For What it's Worth: - Entries written by Shannon LewisThere is Joy in the Morning...This past winter (Dec. '09) I sat down and was just overwhelmed with 'flow'/inspiration, which became a new worship song for us. Unfortunately, I wrote 3 times as much song as I needed, unless I were working on a sequel to Pink Floyd 's " Shine on... More SONGS FROM THE HOPE FARMS: Current Reviews...We've been blessed to receive some great press about our debut release from some really cool publications and ministries. If you haven't yet, check these out - not just to read our reviews/interviews, but to stroll about the sites and take in all... More Georgia Worships!I am constantly blown away by how many awesome worship pastors/artists there are in Georgia, so I compiled an iMix of some of my favs (and I through a few of my own tunes in for good measure). Download the whole batch - I assure you that you'll be... More SIX: my loveWho are these kids? I remember it vividly: I was here to mentor/disciple college-aged men, and was not going to allow myself to be distracted by an island girl. When a drop-dead gorgeous blond entered the room of 200+ college students that Summer, I... More A little Blog Love...It's been several years since I've read anything so powerful that I had to give it some "blog-love", but here I am this week with TWO: Relevant Magazine's incredible interview with John Mark McMillan and "A view from the Pew" over at... More Vineyard Music 2010Knowing that I liked to keep abreast of current worship styles/trends, and that I almost always knew who was writing and releasing what, when, a friend recently asked me " What is Vineyard Music doing these days? I haven't heard anything out of them... More REVIEW: ALM UKMy friend Gary Durbin & I reviewed the new Integrity Worship release from ALM UK entitled NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES . Our differing angles on the same CD is quite fascinating. Hop on over to TheWorshipCommunity.com and read ... Worship Re-Cap Video from GFC in FebruaryHaving spent a little time with Aaron Keyes and his family while they were down for SuperWow this past week reminded me that I had some excellent high-definition video footage from when we guest-led at his church this February. Grace Fellowship is... More "Pastoring" through song...I had a very thought provoking conversation with a friend earlier this week in which we discussed the difference between being merely a "worship leader" and a "worship pastor". One of the things suggested was that as a "pastor" we need not focus on... More Does your church staff attend training conferences?Has your church staff ever been to a ministry training conference, whether for preaching, youth ministry, tech, or worship? If not, why? I have been to a few over the years, but the among the most fruitful was Worship God ‘08 , hosted by Covenant... More "Down with Becky": further thoughtsSo, apparently - though it wasn't 'online' - my last blog had stirred some discussion. Almost everywhere I've been last week someone would approach me with a high-five, a critique, or a question. Having thought about it a big, I figured I would add... More "You Save"This was a special morning. I'm a song-writer, and I know what it is to go through dry-spells - it can feel like part of who you are has died. You wonder what's wrong with you - if something is broken. It can be really frustrating, especially if... More Down with "Becky": "How He Loves" & the Nashville scene...I'm a songwriter. Some may think I'm not such a good one, but long before I was even a musicians - a christian - or a worship leader, I wrote songs. I wrote my first - I believe - at around the age of 7. I still have it. I still have all of them. I... More So, how do I get one of these CDs?Though there was a good crowd at the CD Release, and a number of folks have been picking them up at my church, I've been contacted by quite a few out-of-towners who have been asking, "When will your CD be available online?" Well, that's a tricky... More Fall down, go BOOM!So, I - along with my whole family - had the honor of dinner with author/speaker, James Goll , last month at my in-law's home. He is a RIOT - we all had a great time. Probably the highlight of the evening, however, is when my chair ceased... More 5 books that changed your life?I'm a reader. Been buying books since before I can remember:: a few that really stunk, but I finished them anyway - many that were okay, and a few that flipped my world on it's head. I've recently been re-reading Willard's paradigm-shifting "the... More MomMy mother is an beautiful, petite, independent thinker, never afraid to speak her opinion, who laughs loudly, and has a seemingly unending reserve of energy, so when my wife - then merely dating - asked me to describe her before they ever met, I... More A brief history of (my) music, part 2To read part one, click here... I have not always been this cool. Frightening, I know. Given that I'm not really that cool in the first place, I bet many of you can't imagine going downhill from here, but it is true... I've been... More Win a Free Ticket to Matthew West {Day Two}The winner of yesterday's contest was Kate Bieling! Since she won the first contest, I gave her the first opportunity to also win the second ticket, however she was unable to answer the question, so here we are on day two with one more ticket to... More WIN A FREE TICKET TO MATTHEW WEST THIS FRIDAYCyle & I are honored to do an acoustic opener for Matthew West this Friday, and with our CD at the printer, in celebration we wanted to host a little contest. One of our most popular songs is a call to worship entitled "Rejoice in Me". Give it a... More To have and to hold...I've sung songs in a great many weddings in my time... even written some songs for a few of them, but NEVER before have I been in a wedding quite as cool, musically, as Neil & Jessica's. I try pretty hard to stay ahead of trends - I seek out bands... More The Kingdom of God... a parable only recently interpreted?So, how in the world did we miss it? It appears as though, since the dark ages lifted the church has continually been in reformation - wave after wave of renewal, rebirth, and revival - opening it's eyes to old truths lost or long overlooked during... More Walking triumphantly through Disappointment...I’ll be the first to admit it: I suck as a worshiper, and I’m a worship leader, so where does that leave the rest of the church? I say this because in the Bible, Praise & Worship are a response to who God IS and what HE’S DONE ... not a response to... More Matt Redman at TheWorshipCommunityJust published a new review of Matt Redman 's WE SHALL NOT BE SHAKEN over at TheWorshipCommunity.com . Have you heard it? Pop over and share your opinion. New Worship Teaching goes live...I'm blessed to have many of my teachings on Worship published over at The Worship Community - a free, online resource for worship leaders and others interested in all things worship. A few of my past articles have been: Worthy: A God worthy of... More QUICK REVIEW MONDAYS: Grace Midtown - Songs for the CityI'm trying to make a habit of writing an single-draft, quickie review of lesser-known (not major label) worship artists new c.d.'s to make ya'll aware of new songs and songwriters you may have otherwise missed. This weeks is not just one artist, but... More The Resurrection: what do I know?Every year around Easter I like to repost this essay I wrote about 9 years ago in which I attempt - in one fell swoop - to summarize the many volumes of Historical apologetics I've read over the years about the resurrection - some of which were... More Kingdom Songs...Jesus spoke often of the Kingdom - in fact, many would say that it was his "thing". Funny how you can miss something for so long, then one day God's Spirit just wacks you and it begins to come into view, then it's the only thing you see. That may be... More QUICK REVIEW MONDAYS: Kevin Lawson - Let it ShineKevin Lawson LET IT SHINE Godtown Records Kevin has been doing the music thing for a long time, spending time in the Atlanta Singer-Songwriter circuit for several years, then fronting Supermatic, where he was opening for such national acts as Maroon... More Pray with JOY?" I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it... More Honor...It's in the 10 commandments: " Honor your Father and Mother... ", and expanded in the New Testament in 1 Peter 2:17 to " Honor everyone... " - there is no one, as people created in God's image, who are not worthy of honor. The problem is, even among... More I'm sorry...So one day as I was driving 95 mph in a school-zone, a cop pulled me over, so I told him how sorry I was for getting caught. He still wrote me a ticket! Can you believe it?! I mean, I told him how bad I felt for getting caught - I even felt some... More Saint Lewis: SONGS FROM THE HOPE FARM... a little samplerWell, the c.d. will be going to duplication soon. This little project of recording a few of Cyle and I's original worship songs in our home studio may have been harder to finish than we foresaw, but by no means would I even hint that it had not been... More Where is the POWER?We were circled up, talking about ministry, and praying for one another, then the question dropped: " Where is the POWER?! " I felt the silence. It was awkward, to be sure, as each of us came to terms with the reality of that question. It wasn't... More To Save a Life: thoughts...Last night I saw TO SAVE A LIFE ... It was a very thought provoking film, and fairly well-done for a low-budget "Christian" film. My only concern, while leaving the theater was: How many Christians just saw this film about reaching out, accepting,... More Heart & Head: a prayer...“...this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight...” - Philippians 1:9 I can’t say how life-changing this verse was/is for me. Having been raised an Atheist I always prided myself in my intellect. Even... More As you are going...It surprises me how often the Great Commission is overlooked by the church - even by me: we think that, somehow, if we financially support people spreading the gospel “over there”, or in some cases merely pray for them on occasion, that our part as... More The Hope Farm: New Online ResourcesI've finished editing a number of teachings I've delivered this past year and made them available online. Wander on over to "The Hope Farm" tab on this site to access some of my most recent teachings. Christ in Culture: Hardcore Blessings...I’m certainly not “Hardcore”, or “Straight Edge”, in any sense of the terms. I look as out-of-place at a hardcore show as a yuppy businessman would look at the original Woodstock. But, MAN - I do love it, and I do love THEM. I think there are... More WORSHIP CONFESSIONAL: Grace Fellowship Church, 2-21-2010This blog is part of the Sunday Setlist Blog Carnival found at TheWorshipCommunity.com. See what other churches did here . This was an exceptionally special Sunday for my wife & I as we were asked to guest lead worship at Grace Fellowship Church in... More Still Looking for Potential...I originally published this blog back in September of ’07. While recently contemplating what is core to me, personally, as a worship pastor, my heart returned to this theme: POTENTIAL. Like the prophet Samuel sought God’s chosen king, ultimately... More My pulchritudinous bride!What I like most about my wife: She’s absolutely pulchritudinous, and libidinous, all wrapped into one! She’s more than proficient in multitudinous euphonious contrivances, especially cantillating and executing the upright. And who could ever forget... More Good vs. Best: exploring your options...In 1912 the Reverand John Kelman published the now-famous phrase, "the good is the enemy of the best". This week is one of those where I am glad that I am beginning to know what that means. There was a time when I was the "Yes man" - I said " Yes! "... More Partnering with God: my part & His...I have to be honest with you: I get the jitters when I hear the phrase " partnering with God " in Christian circles. I get it - we are the responders - it works best for us when we obediently take part in God’s revealed plan - but man, I'm... More New Songs...December 27th, 2008. North Island Church, which my father-in-law pastors and planted only shortly before, hosted my brother-in-law, McKendree Tucker, in playing an end-of-the-year show, where he debuted many brand new songs, and invited my wife & I... More Christmas & Creativity: a few thoughts...I am a believer. That’s not to say that I believe in just anything - quite the opposite. In most ways, I am a skeptic - an atheist, even. What I mean is that there are a great many gods that I don’t believe in, and I do not like to be made a fool... More Christmas Music StinksMy God does indeed know how much I dislike most Christmas music. The best of the best - the truly beautiful songs - too often get twisted into A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS volume Infinity metal-triphop-classical-pop renditions, where Whitney Houston... More What I've been up to (includes an early mix)...Sorry I haven't been a very faithful blogger lately... it seems like almost all I have seen lately is this... Don't get me wrong... I'm am NOT complaining. Love it! Here's a sample of an early mix from the c.d. - Hope you like! You'll be hearing... More I am a rich man...Don't get me wrong: my wife & I are most definitely NOT "rolling in the dough" at the moment. Those who know us well just let out a nervous laugh because the opposite is much closer to true. However, I suddenly feel wealthy in another way. Have you... More Required Reading for Worship Leading 101Are you a worship pastor, a worship leader, worship team member (musician or vocals), or simply someone who loves God and desires to grow in your ability to worship God appropriately? Here’s is my “curriculum”, a.k.a. suggested reading for the... More Worship Leading & the Spiritual GiftsAs a regular contributor to the Worship Community , I miss very little that is posted there. During a recent online conversation there, I began to consider the various spiritual gifts that make up an excellent worship leader. I’ll lay my cards on... More YOU are the Worship Leader (to non-Worship Leaders)...I was reading an interesting article over at The Worship Community to which I’ve since given much thought. In summary, the point of the article was, primarily, that - as worship leaders - how we act and live out our worship the other 6 days of the... More CD REVIEW: Vertical Window - DECLARATION (Independent)Vertical Window DECLARATION Independent Will appeal to: fans of Casting Crowns, Caedmon’s Call, and Philips, Craig, & Dean Highlights: “Be Glorified”, “Declaration”, & “61”. Vertical Window have been leading worship, and releasing original c.d.’s in... More Halloween: LET'S PARTY!I first published a blog on Halloween in October of 2007, but given that the topic Christians celebrating Halloween becomes a topic of discussion annually, I figured I'd republish my thoughts - with some editing - to get people thinking again... In... More Worship in the Valley On October 7th I was blessed with an opportunity to spend some time with a kindred spirit, Aaron Keyes , from whom I was able to download some new vision and encouragement. During that short visit, I also got to share with the awesome guys in his... More Saint Lewis, liveJust a short clip from our last "gig".... Saint Lewis, "All in All" live, at Kyle Jones' CD release in September '09 from Shannon Lewis on Vimeo . Keep singing...While sitting down for a quick planning meeting with Fred a couple of weeks back, we began to discuss our (then upcoming - now past) Night of Worship, when he suggested we should do one of my originals, " Never Cease to Sing ", as special music.... More Apologetics as Worship Study 3: Science vs. ReligionLike most High School kids I had a very specific idea about how Christians had historically responded to Science: CONFLICT. The pictures I was given from my textbooks - even in a small town where churches were common and “religion” was still... More Never Cease to Sing: Gifts & Fruit...One of the songs I'm most excited about from our forthcoming c.d. is "Never Cease to Sing" ( which I posted an unfinished demo of a few weeks ago ), the lyrics of which are driven by two of my major personal spiritual convictions: Christian... More Your Jesus is too Safe, updatedI apologize for the lack of new content over here this week, but an expanded, undated review of Jared C. Wilson's Your Jesus is too Safe has been published over at TheWorshipCommunity.com . Swing by, check it out, and enter into the conversation... More Apologetics as Worship Study: An IntroductionHaving been raised an Atheist, I understand the power of unbelief – it can act as a religion in itself, and can be as world-view shaping as the most mind-controlling cult. Now, as a Christian, and a worship leader, I recognized one of the hindrances... More Out of the Mouth of Babes...One of the most perspective-altering circumstances of life must be having children. There is so much in the Bible that comes into view - God's love for us, and our relationship to Him - when you have your own kids. A few nights ago we had one of... More Saint Lewis in the Studio: "Never Cease to Sing"We’ve been working hard towards a release of Saint Lewis’ debut of Songs from the Hope Farm , and as evidence I present to you an unfinished, only barely E.Q.-ed, mix of one of my personal favorites, “ Never Cease to Sing ”. This is one of my the... More What are your "Money Songs"?What are your “Money Songs”? You know, the ones that are sure-fire when you lead - the song you KNOW that you can slip into that Sunday/Wednesday’s set-list, and it will immediately PUMP-UP your congregation, focus hearts on the truth, and get the... More FLASHBACK REPORT: Worship God '08?This time last year I had just returned from my first Worship God conference , which was truly life-changing - a paradigm shift - for me. Sadly, I was unable to go to this year's conference, but the generous folks at Sovereign Grace Ministries have... More REVIEW: Your Jesus is too Safe - Jared C. WilsonAs a worship leader, I am convinced that to worship Christ fully we must know him truly. Jared Wilson is an immensely popular blogger , missional church planter/pastor, with impeccable theology, and a decent sense of humor to boot. His book, Your... More Sunday Setlists for 8-2-09, St. Simons Community Church(Cyle rehearsing Keys & Vocals at SSCC) With Fred McKinnon out of town for a few weeks it gave me free-reign to do whatever I want ( muhahahaha! ) - okay, so that’s not really how it works around here, but we did have a lot of fun preparing for, and... More Worship Confessional for 6/29/09 at North Island ChurchThese past few weeks I've had a lot of opportunities to lead at churches other than my home church, ST. SIMONS COMMUNITY CHURCH , and it's been very encouraging to meet so many others in the body, and to see them respond to God through the songs... More This Summer, so far...On top of my regular responsibilities with the youth worship environments at St. Simons Community Church , and hammering away at putting the finishing touches on our worship c.d., Summer always brings with it additional opportunities. Like last... More REVIEW: Sojourn - Over the GraveSOJOURN Over the Grave: the Isaac Watts Project Volume One (c)2009 Sojourn Music Sojourn Community Church are not new to creating original worship music, but with their 5th release they have taken “original” to a whole new level. That’s not to say... More CD REVIEW: Eoghan Heaslip - WONDERFUL STORYEoghan Heaslip - “ Wonderful Story ” Survivor Records I’ve got to be honest and say that I just don’t understand why Eoghan (pronounced “Owen”) isn’t more renown here in the USA - he writes Scripture-soaked, hook-driven, melodic, original corporate... More Saint Lewis in the StudioHere is proof that we've been working hard on finishing the new c.d. Hope to be sharing some new audio samples very soon! "Wandering Heart", live from Palm SundayI've already shared the story about the song , and the Sunday Setlist/Textfessional about the Sunday , but finally I've uploaded the video. Some good news is that this past Saturday Saint Lewis entered the studio (for a 10 hour day!), and knocked... More Investments and Returns...Sometimes when our youth have had a particularly moving worship experience - or a series of them - at some point someone will ask "Man, what HAPPENED last night?" or hint that I (or any other worship leader/worship mentor under similar... More Taking part in "Sunday Setlists #37" for 4/5/09This blog is part of the Sunday Setlist Blog Carnival Extravaganza over at FredMckinnon.com . This was an important Sunday for me. I have spent the last several months focusing solely on developing and leading my youth teams (and the growth there... More the 'religious spirit'...worshipingReading the Gospels one thing has jumped out at me from the very first time I cracked one open: Jesus was a pretty nice fellow to the 'sinners', but was quite sarcastic, harsh, critical, and combative with the 'religious', self-righteous, legalists.... More Coveting prayers..."...we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and... More Why do I write?Admit it, fellow songwriters, even though there are days that inspiration is coming at you from all directions - when everything you see and experience could be sung - and melodies, hooks, and phrases are introducing themselves to one another in... More An "idea" that's changing the world...A little bit of "blog love" for you, Time Magazine is running a story on the Ten Ideas that are currently changing the world, and though I don't know if I'd EXACTLY call it a mere 'idea', instead of a 'worldview', or even an experience of a person ,... More Father, will You come?A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending some time getting to know - and worshiping with - a few of the friendly guys from Unhindered , who have quickly become part of my list of favorite new worship leaders/songwriters. Some of my... More DanceMy youngest is 15 months old, and much like our first (who is now 3 1/2), every time he hears music, his body starts moving. His moves aren't 'smooth' - in fact, his dancing makes Michael Stipe's dance moves seem almost entirely un-awkward -... More REVIEW: U2 - No Line on the HorizonU2 No Line on the Horizon I still remember hearing U2's Under a Blood Red Sky for the first time. I was in the 5th grade, during an indoor recess (it was January - too much snow to play outside in Ohio), and a friend had gotten it for Christmas. I... More Taking part in Sunday Setlists #29, as a worshiper...With much of our Youth staff, and our Junior High Youth off on a retreat, I had the weekend off from Rush Hour, so I took the opportunity to book a show at Java Monkey in Decatur, GA, and visit family in the Atlanta area. As a firm believer in the... More You Come Running (so far)...Part of what fascinates me about a new song is the process it undergoes. From an emotion in my heart, or an idea in my head, to a simple chorus which grows into a chord progression and half-finished lyrics. It's like watching your own child as... More 2008 was a good year (musically)...If there's one thing I can say about 2008 it's that I made some wonderful new music discoveries - the sort of stuff that makes you re-think how you approach music. The first mind-blow of the year was Secret & Whisper 's GREAT WHITE WHALE , an... More Seeing from a fresh perspective...When transferring pics from our Sony Cyber-shot (which we love, but that's another blog entirely), I came across a number of photos that just didn't make sense to me - the angles from which the photos were taken, and the odd nature of the objects... More New & New-to-Me Worship songs for a New Year!I'm always on the look-out for new music. I'm looking for new Worship music for my own encouragement and to - possibly - discover that next gem that will move the hearts of this generation. And I look for other new music to simply 'expand my... More Worship & Evangelism: Penn of Penn & TellerEvangelism is the flip-side of the Worship coin: Worship is a life lived in response to Who God is and what He has done, and corporate worship is an opportunity to respond publicly with other believers and to encouraged them to respond with you -... More Inspiration comes from surprising places...I hope you all have had an absolutely wonderful Christmas. I apologize for my near absolute lack of blogging this past month - if I could effectively catch you up on it all, it would take almost a month to write, and frankly I just don't have the... More Saint Lewis on the ALL ABOUT WORSHIP podcast!!!Wisdom Moon - who’s podcasts have been an encouragement to me on many occasions - was kind enough to include Saint Lewis ’s song “ All in All (You’re all I Need) ” as the closer for the 10/8/08 edition of the ALL ABOUT WORSHIP podcast. Why don’t you... More Worship Confessional: INSIDE OUT 10-8-08I’ll admit it, I’m pretty much a perfectionist when it comes to the musical aspect of worship, or for that matter, anything musical. When it comes to concerts I’ve performed, very few live up to my expectations. That’s to say, when the band does not... More I once held a hummingbird...It was late Spring/early Summer, sometime near my 9th grade year, not long after the locust plague , when walking outside was always crunchy, and our cars slip-sided from side to side on the pavement because we were continually hydroplaning on... More Ants...Some while back Cyle bought a “bounce-house” (a 10×10 ‘building’, filled with air?) for a measly $10, which I recently set up in our back yard for one of Kenimer’s (my 3 year old) play-dates. Looking as though it may rain, this morning I zipped... More The "Good Ole' Days" - or not?Yesterday via my iPod one of my favorite Bible teachers/authors - Rich Nathan of the Columbus Vineyard - reminded me of a passage I hadn’t looked at in quite a while: “ …the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes… Now... More Mega-Worship Text-fessional for late Sept. '08This has been a good week. I call it a good week because it was a week chock full of me doing what I was made to do: worship. Yes, that should happen ALWAYS - we should all live there - but I, personally, find a heightened sense of God’s presence... More Pride & Phone TheftSounds like a powerful new book title, doesn’t it? This past Saturday I bought my wife’s phone back. I got a phone call on my cell phone from my wife, Cyle, which was only odd because she appeared to be calling me from her cell phone, and yet we... More A brief history of (my) music, part 1In one sense, I’ve not always been a musician, but in that sense, no one has. However, my very earliest memories - sitting on an old couch in my living room in South Western Ohio listening to “Abbey Road” by the Beatles with my folks - have left me... More REVIEW: "Come Weary Saints"I’ve published a full review of Sovereign Grace Music’s “COME WEARY SAINTS” over at theWorshipCommunity.com. Stop by and take a read! INSIDE OUT/RUSH HOUR - greatest hits iTunes mixDo you go to the Inside Out / Rush Hour youth groups at St. Simons Community Church and are looking for recordings on the songs we sing? Are you a worship leader looking for a few proven new songs to add to your set? Do you just enjoy worship music... More Excellence & Creativity in WorshipGiven how many ’secular’ (I don’t actually BELIEVE in a Christian/Secular distinction, but I sometimes use it for the sake of simplicity) artists I talk about here, you may wonder why I mention them so often on a ‘Worship Blog’. Two words: 1.... More Looking for Potential: recognizing God's call...Today I heard Jennifer Nettles’ newest song on the radio while driving in to work. At first I didn’t recognize her voice (she’s the lead vocalist of Sugarland ), but was immediately taken with the song. When I heard her name, however, a huge grin... More Thoughts on Leading WorshipThis is an older blog from my personal site that I thought some on this list might find relevant… ________________________________________________ A few thoughts that have been brewing for a number of months, and have been regularly confirmed by... More Biblical Worship: what does it look like?As a Christ-follower (a rather flawed disciple of Jesus), my life is a response (what I do) to His work (what He has done and is doing): of creation, of sustenance, or rebirth, of enlightenment, of salvation, and sanctification. How I respond to God... More |
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Thoughts on Worship for a God who is Worthy
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