This is a question I’ve been asked a bit in recent times with questions like: What do you think the future of worship is going to be like? Where do you see worship going in the next decade? What changes to worship can you see right now and into the future? I’m not sure that …
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 …
One of the big challenges, especially in a church that’s going through some transition, is the music. “How do we play the new music”? is a question I’ve been asked many times. Those who struggle most seem to be keyboard players – more specifically – “piano” players whose hands have only graced a proper piano. These …
One of the biggest challenges facing worship leaders and musicians that support them is how to segue from one song to another without ugly and abrupt interruptions. It’s not always easy nor automatic. But it is a skill that you can & need to acquire because the fewer the distractions in worship, the better. The …
We are just a couple of weeks out from Christmas, and the shops as usual, are often way ahead of the church when it comes to playing the well known Christmas music. One of the challenges we have as leaders of worship and music directors, is how we can make this Christmas something special and …
Over the years, the speed of a song, not to mention keeping any song at a consistent speed, has been one of the biggest challenges of any worship team. Currently, I’m hearing the need for more praise or uptempo songs – the need for people to be joyous in their praise, especially when we live …
