Busy to me has become the new four letter word. I just hate it. Especially if you are in full-time ministry or involved in ministry via volunteering, busyness can become your way of life all too quickly. Even more so, the pressure to be busy can become an obstacle as well. Below are just a few things I have observed that can maybe help set some of us free from the bondage of busyness, because God never called us to be busy, He called us to be fruitful.

1. Don’t compare yourself to others.
Everyone has a different leadership capacity and capacity in general. We all have limits, whether you choose to recognize them or not. Everyone has different giftings, different roles they play, different contributions they make and not one is better or superior than the other. Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of believing you have to do what others do and schedule what others schedule to be successful and fruitful at the calling/place/position God has for you.

2. Don’t make others suffer.
People that refuse to recognize their capacities usually make other people suffer for their lack of boundaries. We have to remember that our schedules don’t just affect ourselves, they impact our spouse, our family, our friends and even our co-workers. The more unhealthy we get, the less like Jesus we get, because we begin to work out of our flesh rather than our spirit. Running on empty becomes a hinderance to us displaying the fruits of the Spirit in our lives and usually results in us living on the edge. If you live on the edge, there’s always going to be something that the devil will use to push you over the edge. How you take care of yourself or don’t take care of yourself affects every area of your life. Don’t let the feeling of loving to be needed overshadow the God-given command of observing the Sabbath and living a life of health and balance.

3. Enjoy your journey.
God wants us to live an abundant life where we are not just focused so much on the achieving or arrival at the destination that we do not enjoy our journey. We need to learn it is ok to say NO. Going back to the idea of capacity, you know what schedule is best for you and your family in order to be fruitful, but live in the rest of God and enjoy your journey. Don’t let anyone make you feel less than for not being as busy or booked, because it doesn’t necessarily mean you are more fruitful or impactful. I’ll leave you with this quote from Socrates, “Beware of the barrenness of a busy life.”

Recently, our staff at Connect returned from attending GROW Conference, a leadership intensive at Church of the Highlands. First off, if you haven’t heard of this Conference or had the opportunity to attend, do it. It isn’t your typical conference in that it is more about equipping your church and staff with the resources and principles they need, rather than just hyping them up to go back and do ministry. Now, the hyping up does happen here as well, it’s just slightly more organic and not the central focus.

The content was so rich, I would never have enough time probably in a whole year to share and dissect it all. However, just wanted to share four fairly related points that have challenged me in regards to what I do across the board, including this blog.

* Measure your effectiveness.
* Challenge the process.
* Be consistent.
* Continue to improve.

I have already begun doing this with the systems and processes we have in our worship & tech arts areas. However, I wanted to do that in every area of my life as well, because it’s healthy and helps encourage/facilitate growth. With that being said, the few tweaks I will be making with this platform will be: consistently updating the Scripture Wall, posting Thoughts post less frequently but with richer content and changing what I do with the Set List posts slightly.

As of right now, probably for more sentimental reasons than anything else, I began the Set List section with our very first Launch Day set. Because we launched in September, but I started the blog in January, it put that section four months behind the material we are currently doing. Therefore, I’ve decided to jump ahead and begin posting current set lists, because honestly, it just makes more sense. However, if you would be interested in the few sets in between, just let me know and I can get them to you via email.

So, I challenge you as well to take time to step back and evaluate the areas of your life: marriage, work, ministry, etc. and decide how you can be more effective and consistent. I heard this quote recently and it really just gave me the little extra push I needed to begin this process, so I’ll leave you with this: “Your significance never changes but your effectiveness does.”

In light of the recent happenings in our country, I desire to not debate or address the actual events but rather emphasize how important it is as a pastor/leader to be educated in the Word and current culture of society. To give some context or qualify myself per say before you form your opinion, I will tell you that I was Catholic born, raised in an Assembly of God church, educated at a fairly liberal Nazarene college and am now immersed in an eclectic city culture. Honestly, I’ve pretty much heard, seen and read most all perspectives. At this point, really nothing can surprise me.

However, one observation that has concerned me lately is noticing how many Christians are either completely unaware of the current events in the world or completely indifferent to them. Even worse, the Christians that are aware or passionate about keeping the blessing and covering of our nation and our society aligned with the principles of the Biblical foundation it was founded upon, are marked as haters or closed-minded. I do agree that many Christians that have good intentions are displaying their passion for Biblical truth in the wrong way, but I also feel it is equal a crime for Christians not to speak up at all.

Our number one job as Christians is to love. One definition of love is doing what is in the best interest of a person because you care for them and this leads many of times to speaking truth, truth in love. Another job we have as Christians is to be always dedicated to truth, the truth of God’s word. However, the delivery of truth should always be wrapped in love, grace and compassion. I’ve heard it said, “Truth without grace is surgery without anesthesia. Grace without truth is a bottle with no medicine in it. Only grace and truth together can help people.”

Thinking back to my time at university, I was bombarded with dozens of ways to view life, culture, politics, ethics, etc. We were taught to challenge history, scripture and tradition. I found many of my classmates seemingly begin to value and pursue human intellect and knowledge rather than God’s presence and His Word. I watched as people questioned every aspect of their beliefs and searched to define “their own” definition of life and what they thought was freedom.

What I have found in my personal journey is that true freedom has already been defined for me, in the pages, principles and precepts of the Word of God. I’ve realized for many of my friends, and for the people I come in contact with on a daily basis, and even on social media, that people approach life and truth in two ways: either they believe in the infallibility of the Word of God, or they believe Scripture is up for human addition, subtraction and interpretation.

I’ve also heard it said, “If you are not rooted in the goodness of God, you will lower your theology to match your pain.” If I were to choose the later path of interpreting Scripture, because of the circumstances and real struggles we deal with on a daily basis in this fallen world, it would be much easier to be influenced by what I see and hear, to then draw my own conclusions of Scripture to match the current issue or circumstance before me. However, in moments of temptation to do so for hopes of not receiving opposition, I have found the result to be more hurtful than helpful, less loving, less healing and less freeing.

Personally, I’ve decided I will put my faith, hope, trust and belief in the Word of God. I choose to define my life, perspective and opinions by the parameters of the Bible and believe as a human, I do not have the right to change or alter what the Scripture declares holy and unholy, pleasing and unpleasing to the Lord. In saying that, you too will have to decide how and what you want to define your life by. One thing I know to be true is culture will change, but my rootedness in His Word will not. When I honor God with my beliefs, views, words and actions and commit to the defense of the principles and precepts He has laid before me, I believe there is blessing, covering and peace like no other.

As leaders, taking time to step back from the daily grind and routine of “doing” to access where and how your team is doing spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally is important. It is vital in order to create an overall healthy environment for growth and essential for the continuation of ministry that flourishes and reproduces well. I’m not just talking about taking a Sabbath, while yes that is extremely important, but I’m talking about an honest assessment of how each person on your team is doing head and heart wise, as well as observations of personal and platform development.

Even being only 9 months old, I recently felt that our team was hitting sort of a plateau on Sundays. Worship was still great and the Spirit was moving, however, there was just an underlying lull. So, my husband and I (drummer, band leader, etc.) sat down and had a long conversation about what we thought might be happening. Below are some of the questions we asked ourselves that really helped us to identify some possible barriers. They also shed light on the areas that needed attention and really challenged/prompted us to be/do better.

1. Are our volunteers/team members happy & do they enjoy being apart?
(Are we creating genuine community, transparency and accountability? Is there un underlying negative tone or unhealthy temperature present? Do we say “thank you” enough?)

2. Are there external circumstances that could be effecting our team members in a negative way (home, job, etc.) and how can we help?
(Are people growing weary in well-doing? Are there prideful or ungrateful attitudes rising and what might be contributing to it?)

3.  Are we assimilating new people to the team or are we declining and/or stagnant?
(Are we acquiring/making room for new perspectives, giftings, passions and areas of expertise that align with our Core Values and vision of the House?)

4. In what ways are we pouring into our team members spiritually?
(Are we praying for them? Are we cultivating a pursuit of Christ-likeness? Are we helping to facilitate a furthering of their knowledge of the Word?)

5. In what ways are we challenging our team members to grow in their giftings?
(Are we giving opportunity and empowering them? Are we providing continued education for their craft or area in which they serve?)

It is easy to get caught up in the check lists, meetings, set-list planning, Sunday services, rehearsals, small groups, etc. that you in a way become blind to the temperature and environment in which you are leading or serving. Taking a little time to press the reset button really can make all the difference.

We’ve talked through the idea of us as drummers being worship leaders, which includes us leading by example with the band in preparation and excellence, as well as leading spiritually with a pure heart and motive. Now, I would like to dive into the subject of spiritual warfare and unpack the why and the how.

As worshipers we are called to worship in Spirit and in Truth. John 4:23–24 says, “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” This passage is so important as to why we worship in the Spirit and why we are called to spiritual warfare on the drums. John Piper writes in his book Desiring God, “True worship comes only from spirits made alive and sensitive by the quickening of the Spirit of God”. Unless we have made ourselves open to the Spirit of God moving in our hearts and have allowed him to change our hearts in a way in which we are sensitive to the leading of the Spirit, we cannot “do” spiritual warfare. This would definitely be the main criterion. Being able to be sensitive to the Spirit in worship allows you to open your heart and spirit to what the Lord in doing. With this sensitivity to the Spirit, our hearts can be ignited, energized and ready for spiritual warfare.

Why are we to do spiritual warfare? Because, there is always a battle going on. The word of God says in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”. This passage makes it clear that the reason for spiritual warfare is as simple as the battle is taking place in the spiritual. If you want to impact your family, church, city, state and country, then begin focusing on warfare and watch the change take place. I truly believe there isn’t one thing more important than to pray and war on behalf of your family, church, community, etc. We must rise up with boldness and sensitivity to the Spirit and begin to pray and take back those things that the enemy is fighting to have or has taken captive.

My experience in spiritual warfare has never been about me, but rather about what the Spirit is leading me to do and who/what to pray for. Never allow your heart to be so hardened toward the leading of the Spirit, that you can no longer sense the leading. Be diligent in making sure there is nothing in your way from pressing into the presence of the Lord, whether that be pride, bitterness, compliancy, sin, etc. We all have a particular area we constantly need to keep in check.

The ability to enter into spiritual warfare with worship is a powerful tool to be able “get some things done” so to speak. As we begin to worship in spirit and in truth along with faith, there will be a fire that is life to your spirit, which will automatically cause an outpouring and overflow. A practical way to get this started is by asking the Holy Spirit to bring things to your mind that you can begin to pray for in worship. As you practice prayer and become more sensitive to leading of the spirit and learn to discern the voice of God, you will begin to engage in worship in a new way and fresh revelation will come as you go to deeper levels. I believe the worshiper that begins to realize the power they have in engaging into spiritual warfare during worship will gain territory and victory over the enemy like never before.

Recently, I came across an article talking about the scientific advances in the world of Quantum Physics. This article states that “with in recent years, the study of Quantum Physics has yielded a remarkable discovery – When music is played at a certain octave well above human hearing capability, music actually becomes light! Incredible as this may seem, it should come as no surprise to those who have experienced the persuasion of music, or to those who know the Scriptures: God is Light (1 John 1:5). God created music (James 1:1-7).” How encouraging! Let’s just think about that for a moment. This is the WHY of us doing spiritual warfare. This is our call. To play a sound, a song, a structure of chords and rhythms that are inspired from heaven to begin to shine light in the world around us. This light is bursting forth in the spiritual as we begin to worship and where there is light, darkness cannot dwell (John 3:20-21). Our job as worshipers in spiritual warfare it to call out those around us that are living in darkness and proclaim that their dry bones would come to life. What an incredible responsibility for us to proclaim truth to our neighbors, our cities and our nation and shine light.

As you begin to engage in the area of spiritual warfare in worship, you will begin to see incredible things happen around you. Can you imagine what your family, church, city, state or even country would look like if you stepped up and began to engage in the battle of the spiritual? It is time for the true worshipers to rise and worship the Father in spirit and truth, that you may walk in boldness and in confidence that you are proclaiming the name of Jesus not just in the physical, but you are proclaiming His name and shining powerful light in the spiritual that will defeat the enemy.

These are the reasons why I take worship and warfare very seriously. I have realized that the sounds I make on the drums are not just sounds to make music simply for music’s sake, but they are sounds from heaven that are touching the heart of man. Never take lightly your role in worship and what you are doing in the heavens when you create the sound that will help usher people into God’s presence.

I understand that becoming a worship/warfare drummer is seemingly the opposite of what the approach of drumming typically would be. I also know this is in fact a journey to find what it looks like for you and how you can cultivate this in your personal life and in your church. I hope this will begin to encourage fellow drummers of all walks of life and skill levels. Remember, when you focus on your heart and your ability to be led by the Spirit of God in worship, the talent and gifts will flow naturally out of that in a way that you couldn’t manufacture yourself. Continue to hunger for God to work on your heart and for God take you into deeper levels. Remember, just as the old song “From the Inside Out” by Hillsong says, “Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame,” knowing everything we do is for the Glory of God. I pray this too will be your heart and desire for the Kingdom of God, in which we wouldn’t focus on fame but rather our focus and desire would be for the Glory of God.

Keep worshipping. Keep warring. Keep pursuing. Keep drumming.

-Caleb Miller