Rhythm is gonna get you

The funniest thing happened the other night while I was out on a triple date. We were at a Jamaican themed restaurant when the house band started to play a little music. My husband, not a church-goer, commented that Reggae music reminds him of church music. I didn't quite get that until the band went from playing a secular tune to playing How Great is Our God and then How Great Thou Art. "See!" said my husband.

Guess that goes to show that you might hear a praise in an unlikely place. I should've told my hubby you can run, but you can't hide.

Blessings

The dynamics delimma

If you want to have a successful team, there is one thing that cannot be ignored: team dynamics. Bad team dynamics are one of the life-suckers of church auxiliaries.  I think this is one of the main reasons people choose not to participate or join a team. They feel like they can't or won't fit in.

Team dynamics are a critical element in building/running a praise team. It's not enough that people have some musical acuity. You need people who work well together. One of the key pieces that is often overlooked is the willingness of team members to follow the direction of the leader. This is not to say that you can't have an opposing opinion. In the end, however, the leader was appointed for a reason and all others need to fall in line with the leader, as they follow Christ and the pastor.

People who are demanding, abrasive, lack humbleness, are chronically tardy, aren't 100% committed, don't follow instructions, and/or are always telling others what to do, make it difficult for a group to function well. These behaviors are detrimental and often cause dysfunction and grumbling within the team. I think as a culture, we glorify drama like this, but it has no place in the house of God and certainly not on my praise team.

I can hear you now "That's just how Sis. So and So is." My response to that is she can be like that, just not on my praise team. If that means we have a praise team with one less person, so be it. I prefer peace and order to having more members.

As leaders, when roles are not clearly defined and expectations are not communicated, the overall work suffers. The team leader sets the expectations of what behaviors are tolerable or not. If we choose to ignore certain behaviors, we have by default allowed that behavior to become acceptable. Being a leader sometimes means having to have difficult conversations to make the team better.

Let's not ruin our teams, by having members that don't work well with others. I think it's better to have a team where everyone is respectful toward one another and work together in love, than it is to have a team full of people who can saaaang, but are high maintenance. Please believe, ain't nobody got time for that!

Blessings

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord o my soul ) - Matt Redman (with Lyrics)

Sharing a great song I heard on the radio recently. Enjoy!

Praise team - party of one

"Being a worship leader, as you know, is a lot. You have to be there when no one is there. You try to push your vocal vision, but sometimes it doesn't work out. Not to mention the congregation pulling on you, but it's all fun..."

This is part of a text that I got from my district music director about what it means to be a worship leader.

Since most of you are probably on the P&W team or are the main leader, you know this quote is 100% true.

How many times have you had to lead worship with most of your team not there? How many times have you lead worship when half of the congregation is late and misses half of the set? How many times did you have a song you wanted to sing (or sang) that tanked? How many times have you lead worship when the congregation seemingly was not in a worshiping mindset? And don't you feel like the weight of the entire service hangs on your shoulders? I know I do.

Being a worship leader is a huge responsibility. In cases like mine, where you didn't have a desire to lead, but are placed in the position, it's difficult to muster up the umph to deal with it all. But in the words of my pastor "the work of the Lord requires work!"

Some times, the best you can do is be an awesome party of one. Lead by example. Make sure you're where you're supposed to be. Sing the best you can. Work as unto the Lord. Galatians 6:9 admonishes us to "... not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Blessings

Vertical Church Band - Spirit of the Living God (Music Video)

My aunt shared this song with me and now I'm sharing with you. Love it. Enjoy!

And it don't stop

A big shout out to all my new subscribers who signed up for the blog at the #UPCAG conference!

Now let's get started.

What did I learn about praise and worship (P&W) while attending our national conference? The beat goes on. (In my Whispers voice - I added the link for the sake of my "new school" readers.)

People don't show, the beat goes on.
Tracks don't play, the beat goes on.
Mics don't work, the beat goes on.
Attitudes flare, the beat goes on.


Bottom line: it don't stop!

Our special musical guest had the worst time with audio, but she pressed through with grace. The mics weren't to our musical director's likings, but everyone kept going. There were people who normally sing on the praise team who didn't (myself included), yet there was still a praise team.

Regardless of the of the obstacles we might encounter, we have to keep going when we are leading others into worship because whether we do or we don't, the "show" will still go on. As praise team leaders/members, it's our job to set the atmosphere and we can't do that if we decide to quit or have an attitude because things don't go right. Let's continue to press toward the mark!

Blessings

What Taya Smith of Hillsong knows about leading worship

 If anyone knows anything about leading P&W, Taya Smith does! The following is what she posted to the Hillsong Worship Website:

1. The difference between preparing and not preparing is MASSIVE.
Apart from knowing the songs and learning the lyrics, setting aside time to prepare my heart before God is the most important thing — it allows the Holy Spirit to speak, puts a verse on my heart, and gives me ideas.

Setting aside time to prepare my heart before God is the most important thing...

2. Receive constructive feedback.
From those around you who have been doing this for longer than you. I want to lead people the best way I can each time, plus I don’t know everything so I need to remain humble and teachable. SEE ALSO: 10 THINGS I’VE LEARNED ABOUT LEADING A CREATIVE TEAM (#11 IS MY FAVOURITE)
3. Have a plan.
If you don’t play an instrument, grab the Music Director, or a musician and together, figure out the keys of the songs you’ve chosen, any potential creative moments you might have, specific transitions, etc. That way you have a plan in place that has been practiced, but you also have flexibility to change if you feel to do so.
4. Have an opinion.
Especially if you’re a co-worship leader. When the senior worship leader asks you what you think of a song, idea, or moment – have something to contribute! You could have a great idea that no one has thought of yet.
5. Run your song list by someone else.
I always get a second eye to look over my list, just to make sure it’s the strongest and most relevant it can be. This can mean you may need to tailor a song list to a specific service and then tweak it slightly for the next one.
6. Don’t strive when you lead, but don’t step back either.
Lead with the authority that has been given to you. Yes, there is a spiritual weight to the platform, which includes the responsibility we have to lead people to Jesus, but lead confidently knowing you’ve been given the platform and entrusted by your pastors.
7. You will have a train wreck and you will be okay.
A close friend and mentor told me this and a week later, I had a beauty! Don’t stress – it keeps you humble and you learn from it, plus they make for great stories!
8. Watch, listen and learn every chance you get.
We never graduate from learning.
9.  Your primary service to the church is to lead them to the presence of God.
Don’t think for a second that worship leading is your moment to shine or preach, especially when you are taking ‘the gap’.  If it adds to the service and allows you to arrest the atmosphere, then do it; but if it takes away from Jesus and what your primary purpose is, leave it out.
10. Be yourself.
You are unique and God speaks to each of us differently, so lead accordingly. God has put something on your life, so lead from that place.
love, Taya