Worship leading is generally viewed as a safe occupation. We don't fear torture or imprisonment. We're not facing down cannibalistic tribes or hungry lions. We may encounter a surly drummer, a barbed critique, or a battle over where our equipment is stored, but nothing life threatening. There are days when our music feels monumentally important, when the sound filling the room cuts right through our souls, the congregation is pouring out praise to God, and everything feels right. Then there are… Continue

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. -1 Corinthians 13:1 (NIV)



I’ve been thinking about this verse as it relates to worship music, both as a music leader and a congregation member. What it boils down to for me, in a musical context, is this:



Whatever I do, no matter how beautiful or excellent, if I do it without love I’m… Continue

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I read a C.S. Lewis essay recently that got me thinking about the nature of worship, and our times of praise in music. Titled “Dogma and the Universe,” most of the essay addresses the question: “How can any system of belief that claims to be absolute and unchanging stay relevant in the face of our ever expanding knowledge about the universe?” He argues that no amount of increase in knowledge about the world around us can ever make the fundamental truths of Christianity any less true. They are… Continue

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