First off, I haven’t always been a bald worship guy. I started out with nice hair…thick and sorta wavy…where did it all go? Anyway, that was many moons ago. Actually, I had no plans or aspirations to be a worship leader at all. But God had different plans for my life. So, in 1999 I began to lead worship and have been doing it ever since. I now know this is what I was made for. That doesn’t always make it an easy path, but it is reassuring to really believe you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, at least for me.
Here’s a brief worship-related (church setting) bio:
- Jan. 1999 - Solid Rock Baptist Church, Fort Worth Texas. This was supposed to be for 2 weeks, and ended up being 4+ years. Little did I know…these years were probably the sweetest for me looking back. I had no idea what I was doing and therefore didn’t put limits on what was possible. It was sometimes akin to the blind leading the blind, but it was a great experience. I was there to transition a very traditional church into a mainstream contemporary worship experience, and saw the congregation grow from 20 to 200.
- Feb. 2003 - Cross Timbers Community Church in Argyle, Texas. God really opened up a huge door for me to be a part of what He was up to at Cross Timbers. My time there was relatively short, but I learned so much so quickly. I was challenged in ways I had never been before. I learned so many songs in so short a time, it was a little surreal. This was my first “real” job after 10 years of owning my own audio/visual recording production company.
- Jul. 2004 - Sparks Christian Fellowship Lisa and I took the plunge head-first and answered God’s call to move our family to Reno, Nevada. We had neither one ever been there (I thought it was close to Vegas). This marked the first time we had lived outside of Texas or the D/FW area for that matter. Leaving our families behind, with 2 young children and a third on the way was pretty tough. I won’t lie, there were times during the first few months that I thought moving was a mistake. Looking back now, I see that God was preparing us for the future. He also used that time to grow me as a leader and strengthen my marriage. With no family support, we had to learn to really rely on each other in a new way.
- Sept. 2007 – The Church at Burleson, Burleson, Texas. Reno was never really “home” for either of us, and we missed Texas from the day we left. After sensing God “releasing” us from our work in Nevada, our heart’s desire was to go home. After considering a few different churches, we landed at the Church at Burleson, just south of Fort Worth. This was an opportunity to work with a long-time friend and be half an hour from the grandparents. I won’t lie and say it was all a bed of roses, though. This 2+ year period was most definitely the most challenging time I have faced in ministry. The church has been through many changes – some before I got there and many since I have moved on. We still have dear friends at TCAB and I miss the worship team and staff I had the privelege to work alongside. One huge blessing during my time there was I had the opportunity to speak on Sunday mornings on occasion, write small group curriculum, write and edit the pastor’s sermons, and be very hands-on in the day-to-day workings of the church.
- Oct. 2009 – ? Burke Community Church, Burke Virginia. I had never even visited D.C. I had no desire to live on the east coast. Yankees? Redskins fans? Snow? Not a good combination for a Texas boy. But with God, I’ve learned “never say never”. And so, here we are. I moved east in October of ’09 and Lisa and the kids followed in December. The transition has been a bit bumpy at best. We survived the worst winter in recorded history (nothing says “welcome to virginia” like 30+ inches of snow in a day!). The church is growing. I am being stretched. I believe God is being glorified in my life and in the life of this church. We get it right sometimes…hopefully more often than not. We’re human (well, I can’t exactly speak for Nace, but…). The pace of life here is unlike anything I’ve seen before which is exhausting at times, but God is still in control. Amen.
Nace is human. He told me so. Once.
As a native of this area, I wish to defend it. This is a really great area!! Just take some time to learn all of the facinating history here that goes all the way back to the times of the Civil War. Among other facts, did you know that George Washington was an elder of The Falls Church? I want you to know that not everyone is from some other place. There are many people that are “from here.” Now there is really not a city of Burke or Springfield per se; but among others, there is the City of Fairfax and the City of Falls Church, both of which are incorporated cities. So even though there is urban sprawl, there are some definite cities. You may wish to check out Falls Church if you wish to get away from urban sprawl. My sister found her house as she was driving past a house and the owner was out in the yard and stopped her and asked her if she was interested in buying that house. The interesting fact is that the house was not officially up for sale at that moment, so take heart in your search for a house.
Now as far as your back problems go. Have you tried going to a chiropractor? Chiropractors do adjustments of the spine and perhaps you just need a simple spine adjustment.
Yes, the Church is growing. And I get the sense that the Church leadership is in awe of the growth. Please, relax and DO NOT be in awe of the growth. Did Jesus agonize over church growth? They came, he preached. Then he fed them and there was food that was left over. The church grew by 3,000 in one day and the elders were running themself ragged. They stopped, thought about it and then developed the office of the Deacon. So maybe the Church Leadership needs to appoint more Deacons and maybe even Assistant Deacons.
There are two major points concerning church growth that I wish to address. First of all, a church can be structured as a family or it can be structured as a corporation. I would most definitely like to see this Church structured as a family. Second, I would like to say that the most valuable thing that the church can do is to provide opportunities for discipleship. For those who ask, “Now that I’ve become a part of the church, what’s next?” You should be able to provide an answer to that question.
Eleanor,
Thanks for the comments.
Sorry if I offended you as a “native” of the area. Totally not my intent. Actually, I wrote that bio post eons ago.
But for sake of comparison, let’s compare native Texans to native Virginians. Compared to Texans, the natives here don’t compare. Not even close.
But the bigger thing is there AREN’T many natives around here, and I’m afraid many of them have acquired a non-native mentality. Try this test: while sitting at the next red light, wait a mere second and a half after it turns green and let me know if you get honked at. Try it all day and keep tabs. I’ve actually done it before. I’m telling you, people here are so uptight they can’t take just sitting at a red light for a second and a half.
That’s not to say that there aren’t folks in Texas who would honk, but I’ve actually tested it in both places. It’s measurably different here. Another one: go to Costco and try and find one single courteous driver in the parking lot (Fairfax location) – hard to come by. Or shop at the Burke Walmart and let me know how your experience is – I could go on…
The truth is, I believe many people here are driven to work hard, just so they can work harder – chasing the dream or promotion or rank or whatever is going to move them forward. In reality, it all burns in the end.
We can’t take our rank, titles, money, houses, cars, or anything else with us when we die.
I must say that I have met some very nice Virginians here. They do exist. Others are bitter about all the “outsiders” moving here and corrupting their small towns, but hey, at least it drove up their home values, right? lol.
As for the church growing and being in awe of it, I cannot speak for everyone, but for me personally, this church isn’t all that big. I was on a staff of a church that grew from 40 to 2,000 in 2 years, and then by another 1,200 the next year. Now that’s CRAZY growth…unmanageable growth. What we’re experiencing is steady growth – the best kind.
It is still a lot of new people in a short period of time. In the past 2 1/2 years, we’ve doubled in size. What makes it more challenging for a church like BCC is that they’ve been a medium sized church for a LONG time, so they’ve grown accustomed to that, unlike a startup church who is anticipating fast growth.
The structure of BCC, including the staff, number of Elders, etc. was set for a church about 1/2 our current size. We are understaffed if you look at other churches our size. The result is the overall sense that we’re shooting at a moving target and it’s quite difficult to be able to take the time and really prepare for the future.
Add to that the fact that a good sized percentage of our congregation moves away each year, and it is even more difficult to project for future growth.
As for Deacons, up until last year, this church had zero deacons so at least now we have some and are looking at adding to the number. Could we use more, absolutely. It’ll come.
As for your points regarding church growth, I find them very interesting.
All of us would like the feel of a family over that of a corporation. In reality, what family has 2,100 members? And by that, I mean what group of people that size anywhere truly feel like a family? If they do, it’s because some people are working their hearts out to make sure people “feel” that way. That takes an incredible amount of work. It’s kinda like when things seem spontaneous from the platform. A lot of work and planning go into making things seem to “just happen” or flow naturally. The reality is it’s a lot of work. Companies like Chick-Fil-A do an amazing job of making you feel like you’re just part of the family or an old friend popping by to grab some lunch. It all seems so natural and friendly. In truth, they POUND that into the brains of every single person who works there, and if you can’t get on board, you won’t last a month. It’s hard work, but I do believe it pays huge dividends. The reason I know is that I cannot remember the last negative experience I had dining at a Chick-Fil-A.
For BCC, the challenge is exacerbated because of the corporate nature of the VAST majority of our congregants. We aren’t a “let your hair down” church. We are, what I like to say, “conservative contemporary”. I think that description is pretty accurate. So the “feel” of things is always going to naturally gravitate toward more formal or corporate, and it’s a real challenge to make it feel otherwise. That isn’t bad, either. It’s just part of our congregation’s natural DNA.
As for opportunities for discipleship, I totally agree. I also believe we offer considerably more opportunities than most other churches in the area. From classes on Sundays, Men’s base camp, Women’s Breakaway, Wednesday night classes for both men and women, prayer groups, small groups, core classes and mentoring opportunities for both men and women, BCC has a lot to offer. The challenge is getting people to engage and commit to be a part of these opportunities. I don’t believe it’s from a lack of caring, at least from most. I think it goes back to my original point about northern Virginia. The pace of life here eats people up. It dictates their lives for them, leaving little margin for family time, discipleship, service or simply down time.
I cannot start rehearsals until 7pm because some band members cannot get here until then, and often they are late. They are coming straight from work, having left their houses at least twelve hours earlier. That is unique to this area. CNN had a story late last year that reported that DC is now the holder of these dubious titles: Longest work week, worst traffic, longest commute times, and 2nd only to LA for road rage.
So, not only do people have to come straight to work after a 12 hour day just to get to rehearse with the praise band, but they do it after being completely fried by traffic and high stress jobs.
This is the reason I have found it pretty difficult making close friends here. No one has any time, and if they do, I would rather them spend it with their families than with me.
Hopefully, when someone joins BCC and goes through the “new members” class, they are made fully aware of the myriad of options available for “next steps” at BCC. My fear is many do not ever go through that class and instead choose to never take that step. Unfortunately, we cannot make anyone go any further than they are willing.
Of course, God has put a few people in my life, of which I am very grateful. As for Virginia, we don’t hate it. It’s pretty. The trees are nice. The history is neat. Falls Church is pretty cool. The traffic getting there is not. Trying to find parking is not. Fredericksburg is nice. Get at least 30 minutes outside of the area, and the whole scene changes. People in Fredericksburg, or Williamsburg, or Lynchburg…all quite nice Virginians.
So, in a nutshell, I do like Virginia – it’s not Texas, but what is? At least it’s not as hot here!! And then there’s the trees. Who cares if I’ll have to commute from Front Royal. haha.