SONG OF THE ANGELS - JOSH SELLER 8:27 AM

Congratulations to Josh Seller from Harvest in Oakville, Canada - who was nominated and then recently awarded the Scripture Song Award by the Canadian Gospel Music Association.

Josh deserves this more than for the song itself - but because he puts the energy into continually developing his craft as a writer - and this song is a glimpse into that pursuit. With that said, i hope that for the remaining years i'm entrusted to lead God's people in worship and beyond- Josh's songs will be shown favor on and used by many worship teams wanting to sing truth to God in new, creative fresh ways.

I had the honor of partnering with Josh to record this song. Here's the video of the song from the 'Lift up the name' DVD and the news report from the Canadian Bible Society...



"More than 350 songs were submitted to the competition for the categories, Song of 2009 and Scripture Song of 2009. The judges narrowed the list down to six finalists for both categories and Joshua Seller was the Scripture Song winner for his song entitled, Song of the Angels. The Scripture in the song is found in Revelation 4.8 and 4.11.

Joshua serves, as worship leader at Harvest Bible Chapel in Oakville, Ontario and it is his desire to write songs for the church and to see God glorified through his ministry. About winning the Scripture Song Award Joshua says, “2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that, ‘All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness’. God will draw men and women to himself and use His Word to help us better know and love him. Writing songs that are theological and doctrinally sound is a key component in seeing our Saviour displayed both Biblically and accurately. This award brings such honor and joy to know that my Lord would use music to display His glory throughout Canada. Our Country needs Jesus Christ and what better way for people to understand Him better than through His Word. I commend and count it a privilege to partner with the Canadian Bible Society in their endeavor to see God’s Word go out across Canada.”

Joshua Seller will be the guest of honour at the CBS office in Toronto on November 17, 2009 where he will share his testimony and his song. On this day, Joshua will receive the custom Nova Scotia Crystal Award and a complete CD recording package at AME recording Studio from CBS National Director, Ted Seres. Rev. Seres says, “CBS is thrilled to have sponsored this award and we look forward to doing this for years to come. It is critical for God’s Word to be impacting our culture and this is just one example of how the Canadian Bible Society is partnering with individuals and organizations to accomplish this goal.”

WORSHIP TIME IN GRANGER! 10:28 AM

So a couple months ago, we filmed a worship time on a Sunday morning, particularly for the electric guitarist school audition video. The sound quality turned out pretty decent for being on a little camera and I was excited to hear: 1.) the band from off the stage and 2.) the congregation singing! I wish we would have panned the congregation, but its just a still camera throughout the set, but I was brought close to tears as a gym full of worshiping voices declared "I'll stand with arms high and hearts abandoned..."

The set in the video is:You Never Let Go, Blessed Be Your Name, The Stand, My King(chorus)

I praise God for my church family and for all that he is doing in Granger. If you have a free 20 min, worship with us!

Service In Granger from Micah Klutinoty on Vimeo.

THOUGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND 9:30 PM

Here are some of my thoughts from the weekend in Oakville,

• Thinking through the song to follow your call to worship only serves the Scriptures greater by immediately singing what you just said. I read Psalm 100, giving 4 "requirements" we can see that God is asking us to bring when we come to worship Him. It forces people to choose if they will really worship or simply miss out on the blessing that is promised to the obedient heart.
• An song order of the Harvest "1 - 5" proves again to be a practical way in leading people upward from gathering to exalting.
  
• I'm not really big on trying to match the special with the sermon text because sometimes it is a far stretch and comes off cheesy. This weekend though we did "Teach us to Pray" which went over really well, and set up the sermon greatly. Thanks to this guy who wrote it.
  
• Our rehearsal time Saturday night was noticeable powerful and free. A sense of what God was about to do was even sensed while we were finishing the arrangements and final touches to the service.
  
• This weekend especially, there was a huge out pouring of the Holy Spirit. Our senior pastor was overcome with tears for the entire sermon on Saturday night. It was amazing to see the congregation respond at the end of the message when he gave an invitation for people to come forward for prayer and salvation.
  
• We sang "as children" over the congregation (words on screen but everyone seated) and gave them time to reflect on what God was presenting to them through His Word.
• The struggle to allow the Holy Spirit to lead all 3 services in the way He wants rather then what we know could possibly happen is so important. Knowing the close of your service could equal a huge crowd of people responding to God at the front of the worship centre shouldn't be the goal if it happened before. The goal should be to remain faithful to the a clear gospel presentation and then by faith believe the Holy Spirit will do the rest.
  

Call To Worship: Psalm 100

Bless His Name (Chorus 2 times)
Blessed Be Your Name
Worship Rises
None but Jesus
Holy Holy Holy

Special: Teach Us To Pray
Sermon: Prayer is Essential

Close:
As Children
Invitation
We Are Hungry

TURNING STAFF INTO MULTIPLIERS 7:29 AM

I received this article from our executive Pastor. It's an amazing way to look at ministry and your role if you serve in vocationally or not. One of the things we say at Harvest Oakville is, "if you are away for a weekend or event and no one notices, then you're doing a good job."
Translation.
If I'm not here on a weekend or special event and things run smoothly, are Christ centered, and those filling in are properly equipped to lead God's people then that's a really good thing.
It's not a pat on my back or a, "Job well done Joshua", but rather the standard and norm we are trying to translate across the board in all ministries.
I know that's a big shift in thinking for many of you. The pressure to "perform", to live up to the worship leader status is obviously a much used ploy by the enemy that lies to us by saying we must sing more, do more, write more, record more or else our worship ministries will fall apart.
Turning our eyes outward instead of inward helps me look for people that I can affirm, elevate and give opportunity to in our church to use their gifts for Christ and the edification of the body.

"If we catch you doing ministry, you may lose your job." That's what one pastor tells the paid church staff. I was stunned until I heard the reasoning behind such a warning. It's all about multiplying ministry.
At a "Me to We" training at Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, I met an incredible couple, Pastor Vernon Armitage and his wife, Charlene. Vernon and Charlene have been at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty, Missouri, for 38 years. The church has grown from around 100 to more than 4,000, and it's one of the best examples of an equipping church in the country.
One of the fundamentals at Pleasant Valley is that paid staff members aren't hired to "do" ministry; they're hired to train and equip others to do ministry. While most churches are constantly on the prowl for ministry talent, Vernon and Charlene have come to realize that they don't want adders; they want multipliers. That means they want to find people who understand a certain ministry but also have the skill set to develop teams and individuals, who are the frontline people. Prima donnas and superstars need not apply.
Imagine getting fired because you were doing ministry. But if your job is to be developing others, than yes, it makes sense. When it comes to embracing the equipping value in churches, the strongest resistors are often staff members because the transition to equipping ministry requires them to revise their self-image. That's because the traditional ministerial mindset is "I'm here to use my talent and to serve you." But that's adding ministry. No wonder so many churches feel stuck, so many staff members feel overworked, and it seems like you never have enough people to cover the bases.
Obviously, this transformation has taken a few years, but now Vernon and Charlene no longer look for staff members who are the best talent and "doers." They look for people who understand a skill or ministry and also have the ability to develop others. This is a different approach than most. The more difficult areas tend to be in worship, technology, and administrative assistance. Not everyone made the transition. For example, informing a typical administrative assistant that his or her new job is to develop a team of unpaid officer workers doesn't seem to make sense. But it works.
One of the biggest challenges is that staff is used to enjoying the benefits that come from being ministry doers. We get more strokes for "being there" and "sharing our gifts." It's far more humbling to watch others get affirmations and be perceived as God's servants. But that's what multiplication is all about. In Exodus 18 Moses began taking a backseat as he started developing those who'd oversee groups of 10, 50, 100, and 1,000. This sort of logarithmic progression helps us to avoid pastoral burnout and minister far more effectively. Plus, by developing others we raise their commitment, provide them with fulfilling roles, and create a culture people enjoy.
Start thinking about what you can do to move your ministry leaders into minister developers, not doers. Help them discover the joy of serving behind the scenes, knowing that they're ministering to far more people when they equip others for ministry. This is a natural ego-checking process, requiring that we step out of the limelight at times and share the ministry stage with many others."

PROJECTION RESOURCES 12:56 PM

Here are 2 backgrounds we just created for upcoming nights of worship and prayer services. Feel free to add the date, time and any info to fit your needs. Hope they are cool enough for you. :)
Love from the North-