So as much as I love the look and feel of Tumblr I’ve decided to move my blog to Wordpess for a number of reasons.
Since all this is so new it shouldn’t really make too much of a difference though I admit I’m pretty stoked there were even people reading what I’ve written/played so far.
I hope we can still be friends over at my new blog home :D
It’ll take me a few days to make the move complete but I’ve already started putting the posts over there.
I confess I feel a little conceited putting my own song on a blog that is dedicated to ‘finding the great hymns’ of our time. I promise it’s not by any means an attempt to put myself in the same category as the Don Moens and Isaac Watts of this world.
I figure if I’m out there scrutinising people’s lyrical content I should at least be vulnerable enough to show my own songs.
So here is one.
It’s called Jesus It Is You and it was written in a time of great frustration.
Growing up in Pentecostal Church culture has brought with it many great experiences and challenges to my faith - not least the cold truth that trusting in man will only lead to disappointment.
Faced with the opportunity to let go of everything and walk away I sat down one night and started writing this song. I figured if nothing else I had Jesus. Or at least He had me.
Of all the worship songs that I’ve written, this is certainly the first time I’ve written one so personal and out of my own experience and perspective of God.
Anyway so here it is as sung by my little sister :D
Perhaps not the easiest song to sing as a congregation though Integrity music did record a worship album featuring the chorus only which seems to work beautifully.
That aside - this is easily one of my favourite Christian songs written in modern times.
The song by Andrew Shawn Craig and Donald A Koch is a humble acknowledgement that the our life is lived only by the grace of God as purchased through the life and death of Christ.
Pentecostal Christianity tends to spend so much time celebrating the blessings of God particularly in the music culture.
The beauty of this song is in how it is both a celebration of these things but a deep confession that living this life cannot be ascribed to our own strength but to the work that Jesus did and continues to do in us.
Furthermore, lines like ‘these trophies could not equal to the grace by which I stand’ demonstrate that even with the great blessings of this world, this grace that all who believe have received is the greatest treasure of all.
Christ centered songs are unfortunately few and far between these days - especially ones written so directly and deeply.
Colossians 1:27 may not seem like the most obvious choice for a congregational song but this beautiful worship song was written by Bill Ancira in 1987.
The words are more or less taken straight from the scripture and celebrate the revealing of God’s ultimate plan for creation which is Christ in us.
The melody is gentle and lifts nicely for a chorus that repeats the central thought of the song.
I first heard Spirit Touch Your Church by Kim Bollinger on ‘The Secret Place’, an album released by Integrity Music featuring Kent Henry leading various worship songs back in the 90s.
It was part of a medley that also included a song ‘Send Your Rain’ and is a beautiful example of a corporate call to prayer.
I love the line “Lord we humbly come before you - we don’t deserve of You what we ask”.
There is a humility there that I notice is sometimes absent from some of the more youthful charismatic tunes these days. Some praise songs can tend to be downright arrogant in their celebration of the blessing of God.
This song is beautiful with it’s elegant simplicity.
If you don’t sing this in your churches you should.
The Power Of Your Love by Geoff Bullock, was such an anthem of the 90s for the Australian Christian church that it may seem a little self evident to include it on my blog and yet it is so under-appreciated today that I felt someone out there should be writing about it.
Geoff Bullock may well be the most influential songwriter in our lifetime - given we can more or less attribute the success of Hillsong church (and I believe a large chunk of the contemporary restoration of Pentecostal Christian Worship) to his gifting.
Considering the tradition of hymn writers and singing theologians who wrote before him, Bullock’s ability to write from the heart (Power Of Your Love) as well as craft musical tracts of complex doctrine (This Kingdom) caught the world’s attention and put his little church in Sydney on the map.
For better or worse he opened up the door to songwriters like Darlene, Rueben and Joel but the world would never have taken notice if it weren’t for the favour of God on Bullock’s songs.
The lyrics of this song come from a place of steadfast trust in the Lord to renew us with His love and for me demonstrate Bullock’s unique phrasing and beautiful melodies.
‘God Will Make A Way’ written by Don Moen is one of the more beautiful songs to come out of the 90s wave of (then) new-culture worship.
The chord changes in this song are striking and unpredictable and yet sing perfectly naturally.
For me the song is the perfect example of the days when a worship song’s melody was dynamic and in this case second only to the profound statement of faith in the words.
This song is one of mine. It’s called ‘Father Your Will’.
The idea was to keep the melody and words as simple as possible so it would feel familiar to a congregation. The words are obviously inspired by The Lord’s Prayer.
Stop children what’s that sound…
So I’m on a quest to find great worship songs.
Despite the cliche ridden, pop-culture drivel I see lining the shelves of my local Christian Bookstore under the banner ‘Worship’, I have faith that somewhere out there in the world there are songs of great faith that come from people with sincere love for God and a desire to honour him.
I apologise for the cynicism but I’ve grown a little weary of singing songs that seem jam packed with overbearing guitar riffs and simplistic, monosyllabic vocabularies. Call me old fashioned but I miss the days when songs had melodies and lyrics that sang - even without the music.
I believe there are still songwriters and psalmists walking the earth with no mind for the money lining their pockets or the numbers of their congregations. They are the smitten dreamers, kept men and women who write for an audience of one. And I’m going to find their songs.
They may be old songs or new ones. They may be ones I’ve heard but have forgotten, or perhaps they’re ones that will be written tomorrow.
At any rate I’m going to find them. I’m going to write about them. I’m going to sing them. And I’m going to celebrate them.
