Facebook Badge
25 September 2009
A GOOD REASON FOR CONFIDENCE
A GOOD REASON FOR CONFIDENCE
Do you want to be confident about serving in the worship ministry?
If you do, then you're going to have to decide if you'll be more confident from doing the same things other people do, even if it doesn't bring consistent results, or by understanding how worship ministry works and taking action based on that.
I understand how powerful the temptation to follow the lead of others, even if they don't get results. Social proof is a powerful force, subtly telling us to keep the status quo and not to rock the boat. And if you are new to the worship ministry, it can be very daunting to try what many other people aren't doing.
But if you want to be confident about serving in the worship ministry, and want your confidence to be based on understanding how it works and what to do, then get your copy of The Invisible Worship Musician package. It's a powerful resource comprising of The Invisible Worship Musician e-book, private email lessons and case studies of actual worship situations, created to help YOU understand and serve effectively in the worship ministry.
THE PEACE HOUSE
GIVING PEACE TO OUR GENERATION THROUGH WORSHIP
GROWING AS A WORSHIP DRUMMER
Here's another article for you. Hope you like it!
How do you improve yourself as a worship drummer? The supportive nature of your instrument means that growing in skill and maturity is less a question of developing more riffs and chops and more that of learning how to choose the right notes for a song.
The root problem for worship drummers is this: they are usually not engaging with the songs that are being used for the worship. With this in mind, here are the three steps that will enable you as a drummer to engage more deeply with the worship songs, and help the congregation you serve to do likewise.
1) Get your rudiments right.
Many drummers playing for church are self-taught. This means their rudiments usually leave much to be desired. But you will need them in order to express the music within you and engage with the music.
So give the basics serious attention. If you can afford the time and expense get at least a few formal lessons in drum basics. Learn your single strokes, double strokes, paradiddles and double paradiddles; learn them well. Find a few four-way independence exercises and practice them diligently.
If time and money are an issue at the moment, seek out the free online drum lessons that abound on the Internet. Whatever you do, make sure you can express yourself through the instrument and get a good sound, or you may end up dragging the rest of the musicians down.
2) Learn a chord instrument.
If you want to play the drums with understanding and engage with a song, you need to think about how to use the drums to emphasize the important chord changes. For example, the crash cymbals very appropriate for bringing out the linking chords of a song. But it is hard to do that if you have no idea what is happening in the chords of the song.
So spend some time learning a chord instrument, maybe guitar or contemporary piano. When you can sense the chord movements within a song, you are better able to use the drums to support and emphasize these chord changes in a meaningful way.
3) Sing as you play.
It never fails to amaze me how few drummers actually sing as they play, even church drummers. But it is one of the simplest ways to grasp the feeling of a song and engage with it.
It also helps you choose the right notes to play on the drums. The singing will often give you strong hints on what rhythm patterns to use for a particular song. They will also tell you when to use fills and when to hold back.
And that is pretty much the area most church drummers miss it. They are as involved with the music as a drum machine would be, which is not at all. Or they play too much and become a distraction to the worship of the congregation. All these can be dealt with by just simply singing along with the song while playing and listening to how everything fits together.
Conclusion: These three steps are not flashy or glamorous. But they are very helpful to you because they force you to engage on a deeper level with the songs used in church. You will find that you then greatly enhance the worship experience of the church you serve, and glorify God in the eyes of his people.
THE PEACE HOUSE
GIVING PEACE TO OUR GENERATION THROUGH WORSHIP
How do you improve yourself as a worship drummer? The supportive nature of your instrument means that growing in skill and maturity is less a question of developing more riffs and chops and more that of learning how to choose the right notes for a song.
The root problem for worship drummers is this: they are usually not engaging with the songs that are being used for the worship. With this in mind, here are the three steps that will enable you as a drummer to engage more deeply with the worship songs, and help the congregation you serve to do likewise.
1) Get your rudiments right.
Many drummers playing for church are self-taught. This means their rudiments usually leave much to be desired. But you will need them in order to express the music within you and engage with the music.
So give the basics serious attention. If you can afford the time and expense get at least a few formal lessons in drum basics. Learn your single strokes, double strokes, paradiddles and double paradiddles; learn them well. Find a few four-way independence exercises and practice them diligently.
If time and money are an issue at the moment, seek out the free online drum lessons that abound on the Internet. Whatever you do, make sure you can express yourself through the instrument and get a good sound, or you may end up dragging the rest of the musicians down.
2) Learn a chord instrument.
If you want to play the drums with understanding and engage with a song, you need to think about how to use the drums to emphasize the important chord changes. For example, the crash cymbals very appropriate for bringing out the linking chords of a song. But it is hard to do that if you have no idea what is happening in the chords of the song.
So spend some time learning a chord instrument, maybe guitar or contemporary piano. When you can sense the chord movements within a song, you are better able to use the drums to support and emphasize these chord changes in a meaningful way.
3) Sing as you play.
It never fails to amaze me how few drummers actually sing as they play, even church drummers. But it is one of the simplest ways to grasp the feeling of a song and engage with it.
It also helps you choose the right notes to play on the drums. The singing will often give you strong hints on what rhythm patterns to use for a particular song. They will also tell you when to use fills and when to hold back.
And that is pretty much the area most church drummers miss it. They are as involved with the music as a drum machine would be, which is not at all. Or they play too much and become a distraction to the worship of the congregation. All these can be dealt with by just simply singing along with the song while playing and listening to how everything fits together.
Conclusion: These three steps are not flashy or glamorous. But they are very helpful to you because they force you to engage on a deeper level with the songs used in church. You will find that you then greatly enhance the worship experience of the church you serve, and glorify God in the eyes of his people.
THE PEACE HOUSE
GIVING PEACE TO OUR GENERATION THROUGH WORSHIP
09 September 2009
Four Pillars of Confidence in Worship Ministry
4 pillars u should know
Many worship ministers, even those who have served for some time in the worship ministry, feel unsure about their effectiveness in serving the people of God. This often causes them to either be defensive when feedback is given to them, or easily taken in by the latest fads in worship ministry, any thing that promises to quiet the nagging sense of insecurity and inadequacy within their hearts.
All that is needless pain. There are four necessary pillars for confidence in worship ministry. Make sure these pillars are in place in your own life and in the lives of the other people in your church worship ministry, and the confidence and boldness will naturally follow.
1) Know that God welcomes his people to approach him in worship.
Many believers still live as if their sins are not forgiven through the work of Jesus on the cross. They feel unsure about the worship ministry because they doubt that God has truly accepted them in Christ and that they have freedom to approach God in prayer and worship anytime.
If you are one of them, I strongly urge you to meditate on the forgiveness of God revealed in the Bible. The first two chapters of Ephesians are really helpful, and so is the entire book of Hebrews because it talks about the confidence we can have because Jesus is the great high priest.
2) Understand the craft of worship ministry.
Leading worship is not the church equivalent of a lead singer, it is so much more. Worship music is not just any style of contemporary music that the church people like. It is a genre of music by itself, with it's own rules, guidelines and principles.
Seek training and teaching on these principles and ideas. It is unreasonable to expect anyone to serve confidently in the worship ministry unless they truly understand the craft of worship ministry. And if they don't understand the craft, they will often blame the congregation for not responding to their worship ministry efforts, rather than consider if they not been doing things in the most effective way.
3) See the work of God in that particular congregation.
Many people subconsciously try to fit their congregation into the mold created by 'worship' albums and CDs. They see those CDs as a genuine reflection of what worship is supposed to be like, rather than an artificially contrived event organized for the sake of producing a recording. And then they get frustrated if their church worship does not match up.
If you are struggling with the wrong expectations created by those 'worship' albums, realize this: God has his own purpose and plan for your church and it will be expressed in the worship. If you are a worship leader for your church or small group, you will discover this purpose as you pay attention to the songs that the people respond well to during a particular season.
Once you have discerned the purpose of the season, it becomes so much easier to choose the right songs that minister to the congregation at that point of time. And when you see the results and understand it comes from discerning God's specific purpose for your group, confidence will naturally follow.
4) See the work of God in your own personal life.
Many people in the worship ministry secretly wonder if they are the right people for the ministry. It is easy to forget that God has began a good work in us, one he fully intends to carry on to completion (Phil 1:6) and that he works out ALL things for our good (Romans 8:28).
When you can see the work of God in your own personal life, it becomes easy to trust that God has orchestrated events to put you in the worship ministry because in God's eyes you are the best suited for that role. And, like the other necessary pillars of confidence, will enhance your confidence in serving in the worship ministry.
Conclusion: if you are serving in the worship ministry, these four pillars give you a structure and direction for your attention and efforts. And if you are in a position of leadership, put in effort to build these four pillars of confidence in the lives of the other people serving in the worship ministry as well. Serve our Lord with confidence!
Many worship ministers, even those who have served for some time in the worship ministry, feel unsure about their effectiveness in serving the people of God. This often causes them to either be defensive when feedback is given to them, or easily taken in by the latest fads in worship ministry, any thing that promises to quiet the nagging sense of insecurity and inadequacy within their hearts.
All that is needless pain. There are four necessary pillars for confidence in worship ministry. Make sure these pillars are in place in your own life and in the lives of the other people in your church worship ministry, and the confidence and boldness will naturally follow.
1) Know that God welcomes his people to approach him in worship.
Many believers still live as if their sins are not forgiven through the work of Jesus on the cross. They feel unsure about the worship ministry because they doubt that God has truly accepted them in Christ and that they have freedom to approach God in prayer and worship anytime.
If you are one of them, I strongly urge you to meditate on the forgiveness of God revealed in the Bible. The first two chapters of Ephesians are really helpful, and so is the entire book of Hebrews because it talks about the confidence we can have because Jesus is the great high priest.
2) Understand the craft of worship ministry.
Leading worship is not the church equivalent of a lead singer, it is so much more. Worship music is not just any style of contemporary music that the church people like. It is a genre of music by itself, with it's own rules, guidelines and principles.
Seek training and teaching on these principles and ideas. It is unreasonable to expect anyone to serve confidently in the worship ministry unless they truly understand the craft of worship ministry. And if they don't understand the craft, they will often blame the congregation for not responding to their worship ministry efforts, rather than consider if they not been doing things in the most effective way.
3) See the work of God in that particular congregation.
Many people subconsciously try to fit their congregation into the mold created by 'worship' albums and CDs. They see those CDs as a genuine reflection of what worship is supposed to be like, rather than an artificially contrived event organized for the sake of producing a recording. And then they get frustrated if their church worship does not match up.
If you are struggling with the wrong expectations created by those 'worship' albums, realize this: God has his own purpose and plan for your church and it will be expressed in the worship. If you are a worship leader for your church or small group, you will discover this purpose as you pay attention to the songs that the people respond well to during a particular season.
Once you have discerned the purpose of the season, it becomes so much easier to choose the right songs that minister to the congregation at that point of time. And when you see the results and understand it comes from discerning God's specific purpose for your group, confidence will naturally follow.
4) See the work of God in your own personal life.
Many people in the worship ministry secretly wonder if they are the right people for the ministry. It is easy to forget that God has began a good work in us, one he fully intends to carry on to completion (Phil 1:6) and that he works out ALL things for our good (Romans 8:28).
When you can see the work of God in your own personal life, it becomes easy to trust that God has orchestrated events to put you in the worship ministry because in God's eyes you are the best suited for that role. And, like the other necessary pillars of confidence, will enhance your confidence in serving in the worship ministry.
Conclusion: if you are serving in the worship ministry, these four pillars give you a structure and direction for your attention and efforts. And if you are in a position of leadership, put in effort to build these four pillars of confidence in the lives of the other people serving in the worship ministry as well. Serve our Lord with confidence!
SOME SECRET OF WORSHIP MINISTERY
Hi,
I have a confession to make. You ready?
I love to lead worship. Really.
And I find it easy. I don't struggle or agonize over choosing songs, arranging them, or even singing well. I just lead worship, and the people respond to God and are blessed.
Yeah, I know it isn't always like that for other people. I was brought up to think that being in worship ministry was a heavy responsibility and entailed lots of hard prayer, travailing in the Spirit kind of stuff. That there wasn't any easy to follow guidelines, in fact, if you looked for those people think you were moving in the flesh, rather than the spirit.
Heard those before?
But over time I uncovered the secrets of worship ministry. And these secrets allowed me to excel as a worship leader and as a worship musician, WITHOUT all the spiritual striving and labor.
More importantly, they are simple. You can take them and use them, even if you
1) don't have a 'lead singer' kind of voice
2) don't have fantastic instrument skills
So if YOU want to serve God in worship ministry, whether as a Worship Leader or as a worship musician, and you want to know
1) What to do
2) How to do it; AND
3) Why
head over to this website right now, and find out more about the secrets of worship ministry
PRAISES BASIL
I have a confession to make. You ready?
I love to lead worship. Really.
And I find it easy. I don't struggle or agonize over choosing songs, arranging them, or even singing well. I just lead worship, and the people respond to God and are blessed.
Yeah, I know it isn't always like that for other people. I was brought up to think that being in worship ministry was a heavy responsibility and entailed lots of hard prayer, travailing in the Spirit kind of stuff. That there wasn't any easy to follow guidelines, in fact, if you looked for those people think you were moving in the flesh, rather than the spirit.
Heard those before?
But over time I uncovered the secrets of worship ministry. And these secrets allowed me to excel as a worship leader and as a worship musician, WITHOUT all the spiritual striving and labor.
More importantly, they are simple. You can take them and use them, even if you
1) don't have a 'lead singer' kind of voice
2) don't have fantastic instrument skills
So if YOU want to serve God in worship ministry, whether as a Worship Leader or as a worship musician, and you want to know
1) What to do
2) How to do it; AND
3) Why
head over to this website right now, and find out more about the secrets of worship ministry
PRAISES BASIL
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
