Messages Online

Maybe you already knew this and maybe you didn't, but you can listen to the messages at KP right on the net at www.kawprairie.org/messages. Just look to the right for the messages blog and you're there.
Right now you can listen to the first message of the series: "Shoesapalooza: Beautiful are the feet."

You can normally pick up an audio CD at church of the previous week's message and a couple of the songs the band did, but quantities are limited.

The internet people! Let's do it!

The Worship Experience

There's a difference between knowing about God and experiencing God. Much has been said on this subject. Henry Blackaby wrote the book "Experiencing God," which has helped a great many people move from a knowledge of God to something far more intimate. In college I read the book "God Chasers" by Tommy Tenney, in which he talks about the encounter of Moses on the mountain when God told Moses that He was about to pass by and he covered Moses' eyes so that Moses never saw God's face, but he saw his back. Tenney challenges his readers to ask themselves whether they are living where God was some time ago, or if they are staying close behind Him, experiencing that place where God was just at, if that's the closest we can get to being in His very presence.

Lately it's the words of Marcus Borg that have brought this to mind. In his book "Meeting Jesus again for the first time," Borg draws that same contrast by saying that people can move from a second-hand experience of God to a first-hand one; from knowing about God to knowing Him personally.

It's made me think a lot about the worship at our church. Our prayer is always that we may experience God's presence. Tommy Tenney would say that's a gutsy prayer. If we were to really experience God's presence, if we had been there and all our faces were glowing like Moses', we might be a bit more frightened about praying that prayer again. Nevertheless, whether in those words or others, my prayer is that at church, and at any church that worships the Lord, people can, through worship and the Word, move from a second-hand God to a first-had God, from a second-hand week, to a first-hand week, from a second-hand home life to a first-hand home life.
As if you weren't ready to stop reading and move on, I'll brave a few more thoughts.
What about all the things that have to happen for worship to go there. Is it harder to commune with God when you're tired, when you're hungry, when you're hurting, when you're uncomfortable, when you're cold or hot or annoyed because your kid wouldn't stop kicking the back of your seat in the car ride to church?

And that makes me think of the faithful people who do stuff like pass out bulletins, arrange chairs, brew coffee, smile at the front door. What would worship be like if those folks hung up their hat and walked away? If the chairs were awkwardly arranged and you could hardly get comfortable? If there were no seats at all? If no one was there to say good morning? If you couldn't follow along with the message more closely with the notes in the bulletin? If you couldn't see the words of the songs? If you didn't know whether it was your row that was up next for the communion line or the row across the aisle? If there was no coffee for that extra jolt of awareness the caffeine affords?

I just don't think it would be the same. And not just because we're spoiled North Americans who can enjoy all these conveniences and without them we'd cry and kick and scream. No, because in order to communicate with someone, you have to be able to focus on them and they on you. Because your wife knows she can't talk to you if the football game is on or the words will fall on deaf ears. Because if you were too annoyed or uncomfortable, you'd be in no frame of mind to hear God speak to you.

That's why those little things matter; because we can do them, they're not that hard, and they make a monumental difference in our ability to pause in the middle of our busy lives and just listen to Him for a while.

I want to send out Big Kingdom Kudos to those faithful people who make all that happen. It is because of them that the table can be set for me to share a meal with the Teacher. It is because of them I can hang out with my spiritual family and spend some meaningful time together.

Lord, may we do everything we can, everything within our frail power, to create a space and time where people can meet with you and move from second-hand faith, to a first-hand encounter. Amen.

Sunday November 15, 2009

Here's the set we did Sunday. It was a good set and we had a great time playing it.
Kudos to Nathan, who played guitar with us for the first time this Sunday. He did a great job!

Hosanna - Paul Baloche
Marvelous Light - Charlie Hall
Consuming Fire - Tim Hughes
How He Loves - David Crowder Band
Everlasting God - Lincoln Brewster

Click on the links and you'll be directed to the iTunes URL where you can chose to buy that song and put it on your mp3 player.

The more the merrier!

It seems like just yesterday we stood around asking things like: "who do you know that plays guitar? Bass? Drums? Keys?"
It really is not very far from yesterday. One year ago, roughly, we had our first, very own, KP band playing at church. We had found a drummer, a bass player, a keyboardist, and we were ready to rock.
Not long after that we had nearly enough to have two bands. We couldn't believe it.
Today we have enough for well more than two bands, although not enough for three completely different ones.
The reason I'm remembering this journey is because this Thursday we are auditioning at least one person, and maybe two, a guitarist and a vocalist. By the end of the year, as many as three other folks will be getting involved in the music ministry of KP. That's five new people in a matter of two months. My guess is that pattern is going to continue as more people get involved at KP and want to use their gifts for the Kingdom.
This is all so exciting!
But there's a part of me that's sad and even scared.

Could we have dreamed that after just a few months we'd have two bands? No way! On the other hand, could we have dreamed that in one year we might not have enough room for everyone to play and sing? I don't think we gave that possibility too many thoughts; partly because we were afraid of what that would mean.

That brings me to what is now an age-old dialogue: how do you decide who gets to play and sing and who doesn't?

People have debated this for some time, and the discussion has raged in my own heart for a while now. On the one hand you want to get as many people involved as possible; you want people to feel welcomed and valued. On the back side of that hand (because it's not a different hand for sure) is the fear of hurting people's feelings, of leaving them out, of having to tell them that's not actually their strongest gift, and they would better serve the Kingdom elsewhere. That fear contributes to the idea we should just let everyone who wants to, participate.

On the other hand, you have the idea that the work of the Kingdom is of such importance that it must be done to the best of our ability; that to offer anything else is to undermine God's work in His church. On the back side of that hand is the idea that there are right and wrong ways to do artistic expressions. There are, at least in the music of our church, right and wrong ways to use the art form, good expression and bad ones.

So what is the church's calling when it comes to the arts and people's involvement. I don't know the answer to that, but my guess is that it involves both hands.

The church has to be inclusive; a place where people can easily get involved; an organism where people can put their God-given gifts to use. At the same time, the church is called to serve God with our whole heart, and to offer our service to God "skillfully" as the Psalmist would say (Ps. 33:3). We have to reach our culture with the message of Grace in a relevant, authentic and powerful way.

So I think that if we're going to use art to do that, in this case music and visuals, we should do the best job we can do, and when there are lots of folks around who want to do it, our job is to pick the ones that better fit the art form.

Unfortunately for me that means that dreaded, dirty word: auditions! For many it's a word that does not belong in the vocabulary of the church. I think it does belong, and in some cases it's absolutely essential. You wouldn't want someone teaching kids who did not have the right gifts and skills for it. You won't attend a church where the preacher was an ineffective and boring communicator (at least not for long).

It's just a fact of ministry. We have to be wise with the gifts God has entrusted to us. Plus, in a church like KP, there are countless things that someone can do to participate in the work of the Kingdom there; things that don't all require a very specific gift but that are just as important to the work.

So I don't feel badly about raising the bar. We'll try to keep lots of folks involved, but we'll chose the ones that fit better according to where we feel God is calling us to go. We'll offer everyone a place to serve and even challenge them to do so.

Some times we may be disappointed at the outcome, but as Marc James wrote "I Surrender all to You."

If you're thinking about auditioning at KP for a spot on the music team, by all means please pursue that. You're not going to get American Idol treatment. We deal in the currency of Grace and a Kingdom mindset. Visit www.kawprairie.org/music to download our forms and questionnaire.

Sunday November 8th

These are the songs we did this weekend:

Beautiful the Blood- as by Steve Fee
Come Thou Fount -as by David Crowder Band
How He Loves -as by David Crowder Band
The Stand -as by Hillsong United
Not to Us -as by Chris Tomlin

There was so much energy at church Sunday. The band played really well, the church was singing and clapping, it was just a very intimate time of worship.

Some stories must be told

Sunday during the second service we had one of those moments that if you didn't know about, you would not notice.

Right after PD's sermon we started the song Surrender. The plan was that about halfway through the song Dave would do a guitar part to wrap up the song and then we just do another chorus or two. At least that's why I thought.

Now, it is not strange for me to "think" we are going to do something with a song and it be miles from what we planned and practiced. Seriously, it's a weekly occurrence. In the middle of the song, caught in the moment and with no brain waves left to apply to memory, I think of how the song is going to go and no part of my brain tells me "that's not what the band is expecting German!"

That said, instead of going into that guitar part I expected, the band died away, as they would at the end of a song, or for a chorus that we wanted only voices to be heard on.

Not sure of where the breakdown was, I improvised. Knowing that the prayer stations were open in the back of the room, and seeing they were staffed and ready, I encouraged people to go back and pray if they had something they wanted prayer for. By the time I was done the band was pretty much on idle, waiting for what was coming next, undoubtedly clueless.

So I started in alone and hoped they would follow me. They do that very well. I guess they have to 'cause I just can't seem to stick to a plan (if you're a musicians who was thinking about getting involved at KP, you should know what you're getting into). It's really not terrible, but it does happen.

So we finished the song, and went on to the next one as planned. If you didn't know better, you'd have seen it as part of the plan. I like doing that too; stopping in the middle of a song while the music is still going to say a few words. I had even wanted to do it earlier but thought of it right in the middle of a song and knew it would be really mean of me to do that to the band without any prior notice.

Thanks band for being flexible and spontaneous!

November 1st

This was week three of "City Livin'" After church a bunch of people went to several places around the city to volunteer time serving others. ReStart, Metro Lutheran Ministries, and some others.

The whole day was packed with times of intimate worship.

These are the songs we did:

Give You Glory- as by Jeremy Camp
Here I am to Worship- as by Chris Tomlin
That is Why- as by Josh Franklin (not in iTunes)
Surrender- As by Lincoln Brewster
God of This City- as by Chris Tomlin

This Thursday night Jeremy Camp will be at Lenexa Christian Center. Several people from KP are going. You're welcome to join us.

October 25th

These are the songs we did on Sunday October 25th, the second week of "City Livin'"

We Fall Down- as by Kutless
Our God Saves- as by Paul Baloche
Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)- as by Chris Tomlin
None but Jesus- as by Hillsong United
Yesterday, Today and Forever- as by Vicky Beeching

It was a great set.