If you write and are interested in getting involved find out more at http://worshippoetry.weebly.com/
Monday, 30 May 2016
Worship Poetry Anthology ideas
Putting down some of my own ideas for the Worship Poetry Anthology.
If you write and are interested in getting involved find out more at http://worshippoetry.weebly.com/
If you write and are interested in getting involved find out more at http://worshippoetry.weebly.com/
Sunday, 15 May 2016
The introverted worshipper
OK, I'm going to write some more towards the why of this project and talk about being an introvert - I am just thinking out loud so don't be a hater - but this is something I have wondered a lot about over the past few years and one of the reasons I have found my way to this project and why I think there is value in this project, but this is the first time I have tried to put words to it.
So if you have been to any kind or work training or counselling or been on Facebook in the last 15 years than you have probably done one of these personality tests which tells you whether you are in introvert or an extrovert and what that means in terms of your personality.
I am your classic introvert. And I am acutely aware of my introversion as a Christian and even more so as a Christian who has been part of different charismatic churches for the past 10 or so years. And although I have slowly come to terms with this I am still concious of it and would argue that a lot of church activity (evangelism, outreach, prayer, corporate worship, etc) is geared towards extroverts. And I have tried to get over my introvertedness. I have tried for the sake of belonging and being involved and stepping out but there is a point where I can only be myself, I can only be the person God has created me to be. As if introverts should have to apologise anyway?!...
If I am honest though, prayer is something I find hard to do in a group and wish I was better at. I'm not the kind of person who can find the words easily in the moment. And times when I am praying I am aware that I may be more concerned about saying the right thing than I am focussed on what I am praying for or towards. I feel lost, nothing comes into my head, my mind goes blank. I try and think of something to pray that someone hasn't already prayed but inevitably someone one a prayer roll covers every conceivable angle. And I feel blocked out. Wishing that I just had the word in front of me or that the prayer time would be over. I find it frustrating because I feel like I should contribute and there are times that I really do want to contribute but the introversion and anxiety get the better of me.
I think that there has to be space for all to feel they can bring their worship whatever that may be and for the introvert that may be be sitting silently and reading or creating. When I lead worship I always tried to create space for people to meet with God where they are at, because I have been in services where the worship leader has ordered the congregation to lift their hands up or sing out uninhibited praise. I agree that we should be unashamed and without inhibition when we bring our worship to God but on the other hand it has to be from who you are as a personality, we can't all be like King David, stripping naked and dancing in the aisles.... (try explaining that to newcomers). Sometimes people need to just sit and be still and that is OK. And actually a lot of people don't feel comfortable singing.
So whilst I hope that this anthology whilst being a helpful resource for use in general worship, I hope that it will also something that people can just sit and read and quietly dwell upon and engage with during worship times, or that it may be something that people can read out from in worship or prayer times instead of having to worry about bringing a prayer or a tongue, or even that it can be used for quiet meditative worship with copies handed out. But just that it will be a way in for quieter types who want to contribute in group worship, however that looks.
That's enough for now, until next time.
Dan
Saturday, 7 May 2016
Why poetry? Why worship poetry?
I have already written a bit about why this project in particular but I guess you might be wondering why. Why poetry? Why worship poetry?
On the face of it this seems an odd concept perhaps. The first time I encountered the term worship poetry was in Gerard Kelly's book spoken worship and the first time I saw it was on a DVD of a worship event/gig (Matt Redman or one of those lads). This was around the same time and was when I was studying creative writing at Uni. There seemed to be a bit of a buzz of newness around it and I was excited that poetry was kind of getting a platform.
But thinking about it, poetry in worship isn't really too far away a step from the liturgy that we perhaps use in church sometimes or from the psalms that might get spoken out through worship or times of prayer.
And beyond these kind of things I think that there is a real place for poetry in worship and prayer.
If you think about times that people typically use poems, weddings, funerals, to try and win over girls you fancy, etc, poems are all used to say something that your own words cannot in that moment, or to say something better than you could ever say it. And in doing so you hope that those words will connect with the people who hear them, that they will understand something of love or loss or the need for a certain person to know that you want your tongue inside their mouth (in the case of attracting the opposite sex that is - nothing to do with funerals that example...) And as well as these reasons poetry can make you think, it can challenge you, move you, let you know that you are not alone in particular thoughts and feelings or situations, awaken you to the plight of others, it can entertain, inspire wonder, mystery, confusion, etc. Just by using words.
So for me that is basically why poetry.
Why worship poetry then?
For all the same reasons.
I suppose you might say that sung worship can do the same as poetry - but I don't think that it does entirely.
A poem is something that you read or listen to. There is something about that combination of words. A poem used in worship is different than singing out the words of your favourite worship song. It requires you to stop and listen, it requires you to use different gears or muscles of thought as we engage in the act of worship, and maybe it is just me but when you hear or read a great poem there is just something about the words, the way they resonate in a way that nothing else can. It's hard to explain. Maybe I will get to it...
That doesn't mean that song lyrics can't be or aren't poetic but I think that music can sometimes be distracting from words.
For example, Think about that time when you have been in church singing a hymn and it just seemed to go on and on for ages and ages, the same melody repeating over and over again as you try to sing along with the melody you don't know. When you think of those times do you remember what the words were and how amazing their message was were about or do you remember that your feet hurt because you had been standing to long or that the organist kept hitting bum notes and it sounded like a cat was walking across the keys. I have definitely been in that place through looking at this project I have seen that a lot of these hymns were poems before hand and when you read the poems as there are outside the context of them being hymns you realise how well written they are (a lot of them certainly more poetic and theologically richer than your average worship song)
It makes me feel like we should just read the hymn instead of trying to sing it! Really allow the words to soak in! That these poems would help us know something more of God and allow us to reflect that back to God.
Also, having led worship I also know and have seen that words and meaning can get lost in a song and a song can hold words back. Think about the songs that you sing week in week out in church, they become so familiar that the words just wash over you, you sing them without thinking.
This would probably happen if you read the same poems every week too, I'm not saying that poetry should replace sung worship but I think poetry can bring something fresh and reflects the diversity of God and how we worship God corporately and individually. In the same was that art and drama and dance and free form jazz and sculpture should have places in worship.
That's enough for now anyway. As usual check out the project pages at the side if you are interested in getting involved.
Until next time
Dan
On the face of it this seems an odd concept perhaps. The first time I encountered the term worship poetry was in Gerard Kelly's book spoken worship and the first time I saw it was on a DVD of a worship event/gig (Matt Redman or one of those lads). This was around the same time and was when I was studying creative writing at Uni. There seemed to be a bit of a buzz of newness around it and I was excited that poetry was kind of getting a platform.
But thinking about it, poetry in worship isn't really too far away a step from the liturgy that we perhaps use in church sometimes or from the psalms that might get spoken out through worship or times of prayer.
And beyond these kind of things I think that there is a real place for poetry in worship and prayer.
If you think about times that people typically use poems, weddings, funerals, to try and win over girls you fancy, etc, poems are all used to say something that your own words cannot in that moment, or to say something better than you could ever say it. And in doing so you hope that those words will connect with the people who hear them, that they will understand something of love or loss or the need for a certain person to know that you want your tongue inside their mouth (in the case of attracting the opposite sex that is - nothing to do with funerals that example...) And as well as these reasons poetry can make you think, it can challenge you, move you, let you know that you are not alone in particular thoughts and feelings or situations, awaken you to the plight of others, it can entertain, inspire wonder, mystery, confusion, etc. Just by using words.
So for me that is basically why poetry.
Why worship poetry then?
For all the same reasons.
I suppose you might say that sung worship can do the same as poetry - but I don't think that it does entirely.
A poem is something that you read or listen to. There is something about that combination of words. A poem used in worship is different than singing out the words of your favourite worship song. It requires you to stop and listen, it requires you to use different gears or muscles of thought as we engage in the act of worship, and maybe it is just me but when you hear or read a great poem there is just something about the words, the way they resonate in a way that nothing else can. It's hard to explain. Maybe I will get to it...
That doesn't mean that song lyrics can't be or aren't poetic but I think that music can sometimes be distracting from words.
For example, Think about that time when you have been in church singing a hymn and it just seemed to go on and on for ages and ages, the same melody repeating over and over again as you try to sing along with the melody you don't know. When you think of those times do you remember what the words were and how amazing their message was were about or do you remember that your feet hurt because you had been standing to long or that the organist kept hitting bum notes and it sounded like a cat was walking across the keys. I have definitely been in that place through looking at this project I have seen that a lot of these hymns were poems before hand and when you read the poems as there are outside the context of them being hymns you realise how well written they are (a lot of them certainly more poetic and theologically richer than your average worship song)
It makes me feel like we should just read the hymn instead of trying to sing it! Really allow the words to soak in! That these poems would help us know something more of God and allow us to reflect that back to God.
Also, having led worship I also know and have seen that words and meaning can get lost in a song and a song can hold words back. Think about the songs that you sing week in week out in church, they become so familiar that the words just wash over you, you sing them without thinking.
This would probably happen if you read the same poems every week too, I'm not saying that poetry should replace sung worship but I think poetry can bring something fresh and reflects the diversity of God and how we worship God corporately and individually. In the same was that art and drama and dance and free form jazz and sculpture should have places in worship.
That's enough for now anyway. As usual check out the project pages at the side if you are interested in getting involved.
Until next time
Dan
Wednesday, 20 April 2016
An introduction
Poetry is at its most powerful, I think, when it captures the essence of a thing or when it provides a new perspective on something that seems to be obvious already, a concept, an idea, an emotion, a truth. Whether the poem is a sonnet or a villanelle or a piece of spoken work or a sound or concrete poem. When poetry does this I think it can be so moving and powerful and good.
It is this kind of poetry that really become a fan of poetry and inspired me to write myself.
Yet whenever I think or have thought about "Christian poetry" I can't say that much of it has moved me in the same way. And I know that there must be good Christian poetry out there - but I have never been able to find it. And usually if I do see Christian poetry it is the kind of ditty in rhyming couplets printed in cards with pictures of rippling waves or a snowcapped mountain range on the front or etched on bookmarks or carved on pieces of wood, the kind of thing for sale in the Christian Book shop. I have also looked online and will admit that there is a lot of Christian poetry but like with any online poetry these are the kind of poems have perhaps been written as a journalling exercise or a persons own expression of creativity in that one moment. Which is absolutely great and wonderful and I encourage everyone to be creative in this way as I do this myself.
I am concious of what I want to say and would never want to belittle or discourage anyone. That is the last thing I want to do. I think any poetry is special and any poem is a precious thing. I love that a poem can be written by a 5 year old or a 95 year old. I love that poetry is that accessible and that people will have a go at writing poetry, that they will be creative and that a poem allows them to do this.
But I don't think that this kind of poem is the same kind of poem that I am talking about. Just because something seems easy and accessible doesn't mean that it is easy to master. I can run but I don't believe I can be an Olympic sprinter
The kind of personal reflective poem that I write in 20 minutes before I go to bed is different for to me than the poem that I spend days and hours crafting, fretting over the right metaphor and simile, trying to get right. And I'm not saying that amazing poems can't be written in 20 minutes on the back of an envelope on a bus but most aren't. Most good poems take time and are rewritten and redrafted and don't come easily.
My point is that most Christian poetry I have seen doesn't seem like this (which is OK - see above) but I guess I want to celebrate the poetry that is grafted on, that is full of sweat and tears. And as a poet I aspire to write poems that are as good as the poems that I love, that will fully glorify God through my creativity.
I will say that in the past few years I have discovered some great spoken word poetry by Christian artists but I don't think that spoken word poetry works in the same way that written poetry does. I know some spoken word poets who don't like their poems to seen as written pieces because part of the poem is the way that they deliver it. And I get that, as I have started doing my own performance poetry and spoken word I will admit that the way I am doing the poem live isn't the same as if someone was to read it off the page. This kind of poem stands as it's own thing whereas a poem written down is there to be used. A poem that is written down is blank in a way, it allows you to put your own voice to it, it isn't defined by the definitive interpretation of the performer and so you can use the written poem for yourself, it can be taken with you and read silently without the use of Youtube or an ipod, it can be on a scrap of paper in a bible, it can just be in your memory for when you need it. and it can also be used to be spoken out load (and I think poems should be) but unlike the spoken word poem, the written word poem is like a piece of classical music, whoever reads it is like a conductor, bringing his own thing to it.
Basically, I am passionate about poetry and I want to find poetry that can be used, poetry that can be used to worship God, to discover who God it, all of that.
And so I have gone looking for it and this project is one of the things that has come out of that search. As with a lot of the books I have put together I am doing this for myself, because I want this resource and I want to discover great poetry. If it blesses other people that so much the better. I have started compiling poems, seeking out poets but I also welcome people to contribute.
I have waffled enough now but will be putting information on the homepage link with details for submissions. So please check back there soon!
Dan
It is this kind of poetry that really become a fan of poetry and inspired me to write myself.
Yet whenever I think or have thought about "Christian poetry" I can't say that much of it has moved me in the same way. And I know that there must be good Christian poetry out there - but I have never been able to find it. And usually if I do see Christian poetry it is the kind of ditty in rhyming couplets printed in cards with pictures of rippling waves or a snowcapped mountain range on the front or etched on bookmarks or carved on pieces of wood, the kind of thing for sale in the Christian Book shop. I have also looked online and will admit that there is a lot of Christian poetry but like with any online poetry these are the kind of poems have perhaps been written as a journalling exercise or a persons own expression of creativity in that one moment. Which is absolutely great and wonderful and I encourage everyone to be creative in this way as I do this myself.
I am concious of what I want to say and would never want to belittle or discourage anyone. That is the last thing I want to do. I think any poetry is special and any poem is a precious thing. I love that a poem can be written by a 5 year old or a 95 year old. I love that poetry is that accessible and that people will have a go at writing poetry, that they will be creative and that a poem allows them to do this.
But I don't think that this kind of poem is the same kind of poem that I am talking about. Just because something seems easy and accessible doesn't mean that it is easy to master. I can run but I don't believe I can be an Olympic sprinter
The kind of personal reflective poem that I write in 20 minutes before I go to bed is different for to me than the poem that I spend days and hours crafting, fretting over the right metaphor and simile, trying to get right. And I'm not saying that amazing poems can't be written in 20 minutes on the back of an envelope on a bus but most aren't. Most good poems take time and are rewritten and redrafted and don't come easily.
My point is that most Christian poetry I have seen doesn't seem like this (which is OK - see above) but I guess I want to celebrate the poetry that is grafted on, that is full of sweat and tears. And as a poet I aspire to write poems that are as good as the poems that I love, that will fully glorify God through my creativity.
I will say that in the past few years I have discovered some great spoken word poetry by Christian artists but I don't think that spoken word poetry works in the same way that written poetry does. I know some spoken word poets who don't like their poems to seen as written pieces because part of the poem is the way that they deliver it. And I get that, as I have started doing my own performance poetry and spoken word I will admit that the way I am doing the poem live isn't the same as if someone was to read it off the page. This kind of poem stands as it's own thing whereas a poem written down is there to be used. A poem that is written down is blank in a way, it allows you to put your own voice to it, it isn't defined by the definitive interpretation of the performer and so you can use the written poem for yourself, it can be taken with you and read silently without the use of Youtube or an ipod, it can be on a scrap of paper in a bible, it can just be in your memory for when you need it. and it can also be used to be spoken out load (and I think poems should be) but unlike the spoken word poem, the written word poem is like a piece of classical music, whoever reads it is like a conductor, bringing his own thing to it.
Basically, I am passionate about poetry and I want to find poetry that can be used, poetry that can be used to worship God, to discover who God it, all of that.
And so I have gone looking for it and this project is one of the things that has come out of that search. As with a lot of the books I have put together I am doing this for myself, because I want this resource and I want to discover great poetry. If it blesses other people that so much the better. I have started compiling poems, seeking out poets but I also welcome people to contribute.
I have waffled enough now but will be putting information on the homepage link with details for submissions. So please check back there soon!
Dan
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