Musical Prayers

I don't know about you, but some of my best insights come in the shower. I'm not exactly sure why that is, but I would opine that during this season of my life, the shower is about the only place in my home where I can escape from my ever-curious toddler. Something about changing diapers, watching PBS Kids, playing with toys, and reading stories to a baby doesn't leave much room for deep contemplation and introspection.

During my Monday morning shower I had another one of those 'aha' kind of moments. Every Monday night we host a student-led worship and prayer service at the youth center where I work and often I am in charge of leading the music for that event. In the midst of my warmth-induced shower coma, I suddenly had a an idea about how I might lead the students in worship and prayer that evening - I would use the themes from our songs to lead us into intentional times of prayer.

I began by choosing six songs that all had a certain theme that I wanted us to pray about. Then, during our actual time of worship that evening, we would sing a song and then follow that by breaking into small groups to pray over the theme that the song had just addressed. For example, I began by playing the song "Your Grace is Enough" and then we broke into groups to thank God for God's incredible grace and forgiveness in our lives. We went on to sing five more songs, focusing on the themes of love, God's strength and greatness, God's intimate and personal nature, following Jesus through discipleship, and serving the world through justice.

I didn't know how this idea would work and whether the students would enjoy the process, but it worked great and they LOVED it. And I did too. It was a lot of fun and was a really meaningful way of worshiping and praying. I look forward to making this idea a consistent part of these student gatherings, and may even try it with our church in a Sunday worship service. The picture below is my rough outline of the songs I chose and the themes we explored in prayer. I think I'll call this form of worship and prayer "Musical Prayers" (see what I did there?!?).

A Few Words About My New Job

The Rock Youth Center

I realized recently that, while I have probably informed you about my new job and my family's subsequent move to Bozeman, Montana, I have never really given any details about the nature of my job. What do I do? Where do I work? With whom do I work? How did this job come about? So, here goes...

Ironically, I first heard of this new job on Labor Day. As I was heading to my fantasy football draft I received a phone call from an old friend and colleague named Gary Cook. Gary informed me that he was looking to fill his assistant director position at The Rock Youth Center and was wondering if I would be interested in interviewing for the job. I was initially hesitant. While I knew Gary would be a good boss and the job would assuredly be fun, I was wary about returning to the world of youth ministry. I was presently pursuing the path of ordination and was en route for jobs as a senior pastor.

I told Gary I would think about it, but not to hold his breath. 

As I thought about it more, however, and conversed with Gary again, he began to win me over. He made it clear that the church/youth center would like to fly me, Mandy, and Zoe out to Bozeman for an interview. Mandy and I had begun to sense that this might be the right fit for us, so we agreed to the interview. During the course of our 4 or 5 days in Bozeman, we were convinced that this was the direction that we were meant to take with our lives. We spent time with Gary at The Rock and Pastor Jay Smith at the church and were confident that this was the right decision.

We were moving to Bozeman.

I officially began at The Rock on Monday, January 7, so today marked the beginning of my fourth week of work. I am technically the Associate Pastor for Students and Community at First Baptist Church, but many of my hours are spent doing work as the Assistant Director at The Rock Youth Center. For now, I am concentrating on my work at the youth center, but as times goes on I will have the opportunity to be increasingly involved at the church.

Like any new job, the first few weeks have been a slow process of learning about how things operate at The Rock, getting my work space in order, and taking care of important, yet menial, tasks like signing a contract, doing health insurance paperwork, and getting on the company credit cards. I have also been getting to know the students, our volunteers, the members at the church, and some of the other youth pastors in Bozeman. But now, as I am beginning to settle into my role, my boss, Gary, and I are beginning to dream about the future of The Rock -- the next chapter in its history. In the immediate future, we are planning to host more regular special events at The Rock that might attract a more diverse crowd of students. Our first event will be an Open-Mic Night in a few weeks. On a more long-term level, Gary and I are beginning to discuss the possibility of First Baptist Church finally having its own youth ministry.

It's been so nice to dream again.

As you can imagine, I am incredibly excited and passionate about the job in which I've found myself. Both the church and the youth center are at pivotal points in their histories where they have the opportunity to envision and create new and glorious futures. I'm glad to be along for the ride and a part of the process. I'll keep you informed about how the dreams are unfolding.