Lent!

Lent begins tomorrow with Ash Wednesday.  For the next six Sunday's we will be focusing on Lent and specifically on a sermon series titled "Virtues Worth Living." As we look inward during this season we will look at those values and virtues that Jesus put above others, ones that as followers of Christ we are to internalize and live out as persons of faith.

How will we create a worship experience around each virtue that will touch the hearts and minds of those in attendance?  Please leave your ideas and comments below.

On a related note, I want to remind us that our service should create powerful and meaningful moments and experiences for worshipers.  We should approach how songs are played and led with this mindset.  We have a tendency I think to perform more than we do worship.  Sometimes songs are played so quickly they are over before they ever make a connection with anyone.  This is not to say that every song should be a slow and contemplative song.  Certainly there are many songs that need to be and are upbeat, however, I want us to focus on how we connect to worshipers and creating powerful and meaningful moments of worship for them.

For example:  The way we opened "With Kindness," slowly and with just Elizabeth's voice and the piano was probably one of the most powerful music/worship moments I have ever experienced at the Journey but then when the rest of the instruments came in the tempo shot-up so quickly folks were barely able to keep up with the words, words which carried powerful meaning but were never given the chance to stick.  

It is very, very important for the songs to sound good, relevant, and even "cool," but we also need allow God's spirit to move through the music and into the hearts of those who come to worship.  Worship music needs to be more than just going through the motions.

Thank you again for all that you put into this service, blessings on you all as we begin our Lenten Journeys.

Lent Planning

Please head over to planning center this week and begin looking at the six weeks of Lent beginning March 1.  We will be doing the "Virtues Worth Living" sermon series during this time. Remember that week six of Lent is Palm/Passion Sunday, which begins reflection the on the last week of Jesus' life.  Go ahead and add any songs you want to the plan and we can sort them out later.  If you are having technical difficulties just post your suggestions as comments or e-mail the group (just me and musicians).  

Mars Hill Music

Mars Hill church is Rob Bell's church in Michigan.  Rob Bell is pretty hip among young adults.  Their music team has a website that is pretty cool.  If you want you can explore it, they have some music resources with chord charts and some with clips.  I really liked a piece on there about "Why We Sing" and have copied it below.

http://www.musicatmars.com/

WHY WE SING

A big group of people singing together is odd. It really is. Other than a baseball game or occasional birthday party, people don't usually stand around and sing. But we do every Sunday at church. Why? For starters it is a part of our history and tradition. We come from a long line of people who sing to and about God. From King David to Martin Luther to Bono, men and women have often expressed their faith, whether in painful cries or through gushing praise, with singing. The reasons behind this aren't always clear, but the power of music is undeniable. It seems to tap into deeper and more honest places than words alone ever could. It has been said that music is the language of the soul. We believe it. 

So when we meet together as a community of faith, it seems only natural that we would try to use this language of the soul to connect with God and each other. Sometimes the songs are directed upward in celebration of the infinite love and greatness of God. And on those days we sing at the top of our lungs to thank and praise Him for who he is and what he does and also to remind each other that we serve the King of all Kings. Other times the songs are more personal and reflective, giving us an opportunity to connect intimately with our Creator. This looks different for everybody but can involve confessing sin, inviting God to heal us or asking for wisdom and direction, any expression that naturally flows out of our experience. We want our worship to be both grounded in real life and reaching outward to the eternal. 

Does music = worship? No. In spite of the fact that 99% of our "worship times" are singing, these words are not interchangeable. Music is to worship as Q-tips are to cotton swabs: one form of a bigger thing. We can sing without worshiping God, and we can worship God without singing. Ultimately, worship is an activity of the heart. Words, songs and actions are simply expressions. 

Feb Lineups

These are not set in stone so if you want to swap some things out or around just let me know.  I will work on getting Lent up by next week so if you want to suggest for those six weeks you have a chance to do that also.

Feb 8

Let It Rise

Open the Eyes of My Heart

Breathe

Just a Closer Walk

We are Marching 

"O Freedom" would be a great song to open here, but I think this was Brian's gig.  Any thoughts on giving it a shot?

Feb 15

Holy, Holy, Holy (UMH #64)

All Who Are Thirsty 

Wade In the Water

Give Us Clean Hands

I Saw the Light

Feb 22

Be Glorified

Heart of Worship

We Fall Down

Come and Find the Quiet Center

With Kindness

Some Random Thoughts on Flow

Hey team,

I have been having a great time working more with the service this past month and I finally feel like we know what is going on more than half the time.  

I have been doing some thinking about flow lately and wanted to know what you thought on some things:

-To transition from jam session/recorded music time, have Elizabeth welcome folks to the service and to stand, but with either jam session music in background or the beginnings of our opening song.  That way we flow right into worship with no musical breaks.

-If our opening set lends itself to this- seamless transitions between songs using fills or interludes or whatever to minimize the pauses between songs.  I think our current pauses are not that bad but the more we can eliminate them the better.  

-Moving from sermon time to prayer time:  When Dave preaches he always ends with a prayer.  During this time could the band be making it's way back up front?  When the prayer is finished then the prayer song can immediately start.

This could be a little different when I preach or we have a guest.  I am thinking after the sermon I can do a sort of invitation to prayer and maybe lift up some issues for folks to be reflecting on.  The band can be coming up during that invitation and the song can begin on cue.  

I also like the idea of bringing back the "prayer sandwich" where we do a couple verses before joys and concerns then close out the time with the rest of the verses.  This would help move us better into the offering/announcement time.

Well let me know what you think.  You certainly don't have to agree, but I do get the final say :)

Thanks again everyone, for all your flexibility and effort into this service.

-Rob

Lineup Rough Drafts for 2/8, 2/15, 2/22

Here are my thoughts so far. Please add your thoughts and suggestions. More info about each Sunday can be found earlier in the blog. Thanks gang.

February 8- What Gospel Are You Proclaiming?
We Are Marching (closer)

February 15- Would You Take The Plunge?
Holy, Holy, Holy (From the Hymnal)
All Who Are Thirsty

February 22- Who's Lord Are You Proclaiming?
We Fall Down
With Kindness (New Tune- posted to this blog earlier) (closer)

February 1

Below is the sermon blurb for this Sunday. It's not very helpful for music but here are my thoughts anyway. Please share yours!

Scripture is Luke 19:1-9- the story of Zacchaeus in the tree.
Sermon- "Getting the Emphasis Right"

"Jesus was a Middle Easterner. We're Westerners. The potential for a cultural miss is pretty high. On top of that, this is one of those passages we know so well it has ceased to be the Gospel for us. We'll try to get it again. Or maybe it will get us..."

When I read this scripture I think of how people must have been looking at Jesus when he invited himself over to a tax collector's house. Zacchaeus is the one who undergoes the transformation though and the crowd is left to wondering why Jesus welcomes everyone into God's Kingdom. Are we missing out on the Kingdom because we are worried about who is in and who is out?

Working lineup...
All Are Welcome
Humble Thyself
Better Is One Day
Communion
Sent Out in Jesus' Name