Phone Seminar:
Leading People Through a Spiritual Journey In Worship

Posted on February 27th, 2011 by adamdiehl

On February 24, we held our first free monthly CMI Phone Seminar with the topic of “Leading people through a spiritual journey through worship.” I had a great time presenting the seminar, and you can join in after-the-fact as well.

Right click and “Open in New Tab” here for the fill-in-the-blank outline that coincides with this presentation.

Click play in the below player to listen to the phone seminar (The first 45 seconds has a few audio skips that I could not fix – but its fine after that).

Feb 2011 cmi phone seminar by adamdiehl

Hymnody: The role of worship music in spiritual formation

Posted on February 21st, 2011 by adamdiehl

I’m currently reading a book on spiritual formation, and there is a paragraph written by Kenneth O. Gangel regarding worship music in the spiritual formation of a believer. I want to share it with you below. It should be noted that where Gangel says “hymns,” the context seems to indicate that he is referring to “the congregational songs we sing in church” rather than making a stylistic division.

Worship music exists to glorify God and edify others. Based on God-given ability and skill (1 Chron. 15:16-24), those who serve the church in this capacity must develop their ministry most carefully (1 Chron. 16:4-6). and above all focus a doctrinal understanding of what they and we hear and sing (1 Chron. 29:20-21). We render all this in the power of God’s Spirit (Col. 3:15-17) and focus on hymns [songs], that reflect simplicity, singability, sound doctrine, clarity of message, and God-centeredness. In a fascinating study of New Testament hymns, [another author] concludes that the early believers developed their theology in precisely this way. (1)

What are your thoughts about this quotation? Do you agree? Do you disagree? Do the songs we sing shape our theology as much today as they did in the early illiterate societies? Leave a comment below. I have a few thoughts, but I’ll let you weigh in first.

For more information on this and more, be sure to join in the Phone Seminar this upcoming Thursday evening, February 24th. Click here for more information. In the meantime, sign-up to receive this blog’s updates sent to you via email on the sidebar to the right!

1 The Christian Educator’s Handbook on Spiritual Formation. Edited by Kenneth O. Gangel and James C. Wilhoit. Published 1994 by Baker Books, Grand Rapids. isbn:0-8010-2167-7.

Leading Worship When a CD Player is All You’ve Got.

Posted on February 14th, 2011 by adamdiehl

Some of us may not have the luxury of doing a worship service with a live band and praise team. Some of us have to just go at it with a CD player, iPod, Worship Videos, or some other form of media.

Personally, this is my favorite way of leading worship – no joke. It’s a lot easier than working with a bunch of people – that’s for sure. I’m saying that very much tongue-in-cheek, but I really do enjoy the freedom worshiping with tracks can provide. I have intentionally chose this option once for a weekend service, and I do it very frequently in a mid-week prayer meeting. When I’m leading worship with my iPod, the band is absolutely perfect. The vocals are perfect. The mix is perfect. I don’t have to worry about leading any music – it’s on perfect “autopilot.” Short of equipment malfunction, absolutely nothing musical can go wrong. I know when the “band” will go to the verse and chorus. This autopilot perfection allows me to focus 150% on leading people.

Remember, our Goal (in my opinion) is to “help people experience God and develop a life of worship.” It doesn’t matter which way you slice it, it boils down to that. The often ignored portion in that is the first two words – “help people.” My father tells a story of once while in Bible college chapel service, a man was leading the worship. He got onto the stage, sang through one verse of a song, and then started crying. And kept crying. And kept crying. And then said, “Amen.” That was his worship service. The worship leader had an encounter with God, but he didn’t take anyone else with him. He needed to LEAD.

I think sometimes when we use a CD player to lead worship we do it very poorly. We use it as an opportunity to be lazy, although we wouldn’t call it that. We just put a CD player on and say, “Now worship.” That CD player is a fantastic tool, guys. But there is no excuse for not transitioning between songs as necessary with your words. There is no excuse for not putting “worship examples” on the platform (lead worshipers). There is no excuse for not praying before, after, or during worship. There is no excuse for not saying SOMETHING during the set or song in order to lead the spiritual journey. If you’re going to lead worship with a CD Player, you still need to prepare! You still need to lead! I think there still needs to be someone up front – with a microphone - that can lead people through the spiritual journey that the music enables.

I will be talking a lot about preparation tips on the February 24th, 2011 phone seminar. These tips will work great if you have a 15 piece band, and they’ll work great if you’re using a CD player. I hope you’ll be a part of this!

Resources of the Day: If you are using CDs to lead worship, and projecting lyrics on a screen, I encourage you to look at Integrity Worship’s iWorship MPEG library. This is the best of both worlds. I encourage you to purchase the MPEGs not the DVDs so that you can mix and match songs from different collections each week. Or their newer iWorship Flexx product allows YOU to call out the order of the song ON-THE-FLY during service. You’ve got to check it out.

Using Youtube Clips During Worship?

Posted on February 4th, 2011 by adamdiehl

I recently have been asked about the legality of using a Youtube clip during a worship service. The clips used are either another product (like Integrity’s iWorship videos) that were uploaded onto Youtube, or a homemade video in which someone took a commercial recording and added their own video with lyrics on the screen. The church that asked this is using these clips during their corporate worship. So the question is: is it legal, and is the church at risk?m

I have posed this question to the leading church copyright experts in the nation, Christian Copyright Solutions, and they have confirmed that I’m on the right track (They’ll probably see my link there and respond in the comments, so read below!) I am not giving legal advice – I’m just giving my best response.

Viewing something on Youtube isn’t illegal for anyone. Publicly presenting a copyrighted work (the videos in question ARE copyrighted) is another story. However, since they are used in a worship service it would be covered under the “religious exemption” portion of copyright law. In order to publicly display song lyrics in any fashion, the church does need to have a CCLI license. That’s essential, and I wrote about it here. So the church is not infringing on copyright.

Now the person who uploaded the copyrighted track and/or video onto youtube – that person broke the law. It was a copyrighted work and they uploaded it to a public site. If Integrity Media or whoever wanted to have a hissy fit, Youtube would remove those videos immediately. Secular companies have been doing it left and right. In past posts on this blog, I have even linked to several Hillsong youtube videos that have since been removed for copyright infringement.

But as far as the church’s safety? Is the church at risk because they display a copyrighted youtube video like this? No, I don’t think so. I don’t think there is a risk factor here.

But that doesn’t make it right.

By using the Youtube video, the church has avoided a purchase. Those people make their living like everyone else – by selling a product. Their product is their song, their recording, and in some cases – the video. When you start avoiding a purchase, if you think about it – its a little manipulative. I speak boldly, because I’m preaching to myself as well here.

I think its more ethical and responsible to purchase the original recordings ($1 a piece on iTunes), and display lyrics through a free presentation software (must have a CCLI license). If you love the Integrity iWorship videos, you can purchase them here. I highly recommend the MPEGs over the DVDs as they will allow you to mix and match the songs.

If further discussion is needed I’d love to help you work through it in the comments below! If anyone else has a question – click on the “Have a question?” link in the sidebar!

A Life of Worship

Posted on February 1st, 2011 by adamdiehl

Recently I was asked to write a short article on worship for my church’s newsletter. I decided to share it with you all as well. Unlike everything else on this blog, this article was written to the church — everyone, not just musicians. For this reason, pastors and leaders may like to copy this article into their own church newsletters.

Romans 12 teaches that our spiritual act of worship to God is our whole lives. Not music – but our lives. Authentic Christianity sees worship not as a moment on Sunday but a committed life to Christ. The most important expression we can give to God should be seen by the way we live our lives. I don’t think God is nearly as impressed with our songs as He is a life devoted to Him (Psalms 51:16-17).

Then why do we use music on the weekends? Great question – I’m so glad you asked.

Firstly, because God said to. Psalm 150 is very clear.

Secondly, I’ve never heard anyone deny the power of music. Those that couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket and even the deaf still greatly enjoy music. Our mind communicates with words; but our heart communicates through art. Music is a great artistic vehicle to help us express our heart rather than just our thoughts to God.

Lastly, we use music to worship in our services because it promotes church unity. Even in remote indigenous cultures, they use forms of music to promote a sense of community among themselves. I don’t know about you, but I think there’s something wonderful about lifting my voice to God in the midst of others. When we assemble together on the weekends, I’m not worshipping – WE are worshipping.