In worshiping God, we do three things simultaneously: 1) Acknowledge who He is [Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and worthy of praise]; 2) Acknowledge who we are [incomplete apart from His presence, provision, forgiveness, love and guidance] ; 3) Confess our absolute dependance upon Him. As worship leaders, we play an important role in the church as purveyors of corporate and personal worship.

Worship isn’t simply limited to the song service before the sermon. Rather, as an act of prayer, it is all of life (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Our bodies were intended to be temples of worship (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And according to Scripture, every believer is a priest whose duty is to bring sacrifices to God (1 Peter 2:9). The sacrifice we bring to God is ourselves–living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to Him (Romans 12:1-2). The temple priests in the Old Testament took turns serving within a 24-hour period. Now as priests ourselves, each believer serves God 24 hours a day. So, worship is an around-the-clock exercise! We offer our thoughts, our motives, our jobs, our friends, our family, our wills and our future to Him in worship.

Since we were created to worship God and fellowship with Him, worship is the ultimate virtue. Therefore when we worship, we are fulfilling our true purpose– mentally, spiritually and physically. The honor given to us as worship leaders is to facilitate worship in the congregation–helping to raise up priests in the church.

I was recently in a suburb of Pittsburgh working with the worship team of a small church. In attendance was a marriage and family counselor who also served as a volunteer on the worship team. He interjected a very interesting perspective on worship from his years of education and experience in counseling. His comments were so poignant that I asked if I could share them here.

Bill Halle, founder and CEO of Grace Youth and Family Foundation in Butler, Pennsylvania, has worked with many broken and battered lives over the years. As a therapist, he has helped bring many to healing through Christ. The thoughts he shares should encourage those of us who lead to better understand the importance of worship in the church.

In the realm of behavioral science and counseling, we know that human emotions do not know the difference between what is right and what is wrong, or what is real and what is not real. Our emotions simply respond to the stimuli on which we choose to focus our thoughts. If we fill our minds with Satan’s lies/error, our emotions will ultimately lead us to choices of sinful behavior. If we fill our minds with God’s word/truth our emotions will ultimately lead us to choices of Godly behavior. This is the importance of the simple principles found in Philippians 4:8, 2 Corinthians 10:5 and 1Corinthians 6:12. It is on what we focus our conscious thoughts that will make all the difference in our life experience and walk of faith (Proverbs 23:7 John 8:31).

Satan intentionally leads people’s emotions to sinful behavior with error. We as worship leaders must be equally if not more intentional about leading people’s emotions to godly behavior through the truth of His word.

Our job as a worship leader is vital to the health of the church. It isn’t to simply pump out music each week, but to partner with the pastor to raise up priests!

I am a blessed guy. I have a wonderful wife with whom I am very much in love. Brenda and I live in a quaint little town 30 minutes south of Nashville. When we bought this house 10 years ago in July, we couldn’t have predicted the contentment we would feel about this place today.

We really love our home. It’s not the Taj Mahal, but it’s just the right size for the two of us. When Betsy and Josh moved out three years ago, we did a complete overhaul of each bedroom. With a fresh coat of paint, cleaned carpets, new bedding and a few new accent pieces, we had their old lairs transformed into hotel rooms, of sorts. Even though the kids love to come over, spend a night in the Hotel Harvill, and get a free breakfast from “yours truly,” they wouldn’t want to come back to stay for anything. But that ain’t stopping me from getting them here as often as possible!

I am relishing the hang time with the whole clan lately, made possible by Betsy and Adam’s recent return to Nashville, and Josh and Amber’s close proximity. As a proud papa, I love to be surrounded by the people I adore. I don’t think that most soon-to-be-married folks fully consider just how important the establishment of their own family will become–that it will probably evolve into the epicenter of their lives one day.

So, the fridge is stocked, the rooms are ready, and we are hoping the kids make a reservation at the Hotel Harvill soon!

If you haven’t already heard of the documentary film about the hermit mother and daughter living in squalor in East Hampton, NY, you will probably want to rent the DVD after you read this. I stumbled upon this film a few years ago while desperately looking for something to stream from our beloved and oft-used Netflix account.

In my search, I was strangely drawn to a photo of a woman in front of a dilapidated mansion. The caption below it read that this woman was a first cousin of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and that she and her mother were living a pauper’s existence in the midst of opulent surroundings. Their names were Edith “Big Edie” Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Edith “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale (pictured).

The documentary film was released in 1975 by Albert and David Maysles, with Susan Froemke, Ellen Hovde, and Muffie Meyer. It is entitled Grey Gardens–the house where Big and Little Edie lived for 50 years– a decrepit mansion at 3 West End Road in the wealthy Georgica Pond neighborhood of East Hampton. The house was built in 1897, and was purchased in 1923 by Phelan and Edith Beale.

The film follows these two ladies–Big Edie, then age 79, and Little Edie, 57, as they live amongst their many cats and the crumbling ruins of what once was a beautiful vacation home for the rich family. They survived for decades with limited funds, resulting in squalor and almost total isolation. The misfortune began when Mr. Phelan Beale, Big Edie’s estranged husband, a rich and powerful attorney, left his family in the early 30s for another woman. Little Edie says in the doc that her father finalized the separation with a cheap Mexican divorce. Soon after, even Big Edie’s own father, Mr. Bouvier, greatly diminished his financial support after she reportedly embarrassed him with eccentric behavior amongst the social elite of New York. Left with only the property of Grey Gardens (named for the grey sand dunes that led to the beach from the home), and no other family to claim them, Big Edie and her daughter did their best to live with what little money they had.

The documentary follows the ladies as they incessantly talk of glory years past–almost as if they are eerily dancing with ghosts of decades gone by. Watching the ladies dress up in make-shift costumes and sing old Broadway tunes from the turn of the twentieth century can be a bit disturbing, in a “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” kind of way. Even the cats are often shown reacting to the strange behavior of their caretakers.

There is a cult following with this film–even Madonna is a fan. Little Edie has inspired many a clothing designer with her strange bath towel turban creations adorned with a golden broach (you’ll have to see it to understand!). Even a Broadway musical and an HBO movie starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore have been produced in recent years.

The sad part is how, even as the neighboring homes on the dunes continue to display the excesses of the elite, these two ladies can live amongst cat and raccoon feces, crumbling plaster and wood–lost and forgotten by society. Watching this causes me to feel both amused and horrified (you can make your own judgements after you watch the film for yourself). I can’t help but compare Grey Gardens with the 1950’s movie, Sunset Boulevard. It’s creepy how people can continue to live in the past–as if time stood still. I guess we all do that, to some extent.

Big Edie died in 1977 and Little Edie sold the house in 1979. Little Edie died in 2002 at the age of 84.

Performing is what makes the trouble of planning, travel, rehearsal and sound check worth it. Writing and recording are the other aspects of music I love. When I perform, I am aware that each audience is unique; the same group of people will never assemble like this again. Isn’t it funny that you can sing the same songs, with the same musical and technical elements, and each audience will react in a different way?

When I play guitar in a band setting, and am not leading or singing, I get the opportunity to look out into the audience and take mental notes of the human landscape. Its kind of like when you travel in the back seat of a car as a passenger without having the responsibility of driving, and you notice things you never could if you were at the helm. As I scan the audience, even if I am not looking at particular people, the audience feels like I’m looking right into their eyes. I love to make connections like that. I love performing in front of people, and I especially love it when the audience and performer become one. That’s when the fun stuff begins!

James Taylor is a master at drawing-in his audience. I had the opportunity to see him in concert several years ago. His “awe shucks” demeanor during his performance is endearing. He is a master at disarming his listeners. That way we can relax, take it all in, and fall into the sweet abyss of emotion as he sings the soundtrack of our lives.

James says in the video below that a live performance is a common emotional experience for the performer and the audience. Yes, as performers, we must get ready, practice and prepare for the performance. But we must surrender to the moment–to be present in our live performances. That’s why each performance, even though they contain the same elements, can be received and enjoyed in various ways by different audiences.

In the video below, James is promoting his Carnegie Hall performances from earlier this year.

Memorial Day is almost upon us. The door to warmer weather, family vacations and the summer movie blockbuster is just around the bend. I’ve been thinking about how these summer movies of 2011 will be remembered, not long after the pools are covered and the first frost of fall sets in.

I went to the AMC (American Movie Classics) website and found a list of the all-time top 100 box office films. I was specifically interested in the top grossing U.S. films, adjusted for inflation (movie tickets prices today can’t be compared to those in decades past). As I pursued the list, I was surprised at what was present and what was missing. Below are the top 10 of the 100 I found:

1. Gone With the Wind (1939)
2. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
3. The Sound of Music (1965)
4. E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5. The Ten Commandments (1956)
6. Titanic (1997)
7. Jaws (1975)
8. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
9. The Exorcist (1973)
10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Now, I’ll have to agree that all 10 are great movies. In fact, I own 7 of these movies on DVD or Blu-ray. I was surprised to see that Alfred Hitchcock only had one movie on the complete top 100 list, the great Rear Window. I didn’t see Sunset Boulevard, The Wizard of Oz or It’s a Wonderful Life. But I did see The Towering Inferno, and The Poseidon Adventure (very hyped movies at the time that started a craze in action-packed destruction movies).

2010’s top movie box office titles are not surprising–probably because they are still fresh in our memories. I do agree that Toy Story 3 is an all-time classic…but we’ll have to wait and see; future generations will make their judgements with an objective perspective, far from the present-day cultural bias that may influence our choices. Below are the top box office movies of 2010:

1. Toy Story 3
2. Alice in Wonderland
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
4. Inception
5. Shrek Forever After
6. Eclipse
7. Iron Man 2
8. Tangled
9. Despicable Me

Summer 2011 is in for some big movies. Among them are: The Pirates of the Caribbean:On Stranger Tides, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Hangover 2, Cowboys and Aliens, Super 8, Thor, Kung Fu Panda 2, and the much awaited Cars 2 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Will any of these movies make it on the top 100 lists of the future? Certainly some will. But the coveted list of the most beloved movies of all time is reserved for those films that, despite the hype and the big box office returns, speak deep into our human hearts with truth, beauty and timelessness–and of course, through great entertainment.