Do you like it or not? What do you enjoy? Does it actually help you connect with God? Be honest. Don’t give me a #SundaySchoolAnswer. Fake Churchy responses never get the church anywhere. #ReadyGo

What do you think?

• Exalted One - Elevation Worship
• We Are The Free - Matt Redman
• One Thing Remains - Jesus Culture

Publisher’s Book Description

We all long for more of something in our lives. In our endless pursuit to feel worth and acceptance we find ourselves sacrificing everything for the promise to be a little more beautiful, a little richer, a little more powerful and successful, a little more loved.

How do we break free from these empty pursuits and start chasing the only Promise that will ever satisfy? How do we uncover the hidden idols that are driving us and turn our devotion toward the one true God?

Join Pastor and best-selling author Pete Wilson in discovering the joy and freedom that comes with seeking after God with your whole life. Learn how to replace, and not just relinquish, life’s empty promises by turning your focus and worship toward Him. It is the only thing that will set you absolutely free from the endless pursuit of everything else

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Empty Promises is really a book about worship and idolatry. Pete opens with some quotes from Louie Giglio’s book The Air I Breathe about how we all worship something. We all put things on the thrones of our lives. For some of us, that’s God… sometimes. 

Pete digs into idolatry on a very practical level, exposing some hidden idols in the forms of success, achievement, relationships, self-worth and the like. The book revolves around exposing these idols in our hearts and telling of the empty promises they lead us to believe. 

This is an excellent book on worship and self evaluation. It causes me to look at the various idols and ask questions that dig to the core of where I really put them in my life. I highly recommend this book. 

God has blessed me with an amazing family. I have a beautiful and wise wife.
She challenges me as a husband, leader, and follower of Jesus.

Recently she challenged me with something I had picked up a long time ago from Carlos Whittaker’s blog post “12 THoughts For and From A Worship Leader”. - Paraphrased it’s basically the idea that, as a worship leader, what I say on stage between the songs I lead on Sunday is equally if not more important than the actual songs we sing. 

Kristin challenged me to be more intentional about what I say. I fall into ruts. I think most worship leaders do. One of my ruts is to say “Isn’t it great that we get to do this?”

Now it is great that we get to sing songs about God, to God, for who He is and what He has done for us. That is a great thing. It’s awesome, cool, amazing, “insert your favorite adjective here”. The problem is when that become my default. When it becomes my default, I’m on auto-pilot. When I’m on auto-pilot I’m not intentionally listening through or planning through what I need to say or what God wants to teach us.

When I’m on auto-pilot I’m relying on my own strength.
I do things out of habit instead of out of humility.  

So I’m starting a new practice. 
I’m calendaring time to literally script out / pray through the songs we’re doing each week and what I will say before / after / during them.

My goal as a worship leader is to give people the opportunity to respond to Jesus because of who He is and what He has done for them. That means that I have to be there already. If I’m helping people take steps, then I need to be some steps ahead on the path beckoning them onward and closer to Jesus.

I’m hoping through this new practice that I’ll get better at listening to the Holy Spirit’s leading. I’m hoping I’ll become a better leader. I’m hoping I lead people to Jesus.