This is something I found a few years ago that I wanted to pass on to you. It’s a blog post by Ray Ortlund titled “Gossip.” It is a great read on a topic that most of us struggle with at some level, I would imagine. Let’s press on to build one another up with our words, thoughts and actions, and not tear down.

“Q: What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?

“A: The duties required in the ninth commandment are the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man and the good name of our neighbor, . . . loving, desiring and rejoicing in their good name; . . . a ready receiving of a good report and unwillingness to admit of an evil report concerning them.

“So says the Westminster Larger Catechism. The Bible itself is so clear against gossip, probably because we are so inclined toward gossip:

“O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

“He who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; Psalm 15:1, 3

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: . . .
a false witness who breathes out lies and one who sows discord among brothers. Proverbs 6:16, 19

“You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:16

“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. James 4:11

“Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret. Proverbs 25:9

“God gave them up to a debased mind . . . They are gossips. Romans 1:28-29

“There are many biblical passages confronting gossip. The witness of God against this sin is overwhelming.

“What is gossip? It is not necessarily false information. Slander is false. Gossip might include true information, and maybe that’s why gossip doesn’t always feel sinful. What makes it sin is, first and foremost, that God says it’s sin. But gossip spreads what can include accurate information to diminish another person. That is not how people behave when they are living in the power of the grace of God.

“Gossip is our dark moral fervor eagerly seeking gratification. Gossip makes us feel important and needed as we declare our judgments. It makes us feel included to know the inside scoop. It makes us feel powerful to cut someone else down to size, especially someone we are jealous of. It makes us feel righteous, even responsible, to pronounce someone else guilty. Gossip can feel good in multiple ways. But it is of the flesh, not of the Spirit.

“Adultery too is a serious sin, and one likely to be disciplined in a church. But I have never seen a church split over the sin of adultery. Gossip is a sin rarely disciplined but often more socially destructive than the sensational sins.

“Gossip leaves a wide trail of devastation wherever and however it goes – word of mouth, email, blogging, YouTube. It erodes trust and destroys morale. It creates a social environment of suspicion where everyone must wonder what is being said behind his or her backs and whether appearances of friendship are sincere. It ruins hard-won reputations with cowardly but effective weapons of misrepresentation. It manipulates people into taking sides when no such action is necessary or beneficial. It unleashes the dark powers of psychological transference, doing violence to the gossiper, to the one receiving the gossip and to the person being spoken against. It makes the Body of Christ look like the Body of Antichrist – destroyers rather than healers. It exhausts the energies we would otherwise devote to positive witness. It robs our Lord of the Church he deserves. It exposes the hostility in our hearts and discredits the gospel in the eyes of the world. Then we wonder why we don’t see more conversions, why ‘the ground is so hard.’

“What should we do when a conversation starts slipping into gossip? We should immediately challenge the sin: ‘Hey friend, sorry to interrupt, but this is gossip. So here’s the deal. This conversation is now on hold until you go get _____________, and then you can start over and say whatever you feel you must say right to his face. I am willing to be a witness to that conversation, but I will not participate in gossip. What do you choose to do?’ Amy Carmichael established this rule at her mission station: ‘Never about, always to.’

“’Let all things be done for building up’ (1 Corinthians 14:26). Therefore, let’s always ask ourselves, ‘These words about to rise up out of my mouth or go out through my keyboard – do they build up? Am I being constructive? If the person I feel like discussing were here with me right now, how would his presence change what I feel like saying?’

“’Do not be deceived: . . . revilers will not inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.’” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

The following is a prayer asking God to refine our lives and our ministries to be centered wholly and passionately on Him. It’s a prayer that God, in His infinite grace, would move us aside and make much of Himself.

O my Lord,
Let not my ministry be approved only by men,
or merely win the esteem and affections of people;
But do the work of grace in their hearts,
call in Your elect,
seal and edify the regenerate ones,
and command eternal blessings on their souls.
Save me from self-opinion and self-seeking;
Water the hearts of those who hear Your Word,
that seed sown in weakness may be raised in power;
Cause me and those that hear me
to behold You here in the light of special faith,
and hereafter in the blaze of endless glory;
Make my every sermon a means of grace to myself,
and help me to experience the power of Your dying love,
For Your blood is balm,
Your presence, bliss,
Your smile, heaven,
Your cross, the place where truth and mercy meet.
Look upon the doubts and discouragements
of my ministry and keep me from self-importance;
I beg pardon for my many sins, omissions, infirmities as a minister;
Command Your blessing on my weak, unworthy labors
and on the message of salvation given;
Stay with Your people, and may Your presence be their portion and mine.
When I preach to others let not my words be merely elegant and masterly,
my reasoning, polished and refined,
my performance, powerless and tasteless
but may I exalt You and humble sinners.

O Lord of power and grace,
all hearts are in Your hands,
all events at Your disposal,
Set the seal of Your almighty will upon my ministry.

- Valley of Vision

This is an e-mail I sent our musicians and vocalists last week. I’m hoping will be useful to you and your worship team as well.

Leading people in worship—whether you are behind a kit, keyboard, guitar, violin, cello, sax or microphone—is something that should be taken seriously. Being a husband, wife or godly single is something that should be taken seriously. Being a mother or father is something that should be taken seriously. Being a Christ-follower is definitely something that should be taken seriously.

Some of us have been together for 10 years, some of us for one weekend. No matter the time period, I want to ask a difficult question: “Are we growing?”

Are we growing in godliness? (*2 Pet. 1:3-11)

Are you increasing in virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love (2 Pet. 1)?

The Holy Spirit not only defends against sin, but He attacks it by producing godly character in believers. Do you reflect the character of God with love? Are you joyful? Are you a person of peace? Are you patient, kind, good, faithful and gentle? Do you resist the flesh with self-control? Do you lead in humility? (So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Col. 3:12) Do you love the Bible? (I rejoice at Your Word, as one who finds great spoil. Ps. 119:162) Are you growing in godliness? If not, do you desire to grow in these areas?

Are we growing in preparedness?

Pre•par•ed•ness refers to the state of being prepared for specific or unpredictable events or situations. It is an important quality in achieving goals and in avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes.

It is expected that we arrive for rehearsal on Sundays prepared. This means opening Planning Center Online earlier in the week, show up on time and have our parts practiced. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of being able to play with the same band every week, which means you show up once a month with a new group of people. In a two-hour period, you are expected to not only hammer out each of the songs, but to gel with one another and actually worship—the reason we gather each Sunday anyway. I’m certainly not speaking of the weeks I get the songs out too late. I’ve done this over the years and I’m sorry. I am working on getting that list out earlier each week.

Are you growing in preparedness? If not, do you desire to grow in this area?

Are we growing in our gifting; are we improving?

We’re all presented with the challenge of how to improve our capacity for creative expression and grow in our gifting.

The key to improving is recognizing your weaknesses on your instrument, and not shying away from them; rather, face them head on. This may require a great teacher and is certainly something that any musician should be considering, regardless of ability or experience. A good teacher will point you towards areas for improvement, and give you strategies and practice techniques to move forward.

Here are just three areas to consider:

1. Ear -
   Often a musician will be more proficient at one of these and the other will lack somewhat. Listening to a song and working out the parts on your instrument is a great way to learn to play what you hear. This is a really helpful skill for playing within our team, but also writing parts for songs.
2. Timing -
   Every musician/vocalist should own and practice with a metronome. Start by singing or playing a song you already know. Break it down into small pieces—an intro riff or verse melody—and practice one of these with the click repetitively for at least 2 minutes. Work on articulation, precision and rhythmic accuracy. Change the tempo and try the same line again.
3. Creativity -
   Practice being creative. Improvisation and writing parts, making melodies on the spot is one of the great aspects of music. Like any other activity, practice improves your ability to create what you want to create. I recommend doing this with other musicians. One of you might play chords under a singer/other instrumentalist and then switch it around. Practice coming up with parts over different chords. Buy a recording device, and you can do this anytime. Enjoy the process of honing your skills and opening new possibilities for creative expression on your instruments.

Know and understand your role. You are a worship leader (musician/vocalist) standing on a stage in front of many people who will either think about you or about God. Though we can’t control the thoughts of others but we can certainly keep from being a distraction as we point others to God as we worship Him. Do you want people to think about you, or is the worship of God your desire?

Understand the big picture. Is there is a spot where you can let the song breathe a bit, or will you have to fill that hole? Less is more.

Here is some help in the area of growing in our musical gifts:

+ Vocalists, are you singing on days other than Sundays? Are you strengthening your vocal cords? Just as you lift weights to strengthen certain muscles at the gym, you should be singing often and learning to breathe well in order to strengthen your vocal cords. Check out this website for more information on voice functioning, as well as videos of what’s actually going on when you’re singing (pretty interesting).

Are you using the Vocal Coach CD, or something comparable, to warm up your voice and expand your range? If not, I would highly recommend you do so.

Resources:
Vocal Technique
Basic Vocal Techniques
Vocal Training in Dallas – 1
Vocal Training in Dallas – 2
How to Breathe When Singing
How to Sing With Your Diaphragm

Recommended Listening:
Passion (Christy Nockels), Hillsong (Jill McCloghry & Brooke Ligertwood), Joy Williams, Sara Bareilles, Natalie Grant, Regina Spektor , Kendall Payne, Christina Aguilera and Sarah McLachlan.

Listen for things like pitch (sharp/flat), rhythm, when and how they breathe, diction, crescendo (to get gradually louder), decrescendo (to get gradually softer), staccato (singing the notes in a short and detached way, usually used for fast or happy and lively songs) and legato (singing in a smooth and jointed fashion), vibrato (a rapid, slight variation in pitch) and when and how they choose to belt their voice and or soften it.

---

+ Guitar players, are you working on scales, picking, strum patterns, making space, etc. Are you playing our style at The Village? Do you think about tone? Do you think creatively?

Resources Electric:
The Pursuit of Tone
Electric Guitar Amps/Pedal Boards (by Jeff Capps)
Amp Settings
Guitars, Riffs and Songwriting
Nigel playing ‘Stronger’ (Hillsong)

Resources Bass:
Bob playing ‘Desert Song’ (Hillsong)
Ads playing ‘Stronger’ (Hillsong)
Ads playing ‘Run’ (Hillsong)

Recommended listening:
U2 (The Edge), Hillsong United (Nigel), Chris Tomlin (Daniel), The Fray (Joe King)

---

+ Drummers, are you listening to drummers that have our style? Are you practicing?

Resources:
Finding the Pocket
Exponential Motivation
Rolf playing ‘Stronger’ (Hillsong)
Rolf playing ‘Run’ (Hillsong)

Recommended listening:
‘Absolute’ & ‘You Found Me’ by The Fray, ‘You Won’t Relent’ by Chris Quilala & Kim Walker, ‘Hosanna’ by Starfield, ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay, ‘My Love, My Enemy’ & ‘Someday, Sarah’ by Dave Barnes, ‘We The Redeemed’ and ‘You Hold Me Now’ by Hillsong, ‘God of Justice’ by Tim Hughes, ‘Love Invades’ by Robbie Seay Band and ‘Move’ & ‘Free’ by Mercy Me.

---

+ Keys, are you listening to creative keys players? Are you practicing? Have you ever thought about using delay?

Resources:
Approach to Keyboard Playing
Pete’s Gear List
Listening/Musical Influences
Playing ‘Stronger’ (Hillsong)
Playing ‘Desert Song’ (Hillsong)

Recommended Listening:
Hillsong (Great use of pads, piano, Rhodes, delay, etc), Coldplay, Tim Hughes (esp. ‘God of Justice’ it’s tough timing and ‘When I Survey’ from the “Happy Day-Live Worship” CD), The Fray, Jamie Cullum (Twentysomething), Josh Drew (Call or email him. He is an amazing teacher) and Keith Jarrett (The Koln Concert).

Are you growing in your gifting? Are you improving? If not, do you desire to grow in this area?

Are we serving for the right reasons and in the right ministry?

I know that serving in the worship ministry takes time and energy. I know it’s a sacrifice. You give up at least one night of the week of your rotation to rehearse the songs on your own, and then you show up on Sunday and give up that whole day. I know that some of you have families and other responsibilities that wait for them as soon as they get home on Sunday night and/or Monday morning. I know you can grow weary; but I also know that the Lord will provide. I know if you are serving for the right reasons, in the right ministry, God will be glorified. Are you serving for the right reasons? Pray and ask the Lord.

Let me know if serving in this ministry is too time consuming or wearisome.

Please answer these questions:

Are you growing in godliness, preparedness and gifting/creativity?

If your answer is “no,”are you willing to pursue these things?

Are you serving for the right reasons and in the right ministry?

I love you and am honored to serve alongside you at The Village making much of our great God and King!

* 2 Peter 1:3-11 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Worship Pastor Michael Bleecker provides teaching and insight into “O God of Our Salvation.” If you would like to maximize the video to full screen for easier viewing, mouseover the video and in the bottom right corner you will see the full-screen icon. The video below is also available on The Village Church YouTube Channel.

Additional Resources
Chords & Lyrics | Audio Only
Music from The Village

Many of you have asked for the song list from the Acts 29 conference in Colorado last week. Here are the songs we sang:

• In Christ Alone
• Stronger
• When I Survey
• O God of Our Salvation | Other Village Music
• Holy, Holy, Holy
• You’re Beautiful
• Before the Throne of God Above
• Grace Greater Than Our Sin (Arrangement and Bridge by Adam Crawford) | Other Village Music
• In My Place | Other Village Music

Some have also asked about the prayer book Lauren Chandler read from before each session. It’s called “The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. “ It’s available from Amazon.

If you have any other questions, e-mail me or check out our website.

A few years ago I read a book by John Piper called Brothers, We Are Not Professionals. In this book I discovered a prayer that has encouraged and strengthened my prayer time.

I keep a copy of the prayer on my desk and backstage so I can always reference it quickly. I posted it below in hopes that it also may encourage and strengthen your prayer time as you plead for the souls of your people.

“The life-giving preacher is a man of God, whose heart is ever athirst for God, whose soul is ever following hard after God, whose eye is single to God, and in whom by the power of God’s Spirit the flesh and the world have been crucified and his ministry is like the generous flood of a life-giving river.

“God, deliver us from the professionalizers! Deliver us from the low, managing, contriving, maneuvering temper of mind among us. God, give us tears for our sins. Forgive us for being so shallow in prayer, so thin in our grasp of holy verities (truths), so content amid perishing neighbors, so empty of passion and earnestness in all our conversation. Restore to us the childlike joy of our salvation. Frighten us with the awesome holiness and power of Him who can cast both soul and body into hell. Cause us to hold to the cross with fear and trembling as our hope-filled and offensive tree of life. Grant us nothing, absolutely nothing, the way the world views it. May Christ be all in all.

“Banish professionalism from our midst, Oh God, and in its place put passionate prayer, poverty of spirit, hunger for God, rigorous study of holy things, white-hot devotion to Jesus Christ, utter indifference to all material gain, and unremitting labor to rescue the perishing, perfect the saints, and glorify our sovereign Lord.

“Humble us, O God, under Your mighty hand, and let us rise, not as professionals, but as witnesses and partakers of the sufferings of Christ. In His awesome name. Amen.”

The Old Testament abounds with explicit instructions for worship. God was quite adamant about the manner in which He desired to be worshiped. In addition to the directions for sacrifices, offerings, attire, and attitudes of the worshippers, the Lord commanded praise from a plethora of musical instruments: trumpet, lute, hard, tambourine, strings, pipe, and cymbals to name a few specified in Psalm 150.

The New Testament contains much less specific instructions for outward appearance and regulations for worship. Instead, the focus is much more oriented toward the spiritual condition of the worshipper. Not much is normalized in regards to method and means for a proper response to God’s revelation. This lack of explicit instruction has led some to conclude that the use of instruments is therefore inappropriate or even sinful today. In making this argument, many point to two passages in particular:

• Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
• Ephesians 5:18-19 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord will all your heart…

These passages say nothing about instruments in worship and thus some conclude that instruments are forbidden in the church. This is called the “regulative principle” or the idea that only what is explicitly commanded in the Scriptures is acceptable. In addition, it is noted that instruments can engage emotions and lead people away from the truths which should be expressed within the lyrics of song or that those on stage with instruments could potentially exalt their own talents rather than their Savior.

While these dangers are certainly possible, an attractive or talented singer with no accompaniment could distract just as easily. There is a Latin phrase that states, abusus usum non tollit. It means “abuse does not take away proper use,” and I think this is a good starting approach to issues of potential dangers.

In attempting to engage this position I have two initial thoughts. First, arguments from silence are notoriously weak. The New Testament also does not mention cars or computers, but most evangelicals are not crusading for their prohibition. A truly consistent application of the “regulative principle” would demand that one not do anything which is not explicitly commended in the Scriptures. Is this really what Paul intended?

Second, if you really want to be strict in interpreting the passage in this way, then you would need to also restrict vocals as the texts do not explicitly mention the mouth, but rather, the heart. It says to make melody “with all your heart.” Does God intend for stirred souls to silently sing?

In the end, a better method of interpretation is that anything which the Scriptures do not explicitly or implicitly condemn is acceptable. Neither these nor any other passages in the New Testament are intended to prohibit the use of instruments. If you have an instrument, play it to the Lord and from your heart. That is the point of the text. The author exalts the role of the heart to show that authentic worship should be affectionate, not that it must be a cappella.

I had the privilege of spending last week at the Association of Biblical Counselors annual conference with the entire Denton staff and about 70 other Village staff members and lay leaders. I always walk away from conferences and opportunities like this one with an overwhelming gratitude that this is the life the Lord has called me to and that I got to listen and think about the gospel for the better part of three days. As with all conferences, there are certain speakers, ideas and scriptures that leave an indelible impression on my mind.

I don’t know about you, but I struggle. There are hours, days and weeks even where I feel as if I haven’t done anything right, haven’t expressed love to my spouse and friends, haven’t sought the Lord as I ought — you get the idea. In a nutshell, I haven’t been obedient.

Worse still, I feel like every morning I have the chance that day to get it right and that somehow if I do, God will approve and bless and move in my life, in my family and in my church. Sin is subtle and crouches at the door, the Scriptures tell us, seeking someone to devour, and too often that someone is me as I try to exert my will in being acceptable and obedient.

Don’t get me wrong, obedience is an important thing. We are called to it and should seek to live out the commands of Scripture in tangible ways. For me, it’s not the striving after obedience that is the problem; it’s the reason why I’m striving after it. Deep down I mistakenly feel that the gospel doesn’t have enough power to change me and now that Christ has reconciled me to the Father, I need to do a bunch of stuff to prove to God and myself that I was worth the saving. One speaker at the conference shared that Christ’s life, death and resurrection secured for me justification before God so that now God sees Christ’s righteousness when He looks at me.

The most powerful thing about that to me is that God sees me as if I hadn’t ever sinned and also — and this was the big one for me — as if I had always obeyed. This beautiful truth has warmed my heart and freed me to pursue obedience as an expression of love and gratitude, not a veiled attempt to prove my worthiness to God.

There have been times in my life when God has allowed me to go my own way. My move to Nashville after college was one such time. I knew my move would mean I would be walking in disobedience, but I didn’t care — my way seemed best.

Thankfully, my rebellion quickly became apparent and I moved away. I have since learned that a disregard for the Lord and His way is always wrought with pain, darkness and sin.

In one of my favorite passages of Scripture, we see another rebel recklessly throwing away all that he owned in search of his own way:

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

Don’t miss that his father saw him (he must have been watching for his son), ran to meet him (running was considered to be undignified for an older person), and embraced him, which literally means, “fell on his neck.”

And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

Bob Kauflin says, “Good art has a way of pointing our eyes to what matters most.” Watching the art below not only pointed my eyes to the Savior, but also filled them with tears as I was again reminded of the great love with which my Father loves me.

Here are the lyrics:
You held out Your arms, I walked away
Insolent I spurned Your face
Squandering the gifts You gave to me
Holding close forbidden things
Destitute a rebel still, a fool in all my pride
The world I once enjoyed is death to me
No joy, no hope, no life

Where now are the friends, that I had bought
Gone with every penny lost
What hope could there be for such as I
Sold out to a world of lies
Oh, to see Your face again, it seems so distant now
Could it be that You would take me back
A servant in Your house

You held out Your arms, I see them still
You never left, You never will
Running to embrace me, now I know
Your cords of love will always hold
Mercy’s robe, a ring of grace
Such favor undeserved
You sing over me and celebrate
The rebel now Your child
© 2009 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

Worship Pastor Michael Bleecker provides teaching and insight into “Made Us Alive.” If you would like to maximize the video to full screen for easier viewing, mouseover the video and in the bottom right corner you will see the full-screen icon. The video below is also available on The Village Church YouTube Channel.

Additional Resources
Chords & Lyrics | Audio Only
Music from The Village