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

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.

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.

More Better

Love is an emotional thing.

Love is a practical thing.

I have been trying for decades to love people more. I want to have compassion like Jesus. Chances are, if you are reading this, you do too. I've always thought of this "heart of Jesus" like the scene in Luke. He was looking over Jerusalem, tears streaming down His cheeks, longing to gather her citizens to Himself. I want my heart to feel that deeply for people, yearning to gather them to Jesus.

In simple terms, I want to love people more.

But then a while back I was sitting in church, listening to a sermon, minding my own business, and crashing into my mind came this question:

Is it more important to love people more, or love people better?

You see, as soft as Jesus' heart was for the people of God's city, they had no idea. They didn't see his tears. They didn't experience his emotion. They didn't get needs met. They weren't going to be saved from their sin by a man sitting on a hillside crying.

And that's exactly why Jesus didn't stay there. He walked into the city, knowing full well that it would cost His life.

And pay for theirs.

His heart compelled Him to do something.

And now, on this side of the blood soaked cross and echoing empty tomb, there can be no doubt. The people knew Jesus loved them.

We know Jesus loves us.

He demonstrated it.

So must I.

And this is how I love people better--not just more, but better: I demonstrate it.

So I've been on the lookout. How can I love those my "heart feels full of emotion for" with actions that show it?

I don't mean kindness, though that is essential--fruit of the Spirit. I mean love....

• that cares more about their well being than my own;
• that cares more about their condition than ministry programming;
• that follows up a prayer with a text;
• that asks how they are doing, just because they came to mind... after all, it was probably the Spirit that brought them there;
• that does for someone else what I don't feel like doing.

There is no part of me that believes Jesus "felt like" enduring the events of Good Friday.

But if you and I want Easter-like relationships--that echo with the power of resurrection--we need to find ways to love better.

Love more. Love better.

More better.

I'd love to see some comments! How do you demonstrate your love effectively?

Devo: Chain Breaker

We sang this in a couple of our services yesterday. One of our (young!) retired ladies posted the lyrics on her Facebook profile, commeting "I so felt the Holy Spirit with us today." She inspired me to re-visit the lyrics. Perhaps someone you know needs this more than you. And maybe it was God that led me to share this just for you. To watch the powerful music video from Zach Williams, CLICK HERE.

Prison

What’s yours?

There are a thousand. Maybe more.

The prisons mentioned in Chain Breaker seem a good place to start:

hurting with pain,

searching for direction.

A dozen others come to mind whether I sing this it in personal worship or lead it publicly:

Alcohol

Anxiety

Depression

Fear

Gambling

Marijuana

Meth

Painkillers

Pornography

Pride

Tobacco

Worry.

After a minute with Google, a dozen other possibilities emerge.

The astounding thing about Jesus is that WHICH prison doesn’t seem to matter to Him. He can free us—better yet, He yearned to free us so much that He defeated sin and the grave to set us free—from our prisons.

To set you free from yours.

So run to Him. Every time you are tempted to run back to your prison, choose to run to Him instead.

He’s been breaking chains for people like Peter, Paul and Silas for millennia.

He wants to break yours, too.

Chain Breaker

If you've been walking the same old road

For miles and miles,

If you've been hearing the same old voice

Tell the same old lies,

If you're trying to fill the same old holes inside,

There's a better life,

There's a better life.

If you've got pain, He's a pain taker.

If you feel lost, He's a way maker.

If you need freedom, or saving,

He's a prison shaking Savior.

If you got chains, He's a chain breaker.

We've all searched for the light of day

In the dead of night.

We've all found ourselves worn out

From the same old fight.

We've all run to things we know just ain't right.

There's a better life,

There's a better life.

If you believe it,

If you receive it,

If you can feel it,

Somebody testify.

Oh, if you need freedom, or saving,

He's a prison shaking Savior.

If you got chains, He's a chain breaker.

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12 Commitments in Pursuit of Humility

In recent months, I have become more deeply convinced of the danger of pride and the value of humility. Pride is the gate through which we enter all other sins. Humility is the way out. And the way to stay out.

After struggling for more than 30 years with this central charicteristic of Christianity—humility—I’d like to share some of what I’m learning. I still fail more often than I succeed. But I think God has shown me some things along the way that might serve your journey. If so, hallelujah!

1) I will redirect my speech. If I’m talking about myself, I try to notice and turn the conversation to the other person. I can’t do this so much that I close myself off to others. That’s a different sort of arrogance. Still, talking about myself less tends to result in thinking of myself less.

2) I will simply say “thank you” or “that’s very kind” when someone compliments me. No commentary is needed. This is so hard for me. I want to thank them and deflect. Most of the time I attempt to do that, however, I end up in the land of #humblebrag.

3) I will redirect glory to God. If someone begins to attribute things to me that only God can do, that seems like the right exception to #2. Still, I’ll be brief.

4) I will talk less. The less I talk, the less I’m likely to talk about myself. And the less I talk about myself, the less I think about myself.

5) I will redirect to the other person. When asked a question about myself, if I can answer briefly and then ask the other person to share their perspective, this helps. In my fallenness, though, I typically have a lot I want to say and so I stink at this.

6) I will think about myself less — feeling pity, pride, or preoccupation — I want to am learning to “cast, give thanks, and refocus.” I cast my cares on my Father, because He cares for me. I thank Him that He’s got this—my pity, pride or preoccupation. And then I refocus. Usually this looks like getting busy serving someone else.

7) I will continually remind myself that it’s a lot better to humble myself than it is to be humbled by God. 

8) I will never one-up someone in conversation. I will celebrate their accomplishment without comparing it to my own.

9) I will ask more questions than I will give answers. Humility looks more like a student than a teacher. Pride gives answers. Humility asks questions. 

10) I will relentlessly pursue affirming others without regard for reciprocation.

11) I will live from a place of God’s love and acceptance so I don’t have to seek love and acceptance from people.

12) When my feelings get hurt, I will recognize this as a source of pride. And I will allow that broken, fallen part of me to die. For "my old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” My flesh gets its feelings hurt. Christ in me does not.

Some of you will recognize this is not all original thinking. (Is anything?) But I have drawn on things I’ve learned from several influencers in recent years: Tim Harris, Louie Giglio, Rick Roepke, and others. I am grateful for those voices in my life—in person, in writing, in podcasts, etc.

Do you have any tips to share?

Guess Who Is Praying for You?

“I will pray for you.”

Fewer words are sweeter or more life giving. About the only thing I’d rather hear is the actual praying-voice of someone praying for me. Over me.

Get this: Jesus is praying for you. Praying over you. Pleading for you.

Use your holy imagination. See Him standing next to God, talking with His Father? Our Father.

Hear His voice.

Son to Dad. Perfect High Priest to Most High God.

Your Friend, Jesus, talking with the King of the Universe.

Dr Luke relays a story about this with one of Jesus’ closest friends, Simon (Peter):

“Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I’ve prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out. When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start.” (Luke 22:31-32, The Message)

Did you see it? “I’ve prayed for you in particular."

Now go ahead, put your name in the blank:

"_______, I’ve prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out.”

Not sure your name deserves to be there? Hebrews 7:25 may help. It declares that the resurrected Jesus “lives forever to intercede with God” on behalf of those who come to God.

Try it again:

"_______, I’ve prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out.”

Whenever it feels like you’re about to give in to temptation, remember Jesus has prayed for you to have victory.

Whenever it feels like you can’t go one more day, one more step, remember Jesus has prayed for you to have strength.

Before The Throne Of God Above (click on the title to hear the song)

Before the throne of God above,

I have a strong and perfect plea,

A great High Priest whose name is Love

Who ever lives and pleads for me;

My name is graven on His hands,

My name is written on His heart;

I know that while in heav'n He stands,

No tongue can bid me thence depart,

No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,

And tells me of the guilt within;

Upward I look and see Him there,

Who made an end to all my sin;

Because the sinless Saviour died

My sinful soul is counted free;

For God the Just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me,

To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb,

My perfect spotless righteousness;

The great unchangeable I Am,

The King of glory and of grace;

One with Himself, I cannot die;

My soul is purchased with His blood;

My life is hid with Christ on high;

With Christ my Saviour and my God,

With Christ my Saviour and my God.

Charitie Lees Bancroft | Vikki Cook | © 1997 Sovereign Grace Worship (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music [DC Cook]))