... So Must They Have an End.

Here are some (approximate) numbers for my past year.

My fulltime team:
125 stateside sets
50 Hong Kong sets
37 states visited
30 songs learned

Summer:
30 sets for worship team
for 50 summer teamers, 30 training staff members, and a few churches
16 songs learned on guitar for summer worship team

74 songs learned
from 6 countries of genres/styles
and taught on bass to 6 different bass players

16 songs taught in full band to team Taiwan
16 songs taught in full band to team Honduras

Misc:
7 team members,
6 (other) team members,
and 10 staff members that I grew close to
2 sicknesses
1 time filling in for djembe, rapping, and guitar
too many variations of sound system setups
too many ups and downs to count


and it's all over.

It's easy to look back on a short event and have definite feelings about it... but it's especially challenging to reflect on this past year considering all that's happened. I know some things for sure though. I know that I've learned a lot about myself and about the character of God. I know that now I'm supposed to figure out how to move past all that and settle down into a more consistent lifestyle. I'm excited to start the process, but I'm afraid that the transitionary period, combined with missing the ministry I've spent a year devoted to, will leave me feeling lonely and frustrated.

I'm afraid I'll want back what I had this past year, like it was mine to reclaim. But to feel that way would be to forget the original purpose of this year. It was to be "A Year Not my Own". It's purpose was to be a sacrifice, an offering. These words have lost much meaning in a society of entitlement. I hope that by devoting a year of my life to serving (serving CTI, the Hong Kong YFC, the churches, prisons, rescue missions, etc. we went to, and in doing so, serving God) that I can grow in selflessness, and therefore, Christ-likeness.

I can't express enough how appreciative I am of all who supported me this past year and helped make it a reality for me. This past year is a chapter of my life that I will never forget, and that will continue forming me for a long time. I know I can never fully explain to someone what this experience was like, but I'd love to try! So feel free to ask me about it if you're curious.

In Christ alone,
Mike

Summer Update

Well it's been a while since my last update, but that's certainly not for lack of eventfulness. Round 1 of summer training was nuts. Every day would begin with the worship team, which includes me, arriving early to practice for the morning songs. Three hours of rehearsal, an hour of sectional rehearsal, two hours of team time, two meals, and one seminar later comes the end of the day. On some days, there is even an extra hour of band rehearsal after dinner. After these twelve hour days, we go to our host homes, where I, along with the other music trainers, begin to go over the music for the next day's rehearsal.

It all went by in the blink of an eye.

Each day was exhausting and a whole lot of fun. Through teaching each of the bassists their parts, and working with an entire team through all of training, I grew to enjoy the challenges and joys of teaching (as if I needed reassurance that I'm like my mother). It's been fulfilling to pass on all that I've learned over the past year to a group of kids who've never done anything with CTI before, or sometimes never played with a band before, or even been overseas. And that's fine; I was like that with my first CTI experience.

And now they're all in Japan, Taiwan, or Zimbabwe, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ wherever they go. I'm so excited to hear about, once they return, all that God's done in the lives of those they met and in them as well.

In a week, 3 new teams of people come to prepare for completely different experiences in Guatemala, Honduras, and Singapore. I have some music to learn!



If you'd like to follow the summer teams and their updates, you can find it all at ctimusic.org

1 Week Left

Lately I’ve been exhausted. We’ve covered a lot of ground and been very busy, having very few off days. It’s coming to the end of my time touring with the team, and I’m exhausted. I think we all are though.

In spite of our tiredness, God has definitely been working in and through us. Just the other day we played at a church that gets really into worship. It was a great church with a great bunch of people. The pastor encouraged us, saying that though we’re weary, we were still a huge blessing to them. Something similar happened at the next place we played at, when our contact said something to the effect of, “we’ll be reaping the benefits of your visit for months to come”. Through our exhaustion, God is still moving.

It’s really weird to me, because a normal line of thought might suggest that when we’re burned out, we’re able to accomplish less. When we have nothing left, there’s nothing that we could possibly do. The problem is that this line of thought assumes that our strength comes solely from within. But God is our strength; He power is made perfect through our weakness.

Thanks be to God. While I am weak, He isn’t. If I am weary, He provides. And if work needs to be done, God will be my strength. In all this, I’m not losing myself, but finding my true identity: in Christ.

“[The Enemy] boasts… that when they are wholly His, they will be more themselves than ever.”

~C.S. Lewis from The Screwtape Letters

(From the perspective of a demon. Enemy = God, they = us)

Grand Central Station

We spent last weekend with Woodland Bible Church, and what a wonderful experience that was. Saturday we played for part of a fundraiser for a girl who will be a part of this coming summer program. She played with her worship team, then a separate group played, and then we closed out the night. God’s provision proved faithful in how much she was able to raise for this summer! During our mini-set, I got the opportunity to share about my summer trip to Taiwan two years ago. It was awesome to get to share with her supporters a real CTI summer experience as someone who’s done it before. In the middle of talking, I just got so excited for her and for everyone getting ready for a summer team.

The next morning we played a few songs for the worship part of the church service. We had the opportunity to learn a little more about the church through an adult Sunday school group and through the service. They don’t want the church to be a building that’s vacant 6 days of the week, they want it to be a community center of sorts. So something is always going on there whether it’s music (they had a sweet music setup that we got to use), youth events, or whatever. The pastor referred to it as a veritable “Grand Central Station”.

Something CTI is good at doing is revealing the importance of something that could be easily overlooked. An example of that is when they encourage us to think of time off-stage as ministry time as well. This goes under something else they talk about, which is stewardship of opportunity. We aren’t necessarily called to do huge things, but to be faithful to the opportunities presented to us. Much like what CTI encourages us to do, Woodland Bible Church has done a good job of stewarding what they have, their building. They see their off time (Mon-Sat) as an opportunity.

That church was great, and I hope to be a part of one like it some day. I also hope that one day I’ll naturally have that attitude as well.

Overseas, all the way to Missouri

We haven’t quite been on the road for a week yet, but we’ve been busy. We’ve been in one place and have been playing multiple concerts each day. Many of the rooms aren’t ideal for sound, and we’ve been getting pretty sweaty and gross through it all. On top of that, I’ve been sick for all of tour so far. It’s all reminded me of overseas touring, and for that I’ve loved it.

I only love all of these inconveniences because it reminds me of the reason I devoted a year to CTI: an overseas trip to Taiwan. But what about that trip did I love that makes me enjoy all this stuff now?

Something that quickly comes to mind when thinking about overseas CTI touring is all of the inconveniences: the temperature, the language barrier, the confusion, the busyness, etc. But in the midst of all that junk is the reason we’re there. The ministry of music as a means of sharing our hope in Christ is something that many have fallen in love with through CTI. It’s what unites total strangers for a few weeks in the summer, or for a whole year. It’s how summer teams can come back from their journey and talk about all of the challenges and struggles with nothing but a huge smile on their face.

Being with CTI stateside doesn’t create such a distinct contrast between ministry and everyday life – we’re used to all of the cultural nuances, we’re not as crazy busy, and we have more “things” to accommodate us. This, mixed with doing it all for a much longer time, makes it more difficult to have such a strong, fueling sense of purpose.

But that’s how “real life” is. We can't wait for the opportunity to be shocked into action and purpose by such a radical experience as being in another country. Everyday we should be radically trying to live out our passions and our purpose.

The past few days have reminded me to stay focused on why I’m here, and to not let little frustrations ruin something I’m working towards.

I won’t be going overseas this summer, but it was cool to have a little flashback of what it’s like. I can’t wait to train all of the summer teamers coming up for what will end up being an unforgettable experience for each of them!

Spring and Summer, How Different You Are

Spring Tour starts today, and it will be our last tour as a team. As it becomes painfully clear that this is it for us, I hope we will seize every opportunity put before us. In the midst of the inevitable exhaustion, and a bit of a “senioritis” feeling, I hope we will use all that we’ve learned up to this point to thrive in the ministry we’re a part of. Pray with me that we will follow God’s will for us in this ministry, that it would be for His glory and not our own.

After this tour will be summer. CTI will send six teams overseas to locations in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. All 14 of us fulltimers will become a part of the leadership/training community for these teams. Some will lead the summer teams, some will help out with the training aspects of the summer, some will support the kitchen staff, etc. I have the privilege of being a part of the music training team this summer. More specifically, I will be serving as the bass specialist. I’m very excited learn 6 repertoires of music and to work it all out with the six bass players for the summer!

On top of this, I’ll be playing guitar for the summer worship team as well. Each day we’ll begin by submitting our work and our efforts to God through musical worship. Then we’ll proceed to equip the summer team members for everything they’ll need for their several weeks overseas: music training, culture exercises, and spiritual discussions/seminars. It’s all very exciting and I can’t wait to share it all with you guys.

But for now, let’s focus on the mission at hand. See you soon Cali, Texas, Colorado, and all the less cool states in between.

No Strength

As tour was drawing to a close, I felt like I had nothing left. I felt like I needed the Easter break that we’re just now at the beginning of. But there were a few concerts left, and I was speaking for one of them. Each day sapped more energy from me, and I began to wonder, “What do I have left to offer this tour?” I had nothing left, and I had to pour out just one more time.

As I was praying and thinking about what to speak about, I arrived at a topic.

2 Corinthians 12:9-12

But [God] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I spoke about relying on God, when that’s the only means by which I was speaking to them.

When I have no strength left, I will rely on my God.

Now comes break. Time to rest and prepare for the final fulltime tour, so that we all might finish the year strong. After all, what should we offer God but our best?