At WorshipGod24 in Louisville, KY, over 1300 attendees deepened their connection to Christ through worship, music, and teaching. Highlights included sessions on theology, master classes for musicians, and powerful messages from various pastors. The event fostered joy, learning, and community, leaving participants inspired to return to their local churches. Can’t wait for the next one! …
Two years ago we hosted our last WorshipGod conference in Louisville, KY, Unchanging. We reflected on the goodness of the God “with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17, ESV).” But we’re more than ready for our next WorshipGod conference, coming July 24-27 to Louisville, KY. This year’s theme is One with Christ: How Our Union with Christ Changes Everything. Years ago, I came across this quote in Jerry Bridges’ classic, The Discipline of Grace: The New Testament concept of the believer’s union with Christ is one of the most important truths of Scripture. (p. 65) I was surprised at the strength of …
It’s been three long years since we hosted our last WorshipGod conference. The theme in 2019 was “The Glorious Christ,” and the night before the conference began we recorded a live album, also called The Glorious Christ. Both the conference and the recording explored the riches of the Savior who came to bear the weight of our sins and is now reigning in heaven until he returns for his bride. It was a fantastic time! But that was then. And we’re more than ready for this year’s conference, Unchanging. So much has happened in the past three years to remind us of our frailty, the inconstancy of our surroundings, and our inability to control …
A few months ago I shared on this blog that Sovereign Grace Music was working on a gospel album with Joe Pace, Jr., and the Shiloh Church Choir. I’m happy to report that we’re releasing that album Friday, July 26. We’ve been working on getting charts ready for the release, but we might not hit the street date. As soon as they’re ready, we’ll be making lead sheets, guitar charts, piano scores, choir scores, and backing tracks available. When we started working on this project, I knew it was going to be a different kind of album. But I didn’t know how God was going to work in my heart. Here are three ways working on this album has …
Back in 2006, Sovereign Grace Music hosted our first WorshipGod conference in Maryland. Since then, we’ve led conferences in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, and the UK. By my count, this year will be our 20th. Each time we prepare for another one, I ask myself the same question: Do we really need another worship conference? Obviously, I think the answer is yes. Which is why we’ll be gathering in Louisville, KY, July 31-Aug. 3 for WorshipGod19 – The Glorious Christ: Music is great. Jesus is greater. There are a number of worship conferences you can choose from these days. They range from massive productions …
In a culture when Sunday “worship” is more produced, polished, and professional than ever, it’s helpful to remember what really matters to God when we meet. That’s the theme of our 15th WorshipGod conference this year, to be held July 25-28 at Grace Church in Frisco, TX: Extraordinary: The Weekly Worship of the Gathered Church. Sunday mornings aren’t rock concerts. They aren’t pep rallies or World Cup finals. But every time the church gathers, all of heaven takes notice. Each and every Sunday we meet with saints Christ has redeemed and made one through his death on the cross. We join in with the hosts of heaven …
It’s been over a week, but I’m still enjoying the rich time we had at WorshipGod17 MidWest. The conference was called Human and Holy: Exploring Healthy Tensions in Our Gathered Worship. We looked at the inherent tensions that surface when the human encounters the Holy: orthodox and on fire, rootedness and relevance, structure and spontaneity, event and every day, already and not yet. There are always a few things that stand out to me after a conference. Here’s this year’s list. Life, Not Production Because this year’s conference fell in the midst of a few other events (live recording, a trip to Mexico, our daughter’s wedding), it felt less …
In just under two months (July 27-29) we’ll be gathering in Louisville, KY for our second regional WorshipGod conference! The first was held in Pennsylvania this past March. We’re calling the Louisville conference: Human and Holy: Healthy Tensions of our Gathered Worship. If you’ve ever planned the music or meetings at your church, you’re probably familiar with the category of “healthy tensions.” Or at least, tension. Conversations about worship can be polarizing. We choose sides and attack each other rather than seeking out biblical solutions and priorities. Should our meetings be reverent or celebratory? Do we want our musicians …
Since 1999, I’ve been leading conferences to serve anyone involved in planning or leading congregational worship. In 2006, we started calling them “WorshipGod” conferences to communicate that it matters who or what we’re worshiping. A”worship conference” can refer to any kind of worship. It’s worshiping GOD that distinguishes what Christians do from all other kinds of worship. Only Christian worship is initiated by God the Father, enabled by God the Son, and empowered by God the Spirit. In 2017 we’ve taking a break from a single national conference and planning different regional conferences. The first is WorshipGod Northeast and it …
Things have been hopping around the Louisville office of Sovereign Grace Music. Here’s some of what we’ve been up to. Worship Matters Intensives and Video We recently finished our first Worship Matters intensive and will be recording the 12 part video series at the beginning of August. I’m praying churches will be able to use this in conjunction with my book, Worship Matters, to equip teams, pastors, musicians, and leaders. We’re also working on scheduling more intensives this coming year. If you’d like to be added to a list for future intensives, let me know through the Contact tab above. Future Albums I recently finished listening …
I know it’s already February, but people frequently ask me what’s coming up for Sovereign Grace Music in 2016. As always, Sovereign Grace Music will be providing Christ-exalting music and training for local churches from local churches. Here are some of the ways we’ll be doing that this year. Recording Projects We’re currently writing songs for a live album based on the Lord’s Prayer. The working title is Prayers of the Saints, but that could change. It’s exciting to see these songs of praise and petition take shape. We’ll be recording the album some time in early July, with an anticipated release date of October/November. We’re …
In the next couple days I’ll be posting my thoughts on WorshipGod15: TRIUNE, which just finished this past Saturday. One of the joys of hosting the WorshipGod conference is introducing new songs and modeling liturgy. While a conference isn’t a Sunday morning gathering, we try to put together songs, Scriptures, and prayers that reflect the rhythm and flow of the gospel. I’ve listed below what we did this year at WorshipGod15: TRIUNE, including three songs from our upcoming album, Sooner Count the Stars, due out Sept. 30. I’ve also provided links to the audio and video of the main messages. Clicking on the linked titles will take you to …
A few years ago I heard about a church in Philadelphia that was clearly proclaiming the gospel in the midst of the city, right near my alma mater, Temple University. It was called Epiphany Fellowship, and Eric Mason was the senior pastor. It excited me to think that the “city of brotherly love” was benefiting from one more solidly evangelical, gospel-preaching, servant-hearted church. It wasn’t until later that I heard about the music they were singing and producing. It was theologically informed but combined elements from gospel, jazz, neo-soul, R&B, and CCM (Contemporary Christian Music). That got me interested. While I’d …
If you read WorshipMatters regularly, you most likely help plan or lead the music in your local church. First, THANK YOU for serving God’s people! I thank God for your faithfulness in contexts that most people will never even see. Second, I know there are a gazillion conferences every year that you can go to. I wanted to give you a few reasons why you should consider registering for WorshipGod15: TRIUNE. 1. We’re local church musicians serving local church musicians. Sovereign Grace Music isn’t a conference production machine.We’re all part of local churches and are serving in local churches. We get the day in day out challenges …
Before we get too far away from WorshipGod UK, I wanted to share a few thoughts on our time together in Bath. About 300 folks came from 15 nations and 135 churches for 2 1/2 days of fellowship, singing, prayer, teaching, seminars, laughter, starting and renewing friendships, and having our eyes opened wider to the glories of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There were a number of things about our time together that made me very grateful. 1. I’m grateful that Sovereign Grace Music partners with local churches to serve local churches. The driving force behind WorshipGod is Nathan Smith and the church he pastors, Grace Church …
