articles

Listening to Young Atheists: Lessons for a Stronger Christianity

Larry Taunton: When a Christian foundation interviewed college nonbelievers about how and why they left religion, surprising themes emerged. “Church became all about ceremony, handholding, and kumbaya,” Phil said with a look of disgust. “I missed my old youth pastor. He actually knew the Bible.” I have known a lot…

Practical Worship Tips from Andy Chrisman

The former 4 Him vocalist answers questions about how he does worship ministry: 1. How do you implement new songs? How often do you put in new songs? Is there a process to put in new songs? We don’t have a specific timeframe for new songs being added. We are…

Why Traditional Churches Should Stick with Traditional Worship 2

Last week I ran an article by David Murrow that has been burning up the Internet. This week, a response from Adam Walker Cleaveland: Now, let me start off by saying that I’ve certainly sat through services like Murrow did. A primarily traditional church that had a group of individuals…

Connect With Your Congregation

Great worship leading tips from Jamie Harvill: When I set out on my professional music career in 1980, the first thing I learned from my mentors was to connect with the audience. I was taught that the stage is not like a fish bowl, where the audience peers statically at…

Things You Should Never Say in Ministry

Excellent advice from Jamie Brown: When you’re in ministry, there are going to be times when you say some really stupid things to people in your congregation. In the moment, you’ll either not be thinking clearly, or not thinking at all, and you’ll open your mouth and say something that…

Superman Movie Marketed to Pastors

The upcoming Superman: Man of Steel movie has a website with free resources and free pastor’s screenings across the country: ManofSteelResources.com Sign up to receive weekly WorshipIdeas every Tuesday morning in your email: First Name: Last Name: Email:   We guarantee 100% privacy. Your information will not be shared.

Why Traditional Churches Should Stick With Traditional Worship

David Murrow: don’t try to be something you’re not: I’m a member of Alaska’s largest church. It’s a lot like every other megachurch. We meet in a cavernous, windowless room with stage lighting and two huge projection screens. We’re led by a rock band and a casually dressed pastor. The…

Why Aren’t People Singing?

Kimberly MacNeill offers practical tips for helping your congregation sing, and to understand why they don’t: Worship leaders, week after week, pour their heart and soul into leading their congregation in a time of worship through music. They plan and they practice and they pray. A team of musicians shows…

12 Questions For Evaluating a Ministry

Take a look at your ministry with tips from Brian Howard: Have you carefully thought through a new ministry that you want to start? Have you evaluated your current ministries? Here are 12 planning questions that will help you think through starting a new ministry or evaluating a current one.…

The Heart Attitude of a Background Vocalist

Daniel J. Mathew offers BGV tips: A lot has been said about worship leading, about the responsibilities both musically and spiritually a person has when leading a congregation in corporate musical worship, and whilst most points are relevant to all members of the band and creative arts, often they’re specifically…

What Happens When Someone on Your Team Drops the Ball

Catalyst director Brad Lomenick on team building: So what about when someone completely drops the ball? We all have experienced this as leaders. I know I have. So how do you respond? You give a big assignment or project to someone on your team, and they lay an egg- totally…

How Loud Should Your Church Worship Service Be?

Eric Dye on sound levels: My first experiences with church sound level complaints was pretty flippant. I thought, “Seriously? Have you nothing more important to think about?” However, the truth of the matter is, church volume is something that cannot be ignored. If you have people in your congregation that complain about the…

What Happens When Your Songs Are Too High

Jaime Brown on song keys: I was recently watching a well-known worship leader lead worship at a church that was broadcasting its service online. His leadership was excellent, the band was playing well, and the songs were really good. There was one problem, though. The keys were all way too…

Worship In The Aftermath Of Violence And Terror

Kristen Gilles on worship in the midst of tragedy: Our nation was jolted last week by the tragic, civilian “war zone” created at the Boston Marathon after two terrible explosions killed 3 people and horribly wounded nearly two hundred others. The news media photos depicted bloody carnage on the streets…

3 Lessons Your Church Can Learn from Disney Part 1

Jason Hatley compares the Disney culture to ministry: Recently, I was asked to speak to a group of pastors in Orlando and while I was there, I was invited to go on a “behind-the-scenes” tour of Walt Disney World. Needless to say… I was excited! Sure it was going to…

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