Well Done, Good And Faithful Servant...

Larry Norman, the father of Christian rock and roll, died early last Sunday morning. He will be sorely missed by those of us left behind. His pioneering work paved the way for the relatively easy access that we have to Christian music today.

Larry was aware that he was approaching eternity and dictated a message to be published on his website after his death.

I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.

My brother Charles is right, I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have generously supported me with prayer and finance and we will probably still need financial help.

My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside. But still it will be costly because of funeral arrangement, transportation to the gravesite, entombment, coordination, legal papers etc. However money is not really what I need, I want to say I love you.

I'd like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be a funeral posted here on the website, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.

Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again
Somewhere beyond the sky.
I pray that you will stay with God
Goodbye, my friends, goodbye.

Larry

Larry also shared some thoughts about his mortality on the following video. The video also pays tribute to many of his friends. Those of you familiar with contemporary Christian music's roots will recognize most of these faces.



So long, Larry. I'm sure you wouldn't come back if you could. I look forward to meeting you in heaven!

Jazz Band Update

StillWaters Jazz Band will most likely be playing at Dixie's on Saturday, March 15th. We still have to work out a couple details, but as soon as I am sure of times, etc. I will be sure to let you know! Hope to see you then!

Havin' Church

Tonight we had our second installment of the Church Incognito. It was so pleasant. We had my sister's family, two other couples, and myself.

The night started with supper. It was pretty good too. I made shepherd's pie, Penny made an awesome salad, and Sara made chocolate chip cookies with a hint of orange. My sister provided the sweet tea!

After we had cleaned up from supper we got some coffee and headed to the living room where we sang a couple songs and then we talked about the passage in 1 Corinthians 14:26-33. I would love to say that I was better prepared, but I hadn't looked at the passage today. Justin really did a great job talking about this passage and had some really great insights to share.

One of the things that Justin talked about was a book that he read in college about spiritual disciplines. (I need to get the title from him, because it sounded like one I would like to read.) But as he was talking about the book it became clear to me that I have been lacking in the area of meditation and listening to God.

Lately I have been so harried by my situation and by all of the things going on around me that it has been hard for me to pray or hear God at all. I have to be able to come back to my base and hear what God is saying to me and bask in the peace of His presence. I have spent far too much time lately quite literally raging in the storm. The Word tells us that rage is a fruit of the flesh. If I am producing fleshly fruit, I must have gotten detached from the correct vine.

From a practical perspective I have to say that the singing section and the Word section were a little bumpier than I would have liked, but still it went OK. A little more preparation and some prayer towards this meeting should make things go a lot better. And as you can see from what I wrote in the paragraph above, there was fruit from this time.

By far my favorite time of the night was when we gathered together to pray. What a sweet time. We went for close to an hour and the presence of God was so tangible. It helped me to realize just how far I had been from His presence lately. God is so good to meet us, broken as we are.

Anyway, it was a great meeting and I will look forward to seeing how things continue to go. What will God do with our little group? I have no idea, but I am certainly looking forward to finding out!

Jazz Band Update

SJB had a great rehearsal tonight and added a couple new songs. One was written by Justin, and the other is the old standard, "Stormy Weather." It is always fun getting together with the guys and playing, and it is even more fun when you realize how much better you are getting with the practice.

When we first started playing my hands were worn out in just a couple of tunes, but now I can go for over an hour without any ill effects. (Unless I get excited and grip the guitar too hard!)

We hope to get some performances scheduled in the coming weeks. If you would like to have us perform for your organization just let us know and we'll be glad to see what we can do to accommodate you!

Keep checking back here to find out about our concert dates. Hope to see you soon!

Church On Thursday Night

I'm not quite sure of the venue yet, but there will be church on Thursday night. It will either be at my house or at my sister's. We will probably start at 6:00 PM. Food will almost assuredly be involved. I'd say that there is a good chance that there will be music, and there will be time invested discussing the Scriptures. We'll probably do some praying too.

This week's text will be 1 Corinthians 14:26 and we'll continue our exploration of what is involved in having church. Please feel free to bring a friend. There's always room for one more!

Live At Dixie's

Last Saturday the StillWaters Jazz Band played at Dixie's coffee house in China Grove. It was our fourth gig, but was really our first public outing.

When I drove to the grocery store the week before the show I was greeted by this excellent sign in front of the shop. I began to get excited about playing.

I really hadn't played for a secular crowd before, so this was my first time to perform in front of my peers. (When you play in church everyone HAS to be nice to you. It's the rules.)

Of course, I was also somewhat nervous about doing this performance. It was my peers that we were playing for, remember? This whole thing is still pretty new to me. I didn't get that nervous, though. I figured that not too many people would show up.

Boy, was I wrong.

When we got there to set up the place was almost empty. One or two folks came in and left. I figured that we'd be playing to the proprietor. That was OK with me too.

However, by the time that 1:00 rolled around, the place was nearly full. It was hard to believe that that many people from China Grove would actually come out in the middle of the day on a Saturday to hear a band that they had never heard before.

I mean, jazz? In China Grove? Seriously? Seriously.

The coffee shop stayed full until nearly 3:00. There was even a guy there taking pictures of the band. It kind of freaked me out because he was wearing a "Spin" t-shirt and had an armful of really cool-looking tattoos, and was taking lots of pictures in a very professional manner with a very nice camera. I knew that there was no way that we were good enough (or notorious enough) for Spin Magazine to be checking us out. But the longer that he snapped pictures, the more it perplexed me.

The first set went pretty well, and after we stopped for our break I was able to calm down a little bit.

By the way, the coffee at Dixie's is excellent, and the atmosphere is my favorite of all of the other coffee houses in Rowan County. It is classy vintage. I'll try to get some snapshots of the decor the next time that I go there.

Our second set started off a little rocky for me. We did "I've Found A New Baby" and for some reason, I never really got situated right. Both of my hands started getting tired. It was all I could do to finish they were burning so bad. Thankfully, I only had one other glitch during the gig. On "Greensleeves" something happened to my capo and the tension wasn't enough to push the strings down all the way. Not a really good effect!

It was also nice seeing Pastor Cameron, my sister, Vanessa and her daughter, Grace, Randy from our former church, and one of Sara's friends from work. We were so honored by all of the folks who came out to support us.

Let me take a moment now to introduce the folks in the band.

This is Justin, the brains of the operation. It was his idea to put the band together in the first place. I would have never thought of playing guitar in a jazz band. I wouldn't have had the first notion of how to begin, but Justin had the knowledge, the passion, and a notebook full of jazz standards.

Justin really carries the band. He is a great musician, and it is his playing that really helps to make what we do jazz. He has also written a couple of the numbers that we perform. His song that we do most often is called "Cookout." If you ever want to understand what StillWaters Jazz Band is all about just talk to Justin for 5 minutes. That's all he'll need to make you understand.

By the way, Justin is also the band director at South Rowan High School and is a talented bass player too.

Gillen is our bass player. He's only a few months out of high school, but has a lot going for him.

Like most guys his age, he is hyper-involved in all kinds of things. He works a full-time job, goes to school, plays for his church, plays for us... Oh, to have that kind of energy again!

The thing that impresses me most about Gillen is his passion for the Lord. Gillen loves Jesus and is really pursuing a relationship with Him. He hopes to eventually go into youth ministry, and I am sure that he will be excellent at it. You can't know too many people like Gillen. I love being able to hang around with the guy. I have never seen him discouraged. He always has a positive attitude.

This is Sara, Justin's wife. She plays a really mean piano and is uber-creative. I said earlier that Justin carries the band - well, so does, Sara. They both are scary talented and technically savvy. I have learned tons from both of them.

You can tell when Sara is really getting into the music - it is like there is no one else in the room. Sara comes up with some really cool ideas just messing around between songs. My favorite so far is a jazz version of "Fur Elise" that we are trying to work up now. Unfortunately, we have yet to commit it to paper. Hopefully, we will have done so by our next gig. It is so cool!

Sara is kind of quiet until you get to know her, and then you discover that there is a lot going on under the surface.

And this is me, Big Papi. (It looks like I have just had a brilliant idea pop into my head. I think that it is in reality an Easter decoration.) I live right here in China Grove, so it was fun playing on my home turf. I provide the rhythm section for the band.

I'm pretty new to jazz, and stepping out into the realm of solo playing is utterly new to me. I've always been a rhythm guy. So this has been both an exciting, challenging, terrifying, and absolutely fun experience for me. I've been learning new chords and a whole lot about music, friends, and living.

It has also been fun learning about this whole new realm of music. I had heard some of this stuff before (I'm into the swing and big band standards) but now I am starting to actually hear the music of legendary musicians whose names I had only heard before and some that I probably would have never heard were it not for the band - like that of the recently-deceased jazz pianist, Oscar Peterson.

Here we are all together - the StillWaters Jazz Band.

Now that I've introduced everyone, I guess I should say a little bit about who we are as a group. SJB is a group of people who love music, and love friendship, but mostly who love Jesus. We started this band to reach out to the folks of Rowan County in a non-churchy way. Hopefully, as people enjoy our music, they will see something of our Father in us.

We anticipate playing at Dixie's again next month, and I'll be posting updates and announcements when that date is firmed-up. Once again, thanks to everyone who came out to Dixie's last Saturday. We hope to see you next time!

Facing the Flood

The moment you have victory over temptation in one area of your life, you will immediately be assaulted in another area. When you find yourself under the relentless attacks of the enemy, it is critical that you do not lose your perspective.

In my own life, I have discovered that this level of warfare is normally a signal that I am approaching a unique time of spiritual breakthrough or transition.

... many times God does His greatest work at the darkest moments in our lives. Whether it is Joseph going from the prison to the palace, or Paul and Silas experiencing the power of God after they had been beaten and put in prison (Acts 16:16-40), God delights in displaying His power in the weakest moments of our lives.

- Jim Laffoon @ Our Daily Blog

An Interesting Thought

Here is a thought that I overheard today:

It is an interesting thing about Jesus: there were folks who hated Him and folks who loved Him. The folks who loved Him most were the worldly folks - the sinners. I think that our society is ready for a gospel that loves people. That doesn't mean that it hides the truth from them - just the opposite - but perhaps it is one that earns the right to share that truth first by building relationship.

- JED

What A Blast!

Today's gig at Dixie's was a huge success. I won't go into details right now because I want to share pictures later, but we had a great time, got some very positive feedback, and were totally enthused about playing there again in the near future.

Thanks to everyone who came out!

Oasis Cancelled Tomorrow

Due to sickness, Oasis Diner will be canceled this week.

It's Today!

StillWaters Jazz Band is playing Dixie's today from 1:00-3:00! Hope you can come.

Dixie's is located on Main Street in China Grove at the stoplight next to China Grove Hardware.

You Have Got To Check Out This Blog

Last night I discovered a blog that you really must check out. It is called It's My Mission and it is incredible. It looks like Geoff Moore (remember him from Geoff Moore and the Distance in the early 90's?) is affiliated with the blog. These folks are really doing a great work. I'm pleased that Blogger named them a blog of note. Had they not, I probably wouldn't have discovered them.

Church Went Great

Our gathering tonight was small. My sister woke up sick this morning and another couple decided to celebrate the sale of one of their houses. I can't say that I blame them at all. So there were only four of us - make that five - present. I say five, because it was clear that the Lord did show up too.

We had a great meal and talked about what was going on with each other. We played some jazz. We drank tea and ate Girl Scout cookies. (The coffee pot accidentally got broken.) We practiced some worship songs. Frankly a couple of them were pretty rough.

When we finished singing, we sat back at the table and talked about Acts 2:42-47. We laughed at our hosts' spastic cats. We shared prayer requests and we prayed.

It was perfect. I'd put our night up against anyone out there engaged in the Valentine's Day madness.

We liked it so much we're going to do it again next week too!

More to come... hope you can too!

What Exactly Constitutes 'Church' Anyway?

Ever since the demise of StillWaters I have been wondering exactly what constitutes having church. What are the key elements? What must be present to have had church, and which elements are optional?

One of the things that I have realized is that my community seems to be bound by a religious spirit. Lots of people are very religious, but few seem to have any idea about what it really means to be a Christian. Most are content as long as the service never really deviates from that to which they have become accustomed (and as long as there are adequate programs to take care of their needs.)

Even worse is that this spirit also manifests itself as false religion. Our county has a massive center for Jehovah's Witnesses that draws people from all over the country. There is also a very strong pagan presence in Rowan County. Freemasonry is extremely prevalent, and I dare say that in many of the congregations in our area, fully half of the men are Masons. Truly, those who call themselves Christians but depend on some sort of good works theology are bound by false religion too.

Recently I was talking with a friend of mine whose church meets on Sunday night. We were talking about how strange it is to get up on Sunday morning and not go to church. It is really hard to get it through your head that you have had church when you don't go on Sunday morning at 11:00. It violates that which is religious inside of you. I told her that perhaps the thing to do to help this community would be to have a church that really pushes against religion - an anti-religious church if you will.

Before people start flaming me, let me make it explicitly clear that I am not talking about doing anything that violates doctrinal orthodoxy. The church has many traditions that have become sacred cows. I'm thinking it may be time for some steak.

So this brings me back to my original question, "What elements are required for Christian worship to take place?" The main passage that I have had in mind as an answer to this question is in the book of Acts.

42And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)

What were the elements of worship in the earliest church? In verse 42 we see devotion to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread (which at the very least meant the sharing of the Lord's Supper) and prayer. In verse 44 it would seem that they couldn't get enough of each other! They were together alot. They were aware of each other's needs and generously sacrificed to help each other out.

I also thought about 1 Corinthians 14:26 (in three different translations for clarity):

26What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. (ESV)

26What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation Let all things be done for edification. (NASB)

26 Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you. (NLT)

According to this passage it would seem that each person is to be involved in the worship service. Each person is to bring something that the Lord has shared with him. I am reminded of the passage in Exodus where we are told that no one should come before the Lord empty-handed.

I have two more passages that come to mind. The first is Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” and the second is John 4:23-24, "But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

In the first passage, it appears that not a lot of people have to come together for God to get involved. Two or three will suffice. And in the second we see that it is imperative that we worship God in spirit and in truth.

So, to summarize: Christian worship requires at least two believers, the Spirit, and truth. It requires more than superficial interaction but needs true koinonia. The remembrance of the Lord's sacrifice through communion seems to be a minimum and a meal seems to aid koinonia. Devotion to the Scriptures and prayer are essential. Concern for each other's welfare and generosity towards each other play a significant role. Finally, everyone seems to be responsible to contribute to the gathering using the gifts that God has given them.

These are just my initial ruminations on this topic. I am sure that I could go much deeper and do a much more in-depth study. I'll keep chewing on it for a while. Any thoughts that you have on the subject would be welcome as I ponder this change in paradigm.

On a side note, I don't want anyone to think that I am trashing all church tradition. I actually appreciate traditions as long as I can see good reasons for them. Over the years as I have drunk from the springs of different denominations I have found that there is life and validity in many of the Church's traditions. The problem comes when we maintain a tradition for its own sake.

In the meantime I am preparing chicken and dumplings for the folks on my worship team for tomorrow night. Most everyone who is coming will be pitching in an element of our meal. As we enjoy the meal, I am sure that we will talk about the things that have gone on throughout our day. Afterwards we will work on a couple of worship songs, talk briefly about a passage from the Bible, and spend some time praying.
Could it be that we will be having church?

Interesting Article

Much of "traditional" Christianity gives the impression that God has these rather arbitrary rules about how you have to behave, and if you disobey them you go to hell, rather than to heaven. What the New Testament really says is God wants you to be a renewed human being helping him to renew his creation, and his resurrection was the opening bell.

- Bishop N.T. "Tom" Wright (Bishop of Durham)


Got this quote from an interesting interview between Time magazine and Bishop "Tom" Wright of the Church of England. It is about Bishop Wright's thoughts on Heaven and how different they are from many Christians' views. I found it an interesting, thought-provoking read.

Excellent Post On Servant Evangelism

You should check out this very insightful post about Servant Evangelism (SE). Chris Elrod is the author and he did a good job dispelling the myths about servant evangelism.

People who are really into evangelism don't typically get Servant Evangelism. The key concept to get is "NO strings attached." People who don't get this concept basically use SE as a means to draw attention to their church or try to entice people to come to their church. You can tell these people because they are typically bummed after an SE project that didn't produce a body count. It rarely does.

Servant Evangelism could also be called "Stealth" Evangelism. You are usually in and out before anyone realizes that they have been touched by your ministry. Churches that begin SE programs with the notion that people will come flooding into the church the following Sunday typically end up disappointed. They don't get it.

Steve Sjogren, the founder of Servant Evangelism and the man who wrote the book that this blog was named for once said that they saw very little direct growth from Servant Evangelism - in other words, few of the people that they had served came to their church. However, oddly enough, the Lord brought equivalent numbers of people to the church because of their faithfulness to serve Cincinnati.

Don't do Servant Evangelism to swell your members' directory. It will never work like that. Do SE to make your community a nicer place. Do it to get to know your neighbors. Do it to give someone a smile. If you do, you'll find that you and the people who do it with you will grow. Who knows? As a result of that, your church probably will too.

SJB On The Road

The SJB took it on the road tonight to Troutman's Barbecue in Concord, NC. We played for a great crowd of around 100 folks and got some great feedback.

We are playing this Saturday at Dixie's coffee shop on Main Street in China Grove at 1:00. It will be a great opportunity to see the band and check out one of China Grove's coolest establishments. We will hope to see you there.

The band is getting noticeably better with each performance. That is very gratifying, and the experience has been great for stretching me out of my comfort zone.

At our very first practice I was faced with soloing - something that I had never done before. As you can imagine, I was pretty awful, but Justin and the rest of the guys were very supportive and patient as I began to develop some chops. It has really taught me about not being afraid to try something new and not being afraid to make mistakes.

I guess I still have a ways to go in overcoming this fear. Even tonight as I was getting ready for the concert, I was very nervous, thinking, "I'm not good enough to be playing for folks!" There was a part of me that didn't even want to play. Yet once we got started everyone was great and I played a solo that I felt very good about. Of course there is room for growth, but I am having a blast.

I hope that this will be the beginning of a trend for me to be more bold and adventurous. It is time to put these silly fears in their place and begin to live and enjoy life. Sometimes that will mean messing up publicly, but it is OK. My experience teaches me that no one is perfect - even the ones who look like they are!

Hope to see you Saturday!

A Good Read...

Internet Monk has a really interesting series going on the church that would be worth checking out. In it he discusses the flawed but perfect paradox that we see in the Scriptures.

Thanks

A big thanks to Chad Rochester of the band Baumer who sat in with the StillWaters Music Team this past Sunday. Chad, you added a lot, and it was great getting to know you better and have the opportunity to jam with you!

By the way, Baumer will be playing this weekend in Greensboro and next weekend in Charlotte. Check them out if you can!

SJB In Concert

StillWaters Jazz Band will be playing this Saturday February 9 at Troutman Barbecue on Highway 601 in Concord from 6:00 to 8:00. We also have an upcoming show at Dixie's in China Grove next Saturday February 16 from 1:00 to around 3:00. Hope you can make it out to one of these shows! (We're getting better!)

Quote Of The Day

Propositional revelation spells trouble for it takes the heartfelt convicted knowledge of Christ the Lord and the great acts of our covenanting God as marvelous, praiseworthy and celebratory deeds, and replaces it with submissive intellectual assent to authoritative teachings. Instead of preaching being an amazing “Fear not!” announcement of glad tidings woven throughout the older and newer testaments, it becomes academic lecturing. Because it is humanly impossible to wholly eliminate the aesthetic dimension from worship, the hymns and special music provide the back-door individualized sentimental spasm tacked onto the “means of grace”.

And what depressing exercises when propositional revelation dominates theological discussion. Competing sense-verifiable facts inject uncertainty and tension into discussions of Genesis because we have to make sure what can and cannot be maintained against secular biology, geology and astrophysics. By contrast, how very relaxing it would be if we stopped the word play and immersed ourselves within the paragraphs, chapters and whole books to “prove” creation. Instead of declaring by fiat one’s insight into the divine meta-language, or self-confirming one’s method by bad-faith process of elimination, why not turn to the Psalms and Job to understand the Genesis creation?

The consequence of propositional revelation for Bible reading is that the book becomes a bone of contention in God-talk disputations. Gone from our hermeneutics is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob while we waste our time in scholastic pursuits like determining the ipsissima verba of Jesus. It is the yoking of Scripture to an unchristian positivist theory of knowledge and truth that substantiates the charge of bibliolatry. If we search and use the scriptures to reinforce our jots and tittles then our myopia will be too all-consuming for us to point others toward the Lord’s rule.

- Joel Hunter (From: "Can I Have My Bible Back?" at Internet Monk)

What Now?

With the announcement of the untimely demise of the congregation known as StillWaters, perhaps some of our readers wonder what will become of this blog. The answer is simple - it will continue on. This has become my favorite blog. There is no way that I will chloroform it. The sponsorship of the blog will change, and there may be some minor content changes, but this blog is going to continue right along, just as each of the individual members of StillWaters will.

It still remains to be seen what will happen to our little congregation. Will we somehow stick together as a unit in a different church, will we become a mini diaspora spread like seed among the churches of Rowan County, or will we stand together and soldier on as a new congregation in our God-given mission to the people of this area? It would seem that scattering is the most inevitable of these possibilities, and yet there are some among us who really have no interest in being anything else but a congregation. It is going to be interesting to see what happens.

Tomorrow is our last Sunday together as StillWaters. If you are near-by and can join us, I think that it will be a memorable service. We meet at KidSports off of South Main Street in Salisbury, NC. The service will start sometime around 10:30.

Then keep coming here for information about what is happening with our little band, where the StillWaters Jazz Band is playing, where you can find a house meeting, and for the content that you have come to expect on this blog. Thanks for your prayers, and thanks for reading.