Psalms in Worship: Congregations Singing New Psalms (an album review)

Posted on February 25, 2012 by

Does your church sing the psalms? I don’t mean singing psalm snippets like many modern worship songs do–nothing wrong with that, but it’s not the same as psalm singing–but singing a psalm in its entirety or at least a significant portion.

There is a movement toward psalm singing in modern churches. Many traditional and liturgical churches have often sung the psalms, but I am thankful for this resurgence of psalm arranging and singing. I think every congregation can find its worship voice by studying and interpreting the psalms for their community. I also think it helps us teach the next generation to discover the fullness of the Christian life. After all the psalms explore the gamut of emotions from sorrow to exuberant joy, as well as providing a poetic history of redemption.

People have been singing from the book of Psalms for at least 3000 years. Thankfully, we don’t have the original music that David sang while tending his father’s sheep. Nor do we know the tunes Jesus and the disciples sang. If we knew this music, we might feel constrained to sing only those tunes–I know there would be groups who would advocate this, just as there would be those who rebel against this notion. Instead, God mercifully set us free to sing the psalms in musical genres that are appropriate to our local culture.

The Psalms Project

During seminary I conceived of a way to help congregations do this through what I called The Psalm Project. The goal is to bring artists of many disciplines together to study the psalms and then create works of art based on their study. In 2007 and 2008 we had many versions of this crop up in Chicago, San Diego and Denver. We had some amazing musical, visual and poetic renditions emerge. (If I can find some of the recordings, I will share those here in a future post.)

A Survey of Modern Psalm Singing

The Calvin Institute of Worship has also sponsored several projects along these lines, including one by my friend Bruce Benedict where his church and some friends created a project based around the Psalms of Ascent.

I remember in college hearing Ian White of Scotland speak of his  goal to write new versions of all 150 psalms during his lifetime. That inspired me to set a similar goal (so far I have about 10 settings). Here is a psalm from Ian White:

Brian Moss is seeking to do something similar through his Prayer Book Project, though his songs are stated as “inspired by the psalms” as opposed to being psalm settings. He will soon release his second set of songs based on the psalms.

Another group that has made a major impact on psalm singing is The Sons of Korah, getting their name from the biblical group of priests who wrote many of the psalms that David didn’t write. Group founder Matthew Jacoby said this, “The best exposition of the psalms you can do is put them to music.” While this is a professional caliber band and many songs aren’t specifically for congregational singing, the interpretations seek to strictly follow the text and get inside the emotion of the psalms. Here is their setting of Psalm 51:

If you’ve read many of my posts, you know that I love Sovereign Grace Music for writing theologically rich songs in modern musical idioms. Their review of the psalms is no exception. Our congregation has done God is Our Refuge on several occasions and loved it. Here is their “Out of the Depths”:

In the Wakeful Hours: An Album Review

With that exposure to some broader movements in modern psalm singing, I’d like to feature a new project released by Mark Chambers and his church at Westminster Reformed Presbyterian Church in Suffolk, Virginia.

In 2011 their pastor decided to preach through a number of psalms. Mark and church leaders invited the musical members of their church to write new settings to the psalms based on their communal study. Over 25 church musicians participated in the project (not counting the choir).

While the artists didn’t specifically meet to discuss their arrangements, they came with a strong collection of psalm settings that I’m sure their congregation will enjoy and sing for decades to come. It took them about 2 months to produce the project (and Mark wished he could’ve had another month to fine tune the mixes). The only outsider involved was the mixer.

Here’s what Mark had to say about the project:

“For us it was a matter of contextualization. I wanted our people to see that all music does not come out of Nashville and that we have a number of people in our own midst that can contribute quite substantively to the worship life of WRPC. That is why the CD is so diverse. I purposefully wanted it that way, too. I did not want to leave people out of the project because their material was so very different from my own. I have seen in this process our musicians grow as they have been stretched to meet a goal and to also continually rework material. Our congregants have also benefited from it by seeing that our worship life is not limited to CCM and that many people have something to say within our own community.”

Some things I love about this project:

1) Representation of the church – After listening to this project, I feel like I know some of the people of this church. They have poured their hearts and talents in these arrangements. You’ll find many voices and many instruments. One of my pastors used to say worship services should allow “Grandpa and Johnny to worship together.” This project has the diversity of styles that would truly allow all generations to sit together.

2) Fresh and diverse interpretations – I loved the choral setting of Create In Me, but also the Bob Dylanesque setting of In the Wakeful Hours. This project covered many styles, including choral, traditional, rock, folk and even a little gospel/jazz.

3) Multi-voiced – I loved hearing a wide range of musical instruments (guitar, piano, violin, trumpet, bass, drums, organ and many more). It was nice to hear the singers represent all the church’s generations, not just the youngest members. While this might keep some settings from gaining prominence on the CCM top 40 charts, it will endear the songs to their community. A very worthwhile commitment to the longterm worship life of the church!

4) Thoughtful arrangements - Many of the settings felt very appropriate to the lyrics. The psalms cover a wide emotional array and this album’s settings covered that gamut.

5) Outward focused – Many of the psalms have a focus on God’s missionary heart, but that’s not my point here. WRPCA has decided to use all proceeds from this project to support their on-going musicianary work in Austria with the Musik-Brucken project.

***WARNING: This is not an album you can just casually listen to. Instead allow each song to take you into the mood and meaning of the text.***

My wishlist

This album provides an incredible model for churches everywhere to create their own psalm projects, I do have a couple of wishes:

1) Stick to the text – Unless you’re doing as Brian Moss by writing songs inspired by the psalms, I think it’s important for psalm arrangers to stick to the text (changing translations is fine). You’re putting these songs into the minds and hearts of your congregation and it would be best to help them memorize scripture. A couple songs clearly added some new lyrics that will quickly become dated. I remember writing a song with the line, “Let’s roll!” soon after 9/11. My congregation responded negatively and I wisely removed that song from our rotation.

2) Focus on making psalms singable for your congregation – I asked Sons of Korah about why they didn’t make all their songs congregation friendly and their answer was they are a performance group. I have no problem with performance songs, I’ve written quite a few. I don’t know how many of the WRPCA authors were seeking to write for the congregation, but I believe we need many more psalm settings written for the congregation.

What do you think?

I’m very encouraged by this project. I hope many other churches take up this charge and create psalm settings they will sing and share with the rest of the world. 

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Arts and Worship: 5 Thoughts on the Nature of Biblical Artistry

Posted on February 18, 2012 by

What is biblical art? Or what makes art biblical? For that matter, how do we know if someone’s artistry is truly biblical? What difference does it make for worship leaders and thoughtful cultural artists?

If those questions have ever traveled through the synaptic highway of your brain, this discussion will hopefully help clarify and propel your thinking. This will be the first of a series of thoughtful posts on the purpose and goal and methods of biblical artistry.

(Please note that there are many fine books that approach this topic in various forms. Most of those will provide a much more scholarly take. My goal is to help the artist on the street and the worship pastor in the pew with a more conversational style. I will reference some of the great books as we go. One good place to start is Gene Veith’s State of Arts: From Bezalel to Magglethorpe.)

What is Biblical Artistry?

By biblical artistry I’m discussing the intentional pursuit of creating art from a biblical worldview — not necessarily creating art about biblical themes, though that could be included.

5 thoughts on the nature of biblical artistry

When asked to summarize the essence of worship, a fellow worship leader answered: “To love God with all my heart, soul, mind and being–with my whole life, not just with songs–but certainly including songs.”

A biblically informed and led artist would answer the same. The Great Commandment (Mt. 22:37-40) is paramount:

1. Biblical art is done out of love for God and neighbor.

2. Biblical artistry is done with excellence and empowered by the Holy Spirit. When God sought an artist to create the art for the tabernacle, he selected Bezalel (Exodus 31) because: 1) he was skilled in his craft; and 2) he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Proverbs tells us that skilled artists will perform before kings and queens. A biblical artist is always seeking to present his best art.

What role does the Holy Spirit play in Bezalel’s art? While God can always supernaturally give us skills we never possessed, he normally uses skills we’ve already refined. The Spirit empowers and directs these abilities for God’s purposes. I believe He also perfects our work in ways we couldn’t imagine.

3. Biblical artistry is done for the glory of God. J.S. Bach is famous for signing his compositions with SDG, an acronym referring to the latin phrase Soli Deo Gloria – “to the glory of God alone” or “to God alone be all the glory.” This phrase finds its roots in Paul’s admonition to “do whatever you do for the glory of God.” Sounds easy enough…

But for an artist of any discipline–visual, music, dramatic or literary–this is a constant fight. Most artists make their art in hopes that people will enjoy and appreciate their offering. Artists can be crushed through simple criticism (think of Carole King’s demise at the hands of one harsh critic). Applause and praise stokes the souls and passions of artists.

To offer God “ALL the glory” is very difficult for an artist. It becomes even more challenging when an artist depends on art for his or her livelihood. Money tends to follow those who promote their art well–regardless of quality.

Pat Delony is my friend and a very talented painter and a marketer. His undergraduate degree is in fine art and he would prefer to paint in the styles of the great master artists like Rembrandt or Money. However, he discovered that most people don’t appreciate and can’t afford fine art. They will, however, pay for natural art done through innovative styles. So Pat decided to distinguish himself as a pointillist–a style demanding very detailed fine pen work, but easily duplicated. Applying his marketing skills, Pat has created a niche for himself as a regional wildlife artist and stays very busy, but still finds time to teach his grandchildren art and help his son with his youth ministry.

As a jazz musician I find many of my teachers and peers speak critically of Kenny G, David Sanborn, Chris Boti, Kirk Whalum and other jazz musicians who’ve made a living in mainstream pop music. However, I think they are jealous of musicians who have founds ways to create art AND support their families. They are creating art that people will support with their pocketbooks, not just their critical acclaims.

That said, I understand why some will say these musicians have “sold out.” They are allowing the market to dictate what art they will create–but remember, providing for our families is not a bad thing, even Michelangelo had to create art that pleased his patrons.

4. Biblical art isn’t always popular and may not sell. A biblical artist has to be willing to speak the messages God is giving her regardless of how well it is received. In this way a biblical artist is like a prophet. While art cannot deliver propositional truth in the same way a sermon or book can, it is very effective at catalyzing conversations and asking important questions of individuals or communities.

5. Biblical Artistry requires sacrifice. Great athletes must buffet their bodies to reach the top of their sport. Farmers spend months tilling, planting and weeding their fields before they are rewarded with crops. The success of an athlete and a farmer depend on how diligently they worked when hidden from the public eye. An athlete can always have a lucky year and all farmers benefit when ideal conditions prevail, but the true test comes during difficult times.

The same can be said for artists. The artist who spends hours each week perfecting her art will eventually have the opportunity to share her art with the world. Persevering without giving up is the test all great artists must overcome. Few artists are ushered into greatness without crossing the threshold of sacrifice.

Some helpful resources to continue your thinking:

Art for God’s Sake by Phil Ryken. Phil is the consummate pastor, theologian and appreciator of great art. This short book provides a good overview of the scriptural call to create art to the glory of God. Phil is now president at Wheaton College (and I might mention Phil was a classmate of mine–and I’m not surprised at all that he is now president of our alma mater).

It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God (edited by Ned Bustard and Sandra Bowden). This is a collection of great articles all centered around how art can glorify God. The contributors range from pastor Tim Keller to world-renowned artist Mako Fujimara; from professor and jazz pianist Bill Edgar to Nashville producer and musician Charlie Peacock.

The Heart of an Artist by Rory Noland. Rory was one of the founding musicians at Willow Creek Community Church. He has directed and produced thousands of services working alongside some of the best musicians in Chicago and from across the Christian music world. These insights are tested in the trenches and important for all biblical artists as they consider the role of their heart in creating art (a topic for another post).

Your Turn:

Since this is meant to be a conversation starter, I’d love to hear from you. How do the scriptures shape your view of your craft?

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Valentines Day and Worship: 4 Ways Churches Should Focus on Valentines Day

Posted on February 11, 2012 by

February 14 is indelibly marked on the minds and hearts of millions of women (and hopefully men) across America and the globe.

Most women look longingly toward Valentines Day as an occasion where their “man” or suitor will forget his brutish ways and pull out all the stops on romancing her heart.

I was recently counseling with a couple and she confided that she hoped they could resolve their differences so they could properly celebrate Valentines Day–without tension and conflict interfering with their romantic love.

I think women everywhere share that sentiment. Of course, I think we should long for deep emotional connections with our spouse all year and not just on one day, but I know I’m helped to have a day to spur me on “toward love and good deeds.”

But what does this have to do with worship and the Church?

Valentines Day has not always been focused on romantic love. In fact it’s origins are shrouded in mystery. We don’t really know to which St. Valentine to attribute the day (there were 3 men with names like Valentinus whom Rome dubbed saints and all three were martyred–how’s that for romantic love?).

Many scholars believe Valentines Day was the Church’s attempt to Christianize a pagan fertility festival. But in the 5th century, the Church banned the celebration all together–it wanted to distance itself from pagan influence.

It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that people popularized Valentines Day as a symbol of love in the month of February – birds mating, signs of spring, etc… This is also when the first Valentines greeting cards were shared (ca. early 1400s).

4 ways churches should focus on Valentines Day

While there are dangers associated with tightly focusing on a secular holiday, per se, there are certainly some benefits worth considering. I suggest these four and look forward to hearing yours:

1) See it as an outreach opportunity. As far as an influence on Christian worship, there have not been too many churches who hold Valentines worship services. Many churches do however hold special outreach desserts and dinners. It’s a natural time to talk about love, marriage and God’s love.

For example, when I was at Lake Oconee Presbyterian Church, we held an annual outreach called Taste of Love. We shared the comedy of Christian comedienne Kerri Pomarolli, jazz music provided by my band and some phenomenal desserts. People came in droves.

2. Unashamedly proclaim the sacrificial love of God. The martyrdom of saints like Valentinus provides a perfect opportunity to talk about God’s love for sinners that led to the wrongful death of Jesus, God’s own son. We should proclaim this good news at all times, but Valentines Day provides an opportunity to speak into broken marriages and the longings of every girl and woman to be romanced.

I find John Eldridge’s book The Sacred Romance to be a helpful resource in learning to talk about God’s love in this way. For many men this may seem too sappy and sentimental. I get that. That’s one of the dangers of our greeting card-influenced concept of love. But God’s pursuing love is nothing short of the best love story every told–which includes adventure, war, beauty and conquest.

3. Write and sing new love songs. I’m playing a gig on Valentines Day. My preparations are causing me to realize how so many love songs equate romance with sexual intimacy. At least that’s how men think of it. Women long for so much more and men would be well served to have some new songs that paint a picture of Real Love. It doesn’t have to be “Christian” lyrics, but certainly the model of love comes from the Bible.

Steven Curtis Chapman is one guy who gets this. He writes phenomenal songs and has given the world a gift by letting us hear the songs he wrote for his wife. Check out his album All About Love. I love all the songs, but here’s one to enjoy:

4. Use the example of St. Valentine to talk about marriage. With a 50% divorce rate (and higher for 2nd marriages), the institution of marriage is in trouble. Part of the reason is that few of us understand and practice sacrificial love. No matter which St. Valentine you choose, the example of martyrdom exemplifies the kind of love God calls men to have toward their wives. The Apostle Paul said, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25).

Marriages everywhere would be profoundly different if we all practiced sacrificial love. Gary Thomas has a straight forward book on the notion of sacred marriage. Protestants don’t view marriage as a sacrament, but we often undervalue its importance and would be well-served to view it as a sacred opportunity–a place to see God’s presence and pleasure.

May it be so, Lord Jesus.

Your turn

How does your church approach Valentines Day? Do you ignore it? Do you see it as an opportunity or distraction?

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Reading for Worship: 5 Books to Fuel Your Faith

Posted on February 4, 2012 by

I’ve read or started reading 5 books in the last month that have fueled my faith and challenged my thinking in good ways. None of these are “worship” books, but they all relate to lifestyle worship.

5 Books to Fuel Your Faith

1. Everyday Prayers by Scotty Smith

Scotty Smith is a well-known pastor in the Nashville area who has influenced many with his gospel-saturated teaching and ministry. The prayers in this book come from a long walk with Jesus that has required soul-searching along with scripture-digging to grapple with life’s challenges and joys. After a month of praying these prayers, I’ve come to depend on this books as a trusted source to reconnect my heart and mind with the hope and truth of the gospel. If you’re looking for ways to help you “preach the gospel to yourself” (per Jerry Bridges), this is a great daily resource.

Fueling your faith: This book demonstrates how one man moves from scripture and real life challenges to an unwavering grasp of the Gospel. I find my faith and belief in the Gospel bolstered each day. God’s words truly are words of life and Scotty helps me seem them.

2. Being George Washington by Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck enjoys his role as provocateur and catalyst in the national media. While I don’t agree with all his conclusions, his fresh unconventional approach challenges my thinking. I found the same to be true of this book on George Washington. He debunks many myths spread in classroom textbooks and gives us a vision of the faith, leadership, vision and weaknesses of our first president. I found myself inspired and using a different standard as I watch the presidential debates happening across the United States. I also find myself challenged with what vision I have for myself and my children.

Fueling your faith: George Washington faced daunting odds and circumstances in his pursuit of establishing the American experiment. I didn’t realize the internal fights he had to fight. His is a story that shows the importance of character that was formed earlier in life–reinforcing to me the need to instill these qualities in my own children. I also see a man who recognized God’s hand in all of history–seeing even the discovery of Benedict Arnold’s treason as a gift from God, saving the Revolution from a crushing defeat.

3. The Tehran Initiative by Joel Rosenberg

Joel Rosenberg is a messianic Jew. As such he has unique perspectives on Israel, End Times prophecies and current events. He also is an incredible storyteller. I find his books mesmerizing and am intrigued by how many of the things he writes are playing out in modern history (NOTE: he writes many of these things prior to them playing out historically). Frankly, my eschatological views are challenged whenever I read his novels. Even if you end up disagreeing with his eschatology (which many do), you’ll find his novels to be page-turners and the story lines to be captivating.

Fueling your faith: There are many who teach vigorously on End Times issues. Some of the attempts to portray these through literature are built on much speculation and a faulty hermaneutic (in my opinion). Rosenberg, however, looks at current events from a thoughtful perspective which helps me read the news differently and pray for the return of Jesus more passionately, while still going about His daily kingdom business.

4. Revolution in World Missions by K.P. Yohannan

I mentioned this book in a previous post. K.P. is an Indian pastor, missionary and evangelist. His organization, Gospel for Asia, has started a revolution in how the church thinks about and does global missions. He advocates training and releasing national missionaries to reach their own country as far more cost effective and long-term impacting. They know the culture, which speeds up translation and adaption issues, and can live at the same standard of living, saving tons of missionary dollars. He doesn’t write off the role of Western missionaries, but says we should reevaluate our relationship and form strategic partnerships in our areas of strength. And, of course, he holds no punches when discussing the state of the Western church. This will challenge you, but it’s worth the read.

Fueling your faith: The call to take the gospel to all nations couldn’t be more clear in Scripture, yet the Western Church has distracted itself through all of its ministries, programs and buildings. Very few churches give 10% or more of their annual budget toward global missions and yet struggle little over raising millions for building projects. Yohannan challenges me to not only support church planting here in America, but to partner with his indigenous evangelists as they plant churches throughout the many nations of Asia.

5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

I make it a habit every year to either read or watch the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein. This year I also decided to re-read The Hobbit, first read to me by my fifth grade teacher (thanks, Mr. Sanders). We’re also reading it aloud to our daughters. Since the movie is coming out next year, I figured it was a good to revisit this classic story. I highly recommend reading it before you see the story through Peter Jackson’s (the director) eyes.

Fueling your faith: Bilbo models for me a blundering faith. He didn’t believe in himself and discredited Gandalf’s belief in him. Nonetheless he joins the quest and finds ways to use his assets (a quick wit and a magic ring) to help his jolly band achieve victory. How often do I overlook the gifts God has granted me and feel they are inadequate?

What books have you read that have fueled your faith? What books are on your current reading list?

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The Role of Music in Global Missions: 10 Reasons Why We Need Musicians to Take the Gospel to the Nations

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

I’m currently reading K.P. Yohannan’s Revolution in World Missions, (get it free here). He has seen phenomenal results throughout Asia in taking the gospel to villages through national missionaries who are literally willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of the Gospel–it sounds much like the book of Acts.

Yohanan says some things about American Christianity that are painful to hear, but worth considering. He suggests that we have allowed worldliness and materialism to distract us from our call to take the Gospel to all the world. We spend $74 million on new buildings when that same money could evangelize whole nations or build 7000 churches in Asia.

***As a side note, I remember in college asking a renowned Bible scholar why we were spending millions of dollars creating a new English Bible translation when there are more than 2000 language groups in the world that don’t even have a chapter of the Bible. He didn’t have a satisfactory answer. Now I’m the one who is challenged with why we spend $500,000 on church sound systems when that could support dozens of indigenous missionaries.”

His critique that caught my attention was related to our choirs, orchestras and modern worship bands. He wondered if we worship our worship instead of Christ. Do we really need all this music, he wonders?

If you read this blog, you probably have my reaction: “Of course we need music. The church hired me to do this. And haven’t we had music in churches since the angels sang of Jesus’ birth?” and after more careful thought, “Doesn’t God command us to use music in our worship of him? After all, the psalms are filled with calls to sing, shout, dance and make music to the Lord.”

It would be easy to dismiss Yohanan’s critique as stemming from a missions radical, but I think we would miss what the Spirit might be asking, “Are we worshipping our worship, instead of Christ?”

All this got me thinking about the legitimate role of musicians in global missions. I have many friends who have given their lives to this cause. Here are a few to check out, if you’re interested:

If the call of the Kingdom is to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all Christ’s commandments, do we need music to do this?

I hope this becomes a conversation starter as we all consider how our gifts are used in God’s Kingdom.

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is.
Missions exists because worship doesn’t. . . .
Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal in missions.”
John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad.

 

With John Piper’s famous quote in our ears, let me propose ten reasons why church musicians and worship leaders are needed in global missions:

10. Musicians are typically good students of culture, which is exactly what missionaries need to be.
9. Music and art have universal appeal, and while not all cultures embrace Western styles of music, there is more openness today than ever before. In fact, studies have shown that young people in Japan and Saudi Arabia will spend thousands of dollars to attend concerts of Western music.
8.  Worship leaders who are adept at learning new instruments and styles can quickly build rapport with the local community more quickly than missionaries with other skill sets.
7. Musicians can say things through art and music that missionaries would never be able to get away with. I often tell the story of missionary friends in Central Asia who started an Arts Festival so they could bring Christian artists to share the gospel through their music and art, since these missionaries had be unable to do so after more than a dozen years of relatively unfruitful preaching. The harvest was unprecedented.
6. Too often Western missionaries have unwittingly imported Western forms of music and worship (think African Queen). Informed musicians bring a sensitivity to cultural issues that other missionaries might miss and that will help the church become appropriately indigenous.
5.  Who better to help train future worship leaders than biblically literate, gospel-saturated worship leaders who have a healthy grid for discerning culture?
4. Excellence in one’s craft will gain audiences with kings and queens.  Proverbs 22:29 says, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.” Musicians and artists have an opportunity through their craft to gain the respect and attention of local and national leaders. I have a missionary friend who became a national musical hero through her ability to sing national folk songs.
3. Missionaries need musicians on their team (and vice versa). I’ve written about this before and the point is worth repeating. The artistic temperament brings a healthy balance to the typical gifts of most pastors and missionaries.
2. In a day where sights and sounds have largely supplanted the spoken and written word, we need the artistic skills of musicians, artists and videographers to help communicate the gospel across cultural barriers (in person and online). In my social media work, I continually find that photos and videos are increasingly the way people take in information. We live in unprecedented times for using the internet for Kingdom purposes and artists can help translate our stories.
1.  Music, art and drama are primary teaching methods in many oral societies. If that is true, then musicianaries become critical to not only evangelism, but also the discipleship of new churches in newly opened fields. Wycliffe Bible Translators has seen the importance of this. I have friends who have participated in their short-term ethnomusicology projects.

This list is by no means exhaustive. It’s meant to be a catalyst for conversation, not the final authority on this conversation. May God prompt all of us to consider how our skills and craft might be used for His kingdom purposes in our local churches, communities AND across the globe on short-term assignments and potentially through relocation.

Your turn…

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Phil’s Top Ten Lists: 10 Reasons Why Every Worship Leader Should Play or Sing Outside His/Her Church

Posted on January 21, 2012 by

This week I’ve been playing in the pit orchestra for CYT Wichita’s production of Cinderella Enchanted next week. My participation has reminded me of some sage advice I received from Wade Williams of Perimeter Church in Atlanta. He encouraged me to regularly play in groups outside the church. Stan Endicott believes most church worship and music directors should earn part of their income through musical endeavors outside the church.

As I seek to gig more in 2012, I think I’m starting to see some of why these brothers advise the way they do.

Here’s 10 reasons to consider why every church music or worship director should sing and/or play in groups outside the church:

10) It will stretch you musically. If you’re in a contemporary church, you may find the music gets old after a while. How many times can you play a 1-4-5 progression? Even classical musicians will find themselves challenged in good ways when they play repertoire from outside the sacred realm. Playing outside the church gives you the chance to spread your musical wings.

9) You’ll be reminded of your role. When you sit under someone else’s direction, you’ll get a chance to review the role of each person in a musical ensemble and the importance of your leadership role–and if you’re an instrumentalist, how that fits into the whole.

8) It gives you fresh perspective on why you’re doing what you do on Sundays. When you play in bars, concert halls or for parties, music is the main deal (or can be). In worship, music serves a greater purpose–underscoring the celebration of God’s goodness and glory.

7) Take time to watch how others lead. When we constantly lead and take little time to be directed, we forget some of the subtleties involved with clear communication and building camraderie among your group members.

6) It will keep you humble. Many times the worship leader is often the chief musician in his church. Playing outside the church helps us realize there are many phenomenal musicians who are more passionate about their music than we are. This has inspired me to take my practice time more seriously. When you’re the best in your setting, you don’t feel pushed to pursue God’s best for you.

5) It keeps us connected with how the rest of the world views music. Playing in a club last weekend, I realized that many view music as a way of escape. I’m also amazed how many people know all the words to ALL these songs we do by people like Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and The Who. Why is that less true in our churches? Hmm…A topic for another day. :)

4) You’ll have a chance to brush shoulders with people you would never meet otherwise. Music breaks down many barriers. I have talked to people in bars and in the theater that I would never see in church. God has used some of those conversations to form some new musical and ministry opportunities.

3) You can focus on improving your craft without feeling guilty. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes feel guilty building in time for practicing my instruments. It doesn’t feel like a spiritual ministry that the church should pay for. Yet, to be good leaders in our church, we must keep our skill sets sharp–lest we fall into mediocrity. Playing in outside venues provides a good excuse and motivation to focus our practice time.

2) You can show off your musical chops appropriately without being accused of being a showboat. I’ve found it’s important for me to have musical outlets where my improvisational skills are expected and desired. Otherwise, I will force them on my congregation and distract their attention from their primary duty of worshipping God.

1) If you take other church musicians with you, you’ll find chances to learn how to be salt and light. I’m playing with a group called Evan LaRue and SoloBone. Several Christians came together to start this band because we want to be salt and light. This becomes obvious through our stage presence and song selection. More than once this has opened the opportunity to start spiritual conversations. 

Your turn:

I’m sure there are more than 10 reasons to play regularly outside the church. What are some of your reasons?

Posted in Worship Leadership | 6 Comments

The Drama of Worship: 5 Ways to Improve Your Gospel Storytelling in Worship

Posted on January 6, 2012 by

Why do our children find themselves bored in our worship services? Is it because we don’t have enough cool videos or tantalizing children’s sermons?

No. It’s because we’ve lost the art of storytelling.

Children love to hear and watch great stories repeatedly–I have dozens of worn out videos to prove it. So, it’s not telling the same story that is the problem. I think it’s how we’re telling the story.

For too many churches, we develop a liturgical formula that works for our community and staff culture and then we focus on creating the right parts (songs, prayers, readings, sermon, etc…) and don’t think about the whole often enough. You know the adage, “missing the forest for the tree.”

But we need to re-enter the cycle of Creation-Fall-Redemption every week. We need to be reminded of God’s power displayed at the Exodus and the Cross. We long to know and experience God’s pursuing love that brought us back out of Exile. Though we’re tempted to bow down to our modern governmental structures, we all desperately seek a perfect King–one who rules with perfect justice and yet provides a perfect substitute out of his mercy.

Why don’t we retell the story of the Gospel well in our worship services? It takes time, effort and creativity. It also requires us to learn from our more liturgically minded brothers and sisters.

We don’t have to become Anglican, Catholic or Lutheran to appreciate the richness of the well-told story of redemptive history in worship. Soren Kierkegaard called worship the “greatest drama on the stage of eternity.” We’re not talking about the use of drama in worship, but seeing worship as the grand drama that it is.

Francis Schaeffer used to say that redemption should set our creative imaginations aflame. I’d say, the worship event should capture the imagination of the best musical, artistic and poetic talent in the world. It’s a shame that the church has shunned many of these voices and has settled for mediocrity in this important arena.

Barry Leisch in his book People in the Presence presents some helpful ways of incorporating this line of thought.

I love how Kirk Whalum has brought together his passion for the gospel for jazz and the Gospel together in 3 album projects called The Gospel According to Jazz. While not a worship service, it models an attempt to create an event that brings together storytelling, excellent music and an understanding of the redemptive story. Hear how he describes it:

5 ways to improve your Gospel storytelling in worship:

1) Stay connected to the Church calendar. For too many evangelical churches, we have ditched the Church calendar and have created our own, often more influenced by Hallmark (Mother’s Day) and Washington (Thanksgiving) then by Scripture (do you know what happens on Epiphany, Christ the King or Pentacost?).

I’m not suggesting you become Anglican, but do learn from these deep-rooted brothers. The current liturgies have been birthed over many centuries, not just a few hours. Most of these liturgies come straight from the Scriptures. I’m not sure why we think our modern words are better than the Bible. All our services need plenty of Bible reading, singing and praying.

2. Learn from the elements of a good story. All the great stories have a hero and a villain, tension and release, conflict and resolution, tragedy and victory. So does the Gospel! So think through how these elements your worship storytelling.

You can do this within the normal service order. I’m not suggesting you rewrite the service structure weekly, but think through how the elements work together to tell the Gospel. For example,

The Call to Worship can remind us of our position before God as loved, adopted, purchased and forgiven.

The Invocation can express our longing to be with God and to receive the blessing of His presence.

The Opening Song(s) calls us to fix our eyes on Jesus and not the tragedies of life in this world or the trivial meanderings of our daily plodding.

A Prayer of Repentance invites us to inspect our lives and see how we fall short of the Law’s demands. It also reminds us of the waging war for our hearts, souls and minds (the Villain).

The Words of Assurance provide us confidence in God’s complete redemption – there is nothing we can do.

Songs of Preparation move us from repentance to faith as we open our hearts, minds and souls to hear God speak.

The act of Offering ourselves becomes more than a way to support the ministry of the church and exists to surrender our whole life to God.

The Sermon becomes not a time for Pastor XYZ to espouse his beliefs on his pet theological topic, but a time to hear God’s heart for His people and the world. Sometimes this is a rebuke and others it could be a loving reminder.

Songs of Response point our eyes and minds up and out. We look up in wonder at the God of the Gospel who longs to be with us. We look out and see a world who needs to hear this story.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yvfso4Q8xg&feature=fvwrel]

The Benediction is God’s “good word” to us as we leave. In one sense we never leave His presence, but when we depart from the gathered church we need His reminder that “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

3. Keep the whole story line in view while you develop a specific scene. I love thematic worship planning, but one of it’s dangers is that it can cause us to dwell on a sub-theme while forgetting the contour of redemptive history. That’s not a problem for one or two weeks, but a steady diet of this creates a Gospel-starved community.

4. Go see a play or musical regularly. And if possible, get involved with producing a musical. This will help you stay connected with the effort involved with telling a great story. We have found Christian Youth Theater to be a great organization toward this end.

5. Study the liturgies of other generations and other cultures. We easily become narrow-minded in our approach to worship. Make it a habit to visit churches of other denominations, cultures and read about other generations and their worship. Instead of defending your practices, see what you can learn from each. It may strengthen your current practices or it may open you to some new directions.

Another helpful resource not as commonly known is Redeemer Presbyterian Church’s manual for worship leaders. They provide thoughtful articles to help you think through all aspects of worship ministry, including the elements and structure of worship.

How do you approach the drama of worship?

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