There is something deep inside of a man that wants to be the provider and protector of his family. It is just built in. There are times I want to go hunt for dinner, drag it home and let out a man yelp. I want the best for my family. Selfishly, I want their respect and adoration. As natural as the desire to provide and protect is, there is another job that doesn’t come as easily.  It takes a lot of work and effort. I am to be the spiritual leader of my home.  Some might say this should be easy for me since I am in full time ministry… but they would be wrong. It’s not easy.

Now that Em and I have Julia, our 11 month old, my responsibilities in this area have been magnified. We are responsible for her physical well-being and her spiritual well-being.  We only get one chance to raise her so I want what I do and what I say to line up.  I want to raise her to love God and others. I want her to be a worshiper.

Last night we had a “Night of Worship” at our church.  It was a memorable night. A lot of great things happened.  But there was something that someone shared with me that made my night. While Em and I were on stage leading worship someone took this picture of Julia…

I want Julia to always think that church is a fun place to be.  I want her view God as truth and love.  I want her to always have this much excitement when she worships. This did a daddy’s heart good.

If you have ever been in band, sang on stage, or led worship, you know that talent and skill are important.  If the band is not proficient on their instruments, or the singers can’t find pitch with a GPS, then everything goes downhill from there.  Skill is crucial to leading worship. If the band or the singers are distracting, then worship rarely happens. You end up with just music that isn’t played very well. As important as talent, skill, and competence are for a worship band or a band of any kind, there is something that I believe outweighs them all… Attitude.

I would rather have a good musician with a great attitude than a great musician with a bad attitude.

Attitudes can make or break a band. I have seen the poor attitude of a background vocalist affect the entire band.  Bad attitudes spread faster than the swine flu.  And like the flu it has negative symptoms that can be devastating if not kept in check.

If you are the leader of the band, you are responsible for your team. But more importantly you are responsible for your attitude. No matter how bad your week has been, your attitude should not suffer. Let me say this another way, there is no excuse for a bad attitude!   If your attitude suffers then the band, the music, and more importantly, the worship service suffers.

Attitude is a choice. You have a choice to make every morning.  You cannot chose what happens to you but you can chose how you react to it and your attitude about it.

I received a life lesson in attitude a few years ago.  In college I became very close to a family with four brothers. The oldest two and I went to school together and served on a church staff together. I would spend holidays with them traveling to their home in central Florida. That is where I met their younger brother, Jordan. All the brothers played basketball and all were very talented. But Jordan had a quiet confidence and it seemed like no matter what happened he was smiling.  He didn’t have to say much, but his attitude about life and basketball was infectious.

Jordan received a scholarship to play basketball. Shortly after getting to college he discovered he had cancer. Because of the cancer he had to give up basketball, something he loved. I remember thinking as I was getting ready to go down to be in his brother’s wedding, “Jordan is going to be a wreck.”  I prepared myself for the worst.  But I was wrong. Jordan was still smiling, still cracking jokes; he still had the same great attitude.  He made a choice to not let his circumstances determine his attitude. If anyone had an excuse to be bitter, to have a bad attitude, it was him. Whether he realized it or not Jordan was a great teacher that day. Even today, when I find myself having a bad attitude or looking to justify it with my circumstances…I am reminded of the life lesson Jordan taught me that day at the wedding.

Your attitude is a decision. Make the wise choice and lead your people to do the same.

Before coming to Watermark Church (then FBC Ashford) I led worship for special events, camps, and filled in on Sunday mornings around the Southeast at churches I had come in contact with.  I enjoyed this a great deal.  There was always an incredible energy leading worship for camps. People were excited about worshiping God. They sang with passion, lifted their hands, seemingly giving it all they had. This was exciting for me as well.  When people enjoy what you do and take part in what you do it gives you an incredible sense of self worth. Being able to take part in these sorts of events was fulfilling. When I was traveling to these places there was no shortage of kind words and affirmation. Everyone was excited to see you.  Even if they didn’t like the style of music, they knew I was only there for a little while.  I guess it is easy to fake a smile for a while and I was none the wiser.

But this was also the problem. I was only there for a while. I wasn’t investing in the lives of the people I was leading. I believe whole-heartedly that the church is God’s plan A and there is no plan B.  No para-church organization, no worship band, and no single person is going to take the place of the local church.

That being said, the church is not always a pleasant place to invest, after all it is full of people.  Making the transition from the weekend warrior to full time staff at a church was exciting to me… until I ran into the “loud minority.”  If you have been in any church for very long you probably know what I’m talking about. You have a very small number of people who are very opinionated and very vocal.  They are fully convinced that they speak for the masses and sometimes they can convince you of this.  For me the loud minority didn’t like that I was bringing modern worship into their First Baptist church. The leadership and the majority of the church wanted this contemporary swing. I knew this but, at the time, it was hard to live in this truth.  I am going to be honest. It was hard.  I wanted to quit.  I didn’t like people telling me they didn’t like the music.  At times I felt worthless and I even questioned my calling.

Fortunately our worth is not found in what we do or what people think of us.  Needless to say, I have survived the “loud minority.”  They have actually been great teachers. I have found that intimacy with God is born out of hard times. Perhaps the hardest lesson learned is that the church is not a perfect place but it is the only hope for our community, our city, and our world.  It is God’s plan A with no back up plan. If you are in ministry, serving at a church, or preparing for ministry, dig in!  Don’t get going just because it gets rough, and it will get rough.  The church can be a difficult place because of a few, but don’t let that lone tree cause you to miss Yellowstone. The church is a beautiful picture of God’s love, kindness, and mercy. Listen to the right voices!

Question – Is God teaching you something through a difficult time right now? Dig in! Has anything great come to those who gave up?