We hope that you and yours have a safe and meaningful time celebrating what God has done for and through you over the past year, and that you can look forward to the coming year, knowing that God is sovereign and that He works all things “for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28) Before Christmas we posted a “recap” column giving you a chance to look at videos, stories behind songs and various mp3s published in these pages since this site was relaunched in August. Here is a list of various text-based articles published since then, on topics …« Read Entire Post
Sojourn music is a ministry of Sojourn Community Church, located in the heart of Louisville, KY. WFPL (89.3 FM) recently reported on Sojourn during their airing of the National Public Radio program All Things Considered. Reporter Elizabeth Kramer interviewed Sojourn members and staff/elders, including Teaching Pastor Daniel Montgomery. She visited a Sunday worship service and sat in on a community group meeting hosted by Jamie and Kelsey Barnes as well. Among the things she covered was Sojourn’s participation in the Acts 29 church planting network, our goal of gospel transformation in the city of Louisville and the impact Sojourn has had within the …« Read Entire Post
“True worship is easy to talk about but difficult to come by in the self-made world of church success. Too often we worship our methodologies while feigning devotion to God. And when we do this, our pride and self-reliance belie a humanism more secular and infinitely more grotesque than anything we abhor in the world. In the midst of the present evangelical worship void, we need to be asking ourselves these questions: Can we who have become so self-reliant submit all that we are, all that we know, and all that we can accomplish to God’s greater will? Can we …« Read Entire Post
We hope you had a merry, Christ-centered Christmas and are looking forward to a new year. Courtesy of the SBTS Institute for Christian Worship, here is an mp3 of a lecture by David Peterson on the issue of musical styles in congregational worship. Peterson is a noted scholar and author of the classic Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship. You can visit the Institute for Christian Worship from our Helpful Links section.
As we approach the end of the year and reflect upon the meaning behind the birth of Christ, the promised deliverer who would undo the curse of sin for those who trust in Him, we want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and safe holiday traveling. It’s been a busy year for the Sojourn music ministry, and since this site began in August, coinciding with the release of Before the Throne, that has only intensified. We realize many of you may have missed some of the links to live worship songs, TV shows featuring the Sojourn band, and other interesting …« Read Entire Post
 Thanks to those of you who listened to the “Holiday Live Lunch singer-songwriter Showcase” featuring Sojourn worship leader Jamie Barnes and fellow Louisville singer-songwriters Leigh Ann Yost, Brigid Kaelin, Danny Flanigan and John Mann via live internet streaming on www.wfpk.org and, in Louisville, on FM radio 91.9 WFPK. Jamie performed two songs from our new CD, Advent Songs, during the one-hour broadcast: “Joy to the World” and “Amen, Amen.” WFPK had introduced our recording of “Joy to the World,” featuring a brand new melody by Jamie, during their A.M. drive time shift this morning. The show will be archived eventually on …« Read Entire Post
… and, if you’re in the Louisville metropolitan area, on 91.9 FM WFPK. Sojourn worship leader/ singer-songwriter Jamie Barnes will be appearing live on WFPK’s popular “Live Lunch” program with four other noted Louisville singer-songwriters to sing Christmas songs. Jamie will perform selections from our brand new Advent Songs CD. For those of you from around the world, visit wfpk.org at noon, EST to stream the program live utilizing RealPlayer, mp3 player or Windows Media. If you cannot listen at this time, the show will be archived for you to listen at your convenience in the Live Lunch Audio Archive. …« Read Entire Post
“Like most writers, I don’t like to write; I like to have written.”– William Zinsser, “On Writing Well” True, isn’t it? A writer will do anything to get out of writing — another trip to the coffee shop, an episode of The Jeffersons on cable, a phone call or even an extended discussion about the idea the writer has for his story, song, novel, play, hymn, Sunday School lesson, or what have you. But actually sitting down, turning the cell off, and writing … man, that can be scary. Here are some nuggets to help, courtesy of Thomas H. Uzzell’s …« Read Entire Post
The following excerpt is from Redeemer Presbyterian pastor Tim Keller’s chapter, “Reformed Worship in the Global City” in Worship By The Book, edited by D.A. Carson and published by Zondervan:  ”The Bible simply does not give us enough details to shape an entire service when we gather for worship. When the Bible calls us to sing God’s praises, we are not given the tunes or the rhythm. We are not told how repetitive the lyrics are to be or how emotionally intense the singing should be. When we are commanded to pray corporate prayers, we are not told whether those …« Read Entire Post
Courtesy of the Resurgence website, here is a link to both audio and video streaming of a talk by Mars Hill Church pastor Tim Smith on missional worship. We think you’ll find it informative and convicting.
Courtesy of Drake Hatfield’s drakeaudio.com, here is an mp3 of Beautiful Moon, by The Joy Unfolding, a band made up of Sojourn worship leaders Jamie Barnes, Rebecca Dennison, Jason Tieman, Doug Elmore and pastor Mike Cosper. The Joy Unfolding mostly features songs written by Jamie and Rebecca set to compelling new arrangements, often with a strong jazz influence. You’ll particularly hear this on “Beautiful Moon,” recorded at The 930. The picture above is from a performance at The Jazz Factory, Louisville’s premier jazz club, located in the heart of downtown on Market Street, in the historic Glassworks building. All members of …« Read Entire Post
February 14-16, Sojourn Teaching Pastor Daniel Montgomery and Worship Arts Pastor Mike Cosper will be featured guest speakers at Union University’s How Should We Worship conference, an event for pastors, ministers of music, worship ministers and worship teams. Other speakers for this event will be noted theologians, educators and authors Marva Dawn, Donald P. Hustad, Robert Smith, Jr., George H. Guthrie and David S. Dockery. Mike and Daniel will conduct Session Four, Friday the 15th at 3 pm, speaking on “Worship, Culture and Context: A Case Study from a Missional Church.” They will also participate in the closing panel discussion with …« Read Entire Post
From A More Profound Alleluia, by Leanne Van Dyke (published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co): “The term ‘liturgy’ was originally rooted in the context of ancient Greek life, where it meant ‘the work of the people’ and referred to ‘public works’ …. We, of course, use it most commonly to refer to the blueprints for that work rather than to the work itself. The liturgy, for us, is the printed order of worship. The Eastern Orthodox have a phrase that retains the earlier meaning of the word: ‘the liturgy after the Liturgy.’ This refers to the weeklong liturgy of …« Read Entire Post
Will Kottheimer recently caught up with singer-songwriter and Sojourn worship leader Brooks Ritter to ask him about the writing process for “In the Shadow of the Glorious Cross,” a song he cowrote with Rebecca Elliott for Before the Throne (the pair also sang the song on the CD). You can hear the mp3 of this song on Before the Throne’s page in our Music section. Q. How did you meet Rebecca Bales Elliot and how did you come to collaborate on the song? A. Rebecca and I met two summers ago at an artists’ camp in Nashville, TN. I had …« Read Entire Post
Theresurgence.com has posted video of Harold Best’s second lecture (“Jesus the sole mediator of worship, and the helplessness of music) at the recent Continuous Worship conference hosted by Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Dr. Best, author of Music Through The Eyes of Faith and Unceasing Worship, explains Christ’s role as the High Priest of our faith and as the only One worthy and able to lead worship. We provided a link to Dr. Best’s first lecture at this conference last week. Go to our Blog section if you missed it. You can also visit Dr. Best’s web page from the …« Read Entire Post
The Louisville Courier Journal recently published video of an art installation at The 930 by Nadus Films. Nadus, founded by Sojourn member Coury Deeb, documents the struggle of the war-torn nation of Sudan to rebuild and helps to make people aware of the plight of many Sudanese children. From the Nadus website: THE NEW SUDAN is an art installation resulting from two recent trips to Sudan by Nadus Films, a non-profit documentary film company based in Louisville, Kentucky. The exhibit tells the story of Southern Sudan’s struggle with years of civil war and the fragile peace they’re struggling to sustain. …« Read Entire Post
The brand new Sojourn CD, Advent Songs, is available to order in our online Store NOW. And … it’s only $5! And remember that, through Christmas, our other CDs are only $5 as well, except the new Before the Throne, which is $8. It’s the perfect time to stock up on Sojourn CDs for yourself or to give away as gifts. Advent Songs now has its own page in our Music section, with mp3s of the three songs we’ve featured so far this week plus one more: a remake of Mike Cosper’s “Glory Be” from 2003′s Songs for the Advent. The new version features …« Read Entire Post
As noted in yesterday’s column, a brand new Christmas season CD from Sojourn, Advent Songs, is just days away from release. You can hear one track from this new project by visiting that post. Here is another cut, “Amen, Amen,” written by Neil and Kate Robins (of Dirt Poor Robins, whom we will talk more about when their own new CD is released nationwide early next year). The song is based on Isaac Watts’ classic hymn “Jesus Shall Reign.” It features lead vocals by Rebecca Elliott, who sang and wrote several songs on Before the Throne, with instrumentation by Neil, …« Read Entire Post
You just never know what’s gonna happen when great musicians and singer-songwriters get together — especially when they happen to be worship leaders who love singing about the coming of Messiah. A couple months ago several members of the Sojourn worship team set out to do a slight update to Sojourn’s 2003 holiday album, Songs for the Advent. But as they gathered together in Neil Robins’ Stellar Cellar Studios, the project seemed to take on a life of it’s own. And just a short while ago – after weeks filled with feverish recording — Advent Songs was born: three revived tracks from the …« Read Entire Post
