8 Must-Haves for a Worship Leader. Part 2
In the first part of this two-part article, we explored the idea of loading the worship leading toolbox with some items for getting the job done. Here we continue with the final four pieces that I see…
Fast: Day 3
Rough evening on Tuesday. I felt the energy leaving me. As it was heading out it gave a high five to the neurons that say "you need a snack." Argh! I was also easily irritated. Seems to…
B.love
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. – 1 Cor 13
I’ve read it a hundred times. Heard it at weddings. Even used it at weddings a few times myself. Maybe one of the most spoken verses in the Bible. Maybe it is time that it is the most lived verse in the Bible.
Last night at exchange, we explored Mark 8:29-32 and the idea of be-do-have (click here for the full audio under “Imagine: Cause unlocked”). We explored how before we do all the stuff of serving we need to be connected to Christ.
I Feel Alone
Then everyone deserted him and fled. – Mark14:50
Jesus had just come from the most intense time of prayer to date in the Garden of Gethsemane. He took a break from praying and returned to Peter, James, and John. My guess is hat Jesus was hoping to find them praying with the same intensity as Jesus. Instead of finding three friends engaged in an intense spiritual battle, he found them sleeping. That had to be a kick in the gut.
Jesus is soon surrounded by guards. They come and arrest him. The disciples leave. Everyone of them. Jesus was without human companionship at a most crucial time. Another kick.
Sometimes I wonder if Jesus can really identify with some of my struggles. Among other things, I wonder of he can really understand what it is to feel alone and abandoned. I don’t feel much a sense of being totally alone. I have in the past. In those times, can he really identify with what I am feeling? He can.
Maybe it is in the pressures of life that I can be the closest to Christ. in suffering, I meet the one who suffered.
Worship leading essentials 7 – Selecting musicians
As a follow up to the last article, let’s explore the selection process of musicians we use at exchange. Instead of using set bands, we have around 25 musicians and vocalists that we call the “musician’s pool.” Each week we draw from this pool and create a new band. The pool needs filled.
Somewhere along the way you have to settle on a process for selecting musicians. Get it lined out or when someone asks you if they can play in the band you will be stuck with the uncomfortable “Um, well, I, uh . . .hmmmm.” So, how do you screen and select musicians for the worship team? Here is
what we do:
Year of Growth
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.…
Who’s lookin’?
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ ”
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” – Luke 19:5-9
Jesus clearly states his mission. To seek and save. Isn’t it also the Coast Guard who many time have a mission of search and rescue? Hmm, maybe it is a similar thing.
So here we see the purpose of Christ. Zacchaeus had just climbed a tree to get a better view of Jesus. He was a short fellow and needed a boost. Probably would have been bad manners to ask one of the locals to allow a tax collector to get on your shoulders like a kid at a parade.
But why would Jesus seek out Zacchaeus to save? Why not some of the others?
Maybe because Zacchaeus was looking. Maybe the others were just spectating. He cared enough to get a glimpse of God that he made an effort to get in a tree for a better view.
Jesus put Zacchaeus in his sites and the mission was on.
worship essentials #5 – Spiritual leadership
As a worship leader, you have a big responsibility. Beyond the song prep, scheduling, rehearsing, creating, and executing, your primary role is to be a spiritual leader. It may be the most important thing you do. If you can spiritually influence your musicians, you can influence others through them. How can you be a solid spiritual leader?
Everything I Have is Yours
"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your…
Taking up Space
Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took…