Worship Blog
28 Ways to Create Great Segues: Segue #16
| July 13, 2011 Segue #16: Vision & Mission - statements that can offer clarity about and direction toward the heartbeat of the church
How To Dump Your Worship Pastor
| July 1, 2011 How to break up with your worship pastor/leader: 1. Stop showing up. I'll eventually get the hint. And let all my phone calls go to voice-mail and emails go unanswered. The longer we delay the follow-up conversation, the less awkward it will be. I promise.
Bigger Than Bono...
| June 30, 2011Two words: U2. (actually, not really two words…more like two letters..well one letter and a number. Anyway...) Last Sunday a friend and I ventured up to East Lansing, Michican to watch U2 perform under a giant green spaceship--see the picture above. (I could keep trying to explain, but you really had to be there.) As I was watching, I was struck by a few things. Bono really is a bigger-than-life rock star...
14 Ways To Escape the First Four Frets - #11: The Major Scale
| June 28, 2011 In this video lesson, I dive into Position Scales - specifically G Major. "Position Scales" is an approach to playing scales by which we build a new "shape" or position scale from each note in the key. So this first G major scale is built on the root, or G. After this, you would move to the A on the 6th string (5th fret) and play the G major scale from there, and so one.
L.T.W.M. Part 3
| June 23, 2011Leave Them Wanting More is dependent on another well-worn axiom: Less is more . I've perpetrated the opposite - more is more - on several occasions in my ministry...
L.T.W.M. Part 2
| June 22, 2011There are three myths that get in the way of leaving people to want more. Myth #1. Sunday morning is the only chance we get. Unfortunately, not all myths are false. Our churches are often structured in a way that makes this myth a reality...
L.T.W.M. Part 1
| June 21, 2011There are two ways a TV show keeps you coming back -- characters and story. Some shows don't continue a main storyline from one episode to the next. Take any of the abbreviation shows: Law and Order SVU or LA, CSI, CSI:NY, CSI: Miami, NCIS, NCIS LA, OU812 -- sorry, that's a Van Halen album. All those shows have a back story that's helpful to know, but not necessary. And occasionally they'll have some thread of a subplot weaving forward, which almost always involves a serial killer nemesis of the main character. (This is helpful to know if you ever become a cop: at some point in your career you'll have nut job who stalks you. Just giving you a heads-up...) While the stories of these shows are compelling, they wouldn't have the same draw if viewers hadn't already connected with the characters.
3 Notes Per String Scale
| June 18, 2011 Jon introduces 3 notes per string scales as a alternative to major position scales. This segment was actually cut from Jon's "Lead: Step One" training video...but it was too good leave on the cutting room floor. So it crawled to YouTube...
The Mess and the Metaphor
| May 26, 2011Whenever I go to a large worship conference, there's always an emerging worship song that dominates. A few years back I went to an integrity conference and Mighty to Save was that song. The early adopters had already been singing it for a years...
Linchpin or Liability?
May 24, 2011When it comes to the worship ministry at your church, are you a linchpin or a liability? A linchpin is indispensable. Wait, I know. The right answer that's been drilled in our heads, especially in the church, is this: no one's indispensable. OK, so the earth might not break its orbit of the sun if you quit the worship team. But would there be a gaping hole and would you be missed for a long, long time? If the answer is yes, then you’re a linchpin...
Chord of the Week - F#m7(4)
| May 18, 2011 You'll also see this chord written as F#m11, F#m7add4, etc. This is my "go-to" chord for most songs calling for F#m7. It works best in the key of A (6m) and the key of E (2m)...
Sloppy Wet Kiss
| May 14, 2011If you know John Mark McMillan, you know my title. Last night he performed at Christian Musician Summit in Buffalo . And all of us who knew him were waiting for How He Loves. You've probably heard David Crowder's version, or several other artists who covered him...
Keywords: , grace, how he loves, intimacy, john mark mcmillan, passion, sloppy wet kiss, worship, worship planning, worship songs | Be the first to comment
Please Practice: 8 Tips to Give Your Team
| May 11, 2011 Of all the players that I've had in worship teams, the ones that practiced the most came out of the bar band scene. If any of them came to rehearsals unprepared, they apologized before they even pulled out their guitar. The players with church background, yeah...not so much...
Charts Smarts - Serving Your Team with the Right Music
| April 22, 2011 When it comes to charts and music, what we provide and how we provide it is a huge opportunity to serve our team and set us up for success...
Ox Percussion...
| April 9, 2011...is what we get when the aux percussionist forgets he's, well auxiliary . Big. Strong. And way too much...
Fire Your Worship Committee
April 9, 2011Like, now. If there's no one that can, or really wants to take leadership in the area of worship, we appoint a committee. If there is someone in charge, but we don't quite trust him or her to lead, we assist them by appointing a committee.
Reverse Sound Check
April 5, 2011Kent Morris is a rock star. Actually, he's the AV genius behind rock stars. And he was in my neighborhood a month or so ago doing a seminar for Peavey's Sanctuary Series line of sound systems. (Ended up having lunch with him, which was fun. But that's f
3 Notes Per String Scale
April 5, 2011 Jon introduces 3 notes per string scales as a alternative to major position scales. This segment was actually cut from Jon's "Lead: Step One" training video. It will be developed...
28 Ways to Create Great Segues: Segue #15 (part 2)
| March 31, 2011Segue #15, part 2: The Offering - how to flow in, out, and through the offering time
Emulate Vs. Duplicate
March 27, 2011To keep things consistent, I try to use a specific arrangement for each song in my team's repertoire. So, for example, on Everlasting God we use the Lincoln Brewster version. For Today is the Day , we opt for Paul Baloche's version of it. (Except we sp
Taco Bell vs. Chipotle
| March 25, 2011 A burrito as big as your head for $6 or a three pound box of fast-mex food for $5? What we can learn from Chipotle and Taco Bell.
Small Churches are Small Because They’re Doing Something Wrong
March 23, 2011That’s what a college classmate of mine heard when he did a ministry internship in a very large church. No, he didn’t just hear the sentiment. He heard the actual words: “Small churches are small because they’re doing something wrong.†I
Free Music From Praise Charts
March 22, 2011PraiseCharts has another great giveaway . They've got charts and mp3s for several songs from Integrity. At the top of the pack (IMO) is Gateway's O the Blood with Kari Jobe leading. Another is You Gave Your Life Away by Paul Baloche. John Mark Mc
28 Ways to Create Great Segues: Segue #15 (part 1)
| March 18, 2011Segue #15, part 1: The Offering - it's no wonder, that for so many churches, this is the segment that grinds momentum to a halt
3 Songs I'm Loving for Easter
March 11, 2011One of the things I struggle with each year are finding songs that are focused on the Resurrection and not just on the Cross. Don't get me wrong, we need songs about the Cross of Jesus, but His resurrection is equally as important as the cross (and some w
Keywords: easter, easter songs, resurrection, worship leading, worship planning | Be the first to comment
"Good Music--I Just Hate Looking at the Worship Team..."
March 4, 2011I've been talking to my team, especially my vocalists, about stage presence. Team members from secular backgrounds (bar bands, musical theater, etc) bristle at the thought of infusing worship with the kind of "stage presence" they used in performanc
Small Church/Big Worship - 2 or 3 More Numbers That Matter...
February 7, 2011In the last SC/BW post, we talked about numbers . Numbers matter. We can't scale NorthWillowBackHillPoint down to 100 people. These large churches have more people on staff than most churches have, well, people. But there are a few numbers that are
28 Ways to Make Great Segues - An Intermission
February 7, 2011We've just progressed through 14 different segues that can move us between songs. We're shifting now to look at segues between non-musical parts of the worship service.
Keywords: leadership, segues, worship, worship leading, worship planning, worship teams | Be the first to comment
Mangling Our Banner?
February 7, 2011So Christina Aguilera botched the words to the National Anthem last night at the Super Bowl. One news site had a poll asking if "we forgive her?" Forgive her? Sure. I botch words every week when I lead. It's the running joke on my worship team. I even f
Creating Inner Movement
February 4, 2011Here's an excerpt from Chord Voicings for the Advancing Guitarists . It shows how to create inner movement within open movable chords.
