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Getting Out of Our Comfort Zone

February 14, 2012 in Sunday Setlists, Worship with 2 Comments

There was a call for the congregation to prayer and everyone started praying out loud. That was normal of my youth.

There was a call to prayer and the whole place was silent, except for the person on the stage. That is today’s normal.

I grew up in the first tradition, but work in the second. There is nothing wrong with either, its just tradition.

Our most recent worship service centered around ‘gratitude.’ At the conclusion of the service we were asked to spend some time talking to God, thanking Him for our blessings. We were all encouraged to come to the front of the church and kneel or kneel near our seats….AND we were encouraged to pray out loud, all at once.

When our pastor gave the instructions I could almost here the collective gasp Continue Reading…


Let The Choir Teach Worship Songs

January 29, 2012 in Worship, Worship Choirs with 1 Comment

I have always believed that the role of the worship choir is to lead worship, from the minute they walk on stage. That has evolved from being on stage for the whole service, including the sermon, to being on stage for everything but the sermon.

The role of the worship choir has always been to prepare through rehearsals music for the weekend services. That has evolved as there has been a shift in the type of music we prepare. We have gone from preparing only ‘special choir ministry songs’ to a combination of ‘ministry songs’ and ‘songs that we will teach the congregation.’ That line often blurs when a ‘special song’ is used for the second or the third time and the congregation catches on and begins to sing. That’s what happened this past Sunday. Continue Reading…


My Prayer: Help Me To Stay Out of the Way

January 16, 2012 in Sunday Setlists, Worship, Worship Planning with 1 Comment

It was one of those mornings when things didn’t go well in rehearsal. I was concerned that what we were trying to do on stage was going to get in the way of worship instead of encouraging that dialog. I even went to the final worship choir rehearsal and shared my concerns.

Once the worship set was over in the first service I felt the same way…but that wasn’t what I was hearing from the choir, the congregation or the tech people. (And folks, the tech people are our harshest critics.) Their comments were: “good stuff this morning”, “wow great time of connecting with God in worship.”

When I was walking to the stage for the first service I was praying: “God, it isn’t going like I planned and what we rehearsed doesn’t seem to be connecting, please let Your glory be seen in-spite of this, come and take control of this service.”

He did. Continue Reading…


The Art of Worship

January 12, 2012 in Worship with 0 Comments

This quote was in the latest issue of Creator Magazine…good thoughts about worship.

To worship is:

To quicken the conscience by the holiness of God.

To feed the mind by the truth of God.

To purge the imagination by the bearty of God.

To open the heart to the love of God.

To devote the will to the purpose of God.

- William Temple, former archbishop of Canterbury


The Great Commission In Worship and Is Worship

January 7, 2012 in Spiritual Journey, Worship with 3 Comments

How often should a church emphasize Christ’s command to go into the whole world and make disciples?

Obviously it is an important theme of any Christ-centered church, but do those churches make it a part of public worship?

Our team has become very intentional about outlining the elements of our worship services so that there is a re-presentation of the gospel. But until recently we have not been good at including one part of the gospel, Christ’s last command to his followers. Continue Reading…


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