Don Potter , and many others . It just all of these different streams . Phil Wickham , who is more of the radio stream , John Mark McMillan , who is more of the edgy , rock worship sound . Darlene is more of a mother to the worship community , and Martin Smith is like a father . Don Potter is in the free-flow prophetic stream , and then there ’ s the Hillsong stream . Even though our students are looking for us to impart the DNA of the Bethel house , we kind of flip that on its head by also saying that what ’ s super important to this house is embracing the beauty that all of these different streams carry in their walk with God .
[ WM ] What are some of the specific things you want to equip people to be able to take back to their home churches ?
[ Joshua ] On a musical level , with guitar and keyboards , we really want people to understand the value of parts . Learning the specific part to a song really is an important thing , not just a dumbed down version of it or making up your own version . We believe that there is an anointing that is specifically on songs . When we go into production for albums we seek the Lord ’ s guidance on how a guitar should be played , or a keyboard part , and we believe those actually carry the breath of God within the song . So , we want people to understand the importance of playing the part the way it should be played .
Also , we focus on tone . That ’ s one of the primary things our instructors talk about . How does your guitar sound ? Your keyboard ? Your bass ? Are you getting a full , rich , dynamic sound ? Many of our class sessions focus on that , and it ’ s very important to our musicians . We talk about the amps , guitars , pedals , software , programs , and settings that we use , and we give those away to students . Michael Pope has a link to his Strymon Timeline settings , and he gives those to students . Luke and Nick have Ableton settings that they give out too . But , we also want to teach the students to fish . We want them to understand what to listen for and train their ear to understand what good tone is , how to get it on their own , and how to teach good tone to someone else .
On a worship leader level , one of the things we want students to walk away with is an ability to listen . For things like moving in spontaneous worship , making a set list , selecting the right people for your band , or letting people go from your band – there is no formula . Students come in asking , “ How do I know if someone should be on my team or not ?” and we tell them , “ Ask the Holy Spirit .” They ask , “ How do I know what songs I should lead on a given week ?” and we give them some principles to follow , but the answer is , “ Follow the Holy Spirit . Learn to hear His voice and to follow His leading . Let Him tell you which people should be on your team . Let the voice of the Spirit tell you how you should confront your Senior Pastor on an area of disagreement .” We try to give people tools and tips on things that we ’ ve seen that have worked , but we are always willing to sacrifice what has worked if the Holy Spirit is telling us to do something new or fresh . That ’ s really
42 June 2018 WorshipMusician . com