Win Free Music: Glenn Packiam

“I’ve been looking at congregational worship through new eyes, because corporate worship doesn’t just reflect our faith, it shapes our faith. And if that’s true, then we need to look at the kind of faith that is being produced by our worship services — the singing, the preaching, everything we do when we gather. I can’t help but wonder if the anemic faith that plagues the Church today is due, at least in part, to sloppy corporate worship.” (Emphasis mine)

Oh dang.

I was never a huge fan of Glenn Packiam’s music. Just not my style.

This album definitely grabbed my attention, though.

The Mystery of Faith is an eight-song EP, born out of Packiam’s journey through the purpose and power of the concept of corporate worship. 

“For decades, church leaders told us that how we worship is simply about forms and methods and that we should adjust them based on the people we want to reach,” Packiam continues. “But for centuries, the Church Fathers told us that the way we worship and pray together becomes the way we believe, and that we must make sure that everything speaks of Christ and the Gospel. So maybe it’s time to take a closer look at what we say, and sing, and do each week.”

Released earlier this month, the album starts off with an anthem, “Victorious God,” that I was singing along with by the end of the track. “For the Life Of The World,” explains our need for a Savior and the gospel, and the third track is a recitation of the Nicene Creed. There’s a song about grace, then a spoken prayer of confession, a song of thanks and a song of worship called, “The Mystery of Faith.”

It’s a church service put to music. This is good stuff.

Oh, and there’s a book too. From the press release:

“With his book Discover The Mystery of Faith, Packiam draws from his own discovery of ancient worship practices, helping modern believers understand why the Church has made creedal proclamations and Psalm-praying a regular part of their worship. And he challenges Christians to discover why the Lord’s Table has been the climactic point of the liturgy’s ‘re-telling of the salvation story.'”

I’m not through the book yet, but what I’ve read so far is insightfully challenging, and also sweetly refreshing.

So we’ll talk about the book later, but I think you should hear this EP, so I’m going to buy one. Want it?

Leave a comment here and chime in on this conversation. Do you think our corporate worship really shapes our faith, or is it just an expression/overflow? Or, how has your corporate worship experience(s) shaped and/or instructed your faith? Or, have you seen a local church go back to a more liturgical service style? What did you think?

I’ll roll the digital dice for a winner on Friday. (Please note that the email you use on the comment form is the email I’ll plug into iTunes if you win.)