Worship Podcast & Blog
Let’s break this down.
Worship is the act of ascribing worth to something.
You can’t ascribe worth to something if you don’t know anything about it.
I can’t truly, deeply worship calculus because, quite honestly, I know nothing about it (I must have skipped that during high school).
[Have you seen my other “Worship Leading Secrets” post? Check it out here.]
I was inspired recently by a blog post from Carlos Whittaker, worship leader & blogger over at Ragamuffin Soul. The honesty that exudes from this post really got me thinking about my own journey and what I consider to be another “secret” for worship leaders to embrace:
DON’T HIDE YOUR SUFFERING
I think many church leaders are a bit confused in this area. They preach healing but don’t know how to reconcile their own pain with what they preach. Until the sting of suffering hits you, it’s difficult to understand. While I wholeheartedly believe in the healing power of Jesus, I also struggle with ongoing illnesses.
There is nothing more fulfilling than seeing someone else raised up through your influence. To invest in someone else and see them fulfill their destiny in the kingdom of God. That’s what we’re after.
But all this talk about “raising up the next generation” can seem really idealistic, vague, and romantic. When it comes down to it, can it really be done? Maybe you have a full time job in addition to 15 hours a week you invest into leading a worship team. You just don’t have time to think about anything but what needs done for Sunday.
Today is the beginning of an ongoing series here on the blog. My goal is to give some visibility to incredible worship artists that you may or may not have heard of. One of them is Harbour Live in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
From their website:
Harbour Live is the family of worship leaders and musicians at the The Harbour Church. Hungry for real encounters with the living God, our music is just a shadow of the lives we live with Jesus. We’re committed to writing songs that exalt God and His Kingdom in the earth, and we’re passionate about resourcing the Body of Christ with music that is grounded in the Word and Spirit of God.
Allow me to say that I was BLOWN AWAY by this album. First of all, I had never heard of them and I consider myself a worship music nerd. And second, because the worship songs are incredibly well done and fresh. I was also surprised to see Jeremy Edwardson in the producer’s chair. Many of you know of his work as lead singer of The Myriad, as well as producer of all Bethel Church and Jesus Culture albums. He is, in my opinion, the best producer in Christian music today. And it shines on this album.
This is already becoming one of my favorite worship albums of the year. Great voices, massive music, and a contagious longing for the Presence of God.
Justin Jarvis, worship leader at The Harbour, has graciously agreed to give me 5 copies of the album to give away here at davidsantistevan.com.
This contest is now closed.
Here are the 5 winners:
If you did not win, I strongly suggest you buy this album and support this fantastic church. You won’t be disappointed!
The amazing app Evernote has really helped to centralize and simplify my songwriting.
I suggest you give it a try. If you do creative work, flow doesn’t always strike when you sit down to work. You could be in your car, at church, on a plane, in a movie, and you need a tool that is with you where you are.
The best part of Evernote is that you have access to it everywhere – on your phone, on your desktop, and online. You never have to be without your ideas.
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Glorious.
Now it’s your turn. What are some tools you use to write songs or be creative? You can leave a comment by clicking here.