Sounds like … contemporary worship featuring the same pop rock sound of numerous other releases from Integrity and VineyardAt a glance … though good for a handful of standout worship originals, Offering of Worship sounds like a typical praise albums, which may not be a bad thing for some listenersTrack Listing- Arise
- All the Earth Will Sing Your Praises
- Without You
- Offering
- Arms Open Wide
- My Reward
- Taste and See
- All Praise and Honor
- Fairest Lord Jesus/My Only Crown
- You Prepare a Table
- You Are the One
- All for You
Paul Baloche is best known for "Open the Eyes of My Heart," recently named by Christian Copyright Licensing International as the most popular worship song in North American churches today. The worship pastor for Community Christian Fellowship Church in Lindale, Texas additionally received a Song of the Year Dove Award for co-writing "Above All" with Lenny LeBlanc. His wife Rita is also a popular worship songwriter, responsible for favorites like "Rock of Ages" and "I Will Celebrate." They lead worship together on Offering of Worship, recorded live at Regent University in Virginia Beach.
Like most of today's worship albums, Offering of Worship is good for a couple of outstanding tracks among a bunch of likeable though forgettable songs. The highlight here is "Offering," a solid pop ballad of gratitude to the Lord that could potentially be the songwriter's next "Above All." (It fades out quickly during Baloche's closing prayer, which is a bit uncharacteristic of a worship album.) Other standouts include the strong praise rocker "All for You," the upbeat Easter anthem "All the Earth Will Sing Your Praises," and the memorable melodic rock of "My Reward." There's also a fine rendition of "You Are the One," which Baloche co-wrote for Lincoln Brewster's 2002 release, Amazed. But apart from these, this 12-track recording is unremarkable, delivering conventional melodies and patterned pop arrangements with the standard worship rhetoric. A good and well-intentioned album, there are nonetheless hundreds of others available from Integrity and Vineyard that sound just like Offering of Praise.
