I was leading Sunday morning worship at this church. I greeted the assembled worshipers and… got back a very wimpy response. I felt like I was looking at a room of corpses.

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.

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.

Do you know which Sunday marks the end of the Church calendar year? (Did you know the church had its own calendar?!)

My pastor was a college professor who had just finished the semester.

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.

In the middle of your day. When you’re too busy to stop. When the pressure of the moment is all you can feel. When your dryness defines you. When you lack in zeal in serving the Lord.

Did you ever wish you could teach your worship team to have better musical instincts? You can!

• “I guess we’ll go ahead and get started.”

• “Please rise to your feet.”

• “Good morning…um, good MORNing! ...That’s better.”

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.

It took me quite a while to figure that out.

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:

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?

I was preparing for a coaching session with a new worship leader and reading a chapter in the book we’re working through called “How To Lead Worship Without Being A Rock Star.”

What if our singers’ primary role is to prophesy, to declare the emotion and heart of God?

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.