Hillsong United will break some charts today with their sophomore studio realease, A F T E R M A T H.

I got my copy of AFTERMATH about a month ago and haven’t been able to stop listening to it.

Admittedly, I’m a huge fan of Hillsong United so this review will be a bit biased. BUT, I will say that I generally prefer live projects over studio projects. I love it when the crowd seems to overwhelm the musicians and singers and makes a song of their own in live projects… there seems to be so much corporate energy and passion that is oftentimes not as present in studio albums. That being said, AFTERMATH follows Hillsong United’s first successful studio album Saviour King where we were introduced to Hosanna and Saviour King… both of which are standards in most churches today. Although the passion on these projects is contained to a studio they don’t fail to deliver heartfelt anthems for the Church.

This album is a fresh new sound from UNITED and will no doubt top sales charts and set lists for church worship services. It’s fresh, edgy, original, and at times absoluetely breathtaking.

The thing I love most about Hillsong United is that unlike many groups or bands out there, they are rooted in and committed to their local church, Hillsong Church based in Sydney, Australia [now with locations around the world including New York City]. Hillsong United isn’t a typical band and they don’t do concerts… they are group of musicians and songwriters who love Jesus, are committed to their local church and travel the globe leading people in worship experiences that leave you utterly and completely in awe of God’s presence. It’s not your typical church music and it’s not what you’d expect from a Church group but it’s the sound of a new generation of believers proclaiming the hope and freedom they’ve found in Christ and they can’t stay silent.

“The message of Jesus Christ is eternal, yet He continues to reveal Himself in new ways… giving us what we need to be followers and disciples of Christ for this time in history,” says Hillsong United frontman Joel Houston. “Life with God is fun, its an adventure, it is grace, freedom, peace and everything in between. Whether you are listening to our newest album or our very first, our prayer and passion is that you are empowered to live life with God, encouraged to stay on the course and excited about all that He has for your future.”

On the title of the album, AFTERMATH, Joel Houston says, “The cross is a paradox. What was a symbol of failure and death is now established forever as a symbol of life and victory. The crucifixion was a gruesome and traumatic event and at the moment of surrender as the storm clouds gathered and the skies went to darkness it would have seemed to all who were witnesses, especially His followers, that all hope was lost – the so called ‘Son of God’ humiliated and tortured, dying as He hung upon a cross. But unlike any historical event that has ever taken place before or after, this moment would change everything – Forever. Because of the cross we no longer have to live entangled in the fallout and the wreckage of our lives, or the worst the world can throw at us. We have been lifted out of the ashes and into the LIGHT of the aftermath. We find hope, peace, freedom, and life, and we can know with assurance that He is with us no matter what comes our way.”

A few songs that stood out to me on this project:

• Take Heart – This song wrecked me in a good way. It’s a dramatic introduction to set the tone for a great album. This song talks about God’s faithfulness and calls us to take heart, hold on to hope and take courage through all seasons of life. It’s heartfelt, epic, passionate and ends reflectively with strings. I seriously listened to this song on repeat for about 2 days before I listened to the rest of the album. It’s that good.

This album has a fresh sound, will encourage you and remind you of the truths of God’s Word, and will give you a new song to sing. It will take you on a journey and beyond the creativity, musicianship, and lyrics, it will leave you with a great sense of awe… of God, His love, and the hope we have living in AFTERMATH of His grace.

Even if you think you’ve heard Hillsong United before, you haven’t heard anything like this and you owe it to yourself to get found in the AFTERMATH.

Hillsong United is hitting the road across the USA starting in March… check and see if they are coming near you!

To celebrate the release of AFTERMATH, I’m giving away a few [legal!] copies… it’s too good to keep to myself!

Here’s what you need to do to win:

1 – Make sure you are following me! I’m @timschraeder

2 – Tweet this: I want to be found in the #AFTERMATH. I entered to win a copy of @hillsongunited’s new CD! Details here: http://bit.ly/hudrIF

3 – Leave a comment below [to confirm you did the first two steps] and let me know your favorite Hillsong United song and why you love it so much.

NOTE: I have to approve each comment so hang tight if yours doesn’t show immediately!

I’ll randomly pick a few of you throughout the day. You will a valid USA iTunes account to claim your prize!

Park has a unique approach when it comes to music… we don’t have a traditional “worship team,” we have bands. Under the leadership of Joseph Tenney and Matt Marron [formerly of Pomeroy], we have a number of bands who each have their own unique style and genre that create original music as well as updating hymns. Instead of having a short list of musicians and singers and plugging them in where they fit, we put band leaders through extensive training, host auditions of musicians and singers and form bands that not only create great music but do life together in community.  It’s a different way of approaching worship but one that is resonating well with our congregation.

Christmas Songs Vol I is a collection of classic Christmas carols as well as original songs performed by nine of Park’s bands. It released at our church over the weekend and is now available for purchase on iTunes. It’s all over the place musically [in a good way] and captures the creative approach Park is taking with our band model.

I think it will make a great addition to your Christmas playlist so much so that I’m going to give away 5 copies! Just comment below and let me know your favorite Christmas carol. I’ll be picking the winners randomly now through tomorrow at Noon.

Either way, check it out and get yourself a copy… all proceeds from the purchase of the sale of the CD will go to benefit Renew Chicago, Park’s outreach arm that partners with other ministries around the city to make a difference!

Hillsong isn’t a band, it’s a church… and their music is just a simple expression of what’s happening inside their House, which now spans the globe with their home base in Sydney and extension campuses in London, Cape Town, Stockholm, Moscow, Paris, and soon-to-be New York City.

If you ever get the chance to be a part of one of their worship nights when they tour, or if you ever get the chance to meet them, they will be the first to tell you from the outset that they are group of people who love Jesus and are faithfully committed to the music ministry of their local church.

For nearly twenty years Hillsong has given the Church a new song to sing, from Shout to the Lord, to Mighty to Save [which is currently one of the most-sung songs in churches in the United States], From the Inside Out, and Hosanna.

Each year, the church piles into a large venue to do a live recording of some of the best songs they’ve written and sung throughout the year to share them with the rest of the world.

This project lives up to its name, A Beautiful Exchange, both in the title track, talking about the exchange that look place when Jesus took our place, but additionally highlights an exchange that’s taken place over the past year or so within the leadership of Hillsong’s worship and creative arts ministry.

Last year Darlene Zschech and Joel Houston spoke at the Willow Creek Arts Conference sharing how Darlene, who for years has been the face of Hillsong music, has taken a step back in leadership over Hillsong’s worship and creative arts and transitioned leadership to Joel Houston and the younger generation of leaders at the church. It’s a beautiful picture of what the church should be doing: raising up, investing and empowering, and releasing the next generation church leaders. It was inspiring to hear… you can read my notes here, or check out Darlene’s book, The Great Generational Transition where she speaks more about this.

But back to the album… I had the chance to listen to it and check out the DVD last week, and while it’s hard to critique or review worship CDs, I’ll say this much: it’s fantastic and while it has the classic trappings of a Hillsong project, you can begin to hear the new song emerging from new songwriters and worship leaders, and it’s fantastic.

While the CD seems to be a seamless recording, it was actually recorded over multiple nights in Sydney and even jets over to the other side of the globe to Hillsong London.

Worship leaders Darlene Zschech, Reuben Morgan, and Joel Houston hold down the lead of the album along with Brooke Ligterwood, Ben Fielding, Matt Crocker, and Gio Galanti from Hillsong London.

A few highlights from the album:

• Like Incense/Sometimes By Step: No joke, the instrumental part of this song is a small taste of what Heaven will sound like. I’m not kidding… I get goosebumps every time I listen to it. The lyrics to Like Incense, combined with Brooke Ligterwood’s vocals, and a throwback to the early 90s worship hit “Sometimes by Step” by Rich Mullins all culminate to make one of the standout moments on the CD.
• The Father’s Heart ­– This song is one of my personal favorites and comes out of Hillsong London. The lyrics along passion coming from the crowd make this song one that will be stuck in your head all day long. I love it. I also love the woah-oh-oh’s!
• Forever Reign and The One Who Saves – I’m sure these two songs will be the ones churches latch onto. They are both great corporate expressions of God’s greatness, and the energy coming from the crowd on both of these is infectious. The One Who Saves, especially, is one that I could probably sing for 10 minutes without stopping, declaring “His love endures forever!”
• The rest are all great… these were just a few tracks that stood out to me!

A Beautiful Exchange features 12 new songs and a radio version of the song Forever Reign and is available on iTunes today. You can also stream it online for free via YahooMusic.

The bonus edition on iTunes features five videos from the DVD, which may be purchased via HillsongMusic.com or Amazon. The DVD includes four tracks from Hillsong London and a behind-the-scenes documentary.

Reuben Morgan and a team from Hillsong will be touring the USA in July and August this year (I’ll be seeing them when they are in Dallas at Fellowship Church)! If they are coming anywhere near you, it’s definitely worth the trip.

A Beautiful Exchange is a solid offering from Hillsong and, to me, signals the beginning of a new day and a new song for Hillsong Church… and I like what I’m hearing so far.

I’d love to share A Beautiful Exchange with you, so I’ll be giving away three copies of the bonus edition today at 11 AM, 2 PM and 5 PM CST today.*  All you need to do be entered to win is follow the instructions below:

1. Tweet This: I just entered to win a copy of #ABeautifulExchange! Comment here and RT to enter: http://bit.ly/9LYvww
2. Comment Below: With your Twitter handle [so I can verify you did the first step ] and share your favorite song from Hilsong.
3. Check back at 11 AM, 2 PM, and 5 PM CST today: I’ll randomly choose someone to win!

UPDATE: Congrats to @colinharman, @erod26 and @countrycuban for snagging your copies! Thanks to all who participated. Support Hillsong and get your copy here!

* You must have a valid US iTunes account to win!

For the first five [and sometimes very awkward] years of my life as a church communications guy, I was priviledged to serve at Riverside Community Church in Peoria, Illinois. Riverside was planted in out of a church I grew up in back in August of 2000. It was an amazing opportunity to serve on staff there during some of the formative years of the church and to see it grow to expand its ministry through Dream Center Peoria. Riverside is truly a church that is making a difference and an impact in its community.

Leaving was definitely bittersweet… the opportunity to live in Chicago and work at Park was amazing, but leaving a place that had been home and had given me the opportunity and experience to grow in my gifts and talents was definitely not easy.

One of the things I loved [and miss] about Riverside was their worship. People worshipped God passionately there. And, in December, Riverside released their first worship CD, Worship//Service.

To be honest when first heard about the recording I was kind of unsure of what to think… I mean, it seems like everyone these days is recording something… but when I listened I was completely blown away. The music, the lyrics, the passion and heart behind this project shine through and it is honestly one of the best live worship recordings I’ve heard lately [besides Hillsong of course!].

Worship//Service was recorded live at Riverside and a majority of the tracks are originals, written by worship leader [and one of my best friends from back in Kindergarten] Austin Luhring.

I had the chance to ask Austin a bit about the project and am excited to share one of the tracks from Worship//Service with you!

Austin, before we get into the CD, share a little bit about your background and how you got involved leading worship…

Well, I got into the actual leading of worship when I was 17, close to 10 years ago now.  I just started to play guitar, learning chords as best I could from who ever as well as watching the worship leaders in church, where they put their hands etc. My youth pastor began to pour into me, giving me different opportunities to lead and play back up guitar.  Singing was never really strong or comfortable from what I can remember. I went on to serve at a church in Chicago for 5 years where God really allowed me to walk through the most trying years of my life as of yet.  It was in this time as a musician I developed loads but more importantly He was developing my Spirit to hear His voice, to be sensitive to His spirit and He REALLY removed the scales from eyes as to what “worship” really is.

He eventually pulled me back to Peoria where I’m from to lead our church, Riverside.

In hindsight, it’s so interesting to remember the hard stuff and realize that it was all preparation.  It was the Refiner doing His work.  He’s so good, so faithful.

Explain the title Worship//Service … what’s the story behind that?

Worship//Service really came out of a realization of how far the church’s perspective of true worship had gone from God’s desire.  We recently had a spiritual breakthrough in our church.  It’s not inner, it’s outer.  It’s not about us, it’s about Him.  It has everything to do with not us.  Through this whole process of our first recording He kept saying, “Serve!”  ”What you have done for the least of these, You have also done for Me”  We really want God’s heart.  There is no performance, there is only Presence.  That is the goal, the aim, the heart of worship!

The Dream Center is one of the biggest areas of serving and worshiping God that has been raised up out of the church.  It exists to meet the needs of the people of Peoria, there is housing, after school programs, food organizations, outreach.  You can find out more about what we do at www.dreamcenterpeoria.org

Worship is service.  Serving God, loving people, meeting needs.

What was the whole recording experience like? From the sound of the crowd on the CD, it seemed like it was epic.

We began planning about a year ago.  One night our pastor announced to the church we would be recording our first album, which took all of us by surprise. So we had just a few months to write a few more songs and work on arrangements. So after many different variations of a set list and the band finalized we began rehearsals about 3 months out.

We had the team lead worship for the 3 weekends of the whole “worship” series doing only the songs that were going to be recorded that way we had tons of time to work with each other, for the church to learn it all and to be getting excited about it all.

You could really sense the anticipation on the weekends leading up to the day of the recording.

The morning of, it was an amazing feeling to walk out in front of our entire church in the auditorium for the first time together.  One service, one body, ready and excited to sing and praise God.

We really have God to thank for the whole thing.  We did corrections on one bass line, one electric guitar lead, and one vocal.  Other than that, it is as it was!  That is our church, that is their voice.  It was such a privilege to lead it.  Oh and it was loud:)

For being a debut CD this is pretty incredible… what is your hope and prayer for this and what’s the possibility of future recordings?

My hope is just to really develop a culture here in Peoria.  I want to see Peoria, America, the world be won in the name of Jesus, for the sake of Jesus.  I hope that what the Spirit did in me will go out and do in others.  I believe other people will now write and go deeper in their relationship with Christ and as one voice we will lift up His praises.

As far as other recordings, absolutely.  I’m busy now writing and trying to write differently and deeply.  Just trying to please Him and allow the Spirit through us to draw God’s people unto Himself.

Well, thanks to the people at Riverside, I’m excited to share a track from Worship//Service with you, one of my favorites from the project called I Am Nothing.

Download Your Free Track Here

If you like what you hear, which I know you will!, then consider downloading the CD from iTunes!

The saying goes “if it plays in Peoria it will play anywhere…” and from the sound of it, what’s playing in Peoria is a new sound the Church needs to hear.

Spread the love!

All I can say is “WOW.”

There is something incredibly inspiring about seeing people do what they are passionate about with reckless abandonment.

I was so inspired by the energy, creativity, and passion that they exuded and what blew me away was not only the band’s performance, but the crowd’s response.

It was not just them performing and us observing… it was an experience we all participated in.

The way we interact and experience things is changing, and I think the moments that stick with you the most are the ones where everyone is engaged and participating.

MuteMath and Tall as Lions did an amazing job… and so did everyone that was there.

“…we all break the same.”

I stopped following @imogenheap earlier this year as she was recording her latest project, Ellipse. Girl twittered like it was going out of style.  It was too much.

But, being a fan, I downloaded Ellipse this morning. Two listens in, I’m already in love.

So creative. Breathtaking at moments. Lots of energy. Just all around fantastic album.

Go ahead and get it because you will, eventually. It will be all the rage. Just wait.

I mean, just watching this trailer, how could you not want to get it?

This is Hillsong’s 18th live recording and I would argue one of their best to date.

Rather than one huge recording night in Sydney’s Acer Arena, this album was recorded over three nights at Hillsong’s city and Hills campuses, as well as at the Acer Arena.

You wouldn’t tell the difference on the CD itself, they never skip a beat!

Joel Houston, Darlene Zschech, Brooke Fraser and Reuben Morgan are the main leaders throughout the album with a few new voices interspersed.

The album features 13 tracks, 2 of which were on the chart-topping Hillsong United release A Cross the Earth (No Reason to Hide and You Hold Me Now).

Some personal favorites on the CD include:

The First and Last – an upbeat anthem that has Hillsong’s synonymous signature sound.

It’s Your Love – a passionate declaration of faith.

Yahweh – you can feel the energy of the crowd across this song.

His Glory Appears – maybe my favorite song on the album, I only wish it was longer. An absolutely beautiful song by Brooke Fraser.

You Hold Me Now – pretty sure this will be Hillsong’s next big hit song. This song talks about life after this life, and the hope we have to be in God’s eternal embrace.

Watch a preview here:

Sure, I’m a bit partial to Hillsong, but the thing I love and appreciate about them is that they aren’t a band, it’s a Church and their music is simply a reflection of what God is speaking to them. And, from the sound of it, God is doing some really significant things at Hillsong.

The DVD offers a unique view into their two main church venues in the Hills district and downtown Sydney… much more paired down than their usual stadium feel for their DVDs, although there are a few songs that were recorded at the Acer Arena.

From the Hillsong Music site:

“Beyond the sound, the rhythm, the art… beyond the strings, the keys, the melodies… beyond the stage, the set, the lights… are the PEOPLE. Ordinary men, women & children, from all walks of life, in all sorts of circumstances and each one with a unique story to tell. This is the Church… and this is Hillsong’s 18th Live praise and worship album ‘faith+hope+love’. EveryONE together playing their part and lending their voice to the collective story, OUR story. Recorded LIVE in March 2009, over 3 weekends and locations, the people of Hillsong Church gathered across our city – in their respective campuses – and then united together as ONE in celebration of an ever good and gracious God. Led by the Hillsong worship team including Hillsong UNITED, Darlene Zschech & Reuben Morgan, this album features 13 songs of FAITH in the midst of personal circumstances, HOPE in Jesus for the future, and LOVE – one for another. The prayer is that ‘Faith+Hope+Love’ will breathe the light, love and freedom of Christ into your life, and continue to give expression to what God is doing in and through PEOPLE all over the Earth.”

Definitely check it out!

Hillsong has given the Church a new song.

Their live albums, which have spanned the past decade, have influenced the way the church worships. Songwriters from Hillsong have penned songs like “Shout to the Lord”, “From the Inside Out,” “You Said,” “Mighty to Save,” and “Hosanna.”

While they are known for their live albums in from their church in Sydney led by Darlene Zschech, Reuben Morgan and the Hillsong United team (their youth band) one thing you might not know is that Hillsong is an international multi-site church, with churches in major world cities including Cape Town, Kiev, Stockholm, and London.

Hillsong London is one of the fastest growing churches in London – having doubled in size every year for the past four years!

Hillsong London has produced a few live worship projects over the past few years – one of their earliest featured one of their church members and songwriters who went on to be a major pop star… Natasha Bedingfield. Maybe you’ve heard of her?

Some really cool things are going on there and a team from Hillsong London kicked off their first major USA tour last night in Chicago, bringing a bit of what God is doing in London with them.

From the outset of the night they made it clear – “we’re not having a concert, we’re having church.”

Having seen the main Hillsong team from Sydney many, many times before I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Londonites, but was completely blown away by their humility and desire to see people encounter God in worship.

They opened the night with “Your Name High” and launched into a two-hour marathon of some Hillsong classics as well as songs that have originated from Hillsong London.

It was a fantastic night that mixed worship, media and teaching from worship leader Peter Wilson.

I think the thing that stuck out to me the most was that the heart of Hillsong Church, regardless if it’s in Sydney, London, or wherever – remains the same. The same heart and spirit I’ve encountered with the other Hillsong teams was the same from the London team. I think it’s very unique to see a church that’s an international multi-site church carry the same heart, vision, passion and energy. God is really using Hillsong to not only influence the way the church worships, but to also make an impact in the cities and communities where it is ministering.

Check out a video here:

I didn’t think we’d have a good chance of getting in… the line was way down the block, iPhone-style… but the Apple Store lady told us we would be OK. We ended up getting in and got a great spot.

Ben is an incredibly talented piano player/singer/songwriter and it was so crazy to be in such an intimate setting hearing him play. It was awesome!

Josh (left), Anthony (center, with the rock star scarf), and me!

There’s only so much you can say about a worship experience, sometimes you just have to be there to experience it… but to sum it up: it was AMAZING.

About 200 people from Park were able to be there and it was so great to worship our great God with United leading the way.

They started the night with their intro from the United We Stand CD and launched into almost 3 hours of worship, broken up with a message from Brian Houston, the lead pastor of Hillsong Church.

Brian shared a great message on the Church. In the day and age in which we live when people are leery of the Church, he reminded us that God loves the Church so much that He sent His Son for it. He shared the story of how he started Hillsong Church (25 years ago this month), and how God gave him a vision for what their church could be. To hear the vision today and see what God has done through the ministry of Hillsong, it’s amazing to see how faithful God has been to fulfill the vision they had. Check it out… it’s the video intro to their website.

United sung a lot of their classics… From the Inside Out, The Stand, Be Lifted High… and did some newer songs as well… With Everything, Desert Song, and This is our God. And of course, no night with United would be complete without One Way, Tell the World and Solution.

It was a great night… the energy and passion for God in that place was electric, and I know that people truly encountered God that night. I had some good friends with me, and this was the first time they had ever experienced anything like this before, and it was soooo cool to see them respond and go for it.

United is about to release a new DVD… check it out today!