Those Whom the Father Seeks

Five Keys to Biblical Worship

The apostle James wrote these hopeful, encouraging words in his epistle: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). That’s a tremendous promise that many believers sadly forfeit, as the distractions of life cloud our focus on the Lord.

Nowhere does that show up more frequently or vividly than in our worship. Our devotion to the Lord is often the first thing to go when life gets busy and difficult—which is tragically ironic, since that’s when our commitment to God and His Word is most helpful.

Instead, we need to fight against those distractions and keep worship as a perpetual priority in our lives. We need to be willing to sacrifice anything that hinders or impedes our praise to God and our devotion to His truth. As we’ve already seen in this series, God is not interested in halfhearted lip service or ignorant emotionalism. He takes our worship seriously, and we ought to as well. Read More

Uncommon Skills Every Worship Leader Needs To Succeed

What does it take to be a great worship leader?

If I polled pastors and worship leaders across the world, I’m sure we’d see a common thread of common skills necessary to fulfill the role with excellence.

We’d talk about heart and passion. We’d talk about vocal ability. We’d discuss musicality and band leadership. We’d talk about leadership – the ability to lead a team, grow a team, and maintain momentum. We may even agree on discipleship – the ability to reproduce other leaders.

But what if there were other disciplines and skills that sustain a worship leader beyond mere leadership savvy and musical talent? What if there was something deeper than just have a “passion for worship” or a “passion for God?” Read More

The Gettys Share the Power of Song

In evangelical churches, it’s hard to overstate the effect of several hymns by Keith and Kristyn Getty and their writing partner, Stuart Townend. Their song, “In Christ Alone,” which tells the full gospel story, is hugely popular, even though it was written in 2001. It’s not a one-hit wonder, either; the Gettys have since solidified their mark on modern Christian hymnody.

,br/> The Gettys are master songwriters, but their first book isn’t about songwriting. It’s about worship. Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church is full of practical insights to make worship both fresh and faithful to the message of Christ. The Gettys aim to get the church to sing the truth, and to sing it as if it were true (98–99). Read More