Paul Clark on "Media and Worship - Careful Consideration"

My friend, Paul Clark, has a great article on his blog regarding media and worship that is worth reading. Here's just a snippet:

Lest you think I am just a non-comformist, old fashioned stick-in-the-mud who refuses to keep up, I am, after all, writing this on a blog, ok?  Twenty years ago none of us had ever heard of the term, “blog.”  Give me a little credit here.  This is not some kind of a “burn your cellphone” rant.  Rather, my appeal to the church is for us to think about the implications, ramifications, and long-term impact upon our culture of these “advances” and more particularly, I would call for serious consideration of how embracing their use affects our worship, and how it might impact the spiritual lives of the worshipers.  Certainly, very careful evaluation as to how technology effects worship when it is used in the gathered worship event itself must be a concern for church leadership.  The field of media ecology has evolved into a field of study of which more Christian leaders, and particularly worship ministry leaders, must take note. 

[...]

I am not necessarily advocating an abandonment of technological devices in our gathered worship.  Like anyone I could provide a significant list of ways technology can and does contribute to the worship environment.  What I am positing is a need for prayerful, careful consideration of any and all technologically induced and produced materials in worship.

To read the entire article, click here.

And for those of you in and around Jackson, Tennessee, you might be interested in joining us at First Baptist Church the next few Sunday nights as we consider how we should think about and use technology in appropriate ways as followers of Jesus Christ (including in worship).  We will be led by Dr. Ben Mitchell and Dr. Justin Barnard, and the topics for each night are listed below.

Following Christ in the Age of Twitter (with Ben Mitchell and Justin Barnard)

First Baptist Church | Jackson, TN

Sunday Nights at 5:00 PM

2/9    "Saved, Saved, Saved: Technology's Promise and Problems" - C. Ben Mitchell

2/16  "Gadgets @ Hearth & Home: Technology and Family Life" - Justin D. Barnard

2/23  "Help! I’m LinkedIn and My iPad is Driving Me Google" - C. Ben Mitchell

3/2    "PowerPoint Praise? Technology and Church Life" - Justin D. Barnard

Paul Clark on "Deference Over Preference"

I'm grateful for the very kind personal remarks from my friend, Paul Clark, in his most recent blog post, Deference Over Preference.  But I'm even more grateful for the clear and faithful way he goes on to unpack and apply this concept of deference over preference in our worship. 

It was wonderful to have Dr. Clark with us at First Baptist Church on Sunday, and he did an excellent job preaching and teaching God's Word.  Click here for the audio of his morning sermon, "Can You Sing in Tune?"  And click here for the audio of his evening session, "Worship Renewal and Music Ministry."

Biblical and Theological Foundations of Worship

During Sunday evenings in September, we at First Baptist Church will be having a teaching series on The Biblical and Theological Foundations of Worship with guest speakers Paul Clark, David Dockery, Chris Mathews, and Ben Mitchell.  Each session will begin at 5:00 PM.  The schedule and topics are below:

September 8      Dr. Paul Clark, "Worship Renewal and Music Ministry"

September 15    Dr. David Dockery, "The History of Worship"

September 22    Dr. Chris Mathews, "Selecting the Songs We Won't Sing"

September 29    Dr. C. Ben Mitchell, "The Gospel and Worship" 

Audio will be made available on the church website for those unable to attend.   

Paul Clark's Interview with Keith Getty

Paul Clark recently interviewed Keith Getty, asking him about things such as the musical influence of living in Nashville, the role of choirs, themes in hymn writing, and congregational singing. 

The interview can be read here. 

A Liturgy of Narcissism

Paul Clark has a great post on the narcissistic mindset that marks much of what passes for worship these days.  Here are a few excerpts:

[A]iming for emotional manipulation simply to evoke feelings is valueless for Christian worship.  Oh, it can certainly be effective, even when it is completely lame.  Sadly, its most powerful effect may be that persons think just because they felt something, evoked by sad or glad songs, goosebump-producing video, or loudly authoritative preaching, they have had a spiritual encounter.  Placing the name of Christ in the midst of such emptiness seems nothing short of sacrilege.  Far too often the point of such liturgy is simply a view of self, albeit the self we think we want to see.  We start with a big song, move through stages to get to a “just me and God” moment.  If we get there, we fool ourselves to think we are satisfied, only to find we quickly thirst again.  And rightly so, for no religious feeling will ever suffice.

[...]

Biblical worship seeks to frame the connection of God and man.  Faith is rooted in Biblical truth.  God Incarnate is among the worshipers.  The Spirit’s work empowers Word, said and sung, to engage hearts and minds.  The resultant vision is Christ Jesus.  Worshipers depart to serve, patterning life and love after the One they have seen by light of Spirit and the Word.  Rather than seeing a “better me” I have seen a perfect, Risen Christ.

God, help us to form our worship that we may be formed to better see and reflect Jesus.

To read his post in its entirety, click here.  

A Book on the Importance of Congregational Singing

My friend, Paul Clark, has written a book that is the product of years' worth of researching, reflecting on, practicing, theologizing about, and leading congregational singing. Tune My Heart to Sing Thy Grace: Worship Renewal through Congregational Singing will be of great benefit to any pastor and/or worship leader, and hopefully it will have the effect on countless churches that its subtitle proclaims. Paul has been writing about worship in a weekly newsletter for pastors, ministers of music, and worship leaders for years. I have always wished a wider audience could read his reflections and learn from him. With this book, that now can happen.

Here is what people are saying about the book:

Paul Clark is a church musician who is equally committed to the glory of God, the building up of his church, and using the best of creativity of the past and present to look towards the future. I cannot recommend him highly enough.

--Keith Getty, Christian artist, lecturer, and modern hymn writer

Worship involves a rhythm of revelation and response, and this book beautifully reflects that reality. Paul Clark reveals biblical, theological foundations for radically God-centered worship, and then he gives us clear, practical guidance for how God's people respond congregationally to God's greatness. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for pastors, worship music leaders, and Christians who long to see God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Spirit-led worship in the church.

--David Platt, PhD, Senior Pastor, The Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, AL

In Tune My Heart to Sing Thy Grace, Paul Clark has crafted a powerful book on congregational singing. Writing out of a heart that has been richly shaped by God's mercy, Clark provides a roadmap through the story of song in the Bible and church history. From years of consultation with churches, he offers sage advice for how individuals and churches can "retune" their singing. I needed the "retuning" this book provided - and you probably do too!

--Dr. Reggie Kidd, Professor of New Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary

Dr. Clark serves as the director of worship and music ministries for the Tennessee Baptist Convention and blogs at Tune My Heart to Sing Thy Grace. To order the book, click here.

The Function of Music in Worship

Paul Clark's latest article explores the function of music in the worship of God's people. Here is an excerpt:

Consider this; projected on the screen is a set of words. Played by the instruments, music floats around the room addressing the ears of worshipers. Married together for corporate expression both words and music take wings and become the expression of our corporate and individual response, confession, or praise to God. We may sing our proclamation, or demonstrate outwardly what we sense internally, and this proclamation bears witness to His grace and our faith....

Singing binds us together and forms community. This is a powerful reality that is far too easy to miss if we become enamored with our own performance, or preoccupied with the excellence of the music for its own sake. In this action music can give us a vision of what it means to be one in Christ. Music that fosters a bold unison in proclaiming Christ can drown out discord and aid in the rally of our hearts.

Read the entire thing here.

Worship That Disturbs

Paul Clark has an excellent post on "Worship That Disturbs," reminding us of the tension involved in Christian theology and thus Christian worship. Here is an excerpt:

Tensions are a part of worship. Transcendence and Immanence of God are not at odds, yet do create a certain tension for us as we worship Him. Many worship songs focus only on one side of this tension, which may not be a problem in itself unless we begin to string together only songs that present one side of the tension over an extended period of time, thus distorting the view of God. Presenting the tension may be somewhat disturbing for a culture that wants to be able to either have everything explained rationally, or who want to feel the experiential warm fuzzy of resolution. The full Gospel necessitates our presenting the whole truth that God is wholly other-holy Other – and at once “closer than a brother” in Christ Jesus. It is important to express these truths along with their appropriate tensions in our worship singing as well as having them proclaimed through the preached Word, where they are revealed from God Himself.

Presenting the resolution of the cross without the horror of its cost is to misrepresent the glory, and in fact, presents no resolution or glory at all. The cross is disturbing. The “blood songs” are disturbing. There is tension inherent in a “suffering Savior,” yet this tension is at the heart of our worship, and it is in presenting the fullness of the cross’s glory that we can proclaim salvation. There is tension in a wrathful, jealous, holy God who is at once the One whose love endures forever; the One who forgives, and forgives and frees us to truly live. These tensions are disturbing, yet powerful and at the center of worship.

I encourage you to read the whole thing here.

Tune My Heart to Sing Thy Grace

My friend, Paul Clark, has recently started a blog where he posts the excellent articles he sends out to pastors, worship pastors, music ministers, etc., in conjunction with his work as Worship Specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Paul thinks biblically, congregationally, and carefully about corporate worship. These articles are the expression of his own heart, which is certainly tuned to God's redeeming grace. I encourage you to read his most recent post, Disconnected Prayers in Public Worship, and to check back regularly for future articles.

And if you are a pastor, I also encourage you to consider bringing Paul to your church to lead in a Worship Renewal Through Congregational Singing Weekend, a recent project that Paul has been working on and just begun offering to local churches.