Monthly Archives: February 2008

Just two columns ago, I shared Pastor Chad Lewis’s satirical version of “Amazing Grace,” entitled “Lackluster Grace.”  In that same spirit, here is a list of rewritten hymn titles that reflect what we, unfortunately, really mean in our hearts when we’ve drifted too far from the cross and when we enter into corporate worship with lackluster reverance for God and a dim view of His grace toward us.   This list has circulated around the web for awhile, but if you haven’t seen it yet or haven’t seen it in awhile, read through it, chuckle, and then see if you need to check your heart (like I often do) …« Read Entire Post

On Tuesday, April 15 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, the 2008 Together For The Gospel conference, a major three-day event (T4G ’08) coming to Louisville and featuring speakers like Al Mohler, C.J. Mahany, John Piper, Mark Dever and R.C. Sproul, will present a lunch meeting called Band of Bloggers, with the theme being “The Gospel Trust.” This is the second such meeting of Christian bloggers from around the nation.  Emanating from the Galt House in downtown Louisville, the event will feature a panel discussion led by influential bloggers Tim Challies, Justin Taylor, Thabiti Anyabwile, and Mark Lauterbach.  It will be great time of …« Read Entire Post

Sojourn Pastor/Elder Chad Lewis, who has also led worship at many Sojourn services and who is the featured performer on our 2006 CD Fading Grass, preached recently (hear the mp3 of this sermon) on the subject “We All Need The Gospel.  Everyone.”  With his characteristic tongue-in-cheek humor, Chad illustrated the attitude that many of us fall prey to, and led the congregation in his own special version of “Amazing Grace,” the timeless hymn.  The following is the text for this portion of his sermon: “Churches say, ‘You are doing pretty good, but with Jesus, you would be even better.’ “We must not …« Read Entire Post

Last Sunday, those attending Sojourn’s Sunday worship services heard the first of the songs that we will be recording for our next major worship CD.  Sung by Jamie Barnes (the song’s composer) in our two morning services and Brooks Ritter in our evening services, the tune immediately caught on with the gathered worshippers.  It was a powerful moment of the service and confirmed what I knew when I heard Jamie’s demo during the song-collecting process for our upcoming CD, before turning all demos over to Worship Arts Pastor Mike Cosper and co-producer Neil Robins: this is a great new congregational song.  Its …« Read Entire Post

The second installment of Sojourn’s songwriting seminar series will take place at 3 pm on Saturday, April 26 at the home of Sojourn Community Church, The 930 Art Center, in the Listening Room (the same location as our first event, which featured singer-songwriter Jamie Barnes). Our hosts for this seminar will be Neil and Kate Robins of Astonish Entertainment recording artists, Dirt Poor Robins.  Neil and Kate are also worship leaders at Sojourn and have written, sung and played music for our last two albums, Before The Throne and Advent Songs.  They have performed at prestigious festivals like Cornerstone, The Toronto …« Read Entire Post

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. -Psalm 51:17, NRSV Reprinted by permission from The Worship Sourcebook, c. 2004, CRC Publications. Sojourn worship leader Rebecca Dennison used this text to write a song for our These Things I Remember album, called “Of Psalm 51.”  Check out the mp3.

Many scholars believe that Paul made liberal use of hymns that were circulating in the first churches, quoting from them in his epistles to illustrate points. Of course, we do this today — pastors, columnists, speakers and writers of all stripes. We know that Paul also quoted from Greek poets and playwrites, but we might expect the apostle who spoke so plainly to believers about the need to sing “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” to God, as well as for the edification and instruction of each other, to find it particularly useful to quote from hymns of the early Church. …« Read Entire Post

Another example of a song recorded in the New Testatement is the song of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist. You’ll recall that the angel Gabriel had appeared to him in a vision and foretold that his wife Elizabeth would give birth to the man who would introduce the Messiah to Israel, and that John had questioned this due to his wife’s advanced age. Gabriel then told Zechariah that he would not be able to speak until after the birth, because of his disbelief. Eight days after the birth, just before John was to be circumcised, Zechariah wrote “His name …« Read Entire Post

We see an example of worship music early in the New Testament, when the virgin Mary learns that she will give birth to the Messiah. She bursts into praise in a passage that Luke records in depth, which has come to be known in Church tradition as the “Magnificat.” It’s cool to see that, by reading New Testament canticles (hymns and hymn fragments written into the New Testament) as well as the psalms and other lyrical passages in the Old Testament, we are given a taste of the depth and breadth of subject matter we are to sing about, in …« Read Entire Post

What then, brethren? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. – 1 Corinthians 14:26 As we saw in some of the scriptures from yesterday’s post, hymn singing was encouraged in group gatherings. Scholars believe that the New Testament contains many fragments of hymns, and that the New Testament authors freely quote song lyrics in their Gospels and epistles to illustrate or emphasize points. Here, from “Hymnic Forms in the New Testament,” by Christian D. von Dehsen (Reformed Liturgy & Music, 18, No. 1 –Winter, 1984 — p. eight) is …« Read Entire Post

I attended a conference at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship last year, during which time author Laura Winner, addressing the attendees from the stage, said “When do non-Christians sing?” It’s really something, if you think about it. Christianity is a singing faith. At least once a week, Christians generally gather and sing outloud together. In this age of iPods with ear phones, of everyone having their own car and driving separately, of privacy fences, small porches and declining periods of music education, Christians are one of the few people-groups who regularly have sing-a-longs with each other. What’s more remarkable …« Read Entire Post

O Christ, Savior, like the seed fallen to the ground, you suffered death. United to you, our lives will bear much fruit. We praise you, Lord. O Christ, you went down to the lowest point of the human condition; you remain close to all who are abandoned. We praise you, Lord. In your love you took upon yourself our sins; innocent, you accepted death to free us from death. We praise you, Lord. By your love you conquered evil and hatred, and you live forever at the Father’s side. We praise you, Lord. You listen to us in your goodness, …« Read Entire Post

I’ve written before about Nadus Films, a company founded and operated by Sojourn member Coury Deeb to document the struggles and rebuilding efforts of the Sudan and to make people aware of the conditions facing Sudanese children. Now on their website, you can view four very short films Nadus has created, each focusing on a different aspect of the rebuilding effort: water, medical, education and church development.  Astonish Entertainment recording artist Dirt Poor Robins, whose members also participate in Sojourn’s worship arts ministry, contributed their song “Great Vacation” from the CD The Cage to the film on church development. The films …« Read Entire Post

“In an age increasingly suspicious of (linear) thought, there is much more respect for the ‘feeling’ of things — whether a film or a church service.  It is disturbingly easy to plot surveys of people, especially young people, drifting from a church of excellent preaching and teaching to one with excellent music because, it is alleged, there is “better worship” there.  But we need to think carefully about this matter.” – D.A. Carson, Worship By The Book, c. 2002 Shortly before I started coming to Sojourn, I was told (by someone who had visited the church but was not a …« Read Entire Post

On her Blending Worship blog, worship leader Mandy Thompson presents an interesting question on “singability: do you sing your best when leading?”  It’s an interesting question for worship leaders — we’ve all witnessed or heard about churches where the the worship team or choir puts on such a dazzling display of vocal pyrotechnics that the congregation goes from “participants” to “spectators,” either awed by the talent or frustrated by the fact that they aren’t talented enough to sing along. And to be fair, sometimes it’s the fault of the song — there isn’t much a worship leader can do with a melody …« Read Entire Post

Noted Christian author and Professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California Dallas Willard recently spoke at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship’s Symposium 2008.  Calvin has archived the audio of his lecture, “Worship as the fine texture of real life.”  I encourage you to listen to it.  Dallas Willard is the author of such modern classics as The Divine Conspiracy, Renovation of the Heart and The Spirit of the Disciplines. Sojourn Worship Arts Pastor Mike Cosper got to spend about forty-five minutes one-on-one with Willard at the Symposium, which he described as “a life highlight, …« Read Entire Post

Just hours ago we completed the first leg of the journey towards a brand new Sojourn CD, using a process similar to the early stages of 2007′s Before the Throne.  Occasionally someone asks how Sojourn gets original material for our CDs from songwriters within the congregation.  Here is how it works:  Sojourn Worship Arts Pastor Mike Cosper sends me an email outlining his vision for a recording project, along with the deadline. I forward it to our songwriting group. Between then and the deadline, I encourage the writers and make myself available to anyone who wants criticism and direction.  Then when the …« Read Entire Post

“Lent is the forty-day period leading up to Easter.  In the Bible, we see many significant periods that lasted forty days — Moses on Mt. Sinai, Elijah on Mt. Horeb, and most notably, Jesus in the wilderness.   As we prepare for Easter, we want to remember Christ’s suffering.  In the world around us, we see pain, suffering, and death.  Lent is a time when we symbolically journey with Jesus into the wilderness in fasting and prayer, remembering these realities that surround us and anticipating with joy the dawn that will rise on the empty tomb — the hope of the …« Read Entire Post

The following is an old joke that has made the rounds over the last few years, but it does, in its caricature of hymns and praise choruses, point to some actual differences of technique as well as perception.  One wonders if there would have been a phase in contemporary Church history known as “the worship wars” if we could all laugh at ourselves and our own stylistic preferences, admitting that they are just that — preferences: An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was. “Well,” said …« Read Entire Post

Sojourn’s administrative assistant, Laura Roberts, just posted this, regarding the devastation caused by the tornadoes that ripped through Jackson, Tennessee on Tuesday and hit Union University, the site of a worship conference that was to be held next week, featuring Sojourn Worship Arts Pastor Mike Cosper and Teaching Pastor Daniel Montgomery, as well as other speakers: “Hey all, I just spoke to Betty Bedsoll (an administrative assistant at Union) on the phone — she was calling to tell Mike (Cosper) the obvious news that there will not be a worship conference at Union next week like they had planned.  Betty … …« Read Entire Post

Tornados tore through Jackson, Tennessee, home of Union University, on Tuesday evening, striking the university hard.  Union has posted a series of photos of damage and injuries caused by the tornados, and some rescues, on their Facebook page. We’ve previously talked about the worship conference featuring, among others, Sojourn pastors Mike Cosper and Daniel Montgomery that is scheduled for next week, February 14-16.  We were unable to receive clarification today on the status of that conference but we’ll keep you posted. Union has published an official site for emergency information.  According to Union President Dockery, fifty-one students were taken to the hospital, nine with serious injuries, but …« Read Entire Post

 One Night In The Aural Theatre: Dirt Poor Robins Create A World Of Their Own In The Cage We did the liner notes that way because we felt it enhanced the experience of listening to the music. It’s designed to answer some questions and create new ones; to build a mystery. – Neil Robins These are interesting days in the music business. Although physical CD sales still dominate commerce, internet downloads gain ground monthly. Artists and record companies have tried to reverse this trend with “enhanced” CDs and promotional DVDs included in the package, along with posters, stickers and all …« Read Entire Post

Fred McKinnon wrote a great blog column recently.  This is an unprecedented time in the history of songs written for worship.  Digital technology, the internet, education and capitalistic market forces have created a “perfect storm” of new worship music — not a day goes by that some record label or indie singer/worship leader doesn’t release a new CD. Churches try to keep up, having their worship teams remain “relevant” by learning new songs for their congregational gatherings.  But how much is too much?  When does it become just one big noise, or when does a congregation morph into a group …« Read Entire Post

I’ve mentioned previously that Sojourn Worship Arts Pastor Mike Cosper and Teaching Pastor Daniel Montgomery, both also Elders and founding members of Sojourn, will be speaking at a major worship conference at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.  The time is almost here, so if you’d like to attend this weekend conference from February 14-16, make sure you register.  Mike and Daniel will present “Worship, Culture, and Context: A Case Study from a Missional Church” at 3 pm on Friday the 15th.  Mike will stick around for the panel discussion Saturday the 16th from 9 to 10:30 am. Other presenters and …« Read Entire Post

 May the light of the glorious gospel of Christ shine in our hearts, transform our lives, and brighten the world. And the blessing of God almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, rest upon you always. Amen. Reprinted by permission from The Worship Sourcebook, c. 2004, CRC Publications. Churches that end each service with a benediction generally do so with a reading or recited blessing from a pastor or lay leader.  While the Church doesn’t have too many benediction songs, Sojourn ended with one on our Before the Throne CD: “All Good Gifts,” written by Michael Morgan.  The chord sheet is available in the Before …« Read Entire Post