Kenny Lamm has a great post on his blog "renewing worship" about creating a comprehensive song list.
With LifeWayWorship.com's Media Library, you can have always-on access to all your worship songs anywhere you have an Internet connection. You can even filter the list by the words in the title to find things quickly.
Kenny Lamm from North Carolina has an interesting first post in a new series on choosing a worship style in your church. Try to guess what the writer of this article was talking about:
- Excerpted from the Renewing Worship blog.
One, it's too new.
Two, it's often worldly, even blasphemous.
[It] is not as pleasant as the more established style.
Because there are so many songs, you can't learn them all.
It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than Godly lyrics.
This new music creates disturbances making people act indecently and disorderly.
The preceding generation got along without it.
It's a money making scene and some of these new music upstarts are lewd and loose.
If you're a church who just uses LifeWayWorship.com in worship, you may not be aware of all of the other places where you can find LifeWay Worship materials for your music program. Over the next few weeks, we'll highlight some featured items that you may be able to use with the people you serve.
The first item: we're on iTunes! LifeWay Worship has been at the forefront of the digital music revolution for some time now, and we've been diligently placing all of our church music releases in the biggest music store on the planet. If you click through to this web page you can see some of our top selling titles.
At first blush, you may be thinking, "why is the same project on there four times?" It's because we've added our rehearsal tracks for the choral book. Now, you can send your choir to iTunes to download a recording that just includes their vocal part so that as they're driving to work or dropping the kids off at school, they can learn what they need to sing this Sunday. And, at just $5.99 per choral book, it's affordable for the choir member, and you don't have to make copies and send in permission forms.
Jeffrey Miranda over at NeoLogic Sound in Los Angeles, CA has a question... how do you protect your sound investments? Specfically... your sound system investments?
Many churches have invested multiple thousands of dollars in audiovisual equipment, and want to be good stewards of what they've bought. Some parts of your system are tiny, like in-ear monitors, and some are huge like speaker clusters, but all of them are tools that we've been entrusted with to connect people with the Word of God.
Share your thoughts and practical ideas for safeguarding your system on his blog post.
Kris Hodges has an insightful, reflective post on his blog. He talks about making the shift from "the next big thing" to a plan that puts God at the center.
If we focus more on the presentation of the gospel, rather than God's revelation and power of it, then the presentation can become the reason for the gathering.How are you defining the worship culture at your church in 2011?
Now that we're all official on , you can "Like" us and get two free downloads! Just head to...
http://facebook.com/LifeWayWorshipDotCom
...and click the "Like" button.
You never know what we'll do on our Facebook page... who knows what might happen when we hit 1000 fans? (Hint, it rhymes with "fly mod.")
Matt Redmond has a thoughtful post about Christmas. In the midst of your program prep and all of the extra special services... the ones that you'll be doing deep into the night on Christmas Eve... it's nice to remember.
Christmas is really about the gospel of grace for sinners. Because of all that Christ has done on the cross, the manger becomes the most hopeful place in a universe darkened with hopelessness.
@Maurilio Amorim shares his perspective on what, when and how you should plan an outreach-centered Christmas celebration at your church.
The first thing might be something you have only thought about from a "who can be there to help lead" perspective. LifeWayWorship.com can certainly help with the second thing... but has the third thing even crossed your mind?
Originally posted at MaurilioAmorim.com.
This week's All About Worship Podcast features Jonathan Riggs's new worship song Be Glorified. Listen for a free download code!
Many of you joined us last year as Mike Harland and Ed Stetzer presented the special online event Worship: Reverence vs. Relevance. If you missed it, the whole webcast is available for streaming at http://LifeWay.com/RvR.
On October 21 at 1:00 PM (Central), Mike and Ed will return to discuss Transformational Worship in a Transformational Church in a special edition of The Choir Room. What role does worship play in having a ministry that truly helps transform lives for the Kingdom? Can you "jumpstart" your ministry with a change in worship style? How do you know when your church is worshiping? The answers might not be the ones you expect... you won't want to miss this one!
Pre-register at LifeWay.com/TheChoirRoom and get a free gift!
Back to Church Sunday is September 12th, and thousands of churches across America have signed up to be a part of this movement!
According to the book American Church in Crisis by David T. Olson, "Most Americans have been to church, and yet only 20 percent are regular attendees." Dr. Gary L. McIntosh from the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University estimates "more than 76 million people have attended church at least once in their lifetime." Clearly, most people who do not currently attend church did attend at one time. Many of these people--maybe even you, might be willing to try church again, given the right opportunity.
In yesterday's webinar, Philip Nation pointed out that the temptation for churches who are participating will be to brush off the best sermon ever preached and "pull out all the stops." But, that might not be the best strategy... it's something that could prove unsustainable.
With LifeWayWorship.com, you can, however, put your best foot forward in a sustainable way. Whether you're looking for hymns that everyone will find familiar, but that are presented in a fresh, contemporary way, or cutting edge songs that will mesh with your community, you can find songs you want at the site. And, if you're short on musicians for September 12, or if you just want to add some sonic variety, our WorshipTracks are a great addition, and only $1.99 per download.
It's also a great chance for you to kick the tires on Worship Map Basic, our completely free worship planning tool. Play around with your order of service by dragging and dropping songs from the site into the template and adding as many "other" elements as you need, estimating those times. You'll be able to build a service plan that you can print and share with your pastor, tech team, instrumentalists and choir... and it won't cost you a cent!
Brenton Brown, songwriter and worship leader has an introspective post about the Catch-22 he faces:
We're people who promote our names and then go onto to say that Jesus' name is above every other name... hmmm.
The Associated Press recently published an article about the house church phenomenon - a movement where Christians are choosing to gather together without connection to a denomination or even a gathering place. LifeWay's own Ed Stetzer is quoted, calling it a "simpler expression of church."
The resources available at LifeWayWorship.com are great for house churches for two big reasons: affordability and ease of use. When you're part of a house church, you're probably relying on the resources of each family to provide the elements for worship. At $1.99 a track, or just $.99 per "demo," you can infuse new worship songs into your house church worship times without breaking the bank. You might even just use the stereo track as background for a prayer time or time of personal commitment. The tracks at LifeWayWorship.com are easy to use too - just checkout, download and play on your iPod, MP3 player, computer, or burn to a CD.
If you have questions about using our worship products in your house church, shoot an email to worship (at) lifeway.com, call us at 800-436-3869 or post a comment below. We want to help you worship!
If you're attending the National Worship Leader Conference sponsored by Worship Leader Magazine, come by the booth and be entered to win some fantastic prizes.
Also, follow @lifewayworship on Twitter and then visit the National Worship Leader Conference mobile site to see how you can enter to win a $500 WorshipTracks package!
David Manner gives an exhaustive explanation of why it's important to understand the principles behind why you worship the way you do at your church.
That leads me to the next question... how do you evaluate? Is it whenever you get around to it? Do you have a set time each week where "iron sharpens iron" in your church?
This post by a couple visiting a Baptist church in New Zealand refers to the worship leadership there as "curating" the worship.
The wikipedia entry for curator says that it "means manager, overseer." I've always understood a curator as someone who preserves.
Is worship something to be curated?
Josh Hamrick talks about being a missionary to the community around his church, and makes a provocative statement:
Now, this discussion must be taken with the assumption that God has no favorite genre. If He does, we should only play that style. Seeing that we don't know His style preference, we must conclude that all musical styles (more or less) are equal, and the content is where God finds pleasure.
Daniella Summers sums up what she believes every lady worship leader has at their disposal on the SCL blog.
We're partnering with our friends at All About Worship in support of their first ever All About Worship Retreat. The All About Worship retreat is May 20-22 at Grace Church in Overland Park, KS. If you're looking for the excitement of a stadium-packed concert event, you'll need to look elsewhere. But, if you're looking for spiritual renewal, opportunities for genuine friendships, and intimate worship sessions, this is the place. The impressive lineup of worship leaders and speakers include Tommy Walker, Jared Anderson, Darrell Evans, Michael Farren, Dwayne Moore, and others.
LifeWayWorship.com would like to give you the opportunity to win a FREE registration to this retreat. Here's how:
RT @LifeWayWorship Win a FREE registration to the @AllAboutWorship Retreat. Please RT! http://bit.ly/9CSykp
That's it. I'll add your name to the hat. On April 20, I'll draw the name and announce the winner.
*Note: Congratulations to Devin Didier for winning this contest!
I wanted to give a special shout-out to Wisdom Moon and Ben Abu Saada from All About Worship.com and their most excellent podcast. This month's episode features an interview with worship leader and Pure Praise author Dwayne Moore and yours truly. If you lead worship, you should subscribe to this one.
I'm spending the holiday away from the office and with my family. I hope your Christmas is filled with joy and peace. If you happen to be reading this on Christmas day, I want to offer you 5 FREE downloads from LifeWayWorship.com. It is good for Christmas day only. Just use the promo code XMASDAY09 at checkout.
In the meantime, checkout this video I saw on Ann Voskamp's blog the other day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Merry Christmas and I look forward to many wonderful conversations in the new year.
Wisdom Moon from the All About Worship podcast writes a satirical post about the qualifications of a modern worship leader. Have you observed this pitfall?
Ed Stetzer brings up the issue of worship music again on his blog post, "How To Test Your Music." He offers seven tests for songs to pass before they should be used in a worship service.
One of the tests he mentions is the "association test." The idea is to ask whether the song is associated with anything contrary to scripture and/or the meaning of the lyric. This association could be due to the groove or the genre, or any host of things.
My experience has been that you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out such things. I've known folks who associate ungodliness with all sorts of artistic expression (from dance to instrumentation to the color of one's shirt in the pulpit). How much is the worship leader responsible for others' associations? The church I'm currently a part of uses contemporary worship music, but comes out of an a capella tradition. I don't know how we could have ever plucked a note if we were bound to these seven tests.
Now, I wouldn't want to go head to head with Ed, but I take his words with a grain of salt. First, although he plays guitar, he is not tasked with the challenges of routinely choosing musical material for worshipers. Second, as my friend Dave Durham likes to point out, Jesus came to restore all things (Colossians 1:15-20). Surely this includes art, music, and even culture itself. Our artistic palette with which to worship Him is vast, my friends. He has come to restore all things.
My conclusion is that these tests may contain good principles when looking at your overall repertoire and ministry, but would be tiresome and unnecessarily academic to apply every test to every song. Certainly, let us be mindful of the culture where we are called to minister and the associations some may hold for certain expressions we may choose. But don't let those concerns alone dictate what you should or should not do. Instead, seek the Lord and let the testing be of your heart. Sometimes we are to respect the culture; sometimes we are to challenge it.
Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research had an interesting post on his blog last week about worship wars that are all too common in today's church. You can read it here.
(originally posted on A Worshiper's Heart). John Mark McMillan posted a recent entry to his blog concerning his song, "How He Loves." With the right audience, this is a really powerful song regarding the passionate love of God. But, some people get hung up on the second verse, specifically the phrase "sloppy wet kiss" in the line "So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss." They find it to be too graphic and/or sensual. Others say the image gives them the "willies" or is just plain distracting to their worship.
The song will likely become even more popular now that the David Crowder Band recorded it for the new CD Church Music. Crowder changed the lyric to "unforeseen kiss," which is admittedly less jarring. I fault neither Crowder for changing the lyric nor McMillan for allowing him to do so. After all, the song is not really about sloppy, wet kisses and the metaphor is not essential to the message of the lyric. Crowder's lyric will, in the end, be the one the song will be known by.
But personally, I like the original lyric and I'm glad Kim Walker recorded it. It speaks of both the passion of God and the mess of humanity. It's both divine and gritty, much like the Incarnation itself. And if it makes people stop and think about what they're singing in church, so much the better.
iTunes has both Walker's recording and Crowder's. What about you and your church? Are you singing this song? What lyric do you use? Should this song be on our site?
Update: We did it. This song is now available.
THANK YOU for the overwhelming response to Worship: Reverence v. Relevance featuring Ed Stetzer and Mike Harland! Over 1300 of you pre-registered for the event, and we're aware that some of you had problems viewing the live stream.
Because we know some of you may have had trouble, we decided to archive the event and let you know that the entire broadcast is available for on-demand streaming here. Feel free to share it with your staff, friends and congregations!
Click these links for more information about Ed Stetzer, LifeWay Research, and LifeWay Worship. You can also follow us on Twitter: @edstetzer , @mikeharlandlw , and @lifewayworship. Finally, click here for more information about online and in-person LifeWay events.
Attention church leaders and church members. Do you ever find yourself struggling with how worship is "done" in your church? Organ or guitars? Praise team or choir? Traditional or contemporary? Bulletins or Projectors? If so, be sure and tune into our FREE online event happening TODAY at 2:00 pm (central time), Worship: Reverence vs. Relevance. Register before it starts to receive 5 FREE downloads from LifeWayWorship.com.
At my church, worship is led by volunteers who rotate from week to week. This past weekend, I had the privilege of co-leading with another volunteer. We had a funny mishap during communion, which I wrote about on my personal blog. The experience has led me to consider how oftentimes real lessons are learned from awkward, funny, or embarrassing moments in ministry. So, I thought that I would pose the question here: What ministry lessons have you learned through an embarrassing moment? Leave your comment below.
Some people think that their worship service is something to attend - kind of like a football game. They come as spectators wondering if they are going to like the music or not and some even with the attitude of folding their arms and saying, "Bless me if you can!"
I think it's easy for a lot of us to have a touch of this attitude at times. Let's face it, most churches out there are built with a stage facing a bunch of chairs like a concert or a seminar. It's not done like this to intentionally throw us off. I think we would agree that for the most part it's like this for logistic reasons. But we can't let that get in the way of what we know to be true about what corporate worship really is.
I read a blog by TheDeeZone just a few days ago who wrote . . .
It seems that sometimes in church we get in a routine where we come in sit down and wait for those on the stage to sing, teach, pray etc, while we sit in our comfy little pew and observe. This really frustrates me because I think we have a misunderstanding of worship. Matt Redman is right (in the song Heart of Worship) that at its very core worship is all about Jesus or at least it should be. Worship is not just a corporate service that we attend once a week to please God.
I guess the question we need to ask ourselves is who is this about? Me . . . or Him? Is all this really for an audience of one? Don't get me wrong - we benefit greatly from true worship, but that's a by-product. The true product of worship is God getting His rightful place in our hearts and minds. One definition of worship is to bow low. If my spirit is bowing low then I am declaring that He is God and I am not.
So next time you find yourself just sitting back and "taking it all in" check in that moment to make sure you are still a participant and not slipping into spectator mode.
I've always heard that if we don't like singing and praising God through song that we aren't going to like heaven because that's what we'll be doing there. In thinking about being in a constant state of praising God it's hard to imagine it staying fresh . . . from our earthly perspective it can be hard to imagine singing for eternity. I mean, we only know so many songs. Will we have to just start repeating the same ones over and over? I'm being a little silly, but it does seem like one of those mysteries, doesn't it? Probably one of those that is very difficult to completely understand this side of heaven. We just don't get it.
Erika W. had an interesting perspective about this very thing . . .
. . . someone said that if Heaven is simply worshipping and praising God all the time, that just didn't sound appealing. And I think that I agreed with this statement. I thought they had a point, I mean worship and praise is great fun, it's fantastic to spend time praising God, but to do it all the time? I seem to think that we reached the conclusion that praising God was just not something we would want to do all the time.
If I just think about standing and singing forever it does seem a bit daunting. But if I think about the times when I've felt the undeniable presents of God moving in my life it has been hard to contain myself. My only response is praising him. I guess I can start to understand a response of perpetual praise by being in the presents of God without any distractions . . . without me or my world getting in the way at all.
I better learn some new songs!
Do you think the non-Christian world out there believes the church has anything to offer in the way of arts? Are we seen as music leaders in our community? Interesting question.
I know some would say that we shouldn't care what the secular world thinks of the talents that God's given us because they aren't for them. That's partly true. But I also know that Psalm 40 says that the world will see and hear the new song of praise that God has put in our mouths and many will trust in the Lord. Sounds like God intends for the world to hear our song of praise.
Prodigal Jon had an interesting post on this subject. He said ...
At the heart of it, the reason the church is not known as being a global leader in creativity and excellence is pretty simple. We missed God's love letter to artists.I agree with John. I think God deserves the best we have and dare I say even more. We, as artists, should strive to be better...
Does God care as much as we do about the style of music that we use to worship and sing praises to Him? Is the style of music the filter in which He puts our worship through to decide if He will accept it or not? I don't think so.
skreyola says this about our preferences in style ...
Individual preferences are important, as well as individual giftings and location. They are secondary in importance, but they exist for several reasons. So, it is legitimate for people to want to find a worship service where their preferences are respected and, to some small degree, kept in mind during planning and decision making.
I am not, however, talking about mere whims or caprices. Neither of these should direct the path of a congregation one step. The caprices of the day, the fashions and fads, and the base desires of the natural man do not approach the importance of sound doctrine and the Holy Spirit's leading. But what I am saying is that God has given the Body of Christ not only various functions but also various preferences.
I agree. I'm so thankful for all the variety and differences in the people around me. We aren't all the same. But what ever style of music we prefer to get to God in our hearts we have to get there the same way... on His terms, not ours. John 4:24 says, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth."
We all have particular tastes and preferences, but at the end of the day worship is not about us and all about Him.
When I see the slogan "Got Milk?" it makes me think of a lifestyle of drinking milk for my health. Probably drinking it every day for strong bones and a healthy body.
What do you think about worship every day? I'm sure you'd agree that we should worship every day, but what exactly does that mean. Should we work in singing a song to God on the days we aren't at church? Maybe, but that can't be all there is to worship. I'm not going to try to totally "unpack" that bag in this post, but I would like to throw a thought at you.
Ps 19: 1&2 tells us this:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.
Paul Burkhart tells us that seminary students may have a hard time relaxing if hymns or praise songs are playing. Who knew listening to music could be such a workout? Apparently it can be for some students.
Words, words, words. If you're in seminary, then your world is based wholly on words. Deep words. Big words. In seminary you will hear many words, you will read many words, you will write many words, and you will speak many words. This being the case, I have a very simple suggestion I have found very helpful. When you need to relax and unwind, don't listen to music with words - or at least big, deep words. This seems sort of simple, I know, but I have found it enormously helpful. I'm not saying that one should never listen to "lyriced" songs, just not when you're really trying to clear your mind and relax.
Travis Penn says that there is a line between real worship and a show.
Welcome to the Worship Circus. We have the greatest show on earth, or at least a better one than the church down the road.How does this make you feel?
The problem with this statement is that if you are part of a well programmed, highly visionary, talented church you take offense when someone criticizes all of the effort you have put into doing something well/excellent for your Lord.
And when you are a small church with a lousy praise team (if you have one at all), and Sunday after Sunday of slightly controlled chaos, you're offended by the shallowness of people who leave your congregation for what you call the greatest show in town. After all, you're doing the best you can with what you have. How will you ever get better if everyone keeps leaving for something else?
Isn't it good to do things well? And yet, isn't it superficial to leave one church and go to another because the music is better on Sunday morning?
Nick and Rosemary have a pet peeve... singing worship songs that include actions that no one is doing. I'm sure some pop to mind immediately ("We stand and lift up our hands...")
The lyric that is currently vexing them is Paul Baloche's "I Will Not Forget You.".
Anyone got a scripture reference for "a huge bell?"
Ben Davis says...
True worship is standing, kneeling, or being face down in front of God because He rocked your world.
When's the last time your worship flowed out of "world-rocking?"
Chip Stam, Director of the Institute for Christian Worship at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary publishes a weekly Worship Quote. You can get on his list at wqotw.org. Here it is for this week:
Today's WORSHIP QUOTE presents three brief passages from the Gospel of Matthew. We know that all of Jesus' teachings are true and good and perfect; but these three have somehow been referred to as great--the Great Confession, the Great Commandment, and the Great Commission. What do these familiar texts tell us about Christian worship?
CHRISTIAN WORSHIP: THE GREAT CONFESSION
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.CHRSITIAN WORSHIP: THE GREAT COMMANDMENT
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
CHRISTIAN WORSHIP: THE GREAT COMMISSION
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Bruce Reyes-Chow is serving on the newly formed "Worship Market Team" for Apple, Inc. (The company formerly known as Apple Computer.) Adam wants your feedback to feed back to Apple.
Best comment:
Obviously, you want to set up a breakaway church to be called the MAC(USA), whilst us computer dinosaurs will have to remain in the PC(USA)...:)
Welcome to the ALL NEW LifeWayWorship.com!
LifeWayWorship.com is now open! Over 200 arrangements of top hymns and praise and worship songs are now available for download in WorshipChart, WorshipMedia and WorshipTrack formats
Plus, three arrangements are absolutely free:
These three titles also include a preview of our groundbreaking new SongMap™ feature.
If you have questions, please feel free to visit the Frequently Asked Questions (yes... there are already questions that have been frequently asked!) or our Customer Service page for more details.
T. Ashton Reynolds begins asking "what does worship look like?"
Does it look like a bunch of people standing in, what in any other context would be considered a rock concert, with their hands lifted and their eye closed in that kinda worshipful squint? It is sitting in church singing songs composed 400-600 years ago? Is it a capella (no instruments) voices working for perfect harmony? Is it falling on our face saying nothing?
He answers it with an unexpected answer: Isaiah 58:6-7.
Stuff Christians Like gives us three alternative names for "blended worship."
I'm cool with blended worship. Honestly. Although I tease, I should probably warn you that the church I start, iGracePointeLifeTruthHouseNorthRiverElevate, is going to have blended worship. It's going to be a blend of awesome and wicked awesome.
Confessions of a Girl who loves Jesus... tells us that she bought a hymnal and a Bible this weekend. The Psalms she quotes would make a great devotional this morning. Her Why the blog? entry is pretty inspirational too.
Julie Reid compares her recent college football experience to our worship experience.
Christian Post has Billy Graham's response to the question:
I know I'm supposed to worship God when I go to church, but I can't say I always do. My thoughts wander, or I get to thinking about the people around me and I come away disappointed in myself for not really worshipping. How can I keep from being distracted?
Every so often, I'll find two posts about worship that sound like they might have been done by the same person, or two posts that are on the same topic. These sound like they might have been done by a worship leader and someone in their congregation. My guess is that these two don't even know each other!
Labourer in the Vineyard is a choir director n a Catholic church and is concerned about hit-and-run choir members.
Jason shares his experience of the irony of singing "Come... just as you are to worship" and seeing two mothers admonish their daughters for dancing.
BE603 recounts the current controversies about instruments and projection at his church, and how he remembers his father handling church controversies growing up.
David Gate is starting a series of posts on Worship Clichés. He has issues with the phrase "worship is a lifestyle," and not in the direction you might think.
