Rich Kirkpatrick, Author at Rich Kirkpatrick

10 Reasons Why you should NEVER wear ALL the hats of a worship leader!

Rich KirkpatrickJanuary 2, 201701.4K views

If you are a worship leader and have ever been asked about what you during the week, this post is for you. Maybe you are the one asking the questions as the pastor or congregational leader. Let’s be honest: Being a worship leader or musical ministry leader is a big job. The entire church will receive this public ministry–whether it is in all its glory or lacking something. The typical problem is that there seems to be trouble communicating between the worship leader and the leadership. And, I already know that most pastors and church leaders have this concern as much as worship leaders do. We all know there are tasks to be completed but mostly we observe the end result. There is more than what we see, however. Here are two questions: Do we know about the hats worn behind the scenes that make what is public shine? Do…

Post-Truth: Are we on the side of truth or comfort?

Rich KirkpatrickJanuary 2, 20170757 views

Truth is not a sport that wins with the score of popularity or power won. In our postmodern world, we can believe what we want. We can pay a company to spin information or post fake news on social media. Consequences do not matter. We are driven to win at any costs. Knowledge used to be equated with power. Today, popularity is power, regardless of facts or truth. A post-truth, post-fact world is one we have embraced. Faith, not always built upon empirically proven facts, causes many to still sacrifice their very lives. The ISIS beheadings of Christians is proof of this. In America, would our form of Christian faith pass the martyrdom test? Would we survive in our current squabbling? When truth impacts issues of life and death, you would think we would carefully examine it and be open to mastering it. The Bible may not be a scientific…

A Post-Election Psalm: Where does my help come from?

Rich KirkpatrickNovember 14, 20160599 views

As we reflect on an election season, here is a psalm to help us focus our worship–loosely paraphrased from Psalm 21. My eyes see have seen The Hill, My ears of heard the POTUS proclamations, My Twitter feed full of hateful power. But, where does my help come from? Does it come from political power brokers, Or entertaining media outlets, My fellow voter and citizen? Where does my help come from? The data of my life is watched day and night, But, only my Maker truly can see who I am. My Lord never sleeps as he cares for me, His aim is to never harm. As I come to worship my God, The idols of power are clearly before me. But, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord!

RKblog is a Worship Leader Magazine “Best of the Best” Blog for 2016!

Rich KirkpatrickNovember 1, 20161473 views

This is the eleventh year of blogging for me here at RKblog.com, so it is always nice to be appreciated. This is the fourth time and third year in a row that RKblog.com has been selected by the editors of Worship Leader Magazine as a Best of the Best Blog. The conversation we have here does matter and I am thankful for the many years of support and engagement by you, my readers. This truly is not as much a personal recognition of achievment. In my opinion, it is the community lived out here because of RKblog.com that is celebrated. Why? Without a tribe, a website means little. You make this all worth it!

Do I Need to Go to Church? – Why we get worship all wrong

Rich KirkpatrickSeptember 12, 20163809 views

Do I really need to go to church as a follower of Christ? When Jesus talked with the “Woman at the Well” about places of worship, his point wasn’t that place was unimportant. Worshiping in “Spirit and truth” can be done anywhere, so we know it is not about the exact address. We know our place of worship is where the Spirit is and where truth is. Widely, worship is looked at as a personal choice and activity. In fact, that is quite true! We all have to choose to worship Christ. We all have a personal free will. But, what is missed is that gathering for worship seems to not be valued. Our worship services are more than an additional stop in a lifestyle of worship. They are the base camps to living life, connecting us to story that’s bigger than us. Worship is sacred. Discipleship is daily. Liturgy…