All About Worship Live: “Sr. Pastor and Worship Leader Relationship” Roundtable
On Monday, August 16, Ben and Wisdom will be recording a “Roundtable” session for an upcoming podcast episode. This is our second roundtable since our initial “Manly Worship” back in October, 2009. The topic this time around…”Sr. Pastor and Worship Leader Relationship”.
How many of you worship leaders have struggled with your relationship with a “controlling” Sr. Pastor? How many Sr. Pastor’s have struggled with your “free spirited” worship leader? The Sr. Pastor/Worship Pastor relationship is extremely important in leading a local church week in and week out. Join us live on Talkshoe as we discuss how we can work together as a team with some experienced leaders in the local church and worship leading community. Meet our roundtable guests:
Tim Howey. Sr Pastor of Grace Church in Overland Park, KS. Tim and Ben have been working in ministry together for ten years. Visit www.TimHowey.com to learn more about Tim. He will be joining us live from the palatial All About Worship studio. If you’re going to talk about a Sr. Pastor and Worship Leader relationship….why not ask a Sr. Pastor to join us? Tim also facilitated a breakout session at the All About Worship Retreat in 2010.
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Troy Kennedy. Songwriter/Worship Pastor from Kansas City will be joining us. Troy has taught classes on worship leading ministry in conferences around the nation including the recent National Worship Leader Conference 2009 & 2010 and also at the All About Worship Retreat 2010. Log on to www.NewWorship.com to learn more about Troy.
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Fred McKinnon. Songwriter/Worship Leader from St. Simmons Island, GA will be joining the roundtable discussion. With the “Sunday Setlists” and TheWorshipCommunity, Fred has become an influential member of the online worship community. Visit www.FredMcKinnon.com and www.TheWorshipCommunity.com to learn more about Fred.
If you have any thoughts or questions that you would like to see discussed regarding this topic, please drop a comment and we’ll try and get to your questions. You can also join us live on Monday on Talkshoe at the link below and discuss with other listeners in the Talkshoe chatroom. The fun begins Monday, August 16 at 10 p.m. EST/ 9p.m. CST. Hope you can join us!
Choosing Worship Songs: Style
All right, now here’s a topic that can get many a worship leader in trouble with their congregation. Choosing a style to present the music is a hot topic in and of itself. Rock, Reggae, Classical, R&B, Gospel, Country or traditional. These are just a few of the styles one can choose from when leading their church in worship. In this post, I’m going to share how I approach this issue.
Style
I have found that as a worship leader, it’s necessary to know that I am in this role to serve the church, not just entertain them. Once I learned and applied this principal, I discovered that I must not simply choose song styles based on my preferences. This is a difficult thing, because simply put, there are some styles that I enjoy more than others and there are some styles that the praise team can tackle better than others.
When people mention a cool worship song they’ve heard and say they’d love to hear our team do it, I quickly run through my mind the style and whether our team can play it at the level of excellence necessary. There are just some songs that we can pull off well and some that just don’t quite work. And that’s ok. Challenge your team to play things that they aren’t used to playing. You may just discover that you can play a little gospel along with your rock.
Now back to the people in the church. You must be willing to take risks in leadership. Serving the people does not mean catering to everyone’s opinion of what worship music should sound like. Refer to my post on “10 Things on Worship Leading“. Sometimes the church body is best served by the worship leader who challenges them to open their ears, eyes and hearts to styles that are relevant in today’s world. There’s a can that I won’t open here labeled “Music styles and instruments that are Biblical” that many folks like to pull out and open from time to time. I typically like to stay away from that since it usually gets you nowhere. Just ask them if they’d prefer you play a Sackbut.
So find the style that best fits your community and from time to time, mix it up. It might even revive a bored worship team.
Ben Abu Saada
Originally posted on Ben’s blog on July 25, 2005 at BabuLife.blogs.com
Episode 48: Darrell Evans Q&A
On this edition of the show, Wisdom and Ben catch up with Darrell Evans. We hear your questions submitted to us before the recording and live over Talkshoe.
Quick Links
WorshipPlanning.com – Stop by our kind sponsors and try them out. There are some fantastic features that Tom and crew continue to roll out for worship teams. Check out their new iPhone App! It’s free and it will make your life much easier!
DarrellEvans.com – This is Darrell’s site. You can also “Like” his Facebook page.
Darrell on Twitter – Follow Darrell on Twitter to see what’s going on in his life.
Nothing Less Than Everything on iTunes – Check out Darrell’s latest album on iTunes and leave him a review!
All About Worship on iTunes – Visit us on iTunes and PLEASE leave some feedback! The smart folks at iTunes deleted our page by mistake recently along with all the listener reviews we had. We would greatly appreciate your leaving a review!
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AllAboutWorship Retreat – Log on to take advantage of the Early Bird Registration and find out who’s coming! (You can also follow the retreat updates on Twitter)
Click Here to listen to all of our episodes (Click Here if you’re on a mobile device).
Giveaway
We are doing three big giveaways!
1. A FREE Registration to the Forge Conference. Sept 30 – Oct 2, 2010 in Ocean Grove, NJ.
2. A FREE Registration to National Worship Leader Conference East. Oct 5 – 7, 2010 in Lancaster, PA.
Just leave a comment on this post to be entered to win. Deadline is Aug 18th. We’ll announce the winner here!
3. Free music! Beginning August, visit the AllAboutWorship blog once a week you’ll have a chance to win free CD’s!
Contact Us
Follow AAW – follow our tweets for regular updates and news.
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Thanks
We want to say a BIG thanks to WorshipPlanning.com for sponsoring this episode. Start your 30 day free trial today. Be sure and follow them on Twitter at @worshipsense right here or find them on Facebook.
Thanks to Darrell for spending time with us on the show. And as always….THANK YOU for listening!!!!
Check out this new song “You Could Never Be Praised Enough” from Darrell that we discussed on the show:
Choosing Worship Songs: Horizontal or Vertical?
A friend of mine asked me to consider blogging on how I go about selecting worship music. So I’ve assembled some thoughts on the topic and will be sharing them periodically.
Well, let me start off by saying I am NO expert on this subject by any means. But I love to read experts and use their ideas enhancing them for the use of the Grace Church worship services.
Often I have folks suggest songs for our worship services here at Grace. Sometimes they make the list and other times they don’t. My hestiation in sharing this info is that people might make the assumption that the worship song idea they have won’t make the cut based on the criteria. I LOVE having people recommend songs! I like to hear when people get excited about a song that caused them to take pause in their busy life and reflect on God. So don’t judge your recommendations, don’t hold them back…please!
Horizontal or Vertical?
Does the song cause the singer to sing about God or to God? There are many inspiring songs that speak of the wonderful works, nature or truth of God, however they aren’t being directly sung to God. These songs are horizontal in nature.
Some great worship song examples that I consider horizontal are: Amazing Grace, Standing on the Promises, In Christ Alone and How Great is Our God. If you read the lyrics of these songs you will find that there are no phrases that indicate it’s being sung to God but about God. They all tell great truths that teach us aspects about the nature of our great God.
Some great worship song examples that I consider vertical are: Here I am to Worship, You Are My King, How Great Thou Art and Heart of Worship. Even in the titles you can see the direction these songs might take a singer.
When you listen to worship music, see if you can classify it as vertical or horizontal. Think of it in terms of “in Spirit and in Truth”. Is the song proclaiming truth? Or is the song directly sung to the Lord in Spirit?
Now that these two types of songs have been identified, the next step is figuring out what to use on Sunday! And that depends greatly upon the needs of the church, the direction of the pastor/teacher and the particular message that Sunday. I’ll get into that on another post.
What would you add to this topic?
Originally posted on July 20, 2005 on Ben’s blog at BabuLife.blogs.com
It’s a Heart Thing
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.
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 learned in my experiences as a worship leader 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. At times I’ve forgotten 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)
-Ben Abu Saada
All About Worship LIVE: Q&A With Darrell Evans
Join us on Monday ninght, 6/28, at 8:30 p.m. CST for a live 30 minute Q&A with Darrell Evans on the All About Worship
hotline. We’ll be taking your calls live with your questions. Darrell is an influential songwriter of songs like “Let the River Flow”, “Trading My Sorrows”, “Your love is Extravagant” , and “Fields of Grace”. You can be a part of one of our July podcast episodes while we record this session.
Join us over Talkshoe live by clicking below at 8:30 CST on Monday, June 28.
Podcast Shownotes for 1/27/10: Interview with Carlos Whittaker
On this special edition of the All About Worship Podcast, Ben interviews Worship Leader, songwriter, Carlos Whittaker. Carlos is an influential worship artist in the online community through his website RagamuffinSoul.com. Recently Carlos released an online EP with three great songs for the local church.
Show Links
- RagamuffinSoul.com. Visit Carlos’ site. If you’ve never visited, it’s time.
- Integrity Music. HUGE thanks to Integrity for letting us play “Rain it Down”, Carlos’ new single.
- Carlos Whittaker EP. Get the songs on iTunes today.
- Carlos on Twitter. Follow Carlos.
- Carlos on Facebook. Join the fanpage and get the latest news and updates on Carlos Whittaker.
- WorshipRetreat.org. Don’t forget to join us this May for the upcoming retreat.
- AAW on iTunes. Hey! Leave us some feedback. It makes us feel good.
- Facebook Fan Page. Once again…if you’re on Facebook and you haven’t joined the AAW page…you’re invited!
- Contact us. Visit Wisdom’s site here. Visit Ben’s site here. Email us at podcast@allaboutworship.com or call us and leave a voicemail at 206.426.7119. You can also follow @AllAboutWorship on Twitter. Follow Ben on Twitter. Follow Wisdom on Twitter.
Thanks Carlos for sharing your heart and spending some time with the All About Worship Podcast! And to our listeners…THANK YOU!!!
Listen to the interview here. Or check it out below.
Thinking of Leading with an Electric Guitar?
We have received questions from some of our listeners on how to lead with an electric guitar vs. an acoustic guitar. Since neither Wisdom or Ben lead “plugged in”, we asked Troy Kennedy if he wouldn’t mind sharing with you all his set up and any advice he might have for a leader making that transition. HUGE thanks to Troy for taking time to share with us. (BTW: Troy will be at the upcoming AllAboutWorship retreat) Check the video below for a great rig walk thru with Troy then scroll below for a detailed list of his set up:
The best thing I can say is to keep it very simple, especially at first. It can be very distracting if you have too many elements to juggle while you are leading. Some guys should never get too deep into this stuff. It can be a hole in the ground in which to pour money. So only pursue this stuff if you need to, it is fun for you and it doesn’t derail you as a lead worshiper. Consider yourself warned! (Actually, it is a lot of fun in an OCD kind of way for me.)
Start off with a Telecaster and a good low powered amp like a Vox AC15 or Fender Deluxe Reverb (Either the Hot Rod or the Reissue. I like the reissue.) Even with those amps, it is unlikely you will get the amp loud enough in your church for it to be breaking up on it’s own. You will need pedals for any kind of overdrive or distortion.
Also, the digital modeling route is a great, cost effective way to go. Can sound great if you spend time dialing it in. For most churches, may be the best way to go. The Line6 X3 Live would be my recommendation. Plus, you can download artist patches online from guys like Lincoln Brewster who have it very dialed in. Great for all levels of players and the price is right!
The options are endless but here are a few ideas. Remember it can get expensive very fast. Keep it simple and take your time developing your rig. Don’t add to it until you are very comfortable with your basic setup
Basic entry level, inexpensive setup:
Telecaster
Vox AC15 or Fender Deluxe
Line6 M9 for effects (distortions, delays etc..)
(or bag it all and get the X3 Live!)Mid Level:
Strat or Les Paul type guitar
Vox AC30, Fender Twin, Marshall (these are LOUD amps)
Line6 M13 (more effects options)
Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Overdrive or some tube screamer variant
Ratt Distortion, and some kind of Fuzz. Zvex (Only buy these kind pedals if you don’t like the distortions/OD’s in the M13. Most people will never exhaust the possibilities of the M13)
Volume pedal.High End:
Boutique guitars like Suhr, Anderson, Tyler, Fender Custom Shop.
Effects: Either the M13 or the Fractal Audio Axe FX. There are a TON of great pedal makers out there.
I like Suhr amps for their flexibility, quality and amazing sound. EIther the Badger 18, Badger 30 or PT50/100. The Badger amps incorporate something called power scaling that allows you to get power amp break up at low volumes. VERY COOL! Also a hand wired AC30 is really nice.This is my rig (right now):
Guitars- Suhr S1, Suhr M2, Anderson Atom – elixir strings and cable.
Effects – M13, Lovepedal Eternity, Suhr Koko Boost, Radial amp switcher.
Amps – Suhr Badger 18 through open back 2×12 with a blue and H30. Suhr PT50 (3 channels) through 2×12 closed back with Scumback M75′s (better versions of a celestion greenback to my ears.)warning! – I play my amps at very high volumes because we keep the cab’s in iso boxes backstage. Otherwise, I would stick to the Badger, power scaled amps or a direct rig like the Line6 X3Live or Fractal AxeFX. Most popular amps like the Ac30 are just too loud for church applications without a tone of baffling.
-Troy
Teach Them 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)
Originally posted on Ben’s blog November 25, 2009.
Failing Forward
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:
- Where did the preperation breakdown happen?
- What ways can I change the environment around me to influence a more positive experience?
- 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)
-Ben
Originally posted on Ben’s blog on April 15, 2009.
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