Articles for tag: Worship Leadership

May 15, 2024

Christian Standard

Ministry Help Wanted

Recent postings: A director of campus ministry is needed at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). Stillwater (Pa.) Christian Church is looking for both a lead pastor and a youth pastor. Lexington (Ohio) Church of Christ is seeking a full-time senior minister. Norwin Christian Church in North Huntingdon, Pa., needs a full-time worship minister. Lycoming Christian Church in Linden, Pa., is seeking a minister of children, youth, and young adults. Michigan City (Ind.) Christian Church needs a senior minister. And more . . .

March 1, 2022

Christian Standard

Authentic Worship

Authentic Worship in the Modern Era

By Corbin Marshall I stand on a stage professionally illuminated by theatrical lighting. Several expertly trained camera operators aim high-definition cameras in my direction. My likeness and voice are amplified throughout a large auditorium as well as broadcast across multiple online platforms. I’m holding a guitar. A wireless in-ear pack is fastened to my belt and I’m wearing headphones. A click track provides a constant tempo to our band. At any point, a producer can discretely inform me whether our teaching pastor has made it back from our other church campus. I chose this set list of songs several weeks

December 8, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

The Greatest Impact

By Mark A. Taylor How should we worship? Maybe we can take some comfort in the fact that throughout church history, Christians have answered that question in wildly differing ways. As both Paul Blowers and Tom Lawson point out this month, lavish artistic expressions of worship centuries ago eventually gave way to abandonment and even destruction of them by Protestant reformers. The motivation for each approach was the desire to please and praise God. Across Christendom today, we find everything from formal liturgy in classic settings to simple, quiet contemplative gatherings in smaller groups to exuberant, loud, guitar-driven, drum-syncopated megachurch

April 25, 2013

Christian Standard

Stewards of Audio Volume

By Eric Radecki In the field of church music today, dealing with audio volume comes with the territory. It”s not a simple topic, and it”s worthy of a serious and honest discussion. Daniel Schantz”s article “The Half-Inch Solution” broached the subject but failed to go beyond generalizations and opinions. In this article I hope to offer practical help in dealing with the audio volume levels in your church by providing a responsible interpretation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines within a theological context.   “Loud” is in the Bible Scriptures seem to indicate that much of the music

October 4, 2012

Christian Standard

A Day for Hope

By Mark A. Taylor My visit to Hope filled me with hope! At Hope International University in Fullerton, California, last week, I found students serious about their studies and passionate about finding God”s will for their lives. In the two classes I visited, students were engaged with the Bible study their professors presented. (Me, too! I left each session wishing I could stick with the professor all semester!) In the morning I met one young man who told me about his upbringing by missionary parents and his pursuit of God”s will for his life. Later he sought me out to

February 7, 2011

Christian Standard

Improvisation Is Hard Work

By Kyle Baker A jazz musician and a church leader walk into a bar. No wait, the jazz musician walks into a bar, the church leader walks into a church. The jazz musician walks into a room with a band of misfits who will improvise on standard material. The church leader walks into a room with a team of experts who will play parts they”ve honed for years. No wait, the church leader has the band of improvising misfits; it”s the jazz musician who has the team of experts. I had the good fortune to study jazz trombone with Delfeayo

January 20, 2011

Christian Standard

Every Issue from 2010 on One CD!

The 2010 CHRISTIAN STANDARD CD-ROM provides readers with a whole year of CHRISTIAN STANDARD at ready reference. This helpful tool contains every 2010 issue, conveniently indexed and searchable. Click on an article in the index, and it immediately opens a PDF of the issue in which that article appears. Click on that issue’s table of contents, and the article will pop-up on your computer screen. Use the CD-ROM for research or to find teaching and preaching illustrations. Search by topic or author name. Find articles to share with friends, church staff members, elders, deacons, and teachers. You’ll use this new

October 7, 2007

Christian Standard

Emerging Ministry for Emerging Churches

By Paul E. Boatman As New Vision Christian Church grew through the plateaus that stymie some churches, the emerging megachurch began to acquire a new look in its ministry staff. First, it added a minister of administration: Kevin was a successful businessman who had served as an elder in the church. The church”s need for competent financial and personnel management and the elder”s giftedness seemed a perfect match. He sold his business and focused his professional energies on the church he loved. Then an opening occurred in worship leadership. A search discovered several candidates who were recent Bible college graduates,

October 7, 2007

Christian Standard

Cultivating Church Leadership Through Internships

By Kevin Stone As Christ”s Church of the Valley”s executive pastor, I receive e-mails like this all the time from church leaders around the country: “I”m looking to release a new employee manual, do you have anything I can use?” “We”re revising our bylaws; can I get a copy of yours to read for input?” “We”re about to begin a capital campaign, what consultant do you recommend?” By far, though, the queries I receive most are from pastors with key leadership positions to fill. Good people are hard to find and lack of leadership people can and will hamper a

February 18, 2007

Christian Standard

Better to Be Chosen Than to Be Needed

By Greg Allen There is a wonderful difference between being needed and being chosen. Acts 17 tells of the historic sermon Paul gave to the Athenians, when he used the altar to their unknown god as a way to teach about his living God. In the middle of that teaching he said, “God is not served by hands as if he needed anything.” The word anything applies to me too. God does not need me. He is infinite, almighty, and perfectly holy to the depth of his being, and doesn”t even need me to tell him so. God created the

April 16, 2006

Christian Standard

Seamless, Polished, Professional

By Becky Ahlberg The sermon had just been completed, and the bulletin noted that “Circle of Friends: A Drama Group” would be next. There was some shuffling down front, and what looked like a group of unorganized teenagers began to stand and move forward. Not a terribly smooth transition, was my first thought. It quickly became apparent, however, that this was a group of special-needs teenagers making their way to the stage with the help of a very patient teacher. Halting gaits, spastic movements, and unsure glances accompanied their trek. She gathered them around her and gave them some instructions.

January 22, 2006

Christian Standard

Where Have All the Choirs Gone?

By Becky Ahlberg It”s no secret choirs are in a state of decline in churches all across the country. Depending on whom you ask, that is good news or bad news. It seems we cannot abide variety in music and worship. We must name the way everyone must follow to have an effective and growing ministry. If you don”t have a worship team and band, you are just not with it. If you still have a choir, you are assumed to be yawningly old-fashioned, and””I”ve come to hate this word””traditional. My Worship Team I have nothing against a worship team.

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