John Stott, the Napper

I recently read Portraits of a Radical Disciple a wonderful collection of reflections on the life of John Stott, an Anglican pastor and international Evangelical leader who passed away in 2011 at the age of 90. I found so many areas in which to admire and strive to imitate Stott:

Writing Music for the Church

The local church is the hope o the world, where gods presence rests in a special way, where people are transformed, where I have been transformed. As artists, we give a special gift to God when we create art and music for his church. This is a informal, in-process list of value judgment descriptions that I think are usually true about good worship music for the church.

What do you think? Are there some you agree with, disagree with, would say differently, or that you would add? Make a comment below!

• Lyrics tell the God’s grand story of the Gospel history beginning with creation and ending with the recreation of heaven and earth. This story should feature the Christ’s birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and immanent return
• Lyrics are beautiful, poetic, scriptural, accessible, and worthy of reflection and meditation
• Lyrics point more often to Christ than ourselves
• Lyrics address the Triune God; Father, Son and Spirit
• Lyrics combine a depth of content and symbol that can be meditated on and that has layers and depth of meaning
• Lyrics can be memorized, internalized, and sung as a prayer throughout the week
• Lyrics that promote openness to the spirit through their accessibility, repetition, and space
• Music that is easily engage by the congregation
• Melodies that are singable and timeless so that they are long lasting and can be part of a formative repetoir that provides a songbook for the Christian life.
• Music that is creative, embodied, evocative
• Music that can be successfully performed by musicians of various skill levels in the local Church
• Music that can be effectively translated into a variety of genres and worship cultures, versatile

Joining With Angels

One of my favorite moments in the Eucharistic liturgy is where the Priest says,

“Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name.”

This statement speaks into the mystery and awe of the eternal worship of God that takes place around his throne. It is an echo of Isaiah 6, Revelation 4, Revelation 7, and Hebrews 12 where we read accounts of glimpses into the presence of God in heaven. The church has seen several grounding truths about worship in this theological phrase taken from these passages.

We could speak of worship as an eternal occupation. That it involves all of creation. That it must be purified. That it is centered around God in Christ. I want to focus here on the context of this statement in the liturgy. This phrase of worship comes after the proclamation of the gospel in Christ. Worship is a response to God’s action towards us in the gospel. This phrase comes in the context of the Eucharist table. Eucharist is the thankful remembering of the gospel but more than that it is our participation in Christ’s life.

Worship then is life in the kingdom and presence of Christ. The table is called communion with God but it is also communion within a community. Worship is a communal way of life. We join not only one-on-one with Christ but first we join with our brothers and sisters of every walk of life, with the saints who have gone before and even, the liturgist tells us with the angels and archangels and all of heaven.

In the worship of God in Christ, we enter into his presence through the Spirit. The church ascends into the presence of God as described in these passages. In the presence of God at the heavenly banquet table we become a sacrifice of praise on the altar as we give ourselves to him to live in the kingdom in eternal worship as a community being transformed. As we worship Christ, as we commune with him in the presence of the Trinity, we are transformed into the very image of Jesus. In worship, we become like the one whom we worship (2 Corinthians 3:18).

In this phrase, worship is also a hymn sung to the glory of God’s Triune name. Music here is part of the created world that is used as a gift to us in the worship of God. Music is in one sense an insignificant part of worship in that worship is the entire life of the church gathered around the table proclaiming the gospel to the world. And yet, it can also be so wonderful and powerful when in it’s rightful place, music enables us to proclaim the Gospel, to meet Christ who is present with us, let down our guards and open ourselves to say ‘Yes’ to the Spirit, to be formed into the image of God, and to give expression to our lives of worship.

Holy, holy, holy Lord
God of power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
Hosanna in the highest!