My BAD attitude and Sunday morning worship sets

Someone once said to a room full of pastoral staff that if you never considered leaving ministry then you probably weren't working hard enough. The whole room laughed and for a brief moment there was a bit of transparency that everyone had at one point asked themselves what exactly were they working so hard for? On that positive note, I would like to share just such a moment with you lovely people.

It was an overcast Sunday morning, I was arriving at morning rehearsal at the last possible minute, I was exhausted from the rat routine of life, and those warnings of effective leaders rendering themselves ineffective through overworking and lacking passion were screaming very loudly in my head. Once inside I discovered that there was no sound crew, the singers and musicians were united in their inability to prepare for the one song that the entire worship set was built around in both theme and key relationship, and it seemed that each singer was determined to be flat just to spite me. Rehearsal was a nightmare, and although I was constantly praying under my breath that I realized it wasn't about me I walked onto the platform for the 9:00 service in a very crabby sort of mood.

In the first few moments of the service which included an opening by a staff pastor that was lackluster and disorganized followed by a team of musicians that missed an introduction I was beginning to wonder why on earth I put so much time and energy into this moment. After all, aren't our Christian lives supposed to be much more effective and large outside of these brief weekend moments? Do I really even feel called to this? I am starting to dislike these wonderful people, isn't that a terrible thing to be avoided at all costs because isn't ministry about loving such people? As the first moments of the service were fumbled through by unprepared musicians and people trickled into the sanctuary with the lackadaisical attitude that marks Southern California church culture I was ready to throw in the towel.

It was in a very bad attitude that I lifted my eyes from the keys and the immediate surroundings of what was happening musically and really looked out at the congregation. The first thing I noticed was the group of new converts who came from the same half-way house lined up on the front row with their friends that keep accompanying them, and they all seemed to have tears flowing down their faces while they sang their way through the song. I started to see more and more individual faces as they offered themselves up their worship in a vulnerable and beautiful manner while singing along with the worship set as it flowed from moment to sweet moment in God's presence. I saw stories and people who represent vastly different cultural experiences and backgrounds come together in that moment to seek one thing that they desire above all else and prove it in their pursuit of intimacy with God.

Of course such moments bring tears and repentance and humility, but even more a great sense of validation and the reminder that there is nothing that can replace the realization that you are being used in that moment to facilitate the experience so many gather to encounter in the little Sunday morning church service. It breaks down any sense of personal accomplishment when you realize that these people would still push towards God in spite of your lack of musical preparedness, yet because you take it seriously the moment is all the better and your offering as a musician and singer is something you give in each moment you prepare for this. I realize that in all things we do in word and deed is done in the name of Jesus, but on that Sunday morning my service to the people of God is done as much behind closed doors in whatever preparation I engage in as much as it is in the musical performance of the worship set itself.

It is a fairly new intention of mine to respond to the obligatory, yet sincere comments from people that they loved the music of the church service by saying that it is really about creating space for that encounter with God. I then ask if they liked the song, did they know it, and is there anything they sing throughout the week in devotion that really impacts the moment? The feedback so far has been somewhat constrained as people are not sure if they can be totally honest, but it is my goal that my church music department pours as much as we possibly can into the people who attend our services. It is likely that frustration will occur, but perhaps not at the moment that represents the culmination of a musician's sacrifice and service.

Same Ole' Same Ole'

Wow! I apologize for my tardy post and lack of posting last month.
I know I was supposed to post about this last month, but it is actually relevant to me right now. As a music minister, it's my responsibility to oversee all things music at my church. And in an attempt to relieve myself of a little bit of the responsibility, I allow the song leaders to choose their own songs. While this benefits me on any other day, it seems to make my mind have to work overtime on Sunday because I still have to filter through their songs. Sometimes when someone is only leading songs once a month, he/she can be tempted to pick the same songs each month. It may not seem that noticeable to them, but everybody else notices.

I recently received an email suggesting that I have the song leaders keep a notebook with a lists of the songs sang every service. This person noticed that a couple of the songs selected had already been sung within the last two weeks. Now, one would think that using different people would automatically increase the variety of songs sang. This is not quite as simple as it sounds. one has to factor in the fact that the rest of your praise team needs to know the songs and your musicians need to know the songs as well. Contrary to popular belief, it's not always a great idea to decide to sing a song no one else knows right before church. I know we're Apostolic, and we should be instant in season and out of season, but music is not something that can just be thrown together. You're not just depending on one person, but several others. And even though everybody should be at a certain level, everybody's NOT at a certain level. Sometimes you just have to use common sense.

So, how do you get out of the rut of doing the same songs all the time? The answer seems to be simple... Learn more songs, buddy. But it's more than that. You have to learn more songs, and just more songs, but also a variety of styles. Sometimes I have to force myself to listen to artists that I would not normally listen to. Doing this helps me try to find something I like about different styles. Once I find something I like, I try to find ways to incorporate it in my playing.

I also like to sit down and just play without any CDs or anything else. Just being creative on my own; using the things I've learned from listening to different styles, helps me to be able to change things up. Now, if I want to play something with a different rhythm, that's not a problem. If I want to try I'll fly away with a Reggae twist... might not sound so great, but it's not killing me to try it out.

One may ask, "what does this have to do with song leaders picking the same songs?" Well, just like I (as a musician) have to listen to styles that I don't care for and use them, my song leaders will have to begin expanding their horizons and trying new styles. It's almost like going to a restaurant and getting the same thing every time you go. You'll never know how much you like something until you try it.

Mentors, Part 2

What distinguishes Pavarotti from Domingo, or from, say, the master of music candidate giving their umpteenth recital in the hopes of making it to the big leagues, the lead role in a Puccini or Donizetti opera?

Granted, you have to have the technique down. That’s a no brainer. If you can’t keep your notes in tune and zip through the virtuosic literature then you don’t stand a chance anywhere. That’s just practice, practice, practice. But there is one thing you cannot learn in the practice room, at least not all on your own: Musicianship.

Most of what I learned about musicianship I learned from one person, Richard “Dad” Hoffland. He and his wife labored over the Millikin University choir for many years, finally retiring in 1991. I had the fortune of singing under his direction for four tours. His musicianship was, in modern parlance, old school. If this link works, give it a try, if you want an example of his conducting. There wasn’t a composition that he would conduct that didn’t have something extra, something special, something undeniably and irrevocably influenced by the way he directed the choir. He had a certain “style” as it were. And the musicianship. Boy howdy. If you didn’t become a real musician just by singing under his baton, then you just simply weren’t paying attention.

What does this have to do with “Apostolic” music, you may be wondering? That is, if you have gotten this far, and didn’t stop reading immediately upon coming across the “O” word. People seem to have a special hatred for certain genres of music. The “O” word is high among the list.

If you can get past the occasional out-of-tune solos in some of our churches (I realize there are places where these are more the norm than occasional, perhaps due to some nepotic or otherwise inbred or lazy acculturative tendencies), and if you can get past the general unpreparedness some folks bring to their leading worship or singing specials (again, refer to the parenthetical comment above), and if the musicians are attentive to the singer, and the singer is able to get past the notes and get to the music, you may be able to hear what I mean. I imagine I will get some flack for not putting any emphasis here on the worship. That is fine and well deserved. I will address that in a future post.

Oh. And by the way, I don’t have a strong preference in the Pavarotti vs. Domingo argument. I like Domingo’s voice. I like Pavarotti’s bearing. Pavarotti is the king of the dramatic (overly or melodramatic, some would say) whereas Domingo is in a class all by himself. There’s a hundred of ‘em, if not a thousand, but the artiste verité is one in a million. Or a billion. For a representative comparison, give Domingo a listen, then listen to Pavarotti singing the same aria.