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Who Would Have Dreamed – Christmas Album Preview

By on July 14, 2014 in —Christmas, —Sovereign Grace Music

We released our first Christmas album, Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man, in 2006. A few years ago I started thinking we should do another one. After all, we can never have too many songs that help us reflect on and celebrate the wonder of Jesus becoming Emmanuel, God with us. So I was intrigued last fall when my good friend, Marty Machowski, asked if Sovereign Grace Music would be interested in producing a Christmas album to accompany an Advent curriculum he had written. After a few conversations with Marty and his publisher, New Growth Press, we decided it would be a great opportunity. The result was our next album, …

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It’s Your Grace – The Acoustic Sessions

By on October 21, 2013 in —Arranging, —Sovereign Grace Music, —Worship and Evangelism, Videos

A few weeks ago we posted the first song from “The Acoustic Sessions,” Our Only Hope is You. These are going to be stripped down versions of songs we’ve recorded on Sovereign Grace albums. We’re starting with songs from Grace Has Come, our latest release, but plan on going back to other albums and recording arrangements that are easier for a smaller church, or any church for that matter, to adapt. In this video, Devon, McKenzie, and Jonatan offer a simpler version of the song, It’s Your Grace. I wrote this song with Doug Plank, a good friend and a pastor at Crossway Church of Lancaster, PA. Right before he left for a two week trip …

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What I’ve Been Working On (not this blog, obviously)

By on December 21, 2007 in —WorshipGod Conferences

When I first started Worship Matters two years ago, I was posting five days a week. I’ve loosened up some on the schedule since then… I’ve been working on a chapter for a book on worldliness edited by my good friend, C.J. Mahaney. Crossway will be publishing it some time next year. It originated from a series of messages we gave at our a few years back on 1 John 2:15-17. My chapter develops the thought that listening to music without discernment or godly intent reveals a heart willing to flirt with the world. Other chapters address possessions, media, modesty. The final chapter suggests ways God has called us to love the world around us. Most …

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Quality or Quantity on the Worship Team?

By on February 17, 2007 in —Training a Team

I recently received this question from John: We currently have four worship teams, giving 15-20 people a month a chance to lead in music, either by singing or playing an instrument. I’d guess that a quarter of these people are very skilled musically, and have been split among the four teams. We’ve discussed cutting the number of teams down to one or two that would be much more musically adept; the downside of this is that many “moderate” musicians would no longer have a chance to share their musical gifts as a part of worship. We want to be sensitive to everyone, yet provide the highest quality music possible for all of the obvious reasons. What …

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How Familiar Should Songs Be?

By on April 28, 2006 in —Choosing Songs, —Worship and Music

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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“O Holy Night” Revisited

By on November 3, 2014 in —Christmas, —Songwriting, —Sovereign Grace Music

A few years ago, my friend, Kevin Hartnett, wrote two new verses for the classic and well-loved carol, “O Holy Night.” We ended up recording his version on our new album, Prepare Him Room. We called it O Holy Night (Hear the Gospel Story). Any time you mess with a “classic and well-loved” carol, you’re bound to get some questions. Why change something that has been popular for so many years? Why fix what ain’t broke? The original lyrics for “O Holy Night” were written in 1847 by Placide Capeau, a Frenchman, at the request of his parish priest. The author was so encouraged by what he had written that he asked his Jewish friend and composer, …

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Why Define Worship?

By on November 10, 2005 in —Defining Terms

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?

By on September 14, 2007 in —Worship and Music

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

By on September 20, 2006 in —Christmas

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

By on December 12, 2006 in —Christmas

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?

By on December 22, 2006 in —Evaluation, —Worship and the Pastor

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

By on October 20, 2006 in —Training a Team

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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Subtitle Update

By on August 15, 2007 in —Worship Matters book

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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12 Reasons to Come to WorshipGod This Year

By on April 8, 2013 in —Sovereign Grace Music, —WorshipGod Conferences

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 WorshipGod2013: Called to be Faithful is on the calendar twice in 2013, my answer to the question is obviously yes. WorshipGod West is less than three months away and will be June 27-29 in Orange County, CA. WorshipGod East is a little under 5 months away and will be here in Louisville, July 31-Aug. 3. I did a post in January describing why I chose this conference theme. Basically, I hope to accomplish two goals. First, I want to encourage, equip, and inspire the leaders and churches …

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Songs for Christmas, #2

By on December 8, 2005 in —Christmas

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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