Blogs By Benjamin

 In Paul Baloche's Worship Leading Workshop, he asserts the need for the worship band to lay aside self-interest for the service of the rest of the team as well as the congregation. Multiple band members share insights on keeping the focus simplistic amongst a complexity of technicalities. A re-emphasis on mastering the fundamentals is also mentioned. One of the musicians points out that "it's better to play simple song excellently than playing a complex song mediocrely". Baloche highlights timing, especially, as critical to producing solid music. He implores viewers to practice with some sort of time keeping machine, be it a metronome or something else.  One of the band members makes an interesting analysis when he points out how doing a service well affects not only the standard congregation members, but also the kids watching. If the worship team lacks quality, that sets a poor precedent for the younger generation in the church. In the same way, we also must consid...

In Paul Baloche's Worship Band Workshop Youtube series, he highlights the way he goes about choosing members of his worship team. He begins the whole process by first asking God to provide for him musicians to accomplish His will and continues to pray this prayer throughout the "selection" process. When he finds a potential candidate, he does not jump to adding them to the team right away, rather he invites them to a jam session first and makes it a point to get to know them before making them part of the team. When it came to the drummer specifically, Baloche made it very clear: He'd rather have no drummer than a drummer who couldn't keep time. Because of this, it took a while for Baloche to find one, but he finally did and carried out the same process of adding them to the team.  Baloche makes a really good point when he points out that it's much easier to "add than it is to undo". Often times we, as impulsive human beings, make decision far to qui...

In the episode "Soundcheck" of Paul Baloche's Worship Band Workshop, highlights the importance of an organized soundcheck. Each member of the band does what’s necessary to prepare themselves individually and collectively for the service. Baloche points out the need to take soundchecks seriously and refrain from rushing through them. Communication is also key, as there are specific hand motions and phrases that are universal for each member of the team.  Preparation signals value. As worship leaders, we value the worship service, but we must show that first by preparing intentionally. This starts in the soundcheck. In order to pursue excellence, we cannot afford to overlook key parts of preparation. Communicating with teammates, voicing necessary opinions, and paying close attention to the intricacies of the service is how we can show that we value our role as worship leaders during the soundcheck.