Performance vs Participation

I recently got a few questions via email, and these questions I feel deserve more detailed answers. (So it will take a while, please be patient!) The first email is actually about the core of worship ministry conflicts.

You see, all the genuine worship ministry disputes and conflicts I've seen so far are about the model of worship ministry. There are two models we are offered in Scripture, and when we understand them we will:

1. Know why someone who disagrees with us thinks and behaves the way they do; AND
2. Know what are the problems WE may run into and the blind spots we have.

The Two Worship Ministry Models (Paradigms) – Performance vs. Participation

A Performance-based worship ministry is based on a person or a group of people ministering while the rest of the people (if any) watch. We see this in the Bible quite often, primarily in the Old Testament. The Performance style of worship ministry really took on in a major way when God implemented the Levitical Priesthood.

But In The New Testament…

Firstly, the worship is now based on a spiritual re-birth and status (http://jvworship.blogspot.com/2009/03/spirit-and-truth.html); secondly, all believers are priests and therefore are to be directly involved with the ministry of praise and worship (1 Peter 2:9).

I talk about these two models of worship ministry in greater detail in my next book (http://invisibleworshipmusician.com/nextbook.htm), because both of them can be defended from Scripture, both are prone to being taken to extremes and abused, and because you need to find the right mix of both in order to find the best fit for your church.

In the Email I Received

A Chief Musician finds himself serving under a worship leader who changed the focus of the church music team from a performance-model, i.e. duplicating the original versions of songs, playing to clicktracks (metronomes) and taking pains to get the sound mix right, to participation. In theory, that sounds really good, very spiritual and in line with the New Testament.

However:

1. The worship leader takes in newbies who are not as musically skilled and does not challenge them to improve. This results in the newbies not being interested to improve. They turn up late for rehearsals and without having practiced their parts by themselves first (wasting the time of the rest of the band);
2. The worship leader takes away what created the good sound mix in the first place, such as the drum screen (allows the drum volume to be controlled by the sound ministry), and puts up a very unbalanced band on the stage (a bassist, pianist, drummer and FIVE guitars????). This can be VERY distracting for the congregation!;
3. The worship leader advocates mentoring (the senior musicians imparting skills and knowledge to the newer musicians, then moving out of the way to allow the newbies to rise up) and yet he does not allow the chief musician to teach the newbies how and what to play.

You can guess what this does to the morale of the serious team members who were there before. They would end up cynical and frustrated, especially with the clichés and platitudes that usually accompany such a change. Usually, when such changes happen, the leaders implementing such change will usually say things like:

1. "it's all about the heart";
2. "let God do the rest"; AND of course the biggest one –
3. "Don't you trust God?"

So you can see very clearly that this situation is a clash of two worship models, between Performance and Participation.

I know I push very strongly for the Participation-model of worship ministry. You can see examples here at http://invisibleworshipmusician.com/article01.htm. But that doesn't mean that anything goes, because the Bible doesn't teach participation for the sake of participation. The Bible teaches:

1) Participation for the sake of edification

1 Cor 14:26 (NIV) - What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

2) Participation for the sake of unity

Eph 4:11-13 (NIV) - It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God…

And unity in worship is very important, both in the New Testament…

Romans 15:5-6 (NKJV) - Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Emphasis mine)

… and in the Old.

2 Chronicles 5:13-14 (NIV) - The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever."

In other words, if you pursue participation totally, without any discernment, you end up with chaos and disorder. You can rationalize it and call it "freedom in the Spirit", but the fact remains: you need a certain degree of order (1 Cor 14:33) in order that people can effectively participate and contribute (1 Cor 14:26) for the edification of everyone gathered.

Likewise, if you pursue a performance model of worship ministry totally and without any discernment, you may end up alienating your worship team and your congregation, while burning yourself out. As long as you go to any extreme, you will be alienating people and making them more likely to choose the other extreme.

And the congregation suffers.

Conclusion:

So this is what I would urge you to do. Do everything in worship ministry, not for the sake of performance or participation only, but do everything for the sake of unifying the singing of the congregation, that they may be edified.

For example, I can play a lot on the piano and it can look really fancy. But I can do that because I know what works for unifying the praises of the congregation. I know when it will work and when the rest of the band doesn't let me. I know when the congregation is ready for it and when the people are not, so I won't fall flat on my face when I try it. When I play piano for worship, I play what I play so with the unity and edification of the people in mind. And it works!

I know, I sound very confident. Or is it arrogance? That's a good question, in fact, that is the very next topic I was emailed about. So stay tuned for the next post, when I look at the issue of arrogance vs confidence!

Be blessed!

Teach and Admonish

I have a confession to make.

I am a control freak.

And that is a side of me that I had to face up to, especially as I am writing this.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation…” 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

When I first started serving in a worship ministry, the popular teaching was that we musicians were a specially called group, the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament Levites and priests.

As I grew in my understanding (and just kept on reading the Bible) I just couldn’t hold to that idea anymore, that worship leaders and worship musicians are a separate group from the ‘average’ believer. I don’t believe that is an idea that can be justified from New Testament Scripture.

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a Kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father…” Revelations 1:5-6 (NIV)

Notice from the two passages I quoted that there is no argument the New Testament believer is a priest? Depending on what translation you are using, people can dispute whether we are made kings. But it is clear that we are definitely made priests.

All of us. Even the ones who are not serving in a worship ministry or see themselves as having no music gifting at all.

And one very neglected duty of the priest is the duty to teach. If Christ has made you a priest, he has given you not only the duty to praise God but also to teach. Consider this passage on the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe:

“He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel. He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar.” Deuteronomy 33:10 (NIV)

And what are the priests to teach?

“They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide it according to my ordinances.” Ezekiel 44:23-24 (NIV)

This is the tough part for me. To tell you all that you are called, no, you are commanded by God to teach his people. What if you start teaching the wrong things to God’s people? Wouldn’t I be at least partially responsible?

“I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” Romans 15:14 (NIV)

And THAT is the verse that slapped me in the face and told me to tell you what I am telling you now.

Now, I’d love it if I could teach you what to teach God’s people, and be your reference and guide if you have any questions, or be someone you check things out with before you share your teaching with others. But it’s better for me to share with you some principles that will help you teach the right things to God’s people.

1) “Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult, whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you, rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still, teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning.” Proverbs 9:8-9 (NIV)

Remain open to being taught. Notice in the above passage mockers and the wicked are grouped together? And so are the wise and the righteous. Be open to what others share. Please, don’t swallow everything they say wholesale, because they may be wrong, but at least give them a fair hearing before you come to your conclusion. Remember Proverbs 18:13!

And thank them too, even if they are wrong. Oftentimes it’s very hard to step up to a sibling-in-Christ and share what you think they need to hear, especially if it’s something uncomfortable. So thank them for making the effort and assure them that you’ve heard what they had to say and you are giving it thought.

2) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16, NIV)

Notice the word “dwell”. Think about it. There are scientists who study cockroaches and centipedes, right? But they don’t let those creatures dwell with them in their own homes. Likewise, we can study the Bible seriously. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Word of Christ is dwelling within us.

So let the Word of Christ dwell within us as a welcome and respected guest. As you open your mouth and speak out the Scriptures, let this welcome guest minister to you, edify you and educate you.

And also keep up your worship lifestyle. Besides teaching God’s word we are also to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Now, there is room for us to disagree on the exact definition of those terms for worship, but it’s clear that we are to keep worshiping God, as that is part of letting the word of Christ dwell richly in us.

Side point: I personally spend lots of time in the book of Psalms also. I believe that it helps me understand the rest of the Bible better. In Ephesians 5 the psalms are linked with being filled with the Spirit. As I said, this is a personal thing.

3) Be ruled by peace.

In Colossians 3:15, we are commanded to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. We are called to peace, and in this context we’re talking about peace with our fellow believers. And this is the order of priorities that God has. First peace, then teaching.

And when we treasure peace, unity and continually release forgiveness to preserve that unity, we will find ourselves released to greater understanding of God’s word. And that will help you to teach the word of God to his people in an effective and appropriate way.


There is so much more to share on this topic, so I hope what I’ve shared so far will help you start off or encourage you further on this aspect of your priestly ministry. Be blessed, everyone!


Prayer time: Please pray for me that I will continue to be guided by the God in my decisions. Very heavy decisions to be made this season. The breakthroughs I’ve been praying for are finally arriving, and I need wisdom in reaping the harvest. Thanks, everyone!