Being a Post-Modern Levite, Part 1 - The History

So, I've been thinking a lot about this topic lately and what it means to work in the church and be a "Levite" now as compared to when God called the Tribe of Levi to serve. So, that's what I'm going explore in this series of posts. I can't say they'll come one exactly a week apart, but I'll do my best.

I think the first thing we should dive into is what a Levite was and did in scripture. The original model is always a great place to start.

So, the descendants of Levi are through out the Old Testament, but they are not given specific instructions until Moses and Aaron are numbering the 12 Tribes of Israel in Numbers 1:17-54. Now, without quoting the whole passage of scripture the general gist of it is that the Levites were not to be listed because they were appointed and called to serve in the Tabernacle. They could not own land (Joshua 13:14) because "The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance." And they worked only in the the Tabernacle. The were fed and paid by the tithe that the rest of the nation of Israel gave to the Lord. So, God made sure that his people serving in the Tabernacle and ministering there were taken care of, and that their ministry could be their full-time occupation.

Now, what exactly did they do? Well, there are several times in Numbers where the duties of the Levites are spelled out. One of them is in chapter 3, verses 7 & 8. "They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle." (It's important to point out that the Tribe of Aaron were the Priests. The Levites and the Priests were not the same!) They were also musicians, as appointed by King David in 1 Chronicles 6. This is the first place we see the Levites assigned the task of leading worship in scripture, but I would venture to guess that they did this long before David appointed them "officially". Their tasks were generally to serve under the Priests.

The tribe of Levites was also ceremonially set apart by God and the whole nation of Israel witnessed it. In Numbers 8 beginning at verse 5, the Levites are washed clean with water, atoned for with the sacrifice of a young bull, the nation of Israel lays hands on them, and they are offered to the Lord as an offering. The scripture says that the Levites are "to be given wholly to me [God]." This to me is essential. Yes, they are serving the community, but they are God's, and He has called them specifically for this purpose.

Now, I know this seems to jump around a bit, but the main thought I want to convey is this: the Levites were worship leaders, not priests. They were called by God to serve in this way, and they were wholly devoted to their God and service. I think this reflects on us, the post-modern worship leaders. We have been called by God, we are not pastors (most of us serve under a pastor), and we are (hopefully) wholly devoted to our God and serving Him in this way. I'm hoping to dive a little deeper into what it looks like to be a post-modern Levite in the weeks to come.

I pray that this bit of history helps you root yourself in the deep richness of worship in the scriptures and your position as a leader.

Hello, My Name is Karen, and I am a Perfectionist

This week I was reminded of how difficult it is sometimes to be a perfectionist, artist, musician, and leader of volunteers, who are not necessarily those things.

The artist in me really hates leaving a rehearsal with issues unresolved, but the leader in me knows that sometimes it's really better that way. Sometimes finding that balance is difficult for me.

This week I talked to my choir about the real reason we are singing a particular song on Sunday. And the truth is, I sometimes need that reminder myself. I have this mentality (healthy or not) that if I can't do it well, then I shouldn't do it at all. Now, this is a total and complete lie I have made myself believe. Whether it is cleaning ("I don't have time to do the whole bathroom now, so I won't clean it at all.") or music ("I have to practice that for the next week to be ready!") I either go all in, or not at all. I hate half committing to something. I have, on occasion, not prepared for something and I can't tell you the amount of stress that causes me.

So, I say all of that to remind you, and remind myself, that being a perfectionist is a barrier to true worship. Jesus told us in John 4:24 to worship in "spirit and truth." And the truth is I'm not perfect, the music that I make isn't perfect, and there is not a ton I can do about it.

I have to remember that the reason I worship is to glorify my God, not myself. I have to be okay with failure. And, perhaps most importantly, I have to be the kind of leader/choir director that allows that in others. Having a group up front singing the wrong notes does not matter. We can strive for them, but we won't always hit them. The important thing is the spirit that we declare this music in, and the truth that is in their words. That is the most important thing.

I pray that your worship this weekend is filled with joy, love, spirit, and truth! I pray that you fail, just a little, to remind you how much you need our God. I hope that you grow closer to Him through the music that you sing and the truths it contains.

Worshipping Through Suffering

Let me first say I am not suffering in my life right now. But I know lots of people who are. And I've heard about lots of people who are.

And, brothers and sisters, our world is suffering right now.

Wars in the Middle East, war in Ukraine, Ebola, murders, suicides, cancer, poverty, natural disasters, and so many more. Listening to the news for a half hour makes things in our world seem pretty dire. It makes things seem pretty hopeless. But we know that there is hope. It's Jesus. But how do we worship Him when things seem to be falling apart all around us?

Here's what Jesus says on the subject, in John 16:33, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

This is our hope. This is our joy. This is our God! He has overcome the world. No matter the trouble we see.

But, how do we come before our God with hearts heavy with these trials of the world? How to we help people understand that God did not cause any of their trouble? How?

That, my friends, is a great question. One that I struggle to answer too.

Here is what I know.

1. Jesus loves people. He loves you. He loves me. He loves all those who are suffering right now.
2. God does not cause suffering. Plain and simple. (see John 16:33)
3. The Prince of this world (Satan) is a sneaky, conniving little beast, and he is blinding our neighbors. 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 says, "In their case the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

Here's what we can do.

1. Pray for our neighbors. Pray for our world. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
2. "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
3. Worship our God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I don't know what that looks like for you, but I know that God takes great pleasure in seeing His children worship Him. I know that everything we do each day, when done to the glory of God, is worship to Him. Worship is not just an hour on Sunday. Worship is our every day life. Worship is giving all glory and honor and praise to the only one who deserves it.

Do I know how to worship when you have cancer? No, but this woman, Kara Tippetts, does. Do I know what it looks like to worship in the midst of war in your country? No, but the people at Preemptive Love do. Suffering is different for all of us, and worship is different for all of us. Take hope in the knowledge that there is a God that loves you and died for you. I pray that we all learn and relearn over and over what it looks like to worship in every circumstance.

28

Today is my 28th birthday. Normally birthdays don't feel different for me, but for some odd reason this one does. So, instead of a lengthy post I'm going to share some favorite bible verses. I hope they bless you today!

Psalm 150:6 - "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!"

Psalm 34:8 - "Taste and see that the LORD is good."

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."

John 4:24 - "God is spirit, and those that worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

Romans 8:38-39 - "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

May these truths from scripture be with you this week and always.

I Quit

Author and all around good guy Bob Goff says in his book Love Does that Thursdays are days to quit things. And he'll regularly post on his Instagram and Twitter accounts things like this...

To me this is a pretty freeing concept. He's saying, "Say 'No' to something to be able to say 'Yes' to something else." So, today I'm taking a page out of Bob Goff's book (almost literally) and quitting.

Today I quit 2 things...

1. I quit procrastinating. In Luke 9:59-62 Jesus is calling disciples and one wants to bury his father and another say goodbye to their family. Jesus tells him, "No, pursue the Kingdom of God, NOW!" It can't wait, friends.

2. I quit making excuses for my actions. This is something that I've been feeling convicted on lately. Mostly for me it's saying I'll do something then lacking follow through. I quit doing this today. Ecclesiastes 7:8 says, "Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit." In other words, finish what you start.

If I don't quit these things I know that my relationship with Jesus will suffer. They are preventing me from being fully present with Him and that has got to stop. 

Also, another word about quitting... Yesterday I read an awesome blog about the joy and freedom of an "unrushed yes" (Here's the blog). This usually means saying 'no' to a lot of things. To have the freedom to say 'yes' to the things that matter. To have the freedom to say 'yes' to the things that matter. I also read an article about a Dad who quit his job as the head of a trillion dollar company because his 10 year old daughter wrote down all the things he had missed just that school year because of work. He says it was a "wake-up call." Now, not all of us have the means to quit our job to spend time with our family, but the concept is the same. Say 'yes' to the things that matter. The things with eternal significance. And if you must, quit. So that you can do the things God has called you to do and be the person He has called you to be. 

Written on Your Face

This past summer I undertook a healthy eating challenge called the Whole30. Basically it is eating nothing but whole, nutrient dense, good-for-you, real food for 30 days. The restrictions seem daunting, but truly, once you start, the life-changing goodness of the beautiful food that God has given us to eat seems obvious. Without processed foods I lost my constant exhaustion, pain, and weight. For the first time in a long time I felt energized and focused. After those 30 days I truly believed that my life was going to be different from that point forward. And it is. I discovered the source of my fibromyalgia symptoms (gluten, it's an evil thing), found that dairy doesn't sit well in my tummy, and too much sugar at once makes me feel ill. I found how much what I choose to put in my body effects my health. And, honestly, it is difficult to eat something that makes you feel crappy.

Or is it?

I've found myself, in the few months since my first Whole30, eating a lot like I was before.

Wait, what? I thought "my life changed". It did. Sort of.

Now, a few months later, I've had quite a few people commenting on my weight loss, even though I have eaten "off plan" a lot since June ended. While it is flattering, and nice for people to notice, I can't help but wonder, is my faith in Jesus just as obvious? Does a life altering spiritual experience leave such residual and obvious effects.

Just like the Whole30 many of us go through a "spiritual cleanse" where we do a Bible studies, read a book, or any other "spiritual" thing and we feel convicted and motivated to change our life. Sometimes we have an encounter with God. He speaks to our hearts in a powerful way, and as a result we change our routine. We are more diligent and intentional. We pursue our relationship with Him, because we see how much it matters to our overall health. 

We think that these new habits will stick. We think that we will be bold about our faith. 

But life sets in. Then we find reasons not to read the Bible. We find excuses to eliminate our daily prayer time. We get busy. We get lazy. And those "life changes" are suddenly a distant memory. But what remains? We didn't lose weight, there was no physical change.

You life changing experience is not written on your face. It is no longer obvious to anyone on the outside, and maybe not to you either.

Yesterday I listened to the testimony of a young woman (you can too here) and at the end of the recording she says something along the lines of "I went to work and a co-worker said, "You're glowing!" and I said, "It's Jesus!"" I can't shake that image. Glowing from the love of Jesus. How incredibly powerful would that be if we all glowed from His love for us.

In Exodus 34:29-35 Moses went to speak with God and returned with his face radiant from the encounter. He was reflecting God's glory to the Israelites. They couldn't handle it, and he veiled his face. I like to think that Moses veiled his face to help the Israelites, but I truly don't think that's the case at all. I think he veiled his face because the Israelites saw their sin reflected back at them.

I don't know about you, but I feel like in both of these scenarios the reflection of God in the faces of His children show something to the observer. Sometimes it's love. Sometimes it's sin. I think for each of us it could be different because what is reflected there is what God wants to reveal in you that is keeping you from your relationship with Him.

This is the kind of testimony I want to be to God's children. I want my face to glow from being in His presence. I want to be the kind of leader that is constantly overflowing with the goodness and love of Jesus. This, though, takes desire. It takes effort. It takes work. I must, just like Moses, make time for Jesus. I must pursue Him and my relationship with Him.

I must be in His presence to reflect it. Just like I must actually eat the good food to get the benefits of it.

As Christ Followers we have a treasure available to us at every moment. We have the Savior of the universe begging us to seek Him, talk to Him, and love Him. May we all pursue His presence so that we might reflect His glory to the lost. So that we might point to Him. 

What holds your attention?

Note: The following is an article I wrote for my church's monthly newsletter, but I think it applies to all of us, worship leader and congregation member alike. It is my prayer that we will commit ourselves fully to worshipping our God, the creator and savior of us all. 


What holds your attention?

What keeps your focus?

What prevents you from fully engaging?

For some of us it’s our health or the health of a family member. For others of us it’s our children or the crazy schedule we have to keep. Some of us are distracted by what we wish church was like, instead of what it is.

No matter what it is that keeps you distracted and steals your focus, we are all guilty.

When we come into worship on Sunday morning or sit down with our Bible each day we are purposely spending time with our savior, and when we are just going through the motions it can feel like a chore. Sometimes getting up early for church can feel like more of a hassle than a blessing. Carving out those 15 minutes each day can feel like an irritation and snag in our schedule. It is so important that we know that God craves that time with each of us! Our relationship with Him is not one sided, as it can sometimes feel. As you begin to think about what distractions are keeping you from fully engaging with God I want to encourage you with a few psalms that have helped me to fully engage with Him through worship.

God delights in you. Psalm 18:19 says, “He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me” (emphasis mine). How wonderful is that? Our God delights in us! That time that we spend with Him nurtures our relationship with Him. He desires that time with His children!

God is big enough to cover all of those things that are distracting you. Psalm 46:1-3 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.” How wonderful to take comfort and refuge in the God that not only created the earth, the universe, and you, but will also see it through it’s many changes and upheavals. Including all those distractions. I promise, those things will be there in an hour.

We need to only be still.  Psalm 46:10a, “Be still, and know that I am God!” It doesn’t say, “Think about all the stuff you have to do today, and know that I am God!”
It says “Be still.”
Quiet your mind of all those distractions and rest in the knowledge that He is God and you are not.

We are here, in His sanctuary, to worship our God and Savior. Psalm 84 reminds us that it is not just our lips that that sing His praises, but our hearts and whole selves. Psalm 84:1-2, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God” (emphasis mine). Take that hour on Sunday or those 15 minutes each morning and let your heart and flesh sing for joy to Him!

The time that we spend with our savior is precious! Be present! Be engaged! Let those distractions go and truly worship.

A New Venture

Good Afternoon! Welcome to my new blog! This something that I've tried before, but never actually got good at, so now that I'm a little older and (hopefully) wiser, I shall try again.

This blog's purpose is to explore worship as a lifestyle and what Jesus meant when he said, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." I know that this has been explored so many times in the worship-world, but I think there are many aspects we neglect. 

A couple posts I have in the hopper are "How Can Healthy Eating be More Contagious than the Gospel?" and "Shepherding Stubborn Sheep". I am looking forward to sharing these thoughts with you each week, and I hope you'll join me on this journey! 

Happy Reading,

Karen