Worship Leader Glossary Of Terms

I originally saw this printed by a friend of mine – Phil Christiansen. This so inspired me that I decided to tweak some of his definitions and add a few of my own… feel free to get creative. I’d love to see the list grow…

ACAPELLA: The practice of singing without instruments. Particularly difficult with modern worship leaders who rely on drums, loops, guitar effects and large PA’s to pull off a song. It’s also a great technique to use when changing the capo on your guitar.

ALTOS AND BARITONES: People who complain that the songs are too high until they learn to harmonize.

AMP MODELING: (1) This is what happens when guitar players get together and show off their amps. (2) The belief that you can make the sound of a VOX amp by plugging your guitar into a computer when it’s just as easy to go and get a real VOX amp and mic it.

ANOINTED: Anything that people say they like a lot. It can apply to songs, worship leaders, bands, pastors, food and starbucks!!! Did I forget to add Kirspy Kremes?

BALLAD SALAD: A worship set of quiet songs that generally have the same chord progressions with different words intended to foster a gentle flow of worship and meaningful encounter with the Lord. The Ballad Salad generally follows the up-tempo moments of celebration. (See also Rock The Flock)

BLENDED WORSHIP: The confused result that comes when the worship leader approaches corporate worship with the goal of avoiding any criticism.

CHOIR: A strategically placed community for singers who do not fit in the worship team. Choirs provide a convenient solution for worship leaders who are too nice to say that you really can’t sing. Can you say awkward moment?

CHORD CHART: A document that contains lyrics and a few vague musical suggestions. May or may not indicate the proper key, time signature or even exact moment of the chord change, but it does give musicians something to look at while the song goes by. Particularly frustrating to pianists, who prefer being told exactly what to do. Ideal for guitarists. (See also Sheet Music)

CLICK TRACK: A mechanical device that simply serves to remind you of how badly you fail at playing in time.

DRUMMERS: People who worship God by hitting things. Churches often keep them in Plexiglas cages.

EARLY SERVICE: A service in which attendees may appear zombie-like. While confusing to worship leaders and teaching pastors alike, the event is generally harmless until coffee is served.

ELECTRONIC DRUMS: Do you remember powdered milk? Do you remember when the government said powdered milk was better for you than real milk? Did your mom believe them? Electronic Drums are the powdered milk of percussion.

ELEVEN: A mythical belief that there is a guitar volume that is louder than ten. Most intelligent people just make ten louder.

GROOVE: A gene that is found in gospel musicians and singers that give them the unique ability to effortlessly clap on 2 and 4 while singing and moving from side to side… all at the same time.

HAMBURGER: The painful result on hands of carrying musical gear through a narrow doorway and not paying attention.

HOT SEAT: A chair placed in the center of the room for a member of the worship team who needs prayer. It is often used as a communication tool for choir members who aren’t cutting it.

HUMILITY: The beautiful quality in a talented artist of considering others more important than him or herself. Closely associated with servant hood. Very rare.

HYMNS: Books of songs that were popular with your parents or grandparents usually found in antique bookstores and characterized by an overabundance of words making them nearly impossible to memorize. Written by guys who are generally dead therefore making them royalty free for recordings and publishing rights. There is, however, a movement amongst modern hymn writers to continue writing dead music.

IN THE POCKET: The subtle groove created by musicians who actually listen to each other and play in time.

JAM FOR THE LAMB: The art of incorporating Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton or Rolling Stones guitar riffs into the arrangement of a worship song.

MANLY WORSHIP: Worship stripped of feminine girlie themes such as visiting gardens, kissing the Son and Jesus as lover (difficult concepts for manly men). Approved themes include God as Conquering King, Majestic Warrior or generally kicking the devil’s hindquarters.

OPEN/ROOTLESS VOICINGS: A stylistic practice of both guitarists and keyboardists in which primary notes of a triad are substituted or dropped altogether to create versatile textures. Can be puzzling to novice musicians who wonder why a C chord would contain only a D and a G.

PASTOR: The visionary leader in a local congregation whose primary function is to interpret the Word of God and care for those whom God brings into their sphere of influence. The Pastor is not the messenger of Satan sent to buffet the Worship Leader. That is the sound guy.

ROCK THE FLOCK: The effect of an up-tempo praise song on a congregation.

SELAH: The pause occurring in the middle of a verse or between the chorus and the verse that often happens when the person projecting the lyrics forgets to put the next words up.

SEVEN-ELEVEN MUSIC: Praise songs that repeat the same seven words eleven times, or some similar configuration. These are generally enjoyed by youth, but annoying to older adults. (See also Hymns)

SHEET MUSIC: A document containing detailed instructions for a musical arrangement. Perfect for keyboardists. Particularly frustrating for guitarists, who 1) hate to be told what to do and 2) usually can’t read it anyway. (See also Chord Charts)

SIGNATURE: A musical phrase that helps define or set up a song, most often heard in the introduction. Well-known signatures include the opening 6 piano notes of “Shout to the Lord.” The signature often forms the “turn-around” for the piece and the closing notes, as well.

SOPRANOS: Female singers who love to sing the high notes at the end of the Easter Song or O Holy Night.

SUPER NOVAS: People in the congregation who visibly connect with God during the worship events. Not a dependable indicator of their maturity, but impossible to miss and a joy to observe.

TALK BACK BUTTON: A special button installed by sound engineers that gives them to power to talk to you like your teenage kids.

TEMPO: A concept of time that is usually lost with most drummers.

TESSITURA: An Italian term that refers to a melody that is consistent within a certain range. If the melody is too high, then the tessitura is said to be high and men don’t sing. If the melody is too low, then the tessitura is said to be low and the ladies complain. Basically it’s another fancy way for people to criticize your ministry.

THE THRONE-ZONE: The place we’ll spend eternity, and therefore the place we should spend every possible moment on planet earth right now.

VIBE: The general practice of playing together without chord charts or sheet music. Usually occurs when the worship leader forgets to bring the charts, is unprepared or doesn’t know what he or she is doing.

VIBRATO: A technique used by singers to help hide pitch issues.

If My People Will Humble Themselves And Pray…

I wanted to pass on an email I received from Focus On The Family. We are living in troubled times and as much as I hate to admit this, I believe that we as the Church have invited this upon ourselves by placing evil or ungodly men in positions of governmental power and influence who have used their positions of influence to enact laws that now threaten families and especially the safety of our own children. Without getting political, let me say that your voice matters and the fact that we have not supported Born Again governmental leaders or demanded that the ungodly follow Biblical principles in leading our nation has brought us to the kind of problems echoed in this troubling report. Check it out.

——- From Focus On The Family

Gov. Bill Ritter of Colorado signed into law an outrageous bill that, in the name of providing “equality” for homosexuals and transgenders, that actually allows men to use women’s restrooms—right alongside women and little girls. The new law starts with civil penalties of up to $5,000 for any business whose beliefs and practices run contrary to the promotion of homosexuals, bisexuals, transgenders . . . or anyone who is perceived as such. But then it goes a step further by threatening criminal penalties of up to a year in prison. This frightening aspect makes one ask: If the privacy of innocent children isn’t enough to derail the homosexual activists’ agenda, what is?

This isn’t just a Colorado problem. Already, similar proposals are popping up in various states. And with Tim Gill and his cadre of mega-donors pumping millions into state legislative races, the same menacing threat may soon be coming to a bathroom near you.

Second, as you are no doubt aware, last month the state of California began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Yes, we’ve seen this before (Massachusetts), but what makes this threat so grave is that California—unlike Massachusetts—allows non-residents to get married, even if they are from one of the 48 states that still prohibit so-called same-sex “marriage.”
That means that very soon, the God-ordained structure of marriage will be on trial in state and federal courts around the nation, as homosexual couples return to their states and demand to have their “marriage” recognized. The scenario we began warning about in the mid-1990s is almost upon us.

The 4-3 ruling by the California Supreme Court not only manufactured a novel interpretation of the state constitution, but it also overturned the will of 4.6 million Californians who had voted to protect marriage in 2000.

The ramifications of this ruling are two-fold. First, California is so large and so influential that, if the ruling survives a vote of the people in November, it will likely have a social and political impact that will allow same-sex “marriage” to spread to other states.

Second, as I mentioned earlier, California law allows non-residents to marry—even from states where same-sex “marriage” is illegal—which opens wide the door to legal challenges all over the country. State laws and constitutional amendments will be challenged. The federal Defense of Marriage Act will be challenged. Already, the governor of New York has declared that the Empire State will recognize all same-sex “marriages” performed in other states or foreign countries.

As the gay agenda has advanced around the world, it has trampled on religious freedom in country after country:

• In Sweden, Pastor Ake Green was sentenced to prison (though later acquitted) after preaching a sermon challenging homosexuality.
• In England, an employment tribunal fined a church bishop more than $100,000 for refusing to hire a youth worker because of his homosexual identity.
• In Ontario, Canada, the provincial Human Rights Commission fined a Christian ministry $23,000 for insisting that its employees be practicing Christians who uphold a biblical view of homosexuality. In addition to the fine, staffers must undergo a state re-education program regarding their views on sexuality.

Some respond that this may happen in other countries, but not in America where we have First Amendment protections. Not so fast. Consider what’s happening right here in the U.S.:

• In New Mexico, a husband and wife who are photographers were fined more than $6,000 by the New Mexico Human Rights Commission. Their “crime”? Refusing to photograph a lesbian “commitment ceremony” because it violated their religious beliefs.
• In New Jersey, a church-run Christian camp lost part of its tax-exempt status for refusing to host a lesbian “commitment ceremony.”
• In Ohio, Crystal Dixon, an associate vice president at the state-run University of Toledo, was fired for writing a column in which she, as a black woman, objected to the homosexual movement being compared to the civil rights movement.

Each of these examples have happened recently, and more are sure to come as a result of the strategic work of the gay rights movement:

• Tim Gill and his well-heeled cohorts continue to exert their influence in the political arena through huge cash gifts in strategically selected state races.
• Non-discrimination bills and local ordinances—similar to the new Colorado law—are popping up all over the country. Gainesville, Florida, is the latest target.
• And the biggest legal advocate of the homosexual agenda, the ACLU, has announced that it has raised nearly 80 percent of a $335 million expansion into conservative and battleground states. “Gay rights” is one of four causes that they’ll pursue in these states.

—– From Focus On The Family

Additionally, Canada is in the process of passing a law that will ban pastors from quoting certain verses in the Bible because it is deemed hate literature by pro-homosexual law makers. The San Diego Tourism Department is putting together wedding packages for same-sex marriages in order to attract this new stream of business to the city.

How could this happen? Simple. When Christians vote for liberal legislators who represent a morality that is not Biblical in it’s orientation… then we are opening the door for the powers of this age to exercise influence over God’s people. The Bible tells us that through the finished work of the cross and the victory of the resurrection, the devil has no power over us… unless we give it to him. We can’t give the devil power through elected officials and then cry out to God for mercy to deliver us from our decisions. This is the definition of insanity.

It doesn’t matter if your are Republican or Democrat on this issue. What matters is whether you are going to make your first qualification – does this person embody the Biblical principles that I live my life by? Qualifications are not enough, it must be qualification and Identification with the risen Christ. Not the “love everybody” mentality of liberal politics. This is the catch phrase that is used against the Church. Aren’t you supposed to love everybody? The answer is YES. But love is tough and that doesn’t mean that we don’t do the most loving thing and set boundaries to protect civility through the law. We can’t expect legislators to make Biblical decisions if they are not Born Again. As I said previously… that is the definition of insanity.

I’m calling on believers to return to their Biblical roots and to turn from a secularized worldview that separates Bible and Government. Biblical morality or lack of it has never been absent in the political arena. We carry our morality and ethics into our legislative decision making. To think there is a separation of Bible and Government and to vote for elected officials on qualifications alone and to ignore their spiritual life is to embrace a naive and foolish worldview. The Bible warns us against such men saying there will be those who say they know God, but in fact they do not now God. Sounds like the rhetoric of a skilled politician doesn’t it? Therefore, if we want to make a change in the laws we must make a change in the law makers and support truly Born Again believers into office and initiate evangelistic efforts to win unbelieving law makers to Christ.

It truly is a judgment against America when the two candidates that are presented to the American people are either unsure about their faith or unwilling to discuss their faith. I reflect upon a previous Presidential candidate who did not “carefully weigh his words” and was direct in expressing his faith. There is a huge difference between our candidates in this national election and previous Presidential men of faith. We are in a sad state of affairs indeed.

Is prayer enough – emphatically NO. Look at the most quoted text on national repentance…

2 Corinthians 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

There are several things – prayer being only one of them…

1. We must humble ourselves – another way to look at it… submit ourselves to God and His ways.
2. We must pray – be in conversation with God.
3. We must seek God’s face – not make judgments based on our social agendas or affirmative action programs but make judgments based on God’s Word.
4. We must turn from our wicked ways – live in a manner that is consistent with someone who has been Born Again.

Then God will….

1. Hear From Heaven – God will answer and act and He will….
2. Forgive our sins – not only personal sins, but sins that law makers have enacted as law contrary to God’s Word. I believe Born Again law makers will overturn laws that embrace self destructive lifestyles built around sin and enact laws that embrace righteousness.
3. Heal our land – God will bless us with national social health and welfare.

Let’s live the whole verse… not just focus on one part of this verse and let’s support elected officials who are not just sympathetic to Biblical principles but who embody and represent them because they are in fact Born Again.

Another Testimony From Worship Life 2008…

Just wanted to comment on the awesomeness of the Lord, and how wonderful the Worship Life Conference was this weekend.

I sat in on your “confessions of a worship leader” workshop.

And I was very moved by what you said about the sacrifices that are made in us when we pray to be used in any way He wants to use us. (You may have seen my sitting towards the back with tears in my eyes…although I doubt I was the only one)

I prayed that “dangerous” prayer some time ago, and have recently been going through that very thing of saying, “But Lord, this hurts.”

And so to hear your testimony and hear that God is working through it all and never forgets about us or leaves us…that really touched my heart and encouraged me in ways that I cannot even describe.

So thank you so much for sharing that testimony and sharing those words with us.

The conference was awesome and our whole group was blessed, as I’m sure everyone else who attended was. God is so good.

A Testimony From Worship Life…

Brethren,

I am the Worship Pastor of a Calvary Chapel in LA County. When I attended the 2006 Worship Life Conference I had a sense that God was going to minister to me but I did not know how and when.

You see, without giving every detail I’d like to share how God worked in my Family and I in the midst of a very difficult trial. Two years prior to the Conference. When my son had begun to attend Vanguard University Then one evening my wife and I were told by our son that he had remembered that he was molested by someone as a child. Brethren, this was the beginning of a countless number of situations and events with my son that we’re horrible. My wife and I were devastated. My son went from being a happy young Christian to a young man that was on a downward spiral. Depression, suicidal threats, irrational thinking, self destructive behavior. Needless to say my wife and I we’re suffering along with our son. There is no doubt that God showed Himself strong and was sustaining us through it all. Then in March 2006 my wife and I we’re at home doing some planning and the phone rang. I answered the call and a Police Officer said “ Sir, I wanted to inform you that I have your son in the back of my Patrol Car right now. He has been arrested on a first degree felony charge of Residential Burglery”. My wife knew by the look on my face that it was something terrible. I told my wife and she collapsed to the floor. I thought she was having a heart attack. My 17 year old daughter came to help my wife while I talked to the police officer. I never knew that my heart could ache in such a way.

After that day we started the process of getting a Lawyer “Christian”. My son was facing potentially seven years in prison. The lengthy court process began and felt like years. But in the midst of it all my Lord and Savoir had incredible compassion on my son. There is just too much miraculous events to write about. My son ended up with no jail time. Just community service, counseling, and restitution.

What does this have to do with the Conference you ask? Well, I became very hardened and bitter towards my son and my joy was robbed from me by the enemy. I have to admit I was a mess. I know that the enemy had been working overtime to cause my family to fall! But God had His perfect plan. I attended the worship conference and it was really good but I just was not feeling it. Then Brit Merrik was teaching and I was at the edge of my seat. He began to share about his little son whom he loved dearly would escape after his bath running through his house naked. But one night his son surprised him and jumped into his arms and wrapped his little arms and legs tightly around his waste and neck. He did not let go for a number of minutes. While Brit was telling this story I began to weep bitterly. I immediately had memories of my son and I experiencing the same kind of loving times. I felt the Love of God fill me at that moment and I went forward on my face to my God. I had realized that I had allowed the enemy to rob me of my Joy but God restored me that day at the Worship Conference. The theme for the Conference was “Saturated”. Well, God did just that with His perfect Love. Restoration, Restoration! For my son, wife, daughter and myself.

Today my son has come back to The Lord through many more Miraculous events. When we out for dinner last week my son told us he wants to attend Bible College.

I am absolutely blown away by my Lord! There is some scriptures that The Lord gave my wife many years ago before all this happened and has been fulfilled.

James 5:7-8 7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

God has restored what the enemy tried to destroy. Praise be to God!
Joel 2: 23 Be glad, O people of Zion,
rejoice in the LORD your God,
for he has given you
the autumn rains in righteousness.

He sends you abundant showers,
both autumn and spring rains, as before.

24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm —
my great army that I sent among you.

26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.

27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,
that I am the LORD your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.

Thank God for the Saturated Worship Conference!

Worship Life 2008 – Friday Update

I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:7

Often I’m asked how do I release worship in my congregation at church. One of the most direct references in scripture that I see with regards to this subject is the joy that is released in heaven when one person turns from their life of sin and surrenders to Christ. If you want to see worship released in your church, then commit to leading people to Jesus.

I saw this first hand at the Worship Life 2008 Conference. Hosted at Ocean Hills Church and led by the leading Calvary Chapels in our region and the nation. Calvary’s such as Harvest Christian Fellowship with Greg Laurie, Calvary Chapel South Bay with Steve Mays, Crossroads Church in Grass Valley with Todd Johnson, Crossroads Community with Bill Ritchie and worship leaders from Maranatha! Chapel, Horizon Christian Fellowship, Calvary Chapel Stone Mountain, Calvary Fellowship and many more!!! It was truly is an amazing time of fellowship as we are still in the middle of the conference as I give this report.

The most amazing news is that we have seen two people give their lives to Christ as result of the worship conference. One young man was a man from Germany who came with one of the vendors that had a display at the event. When he saw the worship that was pouring out of people in love with Jesus… he said, whatever you guys have I want!!! My wife had the privilege of leading him to Christ and we loaded him up with music, Bibles and discipleship materials. We’re looking to hook him up with the Calvary Chapel of Siegen when he returns to Germany. The other person saw the live webcast over the internet in Austria. They just happened to tune in and decided to give their life to Christ in response to a message given by Chip Ingram!!! Praise the Lord!!!

I can ‘t tell you the spirit of rejoicing that has surrounded the conference as I believe all of heaven is rejoicing with us!!!

Praise the Lord!!!

Worship Life 2008 – Thursday Update

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
Psalm 133:1

One of the simplest way we can release worship in our congregations is simply by living in unity with other believers in the Body of Christ. There’s just a “feel good” factor that occurs when believers from different churches, communities, denominations gather together to worship the King of Kings!!! I have heard pastors express fear and trepidation in linking arms with other believers because in reality they preach against these other believers and don’t want to confuse their congregations by linking arms with them. Can I just say that this grieves the heart of God and quenches the work of the Spirit. As a pastor I’m saddened by this misrepresentation of our Lord’s heart.

Imagine Paul writing in Ephesians when he tells the Jews the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile has been torn down. This was revolutionary. He was greatly persecuted by his own brothers because of this “heresy.” I’ve seen very prominent pastors decide to distance themselves from something simply because a particular church was a part of a particular group…. despite years of relationship. It was almost as if the title or affiliation was more important than the relationship. I do agree that we need to speak out against heretical teachings or those who teach them as did Paul. But I find that it happens much less often than some say.

Can I ask you a question pastor? Has Jesus torn down the dividing walls in your heart between your church and the church next to you? Or is that dividing wall still big in your heart – no matter how subtle it is?

When I was 16, I was the first worship leader for Calvary Chapel Vista. I was one of the youngest worship leaders in the Calvary Movement. When I was praying for an outreach event we were conducting, I believe I received a vision from God. I saw people from all denominational backgrounds coming together to worship the King of Kings!!! It was an overwhelming vision. At first I thought it was specifically applying to an event. However, at this stage I see it as more of a calling.

There has been such a sweet presence of Jesus at the Worship Life Conference. One of the reasons is because of the way the Body of Christ has joined together in the spirit of unity. I look at the list of worship leaders alone… Tommy Walker from Eagle Rock Assembly, Chris Lizotte and Sheri Carr from Vineyard Music, Brett Williams from Calvary Fellowship, Jason Ritchie and Daniel Smith from Crossroads Community, Hanz Ives from Harvest Christian Fellowship, Evan Wickham from Horizon Christian Fellowship, Jimmy Robeson from Maranatha! Chapel, Josh Blevins from Calvary Chapel Stone Mountain, Chris Duran from Mosaic, Travis Ryan from Saddleback Church, Greg and Pam Fadness from Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, Tony Logan from Crossroads Church and our worship team from Ocean Hills Church. And here is the truth…. it has been a sweet time of unified worship in the presence of God!!!

I believe God is pleased…

A Relaxed Life…

I want to let you in on a cool little resource. I went to the New Living Translation Website and signed up for a daily scripture devotional. It is one of the things I look forward to every day. God has used it many times to bring the “healing word” or a timely word of encouragement. It’s almost scary. Plus… the writers only write a couple of sentences to give you a focus to meditate or pray on.

Today’s text was especially reassuring…

A relaxed attitude lengthens life; jealousy rots it away. Proverbs 14:30

If life hasn’t treated us fairly, we may think we have a right to be jealous of others, especially those who have more than we think they deserve. But jealousy only robs us of our inner peace. Be good to yourself–say no to jealousy and yes to contentment