
Dan Wilt Worship Resources
Download eBooks, audio books and worship training materials from author Dan Wilt, one of today's leading voices on the contemporary worship experience. Enjoy new and popular materials such as, The Essentials In Worship Course and Worship Readings And Prayers For Contemporary Churches: The Cycle Of Life . Explore the rich depth of team training with Dan's 7 Steps to Awesome Series or be inspired with stories of hope and worship illustrations. Browse top books, popular training materials and all Dan Wilt worship resources.
On Epiphany: The Manifestation
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on December 29, 2017
“How does the church express the spirituality of being with Christ in his incarnation, manifestation to the world, death, resurrection, ascension, and coming again? How can we as members of the church participate in a present spirituality that is rooted in past events and anticipates a future event? The answer to this question is that we are shaped and formed spiritually by Christ in the church through a worship that continually orders the pattern of our spirituality into a remembrance of God’s saving deeds and the anticipation of the rule of God over all creation.
On Pentecost: The Spirit's Coming
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on May 19, 2017
What Is Pentecost All About? Over the course of the first few centuries of the Church, various Sundays began to take on a yearly meaning for celebration. With the goal to remember the whole of the Story of God’s activity among humankind, a demarking of dates began to occur that spawned literally hundreds of ways of giving meaning to Sundays across Church history.
My Response To “8 Reasons The Worship Industry Is Killing Worship”
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on November 9, 2015

According to the social media gurus, subtlety and nuance is out, and sweeping, provocative language is in. People listen when we cut it short, and say it strong. When we’re talking about worship however, in all its forms, nuance will always matter. On the whole, we should always be more like Ents from The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, taking a long time to say anything important, anything of eternal import, rather than offering sharp sound bites that spark a conversation we may or may not be committed to curate ... more
Moving Toward God With Doxology
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on September 21, 2015
In working with artists and worship leaders, I am often drawn to Genesis for insights that help us to understand God, ourselves, and the raw power of “making” in the world. A recent study in Genesis unearthed the following nuggets from poet and Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann in Genesis: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Here are a few selections that moved me in the first section of the book ... more
5 Reasons Lament And Praise Must Stand Together In Worship
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on April 20, 2015
I lead worship every week for my community, and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – as well as disease, unemployment, divorce, and many other struggles – are always in the room with us. If a theology of resurrection (the empty tomb, renewal, personal transformation, healing, miracles) does not stand together in worship with a theology of suffering (the full cross, intercession, trouble, sorrow, struggle), then I contend our worship is out of accord with both the Scriptures and the daily news. more
8 Ways A Worship Leader Can Be A Good Host At Rehearsal
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on April 9, 2015
A worship rehearsal is about to happen. Band members begin to roll in, to get set up for downbeat time. As they come in the door, the worship leader is there, already set up and prepared, ready to help them bring in gear. Sounds crazy? Maybe. more
My Response To “5 Reasons Jimmy Fallon Is One Of The Best Worship Leaders In The World”
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on April 1, 2015
My daughter showed me the post someone shared on Facebook. I’ll be honest; when I saw the title, I was angry. I even ranted in our kitchen. The title (and, I assumed, the post that would follow) was taking another pop-culture hunk out of the high calling of worship leadership. She said, “It’s viral; people really love it.” I said, “Of course they do.” more
7 Best Practices For Running A Great Worship Rehearsal
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on January 13, 2015
Rehearsing is just plain, hard work. Every worship leader, band member, and pastor I know all loves the end result of rehearsal – seamless music, the rising and falling of beautiful, passionate worship, and the silent hum of a well-oiled community doing ministry together. But as I said, rehearsal is just plain, hard work. more
3 Keys To Leading A More Meaningful Life In The New Year
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on January 5, 2015
Every year, as we enter a New Year, we have high hopes for living a more meaningful, purposeful life. Here are three ideas, that can be applied by anyone from any walk of life, that will help you move on your desire to lead a more meaningful life in the New Year. more
With You We Walk A New Year Prayer For Churches
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on January 5, 2015
I wrote this New Year prayer 4 years ago in a time of great transition, and wanted to share it with you. It is designed to be read in a church service, or at a family meal table some time more
The Fraction Principle How To Make Beautiful Music By Playing Less
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on December 29, 2014
The Fraction Principle is, perhaps, the most important band-arranging principle any musician, worship leader, or arranger can implement immediately to make their music start sounding 100% better. I first heard about The Fraction Principle from my master arranger/co-writing buddy, Bruce Ellis. He spoke in terms of the “Layering Principle” (which includes The Fraction Principle, plus other ideas on building a band’s sound from the ground up). Then I heard Brian Doerksen more
An Open Letter To My Fellow Worship Leaders The Secret To The Most Effective Worship Leading On Planet Earth
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on December 17, 2014
My Fellow Worship Leader, in the short space of this blog post, I’d like to disclose what I believe is the powerful secret at work within the most effective, influential, impacting, and Christ-modeling worship leaders/songwriters of our generation. more
Make No Mistakes 3 Ways To Move From Sloppy To Solid In Your Musicianship
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on December 5, 2014
The night was seamless. On the stage were 4 of Nashville’s most respected songwriters, and an acoustic house band made up of musicians in their 20s or 30s. They were doing an intimate concert for television. From the first note played it was clear – all musicians on the stage were fantastic in their own right. It was also clear that not one audible mistake was going to occur over the course of 15-20 songs. more
Israel’s Hope On Your Journey To Bethlehem (An Advent Message And Hymn)
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on December 3, 2014
Advent, the beginning of the Worship Year in the Christian calendar, is the start of our journey toward the celebration that is Christmas. The Worship Year is a way that Christians have ordered their daily, weekly, and yearly spirituality around the Christ event, or Christ’s coming in the adventus (Advent means “the coming”). We observe the Cycle of Light, which is Advent (anticipation), Christmas (celebration), and Epiphany (proclamation). We then round out the year observing the Cycle of Life, which is Lent (anticipation), Easter (celebration), and Pentecost/After Pentecost (proclamation). As Advent begins, we are each entering a new journey into the meaning, the heartbeat, of Christmas – and today we step across that starting line into the possibility of a fresh encounter with God in the Advent season. more
My (Short) Response To Ed Stetzer’s “Letter To My Worship Leaders”
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on November 26, 2014
I am deeply grateful for Ed Stetzer, and the profound wisdom and insight embodied in his articles posted by Christianity Today, “A Letter To My Worship Leaders” Part 1 and Part 2. Every worship leader should read them, own them, and keep them in front of them. I have trumpeted similar calls in everything I have ever written or said as a trainer of worship leaders/pastor for 25 years. However, there are just two areas within the letters, one macro and one micro, that unsettle me. They unsettle me not because they are explicitly wrong – they unsettle me because they represent two classic Evangelical approaches to corporate worship that are “in the water,” and are now conventional thinking on the topic. I would like to respectfully challenge them, as one who is within this tribe. more
Manners 101 For Worship Teams (Or 5 Ways Your Attitude Changes Everyone’s Sunday Morning)
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on November 12, 2014
Many of us have been part of a worship community where worship leaders, musicians, sound techs, and visual techs have interacted for years. Every worship community has a “relational climate,” a tone of interacting that (eventually) dramatically influences both the worship experience of the church and the Body Life of the worship community. From my experience, especially during rehearsals, we could all use a Manners 101 course. When Susie has stress in her eyes, and Jim Bob is wrestling with some hidden anger, it changes the music. more
10 Best Practices For Worship Sound Techs
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on October 27, 2014
Perhaps no technical leader faces more challenges on any given Sunday morning than the Sound Tech. With demands from every side, opinions aplenty, an ear to the Pastor (the real head Sound Tech), an an ear to the worship leader/band, and an ear to the Holy Spirit, this role requires a saint, a sound technician, and a servant – all wrapped up in one. Gleaned from some of the most skilled and great-hearted Worship Sound Techs I know, here are 10 Best Practices For Worship Sound Techs. more
10 Best Practices For Worship Vocalists
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on October 20, 2014
The vocals in a worship band are an instrument, and when played well, musically, and in intentional connection with the rest of the music the band is making – can lift the worship experience in a local church to some beautiful heights. Here are 10 Best Practices for Worship Vocalists I’ve gleaned from many effective leaders, arrangers, and producers over the years that will help take the vocal instruments in your band to the next level. more
12 Elements Of A Thriving Worship Culture
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on October 20, 2014
Every church has a culture, and every worship ministry within a church has a culture as well. Our worship culture determines our long-term effectiveness at loving each other deeply, making beautiful music, creating environments that disciple, mentor, and release others (often to replace us), and building consistent spaces that empower our community in Kingdom worship. I put together the following “Our Worship Culture” statement for our own worship community at the Vineyard Church of Franklin in TN, and am posting it here if it can be helpful in forming your own for your church. more
Healing In Your Wings Performance Video with Dan Wilt & Friends
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on October 11, 2014
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My name is Dan Wilt, and I am the the designer and creator of the respected Essentials In Worship Video Course. I’m also the founder of the 31K+ member WorshipTraining.com (an online training media library for worship teams). Much of my work has been to serve churches, colleges, and worship arts programs across many streams in the spiritual and skills formation of creative leaders.
I serve with the Vineyard USA Movement of churches in Communications and Resources, and also provide tools and encouragement to worship leaders and communities through my blog at www.DanWilt.com.
I am deeply committed to furthering an ancient-future vision of worship in the 21st century church.
Friend Paul Baloche (Open The Eyes Of My Heart) said these kind words a few years ago, and I’ve always appreciated them: “Dan Wilt cares deeply about the worldwide church and how it worships. His ministry is both deep and wide, connecting musicians with the past, present and future. I wholeheartedly endorse his important work.”
Every weekend, I have the privilege of doing a radio storytelling spot on the worshipping life with Keep The Faith Radio Magazine. We serve nearly 2 million listeners globally, every Saturday and Sunday, with a call to passionate worship in all arenas of life. This is my personal blog. It is focused on the idea that “worship is about everything, and everything is about worship.”
In other words, I care about worship in all its facets, and I care about what happens in creative leaders’ lives, from what we do on the platforms God has given us, to how we live behind the scenes with our spouses and children. I love to chat about innovation, the creative process, and worship. I lead in life with a tribe of friends called the Wild Pear Community, which is a collective of remarkable human beings, artists, worship leaders, songwriters, and alumni of programs I have run throughout the years.
I’ve also written a number of books and ebooks, like A Well-Worn Path: 31 Daily Devotionals For The Worshipping Heart (with Cook Publications). You can see all of those here on my Amazon Author page. I spend most of my time these days serving with Vineyard USA and Vineyard Worship, one of the most vital postmodern church movements of the past century. You may have heard of John Wimber at some point in your life; he had a profound influence on me – especially my views on worship. I work in the area of Resource and Communications media.
I live in Franklin, TN with my beautiful wife, Anita, and three amazing children – Anna, Abigail, and Benjamin. I also lead worship at the Vineyard Church of Franklin.
Top Blogs Featuring Dan Wilt
- On Epiphany: The Manifestation
- On Pentecost: The Spirit's Coming
- My Response To “8 Reasons The Worship Industry Is Killing Worship”
- Moving Toward God With Doxology
- 5 Reasons Lament And Praise Must Stand Together In Worship
- 8 Ways A Worship Leader Can Be A Good Host At Rehearsal
- My Response To “5 Reasons Jimmy Fallon Is One Of The Best Worship Leaders In The World”
- 7 Best Practices For Running A Great Worship Rehearsal