I’m sure my daughter, who marches with the UNA Band, would disagree, but this show is impressive to say the least. Wish is was Bama’s Million Dollar Band and not OSU. 
OSU Marching Band Performs Video Game Tribute – Watch More Funny Videos
Fantastic Half-Time Show
On October - 10 - 2012
This Is Just Funny!
On September - 27 - 2012
I generally don’t like making fun of worship because it makes serious worship that much more self-analyzed….but this is just hilarious!
Piper Hits It Out Of The Park In 3 min.
On August - 9 - 2012
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen this little video with a couple of Australian Asians (totally cool!) but Piper once again reminds us of the importance of heart-engagement with worship. It’s a message we constantly need to hear. Enjoy!
Worth A Watch
On February - 6 - 2012
It looks like the Church Music guys have been reading this blog! Haha. Seriously, I’m very encouraged by the paradigm shift that has taken place at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. For total disclosure, I’ve not attended there but if I were to continue with my education, I would seriously consider SBTS. Enjoy!
The New Division of Biblical Worship from Southern Seminary on Vimeo.
What’s Going On Here?
On January - 30 - 2012
I know you think I’m posting this video just to poke fun at this poor chap. I’m not. The scriptures exhort us to “speak the truth in love”. The most loving thing that could be done for this gentleman is for someone to sit him down and kindly say “you cannot sing and it is possible that you think too highly of yourself”. His issue is not so much that he cannot sing but in the seeming arrogance of a competing spirit and “I’m gonna blow you away with this” body language. Maybe I’m reading way too much into it but I just don’t see how this is serving the church.
I’ve worked with plenty of folks who were not the most talented. I’m probably one myself. But serving with a selfless, God-centered approach will testify to the greatness of Jesus Christ much more than this example. There’s no way I can know the singer’s heart–I can only go by what I see on the video. I pray that he does love the Lord and is seeking to honor the Lord in his singing.
It’s also my prayer that this gentleman has some accountability and does serve the Lord in other ways besides this. He might need to get some help in harnessing his gifts and include more character before he showcases again.
It’s also worth mentioning that a singer who has exceptional talent doesn’t guarantee spiritual success, either. Regardless of talent, no one has any business in thinking he or she is something because of talent (or for any other reason) 1 Cor. 4:7. We are mere stewards of talents and gifts and no amount of polish or expertise gives anyone the option of playing the pride card.
Please forgive me if I am speaking to anything out of context. Hopefully having more context would help me understand this video better.
Brother Music Minister, serve the folks in your church by establishing an atmosphere of speaking the truth in love. Strive to remove as many distractions as possible from the music that is presented in your services.
“Me” vs. “We”
On January - 4 - 2012
The longer I lead congregational singing, the more I wrestle with this subject. It’s not a matter of right vs. wrong. It’s a matter of better vs. best. Is it best to use singular nouns or plural nouns in our congregational singing? You might not have ever considered such a question. To be honest, I’ve not thought about it at all until the last few years. However, there are a few good reasons why such a question must be asked.
Most of the New Testament is written to groups not individuals. I understand that the Psalms (which is our most basic songbook model) primarily uses singular nouns. That cannot be ignored. However, after Jesus’ death and resurrection we see much more imperatives to corporate bodies than singular people. There are exceptions of course (see Paul’s letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon—although it was actually written to three people) but the four Gospels, Acts, Revelation, and most of the rest of the Pauline Epistles are written with a corporate mindset. As my pastor says “All theology is local church theology”.
America is an individualistic culture. From a sociological viewpoint, most believers in this country are bent towards shutting out the rest of the congregation in church services rather than letting them in. I firmly believe that the success of many Charismatic movements has flourished in this country because of their emphasis on the individualistic worship experience (remember, I IS a Charismatic—don’t throw stones at me my friends). So any direction we can take in our song services to point back to the corporate experience rather than the individualistic one—in order to stay in balance—would be a welcome act.
The words we use shape our thinking. There’s little doubting that a person’s language not only reflects their thinking (Luke 6:45) but also influences it (Zeph. 3:9). (Here is one article dealing with this subject.) One only needs to do a basic study into the careful handling of words and language in the holy scriptures to see this importance. To dip back into the sociological realm for a moment, I recall one study that showed that most men in prison have names that are most easily mocked and ridiculed. Racism is most easily inflicted by the sinful use of language. In short, the relationship between the heart’s affects on language and language’s effect on the heart cannot be separated.
In my next post, I will look at practical examples of the use of singular and plural nouns in song services.
Here Is Love Vast As The Ocean
On October - 17 - 2011
I hope you enjoy this rich hymn sung by Huw Priday, a marvelous tenor
He sings a verse in gaelic and then sings these two verses in English written by William Rees (1802-1883):
Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Lovingkindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout Heav’n’s eternal days.
On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav’n’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
There are two more verses, possibly written by William Williams
Let me all Thy love accepting,
Love Thee, ever all my days;
Let me seek Thy kingdom only
And my life be to Thy praise;
Thou alone shalt be my glory,
Nothing in the world I see.
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,
Thou Thyself hast set me free.
In Thy truth Thou dost direct me
By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;
And Thy grace my need is meeting,
As I trust in Thee, my Lord.
Of Thy fullness Thou art pouring
Thy great love and power on me,
Without measure, full and boundless,
Drawing out my heart to Thee.
Here is Sovereign Grace’s version of the same hymn:
O The Blood
On September - 29 - 2011
In case anyone thinks otherwise, I love new songs that are cross-centered. Sometimes I wonder if I come off as someone who only likes songs written by dead guys. I only like songs if they are true to God’s Word and especially if they center on redemption.
Here’s a new one that I really like.
It Had To Be You (Audio)
On July - 25 - 2011
Painful to see isn't it?
Here’s a rough (emphasis on “rough”) mix of a song I wrote a while back. My friend Nathan Clark George allowed me to step into his home studio and recorded me playing and singing the song “It Had To Be You” (no–not the jazz song). You can see an old video of it here (man, am I skinny in it!) You can find FREE sheet music to it here.
Here are the lyrics:
The power of my will
Commitment in my zeal
Trusting in my strength and concentration
With no success to find
Still a pris’ner in my mind
Behind iron bars of my own condemnation
Failed on ev’ry count
And hope in no amount
It had to be You
Who captured my heart
‘Cause there was nothing in my soul that ever loved You
You showed me Yourself
And my need for Your blood
And how there was never any good in me
And Your complete ability
To make me anew
It had to be You
The war’s still there today
My Father to obey
But now it’s by His sacrifice I’m measured
His Spirit lives in me
His law a treasury
And fellowship with Christ my greatest pleasure
My slate not only clean
But broken on the tree
HERE’S THE AUDIO OF THE SONG:
Classical Music Top Ten
On November - 29 - 2010
Bernstein in action
Today is something light. I enjoy music of all styles. I get a thrill out of a great movie soundtrack score. I also love bluegrass! I like to howl along with a Foreigner classic as well as croon along with Mel Torme or Harry Connick. And on it goes. I also love classical music and I sing with the Nashville Symphony Chorus. It is a top-flight group and I’m glad they let a few meatheads in.
I was thinking the other day of what my top ten classical pieces would be and I came up with this list. If any of them are unfamiliar to you, I would challenge you to click on some of the links I’ve found or get them on itunes or go totally 90’s on me and get the CD’s. I list these in no particular order.
Samuel Barber—Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (get Sylvia McNair singing it!)
Samuel Barber—Adagio For Strings (get L Bernstein conducting it)
Claude Debussy—Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun Listen to it here
G F Handel—The Messiah (I suggest Sir George Solti’s version)
Robert Schumann—Dichterliebe (get Fritz Wunderlich singing it!)
Ludwig Beethoven—6th Symphony Listen to a portion here
Ludwig Beethoven—9th Symphony Listen to a portion here
Maurice Ravel—String Quartet in F Major Listen to a portion here
J S Bach—Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 Listen to a portion here
Antonin Dvorak—9th (New World) Symphony (I again suggest Bernstein!)
OK–so I’m a lush….
