From The Piano Stool

Beat it!

2012-02-02T09:55:00.004+02:00

One of the biggest challenges in leading church worship is how to get the drummer to fit with the rest of the band in presenting songs.

Of course a rock-style or pop-style song is pretty easy, if it's in 4/4 or 3/4. A 6/8 folky number like Getty/Townend's You're the Word of God the Father is also pretty simple to land.

But what about hymns? Always a challenge to find the right way for the drummer to play along for the hymns. The songs have funny beats, the timing is never even, we keep stopping after each verse. How does the drummer make a meaningful contribution to songs like O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing, or There Is A Fountain?

I think there are 3 points to keep in mind

Don't feel that you have to play all the time, or that the beat depends on you. These songs tend to be more melody-driven than the rhythm-driven stuff we're used to playing.
Keep it authentic. These songs are written with beautiful music, but from a particular musical palette. Learn to play them like that, instead of trying to force them into the rock/pop mould (or worse, the Funk/Disco mould).
Learn to use your drums and cymbals to add colour and texture to songs. An almost 'orchestral' style of playing suits hymns much better. Think in little isolated phrases that place emphasis on certain words, or help to move the song between different levels of energy. If you want to get schooled in this style of playing, listen to Steven Adler's expert touch on Guns N' Roses November Rain, especially the first few verses before the solo section.

Above all, play musically. Your drum kit is not a drum machine, it's a musical instrument, with limitless possibilities for musical expression. Learn what sounds it is capable of making, and use those for God's glory and to serve the community of God's people you find yourself in.

Electric Guitarists, you have my ears...

2011-12-09T09:55:00.004+02:00

Dear Electric Guitarists

If you were to attend a Saturday morning seminar on using the electric guitar in a worship ministry team context,

what kind of stuff would you like to learn about?
what kind of stuff would you like to do during the course of the seminar?
what kind of guitar-related gear would you like to be able to buy, if there was a concession stand from a local retailer?

Share your thoughts with me, and then watch this space...

Review: OpenLP 1.9.6

2011-08-17T16:07:00.006+02:00

Projecting words of songs and Bible verses is pretty much de rigeur for churches these days. But there must be something between those sad, greasy, OHP's and $100-a-month all in one service production stations?

This is where some nice guys in Cape Town, South Africa, have come up with a cross-platform projection interface, which is (*gasp*) free of charge! Introducing.... OpenLP! (applause)

And a very tidy piece of software it is too. It has a very easy-to-use interface, including live and preview modes, and can queue up not just songs, but Bible verses, PowerPoint presentations, images, videos and audio, allowing your entire service to run from the same interface. No more frantically swopping cables in order to project the youth camp report back after the first song!

The best part, in my opinion, is the ability to import song lyrics from SongSelect. This allows you to populate your database with the correct lyrics and correct copyright licensing information. Hey, the easier it is to be legal, the more likely we will.

This is an initial impression, so perhaps I'll do a follow up in the future. For now, I'd suggest you download it and give it a go. What have you got to lose?

Immortal, Invisible, Inaccessible?

2011-02-11T08:47:00.006+02:00

The great hymns of the past have such rich words and concepts. Often we don't sing them today because the style of the music is inaccessible. We just can't relate to the choral harmonies and organ music. When last did you hear that on the radio?!

We must remember, though, that very often these hymns were written as poems and set later to music, and that many tunes were used for the same hymn. 100 years later, the most popular one has stuck.

Case in point is Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise. This hymn was written in the 19th century by Walter Chalmers Smith, and the tune that we know is called St Denio, a Welsh folk-ballad tune.

It is a hymn about the reading of Scripture (read the Wikipedia article - very interesting!), and takes its inspiration from 1 Timothy 1.15-17, Romans 16.25-27, 2 Corinthians 3.12-18, and 1 Timothy 6.11-16, among others.

Chris McClarney has just released a modern version of this classic hymn that sounds fantastic and that I can't wait to do at our evening services. Chris sounds a little like Paolo Nutini, but he's got a unique, classic-soul vibe that's all his own. The music can be purchased at http://www.kingswayworship.co.uk/immortal-invisible/

Love to hear your comments on the song!

(I found this song through my subscription to Kingsway.com. Each week, I have a new song emailed to me free of charge, both the .mp3 and the official sheet music in .pdf format. I can't recommend enough that you sign up!)

The Value of Praying as a Ministry Team

2011-02-09T09:27:00.004+02:00

Some of the best times we have as a music ministry team are when we pray together at rehearsals. We usually begin the rehearsal with a reading from God's Word - something to take our minds off the business of the day, and the job at hand, and allow us to focus on our Heavenly Lord and Father.

Then we quieten our hearts before God for a time of prayer. We praise him for his greatness, thank him for his goodness to us, pray for those we know who are experiencing trials and joys, and ask for his help to make the rehearsal a time where we reflect on who he is as we prepare to serve on Sunday.

Before we leave the rehearsal, we also pray together, so that over the days between the rehearsal and the service, God might continue to work in our hearts, reminding us of what we have sung about him at the rehearsal and preparing us to serve.

Prayer is something that is never reserved for church services, prayer meetings and mealtimes. Paul writes in Colossians 4:2, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."

Bob Kauflin, in his book Worship Matters (I know, I use that phrase a lot - but the book really is that good!) gives three reasons why prayer should be a priority:

Prayer helps me remember what I can't do
Prayer opens my eyes to God's purposes
Prayer cultivates care for others

Whatever you do at your rehearsals, however much time you have, don't neglect praying together, because it will put your heart and mind in the right place to do this ministry.

Cheap Love Songs

2011-02-09T09:25:00.002+02:00

Here's a very interesting reflection on the kind of praise songs we sing at church.

http://theresurgence.com/2008/12/10/many-songs-about-gods-love-are-cheap

Read the Manual!

2011-01-19T10:17:00.004+02:00

A lot of music and worship ministry is about the condition of our hearts, and the way we use our music skills in God's service to lead our brothers and sisters in his praise and adoration.

Something that we don't often talk about is the necessity of knowing how our equipment works. I realised this in a big way last Sunday morning, when I was left to lead the final hymn with a dead guitar, owing to my ignorance about how my guitar worked.

During the 3rd song, I noticed I was out of tune. During the reading, I hit the Tuner/Mute button on my guitar's preamp, in order to tune silently during the reading. As I did so, I noticed a light flashing green on the display. I've used plenty of preamps before, so my first thought was, "The battery's dying! But the good news is that I came prepared with a spare in my guitar case."

I opted to change the battery during the collection to be ready for the final hymn. When I did so, the battery connector fell down inside the guitar body, and I was stuck.

After the service, I used my Leatherman (vital for any church muso!) to unscrew the whole battery compartment, find the connector and put it all back together with a fresh battery. Now here's the joke - the light still flashed green.

You see, dear reader, what I didn't know was that the light flashes green to let you know that you're in Tuner/Mute mode, and the battery is in fact healthy as a young stallion.

I would have known this had I actually read the manual that B-Band supplied with my guitar, instead of confining it my 'guitar stuff drawer' at home.

So the moral of the story is this: in order to serve well, read your manuals. Make sure you know exactly how that stage piano/synthesizer/bass amp/preamp/wireless mic, etc. works, so you aren't caught by surprise when it throws you a curve ball. If you're looking for a manual for a piece of church equipment, ask your music director or your sound guy. If no-one knows where the manuals are, start Googling...

Squirrel!

2010-11-19T08:48:00.004+02:00

A funny thing happened to me the other day whilst I was serving in the music ministry team at church. A lady fainted in the back row during the third song.

Of course, this wasn't funny for her, and huge props must go to her husband who caught her. I'm glad to report that she is okay.

The funny thing was me. This all happened whilst I was leading a song, and what surprised me was how easily I managed to disengage my brain from what I was doing and turn my attention to the mild chaos in the back row. I still carried on singing the song and playing the right chords, but my mind was elsewhere. The people closer to the front may not have even noticed.

This led me to consider two things. As musicians serving in a church, I think it is good to cultivate a certain 'multitaskability', because things are going to happen around us that might throw us off. But for the sake of serving, being able to be aware of what is going on around you in the service and being able to carry on with your ministry is a very good skill to cultivate.

On the other hand, how easily are we distracted when we've been doing this for a long time? Have we gotten to the stage where we know the songs, with the words and the music so well, that it's like hitting 'play' on CD player? Do our hands and voices do their thing whilst we look around, watching the weather outside, look at who's in church today? If we're very good, we might even be able to do this without our faces even giving it away. Of course, you need a very convincing 'worship face' for that!

To serve well in this ministry, we need to engage with the songs we sing first. Once we have engaged, we can lead others and encourage them to engage with them. Our time of singing in church is a special time of praise to God our Father, who has gloriously saved us by his Son Jesus Christ. Let's make it that and try to shut out the distractions.

Very Useful Article on Micing Singers

2010-11-17T08:39:00.000+02:00

Shure Notes Issue #43 - Engineers' Round Table

Worship Leader Magazine - Your Comments Please!

2010-11-04T10:14:00.002+02:00

Commercialisation or helpful resource for gospel-centred ministry? Real church, or glossy-paged, celebrity-worshipping quasi-Christian subculture?

Have a read of a free edition http://blog.worshiptogether.com/worshiptogether/2010/10/free-septoct-issue-of-worship-musician-magazine.html

...and have your say here!

O Holy Night - ou est-il?

2010-11-03T15:36:00.004+02:00

O Holy Night is one of the best loved Christmas carols of the last 150 years. I currently have a beautiful version by Kerrie Roberts on my iTunes, and it has been covered by everyone from Mariah Carey to Andrea Bocelli.

The song was originally written in French as Cantique de Noel, with music by Adolphe Adam, and words from a poem by wine merchant Placide Cappeau, in 1847.

What is fascinating about the song is the richness of Biblical imagery and ideas in the French version, that gets sadly lost in the English version. I suppose it wouldn't have attained it's great popularity if the lyrics had retained their hard-hitting talk of original sin and the wrath of God!

To compare the French, literal English and popular English texts, go to Wikipedia.com. Just to give you a taster, have a look at this line from the third verse:

French:

Le Rédempteur a brisé toute entrave :

La terre est libre, et le ciel est ouvert.

Il voit un frère où n'était qu'un esclave,

L'amour unit ceux qu'enchaînait le fer.

Popular English:

Truly he taught us to love one another,

His law is love and his gospel is peace;

Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,

And in his name, all oppression shall cease.

Literal English:

The Redeemer has overcome every obstacle:

The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.
He sees a brother where there was only a slave,
Love unites those that iron had chained.

Seems like Placide Cappeau was onto something! In verse 3's talk of liberation from slavery and oppression, which has become so political in our time, we have lost a Christmas reminder of our slavery to sin (Romans 6v17-18), Christ's destruction of the power of sin and death (Colossians 2v13-15), and Jesus Christ gladly considering us his brothers and sisters! (Hebrews 2v10-13).

So, who's going to have a crack at singing the literal words this Christmas?

Leading Songs

2010-10-22T10:13:00.004+02:00

Too easily our song leading in church can become mechanical. The service leader announces the next song, the musicians play the intro, the singing starts the singing ends, and then the service moves on. Box ticked.

Here are a few principles to think about as we lead songs.

Because we worship in song in response to God's revelation of himself in his Word, the leader should 'lead' the gathered church into the song from God's Word.
The musical introduction should be part of the journey, setting the appropriate feel and atmosphere, as well as leading into the song musically. Think about the length, musical complexity, and instruments involved in order to do this.
Mean the words we sing! Communicate this to the gathered church in our facial expressions and body language as we lead.
Grasp the opportunity provided by musical interludes in songs to reflect on what you're singing, and enjoy praising God.
Lead out of the song appropriately. Ensure that you put it down gently, and don't drop it! Note that you can even drop an uptempo rocker - you need to bring it to good end in order to move on in the flow of the service.
After the song, leave space to breathe before moving on in the service.
Perhaps it is appropriate to pray to God about something the song has raised.

These ideas all serve to ensure that the main thing is kept the main thing - God's people gathered to hear God speak and to worship him together. A good exercise if you are a muso or a service leader is to grab a song from your reportoire and go through these points with that song and see what you come up with. It might change the way you approach your church service!

"I Don't Do the Singing"

2010-07-15T09:05:00.004+02:00

As much as I enjoy my job, one of the challenges for people in my position as a paid music minister is the perception that you are responsible for the singing. I'm not talking about the congregation standing up on a Sunday with shut mouths as they let you bring their praise before God, as if by proxy - I'm talking about fellow church workers!

There is a great danger in specializing our ministries to the point where normal Christian activities are 'outsourced' to the qualified person. If (as is usual in my church situation), someone else leads the service and leaves me to lead the songs, their is a great temptation to sit back and wait for me to finish my 'bit' before they continue with their 'bit'. Maybe it's a good time to look over your notes or remind yourself what notices you have to give!

The Bible commands Christians to sing to the Lord, and to come before him with great joy. 1 Chronicles 16v9 says, "Sing to him; sing praise to him; tell of all his wondrous works!" Psalm 5v11 says, "But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy." No one is excluded from the command to sing, no matter what their position, or musical ability, or even their singing voice.

This command to sing joyfully can be freely fulfilled knowing that God doesn't care about the quality of our voices, but rather looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16v7). After all, he created the human voice, and he declared his creation good (Genesis 1v30-31). Do you not think that God delights in the heart that desires to glorify him by singing his praise, without concern for what others might think of how we sound? (Here's a thought - doesn't a crowd of thousands of mildly tipsy sports fans sound amazing when they just belt it together? I'm sure they're not thinking about they quality of their voices!)

In days gone by, anyone who got up in front of the church was expected to be able to sing. Often the singing was led by the minister singing, with the organist accompanying. I suspect that because it was the norm, people just went for it and found that they actually could sing. It's a shame today that singing together is so not the norm that we are scared to try in case we can't.

Let me encourage church ministers, service leaders and others to commit this to prayer and in God's strength and enabling to be a model for those we lead. Often we are concerned for those who we see not singing in church; we worry that their hearts are far from the Lord and rightly so. But maybe they just need to see someone else doing it, someone who isn't trained, who isn't a musician, but is just a Christian opening their hearts to God with the voice God has graciously blessed them with. Anyone who stands in front of the church should, in everything they do, model a right response to God. A true love for Jesus is caught as well as taught!

Perhaps I should consider it gospel ministry to equip and enable my fellow gospel workers to sing...

Sound Ministry Series Part 8 - The AUX buses

2010-06-28T12:30:00.003+02:00

So, what's a bus? Well, it's something that gets you from one place to another! On a mixing console, when we see the word BUS, that's just what it is - a routing device to get the signal from one place to another.

The AUX (which stands for auxiliary, meaning secondary or additional) buses are used to create a second, third, fourth or even fifth mix (with the front of house mix being first) that can be used for stage monitors, recording of sermons and worship, cry-rooms, broadcast, etc.

Each channel should have knobs labelled AUX1, AUX2, etc. These are used to control the level of that individual channel in the AUX mix. Somewhere on the far right of the desk should be other knobs or sliders also labelled AUX1, AUX2, etc. which are used to control the overall volume of the AUX mix. Near the top right of the desk, either on top or on the back, there should be outputs for each AUX bus for plugging in a cable to take the signal, well, anywhere you want!

Here are some worked examples:

Recording the sermon

Plug your recording device, like a computer soundcard or a tape recorder, into their AUX1 output. Increase the volume of the overall AUX1 volume (the one on the right of the desk) to about halfway. Use the AUX1 control on the preacher's microphone channel to adjust the recorded volume. Your AUX1 bus is now your recording mix! You can add other channels to this mix by using their AUX1 controls.

This idea is the same for a cryroom. Just plug the cryroom feed into the AUX1 output.

Stage Monitors

Remember that each AUX bus can provide you with a separate monitor mix (depending on how many monitors you have). For now, let's use AUX2 and AUX3 for vocal and instrument monitors respectively (remember that AUX1 is our recording bus).

Plug your monitor sends into their respective AUX outputs on the mixer. Adjust the volume of each AUX mix to about halfway. Ask the band to play, and let them help you to determine how much of each instrument or vocal needs to be added to each monitor mix. You can also walk up there yourself and take a listen, but that's going to involve a lot of walking back and forth! The vocal mix (AUX2) will need more vocals and less instruments, and the instrument mix will need the opposite, but still enough vocals to hear the words so they don't get lost!

Finally, always ensure that your AUX buses are "pre-fade". There should be a button on each channel allowing you to set your AUX buses to pre- or post-fade. If they are set to post-fade, any change you make to that channel in the main mix will also affect the monitor mix. For instance, you turn up the piano in the main mix and it also goes up in the monitor! Pre-fade allows you to maintain completely independent AUX mixes.

The only time you may want post-fade AUX buses is if you are controlling an effects unit from an AUX bus. If this is set to pre-fade, the sound from the effects unit will still be heard when you turn the channel down.

Remember, however, that if you have your AUX buses on pre-fade, the MUTE switch won't work on the AUX buses - i.e. you will still hear a "BOOM" on the monitors when someone unplugs even if the channel is muted - you will have to turn down the AUX buses separately.

Comment if anything's still unclear.

Next time: The PAN control

Sound Ministry Series Part 7 - A Final Word on EQ

2010-06-28T12:11:00.004+02:00

Before we move on to the AUX buses, maybe it would be good to have a final word on EQ.

The hard part of mixing with EQ is the time spent learning what different frequencies sound like. When most of us hear a low sound, we imagine that's it's lower than it actually is. Same for highs - we imagine they are higher than they actually are. So, we need to learn more or less what 120Hz sounds like, what 2kHz sounds like, and so on. We also need to learn what frequencies are produced by what instruments and voices. It might sound like hard work - and any ministry is! - but spend time playing with the EQ whilst you're mixing and you will definitely learn a few things.

Always cut rather than boost. If a vocal is missing some clarity, try and cut some 240Hz before boosting the 5kHz. This ensures that you keep the overall level under control and prevents problems caused by too many boosted frequencies (like feedback).

Lastly, remember that EQ tends to relate across channels. If your vocal is getting lost, try and create an open space for the vocals by reducing a little 2kHz-5kHz in the other instruments. This will help balance the sound as a whole.

Mixing is more than adjusting volumes between instruments and voices. It is ensuring that the total sound that comes out of the speakers is comfortable, enjoyable, intelligible and audible for those hearing. The EQ is the steering-wheel to get you there!

A document that has helped me hugely is http://www.digitalprosound.com/2002/03_mar/tutorials/mixing_excerpt1.htm.

Next time: (I promise!) The AUX buses

Sound Ministry Series Part 6 - The Low Frequency EQ Knob

2010-06-25T12:48:00.003+02:00

Hey guys. It's been a while since the last post, so let's dive right in!

The next knob on your channel after the mid range is usually your low frequency. This control typically allows you to boost or cut everything from 80Hz or so and below. Remember that if your PAD switch is in, you are already cutting the lows to an extent. Therefore, the Low knob and the PAD switch are interactive.

These low frequencies are going to really affect the fundamentals of the rhythm section (bass guitar, kick drum, 'body' of acoustic guitar sound, bottom end of the keyboard, etc.) They can give the music a more powerful sound in larger doses, or a bit more body in smaller doses. That's when it's used right. Used wrong, it will make the music sound boomy or muddy, and if cut too much can make everything sound 'thin'.

Be careful with lower frequencies. Lower frequencies are what we call "omni-directional" - they go everywhere in all directions, even behind the speaker! This means that a little boost goes a long way.

Be aware, also, that as you get lower you will begin to feel the sound more than hear it. This means that even if you can't hear the difference you are making, you might still be reprogramming someone's pacemaker in the 3rd row (just kidding).

On vocals, low frequencies won't to do much, especially if you have the PAD switch in to reduce handling noise.

Next time: the AUX buses

Sound Ministry Series Part 5 - The Mid Frequency EQ Knob

2010-06-02T09:11:00.003+02:00

Next on the channel we have either one, two or four knobs that control the midrange. When we talk about midrange, we mean the frequencies between the highs and lows. Most of the sound is actually concentrated in these frequencies, so your mid range control is pretty powerful!

If you have 1 knob called "MID", it works the same way as your high and low controls, boosting or cutting a very large range of frequencies.

On better mixers, you will have a MID control and a FREQ control. The MID control does the cut and boost thing, but the FREQ control allows you to decide on which frequency the cut or boost centres on. Imagine a bell-curve (up for boost, down for cut) where you are able to move the apex left and right across different frequencies to get a visual image of this in action.

If you have the luxury of four knobs, you have a LOW MID with a FREQ control (around 800Hz) and a HIGH MID with a FREQ control (around 3kHz). This allows you the best management of your midrange.

To get to know how these controls behave, it is important that you grab a mic, cut the MID knob all the way, and then turn the FREQ knob backwards and forwards while speaking into the mic. Do the same with with the MID knob boosted all the way, and you'll quickly hear what's going on.

The best way to use these controls is to listen out for offending frequencies in instruments or voices, then cut your midrange by 1/4 and 'sweep' your FREQ control until you find the point on the dial where the problem lessens. Remember to look at what frequency you have stopped on and try and remember what it sounds like - it will help you get there quicker next time.

The best thing to do with this control is to play with it and listen for the results. Try boosting a little on your singer's mic and then sweep until you find a pleasing result.

Next time: the Low EQ knob

Sound Ministry Series Part 4 - The High Frequency EQ Knob

2010-05-24T09:59:00.003+02:00

The first knob you encounter in the EQ section of your channel strip will be the High Frequency knob (sometimes labelled "HF").

This knob boosts or cuts all frequencies above 12kHz (which in note terms is the F# in the 9th octave of the piano).

This control can be used to remove excessive 'essing' or brittle-ness from a vocal, or it can be used to add clarity and sparkle to instruments and 'airiness' vocals. If you are micing a drum kit, use it to add shimmer and brilliance to your cymbals.

12kHz is the top end of the human voice's range. This frequency would most significantly affect your soprano singer, a church organ and the cymbals of a drum kit.

Remember, as with all eq'ing, to use it gradually and sparingly. Don't just randomly turn knobs. Turn it a little, then listen carefully. Has the sound improved? Has it deteriorated? If you are making adjustments during a service, ensure that you do things so gradually that the congregation wouldn't notice you making the change.

Also bear in mind that higher frequencies are very directional (in contrast to low frequencies, which just go everywhere!). If you are making adjustments here, you need to make sure you are listening in the direct path of the speaker to hear the actual affect, or you may end up increasing too much high frequency.

For more info on eq, check out this video series: http://www.prosoundweb.com/videos/video/introduction_to_equalization/

Next time: the Midrange control knobs

Sound Ministry Series Part 3 - the PAD switch and the Low Cut filter

2010-05-17T14:45:00.003+02:00

Your mixing desk may or may not have a PAD switch, but if it does you can use it to make very high signals easier to work with. For instance, if anything on stage has a built-in preamplifier (like a guitar effects pedal, or a specialty microphone) it may just distort when you plug it in to your desk, even with the gain and channel volume set really low. Use the PAD switch to get the level down so it is easier to control and doesn't distort.

The low cut filter (or high pass filter) is usually a button near the channel input. It essentially dampens the lower frequencies present on that channel, often from about 100Hz down. Don't use this on your kick drum, bass guitar and piano, or you will lose the low-end richness of those instruments. Do use it on all microphones and other instruments that don't produce very low sounds to eliminate traffic noise from outside, handling noise and the low frequencies from other instruments being picked up in those channels.

Next time: the high frequency EQ knob

Sound Ministry Series Part 2 - Setting Channel Gains

2010-05-05T12:35:00.002+02:00

The "gain" control (sometimes called 'trim' or 'level') is the first control knob you encounter at the top of each channel on your mixing desk.

The purpose of this knob is to control the level of the input signal into that channel. If this control is not set correctly, you won't have adequate control over the volume of that channel when you use the fader/slider.

If the gain is set too low, the signal will be too weak and you may introduce system noise (sounds like hissing) as you turn up the channel to compensate. If it is set too high, you may introduce distortion which may damage your equipment, or the channel may feed back.

To set the channel gain is quite easy. Use the "Solo" button (or PFL on some mixers) on channel one to display that channel's levels in the visual meter on the far right of the desk. Next, have someone speak, sing or play into that channel alone at performance levels and turn up the gain until it just peaking into the orange/yellow. If it goes into the red, you are too high. If it stays in the bottom green, then ensure that the -20dB "PAD" switch is not pressed in on that channel.

Repeat for all channels. Remember to keep the volume low (or better, off) for this exercise.

Done! Now our channel gains are set. This will give you the best signal to work with, and if gains are correctly set it will be easier to balance your mix across the channels, because each fader will respond similarly to your adjustments.

Note: Mics will require large amounts of gain, so don't be surprised if you end up in the >75% range. Instruments will usually require less gain, especially if you are using DI boxes.

Next time: the PAD switch and the Low Cut filter.

Sound Ministry Series Part 1 - Setting Up

2010-05-03T09:13:00.003+02:00

Before you even turn on the desk or the amp, you will need to set up. Start by plugging in everything (mics, instruments, etc.) so that you have the minimum to plug in when the system is on, which could damage the speakers. At this stage, turn on things like guitar amps and keyboards.

As you plug things in, remember to arrange things logically across the stage. It is good practice to use Ch 1 for whatever is furthest to the left of the stage, and then work across to the right from there, moving up the channels. Write down what (and who) is in each channel for easy reference. This way, the desk visually mirrors what is on the stage.

When everything is plugged in, turn on your desk first, and then your amplifier. This avoids the "bang!" of turning on the desk after the amp is on, which could damage the speakers.

As you approach the desk, never assume that the last mix is still applicable. If you have the luxury of time, this would be a good time to turn down all the faders and gains and zero the eq's.

Next time: Setting Channel Gains

Sound Ministry Series

2010-05-03T09:04:00.004+02:00

After an amazing and encouraging workshop this last Saturday, I thought it would be helpful to start a series on the basics of sound operation. Very often, the guys behind the desk do what they can very willingly, but are not confident in their knowledge of the whole picture.

This series of short posts will start at the beginning and go through the stages of setting up and mixing for a Sunday service. God-willing, it will add confidence to what you are doing, expand your knowledge and help you serve the body of Christ better.

Lastly, thanks you so much for your valuable ministry!

Mars Hill Music - Some Do's and Don'ts

2010-04-19T11:44:00.003+02:00

Mars Hill Church in Seattle (Mark Driscoll's church) have been producing some amazing worship music, and a lot of it is now available for download with a suggested donation.

I have recently downloaded their Rain City Hymnal EP, which is a collection of traditional hymns that have been rearranged, the Red Letter album, and the Good Friday Live Worship album. They have all blown my mind.

The interesting thing about them is this: it is always very obvious what Scripture passages the lyrics come from, the hymns all use the traditional words (thees and thous, and other very evocative, profound English words and phrases that have fallen out of common use) but the music is the edgiest, most creative combination of synths and grinding electric guitars, earth-shifting bass and gut-thumping drumming I have heard in ages! It seems like they're channeling the Seattle-sound in a big way. The version of Psalm 51 sounds like they had Soundgarden as the backing band!

You can read an interview with one of the worship pastors and band frontmen here.

Music like this, however, can raise some issues for us as local church musicians. Here are some helpful suggestions for things we can learn from this approach to church music.

DON'T try and mimic what is done at Mars Hill, unless you have some phenomenal rock musicians with pro quality gear, a 10, 000W PA system, a congregation of 3, 000.
DO learn to use what resources you have, just like Mars Hill has done. When you do a good job with what you have, you will have a solid foundation to build on. Jesus said in Luke 16 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much". If all you have now is a violin and a guitar and singer or two, work hard with that and ask God to bless you with more.

DON'T use heavy rock for your worship services because that's what Mars Hill is doing.
DO think about your congregation and what music would suit them best. If it is heavy rock, then pursue that.

DON'T think that the only way to present these songs is to do them the same way Mars Hill have done.
DO learn to separate out the song itself. Use the chords that are downloadable from their website and try and do the song with just a voice and an acoustic guitar or piano. The strength of a good song is its ability to "carry" in a variety of musical contexts, not just the one it is written in.

Lastly,

DON"T get discouraged that your church's music will never be like Mars Hill's.
DO listen to these songs to be encouraged, get ideas and learn a thing or two about the variety that can be present in the music Christians use to worship God.

Using A Capo

2010-04-16T08:16:00.004+02:00

Guitar player, love your capo! And learn to use it. It is one of the most valuable tools a guitarists has.

A capo is useful for

Playing simple chords in a difficult key.
Changing the sound of chords. This is important for when two guitars are playing together, because if one guitar uses a capo to play the chords in a different position, it can help the guitars to sound more distinct. You can also use it to "lighten" the sound of the guitar by playing the chords in positions higher up the neck.

The key to all of this is to learn the notes on your neck and learn your open chord shapes, and learn where the capo must go to play various chords. For instance, you need to know that placing the capo behind the 3rd fret and using the chords from the key of G (G, C, D, Am, Em) you will be playing in Bb. This is because your root note is now at the 6th fret on the low E, which is Bb.

Similarly, if you have the capo behind the 5th fret and you use the same chords, you will be playing in C. And if you use the capo behind the 4th fret and use the chords from the key of D (D, G, A, Bm, Em) you will be playing in the key of F#.

This does take learning, there are no shortcuts. Perhaps the best advice is to start thinking about the chords in songs in terms of their scale degrees instead of just their names. So in G, G=I, Am=ii, Bm=iii, C=IV, D=V, Em=vi and F#m=vii. Try and work out how chords in other keys relate to each other like this, and you will begin to become a musical demon! Then it becomes easier to 'translate' a chord to a different capo position.

Remember also that the capo functions exactly like your guitar's nut. In order for it to work properly it must be as close as possible behind the appropriate fret so that the strings break hard over the metal of the fret.

Troubleshoot:

Setting the capo too far back from the fret will make the strings buzz
Setting the capo skew will make the guitar sound out of tune
A capo that is too tight will pull the strings out of tune, a capo that is too loose will make the strings buzz. If you can adjust the tension of your capo then great, otherwise it's time to go shopping.
If you get all the above right and the guitar is still buzzing, sounding out of tune, etc., it's time to take it to the shop for a service.

Lastly, don't buy a rubbish capo. The best ones are by Shubb (http://www.shubb.com/), but Dunlop and Kyser also make great capos that are quick and easy to put on and take off, and can be clipped the headstock when not in use. The only problem with these is that they pull the strings slightly sideways because of the clamp action. (My favourite is the Dunlop Trigger capo http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=67&pmh=products/capos)

If all of this is a bit complicated, never fear! Perhaps a video will help... watch this space!

Top Ten Tittilating Titles

2010-03-26T11:39:00.004+02:00

This is a Friday post for a bit of a chuckle. As those involved in worship and music ministry we must always be careful of taking ourselves too seriously - instead we must always strive to take God seriously.

This list has been compiled from the Songs of Fellowship series of songbooks, which I have to say are some of the best out there. For singable, Biblical, honestly Christian songs, you can't go wrong with these four in your library. That said, there are some clangers in the index which are worth a laugh! Here are my Top 10:

I Danced in the Morning (Lord of the Dance)
Oh, He's So Sweet (So Sweet)
Superlatives
I Have An Appetite
Great, Great, Brill, Brill
I Want To Be Out Of My Depth In Your Love
It's Funny How
I Once Was Frightened of Spiders
Lost In The Shuffle
I Am A Lighthouse

If you wrote any of these songs, or if any of these songs help you worship God from a sincere heart, then please don't be offended. Keep singing His praise!

Give your junk to Jesus!

2010-03-18T13:06:00.005+02:00

Last week I read a really interesting article from a secular publication on church sound systems. The guy writing it was really perplexed at the phenomenon known as "give your junk to Jesus" where Christians think it's ok, and in fact really commendable to sacrificially give their church whatever beat-up, crusty old bit of audio kit they have rotting in their garage for the sake of ministry.

And this doesn't just apply to church sound, but often to all areas of the church. How about that toaster in the kitchen that threatens to electrocute you just for looking at it? Given by someone with a healthy fear of electrical fires, but who wished to bless the church with a kind gift.

I am injecting a healthy dose of humour here, and I am not thinking of any particular churches. At our own church, we are very blessed by many people who give their best very sacrificially. In my experience though, it is something that all churches suffer from, to a greater or lesser extent. Here's some food for thought:

God deserves our best.

Numbers 18v29 gives Israel guidelines for their offerings presented to God: "You must present as the Lord's portion the best and holiest part of everything that is given to you." God has given us his firstborn son. He has blessed us beyond measure. How can we not give our best back to God? It must be said that if a second-hand toaster is all you are able to give, then give cheerfully! God owns all that we have anyway, he is far more concerned about the attitudes of our hearts.

Second-hand is usually short-sighted.

Receiving a second-hand item will always carry the risk of expired warranty, unforeseen damage and obsolescence. What this really means is that it's cheap to receive, but you'll pay for it when something goes wrong. A church is always wiser buying new, a reliable brand, from a reputable dealer, with a watertight warranty.

Get the right tools for the job.

Second-hand is usually a compromise between what you actually need and what someone is willing to give you. If I want to cut tomatoes, I really need a tomato knife. But if someone has a rusty old chainsaw that they're not using, why should I refuse? (Please note that I am merely making a point - it is a bad idea to cut tomatoes with chainsaws.)

Personal and emotional attachment.

Beware of gratefully receiving the grotty old toaster, only to leave it out next to the dustbin when you realise that it might just kill someone or burn down your church. You may make that person very upset, even to the point of having a negative impact upon their spiritual life. It would perhaps have been wiser not to accept the gift in the first place.

Back to the future.

Buy your second one first. This is a wise word. Yes the price tag is bigger, yes it will take more effort. But when God blesses the church with growth you don't want to have to spend what you spent the first time again and more to meet your needs. In faith, look to the future.

Give cheerfully. Receive gratefully. In faith, ask God to provide what you need. Trust him to build his kingdom the best way possible. And don't give God your junk, give him your best.

Great Hymn Arrangement

2010-02-24T10:01:00.006+02:00

A great idea from an odd place. Sufjan Stevens did this hymn for his Hark! Christmas EP. The tune is the traditional tune of Nettleton (87 87 if it means anything to you). and even if you don't have a banjo, an acoustic guitar will do just fine.

Don't be tempted to lose the old hymns! The words are so beautifully crafted to illuminate the truths of God's Word and the Christian life. New arrangements like this can breathe new life into these old hymns and resurrect them for a new generation.

Words:

COME THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

Robert Robinson (1735 - 1790) and John Wyeth (1770 - 1858)

Praise! Also has alternative lyrics for 3 of the verses.

Song Choice - Boasting in Christ

2010-01-13T10:33:00.002+02:00

If you were only allowed to sing one of these songs, which one would you sing and why?

God Did Not Call Us (I Will Boast in the Cross)

Steve and Vikki Cook (c) Sovereign Grace

Let Not the Wise Man (I Will Boast)

Paul Baloche

Love to hear your comments!

Come People of the Risen King

2010-01-11T16:39:00.002+02:00

The music for this song was put into my hand by a congregation member a few months ago. Great song, with great words, but I haven't done it yet as I think there might already be too many Celtic-style songs in our church reportoire, especially for a South African church.

Your thoughts?

Good songs and where to find them

2010-01-04T09:22:00.004+02:00

It is often very difficult to find good new songs to sing in church. For one, we often don't have the time to trawl the internet for stuff, or buying CD's is costly.

Here are a few good songs that I have found in the last year:

Strength Will Rise (Everlasting God)

This is a driving anthem of a worship song. Written by Brenton Brown (yay for South Africa) and Ken Riley (YFriday) in 2005, it draws heavily on the words of Isaiah 40, reminding us of God's faithfulness and the need for us to trust him completely. A very easy song to play, and there's a nice little riff for your guitarist to learn (just remember the capo on 3). Don't rush it, but keep it driving.

Where to find it:

Songs of Fellowship 4, Kingswayshop.com

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

The best rearranged version of the old John Newton classic that I have heard. (Better even, than singing it to The Lion Sleeps Tonight - ;)) Written by Chris Tomlin and Louis Giglio in 2006 for the movie Amazing Grace. I've had to rewrite it from Gmaj to Emaj to make it more singable. Remember to beat in 4's and not in 3's (like the trad. version), and watch the unusual flow (V1, V2, C, V3, C, V4, rpt last line) and you're there.

Where to find it:

Songs of Fellowship 4, Kingswayshop.com

O Christ Be The Centre

A very repeatable, simple song with three distinct parts. Great to encourage reflection on and commitment to the centrality of Christ in the universe and in our lives. Draws heavily from Colossians 1, and could be just the theme song for your sermon series on Colossians. Written by Charlie Hall and Matt Redman in 2006.

Where to find it:

Songs of Fellowship 4, Kingswayshop.com

God In My Living

Written by Tim Hughes in 2006, this song can seem a bit shallow and repetitive, but I have found that it is a very accessible and thought provoking song for congregations of real people. Like O Christ... it is also inspired by Colossians 1.

Where to find it:

Songs of Fellowship 4, Kingswayshop.com

I Hear the Saviour Say (Jesus Paid It All)

Another classic hymn rearranged. Written by Elvina Hall and John Grape around 1865 (read the story here). Beautiful lyrics about the helplessness of our sinful state and the complete salvation we have in Christ. Various versions have been done by Kristian Stanfill and Aaron Keyes.

Where to find it:

PraiseCharts.com (Stanfill version), Kingswayshop.com (Keyes version)

Behold the Lamb

Another cracker from Getty, Getty and Townend. This is the best communion hymn since Break Thou The Bread of Life. A bit tricky, but don't rush it and you'll be fine.

Where to find it:

Songs of Fellowship 4, Kingswayshop.com

Servant of God Most High

This one's free! Simon Pedley has written some great songs, and this is one of them. As he says: "Isaiah 53 is the culmination of several other 'servant songs', and I wanted to draw in some of the earlier material from chapters 42 and 49, to make the whole song a cry of praise addressed to Jesus." Fairly upbeat and easy to play.

Where to find it:

Songsfortoday.com

You may notice that I have a preference for Kingsway and Songs of Fellowship 4. They are by far the most useful resources I have found for quality music, singable tunes and theologically correct songs. SoF 4is a particularly good songbook, and if you shop around you may be able to pick up a copy on the January sales.

If you choose to use any of the above songs, please abide by copyright laws by buying a copy of either the songbook it comes from, or by buying a downloadable copy of the music. Your church must also have a valid CCLI License in order to copy the music for your musicians, project or print the words, and sing the song in your church services. Please also include the authors' names with any reproductions of songs or lyrics.

Christmas at Christ Church!

2009-11-26T09:18:00.002+02:00

Don't miss our Christmas Carol Services:

Christmas @ 7

When: 29 Nov 2009, 7pm

What: our usual 7pm service with a Christmas twist

Traditional Family Christmas Service

When: 06 December 2009, 7pm

What: Something for the whole family - choirs, carols, candles and mince pies!

For directions and contact details, please see the Christ Church website

Worship Central - Band Dynamics

2009-10-05T09:44:00.002+02:00

For a very good, very concise presentation on how to work with different instruments in a worship band (guitars, bass, drums, bgv's, keys and pipe organ!), check out this talk from the Equip Seminar at HTB in London.

http://www.worshipcentral.org/video/equip-band-dynamics-seminar-14mar09

Amp Wars: A New Hope

2009-09-25T09:51:00.004+02:00

I am part of an online community for sharing knowledge and resources about music and media in churches (see www.churchmedia.net).

What has troubled me lately is the number of posts about uncooperative guitarists and bassists and drummers and stuff who have to be 'louder than everything else' in order to be heard. On one level, this is a spiritual problem -a problem of humility and servant-heartedness that must be dealt with pastorally. On another level, there are ways around this problem which negate the temptation to sin.

Monitor Mix

Make sure your onstage monitor mix is relatively quiet. You should be able to talk over it. If not, you need to review your setup. Try and get a monitor setup that projects directly a each band member. This allows you to lower the volume to a level where they are not in competition with it.

Drummers

Need their own monitor. Beyond this, cost effective options are to angle the kit so it doesn't point straight out at the pews and for your drummer to use the lightest stick he can get away with. Drum screens and mic'ed setups are the perfect solution, but they cost a kidney.

Bassists

Most bassists will be happy going through a DI to the desk. Give them a little compression if your desk has that option, or if you have outboard effects. If they have an amp, like me, the best way is to go into a DI and split one send to the amp and the other to the desk. The amp is then turned up to be heard from out front, and the desk sends a monitor signal for the bass player to hear himself. Bass has some funky frequencies: very low frequencies take distance to form, so the bass player often can't hear how loud he is standing next to his amp. The sound will be great 20m away, so rather use that sound and give the bass a monitor mix. The bass amp is also probably better suited to producing and projecting these frequencies, so best use it and give your system a break. A thing to note is that lower frequencies have greater spread than higher ones, so you don't really have to worry too much about balancing around the room, and if there are problems you can always use the signal from the desk to even things out.

Guitarists

These guys can be the worst. I know cause I'm one too. Try these three hints: (1.) For any church setup, your guitar amp shouldn't be more than 50W, with a 1x12 or maybe a 2x12 cab. This allows the amp to be run at the sweet-spot, whilst giving good tonal rang and not blowing down the sanctuary. (2.) Aim the amp up at the guitarist, not at the pews. This way the guitarist will turn up his amp so he can hear it directly, instead of turning up the spill he hears from an amp pointing at the pews. I use an 80W Marshall in a church of about 100 people, and it is inaudible from the pews if it isn't pointing at them. (3.) Mic the amp. This is the only way to get good sound. A guitar into the desk will sound really pants for a number of reasons, and even your fancy speakers and amp and stuff won't reproduce a good guitar sound, because it isn't designed to. If this is impractical (feedback, etc.) then I suggest you get a Red Box DI from Hughes and Kettner (see your local music store or the HandK website) Used on countless recordings, it allows the amp to be routed to the desk for management and balancing through a speaker-emulated DI without the hassles of feedback, etc.

And above all, bear with each other in love. This isn't a time for you to jam, it is an opportunity to serve. Always ask the question, "Is what I'm doing really helping someone worship God sincerely?"

Making the Most of Rehearsals

2009-09-21T08:25:00.003+02:00

Hey guys. It's been a while since the last post (no, not that last post - musical joke). I'm going to try and give some hints and ideas to make rehearsal times more productive.

Rehearsals are usually that limited time before the service, sometimes during the preceding week, sometimes right before the service, where the goal is to be 'ready' for the service. But what does it mean to be ready?

Being ready can really be broken down into two facets: being musically ready and being spiritually ready. Musical readiness is fairly simple. You will want to know how the songs go and what your part is, so that you can effectively lead the congregation. Spiritual readiness is more complex, but includes having the right attitude, the right focus of heart, the right love for those we serve and those we serve with, and a desire for God's glory.

This seems an awful lot to accomplish in an hour or hour and-a-half, but it is possible. Rehearsal time is more about quality than it is about quantity. Here are some bullet-points to help you have quality rehearsals.

Be Committed. No rehearsal is going to be worth it if everyone is not committed to being there, spending the time in hard work. Encourage your team to be regular and punctual.

Bible. It's always a good habit to let God have first word when Christians meet together, for whatever reason. Perhaps just a verse from the passage that the pastor is preaching on during the service, or maybe a text that one of the songs is based on. It's a great way to disarm all those other ideas and attitudes we come to rehearsal with.

Pray. This ministry only happens with God's help, so we should spend time before we begin and after we have finished. We should never forget that we are not just gathering to rehearse for a gig where we play the dots on the page and then we're done. Rather, we are Christians gathering to prepare our service to God. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 18, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

Fellowship. Build Christian relationships, so that you may minister more effectively. If music is all you have in common, it will quickly become the focus of your time together. If Jesus is what you have in common, the same follows.

Reflect. Talk and think about the songs you are rehearsing. What are they saying? What Bible texts are reflected in the lyrics? How does the song challenge your relationship with Jesus? Are you able to mean what you sing?

Prepare. Come to the rehearsal having warmed-up (this may mean arriving earlier). Having the song titles before the rehearsal enables the team to anticipate the rehearsal and be more engaging. Personally prepare your heart by praying before the rehearsal. If you are leading the rehearsal, come with a rough idea of how you want each song to run -starts, finishes, instruments, dynamics, etc. This gives a skeleton which can be finalised during the rehearsal. It avoids the, "How should we do this?" question that often wastes time.

Set-up. If you need to set up your gear (drummers, guitarists - you know what I mean), do it before the rehearsal. Same goes for sound system. "Go ahead and I'll catch up when I'm ready" is bad ministry.

Starts and finishes. The most important thing in leading songs is showing the congregation where to come in, and where they should stop singing. For this reason, if you can get your starts and finishes tight as a cyclist's shorts the middle of the songs often take care of themselves. By all means practice songs all the way through, but then spend time just doing the intro and outro of each song to get it spot-on.

Melody. Make absolutely sure that the singers know how the song goes. Singers who are confident with the melody will make them better leaders, and the band will be able to play to their lead and be more effective in supporting their lead. If they need tightening up, get your pianist to play the just melody slowly while the singers sing it. This will help them to hear exactly how it goes, and they will be able to hear immediately if they depart from it.

Music. Have the packs of the correct music ready, in the right key, ready to go straight into the hands of the musos and singers at the start of the rehearsal. The rehearsal time will be wasted scratching around in files and trying to decide on the best key for a song.

Sound Operator. Have your sound operator present at your rehearsals. This gives him time to set up the sound ready for the service in an unpressured environment, and avoids wasting rehearsal time with the leader running to the back to adjust your drummer's monitor mix after each song. Ensure that you include them in your times of fellowship and prayer so that you can all minister as a team.

Service Leader. If you have someone leading the service from the pulpit, encourage them to join the rehearsal. This will help them and the music team connect with each other, and lead the service better together. The service leader will know the songs and how they go, and the music team will get to know the guy whose directions they need to follow. It always helps a service to be more focussed if everyone involved has met together.

Lots of stuff, but if you get this right you will have more productive rehearsals.

Altar-call Alternatives

2009-08-21T15:34:00.009+02:00

How [can we] uncover new talent without having a musical "altar call" ... volunteers are often very poor judges of their own ability!

This was a question in response to a recent post. I'll agree, it is very difficult to find musicians to join in serving in our churches. And once we find them, it is often even more difficult to get them in the ministry team! And precisely for that reason, because volunteers are very often poor judges of their own ability.

This runs both ways, however. Some volunteers with poor judgement of their musical abilities tend to overestimate themselves, and then become difficult to get rid of.

In a church music ministry team, the desire is often to create our idea of a good 'worship band' as quickly and easily as possible. This is why we might have 'musical altar-calls.'

Perhaps a better way is this: build personal, Christ-centred relationships with people. Basically, what I am suggesting is that we disciple people, which is what Jesus actually commands us to do (Matthew 28v19). Getting people into God's Kingdom is far important than getting them into the worsip team! This way you build into their lives and encourage them in their faith, which is far more valuable than standing before God saying, "I played tambourine in the worship band every second Sunday."

Now this approach is very slow. When you start discipling one or two people who you know are musicians, you might only have two new people in your music team in 6 months. But I can assure you that those people will find it easier to love Jesus first and their music second, and to see themsleves as humble servants of God. It will also help you to understand where a person is at with God. Perhaps they are a brilliant musician, but they wouldn't be the right person to be serving in this ministry.

So ask around and find out who the musicians are among the congregation. Then approach them and suggest you start reading the Bible and praying together regularly. Talk to them about their music. It will become obvious to you whether or not they would be a valuable addition to the music ministry team.

But even after you have brought them on board, continue to be concerned about their love for Jesus. Keep talking to them and praying with them, and reading the Bible with them, so that your relationship is based around Christ, rather than music. This also makes it much simpler to deal with issues in the music team, if everyone is there for God's glory first and music second.

This is a slow way to build a music ministry team. But the team that is built on Christ as a foundation will be the team that really serves the congregation by pointing them to Jesus, and truly serves God by giving their best for his glory. After all, that is what we're really here to do.

(for ideas on discipling and one-to-one ministry, check out Sophie de Witt's book One to One: A Discipleship Handbook)

South African Songs

2009-08-21T15:23:00.003+02:00

In response to Nils' comment on What Do YOU Want?, I thought it would be a really good idea to get the ball rolling on collecting and transcribing a resource of South African songs in various languages, which contain good theology and good music, for use in our increasingly multi-cultural churches.

If you are interested, or if you know anyone who would be interested in such a project, please send an email to clint.lombard@gmail.com

We would need

people who love Jesus,
are concerned for the truth of God's Word,
have experience of ministering in multicultural churches
are African-langauge speakers,
and are excited about such a project!

What do YOU want?

2009-08-19T09:30:00.002+02:00

I suppose there's lots of opportunity to write about bunches of stuff. After all, the way music and the Bible relate is a broad landscape of varying categories.

But what do you want to discuss, or know more about, or bring the Bible to bear upon?

Let me know and I can direct my efforts in ways that would really help the readers of this blog. God has put us all in different places, with different circumstances and different challenges. I would love to know what those are, and at least attempt to tackle them.

So please give me your ideas!

(And perhaps give me some ideas for a future book on church music...?)

Know Christ and make Him known!

Hymns and Things

2009-08-17T10:54:00.004+02:00

What is the mix of songs that your church sings? Do you sing hymns? Modern praise songs? 70's and 80's choruses? Mix of everything? What are your preferences?

When it comes to singing in church, we must always remember what we're doing. We are responding musically to God's revelation of himself in his word. As God speaks to us, and as we know him more, we sing his praises and declare his greatness.

This immediately puts a slant on what we're doing when we sing. We're not a chart show, where we have to keep up with the latest tunes. Neither are we a music museum, where we carefully maintain and preserve historic church music. Nor are we an appreciation group, who holds tightly to a certain era of Christian music because that is what we like.

John Frame very helpfully in his book Worship in Spirit and Truth speaks of peoples' "language of worship". What this means is that in the many and varied people that make up the church, there are found different expressions of sincere worship. For some, the latest Tomlin stuff might be the best way for them to worship God. For others, it was the classic hymns that they learnt as children. And Frame counsels us to be sensitive to this.

After all, God's people are many and varied. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2v19: "So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."

The solution, then, is to sing everything. Don't create unnecessary categories in your worship. Our faith has a history, which makes older songs relevant, and God is active in the present, which makes modern songs relevant. There is no need to have one category at the expense of the other.

Of course, the difficulties present in this approach are twofold:

Though may need to be put into the arrangement of songs in order to make them accessible to a diverse congregation. This may mean playing the hymns in a traditional way, on the piano or organ, and slowing down to a stop after each verse. Or it may mean driving those hymns with a drum-beat and single chords for each bar, while keeping the same recognisable melody and traditional words. Perhaps more modern songs need to be played simpler to make them accessible, or they need to be rocked out. Know the people you're ministering to.
Love. This is probably the hardest thing to achieve when ministering to a diverse group of people. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4: "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." We need to love each other, humbly, gently and patiently. We have been joined by God's Spirit, in peace. If you are a musican, serve humbly by playing what is needed, and doing it well, rather than what you like. If you are in the pew and you don't like the songs being played, learn to love those for whom this is their sincere worship of God, and perhaps learn to worship with them, as you expect them to worship with you in the songs that mean something to you.

Jesus has loved us with an immeasurable, unending love. If we have been loved like that, how we can we not show love to those around us? It is a miracle that Jesus loves so many different people. In fact, it is a miracle that Jesus loves you.

Guitarists with GAS

2009-07-15T14:27:00.005+02:00

The above is a great video on how to get different sounds from your guitar/amp/pedals rig. Loads of good ideas and funky combinations from the guys at Worship Central.

As I watched this video, though, I started to get a bit uncomfortable with the 'bit of funs' and 'kinda cools'. The more I thought about, I realised that the problem I had was with encouraging guitarists in a worship team to pursue a certain anorak-ism about guitaring that required the purchase of all sorts of fancy gadgets and gizmo's, notwithstanding the time and effort required to dial in settings, tap tempos, pump treadles, and then there's all the sticking on of little bits of velcro, the plugging in of little jack-to-jack-leads, arranging little cables... I can't tell the difference anymore between guitar players and guitar nerds! I think that the goal-posts for church music are being.

I am a guitarist, and one of the fun things about being a guitarist is the glittering treasure-trove of things you can buy - guitars, effects pedals, amps, slides, Ebows, pedal boards, power supplies... you end up with what's known as GAS - Gear Acquisition Syndrome - and no guitarist is truly immune. Macari's and Rose Morris in Denmark Street were like Santa's Grotto to me. I would spend afternoons in there just making puddles of saliva on the floor. For the record, I play a Tokai LoveRock (sycamore-topped beauty), through a Korg Pitchblack strobe tuner into an EHX LPB-1 '68 reissue booster set at 9 o'clock into a Boss Super Overdrive with a low gain and bit of treble boost into a vintage Boss CE-3 chorus(c. 1982) with low rate and high depth with the A out going into an EHX Holy Grail Plus reverb set to a wet-ish spring into the amp, and the B out going to a Samson S-Direct DI to the desk. I have a tendency for GAS - in spades.

But before I started building my rig, I was aware of the tendency to become like a child in a sweet shop, buying the latest gear, poring over magazines, and just generally believe satisfaction will come with next acquisition of gear. I wanted to use music to help people respond to God's Word sincerely in song. So I bought a good guitar that would be easy to use and play on stage, and a few basic effects to allow me the variety necessary to sit in the mix well. I dream about Giga-delays and Crybabys, but I am actually quite satisfied with what I have, and besides constantly improving my technique, there's enough sonic landscape to explore on my little pedalboard for a long time yet. I am a servant in ministry, so my brief is to serve, not to wow or make noises that are 'kinda cool'.

Maybe I can summarise what I'm trying to say in a few points:

The simplest worship music is often the best. Trying to get too complicated will tend to narrow your field of view, causing you to disengage with those around you in corporate worship and to enagage more with the music you're creating. It's a small step from here to windfans in front of the stage...
As a guitarist, don't overdo it. You're only there to point people to Jesus. Learn to ditch anything that might come in the way of that. If you like pedals, make sure that you are still being a good steward of the money God has given you, and keep them for private pleasure. Church is not an opportunity to play around with your latest Keeley-modified T-Rex Mudhoney. Effects pedals are not from the devil, but they are not the Holy Grail of music in church either (unless you're talking about my reverb unit).
Don't lose the plot; be a servant; glorify Jesus.

Grumble.

The Leaner and Fitter Music Group

2009-07-13T14:33:00.004+02:00

Evangelicals Now runs monthly magazine in the UK. The articles can be accessed online at http://www.e-n.org.uk . Of particular interest is the Music Exchange column, written by Richard Simpkin of St Helens church in London. Have a read of this month's article, entitled The Leaner and Fitter Music Group. I now have a piece of paper on the wall over my desk, reminding me to pray for the music team, and more specifically, what to pray for them.

iPod Oblivion = Gospel Oblivion?

2009-07-09T08:50:00.003+02:00

I know, but this is still about Christians and music!

On Tuesday, I spent some time mowing the lawn. To make this unenviable task slightly more bearable, I took out my tiny (PRODUCT)RED iPod shuffle (social action at work here) that my lovely wife gave me as a graduation present, with our names laser-engraved on the back. I stuck the little white buds in my ears and I was in a happy place - shuffling through Velvet Revolver, Dido, Ben Harper, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Feist, Pearl Jam, Regina Spektor, The Fray...

I was in a state known commonly as iPod Oblivion. In New York City, legislation is under review that will make it illegal to use an iPod while crossing city streets. In 2007, two people were killed in Brooklyn and Manhattan after failing to notice cars bearing down on them as they crossed streets. In one instance, bystanders even screamed for the victim to "Watch out!", but she didn't hear.

But what if the little world I retreat into with my iPod wasn't just affecting my own safety, but that of others? As I mowed my lawn on that Tuesday, it drew nearer to 5 o' clock. I live in a complex, and that is just about the only time when you see people outside of their little boxes and on the streets and lawns of the complex. There are people getting out of the car to open the garage door, people taking the kids or the dogs for walks, people going on their after work run, people in their gardens spending some time in the green after working in the grey. What a wonderful opportunity to meet people and chat - and even try to have Gospel Conversations! Instead, the only contact I had really was the sight of some limply raised hands of greeting.

But here's the Christian with his loud lawn mower, bright white ear-buds firmly in his ears, and admittedly, not very approachable. It is probably quite an antisocial sight. But in this window of opportunity, I should be the one saying "Watch out!" to the unsuspecting victims of God's wrath. My iPod oblivion is nothing compared to their 'Christ Oblivion'.

As ambassadors for Christ, as those who have God's light in our hearts as treasures in jars of clay (2 Cor 4), as those whom God has chosen, we should be making the most of every opportunity. Whenever we are around other people, there is always the opportunity to chat and tell someone about Jesus.

When you are in the garden, out for a run, on the train or the bus or the taxi, at the gym, think twice about what opportunities you may have for the gospel, and don't put things in the way of that - because it really is the reason we're still here.

As for me, I'm going to mow the front lawn open-eared from now on, ready at every moment to switch off the motor and pass the time of day with my neighbours, get to know them and maybe even ask, "What church do you go to?"

Tutorial - Elements of Drumming in Church

2009-06-17T09:36:00.003+02:00

Hey guys. Here's another tutorial, this time aimed squarely at drummers.

Having a drummer in the music ministry team is a great blessing. Besides keeping time, your instrument allows you the unique responsibility of directing dynamic expression in a song. If that sounds like university physics to you, what I mean is that you can help to build parts of song, bring down the power level and emphasise passages perhaps more obviously than other instruments.

I know drummers get a lot of flack. If you're not being rained on because you're too loud, you are left to yourself to tap along. Drummers are there to provide a tempo, emphasise the rhythms present in the songs, and keep the songs at the right power levels for the mood it creates.

As a result, there are a few things you should work on as a drummer:

Practice with a metronome! This is something all musos should do, but particularly for drummers. Having a good intrinsic sense of timing covers a multitude of sins. Practice different simple beats at a very slow time (about 48bpm - gives a great workout and you can hear immediately when your beat is off.) Then practice fills at this tempo, aiming to always be on the beat.

Learn to read drum notation. Whilst you may not use this in church, it helps you no end in understanding the rhythmic construction of your playing. If this sounds daunting, it took me one 30min lesson to teach a pupil to read notation, and already it has helped him to understand how the beat starts on the 1, and how quavers and semiquavers should sound in bar. Looka round on the web to find drum notation and start learning.

Think rhythmically when you play a song. Don't just think, "The song is at this speed, so that's how I'll play it." What are the rhythms in the words? Say the words in time without singing them, and see what rhythms jump out at you, and then use these in your playing. This will help you to support the song and better serve those around you.

Think like an orchestral percussionist. Think of your drums as playing a part in a song, rather than just keeping time. Some songs require the drums to drive the pulse, other songs may just require the drummer to accent certain sections with cymble washes or floor tom rolls. Don't be scared not to play - the best players are characterised more by what they don't play. Less is always more.

Drummers have a hard job, but are so vital to many church music teams. Be encouraged! But always think how your playing can glorify God and serve those around you as they worship.

The Sola Panel | Rightly handling the words

2009-06-10T15:26:00.002+02:00

The Sola Panel | Rightly handling the words

Posted using ShareThis

Having a Gift Makes it Tougher, Not Easier

2009-06-01T11:33:00.005+02:00

I have decided to embark on a few short tutorials based around those fantastic Sovereign Grace ones, such as the keyboard one listed in the last post.

If we are using our gifts to glorify God and serve our brothers and sisters in Christ, and if we understand that God has given us those gifts in the first place, then we should be working hard at developing those gifts.

Do you ever spend time practicing your instrument? Do you consider it necessary to get better at playing the guitar or singing or whatever, or do you consider your ability adequate for what you do in the church music team?

Well, God has called us to be stewards of what he has given to us. Consider the parable of the talents from Matthew 25v14.

Now these are not literal talents, but what is clear here is that God doesn't give us anything that we may keep it locked in a strong-box. Instead, we must put God's blessings to work.

If God has given you a musical gift, then great! But what are you doing with it? Often in church music teams we become easily satisfied with little, when God has given us the potential for something really great. Not for the sake of musical excellence, but so that we may serve in the best way we possibly can.

Obviously practicing takes time, but if you are committed to this ministry, then that should be part of your commitment. And if you're time is limited (who I am kidding, everyone's time is limited) then make the most of those two or three 15min sessions in the living room with your guitar each week.

To make the most of your time, work on these things in particular:

Timing. Even get a metronome to help you stay on the beat.
Musical repertoire. For singers, work on improving your range and ability to sing intervals of two notes. Use a piano or keyboard to help. This will help you hit notes bang on. For tonal instruments, continue to improve your knowledge of chords and scales, so you always have the tools to draw from. For drummers, this continue building on your mental library of beats, so you can always play what compliments the music the best, rather than whatever your hands and feet end up doing
Memory. Spend time actually learning songs so you can sing them and play them without reading the music. This will make you far more comfortable with a song, even when you have the music. And for instruments, it will help us engage with the words of songs, even when we're focused on the music.

Set goals for yourself. Spend time practicing and improving on what God has given you, in his strength, so that he may be glorified.

Having a Gift Makes it Tougher, Not Easier

2009-06-01T10:56:00.007+02:00

I have decided to embark on a few short tutorials based around those fantastic Sovereign Grace ones, such as the keyboard one listed in the last post.

Well, God has called us to be stewards of what he has given to us. Consider the following parable from Matthew 25:

¹⁴^{A)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} "For^{B)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} it will be like a man^{C)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} going on a journey, who called his servants^{a]" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵To one he gave five^{D)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} talents,^{b]" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} to another two, to another one,^{E)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} to each according to his ability. Then he^{F)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} went away. ¹⁶He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸But he who had received the one talent went and^{G)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹Now^{H)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} after a long time the master of those servants came and^{I)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} settled accounts with them. ²⁰And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' ²¹His master said to him, 'Well done, good and^{J)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">}faithful servant.^{c]" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">}^{K)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} You have been faithful over a little;^{L)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} I will set you over much. Enter into^{M)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">}the joy of your master.' ²²And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' ²³His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' ²⁴He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be^{N)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} a hard man, reaping^{O)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here^{P)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} you have what is yours.' ²⁶But his master answered him, 'You^{Q)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹^{R)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰And^{S)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} cast^{T)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

What is clear here is that God doesn't give us anything that we may keep it locked in a strong-box. Instead, we must put God's blessings to work.

Obviously practicing takes time, but if you are committed to this ministry, then that should be part of your committment. And if you're time is limited (who I am kidding, everyone's time is limited) then make the most of those two or three 15min sessions in the living room with your guitar each week.

To make the most of your time, work on these things in particular:

Timing. Even get a metronome to help you stay on the beat.
Musical repertoire. For singers, work on improving your range and ability to sing intervals of two notes. Use a piano or keyboard to help. This will help you hit notes bang on. For tonal instruments, continue to improve your knowledge of chords and scales, so you always have the tools to draw from. For drummers, this continue building on your mental library of beats, so you can always play what compliments the music the best, rather than whatever your hands and feet end up doing
Memory. Spend time actually learning songs so you can sing them and play them without reading the music. This will make you far more comfortable with a song, even when you have the music. And for instruments, it will help us engage with the words of songs, even when we're focussed on the music.

Set goals for yourself. Spend time practicing and improving on what God has given you, in his strength, so that he may be glorified.

Tutorial - Piano and Keyboard

2009-05-28T15:08:00.005+02:00

Piano or keyboard players often provide the foundation to most church music teams. Most of the time, you have a very well-trained pianist and musician taking up residence at the keys.

However, it is often difficult for pianists to make space for other musicians in the team, purely because the piano or keyboard is able to handle melody, harmonic movement and rhythm all at once! And that is the way we are taught to play it. Or you may find some songs are actually difficult to lead effectively from the piano, because they are written for more of a guitar-oriented team, and then you are left wondering what to play.

This excellent tutorial from Sovereign Grace Ministries should be compulsory listening for all church pianists and keyboard players. In just over an hour, Jon Payne (pastor at Sovereign Grace Church, Gilbert, Arizona) teaches trained and untrained piano and keyboard players to make the most of their instrument as they serve both the congregation as well as their fellow musicians.

Topics covered include chord construction, inversions, scales, arrangement, left and right hand techniques, voicing, ranges and improvisation (melodic and harmonic). And the best part is that you can download the .mp3 and the .doc outline for free here

Foundations for Keyboardists - John Payne

WorshipGod 2008, Sovereign Grace Ministries

Prepping for Worship

2009-05-15T13:29:00.004+02:00

Hey there!

Here's a question: How do you prep for worship on a Sunday?

What about

Rehearse songs so everyone is comfortably confident with them
Tune your guitar!
Warm up your voice!
Sound check
Check with the pastor or service leader that you both know what the other is up to.

Obviously those things are all important. But what about what's on the inside? How do you prepare the heart for worship?

Here's my 'Puritan plug' again. These guys were amazing at stripping their faith back to the bare bones and working hard at the simple things - like praying, reading the Bible, and living for God's glory. George Swinnock (1627 - November 10, 1673), was a minister who was ejected from his pulpit for preaching the gospel. He was one of many who saw the value of spending Saturday night in prayer, Bible reading and examining oneself, and meditating on God's Word in order to prepare the heart for worship the following day. Consider this quote:

"The oven of thine heart thus baked in, as it were, overnight, would be easily heated the next morning; the fire so well raked up when thou wentest to bed, would be sooner kindled when thou shouldst rise. If thou wouldst leave thy heart with God on the Saturday night, thou shouldst find it with him in the Lord's Day morning."

Remember those things I mentioned earlier? How quickly can those things occupy our attention before a church service? When we meet together as a body of believers to hear our God speak and to respond to him, how can we do that if our minds are elsewhere, or only hanging onto the immediate by a thread, ready to be snatched away when some other pressing thought pops up?

I know for myself, that Saturday night is often spent chilling out, or having a good time with friends, then going to bed late. Then I get up early (begrudgingly, because I'm tired), hop into the car and get annoyed with other road users, then stress about the things that need to happen for the church service to run smoothly. I often haven't prayed, or read my Bible, or even stopped to just take stock of why I'm there and what I'm doing.

Just imagine the difference between a church gathering where everyone arrives as I often do, and one where everyone has spent time out with God preparing their hearts for meeting with God's people and responding to His Word. I'm sure the difference would be remarkable, to God's glory.

Why not try this: this Saturday night, ensure that everything that needs to get done is done, then take some time out to sit quietly on your own. Pray to God, thanking him for his blessings, confessing your sins, asking for his help and guidance. Read your Bible, perhaps even the passage that is going to be preached on the next day if you know what it is. Spend some time reflecting on what the passage tells you about God, about Christ and about yourself and others. Reflect on your own life, identifying areas that need God to work on, and recognising your dependence upon God. Pray again, for the gathering the next day, for those who will hear the word, for your interaction with them, and for your response to the Word. If you have someone to talk to, perhaps talk about what you have read and prayed over and what you have examined in your life.

This is perhaps obeying Jesus' command in Matthew 22v37:

³⁷And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

How can we love God with our whole being unless we work at it? And how can we worship God if our mind or heart or soul are elsewhere on a Sunday?

Message In Song - 5 days to go!

2009-05-11T08:55:00.003+02:00

"Message in Song"
The Message Church is hosting an evening of presenting the message of the Bible through song.
Through an eclectic mix of musical styles from old hymns to contemporary songs, from African and Afrikaans songs to rap we will sing of God's plan from creation to new creation.
There will be "old favourties" as well as new songs for us to learn together that we can then take back to sing in our churches.
Come and join us to sing praises to God and truths to one another in a musical celebration of the greatest message man has ever heard.
We hope the evening will be a great opportuity to unite togther in song from different backgrounds and cultures, enjoying each other's music and being a great visual picture of the gospel at work.
There will be refreshments on sale and there will be a retiring collection for The Message Church Ministry Apprenticeship Program.

It will be held at Westerford School, on Main Road, Newlands,

Date:
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Time:
7:30pm - 10:00pm

Reply to icklebobster@cybersmart.co.za or call The Message Church office on 021 685 5700 for further details
or if you would like printed flyers or posters to distribute.

Please forward this invite to your friends and church family.

We hope to see you there!

Tim Hughes on Choosing Keys for Songs

2009-05-07T13:22:00.006+02:00

Church - A Conversation with God?

2009-05-07T12:15:00.007+02:00

We live in a fast-paced world, where real communication has been twisted so we no longer really understand it. I had a look recently at the Twitter phenomenon, and thought it was the craziest idea! The video said that Twitter helped you communicate in the space between emails and blogs.

But is this really communicating? It seems more like we all end up knowing a lot about people and them about us, but never really engaging with other humanoids, and our concept of what communication really is ends up blurred.

This isn't a Twitter-bashing session. If you use it and it helps you, great! But what if a distorted perception of communication crept into our churches?

What if as we went to church, we listened to the Bible being read and preached a bit like reading Facebook updates? What if as we prayed and sang, we did it as though we were tweeting on Twitter? What if we confessed our sins a bit like a blog, and then heard a word of encouragement from Scripture a bit like an RSS feed?

What would happen is that a chasm would exist between God and ourselves. God's people would be reduced to anonymous, casual passers-by. And God to us would become impersonal and small. Even the Word of God would become a thought for the day, reduced to whatever hot topic is up for discussion, and would get old in a few hours.

As A.W. Tozer would say, "No! No! No!". This is not what church is. When we come together as a body of believers, God meets with us. He dwells in our hearts by his Spirit. He knows us inside out, better than we know ourselves. And he chooses to reveal himself to us, by his Word and in the form of his Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

In an age of casual communication, where even a phonecall takes effort, this might well be the most real relationship we could ever have - being known completely as God makes himself known to us.

This should inform our understanding of why we're at church. What if we went to church as though we were taking time out to meet up with a special friend and have a conversation? We shut out everything else and prioritise that time, without rushing, and with an aim to give ourselves as we are given to, transparently, without our own agenda.

We would hear God speak and would listen patiently. We would respond in prayer and song and in the way we live our lives. And we would build strong relationships both with our Father and our brothers and sisters. It would be a two-way conversation built on firm foundations, and all the time it would be developing and growing. But note that this is a corporate relationship that is growing - us and our Lord, not me and God - there are no solo Christians.

John Owen was an English pastor in the 17th century, a Puritan who rebelled against the Anglican church to seek to strengthen himself and others in simple faith in our Lord Jesus. He knew only knew communication face to face or in a letter, but he wrote these words:

"What do men come to hear the Word of God for? What do they pray for? What do they expect to receive from him? Do they come unto God as the fountain of living waters? As the God of all grace, peace and consolation? Or do they come unto his worship without any design as unto a dry and empty show?...Or do they think they bring something unto God, but receive nothing from him? To receive anything from him they expect not, nor do ever examine themselves whether they have done so or no?...From hence springs all that luke-warmness, coldness, and indifferancy unto the duties of holy worship, that are growing among us."

Do you aim to have a conversation with God when you go to church?

Recommended Resource - Songs of Fellowship 4

2009-04-30T10:14:00.003+02:00

We bought this songbook for our church earlier this year and have found it to contain some great songs. The difficulty with songbooks is often that you pay for 500 songs and can only use a quarter of them.

On the other hand, in order to legally use a lot of songs in your church, your church needs to own the original music as presented in a songbook.

The latest book from Songs of Fellowship has a number of great tunes to use.

After a brief squiz this morning, I came up with 8 crackers that could give you a taste of what this book has:

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
God In My Living
Here I Am (Majesty)
O Christ, Be The Centre
Praise is Rising
Sing to the King
The Splendour of the King
Strength Will Rise

These are just the new ones that I would like to introduce. Other great songs include numbers like O Church Arise and Everlasting God (Yesterday, Today and Forever).

For a full song list, click here

Message in Song - be there!

2009-04-17T13:19:00.000+02:00

The Essential Worship Chillout Collection

2009-04-16T12:26:00.008+02:00

I thought it would be wise to do some research on the albums I refer to in the previous post. Theses albums are on sale through Kingswaysongs.com. Kingsway do a great job of distributing and selling all sorts of fantastic Christian resources, and I would be quite at a loss without them in ministry. So the problem's not with Kingsway.

If you click here, you will go the page for the Essential Worship Chillout Collection. It was as I suspected. The blurb is as follows

"Our lives are filled with speed and pace, work pressures and family responsibilities, motorway journeys and diary essentials. Finding space to renew, revitalise and relax can seem elusive. We all need to learn to 'chillout', a state of being that has become a new musical style characterised by mellow, atmospheric arrangements with laid back beats and cool grooves."

Listen to the sound samples and tell me what you think. Especially interesting are Here I Am To Worship (Faithless meets Matt Redman, anyone?), and Jesus, Lover of My Soul (I hope heaven is an island paradise!).

Chillout Worship? Do you want fries with that?

2009-04-15T09:12:00.004+02:00

This morning in my inbox I received an email about two "chillout worship" albums on sale. Now this got me thinking, "Why on earth do we need to chill out whilst we worship?

This actually follows on from a previous email I received about worship albums that are designed for runners and walkers - the songs are selected and/or remixed to match the approximate tempo of a walking or running cadence so you can stick it on your iPod and 'worship whilst you walk' - you'll never miss a step!

It's great for us to use music to encourage us spiritually in our everyday lives. God's gift of music allows us to call to mind spiritual truths and express ourselves emotionally as we respond to God in worship.

But I believe that there are two fundamental problems with the market for these types of CD's: firstly, it is a symptom of a consumer based culture amongst Christians, and secondly, it is a symptom of faith which holds music as the primary expression of worship. (Perhaps a third issue could be the money that we waste on such things, and even a fourth issue could be the Christian subculture created by such things, but those are perhaps for another post). Both of these are evidence that we have our Christian faith upside-down and inside-out.

In Ezekiel 36 (click here to read it, it's great!), God says to Ezekiel that he is going to deliver Israel from exile and renew and restore their faith and obedience to Him in spite of them and their inability to give him the worship and honour He commands. His reason for this is that

he wants to glorify His name, and rightly so, because He is God. We must never, ever buy into the myth of the song, "He took the fall and thought of me above all." God's concern is for His holy name, and he shows that by saving people who cannot save themselves. Jesus went to the cross for God's glory, not for our happiness.

Firstly, we must be very careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that 'my Christianity revolves around me'. We should run screaming from anything that supposes to allow us to 'worship' whilst we go on serving ourselves as we chill out or exercise. Let me not be misunderstood, it is great to keep our minds focused on God and the truth of his Word at all times, and to continually praise God (Heb 13v15) - this is the Christian life; but that shouldn't ever fit around other things, other things should fit around our lives of worship.

Secondly, music is not the primary mode of worship. If I could worship God by having 'worship music' on my iPod 24/7 then I'd do it, because it's really easy. Biblical worship is hard. It's hearing God speak through His Word, and then responding appropriately. When God says, "Love one-another" our worship is to put those around us first and put ourselves to one side, with no promise of any return, but only for God's glory. But that has lasting value. It is building with costly materials that won't burn up (1 Cor 3v11-13) when it is tested. I have feeling that a 3min praise tune with the drum-loop at 132bpm will go 'woof' like a can of gasoline.

Listen to Christian music. Do whatever it takes to focus your mind on our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Worship God by respond seriously to His Word. Just don't think it's all about you, 'kay?

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