Just thinking about church. How does our concept of worship fit into God's global plan? If my understanding is correct, God wants us to be a part of seeking and saving the lost, making disciples of all nations. A few thoughts:
If that is true...
- How does our worship fit into this purpose?
- How does what we do/say/sing affect our ability to seek/save/disciple?
- Is our application of worship hindering or helping the global plan of God?
- If we are hindering the global plan are we able to get passed ourselves and make the changes necessary to be advancing God's plan?
Sorry, I just posed a few questions and gave no answers. That's not really like me. The truth is, I've never really thought about it before. I literally just had the thought and figured I'd share. If you have any answers or ideas, please share. Thanks!
PN
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tricks of the trade: Singing Out Loud
If you are having a hard time getting people to sing out loud, here are some ideas.
KEY CHANGE:
1. Teach a song in a key (example: G)
2. Do that song for multiple weeks in that key.
3. Do the song again but transpose it to A or Bb. (People will know that they can sing the song and will feel more confident belting it out. Naturally, with the higher key, people will sing louder.)
VOLUME:
1. Try turning the volume up. (I know most churches hate volume, but it will make people feel more comfortable singing if they can't hear individuals around them.)
ENCOURAGE 'EM:
1. As you appropriately prod people to raise hands, clap, etc., continue to encourage them to sing aloud.
2. There are great verses on singing/shouting out to the Lord. Read them. (Ps 20:5; Ps 51:14; Ps 59:16-17; Ps 95:1-2)
REPETITION:
1. People have a hard time singing songs they do not know, so...be repetitious enough that people are familiar with the songs you are singing.
2. I highly recommend only introducing 1-2 new songs per month.
3. I also highly recommend singing an "oldie but goodie" a couple times a month. Things such as hymns and choruses are pivotal for a church with multiple generations in attendance.
I hope these are helpful for you. Leave a comment and let me know you stopped by!
PN
KEY CHANGE:
1. Teach a song in a key (example: G)
2. Do that song for multiple weeks in that key.
3. Do the song again but transpose it to A or Bb. (People will know that they can sing the song and will feel more confident belting it out. Naturally, with the higher key, people will sing louder.)
VOLUME:
1. Try turning the volume up. (I know most churches hate volume, but it will make people feel more comfortable singing if they can't hear individuals around them.)
ENCOURAGE 'EM:
1. As you appropriately prod people to raise hands, clap, etc., continue to encourage them to sing aloud.
2. There are great verses on singing/shouting out to the Lord. Read them. (Ps 20:5; Ps 51:14; Ps 59:16-17; Ps 95:1-2)
REPETITION:
1. People have a hard time singing songs they do not know, so...be repetitious enough that people are familiar with the songs you are singing.
2. I highly recommend only introducing 1-2 new songs per month.
3. I also highly recommend singing an "oldie but goodie" a couple times a month. Things such as hymns and choruses are pivotal for a church with multiple generations in attendance.
I hope these are helpful for you. Leave a comment and let me know you stopped by!
PN
Personal Worship Leader Goals: 11-15
11. To build musicians who build other musicians
12. To keep spiritual life the focus and not musical life
13. To focus on tangible success rather and subjective input
14. To create measurable goals and clearly communicate them to my team
15. To give a greater degree of ownership to musicians/leaders as they grow in their ability and commitment
12. To keep spiritual life the focus and not musical life
13. To focus on tangible success rather and subjective input
14. To create measurable goals and clearly communicate them to my team
15. To give a greater degree of ownership to musicians/leaders as they grow in their ability and commitment
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Above All Else
For the past two weeks my Pastor, Steve Parrish, has been speaking a series titled “Create in me a Clean Heart”. (click here to watch these messages) I have found them to be incredibly challenging and thought provoking.
For the past few years I have been learning to think of and view things from a leader’s perspective. This has never been so evident as in the last two weeks in regards to matters of the heart. When we lead, it is completely a heart matter. Without question we will fail, sin, offend and alienate people. Do we want to? Of course not! Does it happen? Unfortunately, yes. So then the heart becomes the balance.
King David sinned. Yet his heart was still moldable and he repented. King Nebuchadnezzar’s heart was so hard that he praised God one moment and refused Him the next. He ended up spending 7 years away from human society, eating grass like a cow and forgetting all aspects of cleanliness. After that horrific event, his sanity finally returned and he once again praised God.
As leaders, are our hearts more like David or like Nebuchadnezzar? Do we fight the humbling hand of God or do we submit to it? I want to encourage you to stand up under the grace of God and submit yourself to God’s mighty hand. We will all fail, but not all of us will get back up. Your ability to remain and succeed in leadership is a matter of the heart.
Prov 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (NIV)
For the past few years I have been learning to think of and view things from a leader’s perspective. This has never been so evident as in the last two weeks in regards to matters of the heart. When we lead, it is completely a heart matter. Without question we will fail, sin, offend and alienate people. Do we want to? Of course not! Does it happen? Unfortunately, yes. So then the heart becomes the balance.
King David sinned. Yet his heart was still moldable and he repented. King Nebuchadnezzar’s heart was so hard that he praised God one moment and refused Him the next. He ended up spending 7 years away from human society, eating grass like a cow and forgetting all aspects of cleanliness. After that horrific event, his sanity finally returned and he once again praised God.
As leaders, are our hearts more like David or like Nebuchadnezzar? Do we fight the humbling hand of God or do we submit to it? I want to encourage you to stand up under the grace of God and submit yourself to God’s mighty hand. We will all fail, but not all of us will get back up. Your ability to remain and succeed in leadership is a matter of the heart.
Prov 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (NIV)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Personal Worship Leader Goals: 6-10
6. To be pastoral, not just musical
7. To lead with tenacity and compassion
8. To set a standard while living under grace
9. To allow my creativity to flow in preparation
10. To sing from the heart and mind, not either/or
7. To lead with tenacity and compassion
8. To set a standard while living under grace
9. To allow my creativity to flow in preparation
10. To sing from the heart and mind, not either/or
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Personal Worship Leader Goals: 1-5
1. To sing "You are" more than "I feel".
2. To motivate rather than manipulate
3 To lead instead of command
4. To structure my creativity without stifling my creativity
5. To lead people and follow Jesus at the same time
2. To motivate rather than manipulate
3 To lead instead of command
4. To structure my creativity without stifling my creativity
5. To lead people and follow Jesus at the same time
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Are you successful?
One of the most difficult things in the realm of worship leading is determining whether or not you are successful. I struggle with this on a weekly basis and I’m sure you do too. The problem is that what we do is subjective and difficult to measure. Outward expressions can be fake, emotions are fleeting and the praise of people is always tainted. So then, how do you know if you are successful?
I encourage you to set up a criteria for success. You can call them goals or vision, but it’s all basically the same. Here are some guidelines for you when setting up the basis to answer the question "are you successful?":
First of all, your criteria for success must be measurable. If it is not measurable you are subjective and will make a decision based on your perception of success or failure and possibly not the reality. This happens to me when I feel like a complete failure and that our worship experience was anything but meaningful and without fail, someone will come up to me afterwards and tell me that it was the best worship service they had ever been in. So, since emotions can be tricky, base your criteria with something measurable.
Secondly, your criteria should be meaningful. Your criteria should have a direct impact on the service or on you. Sometimes we can determine success by something that didn’t really make a difference. Since what we do can be so subjective it is easy to get in this mode where we base success on intangibles that may or may not even make a difference.
Lastly, your criteria should be spiritual and practical. Don’t just limit yourself to the spiritual side of worship leading. There is a huge practical side that makes a HUGE spiritual impact. Setting both spiritual and practical goals will help you stay balanced and effective. If we only have spiritual goals for worship we will miss out on a huge increase in our effectiveness and we will have alienated a great spiritual gift called “administration”. Something simple like having the PowerPoint slides show up at the right time is practical but greatly increases people’s ability to participate.
So make your list. Let me know what it is. How do you know if you are successful or not? Once you figure that out, communicate it with your team so that they clearly understand what your goals are. Attacking those goals as a team will help you greatly as a leader. If you are pursuing these goals all by yourself you will constantly be frustrated and feel like you are fighting your team. It’s possible that they just don’t know what your goals are. Communicate the vision and go for it! God bless.
PN
I encourage you to set up a criteria for success. You can call them goals or vision, but it’s all basically the same. Here are some guidelines for you when setting up the basis to answer the question "are you successful?":
First of all, your criteria for success must be measurable. If it is not measurable you are subjective and will make a decision based on your perception of success or failure and possibly not the reality. This happens to me when I feel like a complete failure and that our worship experience was anything but meaningful and without fail, someone will come up to me afterwards and tell me that it was the best worship service they had ever been in. So, since emotions can be tricky, base your criteria with something measurable.
Secondly, your criteria should be meaningful. Your criteria should have a direct impact on the service or on you. Sometimes we can determine success by something that didn’t really make a difference. Since what we do can be so subjective it is easy to get in this mode where we base success on intangibles that may or may not even make a difference.
Lastly, your criteria should be spiritual and practical. Don’t just limit yourself to the spiritual side of worship leading. There is a huge practical side that makes a HUGE spiritual impact. Setting both spiritual and practical goals will help you stay balanced and effective. If we only have spiritual goals for worship we will miss out on a huge increase in our effectiveness and we will have alienated a great spiritual gift called “administration”. Something simple like having the PowerPoint slides show up at the right time is practical but greatly increases people’s ability to participate.
So make your list. Let me know what it is. How do you know if you are successful or not? Once you figure that out, communicate it with your team so that they clearly understand what your goals are. Attacking those goals as a team will help you greatly as a leader. If you are pursuing these goals all by yourself you will constantly be frustrated and feel like you are fighting your team. It’s possible that they just don’t know what your goals are. Communicate the vision and go for it! God bless.
PN
Friday, April 16, 2010
Worship Team Criteria?
I had lunch today with a new friend who is a worship leader in a neighboring city. I love getting to know other worship leaders and hear their stories. During our discussion I began to verbalize some of TFH’s criteria in order to get involved with our worship ministries. I realized that I have not discussed anything on that topic here at rethinkingworship. So here I go!
Here are a few benefits of having specified criteria:
1. Defines the qualifications
Having a set of qualifications will eliminate some and motivate others to meet the qualifications. Either way it is clear why you have made the decisions you have made. I highly recommend that you keep your qualifications simple and clear.
2. Develops consistency between all of your volunteers
It’s important for people to know that everyone is playing by the same rules. There are few things worse than hearing “…but so-in-so doesn’t have to do that! Why do I?” This will also help remove any questions of favoritism.
3. Identifies areas of coaching
If you have no criteria you lack the leverage and direction in coaching your volunteers. It’s important that your volunteers know why you are meeting with them. Also, it helps you to stay on task, avoid “beating around the bush” and be clear and concise.
I hope these are helpful for you. I purposefully did not tell you what my criteria are because I want you to create your own that make sense for your team in your teach according to your needs. I’m confident that the Holy Spirit will guide you. Remember that it’s ok to re-evaluate your criteria and adapt it to your current situation. Nothing is set in stone but the 10 commandments.
Here are a few benefits of having specified criteria:
1. Defines the qualifications
Having a set of qualifications will eliminate some and motivate others to meet the qualifications. Either way it is clear why you have made the decisions you have made. I highly recommend that you keep your qualifications simple and clear.
2. Develops consistency between all of your volunteers
It’s important for people to know that everyone is playing by the same rules. There are few things worse than hearing “…but so-in-so doesn’t have to do that! Why do I?” This will also help remove any questions of favoritism.
3. Identifies areas of coaching
If you have no criteria you lack the leverage and direction in coaching your volunteers. It’s important that your volunteers know why you are meeting with them. Also, it helps you to stay on task, avoid “beating around the bush” and be clear and concise.
I hope these are helpful for you. I purposefully did not tell you what my criteria are because I want you to create your own that make sense for your team in your teach according to your needs. I’m confident that the Holy Spirit will guide you. Remember that it’s ok to re-evaluate your criteria and adapt it to your current situation. Nothing is set in stone but the 10 commandments.
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