I am a product of a family steeped in Christian faith. My dad was a Tennessee Baptist pastor whose life and legacy speaks for itself. I have often testified to the richness of my heritage as a "P.K." (preacher's kid), who grew up in the church listening to Dad preach, and observing Mom play the organ for Sunday worship. The Clark household bore many evidences of the centrality of Christ. Many wall plaques included favorite scripture verses. Bookshelves were filled with Bible commentaries, Christian biographies, and devotional helps. The bulk of the music stacked on the piano was church music; hymn settings, Gospel solo accompaniments, and choir anthems. My sisters and brother and I caught the unmistakable influence of our parents. Coming to faith was something that had to take place within each of us individually, of course, but the pattern and spirit of honoring God in our home and church was a powerful means of receiving the commendation of God's works. The life lived as a "reasonable act of worship" (Rom 12:1) is something we have sought to pass on to our three children, and pray daily will be passed on to our grandchildren and beyond. An important part of that life has been participation together in worship.

It has often been said that "Sunday morning at 11:00am is the most segregated day of the week." The far too accurate statement is a reference, of course, to racial segregation evidenced in our churches. Of all times of the week, you would think Christians would find a way to come together in worship. Racial segregation is not the only way we are divided when it comes to worship. Many of our churches have participated in building an artificial wall that may best be described as ageism. Aspects of our acquiescence have come directly from cultural prejudice that values one age above another. Churches would do well to closely evaluate whether their programming, ministry, and "marketing" foster this prejudice and/or division. As evidenced by racial, theological, doctrinal, socio-economic, and educational level divisions, the church struggles with the hard task of wall demolition.

I am a strong proponent of intergenerational worship! I am convinced that our churches need to directly address the question, "How can we hold generations together in worship?" Some shutter at the thought of converging the music that speaks to teens with that which encourages senior saints. Very often I hear people speak of so-called "blended" worship as that which makes everyone angry, and satisfies no one. That sentiment conveys the real heart of the problem, which is that we still do not understand Who worship is either for or about. It is probably true that even the most noble among us cannot break down the walls of division, especially if we view worship's purpose to be reaching people, or satisfying our need for weekly inspiration and instruction. The controlling point of these motivations remain centered in us, sinful and fallen as we are. For the walls of ageism to be brought down we need nothing less than the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the work of Jesus Christ that tore the curtain and ended eternal separation between God and man. (2 Cor 3:14) Only He can smash the walls that divide us by preference or generational prejudice, and draw us into the one body intended for the community of faith. Jesus did not shrink from interacting with tax gatherers, prostitutes, lepers, and others marginalized by society. He welcomed women and children. He said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them!" (Matt 19:14 NLT) The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, "Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young." (1 Tim 4:12 NLT) The writer of Proverbs offers the wisdom, "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life." (Prov 16:31 NIV) The Bible gives no evidence of age discrimination, but rather indicates its application of grace to all who believe. Paul wrote of wall demolition when he noted, "There is neither Jew nor gentile, slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal 3:28 NKJV) He cautions us how we should treat one another of different ages in 1 Timothy 5.

Respect for those different than ourselves does not just happen. This is true of those who are of a different generation than we are. There is an intentionality about the spirit and attitude needed to see others as "better than yourselves" (Phil 2:3) and to foster the kind of love that Jesus prayed for when He asked the Father "that all of them may be one, even as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:21 NIV) It is the kind of attitude we would expect to see in corporate worship that yields self-control over to Spirit-control. Consider the bold witness of old and young joined by the Holy Spirit in unity that lifts up Christ and proclaims His salvation from one generation to another.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FOSTERING INTERGENERATIONAL WORSHIP

• Include various age groups in worship leadership by reading scripture, presenting music as ministry, or praying for specific needs


• Provide opportunities for different age groups to serve alongside one another - children and/or teens assist in taking the offering or passing out worship bulletins alongside adult ushers, mixed age music ensembles, music students turning pages for church instrumentalists


• Involve family groupings in providing special moments in worship - lighting candles at Advent, sharing music or readings, carrying banners, leading congregation in sentence prayers


• Plan a series of services celebrating the seasons of life


• Sing songs selected to reflect each age group


• Conduct a survey among all age groups as to what songs best help us to accomplish certain acts of worship - praising, confessing, listening, giving, responding. After receiving responses utilize selections during those actions in worship and encourage all to use the songs of the various age group selections as a means of serving one another as you worship together.


• Reinforce efforts to educate children to the meaning and value of worshiping with parents and grandparents


• Provide opportunities for different generations to serve one another in worship

QUESTION: How are you encouraging intergenerational worship?

BREAKING NEWS. LifeWay Worship has entered into an agreement with Corevalus Systems that integrates the digital portion of the LifeWay Worship Project and SamePage™ technologies, thus allowing the inclusion of LifeWay's WorshipCharts with the purchase of SamePage performance stations. Read full press release.

I found this video of Lincoln Brewster discussing his song "God You Reign," which is one of our recent SuperChart titles.

SuperCharts, as you may know by now, include note for note transcriptions from the artist recording, additional harmonies for your praise team vocalists, full color markings to give your players direction, and a text box that allows you to type specific notes directly into the pdf document. ... Oh yeah, and a SuperChart offers you the song in all 12 keys. So, check out "God You Reign" today. (More recent SuperCharts).

This weekend Seth Godin learned a "shocking" truth that many of us have known for a long time: that ministry can be tedious, boring, and uninspiring. It can become "just a job." As a matter of fact, it will.

Unless you are proactive against it.

There is a lot of pressure on ministers, particularly on those that are involved with music, to please people. Musicians are often hard-wired to seek confirmation and validation from others. I know I am. In ministry, this can even feel right. We love others, we serve them, we bless them, we may consider their tastes and preferences above our own. In return, we really hope they like us. If they do, we feel good and think that this ministry gig is not so bad after all. But this system is unsustainable. It's too people-focused and eventually someone is not going to like the way we do something. We burnout.

What to do? There's an interesting expression in the Bible that I try to remember: ministering to the Lord.* It's good to minister to others, being a worship leader requires it. But what's most important is that you are ministering to Him. And don't think you can do both at the same time. It's not that easy. These acts are sequential, not simultaneous.

I believe that the most important thing you can do as a worship leader is to first be a worshiper. Are you focusing on Him? Are you taking time for quiet reflection and prayer? Are you reading the Word? Are you worshiping Him on your own? Alone? Are you meditating on the Word? Are you letting the Word speak to you on it's own terms or are you just using it to plan your next church service or to write a song lyric?

It's tricky out there. Guard your heart.

I also struggle with this. What do you do to keep your music ministry from becoming "just a job"?

* See Ezekiel 44, Acts 13, and Revelation 1. Want more? See these blog posts by Jeff Goins and JD Walt.

Today, I'm thrilled to roll out the new design and name of this blog: Please Stay on the Rock. We've heard from several of you who regularly use LifeWayWorship.com and have been hard at work designing this companion site to best equip you for congregational worship leading.

You'll find that the site is cleaner and feels warmer and more creative. This is thanks to designer Tim Challies and photographer Mike Severson, who provided us with the photograph and inspiration for the new name.

There is one particular feature I want to point out. We really do like hearing from you and have created a feedback link on the footer of every page. By clicking it, you're taken to this post where we will continue to collect and read your comments on this and the LifeWayWorship.com site.

Subscribe to this blog today to be notified whenever there is a new post. The sidebar to your right has subscription options for both RSS feed and old fashioned email (funny, isn't it?). Whichever option you choose, I hope you'll make this blog part of your regular routine as you plan your weekly worship services. We'll be here to keep you updated with all of the latest music we have as well as attempt to enlighten, inspire, and, every now and then, remind you not to take yourself too seriously. We need you to dialog with us and hold us accountable to the standards you need for your ministry. Deal?

Question: What other ways would you like to use this blog?

We have a big announcement today: Lead sheets, synthesizer string reductions, and synthesizer brass reductions are now mappable via our SongMap application. So, if you create your own arrangement of "Jesus Messiah" and purchase a lead sheet, the lead sheet will follow your arrangement when you download it. Hand it out to your rhythm band and keep your red pen in your pocket. Cool, huh?

If you're new to SongMap, check out our help video.

Question: How are you using SongMap?

Last fall I had the opportunity to head out to Lebanon, TN to LifeWay's distribution center. They have weekly chapel services there for the employees. Leading worship is one the things I enjoy the most about my position and the chapel services in Lebanon offer a really unique experience. I'm learning how important it is to understand your "congregation" and here are a few things I've come to understand about this group. I hope it helps you think about the different groups you may find yourself leading.

First, these folks are at work. For the most part, they're happy to be there, because it's a break from their routine, but they are still there because they have to be. This alone creates a vastly different dynamic than a typical church service.

Second, there are some technical challenges. The service is in the break room with hard tile floors, concrete walls, and humming Coke machines. There is a limited sound system (and a volunteer that runs it), but no projection screen.

Third, there are more folks than I usually encounter in a church service for whom English is not their first language. The second most spoken language is Spanish, of course, but also Korean.

So, what does this mean for me, the worship leader? The first thing is that I can't assume anything. I can't assume that they know the songs I want to sing. I can't assume that they'll sing the song, even if they do know it (part of the work dynamic and language barrier). And without a projector, I can't assume that they'll learn a song that I may try to teach. I also can't assume that they are all believers (a safe bet for almost any gathering).

The second thing is that I need to allow them to interact according to their environment. It occurred to me that these folks stand all day long in the warehouse. To ask them to "stand with me and sing" is not the best way for me to serve them. The opportunity to sit is their deserved respite. I don't fight this, but instead attempt to provide music that is restful and contemplative.

I invite them to sing, but don't really expect them to do so. Of course, I don't say that I don't expect them to sing, it's just internally I've determined that I don't need them to sing for this to be a successful worship leading experience. This is important, because if a worship leader is expecting something from the group that he / she is not getting, it tends to manifest itself in aggressive body language (or spoken chiding) and a defeating of confidence, which can lead to other types of "train wrecks" throughout the set.

Having said that, I do try to include songs that are easy to sing, should they choose to do so. Popular songs are good for this (although, admittedly, it's somewhat of a crap-shoot). Songs that they can echo tend to be my choice (e.g. "Spring Up, O Well," "You're Worthy of My Praise").

Once I set these expectations, we could all relax and have a great time worshiping the Lord. Indeed we did. Here's the set with links to those that you can find on LifeWayWorship.com.

1. 5-minutes of prelude music coupled with scripture reading / spontaneous psalming


2. Enter In (C. McGinty)


3. Yes, You Have (L. Moorland, J. Moorland, B. Bronleewe)


4. Spring Up, O Well (J. Riggs)


5. You're Worthy of My Praise (D. Ruis)


6. Come Thou Fountain (traditional hymn, arr. J. Riggs)


7. How He Loves (J.M. McMillan)


8. Be The Centre (M. Frye). (This was our "can you do one more?" closing song).

Here is another great worship song from our latest batch of SuperCharts. Chris Tomlin, Louie Giglio, Jesse Reeves, and Matt Maher's "I Will Rise." This ballad speaks of the peace we can have amidst life's difficulties and the victory we have over death itself.

SuperCharts, as you may know by now, include note for note transcriptions from the artist recording, additional harmonies for your praise team vocalists, full color markings to give your players direction, and a text box that allows you to type specific notes directly into the pdf document. ... Oh yeah, and a SuperChart offers you the song in all 12 keys.


In case you missed it, here are some other recently released SuperCharts:

• Glory to God Forever (Steve Fee/Vicky Beeching)
  
• How He Loves (John Mark McMillan) (as recorded by David Crowder)
  
• God You Reign (Lincoln Brewster/Mia Fieldes)
  
• Here in Your Presence (Jon Egan)
  
• Take My Life (and Let It Be Consecrated) (hymn arr. plus new Chorus by Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio)
  
• Your Love, Oh Lord (Mac Powell and Third Day)
  
• Came to My Rescue (Marty Sampson/Joel Davies/Dylan Thomas) (Hillsong)
  
• Lead Me to the Cross (Brooke Fraser) (Hillsong)
  
• At the Cross (Darlene Zschech/Reuben Morgan) (Hillsong)
  
• To the Cross (Paul Baloche/Jason Ingram)
  
• There Is a Higher Throne (Keith and Kristyn Getty)
  
• One Way (Joel Houston/Jonathan Douglass) (Hillsong)
  

Use the code WPU011910 during checkout to download any three of the titles above for FREE. (Maximum Value $1.99. Must be used during one session. Offer expires February 15, 2010.)

Check out the list of all of our SuperCharts by checking the SuperCharts checkbox from the Find & Buy page.