Kim Gentes

When we do reviews, it is normally on a full album project, or resource. Today, however, I wanted to share something that is just a single song resource.  Normally a single isn't something I investigate simply because of the time and work it takes to do a review.  This song, however, caught my attention instantly when I heard it, so I investigated further.

The song "Show Me The Way To Your Heart" is a new single just releasing from ION Records. You can find it on their front page at http://ionworship.org/ .  The song is a captivating call both to us and God. To us because it invites us into the prayer with its writers to seek God's heart and call on him even as we make our journey towards him. A call to God in that the song itself is a prayer "show me the way to Your heart".

The song is presented crisp, and clear, with the vocals of veteran worship leader Brian Doerksen executing his trademark pensive call and response styling.  The musical backdrop is provided by Doerksen's own band including the great rhythms of Calum Rees and Peter Davyduck (drums and fretless bass), with Brian Theissen on electric guitar adding melodic hook and with a meaty center of volume through the instrumental segment.

Songwriters Adam Villiers and Pete Beaumont give us lyrics that are as easy to sing as they are to listen to, and I found myself joining in almost instantly. In fact, the reason I am writing this review is because the song quickly became my prayer for the hours and days that followed the first listen.  Wonderfully infectious, the melody and theme of this song deserves a listen from any church which is looking for exceptional songs of longing that are perfect as congregational prayer-songs. As a worship leader, I have already begun to learn the song and practice it for the next opportunity I have to introduce a new song.

I'd encourage you to listen to it as well and see if it doesn't open your heart and lift you along with its prayerful melodies and lyrics. The song is available from ION directly at http://ionworship.org/ . For the price of a single song, plus a free chord chart included, you can hardly go wrong.  An excellent resource!

New Bonus Video - "Show Me The Way To Your Heart" - songwriter Adam Villiers and worship leader Brian Doerksen demonstrate the song and show how to play it.

Show us the way to Your heart. Yes, Lord!

In Him,
Kim Gentes

There are few songs in the past 5 years that have spread as quickly throughout the body of Christ as "Your Love Never Fails". This song, along with many others, is the outgrowth of the local ministry, worship leading and songwriting of Chris McClarney. Chris is a worship leader at Grace Center Church- a dynamic and growing church located in Franklin, TN. I recently was present during a worship service in which Chris led a song that struck me as not only unique, but profoundly worshipful, engaging and encouraging for people wishing to give abandon praise to their God. The song was called "Waste It All".

Since I am involved in working in the worship resourcing world, I looked for where I might find this song and found it on and exceptional album solo album entitled "Defender". If you haven't heard of Chris McClarney, that is no surprise as he low profile personality and humble demeanor are the antithesis of what you'd expect for a worship leader/songwriter/artist hailing from the Nashville metro area.  In the last several of weeks I have had the opportuntity to be in worship services in which Chris has led. From that backdrop, I decided to look deeper into the music that he has released. My first stop is this album, "Defender".  And I was very, very encouraged with what I found.

The album starts off with the popular chorus, "Your Love Never Fails".  This song is commonly known from its cover version on Jesus Culture release of the name. But here Chris treats us to a simpler, straightforward version of the song, crisply done with his pleading tenor notes and honest ad libs. The second track is a bluesy acoustic rock groove (complete with leslie hammond organ swirl) that drives home the point of Chris's intent with all the songs on this project- a direct assault at crediting, glorifying and praising God. In fact, with virtually every song, lyric and ad lib on this album you find a constant focus on God's character, Holy Person, attributes and acts while leaving little time for anything else. Yet in that broad focus on God, Chris's lyrics and songs remain very human, very real.  For example, the next song, "Who Is This Amazing Love", expresses the reflective interplay of these realities:

Who is this King of Glory?

The Lord so strong and mighty.

He's always faithful to forgive.

His favor goes before me,

His perfect love surrounds me,

Now I can't help but sing, oh.

The Lord is strong, forgiving and glorified, and yet our position of being in His favor and surrounded by His love is not forgotten.  This thoughtful balance is reflected in songs from the first track, title track, "Your Love Is Everything" and almost every track on this album.  And this brings up the strength of this project- well crafted and diligently tried lyrics. After being in worship services several times with Chris leading, I have seen many of these songs become anthems not just for the leader and worship team- but for the congregation, who uses them in unrestrained praise to God!

I must say that the song "Defender" is such a prayerful declaration, one can't help but be singing along full force by the time the track winds down. The next song is a beautiful composition of the W. Chalmers Smith hymn "Immortal Invisible".  The song has life and joy exploding in the new chorus with what becomes Chris's signature unrestrained style of praise through music and voice.

The next track that struck me powerfully both as a worshiper and a leader is the song "Your Love Is Everything". Another declarative thankful prayer to God, this song expounds its title phrase in the context of our human experience of needing God to bring his light into our darkness, to forgive our sin, heal us and to meet all our needs in the context of finding ourselves in God's overwhelming love.  This is definitely a song for worship leaders to review and see if it isn't one for your Sunday morning set lists.

There are a couple other songs on this album that were impactive to this worshiper. One of the best tracks is a beautiful, simple and uncluttered blues, rock version of "Blessed Assurance". While using the well-known lyrics of Fanny Crosby, Chris and co-writers John Hartley and Chris Eaton have fasioned a unique and personal rendition of this song that reminds us that our stories in this life become His praise as we live in the provision of God's "blessed assurance".

All of these songs are excellent considerations for any worship leader looking for new material for Sunday morning. But I have saved what I consider the best for last!

Remember, at the beginning of this article, I mentioned the song "Waste It All"? This song is found on track nine of this album. And it is, for me, an absolutely unforgettable worship song that deserves your attention. This song uses the scriptural allusion of John 12:1-11 to paint the scene of abandon worship- drawing us into the story of pouring our lives out as a fragrance to God, just as Mary Magadelene did with real perfume in her unabashed devotion to Christ.  If you (like me) listen and contemplate the lyrics to this song, you may come away with a bit more of your heart unlocked and surrendered in devotion to God. Here is the chorus refrain:

I want to waste it all on You
I want to pour my heart's perfume
And I don't care if I'm called a fool
I'm wasting it all on You

It has been a very long time since a song has come along that has such a vibrant combination of lyrical prowess and musical engagement- all with the singular focus of encouraging us to surrender our hearts with unashamed abandon to God and a personal relationship with Him.  If you don't remember anything else from this review, make sure you do this one thing- find the song "Waste It All" and use its well sculpted message to help you devote your heart to God in a fresh new way.  In my opinion, this track is the best song on this project and one of the best I've heard in the last 10 years. It's really that good.

For those that are interested in hearing this song, and the rest of the album, you will find it available in several of the normal locations (iTunes etc), but I especially recommend:

Defender -Chris McClarney http://amzn.to/OO04ww (Amazon)

For those who use online planning, you can also find the songs from this album, the full audio, chord charts and lyrics online in WorshipTeam.com.

This album is not a surprising innovative musical endeavor. But it is a vibrant and superbly crafted lyrical contribution for anyone looking for great new songs for their church. In fact, the songs are so strong and usable for local church use that Defender receives my accolade as an Editor's Choice selection. Excellent songwriting, shining vocals and honest expression throughout the project make this album worthwhile for any worshiper, and especially worship leaders, to consider.

worshiping Him!

Kim Gentes 

Kim Gentes may not be as familiar a name to you as some of the well known worship leaders, but he has been instrumental in providing the church with some of the best worship songs and resources available through worshipmusic.com for the past 10 years. While serving as a worship leader in his church every week he recognized the need to be able to easily access great worship songs and resources, but also had a desire to share them with the worship community around the world. Kim Gentes has reviewed literally hundreds of worship CD's and songs over the years and his new release, Kingdom Rain is the result of seeking the heart of God each week, trying to give voice to the cry of our hearts in each song and inviting God to visit us in a special way. Several of the songs are co-written with producer Brian Thiessen, (guitarist for Brian Doerksen) who provides a great "worship band" feel for Kim leading with his acoustic guitar. 

"Let Everything" is a great opener and an invitation to do what we were created to do….join with all creation to Praise the Lord! I resonate with every word of the title cut, "Kingdom Rain". What a great prayer! I love the text from Revelations and minor rock feel of "Holy Holy Is The Lord Almighty", featuring Vineyard worship leader, Andy Park. I wasn’t ready for this one to end. "Whispers Like Thunder" and "Only Jesus" are two tender prayers that I know reflect the heart of Kim Gentes. "All Of Me For All Of You" is the result of a very personal journey for Kim and a few close friends. I was privileged to be on that journey with him. It has a great Celtic feel featuring a duet with Jessica Park. Love this. "You're My Refuge" is another great prayer and declaration. The chorus is so simple and I found myself singing along immediately. "Bless The Lord" features Rita Springer and is a beautiful moment on the CD, especially toward the end of the song as she worships freely, setting up for Kim’s last song…..a prayer… summing up the whole project. 

For those of you who don't know Kim, I encourage you to listen to this CD and get to know his heart like I have. The songs reflect the heart of someone who is dissatisfied with the status quo and who is longing for the refreshing rain of the Spirit to fall on us. If that's you, let’s join our hearts with Kim and say, "Let the flood come. Bring Your rain, Lord. Bring Your Kingdom Rain!"

Kingdom Rain CD is available here.

Review by
Don Moen
 

About Don Moen: Don is one of the most prolific songwriters and producers in Christian music. Having overseen literally hundreds of projects, and a successful songwriter/recording artist in his own right, he has served as the President at Integrity Music, toured on every continent in the world, and received numerous industry accolades and notoriety. But at the heart of Don Moen is a man who is hungry for God, and his work, songs, albums and tours have a common thread of bringing the hope, comfort and encouragement of God's love and promises to people who are also hungry for God.

You can find out more about Don at his own website at
 http://www.donmoen.com/

Right at the start let me say "Hymns: a modern translation" is an engaging, and beautiful worship experience that I am pleased to grant an Editor's Choice Award.

In the last 10 years, I have had the privilege of listening to and writing reviews on hundreds of worship projects/CDs. Of all those only a handful have captured my ear and hearts as much as this project. As a Christian, I have never believed that any single style of music was more "sacred" than any other for one simple reason: it all comes down to content. This is especially so in our devotionally focused worship music since it carries with it our expressions of both our theology and our heart cry of praise. But no matter how well written the lyrical content, a song will not engage as a script for the church worldwide if it does not contain exceptionally crafted music as well.

"Hymns: a modern translation" takes on both these challenges and adds sparkling productions to beautiful vocals and genuine emotion to make one of the best modern worship CDs I have ever heard.

Starting with an outstanding list of time-honored songs from the centuries Sean and Aimee Dayton, along with producer Andrew Horrocks, burst into acoustic rock renderings of Nothing But the Blood, My Jesus I Love Thee, All Hail The Power, Fairest Lord Jesus, Crown Him With Many Crowns, and Holy, Holy, Holy. They add to that a perfect selection of recent century hymn expressions in The Wonderful Cross, In Christ Alone and What a Friend We Have In Jesus.

I am sure some will assume I am exaggerating by saying this is a perfect CD. They would be wrong. From vibrant acoustic rock instrumentation to warm, emotive vocals with a pensive and honest interpretive styling, Sean Dayton brings each song to track as an act of worship. Of the 320 some reviews we have written in the last 10 years at Worshipmusic.com, just 5 of them have been specifically albums dedicated to modern renderings of hymn classics. Taking the risk to make an artful blend of historically loved songs with engaging music for the present day requires not just musical prowess, but sensitivity to gather the best of the ages and present them to today's church.

As I travel down the freeway, this CD spins in the player. My 16 year old son is worshiping loudly, my 13 year old son lifts arms held up in worship and dear old dad (at the grand old age of 40) is lifting his voice and heart up in exultation to God (and keeping hands and eyes focused on the road). The scripture comes to mind - "One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts." (Psalm 145:4)

Clearly Andrew Horrocks and the Daytons have succeeded with this CD in their goal of having "people of all ages worshipping together". I encourage you to join in as well and review this CD for yourself. I am sure you will be caught up, as I was, with the saints of the ages as we sing to our Savior, Jesus.

If you are a subscriber to WorshipTeam.com, all the songs on this CD, including audio and chord charts and lyrics are included in WorshipTeam.com's song database (along with 6000 other songs).

Amazon Product Link: Hymns: A Modern Translation  

Also available on ION Worship @ Hymns: A Modern Translation

Review by Kim Anthony Gentes

For many years we have seen a growing influence of mega churches in the worship music being popularized and played in US churches.  Churches such as Colorado's New Life Church, Australia's Hillsong Church, and Houston's Lakewood Church have all had profound influence through their worship ministries on the Sunday morning set lists of churches across the nation. In the last 3 years a new local church ministry in Southern California has become influential with its youth-centric music and events. Jesus Culture is a youth ministry that has been holding events worldwide for years now, but worship has always been an integral part of their focus and excellence.

One of the early recordings that they produced was "Your Love Never Fails". Like all of the Jesus Culture recordings it is a live album, collected from their live events.  Jesus Culture has produced other albums since this, with great success. But none of them comes to the pinnacle live experience, great song collection and excellent live musical performance as Your Love Never Fails. Featuring leaders Chris Quilala, Kim Walker (now Walker-Smith) and Melissa How (now Wise), this CD brims with energy, great song writing and clean but rocking production.

The title track, Your Love Never Fails, is a hook laden anthem that has become a staple in modern worship churches around the world. But Jesus Culture didn't rely on just new choruses to lead worship in this live experience. Also included on the track list are excellent renditions of Matt Redman's King Of Glory, Tim Hughes' Happy Day and Pete Sanchez's classic I Exalt Thee.

This album stays true to the Jesus Culture vibe and intention of great music, influencing people to change the world. In my opinion, it is the best album released by Jesus Culture, though each project has included gems of songs for local church use.  If you haven't heard this album yet, you owe it to yourself to get this amazing experience.

Product Link:  Your Love Never Fails (CD/DVD)

Review by Kim Gentes