Running Into Grace

Sad

2010-02-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Hannah and I said goodbye to my brother Steven. He, Emily, and their daughter Karis are in Brazil as of this morning and made it safe. I don't think I've ever had a time in my life where I didn't cry much but my heart just hurt as I said goodbye to someone. Although it's not goodbye forever, it's just hard to say goodbye when someone close isn't within a 1.5 hour flight or a drive. I remember as Hannah and I were getting on our plane just praying that God would just protect them and give them boldness more than anything to take His name to Brazil. I also remember thanking him for things like phones and Skype! Steven, Emily, and Karis, we love you more than words could ever say and are praying INCREDIBLY hard for you!

A Prayer for my friends...

2010-02-03T18:05:00.000-08:00

God, you are so INCREDIBLY HUGE! SO HUGE in fact that you made everything that we can see and can't see. You are so HUGE that there are places that none of us humans will ever get to or see. You are so great that you made each of us alike in some ways but very VERY different in others. You made us different so that we might "sharpen each other" as Your Word says. For us "only children," you made friends for us that we have a close relationship with, and have done life with for so long that we feel like we have a brother. For that I am eternally grateful. So it's with a hopeful but yet sad heart that I lift up my friends and my brother Steven, Emily, and Karis. As they go to Brazil, to take You to a nation that needs You more than anything right now, I ask you to protect them but allow them more than enough opportunities to be bold to speak Your truth and take Your name to this nation. Give them more than enough compassion and grace to be vessels that embody You Jesus. This is all for You and all because of You. You are the only one who is worth of Praise. We love you Jesus!

Song Writing

2010-01-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

There is nothing more motivating and frustrating to me than writing a song. Seriously, I drive myself crazy trying to come up with words and rhythms for a song. HOWEVER, when a song comes out that is so pure and has such an impact on people (after you play it for them and you hear that feedback) it motivates you to do more of that. Then there are those songs that come to you in about an hour...start to finish. This happened a few weeks ago with David and I as we wrote "When You Appear." We played it for the first time at church this past weekend and I never thought that I would ever be a part of something as great as this. I truly believe that so much is captured in a song. God speaks to us in so many different ways and it's just very humbling to be a conduit through which He does that. We've got a great week coming up tomorrow at Discover Point! David Collinsworth is leading and it's going to be amazing!

Time Off

2009-11-03T16:06:00.001-08:00

Well, I am back! Hannah and I took some time off in October and it was very much needed. For worship leaders it is very easy to get burned out preparing, practicing, and leading. All of that is so great and I totally know and see that God uses it...some times though, one needs to have a break and a peace...just time to let the batteries sit and recharge. I can already tell that it made a HUGE difference. Practice on Sunday afternoon was AWESOME and I can't wait to sing out and play all for God's glory this upcoming Sunday! During my break, I had a chance to listen to a GREAT worship album. I HIGHLY recommend it! So without further bantering....Fee--Hope Rising! Totally worth the $12! Love you guys and see ya Sunday!

One Thing...

2009-08-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

Ever since Discover Point has started I have come to one realization time and time again. It never fails! I always say something along the lines of "I'm never doing this again!" only to do it a few more times in a year! For some reason, this has become the "thorn in my flesh." This one very hard lesson that I am supposed to learn but only to not learn is...I REALLY STINK AT PLAYING POKER! Now that you have fallen out of your chair and picked yourself back up and sit back down I would like to say that I did not throw any money away....well, at least this last time! I know....I'm a sinner but I'm still saved by grace and have been forgiven. I'll put it to you this way, I have not bet money on myself for the past 3 years and before that I never did. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that Hannah and I had a blast with our "Play Group" last night playing poker and walking out debt free with everybody else! Love you guys!

Sunday

2009-08-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

I had the incredible opportunity of doing something that I've not had the chance to do in a REALLY REALLY LONG TIME on Sunday. (Drum roll please...) I got to sit out in the audience. It was such a great time because I feel like I didn't have to worry about at what point the band was at in a song or be distracted by the things that potentially distract one that is a lead worshiper. Another thing that I noticed is that while we were practicing for this upcoming Sunday the songs seemed to be easier and then I really felt like we were all able to relax a little and worship while practicing. My prayer for this week is that we (as a band) all can relax and enjoy the songs as we prepare for this week. In case you are wondering.....here is the setlist:

Hands of the Healer---Eddie Kirkland
Remain---Starfield
From The Inside Out---Hillsong United
Beautiful The Blood---Steve Fee
Scenes---Charlie Hall

See you guys Sunday!

Frustrated

2009-07-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

The only other thing in life that we are guaranteed other than death is frustration. We can all see this in babies all the way up until we reach the "golden ages." I think the one thing I get more frustrated about is being patient. I've seen that so much over the past 2 days. Our air conditioning unit is not functioning properly and the guy that is supposed to come fix it has done a HORRIBLE job about communicating when he will be here. I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to learn from this but all I could come up with was that I need to lose weight so I'm sweating it off! Other than that things are going pretty good! Have a great, cool day!

WHEW!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

Man I can't believe all that's happened since my last post! Just to give you an update, Hannah and I bought a house, moved in our house, decorated our house, Hannah got a job, Hannah likes her job but not the drive, church is going great(God is doing AMAZING things), I watched some friends enjoy some great times, and I watched some friends wade through some of the deepest hurt people can experience on the face of this earth! The last thing I meantioned was incredibly hard and if you don't have any clue as to what I'm talking about here goes...David and Lisa (my worship pastor and wife) lost their unborn son Noah last Tuesday. David and Lisa are so close to me that they feel like family and I wouldn't consider them anything but. All the while, God is so good! He has remained so faithful and He is doing incredible things through this! David and Lisa, we love you guys so much. Our hearts break for you and hurt for you and we are most definately here for you!

Getting ready...

2009-06-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hannah and I are in the very frustrating stage of buying a house. Not the beginning where you have to show your life history or the middle where you have to wait but at the end, where everything is ready to go and one stupid little piece of paper holds closing up and we still don't have a house! God showed this to me more than anything this week. We can prepare and be as ready as we have ever been but life happens. As long as humans are not perfect stuff will come up and things won't always go our way. Our character is showed and developed even more by how we act when something doesn't go our way. I've totally shown that I am nothing more than a little child because I've acted like an idiot more than anything, BUT, God knows what He is doing and I can't wait until Monday to see what He does! Hope you guys have an INCREDIBLE week!

Monday evening "running backing"

2009-05-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

David always says "Monday Morning Quarterbacking" so I'm going to use the "running back" mode in the evening so here we go. I've come to a place in worship where I feel like I can go one of several ways while leading. There's always the "get totally lost" in worship in which one totally connects and has a "life (or Sunday) experience" while leading and doesn't concentrate on anyone who is following the "lead worshipper." Then there's the "I'm sort of getting lost but not totally because I forgot the words to the song and have to force myself to look back at the screen to figure out what comes next." Thirdly, there is the "something else is going on in my life and I just really don't want to be here leading because I feel like I'm more of a distraction instead of a leader." Fourth of all, "I feel like God is doing something here so lets just show up and see what happens." Finally, "everything that is going on during the week will show up on Sunday morning so if I give all of my best during the week Sunday will be AWESOME!" I can tell you that I feel like all of these were and have been me. I so badly want to be the first and the last of all of these all the time but I fall so short and wind up being like the 3rd on sometimes. Just a little insight into a lead worshippers mind.

Over and out good buddy!

2009-05-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

I remember watching "Smokey and the Bandit" when I was younger on a saturday afternoon and always wondering "Why in the world and HOW would you be able to drive around in a T-top Firebird and wear a FREAKISHLY HUGE cowboy hat?" It must be an act of God! That's kind of how I am feeling at the moment. I've got so SO much in my life to be thankful for and it only comes from God. I've definately done nothing to deserve it but God is so gracious and giving. David should be happy and I am definitely stoked about this next piece of information. Todd Fields (One of North Point's lead worshippers) is releasing his 4th album next week. You guys should definitely go to ITUNES and buy it when it is released! Have a great week!

Easter

2009-04-05T16:26:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Hannah and I went to another wedding! This is one that Hannah and I each got 1 new family member. He's been like a brother to me anyway but now he has the "in-law" attached. Jason and Esther McInnis became one yesterday! It was an absolutely beautiful ceremony and reception. I got to make a fool out of myself also by "dancing" or I guess it was more like "shaking" than anything. Just ask David Collinsworth about it! It was such a great day and Jason and Esther are now off to Jamaica and will be gone thru Easter. Today at Discover Point was very historic. We had our first service in our new building and I can't wait for things to get kicked off. It's gonna be AWESOME! Hannah and I along with everyone else have a great feeling about all of it. Hannah and I also went house shopping today and found a house that we both could see living and raising a family in. It is in Grayson and it will be so great if we can get it. It's a God thing and I know He has the GREATEST in store for all of us! This Easter I pray that we all draw closer to Jesus and that we really buy in to the GREAT things He has done and is doing. This is the GREATEST time of year! How beautiful are the scars of Christ!

"Mawwage....Mawwage is wah bwings us heere todayyy."

2009-03-31T17:44:00.000-07:00

So Hannah and I finally tied the knot on March 21st and it was an ABSOLUTE blast! My wife is the most beautiful bride in the whole wide world and I couldn't help but tear up when I FINALLY saw her walking down the aisle! She just seemed to float as she got closer and closer. It was a great day and I not only got to kiss her once but twice! It was great! I couldn't help escape thinking that this is how it will be when we get to heaven. We will fully become the "bride of Christ!" What a GREAT thought! Being totally consumed by our Savior and seeing Him face to face!

Love and Marriage

2009-03-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

Well, Hannah and I are getting married in less than a week now and WE ARE SO STOKED!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes Jeff, STOKED! It's really funny because I always used to feel awkward or just feel like shutting off when someone would talk about getting married (I wasn't bitter by any means!) but over the last 4 or 5 months I've really seen how God uses marriage to show us how He loves us. I mean think about it, someone that you'd lay your life down at any moment for, to protect, to give them without receiving anything in return, to walk with you through life, to help support them and carry them when they are down, and to give when they just can't. How cool is that! Then you throw in the whole "love making" aspect of it and we all know that's only something God could have created! Even the angels in Heaven who were created for worshipping God don't even get to do that! MAN I CAN'T WAIT! There is also one other aspect of marriage too. It is a duty of worship. Think about this, we choose our mate (meaning that we freely choose and are lead to our mate by grace) and once we say "I DO" it is set for life. We are making a choice for the rest of our lives to wake up next to that person no matter how HOT or how not so Hot they look (on certain mornings without the make up and...well you get it). It becomes our duty because we made that choice to say those vows everyday....even when we don't feel like it we must choose to love that person even when the world says to walk away. We are not perfect but that is where Jesus' blood comes in to play. He died to cover our imperfections not just so that we could spend eternity with Him but so that we could help our spouse, our friend, our LIFE PARTNER for the rest of our lives! How ROCKIN' is that!!!! We get to help someone but in turn we get to be helped by that same person we are helping! This all just came to make sense for me so sorry for ranting but just had to share it! Hope all of you have a great week and say a prayer for Hannah and I as we get married next Saturday! Pray that she will be able to tolerate my stupidity mostly! Take care and God bless!

Tough Decisions

2009-02-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

I attended Catalyst Oneday at North Point Community Church this past Thursday and learned a HUGE lesson. I learned that as leaders we are faced with the undaunting task of making hard and tough decisions all the time. To quote George H.W. Bush "The buck stops here!" What this means is that responsiblity ultimately comes back to those in charge. It doesn't mean that the leaders turn into "dictators" or "czars" by any means. It just means that when something goes wrong it usually points back to the person in charge. When things go right it also points back to those in charge. This may seem like a very "duh, I can't believe you didn't know that already" lesson but I think it applies hugely to a worship aspect too. While Andy Stanley was speaking about this I kept thinking to myself that not only am I responsible for leading myself to a place of worship but also I play a big part in those that are on stage leading worship with me and leading them to a place of worship that day also. Talk about PRESSURE!!!!!!!! But then I realized that it's not me but it's just like playing in front of people. We as leaders don't lead people to a place of worship but rather God leads thru us and leads people to a place of worship. To put it plainly, the next time you are feeling pressure about not getting your congregation to a place of worship, I challenge you to take a step back and pray that you would just get out of the way and let God work thru you.

Keep on keepin' on...

2009-02-14T21:19:00.001-08:00

One thing I find is that the one thing I love sometimes gets tiresome and starts to seem routine. This is something that I've been wanting to blog about but have been trying to put the words together. Worship is something that has always been there. It has always and will always be the connection that we have between ourselves and God. It is defined as "a two way conversation between us and our heavenly Father." All of this excites me, however, there are times where I just don't feel like doing it. Now I know what you're thinking. You're probobly thinking "Brien, if it is something that you desire you should be excited all of the time right?" This is a very true thought. Worship cannot be explained or should I say the level and depth of what I feel when I sing my heart to God cannot be explained. There is nothing better in this life than singing with everything I am created with and directing all of it towards my Father in heaven. The second part of this means that I am human subject to human emotions and the human nature of being "worn slap out." When we do something over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again it loses it's freshness. This is why we see not only worship leaders but some of our church leaders lose their tenacity or their "edge." I heard a co-worker the other day use the title of this blog. We were talking about our job duties and how we feel sometimes that in order to keep from becoming a "wimp" we do things that keep us on our toes so that we stay sharp. The same goes for us a Christians. We need to find ways to stay on our toes and do things that are out of our "comfort zones" so that we don't lose the fire that is inside of us. We all will get stuck in ruts but we must allow ourselves to allow God to pull us out of them. There are days we won't feel like worshipping but if we look for opportunities and take advantage of new ways to find Jesus we can rest assured that He will pull us out of those ruts. I hope each of you has an incredible week. Praying hard for you!

Willing Worship

2009-01-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

I noticed something today as we were worshipping. First off, the past 2 weeks have been somewhat stressful for me. I've been helping my fiance plan our wedding and handle some of the details so my thought process has been somewhat slow, but the past 2 Sundays as we (the band) were preparing I realized that though I didn't feel like giving everything in practice I could literally feel God drawing me into his presence and grace. I remember being distracted by other things besides the sound of the music and how to arrange all of it and then God dropped a thought that I remember hearing when I was a child. He reminded me that "I'm the one that draws you to me. All that you can do is just be willing to be drawn. I love you." How INCREDIBLE is that! God is so much bigger than anything we could ever think and He knows each of us so intimately that He can speak that into us!

Welcome

2009-01-19T16:48:00.000-08:00

Hi and welcome to my blog. My name is Brien and I am a worship leader at Discover Point Church in Conyers, GA. Since this is my first blog I thought I'd start off by giving some background info of myself. I became a Christ-follower at the age of 8 and have been "running" this race after Jesus since. I felt called into leading worship around my junior year of college when I began getting opportunities to lead worship at BSU and other campus ministries and so on after college. God brought me to Discover Point in 2005 and I have been leading there since it's inception. I will be updating and "blogging" frequentley so be sure and check back. Thanks and grace to you all!