I’m currently in Chicago, Illinois at the Moody Pastors’ Conference. I have the opportunity to teach a few workshops and present a couple songs. It’s been a joy to meet some folks who have been reading Worship Matters. I even ran across some old GLAD fans. Of course, most GLAD fans I meet are on the older side.
I sent in all but one chapter of the rough draft of my book to my editor this past Saturday. I’m hoping to finish the last chapter tonight. It’s a chapter addressed to pastors. It’s harder to write than I anticipated. There’s so much I want to say to pastors about the significance of their role in leading worship. Worship is a pastoral function before it’s a musical one. Unfortunately,
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Thought I’d post a brief section from a chapter I wrote on "Living for God’s Glory." In it I describe different ways corporate worship should change the way we live. Feel free to leave any thoughts. Thanks again for your prayers and encouragement regarding my current book project…
It is impossible for us to rightly consider God apart from his holiness - his wrath against sin, his steadfast opposition to injustice, and his righteous judgment of the wicked. These aren’t exactly popular or seeker-sensitive topics, but they describe the God we worship. But the more we love “worship,” the more we should hate sin in all its manifestations. If God wasn’t fiercely opposed to evil in every form, including our sin, he would not deserve our worship. He would
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If you read this blog regularly you know I’m coming down to the wire on my “kind of” first draft for a book I’m writing for Crossway. THANK YOU to everyone who responded to my previous post asking about the challenges you face as a worship leader. Your thoughts are helping and guiding me as I write.
I had a fruitful day of writing yesterday and actually finished three chapters. I’ve been able to borrow from some of the posts I’ve written on this blog as well as some material from my first draft of the book. I very much feel the effect of people’s prayers. I’m really enjoying the process of writing, which is completely God’s grace.
The book will contain four sections: What Matters, Your Call, Healthy Tensions, and …
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For those of you who are regular readers of Worship Matters, you know that last year I started a book on worship for Crossway. At the end of January, after I had almost finished the first draft, my very good friend, C.J. Mahaney, helped me see that I needed an editor and a more specific audience. I’m happy to report that I now have both. Crossway has hired Thomas Womack, formerly of Multnomah but now an independent editor, to help me write the new book.
Thomas and I have had a number of interactions already, and he is a gift from God to me. He has given me
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I recently had a change in my book writing schedule. Some of you know I’ve been working on a book for Crossway since last March or so. The main part of my writing has taken place over the last four months. I had given the manuscript to my wise and discerning friend, C.J. Mahaney, for his thoughts. This is what he said:
1. Great content.2. I could use an editor.3. My audience is unclear.
Those comments led to some significant praying and discussion. The short version is this: I wrote the wrong book. You might think I would have figured that out earlier, but no one caught it, least of all me.
So, I’ve narrowed my focus. I’m heading back into the writing process and will be targeting worship leaders, …
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Many of you know I’m writing a book for Crossway, to be assigned the catchy name of Worship Matters.
I’m in the middle of a chapter tentatively called "The Word in Worship." I’d be interested in hearing from any of you who have stories to tell about how the Word of God has been used fruitfully or not at all in times of corporate worship. What are the benefits you’ve seen of honoring Scripture? How have you seen God’s Word creatively presented? What elements and practices have you seen that vie for its authority? I’m not so much interested in opinions or reflections as I am real life situations that you’ve seen, led, or experienced.
I’ll probably be asking for more help in the coming weeks. Thanks for helping me write my
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