For my first book of 2021, I chose one that I’ve had now for just over a year. It had been on my Amazon Wish List and my in-laws so graciously got it for me in 2019. I’m a huge fan of Matt Boswell and his perfect voice, perfect musical talent, perfect tan, perfect hair, perfect songwriting, perfect…well, you get the gist of it. Anyhow, it was nice to finally pick it up and read it.
Normally, I am not one to gravitate towards books with many authors. In my opinion, it is very difficult to adjust to a different style of writing with each chapter. However, Boswell carefully selected extremely qualified individuals to contribute to this book, and edited it with care. This process cranked out a well-organized and cohesive book that made sense. Some authors I was familiar with and some I was not. I loved hearing from people like Boswell, Matt Papa and Mike Cosper. Each was given a subject and all the chapters were titled “The Worship Leader and X.” Great subjects were addressed and the down-to-earth language prevented me from having to read paragraphs 2-3 times.
My favorite chapter was one of Boswell’s own on the subject of family worship. I’ve heard plenty of folks discuss this topic before and most of them have a pie-in-the-sky idea of what family worship can be. Boswell first addresses why family worship is important, saying “Our task is to lead our home…to the reality of the gospel.” He then gives a glimpse into his own life and suggests ways to have family worship even with small, rambunctious, short-attention-span kids. Knowing that many readers will run into this issue when trying to have family worship, he says “We adapt to where our children are at, meet them there, and trust God for the results.” How much more gospel-centered our homes would be if parents adopted such a strategy.
I highly recommend this one to all worship leaders no matter your setting (church, camp, small group, student ministry, etc.). This could easily be used in a collegiate church music course as it has subjects and viewpoints from a variety of today’s worship leaders. Links to purchase are below!
Christianbook.com (CHEAPEST)
Living a Life out of Tune 