“In addition to singing songs during the service, you can incorporate music into your service in another way. I have a theory that if you take a secular song and reframe it around a theological idea, that idea will lodge in people’s minds on an even deeper level. Recently, I taught on the Ephesians passage about husbands respecting their … Read More
Keys to Worship Planning: Connecting with God Through Music
“The psalmist tells us that God inhabits the praises of his people (Ps. 22:3 KJV). Accordingly, I believe that music opens people’s hearts to hear from him. As God indwells the praises of his people, they are drawn into his presence. Their defenses are lowered. Their hearts attune to his. The importance of well-planned, intentional music in a worship … Read More
Keys to Worship Planning: Clarity is Key
“If your services aren’t clear to you in advance, they won’t be clear to your attendees on the day in question, which means they won’t lead to radically transformed lives.” – Nelson Searcy and Jason Hatley The above quote is from p. 110 of Engage: A Guide to Creating Life-Transforming Worship Services. Engage … Read More
Keys to Worship Planning: Preparedness for Peace & Confidence
“Can you imagine going into Sunday knowing you are completely prepared, confident you aren’t leaving anything to chance? Does that level of preparedness sound out of reach? It’s not. With an effective worship planning system in place, you can break the cycle of weekly pressure and walk into every Sunday with peace and confidence.” … Read More
Keys to Worship Planning: Create a System for Effective Services
“Being able to connect truth to people’s lives in a radically transforming way is intertwined with and largely dependent on your ability to design effective worship services. You have to have a system at work that is capable of creating engaging, powerful, awe-inspiring services each Sunday.” – Nelson Searcy and Jason Hatley The … Read More
Keys to Worship Planning: Making Every Sunday Count
“We are called to a higher purpose. This Sunday could be the Sunday someone who hasn’t been to church in thirty years walks through your doors. This Sunday could be the Sunday God wants to use you to work a miracle in someone’s life. This Sunday could be the Sunday someone’s eternity changes. You have been given the awesome … Read More
Keys to Worship Planning: Living Out the Transformation
“Teaching pastors must remember that intellectual knowledge is just the beginning of transformation. There must also be a clear call to repentance and, most importantly, the congealing inspiration of God. I don’t ever want people to walk out of church and simply think, ‘Huh. I learned something today.’ Instead, I want them to think ‘I want to live out … Read More
Keys to Worship Planning: Honoring God with Your Best
“Instead of continually praying for more, prove your faithfulness by doing the very best you can with what you’ve already been given. If your worship team is just you and a guitar, be excellent in that position. You and I honor God when we commit to doing the very best we can with what we have. To offer God … Read More
Keys to Worship Planning: The Thursday Midnight Rule
“Since Sundays are so important, at The Journey we have decided never to leave anything associated with the Sunday service to chance. In fact, we have a rule called the Thursday midnight rule. By midnight on Thursday, we are totally prepared for Sunday – down to every last detail. Leave nothing to chance. God honors preparedness.” … Read More
John Wesley’s 7 Rules for Congregational Singing
Today’s guest post comes to us from TheWorshipCommunity.com. In 1761, John Wesley penned these iconic guidelines for corporate singing for church congregations who would be singing out of the Select Hymns with Tunes Annext hymn book. Believe it or not, in the 18th century it was fairly cutting edge to sing the hymns that we know and love today. So, … Read More