One of the main struggles with every person tasked with creating a service that engages people with God… is choosing the right songs that will underscore your theme for the service, or at least prepare people for it, and give them an opportunity to respond in a way that sparks transformation and a fresh walk …
Announcements. Why do we do them? I guess, primarily, it’s to let people know what’s on, and why they should be interested, connected, and committed to everything that’s happening ‘in-house.’ They have often been the scourge of church life – especially the service time. They have often taken up more time than worship and prayer …
Last week we looked at how to open a worship service – whether your doing a service live or online, it’s very important how you open as it sets the scene and the tone of what is to follow. Having said that, closing a service is probably the most important part of a gathering. It’s …
Whether it’s a church service, small group or conference, every worship event starts somewhere and somehow. Worship is a journey that begins with the end in mind… to be fully engaged with Jesus, and being ready to say “Yes” to Him in response. The question is, where and how do you begin strongly. Here’s what …
As I was growing in my understanding of worship, and the journey that people went on in worship, I learnt that positioning songs in a particular place in the service was helpful to their journey. This was highlighted recently when the first song played in the service (and it was an online service) – was …
A blue print for designing a corporate worship experience. Read More »
Everyone experiences a crisis of faith at some time – big or little – it can be a dark place. How do you lead, or do you lead during these crises.
Today it’s not uncommon to see people lead worship from an instrument. Growing up, I never saw this – probably because it’s hard to lead facing an upright piano (there were no keyboards back in the dark ages) and guitar wasn’t used until later. But today, a singer guitarist and sometimes a singer/keyboard player is …
One of the biggest temptations that churches have, is to listen to and copy the sounds from the larger churches. When we hear their songs on Youtube or an album, we want the songs we play to sound just like the album. On one level, this is OK as we can learn and grow from …
Preparation is everything. As a friend of mine once said in describing what needs to happen at rehearsals… “Never wing anything”. The challenge for those who lead and teach songs to the band is that they need to be thoroughly prepared for the rehearsal. You cannot come to lead a rehearsal just knowing how a …
So I was charged with the responsibility of creating a farewell service for one of our pastors who was returning to his native Zambia. He had been a wonderful, and much loved pastor, and a treasured personal mentor to me, and we wanted to give him, not just a great send off, but a celebration …
