Sound Doxology

February: Praise to The Lord, The Almighty

2012-02-07T17:45:00.002-06:00

“O let all that is in me adore Him!”

"This hymn was written by Joachim Neander, born in 1650, whose father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather--all Joachim Neanders--had been preachers of the gospel. But as a student, Joachim was wild and rebellious. At 20, he joined a group of students who descended on St. Martin's Church in Bremen to ridicule and scoff the worshipers. But the sermon that day by Rev. Theodore Under-Eyck arrested him and led to his conversion. A few years later, he was the assistant preacher at that very church.

Joachim often took long walks near his home in Hochdal, Germany. They were worship walks, and he frequently composed hymns as he strolled, singing them to the Lord. He was the first hymnwriter from the Calvinist branch of Protestantism. When he was 30—the year he died—he wrote this while battling tuberculosis:

Praise Ye The Lord, The Almighty, the King of Creation.
O my soul praise Him, for He is Thy health and Salvation.

One of Joachim's favorite walking spots was a beautiful gorge a few miles from Dusseldorf. The Dussel River flowed through the valley, and Joachim Neander so loved this spot that it eventually was named for him—Neander Valley. The Old German word for 'valley' was 'tal' or 'thal' with a silent 'h'.

Two hundred years later Herr von Beckersdorf owned the valley, which was a source for limestone, used to manufacture cement. In 1856, miners discovered caves which contained human bones. Beckersdorf took the bones to a local science teacher who speculated they belonged to one who died in the Flood.

But when William King, an Irish professor of anatomy, saw the bones, he claimed they were proof of evolution's famous 'missing link.' Other Neanderthal fossils were found, and for many years they were used to 'prove' Darwin's theory of evolution. Today we know the Neanderthal was fully human, an extinct people group of great strength.

But, as one expert [Marvin L. Lubenow] put it, 'when Joachim Neander walked in his beautiful valley so many years ago, he could not know that hundreds of years later his name would become world famous, not for his hymns celebrating creation, but for a concept that he would have totally rejected: human evolution.'"

The above passage was taken from the book "Then Sings My Soul" by Robert J. Morgan, (page 27)

How often do we consider singing to ourselves for encouragement? This hymn not only drips with Biblical substance it also replicates the Biblical style of the Book of Psalms. In fact it is a paraphrase of Psalm 103:1-6. The Psalms are bursting with songs aimed at reminding the soul to praise and bless the Lord. Our souls need constant reminders to turn our attention to God, to praise Him, to find our joy and satisfaction in Him.

Find more information about "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" at:
Cyberhymnal | Cyberhymnal (German) | Wikipedia | Hymnsheet from Covenant Life Church

Listen
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty by Rich Tuttle

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Praise to the Lord,
The Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him,
For He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear,

Joachim Neander

Now to His temple draw near;

Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord,

Who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,

Shelters thee under His wings,

Yea, so gently sustaineth!

Hast thou not seen

How thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord,
Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness
And mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord,
O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath,
Come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

Text: Joachim Neander, 1680. Based on Psalm 103
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1863
Tune: LOBE DEN HERREN, Stralsund Gesangbuch, 1665

For 10 months in 2012 our church will be memorizing hymns together. For more information about this click here.

January: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

2011-12-15T20:31:00.002-06:00

"Tune my heart to sing Thy grace"

During the month of January we will be singing the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” which was written in 1758 by Robert Robinson.

One of the great things about this hymn is that it causes us to say true things about ourselves that we would rather not say. It calls us to tune our hearts to sing the grace of God. It calls us to remember the gospel from which pours streams of mercy, never ceasing. How easily it is for us to just check out and drift from the presence of God without intention. Our minds become full of ourselves or the things around us. We rarely slow down to evaluate our hearts. And when we do we find that our hearts deceive us into believing everything is fine and we just continue to float, unaffected by grace and truth. But then when we sing those words that our hearts wouldn’t sing on their own, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it! Prone to leave the God I love,” our hearts are struck to the core as we see our sinful nature exposed. And now our hearts long for and rejoice over those streams of never ceasing mercy, and we understand the author’s meaning when he prays that he might be bound to Christ with the shackles of grace.

Find more information about "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" at:

Cyberhymnal | Wikipedia | Christian History Institute | RUF Online Hymnbook

Listen

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Rich Tuttle

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise

Robert Robinson

Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount—O fix me on it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Text: Robert Robinson (1735-1790)
Tune: American Folk Tune attributed to John Wyeth

For 10 months in 2012 our church will be memorizing hymns together. For more information about this click here.

My Heart is Black and Wicked

2011-10-28T22:27:00.001-05:00

October 31st is Reformation Day and usually the Sunday before many churches will celebrate Reformation Sunday. At our church we mainly celebrate this day through song. After all, it was because of the Reformation that we have such a rich history of congregational singing.

If we don't sing a song that was sung during the Reformation, such as "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" or "All People that on Earth Do Dwell", we will sing songs that reflect the spirit of the Reformation, such as "How Firm a Foundation".

Another song we will be singing this Sunday is a song I wrote a few years ago that I always thought appropriate for Reformation Sunday, but until now I have never really been happy with any melody I've put to it. Over the last week or so I've been able to work with this song again and am happy to be able to sing it with the church as we gather together this Sunday. I'm also happy to be able to share it with you as well! Hope you are blessed by it and have a great Reformation Sunday!

My Heart is Black and Wicked by Rich Tuttle

My Heart is Black and Wicked

My heart is black and wicked Lord, it never will obey
Your Holy wrath for me is stored, eternal - day by day
Against Infinite Perfectness we offer perfect sin
Our punishment, eternally, is death and death again

Upon the tree of sin and death, a curse for all to see
"Tis finished!" is His dying breath; His blood has ransomed me
Atonement made for those He chose; God's wrath is satisfied
His punishment becomes our peace and we are justified

By grace alone through faith alone, His gospel we believe
This faith which rests in Christ alone, He gives and we receive
And by the Word of God alone this gospel we proclaim
All glory be to God alone! O praise His Holy Name!

Help Bifrost Arts Give Beautiful Music to the Church

2011-10-18T20:35:00.001-05:00

Bifrost Arts is making a new record and you can help!

Find out all the info and how you can help at their Kickstarter page.

In light of my previous post, this is a great opportunity to support a group of church musicians that understand sound theology and beautiful music.

Wanted: Hymn Writers

2011-09-23T17:00:00.001-05:00

The church is always in need of more hymns. Good hymns. Hymns that last the test of time. Hymns busting at the seams with biblical truth matched with mind blowing beauty. Hymns full of sound doxology. A robust collection of hymns that give voice to every occasion.

One thing the church does not need more of is bad hymns. Shallow hymns. Ugly hymns. Meaningless hymns. Unfortunately it is much easier to write wretchedly than it is to write wonderfully.

So what the church needs (and always needs) is an army of hymn writers. Hymn writers who value truth and beauty. Hymn writers that venture into the depths of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God and come back with treasures and tales of their adventures in that marvelous, perilous realm. What a noble task it is for the church to equip their poet-warriors with the necessary tools and training for such a calling.

Unfortunately, the church in America has done a pretty pitiful job at raising up hymn writers. I mean, if the church struggles to raise up pastors, how on earth will they be able to raise up hymn writers? I'm not talking about training and equipping musicians, though I believe that is a worthy goal I also believe that the church has more musicians than she knows what to do with. Heaven knows we could certainly deal with one less rock star wannabe. Then again, Heaven knows we could certainly benefit from fresh new melodies packed with submissive beauty.

But hymn writers need to be more than musicians. I would even say it is possible that one does not necessarily even need to be musically talented to be a good hymn writer. Though musicality is beneficial, I would argue that hymn writers need to be poetical rather than musical (though some would argue they are one in the same to some degree). But the point is that a hymn writer doesn't need to play piano or guitar or even sing well to write a good hymn.

Not only does one need to be poetical, but also vastly knowledgeable about God. This means that an understanding of sound theology and doctrine is crucial for the hymn writer. It is no surprise to me to see that almost every master hymn writer in the past was a pastor. Wesley, Watts, Newton, Doddridge, etc. Their main business was mining the depths of the gospel each week. To do so they had to be intimate with the Scriptures. As a result, not only were these men pastors worthy of emulation, they became the greatest hymn writers of the English language. Where are our pastor-hymn writers of today? There are exceptions to this however, in that there are many great hymn writers who were laymen. Anne Steele and William Cowper, for example. But only skim through their hymns and you will find that they are dripping with theology like honey from the comb.

The key is that a hymn writer needs to strive to become masterful in joining together truth with beauty. (A love for the people of God, I believe is quite necessary as well.) I like how Kevin Twit describes this melding of truth and beauty in hymns: "theology on fire". And it's in the church's best intrest to invest time, energy, and resources into developing and assisting her hymn writers.

Most of these thoughts were fueled by the following three articles. I happened to read them all within about a day of each other and I became greatly encouraged how each one seeks to support the hymn writer.

First, Fernado Ortega recently wrote an excellent piece for the Rabbit Room called Avoiding Convenience: A Word to Hymn Writers.

Here’s a portion of what he says:

"Let this be an encouragement to modern hymn writers—a cause for inspiration to those who are suffering from writer’s block. There are so many Biblical scenes to choose from that would make for beautiful songs: the transfiguration of Christ, the feeding of the five thousand, the woman at the well, the stoning of Stephen, water baptism, washing of the disciple’s feet, the betrayal of Judas. If just a few good modern hymn writers tackled some of these subjects, the anguish that untold thousands of music ministers suffer weekly could be greatly diminished.

It’s easy to write a chorus that says:

God, you are a Holy God
I need your grace to see me through
I need your mercy to make me new
Let me live each day for you.

I just made that up in two minutes and there’s nothing wrong with it. It might fit easily and competitively among the hundreds of worship songs that are available to choose from. But compare those lines to the third stanza from the above hymn:

Let holy charity mine outward vesture be,
And lowliness become mine inner clothing;
True lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part,
And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

It took some real thought to craft those lines. They’re timeless. They set a standard for all of us who write music for the church. I didn’t set out to write a didactic piece. I’m reminding myself, too. Be specific when you write songs about God. Avoid cliché. Avoid convenience. Avoid an obsession with the consumer. Avoid the temptation to make commercial success your central goal. Write with intelligence, employing all the craft, skill, and experience with which God has endowed you."

I absolutely love what he has to say. Though this kind of thing has been said before, it can never be said enough. Encouragement and advice like this needs to become as strong and steady as a pounding drum.

The second article that caught my eye is over at Cardiphonia. Bruce Benedict has been kind enough to share what he's been learning in his "Songwriting and Theology" class at Duke. I hope he takes good notes because I'm stealing them...

Songwriting and Theology
Songwriting and Theology Week 2 Paradoxes

These posts are great in and of themselves and Bruce links to some great thought provoking articles, but what really grabbed my attention was something his teacher said:

"The Church has no theological expectations of her musicians."

This such a sad statement that at first I had a hard time agreeing with it. But after thinking about it and pondering the putrid wasteland of music that has been produced (and peddled, and packaged, and sold) by the American Church, I have to agree for the most part. It is certainly true that this is an accurate reflection of the status quo.

I would also take that expression and turn it on it's head a bit and say that, "The Church has no poetical or musical expectations of her pastors and theologians."

Third, I came across this new blog by Sojourn Music songwriters Bobby and Kristen Gilles called My Song in the Night. It looks as if this entire blog will be highly beneficial the hymn writer.

The 'mission statement' of the blog says this:

"Helping you express words of worship and testimony through songs and stories."

The article I specifically want to direct your attention to is one in their Songwriting section called Modern Hymns. They do an excellent job at laying out a very basic outline of the ins and outs of hymn writing. Just reading through this made me want to stop and find a pen and paper.

Lastly, though I didn't just run across this, I do want to direct your attention to a post I put up a few years back called Towards a Better Hymnody. I link to a pamphlet that I think will continue to help us think soundly about our hymnody and our hymn writers. Also, as it was written more than 50 years ago, it lends to the idea that the church is always looking for better hymns and hymn writers.

I hope that these articles have motivated you like they have me. Let's keep the drum pounding. Let's keep spreading the word that the church is in great need of hymn writers.

Linktastic!

2011-08-09T19:18:00.000-05:00

Normally I don't often dedicate a post to links, but it's been over a month since my last post and it's time for me to play a bit of catch-up. So today's post is plumb full of links directing you, dear reader, to some things I've really been enjoying recently and wanted to share with you.

Doctrine and Doxology: Why we must fire boring teachers and preachers - Carl Trueman is always saying something awesome. He's always seeing and saying things from a different perspective that washes over a subject like a fresh breeze. This article from Reformation 21 is fantastic. The reason I call my blog Sound Doxology is exactly what he explains in this article; namely that doctrine and doxology are linked, and you can't have one without the other. But as great as this article is, I recommend everything Carl Trueman writes.

Seeds Family Worship - These guys do an incredible job at putting Scripture to music. A couple years ago I wrote about how most songs written for children in the church are either putrid or just stupid and we are in major need of children's songs that have good quality in both music and content. Well the Seeds guys are doing it extremely well.

John Stott Has Died - I was saddened to hear this news. God used John Stott to greatly increase my understanding of worship. Stott was really the first person I read who clearly conveyed that the more we know God the more we will worship God. I've had this quote of his on my blog since I started it a few years back:

"All true worship is a response to the self-revelation of God in Christ and Scripture, and arises from our reflection on who He is and what He has done….The worship of God is evoked, informed, and inspired by the vision of God….The true knowledge of God will always lead us to worship."

Worship Leaders – Prepare Like a Preacher - Good things are always happening at Cardiphonia. I found this article to be wonderful, and as always there are fantastic resources that go along with it.

Speaking of Cardiphonia, as I was linking to the site I ran across the latest post The Rise of Digital Hymnals. (See, I told you good things are always happening there...) I am a huge, mega fan of Digital Hymnals. I've been telling you about Indelible Grace and Red Mountain Music for a while now, but Bruce has collected and linked to a few more!

Reflections on the Psalms - I'm half-way through this book by CS Lewis and I already want to recommend it. Reading this book has caused me to fall more in love with the book of Psalms. After a chapter or two I can't help but close the book and start reading the Psalms.

The Wingfeather Saga - Andrew Peterson, in my opinion, is a master wordsmith. His lyrics in his songs pierce my heart in ways no other songwriter has done before. So it's no surprise that his books do the same thing. He's written three books so far, with a fourth on the way. I just finished the third book and the story rejuvenated my soul. This really doesn't have much to do with congregational worship, but after reading his last book, I was driven to worship in light of the beauty and truth of God.

Gospel Focused Leadership with Dr. Richard Blackaby - This one-day event will be taking place at Wornall Road Baptist Church (my church) on Saturday Aug 20 from 10AM to 3PM. Includes worship and prayer as well as leadership from Dr. Blackaby on "getting our hearts, minds and God's people onto God's Agenda." The cost is free and lunch is provided. If you live in (or are nearby) the Kansas City area this would be a great opportunity for you and/or your church leaders to rest and reorient around the gospel.

Around the Table - This is my new blog that both my wife and I contribute to. (It's also likely the reason why I haven't posted here lately...) Essentially it is a blog about food and fellowship and life around the dinner table. We share recipes and stories and hopefully it will inspire you or make you laugh.

Finally, I thought I'd link to what's become my most viewed post (by far): The Effeminate Worship Leader. I knew this would strike a nerve when I first posted it (both positive and negative) but I didn't really expect the amount of traffic it has generated, and what it continues to generate. I've thought about re-posting it and updating it a bit, but after re-reading it I don't know if I have much else to say about it in this format. I am always open to having a dialogue about these kinds of things though.

So that's it for now! Hopefully some of these links have interested you as much as they have interested me.

The Fall

2011-06-27T09:02:00.001-05:00

Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on a project writing songs to assist in family worship. The songs are meant to aid in teaching theology to children without watering down truth or compromising the gospel through legalistic moralism. I hope to discuss this project in a bit more detail in the future but that being said, I want to share with you one of the songs I've written for the project.

This song is intended to teach about the Fall. The themes are sin, original sin, our response to sin, and God's response to sin through judgment and salvation all wrapped in the story we find in Genesis 2 and 3. Enjoy!

The Fall by Rich Tuttle

The Fall

When God made the world He had a plan, made a man and a woman, named Adam and Eve
He gave them a job, “Glorify, multiply, but don’t eat from that middle tree
The Tree of Knowledge of Wrong and Right, if you eat it you will surely die.”

The serpent walked right up to Eve and said, “Do you really believe
that God meant what He said that you would die?”
Then Eve saw that the fruit looked good. The serpent said, “You really should
just eat the fruit and open up your eyes!”
And she listened to the snake, she took the fruit and then she ate,
and turned to Adam and said, “Take a bite.”
Then they felt the shame
and God called their name

He said, “What have you done?
You disobeyed and now you’ve laid the foundation for a painful life,
full of anguish and toil and strife.

“Now every child that’s born to you will pass this curse and bear it too;
a wicked nature, born to sin and die.”
Now every nation, tribe, and tongue will be afraid and be on the run
‘cause God is watching with His holy eye.
And He made for them some skins, to show what happens when you sin.
Blood must be shed from an innocent life.
But not all hope was lost, ‘cause God had planned the cross.

To the serpent God had news for him; Good news for us but his news was grim
A promise made and this is what God said,
“Though the woman took your crooked deal, her seed will come and you’ll bruise his heel,
but that’s ‘cause with it He will bust your head!”
And on His promise He made good, Jesus came to our neighborhood and for our sin
His perfect blood was shed!
And He removed our shame
then God called our name.

How We Will Worship in the Wake of Tragedy

2011-05-26T13:06:00.000-05:00

Dear Church Family,

As we consider the tragic events that have taken place this last week with tornados eastern Kansas, recently in Sedalia and most noticeably of all in Joplin, Missouri, no doubt many of you are asking “Why?”. For that answer I would direct you to this link from our church’s website: Why?

The question I’d like to deal with isn’t asking “Why?” it is asking “How?” Specifically, how are we to respond in worship in light of calamity, tragedy, death and destruction? This Sunday as we gather together for worship what will our corporate response to God in light of these tragedies look like?

I want to share with you a portion of our service for this upcoming Sunday in hope that we might begin, even now, to prepare our hearts so that when we come together our understanding of what we are doing in worship will be better grasped, and through that understanding we might be even more united so that we might make the praises of God truly glorious! (Psalm 66:2)

After our time of Fellowship we will hear Job 1:13-22 read aloud:

Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you." While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you." While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you." While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you."

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

A horrible tragedy (tragedy upon tragedy!) befell Job. In an instant, all that he had was gone. His most prized possessions—his very children—were killed in a tornado. What was Job’s response? “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job didn’t sin in anger, nor did he charge God with wrong. He worshiped God. He recognized who God is and who Job is. God is sovereign, Job is not.

So we, like Job, will sing of God’s sovereignty and goodness in both good times and bad. We will do so together singing Matt and Beth Redman’s song “Blessed Be Your Name”. May our hearts burst with true humility as we cry out to God:

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

The next song we will sing is “All Things New” by Horatius Bonar and Red Mountain Music. This song gives us hope that God will not linger forever, and not only that, He will one day renew all things. So while it is right that we exalt God by confessing “You give and take away” we must also look for the day when He will make all things new. One day there will be no more suffering, no more towns devastated by tornadoes. Through the words of this song we corporately confess our hope and trust in the promises of God.

We will then hear Luke 13:1-5 read aloud:

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

(For a deeper look into this passage I highly recommend this sermon from John Piper)

May we be fully aware of the depth of our sin and the infinite shortness of our shortcomings. May we recognize that our crimes have been committed against an Infinite, Holy, and Righteous God. May we recognize the infinite punishment that ought to be justly applied to us. May we, even now, turn from our sins and look to the cross of Christ and cry “Be merciful to me!” And together we will turn to the cross and say those very words, praying as we sing Randall Goodgame's song “Be Merciful to Me”.

But we don’t cry out without hope. God truly is merciful and shows us Christ dying in our place, which causes us to rejoice even in the midst of our pain and suffering. And we will be reminded of this as we hear God’s Word in Philippians 4:4-7:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Only through Christ do we have this peace; a peace that allows us to rejoice in God even when our hearts are breaking, a peace that allows us to rejoice even in the midst of suffering. And so we will confess that no matter what comes—when God gives or when He takes away—through Christ we can and will sing “It is Well with My Soul”.

I pray that this foretaste of our gathered worship for this upcoming Sunday has whetted your appetite. I pray that you come expectantly, longing to hear from God, longing to rejoice alongside fellow believers, longing to magnify Christ in all things. I love you and I look forward to making much of God together with you this Sunday.

Your brother,
Rich Tuttle

The Twistgum Letters: A Steady Diet of Shadows and Puddles

2011-05-16T11:46:00.000-05:00

The following is the third in a series of letters written by Arch-demon Twistgum to his nephew Baleswarm. How these letters were obtained is unknown, however it is obvious that they were not intended to be read by human eyes. From the letters we can deduce that Baleswarm has been assigned to tempt, hinder and ruin a Worship Leader, a subject matter in which his Uncle Twistgum has many years of demonic experience.

Dear Baleswarm,

Music. That wretched weapon. Were you dealing with any other human Subject I would be quick to advise you to avoid it altogether. It’s too slippery. Even when it is in the hands of those outside the Enemy’s camp it somehow (in some blasted confoundable way!) is able to point back to the Enemy. Some call it beauty. I call it putrid. Too many demons have sought to wield it, allured by its power, thinking they might harness it for our cause, thinking they’ve succeeded by their efforts only to be thwarted by our cunning Enemy. But you, my dear Baleswarm, because of the office of your Subject, cannot help to avoid it. But thankfully for you, Music (in and of itself) will not need to be fully dealt with, as your subject deals almost exclusively in Song. There are few things more to be feared than Song in the Enemy’s hands and used expressly for his purposes. Therefore there are few things more effective to deceive the Enemy’s people than our use of Song. I’ve explained to you before that the best way to achieve our cause is to allow the Enemy’s people to think they are doing their Master’s will. And to that end, Song is ripe for the picking. Heed my advice and worry not about melodies or harmonies or singing ‘in tune’. For now, focus all of your attention on the words that are sung.

It is to your advantage, Baleswarm, to seek to remove as much of the Enemy’s truth from the lyrics as possible. To achieve this you must play an old, reliable card: Give the people what they want. You know as well as I do that humans, by their very nature, abhor the Enemy’s ‘truth’ almost as much as we do. It frightens them. It makes them uncomfortable. It is strange and foreign to them. And most of all it changes them. So it is imperative that you see to it that your Subject gives them what they want—Safety, Comfort, Familiarity.

See to it that he tends to choose songs that give only a partial picture of who the Enemy truly is and what the Enemy has really done. Bathe them with platitudes and generalities. Give them nothing of depth. Let them think the puddle is the ocean. Let them think the shadow is the substance. And all the while see to it that your Subject sees the results of his ‘success’! This will give him a wholly firm, yet false, confidence and assurance that his Master is pleased. If you are able to bring this about it will likely result in one of the following ways:

In the first scenario, your Subject will continue the splendid cycle of giving the people what they want, resulting in more ‘success’, and like a pied piper he will ever lead them further from the Enemy’s truth. Their theological course has been set. And now if any of the Enemy’s servants try to ‘right the ship’ we will find that our job to devour and destroy will become a mere spectator sport.

The second result we may see is that in light of this great ‘success’ your Subject will begin to feel the ‘weight’ of responsibility to keep both his Master and his congregation pleased. If it comes to this and if you have indeed heeded my council thus far by pressing Guilt upon him and remain vigilant in disrupting communication then we will find a most glorious result from this new ‘weight’. Your Subject will soon begin to think, whether consciously or ignorantly, that he is now the Mediator who stands between his Master and his congregation and that worship is now dependent on him. But of this I have much more to say and must address it in another letter. For now I am eager to hear more about your devilry. So I end this letter that I may speed our correspondence.

I close by reinforcing my prescription for both your Subject and the congregation through your Subject—A steady diet of shadows and puddles.

Your Most Worthy and Esteemed Uncle,

Twistgum

Good Friday Hymn

2011-04-22T12:53:00.000-05:00

Here's a song I recorded this morning with nothing but my guitar, free recording software, and an Xbox microphone. Hope it brings joy to you on this Good Friday as we look upon the cross of Christ.

When On The Cross words by John Newton, music by Rich Tuttle

When on the cross, my Lord I see,
Bleeding to death for wretched me,
Satan and sin no more can move,
For I am all transformed to love.

His thorns and nails, pierced through my heart,
In every groan I bear a part;
I view his wounds with streaming eyes,
But see! he bows his head and dies!

Come, sinners, view the Lamb of God,
Wounded and dead, and bathed in blood;
Behold his side and venture near,
The well of endless life is here.

Here I forget my cares and pains;
I drink, yet still my thirst remains;
Only the fountain head above,
Can satisfy the thirst of love.

Oh, that I thus could always feel!
Lord, more and more thy love reveal!
Then my glad tongue shall loud proclaim
The grace and glory of thy name.

Thy name dispels my guilt and fear,
Revives my heart, and charms my ear;
Affords a balm for every wound,
And Satan trembles at the sound.

The Twistgum Letters: Ignorant Subversion of the Enemy’s Will

2011-02-04T09:05:00.001-06:00

The following is the second of a series of letters written by Arch-demon Twistgum to his nephew Baleswarm. How these letters were obtained is unknown, however it is obvious that they were not intended to be read by human eyes. From the letters we can deduce that Baleswarm has been assigned to tempt, hinder and ruin a Worship Leader, a subject matter in which his Uncle Twistgum has many years of demonic experience.

Dear Baleswarm,

Regarding your man’s soul—this cannot be helped. He is held firm and fast in the clutches of the Enemy, never to be released. The goal therefore, is not to tempt him to ‘switch sides’ but rather push and prod him in such a way that he unwittingly undermines his Master. Get your Subject to mistake his will for his Master’s will. Once he supposes his own efforts and reasons are ‘righteous’ then we have him, for no topic or issue will be too inconsequential. Every molehill will be a mountain. If you can muddle his mind about whether it is ‘right’ or not to sing ‘this or that’ or if it is appropriate to play a certain instrument or any other matter of insignificance then your Subject will be well on his way to achieving our objective.

The best way to accomplish such marvelous devilry is to cut off all of his communication with his Commander. As you have no doubt learned at Minion Academy, Our Father Below is adamant about this. Aim your sights at the clearest channels; Prayer and the Book (that blasted indestructible Book). This will greatly increase your ability to influence your Subject to make decisions according to his own “wisdom”.

Regarding Prayer, it is the way in which our shrewd Foe has ‘opened the lines’ allowing his servants complete and free access into his very presence. Disrupt that communication. Dish out problems that he feels he can handle on his own, in his own power. For a time this will give him a tower of confidence but we know that this tower will soon fall and if the lines of communication have been successfully disrupted then your Subject has no where else to turn for help other than himself, which is for our ends quite satisfactory. It is good news indeed to hear that your Subject often falters in this area. Exploit it. Throw Guilt against him and fasten it with nails. Use everything at your disposal to cause him to forget prayer or more importantly to Whom he is praying. But I warn you, Baleswarm, be on your guard, for the reality may be that he turns to the Book. And this is simply unacceptable.

From your descriptions it seems unlikely that your Subject will give up the Book without a fight. You said yourself that he ‘submits to it’. Well, if you are to achieve this goal of your Subject’s ignorant subversion of the Enemy’s will then in this area you must be highly deceitful. However, deceit is a tricky business. In situations such as this we cannot simply cast our nets in full view, this is too obvious. No, we must seek to entangle him strand by strand and knot by knot, so that his hands are bound before he can loose his feet. In the Book the Enemy has clearly put forward His agenda. His will is clear for all to see. It seems highly unlikely that you will be able to get your Subject to doubt it, not yet at least, so begin to lay your strands by getting him riled up over the fringes. It really matters not which topic he enthralls himself with, just as long as it has nothing to do with the central menacing message about the Enemy’s Son. The more enamored he becomes with one small part of the Book the more likely he will invert the entirety of it. The danger is that nearly every part points, one way or another, to that horrible event of the Enemy’s Invasion and the Mission He accomplished, so make sure whatever pet project your Subject piddles with always points away from the confounding cross.

There is much more about this that I would like to share with you my dear nephew, but that would require getting into specifics. Take these general recommendations and apply them to your situation, and as this correspondence continues I shall assist you in tailoring the finer details that pertain to you and your Subject. As for now, time grows short (it ever grows shorter!) and I am needed for council in another matter. It appears that your brother Grimstone’s Man (a deacon) has his church in such upheaval that the ‘sheep’ will soon be scattered. Such delight!

Your Most Esteemed Uncle,

Twistgum

The Twistgum Letters: Baleswarm’s New Assignment

2011-01-17T11:48:00.002-06:00

The following is the first of a series of letters written by Arch-demon Twistgum to his nephew Baleswarm. How these letters were obtained is unknown, however it is obvious that they were not intended to be read by human eyes. From the letters we can deduce that Baleswarm has been assigned to tempt, hinder and ruin a Worship Leader, a subject matter in which his Uncle Twistgum has many years of demonic experience.

Dear Baleswarm,

It is only natural that you have sought my advice; my experience in this matter far exceeds the training you received at Minion Academy. Although I don’t see why you have delayed in requesting such knowledge from your dear Uncle Twistgum, I suppose it is now neither here nor there.

The duty of oppressing a minister of the Enemy can be extremely taxing so I am pleased to hear that you are making inroads with your newest assignment. But I fear this early success has given you a false impression of the battle to come. The consistency of weekly gatherings (upon that most wretched of days) in which your subject leads the Enemy’s camp with the most abysmal, and yet most potent form of worship—Song—will no doubt severely hinder your efforts, causing you much frustration and agitation. And this is merely a byproduct. I dare say you have your work cut out for you if your subject approaches his duty with any sort of seriousness and devotion. Know this Baleswarm, though the task is great the rewards are even greater, for your subject is but the first in a long line of dominoes, cause him to fall and many will follow.

Your efforts in sowing the seed of Pride on account of his office are valiant but I fear it is rather a premature step. For the Enemy is a crafty tyrant who will allow your subject to fall exposing his Pride and will soon remedy the situation. So heed my advice and start with the man in a more subtle manner. Instead of Pride start with Guilt. Because the Enemy has qualified this man for such a position, rather than achieving it on his own, the groundwork is already laid for us. All you must do is continually point out his unworthiness of such a ‘high’ office (‘Worship Leader’ is such an arrogant title, is it not?). Amplify his sinful past. Leave abundant snares of temptation. Make sure those closest to him remind him of his faults. Once this foundation is laid it is vital for your subject to strive for worthiness in anything but what the Enemy has determined. Distract him with ‘good’ things. Rigid Attendance, Musical Excellence, Recognition, &c. It is important that you be ready with a new distraction, however small, for your subject will be restless in his search for worthiness. If all goes according to plan your subject will be driven to Pride, not because of his office (as you are attempting), but because of his efforts to validate himself as one worthy of such an office. His unceasing, unsatisfying search for worthiness will remain fruitless and, left to this course, will turn into despair. Suddenly his office becomes a thing to be despised. Misery and Depression will turn into Anger and Resentment. Oh, such joy!

At this point any number of wonderful things might happen. He may resign (good, though now he has less persuasion on other souls), or he may leave his current post for another (better, for we can now assist in building his new ministry on bitterness and disdain), or he may spread his infected influence on others under his care and fragment his congregation the same way a sledge hammer might fragment a window (best of all, for obvious reasons).

I look forward to hearing about your progress in this magnanimous endeavor and I implore you to give careful consideration regarding my instruction on this matter in our future correspondence.

Your Esteemed Uncle,

Twistgum

Bifrost Arts: Conference on Liturgy, Music & Space

2010-12-01T11:45:00.000-06:00

In March of 2011 Bifrost Arts will be presenting a conference based on curriculum entitled "Liturgy, Music, & Space". The lineup of speakers and leaders looks to be incredible. I'm really excited about this. Here's what they say on their website:

Each week, we tell our congregations a story with how we use liturgy, how we use music, and how we use space in worship. Bifrost Arts has developed a small group and Sunday School curriculum entitled "Liturgy, Music, & Space" to help churches walk through a coherent, biblical view of how these elements of worship are forming us.

Join us from March 29-31 as we present this curriculum at a conference with lectures, workshops, and times of worship in St. Louis, Missouri with:

Nicholas Wolterstorff
Bryan Chapell
Greg Thompson
Kevin Twit
Betsy Steele Halstead
Isaac Wardell
& The Welcome Wagon.

Conference fee is $150. Discounts are available for students and church employees from small congregations.

So many reasons to be excited about this. Bryan Chapell wrote the amazing book "Christ Centered Worship" (which you can find a link to at the bottom right of the blog). The book has virtually revolutionized the way I approach the construction of a worship service. Kevin Twit is the founder of Indelible Grace. If you are a reader of my blog then you will know the major respect I have for Indelible Grace. We regularly use their hymns in our worship. Isaac Wardell is the masterful Creative Director of Bifrost Arts. I had the privilege to be led in worship by Isaac at the Crowder's Fantastical Conference. Wardell is the real deal. The Welcome Wagon were also at Crowder's conference. I even got to chat for a few minutes in the hotel lobby. They are amazing, humble, and authentic folks who create great art that accentuates the gospel.

I am going to try to make every effort to be there. It will be difficult since the conference is in the middle of the week but this is just too good to pass up!

If you want more information go to the Bifrost Arts website here, or their Facebook page here.

Giving New Life to Old Hymns: Part II

2010-10-29T09:20:00.000-05:00

In Part I we discussed 3 ways in which we can revive hymns in our local congregations. We briefly touched on the most prevalent way which is to Re-tune, that is, taking an old and often unfamiliar hymn text and writing an original tune for it. We went into a bit more detail for the other two; Rearrange and Rewrite. Today we will look at the last two ways in which we can serve our congregations by reviving hymns: Replace and Redeem.

Replace
This is perhaps the easiest way to give life to an old hymn. Replace the hymn text that is associated with a familiar tune with an unfamiliar text. With good judgment and common sense you should be able to do this with just about any old hymn text. Most hymns are written in a particular metre so that they might be sung to any number of tunes that are also in the same metre. Many people find it humorous that “Amazing Grace” can be sung to the tune of “Gilligan’s Isle” or “House of the Rising Sun” but the reason for this is because the text and tunes of all of these songs were written in what is known as Common Metre. Common Metre can also be read as 8.6.8.6. This is simply a reference to the amount of syllables which are found on a particular line of the song. Line 1 has eight syllables while Line 2 has six.

There are all types of metres and most modern hymnals contain an index of metres so that you can easily match a text with a tune. I have flipped through my copy of Spurgeon’s “Our Own Hymn-Book” and have found a text in Common Metre at random: Hymn 494, written by Joseph Humphreys in 1743. You can easily sing this text to the tune we commonly use for “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”:

Come, guilty souls, and flee away
Like doves to Jesus’ wounds;
This is the welcome gospel-day
Wherein free grace abounds
God loved the church, and gave His Son
To drink the cup of wrath:
And Jesus says, He’ll cast out none
That come to Him by faith.

This is immensely simple and there are a million possibilities. Where I serve, we recently sang a song by Isaac Watts to the tune of “Jesus Paid it All”. The tune is known by most but the text is completely new to all. The tune for “Jesus Paid it All” is not exactly easily applicable for many older texts as the metre is a bit irregular, but finding and fitting a text was relatively painless.

The text I used by Watts was originally written in Small Metre, which is 6.6.8.6., however I had to tweak the wording slightly to fit the tune but I am confident that no harm was done to Watts’ original. For the refrain I simply used the last verse which serves as a fitting response for the other verses to revolve around. I have italicized the refrain below.

Sing His Bleeding Love
(to the tune of Jesus Paid it All)

Not all the blood of beasts
On Hebrew altars slain
Gives the guilty conscience peace,
Or wash away the stain

But Christ, the heavenly Lamb,
Takes all our sins away;
Sacrifice of nobler name
And richer blood than they

Believing, we rejoice
To see the curse removed;
O Praise the Lamb with cheerful voice,
And sing His bleeding love

My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of Thine,
Like a penitent I stand,
And there confess my sin

My soul looks back to see
The burdens Thou didst bear
Hanging on the cursed tree
And hopes her guilt was there

Another aspect of replacement is simply the opposite approach. Instead of replacing a familiar text with an unfamiliar one, try placing a familiar text with an unfamiliar tune. There are tons of tunes, all listed by metre, over at CyberHymnal. Do some clicking around and listen for some tunes that you believe might connect with your people, or find tunes that might capture a certain mood. Make note of those tunes and grab a familiar hymn text and match it with this unfamiliar tune. The result will be that the text is now sung in a different light, hopefully exposing truth in a fresh or greater way to your congregation.

Personally I would love to find an old tune hidden away that would re-energize a hymn like “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood”. Such a great text that has become attached to a decent catchy tune, however to me the tune gives off a ‘1946 Tent Revival-ish’ kind of feeling that has the capability to become sappy and sentimental.

Redeem
In some aspect every hymn that is tailored and tweaked is being redeemed in some form or another. In a previous example I showed how I used Rearranging and Rewriting to give new life to “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior”. That hymn has in a sense been redeemed and now serves useful in its new purpose to our congregation. In fact many songs I’ve tried to redeem are songs from the late 19th and early 20th century, mainly because the tunes are often familiar but the content is rather shoddy, or vise versa, the content is solid but the tune is pretty hokey.

But when I speak of Redeeming a hymn I also want our focus to be a little narrower. The way I am thinking of Redeeming is taking a hymn, or a verse from a hymn, and correcting it in such a way that it exposes the truth in a better way. This may be theological or grammatical and may call for removal or replacement or both.

As a side note I should mention that we should first determine if the hymn is worth redeeming at all. If the text is junk and the tune is junk then you should probably put it out of its misery. A song that is not worth redeeming to me is a song like “In the Garden”. Aside from it being a theological monstrosity, the text is sappy and the music is sappier. I am content to junk it.

But there are many hymns that are well loved and often times their flaws or shortcoming are overlooked. Again, we should always keep our congregational context in mind as we seek to redeem hymns. The word ‘fetter’ may be fine for a particular congregation while another congregation is left wondering what in the world a ‘fetter’ is. Here are a few things I have done:

The carol “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” is loved and sung by millions around Christmas time every year. It also has a great tune. But the problem with this carol is that there is no mention of Christ! There are subtle illusions to Jesus, but the song is essentially about singing angels and peace on earth. The reason for this becomes a bit clearer when we understand that the author, Edmund Sears, was a Unitarian who did not believe in the divinity of Christ. Knowing this, when it comes to selecting carols for worship what do we do with this old, beloved song? Do we scrap it or redeem it? I decided that for my congregation I would seek to redeem it. So I sat down with pen and paper and intentionally put Christ into the song while maintaining the flavor of the song so that this extra verse didn’t feel like it was out of place. Now the congregation sings these lines as either the first or last verse:

He came down from His heavn’ly throne
Into a world of death
And with His perfect sacrifice
the sinner now is blessed
Though as a Child in manger lay,
He still is Christ the King
“All glory be to God on high!”
the saints and angels sing

A simpler example of this might be the changing of a word or two simply for clarification. The gospel song “To God be the Glory” contains amazing lyrics, packed with the language of the atonement. However there are a few words that I have changed for clarification. During the first verse we sing of Jesus:

Who yielded his life, an atonement for sin
And opened the lifegate that all may go in

These words are true, but there remains the possibility that one may be led to believe that when Jesus “opened the lifegate that all may go in” that it includes those who enter in without faith or without belief in Jesus. To some this seems like a very minor issue. To myself, also, this is a fairly minor issue, but I would rather fix a minor, almost unnoticeable, crack before it gets chipped away and becomes a glaring hole in someone’s understanding of the gospel. So I changed the wording to:

And opened the lifegate, by faith enter in

I’ll admit that it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the same way but it get’s the point across and there is no confusion as to how one ‘goes in’.

When Charles Spurgeon was compiling a hymnbook for his people he amassed nearly 1000 hymn texts, yet he was compelled to compose a few hymns himself. In the preface to his hymnbook he writes, “The editor [Spurgeon] has inserted with great diffidence a very few of his own composition…and his only apology for so doing is the fact that…he could find no version at all fitted for singing, and was therefore driven to turn them into verse himself.” Spurgeon wrote new texts for his people because he knew his people. The reason given is that, in a few cases, he could find ‘no version at all fitted for singing’. This is a very subjective statement. Perhaps the church down the street would find it rather fitting to sing the very songs Spurgeon chose to substitute. Spurgeon understood his congregation and their context and served them accordingly. When you tailor and tweak these hymns for your congregation you are doing the same thing. You understand your congregation and their context and you serve them accordingly. Always remember that the treasury of hymns can be a toolbox for ministry.

I would love to hear what you have done to Retune, Rearrange, Rewrite, Replace, Redeem, and ultimately Revive hymns in service to your congregation.

Giving New Life to Old Hymns: Part I

2010-10-18T09:13:00.003-05:00

I am so grateful for the abundance of hymnody that has been passed down to us throughout the ages. I am also grateful for the resurgence of these hymns through groups and ministries like Indelible Grace and Red Mountain Music. I really feel that one of the reasons this resurgence has some real oomph behind it is that reviving hymns accomplishes two important things at once: On one hand it establishes a real connection with our Christian forefathers and on the other it is immensely authentic.

The connection to the past is obvious, but I say that this reviving of hymns is authentic because it gives our congregation a real voice. We are able to say the same thing that Isaac Watts said but in our own context. The ability to take the texts of these old hymns and give them new life in the midst of our congregations is an amazing gift to the modern church. And again, while I am grateful that there are groups and churches out there doing this, I want to encourage the local church worship leader to begin doing this as well. As talented as Matthew Smith is, he ultimately doesn’t know your congregation like you do. You have your finger on the pulse of your congregation; you know their needs and what they need.

Beyond Re-Tuning
Much of the focus of this resurgence of hymns has been writing brand new tunes to old hymn texts. Though it is hardly a new concept, I’ve heard this idea cleverly called a Re-tune. This is the most obvious way hymns are being used in this resurgence, however the idea of giving life to old hymns doesn’t always have to end with a new tune. For local worship leaders the goal shouldn’t be writing a new tune, the goal should be serving your congregation with this ancient treasury of hymns. There are a variety of ways we can use hymns to serve our congregation aside from writing a brand new tune. I want to offer a few other suggestions beyond Re-tuning that will allow you to tailor hymns to serve your people.

Tailoring and Tweaking our Treasured Hymns
Inspired by the phrase Re-tune I have categorized a few ways we can tweak, tinker with, and tailor this massive treasure of hymnody we have at our disposal. Aside from a complete Re-tune I have come up with four ways in which we can do this: Rearrange, Rewrite, Replace, and Redeem. Some will overlap, but I believe we can utilize each one for the glory of God and the edification of our churches. We’ll look at two of these today and two in a later post.

Rearrange
One very easy way to give a hymn new life is by rearranging it. I find that this has worked best for me with some of the old familiar gospel songs that often have a refrain after each verse. A simple way to rearrange this type of song is to not sing the refrain after every verse. For example, for the song “The Solid Rock” you might begin with the refrain:

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

Then sing Verse 1 followed by Verse 2. Only after Verse 2 would you sing the refrain once more. This is only a slight change but it will be breath of fresh air to a congregation who has sung it the same way for most of their life. Compare the arrangements side by side:

Normal      Rearranged
Verse 1       Refrain
Refrain        Verse 1
Verse 2       Verse 2
Refrain        Refrain
Verse 3       Verse 3
Refrain        Verse 4
Verse 4       Refrain
Refrain

The trick however in rearranging is to not mess up the logic of the original text, so you likely wouldn’t sing “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” in reverse or in a mixed order. But you can still rearrange a hymn by repeating a verse or portion of a verse at the end of a song. Use it as a tag to reinforce the theme of the hymn or to expose a particular truth that you want to drive home. In this case, at the end of “Come Thou Fount” you might repeat the middle of the last verse:

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it
Seal it from Thy courts above

Rewrite
Rewriting is the opposite of Re-tuning. This is taking a familiar tune and writing brand new words to it. Perhaps a tragedy has taken place in the church and you cannot find the words to say in any particularly familiar hymn, nor does the congregation have the time to learn a new song during their heartbreak. Penning new lyrics to an old tune can be a powerful tool to serve your congregation well. If you are able to give your congregation new words to sing in a familiar way that meets them where they are, there is likely no better way a worship leader can serve people in a time of grief. This can be done for many different seasons in the life of a local church.

Rewriting can also be used to reinforce a certain theme or a particular truth that the pastor might be preaching on. This is a good way for you and your pastor to team up for the cause of the gospel. Again, familiarity with the context of your local congregation is key.

Rewriting can also be a good starting place for you and for those interested from your congregation to begin re-tuning your own hymns. Instead of worrying about an original tune, begin with a familiar tune. This instantly gives you a way to see if the words you write are singable and at the same time automatically provides a particular mood for your song. Perhaps you will be content to simply sing your new song with the old tune, but don’t be afraid to branch out every now and then and try a new tune. This is a great first step in hymn writing.

Below is an example of a Rewrite I did earlier this year with “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior”. I must admit it is only a partial rewrite because I only rewrote the refrain based on the verses. The reason for this rewrite is because I felt like this song had become a one trick pony. The only time we broke it out was after the sermon, and then we only sang the first verse and refrain. I had always felt that the remaining three verses were more powerful than the first, but the refrain always pulled us away from the truths explored in those verses. So I ditched the first verse and rewrote the refrain section based on its preceding verse. Instead of a constant refrain pleading to Jesus “Do not pass me by” there is now a logical progression that runs through the song from unbelief and sorrow, to salvation and grace, to eternal joy through Jesus. The tune remained the same, but now the song has been set free and we’re able to use this song in a more meaningful and purposeful way in our service. The verses are original and the italicized refrains are my additional rewrites.

Let Me at Thy Throne of Mercy
(to the tune of “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior”)

Let me at thy throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief
Kneeling there in deep contrition;
Help my unbelief
Jesus, Jesus help my unbelief!
Glorify the Father through my
sorrow, loss and grief

Trusting only in thy merit
Would I seek thy face
Heal my wounded, broken spirit
Save me by thy grace
Jesus, Jesus, save me by thy grace!
Through the cross have mercy on all
sinners in this place

Thou the spring of all my comfort
More than life to me
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in heav’n but thee?
Jesus, Jesus; More than life to me!
Endless pleasure! Joy abounding!
All are found in Thee

In my next post I’ll discuss two more ways in which we can use the treasury of hymns to serve our congregation. In the meantime I hope that this post has encouraged you to begin not only selecting hymns, but utilizing them in skillful ways to serve your church.

Matthew Smith, Indelible Grace, and My Hymn Seminar Notes

2010-09-17T11:32:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I attended a seminar on Hymns with Matthew Smith from Indelible Grace Music. If you are unfamiliar with Indelible Grace I would encourage you to check them out immediately. Indelible Grace is a group that Matthew Smith has participated in for about 10 years and they are rooted in the college ministry of the PCA called Reformed University Fellowship (RUF). They are doing something the church has done for a long time, which is putting hymn texts to modern music. It sounds simple enough but the practice, for the most part, has fallen by the wayside in our day and age of modern, cutting edge, happy-clappy worship songs. They are a driving force in the resurgence of hymnody today.

At the seminar Matthew Smith gave a brief history of his life as a worshipper and how he got involved with Indelible Grace. I was struck by how similar our stories are. He grew up in a Christian home, led worship for the youth group, and felt like a failed worshipper. Much of his guilt and feelings of failure were a direct result of the songs they sang and what he falsely thought worship should be. Matthew said he had a hard time explaining this feeling but I knew exactly what he was talking about. In some ways he felt as if worship meant that he had to ‘disconnect’ in some since and ‘attain’ a certain ‘level’ of worship for worship to actually occur. The songs they sung (as did I) were songs that said, “I want to” and “I will do” and he felt the weight of failure on his shoulders. Then he discovered RUF in college and was intrigued by two things; the acoustic guitar folk rock music caught his eye first, but what really kept him and drew him in were the hymns they were singing. The hymns placed all the emphasis on Jesus rather than on himself. Matthew had found that which released him of his feelings of guilt and failure in worship; instead of the world becoming a fuzzy disconnect that he always thought it should be, the world actually became more real, it became clearer and sharper in focus. I don’t know if this resonates with you but I completely understand where he is coming from, and so I found much encouragement and confirmation in my own story after hearing his.

After this Matthew gave a brief, but loaded presentation about why we need hymns and why he and Indelible Grace love the hymns so much. Before he began he made clear that when he talks about Hymns he uses the word ‘hymn’ as being distinguished from what many people consider as hymns, such as the Gospel Songs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Gather Music, etc.

I’ve listed the notes I took below. I summarized a bit but all of it is derived from what Matthew said.

Hymns engage our:

Imagination – Hymns paint a picture and they can be both personal and universal at the same time

Intellect – Hymns make you think about what you are singing – they help people engage or participate in worship more fully – the over all theme of a hymn should be understood after singing it once, but it needs to be sung over and over to better understand it.

Will – Hymns make you want to live differently rather than telling you to live differently – they have a shaping quality that assists the singer to change certain beliefs – Hymns say things you don’t want to say

Emotions – Hymns effect our emotions without being emotionalism and without manipulation – When you cry to a country song, it’s because the songwriter wanted/intended for you to cry. When you cry to a hymn it is because the hymn writer is crying with you. We share the emotion with the writer. (Matthew used the country song example because he knows of artists in Nashville that do it.)

Hymns are:

True – Hymns tell the truth about who we are and who God is

Good Theology – Hymns contain good (sound) theology – Kevin Twit says “Hymns are theology on fire” which means that hymns convey theology not in a stoic or stagnant kind of way, but it gives theology life and it spreads and is efficacious

Beautiful – Hymns are not just a tool to be used for practical purposes, ie. Just to teach, or for evangelism, etc (I tend to be guilty of this) – Art that is only practical is propaganda – ‘beauty’ does not equal ‘pretty’, beauty can be ugly – bad art lies and at it’s worst lies about the human condition

(As a side note I would add on my own that Hymns are also authentic. In that they were written most often for the hymn writer’s local congregation to aid in worship rather than written to be sold as a product to consume. I wish I would have thought of this during the discussion time to hear Matthew’s thoughts…anyway, back to the notes.)

Good Writing and Bad Writing

CS Lewis – he referred us to what Lewis had to say about the difference between good and bad writing. Although he didn't quote it, this is the quote he was referring to:

'In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us the thing is “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers “Please, will you do my job for me.”'

Bad Writing tells you how to feel (ie. That woman is beautiful)

Good Writing describes and displays the woman in such a way that the reader can only come away with the conclusion that the woman is a knockout.

According to this criterion, hymns would be considered “Good Writing” whereas most modern day praise songs would likely be considered “Bad Writing”. Where a modern praise song might say, “Jesus is amazing” a hymn would take three or four lines (or maybe the whole song!) describing and displaying Jesus in such a way that the singer can only come away with the conclusion that Jesus is amazing.

Then we moved into a Q&A/Discussion time that produced some great food for thought:

When asked what makes a hymn a hymn (as in distinction to modern songs) Smith said it has much to do with the form of the hymn. The secret weapon/advantage of the hymn is that it is Verse, Verse, Verse, Verse and develops a thought without interruption (the interruption typically being a chorus). But he was quick to point out that the chorus in many songs are not bad, but the verses of these songs tend to point only to the chorus so the development of thought isn’t always as strong as a hymn.

When discussing archaic language Matthew was not against changing language so that modern readers might understand, but he also felt it was perfectly fine to leave archaic language as it was written just the same. In doing so the singer will have to think and learn. He said he doesn’t have a rule about it because a hard and fast rule such as this destroys art.

The best part of the discussion was when the topic became sadness or darkness (in a sad since) in hymns as opposed to happy, peppy, chipper songs. Before I attended this it was a strong conviction of mine that the church must sing songs that prepare people for suffering, and sing them every week, and after listening to this discussion I am even more encouraged and fully strengthened that my conviction is valid. Here are four quotes that I wrote down during that discussion:

- When planning a service or when selecting songs: “Never aim for happy—always aim for joy.”

- “Mournfulness in songs doesn’t equal Mopey-ness.”

- “Jesus was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. If your songs don’t reflect that you’re picking the wrong songs.”

- In discussing how people at an A.A. meeting can often times be more honest than at church and how the church is a place for broken people: “The church should be a place where if you boast in yourself you should look stupid. Go play golf stupid.”

Following the seminar was a concert with Matthew and the Indelible Grace band. These guys not only love hymns and make a great case for them, they make excellent music for us to sing them to. I praise God for Indelible Grace and others who continue to put great music to great hymn texts.

Crowder's Fantastical Church Music Conference

2010-09-02T13:30:00.002-05:00

At the end of September, my wife and I (and baby Arwen) will be travelling to Waco, Texas to attend David Crowder’s Fantastical Church Music Conference. This is a conference that seems a little outside of the box, which I really like. But ultimately there are 3 things that really drew me to the conference. 1) It is a conference on church music 2) The amazing line-up of speakers and artists 3) It looks to contain a sizeable Reformed Voice.

A Conference about Church Music

I like that they say that this is a ‘church music’ conference. This is a great umbrella word that covers both music produced by the church for worship and music produced by the church for art. The reason I’m psyched about this is because it’s the first ‘popular’ conference I’ve seen that doesn’t confuse the two from the outset. There are a million ‘Worship Conferences’ that have nothing to do with worship (or worship music for that matter…). Here are a few (subject to change) workshops they list:

Songwriting - Speaking The Collaborative Language of Music During Worship vs. Learning Worship Tunes Verbatim from the Latest and Greatest CDs - The Functional Limits of Creativity - A Short History of Church Music - Worship and Justice - From Sunday to Sunday: A New Old Vision for Worship; Liturgical Spirituality for Post-Modern-Semi-Reformed-Hipsters - Tech and Production

If they survive the cut I’m really looking forward to attending Songwriting, The Collaborative Language vs Learning Worship Tunes Verbatim, and A New Old Vision for Worship.

Speakers and Artists

I am really excited for the speakers and artists that they have lined up. In one panel discussion alone are three of my biggest modern influences on worship, worship music, and songwriting; Bob Kauflin, Matt Redman, and Derek Webb. Just these three guys together would be enough to get me down to Texas. But alongside the big names like David Crowder Band and Hillsong are some lesser known groups like Bifrost Arts and The Civil Wars. For guys like me, I’d rather listen to Bifrost Arts over Hillsong any day. I’m really looking forward to hearing some of the other artists I’m not familiar with.

But there will be more than just opposing styles of music, there will be some clashing theologies as well. One of the big name speakers is Rob Bell. Now one thing Rob Bell has going for him is that he’s really cool and hip. But Rob Bell is pretty far out there theologically. I think it will be interesting to see the contrast between Bell and let’s say, Bob Kauflin or Francis Chan. So the divide theologically and stylistically in the artists and speakers who will be there will be interesting to witness firsthand.

Sizeable Reformed Voice

I would first say that this in no way appears to be a “Reformed” conference. The presence of Rob Bell and a few others puts to death that idea. It appears that the conference is aiming at (what one of the workshops calls) Post-Modern-Semi-Reformed-Hipsters. But you really can’t deny the influence of Reformed theology on many of the speakers and artists. And it’s not only that many of them adhere to Reformed theology, but they all seem to come from different streams of Reformed theology, most of whom I’ve already mentioned. You have the Passion guys Louis Giglio and Matt Redman, Sovereign Grace Pastor Bob Kauflin, Francis Chan, and Derek Webb. Crowder is a reformed guy in the Passion stream as well. I’m excited to see and hear from these guys in the midst of a conference that seems to reach out to, not only the reformed, but to the ‘emerging’ and what I’d call the ‘Pop-American Christianity’ crowds. So I wouldn’t call this event a ‘Reformed Conference’—it would be more accurate to describe it as a conference that includes a sizeable and influential Reformed voice. And to be honest, the fact that this is not a ‘reformed conference’ makes it that much more attractive. I’ve been to those and you know exactly what you’re going to get (both positively and negatively…).

In Summation

So my overall impression of this conference is that it is going to be fun and interesting. I’m looking forward to the info coming from the guys who’ve inspired me, ready to hear some music I’m not familiar with, and ready to connect and network with some like minded folks down in Texas.

If you are a reader of Sound Doxology and you are attending this conference I would love to hook up with you! Just drop me a line in the comments below or shoot me an email at sounddoxology AT gmail DOT com and let’s set something up.

(And if you happen to be speaking at the conference or performing I’d love to hook up with you as well. I promise to say something nice about you on my blog... Perhaps an interview?…I don’t know, have your people call my people, let’s do lunch...)

KC Worship Conference Update

2010-08-06T12:34:00.001-05:00

Wornall Road Baptist Church has just posted more info about the upcoming WorshipKC10 Conference with Don Whitney and Ron Owens including the Schedule. I've listed all the info below.

WorshipKC10 - NOT FOR WIMPS

Saturday August 14, 2-9PM
Wornall Road Baptist Church, Kansas City, MO

LEADING US

Dr. Don Whitney serves as Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he also serves as Senior Associate Dean. Before that, he held a similar position (the first such position in the six Southern Baptist seminaries) at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, for ten years. He is the founder and president of The Center for Biblical Spirituality. He is the author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, How Can I Be Sure I'm A Christian, Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, Simplify Your Spiritual Life, and Family Worship.

Ron Owens and his wife Patricia have been used by God in an amazing ways for decades all over the world. Serving alongside Manley Beasley, Ron was co-founder and co-director of International Congress on Revival. He also served alongside Stephen Olford. From 1991 – 2000 he served as associate to Henry Blackaby in the Office of Prayer and Spiritual Awakening at the North American Mission Board. The Owens served as worship consultants to the International Mission Board. Their published writings include: Return to Worship They Could Not Stop The Music, Worship: Believers Experiencing God (Co-authored with Henry Blackaby) Manley Beasley: Man of Faith, Instrument of Revival, Iris: Trophy of Grace.

SCHEDULE

Saturday August 14
1:00– 2:00 PM Registration, bookstore and coffee shop open
2:00-3:00 Worship and Revival with Ron Owens
3:00-4:00 Dr. Don Whitney Reforming worship part 1
4:00-4:15 Break
4:15– 4:45 Worship and Revival with Ron Owens
4:45– 6:15 Dr. Don Whitney Reforming worship part 2
6:15– 7:00 Dinner served and questions and answers from Ron and Don
7:00- 7:30 Worship and Revival with Ron Owens
7:30– 9:00 Dr. Don Whitney Reforming worship part 3

Sunday August 15
9:30– 10:30 Dr. Don Whitney an introduction to Spiritual Disciplines in the worship center, open to everyone
10:45– 12:00 Worship with Ron Owens, ordination of three pastor leaders by Wornall Road Baptist Church and the sermon by Dr. Whitney

Sunday evening Sycamore Hills Baptist Church in Independence would like to host Ron for an evening of Sermon and Song.

PURPOSE OF THE CONFERENCE

In the work of reforming a local church, no area is more important than reformation in worship. This conference helps to build the Biblical basis for and provides practical steps to reforming congregational worship. The teaching is suitable for the entire church body, but it also works well for the pastoral staff, church leadership, and/or the worship leadership team.

With Dr. Whitney leading us, this conference is built upon two major principles. First, worship is focusing on and responding to God. Biblical worship is, of course, the worship of God. Therefore everything in the worship service should be focused on God. And because of the greatness of the One focused upon, however much that we focus upon Him, to that degree we will respond in worship.

Second, worship is to be done in Spirit and truth. While most true believers have a general idea of what it means to worship in Spirit, few have a clear grasp of what it means to worship in truth. The failure to measure worship by this standard Dr. Whitney believes, has led to most church conflicts over worship.

Ron Owens will guide us in worship and share powerful truths about the relationship between revival and worship. Ron has an abundance of knowledge of Revivals in various times and places. Understanding more about true revival will help us embrace true, God focused worship.

FOCUS

Move deep into the heart and substance of worship at Worshipkc10. Worship is not just a verb. Too much of our worship is focused on our experience, on our feelings, on performance, on light , sound , video, on our preferences or getting us ready and worked up to hear the sermon. No wonder our people are confused about worship. Unpack the true Biblical nature of worship in the local church. Understand the role of worship in the life of the church and in the life of the Christian. Listen to, learn from and share with two of the most experienced and gifted leaders teaching on worship in the world today. If you attend one worship conference this year, make sure it is Worshipkc10 - Not for wimps.

DINNER/BOOKS

At Wornall Road we love the deep things of God and great BBQ. A BBQ dinner is available at no cost. If you know you are coming please text or call 816.260.3332 by August 12 to let us know how many in your group will be sharing dinner with us. You can also register for dinner the day of the event before 3PM. (we will take donations to offset the cost of the meal)

There will be a bookstore with Don & Ron’s books and other related resources.

PARTNERS

This very unique event is sponsored by Wornall Road Baptist Church and our partners, The Spurgeon Baptist Association of Churches and the Blue River - Kansas City Baptist Association.

NO COST TO ATTEND
With a desire to increase the passion for and knowledge of Biblical worship, we are pleased to provide this entire conference at no cost to the participants.

John Newton, 285 Years Old Today

2010-08-04T11:30:00.001-05:00

John Newton was born July 24th 1725. However, after Britain switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, Newton himself considered his birthday to be on August 4th. So 285 years ago on this day John Newton was born.
John Newton was so much more than just the man who wrote Amazing Grace. His life and conversion are as if pulled straight out of an adventure novel. His marriage and love for his wife put to shame any romance movie. His friendship with William Cowper is legendary and worthy of emulation.

The impact he has had on not only Christianity, but the entire world is simply astonishing. I am continually amazed (but more and more less surprised) every time I come across some great event or great movement or great man of God and find that I can trace it back somehow to Newton. Most people know that Newton was instrumental in William Wilberforce’s life. It is not hard to imagine that if there were no Newton there would be no Wilberforce and who knows how long slavery would have endured in England (and quite possibly America).

Perhaps a lesser known story is the part that Newton played in the beginning of the modern missions movement. When people think of modern missions the name William Carey comes to mind. But Newton plays a large role behind the scenes in this as well. Newton wrote constantly, advising and encouraging and training a young John Ryland, who along with Carey formed the first missionary society. Ryland was one of “three ropes” that held Carey as the “Father of Modern Missions” went off to preach the gospel in India. Not only did Newton play a large part in Ryland’s life, but also directly influenced William Carey himself. When Carey realized the near impossibility it was for missionaries to enter into India (due to the trade regulations and policies of the East India Company) he sought out Newton for advice. Carey asked what he should do if he was unable to enter and Newton replied, “Then conclude that your God has nothing there for you to accomplish. But if He has, no power on earth can hinder you." These words gave Carey the tremendous strength to carry on. Again, the case could be made that if there were no Newton then there would be no Ryland and if there were no Ryland there would be one less person to “hold the ropes” for William Carey. The mission society would not have been started and it is doubtful that Carey would have even made the trip, especially without the crucial advice and encouragement from John Newton.

And these examples are only the tip of the iceberg. It would take a scholarly work to figure out the exact impact John Newton has made (and continues to make) throughout the world and I doubt one could do it accurately. To say that John Newton’s life had a ripple effect would be an understatement. The man was a tidal wave.

Theologically Newton was a Calvinist, however he likened his Calvinism in preaching and his writings as sugar being mixed and dispersed in a cup of tea. It is abundantly evident when you read Newton because his lips are laced with the sovereignty of God. You cannot avoid it.

Instead of outright attacking heresy and false teachings Newton felt that, “The best method of defeating heresy is by establishing the truth.” This, I believe, is a major reason why Newton could be friends with both George Whitfield and the Wesley’s and remain friends with both parties even after Whitfield and the Wesley brothers bitterly split over theological differences. The friendships were so deep in fact that Charles Wesley requested that Newton be a pallbearer at his funeral. This spirit of gentleness and kindness mixed with an unflinching stand on truth and sound doctrine is what attracted and still attracts so many to John Newton. John Piper desires that Pastors would imitate John Newton by being “as strong and durable as redwood trees, and as tender and fragrant as a field of clover—unshakably rugged in the "defense and confirmation" of the truth, and relentlessly humble and patient and merciful in dealing with people.”

I could go on, and I’m tempted to do so, but I hope that the previous paragraphs have inspired you, at least a little, to do some research about John Newton on your own. I’ll only add that I cannot say enough about John Newton. The more I find out about him the greater I admire him. I find that I can relate to him in ministry and I strive to imitate his example. Simply put, he’s my hero.

Links on John Newton for further research:

Worship Leaders: Imitate John Newton - previous Sound Doxology post

John Newton's Approach to Hymn Writing - previous Sound Doxology post

John Piper Sermon on John Newton - simply excellent

The Cowper and Newton Museum in Olney - lots of good info and pictures

The John Newton Project - possibly the best John Newton site on the web

Thank God for John Newton - from Desiring God

John Newton's Olney Hymns - pdf version. must have.

Cardiphonia - from Google Books. These are Newton's collection of letters

Books

Letters of John Newton

The Works of John Newton (6 Volumes)

Wise Counsel: John Newton's Letters to John Ryland Jr.

John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace

Out of the Depths (Newton's Autobiography)

KC Worship Conference with Dr. Don Whitney and Ron Owens

2010-07-30T11:38:00.003-05:00

I am really excited for this upcoming conference on Biblical Worship that is being hosted at my church in August. Don Whitney (who is pretty much the man) will be our main speaker alongside Ron Owens. It's an all day event that includes a BBQ dinner and there is no cost!

Dr. Don Whitney is the Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and is the author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Back when Don was a professor at Midwestern here in Kansas City I was privileged to be present on a couple occasions when he taught and preached at a local church. His lessons on Spiritual Disciplines has had a lasting impression on me (especially actually resting on the Sabbath) and I often go to his website for his articles and advice on worship.

Ron Owens has worked alongside Henry Blackaby in worship ministry for many years and is the author of the book Return to Worship: A God Centered Approach. I ran across this excellent book about 10 years ago. It was a very key book early in my ministry that struck a pretty severe blow to my faulty understanding of worship. I am thankful to God that I read this book at a relatively young age (around 17 or 18) and I can definitely look back at that time period as a pivot point in much of my theology of worship and Ron's book played a large part in that. His website is here.

Not only will these men be in town for the Worship Conference but they will also be here for an ordination service for three men, including myself. Dr. Don Whitney will be preaching and Ron Owens will be leading worship. I am humbled at God's grace and gifts and am greatly anticipating that day.

If you live in driving distance to the KC area this is conference is definitely a must. If you live a little further out and need to stay overnight, contact our church (info below) and we'll point you to some good hotels or whatever you need. You will simply not find another Worship Conference in the Midwest of this quality for free.

Further Information about the Worship Conference:

WorshipKC10- Not for Wimps

A major conference on Biblical Worship will be held Saturday August 14 from 2 to 9 PM at Wornall Road Baptist Church. Our two featured leaders will be Dr. Don Whitney of Southern Seminary and Ron Owens, who for many years was the ministry associate to Henry Blackaby.

WorshipKC10 is an ideal conference for pastors, worship leaders and their ministry teams, and will benefit anyone who desires to learn more about Biblical Worship.

We are passionate about worship and helping others learn about worship so there is no cost for this event and a BBQ dinner with our two speakers is included. The conference and the dinner are free so come hungry for the Word and hungry for some excellent KC BBQ!

Please respond via Facebook or contact the church office at 816.444.8900 or wornallroad@gmail.com so we can have a headcount for dinner. And be sure to check out http://www.wornallroad.org/ for more info!

And be sure to stay tuned, I'll be posting the upcoming Schedule for the conference soon!

Blog Partners with Westminister Bookstore

2010-07-15T11:20:00.000-05:00

I am happy and honored to announce Sound Doxology's new partnership with Westminister Bookstore through their Blog Partners program. Through this program Westminister Bookstore has given me a personal address so that I may link to their website from my blog.

The program is actually pretty cool, especially for this blog. It gives me the opportunity to show you guys some awesome resources and books offered by Westminister Bookstore (something I have done and would have done anyway) while at the same time giving me the opportunity to earn credit at their store. I earn credit when readers click the links I post from Westminister Bookstore. You can read more about it here.

Here's the deal. Even before this partnership Westminister Bookstore (wtsbooks.com) was the place I went to for two reasons: selection and price. You will not find junk here. Everything they carry is solid theologically. You can trust what they carry is the best. And they carry the hard to find books too! Books like this. Not only that, but you really can't beat their prices. When I first discovered Westminister Bookstore a few years back I was on the lookout for The Reformation Study Bible by Ligonier Ministries. I couldn't find the leather bound edition anywhere for under $60. But wtsbooks.com was selling it for under $40! (and they still are...)

I'll add this too. Last year, when I purchased Christ-Centered Worship by Bryan Chapell they sent along with the book a CD and a letter explaining that Bryan Chapell had recently preached at Westminister and they thought that I'd also enjoy his sermon. I don't know how common it is for them to send along free stuff with the purchased product, but I really liked that they did that. I think it speaks to the integrity and character of those who run the store.

All of that just to say that I really do like and use and recommend Westminister Bookstore. They aren't telling me what to advertise and I wouldn't recommend anything to you that I didn't personally use or trust.

I'll be straight with you. I love me some free books. But I also love to give my readers good information regarding worship and all things related to sound doxology. So this partnership is a win-win situation. So if you're looking for a place to find some good books please consider stopping by Sound Doxology first, clicking the links for books and other resources I put up here on the blog (and not just the ones from wtsbooks either!). They are solid resources; resources I have and would have recommended anyway. And it'll help me out a bit too. (It'll help me save up for the awesome 6 volume collection of The Works of John Newton!)

Many thanks to Westminister Bookstore for such an awesome idea!

"Give 'Em Watts, Boys!"

2010-07-06T12:57:00.002-05:00

“The Battle of Springfield” - June 23rd, 1780
Six-thousand British troops invaded New Jersey with full force. The opposing American forces were outnumbered 5 to 1. The British slowly pushed the Americans back, deeper into Springfield, New Jersey. Despite being pushed back the American defense was holding and the British were taking a beating. But during the battle the American troops ran out of wading for their muskets. This would have likely been their downfall had it not been for the quick thinking of Rev. James Caldwell. Caldwell and his men fell back to a Presbyterian church and Caldwell ran inside gathering all the hymnals he could find—which were at that time Isaac Watts’ editions—and began flinging them to the men, yelling as he did so, “Give ‘em Watts, boys! Put Watts into ‘em!” and instructing them to “fill the British with doctrine from the hymnals.” The battle waged on and the British eventually retreated and never invaded New Jersey again.

"Give 'Em Watts, Boys!"
Two things pop out at me when I read that story. The first is that it is such a good story it is almost unbelievable. It seems like it comes directly from a Hollywood script. But the story is true and very well documented. In fact the phrase “Give ‘em Watts, boys!” has lived on as a motto in that region.

The second thing that hits me is how that motto could (and should) be used today in the church. I want to revitalize it and give it new meaning. I want to use it as a new battle cry, but this time instead of using it to inspire men to pump Red Coats full of lead I want it to inspire men to use and continue using the great hymns of our faith. I have yet to encounter any songwriter or lyricist who can capture the gospel in poetic English the way in which Watts, Wesley, Newton and other hymn writing giants have done. This is not to say that we should only sing Watts and those like him (though we would hardly be at a disadvantage if we did), but rather we should not abandon the songs and hymns these men have given to us. I am all for writing new music and new words. Every generation should do it! But I am not for discarding that which has come before us, as is the unfortunate habit (or is it philosophy?) of many churches. I am convinced that a church’s theology is more likely determined by the songs they sing rather than their written statement of faith. And at a time when many churches are considered trite or flippant or even weak, a little Watts could serve as a shot in the arm, maybe even a catalyst for change.

If I had a group of worship leaders, pastors or any manner of church leaders before me, I would encourage them to either bring back or continue steadfastly using the old hymns for their congregations. I would bark at them like a General, “Load ‘em up with Wesley!” “Put Newton into ‘em!” “Give ‘em Watts, Boys! Give ‘em Watts!”

Worship Ministry Advice via The Resurgence

2010-06-16T15:12:00.002-05:00

The Resurgence has posted a few advice articles dealing with worship ministry that I think are great. They are short and sweet and to the point. Something that I should probably work on…

So far they’ve released three excellent articles. The first two are by worship pastor Joel Brown:

His first is: 3 Priorities When Preparing Music

Great, great stuff.

Priority #1 – Truth

Priority #2 – Corporate Response

Priority #3 – Musical Style, Arrangement, and Execution

The second article by Brown: The Medium Matters: Is Music as Important as the Message?

This is an incredibly important message for worship leaders. When we look at the music we select we should always consider the words we sing first, then the music, but that doesn’t mean music takes a back seat! Music should complement the words in such a way as to amplify them. I’ve written more about that here.

And as much as I agree with everything in this article, I do want to point out one small matter that perhaps could use some further clarification by the author. When speaking of diversity he says, “A good sign that you have the right balance of styles is if every congregant has one band they love and one band they hate.” I understand what the author is getting at, but practically speaking I don’t think this is something we should aim for. I’m all for diversity, but I don’t think churches necessarily need 12 different bands with 12 different styles. But that’s all I disagree with, if you can even call it a disagreement.

The last and most recent article is by worship pastor Tim Smith:

Don’t Forget Your Acoustic Guitar

Instead of focusing on practical issues for worship leaders, Tim gives props to the acoustic guitar. He talks about the benefits of leading with only an acoustic and how it can build you up as a leader as well as allowing you more freedom. Sorry keyboard players…

If you have never visited The Resurgence then you are missing out on some great and wonderful teaching. I would encourage you to visit it on a weekly basis.

The Personal Worship Experience vs Corporate Worship

2010-04-27T11:17:00.000-05:00

I ran across two excellent pieces today concerning the “personal worship experience” and “corporate worship.” The first is an article from Christianity Today called “The End of Christianity as We Know It.” You can read the article here. The author, Mark Galli, discusses what has become known as the ‘worship experience’ and the similar effects a ‘worship experience’ produces compared to hallucinogenic drugs. It is a good article that exposes North American Christianity’s obsession with the worship experience. Here are a couple of quotes from the article:

“It's a lot of work to fast and pray and worship and deny oneself—and even then, experiencing God is a hit or miss proposition! What's the fuss if we can pop a mushroom and have a nearly guaranteed religious experience?”

“If religious experience is something that a drug can induce even more easily than spiritual ritual and disciplines, it may be time, for example, to rethink what many churches are trying to do on Sunday morning: create a memorable "worship experience."”

“We are shortchanging our people when we make worship mostly about experience or a pep rally to motivate people to good deeds. We practice religious neglect when we fail to witness to them the saving story of God in Christ and train them to be fellow witnesses of that story, so that they might share that story with a world that does not know its left hand from its right.”

After reading this article Dr. Ed Steele, Associate Professor of Music at the Leavell College of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, reflects at his excellent blog Worship HeartCries about ‘corporate worship’ and the ‘personal experience’ by asking the question: What is Congregational Worship?

It is apparent from his post that Dr. Steele has been pondering this subject for a while but the connection to the Christianity Today article must have inspired him to write. Dr. Steele does a fantastic job pointing out that the solution to the ‘personal experience’ is found in true, biblical, corporate worship. Dr. Steele also does a fine job portraying the line between personal worship and corporate worship, a subject that I see too many times being overlooked which, in my opinion, then becomes the root for the ‘personal worship experience.’
Dr. Steele ends with five things that should happen on Sunday morning when we gather for corporate worship:

1. We must teach what biblical worship is and isn’t. There are still many people that believe that “the music is the worship...”

2. Personal worship is indispensable. We must feed daily on God’s Word; we must immerse ourselves in His presence in prayer. There are no substitutes for personal time with the Father.

3. Personal worship is not a substitute for corporate worship. We are baptized into the Body of Christ and are members of His body. There is no biblical idea of a member of the body existing apart from the body.

4. Corporate worship must facilitate worship that centers itself around Jesus Christ as His Body. The focus of corporate worship is not a focus on personal experience.

5. We must begin to learn what it means to live and worship as the Body of Christ. Personal preference is willingly subjugated for the good of the whole body.

There is much more that could be said about these topics but for now I would encourage you to read both of these articles. I would love to see this discussion continue and take a higher priority throughout the church. Please feel free to start that discussion in the comments section!

Worship Leaders: Imitate William Gadsby and Charles Spurgeon

2010-04-21T08:56:00.002-05:00

"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." -Hebrews 13:7

In the time span of over 50 years two hymnbooks were published in the 19th century. William Gadsby published his hymnbook, now known as Gadsby’s Hymns, in 1814 (and later in 1838) and Charles Spurgeon published his hymnbook, known as Our Own Hymn-book, in 1866. Both men compiled these hymnbooks in a very comparable fashion and I think it is worth our time to find out why and imitate their example.

While both men have many admirable qualities that would be beneficial for Christians to study and emulate, I want to focus on the strikingly similar pastoral concern that both men had for their congregations concerning the worship of God through singing. From reading the preface of each hymnbook we discover the reasons why Gadsby and Spurgeon made the effort to compile their hymnbooks in the first place. I want to take a look at what reasons both of these men gave in their own words and see how we might benefit as worship leaders by imitating these two great men of faith.

Gadsby’s Reasons

When Gadsby became the pastor of his church they had already been established in singing hymns from Watts, Hart, and from Rippon’s Selection. He writes, “Though some of these hymns are big with the important truths of God, there are others…which give as legal a sound as if they had been forged at a certain foundry. This was one reason which induced me to publish a selection. Another was, we had three editions of Hart’s Hymns amongst us, either differently arranged or differently paged; so that when any of those hymns were given out, one part of the congregation was unable to find them. These circumstances, together with a desire in my own breast and the express wish of others to have a selection of hymns in one book free from Arminianism, and sound in the faith, that the church might be edified and God glorified, were what induced me to attempt this work.”

(For Gadsby's Preface click here)

Spurgeon’s Reasons

Spurgeon wrote a bit more about why he felt it necessary to compile a hymnbook but we can gather his primary motives through the following excerpts:

“Our congregation has long used two hymn-books [Watts and Rippon]…and we should most probably have been very well content with those books had it not been for difficulties connected with the remarkably complex arrangement of their content. To strangers it was no small task to discover the hymn selected for singing; for, in the first place, there were two books, which was in itself an evil; but the matter was made far worse by the fact that these two volumes were each a puzzle to the uninstructed…We felt that such ought not to be the state of our service of song.”

“None of the collections already published are exactly what our congregation needs, or we would have cheerfully adopted one of them…Our congregation has distinctive features which are not suited to every compilation, not indeed by any known to us.”

“Subjects frequently passed over or pushed into a corner are here made conspicuously the themes of song; such, for instance, as the great doctrines of sovereign grace, the personal Advent of our Lord, and especially the sweetness of present communion with Him.”
(For Spurgeon’s Preface click here then scroll down)

Concern for Order, Unity and Intelligibility

Both men laud the efforts of the likes of Dr. Watts’ and Dr. Rippon’s collections but they understood that the way in which their congregations used these wonderful resources hindered worship greatly. The collections were contained in multiple volumes and editions which lead to endless page-flipping and book switching after every song. Various editions of the same hymnbook would produce confusion as to which hymn number the congregation was going to be singing and certain verses might be laid out in a different order or omitted altogether.

The lack of a uniform means of presenting songs no doubt led to an improperly ordered service. The lack of participation due to these reasons led to disunity. Both of which led to unintelligibility of praises. Spurgeon writes, “The providence of God brings very many new hearers within the walls of our place of worship, and many a time we have marked their futile researches, and pitied the looks of despair with which they have given up all hope of finding the hymns, and so of joining intelligently in our words of praise.”

These men saw a problem and out of their concern for congregational order, unity and intelligibility they produced a hymnbook which accomplished all three. Not only did this solution edify the church, but it also broke down unnecessary barriers to unbelievers who might visit.

Concern for Sound Doctrine

It is apparent that both men had a deep concern for their congregations to have a steady diet of sound doctrine in their hymns. Gadsby introduces his hymnbook with Psalm 47:7 “sing ye praises with understanding.” Both men were aware of the educational impact of hymns and sought to squelch shoddy theology and emphasize that which is good. Spurgeon made it a priority to not only include doctrinal songs but to highlight them and push them to the forefront of congregational singing. Gadsby, a true Strict Baptist of his time and a man of stronger backbone than most today, found it necessary to not only emphasize sound doctrine, but to make sure his collection was devoid of Arminian theology. Here both men are truly acting like Shepherds for their congregation; guarding, tending and feeding all at the same time.

Concern for Their Flock
Ultimately these men cared greatly and deeply for their congregations. They wanted to see the praises of God sung orderly, with unity and intelligibility, through sound doctrine “that the church might be edified and God glorified.” And while I am sure that these men loved the Church universal, it is abundantly apparent that they loved their local congregations very, very deeply. The hymnbooks that they produced for their churches are landmarks of this love. That Spurgeon’s compilation became known as Our Own Hymn-book is evidence enough that the local church was the primary focus of the project.

Gadsby and Spurgeon knew their congregations intimately enough to recognize that they couldn’t just copy or mimic another congregation. They needed to produce something specifically for their people. Spurgeon recognized that his congregation’s “distinctive features [were] not suited to every compilation.” Gadsby gave ear to the “express wish of others” concerning content for the hymnal.

Another indication of the love and concern these men had for their flock is the fact that they composed hymns for them. Gadsby composed and included over 150 hymns in his compilation. Spurgeon composed several himself and tells us why. “The editor [Spurgeon] has inserted with great diffidence a very few of his own composition, chiefly among the Psalms, and his only apology for so doing is the fact that of certain difficult Psalms he could find no version at all fitted for singing, and was therefore driven to turn them into verse himself.” Spurgeon knew what his congregation needed and he supplied it, however hesitantly, out of love.

An additional point we should consider is the way in which both men seem to be plainly aware of Christian Pop-culture’s influence on their congregational music. In deciding how to shape his hymnbook Charles Spurgeon writes,

“We have not cast about for models suggesting by the transient fancy of the hour, but we have followed the indications given us in the word of God and the long established usage of the universal church; desiring to be obedient to the sacred precept, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom: teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

And Gadsby takes aim at Watts and Rippon’s work, saying that some of their hymns “give as legal a sound as if they had been forged at a certain foundry.” The imagery he offers is that these popular songs, which are gospel-less, are being pumped out of the same mold (sound familiar?). Neither Spurgeon nor Gadsby attempted to copy Christian pop-culture but instead “followed the indications given us in the word of God.” And this was done out of a love for their church.

What This Means for Us

There is much we can learn from William Gadsby and Charles Spurgeon and their compilation of hymns for their congregations. Though we could spend hours discussing ways in which we could imitate these men (and I hope this does spur more discussion!), I want to look at three concerns they had that we would be wise to imitate in our ministries.

1) Imitate their concern for order, unity and intelligibility in worship. What is it that hinders any of these aspects as it relates to your congregational worship service? What are you going to do to remove those hindrances? Is it a visual issue? A sound system issue? A leadership issue? Whatever the case, I encourage you to read through 1 Corinthians 14 and prayerfully consider those things that hinder orderly, united, intelligible worship.

2) Imitate their concern for sound doctrine. Don’t just throw in a song every now and then because it has a lot of doctrine. I encourage you to make doctrinal songs a priority in your congregational singing! Emphasize theology! The more you know about God the more you will love God! Spurgeon puts it this way, “Oh, if you knew Him better, you would fly to Him!” Ask God which aspects of the worship service have overlooked or shoved specific doctrine into the corner.

3) Imitate their concern for the local church. The motive of all of this reforming was a deep love for the church. Both men wanted their hymnals to be of service to their local churches specifically. Any blessings that the hymnbooks might have outside of their local congregations were simply afterthoughts. Do you love your church enough to attend to their needs, guided by Scripture or are you trying to shoe-horn in the latest popular worship fad? Are you depending solely on a Worship Industry to direct your worship planning or do you have one ear to Scripture and the other to the congregation? Pray that God would increase your love for your local church. Ask God to reveal to you the “distinctive features” of your congregation and then seek to find the best and most biblical way to serve them.

I mentioned before, these men like Shepherds did their best to guard, tend and feed their flocks. The hymnbooks they produced sought to accomplish just that. This is the duty of all those who lead and minister the congregation. As a worship leader you have the privilege and responsibility to care for your people when selecting and leading songs and when you plan (in whatever capacity) the worship service. Take time to meditate on passages such as John 21:15-19, and the books 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. Imitate great men of faith like William Gadsby and Charles Spurgeon and shepherd the flock with similar concern.

Learn More:
Purchase a copy of Gadsby's Hymns and Our Own Hymn-book from Grace and Truth Books
More info as well as some sermons and letters from William Gadsby
Tons of great info and more about Spurgeon can be found at The Spurgeon Archive
Also, I highly recommend checking out Red Mountain Music. They have done an excellent job of re-tuning a few of Gadsby's Hymns.

The Effeminate Worship Leader

2010-04-13T13:20:00.003-05:00

A Note Before We Begin
Let me start by addressing a very sensitive related topic. I know that churches approach the subject of female leadership differently. Some find it acceptable to allow women to lead in every area of leadership in the church while others don’t even allow women to speak. The Bible is clear that men and women are valued by Christ equally (Gal. 3:28), they are spiritually equal, yet God in His sovereignty designed the roles of man and woman to reflect Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:24). God designed men and women differently so that they would find joy and a since of fulfillment in their particular role (Gen. 2:18). That said, a church that believes the biblical model of the roles of men and women will be shepherded only by men (1 Tim. 3:1-5).

On the same hand, we should also note that churches approach the position of worship leader differently. Some regard the position as a pastoral/elder led position while some regard it as simply a good singer leading songs to help the congregation. Depending on the church’s approach on the worship leader position a church might find it acceptable for a woman to lead worship. So with that out of the way, when I speak of The Effeminate Worship Leader, I am speaking about male worship leaders.

The Effeminate Worship Leader
There’s no real easy way to put it. I could beat around the bush and sugar coat it a bit, but in the end it would probably come off as more offensive than necessary. I’ll try to look at all sides to squash unnecessary offense so that the offense that will inevitably come might be helpful rather than harmful. But I want to address something that I’ve noticed and I am sure many others have observed and that is the Effeminate Worship Leader.

You’ve seen him. You know who I’m talking about. A little too sensitive, overly-emotional, flamboyant is a term that comes to mind. Usually it is seen as just an “artsy” thing. For some reason—and I just can’t put my finger on why—these guys are everywhere in Evangelical Christianity. I know I’m not completely off base because it has unfortunately become a stereotype. But I’m not just basing this off of stereotypes; I’ve noticed it many times personally and have had conversations with others who have noticed it as well. In some circles it has become a kind of in-house joke that the worship leader is metrosexual. And a metrosexual, if you are unfamiliar with the term, is basically a dude that acts like a chick (ie. effeminate). To make my point here’s a link to a humorous Christian satire site that provides a scorecard so you can rate how metrosexual your worship leader is. (I scored a 4 out of a hundred some points by the way…)

I know this isn’t a politically correct topic, but to me, it is a serious one. We can laugh it off with a wink, wink and giggle about it behind closed doors but there comes a time when leaders need to have their feelings hurt and be told to act like a man for the good of the church, the good of the gospel, and for the glory of God.

The War on Masculinity
Our culture is inundated with the lie that there is no difference between male and female. Everything is rapidly becoming gender-neutral. Actually it is more than being gender-neutral; plain and simple our culture is striving to become genderless. And one of the best ways to become genderless is to remove the very trait that has the courage to fight against it, masculinity. Boys are expected to act like girls at school, and when they don’t they get medicine shoved down their throats until they do. Homosexuality is glorified through media, academia, and legislation while any voice of resistance is slandered as hatred, intolerant, backwards and stupid. Feminism has practically stated that their goal is the eradication of masculinity. I could go on but the reality of our culture’s genderless agenda is all around us.

The Lack of Masculinity
On top of the bombardment of masculinity through genderlessness, it is also important for leaders to note the lack of masculinity in our society. Not only is fatherlessness a major problem in our society, but it isn’t even a stretch of the imagination to think how a child can grow up and never have any meaningful connection with a man. It’s easy to picture a child raised only by his mother, who goes to school taught by only female teachers, and perhaps gets a job where the boss is a woman. What’s wrong with that picture isn’t the amount of feminine influence; it is the lack of masculine influence, and that’s the ever increasing direction of our society. The lack of masculinity only fuels the fire for the war against masculinity.

What's the Big Deal?
So what does our society see differently when they go to church? I’m afraid in many cases they see only a mirror of the same effeminate culture. There is a time and a place to discuss the lack of masculinity in the church as a whole, and many helpful books and articles have been written to address this problem but I have never found one which focuses on worship leaders in particular. Though in snippets it has been discussed elsewhere perhaps I might be allowed a bit more liberty since I am a worship leader (and I have long hair too…).

I don’t know if I can put my finger on the exact reason why there are so many effeminate worship leaders. No doubt our society has played a part in producing men who think it’s cool or hip to be womanly, especially when it involves music. It is not uncommon for male musicians to wear eyeliner or paint their fingernails. People think of artists as having strictly feminine characteristics. They are viewed as sensitive, emotional, moody, frail, weak, and soft. In fact, this argument has been presented to me as an excuse for an effeminate worship leader. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it, that’s just how artists are.” Perhaps that’s how artists are expected to act in the world, but not in the church. However, if your worship leader is simply an artist and nothing more then, effeminate qualities aside, you need a new worship leader.

But should effeminacy in worship leadership really be addressed as a problem? Is it more than a pet peeve? Does it actually covey something to those who are being led? The answer to all is yes. If effeminate leadership reinforces a culture which opposes the gospel, then it is more than a pet peeve, it is a problem.

The songs that are sung, how they are sung, the clothes that are worn, and the manner in which one carries himself—whether in front of the congregation or not—all communicate something to those who are being led. And for those of us who are ministers of the gospel we not only represent ourselves and our church, but Christ whom we preach (or sing about). And if we lay aside our masculinity, the world notices nodding in agreement, the devil breathes a sigh of relief, and Christ is put to shame.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t expect anyone to lead worship with a gun or a Rambo headband. I’m not advocating for anyone to leave one stereotype and pick up another. I’m not saying you cannot be emotional. But what I am advising is to be aware of how you present yourself to a watching world and to not lose hold of your masculinity.

Act Like Men!
Paul encouraged the Corinthian church, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (1 Cor. 16:13) Paul is in essence saying, “Don’t act like women!” He is saying; Be watchful, like men! Stand firm in the faith, like men! Be strong, like men! Act like men! This is a message Satan and the world doesn’t want us to hear. It is countercultural. To the world this is just another one of those sexist, bigoted parts of the Bible only ignorant people believe. Their message is this: Don’t be watchful, be open! Stand firm in the faith that is right for you! Don’t be strong, be sensitive! Act like a woman! (By the way, the gender-neutral TNIV tries to side-step Paul and translates “act like men” as “be courageous”)

Men follow men. Women follow men. It is how God has designed us. When Adam surrendered his masculinity and failed to lead Eve, John Milton calls this move “effeminate slackness.” Adam took the route of effeminate slackness and switched the designed roles of man and woman, and when God approached Adam about his sin Adam pointed to the woman like a coward.

Jesus understood that people followed masculine men (and why shouldn’t the creator of the universe understand that?). In Matthew 11:7-9 we read, “Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John [the Baptist]: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes.” Jesus’ point is that the people went out to see a prophet, a truth teller and one who was prophesied about who would point the way to Christ.

But look how Jesus presents this to the people. He asks two questions that are designed to focus upon John’s masculine qualities. “Did you go to see a reed shaken by the wind?” John wasn’t a coward. John was no shaking reed, he was watchful, firm in the faith, and strong. Then Jesus asks a question regarding attire, “Did you go see a man dressed in soft clothing?” It is interesting to note that the Greek word for “soft” in this sentence is malakos, which is associated with effeminacy. John was not “soft” like the king’s men. Neither his style nor surroundings were effeminate. John wore camel’s hair and lived in the wilderness while the king’s men wore feminine clothing and lived in luxury. Jesus assumed the people understood the contrast.

Ministers Need to be Masculine
So while His point was that the people went out to see a prophet, Jesus centered their attention indirectly on John’s masculine characteristics as well as his masculine attire and environment. Why? Now pay attention here; Jesus is linking John’s masculine qualities to John’s office as a prophet. John’s office as a prophet required masculinity. Why? Because no one is going to listen to a cowardly weakling who shakes like a reed in the wind! Because no one is going to take seriously the message of a man who lives and dresses daintily like a woman! The same is true for shepherds and ministers of the gospel today. And if you lead worship by placing words into the mouths of those you lead, assisting the congregation in response to God through Christ, proclaiming the good news to those that gather then you are a minister of the gospel and your role is a masculine one. Even if you are a woman, you are to lead like a man. Deborah was a woman who led Israel in the time of the Judges. When no man would lead, she led like a man.

Can you imagine what the church would look like if her worship leaders were no longer thought of as limp-wristed, girly men but rather strong, watchful warriors who are firm in the faith? Can you imagine how Satan and the world would react? It would be all out war. John the Baptist lost his head. But as it is now Satan and the world are content to leave the Effeminate Worship Leader alone.

So where do we go from here? I have no formulas or methods but for starters let’s take the Word of God seriously. Recognize that God designed leadership roles to be masculine. Resist the temptation of the devil and the world to become gender-neutral or genderless. Take advantage of the great resources the church has produced about biblical masculinity. Raise your sons to be men. Ask God to help you understand what it means to be a man and how to lead like a man and ask others to pray for you. If you have succumbed to the temptation of effeminate slackness or if you tend to be effeminate, then repent and ask God to change you and start to lead your people like a man. Ask Him to root out that which you don’t recognize in yourself to be effeminate. Confide in other believers whom you trust. Remember to rest in the assurance of your salvation in Christ and be thankful for His abundant grace. Then be watchful like a man! Stand firm in your faith like a man! Be strong like a man! And act like a man!

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UPDATE 4-14-10:
I have had some requests to put forward what biblical masculinity should look like. Instead of writing a new post I think it would be of greater benefit to link some really good resources to further our understanding of what it means to be a man according to the Bible. Hope these help.

-"Every Man’s Call to Biblical Masculinity" - Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5
-"Profiling Christian Masculinity" by Stuart W. Scott
-"We Need Some Leaders!" by Bob Lepine
-"Off with the Skirt, on with the Pants" by R.C. Sproul Jr.
-"The Mature Man: Biblical Perspectives on Being a Man in Our Time" by Thomas Bjerkholt
-"Valuing Biblical Manhood" by John Piper
-"Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood" edited by Wayne Grudem (an entire book on PDF)
-"Masculinity Reclaimed Series" from The Resurgence

Doctrine: Free Chapter on Worship and a Review

2010-04-09T08:41:00.001-05:00

Mark Driscoll has recently released a new book called “Doctrine” with Gerry Breshears and over the past few weeks Driscoll has been generous enough to share certain chapters of his book for free. One of the chapters he has given away is the chapter on Worship. You can get the free chapter here.

After reading it I am deeply impressed and greatly encouraged. I have never read a book by Driscoll before but I thoroughly enjoy his writing style. First it is written very straight forward. He uses everyday language without sounding corny or faddish. The style isn’t so much ‘in your face’ as much as it just doesn’t beat around the bush. He doesn’t waste time debating himself about the topics he brings up and he does an excellent job throughout the chapter showing us how customs and worship practices in the past are not very different today. In fact the first four or five paragraphs provide examples of how much really hasn’t changed as it relates to our idolatry.

The premise of the chapter is that “We are not created to worship, but rather we are created worshiping. Everyone worships all the time.” This explodes the myth that we were created to or for worship because as Harold Best says, “This would suggest that God is an incomplete person whose need for something outside himself (worship) completes his sense of himself.” So it is better for us to understand that we were created as worshippers, and Driscoll rightly argues that since we are natural worshippers we are continually worshiping someone or something.

This sets up much of the chapter for something that, in my opinion, has often been overlooked in evangelical circles regarding worship, and that is the subject of idolatry. Driscoll does an excellent job getting to the heart of idolatry, which is namely our hearts. The emphasis is not on those things that are external which we might worship as an idol, but rather Driscoll reminds us that “while idolatry is manifested externally, it originates internally.” Idolatry is closely, though antithetically, linked to worship.

I have read many books and articles and blog posts that espouse the viewpoint that “Worship is all of life” and while I agree that the viewpoint is biblically accurate, more often than not I find myself coming away frustrated. This is because the author usually takes that view and forces it upon congregational worship, as if the congregation were nothing more than individual people expressing their own individual ways in which they worship, and anyone who raises concerns about such worship practices are promptly beat back with the cry, “Worship is all of life.” So it is refreshing to read that Driscoll has an accurate understanding of how corporate worship fits into ‘worship is all of life.’ He says on page 351,

“God must be worshiped as he wishes, not as we wish. The Bible is clear that God is to be worshiped in ways and forms that he deems acceptable. This explains why God judges those who seek to worship him with either sinful forms externally or sinful hearts internally. This is incredibly important. Some churches care more about what is in people’s hearts than about what they do in their lives, whereas others are more concerned about doing things the “right” way and care little about the motivations behind those actions. When it comes to worship, which is all of life, the God of the Bible cares about both what we do and why we do it.”

This flies in the face of an “anything goes” type attitude in worship, that many “worship is all of life” teachers advocate and I am happy to see it written so plainly. Driscoll goes on about what corporate worship should look like and the elements it includes, again in a simple and straight forward manner.
I am not sure what other doctrinal topics the full book includes but the Worship chapter also does a nice job explaining regeneration and it’s implications in regards to true worship (ie. you can’t truly worship without first being born again).

The chapter ends, once again discussing idolatry. This time Driscoll gives a few examples that are “intended to be of some practical help in uncovering our idols so that we can smash them in repentance and worship God alone.” In each case Driscoll shows us that the problem isn’t primarily laziness or anxiety or pornography or drug abuse, but rather the real problem is that those sinful acts are a natural outflow of worship towards a false god. If your body is your god you will worship it. This may be through sex, food, power etc. If comfort is your god you will worship it through laziness, avoidance, lying, etc. And Driscoll recognizes alongside John Calvin that the examples are endless because the human heart is a factory pumping out idols.

I was personally encouraged and convicted after reading through this chapter and I want to pass it along to you in hopes that the same might be true for you. In the very least you will have a better understanding of worship. After reading this chapter I am convinced that I will purchase this entire book in the future. If anyone has read the book (or just this chapter) I would encourage you to comment about it below and let me know your thoughts.

I’ll end with a few quotes I underlined:

“Christians are…defined in terms of the god they worship.”

“Worship is a biblically faithful understanding of God combined with a biblically faithful response to him. Conversely, idolatry is an unbiblical, unfaithful understanding of God, and/or an unbiblical, unfaithful response to him.”

“Just because a practice is ancient does not mean it is Christian.”

“Be careful not to worship a good thing as a god thing for that is a bad thing.”

“The mutual indwelling that God’s people enjoy in corporate worship is essential to our growth personally, joy collectively, and witness culturally.”

“If someone is alive, they are cultural. Furthermore, culture, in general, and creativity and the arts, in particular, are expressions of our worship and do not lead us into worship. When such things as the arts and music are used to lead God’s people into worship, the understanding that we are continually worshiping has been lost and we have supplanted the leading of the Holy Spirit with music and the arts. Such a move is pagan because music becomes mediatorial in a way that only Jesus Christ is supposed to be.”

Worship Leaders: Imitate J.S. Bach

2010-03-16T11:21:00.003-05:00

"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." -Hebrews 13:7

In a previous post I encouraged those who lead worship to imitate the character of pastor and hymn writer John Newton. I would like to continue this theme of emulation by encouraging those who lead worship—especially those involved with music—to imitate Johann Sebastian Bach. In the universe of Music History, Bach might just be the brightest star. It is safe to say that without Bach Western music would simply not exist as we know it today.
J.S. Bach was not a pastor, nor a theologian, but that is not something he was ashamed of because he knew exactly what God had called him to be; a musician. Christoph Trautmann writes:

“Bach was deeply conscious of his own office as a church musician, ordained for him by God through David. Accordingly, the office was in his view not merely the name of a calling or the description of a sphere of activity, but on the basis of Biblical authority he identified himself as a called and ordained servant of the church.” (Cited from Mary Dalton Greer in the book “About Bach” )

One of the reasons we know that Bach felt his office as church musician was ordained by God is evidenced by taking a look through his personal Bible. Bach’s personal Bible in reality was multiple volumes of Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible along with a commentary by Abraham Calov. Over time these volumes were brought together and they now reside in Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. But the most interesting thing to note is that there are numerous notes and underlining’s found throughout the Biblical text as well as the Commentary, not the least of which deal with his theological understanding of the church musician and church music.

We find a note at the beginning of 1 Chronicles 25, a chapter which lists David’s assignment of the Levites in regards to instruments and song, “This chapter is the true foundation of all God-pleasing church music.” Another note in 2 Chronicles 5:12-13 reads, “In devotional music, God is always present with His Grace.”

We also find Bach underlining Luther’s words at 2 Thessalonians 3:12, a passage about vocation, “Lord, I accept my calling and do what You have commanded, and will in all my work surely do what You will have done; only help me to govern my home, help me to regulate my affairs, etc.”

And from this article we read: “Bach's view of music can perhaps best be summarized by his own comments next to passages in 1 Chronicles and Psalms in the Calov Bible. Bach underlined that musicians are to "express the Word of God in a spiritual songs and psalms, sing them in the temple, and at the same time to play with instruments." In the Psalms, Bach underlined commentary which points out that two prophets served King David by playing musical instruments as part of their official duties. Bach saw himself in such an office. He proclaimed God's Word with his music, and he did so with the most beautiful music he was able to compose.”

J.S. Bach and His Personal Study of the Bible
I want to dwell on two aspects we can glean from J.S. Bach and his personal study of the Bible. First, is that which we have already abundantly seen, namely that Bach was fully convinced that his calling as a church musician was thoroughly Biblical. This is very important. This foundation allowed Bach to pour his life into his calling. Think of the ramifications if Bach was not fully convinced his calling was from God. What then would motivate Bach to compose such beautiful and masterful music? How encouraging it is to know that your calling is rooted in Scripture! If Bach were living in the present he might very well be called a “worship leader” as we use the term today. I, along with Bach, find great encouragement in these Old Testament chapters that list musicians who ministered and proclaimed the Word of God through song.

Two simple observations I draw from these lists of musicians found in 1 Chronicles 25.
1) God chose music and song as a way for people to worship and to glorify Himself. And God gave to David the duty of selecting those who would fill that office. We read in verse 2 that these musicians prophesied under the direction of King David. That is, the chief duty of these musicians and singers was to proclaim the inspired Word of God that God gave through David. We have record of this inspired Word in the Psalms.

The importance of this for us today is that the role of the worship leader, church musician, music minister, worship pastor, or whatever title you call it, is a legitimately Biblical office. Though I would be quick to warn and point out that these offices were set up under the Old Covenant. It would be folly if we were to equate these offices as equal to our own today under the New Covenant. However, the principles remain the same, and this Bach understood; God still uses music as a means to glorify Himself and (here’s the important one) those who minster through music are to minister under the direction of the Word of God. This isn’t an argument for the exclusive singing of Psalms but rather a fulfillment and practical application of Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” It’s what I like to call ‘sound doxology.’

2) Another observation I gather from the list of Musicians in 1 Chronicles 25 is that it is simply that; a list. Sure we can learn a lot from this list, but in reality Scripture doesn’t give us very much information about these guys. They are mentioned briefly as being a part of some major events such as when the Ark came into Jerusalem and the Temple Dedication, but beyond that we don’t learn about their “methods” or their “worship set list,” we don’t even learn about their backgrounds. The Bible simply tells us they were there and they did their thing.

What I learn about this is that sure these guys were important, but not as important as we think they should be! Check out Chapter 26. In this passage we find a list of all the assigned gatekeepers. Now I don’t know about you, but when was the last time you saw a “Church Usher Magazine”? How many blogs have you read dedicated to being a Greeter? I don’t say this to downplay the importance of Ushers and Greeters at our churches, but rather to point out the fact that Worship Leaders tend to have huge swollen heads. Hopefully this puts some perspective on the office of worship leader. Your job is important and given to you by God, but in the grand scheme of things it’s not about you.

The second aspect I glean from Bach and his personal study of the Bible is that we notice Bach was a serious student of Scripture. Of course we are all interested in what Bach wrote and underlined about music but we find that out of all of his markings only 3 percent of them deal with music. Bach dug into the entire Word, and not just the parts that he felt applied to him and his calling. When Bach came across printing errors he would correct them in the margin. We even find next to Exodus 38 Bach adding up the amount of gold used to build the temple. Bach was intimately familiar with all of Scripture.

How different would our songs for worship be today if every church musician was as familiar with the Bible as Bach was? Imagine the impact it would make for those who compose songs, those who lead singing, and those who play instruments in our worship services! A life consumed with the Word of God is a life that will overflow with the Word of God. No wonder why Bach’s music is among the best in the world!

On a side note, at the risk of stepping on toes, I feel that this only adds to my conviction that those who assist in leading worship must be Christians. As we have seen, Bach was obviously convinced that the role of church musician was a biblical role, one that he took seriously and devoted his life to it; a life that was rooted and sustained by the Word of God. Why would you want to allow your congregation to be taught, fed, and led by someone who by their very nature despises the Word of God? Even if it’s “just the guy who plays guitar” you are still sending a message to your congregation that: 1) Good sounding music is equal to or more important than worship. 2) Those who lead are not held to a Biblical standard, but rather a Pragmatic standard—therefore, so is the congregation—which leads to a works-righteousness culture and a devaluing of Scripture.

Glimpsing the personal Bible study of J.S. Bach has greatly encouraged me and I hope it does the same for you. From it we find that:

1) Bach was fully convinced that his calling as a church musician was thoroughly Biblical which gave him great courage and great humility as he carried out his duties.

2) Bach came to this understanding through an intimate knowledge of Scripture that was the overflow of his life and work.

O that I might emulate J.S. Bach and soak myself in the Word of God so that it might be the overflow of my life and my work!

If you want to find more info about Bach's Bible check out the following links:
The Calov Bible Wikipedia Page
Watch a Video about Bach's Bible
Christianity Today Article

John Newton's Approach to Hymn Writing

2010-03-08T09:20:00.000-06:00

Fresh off the heels of last month's post about John Newton, I ran across another blog, Cardiphonia, which is going to tackle his hymn writing approach based off of his Olney Hymns.

Here's what they're doing:

This is part (1) of a two-part series looking at John Newton’s approach to hymn writing. In part (2) we will look at the various ways that John Newton approached hymn writing and his influence on songwriters to the current day.

The first post goes through all three books in the Olney Hymns, briefly touching a few songs and subjects and then offer some songwriting tips. Simple and straightforward and I like it.

Read Part 1 here: The Sermon Songs of John Newton

Read Part 2 here: Song Writing 101 by John Newton

I would also encourage you to look deeper into their blog. There's tons of great info and they've done a masterful job at linking loads of resources. http://www.cardiphonia.org/

Interview with the Worship Leader: Mike Ruel

2010-03-05T12:06:00.004-06:00

Over the last few weeks I've been working on a couple of ideas that I hope will make Sound Doxology more encouraging, interactive, enjoyable, and ultimately more helpful in strenghtening our understanding of worship. So today I bring you the first installment of a little segment I like to call "Interview with the Worship Leader". The concept is simple. I interview a worship leader. Okay the concept is really simple... But my hope is that through these interviews we will be able to see things related to leading worship from a different perspective as well as being able to see how God is working in other churches.

In the future I hope to contact the worship leaders who have participated in the initial interview to get their particular viewpoint on certain practical and theological questions and topics related to worship in a type of Roundtable format.

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So to kick things off I am exited to have Mike Ruel as my first guest! I came in contact with Mike through his excellent blog at http://www.mikeruel.wordpress.com/. I benefit greatly from his thoughts and you will too. Let's begin!

Give us the stats. Name, age, family, church where you serve and your role:
Mike Ruel, 39, married...2 kids - son: 12; daughter: 10. I am the Worship Director (Part-time/volunteer) at Green Pond Bible Chapel in Rockaway NJ.

How and when did you know you were called to lead congregational worship?

I had been a professional musician for years, living a sinful life away from the Lord...when the Lord brought me back, I started to get involved in music at the church but really it didn't click until I started to get to know the God we serve thru intense reading of great books, audio sermons, and reading the whole Bible. As these pieces were beginning to form the foundation of the calling, a tragedy occurred and friends of ours lost their 16-month old son. They asked me to lead worship at the funeral. Leading the body to worship the sovereign awesome holy God when we needed Him the most was all the convincing I needed that this is where I felt God wanted me to pursue serving.

Give us a glimpse of what takes place from the end of the worship service to the beginning of the worship service the following week:

At the end of a Sunday service I will briefly touch base with the worship team and tech team to see how everything went from their perspective while it is fresh in their minds. Praying for the worship is a daily thing - so I pretty much immediately turn towards the next weeks' service. Depending on if I'm leading or someone else (There are a few worship leaders on my team) they get their sets to me and we look them over and I send it out to all the teams via Planning Center Online and schedule the teams for the next week....work on rehearsal, etc. We rehearse usually on Thursday nights and we run the set.

Describe from beginning to end what a usual Sunday Morning Worship Service looks like at your church:

I usually get to the church about 8:15am to make sure everything is in place or in process to be ready to go - sound check starts at 8:30am. We typically run thru the whole set once...we pray before we start and after for the Holy Spirit to come and do its work thru us as well as thru the preaching of the Word in the hearts of those attending. We have a 9:30 and 11:00am service. The 9:30 service leans a bit more contemporary (with drums and elec guitar) and the 11:00am service leans a bit traditional (no drums or elec guitar). I try to keep both services musically the same, but sometimes I will switch out 1 song. We also have a 6pm service, but this is much more informal and either I'll just lead on acoustic or another worship leader with piano or guitar.

During a morning service I will briefly welcome the people and we'll get started right away with our Call to Worship - I like to say that I'm reminding them that it is time to worship the Lord our God -- let us worship for he is WORTHY!

Depending on if the choir is singing they will be on stage with us for the call to worship, then they will sing 1 song.

From there we have announcements from one of the Pastors. Which yes...we all dread the flow interruption, but it's a "necessary..."

Then I pray, invite the Holy Spirit to come and work in us, be present with us...maybe read scripture, a paragraph from a book, or briefly introduce why I felt lead to chose the songs we are about to sing.

Then I have about a 4-5 song worship set - I have been talking less during the set and just letting it flow...but sometimes, like the Revelation Song if it's a new song and there is such a wonderful bit of scripture that helps reinforce the message I will break in and talk.

Then we have our offering and usually someone will sing / play a special music piece

Then we have a sermon for about 30 minutes from our Senior Pastor

First Sunday of each month we share communion together at this point...

I usually get back up to close with a short chorus or prayer.

What songs did you sing last week and why were they selected?

Last week we sang:

Call to Worship: Majesty - an "oldie" but a goodie. I wanted to focus eveyone's attention on the glory and authority of Jesus as we gathered to worship Him.

Days of Elijah - many of us have been doing a chronological read of the Bible this year and I felt led to that song that ties in so many of the aspects of OT redemptive history and also to celebrate together "There is no God like Jehovah!"

Revelation Song - new for us. I read Revelation chap 4 to paint the picture of the throne of God in Heaven and then we sang those words - so powerful to remind us of what awaits us!

Be Unto Your Name - giving us a chance to reflect on our temporal nature (We are moment...), focusing again on the "Holy Holy Lord God Alighty" and "Lamb who was slain" themes from Revelation

Salvation Belongs to Our God - reinforcing themes of salvation and continuing to build on the "Him who sits on the throne" and "the Lamb" themes

What is or has been the most enjoyable part about leading worship? How about the most difficult?

The most enjoyable is actually leading worship - playing and singing - those moments when I can tell that the Spirit seems to be working in the hearts of those gathered when I see the tears or raised hands or expressions that the lyrics are really hitting home and pieces of understanding are coming together and God is revealing himself by the Holy Spirit to His Glory thru his Son Jesus!

The most difficult...hmm...Sunday mornings themselves are usually a blur for me. There are usually technical challenges, lyric operator questions, pastoral requests...any number of things can go wrong and usually there are about 10 people (or so it seems!) that need to talk to me immediately all at the same time. It's a challenge to keep a clear head and a happy (unstressed) face sometimes. I have learned that more than ever...on the Lord's Day I need to spend some serious solitude time with him alone early in the morning getting my heart happy in the Lord my God and drinking deeply from his word (and a giant pot of coffee) and praying, begging him to work thru me...a clay pot.

What resources or ‘tools’ do you utilize or that you consider a ‘must have’ for leading worship?

Practically speaking I have come to be a huge Planning Center Online fan...I rely on it very heavily for planning and scheduling. Other than that, just good old fashioned diligence, planning, and organization! I need to be constantly connected to the web/e-mail as things and scheduling issues come up I need to jump on them ASAP!

Who has been the most influential person(s) in your ministry and how have they influenced you?

I have the "blessing" of having a long commute to my "day job" - upwards of 1.5 hrs each way...so my iPod is always stocked with podcasts from men of God preaching the full counsel of his word. I have been influenced heavily by great Pastors like John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, CJ Mahaney, DA Carson, John MacArthur, Josh Harris, local pastors Dave Gustavsen and Ryan Baitzel, Steve Hawthorne...Worship Leader wise I am a huge Sovereign Grace fan and believe they bring some of the most Christ-exalting, Gospel-centered, cross-focused worship music out there - so needless to say Bob Kauflin has had probably the biggest impact on me as to what it means to be a worship leader...

I also am influenced by great authors...but we'll get to the books below.

Ultimately, I pray that I am most influenced by the Holy Spirit to the praise of His glorious grace!

Where do you find new worship music and how do you integrate a new song into the service?

Like I said...I'm a big Sovereign Grace Music fan, so I do a lot of their songs. I keep a close eye on others that I have come to appreciate like Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Keith/Kristin Getty, Fee. I also love to take an old hymn and rearrange it or pick up someone's arrangement. The hymns are soaked in doctrine!! Otherwise I keep my eyes and ears open for good solid stuff. I am active on Twitter and a blogger and blog reader so I find a lot there. Unfortunately, I am frequently disappointed by the "worship" music that is published and becomes popular. So much of it is theologically vague or just plain Biblically wrong...it seems that we have come to idolize worship leaders and many of them are literal rock stars - some by using the name of Jesus and really it's not about Him it's about THEM and their careers. Don't forget there are those out there that are really just concerned with selling records and the record companies have quickly realized that "worship music" is a great revenue producing category for them. Very sad and very detrimental to the church - we must proclaim the mystery of the gospel thru Christ-exalting, Cross-centered, theologically correct and doctrinally sound worship! We are called in scripture to be discerning, protect our lives and doctrine closely, and test everything! (1 Thes 5:21, 1 Tim 4:16, Rom 12:2, 2 Cor 4:2)

Name 3 books (besides the Bible) every worship leader must own:

Worship Matters, Bob Kauflin

Worship by the Book, DA Carson

The Attributes of God, Pink

Desiring God, Piper (sorry...I know that's 4 but this is HARD to narrow it down!!!)

Tell us a little about your blog; why you started it and what it’s about:

I started my blog really as a running journal of my thoughts from reading the Word, good books and sermons - mostly centered on worship themes and theology. It also contains recaps from conferences I attend, and message text and audio from any messages I give. I really don't use it to vent personal pet peeves, or funny kinda stories (every once in a while...) but it's mostly an online journal that allows me the ability to manage that content, archive it, search it...organize it so that I can access it later. Others seem to have enjoyed it to and I'm happy if it blesses others! At the moment I do also use it to post the master worship team schedule - which will be moved to our new church website as soon as it's done! :-)

Worship Leaders: Imitate John Newton

2010-02-10T11:25:00.004-06:00

"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." -Hebrews 13:7

Every now and then I run across a little gem of a quote that hits me like a freight train. (Like this one I posted a while back from Martin Luther.) Not to long ago I ran across one of these great quotes from John Newton, best known for his hymn “Amazing Grace”. John Newton and William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) collaborated with each other to compose an entire hymnbook in 1779 called Olney Hymns. (get the pdf here) And in the Preface to the hymnbook John Newton wrote this, concerning his hymn writing ability:

"If the LORD whom I serve, has been pleased to favor me with that mediocrity of talent, which may qualify me for usefulness to the weak and the poor of his flock, without quite disgusting persons of superior discernment, I have reason to be satisfied."

When I first read that sentence I was struck at how applicable it was to the characteristics of a worship leader. In fact, it is applicable to anyone who leads worship; be they pastors, musicians, songwriters, even for those who read Scripture or lead in prayer.

This sentence is so loaded that I want to break it up and take it piece by piece in hopes that we might discover helpful truths and advice that might impact those of us who participate in leading worship.

“If the LORD whom I serve…”
First and foremost, we must recognize that we are to be fully subservient and submitted to God. But, as ministers, we are also servants to God’s people. This is the distinction; we are to serve the people of God as a servant would serve the guests of a King. There can be no question as to who is in control of the servant. The servant serves the guests but is obedient to the King. So to, in the worship of God, we must not bow to the whim of the people, nor should we seek their praise. God has the final say about worship. It is God we submit to, not man.

“…has been pleased to favor me with that mediocrity of talent…”
Your talents, at whatever skill level, have been given to you by God, because God was pleased to give them to you. The mere thought of that should inspire us to increase our use of them! It also should keep us humble. When we recognize that our abilities have been given to us by the Creator, pride falls away and thankfulness, humility, and dependence rush in to take its place.

We should also notice that Newton calls his talent “mediocrity”. Now I don’t claim to know Newton’s intentions but I would venture to guess that; 1) this isn’t an accusation against God for shortchanging him on talent and 2) he truly recognizes his own limits and weakness in light of other hymn writers (such as Isaac Watts, according to the Preface) and that he not only understands his weakness, but (as we shall see) he is content that God would use that weakness for His purposes.

“…which may qualify me…”
Why are you qualified to lead worship? As we have seen, it is because the Lord has been pleased to favor you with particular abilities, even in (and some might say, especially in) your weakness. The truth that we keep coming across so far is that nothing originates with us. How humbling! It all comes from God. I personally, take great comfort in knowing that it is God Almighty who has lead me and gifted me by His sovereignty that I might be qualified for usefulness in His service.

“…for usefulness to the weak and poor of his flock…”
‘Usefulness’ is a huge word here. God has gifted many people with talents, but how many people are useful in the kingdom of God? If the King has ordered his chef to cook a meal for his guests, but instead the chef uses his skills to make food only to impress and feed himself, or his friends or fellow servants, of what use is he to the King or to the King’s guests? He is of no use.

So we see here that God has gifted you in a particular way to lead worship. Perhaps it is a practical ability such as playing an instrument, or speaking clearly. Perhaps it is a spiritual ability such as preaching or discernment in song selection. Perhaps it is a mixture of practical and spiritual (as I suspect is the case for many ministers). But the important thing to consider is whether or not your gift from God is being used for a useful purpose in serving the people of God. Don’t squander your God-given usefulness!

But Newton reminds us that God has made us useful to the weakest and poorest of His flock. This is where it becomes easier for the most talented to fail.

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)

God chooses that which is weak to glorify Himself. So it comes as no surprise that the vast majority of church leaders and musicians possess (alongside Newton) “that mediocrity of talent”. John Piper reminds us that we who serve are not professionals. It would be faulty, however, to assume that God cannot or will not use those who are immensely talented. Newton speculated in his Preface, “The late Dr. Watts, might, as a poet, have a right to say, That it cost him some labor to restrain his fire, and to accommodate himself to the capacities of common readers. But it would not become me to make such a declaration. It behoved me to do my best.” What Newton is saying, is that Isaac Watts was so skilled in his composition of hymns that he had to “labor” for his ‘usefulness’. Where Newton strived to be his best, Watts did his best not to do his best! Why? So that he might be useful to the lowest in the flock, or in this case “the capacities of the common readers”! That is a beautiful picture of what the heart of a worship leader should look like!

“…without quite disgusting persons of superior discernment…”
It would be wrong to assume that our congregation is made up entirely of those who are weak and poor (in whatever capacity). The lame and the blind followed Christ, but so did Joseph of Arimathea. In fact, “persons of superior discernment” will most likely include those of us who actually lead worship and minister. By that I mean, those who lead worship will, more often than not, be more acutely aware of things like: how the liturgy progresses, how the content of a song is used, the quality of musical skill, etc. So be aware of those in your congregation who understand and appreciate truth and beauty in quite a different fashion than those who might, honestly, not care at all.

It is interesting to note that while Isaac Watts labored to restrain his talents in order to be useful to the least, Newton labored to “do my best” in order to be useful to “persons of superior discernment.” In both cases these men took what God gave them and made it useful for the Kingdom.

“…I have reason to be satisfied."
John Newton knew that his talents—however average—were from God. He knew that he was no Isaac Watts, yet God still qualified him to be useful and he glorified God by saying “I have reason to be satisfied.” In this quote, Newton was essentially saying, “If God is pleased to do it; I’m satisfied.” So Newton echoes Job who says “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” and anticipates John Piper who says, “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”

When your usefulness is squandered then it is difficult, if not impossible, to be satisfied in your ministry. It seems to me—at least from where I stand—that many of today’s Pastors and Worship Leaders are not satisfied in their ministry. Why else would church leaders rush with a zombie-like hunger for everything that is ‘new’ and ‘innovative’? The Unsatisfied Mentality has become so pervasive in the North American Church that it isn’t even recognized as a problem. In fact it has become the norm. “What’s the next big thing that can really ramp up our worship service? Why not do things like the big church down the street? What can we do to draw in the crowd? Why not serve at another church where my talents are ‘recognized’?” All of these questions stem, in one way or another, from a lack of satisfaction.

The danger in not being satisfied is that you try to find satisfaction in everything else. This is how worship becomes performance music and preaching becomes pop psychology. There is a shadow of satisfaction in both because an itch is scratched, like crowds of people start coming. They come because the music is hip and bring their friends because the preacher doesn’t talk about hell. But that kind of satisfaction is fleeting and new and different things come rushing in to fill it up. It might be money or a new building or a certain status in the community. It could be pursuing a book—or record—deal. Maybe the leaders start to resent their congregation for ‘holding them back’. Then a church splits or a pastor has a ‘moral failure’ and people are scratching their heads asking “How did this happen?” The consequences of an unsatisfied mentality in ministry are numerous, but the examples above provide an easy track to follow.

Satisfaction in ministry is crucial. Paul said, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” (Phil. 4:11). That means you really can be satisfied (and give God the most glory!) whether you serve in a church of 50 or 5000, because it is God who has enabled you and qualified you and has given you particular abilities so that you may be useful to His flock!

In summary, Newton’s quote provides us with a few basic, but vital, truths that we would be wise to mimic and keep in the forefront of our minds when we lead worship.

1) It is God we serve
2) It is God who gives us our talents and abilities
3) It is God who qualifies us to be useful in ministry
4) We must not squander our usefulness, but labor to be useful for the sake of the church
5) God is glorified when we are satisfied in the ministry to which He has called us

I am very grateful to God for John Newton and how his words have impacted my life and ministry. O that the same character and humility would flow through me! That my heart would resound with the words: “If the LORD whom I serve, has been pleased to favor me with that mediocrity of talent, which may qualify me for usefulness to the weak and the poor of his flock, without quite disgusting persons of superior discernment, I have reason to be satisfied.”

Where Do Sovereign Grace Songs Come From?

2010-01-15T11:14:00.002-06:00

Bob Kauflin at his blog Worship Matters has posted an interesting look at the process and how their songwriter retreats work. Check it out here.

Many thanks to Sovereign Grace Music and Bob Kauflin for my torrent of comments on Facebook and on his blog asking to see the nuts and bolts of how these songwriter retreats work!

A Cartoon on Christian Music

2010-01-12T08:55:00.004-06:00

Joshua Harris recently posted a cartoon he made back in 1996 that poked the Christian Music Industry in the eye. It's funny and sad because it's so true. Unfortunately it is still as relevant today as it was back then.

Jump over to his blog and read it: Jiffy & Lou on Christian Music

I've written a few of my feelings and opinions about Christian Radio and how the Christian Music Industry has left its imprint on worship music in some earlier posts. Why I Love and Hate Christian Radio: Part I & Part II.

I hope that one day I'll be able to post (or find someone else's post!) that reflects my feelings with a little more clarity then what I attempted.

Free Christmas Songs

2009-12-15T08:49:00.010-06:00

Over at Justin Taylor's blog Between Two Worlds he's been given permission from 3 great ministries to upload some of their Christmas music for free! All of these organizations are biblically solid and provide extremely wonderful resources to the Church. I encourage you to download these songs and check out their websites.

Two Free Christmas Songs from Sovereign Grace Music

Two Free Christmas Songs from Red Mountain Music

Two Free Christmas Songs from Sojourn Music

UPDATE (12-18-09): Justin Taylor added two more free songs:

Two Free Christmas Songs from Bifrost Arts

Dead Air: Making the Most of the Inevitable Silence

2009-11-02T15:09:00.007-06:00

As I pour over magazines, articles, and books for advice in leading worship, one thing I constantly run into is the subject of what to do in between songs. It is a common topic for discussion amongst song leaders as this must be dealt with every Sunday. There are all sorts of ideas that I have read about but each one boils down to one thing, and that is this; Do something! Do anything! But make sure there is no dead air!

There are countless reasons behind this, and many of them are even good reasons:

Silence is awkward.

If there is no ‘flow’ then dead air leaves a ‘stop/start’ feeling to worship.

People will become quickly bored.

A lack of smooth transition indicates a lack of excellence and God deserves our best.

But for the most part, the reasoning can be pretty much summed up like this: If there is silence in between songs then people are uncomfortable and therefore distracted and unable to worship.

Fill It In!

So the worship ‘experts’ then offer us ways to fill in this ‘dead air’ (which is just a code word that places a negative spin on the word ‘silence’). From my reading the most preferred method seems to be transitioning one song to the next without a pause in the music. When done right, this can be very smooth and pleasing to the ear. It also allows the leader to connect one theme with another quite seamlessly. I utilize this when I feel it is necessary, but it becomes impractical in many situations. Every Sunday just cannot be a five song medley.

So the next best ‘method’ is to fill the silence in with talking. This can be done in a variety of ways. Two of the better ways are Scripture readings and prayer. But most often, from what I’ve personally seen and read (and unfortunately, done myself) is spontaneous chatter. Some have called this ‘The Mini Sermon’, others have called it ‘Worship Cheerleading’ but most call it ‘Annoying.’

Fill It In?

The problem I have here is not the desire to have a smooth transition. I find nothing wrong with Scripture being read in between songs. But what bugs me is that these ‘fillers’ become nothing more than a ‘solution’ to silence. Instead of a 15 second pause between one song and the next, the popular advice is to ‘fill’ it with something. Eradicate and exterminate all forms of silence because, I am told, it makes people uncomfortable, distracted, and it hinders worship. Well I’m here to say it’s not true.

I’ve bought into this type of thinking for too long. Many times I have found myself standing awkwardly on stage in between songs, looking slightly fidgety awaiting the introduction of the next song. I’m sure my presence didn’t help the congregation feel any less awkward. But my thinking was always aiming to end the silence. And awkward silence, as I have found, will make a talker out of a mute. And talking simply to fill in the silence leads to unnecessary rambling and idiotic phrasings that edify and glorify no one. Well, I’m done with that. As I strive to increase my understanding of sound doxology I just cannot continue to participate in this game. Silence is inevitable and I aim to make much of Christ through it. I believe that the benefits of silence in between our songs can far outweigh our feeble efforts to fill it. I also believe that these benefits can prevail over the common concerns of awkwardness, distractions, and the inability to worship.

The Benefits of Silence in Worship

The first benefit is Authenticity. What is more fake than conjured spontaneity? As I pointed out above, in my experience, it just comes off as awkward. There are appropriate times for leaders to talk in between songs, but in between every song is unnecessary. If the Spirit is moving, I'm sure He can move just fine without me talking compared to whenever I open my sin filled mouth. If there are a few moments of silence while the musicians to end one song and start the next then so what? If it takes a couple seconds to turn the page to prepare for the next song, big deal! Is it less excellent to pause for a few moments rather than to play seven songs without stopping? Why should our music at church imitate a concert or a radio station? Imitation is the antithesis of authenticity! Authenticity through silence can serve as another reminder to us and our people that we are not professionals and we don’t aspire to be. That doesn’t mean we fail to plan or rehearse, but it means we make the most of the inevitable silence to come and not try to shoehorn in our often unnecessary noise.

A second benefit silence provides is Reflection; a time to think and a time for prayer. How many times do we as ministers provide opportunities in the worship service for the congregation to meditate and reflect on what they have just heard or sung? If you sing one song after another, without a break, and then seamlessly start the sermon, the congregation has never had time to ponder what they just sang. Many times the few brief moments of silence between each song might be the only silence available for the church to reflect. Mark Dever’s church has embraced the silent times in their service. He says, “We LIKE "dead air space." "Dead air space" gives us time to reflect. To collect our thoughts. To consider what we've just heard or read or sung. The silence amplifies the words or music we've just heard. It allows us time to take it all in, and to pray.” (Read Dever's full post here)

With that in mind, ‘dead air’ is also an opportunity for Participation. Instead of doing something to break the silence, do your best to participate in that silence. Dever continues, “Everyone works to be quiet. People stop moving their bulletins or looking for something in their purse. There's no movement. We, together, hear the silence. It engulfs us. It enhances our unity. It is something we all do together. Together we consider what we've just heard. Together we contribute to each other's space to think.” Active participation in silence actively works to get rid of distractions. Which makes me wonder when people say that silence itself is a distraction!

Lastly, another benefit of silence, and I believe the most important, is Worship. In fact, any benefit derived from this silent time should culminate in worship. Everyone talks about Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God,” but that’s exactly just what everyone does, talk. Rarely do we see this put into practice. The silence between one song and another is a perfect time to obey this command. In light of this passage it is quite telling to me when the ‘experts’ say that ‘dead air’ hinders worship. What that tells me is that either their understanding of worship is skewed or that they don’t understand what worship really is. If not, then they should really consider the logical outcome of their claims. To make the claim that ‘dead air’ causes people to not worship God is evidence that our faith resides in our methodologies rather than the Creator of silence. It is also a sign to me that many believe worship to be a product that can be manufactured or manipulated to produce an anticipated outcome, which is often called the ‘worship experience’. Many times this is based solely on feelings and nothing else.

One thing to be aware of is that just because silence takes place doesn’t mean that worship takes place. We need to train our people (and ourselves!) in the discipline of silence. And the best way I know how to train is to teach it and practice it. Instead of just expecting the congregation to ‘get it’, take a couple minutes and explain how the church can make the most of the silent times during worship. Explain how worship is not like any other venue in our culture and how silence can enhance reflection. Encourage participation. Take time to worship God when the opportunity of silence presents itself during the week. Even if it is for a few moments.

So instead of constantly trying to fill in the silence, make the most of it when it comes our way! And, most importantly, continue to measure everything we do in our worship services with Scripture to ensure sound doxology. Even the little things like the silence between our songs.

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Update 3-26-10: Bob Kauflin at Worship Matters has posted a three-part series called "What Do You Say When You Lead Worship?" He provides some humor as well as great advice.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Magnify Christ Through Bibles Unbound: Become a Worship Smuggler

2009-10-25T20:07:00.008-05:00

In my opinion, if there is a greater cause or better organization to give to other than Bibles Unbound then I haven't heard of it yet.

Bibles Unbound is a ministry of The Voice of the Martyrs, an organization dedicated to serving our Christian brothers and sisters who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ. I have been receiving the VOM newsletter for many years and it is a continual blessing and encouragement in my life. So when they came out with Bibles Unbound a few years back I was thrilled to be a part of it.

Here's the gist: VOM has contacts in countries that are hostile towards Christians. In these countries it is difficult for many believers, not to mention unbelievers, to even own a copy of the Bible. So VOM has asked us to participate 'smuggling' in these Bibles through Bibles Unbound by providing the funds for the Bibles and postage. $30 covers the cost of 5 New Testaments and postage. VOM then sends the Bibles to their contacts who give them to specific people. In many instances you will be given the names of the people who will receive the Bibles you have provided so that you may pray for them specifically. In some cases it is important not to provide this information so names are not given out.

This isn't just shipping a whole bunch of Bibles across the sea and hoping they go somewhere. Every Bible has a specific destination, a specific person in mind. Bibles Unbound keeps track of how many Bibles that are requested and how many more are needed to reach that goal. Then they move on to the next mission. Recently they have surpassed the millionth Bible sent.

Like I said earlier, I have personally been involved with this organization and it is a wonderful thing to receive the actual Bibles to be sent, pack them up, pray over them, and send them out. I can't imagine anything better to give our brothers and sisters who suffer for their faith. Nor can I imagine anything else that would enable their sound doxology.

In his book "Let the Nations Be Glad!" John Piper says, "Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever."

The reason I support Bibles Unbound is because Worship is the ultimate goal. When the Word of God permeates these places of darkness then Worship will result...and more than that, it is an authentic worship; a biblical worship; it is a sound doxology.

So I've posted a couple of links on my blog so that it might be a reminder to all who visit that we can be a part of smuggling in worship--through these Bibles--to nations and people groups where Christ is not known nor worshipped. I'm not receiving any money or anything for putting these links on my blog, only the satisfaction of knowing that it might inspire someone to join in this wonderful effort and magnify Christ through Bibles Unbound.

Towards a Better Hymnody

2009-10-01T11:55:00.009-05:00

I recently ran across this little digitized pamphlet written in 1959 by an Austrailian teacher named Frank J. Funston. You can read it for yourself here.

The pamphlet is titled "Towards a Better Hymnody" and has some great insights about music in the church that would be our loss if we were not to consider them today. I've gone ahead and picked out some wonderful quotes that I'm sure will be beneficial to anyone interested. As the title suggests, Funston is basically putting forth suggestions and criteria that are recognizable in good songs and looking to apply this to modern hymnody. I should say that Funston's use of the word hymn is basically synonomous with 'worship song' as in 1959 all church music was recognized as 'hymns' rather than 'hymns vs praise chorus' for example.

I'll start you off with Funston's imagery of the whole of Christian hymnody as a stream. I love this illustration and will definately use it in the future.

"It would be an attractive project to chart the whole stream of hymnody. Some little knowledge of it is, in fact, desirable if our hymns are to make the maximum contribution of enrichment to our worship. We could seek the springs from which the stream rises, what are its main tributaries--sombre or sparkling, restful or tumultuous, clouded or clear as they may be, but each bringing its distinctive contribution. We could inspect the shallows, the deeps and the occasional whirlpools along its course. Power plants there are in places, and unfortunately, too, commercial interests are here and there to corrupt what should be a pure stream. Nevertheless, legitimate commerce of prayer, devotion, praise and doctrine are borne along on its waters."

Hymns and Good Music

"We need tunes which are not just catchy or temporary; instead, let us seek and use those that are robust and dignified without being stodgy or highbrow or difficult."

"Nobody who knows anything of the history of religious revivals from the days of Moody and Sankey down to Billy Graham could possibly query that there is a place for the lighter music of the gospel song with its catchy phrase, its resounding refrain and its sometimes disconnected lines of thought, but it is not on such foundations that a worthy and lasting all-purpose hymnody is built."

Hymns and Sound Theology

"The theology of the creeds has often been a bone of contention, but the theology of hymns may often fulfil a very different function, and be quite constructive in the direction of binding together different groups of Christians. Thus very perfunctory search of an Anglican and a Methodist hymnal could show that, while each had hymns from their own and the other body, both also had large numbers of hymns from Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Quaker and other sources."

"There are two elements of danger--one inherent in the writer of the hymn, the other in the user. Firstly, because hymn-writing talent it neither confined to one branch of the Christian church, nor indeed flourishes more markedly in one branch than another, there must be a certain amount of "screening" rather than indiscriminate use of hymns...Secondly, it is futile to look for "a full gospel" in every hymn. No hymn need be suspect because its writer is not theologically precisely in step with those who use it. As we have all heard sermons with which we would agree--but only up to a point--so some of our best hymns are pruned of verses theologically unacceptable, and other excellent hymns have very little of theology in them. No sermon, no passage of Scripture, and no hymn contains a full gospel, nor can they be expected to do so."

Hymns and High Literary Standards

"We forbear to mention some of "the horrors of hymnody"--whole verses which defy analysis either grammatically or as to their spiritual content, and others so utterly muddled or absurd in their figures of speech that it would become difficult to use them once one came to give some clear thought, to the expressions used."

"Instead, of attempting any major general task regarding literary excellences, we will here limit ourselves to two minor manifestations in this field. (1) Those involving structure include progression or development in thought...(2) Minor elegances often very effectively used by poets who are "masters of sound" include alliteration and assonance."

Trends In Modern Hymnody

[Remember 'modern' to him is 50 years ago...but this is still applicable.]

"Perhaps [some] lines of improvement may be suggested:(1) We could surely make better use of our present hymnody...(2) The intelligent use of hymns written in a special form would deepen their meaning...(3) As a brotherhood, we must be alive to the possibilities of using new hymns." [some examples he gives:] "new hymns through missions, new hymn tunes, new hymn texts through unstudied languages, new lyrics written by youth"

Some Helpful Advice
"Let us be under no illusions about the habit of "cutting out verses." Surely those who edit hymnals are not the only ones with the right to exercise this prerogative!...[B]ut whatever the occasion for limiting the number of verses to be sung, let it be done intelligently and only after a careful examination so that there is no marked break in the continuity of thought."

"At the very least, we can sing on, still hoping! If we cannot achieve it all, we would still be unwise not to make the attempt."

Matt Redman and Songs for Blokey Blokes

2009-08-12T11:44:00.007-05:00

God has used Matt Redman in a variety of ways in my life to encourage and inspire me both in leading God's people in worship as well as writing songs for the church. I'm happy to say that I've had the pleasure of meeting him and I was able to express that to him. He and Chris Tomlin and Louis Giglio came to town a few years back on the Indescribable tour. At the end of the show it was announced that Chris Tomlin and his band would be signing autographs up front. I figured Matt would be up there but he never showed. I had a couple books I wanted him to sign and wanted to let him know how God had used him in my life, so I did what any respectable, upstanding, Christian would do; I snuck backstage. He was packing up his gear and looked pretty busy but he was nice enough to stop and sign my books and we even chatted for a couple minutes.

After meeting him I can honestly say that Matt Redman has a true and authentic passion for writing songs for the church to use in worship. I really appreciate that because of how much success he has had. He could very easily take his worship leader rock star status and peddle out tunes for cash and get more Christian radio airtime.

I ran across this video clip which only reinforces in my mind his concern for the church when it comes to songwriting. The interviewer asks him about romantic imagery in today's worship music and Redman provides and exquisite answer. The best part is that his answer reveals the importance of placing language on the lips of people in the church.

I also found that his answer revealed humility when he reflects back on one of his own songs and how he should have been more aware of the language he used.

The main reason for linking this video, however, isn't to go on and on about how great Matt Redman is, but I trust that his answer provides great information that applies to how leaders and songwriters in the church should examine our music lyrically. To sum it up Redman is rock solid when he says "Songs need to be watertight scripturally and culturally they [need to] mean what we think they mean."

So check out this video clip: Matt Redman on Songs for Blokey Blokes

When the Lights Go Out: Technology in the Worship Service; Analysis and Practical Application

2009-07-31T11:40:00.005-05:00

Something I find myself doing a lot (especially lately) is imagining what a worship service would have been like in the past. There are many history books out there that describe ancient liturgies and customs that certain churches, both Catholic and Protestant, would use every week. I would encourage everyone to research and dig around to find more information on how Christians in the past developed and implemented their liturgy and how worship services were conducted—especially in your own tradition. But that’s not really what I’m getting at here. I want to know what it was like to actually be there. I want to sit where they sat, to feel what they felt, to hear what they heard, and to see what they saw. More specifically, I want to hear what they heard…and how they heard it. I want to see what they saw…and how they saw it.

Imagine you are in a great cathedral in Europe in the Middle Ages. Or maybe in a small frontier church in the American West around the 1800’s. Or how about the house of a Jewish fisherman in Capernaum in the 1st Century. Now imagine a thunderstorm rolls in. Great flashes of electric current spread across the sky. During the storm the church is doing what the gathered church does: praying, singing, read Scripture, and hearing the Word of God preached. The storm has no real distracting effect on the worship service, other than an occasional thunderclap and perhaps a prayer offered in thanksgiving for the rain. Hey, if the storm is really bad there might even be prayer for safety on the way home.

Now fast forward to the present day. Picture yourself sitting in a modern day church building. You may be in a building that looks like “a church”—steeple and all. Or perhaps a school, a theatre, a warehouse, or a six-thousand seat Megacenter. Ok. Same situation, big thunderstorm rolls in and lightning fills the sky.

As a music minister, do you know what runs through my mind right now? Gut wrenching panic. All of the songs I prepared are now sitting in an electronic file, on an electronic computer, waiting to be displayed electronically. Most of the instruments are plugged in to an electronic box, connected to an electronic soundboard—as well as every single electronic amplification device in the building, from speakers to microphones. Above the congregation hang many light fixtures designed to electronically illumine the building, the flickering of which gives me the first indication that my current panic will soon become full blown horror. Then…BOOM! The storm has dealt its final death blow and with a static pop and a descending hum the congregation is plunged into darkness.

The lights are out. There is no projector. There is no sound system. What happens now?

This happened once to me a few years back. Thankfully, we had already sung most of the songs, but there was one more right after the sermon. On this particular Sunday a student from the youth group was preaching his very first sermon when all of a sudden…ZAP! the lights go out. I sat there dumbfounded like everyone else for the first few seconds. Then, you know the feeling, it’s that hint of giddiness a schoolchild gets when the lights go out at school and the teachers have no control. But it’s ok, we’re at church, everyone contains their inner schoolchild (except the kids!). Someone found a flashlight and after a few minutes the student went right on preaching. Good for him. Then it hit me, what am I going to do? I knew the congregation wouldn’t be able to sing song I previously selected by memory. Do I use the darkness to slip out of the sanctuary to the office where I can make 200 copies? Nope. Copy machine is electronic and therefore, dead. Then I looked in front of me and a light came on (in my head). Praise the Lord for hymnals! The sermon was about over so I flipped through the hymnal as fast as I could, trying to find a song that everyone was familiar with. No time to consider if the song would be an appropriate response to the sermon, just find a song! So I found an oldie but goody, went up to the pulpit and announced the hymn number. Then, in the dark, we sang the first line together, “O soul, are you weary and troubled; No light in the darkness you see?” The words we sung were appropriate and slightly ironic when you really think about it. At this point I’m thinking to myself, I am either a genius or an idiot. Upon further reflection, considering my haste and carelessness in selecting the song, I can plainly see that I was an idiot—blessed and given grace by the Lord—but an idiot nonetheless.

With the exception of the last 110 years or so, the Church has always held its services in buildings without electricity. 110 years is just a blip on the radar screen in comparison with 2000 years. But today, unless you meet in a small group in a house, you will be hard pressed to find a church gathering that does not implement audio and visual enhancement technology. And even in a house church you’ve got lights!

So what exactly am I getting at here? Well, to be honest, I hope all of this imagining helps us to think about how technology benefits us or limits us in our gathered worship service. In 1 Corinthians 10:23 Paul writes, “Everything is permissible—but not everything is beneficial.” I believe we can apply that logic to technology being used in the church. So the first thing we should ask is, “Is it beneficial?” When it comes to clearly hearing and seeing in congregational worship, I would say yes, absolutely!

Even in ancient times, the church has always utilized technology. Imagine how architects designed the acoustics of the cathedrals and meeting halls. The rooms were vast and spacious. The speaker’s podium was high above the congregation so that he could be seen. Hundreds of people could hear what was being spoken without the aid of a microphone. Large windows were created to allow the natural light to pour into the building. Stain glass windows served as visual instruction to the illiterate. Places were intentionally built for candles to illumine a room. The printing press allowed for the reproduction of innumerable Bibles and hymnbooks. All of these innovations were beneficial to the worshippers who gathered together at that time. All we’ve really done today is “electronified” them. But the fact remains that the Church got along just fine without our modern day technology, which leads us to the question, “Is it necessary?” Well, yes…and no.

The reason I say yes and no, is that modern day technology is only necessary when the situation dictates it. Lights are what we in the industry call a ‘no brainer’ in the necessity department. Are lights necessary? I would say, in all occasions, yes. It is up to you whether or not you want electric light bulbs or candles. But most people find that the benefits of electric light bulbs far outweigh that of candles; a fact in which most firemen agree.

How about microphones? Are microphones necessary? Well, not in every situation, but if people cannot hear the preacher, give the man a microphone to amplify his voice so that all can hear. A microphone is a relatively inexpensive way to make sure everyone can hear you. Sure you could do without, but when are you planning on building that acoustic friendly cathedral? Sure, there may be occasional distracting feedback, but that can be corrected. If you met outside there may be an occasional distracting horsefly.

How about projection? Projection is extremely beneficial and yet, completely unnecessary. Using a projector is the equivalent of using a power drill. It allows you to do difficult things with simplicity. Could I do it by hand? Sure, but it is almost effortless if I use the power drill. Could we sing from memory? Sure, but it does limit you to a very narrow song selection. A more apt metaphor would be to liken the projector to a multi-functional tool, such as a Swiss Army Knife. This tool can be used for announcements, schedules and for many it is an aid for teaching. It also can be used to see visually what a large group may not be able to physically see for themselves. For example, pictures or video of places mentioned in the Bible, or video messages from a missionary.

One of the most obvious and beneficial uses of the projector is the ability to project song lyrics. But as the church has the option to sing from a hymnbook or from copied paper, the projector remains unnecessary. However, the benefit of the projector is the ability to provide the congregation with songs that are not found in the current publication of their hymnal. If the hymnal is the bucket of water, the projector is the running faucet. The projector also gives the ability to arrange a song in whatever fashion the music minister may desire, allowing for a more authentic approach to congregational singing. Essentially, the projector provides simplicity and versatility, both of which are absolutely beneficial but not absolutely necessary.

Let’s Get Practical!
I haven’t yet even considered more detailed items such as electronic instruments, stage lighting, monitors, wireless features, ipods, computers, DVDs, etc. but for the most part I believe you can run them through the “is it beneficial? – is it necessary?” filter. When you ask yourself, “Is this beneficial?” the answer should be “yes” before you move on to the next question. If whatever you are using is not beneficial (ie. it is not glorifying to God, nor edifying to the Church) then do not use it (see the second part of 1 Cor. 10:23). However, if it is beneficial then ask yourself, “Is it necessary?” Here, remember to take the context of the situation into consideration.

If what you are using is necessary for your situation, then by all means use it. But if it is not necessary, then my suggestion is that you would use it with the expectation that you may not be able to use it. A good question to ask yourself is, “Do I depend on it?” Meaning, do you depend on it to the point that if it is ever taken from you then gathered worship would halt? For instance, let’s say your church doesn’t have any hymnals; and you have three songs prepared in PowerPoint, all of which will be accompanied by an electric keyboard, electric guitars and drums. The power goes out. No projection and the only instrument that people will hear are the drums. This should point out your dependence upon unnecessary things. Once you have figured out what the unnecessary things you are depending on are, you can now create a situation to prevent it. If your church only uses PowerPoint and does not have hymnals, make sure your congregation knows 10 songs by heart—start now. Be mindful of the type of instruments you currently lead with. Do you have an instrument that will work in an acoustic setting such as a piano or an acoustic guitar? And remember, even instruments are not necessary—be prepared to sing a cappella! What does the room look like when all the lights are out? Can the preacher be heard in the back without a microphone? Etc.

I would advise anyone in a church leadership position to run through these things and go over them with the people involved. It is a good exercise to do a Tech Check. I just totally made that phrase up. Now I’m not into formulas and 12 step plans as to how to “do church” so take this info for what it’s worth. I believe it is a biblical and logical way to keep our congregational worship authentic, humble, edifying, and ultimately glorifying to God when it comes to the use of technology in the worship service.

The Sound Doxology Tech Check:

* Figure out if the technology you use is beneficial
* Ask if it is necessary
* Find out if you have become dependent on anything unnecessary
* If it is beneficial and unnecessary then use it with the expectation that you may not be able to use it and work out a solution to make that statement true

John Newton: 284 Years Old Today

2009-07-24T11:14:00.003-05:00

Well how about that. Isaac Watts last week and John Newton this week. I think it's really cool having my birthday bookended by these great pastor/hymnwriters. As most people know John Newton wrote that great hymn "Amazing Grace". It has been said that "Amazing Grace" is America's best loved song of all time.

Newton wrote many more hymns as well. Here's one based on 1 Corinthians 6:11, 20 that we will be singing this week at Wornall Road. It's called "Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder" and it can be sung to the tune of "Angels From the Realms of Glory"

Let us love and sing and wonder
Let us praise the Savior’s name
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder
He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame
He has washed us with His blood
He has brought us nigh to God

Let us love the Lord Who bought us
Pitied us when enemies
Called us by His grace and taught us
Gave us ears and gave us eyes
He has washed us with His blood
He presents our souls to God

Let us sing though fierce temptation
Threatens hard to bear us down
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the conqu’ror’s crown
He, Who washed us with His blood,
Soon will bring us home to God

Let us wonder grace and justice
Join and point to mercy’s store
When through grace in Christ our trust is
Justice smiles and asks no more
He Who washed us with His blood
Has secured our way to God

Let us praise and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high
Here they trusted Him before us
Now their praises fill the sky
Thou hast washed us with Thy blood
Thou art worthy Lamb of God

Here is a link where you can dig up some more info on John Newton

Isaac Watts: 335 Years Old Today

2009-07-17T11:13:00.010-05:00

Isaac Watts has been named The Father of English Hymnody. God has given His church a gift in the life and works of Isaac Watts. He penned a numerous amount of hymns in a time when songs of "human composition" were extremely unpopular. Watts understood sound doxology and his hymns relfect it.

Read the words of Isaac Watts in this hymn based on Romans 3:27, and below I have listed some links for you to dig further into the life and works of Isaac Watts.

No more, my God, I boast no more
Of all the duties I have done;
I quit the hopes I held before,
To trust the merits of Thy Son

Now, for the love I bear His name,
What was my gain I count my loss;
My former pride I call my shame,
And nail my glory to His cross.

Yes, and I must and will esteem
All things but loss for Jesus’ sake;
O may my soul be found in Him,
And of His righteousness partake!

The best obedience of my hands
Dares not appear before Thy throne;
But faith can answer Thy demands,
By pleading what my Lord has done

Here are a couple of Google Books you can read in full:
The Psalms and hymns of Isaac Watts
The Psalms of David

Here is a short video biography:
The Rebel's Guide to Joy Isaac Watts
Here's the always helpful Wikipedia entry and a bio from cyberhymnal with a list of over 500 of his songs, many you can read and hear:
Wikipedia entry - Isaac Watts
Cyberhymnal bio. and songs - Isaac Watts

Why I Love and Hate Christian Radio: Part II

2009-06-22T13:12:00.009-05:00

NOTE: The following is long. And unfortunately, in my opinion, it fails in some regards as to my actual feelings concerning Christian radio and it’s affect on worship music. It may come off as paradoxical at times, without adequate explanation. It is my hope that if you come away with questions that you would either post your thoughts in the comment section below or email me at sounddoxology@gmail.com. There is little doubt that I will be addressing many of the topics presented, piece by piece, throughout the lifetime of this blog. Ok, done. Read on!

Part I was my lighthearted attempt to introduce this topic. Here in Part II, I want to get into what really upsets me about Christian radio. The real problem I have with Christian radio is that Christian radio stations make no distinction between songs composed by Christian artists as art and songs composed for the church to sing during worship. This problem runs so deep that people are shocked to find out that there really is a difference. This is because Christian radio and the “worship” industry have not only blurred the lines, they have obliterated them. To be clear, I am not posting this to slam Christian music. I love Christian music and respect musicians and songwriters who are Christians. Some of the greatest music in the world has been written by Christians. My point here is to show that there is a distinction between a song appropriate for worship and a song produced by a Christian artist for entertainment, or even "ministry." I am going to attempt to explain why I feel this is a problem, how it negatively affects the church, and where we go from there.

Reason #1: By placing songs not written for congregational worship alongside songs that are leads to a tendency for people to believe that every song on Christian radio is suitable for gathered worship on Sunday morning. This can be a fine line to walk, especially when an artist finds success at writing songs suitable for a congregation as well as writing songs for entertainment. There is a major difference between a Christian who creates music as an expression of himself/herself or for entertainment or to pursue a career in pop-music and a Christian who purposely composes a song to be utilized in a corporate worship setting. While the “worship music” industry might be blamed for pumping out the next Christian Britney Spears, Christian radio is to blame for presenting that artists music as if it were suitable for the congregation during worship. And to be sure, we are to blame for our lack of discernment in this area.

Reason #2: While many people are edified and utilize Christian radio to individually worship God, the overarching aim of Christian radio is entertainment. Thus, when worship songs are played, entertainment automatically becomes its purpose—intentionally or not. Entertainment is not a bad thing. But worship songs are not intended to be entertainment; they are intended to facilitate believers to praise God through song.

How does this negatively affect music for worship in the church? Well to begin answering that question I think we need to first answer another one: What makes a song suitable or not suitable for congregational worship? For the most part, my blog is dedicated to distinguishing between the two and it would take a lot more room for me to cover that subject exhaustively here, and would detract from this current topic, so I’ll try to be brief. What makes this question difficult is that most, if not all, of the music played on Christian radio glorifies God and can help people worship God. But what I am speaking about here is the actual worship service itself. I’m not talking about private worship, but corporate worship as laid out in Scripture. And here’s the difference (and a shocker to some); what we do individually to worship God does not necessarily translate as worship in a corporate setting.

For example, a surgeon may glorify God through his vocation by using his skills to save a life, and he may cause others to worship God because they are thankful that God has saved their loved one, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to build and ER in the Sanctuary, or for the doctor to perform surgeries on the altar. My point is that a song written with the congregation in mind will tend to focus more on objective truth rather than subjective experience. That surgeon, if allowed to operate on the altar, though glorifying God in his own way, does not lend to the building up of the body during the worship service. His experience is very subjective. How is the guy five pews back glorifying God through the surgeons actions? And that’s just one example. Why should it be any different with songs?

The most difficult part about discerning which songs are appropriate and which songs are not is that, for the most part, I cannot list them to you here. What I may feel is appropriate for my congregation may not be what is appropriate for yours. For instance, Bob Kauflin gives an example in his book "Worship Matters" about how he doesn't lead his congregation in singing the song “Above All” because there are people in his congregation who might misinterpret what the song is saying. The last line, “You took the fall and thought of me above all” can be a glorious reality for a believer, but a person can also read into that line that “I” am the most important thing in the universe. What is more, when we sing of Jesus taking “the fall” it implies a small amount of irreverence because what Jesus has done can hardly be described as “taking the fall.” The brother, who takes the blame for stealing a gumball when in fact it was his sister, takes the fall. The event of Christ taking on our sin and the Holy wrath of God, in my opinion, can hardly be described as “taking the fall.” But that being said, in another congregation these issues may not be a problem and the song is discerned to be just fine.

But the bigger (and perhaps my main) problem is that the radio has given rise to a lot of worship songs that are extremely shallow and vague. The reason many new worship songs become so popular on the radio is the very same reason any other song becomes popular on the radio; it has a good, catchy tune that is repetitive and simple with a general theme. There is a reason why songs on the radio don’t have more than two verses. There is a reason why “hit worship songs” steer clear of specific theology. Because it is music for the masses; and perhaps therein is where the root of our problem lies.

Let's take a look at a common scenario: T.V. networks will cancel a show, despite the 2 million viewers who love the show, if they can produce something that will appeal to a much broader audience that will bring in more ratings and thus, more money. It doesn’t matter to them if the show was well written or if the show brought satisfaction to those who watched it. What are 2 million viewers compared to 20 million? So they create a show that appeals to everyone and that means that they must do something simple, catchy, and familiar. Quality and authenticity are sacrificed or at best become secondary. As far as I can tell, this is the same mentality that operates within the “worship music” industry and Christian radio is more than happy to take it and run with it. And in turn, we are more than happy to take it at face value, never discerning anything labeled “Christian” while ignorance runs rampant in our churches.

The culture has crept in among many areas of the Church but nowhere else has the culture so greatly impacted the Church than in her consumption and replication of her music. This isn’t about “good music” vs. “bad music” as much as it is about Worship vs. Entertainment--or at least an Entertainment Mentality. This isn’t about style either. Having a soloist, or a rock band, or a pianist, or a choir lead worship isn’t wrong, nor is it the issue, but those who lead and those who are led must continually check their motivations and reasons for the music that is selected and sung. I cringe when I hear someone talking about going to worship to hear the “awesome band.” We go to concerts to hear an awesome band; we go to worship to worship God. I’m not saying the praise band has to suck, in fact that should never be the case. Musicians who lead worship should constantly strive for musical excellence. But it really is time for us to stop being duped into popular music for popular music’s sake, as if popular music is the only resource available for American Christians.

The hardest part about all of this is that many of the people involved in the “worship” industry and Christian radio are really good people who strive to glorify Christ in their vocation, be that a radio DJ, a record label president, an artist, or even the worship leader who “made it big.” So how do we handle this and what are we to do about it? Do we throw our radios out of the window? No. Do we boycott our local radio stations? No, that would be ridiculous. So how do we counter this? Maybe the question ought to be, Should we even counter this? And more and more I keep coming to the conclusion that perhaps we should just accept it for what it is, and for the most part it is music produced for a mass audience for profit. The best thing we can do is just to be aware and more discerning.

For as much as I rail on the “worship” industry, I am seeing signs of change. I am seeing more of a division between entertainment music and music for worship. But as it stands, Christian radio continues to make no such distinction.

Perhaps where I am most encouraged is through the internet. There are projects starting from the ground up, rather than from the top down, and they are being recognized for producing good quality, authentic music fit for congregational worship. And instead of being pandered for profit, these songs are moving by word of mouth through church services, conferences, and ultimately the internet. Groups, not limited to, but including Indelible Grace, Sovereign Grace Music, and Sojourn Music have for the most part songs written and composed by the church for the church. And not only do these groups create songs for worship, but most of them provide sheet music of their songs for free, which is an extremely beneficial resource for music ministers.

This is where I see the future (and oddly enough, the past) of worship music; songs written by the church for the church and offered at a relatively low price to serve the church. And not only do I see this as the future of worship music, but this is an area where I see Christians shaping the culture of music. Already, the “worship” industry, alongside the other Big Music Industries are being hit financially as they are finding out that it is becoming harder and harder to maintain their model of business in an internet age.

As for the future of Christian radio, I think it will continue, and I am glad. But I don’t believe a distinction between worship and entertainment will be offered any time soon, which is sad, but it means that we must be ever more vigilant and diligent to rightly discern what to select and sing during congregational worship.

Why I Love and Hate Christian Radio: Part I

2009-06-11T11:38:00.005-05:00

I love Christian radio and I hate Christian radio. Specifically the Christian radio stations that play music. First, I love Christian radio because I can listen to it in my car without worrying about some idiot DJ saying something I don’t want my 2 year old to repeat. Second, I love Christian radio because one of the stations where I live doesn’t have commercials! Any other radio station plays 5 minutes of music and 15 minutes of commercials, so no commercials is a big plus. Lastly, I love Christian radio because it exposes me to Christian musicians that I would have never listened to otherwise.

Unfortunately, the list for why I hate Christian radio is a bit longer. I’m going to list a few general things I dislike and then in Part II, I will move on to the real reason I hate Christian radio. First, I hate Christian radio for the same reason I hate the Top 40 stations; because they play the same songs over and over and over until I throw up. I used to love the Newsboys. I find nothing wrong with their music nor who they are as musicians, but thanks to Christian radio I cannot stand to listen to any Newsboys song, ever. If a Newsboys song comes on the radio (and it does every time I enter the car) I will risk that idiot DJ on the other station for two and a half minutes, or if nothing else is on I’ll listen joyfully to the commercials. By the way, if anyone from Christian radio is reading, Casting Crowns are about to reach Newsboys status in the nauseatingly overplayed category, I’d hate to lose them too.

Another reason I hate Christian radio is because all of the Christian knock-offs of secular artists. I swear I just heard Maroon 5 singing about Jesus. Oops, that’s not Maroon 5? Who is it? Oh, you don’t know because everyone calls them “that Christian band that sounds like Maroon 5.” And if it isn’t a knock-off of a secular artist it is a knock-off a popular Christian artist. Wow, I love that new Jeremy Camp song. What? That’s not Jeremy Camp? You mean it’s another guy that sounds like he lives in the wilderness and smokes 2 packs a day? What’s his name? You don’t know and you can’t call him “the guy who sounds like Jeremy Camp” because there are four of them.

A third reason I hate Christian radio is the fundraising week. Don’t act like you don’t change the channel quicker than the DJ can say, “Without your support…” The only way I’d donate to my local Christian music station is if I were able to call the shots, but there is no way they’d let me do that because I’d throw out all the Newsboys songs, and then no one else would donate money because apparently the only people who donate to Christian radio absolutely love the Newsboys because that’s all they play.

So by now you must be thinking what does all of this have to do with sound doxology? Stay tuned for Part II!

For the Mouths of Babes: Update

2009-06-10T13:03:00.006-05:00

A while back I posted about the poor quality of children's music produced by Christians. Well here is some good news. Sovereign Grace Ministries is releasing a new children's CD. I've listened to the preview clips and from what I've heard they've done an excellent job. Bob Kauflin wrote about it on his blog and explained the reasoning for producing it. The people who wrote the songs for the album are some of the very same who are writing great songs for the church today.

Here's what the site has to say about the new CD:

To Be Like Jesus contains twelve worship songs that teach the fruit of the Spirit in a creative and memorable way.Through these songs kids will learn that Jesus is our perfect example of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,and self-control. More than that, they’ll discover that we can’t be like Jesus unless we trust in the power of his cross to forgive us and the power of his Spirit to change us.

Needless to say, you won't be finding this kind of explanation on the back of your generic, overpriced, mass produced, cookie cutter "HOTT 25 Worship Songs 4 KIDS!" CD anytime soon. I appreciate Sovereign Grace Ministries so much for writing songs from the church, for the church.

Martin Luther's Warning

2009-05-15T12:54:00.006-05:00

Before I choose a song for the congregation to sing on a Sunday, I make it a priority to read exactly what will be sung beforehand. The content of a song, the lyrics—that truth that is contained within the boundaries of melody—is the most important aspect of the song itself.

Perhaps Martin Luther understood this better than anyone. During the Reformation, the most popular way doctrine spread was not through the intellectual discourses between the theological heavyweights, but through hymns! And specifically hymns in the language of the people.

Martin Luther recognized the power and effectiveness of these songs, and in fact, he went on to write many hymns to teach and edify the church, but he also knew the dangers that would threaten to enter the church through song. Which is why he wrote these words:

False masters now abound, who songs indite;
Beware of them, and learn to judge them right:
Where God builds up his Church and Word, hard by
Satan is found with murder and a lie.

False teachers don't always enter the church as Pastors or Sunday School teachers, but also as hymn/worship music writers, and music ministers. It is a sobering thought to be given the responsibility to discern what is right and wrong for a congregation to sing. To those who are in such a position I hope Luther's words of warning impact you in the way they have impacted me. My prayer for myself and for those in a similar position is that God would grant His grace that we may continually be able to "judge them right."

By the way, I love that picture of Luther because it reminds me of myself...sitting at the table with my instrument, a drink on the table, papers scattered, children playing in the room, dog on the floor...that table even looks like mine.

From Gadsby's Hymns - Jesus, Thou Art Our Only Rest

2009-05-07T11:51:00.006-05:00

From time to time I'll post a hymn from my favorite hymnbook, Gadsby's Hymns. This is hymn #637 written by William Gadsby:

Jesus, thou art our only rest
From sin, and guilt, and fears;
We love to lean upon thy breast
And on thee cast our cares.

With anxious care and painful thought,
We toiled and toiled again;
True holiness was what we sought,
But this we sought in vain.

Stripped naked, and exposed to shame,
We loud for mercy cried;
The Lord gave faith to eye the Lamb,
And fasten in his side.

The works of nature, bad or good,
Availed nothing here;
Faith viewed the Saviour's precious blood,
And banished guilt and fear

Here's life, and light, and holiness,
And righteousness divine;
A boundless treasure, all of grace,
And faith says, All is mine

O what a rest is Christ to me!
How precious and how true!
From guilt and sin he sets me free,
And gives me glory too.

I have, I want to rest beside;
Here's all a God can give;
Here would I constantly abide,
And every moment live.

Sound Link: A Hub for Christian Blogs

2009-04-24T09:07:00.003-05:00

My Christian Blogs is a new site that I believe will become a great resource for many people who like to keep up with Christian Blogs. This is a gateway to great sites I have used in the past that have been greatly benificial to me. I have been looking for a place to go just like this and now it's here! So check it out at http://mychristianblogs.com/.

From (and For) the Mouths of Babes

2009-04-08T11:45:00.006-05:00

A few Sunday’s back I led the congregation in the songs “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” by Martin Luther and “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” by Isaac Watts. The primary reason I chose these songs is a bit obvious by their titles; the Mightiness of God. Not only do the lyrics express the Mightiness of God, but the music enhances that idea with their majestic yet militaristic tunes. But as I was driving home from Springfield the night before, reflecting on the songs that would be sung the following morning, I felt I needed to explain the meaning of the words ‘bulwark’ and ‘Sabaoth’. After all, the song is almost 500 years old. But then I remembered who the intended audience was for both of these songs; children. I was struck by the thought so much so that I mentioned it Sunday morning and on a rather off-handed remark I asked that if these songs are the ‘high water-mark’ in congregational singing today and yet they were originally intended for children, what does that say about us today? I am still pondering that question and I am not exactly sure if my conclusions are solid. When I ask “what does that say about us today,” I believe it leaves us with a couple of challenges.

First, how do these songs compare to our children’s songs today? I don’t want to criticize the intention of those who compose our modern day children’s songs because I believe that many are very instructive in their simplicity for the very young. But unfortunately most children’s songs for today are only appropriate for ages 0-4. Such as “The B-I-B-L-E” and “Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man”. They fall in line with other nursery songs such as “The Ittsy Bittsy Spider”. The resources today for children’s music are a little better than wretched. The CD’s you find at your local Christian bookstore are horrendous. First you have the nice lady who probably taught kindergarten singing all her songs in a goofy baby-talk voice. This works for babies and dead people. Second you have the lullaby edition that contains dreamy, sleepwalky, instrumental hymns that only adults (who grew up in the church) know. The only purpose for these are to soothe your baby to sleep. And last but not least it is the top 25 “hot” worship songs from CCLI sung by 12 over-enthusiastic kids. Let’s just say that if this album came with two CDs, you now have an extra Frisbee in case the first CD goes into the neighbors’ yard. Obviously, there is a glaring hole in the quality of children’s music in the church today. Why do we have to dumb down our children’s music? Children learn at an incredible rate. They are sponges that soak up everything around them. If they are exposed early on to the truth then they can only grow from there. I’m not saying we need to get rid of all our modern children’s music, but let’s expand it, and improve it vastly! How would the church look today if the past generation of children grew up on songs like “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” rather than nursery songs until they entered youth group?

The next thing I notice is that though these hymns began as songs meant for children, they stood the test of time by matching beautiful truth with beautiful music. Obviously, ours is not the first generation to use these songs for congregational singing. They have been sung for hundreds of years. What that means for us (the church) is that we (the church, not the music industry) should be striving to produce similar music. Not similar in sound or style, but similar in substance and quality, musically and lyrically. Sometimes I wonder if the “worship” music industry is more of a curse than it is a blessing. If the blessing is the abundance of resources then the curse is that most of the resources are just pumped out for cash with little consideration for the local church. The reason I bring up the “worship” music industry is because there is such a stark contrast in the production of “modern worship” songs compared to the songs produced by Luther and Watts. Why did Luther and Watts produce these songs? Because they cared for the children in their congregations enough to instruct them in the truth. Why does the “worship” music industry produce new music? Yikes. That one is harder to answer because it not very clear that the local congregation is who they are writing for. I don’t think Isaac Watts would be comfortable referring to himself as a ‘worship artist’ and I have a hard time imagining Martin Luther being interviewed by CCM magazine and saying something like, “I was just sitting there with my lute and God just gave me this song. It was, like, the Spirit was totally there.” Get my point? These guys wrote for the church. They didn’t make an album and sell it. They didn’t go on tour to promote their songs. They saw a need and filled it and God blessed it. I wonder what would happen if poets and musicians invested themselves in theology and the local church? Or if theologians and pastors would take time to write some poetry? What if they teamed up to produce music for their local congregation, not to sell a CD, or to make a name for themselves, but to serve the church?

Side Note: I am not saying that a pursuit in the “worship” music industry is bad. But what I am saying is that it is very different to how the church has historically found her voice musically. It is hard for me to believe that the “worship” industry, modeled around popular music’s industry, is in the business of serving the church. Now, if we are talking about artists and musicians who are Christians creating music and art based upon Christ I have no problem with that! God is glorified through that vocation. The problem starts when the (usually highly subjective) art or music is mistaken for congregational worship songs. I know that every now and then, one slips through the cracks and winds up being a great congregational worship song, but in the end the “worship” industry is out to make money (and there’s nothing wrong with that in and of itself) and serving the church is secondary, if it is even a goal at all.

[In the future I’ll be posting more about the difference between today’s Christian songs, like the ones heard on the radio, and Congregational songs]

Sound Link - Should We Rock The Flock?

2009-03-19T09:09:00.004-05:00

From time to time I'll link an article that I believe is beneficial to sound doxology. Here is a link to part 1 of an article in defense of hymns. He hasn't said what he considers to be a hymn, yet, but his description of Contemporary Christian Music is spot on.

Should We Rock the Flock

Music is a Servant to Words

2009-03-12T12:44:00.012-05:00

As I was flipping through my new copy of Gadsby's Hymns the other day I kept thinking about a statement made by Bob Kauflin, "In congregational worship, music is a servant to words." This simple statement has almost become a philosophy for me. Not only does it direct our attention to the most important aspect of congregational singing (the words/lyrics and the truth contained in them) but it gives the music, which accompanies the lyrics, a higher purpose than just being a "catchy" tune.

What I'm getting at here is basically this; a song, no matter how theologically rich and wonderful the words may be, must have an appropriate tune to carry it. I like to think of it this way; music is the vessel, or cup, that carries the lyrics, which is the liquid contained. Now you can drink wine from a styrofoam cup, but a more appropriate vessel is a wine glass. The glass was specifically made to complement the wine. I feel like a lot of the older hymns have suffered because of this. So many great lyrics have been paired with trivial, boring, or just plain wretched melodies it is no wonder why many people cringe when they hear the word 'hymn'. Wine in any old cup is still wine, but it cannot be fully appreciated and fully enjoyed if not contained in the proper vessel, namely a wine glass.

The flip side of this idea is no matter how beautiful, majestic, catchy, or pleasing the music may be, it means nothing if the lyrics are simply weak theology and mindless dribble. To continue the analogy, if you owned a beautiful ornate goblet, fit for a king, would you drink chocolate milk, or kool-aid out of it? If you are 10 then yes, you would. But for anyone else it doesn't make since to do so. The reason is because kool-aid, though sweet and tasty, is not complemented by such a cup. The reason I don't drink kool-aid from a wine glass is the same reason I don't drink wine from my child's sippy cup.

Here are a few practical examples. Let's look at the most well loved English hymn, Amazing Grace. The words were written by John Newton in the 1700's but the tune, NEW BRITAIN, was written in the mid-1800's. Before the tune was composed Amazing Grace was just another ordinary song in the hymnal. Nothing special really, other than good poetry. Now, take the words to Amazing Grace and sing them to the tune of Gilligan's Isle or House of the Rising Sun. Some people would say that is sacrilege! That is because the tune falls short of the lyrics. They do not complement each other. It is wine in the sippy cup.

Here's another, albeit a bit silly. The tune and lyrics of A Mighty Fortress is Our God written by Martin Luther evoke majesty and triumph. Let's use that wonderful tune to sing the following lyrics:

There was this man from Galilee/His love is like a river/He died one day upon a tree/He is the perfect giver/I raise my holy hands/and bow and kneel and stand/Just gotta worship Him/And singing without end/La la la la la la la la la. (with hand motions?)

Ok, first I must say that I feel dumb just writing that off the top of my head. I need to apologize to Martin Luther when I get to heaven. Second, these lyrics (unfortunately) evoke much of today's modern "worship" music, however I digress, that is for another post... But it serves to make my point clear. This is kool-aid in the wine glass.

This may not seem like a very important topic to some people but for the singing congregation I believe it is vital. Trivial music paired with truth-laden lyrics will cause us to trivialize the truth. Wonderful, beautiful music paired with weak, senseless lyrics will cause us to believe that what we are singing is the core of the gospel, when in fact we may be happily singing heresy!

So let us be cautious in what we sing by understanding the submissive role music takes to the lyrics.

What's The Real Issue?

2009-02-10T11:57:00.004-06:00

When it comes to leading congregational singing in the worship of God there are a number of factors a Pastor and Worship Leader (not to mention the worshipper) must be aware of. Much of the debate about “worship” today usually centers on a “contemporary verses traditional” type argument. I believe that pitting one against another is wrong and that our attention on congregational singing—what many singularly classify as “worship”—should be focused elsewhere. The question isn’t, “Which one is right?” instead, we should take a step back and ask, “What’s the real issue?” To say that the terms “contemporary” and “traditional” are loaded is an enormous understatement. Then we throw in the term “blended” to solve all our problems when in reality it just becomes contemporary vs. traditional vs. blended!

When we argue for “our side” we are in affect telling another Christian that “we know that we are right and we definitely know that you are wrong.” And what do we base it on? If we are honest we see that it is based on our own ideas or desires. The weirdest (and dumbest) thing about this debate is that all sides seem to agree that Scripture has nothing to do with it (unless they find a verse they believe supports their argument!). The common argument is, “Oh, well Scripture is silent on the whole matter.” In one sense they seem right, which might be a reason for the never ending-ness of the debate. Scripture doesn’t tell us what “style” to play our music. But is that what God really cares about? Don’t you think that if God was only to be worshiped in one particular style of music He would have commanded us to do so? “Thou shalt only play thine organ.” What God does care about is that worship to Him is to be done in “spirit and truth” through Christ. And essentially what that means for those leading the people of God is that we are to guard the worship of God from “flesh and error” and from “worldliness and falsehood”. Otherwise God is not glorified.

War Is Over! (if you want it)

2009-02-03T11:56:00.007-06:00

One of the most harmful and detrimental attacks that the enemy has launched at the church in recent decades is what we have (affectionately?) dubbed the “Worship Wars”. I am here today announcing to the Christian world that the War is over…if you want it.

That is to say, if there ever really was a “war” to begin with. Oh to be sure, battle lines have been drawn and it seems as if every sanctuary is a combat zone, but what we’ve carelessly deemed as “war” is nothing more than demonic distraction from our ultimate goal. The only winner in such a “war” is the enemy. (That’s Satan, in case you think it is the person sitting down the pew from you.)

I despise the expression “Worship Wars” because it has nothing to do with worship. A more appropriate phrase might be “Preference Wars”, or we could call it by its technical term: Sin. But ironically, while what we fight over has absolutely nothing to do with true worship it is for that very reason we have lost the very essence of worship. A truly cunning plan arranged by the Serpent. Distract the people of God with that which is most important to God by confusing what worship really is so that while they fight over temporary and meaningless issues the eternal nature of true worship falls to the wayside without anyone noticing what went wrong.

So how do we break free of this “War”? I firmly believe that the best way for people to come together and reject this demonic distraction is what we find in Paul’s letter to the Romans. We need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This can be done in a manner of different ways but first and foremost there needs to be teaching on the subject. Pastors and teachers in the church are crucial in fulfilling this role. I pray that this blog can contribute to that as I endeavor to teach sound doxology.

I pray that this blog will be a resource to you, one that will assist you in renewing your mind in regards to worship. If you have a question about worship please email me anytime (sounddoxology@gmail.com) or post in the comment section. Some of the best learning comes from dialogue. You can also follow this blog and subscribe so that you are notified whenever there is a new post.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord,or who has been his counselor?”“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:33-36