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5 Ways To Help Ease Worship Volume Wars

Aug 25, 2014

Clint Taylor says vision is key.

How Loud is too loud?

This is actually a very reasonable question in todays worship arena, especially when we fill our set lists with songs written for arenas. Before I go much deeper I do want to say that not every worship leader will deal with these issues, and thats ok. I have worked at both a louder church (Current position) and a quieter church, and in both positions I received just about the same amount of complaints. There is nothing like someone coming up to you after a great service with the sole intent of telling you, the worship leader, the music is too loud. With that being said, I thought it was a topic worthy for a post. Us worship leaders will always want it just a little bit louder than everyone else really is comfortable with, the idea is to find that sweet balance called the “compromise level”. This topic might even seem a little taboo, but its good to always embrace these sorts of topics because frankly its an issue many of us deal with and get frustrated with. Here are 5 ways to help ease any frustrations that may be welling up inside of you young worship leaders.

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Seven Traits of Pastors Who Lead Breakout Churches

Aug 25, 2014

Thom Rainer offers an “aha” moment about revitalizing churches.

Most of you have heard the dire information and statistics about congregations in North America. Indeed, I have been among the purveyors of the negative news. For sure, the overall picture is gloomy. There is no hiding from that reality.

Reasons for Hope

But I remain an obnoxious optimist about churches across our nation. And one of the primary reasons I do so is some ongoing research and observations about churches that have truly been revitalized.

My own research began several years ago and culminated in my book, Breakout Churches. It was a massive project, beginning with over 50,000 churches. My research, and that of many others, continues to this day.

While most of the research has focused on information endemic to structural and congregational issues, I have taken a laser approach to look at the leaders of these churches. And while I will release more comprehensive information later in a video consultation, I am incredibly excited to release some key information about leaders of these churches today.

The Seven Traits

The churches I have studied are churches that were once declining, but now are growing in a healthy fashion. The decline may have been dramatic, or it may have been almost imperceptible. In almost every case, however, the pastor embodied seven key characteristics.

In some of the churches, the pastors were new, and the presence of a new leader energized the congregations to move forward. In other churches, the pastors had been the leader during the decline, but now they were leading a church headed in a positive direction, a breakout church.

But here is a key to remember. The pastors intentionally adopted seven traits that were key to the churches’ turnaround. Let’s look at each of them briefly.

These pastors faced reality. They looked at the current condition of the church. They likely did an informational historical survey of attendance trends. They refused to put their heads in the sand.
They became leaders of hope. They looked at biblical truth regarding possibilities. They communicated that hope to their congregations. They truly believed all things are possible through God, including the revitalization of seemingly dying churches.

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Why Isn’t Your Church On YouTube Yet?

Aug 25, 2014

Jeremy Smith challenges churches to join the online video revolution.

The question in the title of this article can come off as both shaming and challenging. If you felt those two because your church does not have a YouTube account, then GOOD! You need to be on it, if for no other reason than you can engage people more online!

In the article below, I generate three ways that you can create unique content to post on there. Before we get to that, you need to understand why it is so important you are on YouTube.

First, this is but a limited argument in a blog format and so we are a bit restricted here. For a full discussion on this topic of churches using YouTube to peak efficiency, go download our Social Media Quickguide: YouTube for free or purchase YouTube for Churches in Kindle format off of Amazon. Secondly, I ALWAYS stand by the motto you either do something fully or not at all. I am going to make the argument for you to use YouTube, but if you are going to create an account, post a video or two, and then leave it blank for two months, then don’t create an account at all. Now on to the good stuff!

Why You Should Have A YouTube Account

The argument is less about why and more about what you are SERIOUSLY missing out on:

More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month. That a possible 999,998,000 more eyes on your sermons, events, and accounts of the Gospel. If you take Jesus’ call to go to the ends of the Earth, YouTube is pretty darn close to it.
According to Nielsen, YouTube reaches more US adults ages 18-34 than any cable network. You have the power to reach the Millenial generation unlike any communication tool ever before.
Millions of subscriptions happen each day. The number of people subscribing daily is up more than 3x since last year, and the number of daily subscriptions is up more than 4x since last year. If you want people to regularly engaged with you online, this may be a better solution than any other social network.
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. That means you will get discovered by people who might be searching for ‘churches in Chicago’ who would otherwise not have connected with you.

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Smashing the Myth of American Church Success

Aug 25, 2014

Michael Brown says all too often outward success has nothing to do with discipleship or spiritual growth.

There is a myth of church success in America that says, “The bigger the building, the bigger the budget, the bigger the attendance, the more successful you are.”

In the sight of man, this might equal success. But in the sight of God, it may have nothing to do with success. In fact, it might simply be the beautiful facade hiding all kinds of spiritual rot and decay.

To be clear, I have had the privilege of preaching in some of the finest megachurches in America, replete with large buildings, big budgets and multiplied thousands of attendees. And I can personally attest to the fact that some of these churches are healthy in many ways: focused on Jesus, reaching the lost, making disciples, and giving themselves to prayer.

And some of them are doing this at least as well as many smaller churches and house groups.

So, I’m all for “big” as long as that “big” equates to maturity in Jesus, effective outreach to the lost, compassionate giving to the poor, life in the Spirit, and a powerful expression of the Great Commission. It is in that context that Acts records the growing numbers of disciples (see, for example, Acts 2:41; 4:4; 6:7).

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Driscoll to Take Break from Mars Hill Pulpit

Aug 25, 2014

Mark Driscoll, controversial founder of Mars Hill Church, told his flock Sunday he is stepping away from the pulpit for six weeks, and will consult a group of advisers about what to do next.

A leading critic of Mars Hill Church founder Mark Driscoll said he’s skeptical that Driscoll’s decision to step away from the pulpit for at least six weeks means Driscoll intends to right past wrongs.

“He’s very good at saying that he’s sorry. Let’s see what it really means,” said Rob Smith, of Everett, a former Mars Hill deacon who left the church in 2007, when he says Driscoll strengthened his grip over the organization and forced out those who objected.

Driscoll, who has risen to national prominence as an evangelical leader, and watched the church he started in 1996 expand to 15 campuses in five Western states, announced his temporary departure near the end of Sunday’s 8:30 a.m. service in Bellevue, days after word surfaced that 21 former Mars Hill pastors, who cited a pattern of bullying, called for his ouster.

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How Should Christians Respond to Vicky Beeching?

Aug 18, 2014

Michael Brown offers excellent insights into the Vicky Beeching bombshell.

Believers throughout the English-speaking world were shocked and saddened to hear that Vicky Beeching, a greatly loved songwriter and worship leader, has announced that she is gay. How should we respond?

1. This should not be about your own feelings. When you sing to God words of worship and praise that someone else has written, it’s easy to feel betrayed when that person lets you down. So it’s understandable that some believers are asking, “How could she do this to us?”

The fact is that she didn’t do this to you any more than she wrote worship songs for you.

According to her story, her sexuality is something she wrestled with for years, and as much as her “coming out” as gay was a public event, it was also an intensely personal decision before God, and that’s where our first focus should be: praying for her to align her life rightly with the Lord.

To lash out at her now in immature ways will only drive her further from the cross, and while it is fine to speak the truth to her in love – assuming she reads some of the comments addressed to her on blogs and social media – praying for the Holy Spirit to convict her of her error is even more important.

In moments like these, the Christian community must respond with grace and understanding, remembering that we are all fallible and in need of God’s mercy. It is an opportunity for us to reflect on our own journey of faith and evaluate how we extend love and compassion to those who may have different struggles than our own. Instead of succumbing to judgment and condemnation, we can choose to engage in constructive dialogue and provide support to individuals who are navigating complex issues. By offering empathy and guidance rooted in biblical teachings, we can demonstrate the transformative power of Christ’s love in our lives. Ultimately, our focus should be on praying for wisdom and discernment, trusting that God will work in the hearts of all involved. In these challenging circumstances, it is important to remember that our faith is not dependent on the actions of others, but rather on our personal relationship with God. It is through seeking His guidance and following His teachings that we can navigate these sensitive matters mentioned in this great article with integrity and compassion.

2. She will not be the last Christian leader to declare that she/he is gay. We are living today in a perfect spiritual storm in which biblical ignorance, moral compromise, and societal changes have combined to produce deep spiritual deception.

That’s what opened the door for Contemporary Christian Music artist Jennifer Knapp to “come out,” and that’s what opened the door for Jars of Clay front man Dan Haseltine to voice apparent support for same-sex “marriage” as well as for influential leaders like Rob Bell and Jim Wallis to advocate for redefining marriage.

That’s also what opened the door for an evangelical publishing conglomerate to publish and aggressively promote a book devoted to promote “gay Christianity.”

At any other time in Church history, ideas like this would not been countenanced for a split second among committed followers of Jesus who were grounded in the Word, but today, professing Christians are questioning some of the most basic scriptural truths about morality.

You can expect a lot more surprises in the coming days – both from pastors and music artists – but as painful as this is to witness, it is a necessary separation that will ultimately divide those who seek to change the Word from those who seek to submit to the Word.

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A Word About Gungor

For the past few weeks the Internet has been abuzz over worship artist Michael Gungor’s admission that he doesn’t take the Bible literally.

I’d classify Gungor as leaning more towards being a CCM artist since his songs aren’t really that singable, although worship hipsters do attempt to lead his most popular (and quite wonderful) song “Beautiful Things” to tongue-tied congregations.

Picking and choosing which parts of the Bible one believes is a slippery slope (and it’s nothing new – Thomas Jefferson was famous for ripping pages out of the Bible he didn’t agree with.) Why do you believe one passage and not another? Are you offended by it? Do you not understand it? I suppose it’s arbitrarily up to you, then.

I’ll bet, if pressed, Gungor would admit to not believing a lot more of the Bible than just the Genesis “allegory.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” so I guess he wouldn’t agree? Luke 3:23-38 traces the family tree of Jesus all the way back to Adam, so since Gungor doesn’t believe in a literal Adam, that passage must also be questionable.

He declared in a recent interview that “no reasonable person takes the entire Bible completely literally.” He’d probably label me as an unreasonable, unenlightened religious hick.

Conservatives denounced him as a “heretic” and, of course, “Relevant” magazine wondered what the big fuss was all about.

Thinking about the whole thing, I’m kind of surprised by my own reaction: instead of getting angry it’s given me a sense of rededication and renewal.

As I’ve reminisced about my own life and how God has amazingly shown up and made Himself real to me and guided me, I honestly can say I unabashedly and unreasonably believe every word of the Bible. Literally. Perhaps Gungor hasn’t had that God-encounter to reinforce his beliefs. I hope one day he will.

And maybe that’s the problem with modern Christianity, and why the Church has lost influence in the culture – we really don’t believe anything anymore and have lost God’s power (or have never experienced it.) Some preachers are talking a social Gospel (and are too wrapped up in social media) – they rarely mention sin, repentance or holiness. You don’t know God’s power unless you know of sin, repentance and holiness.

Maybe it’s time for some self-reflection and rededication. Worship leader, do you really believe the Bible? Do you really believe in God’s power? This week, take a candid look into your own heart and remember those times God miraculously intervened and made a difference in your life. If you don’t remember such times, honestly examine yourself to see if you even know Him. Ask forgiveness for sin. Then let’s see if we can help make a difference in this world.

What Makes A Good Worship Team Member?

Aug 18, 2014

Cliff Lambert lists things he expects from his volunteers.

I remember early on in my journey as a worship leader that I never wanted to expect too much from my team musically or spiritually because I thought if I pushed them too hard, they would quit. I wanted it to be fun. I realized fairly quickly that my fear was not only unfounded but exposed in me a serious lack of confidence and knowledge as a leader. The quality of our worship and our team unity suffered, not to mention that we couldn’t draw any new talent. No one wanted to be a part of a mediocre, spiritually disengaged worship team who was a constant distraction during worship.

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