Christmas Carols and Theology

It's beginning to look a lot like...well, you know the rest. The Worship Arts world here at Living Word has been very busy the past month as we transform the auditorium in significant ways - color, wall treatments, and, at this very moment, stagebuilds. It's been a thrill to see how the improvements made have already enhanced our worship environment, and over the next few weeks the enhancements will become ever more noticeable. The opportunity to bring beauty and artistry into this "sacred space" is truly exciting as we approach Christmas.

Our world has been a flurry of activity but I haven't forgotten about our humble blog! I came across an article this morning about the theology behind the sacred Christmas hymns we sing at this time of year. Check it out over at LeaderU. As much as I get sentimental about singing Christmas songs I am also amazed at the redemptive truths in so many of these wonderful carols. It's amazing, you can be at Walmart, or Target or even Starbucks and here these explicitly Christian songs being played over the speakers - it's the gospel being sung! And yet most people hear these songs as a background track for their holiday shopping and merriment without pausing to consider what they are really saying.

There is an opporunity in the hustle and bustle of this season to reflect on the truths behind the songs and to invite others - specifically non-Christ followers - to services or events that incorporate these familiar tunes.

Just thinking...I wonder if we can draw any theological truths out of other beloved Christmas songs like "Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer" or "Run Run Rudolph"?

The Importance of Lyrical Quality

OK, so it's been WAY too long since I wrote or shared something for the old blog here. Chalk it up to the busy-ness of the fall ministry calendar, two young kids and the Phillies playoff run - but enough is enough. It's time for something new on this page!

I've been thinking off and on about the importance of lyrical quality - and "quality" encompasses several things (beauty, theological accuracy, depth, avoidance of cliches). It seems obvious to us that the songs we use for our worship services ought to have quality lyrics (OK, most people would agree with that statement). Gordon Fee, a NT scholar, has said this with regards to the worship music of the church: "Show me a church's songs and I'll show you their theology."

What really brought this truth home for me was a conversation I had at a recent Intro to Living Word class. A woman who has been coming to Living Word for a few months remarked to me (she knew I was a worship leader) that she makes a point of really remembering the lyrics of the songs we sing on Sundays. She says she hums the songs we sing during the week - in other words, they really stay with her (I hope this means that our songs our somewhat memorable!). When she said this, my immediate thought was, WOW - she really is tuned into the words of these songs...and that's good! But upon further reflection I wondered to myself, are the songs in our repertoire lyrically rich, varied, and theologically sound?

This is a good question to ask yourself, not just as a lead worshipper, but as a congregant: If our songs were my sole means to understanding God and my relationship to Him and His Church, what I would know about him after worshipping at LWCC one year? Or five years? Or twenty years? Bob Kauflin, worship director for Sovereign Grace Ministries (and whose blog. Worship Matters, you can check out to my right), says "We remember what we sing, and nothing is more important to remember than God's Word."

We can say we value the lyrical depth and quality of our songs but sometimes (I'm as guilty as anyone) we get enamored with the tune, the melody, the sound...and only think secondarily (or worse yet, not at all) about the lyrics. May we all take another look at the words we sing and strive to sing songs that tell the story of redemption in beautiful, truthful and powerful ways.

For a Good Laugh...

Check out the Veritcal Creativity blog and DeAnn's post on "corporate" worship:

http://verticalcreativity.blogspot.com/2008/09/corporate-worship-music.html

Great stuff!

Recap of Yesterday's Worship Pow-Wow

Since some of us were not able to attend the worship team meeting yesterday (we missed ya!) I wanted to give you a quick recap of what we covered…

The focus was on Doing Life & Ministry Together…and how that involves the heart and art of us as lead worshippers. Gordon shared about Beyond Sundays and how that will be starting this Weds, Sept. 17. He also shared about how his role as Pastoral Worship Leader has really opened the door for the worship team to see him and this ministry area as safe outlets to share, confide and ask for prayer and help. We want you to continue to know how much we value being on this journey of LIFE with you – not just what you offer musically but you as a person made whole. He also covered the team covenants and suggested we keep them in a visible place as a reminder of what we are mutually striving towards and desiring together. Finally, he shared how being a servant leader is at the heart of what it means to be a worshipper. Jesus is the ultimate model for us (Philippians 2).

I shared more on the ART side of the equation…I began by thanking all of you for your love and fellowship as I continue to become a part of the “family”. It has been a joy to lead and serve all of you. Then I hit on a bunch of different ways we can serve each other:

• By bringing the best of our gifts & talents to the table each time we serve – never “mailing” it in!
• By continuing to maximize the gifts & talents God has given us (see 1 Chron. 25:7 for inspiration)
• By “releasing” our gifts to be used in whatever way best serves the needs of the team and congregation – this is a HUGE point and one I think we’ll need to keep revisiting. Nancy Beach refers to this as "holding our gifts loosely" in An Hour on Sunday
• By looking to encourage one another each time we are on the team
• By being willing to receive constructive feedback (Bonnie brought this up!) – in other words, recognizing we are all working towards the same goal (pointing each other towards our great God) and that we inspire each other to be the best we can
• By NOT wishing we were playing with different people…
• By making an effort to know who is running sound and PowerPoint and respecting their tasks
• By coming to rehearsal on time and prepared…again, respecting your teammates and their time
• FINALLY…by listening to each other. This is probably THE #1 thing every worship team I’ve ever worked with has to keep working on. I showed a clip from a Paul Baloche training DVD we are going to use in a workshop.

We ended with prayer. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Beyond Sundays starts this Weds. Please pray!
• Sat., Nov. 1, 9 to noon – All-Team Workshop & New Song Jam (more details forthcoming)

Have a great week…

Catch the Regulators with Ken Smith

Ken Smith, who plays bass on our worship team, is in band called the Regulators. His band will be playing at the Roosevelt Tavern (click here for map) on Friday, October 17 and Friday, November 14 - both are from 8-11pm. I've heard a little bit of some of the band's music and it's got a great jazz groove - go out with the spouse or friends and support our brother Ken!

Today's Dose of Oswald Chambers

Some of you are no doubt familiar with Oswald Chambers and his daily devotional classic My Utmost for His Highest. Actually the daily entries are adapted from various lectures and talks that Chambers gave in the early 20th century.

Every time I read one of the entries in My Utmost for His Highest I come across a line that provokes and inspires me...and today was no different:

"If you have not been worshipping as occasion serves, when you get into work you will not only be useless yourself, but a tremendous hindrance to those who are associated with you."

The way I interpreted this was that if we are not worshipping God in our unseen lives we will have nothing to offer as we minister on Sunday mornings. Not only will we be unfit to genuinely lead people in worship but we will actually be a hindrance to our fellow team members.

The good news is that God is always there to forgive us and will draw near to us as we draw near to Him (James 4:8). It is a question of acknowledging our need for Him and being intentional about cultivating a lifestyle of worship. But none of should be fooled into thinking that there is an on/off switch as a worshipper. We can't just manufacture sincerity on Sunday mornings; it is the overflow of hearts that have worshipped in the small moments - the "offstage" moments.

May we all strive to be "unseen" worshippers as much as we are "seen" on Sundays.

"Kicking Off" another season of ministry

September is upon us which means schools are back in session, the days are getting shorter, the air a little crisper and the wait is over for pro football (America's game...sorry baseball fans, but it's true). My wife and I were just commenting today on how much we are looking forward to autumn since we haven't had a real autumn for the past 8 years (living in Arizona). Although we loved many things about living in Arizona we always missed the progression of the seasons...and particularly the leaves changing in the fall. But enough about us...

Just as football is kicking off its season so we - in many ways - are kicking off a new season of ministry in the Worship Arts World. The first thing we'll be doing is getting together THIS SUNDAY, Sept. 14, after the services for a Worship Team Meeting. It will begin at 12:30 in Rooms A103 G&H (adjacent to the coffee bar). We'll provide a healthy & delicious pizza lunch along with drinks. Gordon and I will be sharing some thoughts about this next season of ministry and specifically the idea of doing LIFE TOGETHER. As you know by now we have a new mid-sized community group called Beyond Sundays that is launching Weds., Sept. 17. But we will also be giving everyone a taste of a workshop we'd like to do in early November on playing as a TEAM.

So you won't want to miss this Sunday's meeting...

I realize we haven't been updating this blog a lot during the summer but I think a flurry of activity will begin as we kick off things here in September. We are excited to be on this journey with all of you as together we look to grow in our love & faithfulness towards God and one another.

Isaiah 6 and Surrender

At last night's rehearsal we looked at Isaiah 6, where the prophet Isaiah has a vision of God seated on His heavenly throne. As I was thinking about the issue of yielding to the Lordship of Christ - the theme of this week's Urban Legends message - I considered the connection between seeing the greatness of God and surrending to His control. There is a progression at work in Isaiah 6, a sequence that has vast implications for how we understand our role as lead worshippers.

First, Isaiah looks UPWARD - he is ushered into the very presence of Almighty God - and sees the unfathomable greatness and inescapable holiness of Yahweh. Angels are tirelessly worshipping before the throne of God. Imagine for a moment what Isaiah must have been thinking...is this really happening? Am I still alive? It would be an understatement to say that at that moment Isaiah was in awe of God.

Isaiah then immediately looks INWARD and realizes that in the presence of a Holy God he is utterly un-holy. He says "woe is me!" for he knows that no one sees God and lives to tell about it. He is at point of great despair and absolute terror. He is in need of forgiveness, but where will it come from? In a beautifully symbolic picture and prefiguring of Christ's atonement an angelic being brings a hot coal from the heavenly altar and touches Isaiah's uncleap lips. The angel pronounces Isaiah forgiven: "your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for" (v.7). God has made a way for Isaiah to stand before His throne without Isaiah being completely annihilated.

The last and almost surprising part of the story is the OUTWARD focus - Isaiah responds to God's question of "who will go for us?" with a resounding "Here am I! Send me" (v.8). Having witnessed the greatness of God and received forgiveness he is at point where he is ready to be commissioned as God's ambassador. His willingness to go is in stark contrast to his previous fear! What has made the difference? Isaiah has received forgiveness and understands that God's grace forgives and empowers.

The UPWARD-INWARD-OUTWARD focus is a biblical template for planning worship services. But it also should be our daily experience - that we catch a fresh vision of God's greatness, love, power; that we confess our sins and trust His provision for them through Christ's death; and that we surrender ourselves once again to God's purposes.

We don't arrive at surrender from the get go - it is the response to God's mercy and the overflow of a heart that has been transformed by it.

A Series on the Psalms

Our brother Mark Jones wanted to let us all know about a powerful series that pastor & author John Piper recently finished entitled "Psalms: Thinking and Feeling with God." You can access audio, video and more from the series here:

Psalms: Thinking and Feeling with God

John has been the teaching pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis for nearly 30 years and has written more than 30 books. He is known for his passion for God's glory and his commitment to expository teaching (case in point, he preached his way through the book of Romans over a 10-year period!). My first encounter with Dr. Piper was his book Desiring God and I have been benefiting from this teaching ever since.

I would encourage you to check out his series on the Psalms. As "lead worshippers" I think it's important that we engage our minds in studying Scripture - especially the Psalms, as they are the hymnbook of the Bible. Paul puts it this way: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2a). As we listen to God's Word being preached we invite the Holy Spirit to illuminate our minds and touch our hearts. Because we are all involved in helping lead others in worship a series on the Psalms would be one to check out...

Here's what Mark says...

Long story short, he recently did a series on the book of Psalms and the last sermon in the series (6/29/08) was on Psalm 96 and titled "Declare His Glory Among the Nations". John ties in the role of singing and worship towards the later half of the sermon. The sermons are about 40 minutes long but are worth the time invested.

Thanks again to the man, Mr. MJ for the recommendation. By the way, if you guys have anything you think the whole team should see or would benefit from please drop me a line. I'm always happy to give credit where credit is due!

Vibrato - Video from Tim Carson

This post is for the vocalists - the sopranos, altos, tenors, baritones...

Vibrato: a repeated fluctuation of pitch; the slightly wavering quality that a singer has in his voice while sustaining a tone.

One of the issues that many worship teams face is the use of vibrato - how much it should be used, whether it should be used at all and the proper way to use it. One thing I have observed since coming to Living Word is that vocalists on our team are sort of all over the map when it comes to the issue of vibrato. For some of us it is our default - we use it more than we don't use it. For others we use it sparingly, if at all. When you have two or more vocalists approaching vibrato differently there is a high probability that things will collide - and not in a good way.

So, in light of the fact that vibrato is not only an important issue but one very relevant to our team I thought it might be helpful if all of us as vocalists would revisit it in the next months. Tim Carson, a vocal coach and former staff member at Willow Creek, has an excellent training video for vocalists. We'll be scheduling a time in September where ALL of us can watch it together in a workshop format. But, since that's a couple months away I wanted to whet your appetite by having you watch the following video. Note a few key ideas - especially what Tim has to say about vibrato in ensemble settings and whether or not he ever has to encourage more vibrato on teams.

It's a fact that as vocalists we pick-up both good and bad habits as we move through the years. I hope each of us can approach this issue of vibrato with an open mind and a willingness to assess our own tendencies. Thanks for taking the time to process this with me!

New Song by Chris Tomlin - "Jesus Messiah"

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last decade or so you know Chris Tomlin's songs have had a significant influence on contemporary evangelical worship services. He has a God-given knack for writing catchy, melodic, God-glorifying songs that soar when sung congregationally ("Forever," "Holy is the Lord," "How Great is Our God"). One look at the top songs from CCLI (the Christian copyright organization) will confirm that Tomlin has rightfully earned a place among the top songwriters of our generation.

The other phenomenon that has propelled Tomlin (and his songs) to the forefront is the huge shift in Christian music from "message" songs to "worship" songs. In other words, over the last decade the top Christian artists & albums (both in sales and awards) have been more and more in the "worship" genre - for example, bedrock artists like Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant and Third Day have released multiple worship albums to critical and commercial acclaim. At the same time evangelical churches have been focusing more and more on the quality and relevancy of their musical repetoire - it's not uncommon for the music to occupy half of a modern worship service. So it's no surprise to me that Chris Tomlin is one of the hottest commodities in the Christian music industry given the convergence of multiple phenomena.

However, in spite of (or maybe because of) his popularity Tomlin's music has not been without criticism. Some have noted that Tomlin tends to write rather generically and (at times) simplistically. Many have rightly said that the keys in which he records his songs are not congregationally-friendly - but that can easily be addressed through services like SongSelect. I will say that a lot Tomlin's songs have the same feel and the same four chords - but then again a lot of contemporary worship songs are guilty of the same thing. What we have to keep in mind is that Tomlin is writing for the church and the primary concerns are 1) is it theologically sound, 2) is it singable for the average Joe & Mary, and 3) can most worship bands play it? I think on those accounts a good many of Tomlin's songs are worthy candidates for congregational singing.

And such is the case with Chris' new song entitled "Jesus Messiah". The focus of the song is on Jesus' substitionary death ("He became sin who knew no sin" - from 2 Cor. 5:21) and the various titles of Jesus. Musically it's nothing specatular but it is singable (when you lower the key a couple whole steps) and it addresses the HEART of the gospel and our worship - Jesus' death and life on our behalf. Take a listen and see what you think...I say, thanks Chris for another song that magnifies the greatness of Jesus' sacrifice and beauty.

Being a Servant

Lately I have been thinking about what it means to be a worshipper - not only in the context of Sunday morning services - but with the entirety of our lives. As Harold Best puts it in his book Unceasing Worship, worship is "the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing God." So if we are worshipping something at all times - and hopefully that something, or, namely Someone, is the Triune God (the only worthy Object of our affections) then what distinguishes a genuine, Christ-exalting worshipper from the millions who worship other gods? In other words, what are the marks of a bonafide worshipper of the triune God?

I think one of the defining marks of a genuine worshipper is possessing and exuding a servant's heart. In being servant-minded we are following in the footsteps of the Suffering Servant:

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death,
even death on a cross!

-the Apostle Paul, Philippians 2:4-8

By becoming like us and by submitting to His Father's plan and the cross ("not my will but yours be done") Jesus exemplifies the HEART of a servant. He didn't put himself first - He put others first. He wasn't looking for the star treatment - although He is certainly entitled to it! He exuded a humility, looking for ways to serve the lowliest and least.

How does being a servant play out for us as worshippers? In the big picture we look to become more and more like Christ - to become, first and foremost, God-centered. But the natural overflow of being God-centered is to be others-centered. Do you remember the Greatest Commandments that Jesus spoke of in the gospels? "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matt. 22:37-40). As servants we serve both God and then others. In fact, if we claim to love God and don't love others we invalidate our claim to love God (1 John 4:20-21). So being a servant means loving and serving our brothers and sisters.

Now let's really narrow this down - what does it look like to be a servant in the context of the worship arts ministry, specifically as vocalists & instrumentalists? Well, here are some preliminary thoughts...

• If you are on the worship team, it means being considerate to fellow ministry partners serving on the video and audio teams. We should make the effort to not just the know the name of whoever is serving "behind the scenes" but also their story. If we ask for a change to a slide, or for more of this instrument in our mix, we do it not in a demanding tone but with grace. If they need us to run through a song again, or to go a little lighter on the drums (had to get a poke in at them!) then we strive to honor their requests.
• Each of us arrives on time for rehearsal and comes prepared - having already organized and looked over the arrangements, listened to the rehearsal CD and - as vocalists - warmed up our voices.
• As instrumentalists we understand that we are primarily accompanying the vocals. The major emphasis in Scripture is on singing, so as guitar players, keyboardists, etc., we want to play in such a way as to not overpower the vocals but support. It also means that if we need to go over vocal parts at rehearsal we don't roll our eyes or wish we would move things along!
• As vocalists we respect that getting all of the instruments to blend and play together takes practice, so there may be times where we have to wait until things are smoothed out. We recognize that the MELODY always takes precedence over harmony parts and we are OK if we don't get to sing that awesome harmony part we really wanted to nail
• We LISTEN to one another during rehearsal and on Sundays. We make sure we have enough of each vocal/instrument in our Aviom mix so that we can actually hear what others are singing/playing. We don't just play whatever and whenever we want to but rather play with a sensitivity towards what the song needs and how we can best contribute. Sometimes it means singing/playing very little or not at all. We are OK with that, because the song/service is always bigger than my individual needs/demands.

Those are just initial thoughts on how having a servant's heart would play out as worship team musicians. One of the defining characteristics of a genuine worshipper is a servant's heart.

Shine Like Stars

N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and a leading New Testament scholar, put out a devotional a few years ago titled Reflecting the Glory: Meditations for Living Christ's Life in the World. Gordon encouraged me to pick up a copy during Lent and I have been greatly encouraged and enriched by Wright's thoughts on various Scriptures. In one particular chapter Wright reflects on 1 Pt. 2:9-12, which just happens to tie in to the "City on a Hill" series Living Word has been in for the past several weeks:

9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Wright makes the following comment regarding our new IDENTITY and how it should be lived out in this world: "The reason (we) are so privileged is not so that (we) can sit back and enjoy (our) new status for its own sake. Rather, it is in order that (we) may 'proclaim the mighty acts of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.'...If you are the holy nation, you are the ones who are set apart for God's purposes in the world."

When Jesus says that his followers are "the light of the world" and a "city on a hill" he is making a declarative, definitive statement...it's not as if we are maybe those things, or perhaps on our best days resemble those things. No, we ARE a city on a hill. And it is all due to God's redemptive purposes - He was the One who called us. Now we are to go and be who Christ says we are. In v.12 Peter says that when we as believers conduct ourselves with integrity some on the outside will see our deeds and glorify God. I believe what non-believers see is the light of Christ in us - and as we REFLECT His light they are motivated to worship the One who can transform sinners into saints.

This Sunday we will conclude the "City on a Hill" series with a Matt Redman song called "Shine." Gordon sang this at the end of the first week; we will do it as a congregational song at the end of this week's service (kind of a nice bookend!). The lyrics are below, along with an audio player where you can hear the song and a video from the Passion 07 Conference where Redman sang it live.

Lord we have seen the rising sun,
awakening the early dawn,
And we´re rising up to give you praise.
Lord we have seen the stars and moon, see how they shine,
They shine for you,
And You´re calling us to do the same.
So we rise up with a song, and we rise up with a cry
And we´re giving you our lives.

We will shine like stars in the universe,
Holding out Your truth in the darkest place.
We´ll be living for Your glory,
Jesus we´ll be living for Your glory.
We will burn so bright with Your praise O God,
And declare Your light to this broken world.
We´ll be living for Your glory,
Jesus we´ll be living for Your glory.

Like the sun so radiantly
Sending light for all to see,
Let your holy church arise
Exploding into life,
Like a supernova´s light,
Set your holy church on fire;
We will shine.

Good Friday Opening Video

Passion week has come and gone - it's almost been two months - but in case you didn't get to attend Living Word's Good Friday service this year check out this opening video that our Production Coordinator Kevin Henderson put together. I loved the haunting music and Gordon found this great Augustine quote regarding the need for Christ's incarnation. I still get chills seeing it...

CompassionArt

Earlier this year a group of well-known songwriters got together with the purpose of writing songs for the church - nice enough in and of itself. However, the cool thing about this global gathering is that 100% of the proceeds of these songs (revenues) will be going towards various charities that help the poorest and neediest around the world. The idea was spawned by Martin Smith and his wife Anna - Martin is the lead singer for the band Delirious ("I Could Sing of Your Love Forever," "Majesty," "Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?").

The songwriters involved are just ho-hum names like Michael W. Smith, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Israel Houghton, Steven Curtis Chapman, Darlene Zschech...you know, just average writers and musicians (ha!). It should be interesting to see what songs will come out of their joint efforts - the first one is available at iTunes:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=277114534&s=143441

You can learn more about CompassionArt by visiting the top link to your left. It's encouraging to see artists use their talents and industry leverage to take worship from the pews to the most impoverished among us.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. - James 1:27

O Come Let Us Adore Him

Yesterday we began our worship services with a call to worship - "O Come Let Us Adore Him". Before we started singing the song I shared an exhortation that (hopefully) underscores the reason we have come to adore Christ - a narrative overview of His life and work.

O come, let us adore Him…
He who was before time began,
Through whom all things were created
Every power, every person, every creature
And in whom all things are sustained

O come, let us adore Him…
The God who took on flesh and bone,
Who stepped into time to live in our neighborhood.
Who humbled himself, and came to serve and not be served

O come, let us adore Him…
Him who identified with the outcasts of society,
Who loved the lowly and despised
And spoke against the self-righteous

O come, let us adore Him…
A man of sorrows, familiar with suffering.
Despised and rejected by men,
The Crucified One, crushed for our sin
So that we might walk with God once again.

O come, let us adore Him…
The Resurrection and the Life,
The Savior who defeated sin, death and Satan
Who destroyed the dividing wall of hostility
So that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free,
Male nor female, but rather
One global family of God, united by His blood

O come, let us adore Him…Christ the Lord

To Blog or Not to Blog?

So we (Gordon Carpenter & I) decided to create a blog...and we are calling it "The Heart and Art of Worship". There are several reasons we are entering the "blogosphere": 1) To encourage, edify, and (occasionally) provoke those serving on the worship team at Living Word through various musings and insights on worship, 2) To create an online community where we as a "team" can dialogue about life, worship, and current events, 3) To facilitate connectedness through voluntary prayer requests and praises, and last but not least, 4) Blogs are just cool.

Since this blog will feature posts from both Gordon and I you will get to hear both of our voices on matters concerning worship - and we believe this is a good thing! The reason we are calling this blog "The Heart and Art of Worship" is because we want to highlight the importance of both components as lead worshippers. Out of a heart of worship comes a desire to use the artistic gifts God has given us for His glory and church - HE -> ART. As most of you know by now, Gordon's primary focus will on the HEART (spiritual life), whereas my primary focus will on the ART (musical skills) of the worshipper. Together we want to serve you by underscoring the truth that God is re-creating us into WHOLE beings - serving Him with our hearts, minds, soul, gifts, etc.

As you know by now, next week we are beginning our CONNECTIONS process where we'll be spending time with each of you. We are prayerfully looking forward to this time! It will be an opportunity to assess where each of us is at concerning our competency, character and chemistry. Most of all we want you to know how much we value each of you and your servant's hearts as we move forward.