Author Archives: Warren Anderson
When You Can’t Sing in Corporate Worship
“There’s no time like the present for worship leaders to put even more thought into the important ministry of putting songs on the lips of God’s people.” Continue reading
Let the Pandemic-Concessions-for-Corporate-Worship Redemption Begin!
“We need not be thankful for the coronavirus, of course, but seeking how we might adjust our worship practices in the months ahead in light of what we’ve learned during the pandemic might be a way of being thankful in all circumstances (1 Thes. 5:18), which would be very redemptive, indeed.” Continue reading
The Best Contemporary Worship Music Songwriter of All Time, cont.
“Crouch’s songs are eminently singable, with firm attention to structure tools like voice leading and the use of conjunct melodic lines. They are marvelously diverse harmonically, featuring chords almost never heard in cwm these days. And their lyrics are Davidic in their balancing of first-person devotion (personal-story) with universal-Church exhortation (cosmic-story; thanks, Lester Ruth, for the terms). Might more cwm songwriters aspire to Andraé Crouch’s creativity and industry!” Continue reading
The Best Contemporary Worship Music Songwriter of All Time
“It would not be an exaggeration to use MLK-like adjectives to modify any nouns related to Crouch’s efforts in segregated Protestant America, another reason his contribution to cwm is so significant.” Continue reading
Songwriting Tips from the Experts, Part 14
“Songwriting is hard for me. It’s not like they just come rolling out of my ears or anything. And the only difference between me and the other guy who is a songwriter is that I cull. I throw away a lot of stuff. I throw it away until what is left is good. I’m willing to do that work. I don’t keep something until I think it’s great.” Continue reading
Songwriting Tips from the Experts, Part 13
“The process of writing, for me, is not very cut and [dried]. One thing for sure, it’s one long process of self-editing and self-critique. I think a lot of [songwriters are not] . . . tough self-critics or self-editors.” Continue reading
Songwriting Tips from the Experts, Part 12
“As you survey your worship set on any given Sunday, ask yourself who gets the best action verbs. If the answer isn’t the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit, there’s a problem.” Continue reading
A Few Podcasts You Might Really Enjoy
Full disclosure: I don’t regularly listen to podcasts for the following reasons: 1) I have already mourned, for many years, that unless I live to be 120, I am going to go to my grave with numerous fabulous books left … Continue reading
A New Old Book You Will Want to Read
“Unlike so many authors–all of whom, understandably, must promote themselves in some fashion since their writing helps support their families and careers–Noland never seems to make grandiose self-referential splashes or pronouncements.” Continue reading
MLK, Current Events, and 135-Year-Old Corporate Worship
To whatever extent it’s true that “silence is violence” (a fascinating discussion for another day, assuming one is willing to engage in dispassionate, heuristic dialogue), newspaper op-eds and the various spheres (Twitter-, blogo-) of social media are rife with pacifists, such is the significant volume–quantity and loudness–of the commentary these days. Continue reading