Stephen M. Newman is the author of Experiencing Worship, A Study of Biblical Worship, and Founder & Editor of ExperiencingWorship.com. Steve currently serves as Pastor of Worship, First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge, LA. Steve has extensive experience in both traditional and contemporary worship styles and has been serving in music and worship capacities since 1982.
I have been reading a lot on the subject of grace lately. There are some really good books on the subject that have helped me to understand a little better this thing called grace. My most recent readings have been “The Ragamuffin Gospel” and “Ruthless Trust” by Brennan Manning. If you are looking for two…
A few years back I wrote an article entitled “No Throwaways”. Its purpose was to encourage churches that were going through the process of change in the area of music and worship, to be slow and patient in their approach. It dealt the endless conflict in churches that resist change. Over the years we have…
I am not a Trekkie, but I remember well the phrase that opened every episode in the old days, “To boldly go where no man has gone before.” If you’ve ever watched Star Trek, you know that it is a saying that is not easy to forget. Either it was very catchy or I just…
What’s the hardest thing about being a worship leader? For some, it’s the struggle to balance the performance aspect with the worship-leading aspect. For others, it’s dealing with people who feel called but show no true gift. Still others are faced with directional issues in style of music and worship. The list is endless. After…
I don’t know about you but I am getting pretty tired of buying worship CD’s that are 40% to 90% full of songs already recorded by another artist. Every CD I pick up these days has a couple of songs that have already been well overplayed. I used to subscribe to a service that sent…
For several years now we have all heard the arguments for the worship war in our churches. The worship war has caused church splits, staff to leave, and people have become hurt because of one reason or another. Surprisingly, it is still going on today and will probably continue well into the new millennium. This…
As a career worship pastor I have one ongoing struggle. It seems the people in our congregation are behind me in worship. The majority of our congregation are baby worshipers when it comes to their participation and understanding. They come from a variety of backgrounds and denominations, and most come from traditional churches where worship…
One of the most challenging role of a Worship Pastor/Music Minister is serving as a manager/supervisor. As a manager/supervisor I am responsible for everything in my area of ministry. Depending on the size of your ministry team, there is usually tens to hundreds of people under your leadership. Whenever there are people involved in anything,…
Several years ago, I heard that the son of my good friend was engaged to be married. Michael and his fiancee were attending Wayland Baptist University at the time, and had begun making plans for the wedding. During the course of their planning, I received a call from Michael. He asked me if I would…
For years we have all heard the arguments about choruses and how meaningless it seems to repeat over and over. I came out of a traditional background and could definitely sympathize with the argument. It seemed we felt that repeating a phrase such as “God is so good” or “Father, I adore You” over and…
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