My Life As a Worship Writer (MyLifeAww)

MyLifeAww is dedicated to figuring out what it means to write music for the kingdom in today's culture. My name is Isaiah Barker and this is my Life As a Worship Writer... www.isaiahbarker.com

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A “Bigger Than” God

Who am I to receive such joy from this song? I am just a song writer who follows the Lord. 

Last night I attended one of Biola's chapel services and they lead this song. As I looked around at hundreds of students singing words that I wrote almost 2 years ago, I thought, "How much bigger is our God than I give Him credit for?"

In Psalm 113 it says, "Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?” (vs. 6-7). Did anyone else catch what the psalmist is singing here? Our God is obviously is an “on high” God who is above the earth, and there is obviously no one like Him. But, how little is our knowledge and thought of how big He really is? OUR GOD IS SEATED HIGHER THAN THE HEAVENS! My friends, our God must lower Himself, humble Himself to be in the realm of the heavens. HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!?

The psalm continues in saying, “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!” (vs. 7-9). So this God... the One who is the most high, the One who is above the earth and above the heavens... that God, our God, stoops down to the dust of this earth and raises up a poor man to bring him into His kingdom? Again, HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!? And then, He delights in us. He has joy when blessing us as with this pregnant woman who needed a home. He provided, and she was a joyous mother. If this is true, how can we not live a life of absolute trust and faith in our God that He would remain eternally sovereign over us? As in the song, He is bigger than all of our dreams, hopes, and desires. He is bigger than our doubts, fears, and anxieties. We need to daily say, “Whatever will come my way, through each day I will say, ‘God I trust You.’”

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We Have A Problem With Listening...

You’re on your way singing loudly along with the car radio and all of a sudden your voice trickles down in volume and you say to yourself, “Is that what the song says? Is that what I’ve been singing all this time?” Has this ever happened to you? My assumption is, most likely, more than a few times.

When we realize what the song is saying it will often change our perception about the song. If it’s a worship song, it can often engage us more in our worship. If it’s a pop song, like one of my recent realizations, it can make us feel sorry for the artist that they would have to sing such a lyric. And, I believe, in a lot of instances it turns us away from the song and sometimes the album or artist altogether.

As a worship leader, - you know that guy who sings songs to God constantly throughout his life - I’ve been prone to singing songs that I don’t fully understand. Yet then I’ll stand up in front of God’s church and they are expectant of me to lead them; to lead them in how to sing, their posture of worship, in the theology of worship, in scripture, and even in personal testimony. But, even at the moment of writing this, I still don’t know how to share with a congregant a true meaning of, “Nothing can for sin atone, nothing but the blood of Jesus.” Now, I’m sure I could scramble some words together and “get away with it,” but I still wouldn’t have a deep understand of the word “atone.”

So if me, a worship leader, struggles with fully engaging in the words I sing to my Lord, I fear I’m not alone; that the majority of the people I lead in worship on a weekly basis aren’t fully aware of every word they sing either. And this is scary.

Church, I want to encourage you to sing. I want to encourage you to engage, to be moved by the Spirit, to worship. But, I need to first encourage you to listen. Shema, hear and obey. Listen and understand. Meditate. Treasure. First see and hear, then understand, then sing. Each action you take is worship. Don’t skip one! We will one day be held accountable. - Isaiah Barker

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Just Announced! Isaiah Barker @ Hume Lake in Hume, CA - June 28th

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My new sounds:

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When I’m Uninspired to Write

Song Writer’s block is a real and serious thing that happens to EVERYONE. Sorry, you can not avoid it. This is not to avoid the inconvenient circumstance, this is more of things that I do when I’m uninspired or when I’m tired.

1. Pray

When I began to make the switch from writing songs ‘because I could’ to writing songs ‘as a way for God to speak through me to His people and as a means for me to solely worship,’ my songwriting quantity dropped dramatically. That’s because I began to pray things like, “God, what do You want me to say to Your people?” and “How do You want to use me today and the talents You’ve given me?”

Soon after the change in my songwriting direction, I began to get frustrated and disappointed because I wasn’t producing the quantity I was so familiar with producing. The Spirit helped me realize what I was idolizing and Who I wasn’t. But, God began to use me to write (what I think to be) beautiful songs with richer meaning, but in far less quantity. To which this quantity is growing.

2. Try Another Instrument

My primary instrument that I write with is acoustic guitar. But I recently picked up the instrument that first began my musical journey - the piano. The problem here is I am a horrible piano player, slowly improving some of the basics. But what’s great about this is that it has brought me back to some basics. Only being able to play through a whole song in the keys of C, D, or G and sometime E. What I’ve found is I’ve had a fun time coming up with new, simplistic melodies that are easier to play on piano than they are for me on the acoustic. Also, after writing a song, I will play it a couple days later on the acoustic and it comes out a whole new feel - new tempo, different energy, etc. which then allows me to play a song two entirely different ways. It’s been fun.

3. Read

Growing up I heard, “Leaders are readers” and “Writers are leaders.” But, I hated reading. I’ve found a joy in reading since a couple years ago that has so validated the annoying things I heard growing up.

Simply just read. Read the Word first and foremost. Read books on topics that have interest to your soul. Read books that are edifying to you and the passions God has given you.

4. Write Anyway

Get into the practice of writing something everyday. At least make a habit of writing a note to yourself of an idea or single-lined lyric. Many people, including myself, keep a note app on their phone that become filled with one-liners and quotes that pop up throughout their day. I call this ‘keeping your writing senses open and aware.’ I heard (but not quoting because I haven’t looked it up) that Keith Getty, a leading modern hymn writer, co-writer of In Christ Alone, makes it a discipline to write part of a hymn everyday whether he likes it or not. He’s creating a disciple and environment where failure is evident and success has more opportunity.

5. Take A Break

Not contradictory to my last point, taking a break is so vital. Sometimes telling yourself you need to intentionally break yourself from the routine mold is a great idea. Read and invest in yourself and in your songs by not writing, but at the same time ‘keeping your writing senses open and aware.’

Questions:

1. What are some things you do when you’re uninspired?

2. Have you, or do you, use any of these points? Do they help you?

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YES! YES! YES! #righteousking

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1 more month #righteousking

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How to Worship as a Worship Leader While On Stage

A topic arose during a discussion with a mentor of mine who leads worship at our church. We posed this question to each other: "How do YOU worship as a worship leader while on stage?"

It's a topic that I've been digging into for at least a good six months, and I figured it's time to write my thoughts.

First, I want to talk about the "stage or platform." This platform is often different depending on where you are. Identifying who my audience is, and the broader setting I am leading, in really helps guide me on how I worship. If it's Sunday morning and I am leading a 4-piece band and they are a familiar congregation, then my role as a worship leader will look very different than if I am huddled in a circle in a friend's living room singing and sharing together with some of my closest brothers and sisters.

I firmly believe that my most heartfelt and committed times of musical worship has not been on stage, and for good reason. In fact, the times where I break down in total praise and adoration (worship) is in my bedroom alone, singing and crying out lyrics that have been placed in my heart and on my lips by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, this worship occurs as I drive home after a night of work while thinking about the day and praying.

Here's why that kind of worship experience doesn’t often happen while I’m leading others in worship. It's literally because it can be a distraction

1. Distraction: If I were in the congregation and the person on stage fell to his knees crying and clearly creating a dramatic scene that drew my attention off of Jesus and on to him, questions would pop up in my head:

A. My attention would be drawn to trying to figure out what is going on in his personal life that was making worship all about him. Probably, those things should have been addressed with God prior to coming on stage to lead others.

B. So, what happens now? How do we get our focus back on Christ? I would assume that most would be uncomfortable or may even be feeling a bit of awkwardness.

C. Others may even questions about whether his or her worship is genuine.

When the focus switches to us, God is not getting the full attention He deserves and asks of us. Christ simply states this in the context leading up to what we call 'The Lord's Prayer.' In fact, all of Matthew 6 deals with this sort of hypocrisy.

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:5-6 ESV Emphasis added)

2. Appropriateness: Our job as leaders is to...lead! Facilitate. Bring people Jesus. Our position is a humble one. We must humble ourselves in a sacrificial sort of way—we step back, let God use us in such a way that others are able to focus on God. He is the One that is to be glorified.

Using the example in point one, if that worship leader fell to his knees for the sake of worshiping his God while alone and in his private worship time, it would be a different story.

I heard a great analogy from my mentor that he also heard some time back. 

We are to be like the Palm Sunday donkey.

What do we know about the donkey? NOT MUCH! Jesus chose this young, unridden donkey. In a paraphrase, the text says "Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey." So what was the role of this donkey? Answer: He brought the people Jesus. And in correlation, what is the role of the worship leader? Bring the people Jesus! We do not know much about the donkey, but what we do know and see is that Jesus needed to use him, the donkey obeyed God’s leading, and people glorified God!

So what does that look like for us? Well, I guess an appropriate question would be: How do we facilitate people in a way that is God-glorifying, self-reducing and brings them to Jesus?

Here are some things I do that help me stay focused and engaged in worshiping my God while on stage, yet still facilitating the congregation.

1. OBSERVE. There is something about looking out at familiar faces that have their eyes shut and their hands high. Or, hearing that guy singing in the back who understands what it means to make a joyful noise to the Lord with complete abandon. Or, seeing the man standing next to his wife and holding his two-year-old baby girl singing to her "Spirit make us one church!" These things automatically align my heart with a sense of what God is doing in the room.

2. PRAY. Prayer is worship. Prayer is crucial before stepping foot on that stage. It's important at any time, all the time.

3. SCRIPTURE. Reading from the Word of God can be worship. Refresh your heart before, during, and after your set.

4. WRITE. I have personally found that I am more engaged when I’m singing a song that the Spirit has allowed me to write; whether it's about what God has been doing in my life or if it's been written for the unity of the congregation.God has often broken through to me on and off stage with the way He uses the songs He’s given to me during my personal times of worship.

These are just some things that have been helpful for me, and I hope they can be helpful to you.

So here are some questions to ponder:

1. How do you worship as a worship leader on stage?

2. What are the differences for you when leading worship, practicing, and while alone?

3. Are you a better representation of the "hypocrites" that Jesus talks about in Matthew chapter 6, or do you "pray to your Father who is in secret?"

4. How do we facilitate people in a way that is God glorifying and self-reducing?

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Every time I listen/watch, I literally almost break down. There is something about this song that overcomes my heart.

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Worshipping in Spirit and Truth (Let's Clear Things Up)

My aim here is to be concise and to the point. Many are confused on this topic, even though it seems to be talked about a lot, and I think that's the case because it's much harder to be done than it is to be said.

"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24 ESV)

5 Things About Worshipping in Spirit and in Truth:

1. Spirit: (a) The Holy Ghost: We cannot worship God without His Spirit interceding. He must be there to produce the true worship. We must be saved through the blood of Christ and receive the Holy Spirit. The foundation of one's true worship is salvation. (b) Passion: Worship is not by any means an external action. It comes from within, in the spirit. There must be authenticity, passion, zeal, love, affection, adoration, and humility as we approach our God to bring Him praise and glory.

2. Truth: God's Word. We need it. Simply put. 

3. Word of God: We must be committed and faithful to His Word. 

4. Offering: An offering up of ourselves. Denying and dying to ourselves.

5. Freedom: God allows it and does not force us. We are always worshipping. But with an overflowing love for God and His Word is where worship should come from.

"The nature of worship, then, is to offer God worship from the depths of our inner being in praise, prayer, song, giving, and living, always based upon His revealed truth. The person who would worship God must therefore have a faithful commitment to the Word of God. Worship does not happen by a zap out of heaven that makes us fall down. It is the overflow of our understanding of God as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures. That is worshiping in spirit and in truth."

- John MacArthur - Worship (The Ultimate Priority) p. 164

I hope these were helpful to you in your walk and journey. Worship the Lord!

- Isaiah Barker

- isaiahbarker.com

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5 Things To Consider Before Pressing Play

Before you press play on the new worship album you just bought, I invite you to consider...

#1. Consider the writer(s).

Do you know the writer(s) of the song? Maybe you don't know them on a personal level, but you may have followed their career. What situations have they gone through? What songs have they written, and why? How have they impacted your life thus far?

#2. Consider the title.

You're about to click on a track titled "Amazing Grace" that you've never heard before. Think about why it's titled the way it is.

Listeners don't tend to realize how difficult it is sometimes to take the theme of the song and every line into consideration and hash out a two-worded titled. Which brings me along to my next point.

#3. Consider the lyrical content.

Before you hear three verses, a pre chorus, a catchy melody, and a thriving bridge, the writer(s) may have spent HOURS hashing out the lyrics. By the time you get to hear the final track, it may have been the 18th version the writer(s) wrote. Allow me to put you a songwriter's mind for a minute.

A song does not always start with - in fact, it is probably even more rarely - a shining ray of inspiration. #1. We start with an idea. For example - "Grace." #2. We prepare for our "sermon." Just as a pastor spends a whole week plus practically most of Friday or Saturday to prepare his sermon, songwriters do the same. The only major difference is writers will most likely have 2-20 songs on their mind at once. So we grab our Bible, pen and paper, computer, that book we've been reading and marking up on the topic of grace, and all the commentaries we can find. Sit at the desk and write. #3. We write, write, write, write, and write till we THINK we have a final product. #4. We edit our song. #5. We have other people edit our song. #6. We edit our song again. #7. More people help with the song. #8. We get approval from our mentors and pastors. #9. We share it with our congregation. #10. We tweak it even more due to how the congregation received the song. #11. We lead it again. #12. We make a demo. #13. We get input on the demo. #14. We make another demo. #15. We record and try finalizing it before it gets into your hands and ears.

My friends, it's a very long process.

#4. Consider the message.

Now thinking through all of that, press play. Listen to the content. Maybe read the words along with the listen. Play it another time or two.

#5. Consider the beauty.

Musicianship, authenticity, creativity or whatever you would like to call it is very much a part of the hard work a writer puts into a song. Consider how the song makes you feel during and after the listen. Does it inspire you to do something or behave a certain way? The beauty/rhythm/and mood of the song can very much portray what the author(s) want you to know and how they want you to feel.

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So... writing music isn't easy.

It's not the glamorous lifestyle that you see performers have on stage. In most aspects it's a very brutal process. But, I think every song writer can attest to this:

There is nothing better than using the gifts the Lord has given to us and working hard on writing a song that glorifies the Lord.

 - Isaiah Barker

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If you're searching the internet on how to write a "hit" worship song, I think you're missing the point here.

Isaiah Barker

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Come and see what God has done: He is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.

Psalm 66:5

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I'm Writing Again!

I have been curious to see how this would play out. These past couple months writing has been on a decline in my life. I was initially making excuses like: "Well, I'm putting all my creative efforts into my worship album." or "I don't want to just write another song, but I want it to be really thoughtful and genuine."

Although I still think that those excuses are part of it, it became evident that the problem was a matter of the heart... my heart. 

Songwriting became more important to me than His Word and His Church, the foundations of which He writes through me the most. It was a hard realization for me.

So, I took some time off. A fasting from writing if you will. Replacing those times of writing, listening and playing with reading, praying and seeking. It wasn't necessarily that it was my heart's desire to stop writing, but it was because my heart's desire was and is to obey the Lord and worship Him alone. 

I was afraid of the turn out of this "break." I read a short story from a Hillsong worship songwriter and how he took two months off from writing. He found that it was extremely difficult to get back into the swing of writing again. 

So on one hand, I thought is was going to be like that. But, now it seems like that is not the case. My God is the God of blessings. And He continues to bless me everyday. And one of those ways is allowing me to write and sing songs to Him.

So here are two songs that I wrote (one today and one yesterday) that have been written about what has been going on in my head and heart.

Enjoy! I'd love to hear back from you.

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Myriads of Angels - Isaiah Barker

And this is true that myriads of angels

Worship You on their knees, yes they fall

So You don’t need my callous acts of worship

And who am I to sit here without reverence

You’re deserving of all praise

And worthy is Your matchless name

Yes You’re deserving of my praise

So I will give You all my all

Yes I will give You all my all

The angels sing, "Worthy is the pure Lamb

Who was slain to receive all wisdom

And all wealth, receiving might and power

With all blessing, all glory and all honor."

I give my worship, my praise, my all to You

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You Are Worthy - Isaiah Barker

We come before You seeking rest

But truly here to give our best

Despite our pain give us Your joy

That we may offer You our voice

For You are worthy

You are God, our Lord,

Righteous King, above all things

Yes Three in One,

Lord of man and Lord of everything

You’re a God who wants our all

Our worship, praise, and all our songs

Everything here is worthless

Unless we give to You our best

For You are worthy

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My lady draws these doodles and today she drew one from a song that I wrote. I love her.

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Grandpa Called It My Early Sabbatical (Although I Don't Get Paid)

Last Friday I sent an email to three pastors in my church, who are also mentors to me, saying basically I am taking time off from the stage and spotlight.

It was difficult. At first I was purposefully neglecting writing the email. But it came down to my heart and how the Spirit was leading me. Am I going all in, figuring out what it means to worship my God with a truthful heart? Or, am I going to continue a long-going spiritual battle in my heart as I lead a congregation in musical worship?

I met with 2/3 of my mentors yesterday, and meeting with the other soon. And my friends, I gotta tell you: There is nothing better nor more encouraging than people that uplift you, question you, seek after your heart, and guide you. We spent time in prayer, they gave questions for me to think about, and we searched deeper into my heart. 

I believe that one cannot have true community unless they are being poured into by Godly hearts with Godly wisdom.

Ask Yourself:

1. Am I intentionally seeking spiritual guidance and mentorship?

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