Songwriting is one of those things that has been a part of my life sporadically, after all it combines two of my passions… music and writing. But it’s something that’s always been put on the back burner because life is so busy.
One of my favorite worship bloggers, David Santistevan, just released a book called The Worship Songwriter: A Step By Step Guide to Crafting Your Best Songs… and the cool thing is I’m blessed to be a part of his launch team. Today, I’m going to tell you a little about the book.
The Worship Songwriter is a very easy read, but it is full of great advice. It basically walks us step by step through the songwriting process, from God giving us the idea all the way to the point of sharing with the congregation. In the first section, David tells us to stop reading and just go write something. A lot of times, that’s our problem. We keep saying “this is a good one to write about” but we never put the pen to the paper. Maybe you keep a list of ideas somewhat like I do… but ideas can’t influence anyone if they are not brought to life.
The book is broken down into these sections:
- Ignore
- Worship
- Clarify
- Shift
- Unleash
- Decide
- Enlist
- Edit
- Test
- Release
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
- “I believe in the calling of a worship songwriter.” – AMEN!
- “It’s a unique gifting – a unique skill set. It’s not just about your ability to be a thoughtful observer of life and articulate how you feel about it. You’re also a theologian – you study TRUTH and distill it for people to sing.”
- “This book is less about your career and more about your passion to spread God’s glory.”
- “Make the study of His glory your highest aim and write down what you see. Become a student of His greatness.”
So there you have it. If you are a songwriter, or if you’ve ever thought about writing worship songs, I recommend that you check it out here: The Worship Songwriter.
About 31 Days of Worship
Every day in the month of October, I will be posting here about worship. Will you join me on this journey? Maybe you are interested in discussing specific topics within the area of worship. If this is you, I’d LOVE to hear from you! You can leave a comment below or send me an email.
At any time during the month, you can see all posts in this series by clicking here: 31 Days of Worship. Also, if you would like to subscribe to Grow Where You’re Planted and receive these posts in your email, you can do that here: Grow Where You’re Planted Updates.
Thanks for stopping by! I enjoy being on this worship journey with you! My prayer is that God will teach all of us to become more focused worshipers throughout this month.
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