Several years ago, I was floored by a shocking exposé. No, the article wasn’t about a political scandal, a pastoral failure, or even a Kardashian. It was a revealing study about how “under-Trinitized” our worship songs are. Now, to be sure, in one sense, you can’t “under-Trinitize” anything. Whether or not we are aware of the all-encompasing, ever-productive, supremely glorious work of the Great Three-in-One, if we are a Christian, we are inescapably “Trinitized.” The effectiveness of God’s work is … Read More
Worship Leader Magazine’s 2014 Editor’s Pick of Top Blogs
I’m very grateful to be on a small list of select blogs honored this year by Worship Leader Magazine’s Editor’s Picks (Nov/Dec 2014 issue). What a blessing! I’m not sure how I got there, but I’ll keep doing what I’m doing. Blogging is an interesting medium. It’s leveled the playing field in some ways, and it’s made discourse and deep thought harder in others. But, if you engage with blogs as one of the several ways you process worship-related issues, you will … Read More
The Only Two Albums You Need This Christmas
Sovereign Grace, Prepare Him Room The music of Sovereign Grace always has to be included among the top content out there being written for the modern church. They’ve been doing it for years, and they’ve been committed to engaging lyrics, profound theology, and a dogged Christocentrism. Their new Christmas album, Prepare Him Room, does not disappoint their legacy. In fact, I think the production on this record is some of the finest to date. The instrumentation and melodies are beautiful, … Read More
Luther’s Case for Psalm-Singing
Ligonier on Luther and the PsalmsWorship leaders and thinkers who stand in the Reformed worship tradition emphasize the importance and necessity of Psalm-singing. In fact, there are several smaller Reformed denominations who are chiefly known as “psalms-only” worshipers, meaning that the only songs they sing in worship are tuned translations and versifications of the Psalms. John Calvin, the father of the Reformed tradition of Protestant Christianity, was an outspoken champion of the supremacy of Psalms in worship. He encouraged Psalm-singing … Read More
What a New Jesus Culture Album Teaches Us About Worship
Justin Jarvis, Atmospheres I’ve been listening to the newest album under the Jesus Culture umbrella, called Atmospheres. It’s by my friend and fellow local Ft. Lauderdale worship leader, Justin Jarvis. We’ve shared coffee and way too large piles of pastrami at a local hole-in-the-wall. Atmospheres is an incredible live album with an amazing sound and overwhelming moments where great truth profoundly collides with raw experience. There are several songs that paint new, imaginative pictures of old, timeless truths, like “Taste” … Read More
The Murderous Intent of Baptism (and Why Worship Leaders Should Care)
Baptism should be on the radar of every worship leader because baptism is an act of God amidst the gathered, worshiping church. And if we all had perfect eyes of faith, baptism would feel every bit as communally euphoric as the most epic, heart-wrenching worship song we know. Here’s why. Whether we baptize babies or baptize those mature enough to profess faith, we tend to feel baptism as a communally pleasant experience. And it is. We have the opportunity to … Read More
Fascinating Insight Linking Indian and Gospel Music
A while back I posted on a wonderful little session where Bobby McFerrin exposed the trans-cultural nature of the pentatonic scale. I think a similar insight can be seen here in the common, trans-cultural “soul” of music as blues/slide guitarist Derek Trucks talks about his influences (thanks to Coral Ridge Music’s Lindsey Blair, for pointing this video out to me!). A little after the 8-minute mark, Trucks notes how though the tonality of an Eastern scale and a bluesy gospel scale … Read More
Why the Doxology & Theology Conference is Worth Checking Out
November 13-14Louisville, KY There are a handful of conferences that come around every year or two that I think are worth a worship leader’s time and investment. They’re not all the same, and they therefore don’t serve the same purpose. I tend to think of conferences like these in two broad categories. The first are the “big tent” conferences. A great example of this would be the National Worship Leader Conference, now hosted regionally 3-4 times a year. Big tent … Read More
If You’re Interested in Deeply Studying Gospel Centered Worship
If you’re like me, thinking about furthering your education in the area of worship studies, you’re less interested in flashy admissions campaigns and impressive campus acreage. I want two things: A handful of great professors zeroing in on excellent subject matter. There’s a lot of talk out there about “gospel-centered” this and that, and a lot of people have spilled a lot of digital ink explaining how diluted and convoluted that discussion has become. Such is the fate of “gospel-centered … Read More
The Tension Between the Bland-Voiced Worship Leader and the Stylized Artist
We worship leaders feel an insane amount of conscious and unconscious pressure to sound as good as the latest recordings and rising-star reality shows. Even if we’re not in “fancy” churches with great sound systems and heightened expectations, we all are pressing against the heavy burden to measure up. Sometimes, that pressure leads us to feel that we need to have that “artist’s voice”–wispy, soulful, quirky, frilly, bombastic, indie, overstated, understated, or whatever else is our ideal. We seek to … Read More