mike jones

One of several books I’m reading right now is Relational Intelligence by Steve Saccone.  This book is designed to help leaders expand their influence through a new way of being smart.

Something Steve writes early in the book really hit home for me in how we view and love others. “Relationships are the proof of God.”  So how and why do we love others?

Jesus commands us to love others.
When Jesus was telling his disciples in John 13 that he was going to be with them “only a little longer,” he said this in verses 34 and 35: “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”  Our love for others is the proof of God. God could have chosen a different way to prove himself but Jesus showed and continues to show sacrificial love to humanity through relationships and love.

Jesus loved others
Jesus didn’t just ask us to love others, but he lived it.  He loved those who were rejected by society.  He didn’t love them to ‘win’ them to himself.  It seemed to be a natural byproduct.  He didn’t love with an agenda, but instead loved to the extent that others could not deny they had experienced God. People wanted to be around him because that kind of love was so contrary to the culture.  He had influence and was such an effective leader because of this rare, radical, extraordinary love that he showed.

Love is the greatest, wisest investment
“He didn’t command us to force our opinion of truth on others but to live out His truth with love in our lives.”  We are relational beings… we’ve been created that way.  We need relationships (even if we say we don’t).  It’s in our DNA. Through loving others, his love changes our world by revealing the God, who is love, to those around us. I’ve wondered how this could happen without telling people about God, but I think love that steps out of the norm, loves those who do not know love, loves those who have been unloved or discounted in our world… something inside us connects with that because we have always longed for it.

The challenge to us – can we love like Christ?  Can we love without the agenda of reaching someone for Christ, but instead allow God’s love to be revealed through our love for others?

This is the first in a series talking about what I’ve seen or experienced in my journey leading worship as well as what I am learning again. Sometimes it’s good to get back to the basics and remember some of the fundamentals in leading a church community in worship.

1. Connecting With God
   As a worship leader, I’ve found that my prep time and connection with God is the most critical element in creating an environment that allows others to connect with God. If I am not spending time just being quiet and listening for His voice, then how can I be ready to follow where He leads?  It is our prayer as staff at The Orchard that we will always hear God’s voice and then have the courage to obey Him.  A lot harder to do in a corporate setting if I have missed this crucial step in connecting and listening to Him lead before the weekend experience.How do you connect with God personally? I don’t know about you but I usually like to go to my journal and my bible.  Spending time praying and just being quiet, listening for what God has been saying to me over the last week.
   Where do you want me to lead your people this week God?
   What words do you want me to speak that will touch and influence your church in a way that connects them with Your spirit, Your plan and direction for their lives?
   What is in Your heart God that you desire to be on ours?

   These are the things that I journal about and listen for in my prep time before I even walk into rehearsal for the weekend.

2. Connecting With The Songs
   There have been, unfortunately, many times where I have chosen songs that sound great, are fun to play, but that I have not spent time trying to connect with myself. If I cannot internalize the song I’m leading, how can I expect to be able to interpret and connect others with the song?I try to spend time going through the lyrics of every song I am going to lead and try to determine:
   What is this song saying to me?
   How does this song impact me and move me?
   Is it theologically accurate (especially if it’s supposed to be leading us into a greater level of worship)?
   God, what are You saying to me in this song?
   What do You want us as a church community to learn, celebrate, proclaim or meditate on in this song?
   What do you want me to try to get across to Your people?

   If I cannot connect with a song and understand why I’m singing it, I can’t expect others in my church community to engage in it beyond just mouthing the words.

3. Connecting With The Crowd
   I have had great personal worship times and connections with God that I haven’t always taken into the weekend gathering.  It seems too personal.  What I forget is that sometimes these times are exactly what others need to experience as well.  Sure there are things that are still meant to be between God and I but there is a vulnerability that I have had to learn and am still learning to have in order for me to be able to connect with those I’m leading.  I want them to feel me and get to know me through those times.  That’s when they learn to trust me as a leader.  i think those are the times they see me most as a leader.  When I connect my pain, my struggles, my hurts my observations and journey with theirs – those are the times when engagement during the worship time is at its best.

This is obviously not all inclusive but this is what I’ve really been honed in on lately in my worship leading.

What about you as a worship leader?

This is the video we showed this last week at the Orchard.  We wanted to use the idea of regifting and get people thinking toward something we are calling Compassion Weekend -  a chance to make a difference in the lives of children around the world.  We had a great time during the shoot and I think it turned out great!

Enjoy!

It’s Thanksgiving day and I spent a great day with my family.  My wife enjoys getting to go shopping for deals the day after Thanksgiving… she has for years and she’s amazing at saving money by finding great deals.

At home tonight, after the kids went to bed, I re-watched the movie Click with Adam Sandler… such a funny guy.  The movie is definitely worth watching if you never have and makes me seriously think every time I see it.

In our highly technical age, how mcuh time do we spend on our computers, on our cell phones, watching digital television, and the like while life is passing us by with every mouse click?  How much time do we spend giving our attention to things that are not as important as the parts of our life we are skipping?  What parts of our lives are we choosing to cheat in order to give time elsewhere?

Time flies by so fast and before we know it, we realize how fast our kids have grown up, how our relationships have progressed or grown old, or what happened to all the things we had planned to do when we were younger.

I admit that I work too much.  I don’t know why, but I do.  It always seems like something that needs to be done, and I’m feeling it in several areas of my life.  It always seems easy to say, “well it’s for a season and it will change soon”, or “as soon as this happens or that falls into place I’ll have more time to spend with my family or building strong relationships with others”.  Unfortunately, that day may never come and before you know it, it’s too late.   The kids are older, your relationships are strained, and the things you had wanted to teach them or say to them never come.

I love my family very much and I always want the best for them.  Sad that sometimes I forget that the best for them is me – being with them and spending time with them, teaching them and loving them.  Work happens and has to be done, but God has given me the responsibility to first be a husband and father and THEN pastor and creative arts director.  Why does that line so easily get confused and blurred?  I’m a son and a brother too and I have even let my busyness get in the way of maintaining and growing those relationships as well.

This change cannot and will not happen overnight, but I think there are things I can do to change this… and it’s not too late to change.

So I ask you… what is in your life that makes you too busy to be working on you marriage, your relationship with your kids, working on your relationship with your parents or siblings, or spending time building lasting friendships?

What are you willing to sacrifice or change to make these other things the priority they need to be?

Sometimes it’s just a matter of making them a priority and sticking to them.

And stop clicking through the important things in life.

Peace.

Hosting a live event and wish you could interact with your event participants?

Is there a way that people could use the technology built into their mobile devices to provide feedback to what’s being presented – live?

Meet YouVersion Live!

I had the pleasure of getting a sneak preview this last week of the latest technological breakthrough from the Digerati team at lifechurch.tv lead by Bobby Gruenwald and Terry Storch. This team has developed some amazing things over the last couple of years and their latest is nothing less than brilliance!

As a follow up to the very successful mobile application YouVersion (which in short, allows you to carry many bible versions along with your notes on your mobile device anywhere you can access the internet), this new addition available in October gives mobile app users the ability to have live interaction within scheduled event.

The event does not have to necessarily be a worship gathering, but tied to YouVersion makes it seem like an easy fit. YouVersion Live allows event participants to take notes with a predetermined presentation outline, answer questions, submit prayer requests, give online, respond to polls (that can have results posted live for people to see)… just to name a few options. The setup on the event side seems very easy and my opinion opens the door to two-way conversations to take place. People want to be able to interact in an event and what better way to do so by using the technology most event participants already have at their disposal… web enabled mobile devices.

You can check out details and get a glimpse of the power of this FREE application online here. I can definitely see the use for this in worship gatherings at The Orchard where we have already seen the usefulness of live texting through tools like Jarbyco. What better way to get a pulse on what your crowd is thinking and feeling and how they are responding to what is being presented?

Are you ready and open for conversation?

Check out this brief interview I had with Tony Steward of Lifechurch.tv on the new YouVersion Live! Can’t wait for what’s next!