Pastors, Worship Teams, Leaders and Vocalists, AV and Sound Teams...Do you want grow your ministry but keep quality and excellence in execution? Want to get more out of rehearsal times? Want to once and for all end the Worship War in your church? Do you NEED to build leaders from the inside? Ahkeem Darden presents Fix My Worship that is aimed at answering these questions and more.
While doing my customary run thru for my sermon a woman approached me and asked what church I went to. She moved to America from Uzbekistan a few months ago and have been looking for a church. None that she has gone to have had a "spirit" of love and acceptance but she sensed that from my delivery of the sermon in the park on grace that my church had to be that way...and yes we are. She listened to the rest of my sermon and fully expect to see her this coming Sabbath.
Wiki says that a miscarriage of justice is punishing someone for a crime that they didn't commit and is often in reference to the death penalty. Reading my devotional today from Dwight Nelson, he astutely describes the greatest miscarriage of justice ever!
That song was going through my mind and as I sat down for morning devotion I decided to look up the story behind the hymn. Worship leaders and singers alike I recommend you do this for your favorite songs. You'll be amazed at the incredible stories of the circumstances these songs were written under. I found out this songs biblical derivations are from 2 Cor 4:18 where Paul describes our walk being one of faith and not sight. The song is a simple request that the unseen Jesus accompany us throughout our live and strengthen our resolve and will. The song became popular in the 20's and 30's in African American circles and is noted for being used in jazz funerals in New Orleans.
the website to look this stuff up is www.hymnary.org/tune/closer_walk_american
Great class last Monday. There is more to this choosing songs for the serivce than meets the eye. We discussed in great detail the 9 factors that Worship leaders need to take into consideration. Leaders from Sinai, The Faith Center, West Park and Plantation were all there learning and contributing to the discussion. The homework included each leader choosing building a worship song set taking into consideration these factors:
Overall Theme for the Week - forgiveness, grace, etc
Personal Inspiration/Testimony - What has God laid on your heart?
Worship Curve - Adoration vs revelation, high intensity vs low intensity, horizontal vs. vertical )
Blend - Contemporary vs Hymn?
Frequency - When were songs utilized last?
Capabilities of Worship Team
Capabilities of Band
Your Overall Vocal Capabilities
New Music Considerations
These are the songs the leaders chose for their sets. Great choices...
I plotted these songs in a chart to see the intensity of the worship curve over time. Here is what the congregations experience as a result of the worship curves crafted by 3 of these leaders...
These are dynamic sets but we discussed having gradual changes in the tempo and intensity of the songs. We also discussed making sure that we have aim and direction to the curve...to gradually build or lose intensity as the set progresses depending on the ultimate destination of the song set (prayer, sermon, end of service?) Great learning experience! We are there every Monday at Plantation SDA. 6:30pm for Fix My Worship Training....Come and join us.
Last weeks jam session is where the stars came out. Praise leaders in training from Plantation SDA and Bethlehem SDA along with Clarence and Jalisa graced us small folks with their presence!
