What Some People are Saying About The Worship Pastor

Zac HicksWorship ResourcesLeave a Comment

I’ve been privileged to pass some advance drafts of my book, The Worship Pastor, to some thinkers, writers, scholars, and poets across all kinds of lines. I’ve been very grateful for the responses, feedback, and endorsements. Below is what they’ve said! Also, the book’s site is officially up. Pre-orders really help, so please spread the word. And, there’s some incentive. I’ve put together a study guide with discussion questions and “for further reading” recommendations. Some people will really want to … Read More

Watch the Fascinating Discussions I Had at Calvin

Zac HicksWorship Resources, Worship Theology & ThoughtLeave a Comment

One of the joys of both being on and moderating a panel discussion on worship issues at a place like the Calvin Symposium is that you’re bound to talk about things you didn’t imagine would be on the table. Such was my case as I moderated “The Worship Leader as Pastoral Musician.” So many important issues were brought up, and our hearts were on our sleeves. Many sensitive topics were not navigated around, but through. One of the things I … Read More

What I’ll Be Up to at the National Worship Leader Conference

Zac HicksWorship ResourcesLeave a Comment

I love the National Worship Leader Conferences. I’ve been to them in every kind of capacity now. I’ve been there as a participant (Check out my post on that from several years back). I’ve been there as a songwriter, featured at one of their informal showcases. I’ve been there to conduct an interview with Bill and Gloria Gaither (read my insights about that here). Last year, I had the opportunity to speak about Jesus as the one true Worship Leader. … Read More

Reflections on Teaching My Worship Class

Zac HicksWorship & Mission, Worship and Pastoral Ministry, Worship Resources, Worship Theology & Thought1 Comment

Last week, I was blessed to have a packed classroom full of thoughtful, engaged students. My aim with this week-long intensive Worship course at Knox Seminary was not to solve all the problems but to place these present and future worship leaders and pastors on some healthy trajectories. We spent a LOT of time in the Scriptures, but we also needed to ask important questions about how we read the Scriptures, because ones understanding of interpretation (hermeneutics)–especially that of the … Read More

So…I’m writing a book

Zac HicksWorship Resources7 Comments

  (Read UPDATE #1)(Read UPDATE #2) I’m very excited to announce to my readers that I’ve got a book coming down the pipeline. I’m joining forces with a great team of folks over at Zondervan to deliver a project that has been on my heart for quite a while. The Back Story For the last five years, I’ve been thinking long and hard about my own journey as a worship leader, and I’ve been thinking a lot of those thoughts … Read More

The National Worship Leader Conference in May

Zac HicksWorship ResourcesLeave a Comment

For all of you easterners, in less than a month, I’ll be contributing a small part to the National Worship Leader Conference (May 18-21) in Virginia, just outside of DC. I’m probably more excited than ever about the lineup of folks. For instance, Tuesday morning, there will be a really nice interplay between David Crowder and Bill & Gloria Gaither. And later on I’ll be interviewing the Gaithers on their years of wisdom about the worship landscape and songwriting. When … Read More

New Music Roundup – Early 2015

Zac HicksAlbum Reviews, Worship Resources3 Comments

The landscape of great worship music continues to broaden and deepen. Styles continue to diverge, and I’m finding that lyrical depth is increasing on many fronts. This is all very encouraging. This post rounds up the first half, but check back later this week for the rest of the roundup. Citizens & Saints, Join the Triumph I am man-crushing all over this album. Citizens & Saints, along with Dustin Kensrue, are cutting their own path. What I love most about … Read More

A Great Invocation to Kick off Good Friday…or any Service

Zac HicksSongwriting, Worship Resources1 Comment

For our Good Friday service at Coral Ridge this year, we will begin the evening with an Invocation for piano, strings, and voices (though it really could be reset in a bunch of different ways, from choir and organ to folk). It’s called “Come Witness This Gospel to Me,” off our new album, Come and Make Us Free. Personally, it’s my favorite on the album and probably took the most out of me to write, which is saying a lot, given … Read More

Come and Make Us Free EP – RELEASES TODAY

Zac HicksAlbum Reviews, Worship Resources2 Comments

Cages. We’re well pedigreed engineers of them. We construct them, we think, for comfort. We believe they will save us, either by protecting us from the cruel blows of the world or by protecting the world from us. They keep the world in check, or they keep us in check. Either way, they are wrought-ironed evidence of humanity’s slavery to self-salvation, self-justification. Riffing on Calvin: the human heart is a cage factory, skillfully engineering ten thousand self-made prisons. Come and … Read More

Christmas Eve Lessons & Carols at Coral Ridge (2014)

Zac HicksConvergence of Old and New in Worship, Worship Resources3 Comments

I always value seeing and hearing what others are doing in worship services, especially around “unifying” times of year when much of the Church focuses on pinnacle, earth-altering events like the incarnation of the Son of God. (That’s one of the reasons I love being a part of the best, most thoughtful, most collaborative worship leader group on Facebook, Liturgy Fellowship.) One of the things I LOVE about being at Coral Ridge is their strong heritage of pouring resources into … Read More