Jason Hatley here . . . Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey and Founder of Worship Leader Insights. Have you ever noticed how, when leading worship, you and your team can be totally immersed in the moment, but when you look around the congregation looks like they’re stuck in line at the grocery store? Arms crossed. Faces stiff. iPhone … Read More
How to Create Moments in Your Christmas Music
Jason Hatley here – Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey and Founder of Worship Leader Insights. You’ve heard me say it before — our goal in worship on Sunday isn’t to sing songs, but to create life-transforming moments (thanks to Tom Jackson for introducing me to this principle). This is especially true as we’re preparing music for the Christmas … Read More
How to Prevent Problems on Your Worship Team
Jason Hatley here… Pastor of Worship Arts @ The Journey and Founder of www.WorshipLeaderInsights.com. Just a couple of Friday nights ago I had the great pleasure of hosting the New Season Kick-off for the Fall season of our Worship Arts Team. New Season Kick-off is twice-a-year event for everyone on our Worship Arts Team. We come together before the start … Read More
Avoid these Top 3 Worship Planning Mistakes
Jason Hatley here – Worship Arts Pastor at The Journey Church and Founder of Worship Leader Insights… I’ll shoot straight with you . . . I don’t like it when someone tells me that I’m making a mistake. Call it foolish pride I suppose. Can you relate? After all, no one’s perfect and I know I make mistakes (just ask … Read More
Why Thursday Deadlines Make for Better Sundays at Your Church
Christianity Today recently ran an excerpt from my worship planning book, Engage, on its website, and I wanted to share it with you today: Why Thursday Deadlines Make for Better Sundays at Church Deciding details early coordinates efforts and avoids last-minute problems. The first church I pastored was a small Baptist church in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was a 21-year-old kid. … Read More
Three Ways to Overcome the Hard Days of Ministry
Jason Hatley here . . . Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey and Founder of www.WorshipLeaderInsights.com, with a reminder and some encouragement for you this morning. “On it’s best day, ministry is hard.” That is the advice my Lead Pastor, Nelson Searcy, shared with me when I was first starting in ministry. What God has called us to do is … Read More
Three Actions of a Growing Worship Leader, Part 2
Who’s in your circle? This is Jason Hatley, Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey Church, and I’m not really talking about your Google+ account. This question cuts a little deeper than that 🙂 I’m talking about the 5 or so people that are the most influential people in your life. They are the people that are currently speaking into your … Read More
What Does King David Have to do With Your Personal Growth Plan?
It’s Jason Hatley, Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey Church with a quick question for you? When is the last time you read the story of Samuel anointing David as the future King of Israel (see 1 Samuel 16)? It’s one of the great stories of the Old Testament, and as I was reading it this week it took … Read More
Three Questions to Help You Wrap Up 2011
With the end of 2011 just days away, many pastors and worship leaders are already turning the calendar in their minds to 2012. Good idea, right? Wrong! Let me explain . . . There’s nothing wrong with looking ahead, but the problem is that many may be forgetting one of the most important year-end rituals — wrapping up this year … Read More
How to Thank Your Worship Team Volunteers this Christmas
Jason Hatley here – Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey and founder of WorshipLeaderInsights.com – with some holiday thoughts for you today. Thanksgiving has come and gone (except for the leftover turkey of course), but “giving thanks” is always in season. Especially when it comes to thanking your worship arts team members. I don’t have to tell you how … Read More