MMEBlog

March 8, 2010

creator@creatormagazine.com — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:00:00 GMT

March 8, 2010

Good Morning

Born today: Micky Dolenz, and, on Wednesday, Bob Burroughs

Back in town for 36 hours, between the wonderful ACDA Western Convention in Tucson, and a trip to Pasaden to teach a class on worship at Fuller Seminary for Ed Willmington, who is in South Africa this week...

Next up? Please join me at MusiCalifornia, April 5-8 at Universal City, in Los Angeles, or The National Conference of Church Musicianson April 13-15 in the greater Indianapolis area, I'd Love to "meet up" in Person! Email me and let me know so I can get some idea of how big a room we might need. Click here to register for MusiCalifornia. You can still get Early Bird rates until March 15 for NCMC. Click here to sign up.

Look Out! Please tell me what you think! We've simplified our landing page at the site, with the help of your input, and, hopefully made it easier for you to get to exactly where you want to go. This is an interim step, while we are doing a complete site update. I've even made an introductory video, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but when I looked at it last I'm not so sure... sigh... Please email me and let me know what you think.

Take our survey this week! This is the last week we ask you to tell us about your church's website. Take our survey here! Thanks again.

On my blog last week... A look at how we got to social media Blame it on the Transistor Radio, Professional Development for Church Musicians - Who Pays? and another installment of 101 Great Choir Ideas. I hope you'll subscribe to my blog, and tell me what you think by leaving a comment at the blog site. Thanks.

For those who responded to my blogging offer! Remember to let me know when you've blogged, tweeted or left a comment about The Choir in Modern Worship. Email me here.

In this week's Monday Morning Email...

Hugh Ballou has a wide-ranging interview with Marty Muscatello, President and CEO of CCS, Inc. a specialized industrial computer and software company, and chair of the Church Council at Blacksburg (Virginia) United Methodist Church. Hugh and Marty explore the importance of empowering leaders in the pew. Great stuff! To read this week's MME, just click here.

Finally...

This week, take some steps to empower your volunteer leaders, turn your clocks back...and please tell your friends and colleagues about Creator and MME too

Blessings,

Vern Sanders
Publisher
Creator Magazine

Become a fan of Creator
CLN is on facebook
Vern is on facebook
Read Vern's blog
Follow Vern on Twitter!
Vern has a new EBook: Read all about The Choir in Modern Worship

March 1, 2010

creator@creatormagazine.com — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:02:00 GMT

March 1, 2010

Good Morning

Born today: Frederic Chopin, Harry Belafonte, Glenn Miller, Roger Daltry

Now that was a hockey game, eh? But more importantly, spring training is under way,so baseball will be here soon... Set your clocks ahead in two weeks...

I'm taking my own advice from last week's MME and making a quick trip to the Western ACDA convention in Tucson at the end of this week... I will be there Friday and Saturday, so if you want to meet up, send me an email here! And if you are planning to attend either MusiCalifornia, April 5-8 at Universal City, in Los Angeles, or The National Conference of Church Musicianson April 13-15 in the greater Indianapolis area, I'd Love to "meet up" in Person! Email me and let me know so I can get some idea of how big a room we might need. Click here to register for MusiCalifornia. You can still get Early Bird rates until March 15 for NCMC. Click here to sign up.

New survey this week!Thanks for taking the survey the past couple of weeks. We're going tosimplify the site's layout, so that you can get right to what you need. Look for an easier to use Creator website soon. This week we turn the tables and ask you to look at your church's website. Take our new survey this week! Thanks again.

On my blog last week... A two part series on How to Get Visitors to Stick Around, and another installment of 101 Great Choir Ideas. I hope you'll subscribe to my blog, and tell me what you think by leaving a comment at the blog site. Thanks.

Thanks to those who responded to my blogging offer last week! Look for your copy of The Choir in Modern Worship in your email box today.

In this week's Monday Morning Email...

Bob Burroughs is back with his extensive accumulation of resources, including anthem, handbell, and DVD reviews. Don't miss guest writer Robert Dale who provides a list on Protective Self-Care for the Leader... To read this week's MME, just click here.

Finally...

This week, get ready for spring...and please tell your friends and colleagues about Creatorand MME too

Blessings,

Vern Sanders
Publisher
Creator Magazine

February 22, 2010

creator@creatormagazine.com — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:13:00 GMT

February 22, 2010

Good Morning

Happy George Washington's Birthday! When I was young there was no President's Day 3 day ski weekend...just individual celebrations for both George and Abe...times have changed, eh?

It is probably because the next issue of Creator concerns mentoring, but I am on a "help one another" kick right now. My advice to you? Attend a conference this spring! Not only is it a time of continuing education, but also a chance to get together with your colleagues in ministry and compare notes. I can't tell you how many times I found an answer to a specific issue in my ministry by talking to someone at a conference or reading session. And if you are planning to attend either MusiCalifornia, April 5-8 at Universal City, in Los Angeles, or The National Conference of Church Musicianson April 13-15 in the greater Indianapolis area, I'd Love to Meet You in Person! I think that's called a "meet up" these days. Anybody interested? Email me and let me know so I can get some idea of how big a room we might need. A word to the wise... Early Bird registration rates for MusiCalifornia expire at the end of this month - February 28! Click here to take advantage while you can. You can still get Early Bird rates until March 15 for NCMC. Click here to sign up.

Thanks to everyone who has taken our recent surveys. It helped us make some decisions about our website. We're working on long-term solutions, and I expect that it will mean a total update of the site within the next couple of months. My plan is to keep a running account going in my blog (see below) for those of you who are interested. In the meantime, please help us by going to our home page to Take our survey this week! We're doing a follow up on the last topic... and your input is very important to us. Thanks again.

On my blog last week... An update on my social media experiment, including plans for a new EBook, and the first installment of a new series: Wednesday Tip Day. Each week on Wednesday I'm going to be giving you a tip about some aspect of music ministry or worship leadership, starting last week with one of 101 Great Choir Ideas. I hope you'll subscribe to my blog, and tell me what you think by leaving a comment at the blog site. Thanks.

What a huge response to Doug Lawrence's MME last week, as his series of 7 Question Conversations looked at some hard questions you might get from your pastor (but don't want to hear), with tips about how to respond. If you missed it, just click here.

In this week's Monday Morning Email...

I've turned to guest writer Mark Hayes for an exhaustive list of What a Music Ministry Leader Needs to Know... You'll want to check your skill set against Mark's list...it will be instructive! To read this week's MME, just click here.

Finally...

This week, think about who has been a valuable mentor to you, and you might be able to return the favor by mentoring...and please tell your friends and colleagues about Creatorand MME too

Blessings,

Vern Sanders
Publisher
Creator Magazine

February 15, 2010

creator@creatormagazine.com — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:59:00 GMT

February 15, 2010

Good Morning!

Happy President's Day!

First, from all of us here at Creator...

Congratulations to our "Giving You Some Love" Contest Grand Prize Winner Vicki Carr of Texarkana, Texas. Vicki wins one FREE Registration to the MusiCalifornia Conference, INCLUDING Round Trip Air and HOTEL accomodations at the Hilton Hotel Universal Studios during the Conference! How did she do that? Just by listening to Creator Reverence (and you should too!).

And since we're talking about it, are you planning to attend a conference this spring? I'd Love to Meet You in Person! I will be at MusiCalifornia, April 5-8 at Universal City, in Los Angeles, so stop by and say hello. I'll also be at The National Conference of Church Musicianson April 13-15 in the greater Indianapolis area. They have a great program lined up, and I'll be presenting on The Choir in Modern Worship, including a session on "The traditional choir director meets the worship band." Should be fun. You can still get Early Bird registration rates until March 15. Click here to sign up.

I want to thank everyone who took our survey over the past two weeks. It helped us make some decisions about our website. I'll have more to say next time, but you confirmed that we need to simplify the site's layout, so that you can get right to what you need. We're going to do that, with some changes perhaps as early as next week. We're working on long-term solutions, though, and I expect that it will mean a total update of the site within the next couple of months. My plan is to keep a running account going in my blog (see below) for those of you who are interested. In the meantime, please help us by going to our home page to Take our NEW survey this week! We're doing a follow up on the last topic... and your input is very important to us. Thanks again.

On my blog last week... A 3 part series about auditions - including answers to what you can expect when you lead an amateur group. Please tell me what you think by leaving a comment on my blog site. Thanks

One More Thing... My friends at Soli Deo Gloria are involved in a LIVE video webcast of the Missa Solemnis, performed by the Chamnber Orchestra of Europe, conducted by John Nelson, with the Gulbenkian Choir and soloists Tamara Wilson, Nikolai Schukoff, and Alastair Miles. I wish I could be there in person, but the performance will be streamed from Lisbon, live this Wednesday, February 17, at 2 pm EST. The performance will remain available through April 17 of this year. Click here to see the Missa Solemnis.

In this week's Monday Morning Email...

Doug Lawrence continues his series of 7 Question Conversations...and this time he tackles some hard questions you might get from your pastor (but don't want to hear), with tips about how to respond. This is really good stuff! To read this week's MME, just click here.

Finally...

This week, help us help you do ministry better by taking our survey...and please tell your friends and colleagues about Creatorand MME too

Blessings,

Vern Sanders
Publisher
Creator Magazine

February 8, 2010

creator@creatormagazine.com — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:23:00 GMT

February 8, 2010

Good Morning

Has this happened to you? (of course it has...) On Sunday our anthem was Behold the Lamb of God, from Messiah (we celebrate the Lord's Supper each first Sunday of the month). I do not presently have an accompanist, so I play the introduction, and when the alto entrance comes, nothing happens. Now they've never (ever!) missed this entrance. So I loop back to give them another chance. FAIL! The sopranos do exactly what they are supposed to do, and come in. And now the men don't know what to do. Fortunately, my choir is not easily flummoxed, and so we quickly got everyone back together, but it presented an interesting problem for me. We rehearse twice a week (long story...), and one of them is right after worship.

Now in my younger days, I would probably have yelled. But I've learned that it doesn't do any good. The altos already are feeling badly, and they know what went wrong... So...teaching moment... I used the situation to establish one more "groundrule": we never stop, and we never go back.

On another subject, we had a great week with our contest last week...I hope you were one of our luck winners...If not...

Today at NOON we start the final week of our "Giving You Some Love" contest on the Reverence Channel! From now until Friday we will be giving away lots of great prizes during selected programs at Creator Reverence. Here are some of the prizes we'll be giving away:

CDs of the National Lutheran Choirand A set of Paul Manz improv CDs compliments of MorningStar Music

A complete Set of Bock's Best Piano Books compliments of Fred Bock Music Company

A Heavyweights of Comedy DVD compliments of Dan McGowan

Free registrations to the MusiCalifornia Conference April 5-8 at the Hilton Hotel Universal Studios in Los Angelescompliments of MusiCalifornia

CDs and Books compliments of publishers like Wm Eerdmans, Zondervan, Moody, Encouraging Words, and Kregel

Solo vocal and anthem collections, and Promo Packs of Music compliments of publishers like Oxford University Press, Harold Flammer, Hope, and Lorenz

And EVERYBODY who wins one of the daily prizes will also receive a free one year subscription or renewal to Creator Magazine compliments of Creator!

PLUS! On Friday during the 3 pm hour we give away the Grand Prize: One FREE Registration to the MusiCalifornia Conference, INCLUDING Round Trip Air (for one) from ANYWHERE in the US and HOTEL accomodations at the Hilton Hotel Universal Studios during the Conference!

There are two ways to win the Grand Prize. We'd really lik3 you to listen to Creator Reverence. Each contest hour, we will be making an announcement of what the prize is for that hour. Sometime during the hour, you'll hear a special sound, the special phrase of the hour, and which specific email (for instance the "third" email) will win the prize. When you hear the phrase, you'll need to email it to: contest@creatorleadershipnetwork.com. Don't lose that email address! That's all there is to it. Every daily prize winner qualifies for the drawing for the Grand Prize.

You can still be eligible for the Grand Prize if you don't win a daily prize! You can also become automatically eligible by making a purchase at the CLN Store anytime between now and noon (pacific) on Friday, February 12, 2010. You can find a link to the store at the CLN site, or by clicking on the "Creator Store" button on the Reverence channel player any time you hear something you'd like to purchase. THIS WEEK we will be giving away prizes on the following programs (all times Pacific):

MONDAY
Noon - The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Hosted by Dan McGowan
1 pm - Fred Bock Music Hour - Hosted by Stephen Bock
2 - Doug's Master Class - Hosted by Doug Lawrence
3 - Creator Radio - Hosted by Vern Sanders
4 - Creator Tech Talk - Hosted by Wade Odum

TUESDAY
11 am - Notes of Encouragement - Hosted by Steve Amerson
Noon - The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Hosted by Dan McGowan
1 pm - With Hearts & Hands & Voices - Hosted by Mark Lawson
2 - Doug's Master Class - Hosted by Doug Lawrence
3 - Creator Radio - Hosted by Vern Sanders

WEDNESDAY
1 pm - Fred Bock Music Hour - Hosted by Stephen Bock
2 - Doug's Master Class - Hosted by Doug Lawrence
3 - Creator Radio - Hosted by Vern Sanders
4 - Creator Tech Talk - Hosted by Wade Odum
5 - With Hearts & Hands & Voices - Hosted by Mark Lawson

THURSDAY
11 am - Notes of Encouragement - Hosted by Steve Amerson
Noon - The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Hosted by Dan McGowan
1 pm - Let Music Live! The Sacred Sounds Of Shawnee Press - Hosted by Joseph Martin
2 - Doug's Master Class - Hosted by Doug Lawrence
3 - Creator Radio - Hosted by Vern Sanders
4 - Creator Tech Talk - Hosted by Wade Odum

FRIDAY
10 am - Creator Tech Talk - Hosted by Wade Odum
11 am - Notes of Encouragement - Hosted by Steve Amerson
Noon - The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Hosted by Dan McGowan
1 pm - Fred Bock Music Hour - Hosted by Stephen Bock
2 - Doug's Master Class - Hosted by Doug Lawrence
3 - Creator Radio - Hosted by Vern Sanders

Standard reminder about the Reverence Channel player: The first time you use it, you may need to "refresh" (F5 key) once in order to get the audio. You'll know you will get the audio if you see the colored buttons (green for play, red for stop, and brown for mute...plus the two purple buttons which control the volume...). There is no need to hit the play button in most cases...the audio will start automatically once the player completely loads. You may need to download one or more programs: Silverlight (for the player) and Firefox (the preferred browser). Look for links to download these free programs on the home page and programs page.

Want to listen to the Reverence Channel on your ipod touch or iphone? Listen via ootunes! - Get their iphone app here

I'd Love to Meet You in Person! It was great to meet some of you at the recent MusicAtlanta conference. Here's another chance. I'll be at The National Conference of Church Musicians on April 13-15 in the greater Indianapolis area. They have a great program lined up, and I'll be presenting on The Choir in Modern Worship, including a session on "The traditional choir director meets the worship band." Should be fun. You can still get Early Bird registration rates until March 15. Click here to sign up.

And speaking of The Choir in Modern Worship...my book is available here. It covers, among other things, The Future of the Choir in Modern Worship, Three Things that mark a Successful Choir in Modern Worship, Musical Skill Development for the Choir in Modern Worship, and Creativity for the Choir in Modern Worship. The retail price is $14.95, but right now you can get it for the special price of just $9.95 (that's 33% off!) and immediately download it upon purchase. HERE'S HOW to download the book after your purchase:
click on the My Account tab near the right top of the screen.
Select My Orders from the dropdown menu.
Scroll down past the FAQ to the order information.
There will be the words "Order Details" within the information boxes.
Click there to follow a link.
Scroll down past the FAQ again.
There will be a download icon - has a down arrow in it.
Click the download icon.
It will then ask you if you want to save the documents or open them.
Select Save. This will allow you to choose a place to save the article on your computer. To order the Ebook, Just click here.

Take our survey this week! This is the last week for a very sensitive topic...you'll have to take the survey to find out what it is. Please go to our home page and take the survey, and check back at the end of the week to see what the results are.

Considering Concert Ministry? Already on the road? The January/February issue of Creator is all about this subject. Guest Edited by Steve Amerson, there are articles by Babbie Mason and many others. If you don't have a subscription to Creator, now's the time to get one. Just click here. If you register and log in at the site, you can get our best rates.

New articles at Creator's site! Remember to check back regularly to see what we've added from our extensive Knowledge Base of articles from back issues. To see what's new, just click here.

In this week's Monday Morning Email...

Conflict. Ever had any of that at your church? Hugh Ballou discusses it in some depth in this week's MME, which he sent in from the deep snows of Virginia! To read this week's MME, just click here.

Finally...

This week, consider setting up "groundrules" for your ensembles...and please tell your friends and colleagues about Creatorand MME too

Blessings,

Vern Sanders
Publisher
Creator Magazine

Become a fan of Creator
CLN is on facebook at
http://groups.to/creatorleadershipnetwork
Vern is on facebook at
http://profile.to/vernsanders/
Read Vern's blog @ www.dotdotdotblog.com
Follow Vern on Twitter! @vernsanders

February 1, 2010

creator@creatormagazine.com — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:43:00 GMT

February 1, 2010

Good Morning

Are you tuned in? I hope you don't miss this...

Today during the NOON hour is the start of the Valentine's Day "Giving You Some Love" contest on the Reverence Channel! For the next two weeks, Monday through Friday we will be giving away lots of great prizes during selected programs at Creator Reverence and the prizes will include lots of things that you might be interested in. Here are some of the prizes we'll be giving away:

CDs of the National Lutheran Choirand A set of Paul Manz improv CDs compliments of MorningStar Music

A complete Set of Bock's Best Piano Books and A Crystal Cathedral Golden Collection for Organ compliments of Fred Bock Music Company

10 free one year subscriptions to Creator Magazine compliments of Creator

A Heavyweights of Comedy DVD compliments of Dan McGowan

10 free registrations to the MusiCalifornia Conference April 5-8 at the Hilton Hotel Universal Studios in Los Angelescompliments of MusiCalifornia

There are over 50 daily prizes in all!

And EVERYBODY who wins one of the daily prizes will also receive a free one year subscription or renewal to Creator Magazine compliments of Creator!

And the Grand Prize is One FREE Registration to the MusiCalifornia Conference, INCLUDING Round Trip Air (for one) from ANYWHERE in the US and HOTEL accomodations at the Hilton Hotel Universal Studios during the Conference!

How do you get one of these great prizes? Well...as you might imagine, you'll have to listen to Creator Reverence , so stay tuned. Each contest hour, we will be making an announcement of what the prize is for that hour. Sometime during the hour, you'll hear a special sound, the special phrase of the hour, and which specific email (for instance the "third" email) will win the prize. When you hear the phrase, you'll need to email it to: contest@creatorleadershipnetwork.com. Don't lose that email address! That's all there is to it

How do you qualify to win the Grand Prize? There are two ways: If you win one of the daily prizes, you are automatically eligible. If you don't win a daily prize don't give up hope. You can also become automatically eligible by making a purchase at the CLN Store anytime between now and noon (pacific) on Friday, February 12, 2010. You can find a link to the store at the CLN site, or by clicking on the "Creator Store" button on the Reverence channel player any time you hear something you'd like to purchase. THIS WEEK we will be giving away prizes on the following programs (all times Pacific):

MONDAY
Noon - The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Hosted by Dan McGowan
1 pm - Fred Bock Music Hour - Hosted by Stephen Bock
2 - Doug's Master Class - Hosted by Doug Lawrence
3 - Creator Radio - Hosted by Vern Sanders
4 - Creator Tech Talk - Hosted by Wade Odum

TUESDAY
11 am - Notes of Encouragement - Hosted by Steve Amerson
Noon - The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Hosted by Dan McGowan
1 pm - With Hearts & Hands & Voices - Hosted by Mark Lawson
2 - Doug's Master Class - Hosted by Doug Lawrence
3 - Creator Radio - Hosted by Vern Sanders

WEDNESDAY
1 pm - Fred Bock Music Hour - Hosted by Stephen Bock
2 - Doug's Master Class - Hosted by Doug Lawrence
3 - Creator Radio - Hosted by Vern Sanders
4 - Creator Tech Talk - Hosted by Wade Odum
5 - With Hearts & Hands & Voices - Hosted by Mark Lawson

THURSDAY
11 am - Notes of Encouragement - Hosted by Steve Amerson
Noon - The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Hosted by Dan McGowan
1 pm - Let Music Live! The Sacred Sounds Of Shawnee Press - Hosted by Joseph Martin
2 - Doug's Master Class - Hosted by Doug Lawrence
3 - Creator Radio - Hosted by Vern Sanders
4 - Creator Tech Talk - Hosted by Wade Odum

FRIDAY
10 am - Creator Tech Talk - Hosted by Wade Odum
11 am - Notes of Encouragement - Hosted by Steve Amerson
Noon - The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Hosted by Dan McGowan
1 pm - Fred Bock Music Hour - Hosted by Stephen Bock
2 - Doug's Master Class - Hosted by Doug Lawrence
3 - Creator Radio - Hosted by Vern Sanders

Standard reminder about the Reverence Channel player: The first time you use it, you may need to "refresh" (F5 key) once in order to get the audio. You'll know you will get the audio if you see the colored buttons (green for play, red for stop, and brown for mute...plus the two purple buttons which control the volume...). There is no need to hit the play button in most cases...the audio will start automatically once the player completely loads. You may need to download one or more programs: Silverlight (for the player) and Firefox (the preferred browser). Look for links to download these free programs on the home page and programs page.

Want to listen to the Reverence Channel on your ipod touch or iphone? Listen via ootunes! - Get their iphone app here

A big THANK YOU to those who have ordered my Ebook The Choir in Modern Worship. The book covers, among other things, The Future of the Choir in Modern Worship, Three Things that mark a Successful Choir in Modern Worship, Musical Skill Development for the Choir in Modern Worship, and Creativity for the Choir in Modern Worship. The reviews have come back quite positive on this book (he said, modestly), and it is now available at Creator's website. It will sell for $14.95, but right now you can get it for the special price of just $9.95 (that's 33% off!). And...since it is an Ebook, you can immediately download it upon purchase. We got some questions about HOW to download the book after your purchase. Here's what you do:
click on the My Account tab near the right top of the screen.
Select My Orders from the dropdown menu.
Scroll down past the FAQ to the order information.
There will be the words "Order Details" within the information boxes.
Click there to follow a link.
Scroll down past the FAQ again.
There will be a download icon - has a down arrow in it.
Click the download icon.
It will then ask you if you want to save the documents or open them.
Select Save. This will allow you to choose a place to save the article on your computer. To order the Ebook, Just click here.

Take our NEW survey this week! This is the first week for a very sensitive topic...you'll have to take the survey to find out what it is. Please go to our home page and take the survey, and check back at the end of the week to see what the results are.

Interested in our EXCLUSIVE CLN offer! Hugh Ballou’s new program The Transformational Leadership Accelerator: Fast Track to Leadership Excellence provides church musicians with leadership tools to equip for the leading in a difficult and varied arena. His offer to CLN members is great: Sign up for this program and get 3 (yes 3) audio and print programs for free – each worth $30. You get to try Hugh's leadership program for $1 (yes, a lousy buck) to see if you like it. If not, then cancel and keep the $90 worth of programs you received...just go here.

Considering Concert Ministry? Already on the road? The January/February issue of Creator is all about this subject. Guest Edited by Steve Amerson, there are articles by Babbie Mason and many others. If you don't have a subscription to Creator, now's the time to get one. Just click here. If you register and log in at the site, you can get our best rates.

In this week's Monday Morning Email...

Do you remember what you were doing 10 years ago? (I do...I was newly retired and loving it!) Bob Burroughs gives us a little history lesson of the technological changes over the past 10 years, plus anthem reviews, This Idea Will Work... and more. To read this week's MME, just click here.

Finally...

This week, reflect on all the good things that you have participated in over the past 10 years...and please tell your friends and colleagues about Creatorand MME too

Blessings,

Vern Sanders
Publisher
Creator Magazine

Become a fan of Creator
CLN is on facebook at
http://groups.to/creatorleadershipnetwork
Vern is on facebook at
http://profile.to/vernsanders/
Read Vern's blog @ www.dotdotdotblog.com
Follow Vern on Twitter! @vernsanders

January 25, 2010

creator@creatormagazine.com — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:19:00 GMT

January 25, 2010

Good Morning

An attitude of gratitude...

I'd like to thank all the people that attended my sessions at Music Atlanta, and especially those who took the time to do a station ID for Creator Reverence on the Creator Leadership Network. I think you might be interested in just who did these, so tune in here, and perhaps even hear your own voice, or the voice of somebody you know. Next up? I will also be speaking at MusiCalifornia (April 5-8 in Los Angeles), the National Church Music Conference (April 13-15 in Indianapolis), and Podium 2010 (The Association of Canadian Choral Communities, May 20-23 in Saskatoon, Canada). If you are attending one of these conferences, look for me and you too can have your 15 seconds of fame by recording a station ID for CLN.

I also want to thank those who ordered my Ebook last week. Titled The Choir in Modern Worship, the book covers, among other things, The Future of the Choir in Modern Worship, Three Things that mark a Successful Choir in Modern Worship, Musical Skill Development for the Choir in Modern Worship, and Creativity for the Choir in Modern Worship. The reviews have come back quite positive on this book (he said, modestly), and it is now available at Creator's website. It will sell for $14.95, but right now you can get it for the special price of just $9.95 (that's 33% off!). And...since it is an Ebook, you can immediately download it upon purchase. We got some questions about HOW to download the book after your purchase. Here's what you do:
click on the My Account tab near the right top of the screen.
Select My Orders from the dropdown menu.
Scroll down past the FAQ to the order information.
There will be the words "Order Details" within the information boxes.
Click there to follow a link.
Scroll down past the FAQ again.
There will be a download icon - has a down arrow in it.
Click the download icon.
It will then ask you if you want to save the documents or open them.
Select Save. This will allow you to choose a place to save the article on your computer. To order the Ebook, Just click here.

Just one more week until the start of the Valentine's Day contest on the Reverence Channel! We want to show you a little love! Starting next Monday, February 1, we will have a Valentine's Day contest at Creator Reverence and the prizes will include lots of things that you might be interested in. Here are some of the prizes we'll be giving away:

CDs of the National Lutheran Choirand A set of Paul Manz improv CDs compliments of MorningStar Music

A complete Set of Bock's Best Piano Books and A Crystal Cathedral Golden Collection for Organ compliments of Fred Bock Music Company

10 free one year subscriptions to Creator Magazine compliments of Creator

A Heavyweights of Comedy DVD compliments of Dan McGowan

10 free registrations to the MusiCalifornia Conference April 5-8 at the Hilton Hotel Universal Studios in Los Angelescompliments of MusiCalifornia

Plus a few surprises and a cool GRAND PRIZE!

How do you get one of these great prizes? Well...as you might imagine, you'll have to listen to Creator Reverence , so stay tuned...we'll have all the details in next Monday's MME...

Take our survey this week! Due to the response, we're going to go one more week for the topic: At our church congregational singing is lead by... Please go to our home page and take the survey, and check back at the end of the week to see what the results are.
Interested in our EXCLUSIVE CLN offer! Hugh Ballou’s new program The Transformational Leadership Accelerator: Fast Track to Leadership Excellence provides church musicians with leadership tools to equip for the leading in a difficult and varied arena. His offer to CLN members is great: Sign up for this program and get 3 (yes 3) audio and print programs for free – each worth $30. You get to try Hugh's leadership program for $1 (yes, a lousy buck) to see if you like it. If not, then cancel and keep the $90 worth of programs you received...just go here.
Considering Concert Ministry? Already on the road? The January/February issue of Creator is all about this subject. Guest Edited by Steve Amerson, there are articles by Babbie Mason and many others. If you don't have a subscription to Creator, now's the time to get one. Just click here. If you register and log in at the site, you can get our best rates.
Want to listen to the Reverence Channel on your ipod? Listen via ootunes!Get their iphone app by going here. Here's a thumbnail version of what's on our streaming audio channel this week. Each program runs at in both the AM and PM scheduled time. For a complete and most up-to-date broadcast schedule go here and bookmark the page.

Here are this week's scheduled programs (all times Pacific):

Fred Bock Music Hour - Mondays and Wednesdays at 1 ~ Tuesdays and Fridays at 8 ~ Thursdays at 6

Doug's Master Class - Every day at 2

Creator Radio - Every day at 3

Creator Tech Talk - Mondays Tuesdays and Fridays at 4 ~ Wednesdays at 10 ~ Thursdays at7

Notes of Encouragement Featuring the Music of Steve Amerson - Every day at 11

The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Every day at 12

With Hearts & Hands & Voices - Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 ~ Tuesday at 1 ~ Thursday at 8

Let Music Live! The Sacred Sounds Of Shawnee Press - Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday at 6 ~Thursday at 1

Standard reminder about the Reverence Channel player: First, the initial time you use it, you may need to "refresh" (F5 key) once in order to get the audio. You'll know you will get the audio if you see the colored buttons (green for play, red for stop, and brown for mute...plus the two purple buttons which control the volume...). There is no need to hit the play button in most cases...the audio will start automatically once the player completely loads. You may need to download one or more programs: Silverlight (for the player) and Firefox (the preferred browser). Look for links to download these free programs on the home page and programs page.

In this week's Monday Morning Email...

Ever find yourself short of time, or needing to change from your scheduled music because of external circumstances? Here's help, as this week we feature a tutorial on Do It Yourself Hymn Anthems. To read this week's MME, just click here.

Finally...

This week, get two things: your ootunes app to listen to Creator Reverence on your iphone, and my Ebook to help develop your choir for the demands of modern worship...and please tell your friends and colleagues about Creatorand MME too

Blessings,

Vern Sanders
Publisher
Creator Magazine

Do you have a customer service problem? Email us at customerservice@creatormagazine.com and we'll help you resolve the problem.

January 18, 2010

creator@creatormagazine.com — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 06:58:00 GMT

January 18, 2010

Good Morning

On the road again...

This week I will be in Fort Worth at the beginning of the week for the Winter Music Texas conference, and then, starting Wednesday I will be at Music Atlanta, where I will be presenting an Honored 10 reading session and speaking on the topic The Choir in Modern Worship. If you are attending either of these conferences, please say hello and introduce yourself. This is only the beginning of my speaking tour on this subject. If you want to "catch my act," I will also be speaking on this topic at MusiCalifornia (April 5-8 in Los Angeles), the National Church Music Conference (April 13-15 in Indianapolis), and Podium 2010 (The Association of Canadian Choral Communities, May 20-23 in Saskatoon, Canada).

Ah, but there is more...

Last Friday, I finished an Ebook on the same topic. In the book I cover, among other things, The Future of the Choir in Modern Worship, Three Things that mark a Successful Choir in Modern Worship, Musical Skill Development for the Choir in Modern Worship, and Creativity for the Choir in Modern Worship. The reviews have come back quite positive on this book (he said, modestly), and it is now available at Creator's website. It will sell for $14.95, but right now you can get it for the special price of just $9.95 (that's 33% off!). And...since it is an Ebook, you can immediately download it upon purchase. Just click here.

I've run some CDs of the book to take with me this week, and included a few "extras," so if you're attending one of the conferences, just find me, and I'd be happy to hook you up with a copy.

Take our survey this week! This is the last week for the topic: At our church congregational singing is lead by... Please go to our home page and take the survey, and check back at the end of the week to see what the results are.
Did you hear about the Valentine's Day contest on the Reverence Channel? We want to show you a little love! Starting February 1 we will have a Valentine's Day contest at Creator Reverence and the prizes will include lots of things that you might be interested in. Here are some of the prizes we'll be giving away:

CDs of the National Lutheran Choirand A set of Paul Manz improv CDs compliments of MorningStar Music

A complete Set of Bock's Best Piano Books and A Crystal Cathedral Golden Collection for Organ compliments of Fred Bock Music Company

A Heavyweights of Comedy DVD compliments of Dan McGowan

10 free registrations to the MusiCalifornia Conference April 5-8 at the Hilton Hotel Universal Studios in Los Angelescompliments of MusiCalifornia

We'll have more details next Monday, so stay tuned...
Thanks to the many who took advantage of our EXCLUSIVE CLN offer! Hugh Ballou’s new program The Transformational Leadership Accelerator: Fast Track to Leadership Excellence provides church musicians with leadership tools to equip for the leading in a difficult and varied arena. His offer to CLN members is great: Sign up for this program and get 3 (yes 3) audio and print programs for free – each worth $30. You get to try Hugh's leadership program for $1 (yes, a lousy buck) to see if you like it. If not, then cancel and keep the $90 worth of programs you received...just go here.
Did you read my blog this week! My 5 part series about valuing IP (Intellectual Property) in a church setting touched some nerves. I think any creative person serving in a church will benefit from reading about it here. Please tell me what you think by leaving a comment on my blog site. Thanks.
Why aren't you listening to the Reverence Channel? Is is too much trouble? I was talking with someone this week who said to me "Oh, I'm going to listen to Creator Reverence one of these days, when you've got it up and running." Hello? It is up and running. Just go here and look for the Creator Reverence logo. One click and you've got 24/7 streaming audio with information to help you do your ministry better. Check it out this week. You'll be glad you did. Here's a thumbnail version of what's on our streaming audio channel this week. Each program runs at in both the AM and PM scheduled time. For a complete and most up-to-date broadcast schedule go here and bookmark the page.

Here are this week's scheduled programs (all times Pacific):

Fred Bock Music Hour - Mondays and Wednesdays at 1 ~ Tuesdays and Fridays at 8 ~ Thursdays at 6
Host Stephen Bock interviews Bryan Jeffrey Leech.

Doug's Master Class - Every day at 2
Doug Lawrence hosts this informative program.

Creator Radio -Every day at 3
This week we highlight the 2007 Honored 10 anthems.

Creator Tech Talk - Mondays Tuesdays and Fridays at 4 ~ Wednesdays at 10 ~ Thursdays at7
Wade Odum tells you the equipment you need when you are doing "Church in a Box," and more...

Notes of Encouragement Featuring the Music of Steve Amerson - Every day at 11
Steve Amerson's voice will just fill your speakers with great music.

The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Every day at 12
Hosted by Dan McGowan, this show features The Heavyweights of Clean Comedy. Its a laugh (or more) a minute.

With Hearts & Hands & Voices - Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 ~ Tuesday at 1 ~ Thursday at 8
This week, host Mark Lawson explores best selling anthems from MorningStar Music.

Let Music Live! The Sacred Sounds Of Shawnee Press - Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday at 6 ~Thursday at 1
Joseph Martin hosts this look at new and best selling materials from Shawnee Press.

Standard reminder about the Reverence Channel player: First, the initial time you use it, you may need to "refresh" (F5 key) once in order to get the audio. You'll know you will get the audio if you see the colored buttons (green for play, red for stop, and brown for mute...plus the two purple buttons which control the volume...). There is no need to hit the play button in most cases, the audio will start automatically once the player completely loads. Second, if you use a mac, you may need to download one or more programs: Silverlight (for the player) and Firefox (the preferred browser). Look for links to download these free programs on the home page and programs page.

In this week's Monday Morning Email...

Doug Lawrence continues his 7 Question Conversation. This time he presents 7 Questions to Determine Whether You Are Suited for Concert Ministry. I asked Doug if he would do this, because the January/February issue of Creator is all about this subject. Guest Edited by Steve Amerson, there are articles by Babbie Mason and many others. If you don't have a subscription to Creator, now's the time to get one. Just click here. If you register and log in at the site, you can get our best rates. To read this week's MME, just click here.

Finally...

This week, get my Ebook and help develop your choir for the demands of modern worship...and please tell your friends and colleagues about Creatorand MME too

Blessings,

Vern Sanders
Publisher
Creator Magazine

Do you have a customer service problem? Email us at customerservice@creatormagazine.com and we'll help you resolve the problem.

January 11, 2010

creator@creatormagazine.com — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:06:00 GMT

January 11, 2010

Good Morning

Cold enough for you? Got enough snow? I thought so... If it is any consolation, our string of 70 degree days is supposed to be broken by rain tomorrow...

There is lots to tell you this week, including a couple of special CLN offers, so let's get started...

Take our NEW survey this week! This is the first week for the topic: At our church congregational singing is lead by... Please go to our home page and take the survey, and check back at the end of the week to see what the results are.
Did you hear about the Valentine's Day contest on the Reverence Channel? We want to show you a little love! Starting very soon we will have a Valentine's Day contest at Creator Reverence and the prizes will include lots of things that you might be interested in. Here's just one example of the prizes we'll be giving away: 10 free registrations to the MusiCalifornia Conference April 5-8 at the Hilton Hotel Universal Studios in Los Angeles. We'll have more details next Monday, so stay tuned...
Here's an EXCLUSIVE CLN offer! If you have been following Hugh Ballou's “Leadership Tools” edition of Monday Morning Email, then you know Hugh is an expert on leadership skills. As a church musician with 40 years of experience, Hugh has practical leadership strategies and tools to share. Hugh’s new program The Transformational Leadership Accelerator: Fast Track to Leadership Excellence provides church musicians with leadership tools to equip for the leading in a difficult and varied arena. His offer to CLN members is great: Sign up for this program and get 3 (yes 3) audio and print programs for free – each worth $30. You get to try Hugh's leadership program for $1 (yes, a lousy buck) to see if you like it. If not, then cancel and keep the $90 worth of programs you received...just go here.
Are you going to be in the LA area this week? Live There? Do you know what NAMM is? Have we got a deal for you. In co-operation with our friend Bruce Adolph, we want to tell you about some worship oriented sessions at this week's NAMM conferenc at the Anaheim Convention Center. Here's the deal: free training sessions on site, free admittance into the exclusive NAMM exhibit floor, and a concert ticket for a night of worshp evangelism. Just click here and follow the instructions. Can't get away in the daytime? How about this? A free Night of Worship featuring Paul Baloche, Lincoln Brewster, plus sax legend Kirk Whalum, Gregg Bissonette, and lots of surprise guests! This thursday at 7pm at the Anahem Hilton Pacific Ballroom. NO NAMM BADGE OR TICKET REQUIRED! FREE ADMISSION!
You need to read my blog this week! I'm in the middle of a 5 part series about valuing IP (Intellectual Property) in a church setting. I think any creative person serving in a church will benefit from reading about it here. Please tell me what you think by leaving a comment on my blog site. Thanks.
What's on the Reverence Channel? Here's a thumbnail version of what's on our streaming audio channel this week. Each program runs at in both the AM and PM scheduled time. For a complete and most up-to-date broadcast schedule go here and bookmark the page.

Here are this week's scheduled programs (all times Pacific):

Fred Bock Music Hour - Mondays and Wednesdays at 1 ~ Tuesdays and Fridays at 8 ~ Thursdays at 6
Host Stephen Bock interviews Bryan Jeffrey Leech.

Doug's Master Class - Every day at 2
Doug Lawrence hosts this informative program.

Creator Radio -Every day at 3
This week we highlight the 2007 Honored 10 anthems.

Creator Tech Talk - Mondays Tuesdays and Fridays at 4 ~ Wednesdays at 10 ~ Thursdays at7
NEW PROGRAM STARTS THIS WEEK! Wade Odum tells you the equipment you need when you are doing "Church in a Box," and more...

Notes of Encouragement Featuring the Music of Steve Amerson - Every day at 11
Steve Amerson's voice will just fill your speakers with great music.

The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Every day at 12
Hosted by Dan McGowan, this show features The Heavyweights of Clean Comedy. Its a laugh (or more) a minute.

With Hearts & Hands & Voices - Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 ~ Tuesday at 1 ~ Thursday at 8
This week, host Mark Lawson explores best selling anthems from MorningStar Music.

Remember...just click the Reverence Channel graphic on the new CLN website to hear the audio stream. Standard reminder about the Reverence Channel player: First, the initial time you use it, you may need to "refresh" (F5 key) once in order to get the audio. You'll know you will get the audio if you see the colored buttons (green for play, red for stop, and brown for mute...plus the two purple buttons which control the volume...). There is no need to hit the play button in most cases, the audio will start automatically once the player completely loads. Second, if you use a mac, you may need to download one or more programs: Silverlight (for the player) and Firefox (the preferred browser). Look for links to download these free programs on the home page and programs page.

In this week's Monday Morning Email...

Hugh Ballou helps you stay motivated as you start off the new year. You'll want to read this one, so just click here.

Finally...

This week, find ways to stay motivated to build the Kingdom in the new year and your ministry...and please tell your friends and colleagues about Creatorand MME too

Blessings,

Vern Sanders
Publisher
Creator Magazine

Do you have a customer service problem? Email us at customerservice@creatormagazine.com and we'll help you resolve the problem.

January 4, 2010

creator@creatormagazine.com — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:53:00 GMT

January 4, 2010

Good Morning

Welcome to 2010. I've been thinking lately that it doesn't seem like 10 years ago that we had the "big" celebration for the clickover to the 2000s. In fact, and this may have something to do with my age, the new year's celebrations since then seem to have been quiet and/or tame. I'm beginning to think that it might be because I/we invested so much into the "big turn" that I/we have what amounts to a "hangover" -- and we're not recovered quite yet. Of course some of it may be due to the new economic order as well... In any event, I'd like to hear from you: do you still have a big celebration on new year's eve since the 1999 one, or are you feeling like "been there, done that..."? Send me an email and let me know.

For many of you it was "back to church" Sunday yesterday. With Christmas falling as it did this year it seemed like a short break...and yet to have taken two Sundays off would have seemed like too much. What did you do to take a break after Christmas eve this year? Send me an email and let me know.

New decade...new MME this week...

Take our survey this week! This is the last week for the topic: At our church worship is planned by... Please go to our home page and take the survey, and check back at the end of the week to see what the results are.
In case you need to catch up... Two weeks agoDoug Lawrence's MME on worship planning generated a lot of buzz. I hope you didn't miss it. If you did...go here Last week's MME contained a list of 90 "tried and tested" anthems with congregational involvement...read the list here.
Do you read my blog? I'm back to writing more regularly about church music, and I hope you'll take the opportunity to read it. Last week's topics included an idea for how to avoid an attendance drop off at your post Christmas and post Easter Sundays, and four questions as part of a plan to evaluate how your fall season went, and to make, if necessary, a mid-course correction. Finally, I have a new year's resolution which you can read about here, or get the whole story by starting the 3 part series here.
What's on the Reverence Channel? Here's a thumbnail version of what's on our streaming audio channel this week. Each program runs at in both the AM and PM scheduled time. For a complete and most up-to-date broadcast schedule go here and bookmark the page.

Here are this week's scheduled programs (all times Pacific):

Fred Bock Music Hour - Mondays and Wednesdays at 1 ~ Tuesdays and Fridays at 8 ~ Thursdays at 6
Host Stephen Bock interviews Bryan Jeffrey Leech.

Doug's Master Class - Every day at 2
Doug Lawrence hosts this informative program.

Creator Radio -Every day at 3
This week we highlight the 2007 Honored 10 anthems.

Creator Tech Talk -Every day at 4
Wade Odum discusses how to gain trust with your pastor, monitor mixes, and more...

Notes of Encouragement Featuring the Music of Steve Amerson - Every day at 11
Steve Amerson's voice will just fill your speakers with great music.

The Just Pure Laughs Clean Comedy Show - Every day at 12
Hosted by Dan McGowan, this show features The Heavyweights of Clean Comedy. Its a laugh (or more) a minute.

With Hearts & Hands & Voices - Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 ~ Tuesday at 1 ~ Thursday at 8
This week, host Mark Lawson explores best selling anthems from MorningStar Music.

In this week's Monday Morning Email...

Bob Burroughs provides his usual abundance of information and inspiration as you start off the new year. Just click here.

Finally...

This week, settle back into the new year and your ministry...and please tell your friends and colleagues about Creatorand MME too

Blessings,

Vern Sanders
Publisher
Creator Magazine

Do you have a customer service problem? Email us at customerservice@creatormagazine.com and we'll help you resolve the problem.