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Posts by David L. Ward

» Cross-Centered Worship

Cross-Centered Worship by David L. Ward, Released October 2005

Cross-Centered Worship by David L. WardPurchase at Bandcamp
Tracks1. Depth of Mercy
2. By Grace Alone
3. God of Mercy
4. I Lay My Sins on Jesus
5. I Need You
6. The Fountain of Grace
7. It's All of Grace
8. Ever to Obey You
9. I Adore You
10. Praise Him
11. The Theme of My Song
12. Songs of Praise

The contemporary church is drowning in a sea of music that, at least in name, is designed for use in worship. The musical styles of this tidal wave represent almost every form of music imaginable: Eastern chant, African tribal music, classical, rock, blues, jazz, country, folk, and even "hard-core." This musical variety can be a good thing since modern recording technology has given us unprecedented access to enjoying the music of a huge variety of styles. The music that tugs at the heartstrings of people in a community, even in an individual family, can be very different. But should musical variety or style be the main distinguishing characteristic in worship music? What should set a particular song or arrangement of music apart in order for... (continue reading...)

» Charles Wesley

(From A Dictionary of Hymnology, 1892)

Charles Wesley ... was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, -- perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, [England] December 18, 1707.

In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. While he was at Westminster, his father received a letter from a wealthy Irish man, asking him if he had a son named Charles, and if so offering to adopt him and make him his heir. The acceptance of the offer was left to Charles himself, who declined it.

In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepened, and he became one of the first band of "Oxford... (continue reading...)

» Isaac Watts

(From the Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1899)

Isaac Watts (1674-1748), hymnwriter, was born at Southampton [England] on 17 July 1674. His grandfather, Thomas Watts, a commander of a man-of-war under Blake in 1656, died in the prime of life through an explosion on board his ship. His father, Isaac, occupied a lower position, being described as 'a clothier' of 21 French Street, Southampton (1719). As deacon of the independent meeting, he was imprisoned for his religious opinions in the gaol of Southampton at the time of the birth of his son Isaac and in the following year (1675). In 1685 also he was for the same cause obliged to hide in London for two years. In later years he kept a flourishing boarding-school at Southampton. He had a liking for the composition of sacred verses. One or two of his pieces appear in the posthumous works of his son (1779), and several others in that volume are credited to him by Gibbons in his biography. He died in February 1736?, aged 85. His wife was daughter of an Alderman Taunton at Southampton, and had Huguenot blood in her veins.

Isaac Watts was... (continue reading...)

» Sovereign Grace Worship Conference

I'll be at the Sovereign Grace worship conference this week in Gaithersburg, MD. God has used these conferences and this group of churches mightily in my life to reform and expand my view of worship and worship music. I have found no other group that is so dedicated to a God-Centered, Cross-Centered, and Word-Centered view of worship AND is dedicated to a passionate expression of worship through music using a wide variety of styles of music in the contemporary orb. In the same service that they might preach a fifty minute expositional sermon on Ephesians 1 and the glorious truth of election, they will have a fifty minute time of intense and God honoring singing, prayer, sharing, and reading.

» Singing Without Instruments

We are having a special service this Sunday, one in which all of the singing will be done without accompaniment (a capella). We do not believe that this is the only acceptable method of singing to the Lord in worship as some do. Instead, I use servcies like this as a way to remind all of us that the music is not the main thing in worship songs, it is the lyrics and the truth about the Lord conveyed in those lyrics. I do all that I can each week to help people focus on the lyrics instead of just going along for the ride with the songs. Below is the explanation I gave our church in a church-wide email:

Brethren,

As I mentioned during the announcements on Sunday morning, our music will be a little different this Sunday during Gathered Worship. The only music we make will be with our voices, the instruments that we carry with us wherever we go. To help us prepare I have put together a page on our website with audio files you can click on to practice and learn parts.

http://www.redeemerbiblechurch.com/acapella/

The... (continue reading...)

» The Practice of Private Worship

Brothers, I thought it would be humbling for us and helpful to our brothers and sisters in Christ if we shared our experience with the practice and priority of private worship. At Redeemer we use the term private worship, which I think is very helpful, but you may know it as "quiet times" or "devotions."

Private worship is the act of setting aside our preoccupation with our daily responsibilities to put our focus on the Lord. When I teach on worship I often mention the various ways worship should manifest itself in our lives – in public or gathered worship, in family worship (whoever we live with), in private worship, and in all-of-life worship. When one is missing the others will suffer as well. I have found that most of the time when someone has endless complaints about public worship along the lines of "our public worship just isn't doing anything for me, isn't helping me connect with God" that they have a non-existent private worship life. How can we expect to have intimate times of God on Sundays if we never seek Him during the week? Pardon the frankness, but it's... (continue reading...)

» The Mid-Week Prayer Meeting

Brothers, I feel compelled to share a couple of things about our mid-week prayer meeting that I hope will benefit any who read our blog. First, I wanted to explain the format of prayer meeting so people can get a sense of what we do on Wednesdays. We pick up a congregational prayer sheet as we come in and begin by singing for about 15 minutes. We then move through the prayer sheet which includes praises, petitions for the sick and injured, and various kinds of special requests, sharing new items and asking for updates as we go along. We then break into men/women and get assigned several requests from the sheet and from there split into groups of 2 or 3. In our smallest groups we share additional personal needs and requests as well as how we are doing spiritually. It is a wonderful time of small group and one on one admonishment and encouragement. I feel that it's one of the best times our church has to "stimulate one another to love and good deeds." (Heb 10:24)

On the first Wednesday of the month we pray through either the... (continue reading...)

» New Family Worship Book (Quarterly)

We've just finished assembling the family worship book for the third quarter. For those who might have missed my earlier post, it's a compendium of short scripture readings, catechism questions, a memory verse, a bible reading plan, and a hymn of the week published quarterly for our church family. I almost always choose one or two of the readings, the hymn, and sometimes even the catechism questions for use in our public worship. This lets families do lots of preparation days or weeks ahead of time helping their children learn how to participate.

You can download a PDF of the book Here. It's in booklet form, so you'll want to print it two sided and fold it together to make sense of it.

Please note that on pages 10-12 I have rewritten the questions on the Sabbath and added a footnote to explain. Most reformed catechisms include questions demonstrating the view that the Sabbath of the Mosaic Covenant has become the "Christian Sabbath," to be observed on Sunday. We do not hold that view, and I didn't know of any catechisms for children that did not follow the historic reformed ones.... (continue reading...)

» Gathered Worship at Redeemer, 6/18/06

This Sunday is Father's Day and one of our songteam members is going to share a song she wrote about her dad (that's what Special Music is).


Announcements
Time of Reflection
Call to Worship - Psalm 92:1-2
Invocation (prayer)
Special Music
Song: Come, Thou Fount Of Every Blessing - Robert Robinson
Prayer: Confession of Sin 2.2.68 - The Worship Sourcebook
Song: Just as I Am, Without One Plea (1,2,3,4) - Charlotte Elliott
Song: I Need You - David L. Ward / Frederick Whitfield (1829-1904)
Old Testament Reading - 1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13
Song: Join all the Glorious Names - Bob Kauflin / Isaac Watts
Song: In My Heart - Grover, Eric
New Testament Reading - 2 Corinthians 5:6-17
Song: Glory is Certain - Henry Lyte (1793-1847) / David L. Ward
Responsive Psalm Reading - Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15
Prayer of Praise and Provision
Worship Through Giving - Offering
Song: Just as I Am, Without One Plea (1,5,6) - Charlotte Elliott
The Ministry of the Word - Bob Glenn
Song of Response

» Christian Radio Jewel

I heard a quote from a Christian radio announcer this morning (one of those positive, uplifting music stations…) that I just had to share. After a song came on about God being there for us during the storms of our lives, she said something like (I'm horrible at remembering conversations, but hopefully this is close) "isn't it great that we can listen to songs like this that really lift us up when we are in the midst of life's storms. It's not about us, it's about these songwriters. They have truly been anointed by God…"

As a songwriter, I was horrified by this remark. Being comforted by God's faithfulness and loving care for us is not about anyone, especially the songwriters (who are particularly prone to taking pride in their craft, I know from experience!). It's not about us, it's about God.

» Thoughts on Leading Worship

I wrote up a very quick and very rough draft of a document on leading worship to share with a worship leader who will be leading in my absence in a few weeks. What do you think of the following excerpt?

The role of worship leader at Redeemer is extremely important. His task can be summarized as aiding the Holy Spirit in putting Jesus on display in the thoughts and affections of His people. The fact that God would even allow men to be used in this way should deeply humble and amaze his soul. This is done by example (both in how worship leadership is executed and in his life outside of worship), and by spoken word through exhortations and prayers. He should strive to maintain an atmosphere of comfort and security during the worship service and should strive to avoid at all costs the awkward feeling of not knowing what is coming next or being unsure of what to do or say next. This awkwardness tends to pull our attention away from the Savior and onto people.


How the worship leader aids the Spirit
  First, the... (continue reading...)

» Teaching Doctrine Through Song: David

Thanks for reminding us of the importance of what our songs are teaching. It's often said that songs can be more effective vehicles for truth-delivery than sermons! (We must not despise the fact that God has ordained preaching, not singing, as the means by which people are saved - see Romans 10) Your post reminded me of a chapter in a John Witvliet book called Worship Seeking Understanding titled "Soul Food for the People of God." In it, Witvliet compares the choice of songs for a congregation to our diets. Like the maxim "we are what we eat" he says "we are what we sing." Going even further, he says "What more soul-shaping force can we imagine than the songs we sing?"

He gives us seven dimensions of this metaphor:

Congregational song is a means of spiritual nourishment.
A great couple of quotes from this heading are "Consider the prominent spiritual disease of sentimentality: religious experience as candy-coated happiness and bliss. If we feed our souls a steady diet of musical candy, we will have little spiritual protein to sustain us." and "[Music] is more than a shell for the... (continue reading...)

» Re: Grace Gathering, 5/21/06 (David)

Kevin,

Thanks for posting your service orders. I hope that it will help readers think critically about how they plan their own services. One way in which we differ in our planning is how you structure your service into groups or functions. For example, you give each song or group of songs a section heading like "Songs of Meditation." While I might have the function of songs in mind when I plan, I like to leave this out b/c service items can fulfill multiple functions, which can change based on how the Spirit is moving on our hearts and minds as the service goes along. Another reason I don't add functions to items is that my people don't have a service order. We use the overhead projector and most people seem to feel comfortable just following along. We do make a music/lyric booklet available for those that want it, so those that need that sense of security that comes from knowing what's next can satisfy their desire.

The opening song is a great choice. It presents God's character and asks for help worshipping Him. I often use a... (continue reading...)

» Re: Key Worship Convictions of Grace Church (David)

Kevin,

Thanks for thinking so deeply about your church's approach to worship and identifying key goals. For many of these I can simply say "amen," and for the others I'll try to add something meaningful below.

Theological Richness: Songs should not only be doctrinally true, but theologically rich. Preference will be shown to modern hymns, and shallow, repetitive songs will be avoided.

I wouldn't write off shallow, repetitive songs completely. I occasionally use very simple songs (but don't repeat them too many times) particularly for those who can't fully grasp the complex theological ideas in the larger songs, like children or mentally slow adults.

Historical Connection: The great hymns of the faith should be sung, either with their original tunes or with modern revisions of them, allowing today’s worshippers to be connected to their brothers and sisters of the past and their depth of expression.

I completely agree that we need to connect our people to the past and give them a sense of the history of worship songs, particularly for congregations that haven't grown up with a hymn background. And I think it's important that they learn the original tunes... (continue reading...)

» Singing to Jesus or My Prom Date: David

Kevin said “So, brotherhood, what do you think is the impact (good or bad) of groups like MercyMe?” First off let me say that I don’t know any Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) “stars” personally. I don’t know their character, their commitments, or even if they are genuine believers. But I do have an opinion about the public face I see of these stars. Interviews I’ve heard on the radio or read in magazines often grieve me. The Lord has given these men and women a platform to share about the character of God, His mercy to them, and most importantly the gospel to a lost and dying world. Instead, what I normally hear is what their favorite foods are, what the last movie they watched was, why they shaved their head, why they choose the clothes they do, etc. And the article on MercyMe shows the increased trend to make references to Jesus more veiled to draw people in who might not know right away that they are listening to music whose supposed aim is to glorify the Lord. What I see of how CCM musicians compose themselves on the stage also grieves me. Again, I don’t know their... (continue reading...)

» Stuck in a Rut: David

I wanted to add a couple things to this idea of clinging to traditions. Ferguson refers to tradition both in terms of our words and our activities. I find it amusing that churches who often consider themselves non-liturgical (not following a liturgy or specific service order rooted in tradition) and free from stuffy traditions of the past quickly manufacture their own new liturgy. Many worship leaders essentially pray the same thing using the same 10 words between songs or at certain points in the service. Over time Christians can develop their own mannerisms, way of speaking, way of using words, and ways of doing mundane things like driving. I’m not kidding. I have witnessed the affects of a church that developed their own complete sub-culture that was totally disconnected from the culture around them. And you know what? People were repelled from Christ because they felt they wouldn’t be accepted unless they started wearing a tie and using certain words in their speech.

His exhortation to make sure we aren’t clinging to meaningless tradition in our words hits home to me most in our practice of public (and private) prayer.... (continue reading...)

» “God is my girlfriend” or Reflection of the Psalms?: David

Sorry that it has taken so long to post a response to this! Hopefully the previous article from Sam Storms won’t be too far out of the minds of Doxologue readers. Chuck Colson’s original article can be found here, and the response by Sam Storms can be found here.

First, it seems apparent to me that Colson’s demeanor both in his writing and in his own description of how he responded to a worship leader is not Christ-like. The very first sentence in his article is a sweeping generalization that he can’t stand any contemporary worship music or worship leaders. He also declares that “Draw Me Close” has zero theologically content – a statement that can’t be true and is inflammatory. Colson’s defiant shout against the worship leader because he didn’t like the kind of singing that was going on does not display the humility and love of Christ. If the song or leader was leading people into unbiblical ideas about God or leading them into sinful behavior I could see justifying this kind of public retaliation.

Colson says “I'm convinced that much of the music being written for the church today reflects an unfortunate trend—slipping across... (continue reading...)

» Family Worship Book Details

Eric,

We're not yet in the position where we could make them available outside of the church, but at some point I hope to put together a website that will have the contents available. Anyone interested can contact me and I can send them a PDF that they can print out double sided to make their own booklet.

Here is where the contents from from:
Family Readings: The Revised Common Lectionary
Catechism Questions: A Catechism for Boys and Girls by Carey Publications (though I'm doing some editing on this, so you can use another catechism like the Baptist Catechism)
Memory Verse: I'm choosing it to go along with the catechism questions
Daily Readings: From Back to the Bible
Hymn: I choose one to go along with the catechism questions and memory verse if possible. I suggest that people learn the tunes from CyberHymnal.org. Here are the 52 hymns that I identified as those I felt families would do well to learn together (we'll probably cycle the same ones again next year unless I make some changes). Keep in mind that the list was prepared with a view towards children being able to participate... (continue reading...)

» More Thoughts on Family Worship

Thanks for pointing out Jim Hamilton’s comments on family worship, Eric. I especially liked the way he explained doing various God-focused tasks with the kids at various times throughout the day.

When I reflect on my own experiences with family worship, I am reminded how often I fall into the thinking that once I’ve done certain “spiritual” tasks with the family (and my wife), I have effectively led them in family worship (or put another way, I have checked off my spiritual headship box for the day). We do the same thing with our private worship (a.k.a quiet times or devotions) and corporate worship when we assume that a great time with the Lord in the morning is like a can of spinach to Popeye – it gives us the spiritual power we need to make it to the next meeting. In one sense this is true, that these times of worship are refreshing and reinvigorating, but in another it is not. God tells us that worship is bigger than just special times where we focus our attention on the Lord. Romans 12 begins:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your... (continue reading...)

» Unbelievers at Easter Worship

Easter is normally the most highly attended service of the year with many nominal believers (sometimes called Christmas/Easter Christians or CREasters for short) present. Are there any ways that we should take this into account as we plan our worship services for Easter? Those on the doxologue would all agree that worship is for believers, not unbelievers, but in what ways can we explicitly reach out to and acknowledge unbelievers that would not violate this biblical principle and take us into the realm of “seeker sensitive?”

» Easter/Good Friday Songs: David

Part of the reason it has taken a week to answer this is that I haven't started planning these services yet! (I normally plan services 5-10 days ahead)

We just introduced See, What a Morning by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty this past Sunday so that we can sing it as a congregation on Easter Sunday. Another song that I almost always use for Sunday is Christ the Lord is Risen Today by Charles Wesley. A song that we are singing this coming Sunday is Up From the Grave He Arose by Robert Lowry. This is a particularly good one for including kids - it's one of our children's favorite Easter songs. We will probably use The Power of the Cross and/or In Christ Alone by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty as well.

For Good Friday I will definitely use O Sacred Head, Now Wounded by Bernard of Clairvaux (1153) which I consider the quintessential Good Friday hymn. After noticing that Bernard is referred to by his town a smart songteam member suggested that I start signing my songs "David of Minnetonka." We may use The Power of the Cross by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty and... (continue reading...)

» Top New Songs

I keep a detailed list of all of the new songs I have either introduced or plan to introduce. Since I have been at Redeemer (almost 7 months now), I have taught the congregation the following songs:

Baptism Hymn, an unpublished song from Reformed PraiseIn My Heart by Sovereign Grace Music (Eric Grover), see the album King of GraceA Debtor to Mercy by Sovereign Grace Music (Bob Kauflin), see the album UpwardIt's All of Grace by Reformed Praise, see the album Cross-Centered WorshipJesus, I Am Resting, Resting from Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN (David Hampton), see the album Re:AwakeningThe Gospel Song (Drew Jones and Bob Kauflin) and The Glories of Calvary (Steve and Vikki Cook) from Sovereign Grace Ministries, see the album Songs for the Cross-Centered LifeSurrender All and Always Forgiven from Sovereign Grace Ministries, see the album Worship God LiveBeautiful Savior by Stuart Townend, see the album Beautiful SaviourWhat Wondrous Cause and There Is No Greater Portrait from Reformed Praise
The choice of which songs to introduce is normally based on the song's theme in relation to the rest of the worship service. I also take into consideration the style and tempo of the... (continue reading...)

» Prayer is Worship Too

Thanks for reminding us that worship is broader than music. Far too many believers associate worship with music and how music moves them. You can see this unhealthy connection in phrases like "we had a great time of worship before the message," or "that song was really worshipful." (That last one really gets me - I've even seen that adjective used at the top of sheet music to describe to "feel" of the song).

When I teach on worship I normally divide it into 4 areas: gathered or public, family (if you are not living alone), private, and all-of-life. The all-of-life category is normally the most eye-openeing for people. Many often assume that worship must be a conscious routine of stopping the day, praying, singing, meditating, etc. But according to the Lord we should worship Him all day long.
"pray without ceasing"- 1 Thess 5:17
"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." - Col 3:17
We can actually worship God while brushing our teeth, as long as we do it in the name of the Lord... (continue reading...)

» Neglected Song Themes - Two Suggestions

Here are two themes that I believe need more modern songs addressing:
The Word of God (particularly addressing the centrality of its place in worship and pleas for the Lord to transform us by it)The role of the Holy Spirit (asking Him to fill and empower us and to quicken our hearts to love God more passionately in worship)

» On Weekly Communion - David’s Response

Kevin, I would agree with your advice especially for a new church seeking to establish the centrality and priority of the cross in worship, but would not go so far as to say that I would recommend all churches having weekly communion. As you wrote, none of the reasons you give are biblically normative (I’m not sure I even agree that Acts 2:42-47 is a direct reference to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper). While I agree that communion is a participatory act, so are many other types of activities like responsive scripture readings, singing, or private prayers. All of these things can be expressions of unity with Christ and with one another, albeit not the penultimate expression of unity with Christ. While I agree that it gives us a regular time of commemoration (which is the purpose for the Lord’s Table) I believe that every service of worship should remember the work of Jesus and the cross. We should have “cross-centered worship.” (shamelessly borrowing from the title of my CD!) And I agree that our churches need a weekly time for examination and confession, but that can be accomplished by other means... (continue reading...)

» Sovereign Grace Worship Conference

I have attended this conference every year (that it has been offered) since some time around 2001 or so. Very often those with reformed convictions also hold to the cessasion of the revelatory gifts of the Holy Spirit (this is probably the case for those on the doxologue, but I'm not sure). It has been my observation that many cessasionists unfairly link these revelatory gifts (like tongues speaking) with emotional, transcendent, and even mystical experiences of worship. It's almost like there is a fear of letting that "charismatic" stuff in the door. While I would have recognized the command to worship God with an emotional response I did little to pursue it both in my private and public worship. Once I found out about how Sovereign Grace was doing the same thing that I was by modernizing historic hymns, I got to know Bob Kauflin, the host of the conference. Once I attended worship at Covenant Life Church and the worship conference that year my view of passionate, biblical worship was expanded an hundred fold. Since then the conferences have served to stoke my vision for how to have and lead... (continue reading...)

» David’s Doxo-biography

I grew up attending a very wide variety of churches. As far as I can remember, we attended small churches, larger churches, Presbyterian churches, a house church, an Episcopal church, a Baptist church (not sure if it was Southern Baptist), a charismatic church, a Methodist church, and a Bible church. The Episcopal church was very formal in its approach to worship (in architecture, dress, and music) but unfortunately was not evangelical. We started attending there when I was probably around 11 and I have many memories of elaborate liturgies, processions, amazing organ music, and even liturgical dance. Undoubtedly my knowledge of many great hymns of the faith came from this church, even though I didn’t learn the gospel there. I was saved when I was 12 at the ministry of a summer camp where I was attracted to the gospel lived out in the lives of my college-aged counselors. We had daily devotions (camp-wide!) and sang songs to guitars strumming around a campfire – songs like “I Love You, Lord,” “This Little Light of Mine,” “Leaning on the Lord’s Side,” etc. (I’m not sure if the old “standard” Lord, I Lift Your... (continue reading...)

» The Effectiveness of Traditional Hymn Tunes

From time to time I receive critical feedback about what I am doing over at Reformed Praise and thought that I would share a recent email that is thought-provoking. I haven't responded to the author yet, so perhaps your comments might help me craft a deft reply.

On the homepage of reformedpraise.org it states:
Hymns have long been a rich source of deep lyrics, but many traditional tunes used to sing these hymns hinder rather than help believers feel what they are singing.
The response:
I lovingly disagree with this point. I love the old tunes and find them easy to sing and rich in melody. I have never found them to hinder my worship because the content is the focus. The one word that came to my attention here is "feel". Corporate singing is the worship of believers to the truth of God's Word and His character. Feelings cannot be trusted and should not be a focus of worship. Today's music is sung to ellicit "feelings" and get people stirred up to a point of hypersuggestiveness to where they cannot reason. We should be responding appropriately to God and His Word in humility and praise.
When... (continue reading...)