Losing our normal, hurts. We had rhythms. We had reasonably certain expectations. How should we, as worshiping Christians, grieve our loss of normalcy?

Long trials require exceptional resilience, a healthy perspective, and an ability to stick with it. But we never thought we were in a sprint, did we?

I love worshiping with blind trust.

Imagine your worship team on a retreat. On a missional retreat in Costa Rica.

What am I taking to heart?

What has been getting me out of bed on these cold, dark winter mornings?

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.

Doesn’t this just have a great ring to it? Campfire. Eating together. Relaxed worship. Late-night talks. Teaching tailored to your team. Friendships deepened. A break from your routine. God speaking...

As we approach the end of the year, I encourage you to take a moment between sips of 'nog (stay tuned for a killer recipe) to reflect on the state of your team's relationships.

What’s your worship team like? And by “worship team,” I mean the musicians and techs together.

Are you like a Worship Family? A Worship Indie Band? A Worship Elevator? Let me describe each one.

In the middle of your day. When you’re too busy to stop. When the pressure of the moment is all you can feel. When your dryness defines you. When you lack in zeal in serving the Lord.

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

• “Please rise to your feet.”

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

I received this question from a deeply frustrated worship leader:  “How do you lead worship when you’re feeling down and discouraged and your heart feels like a brick even when you’ve spent the whole week praying for a change and your brain rebels and refuses to stay focused on God and keeps reverting to your insecurities and fears and even though you’ve practiced until your fingers have permanent ridges and the songs run through your head like an endless soundtrack and things still don’t happen the way you practiced them?”

Every leader disciple needs to learn how to work with people.

It took me quite a while to figure that out.

I got together with some friends and had seven gifts I wanted to give them. These gifts would provide a backdrop for testifying about what God had been doing. It was a real encouragement for us, and I wanted to bless you with those things.

How modest is modest enough? The most common internal answer is “the same as me or more modest than me.”

What if our singers’ primary role is to prophesy, to declare the emotion and heart of God?

I know the need for watering, fertilizing, and generally tending to the gardens (metaphorical as mine may be) are upon us every spring and summer.