Worship Wars

I have been in Christian leadership for over a quarter of a century now.......(man, that puts things in perspective...and makes me feel OLD>>! :)).....and one of the things I have learned is that more than doctrine, more than denominational haggling, more than just about everything else, people divide themselves over one thing:

Music.  Worship.  Styles of worship.  Sound levels.

Too loud.

Not loud enough.

We at Harvest are always trying hard to walk the line.  We try hard, but often fail.  Especially the fact being we are portable, having to reset sound settings twice very Sunday.

Its crazy.

But people usually dont give you the chance to prove yourself more than once.  Thereby, we keep swinging the bat, pretty much every week at our Staff meeting discussing it. 

Just for the record, that would be pretty close to 1200 services (2 a Sunday for 12 years) that we have evaluated.  No kidding....

Every week, we send out a survey to newcomers.  9 out of 10 love the worship. The other usually says it is too loud.

Our sound guys have always worked hard at being excellent at what they do.  They go for training and take their jobs seriously.  When they do their job well, it isnt noticed.  If the mix is in any way off, they are crucified. :)

We need your input. Honest, true input. We are trying to find the right level, the 'millieu', where the majority will be comfortable. 

Give us your honest feedback if you have a minute.  This is not personal, just input to help us get better.

If you dont go to Harvest, let us know about your own church and its sound. We are listening, we are learning!! :)

Grace,

PB

Comments

[Hello Love]

Galatians 3:3 Paul writes: "Are you so foolish, having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?"
1 Thessalonians 5:19--"Do not quench the Spirit." We quench the Spirit when we seek solutions apart from His leading. We put out His fire, push Him aside, and treat Him with indifference when we deny His power.
The key to Christian living is a Spirit-controlled life. Walking in the Spirit requires two things: studying the Word of God so that you can know the mind of the Spirit, and communing with God so you can know the will of the Spirit.
. . .maybe some days the music should be softer and other days louder. What does the Spirit desire-not man?

[Eddie Gray]

I never responded to this blog entry when it was initially posted, and now it's pretty old, but here goes anyway...

The music at Harvest is not, not, NOT too loud. It's just not. Most movies at the Rave are louder than the music we play on Sunday morning. I've been to many sporting events, racing events, and concerts...and the volume level at Harvest doesn't compare to any of them. Honestly, some people just want an excuse to not come back because they don't like those weird feelings in their chest during the message, like something's tugging to get in. And any excuse will do. Others who really honestly think the music is too loud most likely wouldn't find Harvest a good match for them anyway, for a number of other quasi-related reasons. Now, there have been some off-weeks where the sound was a little off (which makes it seem too loud), but by and large, it's usually at a very good level. Loud enough to "lose yourself in," yet not so loud as to be physically painful. Definitely never loud enough to cause any permanent damage. :-)

The bottom line is that at Harvest, we are who we are. God has called us to minister to and draw from a certain group of people. No, I'm not talking about an age demographic, specific race, financial level or anything like that. We are all individuals and we're all different, but God has seen fit to miraculously sew us into the tapestry that is Harvest in such a way that it becomes a beautiful work of art from the Master Artisan's hands. Only he knows who he's called to be a part of our local church body, and only He knows why. All I know is this: we're to be about the work God has for us, and not to really concern ourselves too much with what other churches are doing. We can't make everyone happy...but there are hundreds of other churches in the area that are taking up where Harvest leaves off. One of our CORE values is "Vibrant, Christ-Centered Worship." I just don't see how we can do that unless it's at a volume slightly louder than most churches in our area. Personally, I like music at FULL volume (amps to 11, boys and girls). And we're nowhere near that yet. I can tell you from experience that most of the guitar amps on stage at Harvest are run at about 2 or 3. I play my amp at home louder than that sometimes!

Luv,

Eddie Gray

[Donna]

I had the pleasure of visiting Harvest last Sunday and really enjoyed it! I'm pretty old - almost 50 - but it wasn't too loud for me. I did sit up pretty high - that might have helped. The comment about providing foam earplugs was just what I was thinking. While the volume didn't bother me (mainly because your musicians are excellent!) I know many people who can't handle the volume. My sister doesn't visit my home church often because she says it's too loud. One of our youth group who is sensitive to sound was with us, and I noticed he covered his ears at times. I said all that to say, foam earplugs might be a good idea.
Thanks for all you do!

[Lisa Hassett]

Wow! Everyone is so passionate about this subject! I think the majority like the sound at the level it is. Steve and the worship team do an awesome job. It is not as easy to do sound as most think, you just can't hit the volume button and everything is turned down and in sync. I would hate to think we are turning away people who want to know the Lord because of not being gracious enough to listen to their concerns with an open heart and kindness. I too thought worship was to loud when I started coming to Harvest. But as you can see it didn't stop me from coming! I got used to it or on some days I go sit in the baby room. And no one told me to suck it up as my son so eloquently put earlier! Maybe having foam earplugs available might help. You can't be all things to all people. But you can be kind and gracious about the problem. Thanks for listening.

[Brian Hassett]

So, I must apologize for my earlier comment.. When I said suck it up, that was not the proper response... I was praying and the LORD told me that I was wrong for saying what I said... It's as plain as that.

Harvest really is here on this earth to draw people in and to appeal to them, for the most part... If it has to be loud then it has to be loud... but if it has to be a bit more quiet then it has to be a bit more quiet.

If Paul was willing to die and put his life at risk to reach others, then I want to have that attitude.. so if we have to turn down the music to reach others and become all things to all men then thats what it takes.

It was dumb and childish for me to say what I said and I appologize.. It is the same annointed worship that takes me into the throne room of GOD...

Sorry.

-Brian Hassett

[Carolyn]

I love it loud or soft, I just close my eyes and go to be with him anyway :) What an awesome night of worship last sunday!

[Cory]

Louder please! So we can at least hear from way up in Winnipeg!

tash

[Lara Moore]

I don't know of any church that doesn't struggle with this! We definately do here in B'ham at Liberty Church (http://libertychurch.cc). Most of the comments are 'All I can hear is the lead singer, I can't hear the instruments or harmony.' 'He's not singing songs that I know, so I can't enter into worship. Why can't we sing our usual songs.' 'The songs are too slow/fast I can't enjoy them.'

A good soundperson is worth their weight in gold! Yet they are the most unrecognized resource. How can we make everyone happy? We can't! Besides, when was worship ever about our happiness? Whether we enjoy it or not is irrelevant. If you can't hear properly, take the time to connect with the Lord. Sing, speak or pray your own words to Him. He's big enough to accept worship of all types at one time. Try to recognize that this is about bringing glory to Him. And He is glorified through many different ways, not just our own.
http://laraamoore.blogspot.com

[Gwen2008]

One more thing about my boss believing me, I went to college with her and we were in the same sorority. I have known her for 22 years and she knows if I would have gotten the message on my cell phone on Sunday I would have been at the office. I have had my same cell phone for years and have never had missed messages, so to think God wanted me at Harvest at 5 that much to receive from him still makes me want to do as much as I can for God because he always meets our needs whether I choose to be stubborn or not.

Thanks for reading, I won't write anymore comments as Pastor Bobby wanted one comment and I wrote too much. I will read and pray and have the Lord lead me to do his will.

Gwen mom to Ashley age 11 1/2

[Gwen2008]

I have been going to Harvest for over a year and I love the music. They have a good range of different sounds and it is awesome.
I wouldn't change ths sound at all.

Also, I almost did not even go to church last Sunday well, I went and God wanted me there for sure, I had two wonderful Prayer team members pray for me and they told me so much from the holy spirit to encourage and make me stop worrying and to give it to God. There were so many awesome things but I won't go into anymore detail but to say we serve such a great God that always meets all of our needs if we stop being selfish and let him do the work instead of trying to do it ourselves. (I struggle with that a lot) Well it gets better, I work from home all week except two days a week, well on Monday I call the office and they say my boss called me twice Sunday to get me to come in Sunday night for a few hours. I was on vacation last week, but I would have come in but I never got either voice mail message on my cell phone. My boss believed me and then I thanked God once again for allowing me to be at Harvest on Sunday night and receive so much I am still glowing and happy that my cell phone was spiritually tuned out for God, because I had 56 missed calls and my boss's number was not on there at all and no message either.

Well sorry for being so long, but I am so glad we have such an amazing God on our side each and every day.

Gwen

[Brian Hassett]

I say sit toward the back if it's too loud.. sit toward the front if it isnt loud enough... if you are still complaining then sit out in the loby and listen to the C.D....

If you still complain, then Harvest probably isnt for you...

SUCK IT UP... please. : )

[Ellen Beck]

We LOVE the worship. Wonderful! The worship team and the sound guys do a fantastic job every week of ushering us into the presence of God.
Sound level is great!

[mike & gin]

Having been there, done that and wore the
t-shirt, our hats go off to our worship leader, our worship team, and especially our sound men, the unsung heroes. We love it
loud! Having been a part of Harvest from the beginning, this has always been a hot topic. Too loud, not loud enough, too this,
too that, the list goes on and on. It'll never stop. We cannot let the small minority
dictate anything that differs from our mission statement. Vibrant Christ centered
worship is one of our core values, and that's one of the things that sets us apart
from others. Suggestions....a few. 1.Suggest finding seat towards the top of the theatre perferably in the center. 2. have coffee and a donut in the lobby till worship is over. 3. maybe Harvest isn't the church they're looking for. 4. PLEASE, NO DB METER,it brings unpleasant flashbacks!!!
Our 2 cents,
mike & gin
p.s.if you could find a place where the "happy medium" can be reached, you can
market it and make a million!

[Ron C.]

Buy a meter and shoot for 80 decibels as your constant average. This level is comfortable for most listeners; plus it gives you room to go up or down as the dynamics of the song might dictate.

Anything that is above 80 as a constant average feels like an assult on the ears.

This is what we shoot for each week. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don't.