Worship Blog
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.
Restoration and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
September 7, 2011 I've got a 1971 350 Honda motorcycle. It's in relatively decent shape, until I look at the fully restored ones online. Then, not so much. Would I like to restore it? Yes. Wait. No -- I'd like it to be restored...
Upper and Lowercase Vision
September 6, 2011I want to make a distinction between two kinds of vision..."Big V Vision" and "little-v vision"
Six Lousy Methods to Get More Musicians, Part 1
| September 5, 2011One of the most often asked question I get as I talk with pastors, worship leaders and volunteers is "How do I grow my team?" What they usually mean is, "How do we find more musicians?" Here's six ways...
Canceling MySpace
August 30, 2011 I just canceled my MySpace account. Did you feel the earth tremble? No, I didn't either. I hadn't logged in for at least a year. Every so often I'd get an email telling me some doorknob from a "cutting-edge" hip-hop/emo/jazz/metal band wanted to be my friend. Other than that, it was off my radar.
8th Grade Odor and Sucking Out Loud: 17 Ways to Build a Better Youth Band, 4
| August 25, 2011Part 4 of 4 - 17 Ways to Build a Better Youth Band. #15 - #17, along with a bonus. #15. Leave them wanting more. Don't expect a weekly band--especially at first. You don't want your band burning out or your youth group growing complacent. 16. Foster Creativity...
8th Grade Odor and Sucking Out Loud: 17 Ways to Build a Better Youth Band, 3
| August 24, 2011#11 - #14. 11. Make it fun. Recently, I became the subject of the youth band's joking -- actually, my mother did. Somehow "your mom" jokes started flying and stuck to me. Soon a theme song emerged: "Jon's mom is greater, Jon's mom is stronger..."
8th Grade Odor and Sucking Out Loud: 17 Ways to Build a Better Youth Band, 2
August 23, 2011#6 - #10. 6. Create a standard form for each song. And don't deviate from that form (at least until #16 starts to happen). By a standard song form, I mean the order of the verse, chorus, bridge and other parts of the song. Use the original recording arrangement when possible.
8th Grade Odor and Sucking Out Loud: 17 Ways to Build a Better Youth Band, 1
| August 22, 2011I've been working the youth band at our church for last couple years. As a former youth pastor, it's fun to mix it up with the kids and NOT have to plan lessons or participate in lock-ins. Over the next few days, we'll look at some things I've been learning. #1. Start with who and what you have...
Blog Post Rewind: Walmart Worship, I
| August 18, 2011 I needed softner salt. My town's water can turn a black t-shirt charcoal gray in a single wash. A musician needs to protect his black t-shirts. My wife needed some spices for something she was making. Two diverse items + one trip = Walmart. Crud.
Blog Post Rewind: Charts...
| August 17, 2011Charts - this is one of those places where the worship leader/pastor/director needs to overdo it. And by "overdo it" -- be all things to to all musicians, if at all possible...
Getting Kicked in the Teeth?
| August 12, 2011A month or two ago, I wrote a piece here at WorshipMinistry.com called "How to Dump Your Worship Pastor ." It was my (therapeutic) response to another Dear Jon email I had just received from a team member ( a drummer, no less--it always hurts more when it's a drummer. Amen?).
Remove
| August 10, 2011I'm in the middle of an interesting read: "Untitled: Thoughts on the Creative Process" by Blaine Hogan. Blaine is a professional actor and the Creative Director at Willow Creek. I bought the book because, a) I like anything about the creative process and b) it was only a few bucks on my Kindle....
28 Ways to Create Great Segues: #27
| August 8, 2011Segue #27: Connecting to the message (part 3) - Scripture reading
Whining, Dreaming & Just Dealing With It
August 5, 2011Last week we talked about getting real with our current reality. Jim Collins in his business book, Good to Great illustrates this idea with Admiral Jim Stockdale's story...
28 Ways to Create Great Segues: #26
| August 5, 2011Segue #26: Connecting to the message (part 2) - use video
28 Ways to Create Great Segues: #25
| August 4, 2011Segue #25: Connecting to the message (part 1) - prayer
28 Ways to Create Great Segues: #24
| August 2, 2011Segue #24: Videos (part 2) - the Do's and Don'ts of verbally transitioning the video
Is Your Left Door Locked?
| August 1, 2011I grew up attending in a typical Mid-west, small-town, L-shaped C&MA church. At least I think it was typical of those kinds of churches in those days. Mostly hymns. A few "Alliance-approved" praise choruses worthy enough to sing in "real church"--you know, like Majesty and most anything from the Gaithers. There was also one thing that I'm not sure was typical, but I have experienced in other churches from time to time: the left door was always locked....
RadioShack Sound Systems & Faith-Infused Realism
| July 28, 2011 Most leaders (volunteer or paid) find it easy to think about what they want to do and have and be after their ministry or organization grows. A preferred future is fun to think about. The current reality, especially for those in small churches, well, not so much. Here was reality at my first church...
28 Ways To Create Great Segues: #23
| July 27, 2011Segue #23: Videos (part 1) - sermon illustrations
Groovin' an Old Hymn
| July 26, 2011In this video, I demonstrate and walk you through a new arrangement of Blessed Be The Name. You'll learn some inversions, some walking bassline stuff and how to use the "Jimi Hendrix" chord in church. You can download the leadsheet here. And ta
28 Ways to Create Great Segues: #22
| July 25, 2011Segue #22: The Preservice (part 3) - a time of preparation for worship
DOs & DON'Ts of Being Dumped, Part 2
| July 21, 2011 It's inevitable. People leave. Whether they move, get mad, get dead or otherwise decide that the worship team is no longer for them, people eventually exit. Handling this well isn't always easy. Here are some DOs and DON'Ts for when people leave...
Forget Excellence...
| July 21, 2011 ...think "remarkable" instead. Excellence is subjective and overwhelming. Remarkable is doable: a small tweak and improvement to the "normal" that surprises people. The pursuit of excellence feels like a never-ending journey. How do we know we've arrived?
28 Ways to Create Great Segues: #21
| July 20, 2011 Segue #21: The Preservice (part 2) - using the first song to "herd" people into the worship center
They Need Me, They Really Need Me...
| July 19, 2011They need me every hour, most gracious Lord/ To lose talent like mine, the team can't afford/ They need me, O they need me/ Every service they need me/ I'll bless them with my presence/ Until eternity... I think this bastardized hymn sings in the brain of every worship leader - full-time, part-time, volunteer - it doesn't matter.
Beginning Guitar Series: Lesson #1 - A, D, & E
| July 19, 2011 In this beginning guitar lesson, you'll learn how to read chord diagrams, and create three basic open chords: D, A and E. Not only will you learn how to play the chords, but by the end of the video, you'll know how to connect them without losing your place on the fretboard.
Beginning Guitar - An Introduction
| July 19, 2011 Are you a novice guitar player, an absolute beginner, than this guitar lesson (and this series) is for you. You'll learn the basic parts of the guitar as well the three sets of numbers you need to play. If you've got a few chords down already, this video might be too basic for you, but then again, you may learn something you missed.
Keywords: , beginner, beginning, free, guitar lesson, instruction, novice, worship guitar | Be the first to comment
28 Ways to Create Great Segues: #17 - 20
| July 14, 2011 Segues #17-20: The Preservice (part 1) - countdown video, lighting, preservice music, video element
