Theology

Gauging Response

10 comments Written on November 2nd, 2012     
Filed under: Leadership, Theology

Today’s post is written by Matt Nightingale, Director of Worship Ministries at Redeemer Covenant Church in Tulsa, OK.

I’ve been a full-time worship pastor for over 12 years. My great desire, my clear call from the Lord, is to help people enter into worship. And over the years, one of the definitions of worship that has made the most sense to me is very simple: Worship is our response to God’s revelation. Of course that response can take many forms. Our day-to-day lives of individual worship (see Romans 12:1) are a response to God. And our worship services, where God’s people gather to worship together, are a response to God.

The Covenant Book of Worship reminds us that not only do we respond to who God is, we respond to what God has done. Jewish worship – liturgy, songs and holy days – focused on the Exodus. God had done something spectacular – delivering His people from bondage in Egypt – and the community of faith responded in worship by remembering and celebrating with their lives. In much the same way, Christian worship over the last 2000 years – liturgy, songs and holy days – has focused on an event: the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus. God has done something spectacular – delivering His people from the bondage of sin and death – and the community of faith responds in worship by remembering and celebrating with our lives.

Every Monday morning, I get together with our senior pastor and associate pastor. We check in with each other and pray together, and inevitably we get around to discussing the worship services. Every week we ask ourselves about Redeemer’s response. Was our worship planning effective? Did our congregation respond to God? How do we know?

We’ve all seen the Hillsong videos (or the Passion videos, or the Jesus Culture videos, or… insert whatever vibrant, youthful praise and worship movement you want)… You know, the arenas full of people, hands raised, eyes closed, singing at the top of their lungs. Those people are really worshipping, right?

And then there’s Redeemer on a Sunday morning. We’re a conservative bunch, on the whole. Some people just stand there. Others sing quietly. Some brave souls lift their hands and close their eyes. Sometimes there are moments of robust, unified singing, and other times I can’t really tell how many people are singing along. But you know… it’s not Hillsong all the time. That’s just not our thing. And that’s just fine. We all know that true worship can’t be measured by outward expression. After all, scripture teaches us that “people look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7, NIV).”

The most expressive person can be the most hypocritical. The quietest person can be the most fully engaged. There’s no way to tell from simply observing.

I remember once introducing a new song at a former church. The band sounded great, the lighting was just right, people were really “with me.”  I saw someone watching me, and I thought to myself, “Man, I sound good… I’ll bet that person thinks I have a really great voice.” And then I got to the chorus:

You are the God of the broken, the friend of the weak
You wash the feet of the weary, embrace the ones in need
I want to be like you, Jesus, to have this heart in me
You are the God of the broken. You are the humble king.*

BAM! In one chorus I was revealed as a fraud, utterly barren in my seemingly genuine worship. On the outside, I was looking the part, but on the inside I was a prideful pretender.

On the other hand, I know a man here at Redeemer who looks like a statue during worship in music. He just… stands there. Hands in pockets. Doesn’t even sing. But he continually lets me know that he appreciates our times of worship and that the songs are meaningful to him. And even more important than his affirming words, his life reflects maturity in Christ and produces good fruit.

So how can we tell? How do we evaluate whether our congregations are entering into genuine worship? How can we gauge the response of our people – as individuals and collectively? Please share your thoughts and experiences.

*Lyric from the song “Humble King” words and music by Brenton Brown, © 1999 Vineyard Songs (UK/Eire) (Admin. by Vineyard Music UK)

 

 



Seeking the Mind of Christ… Together

Post a Comment » Written on May 11th, 2012     
Filed under: Better Together, Culture, Social Networking, Technical Arts, Theology

Today’s post is written by Geoff Twigg, Adjunct Professor at North Park University in Chicago. Geoff is a pastor, singer/songwriter, worship leader and ministry consultant, and serves the ECC as a member of the denomination’s Commission on Worship.

Our Facebook discussion group, “Better Together” now has over 250 participants. This size of community has its own momentum, and in some ways becomes representative… so it struck me that we can really use it to detect what’s important to people about being able to ‘fellowship’ with people who work in a similar field. These are helpful reminders, and good indicators of balance.

As a community of Christians, it’s only natural that we share prayer requests; as worshippers and leaders, we particularly seem to share needs, illnesses and situations of those in our ministry. So this week, two of our number shared the needs of choir members and one leader told of his prolonged difficulty with a throat-related illness.

This reminds me that we are all charged with the pastoral care of those in our ministry, and that praying for people is a vital part of the care we provide. It’s also a reminder that self-care is an important aspect of exemplary leadership. It’s difficult to serve a local church and stay healthy, especially over the long-term – and it’s good for us to agree and encourage one another that this is a priority.

Keeping a holistic view of music and art, and learning new material are vital habits for practitioners who serve the church. It’s easy to get a functional or utilitarian view of the arts we love, and that can detract from the enjoyment and enthusiasm we share with the congregation. So (and our leader, Matt Nightingale, is particularly good at this) we regularly ask the question “What are you listening to?” – promising not to judge the responses on issues of credibility or style. I’ve discovered several artists and songs that are becoming favorites through this discussion topic… and I really enjoy the way this enhances my credibility with my children (who are in their twenties, and encounter the ‘scene’ more naturally than I do).

I could go on and on about all the great issues that come up, but I’ll restrict my comments to just two more areas that are important:

The first is a “use of technology” question, that is normally phrased something like this. “Looking at replacing our projector for worship. I was wondering if any of you use the Canon LV-7490 Projector? What do you think? Any advice as we are exploring a variety of projectors?”

Can you think of a better venue for technological advice than a community of experienced users? Given the amount of essential regular use our equipment is put through, we’re probably one of the wisest, most balanced (and least brand-oriented) “field-testing” systems around for AV technology.

The second area is in discussing (for lack of a better term) “big picture” issues. You may recall that last week on this blog, Zanne Dailey wrote comments on Todd Johnson’s blog at Fuller Seminary’s site, discussing a theological perspective on performance. This week’s Facebook dialog had a long-running and lively commentary on Rachel Held Evans’s blog, centered on the politics and faith dimensions of the same-sex marriage issue, including criticisms of an evident lack of grace in the church’s handling of the topic. It’s massively important for worship leaders, who are constantly monitoring and reacting to the cultural context of their congregation, to think through the issues and the tone of the discussion.

I’m grateful to God for my colleagues and for their Godly opinions and reflections – because as we walk forward together, we all benefit in seeking the mind of Christ.



Redeeming Performance or Performing Redemption?

3 comments Written on May 6th, 2012     
Filed under: Formation, Leadership, Resources for Worship, Style of Worship, Theology

Today’s post comes to us from Zanne Dailey, a credentialed Covenant pastor, attending Marin Covenant Church in San Rafael, California. She’s also the founder of Triunity Worship Consulting.

How often have you heard or been involved in this  discussion?

“Worship isn’t about performance, it’s about participation. We need to craft a service where our people can actively participate, not one where they passively sit and watch our leaders up front perform.” Continue Reading »



Cause for Celebration

3 comments Written on September 23rd, 2011     
Filed under: Culture, Local Church, Missional, Theology

Celebrate!Today’s post is written by Chris Logan, Worship Pastor at Community Covenant Church in Lenexa, KS.

The occasion of several birthdays in our worship arts family this week got me thinking about the importance of celebration. Throughout the scriptures, celebration plays a key role in the life of the Hebrews; Joseph threw his brothers a party, David danced, Ezra read from the scriptures to a multitude with rapt attention, Isaiah saw the angels singing “Holy Holy Holy,” Jesus and the disciples ate together on many occasions. But we’re left with a picture at the end of the second testament that outdoes them all; a new city descending to a new earth, gleaming and brilliant with light, and a spotless bride dressed to match her husband. A wedding, and a banquet. A dawn breaking. A brand new beginning. And then the passage abruptly ends; we don’t get to keep reading the next adventure …

… it leaves us to wonder what’s next. Continue Reading »



Theology of Music

4 comments Written on August 19th, 2011     
Filed under: Music, Theology

Today’s post is written by Jo Anne Taylor, Director of Music and Worship at Bethlehem Covenant Church in Minneapolis, MN.

What is your theology of music? How do you express your faith through music as you worship God with your congregation, or as you spend time in personal devotion? How does God sing into your life through his Word, and through the music that weaves together our corporate worship experiences?

My theology of music comes from the beautiful five-part blessing in Zephaniah 3:17:

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

He will rejoice over you with singing. I remember the first time I read these words and realized, “God sings!” In worship, we do a lot of singing to God and about God. But consider the idea of God singing. If we are made in his image, and we sing, then doesn’t it make sense that our voices must be an echo of God’s voice? Continue Reading »



“What do you think?”

1 Comment » Written on July 15th, 2011     
Filed under: Better Together, Gender, Leadership, Theology, Vocation and Call

Today’s post is written by Jo Anne Taylor, Director of Music and Worship at Bethlehem Covenant Church in Minneapolis, MN.

Much of what we do as worship planners comes from asking, “What do you think?” of colleagues we trust.  Those colleagues may be our pastors, members of our worship teams, or fellow worship leaders from the greater Body of Christ.  Often, the question arises from the day-to-day context of serving our own congregations.  Occasionally, the question springs from an event or new development in the broader Church.  Asking “What do you think?” reminds us that we do not work alone, but in community with others whose calling and gifting complements our own, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  When the question springs from the larger Church, we have an opportunity to reaffirm who we are as the Covenant, and how we participate in the whole Body of Christ. Continue Reading »



sundry things…

1 Comment » Written on July 9th, 2011     
Filed under: Architecture, Arts, Better Together, Intergenerational, Leadership, Liturgy, Local Church, Multicultural, Music, Order of Worship, Resources for Worship, Style of Worship, Technical Arts, Theology, Visual Arts
Tags: , , , , ,

It’s been a busy week over on the Better Together Facebook page for lead worshippers and those who think about worship in the Covenant. Many things were discussed; I used the word ‘sundry’ above, but now realize that can mean ‘trivial’ or ‘unimportant’. I’ll leave it up to you, dear reader, to make up your own mind how trivial these are.  A brief survey of the topics includes:

Heritage Hymns (“how did you get to be a worship pastor when you don’t know………..?” fill in the title of your favorite Swedish hymn or song)

“when will the HymnBook/Book of Worship be available/searchable online?” Continue Reading »



Covenant Songwriting Featured at Midwinter 2010

Post a Comment » Written on January 15th, 2010     
Filed under: Culture, Event Worship Resources, Events, Formation, Music, Resources for Worship, Songwriting, Theology

Thanks to the many excellent submission by Covenant songwriters, the Event Song Review Panel had a very hard time choosing one song to highlight at Midwinter 2010. In the end, two were choose. “Bring Life” by Andy Cater and Steve Hindalong and “God Loved the World” by Jennifer Shaw, Paul Marino and Jeremy Johnson.

Midwinter 2010 participants will receive a CD of these songs to take back to their churches and Andy’s song “Bring Life” will be featured at the Wednesday morning worship service.

Andy Cater is the Worship Leader and Music Director at Redwood Covenant Church in Santa Rosa CA. Jennifer Shaw is the Music Director at Faith Covenant Church in Westerville OH.

Please visit the provided songwriter’s website links for more songs, and to download charts for your own use.

All songs submitted for this process will be retained for consideration for use later denomination-wide Covenant events. These particular songs were chosen in part, because they fit the theme of this year’s focus “The Necessity of the New Birth” so well. As other Covenant affirmations are highlighted in upcoming years, other quality songs will be chosen to best highlight the theme.

Thanks to all who participated in this pilot project. We hope this is the first step towards an increasing awareness of the many quality songs being written across the Covenant church. May God receive all the glory!

Rooting for you,

Andrew



December 15 is the Cutoff Date for Sharing Your Songs

Post a Comment » Written on December 7th, 2009     
Filed under: Core Values, Culture, Event Worship Resources, Liturgy, Music, Order of Worship, Resources for Worship, Songwriting, Theology

Thanks to everyone who has sent in songs for consideration for use at Midwinter.


Sharing our Songs

The cutoff date for song submissions is December 15. Review will begin shortly after. Selected writers will be contacted early in January to make permission use arrangements.

Again thanks!

Rooting for you,

Andrew



Live Conference Call with Efrem Smith

Post a Comment » Written on October 19th, 2009     
Filed under: Arts, Multicultural, Resources for Worship, Theology

On Friday, October 30th 12 pm CST, Nancy Beach and Eric Bramlett will interview Efrem Smith about reclaiming the arts for God and how we create art from the viewpoint of God’s beloved.

Senior Pastor of The Sanctuary Covenant Church, Efrem Smith spreads the vision to be an urban, multi-ethnic, relevant, holistic, and Christ-centered community. He is an internationally recognized speaker and the author of numerous articles and books, including The Hip Hop Church.

Register for the free conference call.



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