Hire From Within
After two and a half decades of supporting churches in your worship ministry, we’ve noticed something. The longer we’re around, the more the church personnel change. While we do know some leaders who have been at the same church since 2002 (when Ad Lib started), many have moved on. Even though some leaders feel like fixtures, even they are no longer leading worship.
Lead Pastor, We Need Your Voice
Imagine a world where the two people who share the vast majority of stage time at your church were best buds. I know that many lead pastors don’t have anything near that on their radar screens for how they work with their worship leaders, but John Maxwell’s leadership Law of Connection is still irrefutable:
“Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand”
The Mirror
Here’s the strange thing. I ask good questions for a living. As I coach worship leaders, I listen to what they say, what they leave out, what they focus on, what their perspective of reality is, and I ask questions from the OUTSIDE. I’m not better than them; I’m not a better leader than they are; I can’t outplay them as a musician. My value is that I’m not them. I’m not on the INSIDE.
Post Conference Blues
Conferences are great! I used to be the guy who would sit in the auditorium in the afterglow. I didn’t want to leave. I had been inspired, encouraged, stretched, and poured into. What I received was not just information, it was impartation. I wanted to take many of the presenters home with me.
The Long Game
Are you aging out of worship leadership? Are you feeling burned out or pushed out? Do you wish you had the same passion for Jesus, worship leading, and people that you once had before all those years in worship ministry? How can you rekindle a youthful, yet mature exuberance for the next season of ministry?
My Favorite Questions
Thanks for reading this year! As we prep for a new year, I want to equip you with tools for reflection. Worship leaders usually aren’t very good at reflecting. Introspection and navel gazing, yes, but real reflection, not so much.
After The Noels: What Happens To Your Heart After Christmas?
The candles go out, the lights come down, the room empties—and suddenly it’s quiet. After weeks of rehearsals, planning, long days, and late nights, Christmas Eve hits with so much beauty and energy…and then it’s just done... it's over.
Crazy
On Christmas Eve, a church in your area is holding six services: traditional, contemporary, blended, modern, emergent, and orthodox. Then, after the candelighting, the worship team is hopping on a redeye to do a missions trip to Cambodia over Christmas and New Year’s.
Ministry Model
Stop and think for a moment. What has most influenced my model of ministry? Many of us don’t even realize we have a model. Can you identify it? Who shaped it? A pastor? A co-worker? An industry? A speaker at a conference? An author? A friend? A podcaster?
A Really Good Lunch
I was on staff and was failing with my techs. There was constant tension. There was contempt and sarcasm. And so much passive aggressiveness. There was no life. Rehearsals were dreadful.
Outlast
It’s happening all over America. Worship leaders with twenty and thirty years of experience are “aging-out” of leading worship.
No, they’re not, but that’s what they call it.
The Key To Success As A Worship Leader
I was helping our pastor pick up some used subwoofers and speakers for our church. We pulled up to a storage container, and our tech friend, who was selling them, greeted us with a smile.
Which Fader Is The Greatest?
Which of the Five Faders matters most? The logical answer is “my Fader!” :)
This question makes sense, but it isn't the most useful one. Often, the underlying concern is finding justification to challenge a leader or team member who is out of balance or unhealthy.
Resurrender
There’s a song the 16 church worship teams will sing at this Saturday’s workshop in Lancaster. Though it’s not widely known—currently at number 473 on Planning Center Online’s Top Songs chart—it carries a message our community especially needs.
The Five Faders Book is HERE!
Have you appreciated receiving the Worship Fertilizer or any of the many resources from Ad Lib Music?
Can I ask you a big favor?
How to Pursue Excellence in a Volunteer Culture
A close friend of mine, who is also a tech supervisor, sent me a picture of a young volunteer mixing the broadcast audio for the live stream at his church. This young unfaithful servant had his feet propped up on the desk and was leaning back in his chair while the music portion of worship was taking place.
Creating A Multiplication Culture
I turned 50 in February. I’m not sure how it happened. I’m pretty sure yesterday I had all my hair and it was much darker, I could see at night while driving, and there were more days ahead of me than were behind me.
Something’s Not Right
Did you ever feel like something was just not right in your sphere of ministry? Wade Mullen wrote an extremely helpful book called Something’s Not Right. It was invaluable to me during a very difficult time as a worship director on staff at my church.
Did Jesus Lie About The Whole Yoke Thing?
I was overwhelmed during a season of life and ministry that felt so heavy. I felt no traction. I wanted a clear, big picture to shoot for and a simple strategy for making daily progress.
Nick-of-Time Is My Nicotine
This Fertilizer is for my fellow procrastinators, those who have made a habit of getting things done in the nick of time to the point that it’s as addictive as the nicotine in cigarettes.