First of all, if you don’t go to Origins, you need to know a few things.  1) Our Austin-based congregation is about 60-80 people and primarily 20-somethings.  2) We do the bulk of worship songs at the end of the service.  We only have a couple up front to help set the tone and set our hearts on God so we can better receive the Word.  Then at the end we are able to have a time of reflection and praise for who God is, what He’s done for us, and what He’s calling us to.  This means that when you’re looking at my set lists, song 3 is almost always directly related to the message and songs 4 & 5 (or more) tend to branch off of that.  This, of course, takes some planning with the pastor, but it’s well worth it.

I’ll run down some of the things I consider when picking out songs.  Of course, make sure you’re praying a lot, but for other practical ideas, here you go…

1) The Message :: I always start with the song right after the message.  What song(s) will allow us to reflect on the passage(s) we went through and the message?  I don’t want us to just start singing and forget everything we just heard.  So long as it’s fitting, I typically intro a song by reiterating something that the pastor spoke on and tying it in to what we’re about to sing.  The lyrics here are obviously the most important factor, but the mood and tone of the song obviously have to play a part.  I’m probably not going to rock out some fast-paced song right after the message.

2) Flow :: I have the first song picked and now I want to make sure we can flow into the rest of the worship set.  Not only do I want it to flow musically, but also lyrically and emotionally.

2.1) The key signature is a huge factor here.  It’s tough to go from one extreme to another, especially if a capo is involved.  So when it’s three songs consecutively, many times I’ll pick songs all in the same key.  I don’t make this a hard rule, but it certainly helps eliminate that awkward silence between songs.  Sometimes I’ll just change the key.  For instance, this last week I went from “From the Inside Out” into “Jesus Paid it All”.  Normally I play “From the Inside Out” in the key of C by either playing open chords or by playing G with my capo on the 5th fret.  Since “Jesus Paid it All” is in the key of B, I just put the capo on 4 instead and one song went right into the next.

2.2) Lyrics.  First thing’s first – are the lyrics theologically sound?  This might seem obvious, but there are definitely some songs I had sung a ton at previous churches that when I took a look at them now I’ve realized I don’t agree with.  Sometimes it’s not a gaping hole in doctrine so much as something that’s just confusing.  I also avoid the “Jesus is My Boyfriend” lyrics for the most part.  If I’d get cheesed out by reading or saying something outside the context of a song, I’m not going to sing it.  For instance, we did “Revelation Song” a while back but changed some of the lyrics.  I just couldn’t get past that line about being clothed in rainbows of living color.  I don’t talk like that and I can’t get in to singing like that.  Assuming the song titles I’m looking at have already been filtered through, I’m just wanting to make sure I’m not flying from one thought to a totally different one.

2.3) Emotions, shmemotions.  Well, this one is weird to talk about, because I don’t want to come across as if I’m trying to manipulate people’s emotions.  However, emotive worship is most certainly part of how God has wired us to respond to him.  Not every person has the same responses to the same songs or to the same circumstances, so there’s not a whole lot that can be done here.  What I’m really trying to do is make sure there’s enough dynamic in the lyrics and feel of the songs to ensure we’re not spending too much time in one arena.  For instance, I don’t want to go from one super intense song to another otherwise it could wear people out.  I’m not suggesting to go for surface level songs, just trying to make sure there’s a balance.

3) Over time I try and track which songs best resonate with the congregation.  There have been songs that I’ve loved but the group just doesn’t get in to.  Since I have lights in my eyes and phones in my ears, it’s hard to see and hear what’s going on all the time.  I typically ask around to some of my closer friends to find out what they think and I’ve gotten some really good feedback that way.

4) Variety, but not too much.  I have an Excel spreadsheet  I made that automatically calculates to tell me the total play count of a song as well as the last date it was played.  I don’t want to overdo a song just because it works.  I also want to keep things fresh by introducing new songs (hence this entire website’s existence), but I have to be careful to make sure that new songs are soaking in.  Nobody likes the awkwardness of staring at a screen not knowing how a song goes.  Sometimes that’s just inevitable, but a large part of that is controllable.  I’m not going to do three songs in a row that I’ve only done twice in the last 6 months as that would frustrate a number of people in the congregation.

I’m sure I’m leaving something out, but those are some basic things I think about when picking out songs.  Once Sunday morning hits, I make sure my priority is worshiping myself.  If my heart is set on making much of God, the Holy Spirit will do the rest.

We’re starting the sermon on the mount this week, specifically a passage that modern bible translations have given the subheading: beatitudes. As we study Jesus’ words and see him flip upside down our understanding of being blessed, “It is Well” seems an appropriate song. I’m sure many of us can reflect on a time when our soul shouldn’t have been well by the world’s standards, but with the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, we were able to have a peace and joy that surpasses all understanding.

This version of the traditional hymn was done by Michael Bleecker, the same guy who wrote “Overwhelm Me” which seems to have become a favorite at Origins. My hope is that hearing and singing it in a non traditional way will cause those of us who’ve known this song for years to re-listen to the lyrics. It is such an incredibly powerful song and I don’t want for us to pass by it without hearing the truth in it and worshiping through it. I hope you guys like it.

I recorded this while I was in New Mexico a few weeks ago and it was pretty awesome being in the mountains and singing this song. I’ll shout out a special thanks to Justin Caldwell for all of the help recording as well as the vocal coaching.

Oh, the girl singing is Whitney. She’s just one of many talented musicians at Origins. It was a blessing getting to sit down and record with her. Thanks, Whit!

I would usually post a video here, and I did record a video, but I can’t find the stupid cable to get the stupid video off the stupid camera. I’m not frustrated at all . However, since I record the audio directly into the computer and sync it with the video, I do in fact have the audio, so I will at least post that.

I used my electric this week instead of my acoustic and I also threw in an ambient “pad” in the background that was made by this dude, who blogs about guitar and worship. Thanks for the pad, I’ll be using it Sunday!

Anyway, I really like this song and it fits perfectly with the sermon series that we’re in. Give it a listen below and check out the lyrics as well. I hope you’ll dig it.

As usual, I only give this one take because I don’t have time to do a real recording, so please be forgiving of my singing and a couple of wrong chords.

We’ll be starting off worship with this Sunday morning. It’s a super easy song and will likely be familiar to some of you.

Oh yeah, some of you may remember my new delay pedal…I decided to figure it out a little more and I recorded this video using the pedal which is why it’ll sound a little weird (weird but hopefully good!).

Matthew 7:8, Matthew 21:22, Mark 11:24, Luke 11:10, John 16:24, James 4:3, 1 John 3:22, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Psalm 2:8.

As I reflect on these verses I realize how little I pray and how weak my prayers are.  I hope I can step up to this week’s challenge and begin to pray big!

This song, by Shane Barnard, is a reflection of these verses and others.  We’ll sing it right after the message and I hope that it draws us into the message and turns our hearts to worship.  I’m looking forward to this week and what everyone’s response will be.

EDIT (adding something I just remembered and wanted to talk about): One of the greatest parts of last night was seeing and hearing a multitude of people worshiping through song.  There was a large diversity of people both in age/demographic and in style of worship.  The most memorable part for me was a guy sitting in front of us who was so old he could barely stand on his own.  He had to get help from the people around him just to stand up, but the guy was determined to be on his feet to worship.  You could tell that while he knew it was perfectly acceptable to sit down, he wasn’t satisfied with that option.  At one point he put all his weight and support on his cane with his right hand so he could lift his left arm high in the air, complete with his old-man top hat in-hand!  Seriously, the dude was like 90+ with a cane and at a Shane Barnard and Phil Wickham concert worshiping his heart out…not the typical concert-goer in my experience.  If I live that old (which I hope I don’t), I hope that is me…rockin at a concert and putting every bit of energy I have into worshiping!

Along with Shane was, well, the other Shane since the band name is Shane and Shane, but also there was Phil Wickham who played right before the Shanes and Bethany Dillon who opened the show. I had never heard Bethany before, but she was quite good, though a tad awkward from the stage. And she married Shane, so I assume she’s got solid beliefs…and it might explain where she picked up some of the on-stage awkwardness. Phil is the guy who wrote that Cannons song that we sing pretty often and he’s got a few on that first album that I want to introduce at Origins soon. The sampling we got last night from his new album seemed pretty good, but I haven’t listened to the whole thing yet. I have been listening to Shane and Shane’s new album a bunch lately and really enjoy it.

Anyway, if you haven’t checked out any of these artists, you really should. All three have brand new albums and are definitely worth buying.

Click the images below to preview and/or buy the album on iTunes.

So why bring this up? Well, it really does have me thinking about what songs we sing, what they say, if they’re biblical, and whether or not I can relate. We’re introducing a song called “It is You” this week that I hope and pray doesn’t disgust anyone, isn’t cheesy, and speaks truth. It’s a pretty simple song…lyrics like ~”will you meet us here? we have come to worship you. god of mercy and grace. it is you praises are for”, etc. There is, however, something that the conservative backgrounded peeps may not be used to, “As we life up our hands…” To expand on point #5 above, if I ask you to lift your hands, it’s not because it’s a proper way to do things and it’s not to try and conjure some emotion that wouldn’t otherwise be there. Instead, I think there’s something to be said of us taking a certain posture towards God. In scripture we see bowing on knees, face to the ground, jumping and dancing, lifting of hands, quiet reflection, and more. I believe as we get out of our comfort zones, we create the potential to encounter God in a unique way. Come Sunday morning, you’re free to sit, stand, kneel, jump, or whatever you want…but I encourage you during this song in particular to try lifting your hands. If you relate at all to the blogger, then singing something that isn’t true probably won’t sit well with you. So singing, “as we lift up our hands” while we’re all standing there twiddling our thumbs is a tad silly, isn’t it? Again, I’m not going to force anyone into anything, but I don’t want us to be a congregation that just goes through the motions. I suppose the other option is to metaphorically lift your hands, or perhaps to just not sing those lyrics.

I first heard this song done by The Stillpoint Band down at Hill Country SW and it always engaged me in worship. Unfortunately, the only recorded version I could find out there was by the Newsboys and I don’t like it at all. But rest assured, it should make for a great song Sunday morning! Check it out below, but a little disclaimer: I just recorded this during my lunch break and thus didn’t bother to set up a mic and plug in my guitar. The audio is straight from the camera so won’t sound as good as usual. I also widened the lens angle so you’ll have to see my face on this one…I heard that just the guitar was awkward, but this feels more awkward for me!

First you’ve got the circumstances leading up to that night. Mary and Joseph both get the crap scared out of them by angels, then have to deal with the cultural implications of being a pregnant virgin – imagine how fun that must have been! I also wonder if she was a tad freaked out about how exactly the Holy Spirit was going to impregnate her. Ok, so then they’re having to flee to Bethlehem to avoid their son-to-be being killed by Harod. Oh, let’s not forget the pressure of birthing the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD!

Enter night-of. My wife gave birth to Jude the all natural way and let me tell you, there is nothing silent or calm about THAT! Mary would have been screaming, Joseph freaking out, baby Jesus crying…and gooey. And the hospital nurses would have…oh, that’s right, THEY WERE IN A FREAKING MANGER!

I suppose there may have been a few moments of quiet after they got Jesus cleaned up and he finally went down for a nap, but those moments would have been short lived. The wise men were on their way, and don’t be fooled into thinking there were just three dudes walking along a quiet road. First of all, where did “three” come from in the first place? Secondly, they would have been traveling with an entourage, not by themselves. And nothing would have been calm for this entourage either as they were traveling down a pretty dangerous road, full of robbers and such. Mary and Joseph would have surely seen or heard these guys coming from a pretty good ways away and might have even been a little freaked out as to who was heading their way.

All of this adds up to a night and circumstance that doesn’t really send out silent quiet vibes. But whatever, I’ll end my rant now. And please note that I’m mostly just ranting for humor’s sake, but make no mistake – I really dislike that song

EDIT: Brannen, the pastorman, pointed out that the wise men never actually made it to the manger, only the shepherds did. Jerk.

Since I’m talking about night time and I like posting with pictures, here’s one my brother took that I think is pretty dang slick:

Bah Humbug, err, I mean, Merry Christmas!

Well, here’s why I’m writing about this: I can’t relate! Seeing all of the complaints and theories as to why it’s so stressful has just made me thankful for the Origins community. Look, I know we get too loud sometimes and I know my style can’t please everyone, but it would seem to me that everybody else knows that too. It seems that way because I have rarely if ever gotten any complaints. Some complaints go to Brannen and he always lets me know the feedback, legit or not…and there simply isn’t a lot of complaining. I’d like to publicly say THANK YOU!!! Thanks to everyone who comes on a Sunday morning ready to worship regardless of style. To everyone who knows that making much of God has zero to do with me and my ability to lead well but has everything to do with our individual hearts. To everyone who has come to grips with the fact that Me and Cool have parted ways long ago and there is no way I will be up to date with the latest worship-leader fashion.

I will say that I have been there. I have been at the church where everyone feels entitled to an opinion on everything. I have very little tolerance for entitlement and I feel extremely blessed to be part of a church where people just don’t have that attitude. Thank you, God!