Music Changes (Continued)

As I look at the past 20 years and the changes in music that the church has experienced, I believe it has brought great renewal for many churches.

For the generation that we are currently trying to reach, music is a very important part of their lives and culture.

Look at their I-pods, mp3 players, CD players, home entertainment systems, and car sound systems. They spend thousands on music and they enjoy many varieties.

As church attendance took a decline around 1990, the major issue was a modern generation that could not relate with a historic church. They wanted more for themselves and their children.

With that brought many changes to the church. Family life centers (gymnasiums), outreach (church planting in small areas outside of church buildings), Children’s Ministers and eventually, worship styles (music).

I believe that Keith Lancaster, founder of Acappella, has made the largest impact on music and the church than any other single individual in the last 50 years. His love for music and his writing ability for new church music sparked an interest in new contemporary language music for a generation seeking that for themselves and their young families. Acappella traveled the country singing with power and emotion about what God can do in the lives of His people and it signaled a change in our worship assembly as well as preaching in the church.

Other song writers from the church, such as Ken Young (Faithful Love) and Brandon Scott Thomas (Zoe Ministries), have produced new music arrangements for churches to make our worship more meaningful and contemporary for today’s society.

With this new music has brought many challenges. Some older members have been “stretched” singing the new songs. Some members feel like we are abandoning our traditions and old sacred hymns. In some churches, there have been great division and splits because of the worship music. We must be careful to keep the unity of the spirit and also allow each of our groups within the body to be uplifted and encouraged. We do this by understanding the needs of others.

In New York City, the church, once a month, sings songs in Spanish so the Spanish members are encouraged. A church in Texas sings 4 new songs and 4 older hymns every service. In a Colorado church, they sing two youth songs every service for the younger people. Many churches are realizing the need to reach every group.

The church will continue to grow in its worship. Individuals will always have “likes and dislikes” in church music. But we need to focus our energy on the one we are worshipping. It’s easy for a song leader to take a book out 1 minute before service and pick 6 songs to lead. It takes work, time and prayer to design a service that will be uplifting to all in attendance and glorify our Heavenly Father.

A Prayer of Praise

In 1 Chronicles 29 we read of David’s life coming to an end. The great leader and follower of God is about to die.

In 1 Chronicles 29 we really see the heart of the "man after God’s own heart". In his final moments he decides to praise his Father for all that he has done for him and his people.

Prayer was such an important part of David’s life.

The one thing that really is evident about David’s walk with God is his prayer life. He didn’t always ask for things, stuff or forgiveness, he spent the majority of his life praising God for the blessings, praising God for being God Almighty.

The early Church was a Church that praised God in Acts 2.

The Psalms are full of prayers of praise, worship describing God as great, full of glory and splendor.

What a great example for us.

Not just in the closing moments of our life, on our deathbed but living a life each day centered on praising our Heavenly Father for the blessings he has given us.

What are you thankful for? What should you praise God for?

Family, Health, Job, Home.

How about life itself?

Being able to have a relationship with Jesus Christ because he took our sins to the cross?

I am selfish at times thinking I can make it on my own through this every day life. But then reality comes crashing down upon me. The only way I can make it in this world is to know I have a Father that knows my every need in this life but also supplies my spiritual needs as well.

City Life

Growing up I had the opportunity to live in some of the largest cities and metropolitan areas in America: Los Angeles, San Diego, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Louisville, and Chicago. I love the city. I enjoy the fast paced 24 hour life style something to do and see every moment of every day.

The one thing that really hit me on our trip to New York recently were the people. Great people. Felt safe the entire trip. But watching people (one of my favorite things to do) I noticed they never spoke to each other. Most individuals on the subway looked down at their feet and said absolutely nothing. When the train stops, out the door they went, and on to the next subway car or destination.

I felt like these people were very lonely and isolated.

Reaching out to people is easy. We do it daily at the store, at the office, on the street. Caring for people is difficult.

We have to take a genuine interest in people. Christ did.

Come Just As You Are

Jeff Childers and Frederick Aquino wrote, "The Lord came into the world as it is, no prior cleanup necessary. In fact, he seems eager to face the world's ugliness head on.....showing us a Creator whose strategy for rescuing us out of our pain begins with a gesture of humility: joining us in it. Church isn't when you give God your best. It's when you give God what you have where you are........no clean up necessary. We don't get ourselves right and then go to God. We give ourselves to God.....and He alone cleans us up and makes us right"

Come Just as You Are
Joseph Sabolick

Come just as you are.
Hear the Spirit's call.
Come just as you are.
Come and see,
come receive,
Come and live forever.

Life everlasting,
Strength for today.
Taste the living Water
And never thirst again.

Come just as you are.
Hear the Spirit's call.
Come just as you are.
Come.

Copyright © 1993 Maranatha Praise, Inc.

Music in Worship

I was having a conversation the other day with a group of people and the discussion turned to music in the Church today.

We have seen a significant change in the last 20 years with music in the Church of Christ.

Is it a trend or have we really made much needed changes in congregational worship in the Church of Christ?

Who has been the biggest influence on these changes?

Are these changes improving our worship to God?

More later............

New Worship Series

As a child of God, you can only offer God one thing that you possess that He does not... YOUR PRAISE! The human voice is capable of making wonderful music, and it can make all of Heaven rejoice if we lift our voices together in harmony and praise the God from whom all blessings flow.

This is the idea behind the new Praise & Harmony series by Keith Lancaster who started Acappella. A blending of voices in congregational style worship to the one true Lord of all. The music in this new series will take you to the throne in worship.

Awesome God is the first first release in the Praise & Harmony series. This CD highlights more than 200 vocalists who form the congregation for this outstanding collection of 25 worship songs. As an added bonus, Awesome God includes a vocalist training CD to help you learn your part (soprano, alto, tenor or bass) on each of these great songs. This set is a wonderful teaching tool for churches and singing groups, as well as an exceptional listening and worship experience. The second CD in the series was released just recently.

As part of the Praise & Harmony series, Keith Lancaster also teaches singing seminars with the aim of equipping churches to have great four-part harmony singing, to learn contemporary songs and to have a renewal of worship.

Keith will host a seminar at the Heartland Church of Christ in Kansas City on November 17-18.


For more information:

.http://www.theacappellacompany.com/praiseharmony.html

Praise and Harmony homepage

Rosh Hashanah

With Craig attending school in New York City and the millions of different ethnic and religious groups in the city I am interested in the religious holidays that other religious bodies celebrate.

Craig arrives home today for a four day visit because of Rosh Hashanah (All colleges are closed in New York City).

Rosh Hashanah is the first and second days of the first Jewish month of Tishrei. It marks the beginning of the Jewish new year. The celebration of this holiday is marked with solemnity, as it is the day on which the Jewish people believe the whole world is judged for the coming year. Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the world, as it was on this day that God created Man on the 6th day of creation. Every year, on this day, we proclaim God as our one and true King.

This year, Rosh Hashanah, begins on Wednesday evening, September 12 and continues through Sunday night, September 16.

Dog gets $12 Million

From Michael Vick killing dogs to Leona Helmsley leaving $12 million to her dog Trouble when she passed away last week we really need to look at our priorities as a people:

Helmsley's dog gets $12 million in will


Leona Helmsley's dog will continue to live an opulent life, and then be buried alongside her in a mausoleum. But two of Helmsley's grandchildren got nothing from the late luxury hotelier and real estate billionaire's estate.

Helmsley left her beloved white Maltese, named Trouble, a $12 million trust fund, according to her will, which was made public Tuesday in surrogate court.

She also left millions for her brother, Alvin Rosenthal, who was named to care for Trouble in her absence, as well as two of four grandchildren from her late son Jay Panzirer — so long as they visit their father's grave site once each calendar year.

Otherwise, she wrote, neither will get a penny of the $5 million she left for each.
Helmsley left nothing to two of Jay Panzirer's other children — Craig and Meegan Panzirer — for "reasons that are known to them," she wrote.

But no one made out better than Trouble, who once appeared in ads for the Helmsley Hotels, and lived up to her name by biting a housekeeper.

"I direct that when my dog, Trouble, dies, her remains shall be buried next to my remains in the Helmsley mausoleum," Helmsley wrote in her will.

The mausoleum, she ordered, must be "washed or steam-cleaned at least once a year." She left behind $3 million for the upkeep of her final resting place in Westchester County, where she is buried with her husband, Harry Helmsley.

She also left her chauffeur, Nicholas Celea, $100,000.

She ordered that cash from sales of the Helmsley's residences and belongings, reported to be worth billions, be sold and that the money be given to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

Her longtime spokesman, Howard Rubenstein, had no comment.

Helmsley died earlier this month at her Connecticut home. She became known as a symbol of 1980s greed and earned the nickname "the Queen of Mean" after her 1988 indictment and subsequent conviction for tax evasion. One employee had quoted her as snarling, "Only the little people pay taxes."

September 1975

My first trip to New York City was in September of 1975.

Great memories of a magnificent city.

Michael Vick

I am tired of hearing about the Michael Vick dog fighting case.

Yes it is terrible to hear of a major sports star betting on dog fighting, having dogs killed and then trying to cover it up. But the national media has been on this like a dog is on a fire hydrant.

We have serious issues in our society that need to be dealt with, but newspapers and television talk shows have had non-stop coverage about this situation from the beginning.

How about the thousands of people being killed every day in wars across the world?

How about the millions in poverty and homeless?

How about the abused children in our society?

How about the millions needing Jesus in their life?

Tolerating Pain In Leadership

One of the hardest lessons leaders face is understanding that they will from time to time upset people with the decisions that they make. We do not always get our way in family situations in the workplace and in the Church. Leaders must have broad shoulders and faith in God that they do whats best for the person the organization or the Church.

Tolerating Pain in Leadership
John Maxwell

There are many keys to being an effective leader.

In order to be an effective leader you have to be able to tolerate pain. Your own pain as well as the pain of others. Sometimes others will inflict pain upon you. You must absorb and carry it forward in order to lead. Sometimes you will be called upon to inflict pain on others for their own good or for the good of the organization you lead. If you don’t think leaders inflict pain, then go make a decision and see if anyone yelps. Sometimes you will inflict pain upon yourself when you inflict pain on others because you care so much about those whom you are leading.

Without a doubt, one of the hardest things to do as a leader is to watch people we love squirm with emotional pain because of a position we’ve taken. Most of us end up caving sooner or later and we sheepishly reverse our position or change our direction in order to dull the pain and keep the peace.

Research indicates that the reason most churches are struggling to move forward in any kind of discernible way is because their leadership is spending all their time and energy trying to avoid pain. They think the absence of pain is a sign of good leadership. Making sure no one gets hurt may be a win for a bank robber (Put your hands in the air and do what you’re told and no one gets hurt), but it’s a terrible way of judging how well we’re doing as leaders.

All pain avoidance does is delay the inevitable, which is . . .pain.

Leaders who try to avoid pain will someday be confronted with the worst pain of all, the awareness that the end result of their perpetual pain avoidance is the collapse of the organization they were supposed to be leading.

Are you called to lead? If so, and if you’re not ready to experience and tolerate some pain, then please say no to the call. Whatever organization you’re being called to lead will be better off without you in leadership. If you’re ready to deal with some pain, then step up and buckle in, because it’s gonna hurt.

Be Alert!

As Christians we are in a constant wrestling match. But our opponent is in the spiritual realm. His mandate is to "kill, steal and destroy" (John 10:10).

Scripture tells us to "be alert", "resist the enemy" (1Peter 5:8,9) be on your guard and "stand against the schemes of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). So when problems strike ... know immediately who your opponent is ... know immediately he has schemes and plans in place that will at best steal from you and at worst destroy you and your effectiveness.

Any pervasive, downward spiral needs to be called what it is. Be alert to the red flags. Our human nature wants to defend and justify ourselves. God knows we are a selfish people. That is why He calls us to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44) and to do good to those who spitefully use us (Luke 6:27). (The trademark of love, remember?) Only the "God strength" in our lives, His strength invited in at our point of weakness and frustration, can remedy this battle.

"Be alert and always keep on praying" (Ephesians 6:18) When prayer is no longer the oxygen of our spiritual soul or the heartbeat the Central Church, our defense is down. Praying for those who hurt us becomes something we don't even want to do. Neglect in prayer and in the spiritual training of the Word leaves us with open doors for the enemy to turn the wrestling match on one another.

The stealing and robbing is done long before we have even recognized the enemy was at the door. Knowing he is prowling the neighborhood (even the flock at Central) keeps us in a proactive state and able to recognize and withstand his tactics.

Godliness Contributes to Happiness

Associated Press Writers
Friday, August 24, 2007


Among America's young people, Godliness contributes to happiness.

An extensive survey by The Associated Press and MTV found that people aged 13 to 24 who describe themselves as very spiritual or religious tend to be happier than those who don't.

When it comes to spirituality, American young people also are remarkably tolerant — nearly 7 in 10 say that while they follow their own religious or spiritual beliefs, others might be true as well.
On the whole, the poll found religion is a vital part of the lives of many American young people, although with significant pockets that attach little or no importance to faith.

Forty-four percent say religion and spirituality is at least very important to them, 21 percent responded it is somewhat important, 20 percent say it plays a small part in their lives and 14 percent say it doesn't play any role.

Among races, African-Americans are most likely to describe religion as being the single most important thing in their lives. Females are slightly more religious than males, and the South is the most religious region, the survey said.

The poll's mission was to figure out what makes young people happy. And it appears religion helps.

Eighty percent of those who call religion or spirituality the most important thing in their lives say they're happy, while 60 percent of those who say faith isn't important to them consider themselves happy.

Accept One Another

A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa. Officials said the hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean , then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him. "It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a 'mother'," ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park , told AFP. "After it was swept away and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized.

It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother. Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together," the ecologist added. "The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it followed its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother," Kahumbu added."The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years," he explained.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." This is a real story that shows that our differences don't matter much when we need the comfort of another. We could all learn a lesson from these two creatures of God, "Look beyond the differences and find a way to walk the path together."

Order of Worship

Order of Worship
Sunday, September 2, 2007

Welcome

103 He Has Made Me Glad

577 We Bow Down

Jesus, You’re My Firm Foundation

Prayer

Scripture: John 3:14-17

350 When My Love To Christ Grows Weak

366 By Christ Redeemed

Lords Supper

Contribution

Dismiss 2x2

452 Standing on the Promises (Verse 1 and 4 Only)

Message Evan Burdan

Invitation 116 God Will Make A Way (Sing Twice)

Announcements

These Are the Days of Elijah

Closing Prayer