03/27/10 Logan's Worship Blog

After leading worship for a three day revival at UMHB this week, I took a bit of a songwriting/recording sabbatical out at my parents house in Lorena. So right now I'm feeling refreshed and confident about God's path for my corporate worship songwriting, AND I'm ready to blog...

Here is a little something about each song we are playing tomorrow:

1. Here is Our King (David Crowder) - Oh wow! Just found this recording of Crowder talking about this song's story. It's worth it! Click here to listen

2. Our God (Chris Tomlin) - This was my favorite song to play at the UMHB revival this week. Once again, God has placed a song on Chris' heart that is scriptural, singable, and uplifting. As we were playing this song on Monday, the Tomlin band was entering the studio for the first day of recording on their new album. Be praying for them as they create music that we will all be directing to God soon enough!

3. Bread of Life (Logan Walter) - Written three weeks ago. It wasn't until I was putting together this week's communion set list that I realized "Bread of Life" works well as a "Taking of the Bread" song. Brian came over today and we worked up a little Acoustic-Guitar/Piano version of this song that I hope you will enjoy.

4. The Old Rugged Cross (George Bennard) - I always love reading about the old hymns. And by reading, I mean wikipedia-ing. Click Here

5. Nothing But the Blood (Matt Redman) - This is not the hymn. Not exactly. But it does borrow lyrical themes from "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus." Several years ago, Matt recorded a live worship album of all original songs. The live worship service became the studio album. Here's a clip from that live worship experience: Nothing But the Blood Video

6. Jesus Paid it All (Elvina Hall): Song story...

It was during a Sunday morning service in the spring of 1865 that a hymn was born that pictures so well the finished work of Calvary.

Elvina Hall was seated in her usual spot in the choir of the Monument Street Methodist Church in Baltimore. Her pastor, Reverend George Schnick, led in prayer, thanking God for such a perfect and complete salvation as found in Jesus Christ. Elvina became so overwhelmed with this great truth that she felt compelled to express her feelings. Unable to find suitable paper, she took a copy of the church hymnal, The New Lute of Zion, and started to compose a poem on the flyleaf of the book. Later that day, she recopied the new poem and it to her pastor.

Sometime later, Pastor Schnick was visiting the church organist, Mr. John T. Grape. A successful coal merchant and a skilled amateur musician, Grape enjoyed composing new melodies of his own from time to time. Knowing this, the pastor inquired if any new tunes had been written recently. Brother Grape replied by playing a new melody he had just finished. Upon hearing it, the pastor exclaimed, "Why you know, Elvina Hall gave me a beautiful set of words some time ago; and if I'm not mistaken, the melody sounded as if it had been written just for her words." With that, he opened his Bible and produced the poem. As the two men started to sing and play the new song, they witnessed a union of words and music as if God had planned the writing of the hymn in the first place.

God does have a plan for the redemption of mankind that began in the Garden of Eden and was completed on the cross of Calvary. This is what Elvina Hall recorded for us when she wrote:

I hear the Savior say, Thy strength indeed is small
Child of weakness, watch and pray, find in me thine all in all

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.

03/21/10: Logan's Worship Blog

Each week, this blog includes:

I. Songs for the 1050 service at the heights

II. Stories behind those songs

III. Scriptures for those songs

I. Set List

Sing Sing Sing (Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves, Daniel Carson, Travis Nunn, Matt Gilder)

When Heaven Came Down (Logan Walter)

Our God (Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman)

How He Loves (John Mark McMillan)

You are Good (Logan Walter)

II. Song Stories

1. Sing Sing Sing - We worship God in many ways, but the most re-iterated command in the bible is to "sing." I love reminding the congregation about the scriptural importance of singing as we begin the service with this song. Plus, it rocks. And it is Brian Patterson's (guitar/keys for Dutton) favorite worship song of all time. Check out what Chris Tomlin had to say about the collaborative writing process for this song: "Sing Sing Sing Song Story"

2. When Heaven Came Down - This is slowly becoming my favorite song from our "All Things Fade" album, not because of the melody, the instrumentation, the chords, or even the lyrics, but because of the way the Holy Spirit moves as we play this song at The Heights and around the country. This past weekend we played in Washington DC (click here for a video), and the response to this song was overwhelming. I was especially touched by these words in an anonymous letter I received:

"One of the reasons I was broken this weekend was your song, 'When Heaven Came Down.' Last night I just started crying during that song because for the first time in a few years I finally felt God and His presence. I just wanted to let you know how much you did for me by playing that song."

Since playing in DC, I have received several messages from students who said that "When Heaven Came Down" moved them to tears. This confused me, as I've always thought it was a joyous and uplifting song. Then I realized that it wasn't the song causing this reaction; it was the cross. Our time in DC was spent with speakers Dawson McCallister and Mark Matlock, who took the students on "a walk with Christ to the cross." The teaching was intense, scriptural, and focussed entirely upon the Passion story. By the time we got up on stage to play "When Heaven Came Down," the congregation was ready to surrender everything before the cross and release their emotions of gratitude and joy in a time of corporate worship. The teaching of the cross made room for the Spirit to move!

3. Our God - It's amazing what is happening at Passion City Church in Atlanta, GA and I am so blessed to hear all about it from my good friend Daniel, who plays guitar for Chris Tomlin. For those of you who don't know, Louie Giglio is pastoring a church with some worship leaders you may know: Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Christy Nockels...yeah, pretty awesome. From this core group of church members, a songwriting group has formed, including Louie, Matt, Christy and her husband Nathan, Chris Tomlin and his bandmates Jesse Reeves & Daniel Carson, to name a few. These writing sessions are producing some amazing songs, and this is one of them. If you haven't bought the Passion: Awakening album yet, do it! We'll be playing more songs from this album in the months to come!

4. How He Loves - This song has an amazing story behind it, which I cannot find anywhere on the internet. Someone must have removed the video? I am going to find it and post it next time we play this song, but for now, you should watch Crowder's amazing How He Loves Music Video

5. You are Good - I went to high school and college in the Waco area, and I've come home for a couple days to watch my Baylor Bears advance to the sweet sixteen. Sic em! Right now I'm sitting on my parent's couch, where I wrote "You are Good" late one night in December of '08. I haven't thought about this until now, but I think there's something to be said about "where" a song is written. I love my Duplex in Dallas, but the clubs nearby are allowed to blast hip-hop music until 2am every night, so "late night" song inspiration about God's goodness is unlikely. In fact, it's a reminder of how difficult it is to separate ourselves from the noise of life and allow room for the Holy Spirit to speak.

I have no trouble finding space at my parent's house, on 2.5 acres out in the country, where even the nearby houses are separated by dozens of trees. So, one interpretation of this song could be: "God, You feel so close (when I am listening to Your Spirit) and then so far away (when I fail to block out the noise of life), still you are worthy of my highest praise (and Your worth is impressing upon me right now, out here in the country, on this couch, where i am writing this song), for You remain unshaken (whether i am out in the country or trying to fall asleep to hip-hop music, your goodness is steadily infinite)."

III. Song Scriptures

1. Sing Sing Sing- Colossians 3:16

16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

2. When Heaven Came Down- 1 Timothy 3:16

16Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:
He appeared in a body,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.

3. Our God- 2 Chronicles 2:5-6

5 "The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. 6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him?

4. How He Loves- Psalm 36:7

7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

5. You are Good- Psalm 31:19

19 How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you,
which you bestow in the sight of men
on those who take refuge in you.

03/14/10 Logan's Worship Blog

We (Dutton) are in Washington DC this weekend and will not be able to make it back in time for church on Sunday. This will be one of only 10-12 Sundays that we will be gone throughout the year, but I'm sure some of you are wondering WHERE we go and WHAT we do when we're on the road. Well, that question can be answered by visiting my YOUTUBE PAGE, where I make music videos to document our travels. For example, check out this video I made after our last trip to the nation's capital: "Dutton in DC"

Taking our place this week will be a talented worship leader named Jon Abel. Check out his set list below and find out more about him at www.jonabel.com

Opening Song :
1. Awesome is the Lord Most High

Congregational Worship :
1. It Is well with my soul
2. Be Thou My Vision
3. How Great Thou Art

Offertory Song :
1. Crying Out To You

03/07/10: Logan's Worship Blog

Each week, this blog includes:

I. Songs for the 1050 service at the heights

II. Stories behind those songs

III. Scriptures for those songs

I. Set List

You are Here (Logan Walter)

Changed (Logan Walter)

Call to Action (Logan Walter)

You are Good (Logan Walter)

Bread of Life (Logan Walter - never been played! wrote it this week! yikes.)

II. Song Stories

1. You are Here - I'll write about the theology of this song in a later post. For now, all you need to know is that this song has been played in space, thanks to our good friend, astronaut Shane Kimbrough, and his lovely wife, Robbie, who chose the music for Day 9 on the international space station. It is probably the coolest thing that has ever happened to us. You can hear Shane give us a shout out from space at 1:02 on this YouTube clip: Dutton in Space

2. Changed - Before we step onto stage for a time of worship, I often pray that we will simply encounter God's presence, because I know that if we truly encounter the Living God, our lives will be changed. It seems elementary, but how many times do we leave church with changed hearts and minds,? How many times do we allow the face of God to burn a new imprint of Holiness upon our souls? Most of the time we leave the same way that we came: thinking about lunch, craving a nap, dreading Monday morning. We find out in Isaiah 6 that a true encounter with God demands better of us: Isaiah 6:1-8

3. Call to Action - Part of being on staff at "The Heights" is having accountability, which we have with John Wills (executive pastor) and Dave Rogers (too many job titles to list). We respond to questions about our lives as we read through books, such as "Jim & Casper Go to Church." In this book, Jim Henderson (a pastor) visits several American churches with a guy named Matt Casper, who is an atheist.

Throughout the book, Casper keeps asking Jim (and this is a paraphrase): "Jim, this Jesus I've heard about and read about...He doesn't just believe in something, he does something about His beliefs. He heals the sick, feeds the hungry...Jim, where's the "call to action" ** in the church?" Last year, our church focussed on "Serve," reaching out the the communities around us. So the song was inspired both by the book and what was happening in our church community.

**Jim visited our church this summer and we had the honor of playing this song for him. He loved it! And he said, "Casper's a total music buff; he will be so stoked to find out that he helped inspire a rock song."

4. You are Good - We played this one for the first time last week, and nobody filed a complaint, so we are playing it again. Do you want to know a little worship leading secret? There's a formula to introducing a song. It goes like this:

a. week one: introduce the song

b. week two: if the song goes well, play it again to familiarize the congregation with the lyrics and melody

c. week three: give it a rest. nobody wants to hear the same stuff three weeks in a row

d. week four: play it again, in hopes that the church will be able to internalize the song.

Ok, ok. There's not really a formula, and if there is, I don't follow it very well. Worship is not meant to be formulaic, but that doesn't mean that worship leaders can't use reason. Common sense is of God, and as people of God, we are called to use Common Sense well! Dave Rogers, Heights staff member and accountability partner, once told me that people need to hear something three times before they remember it. This is another unofficial statistic, but I usually adhere to it. That's why we don't introduce a song at a church camp, unless we can play it at least three times throughout the week.

Great. Now that I've told you the secret formula, I don't want to use it anymore. "You are Good" next week. Three times in a row. Deal with it.

5. Bread of Life - I've never done this before, but I am going to have the congregation be seated and introduce this song to them, just me and the acoustic guitar. The band hasn't even heard it!

It's inspired by the 19th century hymn, "Break Thou The Bread of Life"** and chapter two of Wayne Grudem's "Systematic Theology," which my small group discussed this week. Some songs, such as "You are Good," are simply meant to be songs of praise. Other worship songs have a function (ex: "You are Here" and "Welcome Here" function as a Call to Worship). "Break the Bread" has a specific function in a worship set. It's meant to be played before the sermon, as we ask God to speak to us through His Word. In the spirit of the hymns, the music is simple and singable. Very simple. In fact, don't get your hopes up. It's the most simple song I've ever written.

But the words are True:

Break the bread of life, o Lord

break the bread to me

as you broke the bread, o Lord

that day beside the sea

throughout your word i seek you Lord

my spirit longs for thee

so break the bread of life, o Lord

break the bread to me

bless your holy word, o Lord

bless your word to me

as you blessed the bread, o Lord

that day by galilee

then all my chains shall fall away

and i shall find my peace

so bless your holy word o Lord

bless your word to me

Bread of life

You are the bread of life

you became flesh, my righteousness

Jesus you are

Bread of life

You are the bread of life

you became flesh, my righteousness

Jesus you are

throughout your word i seek you Lord

my spirit longs for thee

so break the bread of life, o Lord

break the bread to me

Break the bread to me

Break the bread to me

**I've actually never heard "Break Thou the Bread of Life." The lyrics were written at the end of the second chapter in Grudem's book, so I wrote some words and music, using the lyrical themes from the hymn.

III. Song Scriptures

1. You are Here - I

Psalm 99:3

Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy (set apart).

Isaiah 7:14

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God with us).

2. Changed -

Isaiah 6:5

5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

3. Call to Action -

Matthew 25:40

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

4. You are Good -

Psalm 25:8

8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

5. Bread of Life -

John 6:35

35Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.