Reviewed by Stella Redburn

This was the first album of Christian worship songs ever recorded by Don Moen, who went on to have a 20 year career as a singer/songwriter/worship leader. It is a live album, recorded at Covenant Church, Mobile, Alabama and in 1995 it went gold, selling more than 500,000 copies. It became the label's best-selling release, achieving more than one million copies world wide. The stated focus of the album is God as Jehova-Rapha, which means "the Lord our healer" and the live recording was followed by an extended time of worship, which included several reports of physical healings. The enthusiasm is contagious, the arrangements and production are MOR slick and the motivation is clearly Spirit-led. The title track was closely associated with Moen at the time and he begins and ends with it. The album is split into medleys, which works well as it is not too stop-start with the simple choruses. There is an opening block of praise, then a section with an Israeli feel. The middle section is perhaps the most moving, as they get into the healing ministry with Don's own songs "I Am The God That Healeth Thee", "Like A Shepherd", which blossoms into a beautiful extended time of worship, "Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord" and "Worthy, You Are Worthy". This re-release makes me realise just how far Christian contemporary worship has come in 25 years. There certainly is a place for these ultra simple, three chord, four line choruses, both in pumped up, high octane praise and in meditational worship. But it's sobering to realise that 25 years ago, that's all the congregations had, except for hymns.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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