My dear friend Brettan Cox and I wrote a song called “Hound of Heaven” together for her album Blood Red Blooms, and this week Spotify added the song to their “Ultimate Christian Alternative” playlist. I’m so proud of the amazing writer and artist that Brettan has become! Two years ago, Brettan brought this great chorus to our writing session based on …
5 Practical Tips for Writing Great Worship Songs
View PostPraise and Worship Through Pain and Loss
View PostSharing the Gospel Without Fear
I watched the police and court-appointed repo-men pry open my neighbor’s door and begin piling his belongings on the front lawn. Ryan was only 27, but his alcohol addiction had already destroyed his liver and kidneys. He couldn’t function at work and had no way of paying his mortgage. His eyes were yellow, his body thin and frail. Ryan desperately …
How to be a Leader When You’re Not the One in Charge
View PostCome Thou Fount – Live on Ash Wednesday
This past Ash Wednesday, I had the honor of leading worship with the Christ Church Choir in Nashville TN. These men and women truly worship God in spirit and in truth. Ash Wednesday is part of the traditional Church calendar and is observed by millions of Christians around the world as a day of repentance and reflection. It is the …
Song by Song: Do You Hear What I Hear?
Written during the peak of the Cold War, a time when many Americans feared for the future of their nation (and perhaps the world itself), Gloria Shayne and Noel Regney gave us this beautiful parable, using one of the Wise Men as the backdrop for a story about the Prince of Peace. In this hour, once again, there are many who fear for the future, but take courage! Peace be with you! “The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night—He will bring us goodness and light!”
Song by Song: Humble King
People inherently love a good rags to riches story. We like tales of humble beginnings that end with success and achievement. Jesus managed to flip the concept on its head and inside out, voluntarily laying aside all the glory of being God in heaven and coming to earth as essentially a nobody. Jesus gave up any kind of earthly glory of His own volition and accomplished more than any other success story in history from the position of a servant.
Song By Song: Little Heart Beats
Earlier this year, I was asked by a pregnancy resource center to be a part of their annual fundraising banquet. I was, at the time, writing for Glory: A Call to Worship at Christmas, and the Christmas story was at the forefront of my mind. I realized that the Christmas story is the most profound pro-life story there is. By choosing …