Worship Matters

Will sent me this question: Is there an objective standard by which to gauge the effectiveness of repetition in contemporary worship hymnody?…What are some helpful ideas to bear in mind for incorporating effectively repetitive worship songs while not neglecting great hymns and songs that are not so characterized, and when do we as…worship leaders cross [...]

Since a few dozen bloggers have already announced that we at Sovereign Grace Ministries have decided to give away all our message MP3′s, I thought I should do the same. Especially since I work here. We decided to give away all past and future messages simply because we hope more people might benefit from their [...]

Welcome to the new look of Worship Matters, designed by my son-in-law, Kerrin Russell. Kerrin is married to my oldest daughter, Megan. Not only is he a godly husband and dad, he’s a true servant. It helps that he’s great at solving computer problems and fixing things. The most recent example is my blog site. [...]

I just received this e-mail from Jon, a twenty five year old worship leader who will soon be taking on a new position at another church. One facet of your site that is always of interest is your list of books you are currently reading. In addition to your devotional Scripture reading, how much time [...]

Matt sent in this question: I recently came across a message board where folks were discussing secular songs that could be done to make “seekers” feel more comfortable at church. Some folks mentioned that they had been to church’s where song such as: “She Will be Loved” by Maroon 5, “Your Body is a Wonderland” [...]

Thank you to everyone who submitted a suggestion and/or ideas for a subtitle for my book. What we finally chose was actually a combination of a number of suggestions. Matt Lowe proposed, “Leading Others to Exult in God’s Glory.” I changed “God’s glory” to “the Greatness of God,” and my friend Ken Boer suggested the [...]

How do you think about water baptism? Do you think about it as an act of worship? Baptism, along with the Lord’s Supper, is one of two actions that our Savior himself ordained that the church practice permanently until his return. That’s pretty significant. For the past two years our pastoral team has been studying [...]

"In a Little While," the newest release from Sovereign Grace Ministries is now available for download or purchase. It features the songs and vocal talents of my good friends, Mark and Stephen Altrogge (pronounced al-TROAG-ee). Most of the songs are intended for congregational worship. Mark, Stephen’s dad, is best known for his songs, "I Stand [...]

Last year, my good friend, Todd Twining, who is the worship pastor at Metro Life Church in Orlando, asked me if I’d be interested in having my entire family (me, Julie, our six kids, three in-laws, and four grandchildren) come down to participate in a worship conference at his church. He didn’t have to twist [...]