The Liturgy Fellowship

Phil over at Called to worship writes on something near to my heart: how to let the Gospel story (or if you want to sound more highbrow, the “Narrative of Redemption”), impact our Sunday morning worship. If you’re feeling frustrated at your Sunday routine, and not sure where to go, this is worth a read:

The Drama of Worship: 5 Ways to Improve Your Gospel Storytelling in Worship | Called to Worship.

For too many churches, we develop a liturgical formula that works for our community and staff culture and then we focus on creating the right parts (songs, prayers, readings, sermon, etc…) and don’t think about the whole often enough. You know the adage, “missing the forest for the tree.”

Why don’t we retell the story of the Gospel well in our worship services? It takes time, effort and creativity. It also requires us to learn from our more liturgically minded brothers and sisters.

Bob Kauflin at Worship Matters has posted a really nice set of videos on The Piano in Contemporary Worship.  This third video highlights some key items:

In this session I deal with many of the specific questions I’ve been asked over the years. Those include:

• chord coloring
• inversions
• playing hymns
• developing your chord vocabulary
• introductions
• transitions
• playing behind someone speaking
• modulations.

Along the way I also talk about some of the musical influences that have shaped the way I play.

This video series is close to 90 minutes long, but looks to be quite worth the time!

Ordinary Neighbor has a nice discussion about auditioning musicians – many times an awkward subject among smaller churches. It’s a good reminder, even for those of us with existing teams, what our primary purpose in gathering these folks is.

Auditioning/Recruiting Worship Musicians:

Some leaders might not be too thrilled about the prospect of auditioning worship team members. Before Hope College, I had never formally auditioned anyone. There are several liabilities in the audition process that Ill let you imagine for your own circumstances.

Ill point out a few benefits however…

We should call all of our musicians to worship leadership. They should at some level desire to not just play music but to also want to direct that music toward God. We don’t need warm bodies who can ice the guitar riff; we need willing hearts.

Happy 2012!

It’s funny how easily a rhythm can get disrupted, even by things you know well in advance – like the holidays.  We had a regular pattern of updating this blog, but over November and December fell out of the habit.  We’re hoping to come back with several more items soon.

As 2012 gets started up, Bruce Benedict and I are working to bring more clarity to both the Cardiphonia and the Liturgy Fellowship site, bringing them under the same umbrella. We’ve been using this as a place to highlight other resources, projects, and writings, and Bruce and I and the rest of the LF gang are hoping to bring some unique writing to this space shortly.

In the mean time, come check out our Facebook group page where there’s plenty of discussion going on, and make sure to stop by Cardiphonia as well, since Bruce keeps putting further resources up there.

But to start us off this year, I thought I’d highlight something that caught my eye over at Congregational Songs.  Those of us that are married, especially with kids, know this scene well - The Worship Leader’s Wife (or, we should say, spouse, since I know there are a good number of women worship leaders out there!):

It was a packed house. I was sitting at the piano after having just finished a song during our Christmas Eve service a couple weeks ago. Our pastor, Scott, had begun his short message. This evening, there was no childcare because the Christmas Eve service is a more informal, kid-friendly gathering. I looked toward where my wife was seated with both my 1 and 3-year-old daughters, and I could feel the tension rise. I saw Kelly and Lucy shout-whispering – I could tell my first-born was protesting some decision my wife had made. I watched as Kelly shouldered the diaper bag, swooped up the little one, and then attempted to grab the ticking time bomb with the other arm. My red-headed 3-year-old then screamed at the top of her lungs, and my mortified wife had to carry her, belly-exposed, kicking, down the length of the middle aisle and through the overflowed Gathering Hall. And where was I? Oh yes, sitting on stage.

Ahh, yes. My wife frequently referred to herself as a Worship Widow.  For a season when our kids were smaller, many times she sat with one of her friends whom she (jokingly) referred to as her “partner” (us then being in Seattle, not many people batted an eye).

Whether a husband or wife, and your spouse is pastor or worship leader, there can be heavy pressure placed on you. My wife faced more internal pressure than external, but each Sunday was still a battle. To those “Worship Widows” out there, my sincere thanks – and to those of you up front, go say your thanks directly!

Onto 2012 – look forward to seeing you around!

RJ

Phil over at Called to Worship continues to write  a number of things on planning worship.  His latest is on the Sabbath, and taking it seriously:

As I hinted in an earlier post, I think its important to rest from your work and normal diversions. Jesus was quick to remind us that the Sabbath is for man and so we aren’t to be bound up in fear over how well we’re keeping the rules (one of the Pharisees’ many troubles). Instead, the Sabbath is meant to give us life.

Bob Kauflin’s posted his notes from a recent talk, “Pastoring through Song” – a topic near to many hearts I know.  He’s got some good thoughts here, and the outline would be easily adapted to use in teaching a worship group:

The talk developed out of a realization that we can often be unaware of how God wants to use the lyrics of songs and how they’re led to care for people’s souls. We’re doing more than simply singing songs together when we gather, hoping for some “worshipful” or “anointed” moment to happen. The Holy Spirit is at work to encourage, impart faith, convict, and comfort as we “teach and admonish one another” through song.

via Pastoring Through Song – Notes from Sydney | Worship Matters.

Via the grace seattle blog, a nice resource on the Daily Office.  No, not the one with cubicles, but the one that the Church has used historically as a guide to daily prayer.

Things like this can seem awkward for some protestants – but it is a great way to order your day around prayer, surrounding yourself with reminders of God and his Grace.

There are a number of these around of course. This is a simple little site that gives you prayers and readings for each day. I’ve also found Mike Farley’s weekly prayer e-mail quite a rich resource as well (he’s not got it online yet, but comment and I can send you his e-mail and request to be added).

Quite excited to listen to this when it is released – the latest from Sojourn Community.

Looking for new advent or Christmas music? Go grab a pre-order!

A Child Is Born | Sojourn

I remember hearing the lyrics to “Sometimes a Light Surprises” when my friend Nathan Partain ran across it and wrote a tune for it.  The lyrics were a comfort to me, and I found out many others.

Many artists struggle with emotional instability.  If not depression, then perhaps melancholy – the Long Dark Teatime of the Soul, if you will.  If you’re unfamiliar with William Cowper, his story can be helpful. Paxson Jeancake has as a great article on Cowper and some lessons we can learn from those who struggle:

Art is not birthed in a vacuum, nor is it produced solely from a life of blissful devotion and ongoing prayer and song. Art is often brought forth from hardship and struggle, turmoil and tears. There is something about a troubled soul that taps into both the reality of our fallen condition and the hope of something greater than ourselves. Such is the life of William Cowper, the troubled but gifted artist whose hymns have been sung in many different languages for more than two centuries.

via Sometimes a Light Surprises: The Treasured Gift of a Troubled Soul – The Gospel Coalition Blog.