playing for jesus

monfoodoo · January 1st, 2008, 04:59 PM

how does playing for jesus(in a church,service,etc) affect you and your playing? I.ve often thought about trying to find a spot in a church band,but have not pursued it.I would thing it would be very uplifting.

JohnSS · January 1st, 2008, 06:02 PM

If you feel the call to contribute your skills to help musical worship, I think you'll find it very rewarding. The thing is, make sure you're doing it to serve God and not just to show off a solo. I actually quit playing music for several years while my late wife was battling cancer. God led me to a church that needed my skills, but rather than guitar, He told me just to serve in whatever capacity was needed, so for the past 7 years, I have played some guitar, but predominantly played keys and, more recently, bass. It's been great to become part of a fellowship and to watch it grow, and it's brought me closer to Christ as well.

giantslayer · January 1st, 2008, 07:12 PM

Playing in church is fun, but I've really found that I usually connect to Jesus more deeply when I'm just by myself playin' for Him. If you're looking for something spiritually uplifting, give playing for him alone a shot. There's less distractions and you don't have to worry about flubbing stuff up or keeping up with the rest of the band.

However, I do think that musical gifts, as with most other gifts, are not given to us just for ourselves, but to be used to bless others.

monfoodoo · January 2nd, 2008, 12:59 AM

I've been to a church a few years ago that a friend belongs to ,and not being a regular for mass or services,i was actually put to the wall and floor by the lord as i came from the restroom.At that moment i knew "this is for real".As for playing,i've never been one to show off in any of my talents.I think it would be a great experience and a way to thank Jesus for saving my life.And thats a testimonial of a pure miracle.

GoldieLocks · January 3rd, 2008, 03:17 AM

How does playin' for Jesus affect me & my Playin'?

Good question! I'd have to answer; very seriously.
I try to be as prepared & professional as possible. Then I try to let the Joy of the Lord be present.
Its a challenge constantly working with beginners & Old hacks who still can't play 3 chords properly after 20 years. I always try to do the best with what I got. Sometimes it turns out really great. Other times you just gotta remember that you're doin' it for the Lord.

Its weird to be in the secular world dealing with professionals who are treating you with respect...then play in a Church with deaf inexperienced amateurs with HUGE ego's. But you do the best you can...

psychetelec · January 3rd, 2008, 11:39 AM

I get a lot out of my church gig, for one I get to play fretless bass more than at my money gig.
I love it but the unprofessionalism of the praise band is often annoying.

cknowles · January 4th, 2008, 03:14 PM

Gee I've experience a lot of the same things posted here.

I play guitar at our church, and am currently the only guitar player in the praise team.

I used to feel that there were some ego's on our worship team as well.
When our congregation grew large enough to build a church, we needed to fund raise to purchase a piano.

Several members of our praise team thought we should be responsible to fund raise for our music ministry, so we put on a few coffee houses. In addition to raising the necessary funds to purchase a piano, we also discovered a venue where we could showcase each others musical talents and learn to listen to each other to play together more as a group than a collection of individual musicians.

We've put on 6 coffee house evenings for our church, and now the proceeds get divided evenly between our music ministry needs and the needs of our sister church in Alikalia Sierra Leone.

Funny thing about the format of our coffee house that has spilled over into our worship team at church. We select music for the "band" in a democratic way. The idea being that on performance night, everyone will get a chance to shine. There is no one lead vocalist, everyone gets a turn. Some songs require rhythm guitar only while others allow me to show off a bit. In the end we are all more sensitive to each other's ego and the result being we are no longer attempting to satisfy our own. This sensitivity has spilled into our worship team duties as well, we are more sensitive to the role as worship leaders rather than the "praise team".

While we used to do lip service to it before, our focus now is truly to lead the congregation in worship. Most Sunday's we're nearly blasted off the stage by the singing coming at us from the congregation. When I hear the whole congregation singing along with us I think we've done our job well.

We're in no way perfect at it, but I do feel that generally we're doing something right.

reverbbb · January 8th, 2008, 09:48 AM

My story goes back about 9 years or so.

At the church I was attending, they were basically a kareoke chuch singing along with CDs. I ran the sound system. Once the Worship leader found out that I played guitar and keyboards, he was relentless for nearly a year about forming a P&W band. It took me that long to switch gears from secular music to Praise music. I had to search deep in my heart about this significant calling in my life. I did not want to 'form a band because it was fun'. I really wanted to be a positive part of impacting peole's lives. But I had to push all my self-taught arogance and pride aside.

So, 8 years later, I am still going strong with no end in sight. I am learning how to be inspirational (through quality and emotion) without looking showy. That is harder than it seems. If you don't play with some intensity, there is no inspiration. If you jump around and look too pumped, then it becomes fake and rehearsed looking.

If you have an interest in playing for the Lord, don't let anything stand in the way. Even if it is just in small circles or at home by yourself. Yes, it can be 'uplifting'. But you have to open your heart and allow it to happen. It does not happen 'just because' you are playing that type of music.

I will reiterate what cknowles said. When you feel the music and give it to the Lord personally, the congragation often responds to your contegious behavior. When they respond with inspired singing, that is a very elated feeling - knowing that you are touching people's lives and drawing them closer to the Lord. You are fulfilling God's purpose for playing in front of His people.

mitchelguitar · January 22nd, 2008, 09:02 AM

The person who inspired me most that plays for Jesus... hold on now, I not kidding. Is Dan Spitz the guitar player for Anthrax. Dan is a born again Christian who left the world of Rock and Roll because of it. When God place it in his heart to play again he lead his path to my door a born again Christian who like Dan came from the same location in New York and was raised Jewish. So after ten years away from music Dan returned. If you go to the Anthrax web site Dan personal hero is Jesus and his goal is to spread the good word of Christ around the world.

Doug Ferguson · January 22nd, 2008, 10:07 AM

Helping lead worship through music is a ministery, so definitely it's a calling from God. I think most of what's been posted here is spot on. For me, playing at home becomes a time of prayer, regardless of the songs I'm playing. The song itself may cause me to reflect and ask God, is this what you want me to do? and wait for God's reply. Since worship -- personal and communal -- is prayerful interaction with God, this translates into what happens during community worship. So, hopefully, I avoid the trap of becoming a "performer" and simply be a minister of Christ helping others experience him more deeply.

franchelB · January 22nd, 2008, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monfoodoo

... I.ve often thought about trying to find a spot in a church band,but have not pursued it....

Only YOU can answer that question. You should "feel the call" to play at church.

BB · January 22nd, 2008, 07:12 PM

Serious question Monfoodoo. It is the Father that gives this commitment of music into our hands. If we do pick up this commitment and make a vow to Him, we need to take it very seriously. Our worship will only come out of that which we draw from the life of the Lord during the week. If we have spent time loving and seeking Him during the week, when we gather on Sunday, our time spent with Him will be seen and shared by all. If not, then it's dead as a door nail! We become what we worship.....our treasure is where our heart is...We must be before Him daily in praise and worship in order to draw life from something other than ourselves.

scooteraz · January 26th, 2008, 05:44 PM

Well, it certainly has made me a better player. Actually in several ways. When I first volunteered, our medium sized church had asked for several Sundays for specifically a guitar player. At the time I was OK as a campfire guitarist, and knew a few songs. But, ANY improvising was out; also my ability to play with others was, shall we say, suspect. But, between being led to volunteer, and my wife pushing a bit, I told the music director that I would do what I could until they found a "real guitarist". I really did figure that in a church our size, there would be several folks who would be much better than me. I am an engineer in "real life", and not very artsy.

Well, that was about 8 years ago. I've gotten better (though am still less than stellar in my skills). But, I guess there isn't a "real" guitarist in the house.

So, I still play every Sunday, two services in the morning. A couple of Sundays a year I have to lead the music; that is always nerve wracking, but folks either are very kind, or don't notice when we are not quite spot on. Actually had to learn a bit about bass, as for a while we had another guitar, but no bassist; I filled in during those times.

As far as my worship experience, that is not so easy a question. Sometimes I feel like in providing for the worship of others (or leading it) I sort of miss the worship myself. Sometimes I go to a different service so I can experience worship where my only focus is on my relationship with God. On the other hand, I have been in the congregation at other churches, particularly when I travel (used to have to do a lot of travel for my job) where I begin to listen to the praise band and focus on what they are doing and loose focus on worship (dogone ADD

). I was working for a while in Taiwan, and had to change the church I was worshiping at partially because I couldn't stand how the praise team was handling their music. Were I not on a praise team, I am not sure that I would have focused so much on that (before anyone takes me to task here, there were other more substantial theological reasons for me finding another congregation...subject for different discussion).

Like Goldielocks, I try to be as professional as possible. I have learned how to be sure there is musical space for others to play and sing, and I have learned how to blend better. Overall, it has been a great experience.

guit30 · January 27th, 2008, 03:41 PM

It has been a learning experience for me. The 1st worship team I was on was in 1995, We had a bass player, 2 guitars ,keyboards and various singers, we practiced every other Saturday night. Our leader was serious and a hard worker, it was lots of fun and I learned that I had to pull back ,I was playing lead and rhytmn guitar, sometimes i would get a bit carried away in my lead playing, the bass player talked to me about it, and it was fine.
Now I'm in a different church and play with anothr guitarist and a keyboard player and singers. We don't practice except before we play. The other guitarist is 78 and incredible, played in country bands his whole life. I play country and we have alot of fun, though it took a while toget to this point
Jim

tim3finger · January 27th, 2008, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monfoodoo

how does playing for jesus(in a church,service,etc) affect you and your playing? I.ve often thought about trying to find a spot in a church band,but have not pursued it.I would thing it would be very uplifting.

That is a very personal question. From my standpoint, I view playing as a service to others and glorifying God. The band I am in started as a fun thing during lunchtime at work. Myself and my friend Dean had never played an instrument before. We started hacking away on beat up old Goodwill guitars trying our hand at 12-bar blues. After about 6 months we attracted the attention of our other member, Tom. He started sitting in with us and teaching us things( he is a forty year player ). Some how Dean migrated to banjo and I to bass. Next thing you know, we did a small employee appreciation lunch time gig for Goodwill Industries in Wichita, Ks. Soon after that we played in a rest home in Augusta, Ks, then another in Rose Hill, Ks, then the Masonic home in Wichita. Then word got around and now we get invited about 6 times a year to various Churches ( big and small ) in the Wichita metro area in addition to those 3 rest homes every month.

It was not our intent to do any of this from the start, we just wanted to have fun, nor did we ever expect to get competent on our instruments as quickly as we did ( we started in Dec 2003).
Bottom line, we were blessed with the talent we have and this is our ministry, we do it for God and because we love the old folks. There is no blessing like seeing a smile on a face, a tear in an eye, or a glimmer of recognition that an old Gospel tune can bring from our old folks.

Don't pursue a spot in a praise band, If it is God's will, he will put you there.
Be available and play, as another poster said, just for Him.

Tim

mojito · January 30th, 2008, 10:23 AM

Well you have heard form the veterans and now a newbie perspective. I finally committed after a lot of thought and prayer to joing our Worship band. It is a 9-10 piece band that does 2 Sunday services per week. There's practice on Wednesday evenings and right now we also practice for the Easter program on Friday nights.

I was very anxious about the whole experiencei n the days leading up to my first practice but I placed it in the Lord's hands prior to heading in and all is well. I have found it challenging to learn all of the new material and it is providing accountability that I do so which is good. I am wrapping up my first month as part of this and I have to say that i am enjoying myself immensely not only from a musical but also a spiritual level. I have served in other ministries in the past but this one has been the most fulfilling.

I say go for it!!!

three barrel · February 1st, 2008, 04:23 PM

I played on a church worship team for several years in Kansas, before moving out to Southern California in 1999 (moved back to Kansas in 2005). I think that the best thing I did was to serve the church we attended in California in as many ways possible (including cleaning the restrooms) after first moving. I made a special effort to NOT to try and sell myself to the established worship teams. I would go up to the worship leaders after the service and thank them for the worhip experience of the morning. Only after a number of months did I even reveal my worship team experience. I think that it is important to ready and able to serve in any capacity needed first. Show that you are commited to the body of believers and let things develop. My experience anyway.....

daveono · February 2nd, 2008, 11:11 AM

Monfoodoo, after playing in church for about 20 years I can say that it is something you have to absolutely believe that God has called you to do. Over the 20 years I have seen a lot of people come and go, sometimes looking for some identity out of it. God's blessed you with a talent and given you the free will where to use it. You just need to pray if this is for you. And if you do decide to do it, go for it with everything and remember that it is hard work but the greatest gift to be able to use your God given talent to bless others.

Dave

Pickalittle · February 19th, 2008, 01:00 AM

I am absolutely privileged to play in a church with excellent musicians and am one of several lead guitarists which rotate playing. I attended our church for 6 years before the door opened up for me to play on the worship team. (I prepared for 45 years though!). I've played in other churches in the past, but the staff at our church is an absolute blast to play with. Professional, organized, disciplined, yet fun!

I can tell you there is no greater joy for me than to play guitar for the Lord on the worship team at our church. Some old hymns, some new stuff, some original (one of our worship leaders is a touring CCM artist), the freeedom to play within my style, etc. The worship director trusts me to do what I feel is appropriate within a song set. She may give some suggestions occasionally, but she lets me "go for it" musically.

For sake of reference, we have a large church, with 5 services a weekend, so it is a LOT of hard work. I put in a minimum a 16-18 hours of work, including individual and group practice, for each weekend I play! But it is worth every sacrifice and minute, because I know I am doing what God has given me a talent to do. And I do it with all my heart in total freedom. There is no greater joy than to minister in music to the Lord, the congregation and to other musicians!

Jenix · March 9th, 2008, 07:02 PM

Make sure you get along with the people in the band before you make a commitment to playing with them, if there's issues in the band then you'll never be worshiping Him. I've seen too many church bands get political and loose sight of what they were there for.

hotraman · March 9th, 2008, 10:22 PM

There's a spiritual dynamic to serving on a worship band, that unique to itself.
I echo the comment about starting off by just being available to serve ( even outside the music arena )
My caution: be more than "the lead guitarist" at your church, temple, etc.
You don't want to make that the main reason why you play.
My life was a mess before I turned back to God.
I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve others with my skills.

TDPRI · March 10th, 2008, 05:30 PM

This thread is a mixed bag of religion and worship service playing. This forum is only for discussion of the unique needs and nature of playing in a worship service.

I'm going to close this thread -- which was 3 months old until revived a couple of days ago -- to let it fade into the background.

Please people... this isn't the Jesus Forum. I would like to keep the forum open but if folks can't self-regulate this then I may have to remove it from the TDPRI.

By the way, there are many forums on the internet dedicated to Christian Musicians. I suggest if you want to talk religion that you visit them. And I appreciate your help in following the rules here on this issue.

January 1st, 2008, 04:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
monfoodoo Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: baltimore,md Age: 53 Posts: 400	playing for jesus how does playing for jesus(in a church,service,etc) affect you and your playing? I.ve often thought about trying to find a spot in a church band,but have not pursued it.I would thing it would be very uplifting.

January 3rd, 2008, 03:17 AM	#5 (permalink)
GoldieLocks Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Abbotsford B.C. Posts: 833	Playin' for Jesus? How does playin' for Jesus affect me & my Playin'? Good question! I'd have to answer; very seriously. I try to be as prepared & professional as possible. Then I try to let the Joy of the Lord be present. Its a challenge constantly working with beginners & Old hacks who still can't play 3 chords properly after 20 years. I always try to do the best with what I got. Sometimes it turns out really great. Other times you just gotta remember that you're doin' it for the Lord. Its weird to be in the secular world dealing with professionals who are treating you with respect...then play in a Church with deaf inexperienced amateurs with HUGE ego's. But you do the best you can... __________________ "How little I know inspires me tremendously! I'm a huge fan of other people's playing." Bonnie Raitt

January 8th, 2008, 09:48 AM	#8 (permalink)
reverbbb Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Just Plano, Texas Age: 50 Posts: 3,702 34 Photos	My story goes back about 9 years or so. At the church I was attending, they were basically a kareoke chuch singing along with CDs. I ran the sound system. Once the Worship leader found out that I played guitar and keyboards, he was relentless for nearly a year about forming a P&W band. It took me that long to switch gears from secular music to Praise music. I had to search deep in my heart about this significant calling in my life. I did not want to 'form a band because it was fun'. I really wanted to be a positive part of impacting peole's lives. But I had to push all my self-taught arogance and pride aside. So, 8 years later, I am still going strong with no end in sight. I am learning how to be inspirational (through quality and emotion) without looking showy. That is harder than it seems. If you don't play with some intensity, there is no inspiration. If you jump around and look too pumped, then it becomes fake and rehearsed looking. If you have an interest in playing for the Lord, don't let anything stand in the way. Even if it is just in small circles or at home by yourself. Yes, it can be 'uplifting'. But you have to open your heart and allow it to happen. It does not happen 'just because' you are playing that type of music. I will reiterate what cknowles said. When you feel the music and give it to the Lord personally, the congragation often responds to your contegious behavior. When they respond with inspired singing, that is a very elated feeling - knowing that you are touching people's lives and drawing them closer to the Lord. You are fulfilling God's purpose for playing in front of His people. __________________ "I come here to reflect a little."™ Myspace Guitarist P&W Forum

January 22nd, 2008, 09:02 AM	#9 (permalink)
mitchelguitar TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sunrise Fla Posts: 90	Playing For Jesus The person who inspired me most that plays for Jesus... hold on now, I not kidding. Is Dan Spitz the guitar player for Anthrax. Dan is a born again Christian who left the world of Rock and Roll because of it. When God place it in his heart to play again he lead his path to my door a born again Christian who like Dan came from the same location in New York and was raised Jewish. So after ten years away from music Dan returned. If you go to the Anthrax web site Dan personal hero is Jesus and his goal is to spread the good word of Christ around the world. __________________ Mitchelguitar http://s88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...uitar/Guitars/

January 22nd, 2008, 10:07 AM	#10 (permalink)
Doug Ferguson Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Indianapolis, IN Age: 55 Posts: 1,700	Helping lead worship through music is a ministery, so definitely it's a calling from God. I think most of what's been posted here is spot on. For me, playing at home becomes a time of prayer, regardless of the songs I'm playing. The song itself may cause me to reflect and ask God, is this what you want me to do? and wait for God's reply. Since worship -- personal and communal -- is prayerful interaction with God, this translates into what happens during community worship. So, hopefully, I avoid the trap of becoming a "performer" and simply be a minister of Christ helping others experience him more deeply. __________________ If you get hung up on just guitar players, you've missed something.... Don't ever get to a point where you just gotta be a guitar player. You hear something, go try to get that note and sound as much like that as you can.-Buddy Guy Last edited by Doug Ferguson; January 23rd, 2008 at 11:02 AM.

January 1st, 2008, 06:02 PM	#2 (permalink)
JohnSS Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: NYC Posts: 215	If you feel the call to contribute your skills to help musical worship, I think you'll find it very rewarding. The thing is, make sure you're doing it to serve God and not just to show off a solo. I actually quit playing music for several years while my late wife was battling cancer. God led me to a church that needed my skills, but rather than guitar, He told me just to serve in whatever capacity was needed, so for the past 7 years, I have played some guitar, but predominantly played keys and, more recently, bass. It's been great to become part of a fellowship and to watch it grow, and it's brought me closer to Christ as well.

January 1st, 2008, 07:12 PM	#3 (permalink)
giantslayer Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Age: 22 Posts: 273	Playing in church is fun, but I've really found that I usually connect to Jesus more deeply when I'm just by myself playin' for Him. If you're looking for something spiritually uplifting, give playing for him alone a shot. There's less distractions and you don't have to worry about flubbing stuff up or keeping up with the rest of the band. However, I do think that musical gifts, as with most other gifts, are not given to us just for ourselves, but to be used to bless others.

January 2nd, 2008, 12:59 AM	#4 (permalink)
monfoodoo Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: baltimore,md Age: 53 Posts: 400	I've been to a church a few years ago that a friend belongs to ,and not being a regular for mass or services,i was actually put to the wall and floor by the lord as i came from the restroom.At that moment i knew "this is for real".As for playing,i've never been one to show off in any of my talents.I think it would be a great experience and a way to thank Jesus for saving my life.And thats a testimonial of a pure miracle.

January 3rd, 2008, 11:39 AM	#6 (permalink)
psychetelec Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Austin,Texas Age: 50 Posts: 148	I get a lot out of my church gig, for one I get to play fretless bass more than at my money gig. I love it but the unprofessionalism of the praise band is often annoying.

January 4th, 2008, 03:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
cknowles Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Mount Hope, Ontario, Canada Age: 45 Posts: 124	Gee I've experience a lot of the same things posted here. I play guitar at our church, and am currently the only guitar player in the praise team. I used to feel that there were some ego's on our worship team as well. When our congregation grew large enough to build a church, we needed to fund raise to purchase a piano. Several members of our praise team thought we should be responsible to fund raise for our music ministry, so we put on a few coffee houses. In addition to raising the necessary funds to purchase a piano, we also discovered a venue where we could showcase each others musical talents and learn to listen to each other to play together more as a group than a collection of individual musicians. We've put on 6 coffee house evenings for our church, and now the proceeds get divided evenly between our music ministry needs and the needs of our sister church in Alikalia Sierra Leone. Funny thing about the format of our coffee house that has spilled over into our worship team at church. We select music for the "band" in a democratic way. The idea being that on performance night, everyone will get a chance to shine. There is no one lead vocalist, everyone gets a turn. Some songs require rhythm guitar only while others allow me to show off a bit. In the end we are all more sensitive to each other's ego and the result being we are no longer attempting to satisfy our own. This sensitivity has spilled into our worship team duties as well, we are more sensitive to the role as worship leaders rather than the "praise team". While we used to do lip service to it before, our focus now is truly to lead the congregation in worship. Most Sunday's we're nearly blasted off the stage by the singing coming at us from the congregation. When I hear the whole congregation singing along with us I think we've done our job well. We're in no way perfect at it, but I do feel that generally we're doing something right.

January 22nd, 2008, 07:12 PM	#12 (permalink)
BB Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2003 Location: Pacific NW Age: 53 Posts: 3,135	Serious question Monfoodoo. It is the Father that gives this commitment of music into our hands. If we do pick up this commitment and make a vow to Him, we need to take it very seriously. Our worship will only come out of that which we draw from the life of the Lord during the week. If we have spent time loving and seeking Him during the week, when we gather on Sunday, our time spent with Him will be seen and shared by all. If not, then it's dead as a door nail! We become what we worship.....our treasure is where our heart is...We must be before Him daily in praise and worship in order to draw life from something other than ourselves.

January 26th, 2008, 05:44 PM	#13 (permalink)
scooteraz Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Peoria, AZ Posts: 769	Well, it certainly has made me a better player. Actually in several ways. When I first volunteered, our medium sized church had asked for several Sundays for specifically a guitar player. At the time I was OK as a campfire guitarist, and knew a few songs. But, ANY improvising was out; also my ability to play with others was, shall we say, suspect. But, between being led to volunteer, and my wife pushing a bit, I told the music director that I would do what I could until they found a "real guitarist". I really did figure that in a church our size, there would be several folks who would be much better than me. I am an engineer in "real life", and not very artsy. Well, that was about 8 years ago. I've gotten better (though am still less than stellar in my skills). But, I guess there isn't a "real" guitarist in the house. So, I still play every Sunday, two services in the morning. A couple of Sundays a year I have to lead the music; that is always nerve wracking, but folks either are very kind, or don't notice when we are not quite spot on. Actually had to learn a bit about bass, as for a while we had another guitar, but no bassist; I filled in during those times. As far as my worship experience, that is not so easy a question. Sometimes I feel like in providing for the worship of others (or leading it) I sort of miss the worship myself. Sometimes I go to a different service so I can experience worship where my only focus is on my relationship with God. On the other hand, I have been in the congregation at other churches, particularly when I travel (used to have to do a lot of travel for my job) where I begin to listen to the praise band and focus on what they are doing and loose focus on worship (dogone ADD). I was working for a while in Taiwan, and had to change the church I was worshiping at partially because I couldn't stand how the praise team was handling their music. Were I not on a praise team, I am not sure that I would have focused so much on that (before anyone takes me to task here, there were other more substantial theological reasons for me finding another congregation...subject for different discussion). Like Goldielocks, I try to be as professional as possible. I have learned how to be sure there is musical space for others to play and sing, and I have learned how to blend better. Overall, it has been a great experience.

January 27th, 2008, 03:41 PM	#14 (permalink)
guit30 Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Abington Age: 55 Posts: 380	It has been a learning experience for me. The 1st worship team I was on was in 1995, We had a bass player, 2 guitars ,keyboards and various singers, we practiced every other Saturday night. Our leader was serious and a hard worker, it was lots of fun and I learned that I had to pull back ,I was playing lead and rhytmn guitar, sometimes i would get a bit carried away in my lead playing, the bass player talked to me about it, and it was fine. Now I'm in a different church and play with anothr guitarist and a keyboard player and singers. We don't practice except before we play. The other guitarist is 78 and incredible, played in country bands his whole life. I play country and we have alot of fun, though it took a while toget to this point Jim __________________ DOD FX80B Compressor Hartman Compressor Eden Analog Nashville Hot Boost-$100 Jim's Country Reviews www.geocities.com/guit30

January 30th, 2008, 10:23 AM	#16 (permalink)
mojito Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: "Land of Pleasant Living" Maryland Posts: 362	Well you have heard form the veterans and now a newbie perspective. I finally committed after a lot of thought and prayer to joing our Worship band. It is a 9-10 piece band that does 2 Sunday services per week. There's practice on Wednesday evenings and right now we also practice for the Easter program on Friday nights. I was very anxious about the whole experiencei n the days leading up to my first practice but I placed it in the Lord's hands prior to heading in and all is well. I have found it challenging to learn all of the new material and it is providing accountability that I do so which is good. I am wrapping up my first month as part of this and I have to say that i am enjoying myself immensely not only from a musical but also a spiritual level. I have served in other ministries in the past but this one has been the most fulfilling. I say go for it!!! __________________ "So many guitars, so little time."

February 1st, 2008, 04:23 PM	#17 (permalink)
three barrel Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2007 Location: Wichita, KS Age: 53 Posts: 119	I played on a church worship team for several years in Kansas, before moving out to Southern California in 1999 (moved back to Kansas in 2005). I think that the best thing I did was to serve the church we attended in California in as many ways possible (including cleaning the restrooms) after first moving. I made a special effort to NOT to try and sell myself to the established worship teams. I would go up to the worship leaders after the service and thank them for the worhip experience of the morning. Only after a number of months did I even reveal my worship team experience. I think that it is important to ready and able to serve in any capacity needed first. Show that you are commited to the body of believers and let things develop. My experience anyway.....

February 2nd, 2008, 11:11 AM	#18 (permalink)
daveono NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sydney,Australia Age: 43 Posts: 6	Monfoodoo, after playing in church for about 20 years I can say that it is something you have to absolutely believe that God has called you to do. Over the 20 years I have seen a lot of people come and go, sometimes looking for some identity out of it. God's blessed you with a talent and given you the free will where to use it. You just need to pray if this is for you. And if you do decide to do it, go for it with everything and remember that it is hard work but the greatest gift to be able to use your God given talent to bless others. Dave

February 19th, 2008, 01:00 AM	#19 (permalink)
Pickalittle Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USA Age: 56 Posts: 292	I am absolutely privileged to play in a church with excellent musicians and am one of several lead guitarists which rotate playing. I attended our church for 6 years before the door opened up for me to play on the worship team. (I prepared for 45 years though!). I've played in other churches in the past, but the staff at our church is an absolute blast to play with. Professional, organized, disciplined, yet fun! I can tell you there is no greater joy for me than to play guitar for the Lord on the worship team at our church. Some old hymns, some new stuff, some original (one of our worship leaders is a touring CCM artist), the freeedom to play within my style, etc. The worship director trusts me to do what I feel is appropriate within a song set. She may give some suggestions occasionally, but she lets me "go for it" musically. For sake of reference, we have a large church, with 5 services a weekend, so it is a LOT of hard work. I put in a minimum a 16-18 hours of work, including individual and group practice, for each weekend I play! But it is worth every sacrifice and minute, because I know I am doing what God has given me a talent to do. And I do it with all my heart in total freedom. There is no greater joy than to minister in music to the Lord, the congregation and to other musicians! __________________ Don't die with the music still in you! Psalm 150 Last edited by Pickalittle; February 20th, 2008 at 01:05 AM.

March 9th, 2008, 07:02 PM	#20 (permalink)
Jenix Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Illinois State University Age: 19 Posts: 298	Make sure you get along with the people in the band before you make a commitment to playing with them, if there's issues in the band then you'll never be worshiping Him. I've seen too many church bands get political and loose sight of what they were there for.

March 9th, 2008, 10:22 PM	#21 (permalink)
hotraman Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Camas, WA Posts: 220	There's a spiritual dynamic to serving on a worship band, that unique to itself. I echo the comment about starting off by just being available to serve ( even outside the music arena ) My caution: be more than "the lead guitarist" at your church, temple, etc. You don't want to make that the main reason why you play. My life was a mess before I turned back to God. I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve others with my skills. __________________ www.stevehotra.com

March 10th, 2008, 05:30 PM	#22 (permalink)
TDPRI Administrator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: TDPRILAND Posts: 5,536 36 Photos	This thread is a mixed bag of religion and worship service playing. This forum is only for discussion of the unique needs and nature of playing in a worship service. I'm going to close this thread -- which was 3 months old until revived a couple of days ago -- to let it fade into the background. Please people... this isn't the Jesus Forum. I would like to keep the forum open but if folks can't self-regulate this then I may have to remove it from the TDPRI. By the way, there are many forums on the internet dedicated to Christian Musicians. I suggest if you want to talk religion that you visit them. And I appreciate your help in following the rules here on this issue.