I’ve appreciated all of you who put your search engine to work and found out the answers to the Giveaway #2 contest related to GLAD trivia. We’ve found our twenty winners. There were even some actual GLAD fans among them, although a few people were honest enough to say they had never heard of GLAD until this contest… Anyway, for those who didn’t have time to look for the answers, here they are: 1. What two colleges did the four original members of GLAD attend? West Chester State College (back in the early 70’s) and Temple University 2. What GLAD song mentions Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia? Take a Stand. The song tells the story …
Monday Devotions – Kids, Kings, and Creeping Things
Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are …
Share this post:
How Do We Move Away From “Worshiptainment”?
This question came from a gentleman who works at a Christian school. Every Friday a 4-5 piece band has been leading the 6th through 12th graders in a time of “praise and worship.” However, most of the students aren’t Christians. The leadership is changing so he wrote in: “This year the students have really got into creating motions akin to “Christian line dancing” in a very “worshiptainment” atmosphere. I don’t like it but have been powerless to change it. There has been a lot of disagreement over the years as to the proper focus of our Friday service. Do we try to have a worship focus or, because so many of our students are lost, do …
Share this post:
The Giveaway is Now Officially Over
Thanks to all of you who e-mailed me to review the Worship God Live CD. We’ve now received 50 responses. I particularly enjoyed the honesty (manipulation?) of this note:"If I’m not too late to qualify for the CD giveaway, here’s my entry. I failed to check your blog yesterday and I missed this offer. I am sure tens of thousands of requests have poured in, but what a better way to model grace than to include some one underserving like me! Plus, my blog is a hit with a couple of folks around west Tennessee."Hey, if you’re not checking my blog every day, I have no sympathy for you. You should know that a day without my blog is like a …
Share this post:
Where Have All the Glad Fans Gone?
Okay, okay. Maybe I set the bar too high. We gave away 50 Worship God Live CD’s to pastors and worship leaders who would review them on their blog by June 15. But for those who didn’t fit into that category, I offered to send a CD to the first 20 people who could correctly answer questions about GLAD, my former group. To my knowledge, only one person has gotten a perfect score from Worship God Live Giveaway #2. Congratulations to Jean from Delaware. You are one of the three GLAD fans who read this blog. As for the rest of you, it’s obvious that my original perceptions were accurate. Only my family would know these answers. So here are the …
Share this post:
“Worship God Live” Giveaway #2
For those of you who missed out on a free CD because you’re not a pastor or a music pastor or you don’t write your own blog…I wanted to make another give-away offer. This week I was honored to receive the King of the Week award from blogger extraordinaire Tim Challies. Thankfully, I guess that means I can stop submitting my name for consideration. Anyway, Tim mentioned that I’m probably best known for my involvement with Sovereign Grace music. In a comment, Brendt pointed out that Tim neglected to mention my former associations with the Christian group GLAD. I wasn’t personally offended, because I don’t expect anyone but …
Share this post:
“Worship God Live” Giveaway
Last year Sovereign Grace Ministries took two nights in February to record a live project entitled, Worship God Live. I was privileged to be one of two leaders on the CD, along with my good friend, Pat Sczebel, who is a pastor at the Sovereign Grace church in Vancouver, B.C. We were attempting to accomplish a number of goals through the project. First, we wanted to capture some of the spontaneity and passion of a typical live context. This CD isn’t so much a presentation as an invitation to listeners to exalt the Lord together with us. We were able to include a number of unplanned moments that add to the dynamic quality of the recording. We …
Share this post:
Monday Devotions – The Nevers of the Gospel
After 33 years of being a Christian, I’m learning that many of my godly acts and thoughts are accompanied by a corresponding danger of imbalance or deception. That means that when I’m pursuing obedience in one way, I may also be pursuing idolatry in another. Because I’m tempted to rest in my own righteousness before God, even after conversion, I consistently look for ways to restrict God’s commands, commend my own performance, or trade one virtue for another. I’ve found this prayer from The Valley of Vision particularly helpful in helping me to discern my self-atoning tendencies. I’ve divided it into three categories: Using …
Share this post:
To Clap or Not to Clap?
In response to my mention of clapping at the Together for the Gospel conference, Steve commented: “I grew up in the type of church where clapping was extremely frowned upon. Later, as an adult, I got involved in more contemporary settings…where clapping, along with and after songs, was the norm…I recently watched a live DVD recording of a particular band doing an incredibly delicate and moving rendition of “I Love You, Lord.” As the last soft chord decayed, the audience began to cheer and clap. It suddenly seemed inappropriate to me.” In a more general sense, Jon asked: “How we are to treat the commands of the psalms….clap, …
Share this post:
Healthy Tensions in Worship
I’ve benefited from the many summaries I’ve read of the Together for the Gospel conference last week. How kind of the Lord to give so many a greater passion to serve His church, proclaim the Gospel, and preach His Word, in such a brief time. I’m still looking forward to taking some time to review and apply my notes. One remark I definitely hope to remember was made by my good friend, C.J. Mahaney: “This conference can be a means of progressive self-deception if we think hearing these messages insures present and future growth.” By God’s grace, I don’t want that to happen. A number of guys have …
Share this post:
Monday Devotions – How Sweet and Aweful
When planning the songs for the Together for the Gospel conference with Mark Dever, he suggested a hymn that I knew about but had never sung. It’s called How Sweet and Awful is the Place, and was written by my historical hero, Isaac Watts. Numerous guys came up to me at the conference and told me how much the words had affected them. Terry Stauffer from Alberta, Canada blogged on it. As I was considering what to post this morning, the words of the hymn kept coming to mind. 1. How sweet and aweful is the place With Christ within the doors, While everlasting love displays The choicest of her stores. 2. While all our hearts and all our songs Join …
Share this post:
Songs from Together for the Gospel
Numerous people have asked me to post the songs we sang at the Together for the Gospel conference. I’ve listed them below. I’ve also given the song number from the 1990 Trinity Hymnal (TH). Wednesday PMPraise to the Lord the Almighty (words by Joachim Neander, tr. by Catherine Winkworth, TH53)In Christ Alone (Lyrics by Stuart Townend, Music by Keith Getty) Thursday AMHow Sweet and Awful is the Place (Lyrics by Isaac Watts, TH469) NOTE: Cyberhymnal lists a verse 2 that we didn’t sing at the conference. We guessed that singing about "the bowel of our God" might have been a distraction.How Deep the Father’s Love (Stuart Townend) Thursday …
Share this post:
Some Reflections on Together for the Gospel
It’s Saturday, and as I thought, the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, Kentucky was a whirlwind. Much to remember, much to celebrate, much to respond to. Who knows what kind of fruit will emerge from these three days? One thing is certain. C.J. Mahaney, Lig Duncan, Al Mohler, and Mark Dever have not only instructed us on the unity the Gospel brings. They have demonstrated it. This conference brought men from very diverse backgrounds together to talk, worship God, learn, and grow. And it’s all because of the Gospel. Music was one area in which the effect of the Gospel was obvious. There’s no question that music in the church …
Share this post:
How Familiar Should Songs Be?
I recently received these questions from Lisa, a music coordinator whose church has had an influx of new guests. People are starting to comment more frequently that they don’t know the songs being sung. That situation has raised these questions: 1. How important do you think familiarity is in facilitating worship? 2. Do you limit your pick list somehow, even “retiring” good songs? If so, how? 3. How can we help our congregation familiarize themselves with the songs we sing, outside of church? I’ve often heard it said that singing familiar songs contributes to people engaging in true worship of God. While a well known song can often …
Share this post:
The Perils of Technology
I should have known these things by now. I’m down in Louisville, Kentucky this week, enjoying the privilege of leading corporate worship at the Together for the Gospel conference. About 3000 pastors have gathered to learn about, celebrate, and respond to the central truth around which our unity is built – the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The conference is the fruit of four men who have share a deep and meaningful friendship around the Gospel. Ligon Duncan pastors a church in Mississippi and has significant influence in the Presbyterian Church in America. Al Mohler is president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is often quoted or interviewed …