You need to download and allow to wash over your soul… We’re in perhaps an unprecedented time in our history. Fear and confusion are running rampant on a personal, cooperate, national and even global level. These seven worship songs have engaged my faith and spirit and reminded me who’s really in control. Over the past week I’ve had the opportunity to reconnect with my true north. Go ahead and take a listen.
1. Breathe On Me (Todd Fields – Louder Than Creation)
2. Psalm 62 (Aaron Keyes – Not Guilty Anymore)
3. God of this City (Chris Tomlin – Passion: God of this City or Hello)
4. All Because of Jesus (Steve Fee – We Shine)
5. We Shine (Steve Fee – We Shine)
6. Everlasting God (Todd Fields – North Point Live)
7. Help Me To Find You (Todd Fields – North Point Live)
Many of us have cried while singing the song and then stood confused and perplexed by the admission of Michael Guglielmucci that he had lied about his cancer. It was a sad episode, the song’s still anointed and many around the world responded by praying for him, his family and his church. The video below is an interview that Michael Guglielmucci did recently and I think it the beginning of a restoration and I love how the church has responded graciously, decisively and with humility in the midst of being shocked by what unfolded.
A couple of weeks ago while teaching on faith we played this song by Mike Guglielmucci… The Holy Spirit minister to so many people as we simply played a you tube video. There’s no doubt that there’s a special anointing on this song and the reports of people connecting with God through this song have been incredible. The folks over at Integrity Music have created this site to learn more about the song and post prayer requests and praise reports.
Alright so we’ve talked about mission, foundation, why ninety minutes during the weekend might be important so now what does it look like. Not that we’ve got things figured out by any stretch of the imagination, but what we have established is some sort of infrastructure/illustration that might help us better develop teams and how those teams might work together. It’s our worship + creative arts wheel (similar to Ezekiel’s prophetic wheel thingy, but perhaps a little less complicated).
The illustration is simply a tool to help us understand that there are at this point three interdependent teams – worship, technical and creative – all working from the foundation (core/heart) and toward the same mission. It’s been intriguing to watch God bring incredibly talented people into the mix. People that are helping us develop a creative expression and technical excellence in our worship experiences. We’re certainly on the front end of the journey but it’s incredible to see teams being put together and God helping us develop a creative, dare I say it, Davidic worship experience (minus the tambourines, flags and Jewish dances – not that there’s anything wrong with that) committed to excellence, creativity and whole hearted, passionate worship.
For those of us involved with worship + creative arts there’s a great post here that’s worth reading.
Everyone enjoys good music. And a great worship experience on a Sunday morning is always appreciated. But why do we worship? And why do we worship the way we do? Why do we clap, dance, and raise our hands? Often people come into our churches and “learn” to worship because of the style that’s “employed” in the church. Everyone else seems to be doing it. But is there something behind why we do what we do? Recently we’ve been looking at our vision for worship + creative arts department at Cornerstone. As with any area of church life as we establish vision it’s imperative that we build upon a solid biblical foundation.
Our foundation is grounded in a number of key scriptures. John 4:23-25 tells us that true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth. There’s an old testament character who exemplified that heart and captured God’s attention by his worship. In fact, God was so attracted to the worship this guy gave Him that he gave him the kingdom of Israel, even though he wasn’t the oldest or perhaps most naturally talented kid in his family. This guy brought the Ark (representative of God’s presentation) back into the heart of the nation of Israel. He didn’t re-establish the form and routine of the tabernacle of Moses, instead he raised up a creative troop of singers, dancers, musicians, artists and recorders (akin to our modern day sound engineer) and together they unleashed a tabernacle – filled with celebration, personal connection with the Creator, an opportunity for everyone to enter it. It was a new day.
Not only did God give him a natural kingdom, but He told this man that his kingdom would never end. Amos (chapter 9) and James in Acts 15 tell us that the kind of worship experience God promised to rebuild was instituted by this guy. The guy? David. And in 1 Samuel 13:14 we’re told David was a man
who sought after God’s own heart. That’s the foundation to the tabernacle of David, a new and creative way of worship instituted by David. It started with a heart of worship that found creative expression in a living and dynamic relationship with the Creator. (read 1 + 2 Samuel) The worship + creative arts ministry at cornerstone builds on the same foundation and seeks to provide creative expression to the ways in which we worship God and help people experience transcendent moments in His presence.
So I just downloaded Delirious’ new offering, “Kingdom of Comfort” two days ago. Haven’t listened to anything else in two days (except for my wife and kids, and a little Ed Young). I think this one is the best Delirious has ever produced. Passionate and ethereal. Thought provoking and convicting. It won’t just have you playing air guitar (or drums) in your car on the way home (not that I have, or at least will publicly admit to), it will challenge you to perhaps change your world view and get involved in making a difference in the world we’re apart of. You cannot help but self-reflect on your priorities after hearing this album. We’ll worth the download (or CD purchase if you’re still doing that). So what are you waiting for?
Today is the release date for the much anticipated Generation Unleashed project. I got a sneak peak (or listen as the case may be). Highly recommend you go to itunes or songtouch and download today!
I serve as the campus pastor at Cornerstone in Albany, NY. While I'm the campus pastor, I'm not immune to an occasional "oops should I have said that?". Cornerstone doesn't pay for or approve this message. My thoughts are my thoughts, but don't let that scare you.
