So after my last post, I was immediately challenged by this thought of talent versus service or playing whats best for worship. God deserves and craves our best effort, but that can seemingly go against what we’ve been taught by the music industry. Many times we’ve been told to play the simplest part so it fits the song. Now if we go beyond that for the sake of worship drumming, do we go to the point of asking what’s best for worship? Yes. Does that mean we have to sacrifice talent? No.
Let’s talk about the talent aspect first. At my church we have over 10 drummers that we rely on for our many services. Our ages range from 15 to 50+. Obviously, we have many different styles and skill levels based on that range alone. We have some guys that can play some of the craziest fills, switch from right hand to left hand lead without a hiccup, and overall just rule a drumkit. However, their real talent lies within their taste and sensibility. What is raw talent without refinement and a focus? And how can we focus that towards servicing worship? One possible route is consistency.
Even with our various styles and skill levels, we strive to create a sense of consistency from service to service. We are very organized with our preparation with songs and practices posted online so that everyone has the same materials to learn from. However, none of this would be possible without the expectation level we have of all our volunteers. Before we have an audition, a practice, or a service, we let everyone know what is expected from them before they set foot into a worship setting. Now to some of you this may seem harsh, but I firmly believe that service is a sacrifice and that sacrifice is worship. But like I said, we have drummers of all styles and skill levels. All we need to see is your commitment to worship.
Once we have a level of consistency, we are not robots by any means. We each have that bit of us in our playing. We can also choose our moments. We know that we might only have “one cool fill” for an entire set, but thats not what defines us. Our worship is our definition. Our worship is also what helps others get engaged.
I challenge you to try this: Pull out all the elaborate fills and beats and stick to the “meat and potatoes” for a set. See what kind of engagement you get. Also use that time to really worship God for what He is doing in your life. If you can sing and play, then SING!
All the best,
Michael
