Kinship worship jamming

The last kinship worship leaders jamming session for this year is on Thursday 14th at Mark & Louise's at 8pm.

These are such great times, and its so good to see people growing in their worship leading. Come and bring your guitar, whatever your standard of playing.

New additions to blog coming.....

Some new additions coming to this very blog.

A new song list is on its way early next week and wait for it...........a revolutionary new way for WSVC people to get song chords without having to nag your worship leader! (Once Mark can work out how to do it!) :-)

Bet you can hardly wait!!!

Next Small Group Leaders Training

Hey

its the next Small Group Leaders Training on Thursday 30th November at Mark & Louise's at 8pm. Its for anyone involved or wanting to be involved in leading small group worship.

Come along with your instrument and jam with us and get practical help and guidance in effectively leading a good worship set.

We don't really care if you don't think you're good enough. Everyone welcome!

Vineyard Records live recording

25th and 26th November 2006

Vineyard Records are recording a the new UK Vineyard live album featuring Nigel Briggs, Wendy O’Connell and others.The resultant album will be available for international release in June 2007 with ticket holders receiving a £1.50 discount* on their purchase of the album.

When: Sat 25th November 2006 @ 7.30pmSun 26th November 2006 @ 7:30pm

Where: Hosted by Vineyard Records UK at Hull Vineyard, 383 Beverley Road, Hull

How to book:Tickets**: £1.50 – advance booking only.Call our booking hotline between 9am - 5pmMon - Fri on 0870 1200 553 or 24/7 at www.vineyardrecords.co.uk

Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment

To find out more including news, directions, parking, food and accomodation please visit:www.vineyardrecords.co.uk/live06

Small group worship leading training

Hey, just to let you know that we've had to move the next small group worship leader training to the following Thursday 2nd November at Mark & Louise's house.

Starts at 8pm, and if its anything like the last one it will be good fun. We basically go through a set and learn some new songs and go over stuff like how to form a good set, song flow, vocal training, playing with skill and more, giving you the tools to effectively lead worship in a small group.

Bring your guitar or keyboard, all standards welcome!

New worship CD from Anaheim Vineyard

Here's an interesting review of the new CD coming out of Anaheim Vineyard, from Kingdomrain.net which is Don Williams website.

'The Anaheim Vineyard. For many years, this was the focal point of all things Vineyard. John Wimber was the pastor and most of the influential Vineyard worship leaders and songwriters either spent some time there, or at the very least, played and taught at seminars and conferences there. There is rich history in Anaheim, and more than a few of us look yearn for more of the same.Some of the values that the Vineyard has always taught with regard to worship are to sing to the Lord, to ask for His presence to come and to wait expectantly for Him to meet with us. The Vineyard movement sprang up concurrently with a wave of "contemporary" worship music. However, saying you play contemporary worship music is not the same as saying you play Vineyard music. The Vineyard has always sought to have an intimate relationship with Jesus. And it has always strived to keep songs simple enough that any church, at any degree of competence, could play and worship to. I say all this as a way of introduction to this new album. To me, it harkens back to the values that John Wimber embraced. Simple songs of love that are easily learned and played. That's not to say that they are not extremely well done; it's just that you can strip them down to a guitar or piano and still worship to them. That's what Wimber wanted from his worship leaders; to equip the Church to lead us in worship.The three worship leaders are Jeremy Riddle, Tony Sanchez and Cindy Rethmeier. Jeremy's voice is so incredibly good! He brings to mind Mac Powell of Third Day. And Tony Sanchez is very similar. They both have deep, rich tones and sing with such passion. But, for me, hearing Cindy Rethmeier sing again was like going back home! Her voice is so unmistakable, and I was instantly transported back to one of the many worship conferences I attended where she led. I can still see her up on stage, hands thrust our sideways, almost cross-like, head tilted up to heaven, singing "Meet Us". Cindy's first song on the album, "Great Thanks" is the epitome of what I'm talking about. It is simple, certainly nothing new theologically (as if anything is, right?) and you can start singing along almost immediately. My four year old daughter made me play it over and over again while we were driving, she loves it so much.Jeremy Riddle has four songs on the album, but none better than "As Children". This is pure Vineyard. Check these lyrics:As children we come with arms open wideSo desperate for You, so in need of Your lifeMay our praise fill Your ears, may our cries touch Your heartWe need Your presence to change who we are, so we askCome Holy Spirit, come in Your powerCome inhabit our praiseCome and reign in our lives...The song is kind of in the "Dwell" mold, rhythmically. And, even though it can be played simply, as the basic chords suggest, he is obviously playing something else. Have fun learning!Tony Sanchez, who delighted us last year with "Bless His Name", gives us four songs. My favorite is one he wrote with his wife, Carla. It's "Great Are You Lord". It's another simple song, but very poetic. And, again, the chords are simple (if you capo), but a lot of fun to play in the key of Bb, if you dare!All of the Vineyard CDs are enhanced, meaning they provide, for free, the chord charts and overhead masters. The Vineyard is committed to "from the Church, for the Church". They WANT you to learn their songs, and they make it easy to do it.I am thankful that this album is out. It brings me back to MY roots. Thank you, Anaheim Vineyard.'

Review by John Ausmus

http://www.kingdomrain.net/content/view/182/32/

Songteach @ Vineyard Records.Co.Uk

Have you ever been some place or listened to a CD, heard a song and wondered how to play it. The chaps at Vineyard Records have come up with just the thing called Songteach. Its basically a collection of videos on the website showing you how to play songs from vineyard cd's. At the moment they've got;



When You call my name
You are the light
Make Your home in me
Be the center
Hungry
Your love is amazing
The Lord is gracious and compassionate
King Forever
Unfailing love
All from You
Come now is the time

But they're adding to it all the time.

Sign up and start viewing, they're pretty good.

http://songteach.vineyardrecords.co.uk/cms/

New Andy Park CD

Ledgendary Vineyard Worship leader Andy Park has a new worship CD out called 'Unshakable' released on a new label ION worship.

Here's the promo' blurb;

'For many years Andy has been contributing worship songs to the Church which have had an incredible impact around the world. In his latest release, Andy has written songs that reflect the ongoing adventure of seeing and knowing God through times of blessing and pain. This project was produced by Nathan Nockels (Watermark, Tim Hughes, Brenton Brown) and his collaboration with Andy has resulted in a project of 11 strong songs coupled with 11 incredible arrangements. Worshipers around the world will be blessed by Andy's latest contribution of new worship songs!'

Soul Action trip to Duban, South Africa; by Laura Davies

When we arrived in Durban I was more excited than anything else, after the initial worry of losing my team members on the way, luckily that didn’t happen. I was just so happy to finally be in Durban, after months of planning, packing and fundraising, and was looking forward so much to the next two weeks, preparing myself to be changed and challenged by God, to open my eyes and change my lifestyle. The orientation a few months previously had first sparked this excitement, as until then it hadn’t seemed real that I would be going. I found the weekend so valuable as it was right in the middle of exams and coursework deadlines, and I was able to for that time forget about my stress and focus on issues that seemed much more important to me. I loved meeting new people and felt from very early on that I would get on with my team! Which proved to be true!

The first shock was the drive to Concord – our guesthouse, this was the first time out of Europe for me and so I was trying to soak up as much as I could. Seeing the townships, thousands of tiny shacks brimming with people brought to the surface of my mind all the reasons I chose to come, reaching out to those not to change their culture but to provide the love and comfort that they deserved.

I remember that evening at concord being introduced to many important people from both the COGS church and the Vineyard church, but was suddenly hit by fatigue and so can’t honestly remember much of what was said, and was glad to get my earliest nights sleep in for a good while! The next morning was similar; I had a cold and was still tired but was introduced to all the COGS leaders, and the Indleila project. It was this introduction that we were told that we were human beings and not human doings - and to scrap our expectations, something I didn’t understand until later on, I was just eager to get out there!

Much of our time was spent at the COGS church, more time than I expected, with planning and discussing life skills and various other things. I loved this time spent with the team and members of COGS but felt more at home and at the core of the whole trip when we were in Amaoti, handing out food or toys, laying down carpet in Penial or just simply playing with the many children that we met. The first week seemed to be more visits to different places, 3 different pre-schools, Amaoti 3 and Pinky’s home on the Thursday when she handed out soup.

The second week was spent more at Penial church, which I found more rewarding as we got to know some of the children and teachers more, and build some relationships. It was lovely to go to the Sunday church service and recognise many of the children there, and for them to recognise us. However I am really pleased we were able to see different areas of the township, as we were also able to visit one lady’s home, which opened my eyes as to the kind of lifestyle that is lead, and realised just how easy our lives are in comparison – and how unfair that seemed. Despite this everyone we met seemed to full of life, and happy to see us. The Amaoti church was an amazing experience, hearing all the songs and amazing singing, all in Zulu, and just to see the passion and faith they all had, even though in our eyes these people didn’t have anything. It was Derrick’s (the pastor’s) crazy dancing that made me realise just how much of that passion we lack back at home.

The first Wednesday was our first drive through Amaoti, and although seeing just how poor the area was it didn’t affect in quite the same way I thought it would. I was preparing myself to break down in tears, but I think God strengthened me, not necessarily hardening my heart but keeping me strong so I could actually carry out his work. When we saw the children all lined up outside that first Wednesday I remember thinking ‘wow, it really is just like on the TV’ – it was amazing to be able to experience it first hand, and to see the reaction of the teachers, exclaiming ‘this is Jesus!’ something we all felt was the other way around.

Another hard experience was meeting two young children on the streets just outside the pizza place, where we got our dinner on our first day off. After one of our team telling them some chips were coming, I tried to start talking to them, although the language barrier was very hard. I found out the boy was 3 and the older girl was 12 – something which shocked me, as my own sister is 11, and to think of her on the streets trying to find food for her younger brother really hit me as unjust. This also spoke powerfully to me that, although its our day off – these people with nothing don’t get a ‘day off’ or any time to reflect or talk about their life, its just one constant struggle for survival.

Over the two weeks we grew to know many of the COGS pastors and youth, through prayer meetings, cell groups, youth services and dinners out. Although I didn’t necessarily see this as important as our time in Amaoti, I learnt that these relationships were just as valuable. To see the same heart for the poor in them was really encouraging, to know that the work we were part of was continuing after we left. I felt that due to interruptions in the programme, (the last Thursday) the time we spent could have been used more effectively, yet this was no-ones fault, and we used the time to reflect on our experiences and share which was very interesting and lead to a handful of us talking at the COGS service Sunday night.

The culture shock for me was softened in that the majority of our time was spent in similar surroundings to home, large houses and supermarkets, shopping centres and even visiting some of the houses of the COGS crew. It was harsh to think that the people we spent the day with in Amaoti were still there, yet we were able to come and go as we pleased. For me although I’d spent the day with happy smiling children, knowing that they were not always like that pressed on my heart. I felt I couldn’t even begin to imagine how hard it must be for them. This feeling was shared with my team members at the inter-youth service at Grace Church. We were frustrated by the talk, as it was way off where we felt Gods heart was for us, and so prayed for all those we’d met in Amaoti, that God would keep them safe and comforted in the heavy rain we had that night. What hit me the most was the massive contrast between rich and poor, and how far away Amaoti seemed when you were back at your comfy room with running water and nice pillows.

Overall the experience has had a massive effect on my life. God challenged me on so many levels, to simply read the bible more, live a prayerful life and put everything to Him, but also showed me the importance of being a child of God. During the second week after spending days playing with the children, who loved the attention and would want continuous hugs and attention God gave me a picture of me wrapping my arms around one of them, something I did most of the time! And just felt him say, this is how I love you, which impacted me and made me realise its that love that gives me the strength to be able to pass that love on, and the love is Gods. Although it sounds simple it impacted me, as I think sometimes we think that the problems in the world are too big to conquer, yet God is bigger. I came back encouraged and on fire to carry on with that lifestyle in my own community. I wanted to and still want to make my life count and make a difference in peoples lives. As a group we also felt that from our experiences and times came worship and praise, which at first confused me as to why after seeing such poverty that just doesn’t exist in England we would want to praise God? Then I realised that worship and mission go hand in hand, and stepping out of our comfort zones to do Gods work comes blessing, and God blessed our team as we all left wanting to just thank and worship God.

Worship Central Conference

Last Saturday, Paul Cook, Andy Woodcock and myself, set out for London to go to the Worship Central conference at HTB.

Arriving at about 10.30 the place was already packed for a 11am start and was buzzing. Apparently the church seats 800 people.

The day was fantastic, starting with 45 minutes of worship led by Al Gordon, and then a talk on 'humility' by Tim Hughes.

After lunch, there were 3 seminar choices, 'band dynamics' with Tim Hughes, 'God and Creation' with Graham Tomlin, and 'Drumming in worship' with Terl Bryant of the Psalm Drummers. 'Band Dynamics' was by far the most popular with the highlight being Tim going through how he would rehearse a new song (Lex Buckley's Holy is the Lord) with his band. Although, his band were pretty hot and it wasn't difficault, if they'd just turned up and played it without rehearsing they would have been good. So they went into detail about how they would develop parts for each instrument and then knit them together. Pretty interesting stuff if you're into that kind of thing!

Then there was a big Q&A with Nick Herbert, one of the new Soul Survivor worship leaders, Tre Sheppard of One Hundred Hours, and Rachel Hughes.

Followed by a big worship sesh in the evening with Tim Hughes and band.

So overall, a great day out, and really quite inspiring. I really reccomend the next one on November 18th. Its such great value at £8, and you really do get so much out of the day. They're doing them every 2 months, so if you can put the date in your diary. You can book through the website worshipcentral.org

New Chris Tomlin CD

Chris Tomlin has a new CD out called 'See The Morning'.

Check out te review on ChristianityToday site http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/reviews/2006/seethemorning.html

If its anything like his previous work, its gonna be good

Hearing God Training Day

Want to grow more in the prophetic? Want to use the prophetic in your worship times more? Come along to the Hearing God Training Day on Saturday 7th October, with Sarah Dulley and the team from South West London Vineyard.

These guys are 'razor-sharp' in the whole prophetic stuff and an inspiration in the whole area of prophetic ministry. Guaranteed to be a great day!

Change of venue for SGLW

The Small Group Worship leaders workshop will now be at Mark and Louise's house at 8pm on Thursday.

See you there

Small group worship leading training

The first Small Group Worship leader training evening is on thursday at the Vineyard Centre at 7.45pm.

This is for anybody leading worship in small groups or anybody who aspires to lead in small groups to give you tips and handy lessons in how to effectively lead a small group worship set. We'll look at things like choosing a set, playing the songs, song flow, song structure, singing among other things.

The evening will be mainly practical so bring your guitar or keyboard. Music will be provided on the night.

iGod blog

Talking of the Stewart-Darling's, check out Andrew's blog http://www.igod.typepad.com/ for some interesting retrospective, contemplative stuff on living out your faith in the world and other random stuff. Its a good read.

He's a smart guy that ASD!

New Band Co-ordinator....Emma Stewart-Darling

You may have seen on the band rota list that Emma Stewart-Darling is taking over the week 1 band in November.

This will mean that we now have 4 band co-ordinators for the 4 bands. Horray!

Worship Central Conference

The next Worship Central day is on 18th November at HTB, London. If anyone wants to go, book online at HTB http://worshipcentral.org.uk/. Tickets are £8. Its sure to be good, and there'll probably be a few of us going down.

There are about 6 of these throughout the year run by Tim Hughes and the team down at HTB and they are very good value as a training and equipping resource for worship.

There will be a full report of the Worship Central day that some of us are going down to this saturday on the blog next week

New Band Rotas

New Band Rotas are now on the blog for September, October and November 2006. Get yourself up to date with all the changes to the bands happening this autumn. Click on the link on the right

New Band Co-ordinator...Dave Breen

Just to announce David Breen is taking over as Week 4 band co-ordinator. Dave was previously a band co-ordinator before venturing down under this time last year but he is back with avengence starting this month.

Welcome back Dave

Small group worship leading training

Due to unforseen circumstances, the first small group worship leaders workshop has been cancelled. We'll start on Thursday 28th September instead if thats ok.

Laura Davies's Sponsored Worship Marathon for Durban!!!

Well done laura on completing the worship marathon today! It was a good day but very tiring for Laura who is now resting her weary voice and fingers from playing piano. And to top it all off, BBC Radio Suffolk came along to interview Laura and record her playing, which is due to air on Sunday morning.

You can still donate to Laura's trip through the church office or check out her website

http://www.lauradavies.me.uk/

What makes a great time of worship?

What makes a great congreational worship time?
Quite a few people have remarked how the worship has been pretty good in church over the last few weeks, so I've been deliberating over this very question over the last couple of days and trying to figure out if there is a magic formula for a great time of worship.

But Im wasting my time here as generally there is no magic formula for a great worship set but there are some common factors which we can do which help create a great worship set.

So what are these common factors?

Thinking about my experience and observing others and being a part of amazing worship times led by other leaders has led me to draw some conclusions;

1) The songs need to be well known, with at most one new song or a song that some people might know or sung once or twice. (Putting 'How great is our God' in is generally the way to a great set! You can't go wrong with that one!!)

2) The set needs to flow both musically, lyrically and thematically

3) The worship leader needs know the songs inside out and be ready to lead people to another place.

4) The worship leader needs to lead openly and accessibly (no going off on a tangent leaving everybody else behind) creating short musical spaces in the set for spontinaety with usually a maximum of two. This may seem quite spiritually restrictive, but in a congregational setting you still have to make it accessible. I feel the times to 'go off on one' are in small group settings with a few people who love doing that thing (Ever done a 40 minute worship time on two songs? Its a blast!)

5) The band need to be as one and know where they are going (spiritually and musically!) These two factors go together. One without the other doesn't work when leading a worship set.

6) If 65 % of the congregation are up for it then the most of the rest will usually follow (A rough estimate)

7)The sound guy needs to be the unseen musician sensitively playing the mix with the band.

8) Pray hard over what you have prepared for God and for the people you are leading. He needs to bless these times otherwise its just plain old hard work for us.

These are just some common factors which we can do to make it good, but when it comes down to it if God isn't there and doesn't come then its just hard work. There have been a few times when I can do all these things and it just doesn't happen. Its good but just not great. I dont' know why that happens, all I know is that i've got to keep doing what Im doing.

But what makes it rewarding is hearing the stories about how God has changed lives during these worship times and really moved in people. God flowing through the praise and worship and the times of intimacy and touching his people. For me thats the acid test of a great worship time.

Large group worship leading training

Further to the last post about training small group worship leaders, we're also going to do a training morning for large group worship leaders.

This is for anybody who leads small group worship already but feels they'd like to have a go at doing something on a bigger scale, leading 25+ people in worship.

If you fancy the idea of that then come along on Saturday 25th November. Further details will appear nearer the time.

Small group worship leading training

Hey

If you're in need of some help with leading worship in small group. Come along to our clinic on the last thursday of every month.

Starting Thursday 31st August, we will help get you to the next stage in your playing and worship leading so you can comfortably lead worship in small groups with your either your guitar or keyboard and not feel like a total muppet when you're there doing your thing!

We will give you help with such things as your singing, technique and song selection so you can feel totally at ease leading people into the presence of the Lord in worship.

However, we will expect you to know how to play at least 8 songs and be able to sing or attempt to sing at least 3 of them as a minimum standard.

Will let you know where it is in due course.

Worship retreat talks

Vineyard Records have released all the talks from the Worship retreat held earlier this year onto the internet. The speakers were Mike Turrigiano, Cindy Reithmeier, and Jeremy Cook.

Check it out if you have the time.

http://www.vineyardrecords.co.uk/worshipretreat/

New Tim Hughes Album on the way

Hey,

Tim Hughes is working on a new album, and is doing a daily blog about how its going, with details about what songs are going to be on it and what arrangements they are working on etc..

Really interesting stuff if you like that kind of thing.

I've linked up days 1 to 3 and will try and do a daily link.

http://www.aboutlife.com/timhughes/new_album_day_1

http://www.aboutlife.com/timhughes/new_album_day_2

http://www.aboutlife.com/timhughes/new_album_day_3

http://www.aboutlife.com/timhughes/new_album_day_4

Tim Hughes on 'pleasing God'

"I've been thinking about a little verse in Ephesians 5:10 - "and find out what pleases the Lord."

It's a worship question. Worship is about living lives to the glory of God. Being a people that seek to bring Him pleasure. That is what I want to do with my life. It's funny then that I rarely take time to ask God - "what can I do to please You?" I fail to spend time thinking and endeavouring to 'find out,' what it will take to please the Lord. Maybe it's to spend more time in prayer and worship, maybe it's to give something away, maybe it's to say sorry to someone, maybe it's to go out for coffee with someone you'd rather not. I don't know what the answer will be each day, but He does.

As we begin to live in this way I'm sure our worship will deepen and our lives will be transformed."

From Tim Hughes blog http://www.aboutlife.com/timhughes/find_out

Psalm 85 (NIV)

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 You showed favor to your land, O LORD; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 2 You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins. Selah 3 You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger. 4 Restore us again, O God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us. 5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations? 6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation. 8 I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints— but let them not return to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. 11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.
13 Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.

I love this Psalm. It tells of God's mercy to His people, starting with a the earnest prayer of the Psalmist to the Lord. It then catches the moment of intimacy with the Lord where the He forgives His people and promises better days ahead as long as they don't return to their old ways. A word for us all, in the 21st century.

'He will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.'

Band Co-ordinator summer changes update

July

week 5 - Chris Perkins and week 2 band

August

Week 1 - Chris Perkins
Week 2 - Steve Parsons
Week 3 - Mike & Laura Aspinall
Week 4 - Chris Perkins and David Breen

September

Week 1 - Chris Perkins
Week 2 - Mike & Laura Aspinall
Week 3 - Mike & Laura Aspinall
Week 4 - T.B.A.

A welcome return to Steve Parsons, who is on summer break from holiday at University, and Dave Breen who decided that life in Stowmarket was much more appealing than a Melbourne winter. Good to have you back guys!

Laura Davies's Sponsored Worship Marathon for Durban!!!

Laura will be playing keyboard and singing worship songs for six hours to raise money to help her go to Durban, South Africa, with Soul Action/Tearfund.

The venue is Barton Mills Village Hall on Saturday 5th August 10.30-4.30pm. Everybody is welcome to come along and join in

If you have an instument to set up, come early from 9.3oam.

Sponsor Laura (she has to raise £1400!) by linking onto her website or by sending your donations to the WSVC church office with envelopes clearly marked 'Laura Davies'.

http://www.lauradavies.me.uk/

God stories.........a testamony from Paul Cook

In 1977 I broke my ankle in a car accident, after the operation the consultant who operated on me said it was a horrible mess! I suffered with pain ever since. Some years ago I was told that eventually, when I was old, my ankle would be removed and my leg fused directly to my heel, but I think you can have a replacement fitted nowadays. Well, I guess I’ve gotten old now because the pain had gotten pretty bad and walking was getting difficult at times. So I eventually gave in and went to see my G.P. who sent me to get an X-ray and the report came back saying that I had a gross degenerative condition, so my G.P. is referring me to the specialist at West Suffolk Hospital with a view that the time has come to have that operation. Although I had always known that time would come now that it was a possibility it kind of threw me a bit.
So off I went to Re:fresh, on Saturday morning at the end of the morning session the speaker said if you want a sign from God that He loves you ask your neighbour to pray for you. So I asked Roger to pray for healing of my ankle. Within seconds I had a sensation in my ankle similar to pencils being rolled on a table which I can only believe it was bones and tendons in the move, also a movement just surged through my body from top to bottom leaving me in a state of total peace, this could have only have been the Holy Spirit! When I got up I could not walk unsupported for a few minutes, the pain was so immense, was I walking on a new ankle?
I had more prayer healing that day that again left me in a state of total peace, although I felt nothing in my ankle this time. As the day progressed I began to realise that I was not feeling as much pain as usual.
The next morning I realised that I could walk normally to the bathroom, in the past I had to walk sideways until my ankle had freed up, and that I could now rotate my foot just as well as the other one and that the ankle no longer looked like a golf ball. Because there was no give in my ankle whenever I stepped off a pavement I had to ensure that I led off on my good foot, after giving a testimony on Sunday morning I just jumped off the stage with no problem. I still have some pain but not as much and in a different area, is the plate hindering progress? I don’t know!
I am looking forward to seeing the specialist now and having another X-ray, what will it show?

GOD IS GREAT!

Paul Cook

New Brenton Brown CD out!!

Fans of the songs of Brenton Brown will wanna hear his new CD produced with EMI. Sounds very much like the Brenton Brown of the Vineyard CDs and is chock full of great new songs with thought provoking lyrics. Its definately worth checking out and is available on teh CD desk (I beleive!) at church, from itunes (for all you cheapskates and tech-ies-like me!), or from all good christian book shops.

Hear a couple of the songs on his myspace, along with a good biograpghy of what he's been up to since he moved on from Vineyard UK.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=74875704

Psalm 100:4 (N.I.V)

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

There is something quite special about opening up our worship and prayer times with praise and thanksgiving. Adoring God for who He is and what He has done.

The psalmist knew it and in my experience, the best times of worship and prayer start with it as well! It opens up out eyes to God.

Everything Glorious

Following on from the brilliant 'How great is our God' is 'Everything Glorious' recorded live at Passion 2006 in Nashville, USA.

Passion are at the forefront of modern day worship music with Matt Redman, David Crowder band, Charlie Hall and Chris Tomlin all featuring on this CD.

Chris Tomlin's contributions, inparticular, 'How awesome is the Lord most high' and 'Glorious' are the stand-outs. He writes the most singable congregational worship songs, and is getting extremily prolific having penned such favourites as 'How great is our God' and 'Forever'. There's a new song from Matt Redman 'You never let go' which is also very usable, if slightly on the wordy side, and Charlie Hall's 'All we need' was used at Re:fresh this year.

Its another first rate worship CD from the 'Passion' guys!

Check out the e-link to hear mini-clips of all the songs
http://ecards.sparrowrecords.com/passion_glorious/eg_ecard.html

Singers wanted for Church choir starting soon

From Simon Young;

I've spoken to most of you about getting together to see what we can do with a gospel/worship choir.

Ideally it will consist of four-part harmony (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), with a small backing band probably consisting of piano, organ/synth, bass, drums and maybe lead guitar, but with the emphasis on worship through the singing. There will probably be a (different) lead singer for each song as well as the choir.

I'd like to have an evening to explain a bit more what the idea is, arrange time for practising, listen to some music and maybe even to sing one or two chords!

If you'd like to join in, can you contact me asap with evening days which are good for you. Also dates you can't make in the next month or so. If it works we'll aim to have a practice/worship time once a week or once a fortnight. Please could you also let me know if you haven't the time.

Please pass this message on to others you think would like to sing. The key things are 1) a passion for worship and 2) I would like the singers to be able to hold a part in a four-part choir and to sing in tune, although if you haven't done choir singing before it doesn't matter - we'll have a go at teaching. But it will be different from the normal bands in that we'll spend much more time learning the parts, with printed music.

Thanks!

Simon

Stories behind the songs.....Lord, I lift your name on high

From 1997 to 2002, one of Rick Founds's songs had the distinction of being the number one praise and worship song being sung in America's churches, according to Christian Copyright Licensing International's Top 25 list. Although "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" is only one of more than three hundred songs that Rick has written, it is by far his most popular. As a young child in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Rick became fascinated with music, often climbing up on the piano bench to explore the keyboard. By age ten he was writing songs for his Sunday school class, the first of which was "Come to Me." Young Rick loved hymns and the presentations of the church choir. He also developed a love for the guitar and honed his skills by playing along with television commercials.
Rick graduated from college with a degree in media technology. He had wanted to pursue a degree in music but was steered away from that goal by a high school choral teacher who had become discouraged in his own career. Rick did, however, take a number of music courses in college, giving him the background he needed for his future ministry.
Following college, Rick taught visual technology at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California, for seven years. He led worship on the weekends and sang in special meetings with his praise team. From that employment he went full-time into the ministry of music at a church in California and continued there for fourteen years. It was while music director at that church that he wrote his nowfamous song, "Lord, I LiftYour Name on High."
The song was born out of Rick's typical morning devotions. He had a small Macintosh computer and an electronic Bible, which he would bring up on his monitor and begin reading where he had left off the previous day. Since his office at church was far away from other people, Rick had developed a habit of playing his guitar while reading the Bible on his computer screen.
One day, as Rick was having his daily devotional, the Lord impressed on his heart that His work on our behalf was a cycle of events~Christ came from heaven to earth, gave His life on the cross for us, was buried and three days later rose from the dead, and went back to His heavenly Father, making the cycle and our salvation complete. That, essentially, is the lyric of the song. Rick picked up his guitar and began to sing "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High. "
Rick explained, "It is just a simple song, but it is what the Lord dropped into my heart. The whole song came quickly; I didn't struggle with it at all. I did, however, continue to work on the latter part of the song for another four or five days before I felt it was complete. I then sang it for an evening Bible study. They seemed to love the song. At the time I had no idea that it would be sopopular~1 bad simply written another song, much as I had done so many times before. "
Rick was thrilled to hear thousands of men sing his song at Promise Keepers rallies. The song has become widely popular and now can be heard in other countries of the world, in many languages. Rick rejoices in letters of how the song has impacted people around the world. Rick and his wife, Debbie, have three daughters and make their home in California.

From the website 'Integrity resources'

Re:FRESH 2006

Hey hope you all had a great time at Re:fresh!! (if you went?)

Loads of good fun to be had, God seemed to be doing lots of good stuff with lots of testamonies flying around! David Parker was good and there was some great worship too from the Reading and Winchester Vineyard bands.

Both bands had a great collection of talented musicians and did some great stuff that could easily match the fantastic 'Trent band' and it seems that the standard of local Vineyard bands has increased significantly. Its great to see local church bands getting a chance rather than the usual collection of talented musicians who usually get to do all that stuff.

Its good to see the local churches getting stronger in this area and it won't be long till we see more albums coming out of other Vineyard churches which are as good as Trent and St Albans.

Worship Central Conference

As mentioned at the band members meeting, a group of us are going down to the Worship Central conference at HTB, London on Saturday 23rd September. It promises to be a cracking day with Tim Hughes and team, all for the small cost of £8.
Worship will be led by Tim Hughes and Al Gordon, with guest speakers Tre Sheppard (One hundred hours), Graham Tomlin (principal, Wycliffe Bible College), Terl Bryant (Psalm drummers) and Nick Herbert (St Mary's Bryanston Square) along with the following afternoon workshops;

ENCOUNTER - God the Creator, Graham Tomlin.Enlarge your view of God, as Graham helps us unpack God as Creator and inspires us to worship him in fresh ways.
EQUIP - Drum Workshop, Terl Bryant. Calling all drummers and percussionists! Terl will be taking us through some practical and spiritual approaches to drumming. Not to be missed.
EMPOWER - Band Dynamics, Tim Hughes. How do you work as a band? How do you musically arrange songs? How do you keep things creative and fresh? Tim gives practical tips which will help you get the best out of your worship team.

Its going to be great!

If you fancy coming along, you can book through their website.http://worshipcentral.org.uk/

Also, Intermediate Guitar Lessons starting soon.....

These will follow on from the beginners lessons and take people to being fully competent small group worship leaders.

Ideal for those who can already play 8 or more songs and sing a little bit, and want to jump to the next level!

Probably looking to start them in September. Again, speak to Chris Perkins for more details.

You just never know, the next Matt Redman may be amongst us! (eh Jonners??)

Beginners Guitar Lessons for worship

We are starting Beginners Guitar lessons this month for anybody who wants to learn guitar or has ever wanted to learn the guitar to play worship songs but had no idea of where to start.

We'll do six easy lessons with the aim to get you to play 8 vineyard worship songs and sing or attempt to sing at least 3 of them. 'Ve 'ave vays of making zis 'appen'!!

The cost is £5 to cover costs and if you're interested then speak to Chris Perkins.

What is worship?

From the 'Worship Central' podcast

"I think Worship is an all-consuming response to an all-consuming God"

Tim Hughes

"I think worship is shifting myself out of the centre of the universe, dealing with my ego, so I can fall on my knees"

Charlie Makesey, artist

"Worship is closely linked to sacrifice. In the old testament, you went to the temple and brought a sacrifice, and even the pagan's when they worship recognise that when they do the same. And even if the New Testament in Romans 12 where Paul says to present your bodies as living sacrifices. Also you often can tell what someone worship's by what they would sacrifice themselves for.
So therefore, I think it is the offering of all we have, good and bad, and laying it at the altar of God.

Graham Tomlin, Theologian at HTB

Worship Central

Hey, check out the new worship resource site from Tim Hughes and the HTB team.

It looks pretty good and is done pretty much along the same lines as the old 'passion for your name' website which was closed a couple of months ago.

They're running day conferences throughout the year and will do a monthly podcast with various things on worship as well as featuring a new song each month.

Follow the link

http://worshipcentral.org.uk/

Our Uniqueness

"The gift to us as Vineyard worship leaders today is that we stand as part of an incredibly powerful modern worship movement that has opened the doorway in our day to countless millions encountering God through contemporary worship music.

In other words, we stand on a heritage of community, faithfulness, integrity and rich experience as we come to lead worship in our own community. On the other hand, an entire multi-million dollar industry has now formed around the precious jewel of worship, and brought a whole new set of character challenges, musical challenges and leadership challenges to today's contemporary Church worship leader."

Dan Wilt, from 'Leading worship in the Vineyard'

Band Co-ordinator summer changes

Just to let you know that due to holidays and stuff, there is a revised band Co-ordinator schedule in operation over the summer months.



July
Week 1 - Mike & Laura
Week 2 - NO CHURCH
Week 3 - Laura
Week 4 - Chris
Week 5 - Chris and Week 2 band

August
Week 1 - Chris
Week 2 - T.B.A.
Week 3 - Mike & Laura
Week 4 - Chris

Why we do what we do!

"Why do we sing songs in the first place? We do it because it is something that we can do together. There are probably other things that we could do to express our love and our worship to God that would be, in one sense, just as valid. But they're not easy for us to do together.

Yet we can get ten people, or a hundred people, or a thousand people, or a hundred thousand - whatever number we choose - and we can all get together and sing a song. That song reflects what is going on in our hearts and our minds together. There is truth that we're affirming, but there's also affection that we're expressing. That's why I think that singing as an expression of worship has stood the test of time."

Brian Doerksen

The Journey

"What's so exciting about worship leading? Using the medium of the music we love, we have the privilege of leading people into the greatest adventure a human being can undertake - the journey to the heart of God.

What's so dangerous about worship leading? In a culture that idolises musicians and elevates emotions, we stand in front of people, behind a microphone, up on a stage, influencing people. Our own hearts sing louder than our musical instruments, and our true character touches people in ways we never thought possible."

Dan Wilt from 'leading worship in the Vineyard'

Yup, pretty much sums it up!

Tim Hughes; Worship-never lose the wonder

hey if you enjoyed Tim Hughes talk on 'worship; a passionate response' the other day, he's done another on at HTB called Worship: Never lose the wonder.

check it out if you have a moment

http://www.htb.org.uk/downloads/default.htm

Stories behind the songs.....God of Wonders

One of the most popular and most recorded worship songs in recent history, this 'humble offering' has touched millions with its message of the holiness and mercy of God.

"This song needs to be big."
The first time that songwriter Steve Hindalong heard the chord progression brought to him by friend and co-writer Marc Byrd, he felt where "God of Wonders" was leading. Hindalong had been assigned to produce a project that was to express the feeling of community in the church, but at this point it was still untitled, and the notes of the first song weren't yet recorded.
The project became Essential Records' City On A Hill. Those few guitar chords became not only the first single from that project and a number-one, Dove Award-nominated Song of the Year, but a song that would become a church standard for worship.
" God Of Wonders" has since been recorded nearly 100 times according to Hindalong's estimate. Artists as renown as Rebecca St. James and Steve Green have lent their voices to the song. Both Caedmon's Call and Third Day, whose group members are featured on the original City On A Hill track, have also recorded their own versions.
The song was simultaneously number one on three of Christian radio's charts-adult contemporary (AC), inspirational, and Christian hit radio (CHR)-ordinarily three vastly different musical formats. When Steve Hindalong originally imagined how big this song needed to be, he had no idea what was in store, and just how expansive the moving music and powerful lyrics could be.
A founding member of popular '80s Christian alternative/modern rock band The Choir, Hindalong knew he was taking a different turn with "God of Wonders," although he notes that fans of the band wouldn't be that surprised at it's content.
"People that followed The Choir know that we had some pretty intensely spiritual themes. Typically the type of music that I come from is more alternative and tends to be aimed at more of the young adult audience. It's very introspective, whereas worship music tends to be really broad and focused more on God and who He is," says Hindalong.
"When Marc played the chord progression and melody, it felt really big. I kind of got a chill-I got goose bumps on my arms. I just thought, 'This song needs to be big, with really vast language.' So 'God of wonders beyond our galaxy' was as big as I could think."
Having attended an Episcopal church for the last few years, Hindalong has been introduced to a new inspiration for his songwriting. "The liturgy, the old words, is kind of new to me. I flipped through The Book of Common Prayer, and I remember 'Lord of all creation, water, earth and sky.' That became the first line of the song."
Lord of all creationOf water, earth and skyThe heavens are your tabernacleGlory to the Lord on high
God of wonders beyond our galaxyYou are holy, holyThe universe declares Your majestyYou are holy, holyLord of heaven and earthLord of heaven and earth
But it isn't the vastness of the song that seems to really impact people, relates Hindalong. "People have sent me emails about the song and referred to the second verse. I think the real power of the song is there, when all of the sudden it gets intimate. It says 'When I stumble in the darkness, I will call Your name by night.' This God that is the God of not only our earth, but of all the worlds, that is so big-but when I'm afraid, when I'm alone, when I sin, when I'm in trouble, He comes close enough that I can call His name. It's the truth that's powerful, not the song. It is that particular truth that is so moving."
The mixture of voices on the original recording is another aspect that Hindalong sees as powerful. "When people sing a song and interpret it a certain way, a song comes alive. The contrast of Mac Powell and Cliff Young trading off, and with Danielle [Young], really communicated that corporate community thing that was really the goal of City On A Hill. They were the perfect blend of voices."
The groundwork for "God of Wonders" was laid nearly 10 years ago, when Steve Hindalong produced the first two albums for Common Children, Marc Byrd's band. Ten years his senior, Steve became a mentor to Marc, and is amazed by how far the two have come.
"Marc is a real screamer and comes from an intense rock background, and I come from this whole folk thing, although I've had lots of variety," he describes. "So for Marc to get into worship music is really a change, and I think he's found a lot of joy and peace in it. He's very natural at it. Writing a song like 'God of Wonders' was new ground and opened a whole floodgate of creativity for him."
Byrd has written a number of well-known songs, including Third Day's "Show Me Your Glory," co-written with Mark Lee. Steve and Marc teamed again for "Holy Is Your Name," performed on by Bebo Norman and Caedmon's Call, as well "Sing Alleluia," both from the third City On A Hill project, as well as the number one Rebecca St. James cut "I Thank You."
"I think of 'God of Wonders' as an offering," says Hindalong. "It's an offering to people. The words are to God, the prayer is to God, but as far as the song, that's for people, to the body of believers. It's an offering—a humble offering."

From the website 'Integrity Resources'.

Week 5 worship

Just to let you know that the larger than life week 2 band (all 7 of them!) will be leading worship on the spare week 5, which is 30th July.

O the summer is drifting by, we're almost into July!

New Leading worship booklet

Have you got hold of a copy of the new Vineyard Records booklet on Leading worship by Dan Wilt yet? Looks really good and full of very useful material.

We'll be posting some bits and pieces on it as we go on

Unfailing love; review by Pete Sammons

Vineyard music has certainly changed over the last 10 years. Albums have developed from being predominantly live recorded in a congregational setting, to now being produced in studios. This could purely be down to the fact that a studio allows to do so much more with the arrangements of the songs.

Another major change is that the style and musical ability has also developed. So much so that you have to be Jimi Hendrix and have the voice of an angel, (Aled Jones) to try use the song as a Worship Leader. Ok a slight exaggeration but the point remains that some songs are being written with not the congregation and average small group worship leader in mind, technically they are too difficult. Don’t get me wrong I do feel these songs are great and should have a place in your collection. They are not any less a worship song than the others, but as a worship leader it frustrates me that they are either to difficult for me to play or too difficult for the congregation to get into.

The purpose of that rant is this (don’t worry there is a purpose). When I think back over vineyard worship’s history one key aspect is that the songs written and produced are accessible to almost anybody. The concept that if you can pick up an instrument and play D, A and G you can play a lot of songs, add C and E you can play most and F, well you should be writing songs by now! One writer who has been able to write accessible songs and yet create a modern sound is Nigel Briggs and the Trent Vineyard band. Together they have written the second album to be released by the church, Unfailing Love.

The album opens with the title track Unfailing Love. This song has been used a lot on Sundays at Trent over the last year and has been tried and tested in the congregational setting. It is a great start to a good album. The song calls out for us to cling to God in the hard times and that his unfailing love is always there for us to take refuge in.

The rest of the guitar and synth-driven album follows well. Working in the studio has enabled the band to produce an album with brilliant arrangements. Embedded in the tracks you can find a string quartet and a choir adding to the vocals. A lot of the songs have been used in church, this album is certainly more than one for just your personal times of worship. Lyrically the songs are easy to sing and use language that we speak day-in, day-out without compromising on the Scriptural truth.

The album also has the enhanced CD. This is a great resource found on most vineyard albums with the chord charts for the album. It is includes a video for the title track of the last album Hold on, and videos of the band as they produced the album in the studio. Pictures of that time can also be found.

Would I buy this album? Well I already have but should you? Yes. The album is nice to listen to with well-crafted and big arrangements, yet the songs are also compatible for small group worship. It reminds us the God is ever present and love is undying. All that is left to say is enjoy and be inspired! - Pete


Pete Sammons, esteemed former worship leader at WSVC and all round good bod, is based in Nottingham where he is studying business. He also finds time to worship at Trent Vineyard, where he has first hand knowledge of the musical talents of the Trent Band.

Band members meeting

Hey Band Members,

Don't forget the band member's meeting on Monday 3rd July at Mark & Louise's home at 8pm.

Thermostat or Thermometer?

Interesting quote taken from Tim Hughes talk on 'Worship: a passionate response'

"There are two types of Sunday worshipper, there are thermometer worshippers and thermostat worshippers.

The thermometer worshipper is one where their guage is affected by how hot or cold the worship is in that meeting. If the worship is really exciting and really passionate then their guage goes up and they join in in the same manner but if the worship is a bit boring and slow then their guage goes down.

Then there's the thermostat worshipper who turns up on a Sunday who is ready and expectant and prepared with meeting with God. They set the temperature and others are drawn in."

Whether you agree or disagree, certainly makes you think!

The Present Place

If you're part of a band check out this article on leading congregations in worship by Dan Wilt, it totally reflects where we want to get to in our worship times on Sunday's.

Follow the link;

http://www.vineyardrecords.co.uk/uk/tuneinp/june06/2.html

Stories behind the songs.....Breathe

A friend's suicide had left her reeling, but out of Marie Barnett's desperate need for God came a worship classic sung around the world.
Marie Barnett didn't consider herself a worship songwriter, although she had led worship with her husband John for years and wrote her own compositions during her personal worship time. John was the writer, penning what Barnett terms "tons" of worship music through the years (including "Holy and Anointed One"). "He's the worship writer," she explains, adding "I never sat down and wrote thinking, This could be sung in a congregation. It was more between me and the Lord in my bedroom with the door locked."
But that all changed during a Sunday evening service at the Mission Viejo Vineyard in Southern California. The Barnetts were leading worship as they had done hundreds of times before, and words to what would become the worship song "Breathe" just spontaneously came out.
" We had been singing 'Isn't He' by John Wimber," Barnett recalls, "and my husband continued to play. I was so enthralled with Jesus at that moment, thinking I could never live, I could never even take a breath if I didn't have a word from Him every day. And so I heard those words-'this is the air I breathe, this is my daily bread'-and I started singing them."
Before she knew it, the congregation had joined her. Still, it wasn't as if Barnett left that night convinced she has a worship hit on her hands. There had been other spontaneous songs, but she soon realized "Breathe" was different. "People would come up to me at the grocery store and say, 'You know what we were singing on Sunday night? I've been singing it all week.'"
So they began to sing the song regularly in church and it continued to elicit a strong response, bringing many to tears. Barnett says even now she can hardly get through it. "I think the word 'desperate' digs deep into me," she says by way of explanation. "The longer I'm a Christian, the more desperate I am for God."
Not to mention Barnett was feeling particularly desperate around the time the words for "Breathe" came to her. A dance teacher by day, Barnett's boss of 10 years had recently taken his own life, leaving behind a note asking her to take over the dance studio. "He was very depressed and had just gone through a divorce and was on all kinds of weird medications and into New Age thinking," she recalls of the tragic incident. "He even came to church with me once right before he took his life and I was like, Well, what good did that do? In the end, the event left Barnett with questions for which there were no answers. And that desperation came out in her songwriting."
Shortly after being written, "Breathe" wound up on Vineyard's Touching the Father's Heart #25 and seemed to be on its way to finding a broader audience. But if there's one thing Barnett learned from watching her husband's songwriting career, it's that the timing isn't up to us.
"We recorded the song for Vineyard and then nothing happened," Barnett says. "Not that I thought anything about it because to me it was just a neat thing the Lord gave to our church." Five years later, worship leader Brian Doerksen was putting together Vineyard's Hungry and contacted Barnett about including "Breathe." Then came Michael W. Smith's version on his 2001 release, Worship.
Barnett was driving in her car when she first heard the track playing on the radio. "I just started bawling. I love that version because at the end when he's saying 'Cry out to Him' it's like 'Oh! People are worshipping Jesus! Yea!'"
The news that Rebecca St. James was also including "Breathe" on her new project, Worship God, was discovered by a friend of Barnett's on the Internet.More important than who is singing the song is what it is doing in the lives of those who hear it.
"One lady came up to me and said she had known the song for a year, but she couldn't sing it yet because every time they played it in church she'd just starts bawling," Barnett recalls. It's a response she understands all too well. "I'm still affected that way. I can't even sing the words. I love hearing that kind of stuff. To know that God is moving people."
Since writing "Breathe" Barnett regularly contributes songs to the worship time at Vineyard Community Church of Laguna Niguel, the California church plant where she and her husband lead worship today. And she continues to run the dance studio as her late boss wished. With more than 600 students and 20 classes to teach each week, Barnett says the business venture provides with her plenty of material for her songwriting. And to round out her schedule, she also teaches at worship conferences, going "wherever people invite me."

From the website 'Integrity resources'

Tim Hughes; Worship-a passionate response

For all you ipod owners and non-ipod owners, check out a brilliant talk on worship by Tim Hughes at HTB entitled 'Worship-a passionate response'.

Didn't realise that Tim Hughes was such a good speaker and he talks which such passion and conviction about the subject. Its available as a podcast from itunes (which you can download free-and is worth having anyway, whether or not you have an ipod) or by following the link below. You may well be seeing some quotes from the talk on this site in the near future. It lasts about 20 mins, if you have the time.

Happy listening!

http://www.htb.org.uk/downloads/default.htm

John Wimber on Worship; Intimacy with God

Worship, the act of freely giving love to God, forms and informs every activity of the Christian's life.
Many people who visit Vineyard Christian Fellowships remark on the depth and richness of our worship. This has not come about by chance: we have a well-thought-out philosophy that guides why and how we worship God. In this article I will communicate that philosophy.

follow the link to read the rest;

from the fantastic 'wimber resource room' at the Fathers House Vineyard, Cedar rapids, Iowa
http://www.crvineyard.org/Wimber/WIMBER5.htm

Remembering our priorities

It was great to have Mike Pearson and Kate Cooke lead us in worship last weekend. Its always good to get a different perspective from the normal stuff that we're used to week in week out. They certainly do things a bit differently from what we're used to up here (they made the set up at 45 minutes before the service. Not sure we'd get away with that!), but the main and the plain things were the same (did you like that?).

The real thing that stuck for many of us, was the importance leading people to Jesus in worship above all other things.

I know that sounds quite obvious, but it is so easy to get distracted with the periferal things of what we do, such as getting everything sounding right, what kind of songs we sing, how well the band are working together etc. These things are important in the whole scheme of things, and as the church gets bigger they'll play a bigger part. But our first priority is to lead people closer to the Lord, whether its with a large band or one man and a guitar, no matter what song we sing, its leading people into intimacy with Jesus, in the most accessible way we can, with as much integrity we can.