What Grace... I mean, just think about it for a brief moment. I know you’ve just begun to read this article, but just take some time out to ponder upon the significance of those two words and I’ll guarantee that after that brief moment, you’ll want to do something about it. Something that is likely to express a feeling of gratitude, a feeling of joy, a feeling of real peace for something that you and I simply don’t deserve and yet sums up uniquely - the greatness of our God. And guess what? We all have that grace in abundance. It’s unlimited and it’s free. Wonderful.

There’s only one person I believe who has the gift to turn such a profound statement into a collection of songs. The type of songs that you and I ought to be singing in Church as a declaration of worship and feature as they do, on an album that is blessed with the talents of Matt Redman and Martin Smith on two of its twelve tracks. The album is called ‘What Grace’ and the man responsible for its creation is non other than Graham Kendrick. . .who else?

After a break that has spanned six years whilst pursuing other musical genres and ideas linked to his ministry, Graham is back with something of a bang. Worship is what he knows, worship is what he does best. The other releases from his extensive catalogue although interesting and somewhat diverse - have now slipped into partial obscurity. For a while though, it looked as if Graham himself was about to go the same way. Typically, the cynics out there would tell you that our Graham has been left behind in thecontrails of a revolution that has swept the Church off its feet with a completely new brand of worship music. Alas, nothing could be further from the truth.

Indeed, ‘What Grace’ carries with it the abundance of man steeped in the history of our Church and our culture here in the UK. To say that he knows his stuff is a bit like stating the obvious. Even to imply that he has been written off and replaced by the likes of Darlene Zschech and her gang of well groomed Australians would be sheer folly. You see, Graham Kendrick is something of a living legend, on par perhaps with the likes of André Crouch, Michael W Smith, Ron Kenoly and a host of other famed individuals who single-handedly have revolutionized what was the norm before they came along and did their thing.

In Kendrick’s case, we’re talking about March For Jesus, something that will go down in Church history as perhaps the greatest act of living worship by the world’s population of Christian people. A landmark certainly for many to remember. Then there’s the small subject of transforming traditional praise and worship in the UK.

At a time when the Church needed something to take it out of the doldrums and those crusty old hymn books that eschewed the values of Wesley and Victorian Britain, Kendrick, along with the masses at Spring Harvest helped usher in a new era of praise and worship that helped transform Church life in the ‘80s. And if that wasn’t enough, Graham Kendrick has even attained an entry in Who’s Who so there!

But now he's back with 'What Grace’ and it’s patently obvious when listening to Graham that he has spent a great deal of time observing all that has gone before and all that has happened since whilst staying away from a subject he is perfectly qualified to talk about. In some ways one could consider it a new chapter in a life that has already seen and achieved so much "I’ve been impatient to do a new album probably for a couple of years," recalls Graham. "Once or twice I’ve listed all the songs that I had at that particular time but thought ‘no I’m not quite there yet, I’d rather wait until I’m confident in the songs I’ve got’ as that’s the important thing, that the songs are good enough to serve the Church. Most of the songs have been written in the last few months and there’s a sprinkling of those that have I’ve written over the last few years but haven’t been recorded for this kind of an album.

"In a sense the timing of it, as it’s worked out, does feel like a new chapter. It’s not as if there’s some amazing new circumstance in my life or ministry, but it definitely does feel like a something new and fresh is happening. These seasorns always happen with God, they never happen on timing I would like to choose. But as long as they happen in God’s timing - that’s the important thing."

Is there something new happening in Church today perhaps? "There’s never anything new as God has got the same agenda. He’s building his temple out of living stones that he wants to fill, out of which, we call the nations to come and join us to worship him. It’s to do with the getting the gospel out to the ends of the earth and then the end will come.

‘God’s agenda has always been that wherever we find ourselves in the body of Christ - we have our part to play and that’s what I’ve tried to do in helping the Church to worship."

I don’t know about you, but I get the distinct impression that we are all being subjected by a message urging us to consider the things that God has done for us through worship - more than we are currently doing at the moment. Even to send up the type of praises that change those circumstances that have become difficult to live with. Having Graham re-appear on the worship scene as it were, is all part of that message. I know it might sound a little corny, but I’m taking a holistic view of things here, and I can tell you that ‘What Grace’ is appearing at a crucial time. It is like sending in the master to do battle with the unscrupulous enemy.

"Much of worship is about singing God's truth back to him and to one another," continues Graham. "There is a concern amongst Church and worship leaders that there aren’t enough songs coming through that are based on scripture. The majority are personal expressions of worship, they’re all genuine and often very good. But if that becomes our diet, then we are missing out on an area of learning the word through songs. There needs to be a balance of the spirit and the word which is absolutely essential."

Are there any dangers we should be concerned about? "The danger is, is that the content of our songs can become too individualistic and subjective; all based around our experience. Some of the content is so personal to the writer, that it is difficult sometimes to get the whole congregation to sing it for it to be real. But when you sing the objective truth of God, it’s always true. It’s also true however you feel, because we don’t always feel like worshipping God, but God is always worthy of worship. We have to make sure that we really are singing about God and not turning it into something which is focused on the experience we are having at the moment or would like to be having - not that there is anything wrong with that, but it is a matter of balance. A good worship song combines objective truth, scriptural truth and a personal response to that truth."

From the moment the first few bars of the opening track ‘To You 0 Lord’ (featuring the contrasting talents of Matt Redman) hit your senses you become increasingly aware that every sound and every song generated thereafter is geared to bringing you just that step nearer to God’s presence. The imparted lessons about "balance" and "singing the objective truth of God" become very apparent. The fact that Graham has utilised the skills of Andy Piercy as the album’s producer demonstrates a serious intent to get the message across with a more guitar orientated/band sound as opposed to the previous gospel influences coming form Graham’s association with Steve Thompson.

And then there’s Martin Smith. Even without the track listing I could tell this was the song he was involved with on ‘Lord You’ve Been Good To Me’ as soon as it started. (I’ll leave you to make your own conclusions). But for me, this was my favourite track.

If I have one overriding critique. Then it would be directed at the vocal department, which I found to be a bit weak and lacking some emotional conviction and drive. A bit harsh may be considering all the amount of work that’s been ploughed into all the arrangements. And yes, I could name a few vocalists that could have done a better job. But then again, none of them could have written a better collection of songs that define the meaning of worship in such profound terms. Great songs don’t need great artists to sing them and ‘What Grace’ holds that argument up guite easily. I’d also go one step further by saying that the album itself will become something of a catalyst for other worship albums following in its wake.

There can he no denying that Graham Kendrick is a man of our time. He is a man passionate about seeing the matter of worship being recognised by all and sundry as a powerful means of communication towards a God who just loves it when we acknowledge him. ‘What Grace’ is a lesson delivered by a master and supported by his able apprentices. If it sells by the bucket load than I’m sure the bean counters will be happy because it deserves to. But like most things born out of a passion - even by a vision there are other reasons why it should be consumed. "If people end up with a bigger vision of Jesus or the songs take people into meditating on His affections and His glory, If a tune can get stuck in people’s heads that keeps that on their mind through the week, through the struggles of daily life I’ll be happy.

"If people find themselves worshipping and enjoying the presence of God in Church through using one of the songs, then that is all that really matters. Songs are just vessels, If a vessel can be filled up with the presence of God and poured out into people’s lives, that’s what makes the whole process of recording an album worthwhile." Let me ask you a question that is impossible to get wrong. ‘What Grace’ Master or Servant? I guess the only way you’ll ever find out is to see for yourself. Either way.. .you can’t lose.