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In preparation for the international re-release of Aaron Keyes‘ last CD, NOT GUILTY ANYMORE, Kingsway Records had contacted TWC to request an interview. Knowing that I’d occasionally led worship at Aaron’s church, Fred McKinnon – founder of TWC – suggested that I take this on. Aaron came into town to lead worship for SuperWow over on Jekyll Island, which is practically next door, so I snagged the opportunity, and what an interview it was! You can see Part 1 Here. Sadly, a number of technical delays led to the loss of some alternate footage, but I have the continuation of the interview right here as we discussed issues that concern us regarding the current state of “worship” and ask the question, “Are we really worshiping?” In Summary, Aaron says, “We’ve got to do more than lead songs – we’ve got to lead people.”
Aaron Keyes Interview Part 2: “Are We Really Worshiping?”
TWC’s Great Songwriting Tips
Over the past few years we’ve had some great posts on songwriting. We thought we’d share some of those with you today!
- Becoming A Songwriter (Let’s Get Started): Bobby Giles shares some great insight for aspiring songwriters (and for those of us who are already writing, as well).
- Tips For Introducing Original Songs: Erika Michelle shares insights about writing and co-writing new and original music for the congregations we serve in.
- What Makes A Great Worship Song?: Ryan Egan ponders the question and offers some thoughtful insight on how a great worship song moves people to focus on God.
- The Importance of Songwriting (One Writer’s Story): Brian Rossi writes about the exciting opportunity to join others in sharing in the journey of songwriting (and community feedback) through The Worship Community’s Songwriting Group and monthly songwriting challenges.
- Developing A Songwriting Community Through Your Church (Series): Bobby Giles shares a four part series covering some great insight into partnering with others and building community through and for songwriting. (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4)
- Lessons Learned From 4 Great Songwriters: David Santistevan writes about the lessons and insights he’s gleaned from looking at the songwriting of four successful worship songwriters.
What are your favorite songwriting resources?
Lessons Learned From 4 Great Songwriters
Reposted with permission from DavidSantistevan.com the worship resource site of David Santistevan.
I’m of the belief that the best way for you to become better at what you do is to seize it. Don’t wait for a mentor to approach you, seek out your mentors. As a worship songwriter, I always observe other writing styles – what melody works, what doesn’t, what lyrics are unique, which aren’t, etc.
In this post I just wanted to outline a few worship music songwriters that I admire and what I’ve learned from them. My desire is that you use the same curiosity with the music you like and apply what you learn from them. And also, study these guys. They’re the best. [Read more...]
Sometimes God is Where We Least Expect
Sometimes God can be found in a cathedral, in a chapel, or in a church building.
Sometimes God can be found in the wilderness, beneath the stars, or beside the ocean.
Sometimes God can be found on a busy sidewalk, in a market, or in a cafe.
Sometimes God can be found in a smile, in a tear, or in a song.
Aaron Keyes “Blessing And Honour” – Story Behind The Song
Blessing And Honour by Aaron Keyes
The song is from his debut album, Not Guilty Anymore, that releases TODAY and which Foursquare.org says is “a rich and rewarding release from Aaron Keyes that spans the centuries to deliver a powerhouse of worship…Keyes does not offer us trite phrases and clichéd language, but instead presents the words of a true worshiper grounded in solid theology and love for Jesus, which lends a hymnic quality to the whole album…this album will be a treasure for those who find it.”
A few years ago my band was leading worship and we began to flow into singing prophetically, singing new songs, and this chorus spontaneously came out, “Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto your Name oh Lord.” I kept singing it over and over, and the presence of God was really stirring in the room. Sometime weeks later I was meditating on Proverbs 18 where it talks about the Name of the Lord being a strong tower, and I was also looking at Psalm 22:22 (which speaks of declaring the Name of the Lord in the great assembly) and Philippians 2, how the Father has given his Son the Name that is above all other names.
Aaron Keyes Interview part 1: “Not Guilty Anymore”
In preparation for the international re-release of Aaron Keyes‘ last CD, NOT GUILTY ANYMORE, Kingsway Records had contacted TWC to request an interview. Knowing that I’d occasionally led worship at Aaron’s church in his absence, Fred McKinnon – founder of TWC – suggested that I take this on. Well, as it just so happened, this Aaron came into town to lead worship for SuperWow over on Jekyll Island, which is practically next door to me, so I snagged the opportunity, and what an interview it was! I got so much great content that I’m splitting it into multiple videos to release over the next few weeks.
The Importance Of Songwriting (One Writer’s Story)
Greetings fellow worshipers!
I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you how amazing God has been in the area of working on songwriting lately with His people. Being a part of The Worship Community Songwriters Group has been a huge blessing and encouragement to me. Let me provide a little background for you.
It all started around age 10 or so for me. I began playing “Father I Adore You” by ear at my family piano. By family piano, I mean, it was a family heirloom or sorts. Slowly, as years went by, I started to learn some of the songs my church would sing back in the day and plunk them out to the best of my ability. My parents felt I had some creative potential so they enrolled me in some lessons. I slowly began to play for small bible studies and also help out on the church worship team from time to time. One thing bothered me though… I didn’t seem to possess the ability to write songs. I envied everyone that could. I always asked God why I couldn’t write songs. I was very frustrated by it.
Album Review: Ragamuffin Soul by Carlos Whittaker
Ragamuffin Soul by Carlos Whittaker
In 2006, I went to the Saddleback Worship Conference. I was looking to get podcasting going for our church, so I went to a workshop called “Podcasting/Blogging” by Carlos Whittaker. I was disappointed, because all this guy talked about was blogging. What I didn’t know was that his blog Ragamuffinsoul.com was becoming a phenomenon, and now has a worldwide following of more than 20,000 people and was ranked “Best Ministry/Theology Blog” by COLLIDE magazine readers. It also inspired me to start my own blog, and I’ve been blogging ever since. I’m now grateful that I went to that class, because now I’m in the blogging world, connected to all kinds of people. Carlos, or @loswhit, for us on twitter, really influenced me in that.
How To: Basic Copyright Protection
So you’re a songwriter and worship leader writing songs for your congregation, but you also want to share them with the wider Body of Christ. You want to serve the Church by sharing the great song ideas God has shared with you. You’d also like to share the music with other songwriters and worship leaders for feedback and critique, potentially crafting great songs in the process.
But there’s one catch, you feel like someone will steal your great song idea and make it the next Church hit and the work that you put into it will be for nothing?
Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts of Worship Leading
The life of a worship leader is a happy one. These people get all the fame, the royalties, the best-looking girls (or boys), they get to travel around the world and sing their carefully crafted compositions to lots of loyal followers. They are perfect in every way…
No. The truth is they get irritable, they have bad breath and sometimes they do write some quite awful, cringe-inducing songs that sound like palid impressions of (most) Coldplay tunes. They are impatient, egotistical, insecure and most of the time they can’t play their instruments properly. They are normal… like us.
