Jon Manna

Just over a week ago Priscilla and I had the opportunity to attend a night of worship with Nine O Five band and Martin Smith. Nine O Five Band, led by Josh McCabe, opened the night with a great worship set and even introduced a new song he recently penned with Mia Fieldes.

After the message from Nate Gerber and a brief intermission, Martin Smith took the stage and that’s when a huge dose of nostalgia hit me. Memories of countless hours listening to Delirious’s “Cutting Edge 1 + 2″  flooded my mind and took me back to a place where I was young, hungry, and growing in my love for Jesus. I’m so glad God can bring us to a place where we remember those important transformational years.

Pris and I spoke for the majority of our 45-minute drive home about how this night was so needed for us. One main thing that stuck out to us was that since we both work in giving roles, we too need to stop giving sometimes and spend a little time receiving. That’s what we did on this night. We were ministered to, we were renewed and refreshed, and we felt like we had a little bit of heaven on earth!

I’m so thankful for Nathan Weaver and all that Glass Jar Group is doing to provide quality opportunities for all of us to come together and worship!

If you want to stay in the loop and be notified of concerts coming up with Glass Jar Group here is how you can do just that:

• Glass Jar Group Facebook Group
• Follow Nathan on Twitter
• Live Events Page on GlassJarGroup.com
• Subscribe to my blog’s RSS Feed since I will be posting about all concerts put on Glass Jar Group.

[As a little side note, Martin Smith used an iPad on a mic stand. Couldn't confirm if it was the iKlip or not]

[This post is part of the Amazing Blogs and Websites For Worship Leaders series]

Today’s post is a two-in-one deal featuring FredMcKinnon.com and TheWorshipCommunity.com.

In recent years the explosion of social web/media has made it much easier for worship leaders and musicians to connect. The same is true for bloggers and websites. Launched by Fred McKinnon (see below) in the spring of 2007, TheWorshipCommunity.com (TWC) has done a great job at creating a grass-roots community of worship leaders, artists, singers, musicians, and technicians from all over the world.

Here’s what’s unique about TWC:

One of the things that sets TheWorshipCommunity.Com apart is the grass-roots nature of the content.  Our articles are written by contributors all over the world who are “in the trenches” …. leading worship in small, medium, and large churches.  We combine exclusive content with re-published articles from what we discover as “the best of” from worship and ministry-related blogs, discussion forums, and resources.

How to connect with TWC:

• Twitter
• RSS Feed

As mentioned above, the TWC was an idea birthed in the heart and mind of Fred McKinnon.

His personal blog is also a great resource that I enjoy reading for worship ideas.

How to connect with Fred McKinnon:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• RSS Feed

[This post is part of the Amazing Blogs and Websites For Worship Leaders series]

[This post is part of the Amazing Blogs and Websites For Worship Leaders series]

Today I want to direct your attention to a blog for worship leaders and musicians by David Santistevan.

I’ve been reading his blog and following his series of posts for a few months now and I’ve come to the conclusion that his blog is the money! He writes about 5 posts per week and the content is something you can use and apply immediately in your given worship context.

In his own words:

Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile the big concert stages with the every day practicality of leading worship in the local church. I want to help connect the dots. My writings are brief, practical, and applicable to being a worship leader in the local church today. Thanks for stopping by. I am a Worship Pastor at Allison Park Church in Pittsburgh, PA. You may or may not be a worship leader. Even though I gear my writings towards that audience, I write plenty of content on leadership, devotional life, music, and ministry.

He just recently finished a blog series entitled, “Your Guide To Selecting and Leading Songs For Worship.” It’s a must-read for every worship leader! Check it out here!

How to connect with David:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• RSS Feed

[This post is part of the Amazing Blogs and Websites For Worship Leaders series]

[This post is part of the Amazing Blogs and Websites For Worship Leaders series]

This is the first post in a series on amazing blogs and websites for worship leaders. They will be posted in no particular order, but I’d consider them all worthy of having a place in your daily reading.

It’s my pleasure to introduce you to All ABout Worship.

If you are a worship leader you will definitely want to bookmark a link to All ABout Worship. They always seem to be pushing out fresh reviews and sweet podcasts:

All About Worship was birthed over five years ago, by Wisdom Moon, when he saw a need for free resources to help equip those involved in worship ministry in the local church. He specifically saw a need for a quality podcast dedicated to worship ministry volunteers and staff to help address issues that they face each week.

The All About Worship Podcast is a show dedicated to equipping, encouraging, and inspiring worship leaders and songwriters.

It features music, giveaways, practical tips, and interviews with notable worship leaders and songwriters like: Hillsong United, Tim Hughes, Shane & Shane, Paul Baloche, Tommy Walker, Christy Nockels, Phil Wickham, Vicky Beeching, Bethany Dillon, Carl Cartee, Kari Jobe, Pocket Full of Rocks, Kim Walker, and many others.

Here’s how you can connect with All ABout Worship:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Podcast
• RSS Feed

Have you heard of this site before? If so, what has been your favourite feature?

[This post is part of the Amazing Blogs and Websites For Worship Leaders series]

I’m excited to introduce to you my first series on the blog. Over the course of the next several days I’m going to be sharing 10 amazing blogs and websites for Worship Leaders.

The new series starts tomorrow so make sure you check back every day. For those of you who tend to forget, consider subscribing to ensure that you don’t miss a single post.

[UPDATE] Here are the posts in this series:

• Day 1: All About Worship
• Day 2: DavidSantistevan.com
• Day 3: TheWorshipCommunity.com + FredMcKinnon.com
• Day 4: ChrisFromCanada.com (WorshipRises)
• Day 5: WorshipPeriod.com
• Day 6: WorshipDevotional.com
• Day 7: WorshipMinistry.com
• Day 8: WorshipMatters.com
• Day 9: LeadWorship.com (Paul Baloche)
• Day 10: WorshipDrummer.com

The question “Is Justin Bieber a Christian?” has come up a lot lately. The buzz surrounds the fact that his faith is displayed throughout his new movie, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.

Yesterday I read an article in The Star titled, “Justin Bieber’s Christian Roots.” The article clearly sets him apart as a Christian and explains that his spiritual side is evidenced when he is filmed praying before concerts.

To be honest, I haven’t watched his new movie yet, but I’ve heard a lot of grown men, such as @loswhit, talking about how inspirational it is:

Interestingly enough, on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Diddy actually professed that Bieber’s talent is ordained by God.

The latest article I’ve read comes from Charisma Mag and features his mom, Pattie Mallette, issuing a prayer request for fans to pray for her son.

Seems pretty convincing if you ask me!

My thoughts on Bieber:

• We should pray for him
• He’s an uber-talented young man
• He can sing
• He’s a musician
• He’s making a boat-load of cash
• He’s influential
• There’s a real possibility that he might be a legit Christian

Regardless, do you care about this at all? Does it even matter to you if he’s a Christian or not?

When considering the fact that artists are influencing multiple generations, I think it begins to bear some consideration!

New church presentation software is coming out soon called Proclaim. Unlike all other church presentation software systems, this one will allow pastors, worship leaders, and worship team members to all access and add to the same presentation before it’s presented, and then use the same application to run the presentation during the service.

To add to the excitement of the release of Proclaim, they are giving away $25,000 in worship resources in The Great Worship Resource Giveaway. They are going to have 100’s of winners of some of the best worship resources on the market. The giveaway is located on the Proclaim home page where you will see how to enter. You can also see all the prize partners there, listing out some great resources from companies like Planning Center Online, Graceway Media, Worship Leader Magazine, Centerline Media, Musicademy, Clover Sites, Christian Musician Summit, Luna Guitars, National Worship Leader Conference, and prizes from many more.

I’m excited about this new product, Proclaim. You can see a video of the software on their site which gives a quick detail of how it will help worship leaders and ministry teams. Visit http://proclaimonline.com to see the video, and enter ‘The $25,000 Great Worship Resource Giveaway’.