35- Structure vs Free Worshipping

Free worshipping is something most worship leaders want to explore, but it is at odds to the structure that most worship leaders need for them and their team to function properly.

Free Worshipping Ain't Cheap!

Free worshipping, that is the kind of worship that is not planned but flows "as the Holy Spirit leads" is a wonderful thing.  However, it often takes a lot of strategic and dedicated planning to allow the Spirit this kind of freedom, which really sounds contradictory, doesn't it? Often times worship leaders need to be structured, but we also have to make room for free worship in our meetings.  The blend between beeing free and flowing verses the need for structure is a pressure many worship leaders face and struggle with. I often think about it like an egg, where the structure is represented by the shell, and free-flowing is represented by the egg white.  If you have all structure, you look like an egg, but there is no life within, but if you are all free-flowing, without structure, then you can look like a big mess. And that's the important secret... we need both structure and freedom to truly lead dynamic and powerful worship.  Too much of one or the other leads us to become out of balance.  However, if we get this right, we can lead incredible worship the way God wants us to. So if you are structured as a worship leader, or free-flowing, listen to this and learn how to create the perfect blend of both, so that you, your team and your church enjoy worship on a whole new level. In this podcast, Darin and Erick look at how you can program it into your worship set, and how you can balance the freedom with the right amount and kind of control.  This is a must for every worship leader...

https://praiseandworshipleader.com/worship-leader-podcast/35-structure-vs-free-worshipping/

34- Dealing with Sexual Immorality in the Worship Team

Sexual immorality is always a temptation for any Christian, but especially so in a worship team.

Sexual Immorality Will Destroy Your Ministry!

In a worship team there is a special bond between members, which centres around music, love of music and the joy of being able to lead people into the presence of the Lord. But sometimes people get too close. This is a clear and present danger, and every worship leader should be aware and have plans in place to head off any potential sexual immorality in their worship team. And please, don't think for a moment it could never happen to you, because it simply could, in any worship team, anywhere.  And the enemy would like nothing better than to ruin your ministry, and the church, using sexual attraction as a tool.  And be aware, this may not necessarily by a full blown affair, although many times it heads that way, but we should include flirting, the way people sing, play and interact, and just about any form of contact that could result in poor choices with regards behaviour and attraction. This problem is a constant pressure in most praise and worship teams.  You sing together, share music together, and most often your spouse does not share the same passion for music and worship.  They cannot understand the joys and the bond that sharing worship together brings, and so you are drawn to someone in your team and, if you are not careful, drawn away from your partner at home. There are many things we can do to put barriers in place, against this moving to a sad and devastating conclusion, and that is what the guys are prepared to openly and frankly discuss with you. So we thought we would produce a special, no holes barred podcast helping worship leaders defuse one of the most devastating and destructive situations you could ever have in your worship leading...

https://praiseandworshipleader.com/worship-leader-podcast/34-sexual-immorality-in-the-worship-team/

33- Stretching Your Worship Team

Worship leading is more than just singing or playing, it is bringing out the best in your worship team.

It's Time to Stretch Your Worship Team!

I believe that the true measure of the leadership of a worship leader is in the positive changes in their team over time.  And I have to admit, this is also one of the greatest joys you can have as a praise and worship leader! So we thought we would do a podcast to encourage praise and worship leaders everywhere to go beyond the basics, beyond just leading a praise and worship session, to actually depositing something amazing into your team. Developing the team is key to your long term success.  You may encounter a little resistance early on, but over time when the team members see their performance, their skills and their satisfaction increase, they will become your biggest fans and your greatest supporters. And honestly, it is not that hard to begin to develop the team you lead and see them growing in their skills and abilities over time, even a short period of time. Learn how to do this in a way that challenges, inspires and has a lot of fun in this week's episode...  Take just 12 minutes and change the way you minister to your singers and musicians, inspiring and challenging them to get better, hear better and ultimately worship better and more effectively than ever before.

https://praiseandworshipleader.com/worship-leader-podcast/33-stretching-your-worship-team/

32- Measuring Engagement in Your Congregation

Measuring engagement in your congregation is important for any worship leader. How do you know if your worship leading is hitting the mark?  If you cannot measure something, you cannot change it, and you cannot improve it, so we must not be frightened about ways to measure whether the congregation is with us, or not...

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https://praiseandworshipleader.com/worship-leader-podcast/32-measuring-engagement-in-your-congregation/

32- Measuring Engagement in Your Congregation

Measuring engagement in your congregation is important for any worship leader. How do you know if your worship leading is hitting the mark?  If you cannot measure something, you cannot change it, and you cannot improve it, so we must not be frightened about ways to measure whether the congregation is with us, or not (as the case may be).

Measuring engagement is Essential for Improvement

So often we as worship leaders just operate with a vague notion that we are leading OK, or that things are not quite right.  And surely, the truest measure of your worship leading skills and gifting has to be whether the people in your church are with you, right? Why? You need to measure this because otherwise, you have no idea how your people are reacting to the worship.  You could be leading them well, but you could just as easily be off, doing your own thing, and leaving them behind. You may have seen, or experienced, situations where the worship leader describes an "amazing morning of incredible worship," and you were at the same service and you never saw this so-called incredible worship. Part of the disconnect here is that the worship leader had a great time worshipping the Lord, but the congregation stood and watched them, and experienced nothing like the same spirit of worship. In other words, the congregation was not engaged in the service.  So, if you are not measuring engagement in your congregation, how are you going to know this?  You might, at best, have a vague notion that people liked it, or you might ask your friends, all of whom feel obliged to like it. So this podcast is going to examine how you can quantify the reaction your congregation is having to your worship leading.  We must all gauge this in some way, so this is a podcast not to be missed!!!

https://praiseandworshipleader.com/worship-leader-podcast/32-measuring-engagement-in-your-congregation/

31- How to Make Practice Fun

Do you know how to make practice fun?

Make Practice Fun and Make Your Team Inspired and Happy!

Now, as a musician and singer, I am always about having a great time and enjoying what I am doing.  But some worship leaders take the role so seriously, they leave no room for fun! This is a terrible mistake because when you do not make your practice times fun, you actually suck the life and enjoyment out of it. So shouldn't our practices be serious?  Well, getting it right might be a serious thing, but even while achieving what you want to achieve in the practice, you can still leave room for fun.  And trust me, the ideas we share in this podcast will inspire you to make your team practices the best night of the week for your worship team! You should make practices enjoyable in some way, you know, because so often practice for the worship team is long, boring and particularly uninspiring.  As a worship leader, you should be looking for every opportunity to make practices fun.  This can include jokes, funny stories and the like, and it flows right throughout the entire practice.  So any mistakes are moments to have fun.  Any frustrations can be treated with a smile and a joke.  I have found that my team are far more productive in this environment than in a tense, highly professional and over-controlled atmosphere! That's what we are talking about in this 12 minutes for worship leader's podcast, and if you want to draw the best out of your team, this could be a pivotal podcast. Invest just 12 minutes, and inject some real fun and joy into your team, creating not only the right atmosphere but developing a loyalty form your team that will last a lifetime!  Tune in and check it out now...

https://praiseandworshipleader.com/worship-leader-podcast/31-how-to-make-practice-fun/