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 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.
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.
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?
Steady Beats Cool
I love that my kids are multi-instrumentalists. Most mornings, we have family worship from 7:30 to 8:00. We take turns choosing the songs and rotate on the instruments from piano, bass, drums, acoustic or electric guitar, violin, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, percussion, and of course, voice.
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.
The Berkey Water Filter and the Scarcity Mindset
“Dad, aren’t you going to use filtered water to soak the oats?” Aspen scolded.
Skeletons In Your (Head) Closet
Crack open Ezekiel 37 for a minute. It reads:
The hand of the LORD was upon me,
Need A Suppository?
I was reviewing a worship video recording for a local church. I was struck by the singular thing they could do to improve their music quickly and increase congregational engagement exponentially.
How To Avoid Song Killers
Every week, our team sets about the task of creating music to worship with. We create spaces where our congregation can meet with God. And we do it primarily through the tool of music.
Leaders Need To Read Kings To Get The Fire Of Holiness Back
Ever notice how some brothers and sisters seem to over-emphasize God’s “love” and under-emphasize our need for repentance? It’s in our culture. Like high places. High places that need to be destroyed.
Do All Tadpoles Grow Into Frogs?
Hello, fellow amphibians!
We went to the beach last week, and the singular thing my fifteen-year-old was looking forward to was…fishing!
Don’t Be Nitpicky
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.
One Who Puts On His Armor Should Not Boast Like One Who Takes It Off
You know that verse about not saying we’re gonna do this and go there and make business happen but rather say, “If God wills, we’ll do this or that”?