Planning Worship
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Posted on November 18, 2011, 6:57 pm
Topics: Planning Worship
God used words and images to tell the story of his love and presence to his people. In many of our churches, we are comfortable using words in worship, but imagery seems more difficult. What are some of the images that can be used in worship to help convey the message of God
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Posted on October 12, 2011, 5:32 pm | 6 comments
Topics: Planning Worship
Call it ‘heavenly’ worship planning, if you will. Some worship leaders and pastors dock their worship plans in the cloud, inviting other worship leaders to contribute to the plan—all contributing to the same document without having to drive over to church for yet another meeting.
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Posted on September 6, 2011, 4:07 am | 12 comments
Topics: Planning Worship
“Just get ‘em warmed up with a few great songs and put me on!” Week after week, Preachers preach and Worship Leaders lead worship and nobody bothers to check with each other about what direction they are going.
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Posted on August 8, 2011, 12:43 pm
Topics: Planning Worship
Some years ago, Elders had to approve the lyrics of a solo; now Elders rarely know the names of the songs before the music starts. Have lay leaders replaced the Consistory in "regulating" worship? Or do Elders still play an active role in setting direction of worship in our churches?
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Posted on August 1, 2011, 7:57 am
Topics: Planning Worship
How do we get from blank page to the "Amen?" Out of the hundreds of thousands of options, how did that particular worship service move from scattered, unrelated ideas and pieces into a completed whole? There are those who think it "just happens." You and I know better...
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Posted on November 5, 2010, 12:01 pm | 3 comments
Topics: Occasions and Themes, Planning Worship
Is Reformation Day a thing of the past that doesn’t relate to those who haven’t grown up in the “Dutch church”? Is it something that we should re-energize or let fade away? If we stop celebrating this defining moment of the Reformation do we risk losing our historical roots which help ground us theologically? What do you think?
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Posted on October 16, 2010, 7:58 pm | 6 comments
Topics: Planning Worship
I am not a fan of awkward silences. Sometimes silence is good and appropriate – during prayer or following a particularly moving anthem. However, the silence between a pastor’s words of “And now the choir is going to sing for us” and the choir members standing in their seats and walking to the front is unnecessary and it disrupts the worship flow.
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Posted on October 11, 2010, 10:09 am | 2 comments
Topics: Planning Worship
“We are what we eat.” Anyone who’s suffering the cumulative effect of too many ice cream sundaes knows that’s true. But when it comes to matters of spirituality and faith, I’d like to suggest, we are what we sing.
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Posted on October 11, 2010, 9:58 am | 4 comments
How many is too much? How many new songs can you have in a worship service? I know of churches where including a new song in worship is something that is done with some fear and trepidation on the part of the worship planners who also know that a new song can ...
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Posted on October 1, 2010, 9:23 am
Topics: Planning Worship
Whatever your committee’s or team’s name or function it is easy to get in a rut, to do things a particular way because that’s the way it has always been done (even if it’s only the second year you have been doing it). So how do you get out of a liturgical rut? How do you discern when a once helpful practice has become unhelpful or when a 100 year old practice needs to be retained? How do you lead your congregation to grow in the area of worship?
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Posted on September 7, 2010, 11:17 am
Topics: Occasions and Themes, Planning Worship
This kid-friendly litany is intended for use at the beginning of a new church school year.
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Posted on September 7, 2010, 11:07 am
Topics: Planning Worship, Worshiping Community
This is a time of new beginnings and a time to pause, reflect, and take note of the many fears and concerns in the lives of those we worship with and also the ways we are blessed as God’s church and then name those within the context of worship.
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Posted on July 24, 2010, 9:21 pm | 12 comments
Topics: Planning Worship
Ever feel that when everyone is gone on vacation worship goes too?
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Posted on July 16, 2010, 10:13 am | 2 comments
Topics: Planning Worship
Maybe we should declare a moratorium on all new congregational songs… at least for a few years so we can catch our breath.
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Posted on May 3, 2010, 3:29 pm
Now that so many church members have digital cameras and so many congregations can project images, the possibilities for using photography in worship have soared.
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