Graham Moore’s chunky thud frames Michael Pope’s languid slides; he coaxes liquid silver and we are drenched in its warmth. Recorded the evening of April 7, 2013, this entire track sparkles – no little thanks to the outstanding audio engineering. The drums punch with honesty and over a flood of synth patches, Pope and Bobby Strand’s electrics tremble and scream. This is surely the apex of a certain motif within Bethel’s history of sound. Pleasing to the ear and lifting the spirit to ponder the endless majesty of God Almighty.
And there is Jenn: perched like an eagle, waiting for the perfect moment to swoop down and declare Isaiah’s prophecy into Matthew’s familiar red letter stanza; calling out for the “High Priestly” prayer’s fulfillment; fearlessly proclaiming the Will of God without a shackle in sight.
The Lord’s Prayer, taught to his disciples, expresses the main themes around which we relate to God. Arranged and set to music by Marcus Meier at IHOP, Our Father, doesn’t include petitions for forgiveness and provision – for there are surely a plethora of songs addressing such topics. Using Jesus' words, this is a simple call for God’s kingdom that should rightly orient our beings around the pre-eminence of Christ, and subsequently inspire the Church to powerful action. We have to ask ourselves if we are preaching a Gospel of escapism if we are more desperate to fly away to Heaven than to seek God's will in bringing Heaven to Earth. This is not shallow spiritualizing: for Jesus' earliest call was to repent in order to properly welcome the Kingdom of Heaven to where? Earth! This was Jesus' personal mission. Through an unbroken line of disciples, aka. Christ-ians, aka. humans indwelt with the same Spirit that rose Christ from the dead, it is now our mission. No matter our astonishment and horror at the wicked world around us, if you read the end of all four Gospel books, Jesus never gives an expiry date for the Great Commission. Baptisms inspire joy in the Body of Christ and consistently bring out the best in Bethel worship teams; the intermittent applause for souls reborn is a steady reminder of the ever advancing Kingdom of Heaven here and now.
Noticing the little things that make a worship set function practically and stand out spiritually or musically will hopefully give this series some added value. Overall, never under-estimate the impact of a powerful backup vocalist: all through this track, Austin Williamson, to the far left of the stage, commands a powerful harmony and is right there with Brian Johnson as he leads into spontaneous - he is one I always look out for on a set.
That said, here are a few moments that bring me joy:
5:50 - The prophetic high point of the song. Complaints
about the 'dying church' should be quelled by this Biblical vision of the rule of
Christ, from a verse which we rarely hear past Christmas.
6:15 - This woman flailing around in the baptismal tank.
6:27 - J-P Gentile's snare drum thrashing and
wide-mouthed praising.
6:53 - A wry smirk from Brian Johnson, clearly loving the
sheer intensity.
8:51 - A tangible pause, resetting the mood. It is a sign of maturity and skill
on Brian's part: to not just bring it down for a few bars in order to frame the
next build - but to intentionally rest and reflect in the quieter moments. Yet even as the Our Father concludes and only Brian's acoustic caresses
remain, the dip into meditation is
anticipatory; the wells spring up into a focussed cry of devotion to Jesus.
14:28 - ...And then the crest. This is a powerful wave. What comes to mind are
Latin or German choral Masses wherein the eternal truths are confessed repeatedly. Here we have a musical and spatial setting far removed from cavernous,
candle-lit stone halls,
but with the same substance: Christ exalted.
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