chongs · worship – Page 68 – [ mites from our momentary marriage and ministry ]

Christ is Risen!

[vimeo 22748312 w=500 h=375]

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“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…”

“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

– Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 12-22

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While we were asleep: how Good Friday began

It’s midnight.

A man is walking up a hill towards a garden called Gethsemane. There’s eleven other men following beside. They listen to him speak.

“I am the true vine… Abide in me.”

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

“You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.”

These disciples have followed this teacher for three years. They’ve seen amazing displays of His power over sin, nature, sickness and death. They’ve heard Him teach with authority. But they’re not prepared for what will happen today.

Jesus and his disciples cross a small stream, and enters the garden.

“Sit here while I pray.”

And going a little farther, he stumbles onto the ground, distressed and troubled.

“Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Just then, through blurry eyes, Jesus sees the line of torches slithering like a snake up the hill to the garden. A mob of soldiers and priests arrive with weapons. Judas is with them, and greets Jesus with a kiss.

As the soldiers lay hands on Jesus and seize him, His friends flee, like sheep being scattered.

Jesus’s world becomes a swirl of torment and mockery.

It’s 3 o’clock.

Jesus, hands bound, is led to the house of the High Priest. All the chief priests, elders and scribes have come together at this unseemly hour to try and find him guilty of death.

False accusations, mocking, lies fill the air.

Then the High Priest stands up.

“Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

God then declares he is God.

“I am: and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

“You’ve heard his blasphemy!” the High Priest screams, as the assembly howls in uproar. They all condemn him as deserving death (Mk 14:64).

As he is dragged from the High Priest’s house, bruised, blood in his eyes, Jesus glances at a watching Peter.

Peter, who had run from the garden. Peter, who had followed the mob here. Yet this friend has just denied the Friend of sinners three times: “I do not know of this man of whom you speak.”

And as the rooster crows, and Peter realises what he’s done, he breaks down, weeping.

It’s 6 o’clock.

The city is still asleep as the priests and soldiers lead Jesus to the palace of Pontius Pilate.

But as news of Jesus’s arrest passes from house to house, it’s not long before the priests have a sympathetic crowd.

They level their charges to the governor: “This man forbids us to pay tribute to Caesar and he calls himself a king.”

Pilate stares intently at Jesus. He questions him and finds no guilt.

Neither does Herod.

So Pilate offers to release Jesus to the swelling crowd. But no – the crowd chooses to free the murderer Barabbas instead.

“Then what should I do with Jesus of Nazareth?” Pilate shouted to the mob.

The mob thunders back: “Crucify him! Crucify him!” And their voices prevailed.

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, and having scourged Jesus, delivers him to be crucified.

And now it’s 9 o’clock.

Falsely accused by the priests.

Judged innocent by Pilate.

Jesus, God’s chosen King, is led towards a hill called Golgotha, where he will display on the cross for us God’s love, wrath, justice, power, victory, hope, forgiveness, and peace.

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(William: I adapted this from the gospel accounts by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, with help from Josh Byer’s Passion Week infographic and some narrative licence from Rick Gamache’s “A Crucifixion Narrative”, italicised above).

Album review: Songs from the Book of Luke

TGC’s first album, “Songs for the Book of Luke” was released yesterday and is being unashamedly marketed far and wide on the conservative-reformed web as I write this.

Here’s my thoughts after listening to the album:

I’m thankful that so many people are captured by a vision to sing “songs about the glory of God and the wonder of redemption”.
I like the new-old idea of getting pastor-theologians involved in the songwriting process (for example, “Our Hearts Still Burn”, a meditation on Luke 24, is written by DA Carson)
I’m thankful to hear and see so much musical creativity from local churches in the US flow so freely through each song

The words are great and well-thought out (each one is inspired by a different part of the gospel of Luke), and the musicianship on each album is excellent. So if this were an album just to listen to, I’d be over the moon with it.

Yet Ben Peays writes in announcing this album:

After a nation-wide call for entries, more than 200 songs were submitted. Those were narrowed down to this collection of 13 songs, all rooted in the scriptures, all written for local congregations.

And the About the Project blurb states:

Most of all, we hope that as you listen, as you sing, and as churches consider singing these songs, you’ll be refreshed and reminded once again of the richness of the Book of Luke and the glory of our Savior.

So the stated aim is new songs for congregational use. And because of that, I have some further thoughts on that:

The melodies in quite a few of these songs (e.g. “Lift Up Your Head”, “Come to the Feast”, “For Your Sake”) have that singer-songwriter feel to it that make them very easy to listen to, but too sophisticated and for the average churchgoer to pick up easily (the wide vocal range of some of the songs don’t help either). The one exception so far which stuck out as quite singable is “Not in Me” by Eric Schumacher and David Ward, perhaps because of its simple tune and hymn meter.
There’s a couple of different genres represented but the songs are mostly based around the alternative/indie paradigm (e.g. “Authority of Christ”, “Our Hearts Still Burn”). Perhaps it’s because the recording band was put together by Sojourn Music. It makes each song great to turn up on my headphones, but it’s hard to envisage how to lead these songs for a church vs. the performance tracks I’m listening to. Also if you’re someone with a strong preference for one musical style, you’ll either love this album or be turned off before the first track is over.
I almost wished each song on the album was re-recorded with just a guitar/piano and vocal to get a better sense of how to use them for gathered worship. I know the album comes with lots of reinforcements in the form of sheet music and chord charts. And the “Learn the Song” videos perhaps was how they tried to answer this, but I don’t know if that’s enough to give smaller churches the confidence to try many of these songs (especially once the umpteeth electric guitar vamp blasts through).

But let me end with some of the words from “Not in Me”, which is my favourite song from the album (“Our Hearts Still Burn” is my second-favourite). The writers describe it as follows:

What would it sound like for the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14 to repent? His prayer begins proclaiming what he has not done, with a list of people he is “not like”. So, repentance must be renouncing such boasts before God. In the end, the repenting Pharisee’s prayer is the same as the tax collector’s. Ultimately, whether for a Pharisee or a tax-collector, there is only one Gospel, one hope of salvation. God shows mercy to sinners, self-righteous or self-loathing, on the basis of Christ crucified and risen. In the end, neither can earn his forgiveness or merit a standing.

We’re both the tax collector and the Pharisee. One moment, we are wallowing in our sin, relenting of any hope due to the greatness of our evil. The next moment, we are boasting of our own righteousness and finding comfort in our external goodness and self-control. We need songs that preach the Gospel to us in and lift us out of the ditches on both sides of the road.

Here’s some of the lyrics:

No list of sins I have not done, no list of virtues I pursue,
No list of those I am not like can earn myself a place with you.
O God! Be merciful to me. I am a sinner through and through.
My only hope of righteousness is not in me, but only you

No humble dress, no fervent prayer, no lifted hands no tearful song,
No recitation of the truth can justify a single wrong.
My righteousness is Jesus’ life. My debt was paid by Jesus’s death.
My weary load was borne by Him And He alone can give me rest.

Amen to that!

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Has this ever happened to you on Sunday morning?

I had a bit of a chuckle after reading this anecdote from a book:

“Not long ago, I attended a gathering with a congregation other than my own, and I thought my ears were going to bleed.

The moment the preservice music began, the congregation collectively shuddered and stood cringing under the instrumental blast for the next thirty minutes, until the sermon began. We hoped that the volume would modulate downward after the sermon, but it didn’t. The preacher left the platform and the onslaught continued.

I couldn’t resist the temptation to pull out my iPhone and use an app to check the sound levels. While the app surely isn’t the most accurate measurement, it measured sustained levels well over 110 decibels, which can be damage-inducing. (By contrast, our sound engineers at Sojourn are trained to keep sustained volume at about 90 decibels or below, at which they have varied levels of success.)

The irony of this, of course, is that I was in a traditional service, and the instrument in question was a roaring pipe organ.”

It’s a quote from Mike Cosper’s book on worship, Rhythms of Grace: How the Church’s Worship Tells the Story of the Gospel (the context is a chapter about sound engineering in support of congregational singing).

I’ll try to post a full review of it after I’ve read it completely. But so far Mike outlines a biblical theology of worship similar to David Peterson’s “Engaging with God” — but in a much more readable way. He’s thoughtful and pulls in helpful ideas from other “worship” books out there (e.g. Bob Kauflin’s “Worship Matters”, DA Carson’s “Worship by the Book”).

Mike is very sharp with application as well (particularly on his own church context, Sojourn Community Church), and is notably supportive of formal liturgies to shape how the gospel is retold during gathered worship.

(If you’re interested, the publishers have made the first two chapters available here.)

Helpful tips for worship teams of 1-3 people

Kristen Gilles (worship leader at Sojourn Community Church) recently posted some helpful thoughts for smaller music teams. She points out the challenges and the opportunities by giving an example of her (a vocalist and keyboard player) working with two others:

Bobby and I realize that some of you may not have the advantage (and accompanying challenges) of leading and/or serving with a full worship team each week (or anytime for that matter). You may find yourself, more often than not, a one-man or one-woman worship band. From my own experience of leading worship by myself and in smaller ensembles, I know this can present numerous challenges. It can also yield fruitful blessings for you and your congregation.

Recently at Sojourn New Albany, I served in a worship band that consisted of me singing while playing acoustic guitar, a lead male vocalist who also played acoustic guitar, and a keyboardist who sang tenor harmony. This smaller band is atypical for our worship gatherings and it presented a number of challenges for us as we arranged the songs without a bass player, electric guitarist or drummer. We set out to utilize the strengths of each band member and also embrace new musical challenges without complicating things unnecessarily. Additionally, we wanted to serve the congregation by encouraging them to actively participate in creating music with us by singing out (since they’d be able to hear themselves better, given the smaller sound we were generating) and adding percussion with hand clapping on upbeat songs.

A summary of her tips:

Consider the strengths of the musicians you DO have, and use them
Likewise, consider the limitations of each band member, and work on them over time
Use some instruments to cover others you might have had (e.g. keyboard can play a stronger bass line to cover what a bass guitar might do)
There’ll be certain song arrangements you can’t do. That’s OK – you can make them simpler
Use a small team as a chance to invite more congregational involvement in singing and clapping to the beat

You can read her full post here.

At our church we’ve had team sizes from 2-12 serve the gathered church on Sundays, so we’ve experienced both ends of the team size spectrum.

While a large team brings blessings of musical diversity and creativity, a small team brings its own unique blessings too, including a better chance to connect with each other, more frequent opportunities to improve, and so on. There also tends to be more time to work on things during practices with a smaller team.

If God’s blessed you with many musicians, these thoughts are still helpful to assess from time to time – what can I do to better support the congregation’s involvement? Where can I play less? Where can I simplify?

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