This tip to craft our skill comes from Jaime Brown of www.worthilymagnify.com. He has some stellar-and-much-needed tips for acoustic guitar players everywhere.
This tip to craft our skill comes from Jaime Brown of www.worthilymagnify.com. He has some stellar-and-much-needed tips for acoustic guitar players everywhere.
Recently I was asked by the pastor of a smaller church in my community if I knew of any drummers that might want to come play at his church. I totally understand that issue! Drummers make or break the ‘pop/rock band’ sound and without one, it really does limit the style you can do. Nevertheless we need to work with what God provides us, and that includes people. Below is a heavily-edited-and-revised-for-this-blog response to the message I sent back to the pastor. I include several alternatives to a drummer as well.
Dear Pastor,
Drummers are one of the hardest things to come by in a church. This is not a problem that only the small church faces; two other large (400-600) churches in our area have similar struggles.
From my perspective – drummers (and others in the worship band scene, but mostly drummers) are in high demand and often flip flop to get in a band that’ll sound good. I have a problem with this because they’re really flip-flopping churches. That’s not good discipleship – so for their sake I don’t let them do it. My policy is to require anyone that wants to be on stage to sit in the pew a few weeks until I believe they’re locked into THIS CHURCH rather than into the “worship band club.” That’s SO hard… I know. A couple years ago I had a very great guitar player politely threaten me with, “There’s this other church that wants to use me over there. . .” and I told him to go! (He didn’t). It’s hard to go without, but in my opinion, it’s worth it to preserve the spiritual integrity and character of the band. It’s not worth ANYTHING having a showoff on the platform who enjoys taking glory for himself. And that’s often what you get when you let musicians flip flop like nobody’s business.
But at the same time – if you’ve got other volunteers that want to sound good, drums are kinda necessary. So… it’s a double wammy. I get that.
Here are some ideas:
Have you tried using drum loops? [A large church in our area] does this sometimes. You can get decent loops in Apple’s Garage Band, or a number of other programs (but if you know anyone with a mac, Garage Band comes free). Many guitar pedals and keyboards have built-in drum loops. The key is to find one that you can work with that sounds as legit and non-cheesy as possible. IN MY OPINION the drum loops would be a good thing to fall back on and be the “steady” choice.
Consider trying alternative drum methods. Like a Tambourine and Shaker with a djembe or Conga-type thing (you’d be surprised how many people have a djembe, or can borrow one). You can do some really modern sounding stuff with that… and there’s a lot more people that can play those things great than who can play a drum kit! If you decide to ‘use what you got’ – this is definitely a great option. I’ve intentionally chose this once in a while just to get a different sound for the weekend. This isn’t a bad option at all.
Try advertising on Craigslist. I’m dead serious. Musicians that want to play go there! If you do this, I strongly recommend that you have a conversation with that drummer about his faith and motives for being on the team. You will never know what you’re gonna get on Craigs list. This is the best way to find a diva who wants glory for himself – but you also might find a great gem if you’re willing to pour the time into someone’s life to ensure their heart is right before they step foot on the stage. Hope this helps.
Blessings.
-A
ps – oh this should go without saying, but I’m saying it anyway. PRAY for a drummer. I’m amazed at how often God comes through when I stop trying and I just pray!
Dear Pastor,
We’re artists. We get offended easily, get depressed way too often, and often show up late.
See, us artists tend to be more sensitive than others – and that’s why we can communicate deep thoughts through emotional mediums. Like dance. Or Drama. Or Music. Or Film. Or images like painting, photographs, or sculptures. But that emotional sensitivity comes with a little bit of baggage.
While most other people communicate and invoke thoughts in the observer (teachers do that very well), we communicate feelings. We feel. That makes us a little weird – and we know that. We have a huge desire to use our expression of feeling to help the communication of your thinking (your sermon). With some clear communication and a guided chance, we may surprise you. We may be able to spark interest in your message at the start, or bring a creative closing to touch people’s hearts so they’ll remember your message better.
We know we’re weird. In spite our weirdness, can you still give us a chance? Give us a goal and let us know how we can help you.
Sincerely,
The Artists in your church
In a word – no. I do not think a worship song can be TOO theological.
However – I DO believe a song can be so theological that it is completely unclear and vague — when not in balance. Or to be put more simply, a worship song can be more theological for its own good (if placed incorrectly). Remember – I believe leading worship is leading people through an experience with God – a journey. If you go on a theological journey with no regard for the congregation, you may have worshiped but you have not led.
For example, what on earth does it mean to raise our Ebenezer to God? The verse in the Hymn, Come Thou Fount reads, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy help I’m come.” It’s deeply theological but for most of us its entirely useless — information without knowledge usually is. If you don’t know what ‘raising your Ebenezer’ means – then you probably shouldn’t keep singing it. And more pertinent for leaders — if your congregation doesn’t know what it means, you shouldn’t be leading them through it. (By the way, this explains it).
Another example is the modern song from Misty Edwards, Relent. The first portion of this song is a quotation from the end of Song of Solomon: “I’ll set You as a seal upon my heart; As a seal upon my arm.” It goes on with further quotation from the book. Talk about theological! I’ve heard argument on who is the speaker at this passage. And is the passage speaking of the church and Christ or solely a man and a woman? This is intensely theological, and for most of our churches, it would also be a useless lyric (if we don’t know what we’re singing). Furthermore – your church/pastor might not agree with its’ interpretation!
The point I’m trying to make is that “theologically thick and accurate” will not always yield a good worship song (however a good worship song will always be theologically thick and accurate). A good worship song will help your congregation worship God. This is impossible if its over their heads and they “know not what they do.”
Solutions
Adjust it. Changing scripture is a no-no. But worship songs are not scripture (even hymns!). If adjusting a word or phrase of a song will help people worship, do it! (I strongly urge you to talk to your pastor first!). Gateway Worship decided to replace the original “Ebenezer” verse of Come Thou Fount with a completely new lyric about how Christ has “came and rescued me.”
Teach It. Sometimes a theological idea or word can be taught during a worship set between songs, enabling the next song to be understood. Other times it needs to come from the pastor during his message (especially if it will take a long time to explain). Misty Edwards wrote her song, Relent at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. If you’ve ever been there, you know that they have a strong emphasis on studying Song of Solomon. The preachers speak about it frequently. It’s a big deal to her group. When she leads this song with her group – they get it. Her group knows that her lyric comes from Song of Solomon, Chapter 8; and they all know exactly what that passage means to them. It’s great there – but it’s probably not going to be great in your church unless your congregation has a united theological understanding of Song of Solomon.
The Bottom Line: This is not a cookie cutter situation. Some songs are “too theological” to be clear in different situations, and in different groups. The bottom line is that I think we need to pay attention to what we’re singing and who we’re leading. What do you think?
tools and methods
Synopsis of April’s Phone Seminar
The average church in the US has a membership between 40-75 people. Adding into consideration that the percentages of gifted musicians within those churches are low, attempting to cover material originally designed for a full fledged band can be an intimidating challenge. Our seminar in April will be pragmatic in nature. We will be covering the “how to’s” and “easy fixes” to maximize your worship experience. Not only in thought, but in hands on applications that can really make a difference. People who this will apply to are: pastors, musicians, sound men, worship leaders, and vocalists.
RESOURCE
You can download the PDF print out HERE!
IMPORTANT! BEFORE THE 28th: To the pastor and worship leader / musician, what are some of the problems you experience in an average service? Are there any annoyances, frustrations, or persistent issues? What are the challenges that you’ve been dealing with that could use some help, or at least another perspective? The problems could be technical, musical or methodical in nature. Please send any questions or comments concerning this seminar to jp@cmiworship.com
The other two parts of this series are available here and here.
Everyone makes some unintentional mistakes in ministry. I happen to be particularly good at it and could probably build a whole graduate degree program around my vast experience with this rather embarrassing subject. I’m happy to say that nobody died and no buildings collapsed as a result of these errors, but, as folks often say, “I wish I had known then what I know now.”
#3 Mistake: I used to describe worship as a fixed entity—something that had a lot of absolutes and I—well, I knew exactly what they were!
Reality: Every worshipper and every designer of worship is in a learning mode. People who think they have an absolute corner on what worship should be are (and I’m being extremely kind here) self-deceived. That’s why people who define worship by style need to unbury their heads. They barely have a clue, let alone a corner! There are things we do know, but there is much we don’t.
Conclusion: I love to talk with people who feel as dumb as I do and, in the process of that interaction, discover I’m not as dumb as I thought. Worship is largely a grand experiment in meaningful discourse with God. It is not prescribed for us in Scripture in great detail and it is not even well defined in the endless books the subject seems to generate. We should all be involved in stimulating the worship conversation—not spouting endless quasi-definitions of it.
This post was written by Doug Lawrence, internationally recognized speaker, author, and advisor. He helps churches assess and improve their skillfulness in creating engaging worship experiences by utilizing his more than 35 years of “deep trench” worship leadership in prominent mainline churches. You may reach him at dlawrenceconsult@mac.com. Or, if you wish, call 650.207.8240 for assessment information and scheduling. Doug now teams with the slingshotgroup.net to place extraordinary worship leaders in extraordinary churches. His blog can be found here.
