Best Worship Disc I've Heard In A Long Time

Obviously, I love worship music. It's makes up a decent chunk of what I call my job. But I don't listen to a whole lot of what the music industry tells me is worship music. Not knocking any artists in particular or getting into all that, but I just don't listen to a lot of "worship" music because 1) it generally all sounds the same and 2) it's generally not connected to the church in any way.

So it is with some shock and great delight that I get to hopefully turn you on to the best project of church music I've heard in a long time. The album is called Before the Throne of God Above, and is produced by my friend Mike Cosper. Mike is the worship/arts pastor at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, and many of the artists there are highlighted on this project.

I'm not going to do the whole review thing here because frankly I don't have the time to. But I will spend a little time telling what I like about this record.

• It's like a breath of fresh air in the world of Nashville pseudo-alt pop that you hear on Christian radio (and therefore at most churches "daring" to do anything new or relevant).
• It's just got great songwriting and execution from the players and singers.
• It's very well produced without being too gimmicky.
• The songs are tastefully done and for the most part can easily be translated into many congregational contexts.
• The instrumentation is more rootsy and eclectic, but without that defining the album as a niche or overly stylized production.

My favorite tracks (right now) are the amazing "All I Have is Yours" (sung with subtle power by Rebecca Bales and with excellent guitar work by Cosper) and "Lead Us Back" (on which vocalist Brooks Ritter's offers one of the most intense and purposeful vocal performances I've heard in a long time). "Lead Us Back" is a new hymn written by Ritter and another Sojourn member, and it captures the lure of idols in our lives and the reality that our hearts are really idol-making factories, and shows a deep theological perspective rooted in the thinking of Jack Miller and Dick Keyes.

I wholeheartedly recommend this album to any and all who want to hear some great theology and excellent musicianship. Sojourn is making in-roads with artists in Louisville in ways that few churches are willing to even try. Mike and his crew are doing great things there and this album just highlights that.