Jon Territo, Minister of
Instrumental Music, First Baptist Church of Orlando,
Florida
[A recording of this session
will be available online soon.]
Matthew 7:24-27 principle:
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and
puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his
house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it
did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not
put them into practice is like a foolish man who built
his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it
fell with a great crash."
Build on “solid ground”
▪ Falling hurts—learn from the mistake
▪ Don’t forget to apply the truth
▪ When storms come, you stand
John 15:5
principle
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains
in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from
me you can do nothing.
▪ Remain in Him
▪ Bear much fruit
▪ Apart from Him you can do nothing
Mark 12:28-31
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them
debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good
answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is
the most important?" "The most important one," answered
Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the
Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind and with
all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your
neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater
than these."
▪ Love God
▪ Love others
▪ Serve—Luke 10:25-37, Good Samaritan
Mark 10:45
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but
to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Brief testimony
▪ I have tried to ‘do it alone’ but God’s way always
made what I messed up on my own, get on a track that was
right
▪ My personal challenges today
Not many of us will willingly choose to do wrong, but we
will get distracted.
▪ Performance driven
▪ Personality driven
▪ Facility driven
▪ Driven by tradition
I propose that your ministry will take a giant step
forward when you get right from THE INSIDE OUT. You need
to make the “main thing” the “main thing” and place God
on the throne. Start with you. Find out what is ‘inside’
before you deal with anything ‘outside’. Ask a lot of
questions…
You
▪ Are you called to the ministry?
▪ Who called you—God or man?
▪ Are you called to your church?
▪ What are your gifts? Are you using them?
▪ Are you leading?
▪ Look back—is any one following you?
▪ Spiritually
▪ Musically
Worship
▪ Are you serving?
▪ God
▪ Your Minister of Music
▪ Your Pastor
▪ Your people
▪ The church
▪ Are you loving God with all you heart, soul, mind, and strength?
Your Family
▪ Are you giving them time?
▪ ‘Hands off’ time
▪ 'Phone off' time
▪ Are you dating your spouse?
▪ 15 Things for your marriage [See Appendix 1]
▪ Do your spouse and family know you think they are special?
▪ Have you done something surprising with/for them
lately?
▪ Are you treating them better or worse than you treat
the people you work with?
▪ Are you praying with/for them?
▪ Are you loving them unconditionally?
Your People
▪ Are they worshipping?
▪ How can you create the heart of worship in them?
▪ They love to play. Are they playing enough?
▪ Do they know you appreciate them?
▪ Are you treating them with respect?
▪ Rehearsal techniques
▪ On time
▪ Music pulled
▪ Make it good
▪ Rehearsal etiquette
▪ You speak the language of musicians. What are
you saying?
▪ New folks philosophy
▪ Everyone ministers
▪ Are you challenging their gifts and pushing their
comfort levels?
▪ Spiritually
▪ Knowing their place in the Kingdom
▪ Sharing their faith
▪ Their testimony
▪ Musically
▪ Sight reading
▪ Specials
▪ Concerts/concert music
▪ Styles
▪ Are you showing them a good example of the love of
God?
▪ Your Minister of Music
▪ Are you serving Him?
▪ Do you do/say things that make him look good to
others?
▪ Are you doing ‘whatever it takes’ to make things
happen?
▪ Are you learning how to lead the service?
▪ Are you helping plan services?
▪ Are you giving creative input?
▪ Are you praying for him?
▪ Are you finding ways to compliment his strengths and
weaknesses?
▪ Are you showing Him the love of God?
▪ Your Church
▪ Are you teaching them there is more to music than
style?
▪ Collaborate with the pastor to preach on worship
▪ Vary the style regularly
▪ Liberally use the word “Worship” in the context of
different forms of expression (giving, Romans 12, etc.)
▪ Are you reaching out to the congregation to meet their needs?
▪ Are they ‘the enemy’ or ‘the ones whom you serve’?
▪ Are you an example of God’s love in action?
Conclusion
▪ Is God on the Throne of your life?
▪ On what foundation have you built your life/ministry?
▪ Are you bearing fruit?
▪ Start on the inside, and the outside will bear the
fruit that lasts and is sanctioned by an All-Knowing,
All-Powerful God.
Seek a foundation that will last. Start a process of
evaluation and self-examination. Ask a lot of questions
Matthew 6:33: “Seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness and all these things will be given to you
as well.”
God honors
those whose heart is true. He draws people to Himself
through the act of Worship. It is not the outside that
matters but the inside.
Appendix 1
Fifteen Things to Remember in a Marriage Relationship
1. Praise the positive. If you have concerns, pray about
them
2. Deal with one problem at a time
3. Be responsible for your own emotions, actions,
reactions, and words
4. Be willing to change
5. Avoid emotionally charged words/phrases like: never,
always, I don’t care what you say/think…
6. Don’t keep a record of wrongs
7. Avoid selfishness
8. Remove unneeded stress from your relationship
9. Communicate effectively and don’t assume the other
understands
10. Guard your heart and mind—deal with reality NOT
fantasy
11. Give without expecting something in return
12. Practice the Golden Rule
13. Date each other. Take time to listen, learn, love,
and enjoy each other
14. Avoid controlling your mate
15. Pray together in the Word
