This is a video that we can come back to again and again. The Info and insight is so needed and appreciated. Thanks Brian and Pastor Fuller for although this was posted a while back, it's still helping worship leaders and us musicians today and will continue to far into the future . Glory to God.
My husband and I just became worship pastors at our 200+ member church this year in Jaunary. We are at a point in growth where we have a lot of new members and new believers that make up a huge part of our congregation. We've experienced a lack of engagement from them at times and this video has definitely been more than helpful to me! I watched it a second time to take notes to share with our team. I just want to thank you for making this video, and I look forward to more! You guys are obviously anointed to do what you do, and its encouraging to me! Thank you!
The music stand thing hit home for me. I challenged myself to taking the music stands away and something Ive been dealing with is taking it away and once I did I can tell the engagement was better. God was definately speaking to me.
We always emphasize that , after all the rehearsing , on Sunday morning it is the TECHS that “lead” worship...without well-timed lights, sound and lyrics on the monitors (we do not use music stands, for the exact reasons you discussed!) we, the team, can end up being a huge hindrance instead of a help in ushering the body into worship ! Great info, guys...thanks !
This is awesomely spoken from both of you. Even the way you speak is engaging. I agreed with EVERYTHING said here and should be heard by every worship team "across the land" to get it right. Please continue putting out stuff like this as it definitely helps. You said it best in the beginning. These are things known by great worship teams, but not really spoken of that much. Thanks for bringing it to this table.
Great video, guys! Many times, when I'm not leading, I'll find myself prayerfully contemplating the lyrics to one or more of the songs. Nothing at all against dancing, jumping around, etc, as I know these are valid forms of worship. But if I'm doing these things, I find it too easy to mentally check out and miss the very truths I am singing. We're definitely not all wired the same!
As a worship leader, the congregation needs to see you worshiping and being moved/led by the holy spirit and this will encourage them to also worship. Once the spirit starts moving it can take on a life of its own.
Thank you very much for this video. We are trying to build a worship team here in Belize CA. It is a new sarting church and we want to start and introduce this high impact worship in Belize..in a small district in Belize, I believe this is what is lacking in churches here. And this video is very encouraging because we are here taking a big step without a single instrument. But we have faith that our Lord will provide. Thank you for all your videos very helpful for us. God bless
That was amazing! I have been leading worship for 2 years with a music stand, thanks to your video I'm going to try it without the stand. Challenge accepted :)
Thank you for your videos... I'm not a worship leader, but a member of the congregation and wish our worship team would follow your practical advice so that we ALL would benefit. One of the biggest gripes I have is, the level of the music ... I/we cannot hear the vocals, thus it takes away from actually worshipping God because we're trying to figure out where we're up to in the lyrics, but also, I love hearing the voices of the onstage musicians and the congregation and I would assume God would love to hear our voice in praise and worship (whether in tune or not). And a musicians looking like the are happy to be there.... ours look so disinterested and don't care about what they are doing. It's wonderful to hear and understand and appreciate how much time & effort and caring most worship leaders put in. Please keep up your great ministry. God bless you
This is fantastic stuff for worship ministries! I hope you guys add to these because this first one was out of the park! Got me looking at all of your stuff! Very "engaging"! (sorry couldn't help myself).
Excellent Video Brian and Fuller... I would love for you to answer how you guys go about song selection... How, why, and what you are looking to create.
Cool. Thanks for sharing, brothers! Very informative, practical and 'challenging', in particular the last part of - not having the music stand for worship leader!
You said a mouthful when you said....If the team isn’t engaged, then how can they be engaging to the listeners? Otherwise, you’re expecting something that’s not there. Excellent teaching!
Excellent conversation! Very well scored points on all issues!I've been wondering... My problem was (I'm no longer on the team), that my worship leader does much of the opposite of what you suggest - and works. How would a junior member respectfully and tactfully approach such a leader? I have sent the links to some of your videos and tried to ask about what he thought of you guys' ideas or "trains of thinking". Also, every week I would ask what songs that we might want to do the following Sunday (or coming Sundays) and what key would be playing them in so I could be prepared, and I was met with consistent bewildered looks and no answers. Most often, and demoralizing to me, was we would have our "practice" on Saturday evenings, then I would arrive Sunday morning and be told we were doing a song(s) I never even heard of, in an undetermined key. Or, they would just start playing a predetermined song in a different key without any mention of the change beforehand. It's a small church. They are good people. They do need personnel, but "we still need chicken to make 'chicken salad' right"?Btw, I did use a music stand and a capo because I did need all the help I could get to help remember, or adjust to any departure from any planned events. After a while, I didn't need the stand because I ended up with an encyclopedia of paperwork on stage and I would usually end up dropping most, if not all of the music sheets on the floor rifling though them when they would go off on a tangent... I did try my best, and thought it was somewhat funny (still think it's funny), but in the end, I knew I would/could not work in those conditions. And they still need help... :( :( :( Sorry to be downer, but any help or ideas would be appreciated for the next time...Dave
Okay - music stands: I use it bc I am a part time music minister of a church of 150. I have a fulltime day job. If I had the weekdays to memorize chords and songs, I would consider removing the stand. Also, I incorporate reading Psalms into the worship set. I read from my actual Bible. Where does the Bible rest otherwise? I have seen some guys without stands literally lay their Bible on the floor, then reach down to pick it up. #1 that seems disrespectful to the Word, #2 seems cumbersome and breaks the flow of worship. Why not use a stand and it's right there in front of you. Only better option is to memorize the passage yourself. But again, I'm part time, my 40hr week is being using up as a programmer and an 1hr commute to the city.
The only way I would use the stand is to have the stand down low and as flat as you can get it without your bible falling off and have it beside you (and a little bit behind so that when you step back a bit, it indicates that you are not singing but will be reading scripture; I think it is important to make your actions clear) instead of in front. You can pick up your bible easily or have it open to the psalm and only use the bible as a reminder of some parts if you know most of it already. This way, the stand will be much less distracting to you and the congregation. You may already be doing this and this comment may not be helpful at all but let me know what you think of this way of using a music stand. Blessings
I'd be willing to try things without music stands. We're all volunteers here so there would probably be times where somebody dropped out until they remembered the words or chords. We get our setlist on Tuesday or Wednesday of the week rehearsal is being held ( Thursday prior to the Sunday service ). It's true that over time you repeat so the late setlist arrival is slightly less of a problem, but still there. I think you just have to be ok with the occasional trainwreck. Professionals like Bethel or Hillsong -- that's apples and oranges.
I am a multi-instrumentalist with Asperger's. Like many people with this condition, I can't smile on purpose. When I'm playing music in a professional context, I make up for it by moving all over the stage, and interacting with the other players. In worship, however, that would be completely inappropriate. Do you have any suggestions for those of us who just can't deliberately smile, but still want to do our part to involve the congregation? Eye contact, when you have a grumpy resting face, is not a good idea.
+dragknuckle Hey, I don't have Aspergers, but I do have trouble smiling intentionally. What helps me is to look over at my bandmates and make eye contact, or even just pay attention to what they're doing on their instruments for a moment. This makes it easier for a smile to arise naturally on my face. Maybe this doesn't help you, but I hope it does. God bless you.
I'm neither for, not against music stands but I think some of the reasoning in this video is unfair. One of the presenters comments that he never sees music stands at a U2 concert so we shouldn't use them on stage. When U2 do a concert they have a 15 (or so) song long set which they meticulously rehearse for weeks and then perform 80 times. At most churches, there are a handful of volunteer, non-professional musicians who get at most, a couple of hours to rehearse each week and they need to do a different 5+ songs each week. I don't want volunteer worship leaders to feel guilty because of this unhelpful comparison because it's much better to have a music stand and play/sing the correct stuff than to increase their stress in having to memorize a few songs each week and then have them focus on remembering rather than just playing and singing.
Hey guys, I wanna start off by saying thank you for doing this, it's a huge blessing. So, not every church is the same (obviously) so I was wondering if you guys ever encountered or still encounter situations where you almost wanna dive deeper into a worship song but you're running over the scheduled time. If so, how do you guys deal with that? I always find myself wanting to keep going. I'm not sure if it's a dumb question or not but if you have any thoughts or advice, even if it's something I need to work on intrapersonally, I would appreciate it. Thanks
I noticed nobody replied. Here's my take on that. I ask myself, "What's more important...sticking to a schedule or staying in the presence of the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to take control of the service?" Granted, you have to make sure that it is truly a move of the Spirit and that the congregation as a whole is really into worship and is ready, willing and able to just stay there longer as opposed to "I'm really enjoying this and could stay here all day." If it's completely God taking over, I say throw the clock out the door and let Him do whatever.
uniting with and honoring your leader's call will bring God's blessing in your worship. this is essential because one day you will be making the call and you cannot lord this over
Also, when you remove the music stand, maybe engagement isn't actually better, but only your perception of it since you are now looking out at people. Yes, the rock star does this too and gets people amped up, but aren't people usually looking at the lyrics on the screen? Are they really watching me or are they reading the lyrics? In this regard, you'd have to say that the hymnal was a hindrance since it made people put their heads down and read the words, rather than a screen on the wall. I mean, maybe...but was their worship less than ours really?
Started without a music stand. Just now acquired one, only because sometimes in the moment I mix up lyrics lol. Would you say that you need to maintain eye contact? I have that tendency to close my eyes. Even tho I play lead guitar and sing lead.
I completely agree about the music stands. Not only does it disconnect the congregation from you the worship leader, but once I removed my music stand I felt more connected with the congregation as well.
***** Nice video! Also, this Wednesday during AXIS, I will be coming to the Garner campus! I'm not sure yet who else from the Sanford campus is going, or what we will be doing there. Do you go to the Garner campus on Wednesdays? It would be so great to meet you! Also, whenever you can, can you tell Bradford I said "Hi"? Bradford doesn't know yet that I watch Worship Tutorials! (In case you forgot, my name is Sophia Priest.) :)
This is a video that we can
come back to again and again.
The Info and insight is so needed
and appreciated. Thanks Brian and
Pastor Fuller for although this was
posted a while back, it's still helping worship leaders and us musicians today and will continue
to far into the future . Glory to God.
This content is still relevant in 2022. It’s helping me alot. May God strengthen you.
My husband and I just became worship pastors at our 200+ member church this year in Jaunary. We are at a point in growth where we have a lot of new members and new believers that make up a huge part of our congregation. We've experienced a lack of engagement from them at times and this video has definitely been more than helpful to me! I watched it a second time to take notes to share with our team. I just want to thank you for making this video, and I look forward to more! You guys are obviously anointed to do what you do, and its encouraging to me! Thank you!
One thing I have learned through experience is the truth of what they told us at Regent University - you can't take others someplace you don't go.
The music stand thing hit home for me. I challenged myself to taking the music stands away and something Ive been dealing with is taking it away and once I did I can tell the engagement was better. God was definately speaking to me.
I love this video good job pastor Fuller! I know I'm 13 but this taught me how to grow as a leader
We always emphasize that , after all the rehearsing , on Sunday morning it is the TECHS that “lead” worship...without well-timed lights, sound and lyrics on the monitors (we do not use music stands, for the exact reasons you discussed!) we, the team, can end up being a huge hindrance instead of a help in ushering the body into worship ! Great info, guys...thanks !
This is awesomely spoken from both of you. Even the way you speak is engaging. I agreed with EVERYTHING said here and should be heard by every worship team "across the land" to get it right. Please continue putting out stuff like this as it definitely helps. You said it best in the beginning. These are things known by great worship teams, but not really spoken of that much. Thanks for bringing it to this table.
as someone new to worship leading in a small church this was very helpful. Thank you for putting this out there
love you guys you speak and teach leading to praise and worship ty i am in awe ty
Great video, guys! Many times, when I'm not leading, I'll find myself prayerfully contemplating the lyrics to one or more of the songs. Nothing at all against dancing, jumping around, etc, as I know these are valid forms of worship. But if I'm doing these things, I find it too easy to mentally check out and miss the very truths I am singing. We're definitely not all wired the same!
“Are we expecting something from people that we’re not willing to first give?” Thank you.
As a worship leader, the congregation needs to see you worshiping and being moved/led by the holy spirit and this will encourage them to also worship. Once the spirit starts moving it can take on a life of its own.
Thank you very much for this video. We are trying to build a worship team here in Belize CA. It is a new sarting church and we want to start and introduce this high impact worship in Belize..in a small district in Belize, I believe this is what is lacking in churches here. And this video is very encouraging because we are here taking a big step without a single instrument. But we have faith that our Lord will provide. Thank you for all your videos very helpful for us. God bless
That was amazing! I have been leading worship for 2 years with a music stand, thanks to your video I'm going to try it without the stand. Challenge accepted :)
Thank you for giving practical insight to worship leaders.
Thank you for your videos... I'm not a worship leader, but a member of the congregation and wish our worship team would follow your practical advice so that we ALL would benefit. One of the biggest gripes I have is, the level of the music ... I/we cannot hear the vocals, thus it takes away from actually worshipping God because we're trying to figure out where we're up to in the lyrics, but also, I love hearing the voices of the onstage musicians and the congregation and I would assume God would love to hear our voice in praise and worship (whether in tune or not). And a musicians looking like the are happy to be there.... ours look so disinterested and don't care about what they are doing. It's wonderful to hear and understand and appreciate how much time & effort and caring most worship leaders put in. Please keep up your great ministry. God bless you
This is fantastic stuff for worship ministries! I hope you guys add to these because this first one was out of the park! Got me looking at all of your stuff! Very "engaging"! (sorry couldn't help myself).
Excellent Video Brian and Fuller... I would love for you to answer how you guys go about song selection... How, why, and what you are looking to create.
would be interesting if you did something to do with leading worship as one person (without a band) in a Sunday Church setting. Thanks!
Cool. Thanks for sharing, brothers! Very informative, practical and 'challenging', in particular the last part of - not having the music stand for worship leader!
You said a mouthful when you said....If the team isn’t engaged, then how can they be engaging to the listeners? Otherwise, you’re expecting something that’s not there. Excellent teaching!
I really appreciate this video God bless you all
"Never let them see you sweat". I tell my team you have not begun to worship until you sweat! LOL...
Excellent conversation! Very well scored points on all issues!I've been wondering... My problem was (I'm no longer on the team), that my worship leader does much of the opposite of what you suggest - and works. How would a junior member respectfully and tactfully approach such a leader? I have sent the links to some of your videos and tried to ask about what he thought of you guys' ideas or "trains of thinking". Also, every week I would ask what songs that we might want to do the following Sunday (or coming Sundays) and what key would be playing them in so I could be prepared, and I was met with consistent bewildered looks and no answers. Most often, and demoralizing to me, was we would have our "practice" on Saturday evenings, then I would arrive Sunday morning and be told we were doing a song(s) I never even heard of, in an undetermined key. Or, they would just start playing a predetermined song in a different key without any mention of the change beforehand. It's a small church. They are good people. They do need personnel, but "we still need chicken to make 'chicken salad' right"?Btw, I did use a music stand and a capo because I did need all the help I could get to help remember, or adjust to any departure from any planned events. After a while, I didn't need the stand because I ended up with an encyclopedia of paperwork on stage and I would usually end up dropping most, if not all of the music sheets on the floor rifling though them when they would go off on a tangent... I did try my best, and thought it was somewhat funny (still think it's funny), but in the end, I knew I would/could not work in those conditions. And they still need help... :( :( :(
Sorry to be downer, but any help or ideas would be appreciated for the next time...Dave
Okay - music stands: I use it bc I am a part time music minister of a church of 150. I have a fulltime day job. If I had the weekdays to memorize chords and songs, I would consider removing the stand.
Also, I incorporate reading Psalms into the worship set. I read from my actual Bible. Where does the Bible rest otherwise? I have seen some guys without stands literally lay their Bible on the floor, then reach down to pick it up. #1 that seems disrespectful to the Word, #2 seems cumbersome and breaks the flow of worship. Why not use a stand and it's right there in front of you. Only better option is to memorize the passage yourself. But again, I'm part time, my 40hr week is being using up as a programmer and an 1hr commute to the city.
The only way I would use the stand is to have the stand down low and as flat as you can get it without your bible falling off and have it beside you (and a little bit behind so that when you step back a bit, it indicates that you are not singing but will be reading scripture; I think it is important to make your actions clear) instead of in front. You can pick up your bible easily or have it open to the psalm and only use the bible as a reminder of some parts if you know most of it already. This way, the stand will be much less distracting to you and the congregation.
You may already be doing this and this comment may not be helpful at all but let me know what you think of this way of using a music stand.
Blessings
I'd be willing to try things without music stands. We're all volunteers here so there would probably be times where somebody dropped out until they remembered the words or chords. We get our setlist on Tuesday or Wednesday of the week rehearsal is being held ( Thursday prior to the Sunday service ). It's true that over time you repeat so the late setlist arrival is slightly less of a problem, but still there. I think you just have to be ok with the occasional trainwreck.
Professionals like Bethel or Hillsong -- that's apples and oranges.
“ am I fully expecting Jesus to make his name known through what I’m about to do?”
Killer stuff, guys. Thanks!
I am a multi-instrumentalist with Asperger's. Like many people with this condition, I can't smile on purpose. When I'm playing music in a professional context, I make up for it by moving all over the stage, and interacting with the other players. In worship, however, that would be completely inappropriate.
Do you have any suggestions for those of us who just can't deliberately smile, but still want to do our part to involve the congregation? Eye contact, when you have a grumpy resting face, is not a good idea.
+dragknuckle Hey, I don't have Aspergers, but I do have trouble smiling intentionally. What helps me is to look over at my bandmates and make eye contact, or even just pay attention to what they're doing on their instruments for a moment. This makes it easier for a smile to arise naturally on my face. Maybe this doesn't help you, but I hope it does. God bless you.
I just noticed that this is not a new video... Very good stuff! -----vvvvv
Also is there any free training courses that you would recommend for Saxophone players on your worship team?
I subscribe to the Matt Redman style of worship which is basically “Shut up and lead worship.”
I'm neither for, not against music stands but I think some of the reasoning in this video is unfair. One of the presenters comments that he never sees music stands at a U2 concert so we shouldn't use them on stage.
When U2 do a concert they have a 15 (or so) song long set which they meticulously rehearse for weeks and then perform 80 times.
At most churches, there are a handful of volunteer, non-professional musicians who get at most, a couple of hours to rehearse each week and they need to do a different 5+ songs each week.
I don't want volunteer worship leaders to feel guilty because of this unhelpful comparison because it's much better to have a music stand and play/sing the correct stuff than to increase their stress in having to memorize a few songs each week and then have them focus on remembering rather than just playing and singing.
if you are a really small church what's the best way to attract new musicians and singers and young people to your church?
Hey guys, I wanna start off by saying thank you for doing this, it's a huge blessing. So, not every church is the same (obviously) so I was wondering if you guys ever encountered or still encounter situations where you almost wanna dive deeper into a worship song but you're running over the scheduled time. If so, how do you guys deal with that? I always find myself wanting to keep going. I'm not sure if it's a dumb question or not but if you have any thoughts or advice, even if it's something I need to work on intrapersonally, I would appreciate it. Thanks
I noticed nobody replied. Here's my take on that. I ask myself, "What's more important...sticking to a schedule or staying in the presence of the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to take control of the service?" Granted, you have to make sure that it is truly a move of the Spirit and that the congregation as a whole is really into worship and is ready, willing and able to just stay there longer as opposed to "I'm really enjoying this and could stay here all day." If it's completely God taking over, I say throw the clock out the door and let Him do whatever.
Do what your pastor wants, he will be led by the Holy Spirit if your to continue in worship. Have that conversation with your pastor about it.
uniting with and honoring your leader's call will bring God's blessing in your worship. this is essential because one day you will be making the call and you cannot lord this over
Also, when you remove the music stand, maybe engagement isn't actually better, but only your perception of it since you are now looking out at people. Yes, the rock star does this too and gets people amped up, but aren't people usually looking at the lyrics on the screen? Are they really watching me or are they reading the lyrics?
In this regard, you'd have to say that the hymnal was a hindrance since it made people put their heads down and read the words, rather than a screen on the wall. I mean, maybe...but was their worship less than ours really?
Jared Albin We need the hymns! Please bring them back & include them with older & newer worship songs.
Big help!
Started without a music stand. Just now acquired one, only because sometimes in the moment I mix up lyrics lol. Would you say that you need to maintain eye contact? I have that tendency to close my eyes. Even tho I play lead guitar and sing lead.
I completely agree about the music stands. Not only does it disconnect the congregation from you the worship leader, but once I removed my music stand I felt more connected with the congregation as well.
Fuller's Bon Jovi example is my wife and I to a T. I am the guy with his hands in his pockets letting the music wash over him.
***** Nice video! Also, this Wednesday during AXIS, I will be coming to the Garner campus! I'm not sure yet who else from the Sanford campus is going, or what we will be doing there. Do you go to the Garner campus on Wednesdays? It would be so great to meet you! Also, whenever you can, can you tell Bradford I said "Hi"? Bradford doesn't know yet that I watch Worship Tutorials! (In case you forgot, my name is Sophia Priest.) :)
Don’t agree with the music stand argument. The focus shouldn’t be on the musician to begin with, we’re worshiping.
That's the idea with the music stand argument we make. It allows the musician to more easily focus on engaging in worship rather than reading a chart.