After 15 years of being a song writer, studying some of the best song writers and having many of my songs sung in churches around the world and having the songs on albums and on the radio, I have learned that this is the only way to write a truly great worship song.
1. Get a hook
2. Find amazing lyrics. Use flawless language
3. Work out a rhyme scheme
4. Write an amazing melody
5. Put the harmony to the melody
6. Arrange the song magnificently
7. Don't use a hook
8. Use simple lyrics or no lyrics. Use elementary language
9. Don't use a rhyme scheme
10. Write a simple, monotonous melody or don't use a melody.
11. Don't use harmony
12. No arrangement is needed
13. Love God
14. Let this love be your song
15. Always sing this song to others
Friday 30 December 2011
Friday 15 July 2011
Sitting on the sidewalk
Ever since I started playing the guitar during a youth year, 12 years ago, my heart has always yearned for praise and worship. Using my new found "talent" for the glory of God, I always found a way to play guitar and sing for God. Whether it was in my bedroom, at camps, in church or at the school where I taught. God and my guitar were always synonymous in my life. I realised at 19 years of age, that I wanted to live my life leading people in worship. I wanted to write songs that resounded of what God meant to me.
At a stage, that was all that I wanted to do and I wanted to do it immediately. I wanted to give up everything to pursue my dream. Wasn't prepared to let anything get in my way. Fortunately, my wonderful parents' will prevailed. They wanted me to study. Get a degree. Get security. I was reluctant, but obeyed. Thank God I did. Even though I hated most of the studies, I endured, even though I wanted to leave it all "for the glory of God".
It wouldn't have been for God's glory, but my own. I thought I was only studying to be a teacher... little did I know that I was studying "character" at the university of life. I obtained my degree and taught for 4 wonderful years, still involved in church, camps and the children at the school. I never let go of the fire in my being, but used it where I was at that time.
The season ended and I knew that God wanted me to move on. I was ready. I quit my secure job, left my home, my great friends, everything I knew and after weeks of crying and uncertainty, I ended up in Pretoria.
That was the background to the main part of the story.
Here comes the main part:
So, here I am to make music. I had no idea where to begin. So I started teaching guitar. I played guitar in a successful theatre production, and toured the country with a famous artist for a couple of months. That all happened in 3 years. I didn't have much. I struggled. Many months I would not have food to eat. I tried to give up so many times, but never gathered the courage to do so. God always provided. He was faithful.
I felt like a complete failure most of the time but there were glimpses of hope in every dire moment and that's why I never gave up. I guess it's because I always believed. Our job is to have faith... God's job is to be faithful.
So... I recorded a demo in year 3. Took 4 of my songs and recorded. The biggest portion of my income went into that. After all the hard work, I sent it to a couple of radio stations and record companies. After 3 months, I only received rejections. Nobody wanted it.
So, one evening at around 18:00 I was hungry. I drove to the nearest pizzaria and ordered... something with chicken, I think. I still remember that day so clearly. I ordered and went outside.
I found myself sitting on the sidewalk. I was crying. I was at the end of my rope. No hope. No purpose. I couldn't see a future anymore. I decided that I would go back to Bloemfontein and try to get a job again as a teacher. I told God that I failed.
The phone rang. It was the owner of the record company. He said that they liked the music and would like to record me. I was still crying after that call, but only because of God's timing. He never gave up, even though I wanted to. He knew the plans He had for me.
Each one of us, at a time in our lives, will be at a place where we will sit on the sidewalk without knowing where to go. Without a glimmer of hope. Sitting somewhere in your life where a cry of desperation is all you have left. Just know that there is a call that is waiting for you. That call will come. God's call on your life will remain and He will wait until You are ready to answer.
So, when that time comes. When you have answered the call. Stand up and shout it out on the street corners. Let your life shout for the glory of God.
At a stage, that was all that I wanted to do and I wanted to do it immediately. I wanted to give up everything to pursue my dream. Wasn't prepared to let anything get in my way. Fortunately, my wonderful parents' will prevailed. They wanted me to study. Get a degree. Get security. I was reluctant, but obeyed. Thank God I did. Even though I hated most of the studies, I endured, even though I wanted to leave it all "for the glory of God".
It wouldn't have been for God's glory, but my own. I thought I was only studying to be a teacher... little did I know that I was studying "character" at the university of life. I obtained my degree and taught for 4 wonderful years, still involved in church, camps and the children at the school. I never let go of the fire in my being, but used it where I was at that time.
The season ended and I knew that God wanted me to move on. I was ready. I quit my secure job, left my home, my great friends, everything I knew and after weeks of crying and uncertainty, I ended up in Pretoria.
That was the background to the main part of the story.
Here comes the main part:
So, here I am to make music. I had no idea where to begin. So I started teaching guitar. I played guitar in a successful theatre production, and toured the country with a famous artist for a couple of months. That all happened in 3 years. I didn't have much. I struggled. Many months I would not have food to eat. I tried to give up so many times, but never gathered the courage to do so. God always provided. He was faithful.
I felt like a complete failure most of the time but there were glimpses of hope in every dire moment and that's why I never gave up. I guess it's because I always believed. Our job is to have faith... God's job is to be faithful.
So... I recorded a demo in year 3. Took 4 of my songs and recorded. The biggest portion of my income went into that. After all the hard work, I sent it to a couple of radio stations and record companies. After 3 months, I only received rejections. Nobody wanted it.
So, one evening at around 18:00 I was hungry. I drove to the nearest pizzaria and ordered... something with chicken, I think. I still remember that day so clearly. I ordered and went outside.
I found myself sitting on the sidewalk. I was crying. I was at the end of my rope. No hope. No purpose. I couldn't see a future anymore. I decided that I would go back to Bloemfontein and try to get a job again as a teacher. I told God that I failed.
The phone rang. It was the owner of the record company. He said that they liked the music and would like to record me. I was still crying after that call, but only because of God's timing. He never gave up, even though I wanted to. He knew the plans He had for me.
Each one of us, at a time in our lives, will be at a place where we will sit on the sidewalk without knowing where to go. Without a glimmer of hope. Sitting somewhere in your life where a cry of desperation is all you have left. Just know that there is a call that is waiting for you. That call will come. God's call on your life will remain and He will wait until You are ready to answer.
So, when that time comes. When you have answered the call. Stand up and shout it out on the street corners. Let your life shout for the glory of God.
Sunday 26 June 2011
We've got the power
Can't believe it. Yesterday I wrote about the simplicity in which we need to be able to worship God. With no frills but only with pure hearts. That is what God is looking for. People to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Tonight at church, we lost power. All power. The staff and volunteers tried everything they could to get the power back on. People were praying non-stop. Praying for a miracle. Praying for power.
Everything was off when we got there for rehearsal an hour and a half before church started. We couldn't rehearse cause we had no power. The sound system was silent. The lights were dark. Time slowly moved along as it always does. It became time to improvise. We would have no electric instruments to use, so our leader, Rhulani Garrine, said we need to play with acoustic guitars. Now playing with a couple of unplugged acoustic guitars in front of a thousand people to lead worship might have been a tricky thing, but God came through using people. They got enough power to run the stage lights and they fetched an old PA system from somewhere in storage. The miracle started as people were still praying. There was power.
Twenty minutes before the service started, 5 of us organised acoustic guitars, changed the list and we plugged into the small PA system, with our 3 worship leaders. The choir also appeared and gave life to the stage. We were set. Where we usually have visuals and lyrics on screen, there was nothing. All the moving lights were motionless. The sound system was much smaller than usual. No drums, no bass, no keyboards. Nothing fancy. Only 5 acoustics and 3 singers... and hungry hearts for God.
It was such an amazing experience worshiping like that for 30 minutes. People were pouring out their hearts into the arms of God. Nothing could stop us. We had the power. We were unstoppable. We were in this war and we were set on winning. It was about people getting saved.
The pastor preached a great message and Rhulani did the altar call. It was amazing. So many people gave their lives to Jesus. We had won. We always win. 1 John 4:4 "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
I sat in the dark praying beforehand, and I knew something special was going to happen tonight. Just before we started I told Rhulani that I think God is going to do something amazing. He did. God works best when we are not perfect. He works best when we are empty. His light shines brightest in the dark and that's what happened. He shone.
Tonight at church, we lost power. All power. The staff and volunteers tried everything they could to get the power back on. People were praying non-stop. Praying for a miracle. Praying for power.
Everything was off when we got there for rehearsal an hour and a half before church started. We couldn't rehearse cause we had no power. The sound system was silent. The lights were dark. Time slowly moved along as it always does. It became time to improvise. We would have no electric instruments to use, so our leader, Rhulani Garrine, said we need to play with acoustic guitars. Now playing with a couple of unplugged acoustic guitars in front of a thousand people to lead worship might have been a tricky thing, but God came through using people. They got enough power to run the stage lights and they fetched an old PA system from somewhere in storage. The miracle started as people were still praying. There was power.
Twenty minutes before the service started, 5 of us organised acoustic guitars, changed the list and we plugged into the small PA system, with our 3 worship leaders. The choir also appeared and gave life to the stage. We were set. Where we usually have visuals and lyrics on screen, there was nothing. All the moving lights were motionless. The sound system was much smaller than usual. No drums, no bass, no keyboards. Nothing fancy. Only 5 acoustics and 3 singers... and hungry hearts for God.
It was such an amazing experience worshiping like that for 30 minutes. People were pouring out their hearts into the arms of God. Nothing could stop us. We had the power. We were unstoppable. We were in this war and we were set on winning. It was about people getting saved.
 |
| The music ministry team in unity |
The pastor preached a great message and Rhulani did the altar call. It was amazing. So many people gave their lives to Jesus. We had won. We always win. 1 John 4:4 "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
I sat in the dark praying beforehand, and I knew something special was going to happen tonight. Just before we started I told Rhulani that I think God is going to do something amazing. He did. God works best when we are not perfect. He works best when we are empty. His light shines brightest in the dark and that's what happened. He shone.
Saturday 25 June 2011
Jesus Disciples
Blog number 2. This is starting to become fun. Couldn't wait to get to the pc and write about my day. This was an amazing experience. It's about church... about buildings... about people... All those things and how it links up with God.
Yesterday I was asked to play some songs acoustically at Jesus Disciples in Kempton Park. Andre told me that it was for a some of his friends, so I was quite relaxed. Didn't think too much of it. Thought maybe 4 songs. Done. This morning when we spoke again, 5 hours before the "gig". He told me that it was a church event and there would be a couple of people performing as well as a band. That's when I started to stress. So I grabbed my acoustic and started to plan a 30-40 minute set. Lined up a couple of songs from my album as well as some older praise and worship songs.
When I arrived there, it was a small church building, not even a building, with about 50 chairs packed outside the building. It used to be a rustic bar, and the christian bikers who originally were on the property next door, prayed for them to go out of business. So it happened. Just as they prayed. (Ask and you will receive)
 |
| Jesus Disciples' church |
The experience:
There were probably about 40 people at the event and it started with a girl on her acoustic singing with 3 of her friends. She was playing a Ritmuller and hasn't been playing for so long. They were singing "Shout to the Lord", "Lord I lift Your name on high" and a couple of songs they wrote. The sound was giving a lot of feedback. Some harmonies were out, guitar chords sounded out of tune and rhythm was lacking, but none of that mattered. They were worshiping God. They were giving the best they have. That's all that we have to give. God deserves our best. No matter at what level our best is.
 |
| Inside the church |
Then it was my turn. I started teaching them "None like You", "All I do" and then it was time for "Look what the Lord has done"(an oldie but a favourite of mine). People were standing, singing and praising God. I sang "On my knees" followed by "I could sing of Your love forever", then "Saved" and "He loves us". I prayed a prayer and ended with "My redeemer lives".
It was me, a mic, an acoustic guitar and not the best sound. There were no lights. No screens. No fancy visual effects. No smoke machines. But guess what... The people didn't care. They were worshiping God. When I sang "Saved" there were people crying. God was there. He doesn't need fancy equipment to touch lives in worship. He doesn't need the best singers to get the message across. He doesn't need a huge building.
I think some of us have become spoiled in church. I have and it's wrong and for that I repent. Today was one of the best worship experiences I have had in a long time. Being in the presence of bikers in a small, one room building with two fireplaces.
After it all I sat in the presence of a guy that went to jail at 19, accused of 40 counts of murder, drug trafficking and soliciting prositutes. God saved him. This guy changes lives with his testimony in schools and wherever he goes.
So the thing I want to say is:
We don't need lights and great sound to worship. We don't need to belong to a big church to change lives. We need to be Jesus' followers. He saved us no matter who we were so that no matter where we are, we can be the difference.
Thursday 23 June 2011
A whisper can be heard throughout the world
Blog post number 1. I have been thinking about blogging for a while. Everybody's doing it... I think. Peer pressure is a horrible thing, and I have succumbed to it, again. So this is me... trying to be deep.
My debut album has been released a couple of months ago, and releasing it was the easy part. I never thought that I'd have to work this hard to get my music heard. It's not really my music. I wrote it for God. It's His love songs. Like Jars of Clay put it so aptly, "Love songs for a Saviour". It's about Him. Having His name glorified. Getting people from all over the world to fall in love again with their true Love.
Have you ever shouted and realised that no one was listening? Have you ever whispered and found that every word was being heard by Someone? God hears your whispers and your shouts. He knows. You are always connected to Him. The connection is never down. There is no interference. David wrote in Psalm 139:1-6(The message):
1-6 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
I'm an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I'm never out of your sight.
You know everything I'm going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you're there,
then up ahead and you're there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can't take it all in!
This scripture changed my life, but this is not what I want to focus on today. Today is not about our channel to God. Today I am writing about another frequency.
If we think about technology and the way that it has changed our lives. Television, radio, cellphones and the internet. It has made this enourmous planet of ours so small. We are able to, within seconds, communicate with people from around the world. Technology, in audio/visual form, has enabled us to transmit any message across the globe. There is a word that needs to be transmitted all over the world. That word is love. God is love. That word is God
Microphones on street corners is about us being the audio and visual transmitters of our time. The message is love and hope. God is the voice and we are His microphones. He speaks and we transmit via the frequency of faith.
If you whisper or if you shout over a microphone, people all over the world can hear. We whisper when we share something intimate and we shout when we proclaim something majestic. The microphone gets the message across.
Jesus said in Luke 4:18-19: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
God is the hope of the world and we carry the message. Whether you shout with joy or whisper intimately, you transmit. Never stop.
My debut album has been released a couple of months ago, and releasing it was the easy part. I never thought that I'd have to work this hard to get my music heard. It's not really my music. I wrote it for God. It's His love songs. Like Jars of Clay put it so aptly, "Love songs for a Saviour". It's about Him. Having His name glorified. Getting people from all over the world to fall in love again with their true Love.
Have you ever shouted and realised that no one was listening? Have you ever whispered and found that every word was being heard by Someone? God hears your whispers and your shouts. He knows. You are always connected to Him. The connection is never down. There is no interference. David wrote in Psalm 139:1-6(The message):
1-6 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
I'm an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I'm never out of your sight.
You know everything I'm going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you're there,
then up ahead and you're there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can't take it all in!
This scripture changed my life, but this is not what I want to focus on today. Today is not about our channel to God. Today I am writing about another frequency.
If we think about technology and the way that it has changed our lives. Television, radio, cellphones and the internet. It has made this enourmous planet of ours so small. We are able to, within seconds, communicate with people from around the world. Technology, in audio/visual form, has enabled us to transmit any message across the globe. There is a word that needs to be transmitted all over the world. That word is love. God is love. That word is God
Microphones on street corners is about us being the audio and visual transmitters of our time. The message is love and hope. God is the voice and we are His microphones. He speaks and we transmit via the frequency of faith.
If you whisper or if you shout over a microphone, people all over the world can hear. We whisper when we share something intimate and we shout when we proclaim something majestic. The microphone gets the message across.
Jesus said in Luke 4:18-19: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
God is the hope of the world and we carry the message. Whether you shout with joy or whisper intimately, you transmit. Never stop.
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