How I Audition New Team Members
Whether you have always had auditions or couldn’t imagine ever subjecting new folks to them, we all must assess where new people’s skills are and how they fit (or don’t) with our current team.
Welcome to week two of the 10-week series on how each of the Five Faders thinks about the tasks we all need to accomplish. You can read the overview here.
I’m going to think of the audition process broadly.
Artist.
I audition like I’m walking into an antique store to find one specific treasure. I’m not casually window-shopping. I know exactly what I’m looking for. So when we meet one on one, I want you to bring your gear, a favorite song, and your true heart and passion. I want you to share what makes you come alive in making music and worshiping the Lord. And then I don’t want you to hold back. Let’s make music together. Hey, I wouldn’t be surprised if we write a song at your audition. Not because you’re auditioning to be on our songwriting team, but because if you’re on our team, you’ll be on our songwriting team.
Shepherd.
Just so you know, this will be very low-pressure. I mean it. I love that you want to explore joining the worship team, and I take your time seriously. I don’t have a cookie-cutter process because you are an individual who brings something unique to us. So your audition process should be unique. I want to know what your personality is like. Have you done any of the tests - enneagram, Myers-Briggs, DISC, those cute animals? We must know ourselves so we can understand each other.
So for your audition, we’ll want to explore the things you’re really comfortable doing and the ones you feel totally “I hate this moment!” doing. When we decide to walk together, we decide to grow. It’s just the way healthy families are!
Priest.
I want to see how you play and sing, but because being worshipers is the most important thing, I’m inviting you to more of an impromptu worship time than a “stand up on stage all alone” audition. I want you to describe who God is to you. I want you to tell me how you have cultivated your simple love and pure devotion to Jesus in hiddenness. Then let’s worship through three or four songs together. I’ll bring two, and you bring two.
Educator.
My goal for our worship team is to be well-equipped, competent, and confident as we serve. Most people find it difficult to quantify what makes a “good” player or singer. I’ve broken it down into a clear set of skills we work at mastering to become the best version of ourselves. For example, a bass player needs to know how to play whole, half, and quarter notes, play the right notes, play in time, play in tune, play to a click, play slides, play major scales, play in sync with the kick drum, replicate tutorials, have good tone (minimal buzz and little fret noise), create basic parts, play in different styles, play by ear, transpose on the fly, etc. Now, nobody shows up with all that at 100%. So our audition will be more of an evaluation. It will say, “right now, you’re at X spot in each of these skills.” Then we’ll finish by putting a plan together to help you develop in each necessary area. And look, if you’re too undeveloped in too many skills to be on the team right now, no problem. We’ll help you get the training you need until you are.
Producer.
Three times each year, we have open audition nights. We post those dates at the beginning of each year. You can sign up on our church’s website, and you’ll automatically be sent a packet via email. It will contain the recordings and chord charts you need, plus all the instructions to help you prepare. For example, one of the songs we always use for auditions is the 2011 classic 10,000 Reasons. Having one song that we always include allows us to use it as a benchmark. It also allows you to make it your own, bringing something interesting and creative to the audition. After your 22-minute time slot, our team will discuss our experience and let you know five minutes later what category you’re starting in:
You’re not quite ready to serve in this role, but here are three things you can do before your next audition.
You meet our basic skill requirements, and these are the five skills to work on. We’ll pair you with a mentor for the first six times you’re on the team.
With your experience and investment, you’re ready to start serving right away. Stacy will get you added to our online system and give you the next steps.
Next week, we’ll learn how each Fader schedules their team effectively!
-Dave Helmuth
(purchase my book, "Worship Fertilizer: (the first hundred)" HERE)
How I Audition New Team Members (Nº 323)
