Creative Project for Essential Blue

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St.Stephen’sUniversity, Essentials Blues Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

Finally got here! This is my final project for the Essential Blue worship theology course. I’m glad Dan said ‘rough’ mp3! It would have taken me weeks to smooth it out.

Anyway I have written a song based on the trinity inspired by the section on prayer in Simply Christian by N T Wright (p144) where Wright talks about the eastern orthodox ‘Jesus Prayer’.

This simple prayer really stuck home and I felt called to put the simple words to music.

I have tried to capture a simple Celtic feel, as this is my heritage and blend it with this ancient eastern orthodox tradition thus evoking a sense of community as we link old with new, east with west.

This project is not complete, this idea deserves more than two weeks of rushed thought. So here is my draft version, I hope you like it.

The mp3 and chord chart can be found at www.brokenwalls.co.uk

Bless you all, Rob.

Thoughts on a Christian world veiw

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St.Stephen’sUniversity, Essentials Blues Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

This is SUCH a big question, one which needs more than a weeks worth of thought!

Any way, this statement was writen for the Essential Blue course run by The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies at  St.Stephen’sUniversity.

This is DEFINATLY a work in progress

God is GOD

God is uniquely divine, The first, The last, The only.

God is by very nature, perfect beauty in Creativity, perfect community in Trinity, ultimate authority as Sovereign, undying love as Saviour.

God is a God of detail, (of the microscopic), and of majestic grandeur (the macroscopic).

God is a God of thought, of feeling, of action.

A God of reason, logic and wisdom, A God of passion, laughter and tears, A God of power, compassion and justice

A God whose afterglow of creation, still echoes in this world, an echo of His true nature. A God of Spirituality, Justice, Beauty and Relationship.

 

We are not God. We are created.

We are the dust of the world filled with the breath of the living God.

We are cast in God’s image, made in His mould, to reflect God’s glory into the universe

We are cast in God’s image, made in His mould, to reflect the beauty of creation towards God. To give ALL honour, and glory and praise to Him.

We are the stewards of God’s sovereign work, a royal priesthood.

We are God’s reminder to the universe of its creator.

We are a pointer, a signpost towards God.

 

We are sinners.

We are a fallen race, a race in self exile from God’s kingdom.

We are a people who are lost.

We are a people in darkness searching for a light.

We are the prodigal sons and daughters

 

We are a ‘God Pursued’ race. God reaches out to us, at His own expense and pain, to bring us back into the kingdom.

 

We are redeemed.

God sent his only Son, a part of his own self, to suffer and die so that we maybe reunited with our heavenly father.

We are the new living temple of the living God.

We are the kingdom of God here in this world. We are the place where kingdom authority reigns.

We live on the threshold of the Kingdom of God and Earth. Walking in one world, but existing in two realms.

 

 

The church is the people of God living in right relationship with each other.

The church is the body of Christ incarnate, here to do the work of the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Called to extend the kingdom of God to the lost, poor, sick, the down trodden and needy. An instrument of Gods to bring His justice and new creation into the world.

We are the story tellers of God’s salvation, the bringers of hope.

We are a light in the darkness.

We are LOVE to a loveless world.

 

We are destined to be princes and princesses in God’s new creation, to rule in harmony and love with each other and over all of creation.

We are the foretaste of this new creation, we are the ‘not-yet’ – ‘here-now’

 

Any thoughts, reflections and opinions would be gratefully accepted

Ponderings about what it means to be human

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St.Stephen’sUniversity, Essentials Blues Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

Hello all.

So what does it mean to be a human being? Mmmmm…

I was reminded this week of a film I like called equilibrium. You may have seen it.

If you haven’t then its set in the near future in a society that has developed a drug that suppresses human emotion. There is no war or crime but nor is there any art, music or beauty.

Well the main character, who starts off being the strongest defender of this society, stops taking the drugs and starts to feel again!!!! A bit like Saul becoming Paul now I think about it.

Any how, there is a bit in the film when he is just starting to feel, when he comes in and sits at his desk and just has the urge to rearrange the objects on his desk.

He doesn’t know why, he just does it.

As he starts to rediscover his humanity he starts to create and express himself.

To be human is to create from the well spring of creativity placed within us, and use this creativity to reflect our personality into the world around us.

And since we are all made in God’s image we reflect him to.

So to be human is to reflect the beauty of God into our world.

Thoughts on Trinitarian worship

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St.Stephen’sUniversity, Essentials Blues Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

I have an idea on the trinity in worship and how we may be able to express this in our service.

 

***Disclaimer! With my limited theological knowledge I could be speaking heresy!!!)***

 

I would love your thoughts, feed back and criticism on this idea.

 

This idea came out of the fact that we are made in God’s image. God is three distinctly separate personalities operating as one entity. If we are made in his image then maybe we have a trinitarian nature as well, that is Mind, Body & Spirit. And maybe these uniquely interact with different aspects of God’s nature when we worship?

Worship also has three aspects, we speak to God, We listen to God and we respond to God.

Complete worship may need to engage all three aspects.

So…..

        GOD                                        US                                        REPONSE 

THE FATHER               interacts with our Mind — we speak to God and He speaks to us

THE SON (JESUS)       interacts with our Body — we respond to God and He responds to us

THE HOLY SPIRIT      interacts with our Spirit — we listen to God and He listens to us

 

If this has any truth then we are forced to ask- do we give equal time to each aspect? If your church is anything like ours then the answer will be no. We speak more than we listen and do less than we hear!

 

This could also help explain worship as a life style as it is all about a relationship with God and not about a set time of the week.

 

Anyway, as I have already said, this could be all heresy but then again it may have some truth to it.

 

Any thoughts please.

Musing’s on the nature of the worship artisan (Essentials Blue)

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St.Stephen’sUniversity, Essentials Blues Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

I have a confession to make at the start of this blog!

 

When I first came across the term ‘Worship Artisan’ I didn’t like it.

It sounded too pretentious and aloof, far away from the realities of day-to-day worship leading and song writing.

 

BUT…… after listening to Dan talk on the nature of the Worship Artisan and now having some time to reflect on this I have to admit that I was wrong.

 

There, glad that’s of my chest!

 

The idea that we as worship leaders and song writers are ‘crafting’ not just creating and that ‘crafting’ draws not only on personal experience and theology (both important) but also on the traditions and history that has gone before us has struck a deep resonance within me. One which I am keen to explore.

 

Any how, I’m interested in what other peoples gut response to the term ‘Worship Artisan’ was and how they see that influencing what we do as worship leaders and song writers. Especially since SO much worship material is being produced at an ever increasing rate.

 

So may be I’m asking are we still ‘crafting’ or are we now just ‘creating’?

 

What do you think…..

Testing, Testing 1,2,3! Essentials Blue

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St.Stephen’sUniversity, Essentials Blues Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

First attempt at a blog!!! never need to use one before

Well here it goes…………….