Worship

Sometimes the Best Notes Are the Ones Not Played

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Sometimes the best notes are the ones not played.

It is very easy for a band to get too busy while leading songs. Every musician has something to offer or else they wouldn’t be in the band.

What tends to happen is that at a turn-around in a song, every instrumentalist thinks it is their turn to contribute. Leading from the verse to the chorus, oftentimes, a band will have a drummer going on a monster roll, the guitarist bending strings like never before, the bassist sliding up to a fret that’s not even on the neck, and the keyboardist ripping and roaring down the ivories.

Vocalists can get up in the trap too when they silently compete to hear who can hold at the note the longest and the loudest.

While your group members may not be intentionally trying to steal the show, inability to understand and create powerful dynamics can ruin a song. The end product can sound more like a group of independent musicians than an actual unified band.

Here are some questions to ask:

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AVL Field Trip for Our Worship Team

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This week our worship team training time involved a field trip.  We didn’t leave the building, but I took all of our techies, musicians, and vocalists all around the building so they could experience how all the audio, video, and lighting for our services worked.

As we are teaching our worship value excellence this month, I thought it was important that the people on the stage realized that the work of the people off the stage was just as vital to our worship services.  Singers can lead a song, but without someone putting the lyrics up at the proper time, no one can worship along.

So we took a trip.

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Hymnology: Brethren We Have Met to Worship

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Some hymns have many stories attached to them.  I am coming up with very few leads on one of my favorites as of late, “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship.”

This is what I do have:

It was penned by George Atkins in 1819 who was a Methodist pastor.

And…that’s it.  So if you do have more, I would love you to share any info you find in a comment below.

We arranged it with a touch of bluegrass.  Since most of the chordal arrangement focuses on a 1-5 progression, I wanted to exchange some chords to open it up a bit.  At the second half of the verse, we go in a different direction with the chords, and I think it breathes some new life into the song as it opens up and builds.

I also wrote a chorus to go along with it.  The song is great in itself, but I thought it needed some type of break in the middle and an additional part to it.  The chorus is simple and carries the message of the song: “We have come together in the name we adore, we have come to worship Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Yesterday, I explained what “manna” meant to the congregation so that no one would be singing what they didn’t understand (“manna” is the food that God provided while the Israelites wandered in the desert – he provides, he is enough).

The only problem I had with the song was the theological implications of the end of verse 4.  Here are the lyrics:

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Hymnology: All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

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Recently, I had worked through an arrangement of “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” for worship.  A couple of the upcoming Sundays were calling for a song with this particular emphasis, but I wanted to make it palatable for all types of backgrounds.

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Here is the story behind the hymn:

Edward Perronet, the son of an Anglican vicar, originally introduced “All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name.” His family was closely associated with John Wesley of the Anglican Church. The verses written by Perronet have been called “The Coronation Hymn.” The lyrics affirm the kingship of Christ and His authority. Much of the imagery used is from the Book of Revelation and from Jeremiah. The music sounds particularly beautiful when played by a violin. One of the more famous stories surrounding “All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name” involves the use of a violin.

A missionary to India named E. P. Scott learned of a wild mountain tribe that had never been introduced to the message of Christ. Since they had never been presented with the gospel, he decided to visit that tribe. When he reached their mountain home, he discovered a group of savages on a war expedition. They took him back to camp and threatened to kill him. He closed his eyes and starting playing ” All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name” on his ever-present violin. The natives were so overcome; they dropped their spears and invited Rev. Scott to stay with them. He lived among them for over two years, converting many to Christianity.

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Why We Have Been Leading So Many Hymns Lately

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If you are a part of North Side or follow my Sunday’s set list on my blog, you might have noticed I have reintroduced some hymns lately.  While we have always sung hymns over the years, we mainly have used arrangements that others have used, but lately we have been adding some original twists on some classics.

Why might you ask?

Because I believe that Chris Tomlin and Charles Wesley are both my brothers in Christ and both have been blessed to write songs for the Church.  Too many people get stuck in a particular style of worship music that they can’t appreciate how God has gifted the entire Body of Christ over its entire life.

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Critical Listening – A Tip for Unprepared Worship Teams

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The manner in which a team member prepares for worship practice is immensely important. If members come to practice unfamiliar with the songs, the time together can easily get frustrating.

The best way to get the most out of your practice time is if you group will engage in critical listening. This is best if they do this on their own, but the process can also be done as a group.

I send out scheduling requests for our musicians at least ten days out from the Sunday they would serve. This allows ample time for preparation. In addition to getting chord sheets and lyric sheets, they also have access to listen to the songs we are going to lead.

While they have ample time to prepare, sometimes it is easy for any of us to get slack on prepartion. It is normal for any of us to resort to passive listening. Passive listening is when the music is going on in the background of the house while you are doing other things. Passive listening is when you just hear sections of the song or get distracted by one element in the song that you forget to really think about what is transpiring. Passive listening leads to unprepared musicians.

There is another way.

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Lift Schedule

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Details are coming together for Lift, and our team is getting more and more excited by the day!  People from Greenwood to Summerville or planning on making the trek for this Saturday worship training session, and we could not be more humbled to partner with others to lead churches in worship.

I wanted to provide you with the schedule so you can make your plans.  It’s a funnel type schedule focusing on music, tech, and host teams that work in worship settings.  We start large, go to medium size, smaller groups, and then back all together.

This workshop is for seasoned worship team members and also for those who are just curious if they have the skills needed to join.  It’s free lessons, so nothing to lose!  Not only will we have a lot of information, we are going to have a lot of fun!

Here is our promise: we are teaching principles, not models.  We don’t want you to copy what we are doing, we are going to teach principles that we have been learning that can be applied into any context.  Please list any questions you might have.  You can register here.

See below for details:

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What Someone Should Have Told You Before You Started Leading Worship

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Each week, I feel like I am learning something new as a worship leader.  While I have been helping out with worship since I was in middle school, I don’t think I have grown as a worship leader as much as I have in this last year. God has been stretching me a ton! Not only musically or in leadership,

Your Job

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Great day at North Side as we are nearing the end of Ephesians.  Today’s big idea: Your Job (Eph. 6:5-9) – For most people, a job is something you endure rather than enjoy.  When we choose to see our performance in our job as an act of worship to God, it not only changes our perspective but probably our level

Platform Ministry Can Never Replace Relational Ministry

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Platform ministry can never replace relational ministry.

This week’s worship training consists of the worship value: availability – leading with presence.

When people are gifted in the arts, oftentimes, they are put on stage to perform ministry.  While time on the stage may be an outlet for ministry, oftentimes, the time off the stage validates the ministry.

Someone can get up in your church and raise the rafters with their vocal pipes.  It will provide emotion, goosebumps, and a positive experience, but it cannot compare with a talented worship leader who is involved in the lives of the people in the church.

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