Praise and Worship's Not Working At My Church

It's not working! Somebody do something! The worship leader is irritating! The people on the mics are irritating! It's too long! Bring back devotion! It's a show! I don't like the music!  Etc, etc, etc.

These are just some of the responses I've heard down through the years regarding the Praise and Worship segment in many of our churches. Whenever I am invited to do a workshop, it's one of the hottest topics. People want answers to their Praise and Worship problems. My first question to everyone is, "Why did you feel the need to start a praise team?" Many cannot answer this question with certainty.  Most of the time it is because of what was seen at someone else's church. That is a problem. What might work for one doesn't always work for the other.  

Here are some of the other reasons Praise and Worship may not be working at your church:

1.  Lack of Understanding

The teaching from the pulpit, if any, doesn't under gird the understanding and expectation of Praise and Worship.  If the Praise and Worship segment is to be effective, there must be teaching from your Pastor or Minister of Music. Congregations are more likely to do what they've been taught from the Bible than some random admonishment from a worship leader. Many congregations do not understand the power and purpose of Praise and Worship. They look at it as just another part of the program instead of a possible encounter with God.

2.  Poor Song Selections

The song selections may not match the purpose and mission of Praise and Worship. The Praise and Worship moment is at its height when the chosen music directs people to the greatness and Spirit of God. The songs should cause us to sing unto God, our Father. Sometimes leaders make the mistake of inserting songs that talk about God instead of songs that talk to God. The music should cause the congregation and singers to shift the focus off  themselves. When this happens, God promises, in His Word, to inhabit our praises (Psalm 22:3). For example, "How Great Is Our God," is a Praise and Worship song. It causes us to focus on the greatness of God. "We're Gonna Make It," by Timothy Wright, is not a Praise and Worship song because it's a song of encouragement unto the people. This type of song would fit better later in the worship service.  If you structure your worship so that you sing "up" to God first and then later on in the service sing "out" to the people, you will yield a greater result with your congregation.

3. Bad Song Leaders

Many of our churches are suffering from bad song leaders. Bad song/worship leaders tend to carry some of the same traits:

1. They're not worshippers themselves. They tend to admonish everyone else to worship, but do not demonstrate expressions of praise and thanksgiving to God themselves. It's self-centered worship.

2. They're not personable people. They don't spend time with the people they serve. People tend to follow someone they like. If one is leading others in the worship of God, they need to be authentic and likable.

3. They tend to sing solo during every Praise and Worship song. When I say sing "solo", they're not leading others in the singing of songs but rather treat the congregational moment as a solo opportunity for themselves to shine.

4. They tend to misquote Scripture and use cliche worship phrases most of the time. Great worship leaders are great students of not only music but Scripture. They spend time with God and with the people. They know how to affect people because God is using them to do so. When one is armed in Scripture and in prayer, one is equipped for battle. In this case, the battle can be inviting or teaching others via Scripture about the importance of Praise and Worship.

4. Poor Background Singers

I, personally, do not believe in Praise Teams anymore, but I am a proponent of Praise and Worship. I believe that everyone in the building is the "praise team", not just the people on the mics. However, if you're going to have people on individual mics, they need to come correct.  Bad singers on microphones create a poor representation of the music presented unto God and His people. I don't care how anointed a song is. If the singers are bad, the people are going to have a hard time getting into the presence of God.

5. Not Knowing When To Quit

If you're a leader and your Pastor has charged you with leading the congregation in Praise and Worship, you have to know when to quit. If you submit yourself to the Spirit of God, "He", the Spirit, will tell you. Carrying on and on can be damaging to the atmosphere especially when you're operating in the flesh. There are many times when the Spirit of God is moving and He calls for a continuation.  However, there are many times when He calls for an ending. One must know the difference. Sometimes you learn it through trial and error. The best teacher is the Holy Ghost. The lesson you don't want is the people looking at you in disgust because you won't quit.

I know there are other reasons why Praise and Worship may not be working at your church but I can guarantee you if you address these 4 core issues mentioned above, you will see a dramatic turn in your corporate worship experience. 

"IT'S TOO LOUD IN MY CHURCH" by Phillip Carter

My dear Aunt Helen said to me last week that she has to stand in the lobby of her church when the music and the preaching is going on because she says its too loud for her in the sanctuary. I was singing with my group this past weekend, at a church where I serve,  and my wife comes in the sanctuary and waves at me to inform me that its too loud so I immediately told the house guy to bring the overall volume of the house down which was the right thing to do since I could not access, from where I was standing, if there was any one particular thing peaking out in the audience. All of us have our opinions as to when something is too loud or not and all of us think we're right so I am going to approach this from a technical perspective later on in this blog. It's a fact that listening to loud music for long periods of time can and will damage your hearing. Many of you reading this blog go to church on a regular basis and most of our churches are probably projecting our sound systems at high levels not realizing that our hearing is being damaged in the process. I am very guilty, as I am writing to you, of demanding more volume as I play or sing on Sunday morning due to the intensity of the music that I sing and/or play partly because I have trouble hearing myself. Gospel Music is demanding and when the energy comes so does the loudness.

When preachers, especially in the black church, get excited and raise their voices  they tend to get closer to the mic instead of backing away from it because of the excitement and intensity of their preaching. That's a normal thing but it can be harmful as well if the sound tech at your church does not take the necessary steps to control the volume. Many of our churches do not invest in people who have the knowledge to run audio equipment efficiently but we are quick to hire people to do other jobs, in our churches,which require competency. Audio Engineering is a skill which requires a lot of training. It's amazing to me that we entrust our ears to Deacon and Trustee so-and so on the sound board.  Are we that ignorant?  Whether you are in a small or a large church we must protect our ears while being able to hear everything we want to hear at the same time.

Technically anything above 75 decibels is considered loud and anything above 100 decibels is getting dangerous for long periods of time. If the noise gets to 200 decibels for any amount of time then loss of hearing takes place immediately.  It is true that all of us have our own noise thresholds. Its not too loud all of the time. Let's be honest. Some of us make those claims partly due to the fact that we don't necessarily enjoy the type of noise being made whether its music or the preached word. I remember growing up in church and every time I played a gospel song it was too loud but every time I would play a hymn (at the same volume) it was heavenly.lololololol.   The same old saints were talking out of two sides of their mouths.

IT IS possible to be intense and for the levels to be controlled at the same time. It's not always the musicians fault if the music is too loud. Your church might have an incompetent sound technician especially if your church has everything miked up. Your instruments might be placed incorrectly in the sanctuary. There are a number of reasons why things may be too loud in your church. Stop assuming and seek answers that make sense to the church and to the musicians. On the other hand, musicians should try to exercise some wisdom when dealing with their own volume levels, in church, especially if you are in total control of your volume. We must not let our personal liking's overshadow what may or may not be going on in our houses of worship. We must seek and implement solutions because there are millions of Christians who maybe suffering from hearing loss due to the Saturday or Sunday morning worship experience. 

You can refer to this table below from http://www.abelard.org/hear/hear.php to give to your sound techs and your Pastors at your church as a reference.

Peace,
Phillip Carter

HOW LOUD IS LOUD? Common Noise Levels and Typical Reactions

Activity	Noise Level [dB(A)]	Apparent Loudness	Typical Physical Response	new:quadratic equations, model answers part of how to teach your child number arithmetic mathematics advertising disclaimer
Rocket launching	180		Danger level
Threshold of pain Gunshot Jet engine taking off	140		Danger level
Military jet Air raid siren Shotgun Hydraulic press (3 m away)	130	512 times as loud	Limited ability to hear amplified speech. Noise may cause pain. Can damage hearingafter  3.75 minutes exposure per day
Car horn Propeller aircraft Air-raid siren	120	256 times as loud	Can damage hearingafter  7.5 minutes exposure per day
Sand-blasting Squealing pigs Inboard motorboat Typical night club Unsilenced motorcycle (7m away)	110	Over 128 times as loud!!	Maximum vocal effort. Can damage hearingafter  30 minutes exposure per day
Amplified Rock Music	110-130	Over 128 to 512 times as loud!!	Can damage hearingafter 3.75 – 30 minutes exposure per day
Helicopter Motorised/power mower	105		Can damage hearingafter 1 hour exposure per day
Jet takeoff @ 500m Train horn @ 30m Diesel truck Pneumatic drill/jackhammer	100	64 times as loud	Can damage hearingafter 2 hours exposure per day
Heavy truck @ 15m Busy city street passing motorcycle Lawn mower Loud shout Screaming child	90	32 times as loud	Very annoying. Can damage hearingafter 8 hours exposure per day
Average factory Electric shaver	85
Busy traffic intersection Motorway construction site Outboard motor Alarm clock (with bell) Freight train (15m away) /td>	80	16 times as loud	Annoying.
Motorway traffic @ 15m Roadside traffic Train horn @ 500m Vacuum cleaner Mixer electric sewing machine Noisy restaurant Conversation in a loud voice	70	8 times as loud	Telephone use difficult.
Washing machine/dishwasher	65
Light car traffic @ 15m City or commercial areas Noisy office Normal conversation Clothes dryer Background music	60	4 times as loud	Intrusive.
Quiet office	50	2 times as loud	Speech interference.
Refrigerator	45
Quiet residential area Kitchen/bathroom Public library	40	Arbitrary Base  Reference Level	Quiet.
Leaves rustling Very soft music Recording studio Living/dining/bedroom	30	1/2 as loud	Very quiet.
Threshold of sound perception	10	1/8 as loud	Just audible.
Threshold of hearing	0	N/A	Not audible.