Letting it out part 2

As I mentioned in the previous post I want to address this thing called “emotions” that tend to arrise when we listen to and/or make music.  Joss Stone said that music is emotional and that drives what she says and does musically.  It seems to be her compass for singing, writing and performing.

I understand this completely.  As an artist I really believe you have to be honest with where you are at. (Not plastic and artificial is as the temptation of many in ministry.) Music has a magical key that unlocks something inside of us and out pours whatever is going on inside of us, anger, depression, longing,  joy, confusion, anticipation….

Music posseses the properties to allow us to emote.  Emotions are the blood of the spirit and a vital part of health.  But the risk is that we can become ruled by them.

What happens when we then use our emotions as a spring board for actions and behavior? Is the purpose of emotions just to allow them to run amuck??  I don’t feel like doing laundry….ever…what if I never do it?  Instead of stuffing my frustration over this weekly necessity I need a place to free it and surrender it to something more sufficiently wise and purposeful than myself.  I believe that place is Jesus.

In worship, whether in a group or privately, emotions can arrise that desperately need to be experienced.  But what do we do with them once we face them?

Too often I’ve seen worship sets go on and on because the leader needs to have a cathartic experience of his or her own as their emotions emerge.  Honestly, sometimes this feels selfish. I guess I hold to the thinking that a worship leader is a role of servanthood.  Reading what the people engaged in worship need from the Lord.  Listening to the prompt of the Holy Spirit.  Or I’ve witessed dramatic exchanges between people in context to worship music where the issues of life seem to explode with drama in a self grandious kind of way, when to me, it’s not that big of a deal.  I wondered if someone just needed some attention.

Ok I sound harsh. I don’t mean to.

I just wonder about why God allows the music to trigger our emotions if He didn’t want us to go somewhere with them?  Paul writes so much about our hearts being protected and placing everything under the authority of Christ.  Perhaps we are to do the same with the feelings that eep out as we sing, play and listen to our music.

I fully believe that we need to become a people (Christians) more in tune with our emotions.  So much relational damage has been done because of the coldness in our hearts.  But I also believe that when we do finally begin to “feel” that we bring our emotions to Jesus. When Jesus chose the road of suffering He clearly didn’t feel good about it.  Yet He addressed his emotions and did what He was convicted to do.

Perhaps this is not an issue for you? Perhaps this is one of those things that pertain more to women?  I don’t know?

But I do know that music creates a pathway to allow our emotions to shake loose in an authentic way.  Emotions give us insight as to the condition of our souls, lives and relationships.  Once we acknowledge where we are at, we are free to entrust our emotions to Jesus and choose to behave, make decisions, interact and deal with life a little more exposed, yes, but in cooperation with Christ.  Making the experience of following after Him a little more sweet and intimate because our emotions are cradled in the arms of the One who holds them so dear.

Letting it out…

I was watching an intimate concert Joss Stone gave on Yahoo video the other day. I’m not sure when it was filmed. She said she was only 19 so I don’t think it to be too long ago.

Allowing people to interact with her in the quaint and earthy room one woman asked a question,

“You are so young, where do you get your old soul from?”

Joss couldn’t really explain, after all she is only 19! But what she did say struck a chord in me. After explaining the kind of upbringing she had with her family enjoying a variety of music ( I think they all say that), she said that contemporary music left her numb. When she turned the radio on and listened to whatever was top 10 on any chart, she had absolutely no emotion.

It didn’t stir her inside.

Music is powerful and Joss really is convicted that music was intended to evoke any kind of emotion. In fact, in her opinion, if you left a concert of hers and didn’t feel anything, she didn’t do her job.

Now if you’ve ever listened to Joss Stone’s work you know she oozes with angst, passion, sexuality and a lot of other ooie gooie emotional facets. I think she sounds like the soul of a middle aged woman who has been deeply wounded by life but hasn’t given up on love, meaning and significance. That’s what Joss sounds like to me. But this entry isn’t about that….

What I found interesting is that Joss’ purpose for her music was for emotional expression. That was her goal, her end. To allow the emotions out of the box and free to roam about the country. In fact, she implied through out her talk that emotions rule much of what she does. She bases decisions on how she feels about something, not logically always but emotionally.

I think for a singer, song writer or musician Joss hits on something. Music is a conduit for emotional expression. Our emotions remain disconnected to our souls too often. I have even noticed in our overly saturated musical world that we write and play music void of emotional connection. Do we allow our words, voices or instruments permission to tap into our emotional soul or is that simply too revealing?

Although I do not necessarily agree with basing decisions, treating others or behaving merely from an emotional basis (I’ve gotten in too much trouble doing this). As I Christian I believe there is a foundation of truth from the WORD of God that I have to return and originate my relating, behaving and decision making from. My emotions must also be acknowledged and then submitted to God who nurtures them, crafts them and tends them toward His character. BUT I do believe all emotions need to be let out, whether they be, happy, depressed, irrational, angry, excited, anxious or whatever !

Joss reminded me that music is the platform for this. This was a good reminder.

Keep checking back as I want to address as a follower of Jesus what scriptures implies we do with our emotions as music (or life) releases them. Do we allow emotions to rule and what does it look like to submit to God when a range of emotions arise from music ?

Until then….

Gifts

Today I read the paper. I mostly read the articles that catch my attention or have an intriguing picture above the article.

There are students at a local college who do part of their schooling in Western Africa. They call themselves Engineers Without Boarders. They are engineering and medical students that go into remote places and help the people in those communities set up better water system services to keep them from getting water born illnesses. So cool!

One young man was sharing that his experience went from being a project to do something good to becoming something good for someone else. The reason the shift…the people he met. When he went to remote villages he was met by women and children who greeting him by waving some sort of tree branches, hugs and songs. Instantly, this young man was faced with human gifts, the kind that you can’t buy, the kind that is so needed in this world, simple honest gestures of the heart. Physical, audible, tangible expressions meant just for them.

It was striking to me that songs were one of their gifts. These people have very little by way of material things and yet they gave treasures more valuable than most things I have ever received. Their songs were their souls crying out in gratitude, hope and longing. Their songs touched this man and ignited something inside of him. Something more than propelling him into action. They helped define who he was becoming.

I really believe that songs are the language of the soul in many ways. When someone sings over us or for us the potential exists for a powerful exchange. We receive a soul gift that builds into our very character and being.

Next time you are at church or a concert or even just listening to your music, quiet yourself and let the songs fall over you. Embrace the spirit in which they are given to you, they are a gift for you. See what happens. What inside you shifts or changes? Where does your mind and thoughts turn to?

Don’t just waste the music, receive the gift it brings. Being someone who is regularly involved with music it is too easy for me to not be in tune with the song. I’m sometimes become too acquainted with songs, over saturated, if you will, and they lose their potency.

By becoming “still” and do nothing more than absorb the music and I am challenged to find the beauty and the power and the gift that the song offers me. It’s a good discipline.

Try it. See what happens.

….and so I was cutting the grass….

….when I was immediately drawn into a lyric of a song on my ipod. I had “Gravity” playing by John Mayer. I do like him as a singer/songwriter. I think the rivers run deep with him.

His words: ” It’s wanting more That’s gonna send me to my knees” struck me hard. Now I know that this song is about his desire to not become greedy with all things in life thus have his life fall apart. (At least this is my take on this tune.)

But I took it altogether differently not because I misunderstood his intention but rather because God spoke to my heart with those words.

I heard: “Desiring more of God in every aspect of your existence requires humbling yourself on your knees in prayer, it means requesting of God, all the time, and inviting Him into your day. Do you desire God?“

Now I know that is not what John Mayer was singing but that is what I heard. Good lyrics can do that. Thought-filled words and phrases can open up thoughts in your mind and lead you. As a person who loves Jesus and wants to follow after Him, I hear lyrics and tend to filter them through my perception of God-grid. I hope that my perception of God is growing based on my ability to understand and know the Bible. That is where we get our knowledge of God at this point in history.

The realization for me is that my desire for God is directly linked to knowing Him. I know Him through investing in the learning and understanding the Bible. After all, it isn’t just a book. It is the WORD of God. When I get to learn more about His big heart from my exploration, I desire to experience more of God, even when I’m cutting the grass. I want His blessing. I want to feel Him, see Him and know what He is up to. I guess you could say being a learner of God predisposes me to being on the lookout for God. (Kind of in the same way when you buy a new car and suddenly you see them all over where you never did before. Your awareness factor goes up.)

God begins to talk to me through good lyrical writing like John Mayer songs. Writing that taps into my intellect and spirit, the places God dwells within me. For me good lyrics open the door that God stands behind. When the door is open, I can choose to invite God in because I have so wanted to hear from Him. Or I can choose to keep God on the other side of the door and not allow lyrics, or words, to move me like they were created to do. My choice.

Yes LORD, I do desire.

Singers

I have been thinking lately about singers. I am one. I sing frequently for the purpose to lead a time of expression at my church. By “time of expression” I mean that I lead people in songs of praise, confession, lament, adoration, declaration and prayers towards God. I like doing this but it poses some unique issues for a singer.

Songs have an identity and when placed in a time of “expression” , as I will call it, I find myself wanting to create a specific tone, mood or sound as a leader.

Now the problem with that is. Not everyone else who sings can make their voices sound a certain way. Perhaps they don’t interpret the song in the same fashion that I do.

I usually sing with a full band when I lead. Musicians, the good ones, most of the time are given a green light to embellish and make the song “their own” musically. We all applaud and sooooo appreciate when a confident, well rehearsed and competent instrumentalists is on board. It makes everything better.

But the same isn’t true for the singer. Most of the time singers are not encouraged to embellish or “make it their own” kind of song. We try to keep everyone inside the boundaries so that we have a unified sound.

Now I’m not one who wants to promote people who are not ready nor equipped VOCALLY to have a strong presence in the mix of sound. I find people with harsh, sqeaky or out of tune voices to be a distraction. Certainly something I don’t want to do in a venue where I’m trying to assist people in their spiritual interaction with God.

But the point I’m raising is….as people who plan for worship times…pastors,directors, planners, worship leaders….do we think of the “voices” of our singers? Do we too often try to get them to “fit” in the box of what we want a sound to be like? (Let alone stage presence….that is a blog for another day.)

Some of the best music created is a blend of what a musician has to offer that day.  Not forcing them to sing a song or in a way that is clearly not them or beyond them.  Are we missing the point of ministry with each other and not SEEING our brothers and sisters just as they are and allowing our vocal contributions to rise from who they are and not who we want them to be.

You see what I’m saying?

I’m all for raising the bar, equipping, getting better etc. But do we miss some of God’s best work in community when we don’t take a closer look at our singers and accept their giftings right where they are today and plan our songs based on what our singers have to offer?

Encouraging growth, yes. Giving challenging opportunities, yes. Inspiring them to serve in humility, yes.

When we try to control too much of their voice we tend to limit our thinking as to what God can use and can’t use. We think only a certain look or sound is appropriate and usable by God. Again, don’t get me wrong. People who can’t sing shouldn’t lead times of songs in ministry…or any kind of singing publicaly. But when we use everyday, average, fabulously ordinary singers….as this is what most church communities have…do we see them for who they are as vocalists or try to make them be what we want them to be? In most cases they are not professionals, don’t have time for large scale training and will never be a professional.

Do we communicate an unspoken message that they need to perform or they won’t get asked to sing again? Do we make them feel they have to look a certain way to be on our stage? Are we willing to journey with and invest in our singers in the area of spiritual and vocal growth…because yes, the two go together.  Do we make our music ministry too much about everybody else and not express commitment, shepherding or leadership for our singers?

It’s a subtle message that gets sent down very inadvertently and unintentionally from the top, I believe. But I worry that we miss some of God’s most powerful and Holy Spirit driven moments when we expect the wrong things from our singers.

I wonder what would happen if we were to free the singers to sing as they would, in a way that uniquely expresses themselves. What would it be like if we encouraged independent and unique voices to find their places together and not trying to fit inside a one size does not fit all, sound?  Would it be uncomfortable or awkward?  Probably, but would we be willing to let it happen for the sake of growth, understanding, respect and community?  (I want to say yes but I don’t know if I’m that willing, if I’m to be honest.)

Some of the most powerful moments in music comes when the collaborative creative process is allowed to flourish….live and we have to depend on each other and listen to each other and give way to each other. (I know that makes the planners in the bunch squirm.)

What if we asked the singers what they wanted to sing or how they wanted to sing it? What if we got their input on what they think would help others by way of songs?

Would it tap into the soul of the singer more than what is happening now? Would it mean that we may have singers more intimately acquainted with the power of their songs? Would they be more transparent and move more like someone who serves generously quiet in a soup kitchen? Would they feel less self-conscious and less pressure? Would they feel more like themselves?

Would they feel more loved and fed? Isn’t this what Jesus called us to do?

I Want to be a Music Therapist

I want to be a music therapist. I don’t know if there is such a thing, there probably is, but that is what I want to be.

Last night I was engulfed by a John Mayer concert. It was a DVD that I watched on my husband’s flat screen, super duper high resolution TV. You could see the pores in John Mayer’s face. The sound system hooked up to the TV has a subwoofer and intense clarity. So it was loud, surround and WOW. (My kids had a hard time getting their homework done last night.)

John Mayer’s musicianship and artistry was medicine for my soul. He is a thoughtful, interesting, uncommon and layered songwriter and an even more complicated and yet seemingly effortless guitarist.

Simply put: he helped me. I was lifted, moved (in a good way), inspired and encouraged, although I can’t really explain why. I was definitely the recipient of his musical gifts.

This is what I want to do. Help people with music.

One of the hats I occasionally get to wear is that of “worship leader”. I don’t really like that title because there are too many connotations associated with it, but no one can think of anything better so it sticks, for now.

Anyway, when I’m involved in leading people on a musical journey of reflecting, proclaiming and declaring who God is along with expressing themselves to God, I want things to happen. I want the music and the lyrics to radically take hold of all of us participating and to effect change both internally and externally. Music can do that. I want that for people when they gather “in the Name of the LORD.”

Is that a wrong thing? I don’t think so.

But music is mystical. If I dare say, so is the Holy Spirit. It arouses the senses and the soul in a way that mere dialog or listening cannot do. It begs commitment and engagement and yet doesn’t demand it. You can hum a tune or listen to great music completely detached from it’s meaning. Music won’t insist on getting you to join.

Funny, isn’t that kind of like Jesus? “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…” (Revelation 3:20)

Ahhh, but when you open the door, something or someone is invited inside.

This piece is the first in what I hope will be an ongoing discovery of what music does for the soul and the role it has in community gatherings and personal moments.

I really think I want to be a music therapist…..I really wonder if there is such a thing?

Why Music?

Why music?

What is it about music that makes our world more interesting, powerful or meaningful?  Have you ever watched unedited movie clips where no music has been added?  It’s pretty dull.  Music seems to connect sequences.

Have you been in a store where there was no music playing above you?  It’s kind of quiet isn’t it?  You are almost distracted by the lack of melody.  Store music seems to move you along doesn’t it?

Music is a lot of things.  It fills empty air space so that there isn’t a sense of awkwardness.  It provides a place to tune out when you don’t want to engage in conversation while driving in a car.  It hypes you up before some sort of sporting event; gets you in the mood to watch the game.  It sets a romantic atmosphere in a restaurant or bedroom.  It acts as a calming agent in a nursery or operating room.  The fact is:

WE NEED MUSIC!

But why?  What is it about music that makes it necessary?

Perhaps music is more of driving force than we even realize.

Music has the power to take us from somewhere and bring us to an altogether different place.  It can remove us from our current attitude, thoughts or emotions.  Sometimes nothing and no one can get to our souls but music.

Music can transcend all presuppositions and prerogatives by slipping underneath the doorway of our heart and begin to illuminate us from the inside out.   Illumination can either be good or bad, wherever the music desires to take us we go.  It up roots what we are thinking about very subtly and begins us on a journey.

A journey to wherever music wants to take us.  Music brings us somewhere.  It always does.  It never abandons us.  It always has a destination.  Again, it may not be a good destination but there is one nonetheless.  You know how you feel when you turn on the radio and your new favorite song comes on.  Instantly you are transported to somewhere else.  When the ride is over you are not in the same place as you were before the song began!

Now we know music’s power.  Have we considered the power music can have in one’s spiritual life?  It is an intriguing and penetrating entity, one that should be welcomed with wisdom, humility and respect.  Your spiritual life, i.e. your heart, is the “wellspring” of your life.  It’s from this place that you assign value and priority; that you decide what stays and what goes in your attitude or behavior, where you determine how to live with other people.

What is in your musical repertoire?   What music have you given permission influence your soul?

Do You Wonder Why We Sing

Do you ever wonder why we sing? Why are we compelled to belt out a tune that is infectious or bellow from the depths of our being to a melody that haunts our soul?

Singing is merely talking with rhythm and meter….oh yea and it sounds nicer too…well at least some people sound nicer.

The quality of the sound isn’t the point. It’s the sound, the vibrations and tones that find its’ way through our soul and out of our mouths.

Every word has meaning, whether we assign it meaning or recognize its’ meaning is
another issue. (Too often we let our words, i.e. songs, become disconnected from our souls because we abuse them, we overindulge in their careless use.) But words and sounds do not exist to be pointless. It all has a point and comes from someplace inside of us.

I may even suggest that words are really a form of one person connecting to another. They leave our mouths with the hopes that someone will hear, someone will acknowledge our existence, someone will agree, someone will protest…we will at least get some form of connection good or bad. We don’t let words emerge from our mouths for nothing.

We use words and the melodies of our spirit to inform, identify, direct, encourage, correct, vent etc. We build verbal bridges…good and bad, constructive and destructive, in order to create a place where the ideas, motives and secrets of our hearts and minds can be transported somewhere else, to someone else.

Ok so that thought is getting big but let’s go back to the original question. Why do we sing?

To connect.

Love songs get us to connect with someone else whom we are fond of. Socially and politically based songs connect us to a cause we hold vigilant in our hearts. Contemplative songs connect us to the emotional and spiritual temperature of our own souls.

Worship, praise…God songs (whatever you want to call them) connect us to this idea that He is over is all and cares about it all, He created it all, knows it all and wants to hear all about whatever you need to say. But these songs do something that other genres of music do not.

They connect us to the Person of God.

Oh yes, they tend to be theologically thematic and focused on the God of the Bible. But they also help us build a bridge from our soul to God’s. And from God back to us.

When we sing these songs either when we are alone, at church or bible study, prayer group or retreat, the opportunity exists to connect to God. Sometimes our minds our fuzzy and our hearts are far, but we sing anyway. I think that is ok because God understands our weakness and yet connects back with us, even if we don’t feel it or sense it. The truths about who He is serves as the bridge He builds to connect with us.

He understands the depths of our souls even when we don’t.

Our need to sing tells a bigger story about us; one that we may or may not seek to read but there is a bigger story to us none-the-less.

The fact that we sing, even if we don’t know why, speaks to our need to connect.
A need that was set in our being long before we were born, God designed us to connect.

Welcome Home

Home is where your heart wants to be.  It is where your heart remains. My Grandma went home a few weeks ago.  She found herself in the brilliant light of heaven, in the shadow of Jesus’ love.  She found her song.  She sings it fully and without reservation.

 

That is what this blog is dedicated to…finding our songs.