Sad Day.... for Christian Music

Well, what can I say? It's another sad day for Christian music! I would normally say that a sad day for Christian music occurs when the "Dove" award goes to Point of Grace instead of a musical group who write their own music and make music, to which I can actually sing along. All joking and ribbing aside, it is a sad day for Christian music. As of Saturday, the world has started to hear that the wonderful worship anthem, "Healer", by Planetshakers Pastor Mike Guglielmucci was promoted as a fraud. Saturday the Executive Committee of the Australian Christian Churches (a member of the Assemblies of God) met with Mike and he told them that he did not have cancer. For those of you who know, 2 years ago Mike wrote a song called "Healer". This song started gaining momentum, when Mike told people that he had a rare form of cancer and that had been the inspiration for him writing the song. Since that point, Mike had been all over the world, singing his song, telling people about the reason that he wrote the song. Mike had become a huge inspiration to all those who heard the song and to those who were afflicted with any type of illness. Listening to the song took on a whole different meaning.

This was a huge shock to me, as I had been using the song is worship sets for the past year or so. I used it at Evangel University Chapel, 20Twenty and at countless worship sets since then. I love the song! It has a message that no matter what, God is still God and He is the ultimate Healer. In fact, this past Monday, I introduced the New Life Community worship team to the song and shared the story behind the song. Little did I know that the back story is a fraud! It makes me sad.... and at first, very angry!!!! How could someone weave a web of lies so thick? In fact, Mike performed "Healer" with the Hillsong worship team and recorded a live album/dvd that has since been released. The song hit #2 on the Australian charts. It has become a huge success and all because of a lie. Whether or not the song would have been as popular as it is without the back story, is hard to tell. All I can say is that I am having a hard time comprehending the whole thing.

That isn't the real reason I am writing this blog. The real reason is to talk about the way "we" need to deal with this situation and others like it. I can already tell that people across the world are going to come down real hard on this guy. That might be a fair response, seeing as he made a lot of money off the song and the donations that people made for him and his disease. I did at first! Then I had a second to think about it....

Mike was wrong... plain and simple!! He lied and took money from people on false pretenses. It is ridiculous how many people will and have been affected by this. BUT let's understand something. Mike sinned and he has to pay for his sins. That doesn't mean that we are judge and juror! He will have to explain all of this and pay back lots of money. He will have to do deal with the humiliation of being "that guy" for the rest of his life. It's going to be hard and very trying and he can't do it all on his own. Personally, I am going to be the hand of grace. I've made some mistakes and had plenty of moral failures in my life. They may have not been as large in scale as this one and may not have affected as many people, but I've still failed. I've fallen short of the Glory of God. I've given in to the flesh and fulfilled my own desires. So I know how it feels to be the one who falls short. So I'll be the first to say this:

Mike I forgive you! I know this isn't a proud moment for you. I know that people are going to

send their disappointments and anger to you in the form of letters, emails, phone calls and such. You are going to be tried in your faith and in your patience, but it's your time to step away and be with God and your family. Take some time to evaluate who you are and why
you are doing what you are doing. Spend time with God and truly repent. If you do that, God
will forgive you, and everyone else will eventually forgive you. I just want you to know that I
am praying for you and your family. Praying that restoration and healing will take place in an
instant, and that this situation will make your faith stronger! Please remember, that I love
you as a brother in Christ and you are not alone! Hold strong brother!

I know that Mike may never read this blog, and no one will probably care that I've forgiven Mike, but I want to start exercising the grace that God has extended to me. I want to be the agent of grace to those who might not normally receive it. I've been given several chances and plenty of grace, so it's time to start giving back. I pray everyone else will follow suit!

Inspiration

I don't think I've ever been more inspired by a movie than tonight. I rented "The Great Debaters" partly because there was nothing else in Blockbuster that seemed interesting and partly because I have an insatiable craving for movies. I sat down @ my imac and decided to put this movie in first because it seemed like a movie I needed to pay really close attention to (ie. it required more attention than I could give while working on design stuff). So I put the movie in and waited for the heart warming goo to flow out.

As I sat there, I realized the weight of this movie. It is a deep and really heavy movie. It motivates plenty of emotion, either being hate, sadness, pain, or simple discomfort. I hate movies that bring up racism in order to prove that a certain group has done lots of wrong and should still feel bad about it. Those kinds of movies irritate me as much as Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson do when they are in the news trying to pick apart some instance of wrong doing as a huge racial issue. Not that they aren't right some of the time, but usually they are out to get publicity because the American people have forgotten about them.

"The Great Debaters" is not one of those movies. It has a wealth of intellect and wit that most movies lack now a days. There are emotion filled rants, tearful moments and sad travesties. For every one of those moments, there are three moments that break the human spirit down into a simple, better notion. That mankind has lost the passion that once fed freedom. I sat there listening to young men and women debate over topics that are weightier than tax breaks and campaign ads. It brought about compassion, not sympathy. It stirred desire to see equality, not hatred towards those who have done wrong. I was half through that movie when I picked up my notebook and penned a heart felt response to what mankind has done to itself. I look at this movie, not as a reflection of the past, but as a mirror image of our current situation. We sit back and watch as the world around us falls into a cyclical motion of rising and falling. Not only are we living in racially charged times, where a black presidential candidate stirs voters because of his race, but in a time where there are those around us who can't see past their social class.

I'm not saying I'm going to go out and change the lives of every American. I can't do that. What I can do is understand the struggles others face each day and show compassion to someone who, otherwise, might not see a friendly face. I can step up and show my fellow man how beneficial him being around really is. People need to know there are needed/wanted. People need connection to something more than just a job or a loved one. They need to know that God has reached out His hand towards them in the guise of someone smiling at them or telling them they are great.

This movie was intended to show the will of the human spirit. To show that even though racial tensions were strong, there were a few who stood tall and stood proud. It gave me the will to exercise my civil disobedience. My disobedience to the norm of looking out for myself first and then if I have the time or resources to give help to another. My act of civil disobedience is to reach out to any and all, and give them the hope they are looking for.... My Lord

There's more than just the music!

Recently, I've started thinking about the different aspects to worship. As a Worship and Creative Arts Pastor, I tend to get stuck in the mindset of music. Don't get me wrong, I love music! It's one of my three big passion! Unfortunately, the "Church" tends to think of worship in terms of music. Worship is a lifestyle. It's a way of thinking, breathing, eating, sleeping.... living. We worship God with our hearts, our actions, our minds, and our talents. Not everyone has perfect pitch or can play an instrument. Which can make it difficult for them to get into worship because they feel they aren't contributing to the overall experience.

So that being said, I am working on different ways to think about worship. Whether we think of art work, music, handy work, or some other expression, I am trying to find ways to incorporate the entire church body into contributing to the overall worship experience. Some ways I've thought of so far are:
- Art work (painting, sculpting, literature)
- Sound and Technical (sound board, video projection, etc)
- Setup (It takes a lot of work to prepare for a service and setup is essential!)
- Call to worship (Giving a word, reading a scripture, or sharing a testimony at the beginning of the worship set)

I know that isn't a whole bunch of ideas, but I think that people often feel disconnected from the worship experience. Almost like it is a concert and not a time where they can personally take a few moments and share their heart with God. I wonder what the "Church" would look like if everyone was in tune with God on a corporate and PERSONAL level, simultaneously?