Much of the world teaches us that if we’re to succeed, we have to be on the lookout for our chance to shine or get ahead. See an opportunity? Hurry up and grab it! See an opening? Better jump in before someone else does! Quite frankly, it’s exhausting. Don’t you feel that? If you think about […]
Embracing Advent in Corporate Worship
practices for a season of longing & waiting In church ministry, the fall can often feel like one extended sprint from back-to-school through Christmas. But about seven years ago our church discovered Advent and it has truly changed how we approach and experience the holiday season, which is now upon us. If we’re not intentional […]
Practical Tips for Spontaneous Worship (Part 2)
The last post discussed how you can better prepare yourself to facilitate spontaneous moments in worship. But leading a team in spontaneity is a whole different animal that requires a different set of skills and practices. So, what do you do if you feel comfortable leading spontaneous moments, but it’s foreign to your team? Here’s […]
Practical Tips for Spontaneous Worship (Part 1)
How can I prepare for unplanned moments in worship? I grew up in wildly Pentecostal and Charismatic environments. “Flowing” in and out of songs was normal for me – any moment anything could happen. But I’ve learned that wasn’t – and definitely isn’t – the case for most people. Many worship leaders are hungry to […]
In the age of Amazon, it’s difficult to know what books are worth reading and which aren’t. A simple search for books with “worship” in the title will produce everything from daily devotionals to scholarly monographs to “how to” handbooks. No one is an authority on all “worship books,” but I’ve read my fair share […]
3 Characteristics of a Healthy Ministry Team
If we’ve learned anything by paying attention to the scandals unveiled in the last 10 years it is that health cannot be determined by signs of external success. Systems and organizations are too complex to base assumptions about their health from visible phenomena alone. I have been a part of ministries that appeared to be […]
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, […]
3 Ways to Increase Your Congregation's Worship Engagement
Recently I was talking with a worship pastor who wanted to increase his congregation’s engagement in worship. Most worship leaders that I know also want to increase the congregation’s engagement in worship. Why is that? In a perfect world it would be because we want the people under our care to be so deeply convinced […]
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 […]