The same article however mentioned that non-traditional praise and worship was on an upswing and that "mega" churches were becoming more of the norm.

I belong to a so called "Mega" church and last Sunday I took a closer look to see if I could figure out why we were growing.  I grew up in a denominational church so I figured I was able to some what objectively look at it.

As I looked around the building I noticed a ton of people in shorts, wearing caps and drinking Starbucks (yes, this is always my token drink during of choice for Sunday service).  But that is not why they were there....a lot of churches have this.

And then, the music fired up.  Our band made up of amazing volunteer musicians many of which make their living with big name acts or have in the past.

Immediately, people were on their feet and the mood changed.  During one particular song, you could feel the mood elevate in the room.  I refer to this as having the hair on the back of your neck standing up.

From that point the sermon from one of our pastors which was amazing.

But here is what I wonder.  Does the music set the mood for worship?  Would our pastor's message have been as amazing if we would have just sung from a hymnal before the message?

So let me know what you think...Do you think music is God's way of getting us fired up for his message?

Do you think we are more engaged in the service when the music rocks the house prior?

Do you think music is a primary reason for a new format of churches drawing the increasing numbers they are or do you think it is something different?

For those of you involved in Church Music, we have a faithful reader (who also happens to be an old friend of mine) who has encountered an issue at his church, and is seeking some input.

So I'd love for you to leave a comment with your advice or input - let's see if we can share some of our own experiences and collective wisdom...

And for reasons of anonymity, we'll call him "Bob".

Bob writes:

"Statement first, then question.... I recently stepped down from worship at our church... I couldn't get along with the worship pastor at all - he had no vision for us to go or grow - he was stuck in the 80's and 90's - and he had nothing to teach the other worship leaders... after numerous meetings and suggestions on things to do LIKE PRACTICING FOR ONE, I gave up and decided for the best of everyone that I remove myself from the situation. Well - 3 days letter he decided that he isn't the one to continue (after 6 years) leading the church into this new direction we're headed... the pastor has been trying to get the guy to step down for 2 years too - so it's good for everyone.

More info - the old worship pastor let anybody on the stage - so we have brutal drummers who shouldn't even be allowed to hold chopsticks, and singers who constantly break even the plastic communion cups when singing... (that's a little dramatic of course...) I told the Senior pastor what he needs to do is disband the entire worship ministry, bring in a new worship pastor, and then let that guy start from scratch where people have to do auditions and all that...."

Weeeellllllllllllllll - I've certainly got some thoughts.

BUT - I'd first love to hear what YOU have to say - so leave a comment!!!

I'm definitely not as consumed with all of these other things when I'm leading (except for listening to the other players) but usually only when I'm in an auxiliary role.  Maybe it's just that I feel that "I can" when I'm not having to worry about leading.  Either way...I learned my lesson this weekend.  I'm a real stickler about right notes and musical playing.  Well, during service number 3 this weekend I just allowed myself to get distracted noticing and thinking about other things going on and dished out a few musical "clams" of my own.  It was as if the Lord was hollering at me to get my head back in the game and enjoy the moment rather than concern myself with things that really aren't that big of a deal or couldn't be fixed by me in that moment anyways.  Not that anything really needed fixing to begin with.  Ever had that happen to you?

Anyways, Rob did a great job this weekend and the weekend turned out really nice.  Paul Wilson (our pastor's son) spoke this weekend on the Tribulation (for our current End Times series)....I know...exciting stuff.  Paul did a good job though...tough topic to speak on and make interesting and appealing to our culture.

Here's the musical run down:

Opener:
"How Far We've Come" - Matchbox 20

Worship:
"All Because Of Jesus" - Steve Fee
"Let the Praises Ring" - Lincoln Brewster
"Your Name" - New Life Worship
"Mighty To Save" - Hilsong

Special/Closer:
"People Get Ready" - Crystal Lewis 

Band:  John Ross, Scott Burrow, Eric Wingham, Dan Johnson, me
VOX:  Rob Burkey, Meagan Carnahan, Mary Jones

Sure, I'd like to blame it on some things: A wonderful mixture of Claritin and Zyrtec for my allergies, a near sleepless night as we've poorly timed the removal of Cooper's 3:00 AM feeding the same weekend that he's teething, and only 2 songs - one of which having an ever-changing form and Worship Leaders playing "Beat-The-Clock".

But I'm a big boy, so I'll take the blame. I just didn't CHOOSE to worship.

And sometimes I think that actually being a "mature" Christian, on staff at a church, and being at least partially responsible for the Service is the biggest hinderance to really entering in and worshipping God.

It's a whole lot easier to sit back and judge, isn't it?

Shame on us for when we let that happen.

So for you "Professional Christians" out there, let's make a Fun Seekers' oath:

"On Sunday mornings, I promise to be a grown-up Christian first, and a Church Staffer second.

I will not let my job get in the way of my God."

There - that feels better.

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OK, on to what was good.

Kristian Stanfill led in East this week. Now if you've ever witnessed Kristian lead worship, you know he's the real deal, and will lead a group with passion and fervor with a revealing humility and transparency. He leads every service like it's his last on Earth, which is stinkin' awesome.

The byproduct of that, however, is sometimes scary as we try out best to synchronize 2 auditoriums. I can honestly say that I was sweating - big time - as he got inspired talking between songs and started the second of our two tunes with only 3:30 left on the countdown clock. And it's a 5:00 song, plus we planned some tags!

I watched this happen from West (on a little TV screen at Front Of House). Mike Gleason and Company were right on time, so by my calculations, we were getting ready for 2 extra minutes of something - keyboards? Prayer? Verse on screen? Knock-knock jokes?

Well, the West producer and I waited with baited breath to see the progress of the East before we made the call to put a message on the cuer for Mike (the TV screen that prompts the words and has the countdown clock).

Long story short: Mike wrapped up song tags, prayer, and set up baptism right at 0:00 (which is perfect), and Kristian - seeing the clock - skipped a verse and the pre-planned tags, ended the song and quickly set up baptism - at 0:00 !!!! Right on the money!

So here's what's cool: no one in the crowd on either side had any clue, and each Worship Leader made it a seamless, intimate, and totally legitimate worship experience, and we'll give them each a great review tomorrow.

But I'm telling you - these are the types of things that go on behind the scenes that go on every week that no one knows about, but will send us all to an early grave ;) Sometimes it's music, sometimes, lights or audio or video or graphics or well - whatever!

I guess the key is to find and use good people in all areas of Sunday AM production that are flexible, not easily flustered, and can solve a myriad of problems on the fly... And then laugh about it in the Green Room!

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MOST means MOST - NOT ALL...

This week was interesting on West. I was a bit worried after Wednesday's rehearsal, but was reminded of the importance of great musicianship after today's services.

We've got a deep pool of great musicians, and most of them have played with each other, and most of them have played most of the tunes we do. So that typically removes most of the learning curve they might encounter here.

Well the chips fell funny in West this week. Most of the guys had played with only one or two other guys on stage - which was rare.

And none of them had ever done one of this week's tunes, which is also rare - even if it is a new tune. Usually someone's played it before... But it wasn't even a new tune!

And one guy had played a bunch at one of our other campuses, but not here.

(You can see where I'm going with all this, can't you...)

So all that cumulated in one of the weirdest rehearsals we've had around here in a while. A stage full of incredible musicians, but no incredible music. Yeah, it was good - but I was expecting more out of these guys. After all, each of them are pretty high up in my books! (And lots of other books, for that matter!!)

I can only imagine that it might have been like the first practice for the US Olympic Basketball "Dream Team". A world of potential. An engine full of horsepower - but not all cylinders yet running in synch.

Well, kids... Again, this is why we have mid-week rehearsal, as well as record the rehearsals and distribute copies of it to the musicians. So that they may listen back to themselves with a critical ear, and adjust (or woodshed!!) as needed before Sunday.

And that's exactly what happened.

From the first beat of this morning's tech rehearsal, the West band went from being a bunch of talented names to a really great band. Guys had gone home and woodshedded parts and tones, and were able to approach the songs with greater command and confidence. It also meant that Mike had a greater freedom to lead without worry.

Sure, each guy brought his own unique style and abilities to the table, but was rehearsed, refined and cohesive. I was really proud of them!

WORSHIP:

Louie Giglio is speaking for two weeks (today and next week), and always has lots of great, passionate stuff to share. That, plus baptisms, meant that we had the choice of either cramming in 3 short tunes and racing the countdown clock, or doing 2 tunes, with more freedom for tags and some speaking "ministry time" from the Worship Leaders. We opted for the latter, and I think that was the right call.

Faithful

Although we recorded this (with Kristian leading) for the Louder Than Creation album, we have since revised it to the tempo and version that Steve Fee does on THIS version. We all - including Alex Nifong, the writer - think it adds a greater "singability" and celebration, which better reflects the song's topic.

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

This is the Chris Tomlin version that lots of folks are familiar with. We also tagged it with a chorus of "How Marvelous", another great hymn, and back into a last "my chains are gone" tag, just vocal and acoustic guitar. I love those moments when you can really hear the crowd sing. Sweet.

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East Band - Kristian Stanfill, Scott Meeder, Chris Arias, Earl South, Rosie (Iraheta) Pinkerman, Mike Hines

West Band - Mike Gleason, Dan Hannon, Ede Wright, John Carrozza, Karen Bitzer, Brad Gage, Brad Bretz

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What led YOU to worship this week?

...

(Words from Athanasius On the Interpretation of the Psalms.)

I think this is what you might call a sacramental view of scripture, and I do find it a "higher" view than that which protestants call "verbal, plenary inspiration."

This letter, which is inserted as an appendix in my copy of On the Incarnation, is full of good advice, and though the list of which Psalm to sing on which occasion is tedious reading I am sure it is good reference material.

Is any merry? Let him sing Psalms! says James. It's very difficult to obey this instruction when you've never learned to chant properly. The protestants, with the best of intentions, have versified the Psalms by inserting meter and rhyme and adding Christian expressions (and I've done this myself as well) which allows them to sing the Psalms as hymns. However, I've never noticed that any of them have succeeded in reviving the old Christian practice of going about singing Psalms on every occasion, in harmony with one another. 

The old man whom Athanasius is quoting gives certain warnings about how to use the Psalms.

Sing, don't recite them, he says. The reason is that while reciting you can still be at war with yourself - your mouth saying one thing and your heart another. But when you sing, you discipline your entire soul and bring it into harmony with the holy text. He says that song (at least the kind he's referring to) arises from the "internal rythms of the soul." Such a statement is hard to put definitions to but I do recognize meaning in it. He also refers to poetry as a form that is "less restricted" than prose, which I found a bit ironic. Apparently the Psalms were written and recieved as texts that could free the soul, setting it loose to express itself with a fervour and a freedom not to be found in the careful sentences of prose. I'm almost certain that a similar idea is the reason behind the fact that most of the Orthodox Liturgy is sung rather than merely spoken.

Which brings me to the next warning. He says that Christians take the the Psalms as our own, as written for the purpose of giving us the proper words to express our own condition. However, he says that we should not treat other scripture in this manner.

...no one would ever speak the Patriarch's words as though they were his own, or dare to imitate the utterance of Moses...

...but the marvel with the Psalter is that, barring those propchecies about the Saviour and some about the Gentiles, the readers takes all its words upon his lips as thought they were his own...

I found this rather curious as it goes against the entire method of using scripture which I was taught and which was apparently based upon Christ's response to temptation. However, I will give it more thought.

Here's a further quote.

...in the Psalter, besides all these things, you learn about yourself. You find depicted in it all the movements of your soul, all its changes, its ups and downs, its failures and recoveries. Moreover, whatever your particular need or trouble, from this same book you can select a form of words to fit it, so that you do not merely hear and then pass on, but learn the way to remedy your ill.

He goes on to point out that while all scripture teaches us not to do evil, to repent when we have, to praise God and so on, only the Psalms give us words in which to do so perfectly.

The Psalms not only exhort us to be thankful, but provide us with fitting words to say.

It's delightful to contemplate that these are the generations of Christians who developed the Liturgy which we now sing. Since their minds were at one with the Holy Scriptures by continually singing them, it's no wonder the worship they devised for the church has such an inspired quality. It's no wonder that in answer to the hushed chanting of the words they marshalled, the royal doors open even in 2008, and the Lord of Glory comes invisibly passing through the midst of his people, directly ahead of those lifted crosess, gilded robes, swinging cencers and the veiled bread and wine of the procession.

Another of his warnings is that one should not change the words of the Psalms as if he could improve upon them, but should accept them with simplicity just as they are written and in the same order. This really does cut out most of the protestant versifications of the Psalms, and when I think about it, is a much humbler approach to scripture. Of course when protestants versify Psalms it is because they are seeking a way of singing the Psalms, and they have lost the art of singing anything other than what is in verse and has a frozen, pre-structured tune. How many casualties there are, among the priceless, ageless treasures of piety, when people throw off tradition! 

He goes on to say, with utmost simplicity and not the least echo of doubt, that when holy men in heaven hear their words prayed again by us, they recognize their own prayers, which God was pleased to inspire, and they pray again with the man who is singing them. It's a great pleasure to be able to accept a thought such as that without fear that it's superstitious. If Christ has indeed come, how can we doubt anything else that holy men assure us of?

I do wish that all the Orthodox churches in America would drop those Vacation Bible Schools and other evangelical programs they are beginning to dabble in, which are already hastening the destruction of Roman Catholic Church in America, and instead begin giving classes on how to chant the Psalms. Not only does the practice have far more precedent and far more instrinsic value, but there is greater evangelistic potential in a person who goes about singing Psalms than in a couple of babysitters begging a room full of kids to stop eating glue or giggling from the preceding skit, and listen to a Bible story that suddenly feels like pot roast and gravy after a bag-full of Halloween candy.

Service was a blast.  Tons of energy on the stage, great flow throughout the service, Don did a great job, killer band, great stage set....just a ton of fun.  Here's how it all went down:

Opener:
"It's the End Of the World As We Know It"  (REM)

Worship:
"King"  (Tree 63)
"Everyone"  (Desperation Band)
"Let Me Sing"  (Todd Fields)
"How Great Is Our God"  (Tomlin)

Overall, a really straight forward set of tunes....but man, God seemed to have really showed up.  Really looking forward to this coming weekend.

Band:  Casey Lynch, Jared Anderson, Gary Hake, Alan Johnson, me
VOX:  Stacie Gallego, Sally Evans, Brent Simmons

Worship:
"I Am Free"  (Desperation Band)
"You're Worthy Of My Praise"  (Jeremy Camp)
"Everlasting God"  (Lincoln Brewster)
"Jesus Paid It All"  (Kristian Stanfill)

Special/Tribute Song:
"American Soldier"  (Toby Keith)

Closer:
"Shine"  (Matt Redman)

I've always enjoyed a service that takes a moment to honor our military.  This entire service ended up having a great patriotic feel to it even though it wasn't completely saturated with the whole "God Bless the USA" cheesy crap.  I really think you can overdo it very easily of you're not careful.  Still people walked away having their hearts touched in some way for America and for the brave men and women who put their lives on the line everyday to defend our freedom.  We are all grateful to you!

The Toby Keith tune had a great video behind it that drew tears out of many as the song was sung.  Dennis did a great job of bringing everything around to recognizing the freedom we have in Jesus and calling for a response for all of us to take the message of Jesus and "Shine".  Great ending to the service that week!  I recommend that you check out that song.

One suggestion....let's find another word to replace "supernova" with in the bridge.  I mean C'mon!  Who EVER used the word supernova in a worship tune.

Band:  Ed Voras, Scott Burrow, Terry Emig, Eric Wingham, me
VOX:  Duke Petruzzella, Laurie Cooper

Worship:
"My Savior Lives"  (Desperation Band)
"Not To Us/Here Is Our King"  (Northpoint)
"You Alone"  (David Crowder)

Special Music (during Communion):
"God With Us"  (Mercy Me)

Closer:
"God Of This City"  (Passion/Chris Tomlin)

Band:  Casey Lynch, Alan Johnson, John Ross, Eric Wingham, Dan Johnson
VOX:  Stacie Gallego, Brent Simmons, Dan Johnson, Rob Burkey

"For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise" (Heb. 2:10-12, Emphasis added).

Jesus not only "declares" or "tells" of his Father's name among his brothers, but he also "sings" the Fathers praise in the congregation. That's amazing. At least here we can see that Jesus both preaches and sings. All to the glory of God the Father.

A great article on this topic here.

worship service

This means it's not God's service to us. It's not our service to each other. It's not the pastor's service to you. It's YOUR SERVICE TO GOD! 

Worship can either be godly or ungodly depending on your use of the word. Worship when used as an action, a service, a humble spirit of a free man coming before his God to bow down and serve him, is worship.  Worship when used as a selfish, entertain me type of attitude was never the point. 

This has been the controversy in our leadership at church. In any ministry you feel yours is the most important. So the worshippers, meaning the band and the choir, feel their job is priority and in a 90 minute service they feel they should have 40-60 minutes. This gives the pastor 20 after announcements and offering. He then rushes through his messages, apologizing and clock watching as he goes. Their thought is that if the pastor needs more time he should take it. They don't do it out of a heart of rebellion. It's just a misunderstanding of an at will relationship and the psychology of the American culture. We serve an at will God. He never forces anyone to do anything and since He is our example then we follow His lead. God only takes what we are willing to give Him. If the Holy Spirit sees the presence of God on His people, He will linger and there will be no need for clock watching. If not, the congregation has missed an opportunity. A leader will discern and be led by the Spirit and not what their own heart requires.

For the most part, the congregation is fine with what they see as the entertainment as long as it is their way. So the questions arise, "Why don't they play more Spanish songs?" "Why don't they play the old hymns?" "Why do they play so many Spanish songs?" "Why do they play the same old songs?" They haven't grown to an understanding of what worship is. Worship is not the songs we sing for us, it's the service we give to God. 

Yet, the question has to be asked has anyone of us truly understood what worship is? Worship is not just songs. It's not just the music part of the service nor is it the sermon. It's the whole of our lives. It's in our speech, it's in our lifestyle, it's in our love. The moment a complaint comes out about YOUR needs in a worship service you've ceased to worship. It was never about you and what you think it should be. 

The facts are that we have 90 minutes of corporate worship to convey the heart of God to a person. That simply is not enough time for the deeper things of God so you create a desire to want to know more. In church talk, it's our reach service. In America, the congregation wants it cut down to 60 minutes so we are pushing them beyond their limits already at 90. Television doesn't go beyond an hour for a program and most movies don't go much longer than an hour and a half as well. The American culture is programmed to think in terms of an hour. If the members of the congregation are really seeking God, they get plugged into the small groups where more in depth teaching happens. If not, they stay at their level. The responsibility of the leadership is prepare a feast and set the table. It's up to the individual to come to dine. 

In America, the church struggles to keep the attention of the people. Not because it doesn't have a word in their mouth but because an excess of choices and too many things that pull us away from the word of God. The question that we must ask ourselves is do we want to lead people to Christ or are we fine with having our way and empty seats? This is sadly the answer I hear most often, 'well if they don't like it they can go somewhere else'. While, I don't think you have to compromise the word and would never suggest that, you can't stick a child in a college course and expect him to earn an A. He will quit in frustration and boredom because he can't yet meet that level of expectation.

The dynamic I am seeing and many others in ministry are seeing in their congregations as well, is that there are those in leadership who want to force people to do what they, the leadership require. It becomes a religious mindset. The thing I propose is that it simply doesn't matter to 80% of the congregation how long the music is or isn't or the sermon is or isn't. Further, it should not matter to 100% of the congregation. If you played 10 minutes of worship music or if you played 100 minutes of worship music there would be complaints. Just ask Moses. Those who came prepared for worship service came with an appetite to feast. Those who didn't, will order the appetizer and go home satisfied. Those who merely came to look at the table settings, will go home with something to talk about. As long as we have the table prepared with good food, it won't be the quantity but the quality. The problem is we are never satisfied in our culture no matter how much it is or isn't. 

The music doesn't change the heart of a person by itself, neither does the word brought forth. The heart is changed by conversion and understanding of the redemptive work of Christ. That is conveyed through dialogue and mentorship. The focus is exactly that. Discipleship should be the word of every day. It's the command of Jesus. The question we should be asking ourselves is who are our disciples and how well are we caring for them? These are the times of the deeper things of God. This starts with the leadership of every church.

In our church, the Pastor called a fast recently. Three days of liquid only. Interestingly enough, those who argued so vehemently for a longer service could not be bothered to fast or show up to a single special service. Some came with up with their excuses others didn't bother. Nevertheless, it is what it is, excuses and a misunderstanding of free will. Had it been a forced issue, the fast would have been adhered to but that is man's way not God's. So when those who say with their lips what was important to them and then can't push back the plate of the world, then is it not hypocritical to expect those who don't even understand to do so? Worship service is not ONLY about the public appearance of Sunday. It's in your preparation and your private life. Patience, grace, mercy and excellence is what leadership is about. 

The key question that our leadership asked and then didn't agree with the answer was this. "If we don't teach them on Sunday, then when do we teach them? How do they learn to worship?" The answer is simple yet for many, requires too much in the end. If I were answering in a parable I would say, "Do you teach your children table manners at a dinner party?" Of course not. By the date of the dinner party they should have already been taught. I know that the leadership will catch on in this area as we teach them further. My best answer is that I love to worship because I was personally discipled and taught the meaning. First, they learn when you are prepared for excellence in the service of worship. When you, the leader choose to prepare a feast and not bring your half-eaten leftovers as your gift, with the expectation that someone else will bring the main course. When you come with a good attitude and a practiced talent, not taking anything for granted and relying solely on Christ. They learn to worship with your unselfish, goal oriented, discipleship of them. When you invite them to join you to pray in your personal time and you explain and teach. When you text them and engage dialogue. When you email and encourage. When you call and give them a word. When you give of yourself, bowing down in worship service to the salvation of their soul. They learn

With your personal service to them. 

There's also a few interesting letters written by people protesting the introduction of the songs "Just As I Am" and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus". 

Simply hilarious. Don't forget to read the comments too.

Thanks to Stephen Barry for pointing it out.

And trust me, garbage trucks are worse because they STINK. And, as I said, I don’t ride real fast and garbage trucks leave a waft of stank in front of you as they pull away.
And then – ok, I know I shouldn’t complain about church. I mean I am so blessed to be able to get to Mass every morning. Some parishes don’t have priests to celebrate. Some parishes aren’t even themselves anymore, what with all the merging and so on – I’m really sorry but I just have to say it. Why does that woman pick whose God-awful 300-year old songs? Why? I think God thinks they’re awful too. On Thursday, I didn't sing in protest of the awfulness. I just stood there with my teeth clenched. On Friday, she wasn't there and the alternate songpicker picked way better songs - songs that are only 30 years old. I sang those.

When will the anger end?

Oh and it's 7/11 - go buy a Slurpee!   

So this was a no-frills Sunday. No opener. No closer. No worries, man.

Instead, we got lots of extra time for worship, and we were able to take the crowds to some great, deep places of worship that we don't often get a chance to do. There can be a lot of power in just an extra, freeing minute or two at the end of a set to say a few words about worship, and follow it up with a few tags of intimate, personal worship. I know that's a bit of the old Charismatic in me poking through, but it sure beats being song-regurgitating robots...

We also had double Michaels, and both were great.

East - Michael Olson

West - Mike Gleason

BUT!!!!! The week was not without controversy!!!

We started Andy's series "Letters to the Next President" this past Sunday, and had penciled in Chris Tomlin's "God of This City" as a closer. However, Andy indicated that the song wasn't related to where he was ending the message, Eddie and I opted to stick it into the worship set as the 3rd and final tune.

But, we honestly didn't think it through. Taking it from a worshippy-performancey closer to a full blown worship tune - never having done the song here at all before - was not the right call.

On Tuesday, when I was really listening and learning the song, it felt weird to me for us to be doing it as a worship tune, especially in the 3rd slot. It was lacking that personal, vertical conversation between us as worshippers and our Savior. Normally that doesn't bug me - we do lots of songs about God. It just felt awkward, especially since we had never done it before. (We like to put new "slow" songs in the #2 slot, so that folks can still worship with a familiar tune in the #3 slot.)

Then on Wednesday, Todd and I got to talking about it, and he had been feeling the same way. Then when Michael Olson arrived, and we got talking about it, he had the same issues. We called Eddie, who was away, and he shared that he'd been feeling the same things.

And so, on Wednesday, just a couple hours before everyone was slated to arrive for rehearsal, we called an audible.

It was a bit of a pain, and a few guys had to shelve what they had been learning and do some last minute woodshedding, but in the end it was very much worth it.

We replaced it with the Starfield tune "Son of God" which Todd covered on our Louder Than Creation CD. It seemed to be a tune that got lost in the sea of tunes that have come out of that project, but it's a really great song - and a VERY powerful and personal "vertical" song of worship to our God.

Great, great tune. And a real chance to sing personally to our Savior, especially if you freely tag the Bridge and Chorus at the end...

So you can imagine how elated I was when our big boss Julie came up and told Todd, Michael and I that she was glad we switched tunes.

Sometimes you've just got to follow your gut.

WORSHIP:

God Is With Us by Michael Olson

Let Me Sing by Todd Fields

Son Of God by Starfield

It was fun doing these 3 together, since Todd, Michael and I all played on these songs on Louder Than Creation .

And now, everyone's favorite feature: Candid Stage Shots (during the Welcome from the West Auditorium)...

Danny Grady

Michael Olson tuning...

(or staring at his shoes. I don't know...)

Todd Fields on Rhythm electric/BGV, Wayne Viar on drums, Richard Meeder on bass, Andy on the screen...

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East Band - Michael Olson, Todd Fields, Danny Grady, Wayne Viar, Richard Meeder, Me

West Band - Mike Gleason, Danny Howes, Daryl Lecroy, Chris Arias, Guy Strauss, Earl South, Rachael Gillis

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POD X3 Live count: 4

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Did you personally worship YOUR God this week?

I did, and that makes a world of difference...

Check out this guy!  I belly laugh every time I watch this.  Get ready.....

Give me some feedback as to how we can all resource each other and let's get this thing going so all of our churches and ministries can benefit.

Also, give me some feedback on topics that I can write about which would be beneficial to you.
(example:  keyboards, programming, charts and arranging, loops, working with volunteers, etc...)

Catch you all later,

-Andy 

I'm teaching this week on programming, loops, sequencing in the context of the worship set and the song as performed with a modern worship band.  I'll definitely have some updates in the next few days set up as downloads for those that attend my classes to get some of the resources I have for building loops, tracks and clicks. 

I'll be back soon for some updates.

Out...

The weekend at CCV was a bit different as we had a special guest in, Ken Ham, founder and director of Answers In Genesis.  Ken is a great communicator that shares the story of creation vss. evolution.  He's quite brilliant.  He spoke a bit longer than we normal program so Rob led in a couple worship tunes, we had communion, and then turned it over to Ken.  A very simple and straight forward weekend full of familiar tunes....

"Awesome Is the Lord Most High"  (Tomlin)
"God Of Wonders"  (City on a Hill)
"You Are My King"  (Passion)

Band:  Cameron Smith, Scott Burrow, Brad Vatsaas, Dan Johnson, Greg Derr
VOX:  Rob Burkey, Kerry Burkey, Dan Johnshon 

The Colloquium is something Jackie has wanted to attend for a while, we were able to arrange our schedules, so—working in an extra day for Amtrak to get there (figuring: when would we have the chance to do this again?)—we went ahead. The CMAA is a Catholic organization with a strong emphasis on Gregorian chant and spreading the Latin Rite. They could not have been nicer to these Lutherans. We’re all keenly interested, from our different domains, in the resuscitation and creation of church music that is beautiful and sacred.

We sang polyphonic masses and learned some of the inner workings of chant (emphasis on some; this is a field one could plow for a lifetime and never get to the end of); the faculty Jackie and I were happy to work with included Horst Buchholz, Wilko Brouwers, David Hughes, and Kurt Poterack. These and all the other faculty are tremendously gifted and dedicated. I am convinced more than ever that in the singing of chant one learns everything one needs to know about music.

William Mahrt spoke about church music and as his points mirrored what I wrote here five years ago, I thought he was, of course, brilliant. In fact, I had stumbled upon points Dr. Mahrt and many other very smart folks not only have known for a long time, but have stated much better than I.

David Hughes also facilitated the new music reading session, the presence of which was a pleasant surprise to me about a week before we left. I brought along copies of God so loved the world. I set it a few years ago when that text was the appointed Gradual Verse for the 4th Sunday in Lent, for Lutherans. The texts have since been shifted around and it’s no longer the 4th Lent verse for anyone, I believe, but there ought to be room for John 3:16 somewhere in the liturgy, I should think. David sight-read all the scores at the piano, and mostly, we composers conducted our own pieces. This included the irrepressible Michael Lawrence, who finished composing a Mass section an hour before the reading (he also played the organ and lectured that week on the role of cantors). I was glad finally to meet him. We only live in the same city! So we had to go to Chicago to meet. I conducted my verse in 6, but for most groups, in 2 would probably be better. Jackie thinks it should be in 2 no matter what and you know, she’s usually right.

Here’s a PDF of the piece:

and here’s a recording made last year, Matt Glandorf conducting a small group from the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia:

Feel free to use it and if you do, drop me a line to tell me how it went. Someone suggested that a Latin version would be nice. Have to think about that.

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Dudes - If you've got kids, you've GOT to get a copy of John Woodall's sermon from this past week called "Fathering On Purpose".

He outlines 3 key points to parenting: TEACH, MODEL, PRAY.

Oh wow, it was good.

We also had week 2 of our 3 week Spanish Service pilot series.

And, because lots of other stuff is going on in life today, here's the Cliff's Notes version of this past Sunday...

WORSHIP:

East - Mike Gleason

West English - Eddie Kirkland

West Spanish - Duane Nisly

Salvation Is Here

Everlasting God

From The Inside Out (our own custom 4:30 edit)

Great, familiar tunes - and again, reaching back a bit as to assist with the translation burden for the Spanish service. Hillsong has already translated their songs into Spanish, so we have been taking advantage of that, and slowly doing some North Point - based songs along the way.

From The Inside Out is still kind of new (we've only done it about 5 times), but the crowd has picked it up really quick! Very surprising... That Joel Houston - he writes some guuud tunes...

CLOSER:

The closer was certainly the high point of the day - at least musically. It was the perfect punctuation to John's incredible message, and I'm really glad we did it:

Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman

Yeah, it's a little dated, and has a bit of that "Butterfly Kisses" vibe - but GOSH!!

As a father of a little girl, I was a mess. All Tuesday afternoon while transcribing and programming the strings and tracks, I kept breaking into sobs. It was embarrassing.

And I was replacing the lyrics with: "And I will dance with my little Ella".

Emotional torture... Good thing no one was around...

And then when we finally saw the silhouette video on Sunday morning, we were all a wreck. Mike Gleason, who sang the tune, opted to not view the video at all, just to be able to keep his composure during the performance.

He still hasn't seen the video...

But I can't rave enough at how great Mike was doing this tune. Sure, 4 or 5 of our other guys could have sung it as well, but he's the only one who could deliver the song with such a convincing parental authority. He actually has raised 5 kids to adulthood, and so the performance was not only musically excellent, but from a place of authenticity.

Bottom line: message delivered, and not a dry eye in the house.

At least that's what it looked like through the strange water that mysteriously filled my eyes...

Okie Dokie - I've got to go give Ella a giant hug...

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East Band - Mike Gleason, Danny Howes, Brad Long, Scott Meeder, Earl South, Jared Hamilton, Rachel Gillis

West Band - Eddie Kirkland, Duane Nisly, Danny Grady, Jeremy Moyers, Ashley Appling, Brad Gage, Keith Thomas, Rebecca Iraheta

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What touched YOU this week?

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(P.S. - POD X3 Live count - 4)

If you are a Worship Leader you NEED to go HERE.

Opener:
"I Just Want To Celebrate" (Rare Earth)

Worship:
"Let God Arise"  (Tomlin)
"Let the Praises Ring"  (L. Brewster)
"Mighty To Save"  (Hillsongs)

Special:
"God Of This City"  (Passion/Tomlin)

Dude, "God Of This City" is a great song.  It fits the DNA of our church perfect and is a song of action and adventure.  We used this song to bookend the message and people really responded to it.

Band:  John Ross, Gary Hake, Joey Bombaci, Alan Johnson, me
VOX:  Rob Burkey, Kerry Burkey, Meagan Carnahan

Great job team! 

Finally finished up "The Message" series this weekend with Don talking about being humble and dealing with issues of pride.  Really good message that you can check out HERE.

Worship:
"Blessed Be Your Name"  (Newsong version)
"Not To Us/Here Is Our King"  (North Point version)
"Psalm 19"  (Matt Nightengale)
"Mighty Is the Power Of the Cross"  (Tomlin)
"Sing To the King"  (Desperation Band/Ross Parsley)

Special:
"Lay Down My Pride"  (Jeremy Camp)

We split the music set up a bit this weekend and moved communion (which we take every week at CCV) to the end of the message.  We used "Mighty Is the Power" and "Sing to the King" at the end.  Funny how "Sing to the King" is still a HUGE crowd favorite.  Good song that's cool to bring back 1-2 times a year.

Band:  Terry Emig, Eric Wingham, Joey Bombaci, Scott Burrow, me
VOX:  Rob Burkey, Mary Jones 

This next weekend we'll be doing a throw back from Rare Earth, 1970's, to kick off Father's Day.  

Any ideas?

Although I enjoy writing prose and setting poetry, I have not written much original poetry because, well, it’s hard. Really, really hard. This leaves aside the question of whether I possess a gift for it, a question I have no more hope of answering than the question of whether I have a gift for composition. It’s beside the point, anyway, since I just keep composing. Someone else can take a crack at answering it.

I do remember that when I decided to focus only on composing it was because I’d rather do one thing well than a couple of things (including playing the bass guitar) just competently, resting in the hope, of course, that I could one day compose well. At least, the amount of time I would need to invest to get really good at poetry or my Fender Jazz Bass I realized I’d rather spend composing. Real poets and real bass players have my unalloyed respect. Nevertheless, every once in a while I try my hand at it. Poetry, that is; I sold the bass.

Here’s the hymn, to the left, and here’s a midi version if you care for a listen:

Writing texts and music for hymns carries with it the challenges peculiar to poetry and composition, but also the additional challenge of immediate functionality. The materials cannot be involved or obscure; the artist cannot stray too far ahead or the congregation simply will not follow. But if the materials are too common, the worshipers go nowhere, their attention dulled by cliché. This is a delicate dance, the stretching and the comforting. I find, increasingly, that it intrigues me. It’s still hard—really, really hard—but it intrigues me.

This is Psalm 8:

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

This was no ordinary Sunday. This was a marathon. And it started last Wednesday night.

Yesterday was the first of a three week pilot series for North Point en Espanol - a Spanish language service at North Point.

Here's the short version:

We normally have 3 services in the East Auditorium (9:00, 11:00, 12:45), but only 2 services in the West. So the idea, at least for this pilot series, is for a traditional North Point style service to take place in the West Auditorium at 12:45 (the 3rd service time).

So how does that happen?

It started months ago with choosing an older series that Andy preached about a year ago and had it professionally overdubbed in L.A. And not some hack interpreter, but someone literally "acting" the voice of Andy - inflections, pauses, idiosyncrasies. Just imagine Andy speaking Spanish, plus a little extra "machismo"...

It also started with a grassroots base of Latinos and Spanish speaking folks within the church to partner with Host Team to be greeters, information tables, etc.

As for the music, we did the same worship songs as the first two English services - but in Spanish! How's that for a brain twist!

Casey Darnell led the English, and newbie Duane Nisley led the Spanish, while Rosie Iraheta sang BGV for BOTH languages! Rehearsals were almost comical, as the band just played the same worship tunes over and over as we rehearsed both languages.

Throw in a closer for the English services AND a different closer for the Spanish, and you've got one crazy week on your hands.

In all, everyone was a real trooper, enduring long rehearsals on Wednesday night and Sunday morning as we all adjusted to the learning curve.

We learned a lot from week 1 of the Spanish pilot, and have since adjusted rehearsal schedules, call times, off-stage production personnel, Host Team strategies - you name it.

Fortunately, due to our typical over-preparation and trying to solve every little problem before it happens, the needed tweaks and adjustments are minor. So that's good news.

It's great to be surrounded with other folks that agree that foresee and fix issues even before they happen.

WORSHIP:

East - Todd Fields

West English - Casey Darnell

West Spansih - Duane Nisley

- Salvation's Chorus

- Mighty To Save

- How Great Is Our God

- How He Loves (English closer) **also be sure to check out THIS version!!!!!

- My Savior My God (Spanish closer)

We're revisiting a few older, more familiar tunes over these 3 weeks to aid the Spanish service - doing a few songs that have already been translated (to cut down the translation workload) and that our Spanish Worship Leaders Duane and Seth are already comfortable with - again, to reduce the learning curve for them.

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East Band - Todd Fields, Ashley Appling, Pat Malone, Steve Thomason, Danny Grady, Chris Arias, Jen Carrozza.

Yep - a band so good so good, it'll make you slap yo mamma...

West Band - Casey Darnell, Duane Nisley, Scott Meeder, Richard Meeder, Bill DeLoach, Mike Hines, Jeremy Moyers, Rosie Iraheta

Yep - a rhythm section so good, it'll make yo mamma slap you back...

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POD X3 LIVE count: 5

All 4 electrics plus Todd's acoustic.

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What challenged YOU this week?

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