Boasting in the Lord

November 7, 2010 Leave a comment

You can tell a person’s priorities by how they spend three things: their money, their time, and their words. The first two are not always evident if you don’t know someone well, but you can gauge what is important to someone pretty quickly through casual conversation. There are really only a few things that dominate a person’s life. Life is complicated, and we all have various commitments and responsibilities, but only a handful of things are truly important to each person. Through our words, we reveal what’s important to us. It’s impossible not to.

What sorts of things tend to come up in my conversations? There are only a few major things: my family, guitars and music, my work at SLCC, what books I’m reading, and what movies I’ve seen. Others may have different lists that include their cars or houses, how much money they make, who they’re dating, their titles or position, or other things (and people) that make them feel secure and important.

These are the areas where take pride, or “boast.” It’s where we find our identity.  In the academic world, it’s not uncommon for professors to take great pride in their degrees, publications and awards. Likewise, students get much of their identity through grades.

I was struck recently by how different all of this is from the words of Jeremiah:

Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” (Jer. 9.23-24)

I hear all kinds of conversations that center around sports, music, culture, grades, accomplishments, family, health, and a thousand other things. But I can’t recall many conversations when someone “boasted” about understanding and knowing the Lord more intimately; where it was evident this was the driving priority of his or her life.

As we come out of a week where the headlines have been dominated by the loss and gain of political power, and as we will soon enter into the time of year when we are obsessed with giving and receiving material gifts, may we take to heart Paul’s words from 1 Cor. 1.31: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Worship leader Paul Baloche has done a great job of capturing this thought in the song “I Will Boast.” Check it out on iTunes.

 

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Desiring God 2010 Conference Promo

July 30, 2010 2 Comments

For a long time I have appreciated the ministry of John Piper. He has produced an amazing number of books and resources over the years through his organization, Desiring God. It’s quite amazing that they make so many great resources available for free on their website. I’d encourage you to check it out.

Each year Desiring God hosts conferences, and the promo for their 2010 National Conference looks very cool. Not only do I love the topic, but I love the way it’s creatively presented. Hats off to the folks who brainstormed and created the promo video.

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The Stereotypical Worship Leader

July 20, 2010 Leave a comment

How would you describe the typical artist/musician/worship leader? Aloof? A little strange? Disorganized? An “artsy type”? Even effeminate (only for the guys)? I’ve been involved in worship ministry for around 20 years and have heard all kinds of adjectives used to describe worship leaders. Much of the time it’s been negative. Some of this has been deserved, and I can think of a few worship leaders who have done their part to deserve criticism. (You might even want to check out this hilarious post from Stuff Christians Like, but keep your tongue firmly planted in your cheek.)

But when I think of the many worship leaders I’ve known over the years, the vast majority of them are hard-working, godly people who strive week-to-week to lead their congregations in effective worship. They are committed to their local churches and want to serve their pastor. They are talented, creative, and intelligent. Most of them are also able to preach and teach effectively.

Those creative impulses make artistic types a little different. But those same creative impulses gave us the Mona Lisa, the music of the Beatles, and the great Hagia Sophia. They also give energy and beauty to our worship.

Every ministry has its stereotypes, and those are probably true to an extent. But in my experience, the typical worship leader is a wonderful servant of Christ who sacrifices a lot of time and energy so you and I can worship together each weekend.

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C. S. Lewis on Worship, Part 2

June 16, 2010 Leave a comment

Here’s another great quote on worship from Lewis’ Letters to Malcom, Chiefly on Prayer:

“Novelty may fix our attention not even on the service but on the celebrant. You know what I mean. Try as one may exclude it, the question “What on earth is he up to now?” will intrude. It lays one’s devotion waste. there is really some excuse for the man who said, “I wish they’d remember that the charge to Peter was Feed my sheep; not Try experiments on my rats, even, Teach my performing dogs new tricks.”

“Thus my whole liturgiological position really boils down to an entreaty for permanence and uniformity. I can make do with almost any kind of service whatever, if only it will stay put. But if each form is snatched away just when I am beginning to feel at home in it, then I can never make any progress in the art of worship. You give me no chance to acquire the trained habit–habito dell’arte.” (pg. 5)

Lewis is making the argument that change is worship style or format is a hindrance, rather than a help, to authentic worship. He seems to be annoyed with church leaders who are constantly tinkering with worship (what he calls the “Liturgical Fidget” later in the chapter). I wonder if his thoughts are more of a reflection on his personality and culture, or some kind of broader principle whereby the default setting for worship should be a fixed order or format, with little room for change.

Every church has a liturgy of some kind. It’s how the people approach worship. That approach can be rigid and fixed, or it can prescribe various levels of change from week to week. The Bible doesn’t give us any firm guidance on how much change we should introduce in worship–only that “all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14.40). It will depend on a variety of factors, including our tradition, culture, and the people in our church.

Questions: Do you agree or disagree with Lewis? How much change is too much? How does your church approach the question of what changes to introduce in worship, and what to keep the same?

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C. S. Lewis on Worship

June 15, 2010 4 Comments

One of the reasons I love C. S. Lewis’ writing is that he is so brilliant, yet so down to earth in his thinking. In Chapter 1 of Letters to Malcom, Chiefly on Prayer he talks about corporate worship, a subject he barely feels qualified to write about (!). He makes these observations about innovation in worship (and remember that is writing about the Church of England about a half-century ago):

“Novelty, simply as such, can have only an entertainment value. And they don’t go to church to be entertained. They go to use the service, or, if you prefer, to enact it. Every service is a structure of acts and words through which we receive a sacrament, or repent, or supplicate, or adore. And it enables us to do these things best–if you like, it “works” best–when, through long familiarity, we don’t have to think about it. As long as you notice, and have to count, the steps, you are not yet dancing but only learning to dance. A good shoe is a shoe you don’t notice. Good reading becomes possible when you need not consciously think about eyes, or light, or print, or spelling. The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God.” (pg. 4)

Questions: What do you think about innovation and change in worship today? Do we have too much, or too little? Is it sometimes distracting, or do we need more?

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Evaluating a Worship Song: Is It Biblical?

May 25, 2010 2 Comments

One of the most important responsibilities of a worship leader is choosing songs for corporate worship. For those not involved in worship ministry, this may seem like a simple task: just throw together a few of your favorite songs and bada-boom, you’re done, right? But it’s not quite that simple. Choosing songs is (or at least should be) an involved process that requires us to ask several important questions. This week I will begin a series highlighting several key questions we should ask about the worship songs we use. We can apply these questions to help select new songs, or to evaluate songs we already use.

Here’s the first question we ought to ask about a worship song: Is it biblical? Does it adhere to, reflect or contain truth found in Scripture? Christians are people “of the book”–we believe the Bible is the revealed Word of God, and that it’s our guide for faith and life. Therefore, the message and meaning of a worship song must align with biblical truth. Read more of this post

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What If You Don’t Like the Music at Church?

May 17, 2010 Leave a comment

Here is how I look at music in church: churches are like restaurants, and worship music is like the food they serve. No matter what kind of food your restaurant serves, there will always be someone who doesn’t like it. The problem is that you have to choose something–you can’t satisfy every taste (unless you offer multiple services with different styles).

What happens if you’re a mature Christian who loves your church and wants to support your pastor, but you dislike the music?  I have a good friend who hates Chinese food, and I know that if we went to a Chinese place for lunch, he would not enjoy it. What do you do when you’re the person who doesn’t like Chinese food? Here are a few questions for those who want to support their church and would like to deal with this issue in a positive, godly way. (These would apply in a range of situations, whether your church uses a traditional hymn-based style or more modern music.) Read more of this post

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“Sunday’s Coming” Worship Parody

May 15, 2010 Leave a comment

UPDATE: James Emery White has a great post with his thoughts about the video and the implications behind it.

Check out this satire video from North Point Ministries. It’s the funniest and most true-to-life thing I’ve seen in a while. It’s not mean-spirited, but is done in a spirit of love and fun. If you would describe your worship style as contemporary or relevant, you will probably see a little bit of yourself here.

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Great Songs: “Hosanna” by Hillsong United

May 14, 2010 Leave a comment

The Australian worship band Hillsong United has been around for over a decade, but their popularity has exploded in just the last few years. The band is an outgrowth of the youth ministry of Hillsong Church in Sydney (the church home of another influential worship leader, Darlene Zschech). The band has contributed a great number of songs to modern worship, the most well-known being “Mighty to Save.” Hillsong United’s album Across the Earth: Tear Down the Walls is one of my favorite albums of any style of music. Most churches doing any kind of contemporary music are probably using some songs by Hillsong United. We certainly sing a lot of them in our SLCC Chapel services.

“Hosanna” was written by Brooke Ligertwood (formerly Brooke Fraser) and is included in Hillsong United’s 2007 album All of the Above. It’s a great song because it creatively combines meaningful lyrics with interesting music. I suppose all great songs have both components, but worship songs can be a special challenge because they have to musically and lyrically interesting, able to be learned and sung by the average person, and they have to express a very familiar story in a new, fresh way. That’s a tall order!

Verse 1 of “Hosanna” contains imagery that is almost prophetic, speaking of the “King of Glory coming on the clouds with fire,” with the whole earth shaking. (It’s reminiscent of scenes from Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4 & 5. Here is a link to the lyrics if you want to have a look.) The chorus is a simple expression of praise, and verse 2 speaks of God’s love and mercy washing over our sin. The bridge is a plea for God to “break my heart for what breaks yours,” and is a call to surrender everything for the cause of God’s kingdom. This is a sort of modern version of “I Surrender All,” except with more electric guitars, and a lot louder.

The blending of the minor key tonality, haunting feel and cryptic imagery complement each other well. The song is also a great example of how to effectively use electric guitars (and digital delay) in modern worship music. Many props to Hillsong for a job well done on this one.

Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory!

(Psalm 24.7-10)

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Get Your Nose Out of Your Music Stand

May 9, 2010 3 Comments

This morning in our services on Mother’s Day, one of the guys on our worship team performed a special. (Side note: For those who are wondering, a “special” is a song that is performed, as opposed to songs that are sung by the whole congregation. I have no idea why we call it a “special.” I have heard some specials that were not very special.) About halfway through the song I looked back toward the sound booth and realized the words of the song were projected on the back ceiling. The band could see them, but they were out of the line of sight of the congregation.

This, in short, is a simple yet very effective way to address the problem of having your nose stuck in a music stand on stage.

Back in the old days of contemporary worship (the “old days” meaning just a couple of decades ago), worship teams were tied to a music stand that held paper music that was copied from a songbook or hymnal. If you were a guitar player or worship leader, you might have a chord chart consisting of only words and chords. This is how I led worship for many years in a former ministry: a control sheet (detailed order of service) and a bunch of chord charts sitting on the stand. For a long time I put the chord charts in a notebook and would have to flip the pages every couple of songs. Our worship team vocalists did the same thing.

The problem with being tied to the items on your music stand is that it puts an emotional barrier between you and the congregation. When you’re constantly worried about playing the right chords or singing the right words,you can’t focus on the more important task at hand. You are more concerned about the technicalities of worship leading than the spiritual dynamics of what is happening in the congregation.

I should point out that is a small but important distinction between the worship team and the worship band. The worship consists of the worship leader and the vocalists (or worship choir, if you use one). The worship band, of course, are the instrumentalists. It’s almost inevitable that the band will have some form of sheet music or charts. While they should be well-rehearsed, there’s no critical need for them to memorize their music. (But as a general rule, the better they know their music, the more fully they can enter into worship. The instrumentalists are leading worship through their example.)

The worship leader and vocalists, on the other hand, should try to remove any barriers that keep them from engaging with the congregation and with God. (When the worship leaders aren’t engaged, the people in turn don’t engage in worship very well.) At our church, the vocalists don’t use music stands at all, but we have the words projected on the back wall. (This is a mirror image of what the congregation sees, except in the case of special music as noted above.) It does mean you need to have your vocal parts memorized. But once you do this a few times, it’s no sweat.

Even when I play guitar on the worship team, I do my best to have all the music memorized. I still use a music stand to hold a control sheet and chord charts just in case, but even as an instrumentalist I find it very freeing to not rely on any charts or written music. (This would probably be impossible for instrumentalists that rely on sheet music.)

Even when I’m in situations where there is no projection in the back of the sanctuary, I try to rely on the music as little as possible when I’m leading worship. I have found the extra preparation to be well worth it because I can focus on actually leading worship instead of getting bogged down in musical details. I certainly don’t do it perfectly, but once I started doing this I began to enjoy leading and playing even more.

Questions: How can you help your worship team (and yourself) commit more of their worship set to memory? Has your church considered installing a projector in the back of the sanctuary just for the worship team? If you already do this, how it is working?

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