Basic Health Care For Your Voice: Part 1

Taking good care of your voice can mean having both a preventive and remedial approach. I’m going to have a look at both in this two-part series.

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Developing A Songwriting Community Through Your Church, Part Two: The Enemy And The Foundation

In part one of this series we laid out a biblical and historical case for encouraging a community approach to songwriting. Of course an exhaustive argument from the Bible alone would probably take a book, because the Bible is replete with proverbs, examples and prophecies relating to community. Isaiah 52:8 says “The voice of your watchmen - they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy” and Proverbs 11:14 tells us “… in abundance of counselors there is victory.”

As we head into the nuts-and-bolts of how to set up a songwriting circle, we must start with an awareness of two things: the enemy and the foundation:

The Enemy

“We have met the enemy, and he is us.” ~ Walt Kelley

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When Vessels Break (Mike Guglielmucci and Healer)

Dear Worship Community,

I write this article today from my home office and studio.  Looking outside my windows I can see the rain and wind increasing from Tropical Storm Fay.  Although she is located several hours south of our home I can see and feel her presence.  As the sky grows darker and more ominous I can’t help but think of the storm we’ve encountered over the last twenty four hours in the world’s worshiping communities. Read more

Worship Leaders of The Bible, Part 2: King David

I’ve decided David wouldn’t have made it as a worship leader in today’s church. Not that his songs wouldn’t hold up. Oh, they’d hold up, alright! But there’s just not enough grace. King David was one messed up dude, y’all. Lies, murder, adultery, and that’s just the beginning of it. With all of the systems of accountability we have in place these days, I can say with a good deal of confidence that David would be banished from most churches’ stage for life- and rightfully so, maybe. After all, serving in a position like lead worshipper means you are now called to a higher standard. But, somehow, David persevered. He messed up; there’s no questioning that, but he also rose from it. The question, then, is how is that even possible and can a resurrection like that happen in my life and my career as well? Read more

Orchestrating an Effective Rehearsal

Rehearsals are one thing that every single worship leader in any capacity cannot get out of. If you are on staff, you lead rehearsals. If you are a volunteer, you need rehearsals. If you are a tech guy (or gal), you attend rehearsals. And since we all can’t get away from them, we should take a look at how to make rehearsals effective. Effective rehearsals lead to encouraged and motivated teams.

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Church’s Got Talent - Hiring a Worship Leader

Face it. It’s bound to happen at some point. Maybe your church is beginning to grow and the needs cannot be properly fulfilled by a volunteer. Perhaps you have a staff transition and you find yourself in need. Maybe that talented high school student is graduating and moving away to college and you find yourself ….

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Worship Leaders of The Bible, Part 1: John the Baptist

A lot of people think John the Baptist was Baptist. You know, like, a member of the Southern Baptist Convention or the Georgia Baptist Convention or whatever- you get the idea. This, obviously, is not the case. “Baptist” here means something more like baptizer or washer. A preacher who communicates regularly for my church often refers to him as “John the Washin’ Man.” He was the one who baptized followers of Jesus’ way- even before Jesus arrived on the scene! And, just as a side note, John’s worship leading is of a much different style than you’d find in your average Baptist church- the one I grew up in included. John the Charismatic could have been a more appropriate term were his name a reflection of his denomination or worship flavor as some have supposed. Maybe John the Pentecostal, I don’t know. Anyhow, John the Baptist is an extremely influential lead worshipper we see in scripture, yet there’s not one mention of him sitting at a piano or holding a guitar. John did two things well, two fundamental, essential things well, and if you or I ever hope to become effective lead worshippers for God’s glory we’ve got to begin modeling our worship leadership in large part after what we find John (a) implementing and (b) having success with. 

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Interactive Worship, Part 1

As a “worship pastor” I have had over 10 titles in the past 20 years. But, I have only been at 4 churches. Music Pastor never worked for me. Why? Worship isn’t music. Worship Arts Pastor got closer. Worship Arts Stylist even closer. My current title incorporates the word “experience” which may even be closer but still falls short.

The inertia behind the changes has been a desire to communicate something about worship beyond song—beyond sacraments—beyond preaching. The changes have also been fueled by my desire to see something incredibly special and unique happen on a Sunday morning because God is worth it, our people are worth it, the community at large is worth it, and the people who are involved in the worship planning and implementation are worth it. Read more

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