Beyond Sunday Worship

Worship Podcast

Why I’m Stepping Down From Your Worship Team

[This is Part 1 of a two part series on Helping your Volunteers Feel Valuable & Significant. Check out Part 2 here.]

Dear Worship Leader,

I’m a volunteer on your worship team.

Not sure if you remember me.

This might be hard to swallow, but I’m going to be stepping down from the team.

I know you probably hate me right now, but it’s just not working out.

Instead of just leaving, I thought I’d write you this personal letter explaining why I’m leaving. Maybe it could be of benefit to you. Thanks: [Read more…]

4 Worship Planning Resources To Simplify Your Life

[This post is part of a series on Tips For Taking Your Worship Team To The Next Level. Check out the rest here.]

One of the best changes we ever made was migrating all our scheduling and planning to an online system. Gone are the days of an Excel spreadsheet, individual emails, and tracking 400 email replies.

If you are not currently operating this way, consider this post your kick in the butt 🙂 It will save you time, simplify your life, and help you focus on the “worship” side of leading worship.

Schedules!

For this post, I thought I would offer a simple overview of some of the more popular sites:

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When Creativity And Church Collide: Helpful Advice From 5 Creative Leaders

You may have experienced the feeling before.

Choked. Shot down. Misunderstood. Not sure if your art has its place within the local church. But just because you feel that way doesn’t mean it’s time for you to give up on it.

The local church is the place your art can find its greatest fulfillment – in building up the body of Christ and reaching people with the Gospel in unique ways.

Don't you just sense the creativity here? 🙂

Today I have the privilege of featuring the brilliance of some amazing people. These six creative experts have graciously agreed to offer their wisdom and insight into this issue: the creative working in the local church.

[Read more…]

7 Questions Worship Leaders Should Ask Their Senior Pastor

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There is no more important relationship in your ministry than between you and your senior pastor. I believe if that relationship can be built on trust, respect, and friendship, there’s no telling what can happen.

It’s typical for there to be a more controlling, task-oriented senior leader with a semi-lazy, yet gifted, artsy worship leader. Many times the relationship just doesn’t jive. It can go a long way for you to humble yourself and seek the input of your pastor.

In a previous post I talked about how important it is to own your senior pastor’s vision. Today I wanted to take it a step further and give a simple blueprint for making that happen. It’s so important to have open and honest dialoge with your pastor. Hopefully these questions can help guide those conversations.

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Is Your Worship Environment Excellent?

Maybe that’s not a question you’ve considered before. But it may just revolutionize what you do. Consider how a great waiter makes your dining experience all the more enjoyable. When the service is poor, you have no desire to return. Even if the food was great, all you can talk about is the poor service.

I’ve found this to be true for worship as well.

Doesn't this just put you in a good mood?

A couple months ago my wife and I stayed at a local ski resort for a night. Inside our room when we arrived was a $25 gift card to a restaurant on the premise. Due to the kind gesture, we decided to try it out. A shuttle picked us up and dropped us off at the door. We were greeted by some very happy people. So far so good.

[Read more…]