Worship Leader Magazine Volume 28|Number 5

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A New Chapter

Chuck & Stephanie Fromm

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2019 Official Song Discovery Selections

Worship Leader Wrapped

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Worship Leader: The Podcast

10 Song Discovery Wrapped Greg LaFollette

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he Countdown to T Christmas Playlist

2019 Favorites

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he Story of Christmas: T A 4-Day Devotional Jon Foreman

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n Amy Grant Christmas: A Creating a Space for Gathering

Amy Grant with Andrea Hunter

Download the 2019 Song Discovery collection today at SONGDISCOVERY.COM

WORSHIP LEADER MAGAZINE VOL. 28, NO.5

CONTENT/DESIGN/PRODUCTION

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SENIOR ADVISOR, FOUNDER Charles E. Fromm EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/MANAGING EDITOR Alexandra Fromm MANAGING EDITOR Alexandra Fromm CONSULTING EDITOR Andrea Hunter SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE Alissa Smith SONG DISCOVERY CURATOR Greg LaFollette ADMIN/EVENTS DIRECTOR Stephanie Fromm GRAPHIC DESIGN Flow Design Co. CUSTOMER CARE 855.875.2977

EDITORIAL/ADVISORY BOARD

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Steve Berger, David Bunker, Constance Cherry, Scott & Vonda Dyer, Stan Endicott, Craig Gilbert, Zac Hicks, Jim Van Hook, Andrea Hunter, Monique Ingalls, Ray Jones, Stefanie Kelly, Reggie Kidd, Roberta King, Rich Kirkpatrick, Chuck Kraft, Greg Laurie, Nikki Lerner, Rick Muchow, Rory Noland, Robb Redman, Tanya Riches, Mark Roberts, John Schreiner, Laura Story, Chuck Smith Jr., Scotty Smith, Leonard Sweet, Dave Travis, Vernon Whaley, C. Dennis Williams

MAIN OFFICE WL Partnership P.O. Box 1539 | SJC, Ca 92693 855.875.2977

FEEDBACK/INQUIRIES

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A Singer Comes in

from the Cold Andrew Peterson with

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Patrick Butler

Christmas Traditions

with Sara Groves, Big Daddy Weave, Sandra McCracken & Phil Wickham

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See our submission guidelines at worshipleader.com For duplication requests, we grant permission for up to 100 copies of any original article to use in a local church.

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A Christmas Song Story

as told by Bailey Gillespie

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Album Reviews

Editorial Staff

JOB BOARD jobs.worshipleader.com Worship Leader® (ISSN 1066-1247) is published five times a year by Worship Leader Partnership (P.O. Box 1539, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693). Copyright: Worship Leader magazine © 2019 by Worship Leader, Inc. Worship Leader® is a registered trademark.

Published in U.S.A. CPM #4006 5056.

A NEW CHAPTER a message from Worship Leader founders Chuck & Stephanie Fromm

W

e are excited to share with you the next chapter at Worship Leader Media (WLM). We've made the pilgrimage to Franklin, Tennessee, and are ready for a new season of creativity, service, and multi-faceted training. While the magazine is changing in terms of location and moving from print to digital, the fundamental roots and pivot points remain the same: Trinitarian/Jesus-centered worship, celebrated and sung from the hearts of redeemed souls who love God. The impetus of this ministry began with the encounter between the woman at the well and Jesus. The discussion focused on answering the question: "What is true worship?

What is 'Spirit' and 'Truth'?" We continue to address this query from a variety of biblical perspectives as we look at principles, processes, and practice of worship, gathering understanding across history and from around the globe.

As Worship Leader's founders, Stephanie and I consider this ministry, not only our hearts' call but our privilege in serving YOU, our extended family. We've also been blessed by how you have adopted our family. God has given us five great kids. Our oldest daughter, Nicole, has worn many hats with the WL team for over the past ten years; and now she has some new hats—for her, the best yet—as a wife, and as a mom to a new baby girl, Isla Marie! Yes, we are first-time grandparents!

If you haven’t met her yet, we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra, “Lexi,” our middle daughter. Her journey at WLM has grown from volunteering to now directing the team, and is undoubtedly orchestrated by God’s providence.

Like all of our children, she has lived and breathed Worship Leader Media since she was born, and in WLM tradition loves to collaborate with experienced experts to bring a shared vision to our readers.

In her new role as Director of Worship Leader Media,

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Lexi is already making valuable strides for the new digital imprint. Not the least of which is within Song Discovery, which is being shifted to a digital distribution system. The plan is to encompass the same richly biblical sung prayer but reach further to embrace a higher sample of music for more of God's people.

While I am putting on the hat of "retirement," we all know what it means, "re-purposing"! I will still be weighing in on aspects of development while I focus more of my time on a series of projects that have been calling me for the past several years. I'm looking forward to exploring and remediating more of the first Christian songs and ancient Christian worship in the tradition of the celebrated and critically acclaimed The Odes Project we released in 2007.

Of late, I've had some health challenges dating back to my stroke in 2010. I will continue to answer the calling on my heart and utilize how God has been faithful to give me the capacity to serve.

It is difficult to hand your baby over to one who was once your child, and at the same time, it is exhilarating.

We hope in this season of transition and new beginnings, you'll stand with us, pray for us, and spread the word about Worship Leader magazine far and wide.

DR. FROMM'S RECOMMENDED BOOKS TO ADD TO YOUR LIBRARY: • • • •

E.M.Bounds, The Classic Collection On Prayer Ephraim the Syrian excerpted by Bishop Theophan the Recluse, A Spiritual Psalter Brian Stock, Listening For The Text Grant Wacker, Heaven Below

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excerpt from

THE ODES OF SOLOMON: THE FIRST CHRISTIAN HYMNAL What can modern Christians learn about spirituality and worship from the Odes of Solomon? And what contributions do you think the Odes of Solomon can offer to the development of contemporary songs and hymns?

READ FULL ARTICLE

Many Christians have come to me as a Methodist minister stating that all their lives they were told to say “mea culpa.”

In my opinion, Jesus did not call into being a group of people that defined themselves as sinners who had to spend their lives seeking forgiveness from an angry God. In fact, Jesus gave his life to break such “yokes” of slavery. He showed the way to be free for God and to praise God for the joy of living. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus wished that his “joy” would be completed in his followers. If Christianity is a call to freedom and a joyous relationship with a loving Creator, then the Odes would be the perfect “Hymnbook.”

excerpt from

OUR MISSION, SHOULD WE ACCEPT IT: FINDING REDEMPTIVE ANALOGIES TO CURATE WORSHIP

READ FULL ARTICLE

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Chuck Fromm, who founded Worship Leader Magazine, calls this ‘worship curation.’ I think it’s a great term that draws upon a metaphor of how an art gallery chooses its displays for the people they imagine coming through their doors. The joy and the delight of this role are not to make objects, but to bring them together in interesting ways. The fun is to be able to see the many responses that people have with the chosen art that is on display--the meaning they take away from it. If more worship leaders saw themselves as ‘worship curators,’ then we would think of the church as a creative and a vibrant, exciting place.

The surprise would be in how things are put together, not the objects themselves. Exploring the space becomes an experience all of its own, and can be easily applied to a worship set!

excerpt from

CATHEDRALS OF MEANING

READ FULL ARTICLE

One day, when my son was about three years old, he and I were in the family room, rolling a ball back and forth. A TV with a looping news show was on in the background. As the top of the hour came around, I decided to take a break for the news.

I said, "Charlie, let's catch the news." Charlie toddled over to the TV and spread out his arms to "catch" the news—just the way he had been catching the ball I had been rolling to him. I suddenly realized that throughout his young life, I had been creating for him a world in which the word "catch" meant one thing. That was the moment I began to rethink what I was doing as a worship leader. It was a moment of realization that worship creates a climate for perceiving who God is, and what He has done and is doing. I began wondering if I had been inadvertently creating misperceptions.

excerpt from

THE CALL TO HELP PEOPLE SEE What can modern Christians learn about spirituality and worship from the Odes of Solomon? And what contributions do you think the Odes of Solomon can offer to the development of contemporary songs and hymns?

READ FULL ARTICLE

Many Christians have come to me as a Methodist minister stating that all their lives they were told to say “mea culpa.”

In my opinion, Jesus did not call into being a group of people that defined themselves as sinners who had to spend their lives seeking forgiveness from an angry God. In fact, Jesus gave his life to break such “yokes” of slavery. He showed the way to be free for God and to praise God for the joy of living. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus wished that his “joy” would be completed in his followers. If Christianity is a call to freedom and a joyous relationship with a loving Creator, then the Odes would be the perfect “Hymnbook.”

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s I reflect on 2019 and my first year as director of Song Discovery, I feel grateful for all of the wonderful people I've met, the inspiring conversations I've shared, and the brilliant art that I've had the privilege of distributing to worship leaders around the world. Song Discovery exists to provide resources that address the needs of the Church. We aim to have our finger on the pulse of congregations everywhere, so we can choose songs that might be helpful. At Worship Leader magazine, we have a vision for curating and compiling a 21st-century hymnal: a modern-day songbook that captures expressions of worship from individual houses of prayer and offers them to the greater Church. What an honor to serve in this way!

Song Discovery has featured songs that cover a profusion of musical territory.

While the style and production choices vary immensely, there is a common emphasis on a melodic structure that facilitates congregational use. The Church loves songs that are simple enough to learn quickly and interesting enough to sing over and over again. A great example of this is one of our July selections, "Light After Darkness." A beautifully simple melody makes its way into your heart, while decisive repetition makes the lyrics easily accessible. ("Light

after darkness, gain after a loss. Strength after weakness, crown after the cross. Sweet after bitter, hope after fears. Home after wandering, praise after tears.")

As you might expect, when songs are submitted from across the globe, the diverse subject matter is covered. It's a gift when our songs speak uniquely to the prayers of our people, and it is also a gift to share those prayers with those outside our community. I think of the song "New Name" (featured in November), born out of a congregation with a flourishing emphasis on adoption, and "Welcome Here" (June) which begins with the leader saying "[This] is our prayer today, that we would be a people who’s doors, who’s homes, whose hearts are open wide; eager to share the welcoming love of Jesus to all who may come our way to the glory of God the Father.”

In sharing these songs, we tell the story of the Church.

This year we've discovered retuned hymns, synth-pop magic, raw and intimate sharing, upbeat and triumphant swells of adoration, gospel goodness, liturgical practice, and peaceful meditations. Through all of these expressions of worship, may Christ be exalted and the name of the Lord be blessed forevermore. Thanks for having me. Here's to another year!

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W R I T T E N BY G R E G L A FO L L E T T E SONG DISCOVERY DIRECTOR OF CURATION Greg is a musician and producer in Nashville,TN. He is the resident artist at a local church plant, Grace Story Church, and serves as their director of arts and liturgy.

2019 SELECTIONS

Still You Are Good

Light After Darkness

Calvary Music

Advent Birmingham

WRITTEN BY JENNIE MAHOOD

WRITTEN BY FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL, ZAC HICKS

Hope Has A Name River Valley Worship

Hallelujah, Christ Our King The New Collective

WRITTEN BY AARON JOHNSON, BENJAMIN CRUSE,

WRITTEN BY SCOTT DYER, MICHAEL ROSSBACK,

EVAN JOHN, RYAN WILLIAMS

CORBIN PIERCE, MICHAEL NEALE, CYNTHIA JEHL

Abide With Me Sara Groves

Welcome Here The Journey Collective

WRITTEN BY HENRY FRANCIS LYTE, JUSTIN SMITH

WRITTEN BY RUSS MOHR

He Wears A Crown

Behold

Bryan McCleery

Jess Ray, Taylor Leonhardt and Trey

WRITTEN BY BRYAN MCCLEERY, JOSH LAVENDER

WRITTEN BY TAYLOR LEONHARDT

My Prayer Frankie and Jen Krasinski

Mystery of Faith Greg LaFollette

WRITTEN BY FRANKIE KRASINSKI, JEN KRASINSKI

WRITTEN BY GREG LAFOLLETTE

Stay Close Awaken Worship Collective

Christopher Williams

Remember and Proclaim

WRITTEN BY JOSH LAVENDER AND TAYLOR WILDING

WRITTEN BY CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS, ROB BLACKLEDGE, JUSTIN MCROBERTS

Set Free Valley Worship

In the Fields of the Lord

WRITTEN BY MATTHEW FERRER, BEN LOUNSBURY,

The Porter's Gate

JOEL CEBALLOS, CHRISTOPHER FINK

WRITTEN BY AUDREY ASSAD, ISAAC WARDELL

Psalm 132 (A Church Established) Cardiphonia Music WRITTEN BY ISAAC WATTS, JOEL LIMPIC

DOWNLOAD NOW

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Take Heart Sarah Kroger SARAH KROGER QUAGLIA, AUDREY ASSAD, AND MATT MAHER

New Name Midway Music KYLE EDENFIELD, DAVID LANZA, BEN MCADAMS, AND ROY DIKE

Still You Are Good Calvary Music WRITTEN BY JENNIE MAHOOD

Hope Has A Name River Valley Worship WRITTEN BY AARON JOHNSON, BENJAMIN CRUSE, EVAN JOHN, RYAN WILLIAMS

Abide With Me Sara Groves WRITTEN BY HENRY FRANCIS LYTE, JUSTIN SMITH

He Wears A Crown Bryan McCleery WRITTEN BY BRYAN MCCLEERY, JOSH LAVENDER

My Prayer Frankie and Jen Krasinski WRITTEN BY FRANKIE KRASINSKI, JEN KRASINSKI

Stay Close Awaken Worship Collective WRITTEN BY JOSH LAVENDER AND TAYLOR WILDING

DOWNLOAD NOW

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DOWNLOAD NOW

Set Free Valley Worship WRITTEN BY MATTHEW FERRER, BEN LOUNSBURY, JOEL CEBALLOS, CHRISTOPHER FINK

Psalm 132 (A Church Established) Cardiphonia Music WRITTEN BY ISAAC WATTS, JOEL LIMPIC

Light After Darkness Advent Birmingham WRITTEN BY FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL, ZAC HICKS

Hallelujah, Christ Our King The New Collective WRITTEN BY SCOTT DYER, MICHAEL ROSSBACK, CORBIN PIERCE, MICHAEL NEALE, CYNTHIA JEHL

Welcome Here The Journey Collective WRITTEN BY RUSS MOHR

Behold Jess Ray, Taylor Leonhardt and Trey WRITTEN BY TAYLOR LEONHARDT

Mystery of Faith Greg LaFollette WRITTEN BY GREG LAFOLLETTE

Remember and Proclaim Christopher Williams WRITTEN BY CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS, ROB BLACKLEDGE, JUSTIN MCROBERTS

In the Fields of the Lord The Porter's Gate WRITTEN BY AUDREY ASSAD, ISAAC WARDELL

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The Story of Christmas A FOUR-DAY DEVOTIONAL BY JON FOREMAN

T

his is the greatest story ever told, and I'll do my best to describe it straight. This is the story about the time when the Author of the Universe became a character in his book. When the Singer of time and space becomes a melody in His song, it's a love story, and a fight song, and a comedy. And it started a long time ago.

DAY ONE • IN THE BEGINNING...

Before baby-Jesus-in-a-manger, we have an entire book of triumph and regret. Scandals, lust, revenge, and battles. It's a story full of mistakes. And second chances. And at the very start of this collection of tales, the narrative runs something like this: A perfect, all-powerful deity creates the stars and planets.

Night and day, land, and water. "Let-there-be"-and-there-was.

"Let-there-be"-and-there-was. And in this pattern, He breathes life into all of these incredible creatures. And after each phase of creation, he states, "It is good." Which is to say that all of creation was inherently good when it was made.

What do we know about God so far? All we know is that this all-powerful deity is a Good-Maker. He makes it, and it is good.

And then things get interesting. This deity changes the formula saying, "Let us make man in our image." Using the "royal we" (a la Jeffrey Lebowski), this new undertaking is a massive shift from the rest of creation. For the first time in

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the story, God is making something that resembles God. A sequoia is an incredible creation...but it's not as majestic as God. A distant star larger than 500 of our Suns combined is an incredible creation, but it's not made in the image of God. And yet humanity—these fragile collections of skin and bones—have been made in the image of the Maker himself.

Like God. God-like.

Which begs the question: how is humanity God-like?

Which attributes do we possess of the deity who made all things? Well, at this point in the story, the only thing that we know about God is that he is The Maker, a creator of good, so if we're like God, then we must be makers as well.

Yes, humanity is unique on the planet. The tiger has her terrifying beauty. The elephant has her trunk. But humanity alone has her creative power. Her ability to reason. To imagine a new reality and bring it into existence. We begin by asking beautiful questions like: “what if?” and “I wonder?” A car, a garden, a relationship: we dream these things up all the time.

Humanity creates her own future by imagining what could be.

Of course, this creative imagination of ours has its limits.

Unlike the God of creation, we cannot speak worlds into existence. We cannot separate night from day. But we can dream up computers and electricity and cities of our own. This is a power unparalleled in the natural world. This capacity to create has been granted to man alone.

Let us make man in our image.

GENESIS 1:26

What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him?

You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.

In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them.

HEBREWS 2:6-8

DAY 2 • GOODNESS So man is a maker made in the image of The Maker. But there is a crucially defining characteristic concerning the creative powers of the Creator: goodness. This deity doesn’t just make—He makes well. And if the Good-Maker has created us to be like him, then this attribute must apply to us, also.

We're not talking about subjective, artistic preferences. We're talking about the goodness that transcends the trends: Life over death. Love over hatred. We're thrust into the conversation of morality. Right and wrong.

This morality is a feature that humanity alone must wrestle with. A lion is not found guilty of murder when he kills and eats his prey. A black widow eats her mate immediately after copulating with him—should she be brought to trial? No, she is doing what she does naturally. But we hold each other and ourselves to moral standards of right and wrong that the animal kingdom is excused from. If our identifying bond with our maker is our ability to create with goodness, then why do we make such horrible choices? Why do we murder, and rape and lie, and cheat, and destroy?

In any creative endeavor, there are thousands of possible outcomes—not all of them ending with the voice of God, saying, "It is good." Ask your parents—when they first gave you the keys to the car, were they worried about your power to create or your capability to destroy? Real creative power holds the keys to infinite outcomes—some better than others. When our maker gave us the ability to create with goodness, He gave us freedom; because an identifying feature of any creative endeavor is the ability to make a mistake. We have the power to make well because we have the ability to make poorly.

Free-will, autonomy, and the power to make our own decisions is a crucial part of the image that we have been given to bear. A robot cannot make a mistake intentionally. It cannot

creatively make decisions. It cannot go to jail or commit a crime. It can only follow a program. But we humans have the freedom to make choices, some better than others. It's part of what it means to be like-god.

Choose this day whom you will serve... but as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.

JOSHUA 24:15

DAY 3 • TRUST Our freedom allows us to make choices, freely choosing goodness or evil, choosing to obey or disobey. Our making ability results in excellent decisions and horrible ones. In this light, making man in the image of God was a beautiful and dangerous thing. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey willfully, they are simply exercising one of their many options as creative entities. This act of disobedience was a creative endeavor.

But this creative act is unlike any action that has ever been made up to this point in the story. Everything else was either made by The Good-Maker or made by man following the Goodness of the maker. This act of disobedience ushers in a world not entirely made by the maker. Man's free will has played a cancerous role, destroying a world that was wholly created by God. And at the same time, opening the door to a world created by both God and man.

Doubting the very identity of the Good-Maker, the serpent calls God's goodness into question. Humanity eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and we become judge and jury, witness and accomplice. We side with the accuser—and the goodness of God is called into question.

The simple math is this: a new man-made creation was built on the foundation of human disobedience. It's a new world that holds the cancerous bite of destruction in it. Before, there was goodness and trust built into everything that God had made.

But this is something new. Yes, it's the old creation, but it's twisted and warped. This world outside the garden still has a bit of the old goodness in it, but it looks like destruction, it's a new form of living that smells like death.

Of course, the story continues for thousands of years—tales of a fallen creation that continues to create. Wars and rumors of wars. A rebel planet at war with herself. Proud towers that scrape the sky. Fighting for power, possessions, and position.

Holding beauty and death for all of humanity. It’s a mantle that has been passed down..., from generation to generation: every creative decision we make holds the promise of goodness tinged with the cancerous decision to doubt God’s goodness.

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From the most remote places on earth to the most advanced and easily accessible, the name of Jesus is being declared.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ROMANS 3:23

DAY 4 • INCARNATION He is the Author, and we are his story, rebelling against him.

But the creative God who wrote the story "in the beginning" isn't finished. How's this for a fairy tale: the Author becomes a character in his own book. His creative opus of goodness has turned to darkness and death. And none of the characters in the story can break the curse. So he breaks the rules and enters into the story Himself, shining His light and love and beauty back onto the page.

Incarnation! The Painter has entered the painting! There is no way to overstate how remarkable this is. The infinite God becomes finite: bound by human skin. The mighty God unbounded by time and space wets His diaper, nursing at the breast of a young woman in Bethlehem. The one who flung stars into place becomes mortal, subject to death and boredom and lust and fear and anger and the rest of our human experience.

The Maker-of-all enters into what He made.

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And His timeless goodness overflows—breaking loose from infinity once again into our historical timeline, speaking a new reality into existence. The Word becomes flesh. The God of time and space transcended into our planet to show us who He is. To show us the best part of ourselves: The part of us that was made in the image of the maker.

And what was the glory of God?! What did it look like when Christ fully trusted The Maker? It looks like surrender and resurrection. It looks like a man who is confident in compassion over competition. A man who saw the image of God in the outcast, the broken, the sick, and the discarded. Incarnation. Transcendence.

Christmas is the story of the poet entering the poem. To Heal. To Love. To light our path. And to lay his life down for us, to show us a better way. Where the God of infinity, enters the story of one planet, to redeem one species. And as the lens starts to zoom in, the story of Christmas gets personal, with the focus on you. The author of time and space wants to enter your story. He stands at the door and knocks. He wants to break into your heart this Christmas. He wants to heal. He wants to light your path. He wants to lay himself down for you. And every moment, including this one, begs the question: what creative act will you choose? Will you doubt his goodness? Or will you accept His gift of incarnation? My friends, let's enter the story! Let there be healing! Let there be light!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Though he was God, a he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

PHILIPPIANS 2:6-11

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creating a space for gathering

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Let’s hold a space for all the sadness that’s a real part of life and then kind of invite into that space the good news: peace on earth, goodwill toward men. Our efforts to reach out and touch each other...

It’s easy to do: light a candle, sing a song.

AMY GRANT

A

my Grant sings, writes, records and performs, but she also plans weddings (two this year for two of three daughters, (and one, for most people, could do you in); she sends grown-up children off to college with all the hearttugging and empty-nesting entailed, hosts holiday dinners and juggles all the everyday jobs that come with family, vocation and community. Perhaps that is why in between the inspiring carols and hymns, she sings on her latest release with gentle beauty and the timeless standards she croons with the best of them, she is also able to write or discover original songs that tell the multifaceted human stories that inhabit Christmas. She can create a space that is relatable, personal, and meaningful.

In her holiday's limited edition box-set called, Christmas, Grant's gift for telling stories seasons the expansive collection of carols, hymns, pop standards, contemporary worship, and original writes and co-writes. Christmas comprises A Christmas Album (1983), Home For Christmas (1992), and A Christmas to Remember (1999) plus a 7" featuring the previously limited release "Let the Season Take Wing" backed with "Merry Christmas Darling." This is the first time in vinyl for the last two LPs and the single. Even those who weren't born when these albums released have probably heard at least some of their comforting familiarity.

"From the time I was a little girl, my passion was creating.

I would go into the woods and create a room in the middle of the thick underbrush and say, 'this is where we will gather.' My real passion is creating spaces for people to be welcomed, and music is one way for me to create spaces. I was never one of those kids that sung into a hairbrush looking at herself in the mirror."

"I'm turning 59 in a week… I look at every day as an opportunity to be in the present moment. I've prayed the same prayer most days of my adult life. And that is just 'Lord, Lead me today to those I need and those who need me.' I love bringing people together through music and food and then nature. And I believe that's what I've done with the platform I've been given."

It's hard to conceive of all of the creativity Grant has squeezed into her life thus far, and the way she expresses it, "Everything I've ever done, I pull people around that I trust and every project begins as a conversation." And it would seem in Amy's case; conversations yield beautiful results.

DARK HOUSES/LIT WINDOWS In Amy’s fourth Christmas album from 2016, Tennessee Christmas, which both followed and precedes the current release(s), she took an element present in those previous albums and amplified it intentionally. “I had such a conscious feeling of wanting to create a space for sadness and melancholy at Christmas. I worked with three producers and said to each of them, ‘we're going to either write or come up with a song that captures the sadness of Christmas.’ One of the producers is Jewish, and he said, ‘My parents were divorced. My sister died fairly young. She was a drug addict. I remember so many Christmas Eves that no one was at my house. But the Italian family across the street would invite me over, and I would have dinner with them. They would give me a present, but I would go home to my dark house, and I would look at the lit windows in their house.’ ” Of course, faint whispers of the bittersweet echo through Amy’s earlier Christmas-themed original albums. Songs such as “heirlooms,” and sung prayer “Welcome To Our World,” the latter from A Christmas to Remember: Tears are falling, hearts are breaking How we need to hear from God You've been promised, we've been waiting Welcome Holy Child Welcome Holy Child… …Fragile finger sent to heal us Tender brow prepared for thorn Tiny heart whose blood will save us Unto us is born…

And nowhere is the bitter more sweet and profoundly present than on “Breath of Heaven,” Mary’s plaintive prayer of worship from the Home for Christmas album: …I am waiting in a silent prayer I am frightened by the load I bear In a world as cold as stone Must I walk this path alone?

Be with me now Be with me now

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Although Tennessee Christmas doesn’t close the door on Christmas “Spirit” or romance, the sadness of Christmas emerges in more than one song to powerful effect: “December,” “Melancholy Christmas,” and “Another Merry Christmas” …Billy's home from overseas The pride of his whole family Still fights a war that no one sees Another Merry Christmas…

Our painted old nativity Is fragile like the lives we lead Silently reminding me God is with us Another Merry Christmas.

Imagine those words sung at a Christmas Eve celebration.

Every service will always have some veterans. Another verse in the song alludes to a missing, lost, absent family member.

How many people in every congregation can relate to that? To acknowledge people’s pain is one step in welcoming people to the family and creating a space for them.

THE POWER OF WORDS AND MUSIC Underscoring the ability of music to move people to compassion, Amy relates, “A song can be sort of a rallying point. I don’t participate in social media very much; there are only so many hours in the day. I did get reports that some conversations happened around some specifically sad songs on the Tennessee Christmas record of 2016. That some gatherings happened.., [after listening] somebody said, ‘I never have anyone at Christmas’; somebody else said ‘That’s my experience too.’ And somebody else said, ‘I’m alone every Christmas, and then another voice came into the conversation and said, ‘You’re all welcome at my table.’ ” Anytime I'm feeling like I'm spinning my wheels and just feeling—I don't even know what to say—it's a subtle feeling of isolation, the quickest way to have a community is to have the opportunity to help somebody. Just to try to paint that picture in a song without being like, ‘oh gosh, this is a teachable moment.’ But to paint a picture of someone being lonely and reaching out is the power of suggestion.

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When all of the creation and production is over, creating a place for people doesn't end for Amy. “Records are done [completed] and where I get to create that environment is every night walking on to the stage. And I love it.” And this Christmas Grant is sharing the stage with her friend and co-writer Michael W. Smith, Marc Martel, and a full symphony orchestra on a seven-city tour, followed by a series of more home-style concerts with her husband, consummate guitarist Vince Gill at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

In preparation for the upcoming concert schedule, Amy explains, “I have to work on singing the songs to sort of numb myself to them because you can't sing with a lump in your throat.

And so I have to get accustomed to the songs. Just the other day, I was bowled over by how profound the verses on ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ are; the depth of theology is incredible on that song. I couldn't make it through. I thought, okay, this has got to turn into muscle memory because it’s too much.

So I have to sing through them so that I can be the facilitator.”

EYES WIDE OPEN The fact that Grant loves the past of music as much as the present is evident in the tracklisting on each of the LPs in Christmas, but also from the very beginning of her career. On My Father’s Eyes, Amy sang an ancient poem from around the 12th century that is set to a 16th-century melody, the plaintive and powerfully moving “O Sacred Head.” And she has released two hymn albums as well as a hymn compilation. “My experience with traditional hymns is that they were meant to be experienced eyes wide open looking at each other. Traditional hymns are us reminding each other of the story of God’s faithfulness. And the trend to modern worship, my experience has been there is an attempt to experience in a public setting, eyes closed. If you're singing a song to God about worship, it’s weird to make contact with somebody else. Both things are important. What I love about hymn singing and traditional songs is that they are storytelling. It’s the Story that moves us to worship. It’s the story reminding each other. So to me, those [styles of music] are both important.”

In talking about the collection of songs on Christmas, Amy relates, “they're all part of my emotional history, musical history and hold a special place in my heart. I feel like the arrangements, and my experiences recording Home For Christmas was a highlight for me. I was singing live with the studio symphony in London. The arrangements by Ron Huff are exquisite. There are pieces on each one. Every song finds its own home. To me, just seeing that music all together feels like looking at a family

photo album. It's weird to me to go, ‘Oh my gosh, when I first started writing music and singing Christmas, I was the first generation of five in my family, and now I'm the oldest generation.’ This is how life goes. You see it from every angle: the kids, the exhausted parents, and now the grandparent. And to have captured that through music has been a real gift.”

"As a woman, I know that feeling of wanting so much to have a moment where we gather, the entire family, where all of us can be welcomed into the circle. And I spent many years of my life trying to create that circle, trying to create environments that were perfect for everyone. And then Christmas would come and go, just fly by, and whatever it was I was trying to accomplish never happened. And so a few years ago, I started reminding myself to welcome every moment and be present and stop waiting for the big payoff. To just start by welcoming myself to the moment and then whatever happened from that— alone time or a big circle of family and friends—was all bonus.

That small shift made the holidays more enjoyable and less stressful. The labor-intensive years are behind me; my children have launched. I get to create that for the younger exhausted women in my life.

As worship leaders, Amy teaches us that the sadness of Christmas goes hand in hand with the awe of the One Who is Christmas. And that when we're creating spaces to gather, we make room for people by telling God's glorious and true... and sad story, and also by telling the stories of those who live and breathe and have their being in Him. Breath of heaven Lighten my darkness Pour over me your holiness For you are holy Breath of heaven

WHAT LE AD E RS

CAN

WO RS H I P

LE AR N

FRO M

Amy Grant Create spaces where people can gather to worship.

Look for those you need and those who need you and ask God to lead you to each other.

Let every worship service start with a conversation among a trusted team.

Tell the stories that move people to worship.

If your windows are lit, remember those on your team, in your church and community who are looking out to you from dark houses.

Acknowledging the sorrow makes the joy greater and more real in the middle of all the festivities, a selah.

When you are singing to or with people, it’s helpful to be aware of their pain and emotion and yours.

Sing some songs with eyes wide open where leaders and members of the congregation can take each other in and occupy a “gathered space” together.

Revisit ancient music and classic carols and hymns.

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Is there a song that can be a rallying point, an invitation to gather, a point of connection? Find it or write it, then sing it together.

Stories catch hearts, so when writing, remember the Bible is a story, is filled with stories; it’s not just a list of facts or rules.

Remember there is room for “Breath of Heaven,” “Agnus Dei,” “Hark The Herald Angels Sing,” “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” excerpts from the Hallelujah Chorus and “Another Merry Christmas” and even “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree,” all in the same service of worship. They could provide a path to touching hearts across generations and circumstances and maybe heal some worship wars.

Your emotional connection to a song should never eclipse communicating its content.

Amidst the celebration, there is sadness, don’t leave it out. (Of The Psalms, the hymnbook of Israel and the early Church, one-third are songs of lament.)

Welcome every moment and be present and stop waiting for the big payoff.

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BY

A N D R E W

P E T E R S O N

W I T H

PAT R I C K

B U T L E R

Patrick Butler is the former Religion Editor of te Tyler Morning Telegraph (Tyler, Texas)

A SI NGE R COM E S I N F ROM T H E COLD

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I

n a projected feel-good world of comfy cozy Christianity, singer-songwriter Andrew Peterson's world and walk with his Maker was at times cold, dark, lonely, harboring anger and frustration at God, asking “Why?”—and getting only silence in return.

In those moments, Jesus is more a cold stone statue, a picture of suffering, rather than the laughing, lamb-holding Savior gently leading a timid flock some have made the Creator of the world to be.

And it was precisely at that moment of realization—in a bleak pre-dawn winter's garden— with little light and no warmth to speak of, while viewing a statue of Christ’s suffering at Gethsemane, that Peterson said he had one of his greatest moments of understanding.

God had suffered too, he said, at a greater level than he had. God understood and he knew.

Peterson would later say Christ realized “on a visceral level” what suffering was, and significantly, hadn't left him to bear it alone in this world. God was still there—perhaps in stoic silence, bearing the grief—but he was still there.

The garden realization was an epiphany for the then 26-year-old Peterson. His world had boiled over with disappointments despite his best efforts to make it otherwise. His struggles had led him to a three-day retreat of earnest prayer and fasting that yielded “exactly... nothing,” he said.

That exercise was yet another disappointment in what seemed like a continual series of discouragements.

“When I was in the deepest and darkest part of that season—when I was angriest at God, and felt the most abandoned by him—I consented

to a prayer retreat at a Trappist monastery, even though I didn't really want to. It was January or February, and it was cold.”

He prayed in a monk's cell almost the entire time, he said. “I can see now what I was trying to do by fasting and praying, not really leaving my cell. I was trying to earn an answer from God. I thought If I could prove to him I was a good boy then...he'd better answer me He'd better explain himself.

When the three days were over,” he said, “I was just as alone as before. I just felt this terrible silence from him. I got ready to leave and was packing my stuff in the car. It was cold, dark, the sun had not yet risen and I thought, ‘Well, that was a gigantic waste of time.’”

Something made him view his surroundings a final time. “I looked up and saw a path to a garden and decided to walk it,” he said. “I happened upon a statue of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.”

One artist ‘spoke’ to another in the freezing, pre-dawn hours of the dark woods.

“There was something about the way the artist had depicted the statue that was arresting,” Peterson said. “It conveyed a sense of agony I don't think I had never seen before.”

The spiritual dawn came in the cold woods to Peterson and brought comfort with it.

“I realized he was with me. He knew what it felt like to be alone. He knew what it felt like to ask God, ‘Why?’—and Jesus drank the cup.

That moment in the garden a profound comfort came to me.”

He didn't skip out of the garden in joy afterwards. “The pain wasn't removed,” he said, “but I was comforted in the pain by this realization—

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this remembrance—that one of the meanings of the incarnation was that Christ suffers with us.”

Considering Peterson's career path that includes his music, books and international travels, the implications of taking one more step to inquire, seek and to unexpectedly find after disappointments are instructive if not outright sobering.

Twenty years have passed but the memory of the garden experience lingers. Peterson still points to his pre-dawn visit to a depiction of Christ in stone as a significant moment in a lifetime of significant moments.

“If there was a turning point in my life,” he said, “the statue of Christ in the garden would be one of the clearest in mind.”

What if he hadn't taken those steps? What if he'd just gotten in his car, given up and left? One answer seems apparent; he might have missed the life he's living now.

“What life has taught me is that if you are seeking first his Kingdom and righteousness, then you are learning what to ask for,” he said.

One of the things I asked God was, 'Will you let me sing about you? If it's your will, that's what I'd love to do,” and he said, “Yes.” What followed was also unexpected, he said. “Not only did he say ‘yes,’—up to now at least and that all might change — but he has given me this chance to sing about him and do it in ways that I never could have imagined. Things I wouldn't have even known to ask for. His ‘yes’ was such a bigger ‘yes’ than I could have dreamed of.”

realize that the Christmas story is not all...well, let's just say the reason the Christmas story works as a bright light in the darkness, is because there is darkness. We shouldn't be surprised that there is darkness.”

Don't presume to know the future, he said. “The definition of despair is that one assumes you know the end to your story. As creatures of time we can't know the end of our story which means there is always a reason to hope.

“I think a very Christian way of looking at things would be to say something like, 'it's going to be all right in the end, and if it's not alright, it's not the end,' which is a paraphrase from some movie, somewhere. We do have this bright hope that God is going to reconcile all things.

That means if things are not reconciled, the story is not over.

If God hasn't reconciled it, it's not the end.

That's the triumph of hope over despair”

If God hasn't reconciled it, it's not the end.

CONNECTION Since then, “connection” has become the context for his music, he said.

“I think songs can be an avenue for connection and when I write a song, I hope people feel less alone,” he said. “I want to wake people up to the reality of who God is; to wake them up to the thing we all long for which is connection. Ultimately that is with God himself in Christ. Jesus is a lot of things to people, such as my experience at the monastery,” he said. “I'm drawn to art that grounds itself and tells me that the world I'm actually living in is beautiful.

He is aware that all may not be “ joyful” at Christmas.

“Don't walk into the Christmas season pretending it's all joy,” he said. “Advent on the Church calendar began as a season of lament for the fact the world was so broken, Jesus had to come the way he did. To remove sorrow from the Christmas story is to cut it off at the knees.

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“SUBTLE SHIFT” “If Christ suffers with us and the incarnation is true—that he is with us and in some sense is suffering with us—we get to share in his resurrection. That may sound like high theology or philosophy but in a very real rubber-meets-the-road sense, that might help a person survive when they are in the darkness. This subtle shift in thinking—that the story is not over if things are not reconciled—helps.”

Peterson understands the power of that subtle shift. “I've suffered (from) depression before and the overwhelming feeling was that 'life is always going to be this way; this feeling is the rest of my life,' and that's just not true. So having people step into your line of vision and remind you that this is not the end of the story, that there is something good coming, is one of the ways out.

“Even the story that creation itself keeps telling us is that from the winter solstice, which is the darkest day of the year, to the summer solstice, the light is always gaining ground.”

In his new book, Adorning the Darkness, Peterson offers advice to artists, but can be easily applied to anybody who follows Christ.

“Boil it all down, chop off the fat...wrench your heart away from all the things you think you need for your supposed financial security, your social status. Set fire to your expectations, your rights and even your dreams . When all that is gone, it will be clear the only thing you ever really had was this wild and Holy Spirit that whirls about inside you, urging you to follow where His wind blows.”

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CH RI STMAS

TRADITIONS with

S A R A

G R OV E S

B I G

DA D DY

W E AV E

S A N D R A

M C C R AC K E N

P H I L

W I C K H A M

What do churches you have been a part of do well at Christmas, and what could be richer, more congregationally sensitive, and have more Biblical imagination?

Advent. It is a simple idea, but it is always so moving. I grew up in a faith context that put a lot of emphasis on personal holiness, and I found two things to be difficult for me there—it put me in a place of striving, and it was often solitary work. The Advent season moves me in a different direction. It is not about reaching, but is about receiving; and it is not siloed but takes place in community. Reenacting the nativity story is one of the ways that churches engage in the arts every year, but I love churches that expand on that—allow the artists among you to tell the story again, to bring light to the longings and the questions we all hold in seasons of waiting.

S A R A G R OV E S

M I K E W E AV E R

I love any church that has Advent rhythms to help people pay attention at Christmastime. At our church, one of my favorite weekly traditions is that a featured artist shares something they have made in response to the themes of 32 W O R S H I P L E A D E R | W O R S H I P L E A D E R .C O M | VO L . 28, N O. 5

I think if I could do anything different or better, it would be the focus on receiving him. As I'm answering these questions, I'm looking at a nativity in my home. Because of our long-time familiarity with the Christmas story,

we can lose the power of it. I try to imagine the story fresh. I think of the wealth of heaven, thinking of the King of heaven who came to redeem humanity. I think about all that is packed into this child—our salvation, our redemption, our rescue. A person could take all of this as just a story, but it's another thing to say, “We receive You, this person,” because He didn’t stay a baby.

He did everything He said He was going to do. That is our reality as believers. That is our privilege. That's what's been given to us. Now it's about us learning to receive what it is that He's done.

S A N D R A M C C R AC K E N

I love the Advent tradition where churches spend time in quiet, spacious expectation leading up to Christmas.

Without wanting to be too rigid about the idea of waiting to sing carols until Christmas Day, I have found that it can be an effective way to prepare for the celebration of Christmas. A slow build-up to Christmas goes hand and hand with an active pursuit of justice and generosity. I've seen church communities do this well by participating in giving campaigns during the holiday season. It's a countercultural practice that helps us to align with the humble, triumphant message of Jesus' arrival into this world as a baby.

I've seen a lot of congregational sensitivity and biblical imagination, so I can't think of anything that would be more so. I think keeping it simple, telling the story about Jesus, and how it relates to us, I really don't think you need more creativity or imagination.

How do you hold God and shepherding the congregation in worship in tension?

S A R A G R OV E S

The most helpful stance for me in leading people in congregational worship is one of remembering. We are not doing a rain dance to entice God to come closer. He is already near, already redeeming, already pursuing, already loving, already at work, already being who He is. We need to remember, pay attention, and allow that reality to sink in and realign us. Remember Him and celebrate, lament, repent, give thanks.

P H I L W I C K H A M

M I K E W E AV E R

I love singing Christmas songs at churches on Christmas.

The extra sense of wonder, community, family, the spirit of giving, Everyone's in a different mindset in a special way to remember what God has done. What I love at the churches I've been a part of is to take advantage of the opportunity to share with a lot of people who don't go to Church regularly. You get a lot of people coming to Church during Christmastime. The churches I've been a part of, such as Harvest Christian Fellowship, have a massive heart for people to be saved and evangelized and come to know Jesus, so almost every Sunday through December, they give a chance for people to respond to the Gospel. There's no more beautiful thing than to watch people walk from that darkness into light, making that decision to follow Jesus. This time of year, people are more open, more open-minded, open-hearted to hearing that amazing story.

The first thing for me as a leader is to point out Jesus. I want to have a moment with the Lord with a bunch of people and say, “Hey, come join in in this. Come look at Him, the provision for every need, the comfort, the counselor, the teacher, Emmanuel. This is God with us.” For me, it's being a connecting point and taking somebody else's hand and saying, look, look at Him, look at Him, and then whatever that yields because of their experience and their encounter with Him.

What they could be doing to be more congregationally sensitive and have more Biblical imagination...man,

S A N D R A M C C R AC K E N

To lead well is to be fully present, bringing ourselves honestly and confessionally before the congregation. It makes me think of the woman at the well when Jesus tells her that worshipers will worship Him in “spirit and in truth.” God is glorified all by Himself, and we participate by giving Him glory as His image-bearers, bringing ourselves fully and truthfully when we sing. Whether we are in the front with a microphone or on the back row, Christ is the Host, and we are His guests.

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P H I L W I C K H A M

I don't want to put them in tension. They go hand in hand with me. As I'm looking to God and reminding my heart and the congregation of what He has done and what He's promised, I think such a big part of what it means to lead worship is to remind the Church as they're coming in from a crazy week and kids and work and schedules and school and life, for them to come in and remember, “Yes, my God is great! Yes, He has done great things. He is my living hope.” It's crazy that even with 20 minutes of just sitting in a time of worship, what it can do to your heart. From a place of chaos and stress to putting all that you've been going through in life in light of the truth of who God is and His love for us. It can completely change your perspective, where you're heart's at, and where your priorities are.

What was the central thing you wanted most to communicate with your Christmas music?

S A R A G R OV E S

Jesus is born as an everyman into a time much like our own—it is a plural, stratified time, Herod is insane, everyone is vying for power, and people are waiting for relief. Most of the songs I chose land in this predawn space. The stage is set, the world is waiting, and we can relate to the words of Charles Spurgeon, "Come thou long-expected Jesus!" But God does not come in power to wipe everything out. He is showing us how His kingdom will grow, "see the loveliest blooming rose."

Like the title, I hope the album holds the tension of our joy at his coming to be with us with our longing for full reconciliation.

M I K E W E AV E R

To celebrate God being faithful with his word. It's the celebration of the King keeping His promises. The fact that we even get to call him Father is because He keeps his promises. We just point to Him, and we want to

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celebrate what it is that He has done and receive that now.

S A N D R A M C C R AC K E N

I'd love for these songs to be an invitation into the party, like a front-row seat to the birth of Jesus. There is so much to celebrate in the surprising-yet-longexpected arrival of this baby.

P H I L W I C K H A M

I wanted to remind the Church about the incredible story of what happened when God became flesh. I mean stories like that can become such a part of our tradition and culture. I can be the first to say that sometimes it just sounds like a fairytale because you hear it your whole life. Jesus came, was born, laid in a manger, the angels sang, Mary, Joseph, the wise men, the shepherds. Sometimes you hear it so much it becomes another fairytale you hear as a kid. But then you stop and think that this is the reality. A man named Jesus came and changed the whole course of human history. He didn't come like some thundering god from the clouds with lightning in his fists and a throne and giant castle on top of the mountain. He came in the most humble way He possibly could in the form of a baby and humbled Himself to be at the mercy of Mary and Joseph. God had to be taken care of by His creation. It's crazy! And then for 30 years, no one knew anything about Him. It says in Isaiah that He was a man of no reputation—He was just a construction worker, a carpenter, working away, living His life, understanding, sympathizing, and empathizing with what it means for us to be human. He walked in our path. He walked in our shoes. He felt our pain. He was human.

He took everything on that it meant to be human, for us.

To remind the Church through these songs, the old and new songs, that this isn't just a fairytale. It's reality, and to take a moment and worship and rest and remember that. And also, to those who aren't a part of the Church to hear these songs and hopefully get a sense that they're not being sung as a tradition or as some cultural holiday season song, but they are sung as worship songs that are written as worship songs from someone who believes in this truth. Which is cool, because even just today I got a text from a neighbor saying that they are listening to the Christmas album. They don't follow Jesus or go to Church, but they said, “there's such a peace in their house listening to the music, so thank you.” That was the coolest thing I could've heard!

The Advent season moves me in a different direction.

It is not about reaching, but is about receiving...

What is your most precious Christmas memory: happy, holy, or sad?

S A R A G R OV E S

I lost my Grandad last year, and my most precious memories are snapshots of Christmas at his house—little things like the candy dish, Grammie’s decorations, his reading from Luke, our singing together.

M I K E W E AV E R

All of those things are wrapped up in one memory. This Christmas will be the second anniversary of my dad going home to be with the Lord on Christmas morning. My dad had been dealing with a condition called pulmonary fibrosis, which is a stiffening of the lungs. I'd been in contact with dad, but our phone conversations had been becoming quick and short because of his condition. Some family members called me and said, Mike, you need to get down here even before Christmas to see him because he is not doing well. I went to see him, and man, it was rough to see my dad like that.

When we arrived at his and my mom's house on Christmas Eve 2017, my dad had a terrible, terrible night of strug-

gling. He hadn't been able to sleep in a bed for quite some time because he couldn't lay all the way down. He couldn't breathe that way. He would sit in this recliner and would struggle to breathe. One of the only ways he could get a break was to sit forward in his chair, and one of us rub on his back and just be there with him.

My earliest memory of my dad was him holding me when I was just a little boy unable to sleep. He would hold me, and he would sing. He wasn't a worship leader, he wasn't a pastor, but man, he really loved God, and he really put that on display for us. I remember him singing and feeling the vibration of his voice with my little head laid on his chest.

In the middle of the night on Christmas Eve, he had a really bad episode. I was awake with him. He leaned forward in his chair while I stood in front of him. He leaned his head on my chest while I rubbed on his back and began to sing over him these simple worship choruses that I grew up with, and we sang together as a family riding in the car or at our share group in our house. The presence of God was there in such a powerful way. I didn't know that was going to be the last memory I would have with my dad, but it's a special thing to me that my last encounter with my dad was getting to hold him and sing over him. After all, this time to come full circle, to sing to the God he introduced me to, singing to a person, not an idea, and that person being present with us by way of Holy Spirit. That time was difficult and was sweet, but there was grace at that moment.

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I went to take a nap. My mom came and woke me up.

She said, Michael, I think he's gone. When I came in and saw my dad, I knew my dad was not there. My dad was in the presence of God. We wept, and we hurt, but later, we celebrated the knowledge that everything we believe is true. We experienced it by way of the comfort that we received from the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The very next Christmas was a hard one for me. But this year, on the second anniversary, everything seems new to me. I'm really looking forward to this year's Christmas. I remember my dad, and I miss him terribly, but it's like the joy of remembering all of the good things and the joy of anticipating one day going to be with the Lord and to be with him. That is an incredible hope in my life right now.

S A N D R A M C C R AC K E N

I remember one year filling the living room with balloons to surprise my young children on Christmas morning. It was worth it to see their delight and surprise!

P H I L W I C K H A M

One of my favorite Christmas traditions and memories, when I was a child, was actually the Christmas Eve service at the Church where I grew up. My parents are both worship leaders, so I had to be at most services that they sang at, and we did three Christmas Eve services, so I was there most of Christmas Eve - day, afternoon, night. But it was a blast because backstage there was a never-ending stream of pies and cupcakes and turkey and just food coming into the backstage area where I would just sit on the couch and not stop eating all day. People were just in great spirits. We're all singing Christmas carols.

I even got to open a present before the Christmas Eve services, so I had something to play with while I was hanging out backstage. I just remember being with my community, all my friends, my family at church, and just loving it.

How does your worship experience connect Christmas /

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incarnation, with the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the return of Christ, the way we experience in some Advent services?

S A R A G R OV E S

The story is consistent from beginning to end. It starts in humility and ends in humility. Every man who has ever lived has said in his heart, “If I were God...” Now God Himself is coming to show us what He is like, and He doesn't consider equality with God something to be used to His advantage, but instead thinks of others more highly than He does Himself! All of the elements of the story are there right at the beginning—the joyful proclamation to the lowly, the human realities of needing shelter, the unusual provision of God, the human-ness of it all—the birth of Jesus is an inevitable reflection on the whole story of Jesus.

M I K E W E AV E R

When we celebrate Jesus coming as a little baby, that's just part of the story because we see what the Father had for Him to fulfill, that He is the pure and spotless lamb on our behalf. When we have this joy at Christmas, it's about more than the fact that He came, but because he did everything that he said he was going to do, and that we can look forward to the day when Jesus returns. That's the most exciting part of the story. We can be an active part of this story because the story is not finished. What Jesus has done for us is finished, but we're waiting for Him to come back. We're waiting for Him to return. That's the richness of the celebration of Christmas, keeping in mind that He is returning.

S A N D R A M C C R AC K E N

The whole narrative of the gospel, from creation to glory, hinges on the person of Jesus Christ. It is a surprise and wonder that power is overturned by weakness. The birth of Jesus is a foreshadowing of His death and resurrection. In John 1, the poetry bounces across the timeline that “in the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” I understand that it has always been Him, the God Who is three-in-one.

P H I L W I C K H A M

M I K E W E AV E R

I think without talking about the crucifixion and the resurrection you miss a lot of what the power of Christmas is. Because you know when the angel was talking about Who this boy in Mary’s womb will be—”His name will be Jesus and He will save the world from their sins”—it is part of the angel’s announcement to Mary what He will do. Not only was His birth announced, but also what He was coming to do. He was born to die. It’s amazing that God came to us, but why? You look at the Cross, you look at the empty grave, you look at the battle that we can never win for ourselves. You see it in the crucifixion and in the resurrection, so you can’t have the battle won unless Jesus came. You can’t have the crucifixion without the incarnation, but then you can’t have any kind of power in the incarnation without the crucifixion. So they go hand in hand.

The fact that he came as a baby while at the same time bearing the Kingship of Jesus with everyone who could see it, everyone who had ears to hear and eyes to see, experiencing that. I love to remind everybody, including me, don't miss this. Don't miss this today because Jesus is as real today in our lives and what He's brought and bought for us. Let's have it today.

S A N D R A M C C R AC K E N

Lately, I’ve been thinking of the helplessness that Jesus assumed as a baby. It was a sacrificial and humbling posture for Him to take on. Like Phil 2, He humbled himself to wrap Himself in our very nature.

He entered into our broken, complex world in a profoundly fragile state. He would not have physically survived without the care of His mother. That is a great wonder to me.

P H I L W I C K H A M

What parts of the whole of Jesus’ story do you personally like to underscore at Christmas?

S A R A G R OV E S

The way he represents this other kingdom that is so different from our own, “Oh Come Desire of Nations bind / all people in one heart and mind / bid envy strife and quarrels cease / and be Yourself our Prince of Peace.”

I really like to underscore the act of humility by the Son and the love of God the Father. I see a great definition of Christmas in the very well-known verse of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world He gave His only Son.” God gave His Son to the world: to die, to be a sacrifice, to show us what it means to live. God loves us so much He gave us His only Son. In return, we receive that love, but also we reflect God's heart by giving gifts to others. Christmas is a time known for generosity and giving, and whether people know it or not, it's because we're reflecting the spirit of what this is all about. God gave us a reason to hope, to live.

He gave to us His Son. So I think underscoring the Gospel, the Good News that Jesus came, set up His new kingdom, allows us to be a part of it, not just in the future but now.

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LAST MINUTE GIFT IDEAS FOR THE

DIFFICULT TO BUY FOR WORSHIP LEADER

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1

2

A biography on a leading influencer modern or past in your faith tradition

An expense paid trip to a worship conference or song retreat would be a terrific gift that would last a lifetime. You can discover the songwriting conference that fits the needs of your giftee: their interests, schedule, budget, and geographic preferences. Some of the conferences are a time to grow in skill and theological understanding, some a place to write songs for the global hymnal, and other a place to just soak in and receive. And some offer those components and more.

NATIONAL WORSHIP LEADER CONFERENCE NASHVILLE, TN | JULY 21-23 We may be prejudiced, but most worship conferences have taken their lead and inspiration and format from one of the most lasting and continuous conferences around. NWLC focuses on training and encouraging worship leaders and their teams in their ministry and calling by God to be better prayer leaders through the use of music and the arts. www.nwlconf.com

RESOUND WORSHIP NORTH YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND JUNE 28 - JULY 1 If you want to get some fresh input from across the pond now into its sixth year, Worship Songwriting Retreat is a four-day oasis for worship songwriters in the beautiful surroundings of Wydale Hall in North Yorkshire. The retreat includes core teaching sessions, group critique sessions, one-on-one clinics with tutors and, most importantly, plenty of private writing time. Space to write, on your own or with others, in the seclusion of your en-suite bedroom or under the mid-summer sun in the acres of private gardens. www.resoundworship.org/events/worshipsongwriting-retreat

TRINITY SCHOOL FOR MINISTRY JAN 13-15 Worship Songwriting Retreat with scholarship places available. A 3-day creative song-writing workshop retreat with Andy Piercy and special guest speakers based around the theme of writing songs of reconciliation, restoration and redemption that reflect God’s ongoing work within creation and what that means for us as the church. Great practical advice from highly experienced writers coupled with writing exercises and constructive evaluation constantly turn this annual songwriting workshop into a very special time together. All guests will participate in writing sessions each day and there will be time scheduled for individual writing also. Suitable for songwriters of all levels, and highly recommended. www.tsm.edu/song-writing

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MORE CONFERENCES AND RETREATS

WORSHIP TOGETHER FRANKLIN, TN | JAN 30-FEB 1 CALVIN INSTITUTE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP SYMPOSIUM ON WORSHIP GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN | JAN 30 - FEB 1 LINGER CONFERENCE FRISCO, TX | FEB 14 CALIBRATE: THE WORSHIP TEAM EVENT DALLAS TEXAS | FEB 24 LIFT: A COLLECTIVE OF WORSHIP LEADERS, MUSICIANS, & CREATIVES ATLANTA, GEORGIA | MAY 1-2 WORSHIP LIFE CONFERENCES GATLINBURG, TN | JUNE 22-25 GETTY MUSIC WORSHIP CONFERENCE NASHVILLE, TN | AUG 31 – SEPT 2 EXPERIENCE CONFERENCE ORLANDO, FL | SEPT 8-11 HILLSONG WORSHIP & CREATIVE CONFERENCE SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA | OCT. 21-23 CHRISTIAN MUSICIAN SUMMIT TACOMA, WA | NOVEMBER 6-7

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Gadgets, Gizmos and Gifts to Play With

BOSE QUIET COMFORT 20 ACOUSTIC NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES APPLE DEVICES, BLACK-MICROPHONE TABLET STAND MUSIC LESSONS For beginners and intermediate players: Musicademy course for the instrument the worship team member you’re gifting plays.

A CAPO BY KAISER Easy, effective, no buzz, sounds great, and the simplest way to bump things up or down a step.

MINI MICROPHONE

TABLE STAND FOR IPAD

For your phone or tablet. Bring greater clarity and crispness to spoken and sung vocals. Perfect for podcasts, enhanced memoing, and recording for transmission to team members.

Hands free and easy to see and use, especially when you’re using multiple devices at once. It can be a teleprompter, reference notes, and a music chart.

SONGWRITING SOFTWARE, NOTATION OR COMPOSITION.

TRIPOD FOR IPHONE

A NEW INSTRUMENT

When you’re recording instructions for your team with visual illustrations or doing a video-cast or recording motion graphics for your lyric video, a tripod for phone or pad is so rad.

Something fun and rootsy: ukulele, harmonica, autoharp, triangle, accordion, recorder, hammered dulcimer, kazoo, djembe, tambourine.

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A C H R IS T M A S SONG S TORY as told by Bailey Gillespie

NEW SONG TIM BRIGGS & TAYLOR LEONHARDT ARTIST: FOLK HYMNAL

MUSIC FOR LEADING

Bailey Gillespie is a Nashville transplant from California who currently works as a writer and editor. She’s passionate about the intersection of spiritual formation, wellness, and the arts and loves throwing dinner parties complete with a great playlist. Her writing has appeared at She Reads Truth, The Rabbit Room, and Voice of Courage. You can follow her on Instagram @bailey_bluebird or at her website: baileygillespie.com.

WWW.FOLKHYMNAL.COM

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here’s a catchy acronym in the business world called BHAG that stands for Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal.

The abbreviation represents a large-scale goal that the whole company or organization can work toward together.

Whether you work for a Fortune 500 company or not, it seems appropriate that everyone should have one of these in their life—a "George Bailey lassos the moon" sort of dream (to quote It’s a Wonderful Life) that seizes you, along with your common sense. Usually, these sorts of things can't be carried out alone and call for an exercise in teamwork and community.

AN EXPERIMENT IN COLLABORATION Such was the origin story of Folk Hymnal. When a Charlotte-based visioneer named Tim Briggs dreamed of writing and releasing songs for the local Church, he also humbly embraced his musical limitations. Instead of abandoning the dream, he seized the opportunity to rally together a community of people to help bring his vision to life.

"Over the years," Briggs explains, "my love for music and, more specifically, congregationally-sung music has grown. As I began exploring songwriting, I found myself writing music that I wanted to share but struggling to know-how. Quite frankly, I don't have the requisite skill set to be a recording artist or a worship leader. With that in mind, I began exploring creative ways to release my music out into the world. I started to ask myself, 'What if I had my artist friends, who are far more talented than me, help bring these songs to life?' The result was the creation of Folk Hymnal—a guild of church worship leaders creating theologically rich songs in an accessible and attractive way."

This theme of banding together is also evident in the lyrics of “New Song,” the third track on their 2018 EP, Incarnation Songs: Christ has come, Christ has come Rings those bells, beat that drum Joy to the world, His plan all along It's time we sing a new song.

Co-written with Taylor Leonhardt, the collective pronouns “we” and “us” in the lyrics demonstrate the interconnectedness of the Church. It evokes an image of our calling to proclaim the birth of Christ with the unity of a band of bell-ringers and drum-beaters. We can sing alone, yes, just like Briggs in his living room. Or we can come together and form a joyful noise bigger than the sum of our parts. “We hosted Taylor at our home for a house concert,” says Briggs. “I explained to her this dream of Folk Hymnal and asked if she would be willing to co-write and contribute a song to the first EP, Incarnation Songs, and she graciously agreed. I sent the song to Taylor, and she greatly improved upon my work." You'll probably have a hard time not swaying in your seat or tapping your feet to the song's lilting syncopation. The song features a simple assortment of

instruments that give it a folksy flair—including acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, bass, and percussion—and it works as both congregational worship and a special Christmas song at the beginning or end of a service.

SINGING A NEW SONG All that said, there is the elephant in the living room.

Looking over history's catalog of Advent and Christmas songs, there's no shortage of songs for the Church. The Incarnation story is an old one. What does this mean for believers who live in a world where Ecclesiastes infers that the days of writing a 'new song' are all in the past?

Briggs describes how many of the Psalms command us to sing a new song. “For example,” he says, “Psalm 96, 98, and 149. Psalm 40 famously begins, ‘I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined and heard my cry.’ A few verses later, the Psalmist sings, ‘He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.’ In Psalm 40, we can see a connection between waiting and celebration, and this is much like the relationship between Advent and Christmas in the church calendar. We all love the nostalgia of familiar songs, yet Advent/Christmas is a great occasion to sing a new song. As believers, we always sing new songs of old truths.”

"New Song" is a solid entry point into the album, which features musical and lyrical originality, as well as rich reimaginations of ancient hymns.

TOOLS FOR LEADING It seems that sometimes God gives us dreams that are larger than ourselves to humble us and illustrate our need for each other. “It’s far more work than I anticipated,” Briggs confesses about his original vision. “And it has given me a whole new appreciation for the work of artists—specifically independent artists.” On their website, the guild offers chord and lead charts for several of their songs.

As we band together in song, let us also join together in spirit and action to proclaim Christ’s coming to a weary world in need. Briggs’ heart for Folk Hymnal is genuine worship: “The lyrics and feel of this song lend themselves to being a great aid in celebrating the coming of Christ during the Christmas season. Beyond Christmas, I know of at least one church that sang this song on Palm Sunday. Whether it be in the Incarnation or the Triumphal Entry, there are many ways to celebrate the different ways Christ has come.”

No matter how many times we’ve sung it before, we can sing it again and again. It’s time we sing a new song.

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LISTE NING

SU B M IT

YO U R

SO N G

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A L B U M S

ALBUM REVIEWS

BY EDITORIAL STAFF

AMY GRANT

CHRISTMAS www.amygrant.com

BY ANDREA HUNTER

A

rtist and songwriter Amy Grant is synonymous with our particularly American expression of Christmas, which on her current re-release(s), she amplifies and explores with a fusion of hymns, carols, sacred music, instrumental interludes, romantic and playful pop favorites, and beautifully crafted original songs. All of which connect uncannily with hearts and ears across generations and geography. Her music reflects the mystery, joys, …and the bittersweet edge of this holiday that fuses faith and culture. And this year her gift to those who celebrate the birth of Christ, and those who like to bask in the senses of the season is a three-LP vintage vinyl limited edition box set with a bonus 7 "disc, all celebrating the glory and the humanity that is Christmas.

Now on the 20th anniversary year of Amy Grant’s A Christmas to Remember (1999), you can relive that album (or experience it for the first time around). Included in the trio of vinyl LPs in the set is Grant’s best-selling Home for Christmas (1992) available for the very first time as a vinyl release (in the set and also separately) and her first solo Christmas release, A Christmas Album (1983). Plus a 7” disc "Let the Season Take

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Wing," a limited release previously available only on cassette backed with "Merry Christmas Darling," first sung by The Carpenters.

Each of the three vintage LPs and the bonus 7” disc in this 4-piece box-set is a walk through history, literally and musically. There is a kaleidoscope of emotions, content, and style: lush orchestral arrangements, choral rhapsodies, classic pop spanning decades, folk, country and traditional,'80s synth (on, of course, the album first released in the '80s), bagpipes, guitars, oboes, and London's studio orchestra, under the direction of Ron Huff, delivers the dreamy and angelic beauty of a Hollywood movie score on many of the songs from Home for Christmas.

Grant's warm, bright and classic tones were made for vinyl and for songs such as her versions of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." On the worship side of things, Amy's version of Michael W. Smith's "Agnus Dei" is not only rich, moving and worshipful, it and songs such as "Joy to the World/For unto us a Child Is Born" and "Silent Night" will also make the church that has abandoned choral music and choirs rethink their decision.

“Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song)” by Amy Grant is a modern classic that has been featured in film and covered endlessly. It provides both special music for Advent and Christmas, and the chorus is easy for the whole Church to join in or use as a separate chorus. Amy has written that the intimate nature of "Breath of Heaven" has transformed it into a prayer and "It is a prayer that fits a lot of people.'' In Grant's accessible and evocative portrayal of Mary, Jesus' mother becomes flesh and blood, rather than a painting with a halo.

Amy is known as much for her songwriting as her vocalizing, and the three LPs are decorated with her originals and co-writes as well as songs from handpicked writers. One that definitely fits in the Advent season is the reminiscent, "Welcome to our World," written by Chris Rice. Among the original material and classics, there is plenty here to enjoy and to inspire in this year's—and years to come—season of curating and celebrating.

The 3 LP/4-piece Christmas set is a time capsule of memories, era-defining music, and classic Christmas songs, both faith-based and cultural. If you're into a sense of completion, Grant has another solo release from 2016, A Tennessee Christmas, also available in vinyl that reprises as the title track a song originally recorded on Grant's very first-holiday release.

And no Christmas collection would be complete without The Animals’ Christmas featuring Amy and Art (Garfunkel). It was orchestrated and spearheaded by the illustrious Jimmy Webb based on a book about the birth of Jesus from the animals' viewpoint. Without question, this delightful experience needs wider recognition. It honors the Lord and engages both children and adults. It would make a great Christmas musical for families.

HIGHLAND’S WORSHIP

SHINE HEAVEN’S LIGHT A CHRISTMAS EP

Slower songs like "Earth Stood Still" perfectly capture the moment when "love came down" and "He Has Come" is an excellent song of focus as well for any congregation. The opening song "O Come O Come Emmanuel" could easily be a Christmas Eve opener for the year for churches who have a string section available to work with. It is a powerful piece, both percussive and vocally.

LESS • We’d love to have a full album of songs just like this!

www.highlandsworship.com

BY JASON WHITEHORN MORE • Looking for a bit of inspiration

for your Christmas Eve service? Look for Highlands Worship’s video online of their version of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and watch how they pulled off the percussive sounds with drums suspended from a massive ceiling.

How do you reimagine classic Christmas songs and skillfully create a brand new worship pieces for the Christmas season? You invite the team of worshipers at Church of the Highlands to make a Christmas EP. Shine Heaven’s Light - A Christmas EP is precisely that—a tastefully reimagined blend of classic carols and hymns alongside fresh new songs just in time for the holiday season. The six-song recording from the Alabama-based church features the worship team and Highlands Worship’s Chris Griffin along with mixing by Sam Gibson (Hillsong, Chris Tomlin, Jesus Culture).

From a worship standpoint, you’ll want to immediately grab charts and begin listening to "Born In Bethlehem," "Joy To The World," and "Let There Be Peace." All three are congregational and sure be favorites. "Joy To The World" sounds like a non-stop blues trip somewhere between Nashville and Memphis with a fresh take on an old classic and will leave your congregation wanting a reprise.

LINCOLN BREWSTER

A MOSTLY ACOUSTIC CHRISTMAS www.lincolnbrewster.com

several tracks featuring Brewster’s classic vocals, mandolin picking, and a delightful instrumental rendition of “Miraculum.” There aren’t any parlor tricks or overproduced samples or synths on this album. Instead, Brewster’s incredible musicianship and creative flair stand out amidst the backdrop of inspiring downhome Christmas music.

A young Lincoln Brewster made his musical start touring with rock legend Steve Perry but gave it all up to work in his local church. Over time, he began recording with Integrity Music and is now the senior pastor at Bayside Church in Sacramento, CA. Brewster is known for songs such as “Today Is the Day,” “Everlasting God,” “God You Reign,” and “Let the Praises Ring.” His most recent album after A Mostly Acoustic Christmas, titled, God of the Impossible, was released in May of 2018.

LESS • The only disappointment in A

Mostly Acoustic Christmas will happen when the Christmas season is over, and these delightful Christmas tunes get shelved for another year.

BY AMANDA WHITTINGTON MORE • This lovable album is sure to get folks of all ages in the Christmas spirit with its bluesy-pop twists on everyone’s favorite Christmas classics such as “Linus and Lucy,” “Jingle Bells,” and “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

A little bit of bluesy flavor, a little bit of Manheim-Steamroller spice, and a whole lot of creativity from Lincoln Brewster makes A Mostly Acoustic Christmas a sassy, spirited Christmas album for families of all ages. This fun and festive project was recorded by Brewster with his family, friends, and even his dogs and features guest artists such as Norm Stockton, Alex Chaney, Zoro, and Roman V. This album has it all—a fresh twist on Christmas classics such as “Linus and Lucy” and “Jingle Bells,” including

CHRIS TOMLIN

CHRISTMAS DAY www.christomlin.com

BY JASON WHITEHORN MORE • Tomlin is currently embarking

on a 12 city tour called “Chris Tomlin Christmas: Christmas Songs of Worship Tour” in historic theaters around the country.

Have you ever wondered what the soundtrack might have sounded like at

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A L B U M S

the scene of the manger had Jesus been born in 2019? A new EP from Chris Tomlin transports us to the scene of the birth of the Savior to the world with Christmas Day. This four-song EP has three original songs and one classic with lyrics sure to bring the listener’s heart to the place where more than a baby laid.

Christmas Day features multigenerational group We The Kingdom with uplifting lyrics that proclaims the reason for Christmas Day. “He was born to conquer the grave. Light of the world —the reason for Christmas Day!” “His Name Is Wonderful” places the listener worshipping alongside the wisemen and all those who came to marvel on bended knee to see the newborn King. “Little Drummer Boy” is a creative arrangement of a timeless classic. This one can be easily arranged and instantly implemented into your worship sets for this year’s Christmas gatherings. “Hope Of Israel” is a great congregational add for this year. The lyrics are powerful, relevant, and humbling, “‘Peace on earth, goodwill to men. Let violence, and all hatred end. For born to us, the Prince of Peace this Christmas Day’ our song shall be.”

He Shall Reign” to your set list.

The brothers Weaver return to the music scene fresh off the release of their 2019 album When the Light Comes with the single of celebration, “Joy! He Shall Reign.” This very singable Christmas song could easily be incorporated into your praise band’s lineup for this Christmas season. Fans of Big Daddy Weave will instantly embrace the single with its medium upbeat tempo and conviviality of lyrics. There is absolutely no doubt that Jesus is the object of the jubilation of this song. The proclamation of His kingdom coming is presented in classic Big Daddy Weave style, accenting their history as one of Christian music’s beloved bands and putting their mark on Christmas releases for 2019.

LESS • It’s been a decade since Big Daddy

Weave released a studio Christmas album, 2009’s Christ is Come. “Joy! He Shall Reign” drives the desire for more songs of the season from the Dove award winning band.

Sam Evans, Aimeee Evans, BJ Pridham, Joshua Brown, Rudy Nikkerud, Chelsi Nikkerud and more.

Our first reaction to the album is that it makes a perfect soundtrack for your church’s Christmas season walk-in/ walk-out music. It instantly puts you in the holiday mood without missing a beat of the reach theology of who the season is about.

Great classics like “Angels We Have Heard On High” or the fresh modern take on “The First Noel” with its spoken word to the R&B funk of “O Come All Ye Faithful” showcase the diverse ability that the Planetshakers worship leaders have in arranging great Christmas classics in today’s relevant standards. Original songs like “It’s Christmas” and “All Glory” show off the team’s ability to write with a spark of musical flurry.

LESS • Though

I’m rarely critical of music, the one downside of this album is having a highly creative and wonderfully arranged album that takes “Joy To The World” and misses and opportunity to make it as joyful as I know Planetshakers could...and slows it down, instead.

LESS • Are there ever really enough drums on a song called “Little Drummer Boy” #morecowbell

PLANETSHAKERS

IT’S CHRISTMAS www.planetshakers.com

RED ROCKS WORSHIP

BY JASON WHITEHORN

“O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL” www.redrocksworship.com

BIG DADDY WEAVE

“JOY! HE SHALL REIGN” www.bigdaddyweave.com

BY RANDY CROSS MORE • If your musical style of worship

lends toward the modern/contemporary genre, you should consider adding “Joy!

MORE • Interested in more Christmas music from Planetshakers? Check out Christmas Vol 1 and Christmas Vol 2 available on most music platforms.

The sounds of Christmas are booming from down under as Planetshakers releases It’s Christmas. The eleven-song album contains reimagined classics as well as originals from the Melbourne, Australia megachurch. The album features worship leaders Joth Hunt,

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BY RANDY CROSS MORE • Contemporary without sounding

modern, “O Come All Ye Faithful” continues to be a Christmas staple. Red Rocks Worship provides THE version of which to listen this season.

The worship artists from Red Rocks Church in Arvada, Colorado release their first Christmas single, “O Come All Ye

Faithful.” The church that started on the backlot of an abandoned theme park in Golden, Colorado have released their interpretation of the 1744 composed celebration of invitation and given it a contemporary arrangement that is sure to be enjoyed by listeners of every age.

The Red Rocks team has captured the classical flavor of Christmas music in their orchestration while not sacrificing the entirely modern vocals.

Upon your first listen to the single, you instantly are transported to the amphitheater for which the team derives its name. Evoking the drawing of seekers with a wintry soundtrack, “O Come All Ye Faithful” should be placed in your Christmas playlists.

LESS • We

eagerly anticipate what Red Rocks Worship could do with a full length album of classic and new Christmas music.

ANDREW PETERSON

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD www.andrew-peterson.com

BY BOBBY GILLES

be a lyricist in the magnitude of Jason Isbell and Rich Mullins. After drawing us into the concept from the opening lines, “Gather ‘round, ye children come / Listen to the old, old story...” we’re off to the first Passover, the succession of forerunners to Christ-like Joshua, David, and the Prophets, and the nativity story as seen from every angle. We even get a cleverly rhymed bluegrass romp through the genealogy of Matthew 1:1-16, “Matthew’s Begats.”

Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds all come into view in the following songs, but the spotlight is always on the Christ child. We’re drawn into the story as if for the first time, through theologically rich lines and little details of smart poetic license: “And the stable was not clean / And the cobblestones were cold / And little Mary full of grace, with the tears upon her face had no mother’s hand to hold.”

Amid these originals, we get clean, acoustic instrumentals of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and “The Holly And The Ivy,” the latter of which blends seamlessly into the returned classic hymn “While Shepherds Watched.” It’s a Bethlehem by way of “Dickens-in-December” by way of “Nashville musicians in the round” sort of feel.

All the characters and songs coalesce into “The Theme Of My Song,” an epic closing number with strands from the previous songs playing off each other in a curtain call for the “brave little boy who was God, but made himself nothing.”

LESS • Nothing to add here.

SANDRA MCCRACKEN

CHRISTMAS www.sandramccracken.com

BY RANDY CROSS MORE

• Perfect for listening enjoyment, Sandra McCracken brings her writing and recording experience to her first Christmas album providing an uncommon interpretation of music of the Christmas season. Recorded with a host of friends in the kitchen of a recording studio, she brings a twist to traditional Christmas favorites such as “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night.” This is a perfect album for fans of the newer stable of Christian innovators in music who are looking for “their” Christmas record this season.

This Christmas season if you are listening to music that is overtly Christmas, but has a bit of a non-traditional Christmas sound, check out the newest release by Integrity Music artist Sandra McCracken, simply entitled Christmas. This folksy, organic, Bonnie Raittish sounding record will certainly

MORE • In 2004 Andrew Peterson and

a group of singer-songwriter friends recorded a concept album that revealed how the thread of Christmas runs through both Old and New Testaments.

Since then, they’ve performed the songs of Behold The Lamb Of God annually on a Christmas concert tour. Now comes a new recording of this cherished album that captures the songs as they’ve evolved in live performances.

Behold The Lamb Of God features some of the finest writing on Christmas in modern times, showing Peterson to

N E W

M U S I C

F O R

YO U R

C H U R C H

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be a hit at your Christmas gatherings with friends. Peppered with Christmas standards and original songs, it is just the album to evoke uniqueness to your Holiday celebrations. Featuring guest artists Josh Garrels, “The Space Between,” Gabe Dixon and Christian music pioneer Cindy Morgan, “Jesus, What a Wonderful Child,” the music on Christmas transports you to that earthy place that you love to relax and enjoy.

LESS • Christmas is not a recording for

A L B U M S

those who expect the“traditional,” Bing Crosby or Dean Martin Christmas sound. It is more for those who want to enjoy an evening beside the fireplace in a flannel shirt enjoying the company of intimate friends with a seasonal soundtrack.

anew on the story of Christ’s first coming.

In sharing some of her inspiration for this album, Sara explained, “I think this story bears an infinite number of retellings, and I find myself revisiting it each year at Advent … It is shrouded in tradition and years of baggage in some cases, but at the root, it is God with us.

That’s pretty compelling.”

Whereas O Holy Night featured songs about Jesus’ birth, Joy of Every Longing Heart highlights the eyewitness accounts of participants in the Nativity Story: the wise men, the angels, and the shepherds.

For example, one of the album’s standouts, “Just Like They Said” portrays a shepherd’s transformative experience upon hearing the angels’ pronouncement of Christ’s birth.

The themes of “ joy” and “longing” depict the ultimate cry of all creation as it groans and waits through long days shrouded in the darkest nights for the dawn of all things made new. Joy of Every Longing Heart expresses to everyone with ears to hear that God is with us, just like He said He would be, and that He will come again, just like He promised, to fulfill the joy of every longing heart.

SARA GROVES

JOY OF EVERY LONGING HEART www.saragroves.com

BY KRISTEN GILLES MORE • With every album released, Sara

generously offers listeners her own stories of transcendence in the gift of her songs.

Her latest album is no exception. Each purposefully crafted melody and lyric invites us to tell our stories of transcendence and longing as we engage with this centuries-old Advent story and allow it to change us.

Joy of Every Longing Heart is the beautiful bookend to Sara Groves’ 2008 Advent album, O Holy Night. Sara’s latest 9-song album is equally soul-stirring, filled with original melodic musings juxtaposed with her refreshing retunes of several Christmas hymns, all reflecting

PHIL WICKHAM

CHRISTMAS www.philwickham.com

BY AMANDA WHITTINGTON BUY NOW

MORE

• Christmas, in classic Phil Wickham acoustic style, is a sweet and joyful mix of reborn Christmas tunes and original holiday melodies, reflecting the unmistakable light of Christ’s

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birth through gentle acoustic guitars, lightly rhythmic piano and evident awe and wonder.

Christmas, the latest 10-song holiday release by the renowned Phil Wickham, will add a sense of awe and wonder to any Christmas playlist with its perfect blend of updated traditional Christmas carols and original tunes. The sweetness of fingerpicking, the joy of lightly chiming synths, and of course, the smooth, worshipful tones of Phil Wickham’s vocals make this album stand out among other holiday efforts. Smoothly mastered, this album invokes scenes of worship and wonder at the birth of Christ, shining a light in the darkness and depravity of the world.

“Joy To The World” is reborn under the inspired mind of Phil Wickham. He explains, “’Joy To The World’ maybe my favorite song for Christmas in terms of lyrics… It’s just so beautifully written.

There is so much joy and declaration of what God had done to enter into our darkness, bringing joy and light and peace. It’s been amazing to go live into the studio and bring it to life, and envision what I always wanted it to be.”

No Christmas album is complete without “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and Phil Wickham’s sweet crooning is fresh and heartwarming throughout. “This Year for Christmas” is a throwback love song penned by Phil for his wife, featuring a little oldfashioned rock and roll piano. “Face of God,” co-written with Shane and Shane, “What Child Is This,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” round out Christmas for a well-balanced, gentlyupbeat album that is a joy to listen to and fun to sing along with. Make sure to visit PhilWickham.com for a unique acoustic version of this project.

LESS • Less isn’t always more; Christmas leaves the listener longing for more of Phil Wickham’s holiday styles and crooning vocals.

DANNY GOKEY

WE ARE MESSENGERS

SIDEWALK PROPHETS

THE GREATEST GIFT: A CHRISTMAS COLLECTION

GOD WITH US

“O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM (EMMANUEL)”

www.wearemessengersmusic.com

www.dannygokey.com

www.sidewalkprophets.com

BY JASON WHITEHORN

BY RANDY CROSS

BY RANDY CROSS MORE • Gokey’s seventh album, and second Christmas release, shows the maturity by which this performer continues to meld his craft. The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Collection is a Christmas record that you can see pulling out each year on the day after Thanksgiving. The duets are exquisite and climax with the Gokey and Natalie Grant interpretation of the beautiful “The Prayer.”

How do you celebrate the birth of your fourth child? If you’re American Idol alum, Danny Gokey, you put together world renown record producer David Foster, Dove award winner Kari Jobe, American Idol finalist David Archuleta, and your Christmas Tour buddy Natalie Grant, to make the Christmas album, The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Collection.

The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Collection does an incredible job of combining Christmas favorites of all varieties with Gokey’s mixtape of some of his favorite Christmas songs. Beautiful arrangements become the soundtrack for the incredible solo offerings and duets that make this album a must have for the season.

LESS • Fans of some of the standards just

might want them to be somewhat closer to the originals, if only to have the ability to do sing-a-longs. Let’s face it we can’t all be Danny Gokey!

MORE • We Are Messengers are currently

slated to join the TobyMac Hits Deep tour in 2020.

Just in time for the holiday season, We Are Messengers re-releases it’s Christmas EP adding a brand new Christmas song to extend it to a five song offering. God With Us contains four previously released tracks and adds a brand new song “This Is Jesus.”

“This Is Jesus” takes on the familiar melody of “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” The lyrics, however, are tastefully rewritten lyrics by Mulligan and band members Kyle Williams and Drake Williams along with Nashville songwriter Tony Wood.

“From Heaven To Earth (Joy To The World)” is a slightly different creative spin on the Christmas classic “Joy To The World.” “Flesh & Blood” speaks to the very human relationship between the Savior, born of flesh and blood, and mankind. “Christ Our King” features Steven Malcom from The Second City.

“God With Us” continues to shine as a standout song on the EP. It addresses the voids that so many people feel in a joyous season that is often painful to so many others. Rarely does a songwriter capture that, yet offer hope. Bravo to We Are Messengers for addressing both.

MORE • Sidewalk Prophets add to their

very enjoyable Merry Christmas to You album with this version of “O Little Town of Bethlehem (Emmanuel).” The singable, added chorus endears the song to a new set of carolers as it celebrates Jesus, God With Us. Coming from the re-release of 2013’s Merry Christmas to You is the “O Little Town of Bethlehem” single from Sidewalk Prophets. The original 12 track package is released with 4 additional tracks and will make for opportunities for personal listening as well as a few selected tracks you can use in strategic Christmas services.

“O Little Town of Bethlehem” is given a fresh beat and non-traditional instrumentation to make for a new classic. The arrangement makes for a song you want to attempt with your band this Christmas with its addition of an “Emmanuel” chorus to the well loved traditional Christmas Carol.

LESS • It would have been nice to have

seen “O Little Town Of Bethlehem” and the other new tracks formed into a new full length Christmas album as Sidewalk Prophets know how to celebrate the season. “What a Glorious Night!!!”

LESS • We’d love to hear a Christmas

album all native to We Are Messengers for 2020!

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Coming January 2020: Master's in Worship and Leadership Master of Arts in Worship & Leadership 100% Online trevecca.edu/MWL

Bachelor Degree Options

Associate Degree Options

Worship | Worship and Church Ministry Commercial Music | Music Education Theory and Composition Music Performance

Recording Technology Songwriting | Music

For more information: www.trevecca.edu/music | 615.248.1536 | @TreveccaMusic

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Department of

Worship Arts True Worship is More than Music Worship leaders set the tone at every service, inviting people into a spirit of worship. It’s a calling that challenges you to hone your skills as a musician, deepen your theological understanding and seek to trust the leading of the Holy Spirit. If you’re called to lead worship, our Center for Worship programs will help you prepare to live out that calling through dedicated study and hands-on experiences.

Our Promise to You: Our goal is to prepare you both practically and intellectually for the diverse roles you will occupy as a worship leader.

"We want to create a new generation of worship leaders who are theologically informed and possess the skills to lead with excellence."

Majors BACHELORS OF WORSHIP

The worship major focuses on six distinct areas including theological development, spiritual formation, musicianship, leadership, pastoral ministry, and technology. This holistic approach prepares our graduates for positions in either full-time or part-time roles.

BACHELORS OF WORSHIP & CHURCH MINISTRY

The worship and church ministry major includes all courses required for the worship degree and includes a religion minor, which fulfills the educational requirements for ordination in the Church of the Nazarene.

This is an excellent program for students answering a call to full-time worship ministry.

MASTER OF ARTS IN WORSHIP & LEADERSHIP

The Master of Arts in worship and leadership program is designed to equip the student with robust theological training and leadership skills that will allow them to shepherd a congregation with organizational excellence and spiritual maturity. The degree is a great asset for those seeking to grow in their full-time role as a worship pastor or become an executive pastor. The program is also a great fit for those desiring to teach at an undergraduate level.

SAM GREEN Program Director sgreen@trevecca.edu 615.248.1341

Minors WORSHIP

The worship minor focuses on the core courses found in the worship major including spiritual formation, musicianship, and leadership. The minor is a great fit for students desiring to learn more about biblical and historical worship and how to lead a worship experience.

VO L . 28, N O. 5 | W O R S H I P L E A 615.248.1288 D E R .C O M | |Wtrevecca.edu O R S H I P L E A|@trevecca DER 53

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