Bad Theology is a Super Magnet

What is it about bad theology that sucks us in? We all have certain beliefs within ourselves that are wrong, and yet we fight to keep them.

Worship, for example. We know intellectually that worship isn't about style, tempo, or lyric... or even music at all. Yet we continue to call those things worship and place an emphasis on music. Worship is not a place. It is not what you did last year. It is nothing more than honoring God by living out His designed purpose in your life. Rick Warren sold a lot of books about that very subject and I think it's title should have been "How to Really Worship God".

Here's the problem that I find with making worship all about a song style or church service format. Let's say we put an emphasis on singing. We have plenty of New Testament scripture telling us that God wants us to sing. Let's say you have two people. One of them sings well enough to make a living at it and the other sings so bad that it makes people uncomfortable. When we put an emphasis on anything other than sacrifice, there is a chance that someone will go away feeling that their "gift" was unacceptable. You have one person who will be lifted up and another who thinks that they are not recognized.

It's not right for either to feel this way, but it happens. So let's change the way that we talk. Let's be specific about what we mean when we talk about singing, music, or worship. The last thing that we want is for our "reasonable acts of service" to be uninviting to others. :) Oh, and let's put more of an emphasis on worship by serving others... not just singing new songs and using cool videos.

New Music!!!!!!!!

Well, I haven't recorded anything in a while. However, I have been listening to a ton of new music over the last six months that I'd like to share.

First off let me introduce L.E.O. . Not E.L.O.

An artist from the Boston area named Bleu, the bass player for Chicago, and Hanson (that's right) have formed a temporary group that sounds a lot like E.L.O. and/or the Traveling Wilbury's. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/bleuleo I was raised on ELO and the Beatles, so this is right up my alley. Also, a great PFR alternative. :)

Second, check out Starfield. Here is their myspace page. http://www.myspace.com/starfieldace.com/starfield Good writing and tons of falsetto! And hey! You gotta be pretty good if you can get Chris Tomlin to sing backup for you. (check out "Son of God" on iTunes)

Ok, next is my all time favorite worship project ever. New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado has put a CD/DVD called "My Savior Lives". It's awesome to put it mildly. The songs are great, the vocals are all edited tastefully so repeated listening is easy, and the DVD (sold seperately) has a guy in his forties jumping up and down while he leads worship.

You've got Ross Parsley, Jared Anderson, Jon Egan, and Glenn Packiam's songs. You've got the Desperation Band jammin' in the back. You got 10 buxx and you've got yourself a taste of heaven. http://www.myspace.com/newlifeworshipexperience

What else.... Oh yeah. Lincoln Brewster's "All to you...Live" is good stuff yall. I saw Lincoln on my honeymoon while he was playing guitar for Michael W. Smith. Smitty introduced him and said that he would be awesome but, well... some people think Hasselhoff is awesome so I don't just take everyone's word about things. :) Check the CD out. It's got a remake of "Hallelujah" from the movie Shrek. Pretty good stuff. http://www.myspace.com/lincolnbrewster

I sat through a class that he taught during a worship conference last week and I got a kick out of his approach to being a worship leader on staff at a church. Two things stuck with me. First he said that he prefers the slow songs but his church really would rather "rock their faces off". Seconde he told us that if anyone ever complains about the worship service, he calls the office to check and see if that person tithes and if they don't he just diregards their comments. Hmmmph.

Well, check them out. They're sooooo worth it.