UPDATE
Although he doesn't know me, the songwriter has been kind enough to allow me to host the file here to download or listen online:



This song was apparently written less than a month ago by a relatively unknown worship leader. But thanks to the Internet and my friend, Dave Bish, I have found myself listening to a rough acoustic recording of it many many times today with tears streaming down my face.

I predict that this will be a massive, massive song. It expresses the gospel better than anything new I have heard in a long time. I dare you to go and listen to this right now. I can't wait until they release a band version, which is apparently coming soon. The music PDF is also available. It was apparently inspired by a Puritan prayer. Here are the words to The Grace of My God.

1. The grace of my God, an unbreakable chain,
   for those He redeems, He in grace will sustain.
   I will treasure the cross and rejoice in the Prize,
   This unspeakable Gift! This the gospel of Christ!
   
   
2. Without Him my eyes would be downcast in guilt,
   And in trembling shame would my lips have been sealed.
   Yet my mouth fills with praise, when I call on His name
   And my eyes may delight in the wonders of Christ!
   
   Chorus
   Yes, wave upon wave of grace reaches me,
   He deals with my sin and He washes me clean.
   And each accusation is drowned by His blood,
   For Jesus has paid with immeasurable love!
   
   
3. Without Him is hell, where His wrath will consume,
   In perpetual fire; an eternity doomed.
   Yet in Him is all love, and my soul is at rest,
   For hell's gates have been barred through His glorious death!
   
   
4. Without Him the darkness is all I can see,
   And the terror of sin would abound within me.
   Yet a boundless horizon of glory is mine,
   When Christ in the depths of my heart is all light!
   
   
5. By grace my affection is drawn to the Lord,
   And by grace I'm renewed by the power of His word.
   It is grace that will strengthen my will and resolve
   To live for my Christ 'til I kneel at His throne!
   
   Matt Giles © 2008. Honeycomb Music Publishing Ltd.
   v1, v2, ch, v3, ch, v4, ch, ch (instrumental), v5, ch.
   

In this, the fifth and final segment of my interview with Nathan Fellingham, we talk about what the future holds for Phatfish and for Lou Fellingham. The four previous segments can be found here:

• Phatfish's Nathan Fellingham
  
  
• Nathan Fellingham on Writing Songs for Worship
  
  
• Nathan Fellingham on the Theology of Worship Songs
  
  
• Nathan Fellingham on New Word Alive and Being a Reformed Charismatic

Adrian
So, where next for the Fellinghams, Phatfish, and everything else you’re involved in? I know you’ve got a few projects that are about to come online, I think.

Nathan
Yeah. There’s a few things really. The Guaranteed album is the latest Phatfish has put out, which we’re really excited about. It’s getting on—it’s nine months old now.

Adrian
Where can people get a hold of that?

Nathan
At the Phatfish website.

Adrian
I don’t think that one is on iTunes, is it?

Nathan
It’s not on iTunes, I don’t think, but you can order it from the site.

Adrian
What’s the URL?

Nathan
www.phatfish.net The other thing is, Lou . . .

Adrian
Can they order that from the US and get it shipped over? That kind of thing?

Nathan
Yes, you can certainly buy it on our website, but you pay through the nose a little bit if you’re paying in dollars at the moment. But we are working, hopefully, on new ways to get stuff over into the US.

The other thing is, Lou, my wife, she did a solo project a couple of years ago called Treasure. And she’s just recorded a new album called Promised Land, which will be out on May 23rd. (Editor's Note: It is now available for purchase online.)

And I’m starting something called Fishtank Creatives, which is going to be—essentially all that is is a name to cover these different things that we do. So, we’re out sometimes as Phatfish, sometimes as Lou Fellingham, Lou Fellingham Band, whatever. Sometimes it’s Stuart Townend’s Worship Band—you know. All these different things—it’s all us. It’s all the same heart, just slightly different expressions of different songs. So Fishtank Creatives created this design to kind of cover that whole thing.

Actually, just a little plug. In May, we’re going to be doing an iPod Touch giveaway. So go onto the phatfish.net or fishtankcreatives.com from May 1st onward, you’ll be able to enter a competition and get an iPod Touch with all of our albums, Lou’s new album, and videos—everything will be on that. And we’re going to be giving it away to whoever we draw out of the hat after they have answered the question correctly. So, there’s a little plug for that. (Editor's Note: Because of technical delays with the site, they're not quite ready, but hopefully they will be in the next several weeks, probably after July 1st.)

Adrian
Fantastic. I’ll head straight over there, I’m sure. Well, is there anything else? I think you do some worship training or something, don’t you? Is that coming up again?

Nathan
Yeah, we do. At Church of Christ the King (CCK), we’re going to be starting a worship school again in October. We have a “Working as a Band” CD. It’s like a very practical CD just on the subject of how a contemporary band can put worship songs together. It’s just some great, sort of basic, kind of practical stuff actually that can be very helpful for worship teams. You asked about “Working as a Band”—you can get that from phatfish.net as well. I think we’re going to be developing stuff in the months and years to come with worship training and what we’re doing at CCK, at the church. Yeah. There’s all sorts of stuff going on, definitely, so God’s doing some good stuff and we’re excited.

Adrian
Yeah. Thanks so much. I must say that I want to personally thank you for all that you do for the kingdom. Thanks for taking time out of your busy week this week.

Nathan
It’s been a pleasure.

In yesterday's segment Nathan and I discussed the importance of theology in worship songs. Today we move on to talk a little about the event we were both attending and his thoughts on being a reformed charismatic.

Adrian
We’re here at this New Word Alive event, and obviously have heard all sorts of teaching from some of these big names like John Piper, Don Carson, and others. I don’t know how much of it you’ve been able to get into with everything else you’re doing. Have you been in many of the sessions?

Nathan
Yeah. I’ve gone to all of Don Carson’s morning Bible readings so far, which I think have just been astounding—really, really good. Don’t ask me anything about it, but . . .

Adrian
No, no. I suppose what I was thinking—what I was going to ask you actually—when you come here from the context in Brighton, a lot of people think of charismatics as being kind of airheads. Are you coming here and thinking this is just totally alien to what we’re used to, or are you thinking, “Yeah, We’re learning stuff, but this is very consistent with our heart and where we’re at?” Where we’re from?"

Nathan
Yeah, I think theologically it feels very much in sync with where we’re at. I think in terms of people’s expressions of worship, I think it does feel a lot more conservative to what we’re used to. So, yeah, I think I would love for, in some ways, to be able to bring some fresh expression to the worship in a place like this. And Stuart’s the ideal guy for leading worship. Because of the songs that he writes, people warm to him very quickly, but he can also push things out a little bit and take people further on. That’s probably the biggest thing really—just how people express their worship. Obviously, people can express it in different ways, but there are some pretty strong words in the Psalms about exhorting us to praise and knowing a little bit about how the Hebrew people would have done that, with a lot of body movements and a lot of excitement. Obviously cultures are different, but I think there’s something in praising in a very kind of vocal and “full of energy” way that just seems right to me.

Adrian
Yeah, I guess so as well. I mean, the thing I’m feeling is that the people here are really deeply in love with Jesus, but maybe they express it in a slightly different way. Were you picking that up as well in the worship? I really felt like, in your gig for example, as the gig went on you could see that people were warming up and getting into it, and actually in their hearts, they were really really enjoying it.

Nathan
Yeah, I think so. We certainly feel very at home here. The feel of the site proved great.

Adrian
There’s no one swinging from the rafters yet, is there?

Nathan
No. That’s right, that’s right.

Adrian
Was it not “swinging from the chandeliers?”

Nathan
Yeah, yeah. No, there’s none of that! (Laughter) But, yeah, we don't feel at odds with anyone here, so it’s great.

Adrian
It’s actually really exciting to see in this event a marrying of the charismatics like us—nutters like you and me—and people who are not really from that background at all. To see everybody here together, respecting each other in that way, is quite cool.

Nathan
Yes, it’s wonderful. Yeah, very good, very good.

Adrian
Just a little bit about the whole charismatic thing. You seem to be quite unusual, to some people anyway. I mean, I’ve grown up with it and it’s quite normal for me, I guess, but this notion that we want to marry reformed theology with a sort of vibrant experience of the Holy Spirit. Do you want to talk more about what that means to you as an individual and to the band?

Nathan
Sure. Again, I think that Terry Virgo’s distinctive really is that he is reformed theology, but very charismatic. I know that’s what people always say about him. And in a sense, it’s Terry’s church, and groups of churches that I’ve grown up with. So, in some ways you only begin to learn what you are by hearing other people say it. “Oh, right. That’s what we are! I thought we were just getting on with it.”

Adrian
It’s a bit like if you were color blind, isn’t it, and you’ve never seen color. And then one day something happens and you can see color. And you’d say, “Oh, right! So that’s what it is!” Or the other way around. If you lost color and people started saying, “Hang on a minute . . . ”

Nathan
Yeah, for sure. It’s just what we have known, really. But we’ve seen a lot of diverse expressions of Christianity in our travels over our time, and been very comfortable with people who are even more nutterish than we are. We enjoy that from time-to-time and then . . .

Adrian
You go both ways. Sometimes they’re more nutty and sometimes they’re less nutty.

Nathan
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. The whole spectrum of nuttiness where we fit. But, yeah, I think certainly seeing Terry’s passion for the Spirit, and for the gifts of the Spirit, and for charismatic worship, coupled with not a kind of flakiness in our theology, and not a kind of looseness with that, I think, is wonderful. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Adrian
I think there’s one of your sort of more “bandy” songs, if you like, rather than worshipy songs, but I’m not sure where that distinction always lies. I’m not a musician at all. I’m just not quite sure. I used to play the guitar a little bit, but I never got . . . . It’s funny. I got to the stage where I knew all the chords, but I never could quite learn how to do the rhythm properly. I mean, I could do it in theory, but . . . And I was like—something’s got to give. So, in fact, it was really when I got married. My wife was like, “Adrian, this is very loud and not very helpful.” So I stopped practicing. But anyway, I just have no rhythm, you see. (Laughter)

What was I going on about? I’m losing it. It’s been too long. Oh, yes—the songs! One particular song, and we must finish soon. But there’s one particular song from your more bandy ones that really, I think, expresses that whole kind of Holy Spirit thing—it is that song called “Holy Spirit.”

Nathan
Yeah, yeah, yeah . . .

Adrian
I have to say, the first time I heard that I was actually listening to the CD that it’s on. I don’t remember what the name of the CD is—what’s the album it’s on?

Nathan
It’s Guaranteed.

Adrian
From Guaranteed, yes. And I was just in the car, and was actually just driving, listening to music in the background, and not really thinking about it, and that song came on. I had to stop the car. I was just in tears, overwhelmed and it’s like there was a hunger within me for more of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s power—that whole thing. I just wonder if you could share a bit more about that song. Where did it come from? What does it mean to you?

Nathan
Yeah. It was actually Mike, our keyboard player, who wrote the song. I think I had a little bit to do with some of the melody, but it was really his. The majority of the words were his. Yeah, I think it’s a great song because it has that refrain at the end—“Fill me up each day, Fill me each hour, Fill me with your love, Fill me with your power”—so something kind of simple and “Come Holy Spirity,” but the whole rest of the song is really talking about who the Holy Spirit is, what he does. It just goes into more depth. It’s kind of something I think might challenge us because we don’t sing that much about the Holy Spirit, and we kind of sometimes don’t really know that much about him. So he just had a real heart to write a song which was a bit more comprehensive. Actually, Matt Redman, listened to it once (I was in the car with him) and he said, “I think that’s the most comprehensive song on the Holy Spirit I’ve ever heard.” And I think it is quite unique in that way. You're not allowed to say 'quite unique' are you, so it IS unique. (Laughter) We did it at the concert here the other night. I was really keen to do it because I had some friends here who are kind of less charismatic. A friend of mine said to me, “After hearing that, it was like, it was not that any things have changed necessarily, but it’s like I can’t argue with any of the stuff that’s being said there. It’s just truth.” And then, again, the response at the end for us—“fill us up.” We need more of the Holy Spirit. So, yeah, it’s great. I think it’s a very important song, actually.

Continued in part 5 . . .

Yesterday in my interview with Nathan we spoke about writing songs for worship. Today we will move on to talk about the theological thinking behind the songs.

Adrian
It’s actually quite interesting, because already from talking to you, it’s like your songs are so obviously full of theology—I mean, that’s coming across just in talking to you—and I’ve always felt like that in listening to them. They’re also full of passion and kind of “real life” situations, I guess. And that combination, together with modern music, is actually quite rare. Where is that coming from? How do you have the sort of richness to be able to do that and still also be kind of “cool”?

Actually, by the way, I must just say [this]—I met some students last night (and actually you can listen on the blog), and just at the end of our chat (we were talking about the Piper talk last night), right at the end I said, “Oh, and by the way, I was in the Phatfish gig!” And they said, “Hey, that makes you really hip and young and with it,” and I was thinking “Great! That’s really cool!” So you’re still hip . . .

Nathan
Yeah, that does surprise me. I had no idea we were still hip. I thought we were old and “has been.”

Adrian
Clearly you’re not.

Nathan
That’s good, that’s good!

Adrian
Anyway, I forgot what I wanted to ask you now. Do you remember?

Nathan
It was kind of to do with how the richness of theology in songs and . . .

Adrian
Not with being hip . . .

Nathan
Yeah, and how we can still be hip . . . yeah!

Adrian
. . . and still be theological . . .

Nathan
I have no idea. No, I think we’ve just always been encouraged by the sort of church that we’re in, with guys like Terry Virgo, and my dad, and John Hosier—we’ve always been encouraged to put good theology into songs. It’s where my roots are; the sort of songs my dad used to write – such as putting Ephesians 1 to music. It’s just what I’ve grown up with. Just the thought of writing—I mean, occasionally songs don’t have to be as weighty, it’s not like they all have to be really weighty, but to not write any songs like that—it never even has come into my consciousness that that should be done. It’s just always been drummed into us that it’s important what we’re saying. Just the realization that people do go away singing songs, and therefore if we can put good truth into songs, then it’s only going to help the body of Christ, really.

As far as that marriage with being hip, I guess the thing is—just to clarify that I don’t particularly think I’m hip—I do have a desire to write good music as well. I don’t think great songs come about by just finding great theology and trying to put it to “any old tune will do.” Even if it’s a singable tune, I think I’m a believer in the marriage of truth and beauty. I think when you marry great truth with something that is beautiful in terms of music, that’s really when stuff can come alive and people can latch onto it, and the music actually serves as an extra thing to help get the truth home—that’s really my desire. So, in terms of the music, I am dedicated to learning my craft as a musician as well, so in terms of listening to bands, listening to good music that’s out there—that’s the quest for me. It’s also a quest to get my theology as great as possible, as well, to obviously say it all in the context of trying to love God more. It’s all part of what my life is, so when the two things can marry together and people can be, in some way, blessed by it, then, you know, I’m just thrilled as anything.

Adrian
Is there any specific way that you try and make sure that your theology is right in the songs. Is there anyone that you ask to help you who will check things out, or have you got degrees in theology, or what?

Nathan
(Laughter) No. Yes. I’d certainly, well yes . . .

Adrian
Yes to the degrees?

Nathan
Yeah, I have about three degrees! (Laughter) No, I have no degrees at all! Certainly I often run stuff off my dad. When I was first writing songs, I was in his house, so I would just run stuff by him and he would comment on stuff. I’ve sent, I’ve kind of run things past all sorts of people at different times, oddly enough. I think John Hosier, I’ve put stuff past before, and Joel Virgo. I even sent something to you once, didn’t I?

Adrian
You didn’t have to say that! (Laughter)

Nathan
No, I know, . . . I think over time you get a bit more confident in terms of what you’re saying, obviously, but I still feel like I’m drinking milk really when it comes to this—I feel like I’m just at the beginnings of a journey. I mean, sometimes I read through some of my songs and think, “Wow! God was really gracious to me in terms of being able to pen something almost beyond where my understanding is in some songs. I’m catching up still—you know, we’re all on that journey. If I’m unsure about something, then I definitely try to find somebody and just kick it past them. It’s an interesting thing for me. It’s not something that I take lightly.

Adrian
I guess what I’m hearing from that is that you’re very much a part of a theological family almost. Is that a good way of putting it? Within the church and all the people you know?

Nathan
Absolutely! Absolutely our church holds to teaching the Bible systemically and having good theology, holding it in very high esteem. So, yeah, it’s just part of the very fabric of who we are. So, yeah, for sure.

Continued in part 4 . . .

In yesterday's segment of my interview with Nathan, we ended by speaking about how many worship leaders have emerged from his home church, Church of Christ the King, popularly known simply as CCK. Today I ask him about writing songs for worship.

Adrian
The Brighton Newfrontiers church is an amazing resource, if you think about all of you as a group, not just Phatfish, but all the other guys you just mentioned. I mean, you guys write a lot of songs that are used in a lot of places, don’t you?

Nathan
Yeah . . . yes, for sure. Of course, Stuart Townend is probably the key guy in those terms. His songs have obviously gone around the world and are sung as much as anybody’s at the moment. Songs like In Christ Alone and The Power of the Cross seem to be right up there among the most-sung songs in the Christian world at the moment. I’ve had the privilege of being able to write a few that people have taken hold of as well, and Paul Oakley has written some really big songs which have gone ‘round the world. It’s a great privilege. We’re just grateful that we get the chance to do it, really.

Adrian
I know some people don’t pay that much attention to who writes songs, so could you just say (I know you’re probably too embarrassed) which songs that you’ve written are the ones that are most widely known? The one that comes to my mind (I think it’s one of yours) is There Is A Day That All Creation Is Waiting For. I just love that song—it goes on, doesn’t it . . . “A day of freedom and liberation for the world . . .when hurt and pain will cease,” and it talks about our light and momentary troubles achieving a glory for us. I just kept thinking of that song this week; I mean, you did sing it in your gig, but when John Piper was speaking about suffering—that’s the one that I immediately thought of. I must confess, I’m not one of these people who always pays much attention—so what other songs have you written that people sing more?

Nathan
There is a Day is probably the second biggest song I’ve ever written in terms of how far and wide it’s gone. Holy Holy is the song that has actually gone the furthest. The chorus is “Lift up his name with the sound of singing . . .”

It’s funny to me, really. I wrote it when I was about, I think, 17, and I wrote it really quickly. And ever since then I’ve been trying to better my skills, hone my skills, you know, be diligent in my skills, become a better song writer, and the one that I wrote really quickly when I was very young is the one that’s gone further and people know the best. So you just put that down to God’s sovereignty, really. Others I’ve written are one called Awake Awake O Zion, which has got around a bit, and Come Let Us Worship is one. And there’s probably about a hundred songs called that . . .

Adrian
Tell us a few more words of that one . . .

Nathan
The chorus is “You are God, and you’re worthy to be praised, and you’re good . . .” I mean, Stoneleigh was—that was kind of the era where songs probably got most profile. I usually write about one a year for Stoneleigh. To You King Jesus is another one. Jesus Christ the Holy One is another one. So, yeah, I’ve written quite a few. Some of them get better notice than others, but, yeah . . .

Adrian
What about the one, O God of Love, I Come To You. Is that yours?

Nathan
Yes, that is actually. It was predominantly my wife, Lou’s, but we wrote that together. But that one really was her kind of main theme, and I was just around to help shape it and form it a little bit. So, yeah, again, that one has gone out quite a long way.

Adrian
I heard of a bit of an interesting back story on that one, but I may not have heard it right, so what is the back story on that, if you don’t mind me asking.

Nathan
I’d quite like to hear yours, actually! (Laughter) I think it kind of came out at a time there was a young girl in our church who was diagnosed with cancer, and she did actually end up dying. It was obviously quite an intense season in our church—just going through that sort of thing as a body of people is a pretty intense thing. Everybody who was close to her talked about her love for God, and her peace, and how her face shone. It was incredibly moving, even though I didn’t really know her—you can’t help but be moved by it. I know Lou was moved by it. I think a lot of the words of that song came out of that—not just the frailty of our bodies, but the fact that God is always before us and behind us, and he knows our frame, and he knows how we’re made. So there was all that stuff. But the chorus actually just came out when Lou and I were leaders of a small group (or whatever they were called then—cell groups probably, I don’t know—like a youth one). We were just worshipping round one day, and Lou just started singing the chorus—which is quite a simple chorus—but started singing that out, and that song was kind of born there and then, really.

Adrian
That’s the one — How Good It Is To Be Loved by God — that one?

Nathan
Yeah, yeah.

Adrian
Oh, no — How Good It Is To Be Loved by You . . .

Nathan
Yeah, that’s right. Yeah.

Adrian
See, I almost know the words . . .

Nathan
Yeah! I’m impressed! That’s good! (Laughter)

Adrian
Are there any other of those songs where there’s a back story that’s worth telling about? I mean, not just that it sprung into your head in the shower, but anything else that’s worth saying?

Nathan
Well, I think There is a Day is probably one I’d go back to. I was reading a book called the Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges. It’s not really a book about the second coming and our future in heaven, or anything like that, but there was obviously something that he put in there, a page that I read—that chorus literally just descended on me like—instantly. I can’t put it in any other way. It was like I got so excited by reading what I was reading (I can’t even remember what it was!) but I guess it was something related. But the chorus, “We will meet him in the air and we will be like him, and we will see him as he is . . .” and then that “Oh yeah!”—it was just genuinely what was in my heart. I remember I was in my bedroom. I slammed my fist down on the bed. That was genuinely what it was—it was like, “Oh YEAH!!” It so gripped me—so just from there I kind of started looking up some simple passages and, you know, I did the whole kind of following Scripture links to this one, and I’d follow it through my Bible and just came up with various lines, and really felt God’s grace in putting it together. A lot of people said to me, “It’s a great theological song.” You have some guys who really do know their stuff theologically, and it’s like, “Yeah, it’s just God’s grace!” I mean, in a sense, it’s just the Bible put to music. But just the flow of it seemed to land really well, and it seems to catch people. It actually gets used at funerals quite a lot as well. I have one story where loads of people got saved—I mean, not 100 percent to do with that song obviously—but that song playing a part in it, playing a part in somebody’s life who recently became a Christian and then actually died suddenly. The song was sung at his funeral, and the family and friends heard the gospel preached, and loads of people were saved. It’s just mind-blowing when you hear things like that and think a song that I’ve written—well, to just be able to play a small part in that is just awesome. It’s wonderful.

Continued in part 3 . . .

The following is an interview with Nathan Fellingham of the band Phatfish. More information about the band is available on Phatfish's website. The lead singer of the band, Lou Fellingham, also sings solo and has just released a new album, Promised Land.

I recorded this interview at New Word Alive and have already shared the audio, which is available here.

Adrian
This is Adrian Warnock here. I’m actually standing outside of the main marquee, right near the edge of the site, looking out over the beach. And the tide is out. I can see sand, and I can see sea, and I can see hills, and I can see clouds—and it’s sweet! But I’m also here with Nathan Fellingham. Nathan is from Phatfish,and there's all sorts of things he’s involved with—so I’m going to ask him a few questions about what they’re up to and about the event here. So, first of all, who are Phatfish?

Nathan
Well, Phatfish is a band that’s been together for about fourteen or fifteen years now. The backbone of that is myself and my brother, Luke, my wife, Louise, and Mike Sandeman. The other guy, Alan Rose, who was with us for about five years and actually left a few years ago, is now pastoring a church up in York, which is great for him. So we have, in recent years, been using various different musicians, depending on what the event is. We’re a band who is dedicated to serving God through our music—through writing songs that help express our worship and help encourage others to express their worship to God; sometimes songs which are teaching songs—songs that as you listen, hopefully, you can be edified and encouraged; essentially through putting a lot of Scripture to music; and just songs that talk about life, our own experiences, and how God is such integral part of our life. The way we outwork that really is through songs and through playing music.

Adrian
Sounds really cool. So whereabouts do you do this playing music? Do you do gigs or what?

Nathan
Yeah—a whole mixture of stuff. We do a lot of them. We don’t do as many Phatfish gigs as we did in years past. There were certainly seasons where we were out as much as we could doing a lot of youth clubs, youth events, town-wide events, Christian festivals, Christian conferences. But at the moment we’re probably most often at Christian conferences. Often we get asked to play for people like Stuart Townend or Kate Simmonds and others, kind of playing as their support band, I suppose, helping them to lead the worship. And on the back of that, often we get to do a few of our own songs and sometimes the occasional gig as well, which is under the Phatfish name. So, yeah, this year we’re actually playing here at New Word Alive at the moment, and we were at the Kingsway Children’s Ministry conference earlier on in the year. We’re going to be at the Brighton Leaders Conference, as well as New Day, and a couple of other Kingsway conferences at the end of the year. We’re going to be up at Keswick in July as well again, leading with Stuart Townend. So, yeah—a lot of conferences this year.

Adrian
I often jokingly say you should be called the band with many names because you’ve been the Stoneleigh Worship Band, haven’t you? The New Word Alive Worship Band, the Brighton Worship Band, Newfrontiers Worship Band, Church of Christ the King Worship Band. And, as you say, accompanying all these other guys. But I think I’m right in saying that a whole bunch of these people you’ve just mentioned are all in the same church, aren’t they? Is that right?

Nathan
Certainly Stuart Townend and another guy, Paul Oakley, are in our church, who a lot of people would know. Kate Simmonds, who we’ve played with, used to be at our church. She actually moved out with her husband and son, Matthew, to Sydney, Australia, to be with the Pete Brooks, who used to be the senior pastor at our church in Brighton. That’s probably about eighteen months ago now that they moved out. So, on top of that Simon Brading is obviously an up and coming very gifted worship leader who a lot of people would know, is also at our church. Yes, Brighton does seem to collect musicians and worship leaders, definitely. It seems to a bit of a hub for creativity for people like that.

Adrian
I think Matt Redman was there for a little while as well, wasn’t he?

Nathan
He had a brief sojourn there. Yeah, he was there for a while. We still have a great relationship with him. He’s just up the road, in a Church of England church.

Adrian
What is it with Brighton? Is it something in the sea water?

Nathan
I think so, yeah. (Laughter) I don’t know. I mean, my Dad, Dave Fellingham, has been one of the pastors, one of the elders, at the church there, really since it started. I think his kind of influence and his heart for worship and heart for creativity, I’m sure, has a part to play in that.

Certainly he was very encouraging to Stuart in the early days, and I’m sure, to Paul Oakley and to Kate Simmonds, and certainly to us as well. He definitely had a lot of the vision that started Phatfish. He really had a desire to have a band who could operate in the realm of leading worship, but also were comfortable in a pub, playing songs to a secular audience. I say that with quote marks, but you cant see that! [laughter] So, yeah, he really encouraged us to do that. I think certainly his influence would be big.

On top of that, I guess I do feel that God has something for us in Brighton. I feel like there is almost a bit of a mantle on us as a church to be people who are leading the way, I suppose, within our network of churches for sure, and I hope for God to do more things in the future based out of that. I look at what we have and think, “Yeah, there is a reason.” I do believe God is in it, and I do believe that he’s got a work to do with us with this collective of worship guys and creative guys in Brighton.

Continued in part 2 . . .

Having shared my own thoughts, along with Jesse's view of the worship, and some other events of the evening, as well as his subsequent reflections, we resume Jesse's report today, beginning with more of his reflections on the meeting he attended.

“Fourth, there was not an emphasis on preaching from a doctrinal standpoint; rather, there seemed to be a great emphasis on faith, wholeness, healing, and inner light. Again, many things were said that are true. But I think what was missing was that the gospel was not preached very clearly. Even in its most basic forms—that Jesus died for my sins so that I don’t have to pay for them, even though I have offended a holy God—the gospel was not mentioned. Instead, something to this effect was said: “Jesus bore the crown of thorns to deliver us from our mental infirmities.” Although it’s true that we can be healed of mental illness through the powerful name of Jesus, the teaching left something to be desired. Many past revivals have centered around strong, anointed preaching. This one seems to have little or no strong preaching at all.

I also have a concern about what seemed to me to be a limited understanding of the nature of sin. The teaching in this meeting seemed to be that sin is primarily something that happens to us, and from which we need to be delivered, not something that first and foremost dwells in us. Some passages about healing through the blood of Christ which seem, in context, to refer at least to spiritual healing were applied in a way that made it seem that they referred exclusively to physical healing. There have also been some reports on YouTube and the God TV broadcast that Mr. Bentley has a personal angel called Emma. Again, I'm not speaking from experience, because nothing about angels ever came up the night I was there, but these reports would be concerning to me because I think they could potentially lead people astray.

During worship, I thought to myself, “With this level of anticipation and faith, imagine the impact a dynamic, theologically rich song like In Christ Alone would have!” My heart was aching to sing of the glorious reality of the blood and suffering of Christ, and then the absolute exultation of the line:

“Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me.”
Then, with an amazing realization of the power of the cross, to proclaim:

“No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.”

In Christ Alone
Words and Music by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty
Instead, we sang about being a generation who will stand and fight.

So often I can be so theologically sound and doctrinal, but lack a sense of urgency, anticipation, and faith. I am lazy and comfortable with where I’m at. Then, in an environment of real faith and excitement, I think of the power that a theologically sound and rich song and the gospel message would have in that context. I was disappointed because, while I think they do well in the faith category, I think more of an emphasis on the anointed preaching of the gospel and God-centered worship, not man-centered songs, would have a tremendous impact to stir religious affections and motivate a lot of the revival that's being prayed for.

I know some people will think I am quenching the Spirit by desiring more of an accurate theology or a clearer description of who this God is that we’re excited about, but why should we have to choose between doctrine and expectation? Why can’t we have it all? Our excitement is baseless and will never last if it is not grounded in the gospel, and all of our theology, however fine-tuned, will never by itself produce revival. I guess what you’re hearing are the longings of a reformed-charismatic who desires the best of both worlds, yet so often sins by doubting such a thing is possible.”

Continued in part 5 . . .

Yesterday I spoke about my reaction to the little I know about what has been going on in meetings run by Todd Bentley in Lakeland, Florida. Today I begin a special report brought to us by my dear friend, Jesse Phillips, who is a Sovereign Grace pastor in the Florida area. He visited the meetings himself one evening. The following is his unabridged report.

*************************

The thing I was immediately impressed with as we showed up, and throughout the whole night, was the overwhelming sense of anticipation and faith. This is something that, quite frankly, some of us could use a bit more of, myself included. The people at these meetings expect God to do great things when they gather. Too often I expect God to do nothing. My faith was certainly challenged as I thought about my posture in the gathering of my church each week.

We arrived at the meeting a few minutes late, but managed to catch most of the worship. My father-in-law and I estimated that about 4,000 people were gathered in a large arena. The first song was a medium-paced tune that started, “We are the generation who will stand and fight.” It was a song about being a light in the darkness, carrying the light that is within us to shine as a testimony of the power of Jesus’ name. The second song was about Jesus being the way, the truth, and the light of the world. It started “Prepare the way of the Lord,” and the chorus was a repeat of Jesus’ name eight times or so. I didn’t know the song, although it was easy to learn because of its simplicity.

During worship we were repeatedly encouraged to stir up our passion for Christ, to feel the heart of Christ for his Church, to not do church for the sake of doing church, but for a relationship, to seek the face of God.

One interesting thing I noticed during the worship time was that there were several people throughout the arena who had flags. One of them had the crown of a king on it, another had a heart shape printed on the front. People were very expressively waving flags, an element of worship I can’t say I’ve ever seen before. There were also a couple of people who had loud horns that were blown at various times.

Overall worship was very expressive and repetitious. It was forty-five minutes to an hour and consisted of three songs. The last song was called “Revelation Song” and was the most engaging for me, partly because I recognized it, but also because of its content. Whereas the first song focused on us as a generation, this song focused on God and proclaimed “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty.” Then, a particularly moving line, “Jesus, Your name is power, breath and living water. Such a marvelous mystery.”

Continued in part 2 . . .

It was a thrill to be able to interview Nathan Fellingham today as my final New Word Alive interview. You can download the audio here.

Nathan is married to Lou Fellingham, who will soon release her new solo album. They, together with Nathan's brother, Luke, and Mike Sanderman form the fantastic Christian band, Phatfish.



Phatfish have written a number of great Christian songs. These include There is a Day, Holy, and O God of Love. You can legally download music, lyrics, and MP3s from the Fellingham family at the Kingsway website.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Stuart Townend today. Stuart is based in Church of Christ the King, a Newfrontiers church in Brighton, UK, which is also home to Phatfish, Paul Oakley, and Terry Virgo.

Here is an abridged and adapted version of that interview. The entire interview can be accessed at the end of this post and is well worth listening to in its entirety. Stuart was a joy to interview and clearly passionate about worship and doctrine.

Adrian
How are you finding the conference?

Stuart
It's great, so far. There has been a good response. The standard of teaching has been world-class.

Adrian
Do tell us a bit more about your song, In Christ Alone.

Stuart
It was the first song Keith Getty and I wrote together. Keith is a fantastic melody writer. It was his music that inspired me to take my lyric writing seriously and convey the truths of the Scriptures in a poetic way to help people retain the truth. I have been humbled to see how it has been used. I get more comments on that song than all the rest put together. It was a timely song, written around the time 9-11 shook our foundations. To be able to sing at that time “No scheme of man can pluck me from his hand” was important.

Adrian
What makes a worship song good?

Stuart
Having focused on the cross of Christ, it’s important to ask, “What does that mean for me? What's the foundation of life?” It’s not just, “How does it make me feel?" Rather, it should be—"What is the unchanging truth about my life based on the unchanging truth about God and what he has done? What has God said about me or us or the Church?” Those things are unchanging truths that don't depend on whether I am having a good time or a bad time. They are about me, but they are really about God and what God has done in me. Worship is not just about singing songs that make me feel better. In the middle of whatever I am facing, God is with me. Worship should be exciting, but founded on the truth of the gospel. Our feelings are a by-product of the glorious truth we are celebrating.

Adrian
Do you think there is still as much disagreement among Christians over music as there previously was?

Stuart
I don't think there is. It’s a shame that some think lively worship has to be the modern stuff. People have been getting excited for centuries. But songs that were divisive have now been embraced. There are, however, some churches out there who are singing songs that contain theology that they actually wouldn't preach.

Adrian
Indeed! In Christ Alone has also caused some controversy, hasn't it?

Stuart
Yes, some people breach copyright law by changing a particular line. Some people will not use the song. But the problem with that is that some people are saying we shouldn't preach or sing about a core element of the gospel. I cannot make sense of the whole Bible without the concept of wrath.

Listen to the full interview by subscribing to my new podcast or download it here. For more information, visit Stuart Townend's website or read the interview Newfrontiers Magazine Online did with him in October of 2007. You can also legally download music, lyrics, and mp3's from Stuart Townend at the Kingsway website

Hi! Mrs. W. here again. When I read this passage this morning, I was reminded of flowers, like in this picture. They are so fragile, so vulnerable, and so utterly dependent upon God for their fleeting lives. Today being the day we remember many who lost their lives in the atrocious terrorist attacks, I am only too aware of how fleeting life can be, and how vulnerable we all actually are. I can imagine the flower saying, "My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!" My prayer is that I might become more like the psalmist who echoes this utter dependence that we have on God. And praise God that we do not depend on him in vain!

Psalm 119:25-32

25 My soul clings to the dust;

give me life according to your word!

26 When I told of my ways, you

answered me;

teach me your statutes!

27 Make me understand the way of your precepts,

and I will meditate on your wondrous works.

28 My soul melts away for sorrow;

strengthen me according to your word!

29 Put false ways far from me

and graciously teach me your law!

30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;

I have set your rules before me.

31 I cling to your testimonies, O Lord;

let me not be put to shame!

32. I will run in the way of your commandments

when you enlarge my heart!

I thought I'd share this hymn with you today. It was written by William Booth, and a modern tune by a friend of mine has made it eminently singable today. Always good to remind ourselves of the need for revival!The music and mp3 are available from Kingsway.

O GOD OF BURNING, CLEANSING FLAME

Send the fire!
Your blood-bought gift today we claim:
Send the fire today!
Look down and see this waiting host,
And send the promised Holy Ghost;
We need another Pentecost!
Send the fire today!
Send the fire today!

God of Elijah, hear our cry:
Send the fire!
And make us fit to live or die:
Send the fire today!
To burn up every trace of sin,
To bring the light and glory in,
The revolution now begin!
Send the fire today!
Send the fire today!

It’s fire we want, for fire we plead:
Send the fire!
The fire will meet our every need:
Send the fire today!
For strength to always do what’s right,
For grace to conquer in the fight,
For power to walk the world in white:
Send the fire today!
Send the fire today!

To make our weak hearts strong and brave:
Send the fire!
To live, a dying world to save:
Send the fire today!
Oh, see us on Your altar lay,
We give our lives to you today,
So crown the offering now we pray:
Send the fire today!
Send the fire today!
Send the fire today!

William Booth (1829 –1912)

This week I have been more conscious than usual of how very different we in Newfrontiers are from the church experience that many of my readers have had. I am conscious that sharing this amateur video clip might surprise some of you. You will see us praying, worshipping, and giving an offering, but doing each of these in a way quite unlike what you may have seen before. The Adrian who can enjoy being a part of all this really is the same Adrian who last week was battling for the doctrine of the atonement. That might surprise you, especially when you realise I am not really just a moderate charismatic, but someone who longs for a more and more vibrant experience of God. But then, if you are a long-term reader of this blog, you probably knew that already! I hope this set of photos and then video clips capture something of the heart of this conference. To be in a room full of people praying their hearts out, giving their money to our common mission, and then celebrating our glorious God was thrilling.

Please note: The sound on this video doesn't begin until the 6:34 point has been reached. From that point on, you can enjoy both sound and video.

BOB KAUFLIN'S BREAK-OUT SESSION AT WG06

CHALLIES - SESSION 3

"I attended an afternoon break-out session led by Bob Kauflin on “Healthy Tensions in Corporate Worship.” In this session, Bob broke down fifteen seemingly opposing ideals that have to be held in tension with one another."

IsaiahSix shares what he heard at an afternoon WG06 break-out session.

Tags: SGM

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Challies has notes from Session 3:

"How many times have we gathered with the church to worship God and been unaware or only vaguely aware that God is present in His house? How many times have we sung songs of praise with our minds distracted in a thousand different places, completely unaware that God is present in His house? How many sermons have we listened to and been aware of the pastor's voice, but only vaguely aware of God's voice? How many times have we received communion and been aware of the bread and the cup, but been only vaguely aware of the Savior who is living in His people who are His house? It should be of great concern that Sunday after Sunday we could be in the presence of the living God and be unaware or only vaguely aware that He is there. God calls us to be clearly and distinctly perceptive to His presence. God is present in His people and when we gather on Sunday for corporate worship, He is present in our midst . . .

When God's people gather, we gather to worship a personal God who is present. When we gather on Sunday we are not just running through a program or executing an order of service. We are not just moving through an agenda of a meeting. No, we are gathering in the presence of God to meet with Him personally and to recognize His presence in the church. We cannot honor God appropriately if we do not recognize His presence. We need to thirst for it, enjoy it, celebrate it, for otherwise He will not be properly worshipped. Recognizing God's presence and responding to God's presence is what Christian worship is about for we worship a personal God who is present now, here, and every Sunday when the church gathers.

When we think of God's presence, we are prone to think He is only present to hear our worship. And it is true that He hears and receives our worship. Yet we must realize that God is not only gathered as a spectator, but He is also the actor and speaker in our worship. He is not there only to receive and observe, but to speak and to act. He is present in the table and in His word proclaimed. If we do not see this, we miss Him. God delights in speaking to us and to revealing Himself to us."

This is a fantastic quote, and to me, stands at the very crux of the charismatic experience I want to defend so vigorously. Dan, haven't forgotten you, but in the interlude before I get the time to answer you fully, what do you make of this quote?