2 Lord I Need You
By: Matt Maher Arr: Joel Mott

3 10000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)
By: Matt Redman Arr: Dan Galbraith / Brad Henderson

4 Great I Am
By: New Life Church Arr: Dan Galbraith / Brad Henderson

5 Cornerstone
By: Hillsong Live Arr: Joel Mott

6 Holy Spirit
By: Keith Getty / Kristyn Getty

7 One Thing Remains
By: Passion Arr: John Wasson / Grant Wall

8 Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)
By: Hillsong United Arr: Dan Galbraith

9 Crown Him (With Majesty)
By: Chris Tomlin Arr: Dan Galbraith

10 Jesus Only Jesus
By: Matt Redman, Passion Arr: Dan Galbraith

 
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Do you think brass and woodwinds can effectively be used in a modern worship setting? I sometimes I feel there is a big disconnect in what the style should sound like because of the brass.

Because of the complexities of today’s contemporary worship the answer isn’t an easy “yes” or “no” but rather, “it depends.”

No, brass and woodwinds are not heard in modern worship, or modern pop music for that matter (strings are another story – a good pop string arrangement can fit almost any modern worship song.) I can remember ten years ago when the local Willow Creek clone was paying a full brass section every week (can you imagine managing the charts for that!) I was joking with a friend that he should expect brass in worship again since you hear it in Justin Timberlake’s current hit (if the brass trend picks up it’ll probably take a year to trickle down to the Church.)

If your church wants a pure pop sound true to the style of the original recording and you’re production driven, don’t use brass or woodwinds. A jazzy brass lick doesn’t really fit into a Hillsong United guitar driven worship tune, does it?

Some churches are more interested in seeing people of various instrumental talents participate than they are with the resulting sound. However, understand that the typical modern ear of the average person in your congregation will, unfortunately for orchestra players, be more tuned to electric guitars and drums.

There’s a church in town that has quite a nice, folksy praise set with fairly contemporary songs utilizing just piano, acoustic guitar, flute, cello, violin and a few other instruments here and there. I like most styles of music and enjoyed the service. I asked a friend of mine if he had ever considered attending this church. He, being that typical congregation demographic, replied “I liked the preaching but the worship just didn’t do it for me. They had flutes and stuff.” This surprised me – my friend was brought up conservatively and even he wanted to hear some guitar riffs.

If you’re in a ministry where you want to use orchestral instruments (or are required to) yet still want the feel of contemporary worship, here are a few ideas.

The arrangement must fit the style of the song. The brass and woodwinds shouldn’t dominate – otherwise you risk sounding like a high school band concert. Instead, allow your praise band to carry the arrangement and let the orchestral instruments provide color – a line here and there that can cut through the mix. Heavily orchestrated Camp Kirkland-type arrangements are more suited to a First Baptist-type church and muddy the mix in a praise band setting.

In my HymnCharts arrangements I often double the strings with other instruments to add more punch to a melodic line. A violin by itself might not even be heard over a praise band, but doubling it with a flute or clarinet gives the line added strength. Modern worship is linear – I don’t want a bunch of intricate instrumental parts complicating the band groove.

The instruments themselves must fit the style of the song. In medium to smaller churches you run into the problem of a mishmash of random instruments. Don’t attempt to include wildly different instruments like a tuba and flute into your praise set. If possible, use instruments that complement each other – flute/violin, trumpet/clarinet, etc., and let the other instruments take a break that week (frankly, I don’t think I could ever find a place for a tuba on a Chris Tomlin song!)

In the olden days orchestral instruments in church were a weekly feature. In our more contemporary, praise band-driven world orchestral players usually provide occasional sonic icing to the electrified sound.

My first experiences with church sound level complaints was pretty flippant. I thought, “Seriously? Have you nothing more important to think about?” However, the truth of the matter is, church volume is something that cannot be ignored. If you have people in your congregation that complain about the volume being too loud, their volume with continue to increase until something happens.

When someone complains about the volume being too high, what’s your first reaction?

• Do you think those at the battle of Jericho complained about the volume?
• Wow! Really? We’ll have to re-check our levels next weekend.
• I’m sorry, let me turn that down for you.

I recommend the second reaction. There’s no need to start a battle. We’ve got more important things to do in the church than bicker about the volume like an old married couple.

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Multiple Platinum-Selling Recording Artist Carman Set To Begin Work On First Album/Music Video In 10 Years As Kickstarter Campaign Nears $200,000 Goal

With 16 RIAA Certified Platinum and Gold albums and videos, over 10 million albums sold and attendance records for the largest solo Christian concerts in history, Carman plans to record an album and video of all new music for the first time in over 10-years. Remarkably, it was a death sentence by doctors that paradoxically revived this entertainer’s creative spirit through his fans.

In March of this year, singer, songwriter and television/film actor/writer Carman was diagnosed with terminal, multiple myeloma cancer, a cancer of the blood that affects the body’s bone marrow, and was given a three to five year life expectancy by doctors. Stunned and initially devastated by the news, Carman’s spirit was soon lifted up by the overwhelming love and support received by tens of thousands of fans after posting the news on his Facebook page. Turning the death sentence into a renewed vision and hope for the future, Carman is not only determined to fight the cancer, but is also well underway to his first independent, fan-funded new album and music video through Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects.

Launched April 19, Carman’s Kickstarter campaign has already become the most successful Christian music campaign ever for Kickstarter. Raising more than $158,000 to date, the campaign donations are on target to reach Carman’s $200,000 goal by his June 18 deadline. Fans are able to donate as little as $1 up to several thousand dollars with commensurate gifts of appreciation from Carman once the campaign is fully funded and the album and music video are recorded and released. See http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/886460906/new-carman-album-and-music-video for all the details.

“I’m so excited about this incredible opportunity we all have through Kickstarter to make something happen as a team and a family,” says Carman to his fans. “Cancer pronounced a death sentence, but you have been life to me, rallying me back into the fight and praying me back to my feet. As one fan said on my Facebook page, ‘Look at what Jesus did in three years.’ So as for you and me, with this new project and us working together, the next three years are going to be a blast.”

In addition to the new music, Carman is determined to not let cancer detract from doing what he does best, sharing the hope of the gospel to live audiences. Touring from coast-to-coast, Carman shares his hit songs alongside his most recent offering, “The Flag,” a compelling anthem that weaves the Pledge of Allegiance into a melodic and inspirational message of pride in America. “The Flag” concept video can be seen now at http://youtu.be/4QDxqlP3Fn0, and Carman’s full schedule can be seen at http://www.carmanlive.com/.

About Carman:

Carman, whose full name is Carman Domenic Licciardello, is an enigmatic Christian music pioneer. Often described as part evangelist, part Vegas showman, his concerts are like a rock and roll Billy Graham Crusade. They combine drama, rock, comedy, funk, satire, acting, singing and preaching, all woven together for a unique style not duplicated by any other artist in any other musical genre. The only Christian “stadium act” ever, Carman drew 80,000 outdoors in Charlotte, NC, 71,132 to Texas Stadium and 50,000 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He also held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Christian sales charts for an astounding 33 weeks, with his The Champion album staying on the Billboard overall sales charts for a record 168 weeks. Known for such hit “story” songs as “Sunday’s on the Way,” “Satan Bite The Dust,” “Lazarus Come Forth,” “Revival in the Land,” “Witches Invitation,” “No Monsters,” “The Champion” and more, Carman has also has written songs for several motion pictures, including The Prince of Egypt.

With as many as 5,000 people responding each night to the gospel message delivered by Carman, he has also collected the most names on a petition in American history by any individual – one million signatures for a constitutional amendment favoring prayer in public school. He is further the co-founder of the Parable Christian Film Festival and received the Humanitarian Award, whose other recipients include former President and Mrs. Regan, Dr. Billy Graham, Dr. Bill Bright and others.

Among the greatest of Carman’s contributions to Christianity at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century is his bringing back a full force, worship revival – not just through song and music, but also through dance and drama, revolutionizing Christian arts and music.

More information on Carman can be found at http://www.carman.org, www.facebook.com/CarmanLicciardello and Twitter (@carmantv).

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Comedian Tim Hawkins lists the top 101 church cuss words.

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I was recently watching a well-known worship leader lead worship at a church that was broadcasting its service online. His leadership was excellent, the band was playing well, and the songs were really good. There was one problem, though. The keys were all way too high.

I’ve written before about the art (it’s not really a science) of choosing the right key for your congregation, so I won’t go into all those details again. You can read this article if you’re wondering what guidelines to follow (generally) to choose congregation-friendly keys. But if you’re not convinced that it matters what key your songs are in, here are some effects that high keys have on a congregation.

They stop singing
They might not all stop singing at once, but they do start dropping off like flies pretty quickly. The brave and enthusiastic will keep on singing. But the people who are on the fence about singing (and you know that every church has them) will stop singing first. Then even the eager will start dropping out because their throats hurt.

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Some have blasted the document:

This goes well beyond just manipulation of members. By asking volunteers to sign this document puts well-meaning members of Elevation Church at great legal peril. If the church perceives a member is violating any terms of this document by publicly criticizing the church over finances – or even publicly disclosing abuse within the walls of the church – the church will consider them to have done “irreparable damage” to “the Church”, and the church will seek a court injunction against the member.

And here’s Pastor Steven Furtick’s infamous “Hey Haters” video:

What do you think: is the confidentiality agreement prudent business or cult-like?

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Love it or hate it, the new, 60-foot cross on the church’s grounds fits that vision.

Construction of the cross started April 29, and a crane last week lifted the top section of the cross into place, bringing it to its full height. Church Deacon Wayne Korsberg slid into a fall-restraint harness as volunteer workers from the church used a lift to fasten sections of white, corrugated steel to the cross frame.

The cross weighs an estimated 25,000 pounds, will be lit by three lights and sits in enough concrete that it should withstand winds up to 90 mph, The Janesville Gazette reported.

The community reaction to the cross has been surprising, Korsberg said.

“Everyone I’ve talked to has reacted positively so far. A lot of people from the neighborhood have come by, and some of them have actually donated to the project,” he said.

Korsberg said he hopes people of all faiths, Christian and non-Christian, will flock to the giant metal cross.

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See more pictures of the cross.

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2 Our God
Chris Tomlin

3 How Great Is Our God
Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves, Ed Cash

4 Mighty To Save
Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan

5 Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
Chris Tomlin, Louie Giglio, John Newton

6 Revelation Song
Jennie Lee Riddle

7 One Thing Remains (Your Love Never Fails)
Brian Johnson, Christa Black Gifford, Jeremy Riddle

8 Blessed Be Your Name
Beth Redman, Matt Redman

9 Here I Am To Worship
Tim Hughes

10 In Christ Alone
Keith Getty, Stuart Townend

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