Kim Gentes

[stop for a moment. quiet the noise. rest your mind. read this.]

Welcome to the place of level ground
Welcome to the place where grace abounds
We all need mercy
We all need mercy 

This is the first verse of the title track from Brian Doerksen's newest music experience, entitled "Level Ground". Like most of Brian's projects, this one is a woven, purposeful story.  In this episode of his sharing with the broader church, the overarching theme is grace. The liner notes intro this CD well, where Doerksen says:

"This project began as a simple idea... a picture of grace."

The songs and arrangements of this album reflect this vision well. Having watched some of the video tracks from the DVD, it also keeps the poignancy of the grace-filled intention. In fact, even the website of the project (on braindoerksen.com) has several powerful video clips of individuals who share stories of their lives that express the struggle of our humanity and the grace of God- be sure to watch those stories, they are amazing.  That is the core of this project- seeing grace through another's eyes. Being kind enough to hear and enter into the narrative of another person's story.  If you miss this, you may hear some great music, but avoid the reality of theme it is built upon- God's grace, changing lives.

That said, let's talk about the music!  As I mentioned, this album starts off with the title track "Level Ground". The keystone in both theme and musical presentation of this project, Level Ground is a very singable and inviting song. Medium tempo feel and, though it is presented with layers of Celtic/soft rock fusion here, could fit nicely into virtually any modern styled service.

I really enjoyed the second song "The Jesus Way", which builds intensity as the arrangement lifts you into guitar-driven vamp that allows you stand and declare your allegiance to the "Jesus Way".

I also enjoyed the dynamic rendition of Tim Hughes's powerful "Everything" (a lyrical tribute that nods to St. Patrick's Breastplate prayer). Staring pensive and stripped down with just piano and light touches for effect, it launches into power chord driven chorus. But after the explosion of heart in the chorus, the return to the simple verse is understated and perfect, ending with a beautiful piano instrumental to guide the worshiper into a space of humble offering to God.

"Will You Love Me In the Winter" is a beautiful and heart wrenching musical inquiry, from the human heart to what can seem like a distant God, when our bodies and lives are broken and cold. Speaking of the dark night of the soul, languishing in the struggle of discouragement and pain of the body, Doerksen gives voice to our question- will God be there when I am most in need of him? Thank you, Brian, for writing a thoughtful lament for the church. Much needed. Well done.

A couple of other favorite tracks on the album are "Altar of Love" and "Whatever Comes", both songs are well done.   My favorite track on the album is the anthem "Thank You for the Cross". Excellent lyrics, great presentation, and a powerful song!

This project is recorded live, and with the musicians in the midst of a congregation joining in the worship. Visually and audibly it is an engaging and grace-filled experience. I encourage you to take a listen to this album! I love it!

Product Link at Amazon: Level Ground [+digital booklet]

The entire album is also already included in the WorshipTeam.com worship planning system.

Bring us to the place of level ground, o Lord!

In Him,
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

I love a journey- a great book, a good movie, or a speech from a great story teller. Each of these can move you through a compelling message and an artistic crafting of language. But journeys are not quick trips to the corner store- they are treks that take us to distant places and back again close to home. Journeys have story, subplots and great characters. Journeys take time. Journeys give back to the traveler as much as the traveler gives to the journey. So it is with the new project in my player for the last 3 weeks- "Holy God".

Song writer/worship leader Brian Doerksen presents this latest offering of worship not as a collection of "hit songs" (though there are some worthy of that moniker), but as a journey that takes you from the call of prayer to the throne of heaven and back home where we live our lives with our Holy God. Doerksen has always been an artist who presents themes in his projects and songs, but this project epitomizes that style. At sixteen tracks with an hour and 7 minutes in length, "Holy God" is a journey that will have you captured with the crisp musical vision of Doerksen's Holy God. But this journey will not find you drained and tired from the experience. Quite the opposite! From start to finish this project is rooted in Biblical truth that challenges the heart, comforts the soul, and lights the fire of passion for those pursuing God.

The album ebbs to life with the self-titled "Invocation" and builds nicely into the prayer song "Our Father In Heaven", where the Lord's Prayer is the core of a nicely woven song in which we all can open up in prayer to our Father.

Song three explodes into the title track "Holy God", which takes a microcosm journey into the attributes of the Trinity and His works to reclaim man into a restored relationship. "Holy God" is a simple and powerful anthem that radiates with the names and deeds of God, lyrically. "Holy God" is one of those great and rare songs that worship leaders will be able to employ in any format, from a simple piano or guitar with a single voice, to a rock band, to a full orchestra arrangement. And producer Philip Janz makes that point by revealing a masterful musical production that gathers the sounds of choral and orchestral ancient forms with driving modern guitars and stellar drumming. I won't spill all the lyrics here, but the punctuated style of the verses in this song exemplifies the strength of Doerksen's writing skills with that age old adage - less is more. In this case, much more!

If you aren't on the road of this journey by track three, you will be soon, as track four is a simple narrative to help you along. It also intros for track five "Song for the Bride" in which God speaks to His church from the text of Isaiah 30:15. The music and lyrics are as renewing as they are convicting. As the tracks roll on you will find that this project does something very few Christian worship recordings do anymore—it provides food for the soul of the believer, while at the same time engaging and inviting all to join in with the songs of heaven. As a person who listens to a lot of music, I find it common for many producers and records to simply try to hook the listener with a good groove or catchy melody- but the content is either lacking in Biblical depth or simplistic in its musical development. Not so with "Holy God" or Brian Doerksen, whose musical prowess and attention to detail in staying scripturally themed has his music played across thousands of churches around the world.

When my CD player hit "He Is Here", I had to stop and replay it. I just melted into my chair. In a beautiful duet with Christine Dente, Doerksen (in a co-write with veteran Paul Baloche) presents a wonderful song of peace in God. Very refreshing.

Just as you are getting refreshed, the project explodes again. This time into a sparkling rendition of Doerksen's upbeat "Light The Fire Again". Completely rejuvenated, you will love this new arrangement of a great praise song. And so it is with this entire project—ebbs and flows of musical and lyrical content bring you through a complete journey of the holiness of God and the prayerful weakness of us, His children.

There are plenty of great songs along the way of this journey, and I really want to be sure you check them out. But don't plan on rushing through this CD to find your latest hits. If you want them, they are there, but I would encourage you rather to sit down and listen for an hour and walk through an age old journey of soul and spirit learning about, searching for and being pursued by our Holy God!

Worship leaders will do well to take note of tracks 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11 and 15, as possibilities for wonderful contributions to any churches repertoire. I also found myself especially captivated by track 13 that is a beautiful medley of the song "Be Unto Your Name" (DeShazo and Sadler) and the hymn classic "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Heber & Dykes).

What really impressed me with this project is how encouraged and thankful I came away from listening to it. That "we are a vapor" and "He is eternal", and yet in His holy power He still pursues us and calls us to return to Him. In the end, it is a hopeful message that reverberates through the songs, lyrics and music. It is a message that builds up the soul and stirs it forward towards Christ. I encourage you to take this journey as well.

This is a wonderful album worth taking the time to listen to and engage with.

Product Link Holy God

Review by Kim Gentes

The chapters of Nehemiah have long been a prophetic spark to call forth life in the church. The painful beginnings in the rubble of defeat and shame. The ongoing antagonism and attacks of Sanballat and other nay-sayers. Even the internal struggles of uniting the families and people into the one task of rebuilding the wall of hope. Nehemiah is not a story for the great victorious church, where Christians triumph idyllically in every circumstance. Rather, it is a call to the broken and tired church, where followers of Christ long to be reminded, and encouraged, to once again stand up, and say with that ageless prayer-confession of Joshua, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

With these two thoughts, Brian Doerksen begins an interwoven message of music and ministry through his newest offering, entitled "Today". As I soon found out, merely picking up this CD and listening to it, was a bit of a limiting perspective in engaging with all that this project encompassed. For days, I listened to and enjoyed the CD, but the richness of the "Today" experience wasn't clear until I began to read the book-length liner notes (seriously) and finally to pour over the "Today" DVD (available separately from the CD).

"Today" is a worship project that really needs to be experienced to be appreciated (IE. get the DVD!). And there is much to appreciate here. Musically, the track list is comprised of eight new songs (except for one, all written or co-written by Doerksen), five redone songs mostly from Doerksen's Vineyard repertoire, and two re-visited classic hymns. Stylistically, this is Doerksen's most diverse palette of tastes presented on a single album yet. While maintaining his signature vocals and soft pop acoustic/electric sound, Brian draws in sounds and sights of the past with moving renditions of hymns of the church, and incorporating music styling from classical and traditional influences. Blending pop vocals and instrumentation, adult & children's choirs, a wonderful orchestral group and even a jazz ensemble, Doerksen, and co-producer Philip Janz, create an album that bridges ages and builds a wall of God's faithfulness through music and multimedia.

The live evening of worship (as recorded on the DVD) begins with the reading of Nehemiah and a short message by Doerksen. The music recorded on the CD provides the content structure of the worship flow that goes from declaration and celebration to deep devotion and contrition to heartening prayer and exultant praise. The first song and title track bursts out with the anthem "Today", singing a modern revision of the declaration of Joshua. This song is typical Doerksen- refreshing lyrics, hook-laden melody, and easily played music. But right from this first track, there is a distinctive clarity on this project that defines a previously indefinable Brian Doerksen. From the understatement of pop influence on this album, to the inter-generational song selection, to the orchestral arrangements, to the blends of vocal leads, choirs, and children- Doerksen looks more at home on this album than any to date. The song "Today" will be a great new 'call to worship' song for the church.

The second track is the song "Everlasting", which is a building declaration song that is vibrant and memorable, and ripe for use in churches. And like much of the new songs on this album, it is a well-crafted collaborative songwriting effort. This CD is a wonderfully arranged worship set, songs selected purposefully to tell a story in a rich sequence of ebb and flow. Track three is a deep prayer/declaration (in the tradition of Psalm 42) called "You Are Everything". This song leads perfectly into the lilting melody of "The River", a country-styled song highlighting the beautiful voice of Brenda Janz. Don't miss this song, or you will miss one of the most easily adapted contributions on this new album. For brevity, I will not explain each song on this album, but please give yourself the benefit of listening to them. You won't be disappointed. From a song about our place with God ("My Redeemer"), to the call to war in "Fortress 144", to the timeless repentance anthem of "Refiner's Fire", this is a storehouse of great songs for the church.

My favorite track on this project is titled "Hear From Heaven", a soul-piercing prayer borne from text of 2 Chronicles 7:14. This prayer/song calls to God to forgive our wickedness and heal our land. I have been saying regularly in this review that you must experience this project to fully appreciate it, and this is most poignantly expressed in the video (from the DVD) of this song. I was moved to tears as I watched every person in the auditorium of the event expression hand actions while singing this song. The song rests in tender prayer transitioning from our cry for God's healing into the wonderful declaration of His work on the cross, through the song "I See The Cross". The album concludes with an equally powerful reprise of "Today", in which any father or parent will be brought to tears as you see generations of Christ's servants declare in song to Him, "today we choose to follow You"!

There is no doubt about it, the new album "Today" with Brian Doerksen will bring you a collection of songs ready for use in a broad spectrum of church applications from styling as diverse as guitar-driven bands to blended worship to choirs and orchestra-backed ensembles. But this project is much more of an experience of sounds and sight than just a few new songs. It is a celebration of what the church is called to, and what it can be- a church of unity, of power, of history and of "today".

Product Link Today

Review by Kim Anthony Gentes

A single voice echoes through the halls of an historic church in Dublin, Ireland. Shortly, the voice of that young chorister joins not just a band on a worship recording, but the choir of human history singing an anthem whose message is as old as Abraham, but as timeless as the long awaited return of Christ.

The LORD had said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.'

Ever since the call of Abram back in Genesis 12, the challenge to all of us has been to turn our attention to the greatness of God, especially in light of the discouragement of the earthly conditions that surround us. As the title track 'You Shine' plays on, the lyrics synthesize this struggle perfectly, saying:

In this world we will have trouble
But You have overcome the world
You shine brighter than the brightest star...
You shine, filling us with courage and strength
To follow You

Welcome to the the first track of the new worship project 'You Shine', from Brian Doerksen and Integrity Hosanna Music.

In keeping with his modus operandi, Doerksen places his most significant new song offering right on the first track, and in that sense, he also sets the tone for the album. For this album is not just about singing joyful answers (though it certainly does that)- it is about the struggle, the questions, and, yes, the joy of living in the resting place of God's love and strength. For those not familiar with him, Brian Doerksen is a worship leader from the Vineyard tradition, having written dozens of tremendous songs (including Refiner's Fire, Light the Fire Again, and many others) and recorded on over a dozen albums.

This spectacular new album, 'You Shine', palettes a wonderful song spectrum, adding seven newly-written Doerksen songs, four modern classics from his Vineyard repetiore, and a redone version of the church hymn 'It Is Well'.

Certainly the title track is the song which will gain huge acceptance in the global church, through this recording. But I would strongly encourage you to set aside an afternoon or evening and take the journey archived for us on this recording. As the power of the chorus drives home the hopeful message of 'You Shine', the listener is left perfectly at the doorstep of praise for the second song, 'Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing)'. This popped-up version of the already classic UK Vineyard birthed song will carry your heart through the lyrics with musical bliss running through a path of crisp, exciting electric guitar, celtic bridges with violins, flutes and whistles, and a drum-framed acepella chorus. For the audiophiles, hearing these first two songs will make it clear that there is a level of excellence in this album that places the production on a whole other strata for Brian and his creative crew (who are the some of the same amazing musicians he has been recording with for years).

It is hard to deny the amazing timeliness of these songs. The third song, 'I Am Convinced', speaks succinctly to God's response to the deep sense of fear that has been imbedding North America around this one year anniversary of 9/11. It says

Violence or danger
Hunger or shame
Won't separate us
From the love of God

The song answers wonderfully drawing from the Corinthian text:

So high so wide so measureless, filling eternity
So strong so deep so intimate
Encircling mystery
That nothing can take Your love from me

The next few songs walk through Gaelic prayers with 'You Surround Me', the Vineyard classics with 'Faithful One', and the deeply personal struggles of life with 'Your Faithfulness'. I won't talk through all the great songs on this album, but would very strongly encourage you to spend time listening and praise and worshipping along with this album. You should especially highlight the following songs when searching for materials usable in your local church, and with your music and worship teams: 'You Shine', 'Hallelujah', 'I Am Convinced', 'Faithful One', 'Hope of the Nations', 'I Lift My Eyes Up', 'With All My Affection' and a lyrically updated version of 'Come Now is the Time to Worship' (includes new second chorus).

You will love this new recording from Brian Doerksen, and will find it an ample archive of excellent new songs for your local church. Thankfully, Integrity's Hosanna music brand has made this a useful church resource, by making available accompanying songbook and split tracks products as well. From the album liner notes and song stories, the only complaint I would have is a question as to why this project didn't also produce an accompanying VHS/DVD video of the live night of worship. Some of the moments and prayers were so poignant, I am sure it would have been a wonderful experience to share.

And while you will think deeply about the pains and struggles of life as you hear some of the lyrics of these songs, the overwhelming theme of God's powerful hope and love will surge into the forefront of your thoughts as you sing and bless the Lord with the album 'You Shine'. In many ways, Brian Doerksen is relaunching the Hosanna brand for Integrity with this new album, bringing to it sounds and raw passion that echo the heartbeats of so much of the worldwide church.

Don't pass by this new project, or by the great songs it gathers for us. You won't be dissappointed. In keeping with my lauds for this project, I am very happy to give this project our Editor's Choice Award. The great thing is, you don't have to take my word for it, you can check out the RealAudio sound clips for yourself.

Product Link You Shine - Brian Doerksen

Blessings in the Hope of Israel,
Review by Kim Gentes

P.S. Musicians and worship leaders, don't forget to check out the songbook and/or split track resources so you can put these songs to use in your local church