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Posts directly related to those worshiping in the various positions of a music team.

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Receiving the Baton from a Previous Generation

By on October 26, 2010 in —Leading a Team, —Training a Team

A while back I was asked to write an article for Tabletalk magazine for their “Generation to Generation” column. My aim was to share a few words to encourage the next generation of leaders. I asked if I could repost the article and Tabletalk graciously granted me permission. You can find the original post at Ligonier’s site but if it’s too difficult to click on the link, here’s what I wrote: As I run the final laps of my race on this earth (however long the Lord allows that to be), one of my greatest joys and desires is to serve the next generation. When I was in my twenties, I assumed, somewhat arrogantly, that my friends and I had better …

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How Do I Get New Song MP3s to My Band Members Legally?

By on October 19, 2010 in —Leading a Team, —Music Legalities, —Musicians & Vocalists

Tim wrote me to ask a question every one who works with music in the church has probably asked at least once, if not a hundred times. I was wondering how you handled the distribution of burned CDs in your music ministry. Is there anyway to do this legally? I would love to download and distribute songs on mixed CDs for two main reasons: 1) To help my musicians be familiar with new songs before rehearsal 2) To encourage Christians I am counseling to listen to songs that admonish/encourage/help them worship God in the specific area of their spiritual life that they are struggling in. I sent Tim’s question out to some of the guys who help …

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Looking for a Synthesizer?

By on September 28, 2010 in —Music Equipment, —Musicians & Vocalists

Recently, someone contacted me about purchasing a synthesizer. My current knowledge of electronic keyboards is woefully outdated, so I passed the question on to Roger Hooper, who is the synth-player in my church and a long-time friend. He’s also a gifted composer and film scorer. Here’s how Roger responded: If the purpose of the keyboard is to do the non-piano stuff, you’ll save a lot of money going the non-weighted key bed route. I am primarily a pianist, but I’ve found that in either playing in the worship band (I also play out in the DC area), a non-weighted action is much better for playing organ parts, and the synth parts as well. Korg, …

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How Does a Worship Leader Cue the Congregation?

By on August 6, 2010 in —Leading a Congregation, —Musicians & Vocalists, —Vocalists

A while back I received an email from Paul asking: One of the central roles of a worship band is to help the congregation to sing. Do you have advice on how a worship band can best cue the congregation? What kinds of things could I tell my instrumentalists and singers to do to help the people come in on the first words of a song or verse? How would you in general encourage congregational singing? Paul’s question highlights one of the differences between leading a group of people to praise God from their hearts and simply playing and singing music for them. While people can certainly join along as we play our songs, it’s helpful when we make …

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Training the Next Generation to Hope in God, Not Us

By on July 9, 2010 in —Children, —Training a Team, —Worship and the Church, —WorshipGod Conferences

At last year’s WorshipGod conference, I gave a message on The Future of Worship, based on the opening verses to Psalm 78. I’m increasingly aware of is how important it is to pass on the right things from generation to the next, and this message was an attempt to address that topic. Here’s a 3:45 video clip from that message where I’m focusing on Ps. 78:7: “so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” I talk about how important it is to make sure those who are following us are putting their hope in God and the gospel – not us, our musical preferences, our technology, or our efforts. What …

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Ben Gowell’s Tips on Becoming a Better Electric Guitarist

By on June 5, 2010 in —Musicians & Vocalists

I first met guitarist Ben Gowell when he played on our Worship God Live album back in 2005. He regularly plays for  Paul Baloche and Sara Groves, and is currently on tour with Michael W. Smith. In other words, he’s pretty good. But really makes him special is that he played on our second kids’ CD, To Be Like Jesus, and co-produced and played on Walking with the Wise, coming out later this month. I’ve always been struck by Ben’s humility, his love for the church and his family, and his commitment to playing skillfully for the glory of God. So I asked him recently if he had any thoughts on how an electric guitarist might improve his skills, …

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Three Keys to Becoming a Better Studio (or any kind of) Drummer

By on May 21, 2010 in —Musicians & Vocalists

Our upcoming Spanish project, Alli en la Cruz, was recently mixed in Nashville by Billy Whittington, a gifted and humble engineer who has participated in other Sovereign Grace projects. He was assisted by John Behrens, who interned with me this past year, and Mauricio Velarde, whose songs and vocals are featured on the album. When I asked how it was going, John mentioned that he asked Billy how we could grow, since all the players have limited studio experience. Billy kindly shared his thoughts on “what makes a great studio drummer.” They were clear and to the point, partly because he has had to spend a lot of his “mixing” time lining up drum …

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Learning to Live with Limitations at Together for the Gospel

By on April 9, 2010 in —Musicians & Vocalists, —Together for the Gospel, —Worship and the Pastor

The Rolling Stones, not generally known for wise words of instruction, reminded us of the truth that, “You can’t always get what you want.” Next week I have the joy and privilege of leading 7000+ Together for the Gospel conference attendees in singing the praises of our great Savior. Typically I lead with a full band, and enjoy the variety that can be achieved by adding various acoustic instruments, synths, percussion, and vocalists to the mix. But you can’t always get what you want. So at Together for the Gospel this year, it will just be me and a piano. Just like 2006 and 2008. Will I be limited? Yes. Will I praise God any less passionately? …

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Treasuring Christ Above All Things

By on December 14, 2009 in —Sound and Tech, —Worship and Christ, Devotions

My daughter, Brittany, sent me this video today. It’s by the folks at Desiring God, who excel at using technology in a creative way to draw attention to what’s being said. The content is part of a John Piper sermon set to techno music. Piper addresses the question, “How do we treasure Christ above all things?” which is at the heart of God-honoring worship. This is what we’re seeking to help people do every time we have the privilege of leading corporate worship. …

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What Do You Want to Be Remembered For?

By on October 28, 2009 in —Training a Team, —WorshipGod Conferences

Here’s another clip from the message I gave at WorshipGod09 on “The Future of Worship.” (You can find two posts from the same message here and here.) In verse 8 the psalmist references a previous generation “whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.” They were remembered as NOT being faithful, and NOT being steadfast. Have you thought much about what YOU want to be remembered for? That’s the question I ask in this 2 1/2 minute clip from my message. …

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The Limits of Creativity in Corporate Worship

By on October 5, 2009 in —Leading a Congregation, —Leading Youth, —Sound and Tech

At WorshipGod09, CJ Mahaney and I were interviewed by Jeff Purswell on various things we’ve learned over the years about worship. I posted the entire clip of the interview in a previous post. One of the topics we touched on was the place of creativity and excellence when we gather to sing God’s praise. The world around us proclaims unceasingly that God is a creative God. Melodies, harmonies, and  rhythms can be combined in a seemingly endless number of ways to create new tunes to sing to the Savior. Technology has enabled us to do much more, more quickly, and much more effectively for the glory of God and the good of his church. But if …

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Lessons Learned From Three Decades of Leading

By on September 10, 2009 in —Expressiveness, —Free Messages, —Interviews, —Leading a Congregation, —Worship and Christ, —Worship and the Pastor, —WorshipGod Conferences

On Friday night at WorshipGod09, Jeff Purswell interviewed CJ Mahaney and me about some things we had learned over thirty years of leading, much of that together. From the early 90’s I was involved in leading the music at various Sovereign Grace conferences, and then in 1997 I became the worship pastor at Covenant Life Church, where CJ was senior pastor. CJ has been the most significant influence in my life when it comes to the focus and practicals of leading congregational worship. During the interview, Jeff asked us about different topics including the role of the senior pastor in planning/leading corporate worship, encouraging your …

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The Future of Worship: Passing the Baton

By on September 2, 2009 in —Leading Youth, —Training a Team, —Worship and the Church, —WorshipGod Conferences

At WorshipGod09:From Generation to Generation, I gave the last message on The Future of Worship, based on Ps. 78:1-8. The previous messages had dealt mostly with the biblical values of worship we want to pass on to future generations – the nature of God, the importance of the heart, the role of leadership, the significance of the local church, and more. The question I asked in my message was: What do we need to keep in mind as we seek to transfer these and other biblical values of worship to the next generation? In preparing for the message I came across some comments from Nigel Hetherington, the Scottish National Sprints and Hurdles coach. …

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The Passionate Preaching of John Piper

By on August 20, 2009 in —Expressiveness, —WorshipGod Conferences

At the recent WorshipGod09 conference, I taught a seminar called, “Let the People be Glad: Corporate Worship and Expressiveness.” I attempted to present some biblical principles for what we’re supposed to do with our bodies when we gather to praise God together. I know for some of you that’s a no-brainer, but for others it’s still a front-burner issue. John Piper is a great example of what happens when the heart’s passion for God is naturally expressed externally. He practices what he’s written in his books and proclaims in his preaching—worship (whether it’s singing or preaching) consists of strong affections rooted in biblical truth. Here’s …

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Finding the Right Key to Sing In

By on May 11, 2009 in —Choosing Songs, —Leading a Congregation, —Vocalists

Chris recently wrote me to ask a question about the tension between congregational-friendly keys and leader-friendly keys. I have a upper-mid range tenor voice and though I can sing lower fairly easily, I find that if I transpose a song to a “congregational friendly” key the song loses energy, sometimes significantly. I want to serve the people in my church well and I am willing to put up with less energy if they are more comfortable singing along, but if the time of singing is musically flat, I wonder if it may be more detrimental to the overall “experience” (for lack of a better word) than to have people stretch vocally or sing in parts. …

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