articles

Ever wonder why some Protestant pastors wear robes? Robert Cunningham explains. I spent last weekend with a great group of people interested in joining our church. I gave them an opportunity to ask me any questions they might have about Tates Creek Presbyterian Church, and one person raised their hand…

Matt Mason explores the qualifications of a worship pastor. I realize that many who have the joy of leading in musical worship are not elders in their local church context. That said, the Apostle Paul tells us that it is a noble aspiration to be an elder-pastor (1 Timothy 3:1).…

Hiring is very serious business at Google. For a long time, the search giant was known for lobbing complicated brainteasers at applicants–puzzles such as how many golf balls fit into a school bus?–in the name of hiring the smartest people around. But last year, VP of people operations Laszlo Bock…

There are a lot of different stereotypes about PK’s—some more fair than others—but maybe the safest thing you can say about being a PK is that it sets you up with some expectations. Every Sunday morning, you’re on a stage (sometimes literally), with members of the congregation going through a…

As Obamacare looms, I’ve been reading much about how business are cutting employees from full to part-time in order to avoid the enormous health care costs. Some restaurants are even starting to add an Obamacare fee to your bill. I’ve wondered how this debacle will affect churches. Sure enough, I’m…

Carols Whittaker explains how the full-time worship leader job may be vanishing: I’ve been a “worship leader” for a looooooong time. Started full time circa 1998. Now I’ve been blessed to be able to do many things in the ministry and now worship leading is probably only 1/5th of my…

David Santistevan shares his Worship Leader Checklist: What would you say? Would you have a process in place to help me? If you’ve read this blog for a while, you know we are all about discipleship. But discipleship can be difficult if you don’t know how to disciple. What are…

Tim Adams offers projection advice: More and more churches are moving towards using projected content of some kind in their services and this post is aimed at heading off the purchasing of the wrong projector for your specific application. Below, I’ve assembled my top 5 questions to ask when considering…

Tony Morgan visits a dated, traditional ministry: It’s hard to believe, but it was over ten years ago. Our family was out of town. While we were away, we went to a service at a church that was very different than our church. We had three kids at the time.…

Kerry Bural explains how his church creatively brainstorms: At Resonate Church, there’s a method to our creative and strategic madness. And today we’re giving you an exclusive peek at a Resonate secret weapon for fostering strategic, creative, and team collaboration. Think of it as a behind-the-scenes tour of our top-secret…

Rob Rash explains that your congregation is the choir. In a recent post I brought up the idea, that regardless of whether or not your church has an official choir, your church does have a choir. The people that make up your congregation, are in fact a choir. The biggest reason…

Elevation Church pastor Steven Furtick has been in the news lately, and especially last week, when a Charlotte, NC, TV station did an expose on their “spontaneous baptisms.” Also brought to light was their curious children’s Sunday School coloring book featuring an image of Furtick with some cult-like propaganda. Charlotte…

Keith Getty gives practical advice on strengthening our congregational singing. My wife, Kristyn, and I recently returned from a tour where we had the privilege of sharing our music in cities across North America. As we do on our tours, we partnered with most of our concert sponsors to host…

Matt Merker: while the worship set has much to commend it, it’s not without dangers. For many, the “set” of music that comprises the main part of a church’s Sunday service is a bit like the glass sculpture on top of my grandmother’s bookshelf: you can’t touch it. The worship…

Bryan Isbell offers easy ideas to be a more effective worship leader. It’s always helpful to read about things that can make us better. But all too often, these posts offer very little in the way of APPLICATION. And, being as transparent as possible, I’m as guilty as anyone else.…