Popular music, worship


Album asks: What would you die for? Songs of praise & lament, trust & hope, prayers for deliverance & killers


T


he concept behind The


Project: Martyrs Prayers is both simple and fas-


cinating. Prayers attributed to nine martyrs are set to music and sung as contemplative ballads that confront the listener repeatedly with a stark question: What would you die for? The album represents a collabora- tion between Duane Arnold, profes- sor of church history, and musician Michael Glen Bell. They are joined by numerous artists from the world of contemporary Christian music, including Margaret Becker, Glenn Kaiser, Phil Keaggy, Jennifer Knapp and Randy Stonehill. The songs include prayers written by Clement and Ignatius, martyrs


of the early Christian church, as well as by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Oscar Romero, who were murdered by oppressive governments in the 20th century. In general the album honors Christian martyrs, but one song remembers the mostly Jewish martyrs of Ravensbruck (a Nazi con- centration camp). More provocative than entertain- ing, this is the sort of album that might be used in an adult study group or for private devotions. An accompanying booklet contains lyr- ics to all the songs as well as infor- mation on each of the martyrs. The artists eschew conventions of pop music that might trivialize their theme. Most of the songs are slow and tranquil, though some build with a somber intensity typical of


This column lifts up trends in worship beyond regular “Lutheran” circles


‘A New Liturgy’ There is a fascinating trend in evangeli- cal circles—a rediscovery of liturgy. It began with efforts to bring interactivity and multisensory into worship that had become largely passive and perfor- mance oriented. A rediscovery of liturgy has led evangelical worship leaders to explore the deep traditions of worship beyond North American contemporary expressions.


A leader in this is Aaron Niequist, a


worship leader at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington, Ill., one of the best- known evangelical megachurches. While serving as worship pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., he became restless and bored with the typi- cal four rock songs and a sermon pattern that had come to dominate evangelical/ contemporary worship.


40 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


Niequist began to explore adding other elements to worship: multiple Scripture readings; reworkings of classic hymns; call and response songs. He said they were making it up as they went but soon discovered that Christians have been doing these “new” things in worship for centuries. So he began a journey to understand and present liturgy for 21st century worshipers. A result is “A New Liturgy” (www.


anewliturgy.com), four worship set- tings that draw on his musical skills and instrumentation of the 21st century and are rooted in his continued study of Christian liturgical traditions, including our Lutheran strand. Designed to be accessible to wor- ship bands of varying skill levels, all four would be creative additions in any ELCA congregation.


While they are not communion litur-


gies, eucharist would be an easy addi- tion to all four settings: “God Is Love” is a contemplative, vespers-type setting; “Blessed To Be A Blessing” is built around a prayer of St. Francis; “Lord Have Mercy” is a penitential service perfect for Lent; “Creation” is a global-music influenced celebration of creation liturgy. The settings are available on the


website. Niequist is taking “A New Liturgy” on


the road this summer at congregations around the country, so watch to see if he is coming to your neighborhood and invite your worship leaders.


Tom Lyberg is a pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Findlay, Ohio and host of the Wired Jesus Podcast (www.wiredjesus.com).


modern rock. Bell’s voice is thin but appropriate for most of the material presented here. We encounter praise and lament, cries for deliverance, prayers for the killers, and expressions of trust and hope. An extended chorus of voices crying “God be with me now!” against a background of wailing guitars is chilling. The most poi- gnant moment is Romero’s simple request, “Let my blood be a seed of freedom.”


Martyrs Prayers is available


for listening or purchase at www. themartyrsproject.com. 


Mark Allan Powell is a professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, and author of the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music.


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