The Harp and the Bowl

I admit it, I really don’t like it when a preacher says, “turn to somebody and say ___________.” I almost always feel too awkward and stupid to actually say “_______” and rarely actually do it. Maybe you’ve never had the experience. This kind of “tell your neighbor” directive is more common here in the south and more so in some faith traditions than others.

There’s another similar thing that I don‘t like. It’s when a worship leader barks out “Come on!” to the congregation in an attempt to guilt us into worshiping or to whip us into a worship frenzy. Again, I realize this is probably more of a style thing, but it almost always creates an instinctively negative reaction in me.Very rarely does it actually get me to "come on."

I personally had never heard of  The Rend Collective Experiment until I learned that they will be touring this spring with Chris Tomlin. They have a song that I thought I would hate when I saw the title in an email newsletter from WorshipTogether.com. The song title? “Come On.”

I almost dismissed it and deleted the email, ready to move on to the other 80+ emails in my inbox. For some reason I clicked, and I’m glad I did. Give listen.


You Tube Link

The truth is, sometimes I need a “Come on!” Don’t you? But rather than coming from the  the worship leader in the form of a directive, it's much better to have it in song. At least that's true for me.  Sometimes I need to tell myself “Come on.” Sometimes I need to speak to my soul like David did in Psalm 103 and say, “Bless the Lord O My Soul,” which is the scriptural basis for this modern musical interpretation.

Sometimes I need a call to worship song that calls me to worship.

It’s a really just a simple four chord song (special bonus: one of the chords is an Amaj9th – and I just love those major ninths!!)  But a key part of the song’s effectiveness is its simplicity and accessibility. (The other key, I’m convinced, is singing the word “down” in the line "let down the walls" with a cool Irish accent so it sounds more like “dine.” OK, may I won’t actually try that when I lead it)

Seriously, though, I am big on using a call to worship or a song of ascents, like this song is, to start off a worship set. One that reminds us “this is why we are here” and gets us re-focused. Sometimes I need a song that helps me throw off my week and that turns my heart to the Lord or that simply invites and acknowledge his presence into my reality. I use songs like “All Who Are Thirsty,” “Holy Moment” and “Praise Awaits You.” I even sometimes will use a softer song like “Dwell.” It doesn’t have to be hyped up to be effective in turning our hearts to the Lord. The main requirement for this kind of song is that it enables us to speak to our souls and say "come on."

What about you? Do you use songs of ascent or call to worship type songs? Do you have some favorites?