Music



In an unprecedented six-year span with nearly 4.5 million career album sales, a GRAMMY Award, an American Music Award, 23 Dove Awards and 8 chart-topping radio singles, Casting Crowns remains focused on discipleship through music. With lead singer and songwriter Mark Hall’s 18 years in youth ministry, the band’s message remains rooted in the student services he has led on a weekly basis since 2001, at Eagles Landing Baptist church near Atlanta. The songs start as messages for his 400 teenagers and their families. With boldly honest, hard-hitting lyrics, the band continues to challenge, strengthen and pour into the body of Christ, giving listeners a fresh, relevant perspective on loving God and loving people. full biography

Until the Whole World Hears

Release Date:
November 17, 2009
Until the Whole World Hears
Until the Whole World Hears
  • The title track comes from my mentor in student ministry, Roger Glidewell. He always closed his e-mails with the phrase "until the whole world hears." Our goal is to live our lives telling others about Jesus - until the whole world hears. John the Baptist was the voice crying out in the wilderness, eating grasshoppers, and speaking into the world about their sin. Speaking out in the wilderness is never popular, but in the body of Christ. we've got to do it in love. ["Until the Whole World Hears" also includes the voices of the congregation from Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church, where Hall has served as Student Pastor for eight years.]

    MARK HALL, BERNIE HERMS, JASON MCARTHUR, ROGER GLIDEWELL
    Matthew 5:16 / Matthew 28:19-20 / Mark 16:15 / John 9:5 / Hebrews 13:20-22 / James 2:19 / John 1:1-42 / Matthew 24:14

    Lord, I want to feel with Your heart
    See the world through Your eyes
    I want to be Your hands and feet
    I want to live a life that leads

    Ready yourselves, ready yourselves
    Let us shine the light of Jesus in the darkest night
    Ready yourselves, ready yourselves
    May the powers of darkness tremble as our praises rise

    Until the whole world hears, Lord, we are calling out
    Lifting up Your name for all to hear the sound
    Like voices in the wilderness we're crying out
    And as the day draws near, we’ll sing until the whole world hears

    Lord, let Your sleeping giant rise
    Catch the demons by surprise
    Holy nations sanctify
    Let this be our battle cry

    Ready yourselves, ready yourselves
    Let us shine the light of Jesus in the darkest night
    Ready yourselves, ready yourselves
    May the powers of darkness tremble as our praises rise

    Woah, woah, sing until the whole world hears
    Woah, woah, sing until the whole world hears

    I want to be Your hands and feet
    I want to live a life that leads
    To see You set the captive free
    Until the whole world hears
    And I pray the day will see
    More of You and less of me
    Lord, I want my life to be
    The song You sing

    Woah, woah, we’ll sing until the whole world hears
    Woah, woah, we’ll sing until the whole world hears

    © 2009 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI) / Word Music, LLC/Banahama Tunes (ASCAP) All rights on behalf of itself and Banahama Tunes adm. by Word Music, LLC. / MGE Songs (ASCAP) All rights on behalf of MGE Songs administered by Universal Music - Z Tunes
If We've Ever Needed You
  • This is a song about repentance: personal repentance and corporate repentance as the church. I'd been trying to write all day, but I felt like I was tying words in knots. I went to bed, couldn't sleep, was up and down until about 2:30 in the morning. My wife, Melanie, sat up in the bed and said, "You just need to say, Speak, Lord, for your servant hears!" And then she rolled over and went back to sleep!  I knew she was right, so I went downstairs to the piano. That's when I realized I'd been humming a tune in my head for hours, so I pounded out the chords, and the first verse just poured out. That's when you know it's bigger than you, when you know you didn't come up with the lyric. I'm not that creative! When God whispers in my ear - that's a God-line.

    MARK HALL, BERNIE HERMS
    Matthew 9:36-38 / Deuteronomy 6:5 / Judges 21:25 / Isaiah 29:13 / Matthew 15:8 / Matthew 22:35-37 / Joel 2:12-19

    Hear our cry, Lord, we pray
    Our faces down, our hands are raised
    You called us out, we turned away
    We’ve turned away

    With shipwrecked faith, the idols rise
    We do what is right in our own eyes
    Our children now will pay the price
    We need Your light, Lord, shine Your light

    If we’ve ever needed You
    Lord, it’s now, Lord, it’s now
    We are desperate for Your hand
    We’re reaching out, we’re reaching out

    All our hearts, all our strength
    With all our minds, we’re at Your feet
    May Your kingdom come in our hearts and lives
    Let Your church arise, let Your church arise

    We’re reaching out
    We’re reaching out

    We need You now
    Revive us now
    We need You now

    © 2009 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI) / Word Music, LLC/Banahama Tunes (ASCAP) All rights on behalf of itself and Banahama Tunes adm. by Word Music, LLC.
Always Enough
  • Several months ago, we lost a soldier in Afghanistan who was part of our home church. His son is in our middle school ministry, and it really rocked us. You know it's going on, but then it happens right there and it kind of opens your eyes to the reality. Casting Crowns was on the road and couldn't be there for the funeral. This song really came together that day. When life is hard and tragedy comes, you discover how real Jesus is to you. Your friends and your church try to help, but, at that moment, Jesus can't be Plan B. He's got to be it; He's got to be enough. When things that are constants in our lives are stripped away, that's when we have to know He's "Always Enough."

    MARK HALL, ED CASH, MATT ARMSTRONG
    Psalm 63:1,10 / Psalm 121:1-2 / Psalm 124:8 / Jeremiah 32:7 / Ephesians 1:19-21 / Matthew 8:23-27 / Psalm 10:14 / Psalm 68:5 / Psalm 82:3 / Psalm 146:9 / Isaiah 40:29 / Habakkuk 3:18 / Luke 1:47 / Galatians 2:20 / 1 Chronicles 16:25 / Psalm 145:3 / Revelations 4:11 / Isaiah 26:3 / Psalm 10:14

    In a dry and weary land
    Lord, You are the rain
    In a sea of shattered ones
    Your love comes rushing in
    You hold the world within Your hands
    And see each tear that falls
    Through every fire and every storm
    You’re always enough, always enough

    Your love is peace to the broken
    Faith for the widow, hope for the orphan
    Strength for the weak
    Your love is the anthem of nations
    Rings out through the ages
    And You’re always enough for me

    You keep my heart in perfect peace
    My life is in Your hands
    When confusion hides my way
    You’re always enough, always enough

    I rejoice for my Savior reigns
    I rejoice for He lives in me
    God on high, He has set me free
    Worthy is the Lord

    I rejoice for my Savior reigns
    I rejoice for He lives in me
    God on high, He has set me free
    Worthy is the Lord

    In a dry and weary land
    Lord, You are the rain

    © 2009 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI) / Alletrop Music (BMI) / Alletrop Songs (SESAC) (both adm. by Music Services)
Joyful, Joyful
  • The last verse of the hymn ‘Joyful, Joyful’ gets left off a lot, but it deals with the relational part of our faith. Paul said in Philippians 2, ‘If you have any encouragement of love, any joy, any peace, make my joy complete by being like-minded in considering others better than yourselves.’ There’s a part of joy that I believe doesn’t happen until we’re at peace with God and at peace with the people around us. So musically and lyrically we start honing in on that one line at the end of the song – that joy comes when we are at peace with God first and at peace with the people around us second.

    MARK HALL, BERNIE HERMS
    Psalm 29 / Acts 7:2 / 1 Chronicles 16:34 / Nehemiah 1:5 / Psalm 25:7 / Psalm 36:5 / Psalm 86:5 / Psalm 4:7 / Psalm 33:1 / Psalm 68:3 / Psalm 100:2 / Psalm 145:7 / Habakkuk 3:18 / Luke19:37 / Romans 12:12 / Colossians 1:10-12 / 1 Thessalonians 5:16 / Philippians 2:1-11 / John 15:11 / Philippians 4:4-7

    Joyful, joyful, we adore You
    God of glory, Lord of love
    Hearts unfold like flowers before You
    Opening to the sun above
    Joyful, joyful, we adore You
    God of glory, Lord of love
    Hearts unfold like flowers before You
    Opening to the sun above
    Melt the clouds of sin and sadness
    Drive the dark of doubt away

    Joyful, joyful, we adore You
    Hearts unfold like flowers before You
    Joyful, joyful, we adore You
    Joyful, we adore You

    All Your works with joy surround You
    Earth and Heaven reflect Your ways
    Stars and angels sing around You
    Center of unbroken praise
    Melt the clouds of sin and sadness
    Drive the dark of doubt away
    God, our Father
    Christ, our Brother
    All who live in love are thine
    Teach us how to love each other
    Lift us to the joy divine

    Oh, God, our Father
    Christ, our Brother
    All who live in love are thine
    Teach us how to love each other

    © 2009 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI) / Word Music, LLC/Banahama Tunes (ASCAP) All rights on behalf of itself and Banahama Tunes adm. by Word Music, LLC.
At Your Feet
  • We share the gospel at all of our concerts. When we give people the opportunity to respond to God, there’s a thing we say in every prayer: ‘I lay my past at Your feet, and I’m walking away from it. I lay this day at Your feet, living it in Your strength and Your wisdom. I lay my future at Your feet, and I’m going to follow You through it.’ This prayer of salvation has become the song “At Your Feet.” And Juan and Hector add vocals to this song too.

    MARK HALL, JASON INGRAM
    2 Corinthians 9:8 / Exodus 15:2 / Psalm 81:6 / Psalm 116:16 / Psalm 142:7 / Philippians 4:19 / Psalm 55:22 / Psalm 51:9-12 / Jeremiah 19:11 / 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 / Galatians 2:20 / 1 John 1:9

    Here at Your feet, I lay my past down
    My wanderings, all my mistakes down
    And I am free

    Here at Your feet, I lay this day down
    Not in my strength, but in Yours I’ve found
    All I need, You’re all I need

    Jesus, Jesus, at Your feet
    Oh, to dwell and never leave
    Jesus, Jesus, at Your feet
    There is nowhere else for me
    There is nowhere else for me

    Here at Your feet, I lay my future down
    All of my dreams, I give to You now
    And I find peace, I find peace

    Here at Your feet, I lay my life down
    For You my King, You’re all I want now
    And my soul sings...

    ‘Cause I am free (here at Your feet)
    All I need (is at Your feet)
    I find peace
    We’re at Your feet
    We’re at Your feet

    And I am free (here at Your feet)
    All I need (is at Your feet)
    I find peace
    We’re at Your feet
    We’re at Your feet
    We’re at Your feet
    We’re at Your feet

    Here at Your feet
    I lay my life down

    © 2009 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI) / So Essential Tunes / West Main Music / Windsor Hill Music (SESAC). All rights on behalf of So Essential Tunes, West Main Music and Windsor Hill Music adm. by Sony/ATV Sounds LLC.
Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)
  • The hymn "One Day" was a big hymn for me growing up. All I knew was hymns until probably 21 or 22 years old; that’s what we had in our church. The chorus: "Living He loved me, dying He saved me, buried He carried my sins far away," that has just been a part of me from the start. As a youth pastor, you want your students to hear the theology of the hymns and sometimes you have to play it a little different way.

    MARK HALL, MICHAEL BLEECKER
    John 1:1 / John 1:14 / John 2:11 / Isaiah 40:5 / Isaiah 7:14 / Luke 1:26-38 / Ephesians 5:2 / John 3:16 / 1 John 3:16 / 1 John 4:9 / Romans 5:9 / 1 Corinthians 6:10-11 / Psalm 103:12 / Matthew 26:28 / Ephesians 1:7 / Colossians 1:13-14,19-20 / Psalm 49:15 / Galatians 4:4 / Philippians 2:8 / Acts 2:23 / Romans 6:4 / 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 / Colossians 2:12-15 / Isaiah 53:6 / 1 Peter 2:24 / Matthew 28:1-10 / Revelations 1:18 / Revelations 22:12 / Revelations 22:20

    One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
    One day when sin was as black as could be
    Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
    Dwelt among men, my example is He
    Word became flesh and the light shined among us
    His glory revealed

    Living, He loved me
    Dying, He saved me
    Buried, He carried my sins far away
    Rising, He justified freely forever
    One day He’s coming
    Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

    One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
    One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
    Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
    Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
    Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
    And took the nails for me

    One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
    One day the stone rolled away from the door
    Then He arose, over death He had conquered
    Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore
    Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
    From rising again

    One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
    One day the skies with His glories will shine
    Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing
    My Savior, Jesus, is mine

    Oh, glorious day

    © 2009 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI) / Word Music, LLC (ASCAP)
Holy One
  • This song is based on Psalm 63. David had a desperation for God; he said, "My soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land." This was a big moment for David; he knew this world could not fill him. But because he had experienced God in the sanctuary, he knew God’s power and knew that "Your love is better than life." In order for us as believers to get to that point, we also must realize that we live in a dry and weary land.

    MARK HALL, STU G, JASON INGRAM, MATT BRONLEEWE
    Psalm 9:11 / Psalm 63

    God, You are my God
    Earnestly I seek You, oh my soul
    I thirst for You
    My body aches in a dry and weary land
    I’ve seen You in Your sanctuary
    I beheld Your pow’r and shouted glory
    My soul is full, my lips will sing Your praise
    Lift your voices

    Let the sound of praise be heard
    All the ends of Earth
    Praise the Holy One
    Sing the glory of His name
    Every tongue proclaim
    Praise the Holy One

    You are my help, I sing
    In the shadow of Your wings
    My soul will cling
    Your right hand holds me up
    You are my king, You are my God
    Lift your voices

    I will sing for Your glory
    For Your love is better than life
    I will sing for Your glory
    For Your love is better than life
    Better than life

    © 2009 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI) / So Essential Tunes / Dreamlouder Publishing / West Main Music / Windsor Hill Music (SESAC). All rights on behalf of So Essential Tunes, Dreamlouder Publishing, West Main Music and Windsor Hill Music adm. by Sony/ATV Sounds LLC. / Matt Bronleewe Publishing Designee / Songs For Lonely Robots (ASCAP).
To Know You
  • Romans 8:29 is a huge verse that redefined a lot of things for me several years back, and it says that God is conforming me into the image of His Son. His goal for my life is to make me like Jesus - to bring Him glory. Everything else is rubbish, Paul says, compared to knowing Him. And if my life goal is really to know Him and to honor Him, is He going to steer me off a cliff? No. Is this easy to say and hard to do? Yeah. But that doesn’t make it untrue. That’s good stuff because it takes the pressure off of me. There are no forks in my road; my road is knowing Jesus. We always include Scripture in the CD packaging for every song. For “To Know You” we actually have Scripture noted after every line. Every line in the song is a different thing Paul said about a different situation and a different thing he was dealing with or fighting against or having victory over.

    MARK HALL, JASON INGRAM, BERNIE HERMS
    2 Corinthians 1:3-5 / 2 Corinthians 4:18 / 2 Corinthians 5:11-12 / Ephesians 4:20-24 / Philippians 3 / Philippians 4:12-13

    To know You is to never worry for my life
    To know You is to never give into compromise and
    To know You is to want to tell the world about You
    ‘Cause I can’t live without You

    To know You is to hear Your voice when You are calling
    To know You is to catch my brother when he is falling
    To know You is to feel the pain of the brokenhearted
    ‘Cause they can’t live without You

    More than my next breath
    More than life or death
    All I’m reaching for, I live my life to know You more
    I leave it all behind, You’re all that satisfies
    To know You is to want to know You more
    To know You is to want to know You more

    To know You is to ache for more than ordinary
    To know You is to look beyond the temporary
    To know You is believing that You’ll be enough
    ‘Cause there’s no life without You

    All this life could offer me
    Could not compare to You, compare to You
    And I count it all as loss
    Compared to knowing You, knowing You

    All this life could offer me
    Could not compare to You, compare to You
    And I count it all as loss
    Compared to knowing You, knowing You

    And I count it all as loss
    Compared to knowing You, knowing You

    © 2009 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI) / So Essential Tunes / West Main Music / Windsor Hill Music (SESAC). All rights on behalf of So Essential Tunes, West Main Music and Windsor Hill Music adm. by Sony/ATV Sounds LLC. / Word Music, LLC/Banahama Tunes (ASCAP) All rights on behalf of itself and Banahama Tunes adm. by Word Music, LLC.
Mercy
  • Recently we traveled to New Zealand and played in the Parachute Festival. We met the Parachute Band and right before we went on stage, they played a song called "Mercy." Just hearing Omega [Parachute Band’s lead singer] sing that song, and what God had brought him through, just really bonded with us. As worship leaders - we all lead worship in our own church - you’re always looking for songs that connect with the body of Christ. We worked together with Parachute Band to add some verses to it. Megan’s beautiful voice just leads this song out; it’s going to be a great song for the church.

    OMEGA LEVINE, SAM DE JONG, TAUESE TOFA, MARK HALL
    Psalm 6:2 / Psalm 30:2 / Psalm 116:1 / Psalm 147:3 / Isaiah 57:18 / 1 Timothy 1:12-17 / Ephesians 2:4-7

    Here I am a sinner
    Broken and in need of You
    Take my life and wash my fears away
    For You are the Great I AM
    Rest assured, I feel Your hand
    Holding me until the darkness clears
    A Father to the fatherless
    Redeemer of my soul
    My Life is Yours forever
    I want the world to know

    Your mercy saved me
    Mercy made me whole
    Your mercy found me
    Called me as Your own

    Here I stand a child of Yours
    Broken and in need of You
    Break these chains and wash my guilt away
    Healer of my brokenness
    My weary soul will find its rest
    You are my strength, the lifter of my head
    You’re greater than my yesterdays
    You hold me close today
    You’re the Lord of my tomorrows
    My heart will always say
    You’re greater than my yesterdays
    You hold me close today
    You’re the Lord of my tomorrows
    My heart will always say

    You called me as Your own
    You called me as Your own
    Thank You for Your mercy
    Thank You for Your mercy

    You called me as Your own
    Your own

    © 2007, 2009 Integrity's Praise! Music (BMI) / Parachute Music (adm in the US & Canada by Integrity's Praise! Music) (BMI) / My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI)
Jesus Hold Me Now
  • The Prodigal Son is a big story for me. I always thought it was amazing how they never mention his name. That’s because I think he has a lot of names and one of them is Mark. There are so many times in our lives when we run to the far, distant lands and try to make things work on our own. And God, sometimes through consequences, shows us that this is not the way life is going to work. I keep coming back to the dad in the story. For me, he’s a picture of God. He’s not just sitting up on the porch, waiting for us to grovel. He’s coming after us.

    MARK HALL, BERNIE HERMS
    Luke 15:11-32 / Psalm 51 / Psalm 119:50, 76 / Isaiah 57:18

    Living on my own, thinking for myself
    Castles in the sand, temporary wealth
    Now the walls are falling down
    Now the storms are closing in
    And here I am again

    Jesus, hold me now
    I need to feel You in this place
    To know You’re by my side
    And hear Your voice tonight
    Jesus, hold me now
    I long for Your embrace
    I’m beat and broken down
    I can’t find my way out
    Jesus, hold me now

    Curse this morning sun, drags me into one more day
    Of reaping what I’ve sown, living with my shame
    Welcome to my world, and the life that I have made
    One day you’re a prince, and the next day you’re a slave

    Lord, I just looked up today
    And realized how far away I am from where You are
    I don’t know what else to pray
    Broken at Your feet I lay
    The life I’ve torn apart

    Jesus, hold me now
    Jesus, hold me now
    Jesus, hold me now
    Jesus, hold me now

    © 2009 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI) / Word Music, LLC/Banahama Tunes (ASCAP) All rights on behalf of itself and Banahama Tunes adm. by Word Music, LLC.
Blessed Redeemer
  • "Blessed Redeemer" is a special song for us. For years, we have led worship every Sunday at our church back home in Atlanta. Juan, Melodee, Chris and I lead on Sunday mornings and we thought it would be such a neat moment to have our actual church serve us as a part of this record. Our congregation of about 1,900 people on a Sunday morning sang this song. It really brings it back home for us. This is not something we’re doing - we’re not going off and being a worship band. This is what we do every week, and having our church be a part of it was really nice. “Blessed Redeemer" is one of those songs about the plan of salvation. It’s the gospel. It’s the story of Jesus and the life that He lived and the life that He gave and the life that He gives to us

    MARK HALL, BERNIE HERMS
    Exodus 15:2 / 2 Samuel 22:50 / Job 19:25 / Psalm 19:14 / Psalm 52:9 / John 19 / Romans 3:25 / Revelations 4:12 / 2 Corinthians 5:21 / Ephesians 1:7-10 / Colossians 2:13-15 / Hebrews 10:10-14

    Up Calvary’s mountain one dreadful morn
    Walked Christ my Savior, weary and worn
    Facing for sinners death on the cross
    That He might save them from endless loss

    Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
    Seems now I see Him on Calvary’s tree
    Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
    Blind and unheeding, dying for me

    “Father, forgive them,” my Savior prayed
    Even while His lifeblood flowed fast away
    Praying for sinners while in such woe
    No one but Jesus ever loved so

    Dying for me

    Oh how I love Him, Savior and friend
    How can my praises ever find end
    Through years unnumbered on Heaven’s shore
    My songs shall praise Him forevermore

    © 2009 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI) / Word Music, LLC/Banahama Tunes (ASCAP) All rights on behalf of itself and Banahama Tunes adm. by Word Music, LLC.
Shadow Of Your Wings
  • "Shadow of Your Wings" is a secret song that you’ll sort of just happen upon in the record. Early on in my ministry, I put together a band called New Life Rookies. It was all teenagers in the youth group, and everybody just had guitars, and we started meeting and playing. This was one of the first songs we started playing together and it comes from Psalm 63, where "Holy One" comes from. So what "Shadow of Your Wings" is, is what eventually became "Holy One." But just for nostalgia, we thought it would be fun to put it on the record. It was probably the first up-beat rocker song I had ever written, and it’s pretty fun.

    MARK HALL
    Psalm 36:7 / Psalm 42:1 / Psalm 63

    Shadow Of Your Wings is a song I wrote for my youth group years ago. Based on Psalm 63, this is a song that eventually became Holy One. We thought it would be fun to throw it on the record. It's definitely different from Crowns' style, but it's a lot of fun with a bunch of teenagers. :)

    O God, You are my God
    And earnestly I seek You
    O how I long for You
    In this dry and weary land
    I’ve seen You in the sanctuary
    And I beheld Your glory
    So I can think of only one thing I can do

    I lift my hands
    I lift my hands and I will praise You all my days
    I lift my voice
    I lift my voice to You in this simple song of praise
    I lift my eyes
    So I will think of You through the watches of the night
    Hear the voices ring as Your children sing
    In the shadow of Your wings

    Hear the voices ring as the children sing
    Hear the voices ring as the children sing
    Hear the voices ring as the children sing

    In the shadow of Your wings
    In the shadow of Your wings

    © 2009 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) (BMI) / Be Essential Songs (adm. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC) (BMI)

 

 

Peace on Earth

Release Date:
2008
Peace on Earth
  • "How do you know there's peace on earth in a world that isn't very peaceful?" Casting Crowns' Mark Hall has never been one to shy away from the hard questions-even at Christmas-especially at Christmas. And this question, perhaps more than any other, turns the key to understanding the relentless hope pervading his band's aptly titled new album, Peace on Earth (Reunion)-an album that, given these turbulent times, seems downright defiant.

     

    "How do you know there's peace on earth?" echoes Hall. "Jesus said, 'They will know that you love Me by the way you love each other.' And at one point, He even said, 'They will know that I come from God by the way you love each other.' As long as the people of God are here, there's hope."


    The believer, the church, is God's peace on earth? "If God can change me, He can change anybody, " Hall continues. "If God can bring someone else through a storm in his or her life, He can bring peace into your life. So when the people of God are here, there's peace, because there's hope that God can change anyone's life."

     

    With that, it's safe to assume this Casting Crown's Christmas album isn't the stuff of Santa, Jack Frost or magical snowmen. On the contrary, this timely disc has godsend written all over it. Should we be surprised? After all, given the band's history, it's no secret its frontman/ principal songwriter is for all intents and purposes a youth pastor in the guise of a Christian music star. While selling millions of records (as in 4 million) and winning GRAMMY, Dove, and American Music Awards, he remains the youth minister at Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church near Atlanta. Considering this is a calling he's passionately embraced for 17 years and counting, it's no wonder Hall dismisses fame as a distraction.

    And it's some distraction. Casting Crowns may have been the No.1 selling artist of 2007 on Billboard's Christian/Gospel year-end chart and headlined the top-grossing Christian music tour of the '07/'08 season, but the band's music obviously reaches far beyond its huge core fanbase. When Casting Crowns released its third studio album-2007's The Altar and the Door-the record immediately became the No. 2 selling CD of any kind in America.

    With this in mind, what does Hall hope for the new follow-up Peace on Earth? "I want to see people rediscover the worship that Christmas songs have in them, " he says. "A lot of times, when we sing carols, we sort of shift into Christmas carol mode-singing songs that we've been singing for so long, we might not be hearing what they're really saying."

    Rediscovering the worship in Christmas songs? Helping people connect with the original meaning in world-renowned classics is one thing, but when the classics of choice are worshipful in nature, it's another matter entirely.

    Take Peace on Earth's lead single, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." The poetic lyrics penned by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow document how hope emerged from a crisis of faith the writer experienced after he lost his wife in a house fire and soon saw his son crippled in the Civil War.

    "He wrote about how every year when these Christmas bells ring, it reminds him that there's peace on earth, good will toward men, " explains Hall. "But this time around, the reality of the world he lives in at that moment rushes in. The verses change, and suddenly he's saying, 'But there is no peace. There's war, and there's hate. And this hate mocks the song of the bells.' He's working through his understanding of Christmas. And as the bells keep ringing, he just has this moment when he realizes God is not dead, nor does He sleep. Good will prevail. God is going to save the day." The timelessness of the song's potent hope-filled message is glaring to Hall-especially in light of today's world events. "This generation needs to hear this song, " he says. "My kids need to hear this song."

    In a creative musical twist, Hall decided the carol's song of the bells should actually be sung by the bells. Thus a boys choir personifies the bells and hypnotically sings the "peace on earth" refrain. "The bells remind us of hope, " he explains. "And when you hear a child sing, it's the same thing. It reminds us today might be dark, but this is what tomorrow sounds like." As a resulting irony, there are no literal bells used in Hall & Co.'s version of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."

    This unusual approach set the tone throughout Peace on Earth. "Christmas records are a chance to branch out and do things you haven't done before, " says Hall, who for the first time shares co-production credits with his longtime producer-Sawyer Brown's Mark Miller.

    Casting Crowns fans will notice the support vocals by the band's keyboardist Megan Garrett and violinist Melodee DeVevo are much more prominent-especially on the Amy Grant classic "God is With Us, " in which Hall steps back to share lead vocal duties. "I really wanted to get Megan and Melodee out there and let people hear the gifts they have, and it was a great chance to do that, " he explains.

    DeVevo's musical arrangements and entrancing violin take center stage for another Casting Crowns rarity-an instrumental in the form of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." Says Hall, "She's always sneaking in and sneaking out-intros and outros of what we do. But she's probably the most talented musician in the band."

    In addition to the beloved Christmas faves on Peace on Earth, fans will also experience a popular Casting Crowns song in a new light. Unbeknownst to most, Hall originally wrote "While You Were Sleeping" as a Christmas song when he was in college. Thematically inspired by "O Little Town of Bethlehem, " the composition's lyrics were eventually changed to make the song less "seasonal" before including it on Casting Crowns' second platinum album, Lifesong. Now, to Hall's delight, fans will hear the original version.

    Peace on Earth also boasts moving renditions of "Silent Night" (Hall's all-time favorite), "Joy to the World, " the Paul Baloche-penned "Christmas Offering, " "O Come All Ye Faithful, " "Sweet Little Jesus Boy, " and "Away in a Manger" (as it originally appeared on 2005's WOW Christmas).

    An "event album" this significant surely calls for a national tour. Indeed Casting Crowns, who sold 450,000 tickets in more than 80 cities during its last outing, will headline the 14-city "Casting Crowns Christmas Celebration" with a 20-piece orchestra in November and December. The tour will also feature Natalie Grant, Denver & the Mile High Orchestra, Avalon, Michael English, and pureNRG.

    Whether in the recording studio or taking these new songs out on the road, Casting Crowns is eager to see these renditions connect. "I was excited to revisit songs that I'd sung as a child, " says Hall, "songs that meant a lot to me that I want people to hear a different way and rediscover the wonder that comes along with Jesus' birth. These songs have been speaking into the hearts of people for years, but since music changes, and our culture changes, let's lay into the setting of this culture's music, and maybe they'll rediscover the message."

    And a timely discovery of that timeless message that will be. In a climate both at home and abroad when anxiety is often the word of the day, we need to be reminded that we are not alone-God is with us. And not only with us...His peace, hope and joy are on the move. With Peace on Earth, Casting Crowns not only reminds us of this, the band renders a tangible expression of these truths in action.

Joy To The World
  • Mark Hall

    Joy to the world, the Lord is come
    Let earth receive her King
    Let every heart prepare Him room
    And heaven and nature sing
    And heaven and nature sing
    And heaven and heaven and nature sing

    Joy to the world the Savior reigns!
    Let men their songs employ
    While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
    Repeat the sounding joy
    Repeat the sounding joy
    Repeat, repeat the sounding joy

    He rules the world with truth and grace
    And makes the nations prove
    The glories of His righteousness
    And wonders of His love
    And wonders of His love
    And wonders, wonders of His love
    And wonders, wonders of His love
    And wonders, wonders of His love

    Joy to the world
    The wonders of Your love
    The wonders of Your love

    © 2008 Mark Hall Publishing Designee
O Come All Ye Faithful
  • John F. Wade, Mark Hall, Adam Lester

    O come, all ye faithful
    Joyful and triumphant
    O come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem
    Come and behold Him
    Born the king of angels
    Oh come let us adore Him
    Oh come let us adore Him
    Oh come let us adore Him
    Christ the Lord

    Sing, Choirs of angles
    Sing in exultation
    Sing all ye citizens of heaven above!
    Glory to God
    Glory in the highest
    Oh come let us adore Him
    Oh come let us adore Him
    Oh come let us adore Him
    Christ the Lord

    Yea, Lord we greet thee
    Born this happy morning
    Jesus to Thee be all glory given
    Word of the Father
    Now in flesh appearing
    Oh come let us adore Him
    Oh come let us adore Him
    Oh come let us adore Him
    Christ the Lord

    Come let us adore him
    He is Christ the Lord
    Sing choirs of angels
    Come let us adore him
    Come let us adore him

    © 2008 John F. Wade Publishing Designee, Mark Hall Publishing Designee, Adam Lester Publishing Designee
Silent Night
  • Mark Hall, Adam Lester

    Silent Night, Holy Night
    All is calm, all is bright
    'Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
    Holy Infant so tender and mild
    Sleep in heavenly peace
    Sleep in heavenly peace

    Silent Night, Holy Night
    Shepherds quake at the sight
    Glories stream from heaven afar
    Heavenly hosts sing alleluia!
    Christ, the Savior is born
    Christ, the Savior is born

    With the angels, let us sing
    Hallelujah to the King
    Christ the Savior is born
    Christ the Savior is born

    © 2008 Mark Hall Publishing Designee, Adam Lester Publishing Designee
While You Were Sleeping
  • Mark Hall

    Oh little town of Bethlehem
    Looks like another silent night
    Above your deep and dreamless sleep
    A giant star lights up the sky
    And while you're lying in the dark
    There shines an everlasting light
    For the King has left His throne
    And is sleeping in a manger tonight, tonight

    Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
    For God became a man
    And stepped into your world today
    Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
    As a city with no room for its King
    While you were sleeping
    While you were sleeping

    Mary shivers in the cold
    Trying to keep the Savior warm
    Born among the animals wrapped in dirty rags
    Because there was no room for Him in the world He came to save

    United States of America
    Looks like another silent night
    As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
    That save the trees and kill the children
    And while we're lying in the dark
    There's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
    For the Bridegroom has returned
    And has carried His bride away in the night

    America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
    Will Jesus come again
    And leave us slumbering where we lay
    America, will we go down in history
    As a nation with no room for its King
    Will we be sleeping
    Will we be sleeping

    United States of America
    Looks like another silent night

    © Mark Hall Publishing Designee
God Is With Us
  • Amy Grant
    Strings arranged by Bernie Herms
    Orchestrated by Stephen Lamb

    The skies don't seem to be as dark as usual
    The stars seem brighter then they've been before
    Deep within I feel my soul a stirring
    As though my hope has been restored
    The shepherds say they've heard the voice of angels
    Confirming rumors spread across the land
    That a child protected well from Herod's anger
    Is our Father's Son, and the son of man

    Love is raining down on the world tonight
    There's a presence here I can tell
    God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel
    He's the Savior we have been praying for
    In our humble hearts He will dwell
    God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel

    I feel compelled to tell all who will listen
    That peace on earth is not so out of reach
    If we can find grace, mercy and forgiveness
    He has come to save, He is all of these

    You're the Savior we have been praying for
    In our humble hearts You will dwell
    You are in us, You are for us, You are with us, Emmanuel

    © 2008 Amy Grant Publishing Designee, Bernie Herms Publishing Designee, Stephen Lamb Publishing Designee
Christmas Offering
  • Paul Baloche

    Over the skies of Bethlehem appeared a star
    While angels sang to lowly shepherds
    Three Wiseman seeking truth they traveled from afar
    Hoping to find the child from heaven
    Falling on their knees they bow before the humble Prince of Peace

    We bring an offering of worship to our King
    No one on earth deserves the praises that we sing
    Jesus may you receive the honor that you're due
    O Lord I bring an offering to you

    The sun cannot compare to the glory of your love
    There is no shadow in your presence
    No mortal man would dare to stand before your throne
    Before the Holy One of heaven
    It's only by Your blood
    It's only through Your mercy
    Lord, I come

    I bring an offering of worship to my King
    No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing
    Jesus, may you receive the honor that you're due
    O Lord, I bring an offering to you

    We bring an offering to you
    We are an offering to you
    We are an offering to you, Jesus

    We are an offering of worship to our King
    No one on earth deserves the praises that we sing
    Jesus, may you receive the honor that you're due
    O Lord, we bring an offering to you

    O Lord, we bring an offering to you

    We bring an offering to you
    We are an offering to you
    We are an offering to you

    © 2008 Paul Baloche Publishing Designee
I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
  • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Mark Hall, Dale, Bernie Herms
    Strings arranged by Bernie Herms
    Orchestrated by Stephen Lamb

    I heard the bells on Christmas day
    Their old familiar carols play
    And mild and sweet their songs repeat
    Of peace on earth good will to men

    And the bells are ringing
    Like a choir they're singing
    In my heart I hear them
    Peace on earth, good will to men


    And in despair I bowed my head
    There is no peace on earth I said
    For hate is strong and mocks the song
    Of peace on earth, good will to men

    But the bells are ringing
    Like a choir singing
    Does anybody hear them?
    Peace on earth, good will to men

    Then rang the bells more loud and deep
    God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
    The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
    With peace on earth, good will to men

    Then ringing singing on its way

    The world revolved from night to day
    A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
    Of peace on earth, good will to men

    And the bells they're ringing
    Like a choir they're singing
    And with our hearts we'll hear them
    Peace on earth, good will to men

    Do you hear the bells they're ringing?
    The life the angels singing
    Open up your heart and hear them
    Peace on earth, good will to men

    Peace on earth, Peace on earth
    Peace on earth, Good will to men

    © 2008 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Publishing Designee (Public Domain?), Mark Hall Publishing Designee, Bernie Herms Publishing Designee, Dale??? Publishing Designee, Stephen Lamb Publishing Designee
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
  • Melodee DeVevo, Bernie Hermes
    Instrumental

    © 2008 Melodee DeVevo Publishing Designee, Bernie Herms Publishing Designee
Sweet Little Jesus Boy
  • Mark Hall, Bernie Herms
    Arranged by Jim Gray

    Sweet little Jesus boy, born in a manger
    Sweet little Holy child, we didn't know who You were
    Long time ago it seems You were born
    Born in a manager Lord, sweet little Jesus boy

    Didn't know you'd come to save us all
    To take our sins away
    Our eyes were blind we did not see
    We didn't know who You were

    You have shown us how
    And we are trying
    Master You have shown us how
    Even as You were dying
    This world treats You mean Lord
    Treats me mean too
    But that's how things are done down here
    We didn't know it was You

    Didn't know You'd come to save us all
    To take our sins away
    Our eyes were blind we did not see
    We didn't know who You were

    © 2008 Mark Hall Publishing Designee, Bernie Herms Publishing Designee, Jim Gray Publishing Designee
Away In A Manger
  • Mark Hall, Mark A. Miller

    Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
    The little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head
    The stars in the sky look down where He lay
    The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay

    The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes
    the little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes
    I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
    And stay by my cradle, 'Til morning is nigh

    Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
    Close by me forever, and love me I pray
    Bless all the dear children, in Thy tender care
    And fit us for heaven, to live with Thee there

    Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
    The little Lord Jesus, lay down His sweet head
    Lord of all creation, lay down His sweet head
    The Savior of the nation, lay down His sweet head

    © 2008 Mark Hall Publishing Designee, Mark A. Mille Publishing Designee

 

 

The Alter and the Door

Release Date:
2007
The Altar and the Door
  • What is the distance between Sunday and Monday mornings? The answer, for Casting Crowns’ Mark Hall, became painfully clear during an afternoon of reading through the MySpace pages of the kids in his youth group. Prompted to go there by a student, Mark’s heart sank as he read their messages to the world, truths about themselves that didn’t gel with the truth they embraced at church.

    It was in that place of disheartened discovery where The Altar and The Door—the third studio project from GRAMMY-winning band Casting Crowns—began to unfold.

    “When we’re at the altar, everything makes sense,” Hall says. “We know what we’re supposed to do. We know how we’re supposed to live. Everything’s black and white. But somewhere between the altar and the door, when we leave and go out into our lives, it all leaks out, and everything gets gray again. The Christian life is the journey between the altar and door, trying to get the things you’ve got in your head, into your hands, feet, into your life. The Altar and The Door is all about the journey. The realization on the journey, the struggles and the victory of seeing it as possible.”

    Co-produced once again by Mark Miller (Sawyer Brown), The Altar and The Door taps into the same ‘real life, real faith’ vein as the Casting Crowns’ 2004 debut and 2006’s Lifesong. The same ‘all out on the table’ honesty, achingly real lyrical depth and unforgettable melodies that have captivated audiences around the world. Only this time, Casting Crowns— the fastest selling, platinum-reaching Christian artist in history—has never been more progressive musically. And lyrically, Mark Hall has never been more intentional.

    “Once we got into the recording,” Hall says, “I knew we were in for something different, a more progressive approach to the music. These songs sounded different in my head; they’ve been a big challenge for us as a band. And the music definitely sets the tone for the whole project, but for me, it always comes back to the message. I always think lyrics first.”

    The biblical footing for The Altar and The Door can be traced back to Psalm 1, Hall says.

    “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on this law he meditates day and night….”

    “The whole album funnels from this passage,” Hall says. “Imagine the man in this verse totally breaking down, but just a little at a time. First he’s walking, then standing, and eventually sitting, just slowly shutting down. He doesn’t crash suddenly—there’s no sudden crash in the Christian life. The ‘crash’ is just the fruit of a slow fade.”

    He continues, “If we find ourselves ‘walking’ in the counsel of the wicked, it’s often supported by the things we’re listening to, the things we’re taking in, the things we’re watching and clicking on. Sooner or later, what we choose to put into our lives affects us and starts coming out of our lives. Then we’re not ‘walking’ anymore. Instead we become a walking contradiction. The way we live confuses the people around us, and that, to me, is how we find ourselves ‘standing’ in the way of sinners. If something doesn’t change and we don’t make a turn around, we’re eventually ‘sitting’ in the seat of the scoffers. We find ourselves in the back row of the church watching everybody with their hands in the air, and thinking, ‘Surely they don’t have anything I don’t have,’ when in fact they do. And we don’t even realize it, because the fade is so gradual.”

    The songs of The Altar and The Door strike a bold chord that the Christian life can and should be so much more than that. “When we have an ongoing, developing relationship with Jesus, life is not about me, my wants and my needs,” Hall says. “It’s about being the hands and feet of Jesus in other people’s lives.”

    “Slow Fade,” a surprise sonic feast (don’t miss the flute!)—marks the regression that happens when Christians aren’t living intentionally. “People don’t crumble in a day. You don’t fall, you fade,” Hall explains. “In your mind, there’s that pride that says ‘I’d never do that’… but you don’t just do it, it’s a slow, series of compromises, little ones that go there eventually, until you’re sitting in a place you’d never go, doing something you’d’ never do… and yet the way you’re living totally makes sense to you somehow because you’re so numb.”

    “I know you’ve cast my sin as far as the east is from the west

    And I stand before you now as though I’ve never sinned…”

    In “East To West,” Hall tackles the all-too-familiar skepticism with which we humans embrace forgiveness. “We have a hard time with the concept of forgiveness,” he says. “We cut ourselves and it heals, but the scar remains. Sometimes we think God treats sin like we would if we were God, and that he handles forgiveness like we would. We know he forgives, but we can’t accept that God chooses to forget and relinquishes his right to avenge.”

    And “Somewhere in the Middle,” the lyric that poured out after Hall’s disheartening afternoon on MySpace, reveals the acclaimed songwriter’s lament. “Seeing the antithesis of what was being proclaimed at church and what was really going on with my kids didn’t make me angry or frustrated. It just made me hurt for them and how stuck out there they feel and how they don’t know what else to do but to try to fit in.”

    Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more, that line between the altar and the door…

    In all honesty, he says, “It wasn’t just about them. The end result in that lyric is my own lament that I could have a greater friendship with God, but I don’t…. It’s the frustration of my own life. Why in the world do I have to force myself to spend time with God. If I had an everyday friendship with Jesus, I’d be a better encourager, I’d be a better forgiver, and I wouldn’t be as selfish as I am. …God has blessed me with amazing self-awareness, a firm grasp of the obvious, but I don’t always ‘get’ it.”

    It’s this kind of honest intentionality that is the core of The Altar and The Door, Casting Crowns’ most daring project to date. A collection of songs that dare to mark the distance between Sunday and Monday mornings, between the content of our heads, the content of our hearts and the disconnect between in between.
What This World Needs

  • Galatians is the main basis for this song. False teachers were slipping in and adding to the Gospel. Jesus + being good = the believer’s life. Paul builds in a foundation for the Galatian people that it is by faith in Jesus that we are saved. Even today, we, the church, are in danger of adding to the Gospel. Jesus plus my denomination. Jesus plus our style of worship. Jesus plus good behavior. We must be careful not to strap ourselves to the Gospel.
    ~2 Corinthians 6:3-13 / Colossians 1:13-23 / John 17 / Romans 12:9-21 / Matthew 7:1-3 / John 7:24 / Romans 16:17-19 / Philippians 3:18-20

    Written by Mark Hall and Hector Cervantes
    Special guests – Gunnar Miller, Madison Miller, Logan Miller, Tripp Weir

    © 2007 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music/SWECS Music (BMI) (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing)

     

    What this world needs is not another one hit wonder with an axe to grind
    Another two bit politician peddling lies
    Another three ring circus society
    What this world needs is not another sign waving super saint that’s better than you
    Another ear pleasing candy man afraid of the truth
    Another prophet in an Armani suit

    What this world needs is a Savior who will rescue
    A Spirit who will lead
    A Father who will love them in their time of need
    A Savior who will rescue
    A Spirit who will lead
    A Father who will love
    That’s what this world needs

    What this world needs is for us to care more about the inside than the outside
    Have we become so blind that we can’t see
    God’s gotta change her heart before He changes her shirt
    What this world needs is for us to stop hiding behind our relevance
    Blending in so well that people can’t see the difference
    And it’s the difference that sets the world free

    Jesus is our Savior, that’s what this world needs
    Father’s arms around you, that’s what this world needs
    That’s what this world needs

Every Man

  • This is the anthem of the world. The world is full of normal everyday people who are on a search for hope and happiness. For many, darkness has pulled the wool over their eyes, and they are trying to make it happen on their own. They’re searching and they’re listening. Question is, are we saying anything?
    ~2 Corinthians 5:16-21 / 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

    Written by Mark Hall, Bernie Herms, and Nichole Nordeman

    © 2007 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music/SWECS Music (BMI) (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing) / Word Music, LLC (ASCAP), Banahama Tunes (ASCAP). All rights on behalf of itself and Banahama Tunes administered by Word Music, LLC. / Birdwing Music/Birdboy Songs (ASCAP) (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing)

     

    I’m the man with all I’ve ever wanted
    All the toys and playing games
    I am the one who pours your coffee, corner booth each Saturday
    I am your daughter’s favorite teacher
    I am the leader of the band
    I sit behind you in the bleachers
    I am every man

    I’m the coach of every winning team and still a loser in my mind
    I am the soldier in the airport facing giants one more time
    I am the woman shamed and haunted by the cry of unborn life
    I’m every broken man, nervous child, lonely wife

    Is there hope for every man
    A solid place where we can stand
    In this dry and weary land
    Is there hope for every man
    Is there love that never dies
    Is there peace in troubled times
    Someone help me understand
    Is there hope for every man

    Seems there’s just so many roads to travel, it’s hard to tell where they will lead
    My life is scarred and my dreams unraveled
    Now I’m scared to take the leap
    If I could find someone to follow who knows my pain and feels the weight
    The uncertainty of my tomorrow, the guilt and pain of yesterday

    There is hope for every man
    A solid place where we can stand
    In this dry and weary land
    There is hope for every man
    There is Love that never dies
    There is peace in troubled times
    Will we help them understand?
    Jesus is hope for every man

Slow Fade

  • This song was inspired by the spreading cancer of moral failure in the fathers of this generation. As believers, we must guard our hearts and understand the no one crashes and burns. They just slowly fade away one little compromise at a time.
    ~Psalm 1 / 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 / James 4:7-10 / Proverbs 4:23-27 / 1 John 2:15-17 / James 1:12-15 / Isaiah 59:2 / Matthew 13:16-23 / 1 John 2:3-6, 15-17 / Romans 12:1-3 / 1 Corinthians 15:57-58

    Written by Mark Hall
    Special guest – Reagan Hall (Thank you, Princess, for your beautiful singing debut!)

    © 2007 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music/SWECS Music (BMI) (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing)

     

    Be careful little eyes what you see
    It’s the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
    Be careful little feet where you go
    For it’s the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

    It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
    It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
    Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
    When you give yourself away
    People never crumble in a day
    It’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade

    Be careful little ears what you hear
    When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
    Be careful little lips what you say
    For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

    It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
    It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
    Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
    When you give yourself away
    People never crumble in a day

    The journey from your mind to your hands
    Is shorter than you’re thinking
    Be careful if you think you stand
    You just might be sinking

    It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
    It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
    Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
    When you give yourself away
    People never crumble in a day
    Daddies never crumble in a day
    Families never crumble in a day

    Oh be careful little eyes what see
    Oh be careful little eyes what you see
    For the Father up above is looking down in love
    Oh be careful little eyes what you see

East to West

  • God’s forgiveness is an amazing gift. The problem is that our logic gets in our way.
    ~Psalm 51 / Ephesians 2:1-10 / 1 John 1:9 / Psalm 103 / Romans 8 / Colossians 2:9-15 / Isaiah 38:17 / Psalm 32 / Lamentations 3:22-24 / Romans 6 / Romans 3:5-8

    Written by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

    © 2007 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music/SWECS Music (BMI) (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing) / Word Music, LLC (ASCAP), Banahama Tunes (ASCAP). All rights on behalf of itself and Banahama Tunes administered by Word Music, LLC.

     

    Here I am, Lord, and I’m drowning in your sea of forgetfulness
    The chains of yesterday surround me
    I yearn for peace and rest
    I don’t want to end up where You found me
    And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight
    I know You’ve cast my sin as far as the east is from the west
    And I stand before You now as though I’ve never sinned
    But today I feel like I’m just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

    Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west
    ‘Cause I can’t bear to see the man I’ve been come rising up in me again
    In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
    ‘Cause You know just how far the east is from the west
    From one scarred hand to the other

    I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin
    Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I’m in
    Today I feel like I’m just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

    I know You’ve washed me white, turned my darkness into light
    I need Your peace to get me through, to get me through this night
    I can’t live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals
    I‘m not holding on to You, but You’re holding on to me
    You’re holding on to me

    Jesus, You know just how far the east is from the west
    I don’t have to see the man I’ve been come rising up in me again
    In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
    ‘Cause You know just how far the east is from the west
    From one scarred hand to the other
    One scarred hand to the other
    From one scarred hand to the other

The Word is Alive

  • God’s word is infallible, inerrant, inspired and alive. This song was inspired by a personal study on how the Bible came together. I would encourage you to study through John Piper’s “Why We Believe The Bible” and Voddie Baucham’s “Nothing But The Truth.”
    ~2 Timothy 3:16-17 / Psalm 1 / Isaiah 55:10-11 / Isaiah 40:8 / Hebrews 4:12-13 / James 1:22-25 / John 1:1-5 / 1 John 1:1-4; 14-18 / Romans 1:16 / Psalm 119:9-11; 33-40; 105-106

    Written by Mark Hall and Steven Curtis Chapman
    Special guest – Tony Nolan

    © 2007 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music/SWECS Music (BMI) / Sparrow Song/Peach Hill Songs (BMI). All rights administered by EMI CMG Publishing.

     

    Looking out from His throne, the Father of light and of men
    Chose to make Himself known and show us the way back to Him
    Speaking wisdom and truth into the hearts of peasants and kings
    He began to unveil the Word that would change the course of all things

    With eyes wide open, all would see

    The Word is alive
    And it cuts like a sword through the darkness
    With a message of life to the hopeless and afraid
    Breathing life into all who believe
    The Word is alive
    And the world and its glories will fade
    But His truth, it will not pass away
    It remains yesterday and forever the same
    The Word is alive

    Simple strokes on a page
    Eternity’s secrets revealed, carried on from age to age
    It speaks Truth to us even still
    And as the rain falls from Heaven, feeds the earth before it returns
    Lord, let Your Word fall on us and bring forth the fruit You deserve

    With eyes wide open, let us see

    The Word is alive
    His Word is alive

The Altar and the Door

  • This song began as a line in the song “Somewhere In The Middle.” I decided to name the album “The Altar And The Door” before this song was written. Then on the four-hour trip to Nashville to record, God gave me this song.
    ~Ephesians 6:7-10 / Romans 7:15-20 / Isaiah 53:6 / Isaiah 64:5-6 / 2 Timothy 2:13 / Psalm 14:1-3 / Psalm 53:1-3 / Romans 3:9-12, 21-26 / Mark 9:23-24

    Written by Mark Hall

    © 2007 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music/SWECS Music (BMI) (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing)

     

    Careless, I am reckless
    I’m a wrong-way-travelin’-slowly-unraveling shell of a man
    Burnt out, I’m so numb now
    That the fire’s just an ember way down in the corner of my cold, cold heart

    Lord, this time I’ll make it right, here at the altar I lay my life
    Your kingdom come but my will was done, my heart is broken as I...

    Cry, like so many times before
    But my eyes are dry before I leave the floor, oh Lord
    I try but this time, Jesus, how can I be sure I will not lose my follow through
    Between the altar and the door

    Here at the altar, oh my world so black and white
    How could I ever falter
    What You’ve shown me to be right

    I’m trying so hard to stop trying so hard
    Just let You be who You are
    Lord, who You are in me
    Jesus, I’m trying so hard to stop trying so hard
    Just let You be who You are
    Lord, who You are in me

Somewhere in the Middle

  • Written by Mark Hall

    © 2007 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music/SWECS Music (BMI) (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing)

     

    Somewhere between the hot and the cold
    Somewhere between the new and the old
    Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
    Somewhere in the middle, You’ll find me

    Somewhere between the wrong and the right
    Somewhere between the darkness and the light
    Somewhere between who I was and who You’re making me
    Somewhere in the middle, You’ll find me

    Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

    Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
    Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
    With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
    But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle
    Are we caught in the middle

    Somewhere between my heart and my hands
    Somewhere between my faith and my plans
    Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves

    Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
    Somewhere between the altar and the door
    Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
    Somewhere in the middle You’ll find me

    Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

    Lord, I feel You in this place and I know You’re by my side
    Loving me even on these nights when I’m caught in the middle


I Know You're There

  • Jeff is a great guy and leads worship at a church nearby. What a moment, when we realize that God is not a book, and we can have a relationship with Him. I believe he captured that moment in this song.
    ~Psalm 139 / 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 / Deuteronomy 31:6 / Hebrews 13:5-6 / John 10:27-30 / 1 John 5:14-15 / 2 Samuel 22:7 / Psalm 91 / 1 Peter 3:12 / John 9:31

    Written by Jeff Chandler

    © 2006 Spin 360 Music (BMI) (admin. by Music Services)

     

    If all I had was one last breath
    I’d spend it just to sing Your praise
    Just to say Your name
    If all I had was one last prayer
    I’d pray it ‘cause I know You’re always listening
    If I could live a thousand lives, bind the hands of time
    I would spend every moment by Your side

    ‘Cause I, I know You’re there, I know You see me
    You’re the air I breathe
    You are the ground beneath me
    I know You’re there, I know You hear me
    I can find You anywhere

    If all I had was one more song to sing
    I would raise my voice to make the heavens ring
    If all I had was one last chance, I’d take it
    I would stake it all on You

    If I could raise up high and catch a glimpse of every eye
    I would make them believe
    What I feel inside

    If I could live a thousand lives and bind the hands of time
    If I could rise up high and catch a glimpse of every eye

    I know You’re there
    I know You’re there
    I know You’re there, You’re there

Prayer for a Friend

  • This may be the earliest of any of my songs to be used on a Crowns record. Maybe 15 years old. I was heartbroken before God for a friend who wouldn’t listen. God showed me that nothing is impossible with God.
    ~Ephesians 3:14-21 / Philippians 1:3-11 / 1 John 3:16 / Proverbs 17:17 / Proverbs 18:24 / Job 6:14 / Philippians 2:2-4 / 1 Timothy 2:1 / 1 Peter 3:8 / Romans 14:19 / Luke 18:1-8 / Proverbs 12:26 / 1 Corinthians 15:33

    Written by Mark Hall

    © 2007 My Refuge Music/Club Zoo Music/SWECS Music (BMI) (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing)

     

    Lord, I lift my friend to You, I’ve done all that I know to do
    I lift my friend to You
    Complicated circumstances have clouded his view
    Lord, I lift my friend up to You

    I fear that I won’t have the words that he needs to hear
    I pray for Your wisdom, oh God, and a heart that’s sincere
    Lord, I lift my friend up to You

    Lord, I lift my friend to You
    My best friend in the world, I know he means much more to You
    I want so much to help him, but this is something he has to do
    And Lord, I lift my friend up to You

    ‘Cause there’s a way that seems so right to him
    But You know where that leads
    He’s becoming a puppet of the world, too blind to see the strings
    Lord, I lift my friend up to You
    My friend up to You

    Lord, I lift my friend to You, I’ve done all that I know to do
    I lift my friend to You

All Because of Jesus

  • We had been singing this song in worship at our church long before we decided to record it. Steve is an amazing worship leader and has a new record out now.
    ~Romans 5 / Colossians 1:15-23 / Ephesians 2:4-10 / Galatians 2:20 / Romans 6:6, 10-11 / Galatians 6:14 / Ephesians 3:14-19 / Romans 14:7-8 / Luke 4:16-21

    Written by Steve Fee

    © 2006 LeviBear (BMI) (admin. by Feeble Productions)

    Giver of every breath I breathe

    Author of all eternity
    Giver of every perfect thing
    To You be the glory
    Maker of Heaven and of Earth
    No one can comprehend Your worth
    King over all the universe
    To You be the glory

    And I am alive because I’m alive in You

    It’s all because of Jesus I’m alive
    It’s all because the blood of Jesus Christ
    That covers me and raised this dead man’s life
    It’s all because of Jesus I’m alive
    I’m alive, I’m alive

    Giver of every breath I breathe
    Author of all eternity
    Giver of every perfect thing
    To You be the glory
    Maker of Heaven and of Earth
    No one can comprehend Your worth
    King over all the universe
    To You be the glory

    And I am alive because I’m alive in You

    It’s all because of Jesus I’m alive
    It’s all because the blood of Jesus Christ
    That covers me and raised this dead man’s life
    It’s all because of Jesus

    Every sunrise sings Your praise
    The universe cries out Your praise
    I’m singing freedom all my days
    Now that I’m alive

    I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive

White Dove Fly High (Hidden Track)

  • Casting Crowns had the opportunity to perform at the Spring Friendship Festival in North Korea in April '07. Mark and Megan first learned this traditional North Korean song for the festival and then recorded it to appear as a bonus track on "The Altar and the Door" as a tribute to the band's new friends.

    Please see Juan's North Korea slideshow in the video section for more information.

 

 

Lifesong

Release Date:
2005
Lifesong
  • Okay, so this is where we're supposed to give you all the marketing hype, the impressive list of awards and nominations, the radio stats, record sales and media coverage. All the facts to confirm just how far up the music career ladder Casting Crowns has traveled in the two short years since the band's recording debut.

    Certainly there is much to tell.

    But frankly, that's the least of what you need to know about Casting Crowns. There's nothing less important to them than all the marketing details. Instead, if we could all suspend that tiny (or big, as the case may be) voice of cynicism just for a moment - if we could magically transport ourselves to any given Sunday morning at Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church outside of Atlanta, perhaps we'd see just how little the music business machine matters.

    What matters is what's going on in the lives of the 400+ kids that Mark Hall and the other six members of Casting Crowns minister to each and every week. What matters is whether or not that teenage guy really 'gets' that God believes in him, even when he has trouble believing back. What matters is whether that teenage girl knows she's loved and wanted by the God of the universe, when there's no one else to love her. What matters is that they come to see their lives as the only songs of worship that really count.

    "Sixty percent of my students have probably never heard of the Dove Awards, SoundScan or radio charts, " says lead singer and songwriter Mark Hall. "These are everyday teenagers living in the real world. Their parents are fighting, or their boyfriend or girlfriend just broke up with them and they're failing math. We come home every week to people who desperately need a relationship with Jesus. This is the ministry that God has called us to." He adds, "You've got to earn the right to talk to them about their lives. They want to know that you struggle too, before you start getting in their business. So it's not about art or music. The music is not the point. Music is just a way of sharing the awesome love of God. So we speak of our weakness and our fears - we speak of our failures and how God rescued us from the pit and allows us to be a part of what He is doing in the world. If we are open and honest about our lives and our walk with Jesus, then others will see us and think, 'Hey, that's me too! God can do that in me!'"

    That kind of honesty lies at the epicenter of Lifesong, the sophomore release from Casting Crowns and the band's most compelling work to date. Ably produced again by Mark Miller (Sawyer Brown), Lifesong continues in the same vein as the Casting Crowns debut, bringing focus to topics the band feels aren't being talked about enough. Hall explains, "We're not the angry artist out there throwing rocks at the church. We're in the church every week. We're not talking down to anyone. If anything, we're talking up to them from hearts that God is still working on."

    In other words, whether success exits as quickly as it entered, Casting Crowns has no plans to change the subject matter or their approach to it. Hall states, "I think people are willing to listen to the hard truth if you're being transparent about your own life, your own struggles with doubt and fear and failure. These songs, like all the songs I write, are simply about where we all live."

    Are we happy plastic people / Under shiny plastic steeples
    With walls around our weakness / And smiles to hide our pain
    But if the invitation's open / To every heart that has been broken
    Maybe then we close the curtain on our stained glass masquerade
    - from "Stained Glass Masquerade"

    With bold questions set in memorable melodies, songs like "Does Anybody Hear Her, " "While You Were Sleeping" and "Stained Glass Masquerade" leave no room for doubt that Casting Crowns continues to challenge the Sunday morning status quo. Beautiful, worshipful songs like "Love Them Like Jesus, " "Praise You In This Storm" and "In Me" confirm their unwavering determination to be living, breathing examples of Jesus in the world. After all, that is why they're here. That's why we're all here.

    "Your purpose is to worship Him with your life, " Hall says. "On that journey to becoming like Jesus, you may be a doctor, construction worker, salesperson or a youth pastor, but that's not why you're here. You're here to worship Him with everything you have. You're here to become like Jesus."

    "This is your life song, " Hall says. "This is your act of worship: what you do with the life you've been given. A life of worship says 'God, I'm waking up today. I'm going to do a lot of things, I'm going to go a lot of places, I'm going to talk to a lot of people, but my goal is to point others to You and to make You smile today.' The more we live like that, the more we become like him, and the closer we get to His heart, the more we see that His heart is for people. So then you start seeing people that are hurting. And ministry becomes the overflow of a life poured out at Jesus' feet."

    Empty hands held high / Such small sacrifice
    If not joined with my life / I sing in vain tonight
    - from "Lifesong"

    Two years into a whirlwind music career, Casting Crowns has no plans to start counting the kudos, polishing the awards or basking in the glow of audience appreciation. They're too busy living out a larger calling on their lives.

    "When something happens in your life, and you know full well that there's not a single thing that you did to make it happen, and you don't feel a need to keep it happening, you just know that for some reason God just wants it to be right now, " Hall says. "So a big part of this whole thing is not having too many dreams for the future. I constantly find myself thinking 'God, if we get ahead of You on this thing it'll all be gone.' All we know is that we're husbands and wives and parents first. And we know that we're supposed to be in the church doing what we're doing there. So we're going to bloom where God has planted us in this season and keep doing it until the next season comes."
Lifesong

  • Written by Mark Hall
    Worship is so much more than the songs I sing. Instead, worship is in the heart that lifts the song. If you think about it, worship began when I woke up this morning. My life purpose is to give God glory through everything I do. If my life does not worship Him, my songs don't either.
    Matthew 15:8-9 / Matthew 23:25-28
    Galatians 2:20 / Colossians 3:17

    2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI) / SWECS Music (BMI) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing)


    Lyrics
    Empty hands held high
    Such small sacrifice
    If not joined with my life
    I sing in vain tonight

    May the words I say
    And the things I do
    Make my lifesong sing
    Bring a smile to You

    Let my lifesong sing to You
    Let my lifesong sing to You
    I want to sign Your name to the end of this day
    Knowing that my heart was true
    Let my lifesong sing to You

    Lord I give my life
    A living sacrifice
    To reach a world in need
    To be Your hands and feet

    So may the words I say
    And the things I do
    Make my lifesong sing
    Bring a smile to You

    Hallelujah
    Hallelujah
    Let my lifesong sing to You

Praise You in This Storm

  • Written by Mark Hall / Music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

    If there ever were a test of our faith - if there ever were a test of the motives of our worship - it is when a storm rolls into our lives. We watched and prayed for a precious little girl named Erin Edwards struggle with a deadly disease for several years. The courage, the witness, and the worship of Erin's mother Laurie inspired this song. Sometimes God calms our storms. Sometimes He chooses to ride them with us.
    Romans 8:28 / 2 Corinthians. 4:16-18
    Psalm 42:5 / Psalm 121:1-2
    Job 1:20-21 / Daniel 3:16-18

    2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI) / SWECS Music (BMI) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) / Word Music, LLC (ASCAP) / Banahama Tunes (ASCAP) (adm. by Word Music, LLC)


    Lyrics
    I was sure by now
    God, You would have reached down
    And wiped our tears away
    Stepped in and saved the day
    But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

    As the thunder rolls
    I barely hear You whisper through the rain
    "I'm with You"
    And as Your mercy falls
    I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
    And takes away

    CHORUS
    I'll praise You in this storm
    And I will lift my hands
    For You are who You are
    No matter where I am
    Every tear I've cried
    You hold in Your hand
    You never left my side
    And though my heart is torn
    I will praise You in this storm

    I remember when
    I stumbled in the wind
    You heard my cry
    You raised me up again
    My strength is almost gone
    How can I carry on
    If I can't find You

    As the thunder rolls
    I barely hear You whisper through the rain
    "I'm with You"
    And as Your mercy falls
    I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
    And takes away

    CHORUS

    I lift my eyes unto the hills
    Where does my help come from?
    My help comes from the Lord
    The Maker of Heaven and Earth
    (repeat)

    CHORUS
    Though my heart is torn
    I will praise You in this storm

Does Anybody Hear Her

  • Written by Mark Hall

    They are all around us. To become numb to their pain is to become numb to the very heart of God and the suffering of His only Son.

    Romans 10:14 / Acts 5:20 / 1 Peter 3:15
    Matthew 28:19-20 / 2 Corinthians 5:20

    2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI) / SWECS Music (BMI) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing)

     

    Lyrics
    She is running
    A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction
    She is trying
    But the canyon's ever widening
    In the depths of her cold heart
    So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
    She's another two years older
    And she's three more steps behind

    Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
    Or does anybody even knows she's going down today
    Under the shadow of our steeple
    With all the lost and lonely people
    Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
    Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

    She is yearning
    For shelter and affection
    That she never found at home
    She is searching
    For a hero to ride in
    To ride in and save the day
    And in walks her prince charming
    And he knows just what to say
    Momentary lapse of reason
    And she gives herself away

    If judgement looms under every steeple
    If lofty glances from lofty people
    Can't see past her scarlet letter
    And we never even met her

    He is running
    A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction


Stained Glass Masquerade

  • Written by Mark Hall and Nichole Nordeman

    I don't think it bothers the world that we sin. I think it bothers the world that we act like we don't. There are times that instead of being myself and exposing my own weakness and hurt, I portray a character of the person that I know I should be. But when I expose myself as weak and frail at times, it frees the Body of Christ to restore me as it should and invites others to unmask as well.
    Matthew 23:25-28 / Matthew 7:1-6 / John 8:7-9
    Galatians 6:1 / 1 John 1:9 / 1 Corinthians 15:9
    2 Corinthians 12:9 / Romans 14:1

    2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI) / SWECS Music (BMI) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) / Ariose Music (ASCAP) (adm. by EMI CMG Music Publishing)

    Lyrics
    Is there anyone that fails
    Is there anyone that falls
    Am I the only one in church today feelin' so small

    Cause when I take a look around
    Everybody seems so strong
    I know they'll soon discover
    That I don't belong

    So I tuck it all away, like everything's okay
    If I make them all believe it, maybe I'll believe it too
    So with a painted grin, I play the part again
    So everyone will see me the way that I see them

    Are we happy plastic people
    Under shiny plastic steeples
    With walls around our weakness
    And smiles to hide our pain
    But if the invitation's open
    To every heart that has been broken
    Maybe then we close the curtain
    On our stained glass masquerade

    Is there anyone who's been there
    Are there any hands to raise
    Am I the only one who's traded
    In the altar for a stage

    The performance is convincing
    And we know every line by heart
    Only when no one is watching
    Can we really fall apart

    But would it set me free
    If I dared to let you see
    The truth behind the person
    That you imagine me to be

    Would your arms be open
    Or would you walk away
    Would the love of Jesus
    Be enough to make you stay

Love Them Like Jesus

  • Written by Mark Hall / Music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

    This song is a sequel - an answer to the questions posed in "Here I Go Again". When I fear what to say, I've taken my eyes off Jesus. He will restore. He will rebuild. He will answer the questions. My place is just being there, loving them, and pointing them to the Father.
    Matthew 11:28-29 / I Corinthians 3:7
    Isaiah 55:10-11 / 2 Corinthians 4:7-18
    2 Corinthians 12:9 / 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 16-18
    Hebrews 4:14-16 / Matthew 11:28

     

    Lyrics
    The love of her life is drifting away
    They're losing the fight for another day
    The life that she's known is falling apart
    A fatherless home, a child's broken heart

    You're holding her hand, you're straining for words
    You trying to make - sense of it all
    She's desperate for hope, darkness clouding her view
    She's looking to you

    Just love her like Jesus, carry her to Him
    His yoke is easy, His burden is light
    You don't need the answers to all of life's questions
    Just know that He loves her and stay by her side
    Love her like Jesus
    Love her like Jesus

    The gifts lie in wait, in a room painted blue
    Little blessing from Heaven would be there soon
    Hope fades in the night, blue skies turn to gray
    As the little one slips away

    You're holding her hand, you're straining for words
    You're trying to make sense of it all
    They're desperate for hope, darkness clouding their view
    They're looking to you

    Just love them like Jesus, carry them to Him
    His yoke is easy, His burden is light
    You don't need the answers to all of life's questions
    Just know that He loves them and stay by their side
    Love them like Jesus

    Lord of all creation holds our lives in His hands
    The God of all the nations holds our lives in His hands
    The Rock of our salvation holds our lives in His hands
    He cares for them just as He cares for you

    So love them like Jesus, love them like Jesus
    You don't need the answers to all of life's questions
    Just know that He loves them and stay by their side
    Love them like Jesus
    Love them like Jesus

Set Me Free

  • Written by Mark Hall / Music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

    This song follows the account in Matthew of the man full of demons until he met Jesus.
    Mark 5:1-13 / Ephesians 2:1-10
    Romans 8 / Revelation 1:18

    2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI) / SWECS Music (BMI) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) / Word Music, LLC (ASCAP) / Banahama Tunes (ASCAP) (adm. by Word Music, LLC)


    Lyrics
    It hasn't always been this way
    I remember brighter days
    Before the dark ones came
    Stole my mind
    Wrapped my soul in chains

    Now I live among the dead
    Fighting voices in my head
    Hoping someone hears me crying in the night
    And carries me away

    Set me free of the chains holding me
    Is anybody out there hearing me?
    Set me free

    Morning breaks another day
    Finds me crying in the rain
    All alone with my demons I am
    Who is this man that comes my way?
    The dark ones shriek
    They scream His name
    Is this the One they say will set the captives free?
    Jesus, rescue me

    As the God man passes by
    He looks straight through my eyes
    And darkness cannot hide

    Do you want to be free?
    Lift your chains
    I hold the key
    All power on Heav'n and Earth belong to me

    You are free
    You are free
    You are free

While You Were Sleeping

  • Written by Mark Hall

    I set out to set the classic hymn "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" to new music and, in the process, rediscovered the song and its message. They slept through it. Bethlehem missed the birth of the Savior of the world. Jerusalem did the same with Jesus' ministry among them. Seems crazy - 'til we as a nation look in the mirror.
    Matthew 25:5 - read the story / Romans 13:11
    1 Thessalonians 5:4-8 / Matthew 25:13; 26:41
    Ephesians 5:8-14 / 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
    Isaiah 53:6-7

    2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI) / SWECS Music (BMI) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing)


    Lyrics
    Oh little town of Bethlehem
    Looks like another silent night
    Above your deep and dreamless sleep
    A giant star lights up the sky
    And while you're lying in the dark
    There shines an everlasting light
    For the King has left His throne
    And is sleeping in a manger tonight

    Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
    For God became a man
    And stepped into your world today
    Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
    As a city with no room for its King
    While you were sleeping
    While you were sleeping

    Oh little town of Jerusalem
    Looks like another silent night
    The Father gave His only Son
    The Way, the Truth, the Life had come
    But there was no room for Him in the world He came to save

    Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
    The Savior of the world is dying on your cross today
    Jerusalem, you will go down in history
    As a city with no room for its King
    While you were sleeping
    While you were sleeping

    United States of America
    Looks like another silent night
    As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
    That save the trees and kill the children
    And while we're lying in the dark
    There's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
    For the Bridegroom has returned
    And has carried His bride away in the night

    America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
    Will Jesus come again
    And leave us slumbering where we lay
    America, will we go down in history
    As a nation with no room for its King
    Will we be sleeping
    Will we be sleeping

    United States of America
    Looks like another silent night

Father, Spirit, Jesus

  • Written by Mark Hall and Chad Cates and David Hunt

    2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI) / SWECS Music (BMI) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) / New Spring Publishing, a division of Zomba Enterprises (ASCAP) / Upper Cates Music (ASCAP) / David Hunt publishing TBD


    Lyrics
    Lord, the worship we bring
    Is more than songs that we sing
    It's a reflection of our ever-changing lives
    The best we have to offer

    We don't just lift up our hands
    Lord, we lift up our lives
    For we know that You are worthy of our praise
    To You our lifesongs raise

    Rescued from darkness
    We are walking in marvelous light
    For we are children of the King!
    SING!

    You are worthy of all honor
    Glory, praise and power
    King of the nations
    You are holy God almighty
    Clothed in brilliant majesty
    Father, Spirit, Jesus

In Me

  • Written by Mark Hall

    God does not need us. He wants us. To fear is to take our eyes off Jesus.
    1 Corinthians 1:24-28 / 2 Corinthians 12:9
    2 Corinthians 4:20 / 2 Timothy 1:7

    2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI) / SWECS Music (BMI) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing)

    Lyrics
    If you ask me to leap
    Out of my boat on the crashing waves
    If You ask me to go
    Preach to the lost world that Jesus saves

    I'll go, but I cannot go alone
    Cause I know I'm nothing on my own
    But the power of Christ in me makes me strong
    Makes me strong

    Cause when I'm weak, You make me strong
    When I'm blind, You shine Your light on me
    Cause I'll never get by living on my own ability
    How refreshing to know You don't need me
    How amazing to find that you want me
    So I'll stand on Your truth, and I'll fight with Your strength
    Until You bring the victory, by the power of Christ in me

    If You ask me to run
    And carry Your light into foreign land
    If You ask me to fight
    Deliver Your people from Satan's hand

    To reach out with Your hands
    To learn through Your eyes
    To love with the love of a savior
    To feel with Your heart
    And to think with Your mind
    I'd give my last breath for Your glory

Prodigal

  • Written by Mark Hall

    I've come crawling back with the stench of my old life still in my clothes. Thank You, Father, for Your love and patience for the prodigal in all of us.
    Luke 15:11-32 / 1 John 1:9

    2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI) / SWECS Music (BMI) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing)


    Lyrics
    Living on my own, thinking for myself
    Castles in the sand, temporary wealth
    Walls are falling down, storms are closing in
    Tears have filled my eyes, here I am again

    And I've held out as long as I can
    Now I'm letting go and holding out my hand

    Daddy, here I am again
    Will You take me back tonight
    I went and made the world my friend
    And it left me high and dry
    I drag Your name back through the mud
    That You first found me in
    Not worthy to be called Your son
    Is this to be my end
    Daddy, here I am
    Here I am again

    Curse this morning sun
    Drags me in to one more day
    Of reaping what I've sown
    Of living with my shame
    Welcome to my world
    And the life that I have made
    Where one day you're a prince
    The next day you're a slave

And Now My Lifesong Sings

  • Written by Mark Hall

    When God's hand of grace extends to us - the unearned and undeserved hand of grace - all we have left to do is worship. Not as a debtors who could ever begin to repay our Father, but as children who merely respond to Him with our lives. Our new and everlasting lives.
    Galatians 2:2 / Colossians 3:3-4 / Luke 15:32
    Romans:5:1-11 / Ephesians 2:1-10

    2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI) / SWECS Music (BMI) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing)

     

    Lyrics
    I once was lost, but now I'm found
    I once was lost, but now I'm found
    So far away, but I'm home now
    I once was lost, but now I'm found
    And now my lifesong sings

    I once was blind, but now I see
    I once was blind, but now I see
    I don't know how, but when He touched me
    I once was blind, but now I see

    And now my lifesong sings
    And now my lifesong sings
    And now my lifesong sings

    I once was dead, but now I live
    I once was dead, but now I live
    Now my life to You I give
    Now my life to You I give
    Now my life to You I give

    Hallelujah
    Hallelujah
    Let my lifesong sing to You

 

 

Casting Crowns

Release Date:
2003
Casting Crowns
  • Talk with enough people over the course of a lifetime, and hopefully you'll run into one - a person with such clarity of thought, such focus of purpose, and such timely insight that you'll want to turn to them at every available opportunity. They provide you with exactly what you need to hear at exactly the time you need to hear it.

    Now take that focus and house it in a person of equal parts humility and honesty, whose self-deprecation and humor only serve to heighten the message. Then wrap the insight up in the musical work of a dedicated group of friends, and shepherd it through the experiences of veteran artists Mark Miller of Sawyer Brown, and Steven Curtis Chapman, and you have a band with the uncharted potential to impact the world in a myriad of ways.

    You have Casting Crowns.

    At the core of Casting Crowns is Mark Hall, a man who never would have thought leading a band into the wilds of the business of music would enter into his calling. His place, he thought, was to serve young people.

    "I've been a youth pastor for about 12 years, and every church I've been in, music's always been a part of it," Hall says. "We'd usually start up a band made up of students so we could lead worship in our Wednesday night programs, and as the student ministry started to grow, the band would go off and play and do things in the area."

    "I had the thought that maybe I could write for other bands," he says, "because traveling around playing was not something I thought I wanted to do."

    The unit now known as Casting Crowns grew out of two of Hall's stops along his youth ministry path, first coming into being while leading a youth group in Daytona Beach, FL., then transplanting and growing when Hall and his family accepted a position in Atlanta.

    The band recorded two well-received independent records, distributed mainly in the Atlanta area. "There was the temptation to send our CDs to record companies," Hall says, "but we prayed about it and came to the realization we needed to keep doing our music our way."

    When you talk with Hall, you come to realize that beyond his self-effacing way, he's an exceptionally bright guy. His speech pattern is littered with exclamatory asides that only serve to punctuate the story he tells you, and most often those asides serve best to praise those who have touched his life.

    "Meanwhile, this college student in Daytona named Chase Tremont -- my new best friend in the world! -- has one of our CDs," Hall says. "He plays basketball at Flagler College in Florida, goes off to a camp there, and finds out his coach used to play basketball with a guy named Mark Miller."

    It's at this point where one of Casting Crowns' soon-to-be shepherds comes into the picture.

    "Chase and Mark get to know each other, and in the midst of a conversation one day, Chase figures out that Mark is the lead singer for Sawyer Brown," Hall says. "After that, Chase said, 'Oh, you've got to hear this band.' Mark must get a million of these things a year, but he likes it and gives us a call."

    Miller, the hyper-animated frontman for the veteran country group, doesn't know what he can do for the fledgling band, but wants to be supportive in any way he can. "I could tell by Mark's writing that he wasn't doing anything other than speaking from his heart exactly what he was seeing and what was around him," Miller says. "It didn't surprise me at all when I found out later that he was a youth minister, because basically these were messages to his students."

    "The first thing you hear, before you sit there and digest the lyrics, is Mark's voice. I knew a couple of things when I first heard it. I knew they couldn't afford to go in and mess with his voice, so what I was hearing was what he could deliver, so I was pretty blown away by that," Miller continues. "Then the songs were really different to me, they came from a different viewpoint than what you would normally hear within Christian music. The lyrics would immediately make you think, 'This guy's a hard hitter.' He's makes no bones about it; he's not hiding from anything. For me, in Christian music, that's a rarity."

    Miller hung onto the two Casting Crowns independent records, waiting for the right opportunity to tell other music industry colleagues about the band. That right moment came on a spring vacation with the families of two longtime friends, new Provident Label Group president Terry Hemmings and an artist with an equally impressive track record to Miller's, Steven Curtis Chapman.

    "I've known Terry for quite some time, and he's heard some things I've produced for Christian artists, and we'd been talking about doing something together for three or four years," Miller says. "After my first conversations with Mark, I could tell immediately that this was the kind of person I wanted to be involved with, that Steven would want to be involved with, somebody with true Christian integrity, not just a coating you spray on and then wash off at the end of the day."

    "I collected all the information, talked to Terry and Steven about it, and Terry got real excited about it and said, 'Let's just do something with them,'" Miller says. That something has manifested itself as Beach Street Records, the new PLG imprint captained by Miller.

    Meanwhile, Miller knew it was time to go out and recruit what would become the imprint's flagship artist. "I called Mark back," Miller says, "and his response was exactly what you'd want to hear. Rather than saying 'When do we leave?' or 'How much money am I going to get?" it was 'Am I still going to be able to be a youth minister?"

    "My response was something like, 'Sure, Mark, but your congregation may be a whole lot larger than you would have ever imagined.'"

    The pieces fell together quickly for Miller's new venture and the band it is introducing to the world. Casting Crowns entered the studio earlier this year with Miller and Chapman serving as co-producers, and the self-titled result is a rich-sounding edgy-pop record that refuses to shy away from the sometimes hard-to-hear truths presented in Hall's lyrics.

    That uncompromising spirit is heard on songs like "American Dream," which documents a father's neglect as he chases after the material nature of providing for his family, and "If We Are The Body," challenges Christians in the church to step outside the exclusive circles we are involved in and see the needs of others around us.

    "I really feel a burden for the church," Hall says. "Right after somebody gets saved, right as they're starting to grow, they essentially have the wool pulled over their eyes that tells them that religion is what they have stepped into. 'Here are the laws that relate to this, here are the rules for this other thing, here's your discipleship notebook, here's you T-shirt and this is what you have to do.' And the feeling is that when you come to church; if you did fail at whatever, don't let anybody know it."

    "So they show up acting like everything is fine and are surrounded by people who aren't fine, and that's what religion is. The world simply wants nothing to do with that. They want to see people that are real. It doesn't bother the world that we mess up, what bothers them is that we act like we don't," Hall says.

    And even though Hall and his Casting Crowns bandmates are currently in a whirlwind of activity the likes of which they probably couldn't have dreamed, they're not about to take their eyes off the fundamental message they wish to share.

    "I want to shake people up and help them see that Jesus is not a religion, and God is not a book," Hall says. "You can't pray to a book and you can't draw strength from an idea or standard.

    "If there's no relationship with Jesus as a person to you, you're in trouble." It's about life, not religion. It's about relationships, not books. Timely ideas not many of us think about, much less in that way. Casting Crowns is what we need to hear at exactly the time we need to hear it.
What If His People Prayed
  • “When we’re at the altar, everything makes sense,” Hall says. “We know what we’re supposed to do. We know how we’re supposed to live. Everything’s black and white. But somewhere between the altar and the door, when we leave and go out into our lives, it all leaks out, and everything gets gray again. The Christian life is the journey between the altar and door, trying to get the things you’ve got in your head, into your hands, feet, into your life. The Altar and The Door is all about the journey. The realization on the journey, the struggles and the victory of seeing it as possible.”
If We Are The Body
  • “When we’re at the altar, everything makes sense,” Hall says. “We know what we’re supposed to do. We know how we’re supposed to live. Everything’s black and white. But somewhere between the altar and the door, when we leave and go out into our lives, it all leaks out, and everything gets gray again. The Christian life is the journey between the altar and door, trying to get the things you’ve got in your head, into your hands, feet, into your life. The Altar and The Door is all about the journey. The realization on the journey, the struggles and the victory of seeing it as possible.”
Voice Of Truth
  • “When we’re at the altar, everything makes sense,” Hall says. “We know what we’re supposed to do. We know how we’re supposed to live. Everything’s black and white. But somewhere between the altar and the door, when we leave and go out into our lives, it all leaks out, and everything gets gray again. The Christian life is the journey between the altar and door, trying to get the things you’ve got in your head, into your hands, feet, into your life. The Altar and The Door is all about the journey. The realization on the journey, the struggles and the victory of seeing it as possible.”
Who Am I

  • “When we’re at the altar, everything makes sense,” Hall says. “We know what we’re supposed to do. We know how we’re supposed to live. Everything’s black and white. But somewhere between the altar and the door, when we leave and go out into our lives, it all leaks out, and everything gets gray again. The Christian life is the journey between the altar and door, trying to get the things you’ve got in your head, into your hands, feet, into your life. The Altar and The Door is all about the journey. The realization on the journey, the struggles and the victory of seeing it as possible.”

American Dream
  • “When we’re at the altar, everything makes sense,” Hall says. “We know what we’re supposed to do. We know how we’re supposed to live. Everything’s black and white. But somewhere between the altar and the door, when we leave and go out into our lives, it all leaks out, and everything gets gray again. The Christian life is the journey between the altar and door, trying to get the things you’ve got in your head, into your hands, feet, into your life. The Altar and The Door is all about the journey. The realization on the journey, the struggles and the victory of seeing it as possible.”

Here I Go Again
  • “When we’re at the altar, everything makes sense,” Hall says. “We know what we’re supposed to do. We know how we’re supposed to live. Everything’s black and white. But somewhere between the altar and the door, when we leave and go out into our lives, it all leaks out, and everything gets gray again. The Christian life is the journey between the altar and door, trying to get the things you’ve got in your head, into your hands, feet, into your life. The Altar and The Door is all about the journey. The realization on the journey, the struggles and the victory of seeing it as possible.”
Praise You With The Dance
  • “When we’re at the altar, everything makes sense,” Hall says. “We know what we’re supposed to do. We know how we’re supposed to live. Everything’s black and white. But somewhere between the altar and the door, when we leave and go out into our lives, it all leaks out, and everything gets gray again. The Christian life is the journey between the altar and door, trying to get the things you’ve got in your head, into your hands, feet, into your life. The Altar and The Door is all about the journey. The realization on the journey, the struggles and the victory of seeing it as possible.”
Glory
  • “When we’re at the altar, everything makes sense,” Hall says. “We know what we’re supposed to do. We know how we’re supposed to live. Everything’s black and white. But somewhere between the altar and the door, when we leave and go out into our lives, it all leaks out, and everything gets gray again. The Christian life is the journey between the altar and door, trying to get the things you’ve got in your head, into your hands, feet, into your life. The Altar and The Door is all about the journey. The realization on the journey, the struggles and the victory of seeing it as possible.”
Life Of Praise
  • “When we’re at the altar, everything makes sense,” Hall says. “We know what we’re supposed to do. We know how we’re supposed to live. Everything’s black and white. But somewhere between the altar and the door, when we leave and go out into our lives, it all leaks out, and everything gets gray again. The Christian life is the journey between the altar and door, trying to get the things you’ve got in your head, into your hands, feet, into your life. The Altar and The Door is all about the journey. The realization on the journey, the struggles and the victory of seeing it as possible.”
Your Love Is Extravagant
  • “When we’re at the altar, everything makes sense,” Hall says. “We know what we’re supposed to do. We know how we’re supposed to live. Everything’s black and white. But somewhere between the altar and the door, when we leave and go out into our lives, it all leaks out, and everything gets gray again. The Christian life is the journey between the altar and door, trying to get the things you’ve got in your head, into your hands, feet, into your life. The Altar and The Door is all about the journey. The realization on the journey, the struggles and the victory of seeing it as possible.”