Can’t attend the Louisville Acts 29 Boot Camp, Ambition, or the individual “Gospel Centered Worship” tracks?  Then follow along with our live-blogging coverage of each session.  Simply click the link below at the appropriate time to follow along with our conference coverage.  You’ll be able to make comments as well:
Tuesday, 11-10-09, 12:30 pm EST - Tim Smith: Worship That’s Missional, Contextual and Gospel-Centered

Tuesday, 11-10-09, 1:30 pm EST - Panel On Worship Ministry featuring Tim Smith, Kevin Twit, Marc Heinrich, Mike Cosper, Chip Stam

Wednesday, 11-11-09, 1:30 pm EST - Kevin Twit: Singing Theology

Wednesday, 11-11-09, 2:30 pm EST - Panel On Songwriting: Sandra McCracken, Kevin Twit, Neil Robins, Tim Smith

You can also click the link later on to read the recap. You won’t need to register for anything or refresh your browser.

This set list is one of many that you can find at the worship music set list blog carnival at fredmckinnon.com, featuring many different kinds of churches. You can learn about some of the songs we sing at Sojourn Gathered each week in advance of the Sunday service by reading my “Getting Ready For Sunday” post each Friday at Sojourn’s online journal, TravelBlog. Photos this week taken by Chuck Heeke, from our 10 am East campus service.  This was the first day for our brand new location — a beautiful former Catholic church building.  You can see Chuck’s coverage of the entire service — and shots of the brand new campus building and exterior — at our sister site, TravelBlog.

1. Every Grain Of Sand, written by Bob Dylan.  This is one of my favorite Dylan songs:

In the time of my confession, in the hour of my deepest need
When the pool of tears beneath my feet flood every newborn seed
There’s a dyin’ voice within me reaching out somewhere,
Toiling in the danger and in the morals of despair.
Don’t have the inclination to look back on any mistake,
Like Cain, I now behold this chain of events that I must break.
In the fury of the moment I can see the Master’s hand
In every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand.

The evening Germantown services substituted “How Long,” by Sojourn’s Mike Cosper and Rebecca Dennison, from Over The Grave: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, Volume One.

2. My Maker And My King, hymn text by Anne Steel, arrangement and music by Sojourn Worship & Arts Pastor Mike Cosper.  You can hear the mp3 and view the chord sheet from the Before The Throne page on sojournmusic.com.

3. Great Is Thy Faithfulness written by Thomas O. Chisholm and William Runyon.  This is a classic hymn of assurance in the faithfulness of God:

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning, new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand has provided
Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me.

4. We Are Changed written by Sojourn’s Bobby Gilles (moi), Neil Robins and Dave Moisan.  We based this on the Isaac Watts song “Hymn 95 (Not all the outward forms of earth).”  You can view the chord sheet from our Over The Grave page.

5. Nothing But The Blood written by Robert Lowry.  This simple “Sunday School” meditation on the blood of Christ was our communion hymn of the week.

How precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow,
No other fount I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

6. The World Will Know written by Sojourn’s Mike Cosper and Brooks Ritter.  They adapted three Isaac Watts hymns to come up with “The World Will Know,” which you’ll hear next year on Volume Two of our Isaac Watts project albums.

Let the vain world pronounce it shame,
And mock our righteous cause
We come to boast our Savior’s name,
And triumph in his cross
With joy we tell the scoffing age,
He raised and left his tomb
He lives above their utmost rage,
Oh Come, Lord Jesus, Come Oh Come, Lord Jesus, Come

7. I Sing The Mighty Power Of God by Isaac Watts.  We use an arrangement from Mars Hill Church in Seattle.  This is a great song for many parts of a worship service, including the song for the Sending:

There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known,
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care;
And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God art present there.

Worship band for the 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services (Germantown campus):

Katie Vaughn - vocals

Brooks Ritter — vocals and guitar

Mike Cosper — lead guitar

Bill Bell — keyboard

Robert James — bass guitar

Andy Meyers — drums

Worship band for the 10 a.m. service (St. Matthews campus):

Katie Stayte - vocals

Jamie Barnes — vocals, banjo

Rebecca Elliott — vocals, keyboard

Christi Osterday — cello

Raphael Starr — clarinet

Bryon Shrock — bass guitar

Buck Buchanan — drums

Worship band for the 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. services (Germantown campus):

Rebecca Dennison — vocals

Dave Moisan — vocals and keyboard

Mike Cosper — lead guitar

Eddy Morris — bass guitar

Ryan Harvey — drums

As I told you about recently, we’re hosting a free sojournmusic.com breakfast next Wednesday, 8 a.m. at our Germantown campus here in Louisville, The 930 Art Center.  This event is a prelude to the Acts 29 Network Louisville Boot Camp:  Ambition.  Although registration is over for the Boot Camp (we’re filled to capacity), we’d still love for you to join us for this free breakfast of donuts and coffee.  No registration or ticketing — just come as you are.  We’ll have a panel discussion, open to any of your questions about our music ministry, featuring:

• Worship & Arts Pastor Mike Cosper

• Worship leader/Over The Grave producer Neil Robins

• Pastoral Assistant/Worship Leader Jamie Barnes

• Pastoral Assistant/Worship Leader Brooks Ritter

• and me, Bobby Gilles.  I’m a songwriter and Communications Director for Sojourn Community Church.

You’ll also meet many of the singers, songwriters and musicians who lead worship each Sunday at Sojourn Gathered, write blog posts for us or participate on Sojourn worship albums.

And if you can stay, you’re welcome to attend the Gospel Centered Worship lectures later that day (and also on the previous day, Tuesday the 10th).  This is part of the Louisville Boot Camp track sessions.  However, thanks to a sponsorship from the SBTS Institute For Christian Worship we can offer this worship track session for free, even if you did not register for the Boot Camp (no need to register for this track.  More information here).

This set list is one of many that you can find at the worship music set list blog carnival at fredmckinnon.com, featuring many different kinds of churches. You can learn about some of the songs we sing at Sojourn Gathered each week in advance of the Sunday service by reading my “Getting Ready For Sunday” post each Friday at Sojourn’s online journal, TravelBlog. Photos this week taken by Dan Canales.

I was vacationing in Florida this weekend so I don’t have a full recap.  Here is the set list though, along with Dan’s great pictures:

1. Warrior by Dave Moisan, me (Bobby Gilles), and Neil Robins, from our Over The Grave: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, Volume One album.

2. On Jordan’s Stormy Banks by Samuel Stennet.  Contemporary arrangement by Christopher Miner.

3. Satisfied In You by Brian Eichelberger.

4. May Your Power Rest On Me by Sojourn’s Joel Gerdis and Neil Robins.  This is another song from our new Over The Grave CD, which released on iTunes, Amazon mp3 and other digital providers last month.

5. From The Depths by Sojourn’s Jeremy Quillo.  You can find this one on our These Things I Remember record.

6. Deep In Our Hearts by Sojourn’s Joel Gerdis, Brooks Ritter and Mike Cosper.  This is a new Isaac Watts adaptation, which you will hear next spring when we release volume two of our The Hymns Of Isaac Watts project.

7. When The Savior Reached Down For Me by G.E. Wright.

We told you recently about the worship track at Ambition, the Louisville Acts 29 Boot Camp which Sojourn Community Church is hosting on November 10-11.

This worship track is being sponsored by the Institute For Christian Worship at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and by Sojourn Community Church.  And that means that you can come to all sessions for free, even if you don’t register for the Boot Camp!

You can download the flyer at sojournchurch.com, which includes details on all the speakers and the topics for each discussion. If you’ll remember, some of the speakers include Sandra McCracken, Kevin Twit of Indelible Grace, Chip Stam of the Institute for Christian Worship, Tim Smith of Mars Hill Church and our own Mike Cosper.

We hope to see you there.  And since you’re coming, remember that we’re also hosting a free sojournmusic.com breakfast at 8 a.m., Wednesday, November 11. This event is also open to the public.  You can meet many of the Sojourn Music worship leaders and songwriters, enjoy donuts, and then either attend the full Boot Camp (with paid registration) or just the free Gospel Centered Worship track sessions.

This set list is one of many that you can find at the worship music set list blog carnival at fredmckinnon.com, featuring many different kinds of churches. You can learn about some of the songs we sing at Sojourn Gathered each week in advance of the Sunday service by reading my “Getting Ready For Sunday” post each Friday at Sojourn’s online journal, TravelBlog. Photos this week taken by Dan Canales, at the 9 a.m. service.

1. Come Ye Sinners by Joseph Hart, new melody by Sojourn’s Brooks Ritter.  Brooks came into my office a few weeks ago with this hymn text.  He was excited about using it, and was in the process of trying out some arrangement ideas.  I think he and Pastor Mike played with it some — perhaps Jamie Barnes as well.  I had an idea for one of the lines.  Other than that it was all Brooks.

He’s a gifted songwriter as well as a dynamic singer.  Hopefully, readers in Louisville will be able to see Brooks Ritter perform with ex-Nickel Creek singer-fiddler Sara Watson at the Kentucky Center For The Arts this Thursday.

2. Invitacion Fountain written by Michael J. Pritzl.  This is a good Call To Worship song:

Let all who are weak
All who are weary
Come to the Rock
Come to the Fountain
Let all who have climbed
The mountains of heartache
Reach to the sky
Come on, give your life

Following these lines from God’s perspective, we sing the chorus from our own perspective:

If You lead me, Lord, I will follow/ If You lead me, Lord, I will go …

3. Merciful God by Keith Getty, Kristy Getty and Stuart Townend.  This is a gentle but plaintive cry:

Merciful God, O abounding in love,
Faithful to keep us from falling;
Guiding our ways with Your fatherly heart,
Growing our faith with each testing.
God speed the day struggles will end;
Faultless we’ll gaze on Your glory.
Then we will stand overwhelmed by the mercy of God.

4. Before The Throne Of God Above by Charitie Lees Bancroft, with contemporary melody by Vikki Lee Cook of Sovereign Grace Ministries.  We recorded this song for our Before The Throne album.  You can view the chord sheet from the Before The Throne page here at sojournmusic.com. This is one of my favorite hymns.  I particularly love the final verse:

Behold Him there! The risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I AM
The King of glory and of grace
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me

5. Behold The Lamb by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend.  This modern hymn is subtitled “Communion Song,” and it definitely fits that purpose.  It’s rich in communion theology:

And so with thankfulness and faith, we rise
To respond and to remember
Our call to follow in the steps of Christ
As His body here on earth
As we share in His suffering
We proclaim Christ will come again
And we’ll join in the feast of heaven
Around the table of the King

6. God Of This City by the band Bluetree.  Many artists and worship teams have recorded this song.  Hear Bluetree’s own version on their Myspace page. “God Of This City” worked very well with our sermon on “Engaging The Culture” this week, from Jeremiah 28-29:

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

7. O Church, Arise by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty.  This was certainly a Getty/Townend worship service.  Modern hymn-writing doesn’t get any better than the songs they’ve been churning out over the last decade, including this one, our “song for the Sending.”

With shield of faith and belt of truth
We’ll stand against the devil’s lies
An army bold whose battle-cry is Love
Reaching out to those in darkness

Worship band for the 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services (Germantown):

Lorie King — vocals

Brooks Ritter — vocals and guitar

Kristen Smith — vocals and keyboard

Brittany Jarboe — cello

Worship band for the 10 a.m. service (St. Matthews):

Chandi Plummer — vocals

Joel Gerdis — vocals and guitar

Steve McLean — keyboard

David Weir — lead guitar

Bryon Shrock — bass guitar

Buck Buchanan — drums

Worship band for the 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. services (Germantown):

Anna Young — vocals

Chad Watson — vocals and guitar

Michael Butterworth — keyboard

Phillip Miller — lead guitar

Charlie Lucas — bass guitar

Andy Meyers — drums

Last Sunday we held a baby dedication service at Sojourn Gathered.  Today we’ve posted our entire liturgy for this service at theopensourcebook.org, a website that exists to supply churches with free prayers and liturgical elements.  Our worship & arts pastor, Mike Cosper, conceived and launched this site with Nathan Bierma of the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship.  From the home page:

Our collection grows daily, and comes from real-world church contexts. You are welcome to use anything from the Open Sourcebook for free, as all of our content is protected by the Creative Commons License. See our permissions page for more information.

Check out our baby dedication liturgy here.

Last week we told you about the last Acts 29 Network church planting Boot Camp of 2009, Ambition, which we’re hosting at Sojourn Community Church.  I told you that we’d have a special Worship track at this conference, hosted by our Worship & Arts Pastor Mike Cosper and paneled by leading worship pastors, leaders and writers like Sandra McCracken, Tim Smith of Mars Hill Church and Kevin Twit of Indelible Grace.

Well, there’s one more thing:

On Wednesday, November 11 at 8 a.m., we will host a special sojournmusic.com breakfast at the site of this Boot Camp: our Germantown, Louisville campus, The 930 Art Center.  Boot Camp sessions begin at 10 a.m., so you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy free coffee and donuts, hang out with worship leaders, songwriters, pastors and church planters from around the country, and meet many of the artists involved in Sojourn Music’s recordings, live worship ministry, blogging and training.

During this breakfast, we’ll do a special Q&A panel for anyone interested in learning more about how we do missional worship ministry in Louisville, and how we integrate that with the CDs and the website.  This panel will include:

• Worship & Arts Pastor/record producer/musician Mike Cosper

• Pastoral Assistant/worship leader/songwriter Jamie Barnes

• Pastoral Assistant/worship leader/songwriter Brooks Ritter

• Worship leader/songwriter/record producer Neil Robins

and me, Bobby Gilles.  I’m a songwriter, blogger/content manager of sojournmusic.com and do some behind-the-scenes stuff like songwriting facilitation.

You don’t need to register and you won’t need a ticket.  Just show up, and you’ll be directed through our gallery in the main entrance, to the Listening Room (where we host many of our music shows).

We hope to see you there!

This set list is one of many that you can find at the worship music set list blog carnival at fredmckinnon.com, featuring many different kinds of churches. You can learn about some of the songs we sing at Sojourn Gathered each week in advance of the Sunday service by reading our “Getting Ready For Sunday” post each Friday at Sojourn’s online journal, TravelBlog.  Photos this week taken by Dan Canales, at the 11:15 a.m. service.  And if you enjoy Dan’s photography here on sojournmusic.com, check out his photo coverage of our Fall Festival, taken Saturday.

This was a baby dedication Sunday.  Throughout our five services, twenty-two families dedicated their little ones to Christ.  Later this week we will post our entire baby dedication liturgy on theopensourcebook.org, for churches to freely adapt and use as their own.

1. Deep In Our Hearts by Isaac Watts, arranged by Sojourn’s Joel Gerdis, Brooks Ritter and Mike Cosper.  You’ll hear this one on our next record, the Hymns of Isaac Watts, Volume Two. This was the first time for “Deep In Our Hearts” at Sojourn Gathered:

O for His sake our guilt forgive,
And let the mourning sinner live;
The Lord will hear us in His name,
Nor shall? our hope be turned to shame

2. Come And Sing by Sojourn’s Jeremy Quillo.  This was our “Call To Worship” song on the liturgically-themed Before The Throne album.  You can view the chord sheet on our Before The Throne page, and hear this great song at facebook.com/SojournMusic.

Following this song, we held our dedication ceremony.

3. All I Have Is Yours by Sojourn’s Bobby Gilles and Rebecca Elliott.  This is another song from our Before The Throne CD.  We wrote it to represent the “Tithes and Offering” portion of our liturgy.  We and others use “All I Have Is Yours” for occasions like baby dedications (our use for it this day), weddings, vision campaigns … I even got a touching email once from someone who had used it at a funeral.  That’s an honor.

Hear “All I Have Is Yours” at myspace.com/SojournRecords and view the chord sheet on our Before The Throne page.

4. Thy Mercy My God by John Stoker.  Sandra McCracken wrote the contemporary melody for this timeless hymn.  She will be a part of our Worship Track at the Louisville Acts 29 Boot Camp, Ambition, on November 10-11.

Without Thy sweet mercy, I could not live here
Sin would reduce me to utter despair
But through Thy free goodness, my spirit’s revived
and He that first made me still keeps me alive

“Thy Mercy” was our Communion Hymn of the week.

5. Refuge by Sojourn’s Neil Robins.  Neil adapted “Psalm 31, part 1” by Isaac Watts for “Refuge.”  You’ll find it on our new worship record, Over The Grave: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, Volume One.  You can also download the “Refuge” chord sheet from our Over The Grave page (as well as the other songs from that album).

6. Solid Rock by Edward Mote and William Bradbury.  This is a classic hymn of assurance, and also a good song for the Sending, which is how we used it this week:

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

Worship band for the 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services (Germantown campus)

Megan Shaeffer — vocals

Brooks Ritter — vocals and guitar

Justin Shaeffer — lead guitar

Dony Erwin — bass guitar

Ryan Harvey — drums

Micah Revell — liturgical readings

Worship band for the 10 a.m. service (St. Matthews)

Rebecca Dennison — vocals

Jamie Barnes — vocals and guitar

Rebecca Elliott — vocals and keyboard

Christi Osterday — cello

Worship band for the 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. services (Germantown)

Kate Robins — vocals

Brooks Ritter — vocals and guitar

Mike Cosper — lead guitar

Daniel LaChance — keyboard

Phillip Miller —bass guitar

Smitty Smith — drums

Brooks Ritter at The 930

As a featured vocalist and songwriter on Sojourn records like Over The Grave, Before The Throne and Advent Songs, and as a regular member of the Sojourn worship team, Brooks Ritter’s magic voice has turned up in a lot of iPods and CD players.  He’s also played some big venues, in addition to Sojourn Gathered on Sundays.

As one of Louisville’s finest singer-songwriters, he’s performed in venues all over town, played live on 91.9 FM WFPK and gotten radio airplay for his debut solo project, The Horse Fell Lame.  (Download The Horse Fell Lame from iTunes)

And on Thursday night, October 29 he will play one of Louisville’s most prestigious venues, the Kentucky Center For The Arts, when he opens for ex-Nickel Creek singer-fiddler Sara Watkins.Watkins’s post-Creek career has included many projects and collaborations.  Now she has released her first solo record,  a self-titled project that was produced by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.  She’s currently touring the nation in support of this album.  For her Louisville stop, she could think of no better local act to share the stage with than Brooks Ritter.

Sara and Brooks will perform at the Center’s Bomhard Theatre.  Get your tickets here (or simply drive down Main Street and take a right into the Center’s drive-through ticket sales window).  This is a great forum for Brooks to do what he loves, and everyone at Sojourn Music knows he will make the most of it.

Worship & Arts Pastor Mike Cosper will join Brooks on stage, adding his multi-instrumental skills to Brooks’s signature sound.  Don’t miss this opportunity!

Read Justin Taylor’s thoughts on The Horse Fell Lame, which also includes four Brooks Ritter performance videos.

Visit Brooks on Myspace