Creating Great Moments In Worship, Part 6: When Things Go Wrong
With any performance, things have the potential to go wrong: microphones can stop working, the power can fail causing silence and darkness, music cues can be missed, etc. Whether its human error or just some freak accident, problems will arise–and they take us by surprise every time!
In any event, our greatest ally is preparation. A thousand mistakes and an equal amount of equipment failure can potentially be avoided by thinking through every possible technical, musical or transitional weakness that may be lurking in our weekly worship plan. Paranoia about something going wrong during a worship service shouldn’t rule our planning process, though. If we plan far enough out from the performance, with plenty of time to process the program design, while utilizing the talent and wisdom of the team around us collectively thinking through each segment of the service, we can anticipate problems and make corrections.
As I have written before, “flow” is necessary when we are taking our congregations on a weekly journey, maintaining their full and active attention while communicating the message of the Gospel. When things go wrong, their attention is deflected away from the intended focus and toward the distraction. This destroys that precious state of mind which every skilled communicator works for: the place where the audience is no longer self-aware, time flies and they are fully engaged in the moment.
There are two areas to consider when dealing with things that go wrong during a performance: the stage and the audience. Here are 10 tips that may help avoid the most serious of problems.
From The Stage
1. Don’t do anything from the stage that hasn’t been scrutinized and agreed upon collectively by the worship production team. Of course, there will be times when God wants to go in another direction and the pastor or leader of the service will have to make that call. Spontaneity doesn’t always equate spirituality, though.
2. Make sure that the technical aspects of the service are tested and run in rehearsal; go over entrances and exits, how staging will be moved–who will do what and where, etc.–beforehand.
3. Make sure that sight lines are established between the leader, band and vocalists. If that isn’t possible, create an audible means of communication if changes are needed during the performance (I wear a pair of wireless, in-ear monitors so I’m always connected to the guys at the sound console). Use hand signals or gestures as a means of communication without having to disrupt flow.
4. When a mistake is made try not to draw attention to it. It is likely that the audience won’t even be aware of the mess-up. Skilled performers know that a mistake can enhance a performance when, even after a stumble, they land gracefully on their feet (this is only for the uber-skilled among us)!
5. If possible, designate a person from the tech team to help with potential stage problems. When called upon, they can inconspicuously move to the stage to fix a sound problem or make an equipment change. It’s important that the performers stay focused on playing and singing. If a problem brings a performance to a screeching halt, it needs to be established who will stand in the gap and carry the program until a solution is found, or to conclude the service altogether. An audience’s trust in a good leader will go a long way in helping to get through a difficult moment during a performance.
From the Audience
1. Many disruptions come from babies in the audience. Create a policy that limits certain ages to participate in services. If this is not possible, take the opportunity to promote your well equipped, secure, clean and nurturing child care facility where their age-appropriate behavior is be better suited. Supplying a private and discreet “family room” for mothers, including a video feed of the service, is a great way to help with this problem.
2. Make it a policy that if congregants choose to sit toward the front of the sanctuary, unless a pertinent personal or physical issue arises, they should remain seated during the service–otherwise, encourage them to sit farther back in the room. Sanctuary etiquette and respect need to be taught from the pulpit as well as in children’s training classes. Pastors and/or worship leaders will have to make special effort to teach worshipers proper behavior in casual worship environments. This may need to be done often, especially in a growing church.
3. Train ushers and greeters to be aware of any potential interruptions in the audience and teach them to assist the pastor in a proper and discreet manor when called upon. Some congregants may need special attention, such as those with disabilities and/or those who require physical assistance.
4. Make sure that a person of authority other than the one leading from the stage is available to help contain any situation that may arise. If the pastor or leader makes a gesture from the stage, that person needs to move quickly toward the disruption or spiritual need in the audience.
5. Sometimes a medical emergency may arise in a service. If the ill person is mobile, it is best to handle the situation from the back of the auditorium until they are stabilized, or until emergency personnel can transport them. Sometimes the person cannot be moved. But if it’s at all possible, respectfully allow the service to carry on. Plan in advance how to approach this situation when the need arises.
We can’t prevent every disruption from raising its ugly head during our services. Problems can turn out for the better, though, if we plan for an “escape-route” before things go horribly wrong. Let’s face it, to ere is human, but to walk right into a problem because of poor planning or laziness is inexcusable!
Look for Creating Great Moments in Worship, Part 7, in the coming weeks. Any comments, questions or suggestions may be directed to me at jamie@jamieharvill.com. Also, ask how I can help you and your your church attain a more effective worship experience.
What’s A Wah-Wah Pedal?
Hey groovy guys and gals, I have stumbled upon a cool YouTube video about the genesis of the wah pedal, or Cry Baby, as some call it. Thanks to this video my friend Rory White sent, I now know the amazing story behind one of my favorite guitar effects of all time. Next to the tremolo effect, the wah pedal creates one of my favorite guitar sounds: a unique, frequency modulation effect added to the guitar that jumps out at the listener when used.
My first awareness of the Wah-Wah was on the record, Theme From Shaft, written and recorded by Issac Hayes in 1971. The guitar part was played by Charles Pitts (I was able to see that original “Shaft” wah pedal on display at the Stax Museum in Memphis, TN a few years ago!) I also remember Jimi Hendrix’ use of it on the song Voodoo Child (Slight Return) and Clapton with Cream’s White Room. As the disco period dawned, the wah was used excessively like with the theme song from Three’s Company. It’s one of those effects that, when used sparingly, can really be effective when you want both killer lead and rhythm tones to project through a dense mix.
Check out this great video and follow this crazy story yourself!
Double Trouble
I received an email this week from a guy whose name is also James Harvill. He jokingly said that he always wondered who was beating him to screen names on the web throughout the years. I guess he has found the culprit….me!
Someone came up this weekend and said I reminded them of their estranged father (Wow…thank you?). She said he left when she was an infant but came back into her life when she was twenty-something, only to dart out of it again like a phantom. I guess I have that “you look like someone I know” kind of face. My friend with the estranged father said she didn’t hold any animosity toward me even though I was a dead-ringer for her dead-beat dad. That transference of emotion is a heavy weight to bear–for her and for me.
Many years ago I had someone tell me I looked like the songwriter of Barbra Streisand’s “Evergreen” fame, Paul Williams. Come on! He’s short, and has a severely turned up nose. I know that my profile is not Romanesque, but…give me a break. I have also been mistaken for Kiefer Sutherland from 24 a few times. Of course, they always have to add, “…if you lost a huge amount of weight!” Hey, if it’s gonna insult me, keep those comments to yourself!
Most people do say I look like my dad. That’s cool with me. He is the greatest looking 84-year old I know. The only difference is that I have managed to keep my hair; he started losing his at a very young age. Thank God that my kids have managed to get the “lovely” genes from their beautiful mother. I always tell her that the machine in heaven that was giving out beauty gave her enough to bless an entire cheer-leading squad! She is beautiful both inside and out.
I am just an average guy with average looks. I constantly have a tug-o-war with my weight,though, which really is tough because I spend so much time in front of people. In reality, I will probably never attain the image I have for myself in my mind, even though I’ve dropped 35 pounds in the last year, and have managed to keep it off. I’m sure my body image is distorted; I know many people who are plagued with this distorted body image problem.
Even so, I love my life, my wife, family, job and home. If I do have a double out there, I’m sure I’ve got him beat in the “blessed” category!
Quincy Jones: A Living Legacy
My Amazon.com “jones” is way out of control. It’s just too convenient and cheap to turn away from the plethora of deals that are waiting to be had there. So, after seeing a new book review in a guitar magazine last week, I decided to order The Quincy Jones Legacy Series: Q on Producing.
If you look back over the past fifty years of pop music, Quincy Jones has been busy on the scene. He has worked with Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra, and, of course, Jones’ most notable protege, Michael Jackson. When you produce a recording like Thriller, the best selling album of all time, there certainly is a distinctive genius that sets this man apart from the rest of the music world.
As I read of the brain aneurysms Quincy survived years back, it quietly explains his love for life and for the people that surround him,–not only personally but professionally. Although he commands great respect from even the heaviest-hitters in music, he is gentle, approachable and generous to share creative input during recording sessions. How many people can get away with putting up a sign telling pop stars participating in We Are the World back in the 80s to “Check your egos at the door!” before entering the recording studio?
He played trumpet early-on with the greatest names in the jazz world and studied composition in France for five years during the 50s under the tutelage of Nadia Boulanger. He went on to compose music for films like In Cold Blood, The Pawnbroker and In the Heat of the Night.
As I read the generous comments made from his most often called upon musicians who he lovingly calls the “usual suspects,” the same overall idea comes through: Q always chooses the right people for the part and lets them use their natural instincts, experience, style and creativity to guide the song. He will jump in and make suggestions about how he wants things, but he gently guides the song to completion–stopping and moving on to the next as early as possible when the perfect “take” emerges. Many producers dictate note for note, lick for lick, what they want. Jones has confidence in himself and his musicians, otherwise, why would he have asked them to the session in the first place? I aspire to be like Quincy in my musical endeavors and in working with people.
I know it’s cornball, but as I read the book, I heard Dan Fogelberg’s Leader of the Band lyric over and over in my head:
He earned his love through discipline
A thundering, velvet hand
His gentle means of sculpting souls
Took me years to understand…his blood runs through my instrument
And his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
I’m just a living legacy
To the leader of the band
It seems Quincy Jones’ legacy will be passed down for generations as long as love, respect, gentleness, grace and excellence are allowed to penetrate the creative process.
The Gallows
I was encouraged this week after being reminded of Mordecai’s story from the book of Esther. Just like many of us modern-day folk, Mordecai had enemies. Like our Old Testament friend, we are surrounded by forces that, for whatever reason, would have us fail. In the spiritual sense, we as Christians have an enemy who goes back to the Garden of Eden, and even farther back to the beginning of time. Satan would have us fail as Christ followers; he would thwart our success because we are God’s creation, and therefore, an arch enemy to his evil purposes. As humans, we are surrounded by natural enmities such as health problems, relational difficulties, financial challenges, and the like. Sometimes it seems as if we are being led to the gallows like Mordecai–and many times it’s so easy to resign to that fate. But Mordecai’s story takes a positive turn. It’s one of my favorite redemption stories in the Bible.
In the first several chapters of Esther, King Xerxes promotes an evil man. Haman was a self-seeking traitor who, for his own glory, attempted to clear his supposed “pathway to greatness” of the likes of any Jew, especially Mordecai. Mordecai, an attendant in the king’s court, was also the adoptive father of Esther, for whom King Xerxes had a special liking and granted the honor of queen. Even as Mordecai’s adoptive daughter rose to her high position in the kingdom, Haman also rose to high standing. But Mordecai refused to bow to him. Haman knew Mordecai’s heritage and convinced the king that the Jews would not obey any law other than those decreed of God. So Haman plotted to kill Mordecai and every Jew, for that matter. Even Haman’s family and friends got involved in the plot to have Mordecai eradicated. From Esther 5:14, the text reads:
His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows built, seventy-five feet high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go with the king to the dinner and be happy.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the gallows built.
Then, even as everything seemed hopeless and without recourse, King Xerxes had trouble sleeping on the eve of Mordecai’s supposed demise. The king ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. There was written an account of Mordecai and how he spoiled a plot to assassinate the king–one that went into the history books but quietly faded over time. The king asked his servants if there was any appreciation shown to Mordecai for his deed; there was none. Later, Haman came in to see the king and ask for the gallows to be prepared for Mordecai. The king hypothetically asked what should be done for a man in whom the king delighted. Haman, probably thinking the man in question was himself, suggested royal clothes, a big horse and a crown. The king therefore ordered this to be bestowed upon Mordecai. Haman was mortified (or Mordecai’d!).
Concurrently, Esther had been planning a big banquet for the king. At the feast, Xerxes would grant any wish Esther proposed. She revealed to the king that she herself was a Jew and that Haman was at the cusp of this genocidal plot against the Jewish people; her wish was to stop this evil plan. Even with much pleading by Haman himself, the king moved on his beloved Esther’s behalf. Esther 7:10 describes the aftermath:
So Haman was hanged on the very gallows that he had built for Mordecai. And the king’s hot anger cooled.
God rescued Mordecai, Esther and the Jews because He loved them. He loves us, too, and has the ability to step-in on our behalf to thwart any evil intent of the enemy. I am encouraged to know that the story doesn’t always end how we think it will. God is full of miracles and can turn a situation around for our benefit–but mostly His. Our job is to honor God, do His will, and to love His people. God can handle the other details of our lives if we allow Him.
Has God rescued you out of an impossible situation? Can He do for you what He did for Mordecai and Esther. The answer is a resounding, YES! The gallows meant for our destruction can be those upon which our enemy is hanged and brought to justice.
The righteous man is rescued from trouble, and it comes on the wicked instead. Proverbs 11:8 (NIV)
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