Friday, February 15, 2019

10 Books Every Worship Pastor Should Read

The cliche rings true in my experience: "Leaders are Readers."

These days reading takes new forms -- kindle, audio books, podcasts, etc. But if you like holding a book in your hands, and you want to lead worship, I think these 10 books will serve you well.

As a disclaimer, there are hundreds of books about worship that I've not read. But there are also a few hundred I have. So your list may be completely different. If so... I'd LOVE to see the ones I've missed in the comments!

Here are my "TOP 10"

  1. Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin
  2. An Hour on Sunday by Nancy Beach
  3. Everybody Always by Bob Goff
  4. An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus
  5. Under the Unpredictable Plant by Eugene Peterson
  6. Worship Is a Verb by Robert Webber
  7. Vertical Church by James McDonald
  8. The Heart of the Artist by Rory Noland
  9. Pursuing Christ, Creating Art by Gary Molander
  10. Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster


And if you've read those? These are amazing too:
Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon Mackenzie
Who Stole My Church by Gordon MacDonald
The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Isn't that Old School, part 2


My last post was about using a Biblical a "Call to Worship."

I prefer to think of it as a "stir to worship."

I want to word of God to stir the hearts and minds of His people so they can't help but sing from their souls.

Just this Sunday we used Ephesians 2:4-5:
   God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
   that even though we were dead because of our sins,
   he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.

I was the one who picked those verses. I practice reading them expressively. I called the 8:30a crowd to worship using them. And--at the 11:00a service--I read them again.

Gave. Me. Chills.

These kinds of astounding truths can help us start worship gatherings well.

Years before we started using a Call to Worship to open our services, we were using a Benediction to close them. 

Now, in your bulletin (if you still use one) it may say "Benediction" as the last line in the order of worship, but you may really be using a closing prayer. The pastor may call on a deacon or key leader to close the service.

If it's like most of the services I've been in, that closing prayer is a short re-cap of the sermon in prayer form. I'm not suggesting that's bad or wrong, but what we've been doing for several years now has become quite powerful.

I ask the congregation to hold out their hands, palms up. I tell them I have a gift for them.

Then I choose a scriptural benediction to bless them with. You may know this, but the word benediction is a compound word from the latin bene [good] and diction [word]. It is literally a "good word."

And in the fashion of our more liturgical brothers and sisters, I hold my right hand up to impart a blessing. I use God's words, not my own. And I rely heavily on my inflection. I have a deep desire to literally bless the people in the room.

And they tell me it does.

In fact, in one service months ago we closed the service with a song instead of a spoken benediction. One of our newer attenders pulled me aside a month later to "take me to task." She was devastated that she didn't get her blessing that week.

I love that!

If you'd like to give it a shot, here are the six passages I most often use--in part or in whole. And from one translation or another:

May the Lord bless you
   and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you
   and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his favor
   and give you his peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

My God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
   Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:16-21)

Now may the God of peace--
   who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
   and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood--
may he equip you with all you need
   for doing his will.
May he produce in you,
   through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
   All glory to him forever and ever! Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)

Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen. (Jude 24-25)



Now... go bless your people. Old school.

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Isn't that Old School?


Our church has been intentionally multi-generational in her worship gatherings for years and years. I love that. We have children who sing their hearts out in the services and at home during the weeks. We have folks long-ago retired who lead out from their seats with full-throated, full-hearted singing. It is one of my favorite things about leading worship at Woodburn Baptist Church.

Given the movement toward newer music, more contemporary sounds, and a greater use of technology, it seems a bit odd that one of the most effective things we've done is add a Biblical call to worship and benediction.

Old school.

Timeless power.

In my Planning Center Online template I have a note under the call to worship that simply says, "something super brief and scriptural connected to the first song or the theme of the day."

I want it to stir the hearts of our people.

Here are several of the calls to worship that have resonated with our congregation:

Let the godly rejoice.
   Let them be glad in God's presence.
   Let them be filled with joy.
Sing praises to God and to his name!
   Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the Lord--
   rejoice in his presence!
      Psalm 68:3-4

God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.
      Ephesians 2:4-5

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.
      1 Chronicles 29:11

Come, everyone! Clap your hands!
   Shout to God with joyful praise!
For the Lord Most High is awesome.
   He is the great King of all the earth.
      Psalm 47:1-2

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
      Romans 8:11

So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear son.
      Ephesians 1:6

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
    He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created everything
   in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
   and the things we can't see--
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
   Everything was created through him and for him.
      Colossians 1:15-16

I will exalt you, my God and King,
   and praise your name forever and ever.
I will praise you every day;
   yes, I will praise you forever.
Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
   No one can measure his greatness.
      Psalm 145:1-3


Praise the Lord!
   How good to sing praises to our God!
How delightful and how fitting!
   He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars and calls them by name.
   How great is our Lord!"
      Psalm 147:1, 3, 4, 5a

For the Lord is good.
   His unfailing love continues forever,
   and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
      Psalm 100:5
      [Any/All of Psalm 100 is a great call to worship)

You belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
      1 John 4:4


Sometimes I ask the congregation to read the verse with me. Other times I'll read it first and then have them repeat it with me. Still other times I'll pick a key word and have them say it. The goal, again, is to stir the hearts of God's people with God's word. Simply to read it may not be enough. Read it with all the dynamics the text calls for. 

This is also a great spot to plug in other team members or folks from the congregation. Expressive kids would be fabulous. Passionate senior adults. Key leaders. 

Next time... how we wrap up our services. Old school benedictions.