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by Don Chapman
Recently I had the opportunity
to play keyboards
at Newspring Church in Anderson, SC. Readers of WorshipIdeas
know I love to visit churches all over the
country to see what they're up to, but this
time I had the chance to take a behind-the-scenes
look at one of the largest (#64) and fastest
growing (#18) churches in America.
When I teach at worship
conferences, people
often want to know how
other churches do
things so they can compare
notes, so you
might find the following
interesting.
First of all, Newspring schedules their music and musicians
months in advance. I received an email on April 23 from music
assistant RoseAngela Rugiero asking if I
could play on June 15, and Sundays were planned
through the end of July. Rose is also one
of the worship leaders at Newspring and a
very talented vocalist who once made it to
the Hollywood stage of American Idol (I keep
encouraging her to give it another try -
it took Chris Sligh three auditions before he made it to the
show, he reached the top ten and currently
has a fantastic record deal with a song climbing
the CCM charts.)
Next, all the musicians received CDs of the
music so they could be familiar with the
music before rehearsal. Rehearsals are Monday nights at 6:30 and
mine lasted about 2 1/2 hours. Charts were
passed out at rehearsal and worship leader
Lee McDerment had changed the keys of several songs to
fit Rose's voice (both
Lee and Rose were
to lead worship, alternating
between songs.)
By the way, I love Lee's
voice and songwriting.
He has a CD out and you
can hear clips at his website. Buy it at CDBaby.
Rehearsal time was basically spent learning
each song. Lee would point out any changes to the music,
sounds and settings were discussed, we'd
run through the tune 2 to 3 times then we'd
record it. We rehearsed on stage in the auditorium,
and since they have everything set up to
record services it's easy to record. After
rehearsal each musician was given a freshly
burned CD of the songs to practice with during
the week.
The band on my Sunday consisted
of several
fine musicians- drums,
bass and two electric
guitarists. Lee's at home
either on guitar
or keyboard so he played
a small digital
baby grand on a few songs
and I filled in
the holes with a synth
pad or B3.
In ear monitors are used. I have never used in ears before and didn't
think I'd like them, but now I love them!
It was like listening to a CD. Plus, they
have a little amp called a "butt kicker" that gives you the real feel of the
thump from the kick drum and bass.
Long Sundays can be grueling at a megachurch,
but you have so much fun you don't realize
it. It's a long day at Newspring with 4 services
at 9:15am, 11:15am, 5pm and 6:45pm. We met at 6:30am for a quick breakfast (some
lady in the church made the most delicious
sausage rolls I've ever eaten), then rehearsed,
then had a full run-through and a short devotion
time. After playing the service, the group
heads back to a "green room" where
we can watch the message on TV. Then we head
back out for the final song.
Since the last service
has a longer song
set, the band returned
at 3pm, rehearsed
and had yet another full
run-through of the
longer set. My one complaint
about Newspring
has been that the music
is so good I wanted
more of it, and evidently
others feel the
same. To answer that need,
they've designed
the last service to have
a longer, freer
worship time whereas the
other services are
a bit more focused and
seeker sensitive.
I've been thinking a lot about my Newspring
experience. That Sunday was long and tiring but satisfying,
and I had a sense that we'd accomplished
something important. Newspring is big on
outreach and doing things right, and I think
that's what bugs me most about churches today:
they just don't care anymore. Somehow, 21st century churches have fallen
into this weird rut of not doing things well,
then dissing those churches who do. Read through a few comments at my blog and you'll find people inexplicably arguing
for mediocrity.
Contrast that with the
movie industry. Ever
watch an entertainment
mag or TV show hyping
the next big blockbuster?
You'll hear about
the months, sometimes years
of tedious, expensive
pre-production by a team
of hundreds. The
meticulous attention to
special effects and
details. The long hours
on the set. The orchestral
score composed and performed
by the most
talented musicians.
And then churches, who have the most important
message of all time, haphazardly throw their
services together. Pick a few random songs.
Allow "singers" to use their questionable
"gifts" and have drummers who don't
own a set of drums (read one of my blogs.) When I arrived at the last church where
I was a worship leader, the band was accustomed
to showing up 20 minutes before church and
throwing some songs together. You wouldn't
believe the drama when I insisted we have
a weekly rehearsal!
What's happened?
I've heard it said many times "I'd rather
have a bad musician with a good heart than
a talented musician without a heart for worship."
And I've said here many times: I sure wouldn't!
I want it all for my ministry - talented
people with hearts for worship - and I won't
settle for anything less (and if you make
me choose, I'll take a talented musician
without a heart for worship any day - you can pray
for a person and see their life changed,
but if a person doesn't have talent, all
the prayers in the world won't help!)
And that's ultimately why I salute Newspring:
they want it all. With all the rehearsals
and run-throughs the music was nearly perfect,
yet in our pre-service devotional time, Lee stressed that perfection is worthless
without God's power behind it. I appreciate that balance.
No wonder God is blessing and Newspring is
exploding.
>Bottom Line: Try taking a little extra time this week
as you prepare your service.
Do you remember
a time when you really,
really cared about
the quality of your worship?
Here's the service order:
Awaken Us - Casey Darnell
Greetings/Announcements
God of This City
Fire Fall Down
None But Jesus [4th service only]
Be Thou My Vision [4th service only]
Message
Wrap Up / Offering
All Because of Jesus - Steve Fee
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