articles

Building and managing a team is simultaneously the most rewarding and challenging endeavor that a worship leader can undertake. Many leaders who are entrusted with overseeing volunteers find themselves navigating unfamiliar territory, balancing their concerns for the team’s well-being with the practicalities of directing and developing the ministry itself. With…

Brady Boyd lists traits consistent with good leadership: I want to be a leader who is easy to follow, so I’ve been paying attention lately to those who seem to model this really well. We should not have an unhealthy desire to please everyone, but we should make it as…

Rich Birch uses Blockbuster Video as a cautionary tale for leaders within the multisite church movement. Blockbuster video was amazing in its prime. Just 10 years ago, they had 9,000 locations and over 60,000 employees. [ref] It made renting a movie “simple and convenient” because they had so many locations.…

Cliff Lambert help you develop a plan of action. If you’re part of a ministry whose vision is to reach as many people in your city as possible with the Gospel, your leadership has probably had the multi-site discussion.  Church multi-site expansion has exploded in the last ten years. Hundreds…

Ed Gentry says recovering the practice of lament will help us be more authentic, Biblically faithful, and culturally relevant followers of Jesus. Lament And Praise Respond To Reality Songs of lament and songs of praise are both a response to reality. In our songs of praise and adoration, we respond…

Jordan Tracy lists his favorite mics and why: A question many churches face these days is which microphone is best suited for my worship team vocalists? There seems to be an unending array of options to choose from. You also have to ask the question – how can I pick…

Jon Nicol explains a worship team’s dress rehearsal is a run-through. It’s that time we play through a song, or full set, or even the full service just like we’re going to do it in the service. And just like the dress rehearsal, it gives us confidence to know that…

Bob Kauflin suggests worship leaders should study Biblical counseling. In 2008, I suggested in Worship Matters that the title of “worship leader” needed to be defined to be helpful. So I defined it this way: A faithful worship leader magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ through the power…

Will Doggett lists practical steps to build confidence. 1. Recognize Whose You Are We are a child of God. Before we get to “what we do” we have to recognize “who we are”. Before we get there, we have to realize “whose we are”. We are God’s. Galatians 3:26 says…

John Nicol offers a short list of “rules” to help you plan worship services with great transitions. 1. Always Have A Plan Every single time you need to connect two elements in worship, whether it’s songs, scripture, the announcements, an offering, or even the message, plan it out. Plan. It.…

Rich Birch says it’s your job as a leader to take responsibility. Some weekends at your church are better than others. Things seem to fall into place and everything clicks. The band is in the pocket. The announcement time goes well. People connect with the message. Then there are weekends…

Adam Bond explains that the Musical Director adds unity and strength to the worship team. A Musical Director is a voice of leadership on the platform that helps to run the rehearsals, navigates the band through musical transitions, and fuels the worship leader with clear ideas that can create a…

Tim Suttle says the assumption that bigger is better pervades the church leadership culture. 1. Faithfulness, not success, is the goal of the church The church’s job is not to grow, multiply, or expand. The church’s job is not to take back the culture for Jesus. The church’s job is…

Rachel Held Evans explains why 59% of people ages 18 to 29 with a Christian background have, at some point, dropped out. Bass reverberates through the auditorium floor as a heavily bearded worship leader pauses to invite the congregation, bathed in the light of two giant screens, to tweet using…