Do You Have Musical Benchmarks For Your Worship Team?

Thanks to Steve Ball for sharing his thoughts with The Worship Community! Republished with permission – originally published here.

I believe we should all be aiming to excel in what we do – both individually and as part of the worship team. But having a musical benchmark that doesn’t enable new members to join easily really bothers me. Maybe it’s my ‘music teacher’ background wanting to see students develop, but I’ve seen too many people get discouraged (or worse, hurt) over the years by being told they are not good enough.

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5 Reasons To Use Liturgical Music In Your Contemporary Service

Republished with permission from Alex Mejias. Originally published at HighStreetHymns.com.

As a person who grew up in the age of CCM and “contemporary” worship, I had little exposure to traditional liturgies and “liturgical music.” I think the closest we came to using anything liturgical was when sang the Doxology (the “Old Hundredth”) as traveling music for the ushers after the offering. I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure that was the original intention of Thomas Ken, who penned those words back in the late 17th Century.

It wasn’t until after college that I had my first really full experience of traditional liturgy in spoken word and song. I had always had this image of stuffy Catholic services where people were being brainwashed to mindlessly repeat prayers and creeds. I never imagined that what I would find would be this giant collection of the most thoughtful and beautiful expressions of faith I’d ever encountered. I had been missing so much. Now I want to help churches find what I found and see meaningful ways to incorporate these prayers and songs into their worship. [Read more...]

Worship Songwriting: What is the GQ (God Quotient) of Our Worship Songs?

Thanks to Mark Snyder for sharing this great approach with TWC. Not only is it a great practical approach to writing worship song lyrics, it’s also a great way to analyze our Sunday Setlists.

Worship songs are an area of vastly differing opinions. Evaluating what works and what doesn’t can be very subjective. One sentiment I hear and read all the time is ‘let’s take the focus off of us, or I, or me, and put it on God, where it belongs.’ In many ways, this is a push back on the effects of a ‘generation me’ culture. But, to figure out why a song leaves this impression is not as easy as it sounds.

As a career software engineer who is also a worship songwriter, I try to allow my analytical side to influence what I do musically. When I am songwriting or considering songs for my set list or recording projects, I like to think in terms of an analytical measure of a song I call the God Quotient (or GQ for short). GQ is a way to look at a song and try to evaluate its real focus. [Read more...]

The Worship Community Loves YOUR Voice

We at The Worship Community would like to extend our continued thanks and appreciation for all of you who continue to be a part of our community.

Whether through weekly participation in Sunday Setlists, where people from all over share their experiences, testimonies, struggles, ideas, problems/solutions, and song setlists from their worship gatherings each week…

…Or whether over in the TWC forums discussing ‘all things worship’ with brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world…

…or if you’re a regular reader of our articles here on the front page.

Thank you! Thanks for being a part of building and nurturing this community. [Read more...]

Online Group Study: Heaven’s Praise by Dwayne Moore (Begins February 6, 2012)

Join us here at The Worship Community as we host a worldwide group Bible study beginning Monday, February 6, 2012.

Heaven’s Praise, a 6-week Bible Study by Dwayne Moore, is the follow up to the well-received and widely utilized Pure Praise study.

TWC hosted the Pure Praise Study once in 2009 and once again in 2010 and we’re excited to host this online group study as well. We’ll have participants from all over the world joining us.

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Songwriting: What Rhetorical Device Can Martin Luther King Jr Teach Songwriters?

Originally published by Bobby Gilles at MySongInTheNight.com (republished with permission).

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the great figures in U.S. history: a skilled orator, passionate preacher and principled civil rights advocate. He should also be required reading (and listening) for all poets, songwriters and hymnodists. Rich poetic and rhetorical devices fill his speeches and sermons, stamping them indelibly on our collective conscious. Let’s look at one technique today, from his “I Have A Dream” speech.

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Music News: Rend Collective Experiment’s Five-Star Album, Homemade Worship By Handmade People, Available Today

Internationally acclaimed Rend Collective Experiment releases its sophomore album, Homemade Worship By Handmade People, today on Kingsway with global distribution and amidst five-star reviews.  The album was recorded and produced by Rend Collective in Irish church halls and homes in the band’s organic, collective style and fusing a depth of sung theology and fresh melodies that reflect themes of redemption, devotion and celebration. [Read more...]

7 Areas For Growth In Your Worship Ministry

Republished with permission from Rob Rash. Originally published at RobRash.us.

Rob Rash shares some great areas for growth to take a look at as we move into the next year. As you read through this list, take a few moments to assess where you are! And as always, feel free to share your experiences, ideas, thoughts, insights, etc. in the comments below!

1) Leadership – As a leader, we must be constantly evaluating, adapting, and growing in our leadership abilities and skills. You can never gain enough experience or knowledge so make this a priority. Read books on leadership, follow blogs and folks on twitter, and surround yourself with great leaders. [Read more...]

Practical Tips: Overcoming Burnout

One of the most defining moments in my life happened several years ago, as a full-time music and media coordinator for a vibrant and growing church plant, when I suddenly realized that I was actually ok if I never designed another sermon series graphic or put together another Sunday Setlist for worship services..

I had hit that “staff ministry wall” – a really potentially frustrating and bitterness producing place in which I never thought in a million years I’d find myself. It’s a really complex situation, but the result was I was toast. I was burned out. [Read more...]

Our Daily Bread: What Sustains You And What Drains You?

Happy New Year! As we start the new year off many folks will be making goals and resolutions, they’ll be starting diets and workout programs, committing to read more, or even just working harder on eliminating bad habits. We all approach the new year with the expectation of something fresh and new (even if we don’t make resolutions).

In Matthew 6:11 (the Lord’s Prayer), Jesus says, “Give us this day our daily bread.” [Read more...]