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Thinking Surgically While Leading Liturgically

By on June 11, 2011 in —Liturgy, —WorshipGod Conferences

WorshipGod11 is only two months away.  One of the 40 seminars being offered (4 in Spanish!) is by Jamie Brown, a good friend who leads the worship in song at The Falls Church, an Anglican church in Northern Virginia. Jamie will be addressing the topic “Thinking Surgically While Leading Liturgically.” His specific burden is to encourage people who serve in the context of a traditional liturgy to lead with faith. I asked Jamie  a few questions about his session. What do you hope will be filling people’s minds and hearts as they walk away from your message? It can be discouraging and frustrating to lead worship in a liturgical church. I …

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Song Lists from New Word Alive 2011

By on June 4, 2011 in —Other Events

I shared my thoughts on New Word Alive in a previous post. I led at two meetings each night, one at 6:30, the second at 8:30. We sang 1 or 2 songs as people were filing in 2-3 songs at the start of the meeting, 2-3 songs before the message, then 1-2 songs after the message. Around Tuesday I began to realize that the two meetings needed a slightly different approach as the later meeting was primarily college students. So where I list two songs it represents the different meetings. Here’s what it looked like (I’ve provided links for the PD and Sovereign Grace songs): Sunday Promised Land – Nathan and Lou Fellingham & Busbee By Faith …

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Songlist from Next 2011

By on June 3, 2011 in —Next/New Attitude

This past weekend I had the privilege of leading the singing at the 2011 NEXT conference in Orlando, FL, along with the Na Band and Generation Letter. For some reason they keep letting me hang out with the young guys. Don’t mind that at all. This year’s focus was understanding how Christ transforms the way we look at the world. The speaker line up included D.A. Carson, R.C. Sproul, Jeff Purswell, Kevin DeYoung, Scott Oliphint, Vern Poythress, and others. Great messages that really stretched my mind and fed my soul. You can listen to or download the main session messages here. I came away with a fresh understanding of how Jesus Christ …

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Should We Play Music Behind People Praying?

Should We Play Music Behind People Praying?

By on May 25, 2011 in —Musicians & Vocalists, —Worship and Music, —WorshipGod Conferences

Someone in my church recently sent me an email asking why we play music behind different portions of the Sunday meeting (prayers, baptisms, readings, etc.). It’s a good question. We can be influenced by our musically addicted culture, as well as our traditions and practices, to believe it’s impossible for God’s Spirit to move in people’s hearts apart from music. That kind of thinking makes music a mediator rather than a means. God can use music to do his work. But he doesn’t need music to do his work. So the direct answer to the question, “Should we play music behind people praying?” is “not necessarily.” It can easily be mistaken for emotional …

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Behind Closed Doors – Connecting Your Public and Private Worship

By on May 18, 2011 in —Worship and Life, —Worship and the Church, —WorshipGod Conferences

WorshipGod11: The Gathering, (Aug. 10-13), is a little under three months away. I’m excited that Bryan Chapell, Ray Ortlund, Jr., Thabiti Anyabwile, Craig Cabaniss, Enfield, Sojourn, Shai Linne, Don Whitney, and a few others will be joining us as we reflect on what kind of story our meetings are telling. One of the 40 seminars we’ll offer will be taught by Joseph Stigora, who serves on the pastoral team at Covenant Fellowship in Glen Mills, PA. His seminar is called “Behind Closed Doors.” It addresses the relationship between our public and private worship. I asked him a few questions about his topic. 1. What do you hope will be filling …

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Getting Ready for Next 2011

By on May 11, 2011 in —Next/New Attitude

At the end of this month (May 28-31) I’ll be heading down to Orlando, FL to lead the worship in song at Next 2011, with the Na Band and Generation Letter. Shane and Shane will also be leading us in corporate worship for one session, and presenting a concert that same night. Next is geared towards young adults but open to anyone. This year’s focus is understanding how Christ transforms the way we look at the world. The speaker line up includes D.A. Carson, R.C. Sproul, Jeff Purswell, Kevin DeYoung, Scott Oliphint, and Vern Poythress. They’ll be helping us grapple with how the Christian faith relates to reason, science, law, art, postmodernism, …

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Reflections on New Word Alive 2011

By on May 6, 2011 in —Other Events

If you follow Worship Matters with any kind of regularity you may have noticed a dearth of posts over the past few weeks. Most of April was taken up by the New Word Alive conference (Apr. 10-15) in Pwllheli, North Wales, followed by 13 days with my best friend, Julie, celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary four months early. We spent a week in Italy and 5 days in England, flying out the day before the royal wedding. For some reason we weren’t invited. I wanted to take this post to share a few thoughts on New Word Alive. Over 5000 (families and college students) gathered for a week of biblical teaching, worship in song, seminars, and fellowship. …

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Twelve Reasons to Come to WorshipGod11

By on March 2, 2011 in —WorshipGod Conferences

Do we really need one more worship conference? That’s the question I ask myself every other year as I start planning for the next WorshipGod conference. And since WorshipGod11: The Gathering is on the calendar for Aug. 10-13, 2011, my answer to the question is obviously yes. I did a post in January describing my thinking behind the conference. Basically, I want to address and adjust our tendency to think of meetings as separate compartments and pieces and move us towards discovering how we can tell the story of the gospel every time we gather. After all, that’s what Christians have been doing for a couple thousand years. There are reasons …

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“Plant!” Church Planting Conference

By on February 8, 2011 in —Church Planting, —Other Events

In 1991 I had the privilege of participating in a church plant in Charlotte, NC. It was a thrilling, humbling, faith-stretching, unpredictable adventure that I think every leader should go through at least once. That’s why I’m excited about the Sovereign Grace Ministries Plant! Conference, taking place next month. I have the joy of leading the songs we’ll be singing. Here’s the relevant info: PLANT! | March 24-26, 2011 Location | Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, PA Cost | $99 (day & session passes available) Who Should Go | Church planters, pastors, pastors who desire to see their church plant churches, members of churches …

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WorshipGod11: The Gathering

By on January 18, 2011 in —WorshipGod Conferences

Even though it’s still eight months away, I’m in the middle of planning for WorshipGod11, to be held Aug. 10-13, 2011 at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD. This year’s theme will be “The Gathering.” The idea crystalized while I was reading Bryan Chapell’s excellent book, Christ-Centered Worship. When most of us plan our meetings we tend to think in separate categories – the songs, the announcements, creative elements, the message, communion, ministry time, etc. Chapell makes a strong case for having a gospel mindedness that affects not only what we do but how we put it all together. In other words, every time we meet a clear gospel …

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Spontaneous Song for Those Facing Impossible Situations

By on December 18, 2010 in —Christmas, —Other Events, —Spontaneous Song, —Worship and the Spirit, Devotions

During the Christmas season, many people find themselves in the midst of impossibly difficult circumstances. They find out the hard way that pain and sorrow are no respecters of holidays. For these individuals, Christmas becomes the most terrible time of the year. Recently I ran across an insightful and hopeful post by Matt Redmond called “Christmas is for Those Who Hate it Most.” He writes, “We have it sunk deep into our collective cultural consciousness that Christmas is for the happy people. You know, those with idyllic family situations enjoyed around stocking-strewn hearth dreams.” Matt then goes on to remind us that Jesus came for those …

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Curt “Voice” Allen Raps the Heidelberg Catechism

By on November 24, 2010 in —Other Events, Videos

At Next 2010, CJ Mahaney challenged Curt “Voice” Allen to come up with a rap based on Kevin DeYoung’s book,  The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism. A few months later, Curt met the challenge and wrote a song, which he performed at the Sovereign Grace Pastor’s Conference. I continue to marvel at the ability of rappers to capture so much content in so little time. I didn’t grow up on the Heidelberg Catechism, but greatly appreciated Kevin DeYoung’s book, which contains the full Catechism and his comments on it.  The catechism is filled with clear thoughts about vital topics including God, salvation, …

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Song List from the Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference

By on November 19, 2010 in —Free Messages, —Other Events, —Sovereign Grace Music

A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of leading the worship in song at the Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastors Conference. It was a wonderfully full schedule, which resulted in us singing primarily at the night sessions. On Wednesday night it was a joy to lead with my son, Devon, and the Na Band. On the last night, we were led by  Tom Fluharty, a member of Sovereign Grace Church in Minneapolis, MN, and a brilliant illustrator. Here’s what we sang: Tuesday PM We Sing (Sczebel/Sczebel/Twining) – from Sons & Daughters How Great is Your Faithfulness (Redman/Myrin) – from We Shall Not Be Shaken Psalm 62 (My Soul Finds Rest in God Alone) …

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“Only Jesus” Video From Next 2010

By on November 9, 2010 in —Next/New Attitude, —Sovereign Grace Music, Videos

Last May I had the joy of leading worship in song at the Next conference along with three bands, including Generation Letter. One of the songs we sang, “Only Jesus,” was written by Doug Plank and based on a prayer in The Valley of Vision. I asked Doug what he was thinking when he wrote the song: I don’t think I’ve ever before (or likely will again) be so inspired by a mere two words in songwriting. While writing a song for the “Valley of Vision” project I stumbled on the poem, “The Life Look.” One particular line struck me: “May my cry be always, Only Jesus! Only Jesus!” Once those two words were located, it really was only a matter …

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Generation Letter Video – “King of Peace”

By on October 15, 2010 in —Next/New Attitude, —Song Downloads, Videos

I was encouraged recently to hear that Worship Leader magazine had included Generation Letter’s song “King of Peace” on their recent Song Discovery CD. Each Song Discovery CD contains 12-15 congregational songs with  leads sheets and chord charts in 3 keys. Many are from well known bands and artists, but they often feature songs from lesser known musicians and local church projects as well. A great service to the church. The video above is Generation Letter leading King of Peace at this year’s Next Conference in Baltimore, MD (May 28-31). I led with them, along with Alli Gilland, who was filling in for Stephen Morgan on guitar. The members …

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