2. It’s too loud

6 05 2011

Don’t have a lot of time this afternoon, so I’ve decided to address the glaring, yet simple complaint with today’s worship music: “It’s too loud”

I think this one can be summed up in 2 words: BAD MIX

I’ve been in traditional Easter services where the Orchestra is pushing 110 Db and the entire senior community is present and loving it!  So, I think we can say with confidence that when people complain about a 4 piece band running 95Db that the real issue isn’t volume, it’s the mix*.

I have run sound enough to know that when the average person complains about the mix, they generally don’t say things like, “I’m suffering from listening fatigue” or “The cymbals seem harsh, can you roll back the highs a bit” or “The vocals are way out front. Anyway to get them back in the mix.”  Nope, it’s will almost always, “This music is too loud” or, more specifically, “The drums are too loud!”

So, if your a senior or worship pastor:
Invest in some great FOH engineers. Acoustically treat your room. Isolate your gear(you can’t run your rig like The Edge unless you have 10,000 people in your venue). Invest in good equipment. And I promise you this: it will go a long way in unifying your church in terms of music.

If your a congregation member:
Administer some grace, churches aren’t run on elaborate budgets (at least yours probably doesn’t), and it’s likely your leaders are doing their best.  And in the meantime, feel free to offer constructive,  heartfelt, criticism and loving, authentic encouragement. (And try to do more of the latter than the former).

What do you think?  Do you agree? Do you disagree?

*This is a general statement. Sometimes, it’s just TOO LOUD!


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Categories : For Worship Leaders, Teachings on Worship

Sacrafice and Worship

6 10 2010

I hear this pretty regularly:

“Kids these days sing a lot of songs about asking God to come and to feel his presence. They are all self centered. We need to sing songs that glorify God”

Ok, so maybe everyone doesn’t word it EXACTLY like that, but the point is generally the same: “so many of these new songs seem self centered.” And I think this is a great point that’s worth thinking about.

Paul said something in Phillipians 3 that has been shaking me to the core lately. He said this:

“What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ…..”

EVERYTHING is rubbish compared to knowing him? Really? EVERYTHING? When nothing else matters, He matters most. When he matters most, he becomes preeminent in our desires. I think this is what God is stirring in this generation and why we are seeing so many songs with lines like, “living flame of love, come baptize us” or “fire fall down on us we pray” or “open us the sky, fall down like rain” or “we lift our holy hands up, we want to touch you.”

I think of the man Jesus spoke about in Matthew 13 who found a treasure in the field and sold everything he had to buy that field. Or David, who said in Ps 27:4 that the ONE thing he wanted was to be in God’s presence. And we see it in everyday life. A drug addict worships the drug because they will sell everything to have just a small hit of their drug of choice. When nothing else matters, he matters most. Or as John Piper puts it: He is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.

I think this foundation needs to be spoken out over this generation. Like I said in the post about “Worship Leader as Teacher,” we have a responsibility to give theological understanding to experiences our people are having with God. If we sing the songs, but have no understanding why, we will ride emotional highs and never center in the truth of scripture. Remember: spirit AND truth.

Do we need more meaty songs? Sure. Could this current worship movement use some more theological grounding? Always. But I am excited to see a worship movement that values the personal encounter people have with the living God. With Jesus. With the Holy Spirit. Because He is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.

Cole


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“More”

11 08 2010

If you have a bible near you (or know how to open up a new tab and type “biblegateway”) read Luke 21:1-4.

Did you read it?  Be honest……

So Jesus looks up, sees the rich putting in their massive offerings, then sees a poor widow putting in 2 small coins.  He says this (in case you didn’t read it…):

“I tell you the truth………this poor widow has put in more than all the others.  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on”

Jesus defined “more” not based on the amount given.  He based it on the sacrifice required to offer it. Though the treasurer might be more concerned with the larger gifts, Jesus is concerned with the sacrifice.  Why?  Because it’s worship.

Sometimes I find myself using the wrong measuring tools to determine success and “more” when I lead worship.  Did people really sing out?  Did they lift their hands?  Did people dare to dance?  As worship leaders, we’ve all done this, let’s just be honest. It’s an easy, tangible measurement for our success.

I’m struck by God’s heart in this passage though and I can’t help but think of the different groups of people we lead weekly.  Some wouldn’t give a thought to singing, kneeling, or lifting their hands.  Some of them would have a hard time responding at all.  The latter group has to sacrifice so much to bring themselves to respond.  Pride, dignity, tradition, etc.  The former group doesn’t think twice about any of their responses.  God’s heart is pleased with the sacrifice. Wherever your people are.  Wherever you are. Take one step forward. Sacrifice something you are holding back.  Your faith and your sacrifice are precious in God’s eyes.

Father, help us to see how you see and to value what you value.  You have all wisdom.  You give good gifts.  We love you.

Amen


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Categories : Bible Teachings, For Worship Leaders

Kids in a Coat Store

22 07 2010

Hymns and Contemporary.  This has become a consuming issue in the church, and as someone who didn’t grow up in the church or around hymns, I am by no means an expert on the subject. I MIGHT know 10 hymns.

I’m learning, don’t judge me. This does however give me a unique perspective that I’d like to share.

When I was 15, my mom would take me clothe shopping, because I couldn’t drive. ONLY because I couldn’t drive(this connects, I promise). We would wander around Kohls, or Old Navy, or Goodwill (ha!) and this was basically how it went down:

I’d think, “Hey, I like that jacket.”  And before I could finish the thought, my mom would point to that EXACT jacket and yell,

“Hey, you should get THAT jacket!”

“Crap,” I’d think, “Now I hate that jacket”

And the process would continue until either I beat her to the punch or I asked her to restrain her clothing commentary.

As silly as this sounds, I know that in one way or another, we’ve all done this.  Now, how does this translates to hymns vs contemporary.

There is an entire generation right now that really wants their kids and grandkids to know and sing the hymns.  Each individual person’s motivation is different, but the motivation isn’t what I want to focus on here. What I want to talk about is the execution.  So many of you, who are a part of this older generation are interacting with this younger generation like my mom interacted with me in the clothing store: suggesting and pushing your opinions only to a reverse effect.

Why do you think students go away to camps and come back singing “Come Thou Fount?”  Had YOU suggested Come though Fount, it would have been shot down!  So WHY do they come back from a camp claiming a hymn is their new favorite song?  Because a young, mature worship pastor introduced it to them.  And HIS opinion was pure gold.

Young worship pastors. You are mediators between generations.  Steward that.

Parents and older generation: Pray for and support young leaders. It’s the most effective way to influence the next generation.  A mature leader can hear in your heart what your student may not be able to.

Cole


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Categories : For Worship Leaders, Songs and Music

What is a worship leader? Part 5

13 07 2010

So far we’ve talked about the role of a corporate worship leader as a teacher and as a prophet. Today, we will be talking about the role of:

EVANGELIST!

This word, much like the word prophecy, get’s thrown around a ton.  There are “evangelical Christians” and there are “non-evangelical christians”.  Some churches hire full time evangelist. Some don’t.  So, I just want to put a few things out there that are for sure.

1. An evangelist is in the 5 fold ministry setup by the early church (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers; Eph 4:11) Kris Valleton at Bethel church on Redding California did an excellent teaching on the 5 fold ministry several weeks ago. You can listen to it on their PODCAST.

2. An evangelist in the widest sense of the word is simply a “bringer of good news.”  Any news. It’s primarily become a religious word, in the same way that salvation or apostle are words we generally associate with the church. Don’t believe me?  Try calling your wife an evangelist next time she tells you some good news.  And as Jesus often did, he took this common word and redirected it toward it’s ultimate meaning.

Today we are using the term “evangelist” in this widest sense of the term. While some who lead worship may be called to the office of evangelist, everyone is not.  So, how are we as worship leaders operating as evangelists?

Our praise declares God’s good news – Whether it’s specifically about the Gospel or not, when we sing we are declaring good news to a broken and hurting world. Now, that’s not to say we are to sing and worship solely for the purpose of declaring good news to others. Worship is, in and of itself, an end. All of creation is moving toward a day when the primary activity of life will be worship. However, God in his goodness uses our times of declaration and praise as a tool to draw people to Himself. I love the picture that Ps 126 gives of this. The Psalmist says:

When the Lord brought back the captives from Zion, we were like men who dreamed
Our mouths were filled with laughter and our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations: “The Lord has done great things for them”

Praise declares good news. I long for the world to see our worship and understand not only that God has been good to us, but that the essential truth that HE IS GOOD.  This world needs a renewed understanding of that.

Worship and Adoration draw peoples attention to God’s beauty –  When someone is amazed by something, you are never tempted to redirect your attention to them, you ALWAYS want to see what they are so impressed with. You don’t walk down the street, see a group of people circled around something and say, “Man, that group of people, they are awesome.”  No.  You want to know what the heck they are circled around.  The same is true in our worship.  When we are enraptured and enthralled with is beauty and goodness, we direct others attention toward him.  I hear people say that we should tone down worship to accommodate seekers.  I want to say this gingerly……

That’s crazy

The world is burning through “things” that are temporarily impressive, but leave them empty and unimpressed, but Jesus is unendingly glorious! What better way to point them toward the one they were made to worship then by unashamedly being caught up in his beauty and glorifying Him?

We could go on and on, but we can end by saying, though our worship and praise are an end in and of themselves, God continually uses worship, worshippers, and worship leaders as tools to bring the good news of Jesus to our world.

Amen

Cole


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Categories : Bible Teachings, For Worship Leaders, Teachings on Worship

What is a worship leader (part 4)

1 07 2010

If you want to start this series from the beginning, go HERE.

The past two days we’ve talked about the role of a corporate worship leader as: teacher. We said that the songs we sing become the truth we believe. We need to know the word in order to pick our songs. We also said that we need to teach on the encounters we lead people into.  People need a biblical foundation for their experiences. I think it was Integrity’s president, Michael Coleman that said, “We want to lift up the experiences people are having as they encounter the Lord, and put a biblical foundation under them.”

Today, we’ll be talking about a role that I think is one of the most essential in being successful as a corporate worship leader.  Today, we’ll be talking about the role of :

Prophet

I know this word has a good deal of baggage with it, but I don’t really want to get bogged down in semantics.  So, as a hyper-condensed, non-exhaustive definition, let’s just say prophecy is hearing and speaking out God’s words.
(For a couple examples read….the old testament)

So, how does this relate to leading corporate worship?  Worship leaders should be continually  sensitive and aware of God’s presence and voice during times of worship. The Holy Spirit is ultimately our leader and our ability to hear and speak out what He is saying is crucial to staying in line with Him.

Jesus said this statement about himself time and time again in different ways, “I only do what I see the father do and I only say what I hear the father say.”(John 3:34; 5:17,19-23,26; 8:28,38,42; 10:30,32,38; 12:49-50; 14:7-11,24,31; 17:21)  There are a lot of reasons why Jesus was successful in his ministry, but the one who pointed to most often was his specific and continual obedience to say and do only what He saw the father doing and saying.  We need to follow his lead. Are we saying and doing as the fathers is saying and doing?

I read somewhere that the jewish day started at sundown. They didn’t begin by waking up and going. They began with rest and trust. Ps 3:5 says: “I lie down and sleep. I awake, because the Lord sustains me.”  We have a tendency in our modern world to be “goers” and “doers.”  To have lofty ambitions that drive us from sun-up to sun-down.  And though this isn’t the standard that Jesus sets forth, I see it regularly in worship leaders.

When planning a service, I’d like to suggest that we aren’t staring at a blank hour of time and crafting an experience from nothing. As a team, our worship times together should be genuine expressions of the Lords heart for that season, day, or moment.  As we plan, we ask, “Lord, what are you saying?  What do you want to say?”  For many of us, this comes down to us from our teaching or senior pastors.  When we receive the teaching for a day, we ask, “Father, what do you want your people to sing in response to this?”  It’s a huge burden to feel like we have to create experiences from nothing, but it’s a joy and an honor to partner with God to communicate his words to his people.

I think that’s enough for this post. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the practical side of leading worship and taking on the role of prophet.  How do we hear God in the midst of corporate worship?  How do we express what we hear?  What is and is not ok to do in terms of last minute changes in corporate worship?  Is being last minute even what being prophetic is all about?

Cole


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What is a worship leader (part 3)

30 06 2010

In part 1 we talked about the confusion that’s inherent in the term “worship leader” and the lack of a real biblical model for what worship leaders do today.

In part 2 we discussed that the songs we sing become the truth we believe. And as worship leaders, we need a strong biblical foundation in order to direct our song selection process.

Today, I want to ask the question, is it important for corporate worship leaders to be able to effectively communicate the word?  I think so. I once heard a very popular worship leader say that he didn’t think it was appropriate to teach during the music or in between songs.  I have to say I disagree. As worship leaders, we need to be able to teach on encounters and worship, AS we lead people into them.

There is a familiar story in Matthew 16 where Jesus is praying with his disciples and Peter says, “You are the Christ of God.”  Jesus then tells Peter: “…this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”   Peter had encountered the Father, but was unaware. Jesus had to give him a clear picture of what had happened.

I think this principle translates to corporate worship.  As worship leaders, we need to be able to teach people about their encounters with God WHILE they’re having them.

Example: In the bridge of a worship song, the congregation begins singing a new song to the Lord and the Glory of the Lord begins to especially fill the room.  Amazing moment.

A teaching worship leader can point to Ps 22: that God inherits the praise of his people and that the word used for praise there is “tehilla,” or “new song.”  Everyone can leave that gathering knowing that God had inhabited their praise.  They have a biblical understanding of their experience.  Not that ALL encounters or times of singing are as cut and dry.  God is not about formulas, but teaching in that moment is crucial to give the worshippers a biblical understanding of what is happening. In the same way that Jesus had to tell Peter, “See, Dad told you that” we can open up the word while leading our songs and say, “THIS is what God is doing.”

Cole


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What is a Worship Leader (Part 2)

29 06 2010

Yesterday we talked about the shortcomings of term “Worship Leader,” specifically as it applies to modern day church music directors. We said that it implies other things are not worship and that worship is isolated to a Sunday morning church segment. In light of scriptures view of worship (singing and serving Hebrews 13:15-16), this can be a dangerous distinction for the church to make. Maybe a better term for what has become the common role in most churches would be corporate worship leader or worship pastor. (I recognize that the term “pastor” may or may not be a term designated for ordained individuals depending on the culture you serve in).

So, each day this week, we’ll talk about a different hat that worship leaders wear.

Today’s hat:

Teacher

It’s amazing to me when I look at the time allotted in worship for music, that there isn’t a stronger call for worship leaders to be theologically trained and grounded.  I remember fishing through job descriptions a a couple years ago while in transition. I don’t think I saw more than 3 job descriptions for worship leaders that included any emphasis on knowing and being able to communicate the word of God.  And there were a staggering number that said, “Performance experience required, worship experience a plus.”

Senior pastors – why would you want to hand over 30-50% of your gathering time to someone who is primarily a musician and a performer

Worshippers – why do you hold such high spiritual standards for your teaching pastors, but lack a concern for your worship leaders spiritual condition?

I think it’s imperative that we begin to raise the standard for those leading us in music. Weekly, they decide what songs the church will sing, and if not based on biblical wisdom, then what? Popularity?  Catchiness?  The songs we sing become the truth we believe.  As worship leaders, we need to know and love the word of God. It needs to flow from us naturally and consistently. It needs to be the lens through which we see everything and the filter through which we make our decisions.

But what about the ability communicate the word as a teacher? I began to include that on this post, but I think we’ll jump into that tomorrow. Felt a little long to put it all in one post.

Cole


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What is a worship leader? (Part 1)

28 06 2010

Before I came to a methodist church, I had a pretty isolated view of what a “worship leader” was. Isolated in the sense that I only understood it in the context of the last 10-15 years. (I didn’t care much about worship leading when I was 10).  I remember one morning at my production meeting, someone informed me that our associate pastor was leading worship at the traditional service.  The problem was, I had never even heard this person sing or play music, but that’s not what they meant.  Depending who you are, this may or may not come as a shock, but there was a time in the recent history of the church when “worship leaders” didn’t exist in the sense they do today.  Worship wasa broader term and a worship leader didn’t inherently imply music.

I think there is something wise and biblical we can glean from this understanding.  Bob Kauflin quotes Don Carson on worshipmatters.com as saying this:

To call a person a worship leader takes away the idea that teaching, preaching, listening to and devouring God’s word, and applying it to our lives, we are somehow not worshipping.

So true. Teaching, preaching, learning are all aspects of worship

So, modern day “worship leaders,” what are we?  How to do we fit in the midst of biblical church leadership?  Is there a specific anointing for those leading music in the church?

This week, I’ll be taking a look at this.

Cole

(Thanks to Bob Kaulfin at worshipmatters.com for his incredibly blog entries and resources on this topic)


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Greatest Commandment

24 06 2010

I’m fairly sure we’ve hit on this in the past, but I think it’s worth bringing up on a regular basis.

When Jesus was asked by the Pharisees what the “greatest commandment” was, he answered like this:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.   -Matthew 22:37-39 (ESV)

Jesus told them the greatest commandment, but then he went on to tell them what the second greatest commandment was, which is cool because they didn’t ask for the second greatest commandment.  The pharisees were noted for their supposed love for God, but also were notorious for their disregard for their neighbors.  And what does Jesus say: the second commandment is like the first. YOU CAN’T LOVE GOD AND NOT LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR!

Hebrews 13:15-16 puts it this way:

Through Him then let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name, and  do not neglect to do good and share what you have for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

With what sacrifices?  Both. The singing and the giving. The shouting and the serving. There was a time in Israel’s history where they forgot this and began to abuse the poor and take advantage of the less fortunate.  But in all that, their songs and worship services stayed the same. This is what God had to say about their worship.

I hate and despise your religious feasts.
I cannot stand your assemblies.

Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings
I will not accept them
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings
I will have no regard for them

Away with the noise  of your songs
I will not listen to the music of your harps.

This isn’t the most joyful passage in the world, but it’s a sobering reminder. God’s approval of our worship is determined as much by what we do in the presence of others as it is by what we do in His presence.

Not that anything should deter us from loving God.  But if we desire to love God and bless his heart, we can start by loving and blessing others.

Love God. Love people. Everything hangs on these two commands.

Cole


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Categories : Bible Teachings, For Worship Leaders

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