Overcoming Insecurities in Worship Leading

Rhett 0:00

One of the biggest critics is myself , and it's not just me , but it's the voice of the enemy . And here's the biggest critic that I face at my age you are too old to lead worship , the inner critic will suppress you .

Rhett 0:11

If you're a communicator , you must go communicate .

Rhett 0:14

If you are an artist , you must go create that craft , that artist that is in you to create , that was given to you by the creator of creators , I'm also human and I do kind of care how this comes across , because I want to do a good job , not only for you , but for the people that are experiencing this . Hello everybody , and welcome back to another episode of Armchair Authentic , a podcast with Rhett and Justin designed to help you fulfill your God assignments in life through having real conversations about real life with real people . We're really excited about today's episode , but before we jump into the content , we always simply want to say thank you so much for following us on Instagram , on Facebook , at Armchair Authentic , on X , at Armchair Off Pod , for emailing us at info at armchairauthenticcom and as well as rating and reviewing the podcast . Man , when you take the time to leave a comment or a review , it means so much to us . But more than that , it is really a great way to serve those who aren't on the journey yet . Now , if today is your first time to join us on this podcast , we wanna say hey , welcome to the family . We are so glad that you are here Now .

Rhett 1:42

The podcast right now is really based off of real conversations and there's no way to really be authentic without involving you , the listener , our family , in on the conversations , because we don't want this just to be a one-way conversation . We want to include you in on it . One of the best ways or ideas that we thought we could create content that helps you is to hear from you . In fact , some of you have already began to email us some ideas , some thoughts , some questions and the things that you're facing in life that you thought might be able to add value not only to you but to others , and we're beginning to create content around that . So if you're listening to this on your way to work or on your way home or in the gym and you're thinking , man , I wonder what God's word says about this , or maybe how this even applies in my life and what maybe Rhett and Justin might have to say about this . We sure would love to hear about it . Could you email us Info at armchairauthenticcom . All right , guys , we're really looking forward to today's content . We believe it's going to be helpful . We hope you sit back , relax , enjoy the episode . Let's go so , justin , as we begin our episode today .

Rhett 2:54

It's a conversation we had a couple of weeks ago . We began to talk and I began to realize maybe this is something that can help people when it deals around the idea of insecurity , because let me just set it up this way so a couple of weeks ago I was asked to go lead worship at a good friend of mine's church , and it just happened to be the one Sunday where , like everybody's schedules collided and their incredible team that serves so faithfully at their church every Sunday , just everybody's schedules were all over the map , so they didn't have anybody to lead worship , and when I say lead worship , they didn't have vocalists , they didn't have a band , they didn't have a band , they didn't have a drummer , they didn't have a bass player , they had nothing . And so my dear friend reached out to me and he said hey , could you come down and serve us ? And first of all , with what we do with Relief Pastures , this is just one of the things that we get to do . And I said , absolutely .

Rhett 3:39

I said talk to me about the band scenario . And he's like talk to me about the band scenario . And he's like just a slight little chuckle , he's like there is no band . And he began to explain to me what I just set up . And so I was like , yeah , man , no problem . And I said so here's what I would suggest . Number one I don't play a rhythm instrument . I play a keyboard . Now , keys can be rhythm , but there's just certain aspects of that that are missing . So I said , hey , can I gather another guitar player ? He said , oh my gosh , absolutely . So we began to reach out to a friend and our dear friend , give him a shout out . Mark Clement , good friend of mine , decided that he would be available . In fact , you know , obviously I reached out to you and you were unavailable .

Justin 4:17

I'm being authentic and I told .

Justin 4:20

Mark this . So this isn't like , just like I'm going down the list .

Justin 4:22

But I'm like let's just trips listening trip . Well , we're on your way , we'll hit it up .

Rhett 4:26

One time this summer we got to yeah , it's gonna happen , and so I was thinking maybe this would be a great opportunity for justin , you and I to get together and , you know , just to enjoy some moments of worship and leading a congregation , and I had to take dax to atlanta for a getaway trip that we talked about two episodes ago .

Rhett 4:42

We did did , and so I'm still kind of processing this story . So , all that to say , Mark went down and he played acoustic and it was fun getting to do something together . I forgot how insecure I can be when it comes to walking into some very vulnerable moments . I feel like we've gotten to a place in our culture and this is not a knock to any church , to any organization , to anybody doing this because I do believe in both sides of the story of how we implement worship in the church track that's basically background music filling like all the different atmospheric things you could possibly imagine , to where it sounds really , really full in , like a full band , even if you've got three people on the stage .

Justin 5:32

Depending on the level of the musicianship you're going to turn up more . If you've got a great band . You might turn it all down and just pull out some of the atmospheric sounds and add that .

Rhett 5:41

Exactly , and as leading a church , as a church planner , I'm not going to lie . We tracked a lot of stuff in with a great band and then we just started kind of dialing some stuff back . So , with this story in context with the church that I was serving , along with Mark , there were no tracks . And so here we are in this moment of going okay , we're going old school . Old school meaning man , just two instruments , two guys leading , and I'm going to just say this Can I cut to the bottom line . It was amazing , it was so refreshing . We went back and we pulled some what we would call choruses , the glue , or the stick , if you will , or the hook that people just remembered .

Justin 6:22

Because old school worship songs if you grew up in the church , they were just literally other than hymns . It was just one chorus made up a song , at most a verse , and over the past 25 years really 30 years maybe songs have become more like radio songs , where they're two to three verses and a bridge .

Rhett 6:43

Exactly . And so , with that as being the understood statement of choruses , I just decided I was like you know , I got with the pastor and I said what would it look like if we kind of just dialed it back and , instead of doing the verse , the pre-chorus , the chorus , the verse , then the bridge , then maybe the chorus down and back up , kind of this simple pattern that we've all grown used to with songs that they've been doing for a while ? What would it look back , since we're already kind of stripped down with a band ? What if we just took it slower and we simplified and we went what I'm talking old school and just played through some chords , sang some choruses , did a key change if necessary , slowed it down ? And he was like , oh my gosh , could we please do that ? And I was like , okay , yeah , we can do that . And so I took some modern songs that would have probably been popular in the late 90s , early 2000s .

Rhett 7:36

Because here's the thing I knew the I hate to use the word audience , but I knew the people in the congregation , their age level , I knew their demographic , you know , and I've got kind of got an understanding of of the people that were going to be in the room . Now I understand we're not going to be able to hit everybody . There's going to be some lost people that walk in that have never heard these songs , but at the end of the day , 90% of the people in the room . I knew we're going to be able to connect to these songs without even having words on the screen . Now , we had words on the screen and so as I got there and we kind of rehearsed some things , I even talked to the production people with words . I said , okay , listen , I I'm not trying to throw you a curve ball here , but I'm not even necessarily sure I know how we're going to do these songs Right . I said we're going to kind of go in this order , but just go with me . And they were like okay , yeah , like this is new , um , and so so fast forward , we have an incredible service .

Rhett 8:27

It was really intimate . And the the feedback afterwards and again , this is not patting myself on the back , this is just the power and simplicity . And getting back to just stripping things down remember that old song , matt redmond . I'm coming back to the heart of worship . It was kind of like that moment , just when the music fades and all is stripped away and I simply come kind of moment offering just our heart and worship the people afterwards , and not that we give ourself over to affirmation .

Rhett 8:55

I know we talked about that last episode , but just people are like , oh my gosh , this was so refreshing , this felt so good . I don't even know how to explain it or put my finger on it , but there was just something uniquely intimate with what happened in the room , and I know when you shake things up every once in a while , just something that's simple can be powerful , and I guess that's what I'm trying to say . It's like there was power in simplicity . But yet I had to work through some insecurities the insecurity that I'm not going to have be covered up with tracks . The insecurity that if I make a mistake , everybody's going to hear it , because really it's me and one other instrument and no other backing . So I felt naked , I felt fully exposed . And on top of that , the service is online . There is no auto tune , so what you get is what you get .

Justin 9:45

Right .

Rhett 9:45

And then , knowing that this was also going to go on social media and like all the stuff that comes with putting yourself out there and I'm a professional and I've been doing this for so many years and having not led worship , though , and really , in about a year , since that moment and before before that last one , a year ago two years with just preaching and teaching .

Rhett 10:06

And so here I am , I mean , a grown man at 46 years old , having led worship , doing it on a grand scale , if you will , and doing it stripped down and feeling , wow , I'm about to walk out here and how's this going to go over , and am I going to be able to get through this ? Because there's , you know , there's a lot of people watching , and , and I I want to look , make God look good , but I also want to honor him on my gift , and I don't like a fool , and I'm just being real . This is authentic man , and this is the insecurities that I'm having to deal with , even having , after having walked with the Lord as long as I have , and , uh , I'll tell you this , we're better together , cause I'm so grateful my brother came to give some rhythm on an acoustic guitar , because it did elevate the moment , and Mark even led and he did a great song and job as well .

Justin 10:50

Yeah , well , and two things , and the first thing to address , I think the second thing I want to go back to in a minute is the songs and the atmosphere , the environment you created . But we'll hold that , that , that to speak into that and how I understand

Navigating Insecurities in Ministry Leadership

Justin 11:07

what you're saying . You know , with me I've been a part of a amazing church for the past 23 and a half years Church of the Highlands led I actually I started our college ministries with Lane Strands leading worship with 11 students in his basement and environments that you're talking about , highlight man .

Justin 11:23

But I think that's how we also really cut our teeth in ministry . But as the church , in our case , started growing , I would find myself developing more teams . Ultimately , we started planting campuses . I just grew with the organization where I even went from being a medical adjuster at an insurance company with my music performance degree . Of course , right , insurance job , that's what we all go get , but I had my insurance job . But that ultimately led where I really ended up creating a place on staff for myself , just by the happenstance of developing musicians .

Justin 12:00

Well , as that ended up becoming more successful , I found myself needing to keep relational hangout time with the musicians , so that meant , instead of being on a stage , I found myself getting off the stage more so I could go travel to the different places around our state . We live in Birmingham , alabama and I know we have we have like two hundred and fifty eight cities that are listening to this and so but we are in Birmingham , alabama and the church that we're a part of , both of us , that I'm on staff oversee our pastoral care . We have campuses all throughout Alabama and some in Georgia . So there has been a lot of traveling for the past . You know probably eight years of my life where I'm going around , going around to build relational equity with our team and really just to make sure that they're good , but what happens in that is you don't play as much .

Rhett 12:55

It's true .

Justin 12:56

And so I remember those moments when you're telling that story it's like it brings it back to mind . You know , I would have a church reach out or an organization to come lead their weekend retreat , or maybe they have a donor's retreat and they want me to come be their artist of the weekend and I would go back and those first times to do it . It's amazing how that number one , that inner critic inside , rises up . We've talked about the inner critic that rises up , but also just the rustiness and the feeling of incapable in some of those moments , because I had come from this . We've become so polished , which is wonderful . It's a great thing . But to step back into an environment where it's really where I came from , but to step back into that simplicity which we'll address in a little while , but the feeling that came with it I'm feeling you out on every word you're saying because it is very vulnerable and naked is a great word .

Rhett 13:53

It is and for those hopefully we don't have religious people listening and judging our authentic talks here but if you're on the other end going , well , you know it's not about you anyway . You know , and I'm like , look , we get that , that's understood . Hopefully we don't have to clarify that . But being incapable and having those feelings as being human , but that's exactly where God wants us to be , because that way we'll lean on him . But in that incapableness and offering it to him and asking him to show up , we're still human and we're broken and we're dealing with insecurity . It's hard for people to understand , especially if they were in the congregation , from hearing you , having you led them in worship , having me led them in worship , or whatever experiences , because they're like you don't , there's no way , how could you be insecure ? And I'm like , yeah , but it's just a part of humanity , it's a part of leadership , no-transcript kind of care how this comes across , because I want to do a good job , not only for you but for the people that are experiencing this .

Justin 15:16

Yeah , you're a craftsman . We've talked about that before . We're artists . We're two artists . When you strip down everything although we find ourselves in circles where we're pouring into pastors and different kinds of leaders in ministry when you strip it back , we're artists and we construct music . I write a lot of songs , but it's a craftsman , that individualist spirit that I have , and for so long you can hear the quote of the day , that's like whatever a quote is like , don't focus on yourself , whatever . Yeah , great , there's a lot of truth to that . But at the same time , we take things and almost strip away creativity . Yeah , and it's like no , no , no , I got to embrace the fact I have that artistic craftsman spirit . So when I go up to play , it is all the song that you were saying a while ago , and it was the same song I quoted a few episodes back about Pastor Chris coming up and singing , though I'm weak and poor all I have is yours To be able to do something like that .

Justin 16:17

I do feel , in the right way , weak and poor , but yet all I have is yours , Lord , but at the same time . But yet all I have is yours Lord .

Justin 16:22

But at the same time I'm coming to bring my best and I want every pick of that string , every strum of that guitar , every voice , every note that I sing . I want it to be good and I'm not backing down from that . But those voices of insecurity I've gotten better now , but there's been days that I've let those voices rise up louder and tell me that I'm not , and so I've listened to those and I've actually disqualified myself , saying I can't do that . So there is an importance of humility and but belief of what God assigned you to . He also equips you to go do it or go maximize that capacity .

Rhett 17:06

Talking through this idea of insecurity and leadership and how that works . And it just amazes me how God never calls the qualified , but he qualifies the called and he's looking for people who will just step out in their insecurities and everything and their vulnerability and just trust him .

Embracing Dependency in Worship Leading

Rhett 17:23

And every time that I've ever felt confident walking into a situation because there have been moments where , man , I'm confident and not prideful , but just like , hey , we got this , we prepared , we're ready to roll and I'm thinking , man , it's just going to be amazing , not that God didn't show up , he still did , he still moved . But it's amazing when I've come from the perspective of man God , you really got to show up in this one , because I feel so exposed in this and I feel like every little intricate detail , if I'm off musically , if my voice isn't perfect and I don't want to be a distraction , and I really , man , I'm leaning on you to move . It's amazing the difference in the outcome . They're still the same outcome . People experience the presence of the Lord . There's life change , but there's just something I don't know , a little bit more sweeter when there's just that extra step of dependence upon Him . And I think maybe that's why God doesn't call those who think they've got it all together .

Rhett 18:12

And literally this past Sunday as we're recording , this past Sunday it's been on the calendar for a few months Pastor Clay in Believer's Church asked if I would lead them in worship and because of that power of simplicity , in that experience of that other church that I served a few weeks ago , I met with Pastor Clay and I said something special happened and I said are you okay if we full band ? They got everything they normally track in things . I said what if we applied that same principle and I taught the team how to do something that they either have never done before or haven't done in a very long time due to tracks and the multi-track type thing ? And I'll never like this Sunday all three services were the same and that we glorify God , but all three services were different in how we approach the service , because the spirit of the Lord was leading a little bit differently , and so maybe we did some choruses a couple more times big in the first service because people really engaged with that moment and they were there .

Rhett 19:10

But maybe the intimacy of the verse was a little bit more powerful in the second service , or even the bridge or where we might have planned for the bridge to be big and powerful and anthem-like . Be big and powerful and anthem-like it just the third service felt like you know the people in here , they want to receive that message , but some of them they need to receive it on an intimate level rather than an anthemic level , you know . And so we went there and one of the comments from one of the players on the team said man , I feel like I just went to a masterclass on how to lead worship and I'll tell you what , when I think about that , I was like man , this is just something we grew up in , old school , right being new school because , as you mentioned several years ago , like you know the reasons , we implemented these things and they're all good and there's nothing wrong with it and it's amazing and I'm in churches and we're still going to implement tracks and all this stuff . But I think , if that's the only thing we're doing and people get so used to that being the process , if you will that we're really missing out on some discipleship , on how to lean into the Holy Spirit and how to lean into the sensitivity of a moment and have the freedom to be able to create the same moment a little bit different , dynamically , if you will , but just to be very aware of the people you're leading and what God is doing in the moment and have the freedom to kind of just , you know , ebb and flow with some moments in worship and our teams I can't speak collectively , but just from the majority of the circles that I've spent the most time in and even the churches that I'm a part of I just feel like there's something that we need to kind of go back and go a little old school and teach and disciple these young men and women on how to ebb and flow in these environments , because not everybody's at the place to where it's a Sunday epic moment , multi-track .

Rhett 20:56

I think people need to know how to do this in small group settings and in , maybe , environments on the street and other kind of artistic expressions outside of . Well , I don't have my guide . One , two , chorus three you know verse , you know up down drums , build all that stuff that's happening in our ears , right , I don't know what are your thoughts to that ?

Justin 21:16

Yeah , I mean , thank the Lord for mass production . There's an American way to that that it's got this wonder . I mean I've heard it put before America's good at making money because we can mass produce , but the ingredients aren't great to allow you to truly mass produce , Like you have to sacrifice somewhere . So the beauty of the mass production is you can have some people who might not be on a level actually be able to contribute because they are being accompanied and being lifted up by the sounds that are better than they are , and that's wonderful because there's something to be said for that

Returning to the Roots of Worship

Justin 21:50

.

Justin 21:50

But what happens is years pass or a generation passes and you forget the real ingredients , the healthy ingredients that actually brought that person . Who you're saying , or what the people said about you , which is true , I know you're not going to say that about yourself , but you , this practitioner in worship , leading , so you love the Lord and you're creating an atmosphere for people to experience the presence of God . But you're showing a team to go there with you . You're having to be the craftsman and just slowly show them . Here's what we're going to do , and so what you showed them was something they're not used to because we're used to just press play here , learn these chords and kind of do what we're asking you to . Okay , Keep that , Don't , don't throw that out . But we are missing some ingredients , because the greatest moments can happen in atmospheres that you're talking about . And I think back to you know we were saying 23 , 24 years ago .

Justin 22:51

That was some of the sweetest moments for me in the first month of Church of the Islands with Pastor Chris . I mean , he led worship on his keyboard and he would tell you it was probably the most average sound . So I'll let him decide , I'll let him say what he said . But here's what I'll tell you from my perspective , Somebody who is a musician and who understands what I hear , and I can hear when something's off , when it's not , I know when it's good , but I also know there is good , but then there is when it is anointed , and that gifting it's someone operating in a gift set For him to be able to be it . He did a master class on worship because he could take , you know at that time , a 25 minute worship set and he would know 17 minutes into it to let the music play and he would actually do some kind of a thought or a two-minute teaching that helped align the hearts to set them up for the next , because he wanted to make sure no one got left out . But he also was very much locked in to let the Holy Spirit move . Lives were changed and I remember worshiping the Lord in that environment , thinking , wow , God , this is very powerful . But it happened , stripped down too , and I think it started stripped down . So Pastor Chris also would go to a living room very much the environment you described a while ago and we would pull out a keyboard and a speaker and set up with a bunch of lawn chairs in the living room about 30 of us and he would just kind of play for about 45 minutes and it would be exactly what you said choruses , with some truth spoken and the power that was manifested in those rooms . I mean , it was tangible .

Justin 24:48

And what can happen is , if we ignore that that is what really exists , we miss the very ingredient that makes this big sound even powerful . That's why you can actually be a part of something , whether it's a U2 concert or a church service . That's why you can actually be a part of something , whether it's a U2 concert or a church service . That's why sometimes you can actually hear music and it sounds big and amazing and you walk out thinking that was that felt like empty tombs because there was nothing inside of it . Whitewashed , empty tombs , Just like when Jesus talked about the Pharisees . You look the part empty tombs , just like when Jesus talked about the Pharisees . You look the part . You sound great in your prayers , you sound man . That robe , that oil is still sloshed all over your forehead where you're trying to show out that you're fasting . I mean , it seems to be the ingredients , but nothing's inside . And so the conviction that I talk , even though we don't know what we're always talking about .

Justin 25:45

But as this is sprung up and you're hearing kind of this overflow , kick in . That's such an important . You're a craftsman or a craftswoman in any kind of industry , fashion , whatever it might be , that craft , that artist that is in you to create , that was given to you by the creator of creators . You're now feeling the pressure of having to mass produce it and you get a frustration in you . You're trying to turn something into something it really isn't created to be . That was your work of art and there's some things that should just be . My grace is sufficient for you . When we're talking about worship , Some of the best environments have come from the most simple , simple moments and from being a 15 year old to in my forties . Now you know I've been changed more in those environments because it had those ingredients .

Rhett 26:52

You know , when you mentioned the idea of ingredients and process , my mind went somewhere and hopefully this doesn't throw things off track . But my mind went back to McDonald's for a second . And I know this is silly , ok , but go with me . I could not imagine that the original mcdonald's cheeseburger tastes like what it tastes like now . Okay , like , I'm sure . At one point it had incredible ingredients . It was all probably all naturally produced california , whatever you know in the mcdonald's brand , before the guy bought it and mass produced it , right . But somebody was like oh , you know , they weren't really buying the burger franchise as much as they were buying the process of how to make it quickly and to make it fast and to mass produce it . So this is where my mind was going . So it's interesting , you know it's interesting because if you think about a McDonald's cheeseburger now , nobody goes there because it's really good . They go there because it's convenient and used to be quick . I don't know about anymore .

Justin 27:47

I don't eat it often .

Rhett 27:49

But what I can say is there's nothing like a really good homemade , just burger that's made from you know , organic , local , you know all the stuff , salt and pepper on it , put it on the grill , cook it the way you like it , eat it at home kind of moment right , but that takes time . It does . But if you want to eat a really fast processed burger that all the shortcuts have been taken out of it and made it to be as cost effective to quick mass produce , it , throw it out there . It's edible and it's there , but you're not walking away with the same experience .

Justin 28:21

Yeah , and even if it fills you up , yeah , give it time . Give it time and we might be talking 10 . We might be talking 15 years . Give it time and watch how that burger turns out .

Rhett 28:33

Which burger is setting you up for the long haul , exactly , and so I think of that in relation to what we're talking about with worship . There is a price to be paid for the anointing of God to be on your life to lead in certain scenarios . And , at the end of the day , what we're not saying , or what I'm not saying , is that , hey , using or being a part of a church to use multitracks and all that , that's bad . No , that's great , it has its place , but we cannot let that replace our quiet time and spending time with the Lord and hearing the leading of the Holy Spirit and what he's directing , and only lean on to a processed driven type multitrack experience and that's all we have .

Rhett 29:12

We've got to know how to operate , also in the ingredients of making a fresh hamburger , if you will , using that analogy to where ? Because to leave , because when you're operating , that and that's the root , and even maybe you are using the process , but when you as the ingredient , as the one who's serving the lord , seeking the lord , is in that process , that ingredient's there , right , and it still has the same effect . But if the power goes out , let's talk from perspective . If the power were to go out on some musicians that I know and bands that I know and the multitrack were to die and they would no longer have the guide guiding them if you're not used to music .

Rhett 29:48

Basically , what's happening in the ears of musicians is there's this little voice that is computerized voice that goes along with the track and we call it a track because it starts in one place and ends in where we want it to go . It's constantly talking start , verse , chorus , bridge , all these things ending right . If that were to go out , I know I know some people that would just not know what to do . They would stand there like what do we do ?

Justin 30:12

How do we go ?

Rhett 30:13

I've seen it many times Like what do we do ? And all of a sudden it's like so we've got to teach both . But we really got to get back to the root , which is teaching people how to simplify and learn how to lead that way and not let the multi-track experience driven process all across the board replace that . It can enhance it . And then to use both . Let there be moments of both . I mean , have the moments where you're going into this plan thing , that's great , but then have the moment to allow just to sit for a second and , and just you know , we plan to go up on a chorus , maybe to tag this , but maybe in the moment it's to keep it down because of just what ? Maybe what the Lord is , because what I told people , this is what I tell people all the time .

Rhett 30:55

I said there's different people walking into the service on first service than there is in second and third . They all have different issues , different pain points , different emotions . Some of them have got a bad report from the doctor . Some of them are coming in rejoicing and happy and exuberant . So there's all these different emotions and we've got to believe that God wants to speak to these individuals , to where they are , and so the first service might have a little bit of different feel than the second , based off who God has brought us in these moments . So we got to know the leading of the Holy Spirit and be sensitive , to know . You know , I know we plan this to go up , but it really needs to go down in this moment .

Rhett 31:35

That's what I'm trying to say , I think , more than anything . And back to the whole insecurity part and power of simplicity , it just it kind of woke . I know that's a buzzword in our society and I don't mean that in any kind of political way , but it just opened my eyes to be able to remember . Hey , you know , like these are , these are some moments I don't want you to lose her at . I think this is it .

Rhett 31:59

I'm making it personal now . It's like God said you know , there's some things in you that I've put in you and I don't want to see that put on a shelf , and I've created this environment for that pastor to call for you to come and to be a part so that I can pull this back out of you . That's been kind of hidden for a long time . That's good , and that you've kind of put back due to other things and that's fine , but , like I'm calling you into a place where this has to continue to be the core of your life and where you're leading how you know , everything is overflowing our life but , like in my life , this is just such a gift in me that this is for Rhett personally needs to continually be a place that I lead from and not just something I do every once in a while .

Confronting the Inner Critic

Justin 32:40

The inner- critic will suppress you . He wants you silenced . Meaning if you're a communicator , it doesn't mean that stage is the only place you communicate , but you must go communicate somewhere , in some arena , some venue , some domain . There needs to be some form . If you are an artist , you must go create . You might not get to go to the main art hall and it's displayed for the masses , but you must go create .

Justin 33:14

If you are a chef , you must go create the food instead of creating some fast processed way to feed these people . You might feed a smaller percentage , but you fed and what you did feed made such an impact because you utilize your gifting . When Solomon in the Old Testament built the temple , it was not fast-paced but it was done with precise measurement because that artist , that architect inside of him , had to be according to the specifications . So the enemy , the inner critic inside , will silence you or wish that you would not understand the wiring and uniqueness that God gave you , so that you would never fulfill that particular God assignment . And I would even say he would rather you jump in with the masses at the expense of forgetting what you bring to the table and become just a robot or a puppet .

Rhett 34:12

One of the biggest critics is myself , and it's not just me , but it's the voice of the enemy . And here's the biggest critic that I face at my age , you are too old to lead worship , and if you're younger listening to this , you're probably not even thinking about this , but at some point I'll never forget , in my mid-30s , I was like I'm getting too old to lead worship , because there's this misnomer okay , and I'll just speak to it that you have to be young to be on a platform and you better be in your 20s , you better be looking cool . And now listen , I'm all for putting the youth on the stage . I'm all for creating these environments . You know the circles that I'm in and the places that I'm a part of here in my heart . When I say this , I'm not saying that that needs to stop and you just need to put all a bunch of you know 40 something years on the platform . No , but what I am saying is there are many gifted men and women of God in their forties and their fifties who your time is not up . God is still using you , because everything that God has poured into you .

Rhett 35:07

Think about this . I think about this . I lead at a different place of worship . Now , when I lead worship because I've seen through the years the generation , like you know what I mean . Like 10 , 20 , 30 , 40 years I've seen God's faithfulness . I've seen them in the difficult times show up . I've seen . So when I'm singing a song , I'm singing from the perspective of how many years I've served the Lord and it's coming from a very pure place . Not saying that 20-year-olds don't , but there are some times in some environments where I see some 20s or the younger generation leading and I'm thinking they haven't had the time on their side yet to really lead from that perspective of some of the songs they're singing . Not to discount the hurt and the pain and different things they've gone through , but all that to say . The biggest , loudest critic in my ear is the enemy saying you're too old , you got a little bit of gray hair , nobody's going to listen to you and I know people listening to this are like Red , are you kidding me ?

Justin 36:01

It's more than a little . I'm looking at it right now . Thank you , appreciate that You're looking back at me , right ? But yeah , yeah , okay , I got a little gray in the beard .

Rhett 36:08

I'm looking at two gray-headed guys , but I just want to say this , like that happens to me , that is real . It's like who would want to listen to this , who would want to look at this ? I mean , like those are just the humanity things that I've got to fight through in the critic side of just just doing what we've done all these years . But I've never , like I'm experiencing that on a new level , like why would somebody want to come to a church and hear an old man lead worship ? That's kind of how I feel and I don't know if I've been taught to feel that way or it's the culture and things have changed , because I can't imagine it used to be . I don't think it used to be that way .

Justin 36:37

Everybody's imperfect , so even the greatest leader that you look up to , it goes in every way . If I have to be perfect in what I say , there's some people under me who are going to be in trouble because I'm going to say something wrong . The leaders in my life they've been wonderful but they've said things that are wrong . But I held it . I over pedestaled and I took it as how it is , like gospel , yeah . Therefore , I went and had that thought about myself that's where the inner critic will have a field day . They'll be like I'll take it from here , thanks , and they will talk you out of doing it . So , really , all these things that we've established on this podcast , there are no villains when it comes to people . The villain is the inner critic inside of us , and that's who we're addressing in all these cases , because I have removed myself from opportunities that I look back now as I've matured and I'm thinking what in the heck was younger Justin thinking , selling himself short like that ? So I say that that if I know I could do that and I'm pretty disciplined , there's a lot of people out there who may also be going through the same thing . So it's the inner critic , no-transcript .

Justin 38:13

So it would make sense that the enemy would do all he can to silence and suppress you , and even at the expense of using good people in your life , where you misinterpret what they're saying or you give their words too much value and you take what they say as gospel and not let them just have an opinion and you can say you know what they might be right , but you know what they might be wrong , and to stand up for the convictions that's in you .

Justin 38:40

And you can only do that in these quiet places . You can only do that , acknowledging though I'm weak and poor . You can only do that naked and stripped away with that keyboard or that guitar , and that's why I was the recipient of a man , of Pastor Chris or even Pastor Scott back in our days at our former church , or Pastor Randy and being in those atmospheres of them just playing in the most simplest average ways , and my life was radically wrecked . And I'm getting to live off of the foundation now . I've built off of that foundation that might appear great to some , but I'm telling you it was created on those average , seemingly ordinary foundations of humility and chasing after the presence of God . Keeping the chorus , if you will , the center , focus on Jesus . You're the center , my life is completely dependent on you , and I don't have to memorize three other verses . I can just keep singing that same thing and , oh my goodness , as I'm worshiping you , it's pounding that truth back into me that I actually believe what I'm singing .

Rhett 39:47

I love that , the secret . So if you're listening to this and you might be dealing with the same things or you're even , you know , kind of contemplating some of the you know , authentic conversations we're having about even my own insecurity in some of these areas , it's like , well , how do you get through that ? Well , it's the secret place just simply spending time with the lord , being with him when nobody else is around , talking with Him , engaging prayer . That's what prayer is , it's a conversation and it's worshiping Him . But when you come to the truth of who you are in and through God's sight on your eyes and God is enough and God is your affirmation , it's amazing when that's the foundation , how , when you're faced with the inner critic and the insecurities , how you know God's with you and you push through it , and then God shows up in some pretty cool and powerful ways and lives are changed , not because of you , but simply because of your faithfulness , but it's because of God in you and through you and through your faithfulness to him , through your faithfulness to him , and so you know , one of the things that I began to think of in my own life is that you know , if I'm being asked to be a part of something , then I'm just I have to fight . Here's how I fight through my insecurity , all of that , my relationship with God , number one . But out of that , being asked to be a part of worship or to lead worship , I think , all right , lord . Well , I'm just going to be obedient to that , to know that , okay , you want me to step into this and I'm going to step out . So how do you face your insecurity ? Can I say it's ever going to go away ? Probably not , not until heaven . But you just have to go and do it .

Rhett 41:21

And so , rather than me sit behind my inner critic and say , well , I'm too old , or this or that , or make up these excuses , I'm going to go . Yep , I got you , bro , I'm going to be there , I'm going to go serve you , we're going to have a great time . And I am speaking by faith , but I'm also speaking in the confidence to know . I just know God's going to show up and I'm going to get beyond whatever this is and whatever this inner voice is that's trying to keep me from really making a difference with my life and really allowing God to move in and through me , to be a blessing to other people so they can experience the Lord . And so when you step up and step out in faith and in the boldness of the spirit of God in you , despite your insecurities , that's the way you just put a black eye on the devil's face because he's like , no matter what I throw at him , like they still going to go do this stuff . I'm like , yep , that's exactly right .

Justin 42:03

The artist is forged in these environments where no one is necessarily seeing it . You said it before . It's that dark room where you're being developed . And it says I love this . In 1 Samuel 17, . And this starts in 34 and it goes through 37 .

Justin 42:22

This is when David is ready . He wants to go fight Goliath , which he was told no to . He wasn't seen as that . The inner critic inside easily rose up saying who do you think you are ? So we leave you with this , because we're speaking to you .

Justin 42:37

Who's operating in your uniqueness , in a unified manner with a people of God . We say this verse to you , but David said to Saul your servant has been keeping his father's sheep . When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock , I went after it , struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth . When it turned on me , I seized it by its hair , struck it and killed it . Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear . This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them because he has defied the armies of the living God . The Lord , who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear , will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine . So Saul said to David go and the Lord be with you .

Engaging With Armchair Authentic Podcast

Justin 43:31

Thank you for listening to Armchair Authentic with Rhett and Justin . We had a great time with you today . We want to continue to create content that helps you as you take on your God journey . So send us some suggestions , send us some comments , even some questions that relate to your life situations . You can email us at info at armchairauthenticcom . We hope you have a great week and we'll see you next time .