Worship in Song Conference - Audio Available

The audio recordings for Worship in Song are available here.

Just remember, they are free... and you get what you pay for!

WIS 2008 - The Band of Brothers

"The Boys Goofing Around Before Practice Friday Night"

A big part of what we tried to do at WIS was model... and no, that did not involve a runway.

We are blessed every week to be led in our singing worship by the guys we affectionately call, The Band of Brothers. Dave, Ken, Jim and Josh play week by week... and we brought back our ringer "Special K" for percussion. These guys ministered on Saturday playing 19 songs in 4 sets with no practice times between leading. Plus, most of them were also leading workshops in the one time they might have taken a break. It was a day of serving for them... just like they do all the time in our church.

If the Lord ministered to you via the boys yesterday, feel free to leave a comment here for them and I will be sure to pass it along. (Unless you guys still read my blog? Do you read my blog BofB???!?) :-)

Friday Thankfulness...

My Church and WIS 2008

One joy in hosting a conference like we are doing tomorrow is getting to see your sheep step up to the plate to serve. I have been humbled again and again as folks at GFC have volunteered their time and energy in a multitude of ways to make this conference a great time for everyone.

I suppose we will not please every registrant, but I am rejoicing that my friends are working hard to do just that anyway. Probably the biggest disappointment everyone will have to deal with is me! Sorry... but you get what you pay for!

Another thing that I am looking forward to at the conference is the networking that will take place between churches. I have been preaching in a lot of different and new-to-me places lately and I am thrilled with what the Lord appears to be doing in so many churches. It is hard not to feel excitement at what lies ahead.

The Gospel of John

I have always loved John 6, but this chapter has confirmed to me what I have long held to be true about John’s writings: a simpleton can understand them... and a brilliant mind can study them for life. (I place myself somewhere in the middle of those extremes, but closer to the first one!) With what is certainly the simplest vocabulary in the New Testament, the beloved disciple is able to teach some of the most profound truths. This week we get to ponder predestination, preservation and the effectual call – all in the span of 14 verses!

My Assistant

Long-time readers of this blog will know that my nephew Julian is my paid assistant at GFC. This new Dad, seminary student, friend, brother-in-Christ has proven his mettle yet again this week doing so much of the grunt work for WIS 2008. I would be 90% less productive without him. Actually, I would probably just be dead from the stress!

Challies

Sometimes I think it is really funny that author (formerly known as “uber-blogger”) Tim Challies is a member of our church. My man has been taking some cheap shots in the blogosphere the past few weeks and this is just my public affirmation that Tim is a real person, a good friend, a faithful church member and has committed no felonies in recent memory. Wait, do we even have “felonies” in Canada?

Murray

Since I am on the love path, it would be completely inappropriate for me to not mention my co-elder Murray. He is the last person on earth who would take offense at not being mentioned, which is why it is nice to do it! Few people on earth are more a part of my life and ministry and more supportive of it than Murray. He is more than a brother.

Mrs. Martin

A lovefest is never complete without talking about one’s wife. I rarely do that on this blog for a host of reasons... but you should know I love her like no other. No man deserves a wife – and in no fashion does this man deserve a wife so wonderful!

See you tomorrow if you are coming!

Worship in Song – You Can Pray for Us!

One more day until the big Worship in Song Conference. I just finished my final preparations for the three sessions and one workshop I will be leading. The conference booklet is getting printed. Books to sell are getting packed up and ready to be moved (including Tim Challies’ Discipline of Spiritual Discernment which he may even sign for you!). Secret gifts are being packed. This looks like a great time.

One thing I would like to do today is thank our friends at Sovereign Grace Ministries. They have been very supportive of this conference in ways that I will announce on Saturday and perhaps later on this blog.

A dear brother called today to see how I was doing. He mentioned that he expected some spiritual attack since we were taking the time to consider the primary activity of every Christian – worship. It made me think that even if you are not able to attend, it would be great if you could pray for us. Like any meeting, there are a million things that could go wrong even with the best of planning. Please pray that the Lord is glorified no matter what the circumstances!

As a way of saying thanks, we will be sure to let you know when the audio for these sessions is posted. They will be available for free download in the near future.

Worship in Song Conference - Only 2 Days to Go!

Are you a procrastinator? Well, you may be okay.

The Worship in Song Conference has been filled up for a while now, but we had a couple of spots open up in the last few minutes. If you are still interested in coming to the conference, then send an email to julian[at]gfcto[dot]com and we will try to fit you in.

We are all getting quite excited to meet you and serve you as the day approaches. We have lots of great stuff to do, talk about and give away – I should think it will be a really fun day.

Worship in Song Conference - Two Weeks to Launch!

Well, call us nice guys. We decided to open up about 10 more spots for the Worship in Song Conference. So, if your team was thinking of coming and thinking there was not enough room... email now! Operators are standing by! Send an email with your full name to julian[at]gfcto[dot]com. But please be quick... we really don’t have much more space!

I also got word today that our gift count for registrants should be a little bigger. Some of this will depend on shipping and friendly customs agents, but it looks promising. We love to give stuff away! You can pray it gets here on time.

If you are already registered, please feel free to bring your instrument (no pipe organs please – not enough room) for the workshop time. I am really excited about these workshops. Our goal is to pool resources and humbly learn from one another. Different folks from Grace Fellowship Church will be leading each workshop and serving you by directing the conversation. It underlies one of the major truths of this conference – we don’t know it all! We want to learn from you.

I perused the list of registrants today and see lots of names I know and lots I don’t know – about 50-50 I would guess. That’s great! Another great benefit of times like these is forging new relationships with brothers and sisters in the Gospel.

So, register today if you are coming. And we will see you on March 1^st... bright and early!

Free Stuff at the Worship in Song Conference

Free stuff.

Why do we love getting stuff for free? I have watched pastors trample one another to score a free book or chocolate bar. I am not joking. I was in a store last year when a sales clerk got stampeded as he brought out a flat of some toaster ovens or something. Not free, but a loss leader and people went nuts.

Ah well, who doesn’t like free?

Those folks who come to the Worship in Song Conference are going to get some free stuff. Of course, they pay $10 to register, but that hardly covers the cost of what we hope to give them. I won’t spoil all the secrets, but I think it will be fun.

There are officially only THREE spots left for the conference. Since it remains a couple of weeks away, we are going to start a Waiting List for those who register after those three spots fill. If there are any cancellations or we can increase our venue, you will be contacted on a first come, first served basis. And then you can get your free stuff!

38 Hindrances...

In my class on Worship at Toronto Baptist Seminary, I asked my students to identify five ways they are a hindrance to the Corporate Worship of God. Their lists were very interesting and I assembled a bit of a highlight reel here. I think it is a great question to ask yourself before next Sunday – how do I hinder the worship of God at my church? Here are some of the items my guys came up with...

1. Not even thinking about how God desires to be worshiped
2. Sin in my life
3. Not showing up at all
4. Being grumpy
5. Not arriving grateful for the cross
6. Not praying in advance
7. Being tired or lazy
8. Taking pride in my contributions to the service
9. Distracted by the details and running of the service
10. Showing up late
11. Processing other things than what is happening in the service
12. Worrying about what my kids are doing
13. Looking for a pen and writing a cheque
14. Not fixing relational problems with others in the church
15. Thinking more about the process of worship than the One I am to worship
16. Roaming mind
17. Pride in thinking I could do better than what the person up front is doing
18. Not going to bed early enough on Saturday night
19. Watching car races [insert your program of choice here] so that a) I am late for services and b) my mind is dwelling on them not the Lord
20. Not worshiping God through the week
21. Not paying attention to what I sing or say in worship
22. Worrying about what I wore
23. Wanting the service to be perfect and growing discontent with mistakes
24. Being more excited about friends than God
25. Timing the pastors prayers
26. Viewing the singing as a time of entertainment
27. Trying to get friends to laugh by distracting them in immature ways
28. Enjoying the melody of a song more than delighting in God
29. Pride of thinking I could play a certain instrument better
30. Criticizing every little aspect of the service in my mind
31. Pride of thinking God must be impressed with the way I am worshiping!
32. Doing outward things in order to gain others’ attention
33. Sitting with people I know will lead me to talk and not pay attention
34. Thinking about the problems of my week rather than on the worship of God
35. Not confessing sin
36. Failing to prepare for worship
37. Over-analyzing songs and sermons so that I never think of Christ
38. Doing a shoddy job in my contributions to corporate worship

Got any to add?

Registration Almost Full!!!

Still thinking about attending the Worship in Song Conference on March 1^st? You had better think fast, as there are only 14 spots left before we cap registrations! You can register today by sending an email to julian[at]gfcto[dot]com. Include your full name and put "Worship in Song Registration" in the subject line.

We will begin a waiting list once we reach our limit. If there is a considerable number on the list we are open to changing venues, so keep an eye here and in your inbox to verify things closer to the date.

Worship in Song Conference! (March 1, 2008)

[UPDATE: Registrations nearly doubled overnight since this posting. Please do be sure to sign up soon if you hope to come!!]



The details of this year's Worship in Song Conference are really starting to come together nicely. I am expecting this to be a great time together.

One of the things we are trying at this conference is a series of workshops for all the different folks involved in leading other worshippers. You need to come with your ideas since we want these times to be a pooling of great ideas and the application of Truth.

The registrations are beginning to take off - so if you are planning to come, please get us your name ASAP. We plan to limit enrollment to 80 people.