Gospel Prism

I heard Voddie Baucham at the Desiring God National Conference. But this morning, Shua was doing some web surfing and she ran into his site. And I went there to take a look and he really has some interesting stuff. I would say that of all the speakers at the Conference, he was the person I was expecting the least from and that thought has humbled me, because his message was one of the, if not the most powerful.

Looking at his website, these are his most influential books. It says a lot about the man:

1. The Reformed Pastor, Richard Baxter
2. Preaching and Preachers, Lloyd-Jones
3. Religious Affections, JE
4. JE on Revival
5. How Then Shall We Live?, F. Schaeffer
6. Mere Christianity, Lewis
7. The Gagging of God, DA Carson
8. Losing the Race, John McHorter (I might just pick this book up, sounds interesting)
9. A Dream Deferred, Shelby Steele
10. The Real Lincoln, Thomas Dilorenzo

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His FAQs are interesting…

Why do you place so much emphasis on Who leads worship at the events in which you participate?

A. I have a very high view of the role of the worship leader. I view leading worship as a sort of pastoral responsibility to which one must be called, and for which one must be equipped. Unfortunately, we live in a time when every kid who knows five chords and ten songs thinks God has called him or her to be a worship leader. Hence, there is a flood of young, inexperienced, untrained, and often biblically illiterate worship leaders who have done nothing more than learn the top songs off of a few worship CD’s. This is a travesty!

These guys go on to steal songs from men and women whom God has anointed and gifted to write songs, and use them to make CD’s of their own. All of this is done in the name of having “product� to sell on the road, or to promote ones self as a worship leader. Imagine John Mayer going into the studio and saying, “forget the hard work of producing an original album, lets just take the top ten songs from last year and put them all on my new CD this year.� That would be unthinkable! Nevertheless, that is what is happening every day with so-called worship leaders in this current generation; and they think that paying someone a few cents per copy makes it ok. I would rather not be a party to that.

I also do not think it is a good idea to work with people with whom I do not share a ministry philosophy, or theology of worship. I do not think that a worship leader and a preacher should just be thrown into the mix together because they are both “good at what they do,� and they both “love God.� That’s like putting a wishbone quarterback on a run-n-shoot team and expecting him to do well because he has great athletic ability!

A good voice and a love for God is not the sum total of a worship leader’s qualifications. Nor is it the ability to “move a crowd.� There is the question of the depth of one’s theology and how that depth is communicated in the songs one chooses to use, and how one chooses to use them. There is the ability to choose songs that are appropriate for the given audience and occasion. There is the ability to sense where God is leading and moving during a service, or a series of services (I.e. choosing response songs that suit the manner in which God is calling people to respond to what they’ve heard).

These are just a few things that must be taken into consideration. Unfortunately, they rarely enter into the decision of whom one will invite to lead worship. Often, the only questions asked are, “does he do the songs our people like?� and “does he sing well?� That is the type of shallow, carnal approach to ministry I try to avoid.

Q. Do you speak to High School football or basketball teams?

A. No. At one time it was common for me to come to a town and be invited to speak to the local football team (because of my sports background). However, one day, as I left a local high school, I saw a group of kids coming from the band hall. As I watched them, I thought “why was I not invited to speak to them?� I participated in band in school (and theatre, and Spanish club, and Student Government, and Math club), but I am never asked to speak to those groups; why?

Unfortunately, the answer is that we worship athletes. They are the Idols in the modern American Church. We believe that God loves them more, needs them more and wants them more. This is why we pine over people like Tiger Woods and sigh, “if only he would get saved…� I think it is interesting that God rarely uses anyone with a “name.� I think it’s because He already has a name that is above every other name.

The Holy Spirit convicted me that day! I came to realize that I was valuing one group over all others because of their “status� in our culture (see James 2:1-7). I was saying to the band kids, and the Chess club kids that they do not mean as much to God. I was also being brought in by a coach who was forcing his kids to listen to me talk about God when he had no right to do so. Therefore, I stopped doing it. I don’t go to the High School to speak to sports teams anymore.

Q. Why don’t you have anything about your Sports background on your website?

A. Mainly for reasons stated above. I believe the attitude towards athletes in the modern American Church is sinful. Multi-millionaire coaches and ballplayers are paid thousands of dollars (I know one who requires $20,000.00 per appearance) to share their testimony and “draw a crowd.� Then some preacher (who actually needs the money) is paid a couple of bucks to “draw the net.� Imagine how much money Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan could make if they would just start talking about Jesus.

This is indicative of the desire of many to make the Gospel “cool,� and make us acceptable members of the mainstream. Remember the words of Jesus; “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. � (John 15:18,19 NASB)

I do not want to tap in to the Church’s idolatry in order to gain notoriety. Nor do I want to be known for what I used to do. My goal is to build a ministry on the faithful, passionate, accurate, uncompromising exposition of the Word of God. What on earth does that have to do with what I once accomplished on an athletic field? Sports stories make great illustrations, but terrible crutches.