Do You Have The Right Skills?

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Mark Cole

I have been reading through the Bible daily for over 30 years, so I love it when I see something for the first time. Recently I saw some art work with a passage from Ephesians.

“We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

God's Workmanship

That is so powerful. Here I am, with all my imperfections, and the Bible calls me ‘God’s handiwork’. For me, it is a call to see myself as God sees me. It’s a call to see myself as uniquely made by God to do the tasks that He prepared in advance for me to do.

God designed me from my mother’s womb to do what He’s been calling me to do all these years. He knew the people, music, churches and countries that I would be involved with. He knew what skills and temperament that I needed to accomplish the work that He set out for me. He purposefully designed me for the special tasks that He has called me to. That is amazing!

That line, ‘created in Christ Jesus‘, challenges me. It is Jesus in us that makes us new. It is Jesus in us that gives us the power to do the good works that God has called us to. That makes me want to get out of God’s way and let Jesus live through me.

I am still a clay sculpture on the potters wheel, but I am so thankful for how God created me. I am so thankful for the good works that He has called me to do. It has been an exciting adventure so far but I am still looking forward to see what other ‘good works‘ God has prepared in advance for me to do!

Question: Do you realize that you are God’s handiwork? Do you realize that you have been created anew in Christ Jesus to accomplish specific good works? Do you trust God to use you in spite of your perceived imperfections and limitations?

Check out my new book: “Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure’. It is now available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions.  This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.

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Leading Worship: Where Is Your Focus?

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Mark Cole

Leading public worship at a good level is challenging. There is leading the band and singers and getting the best out of a group of volunteers of various abilities. There is picking the right songs for your congregation. There is working on good arrangements of the songs. There is running good rehearsals. Then there is all the technical aspects of a modern worship setting: lyrics, media, sound, equipment, staging, lighting and tuning. There are lots of details.

Sometimes in the busyness of all those details we forget where our main focus is supposed to be. Sometimes on Sunday mornings we are so focused on remembering the lyrics and chord progressions and working with the team that we are distracted from the main thing.

God-Focus

A while back, I helped out at a small church that didn’t have a band. I didn’t need to worry about the band and singers. It was quite freeing. I memorized the music and just worshipped God as I lead.

I didn’t have to worry about the band being in tune or playing at a good level. I didn’t have to worry about running a good rehearsal. I didn’t have to wonder if the band was going to play the right notes and do the arrangement correctly. It was just me, my instrument and God. Sure, I was still leading a small congregation, but somehow that stripped down set-up helped me focus more on the main thing…. Loving and worshipping God!

I once  attended a worship service with an internationally known worship leader. One of the strengths of that leader was their ability to stay focused on worshiping God throughout the whole worship time. They weren’t distracted by all that was happening around them. They were focused on worshiping God. What a gift. It seems so simple: Put God first, stay focused on the Creator!

I love this quote that I read recently. ‘What do great worship teams do? They worship God!’

So the challenge, for me, is to know the music so well that I don’t have to think about it. The challenge is to get past all the details and focus on the main thing. And the main thing is loving and worshipping God and leading our congregations to do the same.

So where is your focus? Have you and your worship band paid the price in your rehearsals so you can focus on the main thing? I don’t want to be satisfied with just doing good music. I want to encounter the living God in my worship time. I want my congregation to sense the Presence of the living Saviour as we honor Him together. I want to worship and love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Frankly, I don’t want to be satisfied with anything less!

 

Check out my new book.. “Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure’ available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions.  This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.

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What I Learned From Playing Video Games

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Mark Cole

One Christmas I brought my son a video game system for Christmas. I had the Christmas week off so I started to play the game ‘Super Mario’.

I found out that I am a bit of a perfectionist who doesn’t like to leave things unfinished. That Christmas became a challenge to beat the game. I ended up playing until the wee hours of the night for days on end. It took me around 9 days, but I finally beat the game. I worked through all the levels and all the challenges until I had mastered the game.

Super Mario

I had discovered how addictive video games can be. I had discovered how to totally waste a week of my life.

At the end of that experience I gave up video games. I have never played since. I still play word games on my phone when I’ve got a few extra minutes but I’ve decided not to waste my time with non-educational games. Most video games are very addictive and life is too short to spend wasting time on something that accomplishes nothing.

So my advice is.. don’t start.

The warning signs of video game addiction include:

  • Gaming to escape difficult life situations
  • Playing for longer periods as time goes on
  • Skipping showers and meals to play
  • Poor performance at work or school
  • Lying to others to hide gaming activities
  • Exhibiting signs of irritation when forced to stop gaming

Some experts say 10 to 15 percent of all people who use the Internet or play video games are addicted to them. If you or your kids fall into that category, here’s a website to give you more info and a treatment program. Life is too short to waste in front of a video game.

http://www.video-game-addiction.org/

Check out my new book.. “Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure’ available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions.  This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.

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10 Essential Traits of a Worship Pastor ~ Darlene Zschech

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Mark Cole

One of my life’s greatest privileges has been serving as a worship pastor, and with this responsibility my eyes have been opened to so many different facets of what the job really requires, as opposed to what I imagined it required.

I believe in my heart of hearts that the worship pastor of a team does not have to be the most talented, the most eloquent, the most gifted writer—although to be skillful at your craft is a must. But this role is truly all about care.

The worship pastor must care that people have an understanding of why we worship and not just how we worship; the worship pastor must carry the heart of the church and its leadership tenderly with great respect and unyielding support. The worship pastor must love the team and their families more for who they are and their journey in Christ than for what they do for the church.

Yes, the worship pastor is shepherd first, musician second—a true worshiper, one who leads with skill, wisdom, and godly devotion.

I have written my Top Ten teaching thoughts for worship pastors to share with their teams—to give you some absolutes to pass on to those entrusted to your care.

1. The Worship of God Is Holy

God is not common; hence worship is not a gig, not a right to prove our abilities, not an opportunity to sing our favorite songs. We worship because He is a holy God, and we the created—made for His pleasure—worship and serve the Creator because He alone is worthy.

2. Regarding Excellence

We bring our finest, because we care that our sacrifice is truthful and brought with integrity of heart. The first fight in the Bible was about a worship offering (Gen 4), and to this day, people bicker and disagree about what is genuine worship. No matter how we present our worship, only God knows the true intent of our pursuit of Him. And it is in the authentic pursuit of Him that we find excellence in worship.

3. Authentic Lives of Worship

We train in so many things consistently, but nothing can replace each individual’s commitment to an authentic life as a worshiper. So that when your inner life is revealed, what is seen and what is unseen by humans is one and the same.

Bill Hybels wrote a great book called Who You Are When No One’s looking.  Work at making sure that you are one person: the person we publicly know, and the person God privately knows.

4. Serve the Lord With Gladness (Ps 100)

Gladness is not just an emotion; gladness is a byproduct of joy, which is substance, a fruit of the spirit. You can literally live on it. Joy puts others at rest.

“He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart” (Eccl 5:20).

5. Worship Is Not Just a Lifestyle.

Worship is our life’s response to the grandeur and magnificence of our God. Worship as a lifestyle sounds like we would treat the Cross of Christ casually. But our ability to enter His courts and live in His presence actually cost God His all—for us. Never treat His worship as a lifestyle option.

6. Build a Culture That Embraces the New

We see that the Levites were trained and skilled in making music before the Lord (1 Chr 25:7). Never compare or be skillful for the sake of it, yet always encourage people to be developing their gifts, to try new things, new ideas. Be vigilant to train and grow and strive for freshness in all that you have been given, for the glory of His name. As the Scripture says:

  • Sing new songs (Isa 42:10).
  • You will be called by a new name (Isa 62:2).
  • I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them (Ezek 11:19)

New songs, new day, new start, new hope, new mercy, new possibilities, new ideas, new ways, new people, God says “new heaven and a new earth,” “ new covenant,” “new self,” “new heart,” “new command,” “new creation”… new, new, new!

7. God’s Presence Is Great Power

Our role is to declare and announce that God is here. If we just play and lead to please the ears of man and satisfy our own desires to play/sing, and march into services without a holy awareness of His presence and magnificence then we rob people of their spiritual inheritance. Lead people to the courts of our God.

8. We enter “His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise” (Ps 100:4)

This sequence is God’s idea, not just the delight of all sanguines worldwide. Be confident to lead people in the high praise of our God. Announce that our God reigns.

9. Speak a Kingdom Culture

If your team knows how to play music but the culture is one of negativity, defeat, resistance, offence, pride, lack of self esteem, jealousy, even of unbelief, then your team will never grow together into a culture that is based on kingdom principles. Kingdom music is crafted in the heart of a human being who gets a glimpse—a taste —or hears the sound of the kingdom of God.

10. People of Prayer

It is a very presumptuous person who thinks you can live an effective Christian life without prayer. Prayer is our lifeline; prayer is our first language; prayer is our direct access. This is made clear in the Psalms—a magnificent book of prayers that teaches us so much about our language before our God. Enter with thanksgiving, bring Him everything, love Him, adore Him, ask of Him; this is the language of prayer. As you develop your life of prayer, you are developing your life of faith—and your life of worship.

Never forget the honor it is to worship our King,

Darlene Zschech is the former worship pastor of Hillsong Church, in Sydney, Australia. Currently, Darlene, alongside her husband Mark, are Senior Pastors of Hope Unlimited Church on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. www.darlenezschech.com/

Edited from: Churchleaders.com

Mark Cole: Check out my new book: “Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure’. It is now available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions.  This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.

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Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Mark Cole

Check out my new book: ‘Leading Worship: Notes from a Grand Adventure’. This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.

Screen Shot 2014-09-12 at 5.50.29 PM

Endorsements:

I am honored to recommend this book to Worship Ministers, Pastors and worshippers of all denominations and generations. It is one of those “must-read” titles that will prove to be an invaluable resource for your worship personnel, time and time again. Good for you, Mark … this is an excellent read!

~ Vivien Hibbert; co-founder of The Worship Arts Conservatory, author, musician, speaker, Worship minister.

God has given Mark amazing experiences to share, from the mountain tops to the valleys – literally and figuratively. When you read these stories and sense his heart, you’ll be inspired to dream again. Breathe in the fresh air of your own adventure, and live out a life of worship in spirit and truth.

~ Ryan Dahl; CEO of PraiseCharts

You will learn about a true heart of worship through Mark’s quest for excellence in purity of heart, and his exceptional transparency as a man in search of the very presence of God – This book is an invaluable tool for any budding or experienced Worship Leader.

~ Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson; co-host for The 700 Club Canada

Mark’s 40-plus years of experience has enabled him to provide us with wisdom and understanding regarding worship. It is practical, it is clear, it is real…. Mark is passing the baton of his calling to you. Like Mark, may this book help you to run with the baton of your calling to your generation.

~ Howard Rachinski; Founder and Chairman/CEO of Christian Copyright Licensing International, Inc. (CCLI)

For the story behind the book.. check out below

This last May I started writing stories of my life and ministry on Facebook and that grew into a blog: “Following God: Notes From A Great Adventure” @ markcole.ca.  It was an unusual experience… I felt compelled to write every morning for months..

A few months into the process, I got a message from Jeanne Halsey that said, “I didn’t get the memo that you were writing a book”. I responded that “it didn’t start out as a book but I began to realize that there were probably possibilities for a couple of books from the blog.”

Jeanne (who is a very experienced ghost writer and editor) then kindly asked if she could help me turn my blog into a book. From that quick conversation (and many emails) has emerged a book that I’m very proud of and I hope will become a real blessing for worship leaders and teams around the world: “Leading Worship: Notes From A Grand Adventure”

I want to thank Howard Rachinski (CEO of CCLI) for writing the Forward, my son-in-law, Ryan Iverson for designing the cover and, of course, Jeanne Halsey for all her work in making this into a book.

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8 Tips On Taking Your School Worship Time To The Next Level

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Mark Cole

I love leading students in worship and also teaching students to lead. I have been blessed to have lead worship teams at home and around the world for thirty years. Here are a few things that I have learned along that way.

Leading worship in school

1. Pick Great Songs

Picking great songs of worship is so important. They should be singable, memorable, Biblical and inspirational. Great songs of worship have a God dynamic all their own.

Check out my blog on “What I Have Learned About Picking New Songs For Worship“. Here are the main points from that blog:

  • Learn to pick great songs not just doable songs.
  • One of the tests of a great song is that you catch yourself singing it by yourself
  • Great songs have the Spirit of God resting on them
  • Pick great songs from around the world… not just your favourite band.
  • CCLI Top 200 SongSelect List is an invaluable list to choose from
  • Great Writers: Find out who the top writers are and listen and learn from them
  • Keep a balanced repertoire: You need fast, medium and slow tunes.
  • Repeat the new songs: I always do new songs three times in the first month.
  • Put songs in singable keys: Are you singing them to high or too low?
  • Should you do your original song?
  • Test the song. Does the song work with just a simple acoustic guitar or piano?
  • Don’t start or end with a brand new song, no matter how good it is.

2. Put great songs in a great order

I have found that students often come to chapel unfocused on God. One of my jobs is to pick great songs that help get them focused on God as soon as possible. That usually works best by finding an uptempo worship tune that is easy to sing and gets them engaged as soon as possible.

I usually have a 15 minutes to do worship in school chapel, so for me, that means three songs. My general rule of thumb is to do one uptempo song.. often more praise orientated. Then I do a strong medium tempo transition song and then end with a powerful worship song that is sung directly to God.

This general guideline helps the group you are leading to go from focusing and singing about God to worshipping God directly. 

3. Have Great Rehearsals

I normally have two and half hours of rehearsal for every fifteen minutes of worship time. The goal is get so proficient at doing the music that you do not have to think about the music during the live worship time. You need to get past just performing music to focusing on and worshipping God!

My normal practise is to have a fifty min vocal rehearsal, a fifty min band rehearsal and then a forty-five minute rehearsal with both just before the chapel time. These rehearsal times gives everyone time to learn the music properly and work out any problem areas. (Check out my recent blog on this subject “What I’ve Learned About Running A Worship Band Rehearsal”)

4. Work on Great Sound & Media

A good soundman can make or break you! There is no use having great songs and rehearsals if the sound mix is not working for the crowd. I have learned that putting the drums in a full cage generally helps gets the best overall mix. Also, putting baffles around guitar amps and putting the band on in-ear-monitors really helps the soundman. I also try to take time off the stage once a month to listen to the front-of-house mix.

In the same way, having a media person who is on top of the projected lyrics is huge. Beside having the lyric screen up front for the congregation, I also have a large screen at the back of the auditorium for the singers to see the lyrics.

If you can have the soundman giving you a great mix and the media operator giving the lyrics at the right time. You have a strong sound and visual foundation on which to work off!

5. Put God First

Worshipping God is a daily lifestyle. If you are just worshipping God when you publicly lead, you are living a subpar Christian lifestyle. Your live worship times should just be the tip of the iceberg! If you honour God daily by reading His word, praying, worshipping and spending time with Him; He will honour you by showing up in your chapel worship times!

I am capable of putting together a good band and songs. But only God can touch the students hearts and minds! Put God first in your daily life and He will show up in powerful ways in your student worship times!

Also, put God first in your actual worship time. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the music, transitions and the mechanics of leading and playing that we don’t focus on the main thing: God! God is why we come together, God is why we sing great songs and worship. God is the reason. Don’t allow the distractions of live music get in the way of worshipping God with all your heart and leading the students to do the same!

Check out my blog: “Three Ways To Put God First In Your Life“. Here are the main points from that blog:

  • Start your day with God reading the Bible and praying.
  • Put God first in your finances
  • Put God first with your friends & family

6. Memorize Your Music

There are few things worse than seeing a worship leader and team whose eyes are glued to the music. When you memorize the music, you can communicate better with the crowd and with God! To get past the music, you need to memorize it and know it so well that you do not have to think about it! Great teams and leaders memorize the music so that they can lead and worship freely!

Check out my blog on this subject: “What I’ve Learned About Memorizing Music For Worship”

7. Worship God With All Your Heart

The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. This includes worshipping God with your actions. The actions of Biblical worship include singing, clapping, raising our hands, dancing, bowing and shouting. We serve an awesome God who created every good thing that we enjoy. He is worthy of passionate worship. 

Never let yourself just go through the motions of just singing a song. Be a passionate worshipper who loves and worships God with all you have. Learn to incorporate all the actions of worship into your personal and corporate worship!

8. Be A Great Example To Your Peers

I have found that students generally tend to mirror the passion of the worship team. If the people up front are full of passion and energy for worshipping God, the students tends to lift their worship to a higher level.

You have the opportunity to be passionate examples of worshippers to your peers. If they see you and the team worshipping God with your whole heart soul, mind and strength on a weekly basis, they will grow in their passion for worship.

If you lead, they will follow. It sometimes does not happen immediately, but that is what worship leadership is about. A big part of leadership is helping people grow in their passion and worship of God. Learn to be a passionate worshipper of God, on and off the stage. Be authentic and do not lose your passion for loving and worshiping God with all your heart! (for more on this, check out my blog: “Actions Speak So Loud” & “Attitude Is Everything“)

Question: What things have you found that help your school grow in your worship times together?

Check out my new book: “Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure’. It is now available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions.  This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.

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Unexpected Storms!

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Mark Cole

A few years back, Calgary had a freak snow storm in September that dumped over 25 cm (10 inches) of wet, heavy snow on the city. It didn’t bother me much, I work at home. But, it decimated the leafy tree population of Calgary. The trees were in full bloom and all that heavy, wet snow was too much for the trees to handle.

When I drove down my street the next day, it looked like a war zone. There were huge sections of trees lying across the road, it was almost impossible to walk on the sidewalk. The beautiful trees in our neighbourhood suffered huge losses.

Crescent Heights

Sometimes life has unexpected storms. They come at the worst time. They come when you least expect them.

I have learned that staying close to Jesus is one of the best ways to weather a personal storm. Jesus said, “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me.”

Frankly, I want to live a fruitful life. I don’t want to regret what I have done with my life. Jesus gives us the key to living a full life: “You cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me.”

What does it mean to “remain in Me”? Jesus gives us another hint: “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples.”

Did you catch that? “If My words remain in you.” Words are powerful and Jesus words are the most powerful of all.

If you want to weather the freak storms of life, stay close to Jesus and remind yourself daily of His words. Words like, “Love your neighbour as yourself”. Words like, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul, mind and strength.” Words like, “No one comes to the Father, except by Me.” And words like “I have come that your joy might be full.“

So take some time, pull out your Bible and read ‘the words in red’…. the words of Jesus. It will change your life. It will give you the strength to weather whatever storms come your way. They will help you lead a full, joyful and abundant life!

Question: Have you read your Bible today? What are you doing to stay strong? Are you ready for a freak storm?

Here is a link to some of Jesus’ most famous quotes. And, if you’ve never read the Bible, let me recommend that you start with the Book of John.. here’s a link to read it online: John 1 New Living Translation

Check out my new book.. “Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure’ available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions.  This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.

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It Was Dangerous To Have A Birthday

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Mark Cole

My twentieth birthday was very memorable. I was travelling with a Christian band, named Living Sound, in Rhodesia (now named Zimbabwe). We had the day off and we were spending it on a beautiful estate with a gorgeous house, rolling lawns and great amenities.

The house had a sauna, so I thought I would try it out. I hadn’t spent more then ten minutes in the sauna when, all of sudden, the room filled with the rest of the guys in the band. They grabbed me, carried me out onto the lawn and while the guys sat on me, one of the girls in the band shaved my right leg.

You have to understand, I have vey hairy legs. Also, it was December and it was the middle of the summer in Africa. I always wear shorts in the summer. Now, here I was with one very hairy leg and one clean shaven leg. That really is not a great ‘look’!

Why, you may ask? You see, it was very dangerous to have a birthday in our band! On our trip down to Africa on a cruise ship, my buddy, Greg, had been grabbed from his bunk bed. Early one morning, when he was fast asleep, eight of us guys surprised him and threw him into the ship’s pool. That was in retaliation for his interfering with us getting his girlfriend on her birthday.

But one of the best stories, it is sort of legendary, was when our fearless leader, Terry Law, had his birthday. You see, Terry was one of the worst for pulling birthday pranks. When his birthday came, he was more than a little wary of what would happen to him!

Terry kept looking over his shoulder the whole day, wondering when ‘it’.. ‘the birthday prank’ would happen. Dinner time came, just before our evening concert, and still nothing had happened. Unbeknownst to Terry, the girls on the team had prepared a special birthday cake for him. They had made a chocolate cake, with one very special piece. The girls had laced Terry’s piece with a couple pieces of Ex-Lax (a very strong laxative) tablets mixed into the icing of his piece.

Ex Lax

When they served the birthday cake that evening, Terry got his ‘special’ piece of cake! He had no idea what was happening!

Well, as the story goes, the team had their concert that night and as usual, Terry came up to preach at the end of the evening. As he was preaching his seven point sermon, the Ex-Lax kicked in around the third point! To their chagrin, the team could see his obvious discomfort as he cut his forty minute message to twenty minutes and quickly passed it off to one of the other team members to close.

Apparently, Terry spent the rest of the night very close to the bathroom! As I was saying, it was very dangerous to have your birthday in our band! 🙂

Question: What are your favourite pranks that you have heard about or done yourself?

Comments from Facebook: Judi Omdahl Nordtvedt: Susan frosted one corner of the cake with the Ex-Lax & we marked it a certain way so we would know that Terry got that piece (an extra large one) & no one else would accidentally eat it! There were a couple of other memorable things about that evening…does anyone else remember what those were?

Gordon Calmeyer: I think this was in Paul Paino’s church in Fort Wayne Indiana, I think Terry did not make it through the altar call and either Don Moen or I had to finish the service. Terry spent the whole night in the toilet in the Prophets Chamber in the church where he was staying! Not good but it turned out to be a classic story!

Check out my new book: “Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure”. It is now available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions.  This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.

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What I’ve Learned From Gazing At The Sky

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Mark Cole

I am an avid tennis player. I’ve got the tennis bug! This week, I had one of those very memorable evenings of playing tennis. The weather forecast was for possible thunder showers. It looked a little ominous outside, so my tennis partner, Randy, and I debated about whether we should even play of not. But, we decided to got for it.

When we got to the tennis courts, there were huge dark clouds just south of us. But fortunately, it never really rained on the courts. As we played, we were treated to an amazing display of lightning bolts flashing across the sky. As this incredible light show unfolded in the heavens above us, we also had a great tennis battle on the court.

streaking lightning

As I played, I was reminded of the majesty of God. When I see the power and glory of the heavens, it reminds me of what an awesome God I serve.

One year, the band I was in took a cruise ship from Southampton, England to Cape Town, South Africa. On one very memorable November evening, we crossed the Equator in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I remember lying out under the stars, on the top deck of the ship somewhere off the coast of Africa. It was a gorgeous clear evening and we watched shooting stars for hours. The immensity and the unbelievable glory of the stars above us captivated me.

David said it this way: 

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. (Psalm 19:1-4 NLT)

The songwriter, Stuart Hine, said it this way:

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee. How great Thou art. How great Thou art. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee. How great Thou art. How great Thou art!

Wow, I serve an amazing God!

Question: Do you see the majesty of God displayed in the heavens? What has been your most memorable evening outside?

Check out my new book: “Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure’. It is now available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions.  This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.

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The Night I Wore A Dumb Wig On Stage

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Mark Cole

When you are young, you don’t always think things through… sometimes you do dumb stuff! Case in point: When I was 19 years old, I was travelling with a band in England. One day we had a day off, so a number of us went shopping in London. Somehow I got talked into trying on an Afro wig!

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Who knows why I did it, but I ended up buying the Afro wig. Weird, I know! But sometimes you do dumb stuff. In my defence, Afro’s were popular back then. One night soon after that, we decided to get as many people in our band to wear their hair in an Afro style for a concert at a church. So that night, there were about seven of us in Afro’s. Who knows why? It just sounded like a fun thing to do.

Our band was often billeted at people’s homes and this particular night, I was billeted with three other guys at the Pastor’s home. Now normally we would have just stayed one night, but because of a gap in our tour, we ended up staying three nights.

Now I was embarrassed to let our hosts to know that I had been wearing a wig. So, I kept it on for the whole three days. If you have ever worn a wig, you know that it can get really itchy. Finally on the last morning, I couldn’t take it any longer. I had a shower and blow-dried my own hair bone straight.

When I went down for breakfast, the pastor’s family was shocked! “How did you get your hair so straight?” they asked. Again, I was too embarrassed to admit that I had worn a wig, so I just responded, “I just blow-dried it and it came out straight.” Dumb answer, I know! But in my defence, I was young and dumb!

I still laugh when I think about it. Dumb stuff, but fun stories! Later on, we were travelling in South Africa and we did a comedy skit where I wore the Afro wig on stage. Here is the pic to prove it!

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 Question: What fun dumb stuff have you done that you are willing to admit?

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