I found this blog from a post in a forum at theworshipcommunity.com. I was very surprised and excited to have run into a a blog from a minister at a local church. I am the youth worship leader at Locust Grove Baptist Church, just down the road from you. I will definitely be back for more updates on what you all are up to. Maybe we can start a dialogue and exchange ideas?

If we seek to only be remarkable then we are defacto missing God. Yeah this fits as a “seek first the kingdom and all else will be added to you” scenario.

At the same time I believe striving to “be remarkable” can be a helpful tool in seeking God’s kingdom. Another way to word this could be asking the question:

“I am living my life for Jesus is such a way that it’s worth telling stories about?”

You could further ask, “Am I and other people telling those stories?”

If the answer is “no” we can ask “In what areas do I need to change or grow? What new thing do I need to start doing? What old thing do I need to stop doing?”

God is very clear that he wants us hot or cold and the lukewarm with be spit out. God’s not into the mundane and half-hearted. He wants sold out, fully committed, on fire disciples.

Good question! What made John such a remarkable leader was his incredible walk with Christ. He was passionate about his relationship with God and God’s word. We called him a walking bible - he could quote whole sections because he breathed it. I remember he would just break out into a sermon in practice, not because it was part of his plan for building a worship team but simply because it flowed out of him.

He walked in obedience with Christ in such a way that being a remarkable worship leader was inevitable. I don’t think he was striving to be a remarkable worship leader so much as he was just striving to be a remarkable Christ follower and got both. In his quest to pursue God in excellence, he ended up walking into excellent worship leading. He taught us to do the same and to not just lead worship but lead in worshiping.

If you think about it, God is the greatest marketing agent the world has ever seen and the closer we walk with Him the more ‘remarkable’ of tool we become.

Sarah,

I agree whole-heartedly. Sometimes I’m as clear as mud.

I guess what I was trying to say is if we seek only the ‘remarkable’, we may miss God. But if we seek God first, then He will call us into the ‘remarkable’.

At the same time out of all 8 people that we have had you made it a point to talk about John. What do you think he did that made him such a good leader?

Pete,
If you follow the link to Seth’s site you can read the first chapter of Purple Cow for free online without any hassle. It explains a little more about why a purple cow is remarkable and gives some examples of purple cows in the business world.

Fred,
I completely understand where you are coming from. It has been extremely challenging for me to figure out where I “fit in” as a worship leader in regards to who the former leaders were.

I keep telling myself, “Be Billy Chia, you can’t be anyone else.” Sometimes that means chucking a song, an arrangement, or even an entire system.

I’ll shoot you an email with some details.

While I believe a person may be striving towards being remarkable in the wrong thing, I don’t believe that’s a reason to not strive toward leading a remarkable ministry.

Just like anything else good can be done for wrong motives. A person can support mission work in order to feel important. That doesn’t make supporting mission work something that we shouldn’t do.

So, I don’t think I’d draw a line between “striving towards being remarkable” and “simply being faithful.” I think they can be done together when they are being done in God’s will.

there’s a fine line to being remarkable. we have the same discussion with our team on excellence. there’s a constant reminding of who we’re being excellent for. others, ourselves, or GOD. it’s an area where our flesh really likes to get involved.

I’ve found it’s easier for me to teach a brand new song to the band than for me to try and adapt to foreign arrangements of those other familiar songs .. yet, wisdom says I need to adapt and bring forth taht “familiar” as well!

Are any of your 2 formers still present in the church, in leadership, or in the congregation?

Just curious -
Fred
PS: I don’t see a way to subscribe to comments via email, so please cc: your response to my email if possible. Thanks!

We want to keep presenting material (not just music) that inspires people to connect with God, rather than regurgitating something they’ve heard so often they find it hard to stay awake.

We want to present the material in a way that our mistakes or sloppy presentation doesn’t become a distraction from inspiring people to a greater relationship with God.

We want to be the best we can be in honour of God.

Then Yes, I for one want to be remarkable!