I was invited to take part in a webinar for church leaders organised by the FIEC, where we discussed the challenges of singing together when we can't sing together as churches. You can watch the whole video below: https://youtu.be/f-iTr7xdvdQ My short section (18:45 onwards) attempted to answer the question of…
This past Sunday our church had live singers singing in front of a congregation for the first time in over 5 months. A good number of churches in the UK are now able to meet for in-person services. Some are preparing to do so soon, and others are having to…
Below are a number of songs that friends of ours have recorded for use in their own churches, with lyrics included. They are recorded to varying degrees of quality, and most are by no means meant to be professional! But if you are in a small church, with limited resources,…
If you’re finding yourself with a wee bit more time on your hands during lockdown, and would like a few piano-for-church tips to work on, here we go! Obviously every church is different, and every pianist is different, and there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to…
UPDATE - 24th March 2020Since the last update to this blog, CCLI have released a Streaming Licence. In light of this release and its implications, along with other clarifications that have come in recent days, I have rewritten the copyright section with the latest information. UPDATE - 19th March 2020PRS…
On 25 January 2020, we gathered together with loads of musicians and directors from around London for a day of training and encouragement in All Souls Langham Place. It was a really fantastic day thinking around the theme of Singing in the Gap. We don't have recordings of seminar streams,…
At my church, TCM Baptist Church in Lincoln, we’ve recently invested in a digital, app-based system for displaying music for our musicians - Planning Center’s ‘Music Stand’. Getting to this point was not quick and not straight forward, so I thought I’d give my thoughts and insights into how and…
I have a really good friend who would love to write a book celebrating mediocrity. It’s a subject I’ve been thinking about a lot recently as both of my boys dive back into their schools. The worlds of academia, sport and music don’t seem to put a high value on…
A number of years ago, I read this helpful post by Mike Cosper, who in turn is building on the work of Harold Best. The framework they put forward has stuck with me as a useful tool to help evaluate what we are doing as Christians who make music. “What type…
Hillsong Worship have recently released a new album named 'Awake'. It's their first studio album in a long time and it is a beauty in terms of production. Slick, interesting, emotional, and filled with musically beautiful songs. However.. lyrically, we might have some issues.
On 28 Sept 2019 we were in cornerstone church in Nottingham for a brilliant, jam-packed day of teaching and training. We weren't able to record all of the practical seminars (some wouldn't make sense without being there anyway), but below you will find recordings of the 3 main session talks.…
The below are answers to the 8 most common questions we get asked regarding leading and arranging songs in church . Regardless of our church size or capability, it should hopefully help us all to think them through a little, even just as a basis for how we plan our…