The Songwriter Initiative
Resourcing the Church with Songwriters
The Songwriter Initiative of the Center for Worship Leadership exists to support modern songwriters serving within the LCMS church body and seeks to be a positive resource and influence for those writing for the church-at-large. Music and melody, as a vehicle for the proclamation of the Gospel and expression of praise to God for all that he is and has done for us in Christ, has always been a valued part of our tradition. Necessarily, then, our creativity requires guidance and meaningful training so that those who are called to write in service to the Gospel will benefit. To that end, the Songwriter Initiative exists to support songwriters throughout the church, empowering each artist to create art that glorifies God, while creating a community that shares the common goal of sharing the Gospel message of Jesus.
Director of The Songwriter Initiative
Resources from The Songwriter Initiative
TSI LIVE Album Vol. 2
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King’s Arrival
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Here in the Water (EP)
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House on the Rock
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TSI LIVE Album Vol. 1
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Psalm 139 (That You Won’t Go)
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Already a Song
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Gone
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I Will Glory in the Cross
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Final Word
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Your Will Be Done
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Bethlehem
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Arise
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Psalm 46 (A River)
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Grace Upon Grace
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Christ My Victory
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United in Christ
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Rescue
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Todah Yahweh VBS Package
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Todah Yahweh
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What I Found
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God Who Bleeds
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Surrounding Me
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Inhale
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Songs for Worship, Vol. 1
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The Psalm Library
Miikka E. Anttila calls Ephesians 5:19 the “words of institution” of church music that we speak “to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart.” While churches often have many resources to facilitate the singing of hymns and other spiritual songs, Psalm arrangements are often less accessible.
The Center for Worship Leadership Psalm Library provides the church with these settings to continue in this tradition of the people of God engaging in and singing the Psalms as a part of their gatherings. Psalm singing connects us to the ancient church, but even more importantly, to Christ. After all, the Old Testament book Jesus quoted the most was the Psalms!
Psalm 139 (That You Won’t Go)
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V1
Even before the dawn of morning sun
You see me completely
And when I’m weary and the day is done
You know what I’m feeling
Chorus
Where can I go, that you would not know me?
Where can I run, that you won’t be there?
You’re higher than the heavens, and you’re deeper than the depths within my soul
Where can I go, that you won’t go?
V2
I’m such a fool for thinking I could hide
From the King of Creation
Mile after mile you’re always by my side
In my doubts and desperation
Chorus
Where can I go, that you would not know me?
Where can I run, that you won’t be there?
You’re higher than the heavens and you’re deeper than the depths within my soul
Where can I go, that you won’t go?
Tag
That you won’t know?
Bridge 1
Such knowledge so wonderfully gracious
Too lofty for me to attain it
I’m left with a heart full of praise
For the One who made me
Such knowledge so wonderfully gracious
Too lofty for me to attain it
I’m left with a heart full of praise
For the One who made me
Chorus
Where can I go, that you would not know me?
Where can I run, that you won’t be there?
You’re higher than the heavens and you’re deeper than the depths within my soul
Where can I go, that you won’t go?
Tag
That you won’t know?
Bridge 2
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I run from your presence?
If I lie down in the depths you are there
If I say, surely the darkness will hide me
And the light become night all around me
Even the darkness is light when you’re there
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I run from your presence?
If I lie down in the depths you are there
If I say, surely the darkness will hide me
And the light become night all around me
Even the darkness is light when you’re there
The Psalm Library is pleased to share a brand-new original song inspired by Psalm 139: “That You Won’t Go” — written by Hope Dunbar, Kip Fox, and Dr. Mike Middendorf — is a slow, reverent, and stirring reflection on the God who not only sees us, but seeks us.
Rooted in the honest language of wandering and weariness, this song offers a musical meditation on the God who never ceases to pursue His children — the One who formed us in secret and who, in Christ, refuses to leave us to ourselves.
Wherever we flee, wherever we fall, His mercy is already there ahead of us. His love does not wait for us to find our way back; it finds us first, reaching into every darkness with the light of redemption.
From the heights of joy to the depths of despair, the cross of Christ declares that there is no place we can go where His grace cannot reach us — and restore us.
Psalm 46 (A River)
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V1
Let the waters rage
Let the mountains tremble
Let the whole earth shake
We will never stumble
We belong to the city of God
We belong to the city of God
V2
Let the nations rage
Let the kingdoms crumble
Let the wars be waged
We will not be troubled
We belong to the city of God
We belong to the city of God
Chorus
There is a river flowing
There is a river flowing
There is a river flowing down
V3
Let the nations rage
Let the kingdoms crumble
Let the wars be waged
We will not be troubled
We belong to the city of God
We belong to the city of God
Chorus
There is a river flowing
There is a river flowing
There is a river flowing down
Bridge
Be still and know the Lord is
Eager to be found
He is our mighty fortress
Lay your weapons down
Be still and know the Lord is
Eager to be found
He is our mighty fortress
Lay your weapons down
Lay your weapons down
Chorus
There is a river flowing
(Let the waters rage)
(Let the mountains tremble)
There is a river flowing
(Let the wars be waged)
(We will not be troubled)
There is a river flowing down
(We belong to the city of God)
(We belong to the city of God)
Ending
There is a river flowing
(Let the nations rage)
(Let the kingdoms crumble)
There is a river flowing
(Let the wars be waged)
(We will not be troubled)
There is a river flowing down
(We belong to the city of God)
(We belong to the city of God)
Paul Elliott
Dr. Elliott received his Ph.D. and M. Phil. from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and is the lead professor of Hebrew for Concordia University Irvine’s Christ College. Dr. Elliott published “The Israel of God in the Sermon: Connecting Old Testament Texts to New Testament People” in Feasting in a Famine of the Word in 2016 and is preparing a commentary on the prophet Habakkuk.
Kip Fox
Kip has been leading worship for 12 years and writing songs for 20. As a nationally recognized songwriter and worship leader he has had several artists record his songs. He currently serves as a worship leader at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Mesa, AZ, and is a student in the MA program at Concordia University Irvine.
Psalm 56 (Your Promise)
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V1
All day long, I’m surrounded
All day long, I am overwhelmed
With the sound of the walls closing in
All day long, You have listened
All day long, You have turned Your ear
To the sound of my hands trembling
So while You’re listening
Chorus
I will praise You
For Your promise
To deliver me from my enemies
I will trust You
In defiance
Of what fear may say, I will not be afraid
For, my God, You’re on my side
And what other hope have I,
Than what You have promised?
V2
All day long, You defend me
All day long, You have caught my tears
So I’ll sing til’ my heart can believe
That my God is for me
Chorus 2
I will praise You
For Your promise
To deliver me from my enemies
I will trust You
In defiance
Of what fear may say, I will not be afraid
For, my God, You’re on my side
Bridge
I will praise you
Before I see the end
Of this story
You have saved me from death
Lord, my feet are secure
As I walk in the light of Your presence
Chorus 1
I will praise You
For Your promise
To deliver me from my enemies
I will trust You
In defiance
Of what fear may say, I will not be afraid
For, my God, You’re on my side
And what other hope have I,
Than what You have promised?
Than what You promised
Contributors: Paul Elliott; Kip Fox.
Psalm 65 (Hope Has an Answer) Radio Edit
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V1
God in Zion, You have heard our prayer
Blessed are your people far and near
All you wounded, weary and alone
Look now our salvation is made known
Chorus
All of the questions that come in the night
All of the hours we pray for the light
Every longing that wakes with the morn
Hope has an answer, the Savior is born
V2
Through him every mountain finds its peak
Raging seas fall silent when he speaks
All things hold together by his hand
Rivers flow and blessings fill these lands
Bridge
And on the farthest seas
Tales of your awesome deeds
Will bring the greatest powers to their knees
Contributors: Mike Middendorf; Kip Fox.
Psalm 72 (Long Live the King)
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V1
There is a king who rides on the heavens
His coming lifts the eyes of the poor
For all the powers of their oppressor
Can hurt them no more
He is a king like no one before him
His justice falls like rain on the hills
And all who live their lives with that hunger
Will have their fill
C
Long live the King
Forever he shall reign
Let the heavens ring with his praise
Long live the King
The sun and moon will fade
His kingdom never passing away
Long live the King
V2
There is a righteous fire in his footsteps
An everlasting peace in his wake
He is the king from ocean to ocean
And age to age
Age to age
B
Humbled low in a manger
Lifted high on a tree
Rose, victorious savior
Jesus Christ, our King
Contributors: Paul Elliott; Kip Fox.
Psalm 130 (Out of the Depths)
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V1
Out of the depths I cry
You hear my voice and you do not turn your eye
Away from me
Out of the depths I cry
In your great mercy, you will come from on high
To rescue me
C
If you Lord, kept a list of all our sin
Then who Lord, who of us could stand
With you Lord, the turning of our hearts begins
With your forgiving hand
Br
My body, my spirit, my heart and my soul
Are watching, are waiting, are holding to hope
Like watchmen are waiting for morning to come
I wait for the dawn of your unfailing love
Br 2
O church, arise, lift your head, look up
For with the Lord is unfailing love
Redemption comes with the morning sun
So put your hope in the Risen One
Contributors: CJ Armstrong; Kip Fox.
Psalm 42 (The Longest Night)
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V1
Just as a deer longs for streams
There is an ache in my soul
To see the living God
When will I find my way home?
As mornings turn into nights
I’ve tasted only my tears
My foes are mocking me,
“Why has He left you here?”
C
Why are you downcast, oh my soul?
Why such a troubled mind?
I will praise and put my hope
In my Savior and my God
V2
All of these memories are strong
As I cry out in despair
I hear the sounds of the crowd
I see your people in prayer
I used to lead them in song
Echo their shouts with my own
I walked with multitudes
Now I walk alone
B
And the deep calls to deep
All your waves and your breakers fall over me
Your love carries me
Through the longest night I sing
Contributors: Kip Fox; Tim Saleska; Adam Countryman.
Psalm 16 (Resurrection Day)
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V1
Apart from you there is no goodness
You are my portion, Lord
A solid rock, a mighty fortress
You make my lot secure
I know that my inheritance
Reaches beyond the bounds of death
My boundary lines drawn with a cross,
Marked with my Savior’s living breath
V2
Deep in the night when I awaken
Your word is magnified
It tells me I will not be shaken
You’re always by my side
PRE / Chorus
My heart is glad
My spirit rejoices
Your path leads to life
My future is known
You will not leave me down in the grave
I’m yours forever
This is my resurrection day
Contributors: Kip Fox; Reed Lessing.
Psalm 1 (That Man)
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V1
Blessed is that man who did not walk in the wisdom of this world
Blessed is that man who never faltered
Blessed is that man who set his heart on the teachings of the Lord
Blessed is that man who knew His Father
Chorus
He’s like a tree
Down by the living water
Strong and tall he stands
He’s evergreen
Blooming on every branch
Blessed is that man
V2
Blessed are the ones who plant their feet on the path of righteousness
Blessed are the ones who’ve been forgiven
Blessed are the ones find that shade and lie down and get some rest
Blessed are the ones who trust in Jesus
Bridge
He is the vine, we are the branches
We will abide, and we will grow
Contributors: Chad Bird; Kip Fox; Ben Lange.