Welcome back to Part 2 of Ben’s interview at Consuming Worship. A special welcome to all the “Gracers” who’ve come to see Ben’s interview. You made last Wednesday the highest traffic day I’ve ever had. Thanks so much for stopping by. Now on with the show.
Ben Abu Saada
How much have you seen your congregation shift musically during your tenure at Grace? In what ways?
When my family arrived at Grace Church back in 1999, the church was a different body. As a matter of fact it was at that time called “Grace Baptist Church”. This name change was a moment in the history of Grace where a shift in vision implementation occurred. When our Pastor saw that we weren’t effectively doing what we were called by God to do…reach our part of the world for Christ in our community…we began shifting to do things in ways that would no longer reach other “Baptists”. Music was one of the first things to shift.
Our church music ministry consisted of a small choir of about 15 folks with a piano. Every week the church sang from hymnals. Eventually I began accompanying the music on acoustic guitar as a part of the team. When our senior pastor began encouraging our team to explore some musical styles that were more relate-able to the current culture in our expression of worship, that’s when things began to shift.
In 2001 I began leading worship and started adding different elements to the sound. We had already begun experimenting with percussion, but we made the bold move of adding an electric guitar into the mix. We also had a bass player in our midst who had begun playing with the team as well so we had the makings of a possible worship band. As the instruments began to change onstage, I began pulling music from some of the current worship leaders of the day and adding them into our worship time. This was a departure from the hymnal and the choral book that our church was accustomed to using. I also have to mention that it wasn’t just the music that began changing. We implemented video elements and actually dimmed lights during worship time. These were also HUGE factors that helped set the stage for our worship.
During this transition, we began seeing some of our core people leaving the church. I can recall being invited to lunch by a member at the time. Thankful for an invitation and thinking maybe, just maybe it was going to be someone offering encouragement to me as a worship leader during this transition. I ended up spending three hours listening to him explaining to me the Godlessness of percussion and “noise” only to leave me with the bill. He left soon after and I he they might still be looking for the “perfect church”. The thing for me as a leader that made the transition easier to deal with, was the support of my senior pastor and the team I worked with. We were committed to the cause of helping people connect to the Lord through relatable worship music that spoke to the heart of our culture. It was our prayer and desire for folks who felt Grace was no longer their church home to find a place where they felt they could minister and be ministered to.
It was a painful but extremely necessary process for our church body if it was going to genuinely reach people and fulfill the plan God had for Grace Church.
What’s the greatest “worship risk” you’ve ever taken?
When our worship music began to change from a traditional, choir centered sound to a more contemporary sound. There were some big risks that took place. When you mess with a sacred cow like music styles in church, you are going to upset people. During our transition, my pastor was truly the one taking the risk. I was just the worship leader who helped make it happen. I saw the people standing with folded arms from the stage during worship and the people who would pull out a book during the music in quiet protest. As the worship leader during a transition like this, you sort of become the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” to the traditional few. Lesson learned for me is this…you can never bow to the wishes of a few…especially if God’s given you a vision. It’s easier to face people when you stick to the vision and plan God’s given you. I probably have the best pastor in the world to work with. He was dedicated to making this transition happen in order to effectively reach our community and inspire people to connect with the Lord during our worship services.
Describe your process for planning a worship service:
Our pastor is a big believer in the brainstorm process. We have brainstorm sessions with folks from within the church on a specific topic that could be an upcoming series. From these meetings we gather creative ideas including possible songs. With this in hand I walk away and start praying and thinking about perfect set lists for specific messages in that sermon series. I use a tool for the weekly worship planning called Planning Center Online. Awesome tool! Our video, audio, lighting, stage and praise team can access the plans they are assigned to anytime during the week for private rehearsal and planning. The lead pastor and I meet once a week on Wednesdays to talk thru the service on the coming Sunday and look at upcoming services.
Sample worship set list:
- Let God Arise by Chris Tomlin
- Everything Glorious by David Crowder
- Shine by Matt Redman
- Mighty to Save by Hillsong
- Salvation is Here by Hillsong United
What were some of the challenges you faced moving into your new church building, and how did you overcome them?
About five to six months before we moved into the facility, we realized there were some issues with the Audio Visual and Lighting company that we were working with. There were commitment issues and dropped balls that were beginning to give us doubts about their ability to come through. We elected to find a completely different company out of town four months before the move in date. This was a HUGE risk on our part but it has paid off for us in the long run.
We’ve also had to make adjustments to our teams. We were no longer doing weekly set up and break down so some roles on our audio and video team were no longer as necessary. Some of our folks integrated into new roles and began adapting new skills over the past two years since our move in. Having volunteers on the Weekend Service Team without a role to play is not a comfortable thing to see. When people offer their time and invest in the cause week in and week out, whether it’s rolling cords or putting up a video screen, those are people you want to see continuing their spiritual growth through serving. I think we’ve kept our team in tact by paying special attention to various roles that came up. Communicating to the team during the move process was extremely important.
During the move I utilized my blog along with the one we created specifically for our Weekend Service Team to communicate building updates. We moved into the facility on a Monday and the AVL installation happened that week. I would go to the auditorium and snap photos as equipment was arriving and made sure to post them on the blogs so everyone on the team out there working at their jobs could be a part of the excitement of seeing everything go up. I think it was a good thing for our team to see. On our first Sunday, we were unable to utilize the audio equipment as it wasn’t completely installed. We had a plan B ready and set up our portable equipment.
What aspects of music and worship have you seen as the greatest contributors to the growth of your church?
Music has come to be a part of the personality of Grace Church in our community. It’s one of the things our people communicate as an exciting factor when inviting their friends and neighbors to church. I think one aspect of music that has contributed to the growth of Grace is the fact that our team takes great care in bringing excellence in what they do. From the drums to the geetars to the violin to the keys down to the bass and vocals. Each member understands the important role they play and if they don’t “bring it” individually, they could possibly deter folks from connecting with the Lord each week. We’re not looking for perfection, we’re just wanting to be used by God without getting in the way if you know what I mean.
Another factor is how we’ve identified a musical style that seems to connect with many people in our community. The thing that we understand is that there is no specific style that is “better” than any others. We are called to minister to a certain “niche” that other area churches are not called to reach. I think this understanding has given us clarity and focus when determining how to help people worship God. We paid special attention to creating an atmosphere that non church going people could identify with. We also invested in lighting that might be considered “pushing the envelope” by traditional church-goers.
The final factor I believe is the importance of a personal walk with Christ that each member of the worship team must have. We know that worship leading doesn’t stop at the edge of the stage, but it really begins off the stage. When we are up there in front of people, the stakes are higher and the expectations (whether right or wrong) are also higher. People watch worship leaders and teachers much more closely off stage. That doesn’t mean we expect perfect lives, we just continue individually to pursue a life lived for the Lord and look for ways that we can lead people in the area of worship in our daily lives.
When you look back decades from now, what do you hope to see you’ve accomplished as a worship leader?
I hope that I would be remembered not for the music, but for the life I lived off the stage. I want people to see that what I led on Sundays didn’t stay there.
What are your predictions for the future of worship?
Everything is cyclical really. If you’re talking about musical styles and expressions in the American church, it’ll change assuredly. The question is will today’s worship leader be ready to pass the baton to the next generation of leaders?
What is one thing you wished every worship leader knew?
Keep the ego in check and remember you are there in your local church with a specific role to lead people in worship under the structure of your pastor. You lead on and off the stage with every word, every action and in everything you do, people are watching. Keep yourself in the Bible daily and let God do the leading through you.
Thanks again to everyone who stopped by to read Ben’s interview. Keep coming back. There will be a new interview next week!
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