I haven’t even finished listening to this new Hillsong DVD yet, and I just have to start writing about how good it is. Something seems quite different from previous offerings. It’s almost as if there’s been a kind of … maturing.

Hillsong Church has been doing amazing things in the world of Christian praise and worship music for decades. Who am I to talk about the maturing of a church who has put as much effort as they have into the ministry of music, connecting with so many people in our generation who have remained untouched by mainstream churches?

But the fact remains: I have to say that the most recent album Faith + Hope + Love from Hillsong shows signs of a bright new focus. It’s as if (as we’d expect from any professing Christians) they’ve taken on board critiques, and asked themselves, “What actually do we stand for, and what are we prepared to let go of?”

I have at times joined the chorus of complaint. Rarely have my complaints focussed on musical issues. Every Hillsong DVD has taught me something new to help me in my own music ministry, and I have often picked one or two songs from each of their albums for us to do in our church in Adelaide.

Nor have I ever been able to point the finger at anyone but myself and our own traditions when it comes to the enthusiasm of their congregations and the praise leaders on the Hillsong stage. Sure, there are significant differences in our church backgrounds, but we all know that God calls us all to love him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.

For me, the biggest area of frustration with Hillsong albums thus far has been the emphasis of many of their songs not so much on God himself, but on the worshipper.

This is a somewhat subjective judgement in an area where balance for any church is hard to maintain. It’s not just as simple as removing the word “I” from your songs. The Psalms regularly use that little word, and there’s no point us trying to outdo them in correctness.

However, from the Psalms we learn that God is the centre of everything. Every personal statement, reflection or intention in the psalms is a response to the character and works of the almighty, merciful God. This response in the Psalms is always generously supported by lashings of awe-filling descriptions of God and reminders of his promises.

The overwhelming sense I had listening through the songs on Faith + Hope + Love is that they sound so much like the Bible. The songs are full of praise of God. The word “you” is sung over and over with passion, sincerity, and truthfulness. A wide range of biblical ideas and themes is there for our encouragement, including the overall theme of faith, hope and love from 1 Cor 13.

Lyrically, my favourite song on the album is “His glory appears”, by Marty Sampson and Darlene Zschech. It shows a balance of simplicity and life-giving theology.

You gave me hope, you made me whole at the cross
You took my place, you showed me grace at the cross
Where you died for me.
And his glory appears, like the light from the sun
Age to age he shines, look to the skies, hear the angels’ cry
Singing holy is the Lord.

In general, the singing of the congregation seems to be a higher priority on this DVD than previously. A number of the arrangements are stripped back to make the unamplified voices the priority, the mix generally picks up the congregation, and often the song leaders actually step away from the microphones to hear the sound of the crowd. This is a good thing! It is after all meant to be led praise, rather than watched praise.

And this, of course, raises the question of the extremely high production and performance values, and whether these things are a distraction. However, I really think they’ve done well to engage 10,000 people. The reality is that interaction for a crowd of that size is a different ballgame from your average 200 or so in a church building. At the Sydney Entertainment Centre, I’d imagine that involving the crowd just would not be possible without some degree of animated performance from the front. In the end, the true motivations of any of us ministering in front of a crowd are known best by our heavenly Father.

Perhaps there are various critiques we could make of this album. I’m sure the production team themselves would have a list of things they’d do differently next time. However I feel that this is a time to acknowledge some really good things.

I do wonder whether at times we find ourselves looking on with jealousy at Hillsong’s successes and writing our own mental lists of the things they’re not doing right, perhaps even to help us to feel better about our own more modest successes. But a more godly approach is for us to pray for them. And I believe some of my own prayers of the last couple of years are being answered.

Will you join with me in continuing to pray for our brothers and sisters at Hillsong and in other high profile churches? May God prosper their ministry and our fellowship together in the gospel!