One of the pleasant surprises of 2014 has been the success of this blog. Since my start in May of this year, there have been 22,000 reads from over 120 countries. It has been a joy to write and see the responses of people. Here are the links to my Top 10 Blogs this year.
Let’s start with #10.
10. My Favorite Christmas Worship Songs
I love Christmas music but sometimes it can be a challenge to find great Christmas songs that a congregation can truly worship with. Sometimes we sing songs just because they are traditional and they have a Christmas theme but they really aren’t worship songs….
9. 10 Ways To Improve Your Worship Team ~ Part 1 of 4
I believe great teams always start with great leaders. Leadership is crucial. What are you doing as a leader to improve? Here are some areas to look at when you are working on improving your leadership and your team. Generally speaking, teams never rise above their leader….
A few years back I started posting the highlights from my morning Bible reading on Facebook. It has become my public daily diary of scriptures that God is speaking to me about. One of the cool things about Facebook is the response of people to those Bible passages.
Recently, Hope Fleming posted her testimony in response to the scripture I posted ‘of a man who was lying at the pool of Bethesda…He had been sick for thirty-eight years.’ (John 5:1-24 NLT). Hope’s testimony is so profound, that I asked her if I could share it….
7. 6 Keys To Learning A Musical Instrument
Over the years, I have heard numerous people comment on how they wish they could play a musical instrument. Along the way I have learned to play over a dozen instruments. My love of playing instruments and worshiping God has opened the door for me to travel around the world numerous times. Here are a few tips to help you be successful….
6. 10 Tips On Improving Your Worship Band Rehearsal
I have spent many days and evenings at rehearsals. It is the price you pay if you want to do music at a good musical level. It is the price you pay if you want to get past the music and be able to worship God freely.
I have had rehearsals with orchestra’s, choirs, marching bands, studio sessions, vocal sections, brass & string sections and worship bands in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Caribbean and North America. Along the way I have picked up a few ideas on how to have a good rehearsal. Here is what I have learned so far….
5. 10 Keys To Improving Your Singing
I have worked with average to great singers on the road, in the recording studio, in church and other musical settings for many decades. Here is what I have learned so far about helping singers improve….
4. What I Learned From Working With A Billionaire
When I was a teenager, I played saxophone and clarinet in an old-fashioned church orchestra. This rag-tag group was at my home church, Glad Tidings, in Vancouver, Canada. A local millionaire (later he became a billionaire and one of Canada’s richest people) named Jimmy Pattison, attended our church and was asked to come and direct our very unpolished group of musicians for a season….
3. 12 Keys To Picking Great Songs For Worship
Picking great songs for worship is one of the most important skills a worship leader needs to learn… There are fast songs, medium songs and slow songs. There are difficult songs and easy songs. But what are the best songs for us to sing with our congregations? What songs help our congregations to sing with all their hearts and connect with God?
Here is my philosophy of picking worship songs distilled from 10 years of travelling, writing charts for Praisecharts.com and over 30 years of leading congregations in worship….
2. Guidelines For A Strong Worship Team
In any quality organization there are codes of conduct and concrete expectations. A number of years ago I attended a worship conference at Gateway Church in Dallas and was totally impressed by their worship team. Based on Gateway’s code of conduct and my own experience, here are my standards and guidelines for my worship team….
and….. drum roll please! 🙂 Here’s my #1 blog of 2014
1. 8 Tips On Taking Your Sunday Morning Worship To The Next Level
I love leading God’s people in worship. I have been blessed to have lead church worship teams at home and around the world for over thirty years. Here are a few things that I have learned along that way….
Question: What has been your favorite blog this year! What subjects would you like to read about in 2015?
Check out my new book.. “Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure’ available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions. This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.
