Today our friends at The Gospel Coalition have published a new article Bobby wrote with our pastor at Sojourn, Daniel Montgomery, called “Consider Skipping ‘Christmas Season’ This Year.” This article talks about the importance of watching and waiting for Christ’s Second Coming, and the significance of the season of Advent on the church liturgical calendar. An excerpt:
Advent season begins each year on the fourth Sunday before December 25. While “Christmas season” is often marked by greed, gluttony, and (if you’re lucky) a few warm fuzzy feelings as you stand under the mistletoe or drink hot cocoa by the fire, Advent stirs our hearts for the return of the King.
I met Matt Papa for the first time when he came to my hometown of Louisville two weeks’ ago to record a song for The Gospel Coalition‘s Songs of Luke project at Ear Candy Studios (where Kristen recorded our free The Whole Big Story, and where Sojourn has recorded albums like Before The Throne). I knew Matt was a gifted singer-songwriter and worship leader because of his albums, the testimony of mutual acquaintances and the words he has written or others have written about him in the blogosphere.
The meeting was not a disappointment. Matt is a humble, insightful, inquisitive artist, who passionately lives and speaks the gospel of Christ. We talked about his role as a staff worship leader at The Summit Church in North Carolina, his heart for mission, songwriting and more in this My Song In The Night interview:
Bobby Gilles: You’ve said that a song isn’t just lyrics or melody — it’s a sermon that people will remember. Can you talk a little more about that, and your philosophy behind worship songs?
Matt Papa: Plato said, “Let me make the songs of a nation and I care not who makes it laws.” That in itself says a lot. And Martin Luther, second to the preaching of the Word, placed a high emphasis on music. So, song is such a powerful medium, such an influencer of culture. When you transfer that over to the church world — songs for worship — every song is claiming truths about God. I try to encourage worship leaders to realize they are teaching people theology as they sing, whether they realize it or not, and whether they like it or not.
In I Corinthians 12, there’s no spiritual gift of “leading worship.” There’s no spiritual gift of “music.” Although it is a gift from God, I wouldn’t consider it a spiritual gift in terms of what is used in a corporate body gathering. So, with that said, if you get on a stage with an acoustic guitar you must figure out what you are out of that list, because you’re not just a singer. Your spiritual gift isn’t singing; it isn’t music. Usually the worship leader fits into that category of teacher, preacher, encourager—you’re simply doing that through song. I try to encourage people to take that very seriously because the things people will remember in their old age when they can’t remember their name are songs. Music just has a way of influencing and sticking with you.
Bobby Gilles: In some of your songs like “One Thing” and “This Changes Everything,” you tell stories. Do you consider that part of your songwriting, that you’re a storyteller?
Matt Papa: Yeah, I’ve started doing more of that. I think that story is a powerful medium. I write a good bit of stuff that is corporate and some stuff that is not—I guess that would fall into the “not” category.
Bobby Gilles: When I think of your music, I also think of social justice. But it’s a social justice that’s rooted in the person and work of Jesus Christ very intentionally. Lyrics like
“If this is true this changes everything, if this is real, I’ve got to tell the world.”
Do you work hard to intentionally make that connection between the person and work of Christ and “we’ve got to do this”?
Matt Papa: Yeah, I do. The last album which included “This Changes Everything” –a lot of that album is centered around the response to the Lordship of Christ but also the love of Christ. In my writing, teaching and preaching, I try to root what I encourage and exhort people with not from a place of guilt, not from a place of “You have to do this,” but from a place of gratitude, a place of joy. It’s all in response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If that’s not there, then it’s just a lot of noise.
The gospel is the thing that melts the heart to bring a person to the place where they want to share Christ, where they want to serve the orphan, where they want to serve the widow. And that’s the goal, isn’t it: love the Lord your God with all Your heart. Love is a response. So, I do try to make a huge deal of the centrality of the cross and the centrality of the gospel. And also about the social justice: go and do.
I think we often fall into one ditch or the other, especially now in the age of the Gospel-centered movement. It’s hard to criticize a re-emphasis on the gospel, but if there’s one downside it’s that the imperatives are de-emphasized. So, it’s just “Remember the Gospel, look at Jesus and you’ll be okay.”
But there’s also this reality that we are sinners and we aren’t in heaven yet so the natural inclinations of our heart aren’t purified yet. So we have to kill our sin, we have to mortify our flesh, we have to love orphans and widows because we’re commanded to, regardless of whether we feel like it or not. James 1:27 says this is undefiled religion. And I want my ministry to have both/and. Obviously the other pitfall is just preaching the imperatives and legalism.
Bobby Gilles: Your latest song, “The Reward of His Suffering” exemplifies what we were talking about — social justice rooted in the gospel, and a great praise anthem as well. Tell me about that song and also about The Reward International.
Matt Papa: “The Reward of His Suffering” is based on a quote. I believe Count Zinzendorf might be credited with the phrase—I’m not sure exactly. But that phrase became a rally cry for the Moravian Missionary Movement in the 1700’s. And the phrase was “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of his suffering.” So it was the worthiness of Christ that drove tons of missionary movement and zeal.
The story that popularized the phrase is that two young men were compelled to go to an island and share the gospel with people who hadn’t heard it before. They weren’t sure how they were going to get there so they decided to sell themselves into slavery. They made the decision to go, said goodbye to their family and friends—they were planning on leaving forever—and they got a the ship and set out. As the ship was pulling away one of the men raised his arm and said, “May the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of his suffering.” It was an epic moment for seeing how the worthiness of Christ drives people to surrender.
When they got over there they were unable to sell themselves into slavery because they were white men and the slave owner didn’t allow it. So instead of going home, they stayed on the island and got normal jobs. And whenever they would see the slaves around town they would share the gospel with them. They just did whatever they could — that’s just such a cool part of the story because that’s what a Christian does.
When you open your Bible and read the command “Go into all nations and make disciples” and you’re a 10th grader or a stay-at-home mom you think, “How in the world am I going to do that?” But you say “I’m going to figure it out.” And that’s what they did. So they stayed and made that their ambition. Fast forward 50 years later and when the next Christian missionary showed up after they’d served there for 50 years, there were 13,000 believers on the island.
So I just wanted to set that to music and put the gospel in it. I’ve heard a lot of cool stories from people who have heard “The Reward Of His Suffering” and they say “I feel called to missions now, and this song has been really encouraging me.”
But I think that’s just such a crucial truth to keep in front of us all — those of us who are on mission: what propels us ultimately is not that we might help people avoid hell, although that’s amazing. Ultimately, it’s about more voices around the throne — it’s more praise for Jesus, it’s more “He’s worthy.” It’s the worthiness of Christ that will drive mission. I think Piper said “When the flame of worship burns with the heat of God’s true worth, the light of missions will shine to the darkest people on the earth.”
The Reward International is an organization that my wife and I are in the process of starting. I started an orphanage about five years ago and we have some other ministries and missions that we’re a part of. So this is an effort that she and I are forming and creating, to leverage my ministry, music and our lives for the sake of the nations.
Bobby Gilles: Another thing that you do—you’re a worship leader in the Summit Church worship ministry. Earlier this year they released a worship album, Jesus In My Place, the title cut of which you wrote with Jonathan Welch. What are some of the differences in leading and writing with a church ministry rather than as a solo artist?
Matt Papa: I would say one of the main things is—as I write music as a solo artist, there’s a little more liberty as to what I can do and perhaps say and that kind of thing. And when it comes to writing for a local church it is more specific, it’s honed in, it’s very focused. And I have certain people in mind, you know, “Are these people going to sing this.” It’s helped me in my writing a whole lot in terms of writing corporate songs because I have this 40 year old guy in my church in mind, you know, “Is this guy going to sing this.”
Bobby Gilles: I noticed you co-wrote songs with several others on Jesus In My Place. Does your role in co-writing change depending on who you’re writing with? Or are you always, say, the lyric guy or the melody guy?
Matt Papa: My role does change sometimes. I would say that I’m probably better with melody, but that definitely flexes. I’m usually quickest with melodies, but in writing for corporate worship especially, I care more about the lyric so I wrestle with that a lot more.
Bobby Gilles: Do you all, at The Summit, have any songwriting retreats or workshops? How do those go?
Matt Papa: We do, and they are great. We’ve been doing those for about 2 ½ years now. We usually do a couple a year. For one, we’ll go off somewhere. Then the other we’ll do sort of low-key at the church. But they’ve really helped our guys become better writers. We bring in some people to speak — usually two or three people — to teach a devotional, or session on songwriting, or something more philosophical. Then we’ll just break up into groups and co-write. We’ll have the speakers co-write with our guys — that’s been such a huge thing. With the last label I was on, Centricity Music, we did a lot of this kind of thing and I wanted to bring this in for our church. Our guys have gotten a lot better and are excited about writing.
Bobby Gilles: Are these day-long retreats?
Matt Papa: Usually they’re weekends — two or three days.
Bobby Gilles: So when people co-write at these things, are they assigned to a specific group?
Matt Papa: Yeah, usually the writing experience in the room is varied. So when that’s the case, my preference is to do groups of three people. The issue with two people is that if you have one experienced and one not, then one person might be driving the ship too much. So yeah, I like to do groups of three—with more experienced writers I might do groups of two. I try to be sensitive to knowing who the great lyricists or melody writers are so I can set up the groups accordingly. I try to be careful with the inexperienced guys — if you have a “Type A” person you encourage them to sit back and listen a little more. So I try to coach the guys in that.
Bobby Gilles: I’ve also noticed you’ve done a lot of Scripture songs. Do you find it easier to compose music to a Bible verse or is that actually tougher, given that they don’t rhyme or utilize meter like modern English songs do?
Matt Papa: I think it is harder, especially if you want to call it a scripture song because you have to stick really closely to the lyrics. You might have some liberty, but it is a good bit harder.
Bobby Gilles: How do you do it? Do you just meditate on the passage?
Matt Papa: Yeah, usually it happens when I’m just reading the word, and a light bulb comes on when something arrests me. Usually I’ll write about that — when I’ve had this experience with this verse. That kind of naturally flows forth in song and melody.
Bobby Gilles: So, we’re here in Louisville and you’re from North Carolina. What are you doing here this week and how did you get involved with that?
Matt Papa:The Gospel Coalition is making an album based on the Gospel of Luke. When I heard about it, Matt Boswell and I got together—we often write hymns together. I had this idea to take Luke 15 (it’s divided into 4 sections—3 parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and two sections for the lost son.) So, we wrote a 4-verse hymn each representing a different parable. We loved the idea of writing a hymn that told the story but could be used in corporate worship. It was daunting but we knocked it out. The Gospel Coalition wanted to use it on the CD so I’m here to sing on the recording. You can look for the CD in April, about the same time as their 2013 National Conference in Orlando.
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! (Phil. 4:4)
As believers and children of God, we have tremendous cause for joy in all circumstances of our lives. Although we sojourn here in a groaning world dying from the effects of sin’s curse, though we dwell in bodily tents that are failing, though we suffer great heartache and loss, though our enemy rages all around us, seeking to slay us, we have great cause for joy because we have an unshakeable hope. We have an anchor for our souls. We have Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, our Mighty Savior, our Glorious Redeemer who has accomplished our complete salvation in His life, death and resurrection. He is our strength, our song and our salvation.
Always being full of joy in the Lord (as Paul exhorts in Philippians 4:4) is possible. Given our humanity and the way we often feel as a result of the hardships we face and the trying circumstances we endure, being joyful in the Lord can sometimes seem like a call to pretentiously put on a happy face. But it’s not that at all.
Rather, it’s a charge to testify to the watching world that we are purchased and protected forever by the blood of Christ, and that this salvation is available to all who trust in Him. We have been empowered by the life of Christ within us to be joyful in hope and patient in affliction while we wait for His return to make all things new.
This is why we can lead our congregations with joy as we praise and worship the Lord when we gather. We can joyfully sing songs of lament together as we remember our sure hope in Christ. We can mourn and confess our sins together with joy as we remember the all-encompassing forgiveness we’ve been offered by our gracious Father. We can declare the truths of God’s word with joy, even the passages we don’t understand or haven’t seen fulfilled in our lifetimes, because we know God can be trusted and that He does not, He cannot lie.
God’s Word commands us to trust the Lord, to take refuge in Him, to sing joyful praises forever, to be filled with joy, to burst out in songs of thanksgiving, to sing praises and not be silent, to give thanks to the Lord forever. Consider the context of some of these directives:
in a prayer for better times and for God’s face to smile upon us when our harvests are leaner than those around us
in prayers for God’s protection
in reminders of God’s merciful reply to our cries, answering with His presence in our lives as our Strength, Shield and Helper
in realizing He has taken away our clothes of mourning and clothed us with joy so that we might sing praises to Him and not be silent
As we persevere in pointing our congregations and a watching world to Christ Jesus, may these scriptures and the vast richness of God’s never-failing Word continue to fuel our joyful praises. May we worship our saving God in response to His great worthiness because of the Hope that He has secured for us forever in Christ.
Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord. Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let your face smile upon us, Lord. You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. (Psalm 4:5-7)
But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread Your protection over them, that all who love Your name may be filled with joy. For You bless the godly, O Lord; You surround them with Your shield of love. (Psalm 5:11-12)
Praise the Lord! For He has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. (Psalm 28:6-7)
You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever! (Psalm 30:11-12)
Photo above by GNUCKX, used via Creative Commons license
Today, Jeremy Linneman to write a guest posts at MySongInTheNight.com. Jeremy is on staff at our church Sojourn, and is one of the pastors at Sojourn’s East Louisville campus. If you feel God has called you to preach, this is a must-read article. In fact, everyone should read this because it will help you understand what preachers go through:
My name’s Jeremy, I’m a young pastor, and I get pulpit anxiety.
I have preached roughly 25 sermons in my life, including about ten at Sojourn East, where I have served as Executive Pastor for just over a year. As the second-string preacher, I look at the calendar and pick 10-12 Sundays that sound most exciting. Labor Day Weekend? All mine. New Year’s Day lands on a Sunday? I’m your guy. The genealogies in Genesis? I name ‘em and claim ‘em like Naaman.
The problem is, I have a love/hate relationship with preaching. Like many other young pastors, I feel called to proclaim God’s Word yet suffer from pulpit anxiety like something fierce. Sitting under Lead/Founding Pastor Daniel Montgomery’s teaching (or any of our lead campus pastors’ teaching) can be both invigorating and discouraging. From what I can tell from weeks when Daniel and I are preaching the same passage, he mountain bikes until Saturday afternoon, when an epiphany hits him on the trails. He doesn’t write it down but he just bounces it around in his mind, then on Sunday he preaches four almost-perfect sermons. Okay, so it’s not quite that way but that’s how it seems.
My week looks a little different.
Tuesday—I’m in my prayer closet (i.e. shared office), marking up commentaries, realizing this is the most important sermon ever. I call my friends and tell them, “You absolutely have to be at Sojourn East on Sunday. I can’t tell you why—just get in town!” I love preaching!
Wednesday/Thursday—Now I have to take my slobbery notes and prayers and turn them into a sermon. This is going to be harder than I thought. Maybe Tim Keller preached on this and I can find his manuscript on someone’s blog. Nope, dang.
Friday/Saturday—The sermon is done but it sucks. In fact, I suck. My friends in middle school were right: I’m a total failure and my ears are so big I look like a car coming down the road with both doors open. I can’t believe my wife even loves me. I wonder if I can just call in sick Sunday morning. I hate preaching!
Sunday morning—I slept two hours last night, haven’t eaten in 24 hours, and now I have nervous diarrhea. Dang, a lot of people are here. The band’s taking stage. OK, Jeremy, get hyped. This is my congregation and my pulpit—I must defend this house!!No wait, these things belong to Jesus. Has anyone seen page 4 of my notes?
Sunday afternoon—I survived! Thank you, Lord! All praise be to our Triune God, who bends his ear to the cries of the meek and weak-in-pulpit!
Sunday night—I’m so depressed I could die.
I’ve talked to some folks about my pulpit anxiety, and I usually get one of three responses. First, some point out my sin—I’m worried what people think and I overestimate my own role in preaching—so they call me to Repent. Second, some remind me that all young preachers get anxiety, and they encourage me to Relax. Still others say I’m just nervous because I’m so godly and I take the responsibility of preaching so seriously, and I just need to Rehearse again.
I definitely am full of sin and selfishly want people to say things like “Oh that was wonderful” and “He deserves ‘double honor’ for that sermon.” And most weeks, I also need to Relax and Rehearse (over and over). This is all true and wise stuff. But does God’s Word have anything to say about the junior varsity preacher’s anxiety? Surely Paul wrote something about this somewhere!
Well, 2 Corinthians is not about pulpit anxiety exactly, but it sure is helpful.
Who is equal to such a task?Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.…
Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life….
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God….For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake…. Therefore we do not lose heart.
Well said, old apostle. Will I continue to struggle with pulpit anxiety? Probably. But is it worth it if Christ gets preached and people see his truth plainly (and our lead pastor gets a break)? Yes.
And will I accept that, at least for now, this is part of my lot in life—sleepless nights, occasional criticism and monthly diarrhea—and simply be satisfied with being a child of God? Absolutely. I am simply a child of God, called by and sent from him as a minister of his new covenant; I have no competence in myself but rather, his strength is made perfect in my weakness!
Ah, snap! That last sentence will preach. I can’t wait to preach again.
In addition, Sojourn is selling all previous albums for just $5 each until Christmas 2012. Albums that Kristen and I worked on include:
Before The Throne(2007) This is the Sojourn record that earned a 5 Star review in Christianity Today and brought an international audience to Sojourn’s worship ministry. I co-wrote “All I Have Is Yours” and “Lead Us Back” for Before The Throne.
The Water And The Blood. This is volume two of the Isaac Watts project — a folky, more acoustic project than Over The Grave. The Water And The Blood (2011) is also the first record Sojourn released after Kristen moved to the Louisville area and joined Sojourn Church. She sings lead on “From Deep Distress” and contributes harmony vocals on a few more songs here. I co-wrote “Let Your Blood Plead For Me.”
Other Sojourn records on sale for $5 include Advent and Christmas-themed albums. And the new Sojourn Live features Sojourn originals alongside Sojourn version of songs like John Mark McMillan’s “Death In His Grave,” the Getty/Townend anthem “O Church Arise,” and Brian Eichelberger’s “Satisfied In You.”
Kristen and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!
Our railroad conductor friend Alex made markings like this on 30 railcars that have since traveled all over the east coast
I wanted to have my baby. I wanted to hold him, hear his cries, coos and giggles. I wanted to look into his eyes. I wanted to care for him, feed him, change his dirty diapers. I wanted to discover who Parker was by getting to know him as he grew up. I wanted to hear him call me “mom, mommy, momma.” I wanted his affection, his little hugs and kisses, his “I love you’s.” I wanted to keep my son here with me.
A few hours before Parker was born into the arms of Jesus, God’s Spirit directed and enabled my heart to say with faith, “Lord, not my will, but Yours be done. Have Your way in me.” I didn’t know what lay ahead, but I knew God was encouraging me to want whatever He had willed, no matter the cost.
Not long after that prayer, as I lay on the operating table with my arms outstretched as if on a cross, I felt the doctor pull Parker out of my womb, but I didn’t hear my baby’s cry. Instead, I heard the doctor urgently say, “Code 500!” to the already hustling medical staff.
I knew.
I’d known since several minutes before the c-section when the nurses calmly but desperately searched for a heartbeat. Now I stared at the ceiling and began to pray through my oxygen mask, “Father, nothing is impossible for you. You can save my son. Breathe life into Parker. Nothing is too hard for you, Father.”
And then my prayers quickly turned to tearful, affirmative praise. “Father, You are good. You are sovereign. You’ve carried us all this time and You’re still carrying us. Parker belongs to you. He has always been Yours. I trust You. You are good.”
That’s the last thing I remember before waking up with my midwife and Bobby in the recovery room. What great grace God poured out to me in allowing me to commend my son into His heavenly care before I succumbed to anesthesia. His Good Spirit had comforted me with the knowledge that God was sovereignly overseeing everything and had not failed to do what was best. When I woke up, I calmly and confidently told the midwife, “It’s okay. God did not fail. You didn’t fail. Nothing went wrong. God has accomplished His will.”
Then I wept as Bobby brought Parker’s little body over to me so I could admire and cuddle his masterfully fitted frame. I turned to Bobby while holding Parker’s precious body and said, “Do you realize what this means? We now have the privilege of knowing and walking with the Lord more closely than ever. His Word is going to come alive to us like never before.”
When we came home two days later, Bobby and I went directly into Parker’s room and held each other and wept. I looked at Bobby and said, “God has honored us. He wants to do something great in us for His glory. And I want Him to finish the work.”
God had said “No” to my first request. I had wanted to enjoy my son’s life here, in my home, in my arms, in my care. But more than that, in the depths of my heart, I wanted to do God’s will, to have Him accomplish in my life and in my family what would be most pleasing to Him. And I was convinced (and still am) that whatever His reply was, it would be for our ultimate good and for His glory.
I’ve asked myself since then, “What if God had said yes to Jesus when He prayed with great tears and anguish in the garden, ‘Father, if it possible, take this cup from me’? What if Jesus had not submitted His human will to the perfect will of His Father?”
I’ve also taken great comfort from Hebrews 5:7-9,
“While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue Him from death. And God heard His prayers because of His deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered. In this way, God qualified Him as a perfect High Priest, and He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him.”
Even when God says “no” in answer to our prayers, He is working all things together for our good. He told His own Son “no” so that He might become the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him. This is a good reply.
And we, too, have the privilege of learning obedience to Christ through the things that we suffer. God is not forsaking us when He replies with silence to our requests. He is giving us His very best for us. He is giving us Himself—the One who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising its shame.
I praise God for graciously, mercifully preparing me and Bobby for this journey. He gave us His Word, our firm foundation.
He gave us His Spirit, our Comforter and ever-present Helper in our times of need.
He gave us His love, from which we can never be separated.
He gave us His peace which transcends our understanding of the present circumstances.
He gave us the promise of salvation, the hope of heaven, an eternity without tears or sorrow, pain or death.
God gave us His Son, who lived perfectly and died shamefully in our place.
God gave us Himself, faithful and true, perfect in all His words and ways.
He has endured for us and with us the depth and breadth of every sorrow we’ll ever meet. So we can submit to Him in everything and say with faith fueled by His own faithfulness, “Father, not my will but Yours be done.” We can trust Him when the answer to our prayer is “No.”
The term “worship leader” means many different things in many different churches, but if you are part of a team that puts words in the mouths of God’s people then you are accountable to God for those words.
You might be the bass player. You might be a vocalist who sings whatever songs your pastor assigns. You might be the only “music person” in a small church, and thus have inherited the “worship leader” mantle whether you feel qualified or not. Or you might be a high-level pastor at a megachurch, responsible for choosing and composing songs, writing prayers and crafting the entire order of service.
Maybe your role is behind the scenes in a liturgy committee, or a songwriting group. Or maybe you’re the much-loved primary “frontman” for your church’s worship ministry, week in and week out. And just as there are many different ways in which you might be a member of the worship team or the “worship person,” there are many different forms of church government to hold you accountable.
But whether you are held accountable by elders, deacons, committees, the congregation, denominational leadership or anyone else, remember that God ultimately holds you accountable. And why wouldn’t he? The songs you choose, write, sing or play for your congregation will be on their lips and in their hearts during that meeting and perhaps for days, weeks or even years to come. Those words may be the sung-prayers your people offer to God as they’re struggling through a troubled marriage, through sickness, through celebrations and even through their final days and moments on this earth.
Accountability To God Got You Scared Yet?
The good news, as Sandra McCracken wrote in “Awake My Soul,” is:
This grace gives me fear, and this grace draws me near,
And all that it asks, it provides
God has given you His word and His spirit. God has also given you those elders and fellow servants — the members of His church. He’s given you faith and He gives wisdom to all who ask (James 1:5). And when you mess up, He gives grace to you and grace to your congregation.
You and I are accountable to almighty God, friends. And that is a good thing. Let’s trust in the wisdom of the Ancient of Days, and lean on the everlasting arms.
Jesus said, “Love.” Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. As believers, we are called to love our God and love others. Jesus also said that if we love Him, we’ll obey Him.
As believers serving as worship leaders (no matter your role on your church’s team, no matter the size of your church), we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We are directed to love our neighbors (our congregations) as we love ourselves. We are instructed to obey the Lord our God. He has commanded us to worship Him alone because He alone is worthy of praise. He has exhorted us to prefer others better than ourselves out of reverence for Christ.
Sometimes we grow weary of obeying and serving God. Our love for Him seems to wane. Sometimes we grow weary of loving and serving our congregations, of deferring our preferences for musical styles, lyrical and liturgical complexity, order and length of services, etc., in order to serve them out of reverence for Christ.
Remember, we love because God first loved us. I John 4:10-11 says
“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.”
Jesus told us to abide, to remain, in His love. He also said the greatest love a man can demonstrate is to lay down his life for his friends. How can we know and fully rely upon the love of our Savior (I Jn. 4:16) if we are not abiding in it?
Worship leaders, as we approach our roles of service, we should reflect on God’s love for us and what it compelled Him to do to rescue us from the stranglehold of Satan, sin and death. Remember that living in God, abiding in His love, causes our love for Him and others to grow more perfect (I Jn. 4:17). We are called to lay our preferences and our lives down for our friends, our neighbors, our congregations — just as Jesus did for us. We are called to love the Lord our God by obeying Him, and we can’t do this without His grace and help. Remember He has helped us through Jesus Christ who lives in us and has lived perfectly for us.
While we live and walk in love for God and others here, as we worship our Saving God here, we are already participating in the eternal worship of Heaven. If we ever fear that our love for God will fail, that we’ll grow tired of praising Him forever, we must remember again that God loved us first and He will perfect His love in us which will empower us to praise Him forever.
Augustine said,
“We shall not be wearied by the praise of God, nor by His love. If your love should fail, so would your praise; but if love will be everlasting, because the beauty of God will be uncloying, inexhaustible, fear not that you will lack power ever to praise Him, whom you will have power ever to love.”
As you serve your congregations and lead them in worship each week, remember God’s great love for you (the gospel) which fuels your love for Him and others. Remember to abide in His love. Remember to trust Him to perfect His love in you and help you to follow the way of His love. Then follow as you lead your congregations in praise of His glorious name.
Each month, more and more online traffic stems from mobile viewing. It’s just so convenient. And smartphones are also a convenient way to help songwriters capture their moments of inspiration, hone and revise their songs, and even learn more about the craft of songwriting.
I own an iPhone 5, so the apps listed below are iPhone apps (and my links will take you to the iTunes store URL for each app). You can find versions of these apps for Android and others systems as well, though.
Most of these apps come in both paid and free versions. I’ve linked to the free version; if you like it, look into the paid option to see if you’d find it even more useful.
The ultimate computerized note-taking system. I love the way evernote.com syncs with my iPhone app. Whether I’m working on my laptop or phone, my latest song musings and audio demos are right there. Evernote also lets you add photos and webpages, and search notes by keyword. My Evernote app is often the first place I jot down song lyrics. I do still use a Moleskine journal, but let’s face it — the Muse likes to drop in when we least expect it. I carry my iPhone around much more often than my journal, since the phone fits inside any pocket.
Have you ever liked one of your new tunes so much that you thought, “Surely my subconscious mind has stolen this melody from another song”? If so, then SoundHound is for you. Turn on the app, sing your song into the phone mic, and SoundHound will search its massive database to identify it. If this app turns up a song that is very close your tune, you may have just saved yourself from a lawsuit or, at least, embarrassment.
The educators at Berklee College of Music have put together a wonderful app, with many video tutorials, articles, a list of their faculty and more. And “songwriting” is just one of their categories, along with music production, guitar, music theory, voice, piano, music business and more.
I use the free version of RhymeNow. The paid version is ad free, and comes with more sorting features, though the free version is all you need to put a basic, fast rhyming dictionary at your fingertips.
Obviously this helps me since I’m a worship songwriter, but any good teacher of literature, poetry or creative writing would tell you that the Bible is a masterpiece that has undergirded the writing of history’s great works. YouVersion’s app contains many translations, and even lets you make notes, which you can keep private or share through social media.
I’ve recently returned to work at Sojourn Church after a short bereavement leave following the birth and death of mine and Kristen’s son Parker. Although this was just a two-week rest, it was what I needed — even though I itched to get “back in the game” several times.
Sometimes we know when we need to “ride the bench.” Sometimes we don’t. Several times in Sojourn’s short history, pastors and ministry leaders have had to tell someone in our midst, “You need to slow down,” “You need a retreat/sabbatical,” or “Why don’t you take some time off.” It’s great to be among people who are so passionate about working for the Lord, but the danger in that mindset comes when we don’t recognize the rhythms of rest and recuperation we all need.
“Some of God’s best workers have been laid aside for long periods. Moses was forty years in the desert, doing nothing but tending sheep. One greater than Moses, our blessed Savior, was thirty years doing — I will not say nothing, but certainly doing no public work …
“If you are put on the shelf, do not rust; pray that the Master will polish you, so that when He uses you again you will be fully ready for the work.
“Do not get into that peevish, miserable frame of mind that grudges and undervalues other’s efforts. Some people, when they cannot do anything, do not like anybody else to work. Promise that if you cannot help you will never hinder. Spend time in prayer …”
Kristen And Bobby Gilles 