tetelestai

zack did it... so can I...

2008-06-05T15:02:00.001-04:00

Stephen Castle Farrior

1711 West Creek Way #1, Louisville, KY 40242 Cell: 502.403.5980, E-mail: stephen.farrior@gmail.com

Objective

As a graduate of East Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity with a Concentration in Worship, I am currently seeking a musically focused pastoral role in the local church.

Personal Music Ministry Philosophy

To shepherd the church of God and to evangelize the lost by using the gift of music to consistently proclaim the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; To lead the church in biblically saturated texts set to context appropriate music in order to lovingly saturate the ears of the hearers with the Gospel; To lead in corporate worship that stands steadfast on the truth of the Gospel and to emotionally and spiritually respond in Biblically appropriate ways; To train the next generation of musicians and to continually lead the current generation of musicians, in order that the church might have musically able leaders who will proclaim through the medium of music this Gospel once for all delivered to the saints in years yet to come.

Ministry Experience

Crossing Church, Louisville, Kentucky May 2007 to Present

Worship Ensemble Leader

· Lead Sunday morning corporate worship services.

· Lead all rehearsals for this contemporary / rock style ensemble.

· Created chord charts / lead sheets for worship team.

· Developed EasyWorship / ProPresenter slides.

Campus Crusade for Christ, East Tennessee State University January 2003 to May 2006

Corporate Worship Leader

Selected, prepared, and rehearsed musical selections and Scripture readings for corporate worship.
Lead worship at weekly meetings with a small acoustic ensemble.
Lead all rehearsals for this ensemble.
Created chord charts / lead sheets for worship team.
Developed MediaShout / Powerpoint slides.
Lead a small group Bible study in a campus dormitory.

First Baptist Church, Baileyton, Tennessee September 2004 to June 2006

Music Minister

Selected and rehearsed musical works and Scripture readings for corporate worship.
Lead worship at weekly meetings with traditional and contemporary instrumentations.
Selected, prepared, and rehearsed musical selections for a twenty-five voice choral ensemble.
Prepared and performed two service length musical presentations.

Virginia Avenue Baptist Church, Bristol, Tennessee September 2002 to December 2003

Director of Musical Activities

Selected and rehearsed musical works and Scripture readings for corporate worship.
Lead worship at weekly meetings with traditional and contemporary instrumentations.
Selected, prepared, and rehearsed musical selections for a thirty-five voice choral ensemble.
Prepared and performed three service length musical presentations, including a living Christmas tree.

Education

Fall 2006 to current – Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Master of Divinity with a Concentration in Worship

Fall 2002 to Spring 2006 – East Tennessee State University, Bachelor of Arts in Music Education

Redeemer Presbyterian Church

2008-06-02T17:17:00.002-04:00

Through some internet meanderings, I happened upon the website for Redeemer Presbyterian Church. As a (hopefully) future music and corporate worship pastor, I was of course interested to see what their music is like.

I am pleased, to say the least. From what I can tell, this is one of the first churches I have found which is doing what I feel called to do in the church: that is, to use all of the musical art forms at our disposal (not just Western classical or 90's rock) for the glory of God in corporate worship, and to build up musicians both in their Christianity and in musicianship.

Check out their page. It is encouraging to see someone really doing this...

watch the last 30 seconds of this video...

2008-06-01T20:12:00.001-04:00

http://www.nbc.com/Last_Comic_Standing/video/#mea=257136

John Mayer strikes gold...

2008-05-28T17:20:00.002-04:00

Not really, but I'm talking about the song, "Stop This Train."

No, I'm not colorblind
I know the world is black and white
Try to keep an open mind
But I just can't sleep on this tonight

Stop this train
I wanna get off
And go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can
But honestly, won't someone stop this train?

Don't know how else to say it
Don't want to see my parents go
One generation's length away
From fighting life out on my own

Stop this train
I wanna get off
And go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can
But honestly, won't someone stop this train?

So scared of getting older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game
To find a way to say that life has just begun

Had a talk with my old man
Said "help me understand"
He said "turn sixty-eight
You renegotiate"

"Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in
And don't think I couldn't ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly we'll never stop this train"

Once in awhile, when it's good
It'll feel like it should
And they're all still around
And you're still safe and sound
And you don't miss a thing
Till you cry when you're driving away in the dark
Singing

Stop this train
I wanna get off
And go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can
Cause now I see I'll never stop this train

local radio station parodies Usher

2008-05-20T22:33:00.002-04:00

Jennifer told me about this until I had to go look it up... hilarity

this is worth repeating (for Groves)

2008-05-19T13:03:00.000-04:00

"The Word of God is the gathering point for all the content and all the action... In Christ means in the Word made flesh, and this means that the centrality of Christ guarantees the centrality of the Word, even as we sing or pray or preach or celebrate the Eucharist. It is because of this centrality that all liturgies, whether traditionally framed, denominationally created or "experimental," will stand or fall in direct proportion to the centrality of the Word of God."

-- Harold Best

one conversation we like to avoid

2008-05-19T03:23:00.003-04:00

Modesty.

This is a huge issue. You might think, "Gee whiz, Stephen; you attend Southern Seminary and a church full of seminary students and their wives. SURELY this is not an issue." Unfortunately, it is. However, I am extremely thankful for a few timely blog posts from C.J. Mahaney on this topic. Here are 7 links for your scanning/perusing/forwarding pleasure.

Resisting-the-Seduction-of-a-Fallen-World
Modesty-The-Attitude-of-the-Modest-Woman-(pt-2)
Modesty-The-Appearance-of-the-Modest-Woman-(pt-3)
Modesty-A-Pastors-Concern-(pt-4)
Modesty-A-Word-to-Fathers-(pt-5)
Modesty-The-Right-Adornment-(pt-6)
Modesty-The-Modest-Womans-Allegiance-(pt-7)

a couple of great links

2008-05-14T18:50:00.003-04:00

Here are some links to some articles I have found quite interesting recently, and will likely revisit:

How to Waste Your Theological Education

Principles for Song Lyric Slides in Corporate Worship

Hymn of the Week; "Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul"

2008-05-04T21:01:00.002-04:00

I have often gone to a Sunday morning gathering of Christians and felt like a second class Christian. There are many times when I am not in a place where singing of God's greatness or goodness or lovingkindess are the first words on my lips. The voice of the suffering Christian is often lost for lack of language, but not so with Anne Steele. Enjoy this hymn of the week, maybe taking one verse per day (there are thirty-nine verses in the IGraceMusic.com hymnal).

"Thy mercy seat is open still, here let my soul retreat." When faced with suffering, I pray that my family and friends and fellow Christians will be reminded by the words of this hymn that there is a refuge for our weary souls.

Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

by Anne Steele

1. Dear refuge of my weary soul,
On Thee, when sorrows rise
On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies
To Thee I tell each rising grief,
For Thou alone canst heal
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief,
For every pain I feel

2. But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,
I fear to call Thee mine
The springs of comfort seem to fail,
And all my hopes decline
Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust
And still my soul would cleave to Thee
Though prostrate in the dust

3. Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face,
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace,
Be deaf when I complain?
No still the ear of sovereign grace,
Attends the mourner's prayer
Oh may I ever find access,
To breathe my sorrows there

4. Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet,
Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet

Harold Best, Hymn of the Week, Online Hymnals

2008-04-27T21:15:00.003-04:00

There are three subjects in the subject line. I think I like this better than three separate posts. Here comes the stream of consciousness flowing from my brain into my fingertips and out to you:

1. Harold Best

Harold Best has written a lot of good stuff about music and a Biblical theology of the arts, particularly music. The thing I like most about the way he writes is that he gives you a lot of Biblical and theological framework but makes no distinct preferences on musical style or liturgical setup or any other issue that we tend to make the "real issue."
His book, "Unceasing Worship," is a "Biblical perspective on worship and the arts." I don't have enough time to really unpack what I'm learning, but I will offer up some quotes.

Under the heading, "The Corporate Gathering and the Roots of True Diversity" on page 64:
"Think of a symphony orchestra. Think of how dramatically different an oboe is from a violin or bass trombone. Then think of the countless possibilities in color and texture that these and other instruments offer when guided by the imagination of a skilled composer - the more kinds of instruments there are, the more exponential the possibilities become.
"Turn this analogy toward corporate worship - the more diversity there is, the more spiritual color and texture there can be. Then ask yourself about the ways we have anomalized diversity in the name of diversity by separating people from each other. Secular concepts of generational preferences do not, and cannot, take account of the unseen, immeasurable and unifying work of the Holy Spirit, whose task is to draw all people to Jesus Christ."

"People want you to lead until you do."

Under the heading, "The Corporate Gathering and the Significance of Liturgy" on page 72:
"The Word of God is the gathering point for all the content and all the action... In Christ means in the Word made flesh, and this means that the centrality of Christ guarantees the centrality of the Word, even as we sing or pray or preach or celebrate the Eucharist. It is because of this centrality that all liturgies, whether traditionally framed, denominationally created or "experimental," will stand or fall in direct proportion to the centrality of the Word of God."

"As authoritative as preaching must be, and as empowered as the Lord may wish to make it, the Word goes beyond the sermon and thus carries the sermon along with it. It seems contradictory that those who would give their lives for the primacy of the Word of God often give little time to the systematic and generous public reading of it."

And finally, on page 140:
"As much as I love music - many, many kinds of it - and as much as I realize that we are commanded to make music, I will say over and again that we have placed far too much faith in it and not nearly enough in the power of the Word, the authority and sweep of fearless prophecy and earnest, yet hope-filled, intercessory prayer."

Wow. This truth has laid bare how much I have (never vocally, but practically) trusted the power of music over the power of the Word of God. And yet we have paid so little attention to the Word, and replaced it with any number of things. What we need, just like the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37, is to hear the Word of God so that by His Word we will be raised from the dead, bones will come to bones, ligaments will join the bones, skin will come upon those bones, and breath will be breathed into us.

2. Hymn of the Week

If Chip Stam can put out a "Worship Quote of the Week," I am going to try a "Hymn of the Week." This will be a bit more of a concentrated field, and will hopefully bring me to find new hymns for the good of the church.

For this first hymn, I would introduce you to a classic Wesleyan hymn, "And Can It Be?" Professor Stam has often encouraged us to read this text with the question marks in the first verse in order to fully understand the flow of the poetry and the incredible questions that lie therein.

I encourage you to sing, pray, and meditate upon this text during the week, letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

(Indelible Grace has written a catchy and rhythmically syncopated melody to go with this wonderfully gospel-soaked hymn. You can find lead sheets and chord charts here.)

1. And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me who caused His pain?
For me who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be That
Thou, my God, should die for me?

Chorus: Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?

2. He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race.
'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

3. Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

4. No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own

3. Online Hymnals

Last night, I enjoyed a wonderful evening with a friend of mine, our guitars, and his laptop on a few online hymnals. We sang and enjoyed worshiping the Lord together with an array Gospel rich texts. Here are a few to get you started:

The Indelible Grace / RUF Hymnbook

Red Mountain Music's Resource Page

CyberHymnal.org

wow....

2008-04-24T17:33:00.000-04:00

time for a light hearted post...

2008-04-18T15:56:00.003-04:00

this is a dangerous post.

2008-04-18T14:52:00.004-04:00

Catchy title, huh? But seriously, this is dangerous stuff. People who will read this will probably not agree with everything I say.

It is no secret that I love John Piper's ministry, teaching, writings, and preaching. "Desiring God" was the first book I read after deciding to give my life to King Jesus, and so I have been foundationally shaped by the way that Piper understands the Christian life. He (JP) was in town this week for the Together for the Gospel 2008 Conference, and while I was unable to attend the lecture, I downloaded and listened to it immediately. Three times now. The message was delivered yesterday. Why have I listened so much? Because I am stirred and pointed to a massive Christ who is my inheritance and my prize; because I am called to give up all the worldly things I love in order to gain the greater possession, the abiding one; because I am convicted of my love for things and idolatry of safety.

Tim Challies has posted a commentary on this talk which is more thorough. However, this post is mostly me trying to think "out loud" about these weighty topics. I offer some quotes to you for your consideration:

(quoting Isaac Watts' hymn "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?")
" 'Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?'

NO!!! How could you ever want such a thing? You don't want that!
You want to embrace it, hold it, live it, and have your lives marked by radical brightness and radical saltiness and risk taking and sacrifice! It's the only life the world will regard with anything that might open them to consider the glory of our treasure."

"My aim, and the aim of the writer to the Hebrews, and God's aim through this writer, is a life and ministry for you of radical risk and sacrificial love for the glory of Christ. And the way that this writer creates that for his listeners is by giving some of the most elaborate, magnificent glimpses of the glory of Christ in the bible."

"If you listen to talks about {doctrinal issues of many kinds} without this end (that is, to make you crazy for Jesus; not to send you home ready to win an argument, but to make you ready to lay down your life for it), you're not listening biblically."

"These are incentives for my weak soul to lay down my life for a Savior."

Hebrews 10:32
32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

"What created the radical risk for these Christians to have their lives plundered (with joy) was their amazing emotional persuasion that what they were about to inherit in the Great Reward was so superior in its value that it made the loss of their present possessions as nothing to them."

"Have you bought into the argument that you're 'So heavenly minded that you're no earthly good'? This text says that the only people who are of any earthly good are those who are so radically heavenly minded that they are free of this world.

"Free from Stuff! Stuff! Stuff! Stuff! Stuff is KILLING us! Houses are killing us! Books are killing us! Carpet is killing us! Cars are killing us! Computers are killing us! iPhones are killing us!"

Hebrews 11:23-26
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Hebrews 13:12-15
12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

This kind of thinking about the Christian life is going to ripple like a tidal wave. What does it mean for us to be so heavenly minded that we are the ones with REAL heavenly good??? Oh, God, do this in us. Set our minds so on heaven that we are FREE from this world. Free from lust for stuff. Free from chains to money. Free from our computers and cars and houses and iPhones and iPods and guitar gear and acclaim and so much other STUFF.

I think of two songs, one of which we will sing on Sunday.

Sandra McCracken, "Abiding City"
Addiction's empty promises
This broken world just can't satisfy
A sweeter song, redemption's bliss
Is sealed for us in paradise

Oh, lift up your heads
For the day is near
And we have no abiding city here.

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

2 Questions at RagamuffinSoul.com and my answers

2008-04-14T11:17:00.000-04:00

A couple of questions Carlos at www.ragamuffinsoul.com has posed. (Carlos is on staff at Buckhead Church.)

Question One: What do you see the purpose of a church weekend gathering is?

As I (to this point) understand it, the gathering of the church body is for the purpose of the building up of the body of Christ by:

stirring one another up to love and good works (Hebrews 10);
singing the Gospel together (Colossians 3:16);
hearing the Scriptures read;
hearing the Word preached;
baptizing new believers;
taking the Lord's table together (Acts 2:42);
praying together;
and giving of our possessions.

All of these are to be done for the building up of the body of Christ.

Question Two: Do you believe God can engage a persons heart in a weekend service where there is a goal to help manifest this through musical worship, production, creative video elements??

While I think this question is a self-answering one and specific to a certain group of churches, I will answer it nonetheless.
My answer is a resounding and hearty, "YES!"
BUT, music, production, and video are not THE (capital A) Answer.
They are simply methods for doing the other Biblically Commanded actions. They are not wrong methods. They are not right methods. They are simply methods.

The greatest problem I see with this kind of focus is that those without the ability to perform these production and video elements believe themselves to be worshiping in an inferior way. The lust for shiny things often becomes the focus, rather than a burning desire for the presence of God in our lives. Whether they say it or not, many churches without video screens and rock bands believe that they are getting it wrong, when in fact they are only missing the point.

Yes, Buckhead, leverage what you have for the glory of God and the building up of the church in Atlanta. AND
Yes, _______, leverage what you have for the glory of God and the building up of the church in _____.

1 John 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

I don't think I'm too far off to apply the scripture this way:
Do not love your methods. For if anyone loves his methods the love of the Father is not in him. And these methods are passing away along with the desires for the methods, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Square Pegs and incredible acoustic music

2008-04-14T10:50:00.000-04:00

If you:
1.) Like acoustic music
2.) Like to laugh
3.) Like to hear truth and beauty at once,

Then:
1.) Go to www.myspace.com/andygullahorn
2.) Listen to "That Guy"
3.) Go to his website and buy his CD, "Reinventing the Wheel," with free shipping.

Andy Gullahorn will be on my iPod and my CD player and my iTunes for the next month, I propose.

http://www.squarepegalliance.com

As soon as I am at a church where I can do so, I will be booking Square Pegs to play concerts. Good stuff.

Hymns

2008-04-10T10:31:00.000-04:00

I know that discussing these things can become a very polarized discussion. I hope to make my points brief.

Many churches are currently discarding the singing of hymns together in their corporate worship gatherings. I find this to be an unhelpful practice on many fronts.

1.) Hymns' tunes are largely mono-rhythmic, and therefore are easy to sing, easy to learn. While they don't "rock out," these tunes are written in such a way to encourage the singing of a gathering of people. A lack of syncopated rhythms and largely scalar melodies suits them well for a large group of people to sing.
Consequently, much of contemporary worship music is given to a syncopated structure, and therefore difficult to sing in large groups. Also, given the soloistic nature of these songs, the idea of singing as the family of God (not as the crowd at a concert) is sadly lost. This also has bearing on small-group and family worship.

2.) By and large, hymns' texts are given to a greater depth of theological, biblical, and historical significance.
a. Theologically, many hymns are expositions of theological points, written by pastors as poems to teach their people. Great examples are Augustus Toplady's "Rock of Ages". and Charles Wesley's "And Can It Be". Toplady uses his text to explain the full effects of the cross in both justification and sanctification in believers, while Wesley outlines the picture of salvation.
b. Biblically, there are many examples of hymns which outline promises of God laid out in Scripture, and those that are based on songs taken directly from scripture. See John Rippon's "How Firm a Foundation," which lays out promises of God from the Bible (our firm foundation). These include Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 43:2, 2 Corinthians 12:9, and Hebrews 13:5. Also see "Holy, Holy, Holy," which is based on the Trinitarian hymn of the saints in Revelation 4:8-11.
c. Historically, without great prayer and discernment, discarding the texts sung for many centuries of Christianity is a bold step. As Kevin Twit so poignantly put it, "My Grandmother Saved it, My Mother Threw It Away, and Now I’m Buying It Back: Why We Still Need Hymns in a Postmodern World"

3.) Musically, we are reverting to an almost completely oral tradition. The loss of musical notation in our churches and in our homes will inevitably lead to the decay of musical literacy and the loss of songs that we loved so dearly. One needs only to try to remember the songs which we sang ten years ago to see the loss of musical heritage. There are many who will scoff at this point, but it is vital to the future of music and the church that we are able to write what we sing for future generations.

I find these trends troubling. I fear that in our attempt to put less stumbling blocks in front of the gospel of Jesus, we have created a few of our own. These include the sing-ability of modern pop music for the average voice, the labor of learning new songs with ever changing melodies and structures, and (maybe most powerfully) the loss of community in the actions of our Sunday gatherings.

Starbucks Pike Place Roast unveiled today

2008-04-08T08:15:00.000-04:00

Today, as a partner with many around the world, I am excited to take part in the gear shift at Starbucks towards an emphasis on brewed drip coffee. Pike Place Roast is a very smooth roast, made with Latin American coffees, giving it chocolaty and nutty notes with a smooth, drinkable finish.

Also, the beans for this roast are farmed and roasted in such a way as to take care of the people who work from start to finish on the cup of coffee that is in your hand.

Cheers,
Stephen

a resolution and a few thoughts

2008-04-07T10:00:00.000-04:00

So here goes: I think I need to blog a little more frequently. I don't do well with journaling, so I will blog more often. The only problem is that I don't know if I will have enough to blog about (that someone else hasn't already thoroughly covered).

All that said, I would like to get my process out there for others in my life (and those not yet in my life), so that they might have an opportunity to speak into the process.

I'm wrestling with several things right now. Since I am pursuing a calling to leading God's people in corporate worship, my thoughts are generally consumed with what exactly that means.

1.) Mark Driscoll gave a sermon several weeks ago about the Regulative Principle and his understanding of the New Testament's definition of worship. I agreed with around 65% of what he said. Other bloggers have written about this specific sermon (StrangeBaptistFire specifically exposed some problems in Driscoll's form of argumentation).

Most notably, I take issue with Driscoll's definition of gathered worship and the scripture used to undergird his argument. In a previous post, I quoted Hebrews 10:19-25. This scripture points to the purpose of our corporate gatherings being for the encouragement of the body of Christ in stirring one another up to love and good works.

I could go on, but here's the big question: "What does the New Testament say is the purpose of the gathering of the church?" My (still in process) answer is: "The Christian church gathers for the purpose of the building up of the body of Christ, through the administration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, by the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Table, and the commanded acts of scripture reading, prayer, singing, giving, and preaching of the Gospel."

2.) Michael Card, a famous Christian musician, songwriter, and teacher, was on campus at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary last week giving lectures on the Psalms of lament. I found this time to be very useful, and the mp3s for "The Lost Language of Lament" and "Worshiping the God Who Takes Everything Away" are on the Institute for Christian Worship website.

In these lectures, Card takes us into the Psalms of lament, showing us a pattern of how saints who went before have used their sorrows to worship God. This is lacking if not absent in almost all American Evangelical churches today. Much of the American church cannot imagine weeping with those who weep, especially on Sunday mornings when we "should" be exuberantly joyful
in our "Celebration Worship Services," following the "Minister of Magnification."

There are parts of these lectures that I take issue with, but the balance is greatly needed for the church to learn to read the entirety of the Psalter, learning to weep, mourn, remember God's faithfulness, and hope in His goodness.

I have no good way to end this post. Please, respond.

Hebrews 10:19-25

2008-04-02T07:38:00.000-04:00

19 Therefore, brothers, [3] since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

ImprovEverywhere - funny videos

2008-03-19T14:48:00.000-04:00

200 People Simultaneously Freeze in Grand Central Station

Red Head Wendy's Protest

Cell Phone Symphony

Remedy your addiction to LOST

2008-03-19T12:54:00.001-04:00

survey time

2008-03-13T17:15:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has ever read this blog, please respond.

I want honest answers. I want babbling answers. I want any answers.

3 Questions:
1. What to you believe the Sunday morning corporate worship gathering is supposed to be?
2. What makes the Sunday morning corporate worship gathering different than your private worship times?
3. What, if anything, do you find to be the Scriptural outline for both the motivations and practices of the Sunday morning corporate worship gatherings?

"Talk amongst yourselves... I've given you the topic... Discuss..."

From a church planter...

2008-02-03T07:10:00.001-05:00

"Every church planter I meet says they are starting their church to reach those that are disconnected from God. Many of them grew up in church, became Christians at a early age, and don't even have a relationship with someone far from God, but they are going to reach those far from God. I listen to a lot of podcasts, watch a lot of videos from other churches, and it breaks my heart to know they are doing a lot of things and a lot of things well, but reaching those far from God is NOT one of them.

I have learned that most church planters REALLY don't want to reach those far from God, they really want to do church in a cool way. There is a difference."

- Gary Lamb, church planter in Canton, GA

check out http://www.garylamb.org/2008/02/02/allow-me-to-rant/ for the rest of this... it's good

where have I been for the last month?

2008-01-17T10:28:00.000-05:00

If you have my blog on an RSS feed, you have probably been debating about whether or not to delete it. You probably should have, but if you didn't, thanks for being here.

December tenth was the date of my most recent post. How sad, huh? Here's the update on us Farriors...
- went to San Diego, CA for Christmas. It was pretty much the boss. Wore my Chaco's for a week, which resulted in longing for warmer weather. Got to hang out with some of Jennifer's awesome hometown friends and lots of good hang out time with the in-laws. Altogether, good Christmas.

- went to Bristol, TN two days after returning from CA. The rest we got in CA was canceled out by so much traveling in so few days. Had a good time with my parental units.

- about to sell my Telecaster, just received my new Washburn HB-35 in the mail. guess what I'm doing tonight.........

- I have nothing very thoughtful to say right now, besides the fact that I think I'm being sucked into a less "heady" theological view of corporate worship. I see two major options for the church, whether we realize it or not:
1.) We can give in to the current entertainment culture, make our worship leaders into rock stars, spend lots of money on lights, video, sound equipment, instruments, and generally hold a concert every Sunday morning. This is not an easy option. This provides plenty of opportunity for seekers to "come and see the show," and "come see how we do church differently," and give the church opportunities to "change the way you think about church." I'm not bashing this approach. This approach costs the people something; time AND money, and lots of both.

2.) We can present corporate worship as the time when the people of God read His Word, pray together, and sing together, and that these things are ends in themselves. This is not sexy. Presenting corporate worship as a time limited to the people already converted is not an easy sale.

Somewhere between the sheer energy of the well performed concert and the solid rock of a biblical theology of worship lies the balance I'm currently seeking

Andrew Peterson and the Captains Courageous

2007-12-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

Last night Jennifer and I had the incredible privilege and opportunity to see Andrew Peterson's "Behold the Lamb of God" Christmas concert. It was amazing. For those of you who were not able to go, I will provide a brief recap on the evening.

The first half of the concert is performed "in the round." This means that the singer-songwriters have an opportunity to play a song, rotate, and play another song. This part was amazing by itself. Sara Groves, Bebo Norman, Andrew Osenga, Andrew Gullahorn, and Jill Phillips each played two of their own songs. Sara and Bebo you probably have already heard of, but you must go right now to Amazon.com or his website and get Andrew Osenga's material. He's an incredibly honest and talented artist and songwriter. He plays guitar and writes songs for a band you might have heard of called "Caedmon's Call." Yeah, I know, obscure bands, right? He's got some free stuff on his website, andrewosenga.com so check it out.

The second half of the concert is the actual "Behold the Lamb of God" song series. This CD is also a Christmas "must-have." It essentially tells the story of the entire Bible: that is, the story of Jesus. If you want to know what good folk art looks like in the Christian music industry, this is my definition. From the Exodus to the period of the kings to the dispersion and promise of a Messiah to the birth of a baby boy in Bethlehem, Andrew Peterson and his friends tell the big story. The performances last night were incredible, and I walked away inspired to go and make good art for the sake of encouraging and ministering to the church like these guys do.

I don't know if there are tickets left for any of the remaining shows, but if you can make it, you definitely should. If you wait too long and the show sells out and you are unable to go, then you really really really missed out. Too bad...