Brian Gowing shares ideas for solving sound issues:

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve gone into a church and heard 3 or more different perspectives on the way things sounded I’d be pretty well of by now. Every church thinks that they’re unique in the sound problems that they have. I’m here to let you know that your church is no different than any of the other churches in the district. So take heart. This isn’t an unsolvable situation. In fact it’s a very common problem, not only in the church sound world but in the secular world of touring professionals. See, sound is very much a matter of perspective and perception. No two people will hear the same thing. It can be close but because hearing is one of those senses of ours that is in use every minute of every day, the environment that we’ve been a part of all these years plays a huge role in what we perceive in what we hear.

Likewise, the perception of what we hear depends significantly on the emotional impact of what we hear, especially when it relates to worship music. Because worship music, by its very nature, is designed to get you in the very dark recesses of your heart and soul, what we hear when we listen to worship music is very, very personal. What one person likes in a worship song performance can be totally different than what someone else hears in that same song.

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For those interested in learning what Twitter is all about, or those wanting to improve their Twitter popularity, LifeChurch’s Scott Williams offers 10 excellent tips. I’ll be using them!

1. Share A Quote: There is something about quotes that seem to have a profound impact on people and the way they think. Take a quote that’s somewhere in the 120 character range and the impact is elevated to an even higher level, and it’s definitely more memorable. The great thing about quotes is the fact that people love to retweet them and share them. Quotes have multiplication power, due to the fact that every quote speaks to each individual differently. Here is a recent leadership quote that I shared that will speak differently to everyone who reads it: “Leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow.” – Vince Lombardi

2. Share Scripture: It’s always great to get nuggets of the living, breathing word of God in the world of Twitter. It’s also nice to learn and connect with what other individuals, leaders, pastors and organizations are reading. Not only can I share Bible verses that I’m reading, I can read countless other Bible verses in my timeline throughout the day. In case you didn’t know, Twitter Is In The Bible.

3. Share The Good Stuff: By the good stuff, I’m referring to deals, favorites, coupons, promotions, groupons, retweet-this-win-this, things that can benefit others… You know what I’m talking about, The Good Stuff.

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For years, children’s choirs have taken the same path as most church choirs – learn a piece and perform it in a service.

It’s no secret church choirs are dying – the fact that the choral music industry has dried up is one indicator. Choirs who insist on performing are not in step with the times – today it’s all about singing TO God and leading the congregation. I once wrote about how a worshipping choir will often sing background vocals behind a worship leader much like you see in Hillsong and Gateway Worship videos. One irate music director emailed me with “how DARE you ask me to regulate these saints of God to being mere backup singers!” I wonder if that guy still has his job. For more on worshipping choirs please check out Dave Williamson.

Now that worship is replacing performance, I’m seeing the same trend in children’s music. Kids leading kids in a children’s service is a pretty common occurrence, but several churches I know are trying to integrate a kid’s praise team into their Sunday morning adult service.

If you’d like to explore this idea, here are a few suggestions. Form a kid’s praise team and let them learn a short set of two or three songs and invite them to open your service as a call to worship. This isn’t a time for kids to act up on stage while parents gush “Awww, aren’t they cute!” but a serious worship time. Break for a few announcements and continue on with your adult praise team.

On special occasions, try combining your kid’s praise team with your adult praise team. For instance, in my Jesus Is His Name Christmas medley I have the kids starting by themselves and then are joined by the adult praise team and female worship leader on the chorus and the rest of the song. It segues into the kids leading 2 verses of Infant Holy, Infant Lowly with the adults joining them again for the end of the song.

An arrangement like this gives kids the fun opportunity to sing in “big church” with the adults. They’re featured yet don’t have to carry the whole set by themselves.

Are you integrating kids into your adult worship services? Tell me more in the comments below.