Lord, for those servants who are preparing for services, we ask that they draw on Your strength. Give boldness to Your teachers. Give wisdom, discernment and love to Your leaders. Give peace and confidence to Your artists. May You be raised up high in all we do. Amen Go therefore and make disciples of...

I just got off the phone with an arts leader from a church in western Canada. He is trying to take his music worship team to the next level and believes that some of the faithful current team members do not possess the music skill required. Of course, they are veterans who have sacrificed so much for...

Last week's edition of Newsweek magazine included a 2-page article at the very back, written by long-time columnist Anna Quindlen. For 9 years, Anna has been writing "The Last Word" piece every other week for that magazine. While I don't always agree with her, I have great respect for...

I enjoyed a weekend of watching Star Trek not once but twice. It’s been over 15 years since the valiant crew of the original Starship Enterprise had sought out new life forms and civilizations. It was worth the wait. It is sure to please both long time faithful Trekker as well as new ‘Trek-verts’. If...

Families. The best of them are challenging. They can bring the best out of you and easier than we would care to admit they can bring the worst out of us. Families & ministry. There is a challenging combination. Both incredibly wonderful. Both incredibly fulfilling. Both incredibly demanding. Both...

I'm still thinking about the message this weekend ... because I was producing the services this weekend I heard the message 3 times. The phrase I am still wrestling with is "Let's be real clear, we are doing this for Christ." I think this is a truth we need to regularly check in with...

I have a very limited background in agriculture. My grandfather had a glorious backyard garden but my contribution was primarily eating the fruits and vegetables. However, as I have grown older and attempted a garden myself I have learned the significance of the soil. In Illinois, if you have a question...

Yesterday I participated in my first audio webinar for Worship Leader magazine . I have done some video kinds of training, but this was the first time I had to simply speak into a phone receiver and communicate essentially without seeing any faces. At the end, I was able to hear some voices and respond...

Layoffs seem to be a regular part of our world these days. In a continuation of yesterday's list here are some more things to pay attention to when having to lay people off. I am sure there are many of you that could add to this list, please do. "Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but...

There isn't a week (sometimes a day) that goes by that someone isn't telling me that they've been laid off. Whether they have been let go from the corporate world or the church there are some stories to celebrate and some that make me cringe. I've asked some arts leaders from around the...