I'm stunned whenever I meet with a worship team that only
does music together. Conversations are warm but shallow, we carry our own
burdens in…and then out, we hear scripture in the songs but don’t open the Book
together, there’s learning that’s happening but we don’t share it with each
other, and we’ve never shared a meal or been in each other’s homes.
That’s so, so sad.
Maybe you’re experience isn’t that bad, but I bet you can be
more intentional to go deeper, grow spiritually, learn intentionally, and experience
human community. Every week, I’m helping bands to play better together, so I
certainly value creating fantastic music. The tragedy comes when that’s all we
do. And I get that it’s a musical rehearsal, but if we’re intentional, we can
build so much more than great music. There’s this unspoken sentiment that says
“well, we have to get the music down…if something else happens, it’s a bonus.”
So often, there’s no bonus. Sad face.
How can you be more intentional?
Go Deeper
If I’ve led your team, you’ve probably heard me say “I have
a rule. I don’t lead worship with strangers.” And then I break out the (dreaded)
question: “What do you wish I knew about you? And you should probably share the
first thing that comes to your mind.” All it takes is a little question to give
people the chance to begin sharing themselves. Be interested in each other…ask
curious questions.
Grow Spiritually
We are to take great pains until…Christ is formed in each other.
Have a different band member lead a five-minute devotional each time. Take your
bible and open it up and read a psalm together. Subscribe to Worship
Team Devotions. Pray for each other. Stop taking so long doing inefficient
sound checks and making copies of chord charts
so you carve out space for this.
Learn Intentionally
I believe that we’re learning all the time…a little here, a
little there. It’s one of the reasons I share on Twitter and Facebook. I reflect on an
experience and find a nugget of learning and share it. How did you get that
part of the song down? What made those voices work well on that song? What is
going through your head/heart when you sing this song? As a leader, you can
simply ask “What are you learning with this music tonight?”
Experience Human Community
Be Italian already! Eat! (together) There’s a church whose worship team eats a meal
before each rehearsal. Every week, a different team member brings a simple meal
to share together the thirty minutes before they play. Get this: the band, the
tech, and sometimes even the pastors eat and talk together. Hey start doing
this even once a month and see where it goes.
So let me ask you this: Are you friends with the people on your team? (and that sounds like a pretty good definition for a friend: a person you go deeper, grow spiritually, learn intentionally, and experience human community with.)
