Chuck SpanglerGrace Memorial Parishioner and former Youth Christian Formation Teacher “The Altar and the Door” Artist: Casting Crowns Album: The Altar and the Door As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. Casting Crowns was established in 1999 under the direction of Mark Hall (lead singer and primary songwriter). 13 million of their 9 albums have been sold…6 of have gone platinum. They have received 15 Dove Awards, 1 Grammy, 2 American Music Academy (AMA) and 2 Billboard Music awards for “Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist”. Casting Crowns’ music was a frequent subject of Grace Memorial’s Christian Formation group, as a result we travelled to 2 Casting Crowns concerts (Lafayette-April 20, 2017 and at the Smoothie King Center in November, 2019). The “YouTube intro” below gives insight to the message of “The Altar and the Door”. "The Altar and the Door" Lyrics: Careless…I am reckless. I’m a wrong way traveling slowly unraveling shell of a man. Burned out… I’m so numb now. Let the fires just an ember way down in the corner of my old cold heart. Lord this time I make it right here at the altar I lay my life. Your kingdom come, but my will was done, my heart is broken. As I cry like so many time before…but my eyes are dry before I leave the floor. Oh Lord I tried but this time Jesus how can I be sure I would not loose my follow through Between the altar and the door. Here at the altar oh my world so black and white… how could I ever falter what You’ve shown me to be right. Lord this time I’ll make it right, here at the altar I’ll lay it my life. Your kingdom come, but my will was done, my heart is broken. As I cry like so many time before…but my eyes are dry before I leave the floor. Oh Lord I tried but this time Jesus how can I be sure I would not loose my follow through Between the altar and the door. I’m trying so hard to stop trying so hard. Just let You be who You are…Lord who You are in me. Jesus I’m trying so hard to stop trying so hard. Just let You be who You are…Lord who You are in me. Oh Lord I cried like so many times before…but my eyes are dry before I leave the floor. Oh Lord I tried but this time Jesus how can I be sure I would not loose my follow through Between the altar and the door. Like so many times before… but my eyes are dry before I leave the floor. Oh Lord I tried but this time Jesus how can I be sure I would not loose my follow through Between the altar and the door. …Like so many times before… Scripture readings are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), Copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Chuck SpanglerGrace Memorial Parishioner and Former Youth Christian Formation Teacher Over my several decades of leading youth Christian Formation, I resorted to any number of “enticements”, “behavioral modification”, and outright bribery to reach our kids (boys and girls, ages 12-17). And I must admit, it’s no small feat to attract 14 year olds with wildly fluctuating hormones.
What seemed to do the trick was the introduction of contemporary Christian music (aka “Praise Music”). I must confess that a caramel latte and a blueberry muffin from PJ’s didn’t diminish the youth’s interest! The evolution of the “Christian “Praise” Music Reflection” began by my listening to hours of YouTube videos by scores of artists and settled on a dozen or so of my favorites. Once I settled on a cut that I felt would be enjoyed, I went through my Scofield Bible looking for scripture that was reasonably related to the song lyrics, putting them all together on a single sheet. Guess what? Our fabulous sons and daughters responded. I then began each Sunday tying each individual cut to closely related scripture and made the scripture the focus of each session, supplemented by the song. The typical presentation begins with a specific scripture reading. We challenge each other to read directly from the Bible…if one is not handy, the text is included with the handout. We then discuss the Christian music group that is upcoming. We discussed their origin, history, and resume (one might be surprised at the accolades earned by some of those groups by the professional music industry). We then share the YouTube video on my iPad while keeping up with the music by referencing the typed lyrics. After the music video concludes, we revisit the selected scripture and try to draw analogies between the video and the Scripture reading. While I’m uncertain if our youth gained much from this type of lesson, I am 100% certain it helped me grow and discern scripture more deeply. Hope you enjoy the upcoming offerings which are presented here as they were shared with Grace Memorial youth over the past 8-10 years. |
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