Is Your Worship Vertically Challenged?

OK, so I'm gonna just say what has been dwelling inside for some time and fighting to come out.

All to often in many 'worship services' that I have been a part of over the course of my life have been what I call vertically challenged. You ask, what do you mean? No I'm not referring to all the short people that I've witnessed worshiping, though I could recount several that do come to mind...

I digress, how often have you been there amidst a worship service and you get that odd feeling that people are worshiping themselves, or their own 'brand' (horizontal) rather than the Creator of the universe? Oh, you have - GREAT, I'm not alone, I really do feel relieved...

Now I must say that I'm not calling out anyone or group here - its been across a variety of churches that this has been observed. Just recently I have been reminded of how much this practice eats me up and irritates me. So to discuss where I feel the focus needs to be directed here a couple of definitions that go hand in hand:

Vertical: at right angles to a horizontal plane; in a direction, or having an alignment, such that the top is directly above the bottom. *


Worship: reverent honor paid to God, adoring reverence or regard. *

Put the two together and I come up with:

Vertical Worship: the act of an adoring reverence or regard in an alignment towards God who is directly above.

You ask what this looks like? Well  in contrast to the above mentioned atrocities when the songs sung reflect Jesus, and not your pride in yourself(brand). Usually you can easily tell the difference between a congregation that is vertically aligned and the horizontal ilk by where their collective gaze is; is it an upward focus, or more on each other or the worship leaders, band, or choir.

Now seriously I'm not trying to pick here, but if the focus seems to be on the people 'preforming' and not on the Lord, I feel that we have broken away from what scripture tells us "make a joyful noise unto the Lord..."  NOT, "make a joyful noise about yourselves to the Lord..."

And to stop the pitchforks from flying in my direction and to make clear my meaning - this isn't necessarily the fault of the aforementioned leaders, band, choir solely, often the congregation is at fault as well. All to often even when the leaders etc are giving their all, the congregation, or a majority are way to distracted by life or the game coming on in a few hours... I'll stop there before I have to start dodging more than just pitchforks...

Now to pull it all in, all this is good stuff, but what does it have to do with the Production side of things? Well, in a couple of ways; first is the fact that all worship is a personal thing from you towards God, so that involves the production team. Secondly, is the production team on board with doing everything in their power to help provide a minimally distracting environment that people can feel open to worship. This of course being done by being on the same page as the leaders etc so to help them do their job, not to mention not having a battle right before services every time can free everyone to worship a little more freely! And remember that everyone brings something to a service, so what are you bringing to the plate? Is it time spent with the Lord during the week so that you are prepared for service, or it all of your own distractions that prohibit you from doing your part?

Make a point to be mindful to keep your worship vertical, so leaders - pick out songs are about/to the Lord, production teams - do everything in your power to make sure the front team can do their job without worrying about gear etc, and congregation - set your distractions aside! Keep the focus on Him who is worthy of the worship.

*Definitions modified from dictionary.com

(Picture taken fromhttps://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEoZtJpUbO3PKFFxBJCA5fR_x67-e5sj4pr6DGpbIHtgIIKbaAid8WigpHlwZhMl8ESIgVcKWyrJzKpgnN9WJ26MfjOBb83u0bxWgAgd6nTtnkkiAYPrhl7HaoATkPF4K9WOwixblz-79D/s1600/passion_05_worship_edit.jpg)

Producing Worship... Remotely

Being in the military, I have to travel from time to time. This can be an interesting challenge being in charge of my local church's production team, but thank God for modern technology. I have been able to remote in to mix our web stream audio from two thousand miles away and still be in contact with my team to help them with issues on the fly. Here is a quick breakdown of the setup if you are interested in being able to do something similar to help your team out:

• Currently using a PreSonus StudioLive 24. console (which just recently replaced the Mackie TT24) which is connected to a computer to utilize software GUI.
• LogMeIn.com to remote desktop.
• We stream our services with Ustream for now (this is what I monitor in one window, while mixing in another)

Pretty basic setup - but essentially no additional cost for us to do it, as long as I have internet access I can get on. If you do something similar when away or have comments on what you have experienced let me know in the comments!

This sort of thing ain't my bag...

Not long ago I found myself fighting the feeling that I did not like how we were doing a certain song, just thinking yea we could do this another way and it would be so much better... But then I had to come to the realization that it isn't how we do the song - but where our focus is in doing a song.

Having a ripping guitar and thundering drums is awesome in my opinion and I just tend to like that. However that being said I realize that it is not just about me and my likes, but in endeavoring to create a worship environment that is conducive to people connecting with God in a way that they may never had before, its not about the style, or more to the point my style.

Looking back on the different stylistic forms of worship that I have been apart of over the years, I can see that I have been able to connect with the Lord in all of them, it wasn't that this one was quieter and more reverent or that this one had hundreds in the choir, or this one had ripping guitar licks. The keys I believe to creating and producing this environment of worship that anybody (regardless of their personal style) can come in and make that connection with the one who saved us is this:

1. keep your focus on the Lord
2. submit to the song and to each other (ie, leave your ego & preference at the door)
3. be willing to do something different than the norm
4. have a unity of direction and communicate with each other

I am of the opinion that if you stick to these that it really doesn't matter if you are using a banjo, a mass choir, or a rock band that anyone can walk in and be ushered into the presence of God, and that sort of thing is my bag...

Backstage and lovin it...

I have always been a backstage kinda guy, not the one in the spotlight, but an intricate part of anything that I have been involved in. I have played in the band before, but never the lead, usually behind the scene helping make it happen, same thing in drama productions, doing set, sound and lights. In the Air Force I am in an out of the way place, in a job that gets no spotlight, yet without it the AF is nothing more than a glorified taxi service. I know a lot of people that might get miffed at never getting the recognition that they 'deserve', but hey who doesn't like for someone to notice a job well done? But I have to look at scripture and can see that its those that serve and dig in and get the job done that make those in the spotlight look good... There is something about working, perhaps its a man thing, that I really enjoy, running sound for a band where it takes hours of prep getting stuff ready, then setting it up before a show, make the band sound good for a few hours, and then the hours tearing down and prepping all over again, I couldn't be happier not having the hard job of standing in front of the audience. I have known for sometime that my personal ministry may never be to be the front man, but if thru my service 'backstage' I make the Lord look good, then I must be doing something right...

The Concert "Suck Knob" Syndrome

Awhile ago my friend went to a concert and once again experienced the "Suck Knob", here is what he had to say, as well as my comments on the subject:

Why is it that the sound men for opening acts at a concert aren't allowed to bring the band up to the same or similar standard as the headlining band? Is there a "suck knob" or filter back there that makes them sound that much worse only to make the main act sound that much better? Always been a mystery to me. I can see making the main band sound better but not by making the opening bands sound like a muddy unintelligible mess! Definitely the case with the concert I was at recently. I went to hear David Crowder Band who was opening for Third Day. Despite the suck knob being set to 5 or 6 Crowder didn't disappoint. Sound techs, there's got to be another way to do this!

Now, bout the so called 'Suck Knob', though there are times when a Sound Tech WANTS to use 'it', it doesn't exist. Normally there are a variety of issues that will cause this effect:
1. Though a crew can be efficient and set up for 3-4 bands in 4-6hrs or less, (sometimes more) usually the sound check is focused on the Headliner. So thus sometimes, even though we hate it, the opening bands get the short and quick and everything doesn't get dialed in right.
2. Piggybacking on #1 is the fact that EVERY venue is acoustically UNIQUE, thus setting up and sound checking in an EMPTY venue and the filling it with people is going to drastically change how it sounds and therefore will have to be modified, yes, during the openers! :(
3. Now the previous issues were pure logistics and technicality, this one is personnel, i.e. if you have a crew, and u are letting the rookie mix while you are busy fixing the above issues, or you are having to mix yourself whilst fixing above issues, well your mix is gonna 'SUCK' till you have all the proverbial 'bugs' worked out.

As a Sound Tech, this issue is very familiar to me, the worst part about it is the fact that not only do you, your crew and the audience know that it Sucks it the fact that the band that is having the "Suck Knob" turned up on knows it. As a musician I know that the knowledge that your sound sucks is a huge weight on your shoulders (i.e. having the frustration and still trying to still put on a great show).
Though on the other side of the coin, there are times when the band is stressed out about getting ready for the show that during sound check the band can be very testy and want to have it setup and dialed in right now and are unwilling to take the time to let the Tech get it dialed in correctly...

Music, Good Message??? - Good Music

There has been LOTS of controversy over what qualifies as Christian v Secular music for a verrry looong time... So in an attempt to douse the flames a bit here are my feelings on the subject:

• First off why is the line drawn at Christian artist and secular artist, for there have been several CA's that do secular music and times when SA's have done christian or religious music...
• Point in case has anyone noticed how many U2 songs have been redone by CA's in the last several years? or Carey Underwood's Take the Wheel that has been played on Christian Radio since it came out, or going back Elvis' religious recordings.... you get the picture...
  
• Secondly why is it that those that are hardliners on drawing the line at Christian/Secular ok w/ listening to Classical, Jazz, Folk or even Country ect? Does not the fact that the artist could be either mean that it is good or bad???

So the long and short of it is why break it down that way, I suggest KISS - you got Rock Music (the good and the bad), Worship Music, Christian Contemporary, Pop, Country, Rap ect ect.... all which in my opinion have good and bad, not to mention the artist doing it, there are again good and bad artists...

Giving it "All U Got"

So here is a thread that I will start and touch on from time to time... Have you ever run into those that do something, could be anything, but for the sake of this discussion I'll use musicians, that gives the line, "Ah, I just do it on the side, I don't need to be 'good' at it". K, obviously a musician plays an instrument, or a singer uses their voice, or a Tech of some sort uses their equipment for some reason. My question is, if you are gonna do something, isn't it worth giving it all you have, having a real passion for it and striving to be the best. Not to say you should be conceited or anything, but to be able to continuously be practicing, learning, and doing the absolute best of your ability? GOD has given ALL of us certain talents and also the ability to learn, so even if you were not born with "perfect pitch" or the ability to play anything you touch, if it is your desire to do something to do it well!!! So if you are one of those that want to squander the gifting and abilities that you have been given, Please either 'drive, or get off the road!!!'

Post Taste Era

This here is a montage of the first official gig by the band Post Taste Era! I have the honor of being this bands production crew...