“Please don’t sing,” we politely say every time the lyrics are late.

I was rehearsing the team and we were deciding how to arrange a song.

I had made it to eighth grade. My basketball career grew in spite of my culture shock from our transition from Costa Rica to San Antonio, Texas, about two years earlier.

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…

More and more worship teams are beginning to play with a click.

Have you ever tried to actually measure how loud the congregation sings?

Maybe you’re a worship leader who is caught in the unrelenting cycle of leading weekly worship gatherings while managing songs, arrangements, schedules, teams, relationships, and life.

You feel the need for... 

• A deep walk with God (Intimate, Consecrated, Scripture-soaked)

• A deep love for people (Shepherd, Launcher, Encourager, Leader)

• A deep understanding of music (Listener, Craftsman, Fluent)

The worship leader announced the song, started it, and then sat down in the pew with the rest of the team. The lyrics continued to scroll on the screens. Would the congregation keep singing?

We ended the song with the entire room singing loudly. It was a reflection of what was happening in their hearts – they were “all in!”

How can I better prepare to play bass without a team so that I can arrive at rehearsal prepared? (I feel like I’m more prepared when I get to play with the team)

I was leading Sunday morning worship at this church. I greeted the assembled worshipers and… got back a very wimpy response. I felt like I was looking at a room of corpses.

So I had this experience where I realized that I had been lulled to sleep. Maybe you can relate to this, because I had forgotten that God is actually steadfast. He’s actually good. He’s actually all-powerful. He’s actually able to do what He said He would do.

The other night, I was tucking my son into bed and noticed some trash on his bunk bed shelf. It was the remains of an old, burned-up plastic Coke bottle.