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

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

This update comes from a regular email sent out by NPTS to students. We’ve made no attempt to edit the report. Please pray for our brother, the professor, Michael Van Horn.

Saturday morning, January 2, 2010

From Michael’s father: Mike is responding to light. He closes his eyes when they shine a light into them. He blinks when you move your hand toward his eyes. He squeezed my finger slightly yesterday and today (Thursday and Friday). However the doctor could not get the same response. He seems to be more alert also.
Verlin Van Horn

Wednesday afternoon, December 30, 2009

Michael was transferred from the ICU of Detroit Receiving Hospital to Select Specialty Hospital in Kalamazoo, MI late this morning. Select Specialty is a sub-acute rehabilitation center, which specializes in weaning patients from oxygen support. While Michael is able to breath on his own, his blood gas (oxygen) tends to slip below acceptable levels. Consequently, he has required near constant oxygen support. This dependency on extra oxygen needs to be eliminated before Michael can be considered for more traditional rehabilitative care. Select Specialty Hospital occupies the second floor of Bronson Methodist Hospital and is located at 601 John Street. Subsequent to successful weaning, Michael will be transferred to either an acute rehabilitation center (perhaps at Bronson Hospital) or to a more traditional nursing care facility.

The doctors at Detroit Receiving Hospital have repeatedly commented that Michael responds to those people he knows. While he may not yet be able to speak to us, it seems evident that he recognizes us and is “excited” when we are there. These interactions are good for Michael and may actually aid in his neurological healing. I would encourage each of you to schedule time to visit Michael in the weeks and potentially months ahead. At this writing there is no information available on visiting hours or policies at Select Specialty. The phone number is (269) 341-7134.

Calvin

Wednesday evening, December 23

Michael’s physical condition continues to improve. His lungs appear to be clearing, he remains fever free, and his heart rate and blood pressure are stable and within “normal” parameters. He is able to keep his eyes open many minutes at a time and frequently turns his head from side to side. The color in his face is good, and he looks much more like himself. He has been receiving low-level, non-pressurized oxygen support, as it appears difficult for him to maintain his blood gas oxygen at desired levels over time. While this and some other minor issues exist, he is considered ready for transfer from the ICU.

As Michael is still receiving oxygen support, he is not currently a candidate for transfer directly to a rehabilitation facility. As an intermediate step, he will be transferred to a special section of the Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo, either tomorrow or the Monday after Christmas, where they will focus on weaning him from all oxygen support. Subsequent to being weaned, and contingent upon signs of significant cognitive recovery, he will be transferred to the acute rehabilitation wing of Bronson Hospital for follow-on treatment and therapy. If his cognitive recovery is somewhat slower, he is likely to be transferred to a long-term care (nursing) facility in St. Joseph, Michigan.

Some confusion exists about the word “comatose.” Many of us tend to think of comatose as a state of being where a person is completely unconscious and non-responsive. And of course the opposite is a state of being where a person is lucid and in control of their body. You’re either one or the other. Michael’s doctors do not make this sharp distinction. Rather, they describe a continuum where the transition from one state to another is marked by the ability to respond to command. Even though Michael is able to keep his eyes open for minutes at a time and turn his head from side to side, he remains unable to respond to his doctors’ commands to blink his eyes twice or squeeze their hands. Consequently, he is regarded as still being comatose, even though he appears to be “awake.”

Special thanks to Kathy Kitzmann (cello), Rae Hoekstra (violin) and Mark Wallace (violin), who played Christmas carols for Michael and the others in the ICU this past Saturday. When the first strains of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” started, Michael immediately opened his eyes, and his heart rate and blood pressure jumped noticeably. Clearly, he heard; hopefully he enjoyed it. All the staff present, as well as other visitors to the unit expressed their thanks. And the hospital has asked for a return visit.

Need a reason to connect in Denver, January 23-25? Check out this blog post by ECC worship leader/pastor, Matt Nightingale. Here’s a taste:

From time to time I mention how grateful I am for my denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church. Having grown up a little wary of denominations, it’s been a pleasant surprise to discover a group of likeminded people who are making a huge impact for God in this world… together. In fact, we do things together that we could never do on our own as individual churches.

Read it all.

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

Dear Covenant pastors and worship leaders.

Our friend and professor, Michael Van Horn, is very ill in the hospital. Essentially, the cause is pneumonia. Please pray God would strengthen his mortal body and restore the gift of health. Here is a short note from seminary president, Jay Phelan.

Dear Friends,

Given that Michael’s condition continues to be serious his congregation, Trinity Church in Livonia, Michigan, is making this coming Saturday a day of prayer and fasting for his health.  The day will culminate with a prayer service in Livonia at 7:00 PM (eastern time zone).  They have invited us to join with them in prayer and fasting for Michael.  I trust that wherever you are on this busy Thanksgiving weekend you will take time to pray for Michael’s recovery.

With thanksgiving,
Jay Phelan
President and Dean
NPTS

Michael is a vital part of our worship leadership community. He teaches theology and worship arts related courses at NPTS, and you may know him from his teaching and leadership at our pre-Midwinter connections. We love Michael, and we hope all things in Jesus name.

Grace and peace,
Katie Martinez

Check out this great article from Covenant World Relief about how our theology in song shapes our congregational thought and action.

http://blogs.covchurch.org/cwr/?p=187

Worship leaders and worship planners… you are an important part of the mission, both locally and globally.

Rooting for you,

Andrew

Hey everyone, thanks for passing the word around about our search for songs. Songs are starting to come in, with astounding quality. Our review team is going to have some tough choices to make. God is raising up some terrific writers!

If you haven’t heard of them already, please check out Jennifer Shaw and Andy Cater’s websites and songs. You’ll be glad you did.

Keep those quality songs coming!

Rooting for you,

Andrew

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.

We’re looking for songs that can potentially become “theme songs” for various Covenant wide events. Each year we have a theme for our denominational events that flows out of our core values and theology. Send us any of your original songs that might support these themes. If your song is selected by the committee, it will be featured at the event, and a recording of the song will be distributed to all the participants so that they can take them back to their churches to the song can be sung in the local church.

The 2010 Midwinter the theme is “The Necessity of the New Birth.” Send us your original songs that flow out of that theme. We would love to hear them and pass the best songs on! Pass the word around! There’s a lot of “untapped” songwriting talent in the Covenant. We’re hoping this is a first step of many in helping to uncover some of that talent.

Rooting for you,

Andrew Thompson

of the Event Song Selection Committee

(A sub-committee of the Worship Commission)