When Strivings Cease It is with great pleasure that I announce that I must cease my striving. When this blog began almost six years ago, one of its primary objectives was to herald, champion, promote, persuade, propagandize, coerce, ramrod the burgeoning retuned hymns movement. In addition to retuning hymns myself, especially on my first (The Glad Sound [2009]) and second (Without Our Aid [2011]) albums with Cherry Creek Worship, I wanted to highlight all the church musicians and independent artists who were … 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
On Worship That Makes Us Feel Lousy
Worship should be uplifting, right? It should make us feel great, right? Well…sort of. Worshipers and worship leaders need to take a good, hard look at the Scriptures and ask, “What is the Bible’s vision of worship?” THAT starting point–not what worship we grew up with, not what worship gives us goose bumps, not even what our favorite worship leader or blogger tells us–is the only way to begin finding healthy, wholesome answers. So, for example, we open up to the Psalms, God’s … Read More
The Fuzzy Middle Between Leading and Attention-Seeking for Worship Leaders
I was having lunch with a young local worship leader yesterday, and we were jamming on what it means to lead well and yet not seek the spotlight. Matt Redman nicely summarizes what the sweet spot looks like: I often define good worship leaders as those who lead strongly enough so that people follow but not so strongly that they themselves become the focus.* That’s it, right there. It’s the perfect summary. But at least for me, I’ve sometimes found … Read More
Album Roundup Week: We Will Proclaim, Live Worship with The Falls Church Anglican
This week I’ll be highlighting a few albums that have come my way over the last few weeks and months. First up is We Will Proclaim: Live Worship with The Falls Church Anglican, a project overseen by my friend and fellow worship leader-blogger, Jamie Brown. This album is a true “church album”–ecclesiastical and communal from top to bottom. It runs like one, beautiful worship service. It is highly collaborative at every level. Lots of musicians and minds contributed to it, … Read More
Defending the Musical Simplicity of Worship Songs
From several directions is sometimes heard the critique that “all modern worship songs sound the same”–the same four chords, the same trite melody, the same form, the same epic rise and fall. Songwriters like me, when sitting down to put pen to paper on a musical staff, feel these critiques both consciously and subconsciously. We feel pressure to come up with something new, fresh, and different. So we try to think outside of the conventional box of chords and progressions … Read More
Addressing Blind Spots for Non-Denominational Worship Leaders
As the years go by, I become more grateful for the journey and leadership of modern worship leader and pastor, Glenn Packiam. God has planted him in the non-denominational, Pentecostal tradition and has given him a voice, along with a gift for writing both songs and prose. He’s an Integrity recording artist with some great albums out there. In fact, I think his latest album, The Mystery of Faith, is his best yet and is a testament to his most … Read More
The Missing Piece in Debates about Physical Expression in Worship
Lunette with Orante. From early Christian fresco, second half of the third century. Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome, Italy. Photo credit: Scala/Art Resource, NY. Yesterday in worship, I encouraged our congregation to respond to the preaching of the Word of God by engaging in a physical act on the final verse of our closing hymn, “Jesus, with Thy Church Abide.” I reminded them that early Christian art (shown here) depicts at least some Christian worshipers praying in nearly the opposite physical manner that we do—eyes open, body standing, heads lifted, and hands raised. (I found the above depiction on the cover of the outstanding work, Walking Where Jesus Walked: Worship in Fourth Century Jerusalem, by Lester Ruth, Carrie Steenwyk, and John Witvliet.) So, on the final verse, we all raised our hands together, 300-strong, and sang:
May she holy triumphs win
Overflow the hosts of sin
Gather all the nations in
We beseech Thee, hear us
Defending Mushy Worship Songs: Could Jesus Be Our Boyfriend?
When people begin to think critically about worship, one of the first analytical dominoes to fall is the criticism that modern worship songs take too much of a “Jesus is my boyfriend” approach. Many (including myself) have often said that if one could substitute Jesus’ name for the name of a significant other in a worship song, it’s not a good (or biblical) worship song. Others have taken the analysis a step further and said that romanticized language in worship … Read More
Maundy Thursday at Creek…in Pictures
(Special thanks to Paul Adams Photo for the oustanding photography!) Our annual Maundy Thursday Family Service at Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church in Denver is probably one of the more unique times of worship that I’ve ever been a part of. It is an interactive, multi-sensory, truly intergenerational experience. We started doing it in this format four or five years ago, and it’s quickly become a tradition. Several years ago, God convicted our staff and leadership about our lack of attention to … Read More