A friend is on a search committee seeking a full-time worship leader. So far they have sifted through more than 100 names. Picky? Yeah, but the committee has to satisfy five culturally defined generations that now populate most churches. Each has its own taste in worship, and each thinks the other four are a bit off-the-wall. So the search is difficult.
Dan Wakefield, a writer who moved to New York in the 1950s, was originally from Indiana. When he arrived in New York, he completely overturned his Baptist roots and became a bohemian. In one of his books, he describes how he wanted nothing to do with the values of middle America. He completely rid himself of religion.
Now, however, he's near 60 years old, ostensibly needing spiritual meaning, and attends ...
Formula for a good discussion? Take 120 church worship leaders and put them in a tent with three nationally known worship leader/recording artists and let the audience ask anything they want to know. We start off with each panelist introducing themselves to the crowd.
Jami: I'm from Oklahoma and I've been leading worship for eight ...
If a Martian visited earth and observed earthlings at public worship in contemporary or nontraditional settings, what would he/she/it report back to the home planet? (A similar exercise could be imagined for more traditional churches, with different results.)
My friend John, a music professor rather than an extraterrestrial, noticed something too few earthlings have noticed (see his full article at ...
For some time now there has been a serious controversy in the body of Christ over music. It has been going on for years and still divides churches more than any other issue.
Why?
It's not a disagreement over biblical commands. Some try to argue that it is, but it's not. Colossians 3:16-17 commands us to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Psalm 150 commands us to praise God with a variety of instruments. ...
Here are five planning practices that can prevent worship from falling into dullness and routine:
Find the focal point. I prefer to center worship on a theme. Sometimes the theme is supplied by the season: Advent or Lent or Easter or Thanksgiving. Other times a special emphasis like Missions Month or Family Sunday suggests a worship theme. The sermon topic is a natural focal point. If the topic happens to be God's faithfulness, or the love of God, or God's sovereignty, it is not difficult to blend the hymns, anthem, and spoken word with the sermon.
Printer view of these results
