Leaders, Ministry Leadership, Worship Leading, Worship Planning, Worship Theology

“Play Skillfully!” | Tony Guerrero

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A Job Description For The Worship Musician/Leader 

Psalm 33.3 “Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”
 
This simple verse outlines some pretty major responsibilities for the church musician. Let’s pick the verse apart and see what God is asking for… “SING TO HIM A NEW SONG…” Be Creative!
 
If you think you’ve heard that popular worship song one too many times, imagine how many times God has heard it! This isn’t meant to imply that God ever tires of our authentic praise, but I do believe He wants us to continuously find new ways to express that adoration. God gave us creativity for a reason – so we can use it to glorify Him!It’s also important to note that God was very careful to preserve lyrics for us. He knew that if we didn’t have guidelines to follow, we songwriters might end up writing our own theology so we could fit a lyrical rhyme.
So, He gave us Scripture, which holds a great wealth of things to sing about. More specifically, He gave us the Psalms, an entire book of lyrics for us to use without any copyright infringements! But we have no idea how those original songs sounded. We don’t know the melodies, the chord progressions, or the cool drum grooves they were listening to thousands of years ago.
 
God could have given us some way to know this, but instead, He asks us to be creative!
Of course, not every musician or singer is a songwriter. Still, I’m relatively sure that most of you reading have at least one song in your repertoire that you’ve been doing the same way for years – right? Change it! Use your God-given creativity and remake it as your own! Your congregation probably needs to experience those lyrics in a fresh new way.
 
Studies have shown that after a song has been sung 50 times, people stop thinking about the lyrics and start singing by rote. Don’t let this happen!
 
Does this mean our creativity should know no bounds? No. An orderly worship setting allows creative expression bound by certain responsibilities. For instance, walking into your church where your congregation prefers hymns and forcing your new speed-metal rendition of the Beatitudes on them is probably not your best move. Your “creativity” has just kept your congregation participating in that time of worship (it’s hard to worship while running out of the building with your ears covered!). Finally, leaders, allow some creative expression from your musicians. If you are holding on so tight that the only musical ideas ever presented are yours, you need to loosen the reigns (and check your ego!).
 
You are limiting what your team can offer and you are slowly losing your musician’s interest. Most of us believe our ideas are right, and perhaps they are. But there is no harm in allowing the drummer a little freedom to be creative as long as it does not distract from the congregation’s ability to worship. His version of a groove might even appeal to more people than yours! By soliciting and intentionally utilizing your team member’s creative gifts you are showing your appreciation to them, and you are giving them ownership. That appreciation and personal ownership can do wonders in building the moral and dedication of your musicians.
 
Let’s commit to expressing our creative gifts and encouraging those of our teams. “PLAY SKILLFULLY…” The author doesn’t mince words here. He doesn’t say “make it just good enough”. So, it seems pretty clear that quality IS important! Does God expect that all of us must play guitar like Phil Keaggy before we approach the worship platform? Of course not! But He does want YOUR best.      
     
The call to being a worship musician brings with it certain responsibilities (such as quality), and with these responsibilities comes sacrifice (practice). You certainly wouldn’t want your pastor to just pull out his Bible on Sunday mornings, so why should your congregation expect any less of you with your instrument? I realize that many church musicians are not full time players and hold the responsibilities of a day job and a family.
 
Still, if you are not practicing your instrument during the week in preparation for Sunday mornings, you are offering simply a “good enough” performance in an area where God expects our best. Even those musicians who feel competent enough to play most modern worship music without much practice are choosing to leave a “good-enough” gift at the alter when they decide not to try and improve their skills.“
 
But I already sacrifice my time to play at the services, and I don’t have the time to sacrifice during the week.”Well, I hope this doesn’t offend too many, but playing our instruments on Sunday mornings is not that much of a sacrifice. Let’s face it – playing music is fun. 100% of the musicians I know got into and pursued music because it was FUN! Chances are, music ministry appealed to you because you enjoy playing, and for many it is a chance to relive those old ‘fun’ days when music was a more regular part of life.
 
Sacrifice is not usually fun. Showing up at 5:00 a.m. to sweep up the sanctuary would be a sacrifice for any working musician, but showing up to do something you enjoy doesn’t always qualify. Let’s not even mention receiving the usual kudos, prestige, appreciation and applause that usually accompanies music ministry. Sure, there are times when over-scheduling, multiple services, outreach events and the like involve sacrifice, but I think you get my point.
 
Let’s commit to the sacrifice involved in improving our skills so that we can offer our very best to the Lord. “SHOUT FOR JOY…” Have fun! No, this is not in contradiction to the last section. Remember what we are doing when we come together – we are standing in His presence worshipping Him! If that doesn’t sound fun to you, then Heaven might not be all that appealing, because, from what I understand, there will be a lot of that going on! Our times of worship should be an exciting preview of what Heaven will be like. If you’re not having fun doing this, you might need to find a new ministry. If every Sunday morning is a chore and a headache, chances are YOU are doing something wrong.
 
Let’s commit to making every expression of worship a joyous one and show God how much we love Him.  Why do we do all this? Because, as Psalm 33 continues, God’s word is right and true, and He is faithful in all He does! God deserves our creativity, our best efforts and our joyous shouts of praise!  
 
 
©2019-2005 Tony Guerrero / All Rights Reserved 
Author Bio

Tony Guerrero

Tony serves here at WTT and WTTU as an instructor and author-contributor. Multi-talented musician, recording artist, arranger and producer, Tony is best known as a contemporary Jazz artist on trumpet, but is also proficient on flugelhorn, piano, guitar and many other instruments. Tony has worked all over the country as a worship team consultant, guest speaker at musician workshops, and been on staff as director of church worship ministries. In 2009 Tony was nominated for a Dove Award (Producer). Guerrero served as a Music Director and as the Director of Creative Arts at Saddleback Church (Rick Warren, pastor & author of 'The Purpose Driven Life') from 1999-2010. Aside from weekly musical duties for the Praise Gospel services, Guerrero was instrumental in designing and producing the hugely popular annual Purpose Driven Worship Conference & Festival as well as dozens of original theater and concert events. He has also helped plan and produce several concert series and events. His past church staff experiences include Colonial Bible Church in Tustin, California and Marina Ranch Church in Dana Point, California. 
In 2015, Guerrero joined the faculty of Hope International University (Fullerton, CA) as working with students to developing their band-leading, worship-leading and songwriting skills. He also teaches classes in Songwriting and Arranging. In 2015, Guerrero was invited to serve as the music director for Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress/singer Jane Lynch (“Glee”) for her traveling cabaret show, “See Jane Sing”. The show featured The Tony Guerrero Quintet along with actress Kate Flannery (“The Office”). In 2017, Guerrero was the featured trumpeter on a solo album by Hollywood legend Dick Van Dyke. Guerrero was also invited to sing a duet with Van Dyke on the song “Rockin’ Chair”. This project led to Guerrero composing and producing the Christmas release, “We’re Going Caroling”, in which Van Dyke sings with Jane Lynch.

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