Eminem, Boy George, George Clinton, Sheryl Crow, Janet Jackson, the Doobie Brothers, N.W.A. and Alanis Morissette are among the nominees for the 2025 class at the Songwriters Hall of Fame, an eclectic group of rap, rock, hip-hop and pop pioneers.

This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree comes with a strong New England accent, and locals could not be more excited.

Paige Bueckers scored 27 points and had five blocks to help No. 10 UConn beat Georgetown 78-42 on Monday night to win its 22nd Big East Tournament title.

Horse racing history of all kinds is being made Saturday in the final Triple Crown race of the year.

Russia's government since the 1990s has had the type of microwave weapons that are suspected in the covert attacks on U.S. intelligence officials and diplomats that have caused what has come to be known as "Havana syndrome."

The Washington metro area is a hotbed for basketball talent. You can find all the proof you need of the area's hoops legacy at the Washington D.C. Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Terrapins' struggles last season were rooted in the most basic of problems: They couldn't shoot, finishing 320th nationally in field goal percentage (41.3%) and 340th in 3-point percentage (28.9%).

When Willie Green learned Friday that starting guard CJ McCollum and top defender Herb Jones would be joining point guard Dejounte Murray on the injury list for multiple weeks, the New Orleans Pelicans coach tried to look on the bright side.

Worsening air pollution sickened an estimated 1.8 million people in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province in the past month, health officials said Tuesday, as schools across the province were ordered to close for five days to protect children's health.

The curtain will come down on the Paris' feel-good summer with a grand parade of French athletes on the Champs Elysees on Saturday as the country throws one last party to celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The latest instalment of the Aichi Targets Passport is available now to download as an app from iTunes and Google Play.

As the flagship publication of the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP), the Aichi Targets Passport provides annual updates on the global biodiversity indicators that monitor progress towards the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the underlying Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

The suite of indicators presented in the Aichi Targets Passport was brought together by the BIP. They are as far as possible, global in their coverage, scientifically valid and peer reviewed, and relevant to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. In particular, indicators are presented to highlight the progress that has been made towards each target so far and what baselines exist from which future progress can be monitored.

The Aichi Targets Passport was first released as a "proof of concept" in October 2012 and included one or two indicators for each Aichi Biodiversity Target. Since the release of the Beta version, the BIP Partnership has continued working to enhance and increase the number of global indicators available for each of the targets. In its app format, the information contained in the Aichi Targets Passport is at your fingertips at any time.

This latest edition of the Aichi Targets Passport has been released in tandem with the fourth edition of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-4). In addition to information on which of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets is on-course to completion and which targets require more action, GBO-4 presents options that could halt further biodiversity loss.

The indicators presented in the Aichi Targets Passport are those contained in CBD decision XI/3 with some additional indicators that have been, or are being, developed to fill gaps.

To download the Aichi Targets Passport visit: http://www.bipindicators.net/resource/aichipassport 

iTunes: http://goo.gl/dOWujN

Google Play: http://goo.gl/BN6AfG

On Tuesday 30 September 2014, the European Parliament Intergroup on "Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development", in collaboration with the European Commission and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), organised a full day conference entitled: "Nature-Based Solutions: Innovation potential for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in Europe."

Bringing together 140 participants including representatives from the European Institutions, local and regional authorities, research institutes, NGOs and International organisations, as well as private sector representatives, this conference aimed at promoting the solutions that nature can offer in tackling major challenges, such as climate change and natural disasters, in ensuring food security to an increasing population, in protecting the health of European citizens, and the conservation of biodiversity in the EU and at the global level.

The "ICT 2013 – Create, Connect, Grow" will take place on 6-8 November, 2013 in Vilnius, Lithuania. The event will bring together more than 4000 researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, industry representatives, young people and politicians. The focus of ICT 2013 will be placed on Horizon 2020 - the EU's Framework Programme for Research and Innovation for 2014-2020. The event will feature top ICT professionals from industry, academia, research, participating in discussions built around 3 thematic plenaries: ICT for Excellent science; ICT for Industrial Leadership; and ICT for Societal challenges. Experts will present details on how to participate in Horizon 2020. A special focus will be placed on Digital Futures - a journey into 2050's futures and policy challenges.

Apart from the conference the ICT 2013 will also feature an exhibition as a unique opportunity for projects and companies to showcase their research, ICT products and innovative creations. In total, 185 projects will showcase the latest findings in advanced research, technologies, new systems, innovation in services & business and ICT products just coming to market.

In addition networking sessions and investment forum are also planned within the event. ICT 2013 is also organizing activities for students and young researchers

For more information and to register visit: http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/ict-2013

The International BION conference 2014 "Biodiversity today for tomorrow" will take placefrom September 17^th to 19^th in Bonn, Germany.

It will be organized by the BION office and its network partners and the following subthemes have already been proposed:

1: Basic research in biodiversity
2: Monitoring, assessment, prediction – biodiversity in space and time
3: Biodiversity and Human Development
4: Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture / Bioeconomy
5: Ethical aspects of biodiversity
6: Societal (social, cultural, political) impact
7: Capacity Building
8: Interdisciplinary approaches

More information is available on the BION website: http://www.bion-bonn.org/de/de/bion-kongress-2014

Please, see conference programme for details and use the possibility for online registration.

Student loan cancellation was not a focus of the campaign for either Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, who steered clear of the issue at her political events.

The post Trump’s win brings uncertainty to borrowers hoping for student loan forgiveness appeared first on Boston.com.

Actor Timothée Chalamet made a surprise appearance at his own look-alike contest in Lower Manhattan on Sunday, a well-attended event that drew an order to disperse from police and at least one arrest

The post Actor Timothée Chalamet crashes his own look-alike contest after police shut down crowded event appeared first on Boston.com.

The incomplete ‘incidental music’ for Alceste, conducted with liveliness and sensitivity.

"I thought I was just giving him a compliment. But, at the same time, this is who I am."

The post How Giannis Antetokounmpo responded to Jaylen Brown calling him ‘a child’ appeared first on Boston.com.

"We're getting there. It's a long journey, it's a long season. Taking care of your body is important."

The post Jaylen Brown shares encouraging update on hip injury: ‘Felt a little bit more of that burst’ appeared first on Boston.com.

“I’m just focused on helping my team get a win, and that’s what we did tonight.”

The post Jaylen Brown calls Giannis Antetokounmpo ‘a child’ after 2-time MVP offers handshake before pulling hand back appeared first on Boston.com.

“They outplayed us,” Joe Mazzulla said. “Every facet of the game. Beat us on all the margins. They deserved to win.”

The post Jaylen Brown scores season-high, but sloppy Celtics fall to Hawks: 9 takeaways appeared first on Boston.com.

“While an increase in population is hopeful, the North Atlantic right whales washing up dead on our shores speak for themselves — we must stop killing them."

The post Right whale population grows 4 percent but extinction remains a threat appeared first on Boston.com.

The tree will be lit during a live TV broadcast on Dec. 4, featuring 50,000 multi-colored lights with a Swarovski star on top and remain on display until mid-January.

The post Crowds flock to tiny Mass. town to send off Rockefeller Christmas tree appeared first on Boston.com.

This is the first of a three-part series on team building. The ideas are simple, but the why behind the what is the secret sauce to growing a solid team. Like most people reading this, I’ve made mistakes. And those disasters have forged the conviction that we can’t be in ministry without being radically committed to loving Jesus and his church more, and on a daily basis.

Keep Jesus close, make sure that your family always takes the right priority (more on that in the future) and be willing to make your church better.  Notice I said better, not different. 

Better, Not Different

One of the biggest complaints I hear from worship pastors/leaders is that somehow, they have found themselves in a church that they really don’t like. 

They don’t feel appreciated by their lead pastors. 

They don’t like the weekend worship experience. 

They don’t like the people. 

At the end of the day, there is so much complaining that I am left scratching my head wondering if they even love Jesus.  If this is you, take some time to pray if you can make your lead pastors vision for your church come alive. If you aren’t in agreement, you may be in the wrong place.  Do yourself, your family and your people a favor and get connected with someone or something that is complimenting to your convictions and your philosophy.  God created you to be you, but we are servants before leading anything. Some of us carry the responsibility to make things different.  Most of us don’t.  Know your place.  Is it your burden to change things? …or is it your job to make things better.  Talk to your teams about this.  This is a fantastic “clarity” question that will free up your bandwidth.

Is it your burden to change things? …or is it your job to make things better.

OK, that is my soap box! ☺  As I give you these three helpful tips, it’s important for you to know that these are just tools.  You can’t fake or replace strong spiritual foundations of ministry leadership.  Love Jesus and use tools and resources to LOVE His PEOPLE better.  We try to change people or churches.  But what I’ve found is that when you develop people, things change. 

But what I’ve found is that when you develop people, things change. 

So, if it’s our job to make things better, what are some ideas that we can do to commit to improving? 

1. Develop a leadership pipeline

Developing a leadership pipeline is a helpful tool to bring clarity to “who’s responsible for who and who’s responsible for what”.  It’s really difficult for a worship pastor to carry the burden of a ministry on their shoulders alone…and they shouldn’t. I don’t have to tell you that the apostle Paul makes it clear that we are called to empower people to do the work of the Kingdom, not do it all on our own! (Ephesians 4:11-13) We also get a peek into Moses' anxiety in Numbers chapter 11, where he's at his wit’s end and well over his capacity. The Lord tells him to gather 70 of his most trusted and responsible people. Moses brings them to the "tent of meetings" and the Spirit of the Lord pours over them.

God helped Moses build his team. He will help you build yours.

A leadership pipeline helps you identify your 70 (or even 7 figuratively speaking). This is the pipeline our church utilizes.  

How this works:

In this chart, we document how responsibility falls within a team.

• An assistant is the first place in which we invite someone to be developed as a leader.
• A leader is the first level in which a person is responsible for a team.
• A coach is the first level in which a leader is overseeing other leaders.
• A director is responsible for directing a particular team.
• A pastor is responsible for care, culture and vision.

My favorite area to develop is our coaches. In worship ministry, I am so lucky to have some of the best coaches.

Here's how this role works:

Jordan Hicks is my guitar coach. He is responsible for developing all guitar leaders, recruitment and assimilating guitarists for all of our campuses, adult, youth and kids’ teams. He's responsible for all communication and administration for this group as well. Because Jordan is the leader I've poured into, he completely understands my values, our church’s values and culture, and our end goal. He's a volunteer, but he brings a priceless value of leadership and excellence to our church. Our worship leaders never should worry about who they are leading with. We are spoiled because of warriors like Jordan. He's just one example of Ephesians 4 coming to life in our ministry.

I grew up as a jazz musician—tenor sax. I loved John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Thelonius Monk. C’mon somebody!  I was in high school when I first played in combos with some older pro musicians in our city. We started playing a blues tune when one of the guys stopped me and said, “In the words of Miles Davis, man…you can’t play blues because you haven’t hurt enough yet.”  Apparently, I lacked any sense of emotive playing ability as a teenager. And I hadn’t hurt enough yet. 

If playing jazz and blues is an expression of pain and hurt that we’ve experienced, then singing worship music is an expression of the HOPE we know. We can’t and shouldn’t do this alone. Lean on your team. Empower them. 

I am excited to share with you the next two tips over the next few months. You’ll be able to find them right here at allaboutworship.com.  If you have questions about developing your leadership pipeline, you can email me at mike@worship.coach.

For free development resources, check out www.worship.coach.

Over the last few months we’ve tackled the topic of TEAM BUILDING.  As much as I would love to feel as if we have this one nailed, we don’t.  TEAM BUILDING is a muscle that every leader needs to continue to develop.  It’s easy to let this one slip away from us! Just when we start to feel like we are getting on top of this, something changes.  A vital team member leaves.  A leader needs to take on the responsibility of a different area.  Your best guitar player gets hired as the worship pastor at another church.  These are all real-life situations that happen in even the best teams.  They will happen to yours as well.

In our “Month One” blog on team building we presented the IDEA of developing a Leadership Pipeline within your worship ministry.  This IDEA helped support that idea that building an EMPOWERED TEAM is a powerful Kingdom tool.  “Who’s responsible for who?” and “Who’s responsible for what?” are two of the most important questions that needs to be answered in any team environment.  When you lead a team with clarity and spread out the responsibility for others to own your team, you ignite growth opportunities that might have went unnoticed. 

In “Month Two” we presented the idea of “Making Recruitment and Assimilation a Normal for Everyone”.  So many times, I bump into Worship Leaders and Pastors that feel the very unfair burden of building ALONE.  With this IDEA, we present the notion that every team can build better and faster when the team members who are on the teams are your best recruiters.  Make this a normal practice.  At my church, we practice asking new team members to “bring one” with you.  We have found that by making this a standard practice at ground level, we never have to ask for participation from the 10,000-foot level.  Whatever is visible is what replicates.  Empower your best leaders to build.

So here we are. Month Three.

Idea #3. Clearly Identify and Communicate Simple On-Ramps.

I love my city.  I live in Lincoln, Ne.  Home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  I love the youthful spirit and progressive nature of our city.  I have even grown to love and cherish the special college football atmosphere that engulfs our city on game day.  It’s addictive to say the least.  But one thing that I am not a big fan of is traffic on game day.  There is one primary road that leads into Lincoln and over 90,000 fans make the trek to our city on game day.  There are probable more if you include tailgaters.  THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM: The roads infrastructure needs to be able to support the traffic flow to the desired destination.  If there are too many confusing pieces of communication, it would put our city into emergency mode and have catastrophic effects.  I mean, the world might come to an end if people missed a Cornhusker Football Game! (No, but seriously) ;)

Having clear and simple communication about “what to DO next” can make or break your teams culture. 

Every month I host a worship leaders round table in Omaha Ne.  At this round table, Worship leaders from multiple different denominations gather for friendship and peer coaching.  These leaders have become family and they are amazing.  We discuss a wide range of worship ministry issues.  One topic that comes up regularly is “attracting the right volunteers”.  If a leader starts to pour their heart out to me about how they can’t get enough volunteers, I always ask one question to start the conversation.  “Can you tell me about your on-ramp?” This might sound overly simplistic, but what I have found is that sometimes we make it more complicated than it needs to be or we haven’t identified the answer to the most important question at all.  Every leader on your team, in unity, needs to be able to answer this question with clarity and simplicity.

 THIS IS THE QUESTION

“Where do I go and What do I do?”

 Having clear and simple communication about “what to DO next” can make or break your teams culture. 

 Here are a few suggestions when it comes to identifying your onramp into your ministry:

       1.     KEEP IT SIMPLE-

Keep it simple in language and communication.  Your “on-ramp” shouldn’t be riddled with complex forms, interviews and assessments.  Not yet anyways.  Create an “on-ramp’ that just answers the question, “where do I go and what do I do?”.  Worry about next steps later.  But for now, getting a “willing one” to show up is your biggest win. Make it simple for them.

For example, I person asks about playing guitar on the worship team.  Any leader in your department should be able to have the same simple answer. ”I am so glad you are interested!  We host all our new volunteers on Monday Nights at 6:30pm!  Would you be my guest?!”

       2.     USE WHATS ALREADY WORKING AS YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD-

­What is already working in your church?  Do you have a rehearsal process that is spot on?  USE IT!  Is God’s presence so thick in your weekend worship services that lives are being transformed?  USE IT! I’ve made the mistake of overthinking and over programming.  I’ve launched the “extra” visitor’s night or the quarterly worship night with the intentions of attracting new people.  Sometimes those things work.  But the problem is that even though they may be effective, it takes a long time for those events to represent the culture and team that we want people to be attracted to. 

Identify what’s already working and utilize those moments to “on-ramp” your team.

        3.     KEEP IT CONSISTENT-

Nothing can steal the wind out of the sails of progress like a good dose of inconsistency.  If you “welcome” new team members on Monday nights, keep that consistent for a season.  If you “welcome” new people to your choir rehearsal and you celebrate leaders that brought them, don’t change that unless you are communicating change.  Consistency, on this point, allows us the opportunity to get buy in from our team! Consistency builds reliability. Consistency gives our leaders tools to build with.  (Side note:  We will be talking about “embracing change” and reinvention in the upcoming months.)

Consistency tells our teams that we aren’t building a kingdom that only serves us, but we are leading an army that can fight battles when we share the burden.

Identifying your “on-ramps” could be a simple strategy that could help you engage people better.  Below is a sample of an “on-ramps” document that I created for our kid’s ministry at our church.  This idea isn’t just for worship/creative teams, but for everyone.

It is essential that you clearly communicate the “WHERE/HOW” to START whenever you are building teams.  Keep your communication clear and simple.  Try utilizing opportunities that your church is already doing well to interact with potential volunteers.  Lastly, be consistent.  Everyone should know the answer to this question: “Where do I go and What do I do?”.

 Having clear and simple communication about “what to DO next” can make or break your teams culture. 

Jesus, I pray today for the burden and stress that our worship leaders and pastors feel daily. We pray that you would continue to grow our capacity to shepherd well.  Thank you for entrusting us with big things.  We are honored to pastor your people.

Please feel free to use this resource or any that you find at worship.coach. Feel free to send me an email if you have any questions about these three helpful tips.  I am always glad to help. 

Michael King @michaelkingjr
free resources available at www.worship.coach

James & Dustin had a chance to sit down with Jonathan Brown - President of Integrity Music - to discuss unity and division among the people of God, and among worshipers in the church.

JB (Jonathan Brown) and Dustin both had the chance to be part of a tour with WeAreWorship, where they visited multiple church leaders in multiple cities.  There were so many great things experienced and along with that, there were so many things learned.  At the end of the day, we want unity in the the people of God and especially among the leaders of God's Church, and we need to have inspired conversation on this topic. 

Enjoy!

-----

The Worship Podcast is powered by All About Worship (Dustin Smith & James Galbraith) and WeAreWorship (Wisdom Moon & Morgan Shirey).

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Josh and his wife, Leslie, revolutionized their family business by following key biblical principles. Discover the power of faith-driven entrepreneurship and see how God's blessings know no bounds when entrusted to obedient hearts and hands.

A new generation of Black farmers are working to reclaim land, hoping to grow justice along with vegetables and plants.

Original Air Date: August 22, 2020

Guests:

Leah Penniman — Savi Horne — Venice Williams — Marcia Chatelain

Interviews In This Hour:

How Black Farmers Lost 14 Million Acres of Farmland — And How They're Taking It Back — 'When You Hold Land You Have to Keep It' — My Garden Is An Outdoor Parish — Cooking Greens: A Delicious Family History Lesson — The First Job, The Polling Place, The Community Space: How McDonald's Became 'The Closest Thing To Home' For Black Communities

The wall and ceiling industry’s past and present, show it will have a successful future.

One-Step Trowel-On Membrane is a self-gauging trowel-on membrane that acts as both moisture/air barrier and adhesive. One-Step Trowel-On Membrane produces a level surface of approximately 1.5 mm thickness of membrane and adhesive and allows simultaneous installation of drainage insulation. This feature makes waterproofing applications fast and easy, saving labor costs of 25% or more in efficient application of drainage insulation over vapor/air barrier membrane.

Using more technology in business spending has led to breakthroughs in B2B payments.

The value of the FCIA member, FM 4991-approved or UL-ULC qualified firestop contractor comes from the commitment to excellence. These important designations – FM 4991-Approved, UL-Qualified, ULC-Qualified and FCIA Member in Good Standing – are being recognized by 07 84 00 Firestopping specifications in many occupancies around the world.

The National Center for Construction Education and Research has been recognized as a DEWALT Grow the Trades Grant recipient for its efforts to provide career and technical education programs and industry-recognized credentials to students through the High School Builder Program.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Ft. McMurray, which is located about 300 miles north of Edmonton, in Northern Alberta, Canada. It’s not the northern most point on the road but you can see it from there. The area is a phenomenon because it contains the largest known cash of petroleum in the world. You didn’t know that? Well, neither did I until recently. The amount of oil sand in Alberta is enough-at their current rate of consumption-to provide Canada all of the petroleum it would need for the next 475 years. It’s enough oil to meet the needs of the entire planet for the next 15 years.

I met Kevin Moyer at the national plastering contest held last year in Long Beach, Calif. I listened as he spoke of the future of the plastering industry and the need for skilled plasterers to meet the expected demand of a trade once in decline, but now on the eve of a renaissance. I asked him then if I could have the opportunity to interview him for Walls and Ceilings and recently our schedules permitted us to get together.

My journey through the inner sanctum of the USG Research & Technology Innovation center continued through one testing laboratory after another, each with its own specialty… With over 100 years of innovation and leadership in the walls and ceilings industry, there is no aspect of the business that has escaped the purview of the USG scientists.

Created in the 1960s by the Lyndon B. Johnson administration as part of the “War on Poverty,” 40 years later, Job Corps continues to enjoy strong bi-partisan support in Congress. It continues its mission to help young men and women fulfill their life’s potential, and it may just be part of your solution to meeting the demand for skilled labor in today’s transitional labor market

Since the early 1980s the percentage of the construction industry that has been dominated by unionized companies has decreased, that is until the last few years. Something has changed. Unions offer training programs, a ready supply of skilled labor, and a level playing field of wages and established fringe benefits.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 6 million citizens or legal residents of the United States between the ages of 18 and 64 who are actively seeking work, but who are unemployed. What happened?

It is estimated that there are over 24 million U.S. Military Veterans. More than 2 million of them are under 35 years of age, and many of those are in need of good paying jobs.

I recently had the opportunity to revisit Chicago, the home of one of my personal heroes, Byron Dalton. To most in the industry today, the name Dalton has little or no significance. But to some of us older die-hard plastering fanatics, Dalton could be considered the American patriarch of the plastering trade.

I was 14 years old and the tool I held uncomfortably in my hand had long ago been relegated to the bottom of a pick-up truck tool box; the dark and dusty graveyard where old trowels with rusted blades and popped rivets go to die. You see plasterers very rarely throw away their old trowels; they just put them out to pasture. A quality built trowel will serve its purpose for many years, even decades if cared for properly.