Archives For For Worship Leaders

6 Ways You can Appreciate Your Worship and Music Pastor

Ryan Egan —  October 12, 2010 — Leave a comment

Worship leader singing into a microphone and playing guitar

While I’m not an official “pastor” myself I know that many people who lead and plan music teams in their churches are full-fledged, ordained pastors or are lay pastors within their congregations.  There was such great response to last week’s 9 Ways Worship and Music Ministers can Show Appreciation for their Pastor that I thought it would be fitting during pastor appreciation month to offer some ideas for pastors or church members to show appreciation their worship and/or music pastors:

1. Gear

Every instrument needs love, care, maintenance, and things that just plain cost money.

  • Research what it takes to maintain your pastor’s instrument and bless him with what he needs.
  • If he plays piano offer to pay for a tuning of his family’s piano.
  • Buy strings and picks for an acoustic guitar player and see what kind of new pedals an electric guitar player might enjoy (I like these strings but others might have a completely different preference).  For acoustic players you can also see if they need a humidifier or a hygrometer (humidity sensor).
  • For more traditional music ministers: valve oil for brass players, strings for string players (these are considerably more expensive than guitar strings, by the way.), reeds for wind players.  Humidifiers and hygrometers are useful for all traditional stringed instruments as well.
  • Important note for all of these: don’t buy cheap gear.  Your music pastor has invested a lot of money in his instrument.  Do good research, just plain ask what the best choices are, or take him on a shopping trip to his favorite music store.

2. Training

Good musicians are continually looking to improve on how they play.  Good music and worship pastors should be continually looking to approve on how they think.

  • Pay their way to a conference they’ve been wanting to attend.
  • See if there are any online training courses they’re interested in.
  • There are countless training DVDs for every instrument you can imagine.
  • Ask which one they would like and purchase it for them.
  • Research and purchase some great worship planning books.  Worship Matters and Christ-Centered Worship are two of the best I’ve ever read.
  • Ask your lead/senior pastor to recommend theology books that would be helpful to them and purchase them.

3. Music and Appreciation of Music

Music and worship pastors are constantly on the lookout for new and good music.

  • It could be brand new worship songs in a more contemporary church or new arrangements for choir or other ensembles in a more traditional church.
  • Don’t offer it just because “you think it sounds cool.”  Do good research.  Get good recommendations.
  • Also, offer to just listen to all of the new music they’ve been excited about lately.  We get very, very excited about the newest thing we’ve found and would love to share it with you.
  • If you’re not a musician, ask them to help you understand what it is they appreciate about the music.

4. Recording and Publishing

Has your worship or music pastor written a lot of music for the church?

  • Help them get it recorded.  Pay for all or part of the recording process.  This includes studio time, paying instrumentalists and vocalists to be on the recording, artwork for the album cover and sleeve, printing and distribution.
  • If you can’t afford to invest this much time and effort, or if the musician is just getting into songwriting offer to pay for a system like the Pro Tools Mbox 2 Mini for them which includes recording software and hardware that can be used with any one’s home computer.
  • They also might need a couple of microphones, direct boxes, and other gear as well.
  • Ask them what they’d need to get a home recording studio set up.

5. Coaching and Mentoring

Many local worship and music pastors might not have someone in their life that is a musical (or even spiritual) mentor.

  • If you’re not a musician but you’re a deacon or elder in the church offer to mentor them spiritually.
  • Connect them with an experienced worship pastor who can coach them.
  • Find out who their long-distance mentor is and arrange a way for them to spend time with that person.

6. Something Very Thoughtful and Personal

My absolute favorite gift of appreciation I’ve ever received was this piece of artwork that a piano player I worked with made specifically for me. She took a picture of my hands playing the guitar, sketched it, and then used wood pieces to create the amazing matte.  Thanks, Pam.  I know you’re reading and I cherish this piece of art every day.

One-of-a-kind art piece: a sketch of my hands playing guitar with a very unique and creative wood matting.

There are also many practical things to do such as gift cards, gift certificates, childcare for date nights, meals, and more, but I wanted to highlight what I believe many musicians would love for others to provide for them.

Worship and music pastors, what would you add to this list?  Church members, has there been anything you’ve done that’s been especially meaningful?

(photo by Amancay Maahs)

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.  As such, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to readers of I am an Offering. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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What Helps or Distracts You During Worship?

Ryan Egan —  October 11, 2010 — 24 Comments

Our ultimate goal as pastors, worship leaders, and music ministers is to have corporate worship be a time where the greatness of our God is magnified, made more clear, and responded to by everyone worshiping.  We think we might know what helps you or what distracts you during worship, but I’d love to get the perspective of anyone who might be reading.

I’d love this to be helpful in two ways: 1) So that we, as leaders, can have a better perspective of what is going on in people’s minds during worship and 2) so that we can help each other learn how to engage our minds better towards God’s greatness during worship.

*Note: this post does not mean to imply that our forms of worship should be dependent upon how people emotionally respond during worship, but if we assume that everyone’s minds are perfectly engaged during every meeting and never seek to find ways to help them engage more fully, we’re not doing our best to help find more effective ways to focus people’s minds on Christ.

So have at it. What helps or distracts you during worship?  Anything goes, and there are no right or wrong answers.

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Waiting for Worship – This Coming Sunday at Living Word Free Lutheran

Ryan Egan —  October 7, 2010 — Leave a comment

Ornamental Image of the word "Foundation"

Do you long to worship on Sunday mornings?  Do you prepare your heart throughout the week and look toward the weekend with joyful anticipation of what God will do?  I’m beginning to ask God to grant me that desire and one way I thought I could help prepare my mind and hopefully yours as well (especially those of you who attend Living Word) is by giving you a preview of Sunday that can hopefully deepen your worship experience.  I’d love to start doing this every Thursday and I hope it’s beneficial to you.

The Church’s One Foundation

We’re going to be singing this wonderful hymn after the message Sunday.  As we were rehearsing it I realized that there were some words in there that I wasn’t even quite sure what they meant, so I thought we could take a look together.

First of all, the hymn is a bold declaration of unity within the church body as a whole.  It was written during a time of turbulence in South Africa in 1860 when a certain bishop declared some very controversial statements about the Bible.  At that time Samuel John Stone wrote a series of twelve hymns that explained the twelve sections of the apostles creed.  This hymn reflects the section “I believe in the holy Christian church, the communion of saints.”  You can read the rest of the hymn story here, but I wanted to take a look at a couple of the verses to help us grasp them a little better.  Most of the verses are fairly straight-forward, but some might be slightly tricky to grasp.

The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation
By water and the Word.  <- Our baptismal water combined with the power of God’s Word
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died.

Elect from every nation, <- That is, the church, all who were chosen by Jesus at the Cross and those in every nation who believe
Yet one o’er all the earth; <- Yet we are united by Jesus throughout the entire earth
Her charter of salvation,
One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses, <- The name of Jesus
Partakes one holy food, <- His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper
And to one hope she presses, <- The hope of eternal life
With every grace endued. <- Endued meaning that we are provided with every Grace from God

What a great promise of being provided with every grace!  Let’s look at one more verse:

’Mid toil and tribulation,
And tumult of her war, <- Every day we are at war with our sin and face emotional struggle and agitation (tumult)
She waits the consummation <- The finish, the end, the victory
Of peace forevermore;
Till, with the vision glorious, <- Actually seeing Jesus with our own eyes
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious
Shall be the Church at rest. <- No longer fighting the daily struggle of our old nature vs. our new nature

Other Things to Anticipate

  • O for a Heart to Praise My God (same tune as O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing)
  • Immanuel (From the Squalor of a Borrowed Stable) – I love this modern hymn. (affiliate link)
  • Lord, Reign in Me (great song of both confession of faith and sin)(affiliate link)
  • Surrender All (.mp3 download from Sovereign Grace Music)
  • Pastor Wade is coming back!  Don’t forget that October is Pastor Appreciation Month

What do you look forward to the most in anticipation for your weekend worship service?

(foundation illustration by Daniel Carroll)

In For Worship Leaders, Leadership, Theology
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9 Ways Worship Leaders and Music Ministers can Show the Pastor Appreciation

Ryan Egan —  October 7, 2010 — 10 Comments

Promotional Artwork for Clergy Appreciation MonthWith October being Pastor Appreciation Month I wanted to share what I think are ten great ideas that worship leaders and music ministers could use to show appreciation for their pastor(s):

  1. Take an interest in theology.  Your pastor would love it if you added depth of thought to your depth of musical skill.
  2. Write a song specifically for your local congregation.  Ask him what the church is needing to express through music right now.  The pastor loves the church and would love this way for the church to unite the music and emotion.
  3. If he has kids offer to give them a month (or a year, or five years, or a lifetime, even!) of free music lessons.
  4. Ask for counsel and receive it with grace.  Ask specifically for objective counsel on how you lead worship or music every Sunday morning.
  5. Let him use the song you “just plain don’t like” 🙂
  6. If you co-plan your services, offer to plan an entire series of services on your own and follow through
  7. Arrange for someone to lead the service, give the message, and do everything the pastor normally does so he can worship with his family for one service without having to be on vacation to do it
  8. Tell him what he’s taught you about worship
  9. Pray.  Pray.  Pray.
  10. What would you add to this list?  Pastors?  Worship leaders?  Music Ministers?

(side note – I found the image for clergy appreciation month from Parsonage.org and searched and searched for something better – anyone seen anything?)
(side, side note for geeky web-design types – who knows how to style my ordered list so that it shows 1-10 instead of A-J? *Thanks to Matt Nelson who helped figure this out in the comments.)

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Music theory for Worship – Learning Not to Play On Top of Each Other

Ryan Egan —  October 5, 2010 — 4 Comments

Guitar, piano, and sheet music

If you play piano for worship you’ve probably been in one (or both) of these situations.  Your worship leader or band leader has asked you to play “up an octave” so that you don’t “fight with the guitar” or you’ve been asked not to use your left hand at all if there’s a bass player or other low instrument playing with you.  I’ve been on both sides of this situation (telling piano players these very things and being reminded of them myself as I play under the direction of a different worship leader) and wanted to break down the “why” of why this is important.

More Players, More Need for Clarity

Typically when playing piano, someone is used to having free reign of where each hand plays on the keys.  Each hand works together and doesn’t play “on top of” each other.  Imagine if you added a third hand to your piano playing.  Where would it go?  Would you put it in the exact same spot as what your right hand is doing?  Your left hand?  Besides being the only person on the planet with a third hand, which would be awkward (well, maybe a little amazing, but probably more awkward), it would be even more awkward to try and put two hands in the same spot on the keys and expect something that sounds clean to come out.  When another instrument is added to the mix and the piano player plays in the same octave range as that instrument, the pianist is essentially playing what amounts to both hands in one place on the keys.  The sound of the two instruments has begun fighting to be heard clearly.

Think of the Orchestra

People who write and arrange music for an orchestra must be thinking about how to blend and balance instruments in this way all the time, only on a much larger scale.  They must think about how to let the low strings be heard over the low brass, how to keep the whole brass section from overpowering the woodwind section, or when the flute or oboe should cut through the rest of the instruments to be heard clearly.  Essentially worship teams, and members of the worship team, must learn to do this same thing every time they are “arranging” music, only on a smaller scale.

Use the Whole Keyboard or Fretboard

Instead of feeling picked on as a piano player, realize that you have an opportunity to be a musical servant.  It’s much easier for a pianist to play up higher on the keyboard or not play the left hand at all than for guitar players to learn new chord shapes or for bass players to play melody lines.  The pianist has command of 88 keys and has the privilege of learning how to play them in a way that the guitar, bass guitar, and piano can all be heard clearly.

If you’re a guitarist, learn the different chord shapes that lend themselves to playing in a higher position on the fretboard (this is one area that I’ve committed myself to improving as a guitar player myself).  The pianist can then play in the middle of the keyboard where they’re used to playing. Learn to become a humble servant to both your fellow musicians and the music in order to create a much more clear and less muddied sound that draws attention to the lyrics instead of the music.

Does what I’ve written make sense?  How can you apply it to playing along with a vocalist or playing during prayer?

(photo by angelocesare on Flickr)

In For Worship Leaders, Music, Training
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