articles

Brian Gowing says be better stewards of God’s money by looking at what could be done with what you have. Prepare to be uncomfortable. You have fallen prey to Big Church Envy. You know who you are and what I’m talking about and you’re starting to squirm in your seat.…

James Tealy gives practical advice to the church plant worship leader: Cake? Is a birthday cake at the end of worship the right way to celebrate your first year as a new church plant? I didn’t know I would ever have to make that decision. For the first time in…

Scott Clayton offers encouragement from one worship leader at a church plant to another: Keep going I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. In case you didn’t know, that was written by Paul, a guy who had it way…

Brian Sigmon says worship in the Old Testament is more than bloody and fearful. Be honest. You read that title and expected me to talk about sacrificing goats, didn’t you? Before you start reminding me of Hosea 6:6 or Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, hear me out. Because worship in the Old…

Tim Challies says doctrine leads to worship: I love doctrine. Doctrine is simply the teaching of God or the teaching about God—the body of knowledge that he reveals to us through the Bible. I guess I’m one of those geekly people who loves to learn a new word and the…

Dan Wilt offers in-ears tips: Many churches these days have moved to IEMs (In-Ear Monitors) to reduce stage clutter, tighten up sound, and heighten musicality in the band. The sound and individual control of IEMs is fantastic, but it takes some getting used to – especially because the relational, community…

Nick Law wonders when did we start assessing authenticity in worship based upon a style of music? One morning, not long ago, whilst doing the usual scroll through Facebook in an attempt to shoehorn myself into a brand new autumnal day, I saw this caption accompanying a video for a…

Duke scholar Lester Ruth tweets interesting figures about CCLI songs. Duke scholar Lester Ruth (someone whose work every worship leader should pay attention to) tweeted this interesting stat: Continuing hymn/CCLI song comparison. Most frequent human verbs in hymns? “sin” and “see”; in CCLI songs? “sing” and “praise” His sources for…

Andy Lee with ideas for creating a smooth flow. As a worship leader, leading within a song is a given… But what about the in-between? Transitions are a great way to help create a seamless time of worship and reduce potential awkwardness between songs. The truth is that we practice…

Joshua Watts offers a worship checklist. So, what makes a song “congregational”? Is the content of the song applicable to a majority of your church? Make sure that the theme of the songs you select are broad enough to apply to a variety of individuals from many different walks of…

Todd Pruitt says musicians are given priestly status. There is a great misunderstanding in churches of the purpose of music in Christian worship. Churches routinely advertise their “life-changing” or “dynamic” worship that will “bring you closer to God” or “change your life.” Certain worship CD’s promise that the music will…

Tips from a top Hillsong Engineer. 1. Be approachable! Build relationships with the team on stage. Learn to work in context of service outcomes and consider the needs of the wider creative team. Example: if a mix needs to sound like something other than what you are creating, be open…

Kristen Gilles shares wisdom from her grandmother. Five years ago I was helping my mom clean out my grandparents’ house after my papaw passed away. I discovered a trove of treasures in my mamaw’s nightstand: a box full of scripture cards handwritten or typewritten by my mamaw and organized by…

Hillsong’s Taya Smith offers suggestions from her experiences. 1. The difference between preparing and not preparing is MASSIVE. Apart from knowing the songs and learning the lyrics, setting aside time to prepare my heart before God is the most important thing — it allows the Holy Spirit to speak, puts…

Nancy Beech discusses pros and cons of predictability. I have been thinking a lot about templates lately – the Pros and the Cons. When I was leading a Worship/Arts team, our mantra was to surprise the congregation every week. We believed our job was to treat every Sunday like a…