Archives for December 2013

Dec 30 2013

Is Your Worship Leading Fake?

Have you ever been in a worship service where the worship leader felt disconnected? Fake?

Maybe they seemed more into their music than their God. Maybe they seemed to be all about themselves rather than Jesus.

Whatever the case, sincerity is so important. Where you may lack a certain level of skill, your sincerity and passion for Jesus will make up for it.

I’m not saying your musical growth isn’t important. If you can’t sing on key or play your I IV V chords, no one will want to worship with you. But your church is looking for more than a good show and a fun sing-a-long. They are starving for God.

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Dec 23 2013

A Christmas Prayer for Worship Leaders and their Teams

Around the holiday season, without a doubt, worship leaders are busy.

There’s Christmas productions, new year planning, and extra services happening.

It’s easy to fall prey to the rush – where you are simply pulling things off in order to survive.

Matter of fact…this feeling can continue throughout the year. Service to service. Just getting things done. Checking off the to-do list.

But what if you could be more present? Slow down enough to realize the miracle that is happening before you?

I want to pray for you.

My prayer for you is that…

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Dec 20 2013

My Approach To Goal Setting And Planning The New Year

Whether you want to believe it or not, a new year is upon us.

In addition to yuletide carols being sung, folks dressing like eskimos, and ox and lamb keeping time, this is a season where we think hard about what we’re working towards in the new year.

It’s a time of reflection on 2013 and planning for 2014.

I believe this is healthy. Remember what Socrates said?

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

An effective, productive life is a life that is intentional and thoughtful. You don’t just want to coast blindly through your days, hoping the best will happen. It’s important to think through all your different roles and make sure you are living out God’s best.

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Dec 18 2013

#27: An Interview With Gloria Gaither [Podcast]

It’s not every day that you have a conversation with a legend.

To say that Bill & Gloria Gaither are prolific songwriters is an understatement. I was so privileged to have a conversation with Gloria a couple weeks ago.

Our conversation went in so many beautiful directions – from talking about the humble origins of Gaither Homecoming to the creative process to raising kids to learning a foreign language to leading worship in a multi generational church.

I hope you enjoy the interview! Please come say “hi” in the comments afterwards!

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Dec 16 2013

Why Does Your Congregation Come To Church?

If you took a survey of your congregation, asking them, “Why do you come to church?”, what do you think they’d say?

For religion? For friends? For music? Out of habit? For God?

Great worship leaders study this. A powerful worship ministry is so much more than a big voice and powerful music.

But that’s often what we focus on, isn’t it? We strive for CD-quality soundscapes every weekend. We try and sing like Israel Houghton. We work hard on writing songs like Matt Redman.

But what if I told you that this was counterproductive for you?

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