Resources
This page contains off-site links to resources that I find extremely helpful to the worship leading and modern church community. My criteria for selection usually follow one of these three benefits:
√ The site contains quality free resources or information
√ The site has inexpensive resources that are well worth the $$
√ The site is a vendor with products or services that are exceptional
Please contact me if you know of a resource that I have missed.
WorshipTraining.com
From their website: "THE ESSENTIALS COURSE is today’s most innovative online university training for today’s 21st century worship leader, worship pastor, artist, pastor and worshipper.
THE ESSENTIALS ONLINE COURSE is a powerful journey into the heart of worship theology and worldview (BLUE), worship history and creativity (RED) and worship values and spiritual formation (GREEN)."
I can personally attest to how fundamentally valuable these courses are to any contemporary or emergent worship, music, or church leader. Even as a leader with over eight years experience, I was highly challenged and gained a great deal of practical knowledge that has translated directly to my ability to serve my church community... not to mention it is so inexpensive!
Leadworship.com
A site developed by worship leader/songwriter Paul Baloche. Contains free chord sheets and sheet music for 99% of his songs and some others. He also sells some fantastic DVD workshops for worship teams. I highly recommend them. French worship resources also available for download.
VerticalMusic.com
A great online worship resource with free chord charts and mp3s for many of today's modern worship artists. Also some great articles and WL helps.
Dan Wilt
Author, worship leader, and theologean Dan Wilt's blog. Contains ongoing insight for worship and church leaders on topics ranging from contemporary to emergent worship.
N. T. Wright
Theologian and author N. T. Wright is a masterful and knowledgable source of information that speaks directly to the heart of the modern church. The link above is to his "unofficial" homepage where you can find various sermons, etc. I also HIGHLY recommend his books "Simply Christian" and "Surprised by Hope."
Shane Claiborne and The Simple Way
Shane is incredibly in touch with the heart of God... that the church should be the hands and feet of Christ... feeding the poor, visiting those in prison, caring for the widows and disinfranchised. He is an advocate for justice in a way that sets the bar high for Christian leaders. Worship leaders in the modern church need to hear his message of servanthood and sacrifice.
Brian McLaren
Author and foremost emergent church thinker Brian Mclaren's blog and homepage. Brian in a wealth of insightful information for the modern church. Each new book he authors furthers the challenge for leaders and church communities to evaluate their practices and refine the way they show the face of Christ to the world. I recommend starting with his book "A Generous Orthodoxy."