Why You Should Come to the Chapel’s Night of Worship

[Note, this blog post is mainly for folks at The Chapel. Still, if you are in Baton Rouge and can make it this Wednesday then read on!]

It’s coming. This week. The Chapel’s Night of Worship is Wednesday, January 9th at 7 PM at our Oaks Location. We’ve already promoted it on Twitter, Facebook, and The City, but I wanted to take just a few minutes and give a personal invitation as a Worship Leader and discuss what it is and why you should come.

So first off, what is it?

The Night of Worship is going to be a gathering of members of the Chapel body from every location and venue to simply celebrate the gospel of Christ through prayer and song. All three of your regular worship leaders (Ken Drake, Drew Kearney, and myself) will be there leading our time along with a worship team comprised of members of Refuge Band and both the Campus & Oaks worship teams. Much of the music will also feature the Chapel Choir as well. We will also include an elder-led time of prayer.

Come expecting to sing hymns and songs you know well from Sunday morning as well as a few new tunes that we are excited about singing together as we lift high the Name of Jesus.

So why should you come?

The short answer? Jesus. He is worthy! The gospel is real, and this should fill our hearts with joy! Christ died for our sin and rose from the dead that we could be forgiven and have life if we believe in Him! This truth alone should motivate us to worship. It should break down barriers within us as individuals and amongst us as a community. As you may have noticed, as the Chapel begins 2013, we are already heavily emphasizing becoming a “3 Cs” church: a church that CELEBRATES Christs, CONNECTS with one another in community, and CONTRIBUTES to the works of the ministry.

What inspires us to celebrate more than the gospel? If we answer that question honestly, probably lots of things. The answer we should give is “nothing!” For many of us, this is something we believe in our hearts but not necessarily a reality we walk in daily. I know. I am with you. That is why it is so important for us to gather with other believers. When we are gathered in unity under the name of Christ, yielding to the Holy Spirit, something powerful happens. We begin to shine the light off of ourselves and onto the One who truly matters and this unites us together.

I don’t know about you, but as much as I love our Sunday services (and I really do), there is just not always enough time in a 20 minute worship set to do this, particularly if we have a lot of other things going on in the service that morning. That’s why we want to have an extended time free from other distractions to focus in together on the greatness of God and praise Him.

That’s it?

In a nutshell, yes. That is the primary reason for doing this. There is no ulterior motive or catch. We just want to sing to Jesus because he so good.

But I will say this: this a rare occasion where you will get to see all the Chapel Worship Leaders doing what they love in unity. Each of us has expressed how much we are looking forward to playing together. Sharing the burden of leadership also allows each of us to enjoy the time more as we get to step back and worship with you!

So I hope you will come if you are able. It should be a sweet time.

 

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STAR WARS & Disney: Thoughts

If you haven’t heard, Disney purchased Lucasfilm for $4 billion. Today at work I got a bunch of texts and facebook posts related to the topic. Apparently, everyone wanted to be the one to break the news to me. I can understand, and, frankly, being known by so many friends for my love of STAR WARS, I even expect it to a degree. In a way, it’s like wanting to be the first to tell the guy that always talks about his favorite band that has been broken up for years is getting back together. It’s great news. Thanks to all who wanted to inform. I am thrilled as are many other more devoted fans, I am sure. And, as already stated on twitter by movie blogger Steve Weintrab, @colliderfrosty, “Thank you George Lucas for creating STAR WARS. But a bigger thank you for letting it go.”

I think many of us that grew up watching STAR WARS have been fed up with George Lucas’ frequent tinkering with his classic films and subpar writing and directing for the prequel trilogy that came out over the last decade. And I have said in many past nerdy conversations things to the effect of: “I wish George Lucas would just let other people develop STAR WARS stories that are good.” After all, no one can deny that the universe he created is so much bigger and vaster now thanks in no small part to the books, games, and comics that are all licensed to tell stories in the STAR WARS universe that are frequently better than anything Lucas has come up with in the last 15 years. It is long overdue for some fresh writing and directing talent, and Disney is the perfect place to develop some new STAR WARS films.

A Marriage of Epic Proportions

Disney is a great company that has made some really smart investments into other studios like Marvel and Pixar. The acquisition of Lucasfilm just makes their stable properties that much more appealing to moviegoers. In honesty, considering the value of STAR WARS thus far $4 billion is a steal. Do Star Wars films right, and it can easily gross $1 billion worldwide, not to mention the money (in the billions) to be made from toys and merchandise. It’s really a no-brainer for Disney. I just don’t think anyone saw Lucas letting go of it. Kudos, GL. Fans have less cause to stay mad at you for the prequels.

The big news is that Disney is already putting together plans for an Episode 7, based on a treatment by Lucas (he also has two more for–you guessed it–a trilogy). Kathleen Kennedy, the new president of Lucasfilm has already met with screenwriters. That’s a big deal. Actual screenwriters. A huge problem with the prequels wasn’t the overall story ideas, but how those stories were told–one-dimensional characters, wooden dialogue, and just campy direction with childish humor. That was because it was all Lucas. Using Lucas’ ideas as the jumping off point but letting fresh writers and directors take realize the story is the right move. And a property as legendary and formative for filmmakers as STAR WARS will attract the kind of A-list talent needed to get the franchise back on track. Articles are floating around names like David Fincher,J.J. Abrams, and even people like Guilermo Del Toro for the director’s chair. Abrams would be a good choice, but I don’t think on principle the guy behind Star Trek should also direct STAR WARS. I am inclined toward names from the Marvel & Pixar camp that have already proven themselves with Disney properties. Guys like Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission Impossible: GP) and Joss Whedon (The Avengers) no doubt would be outstanding choices, though Whedon is probably out as Avengers 2 is set to release the same year as Episode 7. Time will tell. But speculation has already begun.

As fun as it is to speculate about the behind the camera talent, I am even more interested in to know what kind of story we are dealing with. Does this follow an all new story created by Lucas which has no ties to the Expanded Universe Thrawn Trilogy (the de-facto 7,8, and 9 to many a STAR WARS nerd)? Likely. If it is a new story, does it use the same characters as the original trilogy? I hope so. I already have given my thoughts on who I would cast if we were making the original STAR WARS films with actors today. Some of those could still work for an Episode 7. Others might wish to see a story that takes place some 35 – 40 odd years after the original film. This would allow it to contain new characters as well as have the original actors reprise their iconic rolls. This could work, though I am less inclined to think this will happen. This is already being billed as a new trilogy, so they are going to want to tell a story that relies on young actors to tell over the next 7 to 10 years. Harrison Ford is 70, and the first new film is still three years away, just to put that in prospective.

Where did you dig up that old fossil?

All things told, I am elated that my son Liam will grow up seeing new STAR WARS films in theaters at a young age. In 2015, he will only be 3, which is probably too young to really enjoy it. But fore the next ones he’ll likely be 6 and 9, which is just about perfect. It makes the films that much more special for me getting to share them with my son. I grew up watching the originals with my dad and brother on TV and VHS, but the prequel films didn’t come out until I was in high school and college. I can’t wait to experience STAR WARS through the eyes of my child. It makes me giddy, to be honest.

STAR WARS has meant more to nerds than probably any other film property, and it is awesome to see new vitality injected into a franchise that seemed like it was on life support. Here’s hoping some new storytellers can recapture the magic that can only be found a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

By the way, if they do end up using the Thrawn Trilogy, I nominate Michael Fassbender for the Chiss Grand Admiral. I know. #NERDALERT

“Only nerds know who I am”

“I’m good at playing bad guys.”

Congregational Singing: Participation

This past week, Hans, my cousin and the Site Pastor for our location, shared a note on the city about changing our seating arrangements on Sunday mornings. The change: starting this week, we are going to rope off our outer sections and ask people to sit in the two center sections until they are full and then unrope the side sections. One of the main reasons behind this, though not the only reason, was to help foster greater participation of our congregants, particularly during times of congregational singing. Our team (my self included) feels that moving everyone closer together helps people remember that they are a part of something much bigger than themselves. They will hear one another singing and it will encourage them to sing out all the more.

When Hans announced this on The City (our online community and communications tool), we had some honest and committed congregants agree in our comments section that there are times when the participation in our worship service is less than stellar and that it can at times feel downright disheartening to try and worship in such a cold setting.

I love my job. I love singing to God. I love watching others do it and helping others do it. So, I responded to these comments with an aim to share just a few thoughts, but as usual, my long-winded nature got the better of me and it turned into a small treatise on Congregational Singing as it relates to participation. As I wrote it, I thought, this could be a blog post. So, I decided to post it here as well for all to see, all 10 of you who read this.

Here it is:

We are all in this together, working toward a goal to maginify Christ each time we gather, and when we do this, it sometimes (or maybe often!) means we have to work against things like our musical preferences, our backgrounds, our attitudes, and other hang-ups. In a time where we are supposed to be united around Christ, the Adversary wants nothing more than to divide us.

Let me encourage you all with some specific things to remember that I have come to learn as a worship leader.

1. People usually have their reasons for not participating. Now, God is always worthy of our worship, so there is never a “good” reason for not participating. That said, people may be coming through our doors who are lost or hurting or feeling far from God. Lifting their hands toward God might be the last thing on their minds. Getting through the door may be all their spirits can muster. Also, many people come from different backgrounds at our church, where they may not have experienced the type of congregational singing we have at the Chapel, and they may still be trying to adjust. Others may have less understandable hang-ups that are more petty in nature, but there is a whole spectrum of reasons, and it helps us to be understanding of our brothers and sisters while still leading by example in these times of singing together.

2. Worship is for God, not us. Though no one can say that a powerful time of congregational singing isn’t extremely edifying to the soul, we must remember that the focus is always God, not us. Granted, when we see others aparently not worshiping God, it is easy to let that affect us, even drag us down, but we must remember that regardless of how much we “feel” the presence of the Lord in a space, we must endeavor to keep the focus on him, not how the worship “feels.” That said, I am with all of you—I want the Chapel to be a place where exhuberant, joyful singing is the norm rather than half-hearted or empty participation, but this needs to be because we recognize that He is worthy of our worship, not because we want to feel a certain way when it’s time to sing.

3. There is only so much the pastoral staff and worship leaders can do. The rest is up to the Spirit of God and the hearts of his people. Let me affirm what Hans said, that it is our desire as a team across both locations to lead you in a worship service that is dynamic and encouraging, that is centered around the Word of God and focused on exalting Christ. We are going to make mistakes. We are going to have successes. At the end of the day, we are going to do everything we can to help you all grow spiritually and worship fervently individually and corporately. We all need to pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of His people to accomplish His mission for our Church, and as He does this, authentic worship will happen! I promise you. If the only time our congregation “worships” is on a Sunday morning, I guarantee you that no matter how much participation there is, we are missing the point if we are not exalting God to the world during the rest of the week.

4. There are different postures in worship, but the most important posture is the posture of the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7b is in view here: “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” What we need to care about most is the heart. We never truly know what is going on in the hearts of those who seem to be disengaged. That said, I will not use this verse as a blanket excuse for not participating. After all, if we can yell and clap and dance at an LSU football game but can’t muster any type of emotional response to the King of Kings who gave himself for us, then this IS an issue of the heart. But, as a worship pastor, I want a congregation of pure-hearted people who serve the Lord daily much more than I want a congregation of people who clap, sing loudly, and raise their hands but don’t do a thing to serve the Lord.

I would ask that you join with me along with the rest of the pastoral staff in prayer for hearts to be kindled and our passion to burn brightly for the Lord. May that be borne out in our lives lived daily for Christ and as we gather together to celebrate His grace each Sunday!

Oaks Worship Sets 6/17/12 & 6/24/12

Hello everybody!

I am hitting the last two weeks with this post, as I didn’t post our Father’s Day set last week. So here is a quick update of the songs we have been sing out here over the last couple Sundays! I hope you worshiped with us. They have been some sweet times of praise and celebration.

Fathers Day:

Opening Song: “Our God” by Chris Tomlin, Jonas Myrin, Matt Redman, & Jesse Reeves
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

“Who Is Like The Father” by Richie Fike & Sean Mulholland
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

“God of the Redeemed” by Claire McClure, Paul McClure, and Jeremy Riddle
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

This is a great new tune we introduced that speaks of our identity as a family of God–”we are orphans no longer, brought into his love and freedom by the blood and the mercy of Jesus.” And the chorus is just a response to that great truth. Another great tune off of the “Bethel Live” Album, which also features songs like “God I Look To You” and “One Thing Remains.” Go get it if you havent!

“Chosen Generation” by Chris Tomlin, Daniel Carson, Louie Giglio, & Jesse Reeves
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

“Came To My Rescue”  by Joel Davies, Marty Sampson, and Dylan Thomas (Hillsong)
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

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Sunday 6/24/12

Opening Song: “All Creatures #2″ arr. by David Crowder
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

“Awesome Is The Lord Most High” by Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves, Cary Pierce, & Jon Abel
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

“The Highest and the Greatest” by Tim Hughes & Nick Herbert
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

“God of the Redeemed” by Claire McClure, Paul McClure, and Jeremy Riddle
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

“Carry Your Name” by Christy Nockels, Nathan Nockels, Jason Ingram, and Chris Tomlin
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

“Mighty To Save” by Reuben Morgan & Ben Fielding (Hillsong)
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

Those are the songs we sang for the past two weeks. See you this Sunday!

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Oaks Worship Set 6/10/12

Hello again everyone!

Just another quick blurb about the songs we are singing over here at The Chapel in the Oaks. This past week we were blessed again to have Ken and the Chapel Choir leading with us. Hans continued his series on Community Life, focusing on Living Out the Mission. You can get the sermon on the Chapel Website or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Here are the songs we sang:

Opening Song: “All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name” arr. by Paul Balloche
Find Paul Baloche’s version on iTunes here.

This is an update of the old hymn that works well with our Chapel Choir. We crown God Lord of All, not because he needs the recognition for it to be true. On the contrary, we crown Him Lord of All because we need to recognize each day that he is Lord of all. We must constantly keep God on the throne of our lives.

“Happy Day” by Tim Hughes and Ben Cantelon
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

I love the energy of this song. We need to be able to sing this truth with the exuberance that this song brings. After all, Jesus is alive! He’s alive, and we’ll never be the same! That’s why the gospel is good news!

“Jehovah” by Richie Fike & Sean Mulholland
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

This was our third time to do this song. It really seems like our body is beginning to latch onto this one. It’s a great song about the Divine attributes of our God.

“God I Look To You” by Jenn Johnson (Bethel Live)
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

What if this song was a prayer that we prayed daily in truth? How much would our lives change if we recognized that God is the sovereign Lord of all? It is my hope both personally and for our body that we all begin to grow in our dependence on our God to be our vision, our wisdom, our strength, our shield, and our rock.

Choir Anthem: “You Will Be Our God” by Travis Cottrell
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

The Chapel Choir did a fabulous job on this one, with Dennis Smith and Carrie Nelson singing the solo parts. It was a great lead in to Hans’ message where he challenged us as a community of faith to live as one people with one purpose: to live out the mission God has called us to–make disciples.

Offering Song: “Chosen Generation” by Chris Tomlin, Daniel Carson, Louie Giglio, and Jesse Reeves
Find it on Amazon Mp3 here.

Paraphrasing 1 Peter 2:9, the chorus of this song is a great anthem for the church to rally behind: “We are a chosen genration. Rise up holy nation. God we live for You. You have called us out of darkness into light so glorious. God we live for You.” A great song about corporate identity in Christ and prayer of commitment to live for God, walking in that reality.

–

So those are the songs we sang. I hope you sang along with us! It was a great morning!

See you next time!

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