Posts by Jimi Williams

Remember Me

Posted by Jimi Williams on Apr 11, 2011 | Comments Off

God cries out us from the Scriptures “Remember me! Don’t forget me!”.

There’s a part of God is all of us that has this same cry. We all want to be remembered by the ones we love. Nothing is more heartbreaking than to think that once we die, our memory will forever be erased from our friends and loved ones. I want Jennifer, Christian and Elijah to always remember and honor me no matter how busy life gets. To think anything otherwise causes me great sorrow.

Scripture helps me to believe that God shares similar feelings. He repeatedly reminded Israel to “remember all that I’ve done for you. You’re gonna be tempted to forget, but don’t!” Sadly, some do forget and I’m sure this is heart wrenching for God to endure.

As Easter approaches, we want to make sure we “remember” all the God has done for us. When we remember, we bring honor. It’s good and right to take time out of our schedules to reflect on who God is and what He has done. And as we remember, thanksgiving and worship well up inside of us.

For me, Easter is a time when the church can gather together collectively to “remember” and say “thank you” for all that God has done. I hope you’ll join us at the Bridge on Sunday, April 24th to say thanks to the God who gave everything for us.

Jimi Williams
Worship Pastor, the Bridge

Family Worship, Pt. 1

Posted by Jimi Williams on Mar 28, 2011 | 3 comments

Ever since the Bridge began, one of it’s core values has been families worshiping together. This is evident in our Sunday Gatherings as all our children kindergarten and up are encouraged to stay with their families for singing before heading upstairs for kids ministry groups.

As the Bridge continues to grow, this value will be challenged. There soon will come a Sunday at our present location when there will be no more seating available for guests. Then the question will be raised about why we don’t just send the kids on to ministry groups at the start of the gathering.

Here are a few reasons why we feel it is important for the kids to be in our gatherings:

• Families are running every direction during the week – dropping kids off at school, sports practice, recitals and a hundred other activities. Most families struggle to eat dinner together more than a couple times per week. Isn’t it nice to know that when we gathering together on Sunday morning that families can enjoy a little time together in the presence of their heavenly Father?
• Kids imitate what they see. What a great example to see mom and dad singing praise songs to Jesus! I’m so glad that my boys have grown up watching Jennifer and I engage in worship. I’ve never had to tell either of them that it is right and good to worship God. They see it every week.
• Kids are valuable too. Too often we shuffle kids and teens around to accommodate us adults. When we do this, we send the message that they are not as valuable as “grown ups”. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them.” Kids matter to God.

I know that family worship isn’t always warm and fuzzy. It’s amazing how kids can tear through the building chasing one another before the gathering, then become completely lethargic once worship begins. “I’m so tired! I can’t stand up!” However, I think the rewards outweigh the costs.

Those whining, lifeless kids stretched out on the chairs are tomorrow’s church leaders. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. They need to see our passion for God modeled for them.

Pastor Jimi

When the Congregation Won’t Sing…

Posted by Jimi Williams on Mar 7, 2011 | 5 comments

I shouldn’t let this bug me, but it does. After all, we are worshipping the King of Kings! He’s worthy of so much more than our singing, yet we often don’t even give him that! I shared my angst with my wife, hoping to get some support and she replied, “Honey, you can’t make people sing”. Dang it! She’s always right.

So as any seasoned worship leader would do, I whined to my pastor (Josh) about it. And he gave me some great, Scriptural encouragement that I think every worship leader should hear.

1. Labor to have a heart toward the church that God has toward us in the gospel. It’s easy to forget that God sees in us what we see in the congregation except at a much worse level, but he is still hovering over us in love – “gracing” or “loving” us toward more life. This cuts off the roots of self-righteousness that would poison your heart for church leadership.

2. Love the church like Paul loved the Corinthians. They were way more messed up than just not singing, yet Paul said “I give thanks to my God always for you…” He thens spends the next 5 verses pouring out his love and praise for them. This is a “pastor’s heart” that we have to sometimes work hard to keep.

3. Understand that ministry has seasons like everything else has seasons. There are ministry “springs” when all that God is doing is visible and awesome. Then there are ministry “winters” when vital, hidden things are happening that will eventually produce a “harvest of righteousness”. 

4. Evaluate your leadership to see if perhaps you are creating a hindrance to worship. Ask hard questions like, “Am I keying songs too high for people to sing along” or “Are we creating a performance atmosphere instead of a corporate worship atmosphere”. Seek counsel from wise and Godly people (like your pastor and your wife/husband). 

Thanks to Pastor Josh for his Biblical encouragement and from talking me down. Now I won’t have to bust out the worship stick and start beating some people down next Sunday

Seriously, I hope this encourages you as much as it did me. In the long run, our faithful service WILL build up the church, encourage people toward Christ, and bring about a harvest of righteousness.

Jimi Williams
Worship Pastor, The Bridge

Margin

Posted by Jimi Williams on Feb 28, 2011 | 3 comments

I’m currently reading the book Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Dr. Richard Swenson. My sweet, caring wife told me to read it, which is a strong hint that perhaps the margins in my life are dangerously thin.

It certainly has caused me to slow down long enough to think about whether I’m driving the car or being dragged behind it. I get the feeling that a bunch of us skate this hazy line, crossing back and forth between sanity and stress.

The big question for me is “What does this mean”? I admit that I get too little sleep, spend more time thinking about tomorrow’s to-do list than enjoying the moment, and spend too much money and time commuting back and forth to work. But to what end? 

I know for our family, when our calendar fills up, things begin to break down. We’ve had to established a “3 night principle” where we will not commit to regular occuring activities outside the home more than 3 nights per week. This leaves at least 4 nights a week were we are home, eating dinner together and hanging out as a family.

The problem comes when extra activities start popping up: a sleepover, an unexpected meeting, birthday parties, etc. These are all good things, but added onto busy lives, they begin to erode our margins. We begin rushing from one thing to the next, we get short with our kids because we don’t want excuses we want action! Our finances get squeezed because it becomes easier to hit the pizza joint on the way home instead of cooking.

I have a theory that Satan loves busyness, even busyness filled with “good” things.  If I’m rushing to the next ministry activity, meeting or soccer game, I’m not hearing from God and I’m not available if He wants to change my schedule. I find it hard to commune with God when I’m thinking of all I have to get done.

So if Satan can just keep my mind and schedule busy, I don’t pose any great danger to his kingdom.

I know a bunch of you struggle with this as well. I see it on your faces during worship. You’re exhausted because you didn’t get enough sleep on Saturday night. You’re still recovering from the fight you had getting everyone to church. You’re distracted with your plans for the rest of the day. And the One you need most eludes you because you can’t receive it. I know, I struggle as well!

We have to make space in our lives for God and one another. If you don’t have time for both of these, then something needs to change.

Jimi Williams
Worship Pastor, The Bridge

Expectation

Posted by Jimi Williams on Feb 21, 2011 | Comments Off

This word has been on my mind and in my heart the last few weeks. It’s a word we use in our everyday language. We might say “I have high expectations for you”, or “This has exceeded my expectations”. A pregnant mom will say ”Yes, we are expecting”. However you use it, the meaning is to look forward to something with great anticipation.  You could easily interchange the words “hope” and “belief”.

Expectation exists for the future. We are looking ahead to something we don’t already have in hopes of receiving it at some point, whether it’s 3 minutes from now or 3 years from now. We don’t have expectations about the past or the present.

I remember has a kid growing up, Christmas was huge at our house. My dad knew what to say to whip my brother and I into a frenzy of excitement. My anticipation would start sometime around mid-November. I would get the Sears catalog in the mail (if you’re the post-internet generation, don’t judge me) and page through all the toys, making notes and dog-earing pages for later review. By the time Christmas eve rolled around, I was so jacked up I would usually stay up all night.  I had GREAT expectations!

When we come together to worship on Sundays, do we have any expectations of God? Are they big expectations or modest? Are they focused only on ourselves?

As I hunt through the Scriptures, I can’t find an instance where God was offended at anyone who had huge expectations of Him. The blind beggar asked for his sight. Solomon asked for great wisdom. The centurion asked for a spoken word of healing. These examples beg the question, “Are our expectations of God too small?”.

What if we all show up Sunday morning with high expectations of God? What if we come expecting to encounter God’s glory like Moses did. What if we come, like the Centurion, expecting the healing of a friend? What if we come expecting an outpouring of the Holy Spirit like the apostles experienced at Pentecost?

“Lord, we want more of You in our lives. We believe that You can do all things. And that You desire to bless Your church. We believe, help our unbelief! Help us to be a church with high expectations of You.  Remove our blinders so that we can see You. Help us to boldly approach Your throne of grace with confidence. Lord, You alone can do great things, therefore we come with high expectations!”

Jimi Williams
Worship Pastor, the Bridge