Father's House Blog

            Not long ago I had the honour of speaking at an event organised by two phenomenal worship leaders and songwriters – Al Gordon and Tim Hughes. The event was called Worship Central and it was held at Holy Trinity Brompton. Over 1000 worship leaders gathered for a day of teaching and training under Al and Tim’s excellent and humble oversight. It was amemorable time.

            I was asked to speak in the morning on the subject, ‘Singing the Father’s Song’. This really came out of a conversation I had with Tim at the Clan Gathering (New Wine, Scotland) the previous summer. During a meal there I started to share my concern about the fatherless worship reflected in Christian songs and hymns; so few songs actually address the Father. This can only be because far too many Christians – and specifically Christian songwriters – have not had their hearts seized by the Father’s affection and love. Many songwriters are part of what I call ‘the orphan generation’ – a generation suffering from profound father loss and fatherwounds. No wonder there are so few love songs written that give voice to anintimate adoration of Abba Father.Only a few people – for example Brian Doerksen – have bravely swum against the current tide of fatherless worship songs. Brian’s album, The Father’s House, is a rare gem and a timeless classic.

            This is a great loss to the Body of Christ because the highest form of worship is the expression of loving devotion to the Father. This is totally Biblical. Even in the Old Testament, there are worship songs that address the Father. King David wrote about God as ‘a father to the fatherless’ in one of his songs (Psalm 68.5).  In the New Testament, Jesus taught us to worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4.23). The word he used for‘worship’ has very intimate overtones. It literally means ‘to approach someone in order to kiss/embrace them’. Jesus taught that God is a Dad who loves to hug us. He’s not some apathetic and aloof deity! That’s something we should be singing about, especially in a fatherless world.

            One of the most exciting things about leading the Father’s House Trust is seeing what happens to the artists when they get grabbed by the message of the Father’s love. They start to ooze creativity that honours the Father. Al Gordon sent me his debut album (Future Sound) about six months after I had been at Worship Central and pointed to a song entitled, ‘Everlasting Arms’.It is a beautiful song that has the revelation of the Father’s love and affection right at the centre of it. It is literally grace-saturated. During the singing of this song Al declares that the ‘future sound’ will be songs about the Father’s love. Amen to that. Go for it, Al!

            In addition, the latest edition of Christianity magazine really encouraged me. Tim is asked about what he is focusing on right now in terms of composing new songs. This is his reply:

“I’ve been thinking a lot about the father heart of God. If you look around, particularly in the UK, at the fatherless generation and the amount of destruction that causes, so much of that comes down to insecurity and pain, a lack of identity. I think that sometimes in the church we’re scared of talking about God as a father because fatherhood has so many negative images for people. Itis one of the most profound truths that we are loved by the father. If we could communicate through song the truth that we are loved by the father, we could make an amazing impact on people’s lives, inside and outside of the church”.

[Christianity Magazine May 2009]

                Amen to that! Go for it, Tim!

            I remember back in 2005, I was preaching in an African American church and a young woman called Portia Sumner was listening to what I was saying about the Running Father in Luke 15. She composed a song there and then on the back of an envelope called ‘Run to us Again’. She sang it the next morning and everyone – including the speaker – was wrecked! The next morning the song was played on CD, having been recorded professionally the previous afternoon. It has blessed many people because it contains the message of Abba Father’s love, and that is the Love of all Loves.

My prayer is that there will an extraordinary explosion of songs that extol the Father heart of God and bring healing and freedom to the orphan generation.

It is truly time to sing the Father’s song!

Maybe you are one of those who arecalled to compose and create songs of deliverance to a fatherless world. May the Holy Spirit give you his indescribable originality, in Jesus’ name!

To find out more about Worship Central, go to

http://www.worshipcentral.org/

To purchase a copy of Mark’s talk, ‘Singing the Father’s Song’, go to...

http://www.fathershousetrust.com/shop/product/28

 Al Gordon’s album is called Future Sound

http://www.direct.crossrhythms.co.uk/product/44035/Al+Gordon/Future+Sound