I Don’t Care What You Can Do

Posted on June 27th, 2011 by adamdiehl

I once had a remarkably gifted member of my worship team have to step down from the team for a little while because his work schedule was so awkward. It was going to be a rare moment he could attend church services, let alone rehearsals.

After about a month or two of not seeing him at all at church at all I sent him a message, “I miss you not being at church.”

He responded, “Yea, I miss not playing for you, too.”

I was pretty sure he misunderstood what I meant so I clarified, “Yea, yea, I miss not having you play your instrument – but I’m saying I miss YOU – the person – the essence of who you are. I can’t wait until you can join us in Church again. It’s great to have you around regardless of what you can do.

At the moment I’m writing the second draft of this post, it’s a Saturday in the middle of winter – about an hour or two before my team’s rehearsal. The snow is coming down HARD at the moment. We’re still having rehearsal and service tonight. I had a gal text me and ask if we were canceling. I said, “No – but if you feel unsafe leaving, stay home! Who you are is a lot more important than what you can do.”

Who you are (a disciple, a Christian, a servant, a friend, a part of your church family) is far more important than what you can do for your team. I think we often spend too much time talking about improving what we can do rather than improving who we are. Do those things go together? -Well, of course they do. But when it comes to appreciation and value – they’re very different.

Don’t Forget About the Fourth of July . . . Or Maybe You Should?

Posted on June 23rd, 2011 by adamdiehl

I fear I might be getting up on a soapbox too much with this post, but this particular issue is very important to me and I think it really matters for the integrity of our worship in our churches.

Independence Day is coming up soon (It’s July 4th this year, isn’t it?). Most churches in America will be doing something to honor the holiday. Most often, this is done with artistic elements – songs and videos. I don’t have a problem with this. Using current events to demonstrate spiritual truth is great! Praying for our country and leaders is mandated by scripture. Giving thanks to God for the freedom we have to worship is also great. These examples could be illustrated with this picture. I am a Christian. I am also an American. They are not the same thing.

Allow me to be clear – we should live our Christianity in the context of being an American (if you’re an American). I love that. Both the blue and the red circles above can and do have a place in the church. I have no problem with that.

However, from my perspective I think the American Church has somehow weaved together their Christianity with Patriotism in an unhealthy way. It’s like some churches treat patriotic seasons with equal significance as Easter and Christmas! Some of the videos that are marketed to churches for use on Patriotic holidays make me wonder if we’re here to worship Jesus or worship America! When we do this we’re blending our blue and red circles and it makes church . . . something different.

Think of the words to songs that some churches use in their worship service. “My country, ’tis of thee – the sweet land of liberty – OF THEE I SING” ??? SERIOUSLY?! I thought we were here to sing about Jesus! This song has absolutely no place during a worship set; the title and first line specifically state that it is about a nation (not God)! Similar connotations could be made to other songs which imply God saved our country (and nobody else), or that sing continuously about the attributes of a nation instead of the attributes of God. Anyone who insists of blending the “Star Spangled Banner” or “My Country Tis of Thee” in a worship set needs to develop a Biblical definition of Worship! God must be the focus of our worship – anything else is just music.

Again, allow me to be clear – I’m not anti-America. I love America. I’m not anti-patriotic songs in church. I’m just against weaving them together as if they were the same thing (and unless we are extremely intentional about it, that’s exactly how it will be perceived).

For example – I try to leave out patriotic songs from the worship set but instead we may do an instrumental patriotic song during offering. Or if we show a patriotic video, we may follow it up with a prayer for our country. We’re living out our Christianity in the context of our location.

Worship leaders and Pastors in America – as you prepare for this upcoming Independence Day church services, ask yourself: “If an English speaking Christian foreigner came to my church this weekend, would they be able to worship with us or would they be confused about whether or not they’re in a church?”

Singers: What Would You Do if the Bulbs Burnt Out?

Posted on June 20th, 2011 by adamdiehl

Now don’t run ahead of me for the answer. This is probably not a situation we encounter very often when we’re leading worship. However, I would like to address a vocal issue that all singers need to be using when communicating words of songs.

Have you ever been to a soloist or group concert? Maybe you’ve been to a vocal recital or an Opera performance sung in English. In these situations nothing is more frustrating for me than not to understand the words that are being sung by the performers.

In today’s worship settings churches use some way of letting the congregation see the lyrics of songs in a service. If your church uses some type of printed materials, you may not see the point of my presentation, but believe me; if you are part of a praise team this will be profitable to continue reading. If you are using a projection system, what would the congregation do if the bulb burnt out and they couldn’t see the lyrics? Would they be able to lean on the vocal team to use good vocal technique to communicate a clear, clean sound?

I realize the readers of this article may be at different levels of vocal training, development, and experience, but the principles are foundational to making individuals and the team as a whole good communicators.

Here then are some tips to gaining clear communication:
1. As a group, eliminate the vibrato. [If you are the lead singer on a verse I would encourage using your vibrato for energy and warmth] Too many “wiggles” can be a vocal disaster in pitch and blending. Remember a clean tone is the goal.

2. Practice reading the lyrics out loud. It will help in catching the emotion the songwriter felt. It will help to “mark” where you would normally breathe. It will help perfect your pronunciation.

3. When singing a long note, always “go for” and hold the vowel.

4. Consonants come in all varieties and flavors, i.e. dental, nasal, labial, pneumatic (hissers), and the “dreaded” R.

5. Always double-check the pronunciation of words. For example: does sure rhyme with her or poor. There is a difference. Or take the word because; does the second syllable sound like buzz or saws?

a. I’ll always remember an incident from my graduate work at IU in Bloomington. A young woman from Mississippi had a wonderful southern accent when she spoke, but at her recital her pronunciation was not tainted by her regional dialect. Also, remember the Beatles? They spoke with their typical “British” accent but when they sang no dialect was present.

6. Finally, be sure and communicate emotionally, don’t go into auto-pilot. Always use skillful, deep communication.

So, even if the bulb never burns out, putting these tip into practice with the help of your worship leader, will always make the vocal team good communicators.

This post was written by CMI pastor Joe Chiarelli, who is the assistant pastor and director of worship at Calvary Christian Center in Harborcreek, PA. He has an incredible voice; when he sings, he sounds the way I think I sound (chuckle, chuckle). He’s truly a gifted musician and I asked him to share a few tips to worship team vocalists. Thanks Pastor Joe!

Defining Worship.

Posted on June 13th, 2011 by adamdiehl

What is worship? What comes to mind when you hear that word? Some common misconceptions may include: a sunday morning program, traditional church music, contemporary church music, Christian symbols or ordinances (remembering things, liturgical things), emotional freedom (“Spirit directed spontaneity”), emotional restraint, preaching and teaching, boring, irrelevant, God at work.

There is certainly an element of truth in all of these descriptions. But I like to think that worship cannot be defined. The idea of worship is just too big for a definition. The closest thing we can get to it is a description of worship. So here’s my best stab at it.

First, we must look at where worship begins. John 4:23 says, (words of Jesus), “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” (NIV, emphasis mine). Did you catch that? I made it bold and italics so you would. There’s a lot of good stuff to pull from that verse, but what I’m trying to point out is that God is seeking true worshipers! God is seeking US! We are those who are sought. Even now as I type these words at my kitchen table I am overjoyed over this. I’m reminded of John 17:24 that recounts the prayer of Jesus, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am . . .” Next to this verse, in my bible, I wrote with a pen, “Holy Crud! God wants to be with me!?” So where does worship start? It starts with God. He’s the initiator of the worship relationship.

Second, we need to look at the nature of the worshiper. Ever since the beginning of time – humans have instinctively found something to offer their full spiritual devotion. Once we realize the glory of God that Jesus wants us to be a part of – we enter into worship. (Notice I’m not saying anything about music right here).

The Worship Model (from Pete Sanchez Jr.)

1) God is actively seeking out worshipers (John 4:23 – We are the sought!)

2) Humans instinctively find some object of full spiritual devotion.

3) At the point where the sought discovers the unmatched worth of the seeker “combustion” (our worship) occurs.

Where Does the Music Stand Go?

Posted on June 9th, 2011 by adamdiehl

This tip comes from Jaime Brown of www.worthilymagnify.com.

Ideally, you’re prepared enough you don’t even need a music stand. But if it makes you feel comfortable to have it there “just in case” – do it reasonably. Like this video explains:

Another tip that might help is simply to keep your music stand flatter rather than aimed at your face. This also limits the visual barrier between you and the congregation.