Cross Training

The Christmas Season is well-over, and in Worship Ministry World, that means time to be thinking and preparing heavily for the next big season of Good Friday and Easter. The Incarnation has been celebrated and we now move on to Propitiation and Resurrection.

In an effort to not get swept away with all the details of service plans and miss reveling in the work of Christ, I'm doing some extra heart-preparation with some focused reading on the Cross. One particularly good book is a recent Crossway compilation edited by Nancy Guthrie called "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter." It's a small book of 25 short essays, devotions, and sermon passages by a list of who's who of authors, pastors, and preachers, past and present: from John Piper to Augustine; from C.J. Mahaney to Francis Schaeffer; John MacArthur, Alistair Begg, Martin Luther, Joni Eareckson Tada, and so on.
The chapters are quick but rich in thought toward the work of Christ throughout Holy Week.

From R.C. Sproul, "Cursed" - "When Christ was hanging on the cross, the Father, as it were, turned his back on Christ. He removed his face. He turned out the lights. He cut off his Son. There was Jesus, who in human nature had been in a perfect, blessed relationship with God throughout his life. There was Jesus, the Son in whom the Father was well pleased. Now he hung in darkness, isolated from the Father, cut off from fellowship - fully receiving in himself the curse of God - not for his own sin but for the sin he willingly bore by imputation for our sake."

That's what it's all about, friend! Jesus Christ, the 2nd person of the Trinity, God's only Son, was sent to die for you and me. Doubtful you or I have ever sacrificed as much...(Romans 5:6-11)
If then we have recognized our sinful nature and have acknowledged Christ's atoning work, let us likewise understand His being raised from the dead to claim victory over death, a victory celebration to which he also calls us!

From Stephen Olford, "Crucified With Christ" - "As I heard those words, God set me free. I saw the truth that Christ died for me; I died with him. He went to the grave, and so did I. On the basis of that death and burial, I can claim resurrection life! If you want to know Christ's resurrection power released in you, then sincerely pray, 'Lord, I am dead, but alive in you. Resurrection power, fill me this hour. Jesus, be Jesus in me.' This is the termination of the self-life."

So yet while I live in this life I will increasingly choose to remember what Jesus Christ has done for me, both in his death and resurrected life, and to daily realize, through His gift of salvation, the fullness of my joint participation in his death and resurrection and what that means for my life which is now His! (Galatians 2:20)

I'm looking forward to Jesus using this book to keep me very near the Cross throughout the year and not just in the few early spring months. Highly recommended!

Keepin' It Reel

Recently a friend and colleague of mine acquired an old reel of analog tape and asked me if I knew how to go about "digitizing" it. This particular spool contained original music recordings from the 1970s by his father. For those of you who don't know, analog tape for several decades had been the top choice for a physical medium on which to capture, play back, and preserve audio. However, with the advent of home recording, ease and affordability won out over this archaic archival process. (Analog tape is the equivalent of film for cameras.) As such, devices on which to hear these tapes are becoming more scarce. My friend's dilemma was rooted in the tension of the inherent value he placed in the content embedded on the reel, excitement to finally hear it (he didn't know exactly what it contained), and the concern that finding a way to transfer it could be a difficult process at best.

As mentioned elsewhere, I was professionally trained in recording world at the dawn of the digital revolution. So, I had the benefit of having a foot in both old-school analog world and the new wave of digital technology. When Matt sent me this photo and asked how he could hear it, a flood of memories and questions immediately occupied our conversation. I had the fun privilege of using and working with analog tape as a recording format: 2", 1/2", 1/4", threading the tape on machines, calibrating the electronics, splicing takes together with a razor blade, etc. My reverence and understanding of this medium allowed me to share the concerns he had for handling the tape. "What size was it? How many tracks across the tape width? Is it a 2-mix or multitrack? How old did you say it was?" As there was no documentation included in the box, we started kicking around ideas about good transfer houses. My next suggestion was that he get the reel "baked." 'What do you mean 'Baked"?' he asked. "I mean exactly as you think! Bake it! As in stick it in the oven at 125 deg. F for several hours." Analog tape is pretty straightforward: metal oxide particles are glued to a mylar backing... Over time, however, the glue gets weak, and if the old tape is played on a machine prior to baking, the metal particles run against the tape head and shed right off the plastic tape backing. Baking the tape melds these components back together and is recommended just prior to transferring the contents to a different medium, and repeated plays on the original tape are not recommended. So, off to the mastering house Matt's reel goes, and it'll be interesting to hear the results.

Back in the studio days, maybe a couple times each year, we dealt with clients who needed to get their tapes baked . One particular instance stuck with me when the artist wanted to do more than just transfer an old reel. In 1999, we were working on the 2nd Willow Creek "Preludes" CD, and producer John Carlson asked us to transfer music from a 2" reel of an old recording by fellow musician/composer Russ Daughtry. The original song, "Jesus," from 1981 contained acoustic guitar and voice. Russ had been a part of the Willow Creek music community, and prior to making this CD he was diagnosed with ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease. John's intention was to honor his friend by including an updated version of the song by transferring the tracks to a newer format and overdubing saxophone and synth to fill it out. Of course, the original tape was old and needed to be baked. Though I could understand the intent, I was more interested in the process than the content. Would the tape hold up? Would the creative recording machine roll forward? This was all before I became a follower of Jesus Christ, so the motive of giving glory to God through music and worship was not really a motivator for me. John & Russ's desire was that their savior would be worshiped despite circumstances. I was fixated on making the client happy. Clearly our Creator can still use pagans in these moments for His purposes without us even knowing it.

More recently, I've come to revere God's Word as the primary instruction for knowing Him and living a life pleasing to Him. Daniel Wallace, Professor of NT Studies at DTS, is also executive director for The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts. This organization is committed to the preservation and translation of ancient bible documents into modern and more user-friendly digital formats. Though the process is fascinating, it's the God of the content who commands the attention of such endeavors. I would encourage you to browse their website to learn about their work.

In 2 Kings 22, we read of King Josiah repairing the temple and Hilkiah the high priest finding God's Book.

v 8-13: "And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

Oh that we'd be a people who increasingly revere our Creator!
Oh that we'd be a people who are growing in our love for His Word and desire to live by it!

In John 14:21, Jesus says, "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

New Baby & Same Fascinating God.

Dear God, thanks for blessing us with our new family addition, Kathryn Hannah. Not only was the process pretty smooth, but she's beautiful and healthy (despite the usual battle with jaundice) and we're glad to be settling in back home. Thanks for answering many prayers. Give us patience and strength to raise this child to love You her entire life and to do great things for you! Amen.

This is our 3rd child, and each time God shows us some particularly unique things about Himself and how He creates us that drive me to awe and praise. I've seen it before but happened to linger a bit this time thinking about the amazing stuff called vernix caseosa. It's the white, cheesy substance that covers a fetus and has many functions, among which are moisturizer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and wound-healer. Dear naturalists, at what point did this multifaceted protective coating come into being? Did it have all these properties at once or did those develop over time? Either way, just how did the all mothers universally & magically "will" this stuff into being?
Romans 1:19-20 gives me comfort, assurance, and reminder in the very creative God of Psalm 119:13-16:

"For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them."

Amen and amen!

Message = 1, Technology = 0

We have guest speakers each week for the Perspectives class I've been taking this semester.  Most lectures are interesting and engaging, but a few can leave me sleepy.  I was thrown a curve ball by a recent guest when I walked into the class room and one of these sweet, old overhead projectors was set up in front, ready for action.   The instructor was an old, frail looking man with super-white hair and a tired countenance.  I'd read an article of his earlier in the week for homework and came that night with high expectations. However, after scanning the scene I was like, "Oh, boy... maybe shoulda' stayed home tonight.  Really old instructor + really old technology = wish I would have brought my laptop to catch up on emails during this class..."

However, within a few moments of our guest taking the podium, I knew I had been completely wrong.  Here's an 80+ year old man, a pioneer in cross-cultural Christian missions, sharp as a sword, engaging, witty, relevant.  A few scribblings on the overhead slides, but it didn't slow down the presentation one bit.  Additionally, most of the other lecturers who come in using a more modern projector, hip new laptop, and multimedia presentations have yet to bring to the table an impact equal to this champ.  Once again, it's not about the means; it's all about the message.  Jesus Christ is the most exciting thing about missions, yesterday, today, and forever.  Here's to you David Hesselgrave; thanks for making it so!

Score:  Message = 1, Technology = 0