The music minister and church support Part 2

1 Chron 28:21 And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God: and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment.

The willingness to serve (music ministry) in any position in a church usually comes with a commitment on the part of the individual serving.

 As I discussed in the part 1 of the music minister and church support, I looked at the expectations music ministers have in regards to the place where they serve.

Here I want to look at the corresponding attitudes that the music ministers are expected to live with.

The music minister serving in a church must learn to be responsible first to God, himself and to the ministry he or she serves.  One of the important things responsibility comes with is that it helps to create discipline.

 Any individual that does not want to be considered irresponsible should not make a commitment, because with the acceptance to serve comes responsibility.

There is a deep connection between the worship experience of a church and the support the music ministers (praise team or choir) put into it.

For music ministers I have observed and seen that there are individuals that are so anointed but unreliable and unavailable. On the other hand others are available but don’t have what it takes to get the job done.

6 signs that show a music minister support his/her church.

1-    Excited when it’s time to go to go to church.- The excitement to want to go for rehearsal and subsequently worship services reflects a love and passion.

2-    You don’t complain or talk about your praise team or choir- There would never be perfect situations anywhere, issues in praise teams and choirs are best handled through dialogue and prayers.

3-     Living the life the calling of God demands- The music ministry is a MINISTRY involved in the worship of God. Living the called life is of a great necessity.

4-    Working hard at your craft- The music ministry requires a degree of perfection, be it in singing, playing and writing.

5-    You don’t have a competitive attitude against other members of your team.- Competition always leads to strive and envy. It does not matter who does the job. God takes the glory.

6-    Making a commitment to one’s self and God to put in your best while you serve there.- when an individual proposes in his/her heart, much is achieved.

4 signs that show a music minister is not supporting his/her church.

The opposite of all that I listed above serve as signs that a music minister is not supporting the ministry in which he/she is active.

I would to add an additional four points that I did not discuss in the above support signs.

1-    Making comparison of your church with another- This usually leaves the complainer unsatisfied and developing wondering thoughts. All churches cannot be the same. They differ in Grace.

2-    Always shows up late for rehearsals and worship service and gives excuses as to why.- Consistent lateness is a sign for little or no regards to what is happening.

3-    A music minister shows up in rehearsal or church only when he/she has a role to perform (sing or play)- Not wanting to give a supporting role.

4-    When his/her service is not done as unto God but man- Once commitment is established, our service unto God must come from a conviction that knows God deserves the glory and rewards diligently.  There would be no need to impress any Pastor or church leader.

What are your thoughts about this?

5 ways of handling conflict in a praise team or choir

The other day I was in a cafeteria eating and I overheard some ladies that belong to a gospel choir talking about a member of their choir who performed at a concert, about how they should have done a better job.

Have you ever dealt with a situation where some musicians feel they should be the ones playing instead of the other person? Or where singers feel they should be chosen to lead the praise or sing the solos to a song?

Somehow it creates a tense atmosphere within the praise team or choir though no one wants to speak about it.

What to do!

Clear definition of roles among singers and musicians- Some people have the ability to play several instruments. There should be proper coordination to avoid a situation where people would be moving from one instrument to the other at their own will.

Avoid showing preferences- Everyone should be given equal treatment, it increases the need to commit. Many times inequality in the way people are treated generates strife and envy.

Having good and capable leadership- The leader should be a person that is to a great extent, beyond reproach and should not be part of the problem or conflict.

Unbiased pastoral interference- In handling conflicts, a holistic look at the issue involved would help to create a balanced judgment. Not being quick to point accusing fingers saves a lot of heartaches.

Even distribution of roles among musicians and singers- It adds variety to praise and worship songs when different singers and players are given opportunity to minister.

Praying for one another- most people go through a lot of issues they have not been able to and/or cannot share. Most outward expressions are reflections of the state of our minds.

Conflicts will always try to arise where there are two or more people gathered, primarily because we would differ in ideas and thoughts concerning issues.

A good friend of mine said it better “It does not really matter who leads, the goal is to get the job done good (by the whole team)”. It calls for teamwork!

There is no limit to the effectiveness of our praise and worship when we better understand how to deal with avoidable conflicts.

photo credit: William Doran via photopin cc

5 ways to attract musicians to your church

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Having a good sound-Good sound helps the musician enjoy what he/she is doing. If musical instruments are used in a church, they should be good.

Good relationship- Musicians love to work with people they can easily talk to and have access to.

Allocation of quality time for praise and worship- The time assigned for praise and worship shows how important it is to a church.

Take your musician’s well being seriously-Music ministers are first human beings that need to survive and also ministers. A great number of musicians depend on their music for a living.

Advertise the position needed- Why suffer in silence when there are free platforms to advertise for needed positions? ( facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc .Taking advantage of the platforms would help in attracting musicians to opportunities.

How many songs should be sang during a praise and worship session?

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Should the number of songs performed determine the quality of a praise and worship experience? or the efficacy of the songs performed? This basically brings up the issue if it’s the quality or the quantity of song that really matters.

The whole essence of leading people to God during a worship service is to get them to that place in which the presence of God saturates the atmosphere and people begin to get refreshed, filled and healed in God’s presence. The important factor for the worship leader to consider is what song could lead him/her to that point or place in worship? and not necessarily trying to cover all the songs on the list that have been practiced and must be performed.

I have participated in worship meetings where our song plan was changed because we could not continue with the rest of the songs we had earlier planned. We just yielded ourselves to the Spirit of God and allowed him to take over.

I know this might not be a familiar experience because most of our worship services are programmed to finish at certain time limit. This sometimes puts some pressure on the worship leader to sing as much songs as he can and not really pay so much attention to the leading of the spirit.

 Spontaneous spirit lead song (usually in the form of a chant or a repetitive phrase) could sometime erupt out of a worship service and could take the worship to another new dimension in the Spirit.