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Devon, BandW

Thoughts on WorshipGod East: Called to be Faithful

By on August 7, 2013 in —WorshipGod Conferences

I’m so grateful for all God did at WorshipGod East this past weekend. Over 1000 church leaders and musicians gathered for 2 1/2 days around the theme Called to be Faithful. We started Wednesday night with a pre-release event featuring songs from our new album, Grace Has Come: Songs from the Book of Romans. We hope to release some of the songs from that night as audio and/or video tracks. My son, Devon, led a band of very fine musicians from 5 churches, 4 of them local. I was freshly grateful for the gospel partnerships the Lord is enabling us to form in Louisville. The conference took place at Highview Baptist Church, East Campus. I can’t …

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What Does a Worship Leader Do? Pt. 1

By on January 25, 2006 in —Defining Terms, —Free Messages, —Leading a Congregation, —Worship and Music, —Worship and the Pastor

Before I start this series, I wanted to give you some background. Eight years ago, after I had served as a pastor for twelve years, C.J. Mahaney invited me to assume the new role of “Director of Worship Development” for Sovereign Grace Ministries. One of my assignments was to study and train others in the practicals of biblical worship, particularly as it relates to music. As I studied Scripture and read books like Engaging with God by David Peterson and Adoration and Action, ed. by D.A. Carson, I quickly realized that the Bible, especially the New Testament, didn’t give much space to my role as a worship leader. None, to be exact. The …

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Pre-Order The Ology for only $6

By on October 16, 2015 in —Children, —Sovereign Grace Music

Our next kids album, The Ology: Ancient Truths Ever New, comes out this Monday, Oct. 19. But today through Sunday you can get it on Bandcamp for only $6 and download two songs right away. Here’s one of them: The Ology: Ancient Truths Ever New by Sovereign Grace Music The Ology is a companion to a book of the same name by my good friend Marty Machowski.  Marty’s storybook devotional seeks to teach kids important doctrines in a way that’s memorable, creative, fun, and understandable. We aimed for the same goal when a group of songwriters got together this past June to write songs for each chapter of Marty’s book. It was a great exercise …

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Kevin DeYoung - Version 2

Reflections on WorshipGod West: Called to Be Faithful

By on July 1, 2013 in —WorshipGod Conferences

This past week, almost 900 people gathered for our first ever WorshipGod West conference, held June 27-29 at Calvary Church of Santa Ana, CA. They came from as far away as Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Ireland, Canada, and Mexico. Some drove 18 hours to be there, others simply drove down the street. Although this was a new location for a WorshipGod conference, we enjoyed many of the evidences of God’s grace we’ve seen in previous years. Ultimately, that was due to God’s kindness and the prayers of his people. Humanly speaking, it was due in large part to Sheri Goodrich and the generous staff of Calvary Church, the members of …

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Come Praise and Glorify – Video from WorshipGod11

By on December 14, 2011 in —Free Sheet Music, —Physical Expressiveness, —Sovereign Grace Music, —WorshipGod Conferences, Videos

Yesterday, I posted the video of Shine into Our Night from WorshipGod11. The second song we’ve finished editing is Come Praise and Glorify. I wrote this with Tim Chester, a pastor in Sheffield, UK, who has written over 20 books (including Total Church, You Can Change, and A Meal with Jesus). The fact that I wrote a song with Tim is purely providential. I was leading the music at the New Word Alive conference this past April and happened to stay in a flat with Tim and his wife, Helen. I thoroughly enjoyed a couple late night chats with Tim and after I got home he sent me some of the songs he had written that they sang at his church. One of …

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Putting Together a Worship Song List

By on January 17, 2007 in —Choosing Songs

Last week at the Quest conference for men I had two opportunities to speak to groups of worship leaders from Sovereign Grace churches. The first was a group of about 30 guys who lead on Sunday mornings, the other a larger group of maybe 100 guys who lead in a small group context. One of the questions I addressed in both meetings was the process of choosing a group of songs for a meeting. That process can be one of the more frustrating aspects of leading congregational worship. Here’s a portion of what I shared. We pick the songs we do for various reasons. Maybe a song is in a key we like or our voice sounds good on it. Maybe everyone knows …

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How Much Do You Say?

By on January 13, 2006 in —Leading a Congregation

This question came from Patrick, in response to the devotional post this past Monday. “Do you incorporate such “devotionals” into your worship leading? I’ve known leaders who don’t say anything, and others who share an essay every week from the front.” The question of what to say when you’re leading worship has been a subject of discussion for years. I’ve seen (and demonstrated) every kind of extreme you can think of. I wish I could say I “had this down,” but I’m still learning what serves people. In my early years of leading public worship, I thought it was important to give a mini-teaching or heartfelt prayer between every …

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What I Learned from Leading WorshipGod08

By on August 8, 2008 in —WorshipGod Conferences

I think I’ve recovered from last week’s conference. What a joy to see so many folks come from so many different places to learn and experience what God has told us in the Psalms about worship. Although we barely scratched the surface of the topic, I think people went away encouraged and equipped, with plenty to think about and apply. After a few weeks, I’ll meet with the admin staff and talk about what worked and how we can serve people more effectively at the next WorshipGod conference in 2010. In the mean time, I wanted to share a few things I learned during the course of leading this year’s conference. 1. Having a detailed schedule really …

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Interview with Greg Hagan on Becoming a Better Guitarist, PT 2

By on January 26, 2011 in —Musicians & Vocalists

Yesterday, I posted Greg Hagan’s answers to two questions about how to become a better guitarist. Greg not only has years of experience using his gifts to honor God, he’s able to articulate what helped him grow as a player. He’s a great example of a life-long learner, described in Proverbs 9:9: “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.” Here are the other two questions I asked Greg to answer. What 3 practices have most helped you grow as a guitarist? 1. Listening and visualizing the fretboard. As you imagine a guitar part or melody, or listen to a recording, visualize …

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Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

By on September 27, 2007 in —Gender Issues

I thank God for the voices that help us sort through the confusion about gender that exists not only in our culture, but in our churches and homes. Confusion that results in a redefining of marriage and the family, splits in major denominations, and unisex bathrooms at universities, among other things. The world has seen too few examples of men and women exercising their complementary gifts and roles, together bringing glory to the triune God who made us in his image. Why mention this on a blog designed for those who lead worship? Because as we embrace God’s ordained order for our lives we bring glory to our Creator and acknowledge the wisdom …

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Conference Invitation

By on August 8, 2006 in —WorshipGod Conferences

If you happen to live in the metro D.C. area, I want to personally (somewhat) invite you to come to any of the sessions of the WorshipGod06 conference, which begins tomorrow. Morning sessions start at 9 AM (Saturday starts at 11 AM) and evening sessions begin at 7 PM. Main session passes will be available at the door for $15 (these passes are for the main sessions only…they do not include seminars or lunch). Day passes are also available for Thursday and Friday for $60 each. These passes include main sessions, seminars, and lunch. Here’s an idea of what will be taking place: Wednesday nightJeff Purswell will be speaking on A People of His …

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The Paradox of the Worship Selfie

By on July 12, 2017 in —Leading a Congregation, —Mentoring Leaders, —Worship and Life

Some time last year a friend who leads the music in his church texted me to express a concern. Social media has been on my mind lately. It seems it’s a great tool and a great danger. It can quickly become the “street corner” in Matthew 6. I wonder if the constant postings of ourselves, with great lighting and stuff may end up being more about us. Some people say “everyone does it,” but I’m wrestling with it as I see young guys in our church family doing it a lot. I want to make sure my motives are pure if I feel led to have an honest discussion with them. My friend’s humility in approaching this issue was commendable. Social media …

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Leading Worship in Song When You’re Not a Musician

By on October 10, 2012 in —Leading a Congregation, —Worship and the Pastor

I’m often asked if it’s possible to lead worship in song if you’re not a musician. In my response I usually make the point that leading corporate worship is pastoral function before it’s a musical one. So the answer is, “yes.” Through the years I’ve had the privilege of training the men in the Pastors College of Sovereign Grace Ministries  in the area of music and worship. Most of the guys have at least one opportunity to lead the rest of the class in song, whether they’re musical or not. It helps them see what really goes in to leading, and also enables them to evaluate others in a more informed way. They learn that you …

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When Should a Worship Song Be Retired?

By on July 16, 2010 in —Choosing Songs, —Worship and the Pastor

I was talking with a pastor the other day about one of his worship leaders who has a hard time leaving old songs behind (as in “Shine, Jesus, Shine”). Apparently there are a few songs from the 80s that the worship leader still finds quite moving. Unfortunately, the pastor and many young members of the congregation don’t share his enthusiasm. Our conversation led me to think of a few questions that might be asked in this situation: Is it wrong to retire old songs? If they should be retired, how do you know the right time? Do we even need to be singing new songs? What makes a song “old?” Once a song is retired, should we ever bring it …

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Should We Use Secular Songs on Sundays?

By on August 17, 2007 in —Choosing Songs

Matt sent in this question: I recently came across a message board where folks were discussing secular songs that could be done to make “seekers” feel more comfortable at church. Some folks mentioned that they had been to church’s where song such as: “She Will be Loved” by Maroon 5, “Your Body is a Wonderland” by John Mayer (that Sunday’s service was about sexuality), lots of U2, etc. I’m really interested to hear your thoughts about doing songs like these. Should we seek to evangelize during our times of worshiping God through singing corporately? There are three ways I want to respond to Matt’s question. First, the idea that we should make …

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