It’s 2020, and already we have seen every analogy about vision and clarity we can imagine. I want to take a different approach to the year and decade in front of us. Instead of talking about the possibilities that lie ahead, I want to remind us of a few attitudes that could overtake our vision […]
“When Christmas Comes to Me” – by Mike Harland and Jeff Lippencott
Angels fill the star-lit skyThe songs of perfect praiseMary sang a lullaby As she laid Him in the hay Wise Men brought their best to HimAnd placed it at His feetSo what will be the gift I bringWhen Christmas comes to me?
The Most Important Part of the Preparation – by Mike Harland
The choir is ready and so are the instrumentalists. You have been thinking about this and working on it for months. The promotional material is out the door and the technical preparations are complete. It’s game time and the countdown clock has started. The Christmas presentation has arrived. More people will be in your church […]
The Key That Unlocks Our Praise – by Mike Harland
What are the “must haves” in worship? What are the elements that, without them, everything else we do will be futile? Well, we would agree quickly that a right view of Jesus is where worship begins. But, there are plenty of people who would attest to a biblical view of Christ that sometimes find it hard […]
3 Things Music Leaders Should Never Waste – by Mike Harland
The skills of your team. Do you have someone in your ministry that plays oboe? Find a way to use them. How about someone that writes songs? Ask them to write a special one for the Thanksgiving Banquet. Do you have a former band director in the congregation? Ask them to lead an instrumental group for […]
Can We Sing “Their” Songs? – by Mike Harland
This is a complicated question with a simple answer. Restated, the question is, “Can we sing songs written by someone that believes differently than we do?”
Happy Birthday, GMA! – by Mike Harland
This week, the Gospel Music Association is celebrating a birthday – 50 years of the Dove Awards! As someone who has passed the 50-year mark myself, let me say that life with Jesus only gets better with time, and that has certainly been true for the Doves. For the last several years, I have had […]
Where Does Praise Come From? – by Mike Harland
Worship leaders stand time after time and ask people to give our praise to God. But where does praise come from? Peter has a lot to say about worship. In his first epistle, he makes a connection between trials and worship that we should not miss. Read 1 Peter 1:6-7: “You rejoice in this, even […]
Blog to My Younger Self – by Mike Harland
There seems to be a bunch of writers these days writing something akin to the title of this blog. There are songs, letters, books, and more all written to the author’s “younger self.” So, when someone close to me suggested I do one of those, I thought it might be a good idea. As I’ve thought […]
A Few Thoughts for Songwriters by Mike Harland
Seems like we’ve got more worship leaders than ever writing songs. This is a great thing! I believe writing songs is something more believers should do, regardless if the songs are ever heard by anyone else. If you study church history, you soon discover that many of yesterday’s great preachers were song writers.