In a matter of 2 hours today, the ground went from being green to
white with snow. We threw some snowballs and took Arthur outside to
see it.
I am starting to think about graduation and completion of my work at Tech. I have taken care of my paper work for graduation. I have been bombarded with papers and solicitations about graduations. We are getting info on rings, diploma covers, cap and cowns, and other things.
About the only things I am interested in, are a diploma frame and a ring. I am starting to prep for my work at
Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church in June 0f 2008. What a remarkable job awaits me. Not because of who is there or because of a big budget or big salary. The church sees the importance of the work I am doing. They saw the importance before I was even in the picture. I get to earn an income doing some of the most important work I could be doing. We all are called to do “Kingdom Work.” I get to do that and do it in an official capacity at a Church.
Media work, properly focused, is not geared to the “non-believer.” Seeker-Friendly churches use all the media that is available to them often as another way to “woo” people to Christ. We don’t put that much weight into our media. We want our media to encourage the Body. The Body of Christ will impact the world in a far more effective way than some sermon CD or web article. But these avenues of media can be admonition and encouragement for the Body to be faithful in Her calling. They can come alongside the worship and work of the Church.
That makes the work I will be doing all the more pleasurable. So, I am very excited about this change.
Okay, so you are a Pastor or Music Minister at the local protestant church and you are struggling to keep up with what is happening with “Music in Worship.” This contemporary movement is hard to keep up with. You have songs that were very fresh 5 years ago that are now considered second-rate and aged. You don’t have to fret with this any longer.
Sing the Psalms! Why mess with “contemporary” songs when you have a hymnal already embedded in the Bible. Trouble is, most people think that singing the psalms means a boring and monotonous sound that will only contradict what you are doing. Well, to that I say, you need to revisit your understanding of Psalmody.
Forget sappy, emotional, or lilting singing in churches. We need to sing like we are a forgiven people. We need to sing with the Saints. The Church has sung the Psalms at different times with varying emphases. The modern church really doesn’t even regard the Psalms as Worship Music Potential. That is really quite unfortunate. We need to sing victoriously in a way that represents our faith in our God. It communicates a good bit about who we say our God is when we sing. Do we sing of the same God we preach from the pulpit? We want to be unified in our worship, work, word, and deed. Our Music just doesn’t measure up.
There is a place for hymns, but it should come AFTER the Psalms. Put the “Hymns” we sing now on the shelf for a while. Learn the to sing the Psalms and recover some lost ground, then add some appropriate hymns. Make no mistake, we don’t want a boring music service. We want loud, vigorous, robust, joyful, and biblical music in worship. That isn’t being done by most churches. We need to be revisiting the Psalms. They don’t go in and out of style like our hymns and praise choruses do. The Psalms have stood the test of time even though we have abandoned them in our worship. They are the stability and unifying music for the Early Church Saints and the Saints that will follow after us. We should sing the songs our grandfathers in the faith sang and leave that legacy for our grandchildren in the faith to sing. The Psalms are the Psalms. They aren’t changing and reworking themselves to be “relevant” to the World and to the Culture. The Psalms will rework us, the Church into a more glorious bride for our husband and Savior, Jesus.
Please get rid of the stereotype that singing the Psalms is boring and dead. That doesn’t have to be the way of the Church. The Geneva Psalms are a good start for a vigorous psalmody. It can and is being done well by some, we all need to be on board and revive Psalm singing in Worship.
I was trying to get a shot of Sarah swinging with Arthur. We have a
Fuji FinePix point and shoot camera and I never expected to get this
good of a shot when I shot this. Just wanted to share my photo with you.
I am starting to think about graduation and completion of my work at Tech. I have taken care of my paper work for graduation. I have been bombarded with papers and solicitations about graduations. We are getting info on rings, diploma covers, cap and cowns, and other things.
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