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Why sing secular Christmas songs at your church carols night?
We’ve just had our Carols night and it was great! The team putting together the song list did a great job of mixing traditional carols, new Christmas songs… and they even included some “fun” Christmas songs… like Jingle Bell Rock,… Continue reading
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Why your MC should have more authority than the pastor…
At least for that time they lead and love the Sunday gathering, your MC should have the authority to make the calls they think need to be made… cut a song, do an extra prayer, cut and ad, change the… Continue reading
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Being out-the-front puts on 10% more “boring”
They say the TV camera puts on 10pounds… As thin as you might look in person, it never gets fully captured on TV. Being out-the-front at church does something similar… But not to your weight (no one would care anyway…… Continue reading
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Conference ideas from #oxygen14
For many people missing out on a conference, it’s not just the preaching and encouragement they miss out on, but it’s also observing the well-run machine of a big conference so they can take and apply the ideas in their… Continue reading
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Are your songs articulating your God?
The other day I heard this phrase on Triple J, “the more songs we hear, the more we will be able to articulate our culture”. And I began to think about the phrase, not in regards to culture, but in… Continue reading
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A microphone doesn’t mean you can use your normal voice
Your normal voice is the voice you use in normal situations… and preaching/mcing is not a normal situation. It’s a very strange situation. You’re infront of hundreds of people. How would you speak if you didn’t have a microphone? Loud?… Continue reading
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As you walk into church on Sunday, never forget…
Every Christian in that room is a “convert”. They may not be your convert (but who cares). They may have converted years ago (but again.. so what?!). They may have converted as a child in a family that never knew… Continue reading
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Use the volume of background music to help your crowd
I’m skipping over another Ministry Pragmatics topic (Why you should use background music during social time). But I just want to focus on how you use the volume during those times. Most people set the volume at a level where… Continue reading
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The goal of public prayer is…
Encouragement? People awestruck at our pious praying styles? No! The goal of public prayer is simply that people would pray along with us. Public prayer is a weird thing. I think we forget that if we’ve seen it done for… Continue reading
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Why you should move people from front-of-house via back-of-house
Different sorts of people put their hand up to be “out the front” at church. And, to some extent, the very fact they’ve put their hand up for that might be a reason to raise some eyebrows – but that’s… Continue reading
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Finish at the height of fun
You have two options. Call things to an end at the height of their fun, or, call things to an end after that when everyone’s had enough. This is something they tell teachers and cru camp leaders all the time.… Continue reading
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Don’t mistake newlessness for growthlessness
Its really exciting hearing something new; that feeling of having your brain blown and being knocked off your feet as you realise how Jesus transforms your view of the world. We should always thank God for those moments, and look… Continue reading
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Modern-day-gifts “The Energizer”
Put some people in front of an audience, and they have to try so hard to affect the mood in the room. Shouting and jumping around will likely only cause embarrassment, rather than excitement. Put other people in front of… Continue reading
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Tone vs. Mood
A helpful category of thought for reviewing and planning sermons… What is the tone and what is the mood? Tone describes the voice used by the preacher. It could be a calm tone, an angry tone, a concerned tone, a… Continue reading
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To make an overall improvement, start with just one thing
If you want to improve something in your ministry, say your public meetings, or the content of your bible studies, don’t think that the only way to do it is by a massive overhaul. Sometimes, quality has slipped over time.… Continue reading
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Let the meeting preach the gospel
Sometimes sermons don’t hit the spot, they don’t resonate, they don’t touch a nerve, they don’t point to our sin and Jesus’ grace, etc… So make sure the gospel is in your meetings. Use the gospel to explain why you… Continue reading
MINISTRY PRINCIPLES & PRAGMATICS 