newworship.com

Give You Praise

This song was inspired by two enormously courageous people. Eric Goodman and Kristin Hay. Eric was afflicted with Covid-19 early on in the quarantine and fought hard as his family fearfully watched. His trust in God was so evident as he walked through the season and his health returned.

Kristin lost her husband after her year-long marriage. With a 1 year old son she continues to exhibit strength in a situation that would have crushed most of us. Kristin bravely shows us what it is to trust God in the storm. This is a song born of people who are in a hard season and still find joy and the peace that passes understanding.

Please share with anyone who needs this message today. 

 

Be Strong - A New Song for Worship in this Season

In this season of our lives, between covid and the unrest in our country, here is a song of hope.

Please forward it to anyone who may need some encouragement today. 

The song chart is linked here. Download Be Strong 

 

Can You Be Buddies with Your Team Members?

A local worship leader asked me how he can get more honest feedback from his team. He felt they weren't being completely straight with him because they were all such close friends. That brings up an interesting topic for discussion. What do you think?

Here's what I wrote:

"Sounds great bro. You can only ask. If they respond, then great. Otherwise, you might need to ask one on one and press for more honesty. I don't advocate anything like an anonymous suggestion box. People need to be responsible for what they say. 

Just my experience: I don't think it is a healthy or reasonable expectation to think you can be close friends with everyone on the team. You can have biblical community and love. But, as the one who is responsible for the whole, is the prime driver, and ultimately the one who has to make the hard calls, it's not good for them all to see you as a peer. There may be a select few whom you are close to and have your trust. But for the most part, it is better for your leadership if they aren't thinking of you as another buddy on the team. You have to pastor and lead them which often means you have to say/do things they aren't going to like. The loving thing isn't often the preferable thing for many people.
YMMV.

My point from having vacillated on this for the past 25 years is there is a balance to be had between familiarity and authority. It's tough. I don't mind criticism either. We welcome it when it is done in love. But I will not sacrifice the health of the whole team to one toxic personality. More times than I would like to remember have I had to confront and/or remove someone from the team because of their unwillingness to change. It could be anything from a need to be featured all the time, to constant argumentativeness, to patterns/lifestyles of open sin that disqualify them from the privilege of the platform. Either way, it is no fun but necessary. Sometimes someone responds positively to a gracious process to restore them. Sometimes they self select and leave. I have even had folks who left in rebellion come back years later and thank me for confronting them even though they denied it. 

Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is the hardest.

Another thing to think about. Sociologists will tell you a person can only really know 60-80 people. 100 if you're my wife:) At any given time I have 250 active volunteers on the WA team. I can't possible be buddies with all of them

If you are at a very large church there is no way everyone in the church can be known and personally valued by the senior pastor like you can as a staff person. If the church had to have that in order to follow his leadership you would get nowhere fast. The same would be true of a larger WA team.

If you try to be available to everyone you are good for no one. And your family will pay the highest price.

Jesus had hundreds of disciples. But he only chose 12 for his inner circle. And within the 12 there were just 3 who had the closest most intimate relationship with him. He was very intentional about how he invested his relational energy.

Message on Physical Health and Worship

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of speaking at Westside. Always a challenge as I don't typically use that muscle often. How we view our bodies in terms of fitness isn't a topic I have heard much of in the church. I hope this is an encouragement to you.

 

Weezer and Jessie J - Why We Play the Pre Service Music We Play

Recently had a conversation that might be interesting to you. We have used mainstream music for pre and post service for years. One of our church leaders recently expressed some concern as to why we would do that. This particular series was on "How to Be Rich." So, we had songs like Gwen Stefani "Rich Girl," Weezer "Beverly Hills," Jessie J "Price Tag" and played a live instrumental version of Dave Matthews "Too Much" as an opener.

Here's how the conversation went (condensed):

"How do we choose the background music played before and between services? My concern is that playing secular music detracts from a worshipful spirit. I have no problem with the beat, tempo, etc. I am concerned about some of the lyrics...."

Here is my response:
"Thanks for asking. We have been doing this for a few years now where we play mainstream music that pertains to the particular series. SInce this was a series on "How to Be Rich" it was easy to find a ton of music that speaks to the value culture gives to prosperity/wealth. Given the content of the service it is meant to contrast what we hear every day in media and be a cultural connect for the newcomer/unchurched person as they hear something they would easily recognize in our context. It's also somewhat fun and tongue in cheek. This is also the intention of the instrumental pieces we have been playing the last couple of weeks. Something recognizable pertaining to the topic of the series for an unchurched person.

It is a tactic I could easily argue either side of. Not sure how much it
hurts or hinders us. But hopefully it is a point of cultural connect as well
as something to help people begin to process what scripture has to say about a subject that is close and relavant to all of us every day of the week.

If anyone did have any question marks, any ambiguity would be more than cleared up upon experiencing the entire service.
We never evaluate one element of a service on it's own, outside of the
context of the entire experience. Pastors would never get to tell a joke! :)"

There was quite a bit more to it. But it was a legitimate point of conversation. One valuable outcome of these kinds of questions is it forces you to articulate your point of view. Another is not to assume everyone understands the reasons behind everything you do. Sometimes what we believe is obvious is missed by the folks in the chairs. It's good to revisit and reevalate. With healthy evaluation comes healthy growth.

Song Choices with Multiple Worship Leaders

A young, local leader emailed me recently that he had several worship leaders at his church and the church song repertoire was getting pretty large. Is that a problem? Is it too much for the congregation to absorb and engage in.

My programming director encouraged me to share my response with you. So, this is a synopsis of what I wrote. Remember, just my opinion and experience. Your mileage may vary.

Here's the question:

"Hey Troy,
I was curious as to if you have any systematic approach to how often you use certain songs, or the life of a song at Westside.  Right now I'm using planning center online and have a couple of different worship leaders being rotated in and out of the weekend services.  I'm thinking that maybe our roster of songs is getting to be immense because we're doing a different set of songs almost every week.  The musicians and singers love that, and it doesn't appear that we're sacrificing the congregation singing along, but should I want the congregation to better know what to expect?

I'm thinking about simply choosing 8-10 songs per series - Do you have any perspective for me?"

My response:
"Great to hear from you! I'll offer what little I have and see if it helps.

Statistically, the average committed church goer in the U.S. goes about 2 times a month. (Kind of sad, but true.) It may be different at your church. But it certainly rings true at Westside. Every time I do a new songs it takes a few weeks for everyone to hear it even once. Even longer to get familiar with it and actually engage with it in worship.

Here's what I would do with rotating worship leaders. I would have no more than 2 new songs taught in a given month at the very most. 1 is ideal. If another band is playing the following week, I would ask them to do that song as well. And depending on the song, do it a third week in a row. Then starting spreading it out.

I would create a central repertoire list that all the bands pick from. 1 single list of songs that the congregation is familiar with. If one of the leaders wants to introduce a new song to the church it has to meet your approval. i.e. you believe it is a song that should be a part of your churches worship vocabulary in that season. I would also make sure they are looking at the previous few weeks sets of songs as they are choosing their own set to make sure there is good continuity. I don't believe you should have four different sets of repertoire from 4 different bands with one band not wanting to play the other bands songs. That isn't healthy for the church. IMO.

I know that is tough to do. And you might feel like a troll that is controlling these young leaders who might be resistant. But, if you are the worship pastor for that community, you are responsibility for primarily serving the needs of the church in worship not the needs/wants/egos of any individuals on the team. Do what is best for the people in the seats. What is the best way to engage them in worship? How do you give them a continuity of vocabulary/songs that are appropriate for this season in the life of your church? What does God want to hear from His church right now?  And let that drive your decisions.

If what you are doing is working and the church is engaging, keep doing that! If you need to make some adjustments, this is another way to look at it."

Stay faithful, leaders. What you do matters! Remember, love is not doing/saying the things people want from you. Love is doing and saying the things people NEED from you.

Stand strong!

Update- My Electric Guitar Rig for Worship Leaders

For guitar nerds only; Here is a quick run through of my present electric rig. I lead worship from electric guitar most of the time. And I am swapping out gear all the time. This present iteration is the result of a ton of experimentation. It may not seem simple for most folks. But compared to what pro players are using, it is pretty basic and intuitive. Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help in any way.

 

Web Class on "The Power of Focus"

Hi Friends,

This coming Monday I will be teaching an online class for Worship Leader Magazine based on one of the classes I did at the National Worship Leader Conference in KC this last year. Party 2 will follow in October. I'd love to see you there!

Here is the gist of it:

Session 1 - The Power of Focus

Monday, September 28, 2009
11:00 a.m. Pacific Time (duration 1 hour)

You don’t need the resources of the megachurch to have an effective and healthy worship arts ministry. Work smarter with a laser focus. Maximize your strengths as a leader and your church's unique mission!

Session 2 - Lessons From the Trenches

Monday, October 19, 2009
11:00 a.m. Pacific Time (duration 1 hour)

 You’ve often heard “I wish I knew then what I know now!” You don’t have to learn it the hard way! There is so much I wish someone would have told me when I started in ministry.  Spare yourself the headaches and get a “heads up” for growing a healthy worship arts team and thriving in the long term. 

 click here to register

Bon Jovi or Not to Bon Jovi

We recently used a portion of Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" in a mashup of Alison Krauss' "Down to the RIver to Pray" to introduce our new series on prayer. It stirred up a little controversy as these things often do. I won't go into all the reasons why we think this was a good idea. There are a bunch of them that I could attempt to unpack sometime. 

But, a friend brought up the thought  that he hoped it was because God lead us to do it as opposed to us just thinking it was a cute idea that would get some applause. Good question. Also a tough one to discern. Here was my reply below.

 "For me, at the end of the day, I ask for His inspiration and clarity of direction. I think that comes in the shape of what scripture says with clarity and in principal . It comes in the shape of experience and expertise gleaned over God given opportunities throughout the years. It comes in the shape of godly counsel of team members. And it comes in those still moments where, to the best of one's ability, we are hearing from His Spirit.

We are all people of convoluted motives and human frailty. My prayer is that the weight of our motives and thinking on any given decision is for His name and renown. He has a way of redeeming our humanity in  the midst of it all."

Thanks my friend,

T

A Question About Church Bands

Hi All,

I read a question at one of the forums that I frequent and felt I should chime in from my own experience. Below is a bit of that conversation. It is probably far from a complete response. Hopefully, though, it will help to give leaders a little altitude as to why we structure things the way we do.

Hi Songman, I wanted to respond to your question in a pm just because this kind of thing can be a little contentious in the context of a public forum.

" Your question: "It sounds to me like you guys have a pool of players and pick them as necessary to form a team. How do you guys make sure no one is left behind? or members from forming "Clicks"?" There are so many different ways to structure your teams. I have tried a bunch of them! And here is where I have landed at this juncture on the journey. At Westside we have a large pool of players on 4 campuses and some smaller band type opportunities as well. 1. I think it is important that everyone buy into the larger team. Not just the band or campus they play in. Even when they are in the chairs, they are still on the team. When one member of the team wins, we all win regardless of whether you are playing that week or not. 2. I don't like to create bands for few reasons. One is the danger of creating elitism or "cliques." It is inevitable that some people will align themselves more with their band than their team or the church as whole. My opinion is this isn't healthy. I like to mix the players up. And their schedules usually do this naturally anyway. It creates a better sense of the broader team. People will own the bigger visions for worship and the mission of the church when this is done well. I don't think it is healthy for anyone to play every week either. It is important for people to have margin. Also, it is more important that they get they are a member of the "church" before they are a member of the worship team. We need to have a well developed bench. Set bands have a way of discouraging this. When life happens to one of the band members i.e. vacation, sickness, moral crisis etc...you have no one who can step in who knows the team and music. I have seen this happen a lot. 3. Regarding "no one being left behind." This may sound harsh, but I don't feel obligated to use every person who comes along who might play an instrument. We work hard to recognize and develop talent and character. But, we definitely have a bar of what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable for a persons ability. Always a hard thing to measure. Our goal is to facilitate an environment where people can connect with God. Everything is filtered through that, including the acceptable level of player for our church culture. It is also true that the program can outgrow certain players. I have found that some musicians are very content with where they are at musically and are surprised when they are no longer on top of things. The program got stronger, but they didn't. And, they feel that tension. There are also the folks who have the humility and desire to learn and grow as challenges are placed before them. They become the kind of core members who will model for the rest of the team how it is done in attitude as well as performance. They "get" how their effort is a sacrifice of praise before God who deserves the best we have at any given time.

I realize their are musical and relational advantages to having "set" bands. But I believe the upsides are worth the potential downsides. And, we work hard to create plenty of opportunity for community with the team. The musical downsides have been negligible in my experience.

Sorry this is so long, but as I prayed about it I felt like I should respond. Thanks for reading. Please let me know if I can be of any help." Grace and Peace, Pastor Troy Kennedy www.newworship.com www.westsidefamilychurch.com twitter.com/troykennedy http://www.worshipleader.com/webinars

10 Ways to Improve Your Preaching

This is from Ben Arment's blog here. It is way too funny for those of us who occasionally speak:

1. Ask some trusted but truthful people to give you feedback. Preferably people who don't call you "boss."

2. Videotape yourself preaching and watch it every Monday.

3. Get rid of the "preacher voice." Syllables are not suggestions.

4. Read James Humes' book "Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln."

5. Quit listening to your favorite preacher, trying to borrow his convictions. Yes, I'm talking to you, Mark Driscoll lover.

6. If you say that you're preaching an expository sermon during your message, you're not preaching an expository sermon. It's like the word "breezy." You can't say "breezy."

7. Ask your wife. Unless you have a tendency to yell at her when she's truthful with you. Then you probably shouldn't be preaching in the first place.

8. If you were an animal preaching -- hang with me here -- what kind of animal would you be? Now... do people typically shoot that kind of animal?

9. Use at least 25% of your sermon planning time to focus on structure, not just content.

10. Go to a conference for communicators in ministry. Like, say,STORY.

BONUS percentage points: Ask another local pastor to give you feedback. I did. It was humiliating to be studied, but ultimately beneficial.

1. Ask some trusted but truthful people to give you feedback. Preferably people who don't call you "boss."

2. Videotape yourself preaching and watch it every Monday.

3. Get rid of the "preacher voice." Syllables are not suggestions.

4. Read James Humes' book "Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln."

5. Quit listening to your favorite preacher, trying to borrow his convictions. Yes, I'm talking to you, Mark Driscoll lover.

6. If you say that you're preaching an expository sermon during your message, you're not preaching an expository sermon. It's like the word "breezy." You can't say "breezy."

7. Ask your wife. Unless you have a tendency to yell at her when she's truthful with you. Then you probably shouldn't be preaching in the first place.

8. If you were an animal preaching -- hang with me here -- what kind of animal would you be? Now... do people typically shoot that kind of animal?

9. Use at least 25% of your sermon planning time to focus on structure, not just content.

10. Go to a conference for communicators in ministry. Like, say,STORY.

BONUS percentage points: Ask another local pastor to give you feedback. I did. It was humiliating to be studied, but ultimately beneficial.

Weekend Gaffs

From the last weekend I spoke. A collection of bloopers.

3/29/09 Weekend Review from Jared Wells on Vimeo.

2 Minutes of Inspiration

Whenever you need some kind of generic motivator. Just apply it to whatever situation you are in:)

Axioms - Why is more important than how.

"Why is more important than how."

I had a great time over lunch yesterday dreaming about what God may be doing on the church in Kansas City with a new friend. He asked me a question about how I coach our regional leaders. 

I really believe that one of the very best things I can offer as a leader is clarity on the "why" in what we do. If you have clarity on the "why," 9 times out of 10, it determines the "how."

It doesn't mean I don't teach technique. But, for me it has got to come back to the "why." 

For instance, what style of music should we use? Or what "songs?" Should I say anything between songs? Should we have a drama or dance piece? Would a scripture reading help? etc...

Our mission statement in worship arts at Westside is "to create an environment where people can connect with God." EVERYTHING gets filtered through that. What musical style, what songs choices, whether there is or is not a guitar solo, the flow of the service, whether I say anything, lights, the audio mix, instrumentation etc....is all determined by what we believe will set the table for people come and be inspired to meet with God.

Don't make the mistake of assuming that everyone on the team knows the "why." It needs to be articulated till you are sick of hearing yourself say it. Just about then, they are getting it under their skin. Eventually, you have a whole batch of new people that need to get up to speed. 

If we spend the time to drill down, past technique, past the tactical side of things and get to the core question, we can be much more fluid and decisive. The important groundwork has been laid. Everything else is a result of the more important core value.

Jesus did it best when he said this: Matt. 22:34-40 

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

Merry Tree-Mas!

A friend of mine posts some really interesting tongue in cheek posts on on whatever is currently making him rant. Very funny and intelligent. 

His most current rant was regarding fake trees at Christmas. And the height of the blasphemy, the fake PRE-LIT tree!. Shameful.

As a proud owner of the fake pre-lit tree I was compelled to respond..nay...it was a moral imperative! 

Seriously though it does make you think. Here is my comment below:

"I guess it all depends on how you view it. Personally I am not a fan of all the Christmas decor hoopla. It is fine. And I am not against it. But for a lot of folks the Christmas season is primarily about how it makes them feel; whether that be nostalgic, or cozy or family fuzzy. Nothing wrong with that. (Don't even get me started on the rampant, gluttonous, consumerism that accompanies the holiday in the U.S.) But, unfortunately, these things can often obscure and weigh down the sacred purpose for the holiday. It becaomes more about traditions than about the God of the Universe who has made himself flesh and blood so we could know Him up close. And, he would have the experience of humanity as part of our redemptive story.

I don’t really care if the tree is fake or real. The quality of my Christmas celebration is not determined by the quality of my tree."

Statistics that Count - Wage Earners

If you make $38,000 a year you are in the top 4% of wage earners in the world.  

Fill a room with a hundred people from around the globe and 96 of them with make less money than you. In most cases very significantly less. One third of the planet lives on less than $2 a day.

Axioms - Removing Your Ego

"When you remove your ego from the equation, what is the reality?"

As a guy who regularly struggles with his ego, I can't tell you how much this has helped me. I learned this from Rick Muchow at Saddleback, back in the day.

When dealing with conflict, zoom out to a higher altitude and ask the question. Is the way you are feeling or the direction you are leading a result of what is the right decision; or is it one that protects your wounded or challenged pride? It could be a personal conflict over something very simple. Or it could be a very high level, high risk decision that impacts many people. Does it matter who gets the credit or that the job got done? Do I trust God to be sovereign as my advocate or am I quick to defend the rights I think I have?

Conflict is inevitable in relationships where we are emotionally invested. Our ego/slash pride is often the primary obstacle to getting to the right posture and decision.

James 4:6 :"But He gives us more grace. That is why scripture says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 

Genetic Testing for Everyone

This changes everything guys. And it is only the beginning. Either very cool or very scary. (personally I love it!)

Inexpensive genetic testing. Take home the spit test and get your genetic medical dispositions for $399.

Is the evangelical church ready for the possible moral/ethical implications of this kind of information and technology? This is just another step towards many questions on the horizon in the area if genetics.

Would you take the test? Does it scare/excite you

https://www.23andme.com/

Axioms - The Loving Thing

"What is the most loving thing I can do?"

This is the question that has helped me resolve a lot of issues.

Not, "What will cause me the least grief?"

Or, "What will make this person like me?"

Or even, "What is the popular/politically correct thing to do?"

Often it is asked when you are tempted to go along with someone's dysfunction for fear of the mess they will make if you don't. But the truth is, capitulating to someone's unhealthy patterns is not the helpful or loving thing to do for them. Even if they dislike you for it. It is worth it in the long run.

And sometimes, the most loving thing to do is to not point out the mistake they have made or the gaff they have pulled. It can be a loving thing to guard someone's dignity when they know they are wrong.

1st Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

Much Love,

Troy

Mother Theresa Quote

"There are no great things, only small things done with great love." - Mother Theresa