“We are humankind, not stones.” – John Calvin Humans are made in the image of God who Himself has emotions, and few things capture our experiences and emotions like songs. Everyone has songs that remind us of particular times, places, events, experiences, and people. Some are good, some are bad. Some helped us through a hard time and others helped capture what it was we were actually feeling. Some gave us a way to celebrate and others a way to mourn. The psalmists capture the entire breadth of human experience in Scripture’s song book. And these multi-faceted songs, written by multi-faceted pe ..read more

Searching For The Sunrise Sedalia, Colorado––I was on a retreat with a worship ministry called Dwell. One morning I woke up early, before sunrise. A new friend at the retreat told me that my cabin had the best view of the sunrise hitting the mountains. It was my first morning there, so I was excited to see it. Whenever I get to have "the best," I want to take advantage of it! Now––I'm pretty obsessed with making the right decision. That's very important to me. For example, I am so terrified of making a wrong decision it has led to an obsession with product reviews. It's hard to pick restauran ..read more

Marks of a Healthy and Effective BGV  If you sing on a worship team, you likely serve as a "background vocalist" on a semi-regular basis. Depending on your background, team, church, etc., that can be a surprisingly complex role to play. I hope to help you feel better equipped to serve in a musically and spiritually healthy way by sharing some key areas to examine as you consider what will free you up to lead well. LEADERSHIP That's right; I said lead! You are a leader, regardless of whether or not you are "leading" a song. As a singer on stage, you are entrusted with a platform that can ..read more

Across Dividing Lines: Seeing the Beauty of God’s Diverse Body Throughout the New Testament, several metaphors are used to describe the Church (those who have been grafted into the family God by the grace of God through faith in the Person and atoning work of Jesus Christ for salvation). We are referred to as a flock, being led by Jesus as the Good Shepherd; we are a temple, built on the immovable foundation of Christ Himself; we are the household of God, built together as His dwelling place; we are a vineyard, kept and cultivated by the Father; we are a priesthood, offering acceptable s ..read more

The Christmas season is upon us!  It’s the time of year when Christmas music plays non-stop on the radio, lights and decorations adorn nearly every house in the neighborhood, and holiday parties fill up most of our schedules.   For those of us who lead worship, the Christmas season also brings other exciting, and at times challenging, changes.  Christmas songs that we play once a year fill our setlists, added service times populate Planning Center, and what can often seem like an endless number of rehearsals, constantly compete for our attention and energy.   Whether ..read more

Hallelujah Anyway: Honest Worship in Every Season Have you ever not wanted to worship? Maybe you’ve shown up to church on a Sunday and felt like the last thing you wanted to do was sing… what do you do in that moment? How should we respond when our hearts just don’t engage?   Most of us already have or will go through seasons of life like this. There are undoubtedly people in our churches that feel this way every single week. A good friend of mine recently reminded me of a short phrase that has become life-shaping for me when I find myself in moments that I don’t want to sing, or I ..read more

The Necessity of Development Jarryd Foreman In my early years as a worship leader, much of my development came from watching other leaders. I would observe other worship leaders that I respected and try to mimic what they did. What I thought was a great approach turned into a ministry that looked polished on the outside but lacked depth and honesty. I had never been personally discipled or developed as a worship leader and it showed. I didn’t truly know how to be a pastor to individual people in a local church.  So, after nearly a decade in full-time worship ministry, my family and I pack ..read more

Help Your Band Be Better As worship leaders, it is common to compare our bands on Sundays to the professionals we hear on the recording, and it can sometimes be discouraging. We long for that massive sound, with expert precision and masterful taste. However, as we all have learned, Sunday is not a place of perfection! Sunday is a beautiful mess of different musicians with a variety of musical backgrounds coming together to serve a congregation. It’s not about us! However there are some things you can do to help your band be better and grow towards a more unified, cohesive sound. Provide Clear ..read more

Meeting with God in the Psalms Throughout the years that I have been walking with the Lord, outside of the Gospels, no other section of the Bible has encouraged, inspired, enriched, and even emboldened my relationship with the Lord at the heart level like the Psalms have. As I have walked through seasons of immense joy and triumph as well as unfathomable sorrow and suffering, I have found myself returning again and again to the Psalms. In those seasons, the Psalms give me language and even permission to pour out the entirety of my heart to the Lord whether in prayer, praise, or even lament.&nb ..read more

Should My Band Be Members of My Church?   Your electric player calls on Friday night saying that he can’t play Sunday, and you don’t have any other electric players at your church. Two weeks later you drummer calls. Extenuating circumstances arise and they call Saturday afternoon to say that they cannot play tomorrow. Someone who has recently started attending your church asks if they can play on Sundays.   What do you do? Cancel the whole band and do an acoustic set? Call someone who is part of another church to fill in? Is this potential fill in a part of a church at all or do they ..read more