NEW SONG ALERT - A GA'M E TINKPU - {I WILL SHOUT} BY E'DAVIDS

Here is a new song that the Lord gave the world through me.
The song talks about looking back at what God has done and looking forward to what He has promised to do, which is a enough reason to shout in Praise and thanks to Him. It will be ready for downloads on the 1st of July, 2015. Below is a video lyrics snippet of what to expect.
The song is produced by a kindhearted and talented producer and sound engineer Don Zenith (@Mrzeneth ) and also mixed and mastered by the same.
The song will make you not just dance but also shout and do some crazy but lovely moves unto God.
The video of this song is set to be shot in a couple of days too. More details will be sent to you soon.
Enjoy this snippet as an appetizer in readiness for the main course.

You can join my BBM CHANNEL  C0040D088 for tips, discussions and advice on the music minister and the music ministry. You can also chart with me directly from that channel too.
Watch this space for more information.

THE PERFECT WORSHIP

In the place of worship, the only thing that matters is to whom my focus is on, and that of course is GOD, not my voice, not my musicians, not my backup singers.
After the worship, I can address what ever I thought went wrong with the musicians and singers but I can never be able to explain to GOD ALMIGHTY why I didn't worship him the way I should and expect Him to say to me 'I understand'. A perfect worshiper is one who forgets all-else at that time to only-truly-really-fully-surely keep his/her eyes focused on the one being worshiped, letting nothing and no one distract him. Having a good team to work with during worship is just an addition, not the core of worship.

 

 Saying that without music instruments and backup singers you won't be able to worship God well will be saying that our father's and mothers and patriarchs of faith didn't worship God too because in their day, what we have now they never had but they worshiped God all the same and I even dare to say that they were more focused on God than we are in our day.

 To draw the curtain on this, WORSHIP IS WORTHSHIP TO KINGSHIP and IT DESERVES TOTAL FOCUS ON THE KING OF KINGS, not anything less than this.
‪#‎SpirituallyYours‬
E'Davids

GOSPEL MUSIC VS CHRISTIAN MUSIC

#‎Dear Music Minister/Choir member

 I decided to go through some music minister’s wall on Facebook today and as I did wall after wall, minister after minister, I couldn't help but wonder if they were really in LOVE with the GOD they are ministering to.

 I kept seeing different shades of "self -promotion rather than promoting the gospel, I kept seeing ministers beg for people to Download their songs, I saw ministers whose Facebook page needed repentance, I saw choir members in various churches whose Facebook page lacked the professing of their faith, and I also saw pages that loved to have their face /faces on every poster, handbill, flier, anything to just announce themselves and push self rather than Christ."

 At some point I also have been guilty of some of these things but constant evaluation and check with the word of God has helped me to know what is given and what isn't.

 If you really want to get result in ministry, then you must learn to spend time doing these three things:

 1- Studying God's word

 2- Praying

 3- Rehearsing.

 If you make knowing God more your natural state, people will naturally download your songs, people will tell other people about you, Kings shall come to your rising and it wouldn't matter to you whether your face is in a publicity material or not because your desire will be to see Jesus glorified in every corner of the world.

 The reason why your light keeps getting covered is because you are trying to be popular, rather than trying to make Jesus glorified in the hearts of men. The more you seek fame, the more you go under, and the more you try to put your songs by yourself in the heart of men, the more you get weak results. Sir/ma, any announcement or promotion or publicity that the Lord does not give you will take you and lead you nowhere.

 "Deep calleth unto the deep at thine water brooks"... Psalm 42:7.

I am not against using social media platforms to show forth your business at all, and i also love that Christians are using it to do so. I must also say that if you are amongst those who see gospel music as one way of business and entertainment, then you need some re-evaluation sir. You call it "GOSPEL Music isn't it? What is the gospel supposed to do? To preach Christ or to entertain and bring you profit? Now you go ahead and ask my friends and elder brothers in this ministry Panam Percy Paul, Solomon Lange, Kenny Kore, Chris Delvan, Nathaniel Bassey, Efe Nathan, Muyiwa Israel, Buchi , David Nkennor, Ernest Paul, Chris Morgan and others whose ministry is deep if entertainment and business is what brought them and kept them and is sustaining them in this ministry OR if it is the drive and passion to see GOD"s name exalted and glorified in all the earth. I don't support being too religious, but you and I know that the Muslim man doesn't care what the platform is; he will profess his faith in any given way. I'd love every Christian to advertise his/her business to reach out to the world, but first, we've got to establish what the "product" is that keeps the Christian brother/sister in business isn't it? If your business is doing gospel music, what then is the "CORE" of your message? Isn’t it supposed to be JESUS CHRIST? if then you agree with me that our brand, our product is JESUS, why then should we be ok to sing about it but not find it ok to announce it to the world through our posts and likes and shares on all social media platforms and our lifestyles? Or didn't Apostle Paul say in Romans chapter1:16 " For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek? If you who is supposed to be a Jew cannot be bold about it, how then do you expect the others to? Once you take praying, studying and rehearsing out of the equation, then you don't have "Gospel music" anymore, what you have is Christian music which is totally different from GOSPEL.

And in anyway, those three things "STUDYING-PRAYING-REHEARSING" are what makes you, not promo or posters or handbills or awards sir. Ever wondered how JESUS'S Fame reached places where he never went to? Ever wondered how He became what HE is today? Ever wondered why His name is above every other? It is because of that three... STUDYING-PRAYING and PRACTICING! There you have it.

 Mathew 21:12 and 13 says "And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN."

I PRAY THAT THE EYES OF YOUR HEART BE ENLIGHTENED (AMEN)

#‎SpirituallyYours

 E'Davids

QUESTIONS CHILDREN ASK GOD

It will amaze you how children think and how they put the questions or suggestions or even there opinion to God in prayer... Here are a few I was able to stumble upon, but interesting though.

1.Dear God, I bet it's very hard for you to love all the whole world. There are only four people in our family and I can never do it.—Nancy

2.Dear God, My brother told me how babies are born but it just doesn't sound right. What do you say?—Marsha

3.Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother but what I asked for was a puppy. You can look it up.—Joyce

4.Dear God, I read the bible. What does "beget" mean? Nobody will tell me.—Love, Alison

5.Dear God, Please put another holiday between Christmas and Easter. There's nothing good there now.—Amanda

6.Dear God, My Grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go?—Love, Dennis

7.Dear God, In bible times, did they really talk that fancy?—Jennifer

8.Dear God, Is Reverend Coe a friend of yours, or do you just know him through the business?—Donny

9.Dear God, Is it true my father won't get in Heaven if he uses his golf words in the house?—Anita

10.Dear God, I'm doing the best I can. Really!!!! Is it true you'll send me to hell forever when I grow up?—Mikey

11.Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel wouldn't kill each other if they each had their own rooms. That works with me and my brother.—Larry

12.Dear God, If you watch in Church on Sunday I'll show you my new shoes.—Barbara

13.Dear God, Please send Dennis Clark to a different summer camp this year.—Peter

14.Dear God, How did you know you were God? Who told you?—Charlene

15.Dear God, How come you did all those miracles in the old days and don't do any now?—Billy

16.Dear Mr. God, I wish you wouldn't make it so easy for people to come apart. I had to have three stitches and a shot.—Janet

17.Dear God, Did you mean for giraffes to look like that or was it an accident?—Norma

18.Dear God, Do you draw the lines around the countries? If you don't, who does?—Nathan

19.Dear God, It is great the way you always get the stars in the right place. Why can't you do that with the moon?—Jeff

ME vs GOD.

Worship starts with the congregation, not the stage nor the artiste, nor the worship leader.

There’s a sound of worship that comes from a congregation so hungry for God… a wave that comes from the back of the room, overtaking the concert. It’s not something that you can orchestrate or plan for, that sound, that response when God shows up.They are coming to experience God.”

Each time we bring our hearts to God, it feels as if it is a fresh encounter. We can’t rely on past encounters with God, because He chooses the encounter. We should pray and ask God to show up, and if we think it’s something we’re doing, we’re missing the whole point.

So how does one go about capturing that shift in the atmosphere, that moment when the order of service takes a back seat to the work of the Holy Spirit? You simply “get out of the way. The best you can do is to prepare your heart and be obedient.

“You have to be willing to become invisible. It’s never about you. Nothing in the service is about you. People aren’t coming to see you. 

Each time we bring our hearts to God, it feels as if it is a fresh encounter. We can’t rely on past encounters with God, because He chooses the encounter. We should pray and ask God to show up, and if we think it’s something we’re doing, we’re missing the whole point.

If you scan the Christian music horizon, you’ll find a wealth of artistry created in praise of God and represented by music styles as diverse as the Church itself. But there are some sounds that defy categorization, some songs that go beyond what our vocabulary can express. And it is the desire to welcome and nurture these heaven-inspired sounds and songs that should drive worship leaders and songwriters.

If you look at what God is doing, what only He can do, you can’t take credit for any of this… if it works, it’s God. There’s no pressure because you can’t do anything apart from God, but there is responsibility to inspire the next generation to pursue God, to inspire them to get into His presence and make a difference in this world.”

We’re not going into these places for concerts, we’re going in to see moves of God- This should be the approach of our music ministrations, not otherwise.

“If I don’t do it, He’ll find someone who will.”

Compassion From The Stage

When Jesus was in front of the crowd, he always had compassion on them (Mt. 9:35, 14:13).  As worship leaders we need to have compassion from the stage and here are a few practical thoughts about it:

1. Remember that it’s God who does the work in people’s hearts.  He might use our smile, voice, welcome, song, conversation or attitude as a catalyst, but the congregation is His. Know why you are up there in the first place – to help focus people’s attention on God. You, as the leader, joined with the congregation are giving worship to God.

2. Pray before you serve in your ministry leadership role.  Pray for the people that you will be leading, for their hearts and for their connection and communion with God.  And pray for the team that will be serving.  Don’t ever fall into the trap of thinking that we don’t need a “trite prayer” just before going on stage to serve in this capacity.  Coming before the Lord is never trite – even if it is only a brief time just before worship begins.  And many times, I invite our group to pray at the end of worship too.

3. Compassion from the stage begins with a unified worship team – be in community with the group so that you can model the body of Christ at work.  One of things I teach our traveling team is that you never give an order to a sound guy without first saying his name.  If don’t know his name, then that’s the first step – find out the person’s name then ask to have yourself turned up in the monitor.  Also, serve together as a team, if possible, outside of leading music for weekend worship services.

4. No water bottles on stage while leading congregational singing – unless the whole congregation has a bottle of water.  If we are inviting everyone to sing the whole time, then why is it only the band that has a water bottle?   It’s a reminder to us that we are only in front as the leaders, not performers.  We are all involved in singing praises to God.  (I have changed my tune a bit on this since having to have vocal chord surgery, but it’s still a concept that I think about).

5. Compassion on stage is closely tied to being in community with the people you lead.  Look for ways to build community in the body of Christ.  Be a part of a small group, bible study, class, regular worship service.

6. Stage presence isn’t limited to leading on Sunday morning… but also with your heart as you live among your family, friends and co-workers.  There is often more truth in the unrehearsed word than in the rehearsed ones.

7. Smile – allow God’s presence to shine through you.

8. Humility – understand that in 50 or 60 years, there’s a good chance that the church will still be ministering and you probably won’t be up there.

8. Dress – thinking of the congregation you are ministering to and with and willingly comply with guidelines of the worship team.

9. Attitude – should be the same a Christ Jesus (Phil. 2)

10. Song Choices – should be aimed at helping connect the congregation to God and not to suit the whims of musicians (I’m not saying don’t keep the music fresh, but also remember that for every time the congregation has sung the song, you have probably sung it 30 times in rehearsals, practices and sound checks).

11. Align the worship style with congregation – at times they church needs challenged and stretched in worship. But at other times, they need brought along lovingly – that’s where compassion comes in.  That’s also probably why old hymns will always be used in some manner.

“Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are–face to face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not apiece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.” 2 Cor. 3:16-18 (The Message)

WORKING AS A TEAM

Man is a social being thus he needs to interact with people. Almost every individual has experienced, in one way or another, how it is to work in a group - from his childhood games to wherever he is now earning his living. Unfortunately, not every group succeeds in its objectives or goals. Failure is a possible consequence whenever we get into a challenge. However, we can always avoid this much dreaded "failure" if every member of a group would not fail to use or exercise TEAMWORK. Yes, every group of people must not only work as a GROUP where every individual works for his own advantage, but instead, every one should work as part of a TEAM - where he is working towards a common goal. When these "small contributions" build up, success is hardly unforeseeable.

How can a person work as part of a TEAM? It's actually so easy: just remember the word TEAMWORK as a guideline. Also remember that all these should work together - should be there hand in hand from the conception of the team to the achievement of the final goal. No one of these can be enough and can work in isolation to be able to come up with a successful team.

T is for Talent

By talent, I mean a person's knowledge or capabilities. It is of course quite necessary for a member of a team to be knowledgeable about the work that his team is going to do. Where can these knowledge be gained? Knowledge can explicitly be learned from some useful handbooks on whatever you are working on. However, implicit knowledge - that which is acquired through experience and practice, is found to be much more useful.

E is for Enthusiasm

But as we will later realize, talent alone is not enough. A knowledgeable team member must also be enthusiastic. He must seek responsibility, he must find ways to make the talents he has useful. He must always have the energy and the drive to work. Eventually, this enthusiasm will naturally come out of him and he will realize that his example becomes so inspiring and motivating enough for his other teammates to work - without him asking them any demands.

A is for Accountability

Every member is accountable not only to his team but to all his other work mates. We are not responsible only of ourselves. It is everyone's responsibility to keep others informed. Whenever someone keeps on forgetting what he needs to do, it is our responsibility to keep him reminded. What he failed to do is a reflection of what we were also not able to do ourselves.

M is for Management

Every member must know his specialization relative to what his other teammates can do best. A good organization is really needed in proper distribution of work. The best member of any group is he who demands work based on what he can do. When we are assigned to do or work on something, we must also know where to go for help (just in case we couldn't work out on something), and when those help must be asked. Ultimately, it is every group member's responsibility to ensure that everyone has a work to do and that every one is always the best man for his job.

W is for Work-able

When a person has all the talents and the enthusiasm in the world and yet he doesn't have free time to work, it all turns out useless. Availability of every member is very much needed to work as a team. If no one's there, who do you expect to pursue the team's goals? This work-ability is not all about free-time, however, it also entails a large amount of adaptability. Every member must be able to expect different possibilities and must know how to react on them should they arise in the course of events.

O is for Openness

Understanding among team members is a necessity in every team for every member to be able to work in the best of his abilities. Everyone must be open to new ideas and suggestions. Everyone must have the capability to understand people. It is in keeping the communication lines open that the team can more efficiently achieve its goals.

R is for Respect

Every team member must be able to practice respect so that he can expect to be respected in return. A team could discuss things and every member could voice out his own opinion in whatever matter they are discussing without degrading his teammate or his teammate's suggestions no matter how irrational they are. It is one thing to listen and be able to humbly object and it is another thing to just avoid to listen. Whenever a team is brainstorming, everyone must be able to raise his opinions without having any hard feelings.

K is for Keenness

Keenness is the final key in working as a part of a team. It is more than enthusiasm. Enthusiasm comes before doing the actual work. This keenness - this intensity, is manifested while going through the work itself. It is what pushes us to move on and keep on working until we are finally done.

1.       ....Remember that everyone on your team has a role. Being part of a team environment means recognizing your role, as well as understanding the value of everyone else's roles, so you may all integrate your roles for the purpose of accomplishing the team goal. Common roles include:

The technician is the person who assumes thorough knowledgeable about the task and process, and is a good source of useful information and practical guidance.

The innovator is the creative person on the team, and is good at conceptualizing new ideas, as well as out-of-the-box problem solving.

The motivator is the team player who keeps everyone on task by way of a positive attitude and openness to whatever it takes to get the job done.