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hymns.jpg

Stuck in a moment

I used to write music a lot. Even post-Nashville, I was writing on a fairly frequent basis. But slowly by surely, the vigor for songwriting has been absorbed by many things, including this blog.

But there have been moments over the past few years where that ‘loving feeling’ has returned and I’ve been inspired to put together a concept album of some kind. I’m in the middle of one of those moments right now.

This ain’t your grandma’s hymns

I am so grateful for the resurgence of hymns. They ain’t your grandma’s hymns for sure, but a necessary reintroduction into the repertoire of churches all over the world. And I’ve seen a continuum over the last decade of where the reawakening has taken us.

First, for example, you have Passion and Caedmon’s Call musically updating hymns that we all know and love and at times, adding a new chorus that brings into the current praise and worship realm. They aren’t musically that radical.

Second, you have folks like Mars Hill Church who are updating hymns we all know and love but they are so radically progressive musically, they don’t sound like the same hymns. But they are…

Third, you have Sojourn, Indelible Grace, Red Mountain Music doing some of this as well, but also going back into the ‘vault’ and reclaiming lesser known hymns and updating the music.

Fourth, you have folks like Stuart Townend and Keith Getty who are differentiating themselves from the praise and worship industry by writing what many consider modern day hymns. New lyrics, new tunes, all hearkening back to that vintage art form.

Overindulging ourselves with vanilla

As with any rebirth of any kind, there is always the possibility of overexposure. Some great things start out innocently and then become monsters that are almost unmanageable. CCM is a good example of this…

I’ve seen a proliferation of the repackaged hymns idea – the hymn’s original lyrics and melody with updated music – for some time now. To be honest, I’m growing weary. How many arrangements of Amazing Grace can we come up with? Don’t hear what I’m not saying. I’m not saying we are over satiated with the worth of hymns. I think we’ve overindulged ourselves a bit with the endless vanilla repackaging of those hymns.

Theology married to context

If you listen long enough to people talk about the church reclaiming the arts, you hear the value of indigenous art sprouting up from within the community of artists in a church. But the reality is that we are light years away from this being a common thread that is woven through the church. I’m afraid with the recontexted hymn, we are actually not being as creative as God has called us to be.

I believe the next great wave of church music will be the fourth group I mentioned above. Those of the Townend/Getty ilk. Individuals who are writing brand new lyrics with overtly strong theological moorings married to the contextualized sounds of community a church is situated in. How beautiful would it be if the very thing that the contemporary worship movement abandoned for the sake of accessibility became the catalyst to birth an indigenous music crusade?

Unsticking the moment

So it’s time to start writing again. Specifically, new hymns with new lyrics and melodies that read like old hymns but sound like something that lives in the 21st century. That’s the plan. I don’t know much beyond that at this point other than I need to go dust off my old hymnology books and study me some Newton. I’ll keep you posted on the progress of the project…



how to write a bridge

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I just got done watching one of the greatest bands of our generation, the newly reunited Crowded House and its lead singer/songwriter, Neil Finn, on Austin City Limits.

One thing that struck me is how genius the bridges of his tunes are. I have always struggled with writing that really killer bridge that is appropriate but distinct and makes the song richer instead of feeling like the obligatory bridge.

You can catch “Don’t Dream It’s Over” from the performance tonight here. You can check out some of his other tunes here.

Listen for the genius in those B sections…

[Side note: Hands down the best B3 solo of all time is found on Crowded House's original studio version of "Don't Dream It's Over" hearkening back to Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale"]


extract’d

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…you see few Christian artists really working hard enough and doing good enough art to be in that bigger worldview conversation that’s happening. Instead you see them sort of relegated to this kind of meaningless little Christian chart, well it’s like since we’re not good enough to compete with the real music, the real general market music, the big worldview discussions happening. We’re going to have our own awards ceremonies, the Dove Awards, or our little radio stations, our own little charts, and our own little world to make ourselves feel significant because ultimately the art we’re making just isn’t earning ourselves a seat at the table to really communicate what we believe by way of great art.

-Derek Webb, from Patrol Magazine’s “The Derek Webb Interview Part II“


In preparation for the Abandoned: Worship as Life seminar this Saturday, September 29, I am going to be posting some interviews of the speakers throughout the week. Stay tuned…

Yesterday, I had the privilege to speak with Shaun Groves who will be with us on Saturday. As you will hear, Shaun is a great guy who is deeply insightful and hilarious to boot. I hope you’ll take the time to listen.


continuous worship: day 1…intro

Today marks Day 1 of the Continuous Worship conference at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA.

You may have heard of a guy named Mark Driscoll. Driscoll is the lead pastor here and Tim Smith, Mars Hill worship pastor, is the architect behind the worship conference. Harold Best, author of Unceasing Worship, is the keynote speaker.

Also speaking will Gerry Breshears, professor of theology at Western Seminary, Smith, Driscoll, as well as Mars Hill band leaders who are doing breakouts like Joe Day – The Northern Conspiracy, Joel Brown – Red Letter, and Brian Eckelberg – E-Pop.

I will be posting periodically to let you in on the particulars here.

My first post today is actually about yesterday. We had the privilege to spend the morning with Tim Smith, through my good friend, Joel Lindsey, worship pastor of The Journey. Tim gave us a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at Mars Hill at their Ballard and Shoreline campuses. We got to meet alot of the band leaders, production folks, etc. It was truly an honor…

Tim is a class act. What you see is what you get. And Tim shared something with us that I believe is going to foster in a new epoch of church worship music beyond the Integrity/Passion eras. I’ll have to hold off telling you until it is official but it is going to be rad…

I am so grateful for Tim and Joel for their graciousness and hospitality. I don’t take for granted the amazing opportunity we had to see ‘behind the curtain.’

I’ll check in with you later. I’m sitting in the songwriting Session with Joel Brown, other wise known as the “Sweet Songwriting Seshy-Sesh.”

Peace and chicken grease…


that new fangled music

“There are several reasons for opposing it. One, it’s too new. Two, it’s often worldly, even blasphemous. The new Christian music is not as pleasant as the more established style. Because there are so many new songs, you can’t learn them all. It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than godly lyrics. This new music creates disturbances making people act indecently and disorderly. The preceding generation got along without it. It’s a money making scam and some of these new music upstarts are lewd and loose.”

-from an American newpaper in 1973, commenting on hymn writer, Isaac Watts, also known as the “Father of English Hymnody” and famous for writing ‘When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “Joy to the World”


the independent music revolution, osenga style

The independent music revolution now runs through Andrew Osenga. Picking up where Derek Webb left off, Osenga is signaling a new era in independent artistry by giving away his music. Say what? Call him crazy, but call him a crazy pioneer. You can get the EP here…

Christianity Today reviewed Andrew Osenga’s Letters to the Editor Vol. 1 (House of Mirrors Music), released in June 2007. Here it the review:

Sounds like … acoustic folk-pop reminiscent of Paul Simon, Andrew Peterson, Derek Webb, James Taylor, and Chris Rice to name a few.

At a glance … Osenga’s EP is an enjoyable barebones folk-pop project with thoughtful acoustic multi-tracking and clever incorporation of fan suggestions into worthwhile songwriting—and it’s yours to download for free.

This era of independent music and digital downloads is intriguing to say the least, providing new opportunities for artists to connect directly with audiences. Case in point: Andrew Osenga, former front man of The Normals, presently a guitarist/vocalist with Caedmon’s Call, whose project The Morning made it on our Best Albums of 2006 list, though he remains independent as a solo artist.

Osenga recorded this Letters to the Editor, Vol. 1 EP at home during a couple of weeks in May/June 2007, performing all six songs mainly by himself with an acoustic guitar, though he cleverly used multi-tracking to add texture and vocal harmonies. In a move reminiscent of Derek Webb’s Mockingbird promotion, he’s made the EP available for free download, including a “virtual booklet” packed with lyrics, photos, and more.

But there’s more to it than that. The project is a “fan collaboration” for which people sent in song suggestions—mostly personal stories, idea fragments, and song titles—that Osenga developed into fully fleshed songs. For example, one fan asked for a song about escaping small-town life and requested that his daughter’s name be used. Another wanted a song with sci-fi elements in it. Thus we have “Anna and the Aliens,” a riff on the classic story of two young lovers with plans to run off to New York—and it’s actually pretty fun.

That’s the most frivolous among songs about marriage-weathering trials (“Wanted”), lamenting a lost friend (“You Leave No Shadow”), and the conflict between lifelong dreams and responsibilities (“The Ball Game”). You really have to admire how Osenga weaves together stories about a bank robbery, an estranged brother, and a coffin maker in “The Blessing Curse” for a meaningful piece about appreciating the life we have through Christ. And the heavenward-focused “Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates” is one of the finest Osenga has written since The Normals. It’s a successful experiment, but don’t take my word for it. Download Letters risk free, and, if you enjoy it, send Osenga a donation as suggested.


Some great comments coming through on my previous post, Worship Music Gets an ‘F.’

In light of some ‘negativity’ directed toward modern praise music from folks like Henry – some of which is justified – I thought I’d post a video of worship done right IMHO.

The video below is of Shane & Shane live in October of last year, singing a new song from their forthcoming album, Pages, called “Embracing Accusation.” It’s not the greatest quaility, but wow!

To me, this is the desired hybrid of robust theological lyricism; music that enhances the stanzas, is modern but not overtly commercial; authentic emotionalism in singing; highly effective visual stimulation that enhances rather than distracts; and a certain level of simplicity that keeps the song in ‘worship-mode’ than feeling like a performance.


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Husband and father of four, university instructor, seminarian, church planter, and conference architect.

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