A cosmic paradigm shift has occurred in the worship and children’s ministries of many churches. And though somehow this shift seems to have occurred under the radar, church leaders are awakening to its true significance. For a large and vital segment of our congregations, the role of worship leader has been transferred out of the worship ministry and given to … Read More
Open the Eyes of My Heart
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. It had been a long time since I sang these familiar words, but there I was on Wednesday night at Lifeway’s WorshipLife Event in Gatlinburg, TN, singing along as Paul Baloche led us with just his acoustic guitar in hand. It brought me way back, back to … Read More
5 Places to Find Great Bible Songs for Kids
Bible songs are an awesome way for kids – and adults – to learn Scripture! Songs have a unique ability to get stuck in your head, which makes them great for helping us remember important information. That’s why the very first step in teaching kids to read is singing their ABCs. In fact, you can probably think of several important things you learned … Read More
Wonderfully Made: Choosing Life
I watched this video for the first time with tears streaming down my cheeks in the lobby of an Orlando hotel. We have been so blessed over the years to have our songs travel all over the nation and even occasionally around the world. (I’m not exactly sure how it happens, I just know that my ASCAP statement includes royalties from Norway.) … Read More
All Things New: Advent Week Three
The Creator The darkness must have been impossible to comprehend. It wasn’t a darkness like we experience, a temporary veil that hides imperfectly objects which we know will reappear with the sunrise. It was the darkness of a world that had never known light. It was the deep darkness of nothing. And then, in the beginning, a single word was … Read More
No Small Thing: The Second Week of Advent
A Head Above This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. God had rescued his people from slavery in Egypt. He had parted the sea and destroyed the pursuing Egyptian army. He had endured their idol-making and their incessant complaining, though he had provided for their needs at every step of the way. He had fulfilled his promise though they … Read More
Light and Darkness: The First Week of Advent
Fill the Room The story goes that there was once a man with three sons who devised a test of wisdom to determine which of his sons would receive his estate. He brought his three sons to a large room in his house and gave each of them a small bag of coins. “Purchase something that can fill this room … Read More
Worship Leader Magazine: Best of the Best
We are incredibly honored to be selected this year as an Editor’s Pick for Worship Leader Magazine’s annual Best of the Best issue in the category of Worship for Kids. Each year, Worship Leader’s November/December issue includes a Best of the Best resource guide with their favorite resources in a variety of categories. A big thank you to our friends at … Read More
Don’t Let Non-Believers Write Your Worship Songs
This morning I read a thought-provoking blog by Daniel Darling called “Don’t Let Non-Christians Write Your Liturgy.” The core message of the article is that we should be careful how far we go in attempting to make our worship services attractive and accessible to non-believers. There are certainly important steps we can take in this area, for instance: Making everyone feel welcome … Read More
Worship Leaders, You Have One Job
You had one job. In the world of internet memes, this might be the one that makes me laugh out loud the most. Hilarious pictures of job-related fails have spawned websites and multiple Twitter accounts. The common thread in each snapshot is a seemingly simple job that was botched in a way that should have been obvious. Woe to the … Read More