Monday, September 30, 2013

How "Routine" Is Your Worship Routine?



Hi Worship Blog readers,


How many of you would raise your hands if asked whether or not you like routine?   I know that most people are comfortable when life is predictable and follows a pattern (routine).  I too like predictability and a sense of stability that comes from routine.   I would propose that there are a number of activities in our lives that need to be Routine…or as it were, habitual:  loving God with all our hearts and minds and souls, spending time daily in His Word, exercising our physical bodies, worshiping the Lord along with fellow believers and being active in the Church.  
  

One problem that exists with things that are “routine” is that they can easily become activities that lose their significance.   In fact, common English synonyms for the word “Routine” are BORING, or STALE.    Have you found yourself in a situation where your routine in life has grown boring or stale ??  I’m sure we can all think of activities we do that we have allowed to become just plain old routine and they seem to have lost their zest, their appeal.  We do those activities “just because” so many times.  


Sadly to say, Worshipping God might sometimes become just another routine (boring or unexciting) event in which we participate.   And yes, this can even happen at MPBC.   Sometimes there is evidence of this  as I look around at some of the faces of the audience when I am playing the bass guitar for the praise team, and it can even be seen on a few of the faces of the praise team from time to time…myself included.    How can it be that the act of worshipping the Creator God becomes something that we do just out of habit and that we end up losing the joy and excitement of this celebration ?  I think it comes down to a matter of focus.  When I am focused on my life then I am too distracted to experience the joy and wonder of focusing on the Lord God.    Those two words, JOY and WONDER, describe what I think are essential ingredients for keeping Worship from becoming routine and boring. 


A few Sundays ago as I played with the band I watched a young boy in the front row of the church who was putting his whole heart into the singing.  This young boy was loudly singing every word, at times both hands raised to God.   I had to smile at his enthusiasm and I teared up at this demonstration of exuberant worship.   Joy and Wonder were written all over this boy’s face.  Thank you, Ty, for encouraging me through your worship!


My challenge to all of us is to remember the importance of JOY and WONDER in our worship so that we may experience the real excitement of Worship and that the routine of having a Worship Service at MPBC will be anything BUT “routine”.


Written from Iceland,  
   

Keith Anderson (bass guitar)

Monday, September 23, 2013

Visual Worshippers



One of the neat things that we do here at MPBC is try to engage the senses in worship.  Obviously, the main sense we reach with music is hearing, but we also do our best to engage the eyes.  I’ve learned that some people don’t worship by what they hear.  They worship by what they see.  I like to call them visual worshippers.  These are the people who enjoy going to museums and looking at paintings and sculptures.  While that doesn’t particularly appeal to me, that’s what these people really enjoy.  So, we try to do our best to keep them visually engaged with what we are doing.  The biggest resource we use is lighting.  Our stage has a lot of lights and with them we try to make each song look and feel different.  Whether it’s the use of contrast between light and dark, changing colors, or changing the lights to the beat of the music, the goal is for each individual song to have its own unique look.  That’s not to say that we are trying to mimic a rock concert, because we aren’t.  Our desire is for the lighting effects we use to accent the music and not take away from it.  They should help further and deepen the worship environment, not distract from it.


Another tool we use here at MPBC is environmental projection.  This one is really cool.  Let me explain what that is.  Our stage is built into the front wall of our worship facility.  We have 2 screens on that front wall that we project lyrics onto.  A few years ago we added the ability to project images and videos on the entire front wall.  This is done by using 3 projectors that split the image or video into 3 sections and then project each section on the wall to make it look like one continuous image or video.  We use this a lot when we do concerts, but we also use it some for our normal Sunday morning worship services.  It really does make a big difference in the worship environment.  I personally believe it helps remind people how big and majestic God’s presence is.


One last tool that we use on occasion is haze and fog.  We have a hazer that emits a very
light see-thru fog.  The main purpose of the haze is to make the light beams more noticeable.  When the light shines through the haze you can actually see the light beams.  It’s pretty neat.  Fog on the other hand is much thicker and more noticeable.  We generally use dry ice to make fog (although we do have normal fog machines for big productions-Passion Play, drams, etc…).  Dry ice can be a very effective tool.  Here’s a picture from a concert we did in 2012.  We used dry ice to “flood” the stage with fog on “Revelation Song”.  “Revelation Song” is about worshipping Jesus in heaven and the fog gives the appearance of heavenly clouds.  The kids in the audience always love this effect because the fog just rolls off the stage into the audience.  They really enjoy waving their hands through it.   


All of these tools are just some of the ways in which we try to engage people and encourage them to worship.  We aren’t looking to re-create a concert type feel to our services, but we are trying to do everything we can to help people worship the Lord.


Worship Big!

Brad

Monday, September 16, 2013

Is It Worship or Is It a Show?


Hey everyone!


Before I get started in this blog, I thought I’d briefly go over my experiences which may, in turn, help to explain where I’m coming from in terms of this discussion.  I’ve been an active musician for almost 20 years now.  I’ve probably been in a dozen or so bands or groups, and I’ve played a wide variety of music, but I’d have to say 99% of it has been Christian-based music (I’m leaving a 1% margin of error here).  I’ve probably recorded a dozen or so CDs and countless demos.  I’ve played clubs, driveways, garages, stages, colleges, back decks, and even to a packed house at Carowind’s Paladium (in front of 10k people).  I’ve had the experience of being a touring musician, and at one time, I was in a group that did about 65 shows in 11 weeks all over the state of NC, and I’ve traveled to most, if not all, of the states that border NC…and many of the states that border those as well.  I’ve worked with a couple of independent record labels, and I’ve gotten to open for artists that were, at one time or another, fairly popular in the Christian music industry (in the mid/late 1990s) in addition to working with a Grammy-nominated producer (if you really want to know all of the “who” and “where,” just shoot me an email or come over and hang out for a while.  Just call first.  :-)    ).  In addition, I was once a co-host for a radio show at WBFJ in Winston-Salem.  I don’t really feel like I’ve done anything terribly great in terms of playing music; however, I do felt like I’ve had some experience.  In short, I have more experience than most, but not as much as some, and I definitely learn more as time moves on.


All while I was doing these things, I’ve also been a part of a small handful of praise and worship teams. I’ve also been a part of two worship teams at one time (I guess I’m a glutton for punishment), and at my previous church, I played worship music for about 10 years.  All of these things bring me to where I am today, playing at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church.  I’ve been playing at MPBC for about 2.5 years now, and I really do love it.  In the past few years, I’ve given up pretty much any music outside of church because, well, having three kids, a mortgage, and a commute tends to slow a man down – no matter how much he loves playing. 


So, why did I take the time to write all of this?  I feel in order to give my synopsis, it’s oftentimes helpful for readers to know where I’ve been; therefore, you may better understand why I say what I say. 


I’m not a fan of semantics, especially in terms of spiritual matters, so I’ll try to be as matter-of-fact as possible when explaining some pretty abstract ideas, which brings us to the question at hand:  When it comes to worship music and being in a worship band, is it a “Show” or is it “Worship,” and how does one balance it in the right direction?


Boy, this is a question that I’ve struggled with for many years of my spiritual journey.  I think what makes this such a difficult topic is that what some people may experience as worship, others may consider it more of a “show.”  In order to explore this topic, I think that it is only fair to look at show/worship debate from both parties: the worship team itself and the congregation.  I will begin with the latter.


If you’ve ever been to our church, just look around:  On and around the stage, we have a very decent lighting rig, drums, a few guitars, and a couple of keyboards.  What you may or may not notice are the speakers that are in front of the stage in addition to others mounted on the ceiling.  The Reach Center is relatively dark without artificial lighting.  During our worship time, the folks that are in charge of lighting darken the room, light the stage throughout the music set, then bring the lights back up as Kevin begins to speak while the sound crew works diligently to meet the needs of the congregation in addition to singers and musicians.  I don’t really feel like I’m doing these volunteers justice by briefly writing about what they do because they are integral parts of the worship team that no one ever sees or notices, and yet, they are so vital.  What’s the purpose of doing this?  Is it to make it like a “show”?  The answer is no.  These people work hard to enhance the congregation’s worship experience.  The lights are not brought down in the congregation so that the stage full of singers and instrumentalists will be illuminated better.  One reason in behind the lights being brought down is for the congregation to limit distraction, so that they can focus on their own worship.  Is it 100% necessary to do this to worship?  No.  Just like it’s not 100% necessary to pray in a quiet, distraction-free place…but it sure helps.  Worship through lighting and sound is not about making it a show.  We do these things to enhance your worship experience.



In terms of the musicians’ point of view, it’s a tricky balance that both singers and musicians alike need to take into consideration every time we get in front of the congregation.  Playing music on a worship team is much different than playing music elsewhere, especially in terms of playing with a band or a group; therefore, the approach to even joining or being a part of a worship team is totally different than anything that I have ever experienced in that it goes against the grain of the very nature of a musician.


Let me explain.  Active musicians love to perform.  Ones that love to perform REALLY love performing for an audience in order to showcase their talents and gifts.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this aspect of performing.  Also, part of performing for an audience is not only showcasing one’s talent; it is also receiving accolades from others, be it from the fellow musicians who share the stage with them or from members of the audience.  Musicians are there to entertain, to put on a show of sorts.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, and performing can work wonders for a person’s confidence and self-esteem.


With that said, being a part of a worship team is much different in that the purpose is almost the polar opposite of just playing music for a group of people.  In the above scenario, the primary purpose is to entertain, or to put on a “show” per se.  While there may be a somewhat “entertainment” element to it, that’s not the purpose of being a part of a worship team.  Being part of this team is all about leading others to Him.  It’s not about the musicians or their skills and abilities.  It’s about Jesus, and Him alone.  This is the exact opposite of the previously-written scenario.  In essence, if a person is wishing to join a worship team in order to showcase his or her talent, he/she is in the wrong place.  A worship team’s purpose is to lead people in worship, not to promote a “shining star” or two.  Or three.  Consider this:  Psalm 33:3 talks about playing skillfully.  I’ve been involved in worship music long enough to learn what skillfully means and what it does not mean.  In terms of playing worship music, consider the following:


Playing skillfully is NOT being able to blast through scales and solos at the drop of a hat.


Playing skillfully is NOT about playing louder, faster, and more complex than anyone else. 



However considering worship music, think of these things:


Playing skillfully IS being able to blast through scales and solos at the drop of a hat and yet choosing not to because it’s not what’s called for in the music and chances are, it would be a distraction for those who are worshiping.


Playing skillfully IS about able playing louder, faster, and more complex but consciously choosing not to because it may actually hinder others from worshipping.



Confession: When I was younger, playing worship music used to drive me absolutely insane because I felt like I was being “held back” in many ways.  Here I was, playing in whatever band, traveling to God-knows-where on weekends to open for XYZ artist trying to “make it” playing music.  I was going through drum heads and sticks each week from playing so heavy, fast, and loud.  I was having a great time playing with some of my best friends.  While I was travelling all over the place playing as much as humanly possible all under the label of being a “Christian band” and “ministry,” I often wonder how much I actually did it for my own glory.

Ecclesiastes 2:11 – “Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

Matthew 6:1-7 - “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”

These verses are terribly humbling as I think back.


While I realize that this may be a very limited audience that that can relate, I thought I’d throw this out there anyway:  If you are the kind of musician that struggles with these aspects of worship music, don’t be discouraged.  Start a band or a group of your own.  Go out and play as loud and as fast or as busy as you want.  Play an offertory at church every now and then.  If you want to be in the spotlight, go do it!  Learn crazy solos.  Travel and have adventures in the name of music.  Go see and be seen.  Open for bands, and get to know folks by their first names.  Record your work.  Network with others.  Practice your jazz scales.  Learn incredibly difficult music.  Listen to good music that makes you want to play and be better.  Go out and play, and for gosh sakes, have fun!  I’m all about learning more and more about this craft.


With that said, if you are a current worship team member or a potential worship team member, here are just a few words of advice that I’ve learned from experience:


  1. If you can’t smile, don’t be on a worship team. 
  2. If you feel in your heart of hearts that you are way underused in your talents and your abilities, I hate to sound harsh, but get over yourself.  Some songs will only require you to play just a handful of notes per song, and this is ok.  As a drummer, we have several songs where I simply keep time for 3 minutes of a 4 minute song, and I’m perfectly ok with this.  I use it as an opportunity to watch our congregation worship with all of their hearts, and it’s pretty amazing. 
  3. Just because you can play an instrument does not mean that you should play an instrument on the worship team.  For example, I’ve been playing hammered dulcimer for about 6 years now, and I have 4 hammered dulcimer CDs that I’ve self-published.  Just because I can play this instrument, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to be playing this instrument every Sunday with the worship team.  As a matter of fact, we’ve only tried it once for a couple of practices, and it just never worked.  If it doesn’t work out, don’t worry about it.  Just know that not every Sunday will require your amazing skills on the glockenspiel. 
  4. If you can smile, play an instrument that we use pretty often, take direction, handle criticism, practice until anywhere between 9:30pm and 11:00pm on Wednesday nights, get to church at 7:45am on Sundays, and rarely be complimented on your musical ability without an incredible amount of sarcasm, you might just be fit to play on a worship team.


To sum up, playing on a worship band is much different and requires a much different attitude and approach.  It’s not about “the show” or what’s been dubbed as “worship-tainment.”  A worship musician’s work is to guide a congregation closer to the Creator, not to elevate oneself which can go against the very nature that drives musicians to play in the first place.  It’s a balance that we worship musicians must learn, and hopefully, we’ll get better at it as time moves on. 


Thanks and God bless,


Martin