I asked this question a year and a half ago, let’s see if anything’s changed since then!
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Should We Play Music Behind People Praying?
Worship thinker Bob Kauflin shares his thoughts on the subject of worship underscoring:
Someone in my church recently sent me an email asking why we play music behind different portions of the Sunday meeting (prayers, baptisms, readings, etc.). It’s a good question. We can be influenced by our musically addicted culture, as well as our traditions and practices, to believe it’s impossible for God’s Spirit to move in people’s hearts apart from music. That kind of thinking makes music a mediator rather than a means. God can use music to do his work. But he doesn’t need music to do his work. Continue reading.
10 Organizations Creating Great Worship Music
Catalyst director Brad Lomenick lists his top picks for worship music:
Here are some organizations (churches primarily), that in my opinion, are writing, creating, singing and releasing great songs for the entire Church around the world to sing. This is not an exhaustive list or a top ten list. Just wanted to provide this so you will be able to check out all of their music and maybe include some of their songs into your rotation and put on your iTunes list. Continue reading.
The Secret Multiracial Churches Know About Music
So you want to have a multiracial, multicultural church. Music, you decide, is an important vehicle to get there.
But what type of music? This is the core question of Gerardo Marti’s fascinating new book, Worship Across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation (Oxford University Press), and one that occupies the minds of many a Christian leader attempting to do multiethnic ministry.
Marti’s answer is shocking.
After carefully studying twelve successfully integrated churches, he came to a clear conclusion:
It doesn’t matter what type(s) of music.
Death by Comment Card!
Death by comment card would come every Monday morning. The comment cards were processed for our 10 AM staff meetings. All staff, including support staff, saw these cards. Some of the most important items would be there to follow up on such as prayer requests, first-time attendees, and spiritual decisions. But, there would also be the dreaded notes about worship services. It seemed we trained our congregation to actually vote and communicate through a suggestion box rather than face-to-face dialog.
This pinnacled the day when a board member began putting his unhappy notes about worship on the cards for all the staff to read. It took some coaxing, but I finally sat down with him in the Christian version of Switzerland–i.e., Starbucks–for a chat. It is amazing how we as people change our tone, wording, and stance when facing people in real life. It was a fruitful talk, even though I realized that I could not satisfy him since I was following the pastor’s orders that he did not agree with. A tight rope is what many worship leaders have to walk.
In another church, one of my favorite comment cards had a drawing of a baby crying and said, “The music so loud it makes Jesus cry.” No joke. On top of the hand drawn illustration, there was an additional letter stapled that clarified exactly how worship services were to be designed, including directives on decibel levels. My cell phone number was public. In that setting I had the ability to easily chat before or after services or during the week. Instead, the comment card came my way. I guess it would have been harder to describe baby Jesus crying in person.
In the past, I have heard everything from how evil synthesizers are to how women should not show wear open-toed shoes on the platform. “Don’t make us stand.” “It is too loud.” And, another on the same weekend would say, “It does not rock enough, turn it up.” “You (worship leader) do not look like you are worshipping.” To the wonderfully political, “Many of my friends have been saying…” You cannot please everyone. In fact, most know this. We only really think of ourselves first, even though this is not our goal as Christians.
Pastors who help their worship leaders filter feedback are a gift to both their worship leader and their congregation. Feedback is critical. But, living on the whim of everyone’s preference breeds insanity and keeps a church immature. Conflict is good, but it is what we do with everyone not getting their way that matters. How many style-themed venues you launch, or multiple services you lead will not solve immaturity.
Here are some bits of wisdom learned from both successes and failures I have been a part of in dealing with feedback and comment cards:
- Clarify the “win” for a worship service. This means style, and visible goals are agreed upon and communicated. It is so much easier to respond to a volume complaint that is more about style preference if it is clear what the goal is. Are the leaders involved all on the same page with style and goals for the weekend service?
- Develop a filter for feedback. Not everyone needs to see all the feedback. Critics are helpful, even if they might be misbehaving. However, it would help to have a policy of how to deal with these. Is it the job of the worship leader to be a customer service person? What happens when a church member is not satisfied? Are you OK with people not agreeing with your direction?
- Take a poll or have a forum if there proves to be a disconnect. If the feedback is strong, frequent, and relentless then you do have to figure out what the disconnect is. Gather intel by taking a poll to find the attitudes and to clarify the discussion. Then, schedule some chats to listen. Leaders have to change direction at at times and sometimes even strategic passions stop working. Are you willing to listen…for real?
- Moderate expectations to reality. Teach people that being a part of church is not about them liking everything. The comment card can teach that if you use it incorrectly. Disappointment occurs when an expectation is not met. The longer a person is part of a church, the less excited they will be. Why? Any relationship takes work. Are you willing to re-frame how people think when it comes to their personal preferences in worship?
- Challenge people to differentiate between conscience and preference. Preferences are like food. It is not wrong when we have many differing opinions about what spices we like. Church people forget this and sometimes make everything an issue of conscience. An issue of conscience is where you have to draw battle lines. Are you willing to burst the bubbles of faulty fights?
The goal of all of these is to create a culture where helpful dialog can lead to action that benefits all. Leaders are people who learn how to frame a conversion, listening intently to the context they lead within. Sometimes a strategy has to be tweaked. Other times it has to be scrapped. Worship leading is not all the different in this way.
In 4 Sentences, John Wesley Teaches You How To Sing In Church
“Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he comes in the clouds of heaven.” Continue reading.
Patriotic Yes or No?
Growing up in the Baptist Church we’d go all out for July 4th with a full-fledged cantata, waving flags and veterans dressed up in their uniforms.
These days some contemporary churches are uncomfortable mixing worship with patriotism and make no mention of patriotic holidays in their services. Pulling off a big patriotic musical is out of the question anyway because families are so much busier now in the summer than even twenty years ago. Choirs disband for the summer and I know the headaches of scheduling praise team members during the vacation months.
Why not try something simpler – touch on a patriotic holiday but don’t let it be the focus of your service. Most worship media companies have short, patriotic-themed videos that would work great as an opener or offertory.
You might kick off your service with an upbeat patriotic tune, stop for welcome and announcements then continue with your regular praise set.
You can give the patriotic holiday a spiritual thrust and use it as a time to uphold our leaders in prayer. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”
In my Patriotic collection I have a congregational prayer section in the middle of the praise set. Try selecting 2 or 3 people and suggest they each pray for a specific topic – servicemen and women from the congregation, peace, political figures, etc. This will help shift your congregation’s minds away from any secular and political baggage and focus their minds on things above.
Take the poll: Do You Use Patriotic Music In Your Service?
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