FredMcKinnon.Com

Hey Everyone -

First of all .. my apologies for those who got the “open_base restriction” errors late yesterday through early this AM on my blog. We’re battling a hacker who is exploiting a vulnerability in an old package of software hosted on another site on this same server, and that was something that “broke” while we were fixing the issue. Didn’t realize that it took my blog down (and any other site on the server requiring that feature) until this AM.

Now, onto my review of Worship Leader Magazine’s Training Seminar that I participated in on Monday … I’ll post it here on my blog, but have also created a special “thread” for it on TheWorshipCommunity.Com … so I’d love your comments right here on the blog, but consider jumping over to TWC for more ongoing discussion with other worshipers.

I’ve been a subscriber of Worship Leader magazine for as long as I can remember being involved in Music Ministry. I’ve also been a subscriber (and have had two songs published on) their SongDISCovery resource. These tools are a real “must-have” for worship leaders and I endorse them with passion.

Recently, WorshipLeader.Com has launched a web-based “Training Center” where you can pay a small tuition (mine was $39 for the class I took on Monday) and participate in some incredible training opportunities by what I’d consider some of the most knowledgeable, trained and well-respected leaders in the world. You can learn more about WorshipLeader’s Training Center by visiting their site and view the schedule of upcoming events. I regret that I’ve not taken the previous seminars, as this past Monday was my first experience, which I’d rank a “10 out of 10″. You connect through “Webex” and can see video of the panelists, chat with them, view documents, do polls, and you call into a toll-free number where you can listen and talk with the panelist. I was very impressed with the technology and it was almost like we were all in a big room together.

Monday’s seminar was called “Song DISCovery Live” and was hosted by Phil Sillas, the Exec. Producer and A&R Manager for WL’s SongDISCovery program. Joining him on the panel was Pastor Scotty Smith of Christ Church in Franklin, TN, Andy Park, songwriter and worship leader for Vineyard (an icon in my world!), and Anadara, a singer/songwriter on the SpringHill worship label. The seminar was on how they choose songs for Worship Leader’s SongDISCovery and was an inside look at their critique and evaluation process.

I was excited to be a part of this seminar but right from the beginning it got VERY EXCITING because my song, “Restore My Heart” (leadsheet | view it on YouTube here) was chosen as one of 3 songs to be evaluated. Needless to say I was quite intimidated when they played the full song and scrolled the leadsheet through the screen (the host is able to hijack your computer screen and it becomes a shared reflection of her computer screen, so as she opened the leadsheet and scrolled through it, we were able to all see it on our screens, just as if we were doing it ourselves). Some of the most well-respected producers, writers, and worship leaders were in this class as well as a host of my own friends and worship-leading/songwriting peers from across the nation!

When the dust settled, I was steady taking notes for the next ten minutes or so as the panelists graciously, lovingly … ur … well .. picked my beloved song apart! (haha!) I wrote this song more than 12 years ago and just recorded it a few years ago on my “Worship Under the Stars” project. I really wish I’d gotten some input before recording it. Granted, any critique and review is somewhat subjective but I walked away from this seminar with a great appreciation for the craft of songwriting and for the insight these panelists had into what makes a song “great”. I felt that their input was “spot on” and know that although it was a bit painful to see “my baby” worked over, it was necessary and will make me a better writer.

Don’t get the wrong idea – the panelist was very gracious and had lots of positive reinforcement. They applauded the melodic line, many of the lyrical phrases, the production quality and vocals, and really appreciated the fact that Kim and I shared the vocal lead on the song – giving exposure to a great way for vocalist to co-lead a song and opening the door for a female lead in a genre that is overwhelmingly dominated by more male worship leaders.

A few of the comments that were discussed and agreed upon across the entire panel were targeted at some of the lyrical phrases, and how they fit (or did NOT fit) with solid doctrine. I’ll share the lyrics below and insert comments from the review:

Verse:
Change me, cleanse me, restore my heart.
[not much here, other than Pastor Scotty said that he'd rather see the order changed to "cleanse me, change me" which was a bit more in line with the sanctifcation process, which I didn't follow 100% ... my though is that we ask God to change us (which for me would be a redeeming action, changing us from lost sinners to saved Christians), followed by "cleanse me" (ongoing cleansing, forgiving, and sanctification) and restoration ... honestly, I wasn't trying to express those in theological order, just as a set of 3 things I'm asking God to do in this prayer song.]

Fill me, renew me, thank You, Lord, for a brand new start.
[one of my favorite phrases, and not really any comments there]

As I cast all my cares upon Your feet
[Andy didn't like the word "upon" and said it would be better to use any number of replacements for that word, which isn't a very modern expression or way of speaking in today's language .. too "king jame'ish"]

And I come to You now through the blood to Your mercy seat
[no comment]

Chorus:
So I call on You right now and renew to You my life.
[a good bit of discussion on doctrinal soundness here. They were gracious and understood the "heart" of what I was attempting to express here, but basically said "you can't renew your life to God '' ... you can surrender, dedicate, commit, etc., but only GOD can "renew a life". I accepted this as good input and if I had to do it all over again, would have taken more time and tried to communicate that better.]

** Insert Note: you may be thinking, “this is very picky and critical” … but keep in mind, this is meant to be a CRITIQUE and EVALUATION … that’s what it’s there for. The purpose is to make GOOD songs GREAT. Songs that are “OK” for some congregations to be “UNIVERSAL” for many congregations, etc. Keep that mindset here as we continue.

Restore to me Your joy.
[I remember Anadara chiming in saying how much she loved that phrase .. thanks Anadara!]

Lord I want to be Your bride.
[this line was the biggest point of discussion. Phil commented on how he'd rather here this done in the plural (Lord, we want to be Your bride, along with "change us, cleanse us" ... my thoughts, GREAT IDEA - I'm going to do that from on when I use this song in corporate worship. Andy challenged this doctrinally .. saying that nowhere does an INDIVIDUAL claim to be the "bride of Christ" .. that this analogy is always used to the Church as a corporate Body .. not to an individual. (this was hard to swallow because that is probably my FAVORITE lyric in the song, but I definitely see their point, and by changing this prayer to a corporate prayer (instead of a personal plea) would resolve that sticking point). Interestingly enough, Phil also commented on how so many "men" (right or wrong) often have issues singing such "feminine" type lines such as "I want to be Your bride" which was a hilarious point for me when you consider that this whole "feminine lyrics and why men hate church" has been one of the hottest discussions going on over at TheWorshipCommunity.Com .... check it out here.]

Spotless and blameless in Your sight … so renew this earthly mind .. that I may honor You.
[not much comment after this, other than Andy and Anadora felt the Chorus was a bit long and was trying to say too much. Andy suggested shortening it ... something that I just can't hear .. most likely because I've lived with this song for over a decade, and have used it just as long in consistent, corporate and private worship. That doesn't say Andy's idea isn't on target (this guy is an amazing writer, teacher, mentor, and leader) .. it just means that something like that is much more easily resolved when you are doing a "work in progress" .. not a song you've already recorded, shared, and used for more than a decade!]

Phew – so we moved on to a couple of other songs … in spite of the fact that I felt naked and bare, I was completely pumped up with excitement and passion about getting back to songwriting, and being more diligent in applying the criteria and principles that they discussed.

For review, the Criteria they mention are:

1. Production Quality – We want to be fair to the songwriter and present their song in the best light. We also have promised our subscribers that we pick the best of the best, and we do not modify the production in any way – how you hear it is how it goes on the CD.
2. Style Diversity- We serve 20,000 worship communities each with a diverse worship culture and style cannot be THE evaluative deciding factor. Rather, listen to the song, can it be adapted – does it have the strength lyrically to be modified to fit a multitude of congregational settings? We will manage the style diversity, but we also must listen past our own style preferences.
3. Worship Function – The song needs to serve a function in the worship service, i.e.: offertory, communion, main congregational worship portion of the service, benediction, choral, special number, etc.
4. Lyrical Poetry & Accessibility – We are here to discover songs that allow worshipers to offer their praise and worship in a new and unique (but not too unique) way. This is what C.S. Lewis called, Lyrical Poetry. They also need to be accessible, each church’s definition of what is accessible will differ but generally if you can sing the song after only hearing one verse and one chorus it is accessible.
5. Theological Content – Above all else this criterion is most important. We need to make sure the lyrical content is doctrinally sound. What truth is it speaking to the congregation? And is this what we want to present to congregations to be sung over people in worship services?

When it’s all said and done, I feel that this process was incredible and I’m really looking forward to participating in more of these training sessions in the future.

For those of you who are WL/SD subscribers and have joined their new community, check me out on there … add me as a friend, and let’s support one another by playing music, voting, etc. At the time, the new community is only available for SongDISCovery subscribers, but will be open to the public at the end of July.

So .. leave your comments here .. and then discuss it further (if you’d like) on TheWorshipCommunity.Com.

For the Kingdom,
Fred