to do corporately . This form and Spirit allow our leaders and musicians to feel ownership and creativity , while also submitting to one another .
[ WM ] How do new-to-the church musicians incorporate into the worship teams ?
[ Jonathan ] We ask all our new volunteers to regularly attend for at least a 3-6 month ‘ immersion ’ period that exposes them to our church culture . This allows them to just receive and not find their identity as musician but as a minister to the Lord . This provides a health that is invaluable to our musicians and their spiritual growth and development - you can ’ t get healthy without first laying down any other identity other than son or daughter of God . We have also found that many times it ’ s healthy for musicians , and even worship leaders , to unlearn what they ’ ve learned from traditional church settings . We want all our volunteers to play and sing from personal encounter , and not just professional excellence and skill .
[ WM ] Do you record it in your church facility or in a studio ?
[ Jonathan ] The essence of what happens in our prayer room is tangible and palpable and we have made every effort to keep our music as raw and authentic as possible by doing live recordings at our services . Our studio and recording staff operate in such humility and are bought in to capturing what happens in our worship sets . We do use a studio for arrangements , making demos , and both pre and post-production , but our desire is to always record live .
[ WM ] How do you share the songwriting responsibilities ?
[ Jonathan ] We are so blessed with such an artistic and creative community . This goes well beyond music . I realize this is because our leaders have such an enormous value for creativity and therefore , we attract what we value . Over the course of the past ten years , creative individuals have found a home in our church family . We are inundated with creative volunteers - including songwriters . As they ’ ve come , we have not held them at arms ’ length , but drawn them close as leaders . Our songwriting community is continually expanding and so it ’ s not a burdensome responsibility but a joyous overflow to serve the Lord through our creative expressions .
[ WM ] What advice do you have for those worship teams that would want to explore more of a spontaneous worship time ? Did you have some practical steps that you have taken to get your ‘ feet wet ’ so to speak ?
[ Jonathan ] I have a few thoughts on this .
To the beginner musician I would say you first need to learn the rules of music so that someday you can break the rules of music . Every great musician in our community started by playing scales and learning basic rhythms , and we would call this the launching pad for anything creative . To the skilled musician I would encourage you to play from personal encounter . What I mean by that is to pick an attribute of God , for example His beauty . Begin to think about His beauty and as you meditate on His beauty , begin to translate His beauty through your instrument . What does His beauty sound like ? What does it sound like through you ? Through creation ? Through His church ? This takes practice and discipline . This is where