The Elephant Room 2 Simulcast at Liberty University

I’ve never been short of an opinion and to my regret sometimes I have shared my critical opinions of others with all but the person I am criticizing. This type of slander seems to be epidemic in the church. Why are we so afraid of confrontation? What I’ve learned over time is that when we’re willing to actually talk face-to-face with those we disagree with, we often better understand where they are coming from and are able to facilitate a friendship and sometimes even a respect despite our disagreements.

That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to bring “The Elephant Room 2” simulcast event to the school I teach at, Liberty University. My experience as both a student and professor is that Christians are often more known for what and who they are against. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some issues, theological and philosophical, that are worth dividing over. But for the others, the majority of the issues, why can’t we get together and discuss them openly and honestly with the Word of God as the ultimate authority?

This is precisely what the Elephant Room is and it’s why I am so excited about it. It’s unity on display. Men of God committed to Christ, His Word and His church, openly and honestly giving an account for why they do the things they do. It’s not a debate but it is an open, honest discussion on pertinent things that matter in ministry. Truth is, you’re going to talk about these issues either way. Why not observe men doing it the right way, the biblical way, talking to their brothers of differing opinion face-to-face? Sparks fly when iron sharpens iron but what results are sharper swords able to correctly and effectively divide the Word of God.

I hope you plan on joining us for this important event. I promise you will leave encouraged, informed, and challenged. This event is not for haphazard Christian leaders but for those who are serious about ministry, who are sick of bandaid solutions to critical problems, who are willing to dig deep and have the difficult conversations that lead to God-glorifying answers. It’s time to acknowledge the ‘elephants in the room’, addressing them truthfully, lovingly, honestly and faithfully.

Join me in Lynchburg, VA, January 25, 10 AM - 5 PM, Bruner Hall at Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Register online to secure your spot: www.theelephantroom.com/lynchburg

@travisdoucette

"Rise Up" (Preview)

Having way too much fun in the studio cutting the demo for a new gospel-type song I wrote called, “Rise Up". Check it out:

"King of Glory" - Preview

This week I am in three different studios for three different sessions recording three different songs! We’re having a blast and last night we worked on recording a tune I wrote with my friend Brandon Sharp called “King of Glory”. We grabbed some of the most talented singers at Liberty and recruited them to make a ‘mini-choir’. We rigged up my phone to capture some of the fun! Check it out:

"For Sinners Slain" - Preview

I am excited that my church is introducing an “Easter” themed song I wrote based out of Revelation 5 called “For Sinners Slain”. We recently spent some time tracking the choir and orchestra. My good friend, mentor and colleague, Don Marsh created a beautiful arrangement including some gorgeous polyphony in the bridge section. Here’s a preview. We introduce it next weekend (Easter) and I expect to post video footage in the weeks thereafter. Full worship resources will be available from my publisher, www.redtiemusic.com

Ringing The Bell

If anyone doubted the influence and power of social media, their doubts were obliterated on Saturday when John Piper tweeted these three simple words: “Farewell, Rob Bell”. Imagine if Jesus Christ got the amount of attention and publicity from the Christian church that Rob Bell has over the past few days. That would certainly be an ‘evangelistic’ revival!

I thought I’d add my voice to the choir of concern regarding mega-church pastor Rob Bell’s new book, “Love Wins”.
If you aren’t up to speed, I suggest you first read the blog by Justin Taylor from the Gospel Collation that brought this controversy to the forefront of internet and social media discussion this week:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/02/26/rob-bell-universalist/

You may also want to read this, a follow up post from Kevin DeYoung:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2011/02/28/bell-brouhaha/

Here’s my two cents:

The theological issues/suggestions at hand are far less preferential and peripheral than some Christians in cyberspace are posturing them to be. Consider this quote from Bell’s new book which seems to affirm universalistic thought:

"Could God say to someone truly humbled broken and desperate 'sorry too late?' Many have refused to accept the scenario in which somebody is pounding on the door apologizing, repenting, and asking God to be let in only to hear God say through the key hole 'Doors locked, sorry If only you had been here earlier, I could have done something but now its too late."

Bell’s thoughts here must come under the scrutiny and authority of what God’s Word says:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23, NIV)

Now, I take a different perspective than some have on this issue. My offense is not so much of Bell’s suggestions of Universalism (although that IS a concern), but that he is using his public platform to publicly question orthodoxy.

The public calling on the man of God is to divide the Word correctly, and to preach what it says, not to flirt with heresy or provoke people to anything but obedience to what it says. Furthermore, preachers are not called to be enigmas, preaching esoteric ideologies. Rather, the calling on the man of God is to be the voice of truth in the midst of lies with concrete clarity.

Bell’s ministry has sadly been characterized by seeing how close he can get to the boundaries of orthodoxy. His relentlessness in this has continued to ostracize him from the conservative community.

Now please note, some people are bound to respond to this and say “How can you criticize without having read the book”. Let be clear my response is to the things Bell did say in the published quotes, promotional materials and this promotional video for his new book:



Where as I think the book description and his video are enough to call for serious concern, I applaud any appeal for all to actually read his book. Sadly, I fear this will just be another thing that colors him with suspicion. Not the reputation I’d want pastoring a mega-church.

Want a different perspective from others I respect?

Check out what Michael Gungor has to say here: http://www.gungormusic.com/blog/?p=97&cpage=1#comment-1707

Also, check out what Glenn Packiam says here: http://glennpackiam.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/02/before-you-dismiss-rob-bell-lets-learn-some-terminology.html

And Nate Claibourne's humorous, yet realistic take on all of this:

http://nathanielclaiborne.com/theology/love-may-win-but-so-does-an-effective-marketing-campaign/

If there’s any good from this (and there is), it’s that it has the Christian community thinking theologically!

Travis.

The Lost Art of Lyric Crafting

I have the privlidge of teaching a course on Songwriting at Liberty University. One of the things I’ve been lecturing on lately is the art of crafting a lyric. As many of us are aware, much has changed in the music industry. Years ago, in order to have a song recorded, the lyrical and melodic content of your composition had to withstand the fierce scrutiny of a host of record execs, producers and promoters. Today, radio-ready compositions can be created in hours and debut on a global scale with the click of a button.

For worship leaders this means there is much more work we must do on the front end of screening and selecting songs for corporate expressions that are accurate in truth and well composed. The sheer volume of what’s produced and what’s easily-available on the internet ought to put worship leaders on guard against well-meaning, yet inaccurate lyrics set to infectious melodies. After all our corporate expressions of the faith are teaching doctrine and theology. A.W. Tozer famously said “What you think about God is the most important thing about you”. With that in mind, we all ought to take careful consideration of what we’re teaching our flock with the music we choose to use.

The post-modern rhetoric of the masses tells us that ‘all art is good art’. I would beg to differ, especially when it comes to the pastoral role of selecting songs for corporate Christian expression. In light of the technological revolution which in turn has generated a plethora of corporate worship literature, it would be foolish to think all of it is appropriate, accurate and articulate for corporate expressions. This is simply not the case.

One of the deficiencies I have observed over the past few years is the decline in well-crafted lyrics in what are postured as ‘corporate worship songs’. I am consistently surprised by what some publishers will actually publish and market as ‘corporate worship songs’. Now allow me to clarify, I am not talking about what I prefer in a lyric. I am talking about lyrics that are flat-out free of form, theologically incorrect and poetically pluralistic.

I think a cornerstone in becoming a good songwriter is studying well-crafted songs. I think many well-crafted songs ‘prove themselves’ through endurance. I often tell me students they need to be writing ‘100 year songs’, songs that will outlive them. It’s a tall order. But when you observe some of the corporate worship songs that have stood the test of time, they have a number of things in common:

a) They follow a lyrical/melodic form (typically, AAA, AABA, Verse/Chorus form).
b) They observe some pattern of rhyme/syllable scheme.
c) They articulate truths clearly.
e) They are theologically correct and accurate.
f) They give language to the singer that expresses something true to their heart and soul.
g) The lyrics are about one main idea.
h) Each section of the song flows naturally from one to the other.
i) They are ‘singable’ and pitched in a range where the average person can sing them.
j) They take timeless truths and express them in fresh, meaningful ways.

With the advent of the technological revolution of the past 20 years it seems like ‘lyric’ in corporate worship music has been pushed from the foreground to background in exchange for the ‘sound’ and production of music. The result I fear are weak worship songs that at best, should be used in a personal setting, not corporate and at worst, shouldn’t be sung at all.

Now I am all for production and an infectious melody. I am a songwriter and I am a melody guy. But I am also a worship leader and the songs I choose to use corporately are not the end within themselves. My job is done when people encounter the life changing presence of Christ. So when I use a song, I am viewing it only as the ‘vehicle’ to help get us to that destination. I want the vehicles (or songs) I use to to be the best they can be as representatives of the one I’m directing our attention to in worship.

A great song is the marriage between an infectious melody and potent lyric. However, at the end of the day, as much as music can and is used by God, in terms of corporate worship expressions, the lyric is the most important part. There is no note anyone can play that will draw people to their knees and cause them to submit to the Lordship of Christ. However the message of the Gospel in the lyric can effectively do this and more. I think Paul’s words in Romans support this view, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) Put together (lyric and melody), music can be an unstoppable force in causing the coldest heart to warm-up to the tender touch of the Good Shepherd.

Recently I wanted to draw contrast between some of the newer corporate worship music being composed and contrast it with some older repertoire that I feel is from a bygone day when the craft of lyric writing was valued and employed perhaps more often. I started off by having my students read a verse in chorus from Jeremy Riddle’s composition “Furious” from the new “Bethel Live” CD:

Nothing can tear us from
The grip of His mighty love
We’ve only glimpsed, His vast affection
Heard whispers of, His heart and passion
It’s pouring down...

His love is deep, His love is wide And it covers us
His love is fierce, His love is strong It is furious
His love is sweet, His love is wild
And its waking hearts to life

I contrasted this lyric with a verse and chorus from a composition called “Be Ye Glad” by Michael Kelly Blanchard:

In these days of confused situations.
In these nights of a restless remorse,
When the heart and the soul of the nation,
lay wounded and cold as a corpse.
From the grave of the innocent Adam,
comes a song bringing joy to the sad.
Oh your cry has been heard and the ransom,
has been paid up in full, Be Ye Glad.

Oh, Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad,
Every debt that you ever had
Has been paid up in full by the grace of the Lord,
Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad.

Can you see the difference in lyric crafting? The difference is almost night and day. One abides by a strict form, while the other is nearly free-verse. One paints rich, fresh pictures using weighty adjectives while the other re-states common corporate expressions of praise and worship that are at best tired and worst, cliche.

Take a closer look at the first set of lyrics. Do you agree with what they say? Here’s two reasons why I would not choose this as the language to lead the masses in worship:

1. The lyric employs the secondary definition of ‘furious’ (‘quickly’) as it’s primary ‘hook’ word or theme. What’s a ‘secondary definition’? It’s what the word can ALSO mean, but not how people typically use the word or normally understand it to mean. Remember, great songs are clear. To use the word ‘furious’ is cool, but unless you’re talking about the wrath of God, you’re treading on confusing ground. Corporate worship songs shouldn’t need any further explanation. Great songs explain themselves. Sadly, I think ‘Furious’ (which by the way, primarily means to be angry) would need a public discourse in order to articulate what the composer really meant. As a worship leader there are FAR better, more accurate songs I can use as vehicles than ones like this which can lead to miscommunication/inaccuracies about God.

1. 2. I really struggle with the lyrical line “We’ve only glimpsed, His vast affection heard whispers of, His heart and passion”. Just stop and really think about what that line is teaching. Is that true of Christ? When he hung on the cross was that only a glimpse and soft whisper of his heart, passion and love for us?

Consider these commonly known verses on the love of God:

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (1 John 3:16)

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! (Romans 5:6-9)

When Christ bled and died on the cross, when He absorbed the wrath of a just God on our behalf, was that just a glimpse and whisper of his love? No, I think not. It was a greatest display of love in all of history.

Remember too the way we relate to each other romantically is NOT, the way God relates to His children. The idea of God’s love being ‘sweet’ and ‘wild’ (as the chorus states) are pampering words. God’s love to us is not a pampering love - it’s a perfecting love.

Songs teach. What are the songs you’re choosing teaching? Are you putting them through the scrutiny of God’s Word or are you inclined to use them because they resonate with your emotions and hook you with an infectious melody?

The purpose of writing this article has not been to bash artists, but to draw a line and encourage worship leaders to think about the songs they use and the lyrics they write. If we’re truly willing to think about what we’re singing, I think we’ll all have to come to grips that there is a lot of popular music that we ought not to be using as corporate worship expressions for a variety of reasons.

If this article has made you think. Then it’s fulfilled it’s purpose.

If you want to read more about writing and choosing well crafted lyrics and compositions, I’d like to suggest the following books which have been immensely helpful to me:

- “The Craft of Lyric Writing” by Sheila Davis
- “Writing Better Lyrics” by Pat Pattison
- “The Craft of Christian Songwriting” by Robert Sterling

May the songs you write and lead in make much of Christ and His cross; beautifully, clearly and accurately,

Travis

Tribute To My Nana

This is my tribute letter I wrote in honor of my Nana Doucette who passed away last week.
My sister will be reading this at her funeral on Tuesday. Unfortunately I am unable to attend.

Dear Family and Friends - 

I am not sure what pains me more today; the loss of my Nana or the fact that I can't be there with you today to celebrate her life and support my Dad and Papa.
Despite our greatest efforts, it was not possible, nor feasible for me to return.  With that in mind, please accept my deepest apologies and condolences.

My Nana was an incredible woman.  My earliest memories of her involve me coming to her house at Law Crescent in Richmond Hill.
Her house was always incredibly clean.  Everything had a place.  Yet, Nana never minded us making a mess of things.

I can remember Brian, Johnny and I terrorizing Brett, Jackie and Julie and Nana would never get upset.  
If anything, we'd be sentenced to the basement to play.  But that was never a punishment because it had that couch with the spinning center piece.
I can't even remember how many times we threw Brett into that confined space spun him around - poor guy!

Nana loved to collect random objects from her travels.  I'll never forget the 'sun-face' that sat on the living-room coffee table and the 'raining bird cage' in the TV room.
And who could ever forget Nana's dog, Ginger?  You have my father to thank for that.  Who knew that a tea-cup poodle could be so viciously loyal!?

And then of course were Nana's bird's.  I'll always remember "Peter".  You may not know this, but "Peter" was actually my bird until my dad had 'had enough of it's squawking' and decided 
that we needed to give it away.  The only problem is that as far as I knew, my bird was a female bird.  I actually named it "Debbie".  I was very confused to come to Nana's
one Sunday afternoon only to discover that she had re-named my beloved pet, "Peter".  I am not sure it made any difference to Nana, but that poor bird had a major gender crisis.  

Nana loved to entertain people and she would always greet you when you arrived at her house.  Before you could get one word in, she'd be inviting you 
to come-in and offering to take your coat and help you with whatever you were brining into her house.

And Nana's house always smelt good.  Nana was the best cook ever.  Christmas and Thanksgiving meals were always 'over the top' and there was always
meat pie and egg rolls on the table for everyone!  Nana was always trying to get me to eat.  I wasn't sure if it was because I've always been skinny or if she just 
always had a lot of food to get rid of.  Anytime I was over at her house, she'd conveniently place a box of chocolates, nuts, and other assorted candies in front of me.
In addition, she had candy and nuts hidden everywhere!  You could count on any decorative box to be filled with some sort of goodies at Nana's house.

Nana always took an interest in my life and was very supportive in all my endeavors.  I can remember her coming to my first college graduation.
I always knew that she was proud of me.  And not just of me, but of many of the grandchildren who've achieved academic and personal success far beyond the opportunities that were available to her.

When I decided to move to the States 5 years ago, the visits with Nana became more infrequent, but we still managed to stay in touch through snail mail.
I would often write Nana.  I actually wrote to both Nana and Papa, but I know it would be Nana who would have to read or should I say, 'yell'  my letters out loud so Papa could hear.
We'd have our annual visits when I would be home at Christmastime.  

Despite her struggles with her health over the past two years, Nana was a fighter.  I guess that's part of what makes loosing her such a sad loss.
She was always a strong woman.  Although she had no formal education, she was an incredibly intelligent woman.  And she was never afraid to tell you her opinion - if you dared to ask!  
It was Nana's strength that always held the family together.  She was the glue.   

I don't think I ever once heard my Nana complain about her health.  Even in her last days, she never complained to me about how her body was failing her.
I was blessed to be the last grandchild to see her alive last Wednesday.  Myself, Dad and Papa spent about an hour with Nana.  While we were there, Papa pointed out how swollen
Nana's legs had become.  He crouched down and rolled up Nana's pants to show me.  We both could barely get our hands around her ankles.  
Although she must of been in pain, you would have never had known.  She was strong - right till the end.

During our visit Nana was out of her hospital bed, in a chair, sitting up and chatting with us.  Although she said she was tired, once we brought her a coffee, she chipped up and was full of energy.
She even had enough energy to snap at Papa - one of her favorite pastimes.  Apparently he had not put enough sauce on the ribs he brought over for her!
After our visit I hugged and kissed my Nana and said goodbye.  Although I didn't know this would be our last visit, I sensed that I had closure.  So much, that I actually turned to my dad and said 
"If that's the last time I see Nana, I'll be okay with that - that was a good visit".

Little did I know, that was not only the last time I saw Nana awake, it was the last time any of us saw her awake.
I don't know why we were the lucky ones to say goodbye to Nana, but we couldn't have asked for a better farewell.
My last memory of Nana is kissing her smiling face and telling her how much we all love and appreciate her.

I am so thankful to have known Nana and to be a part of her family.
She leaves behind a legacy of hard work, hospitality and traditional family values.
I can only hope that I carry into my family what she so faithfully brought into hers.

Travis Doucette (Grandchild #3)
Washington, DC
Monday January 3, 2011.

For those who would like to support me, you can do so my supporting my dad during this difficult time in lieu of my absence.
Funeral details are as follows:

Marshall Funeral Home
10366 Young St., Richmond Hill

Monday Jan. 3/11
Visitation   2-4 pm, 7- 9pm

Service   Tuesday Jan.4/11

11:30 a.m.

Reception downstairs following service