I had a few minutes before I needed to leave the house for an appointment, and picked up the Home Life magazine to help pass the time. The cover promos included the question “Are you a walking contradiction?” Intrigued, I turned to the referenced article and found a confessional little essay entitled “Stripping the Veneer”. …
For some reason, when I began to think about conducting (music, not train), these are the images that came to my mind: A traffic policeman bringing order out of chaos in a post-game exodus from the parking lot. With aggresive gestures and intense facial expressions, he or she communicates to the anxious drivers when they…
Editor’s note: John is muti-tasking several things this week at his church and this week’s contribution is small, textually speaking. But, at a closer look, it is HUGE in it’s effectiveness. Take time to start your day today asking yourself these questions from John Cashion’s Music Ministry Philosophy: As a minister of music, I must…
In the month of May, ChurchMusicToday had 4,310 views (which was the exact same number as April!). We averaged 139 per day with a high of 279 on May 24 with our hymnal article. Our high week was the week of May 23 with 1,115 views that week. My thanks to the many folks who…
For many of us who grew up in the late 50’s and early 60’s, one fixture of the Christmas season was the choir’s presentation of the latest John W. Peterson cantata from Singspiration. Purists criticized them for their “secular” styles while many musicians compared them unfavorably to the great Christmas masterworks, but choirs and congregations–at…
This is a post from the trio of writers at Church Music Today. In 2008, Lifeway put out its first hymnal in over 17 years. I know many worship leaders were excited about the new lineup of songs and arrangements. The fact of the matter is that the hymnal was outdated shortly after it was…
Who inspires you? As a child, I would dive into the latest issue of “The Adventures of Superman” and pretend to mimic the “Last Son of Krypton” as he saved Lois Lane. Little did I know, there were real life heroes around me during those early years. One set of my heroes were the church…
Leadership Journal is a quarterly publication primarily targeting senior or preaching pastors, but I have always found many helpful articles for ministers of all stripes. (And those of you familiar with the magazine know they have great cartoons!). The recent spring 2011 issue has particular relevance to worship leaders—the theme is “Tool or Trap—the role…
On Sunday night, May 1, 2011, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Professor, Chip Stam went to be with the Lord. His wife, Doris, posted these words from facebook: With sorrowful joy, we write to tell you that Chip went to be with his Lord Jesus at 7pm tonight, May 1. He is now free from sin…
(Church Music Today welcomes new contributor, John Cashion. Here is his first article with us as contributor) Maybe this has happened to you: (If it hasn’t, you should stop reading now, write your own article, and send it to me). You spent way too many of those precious music budget dollars to purchase that choir…
Church Music Today 