I got this email a few days ago...

Milo,

Would you send me the names of some songs you consider “edgy” or at least pushing the envelope from where we are in contemporary worship?

This was from a Minister of Music in ther area that is trying to lead his congregation in a new dirrection in worship. I hope that I was some assistance to him. Here is the list that I sent him. This is by no means a top ten list or anything, I just wrote them down as they came to mind, and put some links in so you can see what theses songs sound like.

Cannons - Phil Wickham http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_GNVWAo1pY
Safe - Phil Wickham http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciW8r-5kCDY
Mighty to Save - Hillsong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-08YZF87OBQ
Shout of the King - Hillsong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njv5z8ow4_k
Our God Saves - Brenton Brown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b35E8zzASk&feature=related
Savior Please - Josh wilson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aP_H5EJLUc
Ready to Love - Aaron Ivey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMq3vs5Kkow
Let Me Sing - Todd Fields http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44r5cs9aF34
Glory to God Forever - Steve Fee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h64opCwLZCw&feature=fvst
Glorious One - Steve Fee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFUnk3mJcaQ
Jesus Paid It All - Kristian Stanfill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brVIlXlJRkQ
Happy Day - Tim Hughes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOiIW8nrw5g
God of This City - Christ Tomlin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmC44K0xQLE
From the Inside Out - Joel Houston http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbGgA2lIDjc&feature=related
Amazing Because It Is - The Almost http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J2c4OyEJeg

What music would you recommend? What songs do you think are missing from this list? I could use some new ideas from you readers out there!

David Crowder puts together an incredible worship set. I had the pleasure of attending his concert at the Big Youth Thing at Carowinds earlier this month. Crowder and his band are as good as anyone out there. They tour constantly, and know what works in a worship set. Wanna be the best? Learn from the best. Here was how he did it.

undignified
there is no one like you
forever and ever
o how he loves us
everything glorious
he is our king
neverending
you are my joy
i saw the light
o praise him
joyful noise (i will not be silent)

Aaron,
You have disappointed me my friend. I downloaded your pdf of Ready to Love, along with the slew of other songs you have offered out to the public for free because I want to play it for special music on Sunday. We are doing a series entitled God on Film, in which the first message will be on the new Batman movie. The lyrics "light and darkness running together, rain and sun hold hands in the moonlight" will fit beautifully in with the message. So I send it out to everyone, and show up to rehearsal last night only to find out that the chord changes are all crazy wrong. Beside myself in embarrassment I had to sit down at the piano for a few minutes and figure out all the changes for myself, and transpose it to a key (D) that I can sing in comfortably while the team gave me the I-don't-think-he-ever-practices-his-music-or-comes-prepared-for-rehearsal look. Dude, its your song! I figured if I could trust anyone to give me accurate tab on it, you should know what is up with it.

Thanks for the skeleton anyway...I was able to fix it up - we will be doing it Sunday at Ridgeview.

A few months ago I posted about "Can a CD Change your life?" I have been heavily influenced this year by the artist Derek Webb

Today, My sister Rahel put out this post that admits she too has been heavily impacted by Derek's incredible lyrics. Will you be next? I think you should be!

Aaron Ivey tipped me off to this new worship song by Delirious: My Soul Sings. It is incredible! I have to wait about 2 weeks to do it at Ridgeview, but I want to let all of you know that it is coming!
They give their own story behind the song in the following interview. As Paul Baloche says at the end of the interview, it has a chorus that wants to heard again and again and again. This is the acoustic version. The live version will knock your doors off! Check it out!



rss readers click here to see video

Music is a very powerful tool. I have to believe this to be a worship leader. I find that there is a ton of pressure on me when I am leading a service where I only get one or two songs to lead. Preperation for this type of service requires many more hours of planning than that of a typical service.

That being said, I can't really say that any one worship song has changed my life. This may sound ironic, because worship songs are what I play every week, and basically every time I step in front of a mic.

Here are two CD's however that have really effected me deeply. The first one is entitled Behold the Lamb of God. It is a Christmas CD by Andrew Peterson skillfully written to tell the story of Christmas through the scope of the hopelessness the Old Testament Law had created for the Hebrew people. Jesus was the Messiah, but his birth didn't look and act like they thought it should. The second is Mockingbird by Derek Webb. His writing is passionate and heartfelt, while dealing with very current issues and concerns he points back to Jesus and His ministry.

I am changed from listening to each of these CD's. My journey has lead me to a place where I am not sure that we (Christians) are so different today from the religious leaders of Jesus' day. These musicians challenge me to ask questions before trying to limit Jesus to my ways, and my plans. Check them out, and support them by buying their stuff!

I don't know how many of you have really looked into what Hillsong does in Australia, but it is really amazing. Today I helped my wife Erin upload a Hillsong Kids DVD into media shout for our kids program entitled The Summit. It is really awesome stuff! I mean, they do everything top notch. I'm not sure how many people realize that Hillsong now offers college clsses, and the opportunity to study abroad. It is just unreal!

So what is the draw, why are they able to do so many things so well? First of all, I think they have aimed for excellence in everything they do. They don't put out anything that is sub-par from what they hold as a standard. Also, they have not done too much too soon. In the past year, a number of CD's and DVD's have been released. But they didn't do all of that for a long time. The church has been around for like 20 years. I can fall into the trap of over-committing myself in expectations todayof what someone else did in 20 years. I need to learn from these guys.

I love the Casting Crown's song: If we are the body I feel as though God is trying to teach me something about this concept. This morning, as I scurried to get though my reading for my LTG, I read Paul's discourse on subject in 1 Corinthians. As I read Paul's words, I became very conscious of the throbbing pain in my right hand ring finger. You see, I damaged it in a flag-football game last Saturday, and it has really bothered me a great deal. It may be broken, or just dislocated. My plan is to see if the swelling goes down after another day or so, if not I will go to the Hospital. Paul's analogy is very real to me right now. I cannot seem to function properly with something as simple as a busted finger. I have trouble holding my daughter, typing, putting my car in gear, or even reaching for my wallet. when the church body has an ailment, it functions in the same way. When my brain tries to tell me "your finger hurts" my willpower says "its no big deal, lets just overlook it." But I can't. So it is with the church. As leaders, we see "there may be someone hurting," but time constraints tell us to "overlook it, its no big thing." Look out, it might become a real swollen mess!