Why do we do preludes? The idea started back before we planted One Life Church. It was inevitable that people waited in the lobby talking until the music started. We hated that this large group of people missed the first song of worship and it made the experience of worship that much more difficult. So we started playing a “wash” song to signal we were getting started and people should come on in.

In a planning meeting we came up with the idea of using secular songs as a prelude. This would accomplish a couple of things in our services. First, it would encourage early attendance. When the prelude started folks would move into the room prior to worship. This was very practical in theory. Second, we viewed secular songs as a bridge for explorers attending worship services. Let’s face it, secular music is what most people listen to, including people who attend church regularly. In some ways it’s common ground for all. Our vision at One Life is to be devoted to reaching the unchurched secular minded person. What better way to bridge that gap then by playing a song that he or she can identify with. This is why you will hear everything from Foo Fighters to Pink to the Black Keys. Third, secular songs can also be more complicated and challenging for our musicians. We have some very talented players at One Life and we want to keep musicians challenged. Congregation-friendly worship songs are often easy to play so working on a more complex secular prelude challenges our players skills. We want our teams to grow in their playing abilities as well.

This week my team is doing the song “The Cave” by Mumford and Sons as our prelude. I had heard it before but never paid attention to it until one of the guys from our team said it was about “The Cave” written by Plato. I googled this and read several descriptions about the story. It is pretty interesting because Plato’s story involves 4 prisoners chained in a cave whose only experience in life is what they see as shadows in the cave. One of the prisoners is released and he sees a new reality from what he was exposed to previously. If you have seen the Matrix it was based off this idea from Plato. As we are in this series on Winning the Game, I thought it was so appropriate to bring out a philosopher’s idea on truth and ultimate reality. I love that we get to bring our brains to church and get to wrestle with the ideas such as: What is ultimate reality? Are humans valued? What happens when we die?

I just finished a book, “Saving Leonardo” by Nancy Pearcey, that Pastor Bret encouraged us to read as worship leaders. I love this book because it relates worldviews and how they translate into the world of arts. In the last chapter Nancy makes a plea to the church. She asks “Where is the music and art that expresses biblical truths so eloquently that it invites people to embark on a search for God?” She goes on to say this: “But we must teach the young to be revolutionaries against the status quo. We are called to revolt against false idols and the power they exert over minds and hearts. Christians should be on the front lines fighting to liberate society from its captivity to secular worldviews. And who is better equipped than artists to communicate that liberating message – to jar the church out of its complacency, tear away the veil of religious euphemism, expose hypocrisy & self-righteousness, & create works that reveal the breath-taking beauty of salvation?” I agree with Pearcey, lets be revolutionaries and create works of art that help lead people on a journey to Christ. It’s time to be creative for our Creator.

-Lindy Weatherly

The day of romantic love is approaching. Instead of “will you be my valentine?” I’m reflecting and asking the Lord to be my “agape.” In the New Testament, the Greek word, agape, refers to the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God. This word represents divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, and thoughtful love. When I think about my love for something or someone, as compared to this definition, I know I fail time and time again. Do I really “love” unconditionally? Do I sacrifice myself for those I love? Do I take the time to thoughtfully consider my actions? I’d like to say I do, and maybe at times I do, but there is so much room for improvement. Father, as we celebrate romantic love, help us to also show your agape love. And I ask you, God, to pour out your agape for us. Help us to know your divine love in a real way.

Greek philosophers and other ancient authors have also used forms of the word to denote affection for a particular activity. My prayer is that the Lord will continue to develop my agape for worship. My heart’s desire is to be sacrificial in worship. I want to put great thought into both my preparation and my offering of worship each time I step on stage, reflect on scripture, or give of my time and treasures. Let the cry of our hearts be to reciprocate the agape that God shows us.

Brook Arnold – Vocalist, 7x

Some Sunday morning in 2007, my wife and I were sitting in the same “nose-bleed” section we always sat in at our church in Louisville, KY. Now, I know the term “nose-bleed” is usually reserved to describe the cheap seats in a massive facility like a NFL football stadium, but the church we went to happened to be one of the largest churches in America. In other words, Sunday mornings back then was more like going to Lucas Oil Stadium than going to church! Sitting back there felt safe somehow for a “new” Christian like me… On this particular morning the pastor started talking about something that made me put down my binoculars, crane my neck to intently peer over the third story balcony from which we sat, and listen. He was describing how the Bible describes worship in Heaven:

“And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” (Rev 5:13) NLT

Beautiful. The pastor went on to discuss and synthesize various passages to paint an elegant picture of what he believes it will be like when we are in God’s presence. But what really shook me was not the descriptive imagery, but the inclusiveness of the worship in heaven. It was not just Jesus in all His glory as all creation watched, or the angels but ALL of US together. I know people often picture fluffy clouds and robed angels playing golden harps when they think of the beauty of heaven, but some thing about the words “every creature” sounded…beautiful.

I am sure that it was no coincidence that as soon as the pastor wrapped up his message, an emcee came on stage and announced a date for worship auditions. Then the worship band came on and closed out the service with an amazing (as always) performance. Looking back, I find it ironic that after being rocked by the message, I remember thinking to myself that I could never “fit in” a worship band. There were two primary reasons why I talked myself out of trying out:

1) “Experience” as a Christian – I had only been a Christian for less than two years. I needed to give it more time, didn’t I? Surely the folks on stage had been at it their whole lives. They probably grew up in church, sang in the choir growing up, etc….or so I thought.

2) My “failures” - The people on stage looked so… “clean”. Tucked in shirts, slick haircuts and lead singers that looked like it probably takes them longer in the dressing room than your average pop superstar. You have to have it all together to be on stage in front of a congregation, right? While I was a follower of Christ, I was still working things out. I needed to “get it together” more before I tried some thing like playing at church…or so I thought.

I think there are a lot of people like the 2007 version of me out there. People who tell themselves they must somehow go through a process of becoming “worthy” of serving God – of worshipping Him – before taking the first monumental step of going to a worship team audition, signing up for a mission trip, or whatever. However, if you are like me, one day it clicks and it becomes evident that NO ONE is worthy by their own. Our individual faults and personalities are what gives color – or beauty – to what God does through us. We all need Him. He takes broken people with their broken words and broken songs to create the most beautiful symphony conceivable.

The cool thing is, when I decided to get over my own doubts and try out for a worship team at One Life, I found that all types of people are represented. There are people just like me. There are musicians who have known Christ their entire lives. And of course, there is every body in-between. Jesus spent much of his ministry teaching, healing and loving on the entire tapestry of humanity. He wants every one to get out of the “nose bleed” section of our churches.  It doesn’t matter how long you have had a relationship with Him or what you are still struggling with. He wants every one in His band…including you.

Chad Connor – Lead Guitar

At One Life our stage design typically consists of the graphics we put on the GIGANTIC screen behind the pastor.  Since our screen takes up most of the back of the stage, we try to find series graphics that serve as a stage design.  But every once in the while, I like to throw in an extra element.

So what’s up with the idea of “stage design”?  I like it because it pulls the art off of the screen and drops it into the room.  It adds an element of reality to the art–almost makes you feel a part of the design.  I love stage designs that allow light to reflect and play off of the elements on stage.  It makes them come alive and adds even more dimension to the set.

Additionally, and really the most important part of it for me, is that it allows us to bring more creativity into the service.  God is an amazing creator, and as His creation (created in His image) we should reflect that characteristic back to Him, particularly in worship of Him.  I don’t believe church should be a place that exists in stark contrast to the world in which we were created.  God gave us a wildly creative, artistic world to live in.  Why would our place of worshipping Him be devoid of creativity?  Being creative is another way of entering into worship of Him.

For the Winning the Game series we have a stage design our planning team has come up with and our light techs are implementing.  It’s been a lot of work but I think it is totally worth it.  Come this Sunday and check it out.

“God, if you are really real, I need to feel something from You right now!!”

How many times have you silently cried out those words from a desperate spirit during a Sunday worship service?  I know I have a handful of times!  One Sunday morning in particular I had nearly killed myself to get my 2 year old daughter and I out the door in an attempt to make it to church on time.  After yelling that morning to no avail and fighting a temper tantrum on the way into church, I finally got Madison to the nursery.  I slipped in the back just in time for the latter part of worship during the slower songs, (which was fine with me because I was in no mood to jump around), but I didn’t really feel like worshiping at all.  As I listened to the words of the song my tears broke the same way my heart was.  Why me?  What did I do to deserve this life?  In those moments I mourned an unfaithful ex-husband, a premature baby, feelings of loneliness and displacement…where had I gone wrong?  Why was I being punished?!

So I cried out on the inside—God, if what I’ve lived for and believed my entire life is really real, then I need to feel something from you right now!!  And at that very moment I felt a peace and calmness from the holy spirit, and it was as if God whispered directly to me, “Tami, I know exactly where you are and I understand your hurts.  But you have to trust in me because I will provide for you in every area of life if you just walk this out with me.”  I continued to cry as I visualized my hand grabbing onto His, and promised I would not let go.

I don’t know about you, but in my Christian walk there have been times either because of life circumstances, busyness, or sheer laziness that I’ve felt distant from God…and the few times I’ve gotten too distant, it’s like I’d forgotten how much I needed Him until life felt out of control.  In any case, as soon as I call out to Jesus, He doesn’t ignore me, nor does He make me earn back the privilege to ask for His presence; He comes back suddenly—in an instant!  Once I feel Him again I know this is exactly where I belong, with Him…close to Him.  This is the background of the original song, Suddenly I Feel, that Undeserved will be playing on Sunday. I challenge you to ask yourself the following questions before Sunday, and then come ready to feel Him again.

• Have I genuinely opened myself up to feel God lately?
• What situations, problems, sins, resentments, or relationships do I need to give to God so I can allow Him His rightful place in my life?
• When can I carve out time each day to worship in order to cultivate a closeness with God?

Tami Tenbarge, One Life Worship Leader

In November 2002, I was involved in the service planning in the Edge at Bethel Temple.  We were doing a service about “Gearing up for Missions” and some of us thought it would be a great idea to have some people rappel from the catwalk during the service. This was not approved by either the leadership at Bethel or my parents.  I am sure if I had run it by anyone they would have put a stop to it.  As I was practicing for this the night before, my hair (which should have been pulled back in a rubber band with a helmet on as well) got caught in the figure eight.  I was billeting myself (another bad idea) and my genius instincts told me to put more slack in the rope to get my hair loose.  This worked to free my hair but I also fell the remainder of the way down. The estimate was about 15 ft. I hit the stage and rolled on to the main floor.

I was knocked unconscious for a minute and couldn’t really believe that I fell all that way.  I was rushed to the emergency room by an EMT who I kept inviting to church because I knew my parents were going to kill me so I thought I would try to redeem the situation somehow.  The doctors weren’t sure what my outcome would be because 50% of people who fall over 10ft or more on their heads don’t live to tell about it.  I was diagnosed with a basal line skull fracture and I couldn’t hear at all in my right ear.  After about 2 days I started experiencing some facial palsy on the right side of my face. My right eye wouldn’t close and my mouth was deformed as well.

It was funny–through that experience I had such a peace that, since God allowed me to live, I would fully recover.  I knew that I was called to lead worship and he would restore my face and hearing so I could continue to do so without being inhibited.

There was a story in the Bible that really ministered to me during this time. Its found in Genesis 32:22-32.  Jacob is wrestling with God and his hip is pushed out of place so he would forever have to lean on God.  I felt like the Lord was urging me to lean on Him more than I ever had before. I had gotten comfortable in my relationship with Him before the fall and out of that event He made me rely on His strength.

There was one other event during that time that increased my faith that God would heal me.  On Wednesday nights Bethel would have a time of prayer that people could go forward to be prayed over by the pastors.  My mom and I went forward and Pastor Bret prayed for me. He felt like the Lord wanted him to anoint me with oil (lots of scriptures on reasons why:  1 Sam 16:13 Ps 23:5, Ps 45:7, Heb 1:9).  He also felt like he should pour the whole bottle over my head.  It was the weirdest thing, but I felt this immense joy and again such a peace that God would heal me.  It was a true signpost in my life that I was anointed to lead people into His presence and He would not only restore me but equip me for it.  God has a plan and purpose for every single person.  He will equip us and supply the strength to do what he has called us to do.

So here I am, minding my own little church world business, and someone drops by the office and shows me this video.  Many of you have seen this.  If you haven’t, consider yourself warned:  if you are an emcee, worship leader or pastor, you may find this slightly irreverent:

Click here to watch video

At first, I laughed.  But then I started thinking…are we this predictable?  Sure, we have sound reasons behind everything we do.  There have been entire teams of people debating over exact terminology used during the emcee spot, the right words to use over offering, when to introduce a new song, etc.  We agonize over it.  All in the pursuit of excellence, right?

But somehow, along the way, we may have gotten a little predictable.  We may have slid into a rut.  We may be, dare I say it?  Contemporvant and Growtivational!

I love the services at One Life.  I love the worship, I really dig the bright, moving lights and the sound (yep, we know it’s LOUD and we like it!).  But at what point does even the cool, new, loud worship become old hat?  Check out these verses:

“See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”  Isaiah 43: 19

“Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;…”  Psalm 98: 1

I think God is into doing new things.  And I think maybe He wants us to do new things, too.  So I am just thinking…if a parody of a church service hits so close to home, then maybe it’s time to do a new thing.  I have some insider info that this week’s set is going to bust out of the mold.  I can’t wait.

If you are a One Life leader, what can you do to mix it up on your team?

They saw it. It was there. Perhaps at first just a glimmer, but then as it grew brighter, they knew, a brand new shining star. Nothing like this had ever before happened in the night sky. This wasn’t just any star. This star pointed to a promise about to be fulfilled.

They were called Magi, astrologers, star gazers, some of royal birth, the wisest men in the realm. They were used to interpret dreams and reveal the secrets in the stars. But this new star couldn’t just be read, it had to be followed.

The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly where these Magi came from. It says the east. A likely guess is Babylon. It doesn’t tell us how they knew to come seeking the King of the Jews. Daniel had lived as a wiseman in Babylon. Perhaps it was his legacy of faith in God and His word. The scripture says in Numbers 24:17:

“I see Him, but not now;

I behold Him, but not near.

A star will come out of Jacob;

A scepter will rise out of Israel.”

Maybe it was this scripture that guided them. Matthew 2 only records that they came and asked “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?” They saw His star in the east and they came for one reason… to worship this King.

They went to Herod. Surely a King would know where to find a new-born King. Herod called for the Chief Priest and Teachers of the Law. “Where was the Messiah to be born?” The scripture had the answer. Micah 5:2 foretold His birth in Bethlehem. Herod sent them off to search for the child saying he also wanted to worship the Messiah. And so the Magi went and this star led them to Jesus. They were overjoyed!

Have you noticed that when confronted with greatness, we humans react. At sports events during a great play people respond with yells and screams and cheers. When someone famous or renown walks into a room the crowd stands to their feet. When beautiful, inspiring music is played the audience erupts with an outburst of applause. Why? Because it is in us, we were made to express our awe and amazement.

When the wisemen saw Jesus, they were overjoyed. They were overcome with a desire to express their exuberant gladness.

They didn’t rise to their feet; they knelt at His.

They didn’t yell and scream; they worshipped.

They came looking for the King of the Jews; they met the King of Kings.

They opened up their gifts, but they received a greater gift.

The Bible says God warned them to return home by a different route because Herod did not want to worship Jesus, he wanted to kill him. So the Magi obeyed and went home a different way. What is interesting is that phrase “a different route” can also mean “ a different manner of life.”  In other words they went home changed men. They had worshipped at the feet of Immanuel God with us and they would never be the same again. When we respond to the greatness of men, it’s pleasant and fun. But when we respond to the Greatness of God we are changed. True worship changes us. We go home in a different manner of life.

-Karen Kizlin

Prayer Team Leader

For those of you who love Christmas time like I do, you know one of the best days of the year is when you break out the first Christmas song  in the car or at your house. It’s becoming a tradition for my family that when we put up the Christmas tree (usually right after Halloween and after a few days of my wife begging me to help) we’ll fire up the computer and Christmas music fills the hallways of our house.

This year, more than any other, as our worship team has prepared to lead the Christmas service at One Life on December 18th, I challenged myself and the team to dive deep into the lyrics of some of the most common Christmas songs.  What I uncovered was eye-opening.  Let me be the first to admit, after I’ve heard a song several times or several hundred times, I tend to forget the meaning and just sing along….especially seasonal songs like we hear this time of the year.  I mean, let’s face it, who hasn’t tried to make up alternate verses to Jingle Bells after you’ve heard it a MILLION times. “Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg”…you know the rest.

Every now and again it’s important for us all to review, revisit and reclaim the meaning and purpose of the music in our lives, especially when it comes to songs we use for worship.  Music is art and the writer or author had a message that they wanted convey at the time the first word was penned, but sometimes (unfortunately) that message gets lost once you’ve heard the song many times.

For example, let’s take a look at a few lines of some of the songs we’ll be leading on Sunday. Instead of singing the lines, just read them aloud and let’s see what happens. These lines have become such common place for us to sing along with during this time of the year, but if you really think about the meaning of the song and what the writer was trying to accomplish it can be so profound.
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Joy to the World
-Isaac Watts published 1719

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth Receive her King.
Let every heart, Prepare Him room”

How much more profound can this message be proclaimed?
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Go tell it on the Mountain
-John Wesley Work Jr. compiled in 1907

“Go tell it on the Mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born!”

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Here’s one of my personal favorites:

O Holy Night
-John Sullivan Dwight created the song as we know today in 1855

“Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night Divine
Oh night when Christ was born”

What powerful lyrics these writers chose!

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See what I mean?  These songs are so profound!

Did you happen to notice what year these songs were written?  Crazy isn’t it? Today in modern worship (at least at One Life), we typically sing a lot of newer worship songs–at least ones that were written within the last decade or so.  Every now and then, one of the teams will throw in a hymn or song that may have been written many years ago.  But think about it:  when was the last time you heard a new Christmas song that has stood the test of time?  These songs have carried the message for years and years and now it’s our turn to use them in worship together on Sunday.

Come prepared, and ready to sing some of your favorite Christmas tunes One Life style, in a new light.

Let’s dive deeper….
What are some of your favorite Christmas songs, new or old, that you can’t live without hearing at least once this time of year?  Now that you’ve had a chance to think about the depth of some of our favorite Christmas songs, is there a song that now has a new meaning for you?