Headed to the Anglican Assembly 2014

1Tonight I’m headed up to Latrobe, PA to lead worship at eight different sessions/services at the Anglican Church in North America‘s Assembly 2014. In addition to hearing some great speakers (J.I. Packer, Os Guinness, Gary Haugen, Andy Crouch, Eric Mataxas, etc.), I’m looking forward to the times of corporate worship and leading the music alongside some good friends who are traveling up there with me. My church has taken the lead on planning/organizing much of this conference, and before I transition out in a little less than two weeks, it will be fun (and exhausting) to be a part of this event.

A couple of years ago I led worship at a similar event on the West Coast, and I taught a seminar called “Ten Ways Anglican Churches Can Grow in Worship”. I posted on it back then, but since I’m going to be knee-deep in the Anglican world this week, and since I think all of these things can apply to other churches as well, I’d like to share them again.

Here are ten ways Anglicans (and probably most other churches) can grow in worship:

1. Worship God out of love, not duty
We don’t worship God because he needs it, we worship God because we need it. To paraphrase John Piper: God demands praise because we won’t be happy until we give it. God isn’t needy. We are. When people come to church because they think God needs it, or because God will be impressed, they’re doing it out of duty. Encourage people to come hungry, thirsty, and expectant to receive.

2. Appreciate all styles of music as God’s handiwork
There is not one style of music that can contain God’s glory. There is not one style of music that is unable to be used for God’s glory. Music is God’s handiwork, therefore we can and should use all of it, with care, for the glory of God. Therefore, we shouldn’t be protective, defensive, or suspicious. We should be glad to see God’s glory reflected in variety.

3. Expressiveness as the norm
When is the last time you’ve taught/offered encouragement on biblical expressiveness? Teach it from the bible and let people know they’re safe to feel free to worship with their bodies. Finally, model it. People won’t go beyond what they see up front. Expressive worship is the norm in scripture. So it should be in our churches too.

4. Clergy as worship leaders
The pastor, or the priest, or the rector of a church is being studied at all times. Especially during a service. If he’s not interested or engaged in what’s going on, people notice. If your congregation isn’t expressive or engaged in worship, look at your pastor. Most often, he isn’t either.

5. Lay Eucharistic ministers, acolytes, ushers, etc., as worship leaders
If you were to walk into a new church for the first time and see people up front, you would understandably assume that those people were in leadership. And if those people look bored during the service, you would understandably get the idea that worship isn’t terribly important. In Anglican/liturgical churches, most often, the people that we put up on the platform look bored. And I think this is a major reason why our congregations do too.

6. Do contemporary well
I remember when I was visiting England and I ordered a burger at a restaurant. I could tell it wasn’t the real deal. I remember when I was a kid and my Mom tried to sneak store-brand Cheerios in the name-brand box. I could tell it wasn’t the real deal. People have sharp antennae for fakeness. Sadly, in many Anglican churches, classical music is supported with skilled leaders and some sort of budget, while the contemporary music is not. This should not be so. Do it all well.

7. Go for it: celebration
On a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being a party, and 1 being asleep, most Anglican churches settle around a 3. They’re not totally asleep, but they’re leaning that direction. I think I can get away with saying this stuff since I’ve grown up in this tradition.

Don’t expect a congregation that’s at a 3 to all of the sudden go to a 10. But maybe one Sunday with some explanation and love you can encourage them to a 3.5? Nudge people to celebrate God’s glory with more enthusiasm.

8. Wait for it: stillness
Most people have very few (if any) extended times of stillness during their day. We can give them that space on Sunday. But it’s not enough to just leave silence and expect people to figure out what to do. Imagine you’re stuck on a plane on the tarmac. What do you want? The pilot to give you an update. So apply this principle to times of silence on Sunday: give people a bit of direction and explain what’s going to happen, and encourage them to be still and listen to the Lord and enjoy his presence. It might make people uncomfortable but it’s good for them.

9. See liturgy as a tool not an idol
I’ve written and spoken extensively on this here.

10. Leave room for the Spirit
Which of these two questions are you asking yourself the most throughout the service: (1) where does the liturgy have us going? Or (2) where is the Holy Spirit leading us? Both are important questions. But one is more important than the other. And that’s the latter question.

If, by any chance, you’re going to be at the Anglican Assembly this week, come say hi!

Not Missing the Sweetness of Being a Local Church Worship Leader

1Once upon a time I was having a conversation with a musician/singer/songwriter who was having a hard time breaking out in the Christian music market. I asked him what he thought he would do in a few years if his music didn’t take off, and he said that he might just end up leading worship at a local church somewhere.

Another time, once upon a time, I was having a conversation with a worship leader in a local church. In his free time, he was in a band that had started to be invited to play at some youth retreats and other events. I asked him what he thought things would look like for him in a few years, and he said he hoped that he could end up touring, recording, and moving to Nashville to live the life of a musician/singer/songwriter.

Two different people with two different stories, each of whom viewed the role of a local church worship leader as if it were just a safety net, there for them in case they couldn’t do something else.

On the one hand, it’s understandable that a Christian with musical gifts who’s looking for a way to support himself with those gifts would explore the world of worship leading, and on occasion find that the world of worship leading isn’t where they sense a calling. And that’s fine.

But on the other hand, it’s unfortunate when local church worship leaders see their job as merely a holding cell, or a launchpad from which they can soar into mainstream success one day.

Leading worship in a local church is a privilege, an honor, and a great responsibility. Walking alongside a congregation from the vantage point of the person charged with leading them in song throughout the different seasons, ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and attendance fluctuations is certainly challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. And if you’re always looking for greener grass or a brighter spotlight, of if you’re always resenting having to serve in this capacity, then you’re forgetting what a privilege it is.

Being a local church worship leader can be incredibly hard, whether you’ve sensed a call to it since you were 13, whether you’ve fallen into because you didn’t make it the music business, or whether you’re still doing it and hoping to do something else one day. But it can be incredibly sweet. Don’t miss out on the sweetness.

A New Call

1After 10 years of a being on a wild ride with The Falls Church Anglican and having the privilege of serving them as Associate Director of Worship and Music, God has called me to Truro Anglican Church in Fairfax, Virginia, to be their next Director of Worship and Arts. Catherine and I are sad to say goodbye to our community at TFCA (though, graciously, this new call doesn’t involve us moving!), but we’re thrilled to start a new chapter of ministry at a church that’s so dear to us.

Truro is actually where Catherine and I met each other (our dads were both associate pastors at the same time), where we first led worship together, where we got married, and where we have many fond memories and close friends. I was a member there and helped lead worship in multiple capacities for about four years. We never imagined God would call us “back” to Truro. But that’s the thing: he hasn’t. He’s called us forward to Truro. And we’re thrilled.

I came on staff at TFCA on July 6th, 2004. I was excited and anxious. I was grateful to be called to such a wonderful church with godly leadership, but a bit overwhelmed by the challenges that faced me. There hadn’t been anyone on staff before to lead any of the contemporary music elements, or to take ownership of the “informal services”. It was all new to them. And to me! But I dove in to the deep end, with a lot of help and a lot of grace from the amazing people at TFCA, and it’s been a wonderful adventure. It’s been a full decade: full of joys and trials, and I’m deeply grateful to God for the opportunity to be at this amazing church with such sweet people, gifted musicians, and committed volunteers for as long as he’s let me. The last two and a half years have been especially exciting (losing/leaving our campus, becoming portable, etc.) And now God is bringing this chapter to a close.

My last Sunday at TFCA will be July 6th, 2014. Exactly a decade. Time flies!

I’m looking forward to four weeks off with my family after that, before starting at Truro on Monday, August 4th. I’ll be diving into a new deep end, and again hoping for a lot of help and a lot of grace from the amazing people at Truro. I’m looking forward to building on the solid foundation that’s already there, and has been there for several decades now. It’s an honor to be called to this new position, and I’m grateful to Tory (Truro’s senior pastor) for the opportunity.

I’d really appreciate your prayers over the next three weeks as I seek to finish well (I sure do have a lot to do!), as my family and I process the emotions of saying goodbye to our time at TFCA, as I attempt some sort of brief “sabbatical” starting on Monday, July 7th, and as the Browns begin a new chapter at Truro in August.

Over the next few weeks I hope to share some more reflections on the last 10 years, so for now I’ll just leave it at this: it’s been an incredible honor to serve The Falls Church Anglican for the last decade. I will always be grateful.

Back to Basics: Ten Lessons From Leading Small Group Worship For Those Leading Large Group Worship

1I wonder if some worship leaders who have become accustomed to leading large numbers of people in worship (and by “large” I mean “any number too large to fit in a living room”) have gotten the wrong impression that the rules that apply to encourage people singing in a living room don’t apply in a sanctuary or auditorium. While the trappings, instrumentation, volume, etc., might change from the living room to the church building, the principles you learn in a circle of 5-10 people don’t/shouldn’t change at all when you find yourself on a stage with a sound system.

Here’s what you have to learn in order to survive as a worship leader in a small group setting:

1. The songs need to be singable
Hard melodies, intricate rhythms, and weird syncopations won’t fly in a small group. You might cover them up a bit better in a large setting, but they’re just as hard for people.

2. The key is key
You’ll learn really quickly in a small group that if you’re hanging around Ds and Es and (please, no) Fs or Gs, things get awkward really fast. You might mask this with the amplification and anonymity in a larger setting, but it still makes Joe the Plumber give up singing just as much. (I’ve written on this in detail before. And here too.)

3. Show offs are turn offs
Try pulling a guitar solo while leading worship in a small group. You might not notice the weird glares as much in a large group as you would in a small group, but epic musical moments with no other purpose than to showcase an epic musical moment leave just as large a percentage of people scratching their heads.

4. Competence begets confidence
The best kind of small group worship leader is competent. He or she doesn’t need to be amazing, know more than three chords, or even just know how to press “play” or put together a song list/play list. He or she needs to be competent in their calling. People respond well to competence. They are scared by weakness and they’re turned off by arrogance.

5. People follow your melody
If you start to go off of the melody in a small group, everyone wonders whether they’re supposed to go with you or not. Same thing in a large group, but you can get away with it a bit more for some reason. But when you go off on vocal embellishments, you leave people confused. Vocal embellishments could be tanking your effectiveness level as a worship leader and you don’t even realize it.

6. Less is more
When you pick too many songs in a small group, you can begin to feel the collective sense of “really? another one?”. You can become numb to that in a large group. It’s better to leave people wanting more than wanting you to just put your guitar away and sit down. Same principle applies in a large setting. There can be too much of a good thing.

7. You really want people to sing along
If you’re leading a small group in worship and you’re the only one singing, you know you have a problem. But why is this dynamic OK in a larger setting? I don’t think it should be. The inherent power in congregational worship is congregational singing, and thus the congregational exaltation of the one to whom (or the one about whom) we’re singing. When we lose our focus on facilitating congregational singing, and settling for congregational spectating, we have successfully missed the whole entire point of why we’re there in the first place.

8. Relationships matter
Try showing up in the living room just one minute before leading singing, and packing up and leaving the room immediately after the singing. Things won’t go too well for you because people won’t really trust you, and you’ll have no idea who you’re leading. Same thing in a large setting. People are watching you to see if you love them or if you’re just there for a gig.

9. New songs need to be taught
Even just saying the words “we’re going to sing a new song, so listen to me for a moment and then join in when you’re comfortable” will go a long way towards helping a new song go well in a small group setting. Just launching into it will leave people wondering if they’re supposed to know it, if they’re supposed to sing it, and if they’re supposed to even try. Taking time to teach a new song will help people feel confident, whether there are five of them or 5,000 of them.

10. You’re there to serve
It’s hard to get a big ego when you’re leading worship in a small group setting because you’re keenly aware that you’re one of them, that you’re there to serve them, and that you really need God to help you if it’s going to go well. When and if you step into a larger role in a larger room with a larger congregation, don’t ever forget that your role is first and foremost the role of a servant, and that if things are going to go well, you really need God’s help.

Before you can ever drive on the interstate, you have to learn how to navigate your own driveway. Before you ever cook a culinary feast, you have to learn how to boil water. And before you ever lead a large group in worship, you need to learn how to lead a small group in worship. Because the essential principles that you learn in a small group that help you facilitate the glorious act of congregational singing will never (and should never) change regardless of where you go from there.

Never forget the basics!

About Tuning Out

1A few weeks ago I stirred the evangelical worship pot with my post “Are We Headed For A Crash? Reflections On The Current State of Evangelical Worship”. One of the lines that got me the most flack was this one (when explaining my experience at a worship service/concert):

“…Even I didn’t know most of the songs that we were supposed to be singing along to at the conference. I tuned out. I sat down. I Tweeted. I texted my wife. I gave up.”

Some people very sweetly encouraged me to try a bit harder next time, while others offered to pray for the state of my soul.

I wanted to say two things about this whole “tuning out” thing:

First, it’s good for worship leaders to sit back from time to time and analyze a worship service. Analyzing isn’t a bad thing when it’s not the only thing. If all you’re doing is analyzing, then you’re missing the forest for the trees. But if you never do any analyzing, you’re missing the trees that need pruning.

I’m grateful for the opportunity I had at the worship conference to enjoy some sweet times of congregational worship, and to enjoy some enlightening times of observing. I was in a section where I could sit and not be a distraction or discouragement to anyone, and I learned a lot. Worship leaders have to be able to analyze and observe. It will make them and the services they lead more effective.

Second, it’s hard for people to stay engaged when the songs are all unfamiliar (and this should not be a controversial statement). This is true on Sunday mornings, and it’s true at your favorite performer’s concert. New songs are great, but familiar songs are an anchor.

When we don’t sing any familiar songs, we take away any sense of there being an “anchor” for the congregation, causing them to get defensive and pull back. Will there always be those who aren’t engaged no matter what you do? Yes. And will there always be those who say things were great no matter what you do? Yes.

But most people, including worship leader bloggers, will eventually succumb to fatigue in a service where there are no familiar songs. We should be aware of this when we lead worship, and not wear our people out.

I eventually succumbed to that fatigue, and “gave up” singing along, and decided to check in with my wife (putting three girls to bed), check in on the outside world, and observe. I would have preferred to sing along.

Your congregation probably prefers to sing along too. But when they can’t sing along, they usually won’t sing along, and that was my experience several weeks ago, as a normal person in the pews. Or, nicely padded theater seats.

So worship leaders: when you’re leading, try not to give people excuses to tune out. And when you’re in the congregation, try to be as engaged as you can be. But from time to time, it might be a good idea to sit down, observe, and analyze. (But be careful blogging about it unless you’re prepared to explain yourself!)