In Worship- Part 1
Welcome to my new series called “In Worship”.
This article is part I in this series. The goal of the series is touch on the things we all go through as musicians while serving on a worship team. Hopefully what you read will serve to acknowledge your experiences, get you to ask questions and ultimately, bring you further along your path.
Today’s segment will cover the following topics:
- What is worship, what is a worship team?
- Why should a church have a worship segment in their service?
- Why should I be a part of a worship team?
- What qualifications are necessary to participate?
What is worship, what is a worship team?
Worship in the Splendor of Holiness
Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!-Psalm 96
The American Heritage dictionary defines worship as:
1) Ardent devotion; adoration.
2) a) The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
b) The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.
The English Standard Version of the Bible contains 112 instances of the word “Worship” as either a noun or a verb.
The first occurrence is in Genesis 22 and the last, in Revelations 22. These are the first and last books of the Bible.
The word “Worship” occurs in 30 of the 66 books in the ESV.
In the context of the modern church, worship is defined as “The active expression of praise and love of God.”
So, what is a worship team?
In it’s narrow definition, It’s a group of people who use their gifts to usher (lead) a congregation into a state where they openly praise and adore God.
In it’s broad definition a worship team is more than can be pinpointed within the confines of this article. Hopefully, you will get a better sense of this as you read ahead.
Why should a church have a worship segment in their service?
Well, in my opinion, they shouldn’t. The whole service should be worship.
The classic ”Worship segment” is just the act of turning the key to get the car running. As a person watches a drama, listens to the pastor, or places their tithe in the offering plate, they should be worshiping. The idea that we compartmentalize our worship to the 6 songs before the pastor gives his message is exactly what we are NOT supposed to be doing as a congregation.
The function of a worship team is to help clear away the junk of the week and pry open the doors to a persons heart so God can reconnect, or in some cases initially connect with them in a deep, powerful way.
Why should I be a part of a worship team?
This is a great question. I don’t have the answer, you do.
For me, the answer to that question was simple: “because I have to”.
Being a member of a worship team is serious on many levels. It’s not the same as playing in a garage band, or doing gigs, or singing in the shower. It’s a commitment to give all of yourself to God in and out of the church. It’s not for Wannabe’s, it’s for “I am’s”. You have to do all that it takes to do it the best you possibly can.
So why do it?
The benefits are unimaginable. Your personal and spiritual growth on the path will be exponential. The opportunity to help others stand before God, so he can work with them fulfills our calling as his faithful children.
Please understand, there are many opportunities within the church to serve. Being on a Praise team is just one of them.
It is the best (and for some, the only) choice for those who are spritually gifted in music.
What are the qualifications necessary to participate?
This question will be answered differently depending on who in the church you ask.
When I answer the question (as a trained musician), I say: Foremost, being on a worship team requires a “spirit of service”. Dedication, hard work, discipline, a stout heart, self control, kindness, truthfulness, patience, time and ability are all necessary.
I say ability because I have been on many teams where people believe they should be leading people to worship because they get tremendous joy worshiping God themselves.
Many years ago, I was on a team where there was a regular “guest” who would come and sing special songs, as a solo artist. She loved the Lord with all her heart, and she was such a sweet person. Everybody loved her and knew how strong her heart was for the Lord.
During one of her performances, I remember being back at the sound board and asking the engineer if her monitor was on.
He answered “Yes, of course, why?”
I said “look” and as he looked around the congregation, he saw everyone fidgeting, making really uncomfortable faces. It was obvious that the congregation was not experiencing a greater connection with God. The singer was in a deep place of worship, and that was beautiful in one sense, but the result of the performance was not contextually appropriate or aligned with the goal.
At that point, there was nothing anybody could do to enhance the experience the congregation was having. The engineer understood my question.
As Simon Cowell would say “She was simply awful”.
So, if you feel called to be part of a worship team for the first time, get some honest, independant evaluation of your ability. If you need to do some work to be competent, invest the time and energy. Take lessons, listen to all kinds of worship music. Read about it, ask about it. Find people you respect that do what you want to do, and find out how they got so good at it.
You will rarely find someone say “I just jumped in last week, I never picked up a microphone before, see, with God all things are possible”.
You will find that the majority of really solid worship team members have one thing in common, they have worked hard for many years perfecting their gift.
The next part in the series will talk about what you can expect after you have made that commitment to join a Praise and Worship Team.
Thanks for reading!
7 Responses to “In Worship- Part 1”
March 27th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Well said my friend.
Look forward to more installments.
Tom
March 27th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
I am interested in this discussion, Jeff. Your response to the question of whether someone should join a worship team is strikingly like my own…because I have to and I need to. When I sensed my call to the team it was a real paradox–on one level it was something akin to being picked up and put there by God, but there was a strangely uncomfortable flipside…I could sense a kind of responsibility that I’d never experienced before. I don’t want to ramble on and on, but there’s definitely more to discuss here. Great topic, Jeff.
Ab
March 28th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Dude, I couldn’t explained it better…
I second the motion.
Galo
March 28th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Jeff. Wow! Great stuff! I can really relate to not even considering that there is a choice to being a part of the worship team, and the sense of humility service and responsibility that goes along with it. I look forward to your next installment!
March 29th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Jeff, I appreciate you sharing from your experience. Thanks for taking the time to post this. I look forward to reading more.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Hey all,
Thanks for the great comments!
Looks like people who participate on a team felt “called” or “directed” to get involved. Good stuff.
Part II is coming along, stay tuned.
Jeff
April 6th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Woa,dude…who would have known a drummer could be so deep. All kidding aside bro’, this is great stuff and I look forward to hearing more. God Bless, JK
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