I recently read a quote in a book that I am reading by A.W. Tozer called “The Pursuit of God”. If you have never read it I highly recommend it. Anyway, in this particular chapter he is talking about the incredible act of faith and trust by Abraham when he offered Isaac as a sacrifice …
Leading Transformational Worship
No worship leader who is serious about offering authentic, Christ-centered worship wants to simply show up on Sunday, sing a bunch of songs and go home without knowing that God’s heart was engaged and the Holy Spirit moved and worked in the lives of those gathered. Whether we want to admit it or not, we …
Online Guitar Workshop
We had a fantastic time! Here’s the handout Chris references. The Church Collective Online Guitar Workshop Handout
Being Led While Leading
I guess I’ve always felt like I was somewhat of a leader. With my Type A personality, taking charge of situations has not always been easy, but I haven’t refused the challenge. However, I can say that being a church leader has presented more challenges than any other situation that I’ve experienced in my life. …
Three-Dimensional Worship: Part I // An Introduction
Let’s be perfectly honest: it’s hard to build a worship program in any church – big, small, medium and everywhere in between. Building systems and processes that pastor your people while churning out the best “product” (yes, I use that term intentionally) is difficult in any sized church. In my experience most large churches didn’t …
Three-Dimensional Worship: Part I // An IntroductionRead More
Worship Review // Bryan and Katie Torwalt // Champion
There are some fantastic songs on this album to use in your church. Here are some thoughts on songs that stood out to me. You’ll definitely want to pour over the album for yourself to see what works in your church context. World of Grace // I get a big coldplay vibe from this one. …
Worship Review // Bryan and Katie Torwalt // ChampionRead More
Worship Review // Weston Skaggs // Joy and Sorrow and Meet
The guys over at sprig music are putting together some great music for the church. There’s a uniqueness to Weston Skaggs’ new album that may be just right for your church. Here’s a breakdown of some of the songs that stood out to us: Glory to Your Name // The musicality of this track is …
Worship Review // Weston Skaggs // Joy and Sorrow and MeetRead More
Songwriting For Your Church // Part Two – Practicality
WHY? Songs are a powerful thing. They have the ability to speak to the mind with lyrics and content as well as speak to the heart with music and melody. The lyrics tell the story and share the message. The music and melody give the feeling or emotion. When you pair these two together, you …
Songwriting For Your Church // Part Two – PracticalityRead More
Worship Review // Hillsong United // Of Dirt And Grace
Chances are you’re probably doing a lot of the songs from Hillsong United’s Empires in your church already. If you are, this record will give you some fresh ideas and arrangements. If you’re not, maybe this will help you contextualize the songs for your church! Here are my thoughts on some of the album: Here …
Worship Review // Hillsong United // Of Dirt And GraceRead More
Culture Killer // Tardiness (A Volunteer's Perspective)
Culture Killer // Tardiness (A Volunteer’s Perspective)
As a Worship Leader, I’ve come to realize that part of my job description should read, “Defender of Culture”. Because in all reality, creating and keeping a positive culture on our teams only happens with intention. It’s when we get a bit lazy that culture killers can sneak in and start to poke holes in …
Culture Killer // Tardiness (A Volunteer’s Perspective)Read More
Straight Talk // Role of the Worship Pastor
This is Part Two of a series titled Straight Talk. Part one of the series, Role of the Worship Leader, can be found here. There is absolutely no way we can have an intelligent conversation about the role of a worship pastor without first defining what a pastor is. You would think this would be …
Dealing with Cynicism
Whether you like it or not, difficulties, disappointments, dashed expectations, and delays build the muscle of character necessary to maturely sustain the very thing (goal, desire, outcome) you’re pursuing. And the development of that muscle, along with the promise of a hope-filled future, is the very reason you must never give up on this journey …
Creating a Healthy Worship Culture
I recently spoke with a worship pastor friend who was seeing major decline in his team. People were leaving left and right from his music ministry, and he couldn’t figure out why. I started off with asking him some questions. Let’s call him Jeff. Josh: Have you set vision for your team? Jeff: Yeah…I told …