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Filled With the Presence of God! | Posted June-23-2017
Every December, nearly 25,000 adults gather in Kansas City, Missouri for the Onething Live Conference. The conference features speakers and worship leaders from the International House of Prayer there in Kansas City (IHOPKC), as well as a few well-known special guests from around the world. Together, their goal is simple, based on Psalm 27:4: “One thing I have desired of the Lord; That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.” Because they actively pursue the presence of the Lord, Onething Live is a powerful time of teaching and worship that changes many lives.
Each year since 2006, Forerunner Music has released a Onething Live album that compiles some of the most touching, anointed moments of the four-day conference. Now they release their eleventh Onething album, Onething Live: All Cry Glory, featuring their staple worship leaders (such as Misty Edwards, Jon Thurlow, and Jaye Thomas), as well as a few of their newer worship leaders and guests. I listened to all of the Onething worship sets many times prior to this album’s release, and I had several tracks that really stood out to me. Therefore, I was very much looking forward to this album. As soon as I saw the track list, I was not disappointed, but rather very pleased and excited about the excellent choice of songs!
Laura Hackett Park opens Onething Live: All Cry Glory with her brand new song “No Other Name.” It is a soft, but powerful declaration that Jesus’ name is the name above every name – the name that heals our bodies, sets us free, and conquers death. It also brings Isaiah 55 to my mind, that Jesus is willing to pour out on “anyone who wants to live,” and all we have to do is come to Him and take it freely. Though I was personally surprised this was the opening track as it is slower in tempo, it is definitely a powerful worship song!
Brandon Oaks, who has led worship in the IHOPKC prayer room for some years now, but has never been featured on a Onething album, brings the second track, “Even When.” Incredibly catchy with a techno tempo and great fill-ins, the message is simple --- “Even when my eyes don’t see it, You know what I need before I know I need it/ Even when I don’t believe it, I know You are for me.” Following, Bethel Music’s Jonathan David and Melissa Helser bring “You Came (Lazarus).” Though it is great to hear their fabulous song on the Onething album, the highlight is the spontaneous moment, when Melissa Helser breaks out in singing about the joy of the Lord and shouts, “Let joy come!” You can easily feel the joy of the Lord, and it is difficult to not dance along with the thousands who were joyfully dancing!
With breathtaking strings and choirs, David Forlu delivers his original worship song, “You are the Greatest,” taken from the New Year party. Its lyrics are taken directly from Scripture – Psalm 8 – beautifully describing the majesty of our God. Majestic indeed, the highlight is the strong bridge, where David and the choir unite to powerfully declare, “No one can measure the greatness of our God!” I had heard David lead this song several times and I am very glad it finally made it to a Onething Live album!
One of my favorite tracks off Onething Live: All Cry Glory is “Family.” Jaye Thomas’ fabulous, authoritative vocals are centered around a deep rhythm with a techno beat. He prophetically brings a spontaneous verse, based on Ephesians 2 – we were dead in our sins, but we were brought in to the family of God! Laura Hackett Park joins Jaye again on this track, declaring that “You brought me and You changed my name,” and they alternately declare, “Now I’m Your son forever,” and “Now I’m Your daughter.” Especially moving is the bridge: “We will go anywhere/ We are Your family/ Dying those daily deaths, and living abundantly”! This track definitely has a special strength to it, both fun-sounding and powerful!
“Let My People Dance (Spontaneous)” is led by Wallace and Rachel Faguttu, who were featured on the Sing Your Praises Onething album with their popular “Survival Plan” track. This spontaneous track is a continuation of their cover of Jon Thurlow’s “Strong Love,” which they successfully added their signature Hawaiian twist to. We hear Wallace and Rachel call God’s people to dance, but we also hear Kyl Means bring a spontaneous chorus about God’s love. Kyl’s higher vocals are outstanding! Altogether, this is another track that brings the joy of the Lord in a fun way!
Another first-timer on a Onething album, Lesley Phillips, brings “Convinced.” I was surprised that her song “All My Days” wasn’t chosen for this album, as she performed it twice in one set; nevertheless, “Convinced” is a beautiful declaration of absolute faith in Jesus and child-like faith (“No one can tell me that You are not real… I am convinced”) – a wonderful debut from Lesley! Justin Rizzo follows with his brand new song “Leaning.” Based on the Song of Solomon, Justin beautifully sings about the end of the trials and testing: coming out of the wilderness, leaning on our Beloved! I have always looked forward to Justin Rizzo’s tracks on Onething Live albums, as he tenderly sings about the love of God and the wonders of the blood of Jesus, and this is another one of his outstanding offerings. I heard his whole set, and “Leaning” was definitely one of the best tracks pulled from it!
Next comes “Out of Zion (Spontaneous),” led by Chris Tofilon. It is a spontaneous continuation of his song “You Shine,” featured on last year’s Onething Live: Love Makes Us Strong. First declaring that “He speaks and summons the whole earth/ From the rising of the sun to its setting out of Zion, God shines forth,” he then passionately cries out the heart of God for this hour of history: “Is anybody listening?” After pondering God’s question, the worship team begins strongly answering, “Lord, we are listening to You!” It is wonderful, with the intense presence of God; and, although Chris was only singing what God put on his heart, I also thought Chris’ vocals in this spontaneous moment were fantastic.
“You Are the Brightest” is led by Jonas Park. Jonas has appeared on all Onething Live albums since 2014’s Sing Your Praises, but this is the first time that he has done a duet with his wife Laura Hackett Park. The combination of their vocals in a timeless worship track is breathtaking, as they declare the majesty of God and leave the listener in awe of Him!
My personal favorite track off of Onething Live: All Cry Glory is from newcomer Olivia Buckles. Sung as a special track after Laura Hackett Park’s second worship set, “Surely” is a slow track with an emotional feel to it. Olivia softly sings about our Good Shepherd, and how He sometimes leads us through tough times, but sings “it’s all worth it to look like You!” She chooses in her song to go wherever He leads, and the song’s poignant bridge asks, “Who am I to lead myself, when I’ve come to know that You’re already leading me?” This is one of those tracks that helps the listener come to a place of complete surrender. For me, personally, it is tear-jerking – extremely touching!
Lastly on the standard version of the album comes Misty Edwards’ brand new song “I Love the Way You Think.” A continuation of her song “When You Think of Me,” Misty softly sings about the kindness and compassion of God (“You are the kindest One I know, gracious, and Your anger slow”). As it is taken from the book of Exodus, when God showed Moses His glory, Misty begins lifting her voice and crying out for that same glory of the Lord to fill the room – very intense! Katie Reed also joins Misty in a spontaneous moment about the heart of the Father – that He doesn’t push us or control us, but rather He wants a relationship that comes from our willful love in response to Him. Altogether, this track was one of my favorite moments of all the worship sets, and I was so thrilled that the entire raw twelve minutes were selected and not edited.
Even though the standard edition of Onething Live: All Cry Glory is fantastic, I highly recommend the deluxe edition, which has another six outstanding tracks! Laura Hackett brings her cover of Elevation Worship’s “Here As In Heaven,” featuring a powerful spontaneous moment by Kyl Means, while Misty Edwards covers Shane & Shane’s “Psalm 46.” From the same set as “I Love the Way You Think,” “Psalm 46” was another moment I was thrilled that Forerunner Music selected! Audrey Assad’s stunning vocals and signature piano style bring her original “River in the Rock,” while Lauren Alexandria brings a combination of Lindy Conant’s “Every Nation (Every Soul)” mixed with “Worthy of It All” – simply wonderful. Lastly, the album closes with a response song, where Pastor Mike Bickle and guest speaker Todd White cry out for the fire of God, while Jon Thurlow sings his stunning song “Storm All Around You”— straight from heaven! These six-tracks are must-haves!
I never thought that a Onething Live album could come anywhere close to as phenomenal as Onething Live: Magnificent Obsession (2013), but Onething Live: All Cry Glory proved me wrong! Forerunner Music went all out with this album, doing an outstanding job selecting the most powerful worship moments from 2016’s Onething Live conference. While audio quality was improved, all songs were left raw as recorded along with absolutely beautiful spontaneous moments. I was disappointed with the previous two Onething albums, Shout Your Name and Love Makes Us Strong, because, although they featured great songs, they were polished to a sound that no longer bore the live feel and strength that it had when played live – but this album was exactly what I had hoped for! If you were at the Onething Live conference last year, or, like me, you watched all the sets online and continued to listen well afterwards, this album is the best of the best from last year’s Onething conference. It is an album that wonderfully carries the presence of God in a very special way, and will definitely be one of my favorite worship albums of all times. Thank you, Forerunner Music, for this awesome Onething Live album, and thank you, IHOPKC worship leaders for pursing and leading all of us into the presence of God!
A Final Blessings from The City Harmonic | Posted June-23-2017
In 2010, The City Harmonic debuted with “Manifesto,” a worship track unlike anything listeners had heard before. Its lyrics were simple, a reminder of the core of what Christians believe, a mixture of several Christian creeds with the Lord’s Prayer. Its escalading arpeggios and choral effects, mixed with the strong guitars and these powerful lyrics, shot the song right up the Christian radio charts and left fans begging for more. Soon after, The City Harmonic released their debut EP and has since released three more phenomenal albums. Throughout all the success and rightfully won awards, the band’s mission has remained the same – to unite believers in worship to our heavenly Father, despite the differences in denominations and beliefs.
In 2016, The City Harmonic announced that the band members would be going their separate ways, but they would leave us with one final album. That album, titled Benediction, was recorded live in April of this year, in the town where it all started – Hamilton, Ontario. I have been a big fan of The City Harmonic since the beginning, particularly their I Have a Dream (It Feels Like Home) album that I personally rated 5-stars (and I still think it lives up to that standard). This final album is a bittersweet one, but one that The City Harmonic made sure was as perfect as possible for their farewell album.
“My God” opens the album appropriately, as it is from their debut EP, and brings the listener back to the band’s beginning. It begins with a church organ sound, amidst the cheering fans, and quickly builds as fan’s clapping and vocal participation can be easily heard. Like the original version, the strings mixed with Elias Dummer’s fabulous vocals in the bridge, where he passionately sings about his desire to “sing for the love of God,” are a highlight.
“Maranatha” is a much-welcomed following track. Drummer Josh Vanderlaan’s impressive drumbeat and strong audience participation – particularly in the bridge where Elias sings and the audience loudly echoes “Maranatha” – are standouts of this song which appeared on their We Are album. “Yours” is made much stronger than the original, as Elias first shares his excitement about leading worship with Hamilton and teaches the audience the song’s chorus. These two strong tracks back-to-back are very exciting!
“Praise the Lord” from Heart, is a powerful reminder to praise the Lord, but emphasizes the need to praise Him in the hard, heavy moments. Though I had heard this song before, I found this live version to have a fresh life to it, as certain lines spoke to me, such as “Even in the middle of the long, dark night/ There is always grace enough to praise the Lord.” What an amazing track, especially as guitarist Aaron Powell and touring bassist Steve Lensink join their voices with the audience for a choral backing to Elias’ lead vocals – phenomenal!
As “Praise the Lord” fades out, it fades in perfectly to the only brand new track off Benediction, titled “Honestly.” As a big fan of the band, I knew this song to be one of Elias Dummer’s songs previous to The City Harmonic, but I was pleasantly surprised by the changes made. We first hear Elias softly singing “that of all that I have, all that I need is You, honestly,” describing coming to a place of abandonment to God, in exchange for Him making something beautiful out of our small lives. But as the bridge approaches, Aaron and Steve again lift their voices in the outstanding signature choir background, as Elias sings a bridge borrowed from Psalm 139: “I’m prone to wander/ but where could I go that You aren’t there?/ so here’s my heart, Lord/ with all of these doubts and fears and prayers.” Though this is the only original track off Benediction, it is certainly a fabulous one! In the same key comes “City On A Hill,” which the band performs mostly acoustically, until it builds very strongly at the last chorus. Again, this track has a special new life to it, reminding the Church that we are the city on a hill and to brightly shine our lights. Wow!
The strong “I Am” from the debut EP follows, leading into one of my favorite tracks, “Mountaintop.” The excitement is easily felt! The audience loudly claps the beat, after Elias shouts “Let’s Make Some Noise”! One of my favorite moments of the album is on this song, where Josh Vanderlaan takes over for a moment with a short, but very strong, drum solo!
A set of slower, beautiful worship tracks follow, beginning with “Holy (Wedding Day),” one of the most stunning songs I’ve ever heard. It is easy to close your eyes and visualize the wedding day in heaven – and even more so, as the audience whole-heartedly sings “Holy, Lord God Almighty!” “What I Want” begins only with acoustic guitar and vocals, but the band members stomp and clap their hands for the beat of the second verse – which I might add was one of my favorite memories of seeing the band live! It is also a track that I personally have gotten lost in worship in, because the lyrics resonate with a message of living life for God to the fullest – every song, every word, every thought, and every moment in between. It’s such a powerful song! The newer “Let There Be Light,” from the album We Are, follows, taken strongly from Scripture – just as God spoke light into this dark world, the song invites the listener to speak light into the dark situations in our lives today.
And what would a farewell album from The City Harmonic be without “Manifesto”? Following as the last official song, it is clear that The City Harmonic has completed their goal, as all present at the live recording lift their voices in a unanimous “Amen” at the Gospel message that we all believe. In unison, they then sing "Doxology," before the band closes their worship set with “Benediction.” It is a very bittersweet track, as the band leaves their listeners with grace, peace, and love, and says, “Goodbye, yes, that’s goodbye.” The audience then erupts in applause for the band’s outstanding final performance. It’s a perfect ending to this album, as it was for the I Have a Dream (It Feels Like Home) album.
As previously stated, Benediction is a very bittersweet album. As the band members go their separate ways to minister at their local churches, and some work on solo projects to be released soon, The City Harmonic did well to offer this last album to its fans. They obviously poured themselves into this project, hand-picking the best fan-favorites from their eight years of releasing music together. They also made the concert as memorable and exciting as possible, so that it not only serves as a final best-hits album, but is also a fun and worshipful live album. To The City Harmonic, thank you for four phenomenal albums and for giving us this final blessing of an album; but most importantly, thank you for bridging people of various denominations and beliefs in unanimous worship to Jesus, and reminding us that we are one in Jesus Christ.
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