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Worship and Mission
The United States' presidential election is over a year away, but the race is of course well underway. With memories of the Adventist Church's General Conference Session in San Antonio fresh in my mind, the parallels between national and church politics are too obvious to ignore. An unfortunate number of resemblances could be noted, such as the growing polarization on issues or the heated tone of debates.
But what interests and concerns me most is the underlying conviction on which everyone seems to agree -- at least as far of public statements suggest. In national civic politics, the underlying conviction is American exceptionalism -- namely, the often repeated axiom that "America is the greatest country in the world." The statement takes various forms, but the underlying message is the same: we are exceptional, special, categorically better. On this, American politicians across the political spectrum seem to agree. For as long as I can remember, I've heard similar claims made by Adventist leaders about the Adventist church, all of which can be basically summed up with the common assertion that "we are God's special people." Such declarations and their ramifications are almost never publicly challenged or critiqued. San Antonio was no exception. |
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Everybody Belongs. Everybody Serves. - Inclusive Worship for the Disabled
In his article, "Gospel Accountability: When Can Special Needs Adults Understand the Gospel?" Gene Nabi states: "Anyone with a disability, however severe, can come into God's kingdom. They can be as receptive to the working of the Holy Spirit as anyone else. To question whether anyone has the capacity to come into the kingdom questions the power of the Holy Spirit." Since differently abled individuals are given the capacity to come into the kingdom (created and called by God and able to respond to God's calling (Genesis 1:26, Ephesians 2:10), how much more we should embrace that they too should also minister for the Kingdom (specially gifted and invited to participate in ministry by God-1 Corinthians 12:4, 7)? Many times churches offers only two options for those with disabilities: miraculous healing or heroic suffering. Neither of these options are acceptable to people with disabilities. According to the Scriptures, the church's role is to promote wholeness and abundant life in Jesus (John 10:10). Wholeness does not always mean that disability or illness will be removed from our midst. When people are accepted as they are, they are empowered to move toward wholeness. The healing ministry of Jesus was concerned with the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. This meaning has been obscured wherever persons with disabilities become "victims" of healing rather than persons whose lives are healed.
Your church's worship inclusion planning can provide for wholeness of mind, body, and spirit by building on four principles: Read More
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Equilibrio En La Adoraci�n Adventista Contemporar�nea
Los Salmos de la Biblia son el mejor ejemplo de poes�a sincera, genuina y significativa. Son canciones escritas en forma de poes�a. Muchas de estas letras son personales y subjetivas, y expresan un amplio abanico de emociones humanas. Sin embargo, los Salmos tambi�n contienen la verdad objetiva: hablan del car�cter de Dios, de su ley, del plan de salvaci�n, etc. Las Sociedades B�blicas y las casas publicadoras de Biblias hacen un constante esfuerzo por parafrasear, actualizar y mantener vigentes las palabras de las Escrituras. �Ojal� hici�ramos lo mismo con nuestras canciones e himnos! La Biblia nos invita a ser creativos, a cantar a Dios un canto nuevo. Nos cuenta de diversas ocasiones en las que hijos e hijas de Dios se sintieron inspirados por el Esp�ritu Santo y compusieron canciones para �l de forma espont�nea. La invitaci�n a ser creativos cuando adoramos a Dios a trav�s de la m�sica es una constante en la Biblia. El argumento que algunos cristianos usan al afirmar que deber�amos cantar s�lo las canciones del pasado, no est� fundamentado en la Palabra de Dios, sino en la tradici�n. La Biblia nos invita en numerosas ocasiones a cantar un canto nuevo, a expresar nuestra adoraci�n en la frescura de nuestra relaci�n con El, que se renueva cada d�a. Poetas, cantautores, int�rpretes y compositores: esforc�monos por ofrecer a Dios letras que reflejen calidad y creatividad. Luchemos para que la letra de nuestros cantos no sea el resultado de una mala traducci�n, o refleje pobreza art�stica en el uso del lenguaje. La Biblia nos inspira a transmitir la verdad espiritual dicha de manera aut�ntica, significativa y art�stica.
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The current AWM catalogue includes string arrangements of popular contemporary worship songs, new congregational songs, children's songs, Spanish-language worship music, choral anthems, and choral arrangements of early Advent hymns.
We welcome submissions via [email protected] and look forward to expanding our catalogue soon.
AWM is a publisher and distributor, operating out of the Department of Christian Ministry at Andrews University, that seeks to resource Adventist churches with new worship music and further the contribution of Adventist worship music to the broader Christian worship community. We value music that reflects the diversity of the global church, the rich heritage of Christian congregational song, and new expressions of worship. We strive to commission, curate and promote Christ-centered music of artistic and theological integrity that builds up the Body of Christ, is in harmony with Adventist doctrine, and enriches the life of the world.
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Choosing Music for Worship
I clearly remember my first day of training at a classical radio station in college. I had just met the girl who was to train me, and she showed me the index of music, which was being sorted by time. She eyed the countdown clock on the CD player and told me to pick a song near the time of 3:02 that would bring the music to the top of the hour. As I scrolled through the songs that fit that length, my mind was flashing. What should I pick to follow up this orchestral work by Ravel? Should I contrast this with a solo piano piece by Beethoven? Was that choice too obvious? Maybe a more sophisticated choice by early female composer Hildegard von Bingen would make me seem inclusive to my broadcast journalism trainer.
My new colleague asked me hurriedly what was taking so long, and I responded that there were so many choices with all of these great songs. She looked at me thoughtfully and said, "Wow! You know some of those? I just grab one that fits the time I need."
Hopefully, when people are choosing music for worship, they aren't quite that dismissive. However, it seems that a comprehensive process for choosing music is often missing. Besides looking in the back of a hymnal, there are songs being written daily by both hymnists and CCM composers that can be found on the internet. How do you decide where to start?
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| It was the Fall of 2013 when I sat down and started jotting down ideas for a worship song of my own. It had been a dry spell of a few years for me, and I was anxious to put something meaningful down on paper, and hopefully share something that resonated with our friends at church.
As I sat looking at a mostly empty page, I started thinking about how our life had changed over the last year. We were months into a new adventure in Estes Park, Colorado, after leaving family and friends in Texas. What felt like weeks after opening a new retail business, local flooding shut down all traffic to the area, ending the usual tourist (and shopping) season months earlier than usual. We had heard about wildfires that did the same thing the year before, and somehow we thought we'd avoid the fate of other shop owners in town.
What felt like only minutes after things were getting back to "normal," we got word that my grandfather's health was failing due to complications from diabetes. So we booked a trip back to Michigan to see family and say our goodbyes, but learned as soon as we landed that we were too late.
All of this may seem like unlikely fuel for a worship song, but as I sat with my guitar in one hand and a pencil in the other, I remembered a conversation with my wife, Dena.
"Maybe you should write a song about how God is not just in control in the good times but in the bad times too," she'd said, "like He's not just God when things are good, but when things are bad, and every time in between."
So I started writing, "In the fire, in the flood / through the need and through enough / we say Jesus, You are Lord of all..."
There's something strange even today about leading my friends in singing those words, because in many ways, "Lord of All," feels like my song, so much so that it feels a little surreal to hear other people singing along. But there's something incredibly humbling to recognize that in many ways those words describe a story much bigger than my own. And there's something amazingly beautiful in joining to make a statement that regardless of (or sometimes in spite of) the circumstances of our lives, we still claim Jesus as our hope and foundation.
I've heard it said that the best songs come from personal experience. But I am learning, as I have the honor and privilege of singing this song with friends and worshippers around the world, that the most meaningful songs often come from our shared experience.
Editor's note: the lead sheet for "Lord of All" is published by Adventist Worship Music (AWM) and can be downloaded for free at AdventSource.org. You can also purchase a recording of the song (and Elia King's forthcoming EP of worship music) through iTunes.
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