Worship Leader Blog

ScreenFlow – Best Screen Recording Software

April 2, 2012

When I can, I like to share new resources with you when I find them and ScreenFlow is one that I have to tell you about. Screen recording software is the kind of thing that you don’t always need but when you need it, you NEED it! It’s official – ScreenFlow is the best screen recording software solution out there and I’m glad that I finally pulled the trigger to purchase it.

I was going crazy this weekend trying to capture some video from a news site to use in a gathering on Saturday morning. You’ve probably seen the flash video download solutions built in to Safari for sites like YouTube and there are other software solutions to capture flash video from a website. I tried out a few – no luck! I’ve been hesitant in the past to purchase a copy of ScreenFlow (I really, really like free solutions!) but I knew that with the numbers of uses I had for software like this it would be worth it.

The issue I was having? I needed software which would capture flash video AND record the audio from that video at the same time. Because it was from a proprietary player (not YouTube) most of the free software solutions didn’t work – or they would do only one of the two things I needed it to do but not both.

Enter ScreenFlow!

I’ve got to tell you I was not disappointed! The screen recording worked exactly as advertised, the built-in video editor was super simple to use and behaved in a way that was pretty natural. The finished product looked great and there were no issues at all with exporting the video and importing it to ProPresenter for projection.

Here’s a real quick overview of how ScreenFlow works -

Here’s a link for ScreenFlow – I’m looking forward to making this part of my workflow. Officially the best screen recording software I’ve used!

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I'm currently on sabbatical this summer - you can read more about my sabbatical here: Personal Update - What's Next

Since I'm away from the blog I've decided to close comments. I love the interaction and discussion that happens with readers and since I'm not able to do that this summer, I'll be very much looking forward to that when I return in August.

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Saint Gregory’s Easter Prayer

March 30, 2012

Written 1,400+ years ago by Saint Gregory the Great:

It is only right, with all the powers of our heart and mind, to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension of Loving-Kindness toward us, Your servants, You gave up Your Son.

Dear Jesus You paid the debt of Adam for us to the Eternal Father by Your Blood poured forth in Loving-Kindness. You cleared away the darkness of sin by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection. You broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as a Conqueror. You reconciled Heaven and earth.

Our life had no hope of Eternal Happiness before You redeemed us. Your Resurrection has washed away our sins, restored our innocence and brought us joy. How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love!

We pray You, Lord, to preserve Your servants in the peaceful enjoyment of this Easter happiness.

We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Who lives and reigns with God The Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.

Amen.

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I'm currently on sabbatical this summer - you can read more about my sabbatical here: Personal Update - What's Next

Since I'm away from the blog I've decided to close comments. I love the interaction and discussion that happens with readers and since I'm not able to do that this summer, I'll be very much looking forward to that when I return in August.

Click here to add your comment and join in the conversation.

You Are Loved

March 29, 2012

“You are loved.”

My pastor always ends letters to our congregation this way.

You are loved.

It’s a great reminder of that in the midst of a community of people – no matter how large or small – you are loved. You, individually, are loved. The leaders of our church love the person not just the people.

It’s also a reminder of a current reality. We don’t love you because of what you’ve done, we don’t love you because of who we are hoping you will become. We don’t love you because of some sick need in our life for affirmation. You are loved.

It’s also an active commitment to live and lead in a way that communicates our desire that you would know Jesus deeper and become more like Him. We do this because we love you and that forms so much of how we operate. You are loved.

Worship leaders – hear this. You are loved. Right now, you are loved. God loves you – individually. God knows you, God formed you, God loves you. You. It’s also a present reality. God loves you now. God doesn’t love you because of your songs, your talent, your sweet new gear, your spiritual disciplines, your serving, your skinny jeans – you are loved. Now. And God expresses this love for you in how He operates. He is actively engaged in caring for you, shepherding you, providing for you, comforting you and encouraging you. You are loved.

We are just over a week away from Easter and many of you fall in to two camps right now – some of you are over-the-moon-can’t-wait-let’s-make-it-happen excited and others of you are just plain terrified. Listen closely – you are loved.

Whether Easter Sunday is the closest your church ever gets to heaven on earth or whether Easter Sunday is the perfect collision of suck and disappointment, you are loved. No success and no failure on Easter Sunday will change that. You are loved.

I was listening a couple of weeks ago to a message from Matt Chandler and a line from his sermon has been in my brain ever since. I may be paraphrasing but essentially he said this: “God doesn’t love some future version of you.”

Bam! “God doesn’t love some future version of you.” You are loved.

So this Easter, give it all you got. Lead your church in celebration and exultation and rejoicing and all those good church words – make sure you do everything you can to point to Jesus and run with your people to the empty tomb. See people turn their lives to Christ, hear the celebration of heaven as that happens but remember that all of this has no impact on God’s love for you. You are loved.

Terrified that you’ll have a Mark 16 kind of Easter? “When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.” People may come, hear the great news of the resurrection, that you have seen this and they will not believe. They may walk out totally unchanged. You need to know that there is a greater reality here. You are loved.

Worship leaders – do everything you can to make Jesus famous at Easter but whether you succeed or fail, nothing will ever change the fact that you are loved.

Psalm 136:26 “Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.”

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I'm currently on sabbatical this summer - you can read more about my sabbatical here: Personal Update - What's Next

Since I'm away from the blog I've decided to close comments. I love the interaction and discussion that happens with readers and since I'm not able to do that this summer, I'll be very much looking forward to that when I return in August.

Click here to add your comment and join in the conversation.

Crucifixion

March 23, 2012

Crucifixion.

Costly for Jesus.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:4

God’s grace for me.

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
Titus 3:4-5

Transforms my life.

In your relationships with one another,
have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:5-8

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I'm currently on sabbatical this summer - you can read more about my sabbatical here: Personal Update - What's Next

Since I'm away from the blog I've decided to close comments. I love the interaction and discussion that happens with readers and since I'm not able to do that this summer, I'll be very much looking forward to that when I return in August.

Click here to add your comment and join in the conversation.

Marriage Series Worship Song Ideas

March 21, 2012

Here are worship song ideas from the last six weeks of our marriage series. Worship song ideas don’t always come quickly as part of a marriage series so I wanted to post the worship sets we put together to share with you. If your church is doing a marriage series hopefully there are some good worship song ideas here that you can use!

Many churches are taking time to talk about marriage – and this is a good thing. Marriage needs to be held up as a valuable institution, marriage needs to be looked at from a biblical perspective and marriage needs to be celebrated as a metaphor for the kind of love that Christ has for His church. (Genesis 2, Ephesians 5)

Worship leaders – I’m hoping this will be a “one day” post for you. It might not be helpful today, but maybe it will be one day! I’ve also included different passages of Scripture – we may have done these as a responsive reading or a call to worship but they were part of our worship service on those days.

Week 1: What is Love? Ephesians 5
You Are – Mark Roach
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
10,000 Reasons – Matt Redman
One Thing Remains – Jesus Culture
Romans 8:38-39
I Stand Amazed
Because of Your Love – Phil Wickham

Week 2: Song of Songs overview
This Is How We Know – Matt Redman
God Is Able – Hillsong
Always – Kristian Stanfill
10,000 Reasons – Matt Redman
Fairest Lord Jesus

Week 3: Anticipation, little foxes. Song of Songs ch. 1-3
Because of Your Love – Paul Baloche
You Have Saved Us – Paul Baloche
Colossians 1:13-14, Titus 3:4-5, Ephesians 2:8
Your Name – Paul Baloche
The One Who Saves – Hillsong

Week 4: Time For One Flesh. Song of Songs 3:6-5:1
You Have Saved Us – Paul Baloche
Our God – Chris Tomlin
Psalm 98
The Power Of The Cross – Keith & Kristyn Getty
10,000 Reasons – Matt Redman
How He Loves Us – John Mark McMillan

Week 5: Danger & The Solution To Indifference. Song of Songs ch. 5
Everlasting God – Brenton Brown
Glorious – Paul Baloche
Jude 1:24-25
Stronger – Hillsong
Lord I Need You – Chris Tomlin

Week 6: God, Me & My Wife. Song of Songs 8:6-7
Isaiah 55:1-3, 6-9
Your Grace Is Enough – Chris Tomlin
Christ Is Risen – Matt Maher
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
You Are My King – Billy Foote
All To Us – Chris Tomlin
Take My Life And Let It Be

If you’re wondering about the repetition of 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman and You Have Saved Us by Paul Baloche – those were both new songs for us during this series and we typically introduce new songs by singing them back-to-back in weeks 1 & 2, week 3 taking a break and then bringing it back week 4.

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I'm currently on sabbatical this summer - you can read more about my sabbatical here: Personal Update - What's Next

Since I'm away from the blog I've decided to close comments. I love the interaction and discussion that happens with readers and since I'm not able to do that this summer, I'll be very much looking forward to that when I return in August.

Click here to add your comment and join in the conversation.

3 Changes For Big Impact With WordPress

March 20, 2012

I’ve recently had lots of friends asking me about their blog design, about WordPress plugins, about blog workflow and just about blogging in general. Rather than repeating the same information over and over, here are THREE quick changes you can make to your WordPress blog (you are using WordPress, right?) right now!

No, I’m not a blog expert. No, I’m not making bucketfuls of money from my blog – I just want to help you run your blog better! So here are three very easy changes you can make to your self-hosted WordPress blog to get some big impact:

Install Livefyre
Is there anything wrong with using the stock WordPress comment system? No, absolutely not. But what if you could turn your blog comments into a streaming conversation which integrates twitter and facebook? Livefyredoes exactly that while still making it very easy for people to comment on your blog.

Check out their site – www.livefyre.com for instructions on how to install and move all of your existing comments over to the Livefyre system. It’s a free solution, makes your comments much more interactive and will help with the sociability of your content.

Digg Digg plugin
Content sharability is huge for blogs. Sure you can write a great article every day, post your links to twitter and facebook, update your RSS readers and even have an email list. But the limit for each of those things is the reach of your own network. Only have 100 followers on twitter? That’s only 100 people who will potentially see your tweet – and many of them will miss it in their timeline!Make it easy for the network side of social networking to really ramp up the social power of your blog. Use Digg Digg to put custom sharing icons at the top, bottom and sides of your posts. The plugin is really easy to configure and if you know a little bit of code and how to edit your WordPress blog files, you’ll be able to create something really slick in no time.

Search the plugin directory for Digg Digg and go to town!

Standard Theme
I see so many blogs that have great content running on themes that looked great on a showcase site but just aren’t hacking it in the real world. Free themes are definitely out there (but you should be careful!) and if you’ve got big bucks you could hire someone to do a full custom theme design for you. But what about something in the middle?If blogging is something that you love to do, you find that people are responding to the content you are writing and you want to put your best foot forward when it comes to the design of your blog, you owe it to yourself and your readers to give Standard Theme a serious look. If you are tired of breaking your theme every time you make a change, getting super frustrated with putting different PHP code in Google to try and figure out what the heck you’re supposed to do next, Standard Theme may be exactly what you’re looking for.

Standard Theme isn’t free but I will say that I have not regretted using this theme for one second. It is honestly a beast of a theme, makes customization really easy and does so much of the work that the purchase price is justified several times over. The $99 version gets you free version upgrades for life and can be used on multiple domains. Bonus!

So there you go. 3 changes you can make to WordPress today for big impact on your site. Any others to add to this list? Comment below!

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I'm currently on sabbatical this summer - you can read more about my sabbatical here: Personal Update - What's Next

Since I'm away from the blog I've decided to close comments. I love the interaction and discussion that happens with readers and since I'm not able to do that this summer, I'll be very much looking forward to that when I return in August.

Click here to add your comment and join in the conversation.

All Sons and Daughters – Wake Up

March 19, 2012

Monday morning. Some of you may need this:

“Wake Up” by All Sons and Daughters

We have seen the pain that shaped our hearts
And in our shame we’re still breathing
Cause we have seen the hope of Your healing
Rising from our souls is the feeling
We are drawing close Your light is shining through

So wake up, wake up, wake up all you sleepers
Stand up, stand up, stand up all you dreamers
Hands up, hands up, hands up all believers
Take up your cross and carry it on

All that You reveal with light in us
Will come to life and start breathing
Cause we have seen the hope of Your healing
Rising from our souls is the feeling
We are drawing close Your light is shining through

Here we stand our hearts are Yours
Not our will but Yours be done

Written by David Leonard, Leslie Jordan & Don Chaffer
(c) 2011 Integrity’s Alleluia! Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
Integrity’s Praise! Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
Simpleville Tense Songs (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)
Gentleman Adventurer’s Songs (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

Major kudos to the team at Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN for putting this together.

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I'm currently on sabbatical this summer - you can read more about my sabbatical here: Personal Update - What's Next

Since I'm away from the blog I've decided to close comments. I love the interaction and discussion that happens with readers and since I'm not able to do that this summer, I'll be very much looking forward to that when I return in August.

Click here to add your comment and join in the conversation.

Easter Sunday Is A Lie

March 15, 2012

Easter Sunday is a lie.

Yep, I said it.

Easter Sunday is a lie.

The crucifixion? True. The stone rolled away? True. The resurrection? True. Jesus is alive? True.

Easter Sunday? False.

Let’s start here: I have no issue with a specific time on the calendar where we focus on the sacrifice (Lent), acclamation (Palm Sunday), crucifixion (Good Friday) and resurrection (Easter Sunday) of Jesus. So of course the church should celebrate the resurrection of Jesus – if the resurrection didn’t happen, our faith is in vain and we should be pitied! Just don’t leave the celebration segmented to one Sunday, once a year.

Every Sunday is Easter Sunday. Scratch that. Every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday!

If Easter Sunday is the only week your church celebrates the resurrection, you are helping to promote the lie. If Easter Sunday is the only week you expect guests from your community, you are helping to promote the lie. If Easter Sunday is the only week you proclaim that He IS risen, you are helping to promote the lie.

Easter Sunday is not simply a religious festival which comes around every year, giving us an excuse to sing the old favourites and preach the stone rolled away. Easter Sunday must be more than the day the nice church people welcome the nice community people, tell the nice story of the happy ending and then everyone goes on their merry way.

The reason the church exists? Resurrection. The reason the church gathers? Resurrection. The reason we meet on Sunday? Resurrection.

Worship leaders - you must defeat the lie that Easter Sunday is the week to celebrate the resurrection. It’s a lie. You must actively celebrate and lead people towards celebration of the resurrection every single time you gather. If you leave this out when it comes to the reason why the church gathers, you are helping to promote the lie.

This Sunday? Celebrate the resurrection. Next Sunday? Celebrate the resurrection. Easter Sunday? Celebrate the resurrection – not because it’s Easter Sunday but because He is risen, He is risen indeed!

Acts 4:33 “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus”

I Corinthians 15:17 “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I'm currently on sabbatical this summer - you can read more about my sabbatical here: Personal Update - What's Next

Since I'm away from the blog I've decided to close comments. I love the interaction and discussion that happens with readers and since I'm not able to do that this summer, I'll be very much looking forward to that when I return in August.

Click here to add your comment and join in the conversation.

Communion, only better!

March 14, 2012

We all love communion services. As a worship leader, these are probably the most impactful worship services that I get to plan and lead – we focus again on the cross, tell the great news of Jesus and participate together in an act which remembers His great love for us. Communion really is a sacred event.

There are times, though, when balancing all the details of what needs to happen during communion can take away from the actual event of participation. So, worship leaders – have any of these ever happened to you during a communion service at your church?

One or members of your team don’t get the elements because the communion servers just missed them?

One of those little cups of juice perched precariously on a music stand actually tipped over?

The elements were all served out and someone knocked them over with the neck of their guitar?

All of these have happened to me at one time or another but I just found out about a really simple, really brilliant, why-didn’t-I-think-of-that solution called ClipOnStage.

John Inglese, the man behind ClipOnStage got in touch a few weeks ago and asked if I’d be interested in receiving one of his communion trays to try out in exchange for a review on the blog. After receiving one, I knew that I would use these and so I ordered a bunch more for our team. I was more than happy to still do this review for you and let you know how you can get your own.

After using them on Sunday with our worship team for communion, I have no issue at all recommending this product and encouraging you to get some for your church. They really do work and really do make it easier for your musicians to participate in communion.

Here’s the idea – take the ClipOnStage and just clip it to a mic stand, music stand, Aviom stand (like we did) for each of your musicians and singers. Either before the service starts or when communion is being distributed, drop the cup into the opening and sit the bread/wafer on the tray and the elements are ready for the members of the worship team.

Honestly, it’s that simple and it really is a “duh!” kind of product where it’s hard to imagine that it took someone this long to put it together.

In terms of materials, the clip feels really solid and durable. There’s a rubbery lining on the inside of the actual clip to prevent it from slipping down the music stand and the tray can swivel to make sure it’s always in the most accessible position. The clip itself is very sturdy and I’ve got no concerns about these breaking or cracking with normal use. The plastic on the tray is thicker than I thought it would be – almost like credit card thickness – and I wasn’t at all worried about the communion elements falling off the tray.

How much? Very reasonable. Each clip & tray is $8.50. We bought 6 of them so we essentially have a full set for our Sunday morning team for a little over $50. Very little cost for a solution that works so well.

Check out ClipOnStage here – ClipOnStage and let John know he’s got a pretty great idea on his hands!

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I'm currently on sabbatical this summer - you can read more about my sabbatical here: Personal Update - What's Next

Since I'm away from the blog I've decided to close comments. I love the interaction and discussion that happens with readers and since I'm not able to do that this summer, I'll be very much looking forward to that when I return in August.

Click here to add your comment and join in the conversation.

Lent Worship Service Idea

March 8, 2012

Every year during the season of Lent the churches in our area take turns providing a mid-week service to help people on their spiritual journey towards Easter. The service is held at the same building each week but different churches take care of the music, the readings and the sermon. Lent worship service is a great opportunity for different church congregations to come together around the cross.

It was our turn yesterday to provide the Lent worship service for our community and I thought I’d post an outline here for people who may be looking for Lent worship service ideas.

Responsive Reading: Psalm 103:1-10, 19-22

Leader:
Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Congregation:
The LORD works righteousness and justice
for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

Leader:
The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones
who do his bidding, who obey his word.

Congregation:
Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere
in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.

I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous)
Jesus Paid It All
1 John 4:9-12

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love
one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

In Christ Alone

Sermon: Titus 2:11-14
Our focus should not be on what we can “do” for God
but on what God has “done” for us in Jesus Christ.

I Stand In Awe (including the great second verse)

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I'm currently on sabbatical this summer - you can read more about my sabbatical here: Personal Update - What's Next

Since I'm away from the blog I've decided to close comments. I love the interaction and discussion that happens with readers and since I'm not able to do that this summer, I'll be very much looking forward to that when I return in August.

Click here to add your comment and join in the conversation.

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Chris Vacher Married to Sonya, dad to Avery, Emmy, Isabelle and Anderson. Director of Worship at Orangeville Baptist Church near Toronto. Founder of WorshipRises and doing my best to follow Jesus in the midst of it all.

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