Liveblogging Church
by
Ted Slater
on Mar 22, 2008 at 11:15 AM
I'll be attending five services this weekend. No, not because I'm especially religious, but because I'm in the church worship team and am committed to playing for all five of our services: two tonight and three tomorrow morning.
I love serving this way, and there are benefits to singing and playing each song so many times, and hearing the sermon five times. I admit that it is a challenge to "be present" 100 percent for each service -- after the third or fourth I can start running out of steam. But it really is a joy to be on stage alongside friends as I serve the congregation this way.
Interested in going with me to see what it's like? Check back tonight and tomorrow for regular updates. Final rehearsal is at 2 p.m. sharp (Mountain Time), and the first service begins at 4:30. See you then!
1:45 p.m.
Jacob has given me access to the church's wireless internet. Works great!
The drummer, Julian, is here, as are the sound guys, the lighting guy, and the overhead guy. Some of the kids are here as well, full of energy. Julian is using two snares tonight -- a regular one, and a side snare that's pitched a bit higher. It sounds sweet. I expect the final "dress rehearsal" to begin within 15 minutes.
I forgot my black shirt at home. Hopefully my wife will bring it when she comes later this afternoon. I'm hoping Fletch brings me a tie. The guys in the band are all planning to wear black shirts and silky greenish ties, $8 from Wal-mart.
I'm going to go on stage and make sure my music is in order and the two keyboards sound right. I'll be using my Korg Triton Pro and my Clavia Nord Electro 2 (run through a Presonus tube amp to add a bit of "organic-ness"). We're using Avioms for our monitor mix, and I'm using Senheiser headphones -- the kind that wrap around the back of your head so your hair doesn't get messed up. The "dent" you get from regular headphones is just unacceptable. :-)
I expect to give the next update in a bit over three hours.
3:45 p.m.
Well, I'm back earlier than I thought. I've got a few minutes before we meet for pre-service prayer, so I figured I'd write a bit more....
Rehearsal went quite well. We're singing a combination of hymns (e.g., Crown Him with Many Crowns), contemporary songs (e.g., Chris Tomlin), and songs that members of our church have written. There's a short skit just prior to the sermon that introduces the concept of "God following us." In addition to the band, there'll be an adult choir on-stage (maybe 45 members) and some 100 kids during certain times -- the kids will be in front of the stage and in the aisles.
Weather is odd. It was in the 60s yesterday here in Colorado Springs. Today it's been blizzarding on and off. It's snowing now.
Just got a call from my wife. She's in the parking lot with my black shirt. Fletch brought the green tie, so I'm all set. All the guys in the band are wearing black pants and black shirts and green ties. The worship pastor Mike Burwell is wearing something a bit different. And that got me thinking that we looked like the guys' side of a wedding ceremony. Hm. There's a great band name: Mikey B. and the Groomsmen. :-)
Off to get my black shirt....
7:51 p.m.
Both of this evening's services are behind us. It was helpful to hear the sermon a second time. I think I can summarize it now.
The text was from Luke 24:13-35.
8:15 p.m.
I had been storing my old iBook in Pastor Mike's office, and was starting my previous post when it was time for him to close his office and head home. I'm at home now, so let me continue where I left off....
So two of Jesus' disciples were going to Emmaus -- that would be away from Jerusalem, the site of the crucifixion -- chatting about what had happened in the past few days. Jesus had been killed, some of the women were claiming that Jesus was alive ... but they had lost hope that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the "one to redeem Israel (verse 21).
Jesus met up with them, and through the course of the conversation, Jesus instilled hope in these men, first by pointing them to Scripture, referencing the books of Moses and the prophets and other books of the Bible. Their faith and hope began building. Then they invited Jesus to spend time with them in Emmaus. That fellowship instilled faith and hope. And finally enjoyed a meal with them ... and their eyes were opened to Who Jesus was.
The point? If you're feeling hopeless, turn to the Scriptures. They are words of life. And enjoy fellowship with Jesus, asking Him to fellowship with you. Such intimacy is life-giving, hope-instilling.
I like that none of the pastors used the term "Easter," that I remember. Instead, they spoke of Resurrection Day. The less I have to hear the name of that fertility goddess, the better, as far as I'm concerned. Hmf. :-)
From the stage, the two services went well. I played wrong notes at least four times, but think I served the songs well. Our bass player Dave played at least one wrong note. Keeps us humble, reminds us that only God is perfect. Our guitar player Fletch was all over the place. Not sure he hit one note right. (Just kidding, Fletch! Love you, man!)
I believe that the songs provided a fine context for the congregation to consider truths about the resurrection and consequently engage the Lord in worship. During the course of each service I used the following sounds on my keyboards: organ/B3, piano (with a bit of pad behind it), plain bright piano, rhodes, strings, orchestra, pads. For a few of the songs I played both synths at the same time -- organ on top and a pad beneath, or organ on top and strings/orchestra on bottom. Julian had programmed a drum/synth loop to start off one of the songs; that worked really well, in my opinion.
(KarlH -- I love my Electro. It's got the best Hammond/B3 sounds of any of the organ clones, in my opinion. The softsynth B4 is also quite good. If you need a good organ sound, and some cool "electro-mechanical" sounds like a Rhodes, Whurly and Clav, the Electro is for you. The Triton just doesn't give you the same organic energy as the Electro, and its "leslie ramp-up" is worthless compared to the Electro.)
Our sanctuary accommodates 900 people, and an additional couple hundred can be seated in the "old sanctuary," a room between the church entrance and the main sanctuary. Over the course of these five services, we're expecting some 6,000 folks to attend church.
I believe the church has grown so much over the past few years because our pastor speaks words of life. We don't use "seeker-sensitive" techniques to draw a crowd, but simply preach expositionally from Scripture, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. And the Word of God is powerful.
Sure, we have a mix of contemporary and classic worship songs, but the heart of the church is God-breathed Scripture. We've been in the book of Romans for a few months now. Sometimes Pastor Steve spends the entire sermon on one verse. We're in Romans 5 and 6 now. Powerful, powerful faith-inspiring Scripture.
Between the first two services tonight all those serving (band, choir, children's choir, parking lot folk, etc.) enjoyed a meal together. I was near the front of the food line, so I have a full 15 minutes to eat my pasta and salad. Those near the end of the line may have had 5 minutes. It was a bit rushed, but that's fine. The folks who prepared and served the food did an outstanding job.
We've got to be at the church at 6 a.m., and the first of tomorrow's three services begins at 7:30. I think tonight will be an early-to-bed early-to-rise kind of evening. :-)
He is risen!
4:54 a.m.
I wake up a minute before the alarm goes off. I shower, get dressed, leave an update on the blog ... and prepare to brave the newly fallen snow to get to church for our 6 a.m sound check....
9:12 a.m.
I have a few minutes between this morning's first and second services to catch you up....
We just enjoyed breakfast -- scrambled eggs (which makes me wonder if we ever use "scrambled" with any other kind of food), bacon (which is a nice pseudonym for what it really is), fruit, orange juice, and a donut. Not as rushed this morning as it was last night -- the children's choir ate during the first service, between the times they were needed in the sanctuary.
Pastor Mike's voice was acting up this morning, so another pastor, Josiah, took over song leading. He did a great job for agreeing to such a last-minute request.
You know, worship is fun. Reflecting on the Lord's kind provision to undeserving people like me ... lifts the spirits. I know it's not "all about me," but for some reason God does make this reflection/response singing activity a joy. I'm looking forward to our second service. Good times!
10:52 a.m.
Either Pastor Steve's sermon gets better with each service, or I'm just getting more each time I hear it. The fourth time was a charm, as they say. Here are two guys, men who had been followers of Jesus, who were sad and had given up hope. Jesus was dead, and the women were acting crazy, claiming to have seen angels and such. So they were heading away. To Emmaus.
And of all the places He could have shown up, Jesus met up with these two doubters. Through Scripture, through His presence, and through His talking with them, their faith and hope were restored. Am I so different from these two disciples who had given up hope, and who had seen their Master die? Thank God I have His word through the Scriptures, His presence, and the still small voice of the Holy Spirit to give me hope and purpose.
Pastor Mike's voice is a bit better, but Pastor Josiah is still leading all the songs. Going great.
We're now in between the fourth and fifth services, the second and third for this morning. We're in the choir practice room and Mike is honoring the various folks who helped put this series of services together. Lots of work involved. Lots of clapping. Lots of T-shirts. And there was much rejoicing.
I better close for now. I feel that Mike's going to call me up and give me a shirt any time now....
11:10 a.m.
My face is feeling hot and, um, "glisteny." It may be lack of sleep, having woken up before 5 this morning. Or it may be the stage lights. While I'm looking forward to serving alongside my friends onstage, helping facilitate worship, I'm also looking forward to getting home, putting on my shorts and a T-shirt, and washing my face with Noxema and cold water. Yeah, I use Noxema -- the blue jar with the hip drawing of a teen girl on it. I'm secure.
Well, the next service starts in 15 minutes. The band needs to be on-stage at T-4 minutes, and the choir joins us on-stage at T-2 minutes. Talk to you soon!
1:31 p.m.
Whew. I'm tired. After the final service came to a close, I got the cases for my two keyboards from the green room and packed away my synths, wrapped my cables, closed my Ultimate keyboard stand, boxed up my tube preamp, tucked my music away, and lugged it all to the car and drove home.
I didn't listen to any music in the car on the way home, but when I opened the door and began bringing my things inside, I heard a timely song on our home MP3 server:
When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
Amen. And amen.
In the coming minutes, I'll be enjoying a fine non-kosher meal and a fine nap. The Lord is merciful.
7:31 p.m.
Lissa -- another option is to get a Yamaha YPG-625. It's got GREAT piano sounds, build-in speakers, has 88 weighted keys, and a lot of great sounds other than piano. You can find one for $750. Probably visit Guitar Center or somewhere else and play it before you plunk down the money. You can get its younger brother the YPG-525 for under $500 -- it has everything the YPG-625 has, except has non-weighted keys and is 24 pounds instead of 39 pounds. Both have some sort of multi-track recorder built in.
It's a decent starter keyboard, and has great "bread and butter" sounds. You could also look for a used Triton or Roland XP-80 (both of which sound wonderful, but don't have weighted keys).
My Triton is my "bread and butter" synth, with fine pianos, strings, pads and such. The Electro is great for organs and rhodes. I also have a Korg Prophecy for analog modeling sounds, and two Korg DSS-1s for analog/sampling sounds. I own some great soft-synths (Atmosphere is GREAT!), and am fantasizing about getting a Novation Supernova 2 (which I owned at one time, but had to sell to pay for my honeymoon).... Start with a good "bread and butter" synth, and then get others to complement it....
1. KarlH had the following to say on Mar 22 at 11:32 AM:
I can relate--my church, (www.northwaychurch.tv) is having 10 services this weekend. I'm not playing this weekend, but I often have to play for 5 services. It sounds crazy, but I love every minute of it!
2. Rachael had the following to say on Mar 22 at 1:27 PM:
Neat! Even though I'm only going to one service tomorrow, I was blessed with the opportunity to go to my church a million times (no, not literally) this week. Was my mind always focused? Likely not. But there's something exciting about it. Never in my life have I gone so often. And for the morning services much of it was the same thing each day. But you know? Awhile back my attention was drawn to the fact that the churches mentioned in Acts met day by day. Neat!! How neat! Not sure if that expression meant "every day", but anyway how exciting to think of spending time with God in a community day-by-day! Of course this could happen in the home when people live and share life together. But when it doesn't happen or when people live alone, it's just really neat to be able to go to church frequently, albeit for just one week.
3. BDB had the following to say on Mar 22 at 6:06 PM:
Ted wrote:
>>Just got a call from my wife. She's in the parking lot with my black shirt. Fletch brought the green tie, so I'm all set. <<
So...it's a St. Patrick's Day theme?
4. KarlH had the following to say on Mar 22 at 8:30 PM:
also related--I love my Korg Triton.
My church has one of them at two of our locations, and I own one of my own--definitely the best.
I've also been considering getting a Nord Electro for awhile--are they worth it?
5. Lissa had the following to say on Mar 23 at 12:12 AM:
...He is risen indeed! :)
I checked out the link to your church. I like the idea of preaching straight from the scripture, verse by verse. What a concept, right? I'd probably go if I lived in Colorado.
By the way, not to steer off topic, but since the topic was previously raised: I play piano (the old fashioned way), but I want to get a good keyboard (by good I mean quality but not too expensive since I am, after all, a poor college student right now.) What would you recommend as a decent starter keyboard?
P.S. Happy Easter!!
6. Jeremy had the following to say on Mar 23 at 4:00 PM:
In response to Lisa (#5) --
I highly recommend Casio's Privia series as a starter keyboard. A friend from school bought one (PX-200) a few years back, and after playing his, 3 others including myself have bought one from the same line. Mine is the lowest-end model, the PX-110, and I love it. Fairly inexpensive (~$350), with realistic feeling key weightings and a great sound.
7. Christina (in green) had the following to say on Mar 24 at 6:50 AM:
It didn't quite feel the same this year as it has in the past...
Though my uncle's sermon was awesome :)
My father made a good point about Easter Sunday, though. If you've been observing lent, you tend to have a different feeling about Easter than if you don't.
8. Lissa had the following to say on Mar 24 at 11:43 AM:
Cool, thanks guys (Ted and Jeremy). Sounds like I have some good options. I'll go check those out! :)
9. NeedACatchyName had the following to say on Mar 24 at 1:20 PM:
I will echo Jeremy's suggestion of the Casio Privia series of keyboards. I have an old PX-100 and it has served my meager abilities well. The keys feel more like real piano keys than any other keyboard I've ever used. The only thing to keep in mind is that the Privia series is more intended for use as a piano as opposed to other keyboard applications (at least it was when I bought it), and won't necessarily have all of the effects and tones that other keyboards have.
And Ted, great call on the Sennheiser headphones. It's the only brand I'll buy anymore.