Sermons In Song

Psalm 40... free download for Christmas

2011-12-22T01:23:00.000-08:00

Our CD, "Great Redeemer," is now available, and we thought it would be great to give away downloads of our song, "The Song of the Redeemed" for Christmas. To download this song, go to our NoiseTrade page and if you like it, consider leaving a tip. The song is based on Psalm 40, and we hope it is a blessing to you (here is a link to a live performance of the song). If you are interested in using the song, following are the lyrics and chords, and we would love to hear from you:

[C1]
.G D/F# C G D/F# C D
Lord be magnified! He has heard my cry
.G D/F# C D/F#
He saw my need, and picked me up
. a7 b7 C Dsus - D
and set my feet upon a rock!

[C2]
.G D/F# e C
Many will hear this song of the redeemed
.G D/F# C D
Many will see all the lives that you have changed
.G D/F# a7 b7 C - D G - D/F# - C - D
Many will fear and will place their trust in the Lord

[V1]
.G D/F# a7 b7
The sacrifice of bulls and goats could never pay the debt
.G D/F# C Dsus - D
but long ago the prophet spoke of a promise to be kept,
.G D/F# C G
of the Father's loving kindneess shown, to send the Holy one
.G D/F# e C Dsus - D
to come display His righteousness, to do the will of God

[V2]
.G D/F# a7 b7
While resting in the kindness and compassion of the Lord
. G D/F# C Dsus - D
the saviour bore the sins of all and cried out to be heard
. G D/F# C G
bring sorrow to the ones who take delight in all my pain
. G D/F# e C Dsus - D
but let the ones who seek the Lord rejoice and sing again

An Impromptu Music Video

2011-06-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

We were at a friend's house near Port Huron, MI, and my wife and I broke out our instruments to run through a song or two. Another friend went outside, saw the lovely view of the fields and tall grass, and talked us into doing a quick music video... We took my wife's iPhone and used it to video a few runs through the song, then our friend edited it into our latest contribution to YouTube (whole process was just a few hours):

Video of last week's service

2011-06-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

We were blessed to have a supporter arrange for a video to be made of last week's worship service, so we decided to start a YouTube channel for Sermons in Song! If you would like to help it go viral (heehee... or if you just want to take a listen or add a comment), you can see it at our channel page or you can just hit play on the embedded video here:

A Prediction for Tomorrow

2011-05-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful that the end of all things happens after I get to celebrate my anniversary with my wife. As of today, we have been married for 16 years, and it has been a marvelous time. The first ten years (number of perfection) were devoted to uniting our hearts together in preparation for the work of ministry, and the following 6 years of labor were ordained to follow that perfect preparatory time. Now, at the end, comes the seventh year of rest... coincidence?

Now, you might suspect that this is all mere conjecture, but how could such things be anything but God-ordained signs of the end? I am sorry if your anniversary date was not so perfectly ordained, but since the end of all things is here, it does little good to fret about it now. Of course, for those who refuse to believe these things, a great earthquake awaits them tomorrow. Those who survive this will be in for miseries upon misery. But enough of this silliness... I have a more original prediction than to copy Harold Camping's spiritualistic conjecture and self-righteous arrogance.

Here is my prediction for the beginning of the end that Camping has predicted:
1) Tomorrow will be as today - there will be wars, there will be financial troubles, and there will be earthquakes...lots of them (there are many, every day, all over the world...nothing new here)
2) The next day, Camping will issue a statement something like this:

The earthquake of God's wrath has begun more slowly than we expected, but we who believe have certainly felt it. Scripture makes it plain that these events have begun, but the language of Scripture uses a metonymy where the final destruction is used to describe the whole period from beginning to end. It is certain that things will only get worse from here, and we, the witnesses of Christ, have been left in place for a time as God has graciously extended a last chance opportunity for repentance. All true believers should give generously to our radio station to proclaim this message.

3.) All those who have followed Camping will proclaim that it is obvious that he was right (mostly on the basis of his decades of Bible study), and in an effort to convince themselves and their relations that they aren't following a crackpot, they will redouble their urgency and commitment, giving more of their money to him.
4.) All who doubted Camping will proclaim him to be a crackpot - based upon their view of Scripture. Some will paint all Christians in the same light, and others will distance themselves from it.

The end result of all of this will be little more than a spectacle of competing efforts that serve to glorify some person by virtue of their rightness or their betterness. Many will be distracted for a time from the glory of God and will lose sight of the need to live every day in humble worship of the creator who will, indeed, reconcile all things to Himself. He will do it in His time and in His way. If we desire certainty, we should stop there, plead with others to be reconciled to God, and live our lives in such a way that our words and actions both proclaim the glory of God in the person and work of Christ.

Let God be true, and every man a liar...

Rejoice With Trembling

2011-04-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

Psalm 2:11 says, "serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling." Then Psalm 114:7 says, "Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob." One main point of Psalm 114 is that the presence of the Lord is not something to be treated lightly. These Psalms have been my meditation for quite a while, and I posted a line from one of my new songs to Twitter, "Lord, we long to know your presence, but we live with Adam's fear. Hide us in eternal mercy, as we tremble and draw near."

One friend responded to challenge this, asking how that squares with the confident approach to Christ that Hebrews 4:16 encourages, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." It is a good question.

Hebrews could, reasonably, be thought of as an extended commentary on the Messianic Psalms, and the more I have studied these Psalms in depth, the more evident it seems that the writer of Hebrews uses language that is saturated with these Psalms, even when there is not an identifiable quotation. As an example, consider a later passage in the book, Hebrews 12:18-28.

In this passage, we see an allusion to the theme of Psalm 114, the presence of the Lord. Here, we see a contrast between the fearful presence of God at Mount Sinai and the presence of God at Mount Zion. At first it would seem as if the fear of the first is absent from the second, but this would not be true to the context. The bottom line of this passage is that if it was a bad idea to refuse Him who spoke on earth, it is far worse to refuse Him who speaks from Heaven.

God's presence will shake heaven and earth until only that which is permanent and holy will remain. The kingdom of Christ, purchased by our Priest and King, Jesus Christ, is that which will remain. On this basis, the reader is enjoined to, "Serve God with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire." So how does this play out?

In Psalm 114 we see three historical events that highlight the presence of the Lord: the crossing of the waters, the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai, and the provision of water from a stone. The first two events are separated from the last event by the portion quoted at the beginning of this article.

At Sinai we see fear, because we do not measure up to the holiness of God. At the parting of the waters, we see a path made, where there was no other way of escape, though it is tinged with trepidation. In the rock, which is Christ, we see the final provision that allows us to be reconciled to God and satisfied in Jesus. Even here, there is chastening for sin, as the presence of God shakes loose every sin, but there is also confidence because there is provision.

Provision gives confidence that mercy is available, but we still need mercy. Jesus Christ's provision is gracious, because we are yet deserving of His wrath, and we still need His grace. He is a priest forever, because we will always need Him. If He stops being priest, we will no longer be safe! Our approach to God, however, may not include sin, and the presence of God, though gracious and merciful, will purge our sins, just like Isaiah's needing the coal from the alter.

The picture is of a sinner, stepping toward God's presence, being made aware of their sin and putting it off. Where we find sin, there is separation from God and fear. For the believer, this is mitigated by confidence in the grace and mercy of Christ, but never forget that our sin will be consumed in the holy fire of God's presence. For the unbeliever, who does not reconcile with the Son, this is a fearful judgment where the wrath of God is poured upon them, and for the believer, it is a chastening and purging so that we may be presented as his holy saints, excellent in His eyes and His beloved bride.

Either way, we must submit to His rule, since He is the rightful King of the universe, who has every right to judge sin (and will one day judge the earth in righteousness), and let us rejoice with the trembling joy of ones who rightfully deserve condemnation and judgement but have been spared because the Son is merciful and gracious, knowing our weaknesses, and forgiving our sins.

It isn't either/or we both rejoice and tremble in the presence of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ!

Meditations from the Psalms: Twitter Feed Explanations

2011-04-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

#ResurrectionMeditation 1/7: Psalm 8 He is most glorified at the cross (humility) and is given a name above every name (exaltation)

Imagine the most beautiful sight you have seen, the northern lights, the Grand Canyon, Angel Falls, or any other of the spectacular portions of His creation. God has given Him a name that is far more glorious and beautiful than any of it or all of it combined.

Psalm 8 is quoted by Christ, when the Pharisees had to try and get Jesus to silence the kids who were singing Psalm 118 to Him, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Jesus points to this Psalm as if to say, the kids have it right.

Unless you have the faith of a child, you will never understand the truth that God was most glorified in the humble obedience of Christ on the cross. There, every character attribute of God was on full display, and because of His humility, He is given a name which is above every name. It is this name that all will, willingly or unwillingly and sooner or later, bow and worship.

#ResurrectionMeditation 2/7: Psalm 22 - The Crucifixion described, Call to sinners, and the Gospel proclaimed to every generation

Psalm 22 provides us a window into the crucifixion, as Jesus cried, "My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?" The truth is that He was forsaken, so that we do not have to be forsaken. He was bruised and broken so that all, both rich and poor, can be invited to come, eat, and be satisfied in Him.

One generation will hear and come to Him, and they will declare it to the next generation. This will continue as we, who believe, repeat the gospel of Christ. We proclaim, "He has done it." It was fulfilled and accomplished.

#ResurrectionMeditation 3/7: Psalm 69 - Betrayal and False accusations; the humble will see the glory of the cross; the others...not so much

For a closer look beyond the physical suffering of the Messiah, we turn to Psalm 69. There we see the inner suffering of the Messiah, as He prays for those who believed Him, that they would not be ashamed. He was suffering for wrongs He did not commit, betrayed, mocked, and falsely accused. He cleansed the Temple and accepted the identification of Himself as the Messiah, the Son of David.

The crowd mocked Him, whom God had stricken. They were insensible to the fact that He was suffering for their crimes and not His own, but He took those sins to Himself and owned them as His own sins. There are two kinds of people who view the crucifixion and each displays a different response to this event. Then each is addressed by God in return.

One group joins in the mockery and even participates in the crucifixion. In response, we read the imprecatory prayers of the Messiah. He prays that those participating in His suffering would have their names blotted out of the book of the living, that they would not be counted among the righteous. He prays that God's wrath will come down upon them, and lest we miss the significance of this event, we must realize that every sinner is a participant in His crucifixion.

He bore the rod of God's wrath for the sake of those whose sins He bore! The second group are the humble, who see the suffering of the Messiah and are glad. They see the glory of God that Christ displayed on the cross, and they are sensible that this was the Just One suffering for the unjust. They will humble themselves and seek the Lord; they will praise God and glorify Him for His restoring grace!

#ResurrectionMeditation 4/7: Psalm 2 - The Resurrected Son's warning to the rebels: serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling

Psalm 2 describes a tumult of rebellion, with unified kingdoms, possibly even including God's people. They unite together to throw off the rule of God and His Messiah. This doesn't warrant much of a response from God, since He doesn't even stand up. Instead, He speaks, and what He says will terrify those who hear it.

He says, "I have set my King on my Holy Hill of Zion." Upon first consideration, it might seem that having a king enthroned is the point, but that could hardly terrify the rebels, since they are already rebelling against His rule. It isn't that there is a king that is significant, it is where The King is enthroned - the temple mount!

No king of Israel has ever been enthroned there. It is the dwelling place of God, and only the High Priest even has access. That means that the king spoken of in this Psalm is also a priest, and He is divine. Now that would be enough to terrify the rebels. They were thinking of this king as a mere man, who could be destroyed.

In fact, this is what happened, the rulers of the known world, the Romans and the Jews together took steps to destroy the rightful heir of the throne, and it seemed as if they had succeeded when they crucified Him. After the resurrection, the Messiah speaks to the rebels and tells them what the Father had decreed.

He is the Son, and the Father has given the whole earth to Him, with its inhabitants. When they thought they were destroying Him, He was really being chastened in their place, and the divine rod of God's wrath against ungodliness was applied to Him. When the Father declares that He is the heir of all things, He says, "You will break them with a rod of iron."

This is the rod of wrath, turned on the rebels, and there can be no escape from this divine priest/king. The only safe place is to reconcile with the Son before his wrath is kindled (even a little). They are urged to serve the Lord, submitting to His rule with fear, and they are encouraged to rejoice, with the joy of ones who have been spared a well-deserved judgement. All who trust in God are blessed!

#ResurrectionMeditation 5/7: Psalm 16 - The resurrected life of perfect trust, modeled by the Messiah and leading to fullness of joy

We discover, in Psalm 16, that the Messiah (the Holy One) may be placed in the grave, but His body won't even be in the ground long enough to decay. Instead, the perfect example of godly humanity shows us the path of life, leading to the only place where eternal pleasure can be found - with God.

This Psalm sketches the life of one who lives, fully trusting and treasuring God. God is his choice portion and with Him, his future inheritance is secure. He loves all of those who are set apart to God, and He rejects all association and participation with those who follow other gods. He learns from God and rests in hope.

Because the Lord is before him, as the goal of his life and because the Lord is with him, providing stability, he has perfect confidence that death itself cannot shake. The Messiah was the firstborn from the dead, and He paved the way by living in this perfect trust and being obedient to death. He rose from the grave and gave us the hope that we can follow in His steps all the way to finding our greatest joy, eternally in the presence of God.

#ResurrectionMeditation 6/7: Psalm 110 - The exalted priest and king, with his holy subjects following Him, goes forth to conquer

Psalm 110 describes what happens when the Messiah, who is now seated at the Father's right hand, will be sent forth to conquer those who stand together in one final rebellion. To this point He has ruled His people, who dwell in the midst of His enemies, but now, they are living offerings, following Him into the final battle, where He will put down every enemy, even death itself will be finally cast away forever.

He is both the King and Priest, hinted at in Psalm 2, and now fully revealed in all His glory. None can stand in rebellion and many are destroyed. He will judge the world in righteousness, with the rod of His wrath, and who can stand in the day of His coming?

#ResurrectionMeditation 7/7: Psalm 118 - the conquering king's coronation, "I will not die but live and declare the works of the Lord"

After the final battle, the processional heads to Jerusalem, singing Psalms that re-tell the story of His deliverance and the mighty acts, from Sinai to the Cross. The final song is Psalm 118, where the crescendo of voices sing, "His mercy endures forever!" But this gives way to the solo voice of the Messiah, singing about His victory.

He tells of the chastening that He endured; He describes the nations surrounding Him and seeking His life; and He proclaims, "I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord." Then He cries out to open the gates of Righteousness to Him; He will enter in, for He is the Righteous One!

The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it! HOSANNA!!! Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

All is Well - Psalm 16:8-11

2011-04-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

As per a few requests, the following is a chord chart for our song, "All is Well." While working on a different song, based on Psalm 16, a friend called to tell me that they had just lost a loved one. At the same time, I was meditating on verse 8-11 and the implications of Christ's resurrection. It is a song that seeks to capture the peace that comes from a mind who is focused on God, who is walking with God, who has been made alive in Christ, and who is following His path of life.

With Him, not even death can shake you, because He is the firstborn from the dead. He who knows our weakness became sin for us and suffered the wrath of God in our place. Then the Messiah, Jesus, did not stay in the grave long enough for his body to decay, but He rose to life again on the third day, and by His resurrection, we are enabled to live a life, alive to God and dead to sin.

He who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him!

Death, where is your victory? Oh grave, where is your sting?

All Is Well by tpryde3

[Verse 1]
. ---C#dim---------------E9
When anxious thoughts disturb my sleep
. --C#dim --------------E9-------A9
and grief would turn my faith to fear
. E -------------C#dim
I look to you my living priest
. --E2 -----A2 ---------------B2
and rest in hope, for you are near

[Chorus]
. E ---------------C#dim
O Love Divine! You stooped to share
. -E -----------------A9
My sharpest pains, my bitterest tear,
. E --------------C#dim
I bring to You my earthly care,
. --f# ----A9 ----------E
and all is well, all is well

[Verse 2]
. ---C#dim ------------E9
When threatened by the darkest day,
. --C#dim ------------E9 -----A9
the thought of You dispels my fear.
. -----E ------------C#dim
Though all the world assaults my way
. ----E2 ----A2 ----------------B2
still all is well, when You are near

[Verse 3]
. ---C#dim ------------E
When sleep has come to take my breath
. -C#dim --------E9 --------A9
My waiting heart expects to hear
. -------E
Arise my child!
. -------g# ---------------A9
Arise my child I conquered death
. ---------E
and all is well,
. -----A2 ------------B2
all is well, for I am near

Trajectory of Godliness

2011-04-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

What does godliness look like? In describing godliness, we would probably come up with some sort of list, outlining characteristics and behaviours of a godly. It isn't difficult to cull several examples of this in Scripture, such as the the great commandments, loving God and loving others or the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

We could articulate all these factoids as a bullet point list of descriptive characteristics, and this would give us a rather comprehensive picture of the ideal behaviour of a Christian. Then this could serve as an apt description of Christ-likeness and could be represented in this way:

Godliness -----> -----> Descriptive List

The trajectory shown above treats the list as the product of who a person actually is. In other words, if a person is Christ-like, they will (increasingly / more or less) resemble the list. This would serve to assert that what you are determines how you act, which would be treating the list as descriptive, but there is a second trajectory that reverses this direction and suggests that what you do is actually godliness.

Godliness <----- <----- Prescriptive List

This makes the list prescriptive, suggesting that godliness happens when a person gets better at fulfilling this list. Articulated in this way, it might appear to be starkly wrong, but what happens if we look at how this practically plays out in our discipleship by considering the first discipleship relationship we have, our kids?

Imagine a parent who observes a pair of fighting siblings. How would we recommend that they approach the situation? One option is to take them to a list item and show them Jesus didn't do that, with appropriate admonitions that they should stop fighting, forgive, and live with patience, because that is what Jesus would do.

Two sets of parents each desire that their children lead godly lives, so they set out to raise them according to Biblical principles. One chooses a strict path and governs television, books, friends, and other activities to ensure that their children are well disciplined to measure up to their understanding godliness. The second parents does not want to be legalistic, like the first, so they don't have such a strict list. They are content if their children don't do drugs, get into immorality, or avoid other illegal activities and let the rest take care of itself.

In both cases, the parent's approach subtly teaches children that Christ-likeness is attainable by outward actions (some more/some less). Both are actually legalists (one just has a longer list of rules than the other), and neither deals with the heart issues like selfishness and pride that drive their sinful actions. Both approaches fall short in helping them toward hating their sin and loving what is right so that right actions result (the essence of repentance).

The bottom line is that God's rules don't change you, which means man's rules certainly can't change you. Instead, Biblical change is a heart operation of the Holy Spirit, showing the glory of God in the person of Christ by the revelation of His Word. This produces a Christ-like life that looks just like the godliness described in Scripture. But if in practice or in principle you reverse this trajectory of godliness, you have inadvertently adopted some form of legalism.

Interrupting Life

2011-04-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had an important and extended conversation, with your kids around? You know how it is; when they need something, you do your best to cover the mouthpiece and quickly answer their needs without breaking the flow of the conversation. If you do it well, the other side of the phone conversation won't hardly even notice the interruption and your kids will know their needs are important to you.

Too often we act as if prayer is this sort of interruption to life. It is as if the conversation with God is interrupting whatever activity is important at the moment, and so we address the need for prayer efficiently and relatively quickly, but not too quickly, since we don't want to give the impression that talking to God isn't important. This is completely backwards!

Instead, we should strive to turn that around and view life as an interruption to prayer, which is then understood as an on-going conversation with God. We never hang up on God to get back into life. Instead, we dispatch whatever urgent matter life throws at us, as quickly as possible, so we can get back to the important conversation with God.

1 Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing."

Speaking on this verse, Spurgeon said:

So let your heart be magnetized with prayer, so that if the finger of duty turns it away from the immediate act of prayer, there may still be the longing desire for prayer in your soul, and the moment you can do so, your heart reverts to its beloved work.

Which is more important to you, life or prayer? Don't answer too quickly, but answer that question with this one: Which is the default setting of your heart, and which one does the interrupting?

Does the Music Matter?

2011-04-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

Does music communicate? While there are a few would argue otherwise, there is a growing body of scholarship that indicates audiences can understand the emotional tone of a given piece of music with astonishing predictability. However, this matter isn't the main point of this article; rather, let's accept the idea that music communicates emotion and run with it. What then? For the worship leader who believes our communication matters, we should explore how we might be able to evaluate a given musical expression.

Before beginning, there are some who will welcome this discussion for all the wrong reasons. They suppose that accepting the idea of musical communication will send all the "evil" styles of music scurrying back under the rock, and others, in reaction to them, try to minimize and dismiss the idea of musical communication altogether. For both, music is often spoken of as a disconnected thing, fixed in time and space, and for those who prefer to ignore musical communication, it is ephemeral and completely subjective - irrelevant to the verbal message of a song.

The first group are those who who try to parse every note, every rhythm, and every harmony, evaluating the parts to make a moral judgment if it is “good” or “bad.” In this way the musical expression is deconstructed according to the various rules that have become accepted by that particular community. This disconnects the music from the other essential aspects of communication, particularly its context (more on this later). In so doing, the ability to discern its actual emotional communication is undermined considerably.

Their approach is very similar to my college music theory class, where we studied how music was constructed by analyzing various musical expressions. Occasionally, we would notice that some great composer would break one of the “rules” of music theory, and I remember asking the professor why Bach could break a “rule.” He first explained that the rules were formulated post hoc to generally describe and explain why certain music sounded good, then he made two points: 1.) He did it in a way that sounded good and 2.) You aren’t him.

In that class, our compositions were not judged on the basis of the first point, “Does this sound good.” Instead, they were evaluated on the basis of whether we conformed to the rules of music theory. For that class, the rules were prescriptive rather than descriptive. This was a good thing, and while it was important to help our class as we were learning to make music, it isn't where musical composition is supposed to live.

Because it is a descriptive discipline, music theory is itself largely dependent on the cultural context in which the music was composed. It is also dependent on the cultural context of the one who is seeking to formulate the categories and structures of what made a particular selection of music sound good. At the same time, it tends to disconnect the music from its history, context, and expression, which are essential to understanding its emotional content.

Coming back to the initial discussion, in some conservative circles there are those who approach the issues surrounding morality in music from this same kind of clinical, arbitrary, and disconnected perspective; they seek to evaluate the moral content of music on the basis of elemental considerations like style or rhythm. In the process they end up proposing some sort of a musical taxonomy that can be followed if a composer would like to make “godly” music; the result is that they are really offering an additional set of music-theory rules. The only difference is that these rules end up becoming moral absolutes, and their additions to music theory are practically elevated to the status of revelation.

These prescriptions do not come from Scripture; in fact they are actually derived from descriptions of cultural artifacts from some cultural context that is considered superior. Their efforts cannot be adequately defended. In order to establish such a theory of intrinsic morality in music, we would have to be able to establish that a given tone and rhythm pattern communicates the exact same emotion universally in all cultures and that the communicated emotion is universally immoral in every context. Some have taken up this challenge in an attempt to demonstrate this, but since the Bible is silent on this matter, they are left producing a convoluted construction of philosophical ramblings and pronouncements.

If we hope to do better than that, we must consider all aspects of a musical expression together in order to understand its communicative content. Interestingly, this idea is consistent with what we understand about linguistic communication, and if we approached music in this way, the Bible would have a great deal to say about it. But can we really justify using language as a basis for our approach to understanding music? I think it is not only possible, but preferable.

Consider this: all spoken languages have a kind of music, where the rising and falling of tones determine the nature of the communication. For example, the words, “I love you” can be spoken to express a question, a statement, or even the exact opposite of what might be thought upon a bare reading of the words. Repeat the words in these ways, out loud, and you will hear the change in music in each expression. This is one reason that musical aptitude is a good indicator of potential skill in learning language, and it means that we can treat spoken word as a form of music!

Worship leaders, in particular, must be very careful both with what we communicate and how we communicate it, because we are joining the gospel and its truth to the musical expressions of worship. We must evaluate it, and this requires that we consider each of four essential aspects of all communication:

* Agent - the person who intends to communicate.
* Agency - the means the agent uses to communicate.
* Audience - the person(s) who are the recipient of the communication.
* Context - including history, occasion, and venue.

Each of these must be understood in relation to their various contexts, and all four must be included if any adequate evaluation can take place. In addition, since no emotion is in and of itself sinful, we are really addressing is whether or not a given expression is appropriate. Things may be inappropriate because it is not the right time or place ("fire" in a crowded building vs. on a rifle range); it might be inappropriate for a given audience ("no" to a parent vs. a drug dealer); it might be inappropriate in its form (a humorous poem set to music vs. presented in a legal brief); and it might be inappropriate for a particular person (refusal from a parent vs. from a child).

Additionally, it might be inappropriate because of degree (too much or too little) or because it doesn't have the right purpose (edification vs. destruction). It is important to note that in addressing these various categories, we are really trying to establish whether a given communication is appropriate in a particular context. To help us along the way, we can answer four essential questions that are covered by an abundance of Biblical principles:

* Is this communication appropriately expressed by this person?
* Is this communication appropriately expressed in this manner and by this means?
* Is this communication appropriate for the edification of the human audience and for the glory of God?
* Is this communication appropriate for the occasion, timing, and venue in which it is given?

The problem with this approach is that there is no cut-and-dried rules that govern the emotional / musical element of communication. That will be uncomfortable for some, since, for example, there is no way to Biblically eliminate the use of particular instruments in all situations (like drums). This often causes some significant angst for those who believe that contemporary Christian music is operating without regard to Biblical principles. Sadly, this issue has become so emotionalized and political that reasonable discussion on the topic is almost entirely ruled out, regardless of which side you are addressing.

If we can manage to start such a conversation, the categories and questions offered above should provide ample direction for discernment, and the Biblical principles that would govern the answers will provide guidance for our choices in worship and our personal lives. Then, if we want to move past the heat and have a fruitful discussion, we must adopt three essential traits of Christ-likeness: 1.) Die to yourself so that you can live toward God, 2.) Love God with all your heart, mind, and strength, and 3.) Love others sacrificially.

Praise God for Who He Is

2011-04-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick, and wholly inadequate tour of some of His attributes:

God is Great

He is everywhere, all at the same time. He knows every thing, even our thoughts before we think them. God is all-powerful; He can do anything that is consistent with His nature. God is the sovereign ruler of the universe, and He created all things to display His glory as the best and highest possible good for His creation.

Praise His Greatness!

God is Holy

He is completely unlike His creation. He is separate and distinct, perfect in all His attributes. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are greater than our thoughts. Who can be compared to the Lord? There is none like Him in heaven and earth.

Praise His Holiness!

God is Righteous

He always does what is right, because He is the absolute standard of righteousness. The nature of God defines all that is right, so there can be no evil in Him or what He does.

Praise His Righteousness!

God is Just

He always acts with equity and without partiality. Because God Himself is the standard of righteousness, by which every thought or deed is judged, all that do not measure up with Him are fairly and righteously condemned and removed from His presence to eternal death.

Praise His Justice!

God is Merciful

He always makes a way of escape. Under justice, we are all condemned, but God is merciful, which means He does not give us what we deserve. The basis of His mercy is the work of Jesus Christ, who voluntarily claimed our sins as His own and received God's wrath on our behalf! Only those who are reconciled to God through faith in Christ will be saved from God's wrath.

Praise His Mercy!

God is Longsuffering

He is always patient and doesn't judge swiftly. Though He will certainly judge all who refuse to reconcile through His Son, He endures the wickedness of His creation to give opportunity for those who will repent.

Praise His Longsuffering!

God is Love

He always acts for our benefit. This love is showered on all His creation, even those who refuse to believe. However, He has a special love for His people, working to redeem all who will believe and working all things out for their best good.

Praise His Love!

God is Perfect

He always acts consistently with all of His attributes, all at the same time. He never changes; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is God, and we can trust Him!

Praise our perfect, loving, patient, merciful, just, righteous, holy, and great God!

Remember Charlie Brown's Teacher?

2011-04-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

If you can understand Charlie Brown's teacher, you can understand that music communicates, but first, let's take a look at how understandable words are, by themselves.

Have you ever noticed that missunderstandings are easily started through textual communication? With the advent of email, many businesses have found it necessary to advise their staff to be careful what they write in emails for precisely this reason. This same tendency can also be observed in social networking and online forums. In a text driven environment, meaning can be lost or even reversed, in some cases, in the mind of the reader, simply due to a lack of “tonal” information. Since, tone of voice, and even facial expressions, contribute significantly to effective communication, care should be exercised in seeking to understand a textual communication in their absence.

So in spoken language, we can readily acknowledge that how something is said is often just as important as the verbal content of what is said. For example, I can say the words, “I love you,” and alter my tone of voice to communicate meaning that is sarcastic, deep, flippant, casual, questioning, or even completely opposite of what the words would seem to say. Context also plays a role in this, since the words spoken in my home, alone with my wife, will likely carry a different connotation than if they were spoken in church to the whole congregation.

Moving beyond the text, it is possible to communicate (more generally) with only the tone of my voice. Remember Charlie Brown's teacher? Isn't it interesting that you could understand, "Whaah Whaah wa wa Whaah Whaaaaahh?" The cues from the other characters and the context provided enough information that your imagination supplied words that went perfectly with the rising and falling of her voice. Then there was Woodstock and snoopy…no words, but you could clearly understand what was being “said” simply with tones and visual context.

To suggest that these characters don’t communicate would be silly, but we should observe that they don’t have the precision of communication that would be added with the inclusion of words. The fact is that music is just like tone of voice, it can and does communicate, though its communication is fairly general. It is as if music simply amplifies the tone of voice. So to suggest, as some Christians like to do, that music does not communicate apart from the words would be just as incomprehensible as suggesting that tone of voice does not communicate apart from the words. You can do, with music, everything that you can do with your tone of voice…often better.

Some would like to run with this idea and begin to construct a taxonomy to describe the communication of music in precise terms, but this is the equivalent of trying to build a taxonomy of tonality in language. Such an effort is doomed to fail, because while tone and music do communicate, they are (at best) general approximations of meaning. There is absolutely no precision to it, and the situational and cultural contexts both play a critical role in understanding the expression.

In any case, it really doesn’t matter how it communicates; the fact is that it does. When we can observe that it is even possible to musically mock good doctrine with exactly the same words you use for proclaiming it, we should be driven to consider carefully what our music is communicating to the audience. As pertaining to how we approach worship music, we must understand that music is a crucial part of the over-all message, and how we sing matters as much as what we sing.

Unshaken Worship is Godless Worship

2011-04-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

Worship leaders...

The presence of the Lord shakes everything, just as it shook Mount Sinai at the giving of the law (Psalm 114). We also know that there is coming a day when the presence of God will shake all creation, until only that which cannot be shaken will remain (Hebrews 12:27). For those who believe and follow Christ, there is a promise in Psalm 16:8, "I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved" (Hebrew: "shaken")

This promise speaks first of the buffeting from around us, but it also speaks of the unshakable stability we have in Christ. Our union with Him gives us a stability that transcends death, so that we remain even when heaven and earth crumble at His coming. The wicked may claim that they cannot be shaken (Psalm 10:6), but the righteous King will come one day in judgment.

The presence of God in your life has the same effect. Where God is, sin cannot remain, and those who are indwelt by His Holy Spirit cannot help but have that presence shake their idolatry and wickedness from them. If this is true, then there are some profound implications of this idea to our worship.

Worship leaders often claim to be leading a group of people to experience the presence of God, but if that experience doesn't shake lives, then you can be assured something is wrong. In Psalm 40:6 we see a person who has a song that can be seen. That is a song that springs from a changed life, a life where sin is being shaken free.

That reality must mark our worship, both expressively and experientially, and if sin remains, the presence of the Lord will shake it lose. It is the mercy of God that He doesn't shake hard enough to destroy the wicked entirely, but that time will come. In the mean time, the bottom line is that the church's songs should be songs that you can see, in the changed lives of both individuals and the church body.

If you desire this kind of worship, you need to pray. Pray for God's presence, because music, though powerful, cannot ultimately shake a person's life. Beg God to use your worship to display His glory and press it upon the hearts and mind of those you are leading. Pray that God would shake your life, and repent of sin in your own life. Draw near to Him, because it is impossible for you to lead people where you have not gone. The following will go nowhere without this.

Then you must choose the expressions of worship (commonly called songs) to display accurately who God is, and this should include both the content of the songs and the emotional force of the music. It makes little sense to sing about the love of God to angry music, but it also makes little sense to sing about the wrath of God toward sin with loving music. Each expression should appropriately display the glory of God to the church.

Don't obscure your congregation's view of God with unintelligible or false lyrics. Turn their eyes to God, in the person of Christ, and leave them there to soak in His glory. Where their focus is on themselves, worship will be anemic, even if it is exuberant. (People who idolize themselves have no trouble reveling in what they get.) Show people that the best life is one in fellowship with God, freed from all that He hates and loving all that He loves.

You can't do that if your music is stale, and I am not suggesting anything about style. Any style of music can be either vibrant or anemic, and it is possible to allow any style of "worship music" to devolve into little more than a concert. You must use music to communicate, but you should not allow it to eclipse the community based nature of public worship. Make sure the congregation can and does participate by choosing your music carefully to fit the lyrics. Also, practice your craft so that you can communicate as effectively as possible.

Plan elements of prayer, doctrine, and response in your service and never lose sight of the fact that worship is relational. It isn't about what you know or how many elements you tick off a checklist. It is about a community expression of a right relationship with God. Where that relationship is made clear, God's presence will really shake things up.

Dangerous Fences - Epilogue

2011-04-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

(a parable)

A few days ago, my daughter showed up at the doorstep with her four children. It was a great surprise, since we hadn't heard from them in a long time. Her eyes were red with tears and she began sobbing almost as soon as she sat down in our couch. My heart broke as her story poured out... (in her words)

"Dad, I am soooo sorry that we cut you off five years ago. I don't know where else to go, but I knew we would be safe here. The last few years have been miserable for me, as my husband began putting up many more fences for all of us. At first it was ok, because you always taught us to stay within the fences, but the fences became so constricting that we couldn't leave the house. All the shades had to be drawn on the windows, and the walls we had built kept us from any meaningful contact with almost anyone.

It didn't feel right, but I didn't know why. I went to the salesman for advice, and he showed me how the supplemental manual required us to stay inside the fences. I went along with it until my husband began wiring the fences with electricity. No one really understood or believed what he was doing. From the outside everything looked great, and the salesman said as long as we stayed in the fences, there shouldn't be any problems.

But the problem was that our whole house had become a dangerous place, and it was all fenced off, so the danger was not evident to those outside or even to us. There was no where to go, and the fences weren't able to protect us. They had imprisoned us in our own home; we were definitely not safe. There were no more fences to build, and there was no way to avoid danger.

I found the power switch to the electricity and turned it off; then I began taking down the fences. It was the only way to get out of danger, but my husband objected and called the salesman. The salesman came over right away and advised me to stay within the fences. When I told him that the danger was actually inside the fences, he couldn't see it. He urged me to get back in the fences, but when I refused, the salesman and my husband built a fence, cutting me and the children off.

We had no place else to go, but we remembered that beautiful spot in your yard and we just wanted to come here, so we can figure out what to do."

[My heart broke for my daughter, but I couldn't help but realize my acceptance of the supplemental manual for fence building had paved the way for my daughter's pain. I hoped the manufacturer would give me a chance to help others avoid the same kinds of fence building monstrosities. That is why I have shared our story with you.]

[Beware of fences! They are all dangerous, so you need to follow the manufacturer's directions very carefully. Small alterations to it seem ok, at first (or even desirable), but the danger in doing so is very real.]

Previous: A Sad Letter to Dr. Salesman

Dangerous Fences - A Letter to Dr. Salesman

2011-04-04T09:00:00.001-07:00

(a parable)

[A Letter From the Daughter / Sister to her fence salesman]

Dear Dr. Salesman,

It is with great distress that I write this letter, since we have heard that you lost my father as one of your fence-builders. I wanted to assure you that your fence building advice has not been lost on us, and we continue to follow your supplemental manual religiously. The audio tapes have been especially motivating.

You were right that if we built a few very high fences and rebuked the children sharply they would eventually not want to go outside of the fences toward the danger. We were still concerned about my brother and his influence on Dad and the rest of the family, but we had made the difficult decision to build a wall and fence to prevent their influence on our own children's desire for the other side of the fence. Eventually we came to believe you were right, and now we agree that we should have done it sooner.

It has been hard, but the results have been effective, and our children have almost entirely quit going over, around, or through the fences. Your guidance has been a real help, but we were hoping you could come over and help us maintain these fences. There are just so many of them that we need your expertise. You are so good at explaining how to build and maintain them, and I want you to know that we really appreciate your work. It is no wonder that you have such a large sales base.

The children love and admire all fence salesmen (especially our own), and they are all very good at marching around the fences singing, "The Foolish man Built His Fence Upon the Sand" and "Father Salesman." Thank you for all the good teaching materials. The children have had great fun learning from them, and it has really opened their eyes to understand how many dangers there are on the other side of the fence. The "History of Fence builders" has been especially helpful, since it has helped us see that all who build fences will be made fun of.

In any case, our family is safe, and we have you and your sales force to thank for it!

Respectfully Yours,

Sister Fences

[Reply From Dr. Salesman]

Dear Sister Fences,

Of course the path you have chosen is difficult, and the rigors of fence building and maintenance are a challenge, but the manual has said that it wouldn't be easy. You need to do your part, and the manufacturer will always help you. That is why I am here to guide you as you build more fences. Make sure you attend every fence building session, since it is there that you will gain motivation, encouragement, and advice on how to build fences, and don't forget to read the manual in light of the supplemental materials.

Also, make sure you continue to tell others about the importance of fence building. Your experience will be an encouragement to them, and teaching others will solidify your commitment in your own mind as well. Especially avoid those who don't love the manufacturer. You can always recognize them because they will be using the wrong edition of the manual, and they don't have very high fences. Its usually best to build a wall when you find one of these. They are very dangerous to fence building.

It was sad to have to deal so sharply with your Dad, and of course, you know your brother abandoned fences long ago. It always happens the same way. They start claiming that the supplemental material isn't in the manual, and then they start tearing down fences. At first they will start claiming to be free, and then they will run all over the place until they trip into some danger that they didn't have fenced off. It is so foolish to try to live your life with low fences, and especially to have so few of them. In time, when they do fall into danger, you will be assured that your children are safe.

I had heard that your oldest has gone around the fences a few times, as children often do at their age. Don't worry too much about it; it is normal for children to fall into minor dangers from time to time. Just make sure you keep the big dangers fenced off thoroughly and rebuke them sharply. Follow all the directions I gave you carefully, and I will see you next week.

Much Love,

Dr. Salesman

Next: Epilogue - Dangerous Fences
Previous: One More Time Around the Fences

Dangerous Fences - One More Time Around the Fences

2011-04-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

(a parable)

Well, it had been a long time since we had visited our son, and we at least wanted to give him another opportunity to return to a proper view of high fences. Also, in part I was curious to see how his children were doing. Over at my daughter's house, it was becoming quite a challenge. Since the increasing influence of neighbors and the ever-increasing dangers were demanding more and higher fences, their house had become a confusing labyrinth of fences.

When we arrived, we noticed that there were no new fences, but we were surprised to see that there were a few fences still up. I made a mental note to ask why he kept them, even though he didn't seem to value the safety of closer and higher fences. We also noticed the older children happily playing, out in the open, unprotected, in the middle of the yard. It was clear to us that he hadn't changed course, and we needed to try one more time to encourage our son to protect his children.

I told him about his sister's difficulties, and he seemed genuinely concerned when he asked, "Has she figured out that she is going about things the wrong way?" There wasn't a hint of anger or bitterness in his voice, and I was confused to see a confidence about him that wasn't expected. I asked him a few questions:

Son, why do you have so few fences?

"Its funny you should ask that, Dad," he replied. "It all started when I began to read the fence builder's manual. I discovered that fences actually serve to demonstrate the tendency of children to go over, under, or around them. I also learned that the fences were very specifically designed to assist children in learning to see and avoid dangers by guiding them toward the good places to play. I was surprised to learn that the manual didn't include protecting kids from danger as one of their purposes." [Now I was really confused - I always thought he was against fences...and what did he mean that protecting from danger wasn't listed? I was taught that it was by a very fine fence seller! He even provided me with a fence-builder's supplemental manual.]

He continued, "You had always taught me to follow the manual, so that is what we set out to do. That was when I noticed one section near the back of the manual that described a few of the dangers that could accompany fence-building. The prime danger was marked in bold red letters: Beware that you do not vary your installation from the recommended height, length, and placement of your fence! It could produce unintended consequences. It also warned that there were some fence sellers that were known for producing supplemental fence-building advice, and it specifically suggested that heeding such advice would void the warranty." [I wonder why I had never paid much attention to this? Maybe it was because the salesman told me that those portions of the manual were for a different kind of yard?]

"So we decided to eliminate all fences that were not found in the manual and to make sure that any remaining fences were installed strictly according to the manufacturer's instructions. that was just before you came to our house the first time. The whole concept was new to us, so we didn't know how to tell you that we hadn't rejected fences or the manual. We were only rejecting the supplemental materials."

But how can you keep your children safe with so few fences?

"You know, we were really nervous about that as well, but the manual also said that we needed to institute a danger-awareness program in our home. I also noticed a warranty card that said the fence manufacturer guaranteed the safety of all children when following the right method of fence building and instituting consistent danger avoidance education." [I had seen that portion of the manual before, but the fence salesman assured me that the updated educational program was designed to protect the children no matter what..."higher is safer and more is better" was their motto.]

"We decided to trust the manufacturer, even though we were very nervous about it. Everyone that we loved was insisting that this approach was sure to lead to disaster, so the decision wasn't easy. It just seemed that the one who designed the fences should know how to install them, and the instruction program seemed very thorough. We enrolled that next week."

What is this educational program? [I had to wonder because I had never even heard of such a thing. The education we were given by the fence salesman was simply how to build fences, and the advanced class then taught us how to teach others about building fences. We faithfully spread the word about how effective the fences were and were instrumental in recruiting so many new fence-lovers that we were honored as excellent sales associates by the Salesman's Quarterly.]

"It is interesting that you would ask that, because we thought it was a little odd at first. The educational program director came to our house and simply observed us for a few days while we tried our best to keep the kids from danger. After this observation period, we sat down at the kitchen table to go over his recommendations and lesson plans. We were not prepared for what he told us."

"He told us that we didn't understand the nature of danger, and that our main problem was that we were too focused on keeping the kids from going over, around, or through the few fences we had left. Even though we had the fences as they were supposed to be, we were told that unless we used them for the right purpose, they would not have the desired effect. To say we were confused is an understatement, but the lesson that really took us by surprised was when he showed us that the manufacturer clearly explained the biggest danger was actually found in the children themselves and had very little to do with anything in the yard."

Wait a minute! How can you keep children from danger if they ARE the danger?

"That was what we wanted to know as well. 'It is their desire to go toward the danger that is the real problem,' he said, 'however, you need to learn the next lesson before you will be able to help your children.' Then he took us to a spot in the yard that we rarely enjoyed, then he showed us its beauty and all of the great places to explore for children. (I confess that we also have a great time exploring this part of the yard.) He kept showing is around until we grew to love this area of the yard, and then he showed us how the fences were perfectly constructed to guide children toward this place."

"The only way to protect your children is to bring them here and teach them to love this place. The more they love being here, the less interested they will be in the dangers.

Ok...I think I get it, but why can't we build a few more fences to make their journey easier and faster?

"You know, we asked the same question. We had already figured out that the fences cannot prevent children from going over, around, or through them. Now we accepted that they simply served as a guide. On top of that, it turned out that if you add or modify those fences they always block the paths to the best part of the yard, and we learned that some families build so many fences that they never get to see the beauty of it. His description reminded us of my sister's yard.

We also learned that as long as we trusted the fences to keep our children safe, we were actually voiding the warranty, and we were told that we needed to teach our children about the fences, show them the beautiful spot to explore, and show them how the fences act as a guide to take them there. It definitely takes a lot more work, and we had to put in a lot of windows to keep watch over them. Whenever they began to go from the beautiful place in the yard, we would go out and teach them some more about the fences and guide them back to the beautiful place in the yard.

However, this has not only been more effective at keeping our children safe, we have had so many wonderful times together as a family, that none of us want to leave this spot in the yard. We live to go back there, if only for a few moments, and we spend so much time there, that the rest of the neighborhood has begun to notice. Would you like to see it, Dad?"

[Me and my son walked to the fences and then walked along it toward the center of the yard. There I saw so much of interest and beauty that I could scarcely go home! My son assured me that there was a spot just like this in everyone's yard.]

A few months later, I invited my children to our home for a party. That night I planned on burning the supplemental material, my sales associate of the year awards, and the remaining wood and stubble from our old fences. I also hoped to introduce my daughter to that wonderful place in the middle of our yard.

Next: A Sad Letter to Dr. Salesman
Previous: Higher and Stronger (Walls and Fences)

Dangerous Fences - Higher and Stronger (Walls and Fences)

2011-03-31T16:14:00.000-07:00

(a parable)

A few weeks after building the fence between us and our son, we were sitting at the kitchen table of our daughter's house. The mood was sad, and we missed our son's lively conversation. It broke our hearts to have to cut him off like that, but what else could we do?

While we were discussing how we had no choice, when we heard a giant CRASH. When we ran into the yard, one of my daughter's kids was breaking down a fence. The anger and bitterness in her voice was palpable, as she screamed about hating fences and oppression. Our son's influence was being felt already. This merely confirmed for us that we had made the right decision.

Of course, we had to rebuild that fence, but we made it stronger and higher. The offending child was given a few extra temporary fences, and the problem seemed to be addressed effectively. But it wasn't, and soon the fence was knocked down again, only this time a couple of the kids were involved. It didn't matter how strong or high my daughter made the fences, they would get together and smash through it.

It was a hard decision, but my daughter confined the offending children to the house. They had to be kept safe from the danger, and danger seemed to be cropping up more and more these days. What else was she to do? She obviously loves her children, and their safety is her primary concern. It seemed that walls were better than fences.

The difficulty of keeping the children occupied in the house was obvious, but my daughter is a clever lady. She poured her life into the kid's education, making sure to teach them about the importance of high and strong fences. She paid special attention to explaining the danger of going over, around, or through fences. That way, when they left the house, they would be able to stay safe.

Every once in a while they would venture out, but only when she was there to tell them exactly what to do. That was when I noticed the children had learned a secret way out of the house. As long as their mother thought they were playing in their rooms, they could go outside and play. My daughter was doing everything right, but the high walls and strong fences didn't seem to help. They always seemed to find a way over, around, or through both walls and fences.

No wall was high enough, and no fence was strong enough. As a grandfather, I couldn't do much other than watch, and I couldn't help but feel that the children were like a seething pot. While the kids were relatively well managed, they didn't seem contented or happy. They say you get to see how effective you were as a parent when you watch your grandchildren, and I was beginning to get nervous. The situation seemed hopeless...

Next: One More Time Around the Fences
Previous: Fences or Windows

Dangerous Fences - Fences or Windows?

2011-03-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

(a parable)

The following is what transpired, as best as I can remember it, of the conversation I mentioned at the end of the previous post:

"Windows are much better than fences," I heard my son assert, but his sister's retort was quick and decisive, "You've got to be kidding! Haven't you learned anything from mom and dad?" [I was not a little nervous at this turn in the conversation, but I was also too interested to interject. My whole life was invested into these two and their siblings, and there was too much at stake to simply ignore such an important conversation. Besides...I was curious as to why my son had so thoroughly rejected my fences.]

Son:

Of course, I love mom and dad dearly and greatly respect what they were trying to accomplish [I was thankful for this]. However, I don't think the fences they built really did what they expected. You know, as well as I, that the fences didn't prevent our playing on the other side; we simply learned how to do it so that we looked like we were playing on the right side of the fence. Remember how we used to do it? [I confess that my curiosity was piqued]

Daughter:

Yes...how could I forget? It is true that there were certain places where we could play that had the appearance of staying in the fences, but we were too careless. Higher fences would have prevented that, and the added benefit would be the removal of temptation. Higher and stronger fences help our children learn to stay in the fence. [I couldn't help but resonate with her assertion, but an uneasy nod of approval was all I could muster]

Son:

Why would I want them to learn how to stay in the fences? The danger isn't even close to the fences, and I would rather them learn to recognize and avoid it...

Daughter:

That is simply irresponsible! Children always go over, around, and through the fences, and if you put the fences so close to the danger, they will surely get hurt! [Amen, I thought]

Son:

...give me a chance to finish...don't you see how you are contradicting yourself? All those fences are built on the assumption that children always go over, around, or through fences, and you haven't actually prevented it. All you have done is make it safer, but don't you remember what we discovered about the danger? We seemed to always discover some new and dangerous places inside the fences. Sometimes we got hurt, but we hid the hurt so that dad wouldn't build another fence.

Daughter:

But that is why parents must be increasingly vigilant and keep building fences! We really need to cultivate a relationship with our kids that allows them to be open about the dangers, so that we can build fences to help them avoid the dangers. How is it that you could leave dangerous places unguarded? [Good question, I was really proud of that girl]

Son:

Who said that they were unguarded? We simply have chosen to build windows in the house so that we could keep an eye on the yard. Every danger is in full view, and we spend a lot of time walking and playing with the children. We simply don't have time to build a lot of fences, and it really hasn't been necessary.

Daughter:

But don't your kids get hurt?

Son:

Sometimes, but we are usually nearby. We have chosen to spend the time we used to spend building fences by watching over them, helping when they fall, and instructing them how to see and avoid the dangers. When we lived inside the fences all the time, we didn't learn to recognize the dangers, or we learned the hard way. [He did seem to be making sense, but everybody has fences. It is impossible to go through life without them.]

Daughter:

However, you can't simply get rid of the fences. Every house has fences, and it is impossible to live without them. [That's my girl] We can't possibly be so vigilant as to prevent the kids from every danger, and what happens when you aren't looking? The fences keep them on the right side of the fence when we aren't able to watch.

Son:

But we have already agreed that it didn't prevent us from playing on the other side of the fence. [His frustration was beginning to show]

Daughter:

True, but we could still play safely, even though we went over, around, or through the fence. That is the true genius of dad's fences [heheheh...that was probably a little over the top]; as long as they were far enough away from the danger when they go over, around, or through the fence, they wont be hurt by their actions. [Atta girl]

Son:

But we have already seen that there were dangers both inside and outside the fences, and those dangers increase over time! [hmmmm...]

Daughter:

Exactly...and that is why we must keep building fences. We should never tear them down, and the whole window thing...that seems extraordinarily dangerous. Without high fences, there will be nothing to prevent the children from seeing and going near the dangers. If we build windows in our house, it would only make it easier for them to see where there are weaknesses in the fences. If we put in windows, like you suggest, there would be nothing keeping the children from making a b-line to the danger. [That was a really good point]

Son:

Ok...so higher fences don't prevent danger; more fences don't prevent danger; and no matter where you set the fences, danger is not as far away as you would like. Don't you see the problem? Fences cannot prevent or help to avoid danger! [My discomfort was on the rise, and I simply couldn't stand by and let my son destroy all those fences. I had to interrupt...]

Conclusion:
I told my son that I was disappointed at his position on fences, and it was plain to me that he had clearly fallen into danger himself. He was so affected that he didn't see it. We were grieved, and though he stammered and denied he was in danger, it was clear. For the sake of our other children; we wouldn't be coming back to visit.

I had to build another fence.

Next: Higher and Stronger (Walls and Fences)
Previous: Second Generation Fence Building

Dangerous Fences - Second Generation Fence Building

2011-03-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

(a parable)

I have already explained how and why we came to have all these fences (and a few barriers) around our house, but I haven't really told you the whole story. Many of our neighbors watched our lives carefully, and they genuinely seemed to appreciate how well behaved and orderly our house was. However, they were very critical of how we "sheltered" our kids.

They warned us that there might be problems after our kids started building homes for themselves, and we dismissed their critique as simply being people who loved the product but didn't like the process. We were very proud of our kids. It wasn't long after we built the fences with our back-yard neighbor that things began to unravel, and before we knew what had happened, everything we had worked for began falling apart.

It was at this time that our oldest son soon moved away to begin his own household, and we were very careful to help him establish all the right fences and barriers for his family. After all...it didn't make sense for him to have to learn the hard way. He would be ahead of the game by using our yard as a template.

We thought things were going well, and he seemed to have gotten a good start following our advise. Of course, we didn't mind the few minor changes that he made here or there. As long as he had high fences, his kids would be safe. Of course, it wasn't long before he began to notice that his kids were finding their way over, around, or through their fences, and he would always come to us for assistance in how to construct and maintain strong fences. However, we knew something was wrong when he gradually stopped coming to us for advise.

As concerned parents, we worried that he might be tempted to remove some of those good fences, but we didn't want to interfere with their home. After a long period of near silence, we drove down their road, looking those familiar fences, but to our horror, most of the fences were removed or destroyed. He had lowered what few fences were left, and to top it off, he had built many windows in his house, overlooking the dangerous places. His kids were definitely not being kept safe.

We thought we had taught him better than that, and we pleaded with him to put the fences back and protect his family. We reminded him of the hurt that always happened to those who played on the other side of the fences, but he didn't seem to listen. We also tried to help him understand that the windows he had built would only make his family desire the other side of the fences more, but he was immovable, and our hearts were broken.

There was one bright spot in our lives. Our oldest daughter married a fine young man, very much like her father, and he was especially careful about fences. We were glad to see this because we didn't want her to have the same problems that her brother was having. Our son-in-law even asked permission to use our yard as an example, and even though he took away a few minor fences added a few of his own, he had very high fences, and we knew that at least their kids were safe. All we could do is watch and see what would happen to our children; it was a very helpless feeling.

On the one hand, our daughter's kids were the picture of goodness. They were growing older, and of course, they tried the fences as all children tend to do, but our daughter was right on top of it. She remembered how her and her brother used to secretly play on the other side of the fence, so she was careful to construct new fences and repair the ones that were getting old.

Then on the other hand, we were increasingly burdened by our eldest son. There were very few fences in his yard, lower than they should have been and painted red, instead of white. He seemed to be rebelling against the high fences that we had made a part of his youth. The worst part was the windows...so many that you could see every area of the yard, including the dangerous places. It was almost as if he was rejecting everything that we taught him.

Thanksgiving we all met at our son's house, and we determined to try one last time to help him see his error. We asked him why he built all the windows and took down the good fences, and he started by reminiscing about sneaking around the fences with his sister. He described how they learned that they could go over, through, or around the fence, as long as they were careful not to look like they were on the wrong side. We were surprised at how often they played there.

In the middle of the conversation, he and his sister began to argue. She contended that higher fences were needed, and she claimed this was what she and her husband had done with great success. He, on the other hand, said that all the extra fences didn't address the dangers at all and that windows were a far better way to address the problems that they were describing. It would be hard to tell you the gist of the discussion, so next time, I'll just bring a copy of their conversation for you to read.

Next: Fences or Windows?
Previous: The Other Side of the Fence

Dangerous Fences - The Other Side of the Fence

2011-03-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

There is an interesting article from Dave Doran, on his blog. In it, he talked about building fences, and it reminded me of a series of posts on my old blog called "Dangerous Fences" that was one of the all-time most read series of articles. It is a parable about a family and their experience with fences, and I will post the series over the next few days:

Dangerous Fences - The Other Side of the Fence
There was an open place in our yard, with an unobstructed path to a dangerous spot, so I built a fence to prevent my kids from going there. It wasn't long before one child discovered that the fence didn't extend into the trees, and they went around to play on the other side. What is a good father to do? I built another fence.

This one extended further and was set back a little more from the danger, just in case one of my kids might go around again. Can you believe it? The pull from the other side of the fence was so strong, that one of my kids tested the fence until they discovered they could go through a small opening in one side. I had no choice, I built another fence, longer and stronger than the last. My children must be kept safe.

The fence wasn't all I was going to do this time; my children needed to be cautioned about going beyond the fence. It was there for their own protection. So I explained that when I was younger, I went to the other side of the fence and got hurt, and I didn't want them to be hurt as well. They needed a healthy fear of what is on the other side of the fence. The only problem was my trouble-making neighbor.

He let his kids play on the other side of their fence, within sight of my own children. When my kids began to notice and questioned why I built the fence, I explained that the other father was unwise to allow his children to play so near to the danger. They would get hurt sooner or later.

Well...the other day, the thing I feared the most actually happened. One of my children crept around the fence to play with the neighbors, and my child was hurt. So what was a father to do? I built another fence and again explained how playing on the other side of the fence was dangerous. At least now they had an example of the danger, and to remind them even more, I put up a sign, with a picture of their brother, hurt on the other side of the fence.

It wasn't long before one of the neighbor's kids were hurt as well, and I was sure to point it out to my children. "That is why we have all these fences," I said, "They are good and right." Only unwise parents allow their children to play on the other side of the fence, and only unwise children go around, through, or over the fences that their parents have built.

You know...that wasn't the end of the matter.

I discovered one afternoon, that one of my children was talking through the fence to one of the neighbors. Their friendship was tempting my kids to try to find a way over, around, or through the fence. What else could I do? I was forced to build a barrier to keep the neighbor's kids away from my yard. My children had to be kept safe. At least they could play with the neighbors on the other side of us; they had the same fences that we have. Their children were safe.

Our problem was first noticeable when my neighbor said that he didn't agree with the barrier we had erected. After all, he had a neighbor that didn't have the right fences either. However, one by one, his kids were enticed over the fence into danger. Some even got hurt, but even worse than that, they began undermining my neighbor's fences so that other children could get through. After I noticed my kids playing on the other side of the fence, I knew there was no other choice. I built another fence and another barrier between us and them. My kids must be safe.

I was in the back yard a few days later and I discovered that the family behind us had the same experiences. They were so very like-minded that we got together and built another fence. This one extended around both of our houses, so we made certain that our families were both safe together. It was so wonderful to see the kids playing with their friends in the back yard, and the front yard was so close to the danger, they were better off back there anyway. An added benefit was that our united approach to fences gave our families the opportunity to meet together to reinforce the dangers inherent on the other side of the fence. We were careful to point out how much better it was in our yard and how unwise it was for the other neighbors to have so few fences.

We didn't know it at the time, but the kids usually went to the front yard to play when we weren't looking. However, as wise parents, we expected that they would test the fences (kids always do), and this is why we built those fences so far from the danger. At least now that they have grown older, they are still safe, even if they go over, around, or through the fence. As long as we are careful to encourage them back, they will be kept away from the danger on the other side of the fence.

Of course, you might not understand all the fences and barriers in our yard, but at least our kids are safe...

Next: Second Generation Fence Building

Worst Ever Worship Experience

2011-03-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

While traveling through the south one Sunday, we found a church and stopped in for services before continuing our trip. At that time, our two oldest kids were very young, and we had no idea that we were in for quite a unique experience, but there were a few harbingers of things to come that we began to notice as we entered the building.

Walking through the auditorium, we heard the organist playing an arrangement of "Amazing Grace." It was unique, to say the least. The stop selections evoked a Calliope sound that was more reminiscent of a carnival than anything, but at least the organist was playing in a style that was consistent with her stop selections. Unfortunately the effect, musically, was comedic.

It wasn't long before we were greeted by a smiling couple, who proudly informed us that there was no nursery for our kids because, "Kids don't disrupt our services." As I said, our kids were very young, and even though they were fairly well behaved, I had a hard time understanding how that could be. Either way, we took our seats near the back and waited for the service to start, curious about how this would work out.

As we sat, listening to the organist's caricatures of various traditional hymns, I noticed that the drum set on the platform had microphones set up to amplify them. That was odd, since the auditorium was definitely not large enough to warrant amplifying the drums, and in the moments before the service started, my mind started to connect the dots while trepidation replaced curiosity.

The music was painfully loud, even where we were seated in the back of the auditorium, and the sounds were a confused cacophony at best. Calliope music from the organ was being hammered into submission by the drum as a piano and other instruments struggled to get some attention as well. The lyrics were completely overwhelmed by a sonic experience that was so out of control it made thinking impossible.

At least the loudness served one useful purpose. The people around us probably thought my oldest son (who now plays keyboard with us) was singing as the music drowned out his insistent observation, "Bad music, daddy! Bad music!" He was right. It was awful, and although it might seem impossible, the whole service went downhill from there.

This experience is still the worst ever example of a worship service I have ever heard, but how do we evaluate it? Can we really say it was bad? Is there some way to determine what is good worship music? If it is left to the audience, then those around me seemed to have a very different reaction than mine, and we would have to say that it was good...for them. So can we really judge a piece of music as being bad?

I would like to suggest that there are a few items that we should consider when choosing, playing, or leading worship music: the communication of the music, the content of the lyric, the quality of the art, and the question of the heart.

Briefly, we should be concerned with what our music is communicating, and we should evaluate this according to a broader cultural context than the local church. Either way, it is a mistake to think that your music isn't saying something about your church and its message, and if what the music communicates is important, then the content of our lyrics should be very important. So if you really want to be effective, the emotional communication of your music should match the lyrical content, which should be thoroughly grounded in the word of Christ and blossoming with spiritual fruit.

Music that is artistically superior, will stand the test of time. It will have a melody and core harmonic structure that are timeless. One of the ways you can recognize a good song is if it can communicate effectively outside of its original context. Bach is a tremendous example, as his music is so enduring that it is still recognizable and communicates effectively, even when played in a variety of contexts and styles.

We should strive to keep the art of our worship music as high as we can, with the resources that we have at our disposal. This doesn't mean that we need professional musicians in order to have good worship. Quite the contrary, the desire for technical and artistic quality needs to be balanced with the communal nature of worship music that is concerned with the heart of each individual and the unity of the church.

An inferior musical expression can have greater impact and clearer communication when the participants are authentic. In other words, just as the emotion of the music should match the content of the lyrics, the heart of the song should be matched by the heart of the musician. Just as it makes little sense to pair loving lyrics with angry music, it makes little sense to have a wicked heart singing songs of holiness.

When music reflects an emotion that is consonant with the lyrics, when the lyrics express truth that reflects Christ fully, when the worshipers are in a right relationship with Christ and are bent on loving Him and one another, when all of these elements are in harmony with one another, we will have truly amazing worship. When this chain is disjointed, out of alignment, or broken, the worship will be qualitatively (or possibly even morally) inferior.

Love vs. Justice - Brian Mclaren weighs in

2011-03-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

Brian Mclaren has recently written a rebuttal to Al Mohler's critique of Rob Bell, which really shouldn't surprise anyone. I would like to address a piece of Mclaren's article that relates to my own critique of Bell's book. Here is what he wrote:

First, many of us are concerned about the traditional doctrine of hell for reasons of justice and holiness, not mere sentimentality. Even putting God's loving nature aside for a moment, it's very hard to square the idea of eternal conscious torment with a just or holy God, especially when Jesus repeatedly encourages us to trust God as a just and holy father (in contrast to human fathers who, Jesus points out, can be downright evil). If a human father decided to throw his child in a fireplace for just ten seconds as punishment for disobedience, we wouldn't fault the father simply for being unsentimental: we would say such behavior was unholy, an act of torture in violation of our most fundamental sense of justice. Any definition of justice and holiness that involves being unsatisfied unless the imperfect are suffering eternal agony seems to many of us as unworthy of a human being and if so, how much more unworthy of God whose justice must be better than our own.

That doesn't solve the problem, and it doesn't address all the biblical texts that those who defend the traditional view can quote from memory. (Which is a legitimate topic for civil discourse - discourse that I hope will come in the next innings of play.) But it does demand that the question be opened so the traditional interpretations of those texts can be reconsidered - alongside the other often-marginalized texts that argue for a wideness in God's mercy and a compassion in God's justice. Having grappled with those texts myself, like Rob I found it more reasonable and faithful to the full witness of Scripture to conclude that love wins through God's restorative (not merely punitive) justice. And no, that's not traditional universalism because it works within a very different framing narrative than traditional universalism, exclusivism, and inclusivism all assume.

In answering Mclaren, Dr. Mohler has addressed each of his four critiques, but there is something here that I would like to address specifically that is related to my previous post. In that article, I argued against Bell's position, suggesting that he is wrong in regards to the relationship between Love and Justice. That article is focused on the nature of divine love, and in this article I would like to look at Mclaren's defense of Bell in relation to divine justice.

Categories are Important:
Of course, whenever we discuss these sorts of things, it is important to know that we are talking about the same things, so with that in mind, I would like to examine a few key ideas that under-gird the above quote. In the process, I will contend that Bell and Mclaren have shifted the terms and categories of the discussion in making a case for their position.

Child / Enemy?
In the example that Mclaren uses, that of a father throwing his child into the fire, there are several assumptions that require some scrutiny. In the first place, the traditional position has God's enemies as the objects of His wrath, rather than God's own family. By telling the story in this way, the discussion is prejudiced against hell, but the story doesn't match the Biblical narrative. A better, more biblical, story would be something like this:

A father wakes up to gunshots only to discover a murderer and thief in his house, who has shot and killed his son. After warning him and calling on him to lay down the weapon and surrender, the criminal responds by shooting at the father and empties his gun. The father then moves in and throws the man into the fireplace. But now imagine that the criminal in the above story actually lays down his weapon and asks the father's forgiveness. Then, in response, the father forgives the criminal, accepts him into his house and treats him like family.

That version of the story is far better aligned with the Biblical narrative than Mclaren's, and the emotional impact, rhetorically, is quite different. The fact is that we must be reconciled to God before we are considered anything more than an enemy, but when we have been reconciled, we are adopted into His family. The truth of reconciliation, in Mclaren's narrative, does not adequately consider the state of man as confirmed enemies who have participated in the murder of His son. It also does not adequately consider the significance of those enemies who repent being adopted into God's family.

Imperfect / Rebel?
This problem shows up again when Mclaren says,

"Any definition of justice and holiness that involves being unsatisfied unless the imperfect are suffering eternal agony seems to many of us as unworthy of a human being and if so, how much more unworthy of God whose justice must be better than our own."

Again, you can see that he is shifting the verbiage to minimize the significance of sin as active rebellion rather than the result of a flaw. Using the language of mere "flaws" implies that the problem of the human condition is introduced through no fault of their own, or at least that it makes sin understandable or even excusable. A flawed person needs our pity and our help, where an evil person must be destroyed.

This can be easily seen in respect to Satan. First consider that the original rebel took up arms to overthrow God and then deceived our first parents, which introduced untold human suffering and ruined the perfect God-glorifying creation. Then consider that hell is a place that was prepared for him and all those who follow him. Those who remain in Satan's family, following him in his rebellion and participating in the defacing of God's glory, earn their place with him in the day of vengeance.

The bottom line is that the human race is not simply passively flawed, every one of us are confirmed and active rebels to God's rule. This places us in the category of children of wrath, and unless that changes, God is perfectly just to punish us with the vengeance that our father, the devil, has earned.

Restorative / Punitive (or both)?
This leads us to a question; is justice ever restorative? Well, yes - when God chastens his children, he is moving them toward Himself and correcting them in a way that will produce more Christ-likeness in them. Is justice ever punitive? It would be hard to argue that it wasn't, particularly when God's justice is meted out upon Pharaoh, for example. Didn't his rebellion earn him the plagues? Who would argue that he didn't deserve what he got?

But Mclaren inserts the word, "merely" in a way that suggests three main thoughts. First is that punitive justice is inferior to restorative justice, and second is that even punitive justice, if it is present at all, is expected to be restorative. Finally, there is the intimation that God's divine justice could never be "merely" punitive, since his justice is expected to be better than ours and restorative justice is better. Regardless of whether allowance is made for limited punitive justice, the effect is to assert that God's justice is always restorative.

At least one path we may take to test this idea is related to Satan. If Mclaren is correct, the door must be open for God's restorative justice to reconcile with Satan himself. Yet Jesus taught, regarding the nature of hell, that it is a place that was prepared for him and the angels who followed him. This means that Bell and Mclaren must leave the door open that this place can be emptied, even of those for whom it was prepared, otherwise God's justice can, indeed, be purely punitive.

We can also examine this matter in the light of the cross for a clear understanding of the key issues, for if Bell and Mclaren are correct, the idea that the Father's wrath was poured out upon the Son must be discarded for some alternate view. The alternative would suggest that the transaction on the cross is not Christ taking the penalty for our sin but is really a demonstration of restorative forgiveness in the face of human violence. We can examine this notion without too much difficulty.

Upon scrutiny, the alternative offered is inadequate, at best. In the first place, Jesus Himself did not think of Himself as a victim of violent men on the cross. In John 10:18 Jesus said no one takes His life, but He has the power to lay it down and take it up again. That is exactly what He did. We cannot perceive the cross in a different light than our Lord, who viewed it as an act of obedience to the Father to lay down His life - on our behalf.

That phrase, on our behalf, is not insignificant. We see this concept in Galatians 3:13, Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 2:24, and 1 Peter 3:18. In each of these verses there is something inherent in the crucification that belonged to us, which was our sins, lawlessness. Jesus, who kept the law perfectly, was crucified for those who broke it continually, but where is the justice in that? How can God punish the Innocent? Did Christ deserve the cross? To this question we must answer, yes. Wait! The answer is no... isn't it?

This is important; when Jesus took sin upon Himself, he owned them as His own sins and took the guilt upon Himself as well. It isn't simply that he took the punishment; He claimed your sins, and the wrath of God, and the condemnation that was upon you as a result! In a very real way, He became a sinner so that you could become righteous in the sight of God. This was the exchange made on the cross, and lest we misunderstand, the physical suffering was not the worst of it. God the Father turned His back on the Son.

So sin brings death, separation from God as well as physical death, and Christ owned your sin unto death. That sounds like punishment of the just for the unjust, and indeed, that is exactly what happened on the cross. Bell and Mclaren both undermine this transaction and mute the glory of the cross. They redefine love and justice then switch the categories of the discussion so that they can tell their better story, but what they give us in return is a social gospel that neuters the Scriptural teaching.

What makes a story "better"?
That brings us to this important question. Bell proposes what he thinks is a better story, but what actually makes it better? The heart of this question is an interpretive distinction that is at the core. For Bell, love (as he conceives of it) defines God and constrains justice, but if we are to take revelation seriously, God defines both love and justice infinitely and completely in Himself. God does not do justice and love because they are right; He is not constrained by some outside rule of these notions. He defines them, and his actions in the world, in the entirety of Scripture, define what is loving and just.

Bell defines God by his notions of love and justice and fashions the story to fit. Then he passes that story off as a better, more believable, story. This becomes an interpretive framework that must ignore large swaths of Scripture. However, a better story is the one that most rightly understands the revelation of God in Scripture and in the person and work of Christ. We are not free to fashion a better story to suit ourselves or our audience, and we are not free to redefine the attributes of God. We must believe that He is (as He has revealed Himself to be), and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

In the final analysis, Bell's story is not actually better, but at least to the carnal mind, it is more palatable. Unbelievers will come to the God of Rob Bell's story, but they will not find the cross or the God who died on their behalf. They will only find a metaphor that serves as an affirmation for their own prejudice. For those who would know God on God's own terms, Bell's story is corrosive to truth and ultimately makes a God in man's image.

Destruction began with a question

2011-03-19T00:53:00.000-07:00

In our LCN discussion group in Hudson we are planning on discussing Rob Bell's recent book, "Love Wins." To suggest that the book has engendered controversy would be an understatement, and there is little doubt that the discussion is likely to continue for a while.

On the surface it seems to some that Bell is denying that there is a hell and it seems that he believes that everyone is ultimately saved in the end. I say on the surface because those who would defend Bell's position are quick to point out that he has flatly stated that he believes in hell and that he is not a universalist. Of course, this assumes that we agree on what is meant by both hell and universalism, but before we go there, we should perhaps wonder if it isn't too much to attack a guy just for simply asking questions.

And Bell does ask a lot of open-ended and provoking questions, but what is the harm in asking those questions? Any belief that is worthy of trust should be solid enough to stand up to scrutiny, but lest we think that questions are harmless, remember that the devastation of the human race began with a simple question regarding what God actually said. "Hath God said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?'"

No, questions are not harmless, and they can be powerfully deceptive, if only because they can be used to lay the groundwork for persuasive rhetoric that can be used as a lever to move the audience. This is exactly what Satan did. He followed up his simple question with a statement that was a half truth, but notice that even his statement carried implicit questions regarding the nature of God, undermining their confidence in His goodness, His faithfulness, and His justice.

His questions were disarming, powerful, and deadly.

Ultimately this is exactly what Bell's book does. He asks questions to challenge a view of God that He believes is "toxic." Then he tells his "better" story in terms that directly confront what many churches teach regarding the nature of God. Of course, if he is correct in his understanding, then the false views he confronts should be undermined, but if he is wrong, he is actually perpetuating Satan's argument in the garden and participating in yet another attack on a true and right view of God.

Either way, the argument is not really about heaven or hell.

The argument is about the nature of God,

and for Bell,

it is all about God's love.

"Love Wins" is the big idea, a rubric that frames Bell's understanding (or at least his journey). As such, Bell's understanding of the love of God is both central and critical to the discussion. He ends the book,

"Love is what God is, love is why Jesus came, and love is why he continues to come, year after year to person after person. Love is why I've written this book, and love is what I want to leave you with. May you experience this vast, expansive, infinite, indestructible love that has been yours all along. May you discover that this love is as wide as the sky and as small as the cracks in your heart no one else knows about. And may you know, deep in your bones, that loves wins."

So if the book rises and falls on Bell's presentation of the love of God, what exactly does he say about the love of God? Throughout the book, the theme of God's love is placed as opposite judgment and divine retribution. For Bell, the former is God's nature and the latter is found, at least primarily, in separation from God. Any notion that God actively punishes forever is subjected to ridicule and caricature,

"[The inferior view is] God is loving and kind and full of grace and mercy - unless there isn't confession and repentance and salvation in this lifetime, at which point God punishes forever."

Implicit in this caricature is the idea that God's love, kindness, grace, and mercy are incompatible with divine justice and retribution. For Bell, this is a key assumption, that God cannot be loving at the same time He is meting out justice. As a result, getting what you deserve has been morphed, by the end of the book, into simply getting what you want. And while there is an element of truth to the idea that it is an act of judgement for God to deliver wicked people to their own imagination and attending consequences, Bell's view presents God's role in judgment as almost exclusively passive.

For example, in describing what Jesus was teaching, Bell says,

"[Jesus] was trying to bring Israel back to its roots, to its divine calling to be a light to the world, showing the nations just what the redeeming love of God looks like. And he was confident that this love doesn't wield a sword. To respond to violence with more violence, according to Jesus, is not the way of God." (emphasis mine)

There is another aspect of Bell's view of God's love that is crucial to his entire argument. It is that God's love demands the recipient's response be completely unencumbered and optional, and this is asserted as if it is an unassailable fact, without any supporting Scripture or argument. This lack of defense seems odd to me, since this statement is also critical to his argument leading toward his passive view of divine justice,

"Love, by its very nature, is freedom. For there to be love, there has to be the option, both now and then, to not love. To turn the other way. To reject the love extended. To say no. Although God is powerful and mighty, when it comes to the human heart God has to play by the same rules we do. God has to respect our freedom to chose to the very end, even at the risk of the relationship itself. If at any point God overrides, co-opts, or hijacks the human heart, robbing us of our freedom to choose, then God has violated the fundamental essence of what love even is." (53)

To make sense of this paragraph, we need to clarify by restating it as generously as possible: "God's act of love, by its nature, requires that the one loved be able to either reciprocate that love or reject it." So, as respecting man's freedom, Bell's position forces us to conclude that God's ability to love depends upon the preservation of human nature in a neutral state. If, at any time, man's nature is inevitably predisposed in any direction, God would cease to be able to love. This means a person can never be brought to a permanent state, either in reprobation or in glorification. This also means that God cannot guarantee a progressive future that culminates in a complete reconciliation of all things, and this would mean Bell cannot rightfully conclude that love wins.

Now, if we find that the Scriptures teach us the nature of fallen humanity is so corrupted that they cannot even respond rightly to God without a divine operation that changes the nature of that person, then Bell's position would be either falsified or it would require mankind be left, without hope, in that state of condemnation, since changing the nature of a person means they will inevitably act according to that nature.

If we turn the question of love requiring freedom around, from man toward God, we can get a clearer sense of the problem. Assuming that Bell's position is correct, in order for man to love God, God must be free to accept or reject that Love, but is God free to act contrary to His nature? He is love, and He created man to find His deepest joy and satisfaction in Him. If God were to act contrary to His nature, then He would cease to be God. Thus it is impossible for God to act contrary to His nature, so it is impossible for God to reject genuine love, offered from His creatures. Bell's view of human freedom as necessary for love to exist cannot be sustained.

Bell also has a problem as to how he seems to understand the inter-relatedness of God's attributes. Particularly regarding God's love and God's justice. As we mentioned earlier, his perspective regarding God's love requires that divine justice be passive. The idea that God stands ready to exact divine retribution on those who rebel is intolerable to Bell.

"This leads us to another distinction, one that takes us back to the recurring question, What is God like? Many have heard the gospel framed in terms of rescue. God has to punish sinners, because God is holy, but Jesus has paid the price for our sin, and so we can have eternal life. However true or untrue that is technically or theologically, what it can do is subtly teach people that Jesus rescues us from God.
Let's be very clear, then: we do not need to be rescued from God. God is the one who rescues us from death, sin, and destruction. God is the rescuer."(90)

This seems hard to reconcile with the message of Psalm 2, where the Father says to the Messiah, "They all belong to you, and you will break them with a rod of iron." Then the Psalmist urges the rebels to reconcile with the Son before his wrath is kindled. Then you have Psalm 110, where the Messiah ultimately executes the heads of many nations. Passages like this can be multiplied, but Bell persists in presenting death, sin, and destruction as things we choose for ourselves, and God simply gives us what we want.

The reason is that Bell's view of love cannot allow divine justice to coexist with it. Notice how active justice is portrayed and juxtaposed in opposition to love in the following:

"But there's more. Millions have been taught that if they don't believe, if they don't accept in the right way, that is, the way the person telling them the gospel does, and they were hit by a car and died later that same day, God would have no choice but to punish them forever in conscious torment in hell. God would, in essence, become a fundamentally different being to them in that moment of death, a different being to them forever. A loving heavenly father who will go to extraordinary lengths to have a relationship with them would, in the blink of an eye, become a cruel, mean, vicious tormentor who would ensure that they had no escape from an endless future of agony.

If there was an earthly father who was like that, we would call the authorities. If there was an actual human dad who was that volatile, we would contact child protection services immediately.

If God can switch gears like that, switch entire modes of being that quickly, that raises a thousand questions about whether a being like this could ever be trusted, let alone be good.

Loving one moment, vicious the next. Kind and compassionate, only to become cruel and relentless in the blink of an eye.

Does God become somebody totally different the moment you die? That kind of God is simply devastating. Psychologically crushing. We can't bear it. No one can.
And that is the secret deep in the heart of many people, especially Christians: they don't love God. They can't, because the God they've been presented with and taught about can't be loved. That God is terrifying and traumatizing and unbearable." (85-86)

In His view either God is loving, or God is acting with justice. This misunderstands the nature of God and requires God to be less than He is at one point or another. But God cannot change; He is never more or less. He is perfectly and simply complete. With every action and in every moment, God is fully just and fully loving - all at the same time. However, for Bell, judgement is simply missed moments and never final.

"Jesus told a number of stories about this urgency in which things did not turn out well for the people involved. One man buries the treasure he's been entrusted with instead of doing something with it and as a result he's 'thrown outside into the darkness.' Five foolish wedding attendants are unprepared for the late arrival of the groom and they end up turned away from the wedding with the chilling words "Truly I tell you, I don't know you." Goats are sent 'away' to a different place than the sheep, tenants of a vineyard have it taken from them, and weeds that grew alongside wheat are eventually harvested and 'tied in bundles to be burned.'

These are strong, shocking images of judgment and separation in which people miss out on rewards and celebrations and opportunities."

Bell uses these stories to press urgency on the reader, but the bottom line is that his handling of divine justice fails to encompass the full scope of what God means when he says, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." His view of God's love ultimately confounds what Scripture teaches regarding the nature of God and sets attributes of God's holiness at odds with one another.

I haven't even touched the reduction of the cross of Christ to little more than an enduring symbol and metaphor, rather than a real event that reveals God's active justice against sin, upon the Son He loves. If Bell's rhetorical flourishes were aimed at the cross, what kind of God would be intimated? If we saw a father punish his son for wrongs that other kids at school had perpetrated, what would we think of that father's sense of justice?

Then there is another major problem, both interpretively and practically, regarding the person of Christ being abstracted in such a way that the gospel becomes potentially pliable and even unrecognizable. On top of this, there are more interpretive problems, logical fallacies, and historical inaccuracies in the book, but the core problem of the book is how Bell handles the nature of God, undermining who He has revealed Himself to be. In the final analysis, "Love Wins" bears more similarity to the deception of Satan than the teachings of Scripture.

What do we do?

2011-02-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

Preaching the Gospel
Are you an evangelist? That question can be one of the most difficult questions I have to answer, since the answer depends upon what is meant by both "evangelist" and "gospel". To many, the evangelist is a showman who travels from church to church employing little more than the tactics of a used car salesman, with a motivational speech dressed up with a few (usually out of context) bible verses.

We believe that God gave His Word, exactly as He intended, for the purpose of declaring His glory and reconciling His people to Himself, so the sermon should be presented with the authority of God's revelation and must adhere closely with the text. This doesn't mean it should be a running commentary; on the contrary, God's revelation must be communicated in such a way that the congregation understands what God said about Himself and what response God expects from them. The message must communicate clearly and carefully, but it must also be communicated with appropriate emotion, rather than as a dry academic presentation. This is the soul of expository preaching.

So if you define an evangelist by one who seeks to preach the gospel in this way, then I would also need to know what you mean by the gospel. Some consider the gospel to be limited to a small subset of doctrines or to a method of getting people saved. The gospel is not shorthand for TULIP, and it is not a fire escape from hell. The gospel we preach could be simply described as "Christ crucified, so that we may die to sin, and Christ risen, so that we may live to the glory of God." The gospel includes directing all people to see the glory of God in the person and work of Christ and all aspects of calling them to repent of their sin and put on Christ, both for salvation from sin and for deliverance from sins.

God is, in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, and we endeavor to participate with Him in that ministry of reconciliation. If this fits your definition of an evangelist who preaches the gospel, then I will gladly consent to the label.

According to Colossians 3:16
Are you a musician? Now that is an interesting question, but it also needs some qualification. Some look at Christian musicians as professional entertainers, and there are many who fit that description. However, we are not aiming to perform music as a way to entertain God's people, and we are skeptical of the commercialization of worship in particular.

Others might tend to see the musical end of our ministry as simply leading worship, and while we do love participating with God's people in musical worship, this isn't the focus of our music. We think Colossians 3:16 has something specific to say to our age regarding the purpose for which music in the church should be crafted. From this text we see 2 essential purposes - teaching and admonishing the church, which means we should first to instruct God's people in the Word of Christ and then seek to influence or express a right response toward God, in the light of any circumstance. This can only be accomplished if the musician has so saturated their mind and life with the Word of Christ that this has become their native language - the most natural expression of both heart and mind.

We further believe that diversity in music should be encouraged, with the Psalms as a divine paradigm that we should employ and even imitate in our own Hymns and Spiritual Songs. This is one reason that we have spent so much time exploring and communicating the Messianic Psalms.

So what is Sermons in Song? It is expositional preaching, accompanied by music that is written to exposit both the truth and emotion of the Word of God.

A Worthy Investment

2011-01-26T23:48:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, we are now based in Southern Michigan so that we can spend a greater percentage of time working on the Log College Network. We will still be traveling, preaching, and singing, but I would like to share with you the burden God has given us for coming along side pastors and churches as they endeavor to disciple their own leaders into productive ministry.

We completed the first year of the Log College Network just as the first Sermons in Song tour began, and we were delighted to participate in the ordination of the first candidate to work through the ordination preparation program. He continues to minister faithfully to his congregation in Fremont, California. Then, this past year saw a group of men the Lord brought together in Hillsdale County, Michigan, and we joyfully watched as those men have gone on to minister in their respective ministries. This year we are excited to have another group formed in St Clair County, Michigan, while we also have a follow-up year with a few of the men from the Hillsdale County group.

There are many men who desire to be mentored into ministry, but the most common solution of obtaining seminary education is inadequate to the task. While the classroom can educate the mind of the pastor well, Scripture lays the task of training these men at the feet of their pastor. This responsibility of leadership development was modeled by the Lord’s training of His disciples, and it was modeled by the apostle Paul’s relationship with Timothy.

But what happens where the art of mentoring into ministry has been passed off to Bible Colleges and Seminaries? We end up with churches who don’t see pastoral training as part of their mission, and we end up with pastors who are poorly equipped to reproduce themselves. Some educational institutions see this need and institute some sort of mentoring, but the educational environment is not well suited to such relationships. The church, however, is ideally suited for the task.

Thankfully, many pastors and churches are increasingly aware of the need, but where is a busy pastor going to find someone to model the mentoring relationship and help them through the process? For those who press on, the resources that are available to them are scattered and disconnected, so training a young leader becomes a daunting task. LCN exists to collect resources and organize them in a curriculum that enables local churches and their leadership to reclaim their responsibility to mentor men into ministry. We also aim to use technology to facilitate the sharing of experience and expertise between churches that share this goal.

LCN provides a rigorous (but flexible) curriculum designed around the best materials collected from centuries of Christian scholarship. Then, using that curriculum as a framework, participating mentors are guided through the year-long process of training a future leader. Along the way, the mentors are invited to collaborate and encourage one another as they discover the invigorating joy of seeing a leader’s ministry blossom before their very eyes. For every leader who is trained, a congregation is blessed beyond measure, but when both that leader and church capture the vision to reproduce themselves, the potential for the spread of the gospel is staggering!

We are convinced this is a worthy investment, and we are committing much of the time and resources God has given us. In addition, we would like to invite you to partner with us this coming year; your prayers and continued support are vital to this endeavor. If you would like to hear more about LCN or schedule a personal tour through the curriculum, please call or get in touch with us through this website, Facebook, or email. As always, we earnestly covet your prayers.

Your servant,
Tom Pryde

Expositors Conference

2010-09-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

As we approach the coming week, we are anticipating a wonderful couple days focused on the exposition of Scripture. Some might wonder why such a conference is necessary. Don't all pastors preach the Bible? Sadly, there is a dearth of preaching that accurately proclaims what God says.

Preachers, God doesn't expect you to rearrange His Word into your neat little categories, as if He didn't quite get it right. If God had wanted His Word topically arranged, He would have done so, better than you can. Also, God doesn't need you to supplement His Word with spicy tidbits from the culture, and never forget that you and your abilities are not the essential element of preaching. Powerful preaching does not begin with powerful delivery; you are impotent to supplement the power of God's Word.

There are many who assert that they are preaching God's Word, but it isn't enough to say things that are in accord with the Bible (though that would improve many sermons considerably). It certainly isn't enough to preach in such a way that you don't contradict the Bible. It isn't even enough to preach about what the Bible says (which is often passed off as expository preaching). Preaching God's Word is far more demanding than all of these cheap imitations.

If you are going to claim that you are proclaiming God's Word, you dare not obscure what He says with anything at all. When you are done, every hearer should be able to claim a greater understanding of who God is and what He expects from His people. Anything less is just a speech.

You must say what God says, where God says it, and use the same emphasis.

The Making of "Great Redeemer"

2010-09-01T01:10:00.000-07:00

As we are coming to the end of our most recent recording project, we have an opportunity to reflect on how these songs have progressed from beginning to end. This particular group of songs originally grew out of some very fruitful conversations that I had with a pastor friend in Southern Michigan.

Those conversations centered on the Messianic Psalms, particularly as regarding the Priesthood of Christ, and though I had already written a few songs based on a couple of the Messianic Psalms, many of these songs have grown directly from those conversations. Indeed, we are not entirely done with this project, as I have begun working on a series of songs starting with Psalm 111 and culminating in Psalm 118 (also Messianic).

Once the passage has been chosen for a song, this is the methodology that I usually follow: translate and interpret the passage so as to understand the mind and heart of God through it, seek to understand the overall emotional tone and trajectory of the passage, write lyrics that expose the meaning and basic structure of the passage, and write the music.

It is uncomfortable for me to describe this as a process, like there is some kind of mechanics that just churn out songs. Nothing could be further from the truth. The best way for me to communicate it is to view the process as a conversation with God that starts with His Word and that culminates in an expression that communicates, such as I am able, what He has taught me. Though most of my songs have followed this general trajectory and the mechanics described, I do not want you to get the idea that these songs are simply the result of a process or methodology. For me, there is a deep sense of conversation and worship that is intertwined with the whole process.

Writing these songs is a very much a part of my own personal growth in knowing and understanding God. That always begins with understanding His Word as much as is possible, saturating my mind and heart with the passage (and related scriptural concepts). So the process begins much as any sermon should, with prayer and a thorough understanding of the pasage under consideration - all as part of an ongoing relationship with God.

I find that translating from the original languages often illuminates certain properties of the passage in a way that is particularly helpful for building a song, though sometimes this is a considerable challenge (as with the Psalms). However, it is always fruitful. But it isn't enough to extract the data from the text; for our purposes we want to try and understand the emotional tone of the passage, either the emotion with which it is to be understood or the emotion that a right understanding should evoke.

To do this, I am looking for an overal emotional tone - for example: joyous, contemplative, agressive, or sorrowful. That will form an emotional core for the song's music. In addition to this, I am looking for an emotional trajectory, which will follow the trajectory of the content. Does the passage begin in doubt, working forward to confidence (like Psalm 77)? Maybe the passage expresses a subtext of external turmoil, while communicating the heart of one who trusts God (as in Psalm 16).

Music is uniquely suited to communicate these interpretive nuances, particularly with the Psalms, which were (of course) originally communicated with music. The words begin as a set of expressions that are essential to the passage, and then lyrics are finished with the goal of communicating the content of the passage in a way the exposes the meaning and tone of the passage in word, but that is only half of the song.

By the time the lyrics are being solidified, the emotional tone becomes more important, and I usually write emotional "cue words" along side of the lyrics (such as they are at that point). This is where the chord structure begins to form. I often pray and study with my guitar close at hand (I have a small Bible that fits in my guitar case). Sometimes I sing and worship the Lord with songs that remind me of the passage (or vice versa). Other times I just play and try to communicate the emotional content of those cue words. All the while working to find words that best express the meaning of the passage.

The music is usually comes together with the words, and by the time the lyrics are complete, the melody is nearly complete. From this point things progress somewhat more quickly. The whole process can take a month or even many months. Each song is the product of seeking to understand the mind of God in His Word, meditating on these things, and then seeking to respond in a way that is appropriate.

It is my prayer that these songs will open up and explain God's Word to the hearer, and that each will, by the understanding of God's Word, grow in their understanding of God, as He has revealed Himself. May the Lord grant that any vestiges of musical performance will be eclipsed by the wonder of His grace, through the gospel of Jesus Christ preached in music.

A Few Thoughts on the Psalms in Worship

2010-07-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

My good friend, Bob Bixby, has written again on worship, and his post has provoked a few thoughts that I would like to share with those of you who follow our ministry.

At the start, we need to be careful of the categorization system we are using when discussing worship music. One of the biggest factors that contributes toward confusing the discussion is a lack of distinction between individual and corporate musical expressions. When there is no distinction here, we find quite a few problems and misunderstandings are introduced on both ends of the spectrum. By way of example, many modern songs are written in a performance-based idiom that doesn't lend itself to corporate expression, and as a result, congregational participation is diminished.

We have observed this in contemporary congregations where audience participation is minimal until a song that is written to be more conducive to corporate worship is introduced. In these cases, the participation is noticeably improved. Part of the reason for this seems to be that in contemporary musical styles the congregation is viewed and treated as an audience, rather than as participants within the particular musical expression.

Bob recounts Paul Jones' outline of the purpose of worship, which is praise, prayer, or proclamation. This accords nicely with the pattern set in the Psalms, but it doesn't necessarily limit the conversation to participatory worship. This brings me back to noting that dividing Christian music between corporate and individual expressions can be helpful when we are discussing this topic.

By way of example, we write a few songs that are designed for a participatory corporate worship, but most of our music is aimed at proclamation rather than participation. So even though our Sermons in Song would be considered worship under this categorization, most of it should be excluded from a corporate expression of worship. It is true that there is room for both in our worship services, but we should at least be aware of the distinction musically. Interestingly, the pattern of the Psalms allows for a variety of individual and corporate expressions.

Perhaps our Messianic Psalms project has given me a little stronger view regarding our use of the Psalms in worship. The Psalms should, at the very least, provide a pattern for content, since it is here that we have a full representation of the worship of God. But more than this, they are a significant well of truth, and much of the New Testament draws deeply from it.

For example, the Messianic Psalms form a backbone for the entire argument of the book of Hebrews. Indeed, it would be difficult to understand this book without a good understanding of these Psalms in particular. Thus we cannot ignore the content or the pattern of the Psalms. This, by the way, is one of the motivations for Isaac Watts, who wrote a series of hymns as, "The Psalms of David imitated in the language of the New Testament."

We should at least make sure that people have a thorough understanding of Psalms place in Christian thought, due to their significance in the interpretation of the New Testament, and I would love to see the Psalms more emphasized in our worship, which is one of the reasons that we have been doing the Messianic Psalms concert. We need to regain an appreciation for the Psalms and return them to their high place of esteem in the worship of the church.

Excellent Post on Worship

2010-05-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

When we first made the Jeremiah album, "Sorrow to Hope," some suggested to me that the group of songs were too heavy. And as I have been studying and writing songs based upon the Messianic Psalms, it has repeatedly been evident that the themes of sorrow (and others - like imprecation) found throughout the Psalms are not just ignored but actively avoided in our modern church music. We are greatly impoverished for it, and my friend Bob Bixby has written an article that is particularly thought provoking and insightful on that topic. Here is a snippet:

We Americans have too many toys to play with to be constantly “gazing upon heaven.” We have bought into Pastor Perma-grin’s lie that this life is our Best Life Now and we have no real reason to anticipate a life in heaven. Sadness has been banished. We’ve replaced it with complaining, whining, pouting, and bitterness. But real sorrow, the sorrow that leads us to repentance (the repentance that turns our hearts from earthly things to spiritual things) has been expunged from our lifestyle and liturgy (2 Corinthians 7:10). We think sadness and worship are incongruous.

But for many people, going to church and worshipping is still the place to go to be sad; sad in a way that dignifies the human soul, magnifies a Sovereign Lord, and replenishes the human spirit with deep, inexpressible joy. It’s the kind of worship that actually believes the words of Jesus: Blessed – blessed! – are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4). This was certainly the case for the slaves many years ago, African-Americans during the Civil Rights conflict, and it still is the case for places of oppression.

But what does the 21st century American really know about sadness? We try so hard to hermetically insulate ourselves from the hardness of life that, too often, our worship has the glib triumphalism of people who are trying to sing perky hallelujahs to God every Sunday because we have the Americanized conception of worship that we are not really worshiping until we have a happy experience. So be perky! Smile! Put your hands together! Shout! Make a joyful noise! But our peaks of joy are so low because our valleys are so shallow.

Financial Needs

2010-02-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

We have now been on the road for almost two years, and God has been faithful to provide every step of the way. As we look forward to the coming years, we continue to anticipate His provision. Many of you have been instruments of God's supply, and we are humbled and grateful for all that He has done, both for us and through us.

Looking forward, we expect to continue our work in three areas of emphasis: continuing to use music and preaching together in the proclamation of God's Word, helping churches train their own leadership (through both Veritas School of Theology and the ordination preparation program), and using the gifts and experience God has allowed me to have in God's service wherever He takes us to minister.

To this point we have not had any monthly support, relying mainly upon love offerings that average around 250 dollars a week (about 1000 dollars a month). While this has served to keep us moving from place to place and take care of food, it has not allowed us to maintain a consistent budget, and this has proven to be problematic, particularly as it regards planning and in respect to various monthly bills (phone, insurance, etc.) and surprise expenses (doctor and dentist visits have hit us hard this month).

Our dependence on love offerings has made some struggling churches hesitant to invite us, and it has forced us to keep moving from church to church when, in some cases, we could be more effective by helping a church for an extended period. Of course, we can seek to supplement our income (as we have done, on occasion) by painting, providing audio recording services, and other related means. However, these activities tend to distract from our emphasis on the exposition and teaching of God's Word.

So we would like to ask you to consider whether God would have you support our ministry. Perhaps the Lord would burden you to help subsidize our travel expenses, enabling us to go to those smaller or struggling works (75 dollars would cover approximately 100 miles of travel). Perhaps you would be able to support our ministry monthly; even a relatively small amount would go a long way. For example, if half of our current prayer partners would invest the equivalent of buying one latte per week we would be able to cover the bulk of our expenses and all of our basic needs.

So we would like to ask you, our prayer partners, to consider whether or not God would lead you to participate in our ministry financially and of course, to continue to pray for God's provision for our needs. Thank you all, again, for your prayers to God on our behalf!

Why "Sermons in Song"?

2009-09-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Some have asked why we call what we do, "Sermons in Song," so this article should answer some of those questions. Mainly, we are trying to strengthen local churches by the preaching of the gospel according to Colossians 3:16. This verse says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Sermons – Let the Word of Christ
There is almost nothing that will more quickly weaken a church than the neglect of preaching the word of God. For this reason, Sermons in Song is thoroughly committed to expositional preaching. This means that we endeavor to say what the Bible says, where the Bible says it, with the emphasis that the Bible gives. This is the proclamation of the word of Christ, and it is the partial fulfillment of the great commission, where Christ says that we are to teach disciples to “observe all things” that He has commanded.

The Old Testament Scriptures and the Apostolic teaching of the New Testament provide the content of the gospel, which Christ taught to His disciples and which has been transmitted to us in the Bible. For this reason, preaching and teaching of the Word of God is the first and most important element of Sermons in Song. Without this, all other efforts are empty and powerless. We believe that the only hope for the revival of God’s churches and the strengthening of God’s people is a concentrated emphasis on the exposition of His authoritative Word.

Sermons – Dwell in You Richly
Even a church that has a full complement of Bible teaching can be weakened because they are not vitally saturated with the Word of God. It is important to note that this phrase isn’t simply a reference to the fact that the Bible is everywhere present, so what could be missing?

God’s people must come to understand that the Scriptures are far more than a source book for defending a doctrinal statement or confession of faith. They are the self-disclosure of God Himself, centered on the person and work of Christ. As a result, Sermons in Song is committed to true gospel preaching that also focuses on showing how the person and work of Christ fully and completely impacts every sphere of life. There is nothing else that can strengthen God’s churches.

Sermons – In All Wisdom
There is a subtle trap that has been laid for the American church, and it is the suggestion that the word of God is sufficient for salvation and other spiritual stuff, but it doesn’t really impact the emotional and practical life of the people. This inevitably leads God’s people to trust in the false teaching of secular psychological philosophy that has been dressed up in spiritual sounding language. The sufficiency of Christ and of the word of Christ is threatened and undermined.

We must be jealous for the ministry of the word, and we cannot allow ourselves to supplant the life-changing truth with our own opinions or the opinions of some expert that would suggest Scripture isn’t a sufficient help. Anything except seeing that all wisdom and knowledge is found in God and revealed in the person and work of Christ will inevitably lead to weak churches. This is why Sermons in song is committed to Biblical Counseling.

Song – Teaching and Admonishing One Another
When our lives are saturated and influenced by the word of God, this will naturally be reflected in our music, and now we see Paul suggesting that the proclamation of the word should be set to music. We also see that this music is to be expressed in relation to the community of believers (one another), and it is at this point that Paul gives two purposes for the use of music in the community of the local church.

This verse leads us to conclude that music must be doctrinally accurate, at the very least. However, this is not the only element of teaching that should be in view. Our music also teaches us how we are to view the world and how the Scriptures are applied to various circumstances of life, and we don’t need to look any further than the Psalms to provide us a great pattern for the ways in which we are instructed by our music. In brief, Sermons in Song believes that the Christian’s music should either be directly Biblical or reflect a distinctively God-centered and Biblical perspective.

The second purpose given here for music is very interesting. It is the word noutheteo, from which we derive the concept of “nouthetic counseling.” In other words our music both teaches and counsels us! So, we are not just taught bare facts; we are also taught how we are to respond to the truth. This includes exhortation to action as well as the emotional response that is appropriate to the truth. For example, that I am a great sinner should accompany music that reflects the sorrow that a believer necessarily has because of their sin and its effects.
Because of this, Sermons in Song believes that our music must communicate in a way that reflects emotion that is appropriate to the truth being expressed in the language of the song.

Song – Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs
Much of the debate on this passage relates to the identification of these three musical terms. However they are understood, we can at least conclude that a variety of musical categories are intended. The identification of the Psalms is clear, and Sermons in Song believes the Psalms have been tragically neglected in many American churches. From this and the parallel passage in Ephesians we can also conclude that music, without lyrics, can be included, which has interesting implications for considering emotional expressions simply as they are or are not consonant with the Christian life. We can further conclude that these categories also include congregational music.

In light of these categories, Sermons in Song seeks to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the Psalms, the writing of new congregational music, the renewal of historic hymns, and providing musical expositions of Scripture, all provided that the emotional expressions of the music are consonant with the God-centered life.

Song – Singing With Grace in Your Hearts to the Lord
Music starts with who you are, and it is essential that the grace of God be evidenced in the life of the believer. Our music reflects who we are with surprising accuracy, and Christian music must start with the believer knowing the grace of God in truth. From this point, we can encourage and counsel one another, but our music and ministry to one another needs to be understood as having one primary audience that matters most. We sing for the Lord, and this demands that our music demonstrates a life of worship, reflecting the character and attributes of God in our musical expressions.

While we acknowledge that various contexts require music that is appropriate to the occasion and audience, we do not believe there is a separate category for “worship music.” Sermons in Song is committed to musical expressions that reflect lives bent toward the worship of God and the enjoyment of who He is, which is the whole purpose for which we were created.

On Using the Web

2009-09-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

Recently we have been looking at more effective ways to use the various internet resources that are available, particularly social networking and blog resources. As part of this, we are beginning to standardize and focus the various web elements for Sermons in Song. In this post, we will explain how we intend to use the various resources available.

On Blogging
The blog is a format that has some familiarity with me, since I have been blogging for several years. Many of you are aware that I have been blogging at NeoFundamentalist since early 2005. For several reasons, I have not recently been writing there, and we are probably going to archive the whole site at some point in the not-to-distant future. In respect to my Theological / Philosophical writings, I intend to begin blogging again, but that will be in coordination with a project that some friends and I have been working on recently (more sometime later on that).

However, we are also using this blog for Sermons in Song specifically, and we will continue to write here regarding matters of Worship, Music in specific, and other Ministry related articles and news. We will be moving matters of prayer to other social networking outlets, since these are more tuned to getting prayer requests out quickly to those who are interested in praying for our ministry. For those who prefer to use this site as a hub, there is a feed at the far right for our Facebook posts, which will be concerned with the general, day to day, concerns and progress of where we are and what we are doing.

So the blog will be the primary outlet for practical articles that are aimed at the church-strengthening ministry of Sermons in Song. Some cross-posting may occur between this site and the "notes" section of the Facebook fan page, but that will not necessarily be the case. We welcome and would like to encourage as much interaction as possible, since this helps us better serve the churches where God sends us.

On Facebook
Facebook is a fantastic tool, though it can become an albatross to life if it isn't used wisely. It is a great venue for bite sized transmission of information. Much of the "status" updates we see on Facebook are more or less mundane, but we would like to use the Sermons in Song updates particularly for the purpose of sharing pieces of information that will help you know how to pray for us in that particular day. We appreciate those of you who pray regularly for us and we intend to keep that aspect of this site moving regularly, even if the articles are not as regular as we would like.

Our own personal Facebook accounts (Martha and Tom both are there) will be more personal, so if you are interested in that, then you can find us and "friend" us. However, please note in your friend request how and when we met in person. We intend to limit the personal friend list to people we have actually met. Thank you, in advance, for your understanding!

In addition, the Facebook fan page has some features that are very conducive to supporting and facilitating a robust communication with those who are interested in our ministry. We have links to our music in the "Music" tab, and we have another music app on the "Wall" that allows us to post practice sessions of new songs, just for those of you who are interested in keeping up with us and praying for us.

The other feature that we hope gets used more is the forums on the Facebook page. There we can carry on extended conversations regarding what is happening and we can answer questions about aspects of our ministry that interests you. We have even posted lyrics and chords for some of our new and upcoming songs in the wall music player.

On Twitter
To be entirely honest, I don't really get Twitter. It seems too much information. I am not sure that I want to know blow by blow snippets of very many people's lives, and I certainly can't imagine people really wanting to know that for me. However, I understand that this is something that is a great benefit to many, so we will be cross posting all the Facebook updates into Twitter (@tpryde3) for those of you who use this platform. This means that you can use Twitter to receive prayer related posts from Sermons in Song.

That pretty much covers it all. We will be updating the links to reflect our usage of these tools, and we sincerely hope that our interaction is a blessing to you and an encouragement to your ministry in your church. Thank you for your interest in our ministry and your prayers, and drop us a note to let us know who you are. We would love to know who is praying for the work God has given us in strengthening His churches.

Soteriology Does Inform Your Worship

2009-09-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

I recently read an article on worship that made the following assertion: "However, I must repeat, there is no direct impact of Reformed Theology itself on worship theology or practice. Historically there have been both conservative and progressive Calvinists, Arminians, Dispensationalists, and Covenant Theologians, and there is nothing inherent in these theological convictions that leads to a particular worship philosophy."

I could not disagree more! First, the statement assumes that Worship Theology and Reformed Theology are only tangentially related, and this assumption is made, even in the face of earlier statements that appear to be made to the contrary. For example, “[God-centeredness] is clearly evidenced in their theology, their emphases, their biblical exposition, their song texts, and their writings. It has certainly influenced their theology of worship, and no doubt has impacted the worship theology and practice of fundamentalists as well.”

This drives the thoughtful reader to ask how the writer can make the previous assertion. In searching for the answer, we discover the underlying equivocation that obfuscates and undermines the coherence of the argument, which is common in this particular writer's articles. Take notice of the various assertions made, particularly those related to “Worship Theology.” Here are a few quotes:

“While Piper has not written a book on worship, his theology of worship is riddled throughout his books and sermons, and his particular theological emphases have direct application to worship theology. For instance, Piper is insistent on the God-centeredness of God, and by implication, the God-centeredness of worship. Piper’s consistent exegetical preaching and strong doctrinal center have also influenced fundamentalism, and in particular the centrality of these in the worship of God.”

“...Grudem is deliberate about relating theology to worship throughout the work. It is certainly possible that someone could benefit from some of the theology of Grudem’s [Systematic Theology] without being influenced by his theology of worship, but that is highly unlikely since the relationship of theology and worship permeates the work.”

These observations do indeed lead to the conclusion that their God-centered view of theology does actually impact their “Worship Theology.” Piper's theological emphases have direct application to Worship Theology, and Grudem relates theology to worship so tightly that the reader will almost certainly be influenced by his “Worship Theology.”

The best take that we can make is that the author intends “Reformed Theology” as a term that is being used to refer to Soteriology alone rather than Theology in general (this clearly shows up in the comments). In other words, the God-centered nature of their Theology does impact their Worship Theology, but their Soteriology doesn't.

However, take a look at what Aniol says about Sovereign Grace, “[Sovereign Grace Ministries] produces quite a bit of music...Their songs are known to be theologically-rich and gospel-centered, and this has been attractive for many fundamentalists who desire their worship services to be God-centered and doctrine-filled.”

We are left to wonder if Sovereign Grace Ministries would think that gospel-centered music has nothing to do with their Soteriology or their Worship Theology. I highly doubt it! To the contrary, the “God-centeredness” that influences their Worship Theology is directly flowing from a particular view of God's work in both salvation and sanctification. In fact, the only way that any assertion to the contrary could be made is by removing the verbal element from whatever is meant by “Worship Theology.”

It seems that this is really the only way for this article to have any coherence. We are forced to understand “Worship Theology” as a reference to “Philosophy of Art in Worship.” So in the end we are left with nothing more than an abstraction, culturally described, with no definition, and without any argument to support any of the assertions so boldly claimed by the article.

The fact is that your understanding of the Doctrine of God, the person and work of Christ, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the ultimate reconciliation of all things to God by Jesus Christ will certainly impact both the content and artistic expression of worship. If it doesn't, then your worship will be anemic at best, no matter how artistically refined it may appear.

How Much Does It Cost?

2009-08-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

I have been asked quite a few times recently, "How much would it cost to get you to come to our church?" The question is understandable, but it is also a bit foreign to the way we think of our ministry. On one hand, the simple answer is that it doesn't cost anything.

We don't charge any amount, nor do we have any monetary conditions on our coming to any church. We come without any expectations. We trust that God will supply our every need, and He has been faithful to do exactly that. So if your church has no money, we don't really care at all. As long as God supplies us enough gas to get to your church, we can come!

Of course, some churches just want to know what the actual costs are, so basically we figure that it costs us about 65-75 cents for every mile we drive. On top of this we have other expenses like food, RV payments, insurance, and phone bill. We trust that God will provide either the funds or side jobs to cover our expenses, and he always does. Paul made tents, so from time to time, Tom will paint houses or provide audio recording services (we carry professional recording equipment with us).

Changing Directions and Pressing On!

2009-06-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

In New Mexico, we had a wonderful time teaching how to study the Bible and we even got to sing a new song, based on Psalm 2. We were blessed, as usual, by the church family there in La Luz. Something happened while we were there that really emphasized the importance of the family of God in the life of His people.

We had been planning on going to Michigan for the Summer (to work on a book and record that is based on 12 Messianic Psalms), and on the way we were also planning on stopping off for a few Sundays in Illinois. Sadly (at the time) two Sundays opened up in our schedule and I could not find a church to fill those Sundays. God seemed to be preventing our going there, so we decided to stay a few more days in New Mexico and then go straight to Michigan.

One half hour from leaving to go to Michigan, we got a call that Martha's mother had suddenly suffered a heart attack and died. We needed to go to South Carolina, and we didn't have to cancel any services! Not only that, if we had gotten the word much later (or if we had gone up sooner), we would not have had enough money to get to South Carolina.

As we were leaving, the church family there in La Luz simply loved on us and sent us away with the comfort and joy of knowing that there is yet another group of God's people praying for us and the ministry that He has given us. We have been so incredibly blessed, and then God provided just enough to get to Greenville, and we are so blessed by His provision!

Now we are in South Carolina, and we appreciate your prayers for our family and for all that we need to accomplish in the coming months. We are praying for some opportunities to minister while we are here. While we are not sure how long God wants us to stay in Greenville, we are praying for God's provision to get us back up to Michigan.

Even so, while we are here, I am working on a book project (with my good friend, Dr. Bob Snyder). We are busy translating and commenting on 12 Messianic Psalms so that we can write a study guide / resource for people to use in studying these precious gems of Scripture. Along with this written work, we are busy writing songs based upon those Psalms. In this way we are hoping to bridge the gap between understanding the message of the Psalms and how we should emotionally respond to them.

It is hard to explain how exciting it is to work on the project, and we are so excited about what God is doing. We would appreciate your prayers as we continue work on that project!

The Glory of God and Musical Communication

2009-04-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

I would like to offer a few preliminary thoughts that are foundational to the discussion regarding music and worship. In the very first place, we need to establish that music is not, itself, worship (though many seem to think so). Worship is properly the ultimate aim of everything. It is even the whole point of God’s revelation itself. Therefore, our every expression should be reflective of the person of God, particularly as He has chosen to reveal Himself in the person of Christ. My whole philosophy of music flows from this idea, both philosophically and practically.

Almost everyone who has spent any time in any church knows 1Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” How many people have actually considered what that means? The “glory of God” is a summary statement for “all that God is.” Another way to say this is to say that the “glory of God” is the sum total of His character and attributes.

Once we accept this, we need to ask, “What does it mean to 'do everything' to the glory of God?” Many people assume that this simply means we give God the credit, and while in a tangential way this is somewhat true, it isn’t the point of the statement. In order to fully understand, it is helpful to bring another verse into the picture at this point: Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

When I first recognized this connection, it revolutionized my whole concept of worship! Sin is failing to meet up with the standard set by the attributes and character of God (this would exclude the attributes of God’s greatness - the omni’s, etc…), and this means that God Himself is the standard. So we could also assert that all sin is ultimately a failure to properly worship God.

However, this doesn’t entirely answer the question, though it does bring us one step closer. Sin is also a failure to love, since every command by God, and especially the law of Christ, is expressed by the twin commands to love God and my neighbor as myself. Even God, Himself, is described by the statement, “God is love.”

So, to live to the glory of God is to live a life contrary to a life of sin. It is to live so that every heart response and every corresponding action in our lives is actually a reflection of the glory of God. This is, of course, impossible without the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration (Remember the fruit of the spirit? They are all either an attribute of God or the effect of an attribute of God), and though music isn't, itself, worship. These principles certainly relate to music as a form of communication.

So a Christian can evaluate the value of any given piece of music by comparing the communication of that music with the character and attributes of God. We should be able to ask whether it reflects the love of God, the mercy of God, the justice of God, the anger of God, the righteousness of God…and so on. However, just as with the spoken word, the communicative content of the music is largely dependent upon context to accurately evaluate the meaning. This means that music must be understood in context of the musician, the venue, the occasion, and the audience.

For example, the words, "I love you" are a wonderful expression that can mean entirely different things if those words are spoken by a 4 year old to their stuffed animal, a 16 year old to his girlfriend, a wife to her newlywed husband, or an elderly husband to his dying wife. Who is speaking to whom is important, if we are going to understand the communication, and the same is true for music. Both the musician and the audience must be considered.

In addition, we can take the same words and understand them in completely different ways, depending on the venue. If it is spoken in a hospital it might communicate hope or even finality. If it is spoken in a carnival, it could be understood as a joke, or if it was spoken at home, it might communicate a close family bond.

However, not only is it important to consider the musician, the audience, and the venue, we also must consider the occasion. For example, our three words could be part of a skit at summer camp, or they could be spoken by a teenager upon receiving a new car, or they could be spoken at the end of a wedding (or funeral). In every instance, the communication is different - sometimes drastically.

Yet, we also have to consider tone of voice. If I yell angrily at my wife, “I LOVE YOU!!!” she is not likely to get the message clearly, because the emotion doesn’t match the words. Worse, she might understand exactly the opposite. The tone of voice can make these words communicate hatred, friendship, exasperation, or even genuine love. Tone can enhance or even reverse the meaning of the words.

Music works exactly the same way as language, with the added benefit (liability) that it is designed to make the emotion of our communication more evident. Think of singing as "speaking, with the volume turned up on the emotion."

This is why we cannot evaluate music by looking at its disjunctive parts, like rhythm, harmony, and melody. The communication must be viewed as a whole, considering all relevant contextual information as well as the communicative content. This is also one reason why I am opposed to the notion that there is intrinsic morality in music (independent of context).

On the other hand, I am equally opposed to those who would suggest that music is amoral and irrelevant to the communication, which would be like saying tone of voice has nothing to do with my telling my wife, "I love you." We can see and readily accept this in the realm of language, but music seems to be emotionally and practically polarizing. We really need to cut through the convoluted confusion of the "worship wars" and just get back to the point that music communicates.

Then we can move forward by observing that the communication must be Biblical (or from a Biblical perspective); it must be emotionally consistent with the verbal content (loving music goes to loving words); and it must be appropriate to the venue, occasion, and audience. Those three principles would save us all a whole lot of grief, and allow us to evaluate whether that communication properly communicates the character and attributes of God.

Needs Update

2009-03-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since we have updated you on our needs so that our praying readers can know specifically how to pray for us. We have been blessed to see God's provision over this year, and we are eagerly anticipating what He will do over the coming months. With that said, we greatly appreciate your prayers to God on our behalf, especially regarding these specific needs:

Financial Needs
It costs us about 75 cents, on average, for every mile we travel, and other vehicle costs amount to about 150 dollars a month. We and our five children (now one teenager) eat about 100 dollars a week worth of food. Our communications costs are around 160 dollars a month. Health insurance would cost around 1000 dollars a month, and other miscellaneous expenses bring the total we need per month to something around 3000 dollars per month.

Right now, we are entirely dependent upon one-time gifts and donations, but we are praying that God would allow us to raise monthly support to pay for our regular bills. To this point, I have been painting on the side to pay for these things, but that drastically limits my effectiveness with both Veritas School of Theology and Sermons in Song.

One-time Expenses
We just found out that we need a new rubber roof for the RV. This will cost between 2500 and 5000 dollars, and really needs to be done as soon as possible (pin holes and cracks). We may try a paint-on solution to get us by, but reviews of that approach indicate that it should be thought of as a temporary measure.

Some of you may remember that last year both my guitars broke. Though we have managed to get them to the point that they are working adequately, we are looking for a new guitar that will replace both of the broken ones. We had some money donated for it, and that has put us about 1/4 of the way there. So we are praying that God would supply a professional guitar or allow us to purchase one soon (For those of you who like guitars, you can email or call me to get specifics).

Personal Needs
Traveling has been good for our family, but there are also a unique set of challenges that come along with this sort of life. I appreciate your prayers for us as we continue to grow together as a family-team.

School materials for the kids is also a significant expense (about 1000 dollars per child, per year), and we would appreciate your prayers regarding God's supply in this matter.

As always, we are blessed to be able to serve the Lord with both Veritas and Sermons in Song, and we are grateful for those of you who continue to pray for these endeavors.

Your servant,
Tom Pryde

A Note from Excelsior Drive Baptist Church

2009-03-16T23:32:00.000-07:00

Today, I received a message on my Facebook wall from the pastor of Excelsior Drive Baptist Church (that was where we were this past Sunday). I thought that you, who are praying for our ministry, would rejoice to hear what he wrote:

"Hi Tom, guess what?? The Lord mightily used your teaching and preaching yesterday to move the heart of Melissa who is one of our teenagers. SHE GOT SAVED and the first words after that was I want to be baptized and join the church. Give me your cell phone number when you can and Teresa will tell you the whole wonderful, beautiful story. Hope all is going well." (Pastor Riley)

We are delighted and rejoice with very life brought closer into fellowship with God through the work that God has given us to do. You, who have prayed and sacrificially given to keep us moving, have played an important part in every single changed life! I trust that God will credit this fruit to your account.

Your Servant,
Tom

A Year In Review

2009-03-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

It was almost exactly a year ago that our family embarked upon this itinerate ministry, and we have been blessed to minister with so many of God's people around the country. Of course, it has been a real challenge at times, as God has been teaching us to live together in close quarters, but God has been faithful to us as we seek to please Him in our family.

His faithfulness is evident to us as we consider how often He has provided to give us exactly what we needed to get us to the next location. Many times we have been packing up without quite enough to get us to the next stop, and just as we have needed it, God has provided through the generosity of His people. Of course, we are thankful also to those whom He has used to provide for our ministry, and we are confident that God will likewise show his faithfulness to provide for those who are generous toward Him.

It is difficult to recount all the ministry opportunities that God has given us, but I would like to highlight a few of the high-points. We began last year with the ordination of Bro. Will Dudding, in Fremont. That was the end of a year long ministry to him and his church, which we have spoken of previously.

God allowed us to participate briefly with a brand new church plant in downtown Colorado (Providence Bible Church), and we were blessed to see God's people reaching into areas that have long been neglected. We look forward to seeing what God has done in them this past year, as well as renewing friendships made while we were there.

We spent quite a long time being ministered to and ministering in Rockford, Illinois (Morning Star Baptist Church), and then we traveled to Michigan, where we ministered in several churches. While in Michigan, we spent some time in Goodells (Mt. Pleasant Bible Church) for their "Spiritual Life Emphasis" week. We were kept busy ministering in as many ways as the Lord allowed us opportunity. This church was the first church to have us present an extended series, and we were blessed to see the Lord work through a presentation of the gospel through a few Psalms.

We spent some time in Washington DC, and even found time to do a Christmas concert that included a new Christmas hymn. In December, we found ourselves ministering to friends in the South and also visiting family in Greenville, South Carolina. While there, the Lord gave us opportunities to minister as well.

New Mexico was our next destination (with a stop over in Texas to take care of some Veritas School of Theology business). The First Baptist Church of La Luz has become dear to us, as they have had us minister with them several times now. This time, they asked us to teach my counseling course (available at Veritas) over the course of a month or so. It was a great time, and God blessed us with lots of opportunities to speak (and sing) His word.

That brings us back to California, for a very busy spring. The next three months will be taken up with meetings in some new churches and some of the same churches that we have gotten to know already. We look forward to ministering with fellow servants scattered wherever the Lord has placed them.

One aspect of our ministry that is difficult to quantify is the ministry that happens "in the gaps." We have had many opportunities to minister individually, in counseling and encouragement with pastors and others. This work is not extra, but rather it is an integral part to our mission, which is to demonstrate and teach how the gospel of Jesus Christ touches every area of life.

Thank you for your generosity, prayers, and encouragement over this past year. We anticipate even more opportunities to minister as God continues to direct our steps.

Your servant,
Tom Pryde

Jeep...Need Your Prayers

2009-01-16T09:34:00.000-08:00

Well, this week has been on the discouraging side. Our Jeep that we purchased in New Mexico has been having electrical problems since we got it, and we finally were able to get it to a mechanic here in Greenville. Sadly, the news is worse than I expected.

Evidently the thing had been submerged; as a possible explanation, we did a carfax and learned that it had been sold at an auction shortly after Katrina. Anyway, it has so many problems as a result that nearly everything is affected by it. The short version is that it isn't worth fixing. Now that poses quite a few problems for us, and we would like your prayers as we seek to discern how the Lord would have us proceed.

In the first place, we use the Jeep as storage while we are traveling, so if we get rid of it we need to figure out what we are doing with all that stuff. It also means that we will be without a vehicle, until the Lord provides a replacement.

Regardless, God knows and has a better plan for us, even though that isn't readily apparent yet. We will continue to trust His work and do our best to be faithful to the task He has called us to do.

That also brings me to ask for your prayers next week for our trip West. We will strike out to New Mexico, where we will be recording a course for Veritas School of Theology: Introduction to Biblical Counseling. I will also be teaching the second run through my course on Hermeneutics soon as well.

As always, thank you for your prayers to God on our behalf!

Music Without Affectation or Offense

2009-01-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

Ask anyone if they can name a hymn, and Amazing Grace will be near the top of the list. It was written by a gloriously saved John Newton. Once a slave trader, God used this man to publish a series of hymns called the Olney Hymns. He began working on it with his friend William Cowper, but it wasn't long before Cowper became unable to continue the project.

Reading the introduction to this hymn book is instructive for those of us who seek to participate in Christian music. In particular, I would like to call attention to the following paragraph:

There is a style and manner suited to the composition of hymns, which may be more successfully, or at least more easily attained by a versifier, than by a poet. They should be Hymns, not Odes, if designed for public worship, and for the use of plain people. Perspicuity, simplicity and ease, should be chiefly attended to; and the imagery and coloring of poetry, if admitted at all, should be indulged very sparingly and with great judgment. The late Dr. Watts, many of whose hymns are admirable patterns in this species of writing, might, as a poet, have a right to say, That it cost him some labor to restrain his fire, and to accommodate himself to the capacities of common readers. But it would not become me to make such a declaration. It behoved me to do my best. But though I would not offend readers of taste by a wilful coarseness, and negligence, I do not write professedly for them. If the LORD whom I serve, has been pleased to favor me with that mediocrity of talent, which may qualify me for usefulness to the weak and the poor of his flock, without quite disgusting persons of superior discernment, I have reason to be satisfied.

I love how, in comparing himself to Isaac Watts, he speaks of limiting the poetic elements so that the hymn communicates to "plain" people. The first task for the hymn writer, according to Newton, is clarity of communication, which requires simplicity and ease of access.

Of course, he isn't suggesting that the banal and crass should be fair game, and this is clear in how he describes his need to do his best and in how he disavows "willful coarseness." In contrast, he describes Watts as needing to temper his poetic gifts in order to produce a text that is good for the whole congregation.

Basically, he hopes not to "offend the readers of taste" but avows that he isn't writing for them. He hopes to write in such a way as to be useful to the congregation as a whole, without intentionally offending those with "superior discernment."

In essence, he is content to communicate the truth clearly, in verse, so that it is transparent to everyone without at the same time offending those who would have higher taste. I appreciate this sentiment greatly, since we hope to communicate clearly, without offending those who are truly gifted musicians and writers. I am a preacher first, and music is helpful in that the clarity of an exposition can often be enhanced by an accompanying song.

Newton understood this, which is why you will find a virtual commentary in song, along with hymns that are marked "before the sermon" and "after the sermon." Newton appreciated the value of music that preaches.

This Isn't Really New

2009-01-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

Most everyone seems to think that what we are doing with Sermons in Song is new or novel, but the truth is that it is not. The idea isn't new with us, and while we can find Biblical examples (like Moses and Jeremiah), there are also several interesting examples of song-writers of the past doing the same thing.

For example, Phillip Doddridge wrote these words that you might know: "O happy day that fixed my choice, On Thee my Savior and my God". It was written in the mid 1700's and was originally titled, "Rejoicing in our Covenant." The text is as follows, but some might wonder where the chorus is. That was added in the mid-1800's and included in the Wesleyan Sacred Harp hymnal.

O happy day, that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Savior and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
And tell its raptures all abroad.

O happy bond, that seals my vows
To Him Who merits all my love!
Let cheerful anthems fill His house,
While to that sacred shrine I move.

It's done: the great transaction's done!
I am the Lord's and He is mine;
He drew me and I followed on;
Charmed to confess the voice divine.

Now rest, my long divided heart,
Fixed on this blissful center, rest.
Here have I found a nobler part;
Here heavenly pleasures fill my breast.

High heaven, that heard the solemn vow,
That vow renewed shall daily hear,
Till in life's latest hour I bow
And bless in death a bond so dear.

It was his practice to write a hymn near the end of his sermon preparation, and then he would have it sung at the conclusion of the sermon. As I have been studying the history of hymns, it is striking how frequently examples of this practice have cropped up. In the future, I plan on highlighting some sermons-in-song examples from time to time, so stay tuned.

Added a Link: Indelible Grace

2008-12-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

I have added a link in the left sidebar that our readers might appreciate. There is a growing trend of musicians reaching back into the old hymns, much like the recent Christmas song I posted. There are also efforts at writing new hymns that can be sung authentically accross generations. That is, rather than writing music that divides congregations, these new hymn writers are seeking to write music that can establish a common ground for all generations. This is exiting to me, as I believe we need to be producing new music while appreciating and continuing the heratige of Christian music that has been passed down to us over many hundreds of years.

Here is a quote from Indelible Grace that gives a window into their goals:

We want to be a voice calling our generation back to something rich and solid and beyond the fluff and the trendy. We want to remind God's people that thinking and worship are not mutually exclusive, and that not everything worth knowing happened in the last three years. We want to invite the Church to appreciate her heritage without idolizing it. We want to open up a world of passion and truth and make it more that just an archaic curiosity for the religiously sentimental. We believe worship is formative, and that it does matter what we think. So, we hope this site will prove helpful in encouraging and nurturing a growing movement. We want to provide resources such as chord charts, CDs, and useful links. But we also want to share with you the stories behind the authors of the hymns, and in many cases the stories behind the writing of the hymns themselves, as well as theological reflections upon the hymns. We believe that this theological poetry is supremely suited for expressing the seeming paradoxes of the faith that drive us to worship.

They have a wealth of resources, even for those of us on the conservative end of the church music spectrum. For example, they have an online hymn book that includes chords for many great hymns, some of which many churches have often neglected and forgotten.

New (sort of) Christmas Song

2008-12-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

Well, this has been an interesting week. The counseling course syllabus is almost completed, and the recording of our next cd continues to move along. Same old, same old...However, our readers might find this interesting: I have been wanting to write a new Christmas song, but how do you do that without being completely cliche?

I was researching ancient Christian writings (pre-780 AD) for the "History of Biblical Counseling" section of my class. One search turned up a hymnal of early church hymns, and I was intrigued. I began reading through a few of them and ran across this one:

By St. John of Damascus, 780 A.D.

Bethlehem rejoices!
Hark the voices clear,
Singing in the starlight
Nearer and more near.

(Chorus)
Unto God be glory,
Peace to men be given;
This His will who dwelleth
In the heights of heaven.

Heaven cannot contain Him,
Nor the bounds of earth,
Yet, oh glorious mystery!
Virgin gives Him birth.

Now the light ariseth
In the darkened skies,
Now the proud are humbled
And the lowly rise.

I set my computer on the floor and pulled out my guitar to see if I could come up with a decent melody / harmony. The end result isn't exactly like the translation by Brownlie (above), since I did alter a few turns of phrase while I was writing the tune, but I am happy with the result. I will post a recording on our Facebook "fan" page later tonight, for those who might be interested in hearing it.

It was a lot of fun to perform it at a Christmas concert this last week, and we will be doing it again at a concert in Raleigh, NC this Saturday. As always, thank you for your prayers!

Why Pray?

2008-11-22T20:35:00.001-08:00

Well, we have no doubt that God answers prayer! Before we left Michigan, the children had been desperately praying for snow, enough that they could at least play in (the word "Blizzard" was even mentioned...yikes). Well the last day, as I was packing up, we got hit with snow and more snow.

The Lord was definitely with us as we carefully backed our home away from the church and down a hill, without it becoming the world's biggest sled. This was done with the Jeep in tow. On the way to pick up the children we learned how slippery it was when the Jeep slid a little wide on one turn...carefully Tom.

Well, we had a great time with the Snyder family in Hudson, Michigan, and it was a great trip on so many levels. Our kids played in the snow all the way till we drove off, and about 1 mile east the snow was 1/10th of what it was nearby. God had answered the children's prayers.

Of course, they still wanted snow and God kept answering their prayers as we drove along the Ohio Turnpike last night. Now we needed prayer of a different sort, since slippery roads with a large RV and towed Jeep is not exactly ideal. The Lord was good to us and before it got too bad, we stopped at a rest area (complete with Burger King and Starbucks).

It snowed all night and was very deep in the morning, so we went and had breakfast while the roads were plowed and salted. Evidently it was a record day, and we can attest to at least 12 inches of snow on the ground! It was evident that God's hand was guiding us, when we got back on the road and a few miles later saw a semi crumpled and jack-knifed in the trees off the shoulder.

It was smooth sailing all the way to DC, where God's protection was evidently needed as we went around the beltway...there were 5 accidents (one shut down all lanes) within a 5 mile stretch. It reminds us how dependent we are on the Lord for our safety as well as His provision.

Thank you all for your prayers!!!

Michigan Whirlwind

2008-11-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since our last update, and we have been very busy! When we first arrived in Michigan, we had a meeting with the Community Baptist Church in Madison Heights. Sunday evening I preached and sang and we had such a sweet time of fellowship with the people there, even though we were only there for a brief time. Ultimately, the Lord allowed us to return this past Sunday, since they needed a music leader and we did not have any obligations for that Sunday. It was a great day for us, even though we missed Pastor Rathbun and his wife (they were out of town).

We left our Jeep in Troy, at my uncle's house, to save on the gas up north and we traveled to Camp CoBeAc to meet up with my mother, Debi Pryde, who was doing a women counseling seminar there. The camp was so very gracious to allow us to stay there for a few days, and they even provided hook ups for our RV, which was a huge blessing.

Being there at the camp was a bit surreal for me. It had been over a decade since I was the athletic director during the summer between two years at BJU. There is a new director, Jeff Kahl, and the camp is bustling with the life of a vibrant and growing service provided to Midwest churches. I very much enjoyed meeting with Jeff and hearing of his vision for the camp in the future, and I look forward to the next time we can visit CoBeAc.

When we left Prudenville, we headed out toward Port Huron and a little town called "Goodells." There, we were scheduled to be with the Mount Pleasant Bible Church for their Spiritual Life Emphasis Week. It was a real experience to preach in a church that has been around over a hundred years, and we were so blessed by the kindness and hospitality of the church.

I had a particularly good time with the youth meetings on two Thursdays. They listened and asked very good questions as we explored Colossians and discussed what it means to do all to the glory of God. They are a great group who also managed to introduce us to "Extreme Volleyball," which is identical to volleyball, except they use a heavy exercise ball.

When we left Goodells two weeks later, we left many friends and we look forward to the next time we can minister with them. From there we made our way back to the Detroit area (Birmingham), where we were scheduled to provide special music at the Grace Baptist Church missions conference.

We have family that are members at this church, and whenever we have come to Michigan to visit family, we attend here. Pastor Whitfield was as kind and gracious as ever, and we enjoyed getting to know some more people that we hadn't met as well as renewing old friendships. (We hadn't been able to visit for many years, and we have added three children since then!) This church has only had one pastor since starting over fifty years ago, which is a testimony to both the church and their pastor.

That brings us back to last Sunday, when we returned to Maddison Heights and the Community Baptist Church. It has been a full few weeks, and we are delighted to have been able to minister among these churches.

God has continued to provide for all our needs, and lower gas prices have helped considerably. We are grateful for the generosity of each of the churches and others who have given to make this ministry possible. As we enter the holiday season, we continue to covet your prayers, since there is so much work to be done to finish the CD and to finish preparing the counseling course for VST.

Thanks again for your prayers!

Here We Go!

2008-10-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

So this week is our last week in Rockford, and we are sad to be leaving all the friends we have made here. However, there is much to be done, and we are excited to get moving again. At the end of this week we will be going to Michigan for a few meetings and a missions conference. We will mostly be on the Eastern side of Michigan (north of Detroit). Then we will be heading to the North East (Centered in Virginia) for a few weeks before heading to South Carolina for the Holidays.

For Sermons in Song, we have been working on some cello parts that we hope to record. If all goes well, we should be able to send the final mix to mastering by the end of the year. More exciting than this is that two men have begun the Ordination Mentoring program that I have been working on in conjunction with our work at Veritas School of Theology. For a window into this program, you can see Bro. Will Dudding's comments on his blog.

Pray for these men, as this program is both rigorous and challenging in many ways. I am so thankful to be able to have a part in God's ministry to and with these men. Pray also for us, that God will continue to provide and that we will be effective in the work that he gives us to do. Pray also that the ministry of the Word will be clear and profitable, whether communicated in preaching, teaching, or music.

Update...Important Prayer Request

2008-09-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it is about time that we update our blog and let you know what is happening. In the beginning, we decided that we weren't going to whitewash difficulties and challenges on this blog. If we did, then you wouldn't know how to pray for us! On the contrary, we want to give you a window into our lives as we seek to serve God with the gifts that He has given us. That way, you can intercede on our behalf.

We have been blessed by the generosity of many people who have helped us, particularly the churches we have visited along the way. The people of Morning Star Baptist Church have been wonderful, and we have been blessed to be here with them. Of course, the Apostle Paul made tents, and we paint houses but, the hours spent on painting do tend to undermine our ability to move forward with the work that we have to do.

Because of this, it is a struggle to maintain our focus on Sermons in Song and Veritas. We would like to ask you to pray that God would provide for our needs as we embark on the next phase of this ministry. We have a host of opportunities that God has placed before us.

There are two men who would like to be prepared for ordination (see Bro. Will Dudding's description of our ministry with him). There is a counseling course to be taught for six weeks in January, and there are many small churches who would be blessed by our preaching and music yet feel hesitant to invite us because of the expense to get us there (about 80 cents a mile).

These opportunities are exciting, but they cannot be done effectively if I am painting full time. We would like to ask you to intercede with God for the provision of this ministry. We have had several people ask us about how to support our ministry. Our home church (Crossroads Baptist Church in Tracy, California) is handling our finances, so those who wish to help can send our support to them, marked "Sermons in Song."

For the next three weeks, we are in Rockford, Illinois at Morning Star Baptist Church. Then we head up to Michigan for a series of meetings there (there are still some open Sundays, if you know of a church that would like to have us). That begins our travels that will take us to New England, South Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, and then back to California by the spring of next year.

We are excited about the opportunities that God has placed before us, but we are also aware that we cannot do it without God's provision and your prayers to God on our behalf.

As always, I remain your servant for the glory of the cross,

Tom Pryde

Arrived!

2008-08-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

Well...we finally made it to Rockford, Illinois, and we are getting settled in for a bit of a stay. Of course, on the way here we stopped in Denver, Colorado to be with the Providence Bible Church in downtown Denver. It underscored, for me, how much I love being around church plants. There is an air of delight in ministry that permeates the folks there, and it is obvious that God is doing a work among them!

It is simply exciting to see so many hands pitching in to work toward ministry to one another and to their community. This seems to be much easier to accomplish when the church is starting out than when a church is established and calcified in their traditions. It makes me wonder how a church can keep or even regain that spirit.

While we were in Denver, we did some painting on Providence's auditorium, and we got to know a few families in the few days we were there. We had a brief scare with Stephen, when after church Sunday night he turned white and listless. Nothing we could do seemed to help so Martha took him to the hospital (with one of Providence's families helping). A short time after arriving, Stephen was chirping around and eating again! So they did some blood tests, which all came back fine, and we breathed a sigh of relief (though the sticker shock has yet to come...yikes).

In any case, it was great to be there, and we definitely look forward to coming back and witnessing the work of God in a downtown ministry.

So Wednesday evening last week we launched out toward Rockford, and had an uneventful trip the rest of the way. We are so grateful for God's provision through his people to get us here, and we are grateful for your prayers!

I have already dug in to the seminary counseling class that I am preparing, and we hope to begin laying down some tracks for our recording by the end of this week. Please continue to pray for God's provision while we are here. We would like to paint as little as possible, so that we can have more opportunities for ministry with the folks here at Morningstar Baptist Church.

Again...thank you for your prayers to God on our behalf!

On the Way East

2008-07-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are in Alamogordo, New Mexico...We have picked up the Jeep, and all the towing equipment is installed and tested. Tomorrow we have a full day of driving ahead of us. We hope to make it most of the way to Denver, and since this is our first extended drive with the Jeep in tow, we appreciate your prayers for our travels.

On the way here we stopped off to visit with Joel Tetreau and his family for an evening and left after breakfast for New Mexico. As always, an evening with Joel leaves my mind buzzing with ideas. It is exciting and refreshing to see God working, and we are grateful for the generosity of His people (thanks especially to Southeast Valley Baptist Church). We cannot help but praise the Lord for his provision.

While we were here in Alamogordo, we were invited to minister with my Sister and Brother in Law's church, First Baptist Church in La Luz. We were here nine months ago, and this dear church family was tremendously encouraging to us. This visit was no exception, and it was great to be back. We really have fallen in love with this area!

As always...thank you so much for your prayers. We still have to sell our vehicles soon so that we can finish paying for the jeep and a few things that it needs: tires, AC, and a few other things. Especially, please continue to pray that the Word of God would be made clear and come alive in the hearts of those to whom the Lord allows us to minister.

Weekly Update

2008-07-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

Last week was an adventure, full of fun at camp and a great time with the kids. The theme was "God of Wonders" and all of the preaching was based upon selected Psalms (8, 16, 22, 77, and 139). The word, both preached and sung, was well received by a very attentive group of kids, and I have learned that one young man now believes God may be calling him into full time service and another accepted the Lord on the way home.

Praise the Lord for His work in the hearts of these precious young people. There are a few more kids that we are praying for specifically, and we trust that God will continue working with them as they grow in knowledge and wisdom. God allowed us to spend a good deal of time with a few of these kids, and it was a joy to minister for the Lord with these young people.

Sunday we were at our sending church in Tracy, California one last time; it is always a joy to fellowship and serve with our friends there. This week we have been working on a vehicle to tow. Some may remember that we decided to tow our Dodge Durango, but there have been some concerns regarding the weight of that vehicle (empty it weighs in around 4600 lbs, which is really pushing the limits a bit). Sunday we were offered a minivan to tow in stead of the Durango, but it was not towable without modification.

So we began looking at potential vehicles and decided that a Jeep Cherokee would be the ideal tow vehicle. It doesn't seat our whole family, but anything that can seat the whole crew weighs too much. So we decided that the Cherokee had the right mix of cargo space for storage, durability, ease of repair, and towability.

My brother-in-law found one near him in Alamogordo, New Mexico and agreed to pick it up for us. I will post pictures when we pick it up next week. Now we need to sell both the Durango and the Minivan so that we can pay for the Jeep and all the towing equipment. The tow equipment cost 2650, which was 450 dollars more than we paid for the vehicle!

In any case, God continues to provide for our every need, and we are looking forward to making our way to Rockford, Illinois via Denver. This week we are doing some painting and house / kid sitting for our pastor while they are at Junior camp (with a couple of our kids and one of theirs). On Saturday we will be with the Mission Peak Baptist Church (in Fremont, California) and we look forward to the ordination proceedings for our friend, Will Dudding.

When we leave there we will head south, pick up our trailer, tow that to Alamogordo, New Mexico and trade it for our Jeep, which is currently being outfitted for towing. By a week from this Friday we will be pulling into Denver, Colorado to be with Jason Janz, who is planting the Providence Bible Church there.

From there we will be heading to Rockford Illinois to be with Bob Bixby and the Morning Star Baptist Church. We will be basing there for a while as we fill up our schedule, finish recording our next album, and complete building the Counseling class for Veritas School of Theology.

Manor Baptist Church

2008-07-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

Wow...so much has happened! Last Sunday we were at Manor Baptist Church in San Leandro, California, and we had a great time (complete with lots of ice cream). They have really fixed things up since the last time I had visited there, and it was exciting to hear what God is doing in this town.

Things became a little nerve racking when our wireless quit working Sunday morning. Thankfully we were only doing an offertory in the AM service, so after lunch I had to go out and buy a new wireless system. The only problem was that we couldn't find one that used the same type of connector for my vocal mic (a Countryman E6), so we had to use the stock lapel mic. This was ok because the auditorium allowed for it, but we really missed the other microphone, and we knew that the camp auditorium (low, wide, and hard surfaces) would not be very forgiving.

One of the churches who came to camp is pastored by a good friend, Charlie Eldred. He graciously consented to pick one up on the way to camp Monday morning, so we have been able to use the wireless with our microphones. It has worked well, and we are thankful for the good friends that God has given us.

It has been fun at camp, and I always enjoy watching another friend, Jon Cook (Youth Pastor / Assistant at the First Baptist Community Church of Los Gatos, California) work with the teens. He is running the camp program during this week, and his genuine love and care for the young people is refreshing.

Please be in prayer for this week of camp, that God would touch the lives and hearts of these young people!

A Towing Update

2008-07-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

My previous thoughts of getting a tow dolly for 1500 bucks were only partially accurate. It is, indeed, possible. However, such a dolly is not rated for the 6000 lbs that will be towed (Dodge Durango is not a small vehicle). We do believe that we can tow the Durango "4 wheels down" provided we get a towbar (about a thousand dollars), and this looked excellent until we realized that we would need a braking system, which is considerably more.

So, for now, we are going to drive the Durango up to the SF bay area for the next month's meetings and pray for the funds to buy a towbar and brake system. We will leave the motorcycle in San Dimas to be sold as partial funding, but we will need another 1500 to pay for the brake system. We will update as we have more information!

As always, thanks for your prayers!

Wow!

2008-07-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

We just got the print order for our brochure, and they look wonderful! We owe a debt of gratitude to Rebekah Keller for her graphic design expertise. God continues to provide for us as we endeavor to get rolling down the road.

On another note, we are working on getting rigged up to see if we can tow our 98 Dodge Durango. The lack of a car while we are out has been problematic, so we are looking to purchase a tow dolly, which will cost around 1600 dollars or so.

As always, we are appreciative of your prayers!

Answer to Prayer!

2008-07-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

This past week was a real nail-biter for us as we had the propane system develop a leak and the "reefer" (refrigerator) quit working on electricity. We took it in for an estimate yesterday, and the work was done by the end of the day! That was half a miracle by itself, but on top of this, we are so grateful to the Mountain View Baptist Church for their generosity to us by taking care of the repair bill. Praise the Lord for His provision through His people.

And thank you all for your prayers!

Whirlwind Week

2008-06-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful week, but it was VERY busy. It started at our home church, Crossroads Baptist Church in Tracy, California (always wonderful to be with our friends there), on Sunday morning. From there we went to the Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Modesto, California and had a roasting good time holding services in the downstairs fellowship hall. We were blessed to get to know so many friends of Crossroads that we had not yet met, and it was great to see all that God has done in this church. If you get a chance, visit their website and read the story!

We left Modesto Sunday evening and traveled south to the San Dimas area on the way to our next meeting in Hesperia, California. While in San Dimas, we visited with some family who flew in to visit for the week. One of the highlights of the week, for the kids, was God's provision of a trip to Legoland - the most comprehensive marketing program ever devised by man. I'll let Martha tell that story sometime.

Last Saturday we arrived at the Mountain View Baptist Church in Hesperia, California, and we had a great time with the folks here. I had visited this church a long time ago, and it was great to see what God has been doing here over the years. We had a great time of fellowship with Pastor Webb and his wife and kids (they have more than us!). It has been a joy to be here.

I do appreciate your prayers this week as we have been having problems with our "reefer" (refrigerator) and our propane system. We will be working on this before heading back up to the bay area for a busy few weeks. We look forward to some great opportunities there!

News and Plans

2008-06-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had a great time at Lighthouse Baptist Church's Jubilee. We enjoyed lots of singing and fellowship there, but we are looking forward to seeing the folks at our home church, Crossroads Baptist Church. We will be there, in Tracy, for a few Sundays before returning briefly to Southern California.

With the gas prices at 4 dollars a gallon, we are working to streamline our schedule to minimize our mileage, but we also know that God will provide what we need to minister where he sends us. Most of all, we appreciate your prayers for us as we continue to get things rolling with both Sermons in Song and the Veritas School of Theology.

This summer will be largely spent on two important projects. The first project is the final preparations for a counseling course that is scheduled to be offered in the Fall Semester at Veritas, and the second is our latest recording that will include songs from both the gospel of John and the Psalms. There is much work to be done!

Again, thank you all for your prayers to God on our behalf...

Heading to the Central Coast

2008-05-26T14:19:00.000-07:00

This week we are preparing to head north along the California coast to San Louis Obispo to spend a few weeks with our friends, Randall and Julie Shanks, at the Calvary Baptist Church. So this week is full of activity as we get ready to go. We are still weeding out stuff we don't need and getting the garage (trailer) filled with things we need, but the end is in sight and we are looking forward to settling into this new situation. In any case, we appreciate your prayers for our family during this time!

Bible Baptist Church - Santa Monica

2008-05-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with Pastor Russ Boone and his family last weekend. They also happen to be a close friends with Greg Linscott (btw...I got a lot of dirt, Greg...) . Truly, they are in the heart of one of the most needy mission fields in America (if not the world), and it is such an encouragement to see men plugging away for the Lord in such places.

The church family was a joy and pleasure to meet, and their warm welcome was refreshing. I even discovered that they know Dr. "T" from International Baptist College! We look forward to coming back next year, and we plan on spending some more time with them then. If you are ever in the Los Angeles area, stop in and visit the Bible Baptist Church!

God Provides

2008-05-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

We are so glad to report that God has provided a sound system for us, and we have been able to use it in a few meetings already. God enabled us to purchase a Bose L1 system that is amazingly compact and sounds fantastic. Here is a picture of the entire system next to one of my guitars:

That is all there is; speakers, amp, mixer, microphones, and cables! If you have ever used a traditional setup, you will appreciate the compactness of this system, and to top it off, it sounds great. It can be set up, tuned to the room, and ready to go in less than a half hour (that isn't rushing either).

Any way, the best part is how it sounds. One comment a few weeks ago was, "It sounds like you, only louder." That is exactly what we want; everyone should be able to hear clearly and without the distracting ear-splitting volumes that can happen if you sit in the wrong place under normal PA speakers.

While we still need a few minor items, we are thankful that God has provided in this way for our ministry!

Grace Baptist in Sonora

2008-05-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful time with the folks at the Grace Baptist Church in Sonora, and even though my family wasn't able to join me for the trip, it was exciting to see God work. For me, the highlight of Sunday was the evening meeting, where we met in the home of our hosts. They had a large upper room where I set up and we had an impromptu concert and even a little idol-smashing party.

We sang together, and I talked through a few songs (Particularly Jeremiah 3). We even heard from one of the teens in the church who wrote a lovely song of her own. Three hours later we had to part ways, but it was a great time. It will be great to bring my whole family next time!

What is Sermons in Song?

2008-04-05T00:18:00.000-07:00

A sermon in song is simply a sermon set to music. In some cases it is a summary of a sermon, and in other cases the listener can follow along with the song in their Bible, just like they would any other exposition of Scripture.

I am an expository preacher of the gospel first, and this means that I am committed to preaching that deliberately and consciously adheres to what the Bible says, where the Bible says it, and with the emphasis that the Bible gives.

However, I also don't believe that Biblical exposition should never become a dry, academic exercise in boredom. No one should ever be put to sleep with the Word of God. The goal is to creatively and memorably bring the hearer into a clearer understanding of God Himself, as revealed in Scripture, and to show how this knowledge applies directly to every day life.

This brings us to music, and more particularly, our basic philosophy of music. We treat music like a language, with the volume turned up on the emotion. This means that our music is not treated as if it was only a vehicle for the message. On the contrary, just as my tone of voice is part of the whole communication in my speech, so music is part of the message of the lyrics.

We believe that when lyrics are accompanied by music that expresses emotion consistent with the message of the song, it can be both powerful and memorable, and because of this, music that is used to communicate doctrine must be handled with extra special attention to what is communicated both lyrically and musically.

So, you might ask, how did all this begin? Well...One day, I was commenting to my wife about the sorry state of contemporary Christian music, and she said, “You’re the one that is always saying not to curse the darkness unless you are willing to light a candle.” So I said to myself, “fine,” and sat down and began to write a song that was basically a summary of the book of Jeremiah.

I was preaching through Jeremiah and Lamentations at the time, and the idea was to write theologically accurate lyrics coupled with music that was emotionally consistent with the content of the song.

Well, my wife liked it, so I sang it for our church, and they liked it. Over time I continued to turn occasional sermons into songs, and the folks in our church continued to encourage me to do more. Later, we were visiting my parents and grandfather in Southern California, and I played some of the Jeremiah songs for them. My grandfather asked why I had never recorded an album, and I told him that it cost too much money. To my surprise he offered to buy all the recording equipment necessary to make it happen! Our first album, “Sorrow to Hope” was the result of his vision.

Ok...so what is it like? The first thing that I tell people is that our music isn't going to win any musical awards, and you won't hear the songs in any Classical music venues. It certainly wouldn't make it in any kind of secularized Christian market for a whole host of reasons. However, this doesn't really answer the question.

The music is made up, mostly, of original songs that are presented with guitar and cello accompaniment. Though the style is unique, you will definitely hear both Classical and Folk influences in the music, and most importantly, if you open your Bible, you will be able to follow along with the song.

It would be misleading to simply call it a concert, since preaching introduces and follows most songs, but the concept is flexible enough for the songs to stand on their own. For example, the entire “Sorrow to Hope” series can be sung, with brief introductions, in a little more than an hour. However, in this accelerated format, there is only enough time to hit the high points, and much of the richness of the various passages is easily missed.

There is even more to be gained by stretching the series out over a few services, and savoring the depth of truth that is to be found by exploring the Scriptural teaching in more detail through both preaching and music.

In addition, God has given us a variety of skills and experiences that we believe can be useful to local churches, so we are essentially beginning a ministry of helps for churches in the following areas:

Developing resources for training skilled ministers within the context of the local church (Veritas School of Theology)
Conflict resolution
Seminars on Bible Versions, Biblical Interpretation, and Information Technology in ministry
Providing recording services to help conservative Christian musicians record their music
Or any other way we might be an encouragement to you!

If you are interested in this ministry, our schedule can be found at the bottom of this site, and if you would like to schedule us for an open time, feel free to contact us directly. Of course, we are especially interested if you would pray for us, but please drop us a note to let us know who is praying for us! We would love to keep in touch.

Yard Sale

2008-04-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we have a yard sale in the morning, and our life looks like an explosion of boxes...but we are making progress - whooo hooo! Whatever we don't sell we plan to throw in a big dumpster next week. Then, cleaning and painting so we can be completely gone in two weeks. It will be good to put this chapter in our lives behind us and move forward.

Please pray for us, that we will have a profitable day!

Bunks are Done!!!

2008-03-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

Well...as promised...here are a few pictures of the bunks in their finished state! They look amazing. Thanks, Paul!!! There is no way we could repay you; you went way over and above. This pic is of the left side Cabinet and bunks:

This is the right side...yes, it is a little smaller:

And here are the kids, in their chosen slots...now we have to give them mattresses!

Current State of the Kids Room

2008-03-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well, the beds are almost done, and as promised, I am including a picture. Later, I will have some better shots of the progression, but for now...this is it. It is hard to believe that in two weeks, this will be home!

We Need a Garage!

2008-02-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

Well, I would like to ask you to pray for an urgent need. One of the weaknesses of our motorhome situation is that there is little storage available, so we have thought about getting a covered utility trailer to pull behind the motorhome. Think of it like a portable garage. We need one big enough to carry stuff and a motorcycle (for getting around town); we think that will take at least a 6x8. Ideally we would like to find one with an extra door on the side.

Anyway, if you know of one that we might be able to buy, please let me know! We would like to be able to use it to move my books down to their new home (lots of books).

Bedroom Facelift and More

2008-02-14T23:36:00.000-08:00

Well, we are going to be living in our motor home full-time, so there are a few modifications that must be made. Mainly, we need to convert the back bedroom into a bunk-room for the kids. Martha and I will take the overhead bed (it is a class-c motor home), and the kids will each have their own submarine style bunk. It won't be much room, but it will be their own space, which we feel is very important for them.

A couple men from our church have begun the work, and they are removing the old furnishings/cabinets. There are some things to work around (like the spare tire), but in the end, I believe that we will have a much better situation for the kids.

We continue to pack up my books, and as we have found a few who can use some of our furniture, we intend to give away what can be used in the Lord's service. Then we will sell what we can, and when that is done, we will toss the rest into a big dumpster! What fun... it will be a flurry of activity from now until March 31st, so we appreciate your prayers during this time of transition.

Two New Links

2008-02-12T00:18:00.000-08:00

I have added two more links into our music links section. Before I go any further, let me say that links to particular artists are NOT endorsements of all of their music or their particular philosophy of music. However, there is some value in considering each perspective. The two added are at very different sides of the music spectrum, but both spend considerable time thinking through music issues.

When it comes to music in church / worship, I am much closer to Scott Aniol than Bob Kauflin, and even though I do not always agree with Scott's arguments, I appreciate his desire to be careful with music. We should think through the issues clearly and carefully, and Scott's site is actually far deeper than just a blog.

Worship Matters is very much a Sovereign Grace Ministries site, and so the music and its philosophy is exactly what you would expect. The lyrics are almost always solid and excellent, though the music frequently doesn't really match the tone of the lyric. With that said, however, there is some value in considering and interacting with the ideas / music / philosophy found herein.

Contact Information

2008-02-11T23:18:00.000-08:00

If you would like to contact us for booking a meeting or just questions about our ministry, you may do so in one of the following ways:

Phone Call: (909) 680-2331
If you call and get our answering machine, please leave a message; we will call you back! You can also text message us at the above phone number.

Internet: tpryde 3 at gmail period com (remove spaces and insert appropriate punctuation)
Believe it or not, this is one of the fastest ways to get a hold of us. In addition, you can contact us through Facebook, via our "fan" page.

Support Information:
Crossroads Baptist Church (Sermons in Song)
1220 Appalosa Way
Tracy, California 95376

We will keep this page updated if any changes or additional contact information is needed.

Public Announcement Coming Soon

2008-02-08T14:06:00.000-08:00

Well, the time is nearing to publicly announce what we are planning, and then we will really get going with our planning. Basically, we expect to know better what our plans will look like after this weekend, and it will be great to get things moving!

Stay tuned for more details next week!

New Links

2008-02-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

There are two new links that you may notice have been added to our list. These are two excellent musicians who are producing music that is exceptional. Dan Forrest is an amazing composer, and his site is worth visiting, if only to hear the samples of his work. Seriously...go listen to a few of his samples.

I admire his music so much that I have a dream of collaborating with him on a project about the attributes of God. However, his commission fees are so high that I would be hopelessly in debt to make it happen. Perhaps, some day, God will let me do that project.

Greg Howlett is the other musician that is linked. He is an excellent pianist who has produced a series of "lessons" for pianists. My oldest son has learned a lot from them, and though they are written with piano in mind, I have also benefited from the lessons in my own music for guitar and voice. If you play congregational piano in your church, it would benefit you greatly to spend some time on this site.

Comparing our music to theirs is like comparing a hot dog and a fillet mignon. There is no comparison, and we would like to express our appreciation and admiration for their contributions to Christian music.

Sound System

2008-02-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

Well, we are continuing to work toward getting everything together, and there is so much to do! However, God continues to supply, so we are pressing onward. One of the things that we have to do is determine what type of sound system to bring along. We really have three choices:

We can simply use the sound systems that are already present
We can get a traditional sound-reinforcement system (PA)
We can get a self-contained compact system

There are pros and cons for each option. The first case is certainly the cheapest. However, it is not uncommon for churches to have the wrong types of microphones for cello, and many aren't really equipped to handle acoustic guitar either. Because of the nature of our music, it is also important to be able to obtain the right sound (clean acoustic), and most systems are not designed to make this a simple proposition. Even where it is possible, it is time-consuming to accomplish, and on top of this, it becomes problematic to leave the balance of the musical elements to a sound engineer that hasn't worked with us before.

The second option is definitely better, but it requires speakers, stands, amplifier, mixer, and other miscellaneous equipment (on top of the base system in the link). With our instruments alone, we already have quite a few items to carry and manage. On top of this, these systems do not automatically sound as good as built in systems that are tuned for the building. In order to get a portable system to work properly, it takes a surprising amount of time, trouble, and additional equipment (and expense).

The third option is the easiest and most compact option, but there is only one company making anything like them. As a result they are slightly more expensive than the second option. However, they are considerably easier to set up (10 minutes as opposed to hours), and they sound far better for acoustic music like ours. This is the option that we are praying God will supply. If you are interested in knowing more about this system, you can read about it here.

Scaling Down

2008-01-28T13:12:00.001-08:00

Well, as we begin this new endeavor there are so many things that have to happen. It is almost overwhelming. The biggest task is scaling down our lives from a 3 bedroom house to a 30 foot motorhome. This means we have to sell, store, or toss most of our possessions, and you can imagine how challenging that is!

Of course, we have to work on getting the motorhome (after we figure out a way to pay for it...lol) ready for a family of seven to move in. The master bedroom will have to be converted to a kid's room, complete with bunks and storage. That will be a significant challenge, but a few men from our church (who are very handy) have agreed to help get it done. That will be a big blessing, since we would like to have a permanent bed space for each of our family.

On top of this, we need to develop a travel schedule and plan meetings, so if you know of anyone who would like to have us come to their church, take a look at the schedule at the bottom of the blog and call to see if we can make a date work!

It is true that we have many needs, but we are confident that God will supply exactly what we need, when we need it. For those who have asked, I will post and maintain a running list of needs soon. In any case, we are grateful for your prayers as we prepare and begin scheduling meetings.

Back to the beginning...

2008-01-26T22:37:00.000-08:00

Sermons in song began when I was complaining to my wife about the sorry state of Christian music. It seemed as if the Theology of Christian music was lacking, and if there was substance to the song, the music seemed to be used as a mere vehicle, rather than spending some effort to try and match the tone of the music to the content of the song. Well, my wife said, "You are the one who says, 'Don't curse the darkness unless you are willing to light a candle.'"

That was enough to get me to pick up my guitar and try to write a song. "Sorrow to Hope" was the result, and you can hear it if you go to our Facebook page. I happened to be preaching through the book of Jeremiah at the time, so it is a summary of the book of Jeremiah. I sang the song to our church, and they liked it.

One thing led to another and I began taking occasional sermons and turning them into songs. Eventually the album "Sorrow to Hope" was recorded. The best part of it is that people remembered the songs long after they would normally forget the sermon! I have just continued writing the songs for our church, and now the door seems to be opening to take the idea to others who may be encouraged and blessed with the Word of God preached in the form of music.

We are excited about the possibilities!

New Stuff

2008-01-23T22:41:00.000-08:00

We have added some new stuff to the blog, in the form of links (to the right), an itinerary calendar (on the bottom), and pictures (also to the right). The links are to Tom's blog, NeoFundamentalist and our new Facebook "fan" page. I am not sure if I like the whole "fan" idea, but this is a good way for us to communicate with those who are interested in our ministry. There is also a link to the online CD store, "CDBaby." You can buy our album from a variety of digital sources, but this is the only way to get a hard copy, other than directly from us.

The calendar on the bottom of the blog is a google calendar, and if you have never used this feature of google, you may want to check it out. In any case, this is the easiest way for us to update and keep track of our schedule, and it seems worthwhile to provide access to it for you.

As for the photos...we hope to include pictures as we travel, but there isn't much there yet. I'll include more as I am able.

One last item...
I have uploaded a basic brochure that introduces our ministry.

Needs / Prayer Requests

2008-01-23T13:42:00.000-08:00

Many of you who are praying for us have asked about specific needs that we have, so this page will be an ongoing list of needs and prayer requests. Be sure to check back to see God's answers to your prayers for us, and when God provides, we will share that with you and cross off those needs here!

CD Production Costs / Duplication (should cost around 2500 dollars)
Replacing Tom's Cracked Guitar

Motorhome bunks - March 20 Praise the Lord!!!
Sound System - May 19 Praise the Lord!!!
Kid's School
Keyboard, (we ended up getting a good price on an inexpensive Casio so that our oldest could continue his lessons)
Microphones for live sound - June 19 Praise the Lord!!!
Travel Expenses to Illinois (Special thanks to the Southeast Valley Baptist Church in Gilbert, AZ)
Refrigerator and Propane system repair

SiS Launch Coming Soon!

2008-01-20T00:46:00.000-08:00

Well, Sermons in Song is about to go live as our family prepares to become mobile. This blog will serve as a repository for information on our travels, music, and other endeavors. Feel free to drop us a line and say "hi."