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Life Together: The Gathered Church Conference

By on June 14, 2021 in —Leading a Congregation, —Liturgy, —Other Events, —Worship and the Church

Back in 2019, I led my 20th WorshipGod conference, The Glorious Christ. It was a fantastic time reveling in the works and worthiness of Jesus. We had originally planned the next WorshipGod conference for July of 2021, focused on our union with Christ. But COVID caused us to postpone that conference until July 27-30, 2022 (You can mark your calendar now!) As things began to open back up, we decided to partner with a few Sovereign Grace churches to host regional conferences. These are specifically designed to serve our pastors, musicians, and members. We’re calling them Life Together: The Gathered Church. Events are currently planned …

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Pastoring Through Song at the Shepherd’s Conference

By on March 22, 2018 in —Choosing Songs, —Leading a Congregation, —Other Events

In yesterday’s post, I shared some thoughts on planning and leading songs at a conference. In this post, I describe what that actually looked like at the recent Shepherd’s Conference. I’ve included the Scriptures I used (except for ones I didn’t write down), and why I chose each song and passage. The numbers are from the Hymns of Grace hymnal. This post might seem a little tedious, but planning and leading songs is often about the details. If you end up leading songs at a conference in the future, I pray my thoughts will help you maximize that time for the good of God’s people and the glory of Christ. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7 Session 1: John …

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Thoughts on Choosing and Leading Songs at Conferences

By on March 21, 2018 in —Choosing Songs, —Leading a Congregation, —Other Events

I recently had the privilege of leading the worship in song for a number of sessions at The Shepherd’s Conference. Hosted by John MacArthur and Grace Community Church, this conference has been equipping and serving pastors for decades. While there are some similarities to choosing and leading songs for my church, I think about conferences differently. Conferences are made up of people from various churches, most of whom don’t know each other. We’re only together for a few days and there are multiple teachings to take in and digest (at least at the conferences I’m at). I thought it might be helpful to share some of the principles that guide …

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Reflections on the 2017 Shepherds’ Conference

By on March 15, 2017 in —Leading a Congregation, —Other Events

Last April a friend of mine at Grace Community Church texted me to say John MacArthur was going to invite me to lead the music for some of the main sessions at the 2017 Shepherds’ Conference. I thought he was kidding. There are a few reasons why this particular invite was unexpected. For one, I’m a pastor with Sovereign Grace Churches. John has at various times made clear in his preaching that we have a few theological differences. Also, the music at Grace Community Church, where John has served as the pastor for more than four decades, is primarily hymns led by highly skilled choirs, orchestras, and an organ. On a typical Sunday morning …

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Reflections on My Trip to the UK

By on October 7, 2016 in —Leading a Congregation, —My Travels, —Other Events

Recently I had the privilege of traveling to the UK with my good friends CJ Mahaney and Jeff Purswell to participate in “Two Conferences, One Hope.” The first day was an event for pastors, called “Entrusted with the Gospel.” On Friday we offered a “True Worshipers” conference for anyone involved in planning or leading music in the church. This was the fourth time in two and a half years that Sovereign Grace has partnered with Grace Church Bristol and Sovereign Grace UK., both led by Nathan Smith. When we first came in 2014, people warned us that Brits can sometimes be concerned about the motives of Americans who come across the …

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Our First Worship Matters Intensive

By on July 13, 2016 in —Leading a Congregation, —Other Events

This past week I led my first Worship Matters Intensive in Louisville, KY, and the thought I came away with was, “Why didn’t we do this sooner?” Twenty guys, primarily from Sovereign Grace churches, came together from Wednesday night through Sunday lunch to be equipped to lead congregational worship more effectively. It was a pretty diverse group, ranging in age from 19 to 54, and coming from Australia, the Bahamas, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, New England, Texas, Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Kentucky. Only two were full time pastors. The rest served as volunteers. We met for twelve 90 minute sessions, …

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Prepare Him Room Album Tour

By on November 24, 2015 in —Christmas, —Other Events, —Sovereign Grace Music

“Tour” might be overstating it a bit, but I’m excited that we’re taking Prepare Him Room on the road for three nights in December. Some of the original vocalists and instrumentalists will be joining with local musicians for an event that will combine Scripture, prayer, and the songs from our Christmas CD, Prepare Him Room. Here are the dates: Dec. 10, Thursday, Cornerstone Church, Knoxville, TN, 7:30PM Dec. 16, Wednesday, Crossway Church, Lancaster, PA, 7PM Dec. 17, Thursday, Covenant Fellowship, Glen Mills, PA, 7:30PM We haven’t done anything like this before, but are excited about the opportunity to share these songs in a live setting. We’ll …

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What Pastors Wish Their Worship Leaders Knew

By on September 28, 2015 in —Mentoring Leaders, —Other Events, —Worship and the Pastor

This past week I had the privilege of participating in the Cutting it Straight conference in Jacksonville, led by H.B. Charles, Jr. and hosted by Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church. H.B. started this conference, now in its second year, specifically to influence African American pastors to preach expositionally. I was invited to be part of the worship track. H.B., along with his music pastor, Joe Pace, hopes to see more black churches singing songs that are theologically rich and gospel-centered. Not gospel like “black gospel,” but gospel like “Jesus bore our sins on the cross to purchase our forgiveness” gospel. While our cultural …

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The Gathering: Coming to Knoxville this Weekend

By on March 3, 2015 in —Other Events

In 2011, Sovereign Grace Music recorded The Gathering, a collection of 15 songs that walk through the flow of the gospel and our response to it. Among others, the album included Greater Than We Can Imagine, Shine Into Our Night, Show Us Christ, and All I Have is Christ. The idea for the project had its origins in Bryan Chapell’s excellent book, Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice. Chapell makes the case from Scripture, history, and our personal need that, “Corporate worship is nothing more, and nothing less, than a re-presentation of the gospel in the presence of God and his people for his glory and their good.” While …

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The Gathering: Coming to New Orleans Next Weekend

By on September 26, 2014 in —Leading a Team, —Other Events, —Training a Team

In 2011, Sovereign Grace Music recorded The Gathering, a collection of 15 songs that walk through the flow of the gospel and our response to it. Among others, the album included Greater Than We Can Imagine, Shine Into Our Night, Show Us Christ, and All I Have is Christ. The idea for the project had its origins in Bryan Chapell’s excellent book, Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice. Chapell makes the case from Scripture, history, and our personal need that, “Corporate worship is nothing more, and nothing less, than a re-presentation of the gospel in the presence of God and his people for his glory and their good.” While …

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What I’ve Been Up To

By on July 8, 2014 in —My Second Book, —My Travels, —Other Events, —WorshipGod Conferences

Not writing this blog, obviously. At some point I hope to start posting regularly again, but right now I wanted to share what’s been going on in the world of Sovereign Grace Music. The Dominican Republic and a New Spanish Album I got back last night from the Dominican Republic where I had the joy of speaking twice this past weekend at the Por Su Causa (For His Cause) conference, “Worship: The Purpose of Redemption.” The conference was sponsored by International Baptist Church (IBI) and a ministry called Integridad y Sabiduría (Integrity and Wisdom), both led by my good friend, Miguel Núñez. Jeff Purswell and Donald Whitney also …

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Songwriting Camp with Steve and Vikki Cook (and me)

By on May 28, 2014 in —Other Events, —Songwriting

Writing songs for congregational worship is a craft. While God has been known to use mediocre songs to accomplish his purposes, he doesn’t want mediocrity to be our goal. He intends that writers work hard to produce congregational songs that enable the word of Christ to dwell in people richly (Col. 3:16). That’s why I’m excited to be participating with Steve and Vikki Cook in a 2½ day songwriting camp, July 13-15, in Santa Ana, CA. It’s sponsored by Eric Turbedsky of  Sovereign Grace Church of Orange County, and will be held at Calvary Church, Santa Ana, CA. The camp will consist of classroom instruction, workshops, group exercises, …

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One Day Gathering Event in Indianapolis

By on November 8, 2013 in —Other Events

On Saturday, Dec. 7, I’m heading to The Chapel in Indianapolis, IN for The Gathering Midwest. The event will take place from 1-9 PM and I’ll be bringing a group of musicians primarily from my home church in Louisville, KY for a day of singing, teaching, food, and fellowship. We’ll start at 1 PM with corporate worship and a message called Gathering Around the Gospel. In the afternoon you’ll have the opportunity to attend two breakout sessions, designed to equip leaders, bands, and songwriters. After dinner, which will be provided, we’ll spend the evening celebrating the gospel in word and song. The idea for The Gathering comes from an album …

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Going to the Philippines

By on September 30, 2013 in —My Travels, —Other Events

A couple years ago Cornelius Ebo, a pastor in the Philippines, came with his  family to spend ten months as part of the Sovereign Grace Pastors College. Cornelius, or Nilo, asked if I could come host a music/worship conference in the Philippines. At the time it seemed like a stretch. But as the Lord would have it, I’m heading to the Philippines next week. I’ll be joined by a number of folks including Steve Cook and Norton Hall, a band led by my son , Devon. Jena Baumer, an intern from Cedarville University will also be with us, as will Lynn Baird, his daughter Meghan, and a few others from Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena. Sovereign …

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Grace Has Come Preview Event in Louisville

By on July 24, 2013 in —Other Events, —Sovereign Grace Music, —WorshipGod Conferences

We’ve been having a blast getting ready for WorshipGod East: Called to Be Faithful, which officially starts next Thursday morning, Aug. 1. I say “officially” because we have pre-conference intensives for drummers, keyboardists, guitar players, and choir members the day before. Online registration is closed, but you’ll be able to get passes for the whole conference, a day, or a session at the door. I’m happy to report that we just added another event and it’s free. On July 31, Wednesday night, 8 PM, at Highview Baptist East Campus, my son, Devon, will be leading a band that will be playing most of the songs from our new album, Grace Has Come: …

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