David W. Manner's Blog: Worship Evaluation, page 4

8 Reasons to Stop Attending Ministry Conferences

If envy is the first emotion you experience when encountering other ministry leaders…you should stop attending ministry conferences.If contempt for the accomplishments of others causes you to publicly claim their success must only have been possible through stylistic superficiality or theological compromise…you should stop attending ministry conferences.If your post conference pattern is to imitate and implement everything you see without considering how or if it might fit in the cu...

Worship Word Wednesday

Maybe Worship Needs Less Passion and More Purpose

Passion is caused by intense excitement from the outside, purpose is caused by convictions from the inside. Purpose is intentional, passion is situational. Passion occurs when we feel good, purpose occurs even when we don’t. Passion focuses on what we do, purpose focuses on why we do it. Passion is fleeting, purpose is continuous. So, maybe our worship needs a little less passion and a lot more purpose.

Worship based on passion waits for feelings to be stirred externally. So, if those feelings ...

Worship Word Wednesday

Worship Word Wednesday

Congregational Lament

The language of lament is found in more than half of the psalms but is largely absent in much of the Protestant culture. Lament is that healthy, open expression of pain, complaint, sorrow, anger, frustration, and grief directed to a God who understands. If congregations are to experience renewal of the biblical understanding of lament and its appropriateness in their worship culture, they must consider how to implement this communal response as a regular part of their liturgy. The following lis...

Worship Word Wednesday

Want Healthier Worship on Sunday? Gotta Serve Somebody on Monday!

Sunday worship is both the culmination and commencement of the worship week. Commencement means a beginning or a start and culmination means an end or an arrival at a final stage. When considering these definitions with regard to Sunday worship, what seems mutually exclusive is actually collectively exhaustive. Is the Sunday worship service the commencement of the worship week? Yes! Is the Sunday worship service the culmination of the worship week? Yes!

As a commencement, the Sunday service sin...

Worship Word Wednesday

20 Ways to Pray for Your Pastors

 

Pray they never sacrifice their families for ministry since family is ministry. Pray that congregants will talk to them instead of about them.Pray for perseverance when they feel like their ministry shelf-life is speeding toward its expiration date.Pray that scripture and prayer instead of politics and popular culture is the foundation for their sermon and songs.Pray for healthier ministry staff relationships.Pray their days off will provide sabbath rest free from church stres...