Music and chord charts for all my songs will soon be available at immersedmusic.com. You can also order both All Glory and Immersed there.
In the mean time, if you need a chord chart, you can email me at david@davidpaulregier.com.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Jesus Christ is Lord
One of the phrasings of the gospel that I have heard throughout my life is that of "making Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of your life."
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
(Acts 2:36 ESV)
God has made Jesus both Lord and Savior. For me to make Him Lord and Savior is like me making the sun shine. He is Who He is. The question before me is, "What do I do now?"
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
(Acts 2:36 ESV)
God has made Jesus both Lord and Savior. For me to make Him Lord and Savior is like me making the sun shine. He is Who He is. The question before me is, "What do I do now?"
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Idolater Repents: A Parable in Miniature
Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, "Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire." But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god." They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.
(Isaiah 44:14-18 NASB)
So the idolater, having heard what a fool he is for carving wood into idols that can't see him or hear his prayers, repents and gets rid of all the idols. In fact, he is so sorry for his foolishness that he swears off the use of wood forever. Cold and hungry, he perishes.
How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
(Psalms 40:4 NASB)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
New CD by David Regier and Scott Hill
"Immersed," my new CD with Scott Hill is now available on iTunes and Amazon.com.
I wrote all the songs except "I Surrender All."
Hope you're blessed.
I wrote all the songs except "I Surrender All."
Hope you're blessed.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Watches
There was a man who admired fine Swiss timepieces. He absorbed the history of watchmaking, gloried in the intricate works, thrilled at the gentle sweep of the second hand in the finest watches.
Whenever he had 5, 10, or 20 bucks, he went out and bought an imitation of one of these beautiful watches. He ordered them online, he bought them from the streetcorner hoodlum. Sometimes when he got a little extra money, he'd buy a more expensive replica, even though its second hand lurched forward just like the cheap ones. He knew their works were far inferior to those of the Swiss watches he adored, and he freely admitted it, always pointing out to people how much he truly valued the real deal.
He kept buying the replicas. He probably had a thousand of them.
Whenever he had 5, 10, or 20 bucks, he went out and bought an imitation of one of these beautiful watches. He ordered them online, he bought them from the streetcorner hoodlum. Sometimes when he got a little extra money, he'd buy a more expensive replica, even though its second hand lurched forward just like the cheap ones. He knew their works were far inferior to those of the Swiss watches he adored, and he freely admitted it, always pointing out to people how much he truly valued the real deal.
He kept buying the replicas. He probably had a thousand of them.
Monday, January 26, 2009
A True Parable
There was a group of Christian farmers in Russia during the 1870's. Facing extermination or exile, they had their children pick through the wheat, saving the best kernels in giant seedbags. The rest they baked into hard rolls to sustain them on their journey to America.
Once here, they settled in the unforgiving prairie land of the Midwest. But their healthy, hardy winter wheat thrived in the harsh conditions. Eventually it became the standard throughout America's farmland, the breadbasket of the world.
Once here, they settled in the unforgiving prairie land of the Midwest. But their healthy, hardy winter wheat thrived in the harsh conditions. Eventually it became the standard throughout America's farmland, the breadbasket of the world.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
A parable
There was a man who, having taken a shower, put on the sweaty, grungy t-shirt that he had been wearing for the whole week. It fit him well, and it was very comfortable. But no one wanted to get near him. At last he figured out that people don't like seeing a dirty t-shirt, so he put a clean one on top. It was really uncomfortable and tight, but it covered up the smell some, at least for a little while.
Col. 3:1-17
Col. 3:1-17
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Can this be done without trying to sound like U2?
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
(Col 3:16 NASB)
(Col 3:16 NASB)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Weeds revisited
For the sake of the couple of people who commented on "Weeds" (thank you!), I'm going to put in my two or three cents.
The two suggestions I received were to (a) leave it to the gardener and (b) Round-Up (tm). Interestingly enough, I considered mentioning both possibilities when I originally wrote the post, almost in the same words.
Now, scripture is abundantly clear that I am the gardener. I don't own this yard. Even when I thought I did, and treated it like I did, I didn't. I am a steward, not a landowner. Now, I know the Landowner, and have come to know His benificience in allowing me a great deal of freedom in tending the yard. But it's His land, and He is counting on me to care for the garden.
He is also abundantly available for every resource I need to care for the yard. He has made it clear that He will provide any tool, any fertilizer, any seed, all kinds of instruction, and even personal assistance for the care of this garden. He wants His garden to be fruitful.
There are rules for its use, of course. There are some seeds that I am never to plant, because the Landowner knows that they can easily overtake the garden. There are seasons in which I should not plant so the soil can rest and receive nourishment. And most of all, I should never forget that the garden belongs to the Landowner and not to me.
The land was cleared when it was purchased. But the seeds of weeds can blow in from other fields. It falls to me (with the Landowner's abundant assistance and resource) to continue to care for the land, constantly and joyfully presenting it to Him, rejoicing with Him in its fruit.
Round-Up (tm) was going to be a little stinger on the end of the "Weeds" post. But if you read the label, you realize that where you use it, nothing's going to grow for several months. It gets the weeds out of the in the sidewalk really well. But if you want fruit, you'd better use other means. Jesus' is not Round-Up.
Thanks for the comments. I hope to be posting more often soon.
The two suggestions I received were to (a) leave it to the gardener and (b) Round-Up (tm). Interestingly enough, I considered mentioning both possibilities when I originally wrote the post, almost in the same words.
Now, scripture is abundantly clear that I am the gardener. I don't own this yard. Even when I thought I did, and treated it like I did, I didn't. I am a steward, not a landowner. Now, I know the Landowner, and have come to know His benificience in allowing me a great deal of freedom in tending the yard. But it's His land, and He is counting on me to care for the garden.
He is also abundantly available for every resource I need to care for the yard. He has made it clear that He will provide any tool, any fertilizer, any seed, all kinds of instruction, and even personal assistance for the care of this garden. He wants His garden to be fruitful.
There are rules for its use, of course. There are some seeds that I am never to plant, because the Landowner knows that they can easily overtake the garden. There are seasons in which I should not plant so the soil can rest and receive nourishment. And most of all, I should never forget that the garden belongs to the Landowner and not to me.
The land was cleared when it was purchased. But the seeds of weeds can blow in from other fields. It falls to me (with the Landowner's abundant assistance and resource) to continue to care for the land, constantly and joyfully presenting it to Him, rejoicing with Him in its fruit.
Round-Up (tm) was going to be a little stinger on the end of the "Weeds" post. But if you read the label, you realize that where you use it, nothing's going to grow for several months. It gets the weeds out of the in the sidewalk really well. But if you want fruit, you'd better use other means. Jesus' is not Round-Up.
Thanks for the comments. I hope to be posting more often soon.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Weeds
Our back yard is in the process of going native. This is not by my choice or design. There are simply plants coming up in our lawn that want to be there more than grass does.
I’ve noticed two types of weeds. One kind has a shallow root system, but has tendrils that weave their way through the lawn. Unless you untangle every last tentacle from the blades of grass, the weed will break off at its stem and come back with a vengeance within a week or so. One must apply a great deal of patience in unraveling such a tangled weed.
The other kind is easy to spot because it’s tall and leafy. It looks like you could just grab, tug, and be done with it. But the thick, meaty root drives straight down to the pit of hell. I’m almost certain that the tip is hot. But unless you loosen the dirt around it and pull firmly straight up, a weed taller and stronger will grow up from the root before you know it. Once more, a concerted effort must be applied.
I’ve tried working on these weeds once a week, taking a few hours on the weekend. But I notice that I miss a lot of them, and the ones I let go seem to spread beyond my ability to keep them under control. I end up frustrated.
So I’m going to take some time each morning for the next few weeks to see what happens if I concentrate on particular sections of the lawn, one at a time. Then, on the weekend, I should be able to fertilize, pick out the few straggling weeds, and maybe do some seeding.
I’m hoping that my lawn looks better by the end of the summer.
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Peter 1:5-8 NASB)
I’ve noticed two types of weeds. One kind has a shallow root system, but has tendrils that weave their way through the lawn. Unless you untangle every last tentacle from the blades of grass, the weed will break off at its stem and come back with a vengeance within a week or so. One must apply a great deal of patience in unraveling such a tangled weed.
The other kind is easy to spot because it’s tall and leafy. It looks like you could just grab, tug, and be done with it. But the thick, meaty root drives straight down to the pit of hell. I’m almost certain that the tip is hot. But unless you loosen the dirt around it and pull firmly straight up, a weed taller and stronger will grow up from the root before you know it. Once more, a concerted effort must be applied.
I’ve tried working on these weeds once a week, taking a few hours on the weekend. But I notice that I miss a lot of them, and the ones I let go seem to spread beyond my ability to keep them under control. I end up frustrated.
So I’m going to take some time each morning for the next few weeks to see what happens if I concentrate on particular sections of the lawn, one at a time. Then, on the weekend, I should be able to fertilize, pick out the few straggling weeds, and maybe do some seeding.
I’m hoping that my lawn looks better by the end of the summer.
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Peter 1:5-8 NASB)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Dried Up
The winter rains we had here in Southern California have caused the bugs to be fruitful and multiply. Our yard has become a happy haven for beetles, flies, butterflies, ants and moths. The spiders are happy too, and fat.
This past weekend we got our first taste of the hot hot hot summer in the inland desert. As the temperatures approached the century mark for the third day, I noticed some unusual pods lying on our backyard patio. At first I thought they were empty spider egg cases, until I picked one up, and it disintegrated. I looked closer at another, and found that it was a dried-up moth.
Funny, how creatures made of dust could dry up and fall apart when they’re disconnected from their source of water and exposed to a little heat.
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1:1-6 (NASB)
This past weekend we got our first taste of the hot hot hot summer in the inland desert. As the temperatures approached the century mark for the third day, I noticed some unusual pods lying on our backyard patio. At first I thought they were empty spider egg cases, until I picked one up, and it disintegrated. I looked closer at another, and found that it was a dried-up moth.
Funny, how creatures made of dust could dry up and fall apart when they’re disconnected from their source of water and exposed to a little heat.
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1:1-6 (NASB)
Monday, October 22, 2007
Infected!
Thanks to Alan Knox, I've been infected with the 10-20-30 virus. So here's what I was doing 10, 20, and 30 years ago.
1997 -- I had just moved out here to Southern California with my wife, Darlene. We had felt the Lord's prompting for me to go into worship ministry. Hadn't found a church yet, so I was teaching guitar and piano lessons, and we were both desperately looking for work. We lived with Darlene's parents the first few months we were out here. That was plenty.
1987 -- Spent a crazy year in Boston at Berklee College of Music. Worked at a pushcart selling t-shirts. The best thing I can say about this year was that I learned how God's Holy Spirit keeps hold of us even when we are disobedient.
1977 -- Wow. I was 10. I was the second smallest kid in my class (Thanks, Randy McDonald), and had thick glasses. My home church was Garden Park Mennonite Brethren Church. When I dream about church, that's still the place, more often than not, where I am. Had a great science teacher in school, who let me draw little cartoons on my assignments. Learned to like adults better than kids, and family better than school.
1997 -- I had just moved out here to Southern California with my wife, Darlene. We had felt the Lord's prompting for me to go into worship ministry. Hadn't found a church yet, so I was teaching guitar and piano lessons, and we were both desperately looking for work. We lived with Darlene's parents the first few months we were out here. That was plenty.
1987 -- Spent a crazy year in Boston at Berklee College of Music. Worked at a pushcart selling t-shirts. The best thing I can say about this year was that I learned how God's Holy Spirit keeps hold of us even when we are disobedient.
1977 -- Wow. I was 10. I was the second smallest kid in my class (Thanks, Randy McDonald), and had thick glasses. My home church was Garden Park Mennonite Brethren Church. When I dream about church, that's still the place, more often than not, where I am. Had a great science teacher in school, who let me draw little cartoons on my assignments. Learned to like adults better than kids, and family better than school.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Confession
Let’s tackle another auto-pilot verse. This is one of the ones we learn early in the Christian life, whether it’s in Sunday School, VBS, or a new believer’s discipleship class.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(1Jo 1:9 NASB)
I carried this verse around with me for most of my Christian life, thinking that this meant, “When I sin, I’ll just pray a little confession prayer, and my sin is gone. Nobody else ever has to know, and it’s as if I’d never sinned.” If someone questioned me about my sin, I could lie my way out of it. Now that’s another sin, but of course it’s again easily remedied by my little confession prayer.
Reading it in context provides a different perspective on John’s meaning in this verse:
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
(1Jo 1:5-10 NASB)
Notice the “one another” buried in the middle of that passage. I am beginning to realize that the confession that John is talking about may mean more than confessing in a private prayer to God. The fellowship spoken of here is both with God and with His church. The more I meditate on this passage, the more I am convinced that John is prescribing the antidote to the masks that we wear in the church. An earlier letter to the church says:
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
(Jam 5:16 NASB)
Fellowship comes from walking in the light together. If we withhold our sins from one another, we lose fellowship, and we lose the opportunity for healing. Perhaps fellowship is the instrument that God uses to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
It’s a scary thought, living in that sort of transparency. But the steps I have begun to take in this direction have helped me to look at this as more of an invitation than a command.
In any case, it’s not what I learned in Sunday School. Your thoughts?
Monday, August 27, 2007
A Spiritual Worship Service
As long as we’re on the subject of going on auto-pilot with familiar passages, I’d like to continue in this thread. Romans 12:1-2 gets a lot of coverage:
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
(Rom 12:1-2 NASB)
What a rich passage! It seems I could camp out in there for an eternity, considering what it means to offer my body as a sacrifice to God. And being transformed, renewing my mind, proving God’s good, acceptable and perfect will; these are amazing commands and promises for the believer. That’s what I want for my life!
But wait. Let’s see what follows:
For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
(Rom 12:3-5 NASB)
You mean, once I have this sacrificed body, this transformed mind, knowing the will of God, I’m supposed to be humble? I thought this was supposed to make me better than those other people! You mean I’m stuck here? What is that supposed to do for my self-esteem?
Paul goes on to describe how we use the gifts we have in the body of Christ. Each one does according to his gift: prophesying, teaching, exhorting, giving, aiding, being merciful, and so on. This is the spiritual act of worship, the living sacrifice Paul is talking about. It happens in the body of Christ, the church. It’s not solitaire.
Paul loves to talk about the living, breathing connection we have with one another as the body of Christ. Because it’s so obviously filled with love! Listen:
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
(Rom 12:9-13 NASB)
What a beautiful place the church is when this happens! It has little to do with what music is being sung, how cool the sanctuary looks, or the worship leader’s haircut. Those who live out the fullness of this passage in authenticity are true worshipers.
Unity in Worship
Have you ever found yourself, while reading scripture, going on auto-pilot when you come to a passage that is familiar to you? Perhaps it’s one of those verses you learned early in your life, or one you’ve memorized as part of a study.
It’s easy to forget the context, and even the full meaning, of those scriptures as we read them. In my case, here is a passage that I love:
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(Phi 2:5-11 NASB)
What a great study this is on the character of Jesus Christ! I have studied this, incorporated it into song, sung many other songs based upon it, and committed it to memory. What I often do as I am reading in Philippians 2 is skim right past this:
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
(Phi 2:1-4 NASB)
In other words, if there is anything to this gospel at all, we must have the same mind, love, spirit, and purpose! And we must do this out of humility! Needless to say, I have not found many songs about this. And I certainly haven’t (yet) written any!
But notice what amazing power is there as we consider this. As we humble ourselves, as we empty ourselves, as we unite ourselves in spirit and purpose, we will see the encouragement of Christ, the consolation of love and the fellowship of the Spirit. We will see affection and compassion grow in our lives and in our churches.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Spam Haiku
Just for fun:
1. Bluish can of steel
What promise do you hold?
Salty flesh so ripe
2. Can of metal, slick
Soft center, so cool, moistening
I yearn for your salt
3. Twist, pull the sharp lid
Jerks and cuts me deeply but
Spam, aah, my poultice
4. Silent former pig
One communal awareness
Myriad pink bricks
5. Clad in metal, proud
No mere salt-curing for you
You are not bacon
6. And who dares mock Spam?
You? you? you are not worthy
Of one rich pink fleck
7. Like some spongy rock
A granite, my piece of Spam
Sunlight on my plate
8. Little slab of meat
In a wash of clear jelly
Now I heat the pan
9. Oh tin of pink meat
I ponder what you may be:
Snout or ear or feet?
10. In the cool morning
I fry up a slab of Spam
A dog barks next door
11. Pink tender morsel
Glistening with salty gel
What the heck is it?
12. Ears, snouts and innards
A homogeneous mass
Pass another slice
13. Old man seeks doctor
"I eat Spam daily", he says.
Angioplasty
14. Hardly natural
Tortured shape, elastic food
A small pink coffin
15. Pink beefy temptress
I can no longer remain
Vegetarian
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The Body of Christ (again)
Ephesians 4:11-16 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (ESV)
Worship leaders don't make Paul's explicit list. Our job description is more often taken from the OT. Lately, so are most of the worship songs, I've noticed. Lots of Psalms, some of the prophets. I see on the blogs lots of songwriters talking about expressing themselves to God (a very Psalm-like aim). In itself, there's nothing wrong with that. But I've seen it stated that that's the only thing that matters in a worship song. And I can't agree with that.
The role of a worship leader can include many, if not all, of the roles outlined in this passage. Apostles proclaim what they've experienced. Prophets call people to align themselves to God's ways. Evangelists seek to expose people to the Good News. Shepherds guide, comfort, and care for the flock. Teachers, well, teach.
Now, obviously, different people are gifted in different ways. No one person will have all those gifts, whether a senior pastor (minister, preacher), worship leader, elder, or whoever. That's why we need each other, and that's why we're a body.
But let's get back to songs for a moment. Are there songs out there that proclaim, that prophesy, that evangelize, that comfort, that teach? Is it acceptable to use them on Sunday?
And look at the end to which these things are done. Equipping, building up the body of Christ, attaining to unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God.
Obviously, we need more than songs that praise God for His beautiful creation. Our worship must, must, be Christ-centered. Worship is absolutely incomplete without Jesus. Worship cannot get to the Father without the Son. Worship cannot be "Spirit-led" without the Son.
May God move us to broaden our worship to encompass the fullness of Him who fills all in all!
“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
Worship leaders don't make Paul's explicit list. Our job description is more often taken from the OT. Lately, so are most of the worship songs, I've noticed. Lots of Psalms, some of the prophets. I see on the blogs lots of songwriters talking about expressing themselves to God (a very Psalm-like aim). In itself, there's nothing wrong with that. But I've seen it stated that that's the only thing that matters in a worship song. And I can't agree with that.
The role of a worship leader can include many, if not all, of the roles outlined in this passage. Apostles proclaim what they've experienced. Prophets call people to align themselves to God's ways. Evangelists seek to expose people to the Good News. Shepherds guide, comfort, and care for the flock. Teachers, well, teach.
Now, obviously, different people are gifted in different ways. No one person will have all those gifts, whether a senior pastor (minister, preacher), worship leader, elder, or whoever. That's why we need each other, and that's why we're a body.
But let's get back to songs for a moment. Are there songs out there that proclaim, that prophesy, that evangelize, that comfort, that teach? Is it acceptable to use them on Sunday?
And look at the end to which these things are done. Equipping, building up the body of Christ, attaining to unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God.
Obviously, we need more than songs that praise God for His beautiful creation. Our worship must, must, be Christ-centered. Worship is absolutely incomplete without Jesus. Worship cannot get to the Father without the Son. Worship cannot be "Spirit-led" without the Son.
May God move us to broaden our worship to encompass the fullness of Him who fills all in all!
“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
Friday, September 08, 2006
Spirit and truth
I'm really wrestling right now with how to go deeper in corporate worship. There's a discipleship issue here, something for the leader to actually lead the congregation in. Part of it, of course, has to do with music, but the fact is that music is just the frosting on the cake of our overall worship lives.
In John chapter 4, Jesus talks to the woman at the well about worshiping God in spirit and truth. Spirit is the part of our lives where we connect with God the deepest. Truth, of course, is God's word. But it's also the truth of where we line up with God's word.
If we're lacking spirit, the deep personal connection with God, the truth will be there, but will be ineffective in our lives. If we're lacking truth, God's intimate presence will not change us.
Lately I've been filling myself with lots of truth, but I notice that I'm lacking in spirit. The willingness to connect with God, to say "yes" to Him at the deepest level, is what I'm struggling with. My prayers are that God would speak, touch and change my heart.
In John chapter 4, Jesus talks to the woman at the well about worshiping God in spirit and truth. Spirit is the part of our lives where we connect with God the deepest. Truth, of course, is God's word. But it's also the truth of where we line up with God's word.
If we're lacking spirit, the deep personal connection with God, the truth will be there, but will be ineffective in our lives. If we're lacking truth, God's intimate presence will not change us.
Lately I've been filling myself with lots of truth, but I notice that I'm lacking in spirit. The willingness to connect with God, to say "yes" to Him at the deepest level, is what I'm struggling with. My prayers are that God would speak, touch and change my heart.
Friday, August 25, 2006
The Body of Christ
Over the past several years, there's been a trend toward approaching worship "vertically." We're told as worship leaders to lead people in direct, first-person worship of God; to sing songs to God rather than songs about God. But that, by itself, affirms an individualistic attitude that should be foreign to the body of Christ. For we are one body, members of one another, with a single head, who is Christ (Ephesians 4). And we should encourage one another, stimulating each other to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10).
I'm challenged to find and to write songs that aim towards this horizontal encouragement. One needs both the vertical (which is of course greater) and the horizontal to make a cross. Putting both together completes the sacrifice of worship.
I'm challenged to find and to write songs that aim towards this horizontal encouragement. One needs both the vertical (which is of course greater) and the horizontal to make a cross. Putting both together completes the sacrifice of worship.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
By way of further introduction. . .
I'm also a writer of worship songs. I recently released a CD entitled, "All Glory" (hence the name of the blog). The title song was recently signed to a publishing agreement with Word Music. The CD is available by contacting me through my website.
As far as the blog goes, I'm interested in creating a dialogue about how we worship in the church. I'm very much a church guy, so it's my goal to see these things worked out in the body of Christ. Obviously, worship means far more than just music, but music is our opportunity to say and sing things that we believe corporately. I'm looking forward to hearing your comments and responses.
As far as the blog goes, I'm interested in creating a dialogue about how we worship in the church. I'm very much a church guy, so it's my goal to see these things worked out in the body of Christ. Obviously, worship means far more than just music, but music is our opportunity to say and sing things that we believe corporately. I'm looking forward to hearing your comments and responses.
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