Our New Years’ Resolutions To You

The original hymns on our upcoming EP will take you from Creation to Second Coming

Kristen and I launched My Song In The Night just three months ago, a resource for Christian songwriting and hymnody, church communications, worship leading and for tips on how all Christians can effectively tell their story of redemption.

We launched with our modern hymn My Song In The Night, which you can listen to anytime and download in the player on your right (or listen through Spotify, iTunes, Amazon and other outlets).

We write to you out of our experiences:

• both of us as songwriters, Christians, husband-wife, members of the multi-site Sojourn Community Church.
• Kristen as a worship leader and singer-songwriter who has played big and small venues from the Northeast to the Southwest United States.
• Bobby as Director of Communications for Sojourn, mentor of many songwriters, author and content manager for sojournmusic.com.

We’re excited that many of you have come along for part of our journey, whether you’ve downloaded our song, signed up to the RSS feed, or you check out our posts when a headline intrigues you from a search engine or social media. In 2012, our “New Year’s resolution” for My Song In The Night includes:

• A new EP — more modern hymns we’ve written, which Kristen will record with the Sojourn Music band. These songs will chronologically tell the sweeping story of creation, redemption and Christ’s return, and do so in a way that we believe you’ve not heard in other praise & worship songs and older hymns.

A Christmas Message From The Gilles Family

Here I'm leading "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" with Sojourn Music

Merry Christmas! Bobby and I are taking the rest of 2011 away from blogging except for our New Year’s Resolution to you on Tuesday. We’ll return with some good posts in January:

• How to do worship team rehearsals
• Understanding copyright issues when writing new music for old hymns
• How to prepare for worship team auditions
• Time management for overworked creatives
• How to revise hymn texts without destroying the hymn
• Top Ten Books for Church Communications

along with some interviews we think you’ll love, and more. Till then, remember you can click the Streampad player strip on the bottom of this website at any time to hear all our Sojourn Music worship songs and modern hymns, and some of our other songs. You can also hear any of these songs individually on our Gilles Music page, and download My Song In The Night for free in the column on your right. And I’m sure Bobby will keep Tweeting so you can either follow @bobbygilles on Twitter or just watch his Twitter stream here in the column to your right.

Also, check out these posts for Christmas, Epiphany and New Year’s topics that you may have missed:

Christmas Posts:

Get An Easy-to-Use Lyric Printout for All Your Christmas Caroling

Holiday Season Blues: How To Beat Loneliness and Depression at Christmas

Free Sample Liturgy for Advent Season & Special Christmas Services

How to Host A Church Christmas Gift Exchange

34 Songs! Free Christmas Music Playlist: Carols, Hymns, Advent Songs

Christmas Song Analysis: Go Tell It On The Mountain

New Year’s Resolution For Christians: Resolve To Own Your Shame

“Shame thrives on hiding. To be discovered is to be rejected.”

Ian Morgan Cron said these words on the Refuge SSI Retreat Kristen and I attended. Ian is a pastor, author and singer-songwriter. In his latest book “Jesus, My Father, The Cia, and Me” he details the shame and rejection he felt and feared, as the son of an alcoholic father (who, it turns out, also worked undercover for the CIA).

Resolve to tell your story of redemption in 2012 — warts and all. Because Christ is Lord of (warts and) all. God uses your testimony to share His love and spread His kingdom. If only you don’t let shame rob you — and the kingdom — of your story. As Ian went on to explain at Refuge SSI:

“You’ll do anything to hide shame because of fear of rejection. You won’t tell your story.

• You’ll minimalize it (‘it wasn’t really so bad …’)
• You’ll spiritualize it (‘the Lord was teaching me,’ and other generalities)
• You’ll edit, revise, numb the wound, become a perfectionist to compensate

Epiphany Planning For Worship Leaders, Songwriters, Communicators

Workshop of Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678) The Feast of the Epiphany, c. 1639-1640 oil on canvas

You Know About Christian Year Seasons Like Advent & Lent, But What About Epiphany?
The Christian Year is a tool for preaching the gospel to yourself, your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and church congregation.

Epiphany: “manifestation” or “appearance.”

The Christian Church observes a day of Epiphany to commemorate the revelation of the Christ-child in connection with the visit of the Magi (wise men, “three kings”). Epiphany traditionally occurs on January 6 (at the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas). In practice, many churches celebrate Epiphany on the Sunday closest to this date rather than hold a special service on another day of the week.

What About Churches That Treat Epiphany As A Whole Season In The Christian Liturgical Calendar?

The Epiphany Chapel - Winchester Cathedral

Nothing wrong with that. Whether you have an Epiphany “season,” or a single service, this is a time when church pastors and worship planners highlight the revelation of Jesus’ person and his mission during his first Advent. Epiphany worship liturgies teach and celebrate:

• the parables of Jesus
• the sermons and other illustrations of Jesus
• the miracles of Jesus
• the prophecies of Jesus

Chronologically, it makes sense to celebrate Epiphany after Christmas and prior to Lent, the period of lament, reflection and confession leading to our need for a sacrifice, and Christ’s perfect satisfaction of that need.

What kinds of songs work well for Epiphany?

Why Your New Year’s Resolutions Fail, And What To Do About It

You can't just "turn over a new leaf"

For all of us fallen humans out there, ringing in the New Year often means anxiously wringing our hands with worry and regret as we’re reminded of our failures to keep the previous year’s resolutions [insert your resolutions here]. Not only that, but we’re often dreading the new year before us instead of persevering with patient confidence, eagerly expecting the fulfillment of God’s never-failing Word in our lives. Rather than letting this sorry scene play out in our lives again this year, I propose that we raise our hands and hearts in thankfully toasting and boasting in Christ alone.

Whenever I spend an inappropriate amount of time dwelling on my failures, I end up making way too much of myself and way too little of Christ. And that leads me to forgetting God’s grace, abundantly poured out for me at all times. I need to remember His grace and that, apart from Him, I can do nothing. I have nothing except what He’s given me by His generous grace. And I am nothing except what He makes me to be through the perfect work of Jesus Christ on my behalf.

I was reminded of the glorious gospel this morning when I read this trustworthy saying in Titus 3:3-8:

“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. (ESV)

This amazing good news is the redemption story of every person who has trusted Christ for salvation. And our trusting in Christ was made possible by the grace of God alone.

• We have not saved ourselves.
• We could never save ourselves.
• We will not save ourselves from any future trouble we may encounter.
• We cannot take credit for any future triumphs we may experience.

No, every failure and triumph of the past, present and future years of our lives in Christ are overflowing with God’s grace to us—we just have a hard time seeing it. That’s probably because we’re so busy boasting in our own strength, skill, wit and wisdom, or beating ourselves up for our lack thereof, in both our failures and triumphs. Here’s how I expressed this truth as “Kristen Gabrielle” (before becoming a Gilles):

I have a hard time dealing with my mess ups.

Get An Easy To Use Lyric Print-Out For All Your Christmas Caroling

Recently at My Song In The Night I shared with you about my time singing with the folks at the Beehive, a local assisted living home where my Sojourn friends frequently visit to share hugs, smiles and songs with the residents. Tonight we’ll be visiting again and sharing Christmas carols and Advent songs together. I’ve prepared a simple, two page document that includes the lyrics of the following familiar Christmas hymns in simplified, sometimes shortened formats using the most common verses sung:

Angels We Have Heard On High
Oh Come All Ye Faithful
Silent Night
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Joy To the World
Away In A Manger
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Social Media Marketing For Independent Music Bands & Artists

I once unfollowed a lady on Twitter because she tweeted every song she listened to on the radio — day in, day out. She cluttered my Twitter timeline for an hour or two at a time whenever, presumably, she was listening to tunes. Don’t be that girl. That’s Rule #1.

Read my “Social Media Marketing For Churches” post. The same points – Keep It Simple and Keep It Real – apply. There’s Rules #2-3.

Now here are some other points to consider if you are a singer-songwriter, musician or band looking for tips on social media marketing.

Go easy on the marketing, heavy on the social.
Like I wrote in Social Media Tips For Churches, it’s social media, not broadcast media. Sometimes artists join Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or another service and go haywire with posts like:

Buy my new album — it’s got the greatest songs ever!

Several times a day, for weeks, oblivious to the fact that their follower count is shrinking and that less and less people are clicking the link each time.

Then some artists swing to the other side, refusing to act like artists. They just post random quips and food photos.

If someone buys your album, loves the songs, comes to a show and starts following you on social media networks, you should assume she wants to know when you’ve released a new project, when you’re going on tour, when you’re back in the studio, when a magazine or website has given you a great review, when you’ve written a new song that you’re pleased with … you get the picture.

So while you shouldn’t spam everyone’s Timelines and Walls with your sales pitch, also don’t use your influence to do nothing but tell the world what you ate for breakfast and what your three-year old shouted at the restaurant. Tell us about your creative work in moderation. Tell us about your cute three-year old and your tiramisu pancakes in moderation.

Other subjects to write/tweet about:

Testimony Turned Inward: Why You Need Notes To Self

Here at My Song In The Night we talk a lot about the importance of your story, your testimony, your description of how God has revealed himself to you, shown you who he is, demonstrated your wretched state and redeemed you from it, plotting a new course for you that brings you into his family forever.

But what about the need to testify to yourself and preach the gospel to yourself? We often forget our own place in the story. We need to remind ourselves of who God is and what he has done. We need to remember, to dwell afresh on the wonders of the gospel.

My friend Joe Thorn, pastor of Redeemer Fellowship in St. Charles, Illinois wrote one of my favorite books of this year, Note To Self: The Discipline Of Preaching To Yourself. And Joe himself provides a great reason why preaching the gospel to yourself is an important part of your life as a testifier of truth, in his Introduction:

“This personal, devotional work is essential to our own health, but also to our effectiveness in sharing the law and the gospel with others. The more deeply we understand and experience law and gospel, the more capable we become in communicating and applying it to those around us. A good teacher or evangelist is first a good preacher to himself.

You could read this 136-page book in a day. You could also read each of its 48 short chapters individually — a chapter a day, or week — as a devotional guide. It’s small enough to fit in the smallest pack, purse or briefcase and take with you to work, school, the park, coffeeshop or wherever you go to read.

Pastor Joe has divided Note To Self into three Parts:

1. The Gospel and God
2. The Gospel and Others
3. The Gospel and You

and titled his chapters with simple, helpful “action list” items, like:

• Be Humble In Your Theology
• Stop Pretending

Why We Sponsor A Compassion International Child; Why You Should Too

Ten years ago I was blessed to begin sharing life through letters with a seven-year old Indonesian boy named Reymond, a child in Compassion International’s sponsorship program. A friend started me on the sponsorship, through which I have enjoyed getting to know Reymond ever since.

I have saved every letter and photo Reymond has sent me. It’s amazing how much he has grown in the last  decade. He’s always excelled in school, but more than that he has excelled in knowing Christ. I’ve had the joy of celebrating with him upon reading that his parents had become Christians. I’ve also delighted in his new life in Christ and cherished each word of encouragement God has shared with me through sweet Reymond.

I remember getting a letter from Reymond a couple years ago asking me how my family was doing and wondering if I had any children yet (our letters were usually delivered 3-5 months after they’d been written so some of what we shared was rather outdated by the time the other read the letter). He then prayed in the letter that God would bless me with children. I never told Reymond that desire of my heart, but God shared it with him and burdened his heart to intercede for me in this regard.

What Reymond didn’t know at the time he wrote his letter, was that I was transitioning out of my first marriage after being abandoned, and my hope of having children was something I’d abandoned. When I read Reymond’s prayer for me to have children, it rekindled that desire. God was strengthened my faith and reminded me that his purposes cannot be thwarted. The Spirit was still interceding for me, and if God desired for me to have children, then I would have them.

Top 10 Books For Worship & Modern Hymn Songwriters

Fresh on the heels of the My Song In The Night “Ten Top Books For Worship Leaders” list, here is a list of ten books for songwriters. These books will benefit all songwriters, but the list is tailored for those who write praise & worship songs, modern hymns and other congregational songs.

I’ve included one book on the business side of songwriting and one book on the benefits, uses and practices of various kinds of writing groups. I’ve also included a couple books on how to write poetry, because they’re far more helpful in developing your skill as a lyricist than most “how to write song lyrics” books I’ve read. Song lyricists need to take their art seriously.

I’ve linked to the Amazon.com page for each book. A few of these gems are rare, so I’d encourage you to look beyond Amazon to make sure you get a good, well-priced copy.

As with the Worship Leader Book List, I’m not going to attempt to rank all ten of these in exact order. I’m just saying:

Read all ten.

The My Song In The Night “Ten Books For Writers Of Praise & Worship Songs & Modern Hymns”