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Showing posts from September, 2012

Sunday Setlist - 23rd September 2012 (& other service ideas)

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So this week I was not only leading the musical elements of the service but also how the entire service all 'hangs together'. This includes the welcome, prayer times, notices, introducing the speaker, and allowing for times of testimony and prophecy throughout. So there was quite a lot to think about - praise God it all went well. One element I would like to mention before I go into the musical aspect of the service is the use of a word cloud. At our church we like to get the whole congregation involved, to worship and grow together as a community and place less emphasis on 'up front' ministers. So after the sermon (which was a wrapping up of a series we have had on 1 Thessalonians) we used a word cloud which I generated on wordle.com of the whole of 1 Thessalonians. We then broke into groups of 4 or 5 and talked about one thing from the book that we had learnt. There were some good discussions and I think everyone felt involved and participated. I must say a big t

Excellence AND Authenticity in Worship!

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Chatting to a friend recently about our local church band and worship music scene has got me thinking again about excellence and authenticity in worship: What is authenticity? Authenticity is vital to any member of a church worship band. I would go so far as to say that authenticity is so much more important than excellence. Authenticity is being real about who you are. Being real and open with God, and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in you and change you to be the person who God has created you to be. It is also being real and open with who you are with the people you worship with - in the band and in the church. This means loving each other, prefering each other above yourself, sharing your life journey with them - the good and the bad. All too often it is far too easy to hide behind the microphone or the guitar (or whatever), to put on the mask of 'I'm ok. My life is great! I'm at the front in church so of course I've got everything sorted. Look at me, I'

'The Me I Want To Be' - part 3

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This blog is the third of a series I am writing about 'The Be I Want To Be' by John Ortberg - a book I am currently reading. It is having an impact on my life and these blogs are a way of sharing this with you. I have finished reading the third section entitled 'Renewing My Mind' and these are some of the things I have learnt, thought about and applied (or am currently trying to apply) in my life. If you have only just joined me on this journey at this point, it may be helpful to look in the archive to read the previous parts so that this third installment will make a little bit more sense to you, rather than being purely some discombobulated ramblings from a random bloke! If you like what you read - please comment or better still subscribe to the blog so you don't miss out on any future installments! Thanks for reading. Part Three - Renewing My Mind   I must admit, my mind is one of those places I sometimes fear to tread. It can be a source of such great j

Sunday Set List - Sunday 2nd September 2012

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       Running with the overall theme of 'being joyful' I hopes to choose songs that had a fairly up-beat feel to them, although I still included a reflective one (Lord I Need You) as we can still have God's joy in us even in difficult circumstances. I also tried to choose some older songs (Jesus Is The Name We Honour / Majesty) to mix in with the newer ones. All in all, the band gelled and played together very well. There was a good sound which is always great to hear when everyone in the band is able to play - layers of synth, keys, and electric guitars with a solid groove by the bass and percussion. All in all, a great day at church with songs that worked well together as well as with themes that supported the sermon. Here is this week's list: Jesus is the name we honour - Philip Lawson Johnston Our God Saves - Brenton Brown / Paul Baloche Father Into Your Courts We Will Enter (All The Earth) - Wayne Huirua / Andrew Ulugia / Jack Hayford Lord I