Jadon is here

My son was born at 6:28 am on 11/12/2009. Jadon Kenneth Wooddell- Jadon means "thankful; grateful," Kenneth is after my grandfather, who went home to be with the Lord this past March, and Wooddell because he's mine!

Zephaniah 3:17 -The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

I now understand a little more about how amazing it is when a Father sings over His children with joy. Every day I write Jadon a new song or two and sing it over him while he is in my arms. Thanks for all your love and prayers!

Andrew and Chrissy

*special thanks to Curtis Copeland Photography for the picture.

New Song....with Video Goodness!

One of my best friends is a worship leader about 45 minutes north of my church, and every once in a while we get to do something together in worship. I absolutely love working with this guy-he's an amazing leader and worshiper!

A few weeks ago we got together on a day off and wrote a song for his church. Last weekend they introduced it at a night of worship and a good friend posted it on YouTube. I hope you like it...it's still getting tweaked a bit, but I love the way it's turning out! (Lyrics are below the vid).



You Will Reign
written by Jay Boykin and Andrew Wooddell

Creator, You hold the stars in Your hand
the wonder of all that I can't understand
Father, how great is Your mystery

a rugged cross that gave me hope
hands that bled so the world would know
a perfect love that sets us free

on the cross He took my place
by His blood all my sins are washed away
He bore the nails and conquered the grave
death could not contain our God
forever He will reign

You died and You rose
forever You will reign
my chains are now gone
forever You will reign
forever You will reign

Worship Leader, or Leading Worship?

Ahhhh, semantics. Does it really matter if you flip the terms 'lead' and 'worship?' I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I've realized that it does matter.

You see, leading worship is a task inside the body of Christ. I've seen many people lead worship in many different venues. I can break down what it takes to lead worship into a simple checklist that almost anyone could follow. And perhaps you, the reader, have led worship before! Just as it's always a privilege to preach a sermon or teach a lesson, it's always a great honor to lead God's people in worship.

But not everyone who preaches is a pastor, not everyone who teaches is a teacher, and not everyone who leads worship is a worship leader. Let me explain...

Being a worship leader is not simply a task, but a shepherding role inside the body of Christ. It is a responsibility much greater than the musical portion of the service. Let me use an illustration.

You see, I've had some amazing experiences in my life. I've gotten to conduct a 80 piece orchestra before. I've directed a 300 voice choir. Those are tasks I've done. But if someone asked me if I could be a middle school band director, I would absolutely say "No way!"

Could I direct the middle school band at a concert? Sure! But being the director is much more than just that moment of concert. It's weeks of teaching proper technique, rehearsing that group of people, loving on them and challenging them to grow. It's encouraging them after the concert and then working on the areas that were revealed as weaknesses. And then you do that again and again, sorta like 'shampoo, rinse, and repeat!"

Because it's a shepherding role and not a task, it would be cocky of me to say that I'm qualified to be a middle school band director just because I can direct a band. And similarly, I must ask myself each week if I'm leading worship or if I'm a worship leader. Is this a task I'm completing or a role I'm embracing?

Because at the end of my season here on earth, I don't want to be someone who only completed tasks. I want to be found faithful in shepherding and discipling God's people!