In a blog a few months ago I asked the question, “What’s next?”  Well, officially I’m starting as the worship leader at New Vision’s Smyrna campus on Sunday, the 18th.  We’re really excited to get to plug in at one place.  This morning Vanessa and I attended the Murfreesboro campus on a morning when over 200 people made decsions for Christ!  That’s the type of movement that anyone in ministry should be excited to join up with!  The Smyrna campus has been going for about 9 months at this point and is poised for awesome things in the future.  Starting in September we’ll be in a location that is right in the center of Smyrna and surrounded by schools.  We’ll have a great opportunity to team up with organizations for ministry opportunities in that community.

Before I left for Iowa I started to become friends with Robbie Russell, the worship leader at New Vision’s main campus.  We lived on the same street and had the same days off of work, so there were quite a few afternoons spent hanging out at Robbie’s house with some of the staff people and members of New Vision talking about music and playing Playstation (we may be 30, but we still have to play Madden).  When we moved back to Tennessee, Robbie was one of the first people I called.  Robbie and I are very similar musically, so matching up with what is going on on the main campus of New Vision is going to be a really good fit for me.

I’m officially part-time at the church, but also had my day job just change from part-time to full-time on July 1st!  I never dreamed I’d be working in the wireless industry, but G-Squared Wireless has treated me very well and has been an enjoyable place to work.  Even by Nashville standards, I’m surrounded by an inordinate number of musicians every day at work.  3/4 of one of my old bands works at G-Squared.  Just gotta figure out a way to get Bobby Reinsch to work there…

Anyway, in other job-related news, my wife goes back to work at Williamson County Schools part-time in August, too!  She’s not quite sure what her assignment will be, yet, but she’ll be back in very familiar surroundings and doing what she loves to do!  I think Williamson County is really excited to have her back, too (I’m a little biased, but she’s awesome at her job!).

We’ve been making ends meet the last few months since arriving back in Tennessee, but all 3 of these jobs coming together are going to give us some serious financial stability, not to mention the fact that we’ll be a little less stressed knowing HOW we’ll pay the bills every month.

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Here’s my list of the 5 words that annoy me this month.

Ridic -  Come on.  Seriously?  You can’t just finish out the WHOLE word?  Ridiculous.  You sound ridiculous when you say “ridic.”

Cats (as a replacement for people, especially musicians) – Unless you’re a member of the Rat Pack or you play swing music for a living (as in you actually make a legitimate full-time income playing swing) you are not allowed to refer to people as “cats.”  I know, this is one of those unwritten rules that many people don’t understand.  It is at the same level of importance in the official “Book of Unwritten Rules” as giving close calls to the pitcher for the 27th out of a perfect game (sorry – had to figure out a way to get in a Jim Joyce reference).

Broseph – I have more friends using this word than I’d like to admit.  I’ll admit that I’ve used it to make fun of them.  This word is obviously derived from a combination of “brother” and… “Joseph?”  Of course.  Joseph was the earthly father of Jesus.  Jesus died on the cross to cover all of our sins, therefore making all who accept Him part of the family of God.  If I’m a part of the family of God and another male is a part of the family of God, then he is my brother.  Therefore, the brother-Joseph combo makes sense.  Or not.  You could just try brother – or even bro.  Either way, this word annoys me.

Vuvuzela – Have you tried watching a World Cup soccer match?  I can’t do it.  Why, you ask?  Because of the droning, buzzing sound that never goes away during the broadcast.  I believe it’s a Bb.  If I ever need to tune my saxophone to a concert Bb, at least I know I can turn on ESPN to get a reference note.  Other than that, these plastic horns that make sounds upwards of 120 decibels are simply the most annoying sports noisemaker around.  More annoying than thundersticks, cowbells, and airhorns combined.

BP – Do I really need to go into this one?  I’ll try not to get very political here since that’s not the point of this blog at all, but the oil spill in the Gulf is a mess.  Bottom line – it needs to be stopped and cleaned up.  Until it is I will not like the word BP.

Let me know if you agree or disagree.  What words do you dislike?

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I’m really excited to be back in Murfreesboro tomorrow morning at Illuminate Church. I’ll also be back at Illuminate on July 4th. It’s always cool to be in an area that I’m very familiar with, and I’m looking forward to getting to know the people at Illuminate. For this week I’m excited to be back with Alex Skidmore laying down the bass while bringing Kyle Hicks into the mix on drums and Andrew Bonnell on electric. I was actually supposed to play with Andrew at River Oaks the weekend of the flood in Nashville and he wasn’t able to make it out because his subdivision was suffering pretty badly. Fortunately his house was spared and then I had the opportunity to play with him last Friday night at the 180 Worship in the ‘boro event. I’ve had the opportunity to play with Kyle at both New Vision campuses in Murfreesboro and Smyrna.

Anyway, here’s the set for tomorrow morning at Illuminate:

“Your Love Never Fails” (Jesus Culture) – One of the great things that came out of our second worship venue at my church in Iowa was that a lot of our volunteers had the opportunity to lead worship in this room. The Nobles introduced me to this song as well as some other excellent Jesus Culture songs when they led. There’s a lot of good music coming out of the Jesus Culture movement and this particular song is quickly becoming a staple for me when I lead worship.

“Jesus Paid it All” (Kristian Stanfill version) – this has been a staple for me when I’ve led worship over the past few years. I’m a big fan of the updated hymns that have come out of the Passion movement. I especially like these songs because the original melodies have stayed the same.

“The Wonderful Cross” (Chris Tomlin version) – another solid restructured hymn that maintains the original melody. A great way to mix the old with the new.

“Rescue” (Jared Anderson) – I’ve been playing this song for quite a while and have recently started to add the guitar hook from “The World I Know” at the beginning. It’s sometimes fun to throw some familiar hooks into worship songs just to add familiarity for people who may just be learning the worship tune.

“All Because of Jesus” (Steve Fee) – A nice upbeat song to close out the set with the signature Edge dotted-eighth delay. Instrumentally this song is a blast to play, and lyrically it doesn’t disappoint. A solid song about our new life through Jesus Christ!

Edited to Add – All in all this morning was a blast! The congregation at Illuminate is a fun bunch to hang around and they are doing everything that they do with excellence. I’m definitely looking forward to coming back at the beginning of July.

At lunch Kyle told the speaker (Brad Henson – iambradhenson.com) about how he had donated his drums to a local church and actually had to borrow drums to play this morning. As we left the high-class establishment of Applebee’s, Brad nonchalantly asked Kyle if he’d like some drums. Kyle of course said that he would, and Brad opened his truck and started handing Kyle a set of Pearl Export Series drums. A nice, solid set of drums that should work quite well. How awesome is that?

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After explaining a little bit of our story moving back to Nashville, I guess the biggest question is, “What’s next?”

I’ve been fortunate to lead worship nearly every Sunday since being back in town, and I’m now booked to lead worship every Sunday through the first Sunday in May.  I’ll also be returning to lead worship for the “Burrito Brothers Flying Youth Camp” in West Virginia in June.  Hopefully in the not-too-distant future I’ll be able to announce a new place where I will be leading worship permanently, though I’m learning to be patient and wait for God to make the next step clear.

I’ve started pre-production on an acoustic EP and am really pumped about some of the songs we’ll be recording.  We should be hitting the studio very soon and will hopefully have the record out late spring/early summer.  Simultaneous with the release of the record I’ll be starting a “house tour” and am starting to book dates for it.  I’m basically looking for people willing to host a pot-luck or cookout at their house (it can be at a church, too – we’re just looking for more of a laid-back, relaxed feel) and have me with my band play an acoustic set and share some of the stories behind the songs from the EP as well as some great worship songs that have really impacted me over the years.  If you think you might want to host a house tour date then send me an email at booking@andrewadamsonline.com.

Then there is this blog.  When I was in Iowa I was so busy that I wasn’t able to keep up with it, but now I have more time.  Keep coming back to this site for info on the EP as it develops and for info on where to get your copy.  Be sure to check the sidebar for upcoming dates to see when and where I’ll be leading worship.  Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook – all that good stuff.  Also, starting next week be sure to come back for Wordless Wednesday every week.  I’ll be posting set lists for some of the dates that I lead worship.  I’ll post random thoughts about worship, life, and music.  I’ll post thoughts about what God did through different events I was allowed to be a part of.  Basically, there’s going to be fresh info on here, so keep coming back.

And if you’re ever able to come to an event or service where I’m leading worship be sure to come say “hey!”  I’m really pumped about what God’s going to do over the next few months, so be sure to stay tuned as it happens!  It’s going to be a great ride.

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I thought God wanted me to be a worship leader.  Why would He have me lead worship full-time for 3 years in Tennessee, then give me an opportunity in Iowa to completely provide for my family by leading worship only to land back in Nashville 8 months later as a handyman/blackberry procurement administrator (yes, that’s my official title)?

That’s one of the questions I’m still trying to figure out.  It has been kind of cool to not know what’s coming next.  We’ve been back in Tennessee for 5 Sundays.  The very first Sunday we went to Clearview Baptist in Franklin and had lunch with Michael Smith (with an H, not a W ) and his wife Melissa.  They were great friends when we were in Nashville before.  Michael is the Worship Pastor at Clearview and Melissa is a school psychologist (just like Vanessa – they actually shared an office last year).  They both are great at balancing ministry, family, and work.  They’re basically the picture of what we’d like to be as a couple when our daughter reaches college age.  It was really encouraging just to talk to them and learn about their tough experiences in previous ministries.

Then the next week I got to lead with Allen Morrell at Journey Pointe Church in Murfreesboro.  I spent a lot of time at Journey Pointe when I was previously in Tennessee through joint college and worship ministry events, so even though it had never been a church I attended it still felt like I had returned home.  For anyone who’s ever had the privelege of being a part of a service that Allen Morrell led you know that just being a part of the service was a blessing.

On the 14th of February I led at New Vision Baptist Church’s Smyrna campus.  Before we moved to Iowa I had the opportunity of getting to know Robbie Russell, who now directs the worship ministry at New Vision.  They had a last minute opening at their satellite campus and I had a last minute opening on my schedule, so Robbie gave me a call and asked me to fill in.  It was awesome to jump in with this group of musicians and get to plug in with their efforts at this new campus.

The following Sunday I had the privilege of leading at the Pointe in White House, TN.  Vanessa grew up in and graduated high school in White House.  I proposed to her in the city park in White House.  It was really cool to get to go back to our “old stomping grounds.”  It was also awesome to get to spend some great time with family.  My cousin played electric guitar with me that weekend and we spent some quality time with my aunt and uncle and then with Vanessa’s parents.

On the 28th of February I got to lead with Allen Morrell at River Oaks Community Church in Murfreesboro.  For anyone looking to see how all the parts of a team can work together for one greater purpose you should check out ROCC’s tech team.  Holy cow!  And again, it was another opportunity to lead with Allen, which is always great.  River Oaks is another church that I never got to attend when I lived in the ‘boro before, but it still felt like home because of all of the connections that had been made with people there over the years.

I still don’t know what’s next.  I don’t know exactly what God’s trying to teach me through this.  He’s probably trying to teach me to be more patient.  He’s probalby trying to teach me not to force things.  He’s probably trying to teach me that my identity is not in being a worship leader, but is actually in Him.  He’s probably trying to teach to trust Him completely.  He’s probably trying to teach me some combination of all of these things.

Whatever it is He’s trying to teach me, He’s definitely gotten my attention.

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When I was a senior in high school there was a big debate in the Nashville area over whether to use public funding for a stadium that would be the home of what was then the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans).  Being a non-taxpayer and football fan at the time I was 100% in support of the idea.  (sidebar – that’s not to say I wouldn’t support it now, I would just be a little more cautious than I was when i was 17).

A very specific memory I have from that year was riding in my friend Allen Salmon’s powder blue 1974 Volkswagen bug and cresting the hill from north Nashville on I-65 South where the skyline of Nashville comes into full view.  You first see the 2 antennae of the “batman building” sticking up like goalposts, then the rest of the city comes into view.  We made this drive a lot that year, and every time we crested that hill we would raise our arms and yell “touchdown” in the best way that any enthusiastic 17-year-old can.

As Vanessa and I finished the drive to Nashville and the skyline came into view I felt the sudden urge to be that 17-year-old all over again.  It was from a different angle (coming in on I-24 East) and the city’s grown some since then, but it was home.  I was in familiar surroundings.  We would be surrounded by family.  We were even returning to a rental property that Vanessa and I had rented early in our marriage, so we knew exactly what our house would look like.  Even though there was uncertainty in our future, we could relax for a while.

We arrived in town on Thursday, February 4th.  I started handyman work on Friday, February 5th.  Vanessa was hired as a psychologist the next week and I landed a more steady job working with Blackberries that started the next week.  The wireless industry was never on my radar before this move, but I’m such a tech geek that it’s a great fit for me.  By Friday, February 12th we both were gainfully employed AND our Iowa apartment had been subleased so that we would no longer have to worry about rent payments or utilities for a property we were not living in!

Each small thing falling into place made it feel as though we had definitely made the right decision by moving back to Nashville.  But there was still this idea that I wasn’t doing what God really wanted me to do because I wasn’t leading worship…

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Then came that Monday.  I learned on Monday, January 25th that the church was going to let me go after the upcoming Sunday (the 31st) for my lack of spiritual leadership.  How do you argue that?  “No, I disagree.  I’m the perfect spiritual leader for this worship team.”  So, I agreed.  Who doesn’t need to work on being a better spiritual leader?  You’d lose all credibility if you say that you don’t have anything to work on.  Admittedly, I let the day-to-day tasks of coordinating the worship team get in the way of spiritual leadership at times.

My official exit meeting was on Monday, February 1st.  Over the course of a few days leading up to my final Sunday Vanessa and I began to talk and pray about what we would do next.  We knew that long-term we were not going to stay in Iowa, and so really our biggest debate was whether to finish out our lease in Iowa (which would run through the end of July), make the move back to Nashville, or figure out if there was a mysterious 3rd option.

The mysterious 3rd option never materialized and jobs started to line up for us in Nashville.  Our connections in Nashville would make landing jobs (and therefore theoretically being able to pay the bills) a much quicker process than it would be in any other part of the country.  We know that scripture teaches us to be patient and wait on God.  I think sometimes we frustrate God by waiting on Him to show us what to do when He’s already made what He wants us to do obvious.  During the last week of January I was able to line up immediate handyman work in Nashville and Vanessa was able to line up multiple promising job interviews.

We took the jobs lining up for us as God’s way of telling us that Nashville was where we needed to be.  The church elders had asked us not to tell anyone that we were leaving until after January 31st, but our Nashville jobs and interviews lined up so quickly that we would need to be in Nashville before the following Sunday (February 7th).  The unfortunate byproduct of this situation was that we did not get to say goodbye to a lot of people that we wanted to.  We know that in that process we did hurt some people’s feelings and would love to have the opportunity to apologize to those people.  Given the situation we were in, we felt that we were doing exactly what God wanted us to do in order to take care of our family.

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