Anyone who knows me well knows one of my favorite things to do is talk to songwriters about the process of writing. Recently I was teaching at a conference and trying to encourage those who were there to break some patterns and stop writing the same songs that are already out there. I tried several different ways of making my point but still didn’t feel like they were all on board. It had to have been a God thing because I certainly hadn’t planned it but I remembered a prayer that was credited to Sir Francis Drake in the 1600’s. I had my laptop open in front of me and googled it and read it to the class.

 

It has lines like, Disturb us, Lord, when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little. When we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore. There was no doubt in the room that something pretty special was happening. Now I’m not real smart but I know a moment when I’m in the middle of one.

 

I left the class that day and called Tony Wood and told him to go look it up and see if he felt the same thing I did. If so, would he be interested in chasing that idea with me. He did and he was. In fact, he got so into the idea I was afraid he would finish it before I got in the room with him to work on it. Once the lyric was close, we called Lee Black who absolutely nailed the music. When it was done, the three of us just kind of sat there and looked at each other sensing we had been a part of something out of our ordinary. 

 

In all these years I don’t know that I have ever been a part of a song that felt so significant for the hour. I’m normally not very good at pitching songs but called Larnelle Harris and asked if I could send it to him. After listening, he responded by asking how quick we could get in the studio. From my perspective, this is the message I want the church to hear and I can’t think of a better person to deliver it. He's a world-class singer with unquestioned integrity. 

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https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/disturb-us-lord/1278134329?i=1278134332