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New CD from Mark and Stephen Altrogge

By on August 2, 2007 in —Sovereign Grace Music

"In a Little While," the newest release from Sovereign Grace Ministries is now available for download or purchase. It features the songs and vocal talents of my good friends, Mark and Stephen Altrogge (pronounced al-TROAG-ee). Most of the songs are intended for congregational worship. Mark, Stephen’s dad, is best known for his songs, "I Stand in Awe," and "Forever Grateful," but he’s written around 200 worship songs over the past two decades. I’ve had the privilege of working with him up close, and have grown to respect and appreciate him deeply. Here are a few reasons why: Mark is humble. Even though he writes …

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Glorify Conference

By on August 1, 2007 in —Other Events

Last year, my good friend, Todd Twining, who is the worship pastor at Metro Life Church in Orlando, asked me if I’d be interested in having my entire family (me, Julie, our six kids, three in-laws, and four grandchildren) come down to participate in a worship conference at his church. He didn’t have to twist my arm. So next week, Aug. 9-11, my family and I will be at the Glorify conference in Orlando, Florida. Todd helps me serve the worship leaders and teams from the Sovereign Grace churches in Florida. While this event is regional in that sense, anyone is welcome to attend. The first night, I’ll be  giving a message on Worshiping the …

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Songwriting Tips from Fernando Ortega

By on July 24, 2007 in —Songwriting

I’m in Austin, Texas at the moment, with three of my good friends, Ken Boer, Joe Stigora, and Pat Sczebel. Each of these guys serves as a music and worship pastor in a Sovereign Grace church (Gaithersburg, MD; Philadelphia, PA; Vancouver, B.C.)  They help me equip, encourage, and serve the worship leaders of Sovereign Grace in their different regions. We’re here attending the National Worship Leader Conference, put on by Worship Leader magazine, and also planning our own WorshipGod08 conference (July 30-Aug. 2). This morning I had the opportunity to hear Fernando Ortega lead worship with a string quartet and then teach a workshop on songwriting. …

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One Step Closer to a Subtitle

By on July 24, 2007 in —Worship Matters book

Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas for a subtitle for my book. So kind of you. There were a number that made an impact on me (A Plea to An Emerging Generation of Leaders), some I laughed out loud at (Worship Matters: Yo Quiero Taco Bell), and others that made me think. After reading them all, these are the options I’m considering at the moment: 1. Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God 2. Worship Matters: Biblical Foundations for Leaders 3. Worship Matters: A Practical Theology for Leaders 4. No subtitle I’d like to get a quick vote from you all as to which one you think an atheological twenty-something …

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Book Update and Looking for a Subtitle

By on July 20, 2007 in —Worship Matters book

This past Tuesday morning I sent a semi-finished version of the book I’m writing to my editor. It’s funny how you can work on something for over a year and a half and still end up making a major push at the end. Part of the explanation is that last week my good friend C.J. Mahaney spent two days with me going over every word. His comments, thoughts, and insights were invaluable, but resulted in some more work. At this point, Crossway has the manuscript and will be getting an edited copy back to me in a month or two. In the mean time I’ll have a few friends review the manuscript again. It’s great to be able to write a book in committee. There’s …

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Should We Worship Jesus as the Beautiful One?

By on July 20, 2007 in —Choosing Songs

Joshua is interested in teaching his church the song, “Beautiful One,” by Tim Hughes. He wrote: As I began to think about it, I couldn’t come up with a scripture verse that refers to Jesus as ‘beautiful.’ I did a word search in the NIV and the NASB for beautiful, but it seems to always refer to other things than God. Can beautiful be a substitute word for splendor or glorious or majestic? Is it better to use only Biblical words to describe Jesus? In another part of his e-mail Joshua pointed out that other songs contain the word “beautiful,” like “O Lord You’re Beautiful” by Keith Green, “I Stand in Awe” by Mark Altrogge (You are beautiful beyond …

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Entering the Presence of God

By on July 6, 2007 in —Defining Terms, —Spiritual Gifts, —Worship and the Spirit

My friend, West, left a question on another post. He was asking about comments I’ve made to the effect that it isn’t a worship leader’s responsibility to lead people into God’s presence. Only Jesus can do that. West wrote: Heb. 9 through Heb. 10:1-22 call us to enter the Most Holy Place confidently. John Frame says “The Most Holy Place was opened to us at the death of Christ, when the veil of the temple was torn in two” (In Spirit and Truth, 27). If God is enthroned on and abides in the praises of his people, and if he is wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in his name, then it seems that there is an actual, spiritual experience of “entering into” the …

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Let Your Kingdom Come MP3

By on July 2, 2007 in —Song Downloads

Last year when we were working on the Valley of Vision project I wanted to include a song based on a prayer that communicated the Puritans’ passion to advance the Gospel. I found it in “God’s Cause,” which begins: Sovereign God, Thy cause, not my own, engages my heart, and I appeal to thee with greatest freedom to set up thy kingdom in every place where Satan reigns; Glorify thyself and I shall rejoice, for to bring honor to thy name is my sole desire. I adore thee that thou art God, and long that other should know it, feel it, and rejoice in it. I appreciate the way the author connects our love for God with a desire …

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Portland Seminars4Worship

By on June 28, 2007 in —Other Events

On July 12 & 13  I’ll have the privilege of speaking at the Portland Seminars4Worship conference, called Journey to the Heart of Worship, put on by Integrity Music. I’ll be speaking at a main session Friday morning and teaching a couple seminars that afternoon. If you happen to live in the Portland area, and have a chance to stop by, it would be great to meet you.

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WorshipGod Conference 2008

By on June 28, 2007 in —WorshipGod Conferences

Some people have already asked me if Sovereign Grace was planning a worship conference for next year. Indeed we are. The dates are going to be July 30 – August 2. The location will again be my home church, Covenant Life, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. We haven’t finalized the details yet, but we’re working on them. Lord willing, we’ll have produced two more CD’s before the conference, so we’ll have a number of new songs to teach. For more information you can check out the Sovereign Grace website.

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What a Savior Free MP3 and Chart

By on June 27, 2007 in —Song Downloads

I’ve received a number of e-mails asking for the new version of the hymn “Hallelujah, What a Savior,” that we taught at the New Attitude conference, music and chorus written by my son, Devon. I promised a while back that I’d post them, so here you go. The original version was by Phillip Bliss, an American hymn writer who died at the age of 37 in a train accident. Devon’s version is called “What a Savior.” It keeps the reflective sense of the verses, but adds a celebrative chorus that expands on Christ’s work and expresses our desire to offer our lives to proclaim how great our Savior is. We’ve sung it on Sunday mornings at Covenant Life, and …

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What About “Me” Songs?

By on June 22, 2007 in —Choosing Songs

Matt wrote in to ask: What do you think about singing songs that have a lot of me/we/I content. Is it wrong to sing a lot of songs that talk about us? A couple come to mind right now: “We stand and lift up our hands…” “I love you Lord…” etc…I think there’s value in having some songs with personal language as we sing/speak to God, but is there a balance that we should seek in using songs that speak of we, me, or us? Great question. Lyrics in worship songs can be generally categorized as objective, subjective, or reflective. Objective lyrics tell us something true about God that helps us know him better. Most, but not all, hymns …

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New Songs, New CD’s, and a New Website

By on June 13, 2007 in —Sovereign Grace Music

I’m currently in the middle of moving my office from Covenant Life Church to Sovereign Grace Ministries. The two buildings are actually connected, so it’s not that big a deal. As my responsibilities at Covenant Life have been assumed by Ken Boer, it’s released me to give more time to writing, training, and overseeing music for Sovereign Grace. We’ve also needed more office space at Covenant Life, so it was the right time to make the move. Right now all my books and CD’s are boxed up in an empty office as shelves are being installed. I should be in my new office next week. There are plenty of things I’d like to be blogging about right now, but …

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On Vacation

By on June 6, 2007 in —Family

I’m at the beach with my family right now and won’t be posting again until next week. When I get back I’ll receive the the first draft of my book back with edits. It’s been great to get away from it for a while. I’m looking forward to diving back in. In the mean time, I just received word that Yamaha is offering free on-line training for audio training, computer recording, and choosing a keyboard. The schedule is as follows: Audio 101: Learn audio basics, including an introduction to mixers, amplifiers, speakers, microphones and signal flow. Sessions will cover basic mixing concepts like EQ and effects processing, along with the technical …

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I Hasten Towards an Hour

By on May 31, 2007 in —Books

The theme of this year’s New Attitude conference was discernment. One of the primary ways we develop a right perspective on things is by seeing them in light of eternity. What really matters will be so easy to discern the moment we stand face to face with our Creator. At the last session of the conference, I read a quote from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions edited by Arthur Bennett. I have used this book in my personal devotions for years and it’s helped me grow in my awareness of my sin and my gratefulness for the Gospel. This particular section from the prayer "Openness" helps me better understand …

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