If you go to Grace Chapel, then you know that we work really hard to create worship experiences that are a single journey. I like to say that the message begins with the opening song. We also work with a theme for the entire year. Last year was the Year of Transformation - getting a vision and making space for God to transform our hearts and minds to be the people he created us to be.  This year is the Year of One Another.  This make sense because transformation is not for our own sake, but for Jesus' sake and the sake of others.  So anyhow, as I approached this year of one another, I discovered that there weren't many songs about how we live with one another.  I found a hymn I Love To Hear The Story and I found another hymn I Love To Tell The Story. But there isn't a lot of music out there about I Love To Do The Story.  I felt like I needed to write a theme song for the year.  The One Another Song is the result. But when I finished it, orchestrated it, and handed it out to the singers and players, I hadn't heard Bryan's vision sermon yet.  In his sermon, he said that it was his prayer that we would know each other, care for each other, and serve each other better in June than do today (this was in September).  I only had one of those words in the song.   

It's hard to get music back once it's out there.  So the song was revamped to include know and care (I already had serve - one for three will get you into the hall of fame in baseball).  So the final version of the song goes...

The One Another Song

Verse:
Your Kingdom come,
You will be done,
Here on earth as it is in Heaven.

Come soon we prayer,
But until that day,
May we shine with the light of Your love!

Chorus:
and be a people who...
Love one another,
Forgive one another,
Accept one another,
Care for one another,
Serve one another,
Defer to one another,
Till You make all things new, Till You make all things new.

Verse:
Chorus:
Instrumental:
Chorus: 
and be a people who...
Love one another,
Forgive one another,
Accept one another,
Care for one another,
Serve one another,
Defer to one another,
Bear with one another,
Confess to one another,
Rejoice with one another,
Grieve with one another,
Build one another,
Know one another,
Pray for one another,
Cherish one another,
Till You make all things new, Till You make all things new.

So that's the story...

The new CD is underway. I am doing preproduction right now. What that entails is recording the songs with me playing everything to get the ideas to the musicians so they can begin to mess around with them. I like to encourage the folks who will be playing on the project to fiddle with my ideas and come up with their own. I have just finished the music for The One Another Song but I keep botching the words on the vocal takes.  This happens a lot.  When I write a song, I usually have a couple of versions of the lyrics. When it comes time to sing it, it's sometimes hard to remember which words made the cut. Anyhow, I'll put the song up when I get a vocal on it.