Worship Team Monthly | October 2020
True and rejuvenating rest.
That's what we all want, right? Ask someone how they are doing...before the pandemic it would most likely be, "busy" or maybe "tired". Seven months into the pandemic and the answer hasn't changed much. People still seem busy and even more tired. Mothers and fathers, college students, young professionals, teachers, doctors, baristas...we're all tired.
For me, I have pinpointed my tiredness to the business in my head. I may not be so hurried or busy on the outside, but my mind is CONSUMED with thoughts: how to pull off another livestream, caring to people in the church, all the politics and cultural conversations on social media, family dynamics, changing the brakes on my wife's car. That's only five out of like a million it seems. It's overwhelming and can honestly be paralyzing without a way out, but I have found one in my life. It's a deep and fulfilling rest I can have in Christ.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Eugene Peterson expresses Matthew 11:28-30 so beautifully. It's become a cornerstone passage in my life and a firm reminder that I can find rest if I create space for Jesus and the work of the Spirit. It's not a promise that the endless to-do list will go away, but it's a promise that you and I will never be alone in our challenges, and further, it's a promise that we will be given a way to face our challenges with freedom in our souls.
That is an amazing reality. We have access to a lightness and freedom only through Jesus and all it takes is time with him. I encourage you, as I am also encouraging myself, to create that space and honor that time to truly seek and find rest in Jesus. He is always there ready to offer it.
Brian Albright | Worship Pastor
Worship Team Monthly | September 2020
There’s a hymn I used to sing all the time in church.
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”
A simple lyric with a powerful message. Funny how difficult it can be to put into practice. It seems like there is too much pulling at our attention. There’s a story in the book of John where Jesus is spending time near a pool where the disabled and rejected among society would be. Jesus heals an “invalid” man and tells him to pick up his mat and walk. Of course the man, unable to walk for 38 years, gets up and walks. The religious leaders are disgusted…
Why? Because the man is carrying his mat on the sabbath.
Could you imagine losing the point that badly?? The truth is we often can. In an effort to “protect” or “defend” our faith and values we can miss what Jesus is doing this very moment. I want my heart to be in a place that can celebrate and rejoice all the God is doing right now and reject the temptation to be bitter and hostile and justify it with my faith. Jesus demonstrates his power through humility. Our worship ought to resemble the same. Thankfulness, repentance, and joyful praise are our battle cries in this world. God is fighting the battles, don’t miss seeing the victories happening right in front of you.
Brian Albright | Worship Pastor
Worship Team Monthly | August 2020
I've found a groove...but it's not the same
After months of a holding pattern and "what ifs" and "whens"...I've finally adopted some sort of normal in all of this mess. It's not necessarily the normal I want forever, but it's a rhythm of health nonetheless. I've been journalling more regularly these past months and the theme I'm often finding myself in is a hunger for deeper worship and dependance in the Lord.
One of my spiritual gifts is faith. That can be a powerful gift as a pastor, but where it reveals my weakness is how I can take God for granted. "He's always there, always will be" can become the narrative in my heart. I hold onto the truth I know and operate in my own flesh. One of the spiritual lessons I've learned in this season is that truth divorced from the spirit is lived in vain. Jesus invites us into worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24). The two cannot be separated. In a world where we are tempted to leverage truth as our weapon or the spirit to disarm the law, we can find ourselves spiritually empty, not trusting or relying on God.
A marker of the worship culture of this church is our devotion to the Lord in spirit and in truth. They work in tandem to bring Heaven to Earth so that we may honor God and encounter him in turn. That's our chief goal as worship leaders and members. Continue to pursue deep relationship with the Father. You'll see the truth lived out by the power of the Spirit. Something far more powerful than our own flesh.
Brian Albright | Worship Pastor