Gospel Songs

As we were meeting the other day, we started talking about some songs that have helped us as we communicate the Gospel with our music. Here are some of the songs that were mentioned.

Because of Your Love - Phil Wickham
Our God - Chris Tomlin
Christ is Risen - Matt Maher
In Christ Alone - Stuart Townend/Keith Getty

Another song that I have really come to love this year is All I Have is Christ, by Na Band/Sovereign Grace. We do a different arrangement, but the lyrics are great.

We also discussed a couple of books that have been really helpful to me as I've been seeking to do a better job of consistent gospel proclamation through our worship.

Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God by Bob Kauflin, (there is a link to Bob's Blog, WorshipMatters.com in the links section, it is also a helpful resource) and

Christ Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape our Practice by Bryan Chapell

I pray that God will bless Memphis with an incredible day of worship tomorrow.

-dlewis

Humanity In Worship

Hey guys here's that link to Brenton Brown talking about humanity in worship:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLH9uLg0gpA

See you all soon!

JH

Talent, Character, and Christ

Today, in the midst of a conversation on the necessity for worship leaders to remain above reproach, Jeremy Horn said "I don't want my talent to take me where my character can't keep me." I heard Andy Stanley say something similar at Passion 2010 this year, and I continue to be blown away by the implications of this desire for those who follow the Savior. In a culture where our self-worth is often connected to our success, it seems unthinkable that one would not grasp for fame to the furthest extent his or her abilities will allow. And yet for the believer, (and even more so for the leader), our limitations should be designed to maximize our freedom to be faithful to God's call on our lives. If our character is outstripped by our talent, then our talent will need to be muzzled to serve the greater thing, which is to remain pure and undefiled by this world. Certainly this is Christ's attitude, who being in His very nature God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped for, but humbled Himself. If anyone could have farther capitalized their talent, it was the One who surrendered such temporal things for eternal glory.

Also in attendance were David Lewis, Jason Stockdale, Josh Maze, Rob Ramsey, and Heather Issac. 

I'm Joshua Smith. Let's do this again sometime.