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Below
are the latest featured songs. Click
here to hear all the
featured songs (streaming playlist), on the song name to view what others
have said about the song and on the artist's name to view details about the
artist.
Until next time.
Marty Kendall
ShareSong.org Coordinator
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Ask Rick
Muchow
We have 3
separate services in our church. I lead the traditional and blended services.
I use the same musicians in both but do not have enough time at
rehearsal. I hold a choir, orchestra, worship team (trad./blend), and rhythm section (trad./blend) rehearsal
within 2 hours. How can I hold separate rehearsals for these in order
to have more time and not burn my people out?
RICK MUCHOW:
It sounds like you are doing a ton of things at once - too
many things in only 2 hours. While the orchestra and rhythm section can
rehearse together, the choir and the vocal team should rehearse separately. I
find that those two groups are easily distracted by each other’s rehearsal
process. I refer to the entire team as the “worship team” and refer to the
on-mic singers as the vocal team.
I recommend separate rehearsals for 1) band/orchestra, 2)
the vocal team and 3) the choir. In addition, I highly recommend periodic
sectionals within the orchestra.
When we as worship leaders can’t hire staff, we have to do
one of 3 things:
#1 Do it all ourselves:
leads to burnout and less than your potential.
#2
Delegate leadership to volunteers: increases productivity while distributing the work load,
and leads to best results.
#3
Delay growth: limit productivity to a comfortable size for one leader
to manage.
If you want to last in the ministry and see God’s best
working through you, Option #2 is by far the best way to go. If you are
currently operating under Option #1, unfortunately you are not alone. The
good news is that it is a lot easier to transition to delegation from doing
it all yourself, rather than continuing down the path of hopeless burnout.
When I started at Saddleback, I rehearsed the vocal team
on Monday and the band/orchestra on Tuesday night. I did not have a choir. I
didn’t have any staff members. There was no rehearsal facility and I was very
limited on support equipment.
The first staff person I hired was an audio engineer who
only worked part time on the weekends. The second person I hired was an orchestrator who wrote out all of the arrangements,
rehearsed the orchestra and nurtured the relational aspect of the orchestra
group.
Eventually, I was able to hire a highly skilled, part time
(one night/week) choir director. This director has been with me for 15 years
now. This solution has been great for the director because he loves the
people and the ministry, and it works well for his schedule. Hiring this part
time specialist has been a great benefit for our church.
It is very important to separate the three rehearsals:
band/orchestra, vocal team, and choir. Even with them separated, a two hour
rehearsal doesn’t seem long enough for me. Without this separation, I find
the various teams get distracted by each other and individual’s time is
wasted.
Since two hours is about all a person can take, and time
so precious. . . In order to get everything you need done, you need to
maximize each minute. The rehearsal is one of the most important weekly
events for your church. Making your rehearsal a top priority is essential.
When the “main event” is the rehearsal (learning music,
fellowship with God and others) the music in the worship service will benefit
by sounding, looking and feeling better. Excellence is a value to pursue but
changed lives is the real goal. A well-rehearsed worship team allows that
team to learn their music (which is fundamentally important) but also gives
them time to worship, grow spiritually and to develop relationships within
the team. This is the significant difference between a musical recital and
leading an effective worship service.
I am
continually encouraged by God’s Word in Proverbs 3:5 and Proverbs 16:3.
My song “Trust God” is based on these verses. The Bible promises that
God will equip you “with all you need for doing his will.” Heb 13:21.
In ministry, we are never alone and NEVER out of resources for doing
God’s will. I have watched God do miracle after miracle in my life and
ministry and He will do the same for you and your ministry. “I can do
all things through Christ…. Who gives me strength.”
Phil 4:13. Please
plan to join Rick at the 2008 Worship Conference and Festival at Newsletter distribution kindly donated by FrontGate Media - Your Gateway to the Christian audience |
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