You all know how much I love doing the Worship Confessionals. Back when Los started that movement, the highlight of my Monday was surfing around to hear what songs/videos/scriptures/services other worship leaders had used on Sunday.
Not many of those folks still do confessionals, but I still enjoy it. And I got an extra cool surprise this week when Romack and Chris both posted video confessionals about their respective Sundays.
Let me tell you why I love the concept of worship confessionals (and specifically video confessionals.) It'scool to hear what my pals did in their church. But personally, I think the concept of 'confessing' in this way is an amazing peek into a huge part of a worship leaders life: analysis.
I believe most folks don't realize how much time worship leaders spend recapping, reviewing and repairing a given Sunday's service. It's a critical part of the job and if a worship leader doesn't do it effectively, he or she is in for a lot of stress and trouble.
With confessionals, you get a small glimpse of that process - thinking back through a service objectively and making notes (mental or written) about what worked and what didn't. I know that both of these guys worked really hard to get their cameras, editing software and uploading to work and I'm glad they did. Take a few minutes and see what these guys have to say about worship.
Romack:
Chris:
9/30/08
9/28/08
9/27/08
WHERE I AM
Hey everybody...
Figured I'd give you a little status report on how Bethel's going. You certainly can get a sense of this from the confessionals, but for those inclined to want a little more info, I'm happy to share.
WORSHIP: I think worship is going great. Granted, I don't have that many sets under my belt and all of us are still getting to know each other...but I still think it's going good. Let me hit band/tech and then the congregation.
1. Band/Tech - Both the musicians and technical teams are excellent. For those of you who don't know, they've run worship for the past year strictly on a volunteer basis. (If you've ever served as a volunteer coordinator for worship, you know that it's not for the faint of heart.) The musicians have really impressed me with the amount of time they put into rehearsal. It is a rare thing to have musicians at rehearsal who haven't worked the music. Almost every member of my team works some pre-rehearsal rehearsal time during the week, which makes a big difference. They come armed...they mark their charts, they know their stuff. Which is awesome.
Sure, we've got some struggles. But in my experience, what we're dealing with is perfectly normal for a team with a new leader. We've got some groove issues. Sometimes we struggle to lock in together, simply because we're all learning new songs under a new leader in a new environment. We've got a lot of musicians on stage and all of them have good timing. But if songs dip or climb in tempo a bit (as they are often wont to do...) we're still figuring out how to adjust to that. At this point, we're not really obsessing about those problems. We could feasibly halt rehearsal to spend some extensive rhythm time, but at this point, we don't need that. We need to focus more on watching each other and listening for our place in the mix. In my opinion, the hang-out, "gel" factor right now is invaluable...we'll never get these initial rehearsals and services back. I'm much more concerned with us enjoying ourselves and the band knowing that they can trust me. In addition to that, the band is also learning my arrangement style. Right now, they're seeing that some songs stick to an arrangement and some don't! (Yay for spontaneity!)
One of the most impressive things has been the actual services. I've always held to this philosophy that rehearsals should not feel "awesome." In my experience, when I've left a rehearsal feeling like we had a set down cold, the actual performance falls apart. I'm okay with us shutting down rehearsal feeling a mix of confidence and concern. I think it helps us to come into the service remember that transition that's important or that bridge that threw us for a loop early on. I find that those type of service end up awesome! And Bethel has done that...worship on Sundays has been feeling great - reverent, yet energetic, Biblical, timely, preparation for the Word, etc. They've been great!
I'm looking forward to doing more teaching/pastoral stuff from the stage. I'm just trying to make sure I don't sound like an idiot. I'll tell you this - I am surrounded by some smart dudes: Ross (Senior Pastor) Jim (Ministry and Missions) and Mark (Family Ministries) are all so stinking smart. I just sit in staff meetings in awe of the stuff they say and dream. That's why I'm leery of just freestyle-teaching from the stage.
The congregation at Bethel is great - a good mix of ages, worship styles, etc. They approach worship reverently and they've been nothing but great to me during the transition. But I do want to teach. To pastor. I think Bethel is at a real important place where we're trying to understand what Biblical worship looks like. We're digging into the Word on a consistent basis and our worship should be no different - it should be Biblical. I hate to say it, but there's a lot of worship out there that ISN'T Biblical.
That's a hard thing, though; staying true to Scripture is difficult for churches these days. We are surrounded by the glitz and glamour of Christian celebrity, the pull of Christian media marketing and the drive to perform and please. I'm looking forward to walking this journey with the folks at Bethel as we seek to understand the will of God when it comes to how we give Him praise.
...next time, we'll hit on the 'communication' side of things. (It's going really well - some cool stuff happening that I can't wait to share with you guys.)
9/25/08
9/21/08
9/20/08
THE TRUTH ABOUT TEXT
Over the past couple of years, I've noticed an interesting trend in the whole "blogging" scene. Initially, it was a blog thing, but now it's happening more commonly on Twitter feeds.
Here's the trend...
A minister/pastor/musician/tech person attends a seminar. (Usually a big name conference or conclave or symposium or...you get the drift.) Then, each night - or even during the presentation - that person posts "points" or principles from a given speech/sermon he or she is hearing.
After seeing this happen a few different times, I'm coming to some conclusions and actually learning a lot of from this whole 'journaling' thing.
Looking at these lessons and sermons purely as text make it very obvious that most of the truths are pretty simple ones. I read through these recaps and I'm thinking, "What's the big deal? Everybody knows that." I look at the headline of that blog and I know the person teaching is renowned and skilled and great, but looking simply at those points doesn't reveal anything to me.
And that's teaching me something.
It's teaching me that delivery matters. I know that the words "Jesus came to set captives FREE!" printed on a blog are very different than spoken aloud by T.D. Jakes. Delivery, building a case, setting up points and proclamations make these otherwise simple truths into powerful revelations.
I know we live in a culture (Christian and otherwise) that has gone too far on delivery - for many, the package is everything and the subject matter doesn't rate that high. I get that - we need to get back to making sure that we're saying things that matter, that appeal both to heart and head.
But as a worship leader, I'm reminded that most of the things I'm trying to say in a worship service are actually pretty simple. There's no "heavy revy" usually in what I do. I'm not speaking a new thing. I'm speaking an old thing. A timeless thing. A thing that speaks to our whole selves and not just our emotions.
But I can make my time matter. I can invest in making sure I deliver things in a way that connects. That relates to folks where they are. I can deliver truth the best, most sincere way I know how and send it out in faith knowing that God's Word doesn't return void. God's Word does what He wants it to do.
Unfortunately, folks like me tend to thing a slamming song set is enough. We think that if the songs flow well and build dynamically and sound good (all good things, mind you,) then we're good. But that's not necessarily true. We've got to care about "how" we're saying this stuff.
I don't spend enough time thinking about the whole of what I'm presenting. And I want to be better at it. I want to be skilled in communication. I want to be skilled in being clear and aware and on target.
What about you? What do you do to connect? How's your presentation skill? What works? What doesn't?
9/16/08
WHERE I AM
Some of you have experience with this, but for me, it's brand-new.
I love Bethel - I'm learning a lot, working a lot, and hopefully I'll soon be making a difference in the life of the church.
But transitioning is hard.
In this case, I'm not necessarily talking about missing old friends (although, I do!) I'm speaking more of the journey of meeting, learning and serving a new congregation. It's a slow process. And worship leaders don't like anything slow, do we?
So, from time-to-time, I'll be posting 'WHERE I AM,' articles where I get real specific as to my time and experience at Bethel. It's my hope that those of you who frequent this site might either find or offer some encouragement in these posts! Since I'm also overseeing a host of creative/communication projects, I'll probably venture from the music front from time-to-time to chronicle the whole journey of this new place.
Here a couple of things that are key for me right now in my ministry at Bethel...
1. COMMUNICATION
We're working really hard at utilizing technology to push more folks toward information. Last week, we revived a Bethel blog (www.bethelbible.typepad.com) and gave the church a Facebook page. The church as a website that is being revamped, so in the next few weeks, we'll be focusing our energies on making a new site a reality. I'm also going to setup a church Twitter account in the future, too. (But not yet...I'll explain in just a bit.)
There are those who would ask, "Why do you need a website, a blog, a Facebook, a YouTube page, a Vimeo page and a Twitter account? That's just a giant waste of time!"
While it's certainly true that each of those items can be time-wasters, we could say the same thing about Fantasy Football or the new season of 24 or lawn-care. Anything can waste time. It's how you do it, how you approach it and how you value that "thing" that determines whether it's healthy or not.
At Bethel, we'd like to use each of these formats to POINT at something. For example, last week we pointed to our Baptism service. And some of you got connected to that and enjoyed it and hopefully were encouraged by it. In coming weeks and months, we'd like to do that with upcoming events...things that we want our people know about and be a part of. There are still some kinks: How do we choose which events to spotlight? How far out do we promote? How much time/space do we devote to each event? Who chooses how to actually "promote" the information?
It's not gonna' be easy...and we're gonna' drop the ball sometimes, but we're not going to to not try just because we might not win everytime.
Right now, my big communication priorities are video, Facebook and the Bethel blog. I'd like to be throwing out videos every other week - either in service or strictly online. Facebook is a great way to do that - since SO many people are on it, there's not much chance of missing a new video post. As to the Bethel blog, this week we'll kick off staff posts. Each staff member will pick a day and post something, anything...the key is consistency. Hopefully, folks will make the blog a place to stop and check each day. Not only will they get more in-depth info on ministries, but I think they'll also get to know the staff a little better.
Once our blog output is consistent, we'll fire up the Twitter feed. I know Twitter is easy and probably would kick off quicker, but I'd like to focus the blog feel first and leave Twitter for the more random output.
2. MUSIC
Obviously, music is high on the list. (Always will be...)
Certainly, I'm going to be learning what the congregation likes and dislikes over the next few months. That's fine - that's a process and that's totally natural.
What's more important to me is making sure I'm putting in the time in prayer and study to equip myself to actually pastor this congregation. I'd like to do more teaching/exhortation about worship. I'd like to do a better job of wrapping my head around why we worship and how it makes a difference. I've committed to making time each week strictly for study regarding the worship service. (Apart from any personal Bible study stuff...) I need that time to pray and meditate on our text. Sometimes, that's gonna' prompt me to bring some encouragement from the stage. Other times, it's simply going to prepare my heart as I prepare songlists.
That's a few of the things I'm working on. In the next few weeks, I'll be giving you some updates on how that's going. For what it's worth, I'd love it if you'd add Bethel Bible as a Facebook friend and subscribe to the Bethel blog. I'm excited about what this church is doing and I'd love for you to see what's up, too!
9/14/08
9/10/08
REVIEW
Chris Tomlin - "Hello Love" Released September 2, 2008
There seems to be a pattern to Tomlin's musical life. It goes something like this - Chris releases a studio record. Chris tours that album. Eventually, Chris shows up on a live CD, most likely a Passion release, with 2 or 3 brand new tunes. Historically, those 2-3 live tunes have been AWESOME. Next, Chris releases a newer studio album that includes studio remakes of his previous live hits, four or five new ballads and a couple of rock songs.
It's not a bad pattern...it's created a lot of hits for Chris and affords him the opportunity to play and sing before thousands of people each year. With Hello Love, the pattern continues. Some live favorites are there, some fresh new ballads pop up and a couple of standout rock and roll tunes round out the record.
For this review, I figured it might be fun to take it song-by-song. Hang on...here we go!
Track 1: "Sing, Sing, Sing"
I had not heard this song before Passion: God Of This City. While I tend to prefer Tomlin's live tracks to his studio ones, I do think the studio version of this tune is much stronger. Personally, it seems a bit more solid and thought out. Tomlin is great at these high energy tunes. I did notice on this track (and the whole album, really) less in the way of programming. The opening track has plenty of synth stuff, mind you, but pre-programmed rhythm stuff is noticeably absent. (Tomlin seemed to start stepping away from this with the last record...and apparently is continuing to do so.) This one is a great opener and a fun listen. As to playability, I'm not quite sure - there's a lot going on in the tune, but not a lot of chord changing, which can be frustrating for bands not used to learning parts note for note.
Track 2: "Jesus Messiah"
A friend of mine had mentioned this tune awhile back and I was able to find in on the "New Song Cafe" over at the www.worshiptogether.com website. As an acoustic number, it didn't too much for me, but the studio version is strong. It's a pretty straightforward "Tomlin" song - pretty simple melody and predictable arrangement with lots of power in the chorus. I'm still not crazy about the song, but it is interesting to see what production can do to an otherwise simple tune. I think lots of churches will be drawn to this one - lyrical imagery is strong, song is easy-to-emulate, over all production level is pretty ear-catching.
Track 3: "You Lifted Me Out"
Let me see if I can accurately describe this song: imagine the opening power chord hit from the Foo Fighters' 'Long Road To Ruin."' As it fades, the song explodes in your face, a strange hybrid riff that sounds like Crowder-meets-The Killers.
Got your attention? Track 3 is great. Definitely a rocker of a different feel for Tomlin. I like the jazzy chord inversions in the verse and the straight-ahead rock groove on the choruses. Lots of folks will also gravitate toward the reverb-piano-syncopated-Coldplay attack of the bridge section.
As to application, I'm not sure. There's lots of stellar playing here and this may end up one of those songs that was built for radio.
Track 4: "God Of This City"
This song may well be my 'worship find of 2008.' The live Passion version has encouraged and inspired me more than I can say. I absolutely love this tune.
I had hoped the studio version would stay close to the live one, but that doesn't happen. There are a lot of absences here - first off, the signature piano riff is absent from beat one. (I think it may show up later in the tune, but it's mixed very low.) Secondly, Chris plays with the melody in the second pass of the song. Through some research, I've read that this second verse melody is the original take as composed by the writers in a band called "Bluetree" who wrote this song. While it might damage some of the congregational feel of the tune, this variation does make for more interesting listening. I also loved the live version lead section. The studio version lead is very different and just didn't carry the same power for me, personally.
This is undoubtedly a song churches will do, but I think we'll find most of them doing the Passion version rather than this new take.
Track 5: "I Will Rise"
This song really hits two different ways for me. On one hand, I love the fact that it's a modern worship song about Heaven. (Ask any worship leader...there aren't many of those floating around.) From a songwriting perspective, I really appreciate the obvious time and effort put into this tune. On the other hand, it felt a little to predictable for me. Chris has done lots of piano ballads in his career and I think this one suffers for it's familiarity. I've read a couple of reviews of this record that make much of the "standard" nature of Tomlin's material - a "if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it" type of deal. I think there's some truth to that, but this song didn't really impress.
Track 6: "Love" (with Watoto Children's Choir)
I hope somebody gave Chris Tomlin a high five after he wrote this one. Or a pat on the back or a hug or something, because this has to be one of the most creative songs I've ever heard. Sure, adding an amazing, famous children's choir from Africa doesn't hurt, but even so, this marks a departure for Chris.
This may sound weird, but I think Tomlin picks up a mantle here - I think this song could set him up to be the next generation's Stephen Curtis Chapman. Regardless of your feeling about Stephen Curtis Chapman's music, he has consistently produced anthemic, creative, epic songs that hook us in. Tomlin's "Love' is just that epic. And I have no idea whether or not this was the plan, but this song could easily fit into secular radio play. That does speak to an absence of "Jesus" phrases, but I wonder what the worship-marketing-machine will do with this song.
I doubt any churches will pick this one up. It's definitely a performance piece, but one so refined it may remain performed only by the guy who wrote it.
Track 7: "Praise the Father, Praise the Son"
Again, far too predictable for my taste. I thought it take more of a hymn-like approach, but this one fell flat for me. I'll be interested to see if this one catches on.
Track 8: "God Almighty"
I really liked the orchestral opening on this one - very reminiscent of Rich Mullins. Overall, the song feels a bit like "Famous One." It's certainly different, but the waltzy-feel and lyrical direction seem very familiar. I wonder if churches could pull this one off without a string section...
Track 9: "My Deliverer"
My absolute favorite track on this record. My favorite Tomlin tune of all time is probably his version of "Everlasting God" from the last record. While I like the Brenton Brown and Lincoln Brewster versions, I thought the mellow, jangly take from Chris and band was an awesome version.
"My Deliverer" has those same qualities. I love the tempo, the guitar groove, even the chord voicings through the chorus are simple yet surprising at the same time. My fear is that this song will get overlooked by other tracks that are a bit more produced or flashy, but I sure hope not. This is an amazing tune.
Track 10: "Exalted (Yahweh)"
I never could get into this tune. It's another piano ballad. It's got some good stuff, but I just couldn't dig into it very much. Maybe just a personal preference, but this one didn't really register on the radar.
Like any record, there are highs and lows on Hello Love. I feel the highest points are where we hear Chris and the production team branching out...experimenting...taking ownership of new arrangement ideas or styles. Some folks will dig the more familiar stuff - the "old standby" idea - but I think these represent the lower points on the record.
All in all, I think it's a good worship record. I think it's a great listen for worship musicians...it offers some interesting points of discussion and analysis for those of us who make music on a regular basis.
Track 11: "All The Way My Savior Leads Me"
