Day 2 from David Crowder’s Worship Conference
Friend and Radius supporter Jacob Collins posts from Day 2 at David Crowder’s Fantastical Church Music Conference in Waco, TX.
Today was full of ideas and melodies. There really is no way to capture the fullness of the itinerary. Today was three days, hidden mischievously, inside one 24-hour period.
Bitfrost Arts, a hymn-sing group from…well, I can’t remember if it was from Virginia or Missouri, but regardless, their sound was at the same time familiar and mysterious. Instead of relying on the large square projection screens to prompt singing, Bitfrost Arts had printed out hymn-sing sheets, which really served more as an order of worship, complete with responsive readings and liturgical leadings.
I say that the sound was familiar in that most of what we sang were (somewhat) familiar hymns of the historical church. The 2500 attendees were accompanied by a 15-person choir (comprised of randomly selected Baylor students on the quad), a drummer, guitar and bassist, as well as a full-sized harp.
I say the sound was mysterious in that the act of singing the old hymns with 2500 voices created a passionate sound which echoed off the walls with the same effect as if we had been standing in St. Paul’s Cathedral. Archaic yet relevant, to sing these songs was to take a fully engaged step back into the historical church. And the harp just added the appropriate eerie/surreal layer to blanket it all.
Leeland, a contemporary Christian worship quintet from Texas (somewhere in the Republic) is no stranger to the pop-Christian music culture. But their familiarity to many of the attendees didn’t hinder or detract from their worship leading and teaching some new songs. Peppering his transitions between songs with scripture readings and sermonettes to explain the background on some of the songs, Leeland Moore, lead singer, commanded the respect of all due to the fact that he constantly pointed to the person and work of Jesus Christ in the Church of today. Humble in demeanor, the music was light, energetic, and driving.
Israel Houghton, Christian music icon for two decades, took the stage with Michael Gungor, lead singer from the aforementioned band, Gungor. The two jammed and squeaked out dueling blues riffs on acoustic guitars for three minutes before the rest of the band–three soul-singing background vocalists, a (Taylor T-5) bass player, jazz organist, drummer and electric guitarist–quietly assumed their positions on stage.
This was to be a raucous act of blues/jazz musicianship with a hint of ska/island sound–a refreshingly altered version of Hillsong United’s “Mighty To Save” (I know, I know, it didn’t need changing, but they actually did a bang-up job at adapting it to fit a different genre!). In spite of Houghton’s wide success in the past 20 years or so in the Christian music business, he seemed genuinely humbled to be a part of the conference and excited to share his particular taste of God’s worship.
Following Louie Giglio’s stirring talk of opening our minds to the vast methods of worshiping God throughout the world (and universe), all hands in the auditorium were raised high in silence, in a posture of giving praise to God from the core of our beings. In this silence, a band from “across the pond,” Hillsong London, continued this sacred moment through beginning their set. Caught up in the moment, I don’t really remember how things transitioned from prayer to pronouncing praises in song, but it was smooth enough to not notice.
At this point, my friend and traveling bud, Chad, mentioned that while the music was amazing, we were sitting directly in front of the tech booth, and caught in what appears to have been a bass-trap. The sub-woofer could probably have killed someone wearing a pace-maker. For the sake of those listening and worshiping, I hope we were among a small few who were distracted by this phenomenon. That said, anyone as misguided as myself prior to Hillsong London’s worship time, and who thought that they may have been the red-headed-step-child-alternative to the more widely popular Hillsong United from Australia, would not have been able to discern the difference last night. ENERGY. PASSION. VOLUME. We were not disappointed.
Following Hillsong’s set, I was physically and emotionally spent. Drowning in gratitude for all God had provided this day, I was ready to crash. Praise God for David Crowder and the good people of Baylor University: “At some other conferences you get some little, random perks–here in Waco you get Dr. Pepper floats,” proclaimed Mr. Crowder as the multitudes impatiently, yet patiently, then impatiently pushed each other out of the auditorium for this presumably regionally localized elixir. Again, we were not disappointed.
