Songs for Holy Week

Once again, the Agnus Dei - "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."

Songs for Lent

"Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. . ."

Hey Lakebay!

We're going to be singing this sometime soon in worship. Take a listen, enjoy, learn it so you can join in from the start!

CHIC Music

I just got word from my super-secret sources inside Covenant Central that the CHIC '09 music is finally up on iTunes.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/inseperable/id354840458?i=354841432&ign-mpt=uo%3D6

Surprises in Worship

In case you missed it yesterday. . .

We were in the midst of our great boom-chuck medley, coming out of "I'm gonna sing, sing, sing" and going into "I'll Fly Away." During rehearsal, we had clearly worked out that, at this transition, I was to take the mandolin break. So I lept into my solo. . .and Holly kept on singing. And the congregation did, too. During my solo.

So. . .there I stood, concentrating on the fingerboard, working out the solo, all the while thinking "Now what do we do? Do they forget the solo? Will Duncan come back around and go into the instrumental section after the chorus? What's going on?"

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Duncan edging toward me. Was he trying to tell me something? Were we going to make a change on the fly? So I glanced at him (all the while still furiously playing "I'll Fly Away"), but couldn't make sense of what he was saying. I looked beyond him at Holly, wondering if maybe she and Duncan had decided to jump ahead with the song, or if she simply forgot in the moment, or if she just felt the people were ready to go on and so kept singing. . .but couldn't get a read on her.

I don't mind flexibility, you know. In fact, I think the best bands/worship teams are the ones that can communicate on the fly, and make changes as the moment needs. But this was my big mandolin solo. And my poor brain was trying too hard to process both the solo and the unexpected singing.

All that happened in the verse. We hit the chorus and I gave up, going back to playing rhythm, jumping in with the bgvs. . .and finally looked out at the congregation. It was a sea of white.

A few weeks ago we sang another gospel song - I think it was "When We All Get to Heaven." And everybody was hootin' and hollerin' and stompin' and clappin'. It reminded me of a day on choir tour, a stop in Houston, when the choir launched into "I'll Fly Away" and all the ladies in the congregation whipped out their hankies and started dancing and waving them in the air. It was a wonderful, fun, inspiring moment. It was pure joy.

So, sometime that morning a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I had this dream that someday I'd be in a church where all the ladies would wave their hankies when the music started rockin' and the Spirit started movin'.

Apparently, somebody took that to heart. Somehow, unbeknownst to me, they handed out white napkins to everybody and told them to whip them out at "I'll Fly Away," waving them in the air. Which they all dutifully, and joyously, did.

Of course, I missed it, lost in my confusion over the missed mandolin break. At least, I missed that moment when they all came out. I didn't catch on until 30 seconds had passed.

But when I looked up, ready to dive into the chorus, there they all were, waving their 'hankies' and having a lot of fun in the moment. And worship was joyful and the singing was ecstatic and it was a moment nobody will forget.

The cool thing was, they did it through the rest of the medley. It wasn't just "well, we surprised Dan so let's put them away because we all look silly." Nope, they just kept waving and hootin' and stompin' and laughing and smiling and singing, all the way to the end.

Last week I challenged our church board with the thought that we need to have more fun. We need to laugh more. We ought to be marked by joy and excitement, not dreariness and too much seriousness.

But that's the problem with challenging people. They take you seriously, and you end up with a crowd waving napkins in worship.

And I was happy. And, if I may say so, I think God was pleased.

So to whoever came up with that crazy idea, and whoever implemented it, thanks. It meant a lot to me.

Congregational Response to a Sermon on Amos 5:18ff

We confess there is much pain in this world, much suffering, much sorrow and misery. We confess that we, too, are guilty of stepping over our neighbor in pursuit of glory, comfort, fame, or wealth. We confess that the ways of the world fall short of the ways of the Kingdom of God.

And yet we have been called, by Christ, to seek the better way – to replace empty religion with active hearts and hands, to cease with false pretense and show, instead pursuing justice and righteousness for all God’s children. We hear this call, and we respond:

Yes, Lord Jesus, we will serve you gladly.

Yes, Lord Jesus, we will seek justice and equity for all people.

Yes, Lord Jesus, we offer ourselves to you, to be used as your hands and feet in our land and around the world.

Yes, Lord Jesus, our love for you will be reflected in our love for those around us, and our compassion toward the poor, the lonely, those who live at the margins.

Yes, Lord Jesus, let there be a flood of justice in our land. We want to be a part of your restoring work. Let it flow through us. Let your healing for all people and our nation flow through us. Let your love and life flow through us. Amen.

New Music

We started working on this song last night, and hope to introduce it to our church in the next couple weeks.

Call to Worship for Communion Sunday

Leader: We come this morning to worship our God, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

All: May his presence fill this temple, and his power fill our hearts.

May his peace guard your hearts and minds as you come before his throne.

May our words, our thoughts, our offerings and our deeds be pleasing in his sight.

May you know the power of his love, overwhelming your sorrow and doubt with hope and contentment.

May we feel his presence in our worship, in the Word, and as we gather at his table.

He is our God! He is a friend to the friendless, father of the orphan, shelter for the traveler and alien among us!

He is our God! His name is more powerful than presidents, kings, rulers and authorities! He is our hope, our friend, our redeemer. His love saves us and restores us. Come, Oh God, and invade this space! Come, be with us! Open the heavens and come down; reveal your love once again! Amen.

Dan's Pet Peeve of the Day

(while listening to Worship Leader's Song Discovery, v0l. 71)

Worship leaders who say "Somebody just give God the praise."

For the church musicians

Quick - look at Sunday's music list. From what 'streams' do your songs come?

Including our optional time of pre-service worship, our Sunday Set finds its sources in the following places:

- Worshiptogether: 3
- Little Peach Music: 2
- Hillsongs: 2
- Integrity's Hosanna: 1
- Vineyard: 1
- Songs within the denomination: 1
- Public Domain: 1

All in all, pretty widespread. How about your church? Does all your music come from the same place, or do you pick and choose from wider sources?

The things you don't see

It's Sunday morning. We've called ourselves to worship, we've meeted and greeted, we've prayed, and now we're singing. At the moment, I'm playing mandolin and providing harmony vocals as we move through a rousing rendition of "Oh, How I Love Jesus."

But I feel like I'm being pestered by a fly. I feel it brush my cheek, and attempt to swipe it away (which is no easy feat, what with needing both hands to play mandolin). I feel it a second time, and swipe it away again - all the while looking around trying to figure out where it's coming from. I feel it again, this time on the other cheek - or is it two flies? Is the cologne I'm wearing somehow attractive to flies? Or is my hair gel full of Fly Pheromones? I feel it again, high on my cheek, and swipe it away, only this time I really get it, and feel it leaving my hand and heading for the floor.

Only when I look down to see if I killed it, it's not a fly that I see lying there. Instead, it's a rather creepy bulbous spider, scurrying quickly toward a jumble of sound cables.

It takes all of .05 seconds for my mind to move from "Wow! It was a spider!" to "Wait - was it alone? Or do I have a nest of spiders in my hair?" At which point (of course), the entirety of my head begins to itch and I can only surmise this spider must have had partners, who still currently reside somewhere in the vicinity of my face.

The problem being, I'm up on the platform, and can't start flailing around, attempting to clear out any other invaders. And I can't exactly rush from the stage without everybody noticing. So on the worship goes, with me attempting to discern whether every itch is just an itch, or whether other creatures are moseying around my head.

The moment the offertory began I quietly exited the room and headed to the men's room, where a thorough check in front of the mirror led me to the joyous conclusion that my face, scalp, and neck were, in fact, arachnid-free.

But, for some reason, I was a little "off my game" the rest of the morning. Just a little, distracted, I guess.

Sermon Response to Mark 11:27-12:12

Jesus, you have called us to be faithful stewards
of your Kingdom. You have called us to be
diligent workers in your fields. You expect
that your business will be our business, that
our work will be your work.
We confess that all too often we have let our
pride, our selfishness, our desire for comfort
and prestige cloud our efforts, we confess
that we have hurt each other and that
we have not, in fact, been your faithful disciples.
In confession we seek forgiveness,
dedicating ourselves once again to the simple
task of seeking your heart, and serving you
in love, humility, and gentleness toward all.
May our lives reflect your love and glory in
the world. You are the Stone the Builders Rejected,
and you are marvelous in our eyes. Teach us
to serve you first, foremost, and always.
Amen.

This one's for the Worship People

I've been reading (slowly) through Her Heart Can See, a biography by Edith Blumhofer of Fanny J. Crosby, the prolific hymn writer.

On pages 128-129, Blumhofer shares Six Points for Congregational Singing propagated by Lowell Mason, a contemporary of Crosby and songwriter, speaker, and publisher in his own right. These were part of a speech delivered by Mason in Boston in 1826. His six points were:

1. Church music should be simple, 'chaste,' 'correct' (meaning, to Mason, conforming to contemporary European scientific standards), and adapted to the performance abilities of congregation or choir. 'Let there be simple, easy, and solemn tunes selected for use in public worship,' he urged.

2. Care must be given to text as well as to tune. Text should be heard clearly; text and tune should 'fit' and convey the sae mood or idea. . .Text 'sung amidst unrestrained levity and folly' in singing schools did not prepare singers to assist in worship. Rather, it tended toward 'making an exhibition of musical acquirements' and 'drawing forth the applause of the people.'

3. Congregational singing must be promoted. 'Every member of a congregation ought to feel an interest in the singing,' he insisted.

4. 'Judicious accompaniment' was 'indispensable to complete success.' Good vocal music required instrumental support, especially organ accompaniment.

5. Music education for children was the cornerstone for congregational singing. 'A thorough and permanent reformation in church music. . .cannot be effected, but by a gradual process. Children must be taught music as they are taught to read. Until something of this kind is done, it is vain to expect any great and lasting improvement.'

6. Congregational singing as a corporate act is composed of individual acts of devotion to God. 'Mere musical talent' did not suffice for effective playing or singing of church music.

I'm a little impressed by how applicable most of these points are in today's church. We might quibble with the "European Scientific Standards" part, and would probably expand the "especially organ accompaniment" to include piano and guitar, but overall I think his ideas hold up well. The first two mark the cornerstones of many of the complaints against "modern worship" - either "it's too hard to sing" or "the words are trite" or "the music is too loud and I can't hear the words." #3 - I currently have the pleasure of serving in a church that values singing, in which the majority do join in with their voices. But in the past I've been in churches where many simply stand (or sit) with scowls on their faces and their lips pinched tight. #5 - there is genius here. Schools have taken away many of the music education opportunities, and any music kids pick up is computer driven or simplistic 3-chord pop music or the solo stylings of American Idol. Is there a place for the Church to become a bastion of music education, teaching the fundamentals of reading, writing, and engaging in music as an act of worship to God? What would it look like if the church took music education seriously? And #6 is true as well. I've been "led" in worship by people with amazing talent but no real heart of devotion, and while I was amazed at their technical skills, the lack of passion dampened any real hope for worship. Perhaps in an "Idol"- driven society, the Church might have a call to raise up humble worship leaders with both talent AND a heart for the Lord.

What do you all think? Would you agree with Mason? Disagree? What would you add or take away?

I'm a travelin' Man

I am going to Austin, Texas in a couple weeks to attend a conference:

Transforming Culture: A Vision for the Church and the Arts

Speakers include Andy Crouch, Eugene Peterson, Luci Shaw, Sarah Masen, and John Wilson. Some of the seminars include "Visual Homiletics - How do we Preach to the Eye as Well as to the Ear?"; "The Spiritual Formation of Artists: Nurturing Heart and Mind"; "Leading Artists and the Beautiful Mess of their Mind"; "Beyond B-Movies and Church Bulletins: 10 New Ways the Church can Patron the Arts and Practice Common Grace."

I particularly like this piece from their website:

Does it matter how we treat the artists in our communities?
Most artists, whether in NYC or LA, in Seattle or Austin, want very little if anything to do with the Church. It strikes them more like a rationalist’s university classroom or a pragmatist’s business meeting than like anything resembling the rich world of God’s creation filled with all its supersensory wonder. They look at the Protestant Evangelical church and they see an aesthetically arbitrary arrangement. They see a fickleness about beauty. They see an imagination handicapped by Enlightenment presuppositions. Why should artists want to become members of a Church that either ignores, dismisses or rejects their nature and vocation? Yet they too are sheep Christ seeks to bring into his fold.

And this:

IN SUM, WE WANT TO GIVE THOUGHT TO THESE 3 AREAS:

1. The arts and the corporate worship of the church (its liturgical actions and its sacred spaces).

2. The arts and the pastoral care of artists (the discipleship and community formation of artists).

3. The arts and the renewal of the culture (the impact against the zeitgeist, the redemption of the centers of art).


I think good things could come from this. As a musician, I have always sought ways to make worship more artistic, more beautiful. And we both know lots of artists who fit the above description perfectly - the last place they would visit is a typical evangelical Church. So perhaps we'll grow and learn in our ministry to artists, and perhaps we'll find some great ideas for incorporating art into our church life.

Worship Evangelism a Bust

Sally Morgenthaler, a mainstay of the contemporary worship movement, and author of the book Worship Evangelism, has done an about face. She writes about it in an article here.

Some excerpts (emphases mine):

In [a friend's] view, Worship Evangelism had helped to create a "worship-driven subculture." As he explained it, this subculture was a sizeable part of the contemporary church that had just been waiting for an excuse not to do the hard work of real outreach. An excuse not to get their hands dirty. According to him, that excuse came in the form of a book—my book. He elaborated. "If a contemporary worship service is the best witnessing tool in the box, then why give a rip about what goes on outside the worship center? If unbelievers are coming through the doors to check us Christians out, and if they'll fall at Jesus' feet after they listen to us croon worship songs and watch us sway back and forth, well then, a whole lot of churches are just going to say, 'Sign us up!' "

The upshot? For all the money, time, and effort we've spent on cultural relevance—and that includes culturally relevant worship—it seems we came through the last 15 years with a significant net loss in churchgoers, proliferation of megachurches and all.

The 100-year-old congregation that's down to 43 members and having a hard time paying the light bill doesn't want to be told that the "answer" is living life with the people in their neighborhoods. Relationships take time, and they need an attendance infusion now.

It's an interesting article, challenging many of the underlying philosophies guiding the Church Growth movement over the last 20 years. In the end, she gets it. Worship is an outpouring of praise by God's people as he moves in their midst. But the church isn't supposed to stay there. It's supposed to get outside the walls and actually interact with people. "If you build it, they will come" just doesn't work. And it was never the plan of Jesus for his Kingdom. The incarnation alone ought to teach us that.

So go read it. Sally's still on the journey, but she's moving in a good direction.

One Glad Morning

I know, I know. God always shows up. Well, in point of fact, God is always present, so saying he "shows" up isn't exactly accurate. But sometimes the veil is lifted a tiny bit and we know, beyond a doubt, that God is present with his people.

This morning the worship was transparent enough to hear the angels singing. I wasn't sure how things would go, as we threw in a brand new song and a couple that are new within the last year or so, but the Body stuck with us and carried the worship to new heights. By the time we reached the end of "This is My Father's World," the rafters were lifting and the Spirit was moving. Later, for the second time since coming to Lakebay, I received a round of applause at the end of the sermon. I don't take credit - I just trust the Word struck a chord and people were moved.

And one more thing. Shortly before the service I was in prayer with two men, and I felt led to pray that any spirit of divisiveness, anger, or dissension would be forced from the building. At that exact moment, the one person who, this morning, was most prone to cause any division or dissension stood up and left the building in a hurry, no explanation given.

I think the Spirit cleared the way to move, in answer to a simple prayer, and we were the richer for it. Praise be to God.