This song was birthed out of my greatest inner healing so far. As is often the case, my wound traced back to my childhood. My parents had a rocky relationship. They separated when I was 6 and then divorced when I was 7. I lived with my mom, and as a highly sensitive person, I […]
3 Ways to Design a Better Worship Setlist
When I first started leading worship in my teens and early twenties, my understanding of how to choose a worship setlist was something like: start fast and loud, end slow and low. Oh and pick songs that are in the same keys if possible. Simple! Well. That’s mostly because at that point in my life, […]
4 things we can learn from jesus' communication
In Part 1 of our blog on Culture of Communication, we talked about the fact that leaning into and improving interpersonal communication skills is essential to being a good leader, and crucial to being an effective disciplemaker. If you haven’t yet read Part 1, I’d encourage you to pause here and go read that before […]
*This is a manuscripted adaptation (summary!) of a sermon I gave on Palm Sunday that might help guide us on the journey with Jesus this week. It would make a great resource to share with your teams this week as we lean into all its significance. Holy week is the most important week in the […]
Culture of Communication (Pt. 1)
I’ll be honest. For the last several years, I’ve found myself wrestling with my own frustration around communication. Specifically interpersonal communication. Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances where grace is needed, of course, but I’m talking more about a habitual pattern of not responding in a timely manner (or at all) or responding in a way […]
Considering a Change?
How to Prepare for a New Worship Ministry Assignment
A new year naturally turns our focus toward “new beginnings” of all kinds. People are suddenly resolute to lose weight, pray more, cut back spending, and sometimes even make career changes. For those in full-time ministry the holidays are demanding, and once the dust has settled many begin to contemplate whether they want to spend […]
If you saw the announcement about the virtual 10k we’re hosting this fall, the thought may have crossed your mind, “Why would a worship school be promoting an athletic event?? Aren’t most of your students and alumni more the artist-types? Does a worship leader even need to care about being able to walk or run […]
There are three areas all leaders need to consider, be aware of, and give real weight to in order to find that sweet spot where both the leader and the church will find the most growth and fulfillment together. Prioritizing only one, or even two, will result in an imbalance that will not only be felt by the leader, but by the church as well.
Many of today’s churches tend to fall into the extreme categories of being defined as EITHER rooted/traditional OR renegade/charismatic, but how beautiful would it be to have congregations worshiping God across the full spectrum?
Q: How do I pick songs for a specific passage of scripture my pastor is speaking on?
A: I’ll never understand a worship set that has nothing to do with the accompanying sermon. It is such a wasted opportunity when we arbitrarily pick songs that people may like yet don’t serve to orient us towards where the pastor is about to take us, or don’t pick up from where the sermon lands […]