I never know what messages you are hearing from others, from yourself, from the voice of the deceiver.

Some worship leader - senior pastor relationships are fantastic!

“We must follow Christ together!”

I had made it to eighth grade. My basketball career grew in spite of my culture shock from our transition from Costa Rica to San Antonio, Texas, about two years earlier.

Meadow tea is summer in a drink. I can almost always count on a tall glass of it when visiting my sister’s farm during the summer months.

Does your church have non-leaders leading, non-singers singing, non-musicians playing, non-communicators communicating, etc.? Many churches live in this uncomfortable reality.

Any stage amplifies what’s already there. Any spotlight highlights what was hidden. If I want to be freer on stage, I need to know what freedom is offstage.

Imagine your worship team on a retreat. On a missional retreat in Costa Rica.

What am I taking to heart?

Doesn’t this just have a great ring to it? Campfire. Eating together. Relaxed worship. Late-night talks. Teaching tailored to your team. Friendships deepened. A break from your routine. God speaking...

As we approach the end of the year, I encourage you to take a moment between sips of 'nog (stay tuned for a killer recipe) to reflect on the state of your team's relationships.

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.

How can you know if it’s time to form a leadership team for your worship ministry?

Every leader disciple needs to learn how to work with people.

Today, I’m giving you an outline rather than paragraphs. That’s obvious.

But what’s not obvious is how much what you do impacts congregational engagement. I want to challenge us, as leaders, to grow in BEING:

I got together with some friends and had seven gifts I wanted to give them. These gifts would provide a backdrop for testifying about what God had been doing. It was a real encouragement for us, and I wanted to bless you with those things.

How modest is modest enough? The most common internal answer is “the same as me or more modest than me.”

Have you ever wished your teams, pastors, and congregation were great at giving each other feedback?

Going it alone really, really stinks! Oh, it can kill you too. You may have friendly people on your teams, but how do you become true friends?

I know the need for watering, fertilizing, and generally tending to the gardens (metaphorical as mine may be) are upon us every spring and summer.