articles

Russ Hutto encourages worship leaders to be intentially productive. Worship leaders, have you ever had someone asked you what it is you spend your time doing all week? Here are some of the guesses that I’ve experienced over the years: “You get paid to sit around and listen to music,…

Cliff Lambert claims bad vocals can be fixed. Over the last 30 years or so, the role of the vocal team in worship has changed dramatically. We’ve moved from full choirs to ensembles or “praise teams” of 4-12 and now down to a worship leader with a single harmony vocalist.…

Daniel Darling says churches that worship at the altar of relevance divide ministry into age-graded demographics. Did you hear the latest research about the attitudes of Millennials? Me neither. I’m being sarcastic, but kind of serious. It’s good to study the trends and behaviors of the next generation so we…

Jeremy Smith asks if we really need to have the offering plate present to make our regular gift to the church holy. It would seem that tech is being used for many great ways in church including youth ministry games, digital communications, and safety checks for our children. Yet, I…

Dan Wilt helps take your vocals to the next level. 1. Vibrato Is Out – Tight Blend Is In. When microphones were first put in front of church vocalists back in the day, chorally or folk-bred singers brought their vibrato to the microphone. If you’re the only one singing, or…

Doug Lawrence says most churches move through worship leaders like he goes through firewood in the winter. Like pastors, worship leaders take lots of critical “hits” in their vocation; they just make a lot less money and are often not as well trained as traditional clergy. Oh, and they are…

Katie Eckeberger offers ideas for being confident, while still honoring God with humility. You might think it odd that I’m addressing stage presence in a worship leading context, but all too often I see worship leaders struggling to maintain a leading presence for their congregations. It might be a confidence…

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…