One of your lids as a worship leader may be leading the same room over and over.

Twenty-four hours ago, I was leading worship. How did it go? 

How do I know the answer?

Crema and Milo, my two street mutts, are lovely creatures. Except when they dig holes. Their habit makes me consider astroturfing the yard. I’m not even kidding.

We were 100% designed for freedom. Sadly, we don’t often live like it. What limits us?

Any stage amplifies what’s already there. Any spotlight highlights what was hidden. If I want to be freer on stage, I need to know what freedom is offstage.

Being who you are isn’t only important. It’s vital.

Some churches don’t seem to mind breaks in between songs. You know, the team finishes. There are five seconds of (awkward) silence.

Worship ministry is personal. It’s a beautiful weaving of the human and the Divine. It’s logical and unexplainable. It’s predictable and mysterious. But…

Praising by only singing is like golfing with only a putter, baking using only a ¼ cup measuring cup, drawing a rainbow with only a blue crayon, or fixing a car with only a ½” wrench.

• “I guess we’ll go ahead and get started.”

• “Please rise to your feet.”

• “Good morning…um, good MORNing! ...That’s better.”

My typical planning schedule…

Why do we gather each week as a church?

When was the last time you took a breath, ready to sing the next line, only to slowly exhale, mumble, or watermelon through the next line because the words weren’t up in time?

What if worship is display? Are you comfortable with that?

I love what Todd Henry says in his podcast The Accidental Creative: “It is the age of creativity. Cover bands don’t change the world. Don’t be a cover band. You need to find your unique voice.”

Almost every week, I lead a new team of musicians. Sometimes all we have is a Sunday morning rehearsal.

Do you wish that rehearsal would go deeper than just pulling the music together?

Groove, Space, and Dynamics are three things that we can always have more of in the music we create. But how?

When was the last time you worshiped with other believers? Wait, but I mean not at “your” church. I mean, when was the last time you joined believers outside of your congregation and fully engaged in worship in their Sunday morning worship gathering?”

I was having a conversation with a worship team about how we connect with the Lord through worshiping together.