Why Do You Want To Be In The Worship Band?
When holding auditions, I’ve often wondered why people want to be in the worship band in the first place. I’ve heard some say, “because I just want to worship”. My response would be, “you can worship from the audience, why do you really want to be in the worship band?” This is where it gets awkward. This is the point where people really have to check their motives. Do they just want to be on stage? Is it because of pride? Lust for admiration? Ego? Or, are they truly following God’s will for their lives? I have no doubt that God has called people to specific areas of ministry, whether they’re professionals in that field or not.
The reason I mention this is because after 5+ years of being in the music ministry, I’ve come to the realization that great worship bands mostly include members who were solicited. The top notch players in town don’t usually sign up for an audition. They get a call from the worship leader because he/she heard that they’re really awesome at what they do. Does this mean that we don’t hold auditions anymore? No! It means that when holding auditions, we take the time to interview the person to gain insight on their motivation. Ask them about their everyday lives, their aspirations, what God means to them, etc,. What are acceptable motives? That’s for you to decide.
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About
About Me. Hmmm? Well, I am married to my beautiful wife Gloria and we have an awesome 6yr. old son named Jaden who has Down Syndrome. I’m a guitarist at heart with a passion for singing and songwriting. I’ve played guitar for almost 30 years now and I’ve been in a lot of bands in various genres. I’ve had the pleasure of opening shows for Kansas, Steppenwolf, Blue Oyster Cult, Nazareth, The Outfield, Chris Duarte, Edgar Winter, Building 429 and others. I’ve performed with the Corpus Christi Symphony and The Platters as a session guitarist.
Presently, I am the Multi Site Worship Pastor @ Bay Area Fellowship, which is a huge blessing. It’s allowed me to use my Music Ed. degree to the fullest and has become a real calling for my life. I am currently working with the worship leaders at 6 of our campuses by helping them create and maintain great worship teams at each campus. Above all, my relationship with God is the most important thing in my life and I pray that He would use the gifts He’s given me to reach the lost through engaging worship.
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You know, Joey, I think this a really good question to ask. There are many people who just want the limelight. Then there are others of us who just have to to do it because it’s what we do. We can’t NOT do it because that’s what He has asked of us.
The idea is that when you are on the stage, you shouldn’t be there to just “worship” in your own world. You are right in that you can do that from the congregation (in our case, audience). Leading worship is so much different. It is the Spirit of God using you to spread His message and Spirit, creating an atomosphere of worship so that He can draw others in so that lives are changed by Him. We are just the vessels He uses.
If you put the wrong person on the stage, the Spirit is stifled and the true ministry of the Spirit is lost. It’s not just about talent. A lot of talented people are not annointed to lead worship. If you are choosing someone to put on stage, he better have the annointing of God to be there.
Thanks for the insight!
S-