Graham Kendrick

Graham Kendrick (born on 2 August 1950, Blisworth, Northamptonshire) is a prolific British Christian singer-songwriter and worship leader. He is the son of a Baptist pastor. He now lives in Croydon and is a former member of Ichthus Christian Fellowship. Together with Roger Forster, Gerald Coates and Lynne Green, he was a founder of March for Jesus.

Career

Kendrick began his songwriting career in the late sixties. His most enduring accomplishment is his authorship of the words and music for the song, "Shine, Jesus, Shine", which is among the most widely heard songs in contemporary Christian worship worldwide. His other songs have been primarily used by worshippers in Britain. Kendrick is a co-founder of the March for Jesus. He received a Dove Award in 1995 for his international work. In 2000, Brunel University awarded Kendrick an honorary doctorate in Divinity ('DD') in "recognition of his contribution to the worship life of the Church".^[1] He was awarded another DD in May 2008, from Wycliffe College in Toronto, Canada.^[2]

Although now best known as a worship leader and writer of worship songs, Graham Kendrick began his career as a member of the Christian beat group Whispers of Truth. Later, he began working as a solo concert performer and recording artist in the singer/songwriter tradition. He was closely associated with the organisation Musical Gospel Outreach and recorded several albums for their record labels. On the first, Footsteps on the Sea, released in 1972, he worked with the virtuoso guitarist Gordon Giltrap.

Kendrick worked for a time as a member of "In The Name Of Jesus," the ground-breaking mission team led by the Rev. Clive Calver. Calver went on to run British Youth for Christ and the Evangelical Alliance, and then left the UK for the Evangelical Church in the U.S. Kendrick, however, has remained firmly fixed in the UK church, as probably the most influential Christian songwriter of his generation.

Kendrick also released "Let the Flame Burn Brighter" as a single in 1989, which reached 55 in the UK Singles Chart.

He is a member of Compassionart, a charity founded by Martin Smith from Delirious?.

Popularity

Shine, Jesus, Shine is regularly highly placed in hymn popularity polls.^[3][4] Fellow songwriter and former Kendrick bandmember Stuart Townend has said, "I have no doubt that in 100 years time the name of Kendrick will be alongside Watts and Wesley in the list of the UK’s greatest hymnwriters".^[5] Kendrick also has his critics, among them the right wing journalist Quentin Letts, who has described him as "king of the happy-clappy banalities"^[6] and "the nation's pre-eminent churner-outer of evangelical bilge".^[7]

Well-known songs

• "Knowing You"
• "Shine, Jesus, Shine"
• "Amazing Love"
• "The Servant King (From Heaven You Came)"
• "Meekness and Majesty"
• "God With Us"
• "O Lord, Your Tenderness"
• "He That Is In Us"
• "Go Forth In His Name"
• "Lead Me To The Cross"
• "History Makers"
• "For This Purpose"

Discography

• Footsteps on the Sea (Key Records) 1971
• Bright Side Up (Key Records) 1972
• Paid on the nail (Key Records) 1974
• Breaking of the dawn (Dovetail) 1976
• Fighter (Dovetail) 1978
• Jesus Stand Among Us (Dovetail) 1979
• Triumph in the Air (Glenmore Music) 1980
• 18 classics (Kingsway) 1981
• Cresta Run (Kingsway) 1981
• The king is among us (Kingsway) 1981
• Nightwatch(Kingsway) 1983
• The blame (Kingsway) 1983
• Let God Arise (Kingsway) 1984
• Magnificent Warrior(Kingsway) 1985
• Make Way for the King of Kings -A Carnival of Praise (Kingsway) 1986
• Make Way for Jesus -Shine Jesus Shine (Make Way Music) 1988
• Make Way for Christmas -The Gift (Make Way Music) 1988
• Let the Flame Burn Brighter (single) (Make Way Music) 1989
• Make Way for the Cross - Let the Flame Burn Brighter (Make Way Music) 1989
• We Believe (Star Song) 1989
• Amazing Love (Integrity) (Integrity's Hosanna! Music) 1990
• Crown Him (Integrity'sHosanna! Music) 1991
• King of the Nations (Word UK) 1992
• Crown Him - The Worship Musical (Word UK) 1992
• Spark to a Flame (Megaphone/Word UK) 1993
• Rumours of Angels (Megaphone/Alliance) 1994
• Is Anyone Thirsty? (Megaphone/Alliance) 1995
• Illuminations (Megaphone/Alliance) 1996
• No More Walls (Make Way Music/Alliance) 1997
• No scenes of stately majesty (E.P) (Megaphone/Alliance) 1998
• The Millennium Chorus (Millennium Chorus Ltd) 2000
• The Easter Collection (Make Way Music/World Wide Worship) 2001
• What Grace (Make Way Music/Fierce!) 2001
• Rumours of Angels / The Gift Double CD (Make Way Music/Fierce!) 2001
• The Prayer Song Collection (Make Way Music/World Wide Worship) 2002
• The Psalm Collection (Make Way Music/World Wide Worship) 2002
• Do Something Beautiful (Make Way Music/Fierce!) 2003
• Sacred Journey (Make Way Music/Fierce!) 2004
• USA Live Worship (Make Way Music) 2005
• Out Of The Ordinary (Make Way Music/Fierce!) 2006
• Dreaming of a Holy Night (Make Way Music/Fierce!) 2007
• The Acoustic Gospels (Make Way Music) 2010

Bibliography

• Graham Kendrick Worship (Eastbourne: Kingsway, 1984)
• Graham Kendrick (Ed) Ten Worshipping Churches (London: Marc Europe, 1987)
• Graham Kendrick, Gerald Coates, Roger Forster and Lynne Green with Catherine Butcher, March for Jesus (Eastbourne: Kingsway, 1992)
• Graham Kendrick Public Praise (Altamonte Springs: Creation House, 1992)
• Graham Kendrick, Clive Price Behind the Songs (Stowmarket: Kevin Mayhew Ltd, 2001)

References

1. ^ "Graham Kendrick interview". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/songsofpraise/features/graham_kendrick/. Retrieved 2008-05-16. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Wycliffe College to bestow honorary doctorates on vital leaders in the Christian Community". Wycliffe College, Toronto. 2008-04-30. http://www.wycliffecollege.ca/news_details.php?nid=166. Retrieved 2008-05-16. 
3. ^ Daykin, Tim (11 Sep 2006). "Top 40 Hymns". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset/content/articles/2006/09/07/top_40_hymns_feature.shtml. Retrieved 1 December 2009. 
4. ^ Petre, Jonathan (27 Oct 2005). "Hymns ancient and extremely modern top viewers' chart". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1501577/Hymns-ancient-and-extremely-modern-top-viewers-chart.html. Retrieved 1 December 2009. 
5. ^ Townend, Stuart (2009). "Songs of Praise - Top 10 Hymns". http://www.stuarttownend.co.uk/resources/articles/songs-of-praise-top-10-hymns. Retrieved 1 December 2009. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Thompson, Damian (12 Oct 2008). "Will happy-clappy Graham Kendrick wage spiritual warfare on Quentin Letts?". The Daily Telegraph. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/5436745/Will_happyclappy_Graham_Kendrick_wage_spiritual_warfare_on_Quentin_Letts/. 
7. ^ Letts, Quentin (8 Oct 2008). "50 people who've wrecked Britain". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1072329/QUENTIN-LETTS-50-people-ruined-Britain--final-roll-shame.html. 

External links

• Official web site Requires - Apple Quicktime
• Discography 1
• Discography 2
• Walton, Andy (April 2010). "Worship is more than intimacy". Christianity Magazine. http://www.christianitymagazine.co.uk/features/graham-kendrick.aspx. 

Persondata
Name	Kendrick, Graham
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Date of birth	2 August 1950
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