articles

Jason Houtsma discourages bad worship habits. 10. Never stop playing. Not before the set starts. Not in between songs. Not when someone is talking. Not when someone is praying. Not even when the service is over and the sound guy has put the background music on. NOT EVER. Silence is…

Jed Smith advocates the Nashville number system. [editor’s note from Don Chapman: Jed uses the Nashville number system. When I memorize my worship music, I simply think of whether I’m playing a “1” chord or a “5” chord – basically the same thing!] “I’m trying to free your mind.”-Morpheus In…

Dan Wilt lists the basics for in-ears use. It’s going to take time to get used to using IEMs, so decide now that, because you can’t go back, you’re going to keep getting better at using them. There are things to learn about how to wear them, how to keep…

Marc Brown offers ideas for what to do when a group of people from your congregation leave to begin a new work. As worship pastors, we spend ourselves working and asking God to build a team (a choir, an orchestra, a band) that will help our congregations hear, know and…

Hillsong’s Matt Hann says excellence is about growth and maturity. Excellence is not a set level of quality or perfectionism. It’s an ever-changing dynamic in both our personal journey and the collective journey of our teams. It’s about growth and maturity. Excellence should be a moving target of sorts. The…

Steve Hafler debunks that old saying. I’ve often heard the argument that a person should dress for church like they’re meeting with the president. Perhaps you’ve heard a similar argument — that a pastor ought to wear a coat and tie on Sunday because NFL commentators still wear classy suits…

The Washington Post weighs in: The designation “Too Big to Fail” usually makes us think of large banks, propped up by taxpayer funds during the 2008 financial crisis. But the central questions it raises—When do we have a responsibility to save an institution? And who should be on the hook…

Jim Denison compares Internet churches to the televised churches of the 70s. Have you heard of “Text Neck”? That’s the term therapists use for the effects of texting on our spines. They tell us that the average human head weighs 10 to 12 pounds. Tilting it down to look at…

Chris Huff explains techniques for mixing worship music. Let’s be honest, musicians only play the music but we’re the ones who form it into something great. Their music pales in comparison to what we create. We are mixing gods! I so hope you were offended by that. I didn’t mean…

Barna conducted a multi-phase research program. Many churches today are explicitly constructed not to look and feel too much like a religious place. A stark contrast to the ancient cathedrals and churches of old—the very design of which was intended to help people experience the divine. How does this design…

Tony Guerrero served as Music Director and Director of Creative Arts at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. I spent some time considering what the main tips are that I not only recommend to people in classes I teach and articles I write, but that I also use in my…

Glenn Packiam attempts to dispel stereotypes: What are the repeated critiques you hear about modern worship? It is so noisy. And why is every bridge a monosyllabic chant? (eg. ‘whoa…oh oh…) It looks too much like a concert. The songs are so repetitive. It’s too much about ‘me’. I am sure there…

Adam Dolhanyk muses about the demise of a worship record label. Recently, you might’ve have seen, or heard or read about the troubles at Mars Hill Church and with their Pastor, Mark Driscoll. The question was put to me in regards to all of this: what do we do with…

Katie Strandlund talks about how you can live through getting burned and not lose your faith. Getting burnt out while working in a church is bad enough, but getting burned is a horrible experience. Transition is natural in our work, but when it happens in churches the result is often…