Hair fashionably mussed, a soul patch beneath his lower lip, the Singer steps onto the small stage and eyes the small audience seated before him.  A man in a dark T-shirt impatiently eyes the Singer.  Pen fidgeting in his mouth, he inquires tersely, "Okay, what do you have for us today?"

The Singer takes a deep breath before answering.  "Well, I'd like to start out with 'Not to Us' by Chris Tomlin."

"Okay," the man responds without emotion.  "Good luck."

Apprehensive, jittery, nonplused, the Singer takes a step forward.  And with all that he has, and all that he is, he opens his mouth.  And sings.

"Not to us, but to Your name be the glory," he proclaims.  "Not to us, but to Your name..." he repeats, each time with greater conviction.  The certainty of his beliefs seem to steady his voice, and he digs into the phrase deeper.  Taking a deep breath, he readies himself for the first verse.

continue reading

I recently participated in the Christian Musicians Summit at Overlake (Seattle area).  During this two-day conference, I shared concepts on the arts and faith from my book to scores of artists—musicians, painters, actors, dancers, and technical artists.  It was a blast.

One of the things I look forward to as I speak more in this context is watching the imaginary light bulbs that start to turn on over people’s heads.  This time, there was a definite corporate “aah!” moment as I shared the idea that we don’t have to be message-oriented in our art.  Christian evangelicals in particular operate under the paradigm that the arts are to be used as a vehicle for a message, and of course, the message is “the Gospel,” however you may define it.  (Note: I originally derived this concept from Francis Schaeffer in his seminal book, Art and the Bible.)

continue reading

"Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth."    Psalm 96:1

Recently, Worship Leader Magazine asked me (among others) to respond to two questions that they will be focusing on in an upcoming issue.  The questions they posed were quite thought-provoking and, upon further reflection, essential for the worship leader.  I look forward to the January 2010 issue and what others have to say.  Meanwhile, here are their questions and my extended response to them.

WL:  What is New Song?

Before I came to Christ, there were three kinds of songs I typically wrote: “I love you” songs, “You left me” songs, and “You can leave now” songs.  (I think I wrote a song about the circus once too.

Veero was in for a long walk – more than fifteen miles. Veero quietly slipped away from a farm where women were guarded by armed thugs and men were kept in leg irons. She was terrified but determined. When she reached the local police station, it took a three-day sit in to force officers to help. Veero’s risky walk to freedom paid off. She has shown 700 others how to follow her footsteps and stand up for their rights.

 

The Working Women’s Association, Shramajivee Mahila Samity (SMS) goes undercover in India to expose traffickers posing as legitimate labor recruiters. SMS traces missing women, and helps slavery survivors return home and rebuild their lives. SMS educates villagers to slave-proof their communities. Local committees learn to act fast when someone is taken. Women get help with opening small businesses so they can earn a living without moving from their home. Thanks to SMS, hundreds of slaves have been reunited with their families.

 

continue reading

Last Sunday, I once again had the privilege of bringing another person onto our worship team.  He is the 21 year old son of a long time member of the team, who picked up the electric guitar a number of years ago.  Last Sunday was his first time playing on the worship band.  I think he did great.  

This is one of the thrills of being a worship pastor.  To see people grow not only in their faith but in their artistry as well, and to see those gifts being used for God.  Yup.  It's a cool gig.

Between services, he remarked to me that he was initially having to think about every little thing he was doing, but as he settled in, it became easier to play and worship.  I explained to him that being on the worship team is like driving.  When you first learn to drive, you have to think about every act of driving—signaling, stepping on the accelerator, pointing the car in the right direction.  But eventually, you get to the point of never having to think about driving at all.  You only think about where you are going.

continue reading

A Look Into Heaven & Earth from ConversantLife on Vimeo.

ConversantLife went behind the scenes to capture an exclusive look into Phil Wickham's new album 'Heaven & Earth'

continue reading

 

My church recently released a live worship album on iTunes called, “Without End.” It’s a collection of old hymns and new songs written by our own congregants and, well, it’s just a fantastically done album. To see it on iTunes here's a link http://tinyurl.com/muwny3.

That said, here’s why I felt the album was worth writing about. My church, Trinity Grace Church (TGC), is a rarity in that it’s a growing church in New York City, and the beauty of TGC can be heard in this worship album.

The album was created by a team comprise of professional singer/songwriters, church staffers, theater performers, a Starbucks manager, and a taxi cab driver (and these are only the people I know). In other words, the album bleeds New York.

As I listened to the tracks on my commute this morning, I was thinking how powerful the words, “Let Your Kingdom Come,” means when sung by a passionate Starbucks manager who on any given day serves coffee to hundreds of Wall Street bankers. Or when my taxi driver pal belts out, “How high, how wide, how wonderful,” he does it with the landscape of the city’s streets in his mind.

The album is really a good reminder of the importance of integrating our faith with our reality. Songs of worship, words of His renown are not just meant to be sung on Sunday mornings. They’re available to us as sweet reminders that waking up Monday to go to work can also be an act of worship.

It begs the question: how are you leaking worship into your everyday life? 

continue reading

Since the advent of the praise chorus, there has been debate over the lyrical content of Christian worship songs.  The initial (and sometimes continuing) issues have centered on the depth of content.  Worship choruses were lyrically simple, hooky, and repetitive by design.  And in the early development of the praise chorus, I think that was the point—to create songs that were easy to sing and more emotionally evocative, not necessarily weighty in theology.  So in contrast to hymns, worship choruses—infusing contemporary folk and rock sensibilities—were composed that were sincere, singable, and hopefully meaningful.

Thankfully, the hymn-versus-chorus debate is largely a thing of the past these days.  In many churches, hymns and choruses peacefully co-exist in the expression of corporate worship.  In a real sense, the traditional vs. contemporary worship wars were as much a cultural issue as they were a style issue.  And culture evolves.  Of course, the culture wars continue, but they look very different these days.

continue reading

Earlier today I had the chance to team up with Ryan Axtell to really dive into the nuts and bolts of the evolution of the Acoustic Guitar for the Worship Leader. In this video, Ryan uncovers a new discovery of ours that we think could shape the culture of equipment for Worship Leaders, internationally. Have a listen and let me know your thoughts! This will also be featured on our Cornerstone Worship Arts Blog.

 

continue reading