Rocking Out

Remember CDs? You know, those shiny discs that were so popular before iTunes downloads became the easiest, quickest way to get music directly onto your iPod, which holds the equivalent of, oh, a billion CDs?

Well, I do. I keep all my CDs in this massive black binder of a case--hundreds of them. (Well, ok--I'll be honest. I used to keep them all in this massive black binder. Now only about a fourth of them are actually IN the binder. The rest are in stacks around the bedroom and in my car. Now I see why people like iPods (I have two, btw...iPods, that is. I know--oooh, the excess!).

But--CDs are still cool. Like, when your computer crashes because, you know, it gets flooded...and even though your documents are fine, your music files are corrupted...all is not lost! Because you still have the CDs. Which is where I am right now. I am in the process of re-loading all my music onto my NEW (well, new as of Valentine's Day) Macbook, which has replaced my crummy, waterlogged Dell.

In the process, I found some of my "old school" CDs that I hadn't listened to in a million years--or maybe five. Don't you just love that feeling that you get when you pop in one such CD, start bobbing your head along to the catchy rhythm, and then surprise yourself by remember ALL of the words?

Especially when it turns out the CD is just as rockin' awesome it was "back when?"

I do.

Anyone else remember Jars of Clay? LaRue? Mark Schultz? Considering Lily? Point of Grace's old stuff?

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome!!

This makes my final afternoon at work this week so much more enjoyable!!

Rock on, bloggy-friends...

Like an elephant graveyard...

My blog--where creativity comes to die.

I feel uncreative. I have no clever ideas or projects underway. Feeling uncreative is unsettling, depressing, and, well, boring.

I feel very vanilla today.

(Just keeping it real, folks.)

A Look At Christ-Centered Worship

For context, read my previous post here. If you've already read it, or context isn't really your thing, by all means read on!

As promised, I've compiled a brief sample from my "worship" playlist--either songs my husband and I have used when leading worship, or songs that have always made my heart sing, when it feels like it or not; these songs aren't about "us," or our response to God so much as they are about God himself, about the glory of the cross, and about Christ's redeeming work. When they are "about us," they serve primarily as a reminder of our constant need for such a glorious Savior.

* "Sing to the King," by Billy Foote

I love this song for this reason--even though it's a call for US to praise, it clearly focuses that praise on the person and work on Jesus Christ. It's a song full of rich truths--"Life and salvation/His empire shall bring/And joy to the nations when Jesus is King/...'cause Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King." Satan is VANQUISHED. He no longer has any power. Christ has won the battle, and He is returning to bring life and salvation to those who believe. What a powerful truth to proclaim!

* "Come Thou Fount," by Robert Robinson and John Wyeth

This classic hymn has regained popularity over the past few years, and though some prefer to "modernize" the words, I prefer the original, with powerful phrases like, "Here I raise mine Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I come./And I hope by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home./Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God./He to rescue me from danger interposed his precious blood." The blood of Christ offends people. The cross of Christ offends people. But without the blood, without the cross of Christ, Christianity is meaningless. We should SING about His blood, about His PRECIOUS SACRIFICE, about how apart from Him and His GRACE, we can never truly live.

* "Offering," by Paul Baloche

This song was actually sung by my uncle at our wedding. It boldly proclaims that nothing can compare to the love of Christ, and that it's ONLY THROUGH HIS BLOOD that we can approach the throne of God.

* "Before the Throne of God Above," words by Charitie Bancroft; music by Vikki Cook

This beautiful song has been a wonderful reminder of great Scriptural truth--and because it's such a singable song, it's easy to remember, even when verses of Scripture escape my recollection. Every word, every line points back to Christ--the great High Priest, the sinless Savior, the risen Lamb, the great unchangeable I AM, the King of Glory and grace. My favorite lines are, "When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see him there who made AN END of all my sin."

Other Favorites:

* "A Mighty Fortress," by Christy and Nathan Nockels

* "Sweet, Sweet Sound," by Sarah Reeves and Ed Cash

* "It is Well," by Horatio G. Spafford

* "Blessed Be Your Name," by Matt Redman

* "In the Valley," by Bob Kauflin
* "Blessed Assurance," by Fanny Crosby and Phoebe Knapp

* "Worthy of Worship," by Mark Blankenship

* "Your Grace Still Amazes Me," by Shawn Craig and Connie Harrington

* "You Are God Alone (Not a God)," by Billy and Cindy Foote

And honestly, I could sit here all morning adding songs to this list. This really is just a small sampling. Again, I'll open up the floor for comments--what are the songs on your playlist?

Why do the "I's" always have it?

With the emotional weight placed on worship in the church today, is it okay to admit that sometimes I just don't feel like singing? It often seems that many songs sung in church are all about "I love you, God. I bow down! I worship you! I love you!" Even lamentations are sung to upbeat guitars and an often overpowering rhythm section. It almost seems like the point behind many of the songs isn't so much to worship God through our songs or to see God glorified, but rather to amp up the "passion," the "fervor," the "excitement" of those singing the song. The songs we sing become about us, about our response to God, about our need for God. The awesome God of the universe gets lost in all the "I's."

I'm not saying those songs do not have a place in worship. I love God...with my whole heart. I praise him; that's what I live to do. Some days, I can't say "I love you, God" enough. But in my praise, I'm not always happy. I'm not always 100% prepared to worship. My head hurts. I'm tired. I'm so stressed that I can't come up with a creative way to praise. I don't feel like singing. I run out of words. I don't feel like bowing down. I know I'm hungry, but I don't always want to come to Him.

In worship, as in life, we don't always have to be upbeat. Would it really be a bad thing to sing a song now and again about how sometimes our words do run dry? About how sometimes we don't feel like singing? About how we praise him despite our emptiness (or sadness, or blah-ness, etc,) because, ultimately, praise isn't ABOUT us? Instead of hiding behind emotionalism and electric guitar, would it ruin the mood to be honest about our emotions, put them in their place, and then praise God because he's GOD--not because when we're hungry, he satisfies or because we could (theoretically) sing of his love forever?

There are songs that do break the mold. Songs that deal with life, human nature, and most importantly the CROSS OF CHRIST are a breath of fresh air, even if sometimes you have to look far and wide to find them (especially ones that aren't already sung into the ground). When my husband and I are blessed with opportunities to lead worship, we diligently search for songs that are Christ-centric, Gospel-driven, and honest. If you give me a day or two, I'll try to compile a list of songs that we never get tired of singing...in the meantime, what are some of your favorite hymns or songs?

Soli Deo Gloria.

What should preaching "be"? What should preaching "do"?

Preaching doesn't have to be hip.
Preaching doesn't have to be flashy.
Preaching doesn't have to be eloquent.
Preaching doesn't even have to be earth-shattering in its revelations.

But preaching does have to be biblical, and it does have to be.



I think I first ran across the video via Jared at Gospel Driven Church, but I just stumbled across it again on YouTube yesterday. This clip is part of a talk Matt Chandler gave at the Desiring God Pastors Conference in February of this year.

I believe Matt Chandler would also add that one absolutely vital funtion of preaching is that it should train people in godliness.

"The Gospel is ever present.
Good doctrine is ever present.
It reveals the former errors."

But first you have to preach.

At the church my husband and I attend, there is no "preaching" this summer during the church's two summer sessions, at least no preaching in the traditional sense. After the songs have been sung, we divide into groups, led by various members of the congregation, including our two main pastors.

One group is a book group; one group is a musical group, where they bring instruments and discuss elements of worship; one group is discussing the role of the Holy Spirit; one group (the largest) sits and watches Nooma videos and then discusses.

None of these groups is "bad." The question, though, is where is the preaching? And beyond that, where is the accountability?

I sat in on the Nooma session two Sundays ago, and there was no one in a position of leadership to direct and guide the discussion. There was a "leader," and discussion was occuring, but on more than one occasion, I heard someone give an interpretation of something said on the video that was (to be perfectly honest) in (direct or indirect) contradiction to what Scripture teaches. But without someone in a pastoral role with the authority and respect to correct and to guide, the unspoken attitude was "there's no wrong answer."

In regards to the teaching and interpretation of Scripture, it is safe to say there are wrong answers. I hold strongly that preaching, regardless of how hip, eloquent, or earth-shattering it is, should always seek to train in godliness, and the Gospel should be always present in preaching.

When the pastor isn't preaching, how will the people be trained in godliness?

In our church's current scenario, I suppose we train ourselves.

Thoughts?

Go All Out.

Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.

Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church--a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor--since they're already "one" in marriage.

No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.

--Ephesians 5:22-33, Eugene Peterson's The Message

Thank you, baby, for going all out. Happy 10 months!

Not Me! Monday

This past week is pretty much a blur--a good blur, but a blur.

BUT I most definitely did NOT get excited when I heard the intro music for Click and Clack's Car Talk radio show on NPR yesterday. I would not give my husband THAT satisfaction. (Teehee.) Oh, and I did NOT know the answer to one of the caller's questions and then feel incredibly proud that I even knew what a break rotor was, much less that hers were warped.

I certainly did NOT not do laundry and then race around looking for clean clothes to wear to work. Oh, and I did NOT prancy-dance around this morning while brushing my teeth, humming "Brush your teeth, ch-ch-ch-ch, ch-ch-ch-ch-ch" a la Raffi in my head.

To visit the mastermind behind Not Me! Mondays and to hang out with other cool ladies comfortable with denial, skip, hop, or jump over to MckMama's blog. As of now, HER Not Me! Monday post is not up, but according to her twitter update, she WILL try to get one posted sometime today. Happy Monday!

Quote of the Day

"Imagination does not breed insanity. Exactly what does breed insanity is reason." --G.K. Chesterton

I could write a whole book about this one little quote, but instead I'll say just this--reason and rationality can easily stifle our natural (dare I say childlike?) wonder and awe at what God has done. I do not suggest that we completely abandon reason, but when we live our lives by reason alone, our imaginations cease to comprehend the awesomeness of God. When the awesomeness of God is not foremost in our minds, we go insane, striving after things that continually leave us empty.

Let us embrace imagination. Creativity. Passion. Our God is a God of such things. We should rejoice in our freedom to creatively and passionately glorify God with our minds...and our imagination.

Unexplained Absence Explained

I meant to post awhile back, announcing my mini-blogging-vacation, but alas, I...forgot.

So, now I am back. It's June 1st, it's a new month, and I'm feeling good. Refreshed. Wonderful. Fantastic. You get the idea.

To explain, I had gotten so wrapped up in my bloggy world, reading everything my bloggy friends had to say, that I had, um, misplaced some of my priorities. See, I am a very empathetic person, and I had gotten so wrapped up in the lives of what Daniel calls my "fake friends" that I was honest-to-goodness stressed out and running on an empty emotional gas-tank. (Now, a word to my bloggy friends--you are in no way fake. You are all very real, and I love and appreciate you. But I really did need the break.)

So--after a brief two week vacation--I am BACK. I had a lot of time to think, and pray, and talk with Daniel, and I've decided to continue blogging on a "when I feel like it" basis. Having never truly mastered the daily blogging thing, this really shouldn't alter my posting habits one bit. Just letting you know what's going on in my head.

To start things off right (optimistic, much?), I'll probably post again later on today. (I really have missed this!)