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/

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

A Few Recommendations (Part 2 of 3)

Balance Your Group
Most guitar amplifiers are about 2 feet tall and sit on the floor. As a result, the sound hits the back of our knees and we think we are too quiet. So, we turn it up and the vocalists complain so you turn it down…it’s a vicious cycle.

There are a couple things you should do to fix this. First off, realize that your part is rarely the most important. The congregation is singing and therefore the singers are the most important. It’s difficult to admit but true. However, this doesn’t mean they are always right about the levels. The second thing is to bring someone else in to listen. Sit someone in the pews so they can listen and let you know what the congregation is hearing. Balancing is a huge part of the playing experience, so do it right!

A Few Recommendations (Part 1 of 3)

Hello readers. My name is Israel Doria and I will be posting helpful tips and techniques for the guitar about once a month. However, today I’m just going to give you some recommendations not all to do with your playing.

Speak to Your Audience
As guitar players, we are usually trying to excel; to find more difficult music and play faster licks. I strongly encourage you to continue pressing on and try to learn something new every day. But when you get up on the platform on Sunday, your motives need to be different. When you play for a congregation, you are their spiritual leader and like any leader, you must cater to their needs.

If your congregation wants Hillsong, play them some Hillsong. But if your congregation wants 20 year old Hallelujah Chorus songs then that’s what you need to play to lead them in worship. Later on you may try and ease them into the 21st century but you can never forget their needs.