We’ve invited the following worship pastors/leaders to be part of the panel for this event:

Fred McKinnon (Worship Director/Founder of TheWorshipCommunity.com)
Rich Kirkpatrick (Blogger/Worship Pastor)
Joshua Seller (Director of Worship)
Chris Vacher (Director of Worship)
Rob Rash (Blogger/Worship & Creative Arts Pastor)
Troy Kennedy (Worship Pastor)

We’ll be discussing topics like:

-Doing secular songs during service (is it okay or is it not okay)

-Convergence worship vs. separating the styles out into different services

-Designing the service for Christians vs non-Christians

-and more

We’ve intentionally invited leaders with different perspectives in order to help church leaders understand others’ perspectives and also learn from our differences. This live event will be limited to a small group of attendees that RSVP.

This event will also be recorded and available to watch on our site for free.

CLICK HERE to reserve your spot for this FREE ONLINE EVENT!
(Instructions on how to join the video/audio call will be emailed to you.)

We would appreciate any donation you can give to help offset our costs of this event:

Related posts:

1. Live Streaming – Night of Worship w/ Brenton Brown, Pocket Full of Rocks, & More
2. Dancing Wildly – Reflections from Worship Central Live
3. Interview with David Santistevan

On this episode of the All About Worship Podcast, Wisdom and Ben sit down with Meredith Andrews to talk about ministry life, music, and her most embarrassing moment leading worship. Wisdom and Ben catch up with what’s happening in their worlds, we get to your messages, and announce a special giveaway. (Boy, we just can’t stop giving stuff away!)

Listener Feedback

• We hear from our friend Kim Bontrager by email. Thanks Kim for listening and taking time to share how the podcast is encouraging you! Stop by Kim’s blog.

Toolbox

• Wisdom asks about Ben’s office whiteboard.  An integral part of Ben’s planning (and a nice way for his assistant to remind him of deadlines!). We’d love to hear what tools you use for planning. Drop it in the comments or even better, post a picture of your planning tool on our Facebook page right here.

Sponsor Love

• WorshipPlanning.com – Tom Metz stops by the show to talk about their new features. Be sure and check out the new mp3 transposer feature available now to worship teams. You can now change mp3 file keys without having the vocalists sound like the chipmunks. You can also learn more about the new PDF Combiner where you can build a single PDF of all the PDF’s in your setlist. You can sync it with iBooks on your iPad to use as a digital music stand (even hands free!).
• Tommy Walker webinar – Mark your calendar for the upcoming webinar with Tommy Walker on avoiding Worship Leader Burnout, hosted by WorshipPlanning.com.

Quick Links

• WorshipRetreat.org – Register today!!!
• MeredithAndrews.com – Check out Meredith’s website.
• Meredith on Twitter – Follow Meredith.
• As Long as it Takes – Get Meredith’s latest release.
• Our Blog Feed – Subscribe to our blog feed.
• AAW on iTunes – Once again.. pleading for your feedback! Help us by leaving a note on our iTunes page.

Giveaway

• Leave us a comment (of at least two sentences) about this episode on this post for a chance to win some Meredith Andrews goodies. Five people will win a free CD AND t-shirt ($35 value). Deadline is Saturday, October 16th @ 9am CST.

Contact Us

• Twitter – Follow AAW on Twitter. You can also follow Wisdom and Ben.
• Facebook – Join us on Facebook.
• 913.735.4229 – Leave us your own voice message.

Listen

Check us out on iTunes; subscribe via RSS Feed. Or, stop by our Archive page and listen in.

Thanks

A special thanks to Meredith for being a part of the show! Thanks to Word Records and WorshipPlanning.com!

And of course…THANK YOU for listening!!!!

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On this episode, Wisdom is joined by Billy and Cindy Foote as they discuss worship leading, songwriting, and adoption. Billy Foote has written many congregational worship songs like: “You Are My King”, “Sing To The King”, and “You Are God Alone”. Ben and Wisdom also discuss Star Wars, bolts, Mexican food, and our upcoming retreat.

Listener Messages

• We received a voicemail from Ben all the way from Germany! Ben answers the question posed from long time listener, Matt Neff, back on episode 50.  Thanks Ben for being a part of the show!

Quick Links

• WorshipPlanning.com – Once again, be sure to check out this fantastic tool for worship leaders. Awesome for assigning volunteers, planning music, planning services and communicating with worship ministry volunteers. Don’t forget they provide their service for free to church plants for the first whole year.
• WorshipRetreat.org – Seriously…why are you waiting!!! Brenton Brown, Pocket Full of Rocks, Sarah Reeves and more! September 30 the early bird registration ends! GO NOW!!!
• BillyFoote.com – Check out Billy and Cindy’s official website.
• Billy & Cindy on Facebook – Check out their page.
• Billy on Facebook – Request to be Billy’s friend…expect a possible 6 month approval process.
• Cindy on Facebook - Request to be Cindy’s friend…approval process is much shorter.
• “All Praise to God” – Get the song played on the podcast from iTunes.
• Our Blog Feed – Subscribe to our blog feed and keep up with more resources & giveaways.
• AAW on iTunes – Ok…we need YOU. Please leave some feedback on our iTunes page!

Contact Us

• Twitter – Follow AAW on Twitter. You can also follow Wisdom and Ben.
• Facebook – Join us on Facebook.
• 913.735.4229 – Leave us your own voice message.

Listen

Check us out on iTunes. Feedburner. Or stop by our Archive page and listen in.

Thanks

A special thanks to Billy and Cindy for being a part of the show! Thanks to Centricity Music and WorshipPlanning.com! Give ‘em love friends!

And of course…THANK YOU for listening!!!!

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On this episode of the All About Worship Podcast, we gather some of our friends together to talk about one of the most important relationships in the local church. The Worship Leader and Pastor relationship can often make or break the success of worship services.  Listen in as we talk about this hugely important topic.

Roundtable Crew

Tim Howey. Sr Pastor of Grace Church in Overland Park, KS. Tim and Ben have been working in ministry together for ten years. Visit TimHowey.com to learn more about Tim.  He joins us live in the palatial All About Worship studio.  If you’re going to talk about a Sr. Pastor and Worship Leader relationship….why not ask a Sr. Pastor to join us? Tim also facilitated a breakout session at the All About Worship Retreat in 2010.

Troy Kennedy. Songwriter/Worship Pastor from Kansas City joins us.  Troy has taught classes on worship leading ministry in conferences around the nation including the recent National Worship Leader Conference 2009 & 2010 and also at the All About Worship Retreat 2010.  Log on to NewWorship.com to learn more about Troy.

Fred McKinnon. Songwriter/Worship Leader from St. Simmons Island, GA also joins the roundtable discussion.  With the “Sunday Setlists” and TheWorshipCommunity, Fred has become an influential member of the online worship community.  Visit FredMcKinnon.com and TheWorshipCommunity.com to learn more about Fred.

Quick Links

Crucial Conversations. The book Pastor Tim Howey uses with the staff at Grace Church.

WorshipRetreat.org. Be sure to take advantage of the Early Bird Discount for All About Worship Retreat 2011 by registering by September 30th (only a couple of weeks left). Artists/speakers will include Brenton Brown, Pocket Full of Rocks, Sarah Reeves, and others.

WorshipPlanning.com. Our amazing sponsor!

Tim on Twitter.

Troy on Twitter.

Fred on Twitter.

AllAboutWorship on Twitter.

Sponsor Love

Don’t forget to visit our friends at WorshipPlanning.com and sign up for a special 60 day free trial vs. the usual 30 day trial  to our listeners! Just use the code aawp10. Check out their new text notification feature. They are a fantastic resource for worship ministries!

Contact Us

• Twitter – Follow AAW on Twitter. You can also follow Wisdom and Ben.
• Facebook – Join us on Facebook.
• 913.735.4229 – Leave us your own voice message.

Listen

Check us out on iTunes. Feedburner. Or stop by our Archive page and listen in.

Thanks

A special thanks to Tim, Fred, and Troy! Big thanks WorshipPlanning.com for loving the worship leader by sponsoring the show.

And of course…THANK YOU for listening!!!!

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Some of the best lessons I’ve learned in life are through trying, failing, trying, failing, failing, trying and succeeding every once in awhile. I’m not foolish enough to think I’ve got it all figured out, but I do have some things that I hope can be an encouragement to anyone willing to read. These are a few random worship leading lessons God continues to teach me.

Dumping of Gear = Dumping of Pride

In January, 1993 I received Christ as my savior at the age of 18 years old.  Leading up to that moment I found myself getting steeped in music. I had begun playing in bars surrounding myself with influences that would ultimately lead to a lifestyle that could be harmful to my health. Thankfully, God interceded and completely changed my heart.

It didn’t happen overnight.  The salvation happened instantly…but the transformation of someone desiring to be a “rock star”, center of attention….to one who knew he was a child of God didn’t happen instantly.  It came over time.

Soon after I became a Christian, I realized my desires were shifting from pursuing music, to pursuing a relationship with God. I was convicted about where my affections were being drawn to and decided a radical change needed to happen.  I donated all of my electric guitar gear to my local church for a missions cause.  I believe in my walk with God, this was a huge moment of growth.

What I began to learn was nothing I did mattered if I didn’t give it all to the Lord.  That meant my money, my talents, my abilities, my desires….everything.  After a year of not being involved with music, I was invited to be a part of the worship ministry in my College and Career Class I was a part of at the time.  This is where I began cutting my teeth on what it meant to do music for a completely different cause.

It’s Not YOUR Ministry

I love being a part of ministry, especially being able to use the talent God has blessed me with. Every once in a while I need to be reminded that the ministry I’m a part of is not MINE…it’s God’s.  When I hear musicians use the term “my ministry”, it makes me cringe. It’s an indicator for me that communicates the heart of someone who is in it to bring their talent/skill to the team and may not give much care to the other team members or the church-wide vision.  Essentially every Christ follower needs to answer this one question:

Are you willing to give up what you love the most in order to let God make you a true worshiper?

In Psalm 51 we read the story of a repentant David who realizes it makes no difference what sacrifice he brings to the Lord, but that God is simply concerned with a broken heart.  For worship leaders and team members, you may feel that you’re bringing the very best of what you have in your skill to the Lord, but if you don’t have the heart of a true worshiper of God…it doesn’t matter.

Many times we wrap our identities up in the things we do. Whether a job, a ministry we’re a part of, a ministry we lead.  Eventually we begin to place our hope in our skills and in these roles we play. When those roles or that job is gone, we then become hopeless.  God wants our hope and strength to rest completely and solely on Jesus Christ.

So here’s a challenge to you worship leaders and team members.  Redirect your focus. It’s not about YOUR skill, it’s not about YOUR talent. Are you truly worshiping Christ with your talent? Or are you deceiving yourself thinking your sacrifice has been acceptable to the Lord when all along, you’ve been carrying bitterness and a heart that is tainted by an attitude that this is YOUR ministry not God’s?

¹⁶ For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.
Psalm 51:16-17 (NKJV)

-Ben Abu Saada

No related posts.

This week on the All About Worship Podcast, Ben and Wisdom talk about their recent experience at the National Worship Leader Conference, hear your feedback and talk with our field reporter, Mandy Thompson. You also hear Wisdom’s retaliation for Ben’s “ID10T” comment on the previous show. It’s true…one of Ben’s many dreams was to one day become a rapper. And on this episode, we quickly find out why that dream never came true.

Quick Links
WorshipPlanning.com – Please check out our AMAZING sponsors who make this little podcast possible. Tom Metz and crew have a fantastic resource available for all you worship leaders. Stop by and check try out WorshipPlanning.com today! Check out their new Twitter handle: @worshipsense

MandyThompson.com – Visit Mandy’s website.

Mandy on Twitter – Follow Mandy.

TheJohnMark.com – John Mark’s official website.

The Medicine – Get the John Mark’s new album on iTunes.

How He Loves Us – Link to the single on iTunes.

John Mark on Twitter – Follow John and keep up with what’s happening in his world.

All About Worship on iTunes – Visit us on iTunes and PLEASE leave some feedback! The smart folks at iTunes deleted our page by mistake recently along with all the listener reviews we had. We would greatly appreciate your leaving a review!

WorshipRetreat.org – The next All About Worship Retreat is on the calendar and space is limited to just 65 attendees! Early Bird Registration ends soon.

Giveaways

We are doing two big giveaways!

1. A FREE Registration to the Forge Conference. Sept 30 – Oct 2, 2010 in Ocean Grove, NJ.

2. A FREE Registration to National Worship Leader Conference East. Oct 5 – 7, 2010 in Lancaster, PA.

Just leave a comment on the shownotes for “Episode 48: Darrell Evans Q&A” to be entered to win. Deadline is Aug 18th.

3. Free music! Don’t forget, during the month of August, visit our blog once a week you’ll have a chance to win free CD’s!

Contact Us

Follow AAW – Follow our tweets for regular updates and news.

Like AAW – Join our growing number of friends on Facebook.

913.735.4229 – Leave us your own voice message.

Thanks

We want to say a BIG thanks to WorshipPlanning.com for sponsoring this episode. Start your 30 day free trial today. Be sure and follow them on Twitter at @worshipsense right here or find them on Facebook.

Thank you to Integrity Music for letting us play a clip of “How He Loves”! And HUGE thanks to John Mark for sharing his heart and time with us on the show!

And as always….THANK YOU for listening!!!!

Listen

Check us out on iTunes. Feedburner. Or stop by our Archive page and listen in.

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On Monday, August 16, Ben and Wisdom will be recording a “Roundtable” session for an upcoming podcast episode. This is our second roundtable since our initial “Manly Worship” back in October, 2009. The topic this time around…”Sr. Pastor and Worship Leader Relationship”.

How many of you worship leaders have struggled with your relationship with a “controlling” Sr. Pastor? How many Sr. Pastor’s have struggled with your “free spirited” worship leader? The Sr. Pastor/Worship Pastor relationship is extremely important in leading a local church week in and week out.  Join us live on Talkshoe as we discuss how we can work together as a team with some experienced leaders in the local church and worship leading community.  Meet our roundtable guests:

Tim Howey. Sr Pastor of Grace Church in Overland Park, KS. Tim and Ben have been working in ministry together for ten years. Visit www.TimHowey.com to learn more about Tim.  He will be joining us live from the palatial All About Worship studio.  If you’re going to talk about a Sr. Pastor and Worship Leader relationship….why not ask a Sr. Pastor to join us? Tim also facilitated a breakout session at the All About Worship Retreat in 2010.

.

Troy Kennedy. Songwriter/Worship Pastor from Kansas City will be joining us.  Troy has taught classes on worship leading ministry in conferences around the nation including the recent National Worship Leader Conference 2009 & 2010 and also at the All About Worship Retreat 2010.  Log on to www.NewWorship.com to learn more about Troy.

.

Fred McKinnon. Songwriter/Worship Leader from St. Simmons Island, GA will be joining the roundtable discussion.  With the “Sunday Setlists” and TheWorshipCommunity, Fred has become an influential member of the online worship community.  Visit www.FredMcKinnon.com and www.TheWorshipCommunity.com to learn more about Fred.

If you have any thoughts or questions that you would like to see discussed regarding this topic, please drop a comment and we’ll try and get to your questions.  You can also join us live on Monday on Talkshoe at the link below and discuss with other listeners in the Talkshoe chatroom. The fun begins Monday, August 16 at 10 p.m. EST/ 9p.m. CST. Hope you can join us!

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