1) Glorious (Munizzi): Key Gm. I’ve done this one for years but never really had to actually sing! Did I mention my part was high? It was a fun song to open up with. Fred had a nice click and accompany track set up and the band played the arrangement well. This isn’t an easy song to pull off.

2) Glory to God (Fee): Key A. This js the first time I’ve sung this one. Really enjoyed it.

3) Take My Life (hymn): Key(s) D, Eb, E. One of my favorite hymns of all time. Used as the “prayer” of consecration over babies and their families in a time of baby dedication. Was vey nice!

4) Revelation Song (Riddle): Key D. Not the rocked out arrangement I’m used to leading, but I wasn’t leading, just singing high tenor, so I just rocked that! Ha just kidding. I love this song backwards and forwards so you could play any arrangement and I’d eat it up. This one was REALLY easy to jump right in and sing with. I slipped over on to the keys (Fred slipped back to the grand) and I added some nice string pads while singing the tenor.

5) If You Say Go (old vineyard): Key D. Hadn’t heard this one in a really long time. But it ended the message time really well. I think people really responded as we closed with this one each service.

Loved being a part of the team this week and I’m looking forward to many more!! Join me and other worshipers from all over sharin our Sunday experiences!

After a busy summer and a VERY busy beginning to fall, including TWO moves, I wanted to slow down and just rest. My design reflects this. A simple single candle.

This month’s design is based on Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”

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I was invited by my good buddy, Fred McKinnon, to sit in with the St. Simons Community Church band this Sunday. Definitely an honor and an opportunity I wouldn’t miss!

Fred was out of town on a mission/training trip for Compassion and so he asked me to fill the “keys” slot in the band.

Rehearsal thursday night went great. I jumped right in and added what I could when I could. Apparently it was sufficient because everyone was very nice.

Sunday morning went well.

1) I See The Lord: I think it’s an old Ron Kenoly tune. Key G.

2) The Rock: and old gospel, bluesy tune. Key G. This one was fun. Got to cut loose with some bluesy stuff and even play a little solo in the middle.

3) Hosanna: (Baloche) Key G. Pretty standard arrangement.

4) I Can Only Imagine: Key E. Switched over from keys to grand piano on this one. Love playing a REAL piano!! Went well. Standard arrangement.

5) 6) 7) Medley of Come to the Table, You Are My King and On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand: Key D. These were during the after message communion set.

I really enjoyed playing this week. It was VERY nice to come in to a well running ministry and just offer my talents to serve the congregation and to worship God in music WITHOUT wearing the leader’s hat. Everything was so smooth and well thought out: from the organized and labeled IEMs, to the snacks in the green room, to the communion for the team in the back between services. I loved my first day of serving with the band.

It was a pleasure and I hope to do it again soon!

join me and other worshipers as we share our Sunday experiences and Sunday Setlists.

We do a livestream for each service and one of the volunteer stations is manning the chat and camera work for the internet stream. I really enjoyed it. For most of my participation in Sunday Setlists I’ve been singing or playing an instrument in front of everyone.

It’s REALLY nice to sit back and serve BEHIND everyone!!

Looking forward to next week too. I’ve been invited to sit in with the band on keys.

My favorite “moment” of this week was A Mighty Fortress (Christy Nockels): The team did an AMAZING job with this one, and honestly I didn’t want it to end.

This is a tune I wrote yesterday morning. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 63.

Wanted to write in the vein of Rich Mullins (Step by Step). Mainly for simplicity. I like the repetitive nature of the chorus. It’s a first person song, singing to God. It could be used in a corporate setting, but it’s written more of a personal song of praise to God.

Of course, this is a quick and dirty recording, nothing fancy schmancy about it. There’s a few things I might sing a little differently if I spent a lot of time on recording. By my goal with this is just to share it, not make a production out of the recording (like my rap tunes).

Let me know if you’d like to use this in your place of worship.

Chords & Lyrics Chart (pdf)

Psalm 63
2009 Russ Hutto

(Verse 1)

I will sing Your praises,
I will bring You honor,
I will glorify You
As long as I live

I will lift my hands to
Surrender to Your greatness
To offer up my everything
It’s all that I can give

(prechorus)

And I will sing

(chorus)

God,
You are my God
And I will follow
Follow after You
You are my God
And I will follow
Follow after You

(verse 2)

You have satisfied me
You have quenched my thirst
You have filled my hunger
With a rich feast

You have held me closely
In the palm of Your hands
You have kept me safe
You watch over me

It’s based on Galatians 6:9:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

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Hope you enjoy, and please take a screenshot of this wallpaper in action!! And share it with your contacts!!

1) Just Like David (R. Hutto original):
Key Em/G. This is a tune I wrote many years ago. It was a pleasure to lead it with a new worship team, and also an honor to know that after so many years they are still singing and playing it.

2) Mighty God (H. Ousley):
Key G. Love this song. My favorite arrangement is off the Trail of Altars CD.

3) Revelation Song:
Key C. I love this one. I capo 3 and play in A. I’d like to share my “stylings” on this one this week. Might give it a little freshness if you’ve done this one and your people love it, but you’re tired of it. My sister, Stacie Wilson, led out on it and did a wonderful job!

4) How Great Is Our God:
Key G. Easy arrangement. Great song. Always love this one. I’ve probably only led this one a handful of times in my WL career, and every time I really enjoy it.

Other Worship Leaders share their setlists and Sunday gathering experiences.

Back in my early days as a worship leader (before history was actually recorded), I had an experience that really impacted the rest of my life. First of all, I come from a family of musicians, and have raised and launched a family of musicians, 3 of whom are worship leaders. God has been good to me! I guess you could say that music is in my blood. I had been involved in music long before God called me to serve Him.

So as a young worship leader I had a good amount of self-confidence, even though I was completely inexperienced. Notice I said “self” confidence. There’s something about musicians, especially if you have to lead a bunch of them. I heard someone once say that musicians are “squirrelly”. It really made sense to me because I am a musician. What he meant was that many musicians don’t like to be told how to play, how loud or soft to play, or how fast or slow to play, etc, when performing or rehearsing with others. The reason is because most really proficient musicians got that way by giving up thousands of hours of personal practice. To be an accomplished musician requires much personal time and energy. Many accomplished musicians become that way mostly by themselves. Of course, there must be teachers and/or mentors involved. But even at that musicians don’t receive from just anyone. They receive mostly from whomever they choose. So let’s just say that a musician’s ability to play represents much of who he/she is.

Back to that life-changing experience. I was a new worship leader. To me I was the hottest thing in a suit at the time. I was on the grand piano. We came out smoking the music. The first song was tight! Man, was I good! It came time for the second song and I ripped (with “self” confidence) into the 3rd song in the set list. You heard right…the 3rd song. At the same time, all other musicians and singers ripped boldly into the 2nd song in the set list. I was determined. I was the leader. I had much “self” confidence. I just knew the rest of the team would recognize that I started on the wrong some and would join with me. Nope! They barreled right on into the 2nd song. Listen, the whole group (but me) was singing one song…and doing it well. I (only) was singing another song…and doing it well. Finally I realized I had to stop this train because it was destined to de-rail very soon. I just stood up from the grand piano held up my hands until everyone stopped. I said to the congregation. “Whups! I think we’d better start this thing again.” After getting me on the right page, we restarted the 2nd song on the list and all went well. What an experience! I was so embarrassed. I wanted to crawl up under the lid of the grand piano (which was up) and close it! I had this really vain thought as we cruised through the 2nd song (the right way this time), “I wonder if people could really tell I messed up?” Remember I said it was a vain thought. The truth is, I just committed about the worst mistake a worship leader could make! I led in the wrong direction.

I’ll have to say that one particular experience changed my life. It humbled me. Even today as a senior pastor, I remember that event. First, we’ll never do things perfectly. And when we think we must, God will use similar events to humble us. Humility is a good thing even though we sometimes must learn it through our failures. Humility says “I can’t do anything without Him.” And it also says, “I don’t have to be perfect, because I can’t be perfect. I need Him to infuse my humanity to bring glory to Himself.” Humility definitely effects others, but it depends solely on our attitude with God. Philippians 2: 5 – 7 says, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. The key here in humility is the emptying of “self”. We learn humility because Jesus lives in us. But humility doesn’t happen just because He’s in us. Humility comes from the “emptying of self”. God will use circumstances and events to help us empty ourselves. Humility is a powerful force that changes lives and situations. If you have a life-changing, humility-infusing situation I’d love to hear about it.

Stop by my Dad’s blog and say “hey” and tell him Russ sent you by.

More Sunday Setlists.

This is just me noodling around on the acoustic in a “round” of sorts. Kind of playing with my improv and counterpoint skills. Most of the lines that come in are improv’d.

The key is D. The tuning is DADGAD.

The singing is just me goofing off. I could actually hear those parts as a string quartet or something.

There’s no purpose to this tune other than to have done something creatively in the middle of a whirlwind of trying to organize and pack and move this weekend.

Kind of has a whimsical feel to it. 6/8. Another compound meter diddy. I could hear it possibly as the intro to a Christmas carol arranged in 6/8 or something. Or possibly an original Christmas tune. We’ll see.

Hope you like.