April 2008 Archives

Click the "Full Screen" icon on the video for a better view:

LifeWay Worship Project from Patrick Watts on Vimeo.

Kay Baylor has a commentary on a church in Waco, Texas that offers a 30 minute Worship.

Peter Mead from Operation Mobilisation gives a simple, four paragraph post on his assertion that preachers need to recognize their role as worship leader, with a caveat..

Dr. Paul Dean of the radio show Calling for Truth has a new article up on crosswalk.com.

His thesis question:

Here’s the real question for believers however: What would we do if we did not have our auditoriums, power point presentations, and praise bands? Would we worship?

LifeWay's Brooklyn Noel comments about the sometimes-generational nature of musical style.

That realization got me thinking about why different people are drawn to different types of music; more specifically, why are senior adults drawn to gospel music?

Unfortunately, we won't be able to help you celebrate the U2Charist.

Introducing the LifeWay Worship Project blog...

Have you ever been excited about something, but you knew, for whatever reason, you couldn't talk about it? That's us for the past two years. We've been working in studios and churches, with arrangers and writers to create what we hope will be something that on a weekly basis helps supply your ministry with core components for worship.

So why blog about it?

Following the framework recommended by Markus Merz at performancing.com (hat tip to blog.hackingchristianity.com), let's figure it out.

Phase Zero: Seed the idea

Skipping the analysis part of classical product development I will assume that some idea got into my head worth to develop a content concept for a new website/blog. Basically when an idea for a new website comes to mind I structure the idea in four parts:

1. One sentence concept phrase
2. Some example article keywords
3. How to promote the site
4. How to monetize the site

Part of our dream for the Worship Project goes beyond music... it's to provide a platform to catalyze discussion about worship, sharing the voices of the practitioners from churches of every size and style and helping all of us understand that authentic worship is more than just picking the right song or creating a moment. It's about leading people to an encounter with the risen Christ.

Because of that, you're going to find two distinct threads on this blog - one that holds that mirror up to the online community, sharing the thoughts of others as they post about worship. The other thread is the "so what is LifeWay doing about it?" part. In those posts, we'll be showing the LifeWay Worship Project products and services that we've designed to resource those same ministries.

Given those thoughts, here are our blog's "Phase Zero" points:

1. LifeWay aggregates voices of worship leaders and laypeople to share how they are living out Psalm 149:1-6 and shares how LifeWay is responding with resources for ministry.
2. christianity, worship, music, ministry, praise band, choir, orchestra, guitar, lead sheets, video, Finale, organ, harp, small church, large church, hymns, worship songs, authentic
3. lifeway.com, lifewayworship.com, LifeWay podcasts, Google, Facebook, other blogs from worship leadership, state conventions, conferences
4. This blog isn't about making money, other than the residual effect from helping people understand the Worship Project resources that are available. The more important "payoff" is the call to Romans 12:12 - worship that is pleasing to God.

I bet at this point, a lot of readers are saying, "whoa, really? You just said that?" Yep, we did. Even though it wouldn't be an article keyword, I'd love it if every post on the blog could be tagged with the keyword "transparency." There's not a hidden agenda. Our agenda is to glorify Him.

Your comments and questions are welcome and appreciated!