Bawling nor Drawling: Worship According to Wesley

Think of your favorite hymn or worship chorus. Got it? Now imagine the whole congregation singing robustly every verse and chorus. I believe there are few things that do a soul better than engaging in unified worship of this kind. Now imagine another situation. Right after your favorite song, the leader begins a song you find quite distasteful. Perhaps a brand new song from the radio, perhaps a dusty old hymn that has words you don’t understand. What do you do? Sitting down is too obvious and people would notice, so you roll your eyes, stand statuesque, and endure until you get to sit down. This is not a time to point fingers; we have all been there, myself more than most I’m sure. As I have led worship in churches for over a decade, there have been many songs I’ve chosen with which my heart did not full engage, or even that I didn’t like, frankly. However, the reality is that my preferences will never fully align with another individual, let alone an entire congregation! For God’s people whom I am called to serve, my job is to facilitate their ability to “fully consecrate all of [their] faculties to His glory” (Dr. Schmutzer).  John Wesley, 18th century theologian and brother of the great hymn-writer Charles Wesley, gives five observations about healthy congregational singing which are still valid for us today, over 250 years after he penned them.

1. SING ALL. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing.

2. SING LUSTILY and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you are half-dead or half-asleep, but lift up your voice with strength.

3. SING MODESTLY. Do not bawl (to bellow or thunder) so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation— that you may not destroy the harmony— but strive to unite your voices together so as to make one clear melodious sound.

4. SING IN TIME. Do not run before nor stay behind it… and take care not to sing too slowly. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from among us.

5. ABOVE ALL, SING SPIRITUALLY. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve of here, and reward you when He cometh in the clouds of heaven.

Each church member is an individual part of the Body of Christ, and while the opinions of the “hand” and “foot” will certainly differ at times, our self-sacrifice and obedience to Jesus and His word brings unity to the Body. Every member comes from a different place, whether it be age, country of origin, family background, money, social status, etc. We are all under the headship of Jesus Christ, and our worship to Him is the unifying factor of the church. The teenager owes it to the senior saints to “sing lustily” to the great hymns of the faith, and our beloved elders should demonstrate a heart of humility and Christian brotherhood to sing out the contemporary choruses with the youth. As has been the case with me, I believe the more singing you do, the more you come to appreciate all kinds of musical styles. To God be the glory, great things He hath done! 

Salt Lake City Mission Trip, Part 1

Greetings Noblesville Church Family,

Getting ready to head out!

A trip across country would typically be called a vacation. The Salt Lake City Missions Trip is no vacation, but it is certainly a great adventure for the Lord. We loaded the church bus last Friday, and traveled all the way to Kansas City. We stayed the night in a church on the first night where the girls played some board games while the boys engaged in an epic ping pong tournament. On our way to Denver, we stopped in Colorado Springs to hike and climb rocks at a place called "Garden of the gods". The name didn't excite us, but finally getting out of the church bus to explore was certainly a fun adventure. We stayed in another church on Saturday night, enjoyed fireworks in Denver and then traveled on to church in Longmont, Colorado on Sunday. We attended a good church, but it was uniquely different that our typical service. The senior pastor was out of town so we actually had a preacher from their Spanish ministry conduct the main service through an interpreter. On Sunday evening, we actually arrived in Salt Lake City. It was a long journey overall but has proven to be well worth the drive.

Between the long bus ride, confined quarters, and many fast food meals together, we are forging many good friendships and memories. Even greater than good times is the laboring to spread the good news. Monday morning officially began our ministry with Gospel Grace Church. Our days are long as they begin at 8:45am and usually conclude sometime by 11:00pm. Needless to say, the days are exhausting, yet to hear what is shared during our evening time of testimonies is a wonderful recap to hear what the Lord is doing in the lives of our group and the lives of those within SLC.

The purpose of plant camp is to not only be an active part of church planting, but also to actively proclaim the Gospel in word and deed. In order to have a healthy church, there must also be healthy Christians which is exactly what Gospel Grace Church is striving for. Our scripture focus for the week has been an in depth look at II Corinthians 4:1-5:10. We are examining the aspects of service, suffering, never being forsaken, and eternal confidence. We then have "power groups" where we discuss the passage further and prayerfully seek to apply what we are learning.

Apart from our teaching/equipping time, we look to actively engage in ministry. We have knocked on hundreds of doors inviting people to Gospel Grace Church as well as several Backyard Bible clubs. We have also hung thousands of church door hangers to further promote the church.  It already has been exciting to see numerous people attend the Backyard Bible clubs and to know that we are sowing seeds. We have interacted with numerous people including Mormons, refugee children from Somalia and Ghana, and irreligious people as well. This trip is truly an eye opening experience for all of us.

On Monday, we surveyed the city and got an in-depth tour around temple square. It was sad to hear of their man-made rituals to gain heaven, rather than the righteousness found in Jesus Christ. It was also a very sobering time to see how committed these people are to their church. This has been an eye-opening experience that will hopefully challenge us to be more committed to speaking and standing for truth according to the Scriptures.

Tuesday provided some insightful sessions about what the Gospel is and how to reach others with that message. We have gained many helpful tools that can be used throughout our lives. Wednesday was preparation for the church's midweek service, called "Church in the Park". We helped by spreading out through a local park to actively inform people about the service.  We enjoyed a time of music, a wonderful meal, and a clear gospel message. We had somewhere between 20-30 visitors who were able to hear the Gospel clearly presented. It was a wonderful night that the missions team will not soon forget.

A second letter will be written near the conclusion of this journey. Thanks so much for your support and prayer. We look forward to being reunited with you next week.

At the Church in the Park service in Liberty Park.

Who Needs A Hymnal?

Since worship is the “work of the people,” it is hardly debatable that the central— and only indispensable— music of the church is congregational song.
- Donald P. Hustad

     In the 16th century, Martin Luther gave to the German people the Bible and the hymnbook in their common tongue, so they could hear directly from God and respond back in singing. In early American tradition, the pilgrims worshipped with two books: the then newly-published King James Bible, and the first book published in the colonies, the Bay Psalm Hymn Book. Today, most churches seem to have lost the value of what hymnals have to offer, their theological depth, and their usefulness for the congregation to offer up a united response to the saving work of Jesus Christ. To be clear, I am not speaking about an individual hymnal, nor the physical book itself, but the corpus of songs sung by congregations both past and present, that are doctrinally sound, God-centered, poetically written, and specifically designed for congregational involvement.
     The hymns are essential to church worship in at least three ways:

First, hymns deliver Scriptural truths with “aesthetic transcendence” through poetry, massed voices, and instrumentation. Many may struggle with Scripture memorization, but those who grew up in a hymn-singing congregation can sing verse after verse of dozens, if not hundreds of their favorite hymns. This is because hymns capture the whole of a person: the body (singing), the emotions (“feeling” what is sung), and the will (aligning oneself to the Truth). We are creative beings, and God has created us to enjoy beautiful things. Poetry, rhythm and rhyme, word-imagery, beautiful instrumentation, or simply a cappella singing and hearing a unified mass of people filling the sanctuary are all aspects of hymns that can help a church bring glory to God with their voice. Dr. Donald P. Hustad, director of the sacred music department at Moody Bible Institute in the 1950s and later the full-time organist for Billy Graham, said that “Congregational singing is both revelation of God and response to God, since great hymns always have been saturated with scripture and thus become expressions of biblical theology.”

      Many may be self-conscious about their own voice, but they are entirely missing the point. Martin Luther said the question is not “Do you have a voice?” but “Do you have a song?” Congregational singing is the single most unifying factor in a church; it is the only time the body of Christ stands together, sings together, and with one heart, mind, and voice proclaims the power of the Gospel through Jesus Christ. Second, hymns create solidarity within the church. It is the tool for the church to corporately declare who God is, His work in the world, and His work in individual lives. When a church body gathers and sings, there are “no other human listeners present, only other singer-participants (Hustad).”

     Lastly, hymns encourages personal music making and participation. Martin Luther said, “If any would not sing and talk of what Christ has wrought for us, they show thereby that they do not believe.” The discouraging trend in churches today is this “entertain me” mindset that has infiltrated church services. A leading voice of evangelical worship in the 20th century, Donald P. Hustad, says about this trend:

I am often tempted to believe that in recent years non-liturgical Christians have sold their birthright of believer-priest singing for the pleasure of spectators’ music, performed by choir, ensemble, or soloist. It seems that people would rather be sung to, than to sing for themselves.

Music leaders of any congregation need to make every effort to help congregants recapture the joy of offering their praise personally. 

     Though many worship songs, styles, and trends have risen and fallen throughout the history of the American church, the hymns of the church firmly holds their place of relevance, worth, and validity in bringing a unique beauty to the truth of Scripture, unifying a congregation, and in facilitating individual participation.

Got First World Problems? Pause, Pray, & Praise!

First world problems...we've all heard of them. We've all experienced them.

The Urban Dictionary defines a first world problem as "problems from living in a wealthy, industrialized nation that third worlders would probably roll their eyes at." If we were honest, we'd have to admit that many of our regular complaints likely fall within the realm of first world problems. That does not make them illegitimate, but it does put our problems in perspective.

Just like there are first world problems, there seems to be first world church problems. By "first world church" I mean churches that exist in first world cultures. Here's a list of problems that came to my mind:

• "Someone sat in my seat." 
• "The preacher went long and now there's a half-hour wait at Applebee's."
• "Due to budget cuts, complementary doughnuts will no longer be provided for adult Bible classes."

We can all roll our eyes at the complaints above. But this next list is where it might hit home:

• "I prefer sermons from the New Testament, but it seems like our pastor prefers to preach from the Old Testament."
• "The class leader called upon me to pray. I don't like praying out loud in public."
• "We sang a couple songs today that I didn't know or even like."
• "I thought we should have spent that money differently."

These irritations are often very real and represent potentially legitimate concerns. Yet, recapturing a global perspective can be a great help to us as we work our way through these distresses.

While we are dealing with our issues, we have to recall to mind that across the globe, churches are meeting in secret for fear of persecution, missionaries are laboring to provide a single Bible translation for a people group, and the poverty of some regions prevents local churches from possessing any musical instruments, let alone printed hymnbooks. 

Here's my point. What do you do when you realize you are frustrated by a first world problem or even a first world church problem? (Because we all experience them!) Often our responses are something less than worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we aren't careful these irritations can become quite consuming. 

My suggestion is that we allow these first world problems and first world church problems to lead us to pause, pray, and then praise!

First, pause and gain perspective on your irritation. Is it really something worthy of your righteous indignation? According to Hebrews 13:3, we are to remember those who are in prison for their faith, as if we are bound with them. This remembering would not only help us pray for our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ, but it would also provide us with a healthy context for examining our struggles and situations. When I think of the Christians who are living with the local threat of Isis, my unreliable internet service seems less important.

Second, we should pray that God would forgive us for our tendency to murmur and complain. Philippians 2:14 teaches us to do all things without murmuring. We are too often like the Israelites who complained of manna, instead of thanking God for His gracious provision. I wonder how often my attitude appears to God to be similar to the attitude of a spoiled child complaining about his dinner. If something isn't cooked to your liking, how do you respond?

Finally, we should praise God for how blessed we are to face our first world or first world church problems. I thank God that we are blessed as English speaking people with a multitude of Bible translations, a vast selection of church worship instruments, and abundant freedom to be creative or conservative in our church ministry and methodology. Regardless of our preferences, we are blessed with the opportunity to wrestle with these issues. I may not like the look of the new foyer carpet, but at least we didn't have to have a brick making activity in efforts to build our auditorium. 

As I write this blog entry, I sit in the hospital with my wife Karyn awaiting the arrival of our sixth child. The last nine weeks have been interesting for our family. As I sit here today thinking of our situation, I can't help but identify it as a first world trial. After pausing to consider the nature of our trial, I found my self praying to God to forgive me for my tendency to complain. There are many husbands across the globe that would gladly admit their wife to the hospital for nine weeks to save the life of their newborn and preserve the health of their wife but can't, because there's no hospital within their reach or no means to pay for such care. 

As I finish this post, I feel motivated to praise the Lord for the trial He has brought my family through and all that He has taught us by His grace. Just because it's a first world trial, doesn't mean it is insignificant. Rather, identifying it as a first world trial helps me to maintain a joyful, thankful disposition as I recognize that my trial could be another man's blessing.

Point to Ponder: One man's trial could be another man's blessing.