As worship leaders, we have a unique burden and opportunity in our churches. The same task is before us: to re-present God and the Good News in a way that our people can understand and respond to.
At rehearsals, we practice community when we don’t practice music. Creating space for community inside our rehearsal time hasn’t made us perfect musicians. We still hit wrong notes. But it is helping us build relationships with each other. It’s helping us see where God is at work in us, forming us into more mature disciples.
Think of the chord chart as a road map. The better the map, the more likely that people arrive at the destination. Six years ago a drummer I led worship with pulled me aside and shared some tips that I’ve incorporated into my chord chart creation from that time onward.
What would worshipping “unplugged” this Sunday expose about those things on which we depend for worship? I recently asked worship leaders from around the nation to consider this question.
One of the common refrains among those who don’t practice a traditional worship liturgy is the idea that repeating things in worship is bad. Patrick Bourckel looks at the ways in which we often discount repetitive liturgies, and offer some gentle pushback on those concepts.
There are so many wonderful songs used every week in worship services, but even with the ocean of choices, there are times when nothing really seems to embody what your local congregation is trying to say. Grab your guitar or sit down at the piano and go to work!
Where some might see dissonance between these renewal worship and liturgy, I find beautiful harmony. Here are five reasons why.
Are our worship songs like our Instagram filters, helping us express ourselves in a manner that is, well, better than we truly are? Are these songs that may be true of Charles Wesley or the Torwalts but are way beyond our level of spiritual maturity or commitment? Maybe. Probably.
Being a worship leader is first and foremost about being a disciple, or follower, of Jesus. And no follower of Jesus stays the same for very long. Following Jesus is as much about who we are becoming as it is what we are doing. This is the call.
If you are anything like me, you landed in worship leadership quite by accident. But it was not an accident, and God has handed you the hearts of the people in your congregation. Maybe as you plan the next service on your radar, you can try not starting with a song. Instead, start by envisioning your people, reminding yourself of their stories.
In Part 1 of this two-part series, we discussed the use of a metronome in rehearsals and performances as well as the need for band members to think like arrangers instead of simply guitarists, drummers, keyboardists, and bass players. In this installment, we will look at the basic roles of each band member.
Unless you are an experienced instrumentalist, the prospect of leading a worship band in a modern worship context can be an intimidating one. This article is intended to demystify the process of leading a band in a modern worship setting.
