Adam McKinney
Puritan Board Freshman
Hello all!
The purpose of this thread is not to debate if we should have a "praise team" or not.* Rather, I am seeking to answer the following question:
What is the most helpful name to describe a group of several singers and instrumentalists whose purpose is to assist the congregation in singing?
We Affirm:
- The Reformed tradition of recognizing the Minister is the "worship leader." (Or Christ, if you want to get technical)
- The purpose of our "praise team" is assist the congregation in singing. It is not a performance for spectators, nor should any aspect of it be distracting.
Context:
I'm the youth director at a mid-sized Presbyterian (ARP) church. We have both a choir and a "praise team." We have a music director who attends to the choir (as well as special music like the prelude, postlude and "anthems") and I lead the praise team.
On a given Sunday we usually sing 4-5 songs corporately. Our senior pastor picks out some of the songs and I collaborate with him to determine the 2 songs the praise team assists the congregation in singing. Altogether, we sing a Psalm every week, several hymns and often a contemporary hymn (think Gettys). Our instrumentation mainly consists of an organ on some songs and piano/acoustic guitar on the others. We have several vocalists at mics on the praise songs (I am the typically the most audibly prominent vocalist). Neither the instruments nor the vocalists are loud, though the are audible (to help the congregation carry the tunes). Everyone can clearly hear the congregation singing.
We might be able to just call the praise team the "music team" but that seems odd because we also have a choir (who, in it's redeeming form, should also be all about the business of assisting the congregation in singing, not performing, in my opinion).
*Let's just grant the existence of a praise team, even if you disagree with it in principle or practice. If you do disagree, you can still contribute to this post by thinking through what the best use of it is when there is one, and suggesting any name ideas accordingly.
Edit: I'm on our worship committee and we are specifically unsatisfied as a group with the name of this team and looking for a better option.
Edit#2: You get bonus points if you recommend good books to me any time I post about anything.
The purpose of this thread is not to debate if we should have a "praise team" or not.* Rather, I am seeking to answer the following question:
What is the most helpful name to describe a group of several singers and instrumentalists whose purpose is to assist the congregation in singing?
We Affirm:
- The Reformed tradition of recognizing the Minister is the "worship leader." (Or Christ, if you want to get technical)
- The purpose of our "praise team" is assist the congregation in singing. It is not a performance for spectators, nor should any aspect of it be distracting.
Context:
I'm the youth director at a mid-sized Presbyterian (ARP) church. We have both a choir and a "praise team." We have a music director who attends to the choir (as well as special music like the prelude, postlude and "anthems") and I lead the praise team.
On a given Sunday we usually sing 4-5 songs corporately. Our senior pastor picks out some of the songs and I collaborate with him to determine the 2 songs the praise team assists the congregation in singing. Altogether, we sing a Psalm every week, several hymns and often a contemporary hymn (think Gettys). Our instrumentation mainly consists of an organ on some songs and piano/acoustic guitar on the others. We have several vocalists at mics on the praise songs (I am the typically the most audibly prominent vocalist). Neither the instruments nor the vocalists are loud, though the are audible (to help the congregation carry the tunes). Everyone can clearly hear the congregation singing.
We might be able to just call the praise team the "music team" but that seems odd because we also have a choir (who, in it's redeeming form, should also be all about the business of assisting the congregation in singing, not performing, in my opinion).
*Let's just grant the existence of a praise team, even if you disagree with it in principle or practice. If you do disagree, you can still contribute to this post by thinking through what the best use of it is when there is one, and suggesting any name ideas accordingly.
Edit: I'm on our worship committee and we are specifically unsatisfied as a group with the name of this team and looking for a better option.
Edit#2: You get bonus points if you recommend good books to me any time I post about anything.