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Blended Worship Works… Sometimes.
There is so much I find interesting in this video from Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC. It is their version is "God is Good all the Time" (which I think is a great song, and... a hard song to pull off well). Here's some of the things that I stood out to me. Watch it... then be sure to click to read me comments. See if you agree:
Ten Things Worship Leaders Can Learn from Bruce Springsteen
This is from my friend Mark Wilson. This is great, especially after Sunday's Super Bowl appearance from Springsteen. Mark writes:
Rob O'Connor ripped Springsteen's Super Bowl halftime show at List of the Day. In light of these observations, I'd like to suggest ten things worship leaders can learn for Springsteen's performance:
1. "Drop the Guacamole Dip": People resent being told they HAVE to do something musically (i.e. Everybody raise your hands! or Let's all clap together on this one!)
2. Don't Start with Something Stilted and Corny.
3. More isn't Necessarily Merrier.
4. This is Not a Place for Self Promotion
5. Gospel Choir: O'Connor was wrong on that one. Bring 'em on! They add exuberance!
Ten Ways to Write Bad Worship Songs
Bob Kauflin recently wrote an interesting piece on how to write a terrible worship song. Bob writes, " I’ve reviewed hundreds of worship songs and written a few of my own. Not all of them have been stellar. Actually, very few of them have been. I’ve noticed recurring tendencies that keep weak songs from becoming good or great songs. I’m intimately acquainted with those tendencies in my own songs and I’ve listed my top ten below. While these thoughts are meant for songwriters, most of them apply to leading worship as well...
I Am No Music Scholar… but…
Dan Kimball includes a couple of letters in a recent blog post that I found interesting. Not sure if these can be substantiated as fact, but take a look... it sounds about right...
"I am no music scholar, but I feel I know appropriate church music when I hear it. Last Sunday's new hymn - if you can call it that - sounded like a sentimental love ballad one would expect to hear crooned in a saloon. If you insist on exposing us to rubbish like this - in God's house! - don't be surprised if many of the faithful look for a new place to worship. The hymns we grew up with are all we need."Of course, this letter was written in 1863, and the song they were talking about was "Just as I Am". Here's another one...
Worship is NOT Entertainment
The call for entertainment in worship in our time is often cast in a particularly seductive form. Entertainment is often sold in the name of evangelism. We are told that we must make worship interesting and existing for the unconverted so that they will come to church and be converted. At first glance that argument is very appealing. We all want to see many brought to faith in Christ. Who wants to be against evangelism? But we must remember: entertainment is not evangelism, and evangelism is not worship...
British Hymnal Goes Digital
For just 40 pounds ($79 US) per year, you can now download words, sheet music, and accompaniment tracks to more than 1800 hymns in the new Mission Praise Hymnal. You can also create playlists for their own orders of service which can be saved and shared with others online. The Hymnal is published in the UK by Harper Collins...
When is Your Worship Too Loud?
It's a contentious issue in many churches today. You have a small group complaining that the worship music is 'too loud', while another group wants you to crank it. Who do you listen to? And when IS the music too loud? Here's a synopsis of some great points from Rick Muchow's The Worship Answer Book
Ten Great Questions for Worship Leaders
Dwayne Moore writes, "Forgive me if that sounds like a strange and rather unbecoming question from someone who is a major proponent of music and of praise. However, for many of us as worship leaders and pastors, it is a question that lurks in the back of our minds week in and week out. I have to admit I am very curious as to why no one ever really addresses the question of how much is too much or too little. How many songs are “just right” in one worship gathering? Exactly how long should the music portion of the service go? When do we begin to reign in an unusually “powerful” praise time and bring it to a close?" He goes on to give ten great questions that worship leaders should ask regularly...
Why do pastors leave the ministry? Several common issues emerge from the research of Dean Hoge and Jacqueline Wenger: preference for another form of ministry, the need to care for children or family, conflict in the congregation, conflict with denominational leaders, burnout or discouragement, sexual misconduct, and divorce or marital problems. Of these factors, which form the basis for the central chapters of Pastors in Transition, two are especially important: conflict and a preference for specialized ministry. A close third is the experience of burnout, discouragement, stress and overwork. As the authors explore these factors, they provide significant insights into what can be done to help people stay in ministry. The bestselling author of "The Message" challenges believers to read the Scriptures on their own terms, as God's revelation, and to live them as they read them. Based on his extensive experience as coach and mentor to many thousands of Christian leaders across a broad spectrum of ministry settings, Reggie McNeal helps spiritual leaders understand that they will self-select into or out of greatness.
Pastors In Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Church Ministry
Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading
Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders
Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.
- on Jim Tomberlin: Multi-Site Church Trends for 2009
- on 15 Innovations the Church Should Embrace Now...
- Top Law on Bill Hybels: The Goal of the Church is to Make Believers Independent
- mitchell and ness on Official Summer Hiatus...
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