247Think

Well.  I have decided to close a chapter...specifically the 247Think chapter.  I have now been blogging for 2+ years, all under the name of 247Think.  I started out on Blogspot, and then migrated over here to Vox.  Now, I'm heading over to Wordpress under a new title, a bunch less creative title, From the Mind of Kevin Bradford.

The reason for the change is that I have been evaluating my blogging a lot over the past few months and have realized that I no longer blog on "random thoughts on a 24/7 lifestyle of worship", but rather I blog on many aspects of life, including family, culture, church, leadership, and flat out goofiness (which, by the way, the latest goofiness gained me more comments than ever before, not that that is saying a lot since comments are a rarity around here!).  Which leads to the change...

So fair well Vox.  It's been fun.  I'm excited about the change and I hope you will make the jump with me.  Cya at the new place...

Passion 2

I am finally getting back to a little series on the worship leader that I began two weeks ago.  I started off with background on me and the road that I have walked to be where I am today.  Today, I want to look at the role of the worship leader.  I did a Google search on this topic and ended up with a ton of blog posts from various individuals.  I was reminded how much this position is still very new and developing, as it's existence has been less than 30 - 40 years.  Wikipedia had this:

A notable feature of contemporary worship is the worship leader. A worship leader is normally a musician (often a guitarist or pianist) with good singing ability whose role it is to lead the congregational singing. Many composers of contemporary worship songs are also worship leaders. The worship leader has a prominent role in contemporary worship services and is responsible for much of the spiritual direction of the meeting and often will choose the songs that will be sung. This can be contrasted with traditional churches, where the entire service is normally led by a member of the clergy.

One quick thing that strikes me off this is the incredible responsibility that a worship leader has.  Being responsible for the spiritual direction of the meeting is HUGE!  So many people aspire to be on stage and they have no clue the weight that role bears.

According to the above definition, I see a few roles that every worship leader fulfills: planner, facilitator/teacher, musician.  In effort to keep these from getting to long, let's look at probably the most unknown aspect of a worship leader's job, but one of the most vital...

Role 1: Planner

Church services today range drastically in style, format, and time.  This is where the worship leader, usually one of the primary planners of a service, has to be intimately involved in what's going on.  I can only speak from my experience and from those I've had the privilege of talking with, so here's the process I go through.  Steve, our pastor, will meet with a group to discuss and set the topics of upcoming series, usually, 3-6 months in advance.  Once this is done, our Creative Team will begin to brainstorm and dream about how we can package each series so that it is fresh, engaging, and culturally relevant.  Music is a big part of this for TrueNorth. Our music philosophy is that we will use styles of music that are popular in our culture today, as well as Top 40 type songs that connect with those who may be visiting for the first time that are still unconvinced in regards to Jesus.  Engagement is huge!  If someone walks in and hears a song they know or music that sounds like what they listen to everyday, they will engage in the message of the service much more.

My approach to planning a service is to weave a theme throughout the music that is consistent with the message topic.  This prepares people to hear what is said better, but also leads us to celebrate and reflect on specific characteristics of God.  For example, we recently did a service on compassion.  Each of the songs we used built upon that topic, leading us to sing and declare that we would go and love those in need.  It was a powerful service as all of the elements of the service (music, message, video, prayer) flowed together perfectly.

I want to tread carefully here because it can be easy to stop there when planning.  I am guilty of this, as are so many others out there.  But the most important part of planning is pursuing God and His plan for the service.  Spending time in prayer and study takes the written plan and transforms it into a unique encounter with the Living God.  I confess that, after leading worship for over 10 years, I have learned how easy it is to fake worship.  I can learn the songs, the phrases, the exact moment when I should throw my hands up in the air, but it is so empty.  The times I have experienced an incredible outpouring of God's Spirit is when I am pursuing Him and allowing Him to lead.

I am going to close out with this: No one can lead worship better than the Holy Spirit (believe me, I've tried!).  No can plan better than the Holy Spirit (believe me, I've tried!).  But it can be the biggest struggle for a worship leader to remember this and practice it.  So I would encourage you to remember the worship leader(s) in your church in your prayers.  We need the support and encouragement that comes from that.

Next time...the worship leader as facilitator/teacher.

I have been talking about doing a little series of posts on the position of worship leader for almost two weeks now and still have not done anything. But I have a great excuse! As I started writing what I thought would be flowing post on the role of the worship leader, I have realized the complexity of it and also how many different ways I could go.

So it will come. I promise...
Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

Ella

Yesterday was a bittersweet day for me.  Ella, my princess, my baby girl is no longer a baby.  That's right, she turned two yesterday.  Where have the past two years gone?  (I could ask where the past eight years have gone in regards to my son, Austin, but his birthday is in December!)  We had a great time celebrating her and trying to make her feel special.  She has a little crown that a friend gave us when she was born that has removable numbers with 1, 2, and 3 on them for each of her first three birthdays.  In the past year, Ella:

• started walking
• quickly went from walking to running!
• talking up a storm!
• has had a major growth spurt in her beautiful red hair, which mama loves because she can do all sorts of girlie hairdos (pigs tails, pony tails, clips, hairbows, hats...you name it, we've had it!)
  
• has stolen my heart even more
• has begun potty training (with little success thus far!)
  

She received all sorts of girl gifts that I have absolutely no clue what to do with.  (Strawberry Shortcake?  What's that besides a great dessert!?!?!?!?)  The boys (Austin, Stephen, and Zane) continue to show their love for their little sister.  I'm so thankful for the relationship they have with her.  I've always joked that I will train them as attack dogs for the day Ella starts dating (which will be 30).  Well, we decided to enroll the older to in Taekwondo...so let the training begin.

I continue to be amazed at the blessing God gave me with my four kids.  I cannot believe I get to be their dad.  Unbelievable.  Thank you, Lord!

So bring on the terrible (or terrific, depending on vantage point) twos...

I was chatting with a friend today and made a reference to Pinky and the Brain.  All I got back was a "huh?"  So I had to enlighten her of a great piece of American culture...and I now I'd like to share with the rest of you unfortunate souls that have missed out on the brilliance...enjoy!

That's right, today at physical therapy, they actually had me walk without crutches.  Can't say how something so basic gets me so fired up.

Now dancing may be another story...(not that I could dance before this whole thing anyway!)

I know this isn't part of my worship leader series of posts, but thought it was a really cool resource to share.  Wikiquote is a website that allows anyone to search quotes on a particular topic or author within seconds.  For example, I searched Winston Churchill and was given a page full of quotes by him, divided into topic (see it here).  Here's one quote I found on childhood and youth:

Where my reason, imagination or interest were not engaged, I would not or I could not learn. (Roving Commission: My Early Life (1930))

Great quote and just a phenomenal resource.  So check it out.  It's great for preparing speeches, papers, or blog posts on a variety of topics.  Hope you enjoy!

I made mention last week that I would blog about all the things that go on in the mind of a worship leader.  Since then, I have decided to do a little blog-series on different aspects of the worship leader:  the role, the challenges, the common mistakes, and the next generation.

Before I dive into all of that, here is a little history on Kevin Bradford the worship leader.  I led for the first time when I was a freshman in college at my home church, First Baptist Church of North Augusta, for the student service.  Back then we did powerful worship songs like “Pharoah Pharoah” and “I’ve Got A River of Life”  (What were we thinking???)  

After that, I went off to college in Nashville, TN, at Belmont University (go Bruins!) and eventually started leading worship for a student ministry at Judson Baptist Church.  This is where I really began to grow as a worship leader.  Sure there were cheesy camp songs, but there were also songs with meaning and power.  The first song I can remember like that was Better is One Day by Matt Redman.  It makes me laugh at how awkward I was then.  I would become so nervous if I had to say anything to the students over the mic…like, “Come on and clap your hands” was a struggle!  I did a lot of eye closing during those days…

After that, I moved up in the world and began leading worship for adults at a new church in Frederick, MD, called Summit Trace Church.  I began to dive more into worship books and discovered songs with a lot of depth to them that really connected my soul to worship.  I learned so much during this time.  I had a mentor for a short time that had led worship for many years at various Vineyard Churches around the country.  I remember him describing the unique role of a worship leader as being the ebb and flow of God to the people and the people to God.

The next six or seven years have seen me continue in my growth as a worship leader in North Augusta, SC. I have specifically realized that corporate worship is not about me and my time of worship, but rather it is about gauging where people are at and then leading them to a deeper understanding and experience of God.

So that is my background as a worship leader.  In the next post, we will take a look at the role of the worship leader.  This will be fun...

Pop Goes the Church: Should the Church Engage Pop Culture?

I'm reading through Tim Stevens new book, Pop Goes The Church, and I came across this phrase:

"It is about building churches that focus more on preparing followers to live in culture and leverage the culture rather than criticizing and building walls of protection around our commune-like congregations."

My mind is racing with a single thought: churches around the country are doing a terrific job leveraging culture to reach people, but are we training people how to do the same? It's the know-how of taking the hottest songs, movies, television shows, or whatever, and connecting the dots from one soul to God.

How do we accomplish this? I'd like to start the conversation here...so if you have a thought, leave a comment...

Today is the third day after my surgery and I am surprisingly feeling really, really good.  I actually was up for getting out of the house today so we packed up the kids in the van and went to church.  That was nice for me for a lot of reasons.  First, to get out of the house and actually smell fresh air was very welcomed.  Second, having lots of people express concern and compassion to our family just makes a guy feel incredibly loved!  Third, to be able to go to church, sit with my wife through the whole service, and not have to worry about any of the details was surreal.  I made this comment on the TNC Blog earlier while posting the set list that most people would never understand all that goes through the mind of a worship leader during a service.  I think I'm going to post something later this week about all that floods my mind on a given Sunday..make sure to check back for that.  We'll have some fun!

Laurie has been phenomenal.  I'm convinced she moonlights as "Wonder Woman"!  To take care of five kids (yes, I added myself to that count), keeping us fed, keeping the house clean, and playing referee, she's got my vote for the next president (though she has gratefully already declined that position).

The kids are taking it all in.  Austin, our 8 year old, and Stephen, 5, have pitched in and done everything we've asked them to.  Responsibility and maturity are just two words that come to mind.  Zane, 3, and Ella, almost 2, are very loving and sweet and extremely curious about my leg brace and bandages.  Zane has even told me lately that both his knees are hurting now.  Got to love the innocence of children!

So this week brings three physical therapy sessions and the hopes that I'll be about ready to drop the crutches by the end of the week.  All the prayers and outpouring of love in various ways from friends and church family has been cool.  I'm convinced that is one way God gives us a big old hug!