Today I Was 'Just' a Worshipper
Sunday, September 14, 2008 at 12:43PM This post is part of Fred McKinnon's 'Sunday Setlist' blog carnival. I'm really enjoying it!
Don't forget to check out the Zacchaeus Survey (see below).
I got to be 'just' a worshipper today, and in keeping with my nature and experience, I struggled with the distractions. The bass player, a guy from the local mission (which is only a few blocks from our church) was struggling with the chords on one song. And of course, I had to try and figure it out with him. As I watched his hands, and the hands of The Other Ed (who was leading), I realized they were in the key of F#. It took me a minute, because The Other Ed always plays in alternate tunings, then capos up. Tom the Bass Player was struggling to find his spot, and I couldn't relax until he found it. I love to watch him, because he's a recovering alcoholic, and church is such a refuge for him. He lifts his face up, closes his eyes...I'm inspired by that.
Other than that, though, I did pretty good. It was all hymns this week, which The Other Ed will occasionally do, and therefore very familiar to everyone--something I'll talk about at the end of the post.
All Hail The Power
It Is Well With My Soul
Blessed Assurance
Nothing But The Blood
Madly In Love With You
Last night Mrs. Sunday Musician and I did our last public 'gig' for a while. We've been playing restaurants for a couple of years, making some extra cash, playing some of our favorite music, but the return on investment--both in fun and profit--has been not so hot, so we're bagging it for a while. If you're curious, click here (click on 'Resources' when you get there) to hear our demo. What you're hearing is tracks I sequenced in my Yamaha MO8, and me playing guitar, and Molly singing. Hit the refresh button on your browser, and new songs will load.
I have a question for all you worship leaders:
Do you know the words to the Zaccheus song? I'm taking a little survey. Please click on the Zaccheus song post, read my blurb, and leave a comment. I have a theory I'm working on, and I need data.
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Reader Comments (9)
I get a kick out of when we sing the same songs.
We also sang All Hail The Power (Raise up the Crown)
We don't do "Nothing but the Blood" and I love the harmony on that one.
I really like your set.
Great set. We also did Blessed Assurance today. It's definitely one of my favorite hymns. I love Fanny Crosby's writing!
I often find myself distracted when not playing. Watching the guitar player (what's he playing?), watching the drummer (nice fill), watching the bass (more passing notes, please) and all that. I find it hard to just enjoy it if I can see the musicians.
I'm curious as to why they had such a hard time finding the chords. Didn't they work that out in rehearsal?
When I used to go to the big seminars around the country, I'd always play the 'who's leading the band' game. I'd watch the eye contact among the players, trying to see who was giving cues. Key changes usually gave it away. It's hard, isn't it? When I go to concerts, I always have one of two reactions: "I could do that!", or "I couldn't do that!". Either way, I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to just listen.
We don't do a lot of rehearsing at our little church, and it's a two-edged sword. The Other Ed, my friend who leads, has a big heart for musicians and brings in guys who are sometimes rough around the edges. Ed likes to play it loose, and while that brings mostly wonderful results, it sometimes also means that guys like Tom (who's a much better guitar player than bass) can get a little flustered. Mostly it's okay because the 'band' is usually just Ed on guitar, with maybe another guitar player, no bass player half the time, sometimes a keyboard player, never a drummer. In fact, yesterday there was nobody on the keyboard, and Ed said to me afterward, "If you'd been sitting on the other side of the room (closer to the keyboard), I probably would have asked you to sit down and join us on the keys".
It'll probably change as we grow--we just added a Saturday night service because our building (an old coffee shop) is so small. Personally, it's such a welcome change from the highly-charged atmosphere of the Big Church. I led worship several weeks ago, and found myself being FAR too directive, checking my watch--old habits are hard to break!
Just curious, how often do you do an "all hymns' weekend?
Not very often, maybe once every couple months. We have a sort of unusual situation, though. We're a small church, maybe 150 people total, and we meet in an old coffee shop, which is a little bit run down and rambling. And we're right smack dab in the middle of downtown Holland. Odd demographics, too--lots of students from nearby Hope College (during the season), some guys from the Rescue Mission (a couple of blocks away), and then a lot of people who came from bigger churches, looking for a break from the action.
So they really don't care what we do, to be honest. Which is kinda nice...
Love the hymns. We miss much, when we push them off the table.
This Sunday morning, I'm going to be off the stage as well. A very rare thing for me, so I'm looking forward to it.