HOW TO LEAD WORSHIP WITHOUT BEING A ROCK STAR is an 8 week study in the heart and skill of worship leading. Topics covered: Why we lead worship, choosing your worship values, character of a leader, building and leading a set, leading a band, arranging a band, mentoring pastor relationships, and pursuing greatness over a lifetime. Study questions are provided for an amazing individual or group 8 week study experience.
Why do you lead worship? Often the motives are mixed. You find yourself wanting to point people to Jesus but also feeling a desire to be noticed and praised, to make yourself the center of attention. Stephen Miller is the worship pastor for a large church of young, energetic Christians. He and his band record albums and lead worship for conferences all over the country. He knows the temptation to make himself the show, to pursue fame, to seek the applause of other people. And he has learned to want nothing to do with it. In this book, Miller exhorts his fellow worship leaders to make Jesus the center of all their efforts. He teaches how to do this with Scripture, teaching, prayer, story, and song. In all, Miller’s call for worship leaders is to lead worship, whole-hearted and whole-minded exalting of God, rather than making a spectacle out of it. Worship Leaders, We’re Not Rock Stars will encourage and challenge worship leaders by clarifying their purpose and identity, and by doing so will bless those they lead.
This book calls Protestant churches, and the ELCA in particular, to a church-wide conversation about racism. It is a response to the 2019 book Dear Church by Lenny Duncan, a former Lutheran pastor who is Black and who, among other reparations, calls for changing the church's worship in order to address segregated Sundays. Changes in worship affect theological foundations. Informed consideration is essential. Because entering into life-changing conversations requires vulnerability and commitment, this book includes several narratives: my life as a White woman and pastor, the history of the Black church as defined by Black theologians, the development of the liturgical renewal movement, and my experiences as a professor navigating worship conflicts as my seminary struggled with financial constraints and a changing student body. The seminary conflicts offered me a window into how better to address racism inspired by the example of post-WWII German truth-telling and how some US Southern states have come to grips with the history of the Jim Crow South (described in Susan Neiman's Learning from the Germans). This book outlines a way forward for churches in responding to racism by encouraging healthy engagement with contentious relationships as a necessity for healing.
Is there a way to do the prescribed or suggested orders of worship from denominational worship resources—such as the United Methodist Book of Worship, Evangelical Lutheran Book of Worship, the Book of Common Worship of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), or the Book of Common Prayer—in a way that feels legitimately and authentically contemporary? This practical, how-to book will help churches plan and implement passionate and invigorating worship. Step by step, author Lester Ruth and contributors Zachary Barnes, Andrew Eastes, Jonathan Ottaway, Adam Perez, Glenn Stallsmith and Deborah Wong break down the process of re-thinking what the official or recommended order of worship is truly suggesting, so pastors and worship leaders can plan and lead a service of Word and Table that feels genuinely relevant and attuned to the congregation’s culture. With this goal, Flow casts a new, but classic, understanding of traditional worship as well as spurs a reconsideration of how contemporary worship can be done by honoring the traditions of denominational congregations.
Modern worship leaders are restless. They have inherited a model of leadership that equates leading worship with being a rock star. But leading worship is more than a performance, it's about shaping souls and making disciples. Every worship leader is really a pastor. The Worship Pastor is a practical and biblical introduction to this essential pastoral role. Filled with engaging, illustrative stories it is organized to address questions of theory and practice, striving to balance conversational accessibility with informed instruction. Part One presents a series of evocative "vignettes"--intriguing and descriptive titles and metaphors of who a Worship Pastor is and what he or she does. It shows the Worship Pastor as Church-Lover, Disciple Maker, Corporate Mystic, and Doxological Philosopher. Part Two covers specific roles related to ministry within the worship service itself--the Worship Pastor as Theological Dietician, Caregiver, Mortician, Emotional Shepherd, War General, Prophetic Guardian, Missional Historian, and Liturgical Architect. Part Three looks at ministry beyond the worship service--the Worship Pastor as Visionary Teacher, Evangelist, Artist Chaplain, and Team Leader. While some worship leaders are eager to embrace their pastoral role, many are lost and confused or lack the resources of time or money to figure out what this role looks like. Pastor Zac Hicks gives us a clear guide to leading worship, one that takes the pastoral call seriously.
Follow these principles to be unstoppablePointers for developing a long consistent careerKeys to maintaining integrityLearn the importance of good work relationshipsRosanna is best known as lead vocalist and guitarist for the rock outreach band ROSANNA'S RAIDERS. She has performed live all around Australia and beyond in Rosanna's Raiders, Power Praise, Rosanna Palmer & Friends, and solo concerts - playing hotels, nightclubs, schools, churches, concerts in all Australia's major venues, and as special guest to many overseas artists.
For many churches today, music has become one of the most important factors in attempting to reach unbelievers with the gospel. Writing from his own personal experience as a former worship leader, Dan Lucarini questions the use of contemporary music in the worship of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Have you ever felt frustrated with the words of the worship songs that we sing? Why are they so forgettable? Why are they filled with such weird language? Where have all the writers gone? Combining humour with strong argument, Nick Page analyses how worship song writers have bought into a disposable, 'pop-song' model; how they have filled their songs with a kind of semi-Biblical code and how songs suffer from poor technique and a lack of specialist lyric writers. Above all it encourages writers to really think about the words of their songs and whether they really communicate truth about God - truth which should lead to worship. Passionate, controversial and laugh-out-loud funny, this is essential reading for Christians today.
"Many people claim to hear God's voice,' though not always with discernment. I've found Liz Ditty to be a trustworthy guide in learning how to listen, and how to do so with wise discernment." -- Philip Yancey, Best-selling author "Liz Ditty writes with warmth, humor, and grace about the spiritual practices that too often feel overwhelming. She approaches the spiritual life with simplicity and generosity and tells a story of learning to listen to the voice of God that inspires me to do the same. God's Many; Voices is a book for anyone who believes God is still speaking, and anyone who needs a friend to walk them directly toward that Holy Voice." -- Micha Boyett, Author of Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer Do you wish to hear God speak to you in your everyday life? God's Many Voices will help you discover a God who is infinitely closer and more involved in our world than we give Him credit for.; This book is an invitation to learn God's voice from the scriptures and then recognize it everywhere in daily life. Author Liz Ditty uses biblical teaching and relatable examples, reinforced with reflective exercises at the end of each chapter to open readers' ears and hearts to what God is telling them.;; Only His voice in our lives can give us confidence in our decisions and dreams, give us freedom from our fears and failures, and lead us toward the joy of being fully alive, accepted, and loved by God.
