Each summer my church holds an event for 6-10 year olds called Summer Celebration, led by one of our pastors, Mike Bradshaw. It’s a week long event filled with fun, games, teaching, songs, and encouragement. The leadership team (which includes a significant number of high schoolers) invests hours of planning and preparation with the goal of directing the hearts and minds of kids to God’s character and the gift of salvation he offers us through his Son. It’s been a great opportunity to minister to kids from our church as well as guests. And make no mistake about it – it’s a high energy, exhausting week. But the fruit has been sweet. Last …
Archive | Videos
When Things Don’t Go As Planned, Take 2
What do you do when you start leading a song in two different keys? At our WorshipGod08 conference, we had the opportunity to find out as Joseph Stigora started “Psalm 96” in one key and the rest of the band from Covenant Fellowship came in a step higher. I posted on this previously, but here’s the video again: I got an email recently from a Sovereign Grace worship leader who shared how that incident at the conference encouraged him on a recent Sunday. This is what he wrote: We are a church of about 150 or so, so when you mess up it feels really uncomfortable because everyone is so close. It had been a while since something happened. Sunday …
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Mark Altrogge at WorshipGod09, Take 2
Yesterday I posted a video of Mark Altrogge at WorshipGod09 pulling a ticket out of a jar to announce the winner of a prize drawing. Sounds simple, I know. Here’s another video, demonstrating how in the hands of a master, a simple task can become a 12 minute comedy routine. If you haven’t had enough of Altrogge humor, you can visit the Sovereign Grace Vimeo site. …
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Mark Altrogge (alias Ticket Boy) at WorshipGod09
Mark Altrogge is a multi-talented man. His songs have been sung across the world (I Stand in Awe, Forever Grateful) and he continues to be one of the most prolific, humble songwriters I know. He’s also a caring husband and dad, and a superb pastor at his church in Indiana, Pa. Not to mention, he’s a gifted artist and a great writer. On top of all these talents, Mark is one of the funniest guys I know. He’s simply brilliant at making fun of his friends (and lest you misunderstand, he wrote a post on this topic over at the blog he writes with his son, Stephen). For years, he’s been using his humor to encourage WorshipGod attendees. At WorshipGod09, …
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By This We Know Love – Video from Next Live 2009
This past May I had the joy of leading the singing at the Next conference in Baltimore, MD, along with three different bands. One of them was Zelos, led by Judah Groveman. We introduced one of Judah’s songs, By This We Know Love. It’s a simple ballad that communicates the profound truth of 1 John 3:16: “By this we know love, thathe laid down his life for us.” Here are the lyrics: God of all Creation, Lord of heaven’s light Descended into evil’s darkest night Infinitely Holy, Your perfections know no end Selflessly You died my rightful death By this we know love that He laid down His life God’s very own Son came from Heaven to die Suspended …
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New “Glorious and Mighty” Live Recording
Last year, at WorshipGod08, we presented a choral arrangement of “Glorious and Mighty,” from the Psalms CD. Unfortunately, the recording didn’t turn out very well. But at this year’s Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference we sang the piece again and recorded it to 24 track. I thought it turned out much better. In any case, you can download it by clicking here, and get the choral arrangement here. Here are the lyrics, based on Psalm 96: Majesty, Your glory is shining Brighter than the moon and the stars Marveling, we honor and fear You Above all gods Glorious and mighty, You’re awesome In beauty Joyful songs we raise Glorious and mighty, …
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If You’re Into Beatboxing (and even if you aren’t)
I don’t know too much about beatboxing, except that I can’t do it. Wikipedia defines beatboxing as “a form of vocal percussion which primarily involves the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one’s mouth, lips, tongue, voice, and more.” And more? Guess that leaves it wide open. I recently became aware of the Beatbox Chef video. After a little Google research I realized I may be one of the ten people on the planet who hasn’t seen this. But maybe you’re one of them, too. The Brit in the video below goes by the name of “Beardyman.” I’ve watched his video numerous times with amazement. His timing is impeccable. One …
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Remembering WorshipGod08 — Anticipating WorshipGod09
This past week I’ve been finalizing the seminars for WorshipGod09: From Generation to Generation, to be held Aug. 5-8 at Covenant Life Church. With the suggestions from last year’s conference, comments left on this blog, and a few other sources, I’ve had plenty of ideas to choose from. The schedule is just about complete, and I’m pretty excited about the way things are turning out. One recent development is that Keith and Kristyn Getty will be joining us again. They’ll be teaching two seminars on songwriting and sharing some of their songs in a main session. I’ve also asked pastor and Christian rapper Shai Linne to encourage us with his unique …
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Developing Arrangements Quickly – Band on the Run Video
Over the years I’ve tried to streamline our rehearsals. Part of it is knowing that folks have other things they’re involved in. Like being with their family. But the other part is that sometimes we just don’t have a lot of time to rehearse. So I’m always looking for ways to maximize that time. At the WorshipGod08 conference I led a seminar called “Band on the Run” that tried to address this issue, covering topics including context, feel, instrumentation, and structure. The seminar was also designed to help churches that were less familiar with arranging songs for a band. Below is a video of the seminar that lasts about 75 minutes. You can download a …
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Worship Matters Video Vignettes
A while back I recorded four brief videos (3-4 minutes each) that serve as an introduction to the four sections of my book, Worship Matters, but can also be used as stand-alones. They deal with four areas: The Leader (what do I love the most?) The Task (what exactly is a worship leader trying to do?) Healthy Tensions (what false dichotomies do we create in corporate worship?) Right Relationships (how can I worship God in my relationships with my team, church, and pastor?) I recently was surprised to find out that the October issue of Worship Leader magazine mentioned them as a resource for worship leaders, pastors, and ministry teams. …
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Ryan Ferguson Recites Psalm 145
On the first night of WorshipGod08, after we sang the hymn Jesus Shall Reign, Ryan Ferguson stepped up on stage and enthusiastically recited Psalm 145. I wanted to use that Psalm there because it’s filled not only with exhortations to praise and extol God, but also with clear reasons why God should be praised. Every time I lead worship I want to be sure people have plenty of doctrinal fuel for their emotional fire. I asked Ryan to participate because he had recited two chapters from Hebrews at our WorshipGod06 conference, and did an amazing job. It’s obvious he’s thought carefully about the passage he’s memorized and is seeking to communicate …
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WorshipGod08 Opening Video
WorshipGod08 began with a video. It wasn’t anything dramatic or multi-sensory. We just wanted to point people’s attention to the theme of the conference, “Rediscovering the Psalms.” Different passages from four Psalms (96, 103, 40, 145) were read by people from five nationalities to communicate the relevance of the Psalms to all peoples and cultures. Jacob Campbell, a member of Covenant Life Church, did a great job putting the video together for us. Roger Hooper, another member of Covenant Life, composed the score. Since I’ve had requests from many people to see it again, here it is. If you’re interested, you can download the Quicktime …
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Interview with Tim Smith of Mars Hill
No, this isn’t me interviewing Tim Smith. It’s Tim interviewing me, which he did this past March when I was out for the Text and Context conference at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Tim is a good friend, and someone who thinks carefully about what biblical worship is and should be. Although our church situations are different, we share the conviction that our job as worship leaders is to help people exalt Jesus Christ in their minds, hearts, and wills. We were able to spend some time together while he was here for WorshipGod08. The interview lasted over an hour, but was cut up into smaller sections. Tim just posted the shorter videos on his Doxologist …
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Great Training Videos for Your Band
Zach Nielsen, whom I’ve only met once but felt an immediate kinship with, hosted a Church Band Seminar a while back for church musicians. He invited three Nashville musicians (Tim Rosenau on guitar, James Gregory on bass, and Scott Williamson on drums) to talk about and demonstrate playing music for congregational worship as part of a band. While the video clips aren’t the best quality, you can hear what’s being discussed, and both the content and attitude of the players are worth checking out. They cover topics including Listening to As You Play, How to Play a Chord Chart, Leading in Rehearsal, and much more. To check out all the videos go …
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How Does Music “Work” in Worship?
This is the third clip from a longer video in which Tim Smith, worship pastor from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA, asked me various questions related to worship. In this portion, Tim asked me about the relationship between music and worship. In it I talk about some of the factors that have made music such a volatile issue in the church today, and different ways that Christians view music. Just scratching the surface here…If you want to dig deeper, I’d highly recommend you read Harold Best’s Music Through the Eyes of Faith. I read it in the mid-90’s and haven’t found anything as insightful, helpful, and biblically faithful. …