I have had the opportunity to serve at churches that love to worship and currently serve with a congregation that continues to grow in its passion for God, which is displayed in how they worship. It has been and is a privilege to be called of God to serve in this way.
But after 30 years of serving as a worship leader there are some things I still don’t get. Continue Reading…
On Friday of last week I uploaded a post “Following A Guest Worship Leader” in it I voiced some thoughts about how I choose someone to fill in for me when I am away from my church.
I am fortunate to live in the Nashville area where there are numerous options that I can trust to lead our congregation. This time Regi Stone graciously planned and led the services in our main worship room. He even took time to get to know our worship teams by visiting both the choir and vocal team rehearsals. After his visit I wrote a post on the importance of letting your teams hear from other leaders.
Regi was sensitive to our church by Continue Reading…
How accepting are congregations of guest worship leaders?
This week I am hoping that the congregation I lead is very accepting.
I am taking the weekend off to celebrate two big events: one, my daughter is graduating from college, Lee University, and the second is mother’s day. I am fortunate that the college she attends is in the same town that my parents live. Because I work on Sunday’s it has been difficult for me to be with my mother on Mother’s Day. In fact I think this is the first time in almost thirty years.
Back to the subject at hand…guest worship leaders.
When choosing someone to fill in for me I ask these questions Continue Reading…
“We recognize the tension between the concerns for reverence and for freedom in worship expression.”
Of all the tension that arises in today’s worship wars, the tension between reverence and freedom of expression can be healthy.
First let me say that the tension between reverence and freedom of expression can be unhealthy if the discussion or confrontation is centered on style of music or style of worship.
The tension can be good between reverence and freedom of expression if the discussion of the two are a catalyst for and tool in planning the service. A worship service is a reflection of a relationship. In healthy relationships there is tension as we are challenged about our convictions/beliefs and how we engage in the relationship. There are times in a relationship when we enjoy quiet moments of togetherness and still other times when there is celebration. Continue Reading…
What I am about to say goes against popular thought and also against how I planned worship for many years…but here goes anyway.
We go out of our way not to make Easter Sunday worship something special.
Here’s why: like many churches we have a great number of guests on Easter, in fact this year our attendance went up by over 30%. We want these guests to come back. When they do come back we don’t want them to be disappointed. It would be terrible for us to overhear a guest the week after Easter say: “this is nothing like it was last week.” Continue Reading…
