i hear them all around me and i am constantly making beats with things like the turn signal or anything else that i hear. i don’t think it is that weird, im sure other musicians or drummers suffer from the same thing. i have always just thought that it added rhythm to my life, and in a way i guess it does, but over the past few years i have been seeking out a different rhythm for my life.

a couple of years ago i started getting books into the store on sabbath rhythms, they seemed to call out to me in the middle of my chaotic life…and now reading ancient future time by robert webber, it is giving me perspective, depth and rhythm that i have been longing for, for a long time.

be alive – written by michael clapp

click here for words and chords

this is a creative project for a course i am taking…incorporating thoughts and ideas that we have learned, been exposed to or are wrestling with from the course material.

We’ve talked about many things in the course, the nature of God, humans and worship, as well as the Kingdom Story of which we find ourselves in. This song speaks of the wrestling with thoughts of God and what truly makes us alive.

The chorus is meant to be that resounding call from Christ, awakening us from this sleepwalk so to speak, to new life.

The second verse incorporates some of N.T. Wrights language of echoes. There are things in this world that resonate deep within us, they are like echos of God’s voice calling us to something deeper, something greater.

All of creation declares this glorious story, like a song of praise, a song of hope…when my life is in line with that, I feel truly alive, or in a state of becoming more alive.

Moving into the chorus is that call from Christ, that there is new life for everyone, pouring out like wine… combining language of a lavish party and the blood of Christ/communion. It’s the gift that has been lavishly poured out on us…

I hope my attempt at an explanation hasn’t ruined the song for you…I welcome all comments and feedback!

i had some stuff that i wanted to do with the ending, but ran out of time…so it is what it is.

much thanks goes out to my good friend kevin willoughby at sepia studios for laying down the drum tracks and helping me record.

posting-an-mp3-to-your-blog

“The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” psalm 19 NIV

A creation says something about it’s creator, and it only takes one autumn drive through the blue ridge mountains, or a beautiful sunset on the bay or you fill in the blank… and you know, there is something wonderful and magnificent about the one who created this.

God’s creation reveals his glory. It has no choice…it’s very existence tells of his awesomeness. Even though we have free will, I would say that we give glory to God wether we want to or not. The very biological makeup of bodies tells of God’s magnificence. But yes, we do have a choice to acknowledge God for who he is, what he has done and what he is doing. Living our life in this way is worship.

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.” Romans 12:1 The Message

Music and creativity has a wonderful part in this. Being made in the image of the creator, we are a chip off the old block, we have the creative gene…and in whatever we do, we give the glory to God, because it is Him at work in and through us.

Being a creative musician, I never feel more alive or feel like I am doing what I was designed to do, than when I am creating music. I think music is a mysterious language that has the potential to transcend boundaries and unlock the doors of the heart like nothing else. And it is something that we can all grab onto, as it was said on one of the videos, it’s why “worship songs” have stood the test of time, it’s something that we can all do together, as one voice.

Getting people together and singing as one voice is a beautiful and weighty thing, therefore the songs that we sing should reflect the weight and beauty of such a moment. The songs that we sing should indeed celebrate the kingdom story in all its truth and glory, furthering that story to all who hear and upon hearing such a wonderful story, being moved to respond.

As a worship leader I am truly being challenged in a wonderful way. Im being challenged to look at the story I am telling, celebrate what we may be doing well, but look at the story that is being presented and how we can do it better. To make sure we are presenting God in all his attributes, worshiping in ways that celebrate the many aspects of God, declaring his truths so that we are growing in our knowledge and perception of the one true God as well as allowing  space for entering into his intimate presence…not that those two ideas necessarily have to be separated. I am working towards a more holistic approach.

From out of the fellowship and shared life of the Father, Son and Spirit – who has always been and always will be – came a birthing of creation. a canvas onto which God’s glory and wonder could be poured out, we are like speakers playing out the beautiful song of God.

We are his handiwork, his masterpiece, but what’s more is that we are given the opportunity to share in the dance. The dance of perfect love, joy, honor and unity that has been going on within the trinity for all time.

A sharing of the beauty.

Believing a lie, man chose to step outside of the fellowship, following his own way, placing himself under the influence of the deceiver. This turning away or separation from the fellowship – man becoming out of sync with his designated purpose – like a fish out of water, has brought the results of corruption and death.

Though man turned away, God did not. He called out to Adam and Eve, but they hid in the bushes, ashamed and unable to step into fellowship. “That call echoes throughout the whole history of Israel without answer. It echoes throughout your life and mine without answer. But now…inside our failure to answer, stands the incarnate Son of the Father”. 1

“God became flesh and dwelt among us” 2

“For that was the very purpose and end of our Lord’s Incarnation, that He should join what is man by nature to Him who is by nature God.” 3

Jesus, the incarnate Son of the Father, did what we could not. He bridged the gap between humanity and divinity. This unity is witnessed in John 17 where Jesus is praying to the Father for all of the believers, he uses the language “I in them and You in me”. 4 Because of this unity, when Jesus died on the cross, our corrupted humanity died with him, when God raised him from the dead, we were raised to new life in him. United once and for all.

“The truth is…you and your life have been overtaken by the abounding philanthropy of the Triune God. You have been included in the great dance. that is your identity, who you are and what your life is all about. That is what your motherhood and fatherhood are all about. That is what your gardening and your cookouts and your carpentry and work and love and friendships are all about. They are the ways the great dance of the Trinity is being played out in you.” 5

“The gospel is not an invitation. The gospel is a declaration of the truth. It declares to us that we have been recreated in Jesus, that we have been delivered from evil in Jesus Christ, that we have been given a new relationship with the Father in Jesus Christ. The gospel declares to us that in the incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Son of God, we were taken down and cleansed of all alienation; we were refashioned, recreated, born again; and we were lifted up into the circle of life shared by the Father, Son and Spirit, and there and then included in the great dance of the Triune God. “ 6

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I have been reading through N. T. Wright’s Simply Christian, and it has me thinking about our worship services. Are we telling the story? Sure, we are telling parts of the story, but are we telling the whole story… and do we need to?

“We know God through what he has done in creation, in Israel, and supremely through Jesus, and what he has done in his people and in the world through the Holy Spirit. Christian worship is praise of this God, the one who has done these things.” [1]

I don’t know, but something about this idea calls to me. somehow constructing a service that celebrates the story from beginning to end.

I was just having a conversation not too long ago with an Anglican friend of mine about taking communion every Sunday, and why he felt it was so important. And I have to say that i have never really thought about it,  it didn’t seem like a big deal to me, but that was the first time I was introduced to the idea that every service was a chance to tell, rehearse or celebrate the whole story. I like it. within this context i can understand.

This course and Wright’s book is definitely making me think about why we do what we do, and looking for better possible ways to tell the story.

This is a great thing.

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[1] N.T. Wright, Simply Christian, Why Christianity Makes Sense (New York:  Harper Collins Publishers, 2006), p. 150.

I have this tension with sharing THE good news. when it comes up in conversation it’s great, i feel this burning within me and there is nothing else quite like talking about it. But I hate the insensitivity with which I have seen it delivered at times…it just doesn’t become “good news” anymore. and because of this along with my introverted personality, i have steered clear of “evangelism” in the traditional sense, or making cold calls if that makes sense.

hearing the echos of …was it Francis of Assisi who said

“preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words”

but i have to say that N.T. Wright’s “Simply Christian” has really encouraged me in this area. Wright says that when the disciples were sent off by Jesus to proclaim the good news, “they knew that their message would make little or no sense to their hearers.” [1]

“And yet the early Christians discovered that telling this story carried a power which they regularly associated with the spirit, but which they often referred to as “the word.” [2]

“In other words, when you announce the good news that the risen Jesus is Lord, that very word is the word of God, a carrier agent of God’s spirit, a means by which, as Isaiah had predicted, new life from God’s dimension comes to bring new creation within ours (Isaiah 40:8; 55: 10-13).” [3]

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[1]  N.T. Wright, Simply Christian, Why Christianity Makes Sense (New York:  Harper Collins Publishers, 2006), p. 133.

[2] ibid, 134

[3] ibid, 134

wisdom of the sadhu

this is one of my all time favorite books, and it is being offered free as an ebook, along with a lot of other really good books. check em out.

leading people in worship is unlike anything else i have ever done.

it’s been about 7 years now since i was voted into position…it’s a long story and we’ll save it for another day, but yes i was voted into postion. i have learned a lot in these 7 years, and having no one to raise me up and show me the way of a worship leader, it was on the job training. ive always been passionate about music, playing and writing…and being passionate about God, well it just seems like a perfect fit.

leading people into worship gives you a perspective like no other. there is so many things to witness happening if you have eyes to see.  it is a priveledge to open the door to the holy of holies so to speak and invite people in. when i witness the moment when people do enter in, something just wells up in me, and at times it’s hard to keep composure. its as if God allows me a hint of the tears of joy feeling that he is experiencing at that moment…and sometimes it’s just too much, its all i can do just to continue playing the guitar until i can refocus. simply wonderful.

but, i have been feeling a deep conviction for some time now. a conviction that seems to be resounding with a lot of people. our songs will be sung long after the sermon is over, and so we must ask what are we teaching God’s people? we need to make sure our theology is good. i admit i can be a music snob sometimes, and so im a sucker for a really good sounding song…but i need to be more careful about the theology that i am teaching with my song choices.

i say all of this just to say that i am so thankful for Dan and the course, and where this is going to take all of us that are going through it.

looking forward.

i have never felt like setting one up, but i am taking a course that requires it…so words may start flowing at any moment…clickity clack, clickity clack, enter.

i may enjoy this.