Are You Building the Kingdom or Yourself?

I want to ask a hard question. And believe me, I’m asking myself this question first before I ask you. Here it is: Is your music ministry about Kingdom building or about self building? Ouch! If we get completely honest the answer may hurt a little. If you’re feeling a bit conflicted about your answer to that question…

What is the Purpose of Music in Church Services?

It may seem like an elementary question but if you’re involved in the music ministry then it may be helpful to be find the answer to this question in God’s Word. The answer is deeper than “that’s just what we do” or “we’ve always had music in the church services”. It’s much more than “talent show” time for musicians. And music isn’t included just to fill some of the time. There is truly a deep purpose for music and I’d like to give you several Scriptures passages to answer this question…

What Exactly is Worship?

What exactly is worship? If you had to write out a definition, what would you say? Some would answer that worship is what we do on Sundays when we sing together in church – during the “worship service.” Yes, part of our worship to the Lord is gathering together and corporately lifting up our praise and worship to Him. What a joy as musicians in His service to have the opportunity to lead that time of worship. But worship is so much more than just singing…

How Do I Sing Past an Error?

Does this sound familiar to you?… You are standing on the stage performing a song. Right in the middle of the song your mind goes blank and you completely forget the words. You do not have the presence of mind to make up some lyrics so you just stand and stare at the congregation for what seems like an eternity until your brain kicks back in and the words come back to you. Or in the midst of your song you go to belt out that beautiful high note and instead, an awful cracking, duck quacking noise comes out of your mouth. Let me just say from experience…

Ready or Not, Here I Go Sing

Have you ever gone to church thinking you were going to just enjoy sitting in the congregation, but you soon found yourself standing on the stage singing the special music? It was supposed to be your Sunday off from singing, but the scheduled singer was sick and you were asked to step up to sing instead. One of my jobs as the worship leader at my church is to schedule the special music for each service. I have a master calendar and try to plan ahead. But when it comes down to it, the plan always changes…

Choosing the Right Song

You’ve been scheduled to sing for the upcoming church service. What song will you sing? You wade through the sea of great songs out there to choose the one that’s right for you. As you look at all the songs available, you may feel overwhelmed. So, how do you choose the right song to sing? Do you choose by lyrics, sound, style or popularity? The Lord has definitely blessed the Christian music ministry. There are so many great songs that have been written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit…

How Can I Sing When I’m Sick?

What do you do when you’re scheduled to sing, and you have a sore throat? Do you reschedule your date to sing, or do you try to muster through and sing anyway? What if you’re scheduled to sing for an event that you can’t cancel? This is on my mind because I seem to be surrounded by sick musicians. It’s flu season. And, over the past month, at least half of the singers I work with have come down with the flu or some type of upper respiratory ailment. There’s more coughing and sneezing filling the stage than singing right now. For a singer…

Maintaining Composure in an Emotionally-Charged Performance

Have you ever been moved by the words of the song you’re singing and gotten completely choked up? Or have you sung in an emotion-filled service, like a wedding or a funeral, and even though you tried to fight back tears, you could hardly get the words out much less the right notes? I have had this happen to me, and I have seen it happen with other singers. During a particularly moving song…

What Should I Wear to Sing?

You’ve been asked to sing in church. You have prayerfully chosen the song you will be singing. Now, you have another big decision to make. What will you wear when you sing? You look into your closet, and you begin to wonder, “How should I dress to sing at Church?” Honestly, I used to spend more time staring into my closet on Saturday evenings than any other time of the week…

Take Care of Your Instrument

Have you ever considered that as a singer you have a handcrafted, completely original, one-of-a-kind instrument that God has given you? Your voice is your instrument; there is no one else in the world that has a voice like yours. In His divine plan, God chose to create in you a voice that could sing…