Stuart Townend

Swindon gig

On Saturday we did the second concert in our "Stu and Lou" tour (with Lou Fellingham). It was a great evening, again sold out (350 people), and although the venue was smaller than Chessington, there was still a wonderful atmosphere, and people really went for it as we worshipped together in the second half of the gig.

We have a great team working with us on the tour. Chris Jones is on sound (we worked with him at the Brighton Leaders conference in Brighton), and Sam Tamplin is doing lights. These guys, together with the Phatfish band (with Dan Boreham on electric guitar), have really helped to make it look and sound special, without distracting from the dynamic of worship that is so important to us. And we're already getting reports from the two gigs of people's lives really being impacted by the Spirit of God as we worship and share.

So we are very grateful to God, grateful to Swindon Family Church for hosting us, and we hope to see you all in Streatham, Wrexham or Alton in the next couple of weeks! (Remaining dates and contact details are at the bottom of this page.)

Stuart Townend

Worship in the local church

Before we begin to think about worship in the local church, it’s important for us to make sure we have a vision for the local church. Not just ‘church’ in some abstract way – your local church, the place you go to every Sunday, the bunch of people you meet with, that bunch of weird folks who make up your church. Think about them, picture them in your mind – that’s God’s plan for changing the world! Frightening, isn’t it?

Now, if you were planning to gather together a group of people to change the world, or at least the area in which you live – would you have chosen that group of people? Would you have chosen yourself? Possibly not! Yet God’s ways are different from ours!

Songs of Praise Top Ten hymns

I was recently asked to take part in a BBC Songs of Praise programme, where we were giving our perspectives on the top ten hymns as voted by Songs of Praise viewers in a telephone poll earlier in the year. Remarkably, “In Christ alone” made it into the top ten, which either means it’s becoming accepted in a broad range of church settings, or my Mum’s phone bill was huge that month…

The more I thought about the programme, the more I realised what a fantastic opportunity it was to share the gospel with millions of people by talking about the content of these hymns. And I thought I would share these brief musings with you – done, in the finest traditions of top ten lists, in reverse order…

Chessington gig

On Saturday we did the first gig of our 'Stu and Lou tour' (with Lou Fellingham). We were delighted it was sold out (over 900 people), and are really grateful to the folks at Chessington for their organisation, their vision and their wonderful hospitality.

The style of the evening (mainly performance with some opportunities to join in) is different to what I've done before, and might have surprised a few people, but we did want it to be something that was musically more interesting, and also accessible to guests and unchurched people. And the feedback we got from people was really positive - folks seemed to enjoy hearing new and familiar songs accompanied by more thoughtful and varied arrangements!

If you came along, thanks so much for coming - please tell us what you thought by leaving a comment on this site If you missed it, check out the other dates (listed below), and come along to see us. Next stop Swindon on Saturday!

Stuart Townend

Stu and Lou tour!

I'm delighted to announce that I'm planning a short tour with Lou Fellingham (of Phatfish fame) where we'll be featuring our respective new albums, "Monument to Mercy" and "Treasure". Tour dates and contact numbers are below. It would be great to see you if you could make it to one of the gigs.

I'm very excited about it. The album has definitely set me off in a slightly different direction musically, and I'm looking forward to reproducing some of the arrangements on the album. It also means I will be doing a lot of leading from piano rather than guitar - which for me musically feels a bit like coming home...

The gigs will still have a worship orientation, but will at the same time be accessible and meaningful to unchurched people. So bring your friends!

Stuart Townend

STU & LOU TOUR DATES

Sep 30 - The King's Centre, Chessington (020 8391 5522 - email: rodcec2002@yahoo.co.uk - website: www.thekingscentre.org.uk)

Oct 7 - Trinity Centre, Swindon (01793 526130 - website: www.swindonfamilychurch.org.uk)

Oct 13 - Streatham Baptist Church (020 8769 8588 - website: www.mannachristiancentre.co.uk; email: mannabookshop@btconnect.com)

Oct 20 - William Aston Hall, Wrexham (01244 317664 - website: www.colossiansthreesixteen.org

Oct 21 - Alton Maltings Centre, Alton, Hants (Harvest Church - 01420 81950)

Worship at New Horizon

We had a great week at New Horizon - thanks to all those who attended, who came up to say hello, and who bought the CD. The people of Northern Ireland are so warm and friendly, it really is one of the highlights of the year for my family and myself.

In case you don't know, New Horizon is a sort of family Bible Week held each year at the University of Ulster campus in Coleraine. Main meetings are held in a big top with a couple of overflow tents that together hold 3-4,000 people. Speakers this year were John Piper, RT Kendal and Nigel Wright. All the teaching was great, but that's the first time I've heard John Piper - and he was terrific.

I work with a group of local musicians there who are all of a very high standard - led by Ian Hannah, whom many of you will have heard of. The congregation is drawn from a broad range of denominations and church backgrounds, so it's something of a challenge to take everybody with you when you lead! But is seems to get easier every year - perhaps because I'm more relaxed about it, and partly because people are more comfortable with me, so I can 'push the boat out' a little from time to time, and people will go with it.

As it's still the holiday season, if you order CDs from the site during August there may be a bit of a delay before you receive them - but we'll get them out as soon as we can!

Stuart Townend

New Horizon

Just to say I'm going to be at the New Horizon event on the north coast of Northern Ireland all next week. If you're planning to go, see you there! If not, please pray that it will be a event that glorifies God through the worship, the teaching (from John Piper, Nigel Wright and RT Kendall) and the fellowship of Christians from different denominations coming together to express their unity in Christ.

My being away does mean that if you put an order in for CDs after the 19th July, there might be a short delay before they are shipped out. All orders taken during next week should reach you at the end of the following week (week beginning 31st July).

Stuart Townend

Monumental response!

Thanks for your comments about the new album, "Monument to Mercy". It's getting a really interesting response! Some of you think it's the freshest thing you've heard in Christian music in ages (thank you); some of you are struggling to get used to the complexity of "The Lord's my Shepherd" and the air raid siren in "Beloved and Blessed"! But I do feel we've 'pushed the boat out' a little.

I believe we could have made an album that everyone thought was 'pleasant'. But I think there's a real danger that worship music is getting stuck in a musical rut. Already I hear people say "I don't like worship" - meaning they don't like the musical style that typifies most worship albums, not that they don't like worshipping God!

So I believe we should be exploring different areas of musical creativity in out expression of worship to our infinitely creative God - not copying one another in the belief that worship music and worship songs should sound a certain way. True, when it comes to singing songs in church, there are musical limitations in what the congregation (and often the worship band) can do. But when it comes to sitting down and listening to an album, why shouldn't it be an interesting and varied musical experience?

Keep your comments coming. I'm sure lots of you out there have some very definite ideas on the subject!

Stuart Townend

Worship in Spirit and Truth Part 1

Part One - the context of John 4

John 4 is a passage familiar to those involved in local church worship. It is obviously important to us all, but it particularly grabs the attention of the worship leader, as it’s the only time that Jesus specifically addresses the subject of worship, using this phrase ‘in spirit and truth” twice.

But it’s always seemed a very peculiar Biblical context for this theme. I’d have expected the chapter to begin, “Jesus was teaching the pharisees and the teachers of the law in the temple one day, and the subject of worship came up…” Perhaps it would have made me feel more important as a worship leader, that Jesus would have seen the subject as important enough to discuss it with the spiritual leaders of the day – after all, it’s always high on my list of topics to discuss with church leaders! But no. Jesus is taking a break. He arrives at a well in the heat of the day, he’s tired and thirsty. And a woman comes to the well.

New album now available!

"Monument to Mercy", my new studio album, is now out, and I'm delighted to report that you can purchase it direct from me now by clicking the "Stuart's albums" button on the right.

I'm really delighted with the way the album has worked out, and I'm very grateful to everyone who played their part, not least Mark Edwards for his inspired arranging and production skills.

Favourite tracks among those who have heard it already seem to be "Kyrie", a kind of lament song with a Stevie Wonder "As" feel; and "Psalm 23", which explores a more Pat Matheney route.

Thanks, too, to Keith Getty and team for some amazing orchestral arrangements.

I hope you all enjoy the album!

Stuart