Moira Brown of Canada’s “100 Huntley Street” TV talk show speaks with Dwayne about 30 Days of Renewal and how this God-focused experience can impact and renew an entire church. Please go to www.30DaysofRenewal.com for more information.
Part 1
Part 2
Please pray for Dwayne as he is interviewed on Tuesday, March 2 on the hugely popular Canadian Christian TV show called 100 Huntley Street. 100 Huntley Street has a viewing audience of several million coast-to-coast in Canada.
Dwayne will be interviewed during their live show at 10AM EST. He will be talking about his new book, Pure Praise, as well as his latest resource for the church, called 30 Days of Renewal.
We are excited and thankful that our friend, Mark Hall of Casting Crowns, recorded a powerful endorsement of Dwayne’s book, Pure Praise: A Heart-focused Bible Study on Worship!
In an unprecedented six-year span with nearly 4.5 million career album sales, a GRAMMY Award, an American Music Award, 23 Dove Awards and 8 chart-topping radio singles, Casting Crowns remains focused on discipleship through music. That helps explain Mark’s enthusiasm for Dwayne’s powerful Bible study.
tobyMac has yet another number 1 song on the charts right now: City On Our Knees. With millions of CDs and downloads sold and multiple sold-out concerts, Toby is one the most successful Christian artists ever.
His concerts are electrifying. On stage Toby and his band are high energy, entertaining and captivating. Yet, Toby always–during every concert–takes out his Bible and reads from it. Some people might wonder if that is just part of the “act” to make a good impression.
Does Toby really believe and live out the Bible verses he reads on stage? I am convinced that he does. I’ve seen first hand what Toby is like off-stage…
I have had the opportunity to talk with Toby and work with Toby and his team during many of Scott Dawson’s Strength To Stand conferences. Recently, tobyMac was our headliner artist for a conference we were doing in Knoxville, TN. We had a packed schedule for the evening service that included several worship and concert artists. That afternoon’s sound checks were, needless to say, very tightly scheduled. Every artist had a very specific start and stop time to do their sound checks on stage.
Toby and his band went over their alloted time by a few minutes. Because they were the main act and draw for the night, it would have been very easy for Toby and his guys to feel like they were justified and excused from following our schedule. (We have had a few other artists simply ignore our guidelines and requests, as though they deserved special treatment.) Yet, as soon as Toby came off stage and realized he had overshot his time, he sent Tobin, Toby’s road manager, to immediately find me and apologize. Tobin said they didn’t mean to run over into someone else’s time. Over and over he kept saying how much Toby appreciated getting to play at our conference and how bad Toby personally felt cutting into the other artist’s times. After the service and concert, Toby himself told me he was sorry they had gone over during their sound check.
Toby didn’t have to apologize that night. Headliner artists often take–and need to take–extra time to sound check to be sure they are ready for their concert. I believe Toby apologized because he didn’t consider himself as better or more important than the other groups we had performing that night. Toby showed his character and genuine Christ-like humility. He is a shining example of a Christian artist–a true Christian and a true artist. ~Dwayne
The following excerpt is taken from Dwayne’s upcoming book, Heaven’s Praise: Hearing Him Say Well Done.
You’ve no doubt heard the old saying, “You are what you eat.” That may be true of our bodies, but when it comes to our minds, emotions, and spirits, we are what we think. And the most profound thoughts any human can have are thoughts about God. That is precisely why our strategy and this first week of our study begin with an emphasis on thinking right. How we relate to him and how we believe he relates to us will impact every facet of what we do and who we become. So needless to say, we had better get our thinking straight about God!
Let’s compare three distinct and common relationships Christians often associate with God:
1. He’s the Boss; we’re the worker
2. He’s the Teacher; we’re the student
3. He’s the Father; we’re his child
Let’s assume God is primarily our Boss. What does a boss expect of his employees? He expects his employees to produce, to perform, to work hard and show results for their labor. But a boss has no interest in the workers beyond what they can do for him. And those who produce the most will win his favor. Those who lag behind and don’t perform up to his expectations will be reprimanded or fired. A boss in the purest sense feels little or no obligation toward the people who work for him because he is not motivated out of love for those employees.
I’m really thankful the God that’s revealed in the Bible is not primarily a boss, aren’t you?
Let’s say God is largely our Teacher. Read more…
My friend, Jeff Ling, sent me a direct message earlier tonight asking me to read and watch his latest blog entry. Jeff paints an amazing and insightful word-picture about the joy and pride our heavenly Father must have when he looks at us, his children. This is exactly what I am writing about in my new study called Heaven’s Praise.
You have GOT to go to Jeff’s website and view the video clip from the recent Kennedy Honors show that inspired Jeff to write this incredible post! It’s called Dave Brubeck and the Face of God. Wow. Thanks Jeff! –Dwayne
Dear friends,
We are excited to offer a tremendous opportunity for you to grow and learn in 2010!
Each Thursday evening during February through April, please join me and several
others for our first ever Online Worship Leadership Training Course! Each of the
12 webinars will be both fun and challenging as we dive together into many vital
and practical topics for any worship leader or worship team member.
I would be most honored if you can join us! I personally guarantee this course will
prove more helpful to you than you can imagine, or we’ll give you 100% of your money
back! Click here for more information and to register!
Worshiping Him,
Dwayne Moore
Renewal America is an initiative of Next Level Worship to help bring spiritual renewal to Christian churches in America.To be a prayer partner for Renewal America, simply click here! We’ll send you occasional updates for prayer needs and petitions. Our goal is 1000 Prayer Partners interceding for renewal in America. We are already at 100, so we’re a tenth of the way there! PTL!
Our action plan for Renewal America is simple:
1. Fervantly and specifically pray and seek God’s face for revival.
2. Lead churches/pastors to sign a Renewal Covenant agreeing to meet 4 Priorities that will prepare and prompt their people for true spiritual renewal.
Please go to the Renewal America website to read about the 4 Priorities. http://renewalamerica.org
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Dwayne’s LIVE INTERVIEW on Moody Radio’s Prime Time Chicago with Steve Hillar on Monday, December 28.
Click on the arrow below to listen:
http://files.nextlevelworship.com/audio/dwayneinterviewMoodyWBMIDec28.mp3
Dwayne shared about 30 Days of Renewal and Renewal America . He also discussed his new book, Pure Praise: A Heart-focused Bible Study on Worship.
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The Moody Radio network in Florida recently featured Dwayne teaching a 5-part series on spiritual renewal. These powerful daily segments included excerpts from Dwayne’s teaching DVD in 30 Days of Renewal.
From time to time I am asked if church musicians should be paid to play or sing in a church’s weekly services.
In a sentence, I would say don’t pay them–especially not up front. And don’t make any promises for it to come in the future. (Please see the exceptions below.) The scriptural principle is 1 Chronicles 21:24 where David said, “I will not sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” Your praise team members will have the privilege to offer a sacrifice of praise to God as they use their gifts from week to week. They should be willing to “pay” through their time and efforts for the opportunity to play and offer their sacrifices.
The most important quality you must have in your players is a heart that loves God and understands that their music is a ministry to God and others. What better way to test their motives than by seeing if they are willing and wanting to play without financial renumeration?
I have found that quality draws quality. Great musicians love playing with other great musicians. Rather than enticing people to come and play for money, play with excellence and effectiveness each and every Sunday — even when you only have 1 or 2 players. Word will spread about how God is using you and about how “tight” your musicianship is. In time God will bring you the other musicians you need. And they will be more than stoked to get to play with your group.
Exceptions:
That said, let me include a couple exceptions to the “Don’t pay” guideline.
1. If and when your group gets paid to play at an event, then you need to “share the love.” In other words, if your group goes out and does concerts for a love offering or an honorarium, then you need to be good stewards with the income. You can either divide it equally among your members, or you can place that money in a fund to help you purchase sound equipment and other needed items for your group. Or you may want to donate that money to your church or some other worthy cause. Just be sure you talk about it openly among your group and make a decision about how the money will be distributed before you go out to play.
2. If you are in a large church where your players are required to play multiple services and practice multiple times each week, then I believe putting them on the payroll is not only a good idea, but a needed one. The 1 Chronicles 21:24 principle applies to churches as well. Churches can’t lift up corporate praise each week through our praise team(s) and not expect to have to pay something for it. We need to support our musicians in every way possible financially. For example, we as church leaders cannot expect our worship teams to sing and play with excellence if they don’t have excellent equipment and tools, which the church provides for them. In the same way, if we are going to tie up 10 hours or more of their time each week, musicians should be reimbursed for their time. That’s the equivilent of a part-time job. The last thing you as the pastor or main worship leader should want to do is burn them out. You want to show them in a tangible way how much you appreciate them and their efforts.
–Dwayne
Here is an excerpt from my new book I have just started writing, called Heaven’s Praise: Hearing Him Say Well Done. To be a Reading Partner to help and encourage me as I write, please email us at info@nextlevelworship.com. We’ll give you access to a password-protected site where you can read the new lessons as I write them, and you can leave comments and suggestions.
Excerpt from Think Right About Heaven’s Praise
By Dwayne Moore
Rewards await God’s children. And God desires to praise us for our work on earth…
How do those statements make you feel? Do they make you feel uncomfortable? Do you tend to cringe just a bit anytime you hear about rewards and crowns, which believers can receive in heaven? Or do you just turn a deaf ear to such teaching? Do you think, “Why bother focusing on something I don’t deserve and can’t be reasonably sure I’ll obtain”?
If so, you are not alone.
It seems that most Christians would rather be preoccupied with pressing matters at hand than to look ahead to potential rewards in the “sweet by and by.” Perhaps that is why there are so few books that teach us how we can hear praise from God once we finish our time on earth. It is almost as though we have resigned ourselves to walk through this life the best we know how and hope we come out alright with God in the end. Many believers feel completely unworthy and quite unlikely to get Jesus’ stamp of ultimate approval: those famous words, “Well done.”
But we should not feel unworthy to hear those words. Through Jesus’ blood and power we are made worthy and able to do what He’s called us to do! And we should not feel guilty for wanting Christ to commend us for the time we’ve invested here below.
In fact, we should try to do whatever it takes to someday receive His praise. Why? Because our precious Lord deserves to be able to give it to us…
(c) 2009 Dwayne Moore
Dwayne has started writing a sequel/follow-up study to his award-winning book, Pure Praise. Pure Praise helps us purify our praise to God while we are on earth. This new study will teach us how to live in order to RECEIVE God’s praise in heaven.
Dwayne needs reading partners who will encourage and help him as he writes this new study. He had close to 100 reading partners as he wrote Pure Praise. As he finished each week’s worth of lessons, he would email them to his trusted partners who would then critique and offer feedback as they saw fit. This proved very helpful in holding him accountable and in motivating him to keep writing. It also improved the quality of the writing.
If you are interested in becoming a Reading Partner, please email us at info@nextlevelworship.com and simply tell us you want to be a reading partner for Dwayne’s new book. We’ll get you on the list to begin receiving his drafts. It’s that simple!
Thanks so much for your help!!
A huge prayer has been answered and a vision realized!Dwayne’s award-winning book, Pure Praise, is now featured in the Christian Resources section of Lifeway Bookstores! And it’s in great company — beside books by Chuck Colson, Ed Young, Jr, and other best selling authors and books!
Please go to your nearest Lifeway Store and pick you up a copy today!
Dwayne with PCD
Recently, Dwayne Moore had the opportunity to sit down with Randy Phillips, Shawn Craig, and Dan Dean of Phillips, Craig, & Dean, whose song, Revelation, has been the #1 Christian song for 15 straight weeks.
Dwayne asked them several questions regarding the influence of the Word of God on their music.
Click on the arrow below to listen.
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