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Romans 5:1-10

5  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but werejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved byhis life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Help Me Get To Kinshasa, DR Congo

I’m excited to share with you about an opportunity that I have to go to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. My church, New City Fellowship sends a team to Kinshasa every year to maintain relationships with pastors there as we work on building health clinics and caring for orphans. These relationships developed as Congolese immigrants became part of our church family in St Louis, and we began to share their concern for the welfare of the DRC. Our vision is to partner with churches in Kinshasa to encourage each other in the gospel of Jesus Christ to walk in the light of the kingdom and to produce good works of love and mercy.

Whenever we hear about the D.R. Congo in the States, we usually hear about the violent civil wars or the widespread poverty. However, despite its hardships, the D.R. Congo produces unique and exciting forms of music known as Soukous and Rhumba. The Congolese style of virtuosic guitar playing has garnered fans all over the world, and is a technique that I aspire to master. Every year, when the New City Fellowship team returns from Kinshasa, they share with me stories of amazing musicians and passionate worship that defies the suffering in which it is born.

Last summer, I had the opportunity to meet with Athoms Mbuma, a pastor and musician from Kinshasa. Athoms and his wife are members of Le Groupe Adorons L’Éternel or G.A.E.L., a band of musicians who produce the best known worship music from the Congo. Athoms led songs in our worship service, gave a special concert, taught a clinic on Congolese music, and even gave me a guitar lesson. I was very blessed to meet Athoms for his skill, his faith, and his encouragement. Before he returned to Kinshasa, Athoms invited me to come visit him and to experience Congolese worship at its source.

The door has opened for me to accept that invitation by traveling to Kinshasa with the New City Fellowship team from May 25-June 6. In addition to pastors and medical professionals, we will have two other musicians on the team, Tony Myles and Suzanne Bates. We hope to both learn more about Congolese music and to share some about American music at a 3 day pastor’s conference. Pastor Athoms plans to return with us at the conclusion of our visit in order to have a special concert and worship clinic in St Louis.

Obviously, we need your prayers for safe travel and for spiritual fruit, but we also need financial help. This trip will cost $3000 for each member to travel. My family and I will use $1000 of our personal funds toward the costs, but we need your help to cover the additional $2000 which would be possible if 40 families gave $50 each. If you would like to contribute, please write a check to “NEW CITY FELLOWSHIP” with “WARD-CONGO” in the memo and send it to New City Fellowship, 1142 Hodiamont, St Louis MO 63112.

 

2012 NCMC, Holidays, and more upcoming events

The fall season for many of us becomes more and more like a flume ride. We spend September and October in a slow ascent with a feeling that’s somewhere between excitement and dread as we anticipate the events on the horizon. Soon, we come over the crest and find our lives becoming a crazy blur of screaming joy and nausea. Next thing we know, it’s January and we’re left feeling a little cold and wet with the entire holiday season  nothing more than a SD card full of crowded and poorly lit jpegs. Personally, I’m about the round the crest this weekend, so I’m not having fun yet. However, despite my melancholic remarks, here’s some stuff that I’m genuinely looking forward to:

Thanksgiving in Tennessee

We’re doing “Turkey Day” in the land of the Moonpie this year. I’m looking forward to talking shop with my dad, having a snackdown with my sister and kin, and getting together with old friends in order to have interactions that are more meaningful then liking their status. Maybe I’ll take my kids to the new Muppets flick.

Youth Sunday – November 27

The New City Fellowship youth band is going to take the role of worship music leadership for weekend. I love youth Sunday for the way it brings a sense of worship being the shared experience of an individual expression. In other words, people give the youth a lot of room to express their faith in worship without the usual constraints. It’s an experiment in cross-cultural ministry as we allow the young and powerless to lead those of us who usually hold the reigns in the church. (November 27 is also my wife’s birthday!)

The First Ever NCF Christmas Concert! – December 10

The NCF Choir will get to make a little more joyful noise this Advent with this new Saturday night event. We will share some familiar classics as well as some new classics. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to celebrate together the wonderful expressions of music that have become such a meaningful part of Advent for the church. The NCF Choir continues to come into it’s own as a ministry that both nourishes the participants and the church on an almost weekly basis.

Reconciliation and Justice Conference 2012 – January 24-25

We will be once again hosting this special meeting of pastors and ministry leaders from around the US to have a dialogue about the issues of reconciliation and justice within our denomination. I’m going to be there leading some of the worship. You can register here.

7th annual NCF Black History Celebration – February 25

This had been the highlight of the year for our music ministry for a long time, but now, it’s only been diminished by the abundance of exciting things happening all year long for us. We expect this year’s BHC to continue the tradition of celebrating the gospel of Jesus Christ through the unique expressions of Black Culture.

Food For The Hungry – March 15-18

I’ll be in Phoenix in March 2012 leading worship at a special fundraiser weekend for the ministry Food For The Hungry. This is an exciting opportunity to participate in a ministry that I can <pun> really sink my teeth into</pun>.

New City Music 2012 Conference

I just published this post and then realized that I failed to say anything about the 2012 NCMC! This summer’s music conference will be hosted by my church again. With the search on for a new senior pastor, the folks in Chattanooga decided to take another year off. The dates will be August 1-3. I don’t really have much more to say about it than that. I’m currently looking for ideas for speakers, musicians, and clinics to feature, so give me any you have that come to mind.

A bit of grace

Peace with God.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Romans 5:1

Is there peace with God in your heart? Are you at war with him or have you been reconciled to God? I as thinking about Moses this week as we were talking about him in staff prayer. Moses was a murderer. When his sin was exposed he was driven away into the dessert. Moses named his son, Gershom which means “I am an alien in a foreign land”. In this broken context, God remember his covenant to Abraham and called on murdering Moses to be the leader of his chosen people. Is your sin greater than God’s grace? Have you made your sin (I’m a murderer) larger than God’s grace (I’m justified and have peace with God)?

Rejoice in the hope of glory

“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” – Romans 5:2

Is there joy in your heart for the hope of glory? The glory of God is not about harps and pearly gates. The glory of God is the process of his love, mercy and justice being revealed every day, across the planet in the lives of his people. Standing firm in grace, this peace with God, we are filled with joy at the eager anticipation that God’s glorious plan is being made a reality. You might already know that Genesis was written by Moses. Moses was not only the main character of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, he was also the narrator of Genesis. In this story, we learned about our place in the created order, our fall and God’s covenant plan of redemption.  In Genesis, there is a deep underlying hope in each story that God has not given up on his creation, but he is desperate to see it restored and redeemed. This story was Moses’ hope, that God’s glory was not permanently hidden by our sin, but it would once again explode into expression on the earth through the promises of God to the seed of Abraham.  The hope of glory produces joy.

Coming Down from the Mountain – New City Music Con

God is good! I know you are thinking that I need to take a break, but I can’t sleep in and my house is quiet so it’s a good time to reflect. It was great to see the pics that Neil Das has already posted froom the conference. Check them out here.

I want to share my personal favorite moments from this weeks conference:

• The absolute explosion of celebration and activity on Tuesday night as Voice of Africa led us in worship. Emmanuel on the hand drums was a real treat.
• Tony Myles sharing that he doesn’t know what a “Plenary Address” is so he’s just gonna preach.
• My kids dancing and playing with Pastor Kevin VandenBrink’s daughter
• Playing a “stankin” set with the NCF U City crew – God, my God, God is good!
• My dad’s talk – a reminder that this is hard work, but the fruit is evident in the lives of the young people he has mentored
• Jim Payne’s songs which revealed a deep passion for the gospel and a love of the craft of songs
• Aloo Gobi – Zack said he’d make it “American Spicy”
• Malcom Speed’s revealing personal experiences with some of the legends of gospel
• It was great to see my Congolese friend, Nestor Biayi, affirmed in the African Style Class as he was called in from the back of the room to demonstrate Saben
• Dr. Sánchez – conga, guitar, upright bass, vocals, and bringing some cool hard truth with wonderful class. We were so affirmed and challenged by his words. (Yes, that talk was recorded and will be available as soon as possible)
• NCF- Chattanooga successfully did the work for me of picking tunes for the next year. I’m not sure that my team will let me rest until every one of those tunes is in our set.
• Doing the electric slide – can we do that in church?
• Jumping in on “Glorious” with Dr. Sánchez on the congas and clave
• Redeemer PCA in Jackson standing as a family together as their composers shared their songs.
• watching half the people in my “Into to Improvisation” class falling asleep – What do you expect when you put exhausted people  in a warm room on couches, after lunch. Next conference we’ll ask everyone to bring a yoga mat so that we can have nap time once a day.
• Watching Paul Neeley get Joshua Saleem playing hand percussion
• seeing my friend, Odetta Fields, come into her own as a choir director
• Jeff Rakes humbly taking us to school with his tune “All Honor and Glory” – man, Jeff set a new standard for my flute player.
• Seeing this cross cultural body of believers express their “heart song” in the form of “O Lord, How Excellent”
• Carrie Knapp – that girl can sang.
• Mike Higgins bringing us back to the promise that the curse is broken and the accuser has no power over me
• I loved the spontaneous expression in singing “You Are Good” at the end of the night. I wish that we had been able to hear more from Jonathan Gramling from Dorchester.  What a voice!

Plenary Speakers for the NCMC

Tony Myles

James Ward

Leo Sánchez

Mike Higgins

We are constantly tweaking the schedule for the NCMC to maximize the time and resources. I am pretty certain that we have worked out the line up of plenary talks sufficiently enough for me to share with you what the conferees can look forward to. Don’t forget to register!

Tony Myles – Tuesday Evening, August 9

Tony is the Associate Pastor for the New City Fellowship-University City worship site. Tony is an excellent preacher, but he’s also a skilled keys player in our rotation. Tony has an insatiable appetite for music. When ever he’s in the same room with a keyboard, I see him circle around it like a vulture until he finally gives in and sits down to play. Tony has been involved in several different kinds of churches from an inner city mega-church to an African American PCA church plant before joining the pastoral team at New City Fellowship.

Tony’s talk on Tuesday will kick off the conference and set the stage for what’s to come.

James Ward – Wednesday Morning, August 10

James Ward is my father and my mentor. Having been a musician at New City Fellowship in Chattanooga from it’s inception, he was a trailblazer in the process of reconciliation ministry in the post-Civil Rights south. He studied music at Covenant College and received a Masters degree in Jazz Performance from the University of Tennessee. His compositions have become part of the unique culture of many of the New City Fellowship congregations. His original songs include, “Death Is Ended”, “Pray, Pray, Pray” and “Keep Looking Up”. He’s also given us new settings for “Oh For A Thousand”, “Rock of Ages” and “May the Mind of Christ My Savior”.

James’ talk on Wednesday comes from 40 years in the trenches of cross-cultural music ministry.

Leopoldo Sánchez – Thursday Morning, August 11

I just met Leo, but I am really excited about what he’s bringing to the conference. Leo was born in Concepción, Chile and raised in Panama City, Republic of Panama. He is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, where he also serves as Director of its Center for Hispanic Studies in The Werner R.H. and Elizabeth Ringger Krause Chair for Hispanic Ministries. Not only is Leo a theologian, but he’s also a double-bass player with the St. Louis Civic Orchestra and plays Latin and jazz bass.

Leo’s talk on Thursday is going to be about the growing church in the “global south” and how our liturgical planning and music style might be affected here as a result. Leo will also be leading our Styles Class on Latin and Caribbean music.

Michael Higgins – Thursday Evening, August 11

I first got to know Mike Higgins when he and his family came to Chattanooga to join the New City Fellowship staff when I was in high school. Mike comes from a C.O.G.I.C. background, but he is ordained in the PCA. After NCF, Mike served as the Senior Pastor of Redemption Fellowship (PCA) in Fayetteville, Georgia for ten years before returning to St Louis as the Dean of Students of Covenant Seminary.

Mike will be closing out the conference on Thursday night with a sermon in our “open-to-the-public” worship service.

People Get Ready

Pulling together the set list for the Black History Celebration, we decided to have the Men’s Ensemble sing a classic tune by Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, “People Get Ready.”  The message is clear that we need to be ready to “get on board” when the kingdom of God comes and that it’s all a wonderful gift of grace through faith. You don’t need a ticket; you just get on board. For me personally, the song conjures up memories of the early years of the first New City Fellowship when we met in the YMCA building on Michell Avenue in Chattanooga. I can remember watching the big neon sign for the Chattanooga Choo-Choo and smell of dust and sweat that filled the Y. Faded snapshots of those years show a mix of white, long-haired hippies (like my parents) along side young, inner-city, black folk with Afros and dashikis. In a church committed to reconciliation, your children grow up with a new cultural heritage that is a blend of cultures and which presents reconciliation as value that is fundamental to a healthy community of believers. My parents heard the call to get on board the train to Jordon, and they brought me and my sister along for the ride. I’m so thankful that I now share this heritage.

Reconciliation and Justice Conference 2011

This past week, a dream came true for me. My church hosted a conference for churches in our denomination with the same passion for the biblical call for justice and reconciliation. There were about 80 people made up of pastors, church planters, ruling elders, seminary students, and a few of us laymen. Not many musicians other than folks who wear two hats in their ministry like my old friend, Jim Payne. There were a lot of different kinds of churches represented. There were New City Fellowship churches which were planted with reconciliation and justice as their core values. Then there were mono-cultural, established ministries that are choosing to bring change to their churches vision to include rec/just. A great example of this king of ministry is Grace Church in Dover Delaware. There were also church plants that are just starting out and looking for ideas like Grace Meridian Hill.

The conference was a lot of fun for me to be involved with. I was responsible for worship music and liturgy for the week. We got to sing in English, Swahili, Hindi, and Spanish. With a room full of pastors who have a passion for multicultural ministry, it was an easy crowd to introduce so much diversity in the music styles and languages. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was pretty sick all week, I would have probably had even more fun hanging out with old friends and meeting new ministry colleagues.

There was a few ideas introduced but the most significant was the idea of a network of churches in the PCA who are all committed to these issues. These churches would support the creation of more church plants and maybe even create resources and training opportunities for established churches that are looking for ways to facilitate a transition. This is an idea that really gets me excited. My father and I have been working on creating a stronger network in our churches to share music and to equip our teams for the unique challenges of cross-cultural worship music. An established network of churches that are committed to these goals would be a natural green house to create and share new music resources.

This past summer, I attended the NCF Music Conference in Chattanooga TN. This conference was a great time for musicians from some of these same ministries to encourage each other, get ideas and build relationships. My father, James Ward, organized that conference, but he’s chosen to only host the conference ever 2 years. That leaves a nice gap for my church to host a similar conference in St Louis. So, stay tuned…this week I’m going to start making calls and getting ideas for some dates. Let me know if you are part of a ministry that is committed to reconciliation and justice and you want to get some ideas of how these values get worked out in the worship music ministry.

Worship and Mercy: how music can fix poverty

I’ve been reading a book called, When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves by Brian Fikkert and John Corbett. It’s really helped me to get a handle on how my multifaceted roles  as church musician, worship leader, and songwriter work toward helping the poor. Huh? What can a musician do to help the poor? Farm Aid, Bono, Woody Guthry, We Are the World? That’s not what I’m talking about. Musicians have an even more important role to play than just “awareness” or fund raising.

In the church, a musician’s job is to lead worship songs. I am part of a team, which includes the pastors, that plans and executes the worship services every weekend. Our job is to bring our focus back onto the cross of Christ, the holiness of the Father, and ministry of the Spirit. Poverty is not just an effect of a lack of material resources. Poverty is symptom of the broken relationships between God, ourselves, other people, and the rest of creation. The gospel and the kingdom of God is about bringing reconciliation to all of these broken relationships. When we come together to worship, we are not just having a time of good feelings and positive mental projection.  We are meeting together to recalibrate our world view to be back in line with how God intended. Material poverty is a real issue that can’t be solved with strumming a guitar; however, real poverty will never be healed by giving away more money/food/resources. The real solution to poverty has to involve people’s hearts being reconciled to God and their lives being restored to a proper relationship with God and his creation.

That’s a really quick overview of some things that I’m getting from this book. The book fleshes these arguments out with examples, stats, and scripture. It’s been a great book so far.