The Lion and the Lamb -- Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson, Leeland Mooring

 

They might have felt like they were in the same room with Isaiah, or maybe John. It began with Leeland Mooring’s experience at a church in California, and then his reflection later on that moment at a retreat with Brenton Brown and Brian Johnson, as the three of them were trying to capture and hold some mental imagery deep inside themselves. It was a scene that none of us today have certainly ever observed, when “The Lion and the Lamb” have occupied the same space in a peaceful way. (See the reproduction of the artwork A Little Child Shall Lead Them, an 1896 work by William Strutt, which includes the peaceful association of two animals, a lion and a lamb, in the resurrected world of other peaceful animals envisioned by the prophet Isaiah [11:6; 65:25].) That’s the kind of thing that can happen when people try to put themselves in the shoes of characters who’ve had stunning visions of what our Creator plans to do one day. The lion and the lamb will also play a powerful role in eternity. Who but the one at God’s right hand is capable of occupying two seemingly opposite positions, of both peace and power?

 

Leeland recalled how the worship with a California church was focused on finding God in His space during a three-day stay there around 2015. The crowd was really seeking Him, through songs with lots of words like ‘holy’ and ‘worthy’ in them, both characteristics of Him. And so, that made the chorus emerge from inside Leeland, at the same time that his brother was praying with people during that time. What Leeland expressed was that God, the Lion of Judah cannot be stopped in His power as the Almighty; and yet, He’s also the Lamb who allowed Himself to be sacrificed. Was the imagery of Isaiah (chapters 11 and 65) and also what John saw in his Revelation – especially about the Lamb, who played such a crucial role in John’s vision -- part of what ultimately inspired the three songwriters? Leeland remembers discussing the duality of Jesus with his brother, and also recalling that the beloved Apostle John was reassured by this same God to not be afraid  (Revelation 1:17). A lamb and a lion who has the gentleness and also the power and authority, and one who will be coming on the clouds (v.1 of song) – so does it seem like it will be difficult, if not impossible to not be awed by Him! That’s what Leeland, Brenton, and Brian are inviting us to imagine, even as we go about the daily hum-drum of earthly life. We have ‘chain(s)’ and ‘broken hearts’ (v.1) and ‘battles’ (chorus), but these pale and fall away; they are immaterial when we acknowledge Him and ‘open the gates’ for the ‘King of kings’ who came to free we who would otherwise remain ‘captives’ (v.2).

 

It seems that when we make a conscious effort to get in the same mindset as Isaiah and John -- as Leeland, Brenton, and Brian have done – that there’s many more phrases and whole choruses that center on God and what He has done and will do. That comes through clearly in ‘The Lion and the Lamb’ – the scenes pictured lyrically show us Him repeatedly. ‘Who can stop the Lord Almighty?’ is the question that the three songwriters ask over and over. A God who can be slain, and yet reign with unchallenged power, is a Lord who can take care of anything in between those two extremes that threaten me. Death, for us humans at least, is the ultimate penalty, for nothing worse can befall the mortal. At the other end of the spectrum, a being who has been invested with all authority – or has attempted to attain that status -- in our human experience has been someone to dread, a tyrannical ruler. There have been many Caesars, and other emperors or dictators closer to our own century, like Napoleon, Stalin, and Hitler. We can rejoice that death and tyranny are overthrown by the one who redefines our existence and our outlook. The Lamb and Lion of Judah is one and the same God, who overthrows all of our dread.     

 

Read about/watch the story of the song shared here: 'Lion And The Lamb' Brenton Brown …also shared here: Lion and the Lamb by Leeland - Songfacts

 

See here for some brief information on the song: The Lion and the Lamb (song) - Wikipedia

 

See information on the image-graphic here: File:William Strutt - A little child shall lead them.jpg - Wikimedia Commons (found inside the link here: The lamb and lion - Wikipedia   ) This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930.

The Church -- Chris Brown and Mack Brock

 

You can just about hear these two songwriters vocalizing their thoughts, and see in your mind’s eye the scene in which “The Church” was sung. Chris Brown and Mack Brock were part of the Elevation Church in Charlotte in 2010 (see the seal of Charlotte, NC here), and so their objective was to motivate the crowd that was before them. Was it a reaction like what some others experienced when a church was moved to action by potent words two millennia earlier? That event at which Peter and others witnessed the birth of the Christian church was unlike any event since then, and yet Chris and Mack must have felt that another fire needed to begin in Charlotte. What would one say to a crowd that needed or desired a spark? What would draw more seekers to a church, like a magnet drawing metal to itself, or a feast of exquisite food that wafts an irresistible odor among the hungry? That’s what Chris and Mack and the rest of their Elevation Worship friends were trying to prompt, a recognition by those who are on the outside that The Church has something they want, something they need.     

 

Chris and Mack offer no special insights into what prompted ‘The Church’, but their own lyrics and the album on which the song was premiered offer some food for thought. For the Honor was the name attached to the album that included the song about the church that the two songwriters were contemplating, so they must have thought that one way to esteem God was to be the kind of church that points to Him, to be who He intended His body to be. The early church of the 1^st Century A.D. had that mission in front of itself too, so how’d it respond? It’s not really a mystery today, if one just looks at what Luke recorded for us: Acts 2:42-47 spells it out. Listening to preaching and teaching, praying and eating together, and giving to those in need from their own resources – those were the responses of those few thousand inaugural church members. Chris and Mack could not have missed what is written in black and white, and so they emphasized some key things that stood out to them, things that relate to the world of the 21^st Century as clearly as they did to people of the 1^st Century A.D. They note that the world is ‘desperate’ today, as indeed it was centuries ago as well. Peter’s sermon convicted his hearers, and they knew they were in great need spiritually; just read Acts 2:37 -- When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” The church today still offers a solution (which begins by getting into Christ through repentance and baptism -- Acts 2:38), and that is what Chris and Mack illustrate with lyrics that include words like ‘hope’, ‘love’, ‘compassion’ and ‘mercy’ to a people that are seeking and ‘waiting for change’. And so, the church is called to ‘rise’ and get out in the ‘streets’ with this news. ‘Shine’ His love light, they coax. The church, His people, and what He offers is ‘real’, and still ‘alive’ and ‘active’.

 

So, just be what you sing, Chris and Mack and the rest of Elevation Worship were saying in ‘The Church’. And, the church today still takes it cues from what the church looked like so long ago. It shouldn’t really be that difficult to promote, should it? And yet, from what we read of Luke’s history, there wasn’t always a welcome mat laid out for the spreaders of the good news. The apostles did not flinch, even when arrests, beatings, scorn, and eventually martyrdom became part of their experience. They found, as honestly as we oftentimes do today, that there are doubters, and even hostile opponents that might resort to violence. There’s nothing to be done about those types of people, except to keep being the church; and, there are others who might not say so at first, but they can be touched, maybe with repeated attempts by you and me. The Spirit will move in people’s hearts, if they are willing. You and I are the ones throwing the seed around and giving it some water – as Paul and Apollos did (1 Corinthians 3:6) – but only our Sovereign can make the seed grow into belief and devotion. Chris and Mack have reminded us what the seed-spreading and watering looks like. If you’ve not seen that, it’s probably not too far away from your front door.   

 

 

Read about the musical group here: Elevation Worship - Wikipedia

 

See information about the seal of Charlotte here: File:New seal of Charlotte, North Carolina.svg - Wikimedia Commons…This file is in the public domain because official item legally exempt from copyright in its country of origin.

Same God -- Brandon Lake, Chris Brown, Pat Barrett, Steven Furtick

 

Unchangeable. That one word sums up what Brandon Lake, Chris Brown, Pat Barrett, and Steven Furtick were expressing with “Same God” in 2022. This Elevation Worship group in Charlotte, North Carolina was probably looking at some inspiring words that spurred them to think outside of their own experiences in this lifetime. They certainly thought about what different writers have said about the God they worshipped across the centuries, from historical periods separated by some 2,000 years, and even broader than that if they included themselves in this group of humans who have called out to Him. Perhaps what one fellow called Him is most apt – the Ancient of Days (see Daniel 7:9,13,22; and as shown in a reproduction of this 18^th Century artwork The Ancient of Days by William Blake) – because it communicates that He’s existed from before time began and He’ll also be present at the end of time. In other words, He’s not bound by time, so how could He change if He’s outside of our understanding of linear time?  

  

The comments by one of the writers, Chris Brown, further indicates specifically how the group’s focus helped them pen the words about this Same God. Chris and the others must have been thinking about what the writer of Hebrews had to say about God, including that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrew 13:8). And, there’s so many who’ve gone on before those of us who are still living, that we cannot help but think about that great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1), as Chris explained. They had no doubt that He was – and is -- the same God that their forefathers had heard, and worshipped, and followed. So, these songwriters wanted people who heard their musical creation to join in, not just in the act of singing and worshipping, but also to think of themselves as being part of that great voyage of humanity, seeking out Him who made us. From the Jacob of Genesis to Mary in the gospels, and so many others in between – like Moses and David, and so many others they do not mention in their lyrics – who talked with, and even wrestled with this same God, one thing they could say was that He’s faithful. He’s dependable, because the pledges that He made to people long ago were honored. And, since He was a promise-keeper for those people, we can think of Him in the same way, and articulate that to succeeding generations. By creating a musical prompt for this goal, the Elevation Worship members have sought to add to the great collection of songs that help preserve a people’s awareness and appreciation for this Same God…as if anyone could reasonably forget or disregard Him.

 

The reality is that too many people do ignore God, until an episode in life just will not allow us to put Him aside. A few pages about ancient history’s people who tried to go around Him should give us reason to pause. Just a glimpse of how He interacted, and the number of people He impacted, was enough for 12 followers to give themselves completely to Him, including martyrdom. And, there were so many others before them, as the Hebrews 11 crowd testifies, and centuries of believers since then. He changed the trajectory of the people He met, and though He went home after 33 years here on earth, He’s still here. The Elevation Worship band reminds us that the Holy Spirit is part of the Divine presence, the same one who’s been called faithful by all those generations we can read about. We all still need Him, something else that they remind us to acknowledge. Have an ailment, lack courage, see giant problems in front of you, don’t know how to swim when an ocean preventing a resolution to an issue is in the way, or just feel insignificant to others? Brandon, Chris, Pat, and Steven recall all of those impediments in their lyrics. Yet, the same God is healer, lifter, protector, rescuer…the list doesn’t really end. He’s still who He’s always been.         

 

 

Read about the song here, including some comments by one of the composers re: its purpose: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same_God

 

Also read about the song’s purpose here: https://jubileecast.com/articles/27286/20220122/7-things-to-know-about-elevation-worships-lion.htm

 

See the composers and their band sing it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LawxIZE9ePE

 

For information on the image, see the following: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Europe_a_Prophecy,_copy_D,_object_1_(Bentley_1,_Erdman_i,_Keynes_i)_British_Museum.jpg …The author died in 1827, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer…This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930.