Your Praise Team. Why is your Praise and Worship NOT effective as it can be?

[iam_jhaee]

  This is something that bothers me ALOT in Ministry.  Why is it that the praise and worship team can be BLOWING and Singing until their Vocal Chords are leaping from their throats but still, NO ONE is moved.

Perhaps, could it be that they had the "Club Ministry" going on the night before, or maybe they still have the "Hangover" Praise Break.  Better yet, maybe it's because they've got the Jungle Fever from the Saturday Night before?  To sum all of this up, we have gotten complacent in our sin as Worshipers, Worship Leaders, and Minstrels, Levites, and yes... even PASTORS as a whole.

I could go on and on with a list of WHY Praise and Worship isn't as effective as it should be in churches now a days, but I won't.

Now, we can't just blame it all on the Worship Team, but it is also the vexed spirits of the people of the congregation.  Many times, I know that my Praise Team is doing their greatest!  They are singing to the heavens, basking in the presence, pushing beyond the veil, and slain into pieces, but the reason their Ministry isn't fully going forth as a Praise Team's should is because Saturday, they may have been Singing to the Ceilings of the club, basking in the spotlights and strobe lights of the Dance Floor, Pushing through the cloud to reach the Dance Floor, and Slanging drinks at the bar.  HELLO SOMEONE.  That is exactly why before they TOUCH a microphone at the church, WE (Yes, As the Minister of Music, it is my duty to be the leader and the example to my Ministry Members, so I do it too) REPENT for all the sins we have committed during the weekdays and even as we walked into the church.  Effective Ministry begins with Prayer and Repentance.  You have to WANT to really press beyond the veil during Worship.

Moreover, your lifestyle must be a lifestyle of worship.  I choose to LIVE, BREATHE, AND BE a Worshiper EACH AND EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE.  I can't help but worship God and live in Worship.  Why?  Because Paul said "He does not treat us as our sins deserve.".  With every breath I breathe, I want to exhale a breath of worship! 

ALL IN ALL, We must live the life of a worshiper ALL of the time.  The Club & the Church cannot conflict with one another.

[sevin7007]

I don't think thats, always true... As a minister of music I see a lot of churches establish a praise team without teaching the people about praise and worship, and what praise and worship really is... A lot of times people think that praise and worship is singing and its not. We unintentionally leave the people outside of the gate instead of leading them to the throne. Some times what we have decided 'is praise and worship" is not what God has determined to be praise and worship for that moment, we must always seek God when offering our praise and worship. Does he really need us to even sing today or just obey him? Most of the time praise teams create a spectator sport and not that they do it intentionally... Sometimes they don't know how to lead people...so they leave people... sitting there as spectators. This is not a dig at the praise team but this happens quite often and the praise team is left wondering why the people are not into what they are doing. The people need to praise for themselves sometimes they've gone through something this week that the praise team seems to them inadequate to the praise or the thanks they need to give on their own with out being lead or coached. But it really needs to come from their hearts.  A lot of times our praise teams are the victims of the music industry...they try to do what is popular or what is in circulation.... but its amazing how that when one of the foundational songs of the church is ministered it reaches the people more so than popular music. Im just saying its not to say the praise teams not living right... it could very well be they are missing direction from the Holy Spirit.

[Michael1987]

i think your both right but both you are coming from two difference sides of the same story. Alot praise and worship teams just need to worship for themselves and live according to how god wants us to live. That the only way the we can assist our church in  true praise and worship. In other words live the life and practice what you preach.

God bless

[gtrdave]

i think your both right but both you are coming from two difference sides of the same story. Alot praise and worship teams just need to worship for themselves and live according to how god wants us to live. That the only way the we can assist our church in  true praise and worship. In other words live the life and practice what you preach.

God bless

Agreed. I've caught flack (on another Christian forum) for saying this before, but I believe it's very true; if we want others to truly worship God...and I mean worship Him in the church AND apart from singing in the sanctuary...then we worship musicians need to be worshipers of God on stage and off stage. We need to as much as we can live lives according to Romans 12 -

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Too many leaders and worship musicians believe that it's our priority to "create an atmosphere of worship" at every service and do so by how we sing, how we play, how we look and move and what songs we do...thinking that there's a magic formula for engaging in worship.
I'd suggest that if we have really been transformed by God's power and we worship Him with all that we are, we WILL create that atmosphere of worship without even trying. What we'll do on the platform will be an overflow of what we've been practicing through the week. Others will see that and want to become a part of it...or run screaming from the truth!