Meet Us At A Worship Q&A This Saturday, March 2, 2013

This Saturday Kristen and I will be in Greenville, South Carolina for a worship Q&A/meetup, and we’d love to see you there if you live close by. It will be a loosely structured time to meet and talk with us, as well as other Greenville worship leaders. Brunch/snacks will be provided.

We’ll meet from 9am to noon at 14 Ramblewood Lane, 29615. This is the home of our friends Eric and Lorie Spann, from Imago Dei Church, an Acts 29 Network church. Other Imago Dei worship leaders will be there as well. Eric and Lorie were previously a big part of Sojourn Music with us when they lived in Louisville. Eric also served in Sojourn Church’s mercy ministry, and Lorie served in the women’s ministry.

We’ll be talking about things like:

• What is a biblical theology of worship
• Worship as all of life
• Songwriting techniques and suggestions
• Worship leading in a congregational setting
• Where we each (instrumentalists, vocalists, etc.) fit into the idea of “worship leader”
• Expanding your skills as a worship leader/singer/instrumentalist
• Playing in a band vs. leading worship

If you can’t join us this Saturday, we’re always honored for you to visit our blog for thoughts on worship, songwriting, church communications and testimony tips. You can also follow Kristen on Facebook, and Bobby on Twitter and Facebook.

New Rule For Worship Songs: Look With Suspicion On The Other Rules

I love some books so much that I dog-ear many of the pages and, for years thereafter, occasionally pick up the book when I have a minute or two and skim over the marked pages. The other day I skimmed a few pages in one such book, Worship Matters by my friend Bob Kauflin (whose blog is also named Worship Matters). I came across this gem on page 101:

“Don’t assume that a song that uses a lot of first-person pronouns is man-centered. Psalm 86 uses the personal pronouns “I,” “me,” and “my” thirty-one times in seventeen verses. But you’re never left wondering who the focus is. God delights in strong emotions that are a response to revealed realities.”

We worship songwriters, leaders and other service planners have a lot to consider when writing or choosing songs (see my “Can We Trust The Contemporary Worship Industry”). Unfortunately, the sheer weight of this sometimes leads writers and pastors to make quick rules like:

• No “I” songs
• No “we” songs
• No songs about Jesus — just songs to Jesus
• No songs that reference Christ as “You” rather than by name

and on and on. We have good intentions, but blanket rules like this do a disservice to God and to our congregations. Not only this, but if we applied many of these quick rules to songs in the Bible, many of them would fail the test.

There’s no getting around it: songwriters and service planners must be students of Scripture, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Our own individual preferences and our attempts to create legalistic shortcuts will otherwise lead us into rejecting a good many worthy songs — and perhaps accepting songs that fail to serve our people or give adequate praise to God Almighty.

Attractional Versus Missional Online Communication Strategies

In the church world, two outreach models have sometimes warred against each other.

The Attractional model says “Come and see.” It advocates for a well designed church building, top-notch Connect/Guest Services ministry, good signage, an excellently executed worship service and other well run programs and events. The point is to draw people in.

The Missional model says “Go and tell.” Instead of primarily drawing people to a specific location, the emphasis is on going into the community, living out the gospel in your everyday interactions, participating in the life of your city, using whatever gifts and interests God has given you: visual arts, sports, community planning, music. You’re a missionary, taking the gospel to your neighborhood, your favorite coffee shop, your circle of Little League parents, your local Farmer’s market.

In recent years many church leaders have said, “It’s not either/or; it’s both/and,” while others remain in one camp or another. But even a missional community may succumb to an “attractional only” online presence, and vice versa. Meanwhile, the “both/and” churches may invest more on one side or the other online, without knowing it. Lets look at how popular online tools fit within the missional/attractional models. These apply not only to churches but to businesses, bands, authors, and any other type of brand.

Attractional Online Strategy

Your website is the cornerstone of an attractional web strategy. An attractional-heavy strategy places all or most of your eggs in this basket. Your site looks attractive, it loads quickly, it provides incentives for people to visit and to linger. It contains all the info anyone would want to know about you (see my The Biggest Mistake On Your Church Website Homepage here).

Let’s look at some of the attractional elements we’ve built into My SongIn The Night. Obviously, our blog is front-and-center because we post new content at least twice a week. We’ve also embedded a free offer for Kristen’s worship EP The Whole Big Story in the right-hand column. And by clicking the Streampad “Click To Play All Posts” bar at the bottom of this site, you can freely listen to all our worship songs, including the ones recorded by Sojourn Music.

Podcasts are attractional as well. Many people love to subscribe to fun or thought-provoking podcasts. And of course don’t forget videos.

Missional Online Strategy

Social media networking is the ultimate missional strategy. Instead of pulling people to a website, you go where they are: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn and whatever social network contains an audience with whom you’d like to connect. See my E.E.R.I.E. system of social media networking here, Social Media For Churches here and my Social Media Marketing for bands here.

But not so fast! Even if you want to be missional, you can fall into an attractional mindset on social media. Lots of brands spend much time and money customizing their Facebook page to the fullest extent Facebook allows. They treat their Facebook page like a website. And that’s fine if you’ve got the resources for it.

But Facebook users are far more likely to engage you when they see your updates and photos on their Timelines, not on your brand page. Many of those who like your page only go there one time (when they initially click “Like”). Remember, you have to create compelling content and engage with people. The same goes with Twitter — most of your Twitter followers will not visit your Twitter.com home page — they’ll only see your tweets. The coolest looking Twitter profile in the world won’t do you any good if you’re not engaging and reciprocating with your followers.

 

Church Planter Profile: Michael Clary of Cincinnati’s Christ The King Church

On Wednesday, March 13 Sojourn Network is conducting our next Faithmapping Micro-Conference in Cincinnati, hosted by member church Christ The King. Pastors, worship leaders and church planters will learn how Sojourn Network can help them plant and grow strong churches, especially in the context of Cincinnati, northern Kentucky and nearby cities.

In this audio interview, I talked with Michael Clary, pastor and founder of the multi-site Christ The King Church. You’ll learn:

• Why Pastor Michael Clary chose to plant Christ The King Church in Cincinnati
• Why did they launch second campus in northern Kentucky rather than plant a new church?
• Why should experienced pastors attend the Faithmapping micro-conference?

Listen on the audio player below, or download from iTunes.

How To Prepare For Leading God’s People In Worship

In II Chronicles 35:3-6 King Josiah prepares the people of Israel to celebrate the Passover. He commands the Levite families to

“spend your time serving the Lord your God and His people Israel. Report for duty according to the family divisions of your ancestors . . . then stand in the sanctuary at the place appointed for your family division and help the families assigned to you as they bring their offerings to the Temple. Slaughter the Passover lambs, purify yourselves, and prepare to help those who come.”

As I read this passage, God challenged me to consider my role and duties as a worship leader. Although today we have no need to follow the Old Testament Temple worship and sacrificial system because of the once-for-all time sacrifice of Jesus, we must come prepared to help those who are gathering with us to worship.

How? Our fellow worshipers aren’t bringing animals to be slaughtered and sacrificed like the ancient Israelites. They don’t need us to prepare their offerings and present them on the altar of the Lord like our Levite ancestors did.  Still, they are coming to worship the Lord and we have been called by God to help facilitate (organize and lead) our gathered worship times.

We must prayerfully prepare for the work by asking for God’s wisdom and direction. We must remind ourselves of the gospel and our position in Christ:

• We are sinners saved by the grace of God through the faith He’s given us.
• We are righteous because Christ’s perfection has been accounted to us.
• Our praise is acceptable to God because of Christ’s perfect, obedient sacrificial worship in our stead.

His is the only perfect, true, spiritual worship of our Father, and because we are now in Christ, with our sinful nakedness covered by His righteousness, we have confidence when we approach the Father based on the merits of Christ’s blood. This reality must be at the forefront, the center, of our preparation and efforts.
Bold Before God's Throne by Kristen Gilles
There are also practical considerations.  Some worship leaders are responsible for selecting the songs, Scripture texts and prayers that comprise their weekly church gatherings.  Others are simply responsible for learning the music.  Some may only be responsible for leading liturgical prayers and Scripture readings.  And many worship leaders are responsible for all of these tasks.  Whatever your role or responsibility in the gathered worship time, try to perform your duties with excellence.

Evaluate your preparation habits.

Are you allowing adequate time to prayerfully and practically prepare for the work of service God has called you to do?  He is not expecting perfection from us, but rather He’s calling us to submit to His Holy Spirit who is our Helper.  Consider also the attitude of your heart concerning your role in the gathered assembly: do you view yourself as a servant, a helper of the congregation?

Remember Jesus our great High Priest who serves us and helps us worship by interceding perfectly on our behalf before our Father in Heaven.  He made Himself nothing and took on the very form of a slave, humbling Himself to the point of death on a cross for us.  And we are called to follow His example as we humbly serve the family of God and our neighbors in whatever role God has given us.

After preparing well for service, then let us serve God’s people in a helpful way.  Proclaim the marvelous works and salvation of our great God as you sing and play. This should be reflected in our faces and bodies as an example to the congregation as we demonstratively worship the Lord, appropriately engaging our whole beings (clapping our hands, raising our voices, lifting our hands, bowing our knees, playing our instruments skillfully).

Let’s also lead the church in open-hearted confession and repentance in response to God’s Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  And let’s help our family by reminding them of the only Hope we have for freedom from and forgiveness of sin.  Let’s serve them well by declaring the good news of God’s great love for the world and His glorious salvation of all who believe in Him. May this be our aim in our weekly gathered worship times and in our weekly scattered meetings in community: to serve the Lord and His people as worship leaders and helpers.

Previous  My Song In The Night articles on topics mentioned here:

How To Lead Worship with True Joy Instead of a Happy Face Mask

7 Crucial Tips for Background Vocals

Are Worship Leaders Called to Put On a Happy Face When Leading?

The Worship Leader In the Pew: What To Do When Not On Stage

5 Things To Pray For Your Congregation As You Prepare To Lead Worship

Worship Leader Fail: Even Leaders Need to Follow

5 Worship Leading Mistakes That Hurt Your Congregation

Leading Songs and Liturgy With Clarity, Diction and Conviction

Inside A Sojourn Music Worship Team Practice Session

How to Prepare for Leading Worship at Retreats and Conferences

The Extreme Danger In Singing Worship Songs

Remember when we talked about the two epic Songs of Moses here at My Song In The Night? These were meaty, gripping worship songs filled with praise to God and reasons for praising God. In fact, that Deuteronomy 31 song was meant to be gripping in more ways than one. Did you know that the worship lyrics we write, lead and sing can actually become records against us?

• Against worship leaders.
• Against songwriters.
• Against everyone in our congregation who sings along.

God says this:

 “Now write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them.  When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their forefathers, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant.  And when many disasters and difficulties come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.”  So Moses wrote down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites. — Deuteronomy 31:19-22

Woe to any of us who take lightly the words in our songs of praise and worship. Sure, if we are in Christ, then His blood covers every sin. But we can still suffer loss of reward and much pain in this life when we let our hearts get numb and simply “go through the motions” of making music to God — or, when we lack the faith to live the words we’ve written and sung.

When Kristen and I suffered the death of our son Parker last fall, I told you that his birth and death happened to fall on the same day that our church Sojourn held a Baby Dedication. Parents dedicated about 30 children to God, then sang “All I Have Is Yours,” a hymn of offering I wrote with Rebecca Elliott. I said,

One of the challenges of being a worship songwriter occurs when you’re presented with an opportunity to live your words, and prove whether you really meant them or whether it was just a matter of rhyme and meter … can I really surrender everything to God, and even praise Him that “All I have is Yours”?

God’s Word makes radical claims, which seem to be “foolishness” to the world (1 Corinthians 1:23-25). We sing about these claims in our congregations and throughout the week as we listen to worship records or remember the songs from Sunday. Do we really believe them? Can we really believe them? Yes, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

When your faith is tested, when God reminds you of the words you sang to Him, this is the time to say, “Lord I believe — help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). This is the time to admit our frailty, confess our shortsightedness and ask God to fortify our hearts.

Church Planter Profile: Brandon Shields of Soma Church in Indianapolis

As many of you know, I’m involved with communications for a church planting network called Sojourn Network. Next Wednesday Sojourn Network is hosting our first Faithmapping Micro-Conference in Indianapolis.

Along with main sessions led by Daniel Montgomery (speaking on vision/leading a church plant), Mike Cosper (speaking on worship) and Brad House (speaking on community/small groups), we’ll feature a Q&A with Indianapolis church planters, including Brandon Shields of Soma Church.

Yesterday I conducted a phone interview with Pastor Brandon, during which I asked him why he chose to plant Soma in Indianapolis, as well as:

• How long Brandon has been “on the ground,” laboring in Indy
• What are some of the ways he’s built your core team
• How Soma’s “Vision Experience” Sundays are building momentum towards the official launch of Soma Church
• What pastors, planters and church leaders can expect from the Faithmapping Micro-Conference
• What’s next for Soma Church, and how can people pray for this work?

Listen on the audio player below, or download from iTunes.

Down With Consumer-Driven Christian Worship

I recently stopped by a nationally-known ice cream shop for a vanilla ice cream cone with their signature curly-Q top.  I could hardly wait to enjoy my treat, freshly dispensed from the soft-serve machine and served on a crisp wafer cone. I didn’t even mind the lengthy wait in the drive-thru line.  But when I pulled up to the window to receive it, my “small” cone (definitely not big enough to be a medium) had nearly melted from being served up 5 minutes before by the eager staff, while I’d sat waiting in the drive-thru line.

I enjoy frozen treats when they are still frozen, but I told myself to get over it, because the pleasures of this life can never fully satisfy, and to be thankful for what I was about to receive.

I proceeded to enjoy the small portion of vanilla ice cream swirled atop my wafer cone.  But, when I got down to the cone, I bit into a stale wafer cone! Are you kidding me? Overpriced, overexposed to room temp, and OLD.  Not good.

We live in a society that is fueled by consumerism and humanism. We’re bombarded with the world’s exhortations to “have it our way,” to “treat ourselves,” to do whatever it takes to get ahead and stay ahead of others, to find the necessary paths to our own happiness and pleasure and stick to them, to expect others to serve us and cater to our every need (after all, WE are the customers and THEY are the customer service reps), to consume our way to the fulfillment of your American dream.  The world tells us that we are called to be served.

But Jesus tells us that in His kingdom (which is not of this world), we are called not to be served, but to be servants of all.

It’s no wonder that consumerism has infected our churches since we who make up the church have also been infected by this virus of selfishness.  We haven’t just been exposed to it since we came into the world; we were born with it coursing through our veins. Sin’s nature has infected all of mankind.  And only a spotless, selfless, slaughtered Lamb can cure us of this deadly disease.

Thanks be to God for sending Jesus Christ to carry our sins upon Himself, nailed with our sins to the cross we deserved to die upon. Praise God for accepting this perfect sacrifice for our sins and dropping the charges against us, forgiving us and imputing His righteousness to us. All glory to God for leaving His heavenly throne, discarding His kingly rights and taking on the very nature of a servant, becoming a humble slave to wash away the filthy, guilty stains of sinful man.

Jesus is not only the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, He is not just our Savior and Substitute, He is also our example. As He forgave, we are to forgive. As He washed the disciples’ feet, we are to wash the feet of our brothers and sisters. As He gave up His rights, we are to give up our rights. As He laid down His life for His friends, we are to lay down our lives for our friends. As He came not to be served but to serve mankind and give His life as a ransom for many, we are called to be servants of all.

Consider the attitude of your heart as you enter your local place of worship. Are you seeking to be served by hospitable greeters serving up the perfect brew of coffee, or hoping to be emotionally stimulated by your preferred songs arranged with your ideal musical mixes and perfectly performed by your church worship team? Or, are you expecting your pastor to feed you just the right portions of God’s Word and only to your taste (not too fluffy, not too firm, not too sweet, not to salty)?

Or is your heart stirred by the example of Christ? Are you seeking to serve others as you have been humbly served by Christ?

At times I have found myself being way too picky and giving myself far too preferential treatment when I gather to worship with the church.  My motives are less likely to conform to the way of Christ and more likely to be colored by my own preferences.

What are we sinful consumers to do? We are to receive the kindness of the Lord which calls and leads us to repentance. We are to repent of our selfishness and turn to follow the way of Christ, the perfect Suffering Servant of All.

• There we will find and experience His salvation and His strength made perfect in our weakness. 
• Then we will be able to serve others with the strength that He provides for the glory of His beautiful name and for our good and gladness. 

And as we ignore the world’s exhortations to please ourselves and instead follow the selfless way of Christ, we’ll hear God’s call to lay aside our consumerism and then taste and see that He is the ultimate goodness and pleasure we long to experience.  Unlike worldly pleasures, God fulfills His promise that those who hope in Him will never be disappointed.

“Don’t be selfish. Don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” – Philippians 2:3-8

“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:42-45

“Since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master.” – John 13:16

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” – John 15:12-13

“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!” – Psalm 34:8

• Photo above by Alex Proimos, used via Creative Commons license
  

Worship Leaders Respond To Parody How To Write A Worship Song Video

As some of you know, I host a Google+ Community for Christian songwriters. Last week I asked community members their thoughts on this tongue-in-cheek video (How To Write A Worship Song In 5 Minutes Or Less) that many worship leaders, songwriters and others shared in their social media streams and blogs:

Here are some of thoughts from writers in the Google+ songwriting community, followed by some of mine:

“Totally fair. If we don’t like it, then we can do something about it.” — C.B.

“In light of the cookie-cutter worship music that’s been cranked out in the last few years, I’d say he pretty much nailed it…” — P.P.

“Hmmm other than it seemed like he was really making fun of worship he did have a point. It does for the most part sound the same, the lyrics do need to be simple and rhyming is a good idea for the most part. Didn’t like the mocking attitude though.” — C.M.W.

“I thought it was funny that I was sent this video multiple times by different friends. Satire can be a good thing. Without Christ’s intercession all our worship would be ridiculous.” — L.B.

“I think it’s refreshing that a kid put the video together since it’s mostly other kids who are writing modern worship songs. It shows he’s thinking about what is going on in modern worship and not just going with the flow (pun intended).” T.H.

“How many worship songs use those chords… Sheesh, we can be more original than that! …. I thought it was funny. It’s good to laugh at yourself.” — J.W.

These are all good thoughts. Here are a couple things that have stewed in my brain the past few days:

1. We could make the same kind of video about many genres and forms, such as bluegrass, the blues, heavy metal, hip hop and country. Simplicity isn’t in itself a reason to decry a musical form. Simplicity is often even the point. Certainly when we talk about music for congregational worship, the whole idea is that people of varying skills and backgrounds be able to sing together.
2. As several writers said above, the important thing for worship leaders and songwriters is neither to merely say, “This was funny” nor “This was unfair” (I think it was more “funny” than “unfair”). The important thing is to learn what we can and move on. This should be our chief takeaway from all critiques. If the shoe fits, and the shoe is ugly, get some new shoes.

 

How To Represent Christ On Earth Well

I was recently stirred by King David’s instructions to his son Solomon in preparation for crowning Solomon as king in his place.  I began to consider how these instructions apply to me and to all believers, as we’re all called to steward well the work of building God’s kingdom here on earth.  These words are also valuable instructions for believing parents to give to their children.

Let’s hear these words as God’s charge to us, regarding whatever employment He’s given to each of us in His Kingdom:

“Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it to your children as a permanent inheritance.

“And learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve Him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek Him, you will find Him. But if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as His sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”  (I Chron. 28:8-10)

With the strength and help of the Lord, let us be careful to love and obey Him.

• Let us press on to know Him intimately.
• Let us worship and serve Him with whole hearts and willing minds.
• Let us seek the Lord, knowing that He will be found by us.
• Let us take very seriously whatever work He’s given us to do.

And let us be strong and do that work for the glory of HIS beautiful name.