All About Worship Collective 3 is Here!
We are excited to release the All About Worship Collective 3 today!
The All About Worship Collective is a collection of worship songs written for The Church by various worship leaders/songwriters, made available for free. The vision for the Collective is to be a resource of quality, top-notch, corporate worship songs for local churches all over the world…AT NO COST TO YOU!…thanks to the generous artists, songwriters, and record labels!
Volume 3 Includes:
1. Oh Our Lord (feat. All Sons & Daughters) - Paul Baloche
2. Highest Praise – Sean Hill
3. Running into Your Name - Ben Woodward
4. All Praise Be (feat. Jennie Mahood) - Matthew Reed
5. Awakening (feat. Michael Farren) – Wisdom Moon
6. Shine / We Wait (feat. Brian Johnson) – Dave Fitzgerald
7. At The Name (feat. Katherine Castro, Kennedy Goins) - Sean Hill
8. Belongs to You (All the Glory) (feat. Melody Francis) - Harvest Worship
9. Light of the World – Sean Carter
10. Greatly to be Praised – Mike Kim
11. Can’t Get Enough of You (feat. Emily Riddle, Sarah Reeves) – Jennie Lee Riddle
Go to our Collective page to download the free album, as well as the free chord charts to all the songs! It’s only available for 90 days!!
Podcast Episode 86 – Featuring An Interview w/ Paul Baloche
We invite you to listen to episode 86 where we welcome one of the “godfathers” of worship music, Paul Baloche. Wisdom and Paul discuss his foreign language albums (Paul demonstrates his mastery of both Korean and French), the release of his 12th recording with Integrity music - The Same Love, the challenge of maintaining humility while utilizing social media as an artist, and more.
What Else?
- Ben reveals why he is a worship leader and not a beatboxer
- Our hosts introduce a new, nearly useless superhero, Remember-the-Date Man
- Wisdom bears witness to Ben’s unique shofar skills
Quick Links:
leadworship.com
facebook.com/PaulBaloche
twitter.com/paulbaloche
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facebook.com/allaboutworship
comment line: 913.735.4229
allaboutworship[at]gmail[dot]com
A special thanks to Christian Copyright Solutions for sponsoring this podcast. Be sure to use promo code, AAWPODCAST, on CopyrightSolver.com to receive a special 10% off the PERFORMmusic and WORSHIPcast licenses and the PERMISSIONSplus service.
The Same Love, Paul Baloche – Album Review
Listening to a new Paul Baloche CD for the first time is like opening a huge stack of Christmas presents – so much excitement, anticipation of what’s to come, looking forward to discovering what new jewels will be inside.
With Paul’s latest release, The Same Love, that anticipation is greatly rewarded with a batch of fresh, 
powerful, creative new songs for the church. Even with this new project, Baloche’s 12th recording with Integrity Music, Paul continues to stay relevant and in tune with what’s happening today musically and in the church at large.
Collaborating with some of today’s top artists in the church, like Kari Jobe, All Sons & Daughters, Lincoln Brewster, Kathryn Scott and more, Paul delivers an album with themes of God’s faithfulness and mercy through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross that showcases his unbreakable connection to and passion for the Church.
From the opening few bars of piano on the first track, the title song, you can tell this album is going to be an adventure into new territory for Baloche. Co-written with Michael Rossback, “The Same Love” invites us with a fresh, new sound to remember that God is calling us all by name with “The same love that set the captives free/The same love that opened eyes to see”.
Paul says of the creative process behind this album, “You’re trying to go places you’ve never been, deeper into ancient truths, stirring up your modern soul, if you will.” The result of this exploration is a progressive, yet familiar sound for Baloche, mixing all of these different elements of harmony, chords, lyrics, melody and vibe.
The album continues with “We Are Saved”, a song not only co-written with Ben Fielding, but Ben also lends his voice on this driving, Hillsong-esque anthem. Many familiar voices are heard along with Paul’s on this project, including popular duo All Sons & Daughters on “King of Heaven” and “Oh Our Lord” – two standout tracks!
Kathryn Scott lends her voice on “My Hope”, a powerful song of hope for the church. Baloche says, “Life is hard, people are looking for hope, and there’s not much to be found outside of the hope we have in Christ. My intent is for these songs to be honest prayers for the Church to sing…”
Other familiar voices you’ll hear are Kari Jobe on “Look Upon the Lord”, One Sonic Society’s Jason Ingram on “Reign In Me”, and Brothers McClurg on “Just Say”, which was previously recorded on their Alive EP with a whole different vibe. Other songs you may recognize are “Loved By You” and “Shout for Joy” which are co-writes with Lincoln Brewster and appear on his Real Life project.
Once again, Paul Baloche gives the Church a great gift with The Same Love. Paul’s voice sounds just as strong as ever, and the album is filled with songs that will work well in a corporate worship setting. From the simple yet striking “Your Blood Ran Down” to the full sound of “All Because of The Cross”, you will be sure to find a use for every song on this amazing album.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
-Review by Barry Westman
(review copy provided by Integrity Music)
The Same Love – Music Video by Paul Baloche
Our friend, Paul Baloche, recently released his new single “The Same Love”. It was filmed and edited by his talented son! Enjoy!
“Just To Be With You” by Paul Baloche – music video
Here’s the live music video of Paul Baloche’s “Just To Be With You” from his album, Glorious.
Aaron Gillespie Anthem Song – CD Review
Combine passionate, raw vocals, a defiant departure from the protocol of contemporary worship, and honest production from one of the industry’s best, and you’ve got Aaron Gillespie’s first solo worship project – Anthem Song. As the former drummer/vocalist of chart-topping Christian metal-core band Underoath and lead singer of The Almost, Aaron is no stranger to transitioning from one genre to another.
“I have this desire to see our generation worshipping God,” says Gillespie. “But a lot of the people I get to meet through music—kids with tattoos and swoop over haircuts—don’t think of worship as ‘cool.’ I want them to find a home and a vocabulary to experience this kind of music.”
It’s this kind of approach that seems to have shaped a well-rounded, fresh expression of worship from the 27 year-old artist. As a pastor who is always looking for the next song to feed our students, young adults and congregation, this album doesn’t disappoint.
There’s honestly not one song that leaves me wanting more, and although some of the tracks lean more heavily on soaring choruses and strong melodic hooks than poetic lyrical offerings, Anthem Song provides the listener with a fully satisfying worship encounter. Aside from my favorites, “We Were Made for You,” the first single co-written with Paul Baloche, and the title-track “Anthem Song,” other notable moments include:
“I will Worship You” - Beautiful song of surrender with a familiar Hillsong chorus woven in… “Halelujah, Halelujah, Halelujah, Our God Reigns.”
“Earnestly I Seek You” - So honest and raw. If you’re looking for a song to bolster your “quiet-time” rotation, this is it. And I love, love, love the raw vocals at the end!
“Washed Away” – A corporate cry for God to wash over The Church.
Themes of deep devotion, true justice and complete consecration are evident from start to finish. I would highly recommend this album to anyone.
Review by Joe Cameneti Jr.
(CD provided courtesy of BEC Recordings)
Brenton Brown “Our God is Near” – CD Review & Giveaway
For your chance to win a Pre-Release version of Brenton’s new CD, leave a comment on this post by Friday, March 25th, 5pm CST. We’ll pick two random winners! (Note: US residents only. Must be at least 18 years old.)
Brenton Brown continues his tradition of top-class songwriting and high-class production with his latest offering – Our God is Near. Here are my thoughts on this exciting new release…
I was introduced to “Our God is Mercy” at a recent conference. It was a lively opener with a catchy melody and had a structure that was very easy to follow. The song was quick and upbeat, yet gave enough space for interpretation, and had a nice refrain (“Lift up your eyes, lift up your eyes”…etc.) giving space for the congregation to regain some breath. Within seconds I was hooked, and over the course of the weekend, as the song grew in familiarity, so the passion of the words ignited something deep within me.
The studio version present on this album is again an upbeat offering – with a lively, punchy drumbeat with the rhythm guitar providing a strong, progressive feel to the song. The lyrics invite the worshipper into the song – there is a strong message of hope, acceptance and belonging prevalent within the opener to the album.
We go from here to the second track – “Joyful”, with an instantly recognisable melody line – adapted from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony’s “Ode to Joy”. The message of this song is beautiful – it’s hymnal verses are complemented superbly by a lively praise chorus (“You are the one who saves “etc.). This track (and indeed the entire album) stays faithful to the typical Sunday-morning worship band lineup – a couple of guitars, bass, drums and not much else. The producers (Jason Ingram & Rusty Varenkamp) deserve credit for this, as all too often studio worship albums can be completely over-orchestrated and almost impossible for worship bands to reproduce.
I had heard “Glorious” on Paul Baloche’s album of the same name, a co-write with Brenton, and as with other songs such as “Because of Your Love”, this appears on both Paul and Brenton’s albums. Brenton’s versions of these songs tend to be rockier than Paul’s, and this is no exception, with the introductory riff taken by a crunchy lead guitar. Bass and drums are the key to this version, pounding us through the song with passion and fervour.
Other highlights on this album include “All I Want” – a song that expresses perfectly the Lord’s love, grace and mercy towards us, and in the chorus we offer our response to the Lord of our desire to know Him and feel Him more.
The beautiful closing song “All for You” contains a great message which I will leave you with – this represents my heart for worship and how I feel we should view our relationship with the Lord:
“Jesus this is all for You,
Father this is all for You,
How Your children long to bless Your heart
Lord we’ve tasted and we’ve seen
We’ve held the beauty of the King
And we long to magnify our God”
Standout Songs:
All For You
Our God is Mercy
Glorious
Review by Ed Rotheram
(Review CD provided by Kingsway)
You can hang out with Brenton Brown and worship along to his new songs at the upcoming All About Worship Retreat in Kansas City, May 19-21…along with Pocket Full of Rocks, Sarah Reeves, Dave Fitzgerald, and 60 other fellow worship leaders/worshippers.
Ministering to the Lord – Thoughts From Paul Baloche’s Workshop
This past weekend, I had the privilege, along with 9 others from our worship ministry, to attend the Leadworship Workshop in Minneapolis, led by Paul Baloche and his band, along with Jared Anderson. It was a wonderful time of refreshment, training, refocusing and encouragement for our whole team! There’s so much I could share about what we experienced there, but what probably had the biggest impact on me was the session on worship leading with Paul Baloche.
One of the main lessons that came through in this session was that we can’t lead others into something that
we’re not practicing ourselves. This simple thought has so many implications. Our ministry to others really begins with our ministry to the Lord. Paul started by bringing 1 Chronicles 25:6-7 to our attention, which describes those who were leading the singing in the house of the Lord as being “trained and skilled in music for the Lord”.
He encouraged us to truly work at being trained and skilled on our instrument, challenging us to set aside 20 minutes a day to practice our primary instrument, with a metronome. Also, he challenged us to learn and memorize the top 20 songs of your church, so they are at your disposal. That way, if you’re in the middle of leading a set and the thought comes to you that you would like to do a song, you’re not stuck if the music is back in your office!
In addition to the practical musical training, we also need to work at developing our ministry “for the Lord”. Paul described our role as a worship leader as focusing on three areas – the priestly, prophetic and pastoral. In 1 Chronicles 16:4, those who were charged with leading the music were given a job description – to “extol, thank and praise the Lord” in His presence before the ark of the Lord. Our role begins as priestly, offering praises to the Lord. As important as this is, it’s probably our most neglected. But, if we don’t minister to the Lord in private, it will feel fake when we try to do it in public.
To build up our comfort level, and familiarity with ministering to the Lord, Paul recommended spending a focused time with the Lord on a regular basis. Worship works best when Sunday morning is just doing publicly what we’ve been doing privately on our own. I’ve heard this before, but I guess it just hit home when I could see Paul’s heartfelt desire for each of us there to really put this into practice.
He was so passionate in his desire for us to understand how important it is to take the time to do this. He described how he goes into the sanctuary alone, when no one else is around armed with a list of familiar songs in similar keys and the Psalms. He just starts to sing out songs to Him in prayer, praying the lyrics of the songs, and singing through the Psalms, just making up melodies as he goes. It’s a time to forget about yourself, your ego, and just be yourself, singing and speaking your prayers to Him. As we do that, little melodies will come, we’ll be getting the Word of God in our heads, and get comfortable playing, singing and speaking at the same time.
Sometimes, he said, we’ll sense His presence as we do this, and sometime it may feel mechanical. That doesn’t matter, though; just the act of showing up speaks to Him. Then, as we continue to do this from week to week, pretty soon on a Sunday morning, things start popping out of our mouth, and we wonder – where did that come from!? Phrases we say in our private worship, phrases from the Psalms, the cries of our heart, will flow freely from our hearts and out of our mouths. If we put these things into our hearts, the Holy Spirit can pull it out. He challenged each of us to make an appointment with the Lord, and to start doing this on a regular basis.
Along with our priestly role of ministering to the Lord, we also have a pastoral role of ministering to those around us. God wants us to be people who love His people first, then use music as a tool to accomplish that. We’re there as pastors with instruments in our hands. Everything we do should go through this pastoral filter – “Will this help other people worship?” Our goal is to help them worship, not show off our own skills. Do you have a love for the people in your church? Not just those in the worship ministry, but the ones you look out at on a Sunday morning from the stage?
As we spend time with the Lord, we need to pray for God to give us a heart for those who we serve, to break our hearts for what breaks His. In our private times with Him, as we pray and sing to the Lord, we’re also praying for God to break our hearts for the people we are leading in worship. Picture the people who sit on the right in the 3rd row, the teenager in back with his arms crossed, the couple going through marriage problems. Then, as we do this week to week, God will honor that, and over time it will look the same on the outside, but everything is different. We see people differently; we see them as people who need the Lord, not just the people who complain about the music being too loud, or the songs we choose.
This was a challenging reminder to make sure we are spending the time needed for the Lord to build up in us the tools we need to be effective in what He’s called us to do. “We need to bake the cake before we add the frosting.” In other words, the songs are the frosting. Our ministry can’t be all about the frosting. For one thing, it tastes good at first, but then if that’s all you eat, it gets kind of sickening! We bake the cake when we spend time with the Lord. That’s when we get grounded and filled up with what really matters. Once that is solid, then we’re ready to add all the good, tasty frosting (chocolate, please!) as we learn new songs, practice, prepare and lead from week to week.
All About Worship Plus Launch
We are so grateful that since 2005 we’ve had the opportunity to serve the worship community around the world by providing encouragement, inspiration, and resources. As you know almost all of the content that we provide is free. We work diligently to create unique content, exclusive to All About Worship, such as our podcast and articles.
We are now offering a Plus Membership for those that are interested in not only helping us continue, but also gaining access to valuable content.
Here are some of the features that Plus Members have access to:
-Two new exclusive training videos (about 5 minutes each) every month from worship leaders/speakers like: Jared Anderson, Chris McClarney, Dwayne Moore, and others.
-Ability to submit one song a month to the All About Worship Podcast, which has several thousand listeners worldwide. We will carefully select one song from our members’ submissions to feature on every off week of the podcast, which is usually 2-3 times a month.
-Access to worship training teleseminar archive AND free registration to future teleseminars.
-Access to exclusive bonus interviews, giveaways and more.
The value of these benefits far exceed $3.99 a month, but we want to make the Membership available to as many people as possible, so we are keeping the monthly fee at a very low cost. Please consider becoming a Plus Member, not only for the content, but to support what we are doing. Your membership is vital in ensuring that we are able to continue to do what we do at All About Worship.
If you sign up by November 5th, we’ll enter you into a giveaway for your chance to win Worship Vocal Workshop DVD by Paul Baloche, Kari Jobe, and others.
Head over to our Plus Membership Signup page for sample videos and for more details. Thanks so much!
-Wisdom M.
When Your Drummer is A No Show
I’m pretty sure most of us have been in this scenario…
It’s Sunday morning, time for sound check and your drummer is nowhere to be found. You call him and discover that he slept in and won’t be able to make it in time for the service. What do you do?
Here’s Paul Baloche to answer that question:
-Wisdom M.
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