ART IN WORSHIP

I once heard a poignant definition for worship and it has never left my heart or mind: “worship is extravagant love and extreme submission.” It is hard to think that we sometimes place this word in a box, defining it only as “church music.” My heart sinks when I realize the creative state of the church has been reduced to choral arrangements and chord charts on Sunday mornings. This is definitely not extravagant or extreme! It has simply become our routine.

I have been on staff at The Journey Church in Franklin, TN since January 2008. We have experienced major changes in the past four years that caused us to dig deeper into the meaning of worship – to move beyond our natural inclination to call it “music.” We believe that each person is designed uniquely in the image of God. And so, in our uniqueness, we have come to anticipate everyone’s response in worship to be just as original! Our stories beg us to love extravagantly and submit to the awesome authority of the Lord. The Bible calls us to come humbly before the Him, offering Him our best, our finest, our worship. And sometimes, this means offering Him more than a song.

EXPANSIVE WORSHIP

In the fall of 2010, we formed a creative team comprised of a corporate graphic designer, a producer, a visual worship designer, musicians, painters, and pastors. We called it “Cartography” because, simply put, we were mapping the creative path of worship for our community at Journey.  It became our goal to move beyond music and prose and dive into other expressions of worship. Painting, prayer, communion, writing, giving, silence, scripture. We found ourselves asking the question; “Would people experience a greater freedom in worship if they were given more ways to do so?”

And that question led us to more…what if the communion table was always available? What if we created a space in the room where people could go and pray? What if we made offering “baskets” a part of the response time so that the worshipper could give at the moment he/she felt God compelling them to give? What if worship was actually left up to the worshipper and not the worship leader? Would we finally experience true freedom in worship? We know now that the answer to this final question is, “Yes!”

Over the last year and a half, we have seen our community grow out of a place of discomfort and into a space of freedom! Music has become only one of the ways we worship at Journey. During our response time, people scatter around the room. They stand in lines to take the Lord’s Supper. They bring their families forward and give offering. They kneel on pillows to pray, surrounded by friends and family. They journal and cry together. And some stand and sing.

In stating all of these things, I understand this may not be the solution for every church that struggles with defining worship. But as a church leader, I believe it is important that we at least begin asking the questions. Mark Pierson talks about this in his book, The Art of Curating Worship. He says that in order to be most effective in facilitating and planning a worship gathering, we must first answer two questions based on the mission and people of our church:

1)    What is church?

2)    What is worship?

If you can answer these two questions honestly and specifically for you community, I believe that you will begin to see the unique ways in which God is calling you to worship. We have a community full of creative people; therefore our collective worship is creative. If your community is full of investment bankers and corporate CEO’s, your collective worship expression will most likely look different. And the beautiful truth is that “the Lord takes delight in His people” (Psalm 149:4). He finds joy in our expression. He receives our worship. And He deserves it with our greatest extravagance and humility!

How can you help facilitate a greater freedom in worship at your church? We’d love to hear from you and keep the conversation going!

Our sweet ride, Chloe!

We fit everything in the back!

We stopped in Pennsylvania and hung out with the folks at WJTL!

The stage in Moncton, NB! Our first night on the tour!

Our second night in Montreal!

The production team thought it would be funny to give us this dressing room….thanks guys!

Some of the most beautiful scenic drives!

Hanging out in the Green Room in Montreal

Justin Saunders on the electric!

“Season One” on the Merch Table with FREE music download cards.

We hope you enjoy the photos and we’ll update you again soon!

]]> http://allsonsanddaughters.com/2012/03/11/week-one-canadian-tour-w-chris-tomlin/feed/ 7 http://allsonsanddaughters.com/2012/02/28/hey-canada-here-we-come-and-we-need-your-help/ http://allsonsanddaughters.com/2012/02/28/hey-canada-here-we-come-and-we-need-your-help/#comments Tue, 28 Feb 2012 03:20:28 +0000 Paul Farmer http://allsonsanddaughters.com/?p=466 Continue reading →]]>

All Sons & Daughters is opening for Chris Tomlin for shows in March all across Canada, and we are looking for 4 SELECT VOLUNTEERS IN EACH CITY to help us pass out our materials at each concert.

What You Will Do: Pass Out Materials

You will meet at the venue an hour and a half before the event to receive a quick training, plus materials to pass out during the breaks to inform attendees of our special offers and giveaways.

What You’ll Get: A FREE Ticket to the Show!!

Each volunteer will receive a FREE ticket to the concert in your city. This is a great deal as several of the shows are SOLD OUT. Plus, you will be able to see all of the show, so you will get the full concert experience!

Choose from 10 Events in 9 Cities:

Are You Interested? Next Steps

If you are interested in being a part of our team AND receiving a FREE ticket to one of the shows above, here’s what you need to do next…

Email us:

1. Your Name
2. Your Age
3. Event City
4. Two Sentences on how you heard about us and why you would be a great volunteer for this position.

Send the above information NOW to allsandd.street.team@gmail.com
If you have people in mind that can help you, please have them email us separately and note that you would like to work together!

UPDATE: The following cities have enough volunteers:

Moncton

Toronto

Ottawa

Winnipeg

Bemidji

Saskatoon

WE NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS FOR:

Longueuil

Edmonton

Calgary

Thanks to all of our fans and friends for the great response so far!

 Hailed by Worship Leader magazine as “the most enchanting sound emerging in the worship genre,” All Sons & Daughters, the Franklin, Tennessee-based duo of Leslie Jordan and David Leonard, returns in 2012 with a second digital EP, Reason to Sing, followed by their first full-length album, Season One.

Working again with renowned producer Paul Mabury (Hillsong/Brandon Heath/One Sonic Society), Jordan and Leonard, who serve as worship leaders for Franklin’s Journey Church, offer up six new songs for Reason to Sing, which releases January 17th. The track list includes the modern psalm “Buried in the Grave”, co-written with Hillsong’s Mia Fieldes, and “Oh Our Lord”, a celebration of the God of Creation penned with Dove Award-winning writer Paul Baloche.

Leonard and Jordan discuss their thoughts behind the development of the title song, “Reason to Sing”, HERE.

As with their critically acclaimed first EP, Brokenness Aside, which released this past summer, Reason to Sing will be available on Integrity Music through all major digital service providers, including iTunes and Amazon.

The duo’s debut album, Season One, follows with a global release by Integrity on March 13th to the U.S. and March 6th at Christian retailers across Canada to coincide with their Canadian tour with Chris Tomlin. The two-disc project will include the track lists from both EPs including their popular song “All the Poor and Powerless”, plus two new songs, worship resources and bonus video content. A “complete my album” option will also be available to those who previously purchased one or both EPs through iTunes.

Referring to the Season One album title, Leslie Jordan states, “Churches are ever-changing and at Journey, we are growing in our faith and exploring new elements of God and worship every day. The songs we write reflect these seasons of growth and change. Hopefully, others can identify with them as well.”

While writing songs for Journey Church and the larger body of Christ is their priority, All Sons & Daughters’ music is finding its way beyond church walls as fans everywhere identify with what Relevant magazine refers to as the duo’s “sweet melodies, melding voices and acoustic underpinnings.” Earning critical acclaim and comparisons to everyone from The Civil Wars to Josh White and the Rend Collective Experiment, All Sons & Daughters continue to bloom where they’re planted at The Journey Church.

But the duo does make time to tour as their schedule allows, with appearances this year at the Story Conference in Chicago and the Purple Door Music Festival in Pennsylvania. Concert appearances in 2012 include a Canadian tour with Chris Tomlin in March and July’s National Worship Leader Conference in Kansas. Tour Dates will be posted in early January.

Additional information on All Sons & Daughters can be found at AllSonsAndDaughters.com andwww.facebook.com/allsonsanddaughters.

We filmed a video that tells the story behind the song and we’d love to share it with you now. You can watch it HERE or here - http://vimeo.com/33177249

And on January 17, 2012, Reason to Sing EP no. 2 will also be available digitally. With six new songs, this EP is a continuation of Brokenness Aside, combining vulnerability and praise as a response to the Spirit in our congregation and how we have seen and felt God move here in Franklin, TN.

Thank you all for your support, and don’t forget to check out “Reason to Sing – the single” out tomorrow on iTunes!!

Leslie & David

Accepts all major credit cards and PayPal and will ship within the U.S. and Internationally (for extra shipping fees).

Thanks for checking it out!

We have had a busy fall season and are home now, anxiously awaiting the arrival of David & Natalie’s first baby girl, Ella Kate Leonard! Natalie is due on December 12th and they couldn’t be more excited as they prepare for their sweet bundle of joy! Please join us in praying for them as they journey into a new season of parenthood and no sleep

Well, as you may know, we arrived home from our 3 week tour with Matt Maher and One Sonic Society back in October. It was a wonderful time of worship and community…and beautiful places! But, it feels great to be home. It had been a month since we spent a Sunday at home with our Journey family and we have been able to do so a few times this past month. It has been such a sweet time of worship for us with family.

[A photo from the Comm+unity Presents: The Love in Between Tour]

Before we left on our trip, we were hard at work on EP no. 2 “Reason to Sing,” which releases in January of 2012. We are so excited about this project and cannot wait to share these songs with you all! We were blessed to work with producer, Paul Mabury again and have contributing writers such as Paul Baloche, Don Chaffer (Waterdeep), Drew Cline, Mia Fieldes (Hillsong), and Alli Rogers. Two of the EP’s songs, Spirit Speaks and Reason to Sing, were featured on “The Drop” from Relevant Magazine’s studio!

This summer, our pastors and staff at Journey agreed to let us turn our office space into a studio! David is a collector of musical instruments (I feel like I’m just getting started!) and so it is now a fun/creative space to write, record and work. Here are a few pictures!

When we got home from our last few shows, we decided to begin working on a project that we could give away to all of our listeners. We are so grateful for everyone’s support and so we decided to record our favorite hymns! We often bring hymns into our Sunday morning Gathering at Journey as well as our nights of worship. They are such an historical picture of our worship as Christians and an insightful look at the vulnerability of other worshippers. We will be releasing these 3 songs very soon on Noisetrade.com so be on the lookout for an announcement from us so that you can download your hymns!

Lastly, we want to thank all of you who have supported and championed EP no. 1 “Brokenness Aside!” It has been a lot of fun to hear stories of how God is using these songs in your churches! Thank you so much for sharing – it blesses us beyond belief.

Grateful.

We can’t express to you how excited we are to be a part of this tour! These men are such amazing worship leaders and have so much that we desire to glean from during our time on the road. It is going to be a powerful night of worship and stories!

Check out our DATES page to see if we are coming to your city and we hope to see you there! (And don’t fret, there are still more dates to come…)

Blessings,

David & Leslie

All Sons & Daughters

Leslie & David

___________________________________________________________________

“MOBILE, Alabama (June 13, 2011) – Integrity Media, a privately-owned media communications company that produces, publishes and distributes Christian music, videos and related products, today announced changes to its corporate structure including the sale of music assets for its flagship label, Integrity Music.
Co-founded over 24 years ago by Mobile native and CEO Michael Coleman, Integrity Media’s products are sold throughout the United States and in over 160 other countries through retail outlets, direct mail and digital distribution. Its corporate offices are located in Mobile with subsidiary offices in Tennessee and three foreign offices located in Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
According to Coleman, the decision to divest Integrity Media of its music division was difficult but necessary given the current climate of the music industry.
“At the end of 2010, music business sales were less than half of what they had been 10 years ago,” says Coleman. “Music sales and licensing in the U.S. alone dropped from $14.6 billion to $6.3 billion between 1999 and 2009 and the decline has continued into 2011. And on top of the general economic downturn, music companies are facing challenges like digital piracy and a shift in consumer thinking from ‘ownership’ to ‘access’.”
“The company has been making changes to try to adapt to these monumental shifts in the marketplace but it has been quite a challenge,” Coleman continues. “An earlier staff reduction and the listing of our property in West Mobile were part of the most recent changes. This combined with the sale of our music assets will help us address a number of issues as we navigate this changing landscape.”
After much consideration, Coleman says the company decided to sell the Integrity Music division assets (songs, products and contracts) to David C Cook, a non-profit ministry located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Integrity Music is the label home of artists Paul Baloche, Lincoln Brewster, Vicky Beeching, John Mark McMillan and Grammy Award winners Israel Houghton and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir among others.
Coleman says he observed a commonality between the missions of both organizations and felt that David C Cook would continue the ministry he helped build by focusing on music for the global church. Following a 90-day transition, Integrity Music will begin operating from Colorado Springs as a part of David C Cook.
In addition to the sale of its music assets, Coleman says Integrity Media plans to sell its international companies in the UK, Singapore and South Africa but will continue to operate its remaining divisions from Mobile for the foreseeable future. This includes operations for Integrity Worship Institute, a training and education division, and Integrity Direct, which distributes a variety of products including CDs, videos, worship resources and Integrity Notes, a popular greeting card line produced in collaboration with Dayspring Cards®, to consumers and churches.”

Integrity Media Announces Sale of Music Assets

http://www.integritymusic.com/?option=com_pressroom&id=786&Itemid=81

There have been quite a few things brewing over the last couple of months and we decided to take a time-out to work on them. We are excited to announce one change today that will affect us all a little bit (but not a lot!)

When David and I began Sons & Daughters last year, we were made aware that there was another band by that name in Scotland. We were not familiar with the band nor did we feel that our genres would overlap so we moved forward with our name. Within the last two months, it has been brought to our attention that this was causing confusion for some people, so we were asked to begin searching for a new name.

We found out about this right around the time our EP was going to be released. This was one of the major reasons we decided to postpone the release. It would make more sense for us to change our name and then release our music.

So with that said, we have been communicating with the Scotland band, “Sons & Daughters,” who have graciously agreed to let us keep the root of our name.

As of today, we will now we known as “All Sons & Daughters!” We are extremely excited for the next chapter and feel that the addition to our name only helps us explain that this is more than a band. It is a church! We are all sons & daughters!

Over the next few weeks, you will begin to see some things change (Facebook, Twitter, Website, Noisetrade, etc.). Don’t be alarmed if things still say “Sons & Daughters” as we are working diligently to make swift changes!

Please help us spread the word!

New Twitter: www.twitter.com/allsanddmusic

New Website: www.allsonsanddaughters.com

Sincerely,
Leslie & David

Hello everyone! We hope that this Monday is bright and full of hope and joy for the week ahead.

Our hearts are full today from last weekends events! Thank you to everyone who helped make Friday night a very special night for us. Thank you to those who came to celebrate with us and to those who joined us via UStream! It has been a very eventful year with the church and with Sons & Daughters and so it was an amazing night for us to be able to reflect, to say “thank you,” and to sing to Jesus.

If you were able to join us last Friday (live or via internet) then you heard the announcement we made about the record. For those of you who missed it, we want to let you in on the details today.

As most of you know, our EP “Brokenness Aside” was slated to release on iTunes tomorrow, May 10^th. However, a few weeks ago, we were informed of some loose ends regarding our record label and the process that leads up to releasing a record. And so, with a lot of prayer (and a few stomach aches) we decided that it would be best to wait and release the record at another time. This saddens us beyond belief because we have been so grateful for your love and support and desire to make this music available to you and to your churches. As of today, we do not know how long we will have to postpone the release, but we do ask for your support and prayers as we are walking into some future unknowns.

On a brighter note, we do have a few exciting announcements! You may already know that we pre-released acoustic versions of our songs through Relevant Studios, but if you didn’t know, you can watch all 6 videos and download 4 free mp3’s here:

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/sons-daughters

And we have put all of the song charts on our website here:

http://sonsanddaughtersmusic.com/mediaresources/

Secondly, we wanted to be able to give you all something tomorrow in place of the record, so we have spoken with Cameron Strang at Relevant Magazine and he has agreed to release two brand new Sons & Daughters songs for free from our acoustic set at their studio. You can download the tracks along with the previous 4. Beginning today, you can visit the same above (Relevant) site for those exclusive tracks!

Thirdly, we have been back in the studio with our producer, Paul Mabury, working on pre-production for our full-length record that we hope to release in October of this year. We are very excited about these songs and how God is revealing His healing truth through our church family! We are looking forward to sharing them with you soon.

And lastly, if you missed Friday night’s release party you can view the entire thing here:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/14529878

Again, we cannot thank you enough for your love and support. We promise to keep you updated as we know more about the EP. Until then, please feel free to watch/listen to the songs via UStream/Relevant.TV.

Grace & Peace,

Leslie Jordan & David Leonard

The party will be next Friday, May 6th and will take place in BLDG 8 in The Factory at Franklin, TN. This space is special to us because it’s where the vision of “Sons & Daughters” was birthed! There will be a time of worship from 7:30-8:15 and then we will continue to celebrate with desserts and coffee immediately afterward.

There is a $10 cover charge at the door and we will give you a physical copy of the album. The physical EP’s will only available at our live events (on May 10th, our record only releases digitally to iTunes) and they are limited.

We would love for you to come worship and celebrate with us!

Sons & Daughters
David Leonard & Leslie Jordan

We are excited to show you the videos from our time at Relevant Studios! Click the banner above to watch all 6 videos on Relevant.TV!

We are also excited to be a part of Worship Leader Magazine’s “Song DISCovery” Songwriting Conference on May 20th in Brentwood, TN. You can click on the image below (right) if you are interested in getting more details or attending the conference.

“Chiang Mai – Day Two”

Waking Up 2/10/11

We started to walk around the city at 12:00 noon today. As I peered into shop windows and smiled at shop owners and workers, my mind drifted and my heart began to beat slowly and steadily. Coming to Chiang Mai has felt mostly like being written into a movie script as the onlooker. As the observer. As the listener. A character not always imperative to the story, but one who can often help move the plot along because of his or her eagerness to hear the story unfold.

But the one thing I’m learning is that in “real life,” you can’t hurry plot. You can’t predict story. You just have to participate, be swept up, and allow it to wreck, ravage, and change your priorities. And for some reason, I’ve been written into this story.

I once was a fiery, passionate, and very convincing advocate for change.  Personal Change, Local Change, Global Change and Spiritual Change. The definition of change is this: to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone. A huge part of change is embracing the story. So I believed that stories left alone, or untold, caused our generation to stay asleep and miss out on change. I was once challenged by a mentor who told me that the mission of justice was set in the heart of the church. And not the justice we typically think of in America (parking tickets, court dates, jail sentences, or even the death penalty.) But instead, the mission of setting free those enslaved to darkness. Shining light. Shaking ground. Making noise. This was my mission.

I would submit that my mission hasn’t changed. It has only been asleep. As I continued to walk the streets and engage in conversation today, the scales began to fall from my eyes. At home, I believe that it has been easy to let my heart for justice lay dormant beneath my desire for comfort and community. Its easy. Its so easy. And the more comfortable I become, the more fear creeps in and the enemy lies to me. Because my voice is loud.

So here is where my heart landed at 10:30pm (a mere 10.5 hours after this conversation began) as we walked around the night market in Chiang Mai: just as “faith without deeds is dead,” community without justice is never fully alive. And the most confusing part is trying to figure out how they co-exist. I think I asked a million questions today. Some out loud to my pastor and friends, and some quietly so that only Jesus could hear. And the only conclusion I could come to is that we must choose to live IN the tension. Never controlling or predicting. Never running from it or trying to solve it or escape it somehow. It is IN the tension where we become fully alive.

So today I choose to live. I choose to be a student of the Word and an advocate for change. I choose to being a good listener and a good story teller. I choose to dwell in soul environments, knowing, living and telling the love story of Jesus to the world. Today, I choose to wake up.

-Leslie