http://www.allpraise.com/blog/rss.php?w=new New Blogs in All Praise Blog. en-us Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:56:09 -0600 All Praise Blog RSS jimmy@allpraise.com http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=61 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=61 Lately, a dear friend, Pastor Rodney Fouts of North Church in Edmond, OK, has been teaching on changing your life. I’ve especially enjoyed his take on friendships and choosing your friends carefully. I’ve always kept my friendships to a minimum and believe it’s one of the main reasons God has blessed me with the best friends I could ever ask for. The World would have us believe that you keep your friends close and your enemies closer. But I truly believe that Jesus taught us that you pick your friends with careful intention, while loving everyone else through acts of service. If that premise has ever been challenged, it was 100% confirmed for me when I received the following letter. Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=60 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=60 Godly Excellence. Ten things it’s NOT! As a worship consultant, I’ve had the unique opportunity to see firsthand both the good and the bad sides worship in the local church.  I’ve seen worship teams that are at the top of their game and those that couldn’t get any worse. Churches that support their worship ministries, and churches who shun them. When you think of worship band excellence, it’s easy to point towards the larger, more talked about churches and their bands. The worship teams at churches like New Spring in Anderson, SC; Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC; Andy Stanley’s Northpoint in Atlanta; and of course, Israel Houghton’s team at Lakewood in Houston, TX.  There are also some worship teams who are just as good or better which you’ve probably never heard of before. Like Brookwood Church in Simpsonville, SC or Puyallup Foursquare Church in Puyallup, WA. All of these churches have varying styles of music and technique, but the one thing they all have in common is a clear understanding and practice of Godly excellence.So, what is this seemingly elusive “concept” of Godly excellence. Well, I could write a book on what it is… so, I decided to waste much less of your time and mine, and tell you what Godly Excellence is NOT. Read on: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=59 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=59 Too Busy to Fellowship? Really?   I think 1 John 1:6-7 is one of the most powerful messages to pastors today. And in today's cyber-pastor world, it's more important than ever to understand the meaning of this passage. It's a part of God's plan that we have actual fellowship with one another. It's not good enough that 20,000 Twitter users per day read your quotes. Fellowship requires an investment of time and energies, and it must be personalized one-on-one.1 John reads: "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."   Let’s look more closely to three phrases in that passage: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=58 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=58 As worship leaders, it's important that we understand the power of praise. Which is why I'm telling you that you MUST read this book. At least the first chapter.I know it may make me seem out of touch by saying my favorite book is a book older than most of you reading this, but this book changed my life!  I've recently re-discovered it and once again, it's had a profound affect on my life. POWER IN PRAISE has sold over 3 million copies for a reason. It's a book that can change your life.Giving God all praise in all things - through the good and the bad - is a discipline we all need to develop and continue developing throughout our entire lives. Please, read this book and you'll discover even more Power in Praise!Click Here to Order: Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=57 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=57 In the ministry, being attacked and criticized is nothing new. Jesus himself experienced it over and over. But in recent years, it appears we have begun a trend in overlooking the "turn the other cheek" philosophy our Savior promoted.  Recently,  I have heard some of the most well-known pastors and worship leaders attack their enemies. Many of these pastors have even gone as far as to embarrass the offender via their public platform.  Read on: Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=56 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=56 Leading worship since the age of 16 has made me somewhat qualified to blog on the topic of hateful and hurtful people. I know lead pastors have their share of haters who love to tear them apart, but the music side of any ministry also gets its share of complaints. And even though I often have thoughts of writing a blog that would rip these people apart, I'm pretty sure God would rather me share a few things I've learned over the years. So here are some lessons from those who's goal in life is to bring every ministry under their submission through dissension and ill-willed attacks. Read on.... Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=55 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=55 I had to give a shout out and write a note about how awesome it was this week to lead worship with a band made up of members with an average age of 17 years old. Man, was I skeptical going in. But at the first rehearsal, I realized God was doing something special in the lives of these kids Sun, 03 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=54 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=54 I get asked all the time how All Praise Ministries stays in such great financial shape, even through a time when giving is at an all time low. It's not easy, but there are four simple rules that we apply to everything we do which help keep us financially strong and able to help so many churches and ministries. Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=53 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=53 No, I'm not putting these three on the same level, but all three of them had a huge affect on me a couple of weeks ago. Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=52 http://www.allpraise.com/blog/blog.php?bid=52   In 1998, while living in Seattle, I was a part of a nationwide study that looked into commonly-used marketing phrases and their effectiveness on the average consumer. We found that many of the words and phrases used to sell an idea or a product were now simply ineffective.We found the same to be true in a more recent study, done in 2008. Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0600