Archives For Worship

One of the reasons people are hesitant to try attending a church for the first time is that they’re not sure what to expect. In fact, they probably expect it to be a little bit awkward and uncomfortable.

Over time, it’s important for your church to become known as a place where people will be able to understand what’s happening. That doesn’t mean changing the message, but it does mean clearly explaining what is going on during the worship service.

If you use words like “prelude” or “convocation” without explanation, you’ll send the message that the service is intended for insiders and those who already understand what’s happening.

Here are a few suggestions for how to make people more comfortable in a church worship service that might be brand new to them.

1. Use easy-to-understand terminology.

Instead of “Invocation,” call it an “Opening Prayer.” Or better yet, don’t call it anything. Just have the prayer. No one really needs to know that a “Prelude” will be happening. Just play the music.

If you have a traditional altar call, or even an invitation for people to go somewhere for prayer, be very clear and specific in how you invite people to respond.

I’ve…

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Culture

“The modern Church is so consumeristic!” It’s a common line uttered by the religiously fed up, and of course, there’s a lot of truth in it. Some churches in America do tend to cater to the consumeristic mentality of our culture. But I think, on the whole, most churches don’t, and that’s actually part of the problem.

The modern Church has a perceived problem of consumerism. And it’s very popular to speak and write on the topic, preaching to the choir and an angry chorus of amens. The insinuation is that churches too often go out of their way to please seekers and make the Gospel palatable to nonbelievers, watering down the message and skirting hard truth in the process.

Does this happen? Sure it does. Some leaders, choosing the approval of people over the fear of God, invite people to an easy version of Christianity that never makes the invitation Jesus made to “come and die” with him. But let’s be honest for a moment. For every “six flags over Jesus” fun house version of church, there are dozens of churches that really couldn’t care less about what the average consumer thinks. And that may be the…

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Train Station Schedule Board

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30 NIV).

Timing was important to Jesus; everything in its time at just the right time. On his mission to bring you and me from death to life (Romans 6:13), he never rushed or struggled to play catch up.

He clearly worked from a different clock than everyone else. Instead of Eastern Standard Time, Jesus seemed to be on Eternal Standard Time. He never arrived late and he never arrived early; he simply arrived according to his purpose.

Jesus was born at exactly the right time to be in Bethlehem with his parents, right as the stars aligned to announce the birth of Israel’s long-awaited king. When he was older, he stayed to study Scripture in the temple, even though his parents had left for home.

When others thought he was late, Jesus arrived just in time to raise Lazarus from the dead. When his brothers wanted him to go with them to the Festival of Shelters, Jesus told them, “Go on to the festival. My time hasn’t yet come,…

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Josh Miller

Heading into the new year, our worship team was encouraged to write down some thoughts on our renewed focus for the year ahead. What is God putting on or planting in our heart in 2017? After thinking and praying, I felt like God was simply giving me one word: abide. It seemed too easy — maybe I missed the rest of what he was trying to say? Maybe I needed to wait longer to receive more insight? Surely God had more planned for me than to just merely abide, right? Struggling through these questions led me to John 15.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain…

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Writing Songs

God labels us as his “masterpiece.” We have been intentionally created in the image of our Creator, and we are called to create.

For some of us, this creativity reveals itself through songwriting.

It is such a privilege to write with my teammates in Saddleback Worship.

We try to write songs for our congregation that support the vision and direction of our church while having open palms for what Jesus wants to say through lyric and melody. We place an emphasis on the sound of celebration, staying current and relevant, and remaining true to who we are in our writing.

But these songs aren’t always revealed neatly in the first few drafts — it takes time.

It takes wrestling with combinations of lyrics and melodies, writing and rewriting, sorting out differing opinions among team members, and above all spending plenty of time in prayer.

This journey is joy-filled and fun, but it is also taxing. No matter what stage of songwriting we’re in, we must remember why we do it.

Saddleback Church Night of Worship

“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13a NIV).

Here we are in the middle of another week. The last weekend is behind us and we have our sights set on the plan for the week ahead. There are many meetings and countless cups of coffee between now and our next weekend service. Whatever ministry burdens you are carrying or victories you are celebrating, one thing is for sure: God sees the work you are doing, and we see the work you are doing, and it matters. So let’s jump into the rest of this week fully empowered and encouraged.

To all the audio engineers — we act like we know what we want in our in-ear monitors, but the truth is we don’t know. Thanks for putting up with us, for making us sound better than we ever thought we could, and mostly, for making sure the Good News of Jesus Christ is…

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SoundboardIf you have ever been a part of a rehearsal or sound check, you have most likely experienced some level of stress. Whether you are the worship leader waiting on the sound guy to finish up or you’re the technician sprinting from the stage and back, there are plenty of opportunities for frustration and miscommunication to creep in. At Saddleback, we are constantly looking for ways to bridge the gap between the platform and the booth. We protect that relationship fiercely and put in countless hours of hard work both on stage and off the stage.

Each week we evaluate our weekend services and take a close look at our processes. We celebrate the things that worked well, and we spend some time looking one another in the eye, asking the hard questions, and giving honest answers so that we can grow and improve.

Did the production team know the band’s and vocalist’s needs ahead of time?
Were the techs given adequate time to set the stage and thoroughly test equipment?
Did the platform team and production team understand what was expected of each other?

The keys to a successful rehearsal and weekend service are…

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Practice makes perfect. When I get asked to sing a solo or lead worship for an upcoming service, I practice every song everyday – sometimes numerous times a day. I sing the tar out of that song to make sure I do it the same way every single time so it will sound perfect when I perform it.

That’s my mentality – it has to be perfect; there is no room for error. 

I never realized that I had become so frozen in my singing until I joined Saddleback Worship 10 years ago. We had an amazing vocal director who pulled me aside one day and challenged me on my perfectionist tendencies. He kindly and firmly informed me that there was no freedom in my singing. Just by watching my face he could tell I was overthinking every note.

My fear of making a mistake was limiting my freedom in worship and squelching my joy in leading.

This conversation was monumental in how I pursued singing from that point on. It takes time to set aside old habits of trying to be in control of every note, inflection, and sound that came out of…

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unity

I heard someone say once: “If you aren’t fighting for unity, you are losing unity.” After serving on staff at a church for two years and being neck deep in ministry, I find that statement to be so incredibly true. Unity is essential to a healthy church. I have been to many of our Saddleback campuses from Irvine to Berlin, and whether I’m leading worship from the platform or participating out in the house, I have often had that moment of “whoa, we truly are one church!” And it is so cool.

When you are as big and as spread out as our church — staying unified takes a lot of hard work and intentionality. I believe one of our key roles as leaders is to protect the unity of the church. How we lead on the platform, in the green room, and in rehearsals helps build unity. And sometimes those are the exact same physical spaces where ugliness can sneak in and destroy that culture of love and “better-togetherness” that we are trying to build. You know what I’m talking about — comparison, competition, selfishness, pride, gossip — they are unity killers.

Here are…

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The days leading up to weekend services are full of preparation – my heart, body, and mind must be ready to fulfill my call. I orient my weekly schedule around three key factors that encourage me as I prepare each week: Find rest in him, perfect my craft to honor him, and posture my heart to bring others to Him.

Find Rest

Monday is reserved as a Sabbath day. It is essential to schedule time away from work and music. For me, this means completely unplugging as I spend a personal day devoted to rest, recharging, and reconnecting.

Psalm 116:7 “Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.”

Perfect My Craft

The remainder of the week is spent meeting with our team, pouring into volunteers, finalizing set lists, and rehearsing. It’s undoubtedly hard work, but by preparing in advance, I can focus on my ministry when I step onto that stage.

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

Posture My Heart

Each Saturday morning, I like to cook breakfast, spend time in Scripture, and read a devotional that will help prepare my heart for worship. When…

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At Saddleback Church we say we are One Church Many Locations and in Saddleback Worship we place the idea of functioning as one team as one of our top team values. The transformative powers of a healthy and united team are unmatched. Here are some sweet points to help us remember what being one team is all about.

Unconditional Love

“Let love be your highest goal.” 1 Corinthians 14:1

A healthy team begins and ends with love. Unconditional love means that every team member is wanted and valued. Everyone is loved for who they are in Christ, and not just for what they bring to the table.  It means that the door is open for difficult conversations because there is an expectation and opportunity for growth – not exclusion and exile. A team that loves God and each other well is a team far greater positioned to lead and love its congregation with increased capacity and intensity.

Neutralize Division

“One team” means just that; we are one team. We are not Front of House, and Video, and Platform, and Production. Instead, we are worship leaders; all of us. We each have the responsibility of creating…

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As worship ministry leaders, we are responsible for the many details of a weekend service. We are always balancing the demands of creating an environment where people can find Jesus and express their love for him while leading our teams well without leaving them in the wake of last-minute changes. When we own the weekend, lead the way, and listen to the Spirit, we build an atmosphere where our teams feel confident, equipped, and valued.

Own the weekend

A well-ordered plan allows room for generosity, freedom, and ample opportunity to show the love of Jesus.

  • Know the plan. Whether you are on the platform or behind the scenes, know the details of your service, songs, and stage. Communicate from your heart and confidently share what you know with open hands.
  • Know the people. See every person as a friend and co-laborer in Christ. Make sure your team feels valued for who they are beyond their contribution as a vocalist, stage manager, or band member.
  • Know the solutions. Anticipate problems and troubleshoot ahead of time. Leaders who stand on the solution side of a problem and are willing to reach back with a…

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