I think we all can agree on the fact that nobody likes to suck.

A great band helps you focus on what really matters.

An undisciplined team, making mistakes left and right, is a distraction to worship.

Photo Credit: Robert Hamilton (Flickr)

My recent post on 7 Marks of Great Musicians Everyone Wants To Hire has been shared a lot over the past few days. I suppose it strikes a chord among worship leaders who want their teams to improve.

But the question becomes, “How does a musician improve?”

How can you develop these marks of great musicians?

Does it come naturally to the especially talented? To those who can afford lessons?

Not exactly. Great musicianship begins with a choice.

You need to become a self learner. Matter of fact, self-learning will cause you to grow further, faster.

One of the reasons I’m so passionate about self learning is because I hear too many excuses.

• “I can’t afford lessons”
• “I’ve never taken lessons, so I can’t do this”
• “I just don’t have time”

Becoming a great musician starts with you deciding to be one. Call it out and start acting like one.

Lessons are amazing. For goodness sake, I teach lessons. But your music teacher isn’t your personal musicianship genie.

You’ve got to own your progress.

5 FREE Ways to Improve Your Musicianship

OK, so now that you’ve decided to own your progress and stop making excuses, it’s time for the fun to begin.

1. Develop an insatiable curiosity – In order to improve your musicality, you can’t just read music. You need to be curious – curious about what you hear. Curiosity about style, form, and technique will push you to love what you do. And if you don’t love it, you won’t become great at it.

Don’t just go by the book. Explore musical concepts. Test ideas. Nothing can stop a curious musician.

2. Mimic what you hear – When I first started listening to worship music I would mimic entire albums. I would sit there until the piano parts where spot on. I’d slave away until the guitar parts were second nature. You can do this. Don’t wait on someone to teach you.

Listen and mimic. Seize those guitar parts with a vengeance.

3. Allow space  - Great musicianship doesn’t just involve the perfection of technique. Sure, that’s important. But the truth is, it’s more about what you don’t play than what you do play.

Music needs space to evoke emotion – to stand out. I’ve played with musicians who can shred faster than a paper shredder, but their music lacked any feel or emotion.

4. Watch the Greats - If you want to be great, you should listen to music all the time. Not only should you listen, you should go to concerts. You should be watching DVDs of your favorite artists. You will become like who you spend time with.

5. Enjoy the Difficulty – No one will argue that learning an instrument is difficult. It hurts. It takes time. But what separates the greats from the amateurs is how they view difficulty. The greats see difficulty as a challenge rather than a road block. Don’t give up. Press into the pain and overcome.

You can do this. You can become the musician you want to be. You can help your worship team rise to a new level. Don’t wait for someone else to teach you.

Question: Musicians, how did you become the musician you are today? What insights could you share with the rest of us? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

I used to think I was a pretty good worship leader.

Until I found out that certain people didn’t like my music. I was a rockstar to some, but an ear plug toleration to others.

I love leading worship in a multi generational church, but it’s also an incredible challenge.

Preferences are thick. Everyone has an opinion about how worship should sound, what songs are most anointed, and how loud a pa system should be run.

Many have referred to this as the “Worship Wars”, which never seem to come to an end.

What I’d like to do today is speak to those who want to connect the generations.

While it’s important and necessary to reach the next generation, we also need to pastor the elderly, and those who can’t handle the fast paced, often impossible to sing, modern worship music.

5 Ways To Connect the Generations in Worship

Is it possible to connect the multiple generations in worship?

While the answer lies primarily in the heart of each worshiper, I believe there are a number of steps you can take to ensure your church body worships in unity.

1. Expose Your Heart – Worship Leader, even if an elderly person doesn’t like your music, they will connect with a worshiper. They can see right through a fake, passionless heart that only longs to be on stage.

The heart of worship is what builds trust between the generations. Expose your heart and people will trust you to lead them.

2. Balance Your Setlists – I’ve found that when I balance loud, driving music with softer, more reflective moments, it’s possible to engage the generations. Don’t allow your worship set to drive the entire time. Balance the old with the new – the deep theology with the simple.

3. Cast Vision – My pastor does a great job of communicating the vision of why we lead worship and make music/media the way we do. Just the other day I was called over by a group of elderly women sitting in our concourse. I began to break out in a cold sweat.

“Oh, no. Here we go with the “It’s too loud we need to sing more hymns” speech. I was pleasantly surprised. One of the ladies said, “I just love so much all the young people that are on that stage. It’s wonderful to see the next generation using their talents for Jesus.”

What refreshing comment! If you cast vision for where you’re going, people will buy in, even if they disagree with the form.

4. Challenge the Young – Oftentimes the young people don’t worship as hard as they do in youth group. They feel weird surrounded by so many adults.

Challenge them from all sides. Have your youth pastor challenge them to sit together and lead the way in worship on Sunday morning. Challenge them from the stage. Have high expectations for your youth and they will rise to the challenge.

5. Listen to People – It’s easy to forget that ministry is about people. It’s not about ideas and events, performance and hustle. At its core, we are leading people, pastoring people, discipling people.

Make sure you are listening to what people are saying. Even if they disagree with what you do, thank them for speaking up. Don’t allow criticism and praise to define you, but allow it to grow you.

This is one of the greatest challenges of leading worship, but it’s such a high calling. You are called to stand before God’s people and herald his praises. You are calling forth the generations to rise up and sing the praises of God.

Worship leader, don’t lose heart. We need you.

Question: Do you lead worship for a multi generational church? What are your challenges and how are you overcoming them? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Do you know who your enemy is?

The enemy to your creative projects isn’t lack of talent, passion, or skill.

It’s giving up. The only way to truly fail at any creative project is to give up.

Photo Credit: Drew Coffman (Flickr)

We are in the middle of a live recording project at my home church, Allison Park Church. In just a couple weeks we will record an evening of worship with our church family.

Yes, I’m excited. But the truth is, I’ve been overwhelmed numerous times. One creative breakthrough seems to lead to another impossible wall.

Refuse To Give Up

I’ve learned that creativity isn’t just about waiting for inspiration. It’s about forcing ideas, failing, reevaluating, and trying again. And you must fight your way through to overcome.

Creativity doesn’t come naturally. It’s not reserved for the especially gifted. It’s not a perk of the professional. Everyone can be creative, but your greatness depends on your resilience.

I’m reading a book on creativity right now called, “Imagine: How Creativity Works.” Listen to author Jonah Lehrer as he explains this phenomenon:

“Every creative journey begins with a problem. It starts with a feeling of frustration, the dull ache of not being able to find the answer. We have worked hard, but we’ve hit the wall. We have no idea what to do next.

When we tell one another stories about creativity, we tend to leave out this phase of the creative process. We neglect to mention those days when we wanted to quit, when we believed that our problems were impossible solve.”

Also, take a cue from Eric Owyoung from the band “Future of Forestry”

“90% of the time music is stress, and work, and slaving away at something. But then there’s that 10% of the time when music is emotion. It’s everything inside of me coming out. It’s everything I feel. Everything I see – the way I see life, the way I see God, the way I see myself and the world around me.”

Wow. 90% of the time music is good old fashioned work. How does this reflect your creative journey?

3 Truths About Your Creative Projects

Want to know the truth about your creative projects?

1. It’s hard – Don’t think for a second that creativity will come easily. That block you’re facing? The wall you’ve hit? That just means you’re on the verge of something incredible, if you keep working.

2. It’s never done – For the creative, their work is never done. You could spend the rest of your life tweaking and never actually release anything. You need to realize this, set up deadlines, and get your work out there.

3. You need to pick yourself – Seth Godin is famous for this phrase, but it’s so true. Don’t wait for someone to “discover” you and label your art worth mass appeal. Pick yourself, get to work, and make it happen. As Seth says, the only permission you need is from yourself.

Facing a wall? Good. You’re on to something. Join the ranks of greatness by staring that problem in the face. Stare long and hard until you come up with a solution.

Go and be the genius you were meant to be.

Question: What creative projects are you currently engaged in? How are you pushing through the difficulty? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

I have a question for you.

Do you love Jesus more today than you did yesterday? Is your passion for God a growing flame or a dim flicker?

Worship leader – more important than your leadership is the state of your own heart before God.

I had a conversation with a new believer last week.

As we spent time together, I was simultaneously invigorated and ashamed at the same time. This kid couldn’t stop talking about Jesus. His face was like fireworks on the fourth of July.

Aside from reading the Bible all the time, he’s always in church, leading others to Christ, and on fire for the dream God has placed in his heart. Not to mention, his Facebook posts are filled with what He’s learning about God.

Many of us make fun of this childlike passion. I like to think of it as a breath of fresh air.

Me? I’ve been a Christian at least twice as long as this kid. Does he know I’ve been a Royal Ranger, been to Bible College, and led worship for over 12 years?

My insight runs deep. At least that’s what I thought.

Our conversation continued. My story went like this: “15 years ago…”

Silence.

I had nothing fresh in my heart to say. No new revelation. No new God stories. No new souls that had been snatched from darkness.

It was just me – bathing like a King in my selfish pride, with no room for others.

The Pursuit Never Stops

I was faced with a question. And I want you to face that question as well.

Are you growing in your passion? Are you falling more in love with Jesus every day?

The pursuit of God never stops, it doesn’t slow down. The more you see, the more you want to see. The more you experience, the more you want to experience.

Before we are musicians, singers, artists, and worship leaders, we are lovers of Jesus. We can’t forget who we are.

We can’t allow the here and now to distract our hearts from the eternal.

While we chase the latest and greatest, Jesus is waiting for us to return to the heart. Breathe in his goodness. Breathe out our worship.

What Holds Us Back?

But what holds us back? We know that in order to lead worship effectively we need to be just as passionate for God behind closed doors.

What hinders us from pursuing His Presence?

What keeps us from desiring God?

I’ve always wanted to be known by my love for Jesus. At the end of the day, I want my friends and family to say, “He loved Jesus with all His heart and spent His life on that Name.”

What about you?

Let’s discuss in the comments. Matter of fact, I’ll be the first to go.

What keeps you from a steady growth in your passion for Jesus? Join the discussion!

It’s the plight of all songwriters.

We want our songs to be known, sung, and loved by the world. But rarely do they move past our own ears or the ears of our dogs.

Timeless

The truth is, some songs come and go. Some songs are “cool” today but tomorrow are forgotten.

There’s Nothing New Under the Sun

If you want to write worship songs that outlast you, you can’t strive for what’s popular. Rather than aiming for “cool”, strive for timeless.

You need to write eternal truth. Don’t try to say new things. Don’t search the deep recesses of your mind for the latest charismatic symbol.

Write God’s Word. Write timeless truth in a timely way.

It frustrates me when I hear preachers and songwriters attempt to be new, cutting edge, and different. They end up being completely irrelevant and unfaithful to Scripture.

When you’re gone and a new generation arises, will what you have to say still be relevant?

Feel It

How do you strive for “timeless” in your worship songwriting?

Feel the truth of God in the depths of your being. Let it shake you to your core.

Keep your heart close to God’s Word.

It’s not enough to simply read Scripture, understand it with your mind, and add a few phrases to your songs.

Your heart needs to rejoice in it. Your eyes need to well up with tears when you hear it. Your spirit needs to leap within you when you grasp it.

I’m convinced that writing great songs isn’t just about being accurate. It’s about feeling.

The worship songs that I love were written from a burning heart. I can tell. You can tell when the writer is trying to hit the top 40 and when he is on his face before God.

This may just be the missing ingredient in your worship songs.

Kick the Crutches

Your song can’t depend on your voice. It can’t depend on a killer band or a great arrangement.

A great song is a great song by itself.

Write a song that your Mom can worship to. If you kick the crutches out from under the song, is it still standing?

What would you add to this mix? How do you write timeless worship songs? I would really appreciate a comment!

Finding the best corporate worship songs can be tricky.

I’m sure you’ve been there.

• You love the artistic quality of a song but realize the average person doesn’t get it.
• You can’t find any good fast songs.
• You know you should do a hymn but can’t find any you like.
• You’re trying to strike a balance between robust theology and simple melody.

I know what it’s like. While this isn’t a comprehensive list of my favorite songs, these are songs I can’t wait to lead at my church.

At the end of this post, I’d love to hear yours.

	1. Always - Kristian Stanfill & Jason Ingram The truth in this song slays me every time.
	2. We Are Saved - Paul Baloche, Jason Ingram, & Ben Fielding Simple, excellent declaration of the Gospel.
	3. Holy - Matt Redman, Jason Ingram, & Jonas Myrin This entire album is legendary. I will probably end up leading every song. If you don't own this, you need to take advantage of this $5 amazon deal. Right now.
	4. Jesus, Son of God - Chris Tomlin, Jason Ingram, & Matt Maher Another great album. This is a song I can't wait to lead. Makes me love Jesus more. 5. Lay Me Down - Matt Redman, Jason Ingram, Jonas Myrin, & Chris Tomlin Another fantastic song. Love the Mumford & Sons influence and unique energy it brings. Bridge is so good.
	6. Worth It All - Ben Cantelon, Jason Ingram, & Benji Cowart This song encapsulates the theme of my life. Jesus is worth everything.
	7. All to Him - Jason Ingram, Jon Egan, & Mia Fields Love the anthemic nature of this song. I envision the global church declaring this together.
	8. Come To Me - Jenn Johnson & John Hendrickson Everyone needs this song sung over them at least once in their life. Truth transforms.
	9. Desert Soul - Rend Collective Experiment Beyond the sick arrangement and melody in this song, it's really a beautiful glimpse into the Gospel - all we are is dry bones. Christ makes us come alive.
	10. Be Thou Exalted - Jon Egan & Mia Fields I could worship to this for hours.

What worship songs are you excited to introduce at your church? Let us know in the comments!

Have you ever wondered if leading worship really matters?

Do you feel you are your local church’s resident entertainer – that you’re simply warming people up for the message?

Photo Credit: Vince Alongi (Flickr)

I mean, if your pastor only gives you 15 minutes to lead, is it really worth it? And when everything goes wrong, you wonder if you were ever “called” to this at all.

Let’s face it. We all have struggles.

• There are those who don’t like our music
• Band members who don’t cooperate
• Worship team members who don’t worship
• Disagreements with your senior pastor
• Not enough time to worship
• Not enough freedom

Beyond all these tensions, your worship leading matters. Do you know why? Let me tell you a story.

Presence vs Performance

The pitch black nature of the sanctuary was my cue that it was time to leave.

But I didn’t want to.

For a 12 year old to not want to leave “big church” was the greatest miracle since the resurrection.

Think about that. I wanted to keep worshiping. I wanted to stay in church. I. Wanted. God.

Before that night, church was something I was forced to do. During the sermon, I would be preoccupied with where we were going for lunch. OK, I still am, but I’ve gotten better.

That night, my life was changed. Forever.

It wasn’t a sermon that captured my attention.

It wasn’t a trendy, dimly lit sanctuary with the latest LED’s.

Matter of fact, it wasn’t even any particular song.

You know what it was?

The presence of God.

The present, explosive, beautiful reality of Heaven touching earth – Heaven touching my heart.

It was the effective call of God, awakening my lifeless heart to His limitless beauty. As you can tell, I’m searching for adjectives to describe that moment. I’m falling short.

It wasn’t a stellar performance that changed the course of my life. It was the presence of the King.

What About You?

Why do I share this story?

Because the trajectory of my life was changed in a moment of corporate worship.

And you have that opportunity every time you lead. If you focus on losing yourself in worship, being faithful to turn your church’s eyes to Jesus, people will be changed.

Future worship leaders, soul winners, and world changers will be raised up. Not because YOU are great but because God is and you are creating context for Him to move in a special way.

So don’t give up, weary worship leader.

Don’t worry that you’re not Jesus Culture, playing large stages, and recording albums for the world to hear.

You are making a difference today.

How was your life changed through worship? What keeps you going as a worship leader? Join in the comments.

When was the last time you sat alone in a room and said nothing?

When was the last time you were surrounded by complete silence?

I know, it makes me nervous just thinking about it. Life is loud, and it may be hindering our ability to experience God.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons (Flickr)

If you stop and think about it, our worship services are jam-packed with noise from start to finish. Rarely is there a time for us to stop and experience the holiness of God through silence.

We walk into church talking to people.

We begin our services singing songs.

We sing more songs.

We pray prayers.

We project high energy videos.

We hear sermons.

We say many words to God, but avoid the stillness that enables us to hear from Him.

Isn’t that what’s most important about our worship services? That we hear Him?

Awkward Silence

I can understand why we avoid silence.

We don’t know what to do.

Sure, the spiritual giants among us would know how to encounter God through silence but the majority of our congregation would either be bored, confused, or uncomfortable, right?

Silence is scary. What happens when you’re hanging out with a group of people and you don’t have anything to say? You say, “Awkward silence”.

Silence may be awkward, but when it comes to worshiping Jesus, it’s an awkwardness we need to get comfortable with.

We need to step away from the heavy currents of day to day noise and tune into God.

Why We Need Silence

I can’t help but contrast our loud, high-energy worship services with Scriptures like this:

“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).

“Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

What if the secret to your breakthrough wasn’t saying the right words or phrases but saying less – saying nothing at all? To simply stand in awe of God and listen?

I’m not opposed to high-energy, loud worship services. I create them.

At the same time, our houses of worship should be a sanctuary of rest from the noise we experience every day.

Our worship shouldn’t contribute to the noise, but assist us in hearing the voice of our Maker.

Sometimes God speaks in the dynamic, but oftentimes it’s a whisper.

Let’s discuss.

Do you agree or disagree that we need more silence in corporate worship? How do we creatively incorporate silence into our services? Join in the comments.

For further reading, check out Ian Cron’s article in the most recent Worship Leader Magazine.

Everybody wants to be great. But not everyone gets there.

What separates the exceptional musician from the crowds of mediocre?

Photo Credit: Sean Rogers (Flickr)

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with some great musicians. There has been consistent qualities that I’ve noticed.

Here they are:

1. Great musicians serve the song – they don’t try to be “different” all the time. Matter of fact, they understand how messy that can sound. They’re not afraid to play driving eighth notes on the bass. They play simple grooves with passion and intensity. They know that their part is simply a piece of the whole.

2. Great musicians bring life to the room – nothing deflates a project more than a complaining band member. A professional is solution-oriented. They lift those around them to be better. They bring their full energy every time.

3. Great musicians pay the price – I’m not talking about finances. When you see an accomplished musician, you know they’ve paid the price behind the scenes. Hours upon hours have been invested in learning fundamentals.

They didn’t just learn a few chords. They played the classical music everyone made fun of and learned to love it. While others were hanging out, they were practicing scales. Greatness comes with a price. Some have even said that price is 10,000 hours.

4. Great musicians never stop learning – I find it interesting that the best musicians are the ones who are still learning the most. Many of them take lessons their whole life. They don’t talk about themselves as if they’ve “arrived”. They’re learning new styles, developing new tones, researching what the greats of the past have done.

5. Great musicians don’t take themselves too seriously – When I meet a new musician, I can usually gauge their skill level simply by a conversation.If they rant and rave about their experience and incredible skill, I know they’re probably average or awful. If they’re modest, I know they can probably play.

It’s interesting – the best musicians don’t take themselves too seriously.

6. Great musicians are curious – They don’t stay stuck in one box. They look for inspiration everywhere. They test new ideas, learn new instruments, and try to find more creative ways to make music.

7. Great musicians love what they do – You can’t become great if you don’t love what you do. If you don’t have a vision, you can’t sustain practicing for 3 hours a day. Great musicians love what they do.

I know this list could expand. That’s why you’re here.

Question: What else sets apart great musicians from the rest? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

There’s a lot of talk about platform these days.

Spreading your influence. Making a difference. Along with the normalcy of social media comes an endless barrage of self promotion.

But when it comes to ministry and doing all things to the glory of God, how far is too far?

Photo Credit: Howard Lake (Flickr)

All it takes is for you to open up your social media channel of choice and here’s what you’ll find:

• Look what I wrote!
• Listen to my music!
• Look who I’m hanging out with!

What happened to “he must increase, I must decrease?” Every worship leader prays it, but how many actually mean it?

We’d rather our talent be recognized or people fall in love with us.

Social Media Isn’t The Problem

It seems to me that social media isn’t the problem. It goes much deeper.

We need to feel validated. We need to feel accepted. We need people to like us.

There’s no point in hating social media. All it does is magnify what’s in your heart. The problem starts with us.

Self Promotion Isn’t the Devil

But we know that’s not completely true.

Marketing and promotion isn’t bad. If you create something, you want to let people know about it.

If you sell something, you want people to buy it.

I face this every day with each new blog post. I want you to like it, read it, and share it.

But with ministry comes an unwritten rule that self promotion is of the devil. If you have to promote yourself you’re not truly serving God because promotion is up to Him, right?

It’s our job to be faithful. It’s our job to serve. It’s our responsibility to bring attention to Christ.

Sure it is. But I believe this teaching has bred a lot of action-less people – talented people who are waiting on God to make something happen for them.

Where’s the balance?

Artists, musicians, worship leaders, and creators, what say you? How do you put your self promotion into a proper perspective – giving glory to God while you let others know what you do. You can leave a comment by clicking here.