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If there’s a single word that aptly captures what Tim Hughes has been about—where his heart’s been over the last three years leading up to his latest album, Holding Nothing Back—there’s no better touchstone than passion. The emotion runs deep through the 11 new worship songs Hughes has composed this time out; it infiltrates the instruments, washes over his voice, fills the very room. And on the surface of things, those are more than enough reasons why Holding Nothing Back is a singular, standout release of 2007.
But as is typical for the Brit who wrote what’s arguably the biggest modern worship anthem ever (“Here I Am to Worship,” #1 CCLI more than two years running) and garnered two Dove Awards along the way—all before the age of 29—there’s a lot more of deeper significance bubbling beneath the surface.
For starters, intently listening to God and letting him lead the creation of song themes and lyrics and chords has been a process of discovery for Hughes—one that not only required daily prayer and surrender, but also plenty of observation, insight, and vision for where the church needs to take worship.
“These are the days to be daring, exuberant, and passionate in worship,” Hughes asserts. “These are not times for half-hearted, apathetic worship. The need is great, and the church has to rise up and take on board all who God is. I sometimes get so frustrated of being in churches where we just go through the motions. God is worthy of everything we can ever give him.
“It should be common in our churches to see people weeping in worship, overwhelmed at the sheer mercy of God. It should be common to hear people singing at the tops of their voices, passionately expressing the love that God has lavished upon us. It should be common to see people dancing like lunatics, freely and with abandon, responding to God’s salvation. It should be common to see people rapt in silence, lost in wonder, completely transfixed at the transcendence of our God. We have an amazing God, and our worship should be real, honest, authentic, engaged, expressive, and wholehearted; we should be holding nothing back.”
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