Alexander Green

Chris Tomlin Makes History With New Album

Accumulating the biggest first-week sales numbers of his history-making career, Grammy winner and multi-platinum recording artist Chris Tomlin’s latest album, Burning Lights, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

With more than 72,000 units sold, Burning Lights marks Tomlin’s first trip to the top of the Billboard 200 and only the fourth time in history that a Christian music album has entered that chart at No. 1. The scans for Burning Lights, released via sixstepsrecords, reflect a 60 percent increase over first-week sales of Tomlin’s last studio album, 2011’s And If Our God Is For Us…, which moved 45,000 units.

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Mars Hill Church Downtown Seattle Relocates to Historic Place of Worship

Mars Hill Church Downtown Seattle, one of 14 churches that have sprouted from the teachings and ministry of founding pastor Mark Driscoll, opened this past Sunday at its new location, a historic 1910 place of worship that once included some of Seattle’s early families.

“There’s a new chapter in Seattle’s history tonight with the salvation of a downtown Seattle building that is over 100 years old,” a local TV news anchor shared last week, Mars Hill reported. “The new tenant, a church, is preserving the building and restoring it to its original use.”

Holding church services at out-of-the ordinary locations is not something new for Mars Hill. The Downtown Seattle church is using the building most recently known as Daniels Recital Hall after selling its Belltown location, the former building of the “notorious” Tabella Nightclub.

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Time to Leave Your Church?

Once after a holiday I talked to a worship leader who told me he was planning on leaving his ministry. It’s typical for holiday times – worship leaders have come off a stressful period of rehearsals and multiple services and many are just plain in shock. Shock and stress alone are no reasons to leave a ministry. Over the years I’ve found two major indicators of when I should expect to see a change.

1. Restlessness. I have a cousin who was a pastor in a fairly well known, affluent historic church in a major city. Things were going great and he was happy as can be. But restless. He said he felt change was coming. His church was wonderful, but my cousin had taken it as far as he could and things had plateaued. Sure enough, a few months later he took the call to another church across the country where he’s been happily ministering.

Some people in ministry take the Apostle Paul approach – their gift is to help struggling ministries get healthy. Then when the church has stabilized they move on to another struggling ministry.

Or maybe it’s as simple as a worship leader growing in his or her own faith, realizing there’s more to life than trying to politically please a stagnant leadership, and yearning for a church on fire where they can get busy for God.

2. Frustration. I had been working in one church for a few years and was as happy as a clam. A friend asked me “why are you still here at this church?” and I replied that I was having the time of my life and had no plans of leaving.

Two weeks later a new elder was elected who had an obvious vendetta against me (I would guess it stemmed from the fact I wouldn’t let his off-pitch wife sing on the praise team.) I suddenly went from doing everything right to being constantly “in trouble” – everything was wrong, from the songs to the style to the flow. I received another offer and was gone in 6 months (the same elder then proceeded to chase off the youth pastor and assistant pastor.)

There are two morals to this story. First of all, a message to the congregation: if things are going great in your church, keep an eye out for pesky elders and deacons who are looking for trouble where there is none. Many of them are unfortunately chosen because they are simply successful businessmen and not Spirit-led. Encourage and defend your staff because they are probably under constant attack and criticism to the point where they wonder “why bother.” That, may I add, is why churches are desperate to find good worship leaders – most have quit! I had three emails last week alone from churches looking to fill music positions.

Second of all, notice that I didn’t go out looking for something else – I was given an opportunity. When I’m called to a ministry I assume I’ll be there for the rest of my life. I typically do not make a move until God makes it for me or opens a door – I’ve only once looked for a church job. This is a major confirmation as to whether I should endure a situation (and try to improve it) or leave.

If I were ever to see this elder again, I’d thank him for running me off. As Joseph said in Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” Is that not the truth! If I hadn’t left that ministry I would never have gone to Seacoast Church, would never have met Chris Sligh, would never have driven him to all his American Idol auditions, would never have had the exciting, wild ride of a lifetime with the hoopla of Season 6 and would never have had the chance to work with legendary producer Brown Bannister who crafted Chris’s debut recording. Whenever my clock radio wakes me up to my string arrangement on one of Chris Sligh’s songs playing on the local Christian station I have to chuckle – I could never have planned anything this incredible on my own so I’m just fine with letting God handle it.

Bottom Line: Ministry frustrations? My advice is this: life is way too complicated to figure it out on your own – let God lead you. Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 25:4-5.

Christians Respond to Giglio’s Withdrawal

Pastor Louie Giglio’s withdrawal from President Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony has left Christians lamenting over what they see as a new era of religious intolerance.

More specifically, anyone who holds the view that homosexuality is a sin is being forced out of the public square.

Russell Moore, a Southern Baptist theologian, put it this way: “When it is now impossible for one who holds to the catholic Christian view of marriage and the gospel to pray at a public event, we now have a de facto established state church.

“Just as the pre-constitutional Anglican and congregational churches required a license to preach in order to exclude Baptists, the new state church requires a ‘license’ of embracing sexual liberation in all its forms.”

Giglio, founder of the Passion conferences and Passion City Church in Roswell, Ga., had been invited to deliver the benediction during Obama’s inauguration ceremony on Jan. 21. He accepted the invitation and told The Christian Post earlier this week that he was honored to lead the nation in prayer.

But the pastor began to face criticism when the liberal blog Think Progress pointed to an “anti-gay” sermon Giglio delivered almost 20 years ago. In that sermon, Giglio affirms homosexuality as a sin, says Christians must respond to the “aggressive” homosexual agenda, and stresses that all are sinners and in need of the healing power of Jesus.

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Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir to Perform for Obama at Inaugural Ceremony

Brooklyn, New York – The renowned Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, known both for its award-winning music and testimonies of changed lives, is scheduled to perform at the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama.

According to reports, the Grammy-winning choir had been invited to the Inauguration in June of last year by United States Senator Charles Schumer of New York, who serves as the chairman of the 2013 Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Schumer, a Democrat, states that he is a “frequent visitor” of Brooklyn Tabernacle Church.

“I am honored for the opportunity to plan the Presidential Inauguration festivities, and today I’m pleased to invite Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir to perform at the 57th Inauguration in January,” he stated last year upon extending the invitation. “As a frequent visitor to their wonderful congregation, I know from first-ear experience how amazing this choir is, and I know they will wow the whole nation, too. I know this invitation is music to their ears, and they will send their talented, Grammy award-winning singers to represent my hometown Brooklyn in the nation’s capital. I look forward to Pastor Jim Cymbala’s decision, as I know the choir will showcase the best that New York has to offer.”

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Church Song Lyrics: Wider-Screen

Anthony Coppedge on why you should be using the wide screen format for your church projection:

Back in 2002 I wrote a widely-publicized article about all churches needing to make the move to 16:9 aspect ratio widescreen. Almost 11 years later, it turns out I was almost right.

The idea that 16:9 aspect ratio allows for the width to type in song lyrics “more like they’re sung” without as many odd carriage-returns is still true today. It’s as if 16:9 was made for church song lyrics, nevermind the change from Standard Definition television to Widescreen TV. But what I didn’t see happening as much as it has is the use of even wider screens than the new 16:9 standard. The creative minds in churches have been adding more impressive display technology as it improves and the price drops. Well beyond 16:9, superwide edge-blended screens and even environmental projection (which 10 years ago was reserved for only churches with massive tech budgets) are a rising trend.

For those churches still in the 4:3 screen mode, here’s some help to show your leadership how 16:9 (or wider) is where you need to be. I’ve included some very basic examples below (thanks to ProPresenter, a favorite of mine) to help serve as visual examples of my now decade-old advice to churches.

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The Death of the Mall and the Future of Church Buildings

Thom Rainer is the president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources:

I remember the first time I went to a mall. Raised in a small town in the southeastern section of Alabama, I was amazed when I went to the “big city” mall in Montgomery. All the stores were under one roof. They were new and shiny. The venture became an adventure for me.

But that was fifty years ago. Things have changed. Things have changed significantly.

As Jeff Jordan notes in The Atlantic Cities, the future of American shopping malls is tenuous.

As Jordan says in his prescient article, the trends are gloomy for malls. Sales are down. Numbers of malls have closed or they are on the precipice of closing. Vacancy rates are up. Jordan notes “there are more than 200 malls with over 250,000 square feet that have vacancy rates of 35 percent or higher, a clear marker for shopping center distress.” He further provides data that indicate over 10 percent of malls will close in the next five years.

Of course, the declaration of the death of American malls is an overstatement or, at the very least, a premature obituary. Many malls will remain open; a number will remain viable and growing. Still, the trends are unmistakable and unavoidable. Only those who deny reality will fail to note the implications of this issue.

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The Decline of the Organ

The following material was presented in the doctoral colloquium at Southwestern Baptist Seminary on October 20, 2012. Do you think there’s hope for organs? I doubt it – they’re too expensive, few musicians can play it properly and, most importantly, the average person simply doesn’t like organ music.

What are some of the reasons for the decline in organ usage in many churches today?

I. Shortage of qualified organists

A. Limited access to the instrument; fewer and fewer organs available, since so many have been discarded.

B. Lack of exposure to the instrument; not many children are being exposed to the instrument, plus the fact that it is often difficult to obtain permission to practice on a suitable organ. Smaller and more portable instruments are desired.

C. Lack of teachers that are qualified and/or willing to teach the organ to students who have the prerequisite piano skills.

D. Students who study music are influenced by popular culture, media, etc., in which the organ is totally foreign; it’s not “cool” to learn the organ.

E. The amount of time and dedication it requires to master the organ.

F. The pedals are intimidating!

II. The instruments themselves

A. Initial purchase too expensive for many churches; expense cannot be justified in light of other financial pressures.

B. Even if there is an organ in working order, it might be of poor quality.

C. Neglected maintenance and expensive repairs.

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