Song/Hymn-writer Paul Baloche’s website, www.leadworship.com, is an anamoly in the world of commercially successful Christian artists.  Like a precious few others, he likes to offer songs and lead sheets for free!  He seems to get it, that these songs of worship – as in the days of Watts, Wesley and Fanny Crosby, need to be “out there” for the Body to use.  He also has a heart for making sure people learn from him, so he has many good “Thoughts on Worship”.

I want to specifically point you to his free songbook page.  For the non-musician, he has many full tracks you can listen to and be encouraged by (and may I encourage you to then go and buy one of his CDs, because you will be glad you did!).  For the church or private musician, most of his songs have available chord charts and lead sheets to download and use.  Of course, if you use them in worship, please be sure to give him proper credit and report the use to CCLI.

One of the neatest things about the songbook online is Paul’s sense of the seasonal.  He has placed songs for the Easter Season right there on top so you can access them.  A personal favorite right now is Great Redeemer, but there are many others worth giving a listen to!

Be blessed and equipped by this great resource!

• Listen to “Maker”.
• Print the lead sheet for “Maker”.

Before I had ever heard anyone else do Psalm 121 (“I lift up my eyes to the hills; where does my help come from?”), I wrote this, rather early both in my songwriting and Christian life. In fact, it’s the second song I ever finished writing for the LORD.  My good friend, Tom Helm, helped me with the bridge.

I find it amusing that – having written it as a bit of a rocker, and one derivative of Jethro Tull! – all other renditions of Psalm 121 are done slowly, with reverence and not a hint of 70s art-rock!

Ah, well! Here’s to a different take on the Psalm. Enjoy.

I’ve been inspired – as have many songwriters – to write songs based on a number of the Psalms. I decided that this, the second half of Lent, would be a great time to introduce them in a short series. I think I’ll try to do several in the next week or two, as Lent fades into Holy Week…

Today’s song is called “A Meditation on Psalm 119″:

• Listen to “A Meditation on Psalm 119″

• Chord chart for “A Meditation on Psalm 119″

• Transcription of the flute part

I wrote this song waaaaaay back in 1999, while we were living and serving at Chicago’s Holy Trinity Church. As I’ve said before, the pastors, David Helm and Jon Dennis were amazingly forward-thinking in utilizing the gifts and talents of almost everybody at the church – certainly everyone who was willing. I am eternally thankful for that kind of encouragement.

I had been reading Psalm 119, thinking it would make great fertile soil for a song – or a whole album!

When I recorded it, I was blessed to be accompanied by two amazing talents: Jennifer Atala on the flute and the wonderful voice of my good friend, Gwen Camera. I’ve sung this song with others, but this original version has a special place in my heart.

A Meditation on Psalm 119 by Thomas George Fisher is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://blendedworship.wordpress.com.

I lead music in three of the four chapel services we have weekly at our school: lower elementary, upper elementary and middle school (the high school, for better or for worse, is pretty much doing it on their own).

In our liturgically-starved environment, I like to bring little moments of reverence and consistency into the worship setting, and it’s surprisingly easy and well-received.

At my first-ever Anglican church experience (Church of the Resurrection, near Chicago) my then-girlfriend/now-wife, Anne led children’s church. It was an odd, yet rich and beautiful experience for me to see. One of the things I learned was how the kids were led into and out of the reading of God’s Word, with a little song – “This is the word of the Lord, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks be to God” (before) and “Thanks be to God for the reading of His Word; thank You, God, thank You, God” (after).

For the youngest group at our school, I began using that exact tune (which I’ll post sometime, because it’s really sweet and easy for the kiddos to learn!), but for the upper elementary, I wanted something a little less sing-songy, so I created the simple tune you hear on the video above.

It’s the first of several liturgical songs I’ll post in the coming weeks. I hope you can use them or – better – be inspired to sing these ancient words with your own tune!

In His Peace,
Tom

As Christmas fast approaches, I thought I would share a few of the Fisher family’s favorite Christmas albums.  One of our new treasures is O, Holy Night by the amazingly talented Sara Groves.  She does an amazing job of putting some beautiful new tunes to some Christmas classics, as well as adding some new songs to the canon.  Her voice, her style and her joy really go well together into a Christmas album.

This album is no extravaganza; it’s quiet and understated, even reflective many times.  So an album like this would be great by the fire on Christmas Eve night.  But it is a very creative project.  For example, “O Holy Night” and “It Came upon a Midnight Clear” are made completely new and innovative (and quite beautiful), and “Angels We Have Heard on High” has what I can only describe as a quasi-mariachi feel (including the brass band!).

Check it out!

(Oh, and if you decide to buy this, or any other stuff this Christmas, the Fishers have a special associates’ store on Amazon.com.  You pay the same price as usual, but it helps support our teaching ministry here in Bolivia.  Thanks)

O Holy Night
To go to our store’s home page, click here.

In His Peace,
Tom

I was at a Christmas arts and crafts fair with my family today, and decided to get me a new instrument.  I’ve seen these around.  The ladies incorrectly told me it was called a quena-quena, which just is not so!  Turns out, with a little research, it’s called a moceño, and it’s got a nice sound.

For you music geeks, you can play a chromatic scale from F# to C#, and that seems to be it, so it’s a little limited as far as playing the usual repertoire.  But no matter.  It’s a lovely addition to my growing collection of stringed and wind instruments.

The book, Pagan Christianity, is out of control at this point.  Not only are the authors attacking things (buildings, orderly worship and pastors) for which there is no biblical prohibition (and, some would argue – see 1 Peter 5, for example – much biblical support and benefit to the Body); in the following chapters, they set up straw men to attack: dressing nice and song leaders.

Let’s see if we can address these quickly: In Chapter Six, they explain the origins of dressing nicely for worship.  Originally, many Reformers were opposed to nice dress (and, granted, the Bible is critical of dressing to impress – 1 Peter 3); and, it seems, that nice dress became the norm when a few popular pastors decided it would be a good idea.  It eventually became unacceptable in many circles to wear “street clothes” to worship.

A few Red Flags:

• This is becoming (or has become) a non-issue in most Christian communities; I cannot tell you when (or if) I’ve ever stepped into a church where there was even an unspoken dress-code.  I wear jeans to church when good (usually older, but not always) gentlemen wear their best suit and tie.  They don’t look at me askance when I lead worship in those same jeans and a polo shirt (or even a nice t-shirt).  Granted, the priest wears vestments, but the reason that has value is the symbol it represents, and I think symbol is a powerful tool of ministry.  Not to mention, I find Viola and Barna to be utterly devoid of any sense of reverence for God, and their lack of respect for Christ oozes into a disrespectful posture toward those who “dress up” for Him.
• The original reason that ties and pretty dresses became the norm are absolutely irrelevant; the question is: why do you dress the way you dress before the Lord (anywhere)?
• Last, the chapter reeks of a legalistic bias toward dressing down.  This is dangerous, because the shunning of someone for dressing nicely is as bad as shunning the person who has no nice clothes to wear.  So, who’s the legalist?  Who’s focusing on externals here?  N.T. Wright said in a recent interview with Equip: Resources for Worship, “Informality … can become a pseudo-formality.”  This was in reference to styles of worship, but it can apply to dress as well.

In Chapter Seven, the dynamic duo take on the evils of “leader-led music” in worship.  They talk of how choirs, an immitation of Roman culture, were introduced into the Church by Constantine’s reforms.  Through a long process, they tell that “sad” tale of the evolution from choir to worship team (though, for many, the choir is still a ministry in Church).  They point out that this leads to a passive priesthood being told what to sing and for how long.

Now, those of you who don’t like to sing anywhere but the shower, raise your hands if you want to do away with these scoundrels who are squashing your potential for priesthood!

This chapter depends on two proof-texts, pointing out that we are commanded (in a couple of isolated places in the Pauline Epsistles) to “speak to one another”, “singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs”.  That’s it.  That’s the only argument from scripture for which they want to belittle those who are gifted to share music and lead people to the Throne of Grace!  They even put “lead worship” in quotes, which implies that these people don’t really lead worship!  How insulting!  Of course, I could call what they do “writing a Christian book” in quotes… but I’m above that.

Their valid points (yes, there are two) are almost lost amidst the divisive, condescending rhetoric (for example, on p. 163, they write that “Special seats were assigned to choir members to show their special status,” to which I had to respond, “No.  To show the choir where to sit.”  How many of you choir people feel utterly superior to your non-singing brothers and sisters?).  But, as I admitted, they make two valid points, and I should, in fairness, address them:

• Corporate worship so often suffers from “I” syndrome – the over-use of intimate, first-person-singular songs which should be used in intimate settings (“I Love You Lord”, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” etc. are best used in settings such as prayer and communion).  Much better for corporate worship are “We” – centered (or, better, “You”-centered) songs: “Because We Believe” “We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise”, or even “I” songs converted to “We” songs, such as “We Exalt Thee”.  This plurality allows the Body to truly sing as a Body, and not a group of individuals.
• They desperately (and rightly) want every member of the Church to be free to contribute to the worship of God and building one another up.  They write, “There should be an outlet for this ministry to be expressed.” (167).  In my graffiti, I wrote, “There is,” and drew a little church with two wings: one wing for the formal (corporate worship in the sanctuary) and one for the informal (organic worship in the home).  But I don’t think they go far enough; since not everyone can or wants to lead a song, then we need to inspire people to share and edify the body in many creative ways (writing a psalm or a poem, using photography, sharing a devotion they’ve read or a journal entry they wrote)!  That’s what home-fellowship is for and, as I’ve stated in previous posts, this is something that should happen in every church but does not deny the validity of the entire local Body getting together for formal worship gatherings.

I finished this chapter (steaming a bit, I must admit!), and wrote in the remaining white space on the last page:

While I can barely get through their divisive, arrogant tone, I do see a lesson here [for our own Community Group meetings]: Open (not eliminate!) the structure, urge more participation, foster more creativity.  Corporate songwriting experiment in small group time, perhaps?

Hi! If you are on Facebook (or if you would like to be), I’d like to invite folks to a) join my Group of Worship Songwriters and b) participate in a little songwriting experiment (no songwriting experience or musical talent required; just a heart for God!).

Click on over to this Facebook discussion to join the experiment! Thanks!

Today, at church, singing was uncharacteristically solemn for the second Sunday in Easter.

Stuff’s been going on with Pablo and Christy, the leaders. God’s been working on them.

Today, Pablo shared from several passages, discussing the idea that our “reasonable service” is to do whatever unto Jesus. Our worship continues beyond the church doors on Sunday morning.

Nothing new, but don’t we just need to keep hearing that truth over and over again?

So, Amen, Pablo.

I’ve got a few thoughts on this topic. A couple of vignettes:

1. I discovered what could be a great resource (if I were still at my church in the states!): Worshipteam.com. Its purpose is to take the administrative burden off worship leaders so that they can concentrate on artistic and spiritual preparation. So far, so good. But then, they said, “And, since music is the most important part of worship…”

I think my eyes bugged out of my head. Music is important, and it helps, but only as it works with the Word and Sacraments to prepare our hearts to be used of God. Music is a tool of worship, not worship in and of itself. I have been to several times of “singing before the Lord” that were anything but worship; I’ve also been witness to some powerful worship in which there was not a single note of music played.

2. Some of my best worshiping I “do” is at about 6 a.m., my time to wash the dishes. I ponder a verse from the psalms, enter into a time of silence before God, and wash the dishes. I let the sound of the running water, the psalm verse, the peace of the new day usher me into the Father’s presence in a special way.

Music can be worship. So can scrubbing dirty dishes.

Old news. I need to hear it, again and again.

Amen.