REMINDER - Join worshipers from all over the world in the“Pure Praise” devotional study, starting next week!  Bloggers - please consider copy/pasting this and announcing it on your blog.  Let’s get as many people involved in this group discussion as possible!

Hey everybody, I blogged about this a couple of weeks ago, but will be reminding you all over the next week.  Join us over at  TheWorshipCommunity.Com for a meaningful, in-depth study of God’s Word through “Pure Praise”, a heart-focused Bible study on worship by Worship Leader and Author, Dwayne Moore.

This is a 9-week study that we will begin the week of January 12, 2009. Each day we will share our thoughts on the daily devotional and then participate in the Group Discussions each week - as a group of united worshipers on TheWorshipCommunity.Com in the forums.
(daily and weekly discussion will take place in this thread of the TWC Forums)

“The goal of this study is not to help us fall more in love with worship. Rather, these daily, intimate encounters with God can help us fall more in love with our Father - which is the very essence of biblical worship”. (Darlene Zscheck, Hillsong Church, Australia)

“Dwayne Moore has a desire to see the body of Christ truly understand what it means to honor God with our worship and let our lifesongs sing to God in spirit and in truth”. (Mark Hall, Casting Crowns)

“Dwayne Moore’s ‘Pure Praise’ gets at the heart of true biblical worship. If you’re looking to grow your worship ministry team in it’s understanding and desire to worship our Creator in spirit and truth, this book is for you. The weekly studies are practical, insightful, and full of biblical wisdom aimed at getting the reader to grasp how our Creator designed us to worship. This book is a must-read for any worship ministry team, and I’m glad to recommend it”. (Rick Muchow, Pastor of Worship, Saddleback Church)

“Dwayne Moore has a writing style that makes you feel like he’s right there with you, walking you through each devotional. ‘Pure Praise’ is highly relational and delivered in a way that will minister to you in your personal worship journey as well as find its way into your worship training resource library. This book will help you understand not only the meaning of worship, but also provide you with real tools for leading and ministering in your role as the worship leader.” (Julie Reid, former Executive Editor of Worship Leader Magazine)

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to study with your fellow worshipers.

Purchase your copy of “Pure Praise” at Next Level Worship’s website here:
http://blog.nextlevelworship.com/pure-praise-worship-study/

Cost is $14.99

Once you get your book ordered, post a response in the “Pure Praise” discussion area of the forums so that we know you’re with us! Be sure to check the box to subscribe to the thread!

Looking forward to our study together starting January 12, 2009.

For the Kingdom,
Fred McKinnon, Founder

Tehilla Music Blog is new as of September 2008 and is off to a great start. Thanks for reading and engaging in the dialogue about worship and music and all that surrounds that. Our hope here is to be able to grow each other so that the local church can effectively disciple their people—yes, through worship leading.

Worship leading is more than a music set, a production or an event. It involves a long term commitment to the local church to see the people become more like Jesus by builing moment upon moment of experiencing God’s presence and truth together. Its not the whole deal by any means, but certainly an important peice of the pie in growing and building the church. God bless you this New Year and thanks for being a part of us!

Rich Kirkpatrick: Rich authors an influential and popular blog Rich Kirkpatrick’s Weblog and is a pastor and worship leader in Temecula, California at Sunridge Community Church. Rich founded Tehilla Music to freely give away his worship music to anyone who wanted it in 1997.  He has been in worship ministry for nearly 20 years, serving in both small church plants and mega churches.  Rich’s main passion is making the local a church a place the reproduces artist-leaders that create culture in reaching our world for Christ.

Bobby Marchessault: Bobby blogs at My Worship Revolution.  Bobby is a family man, raised in San Diego, California. He currently is the Worship/Connections Pastor at Christian Life Center on Mission Street in Santa Cruz. That means I oversee all the aspects of our worship experience from music to technical production, as well as overseeing any ministry to help get people connected in our community here, such as life groups.

Mike Dalton: Mike blogs at Bass!!! How Low Can You Go and is the volunteer Band Director at Sunridge Community Church where he has attended for the last nine years with his wife and two kids.  Mike is a bass player who cut his teeth in the 80s Hollywood metal scene.

anonymous worship guy: This rather young fellow represents those in the worship community who cannot be open publically with their identity but whose story is one that needs to be heard and discussed.

Jeremy Blasongame: Jeremy blogs at Church Audio & Sound, and is the volunteer audio director at Sunridge Community Church, Temecula, CA.  As a young, but well-trained audio pro, Jeremy’s perspective represents the critical technical aspect of leading worship.

John Carlson: John Carlson (www.johncarlsonmusic.com) has a degree in Music Performance from Northern Illinois University, plays saxophones, keyboards, drums, percussion, and loves arranging, transcribing, and composing music for the church. He served at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago for 15 years, 7 of those as an associate music director. He has since served as a music director at churches in Texas and Iowa. He also has worked in professional music circles for 25 years. His CD Expressions Of Instrumental Worship, formerly Preludes & Preludes II, recorded while at Willow Creek, helped him win the 2007 “Christian Jazz Artist Of The Year” award from IndieHeaven.com. His CD and printed arrangements have been popular and widely used by churches all over the world. He makes his home in the Iowa City area with his wife and daughter, and, after nearly twenty years working in churches, is now devoting his time to serving churches on a freelance basis with any musical service they may need, while taking some time to ponder where and how God will next use his musical gifts.

Tehilla Music was a company I started in 1997 to self-publish worship music that was being used in my local church and a few others at the time.  I started a simple website where I gave away sheet music to anyone wanted it.  The idea was to simply allow a small overflow of what God was doing through me in my local fellowship to others.

I remember emails from Finland, Alabama, and places I could not pronounce where my little songs were taken and being used.  When corresponding with a woman in a church of 50 people in Alabama, I was moved by the gratitude she displayed.  The provision for me was that it seemed whatever I invested always came back.

Over ten years later there are newer songs and an expanded idea.  The idea is to collaborate with local worship leaders all over the world to capture their indigenous worship expression.  And, hopefully this “open source” approach will be a catalyst to see a huge overflow of music.

But, worship is more than music.  What I hope this site also accomplishes is encouragement and coaching to the worship leaders out there and pastors out there who are on the front lines.  I have served in megachurches and know what its like to lead with 100 people or less in a small church plant.

My many mistakes simply means I can be a resource and catayst to many out there who have not made as many as I have.  So, my boasting is in the track record of failed attempts and big dreams.  I sure hope you join me on the journey here at Tehilla Music.

The video shown above represents a passion on mine–the next generation.  My daughter, who is only 14 in this video, is learning to be an effective worship leader with huge potential to impact many.  How can we collaborate to pass on through this site things that will make the next generation better than us?

Like I said, I sure hope you join us on the journey here at Tehilla Music.  If you need a church copyright adminstrator for your worship tunes, or a publisher to help promote them, we do that, too.