Good Reading

I’m not a reader.  That is to say,  you wont find me by the fire devouring the latest releases.  I enjoy reading the Word of God and material that leads me into a deeper relationship with Him although I’m choosy within that topic.  

I believe that the Word of God is my best teacher on the subject of worship but I do love to glean, now and then, from those who have something especially meaty to say on the subject.

I have read several books on worship that I recomend highly:

• Face Down/ Matt Redman
• Living a Life of True Worship/ Kay Arthur
• Planted by the Water/ Chris Falson
• Worship and Music Ministry/ Rick Ryan, Dave Newton/Chuck Smith (out of print)
• The Ultimate Priority/ John MacArthur, Jr.
• Worship Rediscovering the Missing Jewel / Allen and Borror
• Real Worship/ Wiersbe

I’d have to say that none and all of these are my favorite books on worship.  None, because I couldn’t just pick one and say that it’s the best.  All, because I believe that each one contributes something eternal and imparts a tremendous gift to the reader.

So,… what are some of the worship books in your library?

By His Wounds…

In light of a number of hits to WorshipOne inquiring for information for the song By His Wounds I have included some links to help search efforts for this song.

For Guitar and Mandolin chords. This site is great as it includes a transpose option along with some other cool stuff.

Here’s a site that has guitar tabs. I’m sorry but I was unable to locate any mandolin tabs. I’ll keep looking.

Visit NewSongCafe’s watch and learn video to see and hear more about the making of this song along with some instruction.

By His Wounds
Mac Powell
Copyright: Consuming Fire Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
CCLI 4926560

Things I learned from a Honda Civic commercial Part 2: Team Work

Be sure to watch the rest of the videos of the making of the Honda Civic Choir TV and see why I learned so much.  After arriving at the Honda Commercial site click the “watch” option and  you’re on your way.

Today I want to look at Teamwork. Teamwork can be defined as the cooperative effort of a team of people for a common end. It implies that each person on the team is doing their part to fulfill the purpose or task given them to do. (Eph. 4:6)

As I watched the videos I considered that there were many parts to the choir. Guy parts, girl parts, and parts within the parts.. (parts are parts) Then, there are the parts of directors, writers, orchestra musicians and parts within the orchestra and so on. Everyone doing their part well made the outcome something that sold others on the idea that driving a Honda Civic would be an exhilarating experience. Didn’t you want to go for a ride?

To lead others into worship takes teamwork. Another definition of teamwork is; joint action by a group of people, in which individual interests are subordinated to group unity and efficiency; coordinated effort.

I cant tell you how many times I hear of musicians and vocalists who have temper tantrums because they don’t get what they want when it comes to being on a team. They don’t want to work together. Their interests have nothing to do with leading people into the presence of God. Their interest lies in serving their own egos. (Phil. 2:4)

I had someone say to me once, “When do I get to sing the songs I want to sing?” Another time a bass player moaned about not getting to “play it his way” and guitarists complaining about “not getting used.” Sound familiar?

Finally, every team needs a leader. Without someone pointing the way how will the team know where to go? (1 Chronicles 16:4-6)

Lesson learned today: Know what part you play on the team and be excellent at it. Lay down your individual interests and seek unity.

 

View other posts of the “Things I learned from a Honda Civic Commercial.“

Learn From Experience

I just received my latest Musicacemy Newsletter and got busy right away looking at their new DVD’s and reading their articles.

There’s something to be said about experience. Especially the experience of others. After all, isn’t that why the www has so much going for it? I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve learned since the world of internet learning has become available. Learning from someone who really knows what they’re doing can speed up the time it takes to get proficient. That’s whats great about musicademy. Experienced worshippers and musicians coming together to make our learning fun and fast. Be sure to check out their new Worship Bass learners DVD’s, I think I’ll be getting the beginners set asap.

Also, enter their competition for a chance to win 5 free song learners downloads.

Things I learned from a Honda Civic commercial Part 1:Ducks in a Row

This is the first a several posts I hope to write over the next few weeks on Worship Team Leadership and Team-Work. I was inspired by the following videos. Be sure to watch all four of the videos of The Making of the Honda Civic Choir TV Ad and see why I learned so much.

I hope you enjoy the videos and that you, too, will glean some good worship team building tools for your ministry.

To watch all three videos of The Making of the Honda Civic tv ad  visit this site and click the “watch” option.

Leading a choir or worship team can be as simple or complex as we choose. The final product usually reflects which. We get out what we put in.

While watching the Honda Civic Choir prepare for the TV ad I was challenged and reminded about many things. The first was being organized or “having my ducks in a row.”

Having a plan and preparation makes things so much easier, don’t you think? After all, our perfect example, The Almighty Creator, had a plan from before there was time, didn’t He? (Matthew 25:34) So we would be wise to follow His example.

Before we introduce a new song to our teams and choirs, before we have our first meeting for the “Big Holiday Production,” before we practice or rehearse we should prepare.

The Honda Choir didn’t just come together like the Big Bang Theory. Someone had a vision and communicated it to a team of folks who would help him fulfill that vision. You can see how the planning team hashed out what they wanted and each one understood the direction and expectations for the final outcome.

So, my first lesson taught me to go back and rethink how I prepare before events, services and practices. Make sure I’ve thought through all aspects and have communicated with my pastor and staff involved when needed. Get my plan on paper or do my homework, be sure everything is ready for the team or choir so they can do their part to fulfill the plan. That means making sure the music is ready, (one of my weak areas), in the right key for each musician, etc.. I love the Planning Center because it helps me in these areas.

There you have my first thoughts… until my next post, blessings!

View all Honda Civic TV Ad Posts

~Vocal Blending Tips

I’ve always been attracted to musicians who could really sing together, blending their voices until you couldn’t distinguish between them as they sang as one before the Lord. Musicians like Shane and Shane for instance.

Have you ever listened to a worship team and wondered who the lead vocalist was because they were all “leading” and all the singers stood out in the crowd? How about this, have you heard a team and couldn’t figure out which one was singing which part because they all sang “together” so well? Which would you rather listen to? Which one do you think represents worshippers who worship as one voice? (II Chronicles 5)

When we sing lead we use all our expression or all our tone to express the song in a way that others will “feel” the song. For back-up vocalist it’s a different story. If we are all trying to sing with our “lead voice” we’ll crash and the impression we give of the song will be lost in the personal expression of the singers doing their own thing.

Singing as one or blending is probably one of the most important aspects of singing as a group. Without blending everything just gets noisy. So how do we effectively teach our worship team to blend? What tools can we give them to start blending right away? Check out this teaching video by Paul Baloche, over at the ccli website, on Blending and learn some good techniques you can put to practice right away.