Life Teen band leaders! How many of you have been approached after Mass by a teen with a guitar or a set of drums, harmonica, didgeridoo or flugelhorn, begging you to let them join the band? And what was your response to this request? Did you welcome them with open ears, sound unheard? After all, if they want to use their gifts to serve God they should be encouraged, right? Or did you thank them, and then explain that the Life Teen music ministry is there to serve them – they don’t need to

I have to admit that in my day I’ve played with plenty of garage bands. When I was in high school, there was nothing more exciting than setting up all your equipment in your friends garage, turning the amps up to 11 and playing all the songs you knew as loud as you could until the neighbors came over and asked you to stop or called the police! So, am I asking you to engage in illegal activity? No, not at all, but “jamming out” is a great way to play with other musicians without having to worry about

Working around the parish in the summer may get you down a bit. School is out, people are on vacation and you may even be trying to figure out what it is you should be doing to get ready for the New Year. Well, a new school year is right around the corner and people will start returning from vacations and trips and will get very busy…fast! Don’t get caught playing catch up! Now is the time to get ready for the next semester of Liturgies and LIFE Nights. Maybe you are one of those people who plan

Have you ever worked at a place and found yourself saying: “If we only could live up to our potential then things would really be great?” For me, personally I have said this at every Church I have worked at over the past 16 or so years. To tell you the truth, in that time, I have only seen it really happen once or twice. Although I feel sad even saying that, it is more often the reality. It sometimes seems that we are all working toward the same goal, but all moving in different directions to achieve

Maybe this has happened to you. Coming home from a Life Teen conference, you returned home in a fog of doubt and confusion at your ability to recreate the vibrant music you heard at a conference. With hands in the air, enraptured in worship, you made an internal commitment to take your music ministry to the next level. Or for some, you made the commitment to do something at your parish that has never been done before. Here are some thoughts for you to consider as you begin to form your music ministry