{"id":18422,"date":"2018-09-05T07:32:34","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T07:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/?p=18422"},"modified":"2019-07-16T10:04:05","modified_gmt":"2019-07-16T10:04:05","slug":"pianist-organist-leading-worship-traditional-setting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/blog\/pianist-organist-leading-worship-traditional-setting\/","title":{"rendered":"Pianist or organist? Leading worship in a traditional setting"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s our goal? [Part 1 of 3]<\/h2>\n

Hi!
\nI\u2019m Sacha. Let me introduce myself and share my reason for writing about this topic.<\/p>\n

I have had a heart for worship for a while and I\u2019ve led in a variety of different styles of church. I’ve been a modern worship leader for only three years, whereas I’ve been a traditional church organist and pianist for over 25 years. But during the time I\u2019ve been doing the two styles side by side, I have learned a lot. Each setting has given me better insight into how to meet the other setting\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n

I’ll be honest. Once my eyes and heart were opened to modern worship music, I\u00a0didn’t\u00a0want to go back to the traditional setting I had grown up with.<\/p>\n

I loved the kind, friendly congregation and ministry team, but, when singing in the pews with my nose in a hymnbook,\u00a0I missed the simplicity and expressiveness of the contemporary music that helped me to let God into my heart.<\/p>\n

God had other ideas, though, and He sent me back to that traditional church.<\/p>\n

Indeed, a lot of what I write here I\u00a0learned the hard way, with a little friction and a lot of patience on both sides. It was this learning experience that really opened my eyes to how easily we can get it wrong, and how much of a difference it can make to get it right.<\/p>\n

I still get it wrong all the time, by the way. But significantly less wrong than I used to. Because I focused on one main aim. Which is where we get to the nitty gritty.<\/p>\n

What should<\/em> be the goal of an effective worship leader?<\/h2>\n

In modern worship, this is my personal aim:<\/p>\n

Enabling the congregation to be present with God<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Do you agree? It may well be a given for you, but I only came to realise this through my own experience, as my relationship with God grew and blossomed.<\/p>\n

When this became my priority, it made a huge difference to how I planned the Sundays I was leading. I started to read the response of the congregation\u2026and boy, did they respond.<\/p>\n

OK. Then should we have the same main goal when leading worship in a traditional setting?<\/h2>\n

Good question. In 25+ years and several traditional Church of England churches, not one vicar has ever told me what they would like from my music. The most input I have ever received is the hymns to play, and whether there is a sung mass to play too.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you have had a different experience? Either way, this was my reality, and when I started playing for services, knowing no better, that is literally all I did. Play.<\/p>\n

So, we have a challenge. If we are to do more than just play the music, we must work it out for ourselves.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s try applying my modern worship aim to this setting. We need to bear in mind two things if we are to understand our congregation properly.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Safe zone<\/h2>\n

You may have noticed that every congregation, charismatic or traditional, has a safe zone. They generally know what they like, and they like to stay there because it\u2019s familiar and comfortable. They can\u2019t always identify it, but change, such as a new organist or pianist, is a big disruption to this. This means that, coming into this setting, we are already challenged.<\/p>\n

Does it detract from our main aim? Not necessarily. But we do have to be extremely careful if we are going to tamper with the bubble of familiarity this congregation will have become used to. And that means being as aware as we can be of what that safe zone is, so that we can tread very, very carefully.<\/p>\n

This seems like a good time to mention again how many times I have got this wrong!<\/p>\n

Also, even more important than point one\u2026<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How we perceive and experience God\u2019s presence<\/h2>\n

\"traditional-worship-styles\"<\/p>\n

For the\u00a0most part, a traditional congregation tends not to have the same experience of the presence of God. They will not relate to how we understand the Holy Spirit in a modern setting.<\/p>\n

Yet if we and the leader\/preacher have successfully enabled God\u2019s presence, they will have experienced<\/strong> the Holy Spirit, but they will have perceived<\/strong> the following:<\/p>\n