Chris Denning says practice and rehearsal are two different things:

I hear from friends all the time who are not satisfied with how their band rehearsals go. Some find that they are way too long and don’t actually get anything done, while others feel like it turns into one big practice session for the whole band.

Our team talks a lot about the difference between Practice and Rehearsal. Yes, they are two different things. It may seem semantic, but when you start to understand Practice and Rehearsal as two different things, you’ll see your team change.

PRACTICE is the work you do when no one is looking, not just on the songs you’re playing that weekend, but on the techniques and rudiments that are the foundation of your musical ability.

REHEARSAL is the time when musicians come to put together all the practice they have done individually to prepare for a set or event.

There is definitely a relationship between Practice and Rehearsal, because your Practice should inform your Rehearsal. If you don’t put in the work individually, it will show when you put it together as a group.

To help explore the difference between the two, lets take a look at some things that define both Practice and Rehearsal:

Practice

BY YOURSELF. Practice is something you do in your room or in a private place. Not because you can’t practice in crowded places, but because you should be stretching yourself when you practice to where you’d feel uncomfortable doing it in front of others.

Seriously, if you’re just running through the songs for Sunday and would feel good doing it with your friends around, you’re doing it wrong. Find the places where you’re having a hard time and focus on those.

Practice is like the gym. Don’t just rush through doing only the things you like to do easily. Take your time, put in the work, and you’ll see the results in your playing. Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

LOTS OF WOODSHEDDING. If you haven’t heard this term before, woodshedding means to practice your instrument, but in a way that focuses on the techniques that create the foundation of your playing.

I’ll just be honest: I HATE woodshedding. Its like taking my medicine. However, I know that if I’m not spending time woodshedding on my own, I’m not going to become a better player.

Again, this is the kinda stuff you need to be doing on your own. Nobody likes the guy who is incessantly running scales at band rehearsal when the group is trying to get things done. Don’t be that guy, and keep the woodshedding at home.

PERSONALIZED FOCUS. Practice allows you to focus exactly on what YOU need to work on. You can jump around from song to song, from part to part, only working on the stuff that you need extra time on.

If you’re a drummer, you probably don’t need to spend much time on that song that’s mostly keys until the end. If you’re a vocalist, you probably don’t need to take much time on that song where you only sing harmony on the Chorus.

When you’re practicing, go ahead and be selfish. Run the material, and only work on the stuff YOU need to work on. Go on, you deserve it.

Rehearsal

COLLABORATIVE FEEL. Rehearsals should have the innate feel that “we’re all in this together.” The best rehearsals are where every team member comes prepared and ready to work together make the songs the best they can be.

The caveat here is that someone should be CLEARLY driving the bus. Collaboration doesn’t mean democracy, and its important that the team knows who to look to for decisions. Without a caption, this ship is not any fun to be on.

You should be helping your team to learn how to bring their ideas in, which are formulated in their practice, and how to share them appropriately. There are many times where worship leaders on my team have a better idea for a harmony than I did. And that’s a good thing.

THE BIG PICTURE. The goal of rehearsals is to take the time to work through your entire set together. This doesn’t just mean the songs, but this includes the transitions, the endings of songs, and all the little things that make your worship set seamless.

When you’re practicing, you can’t really work on transitions because you may not know what the band leader has in mind. Rehearsal is the perfect time to talk through all the details for the coming Sunday or event.

You might be rolling your eyes, but trust me, using your rehearsal time to work on the Big Picture for that Sunday will change the way that your services feel. Work through each of the details for the weekend so the the Big Picture makes sense when put all together.

GROUP FOCUS. When everyone is giving up time with their family & friends to be at rehearsal, you don’t have time to focus on everyone’s individual needs. This is what practice is for. Instead, rehearsals are for focusing on the things that benefit the group as a whole.

Understanding what these things are is the responsibility of the band leader. You must be able to see all the things that need to be worked on, and then determine what things will benefit the whole group the most.

You might focus on something for an individual, but that’s because it helps the whole group. Learn how to discern which things will benefit the whole team the most, and you’ll make your rehearsals more productive. In rehearsals, always do what’s best for the group.

Zac Hicks wonders why he’s so exhausted on Sunday afternoon:

Maybe it sounds a bit cheeky. Perhaps it sounds like overextending an idea’s reach or, worse, a justification for sloth. However, I think there’s a very good theological reason why we worship leaders often find ourselves pillow-side on Sunday afternoons. For me, it’s very personal and autobiographical.

I began thinking about all this over the last few months as our church is picking up the pieces of a major tragedy. Since the news hit our church family several months ago, I’ve found myself more exhausted on Sunday afternoons. I began to take inventory. Was I getting up earlier than usual on Sunday mornings? Was I staying up too late on Saturdays? Was I putting together more demanding and difficult music? Were our liturgies more complex, requiring additional brain power and on-the-ball concentration? Was it my thyroid? Did my wife just have another baby? Am I just getting older?

No, not really.

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Jon Nicol dispels the fantasy of worship nirvana:

Before you were a worship leader, do you remember what you *thought* it was going to be like? You imagined that each week you would…

• plan a set list that was spooned-fed by the Holy Spirit himself.

• rehearse a team that shows up on time and fully prepared.

• lead worship for a congregation that sings out, claps and lifts their hands without any prompting, and rushes the platform after the service to tell you how amazingly God moved through you to bless them.

And then in between all that bliss, you would…

• have ample time to hone your vocal and guitar (or keyboard) skills.

• spend hours at Starbucks mentoring team members.

• log at least 5 – 10 hours a week in focused prayer.

• start a blog detailing your awesome worship leader life (or at least tweet about it 6 – 9 times a day).

• write and record deeply artistic and inspired songs (and probably sign a record deal with Integrity Worship).

If you’ve been leading worship for more than 10 minutes, you know the above is a worship leader nirvana that not too many people ascend to. And even if we think another worship leader has reached that apex, spending 10 minutes in their fashionably scuffed boots and tightly tapered jeans would probably reveal otherwise.

What we thought we were getting when we signed up as a worship leader is really only a small part of the package. Here are ten roles that we didn’t think we signed up for as a worship leader.

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Molly Broomer says to make sure everyone is very clear on expectations:

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Consider the merits to recruiting people personally, face to face, making open calls to your congregation, or just letting people come to you. What will work best for your church? For us, a little of everything has been successful. Mostly, we let people come to us – musicians know that if they want to play music in church, worship team is how you do that. They see me on stage every week, so they know I’m probably the one to talk to. In times of “desperation” we’ve put out an open call (making sure to communicate that there is an audition involved). Keep in mind that when you publicly ask people to join your team, you will often end up with people who may not be a fit for that ministry. I’ve also asked around to find out who the musicians are and approached them myself – this one has the best success rate. Pick one, or pick them all!

CHARACTER

Our audition processes always begin with a discussion of heart & character, far before anyone sings a note. This could look like a form that asks strategic, open-ended questions or an interview or just a chat over coffee. Whatever method you decide works best, figure out which character qualities you’re looking for and find those before anything else. If you assemble an ultra talented team of people with pride issues, your team is going to implode pretty quickly. I look for a humble spirit and a team-player attitude first and foremost. People who are honest about where they really are with God and the struggles they have are so attractive to me as a ministry leader. God can work so easily in the broken! We have definitely turned down some crazy talent because of heart issues, and we are totally comfortable with that.

FAITH

This is a sticky issue for us, and I have vacillated on this a lot. What is your conviction about the faith situation of people on your team? One thing that I believe is non-negotiable is that singers should be believers. They are professing statements of faith about God’s character in front of a congregation and there needs to be full integrity there. But when it comes to musicians, I’ve done both. I’ve said only those who follow Jesus, and I’ve also said that worship team presents an awesome opportunity for those who haven’t yet made a commitment to see faith up close. This is a matter of prayer, considering what’s suitable for your congregation, and discussion with your leadership, but make sure you’ve made a decision one way or another.

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Mike O’Brien offers a few practical worship tips:

After 18 years of leading worship for the same church (14 of those in the same building), I’ve had the privilege of over time adding some helpful tools to our setup that serve the congregation and band in simple ways. Check out these 5 simple Worship Ministry HACKS that you can do now to help your team and church engage with the Living God.

1. Provide Earplugs at the entrance to the sanctuary

As I’ve already covered in Winning the Volume War, most of a churches volume issues can be handled before sound gets the loudspeakers and ears of the congregants. With that in mind, it’s nice gesture to supply earplugs at the entrance for anyone that might prefer a attenuated experience. I have found that even when the sound is appropriate by any standard of measurement, there are still a small percentage of congregants that would benefit from a set of free ear plugs. We refill this bin only once or twice a year and that’s taking into account that some kids think it’s candy 🙂

2. Buy a Backstage Tea Kettle For Your Singers

Christianity is a SINGING FAITH! Adding a affordable electric hot water kettle a great way to bless the singers of your worship team and encourage good vocal health! As I mention in the $200 Voice Lesson (free if you register to my newsletter), hydrating our bodies with room temperature and lukewarm fluids is crucial for a great vocal.

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Karl Vaters visits two churches who couldn’t have worshiped more differently:

There is no right format for worship.

This week I spoke at a ministers’ conference. In the closing commissioning service, most of the new ministers who came forward were wearing jeans and short-sleeved shirts. Those commissioning them were dressed the same.

As they laid hands on the new ministers, we were led in worship by a very loud rock band singing new songs, while a hipster performance artist painted a mural on a massive canvas, in a darkened room with black walls, strobe lights, fog machines and gigantic video screens.

It was glorious.

A few months ago I spoke at a different ministers’ conference. In their closing commissioning service, the new ministers stood up front wearing dark suits or dresses, as did those commissioning them.

As they laid hands on the new ministers, we were led in worship by a southern gospel choir singing old hymns in a brightly-lit, white-walled, pews-bolted-to-the-floor, marbled-columned sanctuary. There wasn’t a hipster, a rock band or a fog machine in sight.

And it was glorious.

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