It takes a lot of courage to finally decide to go to counseling. If you’re reading this, and you’re taking that step for the first time… Bravo! You’re doing something that everyone should, but most probably won’t. It’s hard to admit when you need help.

I know for me there were a number of things that I would have found helpful to know before I went. Additionally, there are quite a number of people that I know who have been who have shared their experiences with me that mentioned some things they wished they had known.

So, I’d like to offer a few things to help you prepare for your own experience.

I found myself in Las Vegas at the house of a great leader of a great church there, sitting around a fire pit with other great leaders when the conversation of dealing with stress came up. Many of the leaders sitting there began to talk about the incredibly difficult situations they found themselves trying to navigate. One by one they talked about times and seasons that felt crushing and caused them a ton of anxiety. They’re all leading what look to be thriving and flourishing large churches and their congregations number over a thousand, some of them over thousands. Then many of them began to say things like…

WHEN I WAS IN COUNSELING, OR, LAST MONTH AS I TALKED TO MY COUNSELOR…

When church leaders think about improving a worship service, they often think first about music style, performance quality, or which songs are sung. But meaningful worship goes far beyond the music we sing. You can deepen engagement, strengthen theology, and make your gatherings more participatory and Christ-centered without changing a single note of your music. Here’s how:

There is a pattern that is fairly regular in a church when a new pastor comes. This pattern is very rarely talked about but could be crucial in helping both pastors and congregrations navigate the natural tensions that arise over the first 5 years on ministry.

Depending on the church background you grew up in, what does it look like to pray together in worship? What are the benefits of written prayers said together in corporate worship? Where do I start if you’re a worship leader looking to incorporate richer times of prayer into your church’s worship?

Are you a new Worship Leader or Pastor? Are you a Lead Pastor or elder trying to understand what a healthy worship ministry looks like? There are a lot of things to consider and it can be overwhelming knowing where to start. Here is an introduction to 10 main categories to think through for worship ministry in your church.

Thinking through the various systems in a worship ministry can be tricky. What should our budget be? How do we plan for purchasing equipment for worship? Is there a process for people getting involved in the worship ministry? This outline will help you begin to think through what this looks like so you can set your teams up for success.

Do you have a system for running effective rehearsals that lead to great Sunday mornings? What about helping your team grow as disciples? Have you thought through how to develop the next generation of worship leaders? Here are some great questions to help you think through some critical areas of worship ministry.

How do I help transition my church from traditional to contemporary worship? How do I keep things from exploding as I do so? Here are some highly practical principals to use when looking to help your church transition worship styles.

Are you new to worship ministry and looking for some of the best books to help you? Want to learn to be a great worship leader and lead theologically rich and transformative worship but don't have time or money to go to seminary? Here are the top books I've come across while doing worship ministry for the last 23 years.

Leadership struggles are common in all churches. If you were to ask who is supposed to lead the church, you will get a lot of different answers. There are 3 main models for leadership in a church. Here is how they often lead to struggles. Is there a better model for how leadership should work in the local church?

How should church leadership be set up? The church often borrows from the business world or government. This often leads to power struggles and division in the church. Jesus showed us a better way while he was here on earth.

Why do we call the preacher pastor? Why do we call some people pastors but not others? Why do we seem to have so many fights over who can be a pastor and who can’t? We need a clear definition that helps us see the difference between the role and the gift. Additionally, maybe we need to use a different word to help clear un any misunderstandings.

Did you know that as you pick songs for your congregation to sing each week in worship, you are essentially creating your own hymnal? The amount of songs you choose each year, the themes you pick, or don’t pick all have an effect on the worship of the people in your church. What does it look like to create an intentional catalog of songs for your church to worship God with?

Many of the fights and disagreements that happen in a church because people are acting more like owners than stewards. It becomes a question of who get’s their way instead of asking, “if this really belongs to Jesus, what does he want us to do?”