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Welcome back to this series called “What Regimen Training Taught Me as a Worship Leader”.

Part 1 is here.
Part 2 is here.

Part 3 – Change It Up

Routine.  It can be a good thing – for a while.  But changing up our fitness routines makes it more enjoyable and unpredictable.  We never know what the routine will be.  Some days we’re on the beach.  Some days we’re in the grass.  Some days we have “toys”.  (ie.  kettle bells, jump ropes, dumbbells, TRX suspension systems).  Other days – it’s just old-fashioned exercising.

Granted, when we plan a corporate worship experience, making it “enjoyable” shouldn’t necessarily be our first intention.  However, breaking up the routine can bring a freshness to the gathering and help give our minds a jolt out of the norm.

Why is this important?  When our routine is the same, Sunday after Sunday … it’s easy to just go through the motions.  You know … open up with a fast song, do announcements, do a few medium/slow songs, have a sermon, and close with the song that makes them come to the altar.  You can predict it so many times.  It’s not that this type of flow is wrong … but can we make our gathering more meaningful by changing things up?

Changing the routine can make us pay more attention to what is happening.  When we depart from our normal way of doing things it causes people to stop and take notice.  Try opening up with a more reflective, slow worship song to begin your services.  Put more songs together in a set, or break them apart with some readings or prayers.  Just don’t do the same motions – over and over.

Well, I hope you’re enjoying this series.  Please leave your comments below.  If you aren’t already subscribed to the blog, consider subscribing by email or RSS.

About the Picture:
This wasn’t your expected routine.  With these big bungie cords, we literally pulled one another across the parking lot.  As you can see, it was tough on both sides of the cord.  We left this routine excited because we did something different and new!

Welcome back to this series called “What Regimen Training Taught Me as a Worship Leader”.

Part 1 is here.

Part 2:  “Rest as Needed”

R.A.N.  It’s an acronym for “rest as needed” that our trainers constantly use.  They want us to be pushed past our comfort zones but they don’t want anyone hurt.  Every person that arrives at “Regimen Training” is at a different place in their fitness ability.

It’s profound how true this is when we gather to worship.  Every person that arrives is in a different place spiritually.  Some are super-charged and ready to go.  Others are broken, hurt, devastated, or discouraged.  Some are full of confidence while others are beaten down with guilt.

These are examples of one’s spiritual condition – but we have to account for one’s physical condition as well.  Have we ever considered that not every person in our congregation is comfortable standing for 25 minutes?  That clapping actually hurts the hands of the person suffering from arthritis?

As worship leaders we should encourage our congregations to press past their comfort zones.  At the same time, we have to give them freedom to “rest as needed”.  Perhaps communicating this to congregations will liberate them from the fear of being judged if they take a break.

Here’s the truth.  There are some who come from church cultures where it’s not uncommon to praise and worship through song/music for 45 minutes to over an hour.  There are others who have never engaged in a flow of 2 or more songs back-to-back.  Worship is a spiritual discipline – and I might add, isn’t always defined by standing and singing.

So what do we do?  Communicate that worshipers can “rest as needed”.  Communicate it frequently.  Communicate it lovingly.  At the same time, encourage your congregations to push further and deeper into their expressions of worship than before.  Encourage them past their comfort zones.

I’d love to hear your thoughts!  Comment below.

About the Picture:
Photo by Chris Moncus Photography, for Taylor Made Training.  After a series of “bear crawls” and “crab walks” through the surf  of the Atlantic Ocean on St. Simons Island’s East Beach, my arms and legs decided that “R.A.N.” was in order.  No pain, no gain.  And of course, Mr. Moncus was right there to capture my defeating moment.

Hey Everybody,

For the next few days I will be posting a new series on the blog called “What Regimen Training Taught Me as a Worship Leader”.  This is the first installment of the series and I hope that it will be helpful to those of you who lead worship in your churches.  The truth is, these leadership aspects are applicable to so many areas of life and should not be restricted to leading worship.

Before we get into the series, I need to setup some background info.

What is “Regimen Training”?

Regimen is an outdoor training program led here on St. Simons Island by Eric Taylor and Matt Morgan.  We’ve met in various places across the island but have been meeting at the Coast Guard Station over the last several months at 6:00 AM on Monday – Thursday.  My goal is to make 2 mornings per week, though I’d like to do more.  This is group training – some would call it boot camp, but not quite.

I’ve been involved in “Regimen” for about 1-1/2 years, off and on.  Unfortunately, there has been more “off” than “on” lately, but I’m trying to get back into it.

Over and over during the last 1-1/2 years I have observed principles that our trainers are using that easily carryover into worship leadership, or leadership of any type.  I’d like to use this series to share them with you … so be sure and come back each day.  If you aren’t a subscriber to the blog, now’s a good time to subscribe – you can receive an email when a new blog is posted, or subscribe via RSS.

Here’s a video clip from one of our recent sessions … as you watch this, I hope you’re asking yourself the question … “what in the world can I learn about worship leadership from THIS?”.  Stay tuned – the answers are coming this week.

(photo credit:  Chris Moncus Photography)
(video credit:  Taylor Made Training)

Well, off and on, that is … if you missed it on my Facebook page this morning … have a peak into our 6:00 AM “Regimen” training program.  I missed about 2 months already this year due to injury and “lifestyle” issues …

As an extra treat, a fellow “TheWorshipCommunity.Com” member and “Sunday Setlists” contributor happened to be on St. Simons Island for vacation this week and joined me … HL McConnell from Lakeland, FL … we got to workout and later, relax and talk “worship ministry” over some coffee.

Here’s a sneak peak into the morning … come join us sometime!  For more info on the “Regimen” program and other offerings from this trainer, go to TaylorMadeTrainingCenter.Com.

So a couple of days ago I wrote this post about being motivated during “the dip“.  I’ve been in a serious “dip” lately with my fitness routine, eating habits, etc.  I talked to our trainer, “Eric” this morning, and he said it happens to everyone.

We were out late last night enjoying a big fall festival with the kids in Savannah – so we didn’t even get home until after 11:00 PM last night.  The 5:15 AM wakeup call for regimen is the LAST THING I wanted to deal with – especially since my supper was a bag of chips and a Diet Coke.

I dug deep and showed up this morning – after all, I did PAY for it.  It was tough … my shoulders were on fire.

The routine was called “Progression”.  You progress from a simple squat (there’s nothing so simple about it really), into a full series of exercises.  The keys to this routine were:

* don’t go to fast – take your time, rest as needed
* hold each exercise, have good form – don’t rush through the motion, but stop in each “progression”

1.  50 squats
2.  40 squats, progress into a thrust position
(ie. standing, do a squat, go into a thrust position, which is like a pushup/plank position w/o the pushup, stand up do it again)
3.  30 squats, thrust, pushup
(ie. #2, but this time, when you go to thrust position, hold for a second, do a full pushup in that position, stand up, do it again)
4.  20 squats, thrust, legs out/in (ie. like a horizontal jumping jack), pushup
(ie. squat, into thrust/plank position, spread legs out wide, legs back in, do pushup, stand up, do it again)
5.  10 squats, thrust, leg in/out, pushup, full stand/jump burpee
(ie. squats, into thrust/plank,  legs out, in, do the pushup, and complete by standing and raising hands fully over head, repeat)

I think I was the last one to finish.  I joined my comrades for a bonus lap around the Coast Guard Station.  My issues this morning were all upper body issues.  I think my legs have gotten better, as the squats weren’t killing me like they used to.  But by #3 where we were adding the full pushup, my shoulders were burning like crazy … all out hurting.  I’d take a break for a few minutes, but found no relief.

No pain?  No gain.