Ray Deck IIIEverybody in church has advice about the worship, and many people share their opinion eagerly. For every good piece of advice you receive, you’re bound to hear a myth or two. Here are some of our favorites—explained and debunked. 1. Louder...
To help you keep your services organized, Proclaim offers four unique service segments. Here’s a quick rundown of what they are, what they do, and how you can get the most out of them.When you create a new service, you can start from scratch...
There are many benefits to a long-term communication strategy or preaching calendar. Don’t miss out by just planning week to week. Here are four benefits of creating a long-term plan: 1. Promotes cooperation Worship leaders can do a lot with...
It probably felt funny standing on the Galilean hillside that spring after everything that had happened. The people were all familiar, but not quite the same. I imagine Peter looking over Jesus’ shoulder, expecting the Roman cavalry to crest...
Duo The Royal Royal suddenly appeared on the worship scene in 2012 with nine tracks titled Royal, which they quickly followed with a 14-track encore. Their first single, “Every Little Bit of Praise” dropped a couple weeks ago, and we had...
John Wesley said, “Christianity is essentially a social religion . . . to turn it into a solitary religion, is indeed to destroy it.” But living as part of a faith community can be difficult. Differences in personality, upbringing...
With two days left, you’re running out of time to take advantage of the Logos 5 upgrade sale. If you’re on the fence, you need to upgrade right now—upgrade discounts will never be this big again. And we’ll be here until 9 p.m...
The Bible is much bigger and more important than a self-help book. It’s the story of God’s love for mankind, and it contains instructions for how we ought to approach him today. But it does include advice for successful living along the...
New Logos users often ask, “What makes Logos resources so much more valuable than their print or epub counterparts?” The answer? Connectivity. Most scholarly works connect to other resources through in-text citations, bibliographies, and...
Hotkeys, or keyboard shortcuts, make common tasks faster and easier. Proclaim has a number of these keyboard shortcuts built in, but we’ve never published a comprehensive list of them—until now. Proclaim hotkeys fall into three major...
Pastors need friends. Just like everybody else, pastors need the many benefits of authentic Christian community. They have the same need to belong as you and me, but for some reason it’s especially difficult for them to cultivate healthy...
The Old Testament Law, given to Israel by God during Israel’s escape from Egypt, contains 613 imperatives. Some of them are pretty obvious (Exodus 20:15) and some seem cruel (Leviticus 20:19), while others sound downright bizarre to modern...
All of Logos 5’s features appear in Gold and above. When you upgrade to Platinum, Diamond, or Portfolio, what you’re investing in is valuable, often hard-to-find content, bundled to give you the best deal. Here are four key resources...
Create the exact sound you want from your electric guitar with a custom pedal board. But before you start drilling holes, think through how your effects will be arranged. Check out these from Jonathan Thomas, worship leader at Moon Valley...
Even when studying Scripture with a reading plan, I often feel like I jump into the middle of the story and lack key information. A friend of mine taught me a technique that has greatly increased the amount I understand as I read each morning...
“If there’s ever anything I can do to help, just let me know.” We hear this a lot. It gets tacked onto the end of a conversation as if it would be impolite to walk away without an offer to help. I spent a long time ignoring these...
There’s a dangerous mission field much closer than you think. Just beyond your white picket fence or down your hall is a very high-risk, high-need culture that you’re suited to reach. Your literal neighbors need Jesus as much as those in...
You don’t have to look far to find pain. Hurting people are everywhere, and wanting to help is natural. Unfortunately, so is not knowing what to do. Many people avoid those who are hurting because they don’t feel qualified to help. Here...
It was an honest mistake. You lost track of time. You were talking to someone. The drummer was in the bathroom. For whatever reason, you started a service late. No big deal. Unless this isn’t this first time. Churches that habitually start...
Church planting is most difficult in urban centers—exactly where new churches are most desperately needed. Thankfully, many brave souls are stepping out to answer God’s call on their lives. The Acts 29 Network supports intrepid church planters...
Every week—sometimes two or three times a service—we speak directly to the king of the universe while the congregation listens in. That’s a tall order, and it should probably scare us a little more than it does. Thankfully, Jesus set an...
Copyright law is confusing. CCLI SongSelect makes it easy to access the lyrics, chord charts, and sheet music you need, but that still leaves lots unaccounted for—backgrounds, announcement slides, illustration videos, prelude and postlude...
If your ministry and livelihood depend on your ability to speak or sing on a regular basis, it only makes sense to take special care of your voice. Here’s how to go about keeping your larynx in prime condition. Protect your instrument You...
Since its founding on the day of Pentecost, the church has been characterized by both diversity and unity. Unfortunately, modern ministry practices like age segregation and demographic targeting have homogenized many churches. Here are four ways to...
Using the three-step Bible study process—observe, interpret, and apply—you’re bound to learn new things about God. The observe phase doesn’t require any tools beyond a copy of the Scripture itself. (If you’re in search of one, we...
It’s difficult to pray as a family. If you manage to get everyone in the same room, paying attention to something other than a glowing screen, try one of these three methods to lead your family in prayer—and keep even the youngest believers...
At some point, every pastor will face criticism about music volume. A few preemptive steps will go a long way to prepare you for the inevitable noise complaint. Use a dB meter to collect data Noise complaints are usually subjective, made on feeling...
As people grow closer, friction is bound to occur. Both small and not-so-small offenses are inevitable. Nobody likes to apologize, but Scripture tells us to confess our faults to one another (James 5:16), seek reconciliation when we wrong one...
J. D. Greear is the lead pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, NC, and the author of several books, including Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart. We had a few minutes to chat with him about how they approach worship at The Summit Church...
Many evangelicals shy away from the word “meditation” because of its association with eastern religions, but it should be noted that meditation is taught in several places throughout Scripture (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2, Psalm 119:148)...