help us finish well....  
They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. Exodus 36:3  
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON END OF THE YEAR GIVING  
We are thankful for those of you who sacrificially give to support the preaching of the Gospel of God's Grace financially. I hope you know that you are an integral part in the birth of a miracle called Worship Life Calvary Chapel. It has been said where God guides, He provides. But it has also been said that He provides through His people. That's where you and I come in. As you prepare to make your year-end gift, please keep in mind that you can receive tax benefits as long as we receive your gift by the following cut off dates in compliance with current tax laws. Here are the guidelines:  
Online: Online gifts must be submitted before 11:00pm on December 31. All online gifts submitted after 11:00pm on that date will be credited to 2012. CLICK HERE TO GIVE ONLINE  
Cash, check, and money order gifts sent by mail: These must be postmarked AND dated in 2011. Mail postmarked and checks dated in 2012 will NOT be credited to your 2011 giving statement. CLICK HERE FOR OUR MAILING ADDRESS  
Additional Methods Of Giving can include...Gifts of Appreciated Stocks of BondsGifts of Real EstateGifts of Life Insurance (naming Worship Life as the benficiary)Income Life GiftsBequests
The ministry of Worship Life touches over 28 countries through our webcast, podcast and online streaming. But more importantly, you are making a difference locally in South Orange County. Thank you for giving sacrificially to support the work of this ministry. We are a local church with a global vision. Your prayer and financial support are an encouragement to us and a blessing to all those around the world who hear the preaching of the Gospel of God's Grace through Worship Life Calvary Chapel San Clemente.    
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“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." (Luke 2:10)

As I've spent time with you all, I've heard the same thing said over and over again... here comes the busiest time of year. When I worked in the horticultural industry, we would ship 200,000 poinsettia plants between Thanksgiving and the 2nd week of December. I was lucky to even get a few days off to get married. My favorite time of year was quickly swallowed up in the commercial busy-ness of the season. I even began to relate to old Scrooge and the Grinch. What do you do when you get overtaken like that? You pause for a moment and reflect on what it used to mean and you allow the Spirit to return you heart back to simpler days.

For me, I remember watching the great Christmas programs like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas and The Grinch That Stole Christmas. But my two favorite shows of all were Scrooge and The Little Drummer Boy. I loved Scrooge because it was the story of redemption. It reminded me every year that no one was too far gone for God to reach. It reminded me that God's grace was greatest shown at Christmas because it was the time of year when God drew near to man. I loved The Little Drummer Boy because it was the story of a little boy who was too poor to buy a gift for the King of Kings and so he simply gave the only thing he had - himself. That turned out to be the best gift of all.

I have another reason why I love Christmas. Because on December 17, 1983 I married Roxie, the love of my life. We dedicated our marriage and our family to the Lord and today we are happy to say that all our kids know Jesus. We're not perfect and we have many flaws, but we have Jesus and His grace is sufficient. This year we celebrate 28 years of marriage and the best is yet to come.

Our prayer for you this holiday season is that you will PAUSE, take a step back and reflect on the things that really matter. Reflect on the fact that you're sins are forgiven, God's love and favor is on you. Reflect on your family and friendships. Reflect on God's faithfulness over the years and especially remember the lost, the least and the forgotten.

We are webcasting our services. You can view them at USTREAM. You can also catch up on studies that you've missed or perhaps your following us from a distance at VIMEO. JUST FOR FUN... I WROTE A NEW CHRISTMAS SONG CALLED IT'S CHRISTMASTIME.

Roxie and I are praying for you...

Blessings

P.HD


BUILDING UPDATE
We are continuing to receive donations for our building fund. If you would like to give, please place your donation in a white envelope and mark it BUILDING FUND on Sunday mornings. We have a new target amount of $ 130,000. God has provided through the congregation at Worship Life approximately half of what we need. Please understand that this is above your normal tithes and offerings to the church.

RADIO PROGRAM UPDATE
We are thankful for the opportunity to broadcast the gospel on a weekly basis on KWVE 107.9 FM. However we have made the decision to make December 24 our last program unless the Lord provides. We are still available on KIHL 103.7 FM in Hawaii and we will continue the Worship Life Radio podcast on iTunes. If the Lord is leading you to support the continued work on KWVE, please speak with Pastor Holland.

Happy Thanksgiving

happy thanksgiving from your familly at worship life

Roxie and I continue to be amazed at God's goodness in our lives. We are thankful for our family, our friends, our health. We are thankful for God's provision and grace and we are thankful for each of you who make up our extended family at Worship Life Calvary Chapel San Clemente. May God bless you richly this Thanksgiving and may you know His love that knows no bounds.. P.HD

PAUSE AND SAY THANKS...

“In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

In a few days we'll be joining family and friends for Thanksgiving. I read recently that Thanksgiving is known for two things - Food and Football. Seems like a far cry from it's intended purpose of thanking God for His protection and provision. It was Abraham Lincoln that made the first Thanksgiving Proclamation, but the very first Thanksgiving took place many years earlier when the first pilgrims survived a brutal winter and in the nick of time received much needed supplies from England. They simply gathered around a table and thanked God for saving them. When I think of the abundance of supplies we have in our modern culture today, we have much to be thankful for.

I'd like to issue a Thanksgiving Challange. From now until Thanksgiving, I want to challange you to find something to thank God for every day. Especially when difficulty comes. Maybe it's a cloudy day. Thank God that not every day is cloudy. Maybe it's a challenging neighbor. Thank God for the opportunity to show unconditional love. Maybe you burned the Thanksgiving dinner. Thank God that you'll get to the dessert sooner. See what will happen in your hearts and minds if you would turn every negative situation into a time of giving thanks.

We are webcasting our services. You can view them at USTREAM. You can also catch up on studies that you've missed or perhaps your following us from a distance at VIMEO.

Roxie and I are praying for you...

Blessings

P.HD

BUILDING UPDATE
We are continuing to receive donations for our building fund. If you would like to give, please place your donation in a white envelope and mark it BUILDING FUND on Sunday mornings. Please understand that this is above your normal tithes and offerings to the church.

RADIO PROGRAM UPDATE
We are thankful for the opportunity to broadcast the gospel on a weekly basis on KWVE 107.9 FM. However, the principle we operate on is where God guides He provides. We have finances to support the program through the end of the year. If you are interested in continuing to support the program, please send your donations to Worship Life Calvary Chapel, PO Box 5946, San Clemente, CA. 92674 and make sure you write that it's for Worship Life Radio. You can contribute Sunday mornings and write it on an envelope for Worship Life Radio as well. We want to be good stewards with what God has given us.

Today, Ford repossessed my sons car.  I am so upset at the Villa Ford Dealership in Orange.  My son was diagnosed as mentally ill several years back.  He barely lives on his Social Security Check.  When his grandfather died he was given his truck.  It was in great shape.  It gave him the ability to have transportation without a car payment.  During one of his psychotic episodes, the Villa Ford Dealership in Orange took his grandfather's truck on trade and slapped him with a $400.00 a month car payment.  They said that his Social Security Check - which is given by the government for food and shelter only - was counted as income.  Additionally, at the time he was homeless.  Apparently, Ford Credit company will give someone a $ 400.00 a month car payment with no income and no address and living on SSI.  We contacted Ford Credit to get some kind of help and they could offer nothing.  We contacted the dealership and they said we were out of luck.  What kind of company takes advantage of a mentally ill person on SSI?  Now they are telling us the car is repossessed and my son - who is on SSI  - is now responsible for the difference of the loan to what they sell the car for.  I am incensed by the salesmen that are so greedy for gain that they would take advantage of the downtrodden and now Ford Credit is going to further burden the poor and helpless with a bill he will never be able to pay back?  Whoever runs the Ford Corporation needs to take a hard look at the people they allow to represent them on a dealership level.  This is an outrage.

P.HD.

WHAT DID YOU SAY?“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." (Hebrews 8:12)

This week at Worship Life Calvary Chapel San Clemente is a special time. The first Sunday of the month we celebrate communion. It's a time for us to remember two things. (1) The Lord is our God. (2) He alone saves us and delivers us from bondage. There are many who teach, when you come to the Communion Table you need to make sure you clean the slate before God and confess all your known sins so you can partake with a pure heart. I think we often come to Christ with our list of sins that we did that week and He listens and says to us... what did you say? We continue with our confession and then He stops us and says... what did you do? I don't remember that.

The truth is when we come to communion, our sins and lawless deeds are remembered no more. Instead, what Jesus notices is that we are still conscious of our sinfulness and not conscious of His righteousness. He notices we are still living under the shadow of the Law instead of living in the shadow of the cross. Next time you take communion, I want you to meditate on two things. (1) Meditate on the reality that the Lord is YOUR God. You have access to Him anytime you want day or night. He loves His people and you are His people. (2) Meditate on the reality that He saved you and delivered you from bondage to sin - PAST TENSE. It is finished. According to Jesus, we who believe in Him are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We are not defined by our sin and we are not bound by our sin. We are free to love Jesus fully and completely. Let that sink in and watch it change your life.

We are webcasting our services. You can view them at USTREAM. You can also catch up on studies that you've missed or perhaps your following us from a distance at VIMEO.

Roxie and I are praying for you...
Blessings
P.HD

BUILDING UPDATE
We have decided to form a LLC to raise the funds to purchase the building. This is an investment opportunity that will yield 4% versus less than 1% with a bank. If you are interested in participating in this, please contact us at (949) 228-9117. We are also continuing to receive donations for our building fund. If you would like to give, please place your donation in a white envelope and mark it BUILDING FUND on Sunday mornings. Please understand that this is above your normal tithes and offerings to the church.

NEW RADIO PROGRAM
Become a prayer partner for our new radio program - WORSHIP LIFE RADIO - broadcasting Saturday nights at 10:30 pm on KWVE 107.9 FM. We are excited about what the Lord will do as we proclaim God's Love through His Word. If you're interested in supporting the program financially, please use the white envelopes and mark it WORSHIP LIFE RADIO.

HERE IS AN ARTICLE I ORIGINALLY WROTE FOR TECHNOLOGIES FOR WORSHIP MAGAZINE...

There is no doubt that we are living in one of the most prolific and creative times for worship music in the history of Christianity. It reminds me of something a pastor once told me... during times of spiritual awakening there is a renewed passion for God’s Word, a changed lifestyle devoted to prayer and the outpouring of new worship songs. We see evidence of this outpouring and focus on songs of praise via the proliferation of worship songs making their way on top 40 radio charts, the advent of top selling “worship” artists and even the rise of independent websites devoted to providing new distribution channels for the song of faith. Worship even made the stage of American Idol as battling contestants joined together to sing Shout To The Lord.

PANELISTS


Rick Cua
Recording Artist
rickcua.com
Franklin, TN
Rick was a member of a successful mainstream rock group, The Outlaws, then continued for more than 15 years as a Christian recording artist, serving for more than 5 years as an executive of EMI Christian Music Publishing, and 16 years as an ordained minister. He released 11 albums, with six #1 songs and nine Top 5 hits, and a Dove Award nomination.


Holland Davis
Assistant Pastor
Ocean Hills Community Church
San Juan Capistrano, CA
Holland Davis is an award winning and Platinum selling songwriter and worship leader. He is the director of Worship Life, Inc. and the founder of www.worshipsong.com


Brian Doerksen
Teaching Pastor/Worship Arts
The Bridge
Abbotsford, BC
A Canadian recording artist, songwriter and producer, Brian helped plant a new interdenominational church called ‘The Bridge’ in Abbotsford BC. October 2007 at the GMA Covenant Awards, Brian was nominated for 6 categories and received awards in all 6 categories. In April 2008, Brian received the Canadian Juno Award for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year.


Joel Engle
Lead Pastor
The Exchange
Keller, TX
For over 20 years, Joel Engle has traveled the world leading worship and teaching the Bible. Joel has written and recorded many songs that have been heard on the radio, sung in churches and recorded by other artists.


Rick Founds
Worship Leader/Songwriter
Rick Founds Music
Fallbrook, CA
Rick Founds has been leading worship since he was fourteen years of age. He has authored numerous songs that are used every week in church services worldwide. Some titles include: “Lord, I Lift Your Name On High”, “I Love Your Grace”, Jesus, Mighty God”, “I Need You’, and “Jesus, Draw Me Close”.

Jamie Harvill
Worship Leader
World Outreach Church
Murfreesboro, TN
Jamie was an exclusive writer with Integrity and went on to write and record several worship classics including Firm Foundation, Because We Believe, Garments of Praise (Revival in Belfast) and My Heart (Already There), for artists like Ron Kenoly, Don Moen, Kim Hill (Focus On the Family), The Motor City Mass Choir, Newsong, Truth, Petra, Promise Keepers, Jeff and Sheri Easter, and others. He has several Gold and Platinum recordings to his credit.


Scott Reed
Worship Pastor
South County Christian Center
St. Louis, MO
Scott been a full-time Worship Pastor for 8 years. He has sung with Christian gospel groups, “Faith First” (www.faithfirst.net) & “The Heritage Singers” (www.heritagesingers.com). Written songs published by WorshipTogether/EMI, Maranatha! Music, Better Than New Music, Dwell Ministries and written songs recorded by Phillips, Craig & Dean, Raylene Scarrott, & various other independent artists.


Steve Rice
Vice President, Creative Development
Integrity Music
Brentwood, TN
A 20 year veteran of the Christian music industry, Steve Rice has been a leader in the creation and distribution of Christian music. He has worked with many top songwriters including Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, Toby Mac (DC Talk), Jon Foreman (Switchfoot), Paul Baloche, Nichole Nordeman, Matt Redman, Martin Smith (Delirious), Peter Furler (Newsboys), Israel Houghton and many others. He has been the recipient of numerous ASCAP and BMI “Publisher of the Year” awards.



With so many artists claiming to be worship leaders and so many songs claiming to be worship songs, it does warrant that we take a moment to pause and focus on the topic of songwriting as it applies to the song of faith. So TFWM contacted some of the key voices in the music industry and the worship community to talk candidly about the issue of songwriting for the worshipping community.


The following article is comprised of excerpts from these interviews. There is a lot of great material in this article, but we’ve had to shorten the full interviews given the depth of the responses. For those of you that want to read more from these folks, you can find the full interviews at www.tfwm.com/web-only


WHAT IS THE ROLE OF WORSHIP IN THE CHURCH TODAY?
One of the best descriptions I’ve heard for the function of worship songs in the corporate gathering is that worship is our prayers set to music. It is the corporate cry of the community expressed through simple melodies to God. That makes the worship leader the primary prayer leader of the church. Steve Rice, Vice President of Creative Development at Integrity Music says it like this: “Our deepest or strongest feelings are often best expressed by singing because setting them to music allows us to join together and express our prayers as a body with one voice and one heart.” Canadian recording artist, songwriter and producer Brian Doerksen agrees and carries this point further. “Worship songs provide God’s people with a powerful and wonderful way of bringing our hearts and our heads together in something that we can all participate in.” In fact, the time of corporate worship is really one of the only parts of the service that is truly interactive.


However, historically worship songs have had a greater significance and use in other ways as well. Joel Engle, who is Lead Pastor at a new church called The Exchange in Keller, TX expands his use of songs to include more than just the corporate expression of prayer. “Worship songs also teach the truth of God’s Word and can be used as evangelistic tools when non-believers heard the message of the gospel in music.” he comments. Rick Founds, a Worship Leader/Songwriter in California says “Lyrics can be directed to each other and become a source of inspiration, encouragement, instruction and teaching.”


It was Martin Luther that took theological truths from God’s Word and put them to the melodies of popular songs in order to teach the Bible to an illiterate culture. The key is writing to impact the audience that is directly in front of you. Which brings up a great question... with the proliferation of nationally known worship writers, what audience do they focus on when they write?


NATIONAL FOCUS VERSUS LOCAL FOCUS?
Brian Doerksen responds like this: “I am a local church guy. I actually warn writers to not think of anything beyond being true to what is going on in their own hearts and in their own local church. Someone once told me that their goal was to write a song that the church around the world would sing. My response was, why don’t you write a song that you want to sing in the privacy of your own time with God.”


In the words of Jamie Harvill, who was an exclusive writer with Integrity and went on to write and record several worship classics, “Congregational songs are meant to be sung by real people directly to a real God.” On a practical level that means melodies written to be sung by people who have a limited singing range (Bb below middle C to D an octave and a whole step above middle C). Many Christian pop songs are written for an artist to perform and can be very difficult for the average person to sing.


Scott Reed, Worship Pastor at South County Christian Center in St. Louis continues by saying that his best songs are written when it’s for his local church body as an expression of what God is saying to them in a specific time and place. “When I think more nationally, I tend to not write with as much impact or focus.” he explains.


I’m often asked how the song ‘Let It Rise’ was written. In all honesty, it didn’t come out of a songwriting session with someone or a focused time creative exploration. It came out of an authentic heart cry, out of a time of prayer during a live worship service at a small Bible study in coffee shop at a local church on the beach in San Diego. It was a spontaneous prayer set to music and it was written in the amount of time it took to sing it. In fact, it was literally discovered as an afterthought by Maranatha! Music at a songwriter’s meeting. I had just finished playing all my “hits” which were politely passed over and then played what I called “half” a song and the entire room came alive. It blows me away to see how God continues to use that song to bring congregations alive to the presence of God.


SO WHERE DOES THE INsPIRATION COME FROM?
If worship songs are written for a local community of believers, then it would make sense that inspiration would come from our personal times with God and the local church. Christian Music Pioneer Rick Cua says that he gets his inspiration directly from the Holy Spirit, personal experience, hearing the stories of others, sermons, movies and from all aspects of life.


Rick Founds says that his inspiration comes from something that particularly strikes him during his personal reading and study of the Bible. Joel Engle says that his inspiration comes from The Bible, his own personal journey with Christ, sermons, books, life situations or anything else that moves him. As a publisher, Steve Rice finds most great worship songs are inspired by sermons or strong biblically based teaching from the local church in which the writer is intimately involved.


Often the inspiration comes from the most painful of events when we least expect it. Brian Doerksen’s song Eternity was written in a moment of intense passion and absolute knowing that heaven was real in 1990. “My best friend was killed in an accident around that time so my heart was often thinking about the other side. I can hardly wait to hear the Father say ‘No more death, tears, shame...’”


Sometimes songs come in response to a time of serving as is true for Joel Engle’s song Living Sacrifice. It was written during a time of communion at a youth camp where the senior adults of this church came and served communion to the students in the most beautiful way. This deeply touched Joel and a song was born.


SO HOW DO SONGS COME TO US? MELODY FIRST? CHORD PROGRESSION?
There are as many right ways to write a song as there are songs. It seems that no writer has a standard starting point for writing songs. Steve Rice says that the best starting point to writing a good worship song is in worship. However, even the way that we enter into that place of worship is different for each of us. For Scott Reed it begins with a lyrical idea.
Maybe something from scripture or a phrase that inspires a melody or chord progression. Jamie Harvill agrees: “I usually start with an idea, title or hook. It seems that the lyric, melody and chords come simultaneously, but I labor most over lyrics.” Rick Founds has even had songs “arrive” completely in one sitting where others are worked on over a number of years.


Brian Doerksen says that it starts with some kind of “seed” or creative gift from God. This “seed” can be a melodic hook or a lyrical phrase that gets the ball rolling, but from that point on it’s totally up to the individual expression of the writer. One thing that Brian does caution writers about is writing a song based on a chord progression. He says that he can usually pick out songs that are being led around by chords. Chords are the first part of arrangements, but a song is words set to a melody with the melody existing in pitch and rhythm. To change the chords may be to change the arrangement but not the song.


In my personal experience as a writer I will often begin by spending time in worship. Out of those times of worship, prayer and communion with God I will get an idea that may be a melody, a prayer that is on my heart, a theological truth that I’m meditating on, a scriptural phrase or a “word from God.” Rather than say those things, I will often begin singing the prayers or thoughts that are in my heart. Often a song will come spontaneously and build as I sing a chorus or a verse over and over. Sometimes these “songs” are for that moment in time and sometimes they are the rough draft of a song that I will go back and refine over time. On a few rare occasions, the songs come out finished.


HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT YOUR SONG IS FINISHED?
Jamie Harvill says a song isn’t done until he’s satisfied that it will fly in a real world situation. Ever after introducing a song, he will make changes as he goes if needed. Joel Engle takes the same approach. Even after introducing a song, he will continue to work on the song until the congregation is singing it and it meets his personal standard of excellence.


It is this personal standard of excellence that sets apart songs that are heard and songs that don’t get heard. According to Brian Doerksen, almost every song he writes has gone from draft one to about draft four or five before people hear it. “The only thing more important that rewriting for songwriters is the initial writing itself. I don’t usually re-write after I have started teaching a song because I don’t teach a song until I have re-written it.” he says.


There are exceptions to every rule. Rick Cua doesn’t often re-write, and puts it like this: “Once I start teaching or playing a song it’s pretty much done. My feeling is if it needs excessive rewriting it may not have been right in the first place.” In some ways I personally agree with Rick on this point as there are many songs that I know are good songs from the moment they are conceived. Contrast that to other songs I’ve written and re-written only to find that after spending hours of time on a song it still doesn’t have the same kind of instant appeal.


SO HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR SONG IS GOOD?
This is such a vulnerable issue for writers. It’s almost as if our songs are our babies and even if we know that our baby might not be the most beautiful one in the bunch... you better not say anything about my baby!!! So rather than talk about how ugly your baby is, let’s talk about what makes for a great worship song.


Scott Reed says that a good worship song is one that is intuitive. In other words, when someone hears it, it’s easy to pick up on and easy to follow where it’s going. Jamie Harvill says “A good worship song is easy to sing, easy to remember and lifts my soul towards heaven.” To Brian Doerksen it’s no easy task. “A good song has a melody that people love to sing with words that are full of truth. Sounds easy, but it’s very hard to write songs like that!”


In fact, the rules for writing congregational songs are much more limiting that the rules for writing a Christian pop song. According to Rick Founds, “There are certain things that make a song more congregational than others... like vocal range, the ease with which the lyrics flow off the tongue and musical genre. Some songs may definitely be expressive songs of worship, but because of the stratospheric nature of the arrangement, they can be nearly impossible for most people to sing.” According to Brian Doerksen, Christian pop songs are designed to be sung to you or ‘over’ you, and are identified by the fact that people want to listen to them rather than sing them with others.


As technical as songwriting can get, skill isn’t the only factor in great worship songs. According to Rick Cua, there are spiritual factors as well. A great worship song is a simple yet profound lyric sung over a memorable accessible melody that comes from knowing God. Joel Engle says that good theology, simplicity and original content are all important, but it’s ultimately the anointing of God that makes a great worship song. Unfortunately for the hit makers, this isn’t a skill that you can get from a book. You can only get this from spending time with Jesus Christ Himself.


SO HOW DO I GET MY SONGS HEARD?
Now comes what seems to be the most difficult part of the equation for writers. You’ve written a song, taught it in church, everyone loves it... now what? How do you get others to hear your song? Scott Reed says perseverance is the key. Submit, submit, submit. That’s all you can do, keep going up to the plate, swing at it with all you’ve got and if it’s an “out”, it’s an “out.” But don’t stop swinging. Keep hitting it as hard as you can and leave it at that. You’ve got to have some thick skin because more of your songs will be rejected than accepted, that’s just the reality of it. I submit things to worshipmusic.com, songDISCovery, Worship Leader Magazine, worshiptogether.com and any other relationships or contacts I may have. They’ll either be well received or not, but at least you gave it a shot.


But what about those who may not have aspirations for a major publishing deal? Jamie Harvill says to start with your local congregation. If a song catches fire there, then share it with other congregations. Creating a recording of your song with a lead sheet and a “chords over words” chart makes it easier to pass it on to others. If you are not a singer or player, get someone else to help you. Writers are best suited to stay where they have the greatest influence: in their local congregation.


Rick Cua recommends using modern technology to get your songs heard. There are websites like Indieheaven.com where you can upload your songs and network with other writers. Email mp3’s to your mailing list, upload songs to your website or post them on your myspace page. There are a variety of new websites that are providing songwriters with ways to get their songs heard such as worshipsource.com, worshipsong.com and broadjam.com. The bottom line is, the more your songs are heard by others and played in their churches, the greater your chances are of getting the attention of a major publisher.


According to Steve Rice at Integrity Music, if worship leaders begin using your song regularly in their churches (without you there), then you know you’ve got a winner. If a number of local and regional congregations enjoy singing your song, then there’s reason to believe the song may also work on a national or international level as well. In a nutshell... give it away and the good songs will spread like wildfire. The publishers will flock to you from every direction. Just do what God has called you to do in ministry and he’ll bring the increase. Watch!!

An atheist was seated next to a little girl on an airplane and he turned to her and said, "Do you want to talk? Flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger." 

The little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied to the total stranger, "What would you want to talk about?" ... " Oh, I don't know," said the atheist. "How about why there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after death?" as he smiled smugly. "OK," she said. 

"Those could be interesting topics but let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, but a horse produces clumps. Why do you suppose that is?" The atheist, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, "Hmmm, I have no idea." To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss why there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after death, when you don't know crap?" And then she went back to reading her book.

1. Including too many new songs in the set – Your congregation is there to worship – most will find it difficult to do so if they spend most of the time learning your latest masterpieces. Vary your set list to include a variety of older, recently introduced, and brand new songs and be ready to make changes on the fly if you sense your congregation is becoming weary.

2. Pitching the songs too high – remember that a comfortable range for a woman is about five semitones (half steps) lower than for a man. Change the key down to avoid going above top D, particularly if you are playing in a small church situation.

3. Clunky moving from song to song. Playing a song once its underway is fairly straightforward so make sure you concentrate on rehearsing how to start and end a song. Practicing a seamless flow from one song to the next is worthwhile to focus on. It will help if both are in the same key with a similar groove, and if you are using music, make sure the sheets are side by side on your music stand.

4. Poor band dynamics – conflicting rhythms, one instrument speeding up/slowing down, vocalists overwhelming the sound with too many ad-libs or vibrato. Exercise leadership in directing your singers clearly, and if necessary, get them some vocals training. Get them to listen to each other's parts and possibly film or record a service to help with some constructive criticism.

5. Lack of leadership – Without clear guidance from the worship leader, it's difficult for the band to know what they are meant to do, let alone the congregation. Give a good clear brief in practice and use vocal cues and body language to communicate during the set.

6. Overly complex vocals – congregations get easily confused when the lead vocalist slips into harmonies, trills, and ad-libs. Simple clear melody is always the easiest to follow. Leave the harmonies for the backing vocalists.

7. Poor phrasing and blending by vocalists. Make sure that all your singers are phrasing each “musical sentence” in the same way. It can help to have one backing vocalist leading the others so that everyone finishes their words at the same time. In the studio, singers are often asked not to finish the last consonant in a line so that the ending doesn’t sound jagged.

8. Wrong keys or wrong capo positions. Make sure all the band are playing in the same key. Issue your set list in advance with instructions for keys. And if you change your mind, make sure that everyone knows.

9. Tuning – are all your instruments in tune and are they staying in tune throughout the set? Even the right notes out of tune sound far worse than the wrong notes in tune so buy yourself a decent tuner like the Boss TU2 – cheap tuners can be so frustrating.

10. Lack of rhythm and togetherness by the band – this can be caused by many things including poor musicianship and lack of overall direction. Try to generate a sense of team where everyone plays their part to contribute to the whole without any one musician standing out. Also, ensure that you have the relevant instruments in your foldback – i.e. the kick drum and other instruments responsible for rhythm.

11. Winging it – either the result of poor preparation or trying something new out on the spot. Be sure you can accomplish what you have in mind. Are you trying to sing a song without the lyrics in front of you, and you’ve forgotten the words? Does your AV guy have the words for the congregation, or do they have to remember them, too? Do you and the rest of the band know all the chords you need?

12. Technical problems. The sound gremlins can happen to the best of us but try to get there early, set up methodically, and make sure your technicians are well trained in the system they are using.

13. Problems with pitch – You’re starting a new song, and you’ve suddenly realised you’ve started on completely the wrong note.
Try to identify the problem songs in advance and quietly play the note you need to hit on your instrument. Hold the note in your head while playing the intro and then hit it with confidence. Alternatively ask one of the other (confident) vocalists to lead on that song.

14. Over emphasis on the melody line. Make sure your backing vocalists and single melody instruments are playing harmonies. The lead vocalist and congregation are all on the melody line – create some contrast.

15. Worship crash – often caused by trying something complicated that hasn’t been practiced enough. Never try anything complicated until you, the band. and the congregation are really familiar with the song.

16. Starting the song in the wrong tempo. Either invest in an in ear click or sing the song through in your head first so that you can pace the tempo properly. Generally, the chorus is the fastest part of the song.
 
17. Audiovisual failure – This happened to Matt Redman one time when Andy was playing. Matt just shifted his set list to songs with simple lyrics and gave spoken vocal cues to the congregation at junction points in the song. 

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." (Ephesians 6:10

Over the next few weeks we are going to look at the subject of spiritual warfare through the lens of grace. The more that we understand who we are in Christ, the more we walk in God's favor, the more we understand His grace - the more BOMB PROOF we become. GRACE makes us BOMB PROOF. GRACE empowers you to see life from the perspective of heaven. GRACE opens your eyes to see people from the perspective of who God made them to be, not who they are in their fallen or captive state. GRACE allows you to see what is really going on. GRACE equips you to be a force for healing, restoration and deliverance. Instead of being a victim of circumstances, you become a victor in the midst of your circumstances. You become BOMB PROOF. My prayer is that we will be a community that sees like through the lens of GRACE.

This week Roxie and I supported Worship Life Kids at the Character Counts event held at Vista Del Mar School. We hosted a game booth where we had a blast with the kids of the community and passed out flyers inviting people to church. We met many folks who didn't know that there was a Calvary Chapel in San Clemente. It was a reminder to me that we still have a big job to do in letting our community know that we are here to serve them and that's a job that Roxie and I can't do without your help. Make sure you invite your friends, neighbors, co-workers or even people you meet in town to church. We have people attending Worship Life from as far north as Newport Beach and as far south as Vista. Something that I learned early in ministry is that a good church is worth driving to.

We have started webcasting our services. You can view them at USTREAM. You can also catch up on studies that you've missed or perhaps your following us from a distance at VIMEO.

Roxie and I are praying for you...
Blessings
P.HD

BUILDING UPDATE
We submitted our loan package to the lender on Wednesday and we've been told that we should receive news on our loan status by Tuesday of this week. Pray for God's continued favor and blessing.We are now accepting donations for our building fund. God provided generously for our deposit, now we are raising funds for 6 months of cash reserves to meet the lender's requirements for funding. Also pray for the Foursquare Denomination who owns the building that we are purchasing.

NEW RADIO PROGRAM
I also want to invite you to become a prayer partner for our new radio program - WORSHIP LIFE RADIO - broadcasting Saturday nights at 10:30 pm on KWVE 107.9 FM. We are excited about what the Lord will do as we proclaim God's Love through His Word.