CURRENTLY IN MUSIC: An invitation to worship

Ron Geddert

With those words, recording began for More than Music. It was April 26, 1997. The place was Butler MB Church in Fresno, California.

I was part of a crowd of about 100, many of whom, like myself, were in town for General MB Conference board meetings. We had been invited to serve as the live audience and background fill to the band which had practiced for five weeks to perfect the music.

More than Music is a worship recording, the vision of Gareth Goossen of Kitchener, Ont., sponsored by the General MB Conference Board of Resource Ministries. In three years of criss-crossing Canada and the United States under his "Make Us Holy Ministries" banner, Goossen had come into contact with many gifted worship leaders who were writing worship music for their congregations. He saw that many of the songs had quality and passion, and felt they deserved to be sung beyond the walls of the local congregations. He prayed for a way to encourage young MB composers and to broaden their ministry to the larger body of believers.

Resource Ministries provided that avenue, in keeping with its mission "to encourage and enable individuals in the MB community to express their gifts in developing resources for use in our churches". After nearly two years of planning, the dream became a reality.

Worship leaders were invited to submit songs which had not previously been recorded. From the submissions, a team chose 16 songs written by 13 composers from 10 MB churches in two countries. The recording features 13 musicians from five churches in the Fresno area.

The project truly is "more than music". The songs were chosen, in part, to blend together to form a worship experience. Songs of invitation, praise, declaration, intimacy and repentance lead toward the observance of the Lord's Supper (which was done live during the recording). Songs of warfare and sending complete the recording.

Twelve MB Biblical Seminary students led the musical communion service, distributing the bread and wine to worshippers. The symbolic act was captured on video for a separate CD-ROM track on the recording.

Also included on the CD-ROM track is a brief explanation of the project by Goossen and Resource Ministries Executive Director Michael Dyck, a montage of songs from the project played under an overlay of pictorial images of the event, and testimonials by worship leaders Candi Reimer and Jon Wall.

The music varies from aggressive rock-oriented praise to tender ballads to skaa (hyper-kinetic reggae). It is a real musical treat.

For me, one measure of the strength of a worship experience is the degree to which one becomes oblivious to the musicians, to the crowd and to personal efforts to "get it right", and is able instead to focus entirely on the Object of our worship, our Saviour. Even though I had not known the songs before, this experience did that for me.

RON GEDDERT IS DIRECTOR OF THE MB BIBLICAL SEMINARY B.C. CENTRE AND A FORMER EDITOR OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN HERALD.

More Than Music is available in three formats: CD, tape and songbook (which includes melody line, guitar lead sheet and overhead master). Contact Kindred Productions at 4-169 Riverton Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R2L 2E5, phone 1-800-545-7322, email kindred@mbconf.ca