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T I M E I N A B O T T L E

O L D O R D E R S A R E G O O D O R D E R S

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SEASONS OF WORSHIP

Volume 60 | Octobre 2006

PublisherVineyard Music USA

Creative EditorDan Wilt

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PhotographyStephan Jungck © fortissimo.ch

Inside Worship E-mailinsideworship@vineyardmusic.com

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Seasons of Worship

A few years ago, my family and I moved from the northwest United States to Houston, Texas. They say in Texas we have 2 seasons, Hot and August. As I write this we are square in the middle of August. It’s in times like these we find ourselves longing for a change of season. In difficult and uncomfortable times often we can start looking forward to coming seasons (in life, in our churches, even the physi-cal seasons) and we can potentially miss what God is doing in the circumstance in which we find ourselves. On the contrary, when in times of blessing, we may not want things to ever change. Our chal-lenge as worshipers is to discover how to honor God no matter what season we may be currently experiencing.

SEASONS OF CHANGEThese are transitional times, almost “between-season” seasons, when some things are drawing to a close and new things, be they blessing or challenge, are beginning. These seasons of change can be hard to negotiate. Our challenge here is to “find God in the storm.” Change can be good and change can be difficult; God is near in these transi-tional times.

SEASONS OF WANTNot unlike winter, seasons of want are dry times where it seems that nothing is happening and God appears to be very far away. In these dormant times it can seem hopeless, like nothing of value will ever come from our dryness and perhaps this season will never draw to an end. But also, as in winter, much is happening that is unseen. It is in these seasons that God prepares to birth new life out of our “death.” It is a good thing to come to the end of ourselves and in so doing to finally let go of control; really surrendering to the Lord.

SEASONS OF PLENTYWhen God is visiting us in real, tangible ways, this is a wonderful thing. These can be rich times, filled with the life of God. We may see friends and family come to faith in Christ. We may see God bring breakthroughs in our devotional lives or maybe we may see unex-pected financial blessing. These are wonderful times but they are also potentially dangerous. If we are not careful, we can start to take God and His work in our lives for granted; losing sight of the Lord by magnifying the gifts over the Giver.

“I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me” (Hosea 13:5-6).

As we move through various seasons as individuals and church com-munities, both physical and spiritual, my prayer is that we can learn to discern the voice of the Lord and strive to make every season a true season of worship.

In His Grip,

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The Christian Year: A PrimerRobert WebberReclaiming the Kingdom story with the Church across the ages.

Straight From The Ute: A Pastor’s Opinions On WorshipPeter DownesBackup your pickup and get ready for a load of insight.

Time In A Bottle: Reflections On WorshipEddie GibbsSavoring the fine wine of the worship encounter.

The Guitarist’s Guide To Effective MistakesJesse DuleyHow to play it cool when you’ve played it wrong.

Old Orders Are Good OrdersCindy RethmeierBecoming a mentor takes courage.

No Matter What May ComeInside WorshipTips on responding in worship to the ebbs and flows of community.

Contents

Seasons. The exuberant colors of spring. The blazing heat of summer. The gentle dying of autumn. The silent dormancy of winter.

“There is a time for everything,” said the writer of Ecclesiastes, “and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecc. 3: 1). Just as seasons change in the ecological world for a purpose, so too seasons change in the spiri-tual life of the Christian. The forest teaches us that in order for spring’s life to occur, autumn’s death must precede it – and winter’s breath must prepare the ground for new growth. In order for joy to be tasted, lament must often cleanse the heart’s palate first. Seasons are a part of the life of every human being.

This issue of Inside Worship: Seasons Of Worship, is a reflection on the changing seasons of worship in the life of the Church. Robert Web-ber, one of today’s most prominent voices on worship history, teaches us about the Christian Year and how these historic markings of time renew the Kingdom Story in the worshiper. Emerging church scholar Eddie Gibbs calls us to open the fresh wine of worship anew in differ-ent seasons of church life. Other contributors enhance our vision of a worshiping life that is dynamic – a life that moves and deepens as the spiritual seasons change around us.

Seasons. Bless you as you consider the seasons of growth in your own life, and embrace the seasons of worship that are God’s gift to us all.

D A N W I LT

Letter From The Editor

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WHAT IS THE CHRISTIAN YEAR?

The Christian celebrates the saving events of God in Jesus Christ by marking those particular events in which God’s saving purposes were made known.

The most common term for the yearly celebration of time in worship is the Christian Year. The Christian year, de-veloped in antiquity, was a vital part of worship until the Reformation, when Protestants abandoned much of it be-cause of the abuses attached to it in the late medieval period.

Protestants claimed that nearly every day of the year had been named after a saint. The emphasis on these saints and the feasts connected with their lives overshadowed the celebration of the Christ-event in the more evan-

kairoi and chronoi find their meaning. This unique moment is the incarna-tion, death, and resurrection of Christ. Thus, in Christianity, all time has a cen-ter. Paul developed this notion in his epistle to the Colossians declaring that Christ is the creator of all things (1:16), the one in whom all things hold togeth-er (1:17), and the one through whom all things are reconciled (1:20). Christ is the cosmic center of all history. Every-thing before Christ finds fulfillment in Christ. Everything since Christ finds its meaning by pointing back to Christ.

MARKING SEASONS OF WORSHIP

This Christian conception of time is important because it plays a signifi-cant role in the worship of the church. The historic and unrepeatable Christ-event is the content that informs and gives meaning to all time. Therefore, in worship we sanctify present time by enacting the past event of Jesus in time, which transforms the present and gives shape to the future. Because space does not permit a full treatment of the origins and development of the church year, the following summary will do no more than outline the church year and touch on the origin and meaning of each part.

Advent. The word advent means “com-ing.” It signifies the period preceding

gelical pattern of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost celebrations. Consequently Protestants discontinued observing the Christian year and lost its positive aspects as they attempted to remove Roman excesses. The current return to the Christian year among Protestants advocates a very simple and unadorned year that accents the major events of Christ, a Christian year similar to that of the early church.

ALL TIME HAS A CENTER

Contemporary liturgical scholarship has pointed out that the focal point and source of the Christian year is the death and resurrection of Christ. Even the earliest Christians recognized that the death and resurrection of Jesus began the “new time.” The fact that two major events of the church took place dur-ing Jewish celebrations – Passover and Pentecost – helped the early Christians to associate themselves with the Jewish reckoning of time and yet dissociate themselves by recognizing that a new time had begun. Thus, like the Jews, the early Christians marked time but, unlike the Jews, they marked their time now by the events of the new age.

The unique feature of the Christian conception of time is the major mo-ment (kairos) through which all other

Regulating the life of the Church today by the Christian calendar is no easy task. Life-long habits need to be re-oriented to this way of marking time. If churches are to accomplish this task, worship leaders and planners must learn a great deal about the history and theology that have shaped the Christian calendar. The great benefit of the Christian year is that the worshiping church is able to follow a rich and meaningful way of orienting its life around the work of Jesus Christ. Studying the history and theology of the Christian year can only help the Church do justice to the profound implications of each aspect of Jesus’ life.

THE CHRISTIAN YEAR :

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The following article is excerpted, by the author’s permission, from The

Complete Library of Christian Worship Vol. V, The Services of the Christi-

an Year, edited by Robert E. Webber. (Star Song Publishing Group, Nashvil-

le, TN. 1994, Chapter 2, pp. 79-82).

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the birth of Christ when the church anticipates the coming of the Messiah. Although it signals the beginning of the church year, it appears that Advent was established after other parts of the year as a means of completing the cycle. Its purpose was to prepare worshipers for the birth of our Lord. The Roman church adopted a four-week season before Christmas, a practice that became universally accepted.

Epiphany. The word epiphany means “manifestation.” It was first used to refer to the manifestation of God’s glory in Jesus Christ (see John 2:11) in his birth, his baptism, and his first miracle. Although the origins of the Epiphany are ob-scure, it is generally thought to have originated among the Christians in Egypt as a way of counteracting a pagan winter festival held on January 6. Originally it probably included Christmas (celebrated on December 25 to replace the pagan festival of the sun). This period ends with attention to the Transfiguration.

Lent. Lent signifies a period of preparation before Easter. The origins of Lent lie in the preparation of the catechumen before baptism. The setting aside of a time of preparation for baptism goes back as early as the Didache and is attested to in Justin Martyr and detailed in the Apostolic Tradition of Hip-polytus. Gradually the time of preparation was associated with the number forty: Moses spent forty years preparing for his mission; the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for for-ty years; Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness. In addition, the congregation joined the catechumenate in preparation, making it a special time for the whole church.

Easter. The Easter season stands out as the time of joy and celebration. Unlike Lent, which is somber in tone, Easter is the time to focus on resurrection joy. Augustine said:“These days after the Lord ’s Resurrection form a period, not of labor, but of peace and joy. That is why there is no fasting and we pray standing, which is a sign of resurrection. This

practice is observed at the altar on all Sundays, and the Alleluia is sung, to in-dicate that our future occupation is to be no other than the praise of God.”

The preaching of this period calls at-tention to the post-resurrection appear-ance of Jesus and the preparation of his disciples to witness to the kingdom. It is fifty days in length.

Pentecost. The term Pentecost means “fifty,” referring now to the fifty days after Passover when the Jews celebrat-ed the Feast of Weeks, the agricultural festival that celebrated the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest. In the Christian calen-dar the term is associated with the com-ing of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the early church. Possible evidence of Pentecost in the Christian church goes back to Tertullian and Eusebius in the beginning of the third century.

EVERY YEAR IN EVERY AGE

In sum, the following excerpt from the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy cap-tures the importance of celebrating the church year.

“The church is conscious that it must celebrate the saving work of the divine Bridegroom by devoutly recalling it on certain days throughout the course of the year. Every week, on the day which the Church has called the Lord’s Day, it keeps the memory of the Lord’s resur-

rection, which it also celebrates once in the year, together with his blessed passion, in the most solemn festival of Easter. Within the cycle of a year, more-over, the Church unfolds the whole mystery of Christ, from his incarnation and birth until his ascension, the day of Pentecost, and the expectation of blessed hope and of the Lord’s return. Recalling thus the mysteries of redemp-tion, the Church opens to the faithful the riches of the Lord’s powers and mer-its, so that these are in some way made present in every age in order that the faithful may lay hold on them and be filled with saving grace (par. 102).”

Robert Webber is Myers Professor Ministry at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL. He is also the President of the Institute for Worship Stu-dies, a distance education school in Jackson-ville, FL. Webber is the author of a number of books including the Ancient-Future series (Ba-ker) and editor of the 8 Volume, The Complete Library of Christian Worship. Robert’s 30 Days Of Worship Discovery tools for local churches can be accessed through his website, www.an-cientfutureworship.com.

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Regarding music, I have it on good au-thority that the music I like listening to is by 100 Portraits, Jack Johnson, and Norah Jones. I say it is on good authority because I don’t actually know who is who (although I suspect Norah has the slightly more high-pitched voice). These people just happen to be the CDs litter-ing my female-dominated household.

Before you feel too sorry for me let me hasten to add that I do have one point of refuge. It is my 1992 Mazda Bra-vo four-wheel drive ute (“ute” = “pickup truck” for you North Americans). My ute is my vehicle – it is a man’s vehicle. Boy + ute = man. Man + ute = mighty warrior. In my ute, Norah doesn’t get a moment; no sir-ee. In my ute it’s just me me and The Cat – Cat Stevens that is.

Having established my credibility on matters of music, I want to do my “pas-tor thing” and express a few opinions, specifically about worship. Please take them simply for that – opinions. I’ll let you know when I have decreed that they have become law.

OPINION 1: WE ALL HAVE MUSIC AND SONG “IN” US.

Who do you know that does not, at some time, hum, tap, whistle, jig, or in some other way betray the fact that something musical or rhythmic is hap-

God has given us to help us in the ac-tivity of expression. Music can convey how we feel – our gratitude, our joy, and other “uppies” in the area of feelings that words cannot express. Music can be an efficient carrier of expression. A hum, a whistle or even clapping can bypass our brain and therefore commu-nicate to us in an unadulterated way.

Song is a subset of music in this same task of expression, and is a great tool also. The use of words – our own or other people’s words, can often bring clarification to us about how we feel and what it is that is erupting out of us. Song also brings an added dimension to our ability to give expression to the more “down” side of our feelings. Yet, biblically, it is clear that song’s closest partner is joy.

OPINION 3: MUSIC AND SONG ARE DESIGNED FOR WORSHIP.

I raise this point because it is a good excuse for me to talk about my Mazda Bravo Four-Wheel Drive again. I drive my ute to work each day. Three kilome-tres of bitumen, no hills, no deep rocky ravines – not even a speed bump. That is hardly a good use for a four-wheel drive. My Mazda Bravo, like me, is built for action – we are both best used where we can be wild.

We hear music on our radios every day, and often allow ourselves to cruise along joining in the song or engaging in some other response. Yet music and

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pening inside of them? I suspect that no one is exempt from this impulse. I think we all are guilty of music. We always have been. In fact I suggest the whole of creation has a song in her. The Chronicler writes:“Sing to the LORD, all the earth; pro-claim his salvation day after day. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’ Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and every-thing in them! Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.” (1 Chron 16:30-33)

I believe the Chronicler has tapped into a pre-Fall condition of mankind and cre-ation, that had song alive and well in her soul. That does not mean that the song has gone away since the Fall, but like everything else, it has been greatly marred. That good old doctrine known as “The Doctrine Of The Total Depravity of Man” tells us that since the Fall every part of our being has been corrupted. Ev-ery part of our life is lived at a level less than what God intended for us. The song is still there, but it has become a whisper. What the Cross accomplishes for us is to restore the song, and its ally – joy.

OPINION 2: MUSIC AND SONG ARE GIFTS GIVEN BY GOD.

God invented music and song. He did it for a purpose, and He did it for our en-joyment. Music is a tool. It is something

Let me come clean right from the outset. I am not a musician. In fact, I must confess, I am a pastor – and therefore have an opinion!

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OPINION 5: THE EMERGING CHURCH IS IN DANGER OF MISSING OUT.

In the western world, postmodern culture is having great im-pact on the local church and the way in which we offer our worship to God. This culture is more eclectic, in touch with their feelings, creative, expressive, educated, and consumer-based. What amazes me is that many emerging churches, in rejecting the previous norms of doing church, are rejecting the important role of music and song in worship.

The missional thrust of the postmodern church is exciting. Who wouldn’t want to meet in a pub, or a coffee shop, or on a non-Christian’s territory. Yet in accommodating the needs of unbelievers we must not let go of what many of us would consider the most critical corporate activity of the Church – worship – best expressed in music and song. The church “sent” still needs to be the church “gathered,” and in that gath-ering we must bend our knee and offer the praise of our lips to a great and awesome God. Music and song will always rise up in that place of gathering and offering.

Beyond WordsWell, I’ve run out of opinions. Funny how that happens around dinner time. To sum it all up, let me just say that music and song are God’s special gifts to us, so that we may express what is deep in our being. The result of that song ex-pressed from within us is that we come to a new depth before

God, beyond rationality, and beyond mere words. I encourage you to keep this core activity central in our worship of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Peter and Kathy Downes are the National Direc-tors of the Vineyard movement in Australia. They serve as the pastors of the Yarra Valley Vineyard in Victoria, Australia.

1 See also Ps.96:11-13; Ps. 98:8-9

2 Ps. 28:7; 98:4; Is. 55:12

song were designed for so much more. Don’t get me wrong – secular music is okay. However, I believe that music is at its best when it can plummet the depths, when it can scale the highest peaks, and when it can take us to a place far removed from earthly routine – when it takes us to God.

OPINION 4: THERE ARE OTHER TOOLS AS WELL AS MUSIC AND SONG.

We have a creative creator God who made us in His image. We too are called to be creative. I love the freedom that postmodern culture is bringing to the church, and the quest to reclaim cre-ativity in Christian living. I love the fact that there is a new sense of adven-ture in exploring the way we bring our-selves before God to worship Him.

However, I want to say this about these other tools – they will never re-place music and song. Songs are our staple, our base for worship expression. In my opinion, they are the tools that God designed, and has given to us, to best cross the human-divine divide.

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MISUNDERSTANDING WORSHIP

Paul’s appeal to the believers in Rome also corrects a common misunder-standing among those who prioritize worship to the marginalization or ex-clusion of all else. It emphasizes that our worship is not conducted in splen-did isolation from the pressures of the world. It is not a retreat into denial or a search for a safe-haven. Worship that becomes privatized and compartmen-talized is in danger of degenerating into a form of spiritual self-indulgence. For Paul, worship is not an adrenaline shot, eventually leading to an adrenaline addiction among those who are con-stantly seeking a new “high.” For him there is no place for exhibitionism, for true worship entails a dying to self. It is not a temporary and periodic ecstatic

a healthy move to lay aside our Anglo-Saxon inhibitions, offering our bodies as well as our minds in worship.

WORSHIP IS GOD CENTERED

The presenting of our bodies as living sacrifices expresses in a dramatic form that worship is God centered and must not be used as a means to other ends, no matter how worthy. Specifically, wor-ship is not a means to evangelization. Neither is it simply a source of inspira-tion, making us feel good about our-selves. Above all worship is about God and our self-surrender to the Almighty.

experience, but the consecration of our entire being. It is not an interlude in the week but to be integrated into the whole of life.

The emergence of the Charismatic Movement in the 1960s certainly had a liberating and creative impact on the worship scene, especially among God’s “frozen chosen” either immobilized in a liturgical straight-jacket, or turned into the jerky movements of robotic performers that I am told is referred to as “popping” and “locking.” In other words, it challenged us to “present our bodies” in worship and to learn to move spontaneously and appropriately. It was

I have long held the conviction that worship is the primary function of the church. If we make a distinction between the church militant here on earth and the church trium-phant in heaven, it is immediately obvious that there is more of them there than of us here! Furthermore, much that takes high priority for the church as it engages in the mission that the Lord has entrusted to his body, will one day be concluded with the return of Christ to con-summate his kingly rule. In recognition that the church is called to live God’s future now in anticipation of that Great Day, every member is called up to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1 NRSV).

TIME IN A BOTTLE:

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REFLECTIONS ON WORSHIP

It is well and good to sing songs directly to God expressing the intimacy of our relationship with our Heavenly Father through Christ, but this must not de-generate into sentimentality or spiri-tual complacency. When our worship songs focus mainly on the individual and how he or she feels in relation to Jesus, then worship becomes self-cen-tered to an unhealthy degree. There are only so many ways to say how much we love Jesus.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I value worship songs addressed directly to God to supplement the great hymns of the church (both ancient and recent) that remind us of the grandeur of Al-mighty God, the story of redemption as it unfolds dramatically throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testa-ment, and the universal scope of salva-tion. But neither can substitute for the other; we need songs of adoration as well as songs of declaration.

WORSHIP AND TRINITY

This leads me to a related consider-ation, namely that our worship must be thoroughly Trinitarian in focus. God the Father planned our salvation, for He so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son as Savior to the world. Jesus came to implement the will of his Heavenly Father. He lived in total obedience to and dependence on the Fa-ther. And it is the Holy Spirit who is the Go-Between God to quote the memorable

phrase of John V. Taylor who wrote a book with that title. It is a salutary exer-cise for pastors and worship leaders to check through the song selection, ser-mons, and prayers to ensure that there is a Trinitarian balance.

A Trinitarian focus is important for another reason. It provides a powerful and theologically grounded challenge to the hyper-individualism that typi-fies our culture and which has infil-trated into our churches. At times it is appropriate to worship the Lord, with our heads raised, eyes closed, and hands aloft. But this is neither the exclusive or highest expression of worship. Our gathering is essentially a corporate and communal activity. The other worship-ers around us are not incidental. They must not be excluded during our time of communion with the Lord, but are essential to it. If worship is to lead to wholeness, it must be expressed cor-porately.

TIME IN A BOTTLE

By this time the reader might be won-dering about the title at the head of this article – Time In A Bottle! The signifi-cance is that each occasion of worship is like opening a bottle of wine. It is related to the “now” of our experience, and is always changing. I am told that to the wine connoisseur no two bottles of wine taste the same. While speak-ing at a pastors’ conference in South Africa, one of the pastors who was from

the wine growing area of Stellenbosch and who had himself worked in a win-ery, was blindfolded in order to test his skills. He was then given a glass of wine to taste, after which he was invited to give us as much information about the wine as he was able. To our amazement he identified not only the type of wine, but where it was grown and the year of vintage! Our worship offered each week should be as distinctive as wine from a bottle, not as generic as Coke from a can!

This is where the seasons of the year come into play. In the liturgical year we cover the scope of salvation.

_ In Advent we prepare for the com-ing of Christ. When such preparation is ignored then Christmas becomes commercialized and sentimental-ized. Shopping and spending days are more in people’s minds than prepar-ing ourselves for the consummation of Christ’s Kingdom that was inaugu-rated with his first coming.

_ Christmas is a time of joyful, fam-ily celebration of Jesus, the Savior of the World, coming as a helpless babe, announced by socially suspect shep-herds.

_ Epiphany points to God’s surprising revelation to astrologers from the East (Syria or Babylonia?). This re-minds worshipers that God gets there

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before we do! Those who appear to be furthest away may be closest to the truth.

_ Lent is a time of solemn self-exami-nation, reminding us of the self-de-nial and sufferings of Christ. In how many worship services is there no opportunity given for confession and absolution? We may emerge from our worship experience exhilarated or in-spired, but do we come our clean? Alongside songs of worship songs we need appropriate songs of lament. The Psalmists got the balance right! Authentic worship leads us reveren-tial fear of a Holy God to challenge our presumptive intimacy.

_ Next comes Holy Week beginning with the Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, challenging the misplaced, culturally-conditioned expectations

THE IMPACT MUST NEVER DIMINISH

I remember my first visit to Disneyland and to the Country Bears Jamboree. It was a great show. In subsequent years I paid an occasional return visit in order to take visitors for their Disney experi-ence. But of course the show was ex-actly the same, and its impact quickly diminished. Our worship can similarly suffer from routinization if we choose Coke rather than wine!

Eddie Gibbs is the Donald McGavran professor of church growth at Fuller Seminary in California. In 2005 he wrote Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community In Postmodern Cultures with Ryan K. Bolger (Baker Academic). He has been a great friend of the Vineyard movement for many years.

of the his disciples among the crowd, who expected him to assume the role of a triumphant Messiah-king lead-ing the nation to victory over their oppressors. But they missed the sym-bolism of the humble, donkey on which he rode.

_ Next we come to Jesus’ Ascension in-to heaven when we are challenged afresh with the church’s ongoing global mission to make disciples (Christ-followers) among all na-tions. The Great Commission has be-come the great omission in so many churches. The main reason for this sad state of affairs is our failure to turn decisions for Christ into disci-ples of Christ. It takes a fellowship of disciples to venture forth to make other disciples. We reproduce after our own kind. This is the meaning of spiritual fruitfulness.

_ Furthermore, this mission cannot be undertaken apart from the presence and power of the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost. Not until Jesus had ascended into Heaven could his mis-sion be translated into our mission. The remainder of the church’s liturgi-cal year explores the implications for this mission to the world for the life of the Church if it is to be an authen-tic and credible witness.

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Jesse is a professional musician and a worship leader at the Kingdom Vineyard in East Fife, Scotland, having recently left London where he grew up. He has played guitar on several Vineyard Records UK productions, such as New Songs Vol.1, New Songs Vol. 2 and Great Big God 3.

Forget that your lead is securely wrapped onto your strap, and around the amp handle on the other end. Go and speak to the keyboard player on the other side of the stage, with hi-larious consequences (the dramatic effect is enhanced if you have an amp with reverb springs).

There’s another guitarist listening! Perfect opportunity to use that new trick you just learned – you know, the one with sweep-picking and whammy bar madness. Everyone will ap-preciate that.

Configure your wireless unit so that it broadcasts on the same frequency as the Pastor’s microphone.

Make sure your lead slips underneath the bass drum so that it gets cut in half (yep, that really happened!)

Where available, plug your guitar into the “headphones” socket.

You want maximum impact on the first chorus… sit out through the first verse and then hit that massive power chord! (with your capo in the wrong position).

Program your floorboard presets so that “Long Ambient Swells” is right next to “Triple Rectifier Power Chords.” Make sure you’re wearing your biggest boots.

Jump with excitement on a wobbly stage, just to find the cen-ter of gravity in your amp stack.

Wrong Notes, Pt. 1: Whenever you make a mistake, follow it with accusing glances at your equipment, or other band members.

Wrong Notes, Pt. 2: Whenever you make a mistake, do it again, like it was exactly what you meant to play in the first place. When you get the strange looks from your bandmates, insist that it’s jazz and that they simply “don’t understand.”

Wrong Notes, Pt. 3: Wait until your delay effect is set to maxi-mum before you make your worst mistake of any given set, thereby prolonging the experience.

Alternate tunings add a great dimension to some songs, espe-cially when the intro of the following song is down to you, and you don’t know how to play it in that tuning.

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OLD ORDERS ARE GOOD ORDERS

My pastor has often said, “Old orders are good orders until there are new orders.” I am in the process of examining my old orders, and these orders included raising our children. I am grateful for the time I had with them under our roof and grateful for the relationships I have with them as adults. I will never stop being their Mom, but our relationship has changed and will continue growing and changing as all of us grow into the next season of our lives.

Another old order for me included leading worship and songwriting for the Church. I am carefully examining this or-der, while also watching and waiting – watching to see who God is raising up and waiting to hear my part in that process. A year or so before he died, John Wimber, in a meeting with other lead worshipers and songwriters, talked to us about be-ginning to think in terms of being “player-coaches.” He told us that He wasn’t saying we wouldn’t be leading worship or writing songs anymore, but simply that he wanted us to also begin to look around at the ones coming alongside us.

I remember still feeling like I was still a kid, and not feel-ing like I had much to contribute to others at that time. I realize now that he was preparing us for the season ahead – a season where we would be passing on the heart and values that he and other leaders in and around the Vineyard had passed on to us.

THE CHANGING OF SEASONS

When my children were young I sensed God drawing me to a season of worship-ing with the children in our church. It was a little threatening for me to give up leading worship in “big church,” be-cause I knew that once I left, I might not be asked to go back as others would step up to fill the gap I had left.

On the other hand, God was stirring my heart toward the children. I loved ex-periencing the simplicity of their genuine love for Jesus as we worshiped together. I found myself writing songs for them that were not written “for children only,” but rather were truly my own expression of worship. I had been with the children for

Over the past few years I have begun coaching others to take their place as lead worshipers. I am encouraging songwriters to listen for the songs that will move God’s heart as we, the church, worship before Him. I am watching and praying over the direction of worship in our church and in our movement. I also find I am asking more often than ever before, “Are these still Your orders for me, or is it time to step aside and bless someone else to take my place?” I am His servant and with all my heart I want to remain before Him with open hands, ready and willing to joyfully give Him anything He wants from me, and to joyfully receive anything He has in mind for me to now carry.

Although I do not think of myself as “old,” I do see myself as one who has begun the second half of my life. Our chil-dren are grown – one is married and the other lives out of state. My day-in, day-out life has changed significantly. I am in a new season and waiting to hear what God has in mind for me now.

ARE GOOD ORDERS

OLD ORDERS

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Because church communities are made up of people, we will go through a wide variety of seasonal experiences in our life together as a church. Birth, death, triumph or loss can radically affect a community – and throw off an unprepared worship leader. Here are some tips on responding, as a wor-ship leader, to the changing worship seasons in our life together.

IN SEASONS OF JOY…

Celebrate. Even if you’re more inclined to worship by nature with medium tempo songs or sweet intimate ballads, pull out the stops and fire up some danc-ing tunage. These kinds of songs give people permission to cut loose and bust a move. If you’re congregation is not used to that, have someone do a planned dance in front of them to a clapping song (then encourage finger dancing). Let the kids lead the way, and the adults start to get it.

IN SEASONS OF MOURNING…

Lament. This can be a difficult challenge for a worship leader. Don’t be afraid to allow an open-ended song (i.e. one that doesn’t give any answers or have a clear, happy resolve) in your worship set. Explain that the song you’re about to do is an opportunity for honest questions to rise before God. Give people permis-sion to cry, or to pray out (without feeling a need to theologically correct every prayer that is groaning in someone’s heart).

IN SEASONS OF CHALLENGE…

Encourage. There is always hope when Jesus enters the room. As you open your time of worship, engage the congregation in a time of shaking hands, embrac-ing, extending the “peace of Christ” to one another (in Anglican tradition, this is where individuals say to one another “the peace of Christ be with you”) or even breaking into small groups and praying for God to quiet our hearts. Looking into each other’s eyes can be healing.

IN SEASONS OF HOLIDAY…

Focus. Take the time to make the holiday you’re celebrating, and its themes, the main focus of worship for the church. A few weeks of focusing on a theme by choosing particular types of worship songs (ex. Christmas carols through December, Easter songs in the spring) will sweeten the holiday time, and prob-ably not hurt anything in the long run. Try following the Christian year (see Webber article).

IN SEASONS OF CHANGE…

Linger. Create special worship times, outside of your main service if your time is limited there, that create an opportunity for people to linger in the presence of God. Sometimes 20-30 minutes is just not enough time for people to get through their angst and get honest with God. Create longer times to help your commu-nity interface with God.

about a year when I began sensing God saying that it was time for me to move back to the adult service. I decided not to tell anyone else, to wait for God to move me there so that I was sure it was His hand moving instead of me making a way for myself. Shortly after that the worship pastor called me in to say that he felt like it was time for me to join the morning service again. Looking back, I see God’s kindness to me by placing me with the children, because I know I would not have chosen being with them on my own. He gave me two meaningful gifts during that season: a glimpse of what it looks like to come to Him as a child and a precious season of worshiping with my own children.

A REPUTATION FOR FAITHFULNESS

Throughout my life, God has established a reputation of faith-fulness. He loves me and is deeply committed to what is best for me. I am looking to Him for vision and direction, trusting that He has a plan for the next season in my life – and yours!

Cindy Rethmeier has been an active member of the Vineyard movement for over 27 years. During that time she has led worship and ministered in a number of churches throughout North America and Europe. She has authored over 30 worship songs, including I Bow Down, Exalt the Lord, I Want To Be Like Jesus and Good News. Her hobbies include a cat, birds, gardening, visiting farmers’ markets and driving her convertible. She has been married for 26 years and has two grown children.

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LUNCH PAIL: FRUIT OF THE SPIRITAVA I L A B L E J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7

In the spirit of Toolbox: Sweetly Broken, every

childrens’ worship leader can now pick up

their Lunch Pail! Built from the ground up as

a multi-faceted tool for quality kids worship,

the Fruit Of The Spirit: Lunch Pail DVD con-

tains a host of features including instrumental

tracks, “build a set” options, and hand motions

that provide a quality kids’ worship experience

– that anyone can use!

New Release From Vineyard Records UK: UNFAILING LOVEAVA I L A B L E N O W !

Summer 2006 sees the release of Unfailing

Love, the highly anticipated new studio album

from Vineyard Records UK. Featuring Trent,

a worship band from the Trent Vineyard, Un-

failing Love contains 10 new songs, including

Unfailing Love and the stunning Love Divine

– songs which are impacting churches world-

wide. Unfailing Love has been chosen “worship

album of the month” for July ’06 by Wesley

Owen in the UK.

MORE THAN EVER: Live From The RockiesAVA I L A B L E O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6

Featuring some of the Vineyard’s most talen-

ted worship leaders, More Than Ever: Live

From The Rockies was recorded live at the

Emerging Worship Leader Bootcamp in Ft. Col-

lins, Colorado. The passionate worship of this

crowd of emerging leaders serves as a rallying

cry for others to give themselves to God with

reckless abandon, and to worship Him not only

with their voices – but with their lives.

new releases

To order, call 1-800-852-8463 or go to www.vineyardmusicusa.com

FRUIT OF THE SPIRITAVA I L A B L E N O W !

4 CDS = 4 new flavors of Kid’s Worship from Vineyard Music

BANANA–NA–NACHA CHA CHERRYNOTORIOUS ORANGEAPPLE-ICIOUS

All 4 flavors (CDs) contain 8 songs, each re-

corded just for kids, along with instrumental

tracks for every song. Kid favorites like Great

Big God and Get Up! join with great songs like

More Than Ever and Here I Am To Worship to

make Fruit of the Spirit 2006 a captivating

collection that celebrates kids celebrating God!

TOOLBOX: SWEETLY BROKEN AVA I L A B L E N O W !

Released this summer, Toolbox: Sweetly Broken

is already making impact as a multi-faceted tool

for personal, small group, and congregational

worship experiences. This DVD is the compani-

on to Vineyard Music’s new release, Play List:

Sweetly Broken and is a must-own resource for

your worship DVD library. Get Toolbox: Sweetly

Broken and fill your “box” with a host of tools

all your own to broaden your moments of wor-

ship.

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For the complete line of Vineyard worship resources, visit

6 Audio Training CDs for you and your worship team! Featuring seasoned leaders Brian Doerksen, Brenton Brown, Kathryn Scott, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes and N. T. Wright.

also aVaIlaBLE:

P L A YA brief guide toplaying the guitar.

Instructional Guide.Includes Audio CD.

also aVaIlable

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BRIAN DOERKSEN MATT REDMAN DAVID RUIS TIM HUGHES

OUT NOW !

What Is Worship? is a venture deep into the heart of the human being, and into the heart of biblical worship. Weaving together biblical insights with powerful interviews, this high-quality DVD summarizes the passion and the posture behind the worship the Father seeks. Essential training for every pastor, worship leader and worshiper.

With guests N.T. Wright, Matt Redman, John Eldredge, Brian Doerksen, Tim Hughes, Don Williams, Kathryn Scott, David Ruis and many others. Hosted by Vineyard worship leader Dan Wilt.

Leading Worship: DVD and Study Tools Companion CD

Songwriting For Worship: DVD and Study Tools Companion CD

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