Favorite New Things

15 Churches Creating Influential Worship Music

Here are some churches and organizations, that in my opinion, are writing, creating, singing and releasing great songs for the entire Church around the world to sing. This is not an exhaustive list or a top ten/top twenty list. Just wanted to provide this so you will be able to check out all of their music and maybe include some of their songs into your rotation and put on your iTunes list.

1. Passion/Passion City Church- Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, Matt Redman, David Crowder and more

2. Hillsong Church- Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, Jad Gillies and more

3. North Point- Seth Condrey, Casey Darnell, Todd Fields, Candi Shelton, Steve Fee and more

4. Jesus Culture- Kim Walker-Smith, Chris Quilala, Derek Johnson, Bryan and Katie Torwalt, and more

5. Worship Central/Holy Trinity Brompton- Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon and the Worship Central band

6. Reach Records/Reach Ministries- Lecrae, Trip Lee, Andy Mineo, KB, Tedashii, and others

7. New Life Church/Desperation Band- led by Jon Egan, and birthed out of Desperation Ministries, the student ministry of New LIfe Church

8. Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church- Charles Jenkins and the Fellowship Choir

9. Elevation ChurchElevation Worship led by Wade Joye, Mack Brock, Chris Brown, London Gatch and more

10. Austin StoneAustin Stone Worship led by Aaron Ivey, Jimmy McNeal, Kyle Lent, and more

11. Bethel ChurchBethel Music led by Brian and Jenn Johnson, Jeremy Riddle, and more

12. Gateway ChurchGateway Music led by Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes and more

13. Trinity Grace Churchled by Eric Marshall and more

14. Bayside Churchled by Lincoln Brewster and more

15. Lakewood Church- led by Israel Houghton, John Gray, and more

Bonus: Victory World MusicVertical Church Band (Harvest Bible Chapel), and 12Stone.

Who else would you recommend?

Free Book download from my friend Steve Graves

When I know of something useful I am always inclined to share it here on the blog. So I am partnering with my good friend Dr. Stephen R. Graves for the next 3 days to offer you a FREE copy of his new book Flourishing: Why Some People Thrive While Others Just Survive.

This book is a great resource for you and your friends, including incredibly insights on the subject of flourishing. Again, just follow the link to download your FREE eBook today.

Steve is a leadership author, entrepreneur, and executive coach who has been helping leaders flourish for over 25 years.

I am excited to have the opportunity to offer his book to you and hope you will take advantage of this great gift and take a minute to download the book.

And please forward the link on to someone else so they can benefit from it. My hope is that this can be a way for you to share great content with your community as well.

Again, you can download the FREE ebook here. The Free download will expire on Friday.

Enjoy!

10 Ways to Create a Great Customer Experience

I've worked on some great teams over the past several years, and seen great customer service in action. One of the places I learned the most about great customer service was Lost Valley Ranch, an incredible 4 diamond guest ranch in Colorado. Serving the guests was part of the DNA of the staff. We took great pride in our ability to create a great experience for our guests through unmatched excellent customer service.

Here are a few of the ways we did that through great customer service:

1. Treat someone like you would want to be treated- the Golden Rule. It really does work. And it makes sense. Common sense. Use it.

2. Remember someone's name. Always. Especially when you've met them before or talked with them before.

3. Let your actions speak way louder than your words. Don't just talk about it. Make it happen. Your work can be a great example of your attitude and commitment to service.

4. Anticipate. Stay a step ahead of your clients or guests. Don't wait for them to ask for something. Be proactive. Figure it out before they even need it.

5. Go the extra step. Have a "+1" type of attitude and demeanor. Not just anticipating, but actually doing more than what is expected or required of you. Make memories for your client or guest by wowing them with the "above and beyond."

6. Engage in meaningful conversation. Listen really really well. Serving creates opportunity for impact- it builds a bridge. So make sure to connect with your guests or clients through conversation when it's appropriate. Understand who they are by understanding what they read, what they watch, where they travel and what their interests are. If you deal with families, learn their kids names and hobbies. Little things add up.

7. Give permission. Make sure your entire staff and everyone in the organization feels empowered to respond immediately to a customer service issue. Empower your employees at every level in the organization to respond and resolve. Especially those on the front line of service. Give them freedom to say yes as often as possible.

8. Own the relationship, and the result. Your answer should never be "that's not my job." Take initiative to see the problem or the issue through to the very end. IF you have to hand the relationship off to someone else, make sure you literally walk them to that other person, introduce them, and hand them off well. If over the phone or through email, the same applies. Constantly make sure you are "walking" with that person through the process.

9. Implement the 4 Core Communication Cues. Say "I'm sorry," "Thankyou," "My Fault," and "Great Job" on a regular basis. 

10. Look people in the eye. This one gets forgotten like #2 above. But makes a big difference.

10 Simple Ways to be Great

All of us want to be great. Especially as leaders. All of us want to be part of a great team. Have a great family. A great neighborhood. A great church. A great community. A great legacy.

There are lots of factors that go into being great. But ultimately, being great starts with you. And since you are your greatest coach and advocate for yourself, here are a few things to always think about when it comes to being great.

1. Be responsible. Be on time. Get things done. Finish.

2. Be a learner. Read. Listen. Be curious.

3. Be a hustler. Work hard. Whatever it takes.

4. Be a carrier of the organizational vision. Be a role model of living out the values of your company, church, and staff.

5. Be passionate. Be positive. Live with joy.

6. Be self aware and self regulating. Know who you are. Lead yourself.

7. Be Humble. It's not about you.

8. Be someone who "leans in." Be first.

9. Be Disciplined. Stick with it.

10. Be a courageous risk taker. Step out.

Interview with Margaret Feinberg on her new book Fight Back with Joy

You’ve Gotta Learn to Fight Back With Joy

My friend, Margaret Feinberg, author, speaker, and ski buddy, was scheduled to speak at Catalyst last fall, but had to reschedule. She was in the fight of her life with cancer.

In her new book and Bible study, Fight Back With Joy, she shares that at the news of the diagnosis, she chose to fight back with a rather surprising weapon—joy.

Her new book and Bible study, Fight Back With Joy, will take leaders everywhere by surprise. Let’s be honest, we’ve all read shallow books on joy that try to teach the why’s and how’s of joyful living.

But Margaret explores the depths of joy rarely plundered. Listen to these bombshells:

More than whimsy, joy is a weapon we use to fight life's battles.

“Joy is your heritage, your identity, your destiny.

Practicing defiant joy is the declaration that the darkness does not and will not win.

Sometimes you have to poke holes in the darkness until it bleeds light.

If you can’t tell, Margaret is a gifted writer. Rich with Scriptural insight this book will take you by surprise and challenge you to fight back with joy as lead and serve.

The Secret To Living A Defiant Joy: An interview with Margaret Feinberg

It’s been inspiring to learn how Margaret has been practicing a defiant joy, and I thought you might like to get an insider’s look and read an interview with Margaret.

Your newest book and Bible study, Fight Back With Joy, was born out of your fight with a life-threatening illness. What was your difficult diagnosis, and what has your journey to health entailed?

 For the last 18 months, I’ve been battling breast cancer. Breast cancer isn’t just one disease represents thousands of different diseases with their varying components and factors. Being diagnosed under the age of 40 is significant. I’ve been through a brutal year of chemotherapy, radiation, and more surgeries than I can count or want to remember.

Why did you write Fight Back With Joy?

I studied joy for a year and was putting the finishing touches on book on joy—just two weeks from turning it into the publisher, when I received the diagnosis. I had been pursuing and activating joy in my life in the relatively good times, now I had to do it in the midst of darkness, depression, and torturous pain. Through the process, I’ve discovered the breadth, depth, and power of joy—that despite hundreds of sermons and many decades in the church—no one had told me of before.

In Fight Back With Joy book and Bible study, you really push the reader to reevaluate their definition of joy. Why do you think this is so important?

Much of the teaching I’ve heard on joy over the years is oversimplified. I remember those days in Sunday school learning that JOY is spelled Jesus, Others, Yourself. While that made perfect sense at 9 years old, I’ve seen how distorted that can become as an adult.

I see friends who love Jesus but spend so much time pouring into their kids, grandkids and others that their joy looks something like this: jOy.

Technically, it still spells joy, but more than anything, these men and women who are so exhausted, so empty, so running on fumes from pouring into others need to pause and take time to focus on themselves. Laying hold of joy right now will require them to reevaluate for a season and discover the joy that comes with JYo.

I also noticed how most of the definitions of joy define it more by what it isn’t than by what it is. I constantly heard that happiness is based on circumstance but joy is not dependent on circumstance.

Biblical expressions of joy turn out to be far different than what I had been taught. I am now convinced the writers of the Bible would say that, the reason we have joy is because we have great circumstances. If you are a child of God, you are drenched in the grace and mercy of God.

No matter what you’re facing: Your circumstances are better than you think. If you’re not experiencing joy, perhaps it’s because your definition of joy is too narrow.

On a scale of 1-10, how hard was it for you to write this book and Bible study?

An eleven! This journey has been the most painful experience of my life. And, to share about it requires some vulnerability. Okay, a lot of vulnerability. And, that’s really, really hard. But I feel like I’m finally ready to share what God has stirred in my heart along the way because although cancer has been the most painful journey—it has also been the most joyful. And no one is more surprised than I am.

 

Thanks Margaret! And she goes one step further by providing additional resources at the end of the book. She helps us, as leaders, know what to say and what not to say when those in our congregations, ministries, and businesses are going through crisis.

So often we want to pastor and lead people well, but just don’t know what to do. If you know someone facing a horrendous situation, Fight Back with Joy is a must-read.

Get this in the hands of your leadership team and Bible studies—it will equip your church to be the church.

Check out the video.

Pick up a copy of Fight Back With Joy at Amazon or Barnes and Noble today.