articles

Matthew Sigler analyzes the two styles in today’s worship: Michael Hawn, a professor of church music at Perkins School of Theology, uses two basic categories when speaking about music in the church: cyclical and sequential. Cyclical music is typically made up of short texts supported by a simple melody that…

Craig Gilbert asks: As a worship leader, how much worship can I actually do while leading? I was asked this question: As a worship leader, how much worship can I actually do while leading? It seems like my mind is always on the band, or the flow, or the time,…

Taylor Blomquist offers staging tips for your worship ministry: Intimacy, honesty, and transparency are keys to creating organic and authentic worship. Our organic worship blog series gives you the secrets of creating a heartfelt worship experience in a collective setting. The best part—we focus on DIY ideas, so it won’t…

This Hillsong United musician may surprise you: I’ve been thinking lots about our 10 campuses here in Australia, thinking about the musicians and singers that join our team, the variety of skill level we encounter, the variety of programs/opportunities we have on a regular basis, the 52 different services we…

Mark Condon says: yes! “Do We Still Need Choirs? I am asked almost every week in my travels about choirs vs. praise teams. Is choir still relevant? Should we keep working to make this happen? Are we behind-the-times by having a choir? My answer in short is YES, we still…

Zac Hicks wonders if modern evangelicals are looking more like medieval Roman Catholics than Protestants: I was at a worship concert a few years ago with a friend who remarked that the leader up front was singing in such a beautiful and un-follow-able manner that all my friend felt encouraged…

Shelly Johnson on struggling with your set list: It’s the age-old question that perhaps every worship pastor and worship leader wrestles with at some point in their ministry. A question with no clear-cut answer, no formulaic solution. It’s up for debate and strong arguments could be made on all sides.…

David Gibson lists the crazy things pastors do to draw a crowd: A California pastor made headlines this month when he announced that he will live like an atheist for a year to see what it’s like on the other side of belief. But Ryan Bell is actually just the…

Bob Kauflin encourages us to choose singable songs for our congregations: I’ve read a number of posts and articles about how to determine what’s best for your congregation to sing. Kevin DeYoung did a two part series a couple years ago here and here that was excellent. As the new…

Bobby Gilles brings to light an interesting quote on musical complexity: Kristen and I have written often about the need for theologically sound, gospel-centered lyrics in our worship songs. It’s important that our songs enable us to “teach and admonish one another” (Col. 3:16) as we praise the only true…

Manuel Luz discusses the definition of “church:” something that happens or a community of believers: I’m witnessing a growing trend in some churches these days. And that is to quietly retire older worship leaders and musicians in favor of younger, more hip-looking equivalents. And let me be clear on this:…

Chuck Warnock predicts an end to the Christian celebrity culture: In keeping with end of the year predictions, here are mine. Of course, several years ago I predicted $5 per gallon gas. Thankfully, we never got to that point. But in light of my obvious fallibility I’m framing my prognostications…

Leah Norton asks if it’s time to rethink the name of your ministry: Hi, I’m Leah. What’s your name? What’s your church’s name? Why do I ask? Why do I care? Why should you care? Because names matter. Your name is what you lead with. As a person, family, school,…

Todd Rhoades offers tips for the process of leaving your ministry: Pastoral resignation letter writing is tricky. No one ever wants to write them. Everyone knows what they’d like to say (deep down), but many times don’t know how to say it. Well, it’s 2014… time to gear up for…

Gary Durbin helps us give focus to our congregations in January: As a worship leader, I have felt the effects of the Christmas hangover. This is the time that church leaders and worship leaders need to rise up and help people refocus on worshiping God for the next 12 months.…