mostly music

“sing, sing, sing” by chris tomlin (cd “passion: god of this city”)
“all to you” by lincoln brewster (cd “all to you…live”)
“everlasting god” by chris tomlin (cd “see the morning”)
“you never let go” by matt redman (cd “passion: everything glorious”)
connect
message - jBow
“all to you” with videos of last summer’s baptism party

yesterday was a great day. i planned the worship service to serve to gear us up for the baptism celebration in the afternoon. we started with two “up” songs that our crowd knows well and usually sing out.

it hit me at some point during the week leading up that our community was experiencing highs and lows simultaneously. we were having conversations with people who were taking the step to trust and follow jesus for the first time, others who were following through with baptism, and others that are still working through questions. these conversations really pump me up! at the same time, two of my coworkers in the office at church experienced the death in their families. so, we were walking through grief with them.

it really served as a reminder to me of all the different stories that people carry into our worship gatherings every week. we’re all singing the same songs, but from vastly different points-of-view and experiences. but that’s really where a lot of the power of corporate worship lies. if all of our experience with God is individual, we miss out on so much. reflecting on the same truths at the same time in a body of believers with various circumstances can be - should be - a unifying experience. i’ll be reflecting on this thought for awhile.

the baptism party itself went off very well. i thought we did a much better job logistically this time. thanks goes out especially to mara groegler, jenny rogers and nicole brady. they did a great job organizing and managing the event.

we look forward to getting better and better at celebrating baptisms in our community. this event was a good step forward in my opinion.

“awesome is the lord most high” by chris tomlin (cd “see the morning”)
(including a reading from psalm 111.)
“still fighting it” by ben folds (cd “rockin’ the suburbs)
connect
“cannons” by phil wickham (cd “cannons”)
prayer
“made to worship” by chris tomlin (cd “see the morning”)
prayer
message - jBow
decision cards
“i have decided to follow jesus” (traditional hymn)

today was a great day. i was a bit concerned about breaking up the “flow” of worship with the father’s day song, but after going through it, i think the themes flowed rather nicely.

for those that are wondering, that was ian gratz singing the solo on the ben folds song. ian and his family moved here from california last year. i’m excited to have him as part of the team. besides being an easy person to hang with, ian brings a different vocal quality that will expand our stylistic range for solos and such…

things really got going with the one-two punch of “cannons” and “made to worship.” these songs bring out some of my favorite themes - the story of creation, the fall, redemption, and God’s purpose throughout it all of inviting humanity into the love relationship that existed among Father, Son and Spirit from before time.

jonathan spoke from matthew 7:13 and following. he did a great job of contextualizing jesus’ words here that have unfortunately been used too often to shut people out. i thought jBow also made a very plain and down to earth invitation for people to make a firm decision to follow jesus. many people are planning to be baptized next sunday in our big outdoor baptism celebration.

it was a great day.

i remember hearing about “The The” when i was in high school. i heard a few clips and saw the freaky album art and dismissed the band as not my thing. although i was never completely hard core on the issue, i have to admit that there was a time when i bought into the lie that contemporary christian music (CCM) had a monopoly on God. it was okay to enjoy and listen to other kinds of music, i just didn’t listen for God’s voice in it…

these years later, and i’m convinced that God makes himself known through many different “voices,” whether these voices propose to speak for him or not. i tend to be particularly tuned into his voice through the arts and, even more particularly, through music.

anyway, c.c. and i recently heard glen phillips perform a solo acoustic cover of The The’s song “love is stronger than death.” i caught the chorus and only bits of the verses, but it was enough to pique my interest in going back and listening to the original.

MAN! these lyrics are awesome! apparently, it was written after the death of the songwriter’s brother. but i didn’t know that until later. when i listened to it intently in my car for the first time yesterday, these lyrics shouted redemption, resurrection and hope to me.

for me, this is as much a worship song as “i can only imagine.”

what do you think?

Love Is Stronger Than Death
by The The

Love, love, love

Me and my friend were walking
In the cold light of mourning
Tears may blind the eyes but the soul is not deceived
In this world even winter ain’t what it seems

Here come the blue skies
Here comes springtime
When the rivers run high and the tears run dry
When everything that dies shall rise

Love, love, love
Is stronger than death

In our lives we hunger for those we cannot touch
All the thoughts unuttered and all the feelings unexpressed
Play upon our hearts like the mist upon our breath
But, awoken by grief, our spirits speak
How could you believe that the life within the seed
That grew arms that reached
And a heart that beat
And lips that smiled
And eyes that cried
Could ever die?

Here come the blue skies
Here comes springtime
When the rivers run high & the tears run dry
When everything that dies shall rise

Love, love, love
Is stronger than death

“our love is loud” by david crowder band (cd “can you hear us?)
“let the praises ring” by lincoln brewster (cd “all to you…live”)
“all over the world” by matt redman (cd “passion 05: how great is our god”)
connect
“let me sing” by todd fields (cd “northpoint live: louder than creation)
“hope” by spencer karges (as yet unrecorded)

chris mills started volunteering with the worship ministry at crosspointe in 2003. i believe he answered an ad in our weekly program looking for bass players. very soon after he started playing bass, as i started to get to know him more, i realized he had much more to offer.

sometime in 2004, i asked chris if he’d ever thought about leading worship. as i remember it, chris was surprised that i asked because he hadn’t really thought of it much. in fact, he said something to the effect that he thought that the worship leader role was reserved for the professionals like myself. the guys who get paid to do the job.

long story short, he started leading worship. subbing in for me here and there at the beginning. but we met together for coffee consistently, talking about the challenges of the job and celebrating together how God was stretching him and blessing our church through his gifts. in 2007, we were able to bring chris on part-time staff with the worship ministry.

i have loved seeing chris become such a mainstay of the crosspointe community. every once in awhile, we’ll meet someone new to the church who just assumes that chris must be the worship pastor. i love that.

what can i say? i’m a slacker. that’s what. i’m going to try this again.

let’s make this interactive so i don’t get bored. let me know the songs that are working for you and those that aren’t. and a “why” either way would be helpful too.

06.07.09

“Sing, Sing, Sing” by Chris Tomlin (CD “Passion Live: God of This City”)
“Beautiful One” by Tim Hughes (CD “When Silence Falls”)
connect
“Hope” by Spencer Karges (original, as yet unrecorded)
prayer
“Faithful” by Alex Nifong (recorded by Kristian Stanfill, CD “Northpoint Live: Louder than Creation”)

i was very proud of spencer today. one of the best parts of my job is to build into others with the mix of gifts and passions necessary to lead worship. it’s a joy to give him opportunities that i didn’t have at his age. i don’t think churches like crosspointe existed back then.

as fellow songwriters, spencer and i spend some semi-regular time sharing song ideas back and forth. when i heard the beginnings of “Hope”…mainly the bridge (”we’re not asking for the easy road, we just want hope”)….i knew instantly that it would be sung at crosspointe. i gave him a deadline and some ideas to flesh out the rest of the song. i think it turned out really well. it was fun developing the full band arrangement collaboratively with the band on thursday night.

jonathan’s message was challenging for me personally. is it bad that while listening to the message i was worrying about how much i worry?

my wife, c.c., had surgery yesterday. i’ve been in the hospital with her and it’s been a good time of R&R. i’ve used the downtime to read and reflect quite a bit. it’s been really nice. i’ll be glad when we go home tomorrow because it will be better for c.c. to recover in the comfort of home, but selfishly i will miss the extended times of quiet.

lately my mind has been on the nature of God, redemption, judgement, and afterlife or “the age to come.”

here are some of the questions that my reading and reflection have brought me to these past couple days:

:: can God love anyone completely if he doesn’t completely love everyone?
:: are God’s judgement/wrath and his mercy at odds? and if so, what/who determines which wins out for each individual?
:: jesus commands us to love our enemies? what does it mean for God to love his enemies, or is it something he requires of us but not of himself?
:: many throughout history have died without hearing the name of jesus or his good news. do they get a free pass, or is there an opportunity to respond to him somehow after death?

as i’m reading back through these questions, i wonder if they come across as depressing. but actually, that’s not where i am. some of my previous assumptions are being challenged and i suspect that God is trying to stretch me and give me a broader hope.

i would love to hear any thoughts in the comments…

“made to worship” by chris tomlin (cd “see the morning”)
“all because of jesus” by steve fee (cd “burn for you”)
—-connect—-
special music w/video “hope now” by addison road (cd “addison road”)
—-message: Doc—-
“breathing the breath” by matt redman (cd “facedown”)
“everything” by tim hughes (cd “holding nothing back”)
“god you reign” by lincoln brewster (cd “today is the day”)

it’s been awhile since i’ve felt as good about an entire service as i did yesterday. from my perspective, all of the elements came together well and worked together. i was proud of the band. proud of steve for giving a tough message with courage and humor. it was good to have an extended time after the message to allow God to continue the work he was doing in our minds and hearts.

rachel is a relatively new singer with the worship band. she did a great job with the “hope now” special. nice to have another unique voice and personality in the mix. also, this was brandon’s first week playing electric guitar with the band. he’s got skills and he fit in very nicely with the band. i’m very proud of the team that God has assembled and continues to provide over time.

i was explaining RSS feeds to someone after one of the services yesterday, and i thought it might be good to go over that again. if you want to receive updates from this blog (or any blogs and news feeds for that matter), i recommend using Google Reader. quick way to get started: look to the left of this screen for the icon that reads “subscribe in a reader”. click on that and then click the google icon under the “subscribe now!” box. it will save you a bunch of time checking for new content on all your favorite blogs….

“let the praises ring” by lincoln brewster (cd “all to you…live”)
“salvation is here” by hillsong united (cd “look to you”)
—-welcome—-
“knowing you” by stephen claybrook (as yet unrecorded)
—-connect—-
“beautiful the blood” by steve fee (cd “burn for you”)
“god you reign” by lincoln brewster (cd “today is the day”)
—-prayer: skc—-
—-message: jBow—-

today was one of those simple days in terms of the format of the service. 30 minutes of music, 30 minutes of message. we like to change it up as much as possible, but other times it’s nice to simplify like today.

i had a first today — someone stopped me after first service and asked me if i would consider having an extended bass guitar solo sometime in worship. can’t say i’ve ever gotten that request before!

although, i HAVE been hearing traces of this coming from dan during soundchecks from time to time:

just got the CD yesterday, haven’t even listened to all of it yet, and it’s already inspired a new song for me….at least i have the “hook” lyrics for the chorus….

right now the song “magnificent” is stuck in my player. i’m fascinated by how the lyrics function on two different levels at the same time. brilliant.

some people say bono wrote it for his mother, iris, who passed away when bono was 14 years old. and if you listen to it from this perspective, it makes sense.

others say it’s clearly a worship song written to God. and, again, if you listen to it from this perspective, it makes sense.

brilliant. and edge is the man. is someone else switching his effects? how does he organize it all?

once i’ve worn out the new album, i’m sure i’ll be headed back again to Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree, and Achtung Baby.

here starts another U2 phase for stephen…..

Magnificent
Oh, magnificent

I was born
I was born to be with you
In this space and time
After that and ever after
I haven’t had a clue
Only to break rhyme
This foolishness can leave a heart
Black and blue

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark
But only love
Only love can heal such a scar

I was born
I was born to sing for you
I didn’t have a choice (chance?)
But to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry
It was a joyful noise
Oh, oh

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark
?But only love
Only love can heal such a scar

Justified till we die
You and I will magnify
Oh, the magnificent
Magnificent

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark
But only love
Only love unites our hearts

Justified till we die
You and I will magnify
Oh, the magnificent
Magnificent
Magnificent

“bring your kingdom” by stephen claybrook (as yet unrecorded)
“today is the day” by lincoln brewster (cd “today is the day”)
—-prayer: economy and fear—-
—-community ministering to each other, networking, etc.—-
“god you reign” by lincoln brewster (cd “today is the day”)
“everlasting god” (chorus only) by chris tomlin (cd “see the morning”)
—-message: Doc—-
special: “the heart of life” by john mayer (cd “continuum”)

today was the beginning of a new series entitled “money.” normally we come up with a clever title, but this time we saw fit just to hit it head on. it’s what’s on everyone’s mind. timing couldn’t be more perfect. we’re coming at it with a very pastoral approach. lots of fear going on….

we wanted to encourage our community to minister to each other….really to be the church as described in acts 2….so we invited people to write on butcher paper along the walls: “i need prayer for…,” “i can help with….,” and/or “i need work…”
i look forward to the stories that will come from this….

all in all, i thought it was a great day. and purely selfishly, any time i can sing one of my own songs and a john mayer cover in the same hour, i’m happy…..

speaking of the john mayer song, what sounds at first listen like a simple finger-picking song, turned out to basically send me back to guitar school this past week. the right hand technique is different than anything i’ve ever played before. i told some people that it felt a lot like learning how to play again. thank God for youtube!