Raise you’re hand if, like me, you went straight from your mother’s womb to a saved seat in the sanctuary of your local church. Now keep your hand raised if you knew from an early age that music was going to play an important role in your future. Keep your hand up, still, if you began singing on your youth group worship team the minute you reached the allowed age and continued all the way through high school and even through college as part of your respective campus ministries. One final round . . . keep it raised if, at some point during your time as a maturing worshiper, you had a seasoned leader intentionally pouring into you, helping you fully understand what it means to step into the role of a worship pastor. If your hand is still raised, you and the person or people who discipled you deserve as many rounds of applause as one might hear during the annual State of the Union. 

Why? 

Because somehow over the years, this incredibly important piece has gotten lost in all the stage fog and bright lights, and much of the Church has been left with a whole bunch of good song leaders and musicians with no pastoral legs to stand on. There’s been a universal confusion placed between the role of worship pastor/leader and worship artist or song leader. My friends, would you agree that these are vastly different roles? 

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. - John 4:23

If the people in our congregations only see the experiential (Spirit) side of worship, and don’t leave having been filled with truth as well, we have missed the mark. Don’t get me wrong, I love a well-executed version of this month’s top CCLI songs as much as the next gal, but where appreciation turns to disappointment is when it becomes abundantly evident that the person leading us has nothing else to offer besides a good voice. Do I believe that the Lord can use a song with or without a teaching moment stuck in there to expound on the message of the lyrics . . . absolutely. But I also believe that on the whole, those charged with leading our congregations in worship, week-in and week-out, are to be just as called, equipped, and anointed to shepherd His people as the other church leaders.

Indulge me for just a minute. 

Say you start hearing strange sounds coming from your car. You take it to the nearest auto shop and you’re greeted warmly by one of the mechanics. He seems perfectly nice and seems to know a lot of the lingo, as he throws around words like carburetor and fuel pump, but as you get further into the conversation it starts becoming clear that perhaps this guy doesn’t understand quite as fully as he’s letting on. You ask him, “So exactly how much experience do you have in fixing cars?” His reply is something like, “Well I’ve been hanging out here for several years observing these other mechanics fixing cars and I’ve watched several YouTube videos about it. They even let me turn a wrench every now and then when they need a bathroom break.” Something tells me you’d be hightailing it out of there to find a more experienced technician.

To my fellow ladies . . . if you walked into a beauty salon for a cut and color and the beautician available next is completely disheveled and her hair looks like a 3 year old styled it, how likely would you be to trust her with your coif? 

And yet, week after week, the hearts of many church goers are being entrusted to people with no pastoral training, no teaching experience, and a Biblical knowledge that is shaky at best. But whose fault is that? Is it theirs? They’re simply operating out of the amount of knowledge and equipping that they’ve been handed. I’m inclined to believe that it is we who have failed this forgotten generation of disciples and left them unprepared to carry this mantle to its fullest extent. Something desperately needs to change, wouldn’t you agree? 

Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. - 2 Timothy 2:2b

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up… - Ephesians 4:11-12

We clearly have been tasked not just with leading songs, but with discipling those who will one day fill our shoes.

But how? 

It starts with you, right where you are in your local context, finding those worshipers who you believe have been set apart to usher God’s people into His presence through music; who have the gifts that it takes to pastor the men, women, students, and children of your church; who desire to know God’s Word in such a way that they are ready to wield it from the stage in a manner that supports the songs they are leading; and who have the humble, teachable spirit necessary to step into this role. That could be a handful of high school and college students, green but eager. It could also be a few men and women who have already been serving on your team, but have never been poured into in this way. It may not even be members in your local church. It may be 3 or 4 people just a little younger than you who you know could really flourish with a little mentorship. Whoever it may be, find them. Reach out to them. Lead and guide them through more than just the “glamorous” and visible sides of worship leading. Dig into scripture together. Talk about what it looks like to really pastor and shepherd a church . . . the good, the bad, the ugly, and the uglier. 

My boss and dear friend, Michael Farren, says “a true worship pastor will have muddy boots and bloody knuckles.” Our job is not to stand up each week, sing some songs, quote a couple Bible verses, and give emotional cues in hopes of people experiencing an encounter with God. Our responsibility, to both the Church and her future leaders, is first to LOVE these people well, to TEACH them about His presence, to DEMONSTRATE what it looks like to worship Him both on the stage and off, and to LEAD them into a deeper relationship with the Lord.  Let’s not forget any longer that we are not the last generation of worship leaders. We are setting the bride of Christ up for failure if we don’t do our part in loving, teaching, demonstrating, and leading those coming up behind us.

To those of you already in the depths of discipling, bravo and keep at it. You are positioning your churches well. Thank you!

Maybe you’re reading this and you feel like perhaps you’re one of the very people talked about here who were thrusted into a position of leadership with little to no equipping. Don’t be afraid to ask another worship pastor to mentor you. We will never “have it down” this side of heaven. There is always more to learn.

If you’re a worship pastor out there who knows this is something that needs to be happening in your church, don’t wait. It’s never too late and you can never start too early.  Our team here at All About Worship is for you in ways you can’t imagine! We are cheering you on as you step into this crucial role! We’d love to know what kinds of resources and tools would be helpful to you as you start your journey. Feel free to comment below with questions or with things that have helped you in your experience.

Dear Dave, I’ve been struggling financially for the past few months, so I’ve been playing the lottery once a week. To me, the chance to win millions is worth a few dollars a month, even if things are tight. Paula Dear Paula, You’ve told me you’re having money troubles, and at the same time you’re throwing money out the window every week? Honestly, the small amount you’re talking about doesn’t make a difference. Even if it’s just two or three bucks a week, that action represents a lot of...

As well as creating the hub with a £27,000 grant, the government has given out 17 grants totalling £1m to charities and social enterprises

The grantmaker announces three partnership programmes as part of the funding new package

Funding models must also include provisions for inflation-based adjustments, the report says

For the celebrity or celebrities that have shown genuine and productive support for their chosen charity or charities

Customers never have to come home to a dark house when the lighting is turned on by this wireless controller.Widely perceived as a residential crime deterrent, lighting is a natural

Eyesaline personal eyewash bottles allow workers to receive instant treatment before moving to main eyewash equipment or while being transported for additional medical care.

From its humble beginnings in a Toyota Corolla, CPI Security — originally Crime Prevention Inc. — has operated with a singular focus.

The Scott Protégé ZM Single Gas Monitor is an easy-to-use, zero-maintenance gas detection solution that delivers high performance in a small package. Once activated, the Protégé ZM monitor does not require charging or calibration. It will operate for two years – maintenance- and hassle-free.

Click here for more information from Scott Safety

TMA honored Sascha Kylau, vice president of sales at OneTel Security, for his exceptional long-term leadership and contributions to the industry.

The key to our advanced facepieces is Top Down Convertibility. A single facepiece. A single fit test. This provides a full-facepiece solution for all applications while minimizing inventory costs and training time. Any AV-Series facepiece can be used interchangeably with Scott's full line of SCBA, APR, and communications products.

Click here for more information from Scott Safety

The Protégé ZM Single-Gas Monitor is an easy-to-use, zero-maintenance gas detection solution that delivers high performance in a small, ergonomically designed package. It is available in oxygen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide single-gas models. With the Protégé ZM Single-Gas Monitor, industrial workers and first responders can focus on the task at hand, not on their equipment.

The Protégé ZM Single Gas Monitor is an easy-to-use, zero maintenance gas detection solution that delivers high performance in a small, ergonomically designed package. It is available in oxygen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide single gas models. With the Protégé ZM Single Gas Monitor, industrial workers and first responders can focus on the task at hand, not on their equipment.

Click here for more information from Scott Safety

The Meridian Universal Gas Detector is an innovative gas detection solution. Meridian’s single detector head supports combustible and toxic sensors. Designed for ease of use, Meridian significantly reduces upfront investment and ongoing maintenance costs. With global approvals and SIL2 certification from TUV-Rheinland, Meridian ensures best-in-class performance and safety.

Click here for more information from Scott Safety

Booth #2531

The Meridian Universal Gas Detector is an innovative gas detection solution. Meridian’s single detector head supports combustible and toxic sensors. Designed for ease of use, Meridian significantly reduces upfront investment and ongoing maintenance costs. With global approvals and SIL2 certification from TUV-Rheinland, Meridian ensures best-in-class performance and safety.

Click here for more information from Scott Safety

Product information is provided by manufacturers. This publication has not independently tested manufacturers' products and cannot assume responsibility for the validity of product claims.

Booth #4517

The Meridian Universal Gas Detector is an innovative gas detection solution. Meridian’s single detector head supports combustible and toxic sensors. Designed for ease of use, Meridian significantly reduces upfront investment and ongoing maintenance costs. With global approvals and SIL2 certification from TUV-Rheinland, Meridian ensures best-in-class performance and safety.

Click here for more information from Scott Safety

Product information is provided by manufacturers. This publication has not independently tested manufacturers' products and cannot assume responsibility for the validity of product claims.

Scott Sight is the industry’s first hands-free, mask-mounted thermal intelligence system. It’s incredibly light at 8.5 ounces, has a minimum of four hours of battery life, optional interface settings, and fits any AV-3000 HT facepiece. Scott Sight provides mission-critical information, ensuring workers never have to go without the basic visibility of thermal imaging again.

Click here for more information from Scott Safety

Product information is provided by manufacturers. This publication has not independently tested manufacturers' products and cannot assume responsibility for the validity of product claims.

The Meridian Universal Gas Detector is an innovative gas detection solution. Meridian’s single detector head supports combustible and toxic sensors. Designed for ease of use, Meridian significantly reduces upfront investment and ongoing maintenance costs. With global approvals and SIL2 certification from TUV-Rheinland, Meridian ensures best-in-class performance and safety.

Scotty's Everyday keto baking mixes are an answer to the stay-at-home movement, which has resulted in the return of home baking: those who are ambitious enough are trying their hand at making fresh baked loaves of bread from scratch.

Building on the success of its recent salmon bowl launch, Scott & Jon's is expanding with two innovative meals: Lemon Butter Dill Salmon and Baja Fish Taco Bowl.

In this podcast, Scott Dicker, market insights director at SPINS LLC, discusses those natural and organic categories that are doing well (think global flavors, at-home meals) and he shares an inside look at SPINS’ top trends for 2024!

COVID-19 has been the great disruptor of 2020 and it shows in the sauce and marinade flavor profiles currently trending. With many restaurants on either hiatus or using abbreviated menus for dine-in or take out, grocery retail trends are leading the way for manufacturers.

“We were so honored to be invited to the Fancy Food Show this year. It is a great way for our students to see how broad the food industry is and understand the impact of the work we do at the lab,” said Drexel Food Lab Associate Director Chef Rachel Sherman. “I find it encouraging to see what products and trends jump out to them."

Comprising 20 experts from diverse segments of the culinary world, the SFA Trendspotters track emerging specialty food and beverage products in their own work and at the bi-annual SFA Fancy Food Shows, thereby getting an early look at the flavors, formats, and ideas that will hit mainstream retailers and restaurants sooner than later.

Niagara Bottling’s new 600,000-sq.-ft. production and distribution facility in Rialto, Calif., manufactures and distributes 120,000 bottles of water per hour. Supporting this throughput are 56 laser-guided vehicles, integrated with a 33,000-position robotic pallet shuttle storage system. Designed and built by E80 Group, the distribution automation operates 24/7/365.

An expert integrator offers best practice strategies to increase productivity and profit by upgrading critical bulk bag filling equipment.

 In the final rule, the FDA announced its intention to consider exempting cottage cheese regulated under the Grade “A” Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) from the rule’s requirements.

Unlike the residential market, which is essentially single family housing and most often dealing with remodels, the commercial sector is a vast sea of segments, ranging anywhere from corporate offices to healthcare to education to hospitality to retail to government/military and technically anything else not handled by the typical neighborhood retailer.

The advantages of choosing refurbished or hybrid conveyors, especially when considering bottle conveyors, are numerous and extend beyond simple cost savings.

https://www.wsj.com/world/russia-plot-us-planes-incendiary-devices-de3b8c0a?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalinkTwo devices that ignited in Europe, officials say, were part of a covert operation to put them on cargo or passenger aircraftBy Bojan...

The beer and beverage maker turned to PET Technologies to improve productivity, reduce downtimes and increase brand awareness.

The collaboration between Paboco and Blue Ocean Closures is available today and expected to reach consumers in early 2025.

Our 30th anniversary is approaching and we are looking for a week long getaway to the beach in May 2025. We would fly out of PHL or EWR. We are beach people who like nature, snorkeling, moderate hiking and water sports. Over the years we have...

Children's Geographies; 02/01/2022
(AN 154441562); ISSN: 14733285
Academic Search Premier

Children's Geographies; 05/15/2024
(AN 177239080); ISSN: 14733285
Academic Search Premier

The post Talcott Parsons on building personality system theory via psychoanalysis was curated by information for practice.

Three new pieces from Swedish studio Bernadotte & Kylberg bring a luxurious serenity to the Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve.

Juniper Art Gallery
615 W. Kirkwood Ave
Bloomington, IN 47404
Wednesday, November 13, 2024, 4:30 – 6pm

Juniper Art Gallery is thrilled to welcome back multi-instrumentalist, and singer/songwriter Pat Otto to our Janiece Jaffe Legacy Stage for November's 2nd Wednesday Acoustic Afternoon on Nov 13th from 4:30-6:00pm. Pat will play both covers and originals on guitar and mandolin. His shows are always entertaining and enjoyable, and we have food & beverage available through our cafe. Come out for a wonderful afternoon of music and art, and some new arrivals in the shop!

Presenter: Juniper Art Gallery
Contact: art@juniperartgallery.com
Cost: free
More info: juniperartgallery.com…

NPR's Scott Simon is a singular presence on air but his name is fairly common. Scott reflects on the bond he's formed with others named ... Scott Simon.

Dense fog is expected early Wednesday morning, reducing visibility to less than one-quarter of a mile at times. Spotty sunshine will break through with mainly dry conditions. A pleasant warming trend will follow with temperatures reaching the mid-50s by Friday.

The details of an unsealed Iranian murder-for-hire plot to kill President-elect Donald Trump raise questions about how the current administration will act, as President Joe Biden previously warned Iran that the United States would consider its targeting of the Republican nominee as an "act of war." 

Described as "David Lynch for teenagers," award-winning crime writer Megan Abbott. Her latest, The Fever, seemed to make every Best of 2014 list, from the Village Voice, to Amazon, to NPR. Her forthcoming novel, You Will Know Me, is out in July 2016. We spoke to Megan from Manhattan on a busy NYC New Year's Eve, 2015 #writing #authors #books Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Perrotta is the author behind, among others, Little Children, The Abstinence Teacher, and The Leftovers, now a hit HBO drama which he co-writes. Recently, he provided the foreword to a new Penguin edition of The Scarlet Letter. We made a date with him and settled into a corner of Harvard Book Store to ask him about his writing process. #authors #books #writing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ottessa Moshfegh says she writes to explore why people do weird things. The daughter of a Croatian mother and Iranian father, she was a serious piano student who knew she didn't want to be a pianist when she felt the call to write - and not just write, but be bold. We spoke to her before her reading at Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Mass. Episode Music: Kevin MacLeod, "Trio for Piano, Violin and Viola" Credit Music: Uncanny Valleys, "Curious or Disconcerting" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An anonymous assistant to President Putin has had a few meetings with winter sports coaches, during which he "in a mild form" recommended to refuse from participating in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. According to All Sports agency, an official from the Kremlin administration, whose name remains anonymous, specified that it would have to be the athletes themselves to make such a decision. The talks of the of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) commission with representatives of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) took place in Moscow this week. The meetings were devoted to the structure of the Russian delegation during the Games in South Korea. The next day it became known that a number of prominent Russian athletes with an unblemished reputation, including biathlete Anton Shipulin, skier Sergei Ustyugov and speed skater Victor An, as well as the leaders of hockey and speed skating teams were not invited to the competitions, even though those athletes were not listed either in Richard McLaren or Denis Oswald reports. On Tuesday, the press service of the Russian Ice Skating Federation said that the IOC did not allow Russian figure skaters Ksenia Stolbova and Ivan Bukin to participate in the 2018 Winter Games without explaining the reasons. Representatives for the Russian Ice Skating Federation expressed their indignation about the absurd decision and started to defend the honour and dignity of athletes in all possible ways.The Russian Olympic Committee prepares to give a hard estimate to IOC's actions and request appropriate explanations.Following those events, Russian politicians assumed that the IOC was pushing Russia to boycott the Winter Games 2018 and exit the Olympic movement."If no explanations follow, perhaps Russian athletes will have to revise their decision regarding the participation in the Olympics in Pyeongchang. They wanted to make us boycott the Games before, but as soon as they realised that we were not going to do it, they decided to suspend clean athletes with perfect reputations. This looks like political blackmail and creates conditions for unfair victories at the Olympics," chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture Mikhail Degtyarev told Sport Express newspaper. On December 5, the IOC Executive Committee decided that only clean Russian athletes would be able to perform at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang under the Olympic flag. Two special committees of the IOC have reduced the list of 500 applicants to 389 names so far. The final structure of the Russian delegation will be announced on January 28. On December 6, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would not boycott the Games. Pravda.Ru

Should the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (FHR) support its colleagues in Belarus and declare a boycott of the 2021 Ice Hockey World Cup in Latvia in protest against the interference of politics in sports? Fasel explains why Belarus can not host Ice Hockey tournament President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Rene Fasel said in an interview with TASS that the decision to cancel the World Ice Hockey Championship in Minsk was made under political pressure. "I realized that the reaction from the Eastern European, Western media and the political pressure was very strong, especially in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. I would say that it is more about political pressure rather than the situation with sponsors. This is a bad situation, but I think that it is very difficult for us to go against it," Rene Fasel said.

A resident of Syktyvkar is going to serve in the zone of the special military operation after stealing a bottle of vodka. The man stole it from a grocery store, became a defendant in a criminal case and agreed to sign a contract for military service. The 39-year-old man, named only as Vitaly, had a hangover in the morning of October 27. He went to the nearest grocery store to get a "remedy." He took a small bottle of vodka from a shelf and went home without paying for it. Store employees noticed the missing bottle, looked through CCTV footage and called the police that found the man quickly.

RetailTechnologyReview.com spoke with Adrian Lawson, managing director of independent software vendor (ISV) Waizu, about how the company’s solutions are geared to helping organisations avoid the costly loss or misplacement of their mobile devices, thereby keeping their assets active and accountable and their workers fully productive.