The Choice of Change // Week 4

A few weeks ago I was leading at ‘Youthwork Conference’ in Eastbourne. Before the first night began, I went and sat in the seating area, looking at the stage whilst everything was being set up.

I began to reflect on this past year, because the previous year, I was doing the exact same event at the exact same time and it was at the exact same venue. As I looked back, a lot had changed. I got married, recorded Running After You, said goodbye to all my friends at Soul Survivor, moved into London, started working with Worship Central, moved house again and I just experience my first Christmas in England. For me, I think that is enough change for one year! But it has taught me a lot about life and it’s seasons. We have the choice to either accept change or to reject change. For me, over the last year, I have learnt to accept change. Sometimes it has been hard and not so easy, and other times it has felt so right that change is inevitable. I think it’s important to accept change when it comes our way, because it is in those moments, that we have to abandon our fears and anxieties, and fully put our trust in God. If we choose to reject change, we can easily become stale and stagnant and depend on our own strength. I don’t think that is what God has intended for us, because when we change, we grow in Him and in our own character and maturity. That to me is much more enticing. When I was younger and still living in Canada, I grew up in my parent’s church, which they pastor. I would go every Sunday and I would see people who would sit in the same place, in the same service, every Sunday. I thought to myself ‘I don’t want to be become like one of those people, where every week is the same and nothing changes.’ I have always lived my life with that picture in the back of my mind and it has helped me to stay alive and alert to wherever the Lord may lead. I’m not saying that these people lead boring lives, I’m sure they enjoy life just as much as the next person. To me it was just a picture of how I did not want my life to be. If you look at Jesus’ life here on earth, he was always moving from place to place, he never really stayed in one place for too long, he was always moving from one place to another. Every day was an adventure with Jesus, and those who followed him would leave everything behind just to follow him.

Change is important not only in our lives, but also for us as worship leaders. When you look at a bands journey, you will see that they are constantly evolving and trying to recreate themselves because someone else is coming out with something more relevant or cool. If you look at Coldplay’s journey from ‘Parachutes’ to ‘Viva La Viva or Death and All His Friends’, their sound has changed quite a lot over the last decade. Other good examples would be U2, Kings Of Leon or The Killers etc. I think we need to keep asking ourselves, how can we change or further better ourselves as singers, songwriters and musicians because, again, it will help us grow and develop us as worship leaders. For myself I am always trying to become a better worship leader and writer and for me sometimes I have change things up a bit to try and spark creativity. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but the point is that I would give it a go.

I have been talking a lot about how change is important, I also think it’s important to have routine, commitment and consistency in our lives. If we are constantly changing and going from one thing to the next, there is never any consistency and that is when things can start to go wrong or we start to drift. Be wise in your decisions, pray about it, seek other people’s advice and be open to what others have to say and most importantly, seek the Lord.

With 2010 right around the corner, be open to change this year, embrace it. Whether it is a change in your life or in your music, trust in Him, and he will direct your path. Happy New Year!