People often don’t understand what goes into their Sunday morning worship each week. What does a full-time worship pastor do the rest of the week? I was recently asked to describe my weekly schedule. Here is what works for me.
I normally work at the church three days a week and at home for three days. I usually write detailed charts for the band and vocals which can also include string and brass parts, so I spend a good 6-10 hours per week charting music. I am also an early riser so I usually start at 5 AM. I know that doesn’t work for most music guys but it is what works for me.
Monday: 5 AM-3 PM – Home (7-8 hours) Normal activities include:Bible Reading, prayer, chart writing, reading, recruiting & scheduling musicians (email, texting and PlanningCenter.com), downloading and editing tracks (Playback) & music charts, researching new songs and sending out a detailed email for that week’s rehearsal. I also research, purchase and download any videos for our online & in-house congregation.
Tuesday: 5 AM – 7:30 AM – Home 8:30 AM – 3 PM Church (7-8 hours) Normal activities include: Bible reading, prayer, reading, preparation, set-up and leading worship at mid-week church services, administration (paying bills), staff meeting and staff prayer. Also reviewing the weekend streaming service and giving feedback to the camera and sound team.
Wednesday: 5 AM – 3 PM – Home (7-8 hours) Normal activities include: Bible reading, prayer, song & lyric writing, personal worship, practising for Thursday rehearsal, repair and upgrade of church equipment, scheduling musicians, reviewing long-term schedules and events, reading, chart writing, contacting next week’s worship leader and editing the worship list.
Thursday: 5 AM – 11 AM – Home 1 PM – 9:30 PM Church (9-11 hours) Normal activities include: Bible reading, prayer, review of all vocal and instrumental parts for evening rehearsal, personal rehearsal, worship auditions, staff report, meeting with the lead pastor, editing & automating the lyrics with the media person, reviewing the sound and set-up with the soundman, clean-up & set-up of the stage for rehearsal, auditions, evening rehearsal and training musicians, singers and worship leaders.
Friday: 7 AM – 9 AM – Home 11 AM – 3 PM (4-5 hours) Normal activities include: Bible reading, prayer, reading, memorizing music for Sunday, finalizing songs and musicians for the following week and start writing charts for next week.
Saturday: Day off Normal activities: Bible reading, prayer, personal worship with the songs for Sunday.
Sunday: 5 AM – 6:30 AM – Home 8 AM – 2 PM – Church 5:30 PM – 8 PM – Church (10-12 hours) Normal activities: Bible reading, prayer, set-up and practice with musicians, leading worship or serving as music director, three Sunday services, social time with musicians & congregational members, review of services with worship leaders and musicians.
Total Hours – Church & Home: (46-54 hours)
Other activities which also happen regularly include: Preparation for speaking and writing, special music and scripts for Christmas, Easter and special events & concerts. Organizing and leading music for evenings of prayer and other meetings. Attending conferences. Going for coffee/meals with various worship team, congregants & pastoral members. Meeting with regional worship leaders. Counselling. Teaching other worship pastors through webinars and blogging. Leading at retreats. Recording.
Question: Music pastors: what does your schedule look like?
This is Thanksgiving season, a time to reflect and give thanks for all the good things in our lives. I want to say a special thanks to God for the journey so far. I want to thank Him for how rich my life has been; how exciting the adventure of following Him with my whole heart has been.
I come from a wonderful Christian family with a great heritage. I’m the oldest of six kids who all love and serve God. And I married a wonderful Italian girl who has a great family that loves God. I have loved the Lord since I was a child and I have felt His guiding hand throughout my life.
God’s blessings in my life have allowed me to travel around the world multiple times (72 countries so far) and see hundreds of thousands of people come to know the Lord. His rich blessings have given me a godly wife and children, wonderful grandchildren and faithful friends.
God’s hand in my life has led me to see countless miracles, write hundreds of musical arrangements and songs that have been used by thousands of churches. His blessings have also enabled me to train and mentor thousands of musicians from all over the world to use their gifts and talents to glorify God. It has been an incredible journey, a great adventure, and I believe some of the best is yet to come.
So I just want to pause and say ‘Thank You, God’. You have been faithful. You have supplied all my needs. Your love and presence has changed my life. I thank You for health, direction and purpose. Thank You Lord, for all You have done so far and for all You are still going to do. I love You with all my heart!
The longer I follow God, the more I am aware of the importance of knowing Jesus. I love to read through the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They give a great picture of who Jesus was: He was ‘God come down to earth’. If you really want to know what God is like, study Jesus. My goal as a Christian, as a follower of Jesus, is to become more like Him each day.
A recent blog by Ron Edmonson gives 25 life-giving statements by Jesus. They are so good I had to share!
“Take heart, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
“The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few.” (Matthew 9:37)
“Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’” (Matthew 9:13)
“Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2)
“Ask and it will be given to you …” (Matthew 7:7)
“If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed.” (John 8:36)
“For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30)
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
“You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 6:14)
“Apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
“The greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matthew 23:11)
“Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27)
“I am coming soon.” (Revelation 22:7)
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
“If you love Me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)
“You give them something to eat.” (Mark 6:37)
“A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit.” (Matthew 7:18)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” (Acts 1:8)
“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” (Mark 7:6)
“You will be My witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)
“Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink …” (Matthew 6:25)
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do to them.” (Matthew 7:12)
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29)
“It is finished.” (John 19:30)
The words of Jesus have changed the lives of billions of people and continue to help shape our world. May Jesus’ words and life become real in your heart and mind!
I have always been fascinated by Jesus’ Parables. They reveal wisdom on multiple levels. One of my favourites is the ‘Parable of the Talents’ told by Jesus in Matthew 25:14-30. In that parable Jesus tells a story of a rich man going on a journey who entrusts different amounts of money (talents) to three different servants.
When the rich man returns, he asks for an accounting of how each servant has used the money. The servant with five talents and the servant with two talents have both worked hard and doubled their money. The servant with just one talent hides his money and earns nothing extra with it.
What talents and gifts has God given you? How are you using what God has given you? What gift or talent do you possess that is your personal strength? Are you growing that gift or talent? Or have you stopped growing the gifts and talents that God has given you?
I come from a musical family, so most of my siblings have strong musical gifts that they have developed over the years. Some families are athletic and they distinguish themselves in that field. Some are good writers or great cooks. Some have strong abilities with finance, leadership, service, counselling, craftsmanship, mercy, prayer and wisdom. There are dozens of gifts that God gives us.
The first step in developing your gifts and talents is to recognize what they are. What do you love to do even if no one is paying you? There is a great ‘Spiritual Gifts Test’ found online at http://www.kodachrome.org/spiritgift/refer.htm that I highly recommend.
I took the test and some of my top gifts are Music, Administration, Writing, Faith, Leadership and Teaching. What are yours? Since I have recognized that these are areas that I have gifts in, I am working on growing in each of these areas. I want to be a faithful servant with the gifts and talents God has entrusted to me. I want to see my gifts grow and double like the servants in Jesus’ parable.
Question: How are you using your gifts and talents? Are you working on doubling them? Will God say to you, “Well done, you good and faithful servant?” Don’t wait, start today!
Paul: In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. ~ Romans 12:6-6 NLT
Check out my new book: “Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure’. It is now available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions. This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.
Most worship leaders play an instrument. It is not a prerequisite but it is of great help. The two main instruments for a leader are the guitar and the keyboard. Piano generally takes longer to be proficient at, so I suggest that people who take up an instrument later in life should take up the guitar. Obviously the earlier in life that you start playing an instrument, the better chance you have at being proficient at it.
Another great way to learn is just to listen and copy the worship songs that you want to learn. Take it note by note, chord by chord and learn to listen what the keyboard or guitar player is playing. This is often the most effective way of learning once you get past the basic playing level of an instrument. Copying the players on professional recording will teach you better rhythm and help you learn a variety of styles. It will also help develop your ability to play by ear.
7. Learn to sing to the best of your ability
Singing is a big part of leading. You do not have to be an awesome singer to lead worship but the more acceptable your tone, pitch and vibrato is, the less distracting it is to the congregation. The opposite can also be true, great singers sometimes do not make good worship leaders. They are often too busy vocalizing to facilitate the average singer in the congregation.
Leaders should generally just sing the melody. The leaders voice is usually highest in the vocal mix and if you sing harmonies it will often throw off weaker singers in your congregation. It is ok to throw in an ad lib occasionally but do not let it become a distraction. Learning to ad lib in the various musical forms is an art form, use good taste and discretion and listen to recordings of yourself frequently.
Variety is the spice of life. A congregation appreciates variety. The tastes of most congregations represent a huge spectrum of music. Pop, rock, rhythm and blues, country, folk, Irish, classical, ballade, Jewish, gospel and alternative are among the many styles that can be used in worship services. Putting the right style with the right song can bring the song to life. Learning new styles, rhythm feels, chord progressions and voicing is a great way to grow musically. Don’t get stuck in a rut.
Music is constantly changing and we should grow and change with it. God is not limited to a style. Classical styled worship music is not more spiritual than pop or rock styled worship music. It’s the lyrics and heart of the musicians that define the spiritual depth of a song.
9. Learn to communicate in front of your congregation
Effective communication comes in many forms. The way we speak, act and dress, all communicate volumes to our congregations. Learning to speak in public is hard for many people. Polls indicate that speaking in public is many person’s greatest fear. Worship leaders are not required to speak volumes but the right word at the right time is very effective. Worship leaders should always remember that they aren’t the preacher. Some of the most effective worship leaders speak very little.
Learn to overcome such problems as stuttering or talking too fast. Learn to speak clearly and succinctly. Learn good grammar and don’t get in the habit of using to many clichés. Saying ‘Amen’ and ‘Hallelujah’ every second word usually shows insecurity on the part of the speaker.
Humility in a worship leader is of paramount importance. You can not fake humility,
or at least not for very long. Your body language will speak volumes to the congregation. If they see a worship leader and team who are totally yielded to and passionate about God, they will be more open to that leadership. Leading with a humble spirit but with authority is an important balance in effective leadership. People can usually tell when you’re just ‘going through the motions’ and when you are truly passionate about God.
The style of clothing that you wear is also relevant to the message that you are sending your congregation. The question to ask is ‘What fits best in this situation?’ and ‘What will be the least distracting from my main message of glorifying God?’ The key is to be relevant to the congregation that you are leading. Don’t let your clothes be a distraction for your ministry. My general rule of thumb is to do the dressy style of what that the general congregation comes to church in.
10. Learn to work well with your pastor
A church will only rise to the level of its pastor. If your Pastor is a worshipper, the church will soon follow. Developing a good working relationship and understanding between the worship leader and the pastor is extremely important. If they do not share the same vision, the vision will not get accomplished. They will always be pulling in different directions.
I have found it to be helpful to meet at least once a week with the Pastor to review the last Sunday’s services and to plan for the next week and weeks to come. It is also good to meet occasionally in informal situations (coffee, lunch, sports activities, etc.) to continue to develop a good relationship. The Senior Pastor and the Worship Leader are usually the most visible in public ministry. Their ability to compliment each other can be a powerful asset. If they do not work together well, then the opposite can be true.
There are a number of ways that a Pastor can facilitate worship in a church. One of them is by regularly teaching on it. The Bible is full of great passages on worship. If the Pastor is not comfortable teaching on the subject, there are a number of good books on the subject from which to gather resource material.
Another important way for a Pastor to facilitate worship is to model it. If the Pastor is a wholehearted worshipper, the congregation will take their cue from him. These days the Lead Pastor does not generally sit on the platform. But, I believe it is still important for them to be passionate worshippers wherever they sit in the congregation.
Worship leading is a great privilege and challenge. It is great to be able to point people to God through worship. Learn to grow in your singing, playing and leading. Learn to hear God’s Spirit as you lead. Be passionate in your love relationship with God and for the people in your worship team and congregation.
Question: What areas do you agree with or disagree with in this blog? What has helped you grow in your ability to lead worship?
This is the best way to learn and it can take on many forms. Jesus used this method to teach His disciples. His disciples ministered alongside Him for three years and then He sent them out to do it for themselves.
If you have a good mentor in your church, watch them and learn from them. In this situation you can watch them in weekly rehearsals and Sunday worship times. Study what makes them successful and learn from their strengths and weaknesses.
If you’re not blessed with a good mentor in your local church, search out a mentor. This can take many forms. You can go to worship conferences and watch the leaders and attend their classes. You can go to local worship events and watch leaders. You can attend other churches, as the opportunity arises, and note what each church does well (and not so well). You can also check out YouTube videos of worship leaders and note their different styles and ways of leading.
2. Make worshipping God a daily part of your life
Anything that you do daily, you improve on. Spending time with God on a daily basis is a basic prerequisite for being a worship leader. This should include daily time reading your Bible. My habit has been to read a Psalm and a Proverb every day and I use a daily reading plan that takes me through the whole Bible each year. Here is a link to the plan that I am currently using. It gives Old Testament and New Testament daily readings in a chronological order in the New Living Translation: Bible Reading Plan
Reading the whole Bible every year will give you an overview of how God works in people’s lives. I have read the Bible through every year for the last thirty plus years and God’s Word still speaks to me daily. The Bible has a way of being relevant for the situation that you are going through right now.
Another important part of spending time with God is in prayer. A well-known pastor once said that the key to his prayer life was ‘I pray and I obey’. The key to prayer is finding out what God wants you to do and doing it.
As you spend time with God daily, you will know Him better and love Him more. And your passion for worshipping Him will increase. The best worship leaders worship God much more privately then they do publicly. Your public ministry should only be the tip of the iceberg.
3. Learn the great worship songs
There are great worship songs coming from all over the earth. There has never been a better time to learn worship songs. We now have access to great songs and recordings from around the world. We now have websites that are full of the great songs that God is using.
Learn the old songs and the new songs. Memorize (9 Keys To Memorizing Music) these songs. Find the songs that God’s Spirit is resting on. Find the songs that are blessing the nations.
Side note: You are so much more effective when you memorize your music. Nothing is worse than seeing a worship leader and band with their heads stuck in the music stand. The congregation and the Lord deserves our full attention!
A great place to find the strongest worship songs is to look at the lists that CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International) has compiled. They track the songs that are sung in many countries around the world. Check out their new SongSelect Top 200 songs list. It’s a great list of current songs. Another place I frequently refer to is PlanningCenter.com and their Top Songs List. I also have my own Top Songs list on this blog.
Psalms 100:4 says ‘I will enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.’ God likes it when we come before Him with singing. One of the most common ways to begin a worship service is with songs of thanksgiving.
These songs are often songs that are sung about God as opposed to songs that sing directly to God. They are often (but not exclusively) faster songs that are more praise orientated. It often takes time for the general congregation to get warmed up in a worship service and starting with thankful upbeat songs is often the best way to start a service.
People often come to services with their minds on anything but God. A leaders responsibility is to help everyone focus on why they really came to church in the first place. Our main purpose is to meet God. Having a progression in the worship service can help people set aside other distractions and focus on God.
The progression of songs often goes from general upbeat songs that talk about God and give thanks to Him to songs that talk directly to God. When we sing songs that talk directly to God we are beginning the progression toward worshipping Him. The term ‘Praise and Worship’ indicates that general trend of going from praise songs about God to worshipping God directly.
It’s also important to keep your focus on the Lord as you lead. There are so many things to distract you from your main purpose of worshipping God. That’s why it is so important to really know the music ahead of time so the music doesn’t become a distraction. If you watch the great worship leaders, they are focused on the main purpose: worshipping God!
5. Understand the importance of worship in the Bible
The book of Psalms, the largest book in the Bible, is a songbook. There are songs sprinkled throughout the Bible. Some of the greatest men of God were songwriters. Moses, David and Solomon were among the most prolific.
God is looking for people to worship Him. In John 4:23-24, Jesus said ‘But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as those to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
God loves worshippers. King David was called a ‘man after God’s own heart’. He was also one of the chief songwriters of the Bible and a man who loved to worship God. In spite of his failures, his desire was to be close to God and worship was one of the best ways for him to express that.
Worship and specifically, musical worship, is important to God. Never underestimate what God can do through anointed musicians and great songs of worship.
Question: What has helped you improve your worship leading? What areas are you working on in your worship leading?
This blog is part of my vision to train over 100,000 worship leaders around the world. If you would like to support this vision you can help by giving any amount via PayPal here.
Good physical health does not happen by accident. Physically healthy people make small, daily choices that contribute to their physical health.
It should be noted that even those who make healthy choices still get sick and injured. Choices don’t remove the possibility of illness or injury. But even when sick or injured, an individual’s daily choices still make a significant impact on their quality of life.
The same things are true for mental health. Good mental health does not happen by accident. Mentally healthy people make small, daily choices that contribute to their mental health (i.e., ability to regulate emotions, respond proportionally to disappointments, accurately weigh the significance of successes and failures, etc.).
Making the choices below won’t guarantee that you won’t experience seasons of depression, anxiety or other forms of mental unrest. But the kind of choices listed below, if made before-during-after a time period of mental unrest, will still make a significant impact on your quality of life.
Obviously, with 50 habits it would be overwhelming (i.e., mentally unhealthy) to try to implement them all at once. Pick a few that fit you best. Begin with those. When those are embedded in your rhythms of life, come back and see what would be good to implement in that season of life.
My goal in this post is to identify goals for each area of life that influences mental health: cognitive perspective, physical well-being, social context, spiritual vitality, general life management, emotional regulation, etc. Sometimes we need to be reminded that no one area of life can completely account for our mental health.
1. Get Adequate Sleep – The brain plays a dominant role in mental health. Sleep is vitalfor brain health. Inadequate sleep is the equivalent of not changing the oil in your car. You can get away with it for a while, but it winds up being very costly.
2. Eat Balanced Meals – Where does your body get the raw material to create a balanced neuro-chemistry? From what you eat. Wanting neurochemical balance with an imbalanced diet is like asking your children to draw a color picture with only black and white crayons.
3. Engage With Friends – When we’re isolated, our most destructive thoughts tend to echo in our minds and the healthy ones get muted. Friendship is a context that tends to facilitate many of the other good mental health habits on this list.
5. Read a Good Book – Poor mental health hygiene often results from getting stuck in the “same old” thinking ruts. Reading a good book is both a distraction and provides new perspectives. Also, reading is like exercise for the mind.
6. Engage Cardiovascular Exercise – Few things have been shown to be better for mental health than 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at least three times per week. Go for a jog, take a walk, ride a bike or swim a few laps and anything else you’re doing on this list will be more effective.
7. Avoid Debt – Imbalance does not stay contained to one area of life. If you go into debt, you increase stress, have to work more, which means you sleep less, which contributes to emotional reactivity, and erodes the quality of your relationships. Avoiding debt does a lot for your mental health.
9. Get Out of Toxic Friendships – Some relationships go from being unhealthy to being toxic, destructive or abusive. When this is the case, then we honor the other person best by limiting the amount of destruction they can do. This means we apply Matthew 7:6 when Matthew 7:1-5 has been ineffective. Here are some red flags to look for.
10. Laugh – “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones,” Proverbs 17:22. Laughter is an important part of mental health. We have a hard time bearing up under the demands of everyday life when everything is serious all of the time.
11. Look for Reasons to Say “Thank You” – There is a direct correlation between how often you say “thank you” and whether you are focused on the good or hard things in your life. Gratitude may be one of the most significant dispositional qualities that influence our mental health.
12. Pray – What do you do with the hard things? Pray. Gratitude doesn’t mean we ignore the hard parts of our life. When we see the good things God has/is doing in our life, we are more prone to bring him the hard things with the confidence that comes from knowing He cares.
13. Meditate on Scripture – The content of our thinking has a significant impact on our mental health. When we meditate on lies and insecurities, it negatively impacts our mental health. When we meditate on the timeless truths and character of God found in the Bible, it positively impacts our mental health.
15. Journal – When we fail to reflect on where we’ve been, who we are and where we’re going, life can begin to feel meaningless. Journaling is a good way to cultivate a greater sense of direction and context for your day-to-day life. It is easier to endure hardship when life has meaning.
16. Learn Something New – A growing mind is healthier than a stagnant mind. Learning is like cardio for the brain; new neural connections are forming and existing connections are being strengthened. As you learn, you also give yourself more fruitful things with which to engage your thought life.
17. Confide Your Secrets – Shame is toxic to both our mental and social health. Secrets are the currency of shame. Confiding secrets in trusted friends is a way to break the bonds of shame with the power of eye contact from someone who truly knows us.
18. Serve/Volunteer – An excessive self-focus is not healthy. When we only focus on our struggles, it makes our struggles seem increasingly large in our eyes. Serving others gives us perspective, becomes a source of wholesome joy, and reminds us that we can make a difference with our lives.
19. Avoid Intoxicants – There is a high correlation between substance abuse and mental illness. Whether this correlation is cause or effect can vary from person to person, but if you are concerned about your mental health, it would be wise to avoid recreationally impairing your mental state with alcohol or drugs.
20. Regularly Attend Church – People were created for community. In western culture we have too individualized our mental health. Isolation, or only surface relationships, is a negative influence on our mental health. Church is a place for deep fellowship, reinforcing other spiritual habits on this list, and being reminded that we are all broken and in need of the same Savior.
21. Get Outside – Air conditioning (keeping us inside) may have had as much of a negative influence on mental health as the light bulb (allowing us to stay up later and sleep less). These inventions aren’t the problem. Our habits are. Get outside in the sunshine. Walk. Experience God’s creation.
22. Improve Your Posture – The body influences the mind. Facial expressions influence mood. Body posture impacts attitude. Slouched shoulders and droopy demeanor both reveal and cultivate a down mood. A straight back, solid eye contact and intentional movement both reveal and cultivate confidence. Try it for a week and see.
23. Get a Regular Medical Check Up – Health is a dynamic commodity; it changes over time. It is wise to learn how our bodies are changing as we age. Go to the doctor. Discuss changes in your physical, cognitive and emotional health. Learn which are common with the aging process and what can be done.
24. Set a Goal – Goals give us a future orientation; that is, a reason to live. In the absence of goals yesterday is no different from today, morning is no different from night, and weekday is no different than weekend. Life becomes one big “blah.” Have goals each day that connect with something you find meaningful.
25. Strive for Contentment – Goals and contentment are not antithetical. Be content with who you are in Christ. Have goals for what you want to do with your life. When your goals begin to make you feel discontent, put them on hold until your soul becomes settled with who you are in Christ again.
26. Doubt Your Fears – This is hard. Our fears aren’t always wrong. But our fears should have to prove themselves before we embrace them. If you listen to your fears like a sincere friend who is only right 50 percent of the time, it will probably improve your mental health.
27. Put Unpleasant Emotions Into Words – When all we know is we feel “bad,” we’re not sure what to do. Answer the question, “If my unpleasant emotion could talk, what would it say?” Personifying our emotions is a good way to clarify them. Once we articulate them, it is usually clearer what can/should be done next.
28. Reflect on Your Growth – How are you wiser, stronger or more mature than you were a year ago? What have you learned? How has your life has improved? These are questions we often take for granted when our mental health is poor as we just focus on what is bad, hard or we don’t like. The fact you have grown is evidence that you can continue to grow and that God is active in your life.
29. Ask “What Is Good” About Each Change in Your Life – Many of us don’t like change, so we initially interpret change as bad and find what we liked better “before.” If this is you, cultivate the habit of looking for the opportunities and advantages in each change that initially bristles you.
30. Invest in Your Strengths – It’s not prideful to know what you’re good at; it’s foolish not to. Many of us can get so caught up in shoring up our weaknesses that we stop building on our strengths. The result is that we develop a defeatist or defensive attitude toward life that is bad for our mental health.
31. Reconcile With Your Weaknesses – Weaknesses aren’t bad; they’re just weaknesses. Quit hiding what you’re not good at. That causes you to live with a fear of being found out; which is bad for your mental health. Nobody likes a perfect person anyway, they’re unrelatable and intimidating.
32. Call a Friend – Have a “just because” conversation. Non-purposeful conversation where the only agenda is each person’s interest in the other is good for our mental health. It is like social relaxation exercise.
33. Take a Social Media Sabbath – Oops. You’re reading this on a social media channel. Social media can be both over-stimulating and cause us to compete with the idealized versions of other people’s lives. If this is stressing you out, take a break.
34. Be Still – Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that if we are still for a few minutes, the world will not fall off its axis. Stillness is a great reminder that we are not God and God is still in control. Having a felt sense that you don’t have to be sovereign or omnipotent is good for your mental health.
35. Reduce Caffeine if You’re Anxious – Caffeine is a stimulant. If you struggle with anxiety, then caffeine adds to your anxiety. Being aware of how our food and beverage choices aid or detract from our mental health goals is important. Similarly, alcohol is a depressant, so refraining from alcohol is wise if you struggle with depression.
36. Create a Satisfying Morning Routine – Set your days up to succeed. Wake up early enough to get done what needs to be done. Have an order in which the most important morning tasks get accomplished. Being settled as you transition from maintenance activities to your purposeful activities is good for your mental health.
37. Prioritize a Weekly Sabbath – God called us to rest because He loves us and wants what is best for us (Exodus 20: 8-11). In the same way your car would not work well if the engine was always running or your computer would overheat if it was always active, your mental health requires some downtime too.
38. Try Something New – When we try something new we accept the possibility of failure. This is a good thing. When we live as if failure is fatal, the weight of each endeavor becomes crippling to our mental health. You might enjoy the new things and it become a lifelong hobby or food-of-choice, but even if you don’t, the experience will have been good for your mental health anyway.
39. Make Sure Your Schedule Is Realistic – If what you believe you “should” do each week won’t fit within the 168 hours God allotted for that week, then you’re going to feel like a failure. We often say “yes” to new things without saying “no” to old commitments. It is good to periodically do a life inventory to make sure you’re expectations aren’t undermining your mental health.
40. Forgive – When we refuse to forgive we insist on carrying the weight of bitterness. Is it fair? No. Is it healthy? Unforgiveness is not healthy either. Forgiveness is actually a healthy form of self-care.
41. When You Catch Yourself Ruminating, Do Something Else…Anything! – Distraction is not always a bad thing. If you catch yourself ruminating on a past failure or offense, engage in any reasonably healthy activity (from video game to mowing the lawn) to take your mind somewhere else.
42. Replace Your Self-Defeating Behaviors – Make a list of the self-defeating patterns in your life. Find a replacement behavior for each. Tell a friend what it is you want to change and ask them to hold you accountable to follow through. Refuse to keep doing what is sabotaging your life.
43. Repent – Don’t carry guilt; Jesus did that for you. Too often we think of repentance as an icky, unpleasant conversation with God involving excessive emotion and wallowing. When we understand what repentance is, we realize it is liberating and healthy. Repentance is when we come to our senses and quit trying to make our dysfunctional choices functional.
44. Make a List of Your Procrastinations and Do One of Them – Just let it be a social experiment. Before you do that procrastinated task, take a moment and gauge the weight of dreading to do it. Put that weight on a 1-10 scale. Do the task. Gauge the weight of doing it on a 1-10 scale. Which was worse? Dread is bad for our mental health.
45. Uni-Task More – The distractedness of multi-tasking is experientially similar to many expression of poor mental health. So while uni-tasking is more efficient than multi-tasking (no really, it is, quit arguing), that is not my point here. The mental health benefits of mindfully focusing on one activity at a time is our goal in this habit.
46. Take Yourself Less Seriously – As C.S. Lewis famously said, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” There is great liberty in this kind of humility. When we are less self-centered in our thinking, we will be less self-deprecating and insecure. It is unhealthy to measure ourselves against each person and experience in our life.
47. Differentiate Solitude From Isolation – Enjoy solitude. As Blaise Pascal said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” When we fear being alone, we don’t allow time for our thoughts to settle like glitter in a Christmas snow globe.
48. Write Out Your Worst Self-Talk and Re-script It – What are the worst things you say to yourself? Write them out. Challenge them. Rewrite them to reflect the truth of who you are in Christ. Rehearse the new script, so that when the old self-talk emerges, you can counter it.
49. Celebrate the Success of Others – When we can’t celebrate the success of others, every good thing somebody else does becomes a standard for us to meet. We have to be as funny as the class clown, as smart as the valedictorian, as athletic as the football captain, as daring as the school rebel, as courteous as the teacher’s pet, etc. That is a mentally toxic way to live. Celebrate the successes of others and be free.
50. Don’t Worry About Success or Failure. Be Content to Learn – If you are content to learn, you will be free to live. When things don’t go well, create value in that situation by learning from it. When things do go well, be grateful for the abilities and opportunities God has given you. This posture of being a life-long learner is what will allow good mental health habits to be a blessing to you instead of a burden.
This list is not exhaustive (although reading it may feel exhausting). What would you add to the list and why?
Pick one or two items from this list that are a good fit for your life at this time and practice them until they become a habit. Once that happens, considering picking up a couple other items to focus on.
My adventures with God have led me around the world numerous times to over 70 countries. Here are some of the maps from those adventures.
Jesus – ‘You will be my witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8 NLT
72 countries ~ all 50 US States ~ all 10 Canadian Provinces & 2 Territories
Mark Cole World Travel Map
1973-1974 – 9 Month Asian Tour: Living Sound II
Seattle ~ Alaska ~ Japan ~ South Korea ~ Hong Kong ~ Vietnam ~ Thailand Singapore ~ Malaysia ~ Indonesia ~ Philippines ~Hawaii ~ Vancouver ~ USA
Mark Cole: Living Sound Asian Tour
1974-1976 –18 Month Tour With Living Sound I
Tulsa ~ Chicago ~ Poland ~ England ~ South Africa ~ Zimbabwe Canary Islands ~ Spain ~ United States ~ Canada ~ Israel
Mark Cole: Living Sound 1 World Travels
1992 –One Month Around-The-World Trip
Vancouver ~ England ~ Uganda ~ Kenya ~ India ~ Thailand ~ Taiwan ~ Hong Kong
Mark Cole: Trip around the world
2000-2005 –5 Year Charles Ndifon Journeys (Leading worship)
Denmark ~ Sweden ~ Norway ~ Finland ~ Iceland ~ Germany ~ Switzerland ~ Austria ~Holland ~ Belgium ~ England ~ Scotland ~ U.S. Virgin Islands ~Nigeria ~ Zimbabwe ~ Kenya ~ United States ~ Canada ~ Australia
Mark Cole: Charles Ndifon Worship Travels
1988 – 2019 – Italy ~ France ~ Spain Trips
Rome ~ Naples ~ Reggio Calabria ~ Taormina ~ Venice ~ Verona ~ Florence ~ Capri ~ Milan ~ Sienna ~ Cinque Terra ~ Monaco ~Marseilles ~ Cannes ~ Paris ~ Avignon ~ Andorra ~ Barcelona ~ Malta ~ Greece ~ Dubrovnik ~ Slovenia
Mark & Anna Cole: Italian, French and Spanish Travels
1988 – 2017 –South America ~ Mexico ~ Caribbean Trips
Argentina ~ Brazil ~ Mexico ~ St. Thomas ~ British Virgin Islands ~ Aruba ~ Honduras Dominica ~ Curacao ~ Barbados ~ St. Lucia ~ Grenada ~ Haiti ~ Grand Cayman ~ Jamaica ~ Bahamas ~ Turks and Caicos Islands ~ Saint Kitts ~ Puerto Rico
Mark & Anna Caribbean and South American Travels
Check out my new book: “Leading Worship ~ Notes from a Grand Adventure’. It is now available in Kindle or Soft Cover Editions. This is a great gift for the musician or worshipper in your life.
I have been blessed to have produced 18 different recordings for various organizations over the years. I have done 6 of my own (2 choir and orchestra recordings and 4 worship CD’s). If I can be of help in arranging, producing or playing on your recordings. Please contact me. Three of the CD’s that I recorded in the 90’s are available on iTunes: here are the links.
Have you ever been in a great worship service and the worship leader and team seemed to disappear and your complete focus turned to worshiping Jesus?
Strong worship leaders know that worship is never about them, it’s about putting our gaze and attention on Jesus. Here are some keys to leading people toward Jesus in worship.
1.Worship Jesus in private
The secret of Jesus’ public success was His time spent in the secret place. In fact, Jesus said that He only spoke what the Father revealed to Him. Spending private time with Jesus in prayer, Bible reading and worship is the main key to having a strong sense of His presence with you in your public worship time.
2.Live your life totally surrendered to God
True worship is surrendering your life to God. Paul said it this way…
I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. ~ Romans 12:1 NLT
God is looking for people who are willing to lay down their own dreams and desires and follow Him completely. God will use you in ways beyond what you can even dream about if you willing lay down your life for Him.
3.Know the music so well that you rarely have to think about it
Leading worship at a strong level includes many activities that go on at the same time. There is singing, remembering lyrics, playing an instrument, remembering the chord structure and form, leading the band, engaging the congregation and the list goes on.
The more you have the music memorized, the more time you have to focus on the two most important things: Worshiping Jesus and leading your congregation to worship Jesus.
4.Rehearse the team so well that the music is second nature
As the leader of the worship team, you need to spend enough time in rehearsal for them to feel so comfortable with the music that they can also worship. Having a whole team on stage totally focused on worshiping Jesus is a very powerful key to becoming invisible in worship.
When people see the whole team totally engaged that encourages them to do the same. And paradoxically that leads them to focusing on Jesus and not the worship team.
5. Lead your congregation from just singing songs to worshiping Jesus
The first part of the worship service is often moving people from singing about the Lord to singing directly to Him. To do that successfully, you often need to pick songs that are upbeat, and easy to sing. From there you move people along to singing strong worship songs that are sung directly to the Lord. It is so important to pick songs that don’t just sing about Jesus but songs that move your heart to directly worship God.
6.Make sure your body language matches what you are singing
Your body language speaks stronger than your words. If your singing about the joy of knowing the Lord and your face speaks the opposite, people will get the message that you don’t believe what you are singing. When people sense and see your sincerity in worship that will lead them to focus more on worshiping Jesus themselves.
7. Purposely lead people to Jesus
My goal on Sunday mornings is to lead people to focusing on the Lord. I use the song choice, song list progression, musical keys and musical transitions with that one purpose: leading people to worship Jesus. That’s my main purpose as a leader and follower of Jesus: lead people to Jesus. Jesus is the one who saves them, heals them, gives them peace, gives them direction and brings joy into their lives. It’s all about Jesus.
Question: What other ways have you found to point people to Jesus while leading?
