Leading Worship in a Small Group - Vicky Beeching

Here is a great blog that is super practical and helpful to worship leaders. Vicky has written some great songs and has traveled all around the world and led worship in so many types of settings. It is cool to hear some of the practical ways that we can learn from her expertise. And there are a ton of great things to think about here. If you are an experienced performer, it will be a good refresher and reminder, if you are new to worship leading or under 5 years old as a worship leader. This is gold!


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Some worship gatherings, like weekend church or conferences, are reasonably big. But for many of us worship leaders, much of what we do happens in small settings, like house groups or prayer meetings.

Leading worship WELL in small group settings takes a totally different approach than leading in a big setting.

So here are my tips for making small group worship times go well.

Singing is awkward!

It’s crucial to remember that for the majority of the population,singing is NOT easy or fun, and is actually pretty awkward! There are virtually NO other settings in life, where people whoaren’t musical, get together and sing in a group - other than yelling at a football game!

For us worship leaders, singing is fun, easy and something we feel confident in (for the most part). Imagine something you feel really uncomfortable doing (for me that would be dancing!). Imagine being asked to do that thing in a small group of 10 people. Yup, awkward. Seeing singing through the eyes of non-musicians is the first step to leading well in a small group.

A way to make people feel more comfortable about this, is to break the ice by saying you know that not everyone likes to sing. So give people permission to sing, or not to sing and just listen, depending on how they feel. Yes, it’s ideal for us all to join in, as it’s a corporate expression. But it’s more important that everyone feels valued and comfortable, otherwise they may stop coming to small group altogether. Let people know that it’s ok if it’s only your voice singing. And it’s ok for anyone to sing out, even if their voice isn’t their biggest gift. Make people feel at ease.

Pitch it right!

Choosing the right key for each song is CRUCIAL for small group worship! It’s bad enough in a big church setting to have a song pitched painfully high or low, although sometime it can go un-noticed as a crowd can strain to reach higher notes. But in a room of 10 people, it’s very obvious if people can’t sing along.

I’d advise using lower keys in a small group, than you would at a weekend service. I usually take the songs down one key/tone for small group worship times. Men – when you lead worship us girls can’t usually sing along as the key is too high. Women – when you lead make sure that your keys aren’t too low for men to join in with. It’s worth asking someone of the opposite sex to help you choose keys for songs, by getting them to sing along to the songs when you are planning. See if you can find a key for each song that suits both men and women.

According to Andy Chamberlain, a friend of mine who often plays guitar for me in the UK, “a stereotypical man’s voice centers around Eb, whereas a stereotypical woman’s range centers around Bb. Quite a difference, but look at some of the worship songs written by women, many are in Bb, e.g. Shout To TheLord. So perhaps in that scenario, think of songs that are written in the keys of A, B or C”. Helpful!

Some songs just don’t work

Some worship songs have strong instrumental ‘hooks’, that the song will struggle to exist without. For example, once I tried leading “Don’t Let My Love Grow Cold” in a small group. The “doo doo doo doo doo doooo” guitar line that links the verses to the bridge was so crucial to everyone’s knowledge of the song. Without that guitar hook playing, there was an awkward moment of me strumming and a few people loudly humming the guitar line as it just felt so empty without it! Some songs have just become SO married to their arrangement that they just don’t work in a small setting…avoiding these is smart.

Another genre of songs that don’t work well in small settings, are huge anthems designed for large crowds. For example, I tried leading “Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble” in a small group, right after I’d been at a huge conference where we’d used the song. It didn’t work!

Some songs seem like they were written specifically FOR a large group… a bit like U2′s anthems that are designed to be yelled by a huge crowd. Big anthems often have a very wide range of notes, like Did You Feel, with a low verse and high chorus, that can be hard for a small room of non-singers to sing. They also tend to have big, long, high notes in their choruses and bridges, which can be tricky for less confident singers to belt out in a small setting. Be kind by choosing songs that will be easy to sing!

Older songs

It’s best to use older, very well known songs that are ‘classics’ in your church/denomination, rather than lesser known or new songs. This means everyone is more likely to know them and be able to join in. I do like to use small group settings as an opportunity to ‘test drive’ my new songs sometimes… but overall it seems best to stick to really well known songs in these settings.

Basic Supplies

In a small room, things can be distracting that would go un-noticed in a big room. For example, if someone has a cough and needs a drink of water, or starts to cry and needs a tissue, or needs the bathroom but doesn’t know where it is… So think about all of this when you prepare to lead worship, and provide water and tissues in the room. Make sure everyone knows where the restroom (or “loo” as we call it in England!), is. That way no one needs to ask.

Unexpected Guests…

If you’re meeting in a home, pets can be really distracting (even though they are very cute!). Make sure Fluffy and Rover are shut away in a room away from the gathering, so that a four legged friend doesn’t suddenly bound into the room and break the moment!!! (The parent of a small child just told me, when reading this draft, that this can apply to small children too!)

Musician overload?

Choose the right amount of musicians for the setting. I’ve been to a few small prayer meetings where the number of people playing the music outnumbered the people not playing! If you have 10 people in a small group, one person on an instrument should be enough. Don’t overload the room with a full band!

Volume is also important… make sure it’s loud enough that people aren’t too aware of their own voices, yet not so loud that it’s uncomfortable. If you don’t have a loud voice, get a small amp, as it’s crucial that people can hear your voice above the others in the room, to know where in the song you are, and where you are going to next. A classic scenario in small groups is that the worship leader can’t be heard and the group lose their way. So make sure they can all hear you.

Watch the clock

In a church service setting, it’s easier to stay on track time-wise as there are other things happening in the meeting to cue you. In a small group meeting in a home, often it’s just sung worship and prayer, or a short teaching. There may be no clues as to when you are supposed to stop singing…so have a clock handy and keep an eye on time to make sure you know when to stop.

Don’t make it a ‘dirge’!

Sometimes when we’re leading in small settings, we can tend to choose much slower songs as they are easier to play without rhythm section/drummer. Avoid making the whole set slow though, or people can just get lulled to sleep! I’d start with a few mid-tempo songs, or even a fast song if you feel your strumming or keyboard playing can pull it off.

Tuning is crucial

If you’re leading on guitar, and your instrument is slightly out of tune on stage with a big band, it might go un-noticed. But when all the room can hear is your voice and your 6 strings, they need to be perfectly tuned. Bring a tuner with you, and tune right before you play.

Be aware!

Small groups are even more important than big meetings, to have your EYES OPEN. I’ve had a few embarassing experiences, where I led worship at house group with my eyes locked shut, then finally opened them to see that only one person was in the room…everyone else had sneaked out for a coffee next door!

I’ve also led worship with my eyes closed, for a room full of church staff. I led very passionately with fast songs and lots of energy. When I opened my eyes at the end of the set, no one was standing up – all were seated and looking very disengaged. Awkward! I was so out of touch with where they were at.

Having your eyes open means you can see whether people are (a) still present! (b) engaged. Leading worship is a pastoralactivity…so you need to be aware of how your ‘sheep’ are doing if you are going to be a good ‘shepherd’ of leading them in sung worship.

Lyrics

In small settings, you aren’t likely to have a powerpoint projection system. But people will still need the words, however well they might seem to know the songs. I’d advise that we always print out lyric sheets for each set… This is easier than songbooks, as it avoids people flipping around a book whispering “which song number was it?!”. I do a sheet per small group set, with the lyrics printed in a decently large font (as not everyone has great eyesight if you have a mixed-age demographic).

Restrictions

Another embarassing incident at small group, is when you get noise complaints! Always make sure that the room/house/venue in which you’re meeting is suitable for loud singing and playing instruments! If it’s a person’s home, make sure they’ve asked their neighbours first. If it’s a church venue, make sure that you’re allowed to make noise outside of normal church meeting hours. This seems more relevant to the UK, where we have smaller buildings, in closely built towns and cities. In the States and Canada it seems like the extra space means that most churches and homes are detatched with far less potential for noise problems.

Spare Guitar

Breaking a string when you’re leading with a band can be covered up, as the band can carry you to the end of the song. But when it’s just you on a guitar, with no other musicians, breaking a string is BAD NEWS! Always have a spare guitar right next to you, so you can grab it and keep going.

Post-modernity

There is a growing hunger among most of us for church to be more interactive. We are over the ‘being spoon-fed’ model of church gatherings, and want to contribute and participate in an interactive way. Small groups are a great opportunity for this… so think about ways that people could participate in worship… could people read out ‘spoken word poetry’…or bring a piece of liturgy…or share a piece of artwork? How could it be a group offering, rather than just a worship leader singing songs. Get creative! Small groups are the perfect place to develop this._______

I know that you loved this and were able to take something from it. Vicky is a great leader and has contributed a great amount to our modern worship culture. Make sure to checkout her website/blog that  

Andy Irons surfing Legend dies today

Very sad news for surfers, athletes and people all over the world. Andy Irons died, reportedly from dengue fever sometime last night. Andy, to my knowledge was not a follower of Christ, but we don't know his last minutes. Either way, pray for is pregnant wife, his family and his close friends. Pray that God would use this terrible thing to change their lives. Please just pray.

Here is a recent video about why he loves to surf.



You will be missed Andy.

"Jesus, I pray that you will comfort Andy's family and use this time to speak into their lives and draw them to you. I pray for his wife and his future child. Help them to not turn away from you in hate/blame, but to run to you and your open comforting arms. I pray that Christians would show up with love for the family and help them through this very difficult time."

Lead Guitar in the studio with WorshipCentral

This is a really fun video that shows a little about the creativity and well... fun... that goes into recording a worship album.  I love these behind the scences videos. I hope you do too.  But, this is narrated by Tim Hughes about the tracking of a new song "Counting on Your Name" for his new album.



PS> A little shout out to Sean Gonzales for getting me excited years ago about effects and using them creativly. Love you man!

Background Vocalist Video Tutorial - Amazing

This is for all of you background vocalists. I feel like bgvs and the sound guys rarely receive the credit they deserve. Anyway, here is another great video from Worship Central. Jono McNeil hits on some key topics that can help background vocalists feel comfortable and useful in our worship services. Everything in this video is 100% truth. Towards the end he really gets into some great harmony ideas and concepts which is really useful for anyone that wants to take the next step and tackle some bgv harmonies.

But, this video speaks for itself. Check it out.

Worship Central is a great place to see what is new from some other worship leaders, as well as, get some training and practical tips to leading (at any level - BGVists are leaders just as much as the "Matt Redmans" but God has given us different roles). Anyway, you can pick up a link to Worship Central from my blog or by going to Worship Central's website directly.

If you can't see the video go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75YV1UDHHZg

'Wonderful God' by Hillsong

'Wonderful God' is a great song by Hillsong that focuses a few of the many attributes of our God. It proclaims Him as Creator, Omnipresent, Faithful, Trustworthy, Honorable, Praiseworthy, Eternal, Worthy, Glorious, Loving, Life Giver and ...Wonderful. The best part, IMO(in my opinion), of the song is this anthemic recognition of these attributes. I know that this writer writes out of personal experience and conviction and with the understanding that we have little to no actual understanding of God except what He has revealed to us by His word. So, with that, these words that we sing, although simple to utter, are far more difficult to come to grips with. Sometimes I think that our participation in worship comes close to hypocrisy if not hits it dead on. Often times I'm left speechless when I hear songs like this that speak of the true beauty and incredible wonder of our God. Then, when I can get the fortitude to sing, I sing it loud from a humbled and awestruck mind.

Wonderful God

Beautiful is Your creation

You're glorious in every way

You surround us with

Your faithful love

And we can trust in all You say

Wonderful God

Wonderful O God

You are worthy of all glory

All honour and praise

All to You our God

Forever and always

You are worthy of our worship

And worthy of our love

We stand in awe of

All You are

You are love

You are life

You are all glorious

My one regret about this song is that it doesn't clearly define who it is directed toward. Without to much background to my statement, I'll just say this; if you want to get challenged about using basic doctrinal truths in songwriting (like the Trinity), read "Worshipping Trinity" - by Robin Perry. It looks at songs and set of songs through the doctrine of the trinity and classifies songs through that. This song, Wonderful God, would be labeled as an ambiguous 'You Lord' song rather than pointing to the person of the trinity F / S / HS who is being glorified through the specific lyric and wording of the song. (Without slipping into modalism). Wow. It is a tough calling and responsibility we have as worship leaders to understand what we are singing and how that shapes the theology of our congregation and society.

'You are with me still' - video with Caleb Clements

This is one of those songs that, every time you lead, someone comes up after and says, "wow, that song was so powerful." Each time they quote a different line and say how it touched them.

It was written and refined by a group of guys in Orange County, CA and actually around the world, birthed at a church named Rockharbor. Have a listen.

You Are With Me Still - Story & Song from ROCKHARBOR WORSHIP on Vimeo.

For the charts and lyrics go to the Rockharbor Worship website, Click here.

For me, every time I listen I have a new favorite part. The song takes a different approach to worship than we have seen recently in our worship services. It follows the 'other 50%' of the Psalms and deals with the hard times. The painful times. The times when you really don't FEEL like God is right there with you. Yet, the hook in the song really gives the listener a sturdy ground to stand on. "You are with me still."

When all is dark and hope is gone

And silence has become my song

When doubt has closed me in, You are with me still

When strength is overcome by fear

Your presence feels no longer near

When sorrow’s night descends, You are with me still

One line of the song (that is not actually on the video) shows an aspect of response in the midst of repeated suffering and pain. It says, "My calloused heart and weary soul, will turn to trust in you." I picture this one... calloused and weary, beat-up by life and feeling like you are stuck in a washing-machine on the heavy setting. Just over and over pain - hurting - pain - hurting.

Though favor’s touch seems long ago

My calloused heart and weary soul

Will turn in trust to You, You are with me still

So, any worship leaders. Remember that it is NOT un-biblical to worship out of an acknowledged pain. In fact, some of the most powerful times of worship in the Bible come from difficult and uncertain times. We have some great examples: Job, David, Isaiah, Paul, and exc.

Here is the chorus:

You are with me still, Your love will endure

You are with me still, Your promise is sure

You are with me still, Your mercy remains

You are with me still, You give strength as I wait

"Lord, help us to understand that You are with us. Help us to place our trust in You. Because we know that You are stronger. In our weakness You are strong. We know that Your love will endure, we know that Your promise is sure and true, we look to You in our despair and our sorrow. And we ask for Your strength to help us wait."

Learning to Sing - Tim Hughes

How economics and justice turn noise into music
By Tim Hughes

It was the American author and humorist Mark Twain who wrote, "It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand."

When I read the Bible, one thing seems abundantly clear: God is passionate about the poor. Jesus made that pretty apparent when he said, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor" (Luke 4:18). In Amos 5, God's heart burns with anger as He rebukes a people who offer up songs of worship and other sacrifices, but trample and deprive the poor for their own selfish gain.

However, the simple reality is that we have a tendency to become blind to the truth. We somehow miss the fact that issues of poverty, justice and money are all over the Bible. We forget that while idolatry is the most common theme in the Old Testament, poverty is the second. We look blankly at the fact that one out of every 16 verses in the New Testament tackles the subject. In the first three Gospels poverty crops up every 10 verses, while in the book of Luke it's there every seven. We read the Bible and somehow all this just passes us by. We're left singing our songs in state-of-the-art auditoriums, while the world outside aches.

And in the spirit of Mark Twain's little quip, it's little wonder we skip over these major themes. They scare us because they are all-too-easy to understand; they scare us because of what they might require of us. We can't escape the truth that God's heart breaks for the last, the least, and the lost, and if we want to glorify God in all that we do, issues of justice and the poor need to be at the core of who we are. This will transform our economics-how we work, what we do with our money and how we spend our time. And it will transform the way we understand worship.

If You Want to Kiss the Sky
Speaking at the US National Prayer Breakfast in 2006, Bono remarked on God's heart for the poor:
"God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house . . . God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives . . . God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war . . . God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them [the poor]."

Part of what I do involves traveling to different parts of the world training other worship leaders and leading worship at different churches and conferences. I get to work with some amazing people, to hear inspiring speakers and to see God move in remarkable ways. Recently I went on a ministry trip to South Africa with some friends from Soul Survivor. Compared to most trips, this one was fairly low-key. We led at a couple of relatively small evening meetings, but for the rest of our trip we spent time visiting different townships and projects throughout Durban. We spent one afternoon playing football (soccer) with some children who had been orphaned through AIDS. We spent a morning serving breakfast to a group of men who were homeless. We spent time with some children we met begging on the street who were merely surviving the realities of life with no home or family. We visited people's homes, we chatted, and at times we laughed and cried together. During the week, my heart was so stirred. I felt devastated at the injustice, and (strangely) fell more in love with Jesus. In the lives of the people I met, I encountered Christ. I can honestly say it was one of the best trips I have ever made. There were no big meetings. We didn't see hundreds of lives changed. On the contrary-it was our lives that were radically changed.

Money, Justice, and Worship
I feel constantly challenged to consider my own personal response to the Bible's mandate to love the poor. Economics at a certain level is a system of choices. We live in a global village; our lives our interconnected. Our personal actions and choices have an impact on others. From the clothes we buy, to the coffee we drink, to our carbon footprint-all of this has an impact. So are we making choices to bless, honor, and serve those who need our help? All of this also affects our finances. In many ways our checkbooks are journals of our personal choices. So, how am I giving sacrificially to bless others? Am I a cheerful giver? Does money have a hold on me? But this is about more than money. We can give away huge sums of money but our hearts can still be far from God. I believe God is calling us in the Church today to give all that we are, to live generous lives, loving our neighbors as ourselves.

The prophet Micah implores us to "love mercy." I sometimes wish the call were to "do mercy." That would be much easier. "Loving mercy" involves so much more. It involves the giving of the heart. It involves relationship. It's the difference between charity and justice. Charity doesn't need to involve the heart; it doesn't need to be about love. It's far too easy for charity to be about how it makes me feel, how it makes me look. There's something much more selfless about justice. Justice is about the needs of other people. Justice comes from love and love comes from relationship. Loving mercy means friendship with the poor.

Loving Mercy
In his fantastic book, The Irresistible Revolution, Shane Clayborne writes, "Writing a check makes us feel good and can fool us into thinking that we have loved the poor. But seeing the squat houses and tent cities and hungry children will transform our lives. Then we will be stirred to imagine the economics of rebirth and to hunger for the end of poverty."

So how do we move from doing mercy to loving mercy? Well, it involves seeking God's heart, praying for mercy, praying that our hearts would be softened and changed. It is loving our neighbors as ourselves, looking in the face of someone who has nothing and realizing with disturbing clarity that that could be me-or my children, or in fact my friend. In order to love mercy we need love our neighbors; those we share our street, our city, our planet with. It involves opening our eyes, our diaries, and sometimes our checkbooks and getting out there.

As a worship leader and pastor, I've been challenged to get out of my comfort zone-to see, feel and experience the hard realities of life for many others. To put myself in places where my heart and my complacency can be broken. One place that I've found that I keep being drawn back to is prison. It's never been high up on my places-to-visit list, but last June I had the privilege of visiting a maximum-security prison in Texas with a team to lead worship for about 500 inmates.

As we walked into the prison I thought my heart would be hardened against the inmates, I thought I'd despise them. But on the contrary I found that my heart went out to them. They were warm, friendly, kind and encouraging. It blew our minds. In the midst of such evil we saw a light; we sensed something of God. The guy operating the sound desk was serving a 99-year sentence. (On this occasion we chose not to question any of the sound levels he'd set in our monitors!) Watching a number of these men passionately worship was one of the most incredible sights of my life. I will never forget one man weeping with his hands held high in worship as he sang, "Amazing Grace."

Deeper Worship
These encounters have changed me. They've challenged me to the core; they've unsettled and shocked me. They've highlighted my sin and selfishness and humbled me. More than anything they've led me into a deeper communion with God. It's in these places I've discovered Jesus. And it is in these places that I finally make sense of the God's words in Amos 5:

"I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religious projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I've had enough of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice-oceans of it. I want fairness-rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want" (Amos 5:21-24 The Message).

To God, our singing and our lives are seen as one. There is no separation, and if there is no justice in our lives-no ability to love mercy-then there is no music, only noise. This is a sobering truth, and something that worship leaders need to get their minds around if they hope to truly lead music in their churches. This expands our role in some profound ways.

Another Step
We are loved by God with a purpose to love others. Giving with our wallets and our hearts to the poor is one way to do this, but there are other options. The songs we sing, the songs we write can make an impact. Recently I've been involved in a project called CompassionArt, which brought together twelve songwriters from around the world. We met for a week in Scotland to worship together and to write songs to bless the Church and remind ourselves as God's people that we have a responsibility to love those on the margins of society. From the outset we decided that all royalties would go to help breathe life into the poorest communities, restoring hope and igniting justice. It was a significant and profound time for all of us. There was huge joy in seeing that our passion for songwriting could combine with our passion for the poor to make a difference.

Following Him
As followers of Jesus we are called to play our part in building God's kingdom; a kingdom that is ruled by justice, where people are loved and cared for. Part of our musical expression as worship leaders is to usher in God's kingdom, to declare His name and to set our hopes on all that is to come. We live in the now and not yet. Our musicality and artistry can all play a part in painting this glorious tapestry of God's extravagant love and promise of a better day, where every tear will be wiped away-there will be no more death or sorrow. But the truly wonderful songs and inspiration will only come out of a heart that is set on serving the poor around us 24-7. Worship is the total alignment of our heart, soul, mind and strength with the will of God. When we worship, we will find we are led to the poor, and if we love Jesus we will gladly follow.


Tim Hughes is the writer "Here I Am to Worship," "Beautiful One," "God of Justice (We Must Go)" among many other songs. Hughes is also the leader of the school of worship called Worship Central.

Beware of the Stage - by Paul Baloche

BEWARE OF THE STAGE

BY Paul baloche

27 MAY 2010

Within our American Idol/Rock Star culture, often the goal is all about having--and keeping--the spotlight. As Christians, we belong to a least-is-the-greatest kingdom that pronounces the exact opposite, and yet worship leaders must regularly wrestle with the dynamics of being onstage in front of crowds.

Even the typical "worship service" setup (platform, microphones, spotlights, etc.), for example, forces its leaders to walk dangerously close to those "rock star" elements while making sure the attention stays solely on God. There are many things that we can do to help us from being infected by our performance culture and as always we find timeless wisdom in the ancient text of scripture.

There is a Priestly model described in 1 Chronicles as “ministry to the Lord”. The Levites didn’t “lead people” in worship but instead were charged with the task of ‘singing praise to God both day and night, in the temple. They sang to the Invisible God - an audience of One. How often do we minister to God in private? Ideally, worship leading is publicly modeling what we have been doing privately. A healthy habit is to “practice” worship throughout the week by creating some alone time with God and by singing songs and prayers to Him. Often I will go into my church sanctuary by myself or with a few core members of my team and we’ll read scripture out loud, especially psalms, which is the vocabulary of worship. We’ll begin to play guitar or keyboard very simply to create a worshipful atmosphere while speaking and singing out psalms and heart-felt prayers. It may feel slightly forced at first, perhaps mechanical, but if you persist in “showing up” to bless the Lord in private, you will begin to sense more of His presence and authority in your outward, public ministry.

The other aspect of our ministry is Pastoral. Guitar players and singers are “a dime a dozen’ as the saying goes. But those who will give their time and talents in service to God and His people are rare. Jesus asked Peter, “do you love me?” Peter replied, “Yes Lord”. “feed my sheep.” Ask The Lord to give you HIS heart for the community that you serve. Before you dismiss your team from rehearsal, have them come to the front of the stage and look over the empty seats. Ask them to imagine the people who will be sitting there this coming week and encourage your team to pray for the individuals and families who will be showing up in those seats. This is a powerful exercise to help you and your team cultivate God’s heart and love for the people you serve.

I would encourage you to lean toward more of a conversational tone in your leading style as you begin your service. People don’t like being yelled at, manipulated, or artificially hyped up. Whether you lead fifty people, three hundred, or more than a thousand, aim for being as authentic and sincere as you can. We don’t have to be overly sanguine. People respond best when they sense someone being themselves. In fact I used to always pray something like this under my breathe before I walked on the platform. “Lord, at the risk of being boring, please give me the courage to be ‘who I am in You’– nothing more, nothing less.” We all battle our insecurities in different ways but practicing our ministry to The Lord and praying for the people we serve will take us a long way in distinguishing between performance and effective ministry.

Let’s determine to finish well by helping facilitate a lifelong conversation and sense of community between God and the people He has called us to serve.

Paul Baloche

Paul is the worship pastor at Community Fellowship in Lindale, Texas, and is married to Rita. His songs include ‘Open the eyes of my heart’, ‘(Hosanna) Praise Is Rising’, and ‘Our God Saves’. For more info, visit www.leadworship.com

"Church" or something like it

Here is a video I saw that made me laugh and then really sad. Watch it real quick then I'll talk:

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer on Vimeo.

Wow.

So, the reason the video is funny is because it is so true to what we see in the church today. At least in most churches in California. Recently, I've had opportunities to see many types of churches, as well as hear what they are looking for in their worship service. Right on the website it reads: "Relevant Music and Teaching" / "Rockin Worship" / "Music that will make you feel comfortable" / "Music that sounds like the stuff on your iPod." Now, don't get me wrong, that tends to be the style that I like and what I end up gravitating towards, but so often we find ourselves striving to create 'the perfect worship experience' and we take the focus off God (Whether intentional or unintentional).

We have turned into a 5 step formula. We think that if we only have these certain things, we will see growth and change. But, we neglect to let God, through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, change us to be more like Jesus in our worship. We neglect to give up our control of the service.

However, as worship leaders we are faced with a problem. We DO have to be aware of people in the church that don't know new songs, we DO have to be aware of moving the church to a new understanding of worship by using new songs, we DO have to be aware of the style that the church is made up of, we DO have to be aware of bringing an excellence in our worship(because using our gifts is our offering to God). So, this video hits on some of these issues that we deal with week after week.

Why do we end up worshiping a formula or a method in our Sunday mornings. I know I'm a little harsh in that statement, but if we are honest with ourselves, we have fallen victim to that thinking at least once. We start to think that this is the way that works, so let's just do that.

When will we be the church that is relevant because that is where the Holy Spirit is leading them? When will we be a church that changes as best as they know how as the Holy Spirit is leading them?

Granted, the Bible speaks clearly about having order in the services, but I want to suggest that you can be creative and open to changing without losing order. I feel like we have done a dis-justice to that verse (1 Cor. 14:26-40) and applied it to things that it was not meant to be applied to. I digress.

We need to find a balance between intentionality to help people worship and following the direction God is leading your church. I feel that if we err on one side we should follow God's leading. But, I've seen many churches that will go REALLY far towards just getting people in the church door. Turning our worship into entertainment.

"Lord, as we lead your people in worship, allow us to follow you and be intentional to lead and not perform. Lord, help us to be worshipers and not entertainers." -Luke

___

To see the original post click here or go to http://insidenorthpoint.org/media/2010/05/05/videos-for-drive-10/

Worship Old and New

Here is a great book that I read on refurbishing the drive of worship through Biblical truths and examples. It is called 'Worship Old and New' and was written by Robert E. Webber. What I find most amazing about his writing is the logical and simple structure he puts it in. This book is meant for seminary level intro to worship classes and I think it is perfect for that role.

It talks about 4 main things:

1. Biblical Foundations of Worship (Very useful in establishing the 'why' of worship)

2. Biblical Theology of Worship (Looks at worship and the gospel message)

3. A Brief History of Worship (Chronologically follows the progression of worship - very interesting)

4. The Practice of Worship (Practical ideas/examples of symbolic & meaningful worship services)

He points out the Biblical foundations of worship, and examples of worship starting with Cain and Able in Gen 4 and continuing into Rev 4-5 with a truly amazing heavenly worship service. Webber says the essence of worship is two way both in God's initiation and the people's response, "What lies at the heart of worship is God's continual movement toward the peoples of the world and the continual response of the people of God in faith and obedience." It starts with God and ends in the glorification of God.

Webber depicts the most inspiring and natural connection of salvation between the Israelites and the Christian church as the "The Exodus Event and the Christ Event." He expounds on this connection and shows how the story of salvation and freedom from the slavery of Egypt are directly connected through various passages in scripture. We have all heard about this connection, because it is the most famous story of salvation, but the simplicity of Webber's telling is refreshing. He claims that this is the core foundation for our worship.

One of the most amazing aspects of this book for me was his study and historical basis for worship. He first tells of the foundations of worship, then the gives a strong theological argument for many aspects of our worship services. Next, he looks at the historical progression of worship through generations and movements and then lays out practical elements that should be seen in our worship services today.

Overall, I think this book is good for anyone who wants to understand worship in the bible. Although, I do not fully agree with every conclusion he makes, I would recommend this to most worship leaders and worshippers because of its holistic view of worship (not just music, but all aspects of the act of worship) and thought provoking ideas on renewing worship. He tends to focus on emphasizing the 'old' meaning the liturgies and rituals of the early/ancient/medieval eras... I take a slightly different approach when I read these truths. I think there is a way to hold the same, or similar, values yet do them in a new way. (I don't want to get into the details of an appropriate example here because I don't want to slide of topic. Webber alluded to a similar method, but in my understanding of his writings, fell back on implementation of traditions 'in a new way'. Meaning, do the exact same things and make them fresh.

Anyway, I really enjoyed reading 'Worship Old and New' and I'm bummed that I was borrowing it. Oneday soon I'll add it to my personal library. It is a great resource for worship leaders to have.

Muse - The Making of The Resistance - Exogenesis

This is pretty neat... Be challenged in your creativity.

Glorious - by Paul Baloche and Brenton Brown

Here is a new song by Paul and Brenton. It is a great song about our risen Savior. Listen to it real quick...

Amazing lyrics. I love the strength in the verses, yet the simplicity of the message. The premis of this song is this, that Jesus is alive and we are not in service to a dead king - He is alive. That is incredibly significant to our lives as Christians, we are not bound by death and sin anymore, why??? Because Jesus is alive. We stand in this truth and this hope.

The verses speak of the cross and of the resurrection, but the chorus speaks out of the mystery and implications of both the cross and the resurrection and says,

"Glorious, my eyes have seen the glory of the Lord.

Glorious, He stands above the rulers of the earth."

I think it is a powerful message as we are in the weeks just after Easter. We serve a risen Savior, a living God, a resurrected Ruler a God who is glorious. He has conquered the grave and sits beside the Father and rules together over the universe. 'He is above the rules of the earth.' Because of this act, our God reigns. We know that the Father, through Jesus is in ultimate control of this world. We know that He appoints the kings/rulers and He has power to remove them.

Here is a video with the song story:

So, as we look to this new post-Easter season, let's remember the story and the power of Jesus. Let's remember that our God, three-in-one, is Glorious and above all. Let's remember what it means to be Easter people - forever changed by the work of Jesus on the cross.

Pivotal moment

So, We are left with this...

God the Father sent His Son to die for us on the cross. He conquered death, and rose again, and in this pivotal moment in all of history, he allowed the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our hearts. Our slavery to sin has turned to freedom, our debt of life has been paid, our identity is forever changed, our broken lives are now made whole. Now what? Do we continue to live like we are in bondage? Do we continue to live in the life that died with Christ? Are we holding on to the old self and the bondage that we lived in before?Have we let the magnitude of this event penetrate our lives?Are we even able to stay silent since we have truly been freed?
Just some questions. You decide the answer.

Here is our call to worship...

We are no longer slaves to sin we have been purchased and redeemed. Let us celebrate and spread the news about what God has done for us. Let us be easter people, forever in remembrance of the life that we get to live through Jesus Christ.

Here are some good Easter Songs

"Sweetly Broken" - Jeremy Riddle
"Love Came Down" - Ben Cantelon

"Happy Day" - Tim Hughes

New song

Sing a new song to God.

We see this phrase all over Psalms as well as conceptually throughout the Bible. What does that mean for us today?

As I seek to understand more about God, I'm put in this position between speechlessness and responsiveness. On one hand I'm craving something, something new. Something fresh. Something from my heart. But, more than half of the time I just come up short and hunting for the right words to say. I'm left with songs and scriptures filtering through my head that have been around for ages.

I can't help but be challenged creatively by these verses (sing a new song verses) but at the same time I've realized that 1000 year old phrases and songs can be new to my lips each time because of my heart. Because, they were new thoughts that sparked these age-old words. So, in my songwriting I want to push forward, but as I seek to Worship I want to bring the best of what I know as on offering of praise.

"Lord help me to continually praise You with new songs and songs that are coming from a new heart. Holy Spirit, I need You to continually work in me and I ask that You will give me more desire for You. Jesus, I want to lift Your name up. I want to bring You praise, because You are good and Your sacrifice was perfect." - Luke

"Sing a new song to the LORD! Let the whole earth sing to the LORD!" Psalms 96:1

Great album review blog by rockharborworship

Original Post:

MATT REDMAN’S “WE SHALL NOT BE SHAKEN” ALBUM REVIEW PART 1: INTRO AND FAITHFULNESS 03/30/10 | BY ROCKHARBORWORSHIP

The heavens ring, the saints all sing,
“Great is Your faithfulness”
From age to age we will proclaim,
“Great is Your faithfulness”
How great is Your faithfulness

This is the first of four blog posts I will be composing in order to review fellow worship artisan and songwriter Matt Redman’s newest album “We Shall Not Be Shaken”. These posts will not necessarily be a commentary on every song as much as they will be my findings of key theological threads & content throughout all the songs. Let’s dive in.

In everything from the title of the album, to the track names, to the lyrics and meanings behind them, Redman has imbedded the most prominent theme of this record: God’s faithfulness. God’s unchanging, unfailing, everlasting presence. Songs like “We Shall Not Be Shaken”, “Through It All”, and the anthemic choral cry of “How Great is Your Faithfulness” are really the backbone of the album. This was Redman’s goal for the record. He says,

“This album praises God’s steadiness. We’re being reminded how shakable earthly things are: job losses, home foreclosures. When we traveled to Korea, there were high profile suicides due to the failing marketplace. So it feels appropriate now to address the economy in a worship song. Nothing in the Psalms was ever detached from its era.”

Nothing could be truer about our world and its state today. More than ever people need to hear about a faithful God, a God that has been around through every broken and failing economic system, through every corrupt government, and every natural disaster. For me the only appropriate thing to sing sometimes is “You are faithful! Jesus, You are faithful to the end!”

The track “We Shall Not Be Shaken” uses simple poetic language to declare unbreakable truth in an era of utter brokenness. This intentionally Psalm-like song is one of several that Redman has penned out centering the listeners attention on the unmatchable constancy of the one faithful God. He declares over and over again the resounding message of God’s dependability.
Throughout many verses on the record, Redman contrasts our reality with His reality. In “Through It All” the world is filled with “broken promises and so many empty words”. Listening to the track we get a sense of pleading from the worshiper to God saying, “Have mercy on this world. Be with us.” Then Redman contrasts this to God’s reality: “God of unbroken promises, always You keep Your word”. In a sense he answers the question.

A few verses that really seem to capture this theme are Psalm 136 and Psalm 100. In Psalm 136 David pours out his heart in worship. He sets the call as something that God has done that is deserving of praise and the response is the repetitive, ongoing, never-ending “His love endures forever” or as another translation puts it, “His loving kindness is everlasting”. Psalm 100:5 gets it in one verse, “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations”. From age to age He has always been. Isaiah says that He never sleeps nor slumbers. He his always watching, always loving, always in control. He takes care of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field and knows when a leaf falls to the ground. When there is no sign of Him anywhere, He is really all around us.

Right from the get-go of the album with the first few songs, Redman makes a declaration of the faithful God who saves.

Cheers!

____

To see the original post by Rockharbor Worship click here.

There's an App for that...

There is a new Worship App for iPhone/iTouch users called Song Suggest. I was able to check it out and it seems pretty cool. You can do a lot with it. It helps you find songs, lyrics/chord charts, and videos for any song that is listed. It draws from a pretty huge database of songs.

Check out the website online at: http://www.worshipapps.com/ or find it in the app store.

Here is the video about the app and its features.

Instructional video by Jesse Reeves for 'I Will Rise'

This is a great video resource that I found on a site called www.fqworship.com.

This is a great song, I will Rise, played by Chris Tomlin. Jesse is the bass player and arranger for much of the Chris Tomlin stuff and he gives us a play by play of the bass parts for this song. He also gives some great helpful tips about using bass in music/worship and some theory behind it.

Check it out.

Songwriting Consultation by Simon Brading

Songwriters Consultation Day 1

I’m away for two days at an annual Songwriters Consultation that Graham Kendrick runs, there are about 60 of us here from the UK and further. Having a great time. Today we had Jim Wallis talk about remembering the poor, justice and compassion. It was hugely challenging to be honest… Followed by a Q&A session with Jim, Martin Smith and Tre Shepherd.

I guess it’s easy to think that caring for the poor is what the ’social justice’ people do, or just a few projects we do on the side. But the truth is, it’s at the heart of the gospel. The first words Jesus proclaimed in public are quoting Isaiah 61 – ’sent to the poor’ (see Luke 4:16-20). Also, remembering the poor is quite a clear theme through scripture – which obviously climaxes with Christ, the One who became poor to save the poor.

Anyways, heard a lot of stuff today but here’s some thoughts for songwriters… There are three types of compassion/justice songs:

1) Songs that inform us about the poor and injustice. Eg the verses to Delirious’ Our God Reigns

2) Songs that help us worship in the place of poverty, injustice. Eg It is well with my soul

3) Songs that commission us to go to the poor. Eg God of Justice

But all of these MUST be in the context of the gospel – The God of justice sent His son to the poor to bind up their brokenness and bring freedom to the captives, and by extension we carry on this Kingly work of Christ as His hands and feet, as His church. Our motivation for mission and source of compassion is the gospel, and the agent for God’s mission is not a charity but the Church. Yes!

I’m challenged as I haven’t written any songs in either of these 3 camps. Hmmm. Well there’s my thoughts for the day. Over and out

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To check out his original post click here.

Worship in the Bible

The word worship appears in the bible many times having many different Hebrew and Greek origins. Looking at the meaning and usage of these words can be extremely helpful to help us find the meaning of worship and establish a biblical foundation for our worship. We can also see other examples of worship in the Old and New Testament by examining the scriptures closely and applying with it our knowledge of the meaning of worship.

Let's look at some Hebrew and Greek words regarding worship. I grouped similar Hebrew/Greek together as many scholars do to better understand it as a whole.

Words and Meanings:

שחה shachah [H] & proskuneo [G]-"depress," "bow down," "prostrate","bow down in worship", "to adore" = It points to an inner and outer homage to God with awe and surrender. (Gen. 22:5, 24:26-27, Ps. 66:4), (Matt. 2:2, 2:11, Jn. 4:24) Other words that have a similar expression are: caghadh [H] - "to fall down", "to bow down" (Job 1:20, Isaiah 44:15, 17, 19 and 46 : 6)

עבד avad [H] & latreuo [G]-"to serve," "to minister," "to work" = Worship as service implies a total lifestyle of allegience to God. (Ex.3:12, Ps. 100:2, Duet. 6:13, 10:12-13), (Acts 24:14, Rom 12:1, Phil 3:3) Other words that have a similar expression are: abhadh [H] - also abhodhah "to serve", "to work", " to labour", "to be bound", "to enslave" (Exodus 3:12) / therapeuo - "serve," "heal," "tend" "to relieve", "to wait upon menially" (Acts 17:25) / atsabh - ‘carve,’ ‘fabricate,’ ‘fashion,’ is once given ‘worship,’ i.e. ‘make (an object of) worship (Jer 44:19) / also: threskeia [G] (see next section for more details)

ירא yare [H] & phoboumenoi [G]-"to fear, "to respect" = To fear God and have reverence and respect for Him and move toward service. (1 Sam. 12:14, Duet. 8:6, Eccl. 12:13, Job 1:1, Prov 3:7), (Acts 9:31, Acts 13:16, Rev 14:7). Other words that have a similar expression are: sebomai [G]-"to revere", "to fear", "to adore - devout", "religous worship" is used 10 times one of which is (Matt. 15:9) / threskeia [G]- "to observe commands", "to observe religiously" is also used as "religion" it can be "will-worship," "ceremonial observance," "an act of reverence" , = It has the root idea of trembling or fear and also identifies more of a ritual or form of worship. (Acts 26:5, James 1:26-27, Col 2:18)

ידה yadah [H] & exomologeo [G]-"to give thanks," "to make confession," = This was more than a gratitude expression, it also meant a confession of God being God. (Ps 136:1, Phil 2:10-11)

So we see the four basic expressions of worship: bowing down, service, reverence, praise/thanks (confession of gratitude). Each of the primary expressions has many facets and worship concepts that go with them which helps us apply them to our lives and 'live out' worship.

Worship is our response to God yet it is made possible through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit at the command and will of the Father. Worship is now available to us! Wow. Jesus sacraficed. We are made clean. AND we are adopted into the family! We are children of God. We are pure. We are righteous. We are no longer bound by our sins. We have reason to Worship! "I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship (BrookeFraser)".

Let us come to God with celebration and give thanks for the wonderful and mighty God He is, and let us fall down before Him with homage and surrender as we begin to catch a glimpse of His power. Let us realize, as our faces are on the ground, that He alone is deserving of our reverence & fear then move toward action & service as we surrender with a lifestyle of allegience to Him. Let us Worship.

He is worthy.

Sources Used:

Crannell, Philip Wendell. "Worship," International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. Edited by James Orr. Blue Letter Bible. 1913. 1 Apr 2007. 3 Mar 2010. type=GetTopic&Topic=Worship&DictList=4#ISBE>

Webber, Robert E. "Worship Old and New" Copyright (c) 1994, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI

Muchow, Rick. "What does the word 'worship' mean?" Unpublished document from an E-mail.

Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Definition for 'WORSHIP'". "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". bible-history.com - ISBE; 1915.