Distinct Reflections

Vicky Beeching

Find of the month for me is been Vicky’s blog here. I hadn’t paid attention to it until Vicky came up in a twitter conversation with Carl Beech (who I know) but her blog touchs some important themes in the wider evangelical world.

Some recent posts tie into the debate about the feminisation of worship songs, but also of Vicky’s experience as a woman leading worship. These have been followed by posts on contemplative spirituality and being single. The audience is a cross section of evangelicals but (it seems to me) a bias towards those influenced by Vineyard, New Frontiers and the like.

Vicky comes across as someone who is thoughtful (having a degree in theology from Oxford), self aware and engaging. And how the church in the UK needs people who can critique what we do, engage theologically with the issues and then explain the good news in a winsome manner!

I’ve never met Vicky (though she is now on my list of people I would like to meet) but she is putting herself in a place of vulnerability and doing something really worthwhile. It is great to see someone with a 'worship profile' in the UK debating and interacting in a thoughtful manner.

How she finds time to do all the blog posts and twitter conversations is a mystery to me - but God bless you Vicky

Worship songs reworked

This has been doing the rounds whilst I was on holiday. Have a laugh but ask youself some questions.   

Easter Day

Wondering about an appropriate post for Easter day I'm reminded again of the words of Gregory Nazianzen. (Full text here)

It is the Day of the Resurrection.   

Yesterday I was crucified with Him; today I am glorified with Him; yesterday I was buried with Him; today I rise with Him. But let us offer to Him who suffered and rose again for us ….. let us offer ourselves. 

He assumed the worse that He might give us the better. He took upon Him the form of a servant that we might receive back our liberty; He came down that we might be exalted; He was tempted that we might conquer; He was dishonoured that He might glorify us; He died that He might save us; He ascended that He might draw to Himself us, who were lying low in the fall of sin. Let us give all, offer all, to Him who gave Himself a ransom and a reconciliation for us.   

Gregory Nazianzen Oration 1 on Easter.

A blessed Easter to everyone

Liturgy in worship

The church here mostly uses contemporary songs in worship but I often include some bits of liturgy, such as creeds and confessions, in leading services.

It seems to me that liturgy has several benefits. By using a limited range on a regular basis you help the congregation to become familiar with things which can positively shape our understanding of God and of the faith. By reciting them together everyone present is able to share in what is going on, which is not always so easy when singing. By using liturgy from the history of the church we connect our worship gatherings with the wider church. Careful use of liturgy enables you to choose words with theological depth.

My current list includes the Apostles and Nicene creeds, two confessions, Sursum Corda, and ‘Who do you seek’ from the Northumbria Community. I also have two prayers on powerpoint, one is a Lenten prayer from St Ephrem, and the other is a framework for intercessions. I’m planning to add the Gloria to the list at some point.

I’m interested to know what elements of liturgy others use or would like to. I’m not debating the benefits of liturgically crafted worship over other forms but specific items which can be used on a regular basis as I suggest above. Neither am I thinking about responsive prayers of intercession though something which gives a good framework would be welcome.

Also if you have a selection of songs or hymns which set the words (for example of the creeds) to music do let me know.

What would your top 3 liturgical items be?

Advent: O Antiphons

Over the last five years the Advent Antiphons have particularly resonated with me as we journey through advent. Originally the verses were used at daily prayer in the evenings of the last days of Advent, each antiphon is a name of Christ, one of the attributes mentioned in Scripture:

Dec 17 O Sapientia – Wisdom. "O Wisdom, you come forth from the mouth of the Most High. You fill the universe and hold all things together in a strong yet gentle manner. O come to teach us the way of truth." Isaiah 11:2-3

Dec 18 O Adonai – Lord. "O Adonai and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in a burning bush and you gave him the Law on Sinai. O come and save us with your mighty power." Isaiah 11:4-5

Dec 19 O Radix Jesse – Root of Jesse. "O root of Jesse, you stand as a signal for the nations; kings fall silent before you whom the peoples acclaim. O come to deliver us, do not delay." Isaiah 11:1, 10

Dec 20 O Clavis David – Key of David. "O key of David and sceptre of Israel, what you open no one else can close again; what you close no one can open. O come to lead the captive from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." Isaiah 9:7, 22:22

Dec 21 O Oriens – Morning Star. "O Rising Sun, you are the splendour of eternal light and the sun of justice. O come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." Isaiah 9:2

Dec 22 O Rex Gentium – King of the nations. "O King whom all the peoples desire, you are the cornerstone which makes all one. O come and save us who you made from clay." Isaiah 9:6

Dec 23 O Emmanuel – Emmanuel. "O Emmanuel, you are our king and judge, the One whom the peoples await and their Saviour. O come and save us, Lord, our God." Isaiah 7:14

The first letters of the titles taken backwards form a Latin acrostic “Ero Cras” “Tomorrow I will be there”.

As we journey through advent it is great to be able to join with the wider catholic (throughout the world and throughout time) church.

O Come, O come, Immanuel and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. 

PS: If you want to use the words and readings I've used, along with powerpoint slides and images just ask. I've often used them at the start of midnight communion on Christmas eve .

Good worship?

I see that the Free Kirk of Scotland has decided to change its practice and allow some musical instruments in worship here and transcript of proceedings

Interestingly the debate seems to have focused on Scriptural warrant for the actions rather than a theology of worship but it will be facinating to see what emerges in the months to come.

Christian music trends

An interesting conversation with someone involved in the Christian music scene in the UK got me thinking. Changing patterns of CD and download sales affect commercial viability making it harder for anyone not producing the ubiquitous worship album to survive and necessitating new creative solutions. Which makes me wonder:

Are the days of Christian bands which tour, sell CDs and spend their life doing concerts at Bible weeks and ‘evangelistic’ gigs over? Are they, like Coffee Bars, a feature of evangelical life which fitted a culture that has now passed? If so, is this because the days of big Christian gatherings, like Bible weeks, are on the wane or because using music as an evangelistic tool is passé?  

Is the problem about the style of evangelism or the style of music? Doing a gig, inviting people to put their hand up if they want to follow Jesus and counting the hands doesn’t make people disciples. It seems to me that the problem is not people wanting to sing about their faith, nor is it the blurring of the lines of worship, entertainment, evangelism (though there are some issues here), rather it is in the content of what is considered the gospel and the essence of what is communicated. Reducing the gospel to simple headlines when people have some knowledge of Jesus may be helpful but that is not the culture in which we live.  

Perhaps we will see the emergence of new forms of Christian music, not dependent either on music sales or the backing of evangelistic charities. Singers and songwriters whose music critiques and questions, but whose songs also invite the hearer to consider and respond to the call of God. Excellence usually requires resources and it will be interesting to see how a new generation of musicians get support for music that is not a modern ‘worship song’ nor part of a ‘gospel presentation’ but which is of artistic excellence and invites people to engage in the story of faith.

Worship gatherings - questions, questions, questions

Having a few days break this week (so no blogging) but the question of worship gatherings has been in my mind recently. As a church we have been looking at the future of our services as some grow in numbers and some decline. Among the questions are:

1. Content: to what extent should we aim to do what people want and to what extent should we do what we think best? (Or at what point does pastoral episkope become patronising boredom?) And what elements are integral to worship gatherings (what do we loose if there is no sermon and no singing)?

2. Commitment: it used to be, for many in a free church tradition, that attendance at Sunday worship was not only expected but it was anticipated that you would come to several services. What should our expectation be today and in any case what is the relationship between commitment to discipleship and attendance at church?

3. Convention: the pattern for many in recent decades has been morning and evening services; when the morning service is too large you simply have two morning services (and do childrens / youth work in one of them). But why? What other patterns are there and would they in fact work better in our culture?

4. God: the problem is all the questions above is that they place us centre stage whereas worship is about being drawn by the Spirit to confess who God is and gather in the name of Christ. It is about meeting as the humble people of God who acknowledge their falleness, give thanks for their redemption and reconciliation in Christ, and listen for the word of the Lord.

So no answers but lots of questions. I tried to sharpen them in my mind by asking myself, "if I could choose and design a worship gathering that suited me best, what time, format, etc would I choose?" And, "If God was to choose and design a worship gathering that suited me best.....?"

If you were to start with a blank canvas and design church worship gatherings what would be in your mind?

Good worship songs 2

There seem to be a lot of bloggers commenting on the paucity of good worship songs at present; consider John Stackhouse's harsh comments about Chris Tomlin, Ben Myerson hymn writers and Steve Holmesirenic tour of some lowlights from previous generations. I’m sure that there are positive contributions to be made to the debate but in the meantime here are some random thoughts about elements that are important to whatever songs / hymns we use in worship.

 

Transcendence: Some people draw a distinction between singing words to or about God on the one hand and the experience of singing songs as a vehicle for a felt experience of God (and the criteria upon which much modern worship music is judged is its perceived ability to facilitate the later). Whilst emotional experiences are subjective being moved by music is not bad. At its best worship points us beyond ourselves; our confession that Jesus is Lord and that God is ‘abba’ is evidence of the Spirit drawing us to participate in the worship of the triune God.

 

Creativity: Worship styles are reflective of our culture and history. Since these are elements of what it means to be created as human beings we should not view them negatively. Yet worship is also about us offering our best, not because worship is fundamentally about what we do for God (it isn’t) but because we believe that giving the best of our artistic, creative and intellectual endeavours is honouring to the God who is worthy of our praise. Worship is of course about what God does in us through the Spirit enabling us to participate in Christ’s worship of the Father. At its best worship evidences the creativity of the Spirit, changing us in the process.

 

Body of Christ: Whatever the early church did in worship (and let’s face it the evidence is that they didn’t sing much) the Scriptures encourages us to recognise our locatedness within the body of Christ. In Christ, we who are many form one body, we are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit, and our worship gatherings should both recognise the body of the Lord and seek to edify and build up the Church. At its best all church worship is Eucharistic.

 

Glory: The content of our worship gatherings should be God. In declaring our faith in God we are declaring the virtues of God’s character and, in particular, the faithfulness of Christ; in confession we recognise our own sin as falling short of God’s glory; in prayer we ask God to show aspects of his character as the one who loves and reconciles, brings healing and justice, recognising both God’s freedom and eschatological anticipation. In preaching we seek to set forth God’s self revelation as witnessed by the Scriptures, trusting that the Spirit will make this God's word to us. At its best worship is about the glory of God.

 

So what use might these thoughts be as we wrestle with the practicalities and limitations of preparing worship in a local church context? As a minimum they suggest a check list for every song/hymn we might choose:

1. Is what this song/hymn says about God actually true and would it make sense to most people singing it? (The list of lines which are either gross distortions of God’s nature, sheer drivel or which make no sense is so long examples are superfluous).
2. Is this song something the congregation can sing as a corporate expression of worship or is it essentially a performance by the music group with some congregational involvement? (If so, don’t sing it corporately, why not get the music group or choir to sing it like an anthem).
3. What function does this song/hymn have in worship? If corporate worship has a structure and flow then the selection of a particular song isn’t based on it being a favourite but on the contribution it makes to the service.
4. How does using this song/hymn bring glory to God?

 

Good worship songs

I've had a number of conversations recently with people who lament the quality of songs that we use in worship. For some it is the words that get to them, for others it is the musical style and for others it is the limited range of material (how many new songs are laments or confession?)

Clearly there is a debate to be had about the criteria for 'good' songs. I reckon that for songs to be useful in the life of the church they need to be

1. Written in the last 15-20 years
2. Found in commonly available song books or downloadable from the web.
3. Have a range and musical style that can be sung by most congregation and, ideally, be songs I might find myself humming one day.

4. Declare or reflect on some aspect of our faith such as a scripture text, credal affirmation or liturgical element of worship

My top three of the songs we currently use in church are

• What good is it (living for your glory)
• Your name, stronger than I know

• King of Kings, majesty

So what are your top three songs? And, if you were to encourage some new songs to be written, what would they be about?

Comments welcome...