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A Dangerous Trend for Worship Leaders

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Have you ever met a “squatter”?

If you’ve ever lived in New York City (where I spent nearly a decade of ministry), or any other urban area you’re familiar with the term.
A squatter is a person who occupies an abandoned building (that they don’t own or rent), lives there and refuses to leave. They hunker down, and even though the promise of something better could improve their life situation, they choose to stay right where they are.  Content that they no longer live on the street, they don’t look for anything more in life.
(Believe it or not this has A LOT to do with you… so stay with me for a moment!). Read more
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Startling Statistics

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Have you heard this startling statistic?

33% of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.

And what’s worse . . . 42% of college graduates never read another book!

Incredible isn’t it!  (By the way, the fact that you’re reading this means that you’re far above average – way to go!).

Whether it’s our “entertainment over enlightenment” culture, or just that people think they have it all figured out, somehow as we grow older, we grow less and less teachable. Not a good trait in life, and certainly not a good trait for Worship Leaders.

Read more

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The “One Hour Early” Principle – Time Management for Pastors and Worship Leaders

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What would you do with an extra hour today?  

That’s the question I posed last week as we began this 3-part series on how to best manage your time as a pastor and worship leader.

If you think about it, an extra hour today is the difference between…
…Going home at rest or going home stressed.

…Making it to your daughter’s basketball game, or making another excuse for why you couldn’t get away.

…Enjoying the work of ministry, or succumbing to the pressure of ministry.
An extra hour can make a BIG difference… wouldn’t you agree? Read more
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What would you do with an extra hour this week?

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What would you do with an extra hour today?  

That’s a question that should captivate every pastor and worship leader.  

If you could wave a magic wand and get all of the items on your list done giving you an extra hour to invest however you like… what would you do with it?

OK – back to reality and let’s be honest… most pastors and worship leaders find their lives and their ministries stretched with more than can possibly be accomplished in a week (much less a day).  With the demands of work during the day, and then rehearsals, meetings and your kid’s basketball practice at night, we face our everyday lives with very little margin.  (And if something new gets added or goes wrong… well, we know where that lands us.)

But “what if…?”  What if you could get everything done in less time and discover you have an extra hour in your day? Read more

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Who’s in YOUR Circle? (3 Actions of Growing Worship Leaders, Part 2)

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Welcome to this special “Thursday edition” of our weekly training newsletter!  Today we continue the 3-part series we began last week with a question:

Who’s in your circle?

I’m not talking about your Google+ account. This question cuts a little deeper than that 🙂

I’m talking about the 5 or so people that are the most influential people in your life. They are the people that are currently speaking into your life (good or bad) and are, in many ways, helping to shape who you are today.

Why does this matter?

Well let me rewind quickly to lay the foundation. . . Read more
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Your 2014 personal growth plan?

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When is the last time you read the story of Samuel anointing David as the future King of Israel (see 1 Samuel 16)?

It’s one of the great stories of the Old Testament, and even now as 2014 begins it has powerful meaning for you and I as worship leaders… 3,000 years later!

Let me explain . . . Read more
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Report: Christmas Coming Early this Year?

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Have you seen the news headlines this week?

It seems Christmas is coming early this year (or at least Christmas shopping is!).  More and more stores are planning to open their doors for “Black Friday” before the Thanksgiving turkey has even been carved on Thursday.

Now – whether you’re for it, against it, or could care less, it does tell us one thing.  Read more

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Two Questions to Make Your Service Better this Sunday

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I just have a minute this morning, but wanted to share a quick leadership lesson I taught to a group of Top-Notch Pastors last week at an event I spoke at.

Here goes…

Question: Do you want your services to be better this week than they were last week?  

(I know… silly question).

Of course you do… we all want to see our services improve (i.e. better musically, better transitions, less distractions, more opportunity for life-transformation).

Here’s the thing:

The key to making THIS Sunday’s service better is to look at LAST Sunday’s service first.  At The Journey, we call this the Service Debrief.  Here’s what you do. Read more

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3 Things You Should Do TODAY to Prepare for Christmas

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Merry Christmas!

That’s what the over-sized Snowman in Home Depot said two weeks ago when I walked in.

My family and I just laughed. The Christmas trees, snowmen and blow-up lawn Santas were right there beside the ghosts, witches and Halloween candy.

I bet you’ve seen the same thing, too!

And while it may seem strange to see Christmas decorations out SO early, it’s NOT too early to start planning your Christmas services. Read more

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Late for Rehearsal… Again?

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If you’re like me, when you read that phrase you immediately think of at least one person on your team. You can see their face right now, can’t you?

Whether they are late to rehearsal, set-up, the Sunday service, Small Group, their own wedding, or whatever else may be on the calendar, some members of your team (and mine) have a Punctuality Problem.

Chances are you’ve dealt with it in one of two ways: Read more