Friday, October 28, 2011 at 8:36AM William Edgar, Apologetics Professor at Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia) analyzes the background of jazz through a theological lens, interspersed with his performance of several pieces. This was a lecture delivered at Gordon College in 2009.
Sunday, July 24, 2011 at 3:02PM It's not an exaggeration to say that 10,000 Reasons is Matt Redman’s best album to date. Despite how popularity polls would re-arrange the pecking order, Redman stands at the top of the heap among the well-known modern worship songwriters (Tomlin, Hughes, Fee, Hall, Maher, etc.).
Monday, July 18, 2011 at 7:44AM A sister church of ours recently gave me the privilege of coming out and speaking to their Wednesday night group about the differences between a "lead musician" and a "worship pastor."
Friday, July 1, 2011 at 3:01PM Mike Cosper, Pastor of Worship at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY, is interviewed briefly by Bob Kauflin on the state of worship music today. Note what this pastor-theologian-musician is and is not focused on.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 7:46PM There’s a lot of hubbub out there in Evangelicaland about Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins. I have not read the book. The accusations are that Rob Bell is a (Christo-centric) universalist—i.e. in the end everyone gets saved. I hear these accusations from folks I trust. Nevertheless, Bell says he’s not (see this fascinating MSNBC interview), so I’ll take his word that he’s not intending to convey the universalism it appears he does.
While I don’t side with Bell, I do not have the same fear I’ve been sensing some pastors do that this will stir up heresy in my local church, despite the fact that among our people are some die hard Nooma fans. Why? Because I’m my church’s primary worship-planner, and I know what our flock is fed, week in and week out.
Worship truly is a form of indoctrination. “Indoctrination” is a four-letter word in postmodernity, for it is the unpardonable sin—forcing someone to believe what you believe. Such doings would be grievous sin, if it were indoctrinating falsehood. If it is The Truth, then indoctrination is not only good. It is the right thing to do. So indoctrination is one of the things the Church should be about. She is the pillar and foundation of truth, after all (1 Tim 3:15). The reason that worship is a form of indoctrination is that both the content and the form of worship train us, shape us, and teach us.
Let’s take the test case of the present universalism scare. Weekly, our church worships through a very specific progression of the Gospel. We enter in, praising God for His character, holiness, perfection, and glory. Met by such a Presence, we are immediately confronted by our own sin and brokenness. We confess that to God, and we find Him responding by yet again proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s salvation: because He lived perfectly, we can receive his spotless record; because He died sacrificially, we can receive the Father’s forgiveness. We respond in praise and thanksgiving, offering ourselves, in turn, wholeheartedly to God.
When that cycle is imbibed weekly by our people, if they truly imbibed it, then I don’t need to schedule a special “Why Universalism is Bad” module into our Sunday School curriculum. They have been drinking the antidote to bad theology every week. The Gospel cycle presents us with the reality of hell, damnation, and judgment. And it presents us with the true grace of heaven, forgiveness, and pardon…in Christ. We learn in the Gospel cycle that God must judge to satisfy His holy character, or else He would not be a God of integrity. We learn in the Gospel cycle that God has judged His Son in our place. Love only wins if it’s set against the backdrop of God’s holiness. Otherwise, it’s impotent, costless, insignificant, Oprah-style love.
Good, Gospel-soaked worship, in this instance, defends heresy just as well as a systematic theology course. Indoctrination certainly is not the goal and objective of worship. But when worship is done well, indoctrination is a glorious byproduct. Worship leaders, this begs the question: What are you feeding your people? If all you’re giving them is the touchy-feely, lovey-dovey stuff, then maybe you should be a little concerned when the winds of heresy blow your way.
Keep her life and doctrine pure;
Grand her patience to endure;
Trusting in Thy promise sure.
We beseech Thee, hear us.Thomas Pollock, 1871
Zac Hicks | 7 Comments | Print Article | Share Article | Email Article | tagged confession, gospel, heresy, liturgy, rob bell, systematic theology, theology, universalism, worship Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 8:47PM 
Passion, Here For You (sixsteps/Sparrow)
Released: March 8, 2011
I remember when I heard my first Passion record—Passion 98—in high school. It was fresh and different. Little did I know at the time that I was listening to a mile-marker in the short history of contemporary worship. Passion and Delirious are the pivot-point on which “contemporary worship” swung to “modern worship.” Thirteen years later, much has changed, and much has stayed the same. Many of the same faces and voices that were emerging in 1998 (Tomlin, Crowder, Hall, Redman) are now household names in contemporary Christian music. Those twenty-somethings who were more raw emotion and energy have matured into thirty-somethings who have added a bit more depth to their passion. Here For You clearly shows that Passion still dominates the modern worship scene.
SUMMARY
Passion always produces great albums. To my ear and heart, this is not a hallmark album, however. Musically, it is a typical modern worship album (this is not a criticism). Textually, there are a few small surprises, but nothing jumps out that has not been previously recorded. Awakening (2010) had a few outstanding songs (e.g. “You Alone Can Rescue”). This album doesn’t seem to carry the same kind of stardom. The songs I would most likely incorporate into worship are: “All to Us” (see my review of Tomlin’s album for comments on this song) and “Spirit Fall.”
Repeats from other albums and projects include: Crowder Band’s “Shadows,” from their Church Music, Stanfill’s “Forever Reign” from Hillsong’s A Beautiful Exchange, and “All to Us,” from Tomlin’s And if Our God is For Us.
MUSICALITY
The production, as always, is great. The album is filled, with few exceptions, with the typical instrumentation: flowy keys, electric guitars, light acoustics, big drums, and crowd noise. “All My Fountains” is a nice sonic departure from the standard tones and sounds of modern worship. It is more earthy and vigorously acoustic rhythm reminiscent of late 90s Dave Matthews. Christy Nockels (“Carry Your Name”) really does have a golden voice…the finest in Passion’s arsenal.
Perhaps the most novel aspect of Here For You is the introduction of rap into Passion’s recordings. Lecrae appears on “Shadows,” with David Crowder, and on the bonus track of “Our God,” with Chris Tomlin. With others, I’m appreciative of the incorporation of other genres, and especially from brothers and sisters who have an equal claim to the history of American church music—the African American tradition. Some may disagree, but I believe rap is very much rooted in a combination of blues and the sing-song/shouting style of traditional black gospel preaching. However, as many have noted, rap is a hard medium for congregational music. It is effective as a preaching medium, and in a responsorial format (e.g. a verse plus a congregational refrain), but it is certainly something for congregations to listen to, not participate in. Still, it’s a welcome addition to Passion’s albums specifically and worship generally. Perhaps it is another small sign that racial bridges can be and are being broken down in and around worship. Praise God for that!
THEOLOGICAL CONTENT
With this album, we see yet more cross-pollination between Hillsong worship and Passion worship. “Set Free” is co-written by Redman, Tomlin, Ingram, and Ben Fielding. Stanfill leads Hillsong’s “Forever Reign.” There is also a little nod toward the hymn tradition on this record. The chorus of “Lord, I Need You” very briefly touches on the text and melodic line of the 1872 hymn by Annie Hawks, “I Need Thee Every Hour.” I’m also excited to see the maturation of the songwriters with texts which “sound” like the expression of the biblical Psalms. Kristian Stanfill’s “Always” is a weaving of several psalms (like 121 and 130) which give voice to lament in worship.
Some songs on the album, such as “Lord, I Need You,” “Carry Your Name,” and “Constant,” are deeply gospel-centered and Christ-saturated. The text of “Lord, I Need You” is doubly praiseworthy because it highlights Christ’s righteousness, not our own triumph, the latter being a nagging theme sometimes found in modern worship:
Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me
Likewise, I appreciate the opening line of Crowder’s “Sometimes”:
Sometimes every one of us feels
Like we’ll never be healed
Sometimes
Modern worship needs to rest in these moments of lamentation more often, like the Psalms do. The song carries quite a progression that one often doesn’t see in one hymn:
It begins in individual lamentation:
Sometimes every one of us aches
Like we’ll never be saved
Sometimes
It progresses to hope:
When we’ve given up
Let Your healing come
When there’s nothing left
Let Your healing come
Til we’re rising up
Let Your healing come
It moves to adoration:
It’s Your love that we adore
It’s like a sea without a shore
We’re lost in You
We’re lost in You
It moves to consecration and mission:
Where You go, we will follow
Oh, God send me
“All My Fountains” is an interesting expansion on that phrase taken from an under-appreciated psalm (Psalm 87), an eschatological song about the children of Zion and the joy of being in the protection and presence of God. Knowing the psalm gives great context for the joy of “All My Fountains”:
He has founded his city on the holy mountain.
The LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the other dwellings of Jacob.Glorious things are said of you, city of God...
Indeed, of Zion it will be said,
“This one and that one were born in her,
and the Most High himself will establish her.”The LORD will write in the register of the peoples:
“This one was born in Zion.”As they make music they will sing,
“All my fountains are in you.” (Psalm 87 [NIV])
The first three songs are calls to worship, songs of exaltation. “Symphony” lifts the eyes similar to the opening lines of “How Great is Our God,” with its Psalm 19-like first verse:
Shining wonders, fields of splendor
How they sing Your symphony
The deepest oceans, rising mountains
How they sing Your symphony
There is a strong emphasis throughout the album (which is typical of modern worship) of finding God’s special manifestation in the moment of musical worship. “Waiting Here for You” sings,
And we’re desperate for Your presence
All we need is You
“All My Fountains” cries,
Come on, rain down on us,
Rain down on us, Lord
It has always been a part of the modern worship ethos to seek God’s special manifestation in the moment of singing. Many worship songs ask for that very thing, saying something like, “as we sing, come meet us here.” I wonder, with such a heavy emphasis on the presence of God in music, whether modern worship has steered us away from seeing how the presence of God is also (and perhaps better) manifested in other elements of worship like the Lord’s Table. A gentle reminder to those of us who love and appreciate the vitality of modern worship is that the Scriptures testify and the history of the Church’s worship corroborates the reality that God chooses to manifest Himself most acutely in the Lord’s Supper, not in singing. But, unfortunately, modern worship movements like Passion have been at least a small step removed from corporate worship of the local church, acting more like parachurch worship movements than core expressions of Christ’s church (interesting sidenote: Passion City Church has launched as a Passion-offshoot in Atlanta). While I’m all for encouraging generations to gather, be inspired, and rise up for ministry (Passion is a movement targeting the specific demographic of college and young adults), I wonder whether Passion’s influence on the Church has at least in a small way led evangelicalism more toward missing what uniquely happens in worship when we celebrate the sacrament together.
It is encouraging to see the theological jab in “Spirit Fall.” Often times, simple songs of the Spirit are nebulous and do not highlight the roles that the Spirit plays. Here, we have a very specific call for the Holy Spirit to act:
Oh, come
Magnify the Son
Savior of the world
The hope for everyone
The Spirit’s job isn’t just to give us goosebumps and overlay an emotional blanket on our hearts during worship. The Spirit has come to bear witness to the Son, to herald the gospel, and to illumine Christ to us. To my mind, this is what gives this simple song some uniqueness in the modern worship expression. Personally, I am not usually drawn to more experiential songs, but this one attracts me because of its theological angle.
“Set Free” is an exciting song intended to get bodies moving:
And we’ll dance, dance
Dance in Your freedom
Oh, Your glorious freedom
Forevermore, forevermore
Perhaps because it’s more of a “dance” number than a “sing” number, the text-writing is a bit more loose. I often encourage worship leaders to hold up as a criterion for song-selection the idea of logical cohesion (see my article “How I Choose Songs for Corporate Worship”). Where is the point at which words and phrases move from being “impressionistic” to random? I wonder whether “Set Free” teeters on this tipping point:
Joy, joy, unspeakable joy
Hope like never before
You came for us
You are our freedomLove, love, unshakeable love
We shall over come, we will never give up
We lift a shout, we lift a shout
Everyone singingCome on, come on now, we’ve got a new song
Come on, come on now, a song of liberty
Let the world hear heaven’s melody
This is the shout of the hearts You’ve set free
There is a conceptual glue which holds these statements together, certainly, but the text is awfully loose. I’m not totally against it, but I want to continually raise the question that many do not: Should we not pause to ponder the fact that, while standing in the rich history of hundreds of years of Christian worship, we are the first to express words in this way, so loosely hung together?
I’m also interested in discussing the phrase, “dance in your freedom.” For as popular a phrase as this is in modern worship, there aren’t many Scriptural parallels to it. In the Bible, certainly there is dancing. And a major theme of the gospel certainly is freedom. And yet if you do a Bible Gateway search of the words and phrases, “dance freedom,” “dancing freedom,” and “dance free,” at least in the NIV, no matches are found. Where did this phrase and idea get so popular for modern worship? Does it have its roots in David’s naked, “undignified” worship? Is it an attempt to encourage that attitude of heart? It is not at all bad to strive for bodily freedom in worship; God deserves our all. Dancing is an expression of worship, of course. But where did we come up with this phrase, and what is its meaning and purpose? I simply want to question its prevalence in our modern hymnody.
Because of Passion's incredible influence over evangelical worship (in many ways, they are trend-setters) they must be open to scrutiny and questions like those above. Still, Here For You contains nothing off-course theologically, and will no doubt leave a positive mark on the landscape of modern worship.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 10:00AM 
Contrary to what one might think I believe, the hymns movement is not THE answer for modern worship. The reform that is needed and the reform that is happening in today’s evangelical congregational music needs much more than a revival of hymnody and historical connectivity. That said, the hymns movement is still an important piece in this reform…which is why I want to continue to herald its growth and expansion.
Jaron and Katherine Kamin are a welcome addition to the fold. Recently relocated from Socal to Nashville, this singer/songwriter couple have found new solace in old hymnody. Just yesterday, they released Here Among Us, a beautiful indie-rock hymns album, which was produced by the mighty Andrew Osenga.
Jaron and Katherine share the vocal load throughout the album. Jaron’s is a straight and simple pop voice (as any good modern worship leader should have)—not too flamboyant, but certainly nuanced and stylized. Katherine’s is a round alto tone, uniquely suited to the indie style of the project. Some of the songs are new tunes to the old hymn texts (e.g. “Praise My Soul the King of Heaven”), but many are modern re-arrangements of the original tune (e.g. “Nothing but the Blood” and “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”). They’ve also included a few of their own great originals (e.g. “Light”).
Much like my comments regarding Ascend the Hill, I personally enjoy the musical style of Jaron & Katherine. Their style is a loose, engaging indie rock sound. “Light” begins with a Built to Spill-ish / OK Go-ish beat and guitar chord shifting. In general, there is a lot of “space” in their mic-placement or effects on the electric guitars…beautifully ethereal, as in “Christ is Made the Sure Foundation.” You can hear the Nashville influence, as well, on tracks like “Give Praise to the Lord,” with its tasteful, arpeggiated banjo. “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” contains a fresh rhythmic interplay between the original melody’s 4/4 rhythm and their added flowing 6/8 beat. The drumming throughout the album is creative and unconventional. I love the surprising second half of “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,” in that regard.
The whole album is a rich sonic feast, but my favorite two songs are “Praise My Soul the King of Heaven” and “Christ is Made the Sure Foundation.” In my opinion, many of these songs work wonderfully for congregational singing (see their answer to the final interview question below), and I hope that many churches (particularly the ones sold out on the Passion and Hillsong repertoire) will employ them. I thank God that folks like Andrew Osenga spend time producing the work of new and emerging artists, especially those of the hymns movement variety. You can hear Osenga’s tasteful electric guitar work throughout Here Among Us…in a sense it’s his small signature on the album. Go out and get the album, and tell all your friends about it! I can’t wait until their next project.
I had the privilege of being able to fire off a few questions to the Kamins. When bloggers like me do interviews, it’s a risky endeavor, because artists are not always purposeful, thoughtful, and articulate. This is not the case with the Kamins, which is why I wanted to give them a major voice on this post.
Tell us about your background as worship leaders and with worship music.
Well, we've been leading worship together since before we started dating. So, for almost nine years. It started with youth groups, then volunteering with smaller congregations, and eventually to Jaron being a full time director after some time in seminary. Katherine's been involved on and off, but writing and playing music has always been one of our favorite ways to spend time together. We've primarily led worship in congregations that were also our worshiping community. With this record, though, we've had opportunities to visit other congregations, and that's been a really beautiful experience for us, being received into another body's worship service and connecting with folks there.
When we started leading it was almost entirely with contemporary songs. It really wasn't until around 2007 when Jaron's boss at the time, Jim Rauch of Westminster Pres in Escondido, CA, started asking him to include one hymn per week that our focus began to change. It didn't take long for us to realize that rearranging these hymns for a contemporary style of worship really felt like the best of both worlds to us. Eventually the pastor had to require that we include at least one contemporary song each week.
What are your thoughts, constructive and critical, about the state of contemporary evangelical worship today?
It’s hard to generalize about the state of evangelical worship. So many churches are doing so many different things. What we can say is that we think the church is at its best when people in local contexts are finding what works and resonates in their particular situation. When they find or create the music and lyrics that give voice to their community, affirm scripture, and draw nearer to God because of it, then we see that as ideal. From our perspective problems arise when a community goes through an identity crisis and starts to reach for a voice in worship that is not their own. A church should not trust only a record label executive to determine what their worship should look like, though that executive may have some good ideas.
What captivates you about hymns, and why have you chosen to focus your album on them?
We love hymns for at least three reasons. The first is that the hymns provide a connection to the thousands of years of Church life that have come before us. When we sing these songs, we sing with the saints of the past. We have a connection to their struggles and joys, which, we believe, are struggles and joys that we still relate to today. We have a connection to the way our fathers worshiped their God, who is also our God.
The second reason is that we find these songs, in general, to be very rich theologically. So much modern music today, evangelical or otherwise, is about expressing an emotional state. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the music of the last few centuries (again with exceptions) has been more about engaging with very particular aspects of who God is and who we are in Him. Including hymns in our worship provides some needed balance.
Third, a lot of the music is just beautifully written music. It makes sense- it that has survived for centuries. You tend to hang on to the good stuff. That makes for a pretty big pool of great music.
What, in your minds, is the value of setting old hymns to new music?
For us a lot of the value in it is that the new music enables us to own the lyrics a little more. That’s the hope anyway, but to be honest, we also just love to rearrange songs, whether they were written in the last twenty years or the last two hundred. We personally still love the hymns when you’ve got a group of people singing around a piano or pipe organ, but we hope that these arrangements will provide a fresh experience for people.
What are your hopes and goals for this album?
It really was a privilege just to be able to make this album. To work with this music with such amazing musicians and to see the vision become a reality through our work with Andy Osenga was kind of a realization of hope for us already. However, we hope that the people who might benefit from hearing this record will be able to hear it. We hope it provides something fresh, that it gives voice to people. And we hope it enables these works to minister to folks who may not engage with them otherwise. We hope that people who hear it will participate in it. One of the things we were really intentional about in recording, even in the keys we chose, is making a record with which people would be able to participate, whether that's by using these arrangements at church or singing along in the car. And one of the beautiful things about working primarily with lyrics we didn't write is that when we lead others in a live setting, it doesn't feel as though we're imposing our own words onto them. We're all partaking in the ministry by the saints that came before us.
Monday, February 28, 2011 at 7:09AM Colossians 3:16:
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.”
“Word of Christ,” in context, is the good news, the gospel, of His headship (2:10), of our union with Him (2:12; 3:1), of our being made alive in Him (2:13), and of His triumph over the powers and authorities (2:15).
Most often, we evangelicals tend to think that this word of Christ dwells in us by means of Bible study. Certainly this is true. Part of our “teaching and admonishing one another” is our reading the Scriptures together and allowing the Spirit to form us through the teaching that takes place there. We evangelicals furthermore acknowledge that the word of Christ dwells in us by means of the preached word. And certainly this is true, as well.
But that’s not what this passage is talking about. Here, we have a radical statement that this “Word of Christ” dwells in us richly as we sing in worship. The Gospel has a special “dwelling” among us as we sing. Firstly, yes, this passage is referring to the act of corporate worship. The verbs are all plural in Greek, and the “one another” is a dead giveaway that this is referring to gathered, corporate action. Secondly, blown to smithereens is the notion that music in a worship service is merely a “warm up” for the sermon. As far as the word-of-Christ-dwelling-richly barometer goes, they’re both on equal footing. Thirdly, notice the interconnectivity of it all. The connection between this “teaching and admonishing” and “singing” is even more stark in the original language of the text. And here, I’ll note that the new NIV (2010) has actually brought this out with more precision:
(Old NIV): “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”
(2010 NIV) “Let the message of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
The latter reflects the literal flow of the Greek text. The former breaks up the ideas a bit with “and as you sing,” but no such conjunction “and” exists in the Greek. It flows literally, “teaching and admonishing one another in/by/with* psalms, in/by/with hymns, in/by/with songs…”. Kudos to the new NIV team! So, ultimately, the language points us to the fact that the Gospel dwells in us uniquely in the act of singing together.
Just as profound is the fact that singing together is an instrument through which we teach and admonish one another. This certainly means several things:
1) It raises the stakes for the theological content of our songs. If one of the goals of our singing is to teach and admonish one another, we can’t do this if our content is simplistic, theologically shallow, or downright wrong. If I want to encourage your physical health, I can’t hand you a milkshake. If I want to encourage your spiritual health, I can’t do so without healthy theology. But let it be known that this doesn’t mean that our songs need to be theologically dense. They can be simple, just not simplistic.
2) It raises the stakes for the need for our active participation in singing. How well does teaching and admonishing work when it comes from a half-hearted source? If I am attempting to encourage you with the Gospel, can I do so effectively through a yawn (I see a lot of yawns as we sing on Sunday morning!)? If I am ministering the word of Christ to others, I should do so with the utmost zeal, with all that is within me.
3) It means that worship is an important context for true spiritual formation. Born again evangelicals have inherited a strong “me and God” emphasis on spiritual formation. But here we have a passage which emphasizes that the teaching and admonishment, which are necessary parts of my spiritual growth, happen in the context of worship, as we sing together. The drum needs to be beat time and again: one of the best things you can do for your spiritual health and growth is to regularly worship with the gathered people of God.
Who knew that so much truth could be so densely packed in one Greek sentence? Well, I guess God knew.
*For those who know Koine Greek, “psalms,” “hymns,” and “songs” are all dative constructions, and the context indicates that they’re being used instrumentally, as means through which teaching and admonishing happen.
