I recently received these questions from Lisa, a music coordinator whose church has had an influx of new guests. People are starting to comment more frequently that they don’t know the songs being sung. That situation has raised these questions: 1. How important do you think familiarity is in facilitating worship? 2. Do you limit your pick list somehow, even “retiring” good songs? If so, how? 3. How can we help our congregation familiarize themselves with the songs we sing, outside of church? I’ve often heard it said that singing familiar songs contributes to people engaging in true worship of God. While a well known song can often …
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Twelve Reasons to Come to WorshipGod11
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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I’m Giving (I Gave) Away 100 Albums
UPDATE: We’ve now reached our goal of 100 requests for a free copy of Alli en la Cruz. Thanks for helping us get the word out to our Spanish brothers and sisters! I’m excited to announce the newest release from Sovereign Grace Music: Allí en la Cruz. Translated, that means There at the Cross. I’m so excited that I want to give 100 of them away (details below). In 2002 we produced our first Spanish CD, Sea la Gloria solo a Ti, twelve Sovereign Grace songs translated from the English versions. We were happy we could produce something to serve our Spanish churches, but as you might guess, the songs sounded like what they were – translations. …
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Why Define Worship?
Why spend time defining worship? Is it really that big a deal? Isn’t it more important that we simply do it? It’s hard for us to know whether or not we’re doing something if we’re not sure what that “something” is. If I define “eating” as simply looking at food, you wouldn’t enjoy coming over to my house to “eat.” If “breathing” is something I only do when I get with a group of people on Sunday mornings, then how do I describe what I do the rest of the time? I heard theologian David Peterson say that defining words is important because not only do we use words, but words use us. That’s true, even if we’re unaware …
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What About Vocal Solos on Sunday Mornings?
I appreciate those of you who have taken the time to send me a specific question related to what you’re going through. Scott wrote in to ask: Is there a place for soloist/duets during the worship time?… If someone is gifted vocally, should I allow them to minister to the body (presuming that there are guidelines from the church leadership as to biblical content and appearance)? Does it cross the line leading to human-exaltation if there are those repeatedly clamoring for a certain person(s)? Eph. 5:19 says we’re to be “addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” It’s normal to understand that as congregational singing. After …
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Christmas in September
I know it’s a little early to be thinking about Christmas, but this afternoon I spent some time in Matt Wahl’s office. He’s heads up graphic design for Sovereign Grace Ministries. We were looking at some of his ideas for the cover of our next music project, called “Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man.” It’s intended to be a kind of all-year-round Christmas CD, filled with primarily congregational songs that focus on the miracle of the incarnation. If you’re like me, at the end of every year I look forward to pulling out the songs I’ve known since childhood that reflect on the glories of Savior’s birth and all it …
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Movie Soundtrack Recommendations
A friend just e-mailed me to ask me about a comment he heard me make at the last New Attitude Conference. I mentioned that I frequently listen to soundtracks when I’m studying, reading, or writing, and he was wondering which ones I have. I enjoy soundtracks because they don’t have words and if I haven’t seen the movie (which is often) I can make my own associations. They also enable me to thank God for the gift of common grace which enables unbelievers to write music that expresses in some small degree the beauty and creativity of God. As I’m in the process of writing my book, I’m listening to music a lot these days. Since Christmas …
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Can I Learn to Love Evaluation?
Aaron left this question on a recent post: I’ve found it difficult at times to be in a mindset that is ready to accept encouragement and critique after a “big event.” I realize that a large part of this is my own pride and desire for everyone to like what happened and move on. However, I am often so drained and spent after an endeavor like a conference or a Christmas musical that I don’t even want to think about it anymore. Is this a symptom of focusing on the event more than Christ? Is there a way to get through the “big events” in church life without losing your focus on Christ and still be excited about your job after the event is over? I …
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How do I Run Auditions
Josh wrote in to ask: As far as an audition goes I was wondering if you had any specific suggestions on the best way to hold an audition. Should it be with the band? A one on one audition? A song that they would like to sing or something you would like them to sing (or play if it’s an instrumentalist)? Just some questions I had about the practical way to do this. The most important thing to remember about auditions is this: Adding a member to the team is always easier than taking them off. God hasn’t required us to use a specific instrument or vocal part in praising him, so we shouldn’t feel any pressure to add a drummer/guitarist/pianist/alto …
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Songs from New Attitude
Life has been wonderfully full lately. Got back late (read VERY late) Tuesday night from the New Attitude conference, where about 3200 singles and young married couples gathered to sing God’s praise, hear the Word of God preached, experience meaningful fellowship, and exhaust themselves doing it all. You can read more about it at the New Attitude site. It was a real privilege to participate in the conference. My son, Devon, led the corporate worship with the Na Band. We sang a number of songs from their new CD, Looked Upon. One that seemed to have a significant impact was All I Have is Christ, written by my other son, Jordan, who plays drums …
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Subtitle Update
Thank you to everyone who submitted a suggestion and/or ideas for a subtitle for my book. What we finally chose was actually a combination of a number of suggestions. Matt Lowe proposed, “Leading Others to Exult in God’s Glory.” I changed “God’s glory” to “the Greatness of God,” and my friend Ken Boer suggested the word, “encounter” instead of “exult.” That led to the subtitle we’re going with, which is, “Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God.” Both Matt and Ken will be receiving a $50 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. While I could have gone with no subtitle, and I certainly don’t think a subtitle makes or …
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Songs for Christmas, #2
Keith Getty is an Irish composer who is passionate about teaching the Christian faith through theologically rich hymns. We had the joy of hosting him, his wife, Kristyn, and Stuart Townend for an event this past September. I was inspired and challenged by Keith’s vision to use music to teach theology in the church. New Irish Hymns #3 (he’s produced 4 thus far) is dedicated to songs about the Incarnation. The musical style ranges from orchestral to light pop, with a touch of Celtic influence. Keith did all the orchestrations, and vocals are handled by Kristyn Getty, Margaret Becker, and Joanne Hogg. This project steers clear of nostalgia and …
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Announcing the Sovereign Grace Songwriting Contest Winner
What? You say you didn’t even know we had a songwriting contest? No surprise. It was pretty low key. At the start of 2009, I sent out an email to the Sovereign Grace worship leaders announcing a contest for 14-22 year old songwriters. The rules were pretty simple. Submit up to two original congregational songs by mid-February. The winner would receive an ESV Study Bible and a $50 iTunes certificate. Among the promising entries were At the Cross by J’Nelle Smith and You Will Sustain by Philip VanderWeide. But the winner was 22 year old Peter (PJ) Kemerer of Corning, NY who sent in Gift of Grace. It’s an uptempo 6/8 song that focuses on …
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The Excellency of Christ: Quotes from John Flavel
Got back yesterday from the Straight Up conference at Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago, IL. I was there with CJ Mahaney, who spoke on “A Divine Perspective” from 1 Cor. 1:1-9. I’ve probably heard that message 5-6 times and never tire of being challenged to notice more of what God is doing in those around me, as Paul did with the Corinthian church. I had the privilege of leading worship and teaching a seminar on The Task of the Worship Leader. It was great meeting some folks who read this blog, and I had the opportunity to reconnect with my friends Andi Rozier, Matt Stowell, and Matthew Westerholm, who came to WorshipGod06 and WorshipGod08. Very …
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How Do I Get New Song MP3s to My Band Members Legally?
Tim wrote me to ask a question every one who works with music in the church has probably asked at least once, if not a hundred times. I was wondering how you handled the distribution of burned CDs in your music ministry. Is there anyway to do this legally? I would love to download and distribute songs on mixed CDs for two main reasons: 1) To help my musicians be familiar with new songs before rehearsal 2) To encourage Christians I am counseling to listen to songs that admonish/encourage/help them worship God in the specific area of their spiritual life that they are struggling in. I sent Tim’s question out to some of the guys who help …
