Our Body is a Wonderland

As artists (and people immersed in the American culture), we find ourselves often putting our fundamental needs last. This is something that we have to focus on changing; otherwise, we will leave our God little room to do His work in us. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 states, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." I think that we can all recognize the difficulty in glorifying God with our body. So, Noland assists us by giving us three areas to pay special attention to:

1. Be Healthy Physically

In some Christian circles it's fashionable to overwork and be burned out; it's a kind of badge of honor. But what's really going on here most of the time is that we're trying to impress each other with how hard we're working or how important we think we are. Ecclesiastes 4:6 (NSAB) says, "One hand full of rest is better than two fist full of labor and striving after wind." Rest is important. It's okay to get the rest your body needs. Most people fail to get the rest they need not because they get up too early but because they go to bed too late. We need to work hard for the Lord and not burn out. Most of us are at our best when we're well rested. Over the years I've learned not to schedule myself late into the evening the night before a big service at church, because I know that my team needs me to be sharp and alert. It's just one of the ways I can bring a healthy, rested self to the team. Regular exercise and sensible eating also contribute to our physical well-being. We tend to underestimate the amount of energy it takes to live a proactive, zealous Christian life or to be an attentive spouse or an involved parent. Then we wonder why we're tired all the time. Exercise and a healthy diet create the energy we all need to live life to its fullest. Ar you eating sensibly, exercising regularly, and getting enough rest? (105, Noland)

2. Be Healthy Spiritually

During the first century, there was an awful famine that was sweeping across the continents. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul talked glowingly about the churches in Macedonia and their team effort to help their fellow believers in need. The were poor yet they contributed abundantly to the church's worldwide relief effort. Paul says in 2 Corninthians 8:5 that they were able to give so much because "they gave themselves first to the Lord." They were in such a good place spiritually that giving came easy for them despite their poverty. When you're walking with the Lord, ministry oozes out automatically. You can't serve out of an empty cup, so make sure you're healthy spiritually. Don't you be the one holding the Spirit's anointing back by being spiritually lazy. Make sure you're having regular devotions, that you're praying, that you're confessing and renouncing sin, that you're in fellowship and sitting under biblical teaching. (106, Noland)

3. Be Healthy Emotionally

We can't control the circumstances that affect our emotions but we can do wonders for our emotional well-being by having meaningful relationships and dealing with pain and conflict in a healthy way. Do you have meaningful relationships? Are you paying attention to your emotions and dealing with them, or are you suppressing them? Are you dealing with pain and conflict in hour life, or are you coping by denying or escaping? (106, Noland)

It wouldn't be overgeneralizing to make the statement that most of us do not do a very good job of taking care of our needs. Sure, some of us may be able to hit a home run in one of the three areas, but another area probably looks more like the lava lamp in Soap Lake. Also, do not make the rash assumption that our lives outside of our ministry do not have an impact on our ministry and God's ability to do his work. We have to recognize that our work life, family life, and spiritual life is all interconnected. So, creating a healthy balance means being spiritually, emotionally, and physically healthy in all avenues of our life.

For this post, share a story of when you had some unhealthy issues in your life and what you did to overcome them. In this way, we can all learn a bit from each other's past and hopefully make it through or avoid similar unhealthy choices. As Rafiki in the Lion King teaches Simba: "Ah, yes the past can hurt, but you can either run from it or learn from it."

The Time Has Come

If each team member owns the responsibility for team unity, that team will be "like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose" (Phil 2:2) (99, Heart of the Artist)

Unity is important to God, and it's not something to be taken lightly. We are to "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3). That doesn't happen without people working out their differences. It doesn't happen without people putting their egos aside and constantly deferring to one another. When Solomon dedicated the temple, the priests and musicians came forth "regardless of their divisions" (2 Chron. 5:22). They all checked their egos at the door and stood before God not according to status or rank but unified as God's people. They had quite a powerful worship time at this ceremony, and the arts played a major role (vv.12-13). This passage also shows us that unity is a powerful testimony to the presence of God. In fact, the presence of God was so strong at this dedication that people were literally falling down. And it all started with the people being unified. Don't ever think unity is optional. It's required if we're going to do anything together in God's name. (99, Heart of the Artist)

Unity is also a powerful witness to the unchurched. "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" (Ps 133:1). If there was a colony of Christ-honoring artists who got along with each other and truly loved each other, the world would sit up and take notice, because that kind of thing doesn't happen out there in the world. I tell our church orchestra that we are the most visible witness of team unity that the church has. We are such a diverse collection of ages, ethnic groups, abilities, and backgrounds, and we have to play together and get along with each other. If we can get along, anybody can. Our unity is often a more powerful testimony than our music. (99, Heart of the Artist)

Building unity, for us, comes primarily out of two moments: rehearsals and Sundays. Since we have rotating schedules and are limited in the time that we spend together, we need to be intentional about developing our community when we are together. This means that rehearsal cannot be simply a time of notes, instruments, and structure. We need to allow time to get to know each other, pray for each other, and celebrate together.

The trick to building unity through "socializing" is by developing an understanding of what we want socializing to look like for our worship team. This will allow us to be "like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose" (Phil 2:2).

This is going to be more difficult than it sounds on the surface level. Some of you would love nothing more than to complete our worship practice efficiently with little or no time spent socializing during practice (the time for that is either before or after practice). Then, we have another group of people who believe that socializing throughout the duration of practice makes our worship team a fun place to be.

In order to be like minded, you need to truly think about what level of socializing you would like at practice and comment honestly and thoughtfully. This will allow us to decide what method will work best for our team.

Your assignment:
1. On a scale of 1 to 10, with one being no socializing during practice and 10 being completely full of relational chatting with secondary focus on music, rate how much socializing you would like to see in our practice.
2. Give an example of socializing that you think we should have in our rehearsals, on Sundays, and etc.
3. Give an example of socializing that you think we should not have in our rehearsals, on Sundays, and etc.

Time Flies When...

It seems that nearly everyone in our worship team believes that time management is something that should be a part of our code of ethics and that we are not doing as well as we should at achieving it. Interestingly enough, time management is also a hot topic for Rory Noland. Immediately after his discussion on the "Deadly Four," he discusses time management. He states:

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A team's code of ethics reflects the core values of that team. If rehearsal is an important value, it'll be important for everyone to be on time. Punctuality then becomes a value statement that says in effect, "Rehearsal is a high value to me, so it's important that I show up on time." If respect for others is a high value for team members, punctuality would also be considered a courtesy. It's basically saying, "I don't want to be late, because I don't want to waste everybody else's time by having them wait for me." A team's code of ethics puts forth the level of commitment needed by all team members. It sets the standard for how the team operates. In this way it becomes a change agent of sorts. If you don't model the team's code of ethics, you will change your behavior if you want to stay part of that team. (96, Heart of Worship)

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To Noland, time management is a crucial component for the general ebb and flow of a worship team. He even went as far as to include a list of the 13 most essential "Marks of Professionalism" as a means for establishing good time management for being a part of a worship team:

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1. Be on time for rehearsals

2. Be ready to perform in all aspects (warmed up, instrument mechanically set, all equipment available)

3. Take care of your instrument

4. Bring a pencil to rehearsal

5. Listen to your conductor

6. Mark your music - do not trust memory

7. Constantly listen and adjust pitch and volume while playing

8. Be ready for entrances

9. Sincerely attempt to play the part correctly

10. Play second or third part with as much enthusiasm as the first part

11. Practice music between rehearsals and continually strive to improve

12. Interpret as the conductor wishes

13. Do not miss rehearsals

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It seems particularly interesting to note that not everything on this list is about time management during rehearsals. He alludes to the fact that time management for the whole group begins with a commitment on a personal level.

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Yet, the time management conundrum is a tricky one because everyone looks at what is a good and bad use of time differently. What may seem as a waste of time to one person may actually seem like a good use of time to another. An example of this that stands out for our worship team is whether or not socializing during the first few minutes of practice takes away from practice time or develops fellowship and camaraderie. Thus, we need to begin the tricky process of figuring out what we collectively think is a good use of rehearsal time and what should be completed outside of worship time.

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Your task for this post is to begin the process of trying to figure out what good time management would look like for our team. When preparing to share your view, think about the following questions that were posed by many of you during the last post and follow up discussion:

1. Do we feel that we should be able to have time to get to know each other and develop interpersonal relationships during practice?

2. Do we feel that we should be absolutely ready to play through our first song right at 6:30 or should we allow time for set up, warm ups, and mic checks?

3. Do we feel that we should set an ending time for practice to help keep us focused? (i.e. practice always ends at 8:30)

4. Do we feel like we should clear our schedules and devote our Thursday evenings strictly to rehearsal with the knowledge that it could be a long or short night depending on the musical and relational needs of the team?

5. Do we need a worship team navigator that runs practice for that Thursday (will rotate every Thursday depending on the talents, skills, and needs of the set)?

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As you mull over the five most strongly questioned viewpoints and try to decipher what good time management should include or omit, feel free to add additional ideas and/or mash the viewpoints together to create something new. On Thursday, we will take a look at everyone's input and begin crafting a better time management strategy.