alexschwindt.com

one of the most stressful, worst-paying jobs is . . .

This just in from CNNMoney.com - it's now official.  Most of you probably saw the headline and knew the answer already, but it's always nice to see it in writing.  Number 5, with a bullet, on the list of most stressful, worst-paying jobs is . . . Music Ministry Director. 

On behalf of music ministry directors everywhere, we like to thank the closed-minded traditionalists, the stage parents, and each and every diva we've been blessed to work with.  And we'd especially like to thank that special group of people, Senior Pastors.  We could never have gotten here without your personal ambitions, your people-pleasing-knee-jerk reactions, and your willingness to throw us under the bus for a slight amount of relational credit from people who won't ever be happy until you turn time back to 1955.  Thank you.

a million miles in a thousand years review

This isn't going to be an objective review.  I tried writing that, but I just can't do it.  To write a critique of Donald Miller's writing would sort of be like critiquing myself, my life and my generation.  Not that I, or anyone else in my generation for that matter, can write as well as Donald Miller.  We can't.  But Miller is doing more than simply writing books or collections of essays.  In many ways Miller is writing the story of my generation, and every time I read a new book of his I'm reminded just how much he's writing about me. 

There are a few artists who come along every decade or so who do more than make pretty pictures, entertaining blockbusters or top 40 hits.  They are artists compelled to create work that will tell the world something about who we are as human beings, that will explain for future generations what it was like to be alive and engaged in this unique moment in time.  They are the voices of their generation.  John Mayer is one such artist.  Donal Miller is another. 

who I am, not what I do

So this blog is supposed to be about life, art and God, and I'm realizing I haven't been writing much about the journey lately.  The past year has been difficult for me in some ways.  Any time you step back from something you love (in my case being a worship arts pastor) there are bound to be some echos of longing for your old life.  The great thing is that God never stops growing us right in the hear and now.

I am more than what I do for for a living.  Finding the living, breathing reality of that truth has been extraordinary.

the most important question

Over the last ten years I've had the chance to talk with numerous churches and leaders about reaching my generation.  I used to tell them that postmoderns weren't interested in what you could prove was true; they wanted to know what works for you.  It think John Burke has gotten closer to the real heart of the question being asked.  He puts it this way -

Postmoderns don't care about what's 'true'; they question they are asking is 'Do I want to be like you?'

Does that question rattle you?  It definitely messes with me a little, mostly because I think it's right on the money.  And so I have to ask if there's anything about me that would stand in the way of sharing the Gospel with my life . . .

saturation point

"Of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh." - Ecclesiastes 12:12b

Lately, I've been reading a lot of books.  Books about ministry.  Books about the Bible.  Books about church planting.  Books about leadership.  Books about theology.  Books about culture.  

By and large these have been great books.  Many of them have been recommended by friends, and most of them have been really helpful.  Some of them have been encouraging.  A few of them have been outright inspiring.  But I'm starting to get a little bit warn out. 

One of the great points about this time in my life is learning about who God's created me to be.  And learning about what he's created me to do.  I love the action, the orthopraxy of The Commission.  Reading a great book makes me want to move. 

What's hard for me is reading 10 books and being patient.  Anyone else ever felt that? 

things to come . . .

"Movements are like this.  They are grassroots, often underground, and they start with crazy people who are willing to believe in the impossible.  Movements never start in the corporate offices with executives drawing up a master plan.  Looking for the best and the brightest and recruiting them to the work is not how world-changing movements start.

If we truly want to see the world changed, we must begin as a band of madmen, welcoming other crazy people who want to be part of something bigger than themselves."

Neil Cole, Organic Leadership

kingdom come at starbucks

So I was at Starbucks this afternoon.  The woman making my coffee behind the counter was someone I'd recently struck up a friendship with.  She asked me what I was up to, and I told her I was taking a couple of hours to read and pray about church planting.  As she handed me my coffee she pointed out another patron in the shop who was an Episcopal priest launching a new church plant himself. 

Of course, this was just too interesting of an opportunity to pass up.  I pulled up a nearby chair and began to engage the priest in an interesting and animated conversation about church planting and Overland Park.  Maybe ten minutes later another person sitting nearby had joined out conversation.  A couple of minutes after that two high school juniors joined our conversation to tell us about the Saturday bible study they had started last weekend.  Before the conversation was over, even one of the baristas had taken their break, grabbed a coffee and pulled up a seat to tell us about his church experience.  It was the Kingdom come, right there at Starbucks on a Thursday afternoon. 

So here's the encouragement for today - next time you're hanging out at your favorite coffee shop (like "It's a Grind" on 151st), make sure to keep your eyes and ears open.  I know it's awesome to power up the laptop, fire up iTunes, pop on some great headphones, left-hand clutch a double-mocha chai and get lost in a good book.  That's some goodness, but it's not worth missing a Kingdom moment.  So heads up!

worship leader nightmare

If you're a worship leader and something like this hasn't happened to you yet, just give it time.  Good for a laugh . . .

video and digital storytelling

It's exciting and encouraging to see ministry leaders and church planters begin to grasp how crucial video will be moving into the future.  Missional churches are churches that speak the language of the culture they are in, and in the US culture that 'language' is video.  Now that we're beginning to accept this new reality, I think we need to challenge ourselves to become far more fluent in 'media.' 

Imagine for a moment if you felt called to share the gospel in El Salvador.  Would you take a one-week crash course in Spanish and then hop on the next plane out?  Would you buy a coffee table book about the country from your local Barnes and Noble and assume that would teach you everything you needed to know about the culture?  Of course not.  Yet so many Christian leaders today assume that a video camera and firewire is all you need to create compelling video. 

Speaking 'video' fluently really isn't any easier to master than any other language, and Christian leaders need to stop assuming it is.  If you participate in Christian worship experiences with any kind of frequency you've probably experienced a time when no video would have been better than the embarrassing video that was used.  The intentions were good, but the results were cringe-tastic. 

So how can take our media to the next level?  

a different kind of leadership

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.  It is not this way among you"

- Jesus (Matthew 20:25-26a)

I'm not sure if I'm lucky or blessed (or both) but the books I've been reading over the last several months have been uniformally great.  I know I've written this before, but it feels incredible when you read about something that you've been thinking and dreaming of for years.  "Organic Leadership" by Neil Cole is one of those dancing-around-the-coffeeshop-great books that a friend recommended to me last month. 

One of the most deeply held dreams I've had for years is to see the the local expression of the body of Christ led the way it was in the book of Acts, rather than by a hierarchy.  Trying to share this with most of my friends and colleges always seems to end the same way: "Well Alex, that sounds really great, but it will never work in the 'real world.'"  After enough of those conversations you can start to become discouraged.

Enter an author like Cole (and Allen and Hirsche and Stetzer) . . .