We had a great chat with John Mark about the recording of this podcast. Be sure to check it out.
If you’re only familiar with John Mark McMillan because you’ve seen his name attached to “How He Loves.” You’re missing out on a lot of great music. You may not find a lot of songs on this album that would be applicable for your church God can be honored no less through this music. It’s up to us as the worship leaders of our church to bring the right music to them for the right reasons in the right seasons. I pray you’ll keep that in mind as you’re going through this album. It’s worth going straight through for sure and the dialogue tracks are great to really get a sense of where John Mark’s heart is at in his music.
With all that said, here are some of my thoughts on the songs that could work well in a worship context.
Death in His Grave // This song would be fantastic for an Easter service or even as a communion setup. There’s a lot of narrative to it but some very singable parts that you could bring your congregation in on. There are a lot nuances to the music as recorded that you can emulate or you can take this and make it your own much like Adam talked about recently.
King of My Heart & Glorious Things // Both of these are very hymn-like with a choruses that are really easy to catch. Definitely use them as a bridge between old and new at your church if you’re looking for music like this.
Future Past // A lot of churches have really been resonating with this one. One word of caution for you if you’re gonna go for this: You need to make sure you can handle the vocal range and be ok with your congregation not necessarily being able to sing the whole song. I think the depth of the lyrics for this one can still be very powerful for a worship service even if your church doesn’t sing every word.
How He Loves // Written by John Mark and made popular by Kim Walker (and Croweder). This version is great to hear bot John Mark and Kim singing together on. Chances are you’ve already done this song a bunch at your church. Pay attention to the arrangement of this one. It’s a good way to have a guy/girl duet.
As I said at the start, this album is worth a full listen through to see what you might be able to use at your church but to just edify yourself in Christ.
