Brian McLaren is known widely for his many books and his signficant role as one of the pioneers and theological framers of the "Emerging Church" movement.  But music and songwriting in particular has also been a passion of Brian's for many years.  Brian took a travel sabbatical for the first part of 2016 during which he composed a number of new songs for worship.  Many of these new songs of his will soon be available primarily if not exclusively through CMP!

No one is more humble and self-deprecating when it comes to his own playing and singing than Brian, so cut him some slack if his "Garage Band" demos aren't flawless.  We or others may redo some of these songs in a more studio polished format, but we want to begin sharing his new songs with the Church right away.  Few songwriters hit the lyrical heart and essence of what CMP is all about any more deeply and consistently than Brian.

"Spirit Running" is a fun, joyful, upbeat song proclaiming the call to do justice and to care for and honor the earth.  Enjoy!

A wonderful new song based on the "Taste and See" text from Psalm 34.  This is widely used as an invitation to the Table and a song to sing during Holy Communion.
 

The lyric sheet product is a chord chart with lyrics and chords. The lead sheet product bundles lead sheet, congregational melody line and songleader's guide. This song is licensed via OneLicense.net, CCLI and Worldmaking.net. This song is part of Richard Bruxvoort Colligan's intergenerational camp song album, "Branching Out: Neo Camp Songs." Resilience, not happiness. Nothing wrong with being happy, but if that's the only goal for our kiddos, we will be forming grown-ups who understand seasons of unhappiness as failure and be unprepared for inevitable losses in a mature life of faith. Many outdoor ministry settings happen around woods, so this uses a tree's growth rings in the forest as a metaphor for how each person's stories is embedded in our daily life. Learn More

This is a song of longing for "Green hearts" and gardens that need to be planted. It includes spoken parts in between the repeatable chorus that could be done by various readers within a congregation. This would work well for traditional churches committed to eco-justice and lifestyle changes in order to address climate change and the integrity of Creation. Learn More

"You gave us these bodies. And you called them good." For everyone who has ever felt unsure or shamed about their body, a song called, These Bodies, from The Many. The song came out of conversations in the band about how often we get the message that our bodies are sinful, wrong, unholy, how they don't measure up, how we need to fix them. What we try to believe instead (though we don't always act like we believe it …) is that through the Bible, and most fully in the incarnation of Jesus, God says that our bodies are "fearfully, wonderfully made." That we aren't just minds and spirits, we are BODIES, and how we treat our own and everyone else's matters. When we sing "These Bodies,” we remind ourselves of our intrinsic, God created worthiness/wonderfulness. There are so many other messages that we hear and we carry around that damage us. It helps to sing songs that help us remember who God is and who we are. This is one of those songs. Learn More

Picture her sputtering in awe when you imagine Saint Angela of Foligno singing, "This world is pregnant with God." It's a powerful feminine metaphor for change. Sing it in Springtime, either Lent or Eastertide, on Earth Day, or any moment to remember humankind's interconnection with creation. The simple refrain deepens in meaning as the verses suggest dimensions of the metaphor: if creation is a pregnant witness of Christ incarnate in the world, then every living thing is kin (verses 1-2). For verse 3, I was thinking about the parable of the treasure in the field, and of my family's roots in farming. John 16, Mark 13, and Romans 8 refer to labor pain as a metaphor for the pain of transformation and renewal (verse 4). Teach the community the single-phrase refrain, and your music leader or choir sings the verses. Learn More

This song was written specifically to match the "Day 5" Scripture and Theme of the 2018 "Beyond Belief" Outdoor Ministries Camp curriculum published by Chalice Press. The Scripture is the amazing encounter of Jesus and the Syrophoenician Woman in Mark 7:24-30, and the theme for the day is "What If We Speak Up?" Sometimes speaking up is hard and requires courage and strength to "find our voices." This song is a prayer for that courage and grace and the ability to know when it's time to speak up. Learn More

From Brian McLaren:  "The Great Spiritual Migration, like all of my books, suggests that we are at the end of a dying ear and at the beginning of something new.  A kind of vital spiritual receptivity is required in liminal times like these, and this song seeks to help us experiene that receptivity.  These lyrics emerged over several years, and they're among the favorite lyrics I've written."

From CMP: Brian McLaren was on a road Sabbatical for the first 8 months of 2016.  During this time away from the grind of constant travel and preparation for live events Brian wrote, rewrote, compiled, and recorded demos (not finished studio recordings) of 21songs.  9 of these demos are currently available here on the CMP site, and we are in the process of creating lead sheets and piano arrangements for them.  If you would like to purchase this entire collection of Brian's demo's, lyrics, and some notes he wrote about each song (21 songs for $18) please email Bryan Sirchio, CMP Lead Designer, and he will send you a link you can use to purchase Brian's entire collection.