Daybreak — the songwriter’s notebook

For this month’s Songwriter’s Notebook, I want to share with you a simple song called “Daybreak.”  I was asked to lead worship for a very early morning session at conference a few years back.  The session was called “5:3″ or something like that.  I asked about the name of the session and was told it was for Psalm 5:3, which reads “At daybreak, Lord, You hear my voice; at daybreak I plead my case to You and watch expectantly.(HCSB).” Perfect.

I like songs with meat and that are well crafted and have a clever turn of a phrase.  But I love a simple song that’s true.  And there’s no better source of truth than the scriptures themselves.  Some of my sweetest times of personal worship have come about by “psalming,” which is a free-form, speak-sing style of scriptural meditation, usually performed spontaneously.  That’s how this song came to be.  I like to use it early in the morning.  And when I do, I go back to that sweet place when it was written.  Just me, a guitar, a few chords, and the Truth.

Question:  What do you think?  Would you use this?  Your comments are welcome.

Studio in Your Pocket

Oh my.  This may be worth my finally buying an iPhone and switching to AT&T.  What an incredible tool for songwriters.

Your Comments are welcome.

What Do We Sing Now?

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

No doubt that you, like me, have been saddened and disturbed by the Haitian earthquake and its victims.  I’ve been thinking for a while about what (if anything) I should post about it here.  There are, after all, better and more informed bloggers regarding the nation and the rescue efforts.

But this is the discussion I’ll start here.  How do we, as worship leaders, respond to such human tragedy?  What songs do we sing now?  How do we help our own congregations grieve, intercede, and inspire them to righteous action?  May I suggest this blog post from Arizona worship leader Kyle Campos and the following songs available from LifeWayWorship.com (just click the titles):

• Lord, Have Mercy. Admittedly, the American church worship vocabulary is grossly deficient in biblical laments, but here’s one.  The chorus alone is strong enough.
• God of This City. This is a prophetic declaration and an act of intercession.  “You’re the Lord of this nation.”
• Whole World in His Hands. Reminder of the sovereignty of God even “when all around is fading and nothing seems to last.”

Question:  What songs are you singing that speak to this tragedy?

A Lunch Question

(Photo courtesy of Randi Anglin).  I met someone for lunch yesterday.  Among other things, he asked me about my philosophy of worship.  He had a good reason to ask it, but it seems to be a strange question now that I see it in print.  After all, worship isn’t philosophical and hardly hinges on any rambling that may come out of my mouth.  … I told my new friend that it is important that worship be authentic.  It needs to be honest.  I also said that the purpose of worship is not to warm-up the audience for the preacher nor attract this or that demographic.  We worship Him because we’re at the end of ourselves.  We worship to be transformed.