Beyond Sunday Worship

Worship Podcast

Do You Have What it Takes To Tour Full Time? [Video]

Brad & Rebekah are full-time traveling worship leaders. They write their own music, do their own booking, social media, graphics, & a host of other things. What I appreciate about these guys is that they work extremely hard at what they do. While their core value is to trust God and rely on Him to open doors for new opportunities, they are not passive about it. They go for it.

I wanted to record this interview for a couple reasons. First, I want you to get to know Brad & Rebekah. Buy their music. Lead their songs. Consider inviting them to lead worship at your church. You won’t regret it.

Also, maybe you would like to tour someday. Hopefully you can glean some insight into what it takes.

Here are the three poins Brad outlines to be a successful touring artist:

  1. REASON – the “why” behind the “what”
  2. WILLINGNESS – to serve wherever, no matter how small. Excellence in the little things.
  3. HARD WORK – develop an ‘up-to-date’ social media platform, contact hundreds of churches, write songs, network.

Question: If you tour, what are the key things that make you successful? If not, do you have any desire to tour someday?

How To Use the “H” Word in Worship Without Starting a War

[This post is part of a series on Your Guide to Selecting and Leading Songs for Worship. Check out the rest here.]

I never knew the phrase “we should do more hymns” would feel like a stab in the heart. It hurts even more when it’s followed up with the leg sweep of “we don’t like your songs”.

So as I lie there bloodied and battered down, I wonder, “Do these people know how much time I put into worship for Sunday morning?” Praying through the setlist, scheduling the band, preparing for a great rehearsal, praying for God to move, showing up early, getting nervous, pouring my heart out.

And then I hear it echoing through my head like an annoying baby toy: “we should do more hymns, we should do more hymns, we should do more…”

I know that was maybe slightly dramatic. But in all honesty, it’s how we as worship leaders feel when it comes to hymns: it’s an all-out war! The elder segment of the church desire the rich theology of the songs they sang when they were saved, while the young people desire the new, fresh expressions of worship because they just don’t “get” the hymns.

[Read more…]

A Simple Acronym for Writing and Selecting the Best Worship Songs

[This post is part of a series on Your Guide to Selecting and Leading Songs for Worship. Check out the rest here.]

We all know that certain songs stand out above the rest. But what makes them so unique? As a worship leader who picks songs each weekend and a songwriter who wants to write engaging songs, what are the qualities I should look for?

What should you be looking for?

Here’s my take, which I call the SEAT method:

[Read more…]

How To Find New Songs For Leading Worship

[This post is part of a series on Your Guide to Selecting and Leading Songs for Worship. Check out the rest here.]

One thing that worship leaders can never rest from is searching for new songs. Most of us are leading every weekend of the year and, though we may have tried, we can’t do Everlasting God and How Great is Our God every weekend. We’re always looking for the latest hit song that our congregation will respond to. We long for a freshness to permeate our worship experiences. And we want our people to be engaged at the same time.

So where do we look? How do we create a system where we’re constantly inspired by the best songs? Because let me tell you: there is no shortage of worship songs. The hard part is finding the best ones.

Before I give you some practical suggestions, make sure you pray through and ask the question, “God, what do our people need to be singing? What phase of life are they in and what truth do they need to apply?” That will definitely determine which songs you should choose.

[Read more…]