Kim Gentes

There are few songs in the past 5 years that have spread as quickly throughout the body of Christ as "Your Love Never Fails". This song, along with many others, is the outgrowth of the local ministry, worship leading and songwriting of Chris McClarney. Chris is a worship leader at Grace Center Church- a dynamic and growing church located in Franklin, TN. I recently was present during a worship service in which Chris led a song that struck me as not only unique, but profoundly worshipful, engaging and encouraging for people wishing to give abandon praise to their God. The song was called "Waste It All".

Since I am involved in working in the worship resourcing world, I looked for where I might find this song and found it on and exceptional album solo album entitled "Defender". If you haven't heard of Chris McClarney, that is no surprise as he low profile personality and humble demeanor are the antithesis of what you'd expect for a worship leader/songwriter/artist hailing from the Nashville metro area.  In the last several of weeks I have had the opportuntity to be in worship services in which Chris has led. From that backdrop, I decided to look deeper into the music that he has released. My first stop is this album, "Defender".  And I was very, very encouraged with what I found.

The album starts off with the popular chorus, "Your Love Never Fails".  This song is commonly known from its cover version on Jesus Culture release of the name. But here Chris treats us to a simpler, straightforward version of the song, crisply done with his pleading tenor notes and honest ad libs. The second track is a bluesy acoustic rock groove (complete with leslie hammond organ swirl) that drives home the point of Chris's intent with all the songs on this project- a direct assault at crediting, glorifying and praising God. In fact, with virtually every song, lyric and ad lib on this album you find a constant focus on God's character, Holy Person, attributes and acts while leaving little time for anything else. Yet in that broad focus on God, Chris's lyrics and songs remain very human, very real.  For example, the next song, "Who Is This Amazing Love", expresses the reflective interplay of these realities:

Who is this King of Glory?

The Lord so strong and mighty.

He's always faithful to forgive.

His favor goes before me,

His perfect love surrounds me,

Now I can't help but sing, oh.

The Lord is strong, forgiving and glorified, and yet our position of being in His favor and surrounded by His love is not forgotten.  This thoughtful balance is reflected in songs from the first track, title track, "Your Love Is Everything" and almost every track on this album.  And this brings up the strength of this project- well crafted and diligently tried lyrics. After being in worship services several times with Chris leading, I have seen many of these songs become anthems not just for the leader and worship team- but for the congregation, who uses them in unrestrained praise to God!

I must say that the song "Defender" is such a prayerful declaration, one can't help but be singing along full force by the time the track winds down. The next song is a beautiful composition of the W. Chalmers Smith hymn "Immortal Invisible".  The song has life and joy exploding in the new chorus with what becomes Chris's signature unrestrained style of praise through music and voice.

The next track that struck me powerfully both as a worshiper and a leader is the song "Your Love Is Everything". Another declarative thankful prayer to God, this song expounds its title phrase in the context of our human experience of needing God to bring his light into our darkness, to forgive our sin, heal us and to meet all our needs in the context of finding ourselves in God's overwhelming love.  This is definitely a song for worship leaders to review and see if it isn't one for your Sunday morning set lists.

There are a couple other songs on this album that were impactive to this worshiper. One of the best tracks is a beautiful, simple and uncluttered blues, rock version of "Blessed Assurance". While using the well-known lyrics of Fanny Crosby, Chris and co-writers John Hartley and Chris Eaton have fasioned a unique and personal rendition of this song that reminds us that our stories in this life become His praise as we live in the provision of God's "blessed assurance".

All of these songs are excellent considerations for any worship leader looking for new material for Sunday morning. But I have saved what I consider the best for last!

Remember, at the beginning of this article, I mentioned the song "Waste It All"? This song is found on track nine of this album. And it is, for me, an absolutely unforgettable worship song that deserves your attention. This song uses the scriptural allusion of John 12:1-11 to paint the scene of abandon worship- drawing us into the story of pouring our lives out as a fragrance to God, just as Mary Magadelene did with real perfume in her unabashed devotion to Christ.  If you (like me) listen and contemplate the lyrics to this song, you may come away with a bit more of your heart unlocked and surrendered in devotion to God. Here is the chorus refrain:

I want to waste it all on You
I want to pour my heart's perfume
And I don't care if I'm called a fool
I'm wasting it all on You

It has been a very long time since a song has come along that has such a vibrant combination of lyrical prowess and musical engagement- all with the singular focus of encouraging us to surrender our hearts with unashamed abandon to God and a personal relationship with Him.  If you don't remember anything else from this review, make sure you do this one thing- find the song "Waste It All" and use its well sculpted message to help you devote your heart to God in a fresh new way.  In my opinion, this track is the best song on this project and one of the best I've heard in the last 10 years. It's really that good.

For those that are interested in hearing this song, and the rest of the album, you will find it available in several of the normal locations (iTunes etc), but I especially recommend:

Defender -Chris McClarney http://amzn.to/OO04ww (Amazon)

For those who use online planning, you can also find the songs from this album, the full audio, chord charts and lyrics online in WorshipTeam.com.

This album is not a surprising innovative musical endeavor. But it is a vibrant and superbly crafted lyrical contribution for anyone looking for great new songs for their church. In fact, the songs are so strong and usable for local church use that Defender receives my accolade as an Editor's Choice selection. Excellent songwriting, shining vocals and honest expression throughout the project make this album worthwhile for any worshiper, and especially worship leaders, to consider.

worshiping Him!

Kim Gentes 

For many years we have seen a growing influence of mega churches in the worship music being popularized and played in US churches.  Churches such as Colorado's New Life Church, Australia's Hillsong Church, and Houston's Lakewood Church have all had profound influence through their worship ministries on the Sunday morning set lists of churches across the nation. In the last 3 years a new local church ministry in Southern California has become influential with its youth-centric music and events. Jesus Culture is a youth ministry that has been holding events worldwide for years now, but worship has always been an integral part of their focus and excellence.

One of the early recordings that they produced was "Your Love Never Fails". Like all of the Jesus Culture recordings it is a live album, collected from their live events.  Jesus Culture has produced other albums since this, with great success. But none of them comes to the pinnacle live experience, great song collection and excellent live musical performance as Your Love Never Fails. Featuring leaders Chris Quilala, Kim Walker (now Walker-Smith) and Melissa How (now Wise), this CD brims with energy, great song writing and clean but rocking production.

The title track, Your Love Never Fails, is a hook laden anthem that has become a staple in modern worship churches around the world. But Jesus Culture didn't rely on just new choruses to lead worship in this live experience. Also included on the track list are excellent renditions of Matt Redman's King Of Glory, Tim Hughes' Happy Day and Pete Sanchez's classic I Exalt Thee.

This album stays true to the Jesus Culture vibe and intention of great music, influencing people to change the world. In my opinion, it is the best album released by Jesus Culture, though each project has included gems of songs for local church use.  If you haven't heard this album yet, you owe it to yourself to get this amazing experience.

Product Link:  Your Love Never Fails (CD/DVD)

Review by Kim Gentes