Beyond Sunday Worship

Worship Podcast

A Worship Leader’s Heart Preparation Checklist

1. Have I spent time in worship offstage this week?

2. Is my songlist Biblical and true to who God is?

3. Have I submitted my plans to the plan of the Holy Spirit?

4. Have I prepared my team spiritually?

5. Am I rested enough for God to use me in my full capacity?

6. Is the Gospel still the best news in the world to me?

7. Am I loving my wife well?

8. Am I being the worship leader of my family?

9. Have I dealt with my besetting sins with God this week?

10. Have I actively spoken about and shared my faith this week?

11. Have I grown in my knowledge of God’s word this week?

12. Is Christ still the greatest treasure of my life?

13. Am I bringing to God a costly offering?

14. Am I pouring into others or simply promoting myself?

15. Am I leading worship in my thoughts, words, & actions?

What other questions help prepare your heart for worship?

3 Values You Need to Embrace For Your Worship Team To Grow

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

Don’t you wish there was an easy way to grow your worship team? Something that could happen quickly? If I created an ebook titled “How To Grow Your Worship Team By the Time You Finish This Book”, a lot of people would read it but it would be full of fantasies.

I’m of the belief that growing your worship team starts by doing good things consistently over a period of time.

Sure, you could decide to pay musicians. That is an option for some. But what if it’s not? What about a worship team that ATTRACTS people? What about a worship team that raises up and releases people of a certain spiritual DNA?

Is this just some idealistic jargon I’m throwing at you?

I’ll let you decide.

Here are 3 values that, I believe, will help to grow your worship team over time.

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Why Owning Your Senior Pastor’s Vision Is So Important

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I’ve mentioned before how owning your senior pastor’s vision is important. Not only is it important, it is essential. There is a tendency among us worship leader/creative types to walk to the beat of our own drum. The truth is, you won’t reach your full potential as a leader until you learn to serve someone else’s vision.

Serving someone else's vision is like trusting who you skydive with. You'll be glad you did.

When I finished college and was hired as a worship pastor, I wasn’t prepared to serve someone else’s vision. Bible college doesn’t necessarily prepare you for that. I had dreams and ideals. It wasn’t until I really submitted myself to a great, visionary leader that I began to grow like I never had before.

If you are on staff at a local church, you need to own your senior pastor’s vision with all your might. And if you can’t, it might be time for you to leave. I know that’s a bold statement. I know it may seem a little harsh.

But I think it’s important and here’s why:

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10 Ways to Recruit New Musicians While Strengthening What You Have

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

It’s an all too common scenario. Great musicians come. Great musicians go. Young, mediocre musicians get better. Young, now improved musicians go to college. Have you found yourself in that situation numerous times? Have you been so discouraged that you’ve wanted to quit? Is all this church musician transitioning really worth it?

Maybe stand on the street corner and hold this sign?

Transition comes with the territory of being a worship leader in the local church. People come for a season and move on. Young people go to college. Wouldn’t you love to have a culture where when some musicians move on, others step up to the plate? A culture where you have multiple players who are skilled and available?

Hope this helps:

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What Worship Leaders Shouldn’t Learn From Rockstars

In a recent post I talked about the positive things worship leaders could learn from rockstars. Feel free to check out that post here. But there are also some things worship leaders should not imitate. A lot of things. Worship Leaders may look like rockstars, but there are some profound differences. There NEED to be some profound differences.

Wouldn’t you say?

There are many temptations for a worship leader. With the popularity of songs, artists, bands, & musical innovation, it’s easy to get caught up in the spotlight. Worship leaders, first and foremost are servants. We set the table for the saints to come and feast at the table of the King. We must decrease while Jesus increases. We need to shine the spotlight on Christ.

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