Thursday Show
Kevin Ott | C.S. Lewis, U2, and Worship
#LongingForJoy
Time: 30m video
Longing For Christ
As a worship leader, does joy ever escape you? Are there moments when the heaviness of your role weighs you down? If so, you are not alone. Everyone in ministry carries a heavy load. There is a longing for peace and joy.
God offers us that joy only through relying on Him when things get overwhelming. The antidote for heaviness is praise. When we praise God with thankfulness in the midst of trials, our spirits are lifted, and our sorrow turns to joy.
Our guest this week, Kevin Ott, says the “good life” is not about finding unbroken happiness, but unbroken longing–a joyous, life-consuming longing for Christ..Kevin has a very interesting story of God used the writings of author C. S. Lewis and the band U2 to bring healing in his life after a very painful situation. Read Kevin’s story below…God offers us that joy only through relying on Him when things get overwhelming. The antidote for heaviness is praise. When we praise God with thankfulness in the midst of trials, our spirits are lifted, and our sorrow turns to joy.
5-4-17 WATCH SHOW: KEVIN OTT!
FEATURED GUEST’S LINKS:
Get Kevin’s Book:Shadowlands and Songs of Light An Epic Journey into Joy and Healing
www.rockinggodshouse.com
https://stabsofjoy.com
QUESTIONS:
1. As a creative artist, what is most important to you about leading the church in worship?2. You have a unique perspective about the joy of knowing Jesus Christ in your book about C. S. Lewis and the band U2. Can you tell us about that?
3. What do you do to encourage others in the church about creativity and art?
4. Simply, what is your role as a servant and how do you exhibit this in your ministry?
KEVIN’S STORY
In 2010 I experienced an unexpected tragedy — a loss in my family — and it was devastating. I lost my mom. And she was still young by today’s life expectancy standards — just in her early 60s. The sorrow from it all exposed some things.It made me realize something important: I could talk the talk all the day about Christian joy, but I really wasn’t experiencing Christian joy. I asked God to change that.
I asked Him to fix me. And He did. God saw fit to use a few souls birthed on the Emerald Isle to help accomplish the job: a stack of books by the Belfast-born C.S. Lewis and a large pile of albums by the Dublin-raised band U2 (#U2, #U2Fans). Among a multitude of things, I learned that joy — real joy, the eternal kind — is not happiness perfected.
Joy is hunger perfected — hunger for God perfected, to be more accurate. As C.S. Lewis (#CSLewis) pointed out, joy is an unsatisfied desire — an intense desire — that is itself more desirable than any satisfaction. Joy stabs us when we least expect it. It’s not something we control. It’s not dependent upon earthly circumstances — i.e. if things are “going well.” Joy is something external to us that invades our senses.
It uses common, everyday experiences, objects, and nostalgic memories to overwhelm us with a sudden sensation of longing for something — but for what? We don’t know. We just feel the longing, and it is a sweet sensation. Just the sensation of that spiritual hunger — this longing — is more wonderful than any earthly satisfaction.
It’s hunger for the Fount of Joy — the Living God who made all things good. Check out Stabs of Joy where I will be exploring dozens of C.S. Lewis books and U2 albums to answer one question: how do we actually experience (and not just talk about) the joy of Christ in the middle of painful trials?
Keystone Thought:
[ctt template=”10″ link=”1rbFA” via=”no” ]The “good life” is not about finding unbroken happiness, but unbroken longing–a joyous, life-consuming longing for Christ.[/ctt]
Kevin Ott is the co-owner and editor of Christian entertainment site Rocking God’s House and a lifelong fan of C. S. Lewis and U2. He has a degree in music composition from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his articles about music have beenrecognized by world-class institutions such as Yale University, leading voices in the U2 scholarly community, and AtU2.com, the most prominent U2 fan site in the world.
In addition, Kevin’s writings about the works of C. S. Lewis have caught the attention of some of the finest Christian minds today, and he has guest lectured about the life and writings of Lewis.
In addition, Kevin’s writings about the works of C. S. Lewis have caught the attention of some of the finest Christian minds today, and he has guest lectured about the life and writings of Lewis.
Raised by a Bible scholar and a music therapist, Kevin developed his love for theology, writing, C. S. Lewis, and music early in life, and he has been a worship leader since the early 2000s. He lives in Santa Barbara County with his wife and daughter where he serves as a worship leader and pastoral assistant at his church.
@KevinOttAuthor @BranonDempsey @worshiptt @WorshipTTUWant More Training? Upgrade Your Membership
Worship Team Training® Is your worship team stuck? Want worship leading to be better? Want to be free? We can take you there. Inspire, create and transform the leading of worship. Get a WeekendWorkshop
Copyright 2017 Worship Team Training®
