One of my favorite photos of Kim. It says much about her.My heart has been heavy throughout the evening and into the morning. We give one of earth’s best worshipers over to the courts of heaven. This is a worship pastor’s tribute to Kim Anderson: an amazing woman, dedicated mom, passionate artist, and fierce weekly worshiper of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Kim went to be with the Lord last night after a fight with cancer. Every worship pastor … Read More
Why We Gather for Worship
“Constituting and Fulfilling the Church”…Yikes Bloggers can easily tell when a post resonates with a large amount of people because of the way their hits spike over a given 48 hours. A recent post on Why We Need the Call to Worship did that. My hunch as to what resonated was how all those various short blurbs on the Call to Worship pointed to the gravity and depth of what corporate worship truly is. Some of the best advice … Read More
In Worship, We Not Only Encounter God But Encounter the Church
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. (Hebrews 12:22-23, NIV) Experiencing the Church Many distill the essence of corporate worship as “encounter with God.” That’s a great summary. When we gather, God chooses to reveal Himself in special ways and through special means, many of which He reserves ordinarily only for that … Read More
Open Our Eyes: A Worship Song Based on Luke 24
Emmaus Road (Stained Glass)The Story Ever since my conversion to a more sacramental understanding of the Lord’s Supper, and upon reading Henri Nouwen’s, With Burning Hearts, I’ve been captivated by that odd encounter that Jesus had with two downcast sojourners on the Emmaus Road after Christ’s crucifixion, recorded in Luke 24. Several things about that encounter keep fascinating me: The sojourners “were kept from recognizing” Jesus for a long time (v 16) Part of what began lifting their spirits … Read More
Singing Theology So That We’ll Eventually Believe It
The band and I recently rocked the faces off a few hundred kids several weeks ago as we led music for our church’s Vacation Bible School (VBS). It’s a fun time where we musicians are able to get a little flamboyant and wacky, where our inner rock star (rightly suppressed on Sunday mornings) can come out. We had a blast, and the kids really loved it. Since VBS, my family has been bumping that music in our car as we … Read More
Gutsy Worship Leading, Confronting Idols
Amos, 18th c. Russian Icon (Iconostasis of Transfiguration Church, Kizhi monastery, Karelia, Russia)Because leading worship is a pastoral endeavor, it makes a lot of sense that most, if not all, facets of pastoral ministry would show up in the work of a faithful worship leader. In many ways, we can dissect the role of a pastor by examining how a person with such gifts mirrors (albeit in an extremely secondary way) what theologians call “the threefold office of Christ”–Christ as Prophet, … Read More
Observations on the State of Modern Worship from the National Worship Leader Conference
The National Worship Leader Conference (NWLC) held every year in Leawood, KS is a sight to behold. It really is an off-the-chain modern worship “concentrate.” Many of the big name Contemporary Worship Music (CWM) industry artists and leaders are there with bells on, and the multitudinous breakout sessions range from the pragmatic to the philosophical. It’s a wonderful place to get immersed in this world, to learn much about it, and to bounce thoughts off it. I spent much of … Read More