JonathanBryant.info

-Ok, so this may have been my best day in ministry so far.
-By that, I mean I can’t remember another day where things went as right, as smoothly, as energetically, as purposefully, as exciting, as tiring, as laborious, and as much fun as things went today.
-Started off by sleeping in Toccoa last night. My buddy Podge is away on vacation and is letting us use his house on Saturdays for the next two weeks. It’s a little piece of heaven, I tell ya.
-So I woke up in Toccoa, which means I woke up at 6, instead of 4:45. It also means I drove 10min to the building instead of AN HOUR and 10min.
-Rehearsal was the best I’ve ever been a part of. My guys (Jason, Sam, & Bryan H) were ON THE BALL today. No sloppy notes. No botched punches. No wrong chords. They were on like Donkey Kong.
-Speaking of, Bryan Hartzog played with us for the first time today. He said he was ok and could probably do the job. Lemme tell you, he DID THE JOB! One of the better bass players I’ve ever played with. He’s now considered (he’s given his consent) part of the regular rotation. I’m pumped!
-Ok, back to the day… Run-through was also amazing. It was “service quality” and more!
-After the music, we checked the video one last time, and I must say, it was excellent. Scott Chatfield is putting out some high quality work!
-The energy in the lobby was great today! Tons of new faces… lots of first-time guests. After the service, every one I talked to said they’d be back for sure. Dang right.
-Transition during service were smooth as silk. Great atmosphere and people worshiped their tails off today.
-Best crowd interaction to date. No kidding.
-When I joined FCC as a staff member on January 25th, 2009, I told the pastors of the church that I felt it was going to be my calling to close the gap between the stage and the seats. I want Jesus to take over so hard that people felt connected to the King… and I think we took another step toward that today. Toccoa peeps, thanks for walking this journey with me… your willingness to worship is an inspiration to me.
-After church, we had a GREAT lunch with a bunch of friends at Los Amigos. Always good times when there are quesadillas involved.
-Then to set up the NEW BUILDING FOR OUR DEDICATION SERVICE! It was a blast. Greg and a few of the other pastors from FCC Seneca came out to support what God is doing in Toccoa, and it meant a ton. We worshiped (acoustic only) so hard that I could hardly hear my guitar over people singing so loudly. Seriously, you guys blew me away. Then Pastor Greg shared for a little while about the vision and purpose of FCC Toccoa and the new building. Then we had a time of prayer for our friends and loved ones that we’d like to see come to Christ. We wrote their names on the walls of the building and prayed for them. We’re gonna see those people step over the line of faith one day, I know it.
-Ok, enough of the play-by-play, you get the idea. Great day.
-I’ve been thinking a lot about our students at Toccoa Falls College. They get back to school in a couple weeks, and I wanna do everything I can to pour into them what God has poured into me. Some of them are going to be worship leaders for life… I’ve been praying for them tons.
-The band in Toccoa is really coming together. I was counting our players today and we have accumulated players. That’s only counting people that are Toccoa-exclusive, from Toccoa, live in Toccoa players. That also may not sound like a lot, but considering we use 4 players a week (sometimes 5) and only like to use people twice a month (even though sometimes we have to schedule more, like summer), that’s a month’s worth of players. Yea baby!
-Cool things happening all around!
-I can’t wait to see what the new building is gonna look like finished.
-There is a Huddle House across the road from it… looks like that may become a tradition. Uh oh.
-We took Abigail to McDonalds tonight to let her play and unwind from being in the car and everywhere all day. She loved it. We loved watching her. Win-win.
-Speaking of win-win, the biggest win for me right now would be going to bed. So I’m out!

-Just saw a commercial for a new show called “I’m a Celebrity in the Jungle, Get Me Outta Here!” I’ll be watching that.
-I pulled a personnel report on my team last week and realized that, in taking care of my team members, I have lead 17 weeks in a row without a Sunday off. What an idiot.
-A good friend/mentor told me once that leading worship every Sunday without a break causes a couple things to happen: 1) Feeling like “I’m the leader and no one can do it but me.” Which is bullcrap. 2) Feeling like “I’m working all these hours and not getting paid what I deserve for the work I do.” Which is bullcrap. 3) Feeling like “What I’m doing is the right way, and if I take a week off it’ll be not as good.” Which is bullcrap.
-Pride is a monster that takes over the minds and hearts of those willing to let it in.
-Pastors, Worship Pastors, Kids’ Pastors, Campus Pastors, team leaders, ministry heads… TAKE A FLIPPIN’ WEEK OFF SOMETIME SOON! If for no other reason than to attack pride before it attacks you.
-I’ll be taking a week off soon. Just so you know.
-The worship on the week I take off will probably be better than when I’m there. I have an amazing guy lined up to take the lead for a Sunday.
-All that to be said, today was a solid day. Not great, solid.
-The set was: We Shine/Fee – Blessed Be Your Name/Redman – Marvelous Light/Hall – I Will Go/Starfield.
-Honesty: I think We Shine is a bit much for our people in Toccoa.
-Honesty: That doesn’t bother me one bit. People are people and it’s my job as their pastor to lead THEM into an encounter with Jesus. I love to worship to We Shine and some of the heavier stuff… but it’s not my job to lead myself into worship, now is it? I LOVE the process of getting to know my church and how they connect.
-We may try it again and see how it goes, but for now, that song’s on the bench.
-The rest of the set was great, including Scott Chatfield’s video backgrounds for We Shine and I Will Go. He knocked it OUT OF THE PARK with those this week!
-Honesty: I love what I do. I love what I do even when I don’t like what I do (certain parts), because it grows me as a person and a communicator.
-Case in point… after We Shine today, I did Welcome and Announcements. I love speaking to people out of the Word, and I love doing invitations, but I hate doing Welcome and Announcements. I hate it because I’m not good at it. I learned a lot about doing W & A today and I look forward to doing it again in the near future.
-I appreciate Shannon letting me find my niche in Toccoa. He lets me do what I feel is right, and is honest and open about the outcome when we meet together after the fact. I value his friendship and leadership.
-We went out to eat twice today. Now I’m miserable.
-We had a great time with a couple friends. They’re some of my favorite people.
-I feel like God is using Candice and I to stretch some Foothills people that aren’t really “hang-out people” into “sorta hang-out people.” I like that a lot.
-I’m praying for my friends Eric and Rachel and their family like crazy this weekend and into this coming week. Don’t ask why, just pray for them.
-Perry Noble had a twitter today that I thought was profound. It read, “PerryNoble: If you are being STRETCHED by God right now…He’s not punishing you…He’s preparing you…GET READY!”
-That blew my stinkin’ mind. I’ve know it, but it just hit me in a way it never has before.
-Carlos is doing a worldwide prayer service on his blog as we speak. What a cool guy… you should check him out at Ragamuffinsoul.com
-I’m about done for this day. I’m gonna put up some thoughts on Toccoa and how the campus is doing tomorrow or Tuesday, be looking for them! (You can subscribe to my RSS feed with the button on this page, or just check back to http://jonathanbryant.info)
-GOODNIGHT!

-Yesterday was amazing
-Sunday Morning Set: Surrender/Vineyard – I Surrender All – Today is the Day/Brewster – This is Our God/Hillsong
-This is Our God is one of my new favorite songs. Look for it again in the coming weeks!
-After a quick lunch and about a 30min sitdown, practice started for our Night of Praise that happened at 6p last night.
-2p-5p was the fastest three hours of my life! Haha, no kidding… we had a ton to do, and got it all done… but it was tight.
-Night of Praise Set: You Are Good/Matt Papa – We Shine/Fee – True Love/Phil Wickham – Reign in Us/Starfield – All B/c of Jesus/Fee – Everything Glorious/Crowder – Jesus Messiah/Tomlin – Salvation is Here/Brewster arrangement
-I am honored to work with David Odom and Eric Peters. They’re pretty much ridiculous at what they do. It was great to share a stage with them last night!
-I was seriously proud of us for only doing 2 Passion songs last night. I think sometimes, as worship leaders (MYSELF DEFINITELY INCLUDED) we turn to Tomlin/Hall/Crowder/Redman stuff because it’s easy. It’s good to have a church and band that loves to branch out into the other stuff, though.
-I HAD A BLAST LEADING WORSHIP LAST NIGHT! No kidding.
-Words don’t really do justice, so I’ll stop. I’m going to try and get a recording of the service online sometime this week. Hopefully it’ll turn out great. I’ll let you know.

Got these out on Sunday this week. Missed it last week for the first time… but I’m back in the swing!
-The Oscars are on. I’m not too fond of them. I love movies, but the posh-ness of it all creeps me out a bit.
-Hugh Jackman’s opening song and bit was PRICELESS! It was sort of tongue-in-cheek to the glitz and glamor of the night. Those 5 minutes were worth it!
-Seeing all this Dark Knight footage makes me wanna go buy it. I Heart that movie.
-Today in Toccoa was AMAZING!! Usually the crowd comes in around 10:45 or a bit after, but I walked out of my pre-production meeting at 10:25 and the lobby was FULL! People kept pouring in… and the cool thing is they were mostly first time guests!! God is moving in Toccoa and I feel BLESSED to be a part of it.
-I love that people are so supportive of my family and I. Folks in Toccoa tell us all the time that they’re glad we’re around, and to that I have to say, “I’m just as happy to be here.” It feels good.
-Today’s worship set and feature song went the best since I’ve been at Foothills. They’ve been knockouts up until today, but there was just something special about today.
-My band was OUT OF THIS WORLD! They make my job easy.
-Heather, Lewis, Daniel, Blake, and Sam played as a team and had it together today. Also, Heather lead the slower song at the end and… there’s not much else to say. Shannon offered her my job, so. Anyone hiring?
-Today’s set : O Praise Him/Crowder – How Can I Keep from Singing/Tomlin – Revelation Song/Jobe – We Can Work it Out/Beatles
-There were people dancing during We Can Work it Out today. I love that!
-After church we had lunch with Eric Peters (Worship Pastor at Foothills: Seneca) and his family, Lindsay Herndon (our new keyboard player and vocalist) and her boyfriend Aaron, and Daniel Keaton (my bass player from today). It was a blast!
-I look forward to playing with Lindsay in the coming weeks. She’s got an amazing voice and can play the keys like nobody’s business.
-We came home and took a nap, and I did NOT wanna get up. 5 more minutes?
-My daughter started saying, “Duck” and “Soap” tonight. I love bath time.
-She’s growing up so fast, it’s ridiculous!
-Granny Rita (my mom) is coming to visit this week. I miss her a lot. She loves Abigail so much, and would give the world for her.
-I’m going to bed. LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG day tomorrow, but I LOVE what I get to do for a living!

GNIGHT!

Ok, so WHAT A DAY!!! I’ve only got 17min on the battery on my Mac, so I’ll try and slam it all in.

-Played first service at Foothills Seneca this morning. Great team! Great set!
-Had Schlotsky’s with some friends and then back to Foothills to catch the end of the 2nd service and to hang with some students from Toccoa Falls College. I’ll be working with them VERY closely in the near future… more on that later.
-Those students are GREAT people with hearts HUNGRY to worship Jesus! Awesome!
-I had an amp someone gave me and a pedal I wasn’t using just laying around the house. I saw a guy on Craigslist yeaterday who was wanting some beginner musical gear. I asked him what he had to trade for it, and he replied, “A brand new XBox 360 with 2 wireless controllers, 20gb HD, 3 games, and all the hookups, box, and manual.” I said, I’ll meet you in Greenville tomorrow night. So I met him tonight and we swapped gear. I LOVE the new toy!
-13min battery left.
-Candice and I played Halo3 for a while. She’s really good. When we were going to go to bed, I said, “Next kill wins.” So I proceeded to fire a rocket, accidentally, into a nearby object and killed myself. She says she wins, because she got the point. I say that I win because I said next KILL. I didn’t say who you had to kill. We’re still debating that.
-I’m finally getting over the croopy cough I’ve had for a week. Gracias Jesus.
-I’ll have some HUGE news on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. STAY TUNED!
-10min battery left.
-I had an old friend come up to me today and ROCK MY WORLD with kindness. She said that when she heard about the position at Foothills Toccoa, God laid me on her heart and she has been praying for me and my family. Wow. Her and her husband are cool cats, and I think we’re gonna plug into their home group. I’d love to get to know them even better.
-Abigail started saying, “Uh oh.” It’s friggin’ cute.
-8min battery, better wrap this up.
-It’s been a great week, and I’m looking forward to good things this coming week also! Like I said, check back in the next couple of days… you don’t wanna miss this!
-Also, you should follow me on Twitter if you don’t already. http://twitter.com/jtb And you can get me at my Facebook.

… so that’s it… with 5min to spare.

I read a blog earlier and it had something interesting in it… So, what do I do with this prayer?

Father, may I not save my most significant worship moments for the platform but only for those to be revealed to me when I am with You only.              -My Friend Miriam

WHAT??? In a world where I’ve been taught to make the stage my home and give everything I’ve got only when safely on the platform… how do I wrestle with this? I have been advised and taught by some of the best worship leaders on the planet (in my opinion), and most have made the emphasis of their teaching about the STAGE, and while that’s not completely off, it’s not the whole story.

Most worship leaders, myself included, when asked about their job and how they do it, immediately assume others are talking about the stage. When somebody asked me, “How do you like doing what you do?” my mind automatically was drawn to the stage. When I heard a message about worship, when I was challenged by a teaching podcast, when I felt most excited about worship… I thought of the stage and how to lead people in a more efficient and captivating way. I wanted to be challenged to lead people better, and I was.

Fast forward to now… I’m staying home with my baby girl and not worshipping on stage on a regular basis.

What has this done to me? At first, I longed to be back on stage. I wondered when I got to be up there next. Then in the midst of all that, I realized I was misleading myself. God has put some very interesting people and blogs in my path recently, and most have been challenging me out of this mindset, into a deeper worship relationship with God. There has always been a special thing that happens when I sit down with my guitar and worship before only God, but it’s different than being on stage, with a band, and leading people. It’s just going. Going to the throne and talking with the King. Going to our secret place and telling my God everything I am and everything I’m dealing with. Going to a place like no other.

Not leading, just going.

Father, may I not save my most significant worship moments for the platform but only for those to be revealed to me when I am with You only. Amen.

I was just going through some old videos and found this song I wrote a couple years ago at Christmas. Mind you, my life has totally changed, I’ve been through a lot, and look a lot different now… but my heart still burns with these words:
(Please excuse the poor quality recording/audio mix)

Lord to You I give my hands, use them as You will
Lord to You I give my heart, mold and make it Yours
Lord to You I give my will, take my life and make me whole

Take this hand raised to You in worship
Stretch it out to the ones who need Your care
Take this heart given to You in worship
Give it out to the ones who need Your love

And we give our lives to the One who saves the day
we give our lives away

Lee rocked my friggin’ world with this song tonight…

CLICK HERE AND THEN SELECT GO TELL IT ON THE MUSIC PLAYER

Well I heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do ya?
Well it goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
she tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well baby I’ve been here before
I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew ya
I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well there was a time when you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show that to me do you?
And remember when I moved in you?
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who’d OUT DREW YA
And it’s not a cry that you hear at night
It’s not somebody who’s seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah

I definitely have my Mac set to update me when a new blog is posted at

WORSHIPTRENCH.COM

You should check it out… great wisdom from great guys from a great church.