The Springs

Wild Goose Chase

Life ... for the Lanier's at least, involves taking our four kids wherever they are supposed to be at any given moment. It involves me staying tuned in to God's vision for Contemporary Worship at FBCPS. It involves myself and Melissa assisting with the college ministry here at the church. It involves financial decisions and home repairs and auto maintenance and homework and witnessing opportunities and family obligations and finding time for friends. It involves taking out the garbage and prioritizing daily and doctor's appointments and dental checkups and finding time to give back to those in need. It involves shopping and surfing the web and playing video games and riding bicycles and yardwork ... and ...

 ... well ... that's just the planned stuff, the surprises can toss things any direction on any given day.

Life sometimes takes away the time you had intended to devote to other things ... like oh say ... blogging. But something finally got my attention enough to at least sit down for a few moments. It's a new book, and it is about pursuing the Holy Spirit. I'll let the author, Mark Batterson, sum it up.

Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something…

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.

What got my attention is how much the routine of my life has dulled the adventure of following the "wild goose." Now I haven't finished the book yet, life is busy, like I wrote, but I can already hear God whispering that I need to stop surviving this life He gave me, and get back to living it.

Catching up !!!

Wow ... things got busy in a hurry as we head into Fall, and my attentiveness to the blog is what has suffered.

First of all, our church witnessed a powerful reconnection with our Savior over the course of re:Connect weekend. Wade Morris and Dr. Harper Shannon both brought words of challenge and encouragement to our people and it is apparent that we are entering the new school year grounded in God's purposes and passion for people.

Worship has been rich the last few weeks. I will get around to posting the stories behind the songs we've been singing lately. I am just in full on catch up mode right now.

Actually I suppose it is more of ... get everything done before leaving town mode because my family is heading to Disney World next week. They offer a free dining plan during the month of September, and the Lanier's like to eat so we are taking the kids out of school (I consider it an onsite week of homeschool education focusing upon the tourism industry) and heading to Orlando. Here's praying the hurricanes steer clear of Florida!

Finally ... our church league Fantasy Football season is about to kickoff and I wanted to change my team name. I wanted to go with Battlestar Cadillactica and then show up to the draft in a sweet ride like this.

 Note the studs around the front fender!

That said my plan was foiled when Yahoo limited my team name to 20 characters. 20 characters! Com'mon Yahoo, you're gonna stiffle my creativity with your character limitations?

I guess so. It just wasn't meant to be, so I stuck with my old name, Dr. J & the Beatdown (and yes it is "&" with an ampersand because of the 20 character rule. GRRRRRR Yahoo!) At least I found a sweet Ninja to serve as the Beatdown's team mascot.

Looking back over this post I can tell from the rambling tone that my vacation is near. Have a safe Labor Day and enjoy the opening weekend of college football, which by way, anyone notice who is pre-season #1? GO DAWGS!

Words of Worship

iConnect ... that has been the theme of our church this past year. We've focused on connection with God, connection with others in the Body of Christ, and connection with the community at large. It's really played out well as far as providing focus to our efforts the past seven months.

As we move into the Fall though (can you believe that Summer is almost over?) we needed to get everyone refocused. We needed to settle in after vacations and maintain our priorities in the midst of the back to school rush, so we calendared a revival/renewal weekend in August and themed it re:Connect.

Over the past month as we began to gear up toward this weekend I've taken time in our Contemporary Service to focus on some Bibilical words (taken from the Hebrew Old Testament) that are ways of connecting with God in corporate worship. We taught briefly on the meaning of each word and then sang a song that reinforced it. You can reference the iTunes links under our "Last Sunday's Songs" posts to learn more about the songs.

Here's the ones we've covered so far.

July 6 - Barouch - meaning to bow, a symbol of obeisance, reverence, or homage. Paired with Dennis Jernigan's "Come Let Us Bow Down."

July 13 - Yadah - meaning to lift your hands. Paired with Chris Tomlin's "Holy Is The Lord" (the first line being "we stand and lift up our hands.") Biblically, the lifting of hands is an outward symbol of prayer, or an expression of blessing toward God.

July - 20 - Telillah - to sing and to chant and to praise in the Spirit. Paired with Todd Fields' "Let Us Sing."  Isaiah 42:10 begins ... "Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing his praises from the ends of the earth! (NLT)"

July 27 - Shabach - to shout. Paired with Darlene Zschech's "Shout to the Lord." Just once I long to work up a good, long, loud, shouted JESUUUUUUUS in a corporate worship setting that would make Charlie Hall proud!

There are two more words to come before we get to our revival weekend. I'll get those up after we reveal them in our service. Be praying for God to move among us on re:Connect weekend.

Last Sunday's Songs, July 27, 2008 edition

Come Holy Spirit Dove Divine

By Adoniram Judson, 1829.

You're not gonna find this one on any new worship CD's yet. The church was celebrating baptism today, in fact my little girl Faith was baptized today, a monumental event for both father and daughter. The lyrics of this rarely sung old hymn paint a complete picture of the significance of both the descent into the waters and the rising up from them.

I had to revoice the melody to give it a more contemporary feel. Here's some worship education for you. If you open a hymn book and look beneath the hymn you will find a set of numbers. In the case of this hymn, they are 8.8.8.8. These represent the poetic meter of the hymn, or how the sung syllables break up.  You can then turn to the back of the hymnal and find other songs with the same numbers. You can then interchange the lyrics of any hymns with the same numbers.

Using this trick, a couple of my options for this hymn were the Doxology and When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. Go ahead, try it. You can sing the following lyrics to either of those tunes. (Omit the alleluias in parenthesis to make it work)

Another option, the one I selected, was listed as "8.8.8.8. with Alleluias." We know the tune as All Creatures of our God and King. I had to work the Alleluias around the verses but I then dropped the lyric over a David Crowder-ish arrangement and there you go, an updated, theologically meaty prelude for the baptism of my little girl.

Come Holy Spirit, Dove divine.
On these baptismal waters shine
(Alleluia, Alleluia)
And teach our hearts, in highest strain
To praise the Lamb for sinners slain.
(Oh praise Him, Oh praise Him
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.)

We love your name, we love Your laws,
And joyfully embrace Your cause
(Alleluia, Alleluia)
We love Your cross, the shame the pain
O Lamb of God for sinners slain.
(Oh praise You, Oh praise You
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.)

We sink beneath the water's face,
And thank You for Your saving grace;
(Alleluia, Alleluia)
We die to sin and seek a grave
With You, beneath the yielding wave.
(Oh praise You, Oh praise You
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.)

Then in new life with You we rise,
Filled with Your presence in our lives.
(Alleluia, Alleluia.)
Sealed by Your Spirit from above
The joy of life, the fire of love.
(Oh praise You, Oh praise You
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.)

Let Me Sing

by Todd Fields

We're still learning this one as a congregation so I put it into the rotation for a second week. Check last week's song recap for the scoop.

Shout to the Lord -

By Darlene Zschech

OK, we all know this song entered bizarro world when the Top 8 American Idol contestants sang it not once, but two times in a row this past season. The first night with the lyrics "My Jesus" changed to "My Shepherd," and the second night, inexplicably, with the original lyric intact. This event set off a firestorm on all of the worship blogs found on the net discussing the very idea of "what is worship?" It would be naive to assume that all of the A.I. contestants are believers so what does it mean for a non-believer to profess to Lordship of Christ through the vehicle of a worship song? Granted, this probably happens every Sunday in our churches, but rarely is it broadcast on national television to a world wide audience. All that said, it is still a powerful acclaimation when sung in an actual corporate worship context, and its truth is foundational ... Jesus is Lord, and one day every knee shall bow in acknowledgement of that ... even Simon Cowell's.

Last Sunday's Songs, July 20, 2008 edition

Mighty to Save -

by Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan

"Shine your Light and let the whole world see we're singing for the glory of the risen King."

Upon hearing this song for the first time I thought, we'll still be singing that one 25 years from now. Simply put, this is another lasting standard for the church from the Hillsongs crew. Since 1992 they have been a consistent source of solid, Biblical, singable songs for use in corporate worship. The link for the single is provided but the whole CD is worth a listen.

How Marvelous (I Stand Amazed) -

By Charles Hutchison Gabriel

We think of contemporary worship as a new phenomenon, but it is not really. Every generation has songwriters that retell the Gospel story for, what is at the time, a modern audience. The most popular contemporary Christian songwriter in the early 1900’s was a man named Charles Hutchison Gabriel.

Gabriel was born in a shanty on a prairie in Iowa in 1856. He spent the first seventeen years of his life on an Iowa farm. When he was very young, the settlers would gather at the Gabriel shanty to sing hymns, with his father leading the singing. Because of this, he showed interest in hymn writing as a boy. When his family got an organ, he taught himself to play.

At sixteen he became a music teacher, without the benefit of ever receiving a formal music lesson himself. As his fame as a composer and teacher grew he accepted as position as the music director at Grace Methodist Episcopal Church in California. After that, he settled in Chicago becoming the primary gospel song writer for the popular evangelist Billy Sunday. Sunday’s crusades exposed his songs to millions of people throughout the country and allowed his “contemporary” songs to become a rich part of the history of the faith here in America. One of his songs that has endured the test of time is a simple testimony to the state of being awestruck in the presence of Christ, this one, I Stand Amazed in the Presence.

Hope of Glory -

by Steve Fee and Todd Fields

"You've unveiled the mystery, me in you, you in me."

Louie Giglio has an entire 5 DVD set called "2 Words that Changed Everything" where he focuses on this notion of "in you." I'd love to post the whole thing here, but Google is your friend so you could find it if interested. This is a good opportunity, however, to take a look at the Louie talking about another one of the mysteries within us. It a protein ... laminin.

Let Me Sing

by Todd Fields

Looks like Mr. Fields gets the double dipping award of the week as he has partial songwriting credit on Hope of Glory and also penned Let Me Sing. I admire Todd's humility. A lot of younger worship guys that are in danger of being all style, no substance would do well to sit at his feet and see a guy that lives out his faith and leads worship so as to give glory to God rather than bring attention to himself. The song hasn't hit iTunes yet, but it is on North Point Music's "Louder Than Creation" CD which is listed in my iPod playlist to the right. You can click on it for puchase information.

 

Pure religion is this ...

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

-James 1:27

Last night at church we were joined by the Suubi Children's Choir from the Royal School and Orphanage in Kamapala, Uganda, East Africa. They are traveling in America during the months of June, July and August, singing and dancing around the southeast to raise money to build a new school and orphanage.

Uganda is a nation whose people are in overwhelming need, living in a staggering world of AIDS and Malaria. Uganda has been left with over one million orphans to raise. In their own words, "The Royal School and Orphanage helps to encourage, educate, renew, and disciple these people to live transformed lives in Jesus Christ, and to raise Christian leaders who reflect the love of Jesus that gives hope in overwhelming need."  

God has been opening my eyes to the connection between worship and justice lately. Mark Labberton's book The Dangerous Act of Worship has been instrumental in that personal epiphany. I'll probably do a complete review of it here once I finish it, but between that book and hearing a choir of orphan children sing the following lyric, God definitely has my attention.

I have a Father He calls me His own

He'll never leave me, no matter where I roam.

He knows my name. He knows my every thought.

He sees each tear that falls and hears me when I call.

To quote Labberton, "worship is meant to be the tangible embodiment of God's hope in the world."  I heard through the voices of children last night a cry for hope. Here's praying that the Church can live up to its high call to provide it.

Give the kids a listen ... and then book them.

If you have any questions or are interested in booking Suubi Choir in concert, please call 770-228-8075 or email them at suubi@suubi.info.

Last Sunday's Songs, July 13, 2008 edition

I get many requests asking who sings the songs that we do in worship each week and so I figured that I could list the songs here, along with a few reflections on each of them and an iTunes link for each of them should anyone desire to download them.

Beautiful One -

by Tim Hughes

Here in Hughes' own words is the background story.

"I wrote Beautiful One while I was on holiday. We had been ministering in Australia and had a few days off at the Great Barrier Reef. I read that passage in Isaiah that talks about the Messiah as having no beauty that would attract us to Him; nothing to make us think how incredible He was. That description of Him as the suffering servant really struck me, because we often talk about Jesus being glorious, awesome, incredible. He is the Son of God - all knowing, all conquering, all powerful. What humility! He gave up everything to come walk among us on the earth. We would have passed Him on the street and not thought anything of who He was. But we know how beautiful He is, and we often sing about that attribute in more of an intimate, slow, tender way. I thought to sing Beautiful One as a strong, powerful statement, in a more upbeat, declarative way was a wonderful thing that we as Christians could do."

Holy Is The Lord -

By Chris Tomlin

A legitimate modern worship classic. This song was inspired by the picture of worship around the throne of God in Isaiah 6. The heavenly creatures sounding this anthem back and forth to one another….

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
The whole earth is full of his glory.

Louie Giglio helped complete the thought with another picture from Nehemiah, where the people joined in a mass assembly…a great example of corporate worship. The Bible says they raised their hands to God at the hearing of his Word, they bowed with their faces to the ground and together made this statement… "the joy of the Lord is our strength."

The Heart of Worship -

by Matt Redman

The song dates back to the late 1990s, born from a period of apathy within Matt's home church, Soul Survivor, in Watford, England. Despite the country's overall contribution to the current worship revival, Redman's congregation was struggling to find meaning in its musical outpouring at the time.   

'There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing,' he recalls. He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we'd lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.'

Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, 'When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?   

Matt says the question initially led to some embarrassing silence, but eventually people broke into a cappella songs and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a fresh way.      

Before long, we reintroduced the musicians and sound system, as we'd gained a new perspective that worship is all about Jesus, and He commands a response in the depths of our souls no matter what the circumstance and setting. "The Heart of Worship" simply describes what occurred. 

When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come / Longing just to bring something that's of worth that will bless your heart / I'm coming back to the heart of worship, and it's all about You, Jesus            

Redman remembers writing the song quickly in his bedroom soon after the churches journey together, with no grand intentions, by any means, for it to become an international anthem. He viewed the words simply as his personal, subjective response to what he was learning about worship.   

But when Matt shared "The Heart of Worship" with Pilavachi, the pastor suggested making a few small adjustments to the lyrics so any member of the church could relate to it as well.         

Amazed by how God has since taken the song around the world for His purposes, the songwriter smiles in regard to his own lack of foresight. "It nearly didn't go any further than my bedroom."

Come Let Us Bow Down -

by Dennis Jernigan

This is a timeless expression of humility before an omnipotent God. We've claimed it as a song of invitation to close our services with as we lead up to a weekend of revival in August.

Why the Springs?

     
   Indeed, God is my salvation.   

   I will trust [Him] and not be afraid.
    Because Yahweh, the LORD,
    is my strength and my song,
    He has become my salvation."

    You will joyfully draw water
    from the springs of salvation,

    and on that day you will say:
    "Give thanks to the LORD; proclaim His name!
    Celebrate His deeds among the peoples.
    Declare that His name is exalted.

    Isaiah 12:2-4

Just fielding a random question here ...

Why is the blog called The Springs?

That is the name of our contemporary worship service here at First Baptist Powder Springs.

Yes, it is a play on the city name, Powder Springs, but more than that, it represents a place where people can draw water from the "springs of salvation," a place to "give thanks, proclaim His name, celebrate His deeds, and exalt His name."

The Springs ... it is everything that we aspire this thing that we call corporate worship here to encompass .

Of Contemporary Worship and Dinosaurs

So I suppose the best place to begin is hello, I'm Joel, the Minister of Contemporary Worship & Arts at the First Baptist Church of Powder Springs, GA. For those of you keeping score at home, you will need to know that First Baptist is 167 years old. It was founded in 1841.

Other things that happened in 1841.

• It was an election year in which Martin Van Buren gave way to William Henry Harrison, who died of pneumonia one month later. Vice President John Tyler then became the 10th president of the United States.
• The Supreme Court ruled in the Amistad Case that a group of Africans who had seized control of a transatlantic slave ship had been enslaved illegally.
• The city of Dallas, Texas was founded.
• Sir Richard Owen invented the term "dinosaur."

Let's camp out on that last one for a moment. Here's the dictionary.com definition of the word "dinosaur."

1.	any chiefly terrestrial, herbivorous or carnivorous reptile of the extinct orders Saurischia and Ornithischia, from the Mesozoic Era, certain species of which are the largest known land animals.

2.	something that is unwieldy in size, anachronistically outmoded, or unable to adapt to change:

If we are honest in our assessment of many churches in America, that second definition hits a little too close to home, and if you happen to be on staff at a church founded in 1841 it has the possibility to hit painfully close to home  ... unless ...

Unless you know that God is in the business of seeing that His will always gets accomplished. Isaiah tells us that.

"Think about this. Wrap your minds around it.
   This is serious business, rebels. Take it to heart.
Remember your history,
   your long and rich history.
I am God, the only God you've had or ever will have—
   incomparable, irreplaceable—
From the very beginning
   telling you what the ending will be,
All along letting you in
   on what is going to happen,
Assuring you, 'I'm in this for the long haul,
   I'll do exactly what I set out to do,'

Isaiah 46:8-10 (The Message)

God's determination to see His will accomplished means that He will not allow the medium of His message to become stale. Jesus said the gates of Hell cannot prevail against His church. If that is the case then the church, as a whole, shouldn't be overly worried about being rendered irrelevant.

We should, however, be worried about getting to take part in what God is doing as He passes the gospel along in fresh ways.

You see, here's how it works.

God whispers to us a challenge to move out of our comfort zones into places where we can really impact the surrounding culture.

If we listen to that voice, we get the blessings of seeing lives changed and the richness of a life lived out in faith.

If we don't listen, we get exactly what we are looking for ... a risk free, possibly comfortable existence; A comfort that reduces life to habit and faith to religion and ritual. A life that never learns what it is like to lean out on faith and have nothing beneath you as you do except an unseen God.

Yeah, we can coast through life if that is what we desire to do, but we'll miss out on the adventure of a lifetime spent following a fearless God who wants bring light into dark places.

So I suppose, even at a 167 year old church, life can be lived on the edge. Maybe someone listening closely enough can not only live life on the edge there, but at the same time draw from the wisdom of 167 years of "long and rich history."

It's our choice ... but God is going to accomplish His will, with or without us. Jesus said the gates of Hell would not prevail against THE church, but he didn't necessarily say that MY church would make it another 167 years without an ongoing commitment to reaching a lost culture in a context that they can grasp.

This blog is going to be about partaking in the mission to see God's will accomplished here and everything that accompanies that. It will be about the songs we sing on the mission, the people we meet on the mission, and the adventures we share on the mission. Hopefully it'll be a wild ride ... even if, on the surface, it may appear that I serve on staff at a "dinosaur." Appearances can be deceiving.