The Bar Is Much Higher

In seventh grade I started running sound for my youth group with my older brother. Every week and occasionally on Sunday night we were setting up a sound system. In college I progressed to setting up sound more often, not only Sundays but Thursdays as well. After and during college I started packing equipment in my mini-van and traveling 30 minutes to run sound. Now I had to transport the system I was running. Then my friend, Ninja Pete (a.k.a. John Pope), wanted to make an album. So throughout the week I was doing sound stuff. The whole time I never enjoyed it. I only started learning sound to be popular. I was hoping that being a soundman would make me cool.
I still run sound to this day, and still do not enjoy it. To me, what does it mean if I turn some knobs and move some faders and create this wonderful sounding system? When I leave the venues I run sound at they will have a hard time filling that spot, if I did not train another. It’s like a tale I was told, only I twist the end…

If a father catches a fish for his son,
he feeds him for a day.
If a father teaches his son to fish,
he feeds him for life.
If a father teaches his son to fish and teach others,
he feeds generations.

If I run sound all the time, so what I have a small impact. If I teach one other person to run sound, so what I have impacted a season. If I teach people sound and encourage them to teach others, I have impacted years of ministry.

Many Christian parents feel that as long as their kids go to church, say perfunctory prayers before meals, and basically turn out okay they did their job as Christian parents. In the words of Voddie Baucham, “The bar is much higher then that.” Do we not realize the church is not there to serve as a school for Christians? The church is only where we, as believers, come together, back to the huddle, meet together to encourage each other and lift each other up. It is time we raise the bar.

In the words of a former pastor of mine, “You talk about what you think about, and you think about what you love.” What are you talking about with your kids or people around you everyday? Are we always talking about football, golf, baseball, basketball, the news, or do we take time to share with those around us how much God means to us? I hear husbands talk about their wives, and wives talk about their husbands, in a good way, because they love each other. Are we talking about God as if we love Him, and enjoy our relationship with Him?