A worship leader believes that worship is a very sacred duty that takes time and effort, but he found that most band members were not strictly prepared in advance, saying that because they had a family and a job, they did not have the time and energy.
Brother Gu Hua (pseudonym), a worship leader in Eastern China, came into contact with hundreds of churches and various people in them. Among them, the most significant contact should be with the church bands and choirs. Gu Hua said that one can figure out many problems in the church from the rehearsals of the church bands.
Gu Hua mainly gives worship training to churches in need. For example, he would go to a church and start training people from the ground up until they had mastered the relevant worship techniques and were able to worship independently.
In the training process, Gu will also teach impromptu accompaniment; that is, the church band should learn to play by themselves whichever hymn they hear instead of learning one hymn at a time and only playing the hymns they have learned.
Gu Hua said he taught them that, and the band also learned about it, but they still could not master the impromptu accompaniment. Many band members say they are too busy to master that. The vast majority of people who serve in church bands have jobs, resulting in no time to practice (especially those with families and children who are even busier). He took them to practice on the spot, but very few people could complete the practice independently. The vast majority of band members are like this.
Gu believes that for pastor preaching sermons or band worship, it is necessary to have preliminary preparation before starting. "Before worship, you need to pray. Then you need to make a list of hymns and practice a lot." He said, "If I'm a musician, then I have to figure out how to practice, where I need to play the prelude, and where I need the band members to join together. These need to be determined in advance and can not be temporarily determined at the scene. "
Gu used to work at a bar. When the bar owner interviewed the musician, he would test his ability to audition, that is, give him a song to play, and then one would pass if one could play 70% to 80% of the song.
He also talks about audition skills in church worship training. "Everyone in the world has to make a living trying to make the audition better; that is, they should play it as close to the original as possible. For example, to play the prelude to a pop song, you need to practice repeatedly to try to play it the same as the original, let alone serve in church."
Gu believes that worship is a very sacred duty for which we need to spend more thought, time, and energy preparing.
He also has a job and family and can understand the difficulties of the church band members. He felt that since he had accepted this ministry, it must be taken seriously because the object of worship and service is not only man but also God.
He said that after more than a year, the two groups of players who are cooperating now stayed because they always prepared carefully in advance.
A person may feel that he or she is so capable that he or she does not do any preparation before joining the ministry. Gu Hua said that if a person always serves like this, one day he will not be able to serve. Because there will always be many up-and-comers who are better than the people who came before them, whether it's preaching, playing music, or whatever.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
一敬拜服侍者认为，敬拜是非常神圣的职分，是需要花时间和精力来准备的。但他发现大多数乐队都没有很严格地提前预备过，说因为自己有家庭和工作，没有时间和精力。
顾华弟兄（化名）是一名在华东地区的敬拜服事者。他接触过成百上千家教会和教会里面形形色色的人。其中接触最多的应该就是教会的乐队和诗班了，顾华说从一所教会乐队的排练就能够看出来这所教会的很多情况。
顾华主要是给有需要的教会做敬拜培训。比如到一所教会里面，然后从零基础开始给大家培训，直到他们掌握相关的敬拜技术，能够独立敬拜为止。
在培训过程中顾华也会教即兴伴奏，比如说随便看到一首赞美诗歌，教会乐队要学会自己演奏。而不是一首一首的学习，只会演奏他们学习过的诗歌。
顾华说他也教了，乐队也学习了，可是还是没有掌握即兴伴奏。很多人的回答是自己太忙了。绝大多数在教会乐队里面服事的都是带职服事，尤其是成家有孩子的人就更加忙碌了，最终导致了没有时间来练习。顾华现场带着他们练习，之后极少有人能够自己独立完成练习，绝大多数人都是这样的。
顾华认为，不论是牧者讲道也好，还是乐队敬拜也罢，都需要有开始之前的前期准备。敬拜之前也是需要祷告，然后确定诗歌目录，再然后还需要很多的练习。”如果我是乐手，那么我得想想应该怎么练，哪个地方是需要我弹前奏的，哪个地方是需要乐队成员一起切点的。这些都需要提前确定好，不能够到了现场再临时确定。“
之前顾华曾经在酒吧工作过。酒吧老板在面试乐手的时候就会考验他的试奏能力，就是给他一首歌让他弹奏，然后他如果能够达到原版70%到80%的程度就基本可以了。
顾华在教会敬拜培训当中也会讲试奏能力。在世上的人们为了生活都需要努力把试奏搞得更好一些，尽可能做得跟原版差不多。比如弹一首流行歌曲的前奏，就需要反复练习，争取和原版弹得一样，何况是在教会里面服事呢。
顾华认为，敬拜是非常神圣的职分，是我们更加需要花费心思和时间、精力来准备的。
顾华自己也有工作和家庭，也能够理解教会乐队成员他们的难处。他认为既然已经接受了这份服事，那么就必须要认真对待，因为敬拜服事的对象不仅仅是人，还有上帝。
他说一年多的时间下来，留下来现在这两批合作的老师，是因为他们都会提前认真准备。
一个人可能觉得自己能力很强，因此参与服事之前也不做任何准备。顾华说如果一个人总是这样服事的话，有一天会被淘汰掉的。因为总是会出现很多的后起之秀，比前面的人要更加优秀，无论是讲道还是音乐或者其他的领域。
敬拜服事者：莫把忙碌当作马虎服事的理由
A worship leader believes that worship is a very sacred duty that takes time and effort, but he found that most band members were not strictly prepared in advance, saying that because they had a family and a job, they did not have the time and energy.
Brother Gu Hua (pseudonym), a worship leader in Eastern China, came into contact with hundreds of churches and various people in them. Among them, the most significant contact should be with the church bands and choirs. Gu Hua said that one can figure out many problems in the church from the rehearsals of the church bands.
Gu Hua mainly gives worship training to churches in need. For example, he would go to a church and start training people from the ground up until they had mastered the relevant worship techniques and were able to worship independently.
In the training process, Gu will also teach impromptu accompaniment; that is, the church band should learn to play by themselves whichever hymn they hear instead of learning one hymn at a time and only playing the hymns they have learned.
Gu Hua said he taught them that, and the band also learned about it, but they still could not master the impromptu accompaniment. Many band members say they are too busy to master that. The vast majority of people who serve in church bands have jobs, resulting in no time to practice (especially those with families and children who are even busier). He took them to practice on the spot, but very few people could complete the practice independently. The vast majority of band members are like this.
Gu believes that for pastor preaching sermons or band worship, it is necessary to have preliminary preparation before starting. "Before worship, you need to pray. Then you need to make a list of hymns and practice a lot." He said, "If I'm a musician, then I have to figure out how to practice, where I need to play the prelude, and where I need the band members to join together. These need to be determined in advance and can not be temporarily determined at the scene. "
Gu used to work at a bar. When the bar owner interviewed the musician, he would test his ability to audition, that is, give him a song to play, and then one would pass if one could play 70% to 80% of the song.
He also talks about audition skills in church worship training. "Everyone in the world has to make a living trying to make the audition better; that is, they should play it as close to the original as possible. For example, to play the prelude to a pop song, you need to practice repeatedly to try to play it the same as the original, let alone serve in church."
Gu believes that worship is a very sacred duty for which we need to spend more thought, time, and energy preparing.
He also has a job and family and can understand the difficulties of the church band members. He felt that since he had accepted this ministry, it must be taken seriously because the object of worship and service is not only man but also God.
He said that after more than a year, the two groups of players who are cooperating now stayed because they always prepared carefully in advance.
A person may feel that he or she is so capable that he or she does not do any preparation before joining the ministry. Gu Hua said that if a person always serves like this, one day he will not be able to serve. Because there will always be many up-and-comers who are better than the people who came before them, whether it's preaching, playing music, or whatever.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Worship Leader: Don't Use Busyness as Excuse for Sloppy Service
