Drip Irrigation

I know the need for watering, fertilizing, and generally tending to the gardens (metaphorical as mine may be) are upon us every spring and summer.

It reminds me of how and why I tweet and post on Facebook. I think of it as drip irrigation...I regularly add a digital drop of water so that the plants out there get a chance to drink, be healthy, and grow.

How are you doing that for your team? They need it!

I used to include a “thought for the week” with the chord charts each week. I know a guy named Brett who sends a thought to his worship team via a weekly PCO email.

How can you get access to my drip irrigation?

Scroll to the bottom of this page and follow us on your favorite platform! We’re on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Tiktok!

If you do neither of those, here are some sample tweets: 

• Never lose sight of all it takes to play/sing/lead when you aren’t “unconscious/competent” on that instrument. #empathy 

• Connecting with others who are chasing something, building a dream...even for 30 minutes on Skype...can deeply encourage you!

• When you surrender, you receive power that you could otherwise not obtain. -Rick Mailloux

• If someone calls you out on your insecurity, don’t get defensive and prove them right.

• The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom so that I know how to comfort the weary. (Isaiah 50:4 NLT)

• Healthy artists seek out experiences that point out where they’re inadequate. @jeremygraeff

• God keeps us safe from the destructive power of sin, never land-locking us with rules that would take the wind out of full-sail living -JH

• Worship leader: you might want to complement your WWJD bracelet with a WWHD one. #HerbieHancock (thank you Matt Monticchio)

• Prayer is what turns regular parents into prophets. Pray for your kids. @MarkBatterson

• “I’m an evangelist trapped in a worship leader’s body. Trouble is, churches don’t usually hire evangelist leaders.” -Preston Chronister

• I wonder how they’re going to handle the whole “and now the kids can be dismissed to children’s church” thing in heaven. -Sanjeev Kuriakose

• Because the Sovereign Lord helps me...I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. (Isaiah 50:7 NLT)

• It’s ok to have five smooth songs, just as long as one is a giant killer! #worship #sundaysetlist

• Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. (Matthew 10:8 NASB)

• ‘People come for the sermon.’ No they don’t...if the music stinks, they’re out the door. Play well; be all things to all people. Todd Eckhart

• Seek first His kingdom. EVERYTHING else will be taken care of. (Sanjeev Kuriakose standard version)

• Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually. (Psalms 105:4 NASB)

• Church, Jesus invites us to invite Him in and share intimately with Him. EVERYTHING will come from this lifestyle.

• Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. So I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. (Is 50:7)

• Know which feelings to ignore. When I feel “off,” simply ask, “What would I do if I felt good?” (Assuming the feelings are a “false positive”)

• Success is never owned, only rented. And the rent is due every day. @roryvaden

• How would you play differently if you saw the band as “accompanying the congregation” rather than leading them (or playing for them)?

• “Sometimes, our greatest failures and pain are a path to an intimacy with the Lord that we did not know existed.” Help us, Lord!

Here are some of the “Thoughts of the week” I sent to my teams long ago:

• “Desperate for changing, Starving for truth, Closer to where I started, Chasing after You. I’m falling even more in love with You. Letting go of all I’ve held onto. I’m standing here until You make me move. I’m hanging by a moment here with You. Forgetting all I’m lacking. Completely incomplete. I’ll take Your invitation; You take all of me.” (Hanging By A Moment by Lifehouse)

• Jesus came to earth on my behalf, to “do life,” to get into my skin, to be able to see through my eyeballs, to experience every way I am tempted, to feel what life is like within the constraints of my humanity. He had days when He felt like pulling out His hair, days when He cried out with loud voice and tears (If you don’t believe me, see Heb.5:7-9 and 4:14-16). HE UNDERSTANDS US...HE UNDERSTANDS how we feel and what we struggle with. And He intercedes for us these days. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” For whatever I need, God is more... Jesus, draw me close to You. I want to experience all of You, to “do Your Life,” to see through Your eyeballs, to take my place with You in the heavenly realms (Eph.2:6), to experience Your strength, to feel the rush of Your victory through my veins, to be caught up in Your river of joy. Recapture me.

• If you’re going to lead people somewhere, you’d better have been there yourself many times and know it well (for example – God’s presence.)

• All TRUE ministry flows out of intimacy with Jesus. There’s no substitute!

• How can I say I depend on God if my schedule doesn’t show it?

• Let’s not merely draw near to God; let us “hurl ourselves in God’s direction” (Sue Eikenberry) and find that place of faith.

• God is enough. Period.

• “and the moon is a sliver of silver, like a shaving that fell on the floor of a carpenter’s shop…and every house must have its builder, and I awoke in the house of God…” (Rich Mullens)

• “You possess FORMIDABLE strength in Your arm. Your ACTIVITY is VIGOROUS, and Your RESOURCES are HUGE, they are IMMENSE…And happy are people who know the joyful sound, who have learned to acclaim You. They go about radiant with Your presence proceeding under the smile of Your face.” (from Psalm 89)

• “The thing that is lacking most in the church in America is simple devotion to Jesus.” – Kent Henry

• God delights when we look to Him for help. He actually enjoys that. He’s not bummed that we need help. As a parent, which is more pleasing to your ears? “(with a 3-year-old attitude), I can do it all by myself!” or “Daddy, can you please help me?” Our Father delights when we look to Him for help.

• Real life. Real worship. Hard realities. Godly choices. Defining moments.

• Relax…enjoy life! The Lord orders the steps of the Godly.

• “In years past, all music and visual art came directly from the Church itself, but recently, for one reason or another, it has been shunned by the Church. My hope is to inspire the Bride of Christ to express through art, and biblical acts of worship, their love, and passion for our Savior. I believe that once again, Christians will be respected as true artists, but more importantly, passionate lovers of God.” (Late artist Dicky Ochoa’s Ministry Statement)

• And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) Faith gives Me real pleasure. Faith asks according to My will. Faith believes I will deliver. Faith waits in confidence for Me. Faith praises Me. Faith praises because it knows it will receive. Faith believes I AM. Faith knows I will come and reward. (Our Father Speaks Through Hebrews, Peter Lord)

-Dave Helmuth
(purchase my book, "Worship Fertilizer: (the first hundred)" HERE)

Drip Irrigation (Nº 32)