The now and the not yet may be the best Riddle

March 12, 10:14 PMDenver Evangelical ExaminerRichard Beattie

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What do you think of when you hear the term Praise and Worship music? Do you think of art, or some elderly blue haired woman singing "Holy, Holy, Holy," while playing a pump organ? OK if it is the latter you may not have attended an Evangelical Church in the last decade or two!

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The latest offering from worship leader Jeremy Riddle is something that you probably would expect to hear in a club or coffeehouse on the West Coast. Gritty well phrased vocals, and a band that has LA session chops, and a gallery of songs that challenge the church; bless the relationship, and call His people to community are the elements of this guy's art.  

There is nothing typically churchy found hear and more importantly nothing very "religious." Riddle played all 3 services at Mountain Springs Church, in Colorado Springs, and gave an energetic concert last weekend that reached "all generations," in the almost 4000 member church.  

He sings, "No more compromises, no more moral crisis, tonight may she move and act as you." Many were moved to tears in a town that has seen both the church and ministries face both crisis and compromise in recent years. Riddle's chorus continues with the words, " No more small divisions, no more lack of wisdom, Tonight may she move and act as you..."

This is more than poetics or techniques, this lyrical craft is truth being waved in our faces without a pointed finger, and that is what the church should be in the community. While this is a shining example of the type of songwriter Jeremy Riddle is, what is even more important is the type of worship leader Riddle has become.  The CD is available at Varietal Records and more information and tunes may be downloaded at http://www.insideworship.com.

I cannot say enough of the crafted songs that ranged from subjects of the Resurrection in Christ is Risen to the joyful "Bless His Name." The most profound and challenging piece in his set was "Prayer for the Church." In it he lays out an imperfect church being as transformed as the believers that grace her pews.