Tim Hughes
Genre: Pop/Rock/Worship
Official Web Site
Tim Hughes Bibliography: (click on each album cover to view tracks and Tim Hughes lyrics)
Tim Hughes Biography Worship. It happens when God inhabits the praises of His people. Just as the ancient Levites, priests, and musicians led the Israelites with songs of praise and worship, a new generation is discovering the power of a broken and contrite heart, lifted up to God in expressions of love and adoration.
For UK-based worship leader Tim Hughes, leading audiences into praise and worship is not a recent phenomenon. The son of an Anglican minister, Tim learned early the value of immersing himself in the Word of God. By the time he was 18, songs began to pour out of him. His worship anthems such as the Dove Award winning, "Here I Am To Worship," as well as "Maker Of All Things" and "May The Words Of My Mouth" are sung each week by literally tens-of-thousands of interdenominational congregations across the globe.
Still in his twenties, Tim Hughes not only writes congregational songs and leads worship for his local congregation, but he encourages fellow worshippers from Malaysia to Australia, from South Africa to the US, as a full time staff member with Soul Survivor-a rapidly growing, international, faith based, non-profit youth ministry.
With the global impact of Tim's last Worship Together project, Here I Am To Worship, one might expect a continuation of the same old thing. After all, nothing succeeds like success. But while When Silence Falls comes from the same heart and desire to create songs of worship to God, songs about God, and songs for God, Tim insists this album approaches worship from a different perspective.
From both personal experience and Biblical examples, Tim discovered that some of the most profound moments of worship emerged not from mountaintop experiences, but from difficult, perhaps even catastrophic circumstances-Jonah praying in the belly of the whale; David encouraging himself in the Lord; Job crying out, 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.' The recurring theme of worship in lament continued to impact his life and experience.
Tim explains, "I've been thinking a lot about how many of the songs we sing in church are about how good God is; how faithful God is; how wonderful it is to know God. But when you read through the Psalms, there are hundreds of references to life being hard and full of pain. There are questions like, 'God, where are you?' I tried to express some songs that look at that aspect of worship, that say, 'You are good,' but from a place that is hard, where there is pain."
Worshipping God during the hard times is an ancient and revered tenant of faith, Tim observes. And while nobody likes the desert, it is often there that that God allows Himself to be found. In fact, Tim found virtually everyone in his spiritual chain of command, from the leadership at his local congregation to his compatriots in Soul Survivor, was being impacted by the concept of worship through lament.
"We have really been looking through this theme of finding God in the desert places, finding God in the midst of pain, and learning to worship from those broken places," Tim says. "How can we express God's goodness when life is hard? How can we maintain that joy and amazement and wonder? As Christians we have to, because there are always so many things to be thankful for. For young people, that is especially important, because I think we can alienate and push young people away from God and the Church if we don't acknowledge that things can be difficult. I think the kind of happy-clappy, 'Come to Jesus and you'll never have another problem' message just isn't true. It isn't in the Bible I read, and it messes kids up."
When Silence Falls boldly addresses that concept. The album's title was taken from a lyric from the song, When The Tears Fall-"When hope is lost I'll call you Savior/ When pain surrounds I'll call you Healer/ When silence falls you'll be the song within my heart."
There are a number of songs on this album with similar themes. Beauty of Your Peace speaks of finding the power of God's peace. Whole World in His Hands is about knowing that God is ultimately in control, even when life feels like it is changing too fast and nothing's guaranteed. Consuming Fire searches to know more of an infinite God while wrestling with our finite human nature.
Though When Silence Falls explores worship through lament, it is by no means a melancholy album. Instead, Tim teamed up with US-based producer, Nathan Nockels (Watermark; Passion) to create a thoroughly modern collection of worship anthems and praise arias. Rock rhythms, subtle string arrangements, and stirring keyboards punctuate Tim's plaintive, heartfelt vocals resulting in a classic collection of worship songs that will immediately impact moments of corporate and individual devotion. Songs like Beautiful One employ awe-inspiring imagery to encourage a spirit of adoration, while Giver of Life extols the goodness of God in every situation.
With a musical maturity beyond his years, and a spiritual sensitivity that easily draws people into worship, Tim Hughes writes songs that are intimate, passionate and above all, real. When Silence Falls will find a ready audience among seekers, believers, and worshippers in the church and around the world.
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