The New Pietist - discussions and ideas...

The new site is up...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:04:00 -0400

These days it seems that we’re uncertain what we mean when we talk about worship.

Some of us mean music, others mean a posture or an attitude…

some people even want to constrain it to Christian activity.

In an effort to bring clarity and definition, this site pulls from scripture and many quotes to start the discussion… we want to redefine worship.

follow me to www.redefiningworship.com

I’ve taken a little break since February, but I’m...

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:45:27 -0400

I’ve taken a little break since February, but I’m back now, with a plan to build a new resource.

My main aim is to research and discuss some major changes in our thinking and practice… if you’re reading this you’ll be either interested or involved in some way. I’ll need to establish a permanent resource page somewhere, accruing good information and quotes… watch this space and ask stimulating questions if you think I’m not working hard enough at it, please!

a quote from Jay Phelan...

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:15:53 -0500

Jay Phelan: “In the Covenant we have a chance to offer to the world a grown up faith, a faith that can handle ambiguity, a faith that can handle hard questions, a faith that can accept people even when they are wrong, a faith that permits disagreements and encourages discussions, a faith that is able to say, ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I love you,’ a faith that looks out for the suffering and the marginalized and shares with them the love of Jesus. A faith that is mature because the word and will of God are internalized.” (1998)

Thanks, Daniel Johnson, for reminding us of this…

another great insight from Mark Roberts

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:39:59 -0500

Jesus… demonstrates the soul of worship. When we envision worship, chances are we think of celebratory singing or of people gathering to hear the Word of God proclaimed. To be sure, celebration and preaching are vital elements of worship. But they are not the soul, the center, the heart of worship. Rather, when you peel back the various expressions of worship to get to the core, you find surrender and submission.

The Biblical Imperative We Love to Ignore

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:28:00 -0500

The Biblical Imperative We Love to Ignore:

Mark Roberts has a good point…

The Biblical Imperative We Love to Ignore

by Mark D. Roberts

Psalm 96:1-13

Sing a new song to the LORD! Let the whole earth sing to the LORD!

Psalm 96:1

Psalm 96 begins with a simple imperative: “Sing a new song to the LORD!” If you look up all of the Hebrew words that underlie this command, you find that they really mean “Sing a new song to the LORD!”

Fine. But here’s the problem: We don’t like to sing new songs to the Lord, at least not for the most part. Oh, I suppose we don’t mind a new song every now and then. But, by and large, people like to sing to the Lord the songs they know already.

I confess to being one of these people. Recently, I found myself worshiping in a church I hadn’t attended before. I knew about half of the hymns and songs used in the worship service. The others were new to me. I found myself feeling uncomfortable. I was critical of some of the words of the songs. Mostly, I wished that I could just sing to the Lord rather than trying to figure out the unfamiliar tunes and rhythms. I felt rather cranky. Then I felt guilty for turning worship into a matter of my preferences rather than God’s glory.

Commentators on Psalm 96:1 will sometimes point out that “a new song” could be a familiar song sung with new meaning and vigor. I expect that’s true. But, when God’s people experience God’s goodness in fresh ways, the more poetic and musically inclined among us tend to write new songs. If we’re open to these songs and hymns and spiritual songs, they can help us to be renewed in our relationship with the Lord and to express our worship in new ways.

I’m not saying that every new song is a good one. But I am saying that I need to learn to be more open to new ways of worshiping the Lord, even as I continue to use the songs and hymns I love. In the end, I must remember that worship is not about me. It’s about God and the people of God offering themselves to him. Surely I can do this sometimes with a new song.

"we are what we sing. Music helps us learn our theology. Whole movements have begun with this..."

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:16:12 -0400

“we are what we sing. Music helps us learn our theology. Whole movements have begun with this concept; the Wesleyan and Methodist movements began with a pair of brothers who adapted bar songs to teach theology – now we call them “hymns,” songs that used the poetry of music to teach that which is mysterious. Music helps us remember our theology; we remember what we sing, often, better than we remember what we study. Music helps us to express our theology; there is something special about poetry and lyrics that can make sense of paradoxes and contradictions, that helps us lament in times of sorry, express our joy in times of plenty. Music inspires us to use our theology; a good song will move us beyond what we sing, beyond the walls of our building and into our community to serve. We are what we sing.”

- Sing | Worship Connect

"Worship creates—or should create, if it is allowed to be truly itself—a community that marches to a..."

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:26:09 -0400

“Worship creates—or should create, if it is allowed to be truly itself—a community that marches to a different beat, that keeps in step with a different Lord.”

- Simply Jesus | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 08:28:21 -0400

Psalm 77 models for us exceptional honesty in prayer. It shows us that God cares more about our openness with him than that we get all of our theology right when we talk with him. Oh, to be sure, orthodoxy matters a great deal. But sometimes our efforts to say all the right things in prayer compromise our genuineness. The Psalms in general, and Psalm 77 in particular, encourage us to pray with “no holds barred.” We don’t have to be afraid of asking God tough questions or even of challenging his goodness. What God wants from us is not all the right words, but us…our full, true selves. God wants relationship, not with some whitewashed image of ourselves, but with us.

When we pray honestly, holding nothing back, we enter into a deeper and truer relationship with the living God. In the context of this relationship, we will discover, again and again, that God has not forgotten to be gracious. Yes, sometimes his grace seems strangely hidden. But we who know God through Christ can always be sure that nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love and grace.

from Mark Roberts, Laity Lodge.

a quote from www.zachicks.com blog dated 7/12/11

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:37:46 -0400

We can observe two things. Firstly, discussion among leaders in worship are largely driven by pragmatism. Notwithstanding notable exceptions like the annual Calvin Symposium on Christian Worship, the big worship conferences across the United States are usually skimming across the surface of the ocean of theology in order to playfully skip in the shallow pools of pragmatics, from breakout sessions on lighting to corporate presentations on the latest calendaring and music-distribution sites and software.

Secondly, compared to days of old, it seems today that theological discussions, less and less, weave worship into the dialogue. We worship leaders are not the only ones to blame for this bifurcation. The ivory tower, too, has done its part. Colloquia on theology (e.g. the Evangelical Theological Society) seldom process issues of worship and liturgy. “That’s practical theology,” or “That’s liturgics,” they might say.

When was the last time theologians gathered to process the salient issues of worship in their day, not only to process but to effect change? Well, that seems impossible to the evangelical mind, because the theologians neither are the ones calling the liturgical shots, nor are they in dialogue with the ones who do call the shots—the worship leaders. The theologians might certainly be talking, but it is monological. Worship leaders aren’t reading them. And, even if they are reading them, they’re probably not reading them with much eye toward application to their own practice.

We’re kind of in a bind, here. What’s the solution? I’m not sure, but I believe that the restoration of the worship leader-pastor model (built into the Levitical priesthood, present in the medieval Church, strong in the Reformation, and alive and well at Westminster) will be part of it. Worship leaders as (formally or informally) trained theologians…imagine that! These days it seems so novel and fresh, but in actuality, it is an old, well-worn path of the Christian faith.

Agreed. Strongly...

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 19:37:52 -0400

…and very well, said, Chris.

"In 1 Chronicles, David, in an act of worship, says these words: “I will not take for the LORD what..."

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 19:34:27 -0400

“In 1 Chronicles, David, in an act of worship, says these words: “I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” Worship, it seems, is not about what we want at the expense of others. Instead, worship throughout the scriptures is about sacrifice, about giving of ourselves, at our own expense. It’s an orientation of our attitudes, of our choices, of our hearts and minds towards God, where God is the subject of the story rather than ourselves. Our gatherings, then, are less about what music we find to be exciting, tasteful, and preferable, and more about a weekly rhythm of growing as a corporate community into the character and principles of Jesus.”

- Sacrifice | Worship Connect

"I don’t take lightly the craft of congregational songwriting. We’re putting words into..."

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:54:31 -0400

“I don’t take lightly the craft of congregational songwriting. We’re putting words into people’s mouths, and therefore their hearts and minds. So in a good (or bad) way, we are actually at times shaping the way someone thinks about God or approaches him. That’s an awesome task. You have to become more than just a musician writing some nice tunes to make Sundays more jolly.
When you start presenting songs in your local church, you are in effect a pastor, a teacher—maybe even a prophet or evangelist.”

- Redman’s Reasons | Music | Christianity Today

Volume, Silence, WORSHIP! - gkaiser's posterous

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:40:31 -0400

Volume, Silence, WORSHIP! - gkaiser's posterous:

This is a really interesting perspective, and worth reading.

Thursday Evening Message, Efrem Smith

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 11:07:26 -0400

Thursday Evening Message, Efrem Smith:

I was deeply impressed by this man and his message. Enjoy!

"I work for the King and Creator of the universe, no matter where I am or what I’m doing,..."

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 13:07:03 -0400

“I work for the King and Creator of the universe, no matter where I am or what I’m doing, everything needs to reflect the awesome power, grace, and majesty of the amazing God I worship.”

- We are the keepers of the house | Worshiping in the Kitchen

the beauty of holiness

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:21:00 -0400

Majestic in glory forever,

In character, perfect and pure

Your righteousness shines like the stars in the heavens,

Your justice eternal and sure

And as we consider these mysteries,

Beyond all the wonders we know

Our highest art cannot express

All the beauty of holiness.

- - -

Unworthy but welcome before You

Unlovely but loved by our Lord

A troubled creation, remade and renewed,

We’re ransomed, redeemed and restored!

But, as we consider these mysteries

Beyond all the wonders we know

Our highest art cannot express

All the beauty of holiness.

- - -

Your justice is tempered by mercy

Sin’s penalty paid by the priest

In sovereignty crowned with compassion

The Lord gives His life for the least.

And throws open the gates to a feast…

- - -

So, as we behold Your perfection

(Which language but poorly describes)

Create, for Your praise, a reflection that shows

Your mercy and grace in our lives

And Lord, as we mirror these mysteries

Inviting Your likeness to grow

May our hearts and minds and tongues confess

All the beauty of holiness.

(Our thankful hearts are ever blessed

By the beauty of holiness

And our souls will find eternal rest

In the beauty of holiness)

- - -

Geoff Twigg

©marksofchrist

(a recording will be available soon at www.geofftwigg.com)

United Methodist Worship: Contemporary Worship Wisdom from a Medieval Rhetorician

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 07:27:10 -0400

United Methodist Worship: Contemporary Worship Wisdom from a Medieval Rhetorician:

This is a lovely article, about some worthwhile efforts to re-capture ancient truth and ancient art. I’m grateful to my friend Glenn, who knew that i would revel in this glorious idea…

Wordle - worship

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:25:54 -0400

Wordle - worship:

"If I have one concern it’s that we make room for one another. Obviously we all have preferences as..."

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:27:41 -0400

“If I have one concern it’s that we make room for one another. Obviously we all have preferences as to what we enjoy and don’t enjoy, and that gets involved with questions of quality. I have tried not to listen first critically, but to listen sympathetically, and try to find the authenticities in other people. Inevitably when you do that there is something that will bless you.”

- Gathering the Covenant Family | ECC | News

wonderful 1994 interview with the late James Hawkinson

BBC News - Five Minutes With: Sir Peter Hall

Sat, 21 May 2011 16:15:58 -0400

BBC News - Five Minutes With: Sir Peter Hall:

“A rehearsal is not practice; it’s finding”

Sir Peter Hall, legendary Theatre Director and founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company. I rather suspect that for many church musicians, rehearsal is practice… and so we find ourselves content with lesser art, and just ‘playing the notes’.

Sir Peter is reminding us that we should privately practice our art, and then bring it to a rehearsal ready to discover the true meaning and power in the expression.