I Kiss with my Eyes Closed

I kiss with my eyes closed. I also take a shower with my eyes closed and I worship that way, too.


This post is #2 in a series about worship. Also see my previous post, 4 Musical Languages of Worship.

I think worship is a lot like kissing and showering. Worship is an experiential activity and when it's good, I want to put my whole self into it. I close my eyes and I let go, just like kissing and showering. To do that, I need to be into it, I need to feel safe, and I need to know what I'm doing.

Let me explain.

I'm into it.

When I'm into it, I'm connected and engaged. I'm kissing a guy I like, the very one I have a crush on, and to whom I want to say "I love you" in a language without words. Maybe I've been waiting for hours or days for him to kiss me, and now the moment has arrived and I'm so very glad it's finally happening. Nothing feels as good as this moment right here and now. I close my eyes and pretend the world is only me and him. I'm into it.

Or perhaps I'm taking a shower to get myself ready for a wonderful day, a big date, or a special event. Maybe I'm showering away the dirt of a day well spent, sweat I poured out persevering through a tough time. Nothing feels so good as that warm water on my skin. I feel my muscles relax as the stress of my day goes down the drain. I close my eyes and relax. I'm into it.


In worship, there are times when I arrive badly in need of time with God. I'm battled and bruised from the week behind me, I'm fearful about things that might happen in the week ahead. I want to run into God's throne room, crawl up in His lap, bury my face in His shoulder and disappear into Him. I raise my hands in the air saying "Lift me up, I've fallen down." Or maybe I've had such a great week that I can't wait to thank God about it. I want to kneel at His feet and pour out my gratitude to Him. I raise my hands in the air for a big high five with God. This is an intimate moment and my heart aches for quality time with Jesus. Nothing feels as good as this moment of Just me and Him, that's all there is in the world and that's all I need. I'm into it.

I'm safe.

OK, let's get to a confession. I'm afraid of being judged. Judgment is just a precursor to condemnation and I fear it like nothing else. What if I'm not good enough or smart enough? What if other people stare at me or laugh at me? If I'm kissing or showering or worshiping, I want complete freedom to enjoy myself. I want complete privacy, even invisibility. We know how this plays out with kissing and showering. In worship, it might take some explanation.

I want dark.

I want the room to be as dark as possible. In the dark, I think you can't see me and I'm safe in the dark. I have complete privacy in the dark. I can make faces of joy or I can weep quietly and only God will know if I'm here in the dark. I'm free from any embarrassment about how silly I might look. I'm safe here in the dark to worship.

I want loud.

Loud is to being overheard as dark is to being seen. I want the music to be loud for the same reason I want the room to be dark. I don't want you to be able to hear me because I'm afraid you might judge my singing. Think about a rock concert held in an arena. It's so loud, I can't hear my friend screaming right next to me. It's the perfect environment for total all out top of my lungs singing along. It won't matter if I sing the wrong words, the wrong tune, at the wrong time or during a big solo. Nobody hears me but God. And that's just how I want it. I throw my head back and belt out my heart to God. I'm safe here where the music's loud and I can worship with total abandon.

This desire for a really loud worship experience might offend some of my friends who complain when it gets loud in church. I know you want the volume of the music to be close to what it is at your home listening to your stereo. I understand that's a comfortable listening level. But that's the point - you're not supposed to be listening. You're supposed to be worshiping, singing along at the top of your lungs, too. This is a different experience than the experience of listening and the music level has to be different to make it happen. We want to be safe to participate without embarrassment or judgment and that takes really loud music. With loud music, we're safe.

I want lots of other worshipers.

Think "rock concert" for a second. The stadium is packed with lots and lots of us, getting into the music, having an awesome time. The sound and excitement in the air are so thick, you can see them. Nobody is looking around. All the attention is focused elsewhere. In a concert, we are focusing on what's happening on stage: the music, the lights, the performance. In worship, we are reaching for the spirit of God in the room. It's a paradox of worship that the more crowded it is, the more privacy the individual worshipers have. Other folks, in the dark, surrounded by the sounds, raising their hands, raising their voices, closing our eyes, kneeling, dancing, worshiping. It's a picture of heaven.

I know just what to do.

So I'm in my happy place, worshiping with all my heart because I'm totally into it and I'm totally safe. This will go well as long as I know just what to do.

Knowing what to do means I'm familiar with the music. I blogged about that in a previous post, 4 Musical Languages of Worship.

I know the next word coming up without having to open my eyes and read the slide. Maybe it's a familiar song I've sung a hundred times before. This song comes alive in a new way for me right here, right now because I'm truly immersed in it. Even an old song becomes new when I'm offering it up in a new way. Eyes closed, alone with God and enjoying my time in the throne room, pouring out my broken heart to my loving Father, or singing out my thanks for the great things He has done for me. I don't have to think, I don't have to see, I just open up my heart and let Him fill it up.


How about you? Are you like me? Do you kiss and shower and worship with your eyes closed? Be sure to leave a comment at the end of this blog and let me know.

4 Musical Languages of Worship

Hey, it's Viqui Dill again. I haven't blogged in a while and now I have something to say. I want to hear your thoughts about it, too. So please please please leave a comment.

Today I want to talk about the 4 Musical Languages of Worship.

We don't all speak the same language. The language or languages you speak depend on the places you've been, how you grew up, and the languages you heard as a kid.

The same is true for music. Music is language and we don't all speak the same one. The music that moves you, makes it possible for you to worship, will depend on the music of the places you've been, the music you enjoyed in happy times, the music that comforted you in tough times, the musical language of your walk though history.

The quickest way to get somebody in the worship mood is to speak their musical language. The quickest way to disconnect them is to urge them out of their musical comfort zone. So I think it's important to try to speak each person's musical language at some time during the worship experience.

I think there are 4 such languages, and the languages correspond to the group of folks that speak that language. There are four groups: the regulars, the n00bs, the shoppers, and the traditionals. Let me explain.

The regulars
The regulars are the folks who come out to worship regularly. Like Homer having a beer at Moe's Tavern, the regulars want things to be pretty much the same as they were last week. They loved the way things were last week or they wouldn't be coming back week after week. The regulars like to worship to songs that they know, songs from the top 10 or 20 songs on your CCLI play list, the songs you play week after week. The regulars love the hits from past Sundays. The regulars love those contemporary worship songs that you sing regularly. The regulars love what you play already.

The n00bs
The n00bs have never been to your worship, in fact they may not have ever been to any worship of any kind in their adult life, so they won't know much contemporary church music. They'll know and like the music they hear in their regular lives, music that gets airplay, music that gets downloaded, ambient music played at the gym and the grocery store, music from movies, music from tv, music of the street.

The shoppers
The shoppers have a background of regular worship attendance but for some reason, they're not plugged in to your specific community. They are looking for a new place to plug in, with all of the things that they loved about the old place, just none of the things that made them decide to make a change. This group includes college students away from home, kids at a new summer camp, family members visiting relatives from out of town, committed worshipers who are new to the area, as well as folks looking for a change because they just don't like where they've been going. What kind of musical language do the shoppers speak? They like the hits, the songs from the CCLI top 25 for the last year, the songs chosen for compilation CDs and WOW Worship. Like the n00bs, the shoppers listen to some kind of radio station, and like the songs played on the radio, downloads, movies and tv. But this time, the stations, downloads, tv shows and movies are playing Christian music. For the shoppers, we should choose those popular worship songs that worship leaders love to hate. Yes, we've played "Shout to the Lord" a zillion times, and yes, we're tired of it and want to play newer cooler songs, but the older reliable songs are the ones that will touch the heart of worshipers who are not familiar yet with your current favorites.

The traditionals
Traditionals love that old time religion and are still looking for a place to get some. They like those old hymns, and some of the new hymns too. The more traditional the hymn, the more comfortable the traditional worshiper will be. n00bs might like traditional hymns, too if they had an older relative that loved them very much and brought them to church. I have seen small group worship experiences dissolve into happy tears whenever I'd play a traditional hymn. Afterward, folks would come up and tell me "That was my grandmother's favorite hymn. She used to let me sit on her lap when we visited her church. I cried just thinking about her."

So, there are the four groups of people with their preferred musical languages, the songs they prefer to hear in a worship experience:

• regulars like what you already play
• n00bs like what's popular on secular radio, on tv, or downloaded
• shoppers like the top worship hits, what's popular nationwide
• traditionals like those old hymns
  

So why not speak all four languages when you're choosing songs for worship? You'll be helping more folks plug in to the worship service because they'll hear the gospel spoken in their own language at sometime during the service.

Need a scripture reference for this? Try these. God asks us to speak in the language of the listener, not in our preferred language. Check these out.

Acts 2:7-9 (New International Version)

⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

1 Corinthians 14:16-17 (New International Version)

¹⁶If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? ¹⁷You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.

So let's learn to speak the language of our worshipers. Let's learn some music that may be not our favorite, but will speak love into the world of those who hear it. Let's learn some songs that may be new to us, but will speak comfort and love into the ears of the listener, whether they're regulars, shoppers, n00bs, or even traditionals.

An Unusual Gig for the Dill Pickers

3/10/2009 @ 11:30 am, the Dill Pickers play at the Oasis Fellowship in Columbia, SC.

The Oasis, an outreach and Bible study for 55+ age folks, meets each Tuesday in the Fellowship Hall. 11:30-1:00PM. Light meal served, cost $2.00.

There is singing, fellowship and a life application Bible study by Dr. Tim Phillips. The Dill Pickers were guest song leaders.

Riverland Hills Oasis Fellowship at Riverland Hills Baptist Church
201 Lake Murray Blvd.
Irmo, SC 29063

Viqui on 12 String, Keith on Fiddle, Jim on Djembe, playing some tunes for the folks at the Oasis.

Opening song is The Man in the Middle
http://home.earthlink.net/~viquidill/lyrics/three_men_on_the_mountain.pdf

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing #15 in the hymn book
http://emmausofclarke.com/worship_song_charts_as_html/Come_Thou_Fount_G.html

Just as I Am #307 in the hymn book
http://emmausofclarke.com/worship_song_charts_as_html/Just_As_I_Am_Bb.html

What a Friend We Have in Jesus #182 in the hymn book
http://emmausofclarke.com/worship_song_charts_as_html/What_A_Friend.html

I'll Fly Away as our closing song, not in the hymn book, but they sang along any way
http://emmausofclarke.com/worship_song_charts_as_html/Circle Be Unbroken Fly Away.html

How it went: terrific. The congregation was very appreciative of us and sang, even when there was nothing in the hymn book from which to go.

Thank you to everyone who frolicked with me!

This is part of the Sunday Set List blog carnival on Fred McKinnon's blog. It's a wonderful group of people who share and care about the worship experience. Make sure you visit today.

Leading Worship Twice in One Day

This week at Emmaus Church in Berryville, VA, our regular worship leader has a gig leading worship with his band, Stereoreel at Cornerstone Church in Huntsburg, OH. So while Caleb is away, the Dills will play. We played at two different worship experiences; the eleven o'clock main worship service, and the 5:30 pm youth worship service. Here's what we did:

11:00 Service
♥ Opening song ♥
Working on a Dream (D) – Bruce Springsteen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtS78vUUzJo

♥ Worship set: ♥
Where He Leads Me (A) - Ernest Blandy and John Norris - Public Domain
How Great Is Our God (E) - Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, and Jesse Reeves CCLI #4348399
How Great Thou Art (E) - Stuart K. Hine CCLI # 14181
Cannons (A) - Phil Wickham

♥ Offeratory ♥
Down to the River to Pray (E) - Public Domain

♥ Closing Song ♥
Where He Leads Me (A) - Ernest Blandy and John Norris - Public Domain

This morning's worship team (in alphabetical order):
Acoustic Guitar - Viqui Dill (also vocals)
Bass - Erin Gum (also vocals)
Drums - Keith Dill (also vocals)
Electric Guitar - Josh Curtis (also vocals)
Sound - Heather Hackworth
Tech - Cody Hackworth
Vocals - Diane Gum (also Tech)

How it went: Awesome! We had folks performing rolls they were not used to and it still went great.

We snuck in 2 songs that had airplay on non-religious radio, namely Bruce Springsteen's Working on a Dream and Oh Brother Where Art Thou's Down to the River to Pray.

Josh actually sang; he sang bass on Down to the River, much to the delight of our congregation. Erin walked the bass like a pro on Where He Leads. Keith, who can do anything well, played drums instead of his usual lead guitar or fiddle. Viqui doesn't lead every week, and had a few moments of leading us in some kind of strange direction, but folks were forgiving and willing followers. The beautiful blend of the mother/daughter vocals that we hear with Diane and Erin is matchless, miraculous even. Thanks to all.

5:30 pm Youth Worship Service
♥ Worship set: ♥
I’ll Be There for You (A) - The Rembrandts, Theme from the Friends tv show
God of Wonders (A) - Marc Byrd and Steve Hindalong CCLI # 3118757
Cannons (A) - Phil Wickham

This afternoon's worship team (in alphabetical order):
Acoustic Guitar - Tyler Rogers
Acoustic Guitar - Viqui (also vocals)
Tech - Diane Gum

How it went: Awesome again! Many of the kids, the older ones, did know the Friends theme, but many of them did not. I'm going to have to find another song and I'm looking for candidates. Everyone knew God of Wonders and we really belted out Cannons. All 3 songs fit the theme, which is the kick off of our Gospel Journey Maui program.

I think the 11 o'clock service would be better if we learned from the 5:30 crew and played fun games during the service.

Thank you to everyone who frolicked with me!

This is part of the Sunday Set List blog carnival on Fred McKinnon's blog. It's a wonderful group of people who share and care about the worship experience. Make sure you visit today.

Something Different This Week

This week at Emmaus Church in Berryville, VA, our regular worship leader was out of town, leaving me free to sing a few different songs and do a few different styles. Here's what we did:

♥ Opening song ♥
Victory Chant (with hand jive motions)

♥ Worship set: ♥
I Saw the Light by Hank Senior
Better Is One Day by Matt Redmond
Enough by Chris Tomlin

♥ Offeratory ♥
All Who Are Thirsty by Brenton Brown

♥ Closing Song ♥
I'll Fly Away and Will the Circle Be Unbroken (both are Public Domain)

Our wonderful drummer, Ethan, was sick this morning so Keith filled in, playing BOTH fiddle and drums. It was kind of amazing.

The other amazing thing that happened this morning is about basketball. Emmaus Church meets in a school building and this morning, while we were worshiping in the auditorium, another group was playing basketball in the gym. Their happy sounds of bouncing balls and sneakers-on-wood-floor mingled with our music and made a joyful noise. Maybe some day our 2 groups will share more than a building.

This morning's worship team (in alphabetical order):
Acoustic Guitar - Viqui (also vocals and handmotions)
Bass - Erin (also vocals)
Drums & Fiddle - Keith (also vocals)
Electric Guitar - Seth
Sound and Tech - Walravens
Vocals - Diane (also hand motions)

Thank you to everyone who frolicked with me!

This is part of the Sunday Set List blog carnival on Fred McKinnon's blog. It's a wonderful group of people who share and care about the worship experience. Make sure you visit today.

Best October Ever!

I'm just taking a minute to enjoy the events of the last month.


It started out great. A crashed laptop gave me an excuse to travel to Blacksburg to visit Jim at Tech, buy a cool new desktop system, and go to Outback for slabs of delicious beef. Beef cattle: delicious and slow. Mmmm. Here's a picture of Jim and me after we fired up and loaded up the system.


On 10/5, I got to lead worship at Emmaus. I had the awesome team of Erin on Bass, Ethan on drums, Seth on Electric, and Diane running sound. Caleb was out of town and I had the freedom to make my own mistakes and bad choices. Like forgetting to change the key to one of the songs so that it was so high, I had to scream it. But we had a winner with "Victory Chant" with hand motions. We had fun, God showed up. What could be better?

Then lickety split after church, I got to teach Caleb's guitar class how to do bar chords. We had fun and then our hands got sore, so we took pictures.



The next weekend, we picked and sang with the Turner Clan at their annual Octoberfest. Most appreciative crowd ever. They dance and sing and hoot and holler like we're Lynyrd Skynyrd or something. Once again, the weather was awesome and so was the company. Keith played a set with Flint Hollow Bluegrass after dinner, then played some folkie rock until the wee hours.


Next weekend, I was thrilled to be invited up to Highland County for back-to-back fun. I attempted to entertain the attendees at the fundraising Spaghetti Dinner for the Highland Logos group. Chris and Heather Scott are the best hosts ever. New Directions sang some wonderful worship songs and then I got up to do some more music. Since my entire front row was preschoolers, we did all the hits: B-I-N-G-O, Eensy Weensy Spider, E-I-E-I-O up to 5 animals, Chicken Dance, If You're Happy and You Know It, all the hits. Then we ate their awesome Spaghetti and cleaned up. Then it was off to the Laurel Point Bed and Breakfast, up to watch the sunrise over the breathtaking mountains, and on to McDowell United Methodist Church. Such a pleasure to lead worship with such a worshipping crew in that beautiful location. We had fun, God showed up. What could be better?

Delaware only has one Fiddle Championship and we try to go there every year. Another great trip for the Dill Pickers on 10/25. Did I mention that we're in Rehoboth Beach? We got there a day early and caught some of that great ocean air.

At the contest, Keith took 2nd in Fiddle and 3rd in Banjo and our band, featuring Ray Hesson on Banjo, took 2nd. Check out the video of his fiddle tune below. Our buddy, Frank Nanna MCs the event. He's not just great on the Banjo, he's great with a crowd.

After the contest, we had a fun evening jamming with the Prairie Dog Band and Route 40 at a local venue.





Ending out the month of October with a strangely good Hallowe'en, I took my guitar to work and played a little bit at our break. My coworkers are perhaps the most supportive ever, yelling out requests for songs from our CD and even letting me do 2 encores. Go Freight Team. Carry my LOVE, boys.



On Saturday 11/1, we played at our church's Square Dance. Now before you go judging our Square Dance, I have to say that it was the best church event ever. We ate. We sang. We Square Danced. We Line Danced. We did the Hokie Pokie. The weather was PERFECT, high 60's and no wind. Wonderful.

The month of fun closed out fantastically with Bluegrass Worship at Round Hill United Methodist just West of Winchester. We sang "I Saw the Light" and "In the Garden." Keith played the Fiddle so sweetly and so fiercely. It was great. Then, for All Saints Day, we closed out the service with "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" and "I'll Fly Away." We had fun, God showed up. What could be better?


How great is my life??? So great!!!

Jennifer and Nick - Not their real names

Today I heard from my old friend. We'll call her "Jennifer" but that's not her real name. This girl has had a lifetime of challenges in 20 short years. And today, she was having another of those challenges. So she called me.



I met Nick some time after I met Jennifer. Nick also had been dealt a tough hand. Jenn and Nick had a bit in common and found companionship and strength in just being together. They were both patients in the mental healthcare system from time to time. It's a tough life, as I said, and if you're not a part of it, I want you to say a quick prayer of gratitude for your good luck.



So Jenn called to say that Nick had taken his own life. He was found in the river, wearing his glasses, wearing a red dress. I wonder what kind of pain he must have been in to throw himself into the river in such an outfit. I wanted to hug him and tell him that I understood and that Jesus understood and that we both wanted to wrap him in our arms and cry with him until he felt better and could laugh.



But I couldn't do that. It's too late for me to hug Nick. Too late for me, but I bet Jesus is hugging him now, telling him He understands, holding him until he felt whole again and could laugh. Maybe even putting a really great dress on him; who knows what they wear in heaven.



So I listened to Jennifer cry on the phone. She was mad at God. She asked why He doesn't help people. I thought that was good. Good question, and good that she still thinks of God as real and capable of helping. And good that she called me, of all the folks she could have called. I want to be the one people call when they are mad at God.



I listened. I cried. We hung up.



I wish I knew why God heals some folks and not others. God has healed me from time to time. God has refrained from healing me at times, too. God is God and I'm not God so I don't understand God.



But I know one day, we'll see face to face and we'll know.



And maybe I'll be wearing a really great dress.