Worship Service Faux Pas - Part 1

Posted by Daniel Darnell on July 7th, 2008 at 12:05 pm

As a 25-year-old worship leader I tend to spend most of my time at church on stage. Occasionally I get to be a part of the congregation on Sundays so that I can empathize with them and boy, do I feel sorry for them sometimes. Below are things that I’ve personally experienced, both on and off stage, which have taken my focus off the Lord and quickly tainted my worship experience. I write this not to poke fun at these things, but to bring it to the attention of worship leaders and churches that might be forgetting the purpose of corporate worship.

Bright Lights Shining On the Audience – This one occurs when the church uses intelligent lights to create a more worshipful atmosphere, which I applaud them for, until the light shines on my face and burns my retinas. I was worshipping one Sunday morning, eyes closed and heart focused, when all of a sudden I thought either a spaceship had landed or the rapture occurred, because a viciously bright light was now shining on me and other congregation members. Not only was I blinded, but I also was distracted now from worshipping God and spent the rest of the morning avoiding the lights.

Guitar Solos – I know a lot of contemporary/emerging churches now tend to follow the band model, which I personally prefer, and not the choir/piano style. The big danger of this, however, is wanting to actually be like an actual rock band. Enter guitar solos. I personally love playing lead guitar, but guitar solos don’t fit that well in church services. The fundamental function of a solo is to bring attention to that person and say “look how good this guy is, shredding his guitar like Swiss cheese.” This then takes the attention off of God and puts it all on the guitarist. However, if you use these, make sure your intent is pure and be just careful. (For a good example of tasteful guitar solos, listen to Hillsong’s latest albums)

Announcements In the Middle of Worship – This is a hard one because there are no rules on how to order your church service, but I think there should be a rule against putting announcements in-between worship songs. When it goes from a powerful worship song like “Mighty to Save” to a pastor saying “Our God is mighty to save! Amen? Speaking of saving, we need your money. This Tuesday…” I again lose my focus. If you are going to do announcements, please plan them accordingly. I suggest you do them during the beginning welcome or at the end of the service.

Video Backgrounds of the Band and Singers – I’m all about video backgrounds as long as they don’t make me dizzy or completely distract me from the words I’m supposed to be singing. However, it’s honestly awkward to look at the worship leader’s face while singing “Beaufitul One.” This only happens when you use a live video feed, which is not that many churches. Either way, when using video backgrounds, use them to enhance the worship experience, not to focus on people. If anything, I suggest not putting the words on the same screen as the live video.

Fake Clapping – If you are going to use multiple singers, make sure they work on their stage posture (not choreography), because people will look at them. Where most churches fail in this area is the “I’m gonna clap, but not really, because if I actually clap I’ll hit my microphone and it will make a loud noise, so I’ll just awkwardly almost put my hands together as if I were doing a jazzercise” type of clapping. It just looks goofy. However, without a clap leader, the congregation will give up quickly or just lose the tempo. So if you clap, which the Psalms do say to do, make sure someone is actually leading it.

 

Tomorrow I’ll conclude this post with the other 5 and share with you my heart behind this. Meanwhile, I’d love to hear your opinions, whether you agree with me or not. Read the rest of the post here.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

14 Responses to “Worship Service Faux Pas - Part 1”

I agree with guitar solos. Man. There are few things that annoy me more in a worship setting. I think this applies with other instruments as well…haha…shredding on the keys…Good point on the video backgrounds too…I’ve never been a big fan of that. I prefer a more abstract approach on video backgrounds…

posted at 12:46 pm on July 7th, 2008 by Matt Huber

Great article, but I think you only got 3 out of 5 correct. Of course, this is totally subjective, but here is my take:

1) Guitar Solos. I totally disagree. Call me weird, but words get in the way of my personal worship. Some of my closest moments to God have been during a guitar solo, drum riff or other instrumental solo. The excellence of the music, the authenticity of the player, the story behind their art…it all moves me. For me, it is like a pure, worship experience that lifts my spirit and moves me into the presence of God.

2) Video Backgrounds of Band/Singers — I agree with you in some contexts. But if the venue is very big at all, it helps me to worsip to see into the eyes of those leading. When I see the sincerity of the singer, the lines on their face that indicate a story behind the smile, it helps me in my worship.

Since worship is so personal, this stuff is subjective. But these are my two cents.

posted at 2:48 pm on July 7th, 2008 by Tim Stevens

Great candid insight here, couldn’t have said it better myself.

posted at 3:00 pm on July 7th, 2008 by Cameron Smith

Guitar solos: As a guitarist…this is my take. If you can’t feel absolutely bored playing your guitar solo (meaning it is easy for you)…you shouldn’t be playing it. That frankly goes with all music. If it is somewhat difficult for you to play…it translates to…”I hope he pulls this off” to the congregation. A good guitar solo should sound effortless to keep from distraction…

So that’s what distracts me in worship…when bands try to play/sing above their skill level. The best bands in the world just play simply (to them it’s simple…to us it blows our minds)…thus the music is very enjoyable to experience. So play to your skill level—not how good you think you are…but play those things you could play in your sleep.

posted at 4:17 pm on July 7th, 2008 by Jonathan Malm

hmm. i can see your point. but i always say that one man’s “distraction” is another man’s worship experience.

lights on the crowd blinding you could actually be very effective/purposeful during a song like “Into Marvelous Light.” know what i mean? it probably all depends on how and why it’s being done.

i would agree with Tim. guitar solos can be a very intimate moment of reflection. it’s really no different than piano solos in a more traditional church. however, one time we had a guitar solo in church by a guy that had dualing guitar heads with an American flag painted on the guitar. it was pretty awesome! but i think there were moments when i was worshipping the 2 headed 80s metal guitar rather than the Lord!

being a visual worshipper and creator of things visual, i prefer artwork/motions to enhance the worship rather than close ups of the band. either way though, you’ll have some that complain about the band on screen and some people complain about the motions during worship which leads me back to… one man’s distraction is another man’s form of worship.

i will say this, man cleavage in church is a distracting! and unfortunately, i’m not joking - as ridiculous as that sounds. i know all the hipsters are wearing American Apparel V necks that go down past their sternum; but that’s kind of crazy when leading worship. knowhatimean?

posted at 11:40 pm on July 7th, 2008 by barton damer

Tim,

I fully agree with you that because worship is personal then this is very subjective. As a lead guitarist I love to let my guitar be my voice at times. I just have to be careful not to play something that really sticks out or has the possibility to take away from the Lord. I’m weary of the wannabe rockstars out there in our churches. It really comes down to intent, but I know what you are talking about when it comes to those powerful moments in worship.

Jonathan, I also agree with you that the musicians must play to their skill level. If you can’t play the lead intro line to “From the Inside Out” then don’t play it.

In the end, it all comes down to intent and personal preference. I feel Hillsong has some of the best examples of guitar solos that actually compliment the time of worship rather than stand out. This is the style I try to emulate.

posted at 9:11 am on July 8th, 2008 by Daniel Darnell

Did Bart just say ‘man cleavage’?

posted at 1:07 pm on July 8th, 2008 by Rob Thomas

indeed! http://store.americanapparel.net/6456.html

posted at 2:49 pm on July 8th, 2008 by barton damer

Thanks Bart. I’ll add those shirts to the list. I won’t even go into the subject of girls jeans on guys. I do, however, wonder what the ladies think of these shirts. Ladies, any thoughts?

posted at 7:23 pm on July 8th, 2008 by Daniel Darnell

Man cleavage actually adds to my worship experience. Oftentimes, it leads me to reflect on John resting his head on our Lord’s breast at the last supper. Crap. I’m gonna get struck by lightning.

posted at 10:04 pm on July 8th, 2008 by Gary Molander

Gary…if you do get struck by lightning…write a book about it. There’s no reason you shouldn’t capitalize on past blasphemy… :)

posted at 8:23 am on July 9th, 2008 by Jonathan Malm

I applaud the clapping comments (ok, pun intended). Nothing like 20 people clapping in room of hundreds and everyone is mentally focused on “should we or shouldn’t we…. nobody on the worship team is??”

posted at 11:54 am on July 9th, 2008 by Cynthia

My take on the guitar solo is: why not give the guitarist his/her opportunity to worship? As a worship leader I’ve often worshipped with the music leading…an instrumental…where each musician has the opportunity to express his/her talent to the Lord.

I lead worship because I have the annointing and gift from God to lead others to His throne. If a guitar player has a gift from God to play a great solo, why not give him the opportunity to give that gift back to the Gift Giver? Otherwise, he or she may express that gift elsewhere.

posted at 1:34 pm on July 10th, 2008 by Troy

On the subject of clapping… I have always found it really distracting in a worship service when someone leads clapping. I don’t like to clap, and find it disconcerting when I am obligated to do so. I find I am either focused on the unnatural and uncomfortable activity(clapping)or feeling as if I am somehow worshiping “incorrectly”. Either way, the worship connection is broken.
Any thoughts on the intent of the Psalmist on that one? What about the whole “clap offering to the Lord” thing?

posted at 1:46 pm on July 13th, 2008 by JoElla

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