June 2006 - Posts
Prayer Gathering was amazing last night. A steady river of prayer- honest expressions to a listening Father.
A dear family who lost their son last week in an accident came for prayer and gave a moving testimony of their determined faith and seeing how God is using this difficult time to reach their family. It should be called “Leader Development Gathering.” That's what happened when we pray. I have watched these prayer warriors grow so much in their faith and pursuit of God.
Among the prayer cards turned in last Sunday, ten people turned in praises to the Lord for answers to prayers we have been lifting up that came to pass last week. It's like what Wade said in staff meeting. “It is a place where hurting people know they an come and be prayed for and ministered to“. One individual who is moving from our community thanked everybody through her tears. “Thank you for making this a safe place.”
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Many times I have started to plan a worship service where it is next to impossible to find songs that fit the topic of the sermon. Things like “God's Perspective on Marriage“ or “What is Real Leadership?“ are a challenge. Sometimes I punt and we just focus on the Lord and worship, which is cool. But I love to give reasons why “Real Leadership” makes us want to worship God. That is when I tend to use a song not specifically written for congregational use, or else I consider writing one if there is enough time (there rarely is). At times I will stretch the limits to drive home a point.
Some songs have verses that are rhythmically too difficult for most people to access without a laborious teaching session. Often times I will have the church sing on the chorus and let the worship team handle the verses. It also takes a long while for people to learn a difficult bridge which only shows up once per song. If I have a chance, like a retreat where there are repeated sessions, that situation enables me to use songs that would not generally work well with the normal congregational setting. I even find that people tend to latch on to a song that is a little more challenging if they can master it. It becomes their favorite one to sing. It is like teaching an intricate song to a choir. It's not fun at first but once they have it mastered, it is wonderful. New material, if introduced properly keeps the hearts of people engaged with the fresh truth and musical variation it presents.
Different congregations also have varying abilities to absorb new material. When I began to lead worship in Jamaica, It amazed me how quickly they picked up the new songs I was teaching. But, of course they nearly always sing from memory and are used to learning everything by rote. Syncopated rhythms are also normal musical vocabulary for them.
Convention settings are the most restrictive because you must find songs that are familiar and accessible to a greater number of people. The top 25 CCLI list of songs is a safe bet. With care, it is good to introduce a great new song, if it can be taught and appreciated in a single setting.
David Crowder give an interesting perspective on worship writing in a recent Worship Leader Magazine article. http://www.worshipleader.com/feature_tbt.htm
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Jubi (6) was hammering out a few notes on the keyboard yesterday. She told me she was writing a song. I asked her if she had any words for it. She said no, she was writing the tune first. Later she told me she was sitting in the rocking chair and the words just popped into her head. So she played and sang them to me.
“Running free, running free, running free...step on me”
A song about bugs, I guess.
She has the gift.
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VBS week....nuff said? I got off easy this year. Usually play a bible character in one of the story rooms. Last year I was Philip (interestingly enough). I told the story about the Ethiopian...uh... treasurer. The setting was a stable complete with a bucket of horse stuff in the corner to “spice” the room and make it authentic. The year before that I was Jonah in the whale. In mean IN the whale. They had a can of open sardines to add effect. Are you recognizing a pattern here? “Let's see...what smell we can come up with for Phil next year in a 90 degree modular classroom?”
I sent a song idea off to Lee today. We have been talking about writing together for a while. The idea rang my bell the other day. I wonder if it will ring his. I head back to Nashville soon to write with some wonderful people. Somebody asked me today if that wears me out. Actually I come back energized. I usually wake up every morning for a week with a different melody running through my head from the songs we wrote. We are using one of them this Sunday. It's great to see how people respond to the messages of new songs, once they have sung them a few times and can just worship with them. There is this sweet spot for new material, when a fresh perspective on a truth hits home. “Fresh bread,” I have heard it called by preachers. There is something cool about hearing a song for the first time (if it is a great song of course). Then there is the stage where we are familiar enough with it that we “own it.” It often becomes our new favorite song. We go through times in life where certain themes carry us along that day or week or year. We usually say, “I needed to hear that” when we encounter those kind of truths. I love fresh bread!
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Last Saturday was the “Great Day of Service“. At last count there were over 700 from our church family that went out to serve various individuals or agencies that day. They did everything from rake leaves and cleaning to painting and other renovation projects. It was great to hear the testimonies and watch the video on Sunday that was compiled by the AV team . What a blessing to be a blessing to so many. Nelson figured out in staff meeting that we could reasonably renovate 400 houses in a year with that kind of workforce. Some of the people we helped were literally speechless at the end of the day. All they could say were things like “I just can't believe it.” Some of them even showed up at the picnic that evening to find out about this crazy church group in the green shirts. It's cool to see what happens when the church moves together as one person.
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