Many Christian worship leader resources are available so we can make the most productive use of our time. I, for one, am the type of person who can’t just sit still and do nothing. (Well, I can, on occasion, but I find that I usually fall asleep soon afterward.) In the tradition of great men like Pastor Joey Bonifacio (of the church in the Philippines I work for), I try to read as much as I can, as often as I can.
I’ve been reading up on worship resources. These are some of the books I’m currently going through:
Extravagant Worship, Darlene Zschech. Renowned Christian songwriter and Hillsong Australia powerhouse vocalist Darlene Zschech penned a memorable book in 2004 titled Extravagant Worship. In the book, she runs through the importance and benefits of offering lavish praise and adoration upon God, dividing the many solid points she identifies, into two sections: The Extravagant Worshiper and The Excellent Worshiper. As I go through this book, I’m gleaning several key concepts that I hope to incorporate into my own quiet time and the times I lead worship.
Basta Lovelife, Kuya Kevin Sanders. Kuya Kevin is a respected American campus minister based in Manila who runs a relationship advice blog for Filipino youth at KuyaKevin.com. Sanders has been offering solid advice concerning love, sex, and relationships to Filipino teens and young adults for months now, both via his website and his podcast, Basta Lovelife (subscribable off iTunes). I’ve found it to be a solid, compelling seven-part read that successfully bridges the gap between being enjoyable enough to read but spiritually founded enough to convince (or at least spur into serious consideration) the points Kuya Kevin wishes to convey. Okay, it’s technically not a Christian worship leader resource, but I was reading it this week and I wanted to blog about it.
The Complete Worship Leader, Kevin Navarro. A staple of many Filipino worship leaders, this book “provides a holistic, Biblical view of worship leading as drawing people into God’s presence through the use of all the senses in worship, not just through song leading. It addresses four basic elements crucial to becoming an effective worship leader: theology, discipleship, artistry, and leadership.” I read this about eight years ago, which is why it’s wise to revisit this book.
Intimacy With God, T.D. Jakes. Bishop Jakes is one of America’s most respected evangelists, and with good reason: the man has decades of experience from which to glean the points he makes in this book that encourages readers to look beyond the weekend service in seeking time with God. He uses Ephesians as a jump-off point for six “pillars” that form the foundation of the spiritual worship of the believer. Intimacy With God is a compelling read.
Christian worship podcasts. I’ve blogged about this often in the past few weeks. There are several Christian worship podcasts I’ve subscribed to for Christian worship leader resources, including:
AllAboutWorship.com. Wisdom Moon and Ben Abu Saada – yes, those are their names – offer listeners interviews with popular Christian singers and songwriters, who then talk about their songwriting process. It’s interesting, it’s thought-provoking, and it’s always enjoyable.
InsideWorship.com. Vineyard Music’s podcast. I’ve heard some beautiful original songs on this podcast, particularly Esta Es Mi Cancion (This Is My Song), a bilingual (Spanish-English) worship track out of their Houston congregation.
Leading Worship: A Guide. Chris Jane’s podcast is deeply insightful and very well-produced. He’s only created five podcast episodes, the last one of which was in 2008, but all five are topnotch. A shame it’s no longer online.
Worship Leader Insights. Jason Hatley has the right idea in mind by providing access to people who’ve done it right – worship leaders who walk the talk. Only three episodes are up, but all three can provide worship leaders great ideas and creativity into their ministries.
FireKeep.com. I’ve downloaded several podcasts from here, mostly from IHOP’s prayer meetings. I’m extremely blessed by what I’ve heard here, specifically the From Hip-Hop Into IHOP podcast. There are other terrific episodes here (The Call Nashville Pt 2 Worshipping Our King is a must-hear; whoever’s leading that prophetic worship is anointed!), so swing by and download at will.
Reveal: Worship Decentralized. James Ridgers and Christian Steffen tell it like it is with a hearty dose of humor. Some people may find the podcast offensive, because they don’t mind cussing every so often, but, that aside, it is really a very informative and thoughtful podcast.
(I also want to give a shout-out to the folks at the Relevant Podcast, the very first podcast I subscribed to. It’s not quite worship, so it doesn’t fall under this category, but it’s a great, great podcast! 3-2-1 TYLER!!!)
I’m sure there are more, and I’ll be sure to add on to these Christian worship podcasts. Do you have any Christian worship podcasts of your own to recommend?
