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March 2000 Table of Contents
Musical Insight
God Is Working
Compiled By Pennye Sisk
It's easy to say "God is working," but it's even more exciting to see Him at work. Whether it's the face of a child in a backyard Bible club when he gets his craft project to work, the sight of a senior citizen worshiping on a Sunday morning or the cry of pure joy when a new Christian shares his faith, there are visible manifestations of the presence of God all around us.
At The Brooklyn Tabernacle, there has never been a time that God's work has been more visibly evident than today. His presence has changed multitudes that were formerly lost and renewed families that were broken, and in recent days, the door has been opened even wider to meet the spiritual needs of more people than ever before.
After selling three million records, one million pieces of choral music, and after winning Grammy and Dove Awards, The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir would still rather be known as a "Testimony of Changed Lives" and for others to know that "God Is Working."
Their newest release, God Is Working, recorded live at The Brooklyn Tabernacle Church on new label, M2.0 Communications, reflects the heart and soul of the multi-cultural Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and Church, which reminds us that the fields are ripe for harvest and that God's kingdom is being advanced. (See across the page).
The new choral collection of the same title, releasing from Brooklyn Tabernacle Music and Word Music, reflects their signature, rich sound and worshipful songs. Each of the ten songs, arranged by director Carol Cymbala, allows the listener to capture the excitement of worship at The Brooklyn Tabernacle and conveys the message of how God is working.
A Visit with Carol Cymbala...
During the recording process, M2.0 and Brooklyn Tabernacle Music spoke with Carol Cymbala and asked her to share her heart about the new choral collection.
Why did you title the now collection "God Is Working?'
"We get letters from everywhere and testimonials of how people have been touched by God through the music and how their lives have been changed and because of that we know that God is working.
As we go to different churches, we just see how people are opening up their hearts to God and worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. Just in the song services in so many of the churches that we go into we see the people losing sight of themselves and just looking to God and really worshiping Him with all sincerity. It's a beautiful thing to see, and we're seeing this all over the country. God is really doing work right now.
He's working in our church. He's working in the choir. There's more love in the choir now than there ever has been."
What is the message and purpose of The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir?
"Every week we minister the love of Jesus to people, and we want to see people come to know Him as their Lord and Savior and to have a living, real relationship with Him -- all because He's everything to us, He's the reason why we sing.
It's so important as a choir to just be full of the love of God and want to lift up the name of Jesus and in return, we just see God's wonderful working power. We see lives changed and people coming to know Jesus Christ."
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir always sounds so professional and polished...does the makeup of your choir differ from that of our readers?
The people singing in the choir aren't formally trained. They sing with sincere heart. They truly love the Lord. And, New York City is not an easy place to live. So, when you want to serve the Lord, you're going to do it with all of your heart, because you have to mean business. We have to depend on the Lord to help us. My dependence has always been on the Lord."
What is one song in this collection that particularly moves you or your choir members?
We sing a song entitled, "For Every Mountain," written by Kurt Carr, and that song has been such a blessing in our church. Because all of us go through struggles and our people in our church have been through so much in their lives. To be able to sing that song means everything to them, and they sing it with all of their hearts, and I'm so happy that we've been able to record it."
This recording is the first one for The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir with M2.0 Communications, a new record label begun by Jeff Moseley, a 19-year veteran of Christian music, former president of Benson Records and current chairman of the Gospel Music Association. This is The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir's nineteenth album under the direction and leadership of Carol Cymbala, Both Carol and her husband, Brooklyn Tabernacle's Pastor Jim Cymbala are very happy about this opportunity to work with Jeff and are looking forward to future projects together.
"They want to be able to do what they feel God leading them to do and maintain as much creative control as possible," says Moseley. "At M2.0, we can facilitate that while giving them the support for their recordings that their ministry deserves. One of the things I try to do is find out where God is working and get as close to that as I can, and with Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, that's what I'm doing."
M2.0 Communications has also signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Word Distribution. God Is Working and future releases from the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and Singers will be available wherever you buy Word Music.
And His work continues...
Since April of 1996 The Brooklyn Tabernacle has been compelled to provide a fourth worship service on Sundays in order to accommodate the throngs of people hungry to hear the Good News of salvation. As God has continued to bless the church with the spiritually needy people of the community, the church has been thrust into a search for a larger, more appropriate church complex. God opened that door to such an opportunity in the location which has become known as "the New Campus Project' in the converting of the fourth largest theatrical auditorium in New York City into a worship center as unto the glory of the Lord. Readers are encouraged to visit The Brooklyn Tabernacle website at www.brooklyntabemacle.org to learn more about the New Campus Project and how God's power continues to move through this body of believers. The website provides wonderful details about how the project originated along with details about the building and renovation process. It is a huge undertaking and a God-sized task, but yet another confirmation of how God is at work in meeting the needs of His children.
Other new projects from The Brooklyn Tabernacle include Fresh Faith, written by Pastor Jim Cymbala with Dean Merrill. Published by Zondervan Publishing House, Fresh Faith delivers the message of what happens when real faith ignites God's people -- illustrated by true stories of men and women whose lives have been changed through the power of faith. Also, you can now visit The Brooklyn Tabernacle each week and be inspired by God's Word and Spirit through This Week at The Brooklyn Tabernacle, a new tape series featuring The Brooklyn Tabernacle Sunday services - including the singing, preaching and testimonies that God is using to encourage people worldwide.
Pastor Jim and Carol Cymbala will also be hosting Pastor Conferences throughout 2000 sharing with pastors and church leaders through worship, the Word, and prayer -- focusing on spiritual refreshment and renewal in the Lord.
As you can see, God is truly at work, and if we can be still long enough in our busy lives, He will show us that He's not only at work in The Brooklyn Tabernacle, but all around us. If we allow Him to work in us and through us, there are no limits to His miracles, nor to the blessings He will bestow. May we continue to be willing to step aside and let Him lead us in ministering to those in need and for the purpose of furthering His kingdom in communities throughout the world.
Writing contributions from: M2.0 Communications, The Brooklyn Tabernacle, and Word Music
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