Last April I had the privilege of leading over 5000 folks (mostly men) in worship a the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, KY. The sound was overpowering at times, particularly when we got to verses that unpacked the salvation Jesus secured for us through his substitutionary death. Since the conference, we’ve been asked whether or not any part of the singing had been recorded. As a matter of fact, all of it was. And we’ve been working on a CD made up of 16 hymns from the conference. They include older hymns like And Can it Be, It Is Well, and How Firm a Foundation, as well as modern hymns like The Power of the Cross (Getty/Townend) …
Archive | Events
WorshipGod Conference Rescheduled for Next Year
Since 2000 Sovereign Grace has been hosting a worship conference every other year. We had planned to hold another one in 2010 but plans have changed. Due to the fact that we hold two other conferences every other year, we decided to go ahead and have the next WorshipGod conference August 5-8, 2009. The tentative theme is “From Generation to Generation.” I’m thinking we’ll focus on the way forms, methods, practices, and most importantly, the substance of corporate worship is passed on from one generation to the next. What should we hold on to? What should we leave behind? What should we reconsider? Who makes the decisions? Are separate meetings …
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The Excellency of Christ: Quotes from John Flavel
Got back yesterday from the Straight Up conference at Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago, IL. I was there with CJ Mahaney, who spoke on “A Divine Perspective” from 1 Cor. 1:1-9. I’ve probably heard that message 5-6 times and never tire of being challenged to notice more of what God is doing in those around me, as Paul did with the Corinthian church. I had the privilege of leading worship and teaching a seminar on The Task of the Worship Leader. It was great meeting some folks who read this blog, and I had the opportunity to reconnect with my friends Andi Rozier, Matt Stowell, and Matthew Westerholm, who came to WorshipGod06 and WorshipGod08. Very …
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Glorious and Mighty Choral Arrangment
One of the highlights of WorshipGod08, and there were many, was the conference choir singing Glorious and Mighty on the last morning. Based on Psalm 96, it’s a song written by Todd Twining and Joel Sczebel, with some lyric tweaking by me. Unfortunately, the audio/video didn’t turn out that well, so I wont’ be posting them. But a number of people have requested the arrangement and it’s finally available. The version I arranged for the conference didn’t have any piano part, just the voices. So I added a basic piano accompaniment if you’re just using piano. I think it sounds best with a full band backing it, though. UPDATED CHOIR PARTS (10/03/08): …
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Thoughts on the Desiring God National Conference
I had the privilege of speaking at the Desiring God National Conference last Saturday morning. It was a whirlwind trip that I made with my daughter (and assistant) Chelsea. We got there for dinner on Friday and caught a 7 PM flight out on Saturday. It came at the end of our two week beach vacation, and I decided not to try that again. Too distracting. Chuck Steddom, a good friend from John Piper’s church, led the singing along with a team from his church. It was encouraging to hear them introduce “Praise the Lord,” a song from our recent Psalms CD. Sinclair Ferguson gave a message the first night called “The Tongue, the Bridle, and the …
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Heading to the Desiring God Conference
I’m heading out from vacation today with my daughter, Chelsea, to speak at the Desiring God National Conference, The Power of Words and the Wonder of God. I’ll be addressing the topic of “Why Does God Want Us to Sing?” It’s a real privilege to speak at this conference along with Sinclair Ferguson, Paul Tripp, Mark Driscoll, Dan Taylor, and John Piper, although I don’t think I’ll agree to speak at the end of a vacation again. It can be just a little distracting. The first week was mostly sunny and warm, but God saw fit in the second week to give us numerous days of 40mph winds and then some rain to go with it. Not sure you can see it clearly …
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WorshipGod08 Seminars Now Available
Over at the Sovereign Grace website, we’ve finally posted 29 WorshipGod08 seminars for you to listen to or download for free. . . . Here’s the list: Band on the Run (Bob Kauflin) Building Bridges: Pastors and Worship Leaders (Bob Kauflin) Caring for Your Sound System (Darryl Wenger) Copyright Law and Church Music: The Eight Keys (Paul Herman) Drumming for Worshipers (Jordan Kauflin) Electric Guitar Workshop (Dave Campbell) Foundations for Bass Players (Don Nalle) Foundations for Keyboardists (Jon Payne) Growing Your Team for the Glory of God (Jon Payne) In-Ear Monitors (Doug Gould) Leading and Caring for …
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Reflections on the Christian Songwriter’s Retreat
Last week I spent four days in beautiful Mt. Hermon, CA, near San Jose. I had the joy of participating in a Christian Songwriter’s Retreat sponsored by the Mt. Hermon Retreat Center. About 300 folks came to learn how to develop their heart and craft as Christian song writers. The speakers/musicians included Paul Baloche, Joy Williams, Mia Fieldes, Charlie Peacok, Don Moen, Derek Webb, Sara Groves, Phil Wickham, and yours truly. I really enjoyed the format. There were morning and evening sessions with seminars during the day. The main sessions started with about 25 minutes of singing, followed by a 30 minute teaching. I was the speaker in the …
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Desiring God National Conference 2008
A few months ago I was shocked to receive an invitation to speak at John Piper’s National Conference, The Power of Words and the Wonder of God, at the end of September. Shocked for two reasons. First, that I was asked. Second, that it came on the last two days of my vacation with my family. I checked with my dear wife, as well as my friends, and everyone thought I should accept the invitation. Julie’s only request was that I fly back to the Outer Banks to drive home with the family on Sunday. I checked with John and he graciously accommodated my request. I’ll be speaking on the topic of “What Happens When We Sing?” Here’s the trailer for the conference. Desiring …
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Friday Night at WorshipGod08 – David Powlison on the Imprecatory Psalms
On Tuesday, I posted on the first part of the Friday evening session at WorshipGod08. In the final part of the evening I asked biblical counselor David Powlison to speak on the psalmists’ concern for God’s glory on the earth, expressed in the imprecatory psalms. Those are the prayers in the psalms asking God to punish, restrict, or destroy the wicked. For centuries, Christians have tended to confuse, ignore, or despise them. David’s comment on the imprecatory psalms were wonderfully biblical, insightful, and pastoral. He rephrased the focus to be the psalmists’ concern for what we do with evil. You can download an MP3 here. David shared that …
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WorshipGod08 Opening Video
WorshipGod08 began with a video. It wasn’t anything dramatic or multi-sensory. We just wanted to point people’s attention to the theme of the conference, “Rediscovering the Psalms.” Different passages from four Psalms (96, 103, 40, 145) were read by people from five nationalities to communicate the relevance of the Psalms to all peoples and cultures. Jacob Campbell, a member of Covenant Life Church, did a great job putting the video together for us. Roger Hooper, another member of Covenant Life, composed the score. Since I’ve had requests from many people to see it again, here it is. If you’re interested, you can download the Quicktime …
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What I Learned from Leading WorshipGod08
I think I’ve recovered from last week’s conference. What a joy to see so many folks come from so many different places to learn and experience what God has told us in the Psalms about worship. Although we barely scratched the surface of the topic, I think people went away encouraged and equipped, with plenty to think about and apply. After a few weeks, I’ll meet with the admin staff and talk about what worked and how we can serve people more effectively at the next WorshipGod conference in 2010. In the mean time, I wanted to share a few things I learned during the course of leading this year’s conference. 1. Having a detailed schedule really …
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WorshipGod08 Conference
Hard to believe it, but the conference I’ve been working on for the past year has finally come and gone. I’m one tired, happy, grateful, amazed guy. God has been very kind. About 1700 folks came from all over to learn what the Psalms tell us about worshiping God, attend seminars designed to address specific practical areas, and fellowship with like-minded believers. We laughed, we cried, we sang, we listened, we studied, we played, we grew—all for the glory of the Savior. We also released our new Psalms CD, which I think is one of our best so far. In the next few weeks I’ll be posting some reflections about the event, as well as links …
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Thoughts from Mark Dever and David Powlison
Yesterday I posted answers to two questions I asked the speakers who will be addressing us at next week’s WorshipGod08 conference. The questions were: “What do you hope will be filling people’s minds and hearts as they walk away from your message?” and “How do you hope your message will change the way they think about the Psalms and worshiping God?” Today I wanted to share two more responses, this time from Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, and David Powlison, author and biblical counselor with the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation. Mark Dever (Glorifying Christ with the Psalmist) I pray that people …
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Thoughts from WorshipGod08 Speakers
Blogging is minimal at the moment as I’m preparing for the WorshipGod conference next week. With 45 seminars and 6 main sessions, I think the 1600+ people who are coming will have plenty to chew on. But what I’m most anticipating is God encountering folks in ways that are unique to their situations. Encouraging a leader who’s grown weary. Convicting a musician of self-exalting pride. Strengthening relationships between team members, husbands and wives, pastors and worship leaders. Equipping a keyboardist to serve her church more effectively. Hopefully even healing some who are physically ill. I’m grateful that even though I don’t know every person’s …