Pepperdine
Greetings all in blogland. I just got a last minute invitation to go down and speak at the Pepperdine Lectures. I now have one day to come up with a class title and about 2 weeks to come up with a class!!! Yikes. This much I know, it is going to center around our experience up here at Westside putting together our own worship CD and will seek to encourage others to try the whole thing themselves. Past that, I’m not sure yet.
Since I started writing songs, I have had several powerful revelations.
Perhaps the most significant is that writing songs is not as hard as you think. If you are a Christian, there is power and beauty in your faith. All you really have to do is find a way to articulate that power in your own words (it helps of some of them rhyme) and then set it to music. Still sound hard? I really don’t think it is. I don’t mean to diminish the talents of the great songwriters, just to debunk the notion that you couldn’t write a song yourself. With a little help from the truly gifted around us, you might even write something that your congregation would want to sing. From there, you just never know how God might use you or your song.
My class won’t be about how to write music, but more about one congregation’s journey writing music that respects our tradition and reflects what God is doing in us, with some thoughts on how you and your congregation might do the same. I’ll play some music from our CD and depending on who might be down there with me, we might even sing some.
Anyway, I am honored to be invited and excited to attend (I haven’t been to the lectures in years) and I hope I see some of you there.
Let me know in the comments if you plan to be there and maybe we can hook up down in Malibu.
Since I started writing songs, I have had several powerful revelations.
Perhaps the most significant is that writing songs is not as hard as you think. If you are a Christian, there is power and beauty in your faith. All you really have to do is find a way to articulate that power in your own words (it helps of some of them rhyme) and then set it to music. Still sound hard? I really don’t think it is. I don’t mean to diminish the talents of the great songwriters, just to debunk the notion that you couldn’t write a song yourself. With a little help from the truly gifted around us, you might even write something that your congregation would want to sing. From there, you just never know how God might use you or your song.
My class won’t be about how to write music, but more about one congregation’s journey writing music that respects our tradition and reflects what God is doing in us, with some thoughts on how you and your congregation might do the same. I’ll play some music from our CD and depending on who might be down there with me, we might even sing some.
Anyway, I am honored to be invited and excited to attend (I haven’t been to the lectures in years) and I hope I see some of you there.
Let me know in the comments if you plan to be there and maybe we can hook up down in Malibu.
Comments
Yes, I plan to be there and in your class! After breaking my string of 19 straight Pepperdine Bible Lectures (son graduated last year from H.S.) I'm headed back to SoCal. Do you know the time slot and where your class will be meeting?
I wish my son could be there but he'll be wrapping up semester exams at our local Community College. He currently sings on our Praise Team, plays in our Praise Band, and is in a Contemporary Christian Rock band.
Our service is blended with the first half being instrumental and the 2nd half being acapella. The one piece missing piece of the puzzle is they want to write, sing, and play their own music for our church and recording purposes.
I would love to meet you in person. Perhaps you could join our gang for a Wednesday or Thursday dinner run to get some tri-tip?
Greg - Don't you mean "...lectureship attendance to a new low?" :)
I tell you what, you make it to our Tri-tip night and if Josh can hook up with us, I'll by your dinner.
Back to Josh - All kidding aside, I'm looking forward to meeting you.
Greg - It does.
Greg, you need to get over there at least long enough to say "Hi" and while we're on the subject we need to get Randy down there too. I'll start working on that.
I am always, I repeat ALWAYS game for tri-tip, but schedule may interfere. We are coming down Thursday afternoon and heading back Sunday. Because the trip was such short notice, we couldn't stay for the whole thing. Next year though.
So tell me more about this tri-tip place and if there is any way I can make it work, you can count me there.
How about a Friday Dinner trip?
Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
Thanks.
Word Verification: comit
Greg - Jan is coming as well!! :)
Maybe I should see if I can get Barb on an early flight from Florida and we'll make it a couple's retreat. Perhaps the WV realizes the madness that is starting to take place:
dimente