I related earlier this week that I’ve heard it said long ago (I don’t remember where) that people need three things to stick with a church:
1. They have to trust that the primary preacher speaks God’s truth;
2. They have to be able to tolerate the worship music; and,
3. They have to trust that their children are being well cared-for and taught Biblical truths.
It is impossible to have a worship style that will make everyone happy – especially in this age of individually customized playlists. Choose a style. A style that you can really get behind and be passionate about. Then do it well. REALLY well. Make sure it’s something that works given the resources you have. You may love the sound of huge modern gospel choirs, but if you have a team of five people, it’s not happening.
Make sure that the music is not just doable for your team, but for your congregation, as well. There is a difference between:
1. Songs created to listen to, and;
2. Songs created to sing along with.
To be blunt, there is a reason why most worship songs tend to be fairly simple and repetitive – melodically, rhythmically, and structurally. Average people have to be able to follow along with and sing them. More on this in the days to come…
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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