I remember wondering (quite a few years ago) – when I noticed some churches had Jesus on the cross, and others didn’t have him on the cross – why there was a difference in the two ways the cross was displayed. I guess the subtle difference in the manner in which it was displayed kinda …
Lift Your Head Weary Sinner
We’re honored to have a great guest post from Andrea Lucado. We’re all building our own little walls. At least, they start out as little. But it doesn’t take long before they have grown tall, then a little taller and a little taller. We have to use a ladder in order to place the next …
Worship Team vs. Worship Band
Is the church platform exclusive for the select few or should it be a place to raise up people who are gifted to lead? There are many great worship bands that tour and record albums to spread the gospel, and many small churches that lead worship with very few people in their teams. Both bring …
Three Distractions
Dear worship leader, musician, singer, and creative artist, we know the drill: shiny guitars and red keyboards. Set designs and set lists. Countdowns and title packages. Custom patches and custom in-ears. Smiling greeters and smiling worship leaders. Jangly guitars and pumping fists. Backing tracks and backing vocals. They are, in fact, elements of weekend services. …
The ALSO Idol
In the last chapter of Joshua, there is a nugget that can be uncovered in regards to what true worship is and what it is not. This chapter starts out with Joshua gathering all the tribes of Israel together to charge them to trust and serve the Lord. He begins by reminding the people of …
Avoiding Burnout
I just spent a month in Finland visiting family and friends. Yes, a month. While it was nice to have all that time off, it was much more valuable than just R&R. It was a time to be filled up to be poured out again in service without burning out. After months of work and …
Worship Review: Ghost Ship // Costly
Worship Review: Ghost Ship // Costly Ghost Ship is Seattle based band with a unique folk/ambient/Seattle rock sound that is all their own. There is no confusing Ghost Ship with anyone else out there. Ghost Ship’s music was made popular through their ministry at Mars Hill Church which dissolved in 2014. They had 3 …
Theology in Worship
Let’s get this out of the way, if you are reading this, and you have any beliefs or ideas about God, congratulations, (hands you invisible diploma) you’re a theologian! The only question is, where does our theology come from? I think we can all agree that theology matters when it comes to the pulpit and …
Working With Struggling Musicians
Let’s face it: if you are leading worship for any amount of time, you are going to encounter a struggling musician. There are a couple different reasons why musicians struggle in a worship setting: it can be a lack of ability, lack of effort, fear or apprehension, issues of the heart, pride, or maybe something …
Is My Worship the Same on Monday?
On Sunday my church was on fire. The message taught and the worship that accompanied it were sewn together in this perfect little quilt called Sunday Worship. People responded. As the team closed the service with a song congregants came forward worshipping, kneeling, singing out, and declaring that through it all our eyes would be …
Worship on a Budget
We all know that money can’t buy you happiness. It can’t buy you anything of lasting importance at all, in fact. In the worship ministry world, it seems that often times money, which buys equipment & environments, has become equated with excellent worship. There’s a subtle undercurrent out there that pulls us into believing that unless we’re …
Worship Blind Spots
For those of us who drive, we know that a blind spot is an area that cannot be seen due to an obstruction. The best way to overcome these blind spots is by acknowledging them and finding other ways to see around them. As worship leaders, we have a duty to lead effective and meaningful …
Considering Personal Monitors?
I remember the first time I went to a NAMM show. It was glorious. I would like to think I had my base impulses under control, but seeing all that gear… All of a sudden I wanted it ALL. There has never been a more exciting time for technology, and specifically, technology that enables and …
Relational Tendencies
The more I study on strengthening my faith, the more correlations I see between “worldly” situations and “faith” positioning. I even discovered a relationship between feelings and money – and how we tend to put too much stock in both…. AND in remarkably similar ways! First of all, “money” isn’t the root of all kinds …
Using What You’ve Got
In a perfect world we would all have our dream rigs. Our tone would sound exactly as we imagine it in our heads and we’d never need to buy another piece of gear because we had everything we ever wanted. Sounds good right? The fact of the matter is that for the vast majority of …