Rehearsing the band can be difficult at times.  Sometimes it can feel like you are not getting much accomplished in the 2+ hours you spend working on your songs.  Check out this link to an interesting article with tips on getting the most out of your rehearsal time.  This site is a pretty good resource for worship training.

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http://www.musicademy.com/2009/08/24/50-tips-rehearsals/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter0909a

Here is a sample platform ministry dress code that we use at our church:

Platform Ministry Dress Code
Serving others in our community at [yourchurch] is a great honor and responsibility. If you are asked to appear on the platform for any public ministry in the creative arts, please dress in a way that you are not a distraction to the congregation, whether positively or negatively. Our goal as ministers to the body is to direct focus off of us and point others towards God. [yourchurch's] style is a relaxed atmosphere so that carries over to our platform ministry as well. We expect all volunteers who appear on the platform to be clean, neat, dressed in good taste, avoiding bizarre or extreme styles, including tight or revealing clothing. Dresses and skirts should be a modest length (close to the knees). The Bible emphasizes the importance of modesty, simplicity and neatness in respect to dress and personal appearance. Under all circumstances, modesty is the standard for all occasions. Also avoid excessive jewelry, piercings, fragrances and chewing gum.

The following guide concerns acceptable platform wear under normal circumstances. Its application pertains to worship leaders, musicians, singers, choir members, special music participants and other platform leadership roles. The leadership has the right to clarify any inappropriate attire at any given time.

Dress Code: A clean, neat and modest appearance should be maintained for all who ministry on the platform at [yourchurch]. Casual dress pants are acceptable attire so as long as the appearance is clean, neat and modest. This means that the following are not acceptable: formal dress attire; pants, dresses or skirts that are too tight or loose, immodest, or have holes that you can see through; shirts and tops that are too tight or loose, immodest, or have questionable content on them; tennis shoes; excessive jewelry or fragrances; chewing gum.

Immodest: Our working definition of immodest includes anything that would embarrass, offend, or shock people – especially in reference to sexuality or exposure of parts of the body that might cause another to stumble or be offended.

Most of the time we as musicians are looking for an outlet for our music.  We’ll look for any opportunity to play.  But sometimes that zeal can get in the way of making good music.  You know what I’m talking about.  The drummer that insists on demonstrating every fill he knows during a single worship set.  The bass player that slaps and pops every song.  The lead player who spanked out the face-melting lead right in the middle of the most intimate of worship songs.  Very cool but completely inappropriate.   Each musician must ask the question, “what do I need to contribute to best serve the song and the people I am trying to lead.  We can best serve the people by encouraging them to engage in the worship songs that we are playing.  But the people we serve will find it difficult to join in if there is no space left for them.  If we fill every measure with our best stuff, there is no room for others to be involved.  The people may enjoy our performance but that’s about it.  Serving the song and serving the people requires restraint on our part.  We want to add just enough for the music to be tasty but not overwhelming.  Good music is like a good recipe.  I love a little cayanne pepper but too much will make your tongue bleed.  Too much of anything, no matter how good, will ruin the recipe.  That goes for keys of songs as well.  If you have a high range and you are at the top of it on a song, then chances are most of the people won’t be able to sing along.  They will stop singing and disengage.  Next rehearsal, think of yourself as a cook while working on the arrangement.  Then on Sunday serve the people something nice and tasty. 

Read My Mind

Sometimes we as worship leaders get frustrated with certain team members because we make assumptions that aren’t necessarily true. We assume everyone on the team can read our minds. Now certainly there are times when musicians and even technicians can anticipate one another as relationships develop but I’ve found that much frustration can be avoided if we spend a little more time investing in our team members. One key point is to not assume that everyone is as engrossed in the worship “happenings” as you are. Begin by casting vision to the team as a whole and then start methodically working your way through the ministry, spending time with vocalists, instrumentalists, technicians, etc. Start out by doing a lot of listening and maybe even change the environment by taking teams to a nice coffee shop or something. I’ve sometimes even scheduled meetings with no agenda except to listen to what they have to say. I just bring a pencil and pad, write stuff down and listen. Also, avoid the temptation to address things only as they happen (which will normally result in a negative conversation) and try to work 2 or 3 steps ahead of a problem. That means taking notes of things you’d like to see change and then (here’s the hard part) waiting. Not just sitting around, but coming up with a sort of curriculum to your team’s development. Sometimes, your team members will get it on their own and you can congratulate them. Or, if you’re known as a listener, you may even have one of them come to you and ask you what you think. But the first step is to pave the way for an atmosphere of dialog. Don’t just plan music and rehearsals, but plan for people development.