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The Hidden Customers
There was one Monday we had some sound glitches with
during the evening service at The Living Faith Church. And that was such a
pity. It was to the worship leader’s credit that he continued to lead worship
well without letting the technical problems affect him noticeably.
What made it even more of a pity was that we tried an interesting song link –
key change thingy that I just absolutely knew (110%) would bless the people. I
hope that the congregation was still blessed by it even though the sound system
gave us some problems. How did I know my idea would work? Well, through lots of
experience and understanding some fundamental principles to worship ministry
AND because I watched the back-up vocalists during the practice.
Back-up vocalists. Most church musicians don’t really notice them very much. We
usually see them dutifully (or listlessly) standing slightly apart from us,
staring at their song lyric sheets (which most musicians don’t notice because
they’re not listening). Or because most musicians are self-occupied people, we
sometimes don’t notice them at all unless there are pretty girls among them.
Hey, I’m just saying it as it is.
Back-up vocalists usually fulfill two roles in the worship team. First, they
provide vocal support to the worship leader. When they turn up for the
practice, they get to experience beforehand what the worship leader intends to
try with the congregation. They are thus better able to support him/her for
that particular worship session, instead of the worship leader singing alone,
praying that the congregation join in quickly…
Second, they also model worship for the congregation. Even if you are not
actively participating in worship, watching back-up vocalists enthusiastically
worship God will move you, even if only at a subconscious level. What you see
modeled will influence you, and lean you more towards worshipping God
enthusiastically, just as you see (and hear) them doing.
But did you ever think of them as ‘customers’ in their own right?
If you are a worship leader, you can see them as part of your team, there to
help you get a certain song idea across to the congregation. Personally, I feel
that if you are trying something that really needs the help of the back-up
vocalists, something that just won’t work unless they support you strongly,
that is something the congregation will not respond well to.
Or you can see them as a testing group. If the song links and ideas you plan
have them singing their hearts out even during the rehearsal, you probably got
a winner right there.
That was what happened during that rehearsal, when we tried the song link – key
change thingy that I thought of. The back-up vocalists didn’t have any mikes
during practice, but they sang so loud that I could hear them clearly.
And because the team usually plays quite loud, that doesn’t happen very often
during practice. I could see from the faces of the vocalists that it wasn’t
just a practice for them, but they were encountering God in worship even in the
midst of practice.
Back-up vocalists are a valuable source of feedback, if you know how to value
them and use them as such. They are the hidden customers that most musicians
and worship leaders miss. They may not have the musical know-how to tell you what
to do to revamp the worship music, but you can see from their faces if what you
are trying works.
And because most do not have much music background, they aren’t impressed by
how musically advanced and sophisticated your ideas are. They only care about
whether what you want to try works.
So if you think you are a really skilled musician, that you have some really
cool music ideas that will work really well in worship, put your ideas to the
test. Try your ideas during the practice (don’t spring them as a surprise
during the actual worship session) and see how the back-up vocalists respond to
it.
Let me tell you upfront that the majority of back-up vocalists in church will
go on singing dutifully even if your idea doesn’t help enhance the worship.
That’s their job, right? But if your idea DOES work, they will sing out better,
louder and clearer. You will see them smile (without the worship leader having
to remind them to do so) indeed, from their body language you will KNOW when
you’ve got something that works.
So do you dare to put your ideas to that test? If you don’t know or follow the
basic principles of playing for worship, be prepared to fail the test more
often than necessary.
Again, I’m saying it just as it is.
This is not the time or space to address the
principles of playing for worship (I wrote a whole book on it, which means
there’s quite a lot of material to cover). Suffice it for now to say that at
the root of it all it is repentance. In the Greek this word is metanoeo (Strongs #3340), which means
“think differently towards” (literally, to change the mind).
We have to think differently about worship music and
see it in the light of the people we serve, not in terms of what entertains the
musicians or sounds good on the CDs. We have to take what the world considers
excellence in music skill and ask ourselves how well it serves the congregation
in worship. Does it help the congregation release their hearts in worship unto
God? Or does it draw more attention to the singer or musicians?
Most importantly, we need to return to Jesus’
definition of greatness, that he gave in Mark 10:43-45 (NKJV) “… whoever
desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave
of all. For even the Son
of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom
for many.”
May God himself guide you in the path of servanthood,
that you may experience in your life the greatness that is great in God’s eyes.
And remember your backup singers, the hidden customers of your worship ministry
that help you serve the people of God even better!
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