Last week we looked at the music of three worship ministries that many Sojourn members and worship leaders have listened to in personal worship over the last few years, Mars Hill, Indelible Grace and Sovereign Grace.  Today we’ll highlight some more worship music that various Sojourners mentioned when asked the question “What worship music (besides Sojourn’s) do you listen to?” Check them out!
Robbie Seay A pop-rock sound. Robbie has quite a few EP’s and LP’s out, and his music has found its way into many churches.
Red Mountain Music. They primarily write new music for old hymn texts and psalms, and have a cool roots vibe. You can hear many audio clips from their five albums at their site.
The Glorious Unseen  Ambient/ indie rock from the worship ministry of The Anchor Fellowship, a church in Nashville, Tennessee.Â
Keith and Kristyn Getty This couple, along with frequent collaborator Stuart Townend, is responsible for some of the best lyrics and most accessible congregational tunes in the church today.Â
Redemption Songs by Jars of Clay. This is Jars’ contribution to the modern hymn movement — a CD of hymns and gospel standards in alt-rock/ folk settings.
Satan is Real by the Louvin Brothers. Classic bluegrass gospel from Ira and Stanley Louvin. And check out that cover art …
The Builder and the Architect CD by Sandra McCracken. We do many of the songs on this CD in Sojourn worship services.
Vintage 21. This was my own addition to the conversation. They’re a fellow Acts 29 church from Raleigh, North Carolina with a new CD. You can listen to the tracks online. Their worship pastor, Matt Stevens, is an insightful blogger as well.
Madison Greene an “aggressive acoustic” band with an eclectic mix of World music influences, playing instruments from mandolin to didgeridoo.
Gateway Worship the music ministry of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. You can check out their music on the Integrity label — they’re often described as a mix between Hillsong and Hillsong United.Â
Of course, various members and people attending Sojourn also worship while singing along with Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman … you know, the usual suspects. Although many people on the ‘net complain (often, with cause) about the quality of music for worship coming out of the CCM world these days, there are still many good “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” out there. Some of it is under the radar; some of it is not. But it’s out there, and that bodes well for the church.
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The above list seems to be an accurate reflection of the Sojourn community.
As far as the more contemporary material, I find myself sticking more and more with the older songs; or, I’m not jumping on the bandwagon with every single release from Tomlin, Lincoln Brewster, etc. Some of my reasons are covered in an article from Christianity Today that I’ll point to, if it’s okay with you:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/commentaries/modernworship.html
I’ll also point out another resource, free mind you (free is always good) on keeping up with the latest songs coming out of CCM: the LifeChurch worship podcasts on iTunes. It’s the worship bands from some of LifeChurch’s campuses, and they will play the latest songs from Tomlin, Brewster, Hillsongs, Crowder, etc.
That’s an excellent article in Christianity Today, Brian — thanks for pointing it out. I might have more to say about it at a later time.