e*g Week 1

Essentials Green - Worship Values

Week 1 Discussion Q&A

In what ways does your faith community currently embody the values of 1) Intimacy and 2) Integrity in your worship expressions? How are these values reflected in your own life as a leader?

ANSWER:

I struggle to communicate how these values are embodied in my church. The worship culture changed dramatically with the hire of a new worship leader a year ago and our main services took on more of an artist driven concert feel. Many people left, many new have come, and many stayed, yet struggle.

Casey Corum points out that intimacy is not about musical style or volume (1). I agree. I do believe, however, that intimacy in worship is deeply impacted by song choice. Unless we incorporate songs that express vulnerability, reverence and relationship with God, whether it be slow and soft or upbeat and impassioned, we will miss what Peter Fitch calls, “The supreme value of worship,” an intimate encounter with God (2).

INTIMACY: In our healing prayer ministry, intimacy is paramount. It is where worship gives language to the heart cries of broken, hurting people, desperately needing an encounter with God. I believe we do intimacy extremely well in this setting.

INTEGRITY: I lived an unintegrated life for a long time. Even as a known and respected worship leader, I had areas in my life that were not surrendered to God. You can pull this off for a while, but eventually it will catch up with you.

Because my inner life did not line up with my outer life, I made some horrible choices and ended up losing everything. As a result, I chose to deal with the ugliness inside and allow God to heal the broken places and bring me to a place of centeredness and integrity before Him and those around me.

I wouldn’t wish the circumstances of my journey on anyone, but I wouldn’t trade what God has done through them for anything (3). Pursue integrity - it is worth it!

1. Casey Corum, Back to Basics, Inside Worship Magazine, Vol. 62 2007, P. 2
2. Dr. Peter Fitch, The Supreme Value of Worship, Inside Worship Magazine, Vol. 45, October 2001, P. 4-5
3. Personal blog entry from the journey: http://safelythrough.blogspot.com/2009/03/run-east.html

e*r Week 4

Question:

Art and music have always played a vivid, and active role in the worship life of Christians globally. Drawing on book material, the teaching, and your experiences and ideas:

"How could we freshly apply the worship languages of art and music to our contemporary worship expression?"

Answer:

My church has a healing prayer ministry that has amazing impact in our church and our community. These bi-monthly healing prayer times are facilitated by a large team of intercessors, prayer teams, greeters, musicians and artists. It is an amazing snapshot of the body of Christ functioning as it was intended, every member doing what it was created to do as part of something far bigger than itself.

Art and music have powerful roles in this ministry.

When people arrive, they spend a few minutes receiving soaking prayer. I lead a small acoustic team that uses a variety of songs in response to the Spirit’s leading. I invite the presence of the Lord and invite a response to God for Who He is and what He has done. I also give language to the heart cries of the people who come in search of healing. I listen and respond.

Also in this area, is an artist who paints. She doesn’t know what will come out as she begins, but she too listens and responds. She also has a team of prophetic artists who quietly paint on small canvases in the larger room where people are receiving personal ministry. They listen to God as they observe the room and respond through their art as God gives them words for specific individuals. As they leave, the artist pulls the person aside and offers them the picture.

God speaks and the musicians and artists respond. Those who have come for prayer are incredibly touched. We have had countless testimonies of how God used specific songs in worship, or pieces of prophetic art to create liminal spaces where heaven breaks in and healing comes.

It is an amazing dance where art and music sail together by the wind of the Spirit.

I spoke with the woman who oversees the Prophetic Art ministry yesterday and mentioned to her that I had written about it here in the discussion board. She told me that she has begun to realize that different songs I play, different keys and different rhythms represent different different colors to her.

She also said that she will often have a word in her head as she is painting, and then I will start singing that word. It is truly amazing how the dance develops. We are listening to the same Voice and we are following the same Lead.

When I first came to my church in 2008, I attended a Night of Healing Prayer. I came very broken in need of some major healing. This woman was the only artist at the time and she painted a picture of a doorway with steps leading up to an opening of blackness, surrounded by fire. After I received prayer, she gave it to me with some hesitation. She did not know my story, and felt the painting was dark and scary. She said that the only word she had for me was "trust".

She did not know that my life was surrounded by fire at that time. God was stripping things away and refining me. She did not know that I was walking into the unknown and that I was afraid. She did not know that I was taking steps into the blackness where I would have to trust God for every step.

She did not know these things, but God did - and He used her art to speak profoundly to me in that moment. Now, with that painting, I have a tangible reminder of that moment and of His Voice speaking telling me to Trust Him with the blackness and the unknown.

You can see a photo of it on the home page of my blog: www.safelythrough.blogspot.com.

e*r Week 3

Growing up in church, I have been around baptisms and Communion my entire life. I remember the ‘baptistry’ in the church building and the silver trays with mini juice cups. These elements took on ritual for me, but as I have grown, these rituals have taken on new life.

1. Baptisms that incorporate the language of space: In nature, at a beach, lake, river or even a pool, out in creation as Jesus was baptized in the Jordan. Seeing the sky and hearing the sounds of nature add so much to the experience.

2. Baptisms held within an atmosphere of worship with voices and instruments filling the air with songs of celebration while each person is “buried with Him in the waters of baptism, raised to walk in newness of life.”

3. Celebrating baptisms on Easter Sunday!

3. Observing Communion as a meal incorporating the themes of Passover.

4. One of the most powerful times of Communion in my experience was at a Sabbath retreat for pastors where I led worship. The one who set up Communion talked of the various feasts that the Jews observe. He then talked of the Wedding Feast of the Lamb that we will all enjoy together when God sets up the New Heaven and New Earth. "But until then," he said, "we would remember by observing this 'meal' together."

After eating the bread, we raised our little juice cups, as if they were glasses, as he offered a toast to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords for what He had done for us! Communion has never been the same. Even as I write, it brings chills. What a powerful moment.

e*r Week 2

Essentials Red Week 2 Discussion Q&A

We are now going to begin to mine the past, very intentionally, for jewels that might enrich our contemporary worship experience.

Reflect on the value of communal public prayer, and the public reading of the Scriptures in worship history. Given the historic importance of these practices and patterns of historic local communities:

"How could we freshly apply the worship languages of public prayer and scripture reading to our contemporary worship expression?"

ANSWER

I am currently teaching a class called, “Simply Worship” which is designed to raise up worship leaders for our cell group ministry. Most of my students are not musicians, but they have a heart to bring a worship expression to their groups.

The final week of the series is specifically designed to stir creative ideas for worship that do not involve music. I am incorporating the historical languages of worship (Time, Space, Prayer, Scripture, Symbolic Actions, Art and Music) as a backdrop to develop this class. As I look at the historical significance of prayer and scripture, I am compelled to place greater focus on these elements.

One of the beautiful blends of prayer and scripture that I will present is “Lectio Divina” or “Divine Reading”. This is a practice of reading of a short passage of Scripture multiple times, weaving directed prayer and listening in response to the passage. (For more information visit: http://www.fisheaters.com/lectiodivina.html)

Another idea I am presenting is using the Christian or liturgical calendar as a guide to choosing passages of scripture to be read aloud or responsively in the group. This will help draw focus to various aspects of the life of Jesus throughout the year and be a powerful step toward our own spirituality as Robert Webber discusses in his book (1).

Although songs are often our default, worship expressions reach far beyond the note sung or the instrument played. The primary goal is to provide a liminal space, a threshold, where people are able to connect and respond to God.

1. Robert E. Webber, Ancient-Future Time, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 2004)

e*r Week 1

Moving on to Essentials Red 2010… Worship History

Question:

Become present for a moment to the ways that the gifts of time and space in your own worship history have formed you. Do you recall times and places that were meaningful to you in your own worship story, from the time you were a child until now?

For our first discussion post, discuss how these worship languages may have formed you as a Christian, as a worshiper, and as a leader. Feel free to integrate the other languages of worship into your post that are ahead in the course.

Answer:

I grew up in a Christian home and have been immersed in the church since my beginning. My upbringing was in a mainline denominational church as well as the Christian school it operated. I even attended a Christian college.

Sunrise services on Easter mornings, candlelight services on Christmas Eves, the reading of the Christmas Story from Luke 2 before opening gifts, Christmas and Easter choir cantatas, Good Friday services as well as baptisms, baby dedications and Communion, have all served to retell God’s story throughout my life. There was never an opportunity to forget.

Ritual was paramount in my church experience and as a result, I fostered a great relationship with religion, but a very skewed relationship with Father God. I needed some readjusting as I became an adult and am thankful that the way it was does not necessarily determine the way it will be. I am now in a place where I enjoy the richness of what was formerly ritual.

Time and space profoundly impacted me a few years ago when I was in a season of extreme brokenness. Music had fallen silent and I believed I would never lead worship or play guitar again. A specific song found me in a specific time (August 2008) and place (Perdido Key Beach, FL) and they are forever connected. As I revisit that beach or retell the story, the power of what God did that day becomes present yet again.

There is power in the remembering of His might acts.

Day Interrupted

For Essentials in Worship Theology Online Course with Dan Wilt

Have you ever been upset because your schedule didn't work out, only to find that God had an assignment for you that you would have missed if it had?

Today I went to get my car serviced only to find out that there was a about an hour wait. I was frustrated that I couldn't get right in but decided to run down the street to the car wash with the free vacuum and clean out the inside of my car (which was way beyond overdue).

When I got there, every slot was occupied but one. I pulled in only to find that the hose I had pulled up to wasn't working. I had to back up to the other hose which was directly across from a lady who was also cleaning out her car.

I started going through some accumulated clutter and came across a CD by a worship leader who had performed at the coffeehouse. I had gotten the CD for free and it was still unopened in my car.

Also in my car were a couple of "Kindness Cards" from a "random acts of kindness" campaign that my church had last November. We were challenged to do a random act of kindness for someone every day of the month. We were given these business cards to hand out with the act that points those we blessed to thank God and let them know He loves them.

The set up was complete. I was exactly where I was supposed to be and I had what I needed for the job God had for me to do - I just was completely unaware.

I wasn't paying any attention to the lady next to me until she started talking to me over the noise of the vacuum. I didn’t catch all the details, but she was upset saying she had prepaid $20 for her gas at the gas station next door but had forgotten to pump it. She went back when she realized it but the money had been used by someone else and was gone. She then said that she only had $8 to get her through the week.

Did I forget to mention that I had grabbed a $20 bill from my tip money on the dresser before leaving my house?

I began to realize that this is why I wasn’t able to get my car in right away. I was supposed to be at the car wash, next to this lady, in this moment.

I pulled the $20 bill out of my pocket, grabbed a kindness card, and picked up the CD. I put it all together and handed it to the woman.

Her name was Sandy and she broke into tears, hugged my neck repeatedly and thanked me. She was surprised and extremely grateful.

I used this simple act of kindness to point her to the One who loves her more than she can imagine and I believe heaven met earth in that moment.

I don’t have much to give. I barely make it paycheck to paycheck. What I do have, however, is all God’s, so what I gave her was His to give, not mine. Who knows what He will do with it. Look what He did with 5 loaves and 2 fish...

What happened today, brings me back to the conclusion of “Simply Christian” by NT Wright when He says that we are to be agents of the new creation that is to come, here in the now. We are to bring heaven to earth. We need to “take up our proper role,” he says, “our fully human role, as agents, heralds and stewards of the new day that is dawning.” (P. 237)

I hope Sandy had a taste of heaven today, and that she will listen to the One who pursues her and desires relationship with her. That she will come to know the One who will set the brokenness in her life to rights, and to know the One who came to her rescue.

e*b 2010 Week 4

For Essentials Blue Online Worship Training Course with Dan Wilt.

As Essentials Blue comes to a close, I have been asked to compile a Christian Worldview. What follows is where I landed...

In the beginning, God, in the most amazing creative expression, created. Eden stood in perfected beauty, yet God desired relationship with His creation. He made mankind who bore His image and His likeness and gave him the ability to articulate and reflect back to Himself the worship of all creation.

Man, however, chose to rebel and ultimately severed his relationship with his Creator. Sin and its consequences fell into the created order and God’s heart was deeply saddened.

All of time since has been marked by God’s relentless pursuit of man, to raise him up from his ‘bent’ position and bring him back into vertical communion with Himself (1). He calls to us through our desire for beauty and relationship, and through our longing for justice and spirituality (2).

God revealed Himself as the voice behind the echos through the person of Jesus. His rescue plan was not only enacted, but completed. Heaven met earth and “moved into the neighborhood” (3). No longer is man lost and without hope. No longer is heaven far away and distant. God is Creator, God is King over all, God is Trinity, God is Savior...and He is HERE!

God’s Kingdom has come. Heaven meets earth in every person in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. We are His Temple. It is our mission to be the hands and feet of the Kingdom to come, to be part of God’s new creation, to live as agents of the new creation here and now (4).

“It is time” as NT Wright says, “in the power of the Spirit, to take up our proper role, our fully human role, as agents, heralds and stewards of the new day that is dawning.” (5)

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

1.Leanne Payne, The Healing Presence (Grand Rapids: Hamewith Books, 1989, 1995) p. 59-60

NT Wright, “Simply Christian” Harper One, Grand Rapids, 2006, Part 1

John 1:14 (The Message)

NT Wright, “Simply Christian” Harper One, Grand Rapids, 2006 P. 236

Ibid. 237