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As part of the Sunday Setlists Blog Carnival sponsored by Fred McKinnon   1 – Sola  –  Zac Hicks, 2010This is our song of the month. It is Christ centered and easy to learn. The congregation will soon be able to connect with it very well. 2 – Better Is One Day  –  Matt Redman, 1995This song sounds archaic, yet precise. The congregation connects with this song a lot. I think, because it’s very well known, and they can allow … Read More

Sunday Setlists is brought to you by Fred McKinnon and his Blog Carnival, part of this complete breakfast.   1 – Sola  –  Zac Hicks, 2010This brand new song from Zac Hicks’ new album coming in 2011, textually emphasizes Christ as our leader through whom we worship God.  Musically, it has a processional “march” feel to it; very appropriate for an opening song.   2 – Blessed Be Your Name  –  Matt Redman & Beth Redman, 2002I particularly enjoy this … Read More

This week in Sunday Setlists (Fred McKinnon’s Blog Carnival), we return with another recap on last Sunday’s service (shocker, huh?). Anyway, here we go:   1. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing  –  Robert Robinson, 1758 / John Wyeth’s Repository of Sacred Music, 1813This song speaks directly to God. It’s a prayer of praise, thanksgiving and self-giving. My favorite line is “Bind my wandering heart to The// Prone to wander Lord I feel it//Prone to leave the God I love//Here’s … Read More

photo courtesty of Paul Adams (www.pauladamsphoto.com)When Ascent began 1.5 years ago, it was a dream attempted.  In a nutshell, my under-the-surface goal was to experiment with the edge of modern worship and see if the hymns movement and other liturgical elements could find a place there without compromising what makes modern worship beautiful and powerful.  I wanted us to grow in being able to do the modern worship thing well–lights, audio, film, experiential, hands-on elements and ministry, and visuals–while proving … Read More

It’s all too tempting in worship to think more highly of oneself than one ought.  Evidence the myriads of worship songs (and the churches that regularly rotate them) which talk about our victory, our pursuit of God, our attempts to seek God.  These all aren’t necessarily wrong, but as I’ll make mention in a future post, worship leading is kind of like being a dietician.  When you feed people enough of the same thing, to the neglect of necessary counter-balances, … Read More

Welcome to another episode of Sunday Setlists; Brought to you by Fred McKinnon’s Blog Carnival! The worship this Sunday felt joyful and upbeat. 1.            How Great is Your Faithfulness  –  Matt Redman, 2009The musical arrangement of “Great is your Faithfulness” is bright and beautiful. Just as the lyrics point out “Everything changes, but You stay the same…”, so the melody and chord progression keep the same spirit of upward movement through the entire piece.  Not only that, but the … Read More

About a year and a half ago, I threw our congregation a shocking worship curve ball.  We kicked off the fall of 2008 with a service of lament and mourning.  We devoted the entire liturgy to songs, Scripture readings, and preaching based on lamentation.  We read lament psalms corporately.  We sang another lament psalm in a chant-and-response format.  Those who were willing put ashes on their heads and came forward to kneel at our chancel to pray and lament…lament for … Read More

Every few months we hold a “cerebral” worship service where we sing hymns and praise songs that are very theologically dense. Here is what happened in this week’s service. If you haven’t heard already, we’re part of a network of worship leaders sharing our worship experiences each Sunday through Fred McKinnon’s blog carnival. Summary 1. Thou Lovely Source of True Delight  –  Anne Steele,  1760 / Kevin Twit, 1998A slow and contemplative song reminiscent of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, … Read More

Here’s what happened in today’s worship service.  We’re part of a network of worship leaders sharing our worship experiences each Sunday through Fred McKinnon’s blog carnival. SummaryI loved worship today!  It was full of meaningful symbols, great songs, and a Christ-centered atmosphere.  Today, regrettably, some of our slides for congregational singing were severely off.  This is so disappointing, because I know that the enemy uses it to rob God of the glory He deserves.  Nonetheless, it was good to be … Read More

Within the past year, I have been having more and more conversations with pastors who are coming to me for recommendations of worship leaders who understand both modern and traditional worship.  At the same time, more are also coming to me asking, “How can we, as a more typical evangelical church, engage liturgy and hymns?”  People, if you’re not paying attention to this shift, you’re behind the curve. I often cannot help with the former question.  My response is, “Come … Read More