Worship in the Waiting
by Jenn Petersen I’ve been a worship leader longer than I haven’t. I started leading worship while in high school, throughout college, and then for many years at a church in Texas. My husband and I...
View ArticleA Hymn for Christmas Eve
After “Silent Night” has been sung and the last of the candles have been extinguished, after hugs have been exchanged with friends and the parking lot has emptied, after my son has finally settled down...
View ArticleLet’s Start a Band! Creating a Youth Worship Team from Scratch
Back in the mid-90’s, our youth worship team was nothing glamorous. We had an overhead projector, a 1980’s drum pad, and a Yamaha DX7 keyboard. Still, week after week, we set up our makeshift equipment...
View ArticleLent Playlist: Listening for God
Do you anticipate hearing from God this Lent? My family is observing Lent—a time of revival, personal renewal, and a deep spiritual experience —by listening to a Lent playlist. We contribute songs to...
View ArticleSinging the Psalms, Part 1: Why Sing Psalms?
The Psalms are often referred to as the “hymnbook of the Church.” Throughout all ages of worship, people have found ways to incorporate the singing of psalms in their worship service. Recently,...
View ArticleHow to Lead People Older (or More Musically Talented) Than You in Worship
I remember as a young worship leader the first time I stood in front of our congregation, guitar in hand, ready to lead our Sunday morning worship. In our assembly of over 1000 people were...
View ArticleTiming: Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That
I’ve recently made a transition from full time worship leader to helping Seedbed run our New Room Conferences. This means I have not only left my home church of nearly seven years, but I am also in the...
View ArticleSinging the Psalms Part II: How to Sing the Psalms
In Part I of this two-part series, I gave a framework for why a church might want to seriously consider regular Psalm-singing as a part of their corporate worship. To recap, singing the Psalms can...
View ArticleSoundtrack for Eastertide
This morning, my young son declared, “Happy Easter! Aren’t you glad it’s not just one day?” We have done our best to follow the Christian year in our household, but in the hustle and bustle, it is easy...
View ArticleThe Worship Pastor vs. Worship Leader
What’s the difference between a worship pastor and a worship leader? Watch as Marty Reardon explains this helpful distinction, and discusses how it relates to preparation for the divine service and...
View Article7 Songs for Pentecost
Pentecost is this Sunday and we asked some of our contributors to share their favorite song on the Holy Spirit. Here’s what they said: 1. Emily Barlow: “Same Power” by Jeremy Camp 2. Joel Mooneyhan:...
View ArticleWhy Even Baptists and Pentecostals Have Liturgy, and How to Do It Well
All Christians perform some sort of weekly liturgy, even if it goes by another name. In today’s video, Marty Reardon explains the meaning of liturgy, its significance, and how we can work to introduce...
View ArticleRearview Mirror: Order of Worship for Pentecost Sunday
As a part of our “rearview mirror” series, we asked worship director Marty Reardon to share his church’s Order of Worship from Pentecost. Use these backwards views to help shape your worship looking...
View ArticleWhy Scripture Matters in Song Lyrics
In my experience, there are three important reasons scripture matters in lyrics. Singing Scripture helps us memorize it, keeps our theology in check, and connects us to other Christ followers....
View ArticleThe Psalms Instruct us to Include Lament in Worship
I grew up in the church as a pastor’s kid. This means I’ve been to a lot of worship services in my life. My faith has been built in large part due to the joy we shared as a congregation when we came...
View ArticleCollaborative Choral Concerts for the Community
I know many readers of this seedbed collective serve at churches without choirs, rendering this particular post seemingly irrelevant, but I would wager to guess that many churches might love to have a...
View ArticleThe Tuba in the Praise Team: Mishaps and Successes in Recruiting Church...
I once had a very earnest sixth-grader indicate interest in joining our church worship team. Upon closer examination of his interest sheet, he had written “tuba” as his instrument of choice. At the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Including Diverse Instruments in Worship
“What’s that you’re playing?” It’s a common question asked of many of my church’s music volunteers who have recently learned to play the Harmonium. The Harmonium is a keyboard instrument in the...
View ArticleWorship Songwriting: Private to Public
“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him.” Psalm 40:3 Recently I had the opportunity to sit in on a master class with Mark...
View ArticleThe Order of Bezalel: Creativity in Worship and Mission
What enduring processes do we have in place that critically inform and purposefully expand approaches toward creative discipleship in the church? The Judeo-Christian spiritual mythological tradition...
View Article