It’s so helpful to know the classic drum rudiments. I use them all the time for exercises and warm-ups. [Read more...]
Expressive Worship Team Training Idea
Let’s face it – there are dozens of things you’d like to do to train your worship team so they can do their best in serving and leading worship on Sunday mornings.
You’d probably like to teach them the best way to learn the music and be prepared when they walk into rehearsal. Maybe you’ve been thinking about helping some of them learn to play their instrument with more skill.
And there’s a whole list of practical things they need to know (cut offs, how to transition between songs, learning and following hand signals, etc.). Not to mention the whole “presence on the platform” and “emotionally connecting” thing that Tom Jackson teaches!
So where do you start?! [Read more...]
The Power of Kindness
Several years ago there was a song by Leslie Phillips called Your Kindness. The chorus said, “It’s Your kindness that leads us to repentance, oh Lord. Knowing that You love us no matter what we do, makes us want to love You, too.”
I often think about the words to that song because, in my own life experience, I’ve found them to be so true of God. He is infinitely more kind toward us than we could ever imagine Him to be. He exceeds our expectations each and every time we come to Him. When we expect the very worst, it’s His kindness and forgiveness instead that floods peace into our hearts.
When I think about God as Heavenly Father, [Read more...]
Celebrate Your Uniqueness
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The great 20th century French painter, Henri Matisse, is quoted as saying, “It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.” Thank God he didn’t. His use of color was so unique that it ended up making him stand out from the rest.
Being a singer/songwriter, I’ve met so many singers/recording artists over the years who have wished desperately [Read more...]
Music – It’s a Powerful Thing
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I am often amazed at how much music affects the way I feel in any given setting.
I was shopping with my friend, Linda, recently. As we wondered through the aisles of clothing, I was conscious of feeling negative and dark. When I took a minute to analyze the source of irritation, I realized it was the music the store was playing. [Read more...]
Christian Musician Magazine Features Tom Jackson
Tom Jackson was featured in the July/August issue of Christian Musician Magazine with an article entitled “Kicked in the Rear with Love.”
Tom regularly submits articles to music publications and websites such as Christian Musician, CCM Online, and others. His encouraging and helpful writing for Christian artists, worship teams, and worship artists is much in demand.
You’ll find Tom’s article on page 24 of the publication, and can read the entire issue online here…
The Lost Art of Conversation: conversational narcissism
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We all have friends who constantly talk about themselves for hours on end. If by some miracle, we get a chance to interject a personal thought, it is met with a blank stare and the subject is quickly escorted back to something that relates to their life.
I call them “conversational narcissists.” [Read more...]
The Lost Art of Conversation: the “me” syndrome
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I have a dear friend (I’ll call her Susan) who lived in another city so we didn’t get to see each other often.
Susan, like many others, suffered from the “me syndrome.” Every time we got together, her wall of words pelted me like a machine gun as I listened to the endless details of her life.
Invariably, at the end of our chats, I would walk away unfulfilled and disappointed because it seemed [Read more...]
The Lost Art of Conversation: a 2-way street
Leann Albrecht - worship leader, speaker and author
In the beginning, God created the universe by the spoken word. The book of Genesis recounts those first moments. “And over the darkness God said, “Let there be light” and there was light.”
After He finished His exquisite expanse of earth and sky, He added one more living form called “man.” Adam and Eve were created to have friendship with God and He conversed with them in the Garden of Eden.
We are creatures designed to be able to speak, listen, and understand each other. Conversation simply means: [Read more...]
Have a “God-Party”
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On the way to Good Friday worship service, my friend’s 4-year-old daughter Layla said, “I want God to be in my heart.” My friend was overjoyed! She told Layla to just talk to God and ask him to “come in.”
Layla proceeded to fill their car with the sweet incense of prayer, asking her heavenly Father to enter her heart and make her His child.
But it didn’t stop there. [Read more...]
