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» Top New Songs: Kevin

One thing great about starting a church is that you can set the "tempo" from the beginning. This applies also to worship music. Most of the songs we have sung have been new to our group. Here are a few of them (by the way, if all of you out there were using WorshipOrganizer, you could easily pull up a list of all the songs you have done; you're welcome, David!):

Indelible Grace
And Can It Be? (great upbeat remake of the original)
Arise, My Soul, Arise (an upbeat song that allows the congregation to preach the gospel at herself!)
Father, Long Before Creation (my favorite off of Indelible Grace IV; my 2-year old can belt this one out!)
I Boast No More (popularized by Caedmon's Call and actually on McCracken's latest)
Jesus, Everlasting King (powerful, powerful upbeat tune exalting Christ)
Jesus, I Come (super summary of the gospel)
O Come and Mourn With Me Awhile (perfect Lenten tune)

Assorted Other
The Glories of Calvary (great gospel-focused song)
The Gospel Song (gospel simply put; we've used it much during communion)
How Great Is Our God (quality modern song by Tomlin)
Indescribable (great modern hymn... (continue reading...)

» Top New Songs

I keep a detailed list of all of the new songs I have either introduced or plan to introduce. Since I have been at Redeemer (almost 7 months now), I have taught the congregation the following songs:

Baptism Hymn, an unpublished song from Reformed PraiseIn My Heart by Sovereign Grace Music (Eric Grover), see the album King of GraceA Debtor to Mercy by Sovereign Grace Music (Bob Kauflin), see the album UpwardIt's All of Grace by Reformed Praise, see the album Cross-Centered WorshipJesus, I Am Resting, Resting from Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN (David Hampton), see the album Re:AwakeningThe Gospel Song (Drew Jones and Bob Kauflin) and The Glories of Calvary (Steve and Vikki Cook) from Sovereign Grace Ministries, see the album Songs for the Cross-Centered LifeSurrender All and Always Forgiven from Sovereign Grace Ministries, see the album Worship God LiveBeautiful Savior by Stuart Townend, see the album Beautiful SaviourWhat Wondrous Cause and There Is No Greater Portrait from Reformed Praise
The choice of which songs to introduce is normally based on the song's theme in relation to the rest of the worship service. I also take into consideration the style and tempo of the... (continue reading...)

» Top New Songs?

Brothers, what new hymns are you using in your church (not including your own)? What songwriters are really blessing you as of late?

» Neglected Themes: Kevin’s Response

Neglected song themes? How about...
Eschatology (last things)?Pneumatology (Holy Spirit)?The Fatherhood of God? (think of all the great truths there)Ecclesiology (so many great things that could be said about the church and what she is to be)Lastly... the gospel! I was downloading some song samples from a well-known praise and worship writer the other day, and I was astounded as to how little they spoke of Jesus and the cross. They seemed to be directed upward to "God knows where"-- some generic deity to whom even Oprah could sing.

» On Weekly Communion - Kevin’s Response to David

Since the Reformation, the church has noted two characteristics of a true church-- first, the right preaching of the word of God, and, second, the right administration of the sacraments or ordinances. In addition to everything else I said below, it would seem to me that, in our desire to be a healthy church, we would seek to practice with great frequency and much care, as it seems the early church did, both (preaching and ordinances) in church gatherings. Baptism, of course, is the entry rite of the church, the "front door," and will be practiced only as frequently as the Lord blesses. The ongoing ordinance of the Lord's Supper, however, along with preaching, should be practiced as often as the saints gather for corporate worship.

I do believe there is latitude in the churches for disagreement about frequency. David, I agree that quarterly is far too infrequent. However, I don't think monthly practice goes quite far enough. It seems wisest to celebrate the Lord's Supper, along with hearing the preached word, on a weekly basis.

» Neglected Themes - Lament

I am not fond of those who can do nothing but criticize the church and bemoan her condition. We should celebrate church that God purchased with the blood of his Son to be his Bride. Many great hymns have taken a cue from Scripture and have sung the praises of the city of God (e.g. Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken). May we continue to write such songs.
Yet, one does not need to read the songs of the Bible for too long before discovering the lament. There was a time when God's people could not sing but sat down and wept due to the state of the city of God and her people (see Psalm 137, Lamentations or many of the prophets). There are times when it is appropriate to lament the condition of the church, especially when those who claim the name of Christ forsake his truth and his ways for those of the world (see Revelation 2-3).
This text is my attempt at a lament. Like many of the laments in the Psalms, it begins with a description of the church's condition. It transitions with the question of what will happen to her? Though a change... (continue reading...)

» Prayer is Worship Too

Thanks for reminding us that worship is broader than music. Far too many believers associate worship with music and how music moves them. You can see this unhealthy connection in phrases like "we had a great time of worship before the message," or "that song was really worshipful." (That last one really gets me - I've even seen that adjective used at the top of sheet music to describe to "feel" of the song).

When I teach on worship I normally divide it into 4 areas: gathered or public, family (if you are not living alone), private, and all-of-life. The all-of-life category is normally the most eye-openeing for people. Many often assume that worship must be a conscious routine of stopping the day, praying, singing, meditating, etc. But according to the Lord we should worship Him all day long.
"pray without ceasing"- 1 Thess 5:17
"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." - Col 3:17
We can actually worship God while brushing our teeth, as long as we do it in the name of the Lord... (continue reading...)

» Neglected Song Themes - Two Suggestions

Here are two themes that I believe need more modern songs addressing:
The Word of God (particularly addressing the centrality of its place in worship and pleas for the Lord to transform us by it)The role of the Holy Spirit (asking Him to fill and empower us and to quicken our hearts to love God more passionately in worship)

» On Weekly Communion - David’s Response

Kevin, I would agree with your advice especially for a new church seeking to establish the centrality and priority of the cross in worship, but would not go so far as to say that I would recommend all churches having weekly communion. As you wrote, none of the reasons you give are biblically normative (I’m not sure I even agree that Acts 2:42-47 is a direct reference to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper). While I agree that communion is a participatory act, so are many other types of activities like responsive scripture readings, singing, or private prayers. All of these things can be expressions of unity with Christ and with one another, albeit not the penultimate expression of unity with Christ. While I agree that it gives us a regular time of commemoration (which is the purpose for the Lord’s Table) I believe that every service of worship should remember the work of Jesus and the cross. We should have “cross-centered worship.” (shamelessly borrowing from the title of my CD!) And I agree that our churches need a weekly time for examination and confession, but that can be accomplished by other means... (continue reading...)

» Prayer is Worship Too

I'll admit it. I did it. The blog is only a day or two old and I've already begun to think of "worship in the local church" as primarily dealing with music. I imagine that I'm not the only pastor prone to thinking this way. It is a shame. We prepare the preaching and the songs and assume worship is covered.

Bob Kauflin's post Watts' on Prayer reminded me that public prayer is an important aspect of God-centered worship in the local church. It is the first in a series of Isaac Watts' teaching on the ministry of prayer. Should be a series worth following. (Mr. Kauflin notes that the issue of public prayer will be addressed at this year’s WorshipGod06 conference.)
May the Lord help us to take seriously the matter of praying before his people!