This past Sunday was just an honor to be part of, the entire weekend actually. Saturday we took part in Help Portrait and it was incredible. It was awesome to see local families from right around our church neighborhood come in get their makeover, family pics, have fun and feel good. It was such a blessing to be able to serve our local, and I mean local, community in that way. We purposely targeted just a small neighborhood right across from us and have some plans to serve that same community next week. Incredibly convicting to hear that some of the families didn’t even know we were there. We are going to change that this coming year.

On Sunday our newly formed choir/vocal ensemble/soul sangers did an incredible performance of Kirk Franklin’s “Now Behold the Lamb“. The amount of soul on display was probably a surprise to all who are used to our white boy, dark, indie rock vibe. Now the secret is out, we have some folks who can saaaang! I for one am stoked the secret is out and can’t wait to get them up their more often.

We also did our arrangement of “What Child Is This“, my favorite Christmas song by a country mile. To me it’s one of the few Christmas songs that actually flows in a normal worship set. Most of the others you have a sort of mental adjustment to, like ok now we’re singing a Christmas song. I thought the congregation really entered into it as a worship song and it was just really powerful.

1. Jesus’ Name – Ryan Delmore
2. God of This City – Bluetree (loop available)
3. What Child is This
4. Everlasting God – New Life (loop available)
5. With Everything – Hillsong (loop available)

This post is part of Fred McKinnon’s Set List Sundays.

As I experience more and more of Christian life, and live in community with more and more people and share their experiences, I increasingly realize how little experience has to do with faith. I remember counseling a young man who said if God just did something powerful in front of him, around him or to him it would be so much easier to walk in faith. I stopped him and said no it wouldn’t be easier. If God came to you now and turned your water into wine, walked on water in your pool, rose your family from the dead it would make just as much difference to you as the disciples or the crowds. You’d be astonished but, the next day still have little increase in faith.

Faith is a gift of the Spirit, not an artifact of experience. This was moving in my spirit as we sang Everlasting God amongst a sea of uncertainty in the congregation. I think everyone in the congregation, including myself, needed a reminder of Christ as our rock, never changing, unfailing God. He is the same, extends the same grace, love and truth. The song is such a humbling reminder and confession of who our God is. He is good, he will provide, he will sustain, he will carry, he will speak, he will lead, he will illuminate, he will comfort, he will heal and he will rescue. Thank you Lord.

1. The World Can’t Take It Away – Ryan Delmore
2. How I Live – Kyle Campos (loop available)
3. God of This City – Bluetree (loop available)
4. Our God Reigns – Delirious (loop available)
5. Everlasting God – New Life (loop available)

This post is part of Fred McKinnon’s Set List Sundays.

This Sunday was the first week I added some vocal cues to our click track channel. With an increasing number of loops in regular rotation and increasing complexity in arrangements it just seemed like a wise move to make. I think everyone in the band would agree that it has a calming effect so we think less about the arrangement and just play. I’m not worried about missing a repeat on a chorus because my voice will be calmly but forcefully telling me to repeat. I’ll have a post tomorrow on how we did this technically and the benefits.

It was a good set, we played it well and the response was good. We worked on a new arrangement of Come Thou Fount that I think went really well. Looking forward to mixing that and see if we can’t get a decent mix of it posted. One thing is clear, for us to take the next step we need to get a Mac Pro in the booth and stop with this farm of laptops.

We did Ryan Delmore’s song Jesus’ Name for the first time. Went over really well, if you haven’t heard it, click on it below and get it, awesome song. Great up tempo worship songs are hard to come by, I’m thankful for Ryan hookin us(the church) up. We also did True Love with a condensed intro, I modified the loop for “every-Sunday” usage and condensed that long intro I had in the loop for the special Easter Service performance.

1. Skeleton Bones – John Mark McMillan (loop not yet available)
2. Jesus’ Name – Ryan Delmore
3. Come Thou Fount
4. True Love – Phil Wickham (loop available – UPDATED)
5. Everlasting God – New Life (loop available)

This post is part of Fred McKinnon’s Set List Sundays.

This Sunday was a big day for our church. We announced to the church the new leadership structure with our elders(which I’m part of), the leaving of one elder and addition of another. It really is an exciting new chapter for LCC, we are better positioned to do what God has given us vision and gifting for than ever before. We have an incredible team of leaders ready to execute and I can’t wait to see what this next year has for us.

Worship went really well, got many compliments on the sound (great mix Dave!). We had a few timing issues today, click track wasn’t as loud in our in ears as I would have liked, but from what I hear it wasn’t noticeable to the congregation. We just never seemed to settle in on the click on a song or 2. Haven’t had that problem in a long time, I blame the monitor mix which we’ll fix. We also played the full “Skeleton Bones” by John Mark McMillan today. I recorded an acoustic and shaker loop to go with it and it went really well. It’s an incredible song and I’m excited to have a new high quality fast song in the rotation.

1. Rain Down – Delirious (loop not yet available)
2. Skeleton Bones – John Mark McMillan (loop not yet available)
3. Hosanna – Hillsong (loop available)
4. Everlasting God – New Life (loop available)
5. (Gloria 34 – Taylor Sorensen – got cut)

This post is part of Fred McKinnon’s Set List Sundays.

I used to be really bummed out when I’d see people in the congregation who were obviously bothered by the worship music. I would try not to take it personally but as a young worship leader(16-23 or so) it would weigh on me. Nowadays though, I’m older, wiser, about 30 pounds heavier and have a much better perspective and understanding. Now those who give me the blank, sometimes angry stares just make me chuckle a bit inside. Don’t get me wrong, I wish they’d enter in, it’s my desire and duty to lead them in worship. But I know our style is not for everyone and it will turn off some people, especially churched people, that’s just reality.

Coming off our elder’s retreat/strategy weekend our leadership is as unified as ever as to our direction in arts, technology, doctrine, pastoral care, you name it. So I feel like my back is covered. Onto the days events… We ended our countdown video with an amazing video made by Granger Community Church on S.M. Lockridge’s famous “Seven Way King” sermon, a.k.a “That’s My King.”

That’s My King! from Albert Martin on Vimeo.

We went into worship as the video ended, the video is so powerful, blows me away every time I watch it.

1. We Cry Out – Kim Walker (loop available)
2. Dress Us Up – John Mark McMillan
3. Our God Reigns – Delirious (loop available)
4. Where You Go I’ll Go – Brian and Jenn Johnson (loop available)
5. Everlasting God – New Life (loop available)

Then I got to give mad props to my pastor, Aaron Dailey and my bass player Josh for their spontaneous, incredible acapella leading of Amazing Grace. Sounded amazing!

This post is part of Fred McKinnon’s Set List Sundays.

To my mind the best song to come out of New Life is Everlasting God. You won’t hear too many melodies better than this one, and the production is really top class. Glenn Packiam’s vocals on this always impressed me, his tone is fantastic on this. We do this song quite often at LCC and as far as corporate worship goes this is one of the more engaging ministry type songs we have in rotation.

You can stream the loop below but you are not able to download the loop. In order to download the loop files you need to send payment through PayPal. The price for this loop is $2.99. Once payment is received I’ll contact you and give you download instructions. The following is what’s delivered upon receipt of payment:

• Loop (high quality stereo mp3 and aif)
• Vocal Cue track (aif)
• Master Reason 4 file (rns)
• Arrangement Details (rtf, shows exactly what parts come in at what time)

As always though please comment and rate the loop to let me know what you think. I had a lot of fun making this loop and I’m pleased that the original customer is very happy with it.

Song: Everlasting God by New Life Worship, My Savior Lives album
Key: Em
Bpm: 148

Note: the free podcast file is lower quality mp3 (128kbps)

 Everlasting God by New Life Worship (loop) [6:13m]: Download

Much of the congregation was worshiping at the foot of the Cardinals altar and didn’t make it to church. Jesus faced some tough competition for worship and lost out on some due praise. I kid I kid…no really…just kidding….no I’m serious…joke…not really. I’m not a football guy so I wasn’t even aware there was a big game. Kurt Warner can sure throw the ball…but can he save your soul? Again just joking…not really…totally kidding…nope.

My cold is getting worse, I feel like I’ve been sick for a month. We had to shuffle some songs because while a 50% accuracy is an incredible shooting % in basketball, it’s a really awful % of notes missed vocally. Thanks to Kendra who basically led the set and sounded great as usual.

1. We Cry Out – Kim Walker (loop available)
2. Sweetly Broken – Jeremy Riddle (linked to arrangement that’s closer to ours)
3. So Near – Vineyard UK (loop available)
4. Come Thou Fount
5. Everlasting God – New Life (loop not yet available)

This post is part of Fred McKinnon’s Set List Sundays.