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?

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.

Have you appreciated receiving the Worship Fertilizer or any of the many resources from Ad Lib Music?

Can I ask you a big favor?

The Five Faders book launches TODAY!

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.

“Dad, aren’t you going to use filtered water to soak the oats?” Aspen scolded.

How do you know when you’re going from being detail-oriented, exacting, meticulous, and nuanced to... nitpicking? Where’s the line?

Every Fader must answer this critical question.

We are living on a coffee plantation. Most weekday mornings, the small crew of coffee pickers come through the gate, dragging along their nine and eleven-year-old children to play while they pick.

But what if no one is ministering to the Lord?

When we start something, we’re never amazing at it. This Fertilizer is dedicated to worship leaders, teams, and techs in their first five years of serving.

Whenever I browse social media, I consistently see posts about “the only 5 magical things that can do everything better…” #clickbait

Imagine this: the students who bravely stepped into high school amidst the whirlwind of the pandemic are now on the verge of graduating. Wow!

I was speaking with a church that has been without a staff worship leader for nearly a year.

I’ve been a church musician for 40 years. (since 1984)

When I was a kid, I hated tomatoes.

I recently learned a new word in Spanish. It’s “desahógate.”

A worship leader recently asked me how to improve the quality of their services. That’s easy.

What am I taking to heart?

Maybe you’re a worship leader who is caught in the unrelenting cycle of leading weekly worship gatherings while managing songs, arrangements, schedules, teams, relationships, and life.

You feel the need for... 

• A deep walk with God (Intimate, Consecrated, Scripture-soaked)

• A deep love for people (Shepherd, Launcher, Encourager, Leader)

• A deep understanding of music (Listener, Craftsman, Fluent)

The other night, I was tucking my son into bed and noticed some trash on his bunk bed shelf. It was the remains of an old, burned-up plastic Coke bottle.

What’s your worship team like? And by “worship team,” I mean the musicians and techs together.

Are you like a Worship Family? A Worship Indie Band? A Worship Elevator? Let me describe each one.