Modern Worship

I have 3 CD’s on my iPod right now that I am playing constantly. To me, this is what worship music should be for our generation. Contemporary and compelling. Lyrics that challenge you and music that is just as good as anything you here on a current rock station. Most churches would have trouble pulling off some of these songs unless they have a large teenage/college/young adult crowd, but there are plenty of songs that would work in any contemporary church. All three have strong guitar driven rhythms, but are able to slow it down without sounding feminine. I agree with Mark Driscoll who says that much of contemporary praise music is like “prom songs to Jesus” and Chris Elrod who calls it “Panty Praise”. Here are some short thoughts about these three CD’s. Click on the album art to go straight to iTunes and listen to the songs.

Steve Fee, one of the worship leaders at Northpoint, Catalyst, and Passion has an incredible worship album out. These songs are being sung everywhere right now, and for good reason. They are easy to sing with and they have a strong message. I got to hear many of these at Catalyst this year and it was absolutely incredible to hear an entire coliseum singing at the top of their lungs. It was seriously loud, but the power came from the lyrics that focus on Christ.

Lee McDerment is the worship leader at NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina. I have been reading about this CD for quite some time on Perry Noble’s and Tony Morgan’s blog. At Unleash, I was able to pick up a copy. This is an incredible CD that takes you on a musical journey from loud arena rock to soft ballads that still sound powerful. I like the distorted rhythm and lead guitars. That crunch is what is missing in too much worship music today. I also like the fact that this CD does not sound “over produced” It is real and passionate. I think you will be hearing some of these songs in other churches real soon.

The passion conferences have brought us some incredible worship music. When you get Matt Redman, David Crowder, Charlie Hall, Steve Fee, Christy Nockels, and Chris Tomlin all together on the same stage, you can expect a serious worship encounter. I think that this newest Passion CD is the best one yet. It is a live worship album so you get to hear the response of the people at the conference. This is one of those CD’s that you just find yourself singing along with. The influence that Passion has on the music sung in churches today is incredible. You will hear almost every one of these songs across the country in churches every week.

You should check out all three CD’s if you get a chance. iTunes has all of them so you can also just pick out your favorite songs. They all have the FaithEngineer stamp of approval.

Mike

I am a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. I'm passionate about following Jesus and I love technology. I've been married to Jennifer for 28 years, and we have three adult children.

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1 Response

  1. Katy says:

    Hey mike! I wanted to tell you Thank you for these groups. I was looking for something for Avery to listen, and he likes rock. He loves the lee one.

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