I’ve been wrestling through the consistent tension of old and new in worship, regarding both the set liturgy of a typical “high church” service and new music within multiple settings of corporate worship gatherings. As is the case these days, I’ve tended to join others and go back quite a ways for teaching and inspiration and resurrecting “new” material, and in so doing discovered a little gem that I think is worthy of discussion.

Thoughts On Music Used In Worship

I was given a copy of “Thoughts on Music Used In Worship,” written by Dr. Eugene L. Brand, who was Associate Professor of Church Music, Liturgics and Systematic Theology at the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary in Columbus Ohio. There’s no publication date on this little booklet, but as the price of it was only $0.35, I assume it’s a bit on the older side. Regardless, some of the thoughts he presents in here struck me, and I’d love to take a look at them.

Brand gives a very concise look at worship itself from a Lutheran, liturgical point of view, the role of music itself in worship, the role of the choir, and the role of the organ. While I think he’s spot on on some of these issues, I’m wrestling through some others. Let’s take a look:

The Word is sovereign; the music is servant. But we must hasten to add that in its servitude, the music must retain its natural rights. Even in the liturgy, music remains an art – an art which serves, but nonetheless an art – and that means that its aesthetic nature must not be forgotten. If it is to be a worthy conveyer of the text, liturgical music must also be worthy aesthetically. Artistically inferior music, no matter “how well it is meant” has no place in the worship of the congregation. Artistic integrity should be an important concern of the church. On the other hand, music must not present its artistic worth as the only reason for its use in the service. Within the framework of the liturgy there is no place for art for art’s sake, here it is always art for the sake of the gospel.

To that last statement I give a hearty “Amen!” However, I’m struggling with the concept of “artistically inferior music” having “no place in the worship of the congregation.” This sweeping statement seems to be incredibly subjective. What is the definition of artistically inferior, and on the other hand, superior music? Is this defined based on harmonic complexity, melodic writing, something else? Does it become superior in the way it’s executed?

What Defines Artistically Inferior Or Superior Music?

I find this statement to be problematic. In the country church of 30 people with volunteer musicians, is there going to be a musician proficient enough to execute artistically superior music, if the standard to which it is held is musical complexity? Coming from a long heritage of church musicians including Michael Praetorius to J.S. Bach, it would seem that retaining standards based on composers of those likes would require a consistently high degree of technical competency. In the large church, where proficient musicians abound, is the call for artistically superior music a call to perform instead of lead, whether you’re performing a Bach cantata or a anthemic modern worship song? If we apply this same treatment to visual art, where do we hold our standard? Does electronic media fit into the “artistically inferior” category? For instance, I strongly believe good video editing and production is an art form in and of itself. Many believe it has no place in the context of the worship service and still many might not even call it “art” at all. Brand goes on to write:

In order to fulfill its serving function, the music of the liturgy must possess a style appropriate to that function. Music as such cannot be holy or sacred, it can only be good or bad music. As Archibald Davison quips, “a lily on the cover doesn’t make a piece of music sacred!” At least in non-Roman Christianity there is no recognized sacral style for liturgical music. It is set apart as a category only because of a difference in function. Theoretically all musical styles are usable in the church’s worship. But music which is appropriate to its liturgical task must meet the biblical requirements of being appropriate and edifying. The canon of appropriateness means that here again the Word is normative.

There’s a bit more context to that last statement earlier in the booklet, but I again find his statement of there “can only be good or bad music” to be very subjective. Is music bad simply because it’s simple or common or written in the style and tone of the day? How do we wrestle through the “good” and the “bad” music and it’s being able to “meet the biblical requirements of being appropriate and edifying” as he mentions above in light of the vast amount of church music, both “contemporary” and “traditional” that is available to us today?

Art Has The Role Of Servant

I don’t know the answer to this, and would love some feedback, but there is an issue in which I completely agree with Brand, and would love for us to contemplate. He’s speaking specifically of liturgical music here, which I take to mean the typical music matched with specific, historic liturgical elements in the service, but I think this can be applied to any congregational music as well.

If the Word of God is source and norm of the liturgy, then that Word stands sovereign over all the media used in the celebration of the liturgy. This means that the art-forms used in worship have the role of servant…Whether the music serves the Word by following the structure of the text…or whether it seeks to interpret dramatically, the music of the liturgy must never seek to dominate or free itself from the text.

Too often in modern worship styles we place the art (stage design, lighting, media, music, visual art) as the focal point, perhaps even sometimes to the point of assuming that it reinforces the message rather than distracting from it. Use art to glorify God, for sure, but please heed the call that these forms always “have the role of servant.”

I’d love your thoughts on this. Who decides what is artistically inferior or superior music or art? Who decides what’s good and bad? How do you wrestle with this in your own congregations?

Is There a Place for Artistically Inferior Music in the Church? is a post from: I am an Offering. The only thing it's missing is YOU! Please feel free to leave a comment as I'd love to interact with you.

By the end of the song, I was speechless, and in tears in my office, and in fact, while listening to it again just now, had to stop typing and stand with arms raised in worship.

The concepts in the song are so specific and so complete when looking at the nature of our hearts, the nature of God’s mercy, and the nature of how and why His Son and Spirit were given to us.

I would strongly, strongly recommend singing this song, and will be using it soon at Living Word. Hear the song below, head to Zac’s blog to learn more about the EP, purchase the EP and find the free songbook for all the songs here.

If You’re Going to Sing ONE New Song Soon, Sing This One is a post from: I am an Offering. The only thing it's missing is YOU! Please feel free to leave a comment as I'd love to interact with you.

Great thoughts from Zac Hicks at his blog recently.

Zac Hicks on Volume in Worship is a post from: I am an Offering. The only thing it's missing is YOU! Please feel free to leave a comment as I'd love to interact with you.

In the book, the author sets out to take a look at what “worship” truly looked like in the Old (he calls it First) and New Testaments and how that applies to aspects of not only our worship services today, but our whole lives.

One thing that I am loving so far is his perspective on just how much grace is found in the Old (First) Testament, even in things we view as regulatory or ritualistic. For instance, all of the ceremonial laws given to the Israelites on being certain that they were clean and able to be accepted before God were laws, yes, but also a means of God saying, “I am a God who is very specific in showing you what you need to do to be right before me. I am God who you can know, and who will know you.”

Daniel Block had quoted a “Prayer to Every God” found in ancient Nineveh that showed that the psyche of the worshiper was that 1) They knew the gods were angry at them. 2) They didn’t know which gods were angry at them or why and 3) They didn’t know what to do to be made right with those gods.

The God is Israel is vastly different: He shares His name and very nature with us, gives us reasons why we are not right with Him and gives us clear instruction on what it takes to become right with Him. Wow!

I am thoroughly enjoying this book so far, and will review the whole thing at a later date. Highly recommended reading.

For the Glory of God – Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship (New Book) is a post from: I am an Offering. The only thing it's missing is YOU! Please feel free to leave a comment as I'd love to interact with you.

Ah, the organ. It seems to be an instrument that, for a long time, people have either loved or hated. It has seemed to become a dividing line in many churches, causing them to ask the question: “Do we keep the organ and potentially risk speaking a completely foreign language to much of our culture?” or “do we get rid of the organ for the sake of outreach and risk losing some of our faithful saints who have enjoyed its role for many years?”

As I’ve been trying to “figure things out” as a paid staff Director of Worship and Creative Arts for about a year now I’ve begun to wonder if the questions above present a completely false dilemma. That is, we think that in order to reach our culture we must either: split our churches into “contemporary” or “traditional” services OR get rid of “outdated” forms of worship altogether. I’m happy to see that other people are starting to think the same way (more on that in a minute), and are asking a better question: “Can’t we have both?”

My Own View Changing

First things first: I admit freely that the organ is not my preferred instrument to listen to or work with. However, the times I’ve heard a large pipe organ dominate a worship space, I’ve been significantly moved. But I’ve noticed a shift in my own heart taking place over the last several years and have been wondering what God is doing. I’ve had the pleasure of working with two very gifted organists over the course of the last few years within our own congregation, each passionate about the instrument and passionate about what worship looks like in the local congregation. While we have had our differences of opinions I’m thankful to say that being certain that I equip them to do what they love within the local church has given me a much greater appreciation for the organ, particularly its power and vast history within the church, as well as for both of our organists involved in the congregation.

So, our services have been “blended” over the last few years, where one Sunday we’ll have mostly hymns driven by piano and organ and the next we’ll have mostly modern music driven by a modern worship band. Through some healthy discussion with one of our organists I’ve begun to wonder if this is the wrong approach. What if we blend each service, with both historic and modern elements separately as well as fused together within the same service?

Others Are Thinking the Same Way

It turns out, as well, that I’m not the only one thinking about this and asking these questions. I knew of a couple of worship leaders that have a wonderful perspective on the “healthy tension” of rooted and relevant worship that Bob Kauflin has taught about and thought, “You know what, just for kicks, I’ll reach out to them on Twitter and see what happens.” Both of them were very interested, even to the point of wanting to talk about it soon. I’m looking forward to Skyping with both Jamie Brown and Zac Hicks this coming Thursday, as well as potentially talking to Chelsea Chen, the highly accomplished organist and artist in residence at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.

I knew that Jamie had merged pipe organ with modern music in the “A Thousand Amens” project. But I didn’t know that Zac had already spent a good amount of time thinking about this.

In the midst of me doing some research on what Zac had been thinking about the topic I came across two fantastic blog posts from him. The first, written back in 2011, muses on the greatness of the organ from a guitarists perspective. Zac had some wonderful things to say in it, but I particularly liked a comment he posted to address someone concerned that the organ isn’t as effective to reach a young generation. Someone had mentioned that for the sake of the church and for the sake of his yet-to-be-born daughter we should move forward sensitively (as in, move forward in getting rid of the organ sensitively). I love what Zac had to say in response:

Worshiping as a united body amidst a diversity of tastes and styles means that everyone has to die a little. You might be able to teach your child a much more profound Christian truth (than that “we must worship in our style) about self-sacrifice for the sake of the body. Imagine how impacted she would be by seeing THAT example!

I think he hit the nail on the head where he says that “everyone has to die a little.” People on both sides of rooted and relevant worship can become quite stubborn and dig their heels, saying, “I don’t think this style is going to reach people” when what often they really mean is “I don’t like it.” What if modern musicians appreciated the majesty, complexity, and “other-worldly” feel of classical music and what if classically trained musicians begin to appreciate the simplicity and “nearness” of popular music? Can both sides “die a little” in order to accomplish a grander vision, one where both God’s majesty and authority as well as his nearness and love are displayed, side by side?

To this point, Zac and Chelsea at Coral Ridge have begun to think about how to fuse the historic and majestic sound of the pipe organ with the culturally relevant sounds of modern pop/rock music. I love the opening track “Wake Up, Sleeper” from their recent EP “His Be The Victor’s Name” that starts with the authoritative and powerful sound of the organ and kicks the band into full gear just measures later. I love, even more, the fact that the chord progression the organ is playing at the beginning of the piece is a nod to Bach’s “Wauchet Auf” or “Sleeper’s Wake” or “Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying” as more people might know it (see more in the comments of the link above).

Zac also blogged recently about what this merging of old and new might look like in the coming days and how the organ could make a big comeback in modern worship.

Humility Will Drive The Future

There’s only one way that’s going to happen and I’m thrilled to potentially hear Chelsea’s take on it: humility. Classically trained organists have to be humble enough to view the organ as a supporting role within the larger group context at times, and modern musicians have to be humble enough to view the organ as a completely viable instrument.

I’m really looking forward to our conversation on Thursday and even more looking forward to where this might go in the future, not only for our own congregation, but in evangelical worship as a whole.

Thinking about the Organ in a New Way is a post from: I am an Offering. The only thing it's missing is YOU! Please feel free to leave a comment as I'd love to interact with you.

I love finding new music for the church. The dilemma, though, is that there is SO much of it to sift through. The other dilemma is that so much of it is actual really good now! But, I don’t want to settle for “really good.” I want to settle for the best new music for the church possible. I wanted to spend some time each week introducing you to a new song that I’ve found that I think is one of the best to introduce to the local congregation. Here’s the criteria I use when I’m evaluating new songs:

• First, and most importantly, do the lyrics teach and proclaim specific truths of God’s nature and His Word? And, as a follow-up, does it fill any holes in our current hymnody that we might be missing (such as songs specifically about the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, etc)
• Secondly, is it singable by the average attender? (this might be answered differently, depending on the make-up of your church body)
• Third – and this is very important to us as a congregation – can it be sung by a multi-generational church body? I want our songs to be able to be sung easily by four-year-olds to ninety-four-year-olds
• Third – can my team(s) play it? (again, this will be answered differently based on what your worship teams look like)

So, with those in mind, here’s my favorite new (or new-to-me) song I’ve come across recently, and it is fantastic.

Confession of Sin, Declaration of God’s Mercy, Wrapped in One

But God, written by Michael Bleecker, Hunter Hall and Lauren Chandler, begins with a strong confession of sin:

“Oh, how great the weight of sin that lured my wicked soul, bound with chains and numb to every hope…my hell-bound home assured.”

The worshiper is faced with the declaration that we are hopeless in our sin. Then, however, there are these two wonderful words: “But God.”

“But God, rich in mercy, made a way. By grace I have been saved, through faith I have been raised, only by the blood of Christ.”

The song goes on to then repeat the declaration of “We were called from the dark, and now we stand in glorious light: Jesus, Savior, King.

I love the combination of law and Gospel within this song, and the ability to strongly declare that God’s love is stronger than our sin.

Recordings and Charts

Purchase the song on iTunes here or enjoy listening to the full recording on Spotify below. You can find the chord chart for the song zipped up with the rest of the songs from the album here.

Question: What new songs have you discovered recently that you think should be introduced to the Church?

Featured New Worship Song – But God, from Michael Bleecker and the Village Church is a post from: I am an Offering. The only thing it's missing is YOU! Please feel free to leave a comment as I'd love to interact with you.

I was blessed to lead worship with my good friend Nate Anderson, Liz Johnson, and many others at the 2012 Adoration Conference at Emmaus Lutheran in Bloomington, MN.

I have been on staff at Living Word for nearly a year now. I’ve learned a lot, grown a lot, and continue to be blessed by the work here. I figured it was about time to revive I am an Offering. Hopefully I can be a blessing to those of you who were faithful followers once upon a time and any new person who might come my way

With that, I’ve been realizing just how important corporate times of worship are, and not only that, but how important it is to prayerfully and wisely select songs for the church. Singing corporately not only allows us to praise God together and to put the language of music to use to express our gratitude/wonder/joy/anger/sadness toward God or whatever situation we’re in, individually or corporately, but also allows us to declare what we believe, sometimes without even realizing we’ve done it.

This past Sunday during the confession of faith portion of the worship service, I led the congregation in a short recap of what we had already confessed through the words of the songs that we had sung. When we looked specifically at what we had sung, we realized that we had already confessed that:

• We believe that God is the creator of world and everything in it (from This is My Father’s World)
• We believe that God is sovereign and in control of all things (from This is My Father’s World)
• We believe that we are completely sinful by nature (from O Great God)
• We believed that God has redeemed us and cleared our debt by paying for our sin (From Lift High the Name of Jesus)
• We believe that the Spirit and the Word of God are full of power to transform us (From O Great God)

Before we had even made it to the announcements we had already declared our belief in these things through the words of the songs that we had sung together!

If you are a member of the congregation but not actively involved in service planning, make sure you view the times of congregational singing as more than just “times of congregational singing.” Pay attention to the content of the songs your congregation sings. What are you declaring?

Worship leaders and planners, make sure, as you plan your weekly worship services, that your congregation is getting equipped with a musical language that not only expresses a heart’s desire to worship God, but that also forms and shapes the faith of the people into Christ’s likeness.

Question: What lyrics from songs you’ve been singing in your congregation have helped to form your faith recently?

And here’s a quick little bonus: a blog post for Living Word that shows just how much we’ve confessed through song in the last six months. It was a blessing to me to see what we’ve been declaring together through song!

Singing Together In Worship Does More Than Just Praise God is a post from: I am an Offering. The only thing it's missing is YOU! Please feel free to leave a comment as I'd love to interact with you.

I’m going to walk through my impressions of the album as a whole and give a summary of my impressions of each song below. Please give the whole thing a read, as you’ll be rewarded with a free download of the title track from the album at the end of the review :-)!

Overall impressions

• This album is mostly singable. Many new albums of this style tend to not be easily singable, so it’s very refreshing to find an album like this where I can say “Yes, we can sing that in our congregation” to the majority of the songs.
• Solid teaching. A lot of newer albums are overly emotional or experiential, but for the most part this album’s lyrics are very objective and focus on truths about God rather than feelings about God. While I’m coming to terms with the fact that sometimes “emotional” songs can help balance the weightiness of songs full of truth, I’m glad to see the depth in the lyrics of the album.
• There is a lot of energy on this album. The songs are songs that make you want to shout-sing at the top of your lungs, not just sing. Even the slower songs have an energy to them.
• My one complaint: Lead singers – please don’t jump up an octave. I’m very thankful that when this happens on the album there are singers remaining where the melody was in the previous octave, but this can be very taxing on congregations.

Let’s Dig into the Songs

Call on the Name

Very excellent call to worship here, listing many attributes of Christ and then allowing a personal declaration of “I will call on the name, I will call on the name of the Lord” Really love this song and hope to use it soon.

Found in You

Love the energy of this song. I always have an issue with “welcoming” God into the congregation (I understand the intent, but I think we could phrase it better, but more on that another day), this song treats the concept very nicely. Love the chorus “All we want and all we need is found in you, found in you. Jesus, every victory is found in you; found in you.” Another great call to worship, one of the best I’ve found in quite some time.

He Has Won

This is going to be one of my go-to Easter or post-Easter songs. It’s fantastic. The lyrics point people to Jesus and His victory as they deal with the weight of burdens, the question of being loved by the Father, and more. It’s especially a great song for men to sing – you just want to belt this one! I think this is my favorite track on the album.

I Will Follow

This song gets a little high for a typical congregation, but is still fairly singable. It’s a wonderful declaration of faith through various situations the Christian is facing.

I’m Going Free (Jailbreak)

I like this song a lot. I love the “revival” feel in the song. However, I wish a couple things: I wish there were more lyrics like the first verse. That verse includes the powerful “The judge is my defense; I’m going free” That is a GREAT lyric. I also think the phrase “your love is my jailbreak” is very awkward and wish they would have changed it to something else, especially as part of the title of the song is based on one quick, conceptual line that needs explanation.

Only Jesus Can

GREAT lyrics in here and GREAT groove. The syncopation would get difficult for our multi-generational congregation, and the rhythms on the chorus are tricky to catch at first, but the concept in this song is fantastic. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the rhythms in here (both the verse and the chorus), they just could be tricky to teach. However, this is one of my favorites on the album.

Strong God

It took me a couple listens to this song for this one to “click” for me. While the lyrics are wonderful, I wanted a little more power in the melody and bridge to match the anthem-like feel of the song. But, if this is the weakest song on the album (in my opinion), that’s saying something, as I still think it’s a wonderful song.

Strong to Save

“The Lord our God is mighty in battle. We are not afraid. His hand upholds us through our trials; our God is strong to save.” What a fantastic chorus. I love the bridge as well. I’m going to duck for cover here but I think this is a much stronger take on the concept of God being “mighty (strong) to save” than that other song that’s been popular for awhile

The Rock Won’t Move

The title track is an interesting adaptation of the hymn the “The Solid Rock.” I love the expansion and play on the original lyrics of the hymn. While this song is a powerful anthem, I think the bridge gets hard on the ears and I’m not sure the updates to the hymn lyrics improve them. I know many have done it, but I wish they would have used the existing melody from “The Solid Rock” in the bridge instead of what was used.

Worthy, Worthy

I love the hymn-like feel of this one. It’s very useful to have songs like this, especially for multi-generational congregations like ours. The timeless concept of all of heaven declaring God’s worthiness and holiness will never get old. This song is a helpful addition to congregations like mine who sometimes still use a piano/organ-driven accompaniment. I think this is a song that could work well in that situation as well as led by a full band.

Download “The Rock Won’t Move” MP3 and Lead Sheet for Free!

I really like this album and I think the songs should find their way into many churches. This is one you’ll definitely want to have in your library and I’m going to be keeping an eye on Vertical Church Band in the future.

Use the NoiseTrade widget below to receive a free copy of the title track and the lead sheet from this album.

Vertical Church Band – The Rock Won’t Move Album Review is a post from: I am an Offering. The only thing it's missing is YOU! Please feel free to leave a comment as I'd love to interact with you.

While these things sting for a while they are usually a few things:

• Lacking vision
• Passive aggressive
• Most of all, incredibly unhelpful

How Anonymous Criticism is Unhelpful

I wanted to focus on the third. This form of criticism is unhelpful in a number of ways:

• No opportunity to ask, “What do you mean by that?”
• No opportunity for further learning. If I’m being critiqued by someone, I’d much rather have a dialog about the critique, so that I can learn more about how to remedy the situation or so that I can offer the opposing viewpoint and vision.
• No opportunity for me to thank the person for expressing their feelings and open dialogue for further growth and discussion for both parties.

Some anonymous notes can be genuine, relevant criticism that needs to be addressed. However, when an anonymous note is left on your office desk, even if it’s valid, it’s very difficult not to take it as a right hook to the face, especially after a season of feeling discouraged.

What saddens me the most about these things is that it seems to happen in churches FAR more often than anywhere else. When I was working in “secular” business, criticism and critique were always directly addressed. Why doesn’t the church, which is supposed to be the leader in conflict resolution, giving preference to others instead of yourself, and compassion for each other know how to handle these things better?

Useful Criticism Is Actually Helpful

I think there are several better ways to offer criticism to church pastors, staff, and leaders:

• Best: ask to meet together to address concerns. Be open to an opposing viewpoint AND be prepared to offer some encouragement as well (this happened recently, which I’m very thankful for)
• Good: place a call or send an email with the concerns and allow opportunity for feedback or a follow-up visit
• Okay: at least sign your name and give some contact information and end the note with “Feel free to follow up if you think I need to understand the situation a little better”

Church pastors, staff and leaders: learn from the anonymous criticism that’s valid. Throw away the rest. Church members and attenders: please don’t offer anonymous criticism. Communicate, learn from each other, grow together, love each other, and celebrate how God has made you united in one body, even despite differences.

Give Me Criticism, Just Tell Me Who You Are, At Least is a post from: I am an Offering. The only thing it's missing is YOU! Please feel free to leave a comment as I'd love to interact with you.

There are quite a few things I’ve learned in this process and many things I’ve been able to apply from my previous and awesome employer that I thought I needed to spend some time sharing these “for the greater good,” so to speak.

Don’t Take a Good Developer For Granted

I’m thankful that I’ve come to realize that I am not a web developer. I can write just enough HTML to make things break. I am actually fairly decent within CSS. But when it comes to true, functional development, I’ll never be there. Enter Ben Olson, our fantastic developer that’s been working on the new site. Ben has been patient, asked great questions, gracious when facing some frustration, and just plain knows what he’s doing. I’m thanking God for Ben today and his work, and on behalf of all developers who are working with someone on a web project, I want to give you these reminders:

• Clearly communicate the scope and expectations of the project up front. Don’t keep throwing new features at someone who was only expecting to do so much to begin with. We fell short in this area, and will remedy that in the future for further advanced development of the site.
• Know when to say, “Good point.” There were some things that I thought would be nice. Ben convinced me otherwise. I’m glad he did.
• Be open to knew ideas. I was pretty gung-ho about using a certain Content Management System but since Ben was more familiar with a different language he convinced me otherwise. That is saving him time and producing a better end product.

Create a Site Map, and a Content Plan, and Page Tables, and Stick To All of Them

If I hadn’t sat down and marked out every page on the site, then planned out what every page looked like, then planned out how we would update each page and how each page would interact with each other, I can’t imagine how much time I would have wasted. I also can’t imagine the lack of vision I would have for what the site is going to look like in the future. Further, because of having a plan for every page and a pre-determined purpose and voice for each page, I was able to hand off several pages to another writer and save myself some time while giving ownership to a volunteer in the congregation. Win and win.

Here are some things you MUST do before even thinking about designing a new website:

• Pair it down to the bare minimum. What MUST be on the site? Start a sitemap from that.
• Create a sitemap, an organizational structure of every page on the site.
• Create a page table for every single page. This is a lot of work but completely worth it and in the end you will be insanely happy that you have these. Trust me.

What I Learned at Click Rain

Click Rain does and always will have a special place in my heart. Yep, I just wrote that sentence, and despite it’s sappiness, it’s true, proven this morning by how welcomed I felt when making a quick visit back there. I loved the people. I loved the culture. I really loved what I learned.

I am applying what I learned at Click Rain literally every day while on this job, but so much of it has specifically gone into the organization of the new Living Word website. I’m so thankful, too, that Paul understands what our whole church’s culture is, which is to equip the saints for the work of service. Because of his willingness to train me up and send me, Living Word will benefit from a much better final project and, quite frankly, a much better staff member. Some specific things that I’ve learned for the website creation process are these:

• Build a responsive site that’s completely optimized (note, there’s a lot more to website optimization than SEO these days). There is no reason not to do this. Yes, it takes more planning, forethought, and design skills; it takes more effort to make sure every element optimization is in place; but in the end will payoff big time.
• Think about big picture strategy. We are not just having a blog on the site. We are having a blog that’s equipped with opengraph tags, Schema information, and more, so that when people share a post to social media it will perfectly pull in every piece of data that provides stand-out formatting on social media. Also, we are thinking long-term about what this site will look like, not just launching it and being done with it.
• Measure. Measure. Measure. We will be paying close attention to statistics in every area so we can be sure this site is doing it’s job.

I’m very thankful to be working full time in a job I’ve wanted for a really long time. However, I’m extremely thankful for the experiences God blessed me with on the path to get here and how much I’ve learned and can apply now that I’m in this position.

On Organizing a Brand New Church Website, Why I Love a Good Sitemap, and What I Learned at Click Rain is a post from: I am an Offering. The only thing it's missing is YOU! Please feel free to leave a comment as I'd love to interact with you.