Wow where did July go, it has been a great summer so far, I can’t believe it has flown by. I know some of you have been on trips here and there, to Alaska and beyond, I pray you have had some time to refresh and recharge your self. You know God has a sense of humor, in that lately I have just felt this tug to get my passion back in what I do, and do more than just get by. Last Saturday we had a Firefighter’s conference here at the church, and I got to spend 8 hours in the WC listening to a chief from the Dallas area speaks. Yea I thought the same thing, unless your Phil Tant this is going to be boring, was I wrong. His whole day was spent on talking and teaching about the passion, to do what they as Firefighters do. Now how did that relate to me, well let me clear it up. Some times we are so busy we do just enough to get by.
Putting little preparation in to the tech sheet, in my case what effects could I use, how can I determine who has the lead, the melody; what instrumentation is driving the song. What does it sound like in the other rooms, recordings?
Do we still have the passion we had when we started on the team, or have we just become complacent doing what we do each time we serve. I am confident that none of you are willing to give your second best to your employers, or school, and I am sure that you all want the best you can give to God each and every minute of the day.
This translates to our time on Sunday’s, are we constantly late for the 6:45 meeting, are we dressed professionally to be in front of folks, even if you aren’t. Are you prepared when you walk in the door to be a part of the Worship experience, and most importantly are you prepared before the throne room of Christ to join in, and be a part of the service? Have you ever reflected on what you do, and what impact that could have on some one seeing Christ in you, and maybe even be a part of the decision process that brings them to Christ.
Last week during the 8 service a young man came to know Christ during the communion, and while you may not have been directly involved, you are a direct part of the events that helped lead him to God. Yes God is the one that does the saving, but he uses all of our gifts to help, the musicians, pastors, and all the support teams help bring that message each and every Sunday. Imagine if you would, one of your family members coming to a service that isn’t saved, we pray the message will be just what they need to hear, the music will be extra good that day, and that they will pray to receive Christ. I know this for a fact; I have done it when my brother came last year. I know realize I need that passion for each and every soul walking in to a service.
Where did my passion go, well it got wrapped up in the little things that don’t matter, don’t misunderstand my drive for excellence is still there, in fact greater now than ever. Imagine if we were to tell you this weekend Christ in the flesh was going to be here this Sunday, we would put extra effort in to the entire weekend, rehearsals, sound checks, the whole nine yards. Yet God is with us each and every minute, including Sunday’s.
Where is your passion level, your commitment, is it no big deal if I don’t show up, they will cover it. I know things come up so don’t misunderstand that. Are you prepared for your duties, have you studied the tech sheet prior to arriving. I will try to get better with sharing them each week. Are you keeping up with the schedule on Google, it is the current look. Are we cleaning up and shutting things down after we are done, or just laying our gear, tools somewhere for some one else to clean up? The most important thing we can do at our meeting is pray together, and when you miss that the morning is already started behind. I will never get tired of saying this, you all are the best team I have ever worked with, and I know there is more that you all want to see.
The challenge is to check your commitment level, your passion for what you do, where do you want to see that go personally. I can never reward you enough for what you do, and none of this is to please me or any of us here at the church. Our goal is to serve Him, and give him the best we can give each time we serve. Do you still have the passion to serve, it may be gone, it may be covered up, it may have just been taken from you, and only you can answer and control that. My challenge is to check it and see, Sunday’s are an all day commitment, and require special folks to serve. It is a time that we are apart from our partners, friends whomever it may be. Are you at your post ready to go 5 minute prior to the service, or does some one need to come find you. Are you committed to be at all the services, it can be very confusing when we switch personnel during the morning services, we have had a couple examples of this happening, and it was very confusing. Communications are the key to our success, I know things come up, and you can’t control that. I love you each and all, and God is blessing us with some new team members. We pray for more to come, and for our team to grow, and for cross training. Thank you all for serving, and doing what you do each week.

So a new fiscal year begins here at Providence, and we are blessed to be debt free again. Yet also sadden to see a couple full time folks and part time folk’s leave, as well as some hours getting cut. None of this is actually a result of the economy, but a result of to much personnel, for the size congregation we have. Yes even my wife had her hours cut. There could be 2 ways to view this one be bitter and question the leadership, or 2 be thankful that in this tough time, we are debt free, and most of us still have our jobs and can continue to serve the Lord. This brings to thought another question, why do we serve, yes Tim and I are paid to be here, but we also are faced weekly with going beyond what our normal work hours are, and still striving to get our jobs done. You see some one in ministry once told me, if you are doing this for the money, you are in the wrong business. We do not keep track of what we are paid for and what we give to the church above and beyond what we are paid for. The amazing thing in all this, is you all, you receive no monetary compensation for serving here at the church. I know serving for 13 years as a volunteer back in Florida that it can be frustrating some times, because you are always being asked to do more. I know you have all heard this from others, and me but we will never be able to say thanks, or could never even compensate you for all the hours you put in here. My philosophy is this, if it is with in my scheduled hours, or well beyond I want to serve GOD with all my heart, and all my soul, and with excellence in every thing I do. It is so easy to become complacent in our tasks here on the team. This goes beyond the service times. What are you doing to prepare for the services, are you looking over the tech sheets, planning what is next, is everything ready to go, are you anticipating issues that could happen. It is easy to get in to a relaxed mode and just go with the flow, and what ever happens, happens.
Are you cleaning up after the services, or events, turning off all the equipment, and putting it away, or do you find it is easier to get out of here as quickly as possible because we are tired, or have plans. Believe me I am the first one, ready to leave, but there are things that must be done before it is time to go. You see serving goes beyond the service times, there should be a period of planning that includes looking over the tech sheets, thinking about what is next, executing that, and then cleaning up, putting away, and shutting down the equipment we use each week. Serving with excellence also means wanting to learn more, get better at what ever positions we are serving in, getting a better understanding of what we do. It affects so many people, Imagine a bad lighting cue in the middle of a very special moment, or a bad shot during a time that some one may be reflecting on what it would be like to accept Christ in to their life. Yes we will make mistakes I do weekly. However my goal is to minimize those errors, and learn from them.
My challenge is simply this, why do we serve, to what level of commitment do we serve, and to what level of education and understanding do I want to have in serving. We all have busy schedules, and I am not asking any one to complicate them with another thing to attend. We do have an incredible opportunity for training and projects each Wed. evening, and are going to be introducing more topic specific classes in the near future, and each quarter. Thank you all for serving, and being a part of our team, I trust God does and will bless each of you for your commitment and time you have vested here at Providence.