This is the first of a multi-post series that will give you good sources for finding quality, God-centered, congregational songs that have been proven over time at Grace. The first site I’d like to send you to is one I’ve mentioned briefly in a post before, but I wanted to dedicate this post to it so that no one will miss it. It’s the simple site of Wendy Wills. Wendy and I have co-written on a few songs – usually ones that I start and then send over email for her take on them. She’ll send thoughts, edits, suggestions my way, and then I go for draft #2. We’re currently throwing one back and forth right now through cyberspace that I am looking forward to introducing here sometime in the not-too-distant future. She is a well-rounded, experienced writer who loves to craft songs (as opposed to just accepting that the first melody or lyric that comes out is the best she can do). She works hard, and it shows in her writing.
So, go to this page and listen to these songs that we have done at Grace:
1) Glorious Impossible (Great any-time-of-year song, though it has a Christmas-y first verse)
2) The Bread Has Been Broken (Great for communion, but lyrically not exclusive to communion)
3) Remember and Proclaim (Written with Mathew Linton, another friend of mine – an exclusively communion song)
4) Beautiful Wounds (Proclaiming the gospel to yourself through song)
5) Beautiful Body of Christ (One that I haven’t introduced at Grace yet, but I hope to soon)
July 26, 2011
My good friend and an excellent worship leader at Trinity Church here in Nashville, Dave Hunt, has just released an album full of hymns, new and old called “Ebenezer” after the line in the classic hymn “Come Thou Fount,” which is the first track on the record. It is simple and beautiful in its production. The songs you might not know are done in a way that you can learn them easily, and the ones that you probably do know are arranged creatively to give you a fresh way to lead them congregationally. This is something I always appreciate about the way Dave goes about his albums – he is intentional about making them accessible to the every day worship leader. They’re not too complicated and always produced with the congregation in mind.
He included “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken” on this one and put a little percussion groove on it that makes me happy. You can hear a sample below and download the album or whichever track you’d like here.
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July 19, 2011
I’m currently reading “Fistful of Heroes: Christians at the Forefront of Change.” It’s a great book of biographical summaries, which I love, because it tells me story after story of men and women that I want to become more like. Each is passionately committed to Christ, and each is very different in the way that passion plays out through their particular gifts and experiences.
I read today about the partnership of D.L. Moody and Ira Sankey. I had, of course, heard of Moody, but I only had a faint familiarity with Sankey’s name. He was the worship leader for Moody’s revivals in the late 1800s in the UK, and the two men were used by God to transform the island to the point that those who returned from trips abroad said that hearing a “Moody/Sankey” hymn made them feel they were indeed back in Britain.
Here’s the quote: “Sankey was aware that the singing of another [leader] had been ‘a revelation to me of the marvellous power there was in a simple gospel hymn when the singer put his whole heart and soul into it. I shall never forget how the great gathering was thrilled by the wonderful pathos of the singer’s voice. It was an entirely different style of singing from that which I had so often heard in many churches where I attended. Every word could be distinctly heard in the remotest part of the building.’ There had arisen ‘a great desire in my own heart that I might some day be able to use my voice in like manner.’”
July 1, 2011
This quote is from a yahoo group that I’m part of. Tim Sharpe, Director of Worship and Family Ministries at Christ Our Hope Church in Wake Forest, NC, was responding to a question posed by someone in the group about whether they should use a song in a congregational setting that had somewhat ambiguous lyrics. His response included this:
“I think I remember Kevin (Twit – of Indelible Grace) once saying that a great hymn text is both fresh enough to stir the imagination and clear enough to be understood the first time it is sung. I think that’s a great rule of thumb in evaluating congregational worship songs. Non-congregational songs can have more artistic license, as the hearer is not participating in the music and thus is more able to think about and process the lyrics. And, of course, all this should be evaluated according to the congregation that you serve (education level / artistic exposure / generation / etc.).”
July 1, 2011
Over the past year or so, I’ve developed a system for how I listen to new songs and choose which songs to introduce to the congregation at Grace. Here it is:
1) Gather songs. I do this with my subscription to Song DISCovery, through word of mouth from other worship leaders, by searching online, by hearing songs at other places of worship or conferences, and by purchasing albums from trusted writers/artists. I put all these songs in iTunes and label the genre “prospect” for each song.
2) Make a playlist. I hook my iPod up and put all the “prospect” genre songs in a playlist called, for simplicity’s sake, “prospects.”
3) Listen. Much of my drive time is spent listening through prospective songs. I listen to the playlist over and over. I decided to add this step to my process after Paul Clark said that’s what he does in order to make sure he isn’t choosing a song based only on liking the melody or a hook-line. “Candy” songs will wear out quickly. Quality songs will not.
4) Evaluate. Pretty soon, it’s obvious to me which songs I look forward to and those I’d rather just skip past. It also becomes obvious to me which songs will serve the congregation by focusing on a specific theme that may be lacking in our worship repertoire and that match the culture of our church.
5) On deck. I then take those songs and keep them in an informal “songs to introduce” list. Then, when the timing is right to introduce a new song AND when the new song fits the flow of a specific service with its theme and placement, I put it in the order.
6) Repeat. Finally, I put the song in the following week’s order if at all possible. I do this so that everyone can learn it well enough for me to wait a few weeks, sing it again, and not have it feel like a brand new song to the majority of folks.
The latest song that I put through this process and had it come out as a “must introduce” was “We Lift You Up” by Brenton Brown. Every time it came on my iPod, it made me smile. Many times, I would skip directly to it and start listening to the playlist from there. Then, when the theme of the sermon was Jesus’ power over evil from Luke 11, it was the perfect time to put it in the order right after the classic spiritual warfare hymn “A Mighty Fortress.”
June 29, 2011
On June 11 (in Nashville) and June 13 (in Newnan, GA), I had the extreme honor of leading a worship service for my friend Emmett’s memorial service. It was definitely the hardest worship leading experience of my life, (the second most difficult was the memorial service I led for his daughter Mallory Eden who died in 2006 – she only lived for about a day). It was also one of the most moving times of worship – for both services – I’ve ever led.
I knew coming in this was going to be difficult. Emmett had been on my worship team for about 6 years. We had shared our love for music and led many, many worship services together, including several for an overseas retreat for missionaries in Central & Eastern Europe. He was diagnosed with esophogeal cancer on February 17, 2010. It was stage IV. After a long, hard-fought battle, he died in the early hours of June 9, 2011. He leaves behind his wife Wendy and 4-year-old son Quinn. You can read their story here.
When I walked into the chapel that morning to rehearse, Barbara Haynes, another worship team member and one of my best sounding boards for all things worship, gave me a big hug and said, “Time to put on the steel.” Yep, it was time to lead worship with songs that were mostly chosen by my friend before he passed. It was time to let all the emotions come out during rehearsal and then press ahead – finding the impossible balance of not choking up so I can’t lead, and yet not disconnecting so that I’m present like I need to be to lead well for this very important occasion. We prayed that God would give us the grace to live in that balance for the next hour, and He gave it to us.
Here is the service order with an explanation of why the songs were where they were:
Prelude – played by Ben Shive in Nashville and Barbara Haynes in Newnan.
Video – Someone put together a video slide show (if anyone has a link and/or his name, please leave it in the comments) of pictures of Emmett and his family to begin the service. The images faded in and out to “Heaven Song” by Phil Whickham, which has not stopped playing in my head since.
The next two songs are prayers that I believe Emmett would have prayed. They are a tribute to his life of joy before the Lord.
Be Thou My Vision – I chose this to open the service because it was the same song that opened Mallory Eden’s service and because as far as I could tell, it would be something Emmett’s heart would have cried out to God during his life.
Fill Thou My Life – Emmett chose this one. It definitely resonates with my memories of him. He was a passionate and joy-filled person, which is what this song communicates.
In the next section of the service, we moved from celebrating Emmett’s life before God to celebrating Emmett’s salvation because of Christ.
Scripture Reading – 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 – Scott preached on this passage later in the service.
Behold – Emmett LOVED this song. I know it was because of it’s message, but I think he also really dug its vibe. On the recording I linked to above, Emmett played a really cool percussive thing along with Steve Adams or Scott Moore (can’t remember which of you guys it was!) on the first chorus. We made sure to play the same arrangement for this service.
Before the Throne of God – He also chose this one. I was overcome with emotion when we reached the final verse that says, “One with Himself, I cannot die.” The beautiful irony of death being the continuation and perfection of life with Christ in heaven and imagining Emmett standing before his Creator still brings the tears as I write this. I LOVE our Savior!
Then Scott gave an incredibly beautiful eulogy remembering our dear brother. It was exactly what needed to be said. In it, he preached the gospel clearly, which is all that Emmett and Wendy wanted.
Though this service was definitely a celebration, everyone needed a couple of songs to help them grieve with hope. The next two songs and the reading were planned for this purpose.
The Valley Song – This is the only song that Emmett said HAD to be in the service. We sang it for Mallory’s service as well. It’s a beautiful song that lets someone going through something like this feel the pain but keep the hope of God’s love in view. We sang it as a worship team.
Reading – “If Death My Friend and Me Divide” – I had planned to read from the Valley of Vision earlier in the service, but when Scott forwarded me this text that was sent to him by Katie Thompson in our church, I knew it was the right thing to put in this spot.
It Is Well – I had a really hard time deciding whether to put this hymn in the service. They didn’t specifically request it. I originally had “The Glorious Impossible” here, but it felt like the time of sorrow would be cut too short if we went too quickly into something that upbeat. So, after trying to decide which song we would do, I just decided to do both. I don’t think Emmett would be disappointed that we sang so much. And we grieved the most as a community during this hymn.
Doxology – This is the only song Wendy specifically requested. It was the appropriate verse to close the time of the service particularly set aside to grieve.
Prayer – Scott closed with some directions for a time of visiting after the service and then prayed for the family.
The Glorious Impossible – Emmett had this one on his list too. Though it felt a little “up” for a memorial service, I know Emmett would have said something like, “And the issue is….?” Truth is, this service was a mix of tears, sorrow, joy, hope, brokenness and community. This song took us to the joy and hope to send us out. Thanks for encouraging me to keep it in there, Barbara.
And thank you, Wendy, for giving me the chance to put my passion to work to honor my friend and my God.
June 21, 2011
The final event of the conference was a worship service which began with new worship songs being sung “in the round” by those who wrote them. Those attending the conference could submit a song ahead of time to Song DISCovery to be considered for inclusion in this service. I submitted “Greatest End,” and it was chosen. It was a blast to get to open the service with this song that we have sung at Grace for years and to get to introduce it to a new group of worship leaders and writers.
Also singing and playing (I hope I don’t forget anyone!) were Debi Selby, Bill Wolf, Wendy Wills, Richie Fike, Mia Fieldes w/Sons & Daughters, Ian Eskelin and Chris August.
Some of these folks are more well-known than others, so I want to draw your attention particularly to two of them that you may not have heard of, but you need to check out. Wendy Wills is at Grace and on my worship team, and we have collaborated on several songs in the past. She sang “The Bread Has Been Broken” which you can hear here. I must be a dork, because we’ve been singing this off and on at Grace for a while now, but it wasn’t until this evening that some of those lines jumped out at me – what a great song! We’ll be singing more of it, Grace folks.
Also, Bill Wolf is a worship leader in Knoxville, TN that I knew of before the conference because we sang his song “A Baby Will Come” during our Christmas Worship Service (that I was not able to attend due to the birth of my daughter). Bill and Emilie Cook sang a gorgeous new song of his called “Unknown Wounds” that still gives me goosebumps when I sing it in my head. His creativity reminds me of Michael Card, though he is a bit more raw with his lyrical choices. He handed me his collection of Good Friday/Easter songs after the time of worship, and I’ve really enjoyed listening to his musical take of the events of Holy Week. I don’t see where there’s anywhere you can listen to it unless you go ahead and purchase it, but it’s worth it in my book for that one song and several others that struck me.
My overall impression of the night was that I may have some songs that I think are great and that I pray serve the Church well, but there are so many hugely talented writers out there that inspire me and make me want to work harder to refine the gift of songwriting. May God be glorified by us all as we work toward that end!
June 8, 2011
As I said in my last post, the Song DISCovery in the Round Conference last Friday was a very enriching experience. Here are some quotes from the day.
From Chuck Fromm, who started Worship Leader Magazine and was President of Maranatha Music for 22 years:
“Each generation is charged with making the Word new for their generation – to fit the times.”
“Five Words of Worship:
Maranatha – “Jesus is here – He’s coming again”
Hallelujah – “Praise the Lord”
Hosanna – “Save now”
Abba – “Dear Father” – not Daddy – Communicates both intimacy and respect.
Amen – “Complete” – Jesus is the Amen of heaven. It is finished.”
Quoting St. Augustine: “The essence of a Christian song is praise.”
From Charlie Peacock, artist/producer/visionary/multi-hat wearer:
“The great object of living Is to form within us all that love values.”
“You can’t get at who you love and what you love until you come to this: Jesus is the embodiment of God coming to the rescue of all He loves. He is life itself. And I love Him. And I will love what He loves. All my commitments will be defined by what Jesus loves. Everything has been made through Christ and for Christ. What does He love? What does it mean to love what He loves?” Wow. Unpack that for a few days.
“Sing back to God the certainties of what He loves and who He loves.”
“Pray to be a citizen of heaven here on earth. How do you get at God’s will in the world? Study the Word. Study creation. Tease out all the possibilities that are embedded in what he’s created. Everything you need to know about songwriting is there.”
“We get the privilege of the work and none of the glory. The glory is God’s. You get to be part of His story.”
From Margaret Becker, artist/songwriter/worship leader:
“It’s your job [as a worship leader] to present something that’s engaging, but not distracting.”
“Work that is acknowledged and marketed is only a small portion of what is really there.”
“Paint the truth with the colors on your palette. Your experience is a lot more common than you give it credit for.”
“Clearly know what aspect of Christ you are experiencing right now. This will make you effective in the community.”
“God help us if we all start to try to fit into a marketing box.”
“There are still aspects of performance in worship leading – worship leading is an event where the importance of it calls for our best.”
From Keith Getty, writer of new hymns (including “In Christ Alone“)/worship leader (imagine all of these quotes with an Irish accent):
“We stand in front of congregations every Sunday who live lives of quiet desperation. They’re going to worship something, and they will be fed many things in the week ahead. It’s so important that we fill their heads with the Word of God.”
“Are these words [in the body of songs in a service] painting a big picture of God as spoken in the scriptures?”
“The artists in the Old Testament spend a lifetime refining their craft.”
“To write melodies that work is a pain actually.”
“Write songs that build up people’s confidence in the gospel.”
“If you’re writing for the church, write for the church you’re involved with.”
Just writing these out has helped me solidify the things I took away. I’m grateful to all these people for their focus on the gospel and their concern for this generation’s worship songwriters.
May 25, 2011
I had the privilege of attending a one day conference five miles down the road at Brentwood Baptist Church last Friday, May 20. The focus of “Song DISCovery in the Round” was to equip those who write songs for the church and to give them the opportunity to hear from experienced, successful and influential writers for the church such as Charlie Peacock, Jason Ingram, Keith Getty and Paul Baloche.
I was expecting to meet some fellow writers, be reminded of a few good songwriting tips, etc., but the day far exceeded my expectations. There was a joy about the whole day that I attribute to both the speakers and the attendees having their minds set on the glory of God. SO refreshing. In this day where many worship songs enjoy “market success” and writers can make a serious profit from CCLI checks, to hear so many in positions of influence talk about the importance of the local church, being creative outside of what is “marketable,” and doing everything we do knowing that God gets the glory, not us – it challenged, convicted, and motivated me.
Thank you, Worship Leader Magazine, for putting this on. I look forward to processing my experiences further in the next few posts.
May 22, 2011
I’m pleased to finally announce (I should have done this back in April) that you can listen to many of the worship songs that we’ve recorded over the years at Grace’s website. I will be adding more as we record them.
May 13, 2011
This week is always both a sigh of relief from all the prep work that goes into Good Friday and Easter and a joyful evaluation of the services. We had a great weekend at Grace remembering the cross and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.
And I couldn’t make it through 4 out of the 5 services without getting choked up. On Good Friday, it was “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood” that got me. On Easter Sunday, “In Christ Alone” did it all three services. The lines that took me there were:
“When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing Thy power to save”
(I’m tearing up just typing it!)
And then in “In Christ Alone”:
“And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost it’s grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine,
Bought with the precious blood of Christ”
(The “From life’s first cry” line in the final verse got me in one of the services because I was watching my wife sway with my 4-month old in the back.)
Now that I look at it, I can see a theme. My soul wants to soar. It wants to be free from all the fleshly yuck of mortality and be free to worship without any earthly restrictions. Jesus has made the way for this to be possible through his death and resurrection. It just hasn’t happened fully yet.
So every once in a while, my soul tells me what it wants. It usually happens when I’m listening to beautiful, God-honoring music or singing praise. My throat gets tight, the tears come, and I try to keep singing (it sounds GREAT, let me tell you…). It’s especially awkward in times like this weekend when I’m trying to lead. Sometimes I have to rally myself like a coach so I can do what I’m called to do and keep the melody going for the congregation. Other times, I just step away from the mic and try to cause as little distraction as possible. We had a worship choir for both of these services which was very helpful in such moments!
Now, I am admittedly not nearly as into the Word or spending time in prayer as I would like to be, so I know these experiences have nothing to do with my achieving some sort of spiritual level. With two little ones, life is chaotic, and time to be quiet is very limited around our house. I attribute the life I feel in my soul to God’s Spirit reminding me that I am His, that the gospel is beautiful and powerful, and that I am not the hypocrite I sometimes feel like. I am very thankful for His hold on me.
And one great day, because of the death and resurrection of Christ, my soul will soar.
April 27, 2011
Click over to Reformed Praise for a post on one of my favorite Good Friday hymns.
April 12, 2011
Last night, Kelly and I got to go to the Schermerhorn in downtown Nashville to see the symphony. Now, typically, I go to the symphony when I am already interested in what they are playing on a given night. I’ve been twice before – once to see the Nashville Choir perform with lots of special guests and once to see Handel’s Messiah. Both events were amazing.
But we were given tickets for last night’s performance (thank you Gary and Martha – so thankful recovery is going well!) of a world premiere of one of Conni Ellisor’s (a Nashville composer) pieces, Rachmaninoff’s Concerto for Piano, No. 2, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 in D Minor. I have to admit, because I wasn’t familiar with any of these pieces, I thought it would be a nice experience – like listening to NPR on the way home from work.
We sat down about a minute before the conductor walked onto the stage. The lights dimmed, and the first note was struck. And I was riveted. I watched, listened and eventually cried as I listened to the majestic sound of the Nashville Symphony.
Three things stood out to me as a result of the evening:
1. Music is such a gift. God made it powerful. I was moved emotionally and there wasn’t a single lyric all night long.
2. I am a musician, but I am not that kind of musician. The featured pianist memorized 35 minutes-worth of some of the most complicated, technically-insane, yet beautifully melodic music ever written and performed it with incredible feel and ease. Such musicianship is humbling to watch. It made me want to buy classical mp3s.
3. I am a writer, but I am not that kind of writer! I was more blown away by Rachmaninoff than Bruckner (and the Nashville-based composer’s work was also really, really good). Rachmaninoff toyed with musical theory to make it do whatever he wanted when he wrote that piece. To have such a grasp on the hows and whys of the musical palette is way beyond my experience, and it made me want to be more creative, more experimental (though experimentation is appropriately limited when writing for congregational singing), and definitely more passionate about the songs I write.
I am currently writing string arrangements for our Good Friday services coming up. I really enjoy coming up with the parts, and last night made me both shake my head dumbfoundedly (I could never write that stuff) and thankful for the opportunity to exercise some classical muscles. I am inspired.
If you ever get the chance to hear a symphony play, take it! It will challenge, inspire and move you.
April 8, 2011
I had been meaning to put this up last week, but time got away from me. This season is always the busiest of the year – Holy Week consists of Good Friday services, which are a unique blend of congregational singing, choir pieces, scripture readings and a short sermon all focused on the cross. Then, of course, Easter Sunday is a time of celebration and the only Sunday morning thus far in our church’s life where we have a choir. So, planning for these two services along with everything else (I’ll announce another fun thing that I’ve been working on later this week) makes for a crazy schedule.
On March 27, Scott’s passage was Luke 9:18-27 (I like this reference purely for its mathematical qualities proving my nerdy qualities). It consists of three different sections in which Jesus is progressively teaching his disciples how to follow him. Jesus asks the disciples to identify him – Peter answers that he is “The Christ of God” – and then tells them that he is going to the cross and that his call to them is to follow him in similar self-sacrifice. Scott emphasized that Jesus is the end of our faith. Following him is not a means to some other end. Such a claim flies in the face of any teaching that would have us reap gain here on earth as a “re-payment” of some kind for following Christ.
All Creatures of Our God and King – a Chris Hauser contemporized version of the old hymn.
Welcome & Ministry Opportunities
Glorious Impossible – iTunes, Amazon – if you haven’t heard this song, I strongly encourage you to take a listen. It’s a very well-written walk through the life of Jesus. It’s co-written by Wendy Wills who is a part of our worship team. I placed it here to give us a good summary of who Christ is and what he came to do to start off the service.
My Faith Has Found a Resting Place – in response to who Christ is as described in the phrases of “Glorious Impossible,” we can cling to him in faith as our Savior.
Psalm 62 – iTunes, Amazon – this great tune expounds on what it means to rest in God alone by adding theme of devotion to God in the midst of temptation and in daily living.
Scripture Reading – Philippians 3:7-14 – Paul’s declaration of losing everything for the sake of gaining Christ and pressing on toward the prize for which he has been called heavenward continue to emphasize the themes of losing all to gain Christ; that it is a heavenly prize that we are seeking.
Greatest End – iTunes, Amazon – this beautiful tune by Lee & Melissa Broadwell (also part of the worship team at Grace) is matched with a prayer that helps the participating believer express their desire for the devotion to Christ we have been singing about.
Give Me Jesus – iTunes, Amazon – going into the sermon with this simple statement – “Give me Jesus. You can have all this world. Give me Jesus.
Sermon – Luke 9:18-27: “Early Lessons: Clarity about Jesus and Commitment to Him”
Congregational Response
Benediction
Psalm 62 – we ended with the chorus.
April 4, 2011
Head over to this page at Reformed Praise to hear this 1772 hymn with a new melody. It is a good holy week text as the second verse focuses on Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane and His perfection that is displayed through that intense hour of His life.
March 24, 2011
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