The Asbury Worship Collective has released the news it will be recording another live
album in less than a month. The news broke via social media when worship arts majors
flooded their timelines with pictures of mysterious red squares and a poster revealing
the title of the project, “Closer Still.”
When asked what the title means, senior Austin Lepard said, “We believe that the
Church as a whole can sometimes be mistaken when we choose to focus on only one
picture of God, putting God in a box and ascribing to Him what He is to be. With ‘Closer
Still’ we seek to become closer to the true image of God, a humble God that left his
throne to come be with his people.”
The Collective has been working hard for months to prepare this album. During the fall
semester, members of the team take a few days and go on a “songwriting retreat” to
carefully prepare the songs that will appear on the project. The following months
consisted of countless hours of band practices, creating graphics and preparing
merchandise.
This all leads up to the live recording session, which takes place on Asbury’s campus in
front of students, faculty and members of the community. This night is full of excitement
and fulfillment for the Collective.
“To think that I’ll be leading a song on this campus that no one else has ever sung really
just hits home for me,” said Senior Caleb Norris. “David repeatedly talks in scripture
about ‘singing a new song’ to the Lord. I can’t wait to do that.”
Immediately following the live performance, the Collective goes directly into post-
production, which consists of hours of editing, mixing and mastering until the album is
ready to be released. The entire process is vigorous, but life changing. Senior Madison
Samokar, who is working on her third album, said that she cannot imagine her college
experience without the Collective.
“I have found the people that are going to be my lifelong best friends,” she said, “People
who love each other and constantly pursue knowing Jesus better and in new ways.”
After months of prayer and preparation, the time has almost come for the Collective to
share what they have been working on for so long. As in years past, the night is set to
be an amazing spirit-filled night of worship and community. The live recording of “Closer
Still” will take place on Feb. 21 in the Miller Communication Arts building.