Greg Atkinson

Each year I talk with worship leader friends around the country and find out what they are jamming to this time of  year as they prepare to lead worship in December. Of course, Chris Tomlin’s album “Glory in the Highest” is great. At my church last year we did some songs from that as well as some Christmas originals from North Point.

This year there’s new Christmas music from David Crowder Band and Matthew West, but what I stumbled across through an app on my iPad called Discovr Music is Jadon Lavik’s new Christmas album. I love it and I think you will to. This is my recommendation for you to consider checking out this holiday season. Let this album and his arrangements inspire you to take your December worship in a fresh, new direction. Happy holidays!

I’ve known Pastor Steven Furtick since he was in high school in South Carolina. He was a passionate leader in a local youth group when I was in college at Charleston Southern University. His church that he planted a few years ago has exploded to over 8000 people in worship.

Their band and worship music is amazing. Here’s a taste of how they opened their services this past weekend. Worship leaders: This is the kind of creativity and innovation I’m looking for. This is what I mean by breathing new life into an old hymn. Watch and enjoy! HERE is the link in case you having trouble viewing on my blog.

I’m absolutely loving life in Southwest Missouri! I know I’ve neglected my blog over the last 3 months since I started my new role as a Campus Pastor at Forest Park, but it was a sacrifice that I had to make to keep my sanity. With settling into a new city/moving, new job, the tornado/disaster relief and the work of ministry – it’s been all I could do to occasionally blog for our church’s website and even that has suffered. I hope to get back to regular updates soon.

So, I’m putting together my team here in Carthage, Missouri – a great small town about 15 minutes from Joplin (where the Tornado hit and where our original campus is). Carthage is a unique and special small town (population 15,000-18,000). You can drive 15 minutes to Joplin and have a variety of restaurants, shopping and movies, but we have our own Drive-In Movie Theater on the original Route 66! Pastors at our church get a free annual pass to the Drive-In and all Carthage High School football games in the Fall. Football is big here!

Carthage is also home to Marian Days (currently going on this week. You have to see it to believe it). It’s when 70,000 Vietnamese people come to town and congregate for a week. There are tents and people everywhere! Carthage is also home to the Maple Leaf Parade (happening this October), which is the largest parade in the Midwest and will feature 50,000 people – again we’re a town of 15,000. In the late 20th century, the town began actively courting tourism, emphasizing its history (the Battle of Carthage, Victorian architecture, and Route 66), as well as its proximity to the Precious Moments hotel and store, along with the popular country music destination Branson, Missouri. Did I mention Carthage is also the home of the Precious Moments Park and Chapel, a tourist attraction with paintings and oversized depictions of the popular porcelain figurines? Come visit and I’ll take you on a tour. We are in what’s called the Four States Region of the country and are a short drive from Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, St. Louis, Branson, Arkansas, Kansas, etc. We’re just 6 hours from my old home in Dallas, TX.

So… I’m slowly building my team. Over the last 3 months, I’ve put together a lay Leadership Team. I’ve increased our Student Pastor’s time and pay and I’ve hired a part-time Kids Pastor. Now, for the next crucial step for our campus, I’m looking for an amazing and dynamic Worship Pastor to join our team.

Before I dive into the questions I have for you, let me mention that if you or someone you know is interested or looking for a worship position, please have them contact me. My church email is grega@fpbc.net. You can check out our church website at www.ForestPark.tv (please know we will build a new website in the future) and on Facebook. Forest Park is a dynamic and vibrant church in the Four States Region that is doing some very innovative things here in Southwest Missouri. We’re the only multi-site church that I know of here and we are what’s called a Pacesetter in the Missouri Baptist Convention – that means we’ve baptized over 100 people in a year. Our Senior Pastor has been here 15  years and we’ve baptized over a hundred people each year for 15 years – that’s over 1500 people! We’ve already baptized over 100 people this year and it’s August. That’s a lot for our part of the country. I say this because you need to know that we’re highly evangelistic and have a huge focus on outreach and evangelism.

I think I offer a unique perspective as a boss, Campus Pastor and friend to a would-be Worship Pastor at our campus as I’ve spent the last 17 years in worship ministry, producing worship experiences, serving as a Worship Pastor, Creative Arts Pastor, Tech Pastor, Director of WorshipHouse Media and consultant to some of the largest and fastest-growing churches in the country. I’ve had the privilege and honor to consult with some amazing churches, including Outreach Magazine’s Fastest Growing Church in the Country last year (12 Stone in Atlanta). I’ve also consulted and helped churches where Lincoln Brewster, Shane and Shane, Desperation Band/Jon Egan and the lead singer for Building 429 were leading worship. So, I know and have seen worship and the arts done on a high level and I have a true appreciation for what a Worship Pastor does, as well as a heart for worship. I’m a worshiper and when you lead worship at our church, you will look down and see me worshiping and focused on God (not my notes). All that to say, if you want to work for someone that “gets it” – give me a shout.

For the rest of you: What questions do you ask when hiring a Worship Pastor? I have some thoughts, such as:

• What is your definition of worship?
• Describe what worship looks like and why it’s more that music.
• What does it mean to live a lifestyle of worship?
• Do you have a theology of worship?
• Do you have a personal mission statement?
• Explain your call to ministry.
• Explain your specific call to be a lead worshiper.
• Have you studied at a Bible college or seminary? (this can be both good and bad – as far as seminary)
• Do you have a good grasp of the Bible, theology and consider yourself to be of sound doctrine?
• We are a Southern Baptist church with a non-denominational feel (we don’t use “Baptist” in our name and brand ourselves as Forest Park) – however, are you baptistic in your beliefs and in agreement with Baptist doctrine? (This is important to both me and our Senior Pastor)
• Do you play an instrument? Do you lead from an instrument?
• The Bible instructs us to “play skillfully.” Do you work at your craft? Do you exercise your voice and practice your instrument daily?
• How often do you introduce a new song?
• Do you write any of your own songs?
• Do you arrange songs? Do you arrange old hymns and breathe new life into them occasionally? (We don’t do a lot of hymns)
• Can you chart out music for your band? Can you listen to a song on the radio or iTunes and chart it out by ear?
• What are some of your musical influences?
• What are you listening to in your car, office and iPod?
• Can you coach a band and get the most out of them?
• Do you know how to give professional musicians direction?
• Do you know how to give weak or poor musicians direction?
• What are some of your core or favorite songs these days?
• Who are some of your favorite Christian songwriters?
• Who are some of your favorite non-Christian songwriters?
• How familiar are you with media, tech (sound, video and lights)?
• Are you comfortable and competent recruiting and building a team of musicians?
• Are you comfortable and competent recruiting and building a tech team? (We have a Multi-site Tech Director that will train people you recruit. You just need to find them.)
• Flat out: Are you a team builder?
• Are you an equipper or a doer?
• Can you work hard and play hard?
• What are your hobbies?
• Do you have a sense of humor?
• Can you handle pranks?
• Are you engaging in worship and do you connect well with people from the stage?
• Do you engage and connect well with people off the stage?
• Can you administrate and schedule musicians and tech team members weekly?
• How far out do you plan?
• How would you describe your abilities when it comes to creative worship planning and brainstorming?
• Do you plan worship in solo or are you a part of a creative planning team?
• Are you more creative or administrative?
• Are you a people person?
• Are you in a small group?
• Could you lead a small group?
• Would you disciple your worship team and volunteers?
• Are you comfortable in a multi-site environment (most of our teaching is done via video)?
• Have you taken the StrengthsFinder2.0 test? If so, what are your top 5 strengths?
• What are you top 3 Spiritual Gifts?
• Are you looking to settle down and invest in a community for a long time? (This is important as we’ve had some turnover in the past and our church needs some consistent leadership)
• Have you read the book Simple Church? Are you familiar and comfortable with the “Simple Church” philosophy? At Forest Park, we worship, grow and serve – that’s it. No musicals, no Passion Plays, no choirs, no orchestras. SIMPLE.
• Are you passionate about reaching the lost?
• Are you comfortable with an externally-focused church?
• Read through the 3 Lost Parables in Luke 15 and share with me what you think God was trying to get across about His heart for the lost.
• Will you do whatever it takes to reach people for Christ?
• Are you a team player?
• Do you have a strong work ethic?
• Are you driven? What drives you?
• Are you an intentional and strategic leader? Explain.
• Do you have a mentor?
• Do you mentor anyone else?
• How long have you been leading worship?
• Do you get pure joy in leading people into the Presence of God?
• Are you a Mac or PC person?
• Do you use tracks?
• Are you comfortable playing with a click?
• Explain your struggle with pride. I ask because I’ve yet to meet a pastor (Worship Pastor or Senior Pastor) that doesn’t struggle at least a little at some point with pride.
• Do you struggle with porn?
• What are your greatest strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?
• What would your wife say is a weakness for you?
• What are the last 3 books you read?
• Who are some of your favorite authors?
• Do you know who A.W. Tozer is? Have you read any of his work?
• Who are some of your favorite preachers?
• What’s your favorite movie?
• What’s your favorite sport?
• What makes you laugh?
• Who is the greatest boss you’ve ever had and why?
• What conferences do you go to?
• Who do you think are the leaders in design today (name companies that have a strong brand)?
• Who is your personal favorite worship leader?
• Why are you looking for a new church?

These are just the first questions that popped into my head. What are some questions you’d add? What did I miss? Help me out, friends.

It happens every Sunday in churches around North America. It’s something I look for every time I visit, consult with or secret shop a church – it’s the keeper of the vibe and how he uses that position of influence. I’m talking about the FOH audio engineer and his use of pre and post-service music.

As both a worship pastor and a tech pastor, I used to intentionally and strategically (plus creatively) put together a pre-service and a post-service mix. I thought through what we wanted people to feel when they walked in the room and what we wanted them to feel upon exiting.

I dare say the most crucial part of execution on a given Sunday is the sound engineer hitting play as soon as the service ends (cued by the pastor saying, “See you next week.” or something like that). I know that sensitivity is key and knowing the vibe, feel and spirit of the service is crucial.

Maybe it’s not appropriate to rock their faces off. Maybe it’s Good Friday and you want people to leave in silence or you just finished taking communion and you want to tone it down and go with something more chill. I used to have a chill version of well-known worship songs that we used at Bent Tree a lot.

But 9 times out of 10, you want your sound engineer to hit play on something upbeat and positive as people file out. Have a great song cued and ready to go as most people will only hear that first song you play. Choose it well.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, people sit through several songs before the service begins. Choose them well. I’ve seen churches use chill versions of songs like we did at Bent Tree, well known songs from the radio, instrumental versions of songs by Coldplay and U2 (like my friends at Lake Pointe in Rockwell, TX) and anything from Owl City to DJ Andy Hunter. Something like Postal Service or the Sunsets and Sushi album from David Crowder Band can be great, too. What are your practices at your church?

Do you use the same old CD every week? Do you use the same playlist on iTunes? Do you put together a special weekly playlist? Do you incorporate songs that people will hear in the upcoming service? Do you (at the end of the service) play a reprise and bring back a key song from the set that day?

The key is to not take these special and influential moments lightly. Choose your songs wisely and creatively. Be intentional and strategic. You, my friend, are the keeper of the vibe!

Please share what songs and genre of music you use in the comment section. How loud do you play the music when people are walking in? One thing I love about visiting NewSpring in Anderson, SC is that they rock your face off during the prelude time. They honestly, have the loudest walk-in music of any church I’ve been to. They also have a female voice-over that shares a few announcements with the music still playing underneath at about a minute or two before the service begins. So… What’s the vibe like at your church?

The following is a guest post from Don Chapman of HymnCharts.com. Check out his Easter resources HERE. Here’s what Don had to say about using hymns in a contemporary praise set:

For churches with a steady diet of contemporary worship there are two times a year when we’re almost expected to do hymns – Christmas and Easter.

A pastor I know in a very contemporary church dreads the Christmas season for that very reason – his distorted electric guitar driven praise band pulls their hair out during the month of December. Hymns and carols aren’t very guitar friendly.

Because I like to arrange music I’ve solved this problem for myself by contemporizing hymns and making them a little easier for a praise band to play, and my website HymnCharts.com grew out of this.

Try it yourself – take a hymn and see if by making a few simple tweaks you can make it fit better in your praise set. Here are my five tips for making a hymn more contemporary:

1. Change the key. Many hymns are in awkward, flat, anti-guitar keys like F, Eb and Bb. Sure, a capo is handy in these situations, but hymns are usually too high for modern congregations anyway. Just transpose it down a half step.

2. Smooth out the chord structure. Classically based hymns can change chords on almost every beat. If possible, in my hymn arrangements I try to have no more than 2 chords per measure – and 1 per measure is best.

3. Substitute minor chords when possible. Play around with the song – the right minor chord substituted for a major chord can give the hymn a contemporary twist.

4. Avoid the 5th. Western harmony is built on the V to I cadence but pop songs often go from IV to I. It doesn’t work all the time with hymns, but see if you can substitute a IV chord for a V chord here and there. (If you’re in the key of D, the IV is a G chord and the V is an A chord.)

5. Add a drum loop. A quick, easy way to add a contemporary sound to a hymn is to play with subtle drum loop. I use Spectrasonic’s Stylus to quickly create my loops in Sonar audio software (or any recording software that will play VST instruments) render it as a WAV and play along with it as you would any stereo track or click track. Other websites offer premade downloadable drum loops in various tempos (Google drum loops.)

Visit the front page of HymnCharts.com and you’ll find an MP3 player in the middle of the page. Listen to “Are You Washed In the Blood,” “Christ Arose” and “Jesus Paid It All” for examples of how it’s possible to turn a song older than your grandma into something totally usable in a modern praise set.

If you read my blog via email or RSS, you may not have noticed several things – such as the new blog design and some of the new sponsors recently added to my blog homepage. Sponsors such as HymnCharts and their Easter resources and my newest sponsor: Interactive Worship Live.

I’ve known Phillip Edwards for several years and remember when he called me and several Church leaders together in Dallas to show us his new resource and give us all an up-close-and-personal demo.

At my current home church in Georgia (where I play keys with the praise band when I’m in town), we use IWL each week and love it. I asked our worship pastor, Michael Wells, to share his thoughts on this resource for our church. Here are Michael’s thoughts:

I have been an Interactive Worship Live user for some time and would highly recommend it. There are three areas that IWL has made us more effective in.

First, because you can isolate studio quality musicians, our musicians can clearly hear things like strumming patterns or vocal inflections which has improved their skill level and learning speed.

Second, you don’t have to worry when a musician has to cancel last minute. If our bass player calls in late Saturday night sick I can unmute the bass player channel and sleep well.

Last, IWL fills out the sound by adding instruments not on our team. I may have an electric guitar but I do not have five and many artist tracks today will have multiple layers of instruments.

All three of these areas have made use a more skillful team.

*** I agree with Michael and have personally witnessed this great worship resource in action. We’ve had weeks where the drummer was out and we just plugged in the drummer track on IWL. We had a week when the bass player was out and we did the same thing. I also resonate with the third point Michael made of filling out our sound. We have a basic band, but love having the added percussion sounds added in and it’s always good to add a couple more electric guitars to fill out our sound.

Have you heard of IWL? Why don’t you check them out HERE at their website? If you use IWL at your church, please comment and share with us why you like it/use it and if it’s ever saved the day.

I shared this on Facebook a couple of weeks ago, but I realized that many of you may have missed it or may not follow me on Facebook. Let’s fix that right now. If you’re not following me on Twitter, you can HERE. If you’re not friends with me on Facebook, find me HERE. Check out the creativity and innovation in this video from North Point Church!

Tonight the December show on NBC, The Sing-Off, airs once again. Being a musician, I thoroughly enjoy this show. My prediction: I hope Committed wins. I think Street Corner Symphony should come in second. Both are great and should do well in the future. Are you watching the show? Who do you want to win?

Continuing on with the Church Leadership 101 series, we’ve come to a section of blog posts that start with the word “stay”. The first one is to stay humble. I know this is easier said than done, but I think it’s a sobering thought to keep our pride (which we all struggle with), ego and attitudes in check.

Some of the best advice someone gave me years ago was to not take myself too seriously. I’ve tried to live by that and laugh a lot. Does my pride sometimes still flare up? Absolutely. Does my ego pop up from time to time. Sure. But I eventually come to my senses, repent and get back to a Christ-centered, God-sized view of who I am and Who He is.

This concept is especially challenging for gifted and talented individuals. Some pastors can really preach. Some worship leaders are very good musicians. Some video editors have mad skills. Some designers – well all designers have egos, but the point is a lot of Church leaders are talented and it’s easy to see why they wrestle with staying humble.

The problem is when we start relying on our strength, skills and ability and stop praying for Christ through the Holy Spirit to lead through us, preach and teach through us, sing and play through us, edit and design through us. We must have the perspective of vessels, jars of clay and a Heavenly Potter sculpting us and shaping us and using us for great things according to His plans and His purpose.

So to keep it short and sweet, stay humble. Talk less. Listen more. Stay grounded. Keep your eyes on Christ and follow His example:

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled Himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:5-11

I’m always on the lookout for creative and innovative videos that can challenge and stretch us all to reflect our Creator. I try to post them on here when I come across them. Yesterday I came across David Crowder’s new video for his song “Shine”. I think it’s pretty cool. What do you think about it?