Leading in Song

August 2, 2015 | I Can Do All Things Through Christ

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Josh Lavender’s Vision for Communal WorshipCommunal Worship

BY BARBARA BLACKBURN

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Matt Redman, Kirk Franklin, Hillsong United, Phil Wickham … these are popular names

in Christian worship circles, and there are many more. One up-and-coming worship leader is a young man named Josh Lavender, from Port Huron, Michigan, and he is already making a difference.

He’s 24, living now in Indianapolis, Indiana, having graduated in 2012 with a degree in church music with an emphasis on voice. He already has several singles and an EP on iTunes, and has a CD called “Hope in Jesus” that was released in September of

2014. Many labels have taken an interest in Josh’s music, and he has been in conversation with a couple of them, though he hasn’t of�cially signed anything yet at the time of this writing. He said that may change, however.

Josh was a part of a ministry team/band called Revolution, from Indiana Wesleyan University, until he graduated. He also won the Wesleyan Church’s songwriting competition in 2012 with a song called “Nothing Between.” He sang that song at the Wesleyan general conference in Kentucky. All of these opportunities began to open doors for him. He has had the opportunity to write worship

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4 Power for Living | August 2, 2015

songs with some of the most proli� c Christian songwriters of our time such as Mia Fieldes, Tony Wood, Jon Steingard, Travis Ryan, and Sarah Hart.

He credits one particular IWU professor, Dr. Constance Cherry, as having a profound impact on his view of worship.

“She has helped me to see what a meaningful and rich experience it can be when believers get together,” he said. “I have always wanted

to be a worship leader like my mom, but my future really started to take shape in college,” he said. “I was asked to lead worship for spiritual emphasis week summit at Indiana Wesleyan University, and the speaker wanted to use the old hymn “May the Mind of Christ” as the theme song for the week. I remember thinking, ‘I wonder if I can take these incredible words and make something new and modern.’ We taught the campus my new rendition the next week, and I began to realize that I wanted to write songs speci� cally for community worship.”

Josh credits his parents with instilling him with a love of corporate worship from a young age. His father, Rusty, is a pastor, and his mother, Candy, served as a worship leader for many years. He also has a brother, Nathan, who graduated from IWU with a degree in English and Creative Writing.

“They are a continual support and encouragement to me,” he said. “Being the son of a pastor/theologian and worship leader, singing, studying, and writing the

church’s songs has been a clear � t for my life.”

His mother says she’s honored that he wants to follow in her

“She has helped me to see what a meaningful and rich experience it can be when believers get together.”

“I wanted to write songs speci� cally for community worship.”

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footsteps, as she has been leading worship nearly all of her life, � rst in her grandfather and father’s church, and then in her husband’s.

“I always knew that Josh was musically talented,” she said. “He was always singing and playing the piano, and I mean always. I would sometimes hear him and his brother singing hymns while they were playing with their toys. We would sing and do duets and mess around with music all the time, so to now see him, grown up and an adult, having songs… sound, touching, anointed songs… just � ow from God to his pen is something so wonderful that it is hard to explain. And, when Josh sings, I can hardly keep from crying through every song! It touches me, convicts me, stirs me, and makes me want to love God more. I hope it does that for everyone who hears it. The words to the songs are great, his singing is wonderful and stirring and God is present in the songs.”

He regularly travels to churches to lead worship, and is excited about his ability to be spontaneous when it comes to picking up and going where he’s asked to go.

“Recently, I was leading worship on a Sunday morning at a church in Florida,” he said. “When the pastor was taking me back to the airport that evening, he calmly said, ‘Our church is going to Israel on Wednesday, would you like to go with us?’ That was all it took. I cleared my schedule and in just three days I was on my way to Israel with them.”

With all of these exciting opportunities, it might be easy for

Josh to lose sight of the essential part of being a worship leader, but he does his best to keep God front and center in all he does.

“My relationship with God is the most important thing in my life,” he said. “It is my habit to keep myself in the ways that God is giving grace to

His people. I can see God unfolding His nature in me through prayer, His Word, the community of believers… I was raised in the church… Church has always been a tremendous part of my life, but the older I get, the more I realize what is truly happening when

“It touches me, convicts me, stirs me, and makes me want to love God more.”

Josh’s September 2014 CD release

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6 Power for Living | August 2, 2015

God’s people get together to respond to His revelation.”

He quotes Romans 15:5-6 from the Living New Testament as one of his favorite Scripture passages. It says, “Now may the God of patience and encouragement give to you the same thing to think among one another, in harmony with Christ Jesus; that with one accord, with one voice, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Praise and worship is vital to the Body of Christ,” Josh said. “As we sing, clap our hands, and participate together, the music enables us to say the same things at the same time, in unity.

“Worship is formational,” he continued. “The words we sing not only express what we believe, but continue to form our beliefs. Corporate worship is something I am very passionate about. It is the time when the community comes together to respond to God, remembering who He is, what He has done, and what He continues to do for us.”

Josh plays the piano, sings, writes his own music, and says he is inspired in so many different ways.

“Often I’ll hear a sermon, an old hymn, or a verse of Scripture and lights will start to come on in my mind about how I could make it into a song,” he said. “I collect old hymnals and frequent theology

books to �nd new inspiration.”He said he continues to be

in�uenced by people like Kari Jobe, Phil Wickham, Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche, Steven Curtis Chapman, Hillsong United, Travis Cottrell, and various gospel and jazz groups. He says he sees his style as a fusion of modern and traditional music.

“I want to keep the deep lyrical content that you would �nd in a traditional hymn,” he said, “while giving it a fresh, modern, yet sing-able melody.”

In spite of all of Josh’s early success, his hopes for the future are not for himself, but for the Church as a whole.

“My greatest hope for the future is to see a powerful move of God that goes beyond the individual and permeates a culture,” he said. “I see a lot of congregations that meet together to worship, but approach community worship in a very individual way. Some try to ‘tune everyone else out,’ or ‘just focus on God.’ I �rmly believe that corporate worship can be a rich, unifying experience for the Body, a time when the individual can realize that he or she is not alone! When God’s people get together, there should be adoration for God, and encouragement for one another.”

His mother has a similar vision and hope for her son and his ministry.

Senior Managing Editor: Catherine DeVries Assistant Editor: Erik Homme Art Director: Paul Parson Designer: Susan Murdock

Power for Living®, a paper for adults, is published quarterly in weekly issues by SP Publications. Subscription addresses: SP Publications, 4050 Lee Vance View, Colorado Springs, CO 80918 • SP Publications, Ltd., Box 98, Paris, ON N3L 3E5, Canada. Scripture Press, Kingsway Church Ministries, Lottbridge Drove, Eastbourne, BN23 6NT, UK. © 2015, SP Publications. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without speci�c permission. Printed in South Korea. Website address: www.power-for-living.com. To order Power for Living, please call 1-800-323-7543 (U.S. only) or 1-800-263-2664 (Canada only)

Volume 73, Number 4, June | July | August 2015

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“Joshua is a genuine person with a very real and living relationship with God,” she said, “and that makes all the difference in his music. When he sings, there is the true presence of God there… the anointing of God is on him. So, my prayer and vision for him is that God would continue to give him songs from His

own heart, and that Josh would be able to sing them for a widespread audience, and that the audience would feel God and be changed by Him! It is my hope that this audience will grow and that lives will be changed so that a new army for God can be raised up to spread the Gospel of Christ.” Pf L

Daily Bible ReadingsJoshua 6-8

Joshua 9-12

Joshua 13-21

Joshua 22-24

Judges 1-3

Judges 4-5

Judges 6-8

S U N D AY

M O N D AY

T U E S D AY

W E D N E S D AY

T H U R S D AY

F R I D AY

S AT U R D AY

1. We are support - It’s our job to come alongside what the pastor is saying and his/her vision.

2. Know your congregation - We give words to the hearts of our people, we need to be aware of where they are at, and enable them to express their feelings in worship.

3. Share your heart - For people to want to follow you in worship they need to trust you. When a congregation hears genuine sincerity they open up to you as a leader.

4. You can’t take someone where you haven’t been - Develop an intimate place of worship in your heart in private, and take the congregation to your place of adoration. Worship through the songlist before you ever get in public.

5. What you sing is important - Worship forms us. The words we put on the lips and in the hearts of God’s people need to be true, and worthy of Him.

6. Keep developing your gift - The people we serve are worth it, and God deserves it.

Josh’s advice for worship leaders:

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8 Power for Living | August 2, 2015

There are plenty of ways to serve God—and

some that will � t you exactly as a key � ts a lock. Don’t hold back

because you cannot preach in St. Paul’s Cathedral; be content to talk to one or two in a cottage. Very good wheat grows in little � elds. You may cook in small pots as well as in big ones.

Little pigeons can carry great messages. Even a little dog can bark at a thief and wake up the master

and save the house. A spark is � re. A sentence of truth has heaven in it. Do what you do right thoroughly, pray over it heartily, and leave the result to God.

Re� ectionIn what small ways are you

serving God? Why is prayer to be such an important part of your service to Him and other people? What happens when we don’t believe what we do for God really matters?

Charles Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892) was a British Particular Baptist preacher who

remains highly in� uential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still

known as the “Prince of Preachers.” From The Best of Charles Spurgeon: 120 Daily Devotions to

Nurture your Spirit and Refresh Your Soul. © 2005 Honor Books. Used by permission.

“But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body… now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” —1 Corinthians 12:18-20, 27

CHRISTIAN CLASSICS

Charles Spurgeon

Serve God as You Are Gifted

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