Volume 23 | No. 6

NOV/DEC 2014: BEST OF 2014 | WORSHIPLEADER.COM | SONGDISCOVERY.COM | NWLCONF.COM MAY/JUNE 2014 | worship leader.com | songdisovery.com | nationalworshipleaderconference.com

worshipleader PURSUING THE MISSION OF GOD IN WORSHIP

LEADERSHIP

Top Personal and Team Training

MUSIC

BEST OF 2014

Top Worship Songs of 2014

P. 12

MISSIONAL

Top Musical Instruments of 2014

IN REVIEW PRODUCTION

Top Missional Resources

SKILL

P. 64

P. 26

P. 54

Top Visual Resources P. 24

Chris Tomlin

FEATURED REVIEW

JOB BOARD WEEKLY POSTINGS AT

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

WORSHIPLEADER.COM

$3.95 USA / $5.50 CANADA

PLUS!

P. 72

FIND THE LOCATION CLOSEST TO YOU IN 2015!

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P. 4

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S HIP L EAD ER W O R SHIP

EPVEMBER/DE TEMBE R 2013 NS O CE M BE R 2014

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EXHORT

3 GENERAL SESSIONS

EQUIP

70+ WORKSHOPS

EXALT

3 NIGHTS OF WORSHIP

GREAT

LORD! IS THE

PSALM 96

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N O VEMBER/DE CE M BE R 2014

1 CONFERENCE, 4 LOCATIONS

D.C. AREA, VA MAY 19-21

KS CITY, KS JUNE 23-25

SAN JOSE, CA JULY 28-30

Dallas, TX SEP 30-OCT 2

ABOUT The National Worship Leader Conference is the premier 3 day training event designed to equip worship leaders and their teams.

Registrants receive face-to-face mentorship, customizable education opportunities, exposure to cutting-edge technology, and a chance to form friendships with the worship leader community.

This year, the theme is from Psalm 96, “Great is the Lord!”

Reserve time now to bring your team and celebrate God’s greatness!

FEATURED ARTISTS & SPEAKERS (at select locations)

DR. LEONARD SWEET

MEREDITH ANDREWS

ISRAEL HOUGHTON

DR. MARVA DAWN

PLANETSHAKERS

THE BRILLIANCE

Dr. AMOS YONG

REGISTER

Pricing deadline is near!

Sign up today at nwlconf.com

RE Su GIS bs TE AN cr R w D ibe ith sa r ve ra the ! te

& MANY MORE!

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WORSHIP LEADER | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | VOL 23 NO 6

All THINGS ENRICHING 12 PERSONAL AND TEAM TRAINING 14 WORSHIP EDUCATION 16 BOOKS

I Will Pour Out My Spirit on All My People

by Marianne Gonzales Sims

All THINGS DIGITAL 20 RESOURCE WEBSITES

30 FILM

22 BLOGS

32 GENERAL SOFTWARE

24 VISUAL RESOURCING

33 PLANNING SOFTWARE/APPS

26 MISSIONAL WORSHIP

34 PRESENTATION SOFTWARE/APPS

28 WEB DEVELOPMENT

36 APPS

28 KIDS' RESOURCES

All THINGS PRACTICAL 38 STREAMING

40 LICENSING 42 VIDEO RESOURCES

All THINGS TECH 44 RECORDING SOFTWARE

50 MICS

46 SPEAKERS, ARRAYS, & MONITORS

51 IN-EAR MONITORS

46 PERSONAL MONITORING SYSTEMS

52 LIGHTS & LAMPS

48 GADGETS & GIZMOS

52 VOCALS

48 MIXING BOARDS

All THINGS MUSICAL

Description from the artist: The gift of the Holy Spirit is given freely to all of us

by God. All we have to do is open our hearts and accept the gift. This painting was inspired by and given to me as a gift from the same Holy Spirit. It was created as an act of submission and worship as I studied the Scripture and tried to visualize what it may have looked like when this gift was first given to the earlier followers of Jesus. My prayer is that this painting will cause the viewer to stop and wonder what it may have been like for those early worshipers. What must it have been like when the Holy Spirit first appeared to them that day, in that room, during their Pentecost worship and celebration?

While in modern times we may not see the Holy Spirit presented as a flame, he continues to light flames in our hearts. This flame inspires and motivates our worship. It draws us into worship, and if we listen and allow, draws us nearer to Jesus.

Mixed media and acrylic paint on canvas. This painting was created as an act of worship to be used as part of a worship setting at my church during Pentecost. It is a visual interpretation of the coming of the Holy Spirit to the followers of Jesus (Acts 2) as foretold by the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28) and retold by Peter in the book of Acts.

54 GUITARS 55 GUITAR ACCESSORIES 56 DRUMS 56 PERCUSSION 58 BASS 60 KEYBOARDS

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THE 7 Ps | JEREMY ARMSTRONG

18

SONG DISCOVERY SONGWRITER SHOWCASE

90

FANATICS | CHUCK FROMM

72

CHRIS TOMLIN | FEATURED REVIEW

74

MUSIC FOR LEADING

81

PERSONAL PLAYLIST

85

PROGRAMMING RESOURCES

62 JUST FOR FUN 62 SONGWRITING 64 TOP 20 WORSHIP SONGS OF 2014 66 TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2014 68 TOP 5 COMMUNITY FUNDED & INDIE RELEASES

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NEW ALBUM RECORDED LIVE AT TIME WARNER CABLE ARENA CHARLOTTE, NC

FEATURING “UNSTOPPABLE GOD,” “JESUS I COME” AND “LET US ADORE”

for worship leader resources: elevationworship.com or essentialworship.com

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THE 7 Ps

e’ve all been there. Sitting in a room. By choice. By accident. We were coerced. We were dragged. Or we simply stumbled in because it’s just what we do. We are not sure exactly just what to expect, but we are curious. I mean here we are. With these other people. May as well see what happens next.

This is the typical worshiper. Each Sunday. For a multitude of reasons, people are there. They are gathered. Certainly some are there to find a connection with the Almighty, but that is rarely the only reason. Some came for duty. Some for guilt.

For others it was the fact that their parents brought them. Some were even invited by neighbors and felt obliged to keep neighborly relations in comfortable standing, so they finally accepted.

The British Army uses an adage called the 7 Ps to train troops. To protect our delicate sensibilities, I am going to trim it down to 6 Ps: Proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance.

Let’s bring this back to the average weekly worship attendee who for many different reasons finds themselves pulling up to Church. And of course the traffic director has a confused look on his face, regulating cars in five different directions causing gridlock at every intersection. The greeters are sipping coffee and chatting with each other, backs turned to the open narthex, door effectively blocked. On

BY JEREMY ARMSTRONG

stage, the worship team is still warming up: playing the song they are going to open with as many times as they can squeeze in before the service. We could go on. But you’ve been there. Most likely on both sides of this illustration.

In the British Army adage, one of the words has taken a few hits this past year in worship circles.

Take a look, and guess which one it is: Proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance.

That’s right, “performance.” For some reason we feel better about ourselves if we refuse to use this word when referring to music in a service of worship. But is this helpful? Greeting is a performance art. Preaching is a performance art. A pastor jumbling his or her notes while trying to present thoughts is quite an effective way to release a yawn contagion amongst the congregation. Performance is part of every aspect of devotional art.

Of course we are not merely performing as concert performers would. We sometimes think “performance” is disingenuous, “only an act,” but we all know that the actors, musicians, singers, “performers” we love the best truly feel at their very depth what they present.

Our hope as worship leaders is to perform in such a way that only God is great—that his majesty is clear and evident and palpable, to make the myriad and sometimes contradictory reasons people

actually show up for church insignificant. It doesn’t matter how a person gets to a service of worship; what matters is the leader’s ability to guide them to the nearness of the Lord, the eternal and the immediate joining in a beautiful collision of grace and peace.

This issue is dedicated to the leader’s commitment to proper planning and preparation. You may be fortunate enough to lead worship fulltime, or you may be a volunteer leader with many responsibilities beyond coming up with a weekly setlist. We hope this issue will offer some relief. We scoured the globe (admittedly an easier feat with the aid of the Internet). We searched high and low and deep and wide for the tools, resources, and inspiration that will not only help you with your day-to-day, but help you with your preparation … before your day-to-day even begins.

Let’s go ahead and add a new 7th P to the addage: PRAYER and proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance.

Pray. Plan. Prepare. Our hope is that this issue moves you to do each and all, depending on God to do what he alone can do: transform, renew and comfort hearts. W

– Jeremy Armstrong, managing editor

worshipleader CEO/PUBLISHER Chuck Fromm, PhD

EDITORIAL BOARD Warren Anderson, Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown, J. Robert Clinton, Maggi Dawn, Craig Detweiler, Jeff Deyo, Carlton Dillard, Stan Endicott, Susan Fontaine Godwin, Shaun Groves, Tony Guerrero, Debby Kerner Rettino, Reggie Kidd, Roberta King, Greg Laurie, Hughes Oliphant Old, Andy Park, Matt Redman, Robb Redman, Jason Ritchie, Mark Roberts, Lin Sexton, Martin Smith, Brian Steckler, Laura Story, Rick Warren.

SUBMISSIONS See our submission guidelines at worshipleader.com. For all other feedback or inquiries, contact jeremy@wlmag.com.

WORSHIP LEADER & SONG DISCOVERY MANAGING EDITOR Jeremy Armstrong SENIOR WRITER/EDITOR Andrea Hunter ART DIRECTOR Katie Noel EVENTS DIRECTOR OF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT Suzie Stablein ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP DIRECTOR OF SALES & BRAND PARTNERSHIPS Alissa Smith OPERATIONS VP, OPERATIONS Nicole Fromm ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, CIRCULATION, AND NEW BUSINESS DIRECTOR Shari Taylor ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Judi Coffin

TO SUBSCRIBE/MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION: worshipleader.com/subscribe CUSTOMER SERVICE: 888.881.5861 FOREIGN SUBSCRIBERS: 714.226.9782 WORSHIP LEADER OFFICE: 949.240.9339 TO REGISTER FOR THE NATIONAL WORSHIP LEADER CONFERENCE: VISIT: nwlconf.com/register OR CALL: 949.240.9339 ADVERTISE IN WORSHIP LEADER CONTACT alissa@wlmag.com PERMISSIONS We grant duplication permission for up to 100 copies of any original article for use in a local church. For any other quantity or use, email jeremy@wlmag.com.

NOTE ON BIBLE QUOTES Unless otherwise noted, Worship Leader defaults to the NIV 1984 version.

song DISCovery Worship Leader® (ISSN 1066-1247) is published bi-monthly by Worship Leader Partnership (29222 Rancho Viejo Road, Ste 215, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675-1046).

Copyright: Worship Leader magazine © 2014 by Worship Leader, Inc. Worship Leader® is a registered trademark.

Periodical postage paid at San Juan Capistrano, CA and additional offices.

Postmaster: Send address corrections to Worship Leader, P.O. Box 91388, Long Beach, CA 90809. Printed in U.S.A. CPM #4006 5056.

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INTEGRITY MUSIC’S BEST OF

AWARD WINNING ALBUMS, SONGS & VIDEO TOP ALBUM CATEGORY

#1

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

TOP VIDEO CATEGORY

TOP RESOURCE WEBSITE CATEGORY

TOP SONG CATEGORY

“Christ Be All Around Me,” All Sons & Daughters, All Sons & Daughters “Joy,” Rend Collective, The Art of Celebration “You Lift Us Up,” Paul Baloche, Paul Baloche Live “I Was Made to Worship,” Planetshakers, Endless Praise “Say the Word,” Beth Croft, Rule in My Heart

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BEST OF

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ere at Worship Leader we have a longstanding connection to the biblical theme of New Song in worship; it permeates all that we do. We look to publish articles and entire issues that are filled with new song, and this extends to the music we include on Song Discovery. As well our hope is that the thoughts, teachings, and the music leadership presented at the National Worship Leader Conference reverberates with new song. When you see or hear new song in worship, something simply resonates in your spirit, and the natural response is to praise God for who he is.

New song doesn’t have to be “new” either. Often we find new song in our recovered past. Maybe a rediscovery of a forgotten hymn or in rediscovering a forgotten ritual that refreshes our connection to the Spirit of God. This issue is filled with our editorial picks for the best of worship resources, and we believe it is still in keeping with our passion for new song. The products that are presented here are intended to help you guide your community to the presence of God. They will enrich your ministry; they will help you with your tasks; in some cases, they will offer you new music to share with your congregation.

Yes we are shining a light on some amazing resources. But our ultimate goal is the same as it has always been: shine a light on what we believe will help you to shine a light on the only one who matters—God in three persons, the blessed Trinity. W

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Listed in alphabetical order by title

worshipcatalyst.com

Who: Austin Ryan (director) What: They have live events around the country plus online training including a full course called Worship Leader Essentials. Plus training videos curtailed to worship musicians, and a lot more.

Where: Online and events primarily in the southwest US.

leadworship.com

Worship Central Course

Who: Paul and Rita Baloche What: The Modern Worship Series instructional DVDs are an outstanding resource for skill sharpening, plus the site showcases multiple video songbooks, lead sheets, piano charts, video clips, and blog and gear posts.

Where: Online, plus events around the world.

Who: Tim Hughes and Al Gordon (founders) What: A seven-unit course that explores the theological and practical issues facing worship leaders today. The website also has resources such as podcasts, videos, tutorials, and more.

Plus there are training events around the world.

Where: UK based but with a network of coordinators around the world, as well as online.

Musicademy

worshipartistry.com

Who: Along with being a regular columnist for Worship Leader magazine, Andy Chamberlain is a director of Musicademy and the presenter of the Musicademy Worship Guitar DVDs. What: Complete DVD lessons for worship artists spanning from worship guitar DVDs to instructional DVDs in vocals, orchestral instruments, keyboard, bass, and drums. Expansive and excellent.

Where: UK based

Steve+Shawn

Who: Regular faculty at the National Worship Leader Conferences and contributors to worshipleader.com, Steve and Shawn Reed travel fulltime leading worship and training worship teams across the country.

What: Hands-on live team training and worship leading. Plus, all of this is available for Spanish speaking teams.

Where: Available for invite across the country.

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Who: Dan Egan and Jason Houtsma What: High-quality video guitar lessons for the newest and most-used worship songs in the Church today. This is an amazing place to get lessons as well as discover what is breaking out in worship music.

Where: Online

worshipteamcoach.com

Who: Jon Nicol What: The Exceptional Worship Team Coaching Course is practical, six-month training designed to help worship leaders grow and develop their teams. Each month the worship leader receives coaching videos, guidebooks, emails and other bonus resources focused on transforming a different area of his/her ministry.

Where: Online

worshiptraining.com

Who: Dan Wilt and PraiseCharts What: Over 80 online courses that can be run live in your local church, studied online with your own team, or simply done privately at your own pace.

Where: Online

*Editor’s note:

National Worship Leader Conference The National Worship Leader Conference is put on

by Worship Leader magazine, and we definitely suggest it as one of your options for your team training. This year we are proclaiming: Great Is the Lord! Our services of worship do many things, but how good are we at making sure our God is always the center of our attention and our praises? W nwlconf.com

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Programs/Intensives Birthed out of Churches:

Listed in alphabetical order by title

Desperation Leadership Academy

Ocean’s Edge School of Worship

Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Duration: One year Schools of Ministry, Media, and Worship.

Desperate pursuit of God with a core of passion, mission, consecration, and intercession. Intimate discipleship groups, abundant opportunity for missions and local outreach. Deep immersion in theology through a Kings University partnership.

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida Duration: Nine-and-a-half months Musicianship. Leadership. Discipleship. Lead worship. Perform with excellence. Develop as an artist. Produce music and worship services. Dip you toes in the Atlantic and dive into worship.

New Life Church

Hillsong International Leadership College Hillsong Church

Location: Sydney/Baukham Hills, New South Wales, Australia Duration: 10 months Hilllsong welcomes others to drink from the well of their passionate and practiced writing, performance, creative innovation, and team building. Reach higher down under. Extend what you learned into a bachelor’s degree through Hillsong’s association with DBU.

Northeast Leadership Center New Life Church

Location: Smithfield, Rhode Island Duration: Nine months Administration. Arts. Technology. Bible meets business. Fills the need for practical expertise needed in the local church.

Be inspired, mentored, and develop your talents. Take hold of your calling as a leader through prayer, instruction, character building, and practical equipping.

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Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale

Seacoast School of Worship Seacoast Church

Location: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Duration: Nine months In residence immersion leading to a Holy fusion: Ministry, discipleship, spiritual disciplines, handson experience. Community that communicates, living and learning a theology of worship. Beyond just your time and money, you learn to steward your very soul.

The Worship School

Calvary Chapel Spokane

Location: Spokane, Washington Duration: Six two-day intensives over six months Well-curated faculty in an intimate setting. Be apprenticed by the pastoral, worship, songwriting leaders that have shaped and continue to influence the Church at worship. Time in between to sift, ponder, and integrate your learnings.

WorshipU

Bethel Church

Location: Online/Redding, California Duration: Endless (On Campus training, 12 days) Ongoing, online, viewable worship wisdom from Bethel’s honored writers, musicians, vocalists, and pastors. You drive the bus. Listen until it sinks in, review and re-view—anytime night or day. Need more face-to-face interaction? Try WorshipU On Campus with Bethel’s12-day summer intensive.

Colleges/Universities: Baylor University Waco, Texas

David Crowder*Band, Shaun Groves, Baylor is no stranger to prominent worshiping alums— from contemporary rock to classical, opera, and beyond. Rooted in tradition, yet fostering an atmosphere of innovation and fresh ideas. Rated in the top 100 of American universities, you can learn in small classes and pursue big purposes.

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Biola University

La Mirada, California

Theology, technology, the arts, communication, music and worship, and in the heart of L.A. (Beach and Mountains in between homework, class, and ministry.) Study with top musicians and biblical scholars. Biola is an educational/ spiritual/cultural bonanza that prepares you for a host of ministry and professional possibilities.

choir, worship teams, ensembles or tech teams (sound/light/media). Take your passion and talent and use them for the One you’re passionate about.

New Programs:

Liberty University

Grand Canyon University

Cedarville University

Liberty has a huge contingency of music and worship students, but it’s known even more for its quality educational opportunities. Whether you want to lead in a local church, write and record, perform, or teach, among many other possibilities, Liberty has a track record for preparing you for your future.

GCU is broadcasting an invitation to a new breed of worship leaders with a desire for theological depth and cultural relevance. If you’re called and gifted and want to impact congregations and nations, GCU wants you. The New Center for Worship Arts inaugural director is Bart Millard, MercyMe’s lead singer, underscoring GCU’s vision for understanding the musical language of the current generation and the transformation in the worship industry—go deep, impact wide.

Cedarville, Ohio

With a strong commitment to the authority of Scripture, you major in worship, but you take home a Bible minor to keep your ministry anchored. Join one of 60 teams serving area churches and live it while you learn it, or take it to the nations with abounding study-abroad ops.

Dallas Baptist University Dallas, Texas

Dallas Baptist University offers Christ-centered worship leadership degree programs for both undergraduate and graduate students. DBU’s undergraduate program in Music Business features a worship leadership track. The Graduate School of Ministry at DBU offers master’s degree programs in worship leadership with flexible scheduling and online, hybrid and/or evening classes for all students, especially working professionals.

IWS

Orange Park, Florida

Uniquely dedicated to an expansive and ancient/future postured education in biblical foundations, theological reflections, historical development, and cultural analysis of Christian worship. Founded by Robert E. Webber, IWS has a prodigious faculty and a diverse international student body. Combining on-campus intensives with distance learning, all students must be involved in a ministry context while pursuing their degree.

Lancaster Bible College Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Biblically based and missionally minded, the worship and performing arts department develops highly skilled artists to influence culture with grace and truth. The degree programs offer ample opportunities to learn, grow, and take your worship to the nations. Audition for

Lynchburg, Virginia

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky

The oldest seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, SBTS is fervently committed to training students with a passion for the gospel and making a seminary education possible regardless of educational background. Three different masters and three PhDs, offer an array of worship leadership, church music, and Christian worship.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Fort Worth, Texas

A leader in music education, SBTS specializes in specializing. There’s a flurry of possible degrees, and SBTS is the only school to offer a PhD in Church Music. There’s an equal emphasis on God’s Word and strong theology, plus opportunities in performance, mission, mission trips, and local internships for hands-on/voiceout worship.

Trevecca University Nashville, Tennessee

What could be better than preparing to be a worship pastor in Music City where so many gifted Christian worship writers live and minister? Trevecca’s Center for Worship Arts and the National Praise and Worship Institute let you garner the accumulated wisdom of their faculty and experience, and musical proficiency is almost guaranteed with their options of artistic development.

Phoenix, Arizona

The King’s University Multiple Locations

A multi-site university, based at churches— many of them renowned for worship—and serving the Church. The main campus is located at Gateway Church in Southlake Texas— with a campus in Lubbock as well multiple California sites and at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. With undergrad, graduate, certificate, and online degrees in a host of areas from Practical Theology to Messianic Jewish Studies to Worship, among many others. Ed Kerr, founding member of iconic worship/evangelism band Harvest, has just been appointed Director of Worship Studies.

University of Valley Forge (formerly Valley Forge Christian College) Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

The undergraduate Worship Leading program combines traditional music pedagogy along with theological and practical worship leadership training. A dynamic spiritual environment with multiple opportunities to develop your leadership skills provides the ultimate higher education experience for aspiring worship leaders. The Master of Arts in Worship Studies is an online program exploring and establishing the biblical, theological, and historical foundations of worship while also developing pastoral and artistic skills needed for a lifetime of leadership. W N OV E M B E R /D E C E M B E R

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Listed in alphabetical order by title

Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven John Eliot Gardiner // Knoph

For the Glory of God:

Shaping the Prayers of the People: The Art of Intercession Samuel Wells and Abigail Kocher Eerdmans

Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship Daniel Block // Baker Academic

The Beginner’s Guide to Worshiping God

Holy Communion in the Piety of the Reformed Church

The Case for the Psalms:

Hughes Oliphant Old Tolle Lege Press

Gary Kinnaman // Bethany House

Why They Are Essential N.T. Wright // HarperOne

Hungry for Worship: Challenges and Solutions for Today's Church Frank Page and L. Lavon Gray New Hope Publishers

The One Voice That Matters:

John: The Gospel of Wisdom

The Well-Played Life:

Michael Card // IVP

Look and Live:

Behold the Soul-Thrilling, Sin-Destroying Glory of Christ Matt Papa // Bethany House

What Worship Leaders Need to Hear From Their Shepherd Jeanelle Reider // NCC Publishing Why Pleasing God Doesn't Have to Be Such Hard Work Leonard Sweet // Tyndale Momentum

Worship and the Word:

A Bible study Pamela Haddix // DPZ Technology W

worshipleader THE APP IS AVAILABLE! NOW YOU CAN BROWSE THE ARCHIVE AND PURCHASE SINGLE ISSUES TO READ ON YOUR iPAD. Single issues and subscription available

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ARTISTS FEATURED ON SONG DISCOVERY NOV/DEC VOL. 119

SONGWRITER SHOWCASE

BETH CROFT

ZACHARY SIMMS

BACKGROUND:

BACKGROUND:

I'm based in Watford where I lead and pastor the worship team at our local church, Soul Survivor Watford. I had always been involved in music within the church, but as my relationship with Jesus grew, worship went from being an extra-curricular activity to being my wellspring, my connection point with God. A few years on, in the middle of studying for a math degree, I took a year out and worked with Worship Central where I had some amazing opportunities to learn and grow in ministry. Once I graduated, I then went on to work for Soul Survivor, where I am now heading up worship at the ministries and the church.

I couldn't imagine doing anything else and constantly have to pinch myself that I get to do this as a job!

I work at JHS Pedals and lead worship a couple times a month at a small local church, Faith Covenant Church. I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, in a small church with my family. My parents always had a strong faith and instilled that in me from the time I can remember.

I began leading worship in youth group when I was 14. This became the place where God really engaged me (and I encountered him), and I grew musically and spiritually in leaps and bounds. My family has always been huge music fans of classic rock and classic Christian music, so I had a lot of musical influences growing up from Tom Petty to the Beatles to Jars of Clay to Sara Groves.

Song Discovery: Vol. 119, #3, “Say The Word” Church Home: Soul Survivor Watford, Watford, UK

Song Discovery: Vol. 119, #10, “The Truth” Church Home: Faith Covenant Church, Kansas City, Missouri

SONG STORY:

I wasn't brought up on liturgy, but when I was at an Easter service a few years ago, I came across the Prayer of Humble Access and the liturgy of the Eucharist. I found both incredibly moving and started writing around those words, as well as looking at Luke 7:1-10 where the phrase “say the word” appears. The song is really a prayer about coming to God in humility and brokenness but having total trust in his sovereignty to save and heal.

“Truth” came at a time in my life when I was struggling deeply to see that “the truth sets you free,” but I knew it was true because Jesus’ words are truth whether we feel it or not. I wrote it as a declaration of truth in spite of my own feelings or experiences. It came in one sitting in one night in the Spring of 2008. It has been a great strength to me to declare the truth over myself continuously even when I don’t feel it. But the beauty is that it’s real, and God is faithful to his word. He does set us free and will ultimately set us free when he returns to restore all things.

TOP 5 SONGS:

TOP 5 SONGS:

“Rather Be” (Clean Bandit); “Forever” (Johnson/Gifford/Wilson/Johnson/Taylor/Jobe); “Thinking Out Loud” (Wadge/ Sheeran); “The Way” (Herbert/Cantelon/Hughes); “Ghost” (Henderson/Tedder/Zacanella)

“Don't You Want to Thank Someone” (Peterson); “The National Anthem” (Radiohead); “Little Brother Electric” (Grizzly Bear); “When It Was Over” (Groves); “Change My Life” (Spoon) W

SONG STORY:

Songwriters: Have a song you want to share with the Church?

Submit your song at worshipleader.com/submit-a-song 18

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* shows writers when different than or in addition to performer

PRESENTS

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER VOLUME 119

1. THERE IS POWER

8. LET THERE BE LIGHT

LINCOLN BREWSTER As heard on: Oxygen. Words & Music: Lincoln Brewster/Mia Fieldes.

Visit: weareworship.com

BELLARIVE As heard on: Before There Was. Words & Music: Sean Curran/Matt Maher/Joshua Silverberg.

Visit: facebook.com/bellarive

2. SAY THE WORD

9. DEFENDER

BETH CROFT As heard on: Rule My Heart.

Words & Music: Beth Croft/Tim Hughes.

Visit: soulsurvivor.com/song-chord-charts

KINGS KALEIDOSCOPE As heard on: Becoming Who We Are. Words & Music: Chad Gardner/Zach Bolen.

Visit: kingskaleidoscope.com

3. SING OUT

10. THE TRUTH

JESUS CULTURE As heard on: Unstoppable Love.

Words & Music: Chris Quilala/Ian McIntosh/ Jeffrey Kunde/Jeremy Edwardson.

Visit: jesusculture.com

ZACHARY SIMMS As heard on: Be Strong, Take Courage.

Words & Music: Zachary Simms.

Visit: zacharysimms.com

4. THE WAY WORSHIP CENTRAL As heard on: Set Apart. Words & Music: Ben Cantelon/Nick Herbert/Tim Hughes.

Visit: worshipcentral.org

5. IN AWE SEEKER & SERVANT As heard on: Into Your Love, I Go. Words & Music: Cameron & Chandler Wood.

Visit: seekerandservant.tumblr.com

6. I SHALL NOT WANT AUDREY ASSAD As heard on: Fortunate Fall.

Words & Music: Audrey Assad/Bryan Brown.

Visit: audreyassad.com

7. LOVE DISPLAYED JUSTIN KINTZEL As heard on: Vital Worship: Songs for the Living King. Words & Music: Justin Kintzel/ Ross King. Visit: justinkintzel.com

MAGAZINES

CHORD CHARTS & LEAD SHEETS IN 3 KEYS

11. CHRIST IN ME THE HEDGEROW FOLK As heard on: Come Close.

Words & Music: The Hedgerow Folk.

Visit: thehedgerowfolk.com

Our God is stronger Our God is greater Our God is higher than any other

12. LORD HAVE MERCY BRADY TOOPS As heard on: Brady Toops.

Words & Music: Brady Toops/Mia Fieldes.

Visit: bradytoops.com

LYRICS FOR POWERPOINT

13. STILL CHRIS & BETHANY SOLYNTJES As heard on: Still.

Words & Music: Chris & Bethany Solyntjes.

Visit: chrisandbethanymusic.com

14. SHEPHERD OF MY SOUL RIVERS & ROBOTS As heard on: All Things New. Words & Music: Jonathan Ogden/Rivers & Robots.

Visit: riversandrobots.com

LITETRACKS FROM MULTITRACKS.COM

Subscribe TODAY AT worshipleader.com/subscribe or call 888-881-5861

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Listed in alphabetical order by title

christianmediamagazine.com lifewayworship.com With a church media editorial slant, this beautiful site is filled with articles and other content relevant to any church leader.

A song resource with tracks and charts as well as a place to create setlists, map your service, find instrumental resources, and more.

churchtechtoday.com

loopcommunity.com

Stay ahead of the curve with communication and church technology with this site that covers mobile, websites, social media, church software, and more.

essentialworship.com

Tutorials, inspiration, song resources, videos and more from the Essential stable of artists, including Tim Timmons, Vertical Church Band, Matt Maher, Elevation Worship, One Sonic Society, and more.

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Loop Community’s distinctive is the “community.” Here you will find CommunityTracks (loops created by the community), MasterTracks (original master multitracks from artists and record labels), new songs, and various sounds and samples for worship.

ministrymatters.com

MM is a fantastic source of information and insight with thousands of articles, blogs, book reviews, and weekly worship and preaching helps.

multitracks.com

A massive resource of worship tracks and loops using original song masters (same as the CD), as well as the ability to CustomMix the tracks from your Web browser.

praisecharts.com

Fully scored Christian sheet music for worship songs, lyrics, chord charts, lead sheets, worship choir charts, praise band arrangements, jazz band arrangements, and full orchestrations.

songselect.com

CCLI’s massive library of song resources including lyrics, chord charts, lead sheets, and vocal sheet music.

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theworshipcommunity.com

With the tagline “Discussing Everything Worship,” TWC is a portal to conversation with likeminded people. You may go there for the informative worship content but stay for the forums and discussion with other worship leaders.

worship.calvin.edu

worshipsong.com

Worshipsong.com is a free distribution network for independent worship songwriters, churches and movements. Worship songwriters and producers can also sell their MP3s, song charts, and videos by linking to their store or by selling through the store at worshipsong.com.

(Calvin Institute for Christian Worship) Operating under a Creative Commons license, you will find a rich library of theological articles and posts about worship that you can use for your own scholarship or repurpose it to train your community.

worshiptogether.com

biblefluency.com

thechurchcollective.com

Bible Fluency presents a free comprehensive learning program. The Old and New Testament programs include teaching notes, video teaching, music files, flashcards, and printable handouts. The complete digital curriculum is free but can also be purchased in physical form.

christiansongcharts.com

Part of the Salem suite of products, you will find lead sheets, orchestrations, and pianovocal sheets at competitive prices. Select from hundreds of charts and digital sheet music so you can play like a pro with music from artists like Hillsong, All Sons & Daughters, Kari Jobe, Crowder, and more.

theworshipinitiative.com

Shane & Shane’s theworshipinitiative.com is a resource to empower musicians to consider their calling, their craft, and creating. Training videos, chord charts, devotionals, songwriting help, and more populate this site. Shorten rehearsal times, provide devotionals for your team, teach God's Word, and rehearse on your own time at home to be more efficient on the weekend.

Looking for a better way to

Schedule Volunteers?

Tutorials, inspiration, song resources, videos and more from the CMG stable of artists, including Brenton Brown, Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, Crowder, Matt Redman, Hillsong, and more.

The Church Collective is a communitydriven website that serves as a training resource and connection hub for worship ministries around the world. Send your worship team members to The Church Collective to learn about worship theology, new music releases, practical music theory and technique training, technical training on instruments, hardware, and software involved in worship ministry.

weareworship.com

WeAreWorship.com serves leaders in worship ministry with song resources and inspiration. Membership at WeAreWorship.com is free and members receive a free MP3 & chord chart each week. Original key chord charts are always free. The site has songs, resources, and articles from Integrity Music’s established songwriters and ministries such as Paul Baloche, All Sons & Daughters, New Life Worship, Gateway Worship, Israel Houghton, Jared Anderson, Darlene Zschech, Jon Egan, Jennie Lee Riddle, Glenn Packiam, and many more. W

WE FOUND IT. worshipplanning.com makes it easier for churches to plan, schedule and coordinate worship services.

• Create and organize multiple services and worship flows • Organize teams and schedule volunteers to serve • Build a library of music with easy access for team members

One name says it all.

Serving with you.

Listed in alphabetical order by title

allaboutworship.com

Wisdom Moon All About Worship is a free online resource, established in 2006, that exists to equip, encourage, and inspire worship leaders/teams and songwriters worldwide. They provide free worship compilations, articles, music reviews, training events, podcasts, and more. They are always creating new ways to resource the Body of Christ.

chrisfromcanada.com

Chris Vacher Blog with simple tools and resources for worship leaders across church size and Christian faith traditions. There are helpful eBooks as well, useful as training material for worship leaders and teams, helping to inspire lead worshipers to further God’s ministry through them.

communicatejesus.com

Steve Kryger Leading worship is a form of communication, This blog exists to glorify Jesus by serving his people and covering the following convergence of ministry topics: websites, leadership, social media, strategy, church life (giving, volunteer recruitment, welcoming, etc.), communication, outreach, online safety, and more.

middlebrained.com

Dan Leverence The blog’s name has to do with Leverence’s efforts to balance logic and creativity in his efforts to honor God in his local church. An arts ministry leader, he shares thoughts, stories, setlists, and experiences intermittently and evocatively, about his weekly worship experiences, his own leadership convictions, lessons he’s learning, and other pertinent topics.

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rkblog.com

Rich Kirkpatrick Since 2005, Rich Kirkpatrick's blog has consistently been ranked among the top 50 Christian blogs, that and the fact that he is specifically writing from a worship perspective makes the RK blog a must bookmark. He’s also a beloved faculty ant NWLC (so you can tap into his wisdom both online and in person).

Sharefaith Magazine

(sharefaith.com/blog)

Various Sharefaith magazine is a blogzine distributed biweekly encompassing both practical, and inspirational biblically-based articles on leadership, music, worship, training, evangelism, tech, and gear. It provides a weekly aid to church teams in encouraging, equipping, and focusing them on excelling in their ministry.

votivepraise.com

Gangai Victor Gangai is a songwriter, worship leader, and blogger from India who is passionate about worship, and this passion is contagious on his informative, thoughtful, edgy, insightful and not-afraid-of-controversy blog, Votive Praise.

Categories: training, ministry, life-style choices, technology, character, songwriting, theology, spirituality, and resources.

worshipmatters.com

Bob Kauflin Director of Sovereign Grace Music, Bob Kauflin has a deep and rich biblical understanding of worship. He spends much of his time equipping pastors and musicians in the theology and practice of congregational worship, speaks at conferences, oversees production of wor-

ship albums, writes books and articles and, of course, aids and informs anyone who wants to use music and words to magnify God’s glory in Christ through his excellent and expansive blog.

worshipministrycatalyst.com

David Lindner/Kevin Kruse Podcast and blog page designed to network and resource worship leaders and worship team members with practical ideas and fromthe-trenches know how. A blogroll helps direct you to other worship bloggers and leaders and there’s also an album review section.

worthilymagnify.com

Jamie Brown Brown is the director of worship and arts at Truro Anglican Church in Fairfax, Virginia. Worthily Magnify is rich with content, engaging stories, helpful reminders, and worship transparency.

Brown has relentless insight on worship and church ministry and helps us to cultivate an essential sense of humor.

zachicks.com

Zac Hicks Zac points to Scripture, other bloggers, leaders, information sources as well as delivering his own pithy and passionate take on the state of worship and the Church. Pastoral, passionate, creative, wise, recording artist, worship leader, theologian, author, and a National Worship Leader faculty, Hicks’ blog often uncovers the intersection of “new” and “old” worship practices. A great resource for tapping into important worship conversations, and an essential bookmark for thoughtful worship leaders. W

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WENGER MAKES CHOOSING A PORTABLE STAGING SYSTEM EASY: ✓ ❏ ✓ ❏ ✓ ❏ ✓ ❏ ✓ ❏ ✓ ❏ ✓ ❏

SIMPLE SET UP INCREDIBLY STRONG LIGHTWEIGHT DECKS SAFE VERSATILE RUGGED ENGINEERING FROM A COMPANY THAT’S BEEN BUILDING STAGING FOR OVER 60 YEARS Los Angeles County High School for the Arts

Seated Risers

Outdoor Platforms

Performance Staging

Large Events

StageTek™ is everything you want it to be, including the world’s most versatile stage.

StageTek staging is the most complete staging system ever available for schools, theaters and places of worship. By simply mixing different deck sizes and leg lengths you can configure virtually any stage you need. And, with easy-to-grip decks and tool-free design, you can set up your stage fast with just one or two people. You can also add stairways, curtains, railings, connectors, and more to make your StageTek special every time it performs. Utilize our universal storage carts to quickly and easily load, store and transport platforms. For more information, including load ratings, please call or visit us online.

Scan with your smartphone for a video demo.

800-4WENGER (493-6437) www.wengercorp.com/stagetek

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Thanks to the “rise of the visual” in culture in general and churches in particular, we have come miles and miles since the days of the overhead projector. Many churches even include a role on the worship team: visual worship leader. And to accompany the both ancient and/semi-new orientation of our congregation’s focus, we are happy to present these outstanding possibilities in the realm of Visual Resourcing.

Listed in alphabetical order by title

Centerline New Media

Centerline New Media provides high-quality visual media resources for the Church. This includes sermon illustrations, worship intro videos, motion backgrounds, announcement slides, countdowns, and still backgrounds. New site launched in November of 2013.

Payment style: Subscription centerlinenewmedia.com

The Creative Sheep

Communicating God’s love through excellent content, Creative Sheep offers both custom and ready-to-use designs, motion graphics, and video resources for your worship service.

Clean looks with an ultra-modern feel make these resources powerful and un-clunky.

Payment style: A la carte thecreativesheep.com

Floodgate Productions

Outstanding custom-made visuals that feel like major motion pictures in miniature form. The stills and motions are great but the mini-movie is their strength. Their library is growing but currently they have a menu of 125 mini movies, 14 countdowns, 170 motions, and 40 welcome loops.

Payment style: Subscription floodgateproductions.com

Journey Box Media

Journey Box specializes in delivering powerful visuals through “unsafe” storytelling. It’s nice to see humans once in a while, and these mov-

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ies are more than digital animation… though sometimes they are simply digital animation.

There are mini movies and motion loops, plus media in Español!

Payment style: A la carte journeyboxmedia.com

Lightstock

Cheese-free stock photography with Christian themes. If you are not currently using Lightstock for your stock photo needs, you are simply missing out.

Payment style: A la carte/credits lightstock.com

MinistryFlix

A premium distribution, cutting-edge site that offers the best content in a fast and userfriendly environment. They specialize in minimovies, motion loops, countdowns, seasonal options, and still photos.

Payment style: A la carte ministryflix.com

Motion Worship

With updates every week (or so), Motion Worship was the brainchild of Josiah Smith (who also produces most of the content) when he saw the lack of quality visual resources. At $50 for a yearly subscription that includes all content on the site, this is one of the most affordable visual resources.

Payment style: Subscription motionworship.com

RT Creative Igniter

Some of the best mini movies in ministry today. Their site now also offers content from other producers, so you will find 600+ movies on their site.

Payment style: Subscription and a la carte ignitermedia.com

Graceway

Here is where you will find the title graphics, motion loops, countdowns, background stills, and Photoshop files created by the RT team, which means they are subtle, designed with beautiful precision, and stylistically relevant without being too edgy.

Payment style: Subscription gracewaymedia.com

Reverve Media and The Worship Vault Reverve

Do you have great ideas, but are lacking a team to produce the quality video that you need to illustrate them? Reverve Media specializes in church media, video production, graphic design, motion graphics, website design, and movies to tell your wedding story.

Payment style: Per project revervemedia.com

Worship Vault

A place to find the media designed by Reverve (and others) and use it in your service of worship.

Payment style: A la carte theworshipvault.com

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Sermon Spice

SermonSpice works with over 2,000 filmmakers to offer an expansive library of illustrations, backgrounds, lyric videos, and more. You are going to find a focus on sermon illustrations here, but the site is robust and worth a look for anyone.

Payment style: A la carte sermonspice.com

Sharefaith Media

Sharefaith offers the largest worship media library available with nearly 60,000 worship media products, ranging from sermon PowerPoints, worship videos, countdown timers, triple-wides, stock photos, bulletins, flyers, newsletters, and backgrounds, An annual or monthly membership gives unlimited access. And you don't sacrifice quality for quantity; Sharefaith’s visuals are excellent and professional. This one’s hard to beat.

Payment style: Subscription sharefaith.com

Shift Worship

Over 3,000 backgrounds, mini movies, message screens and more, with new content every week. One of the more affordable options around and their content is some of the most visually compelling out there. Plus, we mention it in the app section of this issue, make sure you check out their content creation app. It's one of the best innovations for visual leaders in the past five years.

Payment style: Subscription and a la carte shiftworship.com

Steelehouse Media

Beautiful media options with one of the most elegant and robust search options. Plus they produce some of the best digital animation films in the business. Need a custom video? You got it.

Steelehouse will create content specific to your mission.

Payment style: Subscription and a la carte steelehousemedia.com

The Work of the People

Not your typical mini-movie site, TWOTP exists to inspire and intrigue. There are movies that are compelling nuggets of wisdom some from interviews with prominent worship theologians and biblical scholars; others create a visual liturgy around important Church Calendar events… while some are simply visual poetry.

Definitely one of our favorites.

Payment style: Subscription and a la carte via credits theworkofthepeople.com

WorshipHouse Media

One of the most exhaustive libraries and proven grounds for finding visual media. WorshipHouseMedia is well-categorized, highly intuitive—definitely a go-to for visual resources.

Payment style: A la carte worshiphousemedia.com

Worship Media Pro 4 DVD Set

Not big on the computer downloads? This resource bypasses the Internet and goes straight to your desktop. Oh sure you can get all their media on the site as well, but the DVD includes everything. The 4 DVD Set includes motion loops, title loops, countdowns and stills.

Payment style: A la carte and one-time purchase for DVDs worshipmediapro.com W

TripleWideMedia

Quite a few visual media outlets are beginning to offer triple-wide options (media to be used on multiple screens), but TripleWide Media is the frontrunner. They both produce and curate motions and stills to make your images bigger and better than the walls they are projected on.

Plus you will find their blog is a great resource for implementing these kinds of visuals.

Payment style: A la carte via credits triplewidemedia.com

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Listed in alphabetical order by title

Come&Live!

Using the term “musicianaries” to describe the artists that are part of this missional organization, Come&Live! wants to bring discipleship, a Kingdom-mentality, and generosity to the forefront of the music world. This alternative-to-alabel gifts the music created to 189 countries around the world, all with the purpose of sharing talents and encouraging others to live by faith. comeandlive.com PHR WL Mag Ad.pdf 1 9/19/14 2:24 PM

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GoMotion

GoMotion is a global missions ministry to facilitate music, media, and missions on an international stage. Using music, media, and partnering with existing missions, GoMotion is setting out to complete the great commission. Current worship artists include Daniel Bashta, Harvest Parker, and Matt Jackson. gomotionworldwide.com

Mission Frontiers

This bi-monthly magazine comes in print or online and approaches mission from a creative arts point of view. Curious about ethnomusicology? This is a great place to start. Want to explore cultural sensitivity in music composition?

You’re covered. Basically Mission Frontiers is the wealth of information that missionally minded creatives are looking for. missionfrontiers.org W

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All THINGS

DIGITAL

Listed in alphabetical order by title

Bridge Element

Offers: Multiple robust themes for church websites Cost: $199 upfront, $29 per month bridgeelement.com

Christian Web

Offers: Custom website made just for you Cost: Varies according to project christianweb.com.au

Clover

Offers: Themes for churches and ministries (or just about anything else) Cost: $1,000 upfront, $20 per month cloversites.com

E-zekiel

Offers: Themes for churches and ministries or custom creation if needed Cost: $0 up front, $19 per month (basic level) e-zekiel.com

Ekklesia 360

Offers: Themes for churches, themes tailored to your ministry, and custom websites Cost: $500 up front, $60 per month (basic level), price varies for tailored and custom sites. ekklesia360.com

Elexio

Offers: Website Themes, database management, a mobile app, and check in and giving kiosks Cost: Varies based on products elexio.com

faithHighway

Offers: Custom church websites, outreach TV commercials, and church logo and branding designs Cost: $2,500 upfront, $50 per month (standard website); $500$4,500 (commercials) $2,000 with purchase of website (branding) faithhighway.com

The Action Bible is off the page and in to kids. In just five days, introduce kids to an expansive understanding of God’s Story, giving them an opportunity to become part of it as VBS comes to a close. With powerful illustrations, activities, comic trading cards, and essential themes in Scripture, it’s a winner.

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Go Fish Worship Resource Kit Vol. 2

Kids, teens, adults, and animated characters in choreographed, colorful, high energy worship songs, and motions that underscore lyrical content. Six songs, three discs (CD, DVD and DVD-ROM), with onscreen music videos, split track, backing tracks, interface with presentation software and more.

Sharefaith Church Websites

Offers: Website themes Cost: $250 up front, $54 per month (basic level) faithconnector.com

Offers: Website themes (includes membership to Sharefaith’s 58,000 Religious graphics/ media library) Cost: $0 up front, $49 per month sharefaith.com

FaithNetwork

Worship Times

FaithConnector

Offers: Custom websites, streaming campus, mobile church apps, online donations, church web stores, branding designs, and more.

Cost: $1,700 upfront, $30 per

Pequeña Fiesta de Alabanza

God in Action VBS

month (basic level); $500 up front, $100 per month (streaming campus); everything else is priced per-project faithnetwork.com

Pequeña Fiesta de Alabanza is the best of the best of Yancy’s “Little Praise Party” series translated into Spanish: it’s a pequeña fiesta and big fun. Great if you speak Español and a great way to learn it if you don’t. All ages will enjoy the 15 song DVD of animated music videos, with soundtracks, and MP4s to import to your presentation software.

Sharefaith Kids

A 100 percent cloud-based, 52week curriculum for children, ages 4-12, is here complete with video Bible stories, songs lessons, memory verses, crafts, and more. Applicable in different contexts (Sunday School, VBS) across Christian faith

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Offers: Website themes Cost: $499 up front, $39 per month (basic level) worshiptimes.org

traditions, this curriculum is affordable, and teachers can use any Internet-connected workstation or device (iPhone, iPad, Android phone, tablet, laptop, etc.)—free iOS and Android apps available in iTunes and Google Play.

worshiphousekids.com

Associated with WorshipHouse Media, this is a one-stop-shop for all kinds of terrific media for kids in your ministry. Whatever you may need: video shorts, sound tracks, countdowns, motion backgrounds, still backgrounds, curriculum, software, and seasonal media. From worshipful to humorous, from nature to abstract, there is a buffet of children’s choices for your media needs. W

INTRODUCING GCU’S

CENTER FOR WORSHIP ARTS! ONE PASSION. ONE VOICE. ONE PURPOSE.

Bart Millard

Director of GCU’s Center for Worship Arts Lead Singer/Co-Founder of MercyMe

A QUALITY private, Christian education The AFFORDABILITY of a state university • Over 150 academic programs

• NCAA Division I athletics

Grand Canyon University is investing in the thought leaders for today’s churches, ministries and companies. Whether it’s our new Worship Arts, Master of Divinity, or other Masters or Doctoral programs, our approach encourages ministry while learning.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

855-428-7884 | gcu.edu/WorshipArts Grand Canyon University is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. (800-621-7440; http://hlcommission.org/) For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program and other important information, please visit our website at gcu.edu/disclosures. Please note, not all GCU programs are available in all states and in all learning modalities. Program availability is contingent on student enrollment.

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Listed in alphabetical order by title

God’s Not Dead*

Budget: $2,000,000 Profits to date: $62,000,000.

Niche: Drama Theme/Story: Central character Josh’s faith is put to the test when he is challenged by his philosophy professor to either reject God immediately or prove God’s existence over the course of the semester. The downside is if his work and a final debate with his prof don’t make the grade, his academic career is sunk.

Prod/dist: Pure Flix Entertainment Rating: PG Buzz: Most talked-about, most evocative Christian film of 2014. Resonated big time with 20-30 somethings. With a tiny budget, far-flung impact!

Heaven Is for Real

Budget: 12,000,00 Profits to date: $100,500,000.

Niche: Contemporary biography Theme/story: Toddler Colton Burpo has a near death experience, meets Jesus, and turns his pastor, father, and family upside down as people react to his amazing and detailed stories of heaven and deceased family members.

Prod/dist: Sony Pictures Rating: PG Buzz: Greg Kinnear and good cast turn in believable performances, and the best-selling book propels high interest and attendance, but the book was better and more hope-filled.

The ending is a whimper and not a bang and scriptural questions and script choices leave a nagging dissatisfaction for some.

Holy Ghost

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Rating: Not rated. Parental advisory because of subject matter Prod/Dist: Behold Motion Pictures Buzz: In the midst of destruction hope arises.

Gripping, emotionally moving, and spiritually captivating. High ratings across distribution platforms and info sites.

When the Game Stands Tall

Budget: $15,000,000 Profits to date: $28,000,000 Niche: Biography/recent history Theme/story: Taking a high school team to an amazing uninterrupted winning streak, legendary football coach Bob Ladouceur must then lead the team and town in the facing and dealing with tragedy and loss.

Prod/dist: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Affirm Films Rating: PG Buzz: Encouraging, inspiring, and Jim Caviezel is always a plus. 7.0 out of 10 on IMDb.

Son of God

Budget: $22,000,000 Profits to date: *$68,000,000 Worldwide Niche: Biblical history/drama Theme/story: Christocentric, gospel-based revelation of Christ from birth to death and resurrection Prod/dist: 20th Century Fox Rating: PG Buzz: Quality special effects. Some biblical departures, but generally represents the real Jesus.

The Good Lie

Where Was God?

Budget: N/A Niche: Improvisational response to Holy Spirit’s leading Theme/story: Director Darren Wilson desired to make a documentary completely led by the Holy Spirit. Show up where he leads,

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find the adventure, and make God famous.

The resulting locations in Salt Lake City, Monte Carlo, India, and a Korn concert deliver a diverse and dynamic series of healing encounters, testimonies, and drama.

Prod/dist: Wanderlust Productions Rating: Unrated Buzz: Youthful vibe; promo features Meredith Andrews, Michael W. Smith, and Pastor Bill Johnson. The miraculous on film: sure to be questioned, controversial, challenging … and embraced.

Budget: N/A Niche: Documentary/Contemporary Events Theme/story: Follows several families who experienced the devastation of the EF5 tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma. With a force dramatically exceeding the atomic bomb, the haunting question arose: “Where Was God?”

Budget: N/A Niche: Based on real events, inspirational drama, suspense Theme/Story: The relationship and life events surrounding Sudanese “Lost Boys” refugees that end up in Kansas. (Reese Witherspoon plays their employment counselor.)

Rating: PG-13 Prod/dist: Multiple, including Warner Bros.

The Buzz: A high percentage of filmgoers plan to go, 94 percent, so buy tickets ahead. Bring a handkerchief. Mixed reviews in advance screenings.

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YOUR MINISTRY

LIVE IN HD

ANYWHERE

The Song

Budget: TBD Niche: Romance/drama/music Theme/story: The allure of fame leads a singer/songwriter on a dark trail away from God and his wife—Song of Solomon and redemptive themes Production/distribution: City on a Hill/Samuel Goldwyn Studios Rating: PG13 Buzz: Relatable, good production values, so-so on originality.

Upcoming Releases Exodus: Gods and Kings

Budget: Not announced, but by the looks of the trailer: big…really BIG! Niche: (Fictionalized?) Biblical history Theme/Story: The archetypal and epic adventure of Moses focusing on one man’s bravery in standing against a mighty empire.

Prod/dist: 20th Century Fox Rating: Not yet rated Buzz: High expectations of director Ridley Scott’s take on this foundational biblical history. With state-of-the-art special effects, the hope is that Scripture doesn’t get lost at the bottom of the Red Sea and the deadly plagues don’t veer in the direction of Freddy.

Hillsong: Let Hope Arise

Budget: Not yet announced Niche: Documentary/music Theme/story: the Australia-based, 11-member Christian worship band Hillsong United's rise from a youth group at Hillsong Church to worldwide influence, with stratospheric album sales.

Prod/dist: Warner Bros., Alcon Entertainment Rating: Not rated Buzz: Director John Michael Warren no stranger to music and musicals (Fade to Black w/Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Shrek). According to Joel Houston it’s an “up-close and unvarnished” look at the group … release in early April 2015.

Mary Mother of Christ

Budget: $25,000,000 Niche: Historical fiction/action/drama Theme/Story: The life of Mary before the Gospels begin, and the life of Mary and Jesus the Gospels leave out. Although Joseph is present, the story is Mary’s.

Buzz: It is billed as a high action drama, with some notable stars (Ben Kingsley, Julia Ormond) with projected revenue near one billion.

Prod/Dist: Lionsgate Entertainment Rating: Not yet rated Buzz: Called the “Prequel to the Passion of the Christ.”

a smarter way to stream

Unbroken

Budget: Not yet announced Niche: Action/biography/drama Theme/story: Chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II, and eventual return to faith through the preaching of Billy Graham.

Prod/dist: Universal Pictures, 3 Arts Entertainment, Jolie Pas, Legendary Pictures.

Rating: Not yet rated Buzz: With Angelina Jolie directing and the Coen brother’s writing, expect intense drama.

Not sure how much of Zamperini’s resilient and evangelical Christian faith will surface. W

www.boxcast.com

*Numbers are approximate and rounded out to the nearest half million, and change daily.

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Listed in alphabetical order by title

Gospel Software

How do you keep up with members, additions to the family, new addresses, bible studies, and ministry teams? How do you connect with visitors, keep the music flowing between team members? It’s a lot of work. But now, it’s a lot less work and a lot more fun. Gospel Software is here to serve you and even makes sure community members jump on board and share the joy of connection … and administration.

Logos Bible Software

Say what? Kicking it into gear with Bible Study at every level. Logos software’s unparalleled set of tools take you inside Scripture—for PC, Mac, mobile devices, and the Web—plus gives you access to a ginormous library. Need a commentary, concordance, dictionary, or map? Scads of them.

Multiple translations. Newbie. Pastor. Scholar. You’re covered from A to Z and Genesis to Revelation.

OpenSong

What’s better than cheap? FREE. As its name suggests, OpenSong is open-source software, free, to help musicians and songwriters manage the flood of files and paper that consume their lives. It delivers lyric projection and chord charts, lead sheets, overheads, and more for church musicians—available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems in multiple languages.

Power Music (Professional)

“Professional artist” and “well organized”— not always synonymous. Almost too good to be true. All your music in one place—easily found, never lost. All your music needs met: share, annotate, search and find, instantly.

Transpose and so much more. Instant page turning (sigh of relief). Borderline miraculous.

Weiv

(Apple only software) Visualize your worship. Collaborative, customizable, interactive. Moving pictures meet rhythmic beats. You can weave sound and vision together, using your Wii remotes to control motion-background style visuals. Meets a range of needs.

Instead of merely watching, jump in and participate.

worshipinc.com

Low-cost chord chart software for use across platforms including iPad and Surface. Cut and paste to import your favorite new songs, then edit, transpose, format, add to a setlist, and share across devices and with team members. W

www.myWC.me 800-921-4561 BROUGHT TO YOU BY WCBCS DOWNLOAD THE APP

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Listed in alphabetical order by title

Elvanto

With a broad approach to Church planning, Elvanto’s worship aspect includes the bare bones of everything you need for service and volunteer management.

Pricing based on church size: From $30 - $150+ elvanto.com

Planning Center Services

We often ask worship leaders, “What’s your most valued resource?” The most common answer we hear is “Planning Center Services.” Plan your services, schedule your teams, and organize, transpose, and rehearse your music from any computer or mobile device. All you need in one place.

From $14 - $99 per month based on desired package planningcenteronline.com

QuickWorship

Manage teams, create schedules, manage songs and setlists, and more; this planning software is more song/setlist-centric. So if that’s your cup of tea, this is might be the option for you.

Pricing based on church size: From $5 - $99 quickworship.com

Worship Hub

An online directory connecting worship leaders and musicians with churches who need assistance in their worship services. If you need a musician for your church service, or if you’re a musician looking for a church to plug into, this

is a fantastic connecting service. $5 per month for musicians and $199 per year for churches worshiphub.com

WorshipPlanning.com

This past year, WorshipPlanning.com had a major update to version 5.0, making it even easier to plan your worship flow with tons of drag and drop elements, inline editing, and a new “smart sort” songs listing to help you find just the right song.

From $14 - $80 per month based on desired package worshipplanning.com W

MEDIA FOR YOUR CHURCH MINI-MOVIES SERMON ART BACKGROUNDS LYRIC VIDEOS |

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All THINGS

DIGITAL

Listed in alphabetical order by title

EasyWorship

Distinctive: As the name suggests, dragand-drop and simplicity of design makes transitions, videos and all your media presentation a snap. PC only. $399

Worship Extreme

Distinctive: Cloud based, cross-platform so you can use any computer with access to all your media from anywhere. PC + Mac. Subscription: a free option to $14 per month

MediaShout

Distinctive: Power is the key with MediaShout. From cloud sync to integrating the Band-in-hand app, this one does it all.

Too powerful? There’s a volunteer mode for simplified options. PC + Mac. $399

Planning Center Projector

Distinctive: iPad presentation app, seamlessly interacts with your Planning Center Online account, this one ditches the clutter 34

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and gives you exactly what you need on a device you use on a daily basis. Pulls lyrics from chord charts for simple editing and no wasted time double inputting. iOS only.

Subscription upgrade for PCO: $2 - $10

Proclaim

Distinctive: Cloud-based, seamless interaction with Logos Bible software, smart media that chooses the right font/color for the background, use your iPhone to control it from the stage, interaction options such as sending Bible verses to the congregation, send information, and even mark their calendars for upcoming events. PC + Mac. Subscription based on church size from $20 - $75 per month.

ProPresenter 6

Distinctive: Used by over 90 of the largest churches in America, ProPresenter 6 is the newest version of one of the most-used and trusted presentation software options in existence. PC + Mac. $399

Sharefaith Presenter

Distinctive: Seamlessly integrates with the massive Sharefaith media library, this software combines all the bells and whistles of a premium worship projection software and integrates it to the familiar realms of PowerPoint. PC only, requires PowerPoint.

Free to subscribers.

SongShow Plus

Distinctive: Editing aspect gives you more power to create and manipulate your images, plus their suite of apps makes this powerful software option extremely mobile friendly for iOS and Android. PC only.

Basic: $199, Pro: $349, Ultra $549

ZionWorx 2014

Distinctive: ZionWorx 2014 is brand new, high-quality, affordable church presentation software that does its job with no fuss. Intuitive management of playlists, which may include songs, images, videos, PowerPoint presentations, and Bible passages. PC only. $180 W

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DIGITAL

Listed in alphabetical order by title

Shift Media Creator

Capture for iPad

With one finger tap, volunteers can record with professional audio quality anywhere, anytime.

Capture events, songs, sermons, whatever you want, then transfer your tracks wirelessly to PreSonus Studio One for editing, mixing, and distribution. iOS $9.99

ChurchAppLive

It doesn't take thousands of dollars for your church to have its own app. With this service, stream your services, distribute media, send push notifications, maintain a church calendar, accept offerings, and more. Members can also view secure prayer requests and post new prayer requests right from your secure app. $29.00 per month

iSing Worship

Are you one of those churches using CDs to lead worship on a Sunday? iSing will help you gain more flexibility with volume, keys, and visual presentation. iOS Free but individual songs cost $2.99, bought in-app

OnSong

Replace the mess of paper chord charts with a digital, interactive, app that’s always organized.

OnSong manages your performance-ready, interactive, digital chord charts, and with AirTurn, you can use a foot pedal to turn the page. iOS $12.99 36

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Planning Center Music Stand

Music Stand is a mobile music reader for you and your team. Swipe or step through music PDFs with a foot pedal, take personalized notes, and play attached audio from the iPad and Android apps, or even from your browser.

Any musician can open Music Stand and load setlists from their Planning Center account.

Whether just during rehearsal or live in your services, your lyrics, chords, audio, and metronome are only a tap away. iOS, Android Subscription upgrade from $2 per church monthly

PlaybackPro

For the price of a mocha, you can stop the endless search for motion and still backgrounds and start creating them yourself using your iPhone. Take a new picture, or use a picture in your camera’s library, select SD, HD, or triple-wide resolution, add gorgeous still and motion overlay filters, adjust color, saturation, brightness, contrast, blur, and use it anywhere. iOS $5.99

SongSuggest

Basically a collection of 800 timeless yet congregational worship songs and hymns, ranging from classic hymns to the latest songs impacting the church today. SongSugest places this collection of songs at your fingertips, and allows you to find the song you need by filtering this collection using Themes, Key, or Tempo. iOS $2.99

Playback Pro is a really simple, yet powerful way to run your MutliTracks from your iPad. It allows users to loop tracks in real-time, delete sections, and edit the arrangement, plus every song comes with every song section labeled for you, so you download and you're ready to go. There is also a free version called Playback Intro, which is a limited free version of the app that comes with a lot of the key features. iOS $49.99

StageMix for iPad

PRIME 2.0

Worship Band in Hand

For worship leaders running loops and multi tracks in worship, Prime is your answer. Create a setlist, use the built in metronome, and adjust your multi tracks on the fly with pitch shifting and tempo adjustment. iOS Free

StageMix provides remote control of Yamaha’s mixing boards via a simple, intuitive graphical interface. The software has been specifically designed to allow engineers to adjust monitor mixes from the performers’ positions on stage, directly controlling mix parameters via the iPad rather than having to rely on verbal directions to a second engineer. iOS Free

Fill in missing musicians with this easy-touse app. You can control band tracks on your mobile device, replace absent musicians, or simply complete your worship team. The guy or girl-with-a-guitar model just got a bit more complete. iOS, Android Free W

N O VEMB E R/DE CE MBE R 2014

Finding the Right Music Gear for Your Church Just Got Easier!

Get the Newest FREE Issue of Worship Sound Pro — the Ultimate Music Gear Guide for Houses of Worship!

Call Today for Your FREE Copy!

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ISSUE!

Sweetwater-exclusive Interviews

Read in-depth interviews with today’s top worship leaders and artists. Learn about the gear, the techniques, and the inspiration — straight from the sources themselves.

Essential Guides for You and Your Volunteers

In-depth, down-to-earth articles help volunteers, pastors, and worship leaders understand the ins and outs of the latest in worship sound technology.

THE

DIGITAL AGE

In January of 2012, the David Crowder Band ended their 12-year run as one of the Christian music industry’s most successful groups. Former DCB guitarists Mark Waldrop and Jack Parker, drummer B-Wack, and bassist Mike D went on to start a new musical venture called The Digital Age. Their debut album, Evening : Morning, was released to rave reviews in 2013. Recently, Sweetwater’s Jeff Barnett caught up with Mark Waldrop.

Can you give us a little history and recap what has happened since the last David Crowder Band show?

For those who don’t know what the David Crowder Band was, we started as a little worship team from University Baptist Church (UBC) in Waco, TX, a church that David Crowder founded with Chris Seay in the mid-’90s. We toured for about 12 years. Then in 2010, David transitioned from Waco to Atlanta, and the rest of us really wanted to stay in Waco and stay involved with UBC. So The Digital Age is essentially that. We’re still involved with UBC, and we’re still writing the same genre of music: upbeat, programming-heavy “fun worship,” as we call it. The Digital Age has been a band for a little over two years, which is crazy to say because it still seems so new.

We released a live EP called Rehearsals in 2012. We were just rehearsing for church, tracked it, and released it as an EP. And in 2013, we put out a record called Evening : Morning and followed that with a fall tour.

Evening : Morning doesn’t sound like just another DCB album, though. Can you describe the sound of The Digital Age? When you’re in a band and have an established sound and way of doing things, then you start a new band, you get to pick and choose what you liked about what you’ve been doing. But you also have a really natural moment to question what you want to do differently. With The Digital Age, we’re still writing songs for the same congregation. UBC is about 70% college students, so we tend to sound like what college kids are listening to.

We keep a close pulse on that.

The Digital Age’s latest album, Evening : Morning, is available now.

To find out more, go to thedigitalagemusic.com!

David led from an acoustic guitar, and he would be a hard person to replace. One of the very first things we all agreed on was that we shouldn’t attempt to replace him. I usually play an electric, so now I’m leading on electric, and that fundamentally changes the sound of things.

You mentioned your studio in Waco. What made you decide to open a studio?

When David moved to Atlanta, we effectively lost our recording and rehearsal space. We found this place in downtown Waco that was an old dirty boxing gym, and we built a studio in it. We spent three months renovating it. The boxing ring was where our control room is now. It was designed by B-Wack, and it’s been really great for us.

We’re very programming-heavy, and we use a lot of synths onstage. We’re multitasking a lot more, too. As for what we sound like, that changes from one song to the next. All of us listen to different genres of music, so, “What do we want this to sound like?” is a conversation we have with every song. We don’t like to be the same on every song and on every album, so the sound of The Digital Age from album 1 to album 2 could be completely different.

We practice and rehearse there, and we also have bands come in and we record them. It’s an extension of our ministry. It’s been great for us to be able to help new worship bands.

Walk me through your creative process in the studio.

We all have our own mini Pro Tools studios at home, and we track these ideas as they come. Sometimes they’re full songs, sometimes just pieces. When we each have a handful of ideas, we all get together in our studio. All of these ideas start coming together, and we start to figure out how we are playing things as a band. We’ll either sit around the computer and start programming it out or head into the tracking room and start recording live parts. We all write, but we realize not all of us have the same strengths. I think one of our collective strengths is that we keep a really loose attachment to our ideas, and we see that they are all just pieces to a larger puzzle.

You still lead worship at UBC? We’re still very involved at UBC. When we were in the construction phase on our studio, we took a break from leading and just went to church without leading worship for the first time in a decade. Those three months were amazing; it was something we took for granted, and we didn’t realize how important it was. Now, we’re one of several worship bands at UBC. Our goal is to play there around once a month, depending on our tour schedule.

What gear do you use in your studio?

We are running Pro Tools HDX in our main control room. We use a lot of API preamps and the PreSonus ADL600. We use an LA2A compressor and a lot of gear that B-Wack made himself. Our main vocal mic is the Blue Bottle — so much character and so easy to change sound. For guitars, we use a mix of Shure SM57, Sennheiser e906, and Royer R121 mics.

For bass, we use the Shure SM7B microphone. On drums, we mostly use the same Sennheiser Evolution series dynamic mics that we use live. We use a Yamaha SubKick on kick drum, and a Sennheiser MD421 on snare.

We’re really into soft synths. We use Native Instruments Komplete. We also use Native Instruments Maschine heavily for programming. We lean a lot on Spectrasonics’ Omnisphere for pads. We use Reason a lot for piano sounds and sequencing.

We also have a lot of vintage synths.

How do you translate an album like Evening : Morning to something that works live?

A lot of it is decisions made in production. We use a lot of loops live, but one of our rules is that we never put anything in the loops that can be played live — no vocals or guitar parts. That makes it more challenging in a live setting. So when we record, we have to be very intentional with things like guitar parts and not put anything on the record that we can’t re-create live.

What software do you use onstage?

Ableton Live. On Mike D’s keyboard rig, he runs Live and Reason. He has a slew of Korg Nanokeys in addition to an M-Audio MIDI controller, and some of the keys are assigned to things such as mutes and changing different values instead of triggering notes. We also run some vocals through Live for effects.

What kinds of technical challenges do you see worship leaders facing today?

For us, the coolest thing you can do is create your own loops. I think when a lot of people see something that is loop heavy, they think that it doesn’t fit into the way they do music. Or they think they can’t do the songs because they don’t have the technical know-how to pull it off. It’s possible to do it. You can get a copy of Ableton Live and a MIDI controller for next to nothing and make incredible sounds with it. It’s been really cool for us to travel around and see these churches start to learn and incorporate the technical stuff into the church services. We love it when churches take one of our songs, create their own loops for it, and make it their own.

blisskatherine.com

You guys have had a very long relationship with Sweetwater. Why is that?

Relationship says it all. We love that if we have questions about gear, we can call and ask. We love that if there is something that piques your interest, we’ll get a phone call to tell us about it. The prices are always competitive, and as far as customer service goes, it’s always great. If anything is ever wrong, it’s always taken care of quickly. We travel a lot. If something isn’t working, getting a replacement quickly and easily is really important. It’s great to be able to get things fixed or questions answered without hassle. We really love the personalized nature of what Sweetwater does. You’re always great about asking what we need the gear to do. Even with a band like us, it’s so good to have somebody showing us how the gear we use can help us be better at doing what we do.

Photos by: Bliss Katherine

You can find out more about The Digital Age at thedigitalagemusic.com.

Freelance live sound engineer

Daniel Ellis

FOH engineer for The Digital Age How long have you been working with The Digital Age? The first tour I did with them was as the David Crowder Band, during the Remedy Club tour in 2007.

I was with DCB for five years. Then, when they started The Digital Age, I mixed their very first show and I did their first tour, as well.

What gear do you use with them onstage?

We use mostly Sennheiser mics, on just about everything. Mostly the Evolution series. One thing I don’t think I’ve seen anybody else do is that we use a Sennheiser MD441 on B-Wack’s snare. It works great and gives us a fatter sound than other mics I’ve tried.

On vocals, Mark and Jack both use a TC-Helicon VoiceLive Touch to add reverb and delay to their voices before they ever get to me. That’s cool; it makes my job easier.

At front of house, I run a Behringer X32. We use the S16 digital snake system, as well. That console is amazing. It’s so small and light — I can set it up by myself if I need to. When we started the tour, I was thinking, “There has got to be a reason this thing is so inexpensive, and I’m going to find out why.”

I still don’t know why. It’s a great console. I love it.

The guys use Sennheiser 300 series in-ear monitors, and they mix them themselves using Behringer’s X32-Q app for iPhone. That’s been amazing. It’s so much easier to not have to worry about doing FOH and monitors at the same time, and we don’t have to have a monitor engineer.

Are there any unique challenges working with The Digital Age? Since they run all those effects on the stage, what I get is a wet vocal. When we started out, sometimes it was way too wet, and we didn’t really have enough clarity in the FOH mix in the vocals. So we had to work on getting those reverb levels down and make sure that they trusted me to add more reverb at the console if it was needed.

You and The Digital Age have been very loyal Sweetwater customers for years. Why is that?

Because of the relationship. Because of you! Seriously, it’s because of you. We don’t just call a 1-800 number and get some random guy; we get the same guy. And the candy. You send candy with everything we buy. I never share it.

From left to right: BWack, Mike D, Mark Waldrop, and Jack Parker

!

Online

W NE

101 Guides

Sweetwater.com/worship

With valuable advice on live mixing, miking techniques, instruments, and more, our informative guides give you the tips and tricks you need to make your services sound better.

News and Articles

Get useful, up-to-date editorials, reviews, and information from experts in worship sound — and stay current on the latest developments.

Multitracks and the Modern Musical Message

Find out how you can enhance your worship performances with professional-sounding accompaniment — and learn about the tools that make it happen.

(800) 222-4700 Sweetwater.com FREE Expert Advice • FREE Tech Support • FREE Shipping • FREE 2-year Warranty

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Listed in alphabetical order by title

BoxCast

If you want to skip the online streaming service provider, choose BoxCast. Just connect the BoxCaster to any video camera, power source, and the Internet and live stream your service in HD quality. boxcast.com

Church Media Online

With a specialty in embedded media, this streaming option makes your sermons and music as spreadable as it can be. Embed to your website, Facebook, or anywhere you can embed—pretty much anywhere on the Internet. churchmediaonline.com

Churchstreaming.tv

Set up a Roku channel, get all the features without limits, embed in websites, chat with viewers, and more. Plus, you can install an IP camera and stream your services automatically without a computer. churchstreaming.tv

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Livestream

Roland VR-3EX

Media Fusion

StreamingChurch

Spanning options such as streaming live from a GoPro to a Google Glass, Livestream is the option for high-level streaming. More than 30 million viewers each month watch thousands of live events from customers including the New York Times, Facebook, ESPN, and more. livestream.com

Easy to use and reasonably priced (starting at $30 a month), Media Fusion is Kingdom minded. Created by UpperRoom technologies, this company knows how to keep Christ central in their mission, and this trickles down to every aspect of their services. mediafusionapp.com

Piksel 316Networks

Harnessing the power of podcasts, mobile apps, social media, and streaming video, Piksel 316 Networks has helped hundreds of ministries expand their mission by building a digital church. The Piksel Faith Video Platform allows you to upload any type of file, transforming it into the right version to stream or share for your mission.

316networks.com

The VR-3EX portable live production solution is great for worship leaders and pastors wanting mix cameras, computers, and audio sources in one unit that can stream or record worship services, small groups, youth, missions, and satellite campuses. rolandsystemsgroup.com

An all-encompassing online option to create a Web campus that allows you to stream to Roku, live chat with your members and guests, integrate sermon notes, map your attendees, and a lot more. streamingchurch.tv

Wirecast 6

Wirecast is all-in-one live streaming production software that lets churches easily live stream professional-looking broadcasts of their services. With Wirecast 6, you can stream multiple live cameras while mixing in other media like slides, lyrics, movies, images, and sounds. It even works with existing worship software like EasyWorship and ProPresenter. telestream.net W

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DON’T MISS THESE AWARD-WINNING RESOURCES! Selected editor’s Best the Best 1 inch logo as (recommended for half,of two-third and full page ads) picks in the books category!

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As humans we are designed to worship, but we worship what we fixate on—whether that is God or the things of this world. The call in these pages is not to work or to strive, but to lift your eyes. We worship our way into sin, and we can worship our way out of it. You don’t need more willpower. You need a vision of greatness that sweeps you off your feet. You have to LOOK in order to truly LIVE. Look and Live by Matt Papa

This indispensable handbook shows readers how to worship in every moment of life. Christian worship is not confined to a service once a week.

It’s a way of life! Worship is encountering God, learning who He is through an experience of His presence. And as we practice giving thanks and praise for all the Lord has done, we learn to love who He loves and daily do His will.

The Beginner’s Guide to Worshiping God by Gary Kinnaman

A Division of Baker Publishing Group | bethanyhouse.com Available at your bookstore or by calling 1-866-241-6733

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Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) Church Copyright License: Basic print and projection coverage Rehearse: Copy and share commercial audio recordings for rehearsals Stream: Podcast and/or stream your church’s worship music Church Video License: Coverage for full movies ScreenVue: Coverage for movie clips to illustrate a sermon or other teaching ccli.com

Christian Copyright Solutions (CCS)

PERFORMmusic: Legally play and perform music outside your religious services

WORSHIPcast: Podcast and/or stream your church’s worship music PERMISSIONSplus: Commission the CCS team to acquire the permissions you need to record and copy songs INDIEadmin: Complete copyright admin services for the indie artist/church christiancopyrightsolutions. com

LicenSing Online

Annual or Single Song Licenses: reprint permissions for thousands of hymns, songs, and service music School License: reprint permissions in a school setting licensingonline.org

Limelight by RightsFlow

Just want to cover a song on a CD? This may be the place for you. It’s a one-stop online tool that allows anyone to clear cover songs quickly and easily. songclearance.com

onelicense.net

Annual License: Unlimited permission to reprint music owned by all member publishers Single Use License: Covers one or more service(s) within a 24-hour period Event License: Covers conventions, conferences, workshops, etc. up to one week in length Practice Track License: Copy and share commercial audio recordings of member publisher for rehearsals onelicense.net W

Multiple Grammy and Dove Award winner Steven Curtis Chapman plays Kawai. Experience the difference our instruments will make in your music.

Kawai keyboards are featured on Steven’s new recording, The Glorious Unfolding, available now.

40 W O R S HIP L EAD ER kawaius.com

N O VEMB E R/DE CE MBE R 2014 Photo by Dale Manning for Idea Den

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY’S

Center for Music & Worship offers

THE NATION’S PREMIER DEGREES IN WORSHIP

Meredith Andrews and four members of the Vertical Church Band are graduates of Liberty University.

worship@liberty.edu | (434) 592-6568 | www.Liberty.edu/SchoolofMusic inch logo (recommended for half, 1 inch logo half, and fulltwo-third page ads)and inch logofor (recommended for half, full two-third page ads)and full page ads) 1 inch logo (recommended for(recommended half,1two-third and full1two-third page ads)

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Majestic (Deluxe Live CD/DVD)

No Other Name Worship Kit

The Hillsong Team // Hillsong Worship Price: $59.95 This comprehensive kit makes your job as leader so much easier. No Other Name Worship Kit provides your team with the ingredients to make these songs come alive for your congregation: Music CD, Bonus DVD with chord AGNUSDEI.pdf 1 10/5/14 10:20 PM lyric videos, Instrument Parts Training DVD, Music Book CD-ROM and Trax MP3 Library.

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Kari Jobe // Sparrow Records Price $14.99 Though you could purchase the CD and DVD separately…Why would you? Sound and vision of Kari Jobe’s most dynamic, powerful, lyrically rich two-disc set makes this a must-have for every worship leader. So many songs to add to your service of worship, and seeing is not only believing, it enriches the whole experience.

iWorship: Visual Worship Trax Bundle (Volumes 1-3)

Integrity Price: $89.99 Packed with worship songs you really want to sing—“10,000 Reasons,” “Praise the Invisible,” “Oh Our Lord,” “Let It Be Known,” “The Cross Stands”—this six-disc bundle (for both

computer and DVD) delivers with the all-in-one lyric projection resource perfect for churches and small groups. All songs come in original stereo, split-trax, and click-trax versions for use in a variety of worship settings.

LIVE CD/DVD Deluxe Edition

Paul Baloche // Integrity Music Price $16:32 Sound and vision. Paul Baloche whose musicianship and worship leadership matches his penchant for writing some of the most singable worship in Christendom offers the treat of jumping into an amazing live experience with 1,000 other worshipers. Songs you already love, plus brand new songs. Great resource, great personal listening. Experience Baloche and team demonstrating by example just how to implement songs with power and reverence in your service of worship. W

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Listed in alphabetical order by company

Pro Tools 11

Cubase iC Air

Price: Free with Cubase 7 Why we love it: One of the most innovative software devices we’ve ever seen, Cubase iC Air lets the engineer use hand gestures to control Cubase 7. We tested it at NAMM this year and were blown away by its functionality and how it sped up the workflow of recording. Even if Cubase isn’t your preferred DAW, iC Air might be a reason to switch.

Korg Gadget Synth

Price: $38.99 Why we love it: iOS synths keep getting better and better, and the Korg Gadget may be one of the most developed iOS synths of them all.

Putting synthesizers, drum machines, sequencers, and recording software into one app, the Korg Gadget is a blast to play with, and can offer professional sounds and recording capabilities.

Price: $699 Why we love it: No list would be complete without Pro Tools, and version 11 brings a completely redesigned software engine and a new format for plugins that utilizes computer memory and processing power more efficiently than its predecessors. Easier to use than ever, Pro Tools 11 greatest strength lies in its editing workflow and audio processing power.

Logic X

Sibelius 7.5

Price: $199.99 Why we love it: Apple’s Logic has finally gotten a major rehaul with Logic X. New drum machines, synths, and virtual instruments are included in the update, as well as MainStage 3, a live performance software. We loved how easy it was to get started making music and the new virtual instruments and how well it works with mac computers.

Price: $599.95 Why we love it: Marketed as an intermediate step between Sibelius 7 and an unreleased Sibelius 8, Sibelius 7.5 offers a great workflow and an easy-to-use interface for notating music. The playback engine is upgraded from version 7 and 7.5 adds the ability to share music directly to SoundCloud, YouTube, or Facebook.

Sibelius has proven itself as a powerful music notation tool and, with the 7.5 update, an expressive playback tool as well. W

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GIVING at the very heart.

During this season, we that celebrate and reflect on His wondrous GIFT in sending His Son to the earth to bring Hope, Salvation and New Life. In turn, the Church is called to FREELY give back to the world…and songwriters are called to create the gift of song which is a powerful instrument of God’s message of Hope and Life... and theknow Church the honor and joy givingyour to songwriters in supporting ministry through MUSIC LICENSES. But did you thathas leading worship outside church’s regular servicetheir requires a special license?

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Fender Audio Passport Venue

Price: $999.99 Why we love it: The Fender Passport series PA has become one of the most popular portable PA systems in the past few years, and we love it for its portability and ease of use.

The Passport Venue is a 600-watt portable PA with 10 channels, simple EQ and reverb sends for each channel. Easy to use and set up, the Venue is perfect for smaller rooms.

Alto Black Series

Price: $499-$1199 Why we love it: The Alto Black series are loudspeakers with some serious power. Available in 10”, 12” and 15” pairs, the Black series provide 1200 watts to fill medium and even large rooms. The 18” sub gives plenty of bass, and the whole system can be controlled and tuned via a convenient iOS app straight from your iPhone.

Mackie Thump15

Price: $349.99 Why we love it: The Thump15 is a 1000watt loudspeaker with a 15” woofer and a 1.4” tweeter. Using Class-D amplification, the Thump15 is lightweight and portable but loud enough to fill any medium-sized room. Built into the speaker is a mic/line input for directly connecting microphones and a 3-band EQ, making it perfect for smaller PA setups as well as bigger installations.

Yamaha HS8 Monitors

Price: $349.99 Why we love it: Yamaha monitors have been the standard for recording studio monitors for decades, and the HS8s continue set the bar high. The frequency response is balanced with a smooth top end and powerful bass, as well

as the pronounced midrange, give the HS8s the signature Yamaha voicing. We like to think of HS8s as NS10-styled monitors for the modern day, which is why they’re one of our favorite studio monitors of the year.

PreSonus StudioLive AI-Series Loudspeakers

Price: $1,499.95-$1,699.95 Why we love it: 2000 watts and 3-way design make the StudioLive loudspeakers incredibly detailed and loud at the same time. Using technology from their highly acclaimed studio monitors, the StudioLive AI-series loudspeakers deliver the same quality that you would find in a recording studio. This loudspeaker system is one of the best we’ve seen in several years, which is why it made our best of the best list for 2014.

myMix

Price: $679 Why we love it: It’s rare to see a monitoring system with as much built-in power as myMix. Not only is the sound quality the best we’ve heard for personal monitor mixes, it’s also one of the most versatile and flexible systems we’ve ever seen, able to support up to 250 devices and individual mixes.

Livemix

Price: $529.99 Why we love it: It’s not just a flashy touchscreen that sets Livemix apart from the rest of the competition, but a slew of great features such as compression, ambient mics, and dual mix outputs. Supporting 24 channels of audio 46

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and two separate mixes, the CS-DUO Mixer lets two performers share one mixer, saving money on devices and space on stage.

Hear Back PRO

Price: $469 Why we love it: Hear Back Pro is a sleek, modern-looking personal monitoring system that’s incredibly easy to use. The 16-channel mixer is modular and infinitely expandable, which means you can add as many mixers to the system as you need. For the price, Hear Back Pro is a great option for personal monitoring.

Elite Core PM-16

Price: $479.99 Why we love it: The Elite Core personal monitoring system is a no-frills system that feels analog, using rotary knobs to control the mix of each instrument. The built-in ambient mic and mix compression are extremely helpful, and the sound quality is clear and robust. While it lacks some of the more detailed features in other systems, the rugged enclosure and substantial build quality make it a solid, reliable personal monitoring system. W

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Radial USB-Pro DI box

Price: $199.99 Why we love it: This DI box connects to a computer via USB and allows digital audio files to be converted to analog via the XLR output.

With playback up to 24 bit/96kHz the USB-Pro can handle nearly any file you give it. The USB pro is a perfect DI for worship teams that run tracks on a regular basis.

Glyph Studio

Price: $189 Why we love it: The Glyph Studio line of hard drives is specially designed for audio and visual editing and recording. Connecting to a computer via USB 3.0 or FireWire, the Glyph studios range from 1-3 terabytes of storage and include a cooling fan and robust power supply. With the incredible warranty that covers the data on your drive for three years, the Glyph Studio is perfect for users that need a high-performance drive that won’t fail when you need it the most.

Listed in alphabetical order by title

PreSonus StudioLive 16.4.2ai

Price: $1,999.95 Why we love it: There was a time when digital mixers meant a lot of money for basic functionality and mediocre sound quality, but there’s a new age for digital mixers and the StudioLive 16.4.2ai is at the forefront of that technology. A 16-channel digital mixer, the StudioLive 16.4.2ai can connect to a wireless network and allow the engineer to mix remotely from an iPad, and each musician to control their monitor mix with an iPhone app! Great functionality paired with outstanding sound and a low price makes the StudioLive 16.4.2ai our favorite digital mixer of the year.

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Leap Motion

Price: $79.99 Why we love it: One of the coolest gadgets of 2014, Leap Motion is a device that lets you control software with a simple hand gesture.

Using your hands, you can assign different controls to certain gestures, making it easy to browse the computer or even present a slide show. Cubase iC Air has already built software that lets you use Leap Motion to control an entire recording session, and you can be sure that other major DAWs won’t be far behind.

Positive Grid BT-4 Bluetooth MIDI Foot controller

Price: $99.99 Why we love it: Positive Grid, makers of the highly acclaimed iOS amp modeling software “Bias” have a new foot controller that sends messages via Bluetooth. Simply plug in your guitar to the BT-4 and you can control four effects wirelessly using the free JamUp XT app

for iOS. The BT-4 is also compatible with GarageBand and AmpliTube, making it a perfect accessory for guitarists who like to use iPad or iPhone apps for tone.

Gator GPA-Stand Covers

Price: $44.99 Why we love it: The GPA-Stand Cover is exactly what it sounds like: a speaker stand cover.

We love it because it looks great and fits nearly every speaker stand perfectly, providing a great looking stage even for mobile churches.

Midas M32

QSC TouchMix

Yamaha MGP32X Mixer

Behringer X32 Producer

Price: $4,999 Why we love it: The M32 is a 40-channel digital mixer with 32 highly-acclaimed Midas mic preamps and over 50 built-in effects. The M32 also doubles as an audio interface offering recording capabilities at 24 bit/192kHz for extremely high quality recordings. With its large, color display and intuitive layout, the M32 is a perfect board for churches that want a digital board and only need 40 channels.

Price: $1,399.99 Why we love it: With the advent of digital mixers, some engineers still swear by the analog mixer sound, and it’s easy to see why with the Yamaha MGP32X. The X-pressive EQs sound brilliant and the one-knob compressors make dynamics easy to use. The MGP32X even has a USB input for direct connection to an iPad or iPod. If it’s analog you’re after, the MGP32X is perfect for you.

Price: $1,299.99 Why we love it: The QSC takes digital mixers to the next evolutionary step with the TouchMix. A little larger than an iPad, the TouchMix is a 20-channel digital mixer in a super compact enclosure. A full color touch screen allows users control over EQ, compression, filters, effects, and routing all with the touch of a finger.

TouchMix can be controlled remotely from an iOS app than can control every aspect of the mix. TouchMix would make a great monitor rig or mobile setup for churches that need less than 20 channels on stage.

Price: $1,499.99 Why we love it: We picked the X32 last year for our best of the best because of its incredible features and versatility at a jaw-droppingly low price, and the X32 Producer brings the best features of the original into a sleek, portable package. The X32 Producer features 40 inputs and 32 mic preamps as well as 16 motorized faders and an array of great effects. To top it off, the iPad remote app stood out to us as one of the best we’ve seen. At $1,499.99, the X32 Producer has to be one of the best values on the market today. W

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Listed in alphabetical order by company

Apogee MiC 96k

Price: $229 Why we love it: Building on the success of the revolutionary Apogee MiC, the MiC 96k combines a studio-quality condenser microphone with a legendary Apogee mic preamp and analog to digital conversion. Connecting to a computer via USB, the MiC 96k records at extremely high quality bit and sample rate (24 bit/96kHz). A USB connection makes the MiC 96k and a computer the only things you need to make high quality studio recordings.

DPA d:screet Necklace Microphone

Price: $649.95 Why we love it: It’s not often you see a completely original microphone design, but the DPA d:screet necklace mic is just that. Designed to be worn as a necklace, the d:screet mic is a small diaphragm condenser with a natural frequency response for speech. Even if necklaces aren’t your thing, we love it for its innovation and bold design.

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MXL Mobile Media MM160 Lavalier Mic

Price: $58.99 Why we love it: The Mobile Media MM160 is a lavalier microphone made for smartphones and tablets. With a natural frequency response for speech and a low profile design, the MM160 is perfect for conducting interviews on camera, especially if filming on a mobile camera.

Neumann TLM 107

Price: $1699.95 Why we love it: The latest in a long line of historic Neumann microphones, the TLM 107 is a large diaphragm microphone designed for its versatility in the studio.

The frequency response is balanced with the signature slight bump in the high end.

With five polar patterns and its extremely low noise floor, the TLM 107 is a great all around microphone.

RØDE M5 Matched Pair

Price: $199 Why we love it: The RØDE M5 matched pair are two small diaphragm condensers with exceptionally flat frequency response. Made for stereo applications such as piano or drum overhead, the M5s provide a slight lift in the upper frequencies without being obnoxiously bright or brittle. For under $200, it’s hard to find another pair of mics that provide a better value.

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1964 V8s

Price: $899 Why we love it: We’ve been big fans of 1964 EARS since we heard about them back in 2011, and the V8s are a great example of why we love them.

Built with eight drivers in each ear, the three-way design provides powerful bass, punchy mids, and smooth highs. Perfect for bass players, drummers, or musicians who like a lot of low end, the V8s provide exceptional clear sound and plenty of power.

Alclair Crankmaster 5000

Price: $749 Why we love it: The Crankmaster 5000 is a fivedriver IEM with four woofers and one tweeter per ear.

The result is an IEM with tons of bass and the most definition and clarity in the low end that we’ve ever heard.

Made with bass players and drummers in mind, the Crankmaster 5000s offer great value for the price.

Listed in alphabetical order by company

Focal Spirit Professional

Price: $349 Why we love it: Have you ever wished you had a pair of headphones that were so accurate that you could reference mixes on them? Well, with the Focal Spirit Professional now you can!

Offering an extremely neutral sound, the Spirit Professional headphones offer complete isolation, so even the worst room acoustics don’t play into the sound at all.

Shure SE215 Dynamic MicroDriver Earphones

Price: $99.99 Why we love it: The sound-isolating SE215s

are single-driver universal fit IEMs with enhanced bass frequencies. Tuned for every instrument from bass to vocals, the SE215s are perfect for rotating volunteer musicians and background singers.

Westone ES60

Price: $1,299.99 Why we love it: The ES60 is a sixdriver in ear monitor that delivers a balanced, natural sound. With their unique flex-canal body, the ES60s sound great and are incredibly comfortable, perfect for singers, guitarists, or keyboard players.

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ADJ Dotz TPar System

Price: $399.99 Why we love it: The TPar is a 4-in-1 LED lighting fixture with an included stand, remote control and carrying case. The lightweight but powerful LED system makes it perfect for mobile churches and smaller stages.

Chauvet DJ Freedom Par Quad-4

Price: $329.99 Why we love it: The battery-powered Par Quad-4 sports four quad-colored LED lights with complete wireless control. The internal batteries provide 20 hours of continuous light, making it a great option for spaces where AC outlets are limited or unavailable, such as an outdoor venue or portable stage.

Enttec D-PRO 2 Universe

Price: $190 Why we love it: D-PRO 2 is a softwarebased lighting control for Enttec hardware. With D-PRO 2 you can add an unlimited amount of

Listed in alphabetical order by company

cues and groups and control scripting and effects. Simple enough for a beginner to learn and packed with enough advanced features for a lighting veteran, D-PRO 2 is a powerful tool when paired with Enttec hardware.

GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition/Music

Price: $349.99 Why we love it: GoPros have been used for everything from concerts to extreme sports, and the HERO3+ Black Edition/Music bundle is made just for the stage. The Music edition includes accessories for mic stands and clips for almost any instruments you can think of, and

PraiseVocals

Great for getting your voice ready on your drive to rehearsal or to church on Sunday. The vocal workouts include exercises to develop your technique and take your voice to a higher level.

All of these are available as CDs or as digital downloads. musicademy.com

Essential Vocals Warm-up, Advanced Vocals Workout, and Vocals Workout

WorshipVoice

Designed to serve worship leaders, vocal directors, praise teams and choirs, PraiseVocals produces vocal harmony rehearsal tracks of the melody, tenor, and alto parts of the most popular worship songs. praisevocals.com

Musicademy Musicademy’s warm-ups include options for 5, 10, and 15-minute exercises, demonstrated by a vocal coach and then played on the piano.

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Scott and Vonda Dyer WorshipVoice is a master vocal skills and essential ministry values workshop. Brought directly to you and your area of church, it is designed for any singer or worship leader who desires to take their vocal ministry to a higher

with its high resolution and rugged enclosure, it can handle the pressures of the stage with ease.

Manfrotto Klyp+ for iPhone

Price: $59.99 Why we love it: The Klyp is a case for iPhone 4, 4S, and 5 that can add an external LED lights for lowlight visibility when taking pictures or video.

The KLYPAPP, available for download in the app store, allows the user to take pictures just by clapping their hands, useful for taking group photos. The Klyp with Manfrotto LED lights is a great way to instantly make your iPhone pictures and video look professional and clean.

level. This unique program is packed with inspirational teaching on worship values, vocal skill training, and technique development for any level. worshipvoice.com W

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Gretsch G5034TFT Rancher Acoustic

Price: $839.99 Why we love it: What do you get when you put a humbucker and a Bigsby on an acoustic guitar…? The Gretsch Rancher Acoustic. Loaded with features normally seen on Gretsch’s electric series, the Rancher Acoustic may feel like a novelty at first, but we eventually warmed to its unique sound and eye-catching style. It’s not often you see a truly unique acoustic guitar, but for the Gretsch Rancher Acoustic, no other word comes to mind.

Fender 1956 Heavy Relic Stratocaster

Gibson 2014 Les Paul Melody Maker

Price: $558 Why we love it: Originally marketed as a beginners’ guitar in the 1960s, the Melody Maker is one of Gibson’s most unique and raw sounding guitars. The 2014 model pays homage to the original model with its thin body and signature P90 pickups but adds volume and tone controls to each pickup to give versatility for any situation. We love it for its raw growl and versatility on stage, all for a great price.

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Price: $3760 Why we love it: The ’50s were a golden age for Fender guitars and some of the greatest (and most expensive) guitars in the world are mid-50’s Strats. For those of you who don’t want to take a second mortgage to afford an original, the 1956 Heavy Relic Strat provides an incredible sounding guitar that looks and feels like a ’50s original. $3760 might be a lot to pay for one guitar, but time has proven a Fender Custom Shop guitar is never a bad investment.

Martin GPC-Aura GT

Price: $1999 Why we love it: A “modern-sounding” Martin may seem like a contradiction, but the GPCAura seems to be the perfect blend of Martin craftsmanship and modern tone and playability.

The solid-sitka top, rosewood sides, and the African blackwood neck provide a bright, full sound that sounds great through the built-in pickup. If you’ve wanted the depth and character of a Martin but need something to cut through a band, the GPC-Aura might be perfect for you.

ToneLounge Riptide

Price: $2400 Why we love it: Newcomer Brian Swerdfeger has been quietly building great-sounding, hand-built guitars that are made with modern playability in mind. The Riptide is equipped with two TV Jones Filter’Tron™ pickups and a Bigsby with locking tuners that stay in tune marvelously. A true player’s guitar, the Riptide features attention to detail only a carefully built, hand-made guitar can offer.

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Strymon Mobius

Price: $449 Why we love it: It’s maybe once in a generation that a guitar effect changes the sound of music, and Strymon has done just that with their high-fidelity, extremely musical sounding effects. Mobius, the most recent in the family, is an analog-modeling modulation pedal providing everything from warm tremolo to organic choruses to luscious phasers. If mangled, distorted audio is your thing, we highly recommend the “destroyer” preset.

Line6 Mobile Pod

Price: Free Why we love it: Who could have predicted that having an iPhone in 2014 meant that you could have access to 32 amp models, 16 speaker cabs, and 16 effects units on the same device you use to text your friends? The Line6 Mobile Pod together with their Mobile In hardware is the perfect backup or travel guitar rig, providing high quality audio conversion with Line6’s legendary modeling software. Sorry Android users, Mobile Pod is iPhone only for the time being.

Pedaltrain VOLTO

Price: $99.95 Why we love it: Remember those batteries we used to power our cell phones for the past few years? They’re called lithium-ion, and Pedaltrain has put them in their Volto to make rechargeable battery power for your pedalboards. Offering up to 36 hours of continuous playing power, we have to admit, this one is pretty brilliant, and that’s why it makes our “best of” list for 2014.

Morgan SW22

Price: $1999 Why we love it: Joe Morgan has been one of our favorite amp builders since he started his company out of his garage, and it’s no surprise

that the SW22 is just as incredible as its big brother the SW50. A perfect amp for small or medium-sized stages where volume is an issue, the SW22 delivers fat clean tones with a smooth, creamy breakup at higher volumes.

Z.Vex Vexter Super Seek Trem

Price: $319 Why we love it: Much more than the average tremolo pedal, the Z.Vex Super Seek Trem is a tremolo pedal with 16-step sequencer and tap tempo. This means you can set 16 different tremolo depths and sync them all up to the beat. It even has MIDI I/O and an expression pedal input for hands free control. $319 might be a lot to spend on one pedal, but you’ll probably never have to buy a tremolo effect again.

Worship Symposium

2015

January 29-31, 2015 The annual Calvin Symposium on Worship, at Calvin College and Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI, USA, brings together pastors, worship leaders and planners, artists, musicians, scholars, students and other interested worshipers from around the world.

Over 50 themes, including preaching, visual arts, pastoral care, Psalms, youth ministry, the Lord’s Supper, outreach, congregational song, leadership, and many more.

Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Reconciliation © 2003 by Anneke Kaai, In a Word: See What You Believe. www.annekekaai.nl

worship.calvin.edu

Roland TM-2

Price: $199 Why we love it: Electronic drums have become a huge part of today’s sound, but finding the right electro-drum setup can be tricky and expensive. The Roland TM-2 is a trigger module that can be used with external triggers or MIDI to add electronic elements into your drum setup. The TM-2 even allows you to store and trigger your own sounds via the SDHC card reader. If you’re looking to add some electronic elements without spending a ton of cash, the TM2 might just be for you.

C&C Player Date II

Price: $2299 Why we love it: Remember how much we loved the first C&C Player Date kit back in 2012? The Player Date is back with the Player Date II, a retro-themed luan/maple kit in three different sizes. Made with tone and punch in mind, the Player Date II provides a unique sounding drum with vintage styling at an affordable price.

CruzTOOLS GrooveTech Drum Multi-Tool

Price: $19.99 Why we love it: A good tuning can make a world of difference for a drum kit, especially older kits that have vintage quirks. In addition to a drum key, the GrooveTech Drum Multi-Tool includes a variety of screwdrivers and hex keys in both metric and inch sizes to fit any size or shaped drum you can think of. With Christmas around the corner, this might be a perfect gift for your drummer friend.

Yamaha DTX562K

Price: $1799.99 Why we love it: Electronic drums have made astounding advances over the past few years, evolving from the stiff pads that hurt the wrist after an hour of practice to today’s ultraresponsive dynamic pads that respond almost exactly like a real drum. The Yamaha DTX562K includes the classic Yamaha DTX module with

50 built-in acoustic/electronic drum kits, giving the player versatility and ability to choose the right sound for the moment. Built with the player in mind, the kit feels great to play and gives the versatility only an electric kit can provide.

Bosphorus Cymbals Master Vintage Series

Price: $355 Why we love it: Cymbals are one of the most underrated pieces of a drummer’s arsenal and contribute especially to a band’s energy on stage. The hand-made Bosphorus Master Vintage Series are an extremely expressive, dynamic, and unique set of cymbals that are dark and warm by nature but cut through the mix of the band quite well. The hi-hats were a standout to us, dark and trashy, but scooped at the same time to give them a nice balanced top end.

Sela Pro Cajon Roland AIRA TR8

Akai MPX8

Price: $99 Why we love it: This little pad packs a lot more than it seems for its modest size and weight. Eight touch-sensitive pads can trigger internal sounds or your own sounds via SD card. MIDI I/O gives the option to use the MPX8 as a brain for your other triggers and drum machines. For the price, you won’t find a better drum pad in its range.

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Price: $499 Why we love it: One of the most anticipated releases of 2014, the TR8 has proven to be a powerful drum machine that behaves like an analog device with the versatility of a digital machine. 16 kits, a sequencer, and an effects section add to the power of the AIRA, making it a great vintage-styled drum machine.

LP Cajon Pedal

Price: $159 Why we love it: Now you can add to the versatility of a cajon with a dedicated kick pedal from Latin Percussion. Made to free one hand for playing other percussion, the cajon pedal is perfect for percussionists who want to diversify their cajon setup.

Price: $439.99 Why we love it: One of the most unique cajons we’ve seen this year, the Sela Pro Cajon lets the user turn the snares on and off depending on what sound you want. This allows you to tune the cajon exactly to your preference from song to song without having to adjust the tension of the snares. For the price, the Sela Pro Cajon is one of the best in its class and offers plenty of options.

MEINL Foot Shaker

Price: $12.99 Why we love it: The Meinl Foot Shaker attaches to your shoe on a strap and allows the user to have a shaker sound by stomping their foot. The shaker has a bright, light sound that cuts through the mix of a band with ease. A perfect stocking stuffer, the Foot Shaker works especially well with cajon. W

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Hillsong United “Relentless”

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Fender 2014 Proto Precision Bass

Price: $3,440.00 Why we love it: It’s not just looks that sets this brand new P-bass apart from the pack.

Built with the care and quality of the Fender Custom Shop, the 2014 Proto P-bass features a hand-selected alder body and maple neck with a custom TV Jones Thunderblade pickup, providing a completely unique sound unlike any P-bass on the market. The price may turn away some potential buyers, but if you want the Pbass feel with a unique take on the sound, the 2014 Proto Precision Bass may be just for you.

DigiTech Bass Whammy

Price: $199.95 Why we love it: One of the best pitch shifters ever made for guitar, the Whammy has provided its signature octave tones for countless classic songs. The Bass Whammy is the one of the newest in the Whammy family, providing pitch ranges from one octave down to two octaves up with funky intervals like the 3rd, 5th and 6th in between. Built in a sturdy enclosure

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with true-bypass switching, the Bass Whammy is perfect for bass players who want more options than a standard octave pedal can give.

Warwick RockBass Star Bass

Price: $949 Why we love it: With vintage styling and large single coil pickups, the Warwick Rockbass Star Bass a beauty to behold. The medium scale neck is perfect for players with smaller hands and the semi-hollow body provides excellent sustain. Four knobs give control over both volume and tone for both pickups making the Star Bass a great option for players who want complete control over their tone.

Lākland Skyline 30

Price: $998 Why we love it: After making high-end boutique basses for over 10 years, Lakland has recently begun making more affordable basses under their Skyline brand, such as the Skyline 30. With its short scale neck and hollowbody, the Skyline 30 looks completely unique and sounds great. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s built overseas, the Skyline 30 has the quality of a USA Lakland at a fraction of the cost. W

G & L LB-100

Price: $1313 Why we love it: The LB-100 (G & L’s take on the classic Fender Precision Bass) is built with master craftsmanship and attention to detail. With a slender body and more open tone control than a standard P-bass, the LB-100 takes the original design and evolves it to cover any sonic territory you might need. At $1313, the LB-100 is an investment, but like its tenyear warranty suggests, it’s a bass you’ll want to keep.

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Novation Bass Station II

Price: $499.99 Why we love it: The Bass Station II is one of those keyboards you start playing and can’t stop. Designed as an analog synth bass, the Bass Station II goes far beyond just the bass clef and is perfect for leads and arpeggiated runs. A tremendous value for the money, the Bass Station II is one of our favorite keyboards of the year.

Arturia MicroBrute

Price: $299 Why we love it: If all-analog is what you’re after, the MicroBrute is a great option. With its single oscillator and filter, you might not expect much from the MicroBrute, but it sounds giant and the tonal possibilities are almost endless.

The only drawbacks are no presets and no polyphony, so you can only use one note at a time.

Moog Sub 37

Clavia Nord Lead A1

Price: $1799 Why we love it: Do you need another analog modeling keyboard? If it’s a Nord, the answer is yes! The Lead A1 is the newest synth from the folks at Nord and it’s a beauty. With a brand new modeling engine and an intuitive control surface, the A1 sounds great and is easy to use.

If we didn’t know it was a digital machine, we’d never guess it wasn’t analog.

Yamaha MOXF6

Dave Smith Instruments Prophet 12 Module

Price: $2199 Why we love it: If the full Prophet 12 is out of your budget or takes up too much room, the Prophet 12 Module might be perfect for you. A desktop version of the Prophet 12, the Module carries all of the power of the keyboard in a compact package. One of the best sounding analog synthesizers ever, the Prophet 12 Module is a great entry point to the Prophet line of keyboards. W

Price: $974.99 Why we love it: Yamaha keyboards have been a staple in churches for decades, and like its predecessors, the MOXF6 is perfect for worship services. Taking the best sounds from the MOTIF XF keyboards and putting it into a lightweight, portable package, Yamaha has made the MOXF6 extremely easy to use. One of our favorite things about the MOXF6 is the built-in DAW control for use in the studio.

Price: $1499 Why we love it: Finally, a Moog with polyphony! The all-analog Sub 37 is great for synth bass and smooth leads and you can switch between one and two voices of polyphony. At $1499, the Sub 37 is not cheap, but as one of the best stage synthesizers on the market, we’d definitely say it’s worth it.

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{AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE}

CHECK OUT “THERE IS POWER” ON THIS ISSUE OF SONGDISCOVERY

DOWNLOAD FREE CHORD CHARTS FOR “OXYGEN” AT WEAREWORSHIP.COM

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built-in, super-compact recorder that can save up to 13 hours of your playing. $99.99

ROLI Seaboard

Alesis iO Dock II

By letting you connect your guitar, bass, microphones, keyboards, and MIDI gear to your iPad, the iO Dock turns your tablet into a true recording device. And the new edition works with virtually any Core Audio or Core MIDI app. $199.99

Gibson Memory Cable

You are playing the guitar or possibly hosting a worship jam session and you realize that it will probably be lost forever in the moment.

Sometimes that’s okay, but for all other times Gibson created the Memory Cable. It has a

Looking for a completely new instrument to underscore the creation of new song? Try the Seaboard. It is a piano spinoff, where the keys are a soft continuous surface. dynamic changes, pitches, and vibrato are all at your fingertips with this fascinating new marriage of music and digital technology.

Starting at $1,999

Sennheiser Urbanite Headphones

Dre may have the market amongst the youth, but he doesn't have the corner on quality.

Sennheiser have placed their outstanding understanding of sound into a more street-styled listening device. The result are beautiful, both in sound quality and design. $199.95

Listed in alphabetical order by company

Cleverly throwing a nod to their onetime near monopoly on personal sound systems, Sony has released a high-resolution music player. Why? Because quality still means something to some people. If you agree with Neil Young, but don’t want to dish the 400 bucks for a Pono, this player may be for you. $300

Hum.

We didn’t mention this one in the app category because it just makes more sense here. Basically it is an iOS app that combines note-taking and audio recording into a single app for capturing and organizing all your songwriting ideas.

Record, search, organize, share, print and so much more with this beautiful app. $1.99

MasterWriter AnalyzeMySong.com

AnalyzeMySong.com is an online song feedback service. Whether you're a songwriting beginner or someone who has had years of experience, they invest their time in making you better.Useful for determining which songs are ready for use in a local congregation as well as training church songwriters through honest outside evaluation and constructive feedback. $8 brief review, $45 thorough review 62

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Want a little more power from your digital songwriting companion? MasterWriter offers a comprehensive collection of descriptive words, phrases, rhymes, synonyms, alliterations, a common culture reference guide, a way to capture and organize all your songs-to-be.

Subscription starting at $9.95 per month

rhymebrain.com

Sony Walkman A17

It’s simple. Type in a word, and it rhymes it.

For instance, grace: place, race, trace, lace brace, erase, case, face, space, base, pace, chase, vase, apace, mace, efface … the list goes on. Simple. Effective. Free.

Free

TuneSmith

Featuring an advanced lyrics editor, a comprehensive copyright tracker, and a versatile pitch journal, TuneSmith can help you manage co-writing and song pitching. $39.95

VCVCBC Songwriting Studio 2.0

This iOS app helps songwriters organize their lyrics, chords, melodies, and rhythms into beautiful chord charts. As well capture quickly and export to OnSong to create an original setlist. $4.99 W

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You may have ordered these differently, and rightly so, because you have a song your congregation is singing in response to God’s movement in the life of your church (as well as the song evoked by your personal life). It’s refreshing to see a drift towards God being given preeminence in worship and a more scriptural foundation for each song. These writers have things in perspective. History will tell which on this list are inspired by the Spirit for this time only and which will become a permanent part of the Church’s hymnal. But we believe the Psalms, hymns, & spiritual songs represented here bring and sing the promise of transformation.

20. “No Fear in Love”

Steffany Gretzinger The Undoing Writers: Nate Ward II, Steffany Gretzinger Highlights: Just in time. In a world of fear, a prayer for love—God’s kind of love—a prayer of consecration and the need for God’s persistent tending, leading, reminding. Beautiful transcendent, essential.

19. “Say the Word”

Beth Croft Rule in My Heart Writers: Beth Croft, Tim Hughes Highlights: Matter morphs. Bodies, hearts, and minds sync with Jesus’ perfect intention when he speaks. Restoration. Mountains move, circumstances and perspectives transform. Love sees and acts. Just a word, just a touch, and the broken become whole.

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18. “God Demonstrates His Love”

Harvest Curtains Writer: Harvest Parker Highlights: Emotion ascends.

Scripture declared. Musical drama. Glimpse

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the near future of worship. God magnified. We bow in grateful humility and wonder at his love demonstrated. Whispers and swells, synthy cinemizing. Whoomph! Watch and listen for more.

15. “All Arise”

Michael W. Smith Sovereign Writers: Jason Ingram, Michael W. Smith Highlights: All arise at the name of our Savior. Such completely Christ-centered, gospel-anchored praise is rare these days. A song that answers the need of the Church for more of God and less of me. An anthem and impassioned call to revere and honor the only one whose majesty is unending: the King of all Kings.

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14. “At the Cross (Love Ran Red)”

17. “Psalm 118”

Robbie Seay Band Psalms, Vol. 2 Writers: Robbie Seay Band Highlights: Emotional, devotional. Reflecting the Psalms and directing us to them. Follow.

Read. Sing aloud with a polyphony of voices … listen. Listen in silence and make melody in your heart. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. Wisps and waves. Delicate and weighty. Beat of heart. Beat of drum. Layers. A transfusion of truth, the truth we must return to now and always.

16. “Unstoppable Love”

Jesus Culture Unstoppable Love Writers: Christa Black, Kim Walker-Smith, Skyler Smith Highlights: Nothing, nothing can separate us from his unstoppable love. Warrior king. Passion multiplied, awed, and amazed by God’s relentless pursuit of us. We sing. Loud, lidless, intimacy. Unending wonder at his powerful mercy.

Chris Tomlin Love Ran Red Writers: Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Jonas Myrin, Matt Armstrong, Matt Redman Highlights: Ever present, never-ending redemption, mercy and grace at the Cross. Love bled.

A perpetual flood of love. We breathe/sing/ inhabit eternal awe, gratitude, and devotion.

The power of sin is broken and we are saved.

Shame is gone, and Christ’s peace reigns.

13. “It Is Well (Live)”

Kristene DiMarco You Make Me Brave (Live) Writers: Horatio Gates Spafford, Kristene DiMarco, Philip Paul Bliss Highlights: One of the more emotionally powerful and hauntingly beautiful adaptations of an iconic theme from a well-known hymn in recent history. It is well with my soul … And through it all, through it all, my eyes are on You / and it is well with me.

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12. “My Heart Is Yours”

Kristian Stanfill Passion: Take It All (Live) Writers: Brett Younker, Daniel Carson, Jason Ingram, Judson Wheeler Van DeVenter, Kristian Stanfill, Winfield Scott Weeden Highlights: Prayer of consecration, responding to the Holy Spirit’s drawing and calling.

The great and ongoing surrender of faith and the resolute choice to take up the cross and follow. Bold and intimate.

11. “Made for Worship”

Planetshakers Endless Praise Writers: Andy Harrison, BJ Pridham Highlights: Prayer of consecration. Proclamation of purpose, identity, and intention.

Declaration of God’s sufficiency and unending generosity. Accessible. Adaptable across styles and generations. I will shout your praise forever / I was made to worship / I was made to bless your name.

10. “Nearness of You” SD

Loud Harp Asaph Writers: Asher Seevinck and Dave Wilton Highlights: Refreshing. Delicate and weighty.

Elaborate and simple. A quiet revival of waiting, worship, and contemplation. Congregational, relational, dimensional, nuanced and compellingly beautiful with deep emotional resonance. A Psalm to be sung alone… together … often. The nearness of you is my only good / Who have I but you?

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9. “Future/Past”

John Mark McMillan Borderland Writer: John Mark McMillan Highlights: The paradox of the gospel. The awe-inspiring God calls us friend. Powerful.

Poetic. Worshipful. Ascendant. Plaintive. Aching. Grand. Sweet. You hold the reins on the sun and moon … Yet …You ask me to be Your friend / And You / You are my first / You are my last / You are my future and my past.

8. “I Am”

Crowder Neon Steeple Writers: David Crowder, Ed Cash Highlights: Tape it to your mirror. Stick it on the fridge door. A permanent place on your personal and congregational playlist. Sing it every morning. Sing it every Sunday. Holding on to and being held by the Great I Am. This is a song that can dig you out of any hole, and resurrect your hope. There’s no space that his love can’t reach / There’s no place where we can’t find peace / There’s no end to amazing grace … I am / Holding on to you!

7. “You Lift Us Up”

Paul Baloche Paul Baloche Live Writers: Matt Maher, Paul Baloche Highlights: Congregational worship at its most accessible. Healing for the wounded, the broken, a promise of resurrection for what has died in us. An “us” and “God “ song. Focus on our need and his response. Sometimes it’s our need for deliverance in the present that reminds us what he’s done in the past.

SD 116

6. “Vapor”

SD 117

The Liturgists Vapor Writers: Lisa Gungor, Michael Gungor Highlights: Vapor finds ground in you, music finds sound in you. Dream. Float. Reflect.

Imagine. Believe. Be swept into the wonder, the holiness, the paradoxical mystery and beauty of God. Holy. You are holy / Infinite and Holy / … impossible and holy / A billion suns rise for you / Clouds paint the skies for you.

5. “Only King Forever”

Elevation Worship Only King Forever Writers: Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Steven Furtick, Wade Joye Highlights: Proclaim. Shout out. Be enveloped in sonic glory. There is only one king forever.

Matchless, wise, just, almighty, calling forth worship, every knee bowing. More of God. Less of us.

4. “Joy”

SD 116

Rend Collective The Art of Celebration Writers: Rend Collective Highlights: Pain will not define us. Song for life. Song for the ages. Song for what ails the world and the Church and every believer. Song to remember. Song to exultantly shout and dance and sing through the dark and on the mountaintops, joy will reignite us. You’re the Song.

3. “Christ Be All Around Me”

All Sons & Daughters All Sons & Daughters Writers: David Leonard, Jack Mooring, Leeland Mooring, Leslie Jordan Highlights: Echoing Saint Patrick, encompassing us in timeless entreaty.Your life, your death, your blood was shed for every moment. A prayer, a declaration, words on the lips of the Church across time.

SD 117

2. “This I Believe (The Creed)”

Hillsong Worship No Other Name Writers: Ben Fielding, Matt Crocker Highlights: At the heart of our faith, Father/ Jesus/Holy Spirit; foundational beliefs echoing across generations, denominations, and nations—unalterable, unchanging, shouted, wept, whispered, dreamed, drilled in and planted deep, echoing Christ in us, the hope of glory. Yes!

1. “Forever (We Sing Hallelujah)”

Kari Jobe Majestic (Live) Writers: Brian Johnson, Christa Black Gifford, Gabriel Wilson, Jenn Johnson, Joel Taylor, and Kari Jobe.

Highlights: What will you be singing on Easter next year? ... and for years to come … maybe even “Forever.” Cinematic co-write elevates drama, hope, and the level on contemporary songwriting. Lament kisses ultimate victory for maximum celebration and endless exultation. W

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20. Kingdom

Covenant Worship Integrity The Kingdom of God in musical form—multi-cultures, multi-instrumentation, multi-musical approaches, all in a musical joyous party of worship.

Top song: “Risen”

19. Endless Praise

Planetshakers Integrity Their 26th live recording is filled with percussive, drum heavy, genre-bending music containing both fervor and heartfelt honesty. Energy, power pop, emotion and all of it created for congregational singing.

Top song: “Made for Worship”

18. Banner

Desperation Band Integrity Like many things, the Desperation Band age well. This release is brimming with congregational offerings set to bright guitar rock and emotive power. Prayer meets powerful pop in this solid release.

Top Song: “Banner”

17. All the Saints:

Live from the CentricWorship Retreat, No 1

Various Artists CentricWorship Songs from the likes of Michael Farren (Pocket Full of Rocks), Jared Anderson (Desperation Band), Henry Seeley (Planetshakers), and many others, this collection is fronted, not by celebrity, but with outstanding songs with a modern folk/Americana feel.

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16. Rule in My Heart

Beth Croft Integrity A worship leader with Soul Survivor in the UK, Beth Croft’s debut is filled with worship electronica, a dash of piano pop, and beautiful prayers that a generation of worshipers across the pond are using to invite the King to rule in their hearts.

Top song: “Say the Word”

15. Unstoppable Love

Jesus Culture Jesus Culture Music With their signature big-crowd and bigemotion ballad rock, Unstoppable Love is Jesus Culture continuing to do what they do well: lead young hearts in worship and set an example for passionate praise.

Top song: “Unstoppable Love”

14. Elevation Worship

Only King Forever Essential Crescendo art rock meets anthemic pop and it’s all undergirded by solid theology in songs written for a local community. Jesus is praised as King in this congregational offering from a worship band that has officially become a mainstay.

Top song: “Only King Forever”

13. Love Will Have Its Day

Laura Hackett Park Forerunner Elegance, beauty, and layers and layers of tone are the key factors to this Sia/Imogen Heapesque worship offering from IHOP’s Laura Hackett. That alone, however isn’t enough; fortunately Hackett’s prayers reveal some of the Creator’s deepest truths in simple form.

Pure, eclectic, honest, and heartfelt music for worship.

Top song: “Lift Up Your Head”

12. The Undoing

Steffany Gretzinger Bethel Music Rich vocal presentation of very personal prayers that are so honest they seem to reach us all on a universal level. Mostly piano driven, these songs each reveal the subtle (sometimes not-so-subtle) ways that our God is able to rearrange our hearts and make them new.

Top song: “No Fear in Love”

11. Sovereign

Michael W. Smith Sparrow His most congregational release in over a decade, with Sovereign Smith crafted a worship release that adds signature-Smitty pop-worship and flawless production to some

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heart-prayers that soar and illuminate the sovereign nature of our God. Top song: “All Arise”

10. Take It All

Passion Capitol/sixstepsrecords Arena worship from today’s most influential worship leaders is the ostensible package of Passion’s Take It All. But the real substance is found in biblically structured songs that will resource the Church for years with emotive cries of surrender.

Top Song: “My Heart Is Yours”

9. Set Apart

Worship Central Integrity Tim Hughes and the Worship Central team combine their considerable talents to pour out their brand of synthy Brit pop and rock worship music.

Most important, though, their songs are as theologically astute as they are singable.

Top song: “The Way”

8. You Make Me Brave

Bethel Music Bethel Music The women of Bethel’s worship (plus Kari Jobe), remind us that God is for us.

He sustains us, and when he is on our side, what should we fear? Full of the Bethel power, and led by some amazing women who are changing the landscape of worship music, You Make Me Brave is exciting as it is transformational.

Top Song: “It Is Well”

7. Love Ran Red

Chris Tomlin sixstepsrecords/Sparrow Tomlin’s pure, crafted musical prayers are songs that will surely cross the globe. They are Christ centered and toned perfectly for today’s worship team—singable, guitar friendly, and filled with that gutsy emotion that only Tomlin can deliver.

Top song: “Almighty”

6. Paul Baloche Live

Paul Baloche Integrity Music Filled with many familiar Baloche songs and a few new ones, Live is a complete worship experience. Acoustic in tone and accented with lovely but spare instruments, Live also features an up-front congregation, creating an atmosphere of unified prayer that the listener can join with and lift their hearts and voices as well.

Top song: of the new songs, “You Lift Us Up”

5. All Sons & Daughters

All Sons & Daughters Integrity Music All Sons & Daughters continue to lead the charge of creative, poetic, and expressive worship music that defies the common musical tropes of the genre. Their eponymous release is elegant in its folky tenderness… and filled with congregational worship for the team that is willing to stretch the limits of sung prayers—for the better.

Top song: “Great Are You Lord”

2. No Other Name

Hillsong Worship Hillsong/Capitol Opening their offering with a Trinitarian proclamation of faith, Hillsong Worship is clear with their intention to keep biblical faithfulness at the center of the musical prayers that will certainly travel to the ends of the earth. Making use of ’80’s throwback synth stylings as well as the familiar Hillsong arena-rock approach, No Other Name has a single purpose: to lift the name of Jesus. Their faithfulness to this mission with musical excellence and inspired songwriting is the reason this offering will last long after many things of the earth have passed away.

Top song: “This I Believe (The Creed)”

4. Neon Steeple

Crowder Capitol/sixstepsrecords His first release as a solo artist puts Crowder just where we would expect to find him: an unexpected and creative clash of bluegrass, folk/Americana, a touch of dance-pop, and digital washes of splendid joy and deep emotion designed to point us heavenward. The songs direct sinners and saints alike to grasp the hands that hold us through the pain of our woes—and celebrate the life available when we release control.

Top song: “I Am”

3. Majestic (Live)

Kari Jobe Sparrow Jobe’s previous offerings were certainly gifts to the Church, but with Majestic her aim is straight to the heavens, and worship leaders/congregations receive a complete release of hymns praising our majestic God. Her style drifts a bit closer to Bethel music here, but as usual, Jobe’s unique vocal quality stands out with her ability to create an emotional atmosphere firmly rooted in biblical truth and Trinitarian inclusiveness. Her best yet.

Top Song: “Forever”

1. The Art of Celebration

Rend Collective Integrity Music There is a tendency for services of worship to drift towards a bit of musical dreariness. The Art of Celebration delivers us from down-tempo with a full force of joy and hope and praise. Beyond that, the songwriting is drenched in Scripture and set to homemade melodies that simply beg to be sung, enjoyed, and possibly even danced to. With this release, we believe the movement away from worship celebrity finds full fruition, and it’s founded in a local community of worshipers uniting despite deep-rooted cultural and religious dissension. The Art of Celebration commits to the truth that there is something to celebrate: darkness has been defeated, the powers have been upended, and all creatures great and small are finally free.

All we have to do is approach this extravagant victory, this extravagant love, and receive.

Top Song: “Joy” W

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5. As Sure as the Sun

Ellie Holcomb A bright addition to the Christian music scene, Holcomb sings of the good news, reminding us just how wonderful the news is: “as sure as the sun will rise, his mercy will not end.” Seeped in a life acquainted with sorrow, this crowdfunded release won us over with elegant piano-driven songs surrounding Holcomb’s rich and slightly raspy voice. and had us coming back to join the prayers of trust in a caring Father who won’t let go.

Top song: “The Broken Beautiful”

4. Psalms, Vol. 2

Robbie Seay Band From the Creed being featured on Hillsong’s newest release to indie projects such as Robbie Seay

Band’s Psalms, Vol 2, worship songwriting is getting deeper and broader. These songs work almost like Taize chants—repetition of lyrics from the Bible that have the power of the Spirit to change hearts. A touch of Americana and a dash of piano-pop make them all the more lovely.

Top song: “Psalm 118 (Your Steadfast Love)”

3. O Happy Fault

Audrey Assad Audrey Assad’s foray deep into the realms of intentional congregational music is meditative and elegant. Here she refreshes the Baloche classic “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” she gives us room to lament, and re-voices Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val’s Litany

of Humility. As with any Assad release, her recent offerings are utterly listenable, compelling our return, again and again, as we join our voices with hers in prayer.

Top song: “I Shall Not Want”

2. Borderland

John Mark McMillan McMillan stepped away from the assistance of a record label for his newest release, and in the process rediscovered a love for music. And if you are weary of certain amounts of monotony in music for worship, then Borderland just might do the same for you. Beautiful orchestrations, clanging experimental indie-rock, and honest, soaring gut cries to a God who desires such openhearted prayers fill this extraor-

dinary release. McMillan sings from the borderland so that we all might not feel so alone when we visit.

Top song: “Future/Past”

1. Asaph

Loud Harp Based on the Psalms of Asaph (found sprinkled in the Book of Psalms), Asaph is psalm-meditation set to spare atmospheric indie-tones. At times quietly buzzing with near silence and other times soaring to let us cry out, “Who have I, but you?” This release was the indie find of the year. It’s crying out from the depth of our humanity to God and finding the Great Deliverer in and through subtly-powerful prayer compositions.

Top song: “The Nearness of You”

ONE OF THE MOST

C A P T I VAT I N G LIVE RECORDINGS FROM THE VINEYARD TO DATE. FAC E TO FAC E i s t h e t h i rd i n sta l l m e n t of l i ve recordings from the 2013 Vineyard National Conference.

Fe a t u r i n g t h e w o r s h i p t e a m f r o m V i n e y a r d Campbellsville (PROMISES OF WONDER) and veteran worship leader David Ruis, FACE TO FACE documents remarkably passionate and prophetic worship from one of the world’s most influential worship movements.

For more live Vineyard worship check out WONDERFUL and WHERE THE MERCY FALLS, the first two volumes of worship from the 2013 Vineyard National Conference.

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| www.vineyardworship.com

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STOCKING STUFFERS GREAT GIFTS FOR YOU & YOUR TEAM! Worship Central Set Apart

“Let it Be Known” was the No. 1 editor’s pick for worship albums in 2013 and called “a must have for worship leaders.”“Set Apart” is destined to follow suit. It features: Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon, Luke Hellebronth and Nikki Fletcher.

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Rule in My Heart

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The highly-anticipated debut album from Beth Croft, worship leader for Soul Survivor, the UK’s largest youth ministry features co-writes with Matt Redman, Tim Featured on Song DISCovery Nov/Dec 2014 Hughes and Nick Herbert.

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FEATURE REVIEW

W

CHRIS

TOMLIN

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henever we hear Scripture as the first words of the first song of an album, a warm glow begins to burn in our hearts. Love Ran Red the tenth studio release from the most influential worship leader of the century, opens with the final line of Romans 11, “For from him and through him and for him are all things.” And truly, Tomlin continues to keep all focus on the wonderful love of Jesus and the beauty of our Father who sent him.

Since worship leaders are and should be purchasing this offering, I will focus more closely on a few points worth pondering for the thoughtful worship leader, however, before briskly adopting every song in a service of worship.

The opening track, “Greater,” is a mixture of a few biblical statements, all with thematic connection. We open with the aforementioned, doxology of Romans 11. Thematically, and in biblical context in his epistle, Paul is pondering the disproportion between God and man. God is indeed “Greater.” In the same song, we then skip to the Book of Psalms where we are reminded that God’s “word endures form beginning to end. To God be the glory!” Jesus being God’s ultimate word, the next transition to, “Greater is the love of Jesus” also works well. Some of the cherry-picked Scriptures make for a bit of a jerky approach and unfortunately, the Holy Spirit is not referenced at all in the song, so it’s not a slam-dunk for the purposes of holistic Trinitarian worship.

Upside? God is greater. If we do nothing else than declare his greatness amongst the nations in our services of worship, we have still done something holy and transformative.

Despite our inability to grasp God we can acknowledge and declare that God is the source of all things, and through Christ his glory is

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LOVE RAN RED SIXSTEPSRECORDS/SPARROW | CHRISTOMLIN.COM

the end of all things. And this is Tomlin’s intention here. Downside?

Along with the lack of the Spirit, there is slight Father/Son Trinitarian confusion in this song.

“Waterfall” is the radio release, and as such has the catchiest melody of the lot. However, it also represents a mistake often made in modern worship songwriting. Psalm 42, from which this single gets its imagery, is a lament. Deep and painful. The psalmist is in the depths of despair, he pants for the Lord like a deer pants for streams of water. His soul is downcast and disturbed; he is oppressed by enemies, and he is forgotten by God. He even blames God for his suffering. But you know … this lament stuff isn’t exactly radio friendly.

Due in part to the fact that no one really knows what it means, the phrase in the chorus “deep calls to deep” is biblical but problematic. Most likely it is a metaphor taken from the Flood when the upper deep called to the lower deep—waves of sorrow, one after the other crashing and causing destruction. Tomlin seems to treat “deep calls to deep” in a way that means “the depths of my heart are crying out for the depths of your heart.” Close study of Psalm 42 reveals that God’s waterfalls are actually painful, producing misery in the psalmist’s life. However, despite the agony the Lord is causing, the psalmist remembers that God is good and still puts his hope in him.

However, again the ends justify the means: put your hope in God is the

overall idea, and this is good advice, and a worthy song to sing.

“Boundary Lines” in contrast to “Waterfalls” maintains the tone of its derivative psalm (Ps 16). Filled with praise for all the good things God has given his servant, the “Boundary Lines” that God blessed him with are wonderful, and with this song we, too, praise God for his kindness to us. This track also has the best line of the release: “If my heart is a cup, your love is an ocean. You fill me up like rivers overflowing.”

Tomlin’s forte is not a wandering through the depths of life and reflecting on the complexities of humanity, such as is found in the Psalms; it has always been in offering accessible truths wrapped in beauty and melodically adding powerful emotion with gorgeous turns of music.

The piano-driven power ballad “Almighty” represents this well and is the strongest congregational offering of the bunch. It’s God centered and powerful in expressing the almighty throne that is above all things yet completely accessible to us in our offerings of worship. “Almighty, we’re standing in the presence of your majesty / You’re holy, you alone the sovereign crown of royalty / You’re the King of Kings.” Amen to that!

Sounds Like: Very subtle EDM pop, Coldplay-esque emotive power, and straightto-the-heart worship production.

“Training worship leaders for the ever-changing climate of worship while grounding them in the never-changing truth of God’s Word” • Interdisciplinary education in music, worship, and theology • Low student-teacher ratios • Training in contemporary voice, guitar, and piano • Practical experiences and internships • Electives in fields such as electronic media, youth ministry, and missions

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “At the Cross” Strongest Biblical Content: “Greater” (Rom 11) The Whole Package: “Almighty” JEREMY ARMSTRONG

1-800-CEDARVILLE (233-2784)

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MUSIC FOR LEADING

us as “people of your presence,” “we are your revival.” More Trinitarian language would have made this record even stronger. Still, Set Apart is a can’t-miss collection.

Sounds Like: Hillsong United + Jesus Culture. Britpop with added EDM textures.

WORSHIP CENTRAL Set Apart Integrity Music worshipcentral.org

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Worship leaders Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon, and Luke and Anna Hellebronth, and Karen Gillespie lead a set of highly singable, tightlywritten songs (collaborations from a host of acclaimed writers) alongside a couple of spontaneous worship musical prayers (“All That I Am,” “Wide Open Space”).

EDM-styled driving synth shows up in several of these cuts, but for the most part Set Apart features well executed, standard contemporary worship stylings that work well for both megachurches and mid-sized gatherings. Many of the songs would work in smaller, stripped down settings, as well.

The songs tread familiar paths in modern worship: the overwhelming love of God, his pursuit of us, and our need for him. The language is simple, but inventive phrases keep the songs of Set Apart from sounding derivative.

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TOP SONGS Most Singable: “Stand Up” Strongest Biblical Content: “Awesome Is He” The Whole Package: “The Way” Resources Available: Chord charts, acoustic demos, and more at worshipcentral.org.

BOBBY GILLES

CITYALIGHT Yours Alone CityAlight Music cityalight.com

Yours Alone is the culmination and distillation of a year of work, 15 songwriters, 50 new worship

songs, and a panel of musicians, songwriters, and a pastoral ministry team to evaluate them all. The incredible vision of the CityAlight team was to create an album written for congregations to sing, with simple melodies and biblical lyrics. CityAlight accomplished their mission with outstanding results: 10 songs, rich with theology and a Christ-centered message. These are songs the whole church can and will sing.

These songs fit well within the genre of pop/rock praise and worship that is reminiscent of Hillsong. The arrangements are simple, melody driven, with light piano, guitar, and a rhythm section, but the focus is on the melody and vocals. Occasional bluegrass and hymnic influences add interest and arrangement ideas for the worshiping congregation.

Sounds like: Light pop-rock praise-music with a smattering of rootsy instrumentation adaptable to any rock or pop-based style.

Well-crafted, easily singable melodies and theologically rich lyrics with simple accompaniments make Yours Alone a worthwhile investment for the worshiping congregation and a great resource for churches of all sizes and styles.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “The Love of the Father” Strongest Biblical Content: “Home” (1 Cor 9:24-27) The Whole Package: “Once for All” Resources Available: Lyrics, chords, and lead sheets are available at cityalight.com.

AMANDA FURBECK

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DUSTIN SMITH Coming Alive Integrity Music dustinsmith.com

Coming Alive is the sophomore solo release of Kansas City based worship leader Dustin Smith— who you might also recognize as the keyboard player and covocalist of Here Be Lions, a group he formed with Jennie Lee Riddle and Michael Farren.

While there is nothing new happening sonically, what immediately stands out in this project is the writing. Dustin, along with a strong cast of co-writers (Michael W. Smith, Stu G, Ed Cash, Michael Farren [Pocket Full of Rocks], Jack Mooring [Leeland]) deliver a collection of useful songs that most any worship leader will be able to pull from.

Finding useful songs in the rest of the project is a matter of preference and purpose. Quality songs run the gamut of horizontal gathering songs like “Who Is Like Our God” to intimate presencedriven songs like “(Be Exalted) In the Dust.”

Sounds Like: The production on this album is top-notch standard praise and worship rock. This album was recorded “live,” which adds a lot to a few songs and is simply reduced to clapping at the end on others. Parts are

accessibly playable and Dustin’s writing style and melodic delivery occasionally resemble a modernday hymn.

TOP SONGS Most singable: “Coming Alive,” a high-energy catchy vertical declaration.

Strongest Biblical Content: “He’s Alive” is a no-brainer for Easter The Whole Package: “Eyes Like Fire” Resources: information, lyrics, and chord charts are readily available at dustinsmith.com.

STEVE REED

world, we have a firm foundation in God, who was, is, and will ever-be our banner over it all.

Even though the audience at this live recording was mainly youth, these songs will surely find their way into the Church at large because of their singable melodies, approachable arrangements, and rich content. Jon Egan leads most songs, along with other worship leaders Jonathan Moos, Bri Giles, and others. Kari Jobe also makes a vocal appearance on the beautiful anthem “On the Throne.”

Sounds like: Familiar, yet excitingly fresh, with new voices, bold sounds, and a freedom to explore new styles and take risks with songs like the light-hearted and playful “Closer to Your Heart” and the dance celebration song “Fun.” Similar sounding groups include Passion and Hillsong United.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “Make a Way” Strongest Biblical Content: “Closer to Your Heart” (Ps 84) The Whole Package: “Banner” BARRY WESTMAN

DESPERATION BAND Banner Integrity Music desperationonline.com

Worship leader Jon Egan and the rest of Desperation Band return with Banner, an album of epic proportions recorded live at the recent Desperation Conference.

This album perfectly captures the excitement and energy of youth in worship with songs that will appeal to multiple generations because of their musical and lyrical depth and scriptural foundations.

A major theme on this album, especially heard in the title-song “Banner” and also on “No One Else,” is that in this ever-changing

VARIOUS ARTISTS Face to Face Vineyard Worship vineyardworship.com

The title of this album implies a closeness and intimacy, which is indeed reflected in much of the lyrical content, and sometimes in the musical performance and presentation, alternately intimate and hyper-anthemic. Face to Face is the third installment of a trio of albums recorded live (and unedited) at the Vineyard’s worship conference 2013 with over 4,000 leaders in attendance (CD one [Wonderful] and two [Where the Mercy Falls] round out

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the full conference experience).

The album opens with “Folks Like Us,” written and sung by Adam Russell, not only a wonderful song of praise and dependence on God, that celebrates the Lord’s gracious nature and kindness, but it has an infectious energy certain to bring even the reluctant worshiper to their feet. The bookend to that is final song “Good Shepherd,” written and sung by renowned worship leader David Ruis—a Psalm 23 reiteration for a new generation.

Sandwiched in-between are four songs, three led by Hannah Daugherty—who leans in a Kim Walker-Smith direction—and one reprising Adam Russell’s leading.

Daugherty takes the lead on the title track, plus the Torwalts’ ubiquitous and lovely “Holy Spirit,” and Sam Yoder’s “Wonderful.”

The latter is a classic Vineyard style worship song that echoes John Wimber and on this embel-

lished and extended version gives you an inside view of Vineyard worship culture. Russell leads the remaining “Set a Fire” by Will Reagan with impassioned power and sweetness.

Because Face to Face comprises rhapsodic singing, interspersed with prayer and expressions of adoration, as well as words of knowledge, and sweeps of congregational singing (one of the most affecting aspects), there are moments of glory and a few bumps inherent in the emotion that comes with this expression of worship: the passion of the worship leader occasionally eclipses the One who is worthy of and elicits our passion. Though some of these songs are long (17 minutes), It’s an easy matter for churches who simply want the song at the center to excise and adapt these to a more traditional liturgy.

Sounds like: Bethel meets Vineyard, with inflections of country rock and Southern gospel/soul.

Rhapsodic, passionate, expressive, emotional … and musical.

Serious dynamic range. Contemporary and retro.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “Wonderful” Strongest Biblical Content: “Good Shepherd” (Ps 23) The Whole Package: “Folks Like Us” and “Wonderful” Resources: Chord charts and lyric sheets available at vineyardworship.com/charts.

ANDREA HUNTER

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LAUREN DAIGLE How Can It Be Centricity Music laurendaigle.com

Lauren Daigle’s soulful voice and honest writing style has produced a powerful and mature record, far beyond what would be expected from one so young. God has allowed Lauren to walk through many difficult days in life, but her trust in God’s goodness and grace is expressed in every song. Many of these songs can be used in

IN REVIEW

congregational worship. How Can It Be is such a beautiful album— bolstered with strong theology in each song that draws the listener to focus on Jesus.

Sounds Like: Adele and Brooke Fraser: artistic, honest, poetically creative, with a clearly Christcentered message.

Most Singable: “How Can It Be” Strongest Biblical Content: “Power to Redeem” (Eph 2:4-9) The Whole Package: “Salt & Light” Resources Available: Videos and music all at laurendaigle.com.

JAY AKINS

BLUETREE

Worship & Justice Integrity Music bluetreeworship.com Best known for their song, “God of This City,” Belfast, Northern Ireland’s worship band Bluetree has just released their first album with Integrity Music called Worship & Justice. These songs are a reminder that our lives of worship go far beyond just singing songs on a Sunday morning, but that worship is justice, and our lives

should reflect that in everything we do. Bluetree lives this out in their own lives in Northern Ireland and around the world with their efforts in worship and justice.

This is truly an amazing album— the musical quality of these songs is excellent, and the passion-filled lyrics spur you on to worship God with your whole life.

There are so many standout tracks included, and all of the songs could easily be used for corporate worship in churches across America. Lead songwriter Aaron Boyd has done an excellent job providing the Church with these songs to sing to the Lord that exalt his name, but at the same time challenge the Church to worship him by taking action in the world.

With expertly crafted songs like “It Is Finished,” “My Redeemer Lives,” and “Each Day,”

Bluetree has created a sound that will fit perfectly into today’s modern church. Aaron Boyd’s lead voice is easy to sing along with, the overall sound with the harmonies and band is solid.

Sounds like: The sound is reminiscent of Matt Redman, Brenton Brown, and Brian Doerksen.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “My Redeemer Lives” Strongest Biblical Content: “It Is Finished” (Rom 8) The Whole Package: “Each Day” BARRY WESTMAN

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VARIOUS

Kingdom Christ For The Nations Worship cfni.org Christ for the Nations live worship has a reputation for raising the roof and hitting the mark and once again, in Kingdom, they have delivered an exceptionallywritten congregationally-friendly collection of tracks. Ranging from Intimate love songs to spontaneous adoration to ebullient anthems, there is not a single song that couldn’t be sung in the context of your worship service.

“Let us See” kicks off Kingdom with a biblically rich prayer packed with energy and Scripture, and expressing a desire to see the Lord’s glory revealed. Throughout, songs resonate with Scripture and are melodically and lyrically rich. The most fun comes with the nicely juxtaposed “Spirit Burn” cover by Vineyard songwriters Daniel Wheeldon and Marc James and “Fire in My Bones” written by CFN’s Jeff Sparkman. The former has a spunky, rootsy Crowder vibe and the latter a surf guitar meets Hillsong alternating dreamy and rock sensibilities. “The Whole Earth” is a song within a song, all declaring and proclaiming God’s glory, wonder, and holiness.

Witten by CFN alum Klaus Kuehn, this power praise belongs in a stadium with a hundred thousand people echoing the theme “The whole Earth is filled with your glory, the heavens declaring your

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praise.” The album ends with love songs: God’s for us and ours for him: “I Give Myself Away,” “Face to Face,” and the simply beautiful “Love Has Come.” Even the title track and last song continues the atmosphere of tender love, with aching and echoey vocals and would be a good call for special music.

Occasionally the percussion and synth looping distract from rather than supporting the lyrical content, and drums drag rather than propel, but that is an easy adjustment, and these songs lend themselves to adaptation and personalization.

Sounds Like: Allusions to Hillsong’s looping and recent synth-mania, not quite as fully realized. Contemporary and retro pop and pop/rock, even a little roots/Americana thrown in. An abundance of percussive play and drums, but without a World/Latin direction we’ve heard from CFN before.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “Spirit Burn” Strongest Biblical Content: “The Whole Earth,” “Let Us See” The Whole Package: “The Whole Earth,” “Love Has Come” Resources: Sheet music and chord charts at praisecharts.com/ cfn-music ANDREA HUNTER

BRIDGETT KERN

No One Greater Platinum Image Music Group bridgettkern.com Veteran worship leader, songwriter, and pastor Bridgett Kern (Radiant Life Church, Phoenix, AZ) delivers a dimensional album that ranges from tender songs of adoration to pull-out-all-the-stops Gospel fusion. With BJ Putnam producing, energy and percussive power are expected, but Kern also delivers some sweet and tender worship ballads, as well. With a number of accomplished writers onboard, such as Freddie Rodriguez, Josh Lopez, and BJ Putnam himself (among others) this CD has all the necessary ingredients for sing-and-playability and lives up to its promise. Additionally, Planetshakers’ Henry Seeley contributes lead guitar.

“He Shall Reign” proclaims the singular greatness of King Jesus, assembling phrases from

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Scripture into a rockin’ gospel/ R&B tour de force, while “Jesus Our King” sings of our hope and healer, spanning tender intimacy to exultant praise. Covers of songs such as Amanda Falk’s, “I Will Exalt” are a perfect fit for the God-centered album. Songs are suitable for an array of services and lend themselves to a range of arrangement and delivery.

Sounds like: effervescent, passionate, Israel Houghton meets CeCe Winans and Micah Stampley with BJ Putnam at the boards thrown in the mix and some planetshaking on the side. Energy and passion balanced with sweet sincerity and fervent praise.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “We Worship You” Strongest Biblical Content: “He Shall Reign” The Whole Package: “Jesus Our King” Resources available: online ANDREA HUNTER

IZZI RAY

Make Much of You Metro1 Music and Film izziray.com Emerging artist Izzi Ray is poised to make a big impact on Christian music with her brand new album, Make Much of You. She says, “I want to be a voice in

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my generation that stirs revival.”

Her powerful vocals, combined with a soulful hard-rock sound and Scripture-filled lyrics reveal a musical freshness, a passion for the Lord, and a level of artistry and poise typical of much moreexperienced musicians. Izzi’s version of pop/rock creates a striking balance between accessible creativity and uniqueness.

Izzi Ray was born to contemporary Christian artist Crystal Lewis and music producer, Brian Ray. She came to know the Lord when she was five-years old and began writing music and playing guitar at age 11. Now, at just 18, Izzi is a polished Christian artist in her own right.

melancholy ballads and powerful, hard rock praise. Izzi’s rich, gutsy vocals, fresh hard-rock sound, and unique style create a very listenable album that is sure to be a force for the Lord in her generation.

Am Becoming offers many songs that can be for performance or presentation pieces in a worship setting. This album is also amazing for personal times of worship.

Drew writes stories put to music of God’s love and grace.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “Heaven Is Your Throne” Strongest Biblical Content: “Something New” (Ps 25) The Whole Package: “Make Much of You”

Sounds Like: Israel Houghton meets Jason Crabb meets Michael Farren

DREW CLINE

I Am Becoming Drew Cline Ministries drewcline.com

AMANDA FURBECK

Singer/Songwriter Drew Cline delivers with I Am Becoming. Threeand-a-half years in the making pastor, worship leader, vocal powerhouse Drew Cline offers a true love letter of worship. Beautifully orchestrated and produced I

Sounds like: This sophomore album is a well-balanced mix of

AND

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TOP SONGS Most Singable: “Breathe” Strongest Biblical Content: “He Walked Away”(Col 1:15-23) The Whole Package: “Complicated” Resources Available: Charts and music available at drewcline.com.

JAY AKINS

IN REVIEW

PERSONAL PLAYLIST

LAURA HACKETT PARK Love Will Have Its Day Forerunner Music ihopkc.org/music/

Love Will Have Its Day, Laura Hackett Park’s second full-length album with Forerunner Music, ex-

plores a broad range of music for personal reflection and worship.

At times this IHOP worship leader sounds a bit like Sara Groves, Nichole Nordeman, or JJ Heller, but Hackett, aided by producers Brown Bannister and Ben Shrive, is clearly unafraid to branch into new musical directions, from rock to funk.

Common themes of encouragement for the weary soul and celebration of God’s love share space with more diverse themes.

“Anger” is a dramatic depiction of how anger poisons the soul and robs life from the one who is ruled by it. And “King Jesus” celebrates the justice of God in upholding the

cause of the oppressed and abandoned, while indicting corruption in high places.

Sounds Like: Elements of pop, rock, R&B, and occasional hints of hip-hop, fused together with a singer-songwriter lyrical approach.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “He Shall Reign (Son Of David)” Strongest Biblical Content: “I Feel His Love” The Whole Package: “Lift Up Your Head” KRISTEN GILLES

LINDSAY MCCAUL One More Step Centricity Music lindsaymccaul.com

The 11 songs on One More Step mark Lindsay McCaul’s debut on the Centricity label. While song

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arrangements range from deeply layered to delightfully sparse, pop sensibilities reign supreme in this album. The production is solid, and Lindsay’s vocals are clear and pleasing.

Lyrically, One More Step chronicles the singer’s journey from grief and doubt to faith and hope, though not in a strictlylinear fashion. It’s an acknowledgement that all our days are filled with this journey, but that God leads us each step of the way. And as McCaul sings in “The in Between” and “Mess Like Me,” the grace of God meets us at every stage of our journey, and in every second of our struggles.

Sounds Like: Clean, polished CCM with the slightest hint of country pop, a la Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “Love Won’t Give Up” Strongest Biblical Content: “A Little” The Whole Package: “Empty Handed” Resources Available: Stories behind songs, videos, tour dates, and more at lindsaymccaul.com.

BOBBY GILLES

The Whole Package: “No Fear in Love” Resources Available: Chord charts, videos, links to music at bethelmusic.com KRISTEN GILLES

STEFFANY GRETZINGER The Undoing Bethel Music bethelmusic.com

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Bethel worship leader Steffany Gretzinger knows that life is a process, and we’re all in this process of growth, love, pain and healing. The Undoing answers “What does daily worship look like under these conditions?”

“I Spoke Up” tells the story of overcoming the temptation to live as a people pleaser. “Getting There” expresses determination to find God in the mysteries of life.

And “Morning Song” is a hopeful awakening to the new day that God paints for us. Together, all 11 songs for personal worship reflect on the goodness of the Lord at all stages of our journey.

Instrumentation ranges from intimate acoustic songs that sound like they’re coming from your favorite coffee house to elaborate arrangements featuring piano, guitars, synth, strings, and a variety of percussion.

Gretzinger’s vocals are breathy and stylized, while showing an impressive range.

Sounds Like: Imagine the Swell Season leading worship with Bethel Music at a spiritual retreat.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “Getting There” Strongest Biblical Content: “Constant One”

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RIVERS & ROBOTS All Things New Come&Live! riversandrobots.com

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In alignment with such indie outfits as Fleet Foxes and Band of Horses, Rivers & Robots gives indie enthusiasts a reason to rejoice. Plus they can rejoice in the good news of the gospel put into their native musical language.

Rivers & Robots is spare folky guitar and ambient/electronic rock that harmonizes as good as any sweet-hearted band you’ll hear pouring out of college dorm rooms these days. All Things New, the band’s third release, is themed on grace—the grace that makes us white as snow, makes all things new, and shepherds our souls to salvation.

Based in Manchester, UK, those in the US won’t have many chances to catch up with the band in a live setting, but Christians everywhere can find harmony with their mission to love Jesus and worship through song, music, creativity, and art. Song Discovery subscribers will recognize “Shepherd of My Soul” from SD volume 119. This song swings closer to the acoustic ballad side

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of worship, with sweet harmonies and a surrendered life as the offering of the song. Beyond that, worship leaders will do well to check out “We Have Overcome” and “White as Snow.” The former is a rollicking journey that ascends to glorifying the creator for also making us new. And the latter is an acoustic Sufjan Stevens-esque worship song about clinging to the lamb, standing in his righteousness, praising God for his mercies and his willingness to cleanse our hearts, and one of the best verbatim Scripture songs you will hear all year.

Sounds like: Indie electronic, folk art, and Beach Boys harmonies, all of it coming from the UK. TOP SONGS Most Singable: “We Have Overcome” Strongest Biblical Content: “White as Snow” (Isa 1:18) The Whole Package: “Shepherd of My Soul” Resources: Complete chord charts on their website riversandrobots.com.

JEREMY ARMSTRONG

SARAH BRUSCO

The Woven Whisper Morning and Night Music morningandnightmusic.com There is a type of music that is a backdrop for unrelenting focus on God. Sometimes featuring words,

sometimes not… “soaking” music. Music that floats and drifts, and coaxes you from a world of clashing sounds, emotions, and demands into a world where spirit, soul, and body meet at the intersection of heaven and earth.

Sarah Brusco’s album weaves a heavenly mix of healing light and sound, juxtaposed to identifiable worship songs (reflecting the way Sarah and her family’s congregation does worship on Sunday mornings).

The songs that will find a way into congregations across the spectrum are “Leading Me On” and “Make Your Home Inside My Heart.” The latter written by Casey Corum and Eben Brusco, is a wonderful medley-match for the Nockel’s (Song Discovery classic) “My Heart Your Home” written in 1997. Cellist Sharon Gerber, (Imogen Heap) lends her emotionally evocative talents to this and other select tracks on the album.

Bringing the energy up a notch, “Your Faithful Voice” is another song destined for congregational singing and the most uptempo and percussive, still retaining the intimacy of the album as a whole, and sets up “At Peace” a weave of hip-hop and contemporary worship. Sarah, a worship leader,

who lost her voice due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, with the expectation of never singing again, uses this lovely album to offer her affecting and deeply felt worship and thanksgiving to God. Brusco’s rendition of the classic “Exalt the Lord” features a sampled interview from the song's author Cindy Rethmeier. Through tears, Rethmeier recalls the origin of this cherished worship expression. It was the first worship song Brusco sang when she came to the Lord.

If you’re new to this type of worship, think of it as a sort of sung contemplation, a musical Lectio Divina where you make room for God to highlight places in the music and words as you focus on him in adoration. It’s music you can rest in or add your voice to, as the Spirit leads.

Though not everyone is attuned to or comfortable with this expression of worship, try resting in the music for your morning devotions and see where it leads you. That said, some tracks will undoubtedly invite you in, while the one’s that are especially personal may not be a fit for everyone.

Sounds like: classical improvisation, acoustic guitar, dreamy deep, unstructured, Enya-esque, synth atmospherics, string-filled instrumentals juxtaposed to both gentle and energized worship songs, wisps of words, sonic layers, hand-held and traditional drums, shimmering percussion, delicate acoustic beauty, with each nuance heard and felt.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “Make Your Home inside My Heart” Strongest Biblical Content: “Peace,” “Exalt the Lord” The Whole Package: “Make Your Home inside My Heart,” “Leading Me On” (Acoustic Version) ANDREA HUNTER

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SCOTT MACINTYRE Lighthouse Mini Mac Music scottmacintyre.com

Sounds like: Pop music that is encouraging and soul stirring.

With a life that is an inspiration, Scott MacIntyre, who was American Idol’s first blind finalist, releases his 8th studio project, Lighthouse. This piano-driven album produced by MacIntyre and veteran Christian record producers Matt Bronleewe and Kyle Lee, is a pop infused retrospective of the life and times of Scott MacIntyre and can easily serve as a manifesto of sorts for those who have struggles in life.

Lighthouse provides track after track of infectious songs that showcase why this gifted singer/

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songwriter/producer went as far on Idol’s 8th season as he did.

Lighthouse is also an apt description for the entire project.

With each track you have a sense of the calm that comes when you are safe and protected and can see your destination through the storm. Encouragement in this life is the theme not only of the lyrics, but the smooth Michael W. Smith meets Chris Rice meets Keith Green vocals.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “Hallelujah Song” (featuring AI alum Danny Gokey) Strongest Biblical Content: “Safe in My Arms” The Whole Package: “Fifty Second Chances”

SANCTUS REAL The Dream sanctusreal.com Sparrow Records

With 18 years, and seven studio albums under their belts, Christian rockers Sanctus Real sustains the notion that following a formula need not be formulaic.

Their newest release The Dream continues to find the band writing

RANDY W. CROSS

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reassuring lyrics and blending it with a nouveau 80’s style pop.

More synth and electronic driven than previous albums, The Dream features Sanctus Real at its most musically diverse since their independent release of the five track EP All This Talk of Aliens.

Even with the musical exploration that occurs in this album, the unmistakable sound of Sanctus Real is evident as the title track opens the album with guitar-driven pop. You soon find yourself drawn into the remainder of the album not knowing what may be coming next as each track displays a nuance of the band that fans may have not heard or noticed before. It is a sound familiar to Sanctus Real fans, yet refreshingly new as evidenced by the band’s assortment of musical styles on The Dream.

TOP SONGS Most Singable: “On Fire” Strongest Biblical Content: “Same God” The Whole Package: “The Dream” RANDY W. CROSS

PROGRAMMING RESOURCES

By Warren Anderson

Every year in this spot, Worship Leader gives you a leg up on your Christmas shopping with a host of staff-member-specific gifts for your entire team. Here are the suggestions for 2014.

For Your Children’s Choir Director CELESTE CLYDESDALE I Am a Friend of God (and a Faithful Friend Forever) LillenasKids A musical for kids on the topic of friendship couldn’t be more timely, what with news accounts of intense bullying in our schools and social-media pressures that most of us adult worship leaders never had to deal with when we were elementary students.

Amanda, the local bully, terrorizes her peers until the new kid on the block shows her what true friendship is all about. Lots of fun music propels the narrative along, including a paraphrased rendering of Phillipians 4:8, in which the students are encouraged to THINK before they speak, asking the questions, “Is what I am about to say True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, and Kind?”

Not a bad message for adults to hear, that.

LILLENASKIDS.COM

Gift Guide For Your Choir Director JOSEPH M. MARTIN The Celtic Choir: An Acoustic Praise Choral Collection Shawnee Press All things Celtic are all the rage these days, and this Michael-Flatley-Meets-a-Mighty-Fortress collection features nine songs steeped in melodies and arrangements that hearken to Old England, Ireland, and Wales.

Joe Martin displays his usual deft touches throughout, crafting arrangements that are interesting to sing and hear without being fiendishly tough. Of special note is “Not I, but Christ,” yet another Christian adaptation of “O Danny Boy,” this one as rich in its rhetoric as “He Looked beyond My Fault and Saw My Need” is calming in its colloquialisms. Consider other offerings in the Acoustic Praise series, as well.

SHAWNEEPRESS.COM

For Your Programming Director DAVID SHIPPS AND DAVID WISE At the Cross Word This from the foreword of this excellent resource, in regard to our services of communion: “Ask yourself this: why does something so important to our faith often seem to get the leftovers?” Regardless of how different worship leaders might answer this question, At the Cross provides a one-stop-shopping experience. To wit, we find 11 excellent choral arrangements of songs like Hillsong’s rendition of the title song, “Lead Me to the Cross,” and a nice medley of “You Are My King (Amazing Love),” “Above All,” and “The Wonderful Cross.” Those alone would be worth the purchase of this resource, but when you add the instrumental section—25 pages of piano solos, soloinstrument obbligatos, and instrumental interludes—you

AVAILABLE

WORLDWIDE The first Christmas of World War I contained a famous truce that continues to be talked about today. On Christmas Eve in 1914, from enemy trenches came the sound of a Christmas carol whose melody was profoundly familiar. The Germans sang “Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!” the British joined in; “Silent Night! Holy Night!” they sang.

This simple song, which brought about a moment of peace amidst the horrors of war, continues to inspire today, leading us to stop and remember the powerful truth that “Christ the Savior is born.”

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end up with a must-have tool for helping to turn “communion services” into “worship experiences.”

WORDMUSIC.COM

For Your Youth Choir Director ARR. CLIFF DUREN United: The Modern Youth Choir Brentwood The folks at Hillsong United hit upon a winning formula several years ago, and Cliff Duren, one of contemporary worship music’s most-savvy arrangers, keeps that essence while tailoring the arrangements to the vocal abilities of high-schoolers. Specifically, we find lots of unison and two-part singing here, and when the parts do venture into SATB territory, the basses almost always double the sopranos’ melody an octave lower. Twelve of HU’s best songs—including “Oceans

(Where Feet May Fail)” and “The Stand”—from four different albums show up here, providing something for even the most fickle of teen tastes. If you’ve got some youth who can really play, grab the praise-band charts and the accompanying rehearsal tracks for the various voices and instruments; if not, the split-track accompaniment CD will provide all the right support, including what the back cover calls “a blur of reverb-washed guitars.”

BRENTWOODBENSON.COM

For Your Friend at the Traditional Church PEGGY BETTCHER Easy to Ring Praise & Worship VII Agape OK. Granted. Most folks reading Worship Leader don’t count handbell choirs among their ministry ensembles. But you probably have a worship-leading friend or two whose parishioners still enjoy singing hymns to pipeorgan accompaniment and whose responsibilities include directing

a handbell choir. Help him or her help them move one step in the direction of cultural relevancy with this excellent collection of modern-day worship songs, including “I Will Rise,” “How He Loves,” and “Revelation Song.” Bettcher’s arrangements do justice to the pieces, and you might just start thumbing through the collection and liking what you see enough to grab a couple of synth players (one for the treble and one for the bass) to take these arrangements for a test drive in your contemporary church.

HOPEPUBLISHING.COM

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Follow Us Request your FREE 540-page catalog

FREE Never Sounded So Good!

Act now

Audix will give you a FREE VX5 when you purchase two MicroBoom™ systems.*

Supplies are limited

MicroBoom Series Powerful enough to lift the sound of your choir above the band The MicroBoom™ Series from Audix is a scalable system that offers a wide selection of pick-up patterns, output levels and frequency responses. And the mic is just half of the story: the boom arms are made of carbon fiber so they are lightweight, thin and strong. Available in 50 and 84 inch lengths, the MicroBoom is capable of adjusting to the angle and position you need. It fits in those hardto-reach places and then disappears so your choir will be seen and heard.

FREE VX5 with purchase

www.audixusa.com | 503-682-6933 © 2014 Audix Corporation All Rights Reser ved.

Audix and the Audix Logo are trademarks of Audix Corporation.

*Offer available October 1– November 30, 2014 at participating Audix dealers while supplies last. Buy two MicroBoom Systems (MB5050, MB5050HC, MB5055, MB5055HC, MB8450, MB8450HC, MB8455, MB8455HC) and get a free VX5. No substitutions.

Audix VX5 Premium mic for vocals and speech The VX5 is a multi-purpose, professional vocal condenser microphone designed to duplicate studio quality sound on stage. The VX5 has a smooth and accurate frequency response and the ability to isolate vocals from the rest of the stage.

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All Pro Sound............................................................................................75 Audix.........................................................................................................87 AVMAN.....................................................................................................88 Bethany House Publishers........................................................................39 BoxCast.....................................................................................................31 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.........................................................55 Capitol Christian Music Group.............................................................35,43 CCLI..........................................................................................................89 Cedarville University.................................................................................73 CentricWorship.........................................................................................47 Christian Copyright Solutions...................................................................45 Clear Day Media........................................................................................51 Dallas Baptist University...........................................................................91 Desperation Leadership Academy.............................................................81 EasyWorship.............................................................................................59 Essential Worship.......................................................................................7 Forerunner Music......................................................................................53 Full Compass............................................................................................86 Grand Canyon University..........................................................................29 Integrity Music.........................................................9,11,49,61,70,71,83,85 Jesus Culture Publishing..........................................................................13 Kawai........................................................................................................40

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Covering You. Over 160,000 churches across North America count on CCLI for license coverage and worship resources—each and every week.

See how CCLI can help cover you.

Music Licensing and Resources

Covers the copying activities that assist with your congregational singing. Over 3,000 publishers/ copyright owners & over 300,000 worship songs are covered.

Song lyrics, audio samples and transposable chord sheets, lead sheets and vocal sheets. Choose the version that best suits your needs.

Allows your worship teams and choirs to legally copy and share commercial audio recordings for rehearsal purposes.

Allows you to stream or podcast your live-recorded worship music on your church’s website or other streaming service.

Movie/Video Licensing and Resources

Movie clips and ideas to use for your sermon/teaching illustrations.

If your church uses movies for any ministry-related activities, you’ll likely need the legal permission that the Church Video License provides.

http://www.ccli.com

17201 NE Sacramento Street Portland, Oregon 97230

503-257-2230 800-234-2446

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FANATICS I'M

A CHRISTIAN MUSIC FANATIC

Those of you who know me know that I’m a church music fanatic. And I don’t want to recover. Now the term “fanatic” generally has a negative connotation. But in today’s networked participatory culture it is earning new currency.

Audiences today are active. And participation is good. Audiences are more than masses of statistics; each person matters, and the audience is filled with individuals. In the past, throngs of people hoped to receive messages from their favorite artist.

The artist’s only job was to transmit those messages out to the fans. But today there is more collaboration than ever before; the fans are also the influencers. They are no longer just receiving messages, but they are creating and sending them as well.

EARLY YEARS Since the age of three, I’ve participated in some kind of musicking in the service of worship. Church bands, church choir, church musicals, song leader, music publisher, producer, record label head, concert promoter—all the way to my current role with Worship Leader magazine, Song Discovery, and the National Worship Leader Conference. But even before I was born, my mom played gospel songs; I’m sure I was dancing in the womb. I’m a fan on steroids.

MEDIA CONSUMER Because of my love of music, I was the most enthusiastic record customer at Beardsley Book and Bible store. I was the first to own every new contemporary record, produced by Ralph Carmichael or Andraé Crouch. I even mowed lawns to fund my passion. I imagine that many of

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you were fanatics as well. That’s why you read this magazine. Music is at the core of your life’s work and passion, and you learned somewhere along the way that music in church was more than showing up and showing off for an audience.

Music in a service of worship serves congregational prayer, turns people to Jesus, creates identity, builds community, witnesses and solidifies faith with good theology. Even though you know these things, like me, you probably have a closet full of vinyl somewhere.

FANATICISM AS A YOUNG ADULT But my fandom could have been diluted and dampened along the way if not for what is the best of the best of all technology: human speech and communication with warmth attached. It’s called mentoring. At 25 I traded my local government career job to serve for a year as the head of a young Christian music label.

The company was Maranatha! Music, the first church-based label. One year turned into two years, then five years … and lasted for 25 years.

That’s a lot of music coursing through my life. So, what kept my fandom alive?

I met three people who would shape and change the course of my life in significant ways: Edwin Orr, a revival historian; Robert Webber, a historian of theology and worship; and a sociologist/ church consultant by the name of John Wimber. John Wimber was the first life coach and spiritual mentor I met, sharing his own weakness and frailties in a walk with the Lord. He also had a background in professional music and was a union card-carrying sax player.

All three of them had a dramatic impact on Church history and the expression of the Church to this day, and they all had a marked effect on me. Dr. Orr challenged me to study the creators of New Song erupting around spiritual awakenings throughout Church history. Dr. Webber challenged me to study early Church liturgies. In fact, my work with Dr. Webber flowed into the birth of Worship Leader magazine. And the work with Dr. Orr became a foundational paper entitled, “New Song, the Sound of Spiritual Awakening” which fueled my life’s work, and still dramatically impacts everything we do at Song Discovery, Worship Leader magazine, and the National Worship Leader Conference.

FANNING FLAMES These men, these mentors fanned the flames of my passion. So as you survey all this technology, all these apps and instruments, rejoice, be glad … but never forget the power of human touch, support, and communities of practice. Most revivals are led by youth, what socialists call nomads of the present, but the youth are led by mentors who are led by the Holy Spirit. And there you have the Best of the Best: God’s Spirit on earth and in us, glorifying Christ, singing a New Song through us. The Holy Spirit is “Who” makes the songwriting software sing, the recording app, the presentation software, the incredible new synth or bass come alive. The One who inspires videos, motion graphics and keeps the fire of fandom burning in our hearts. W

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CHUCK FROMM is CEO/Publisher of Worship Leader magazine.

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