I’m in the midst of planning for our WorshipGod09 conference, “From Generation to Generation.” It will be held Aug. 5-8, in Gaithersburg, MD, right outside of Washington, D.C. I announced earlier that John Piper — pastor, theologian, author, and friend — will be taking two main sessions. I’m also looking forward to doing a session with C.J. Mahaney where we’ll talk about what we’ve learned about worship over the past 30 years. We got some great responses from our evaluation form this past year on things we can improve about the conference. I’m excited about some of the changes we’ll be making. But one area I’d love to hear your thoughts …
Creative Answers to the ESV Study Bible Giveaway
I received some creative responses in the ESV Study Bible giveaway. Here are a few you might enjoy. The reason I should get one of those Bible is that if you bring me one, I’ll take you diving and you’ll get to experience worship on a whole new level — about 100 feet below the surface! (from Dave in the Cayman Islands) I want to receive and read through the ESV STudy Bible so that the whole counsel of God and the wisdom of godly men washes over my mind and my heart to transform me into a white hot, recklessly passionate Jesus freak. (from David) To combine a lucid translation of scripture with insightful theological essays, pastorally sensitive …
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ESV Study Bible Giveaway Winners
Last week I shared my desire to give away ten ESV Study Bibles to encourage people to read through the Word of God, assisted by the valuable notes in this particular Bible. Over 300 of you sent in your reason, in 50 words or less, why you’d like to receive a Bible. I was deeply moved as I read some of the emails. I picked five as “the best,” and picked five more randomly (although since God is sovereign, it wasn’t completely “random”). Here are the five winners: This is from Juan Zavala. I was inspired by his dedication to the pastoral ministry. I would like to win the new ESV study Bible for one reason. To help me prepare my sermons. I …
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Sovereign Grace CDs in the UK
I just came across this comment on the Sovereign Grace Music Facebook site: SGM is available in the UK through 10ofthose.com for £10 a CD. We are about to place a new order from the states so if there is a CD you’d like that we currently are out of stock of please email us at info@10ofthose.com and we will order it in for you.
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They Once Were Lost But Now Are Found
In the process of hosting this ESV Bible giveaway, I discovered that the “Contact Me” link on my blog hasn’t been working for a while. Like for a year. So the wonderful IT folks here at Sovereign Grace did some research and found that any emails sent through the “Contact Me” link ended up in a massive spam folder (who sends out all that stuff?). The good news is that we were able to recover 600+ emails. The bad news is that my daughter/assistant Chelsea (who is leaving on Friday for 13 days with a missions team to Uganda) has to individually copy each one to an email and send it to herself. For some reason, forwarding takes much longer. What …
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ESV Study Bible Update and Giveaway
A while back I posted on why I like the ESV Study Bible and my plan to read through it by the end of 2009. Here’s my first update on how it’s going. I just started 1 Samuel. If I continue at my current pace, I should be done before the end of 2009. I’ve only grown in my appreciation for the precise scholarship, helpful layout, and pastoral thought that went into producing this study Bible. The maps are abundant, easy to use, informative, and relevant, as are the various charts. The introductions to each book have helped me grasp the overall flow of the book as well as how the book fits into salvation history. I haven’t spent much time …
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Helping People Glory in Christ at Christmas
This past Sunday I had the privilege of leading the singing at my home church. At Christmas time there’s sometimes a tension between choosing to sing songs that are “comfortably Christmasy” or songs that help people glory in the miracle of God becoming man. So here’s what we went with: Hark! the Herald Angels Sing Glory be to God free mp3 download (from the Savior CD) Emmanuel, Emmanuel (from the Savior CD) What Child is This? Before the Throne of God Above We started with Hark! the Herald Angels sing because it’s one of the most theologically rich Christmas carols we sing. After that, I shared that there are many things to love …
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“Psalms” CD nominated!
We just learned that Worship Leader magazine has included our Psalms CD as one of six choices for the “Best Worship Compilation CD” for 2008. Boy, were we surprised. There in the midst of Passion, CeCe Winans, and WOW Gospel, is Sovereign Grace Ministries. There are six CDs in the category, and I’d like to think you might vote for Psalms. Please check the other great CDs listed; but if you think Psalms merits the title, your vote could mean more people becoming aware of our music. Voting ends on December 31! In any case, we’re grateful for the opportunity to produce music that serves the church and magnifies the greatness of our Savior; …
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John Piper Speaking at WorshipGod09
Even though 2008 isn’t finished yet, I’m in the midst of planning for our next worship conference, WorshipGod09: From Generation to Generation, to be held Aug. 5-8, 2009, in Gaithersburg, MD. The main messages will address the importance of passing on biblical values of corporate worship from one generation to the next. I was thrilled when John Piper of Desiring God Ministries agreed to come. He’ll be speaking Wednesday night and Thursday morning. I was also able to confirm my good friend, Jeff Purswell, as a main speaker. Jeff has served us well in the past by providing messages that are biblically rich, theologically insightful, and spiritually …
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When Things Don’t Go As Planned
What do you do when in the middle of leading worship you have a train wreck? We had the opportunity to find out at the WorshipGod conference last August. Joseph Stigora, from Covenant Fellowship in Philadelphia, was doing a great job leading with his team. But as he started into a musical rendition of Psalm 96, things took a turn for the worse. The band was suddenly playing in two keys. At the same time. You can watch it for yourself here. While God commends the development of skill (Prov. 22:29), and laziness is no excuse for lack of preparation, there are times that even deliberate practice doesn’t keep us from messing up. But …
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What a Team Likes in a Stage Manager
I’ve mentioned the blog of our tech director, Dave Wilcox, before. It’s called “Undistract,” which I think is a great name for a blog devoted to the media and technical aspects of a church. Recently Dave shared some thoughts on how a stage manager can best serve a band during rehearsal. The relationship between bands and sound team members can be tense at times, due to misunderstandings, poor communication, and sinful hearts. That’s why I so appreciate Dave highlighting how one new stage manager, Kami, recently did a great job serving the musicians. If you’re in small church, don’t be thrown off by the term “stage manager.” Dave defines …
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Is Talent Overrated?
I just finished reading Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, by Geoff Colvin. Fascinating book. Giftedness is a topic that I’ve thought about a lot. Are we selling ourselves short by assuming that we’ll never be as good a keyboardist, vocalist, guitarist, drummer, or whatever, as the people we esteem? Colvin begins the book by examining the lives of several famous “greats,” including Tiger Woods, Mozart, Jack Welch, and Jerry Rice. He says that most people think their greatness arose either from a) hard work; or b) talent. Colvin says neither, and uses scientific and anecdotal evidence to support …
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Sibelius Upgrade Discount
In a previous post I extolled the virtues of the Sibelius notation software. Some of you wrote that you were thinking about upgrading. Just wanted you to know that through Dec. 12, you can upgrade to Sibelius 5 for $85 if you own a regular copy, or $65 if you own a student or educational copy. Check it out here. …
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New Format, Same Blog
I’m trying out a new format for Worship Matters that I’ll be working on for the next few days. Of course, if you get Worship Matters by email or RSS, you won’t even notice. If you have any thoughts in the mean time for things I could add or change, please let me know. Thanks.
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Ten Reasons to Share Musical Opinions Humbly
I’ve been musing recently about how we express our musical opinions. Why do we feel so strongly about songs, bands, and styles? And why do we draw conclusions so quickly? Nope. Don’t like it. That stinks. I can’t stand that kind of music. You like that stuff? Is there anything wrong with raving about the music/artists we love and being swift to trash those we despise? If we’re Christians, yes. Let me suggest ten reasons why musical forbearance might be good for our souls. 1. Being a self-appointed music critic is often just a sign of pride. Using outrageous or exaggerated words to put down certain songs, styles, or artists can be a symptom …
