REVIEW: Cameron Moore – self-titled e.p.

by

CamMooreEPCameron Moore
Self-Titled E.P.
Independent

Highlights: “Drowning”, & “Unrelenting”

 

 

 

This past Summer I took First UMC‘s youth to CROSS MISSIONS in Charlotte, NC. While there one of the staff that led our team was a fuzzy, kind, humble young man named Cameron. He worked hard & served our team well. One morning he pulled out his guitar, & we co-led a song or two – some popular covers, & I began to see a side of him I didn’t expect. Over the course of the week, I realized he was a writer & was recording a CD – so I asked if I could hear a track before the week was out. Let’s just say that I was more than pleasantly surprised! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Music Review, Musicianship, New Music, Shannon, writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW REVISITED: Aaron Keyes – “Dwell”

by

By my standards, Dwell – by Atlanta area worship pastor/artist Aaron Keyes – is one of the all-around best corporate worship CDs of all-time. Serious! StuG’s production is fresh, even by todays standards, the songwriting is Grade A, & the songs are almost all corporate, & adaptable for almost any style of congregation. To top it all off, this is where Michael W. Smith‘s latest hit single, “Sovereign over Us”, originated from! If you’re looking for a great listen, but also would like to find a number of singable, new-to-you corporate songs to use for your congregation, look no further. Here’s the “revisited” review…
(stick around after the review for links to my live interviews of Aaron, as well)
________________________________________________________________________

Artist: Aaron Keyes
Release: Dwell
Label: Kingsway

 

 

 

Highlights: “I am not the Same”, “Sovereign over Us”, “Song of Moses”, “Dwell”, & “Lavish Your Love”

I vividly remember when I first heard Chris Tomlin’s newly released CD “Not to Us”.  Up to that point, apart from a couple “worship hits”, Tomlin’s catalogue had been pretty pedestrian, yet out of the blue he released a CD from which I used no less than 7 songs corporately, & which was a trend-setter production-wise for the next several years. Enter “Dwell” by Aaron Keyes. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Creativity, Music Review, New Music, Resource, Shannon, writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REVIEW REVISITED: Paul Baloche – “The Same Love”

by

For Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday of this week I’m going to be revisiting “classic” reviews I’ve written of a few truly excellent worship CDs. Todays is The Same Love by a wonderful pastor & worship leader, Paul Baloche. To be honest, the first few times I’d heard it, I wasn’t sure what to make of it – the flavor & feel of the CD was quite different from all of his earlier work. In hindsight, I now consider it one of my favorites from among his recordings. As best I can describe, it’s still Paul, but deeper – the melodies are richer & more complex, & the lyrics deeper. Though I don’t use many of these songs corporately, it’s one of my favorite listens for personal worship. Below is my original review
_________________________________________________________________

thesameloveArtist: Paul Baloche
Release: The Same Love
Label: Integrity
Highlights: “the Same Love”, “We are Saved”, “Just Say”

 

Paul Baloche needs no introduction. Even if you don’t recognize his name, you’ve sung his songs.  I regularly use no less than 12 of Paul’s originals in corporate worship, which is significant given the number of new worship songs that flood the market daily – he is truly a masterfully gifted songwriter.  What’s better, however, is the Jesus-centered heart of the man, which overflows in his lyrics & personally, for those who’ve been face-to-face with him.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Creativity, Music Review, New Music, Shannon, writing Tagged With: , , ,

Resources: “When this Day Ends”

by

A couple weeks ago I announced the humbling things God has done with our latest single, “When this Day Ends”. Well, we’ve been blessed to work with a number of other great ministries working hard to help resource the local church. [Read more…]

Filed Under: New Music, Saint Lewis, Shannon, writing

KINGDOM: Love as a sign of the Kingdom

by

“Your kingdom come – Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
– Matthew 6:19

PuzzlePieceKingdomMy middle son, Tucker, used to love puzzles.  Not the simple wood-cut baby puzzles, but a good 100+ piece puzzle that would take anyone at least an hour to complete – he was only 3!  I remember once helping him with one that had him baffled and I have to admit that I, too, was stumped.  Turns out, we were missing two or three significant pieces, which really kept us from getting the bigger picture.

Likewise, the “Kingdom of God”.  Never mind that it’s the backdrop for the entirety of the whole Bible, mentioned no less that 140 times in the New Testament alone – we really don’t ‘get it’.  That’s just to say, the church as a whole hasn’t really committed much time coming to terms with the Kingdom – in many ways, it’s the ‘missing piece’ that makes us miss the big picture of our faith. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Kingdom of God, Shannon, Theology, writing Tagged With: , , , , , ,