At some point I want to give away some copies of my book, but I just learned that the folks at blog.worship.com are doing just that this week. In addition, they’ll be posting the four videos I did for the book that outline the four sections: The Leader The Task Healthy Tensions Right Relationships Stop by and check it out. …
Come Weary Saints Now Available
After months of planning and recording, Come Weary Saints, the latest project from Sovereign Grace has been released. At the Sovereign Grace Music site we say that “Come Weary Saints is an invitation to redirect your focus to the God whose love has been forever demonstrated at the cross of Calvary.” The CD contains twelve songs, mostly written with a congregation in mind, that reference our trials and suffering in a genuine but redemptive way. In his book, The Wages of Spin, Carl Trueman wrote an article called “What Can Miserable Christians Sing?” He warns: “A diet of unremittingly jolly choruses and hymns inevitably creates an unrealistic …
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A Blog for Using Media in the Church
I recently revisited the blog of Dave Wilcox, the technical director of my home church. He’s made some changes to the layout which make it even easier to read and benefit from. For the past five years, Dave has consistently pursued using media in or meetings with excellence, humility, innovation, and effectiveness, all in a way that seeks to promote the gospel rather than distract from it. Hence the title of his blog, Undistract. He’ll often share review thoughts from a Sunday morning that are both comprehensive and thoughtful, and touch on everything from sound, to video, to lighting. He explains his motivation here: One of the ways that …
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Reflections on Leading Worship at Together for the Gospel
If you just read the comments on my last Together for the Gospel post, you might be tempted to think that things went flawlessly. Not the case. Practically every time I lead I learn something new about what I’m doing, even though I’ve been leading worship for over 30 years now. I pray that I’m always learning something. Here are some of the things I learned, put into practice, or remembered this year. You can experience and express strong emotions for God while singing hymns. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone say that hymns are dry, academic, lyrically dense, and inappropriate for “passionate worship.” That may be true in some …
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Worship Matters Interview
Yesterday I did an hour long interview with Paul Edwards of station WLQV in Detroit, Michigan. We actually met each other last week at the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, Kentucky. I was able to explain a little more fully some of the topics I cover in my book, Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God. Paul is a pastor in a local church and understands first-hand how congregational worship can become a source of division and heated debate. I appreciated the depth of his questions and his obvious concern for doing more than entertaining his listeners. You can check out the interview by clicking here. …
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Na Band CD Looked Upon – Free Song
God tells us in Proverbs that “A wise son makes a glad father” (Prov. 15:20). For that reason, I’m a very happy man, because God has given me not only one, but two, wise sons – Jordan and Devon. Over the years I’ve sought to impress upon my sons that glorifying Jesus Christ for his great mercy is the reason they were created. They’re both seeking to do that as husbands, and now it’s a joy to see another expression of their response in a new CD, Looked Upon. Looked Upon (or Lu for short) is the first project of the Na Band, with Devon leading and Jordan playing drums. They’re joined by other members of my home church. The band’s purpose is to …
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Song List for Together for the Gospel Conference
This past week I had the privilege of leading worship in song for the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, Kentucky. What a joy it was to lead over 5000 attendees, mostly pastors, in worshiping our great Redeemer for his matchless work of redemption. They came from a variety of denominations and churches, mostly from the United States, but from as far away as Australia and India. (I have a story about the pastor from India at the end of this post) A number of people asked me for the song list and lyrics to the songs we sang. Most of the hymns we sang were public domain, but a few were Sovereign Grace Music and songs by Stuart …
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Shout to the Lord on American Idol
As a pastor and professional musician, I find American Idol interesting on a number of levels. It’s fascinating to see how a simple idea can capture the attention of millions, how people respond to evaluation, how people can be so misled about what they actually sound like, how ordinary people handle massive fame, the difference between gifting and hard work, and more. I also appreciate how some of the contestants have used the platform to bear witness to their faith in Christ. Melinda Doolittle, from last season, stood out for her humility, modesty, and joy. Yesterday, I had started a post on my response to Wednesday night’s program. It was …
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A Tale of Two Conferences
During the past few weeks I’ve been preparing song lists for two conferences. The first is Together for the Gospel (Apr. 15-17) which takes place next week in Louisville, Kentucky. I worked with Mark Dever to plan the songs we’ll be singing there. About 5200 pastors will be sitting under the teaching of John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, Al Mohler, Mark Dever, Thabiti Anyabwile, R.C. Sproul, Ligon Duncan, and John MacArthur. It will be a diverse crowd, composed of Presbyterians, Baptists, continuationists, cessationists, paedo-Baptists, credo-Baptists, old, young, traditional, contemporary…you get the picture. We’re be gathering around the most glorious …
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For Future Generations
One of the reasons I wrote Worship Matters was not simply so that people would read it, which I hope they do, but so that it might serve as a training tool for future leaders. That’s why I dedicated the book this way: Ps. 71:18 has been a favorite verse of mine for years. It says, “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.” God has kindly answered my prayer. (BTW, this picture comes courtesy of my oldest daughter, Megan, who posted it on her blog.) …
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Worship Matters — the Book — is Released
Crossway is now shipping copies of my book Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God. The first review I’ve seen is over at blog.worship.com. They got the title wrong, but hey, it’s a very kind review. Here’s a portion of what they wrote: Biblically based and contemporaneous in setting, Worship Matters is a book we believe worship leaders will find both encouraging and challenging. Consider giving a copy to your worship team, pastor, and worship leader. This one is a definite must read. You’ll have to determine that for yourself. In the mean time, I’d appreciate your prayers that God would use this book to …
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RSS Update (especially if you get Worship Matters by e-mail)
We interrupt our irregularly scheduled blogging to bring you an announcement. RSS Update isn’t the most intriguing title, but this is an important post if you get Worship Matters by e-mail. Until recently you could receive Worship Matters in your Inbox through a service called Feedblitz. Someone informed me of an inappropriate ad that accompanied one of my posts, so I upgraded to a paid subscription. At the same time I changed my e-mail RSS feed to Feedburner, which has no ads and also looks better. So in a couple months I’m going to stop the Feedblitz feed. What does this mean for you? If you receive Worship Matters through the Feedblitz …
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WorshipGod08 Registration Rates About to Go Up
If you’re thinking about attending the WorshipGod08 Conference: Rediscovering the Psalms, you might want to make a decision soon. On April 1, the rates for students, individuals, and groups all go up $25. If you have any questions, most of them are probably answered at the WorshipGod08 Website. But feel free to ask questions here as well.
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There Still is Room – Brian Oaks CD, Only $5
I have a friend, Brian Oaks, whom I’ve only met by e-mail. He’s a guitarist now living in Nashville who made an indie CD a while back called There Still is Room. It’s a collection of redone hymns that I’ve really enjoyed. Great lyrics, nice guitar work and vocals. Brian was asking me what to do with the CDs sitting around in his house and I suggested that he offer them at a discount and I’d let people know about it. So he’s offering his CD for 5 bucks, including domestic shipping. These are the songs: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing My Faith Has Found a Resting Place The Savior Calls At the Name of Jesus Nothing but the Blood Great …
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Come Weary Saints CD Almost Ready
Next month we’ll be releasing our next CD, Come Weary Saints. The project is an invitation to each of us, whatever season we find ourselves in, to redirect our focus to the God whose love has been forever demonstrated at the cross of Calvary. Whether you’re going through trials or know someone who is, these songs are a reminder of the Father’s sovereign, loving care. Contributing song writers include myself along with Mark Altrogge, Steve and Vikki Cook, Pete Gagnon, Todd Twining, Joel Sczebel, and Stephen Altrogge. Ryan Baird, from Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena, CA sang half the tracks. He was joined by Kyle Davis, who has sung on other …