Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see. Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love; I bind unto myself today the power of God to hold and lead, God’s eye to watch, God’s mighty to stay, God’s ear to hearken to my need, the wisdom of my God to teach, God’s hand to guide, God’s shield to ward, the word of God to give me... Read more
Church of St. YouTube Fifth Sunday after Pentecost June 24, 2018 Gathering Prelude Solemn Melody Henry Walford Davies Mark Dwyer, organ Read more
This is a new regular feature on Ponder Anew, one that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. The idea is to design a weekly service, based on various liturgical traditions, that can encourage, inspire, and allow others to discover just a bit of the beauty of Christian liturgy. It will weave together acts of worship available online with spoken prayers and lessons from Holy Scripture. This is purely a devotional resource; the weekly posts are not meant... Read more
My first music director job in a church was in a tiny Baptist church in a blue collar Houston suburb. It wasn’t exactly my dream church job, but they generally treated me well and gave me a shot when I was desperate to get out of waiting tables. Like many Baptist churches in Texas, this wasn’t exactly the kind of place to let a civic patriotic observance like the the 4th of July go by without fanfare. I had already... Read more
Churches, Pastors, Music Directors, worshipers, everybody who will be in church in a few weeks, you’ve got a perfect opportunity coming up on July 1. That will be the Sunday that you will be tempted to worship country instead of Creator. I pray you will make a different choice. Listen to how Jesus describes himself in Revelation 1: “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am... Read more
It’s hard to believe that I’ve spent 15 years of my life in some form of professional church music ministry. It is my calling, my life’s work, and my dream job. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not thankful for this opportunity. Along the way, I’ve worked under eight senior pastors and over 20 associate pastors of some type. There have been ups and downs in those working relationships; some have been supportive and professional, others not... Read more
As I’ve said before, engaged traditional worship [primarily] because we like it or because it creates this sensory experience for us, but because we need it. Because we need the grounding, the shaping, and the “rootedness” that it brings us, while looking for new and creative ways to express our Christian story. Because it reminds us of what has already been done in Christ, and what one day will be. These are things that all worshipers need, regardless of our... Read more
People keep asking me about the song “Reckless Love” by Bethel Music and Cory Asbury. (With a last name like that, shouldn’t Cory be Methodist?) Apparently it’s caused quite a stir with the idea that God’s love could be described as “reckless” in any way. That’s understandable, because, well, just look up the definition to the word. Adjective utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless (usually followed by of): to be reckless of danger. characterized by... Read more
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