Sing unto the heavens with a brand new song
The one that we’ve been hearing’s been a hit too long
The lyrics sound confused as if they don’t belong
So sing unto the Lord and sing with feeling.
~Chuck Girard and the band LoveSong
10 Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, the islands and coastal regions and the inhabitants of them [sing a song such as has never been heard in the heathen world]!
Yesterday in the link list, I mentioned the Praise Charts Chart. (Charts, as in the chord charts musicians play from and charts, as in the ranking of demand or popularity.)
Many of July’s Top 40 are songs that are familiar to you, but we noticed a couple (meaning three) of songs from New Life Worship, Hillsong and B.J. Putnam respectively that were new to us. Many of the today’s songs are part of a growing trend toward longer recorded versions — the Jesus Culture songs fit this pattern — which local church worship leaders in non-Charismatic settings need to edit. The middle song here is nine minutes! (For those of you on dial-up, the 3rd video is static image.) Also, longer songs aren’t attractive to Christian radio programmers, so you’re less likely to hear them on WAY-FM or The Fish or K-LOVE. Enjoy!
I don’t do repeats here until the piece is a year old. So a new month always offers new items from the previous year that you may have missed… (Apologies to email subscribers…this is long!)
A Letter to the Nominating Committee
Dear Nominating Committee;
Visiting your church for the first time last Sunday, I noticed an announcement in the bulletin concerning the need for board members and elders for the 2012-2013 year. I am herewith offering my services.
While I realize that the fact I don’t actually attend your church may seem like a drawback at first, I believe that it actually lends itself to something that would be of great benefit to you right now: A fresh perspective.
Think about it — I don’t know any one of you by name, don’t know the history of the church and have no idea what previous issues you’ve wrestled with as a congregation. Furthermore, because I won’t be there on Sundays, I won’t have the bias of being directly impacted by anything I decide to vote for or against. I offer you pure objectivity.
Plus, as I will only be one of ten people voting on major issues, there’s no way I can do anything drastic single-handedly. But at the discussion phase of each agenda item, I can offer my wisdom and experience based on a lifetime of church attendance in a variety of denominations.
Churches need to periodically have some new voices at the table. I am sure that when your people see a completely unrecognizable name on the ballot, they will agree that introducing new faces at the leadership level can’t hurt.
I promise never to miss a board or committee meeting, even if I’m not always around for anything else.
I hope you will give this as much prayerful consideration as I have.
Most sincerely,
This Song Should Be the Anthem of Churches Everywhere
I was scrolling through the CCLI top 200 worship songs, and it occurred to me there is a song that really needs to be there; in fact it really needs to be part of the repertoire of every church using modern worship.
Eddie Kirkland is a worship leader at Atlanta’s North Point Community Church, where, just to warn ya, the worship set may seem to some of you more like a rock concert than a Sunday service. But I hope you’ll see past that and enjoy the song.
We want to be a church where freedom reigns
We want to be a people full of grace
We want to be a shelter where the broken find their place
We want to be refuge for the weak
We want to be a light for the world to see
We want to be a love the breaks the walls and fill the streets…
All are welcome here
As we are, as we are
For our God is near every heart
If those sentiments are not the goal of where you attend on Sundays, frankly, I think you’re doing it wrong.
Here’s another version of the song that was used as part of North Point’s Be Rich campaign, where each year, instead of reinventing the charity wheel, NPCC members flood secular social service organizations with money and volunteer hours.
Watch the song a few times, and then forward the link to today’s blog post — http://wp.me/pfdhA-3en — to the worship leader at your church.
If a church of any size desires to live up to what this song expresses, there’s nothing stopping that church from changing the world.
Qualifying “It Gets Better”
One of the Church’s biggest failures of the past decade has been our reaction, and over-reaction to the LGBT community, especially to those who — absent the treatment they see their peers receiving — hold on to a faith in the Messiah-ship of Jesus Christ.
On the one hand, there are the usual conservative voices who insist that any gay sympathies constitute an automatic ticket to hell. Frankly, I am curious to see who shows up to picket at their funerals.
On the other hand, there are among the more progressive progressives, certain Christian bloggers who in their compassion have thrown out a lot of the core of the Bible’s ideal for family, procreation and partnership.
And now, to add to our confusion, we discover that Psalm 139, the scripture used as a major element in the argument against abortion, is used as a rallying cry for gay and lesbian Christians. Regardless of which translation is employed.
Anyway, I’ve already blogged my personal place of balance on this issue, but in thinking about it this week, I’ve realized that my particular choice of words has a bearing on another commonly heard phrase particularly among teenagers who either come out of the closet by choice or who are outed by their classmates.
The phrase is, “It gets better.”
For the bullied, the confused and the lonely, I certainly hope it does. Soon.
But I have to say this, and maybe this can be your response as well, “It gets better, but it doesn’t necessarily get best.”
In other words; I’m there for you.
I understand.
I’m not someone looking at this from the detachment of an outsider; I’ve read your blogs, I’ve looked in to your online discussions. I do get it.
But with all the love in my heart, I just think that ultimately, God has something else in mind which, because He made it, is perfect.
So yes, it gets better, thought it doesn’t necessarily get best.
A Powerful Story Echoes Three Decades Later
This was recorded nearly 30 years ago at a Christian music festival somewhere in Canada. Nancyjo Mann was lead singer in the band Barnabas. I always knew that I had this in my possession — on VHS, no less — and have always felt that more people need to see it. For those of you who knew me back in the days of the Searchlight Video Roadshow, you’ll remember that I often closed each night with this particular testimony.
So let’s start with Ed Young’s Pastor Fashion blog. We’re being set up here, right? Mind you, the fashion blog and Ed’s regular blog contain the same spelling error: Taking something to a whole other level, is whole, not hole. And that is him in the videos. So maybe this is serious. Besides, it’s not April 1st.
But we’re not being taken at the blog No Longer Quivering, which was one of several established to question the whole “Quiverful” movement, (Check a Bible concordance for context) not to mention Christianity itself. Lately however, things have gotten even more complicated, as in this introduction to a 9-part post. (Note: the blog is in the middle of a move from Blogspot to Patheos.) How does a former (male) pastor move from repressing gender issues to a full-blown transition? (Did I say this one is complicated?)
With all the drug war violence in the news, six people weigh in on the subject of safety issues implicit in missions trips to Mexico.
And speaking of youth groups, Rachel Marie looks back realizing that something was seriously missing from body image pep talks.
If Christianity is nothing more than a “hell avoidance system,” then obviously it comes crashing down if there is no hell. That’s the subject of Hellbound – The Movie releasing in September.
On the world stage, two of the weekend’s religious news stories involved Twitter, in Pakistan and Kuwait.
Podcast aficionados: Ravi Zacharias guested at John Ortberg’s church on the weekend. Sermon audio podcast is available.
Nominated for four Billboard Music Awards in April, the band Casting Crowns went on to take Best Christian Artist and Best Christian album on Sunday night. Not surprisingly, top Christian song was “Blessings” by Laura Story.
Know someone 15 or older who has left the church? They may fall into the prodigal, nomad, or exile category. Here are six things to consider which might minimize the exodus.
On the contrary, here’s a woman who left church around age 16, has lived that much lifetime again, but now finds herself missing God. John Shore responds.
Along that line, what about your friends who say they are Christ followers, but don’t like going to church? This 3 min vid suggests they’re rejecting the wrong “church.”
Aaron Niequist has released the third in the series, A New Liturgy. Also, here’s a link to another of Aaron’s projects, the song, “God’s Children.” I love the line, “God of every class, from the greenest grass, to the underpass.”
From our leftover from April files, the creator of Veggie Tales is planning a new project and it’s not for kids. Learn more about the Phil Vischer Show.
Lots of links from CT Inc. today. (I finally opened all those newsletters!) Here’s one by Carolyn Arends on the challenges of the term “literal interpretation.”
I had never actually seen the site Truthinator until Monday. It’s supposed to be “humor,” but after a few posts you realize you’ve never seen so much hate on a so-called Christian blog.
Looking for more reading? There’s eight great links from Saturday’s Weekend Link List.
Finally, if the t-shirt above isn’t exactly what you had in mind for a Father’s Day gift, if Dad thinks the local church choir sounds like a bunch of howling cats, the image below includes a link where you can buy a 8″ X 10″print of the choir in question for only $25.
So the other night I was on the website of Christian Copyright Licensing, Inc., the company that tracks the songs being used in local churches’ video or overhead projection. This organization provides royalties to songwriters commensurate to the size of the church in question, each time that church creates another projection master or data file, and replaces the income lost from the days when songbooks and hymnbooks ruled the market. If your church’s projected lyrics or homemade songsheets don’t contain a CCLI number either at the beginning or end of each song, question whether the songs are being used legally, since the fines can be hefty.
Anyway, I was scrolling through the top 200 worship songs, and it occurred to me there is a song that really needs to be there; in fact it really needs to be part of the repertoire of every church using modern worship.
Eddie Kirkland is a worship leader at Atlanta’s North Point Community Church, where, just to warn ya, the worship set may seem to some of you more like a rock concert than a Sunday service. But I hope you’ll see past that and enjoy the song.
We want to be a church where freedom reigns
We want to be a people full of grace
We want to be a shelter where the broken find their place
We want to be refuge for the weak
We want to be a light for the world to see
We want to be a love the breaks the walls and fill the streets…
All are welcome here
As we are, as we are
For our God is near every heart
If those sentiments are not the goal of where you attend on Sundays, frankly, I think you’re doing it wrong.
Here’s another version of the song that was used as part of North Point’s Be Rich campaign, where each year, instead of reinventing the charity wheel, NPCC members flood secular social service organizations with money and volunteer hours.
Watch the song a few times, and then forward the link to today’s blog post — http://wp.me/pfdhA-3en — to the worship leader at your church.
If a church of any size desires to live up to what this song expresses, there’s nothing stopping that church from changing the world.
I’m not a betting person, but here’s the bet: That more times than not, any list of the top worship songwriters and performers today is going to begin with a mention of Chris Tomlin. He simply heads the list these days.
So while many worship albums come and go, the release this coming Tuesday (November 16th) of his new collection, And If Our God Is For Us (SixSteps), is certainly newsworthy.
This album features eleven songs, all of which are vertical worship in their lyrical orientation, and features a list of co-writers not limited to, but including: Matt Redman, Rueben Morgan, Matt Maher, and Louie Giglio. Fans of previous albums such as Awakening and Hello Love will not be disappointed.
Congregationally – Lots of choices here for worship leaders, including the very easy-to-learn All To Us and a song simply called Lovely.
Lyrically – I really liked I Lift My Hands
Be still, There is a healer
His love is deeper than the sea
His mercy is unfailing
His arms a fortress for the weak…
Be still, There is a river
That flows from Calvary’s tree
A fountain for the thirsty
Your grace that washes over me
Just Listening – Coming just a few songs before the end, Faithful, a duet with co-writer Christy Nockels is a powerful song of God’s unchanging faithfulness. Some will like the European rhythm of Majesty of Heaven.
Youth Worship – What youth group or youth worship band wouldn’t want to do No Chains on Me? “Like a rolling stone / Like a runaway train / No turning back / No more yesterdays…” Great song.
A limited edition of the album also releases on Tuesday containing four acoustic songs and a DVD about the making of the album. The regular album is $13.99 US / $17.99 CDN; the ltd. edn. is $18.99 US / $23.99. Support your local Christian bookstore — and do some Christmas shopping, too — by purchasing the actual CD!
Thinking Out Loud 