I was a worship leader [way] back in the day. I tried to give thought to what was being expressed in services, but – if I’m honest with myself – failed as often as not in giving God his full due. You see, I loved songs that expressed the greatness of God, and also songs that cried out to God asking for His help. But those are only part of picture. I was not as good at making sure that we congregationally expressed thankfulness to God [except, perhaps during communion or on Thanksgiving itself] and was woefully negligent in corporately expressing our sinfulness. I’ll leave the discussion of confession for a different day, but thanksgiving and gratitude as a people is part of what the heart of our relationship with God needs to be. We are sustained by a continual stream of blessings that give us life, hope and purpose – remembering that and frequently expressing it to God helps keep us from spiraling downward.
“Why does the Bible keep nagging us to give thanks? It’s because we quickly forget all that God has done for us; we take him for granted. According to Romans 1:21, when we fail to honor God and give him thanks, our hearts become darkened. Indeed, if left unchecked, ingratitude leads to negativity, bitterness, cynicism, and despair.”
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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