worship

The Snowflake Conundrum

6 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 13 Comments

What was your most recent “it will never be exactly like this again” moment?

I had the distinct pleasure of playing drums for a very talented and anointed worship leader this week, Miss Janelle Gmitter. Playing drums is the most lucid, natural musical expression of worship for me even though most people see me behind a guitar or piano. It’s effortless, and therefore lends itself to a spiritual connection that’s different than leading from the stage-center position.

As I was getting lost in the flow that Janelle was leading us in, it dawned on me: this moment of worshipping the Lord will never happen again. Sure, other opportunities will present themselves, but never precisely like this one.

My snowflake moments in life are becoming my most precious. How many snowflakes fall from the sky in northern New York in one storm alone? Untold billions, if not more. Yet it’s statistically impossible for any two to ever be the same structurally.

The common occurrence of rare moments is one of God’s most intentional conundrums.

By default we’re creatures of habit. As people our efficiency excels with repetition. Yet without the infinite possibility of the random we’d be bound to the torture of the mundane.

No two people are the same, nor are the relationships we’ll have with them.

No two works of art are exactly the same, nor are two work projects, two trips to the same destination, two dinners with friends, two encounters with God, with your spouse, or with your children.

I see my kids everyday, yet by virtue of their rapid growth I’ll never have again what I have at the present.

Snowflakes may be common, but that single one over there is one of a kind.

Make sure you take time to savor the rare moments of your common day. You’ll never have them again in quite the same way. By doing so we pay homage to the brilliance of God in giving us a mystery that simply falls from the sky. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, leadership Tagged With: common, drumming, Janelle Gmitter, moments, opportunity, perception, rare, relationships, snowflakes, value, worship

For Those Who’re Watching

2 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 18 Comments

Yesterday Judah and I worshipped together during third service at New Life. He’s often distracted by his older brother and sister, but since they were en route from Rochester with their mom, Judah’s singular focus was pretty neat to watch.

He would look up at me and do what I was doing.

It started with clapping.

Then some hopping.

Soon he was squinting his eyes, looking up at me to see what hand I was raising. I couldn’t figure out why he was squinting – honestly, it was super cute – until I realized I was squinting.

I couldn’t stand it any more and knelt down to hug him and tell him how good of a little worshipper he was being.

If you’ve felt convicted lately about not doing something you know you should be, please consider this: our deliberate efforts are often more about someone else’s gateway to success than our own.

While your actions may very well benefit you in some meaningful ways – financial, emotional, physical, or spiritual – they probably will benefit someone else far more profoundly.

So whether it’s the way you worship in church to that book you’ve always been getting around to writing to that exercise routine you’ve been delaying to that friend you’ve always said you’ll visit, do the people watching you a favor and start.

The best motivation is realizing some things we can’t do for ourselves. We can only do them for others. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, leadership, The Hopper Kids, worship Tagged With: actions, commitment, deliberate, dreams, judah, motivation, new year's resolutions, worship

God Doesn’t Need Our Worship

17 Nov ’11 By Christopher Hopper 10 Comments

God doesn’t need our worship.

We do.

God’s not suffering from an identity crisis in which He needs constant reminding of his attributes or character.

But we do.

God doesn’t benefit from the hundreds of Biblical commands outlining demonstrative, physical expressions of exuberant worship.

But we sure do.

Last night as I watched 33 Live’s worship team lead teens into passionate praise of Jesus, I was impressed with the simple fact that, of all the things this young generation needs – and all generations, for that matter – they need to worship a living God and experience His presence.

My father raised me with a powerful saying: “The worst place to be is where the Holy Spirit was.” I want to be where He is.

Exciting things are happening in Jefferson County, NY, and the Holy Spirit is here. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, leadership, music Tagged With: dance, music, obedience, praise, singing, teenagers, worship

Cornerstone Church

13 Nov ’11 By Christopher Hopper 4 Comments

Just a simple, loving, and very grateful shout-out to our new family at Cornerstone Church in East Longmeadow, MA. Dr. Tim and Debbie Moore, and all their amazing staff, went above and beyond the definition of hospitable.

Saturday evening’s service with Youth Impact was as powerful as it was memorable: who will ever forget Dillon plowing me over for his tissue box? Contend for you faith!

And this morning both jennifer and I felt overwhelmed by the congregation’s love and appreciation for our ministry in music and the teaching of the Word.

We look forward to a return visit. Much love and appreciation to you all. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, live, music, news, speaking, worship Tagged With: cornerstone church, Dr. Tim Moore, east longmeadow MA, on tour, teaching, worship

Releasing the Lion

12 Oct ’11 By Christopher Hopper 2 Comments

A Post from YWAM Charlotte DTS

Unplanned, uncoordinated times of prolonged worship are like un-caging a lion: you’re not sure if it’s going to run free, or if it’s going to eat you alive.

Which is why we do our best as leaders to plan.

And that’s not a bad thing. We prepare because people are fickle, emotions are lethal, and often times those that think they are sensitive to the Holy Spirit aren’t. The last thing we want to do is abuse anyone’s time, including God’s with us.

But the risk can be worth it.

When a soaking session is done right, well, you never forget it. Because you get transformed.

Last night, it was clear from the beginning we were in for something awesome. The host church ended up double booking our first room. So we moved.

Ten minutes in to our second location, we were informed it was also double booked. So we moved again.

But it was a great object lesson on Watchman Nee’s predication that Christians are not changed by their environments; Christians change their environments. (Latent Power of the Soul).

From hymns to spiritual songs to lead prayer to words of knowledge, it was a remarkably rich time in the presence of our Father.

Toward the end I felt lead to sing Song of Songs 2:10-14 over the students, as it’s evident the Lord has been wooing them nearer and nearer. As soon as I was done, the Holy Spirit gave me a very simple song for them:

Take me away
Take me away
Take me away
I want to be where you are

I will go anywhere you ask me
I will go anywhere you ask me
I will go anywhere you ask me
If you’re by my side

Teary eyed and full, we emerged from the old choir room they stuck us in, knowing we had been with God. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, leadership, music, speaking, travel, worship Tagged With: A Post from YWAM Charlotte DTS, Charlotte, NC, prophetic, songs, Watchman Née, worship, YWAM

If Everyone Was Like You

12 Sep ’11 By Christopher Hopper 4 Comments

I think it’s important that church leaders are able to learn from and reiterate what other leaders are saying, especially within our own churches. The Kingdom is not just a “we teach, congregants learn” model, though there is certainly a place for this scripturally; rather, it’s all of us learning, being challenged, and growing as the Body of Christ.

Yesterday’s message by Pastor Kirk Gilchrist at New Life was chalk full of good stuff, but one point in particular really got me thinking. I decided to break the point down even further and examine it here with you:

Q: What if everyone evangelized like you?

What if everyone reflected Jesus through acts of kindness in public, words of encouragement to strangers, or employed intentional-compassion bent on winning their neighbors to Jesus like you? What would the growth of the church look like?

Q: What if everyone gave like you?

How many felt needs would the church be able to meet? How many orphanages could we build? How many marketing campaigns could we create that promote the Christ-like values Jesus sought to instill in people through stories? Would we be any closer to eliminating a government-based health care system with a church-funded one? Considering 5% of Protestant Christians tithe (1% of Catholics), and those are mostly age 55 and up, what does that say about your demographic’s responsibility for funding a great end-time revival? (Barna Research 5/19/03)

Q: What if everyone served like you?

If everyone shared the level of enthusiasm, self-sacrifice, and dedication that you show toward opportunities to serve others, how many lives would be effected corporately? How many missions trips, small groups, or cleaning crews would be soliciting for empty positions?

Q: What if everyone worshiped like you?

Would Sunday mornings be a vibrant, living testimony provoking jealousy out of unsaved or new believers attending that morning? Or would they be wondering if you were new to all this too?

Far too often we’re critical of what the church “should” look like, instead of being critical of what we look like. Since we’re the church. And there’s always at least one person following your lead (whether you know them or not). ch:

Filed Under: culture, leadership Tagged With: Barna Research, example, giving, money, tithes, volunteer, worship

Friday Night in Manchester

30 Jul ’11 By Christopher Hopper 13 Comments

My phone was charging on stage and I totally forgot to grab it, so I didn’t get nearly as many pics last night as I wanted. Maybe someone can post a couple, or send me a few.

We played to a packed house at Church of the Living God in Manchester, CT and what a night it was! My band has never sounded better, and I’m not exaggerating. So proud of their dedication to their music craft.

The flow we had in the Holy Spirit was indescribable; at one point, everyone stopped singing and Denis played the keys for about five minutes. No one moved. It was truly a #heavenmeetsearth moment as God visited us in that room.

If you were there, what was God speaking to you? What was your favorite moment? (Use #heavenmeetsearth on Twitter & Facebook).

We had lots of great conversations after the concert, and “Michelle the Merch Queen” was selling the new Bald V-Neck t-shirts and #heavenmeetsearth wristbands faster than we could stock them! Yes, the infamous t-shirt design we toyed with a while back is a reality, as pictured by Mike Kim, who’s responsible for designing that crazy bald head icon. (We’ll make them available in our store shortly).

The fellowship that followed was nothing short of chaos. We crashed at my favorite Jewish deli out here, and I snapped a picture. Of course, not thinking, I had everyone say “Yahtzee!”

…which to the rest of the restaurant sounded like we screamed “Nazi!”

Perfect. ch:

Filed Under: live, music, pictures, travel, worship Tagged With: CHB, concert, fun, mike kim, t-shirts, worship

Message: Leading in the Pew

9 May ’11 By Christopher Hopper 3 Comments

Saturday I had the privileged of speaking at Outloud Worship Conference 2011 in Manchester, CT. But not to musicians or front-man/woman worship leaders. I got to address “those other” worship leaders.

The ones sitting in the pews.

While I was a bit surprised when Pastor Mike Kim handed me the topic, I suddenly realized this is the very teaching I wish I could present to every congregation I ever led in worship. To explain to them in great detail the power of their position.

You can purchase all of the main session teachings and afternoon workshops directly from the great folks behind Outloud Conference via their website, but I wanted to give the notes from my session away for free. I hope they are a resource for you and your church in cultivating an atmosphere where heaven and earth meet. ch:

DOWNLOAD PDF NOTES: Leading in the Pew

Filed Under: leadership, music, worship Tagged With: mike kim, music, outloud worship conference, pews, worship

Production Within the Church

18 Apr ’11 By Christopher Hopper 10 Comments

I had the privileged of addressing my favorite House yesterday on the subject of production and its value within the Church world. The impetus came from my Senior Pastor, Kirk Gilchrist, who never shies away from taking issues head-on–one of the reasons I so appreciate his leadership. Rather than let people wonder why (or why not) we run our sound system the way we do, or why we use graphics, or why our lobby looks the way it does, he informs them preemptively before rumors have a chance to become destructive.

As the Creative Arts Pastor, yesterday’s production explanation fell on me.

And I was was excited for the chance.

Training a community how to value beauty is one of the most significant steps toward teaching a culture how to value life.

The response to my short presentation was so overwhelming that I decided to answer the requests for my notes and the message link by providing both below. Feel free to use as you need and pass on to your own church leadership or staff. I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have and help you in your process. ch:

DOWNLOAD NOTES: Why We Beautify

WATCH MESSAGE

What role does production play in your church services? How has it impacted people’s hearts for Jesus? If production is not something utilized by your congregation, how might elements of lighting, audio, video, graphics, printing, or stage management improve the message you’re attempting to communicate?

Filed Under: leadership, music, news, production Tagged With: audio, Church, creative, graphics, lights, production, sound, stage, why we beautify, worship

#HME In French

3 Feb ’11 By Christopher Hopper Leave a Comment

Bonjour!

For those of you who remember watching the Swiss Recap Reel, I just received my first few copies of “Le Ciel Touche La Terre” in the mail yesterday.

Wow.

In all honesty, I got blessed by my own CD–a rare happening as you get pretty sick and tired of hearing the songs over and over. But hearing it in French was like listening to a whole new record. And further still, I think a number of the songs were meant for French, and sound (and mean) so much more. There’s simply a different anointing.

And for a guy that is quite comfortable singing in his native language (American*), I am pretty blown away with how well Jennifer and I sound in French. Not because we do, mind you. That would be pretty pious (and stretching the truth). But because of how the production team made us sound. From translators to vocal coaches to producers, this team truly made a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Well, not Jennifer. But certainly me. [Oink, oink]

We could not have done it without: Sylvain, Line, Marie-Elise (Momma), Gaby, Andy, Rolf, Stephan, and the Freymond Children & extended family.

So if you’d like to purchase a copy of your very own–direct from Switzerland–you can visit either sam-music.com or Net Reflet.

Merci! ch:

*Sorry, couldn’t help myself. If you didn’t notice a difference, go back to school.

Filed Under: culture, music, news Tagged With: cd, french, heaven meets earth, le ciel touche la terre, record, swiss, worship

Heaven Has Landed On Election Day!

2 Nov ’10 By Christopher Hopper 6 Comments

Please join us at The Father’s House in Rochester, NY this Friday night for our official release concert! Click “attend” for details.

If you’re of age, you could be voting. Or you could be listening to our new CD, “Heaven Meets Earth.” Here are a few reasons why you should listen to it especially if you’ve voted:

1.) You’re really excited about how you think the elections are going to turn out and need some anthem music to dance to (which you’ll find lots of on “Heaven Meets Earth”).

2.) You’re depressed about how you think the elections are going to turn out and need some encouragement (which you’ll find on “Heaven Meets Earth”).

3.) You’ve actually become afraid of your mailbox for dishing out an exceedingly high amount of political advertising cards at you and need some calming tunes to help you with your nervous breakdown (which you’ll find some very quiet music on “Heaven Meets Earth”).

4.) You’re sick of the muzak that was playing over the loudspeakers in your town’s firehall while you were standing in line to vote. (*Note: there is no muzak on “Heaven Meets Earth”).

5.) You’re still confused about the difference between Tea Partiers and The Boston Tea Party, and have frequently refereed to the Boston Tea Party Massacre March on The Mall thinking it was a new HBO Documentary made in August. (There’s really no help for you in this case. The CD may only confuse you more. Buy it anyway).

Thanks again to the myriad of people that made this new disc possible, especially my wife, Jennifer Lee, for enduring my creative fits, my father, Peter K. Hopper, my dear friend and graphic designer, Jason J. Clement, and my band, who still thinks playing with me is better than playing with Elvis Costello. We’re thrilled to release it today, Tuesday, November 2nd, and believe that while voting effects culture, worship as fruit of a Christ-believing life does so infinitely more. May you call heaven and earth together in our surroundings. ch:

Filed Under: culture, music, news Tagged With: CHB, christopher hopper band, democrat, election day, heaven meets earth, hme, house, kingdom, music, obama, republican, senate, vote, worship

@loswhit love

29 Jan ’10 By Christopher Hopper 2 Comments

This is me giving Carlos Whittaker some love on my blog.

Bald.

Husband.

Daddy.

Non-rock star (who is actually a rock star) with new EP.

Soul in desperate need of Jesus.

And he made the iTunes front page with Jesus music this week. Gotta’ love that.

Go buy it. It’s the best $2.99 you’ll spend all month.

Then tell me what you think. ch:

Filed Under: culture, music, news Tagged With: carlos whittaker, EP, worship