Interviewing Ben Pasley

2002 Interview

Glenn on Worship

INTERVIEW WITH BEN PASLEY 3-12-02 -glenn kaiser-

Ben and Robin Pasley are cool people! They not only love Jesus and one another, they have long been serving the Lord, church and world via music ministry and in doing something close to my own heart- discipling musicians in Christ.

Be sure to check out their website which is listed at the bottom of this interview. Aquaint yourself with 100 Portraits (their band) music as well as the many fine artists they're working with at Blue Renaissance Creative Group, articles and other resources listed on their site, and Ben's new book, "Enter the Worship Circle", literary followup to the powerful cd of the same name. Enjoy and grow!

Glenn: Ben, what is your primary sense of calling and immediate vision at present?

Ben: I would qualify my answer first by saying that I have worked in music and missions since 1993 with a written mission statement that has not changed very much. What has happened since the summer of 2000, however, has been a marked shift from presenting music to pre-believers personally to helping others do similar work. I want to train and equip other artists to work as effective missionaries. At present, the love of my life is helping other artists pursue their calling to impact modern culture with the Gospel�and to see them do it as a healthy, exciting, full-time vocation.

Glenn: Have you traveled much in the past year, and have you done much ministering overseas in 2001? Any comments as to what you�ve seen in terms of major moves of the Spirit regarding worship in the churches?

Ben: 2001 was not an international travel year for me because my wife, son, and I were relocating to our new home in Colorado Springs, Colorado and investing in developing a location for studios, offices, and training other arts missionaries. At the end of 2000 we did lead a team to central India where we planted a music studio, produced a vision sharing/fund raising video for the local ministry work, and performed outreach concerts for many Hindu and Muslim peoples from the area. We plan a return trip this year in August. I have committed, by the way, to do no music performance for 2002 so I can focus on helping others in ministry and producing some new recordings.

Concerning worship in the Church� wow, She is so diverse and multi-faceted it is hard to say. I am encouraged that almost everywhere I go, in almost every tradition, that some form of conversational worship music has found a place. The massive move of God to bring worship and modern creative language together� probably gaining the most momentum through the UK worship movements in the 90�s� has helped an entire generation of young people to consider worship as a valid, if not superior, form of creative expression, and I believe that it has created great energy for seeking God on an intimate rather than academic level� and that is wonderful!

Glenn: If there are two or three particular problems you see surfacing in the lives of worship leaders and/or worship teams that need to be addressed, what might they be?

Ben: Again, my experience would only be a small slice of perception, but I will risk pointing to a few pitfalls that have come, or perhaps, will come. First, and I have larger treatment on this subject entitled �A Question for Worship Leaders� at the bluerenaissance.com website. Many worship enthusiasts have totally lost sight of loving pre-Christians with their creativity. Worship, in some circles, has become an intensely privatized, special sub-culture, complete with it�s own language and sound, with no awareness that the world is dying� and that scares me.

Secondly, we have to be careful not to create some kind of elitism in the arena of worship leading. With labels offering deals, and more local fellowships recruiting the talented, the perception might steal from us the grace of worship leading like the protestant West stole the grace of pastoring� when these graces of love become relegated to the �paid and professional� the rest of the family forgets that it is a provision from God, not a position to be attained.

Finally, I pray often that worship leaders will write their own songs and lead the people they love with the language of their own hearts. I would hate to see us, as a family, recycling other people�s revelation and love language to the point that we forget God and just worship the songs� what a terrible trade!

Glenn: Admitting this is a huge question, and perhaps unanswerable as such, how might a Christian worship leader find or work toward balance regarding intimacy with God as well as sensitivity to a congregation�s needs?

Ben: Love. This question comes around in many different forms related to �bringing� people along, when to pioneer new material, or how far should we stretch the family as we worship together?� etc. And the answer is always: love.

I think that �balance� as a general principle is a waste of time. To balance you have to be completely aware of the two extremes, the �weight� of each, and of the absolute center on any issue, and I find continuously that I am just not that smart. So, I focus on loving God, AND, without compromise, loving the people that I am to lead.

Without love many pursue a �balance� that is not right for the people they are serving, and without love many leaders forget that worship is not a pursuit of some emotional ideal, or some liturgical moment of perfection� it is about people learning to receive and give love to God.

Leaders have to worship God with their eyes open, literally and spiritually, and not lose sight of the people of God�s heart� even as they are looking right into His throne room.

Glenn: If you were to list two or three of the most meaningful verses for you personally as regards worship and worship leading, what would they be?

Ben: Ephesians 5:19 �Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, (20) always giving thanks to God the Father for everything��(NIV)

It is so simple, and commanding, and it feels more like �sharing with one another� rather than �a few Lording over all the rest�. This verse always makes worship leading easier for me.

Psalm 50:23 �He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God�(NIV)

The song �I Will Not Forget You� was birthed from this passage, and it constantly brews in my heart when I worship. Thankful offerings create a way for God to come and show us His freedom� wow, do you want some of that?

Glenn: Finally, thank you so much for your time and considered answers to our questions- and here is the last one if you please: if you could offer one primary piece of advice to pastors with regard to their interaction with their congregation�s worship leader/team, what would you suggest to them?

Ben: Pastors, have your worship leaders over to your house for lunch and afternoon coffee. (Repeat until you are all in love). Share your life and your vision, not just the stage and the checkbook. If you take the time to win people to you personally you will be able to trust them more in public. What follows will be a worship team mature enough to lead and responsible enough to hear God during the worship times without your help or micro-management! What a relief for everyone!

April, 2002 Ben Pasley Blue Renaissance Creative Group www.bluerenaissance.com

(Copyright is held by the Blue Renaissance Creative Group and all rights are reserved, however, any portion of this document may be excerpted to use in presentation, writing, or speaking where appropriate credit is given, and it may be photocopied in its entirety (including this portion) for use in small group studies and training sessions.)

Posted 09/05/02