NWLC Day 4

It’s Thursday night and the National Worship Leader Conference has come to an end. It has been a marvelous week and we have taken in enormous amounts of information. I know that we will be processing this for several weeks as we comb through new resources and look back through our notes from 4 amazing days in Austin.

Kim and I have had a blast attending this conference with one of my closest friends in the world, Sam Lynn. I met Sam while I was a college student at Anderson University. We spent a summer traveling the country on behalf of the school and have been the best of friends ever since. Sam is a gifted musician and an incredible worship leader. He serves a church in my hometown of Evansville, IN and leads several thousand people in worship every weekend. Sam is a dear brother in the Lord and has been a great source of encouragement to me throughout our friendship.

Tonight was the night when they really “iced the cake” that we have been baking all week long. This was an amazing night of worship that involved Communion, Ancient songs and some of the most amazing new worship music I have ever heard. Tonight we got the chance to hear CeCe Winans with her live band. It was awesome! We also were absolutely floored by Israel Houghton and his band. He has brought us songs like “Friend of God,” “You Are Good” and “Again I Say, Rejoice.” He was amazing and it was beyond all doubt the loudest set of worship I have ever heard!

The highlight for me personally was the opening worship set led by Tommy Walker. He is a worship leader in a local church in Los Angeles and has given us some amazing worship songs (“He Knows My Name,” “That’s Why We Praise Him” and “Only A God Like You” to name a few). He used one of his new songs tonight that we will be working on at our church over the coming weeks called, “I Have A Hope.” It’s an amazing song! I’ll close this post with some of the lyrics.

It’s been a great trip and we are grateful for the chance to have been here. We are also exhausted and are looking forward to heading home tomorrow, getting some rest and a big hug from Sophie. Yes, I know that is terribly pathetic but we do miss her!

Here is a sampling of those lyrics to “I Have A Hope.” It is my hope that they will be an encouragement to you as you go about your day today! See you soon.

“I have a hope I have a future, I have a destiny that is yet awaiting me. My life’s not over. A new beginning’s just begun. I have a hope. I have this hope.

God has a plan. It’s not to harm me but it’s to prosper me and to hear me when I call. He intercedes for me, working all things for my good. Though trials may come, we have this hope.

I will yet praise Him, my great Redeemer. I will yet stand up and give Him glory with my life. He takes my darkness and He turns it into light I will yet praise Him, my Lord, my God.”

 

NWLC Day 3

This conference continues to amaze me. It continues to stretch us and challenge us in so many areas. I can also tell you that it is so hot in Austin in July. Wow….

Today, we heard some amazing worship bands. All of these happen to be some of my favorites: Lincoln Brewster (Majestic, Love The Lord, Amazed to name a few songs) was incredible! We also heard the worship team from Gateway Church (Revelation Song, New Doxology to name a few) and they rocked the house! We also had the chance to sit under the leadership and teaching of Don Moen of Integrity Music. Don is a friend of ours and has been a tremendous inspiration in the area of worship leadership.

We also attended songwriting classes taught by Tommy Walker (That’s Why We Praise Him, He Knows My Name, As We Worship You) and Chris Tomlin (Amazing Grace – My Chains Are Gone, How Great is Our God, Enough, Famous One, Made To Worship & Holy Is The Lord). It was truly an incredible experience to sit under the teaching of these two trailblazers in the area of worship! They have given the church some of our most precious songs and it was a great opportunity to get a glimpse into their writing process.

We also heard an incredible message from Gordon MacDonald about planning worship for multiple generations of people. It brought fresh insight for all of us!

We have also had many incredible meals while we have been here. Yesterday, we had lunch at Z’Tejas. It was awesome!!!!! This is an amazing chain in the Western United States serving a blend of Mexican and Southwest influenced food.

You cannot come to Texas and not sample some BBQ! So, tonight we ate at Rudy’s. This is a very unique dining experience. All Rudy’s restaurants are attached to gas stations. When you walk in you will see a long roped area that leads up to a counter where you order. Inside this roped line are iced coolers filled with drinks. When you get to the counter they want to know if you’ve ever been there before. If not, you are served a sampling of any of their BBQ so that you can make an educated choice! Tonight, Kim and I chose a sampling of Baby Back Ribs, Brisket and Smoked Sausage. All of this is served with a stack of white bread, sliced raw onions and pickles. There is a huge container of sauce as well! For sides we had creamed corn, potato salad and slaw. This place is awesome! Once you make your selections you eat at long picnic tables with everybody else. We sat next to some real Texas cowboys tonight….cowboy hats, boots and all!

If you ever make it down this way, we can highly recommend both of these great places!

NWLC Day 1

Today I am writing from Austin, TX where Kim and I are attending the National Worship Leader Conference. This is the 2nd year for this conference and I am honored to be here for the 2nd time. Last year the conference was an amazing experience and I have really been looking forward to coming back again. I’ll work to write a post at the end of every day to share my thoughts on the conference.

The conference is held at Riverbend Church, a body of more than 6,000. One of the first things that jumps out at you about this church is the campus. There are at least 8 buildings on the campus that sits on top of a mountain overlooking the river (hence the name of the church).

This is a picture I took with my phone, which isn’t the greatest but will give you a sense of the worship space. There are nearly 2,500 worship leaders attending this conference. I don’t know that I have ever experienced worship like this before. To have this many worship leaders in one place is awesome and when they start to sing it is an amazing sound!

Tonight was all about worship and the theology behind it. The headlining worship leader was one of my favorites, Paul Baloche who is absolutely one of the best and most heart felt leaders I have ever seen. His set was very moving and really took all of us to a special place.

The thing that rocked my world tonight was the worship set led by Matt Redman. I have been familiar with Matt’s music over the years but have never had the chance to see him live. He has given the Church some real gifts in songs like “Blessed Be Your Name,” “Better Is One Day,” “Let My Words Be Few,” “Once Again” and “The Heart of Worship.” (to name just a few) He is an amazing songwriter and tonight I was blown away by his set.

Worship leaders can be guilty of saying some pretty cheesy and weak things in between songs but everything Matt said carried huge spiritual weight. There was nothing weak about it. Transitions are a crucial piece to any worship service and his were done incredibly well.

One of the songs he shared tonight is called, “You Never Let Go.” It speaks of God loving us and leading us with His steady hand. No matter what we face He is with us and will never let us go. Never. Just take a second and think about that. What a powerful spiritual truth. I would encourage you to download the song from iTunes. Find a copy of it and take a listen. 

I’ll write more tomorrow. Here are the lyrics to “You Never Let Go.”

Even though I walk through the valley 
Of the shadow of death,
Your perfect love is casting out fear.
And even when I´m caught in the middle 
Of the storms of this life,
I won´t turn back; I know You are near.

And I will fear no evil,
For my God is with me.
And if my God is with me,
Whom then shall I fear? Whom then shall I fear?

O no, You never let go,
Through the calm and through the storm
O no, You never let go,
In every high and every low
O no, You never let go, Lord You never let go of me.

And I can see a light that is coming
for the heart that holds on 
A glorious light beyond all compare.
And there will be an end to these troubles,
But until that day comes,
We´ll live to know You here on the earth.

Yes, I can see a light that is coming 
For the heart that holds on,
And there will be an end 
To these troubles, 
But until that day comes,
Still I will praise You, 
Still I will praise You.”

“You Never Let Go” by Matt & Beth Redman. (C) 2006 Thankyou Music.