Why Worship A God We Don't Need?

Psalm 136,

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good

         for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods 

         for his steadfast love endures forever. 

Give thanks to the Lord of lords

         for his steadfast love endures forever

to him who alone does great wonders,

         for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who by understanding made the heavens,
          for his steadfast love endures forever;

 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
          for his steadfast love endures forever;

 to him who made the great lights,
          for his steadfast love endures forever;

 the sun to rule over the day,
          for his steadfast love endures forever;

 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 and brought Israel out from among them,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 to him who divided the Red Sea in two,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 to him who led his people through the wilderness,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who struck down great kings,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 and killed mighty kings,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 and Og, king of Bashan,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 and gave their land as a heritage,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 a heritage to Israel his servant,
         for his steadfast love endures forever.

 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 and rescued us from our foes,
         for his steadfast love endures forever;

 he who gives food to all flesh,
         for his steadfast love endures forever.

 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
         for his steadfast love endures forever.

I have been reading through Psalm 136 quite a bit lately. Obviously, I love the role of the worship leader in this passage. It reminds me that our focus as worship leaders should be all about who God is and what He has done. So many times in our attempt to be impressive or excellent we can actually distract from His glory. That's another post for another day though...

I can't seem to shake one question in my mind... Why Worship A God We Don't Need? Maybe to you that question doesn't seem incredibly profound. Maybe I’m simple minded, but I know this question has been haunting me for a reason. 

When we look at Psalm 136 we see a long list of God’s Characteristics, Acts and Miracles. Each one received the same response... "His Steadfast Love Endures Forever". There isn't one mention of when God didn't come through, or when he didn't play things out like the Jews wanted Him to. It's a song of gratefulness and celebration. There are so many directions that this post could take me, and maybe I will write on them later. For today I want to focus in on one thing... Do We Need God? If we were honest I think most of us would probably say no.

A few years ago I lived in Mexico for 7 months. God taught me more while I was there than at any other point in my life. I led worship for the American Groups who would come down to work at the orphanage, but I also led for the hispanic church services. The funny thing is... I didn't speak Spanish nor they English. I just sang songs and the people worshipped. For them, it wasn't about coming to church to "feel good" or to get something from God. They didn’t even understand what I was singing! They were there worshipping God for His protection, provision and for His grace. It didn't take me long to see the trend. By our standards these people had nothing. They lived in old wooden sheds, and ate whatever they could scrape together that day. They didn't have cars, money, doctors, air conditioner, toilets, running water, electricity or many other things we consider normal. God spoke to me during my time that in all actuality... THEY HAD EVERYTHING THEY COULD EVER NEED. I was the one who had nothing. Just like the Israelites, they knew that only God could be their source of life. They had God and only God to trust.

I soon realized that my view of God's provision and my view of my own capability to take care of myself had been screwed up for so long. I was trusting in Joshua to provide and protect. I was relying on my own ability to be good and act right... not on His grace and mercy. 

God took me back to this Psalm for a reason these past couple of weeks. I was slipping into a mode that only leads to heartache. Despite previously learned lessons I had begun to think that I was capable of doing it all on my own. Through some different circumstances in life God had to remind me that without Him I have nothing. The American dream plays out like this... If you work hard, act right, do right and believe in a dream long enough you will be successful and "make it" in life. The American dream has taught us to rely on ourselves and to call on God in an emergency. Do I think we should put forth effort and work hard? Yes! I think we should act right and do right as well, but what the American dream doesn't account for is the heartbreak that comes when we do everything "right" and life still falls apart. When we worship our own ability to provide and protect we end up broken lives, and it all could have been avoided by setting aside our idols (ourselves) and trusting in the One who saves.

The people of Israel worshipped in Psalm 136 because all they had was God, and His faithful love had been proven time and time again. Can we say that? Can we say that in the darkest times of life he has lifted us from the ashes? Can we say that our successes and blessings are gifts from him? Can we say that if we don't have Him... we have nothing? 

Honestly, I can't say those things right now, but I want to get there again. That's hard to admit in a public forum, but it is the truth. God has aligned my circumstances in such a way that I can't keep living like I can do life on my own. I wish I could learn the easy way! These lessons have caused me to not only look at the worship most of us experience at church, but also at my personal worship. Then I had this thought: Maybe the times our worship has been most lifeless is a direct result of us finding life in the wrong source! So many Christians and churches are dead and numb when it comes to publicly celebrating God. Maybe our Worship Pastors need to remind those we lead, just as in Psalm 136, that HE IS OUR SOURCE. 

May we stop worshipping the idol of self, repent and seek God. A heart of gratefulness can only come from a heart that was in need and is now satisfied. When we place our trust in ourselves we are grateful to ourselves. When we trust ourselves we take credit for our success and God is left to blame for the things that go wrong. Our worship can only be true when our gratefulness is toward the Father, and this can only happen when we realize our need for Him. Our churches are filled with people who will never do this on their own. It starts with leaders just like you and I who are willing to drop the mask of self reliance and trade it for real hope and real security. We can’t take our people somewhere we haven’t gone, so may we who lead chart the path first!

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOREVER! 

What has he done in your life? In the life of your family? Who has He been to you in the darkest hours of your life? Take a minute and stop doing whatever it is that you are doing... think about what He has done and who He is. 

Now Worship.

We can't worship a God we don't need...

Thanks for Reading-
Joshua Woodlief

Water From The Rock

Moses was a great leader, and it could be argued that he was the greatest person mentioned in all of the Old Testament. Moses, more than anyone, could look back over the course of his life and see God’s power at work in his life. Moses led a difficult group of people through the most difficult of situations, yet he never got to see the fruit of all of his work. God killed him before he allowed the Israelites to enter the land He had given them. Moses disobeyed God in front of the people, and God killed him before he could see the promise fulfilled. 

In Numbers 20 we can read the story of Moses’ downfall. Here’s Numbers 20:1-12 in the Message...

1 In the first month, the entire company of the People of Israel arrived in the Wilderness of Zin. The people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and she was buried. 2 There was no water there for the community, so they ganged up on Moses and Aaron. 3 They attacked Moses: "We wish we'd died when the rest of our brothers died before God. 4 Why did you haul this congregation of God out here into this wilderness to die, people and cattle alike? 5 And why did you take us out of Egypt in the first place, dragging us into this miserable country? No grain, no figs, no grapevines, no pomegranates-and now not even any water!" 6 Moses and Aaron walked from the assembled congregation to the Tent of Meeting and threw themselves facedown on the ground. And they saw the Glory of God. 7 God spoke to Moses: 8 "Take the staff. Assemble the community, you and your brother Aaron. Speak to that rock that's right in front of them and it will give water. You will bring water out of the rock for them; congregation and cattle will both drink." 9 Moses took the staff away from God's presence, as commanded. 10 He and Aaron rounded up the whole congregation in front of the rock. Moses spoke: "Listen, rebels! Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?" 11 With that Moses raised his arm and slammed his staff against the rock-once, twice. Water poured out. Congregation and cattle drank. 12 God said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you didn't trust me, didn't treat me with holy reverence in front of the People of Israel, you two aren't going to lead this company into the land that I am giving them."

There are a few things I want to point out that I learned from this passage about leadership. Hopefully these will be beneficial to you.

1- Moses’ response was in reaction to the pressure and complaining of the people he was leading. There are so many times that church leaders can be reactionary, and their decisions end up leading them down a path they never intended to travel. I know from my own life that I struggle with people pleasing. Most people who know me a little think this is untrue because of my demeanor and tattoos, but I assure you I do struggle in this area. I'm not quite the rebel I appear to be! This is my biggest struggle as a leader. The only way I have found to conquer this issue is full reliance on the One who has called me to lead. If we are truly called to lead and doing something significant the enemy will try to distract us. In most occurrences he uses the voices that are closest to us. The key is blocking the voices that are trying to pull us off course.

2- Moses sought the credit for bringing the water out of the rock. Look at verse 10...

He and Aaron rounded up the whole congregation in front of the rock. Moses spoke: "Listen, rebels! Do WE have to bring water out of this rock for you?"

To fully understand what occurs in verse 10 we need to go back to verse 6. It says, 

Moses and Aaron walked from the assembled congregation to the Tent of Meeting and threw themselves facedown on the ground. And they saw the Glory of God.

They saw the Glory of God, but they left the place they had just met him in and sought credit for the work that only God could do. I think church leaders do this so often. We seek God’s face for direction, and in the end we were out to gain glory and fame for ourselves. My Father, Jerry, is an amazing judge of character. When I was growing he always told me that people’s true motivations always shine through despite the appearance of good intentions. This is sad, but true in many churches today. This is why it is good for a leader to have proper accountability in his or her life. We need people to constantly test our motives. Most often, I find that if I have to explain my motives to someone I lead, then I should do a gut check and test my heart. These honest moments with ourselves and with our teams keep us humbly following our guide, Jesus. 

3- Moses was disobedient, yet he still saw results. Verse 11 says,

With that Moses raised his arm and slammed his staff against the rock-once, twice. Water poured out. Congregation and cattle drank.

As leaders we must be careful to not equate God's blessing with visible results. Obviously, the two can go together, but in some cases we can see the results of our work despite going against the will of God. In the modern American church we tend to base our success on how many people show up on a Sunday, by how many people volunteer for our team, or even how emotional people’s reactions are during worship. David Platt said it best at a conference I attended last week. He said something to the extent of “All we need to have a successful worship gathering is a rocking band, a charismatic leader and some awesome lights.” The thought hit me in that moment that just because people show up or respond in an emotional way doesn’t mean that God is honored. God is honored when we make his fame and glory our only priority. Moses disobeyed God by hitting the rock, yet the rock still spit out water. Moses put his glory before the glory of God. He sought his own fame first. What area(s) of our ministries are we seeing results in despite God not being honored? Are we willing to change to see spiritual growth over the visible, tangible results? 

4- God is honored when we trust and fear him. Verse 12,

God said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you didn't trust me, didn't treat me with holy reverence in front of the People of Israel, you two aren't going to lead this company into the land that I am giving them."

Because you didn’t trust me... Those words have been like a kick in the teeth over the past couple of days. How many times have I taken things into my own hands? How many times have I relied on my own abilities? How many times have I ignored the Spirit’s leading because it didn’t seem logical? How about you? Leaders are called to be out front leading a group of people, but many times we forget that we are still following the One who has called and equipped us to lead. God doesn’t reveal the roads we should travel for us to take detours. 

you didn’t treat me with holy reverence... Humility is something that goes against our human nature. When we see ourselves as we really are (broken, sinful, helpless and desperate) there is no way we can approach leadership with pride. We see an example of this in the book of Isaiah. Chapters 1-5 are about the wickedness of Israel and God's plans to devastate them. In chapter 6 we see God call Isaiah to warn His people. God didn't call him until he had humbled him. Isaiah was ruined and desperate when he saw the Father because it caused him to look  inward and see his own inadequacy. The best leaders I have learned from in the church are the ones who have a humble submission to the leadership of the Father. This was such a huge reminder to me that in my own life and leadership I have to keep my eyes on the One I am following, and not on myself. 

Hopefully these have helped you! Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings. Are there any observations you would like to add?

We are Loved (Re-Post)

Today, I was reading through old blogs that I have written over the past couple years. I noticed that I don't write much, but I usually write way too much when I do! I think it all builds up inside me, and I have to get it all out at once. This blog will prove that. Anyways, I am re-posting this blog from November of 2007. That's a long time ago. I miss the passion I used to write with! I guess back then I didn't care as much what people thought of me... I need to get back there. That's why this blog is important to me. 

There I was in the airport, minding my own business, when God decided to open my eyes. It was most unexpected and sudden. As I began to see those around me my heart became heavy and overwhelmed. I began to see people through a spiritual lens. I pray quite often that God will give me spiritual eyes; I did not expect it to happen in the airport. 

            As I sat there watching, there were many different types of people. Some people were in groups and others were obviously alone. People were rushing to get to their connecting flights. These individuals were rushing around me, making it a struggle for me to focus on anything substantial such as reading or playing solitaire. 

            These individuals who were scampering about were not the ones who intrigued me, but rather it was the individuals who were standing in their business attire with laptops and PDA's out. As I began to observe their behavior I began to feel awkward watching them. I saw business men and women who wanted to be noticed and appreciated so badly. They desired recognition and applause. I snooped on two individual's conversation about a presentation they were involved in later this week. They were obviously not on the same page. It sounded like two seven year olds fighting over the last lolly pop. Both wanted to be the leader and neither wanted to be the follower. There were also several men standing around in their suits talking on their cell phones. It was as if they were trying to trump the others volume level. They all wanted to be heard, not only by whomever they were speaking to, but also by those of us who were listening to their blabbing as well. Each one desired notoriety from us even though we did not even know their names.

            Why are we this way? Why do we strive to have others notice us so badly that we are willing to go to the point of looking foolish to grab attention? Does this behavior have deeper spiritual implications? I believe so. At the core of all of us is a pursuit for love and adoration. The revelation that came to me was that I am just like those people many days. I have the desire to be noticed. I desire people's attention. The only difference between me and those men wearing their thousand dollar suits is that I hate suits, ties and dress pants with an enraged passion. 

            So is their a remedy? Yes! We can see ourselves as pursued by a God that loves us more than our imaginations can even begin to dream. He is actively pursuing us when we care the least about him. I know in my life there are times when I do not feel God at all. Not just a feeling of loneliness; I mean it feels as if He has forgotten me. In these times of perceived abandonment, I tend to pursue the applause of those that surround me. As a worship pastor, this is my great struggle. It is so easy to feed on the applause and attention of an audience on Sunday morning. It is easy to feel superficially loved with the "great job today" and the "man, worship was great", but in the end I am left just as lonely and unsatisfied as ever. David found himself in a major valley when writing Psalm 63. He was running for his life and in a moment of loneliness he cried out to God, the God who satisfies. David proclaims to God that he is thirsty for His presence. Notice that he does not say that he is thirsty for water, food or any external means of sustenance. David was thirsty for the presence of God because only He brings true satisfaction. 

            This is my struggle and maybe it is your's as well. Are you in the business world and using your position to gain applause? Are you a pastor, like me, who has tried to gain others applause as a cheap substitute for what you truly need? We need to cry out in desperation, much like what David did in Psalm 63. We must tell the father that we desire him more than the applause of others. When we stop trying to get ahead and we fall before the God who loves and pursues us, the applause and recognition of men seems shallow in comparison. May we begin to see ourselves through spiritual eyes. May we drop the act around each other and accept ourselves despite what others think of us. May we throw down our masks and walk free of the opinions of those we are trying to impress. We are loved! We are accepted! May God teach us to put His opinion of us in a higher place than those around us. And lastly, may we stop trying to be so impressive all the time and just be who we are in Christ. I pray that the Father will begin to communicate hope to those places in you that need to feel accepted and loved.

Thanks for Reading...

Questions

I get a lot of questions from people who ask why I don't write much anymore. It's not that I don't think about it... I just don't seem to be able to get anything out when I sit down to write... here's why.

Have you ever read through several blogs in a day and instead of feeling challenged and encouraged... you just feel deflated? I have that feeling more often than not when reading other people's blogs. I have several great friends who write blogs, and they have some great things to say about culture, church and leadership. I have so much admiration for their thoughts and ideas, but many times it causes a deep insecurity in me because I compare myself to them.

Many times I find myself wanting to be the guy who has discovered 7 steps to better leadership or 11 1/2 ways to motivate people to work more efficiently. No matter how hard I try (and I do) I just can't seem to be that kind of leader. Today's church leader has become stereotyped as the super blogger who is well connected in all aspects of social media. In this age of blogs, twitter, facebook and myspace it is so easy to fall into the trap of competition. In the past I have tried so hard to come up with genius ideas to revolutionize the face of the church, but my motivation was screwed up. I just ended up looking and acting like every other leader out there. I now know, because of those experiences, that when we aren't true to who we were made to be, we end up creating dysfunction. I could write a book on leaders who play games acting like everyone but themselves. They end up being terrible leaders who think they are good leaders because they can speak the lingo and quote all of the catch phrases... the consequences of this are not good. Imagine the possibilities if leaders started leading creatively and instinctively rather than striving to be the next John Maxwell. John Maxwell is only known because he decided to be John Maxwell.

The instincts of a leader make them push toward the front. It is who they are. But how do we do that with humility? How do we lead when we don't have all the answers? Can we embrace a leader who leads out of the natural instincts God gave them even if it is different from our preference? Does there have to be a process and principle for everything? Why do leaders complicate everything, even if the issue has no fix or answer? Those are a few of the questions I have been asking myself the past few days.

Here's a few things I discovered about myself lately...

• I am an introvert. 
• I like quiet. 
• I like thinking more than speaking. 
• Incessant noise makes me a touch irritable. 
• I have always been passionate about worship, but now I see that my real passion isn't just leading people. I am passionate about teaching them to worship on their own.
• My passion for worship makes me seem like an extrovert, because on stage I tend to get a bit "energetic." 
• The world needs someone to be the expert, yet I get annoyed when people think they are experts on any given topic.  
• I am not an expert and hope I never think that I am. 
• I think leaders who change their direction based on every complaint they hear aren't really leading, but rather following.
• I have more questions than answers.
• I am insecure about leadership because I don't seem to fit anyone's pre shaped mold.
• Most days I feel like I can't add up to what people want me to be.
• I think leadership is more about relationships than principles or whatever the latest leadership book says.
• I don't like following people who lack humility.
• I lead in a way that is unique to me, but I don't feel like I am a great leader.
• Every time I change how I lead to fit a mold... I crash and burn. 

So how does an introvert with a ton of questions succeed as a leader in a culture who embraces the expert?

If anyone is reading this... I would love to hear your thoughts.

One Word... Life

This is a link to the video of my first sermon I have ever preached. I spoke Sunday, January 17th at my church. I spoke on the Christian's role inside and outside the church. It went really long because I was afraid to not have enough content. Looking back, I might have preached two sermons worth of material! Hope you enjoy it!

My Micro Self

“What defines us?” is the question that has haunted me for quite some time. As I have examined myself I have found that most often I define myself by what I am not. Such definitions could include: I am not as attractive as some guys, I am not as musical as I want to be, I am not as deep as I want to be, I am not organized…not, not, not… After a while the "nots" can overshadow who I truly am.

Most people I know do not know who they are, and the truth is most times I do not know who I am either. Most of us define ourselves by what we lack rather than what we have. It is no wonder that most people have such a twisted perception of their self worth. We judge who we are by our social status, our weight or attractiveness, what we wear or even what we drive. When we truly learn who we are these things, which have defined us for so long, become superficial and insignificant.

In our churches we have overused the statement “God created you to…” and it has, in many ways, lost its significance. This statement has become one of those “religious” things that we say even though we do not understand the depth of its true meaning. Yes, we were all created for a purpose, but how many of us marvel at the fact that we were created and that we are not an accident? You and I were created by a God that loves us above anything else that he made.

Most of us do not realize just how small and trivial our existence is in light of the enormity of the universe. Astronomers estimate that there are 200,000,000,000 galaxies in our universe, and in our galaxy alone there are 100,000,000,000 stars. We are quite literally a speck of dust in this massive expanse that He created. Why would he love us above everything else that he created? There is such creativity and beauty in our universe so why would he care about short, semi-attractive, semi-talented and slightly overweight me?

In the beginning of the story, our story, it is said that we were created in His image! Why us? Why not the animals? Why not the stars? John described God as a radiant, colorful light, so it seems the stars would resemble him more than plain, old me. I do not know why He wanted me to be in His image nor do I know why He chooses to love me, but I do know that it makes me special!

Many of us are creating an image for ourselves that is counterfeit. We buy the newest and best clothes, and in the end we look no different than anyone else. We buy the newest mp3 players and computers only to find that they are out of date a month later. So how do we begin to see ourselves how He sees us? Can we? Do we even care how he sees us?

I truly believe that we care more about what those around us see than what He sees in us. Christians have become so standardized and all we want to do is be like the plastic, cut out Christian beside us because they fit in, and they seem so “Christian”. This is the trap that we have all fallen into. "In the name of Jesus" we let them put the cookie cutter on us, thus conforming us to a man made image which looks nothing like our God given image.

So how do we fix this internal struggle? Can we counter condition ourselves to see our true worth through his creation of us? Yes we can! We must choose what we believe. Most importantly, we must see ourselves, not as our flesh dictates, but as the spirit inside us yearns for us to. Brennan Manning says, “Self deception is the enemy of wholeness because it prevents us from seeing ourselves as we really are”. When we see just how small we are compared to His glory we can only be led into a state of worship because He loves us.

I believe that with a lot of discipline we can begin to love ourselves again because He loves us. I believe that we can begin to see beauty when we walk past our reflection in the mirror because He sees beauty in us. I believe that we can be happy with our individual personality traits because He gave them to us. I believe that we can be healed of the disease of self-hatred because we are adopted and cherished. I believe that through our healing our communities can flourish and grow in to a nourishing environment that people will desire.

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
Your handmade sky-jewelry,
moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second to look our way?
(Psalm 8 The Message)

Jesus, I my cross have taken

Someone shared this hymn with me today and it is really amazing. Thought I would share.


Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

1. Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition,
All I’ve sought or hoped or known.
Yet how rich is my condition!
God and heaven are still my own.

2. Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Savior, too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like them, untrue.
O while Thou dost smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate and friends disown me,
Show Thy face and all is bright.

3. Man may trouble and distress me,
’Twill but drive me to Thy breast.
Life with trials hard may press me;
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me
While Thy love is left to me;
Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with Thee.

4. Go, then, earthly fame and treasure,
Come disaster, scorn and pain
In Thy service, pain is pleasure,
With Thy favor, loss is gain
I have called Thee Abba Father,
I have stayed my heart on Thee
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.

5. Soul, then know thy full salvation
Rise o’er sin and fear and care
Joy to find in every station,
Something still to do or bear.
Think what Spirit dwells within thee,
Think what Father’s smiles are thine,
Think that Jesus died to win thee,
Child of heaven, canst thou repine.

6. Haste thee on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith, and winged by prayer.
Heaven’s eternal days before thee,
God’s own hand shall guide us there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.