Today’s post was written by Chris Logan, Pastor of Worship Arts at Community Covenant Church in Lenexa, KS.

Advent means the season of “waiting.”

It was put in our Christian liturgical calendar on purpose, for it’s in waiting that we build anticipation, and thus we learn to appreciate the gift. Not just in waiting for our presents, but a season where we remember that we didn’t always have a savior.

During advent, we are given the chance to look with new eyes on our faith. We remember a time when our world was without grace. We remember the anticipation of the prophets as the world crumbled around them. We remember the surprise of Elizabeth and Zechariah as they waited for an unexpected act of generosity. We remember the anxiety of Mary turned to unspeakable joy at Gabriel’s announcement. We remember the beginning of the tension between two kingdoms as Herod wrestled with how to respond to the inquiries of the Magi.

And then the dawn breaks and hope arrives, quietly, slowly, unexpectedly.

But it wouldn’t mean anything without the waiting.

This season is our chance to wrestle, to spend the time in the desert so that we see again the value of the oasis. It would do us well, those who live in a culture of such wealth, to learn the value of waiting, of seasons of poverty between seasons of prosperity, of fasting before the feast.

This is the challenge before me, and I believe many of us, this year; to see the value of the season despite all the external trappings foisted on it over the years.

In advent, we spend time remembering that it is our fallen humanity that Jesus came to redeem, and that it is by taking on our skin and our state of being that He redeemed it. Yes, the Cross is important; but it is in the incarnation itself, in God moving into a zip code in skin and sandals, that God began redeeming a broken world. Rather than imposing improvement from the outside, Love came quietly to begin the process of restoration from within, from among us.

And that is worth the wait.

Merry Christmas …

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

Lord, what was it that seemed so crystal-clear this morning, as I lay in bed, listening for your voice?
I remember reading somewhere this week about how our prayer lives are too often centered on us, asking you to work your magic in our lives, while we ignore the needs out there beyond ourselves in your world. And I remember thinking that it was time to start praying for your desires instead of my own.
I may have even made it through two or three sentences before my mind wandered back to the things I knew I would need your help to accomplish today, and I started asking you to help me again.
Instead of asking how I could serve you.

But that wasn’t it. It was something else. … I remember thanking you for the Better Together group, these amazingly talented people who passionately desire to serve you as they lead worship in their congregations. I pondered the difference between our lively faith-based conversations and those that happen in the secular world, where disagreement is seen as a personal attack, instead of a quest for deeper understanding. I marveled at the humility shown by my colleagues as they share their passionately held beliefs while honoring the firm convictions of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

No, it was something else, something simple and true and beautiful, something so obvious,
I wondered why I had not seen it before. …

Of course. Authenticity. That was it. We had discussed an article that accused the Contemporary Christian Music industry of selling short – not only on the gospel, but on the music itself. The author’s implication was that secular popular music was ‘the real deal’ while CCM offered a poor imitation. The Christian message was therefore suspect, because the music itself was not “authentic.” Among the many responses to this charge, one writer reminded us that our worship music needs to have artistic, as well as theological integrity. Too often, churches make the mistake of expecting their music to serve as an evangelistic tool or a recruiting tool. This worship leader wrote:

“Worship music isn’t a tool, it’s an offering; in our art we wrap ourselves, and offer it to God, and we hope others will follow our lead.”

May your worship be authentic this week, as your church prepares to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. May others follow your lead in offering yourselves to God as you join with congregations around the world, singing “Gloria in excelsis Deo!” And may you enjoy candid, open conversations with other Christians that honor Christ by honoring one another.  “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:5)

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.

My friend and I went down from our fifth floor offices to the staff dining area this morning to get a refill of coffee. As we were leaving the lunch room he exclaimed: “Oh, that’s neat. They’re moving the wise men.” It was true – where previously the little models of those following the star were in the corner of the end window, now they’re about halfway across the second window sill. Then he explained further; he and his wife live near a school where they do the same thing. They have a big (maybe even life size) crèche, and it has the figures of Mary and Joseph, animals all around them and shepherds visiting.

At the beginning of December, you can see the figures of the wise men over by the parking lot. Each week when you pass, the magi have moved about twenty-five percent of the way, until it all comes together on Christmas.

When my wife and I were courting, she told me about a great family tradition; one which we continued with each of our children, too. Every year her mother would take large pieces of a heavyweight paper, (one for each child) fold them in half (the paper, not the children) and start to paint a scene on the front. Then, each night after the children had gone to bed, she would spend hours adding to the picture – not only more of the image, but also a small door. The door wasn’t numbered and was barely detectable, but behind lay a further image, often cut from a card or a picture book.

When the children came down to breakfast, they had to find where the calendars were hidden, then find their doors, and see how the revealed image complemented the picture on their Advent Calendar.

Many of us are looking forward to Christmas this year through our celebrations of Advent. In Matt’s blog last week he was asking for comments on your church’s favorite activities, carols and traditions for this season, and although replies were few we all know it’s not because such traditions are rare. We all have our favorite ways of anticipating the celebration of Christ’s birth. Maybe we’re all too busy lighting candles on wreaths, opening doors on calendars and moving wise men around…

Whether you have time to add comments to this blog or not, I pray that this season will bring you joy, excited anticipation and, as we minister together, a deeper sense of Emmanuel – “God with us”.

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

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord…” We’ve been singing these words for the past two Sundays at my church, Redeemer Covenant in Tulsa. And I’m sure that churches throughout the country and the world are singing them as well. We’ve entered the season of Advent. Christ came to this earth, entered our experience as human beings, lived, died and rose again for us. It is the Story we tell in our worship again and again. But it doesn’t end there. Christ came once, and Christ will come again. The Church throughout the world confesses this promise, too, and lives in anticipation of its fulfillment.

How does your congregation celebrate Advent? What traditions do you return to year after year? What’s new this year? Feel free to link to blogs or photos in the comments section.

Today’s post comes to us from Chris Logan, Pastor of Worship Arts at Community Covenant Church in Lenexa, KS.

In lieu of summing up the various discussions on the thread this week (which are numerous, may contain spoilers, and would frankly be difficult to re-read from the tryptophan-induced coma I am currently experiencing), I want to simply open it up and ask a question for your response in the comments section: what about your worshipping communities draws the most unsolicited thanks from you on a weekly basis? Put another way: for what, in your church, are you the most thankful?

Discuss.

Today’s post was 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.

In his latest book, ‘The King Jesus Gospel’, Scot McKnight suggests that evangelicals have reduced the gospel to a plan of salvation that is human-centered rather than focused on Christ. He contrasts the true ‘gospel culture’ with what we’ve created – a ‘salvation culture’. I think he’s on to something; and I think we may see it reflected in the content of our music and liturgy.

In an interview with Stan Friedman for Covenant News, McKnight goes on to say that when we follow our favorite sports team, many of us seem to be less engaged in the success of the real team and more interested in the individual performances of our own fantasy team players, to see what points they will score for us. He uses this to illustrate that our interest is primarily one of “what we can get”. He goes on to say, in a similar way, that “We have become fantasy Christians”. We’re in it for what we can get out of it.

Do these perceptions sound needlessly critical or harsh? McKnight’s tone is actually pastorally sensitive and caring, and I’d hope to reflect that warmth. These ideas are not mentioned to condemn us or make us feel guilty, so much as to point out a natural tendency to place ourselves in the picture… somewhere near the center…

A series of further ideas discusses our emphasis on ‘making a decision’ for Christ, rather than growing and developing disciples with Godly character. Again, I think the lack of depth in our song lyrics and our reluctance to ‘go deep’ in our services – often justified in our thinking by the need to accommodate newcomers and not frighten people away – points in the same direction. This, too often, leads us to a ‘lower common denominator’ approach to our faith.

“The point is this is a story about Jesus and we’ve made it into our personal happiness plan.”

The Bible declares God greatness, his majesty and holiness as absolutes; God is great on His own terms. However, when we express these truths, they seem to resonate more clearly if we relate them to our own experience, our testimony: “God is great because He did this for me” – “He thought of me, above all” – and so on. It’s almost as if we have a GPS (God Positioning System) that needs to be calibrated from our perspective, rooted in our testimony, in order to be real.

What do you think?

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

In the Better Together group this week, we’ve had quite a conversation going about words. One of my favorite songs is called “Language” by Suzanne Vega. In, ironically, some of her most beautiful poetry, she captures the fleeting nature of words and our seeming inability to communicate accurately. Toward the end of the song, in frustration, she sings, ”I won’t use words again. They don’t mean what I meant. They don’t say what I said. It’s just the crust of the meaning with realms underneath. Never touched, never stirred, never even moved through.”

And yet, as Covenanters, we claim to be “people of the Book.” We ask “Where is it written?” Words matter. And as confessing Christians, we proclaim that Jesus Christ is “the Word” made flesh. John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” In Genesis 1, we read that God created everything through words, through the Word. He literally spoke everything into existence. Words matter.

But we are fallen. Words have the power to bring life and to create beauty, yes, but they can also be used to destroy, to enslave. Even the redeemed, those of us attempting to bring glory to God through our lives and our language, can fail miserably in this area. And if, as Chris claimed last week, “we are what we sing,” then what do our words say about who we are? What does our misuse of language in our songs of worship say about us? And what can we as worship leaders do about it?

A few days ago, one of our members posted the following comment/question:

i tend to shy away from any songs with warfare language and tend to cut out a lot of verses in old hymns that talk about “i can’t wait to leave this earth and go to heaven”. also, i try and change words to be more gender inclusive (not using the word “man” to represent both genders). does anyone else have personal preference or ministry context issues that tend to shape what themes you do and do not include in what are otherwise non-issues?

It’s a good and fair question. Here’s just a sampling of some of the responses:

• The problem with Battle Hymn is that it’s explicitly about human warfare, written in the context of the Civil War, proclaiming that God’s on our side against those rebels. I don’t see how it has any place in worship (although I love the tune. . .)
• The Bible uses warfare language in reference to our fight against evil–Ephesians 6:10-71 for example–so I think it can be effective. But some songs do cross the line by either attributing too much power to the enemy of our souls, or making believers out to be too militant.
• You’d have to leave out a lot of verses from some of our ethnic heritages (both Swedish and African-American) if you were going to avoid references to the hope of heaven. It’s really part of our language of faith, as long as it’s kept in balance and not taken to the point of escapism.
• I do usually change lyrics for gender inclusiveness. In some cases though, the solutions in the hymnal (“thy child shall I be” in “Be Thou My Vision” – Really? I’m not God’s child yet?) cause me to either go against my desire for inclusiveness or just not sing the song, both of which make me sad.
  
• I try to avoid songs laden with guilt and self-pity. There’s a whole genre of CCM that gets too caught up in “I’m a loser, I’m horrible, I’m an idiot, but you love me anyway.” It’s one thing to have a healthy sense of our sinfulness. But it can slide too quickly into the worship of our low self-esteem, rather than focusing on God’s grace in our lives. I also avoid songs that get too excited about all my plans and ideas to change things and do better. “I’m tired of this tepid life so I’m going to wake up tomorrow and do better.” I guess in the end I would rather focus less on telling God my emotions, and instead just worship God.
  
• I struggle with how many songs in our hymnal are about what God can do for me (especially about how God can fix my feelings) and how few there seem to be about following Jesus into the world (and some of the ones there are, are terrible!). “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me” is on my banned list – it’s quite the other way around, I think!
  
• I do think we need to sing songs that help us look forward to heaven. I find that older people especially gain hope from them. This world, even the church sometimes, isn’t very kind or inclusive of older people (70+). About “Thy child sall I be” – I’ve taken that to be now AND future language. Like the Kingdom of God being present now and coming in the future. Sing to the Lord a song of praise. Let us exalt His name together! Keep up the good work and be blessed!
  

So what do you think? Do you change the language of songs that are not theologically sound, or do you not sing them at all? How do you decide? Is it all about context? Are these teaching moments? These are important issues to work through, and I’m grateful for your encouragement and input.

One very difficult part of songwriting is the first time you share your new idea. Your song idea, your “baby” sees the light of day for the first time and is put at risk of criticism. But, as a songwriter that is committed to giving God your very best, it is a vitally important thing to do, even if it is emotionally difficult.

You need a “Trustworthy Truth-Teller” for developing your songwriting. Not necessarily a co-writer – though some people really thrive in that situation – just someone who can provide some solid, honest, caring, constructive feedback.

If you’re looking for someone like that, here’s some tips.
1. Find someone you can trust. Someone who knows and loves you and is committed to seeing your work become the very best it can be. This relationship will take time to develop, because you don’t know right away if the person is committed to both. Someone who feels like they are competing with you for attention will not be helpful.

2. Find someone who tells the truth. The rare gift is someone who can lovingly tell you that something you’ve done isn’t very good – AND you can deeply trust that they have said it not because they want you to feel bad (even though you might feel bad for a while) but because they love you and want your gifts to thrive.

The best songwriters receive constructive criticism from loving critics.

Start with small steps. Ask someone you think you might be this kind of a person for an opinion about a song of yours – or a section of a song – that you already know isn’t that good. (You know that not EVERYTHING you write is gold!) See what they say. See if they are loving and honest. If they are, trust them with something more. You’ll grow in your trust of them and become increasingly open to the constructive input of others along the way.

Wouldn’t it be great if we were able to develop these kinds of “trustworthy truth-teller” relationships across the Covenant Church?

If you are interested in connecting with someone with whom you could potentially have this kind of relationship – leave a comment to this article, and leave enough contact info that others can get in touch with you. Your first connection may or may not be the “trustworthy truth-teller” you’re looking for, but the search will help you grow, and eventually you will find someone who can be that kind of a gift to you. Your writing will grow and a result and the church will be blessed by your efforts.

Rooting for you,

Andrew