A few years ago I was reading through the Bible and came upon the name of Asaph in First Chronicles, chapters sixteen and twenty-five. Asaph was one of the Levites (or tribe of priests) who received special musical training and comissioning to lead worship before the Ark of the Covenant. In chapter sixteen, David gave them a psalm of thanksgiving he had composed to be played and sung before the Lord, and in chapter twenty-five, the sons of Asaph were set aside as singers to lead the people in praise.
It was from here that the realization hit me that in a very New Testament way, I have been priveleged to serve alongside a number of the children of Asaph - those who are used by God to lead His people in worship today. So as this CD project was being formed, planned and recorded, adding the name: "the Children of Asaph" really seemed like a way to state what we are all about as musicians and vocalists. We are not a band in the traditional sense of 4-6 people set up to hit the road and promote a record and our careers, but a varied grouping of musicians and vocalists who passionately love to see people come together in worship. Our common prayer is that worshippers everywhere experience the power of the Holy Spirit as He works through God's Word and God's gifts to impact the hearts of His people. In short I see these friends as modern day sons and daughters of Asaph, who are given the joy of using their talents and gifts in the area of the worship arts in ways that lift up the name of Christ.
In the days ahead, I will mention the singers and musicians who contributed to each song selflessly, but in today's entry, I'd like to mention a couple right away. One is Steve G., who served as producer, recording technician, engineer, studio player, bringer of the water (I think you get the picture) for the nine songs that were recorded in Omaha. But the biggest role that I didn't list in the credits has been encourager and friend. Our dreams of doing a project like this seemed to merge at just the right time. I have no idea how much time Steve put into those nine songs, but I know without that synergy we experienced in his basement studio, these songs would have not have come together in the way they did.
The other "son" of Asaph I'll mention is not a musician or a vocalist - at least not on this project. His name is Bill Wolfram, and he has been a professor of art and a main contributor to the Center for Liturgical Arts, based on the campus of Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska. Bill is a visionary of a different kind. He sees crosses ... everywhere. His digitally enhanced photographs take every day items and turns them into works of art that depict the power of the cross in a variety of ways. The cover art of the CD booklet is one of his creations and depicts the power of the cross and the empty tomb to bring about the New Jerusalem of Revelation, chapter 21. Having worked with Bill and witnessed how his love for Christ merges with his love for the various forms of art, I feel blessed to count him as yet another "son" of Asaph who added so much to In His Service, Volume 3.
Tomorrow, I'll start writing about each song with lyrics, background, contributors and how I pray it will impact the hearts of others.
In HIS Service,
Jeff
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