The newest album from Passion, Awakening, just released. It has songs from your favorites including Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Fee, Kristian Stanfill, Matt Redman and more. You can listen to the album one time in its entirety for free below:
If you like what you hear, feel free to use my Amazon link to download the new album. After you’ve listened, leave a comment indicating which track is your favorite.
TobyMac’s newest album, Tonight, released today. I love his music, and I want to give you a chance to love it too. Here’s your chance to listen to the album one time in its entirety for free:
By the way, I have a special treat for you. I’m going to be streaming a live event with TobyMac next Tuesday evening right here on my website. You’ll get to hear some music and the stories behind the new album. Stay tuned for more details.
If you like what you hear, you can download the new album using my Amazon link. See you back here next Tuesday evening.
A couple of months ago, I wrote about “The New Traditional Church.” That particular post focused on the discipleship strategy. I thought I’d pick up where I left off and share a few more characteristics of the new traditional church. Today, I’m going to focus on music.
Remember the days when the only worship music was hymns? We were stuck there because that was clearly the “sacred” style of worship music. Then the 80s hit and Willow Creek made it possible for us to use current music styles in worship services to connect with the unchurched.
Only it’s as if we got stuck in the 80s. While the church still leans on a mix of rock and pop music as the preferred worship genre, our culture has shifted once again. Now, according to iTunes, 1 in 3 of the top 100 songs in the country is either hip-hop/rap or R&B/soul. My guess, though, is that you can’t name a church in the country that’s using these genres of music for worship. Why is that?
Now, before you let your “it’s-not-our-culture” bias set in, consider this. Most of the hip-hop and R&B music has been recorded by black artists. 14% of the U.S. population is black. But, remember, nearly one-third of the music purchased on iTunes is one of these two genres. You do the math. White people like hip-hop.
It’s not every day that you get to connect with one of the most respected worship leaders in the world. Because of that, I’m quite honored to have had the chance to recently connect with Matt Redman about his recent move to the U.S. and his newest album. Here’s what Matt had to share:
TONY: Welcome to America! Have you started to acquire the “red neck” version of your British accent yet?
MATT: I think I’m holding on to my British accent quite well, but I’m definitely learning a few new phrases and word spellings!
TONY: What’s the latest update on the Passion City Church you are helping to plant with Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin?
MATT: We’re taking it a step at a time and enjoying the journey. There’s some great churches already in Atlanta, but it’s a fast-growing city with 5 million people, so there’s a lot of work to do – and we’re excited to be a part of that. Louie has thrown out four little phrases for us to get our hearts and heads around as we begin this adventure – that Passion City Church is being planted ‘For God’, ‘For people’, ‘For the city’, ‘For the world’.
TONY: Tell us about your latest album, We Shall Not Be Shaken. What inspired it?
MATT: So much of the album is based around the faithfulness and steadfastness of God. We look around this world and notice that so many things are so shaky, temporary, and changeable. Take, for example all that’s been happening with the economy – there’s so much shifting and shaking. But when it comes to God, He is the opposite. He is unchanging, unshakeable and unfailing. He is the firm foundation and solid ground that we can stand upon – as the psalmist says in Psalm 62 – ‘He alone is my fortress – I shall never be shaken’. So that’s where the title and theme of the album came from.
TONY: Do you have a favorite track on the album?
MATT: I think it’s a song called “You Alone Can Rescue.” It’s a simple song of salvation that I’ve had the privilege of leading in eighteen different countries so far. The response has been so encouraging – and most of all it’s so inspiring to see young people all over the world singing their hearts out at the foot of the cross. In the north and the south, the east the and the west, the people of God are rising up with passionate songs of salvation.
TONY: Now that you’re in the U.S., will we get to see you tour with this new album? Who will be with you?
MATT: I’m out on a tour right now with Casting Crowns. It’s been an inspiring time so far – and I’m looking forward to going to nearly forty cities with those guys.
If you haven’t already checked it out, here’s my Amazon link to Matt’s new album.
Relient K released their newest album, Forget and Not Slow Down, yesterday. Crank up the volume and take a listen to the entire album below:
If you like what you hear, you can download the album right now using my Amazon link.
I had the distinct privilege of chatting for about 15 minutes yesterday with David Crowder. Among other things, we talked about:
Listen to the entire interview by clicking the link below:
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David is a fun guy, and the new album is killer. Hope you enjoyed the conversation.
David Crowder Band released their newest album, Church Music, today. You can listen to the album in its entirety below.
If you like what you hear, you can download the album using my Amazon link. And, watch next week for my interview with Crowder about his new album.
For the record, I’m a big fan of Hillsong. If you’ve been on my blog for any length of time in the past, you likely know I love sharing what’s happening in their ministry particularly with their worship ministry. This post isn’t about Hillsong.
That said, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to many different churches and conferences over the last several months. Here’s what I’m beginning to wonder… Does anyone in the United States write worship music anymore?
Every place I go, it seems that I’m hearing the same music that was written by the folks at Hillsong. Don’t get me wrong. It’s good music. I have it on my iPod. I’m just wondering why it’s the only music I seem to be hearing everyplace I go.
And, I’m not just talking about small churches here. I’m talking about very big churches too. They’re the churches that you would think would have both the talent and the resources to be creating some of their own worship music. Why aren’t they helping us sing a new song? [btw... There are exceptions like Lincoln Brewster, Kari Jobe, Israel Houghton and some of my other friends from the Integrity label.]
I’m just speculating, but here are some factors that may be contributing to this phenomenon. Hillsong…
Maybe there are other factors. Maybe the biggest factor is that U.S. churches see the success of Hillsong and think they’re the church to copy right now. Whatever the case, it seems that we should be asking ourselves why so many churches are relying so heavily on Hillsong for the vast majority of our worship music.
Are there other barriers that are preventing U.S. churches from generating new worship music? Is this even an issue that should be a part of our conversation? Or, is this just a jealous rage because my wife seems to be smitten by guys with Australian accents?
What are your thoughts?
Hillsong’s newest album, Faith + Hope + Love, released today. I shared a video from the album last week. Now you can listen to the entire album one time for free. Here you go:
If you liked what you heard, you can download the album using my Amazon link.
