Still at it, after all these years!

“Worship is God’s enjoyment of us and our enjoyment of him.”

So observes Graham Kendrick, one of the most influential Christian musicians of our age. Best known for Shine, Jesus, Shine and The Servant King, Kendrick has given the church not just a handful of hits but more than 450 songs—a lifetime’s work that has resourced congregations across the world.

I can testify to his impact personally. I remember going to one of his early concerts at Liverpool University in 1972. Now, more than half a century later, Jacqui and I will be hearing him again this evening at Bromham Baptist Church, a village just north of Bedford. His ministry has been, in Eugene Peterson’s phrase, “a long obedience in the same direction.”

What has always set Kendrick apart is his deep conviction that worship is not mere emotional experience but a deliberate, conscious act of devotion.

He writes: “Worship has been misunderstood as something that arises from a feeling which ‘comes upon you,’ but it is vital that we understand that it is rooted in a conscious act of the will, to serve and obey the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Music may stir our emotions—and often does—but emotions rise and fall. What sustains us “in the cold light of morning” is a faith rooted in truth, in the steady offering of ourselves to Christ. In fact, our most authentic praise is when we don’t feel like praising God but even so we offer him our worship.

For me, Kendrick’s most profound contribution is All I Once Held Dear (Knowing You, Jesus), which essentially sets Philippians 3:7–11 to music.

The apostle Paul writes from his prison cell:

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”

Kendrick puts this into song:

All I once held dear, built my life upon,

All this world reveres and wars to own,

All I once thought gain I have counted loss,

Spent and worthless now compared to this.

Here is theology expressed in melody. It is not simply a chorus of feeling, but Scripture internalised—something we can sing in worship or recall in the night hours. In fact, thanks to Amazon Prime we usually listen to Kendrick’s music in the car, especially the lesser known of his 30 albums. 

For the record my favourite album is Worship Duets (2013) in which Kendrick purposely shares his ministry with other worship leaders; no single claim to fame here.  Clearly Kendrick rejects any superstar status which Spring Harvest would bestow upon him!

For me, the acid test of any ministry—musical, written, or spoken—is whether it is centred on the cross of Jesus. Otherwise, it may be entertaining, but it is deficient. Kendrick passes that test again and again.

Come see His hands and His feet,

The scars that speak of sacrifice,

Hands that flung stars into space,

To cruel nails surrendered.

This lyrical spirituality highlights Christ’s sacrificial love and leads us into the mystery of the cross. As the Book of Common Prayer reminds us, it is “that we may receive forgiveness of our sins and all other benefits of his passion.”

Yet worship for Kendrick is never a private religion. Just as Christ was crucified in full public view, so should our worship.

I remember 1988, when along with other churches in Rochdale we organised a Kendrick-inspired “Make Way” march through the town centre—banners lifted high, hymns echoing in the streets.  It involved a lot of preparation and many rehearsals – but it was worth it.

Make way, make way for Christ the King

In splendour arrives;

Fling wide the gates and welcome him

Into your lives.

It was a bold, joyful act of witness, proclaiming that the risen Christ is Lord not only of the church, but of the whole world.

For over fifty years, Graham Kendrick, now 75 years, has been teaching the church how to worship—not only with raised hands, but with renewed minds; not only with stirred hearts, but with surrendered lives.

And that is why, all these years on, we still sing his songs, and that’s why this blog is coming to you from the town which gave us “The pilgrim’s progress.”

So may Kendrick’s example remind us that authentic worship always leads us deeper into Christ, shaping our lives in service, in witness, and in joy. For in the end, the true measure of worship is not the songs we sing on Sunday but the obedience we live out on Monday.

This is our God, the Servant King,

He calls us now to follow Him,

To bring our lives as a daily offering

Of worship to the Servant King.”