Week 5 Final Project (Essentials Red)

For: The Essentials Course Online Worship Course with Dan Wilt

Essentials Red Final Project: My Matthew 5 Prayer Labyrinth video can be viewed on YouTube ( <— please click on the link)

For Essentials Red, our first week’s discussion on sacred spaces brought to mind a beautiful stained glass window, in an old 1827 Lutheran church, in downtown Lancaster, PA, USA. I admired their windows as we set up for leading worship at at Power and Love conference last summer. During the beginning of worship, everything on the platform turn golden as the sun blazed through the stained glass window immediately to the side of us. I looked up to see where the light was coming from and it was so bright you couldn’t look into it. While the sun was still in it, I was able to take a couple pictures of the window, which contains a verdant vine, abundant grape clusters and a gold chalice.

The sacred space idea was coupled with finding and experiencing a prayer labyrinth in Camp Hill, PA. USA. The labyrinth was designed and built by a seminary student as a required project and was noted in our local newspaper. The labyrinth’s design is a copy from a prayer labyrinth in an old French cathedral.

Out of the influence of Essentials Blue and Green, came an idea for developing a prayer liturgy asking God for the character of the Kingdom of God, described in Jesus’ Beatitudes, from Matthew 5.

My Essentials Red project combines the beauty and symbolism of the sacred art from the stained glass windows, with the prayer labyrinth, my prayer liturgy and the Scripture verses from the Beatitudes, to create the virtual prayer labyrinth experience contained in video. To the video, I added my own music composition containing a cedar flute based on the design of flutes used by Native Americans.

I thought a lot about the symbolism contained in the window and the blaze of light that originally drew my attention to it. For me, there is a symbolic linkage of the gold cup, reminding me of Communion and connectedness to Jesus, with the profuse abundance of fruit (grapes) and the vivid green of the leaves, expressing richness and fullness life in Jesus. From sacred space, time, prayer, Scripture, sacraments, music and art comes spiritual growth, leading to a fruitful, abundant life.

I would use the video as a stand-alone piece to help people reflect on the character of the Kingdom of God, and to help them consider praying for the Kingdom of God to come more in themselves. Please refer to http://mightyrivermusic.wordpress.com for the full Matthew 5 Project liturgy and prayer.

On the technical side, I brought up my original photograph of the church window on my computer, and with the room lights off, shot the video clips of the stained glass window with my iPhone. The prayer labyrinth clips were taken with my Canon PowerShot SD880 IS. I used iMovie to combine the clips and Logic Express 8 to record the music track.

 

Week 4 Reflections (Essentials Red)

For: The Essentials Course Online Worship Course with Dan Wilt

This week was about a language I am more familiar with, the language of music and the arts.  This is a language my heart speaks and that I am more conversant in than any of the others.  At the same time, ER made me more aware that I need to become conversant in the other languages, too.  As one who lovingly crafts worship space and one who lovingly worships God, I need to be multi-lingual and fluent in the languages of time/space, prayer/scripture, baptism/communion/sacraments and music/arts.

Our class material, The Worship History eBook, had a section on new songs.  It shed some light on something I’ve been feeling for a long time.  Dan wrote that God will give us a fresh song with which we can worship Him, exactly at the moment it is needed.  Our new songs are God’s provision for encouragement, strengthening, healing, and more.  New songs give us new revelation and a new song and word of worship that breaks chains and bindings on people.  God gives us the very sound that is needed to do His work, at exactly the right moment, in our worship community.

Probably of most impact this week continues to be Paschal Mystery and how re-experiencing events in Scripture can have power in our lives.  I will be so absolutely aware of God’s presence with us when we purposefully re-experience events in the Bible, especially from Christ’s life on earth.  While I don’t spend much time in deeply liturgical settings, I can purposefully research and maybe even experience some.  It would be good in my personal devotions to use the Christian year as a discipleship tool.  Also, as I lead worship, I can be thinking of how to help other people re-experience deep moments in the life of Christ that will change us forever.  This is a good time of year to start….. Come, Lord, Come…. long awaited and deeply desired Messiah.

 

Week 3 Reflections (Essentials Red)

For: The Essentials Course Online Worship Course with Dan Wilt

This week was a deepening of the meaning of the Paschal Mystery.  I understand it but am still falling into it.  I am also a bit overwhelmed by all the liturgical rites, services and symbolism.  We don’t follow those procedures in our church so they are very foreign to me.  While there seems to be a huge amount of experiential material to be mined, I am not sure if all the liturgy is necessary.  Webber’s detailed walks through very liturgical settings are fascinating and I am learning much about God.  An unchurched person would be totally lost in some of Webber’s services, as I would be.  I think I would rather see some of his ideas revoiced and without so much of the liturgical and clerical trappings.  With my worship history, I guess I prefer something not so liturgical.

From Webber, the most fascinating revelation was about Jesus’ baptism.  Where John speaks of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  I read the Scripture so many times but never thought about what John was saying.  The fact that Jesus didn’t refute it says that he perfectly understood John’s proclamation.  The Lamb of God was akin to the Paschal lamb of the Jewish Passover who would be slaughtered and blood painted on the doorposts of the house so the Angel of Death would pass over their home.  We read John’s words from this side of of Cross.  John said them pre-Cross.  That was astounding to me.

Good week, full of new ideas, liturgy and services I’ve never heard of before, and a deepening understanding of the Paschal Mystery.  At Life Group tonight, I spied a spike hung on the wall with a red ribbon.  It evoked the memory of Good Friday and reminded me of the beautiful gift of my own (and my wife and kid’s) salvation through the Paschal Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  I repent, Lord, and receive your wonderful grace, paid for on the Cross.

 

 

 

Week 2 Reflections (Essentials Red)

For: The Essentials Course Online Worship Course with Dan Wilt

On the way to church, about 2 miles away is a little, very old Dunkard church.  For one of my Rockbridge Seminary courses, I did some graveyard surveys to analyze the demographics of my area in the early to mid-1800’s.  As I wrote down names, dates and took some stone transfers, there was something stirring in me to wonder about these Christians from the early 1800’s.  I wondered about Sarah, who died about 1810, as she had the prettiest stone in the small cemetery.  The type of stone was of special type, so hard that the letters were very clear and readable where others in the cemetery were hard to read due to weathering.  These were people just like us.  These were Christians just like us.  We are connected across time by the same Savior, whose redemptive acts saved then, save today and will save our descendants until time rolls up.

My second stop for doing research was an old Mennonite church.  I am quite familiar with it because it is next to the house and farm my grandparents had.  The dates on these stones are just a bit later in dating but they are some of my direct ancestors.  Their legacy to me was the Christian families where I would be born into and raised in a Christian home.  Because of them, I would have the opportunity to hear the Gospel and respond to it.

While our reading assignments about the languages of prayer and scripture spanned many generations of Christians, my view is only for a couple.  I remember my grandfather praying at lunch and at dinners.  It was his place of honor to thank the Lord and to bless the food and us.  My grandmother would almost always be found with a Bible on her lap, even when taking a nap.  My grandparents passed a living legacy on to me.  It is one of prayer and loving the Word.  Because they kept these visible signs of Christian faith, it seemed natural for me to to the same.  Their acts of worship were passed down to me.

We have so much in common across time.  They might have worshiped a bit differently but these brothers and sisters (and grandparents) picked up what was given to them and passed it onto us.  Their worship  is the foundation of our worship and acts of faith today.  Just as vivid as the letters on my sister Sarah’s gravestone, our Christian faith and its true core expressions of worship speak from the past into the present.  Through us, their worship will continue to speak into the future for generations and generations.

 

Week 1 Reflections (Essentials Red)

For: The Essentials Course Online Worship Course with Dan Wilt

Classwise, this week was a bit over the top with reading and writing.  My current Rockbridge Seminary class, “Designing Creative Worship Experiences” is in the midst of week 7 of 8 with major projects and forum responses all due.  We used Dan Kimball’s book, “Emerging Worship” as the text.  One of our final projects was to imagineer a new worship gathering.  Wanting to avoid the musician always doing music-centric worship, I reached back to January 2008, to a missions trip to Israel and Succat Hallel.  Our last night in Jerusalem, we were invited to a Shabbat dinner (You can find some great Shabbat information, including Challah Bread recipes at www.aish.com.

The new worship gathering, designed to take place in a home,  is centered around Communion.  Connecting the Worship Artisan to being a storyteller is an interesting addition to my understanding.  In this instance, the worship artisan would be retelling a story that was thousands of years old when Jesus retold it to his disciples.  The story lines from Israel’s Passover, Israel being released by Pharoh, the disciples experiencing Jesus telling them to do the the Lord’s Supper, over and over, in remembrance of Him, The Passion of Christ, Jesus breaking bread with the two disciples on the way to Emaus, and our Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem are all brought together in the story told by Communion.  In retelling the story of Communion in a worship setting we help people remember and experience the saving power of long past events and let it flood our present with the saving power of Jesus Christ.

Communion Table Worship Gathering

Worship as remembering is a most amazing thought to ponder.  It is so true.

Blessings,

Mark

 

8 on its face

As we closed up worship with a song about God’s love this morning, I found myself dancing and swaying a bit. Slowly I became aware of a pattern being traced out, over and over, by my perceived path. It was a sideways figure 8. Over and over and over…. the image became more and more evident. I was absolutely fixed on God and His presence yet this pattern was being formed in my consciousness and became almost touchable. If was almost if there was ribbon flag being superimposed over me. Then it hit me…. Love…God’s Love…. Communion…. God’s Love…. endless Love…. God’s Love…. in…fin…ite love.

infinite love of God

God was speaking to me…and telling me of His infinite love for us.

Creative Worship Leaders should spend time to learn to listen well to the whispers of the Holy Spirit.

Blessings,
Mark

 

Putting on Lily of the Valley – the Fragrance of Christ

Putting on the Fragrance of Christ – The Lily of the Valley

When I get home to our pack of shelties, they exuberantly greet us and then nuzzle tight up against us.  This nuzzle isn’t just a light touch.  Their nuzzle is a rubbing hard up against us over and over again, a deep ‘joying’ in the touch and the exchange of fragrance of us and them.  Our dogs love to take in the scent of us, taking in long snuffs, over and over, into their little noses.  Our puppies love to even ‘put on’ our fragrance.  Conversely, they love to put their fragrance ON us.  The fragrances speak and say that we belong to them and that they belong to us.  When other dogs smell the fragrance of Caelie and Hatteras on us, they know we belong to them.  To them, scent declares belonging, relationship, security, affection, pack and family.

The Fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:14-16)

Do we stay distant from God, aloof, non-committal, only touching very lightly, and only slightly taking on the beauty and fragrance of God that is in the air swirling all around us?

Do we ‘joy’ in His Presence during times of prayer and worship?  Do we joy in deep, “touching” fellowship with Him?  Do we rub up against God tightly and get His fragrance all over us, deeply penetrated into our very skin and hair?  Do we drink in His fragrance and eat of Him so that His fragrance is much more than only imbedded into our surface ‘skin deep’?

A beautiful, fragrant flower….. look at it closely…. take in it’s lovely colors.  Now smell the  wonderful fragrances… breathe it in deeply, drawing in the scent to smell it  dwell on the scent…. crush it and rub it into your skin like a balm or fragrant lotion….   finally, actually eat it and drink of it, taste it and let it become part of you.  Christ is the ‘Lily of the Valley’, isn’t He?

This is the fragrance of Christ.  Walk through God’s garden to take in the beautiful view and enjoy the rich fragrance wafting in the air.  With great abandon, dive into His flower beds so you can rub Him onto your skin and into your hair. Will you have so much of Him on you that you can taste Him on your lips?  Will that not even be enough so that you have to ravenously partake of Him who is the Bread of Life so that His fragrance is on your words and breath, and His very essence seeps from your pores and shines from your life?

 

Relationship, Personal Walk, Relationship and then Evangelism and Discipleship.

This weekend, a relative shared a plan for their church that was focused on evangelism and discipleship.  The denomination’s consultants reported they had a diminished fervor for discipleship and evangelism and offered a plan on how to correct it.  The plan focused on holding people, especially volunteer leaders, very accountable for results of discipleship and evangelism in their church.  I was very sad for their church.

A few years ago my wife and I were part of a new church-plant.  We learned some difficult lessons during those interesting times.  I would also attribute many of my thoughts on this subject to my learning from and reading of Brian McLaren, Dan Kimball and Joseph R. Myers writings, along with my Rockbridge Seminary and the ICEWS Essentials Courses.

Our church plant was a great time of learning.  We were learning how to do ministry in a new way that none of us had ever done.  There was a great vision but we didn’t quite know how to get it going.  We seemed to reverse-engineer almost everything.  We’d start with what we wanted it to be and then tried to figure out how we got there.  I am greatly indebted to everyone at Life House.  Together, we spiritually and personally grew leaps and bounds from the experience.  My faith is much deeper, real and free because of the fellowship we shared with one another.  I am very grateful for my Life House brothers and sisters.

The cart before the horse applies directly to righting a church’s level of fervor for evangelism and discipleship.  Yes, it is very important we understand our responsibility to God for participating in evangelism and growing those brothers and sisters who we bring to the Lord.  At the same time, we can’t neglect our own state of discipleship and spiritual growth.  To be authentic and not arrogant, we ourselves have to be moving in the direction of becoming like Jesus Christ before we expect a neighbor or friend to come along with us.

I agree with George Barna (Growing True Disciples) the best way to fix a diminished fervor for evangelism in your church is not to put more programs, events and requirements in place but to “ignite and nurture your people’s passion for God and get out of their way”(1).  A primary way to nurture a passion for God is worship.  In his book about missions, “Let the Nations Be Glad”, John Piper states, “Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching.  You can’t commend what you don’t cherish.”.  Where there is lukewarm worship there will be lukewarm evangelism and discipleship.  You can’t give someone fire that you don’t have yourself.  Moreover, why would people want anything from us unless our passion is white-hot and real?  Why would they buy into something when we are not sold-out ourselves.

Fellowship is extremely important to the process of spiritual growth.  Relationship is central to our faith.  We have to be in relationship with God to receive what we don’t have and we have to be in relationship with other people to be able to share what we’ve received.  One of my favorite books is by Gilbert Belzikian, “Community 101″(3), in which he explains “Oneness” and the gift that was lost in the Garden and how important relationship and fellowship is.

Before this gets too long, as there is much more to say on worship and fellowship, I want to quickly get to the point.  Nuture people in their passion for Christ and make a place for them to grow together in their faith to become good soil for others to grow in.  Church leaders and consultants need to focus on these points first!  Demanding evangelism and discipleship from people who are not passionate about Christ and sold-out to being active disciples is like hanging apples in the air and expecting a tree to grow up under them.  Grow up people in the Lord and they will bear the fruit.

Taking a queue from Dan Kimball and his book, “Emerging Church”(4), I believe it is essential that we are ‘for real Christians’ or as Dan Wilt says, we need to be constantly moving in that direction.  Sharing a faith we are passionate for, with the love of Christ is the only way to evangelism.  Otherwise, if the effects of our faith are not plainly visible, people will view us as arrogant and mean.  Jesus said we would be known by our love for one another – in reality His love being expressed naturally through us.

Finally, be in deep relationship with God.  Walk in increasing obedience to Christ.  Force yourself outside and into your surroundings to engage and be in relationship with others.  In love, express the character of Christ into the world around you.  Passionately tell others about the God who loves you and who you love with all your heart.  Ask others if they want to know Him too.  Be good soil for your brothers and sisters to grow in.

(1) George Barna, “Growing True Disciples”, (Waterbook Press 2001) page 3.

(2) John Piper, “Let the Nations Be Glad”, (Baker Academic 1993, 2003 Desiring God Foundation) page 17.

(3)Gilbert Belzikian, “Community 101″, (Zondervan Publishing House, Willow Creek Resources, 1997) page 15.

(4)Dan Kimball, “Emerging Church”, (Zondervan 2003)

 

Resting with Father

Resting with Father

After finishing lunch today, I came to a bit of a crossroads of what to do with the rest of my lunchtime.  I felt a bit bothered by something yet couldn’t really say what it was.  I made a right choice and spent the next 30 minutes resting with Father God.  As I knelt in prayer, I felt his hand stilling my head on his chest and almost immediately what came from my spirit was this…. I asked Father…. I am trying to be devoted to bringing your Kingdom into every relationship and task but I often end up wondering if I am making the difference You want me to?  The Father said, “Rest”, and continued His stilling hold on me.  Today, lay down the concerns of today and rest in Father’s strong and loving arms.  Be still… Leave it all go and be strengthened and refreshed.

Discipleship is sometimes just being still and being held by The Father, is it not?  We so desperately need time with our Father.

 

The Matthew 5 Project Update

Hello!

This week I was pondering the title of The Matthew 5 Project and it came to me that while the prayer liturgy document is a project I am working on, it is also (and mainly) Jesus’ project.  The reclamation and transformation of us and all of Creation is Jesus’ Matthew 5 Project.  Matthew 5 contains the words where Jesus tells us how to be full of the Kingdom of God so that it flows from us into His beautiful, amazing Creation, reclaiming and restoring Creation as it is supposed to be.  To further the project among us…. here is the latest draft!  I want to be adding more pictures and music soon, plus a couple other surprises.

Matthew 5 Project July30

Blessings!