articles

Bob Kauflin on choosing popular worship songs: If you’re a worship leader or music minister there’s a good chance you’ve heard another leader talking about the new song they just introduced. They describe it as the most “incredible, life-changing, awesome, heaven-releasing, God-calling-down, what-you-haven’t-heard-it-yet” song they’ve ever done. You heart sinks…

Thom Rainer on ministry growth: Few people will argue that church attendance in many churches in America is declining. Our own research indicates that the majority of churches in our country are not growing. Most of us have our own ideas why attendance is declining. Many have suggested that our…

The state of the contemporary church 2013: I wrote an article last week encouraging churches to use church music in church. This week I’m on a campaign to encourage churches to use Scripture in their worship. I played for a few years at a local megachurch and my parents attended…

A seminary student arguing for shorter, more viral sermons, in the area of 18-minutes long, claimed that pastors are not following Christ’s most famous example in the way they preach, pointing to the Sermon on the Mount. But three pastors remain unconvinced, and denounced the argument as unbiblical and misguided…

Jamie Brown on letting your songs speak for themselves: Good news for worship leaders all over the world: there’s no reason for you to do much talking. Seriously. You really don’t need to talk that much. Ask yourself: how many times per month/per Sunday/per service do I interrupt the flow…

Here’s an excerpt from an article by John Flowers and Karen Vannoy that addresses an issue many worship leaders struggle with – why you shouldn’t let just anybody join the praise team. I was taught to cook at twelve years old, and was allowed to “practice” on my family. Everyone…

Kevin DeYoung on contemporary service orders: Every church has a liturgy. Traditional congregations have a general order to worship. So do contemporary congregations. So do funky, artistic ones. Church leaders do not have time to reinvent their services every week. Congregations are not capable of learning new forms, new songs,…

Nic Cook on yesteryear’s worship wars: So you’ve taken that new job and you’re trying to figure out how to make some much needed transitions without causing yourself or your church unnecessary “bloodshed”. I’ve been talking to some worship minister friends of mine who are either in this phase of…

Caryn Rivadeneira, Sharon Hodde Miller and Megan Hill share their perspectives on young people and the church: As a true sign that I am getting old, Rachel Held Evans’s uber-popular CNN post Why Millennials Are Leaving the Church brought about a wistful, nostalgic response in me: Ah, to be young…

Wikipedia explains an Internet meme is an idea, style or action which spreads, often as mimicry, from person to person via the Internet, as with imitating the concept. Here are a few worship leader-themed memes to hit the ‘net:  

Scott Sidusky on burnout: One of the first major lessons I learned in ministry is the importance of remaining intentional about preventing burnout and maintaining a balance between family, work and ministry. This is a lesson, unfortunately, that I had to learn the hard way. A few years ago, I…

from Christian Copyright Solutions Founder and President Susan Fontaine Godwin: The first time I remember hearing a secular song used in worship was at a rural church in northern Indiana. It was “Let My Love Open the Door,” by Pete Townshend, performed by a spunky blond woman from the praise…

This week’s signs put the “fun” in Fundamentalist. At least you know where these churches stand. Ambiguous, they are not. See more. 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.

Sam S. Rainer on creating the framework for worship: A good worship pastor knows how to lead artists. Indeed, observing a worship pastor lead a group of artists is a work of art in itself. Worship pastors often get labeled as innovate yet quirky, creative but peculiar. Let’s be honest—many…

Along with his half shaved head and slicked back Mohawk, he’s dressed in his usual Sunday attire: black jeans and an unbuttoned denim shirt with a tank top underneath. His tattooed arms, including one with two guns crossed, peek out from under his rolled-up sleeves. His Hillsong Church NYC holds…