John Newton was the author of "Amazing Grace," "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken," and "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds." William Cowper was the author of "There Is a Fountain" and "God Moves in a Mysterious Way." They lived in the same small town in England in...
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Daniel J. Mount
I Am a Sheep
I am a sheep. In John 10, Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” And He said: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Our culture celebrates the powerful: Lions. Sharks. Alpha dogs. It doesn’t...
Bent and Dent Groceries in North Central Ohio
Bent and Dents are discount grocery stores. The name derives from items that have dented packaging. Other items are soon to expire or have recently expired. But some items are in excellent condition and nowhere near expiration. Sometimes a brand launches a new product...
CD Review: Pure Love (Legacy Five)
Pure Love is one of Legacy Five’s all-time most anticipated releases. The group recently saw a substantial vocal transition, with acclaimed songwriter Lee Black replacing outgoing tenor Josh Feemster and baritone Bryan Walker replacing founding member and twenty-year...
The Songs of Phill McHugh
Legendary songwriter Dave Clark’s Instagram account, @daveclarkwrites, is a must-follow for Christian songwriters. Several weeks ago, he posted about the impact that Phill McHugh’s lyrics had on his life and his songwriting career: Phil’s writing became a new standard...
A More Certain Glory
There is a certain glory to freedom of speech. In a sinful world, it is better that truth and falsehood both spread than that truth be restricted. But there is a more certain glory coming. In the Kingdom of Heaven, freedom of speech will end. There will be no more...
CD Review: To The Kindness of God (Michael Card)
Michael Card has indicated that he expects To the Kindness of God to be his final record. As he said in one interview, I think that's going to be my last album - I think we're done. The world is done with 10-song records - those days are over. Michael Card retiring...
Listening Deeply #1: “Grace” (CityAlight)
Our ancestors sang sagas. They memorized songs hundreds or thousands of lines long. Some of our ancestors were illiterate, but the feats of memory through which they preserved their culture put us to shame. Today? We can barely pay attention for five seconds. In fact,...
Podcast: Modern Christmas Hymns
Transcript Daniel: Welcome to Tomorrow’s Hymns, a podcast and website promoting theologically rich songs, deeply rooted in scripture. I’m Daniel Mount, a Christian author and songwriter, and this evening I am joined in the studio for the first time by my brother...
Singing News Radio Chart #1 Hit Analysis
Last updated 12/7/2018, with the December 2018 chart. Most #1 Hits: By Artist McKameys (20): Who Put The Tears In The Eyes Of The Lamb, Getting Used To The Dark, God On The Mountain, God Will Make This Trial A Blessing, Do You Know How It Feels, A Borrowed Tomb,...
Altering Hymn Lyrics and the Golden Rule
Christianity Today recently asked various people to weigh in on whether it is ever appropriate to alter hymns. Most of the article is hidden behind a paywall, but the first few responses are visible. That article brings to mind a helpful 2012 post from Bob Kauflin,...
The Future of Christian Music
Does the Christian music industry have a future? To even casual observers, it’s immediately clear that the Christian music industry has contracted since its peak in the 1980s and 1990s. Single-song $0.99 iTunes downloads replaced $14.00 CD sales. But then Spotify and...
Podcast: Top 3 Enduring Getty Hymns with Michael Mount
Transcript: Daniel Mount: Welcome to Tomorrow’s Hymns, a podcast and website promoting theologically rich songs deeply rooted in Scripture. I’m Daniel Mount, a Christian author and songwriter. Joining me today is my brother Michael Mount, a worship leader and...
Re-tuning “Let Us Love, and Sing, and Wonder” (John Newton)
Re-tuning is the term used for giving a new melody to an old lyric. John Newton first published "Let Us Love, and Sing, and Wonder" in his book Twenty Six Letters on Religious Subjects (1774), pages 218-19. In this collection, it was entitled "Praise to the Redeemer."...
Old Saints, New Songs
Last week, Bradley Somers posted a column encouraging old saints to write new songs. Somers, pastor of PAXnorth church in Halifax, Nova Scotia, observed that Moses, David, and Paul all wrote songs in their old age that we still sing today. He concludes: When captured...
On Writing Hymns: Stakes, continued: Martin Luther vs. Fake Martin Luther
'Tis the season. Away in a manger, no crib for a bed The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head The stars in the Heavens looked down where He lay The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes But little Lord Jesus, no crying He...
On Writing Hymns: Stakes
Great hymns matter. This is true in several senses of the word. But great hymn lyrics demonstrate that they matter by defining stakes. Any good book on how to write a novel, or engaging nonfiction, will tell you that conflict is key. Every scene needs to resolve a...
When should you ask your church to stop singing a song?
When should you ask your church to stop singing a song? Imagine three scenarios: The song is cheesy Okay, perhaps “Shout to the Lord” is dated now. Maybe you think it’s cheesy; maybe it is. But here’s the key question: Does everyone in your church think the song is...
Book Review: God and Donald Trump (Stephen Strang)
This book contains little about Donald Trump's personal faith and worldview. The author, Stephen Strang, believes there's not much to say on the topic: "My aim in taking on this project has not been to write Donald Trump's spiritual biography—that would have been a...
Book Review: Bible Nation (Candida Moss and Joel Baden)
Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby tells the story of the Green Family, their company (Hobby Lobby), and their Museum of the Bible. The authors set themselves an admirable goal: Though their perspectives are quite different than the Green family, they...
Becoming a Website Generalist
When I'm talking to someone who wants to get into web design, the conversation often begins with the coding languages needed. Recently, a co-worker told me that her husband wanted to get into web design. We weren't long into the conversation before I realized that he...
What should your obituary say?
Back in the olden days when Apple made products people waited in line to buy, they worked backwards. They made their design teams start a project by writing the press release. First they would find a way to explain why the new features mattered to the end user. Then...
Book Review: America’s Pastor (Grant Wacker)
Some biographies have the energy and immediacy of a radio broadcaster's play-by-play. America's Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation has the measured, thoughtful analysis of an end-of-year magazine analysis. Dialogue and narrative tension never speed the...
Expository Songs
Six years ago, I began to find and organize songs where the main idea of the song is also the main idea of a Bible passage. (I call this kind of song an "expository song.") Last year, I started posting my research on expositorysongs.com, with one post for each chapter...