Writing about worship band has been in my to-do list for 2013. When one of the leaders in the church asked me to plan for the worship team in 2013 (it was actually back in November 2012), one of the things that appeared in my mind was actually preparing some materials that will help members of the worship team (especially the new members) to understand more about what they need to do as part of the team, although I did not officially mention this to the leader that approached me at that time.
Short story about my "career" in a worship team, I started as a keyboardist in my church back in Indonesia around 2005. I remember at that time I was only able to play on the keys of C and G, so I need to transpose all the way around to another key when the worship leader asked for a particular key beside C and G. We only used a small setup at that time, a keyboard, bass, and drums. Nothing fancy with the arrangement, no complicated intro and ending, and no interlude. However, my "debut" was a nightmare for me. After the service, I decided to stop playing keyboard as I felt that I was incompetent and I was really nervous playing in front of many people. The senior keyboardist asked me to stay, but I refused.
I did not remember like how long exactly I stopped playing keyboard at that time, but finally I returned to the team and started to play in the church again. I would say that it was around 3-6 months before I was back in the team. Because I was very nervous playing in front of many people, I started again by playing in the youth service (which has less crowds) and even the Sunday school. It helped a lot to regain my confidence to play in front of many people. I also learned about faithfulness in doing small things before being trusted with a bigger responsibility.
During that time, I regularly played at the church (let say around twice a month). With a smaller setup with only one keyboard, I found it hard at the beginning to lead the bassist and drummer, especially when all of the players were new! However, as time goes by, I learned to be a better keyboardist in a worship team. I also learned how to play as a filler keyboardist, whose duty is basically play the other sounds beside piano in a song. I'll write more about how to play as a filler keyboardist for praise and worship purpose.
To cut the story short, in late 2008 I relocated to Perth to study for my bachelor degree. I joined the worship team of my current church like a month after I moved to Perth, became the head of musicians in the church since early 2010, and became the head of praise and worship in the youth service since 2012. Now, beside playing keyboard, I also play bass and guitar, and worship lead occasionally. I do believe, the higher position that I hold, the more responsibility that I have to bear.
Once, a pastor said that as a leader, part of our responsibility is to add value to people that are part of the team that we lead. I really believe that this statement is true. I really keen to see that people under my leadership will be influenced positively through my experiences that I have shared with them.
One of the media that I can use to share and add value to them is this blog. I am not an expert in this particular area and I am still learning until today. However, I don't want to keep everything that I have learned only for myself. I want to share what I have experienced and learned throughout my 8 years ministry since 2005. I really hope that this blog can be a blessing to everyone of you that read my writing, add value to your life, and let God be glorified.
IF.
Let's Make a Joyful Noise.
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