10 Common Hindrances To Worship - Part 3
"Even if we are leading as we play, it’s not our place to fit a mini-sermon between songs, share our favourite insights, or give testimonies of what the Lord’s been doing in our lives."
In this week's post, we'll be looking at the last 3 common hindrances to worship.
So, continuing with number 8, the next common hindrance is...
Too Much Talking Between Songs
This really only applies to those who are leading, by singing, as they play piano, and therefore may speak before or after songs.
There isn't a golden standard here, but I would encourage you to be very intentional about what you say between songs, and also when you say it. Be sensitive to the dynamic of the songs, the words being sung, and the way the congregation is responding.
Even if we are leading as we play, it’s not our place to fit a mini-sermon between songs, share our favourite insights, or give testimonies of what the Lord’s been doing in our lives. Unless we are sure this is a sensitively placed bit of talking that will bring edification to others, it's better to leave it. Otherwise, we're probably just using the opportunity as a platform to say a bunch of stuff that’s on our hearts.
I’m not saying “never speak”, but rather, “too much speaking” between songs can definitely distract the congregation from worship.
Distracting Clothing
I’m sure this is probably not an issue for many of you, but it is still worth a mention.
The issue of modestly is related to this, and we certainly want to make sure that our clothing is not drawing any unnecessary attention to us, and therefore away from the Lord. It's important to remember that this doesn’t necessarily mean only clothing that would be considered immodest in your church context but also clothing that might be distracting, purely because it’s making too much of a bold statement. This can apply to both women and men.
So again, it’s probably not an issue, but there will certainly be distractions when someone’s clothing is louder than the music!
The final hindrance, then, is...
A Poorly Tuned Or Bad-Sounding Instrument
It's a huge distraction when the church doesn't take care of an acoustic piano, and it ends up being horribly out of tune! So, definitely do all you can to negotiate a remedy to that if possible.
When a piano is badly out of tune, it doesn’t matter how good you play; you will always sound bad. And that really can hinder worship.
The same is true with any mechanical fault, like a pedal that doesn’t work or keys that are stuck or don’t play properly. All of these things are not just distractions, but it’s very stressful for you as the church piano player. It's like you're trying to get blood from a stone by trying to get a good sound from a bad piano.
Then, for those using electronic pianos or keyboards, if this is too loud or too quiet, it can also be a distraction. Likewise, if the choice of piano sound is harsh on the ears or mixed badly by the person running the sound, then all these different things can be distracting. It ends up making an unpleasant experience for those who want to worship God without hindrance.
Now, just to recap, here are the 10 common hindrances (in my personal opinion/experience), we will want to avoid:
Too Much Talking Between Songs
Distracting Clothing
A Poorly Tuned Or Bad Sounding Instrument
If you do want help in remedying or avoiding these hindrances, I do include a lot of helpful tips and solutions in my course, The 20 Day Church Piano Player.
I hope you have found these posts helpful as you seek to facilitate worship that is Christ-focused with minimum distractions.
[Return to The Church Piano Player Website]
This blog post was written by pastor and pianist Kris Baines, from The Church Piano Player. Kris lives in the UK with his family, having recently moved back from New Zealand where he worked as a pastor for the past 26 years (also leading worship/worship teams). Kris has also spent over 35 years writing, recording, and performing music and is now bringing all that combined experience together to help equip church piano/keyboard players.
Check out the church piano player website for more information on online courses by Kris Baines.
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