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Answer Bag: “How To Confront Someone Using Worship as a Platform”

Article by Rick Muchow November 9, 2011 in Answer Bag, Worship with 1 Comment

QUESTION:How Can We Lovingly Confront?”
“How can someone lovingly confront someone who is using the church platform to promote himself/herself?”
Continue Reading…

When Its Time To Cut The Tie

Article by Rick Muchow March 29, 2011 in Answer Bag with 0 Comments

QUESTION:Define Moral Failure?
You stated in a past article that you have removed individuals due to moral failure. I had to remove a band member for moral failure, but have been accused of being judgmental. Some are saying ‘we all sin and have fallen short of the glory of God.’ Could you clarify what “moral failures” would warrant removal and what steps do you take to restore the individual after the fact?
RICK MUCHOW:
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Heb. 12:11

Moral failure is a church membership issue. My pastor, Rick Warren, had to address this issue in the church’s 21st year, so please read the transcript from that address by clicking here. Since moral failure is not a worship team specific issue, I don’t have my own separate process for the worship team.

It is true that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It is also true that we must be careful to guard well our integrity and reputation as we represent Christ and our church. As they say, it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation and just one poor decision to ruin it.

There are two Biblical reasons to remove someone from ministry due to moral failure: 1) the loss of the right to lead due to the failure, and 2) the need to regroup and put a life back together again. An individual in this situation needs time to reflect and just work on themselves. In my experience, many times moral failure happens because we’ve been so busy doing the work of the ministry that we are closer to the work than we are to the Lord.

Some examples of moral failure include gossip, pride, inappropriate emotional relationships, dishonesty, malicious dissention or stirring up trouble, adultery, and major family issues that need to be addressed. There are other reasons to sideline someone from ministry that have nothing to do with moral failure. For example, they may need to be removed due to a particular need resulting from the season of life they are in, or for balance issues when a life becomes out of balance, or because of physical health issues or even emotional health issues. Sometimes people just need a break to realize the privilege of serving in ministry.

When a leader makes a decision to remove someone from a ministry team, it must be done lovingly, carefully and prayerfully. Church discipline should always be done for the benefit of the person being disciplined.

You can always expect criticism. It’s unfortunate but true. Many people will have opinions and various interpretations of the situation. However, they don’t have the responsibility to God and the church that we have as the leader of the team. As the leader, we are accountable to God for our leadership.

It’s not just about the individual. We also need to take care of our team because the team belongs to God. I would suppose there are some leaders who view their team as an extension of themselves; that the team exists to serve them rather than to serve God and the church body, or who confuse serving them personally with serving the church body. There are also some leaders who make decisions based on politics. Honestly, those are tough issues within the reality of serving in ministry. Unfortunately there are egos and politics at work even in churches. I’ve made it a practice not to make decisions based on peer pressure, politics, or personal conflict with any individual. I hold myself accountable to God to take care of my team. I’m a shepherd caring for this part of God’s flock.

My experience is that the Holy Spirit is able to do the healing work that is needed, even with the hardest hearts, if given time and if the person has even a little faith in God. My role is to love and encourage the individual and to hope for the best, leaving the results to God. God disciplines those that He loves and the goal is always redemption, reconciliation and character building resulting in hope.

For some leaders, myself included, dealing with the judgment of others is an issue. Let’s face it, part of being a leader is facing judgment. Fortunately, God’s Word is full of encouragement for leaders like us. I love the words of the entire chapter of 2 Cor. 4 encouraging us to not lose heart. Verses 8-9 are helpful to me whenever I face disapproval from others for making unpopular, however necessary decisions (in my discernment): “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” It helps me when I apply these words specifically to personal judgment from others.

We are judged but not crushed, judged but not in despair, judged but not abandoned, judged but not destroyed.

In addition, when dealing with judgment from others, remember that there are benefits for being judged. In Rom 5:2-5 we read: “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

For more about these topics, read my pastor’s sermons on Discouragement or on Living By Your Convictions.

Be encouraged! Lead prayerfully and carefully, in love, always hoping for the best and refuse to give up!

(Rick Muchow’s articles appear on gotworship.net courtesy of www.encouragingmusic.com If you would like to ask Rick or our editorial staff a question and have it answered here, please send us an email at answerbag@gotworship.net or use the form below to easily send your question to us.)

How Do You “Train-Up” Musicians in Worship?

Article by Rick Muchow March 15, 2011 in Answer Bag with 0 Comments

From Tom Williams, serving in Powell, TN

Question: I lead the singing in a fairly new (2 year-old) contemporary service at a small (250 member) traditional United Methodist church. We have 30 to 60 attendees at our 9 am contemporary service. Our only instruments are an organ and a piano. Although we’ve had a couple of guitarists and a keyboard player/percussionist help us out from time to time, we currently have to use canned music (MP3, split trax, MIDIs) as our primary accompaniment. In a way, this is great because I can select a wide variety of music without having to teach it to a band or worry about the quality of the music. But… I think for us to attract a lot of seekers, we are going to need live music.
My questions are 1 ) what do you do with talented players who don’t read music, 2) how do you gain long-term commitment from musicians, and (3) is it wise to allow non-believers (or seekers) to form a majority of a praise band?

RICK MUCHOW:
1) Sincerity and authenticity are more important than production to seekers. Building a band with the aid of technology is great. Knowing when to be simple is important also. What do you do with talented players who don’t read music? First, thank God for them! A lot of churches would love to have professional players. At Saddleback, we write chord charts with rhythm notation for the band. Players who can’t read are encouraged to try to follow the charts. It is amazing how they learn to read the charts with practice. I give out demo tapes to musicians who need them.

2) How do you gain long-term commitment from musicians? At Saddleback, we build on God’s purposes for the church. I think there are two things that keep musicians around the most: they know they are making a difference with their talents, and the Fellowship. I present and represent the vision often, putting it in front of them on a regular basis. . . “we are not here for ourselves but for God and his kingdom. The reason we do what we do is love and obedience to God AND we love to see lives changed.” Not only are we making a difference in God’s kingdom, but we are part of a family together. “More than Music we are a family!” has been our music team slogan from the beginning.

(3) Is it wise to allow non-believers (or seekers) to form a majority of a praise band? I think it is great to have non-believers, or maybe better said not-yet-believers, in the band. At Saddleback, we have found that these non-believers become believers in time. One of our current staff members became a believer in exactly this way. I would not have a majority of non-Christians in the band because the non-Christians need to be around believers to “get the idea”. I would not put non-believers in leadership positions in the band. I would certainly include non-believers in the band if given the opportunity. The musician’s talents come from the Lord, whether they know it or not, and their talents can be a blessing to your team and congregation. The music ministry is not just a place to lead the congregation in singing praises to the Lord, but also a place for relationship and ministry between the musicians themselves.

Blessings!
Rick

Using Secular Music In Worship

Article by Rick Muchow March 1, 2011 in Answer Bag with 1 Comment

From Craig Hedrick serving in Belmont, NC

Question: I wanted to ask if you use much secular music in your seeker services, do you change lyrics and things like that? We have been doing some of that with a fair amount of success but I just wanted your opinion and experiences.

RICK MUCHOW:

Yes! For last year’s Easter services we included a Sister Hazel song, “Change Your Mind”, and in this week’s service we’ll be including a Celine Dion song. ANY song that lyrically and musically fits the theme of the message and your target audience(s) is an effective tool. Secular songs can often be excellent choices, particularly for seeker audiences because the tune may be recognized by the audience to a higher degree than a great song from Steven Curtis Chapman or Twila Paris.

WATCH OUT! Sometimes we change lyrics of secular songs, but to do so you need the express approval of the copyright holder. They must approve any lyric changes you might want to make for performance or recording. In some cases they may not approve your change.

My pastor, Rick Warren, says there is no such thing as Christian music. I agree. The music of a particular tune can not be secular or sacred. The lyrics of a song are what make a particular song sacred. It has nothing to do with the tune.

In our lifetimes, before the 1970s there was no major distinction between sacred and secular popular music. There really wasn’t any sacred pop music. Sacred music was basically hymns in the gospel or classical format, and secular music was everything else. With the advent of the Jesus Music movement as part of the 70s revival, Christian churches again reached back into pop culture and reclaimed a corner of popular music through such artists as Larry Norman, Andre Crouch, Sweet Comfort Band and many others.

Using secular music in church isn’t however something particularly new as of the 1970s. Other historical examples include the song Amazing Grace which took the song’s lyrics and put them to a very popular song sung in the pubs and taverns of the day. Another great example is the song Oh Happy Day by Edwin Hawkins, which is perhaps the 1st true “crossover” song.

The main point is to choose appropriate music that will effectively communicate your theme to your target audience, whether you find that song on a CD at your local Christian Bookstore or Tower Records!

There are more and more secular market artists, such as Creed, U2, Mariah Carey, Moby, numerous Country Music artists, who are including songs that fall into this category on their projects. Great arrangements can be found for songs done by secular market artists doing Christian songs.

Here is a short list of just some of the songs I have used at Saddleback:

Maybe I’m Amazed	Paul McCartney
I Can’t Wait To Meet You	Macy Gray
The Living Years	Mike & The Mechanics
Where Were You	Alan Jackson
God Bless The USA	Lee Greenwood
Long As I Live	John Michael Montgomery
The Love He Found in Me	Gary Morris
Love Remains	T Douglas, J D’addario
Your Love Amazes Me	John Berry
Love Can Build A Bridge	Wynonna Judd
When You Believe	Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey (Prince of Egypt Soundtrack)
Lean On Me	classic!
Operator	another classic!
My Father’s Eyes	Eric Clapton
Do Not Pass Me By	M.C. Hammer
Unanswered Prayer	Garth Brooks
On Eagles Wings	Michael Crawford
Biggest Part of Me	Take 6 (who did it first? Chicago?)
Count on Me	Whitney Houston (Waiting to Exhale Soundtrack)

Saddleback’s Youth Groups are also using songs targeted for their audience. Some of the artists whose songs are being used from time to time include Creed, Lifehouse, and many of the Christian artists such as Audio Adrenaline, DC Talk, P.O.D. and others.

Do You Talk Too Much?

Article by Rick Muchow February 15, 2011 in Answer Bag, Worship Corner, Worship Training with 1 Comment

From Gordon Moore, serving in Spain

QUESTION:Talk Much?
“Do you talk much when leading worship services? Some worship leaders say almost nothing while others talk as much as some preachers. How do you handle that?”
RICK MUCHOW:

Every church has a distinct personality. Just like families, there are similarities between churches, but each church is uniquely individual. Your church’s individuality will depend on your size, the purpose or strategy of your service, your church culture and leadership. The most important of these variables is your Pastor’s philosophy of ministry.

You might think that the most important variable is the Holy Spirit’s leading, and that is absolutely the case. I believe that my role as a worship leader is to serve my Pastor’s philosophy of ministry The Spirit of God leads him, and in that context leads me as well. I’ve said this many times and it continues to be true: my ministry on the platform at Saddleback is more a reflection of my Pastor’s ministry philosophy than of my personality and worship style preference.

When I lead the weekend services at Saddleback, I am free to speak whenever I want and for as long as I want, though obviously we have a service schedule and timeline. If I feel led, I am free to speak. My Pastor also feels the freedom to ask me to talk less when he feels I am talking too much. We work together to balance each service.

There’s an old axiom that I have found useful: Let the singers sing and the speakers speak. For many of us, that’s more about not wanting the speakers to start singing! God has given us all unique gifts to serve Him. We should allow others to use their gifts and we should use ours.

I believe that when I lead worship, the process speaks for me through the way I lead the songs, the songs I’ve selected, the words of encouragement… All of these help me to quickly connect the congregation to the presence of God, and then to fade into the background. I’ve found that short and clear words of encouragement are generally enough for me, though at times I also feel led to and do say more. The Holy Spirit leads on the platform and He can be spontaneous. He also leads just as much during the planning of the service. Chris Tomlin studies his order of service for 2 hours, visualizing how each song leads the congregation closer to the Lord. That is a great example of how the Holy Spirit can be involved just as much as through a spontaneous commentary or encouragement.

My planned speaking at Saddleback generally consists of a friendly welcome, encouragement to participate in the singing, direction to sit and stand, congregational prayer, and when necessary, crowd control such as the Saddleback Shuffle to make room for people coming in. Very rarely will I use speaking to introduce a song. A good song explains itself. A note about encouragement… it’s easy to overdo encouragement. We don’t have to kick the hive to get the honey out.

In the end, people generally don’t remember sermons and information for all that long. People remember sermons best when they are seen or sung. They can remember songs and the truth found in the lyrics for a lifetime. Choose your songs wisely, present them well and you will have more impact on your congregation than you could ever have by speaking.

The Self-Promoting Worship Leader

Article by Rick Muchow February 1, 2011 in Answer Bag, Worship, Worship Corner with 1 Comment

QUESTION: “How can someone lovingly confront someone who is using the church platform to promote himself/herself?”

This is a very hard part of our role as the leader, but it’s something we have to do from time to time. I want to encourage you and any pastor dealing with this type of situation that you CAN do this in a loving way and have positive results. Remember that these are God’s people not our people. He is also working on them as He is working on us.

Stop now and read James 1. Verse 12 tells us that “Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.” (Message)

First, it’s the leader’s responsibility to maintain the integrity of the ministry. I don’t know any leader who enjoys confronting but it comes with the territory. My rule is to confront as early as possible. Look for tendencies and teaching opportunities. For example, at the beginning of a new rehearsal cycle, it’s important to be clear about the expectation for the ministry team. Expectations like punctuality, consistent attendance, knowing the music, and being a team player can be discussed up front at the start of a new cycle. Establishing these standards enables you to handle the first time a team member is late or shows a hint of pride by immediately addressing this. Lovingly confront them by pulling them aside to address this alone rather than waiting until it becomes a disruptive pattern.

Further, the building of a personal relationship as a foundation for loving confrontations is very important. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Consistently demonstrate your love for the group and the individuals in practical ways such as calling them by name, remembering their prayer requests and thanking them for their commitment to the ministry.

Finally, to me loving confrontation is about delivering the truth in love built on the foundations above. When talking to a person, it is very important HOW you say what you say, not just what you say. Never argue. You never win an argument in a situation like this. Try not to be accusatory, but ask in such a way about a situation to say that you were surprised that this might or could be an issue. Talk to the person as if you are speaking into what they can be and not judging them. Do all you can to preserve their dignity. Never confront out of anger. Never confront in front of the group. Short criticism of an individual over the microphone is never appropriate. Use discretion when confronting the opposite sex. It is very wise to have a witness with you whom the person you are confronting trusts and with whom they could possibly debrief afterwards.

Colossians 4:6 in the Message says “Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out,” and in King James says, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” We need to be gracious and seasoned with salt and try to bring out the best in people.

Getting Started With A Small Worship Team

Article by Rick Muchow January 25, 2011 in Answer Bag, Worship, Worship Corner with 1 Comment

From Chris Antill serving in Houma, LA
QUESTION:Brass and winds?

“I am running 2 contemporary and 1 blended services. We have a praise band and team in place, but we have some instrumentalists (brass and winds) that I would really like to get involved. Most of what the band plays are from lead sheets with guitar friendly keys. How do I begin with just a few players in a contemporary setting?”

RICK MUCHOW:

I’ve been told more than once that a reason I was hired at Saddleback Church was my philosophy of involving the gifts of the church body in the worship teams, in particular my openness to using instrumentalists and augmenting the basic rhythm section. The second staff person I hired was a part-time arranger. (The first person was a part-time sound engineer.)

One of the first musical teams I started was the Saddleback Orchestra. I had some background in college with orchestration and conducting, but I had never started an orchestra before. My music ministry slogan carried us through the first year: “More than music, we’re a family.”

With the orchestra, the most important reason for our gathering was relationship building. Our music wasn’t really good at first, but our fellowship was. We met every Tuesday night and rehearsed as much music as I could write in a week until we hired the arranger. As for my writing, I used a very simple software program called Professional Composer. Today, the software programs available to help you are affordable, intuitive and accessible. See the end of this article for a list of a few software options.

At that time, technically our orchestra was an instrumental ensemble, however the dream was there. Our emphasis on fellowship and spiritual growth at rehearsals opened the door to rapid growth as musicians were attracted to our tight knit group that had big dreams. I would talk to them at length about the purpose of the church and where we were headed as a music team.

At first our orchestra didn’t play on all of the songs, primarily because of my writing skills, but secondarily we were still using tracks for the “specials.” I wrote mostly pads, some horn licks and introduction lines. I orchestrated for the instruments that were available to me because we didn’t have a complete orchestral complement and had a wide range of skill competency.

To begin in a contemporary setting, we augmented our library by buying orchestrations that were playable for the average player. We put the orchestra on a playing rotation: first and third weeks of the month, however we practiced every week. For example, if you have 4 instrumentalists, put them in rotation together as an ensemble. The players understand it’s not an exclusive group and that it will grow. Interestingly, after the orchestra was up and running, we started a new group called the B Band which was primarily horns with the Rhythm section. The B Band instrumentalists also served in the orchestra… We were one big family.

The orchestra fits in well with a blended service style and depending on what your orchestra sounds like, instrumental music with brass, strings, and/or woodwinds can have a very cool feel in a contemporary service depending on how they are arranged.

A key principle in arranging for an orchestra is to remember that less is more. Not all songs need all instruments all of the time. It’s very common in symphony settings for some instruments not to play for an extended period of time. Instrumentalists understand this as part of their training so don’t feel that you have to over orchestrate. I try to write for every instrument in a way that they will contribute to the power of the song, not the volume of the song. Sometimes playing a rest is the most appropriate musical contribution.

It has always been and continues to be very important for us to emphasize that our orchestra is more than music, we’re a family.

How Do You Attract Musicians To Your Worship Team

Article by Rick Muchow November 5, 2010 in Answer Bag, Worship with 1 Comment

Recruiting is done on a regular basis. It never stops. For example, when you say you have a full band, the first question that comes to my mind is how many backups does that include? My impression is that you have just those band members and no backup players yet. Recruiting is such a vital practice that it’s worth going over the fundamentals. Continue Reading…

Being a Leader When You’re Down

Article by Rick Muchow October 19, 2010 in Answer Bag, Worship, Worship Corner with 0 Comments

From Vas-Kennedy Coffie serving in Accra, Ghana

QUESTION: Feeling Down

What do you have to do when you are supposed to lead worship and your spirit is down?

RICK MUCHOW:
Dear Vas-Kennedy,

Blessings on you and your ministry in Ghana. I’m passionate about this topic. It’s just one simple question, but it’s so profound, and hits on a common need for all of us who lead worship.

Lead from your pain. Lead from your low point. Worship is our response to what we value the most, or in our case Who we value most. For those who believe in God, we have learned from experience that God shouts to us in our pain. The key is to put your spirit in God’s hands.

Surrender is one of the purist forms of worship. When going through pain or discouragement, if you will surrender those feelings and thoughts to God, you will be able to lead worship in an authentic way that perhaps in times of joy you would not be able to replicate. As leaders, this can be a hard thing for us, to surrender our pain and discouragement to God, but it will lead to deep intimacy for us that can spread to our congregation as we join together in worship.

Psalm 30:10-12 (NIV) says, “Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help. You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.” We as leaders have to work through that process. That’s what surrender brings. That process is our promise, and with this hope, we minister and worship from our weakness.

How about some practical steps:

Ask God to be your strength before you greet your team and/or your congregation.
Realize that your intuition is obscured because of how you feel. Not everyone is feeling weak, depressed or feeling pain at the same time as you are.
Use the emptiness and the emotions you are experiencing to express your statement of faith. 2 Corinthians 4 (NIV): “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
Go to your friends and family for the support, prayer and encouragement they can give you.

I have led from a position of weakness more times than from a position of strength. I’ve never been let down by God when I’ve trusted in Him. He’s always come through. It helps me to remember that it’s not about me, it’s about Him.

Blending Styles of Worship

Article by Rick Muchow October 15, 2010 in Answer Bag, Guest Blog, Worship with 0 Comments

(got worship? Editor’s note: Recently, we’ve been talking about worship styles and traditionalism in worship. During the week, we had range of comments on our poll…including this one:

“We do whatever the staff thinks is popular with the younger attendees.” Continue Reading…

Answer Bag: “How To Confront Someone Using Worship as a Platform”

When Its Time To Cut The Tie

How Do You “Train-Up” Musicians in Worship?

Using Secular Music In Worship

Do You Talk Too Much?

The Self-Promoting Worship Leader

Getting Started With A Small Worship Team

How Do You Attract Musicians To Your Worship Team

Being a Leader When You’re Down

Blending Styles of Worship

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