Musical Stories

I became a Christian in 1973 in Centerville, Ohio. In case history is not your strong suit, this was the height of the Jesus People movement. And it was also one of the most tumultuous times our nation has ever experienced. Some wondered if we would make it another three years to our bicentennial. The music of the day expressed the angst our nation was feeling. I developed my worldview by the music I listened to. When I became a Christian, I wanted to find a way to express my newfound faith. I didn’t have to look too far: I found it where I lived: in music.

Music was my primary language. I listened to music every chance I could. This was in an era (are you sitting down? This could be shocking.) before iPods, before boomboxes, even before the Sony Walkman. If I wanted to listen to music, I had to be near my record player. Or my cousin Gary’s record player. So Gary and I spent a lot of time in our rooms, listening to records. He was more interested in the instruments and the mixing of sound. I was more interested in lyrics. Pop, or as we called it then, “bubblegum,” music did not interest me in the least. I was drawn to songs that told stories, stories that touched my soul. And once my soul was awakened, I looked for lyrics that spoke to what I was now—a child of the Master Musician.

The songs that I could relate to in church were the hymns. Choruses were nice, and gave me a bit of an emotional rush and were fun to clap to with my new youth group friends, but the words didn’t really speak to me. But oh! the hymns. One of the first things I would do when we were told what page in the hymnal to turn to was to look at the year it was written. I figured the older the hymn, the better it must be, as it had survived the test of time. My favorite hymns (then and now) were Be Thou My Vision and All Creatures Of Our God And King.

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Congregational Singing as Liturgical Renewal: Wesley’s Revival of the Lord’s Supper

We are looking this month at the topic of church music. Colleen Reiss Vermeulen lives in South Bend, Indiana where she joyfully sings many Wesleyan hymns at St. Matthew Co-Cathedral Parish, and is working on two (Two? Yes, two.) Masters degrees at the University of Notre Dame, but took time from her busy schedule to share this historical insight with us. 

How often do we in ministry think, “I’d be tempted to incorporate more historical Christian liturgies or more services of the Lord’s Supper in our Sunday worship, but…I don’t think the congregation would get into it, they’d think it was boring or inaccessible.” John Wesley’s eighteenth-century revival in worship and sacrament points us towards a more coherent vision, revealing that it’s not just about changing the texts of a service, finding the right music, or creating the right atmosphere. It’s all these elements, and more, working together. It’s not just the music and it’s not just the order of service—it’s both, reinforcing each other in a cycle of preparation to worship the Lord and reception of His graces in communal worship.

Wesley’s reform and renewal of Sunday worship began with his observations of liturgical practice in the Church of England. In the eighteenth-century, the heart of Anglican worship, the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, was “infrequently administered and indifferently regarded by large numbers of both clergy and laity,” and only administered three times a year in many places. Many even thought that the average Englishman—a worker in a new industry or mining town—were unreachable, simply a “brutal populace” with “no taste” worship consisting of word and sacrament in the form of the Book of Common Prayer. But Wesley knew that the “unchurched masses” were not unreachable. God simply didn’t create a Christian church for the elite and cultured only.

After decades of ministry to tens of thousands of Englishmen, and a true revival in worship and practice of the Lord’s Supper, Wesley put his reforms into writing in his 1784 service book, Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America. What did he place importance on? Participation of the congregation in the prayers of the Lord’s Supper—accomplished through music. For Wesley, Christianity essentially involved one’s “heart” and “life.” He replaced the use of choral settings (he found such anthems inappropriate for the congregation) with hymnody, which he “believed to be accessible to all” and included A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Lord’s Day that were bound with the service book.

Continue reading “Congregational Singing as Liturgical Renewal: Wesley’s Revival of the Lord’s Supper”

The Church Can’t Hide Its Sexual Brokenness

UPDATE: D’Souza has resigned.

The conservative evangelical churches in the United States have a serious problem. While continually expressing opinions in public that come across as moral policing of our decadent culture, Christian groups and leaders also keep being beset by their own sexual sins and public scandals.

Two cases in point in the news this week:

Dinesh D’Souza, Married President of The King’s College, Faces Questions Over New ‘Fiancee’

Dinesh D’Souza, president of The King’s College and a well-known evangelical author, faces questions from his board over his relationship with a woman he introduced as his fiancee in late September, according to World magazine.

The problem? D’Souza, who has experienced a “meteoric rise in the evangelical world,” is still married to his wife of 20 years, Dixie.

World reports that D’Souza and his wife filed for divorce on Oct. 4, but D’Souza appeared at a September speaking event in South Carolina with a “young woman, Denise Odie Joseph II, and introduced her to at least three people as his fiancée.”

So, how’s this for bad judgment?

According to World Magazine, “About 2,000 people gathered on Sept. 28 at First Baptist North in Spartanburg, S.C., to hear high-profile Christians speak on defending the faith and applying a Christian worldview to their lives. Among the speakers: Eric Metaxas, Josh McDowell, and—keynote speaker for the evening—best-selling author, filmmaker, and Christian college president Dinesh D’Souza.”

So far so good. Conservative Christian encouraging other Christians to live as conservative Christians in the midst of an unbelieving and immoral world.

The problem? D’Souza was at the conference with a woman who was not his wife, a woman he publicly introduced to others as his “fiancée,” and with whom he openly spent the night in a hotel room while at the event.

You can read the whole story at the World link above.

I’m not here to condemn D’Souza. He is accountable to his own board and those in his sphere of influence. But how stupid can a Christian leader be? Good grief, Dinesh, at least have the common sense to sneak around!

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Lawsuit Claims Evangelical Church Hid Abuse Claims

The AP reports:

Three female plaintiffs claim an evangelical church group covered up allegations of sexual abuse against children, failed to report accusations of misconduct to the police and discouraged its members from cooperating with law enforcement, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

The lawsuit was filed in Maryland state court against Sovereign Grace Ministries, a 30-year-old family of churches with about 100 congregations. Most of its churches are in the U.S., but it also has planted churches in other countries.

The plaintiffs allege a conspiracy spanning more than two decades to conceal sexual abuse committed by church members. The alleged abuse happened in Maryland and northern Virginia in the 1980s and 1990s. The lawsuit accuses church representatives of permitting suspected pedophiles to interact with children, supplying them with free legal advice to avoid prosecution and forcing victims to meet with and “forgive” the person that had molested them.

“The facts show that the Church cared more about protecting its financial and institutional standing than about protecting children, its most vulnerable members,” the lawsuit claims.

As with the Roman Catholic priest abuse scandals, the crime is a serious problem, the cover-up even more serious. Any group that names the name of Jesus and does not give priority to loving and protecting the most vulnerable among us earns not my judgment, but Jesus’ own condemnation: “If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt 18:6, NRSV).

* * *

Folks, Christians are no more or less broken and capable of sinning than anyone else in this world. Simul justus et peccator — we are simultaneously righteous and sinful until the day we are glorified.

It is time to stop pretending. It is time to stop saying we have the answers and can rise above the moral degradation of our times.

All we can do is look to Jesus. We have no room to boast. We have no room to claim any kind of transformation that makes us “different” from our neighbors. We are not different. We are human. We fail.

It’s not about transcending sin. It’s about admitting our own sinfulness, naming our own sin, being harsh with ourselves and being kind and loving and forbearing toward others. It’s about being forgiven, again and again and again.

IM Interview: Eric Wyse (part 2)

Today, we continue with part 2 of our interview with Eric Wyse about church music and his vocation within this realm.

* * *

CM: What are some of the other music projects that you have participated in that have helped you grow as a Christian and a musician and that have given you some sense of satisfaction that God has been praised and the church blessed through them?

ERIC: I’ve had the chance to be involved in many rewarding projects, and work with people who I not only admire, but who have spoken into my life – but a few that stand out would include:

  • Early in my career I promoted Kelly Willard’s seminal album “Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs,” [note: one of Chaplain Mike’s favorite “Jesus Music” albums] and the “Psalms Alive!” projects.
  • I produced the first Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir video, “He’s Been Faithful,” which included not only great music, but powerful testimonies. I learned so much watching Carol Cymbala lead both musically and spiritually.
  • I had the privilege of producing Handel’s Messiah with conductor John Rutter, The Cambridge Singers, and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. John is such a fine musician, as well as a wonderfully kind and generous person.
  • I worked with Gospel artist CeCe Winans as talent coordinator and music producer on her TV music show, “CeCe’s Place.”
  • I served as editor of The Christian Life Hymnal, published in 2006. It was the hardest project I ever encountered, but I learned an incredible amount about the riches of our hymn tradition, and have been encouraged with the feedback we’ve received about many of the choices we made for the hymnal (lower keys, hymn-based modern worship included, extensive indices, including the Church Year, etc).
  • I have worked with Keith & Kristyn Getty from the early days of “In Christ Alone” and the “African’s Children’s Choir” project as well as with their own albums, hymnwriting, and touring. Keith has a passion for modern hymns and a vision for excellence that is contagious.

A Rose by Any Other Name…

Reported today at CNN’s Belief Blog:

Billy Graham’s group removes Mormon cult reference from website after Romney meeting
By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor

* * *

(CNN) – Shortly after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney enjoyed cookies and soft drinks with the Rev. Billy Graham and his son Franklin Graham on Thursday at the elder Graham’s mountaintop retreat, a reference to Mormonism as a cult was scrubbed from the website of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

In a section of the website called Billy Graham’s My Answer there had been the question “What is a cult?”

Answer: “A cult is any group which teaches doctrines or beliefs that deviate from the biblical message of the Christian faith.”

“Some of these groups are Jehovah’s Witnesess, Mormons, the Unification Church, Unitarians, Spritualists, Scientologists, and others,” the site continued.

No longer. On Tuesday, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association confirmed that page has recently been removed from the site.

“Our primary focus at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has always been promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Ken Barun, chief of staff for the association, told CNN in a statement. “We removed the information from the website because we do not wish to participate in a theological debate about something that has become politicized during this campaign.”

* * *

Guess what?

I think they just sparked a theological debate.

IM Interview: Eric Wyse (part 1)

My wife Gail and I began dating when we were in Bible college, participating together in choir and music ensembles. As I got to know her better and was introduced to her family, I discovered that they all had a deep love of church music that went beyond their immediate family and stretched back to their Mennonite heritage. I first met her brother Eric when he was a music student at Cedarville College in Ohio. From that point on in the mid-1970’s, he has traveled a long and winding road through many places in the world of Christian music. He came immediately to mind as someone I wanted to interview for Church Music Month.

Eric is, first of all, a gifted musician. He has three wonderful “Reflections” albums of hymn arrangements for solo piano that you can download from Christian Book Distributors (for a very nice price!). He has been playing organ and keyboards at his church, St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal in Nashville, TN, for many years now, as well as serving as music director there. He also composes and arranges. Eric and his wife Dawn wrote the praise song, “Wonderful, Merciful Savior,” which has been used extensively in churches and recorded by many artists. In addition, Eric has been actively involved in Christian media, producing and consulting for countless recording and video projects. In 2007, he produced a critically acclaimed recording of Handel’s Messiah with conductor John Rutter, featuring The Cambridge Singers & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He served as editor for The Christian Life Hymnal and has worked with many Christian artists, including Keith and Kristyn Getty — you can watch an interview with Eric and Keith Getty HERE. Eric completed his BS in Liberal Studies degree at Belmont University and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Church Music at Lee University.

We will extend our interview over a couple of days here on Internet Monk.

Continue reading “IM Interview: Eric Wyse (part 1)”

How I Think the Creed

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

* * *

I love saying the Apostles’ Creed in worship with our congregation. I love the sense of being connected with the Church of all ages as we confess the faith once delivered to the saints, the Gospel, the story of the Bible in summary form. I also recite the Creed in my daily prayers, as a means of confessing my faith in God’s Good News.

I also recognize that, as a summary statement, the Creed naturally leaves out parts of the story. This has been a matter of discussion in recent years, and I became most aware of it through reading N.T. Wright. He and others who have been trying to help us understand the Gospel more completely as the account of Jesus fulfilling the story of Israel and leading to the renewal of all creation have suggested that the Creed by itself can give us an incomplete picture if we do not say it thoughtfully, keeping in mind the entire Biblical narrative.

So, when I say the Creed now, I hear in my mind not only the words spoken, but also a series of other statements reflecting a “King Jesus” perspective. When I say it in my private prayers, I say the fuller version. It goes like this:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the One who redeemed Israel from slavery and made her his holy nation.

I believe in Jesus the promised Messiah of Israel, God’s only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary. After he was baptized by John and tested in the wilderness, he went about all Judea and Galilee proclaiming the Kingdom of God and doing good. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, where he is seated at the right hand of the Father. From there he poured out the promised Holy Spirit that the world may know he is Lord of all. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting in a new heavens and new earth, where righteousness dwells. Amen.

Jesus Loves Even Me

“For he had great possessions,” Watts

“Jesus, looking at him, loved him…” (Mark 10:21)

* * *

Even when I have enthusiasm without understanding,
When I present myself as one who is worthy,
When I think myself a good candidate for the kingdom,

He still looks at me and loves me.

Even when I imagine I have measured up,
Having fulfilled every requirement,
Having aced every exam,

He still looks at me and loves me.

“No killing” — check.
“No adultery” — check.
“No stealing” — check

I smile and know he will be impressed.

“No lying” — check
“No cheating” — check
“No disrespect to mom and dad” — check

What else could he possibly expect?

He looks at me and I see his loving gaze.
I’m sure I’ve made the cut.
Confident, I wait to hear his verdict.

No way I’ll be walking away disappointed this time….

And when the air goes out of the balloon.
He still looks at me and loves me.