I am a worship leader and I have the blessing to have an amazing relationship with the tech guy in my church. That might be a little unfair though, as he happens to be my husband.
No matter if you are very close or you barely know the tech guy (or gal) in your church, as a worship leader you can always find new ways to serve them – and with them – better. Here are four ideas, I hope they inspire you to always be seeking more:
1. Provide set lists (with the right lyrics)
When you finish a set list, don’t forget to give it to the tech team as soon as you can. Sometimes it seems like every song we sing has at least 3 different versions. Make sure the person in charge of displaying the lyrics has the one you are going to sing. Show him or her you care by providing the lyrics yourself.
2. Include them in the rehearsal
This might not apply for big tech teams, but both of the churches I’ve been part of have just one or maybe two tech guys. That ministry can get pretty lonely. My husband likes to be part of rehearsals, get to listen to the new songs we are practicing, and pray with us.
3. Be attentive at sound check
This one is not exclusive for worship leaders, and you need to stress this point to your whole team. It is not uncommon that when musicians get behind their instrument, they forget the whole world around them. Drummers start playing around with their sticks, guitar players begin showing off their best riffs, chorus girls begin to warm up or to chat with each other.
Tech guys will try to catch the musician’s attention one by one, making sure each member of the team sounds good while everyone else is being noisy. That is completely rude. We need to be respectful and let tech guys work.
4. Encourage them to worship
Tech guys sometimes can feel like they miss worship time at church. They are fixing weird noises, making sure nothing is too loud or too quiet, or focusing on showing the right slide on time. The thing is, they are not missing worship, they are worshiping just as much as the lead singer. Remind them of this from time to time, thanking them for serving and worshiping God alongside you.
These are only 4 of the many ways worship leaders can serve tech people at church.
Sean Leacy says
Great reminder for us worship leaders, Ana! It’s so easy to forget that they are a part of the team or that they are there to serve us.
Logan Brasher says
Remind them that they always have the option to go and worship with their families outside of the AV booth. As a worship pastor, I try to find at least four people that I can count on to run slides and sound (I only need two on any given Sunday). I do this so that every member of the team has the option to go worship with their families without having to worry about correct words and proper amplification. This provides them the opportunity to serve and be ministered to.
Mark Triplett says
This comment will probably sound bitter, but Worship Leaders need to understand that the last thing in the world that a tech wants to be is a distraction. Techs want to do well, we want you and the band to do well. We want the congregation to be engaged in worship and we want to honor the Lord! Worship Leading is not our job, it’s yours! God placed you there for a purpose, to lead, not just show up and jam.
Please. please, please worship leaders, read and apply #1. Many times at rehearsal, it’s the first time we’ve heard the song. And by the end, you’ve now rehearsed it 4 different ways and when the service rolls around you sing it a 5th. Set list says, V1, Chorus 1, Bridge, V2 and you sing it Chorus 2, Pre-chorus, V2, Bridge, Chorus 1… It’s at this point I hit all clear in ProPresenter and wait until I hear something that’s familiar. As a participant in a service, I would be very confused at seeing the poor operator show the wrong lyrics all while you “get into the spirit!”
God honors our preparations! God is a God of order! Please honor your volunteers as well, by performing as you planned it. Understand me, I’m not saying don’t add an occasional extra chorus or repeat the bridge to the end. That’s all well and good, but don’t make it your regular mode of operation. Your lack of making up your mind until it comes out of your mouth, creates anger and bitterness toward you. Also, please don’t blame this on just being “creative”. That’s just an excuse for lack of preparation. Your band will appreciate it as well!
Glynn Brockway says
I absolutely appreciate where you’re coming from! You’re exactly right too, failing to rehearse a song the way you actually expect to do it may simply be wasting time. However, if you’ll forgive me for playing devil’s advocate for a second, the worship leader may be trying to push the team to be more flexible with how a song progresses. Or they may be trying to teach the team how to follow their leader through the song. In either case though, I’m maintaining an assumption of intentional behavior, not fickle whimsy.
Which is what I would suggest worship leaders exercise when they rehearse. It is possible to plan the Spirit right out of the service, but a healthy dose of preparation is absolutely required. There’s a post on the Collabrate Worship blog page that discusses balancing planning and spontenaity (http://collaborateworship.com/planning-worship/). In the article, the point is made that if a leader doesn’t plan because they are “being led by the Spirit”, then they are most likely using the Holy Spirit as an excuse for being lazy. If that’s what you’re dealing with, I’m sorry and you might have some hard conversations that need to be had…
So, worship leaders, we need to be sure that some kind of communication is established to let EVERYONE on the team know that we are about to enter a time of spontenaity, especially those running the projection or sound. It might be a particular comment or a hand gesture, something to tell everyone involved, “Alright, watch me, we’re going off book now!”…
Here’s praying that helps Mark!
Mark Triplett says
Totally agree. But often times though, we have a Worship Leader that will not only change up how a song is done but will occasionally drop in a song that wasn’t rehearsed or had lyrics prepared for it. And like us in the booth, even the band leader had no earthly idea where the WL is heading.
On another topic, I do wish though that WLs would understand the difference between a musical rehearsal, a sound check and a service rehearsal. These three things are totally different and serve different purposes. The understanding of the differences of these along with a healthy dose of communication would go a long way to helping fill the needs of everyone.