Edwards

American Congregational Song to 1950

by

The three hundred year span of time from 1640 to 1940 saw the development of great variety in congregational singing throughout America. Beginning with the Psalters of the first colonists, Americans contributed widely varying styles of songs and hymns, culminating with the popular and influential gospel song.

In the mid-sixteenth century, the Huguenot settlers brought their French metrical psalms and psalm tunes with them to South Carolina and Florida. In the early years of the seventeenth century, the settlers of Jamestown carried their “Sternhold and Hopkins” with them, singing the tunes of the 1592 Este Psalter. Following this, the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620; they sang from the familiar Ainsworth Psalter of 1612 along with its accompanying thirty-nine tunes. But it was left to the Puritans, who settled around Boston, to produce their own Psalter, the first book printed in America. That book, The Whole Booke of Psalms Faithfully Translated in English Metre, came to be commonly called the Bay Psalm Book. From its appearance in 1640 until the printing of the first music edition in 1698, the tunes to be sung were borrowed from the Ravenscroft Psalter. When the music edition finally became available, it contained only 12 tunes, chiefly in one meter (common meter), taken from the eleventh edition (1687) of Playford’s Introduction to the Skill of Music.

As the repertoire of psalm tunes dwindled, the practice of “lining out” the psalms by the cantor became more and more tedious and confusing. The deacon or precentor appointed to line out the psalm would read the first line of the psalm or would sing the first phrase of the psalm tune. This was repeated by the members of the congregation before the leader gave out the second line and so forth. Over a period of time, the tempo of the singing would become excessively slow. In order to keep the congregation attentive during lengthy periods of psalm-singing, the precentor would add some additional notes, thus ornamenting the melody. The result was that psalm-singing became chaotic. One of the early reformers, the Rev. Thomas Walter, described congregational psalm-singing in this manner: Our tunes are left to the Mercy of every unskillful Throat to chop and alter, to twist and change, according to their infinitely divers and no less Odd Humours and Fancies. I have myself paused twice in one note to take breath. No two Men in the Congregation quaver alike or together, it sounds in the Ears of a Good Judge like five hundred different Tunes roared out at the same Time, with perpetual Interfearings with one another. (Edward S. Ninde, The Story of The American Hymn [New York: Abingdon Press, 1921], 76)

Intent on correcting the situation, Walter published a book of music instruction, The Grounds and Rules of Musick Explained, in 1721, one year after the printing of the Rev. Thomas Symmes’s pamphlet, The Reasonableness of Regular Singing or Singing by Note. By these means, the two enlightened ministers proposed a “shocking” new way of congregational singing that necessitated musical instruction. The “old way” of singing by rote without music was about to be changed. This change, however, did not come without considerable resistance, even though interest in the new method was particularly high in urban centers. From this growing interest in learning to sing by note rather than by rote, numerous singing schools were begun in the middle of the eighteenth century. The psalm tunes used in those music classes were printed in oblong tune books, with each tune printed in three or four parts with one stanza of the text. Additionally, the books contained some longer anthems at the back of the book and instructions for reading music at the front of the book.

The first significant book of this kind was James Lyon’s (1735–1794) Urania (1761). This collection was the first to feature some fuging tunes, along with the expected psalm tunes, hymn tunes, and anthems. The fuging tunes had two homophonic chordal sections separated by a central polyphonic section in which the various voice parts, imitating each other, began at different times. The best-known singing teacher/composer of the time was William Billings (1746–1800) who published his first tune book, The New England Psalm Singer, in 1770. The other volumes which followed this important work provided material for the singing schools, which he successfully conducted in the areas in and around Boston.

Oliver Holden (1765–1844) composed the earliest American tune still in common usage. His hymn tune, coronation, which was printed in his Union Harmony in 1793, is still associated with the stirring text “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.”

Moravian Hymns

The year was 1735. The group numbered only twenty-six. But on their way to Savannah, Georgia, the Moravians aboard the Simmonds gave clear testimony to their faith in the singing of their hymns. John Wesley, a fellow passenger, was deeply impressed. Drawn to them, he began his study of German and the first of his attempts at translating their German chorales into English. These actually became the first English hymns to be written and published in America. They appeared in his Charlestown Collection of 1737.

At about the same time, many witnessed the beginnings of the Great Awakening. An early leader in the movement, Jonathan Edwards, was pastor of the Congregational Church in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was in 1739, during the first visit of George Whitefield to America, that the itinerant evangelist demonstrated his keen support for the hymns of Watts by using them to accompany his preaching. Later, Benjamin Franklin and others published Watts’s Psalms and Hymns, which went through fifty editions within fifty years.

Church of England parishioners in America continued to use the “Old Version” of the Psalter along with the “New Version” by Tate and Brady, often having a copy bound to their Book of Common Prayer. Meanwhile, within the Presbyterian church, the “Great Psalmody Controversy” over singing on the “Old Side” from the Psalters of Rous and Barton, or on the “New Side” from the “New Version,” or Watts, caused great division.

After the pioneer settlements on the frontier were affected by the Great Revival of 1800 (which had its beginning in Logan County, Kentucky), outdoor meetings and extended camp meetings grew in popularity among the Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists. At these meetings, the simple repetitive style of the song was taught by rote, because most of the audience, both black and white, could not read music. However, they enthusiastically sang their songs day and night. Thus, a new folk hymnody emerged. Songs of repentance, death, and judgment as found in Joshua Smith’s collection Divine Hymns or Spiritual Songs were similar to selections found in Samuel Holyoke’s (1762–1820) The Christian Harmonist (1804) and Jeremiah Ingall’s (1764–1828) Christian Harmony (1805).

The “shaped note” tunes which appeared in William Smith and William Little’s book, The Easy Instructor (1809), used various symbols for the fa, sol, la, and mi degrees of the scale: a right angle triangle for fa, a circle for sol, a square for la, and a diamond shape for mi. Between the introduction of Davisson’s Kentucky Harmony in 1816 and the year 1850, about thirty-eight tune books were printed, the majority of them being used in the Southern states.

The two most popular books of this period were The Southern Harmony (1835) by William Walker (1809–1875) and The Sacred Harp (1844) by B. F. White (1800–1879) and co-editor E. J. King. From such books came the folk hymn tunes of contemporary hymnbooks: foundation (“How Firm A Foundation, Ye Saints of the Lord”), beach spring (“Come All Christians, Be Committed”), land of rest (“Jerusalem, My Happy Home”), holy manna (“Brethren, We Have Met to Worship”), promised land (“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand”) and restoration (“Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy”).

Lowell Mason

Lowell Mason (1792–1872) single-handedly exerted the greatest influence on congregational singing in American churches in the early nineteenth century. One of the most outstanding American musicians of his day, he first settled in Boston in 1827 where he developed the choir of the Bowdoin Street Church that gained national recognition. While at the church, he also conducted music classes for children, publishing The Juvenile Psalmist and The Child’s Introduction to Sacred Music (1829) for them. Then, in 1832, he founded the Boston Academy of Music. By 1838 he had gained approval to teach vocal music in the Boston public schools. His efforts at promoting music education led to the establishment of the first music institutes for the training of music teachers. He was truly the great pioneer of music education. He was also very eager to improve congregational singing in the churches. By fashioning tunes from European sources, he provided churches everywhere with a different, more sophisticated style of congregational song. Most Christians are familiar with his adaptations, including Antioch (“Joy to the World”), Atzmon (“O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”), and Hamburg (“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”).

Throughout much of the same century many Mennonite, Moravian, and Lutheran congregations continued to use their own repertoire of German hymns and chorales. At the same time, various denominations developed distinctive hymnbooks in English, promoting their preferred song forms. In particular, the Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists, and Congregationalists retained a large number of English hymns by Watts, Charles Wesley, Newton, and Cowper.

The Gospel Song

Several significant developments in the middle of the nineteenth century resulted in the birth and development of a uniquely American congregational song form, the gospel song.

One such development was the beginning and growth of the Sunday school movement. The idea of Sunday school was first introduced by the Methodists following the Revolutionary War. The lack of public schools had created a pressing need for instruction in reading and writing, a need that was met by the Sunday schools. Instructional materials for these schools were later published by the American Sunday School Union, which was founded in 1824.

The Sunday school hymns of William B. Bradbury (1816–1868) became the amazing success story of sacred popular song. A member of Lowell Mason’s Bowdoin Street Church choir and a student of Mason at the Boston Academy of Music, Bradbury became organist at the Baptist Tabernacle in New York City where he conducted free singing classes for young people and where he was instrumental in having music instruction introduced into the public schools. He supplied the music to Charlotte Elliott’s text, “Just As I Am,” and the simple melody for “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.” Today his music for the text “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less Than Jesus’ Blood” is well known still, as is the attractive melody he wrote for the words, “Savior, Like A Shepherd Lead Us.” Two other equally well-known melodies are settings for “Sweet Hour of Prayer” and “He Leadeth Me, O Blessed Thought.”

The second important development was the founding of the Young Men’s Christian Association in England in 1844 and the establishment of a branch in Boston in 1851. By 1870, the annual conventions of the Y.M.C.A. attracted thousands of young men who were caught up in the spirited singing, many of the songs being selected from Bradbury’s 1867 Y.M.C.A. collection.

Third, about 1857, in the midst of desperate economic conditions, a widespread movement of evangelical revivalism erupted. Daily interdenominational noonday prayer meetings in churches and theaters became commonplace.

The fourth development of great significance was the Civil War, during which the soldier’s hymnbook was used extensively. Nothing could have been more stirring than the singing of patriotic songs and hymns by a large group of men.

Finally, the influence of the “Singing Pilgrim,” Philip Phillips (1834–1895), must not be overlooked. At the age of twenty-one years this singer, composer, and publisher was on the road singing the simple songs of his own composition, accompanying himself on the reed organ, and selling copies of his music at every stop. And although his travels took him around the world, he became best known in America, especially for his exceptionally popular “services of song.”

Another very influential musician was Philip Bliss (1838–1876). It was 1857 when Bliss attended a music convention led by the famous teacher and composer Bradbury. This experience prompted the young Bliss to enter a music education institute. Following his studies, he became a music teacher and, later still, a representative for the Chicago music publishing company Root and Cady, for whom he gave concerts and organized conventions. In 1869 he met Dwight L. Moody, who persuaded him to leave his job and serve as soloist and song leader for Major D. W. Whittle. Bliss was one of the first major leaders in the creation and use of gospel songs. Widely recognized as an outstanding leader in music education and as a promoter of gospel songs at musical conventions, by the 1870s he was associated with the John Church music company of Cincinnati, the company which published his Gospel Songs in 1874. A number of his songs may be found in some contemporary hymnals. The Worshiping Church, for example, has four: (1) “Hallelujah! What a Savior,” (2) “Wonderful Words of Life,” (3) “I Will Sing of My Redeemer” (text only), and (4) “It Is Well With My Soul” (music only).

Meanwhile, Ira D. Sankey was a song leader and soloist for Dwight L. Moody, beginning this work in 1870, after he had led music in Sunday School, the Young Men’s Christian Association, and for the soldiers in the Civil War. While on his first trip to England with evangelist Moody, he used both Philip Phillips’ Hallowed Songs (1865) and his own collection of songs, which he kept in a scrapbook. The demand for these new songs in manuscript form became so great that the English publisher R. C. Morgan volunteered to print a pamphlet of twenty-three songs in 1873. The first five hundred copies were sold in a day. This special collection, Sacred Songs and Solos, passed through several editions and was enlarged to twelve hundred selections. So great was the demand for these popular songs that over eighty million copies were sold within fifty years.

Back in Chicago Sankey was successful in arranging a merger of his collection with the 1874 Gospel Songs collection of the singer/composer Bliss. This joint venture, Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs was published in 1875. Subsequently, five editions were printed between 1876 and 1891. Finally, the entire series was published in one volume in 1894 as Gospel Hymns, Nos. 1–6, Complete. It included a total of 739 hymns.

Although during his lifetime his texts and music for “Faith is the Victory,” “Hiding in Thee,” “A Shelter in the Time of Storm,” “The Ninety and Nine,” and “Under His Wings I Am Safely Abiding” became well known, only one of Sankey’s songs, “Trusting Jesus” (music only), is to be found in the modern hymnal, The Worshiping Church (1990).

The efforts of the two compilers, Bliss and Sankey, and their two publishers, the John Church Company and Biglow and Main, proved to be immensely successful. Furthermore, a large number of men and women as well as music publishers became involved in the writing and composing of gospel songs, promoting the sales of countless other volumes.

Sankey was not only known to Phillips and Bliss, he was also, as the president of Biglow and Main, the publisher of gospel songs by James McGranahan (1840–1907), George C. Stebbins (1846–1945), and George F. Root (1820–1895).

The most familiar music of McGranahan today is set to the Daniel W. Whittle texts, “I Know Not Why God’s Wondrous Grace” and “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing”, and Phillip P. Bliss’s “I Will Sing of My Redeemer.”

The music of Stebbins that has become the most beloved includes the tunes written for Adelaide A. Pollard’s “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” William T. Sleeper’s “Out of My Bondage, Sorrow and Night,” and William D. Longstaff’s “Take Time To Be Holy.” The work of George F. Root is represented by the music of “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”

Later, the texts of the blind poetess Fanny Crosby (1820–1915) became most prominent. A prolific writer, she stored many texts in her mind and dictated them at various times to a secretary. Her amazing output of 9,000 poems rivals that of the famous Charles Wesley. With the kind and supportive friendship of her publisher, Ira D. Sankey, she made weekly contributions that were immediately set to music.

The nine selections by Fanny Crosby to be found in The Worshiping Church focus on Jesus and our redemption and life in him: “Praise Him! Praise Him!” with music by Chester G. Allen; “Tell Me the Story of Jesus” with music by John R. Sweney; “Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It!” with music by William J. Kirkpatrick, but here set to the tune Ada by Aubrey L. Butler; “Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine” with music by Phoebe P. Knapp; “To God be the Glory,” “I Am Thine, O Lord,” “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross,” and “Rescue the Perishing”—all with music again by William H. Doane; and “All the Way My Saviour Leads Me” with music by Robert Lowry.

These and other gospel songs possess several distinctive characteristics which made them functional pieces for mass evangelism. The very content of the text was the simple gospel story of the experience of sin and God’s grace and redemption through Christ, the pleading Savior. The words used were readily understood, often using metaphors from everyday life. Also, there were many repetitions of phrases in the text. The music was often in two parts with a lyric melody and spirited rhythm. The combination of an engaging melody, lively pulse, and simple harmonies made these songs ideal for group singing. At times the verses were sung by a soloist or the choir and the refrain sung by all present from memory.

Multitudes found these subjective testimonials inspiring and thus encouraged their use in worship services. With a focus textually upon salvation, these songs found a sympathetic ear in all those seeking an individual Christian experience. Others considered them inappropriate for corporate worship services. Thus, another period of division took place.

The Twentieth Century

During the first half of the twentieth century, many denominational hymnbooks became both scholarly and ecumenical. For instance, the Episcopal hymnal of 1916 was followed by the music edition in 1918, edited by Canon Winfred Douglas (1867–1944). An authority on Gregorian music, Douglas crowned his achievements with The Hymnal 1940, for which he also served as music editor.

Another distinguished expert on hymns was the Presbyterian minister Louis Benson (1855–1930). Editor of several hymnals, he contributed significantly to the study of hymnology through his definitive work The English Hymn: Its Development and Use in Worship.

The two branches of American Methodism, the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, had published separate hymnals in the late nineteenth century but combined their endeavors in 1905 with the help of music editor Peter Lutkin (1858–1931). Another united effort of three Methodist groups took place in 1935. The editor was the distinguished hymnologist Robert G. Cutchan (1877–1958).

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) produced a high-quality book, The Hymnal 1933, which reflected the expert assistance of music editor Clarence Dickinson (1873–1969).

In 1941 the joint effort of the Disciples of Christ and the American Baptist Church resulted in Christian Worship. The Southern Baptist had their own hymnal in The Broadman Hymnal of 1940, compiled by B. B. McKinney.

From this period also come the hymns of such writers as Julia Cady Cory (1882–1963)—“We Praise You, O God, Our Redeemer, Creator”; Frank Mason North (1850–1935)—“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life”; and Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1964)—“God of Grace and God of Glory.”

In addition to the above, the important efforts of the leaders of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, which began in 1922, have encouraged the writing of new texts and music and the enthusiastic singing of many forms of congregational song throughout the United States and Canada.

Foundational Discipleship: Four Biblical Habits All Disciples Practice

by

The four Gospels articulate four foundational habits the LORD Jesus Himself practiced that He advocated for the first disciples: 
1)  A daily companioning worship walk with God (where prayer and conversation with God are givens and frequent);
2)  Daily meeting God in His Scriptures (the Word);
3)  Daily connecting with supportive relationships (fellowship) with fellow believers; and,
4)  Daily serving others on God’s behalf (serving).

These four habitual practices seem to be foundational for all believers, regardless of their unique and customized assignments.  Therefore, it should go without saying:  especially for those who God assigns to lead His congregation in the important and central activities of gathered congregational worship, that they  should set their sights on developing these life-long habits to a deep and central level in their own lives.

Pastor Grant Edwards of Fellowship Christian Church of Springfield, Ohio uses the more traditional terms for these four foundational practices:  prayer, Word, fellowship, service.[1] What follows is an application of these four principles to the discipleship process of worship leadership:

First, a daily companioning worship walk with God, where prayer and conversation with God are givens and frequent, is essential for anyone leading public worship.  It is the first foundation habit of every healthy disciple..  Any worship leader that does not develop such a companioning-worship-walk with the LORD will almost assuredly end up repeatedly placing most emphasis in their worship ministry on performance, production and administration.  And, the result will be just that:  performance with little congregational participation; entertainment of people without much congregational encounter of God. The worship leader should intend to talk with the LORD throughout the day more than you talk with anyone else. The result of this kind of lifestyle produces a disciple focused on companioning with Christ; demonstrating the character of Christ in daily living, and embracing the commands of Christ.

Jesus demonstrated this sort of companioning worship walk. Even as a child, Jesus was unusually well versed in the Hebrew Scriptures. FIRST,  He “. . . grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52); and, Second, (where Jesus, as a 12-year-old boy was left in Jerusalem, and was found three days later amazing everyone there at the Temple by “understanding and answers” (Luke 2:47). Apparently, Jesus spent much private time in the Scriptures. 

Publically,  Jesus repeatedly indicates that He spent much time interacting with the Father; listening to Him, hearing from Him, and interacting with Him.[2] Jesus’ companioning-worship-walk with The Father is the model every disciple may follow. 

His worship-walk with God is completely in line with other biblical role models: Able was a righteous man (Heb. 11:4); Enoch walked with God (Gen. 5:24); Noah walked with God (Gen. 6:9); King David was a “man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14 & Acts 13:22);  Joseph was a righteous man (Mt. 1:19); the Apostles had been “with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

Certainly, the true disciple must develop a life of prayer but, the real disciple is one who “companions” with God through Christ, conversing all through each day; leaning into Him, interacting with Him, listening for Him and to Him—while living out His dynamics and directions in the crucible of everyday living. The specialized ministry leaders who lead their congregations into gathered worship must practice developing that sort conversational, dynamic, companioning-worship-walk with Him.

Jesus also demonstrated an understanding of the principles of companioning, character imitation, and obedience when he says to “the woman at the well” in John 4: “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” Jesus is underscoring the fact that worship at its core is an inner spiritual transaction and not an outward, ritualistic transaction. Worship happens in the inner world, in the spiritual dimension of a person. Jesus underscores this by not capitalizing the term spirit. Jesus is making an application to the inner world of an individual and interacting with God in the realm of the spiritual, not, per se, in the realm of the physical.

Second, Jesus’ use of the term truth in this passage is not talking about the Truth of God’s Word. Rather he is talking about the reality that worship is a lived-out life transaction.

The Apostle John uses the term truth in 4:23 in the exact same way as in the 1 John 3:18, where he says, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” John is instructing believers not just to talk about love, but to live love out. That is, the truth of the matter is in the lived-out actions of our daily lives. John is pointing out that true worshippers will worship the Father in the way they live out their lives in the realities of everyday living—that true worshipper will worship the Father in reality.

It is interesting to note to whom Jesus is speaking in John 4:21–26 passage.  Jesus is not speaking to a sophisticated Jewish religious person, but to a woman, who is also a Samaritan. Interestingly, once Jesus revealed his Messiahship (v 26) and the woman had gone into town and told everyone that in fact Messiah was standing at the town well, then Jesus and this woman and many in the town proceeded to companion together for another two days for so.  The point being made here is that the purpose of discipleship is to move people into a companioning worship way of life with God Himself.

Other scriptures seem to support the notion that God desires a companion type relationship:
1. Matthew 1:23 points out that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is to know that this Son to whom she is giving birth will be called Immanuel, which means “God with us.” The implication given by the angel is that God intends his worshippers to companion with him.
2.Matthew 4:2–4 documents Jesus interacting with the devil after his forty days of companioning with the Lord through fasting and praying in the wilderness.
3. Mark 1:35–37 and 6:45-46 provide insight into Jesus’ pattern of pulling away from the regular interactions of the day to find at some solitude in which to interact and companion with God intimately.
4. Luke 5:16 points at the same: “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
5.In John 10:7–21, Jesus states, “I am the gate for my sheep” (v. 7), and “I am the good shepherd” (v. 11), and “I know my sheep and my sheep know me” (v. 14). These metaphorical statements about how Jesus interacts in a companioning manner are “just as the Father knows me and I know the Father” (v. 15). What Jesus is getting at with his disciples is that he no longer calls them servants but friends (John 15:15).[3]

At the heart of this companioning relationship is the disciple’s desire to develop the character of Christ in their lives. In Matthew 22:37–40, the Lord himself explains that the ultimate purpose of life is to, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Galatians 5:22–23 articulates how this companioning with Christ is demonstrated in daily living: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

It is important for those who are discipling worship leaders to realize that those being discipled should evidence the character of Christ in their daily walk. It is seen in how the artist interacts with others, develops relationships, and partners with other musicians in genuine ministry.   In fact, demonstrating the character of Christ is the ultimate goal of discipleship; and the ultimate indicator of whether or not discipleship has truly happened.

Those that focus on “companioning with God” will develop and grow as disciples that live Out The Commands of Christ. The seven commands of Christ referenced below may serve as a guide to discipling worship leaders and artists:

  1. Repent, believe, and receive the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:14–15).
  2. Be baptized in the baptism (or name) of Christ. (Matthew 28:19–20;
    Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3–4).
  3. Love God and neighbor (Luke 10:25–37).
  4. Break bread—which may also imply activities of worship (Matt 26:26-29).
  5. Regularly spend quality time in prayer (Matthew 6:5-10).[4]
  6. Give Money.[5]
  7. Disciple others (Matthew 28:18-20).[6]

Meeting God daily in His Word is a SECOND foundational habit healthy worship leadership must develop.  Jesus does not directly say the words, “study the Bible every day to be a good believer,” or “meet me in the Bible every day.”  But, Jesus’ entire life was centered around God’s Word, the Holy Hebrew Scriptures.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9, underscores God’s desire for His people to marinate in His Word: 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

God is serious about the practice of His believers meeting Him daily, repeatedly in His Word.  He told Joshua, in preparation for Joshua’s new leadership role as head of the people of Israel, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).

The Church needs worship leadership steeped in God’s Word.  Every worship leaders must purpose to set their face and heart on meeting the LORD daily in His Word.

The THIRD practice foundational to discipleship is daily and regularly connecting with supportive relationships with fellow believers. Healthy Christian friendships, help us develop as mature disciples.  All disciples, especially worship leadership disciples, must purpose to nurture a set of solid friends from which they find strength, encourage, instruction, and correction (2 Tim 3:16) and accountability. Humans were created by God to live in community.  It is difficult for a disciple – especially one with an artistic personality – to develop and mature spiritually outside a community of faithful, loving, God-seeking brothers and sisters in Christ.

A FOURTH habitual practice that insures growth as a disciple is the regular serving of others who need your help.  This includes answering the call to evangelism, meeting the social needs in a community, and reaching out to people when they are hurting.  This is the act of “putting our good works into practice.”

Interestingly, Jesus Himself, on the very first day of His public ministry confronts Satan with the pronouncement,  “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'”  (Luke 4:8).  And then toward the end of His public ministry he states, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”  (Matt 25:40).  

The Apostle Paul writes, “. . . we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  . . .” in 1 Thess 5:14; and, “. . .  Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ,” in Gal 6:2.  Finally, it is recorded that the Early Church that,  “. . . they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2:45b-47).

The practiced habit of “serving” others on God’s behalf is one of the key ingredients in the recipe of becoming a healthy disciple.

[1] Edwards, Grant. First Steps One-on-One Discipleship: An Adventure for New and Renewed Believers. Springfield, OH: Specificity Publications, 2000; and Swimming + Lessons: How to Keep New Christians Afloat in a Sinking World.  Springfield, OH: Specificity Publications, 2010.

[2] Passages supporting this principle from the Gospel of John—1:1-2;  5:19;  7:28-29;  8:38a;  8:42;  8:58;  10:14;  10:27-30;  12:49-50;  14:9;  14;30-31;  15:10;  17:7-8;  17:25-26.

[3]  Other passages pointing to this same principle are: Luke 6:12–14; Luke 22:39–40; John 6:1, 56–59; John 8:54–59; John 10:22–30; John 15:4–13, 26–27; John 17:20–26.

[4] Matthew 6:5-10: 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[5] Five key passages about money for disciples to consider in their daily lives: Matt 5:42; 6:19-21; Luke 6:30-31; 6:38;.20:25.

[6] “. . . All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore as you are going (where ever and whenever you go) be making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And know for certain that I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Authors translation.)

A Prayer of Jesus

by

Luke 10:21 (NLT)
Then Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit and said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.”

A Theme to Remember:
Scripture declares that the wisdom of men and women is foolishness in the eyes of God. This is why we must approach our Lord with the openness of a child so that our misconceptions and preconceptions won’t cloud the glorious truths God is willing to impart to us.

Words to Remember:
The soul is exceedingly ravished when it first looks on the beauty of Christ. It is never weary of Him.
–Jonathan Edwards

New England Theology

by

In addition to sparking the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards was the founder of a school of theology that dominated the New England churches outside of the Boston area and the schools of religion for more than a century. Edwards was joined in his cause by Joseph Bellamy, a Yale graduate, and by Samuel Hopkins, his neighbor for many years in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. Bellamy broadened Edwards’ theory of limited atonement and Hopkins contributed the System of Doctrines, an exposition on Edwards’ theology, and was considered a second founder of the New England theology. The ideas of these three men developed under the spur of practical need. As pastors, they realized how the Old Calvinism had dulled the consciences of the people by the belief in the absolute impossibility of making the least approach to God. They tried to humanize the salvation experience without losing the main emphasis on the sovereignty of God. In the next generation Jonathan Edwards the Younger was driven to adopt a modified theory of the atonement because of the rise of the Universalists. Universalism had come to America from England with John Murray, a preacher who gained a wide following. Elhanan Winchester, converted from the Baptists of New England, was an equally popular preacher of a doctrine that all persons would be saved because Christ had entirely satisfied the demands of God’s justice. To counteract the Universalists the Younger Edwards presented a governmental theory of the atonement similar to that of Hugo Grotius, the Dutch Arminian, which vindicated the benevolence of God, but insisted that the atonement of Christ satisfied the “general” rather than the “distributive” justice of God. In other words, Christ satisfied the demands of the moral law but that every person must meet the penalty of their own misdeeds.

Impact: The theory of the atonement of the junior Edwards became the accepted theory of the Congregational churches of New England, and thence spread to the Presbyterians and the Baptists.

Whitefield, George

by

George Whitefield (1714-1770) was one of the great names in evangelism. He was born in Gloucester, England, and entered Oxford in 1733. Here he met Charles Wesley who shared his desire for utter commitment to Christ and for holy living. After his ordination in 1736, he began a ministry among the outcasts of society, including a fruitful campaign in the local prisons. Since his views of ministry differed from that of the established church he was not offered a position so he began open-air preaching, presenting the Gospel in public gatherings to great acclaim. This early success set the stage for his life’s work, which included numerous evangelistic crusades in the British Isles, Europe, and America – sparking tremendous revivals wherever he went. He eventually broke from the Wesleyan movement after embracing Calvinist doctrine and founded the Calvinistic Methodist Society. He joined Jonathan Edwards in launching the Great Awakening in America.