Worship Blog
Kicking the Music Stand
December 7, 2011 Think about your relationship with the congregation. Do they see you tucked safely behind a music stand, a mic stand, two monitor wedges and a forest of fake ferns? Try this...
If It Can Go Wrong...
| December 6, 2011 I spent over an hour yesterday afternoon doing a trial-run for last night's webinar. No glitches. It all worked. Gloriously. That should have been my first clue that I was in for it...
Beginning Guitar Lesson, 2
| December 5, 2011 After watching this video, you'll be about two-thirds the way to rock star status. Once you learn the G and C chords in this lesson, pretty much all you'll need to learn next will be "the windmill."
Keywords: beginning guitar, c chord, g chord, guitar lesson, matt redman, undignified | Be the first to comment
The Happy Third of the Circle of Fifths
| December 2, 2011 What's your "happy third" of the Circle of 5ths? When it comes to determining the best key, does the band really need to take second, or even third place? Probably...
Soar on Wings Like Egos, 3
| December 1, 2011 Is there something special about being onstage and part of the team? Is there an “energy” when you’re part of a live band? Can there be something extremely validating about singing and playing for an “audience”? With trepidation, my answer is yes, yes and...
Christmas on Sunday - How is your church handling it?
| November 30, 2011 Since Christmas is on a Sunday, what's your church doing about services?
28 Ways to Create Great Segues: #28
| November 29, 2011 Segue #28: Connecting to the message (part 4) - The Introduction
Team Devotional for Christmas, Part 4
| November 28, 2011 Part four of four - The Messiness of Christmas, a team devotional for the Advent season based on Jon's ebook, "The Taming of Christmas."
The Burning Throat, 3
| November 25, 2011 Here's guideline for managing the tension of where to key a song...
The Gratitude Link
| November 24, 2011 In honor of Thanksgiving, here's a message I taught this last Sunday that talks about the "gratitude link" between grace received and grace given.
1/2 off (almost) ALL Products
| November 23, 2011 It's No Post Wednesday, but I wanted to let you know that Brother Turkey (who's kinda like Father Christmas, only more, um...bird-like) is giving 50% off everything...
Team Devotional for Christmas, Part 3
| November 22, 2011 Part 3 of the team devotional, The Messiness of Christmas, talks about us wanting a God who neat, clean and safe...
Jazz Guitar Training - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
| November 21, 2011 A study of jazz chords using an arrangement of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Free PDF and instruction sheet available to download.
The Burning Throat, 2
| November 18, 2011 I left us hanging in part one with unanswered, burning (throat) question: Who do we key the song for—the worship leader or the congregation? Umm…yes?
Soar on Wings Like Egos 2
| November 17, 2011 Every team has a griper. You know, that person who’d complain if his ice cream was cold. It’s like someone’s been spitting in his Cheerios every morning since he was nine. It’s easy to get frustrated and vent to others about him. But then–crud…now I’m the critical person...
No...
November 16, 2011 "No Post Wednesdays" is a tradition I started awhile back. Like 4 minutes ago...
Team Devotional for Christmas, Part 2
| November 15, 2011 Messy People/Messy Faith: Shepherds were outcasts. And stunk. The wise men might have been pagans. That's who welcomed Jesus?
Jazz Guitar Training - Hark the Herald Angels Sing
| November 14, 2011 A study of jazz chords using a fun arrangement of Hark The Herald Angels Sing. Free PDF and instruction sheet available to download.
Chart Smart Seminar Scheduled
| November 11, 2011 Hey friends, I wanted to let you know about a free seminar on December 5 at 7:30 (EST). Best of all, it's online, so you can sit in your flannel pants, drink hot chocolate and still watch Dancing with the Stars on TV.
Soar on Wings Like Egos, 1
| November 10, 2011 If Lydia’s voice was an Uno card, it’d be a Wild Draw 4. Great when you’ve got it; bummer when someone else does. When Lydia’s voice is on, it’s fantastic to listen to. When it’s off, it’s like shoving a Q-tip a little too far in your ear. Only the Q-tip is a dull #2 pencil and “too far” is too TV-MA to describe further. So when certain songs come up that call for a female lead, there’s always this schizoid moment – should I give it to her, should I not?
The Burning Throat. Part 1
| November 9, 2011 As a worship pastor, you get notes. Some are encouraging. Some make you want to enroll in a diesel mechanics school. This one just gave me and my senior pastor a quotable line that, for us, ranked up there with anything from TommyBoy. But it forced me to ask a question: "Who do I key the song for?"
52 Tweaks - Check Your Ego
| November 8, 2011 Tweak #52: Check your ego with a few questions. Do I get offended (even slightly) when someone else gets the lead part or receives praise from others?
Team Devotional for Christmas, Part 1
| November 7, 2011 What follows is an segment from the ebook, The Taming of Christmas, adapted for you to use as a team devotional. ...we talk about the stable and the manger, with the fresh bed of hay and the company of quiet animals. But we forget that a stable is a barn. And a manger is a feeding trough. And we forget to mention in our stories of the nativity that farm animals stink. Jesus was born in a mess...
6 Lousy Methods to Get More Musicians-#6
| November 3, 2011 Lousy Method #6. Hired Guns. Let’s grow our team by hiring outside musicians. Here’s why: 1. It’s a great way to invest our church’s money. While we’re at it, let’s talk to the treasurer about investing in Powerball Lottery tickets. We could hit the winner and take care of all this silly tithing and stewardship talk once and for all. 2. It will cover the fact that we only have average guitarists in our church who can’t rock the skinny jeans and man-scarves.
3 Tweaks for Leaders
| November 2, 2011 Here are three tweaks from 52 Tweaks to Build a Stronger Team. These are specific tweaks for leaders...
The Lion on the Island [DISC Series]
![The Lion on the Island [DISC Series]](/upload/images/blogs/sleeping-lion.png)
| November 1, 2011 I remember the first time my lion roared. I had just graduated from college and was the co-director of Camp Shamineau’s “Island Camp.” It was “rustic” camp experience for late elementary and jr. high students on a 22-acre island in the middle of Lake Shamineau. The other director was Lance, a college friend. He was the hard-charging, task-oriented “make sure the pontoon boat doesn’t float away in the storm and the kids aren’t making out at the point” kind of guy. I was the fun-loving, people person...
Keywords: , disc assessment, disc series, leadership, personality types, worship ministry | Be the first to comment
Crack, Nukes and Character Flaws [DISC Series]
![Crack, Nukes and Character Flaws [DISC Series]](/upload/images/blogs/nuclear-explosion-small.png)
| October 31, 2011 Ellen (not her real name) drove me nuts. I mean, "turn in my ministry credentials and go work at White Castle" nuts. I was in my first full-time gig working in a smaller church as a youth pastor, worship leader, small group leader and whatever else I was dumb enough to volunteer to take on. And this woman was my nemesis. Others politely described her as highly structured. The kindest word I ever chose was uptight.
Six Lousy Methods to Get More Musicians, Part 4
| October 27, 2011 Lousy Method #5: Implement the typical qualification process for new musicians...Pulse? Check. Welcome to the team!
Six Lousy Methods to Get More Musicians, Part 2
September 8, 2011 The third lousy way to get more musicians: Let Your Non-Musical Pastor do the Recruiting.
