Minimalism: Playing the Background (Reflections on the Christmas Eve Service)

Here's my board setup for the Connect Church Christmas Eve service:

I'm posting this blog because I feel incredibly guilty that I used so much gear and played fairly obnoxiously. So ah, enjoy.

Pedal Order: Our Work is not in Vain

Alright. So I bet you saw the title of this post and thought, “Oh crap. Another pedal order blog post from some punk. He thinks he knows something. I bet he thinks he can teach me something. How DARE he.” I’m here to rewrite your opinion of pedal order posts. Because frankly, I don’t care one second how you order your pedals. Thanks to a friend of mine, I now put my drives before my volume; but if you put your drives at the end of your chain I’ll still be more concerned with how intensely you worship and love the Creator. So let’s start with a verse.

Indie Worship: Overcoming Insecurity and Being Real with Ourselves

“Will You stay with me when I forget You’re there?

Will you still love me when my love lingers elsewhere?”

 –Enclosed By You by Josh White (Telecast, The Followers)

My Gear: Be Humble

"The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart." Psalm 51:17 

Be Humble (Ps. 51:17)

Back in high school, I was asked to pick out a Bible verse to read in front of the congregation. I went home and googled "good Bible verses in Psalms", expecting to see a bunch of verses about praising God with a loud noise and with instruments. I wanted to blow everyone away with my expert selection. Instead, what the Spirit revealed to me was Psalm 51:17, a verse about breaking oneself to please God. This greatly upset me. I didn't want to be humble! I wanted to be the cool, hip, attractive guitarist with the ultra-relevant Bible verse and the cool hair.  But God had other plans. God used that verse to humble me and equip me to better lead others. 

Welcome, Pedalheads

So,

You like pedals? Good. So do I. You also like to worship our Creator with your use of pedals? Me too! I'm glad we have these things in common.