David G. posted a great blog on worship band rotation last week which received a lot of feedback. One comment on the blog from Paul J. sparked an idea to share some pros and cons of rotating musicians versus using a set band.
My church has two worship venues. Venue 1 uses one worship leader and a set band which never changes unless someone is out. Venue 2 uses one worship leader and multiple rotating singers and instrumentalists. I thought it would be helpful to contrast the two and point out positives and negatives of both.
First, let me start by saying my church has a lot of musicians. This makes a huge difference and is important to know up front. However, I've also led worship at a start up church where we started with a couple of guitars and grew from there. Both situations pose challenges.
Let me start with Venue 1. The style of music is contemporary with a large choir. Some of the songs are "4 chords and the truth", while others are very detailed choir arrangements that require the ability to read sheet music. This limits the type of musician that can participate. For example, I play by ear and from chord charts, so I would struggle playing in that band.
Using a set band has several benefits for them:
-The band has played together for years and are very tight
-There's a close bond in the group, not unlike a small group
-There's no confusion each week as to who is playing!
However, there are negatives as well:
-There are many highly skilled musicians setting in the congregation who have no opportunity to serve. Many are better players than are currently in the band. Often these folks leave for opportunities to serve at another church.
-Over the years, the band has become the identity of each player, "Hi, I'm the bass player in the band". This is not healthy.
-There is a tendency to become stale. Each player brings his/her own style and riffs. So every week you pretty much get the same sound.
-There's no easy way to deal with a bad attitude. To remove anyone from the band would be tantamount to impeachment!
Venue 2 uses a variety of musicians who rotate every other week. The style of worship is modern, using chord charts and improvising.
Using a rotating band has several benefits:
-There are many more opportunities for musicians to serve. I really appreciate this since I'm not currently leading. I can still play guitar with the band and use my gifts.
-No one person owns the position. It keeps everyone's attitude in check when they know they are not the only drummer. Playing in the band is not a right, it's a privilege.
-It's easier for players to move in and out based on circumstances without upsetting the chemistry.
-There's plenty of variety because every musicians brings his/her own flair and interpretation of the music.
But there are a few negatives:
-Maintaining a rotation of creative people can be like herding cats. It takes a good amount of time and patience. Be prepared for a "no show" every now and then. I would recommend a good worship planning software to manage your players.
-Rehearsals become very important because each team plays a little differently together.
-You must be careful to not get too many players involved. It's hard to develop any tightness if you are only playing once a month.
In the end, I lean toward rotating players. I think the benefits outweigh the risks. I also think the worship leader role should be rotated, but that's a different posting all together!
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