Why I Love Freaking Out

Its never changed...I've ALWAYS taken criticism for the way I go about playing music. At the same time, people have been moved by my on-stage demeanor. I just wanted to clear the air and explain why I act the way I do.

The greatest moments in my life have been birth from the times when I sing songs about God. Those moments were extremely emotional for me, and turned me upside down. Anytime I have an opportunity to share those same experiences, I'm going to jump at the opportunity.

When I've been criticized for being "too outrageous", I've always noticed that it only cause I'm a threat to people's own comfort. However, along with that criticism, there are HUNDREDS of people that tell me "that really moved us, thank you for sharing your passion". If that passion is enough to convince people to sing, those songs can change them.

As worshippers, in order to comfort the afflicted, we have to afflict the comfortable. There nothing more uncomfortable than singing amongst strangers, but if I can make it easier by humiliating myself and playing like an animal on stage, then I will GLADLY wear a cloak of humility! Even if it causes me to make stupid mistakes, those mistakes mean nothing if I can give strength the single mom who's had enough. I would break HUNDREDS of keyboards if it brings hope to people who DESPERATELY need God.

So, to those who don't like the way I handle myself on stage...lay aside your comfort for a second, and be courteous to those who have nothing to lose, and have a hunger to worship the King. I know that's aggressive, but I could never apologize for saying it, so if your looking for one, don't bother.

Why do we ask people to sing on Sunday?

Seriously, why? I mean, lets look at it from someone else’s shoes, it’s a little strange that we invite people to a gathering and ask them to sing songs with us! Honestly, it’s kind of intimidating! Not the way to spend a weekend!

I know this is a bit offensive to a more traditional christian, but if we want to open our doors to people to EVERYONE...we have to see there World through there eyes!

So many years, I blindly led worship without asking myself this question! To be quite frank, it’s very easy to get caught up in what your doing, and forget about what’s going on! However, the truth is simple, the church HAS to relate to the world it’s trying to reach. Of course being in touch with God makes us different, it has to, but it shouldn’t make you weird. You know whats the fastest way to weirdness? Total isolation. Church people are NOTORIOUS for isolating themselves from the real world!

You know what my favorite thing to do is? I like walking. In fact, I like walking in public through really cool places, where there’s a ton a great people around. You know whats even more fun? Talking to those people. I love coffee shops, and I love turning my iPhone off, and talking to the barista when he or she isn’t busy! I’m kind of one of those people that like talking to freindly people! The best part about that is that getting to know these people is a great way for me to get to know who I SHOULD be playing music for! More importantly, I want them to experience God the same way I’ve experienced him, drowning in his undending LOVE!

So you want to know why I think we ask people to sing? I beleive that in order to experience God, you have to be Humbled, and trust me, singing songs about him is as humbling as it gets! I’ve said this before too, what makes Music so powerful is that it moves the sense that we take for granted the most: Our ability to Listen. Most importantly, when you sing in church, your singing with other people in the SAME situation, and the fact that your together in a room with these people is what makes church so great!

Why do we sing? Because God is worth singing about, and NOBODY who calls themselves Saved by grace could EVER be cool enough not to sing!

Bottom Line Theology

Want to know what makes me gag? Three word punchlines that accurately describe a lot of churches: seeker sensitive programs, numbers driven ministry, etc. Ok, there's the obvious attention grabber...what might be surprising is why I hate them.

It's not that I don't like larger churches. Let's be honest, "mega-churches" have more resources that can cater to a wealthier crowd. That crowd needs to be plugged into a body of believers just as much as the needy or even middle class. And let's face it, whether you like it or not, most mega churches make the body of christ a stronger body.

Its not that there's anything wrong with a "leadership pipeline" or a "pathway program". Those systems when used correctly make it very simple for people to get involved with the church!

Here it is: it's the fact the ALL OF US at one point or another can get caught up in everything we are DOING for the church, that we forget WHY we do it.

The truth still stands: GOD IS STILL GOD...if he wanted to build the body without us...he easily could!

He could use the church of 10 people to make Disciples of the ENTIRE population of the planet, and he can use the church of 10,000 to feed the needs of a homeless family!

What is disgusting is when our lack of finances and numbers start to give us heartburn! God can still use his bride as long as she is still after him, even if she's broke!

That's why we sing songs on Sunday. It's not a ritual, or a routine, it's a chance to recognize on a weekly basis that no matter if we do everything right or wrong, NO ONE who is saved is above the Love of God, and that's why EVERYONE needs to worship him!

If you can't get through a worship set without taking your mind off your own challenges, it's a good sign that it's time to let go and realize that God doesn't care about your challenges. God cares about a relationship with you and all the people you are trying to reach, an his Love is FAR GREATER than our stupid challenges!

-David

PS. I'm guilty of ALL of this! This was written out of the frustration that I felt self evaluating myself and realizing what I've allowed myself to become!

From the heart of a Musician

You know one thing that’s nice about sitting on a plane for four hours, is that it forces you to sit down, not do anything and think. Well, here I am on my window seat 26A, perousing through my iTunes library, and I decide to do this one thing. I listen to the Fred Hammond and Israel Houghton records that I first got into when I first started playing worship music. When you listen beyond the AMAZING chops that musicians have on those records, you will find soulful songs that bleed honesty, and I find that to be courageous writing.

After listening through those tracks, I moved on to the first New Life Record that I had the honor of playing on (Counting on God). I realized how those black gospel records had a heavy influence on me, and how that soulful artistry came through in my playing. I moved on to other records that I played on, and I realized something, that artistry had slowly been suffocating!

This week, I flew to Colorado Springs to record a record that Jared Anderson was producing, and to be quite honest, I really didn’t get the chance to be in the right mindset to record. Honestly, I came to the table with stale, overused ideas that I have always felt comfortable with that had worked in the past. When you lean on the same ideas and habits musically, your comfort increases, but your creativity dies, and when your creativity dies, your souls stops receiving oxygen, so you become a comfortable cadaver. Over the week, I didn’t play horrible, but at the same time, I couldn’t really offer anything that blew me away personally because my soul wasn’t breathing into these ideas.

Our engineer, Mike Rossback said something to me during the week that crushed me, “if we’re here recording and doing music, why not make it the most amazing thing we’ve ever made”. Wow...to be honest, I responded to that statement with a little bitterness, because it meant I had to get out of the comfort zone, and create a bit of a new identity. What’s funny is that wasn’t Mike’s intent at all, but it was exactly what I needed to hear! Over the course of the week, it felt like musical bootcamp for me.

So, as this experience comes to a close, I’m sitting on this plane not looking back on the past week, but reevaluating what the heck happened to my oxygen starved soul! That’s why I’m digging through my iTunes library, and listening back to the music that inspired me to become a better musician. I’ve got to say, it’s been extremely healthy to look back on the past!

Is there some sort of lesson in this? Not really, I’m just putting my thoughts out there just because it makes me feel better, and if you read this and get to know me better, than yes, posting this was worth it for me!

Needs

Ive been getting really overwhelmed with needs lately. Whether there my needs, someone elses needs, or just the needs of life. What I’ve come to realize is that needs are just a part of life.

However, there is something that every need, and ever person has in common: they all have to bow to the Name of Jesus!

No matter how overwhelmed you are, God is STILL God and he’s STILL worthy of our full attention. No matter what you’ve done, no matter who much crap you’ve piled up, God is still wants you just the way you are!

Think about that when you feel overwhelmed!

Galations 1:10

What Cynical People Want

Food for Thought: When someone is accusing someone else of a crime, Whats the one thing that superceeds any testimony, alibi, or argument? EVIDENCE.

Let me paint a picture of what SOME christians look like through the eyes of a cynical non-christian.

“Man, he’s alot different at church than he is in the workplace”

“He’s nice, but I don’t sense anything genuine under her skin”

“He’s quoting Bible verse’s, but I’m not convinced that he’s aware of the words he is saying”

“What a legalisric weirdo!”

You know why I can quote those lines? Because those were comments direcred toward ME at one point! You see, I was “doing” christian things, but all those “things” really are are testimonie’s, alibi’s, secondhand accounts and empty arguments that fall flat on the ground. You know what “things” do for a cynical person? They ADD to there doubts!

HERE’S THE TRUTH

LOVE is the heartbeat of GENUINE Christianity, and SACRIFICE is the EVIDENCE of LOVE.

Show me someone that doesn’t sacrifice for there spouse, I’ll show you a broken marriage. Show me a person who doesn’t MAKE time for freinds, and I’ll show you someone who’s alone. Show me a person who CALLS themselves a christian and doesn’t make time, give money, OR show compassion to the people that are around him, and I’ll show you someone who TRULY doesn’t see and understand the sacrifice Jesus made for them, therefore doesn’t understand the meaning of being a christian, which is beleif in the Sacrifice of Jesus.

Therefore, he ISN’T a christian!

The american idea is to serve your own wants, fulfill your own needs, but to be a Christian is to set whats good for you, and wash the feet of others.

So I’ll say it again: SACRIFICE is the EVIDENCE of LOVE.

Present the evidence, and NO cynic will question your Belief!

Why I CHOOSE to play Christian Music....

Ok, so it’s no secret to a lot of you guys I don’t enjoy playing Christian Music that much. Even more so, I really don’t enjoy the politics that are associated with Christian music. Ok, I’ll be honest: I HATE it. I don’t like the fact that my generation hates it and so in order for Christian music to be relevant, it has to cater to generations ten or twenty years before my time. Honestly, I personally enjoy playing my instrumental music the most because it’s something a lot of people don’t listen too, and because of that, it’s music I play to stimulate my own senses. I guess you can call it my vacation from Christian Music. HOWEVER, I’m not ranting, I’m simply stating the facts!

So why the heck do I choose to keep playing music that I don’t like? The answer is simple.

The funny thing about God, is that he can work through anything I do, as long as I do it. I never understood how that worked until a young teenager came up to me after a worship service and told me how he was thinking about suicide, but during the worship set, he felt something he never felt in a long time, hope. He thanked us for saving his life. In another sunday morning, a couple wanted me to give there kids piano lessons. A couple months later, they opened up to me and told me how they were on the brink of splitting. However, watching there kids try to learn music gave them something keep the marriage going and eventually it was worth fighting for. I have countless other stories I can tell you just like that, but I wouldn’t stop typing. I’m actually kind of getting emotional typing this up.

Everybody wants to be the next “American Idol” or “Guitar Hero”, and soak up all this attention for themselves. That’s all fun, but that’s not for me. I’m so tired of chasing five minutes of fame. Why do that when you can give others something that will last? A Grammy is a piece of metal that sits on the shelf, but something like a Marriage is something that affects you and your kids for a lifetime. Do you see what I’m saying?

So the reason I’m writing this is for one purpose. I know a lot of you guys play in churches because I get hundreds of messages asking me to encourage you in what your doing. When you play, you have NO idea what impact you have on other people. So don’t give up on it just because you think the music sucks. This doesn’t just apply to Musicians either, this message was really for EVERYBODY.

This is it, this is why I CHOOSE to play worship music. Read II Timothy 2:15
~dl

PS
Thank you Pastor Ross, Matthew, Jeremiah, Jared, Jon, Glenn, and everyone else at New Life for giving me the opportunity to do What I do. Ryan and Joshua, thank you as well!