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Worship Leading Lesson #8: Don't Assume They Know How to Praise

The lights are glaring, the music is blaring, the riffs are right on, the hands on stage are raised, the notes sung are in perfect pitch, the segue's are spot on...you can't believe how amazing this time of worship at church has been the past 20 minutes.  Your fist is high in the air and your eyes are closed, a single drip of sweat rolls to your brow...you open your eyes and see a room full of people with arms folded, hands in pockets and some even have dared to squint their eyes as if to say..."What was that?"

You and the worship team walk backstage declaring your church is dead. That they need a spiritual revival, that the people in your church simply don't "get it". How could they not be consumed with an overwhelming spirit of praise and adoration for God after the perfect musicianship and emotion coming from the stage?

This is a familiar story many worship teams have experienced.

Don't Assume they Know How to Praise

This post is for you worship leader.  The one who stands on stage each week, leading people to the throne of God.  It's to the one who is frustrated, tired of leading a room full of people who just seem detached.  This is for you worship team member who is deliberate about how you "show" your worship. It's even for the worship team member who is deliberate in how they "don't show" your adoration for God.  If you're frustrated with the lack of "worship & praise" expression in your church services, it's time to stop forcing a square peg in a round hole...and start sanding that square peg.

So how do you get your local church to respond in corporate worship?  I can't say I know the answer to this question.  Because quite frankly, it's something I'm currently praying about for each person in our church.  However, I can say that I have identified some questions that are hopefully leading me to the result that God desires vs. what I desire:

• Do I know the spiritual state of our church? Our church desire is to be a church of 1/3rds. That is a church attendance of 1/3 mature believers, 1/3 new believers, 1/3 seekers or unchurched. For me to assume that each person in our congregation should "get it" and display public affection and adoration the way I think they should does not match up with the vision of the church.  As worship leaders (and team members I'm talking to you too), stop and think about the make up of your church.  How many people in the room do you think are "witnesses" versus "participators"? If you can answer this, it might help you shift your disappointment into opportunity.
• Am I teaching them to praise? I am an acoustic guitar playing worship leader. It's just how I do it.  I'm most comfortable hidden behind that beautiful Breedlove constantly strumming without giving me a chance to raise my hands.  What I've decided to do these past couple of months is to challenge myself to teach our church visibly how to worship the Lord. I (take a deep breathe) have led a few times without playing guitar. Stepping out of my comfort zone has allowed me to free myself to lead our church visually in expressing worship physically to the Lord. Raising hands, clapping and even moving more than 2 feet away from my boom stand that I'm weekly chained to with the acoustic guitar.  My hope is that I'm setting a tone, knocking down barriers for people when I do this.  Side note: I've also been able to allow other people in our church to take part in worship leading behind the guitar since doing this.  So think of ways you can really teach people how to praise.
• Do I and the Team "Get It"? Yes...that old saying, "When you point your finger accusing someone of something, there are three more fingers pointing right back at you".  There have been times I've thought of the corporate worship service as time in front of the mirror.  Think of it like this, you and your worship team are a mirror that your church is looking at.  Are you reflecting the glory of Christ? If so, the church will see it. It doesn't mean they'll automatically respond in a way you hope through singing louder or raising hands, but it isn't so much about that "moment" as it is creating an opportunity for people to witness first hand the joy and peace a relationship with God can bring.  If you simply reflect yourself in the "mirror", yeah...people aren't going to be impressed. Don't be surprised if you just become another "band" in their eyes.
• Am I and the Team Leading Offstage? This is a big one.  I've always believed in this principle. The worship leading doesn't stop when you step off the stage. In fact, I contend that it truly begins offstage.  In every action, conversation, and interaction with people within the church, you are leading worship.  People won't "buy it" if they just witnessed you being a jerk to an audio team member. They won't "buy it" if your guitarist, drummer, bassist, keyboardist or vocalist (covered them all so I won't be accused of signaling out anyone on our team...I love them all) aren't experiencing personal growth within their own local church. How can you lead people in worship if you aren't yourself living it?

These are just a few of the questions I've continually asked myself as our worship team journeys to pastor the hearts of our local church in the area of worship.  We must never assume people know how to praise God when we gather corporately.  You as a worship leader and team member have a great opportunity and responsibility to look for ways to connect people to Christ every week. Instead of getting frustrated with them...ask God to help you identify ways you can begin teaching your church how to praise the Lord.

¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord -Colossians 3:16 (NKJV)

Worship Leading Lesson #7: Remember the Dream

"When your memories exceed your dreams...the end is near." Andy Stanley

How often do we let success or momentum overshadow vision?  Keeping busy with the things that support the vision oftentimes leaves us forgetting the original dream we began pursuing in the first place.  A principle I heard communicated on a recent edition of The Leadership Podcast with Andy Stanley. 

Recently within worship ministry, I'm finding myself asking the question "How can I ensure vision is clear in myself and the team of people who lead worship onstage? How can keep from losing ourselves in the processes and techniques of delivery?" It goes beyond the vision of bringing great music on Sundays. It's the church-wide vision of connecting people to the heart of God while leading them in worship on and off the stage.

This week the worship team at Grace Church began an online study together.  We are reading through the book "Pure Praise" by Dwayne Moore.  The desired outcome of this study is to recast the vision to our worship team, knit our hearts closer and to inspire us to do more than "perform" each weekend before our church body.  Those serving on Sunday will participate in a brief group discussion on the book.  I'm already thrilled to see the participation from the team.

As for the memories...it's okay to celebrate and remember the past. It's okay to remember where God's hand was at in your ministry in times past....but it must never stamp out the dream God gave in the first place.

Where there is no vision, the people will perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
-Proverbs 29:18

#6: Make Some White Space

Over the past week I've taken time devoted to creating a bit of space in my life.  Spending time away from both blogging, Facebook, Twitter and worship leading in order to give myself a chance to rest.  It's been a good exercise for me.  I knew this post was coming....and I knew it wouldn't be accurate if I didn't experience it for myself.

Make Some White Space
It happens.  It catches many of us off guard if we aren't aware of it.  Fatigue and burnout are the greatest enemies to anyone involved in doing something they enjoy. You may be saying, "Really Ben, the GREATEST enemy?" When we become fatigued, our guard is down.  We begin to lose focus on why we invest in the mission we're called to and we begin finding ourselves in situations that ultimately lead to sin.  We also begin to experience problems in our relationships with the people we love the most.  Recently I made a decision to create that "White Space" in my life weekly in order to protect my family, myself and the ministry God's called me to lead. 

Since this is a series devoted to "Worship Leading Lessons", these thoughts are specific to the role of worship leaders and team members.  But in reality, this is a principle I believe everyone needs in order to strengthen their walk with Christ.

In the role of helping connect people to Christ through corporate worship each week, I've discovered that it's extremely important that I spend personal time worshiping God.  Carving away an hour completely devoted to reflecting on what God's been doing in my life personally and in ministry, thanking Him and silencing the noise around me to give complete attention to personal reflection.  A tip I picked up from a fellow worship leader (can't remember where I got this from so consider this an anonymous Hat Tip if you're reading this).  I spend time with my journal devoted to asking these four questions:

• What have been the high points of my week? (personal, ministry, job etc.)
• What have been the low points of my week? (stresses, frustrations etc)
• What is one lesson learned this week? (from scripture, leadership, family etc.)
• What is one action point to take from this week? (conversations, resolution to conflicts etc)

I've also created some white space in my life where my family knows it is given complete and full attention.  On my weekly day off Mondays, I committed to letting all phone calls go to voicemail. I turn on my auto reply on email informing folks that I will be replying to them the next day.  Everyone in my world knows Mondays are pretty much my disconnect day. Apart from my fellow Grace pastors, I don't return the calls until the next day.  This might be considered bold, irresponsible or quite possibly even lazy by some in todays business world.  I've determined in the world of full time pastoral ministry, there is a huge need for the health of myself and my family to have this dedicated time.  I've tried this now for a couple of months and I think it's been successful....I should let my wife comment on this.  A principle I picked up from other pastors and full time ministry folks.

Another way to find that white space is to identify something that helps you recharge.  Whether it's going to a movie, playing a video game, taking long walks...whatever....identify what helps you completely disengage from the work and recharges your battery.  Don't have a hobby?  Get one.  Find something.  I'm a movie goer.  Periodcially I catch a flick with a friend on Sunday evenings. 

So to you worship leaders out there, are you spending enough time creating "White Space" in your life?  Are you covering your life with too much noise never giving yourself a place to hear from God?  Do you spend time reflecting at all on the victories God has given in your life? Are you unwisely devoting so much time to your ministry and work that you aren't anticipating the day your body shuts down due to fatigue?  You've got to find that time and make it a priority.

• Check out this great resource by Andy Stanley - Choosing to Cheat

#5: Get a Friend

Some of the best lessons I've learned in life are through trying, failing, trying, failing, failing, trying and succeeding every once in awhile. I'm not foolish enough to think I've got it all figured out, but I do have some things that I hope can be an encouragement to anyone willing to read. If anything, these "Worship Leading Lessons" will be an open book journal revealing how God is molding me into a true worshiper of Christ.

In 2005 I began this blog with the intent of hopefully finding other people in a similar position in life.  As a worship leader I was thirsting for a network of fellow worship leaders steeped in looking for ways to improve personal worship, worship teams and how to effectively lead the body of Christ in worship each week.  At that time, the well was pretty dry and then it began to explode in 2006.  I've been able to meet some amazing fellow worship leaders through blogging and some I've had the privilege of meeting face to face.

Get a Friend

To my ministry leading friends, and really anyone at all, let me just say this...."GET A FRIEND". Seriously. It's probably not fair to say that all folks with an artistic bent are naturally this way, but it does dwell within me.  I'm naturally a person who can be introspective, easily withdrawn and tends to separate myself from others. Not a typical personality trait for someone who stands on a stage each week...but my guess is most of my fellow worship leads out there might be the same way.  That's not necessarily a bad trait...however, it can become a problem when we find ourselves in situations where wise counsel is needed.

Recently I had the privilege of hooking up with Troy Kennedy at Westside Family Church here in Kansas.  Through Twitter, Troy and I got together for lunch to talk ministry, worship leading, and life.  Here at Grace I know I can talk to my fellow pastors about anything and have a friendship with my fellow co-labourers that I can't get anywhere else.  While I can bounce things off them, there are times I find myself needing a perspective from a fellow worship leader who has been in the trenches of worship ministry longer than myself and can offer some advice.  Through blogging, Twitter, Facebook and other local churches...I've found that.  If you're needing to get a friend, here are a few resources to get you started. Peruse their blogrolls and find other worship leader connections:

• www.AllAboutWorship.com - Wisdom Moon, Darrell Evans and I will gladly be your friend. A podcast for worship leaders and songwriters.
• www.TheWorshipCommunity.com - Fred McKinnon and crew offer a fantastic way to connect with other worship ministry folks.
• www.RichKirkpatrick.com - One of my first blogging connections. Rich has a great site for worship leads.  He's also the kind of guy that actually replies to comments and questions.
• www.ConsumingWorship.org - Another early blogging connection. Jeff Miller has some great content and again, a guy who replies to comments and questions.
• www.Klampert.com - Joel is one of those fellow worship bloggers I consider a friend.
• www.MyWorshipRevolution.com - I finally met Bobby at Catalyst Atlanta in 2008.
• www.Ragamuffinsoul.com - The worship blogger many people love and many love to hate on. You can't do a post about online worship community without mentioning Carlos. He's the "worship blogfather".    

These are just a few of the paths I've taken in my networking with worship leaders.  I could list a lot more, but that's why I have a blogroll in the sidebar.  So check them out.  Seeking counsel is an important aspect of leading any ministry.  Do it!  Where do you go to get a friend?

¹⁴ Where there is no counsel, the people fall;
      But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
(Proverbs 11:14) NKJV

#4: It's Not YOUR Ministry

Some of the best lessons I've learned in life are through trying, failing, trying, failing, failing, trying and succeeding every once in awhile. I'm not foolish enough to think I've got it all figured out, but I do have some things that I hope can be an encouragement to anyone willing to read. If anything, these "Worship Leading Lessons" will be an open book journal revealing how God is molding me into a true worshiper of Christ.

Dumping of Gear = Dumping of Pride

In January, 1993 I received Christ as my savior at the age of 18 years old.  Leading up to that moment I found myself getting steeped in music. I had begun playing in bars surrounding myself with influences that would ultimately lead to a lifestyle that could be harmful to my health. Thankfully, God interceded and completely changed my heart.

It didn't happen overnight.  The salvation happened instantly...but the transformation of someone desiring to be a "rock star", center of attention....to one who knew he was a child of God didn't happen instantly.  It came over time.

Soon after I became a Christian, I realized my desires were shifting from pursuing music, to pursuing a relationship with God. I was convicted about where my affections were being drawn to and decided a radical change needed to happen.  I donated all of my electric guitar gear to my local church for a missions cause.  I believe in my walk with God, this was a huge moment of growth.

What I began to learn was nothing I did mattered if I didn't give it all to the Lord.  That meant my money, my talents, my abilities, my desires....everything.  After a year of not being involved with music, I was invited to be a part of the worship ministry in my College and Career Class I was a part of at the time.  This is where I began cutting my teeth on what it meant to do music for a completely different cause.

It's Not YOUR Ministry

I love being a part of ministry, especially being able to use the talent God has blessed me with. Every once in a while I need to be reminded that the ministry I'm a part of is not MINE...it's God's.  When I hear musicians use the term "my ministry", it makes me cringe. It's an indicator for me that communicates the heart of someone who is in it to bring their talent/skill to the team and may not give much care to the other team members or the church-wide vision.  Essentially every Christ follower needs to answer this one question:

Are you willing to give up what you love the most in order to let God make you a true worshiper?

In Psalm 51 we read the story of a repentant David who realizes it makes no difference what sacrifice he brings to the Lord, but that God is simply concerned with a broken heart.  For worship leaders and team members, you may feel that you're bringing the very best of what you have in your skill to the Lord, but if you don't have the heart of a true worshiper of God...it doesn't matter.

Many times we wrap our identities up in the things we do. Whether a job, a ministry we're a part of, a ministry we lead.  Eventually we begin to place our hope in our skills and in these roles we play.  When those roles or that job is gone, we then become hopeless.  God wants our hope and strength to rest completely and solely on Jesus Christ.

So here's a challenge to you worship leaders and team members.  Redirect your focus. It's not about YOUR skill, it's not about YOUR talent.  Are you truly worshiping Christ with your talent? Or are you deceiving yourself thinking your sacrifice has been acceptable to the Lord when all along, you've been carrying bitterness and a heart that is tainted by an attitude that this is YOUR ministry not God's?

¹⁶ For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
         You do not delight in burnt offering.
 ¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
         A broken and a contrite heart—
         These, O God, You will not despise.
Psalm 51:16-17 (NKJV)

#3: It's a Heart Thing

Some of the best lessons I've learned in life are through trying, failing, trying, failing, failing, trying and succeeding every once in awhile. I'm not foolish enough to think I've got it all figured out, but I do have some things that I hope can be an encouragement to anyone willing to read. If anything, these "Worship Leading Lessons" will be an open book journal revealing how God is molding me into a true worshiper of Christ.

Nowadays in the world of worship leading and ministry, it's almost a cliche'.  If it's become that to you, let's steal it back from the land of cliche' as a priority. There is a great need for every worship leader to be in a state of "coming back to the heart of worship" as the Matt Redman song states.

It's a Heart Thing
Being a part of an effort to usher people into a meaningful, worshipful time with God each week can be exhilarating.  As I mentioned previously, there's a certain amount of time spent reviewing services and tweaking the technical side of things.  At times it can feel as though this aspect of worship leading consumes all of your efforts, causing you to leave behind the most important aspect of worship leading...tuning your heart.

One thing I've heard from worship leaders like Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin and many  local church worship leaders is this simple principle:

It doesn't matter how talented you may be (or think you may be). If you do not have a humble heart, a servant's heart, and have no interest in pursuing God's heart, you may find yourself becoming a cancer slowly destroying the very worship team you believe God has called you to be a part of.

At times we can become so concerned with the "sound" and "look" of our worship services.  Too many "Martha tasks" and not enough "Mary sitting" at the feet of Christ can occur. While all of the technical aspects of worship services are "good things", the most important is connecting people to the heart of God and you as a leader making sure to consistently sit at the Father's feet.  I believe the technical things need addressing and should be a part of the entire package. However, I'm not interested in those things if neglecting the heart of God, stomping on the hearts of co-laborers on a worship team and ignoring the needs of the people you lead each weekend becomes a regular occurrence.  I know I've forgotten at times what is most important.  God wants our hearts.  He doesn't care about the "sound" if our hearts are not directed towards Him.  He doesn't care about how things "look" if the "show" we put on excludes the importance of directing people to Christ. He doesn't delight in our songs if we don't live our lives in worship to Him.  Worship is more than the music.

What does it mean to live a life of worship?  It's taking it beyond the stage. In the conversations you have with people.  In the interactions you have with others. Are you a person that people look to as a worship leader off the stage as well as on?  Does that mean you have to be perfect?  No. That's impossible.  Pastors and worship leaders are all human.  A humble heart is one that knows you don't have it all figured out. When a mistake is made, you acknowledge it and grow from it. People will always come before "the work".  If you're a leader and think you need to fine tune your heart as a "servant leader", I highly recommend reading Ken Blanchard's book "The Servant Leader". Remember that people will always remember how you treat and interact with them...and this interaction has great impact on you being able to lead them from the stage.

Think of the things in your daily life that you don't talk to God about and start doing them.  Here's a challenge for you: Write to God.  A prayer, a song, a poem or a psalm.  If you don't know how to start, just begin making a list of the things you've forgotten to thank Him for.  You'll be surprised how much and how often God's hand was there and you didn't even know it!

³⁶ Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
         And they lied to Him with their tongue;
 ³⁷ For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
         Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
Psalm 78:36-37 (NKJV)

#2: Failing Forward

Some of the best lessons I've learned in life are through trying, failing, trying, failing, failing, trying and succeeding every once in awhile. I'm not foolish enough to think I've got it all figured out, but I do have some things that I hope can be an encouragement to anyone willing to read. If anything, these "Worship Leading Lessons" will be an open book journal revealing how God is molding me into a true worshiper of Christ.

Recently I attended a fantastic conference put together by WorshipTogether.com.  It was a "mini-conference" with the intention of pumping vision back into the worship leader and members of worship teams.  While it was very brief...it was something I needed personally and really came at an integral time for me.  The conversations there brought back to remembrance the cause I have been called to as a Worship Pastor.  There were great insights and reminders for me, one of them being the need to remember every leader must allow space and openness for failure.

Failing Forward
Since taking on the role of worship leader at our local church some seven - eight years ago, I've learned that some things will always be.  There will always be a desire to achieve perfection...and there will always be failure.   Balancing these two certainties in ministry can be quite an act. There are a few principles that can help.

Each week there is a review of our weekly services between our Senior Pastor and myself.  We sit down and walk through the most recent worship service talking about anything from reviewing the time, the flow, the technical, the spiritual, the good, the bad, ugly and amazing.  We've been doing this for many years now and find it very helpful in our desire to continually improve the worship experience at Grace Church.  One of the factors we understand as being important, is the need to fail.

I've had conversations with fellow worship team members, fellow ministry leaders, fellow worship leaders and leaders in general about this topic.  It's difficult to grasp the importance of allowing failure to happen during a weekend service.  Some folks are of the belief that there should NEVER be a mistake made...and if there is one...heads must role. Not exactly the best environment to thrive in. There are others who believe, "Hey...it's just the church man....let it ride...it's not a rock concert".  This one is not helpful and will ensure disaster week in and week out.  While it's true church is not a "rock concert", the attitude of letting the same failure happen each week is not bringing your best before the Lord.  Really both attitudes can be cancerous to any team environment.

A principal that I've adopted and truly believe in, is the need to allow team members to "Fail Forward".  Taking a risk by letting a "green" musician step up and fill a gap, even if conventional wisdom might tell you to NEVER allow that person onstage is creating an attitude of "failing forward".  Taking a risk by allowing a unique stage setting be implemented...even if it means the band will have to readjust how it sees the other band members is creating a culture of "failing forward".  Or perhaps adding an element to a worship service that might seem out of the ordinary or completely unorthodox to what your church body is used to.  Whatever the case, I've learned that an environment of being open to failure is critical.  If you don't take those risks, you might be missing out on something amazing that could become an integral part of your worship time.  Allowing a younger/newer musician on the team to play that solo, or lead that song, gives them that one additional step in their ministry service journey which molds them into a more mature musician...and more importantly, a more mature Christ follower.

When you adopt an attitude of openness to failure, you begin to create an environment on your team that allows people to take risks without the fear of rejection.  I've tried hard to communicate to people on our Weekend Service Team (lighting, audio, video, band, stage etc) that it's ok to fail...just make sure you're learning from the failure. Make note of the environment surrounding the moment the failure happened.  Asking questions like these:

1. Where did the preperation breakdown happen?
2. What ways can I change the environment around me to influence a more positive experience?
3. What ways can I respond differently to the failure?

I'm sure we could each come up with our own list of questions...these are just a few.  Whatever your questions are, make sure you're asking yourself something in order to ensure you and your team are "Failing Forward". If we aren't failing...we aren't taking enough risks to improve ourselves and the ministries we lead.

For a righteous man may fall seven times
      And rise again,
      But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
(Proverbs 24:16)

#1: Practice vs. Rehearsal

A new category here on the BabuLife blog called "Worship Leading Lessons".  These posts will share some of my lessons learned through experiences, successes, failures, teachings etc.  Some of the best lessons I've learned in life are through trying, failing, trying, failing, failing, trying and succeeding every once in awhile. I'm not foolish enough to think I've got it all figured out, but I do have some things that I hope can be an encouragement to anyone willing to read. If anything, this will be an open book journal revealing how God is molding me into a true worshiper of Christ.

A couple of weeks ago I was able to participate in a recent Worship Leader Webinar on "Successful Music Rehearsals" led by Tony Guerrero, Director of Creative Arts at Saddleback Church . It was a much needed moment for me as a Worship Pastor.  I had some encouragement on things we currently do on the Grace worship team along with some good insights on how to improve our worship rehearsals.

Practice vs. Rehearsal
Over the past year, our worship band has been striving to raise the bar on itself.  We've been encouraging ourselves to know the tunes before weekly rehearsal, know the setlist before the weekly rehearsal, show up on time, accept/decline assignments in PlanningCenterOnline etc.  We've been successful in many of these areas and we're continuing to challenge ourselves. During the webinar, Tony shared a fantastic definition that made it completely clear to me on what we needed to turn the heat up on our team. 

The idea of Practice vs. Rehearsal isn't unique, however, it made more sense when it was simply defined by Tony.  Practice is what the individual team member does on their own, rehearsal is when the team members come together with their individual known parts and put it all together.

What this means is very little time should be spent during a rehearsal listening to the recordings so team members can figure out their parts.  This should already be ingrained in them before they arrive because they've already spent the time practicing on their own.  I know, it sounds like a principle that should be a "Duh!".  It can be easy for worship team members to fall into the trap of "winging it".  Showing up, listening to the songs for 30-60 minutes during a 120 minute rehearsal and looking over a chord chart for the first time is not productive rehearsal time.  A nice reminder to my fellow worship leaders & team members out there about the calling, the necessity and the importance for each worship team member to actively participate in the mission God has called your local church's worship ministry to fulfill (not just the guy behind the mic).

 ² Praise the LORD with the harp;
         Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
 ³ Sing to Him a new song;
         Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
         
 ⁴ For the word of the LORD is right,
         And all His work is done in truth.
Psalm 33:2-4 (NKJV)