This post was written by Scot Longyear. Scot is the Lead Pastor of Exchange which is part of Maryland Community Church where Scot is a Sr. Associate Pastor.

“Jerry Turley is dead.“

I stared across the desk at my boss and Sr Pastor as he said the words.
“I just got a call that Jerry died in his sleep last night.”

I felt like I was instantly in another world.  “Jerry Turley?  Who the heck is Jerry Turley?”
Then it hit.  Like somebody dropped a bag of concrete on my gut.  Jerry Turley, my friend.  Jerry, our drummer.  Jerry, who we had written and recorded songs with.  Jerry who we had done several gigs with.  Jerry, one the most gentle guys in the word.  Jerry a lover of Jesus.  Dead.

Jerry was just short of 40 years old.  One evening he went for a bike ride with his girlfriend.  He kissed her goodnight and she went home.  It was the last time Jerry would kiss.  He died hours later in his sleep.

Jerry’s mom asked me to speak at the funeral.  I had to decline.  I was a mess.  There is a special bond that band people share.  Few may understand it.  When you create, play, laugh, worship, and rock together, there is something magical that happens.  That bond was broken and so was I.  I bawled thru the entire funeral.  My band mates and I grabbed the casket and carried it out the door and slid it in the hearse.  You never dream that you will be pallbearer for one of your friends.

I remember the days that followed.  One minute I would laugh, the next I would cry.  One morning after his death, I remember staring at the clothes in my closet.  The next thing I knew I was literally on the floor, bawling like a baby.  I missed Jerry.

It has been 10 years, and I still miss him.

I was in uncharted territory.  Jerry was the drummer for our band, Fish in the Sand.  Fish was the house band for a new and growing ministry called exchange.  The ministry was young and we were the only musicians and the only band.  As the leader I felt this pressure to keep things going.  How could we keep going with a crippled band?  My friends and bad-mates decided that the best thing to do was to take a few weeks off from worship leading.  We needed some time, and the church was gracious to allow us that.

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I’m pleased to announced that Our Rising Sound will now be contributing on the Worship.com blog. If you haven’t been over to Worship.com make sure and subscribe to the blog feed, there are a lot of great articles and a wide variety of contributors including, Bob Kauflin, Scot Longyear (I follow your lead) and the Resurgence. I’ll certainly need to dress appropriately and behave myself over there with that crowd. There is no change of content on this site, business as usual here, but now some of the posts will also appear on Worship.com.

What’s Next?

This one question I am asking various worship leaders and pastors. The context is what’s next in corporate worship but beyond that no guidance has been given for appropriate response. I’m excited to share in the coming weeks the wide ranging responses received.

Up first we have Scot Longyear, Lead Pastor of a community called eXchange which is part of Maryland Community Church where Scot serves as the Sr. Associate Pastor. Scot is also a worship leader and songwriter and currently has a worship cd entitled “Simple Worship” available on iTunes. He blogs at www.reson8.org which has been added to the blogroll. Here is Scot’s response to What’s Next?

What’s Next? We live like we sing.

I think God is getting tired of hearing our songs. I know I am getting tired of singing them. OK, maybe that is a bit harsh. Rephrase: I think God is tired of us singing on Sunday and living shallow on Monday.

Sunday: “Man, worship was good today. The kick drum was totally in my chest and that one song is anointed. Did you see everybody praisin’?”

Monday (same guy): “Man, my girlfriend and I always wake up late so I can never get to devotions. And don’t ask me to give any time or money, I don’t have either one to give. I might have some money if my idiot friend gave me the money he owes me. Yea, I know what God says about all this, but . . .”

If the church is only a good sing-along time with a rockin’ band, count me out. I want to be a part of a movement that changes the world. I want to live in community, follow Christ, and serve in his cause. When we do that, Sunday AND Monday rocks with worship like never before.

What’s next? A church that lives like it sings and sings like it lives. The result: All hell breaks lose. That’s my hope and prayer.

For a song along this thought, check out Orphan’s Blood.