Wednesday, April 21, 2010

A HOUSE OF PRAYER


Most parents ready themselves for the day when their oldest child leaves home and heads off to college. That’s the way we pictured it. It’s even the way we partially experienced it – but with a twist. That’s when God stepped in and Anette and I found ourselves doing something we would have never dreamed of doing. Most parents stay put while the kids go and find an inexpensive apartment and live with whatever possessions they can haul there in an overstuffed car, or perhaps the back of a van or pick up.

But we found ourselves loading up the back seat and trunk of our Elantra and moving 800 miles due east to the Cleveland area. The boys had occupancy of the house until it sold. We had an apartment with borrowed furniture and the things we hauled across the flat states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and finally into Ohio.

I know this seems like a long story and I haven’t even talked about the song: “A House of Prayer.” But this is the backdrop of the song. It was in those days of living with minimal “stuff” that I found myself disoriented. The two of us kept joking with each other about the new adventure we had embarked upon, but the reality was that nothing seemed the same. I, more than Anette, seemed to be suffering from separation anxiety – not from the boys which we both felt, but from my earthly possessions. I missed my bed, my stereo, and I hate to admit this – I even missed my recliner.

It was at this time that I was reading in the Gospel of Matthew about Jesus’ clearing of the temple (21:12-13). As I reflected on the cord he took in his hand, the tables he overturned, and his cry against the money-changers, it hit me in a whole new way.

Suddenly it wasn’t just the courts of Herod’s temple that echoed with the words: “You’ve turned my Father’s house into a den of thieves.” It was my heart that reverberated. My mind ran toward Paul’s description of every Christian being a temple of the Holy Spirit, and our need to see that reality in how we live out these lives we’ve been given.

A picture in my mind was forming of all the “stuff” that was cluttering up my soul. I had a vision of Jesus coming and casting aside my bed and my couch and then moving in closer and peering into the inward “stuff” that I had carried with me into this apartment in Parma. There were fears, doubts, hurts, bitterness, selfish thoughts all stacked up like moving boxes, and I knew that Jesus would need to turn them over if this heart of mine was to be returned to its original purpose – to be a House of Prayer.

As I wrote the words of this song, they were a confession, a cry of repentance before the Lord of the temple, and a pleading to Him to do what He needed to do in my life. And the words kept coming back into mind: “Turn the tables, the tables, the tables, and rescue me. Turn the tables, the tables, the tables and set me free.” In other words, this chorus didn’t go through a lot of rewrites. It was, and is, rather simple I know. Maybe it’s not profound, but is the heart cry of one child of God – maybe even your heart as well.

Production Notes: When I brought the song to Steve, he and I agreed that we needed to keep the music simple and let the words be that heart cry and drive the song. But as we sketched out possible instrumentation, Steve was trying to figure out what to do with a bass line. I will honestly tell you that I don’t know how to play bass, but as we listened to the acoustic guitar and scratch vocal, a bass line came to me (for the first time in my life I might add). I simply recorded it vocally and then Steve took out his bass guitar and further developed it. With Michael Chapman playing the congas, Ken Bressman adding some fine guitar work to it, and Joel Wichman’s harmonies, the song evolved into one of my favorites on the CD, as well as to use in worship.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Let the Nails Tell the Story of Love




A couple of years ago we designed a Lenten sermon series based on the nails of the cross. I wanted to write a theme song to go along with the series at the time, but like so many times, things get too hectic - too quick and it didn't happen. Then after moving from Omaha to the Cleveland area, I was sitting in our apartment and found some notes I had scribbled in a notebook and the words and tune started flowing. There were a number of rewrites, and the bridge was written a little later, but the basic thought was simple: "each of those nails tell a story of Christ's love."



One of my all time favorite Lenten songs is a song by Michael Card entitled: "Why?" In the last verse of the song, he asks the question: "Why did they nail his hands and feet - His love would have held him there." I love these lines and believe them to be powerful. Michael may be right in saying Christ's love for us is that strong, and yet it was real nails that were driven into the flesh of our Lord - all because of "the joy set before him" (Hebrews 12:2) so that He could rescue us and restore our lives in Him.



When I was in Hermitage (Nashville), we had a practice of ending every Good Friday service in silence and near darkness and then hammering nails into a cross with pieces of paper with our personal prayer of confession on them. It was always an erry sound to hear those hammers pounding those nails into the wood. Every year I found myself with tears running down my face in that holy time. I found myself offering prayers of thanksgiving to the Lord who demonstrated such a wondrous love.




That is the background of the final verse of the song. I like the fourth verse standing in contrast to the first three. Those first verses declare all that Christ has done by allowing nails to be driven through those loving hands and feet. Verse four, however, focuses more on our response to "bowing down and worshipping at the foot of the cross." We are invited to a different kind of life - one where:




We will lay down our hearts and then pick up our cross
And we will live understanding how much our lives cost
And we’ll seize ev’ry moment as the Risen Lord’s own
And let the nails tell this story of love




Production Note: On the recording I really like Steve's drumming. It reminds me of some of the old John Mellencamp stuff from his "Little Pink Houses" days. In fact Steve was really a one man band on this particular song - playing every instrument I believe. (At least he did let me sing :) ) I chose to make this the lead song on the CD because it really gives a nice introduction to the themes of Lent - letting the nails tell the story of love.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Who are the Children of Asaph


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

Welcome to the In HIS Service Blog


Thanks for checking this blog out, and welcome as I celebrate the release of the first CD in the In HIS Service series. The goal is simple. For the next number of postings, I'd like to give you the background of this CD project (including why we're releasing Volume 3 first.)
The first thoughts about this project came back in my days in Nashville. I was taking part in a CD project with Jimmie Young (a Nashville songwritter, producer and elder in my congregation) and others from Emmanuel - a project that would be called: "Songs for the Masses." Jimmie had a sound in mind that he wanted to capture and anyone who knows him, knows that he moves with a singleness of focus.
During that time, I developed a vision for a different kind of project in mind to pursue. It wasn't a sound I was after, but a concept for filling a gap in the kind of contemporary praise and worship music I was coming across. I wanted a broader base of subjects and themes to choose from as I developed worship services. What came to mind was a series of songs that would use the life and ministry of Christ as a basis and covered the whole church year - all the way from Advent and Christmas through the Pentecost season and finally the end themes of the church year and the final appearing of Christ. I also began to be drawn towards the title: In HIS Service because of the dual theme of music written to be played and sung in the worship services focused on Christ, and because of a desire that every song be written with one purpose in mind - to praise and serve Christ and Christ alone.
It was at this point that I started to focus my writing on songs that would go along with that vision. So from those days until today's release of Volume 3, it's only been a short 8 or 9 years, and since the first tracks were recorded for this CD, a brief 2 years. By the way, the reason for Volume 3 being released before Volumes 1 or 2, is that I wanted to begin with the Lent, Holy Week and Easter themes and in terms of the church year, Volume 3 would be more appropriate. (The plan right now is to release Volume One next - with the seasons of Advent and Christmas.
So there you have it. In tomorrow's blog, I'll give you the background behind calling it Jeff Shanks and the Children of Asaph. After that, I'll move on to giving lyrics and the background behind each of the songs on Volume 3.