Three Things

You heard this if you joined the 175 worship team members at Saturday’s worship workshop. But it bears repeating.

You’ve told your team. You’ve heard your leader say this. I will now lovingly bang the same gong.

These are three basics that worship team members need regular reminders of. They aren’t the only important things but a vital part of the foundation.

They are timeliness, preparedness, and hiddenness.

Timeliness

One clear way to honor somebody is to show up at the time you agreed on. There’s nothing quite like waiting for someone at a table in a restaurant. The server brings you water and a menu. You clarify that you’re waiting for someone else. They check back a few minutes later. And a few minutes later. And you start to feel awkward. Then worried. Maybe resentful or angry. It’s not fun. Do your teammates feel that way when they wait for you to arrive at rehearsal? Honor them by making it your intention to be timely and to show up on time. Your team is worth your effort.

Preparedness

I have a favorite phrase: “Ready by Rehearsal.” It’s how I want to show up and how I want my team to show up. Study the music. Learn your part. Be prepared to replicate the recording in your own way. Don’t be that guy freaking out because he only listened to the song on the way to rehearsal, and it’s a hard song that relies heavily on his instrument! I always want to give my team everything they need with ample time for them to fit the necessary preparation into their full lives. And when your leader goes through the trouble of creating or providing a rehearsal mix with your instrument up in the mix, take the time to study it.

There are two general approaches to music-making. One tribe plays what they feel, plays through the chord chart, and improv’s their way through. The other tribe replicates. They study the recording or score and learn a particular part for each song. True musicianship blends those two approaches. Go through the discipline of replicating the part, and then express it in your voice, appropriate to your band and church context. Your congregation is worth the effort.

Hiddenness

By far, the most important one of these three is hiddenness. What is hiddenness? Hiddenness is your life with God that no one else sees. It’s your devotional life, your time searching the scriptures. It’s building intimacy with Jesus. It’s hearing the Holy Spirit and responding. It’s worshiping the LORD with your instrument when you’re not planning, preparing, or practicing - you’re singing to Jesus for… no apparent reason.

We must build this into our lives over and over and over and over and over. We must prioritize this. I’m dead serious. Nothing will affect your effectiveness in leading worship than hiddenness. Developing your life in the secret place, like David on the hillside with his sheep, will give you authority and confidence. You’ll actually have something worthwhile to say if you’ve been with God in your prayer closet. Your Savior is eternally worth the effort!

Ps. If you were at the Worship Workshop, would you complete a super short survey? https://www.adlibmusic.com/survey

-Dave Helmuth
(purchase my book, "Worship Fertilizer: (the first hundred)" HERE)

Three Things (Nº 427)