Keith is a gifted songwriter and I hope that his ministry continues to glorify God as he and his wife develop in it. I recently did one of his songs “Jesus draw me ever nearer” with the New Scottish Folk Sessions band on a UK TV show called Songs of Praise. (Keith is actually an old acquaintance of the New Scottish director Jason McAuley).

I feel that much of his music has a strong celtic/traditional influence, and am interested to know whether that style is popular in your own country within the CCM genre, or whether these celtic ballads need to be “popped up” for general consumption.

The only place the Getty Communion hymn is currently available is in the musical, The Risen Christ. It’s available at http://www.clearcallmusic.com.

I have come to appreciate the music of the Getty’s very much as well. When looking through their website, there are some songs that do not have a recording. In particular, I’m really interested in learning “Behold the Lamb (Communion Hymn)” but don’t know how to find a recording or sheet music. Can you suggest where I can look?

Thanks in advance!

Great questions. On the topic of what key to sing a song in, we went with the keys Keith and Kristyn typically use, to serve them. If I felt they were too low, we would have changed the keys. But we never dropped below an Ab. They actually do In Christ Alone in Eb and E, which starts a half step high than the key we normally start with.

The decision about having the CD table in the lobby was something we had to think through. Because we’re enthused about the songs the Getty’s write, we wanted to make them available to folks. But we invited people to meet Keith and Kristyn after the meeting, and mentioned they’d be at the CD table. We wanted to downplay the “sales” aspect.

I don’t think Jesus was outlawing all sales in a church building in John 2:13-17John 2:13-17
[13]The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went
up to Jerusalem. [14]In the temple he found those who were
selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers
sitting there. [15]And making a whip of cords, he drove
them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he
poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned
their tables. [16]And he told those who sold the pigeons,
"Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a
house of trade." [17]His disciples remembered that it was
written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." (ESV)

and Matthew 21:12-13Matthew 21:12-13
[12]And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who
sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables
of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold
pigeons. [13]He said to them, "It is written, 'My house
shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den
of robbers." (ESV)

. He was addressing those who used God’s temple as a means of making a profit. The books and music we sell are a meant to enrich the spiritual lives of the people who buy them. We sell things almost at or below cost to provide ongoing training for the church and as a means of serving them.

Let me know if you have any other thoughts.

I appreciated having the Gettys at church on Sunday, as did my wife. Chesapeake had done “Speak O Lord” shortly before I left, and it was good to sing it again.

I’m also encouraged that you’re aware of the temptations of having artists perform during church. I’m still processing through some of these ideas myself, but I wanted to ask a couple of things that have been on my mind.

First, it felt to me that many of the songs were lower (in key) than we sing them normally. My wife loved this; she could actually sing the songs comfortably. On the other hand, I got to experience things from her end: I had trouble deciding in which octave to sing, particularly on “Speak O Lord.” Were these songs modulated to a lower key? If so, what should one be thinking when trying to match the comfort range of solo vocalists versus the congregation? Of course, I’m getting over a cold, too, so maybe I was just off. I can’t find a real scriptural precedent here: perhaps you know one.

Second, one of the things that has always been a question in my mind is when the church sells things–this would include the bookstore, but also the CD table that the Gettys had. I think Jesus had something else in mind in John 2:13-17John 2:13-17
[13]The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went
up to Jerusalem. [14]In the temple he found those who were
selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers
sitting there. [15]And making a whip of cords, he drove
them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he
poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned
their tables. [16]And he told those who sold the pigeons,
"Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a
house of trade." [17]His disciples remembered that it was
written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." (ESV)

, Matthew 21:12-13Matthew 21:12-13
[12]And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who
sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables
of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold
pigeons. [13]He said to them, "It is written, 'My house
shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den
of robbers." (ESV)

, etc, but it’s always been something that has given me pause, even though I’ve been the beneficiary of many low cost books from our bookstore. What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks for thinking about this and for having a such a great heart to glorify our Savior.

Nick

The link to How Great You Are is fixed. It’s a guitar chart, though, not a lead sheet. Thanks for letting me know.

The book will be around 250 pages. If you think your friend is still interested, ask her to contact me at bob@worshipmatters.com.

Thanks!