by EYV2023 | Mar 12, 2024 | Uncategorized
I write and teach with the perspective of a worship leader; that’s really the heart and goal of this site: to create an easy and affordable on ramp to help singers improve as we lead worship vocally in the church.
Having said that, it is important to remember the opportunity we have to communicate every time we sing. It is kind of scary though, isn’t it? Our voices are attached to our body. It is a very vulnerable thing. Unlike talking or teaching in front of people, to effectively sing we have to have energy and conviction to tell stories and relate messages through song – singing on notes.
For you fans of the movie Elf, there is a great scene where Buddy the Elf explains that singing is just talking, only louder and longer. Not always easy, but simple!
So what’s my point? If our goal is to communicate it changes our mindset. If I sing to be heard, that is about me; there is a lot of pressure there. However, if I sing to tell a story, to communicate a truth, to take people on a journey – now it is about them.
In the context of a worship service at church, I am there to serve everyone else. It is no longer about me, but about encouraging others to go on a journey together. Pretty empowering and freeing when you think about it.
by EYV2023 | Jan 24, 2024 | Uncategorized
I have a lot of favourite passages from the Bible, but one that really inspires me to worship through singing is Psalm 33. Here are a couple of things from this Psalm that I think might inspire you.
First, the Psalmist implores the righteous to sing joyfully. Hold up; rest on ‘righteous.’ In Jesus we are made righteous. So if you weren’t feeling joyful when you started reading this post, maybe that will help. As a believer, we have to remind ourselves of our position with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are at peace with God because we have been made righteous through and in Jesus (Romans 5).
So then we can sing joyfully! If you are part of the eyesUP vocal family you know I believe that singing is just yelling in tune. Psalm 100:1 actually tells us to shout to the Lord. So we sing joyfully, with volume, and as verse 3 of Psalm 33 says, with skill! When we sing with skill, we lead well. We inspire and exhort the body to follow. When we sing without skill we can be a distraction, so I applaud any efforts to grow in our skill to lead God’s people well.
I encourage you to read the rest of Psalm 33. It gives us more reasons to sing and be joyful. Verses 4 and 5 speak of God’s truth, righteousness, justice and faithfulness. That’s why we sing with joy: we know and serve the one true God – it’s amazing!!
by EYV2023 | Jan 9, 2024 | Uncategorized
I have been leading worship as a singer for almost 40 years, and I have learned so much about how to use my voice to effectively lead a church congregation as we all worship God together.
Really great singers have three things: Passion, Power, and Skill. eyesUP vocal was created to be a resource and encouragement to worship leaders in the church, specifically for singers who are seeking to grow in one or all of these areas.
But my vision is for something much bigger than just building up singers for the church. I also want to share my passion for why we worship, and how we can lead from a deep biblical understanding of what worship is.
There is a challenge facing the church in Canada right now: we have too few equipped worship leaders to meet the current needs of the church, and we have an incredibly small pipeline of next-generation worship leaders arising from our local congregations.
But the hopeful solution is clear. Let’s call the current generation of worship leaders to continue to develop and use their gifts in the church for God’s glory and fame, as we lead by example and invite the next generation to do the same! This is what inspires my work with eyesUP vocal.
If you know someone who might be interested, I would love it if you sent them our way!!
by EYV2023 | Nov 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
It is with great joy that I announce the launch of eyesUP vocal!!
Why so much joy? I have been excited about worship leading in the church my whole life, and specifically that singers would lead with skill, passion, and power. Over the last several years I have been approached by many people about giving vocal lessons, but have just not had the time.
A few years ago I ideated about starting an online “on demand” singing lesson service aimed at helping singers in the church with just that – singing with more skill, passion and power. I have also tried to figure out how to make it accessible to as many as possible by not making it too expensive.
Enter eyesUP vocal. My goal is that this would be a place where singers can grow in their skill and find encouragement in how to lead their local congregation, so that together they are able to move towards deeper alignment with what the Bible teaches about worship.
Here we go!!
