The respect for the pastor is a lesson it took me a long time to learn. Not in spitefulness but understanding where they were coming from. It is easy to think as a worship leader that you're the end all be all at your church when it comes to worship. I've also learned that seeing your pastor actively in worship is an amazing thing. Worship readys our hearts for more, when the pastor is already in a place of worship when he begins his sermon it helps him. Kind of like trying to run a mile without a warm up or sing without a warm up. Yeah, you can do it, but you do so much better when you physically and mentally prepared. God bless you guys, love your stuff.
When it comes to volume we have an agreed upon dB level. But even with that everyone has a preference on volume. If our pastor says it’s too loud, I ask what seems to loud? Some times it may be a frequency range. It may be the vocals are too loud or the guitars are too edgy. We may be at the predetermined volume but an out of balance mix make it seem too loud and fatiguing to the ear. Always ask what seems too loud and train your pastor to listen critically as well. One change with one instrument or vocal can make a world of difference to the perceived volume. Thanks for your ministry God Bless.
I'm a sound guy. I was at a church where the pastor would constantly tell me that I don't know what I'm doing. Now mind you I'm the only person with the knowledge the only person setting up the entire system. From running cables to maintaining the system. Packing it away, sett up break down. 20 years in the same church the only one who wants to do it but the pastor standing in the way preventing me from doing the job so nothing ever sounds right because the pastor is being a stumbling block.
Maybe you should step away from the sound guy position and do something else there or if the pastor is a problem to you - can you move to a different church?
Great video! And yes, the pastor the final word, even if he is wrong. And while you, the sound man and the senior pastor are at lunch, this question should be asked by either the pastor or the sound... What is most important regarding sound? The answer is: Mix to make it as easy as possible for people to enter into worship. Figuring that out maybe as simple as simply not doing anything that is a stumbling block. Putting the congregation first makes it easy for the pastor and to compromise.
Here’s a tip for if you have a member of the worship team who you for various reasons want/need to turn down in the FOH mix but don’t want to hurt their feelings: (only works if you run in-ear monitors with a digital system) Set the monitor sends to pre-fader but post-gain. Then you can turn the GAIN up to where they hear themselves, but turn the FADERS down. Then THEY think they’re nice and loud and are happy, but they don’t throw off your FOH mix. Especially useful if you are also running stems (tracks); then you can boost/supplement their part with the track channel without them knowing. This might sound mean, but sometimes it’s useful/necessary when you have someone having an off night musically or vocally, or comes to service unprepared for a song...
LOL! I thought the 2 responses to the pastor would be 1) yes, and 2) yes sir! Thank you for sharing your insights. I'm blessed, as a sound guy, to have a senior pastor who, as the worship leader, is very flexible and actually seeks my input on how a song should sound, be arranged, etc. PTL!
Great lesson. Conversation !! Consultant !! I agree at the end of the day leadership makes the call, but I would add: would the Pastor go out to the volunteer carpenter building a cabinet for the church and have input on which saw to use? But I think you're focusing on "spiritual" matters -- worship, interpretation of Scripture etc. I've had our Worship Pastor look puzzled when I mentioned best practices like an ambient mic for IEM mixes, stereo IEM mixes instead of mono, pianist ( him ) laying off the left hand since the bass is covering that. Which takes you back to the consultant ( expert from afar ) because there is the "not invented here," phenomenon. Some of the puzzlement is that they've never heard of the concept, much of it can just be they're swamped with non-sound duties and think the sound is good enough. We have a policy of maximum decibels at 95 in A-weighted/slow mode which can help with complaints from the peanut gallery.
I LOVE your videos. They've helped me so much over the last few months as I've taken a leading role in the youth group worship band at my church. Do you have any tips for young worship leaders, or even worship leaders just starting out with minimal materials to work with?
Hahahaha the song at the end! 😂 but in all seriousness, could you guys do a Lead guitarist Thursday or something like that? Maybe have Bradford do it? Or worship guitarist Tuesday or whatever you wanna call it
Great video I was just on this subject a couple days ago thank you for sharing..... P.S. Brian, can you do a tutorial for “Into The Deep”- By Citipointe ???
I love your videos and and have learned so much thank you, Worship Tutorials! I have a question though. I am a vocalist at my church and have been singing for a while with the team, since a young age (I am now 21). I have never lead worship, like speaking to the congregation, and have been having the desire to start leading. Can you give me advice on beginning that journey? I still haven't spoken to the worship director as Im afraid he will just throw me into it lol
The one time, my pastor came up and told me, "Hey turn down the bass, I'm a musician and can tell he is playing the wrong notes." I died, that was too funny.
You guys have been a fantastic resource me and my church in Boise, ID. One question: Do you have any advice or resources for me as I'm trying to deal with the very small sanctuary of my church? Our church sanctuary is small enough that it can only fit about 120 people max, but we still have a full band (yes, even a regular drum set). Our sound bounces off the walls. I've heard of people putting things up on the walls, but I don't know the first thing about that. Where can I begin?
Here is a related question, how do you handle older members of your congregation, that may make up a good 15-20% of your members, whom some don't like 'louder' music and come back to complain about your mix being too loud? I am really only referring to a small portion of that age group, but I never see anyone under the age of 65 complaining about volume. Granted, a few of these people have hearing aids which I could completely understand, but the majority of complaints I get are from people who don't use them. Most of these people don't come in the worship center until worship is over and the volume calms down for our pastor to come up and preach. I guess my bigger question is how do I, as a sound guy and occasional worship leader, impress to them that worship isn't meant to be tame, or calm, or background music? It is meant to invoke a response from the people to worship and encounter their Lord and Savior through music. I certainly don't want to make people uncomfortable, or even alienate anyone, and I understand everyone worships in their own way. We live in a section of the country, where the majority of the people who attend church are the come in late, drink some coffee and are the stand-and-watch type. Most of the time, these are the people who I see from time to time talking about how loud the music is, or that they the can't understand what the vocals are singing. I have a few people who come in completely sold out and ready to worship, but in the back of the room I look around and like half of the people are just standing there, just watching. Or they spend the entire worship set talking with the people around them. I even have one person who comes in, sits down and stretches out like he is watching his TV at home. But again, the room doesn't 'fill up' until about half way through the last song of a 4-5 song set. I have had many conversations with our worship pastor and lead pastor, and we feel our mix is right in the zone of what we want our worship to be. We are not too loud compared to many other churches I have attended casually. We have a meter, and we reference it from time to time. Generally speaking, at our loudest moments, we can be anywhere between 85 and 87dB A-weight. In fact, our pastors sometimes say they could see us mixing louder, but they have the same concerns I have about people not coming in to the room due to the volume.
Smile and tell them thanks for their feedback. Some churches actually offer some earplugs too... that way its comfortable for them. You can't please everybody.
It's a generational thing you are experiencing. The older generation doesn't think this 'loud' type of music is very church-like and therefore it's foreign to them. They are used to a piano and an organ playing gentle rolling music harmoniously - not a bunch of kids wearing jeans, sneakers and a stocking cap inside the sanctuary singing about Jesus to a backdrop of rock music (in their eyes). To each their own. And btw - ditch the stocking hat too!
Hey guys idk if you have coveres this before (i dont think so) Iwas wondering if you guys could show how to build a set list and whats your mind set behind the songs you choose. Thanks alot for these video's.
Not in a place I can watch the video right now but one part of the equation is whether the room , the pa , the stage, the monitoring etcetera is set up such that the sound person actually has control of the entire mix ...in our case the acoustic drum kit is mic'd but the mics are essentially turned off and it's a constant problem ...I know we're not alone in that ...the point is just that sometimes it's beyond the sound techs control.
Hi Guys, thanks for your amazing ministry! I was having an interesting disscusion with some of the other worship leaders at my Uni's Christian Union about how to choose songs. Some of us felt (me included) that, were possible, the songs should be chosen to fit the theme of the sermon, where as others felt you should choose the songs that you feel led to choose, regardless of there relevancy. I was interested to see what your opinion is? Thanks!
I think the most important thing is creating a set that tells a unified story and accomplishes the vision for that day. There are many strategies but ultimately you simply want to end up with the best experience in worship! The set should be cohesive and leave people with an idea or focus to carry throughout their lives that week!
I definitely have some questions. I don't think i disagree with anything that was said, but just want to get some more clarity if i may? Where in scripture do we get the vision of a church lead by a "senior or lead pastor"? (not saying it isn't there, just trying to learn)
What if your pastor tells you that whoever volunteers to be on the worship team gets to be on the worship team...even if they are really not that talented?
Our Pastor himself doesn’t say to much but he gets a lot of comments from congregation about our sound being to loud. If not to Pastor then to us. I myself have sat in the congregation and can’t hardly hear what praise & worship leader is saying if music is softly playing. There are times I feel like I’m having to scream at times singing or talking.
You may have an inadequate sound system... I would bring in a pro and get their opinion before moving forward. Sound is very tricky and the wrong set up can sabotage the whole experience!
If it's a small church - chances are it's an inadequate sound system and/or sound people that don't know how to work it properly. Small church sound systems are designed for preaching not for sound reproduction by a live band. Chances are the church will not want to put more money into a sound system just to hear you rock out in front of them. There may be a reason why that church is small - lack of vision. I've seen the scenario a few times myself.
Hey guys, how do you deal with a church going through a transition between pastors/leaders and, specifically with worship, the overall sound/feel of the church? For example my church’s senior pastor is very old school , while his son who is slowly taking over is all for the reaching the younger generation. How do you deal with that awkward transition as a church?
This is a great question I’m nobody special but I do have a few thoughts for this sort of situation. That is assuming by oldschool you mean he likes to do hymns First thought, stay true to the hymns. That way the traditional people feel like you’re not trying to ruin their music 😂 Second, add in contemporary songs that are hymn like for example 10,000 reasons, blessed be your name, there’s quite a few Hillsong songs that are essentially gospel but with a new feel Those were my small thoughts. This is a hard thing to go through. I think the best thing to do is, no matter what music you’re doing or what style you’re doing, do it with all your heart even if you don’t like it
In starting a new praise team, how does one go about setting everyone in their place. Singers especially, always tend to have their own way on how they do things. How should one approach it?
Develop a clear and concise WRITTEN vision of your team values and goals. Cast a ton of vision for it to each person and team and then lead by example. Make sure to only on-board folks who understand it and want to serve! AVOID DIVAS
How do we deal with some members of the band not listening to any suggestions the rest of the band has? Been struggling with some songs because of this, and we don't want to do anything irrational, so any suggestions?
2 ways to answer a pastor, yes and yes but it will be expensive. Well The word teaches us to test all things, that includes leaders. With all gentleness and humility of course. What if the pastor asks you to wash his car and do his dry cleaning? Submit to your padtor does not mean ypu are the pastor's slave. To submit is to have confidence in their teaching but even in order to have confidence sometimes questions need to be asked. If the heart of God is in the center of it all, humility will be demonstrated.
If my pastor asked me to wash his car and do his dry cleaning, I'd respond by saying that I charge $200/hour for those services :). All we are saying is that we are supposed to submit to authority in our churches. It's also up to our churches to put checks and balances in place to make sure pastors do not abuse that authority. Sadly abuse of authority in churches happens all the time - if a pastor ever asked anyone to do something that went against the Bible, that would be cause for concern for sure, and not something we should do blindly.
If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
No one said to be a slave, they did say to serve. If the pastor asks for something, submit and then if it was that big of a deal, talk to him afterwards.
Left sound desk as to many busy hands Self appointed flour manager loudly screaming at drop of hat, singers changing mics all the time, maybe they got a kick out of it If I didn’t leave sound would have washed hands of this church
not in any particular order: Gibson Les Paul Telecaster for fun - Baritone Electric guitar (sounds cool in the background doing fills and solos up front too!)
First you have to ask yourself what style or flavor do you want to play. Alot of popular praise music of this day sounds U2 ish. Which I personally don't like. Too much reverb and delay for me. I personally like 60's and 70's guitar sounds - authentic guitar sounds - not a bunch of effect laden garbage. After you figure that out for yourself then you can decide which will work for you. For the modern U2 praise worship sound you will want a single coil pickup guitar - strat or tele. For something different that rocks nicely that is not the typical U2 sound - a Les Paul.
There are a few things that I disagree upon from the video. First on how the authority is given to the senior pastor..Saying words like "it's his church..under the authority of Jesus" contradicts with itself...It's Jesus's church....I come from a church where my pastor is the one who started it all and he does lead the church as the leader..We all know that and acknowledge it..and we also know how much of a servant he is..and that we all are equal in this church without any hierarchy..there's no "He's the senior pastor so he must love the church more than everyone else"..we all love our church..And yeah he has given more time than most of us for the church and there's a beauty in how he doesn't like to brag or use that to impose his opinions on others for that sake..If it's worship it's worship team's job..If it's pastoring that's when he comes in..and each one of us play some role..and we do humble ourselves but we never feel this hierarchy that i constantly feel from the video.."if the pastor wants a song that u hate, you gotta do it"..seriously? then how are u the worship leader? and who hates a worship song? Secondly...This whole concept of this video makes me feel uncomfortable that people actually take small things as big issues..I don't understand why a pastor having a problem with sound guy is being blown out of proportion as if it's a big conflict..It only shows that too much significance is being given to music instead of actual worship...
Jedidiah Daniel As a worship team member, I can agree with you. The suggestions or comments of the pastor should be taken respectfully so long as it’s for the betterment of the church and worship, not just as a sign of hierarchical submission. But as far as too much emphasis being shown towards the musical part of worship rather than the worship overall, the entire service, I agree. I’m guilty of that myself. I was contemplating buying a $2000 pedalboard setup, but do I need that to worship God? No. Some will argue it’s to sound good and to make worship better, but it’s all superficial. God cares more about what is inside of us as we worship. I do think focusing on the sound is important, but there may be a concern to address when it’s how good the dress looks instead of the bride.
Jedidiah There are lots of songs I really cant stand to perform but I do them because my opinion isn't the most important thing :) does that mean i'm a bad worship leader? Do you love all songs ever written? That would be amazing if you do!!! because there are some really bad ones out there!!
Magdalene K. Naidoo A demonstrated sign of maturity and discipline is a prerequisite to join our worship group. The purpose is to worship and praise God, and so all should be on board for that. Now, as far as how to approach someone: Talk to them personally. If they don’t correct their behavior, take another member with you, if they deny, talk to the worship leader. It’s really no different than the framework Jesus laid out for how to correct someone. Often, it’s just a simple, “Hey, Greg, awesome job. We appreciate what you’re doing, and we’re happy to have you with us, praising God with our abilities he has given us. One thing though...” then go on to say “We noticed you often...” or “Is something distracting you?” or “Could we work on...?” That’s my two cents. Here’s a great resource in detail using scripture that may be of help: bible.org/seriespage/lesson-14-gentle-art-correction-2-timothy-223-26 bible.org/seriespage/lesson-15-ministry-correction-1-timothy-51-2
I'd stop playing with them. Too much drama with people like that. Team up with people who practice and practice with those people who seem to be more dedicated. The others - don't invite slackers.
Magdalene K. Naidoo - Is there at least one other who will play along with you? If so - make it a duo that carries the music and do the singing too if you can.
I find your videos very informative and thoughtful, but I would have to challenge your position that the pastor is effectively the executive CEO of everything. That’s virtually Catholic level of religious heirachy. God did not institute this type of system of one man Lording it over each local church. Really think it’s a misinterpretation of submission, which should be mutually respectful and submissive
I understand the focus is on creating an environment that compels the congregation to worship. In that vein, it is also ok to strive for excellence in music presentation. We have different mixes Live vs streaming playback but as the lead guitarist, it's frustrating to spend time working out intricate parts, only to have them buried in the mix because the vocals are so loud they can't be heard. There should be a blending of parts that create the sum of the sound for the song. If the parts you are playing don't contribute to the song, then why even play them? I understand you are still worshipping but it is a little disheartening to put in hours of practice to seemingly make no contribution to the music. This doesn't happen all the time, but enough that has started to become annoying. Consider this my healthy venting platform :-)
Zion Cage 5 days ago My worship Leader is a jerk and also the guitarist., Do u know that worst part both of them are my uncles. I have been doing sound engineer for about 10+ years ,Not in the church i am currently in. I am 17 going on 18 years .I have been dealing with people that do not understand i have a problem with our Sound Board and our monitors and our front of house speakers and power amps and so on . I have a personal system that i put together that works amazing .. The worship leader told me just set and don't touch or do anything or else he will get a glue gun and glue down the knobs.. I think i about leaving the worship team .. Explain to me what should i do.. I love being a sound engineer. i am big Fan of Behringer products i can play a little of each interments in our church. I been trying to explain to my worship leader . Its it Because i am too young. The sound engineer that work side by side with me made me the Lead Sound Engineer and i think no one on the worship teams cares..
I do concerts regular, weddings, Etc.. I been Sound Engineer for other churches and Bands.. they love my mixes. I do get jobs from it but i do it for god and i love what i do. From time to time People Call At all hrs of the night for me to sound engineer for them. I am not claiming that i am profession but i think i have enough experience to make some Decisions. I even hook up the church sound system for them because non of them know how to hook up anything.. Our sound Board is about 15 Years old in church... I talked to the people at the head of the church and Yea we know u get a board soon. But the problem is the entire system. I have trying to seek answers for the longest time..
Zion - sometimes these 'grown ups' at church with their antiquated sound systems barely know how to operate them and you come along (a kid in their eyes) and they don't want you messing about with the knobs and screwing around with settings because they might not know how to put 'it back' to where they had it configured. That is one scenario. Another scenario may be that they just don't want what you bring (to the table) because they either don't understand what you are doing or they understand your vision but don't want that because it will cost a poop ton of money for them (as they will have to acquire new equipment) or they feel that what they have is just fine. If I were you - ask to get a meeting going where you can address the issues that you want to rectify and attach a dollar amount to it and present it to the 'grown ups' and see what they say. Chances are they will say 'no' but at least you tried and laid it out there. If you get rejection - just step down from that position and do something else in the church. Maybe just play an instrument and let the 'grown ups' play with their sound system and sit back and grin when it doesn't sound right. At least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you were right. After a while maybe the 'grown ups' will see the error of their ways. I'm personally not into beating my head into a wall with people like that.
A kid in their eye i was dj and sound engineer for one of their weddings lol..They Don't configure anything...They come in back and just turn a knob and say that sounds good and go and back to front... i normally move away from the mixer in back so i won't be blamed.. 5 minutes later what did u touch in the back i see u turning knobs. I was what the hell..i was not even by it,
These guys are great, i have learned alot from them and all has helped me build my churches youth band
The respect for the pastor is a lesson it took me a long time to learn. Not in spitefulness but understanding where they were coming from. It is easy to think as a worship leader that you're the end all be all at your church when it comes to worship. I've also learned that seeing your pastor actively in worship is an amazing thing. Worship readys our hearts for more, when the pastor is already in a place of worship when he begins his sermon it helps him. Kind of like trying to run a mile without a warm up or sing without a warm up. Yeah, you can do it, but you do so much better when you physically and mentally prepared. God bless you guys, love your stuff.
Great comment! Worship and the Word are so tied together!!! Both effect the other and it's beautiful when they are working together!!
Extremely good advice! Good communication and some well timed levity can solve a myriad of issues... God Bless you guys!
This is my first visit to your channel. You are very blessed with skill to play the guitar. Liked it. Thanks for sharing.
When it comes to volume we have an agreed upon dB level. But even with that everyone has a preference on volume. If our pastor says it’s too loud, I ask what seems to loud? Some times it may be a frequency range. It may be the vocals are too loud or the guitars are too edgy. We may be at the predetermined volume but an out of balance mix make it seem too loud and fatiguing to the ear. Always ask what seems too loud and train your pastor to listen critically as well. One change with one instrument or vocal can make a world of difference to the perceived volume. Thanks for your ministry God Bless.
I'm a sound guy. I was at a church where the pastor would constantly tell me that I don't know what I'm doing. Now mind you I'm the only person with the knowledge the only person setting up the entire system. From running cables to maintaining the system. Packing it away, sett up break down. 20 years in the same church the only one who wants to do it but the pastor standing in the way preventing me from doing the job so nothing ever sounds right because the pastor is being a stumbling block.
Maybe you should step away from the sound guy position and do something else there or if the pastor is a problem to you - can you move to a different church?
Great video!
And yes, the pastor the final word, even if he is wrong.
And while you, the sound man and the senior pastor are at lunch, this question should be asked by either the pastor or the sound...
What is most important regarding sound? The answer is: Mix to make it as easy as possible for people to enter into worship. Figuring that out maybe as simple as simply not doing anything that is a stumbling block.
Putting the congregation first makes it easy for the pastor and to compromise.
Here’s a tip for if you have a member of the worship team who you for various reasons want/need to turn down in the FOH mix but don’t want to hurt their feelings: (only works if you run in-ear monitors with a digital system)
Set the monitor sends to pre-fader but post-gain. Then you can turn the GAIN up to where they hear themselves, but turn the FADERS down. Then THEY think they’re nice and loud and are happy, but they don’t throw off your FOH mix. Especially useful if you are also running stems (tracks); then you can boost/supplement their part with the track channel without them knowing.
This might sound mean, but sometimes it’s useful/necessary when you have someone having an off night musically or vocally, or comes to service unprepared for a song...
LOL! I thought the 2 responses to the pastor would be 1) yes, and 2) yes sir! Thank you for sharing your insights. I'm blessed, as a sound guy, to have a senior pastor who, as the worship leader, is very flexible and actually seeks my input on how a song should sound, be arranged, etc. PTL!
Great lesson. Conversation !! Consultant !! I agree at the end of the day leadership makes the call, but I would add: would the Pastor go out to the volunteer carpenter building a cabinet for the church and have input on which saw to use? But I think you're focusing on "spiritual" matters -- worship, interpretation of Scripture etc. I've had our Worship Pastor look puzzled when I mentioned best practices like an ambient mic for IEM mixes, stereo IEM mixes instead of mono, pianist ( him ) laying off the left hand since the bass is covering that. Which takes you back to the consultant ( expert from afar ) because there is the "not invented here," phenomenon. Some of the puzzlement is that they've never heard of the concept, much of it can just be they're swamped with non-sound duties and think the sound is good enough.
We have a policy of maximum decibels at 95 in A-weighted/slow mode which can help with complaints from the peanut gallery.
I LOVE your videos. They've helped me so much over the last few months as I've taken a leading role in the youth group worship band at my church. Do you have any tips for young worship leaders, or even worship leaders just starting out with minimal materials to work with?
Thoughts on spontaneous worship? That could be a video all in itself! Thanks for these Brain :)
Hahahaha the song at the end! 😂 but in all seriousness, could you guys do a Lead guitarist Thursday or something like that? Maybe have Bradford do it? Or worship guitarist Tuesday or whatever you wanna call it
Great video I was just on this subject a couple days ago thank you for sharing..... P.S. Brian, can you do a tutorial for “Into The Deep”- By Citipointe ???
I love your videos and and have learned so much thank you, Worship Tutorials!
I have a question though. I am a vocalist at my church and have been singing for a while with the team, since a young age (I am now 21). I have never lead worship, like speaking to the congregation, and have been having the desire to start leading. Can you give me advice on beginning that journey? I still haven't spoken to the worship director as Im afraid he will just throw me into it lol
Start small - maybe organize some small worship program and show your director that you are capable of leading an audience in worship.
The one time, my pastor came up and told me, "Hey turn down the bass, I'm a musician and can tell he is playing the wrong notes." I died, that was too funny.
Can you do a vid on what fingerpicking riffs that you can do while the church is praying like a soft peaceful riffs
THAT SONG LOOKED AMAZING 🙌🙌🙌
HA! That gag at the end was perfect :P
You guys have been a fantastic resource me and my church in Boise, ID. One question: Do you have any advice or resources for me as I'm trying to deal with the very small sanctuary of my church? Our church sanctuary is small enough that it can only fit about 120 people max, but we still have a full band (yes, even a regular drum set). Our sound bounces off the walls. I've heard of people putting things up on the walls, but I don't know the first thing about that. Where can I begin?
New shirts! Love it! :P
Here is a related question, how do you handle older members of your congregation, that may make up a good 15-20% of your members, whom some don't like 'louder' music and come back to complain about your mix being too loud? I am really only referring to a small portion of that age group, but I never see anyone under the age of 65 complaining about volume. Granted, a few of these people have hearing aids which I could completely understand, but the majority of complaints I get are from people who don't use them. Most of these people don't come in the worship center until worship is over and the volume calms down for our pastor to come up and preach.
I guess my bigger question is how do I, as a sound guy and occasional worship leader, impress to them that worship isn't meant to be tame, or calm, or background music? It is meant to invoke a response from the people to worship and encounter their Lord and Savior through music. I certainly don't want to make people uncomfortable, or even alienate anyone, and I understand everyone worships in their own way. We live in a section of the country, where the majority of the people who attend church are the come in late, drink some coffee and are the stand-and-watch type. Most of the time, these are the people who I see from time to time talking about how loud the music is, or that they the can't understand what the vocals are singing. I have a few people who come in completely sold out and ready to worship, but in the back of the room I look around and like half of the people are just standing there, just watching. Or they spend the entire worship set talking with the people around them. I even have one person who comes in, sits down and stretches out like he is watching his TV at home. But again, the room doesn't 'fill up' until about half way through the last song of a 4-5 song set.
I have had many conversations with our worship pastor and lead pastor, and we feel our mix is right in the zone of what we want our worship to be. We are not too loud compared to many other churches I have attended casually. We have a meter, and we reference it from time to time. Generally speaking, at our loudest moments, we can be anywhere between 85 and 87dB A-weight. In fact, our pastors sometimes say they could see us mixing louder, but they have the same concerns I have about people not coming in to the room due to the volume.
Smile and tell them thanks for their feedback. Some churches actually offer some earplugs too... that way its comfortable for them. You can't please everybody.
It's a generational thing you are experiencing. The older generation doesn't think this 'loud' type of music is very church-like and therefore it's foreign to them. They are used to a piano and an organ playing gentle rolling music harmoniously - not a bunch of kids wearing jeans, sneakers and a stocking cap inside the sanctuary singing about Jesus to a backdrop of rock music (in their eyes). To each their own. And btw - ditch the stocking hat too!
Hey guys idk if you have coveres this before (i dont think so) Iwas wondering if you guys could show how to build a set list and whats your mind set behind the songs you choose. Thanks alot for these video's.
Not in a place I can watch the video right now but one part of the equation is whether the room , the pa , the stage, the monitoring etcetera is set up such that the sound person actually has control of the entire mix ...in our case the acoustic drum kit is mic'd but the mics are essentially turned off and it's a constant problem ...I know we're not alone in that ...the point is just that sometimes it's beyond the sound techs control.
We didn't really go into specifics about how to mix or problems with rooms, mics, etc. This one was all about cultivating relationships.
Hi Guys, thanks for your amazing ministry! I was having an interesting disscusion with some of the other worship leaders at my Uni's Christian Union about how to choose songs. Some of us felt (me included) that, were possible, the songs should be chosen to fit the theme of the sermon, where as others felt you should choose the songs that you feel led to choose, regardless of there relevancy. I was interested to see what your opinion is? Thanks!
I think the most important thing is creating a set that tells a unified story and accomplishes the vision for that day. There are many strategies but ultimately you simply want to end up with the best experience in worship! The set should be cohesive and leave people with an idea or focus to carry throughout their lives that week!
I'm not a yes man and when there are no other volunteers who really want to do it. The pastor is out of line stepping in where he doesn't belong.
I definitely have some questions. I don't think i disagree with anything that was said, but just want to get some more clarity if i may?
Where in scripture do we get the vision of a church lead by a "senior or lead pastor"? (not saying it isn't there, just trying to learn)
hey! could you make a video on how to audition to play on the worship team! like how to make a good impression and stuff, ect.
Excellent idea! We will
What if your pastor tells you that whoever volunteers to be on the worship team gets to be on the worship team...even if they are really not that talented?
Our Pastor himself doesn’t say to much but he gets a lot of comments from congregation about our sound being to loud. If not to Pastor then to us. I myself have sat in the congregation and can’t hardly hear what praise & worship leader is saying if music is softly playing. There are times I feel like I’m having to scream at times singing or talking.
You may have an inadequate sound system... I would bring in a pro and get their opinion before moving forward. Sound is very tricky and the wrong set up can sabotage the whole experience!
If it's a small church - chances are it's an inadequate sound system and/or sound people that don't know how to work it properly.
Small church sound systems are designed for preaching not for sound reproduction by a live band.
Chances are the church will not want to put more money into a sound system just to hear you rock out in front of them. There may be a reason why that church is small - lack of vision. I've seen the scenario a few times myself.
Can you guys do the dress-code?
Have you ever bumped into this issue?
Hey guys, how do you deal with a church going through a transition between pastors/leaders and, specifically with worship, the overall sound/feel of the church?
For example my church’s senior pastor is very old school , while his son who is slowly taking over is all for the reaching the younger generation. How do you deal with that awkward transition as a church?
This is a great question
I’m nobody special but I do have a few thoughts for this sort of situation.
That is assuming by oldschool you mean he likes to do hymns
First thought, stay true to the hymns. That way the traditional people feel like you’re not trying to ruin their music 😂
Second, add in contemporary songs that are hymn like for example 10,000 reasons, blessed be your name, there’s quite a few Hillsong songs that are essentially gospel but with a new feel
Those were my small thoughts. This is a hard thing to go through. I think the best thing to do is, no matter what music you’re doing or what style you’re doing, do it with all your heart even if you don’t like it
"...here's the thing..."
In starting a new praise team, how does one go about setting everyone in their place. Singers especially, always tend to have their own way on how they do things. How should one approach it?
Develop a clear and concise WRITTEN vision of your team values and goals. Cast a ton of vision for it to each person and team and then lead by example. Make sure to only on-board folks who understand it and want to serve! AVOID DIVAS
How do we deal with some members of the band not listening to any suggestions the rest of the band has? Been struggling with some songs because of this, and we don't want to do anything irrational, so any suggestions?
Start a new band - your band! :-)
2 ways to answer a pastor, yes and yes but it will be expensive. Well The word teaches us to test all things, that includes leaders. With all gentleness and humility of course. What if the pastor asks you to wash his car and do his dry cleaning? Submit to your padtor does not mean ypu are the pastor's slave. To submit is to have confidence in their teaching but even in order to have confidence sometimes questions need to be asked. If the heart of God is in the center of it all, humility will be demonstrated.
If my pastor asked me to wash his car and do his dry cleaning, I'd respond by saying that I charge $200/hour for those services :). All we are saying is that we are supposed to submit to authority in our churches. It's also up to our churches to put checks and balances in place to make sure pastors do not abuse that authority. Sadly abuse of authority in churches happens all the time - if a pastor ever asked anyone to do something that went against the Bible, that would be cause for concern for sure, and not something we should do blindly.
If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
No one said to be a slave, they did say to serve. If the pastor asks for something, submit and then if it was that big of a deal, talk to him afterwards.
What kind of bible do you guys use?
What about if the pastor turns his daughter's vocals up, and everyone else down? 😂
That's called Nepotism :)
What if the pastor's daughter is a really good singer and everyone else sucks?
Hello, could you make a guitar tutorial for the song head to the heart, United pursuit plays it, it's a great song
Left sound desk as to many busy hands
Self appointed flour manager loudly screaming at drop of hat, singers changing mics all the time, maybe they got a kick out of it
If I didn’t leave sound would have washed hands of this church
Great video do a review of kz zst in ear monitors
Hello I have a quick question for you as a electric guitarist if you could only have three electric guitars what would they be?
not in any particular order:
Gibson Les Paul
Telecaster
for fun - Baritone Electric guitar (sounds cool in the background doing fills and solos up front too!)
1. Tele 2. Strat 3. Les Paul
First you have to ask yourself what style or flavor do you want to play. Alot of popular praise music of this day sounds U2 ish. Which I personally don't like. Too much reverb and delay for me. I personally like 60's and 70's guitar sounds - authentic guitar sounds - not a bunch of effect laden garbage.
After you figure that out for yourself then you can decide which will work for you.
For the modern U2 praise worship sound you will want a single coil pickup guitar - strat or tele. For something different that rocks nicely that is not the typical U2 sound - a Les Paul.
There are a few things that I disagree upon from the video. First on how the authority is given to the senior pastor..Saying words like "it's his church..under the authority of Jesus" contradicts with itself...It's Jesus's church....I come from a church where my pastor is the one who started it all and he does lead the church as the leader..We all know that and acknowledge it..and we also know how much of a servant he is..and that we all are equal in this church without any hierarchy..there's no "He's the senior pastor so he must love the church more than everyone else"..we all love our church..And yeah he has given more time than most of us for the church and there's a beauty in how he doesn't like to brag or use that to impose his opinions on others for that sake..If it's worship it's worship team's job..If it's pastoring that's when he comes in..and each one of us play some role..and we do humble ourselves but we never feel this hierarchy that i constantly feel from the video.."if the pastor wants a song that u hate, you gotta do it"..seriously? then how are u the worship leader? and who hates a worship song?
Secondly...This whole concept of this video makes me feel uncomfortable that people actually take small things as big issues..I don't understand why a pastor having a problem with sound guy is being blown out of proportion as if it's a big conflict..It only shows that too much significance is being given to music instead of actual worship...
Jedidiah Daniel As a worship team member, I can agree with you. The suggestions or comments of the pastor should be taken respectfully so long as it’s for the betterment of the church and worship, not just as a sign of hierarchical submission. But as far as too much emphasis being shown towards the musical part of worship rather than the worship overall, the entire service, I agree. I’m guilty of that myself. I was contemplating buying a $2000 pedalboard setup, but do I need that to worship God? No. Some will argue it’s to sound good and to make worship better, but it’s all superficial. God cares more about what is inside of us as we worship. I do think focusing on the sound is important, but there may be a concern to address when it’s how good the dress looks instead of the bride.
Jedidiah There are lots of songs I really cant stand to perform but I do them because my opinion isn't the most important thing :) does that mean i'm a bad worship leader? Do you love all songs ever written? That would be amazing if you do!!! because there are some really bad ones out there!!
5th Comment! God Bless
Any advice on how to approach team members that lack discipline....?
Magdalene K. Naidoo A demonstrated sign of maturity and discipline is a prerequisite to join our worship group. The purpose is to worship and praise God, and so all should be on board for that. Now, as far as how to approach someone: Talk to them personally. If they don’t correct their behavior, take another member with you, if they deny, talk to the worship leader. It’s really no different than the framework Jesus laid out for how to correct someone. Often, it’s just a simple, “Hey, Greg, awesome job. We appreciate what you’re doing, and we’re happy to have you with us, praising God with our abilities he has given us. One thing though...” then go on to say “We noticed you often...” or “Is something distracting you?” or “Could we work on...?” That’s my two cents. Here’s a great resource in detail using scripture that may be of help:
bible.org/seriespage/lesson-14-gentle-art-correction-2-timothy-223-26
bible.org/seriespage/lesson-15-ministry-correction-1-timothy-51-2
dotMars thank you... this help... blessings
I'd stop playing with them. Too much drama with people like that. Team up with people who practice and practice with those people who seem to be more dedicated. The others - don't invite slackers.
Rhett Christopher theres not many people desirous to get involved...
Magdalene K. Naidoo - Is there at least one other who will play along with you? If so - make it a duo that carries the music and do the singing too if you can.
turn captions on and click here 7:21! loll
Meu nome é Marcelo
Sou do Brasil.
Parabéns pelo canal...
I find your videos very informative and thoughtful, but I would have to challenge your position that the pastor is effectively the executive CEO of everything. That’s virtually Catholic level of religious heirachy. God did not institute this type of system of one man Lording it over each local church. Really think it’s a misinterpretation of submission, which should be mutually respectful and submissive
I understand the focus is on creating an environment that compels the congregation to worship. In that vein, it is also ok to strive for excellence in music presentation. We have different mixes Live vs streaming playback but as the lead guitarist, it's frustrating to spend time working out intricate parts, only to have them buried in the mix because the vocals are so loud they can't be heard. There should be a blending of parts that create the sum of the sound for the song. If the parts you are playing don't contribute to the song, then why even play them? I understand you are still worshipping but it is a little disheartening to put in hours of practice to seemingly make no contribution to the music. This doesn't happen all the time, but enough that has started to become annoying. Consider this my healthy venting platform :-)
HAHAHAHAHA... THANK YOU!!!
💓💓
hey
There is a comment i left on your last video.. could u put an answer on my question thank u
Hi Zion - what is your question? We get a lot of comments so they can be hard to go back and find. Thanks!
Zion Cage
5 days ago
My worship Leader is a jerk and also the guitarist., Do u know that worst part both of them are my uncles. I have been doing sound engineer for about 10+ years ,Not in the church i am currently in. I am 17 going on 18 years .I have been dealing with people that do not understand i have a problem with our Sound Board and our monitors and our front of house speakers and power amps and so on . I have a personal system that i put together that works amazing .. The worship leader told me just set and don't touch or do anything or else he will get a glue gun and glue down the knobs.. I think i about leaving the worship team .. Explain to me what should i do.. I love being a sound engineer. i am big Fan of Behringer products i can play a little of each interments in our church. I been trying to explain to my worship leader . Its it Because i am too young. The sound engineer that work side by side with me made me the Lead Sound Engineer and i think no one on the worship teams cares..
I do concerts regular, weddings, Etc.. I been Sound Engineer for other churches and Bands.. they love my mixes. I do get jobs from it but i do it for god and i love what i do. From time to time People Call At all hrs of the night for me to sound engineer for them. I am not claiming that i am profession but i think i have enough experience to make some Decisions. I even hook up the church sound system for them because non of them know how to hook up anything.. Our sound Board is about 15 Years old in church... I talked to the people at the head of the church and Yea we know u get a board soon. But the problem is the entire system. I have trying to seek answers for the longest time..
Zion - sometimes these 'grown ups' at church with their antiquated sound systems barely know how to operate them and you come along (a kid in their eyes) and they don't want you messing about with the knobs and screwing around with settings because they might not know how to put 'it back' to where they had it configured. That is one scenario.
Another scenario may be that they just don't want what you bring (to the table) because they either don't understand what you are doing or they understand your vision but don't want that because it will cost a poop ton of money for them (as they will have to acquire new equipment) or they feel that what they have is just fine.
If I were you - ask to get a meeting going where you can address the issues that you want to rectify and attach a dollar amount to it and present it to the 'grown ups' and see what they say. Chances are they will say 'no' but at least you tried and laid it out there.
If you get rejection - just step down from that position and do something else in the church. Maybe just play an instrument and let the 'grown ups' play with their sound system and sit back and grin when it doesn't sound right. At least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you were right. After a while maybe the 'grown ups' will see the error of their ways.
I'm personally not into beating my head into a wall with people like that.
A kid in their eye i was dj and sound engineer for one of their weddings lol..They Don't configure anything...They come in back and just turn a knob and say that sounds good and go and back to front... i normally move away from the mixer in back so i won't be blamed.. 5 minutes later what did u touch in the back i see u turning knobs. I was what the hell..i was not even by it,
SUSHI!!!
Please subtitlid on Brazil
Por favor colocar legenda em português
Our "worship leader" is DEAF. What now???????
T loop!