, only ten feet from Darlene.

 For three days I not only worshipped, but I heard about worship, thought about worship, and learned about worship and leading worship. During all the listening and thinking I did, three cautionary statements came to me which I’ve used…

“Well I never been to Spain, but I kinda like the music.”

That’s right, sing along with me.  Let me hear you.  Don’t remember it?  Maybe it’s before your time.  The group Three Dog Night (Where’d that name come from?  Makes my eyebrow twitch just thinking about it) gave us this little ditty in the 1970’s.

“Well I never been to England , but I kinda like the Beatles.” 

They sing about places they’ve never actually experienced, but that doesn’t stop them from offering a little personal opinion about each…

You don't need to go to church.

 I'll say it again.  You don't need to go to church - IF . . . 

 . . . if you're not a God follower.  You just don't.  Why would you? Church services are for believers to worship their Creator and Savior and fellowship with other believers.  Those who don't claim Jesus as Savior are always welcome, of course, and undoubtedly gain benefit from being part of a worship service. 

 But your friend's assertion that "I can be just as close to God on the golf course" - or…