Song Writing and Creative Writing Contests
We want to include your talents in our upcoming projects in partnership with the likes of those in Nashville Studios, and L.A. and beyond: We know that we’ve had some super creative people visit our site in the past week. We want to take this opportunity to turn your attention to our creative writing and song writing projects that we are currently hosting between The Worship Ministry Catalyst and Garden City. For more...
God our Teacher
Take care; do not turn to iniquity, for this you have chosen rather than affliction. Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him?” – Job 36:21-22 ESV When we suffer… Reading about the life of Job can be terrifying. We read about a man who suffers, and not at the hand of something strictly evil, but under an affliction permitted by a “good” God. Not only is...
What is Greatness?
I don’t know about you, but when I gaze into the heavens, and when I survey the earth and the nature therein, I’m brought to my knees in awe at the wonders of God’s artistry! No human can deny that there is an awe and majesty to our universe. It’s simply dumbfounding. Sadly, however, I have to confess that my response to such encounters with beauty, and the realizations that follow, do not always lead me to a...
True Beauty
This sounds like a mouthful, but please allow me over the course of the next few months to explain what is meant by the wording in the above statement. As we contemplate and think through what is truly beautiful innovation and creativity, we must turn to the book of Titus for consideration. In Titus Chapter 1, Paul very intentionally compares two lifestyles together to make a point: the life of an elder and the life of a...
Reconsidering Why We Sing, Part 5: Target Practice
Part 5 | What about Target Practice By Dave Yauk In Review… Before you read this visit Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 and Part 4. In previous posts we’ve looked at reconsidering the nature of our corporate singing in church. We’ve considered our singing through the use of these words: total, text, tone and target. I’ve also provided a resource called the Song Selection Rubric, that enables one to plug in their songs and categorize them...
Reconsidering Why We Sing, Part 4: Songs For The Forgotten
Part 4 | Songs for the Forgotten By Dave Yauk What about the affections… Before you read this visit Part 1 | Part 2 and Part 3. Recently, I found myself sipping beer and carrying on conversation with some good Christian blokes around a table at a local restaurant. We were philosophizing over the state of singing in the church, and talking about how the church has grown too “happy.” On a typical Sunday morning, a Western church goer...
Reconsidering Why We Sing, Part 3: Text Is Important
Part 3 | Text is Important By Dave Yauk The Total Story in Text… In case you haven’t tuned into previous posts, In Post 1, I introduced our series by considering Paul’s exhortation in Colossians as to why and how he thinks we should sing as Christians. In Post 2 I first explored how a good approach to singing would be to first ensure that we are singing the total scope of God’s story. I included a document for Corporate Worship...
Reconsidering Why We Sing, Part 2: Total In Scope
Part 2 | Total in Scope By Dave Yauk See Part 1 for Series Introduction A (c)anon within a (C)anon…. I heard a Professor in college once say that most Christians are struggling deeply with their faith because they believe in a “canon within a Canon.” He made this statement while teaching the history behind how we received the 66 book Canon of The Bible. What he meant in this statement is that most Christians are like flower pickers...
Reconsidering Why We Sing, Part 1: For The Mind, Body and Soul
Part 1 | For the Mind, Body and Soul By Dave Yauk Songs are important to us! They not only have the power to equip us for a good car ride but they rise to even higher levels of influence. Songs like My Generation, written by The Who, came to define actual points in history. Jimi Hendrix defined a time period with All Along the Watchtower. Fast forward into today with U2’s With or Without You, and again we find that a song’s...
Reconsidering the Worship Leader, Part 5: Jesus: The Worship Leader of Culture
What is culture anyway? Etymologically, the word culture comes from the Latin verb colere, which refers literally to agriculture, tilling the ground in order to grow things. “Culture is not only what we grow what we make, both with our hands and with our minds. It incudes our houses, our barns, our tools, our cities and towns, and our arts and crafts. It also includes the systems of ideas that we build up: science, philosophy,...
Reconsidering The Worship Leader, Part 4: Jesus: The Worship Leader of the Church
We began in Part 1 of our 5 part blog series concerning Jesus as Worship Leader by considering the writer of Hebrews reference to Jesus in Hebrews 8:2 as “minister.” Not only is Jesus’ identity that of High Priest in the heavenly realms, but the work he performs on our behalf is that of ministry. I’d encourage you to check out why Jesus is the only one able to bear the title Worship Leader (Part 1). Secondly, we considered in Part...
Reconsidering The Worship Leader, Part 3: Jesus: The Worship Leader of the Cosmos
His call to worship is the rising of the Sun, his Benediction, the Moon. In our previous posts (Part 1 & Part 2) we have looked at Jesus as the supreme and only Worship Leader (High Priest) worthy of such a title—its who he IS. In Part 2 of our series we considered what he does as our worship leader. Understanding Jesus’ role is crucial in the universe because the form and duties that he observes and preserves in his kingdom...
Reconsidering The Worship Leader, Part 2: Jesus’ Priestly Liturgy
Jesus IS a High Priest, but what does He DO? In our last post we looked at the fact that Jesus in Hebrews 8:2 is identified as the sole minister (leitourgos) of heaven. Our High Priest! This is one major aspect of his Identity. Therefore, it was our conclusion that the only One worthy to receive the big “T” title of Worship Leader is Jesus Himself. It’s who he is. No one else can claim this ontologically (in being). However,...
Reconsidering The Worship Leader, Part 1: Jesus The High Priest
You know, the one in skinny jeans, designer hair, with the voice of a Nightingale. Remember the famous bully party line; “sticks and stones will break your bones, but words can never hurt you.” It sounds nice, but any person knows this phrase is chalked full of deception. The truth is, words are like containers. They are filled to the brim with meaning, and they are profoundly forming. Words shape the way we see life. Words filled...