3 Priorities When Preparing Music

By the time your Sunday services begin, thousands of decisions have been made—both macro and micro. In each of these deciding moments is an opportunity to be faithful, or not, to the purposes God has called us to. If we are to be faithful, we must set our priorities in order long before even the smallest decision is made.

Priority #1: Truth
As Paul says in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Truth from Scripture must be the framework and standard by which every other priority is subjected. If we have a gathering with killer music but no truth, we have a pointless gathering: we’ve led people astray by placing their focus on something far less important and valuable than a God who redeems broken sinners. The songs that we sing need to not only have the ability to stir affections (any pop song can do that), but also to teach. The choice of song can be as simple as “Agnus Dei” or as deep as “Before the Throne,” as long as it is shows our people who God is or who we are in light of him.

Priority #2: Corporate Response
If the songs we play are only true, but not singable, memorable, or enjoyable, our people will be far less likely to have their hearts stirred by the truths we are presenting. They will be distracted with trying to get around the music instead of into it. Songs that teach and admonish are best when they are SUNG! Jonathan Edwards says that what we see on the outside “is no sign one way or the other, that religious affections are very great, or raised very high.” Responsiveness is hard to gauge. Just because hands are in the air doesn’t mean hearts are being changed. At the same time, if everyone in the congregation is staring at your lyric slides like zombies, chances are their hearts aren’t being changed either. God looks at the heart, and whether corporate worship is a true reflection of the lives within our church or not, it will be seen by the fruit we bear in our day-to-day worship.

Priority #3: Musical Style, Arrangement, and Execution
When we gather to sing, the “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” are the means by which truth is prompting people to respond. Though this is our third priority, it is only because it is in subjection to priorities 1 and 2. The music serves truth and responsiveness. I say all of this because the medium matters.

http://theresurgence.com/2010/05/31/3-priorities-when-preparing-music

Elevation Worship

Get FREE charts, loops, downloads and tutorials on how to play songs by

ELEVATION WORSHIP.

God is Most Glorified When We are Most Dependant on Him

Some of us have been duped into thinking that the Christian life is meant to be lived in our own strength.

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We’re Westerners. We like to be strong. We grow up thinking that things depend on us and our abilities. We import all of this into our Christianity, we believe we’re meant to follow Jesus on the basis of our own resources.

In short, we settle for a natural life when we could be living a supernatural life.

We Don't Grow Out of Dependence
God calls his people to live supernatural lives, filled with the Holy Spirit—to live in expectant and full dependency on the living God, believing and trusting that what seems impossible to us is possible with God.

Just as a toddler is meant to depend on his father and mother for everything, we’re meant to depend on our heavenly Father for everything. Again, we’ve been duped. We thought we were supposed to grow out of this toddler phase. No. The whole of the Christian life is meant to look like the toddler phase in terms of dependency—we are to always depend on God for everything.

Why?

Because God is God and we are not.

Don't Settle for Independence
To live a natural life is to live a prideful life. When you live life based on your own resources, sight, and strength, you declare that you don’t need God.

“To live a supernatural life is to live a humble, thrilling, and God-honoring life."

”When you live life based on God’s resources, sight, and strength, you declare that God is God and you’re banking everything on his ability to come through.

Abel, Abraham, Caleb, Rahab, Gideon, Daniel, Nehemiah, Mary, the Apostle Paul, and the early Christians whose lives are recorded in the book of Acts all lived supernatural lives. Who they are and what they did makes no sense apart from radical dependence on God.

We were never meant to trust in our own five loaves and two fish. We are meant to live as though, at any moment, God can turn five loaves and two fish into something we never dreamed of.

Don’t settle for a natural life. Live a supernatural life. Read your Bible and see that that’s the only kind of life we’ve been called to live.

I believe that God is most glorified in us when we are most dependent on him. To the degree that you live dependent on yourself, you dishonor God. To the degree that you live dependent on God, you glorify God.

“I want to give God a lot of glory with my life. Don’t you?"

Let’s repent of our less-than-supernatural way of life. Let’s live supernatural lives. Let’s depend, supernaturally depend, on God.

Don't Settle for Your Visions
This is the heart of the gospel. The good news of the gospel comes to us in our complete inadequacy, a message of supernatural grace and transformation for the undeserving. That’s how the Christian life starts and it’s how the Christian life is meant to continue, knowing our inadequacy, and Christ’s total adequacy to forgive, satisfy, lead, help, supply, love, and move mountains.

I’m concerned about the loss of faith that moves mountains. I don’t think this is a faith intended for a select few. We know the living God, the God who calls us to live in light of the fact that he is real, sovereign, near, wise, good, and attentive to our prayers.

Could there be anything that the enemy is more eager to do in the Western world than trick us into living natural lives with smallish faith in a smallish God?

We’ve settled for me-sized visions for our lives and our churches when we’re meant to move forward with God-sized visions.

I’m done with me-sized living. I don’t know how I got to confusing Christianity with me-sized living, but I did. A few years ago I repented of that and asked God for the grace and power to trust him like he’s meant to be trusted. I’m figuring it out, having fun, and realizing that living a supernatural life is a lot more interesting that the life I once lived.

God is most glorified in us when we are most dependent on him.
God is most glorified in us when we are most dependent on him.
God is most glorified in us when we are most dependent on him.

"Beat that into your head. Beat that into your leadership. Don’t settle for anything less."


"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2

http://theresurgence.com/2012/04/02/god-is-most-glorified-in-us-when-we-are-most-dependent-on-him

Worship Tutorials

Looking to figure out how to play a specific song?  Do you need chord charts?  Maybe an instructional video might be helpful.  Check this site out for great tutorials and downloadable charts; all for free.  That's right, I said FREE. 

WORSHIPTUTORIALS.COM

Staying Healthy Emotionally and Spiritually

In Worship Ministry

Effective worship ministry is a challenge that few people, other than worship leaders themselves, completely understand. Not only are most of us juggling family and career obligations while we lead our faith communities in praise each week, we are also attempting to manage the preferences and demands of our congregations, pastors, musicians, singers, and others around us who are often quite vocal about their needs. But what happens if we neglect our own spiritual and emotional health in the process of serving others? Is it possible to maintain a balanced life and still be a great worship leader?

Stress Happens

Humans were designed by God to handle stress. When he placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, Adam was given an appropriate amount of work to accomplish. He named animals and tended the garden under God’s direction. Adam and Eve enjoyed the direct, unmediated fellowship of God in their pristine surroundings. When Adam chose to disobey God’s command, sin and death (think undue stress here) entered and God’s judgment resulted in their expulsion from Eden and the edict that they would now only eat of the earth through “painful toil” (Genesis 3:17). Thank you, Adam.

Stress, then, is not a bad thing, but part and parcel with the creation before and after the fall. Just like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was built to carry a certain amount of traffic each day without cracking or crumbling, we are built to bear a certain amount of weight as we work through life. Yet, many worship leaders are cracking and crumbling, showing signs of excessive wear and tear as they are weighed down with much more than they were designed to handle. Although it may be argued that stress is the natural state of man post-fall, we still need to ask, “What would be considered a state of hyper stress for us as worship leaders?” and “What can we do to stay healthy?”

Perhaps we should take a step back from the burden of the week-to-week duties for a moment to consider the greater design of God in the ordering of his Church. If Jesus is the “head of the church” (Eph 1:22), then we must believe that his “yoke is easy” and his “burden is light” (Mt 11:29), as he has promised. The tip off that we are doing too much in ministry is when life becomes unmanageable and we, or the people closest to us, are suffering. Our task, then, is to yoke up with him, to be more attentive to his direction in the load that we are willing to carry and to be aware of our own needs spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

Three Battlefields
As post-Eden earth dwellers, we find ourselves engaged in three arenas of battle: physical, emotional, and spiritual. As Christian believers we have learned much of the spiritual arena, yet often neglect the things that keep us strong in the Lord (Eph 6:18) such as prayer, personal worship, Bible study, and fasting. We often default to the pabulum of popular semi-biblical jingles on Christian radio and abdicate our daily fellowship with God for drive time devotionals. An authentic Christ-centered spirituality is much more than knowing all the lyrics to current praise songs. We would do well to re-engage with ancient liturgies, texts, and the classic spiritual disciplines to accompany our bevy of praise tunes.

When it comes to understanding the indissoluble link between our mortal bodies, spirit, and soul, there may be few books that stand up to Dallas Willard’s The Divine Conspiracy (HarperCollins, 1998). Our western penchant to compartmentalize ourselves into three separate elements of spirit, soul, and body is antithetical to Scripture, according to Willard, and we are impoverished for this viewpoint. If we are neglecting our bodies through over eating, lack of exercise, or some other thing, we are neglecting the very presence of God (see Paul in 1 Cor 12:27). Many worship leaders are suffering unduly because they are neglecting themselves physically. Why not take a walk today?

Perhaps the area where stress cracks show the most is in the emotional arena. Burnout, depression, anxiety, and many other symptoms are warning signals that we need some self-care or even professional care. Like the dashboard in your car or in the cockpit of an airplane, warning lights usually come on for a reason: to indicate low levels of fuel, oil, or some other vital element. When we are feeling chronically depressed, hyper-stressed, or burned out, more prayer may not be the answer; rather, a phone call to a biblically based counselor might be more appropriate. Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. God has placed in the Church many excellent counselors who are equipped to help you regain the emotional stability and health you need to continue to be a dynamic worship leader.

Healthy for the Long Haul

No one else can take responsibility for your health. I cannot swim laps for you or go out for a run to build your heart muscle. You have to get up off the couch, put down the fork, pick up the weights, and pump the iron. You have to open the Word, read it, meditate on it, and make it a vital part of your life. Though Adam abdicated the unmediated presence of God in the garden, God has made a way for you to re-engage with him by the indwelling of his Spirit. Now it is up to you to “draw close to God” (Js 4:8) in your own heart and seek him for yourself.

While church life and worship ministry are stressful, with the right perspective in mind and the willingness to do battle in these three arenas you can stay healthy and balanced to run this race with endurance (Heb 12:1).

Worship Leader Magazine: http://worshipleader.com/staying-healthy-emotionally-and-spiritually/

Breaking Out of the Worship Formula

Can you make authentic worship?

Growing up in a small Baptist church helped me learn something at an early age: Our gatherings as the Church tend toward formula. There are lots of reasons for it. It’s easier. It’s comfortable. It’s predictable. It fits inside of our “boxes.” It’s replicable. It allows us to attempt to recapture meaningful moments of the past.

But—like in all relationships—our encounters with God are meant to be progressive, not repetitive. That’s why I think I was so excited about the movement of a fresh approach to worship that was coming out of people like Martin Smith and Matt Redman in England in the early '90s and things like the Passion Movement here in the U.S. It wasn’t simply a stylistic change. It was something fresh in the expectation of the movement of God.

But now, 15 years and thousands of songs later, there seems to be a new homogeny throughout our churches and our worship gatherings. We’ve gotten to the point where we have made what was fresh into a formula once again. 


A familiar formula

Tell me if this sounds familiar for a worship song as played by the band at your church:

Loud intro.
 Come down for verse one.
 Hit it hard for the chorus.
 Keep it going hard up til the bridge.
 Drop out for the bridge. 
Build back into a loud bridge section.
 Come down for an ending chorus.
 Vamp low on the end (with some occasional builds).

This type of song formula takes people dynamically up for two minutes, down for one minute, back up, back down. It’s a constant roller coaster for the duration of the set.

There’s nothing wrong with this song structure, but it might point to a greater issue: Perhaps we’re relying on musical dynamics to elicit an emotional response more than we are pleading for the Holy Spirit to engage us in the spiritual realm.Obviously, the solution to what seems to be our new habitual formula is not another formula. But we should be aware of how songs really do affect us emotionally and how we can engage with God in different ways through a range of dynamics. It might help to think through what we think of as a time of “worship.” Are there times of celebration with the Lord as well as times of rest? Do we dwell on the joy of celebration and the peace of rest, or are those moments fleeting?

Who is worship for?

Ultimately, worship leaders are there to help foster moments where individuals can connect with God. And our goal as worshipers is to use that time to connect with God.

Sometimes, I think we get into the mindset that the worship is for the band—that we are present to allow the band to do what it wants or to help us hit an emotional high. There’s a time for high notes and guitar prowess, but it’s a matter of the chicken and the egg. Because those moments aren't all the time. It’s a continual balance of asking, “What is this moment calling for, and what will take us deeper?”

Music seems to be this strange thing that serves as a bridge between the natural and the supernatural. Because of that, our conversations about how to do what we do best involves both the earthly and the spiritual. It means not getting stale in what we think of as “worship.” But it also means fighting the temptation to judge whether or not the worship was “good” by criteria like, “They sang well” or, “That band was awesome.”

But the most important thing about worship is that it allows us to engage with God. It matters a lot less if everyone hits the right note, or if the band hits the right solo at exactly the right time or even if the particular song is the one you want to sing. What matters is if worship is providing you a space to connect with God—it’s not a formula or a series of easy answers. It’s letting God work through each of us to connect with Him both as individuals and as the Church.
 
Relevant Magazine:  http://m.relevantmagazine.com/god/worship/features/24146-breaking-out-of-the-worship-formula

Recruiting and Training New Members for Your Worship Team

Here are some guidelines I follow in recruiting new worship team members. The first six points apply to all worship team members and the last five points apply to worship team leaders.

Choose people who have a heart of worship.

Look for people who love God with all their heart, soul and strength. There is no substitute for this foundation. Out of that heart flows genuine worship and a desire to be a team player. These are the kind of people I want to raise up into leadership—people whose lives are devoted to Christ, His Church and His cause in the world.

Choose people who are full of zeal to serve.

Don’t mess around with people who aren’t ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. When a developing leader is full of energy to serve and grow, they have an appetite to learn. They’re not picky about the tasks they are given. They come early to meetings and stay late to absorb all they can.

In the various churches and meetings where I’ve led worship, I’ve played with all levels of musicians—everything from great players who have done lots of recordings to inexperienced players. I really don’t mind undeveloped ability as long as the attitude (in the Christian sense of the term) is professional. A person with a professional attitude shows up on time, takes seriously his or her responsibility, doesn’t pretend to know everything, pays attention during rehearsal and wants to fit into the big picture.

Choose people who are loyal and willing to follow your leadership.

You can’t lead people that don’t want to follow you. They decide who their leader is. Attitude is everything. The apprentice must be willing and eager to learn from the mentor. The most fruitful mentoring relationships I’ve had are those in which both parties have a mutual desire to cooperate as co-workers.

Choose people who are integrated into your church community.

Worship leaders are formed within community—by pastors, leaders and worship leaders—and by the hard knocks of life. I impart worship leading principles, but I depend on the power of the Church to form people into mature leaders. Worship leaders are, first of all, Christians; secondly, they are musicians. A lifestyle of worship encompasses everything from feeding the poor to setting up P.A. systems to leading a worship set.

Choose people who have musical ability

If you’re in a small church, you should start by looking for anyone who can play the right chords, keep rhythm pretty well and sing on pitch most of the time. If you’re in a big church, you can be much more selective—choosing people who are highly skilled. In a medium-sized church, you will probably have a combination of skilled musicians and beginners who have talent that is developing. Regardless of the size of your church and skill level of your team members, you can have a spiritually rich worship ministry. Don’t ever let the spirit and heart of worship be lost in a quest for a polished performance.

Release people into positions of responsibility gradually.

I’ve made the mistake of giving people too much responsibility, too quickly and watched those musicians and singers struggle because they weren’t ready for heavier responsibility. Ask someone to lead worship one time or to play an instrument in a rehearsal before they play in a worship service. Don’t give them a permanent or even a semi-permanent position at first. If they are called to a greater scope of ministry, they will first be “faithful with little things.”

Read more at: http://worshipleader.com/finding-timothys/

Confessions of a Former Worship Leader

What is our worship music really pointing to?

Growing up as the oldest son of a pastor, as well as a trained musician, the use of music as an expression of worship has been an integral piece of my church experience. I can vividly remember, as an eager fifth-grader, my excitement and anticipation over the opportunity to play bass guitar in a worship band for the first time. From that point on, as I became competent on instruments such as guitar and piano, my life would become dominated by musical, corporate worship. Whether it was at summer youth camps, university chapel services, informal gatherings around a campfire or meetings at newly planted churches, I happily assumed the title of “worship leader.”

For many years I felt no need to carefully examine how I approached corporate worship in the church. After all, I loved playing music, I seemed to be an effective leader and I was happily giving my talents back to God. However, I eventually realized it was not that simple.

As a freshman at a Christian university, I spent the majority of that first year “church shopping.” I quickly became enamored with one of the church communities near my university campus; its seeker-sensitive approach, flashy light shows and blaring music created an exciting change of pace for a straight-laced pastor’s kid. The worship leader this particular morning nailed the Christian rock-star image: good looks, styled hair, faded jeans and an expensive acoustic guitar. About halfway through the second song, I noticed an unused microphone, which was set-up at approximately his waist level. “What purpose could that serve?” I wondered in a quick moment of curiosity, and then I quickly raised my hands and lost myself in the tunes. The sound was mixed wonderfully, the vocals were outstanding and the set of music was carefully constructed to serve as a powerful crescendo to the last song: “Hungry” by Kathryn Scott. As the leader belted out the final refrain—I’m falling on my knees, offering all of me—he acted on his words and literally fell to his knees. It was at this point that the aforementioned unused microphone came into play. It was preemptively placed at the perfect height and angle so the leader would be able to sing while on his knees without stopping his guitar-playing.
 
Read the rest of this article at:  http://m.relevantmagazine.com/god/worship/features/23692-confessions-of-a-former-worship-leader

Re-thinking the Words of Worship

Are we thinking about what we say to God during worship?

You scratch your head, you look around, and you ask your friend, “Wait, what did he just sing?” You just heard a theological lapse from the mouth of the well-intentioned worship leader. Somewhere in the middle of that epic bridge he declared, “Thank You, Father, for dying on the cross for my sins.” Wait, shouldn’t he have said the Son? You stare straight ahead trying to remember if you overslept the morning the church leaders voted to change the church’s position on the Godhead.

We’ve all experienced this to some degree in that dimly lit sanctuary—surrounded by outstretched arms, eyes closed tight, and voices lifted in song. Perhaps our faux pas included something other than an absent-minded misrepresentation of the Trinity: maybe we came just shy of Will Ferrell’s dinner table prayer in Talladega Nights when he praised that sweet little baby boy in a golden manger up there in heaven. We must realize our worship leaders teach us as much about God and our relationship with Him as our preachers do. The only difference—worship leaders use songs, words and prayers.

The words we sing unite our hearts, our minds, and our congregations in the vertical and visceral act of worship. Songs and Scripture serve as vehicles to the throne of the Almighty. Worship leaders have the task of pointing people in the right direction.

 
Read the full article by Relevant Magazine:  http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/worship/features/25963-rethinking-the-words-of-worship

hope.glory – challenging worship perceptions and practices in Salvation Army gatherings

By Phil Laeger

As I write this, I’m listening to the near final mix of our live worship recording that took place in November of last year. I can’t wait to release the album and DVD. This project is—for me anyway—the culmination of the hopes and dreams and prayers and tears and frustrations and vexations and sweat and optimism and roadblocks and open doors of the past 10 years. Wow. Maybe I need to unpack that run-on sentence a little…

I have been so privileged to be part of music ministry in The Salvation Army over the past nearly 15 years. It has been a great journey and the groups I have played in and led have been given incredible leeway in a lot of ways. We’ve led worship at youth councils and conferences, camps, retreats, etc, etc. Some of those times have been life transforming for me. We have seen people give their life to Christ, people broken free of addiction, people transformed in a very real way by the power of God in worship. It has been humbling to be used by God in that way. We have had extended times of energetic praise and extended times of reverent and precious worship, dripping with the presence of God.

Read the rest of the article at:  http://www.phillaeger.com/hope-glory-challenging-worship-perceptions-and-practices-in-salvation-army-gatherings/

StudyBass.com

Yes, for all you wonderful low-end boom providers.  Today I bring you a website I came across just last week.  A comprehensive step by step curriculum on how to play bass.  I love it.  Very detailed. 

How to EQ

Hopefully I find more resources on this subject or we can create some regarding sound. Many times I know we try to EQ our sound as best we can, but sometimes we just do not have the trained staff to do so. Here is a video outlining a few tips on EQ for vocalists and guitarists.  In order for our congregations to have a distraction-free worship experience we need to make sure our sound is tight and pleasant to the ears.

Being Real is a Big Deal (Part 2)

by Major Warren Dabis

Praise and Worship has always been about God and to God! What are the obstacles you are placing in front of yourself and your team as you worship God? Is it hidden sin that leads to hypocrisy as you sing or play? Is it an ego that places you above others and God as you sing or play? Is it an attitude that tells your peers, “I’m up here and you’re not” or something worse? Is it that you have an unresolved conflict with a peer that prevents them from accepting your leadership in worship? Is it that you want everyone to see you wear the latest fashions rather than seeing Christ in you? And on and on…

Let us be as David in Psalm 51: 10 – 13: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

The progression here is a pure heart, the renewal of a steadfast spirit, a purposeful relationship with God, accomplished through an intimate, personal experience with the Holy Spirit. Consequently, this results in a joyful restoration of the state of salvation and a willing spirit to continue that state!

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.”

Then, this progression is expressed in who we are (authenticity) to those in our sphere of influence!

Being “real” is a ‘big” deal!

Being Real is a Big Deal (Part 1)

by Major Warren Dabis

I recently commented on a posting in this blog of a young lady in our Praise and Worship team that came to me to ask to not sing on a particular Sunday morning saying she was not right with the Lord. I had shared this with a group of WMI students and one young man quipped, “What’s the big deal? She was your lead soprano and you needed her! What is Praise and Worship without a lead singer to sing the melody for the congregation?” Good questions and I needed to clarify this before he went back to his Corps team!

Being real or authentic in our Praise and Worship is a big deal! Bigger than our “tight” vocals or instrumentalists, “big” sound, “best” equipment” and “great” lead vocalist! Ooops, and maybe “right on” worship leader! Being authentic is essential to Praise and Worship whether we stand behind our instruments or microphones because we stand before a holy and jealous God in leading people in worship of Him! Someone has said to me, “Be careful what you say (or sing) in His presence!” Our recovering friends say it even better, “You gotta walk the walk as well as talk the talk!” And I say, “You cannot give away what you do not have!”

Authenticity is being who you are! And if we are leading people in worship of God, we had best be “His own!” I want to get into this in another article about being transparent 24/7, but in a nutshell we as worship musicians and leaders need to know and experience intimately the One we are praising and worshipping! Anne Ortland, in her book, Up with Worship: A Call to Quit Playing Church, calls us “Upfronters.” This does mean that we lead from upfront! However, I believe we lead and praise and worship God from the “inside out.” What we do behind the mics and our instruments, must be an indication of what is taking place “inside” of us!

Click here to read Part 2

The Praise and Worship in Praise and Worship

written by Major Warren Dabis

As a worship leader for over 30 years, I have had the privilege in leading worship teams in Corps, Divisional, Territorial and International venues. I have also taught workshops and seminars at these levels and have answered many questions about Praise and Worship. The most intriguing to me came from a young lady, a very diligent student of worship and the worship leader at her Corps. She asked me, “Where is the Praise and Worship in Praise and Worship?” After a moment of pause, I exclaimed, “Excellent question!” and answered: “Praise and Worship is STILL in Praise and Worship!” Let me explain my answer to her as well as to you!

Praise and Worship is just that: Praise and Worship. We in the Salvation Army of that tradition will know this as leading our congregations in the worship of God through contemporary Christian songs and choruses with guitars, keyboards drums and vocalists.

Praise and Worship is still a vital aspect of this tradition, however, the main question is: WHO are we praising and WHO are we worshipping? Praise and Worship teams should be leading their congregations in the worship of God. However, much too often, these teams are praising and worshipping themselves!

This can be characterized by listening after the service to the congregation: “Wow! The music was fantastic and really made me feel good!” “The guitar riff in the second song was outta this world.” “Where in the world did you find your drummer? Incredible rhythm!” If this is happening in your Corps, it is a tell-tale sign that you may be leading your congregation in praising and worshipping you and your team and not God! And of course, this is idolatry!

As Christians, we sometimes are like the people of the Old Testament in 2 Kings 17:33: “They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.” We do all the right things on Sunday-we sing and play, lift our hands and look the part. However, we actually praise and worship idols - ourselves and anything that makes us look and be the part even more and more!

Many of us think idols are graven, carved or man-made images of some long-lost and forgotten so-called deity that we would never, ever worship! But what about name brand and designer clothing? The best guitars, musical or audio/visual equipment? And what of material goods; property, wealth, cars, houses. Exodus 34:14 reminds us: “Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

You may be asking yourself: “How could I possibly be worshipping idols when I devote myself to Praise and Worship every Sunday and at practices?” Yes, you may not be worshipping graven idols. America’s idols are a bit more subtle, which I believe makes them a bit more dangerous! Stop listening to people giving you the glory that truly belongs to God! Tell them to give God the glory! Then live lives worthy of being used to bring glory to God through your talents and abilities as Christian musicians!

A Few Recommendations (Part 3 of 3)

Prepare Yourself
The next thing I want to talk about is sheet music. If you watch your favorite guitar player in concert, they aren’t going to walk on stage with a music stand and all their charts. They take the time and effort to memorize all the music and words. If rock stars can do this for money, why shouldn’t we do it for God? Try and memorize your music! Then you don’t have to flip anything, you don’t have to cart around charts and you aren’t providing distractions for the congregation.

Whenever you get on the platform at your corps and get ready to practice or lead, try to remember these things. Your ministry is incredibly important so you need to make sure you are prepared for it. Practice everyday, improve and give God all the glory!

Resources for Bass Players

What can I say?  I have a special place in my heart for bass players.  The ones who lay down that nice neat foundation that drives the song forward.  You might not often take center stage, but without that low-end songs just lack body and depth.  Here is a great bass resource for you:  ActiveBass.com

This site has something for bass players of all levels.  Track and Line Builders, scale finders, lessons, articles, tips, tabs and more!

Have fun and build some funky bass-lines!

Traits

What are some important characteristics of worshippers (in this instance I mean singers, musicians, worship leaders etc.)?  A popular quote comes to mind. "always preach the gospel and if necessary use words."  It's no different in worship.  If we are going to step up and sing/play an instrument/lead worship in a congregation, we must demonstrate worship in our lives and be an example of it, just as Jesus said he "set an example" of being servants in John 13:15. 

I thought about it for a bit this morning and found this verse in my Bible:  "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12)

Be an Example in Speech:

We need to be wise about what comes out of our mouths.  If you lead worship, make sure you are biblically prepared and that you have prayed so that you are sure that what you are going to say is correct and comes from God.  Secondly ALL OF US need to make sure our daily conversations reflect the message of the songs we sing in worship.  Proverbs 12:18 says "...the tongue of the wise brings healing."  So make sure to stay away from gossip, hurtful conversations or speech, and profanity.  This includes our comments on Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Be an Example in Life:

We need to have Kingdom priorities.  Do we store up treasures here on Earth? The bible says that our heart is where our treasure is stored (Matthew 6:19-21).  Many of us look for fame, popularity, recognition, and even status as musicians.  Jesus said, "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33) So let's set our hearts on the Kingdom of God; God will take care of the rest.

Be an Example in Love:

We sing about God's love.  We must demonstrate this love in our lives:  We must love VERTICALLY (God) and HORIZONTALLY (our fellow man) genuinely and let it reflect in our lives. If our congregation can see God's love reflected in our daily lives, and a passion to serve and proclaim Jesus on and off the stage, they will truly be open to following us into worship.  When the congregation feels that we genuinely love them as well, they will more willingly worship with us.

Be an Example of Faith:

Worshippers need to have faith and grow in the faith.  How is this accomplished?  By studying God's word, and spending time with God.  When we have a deep understanding of God, this is transmitted to the congregation.  We must continually grow and constantly try to know God more.

Be an Example of Purity:

As worshippers we must reflect Jesus' character.  Nothing wrecks our credibility more than moral compromise.  Our lives must reflect a moral purity.  This means we should know our moral standard (God's Word) and live in obedience to God.  When we know God and live our lives in worship to Him we seek to please him in everything we do.  We can live our lives in such a way that people will not have anything negative to say about us.  Titus 2:7-8

Some resources adapted from "The Complete Worship Leader" by Kevin J. Navarro

Just for Drummers

If you are a drummer there is a lot of pressure riding on you to keep the beat, be consistent with tempo, and do really cool fills.  Check out this Drum Clinic Library by Drummer World.  It has drum lessons by some of the world's best drummers teaching you their moves step by step.

Wonder

"Most high, most excellent, most potent, most omnipotent; most piteous and most just; most hidden and most near; most beauteous and most strong, stable, yet contained of none; unchanging, yet changing all things; never new, never old; making all things new, yet bringing old age upon the proud and they know it not; always working, yet ever at rest; gathering, yet needing nothing; sustaining, pervading, and protecting; creating, nourishing, and developing; seeking, and yet possessing all things."1.

If you skipped over that last paragraph I suggest you read it over carefully.  There is an incredible sense of wonder in it, as though when St Augustine spoke it he couldn't contain his awe toward God. 

In a world where every bit of information is at our fingertips and everything can be explained it's easy to lose our child-like wonder at who God is and what he does in our lives.  But we must never forget the GREATNESS of God if we are to worship Him sincerely.  In Job 36:26 it says "Behold, God is great, and we do not know him."  Can we ever know God or even explain him completely?  No of course not.  That's where wonder comes in.  Paul wrote in Roman 11:33 "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgements and His ways past finding out!"

When you have your devotional time, or when you go up on that stage to play an instrument or to sing, remember to revel in God's wonder.  Express your sincere praise to the Creator of it all and stand amazed at his awesomeness.

1.The Confessions of St. Augustine, in A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol.1