Yet Another Reason I Love The Band Model

Possibly one of the worst things a church can do is settle into tradition. Mind you, that’s not to say tradition is a bad thing. It’s the “settling in” that causes the issues. When @V21Church began, people would accuse us of not subscribing to tradition, to which I’d reply that we don’t blindly subscribe. One of my closest friends and mentors taught me to constantly ask the question: “Why are you doing what you are doing?” and it’s something that has allowed @V21Church to avoid pitfalls in our short history. I’m not so arrogant to ignore the work that’s gone into building the kingdom of God through the church over 2,000 years, but also feel it’s healthy to constantly ask God what exactly he wants for this specific church, as well as dig into the reasons behind tradition.

In regards to the music of our Sunday service, we consistently rotate songs in and out. Of the top ten songs we sung as a congregation in 2007, half are no longer in our rotation. Not that they were bad songs, but we have better songs now. In addition, instead of keeping a large list of songs in the rotation, we now sing fewer songs. My goal is that we’ll always do the best songs we have in all of the following areas – those most true to Scripture, the most singable, the best melody, the best groove.

With the new band model, we have four active bands, and each band leader was asked to devise a set list, based on the songs that work best for their band. This is where the advantage comes in. For years I led every week, which meant I sang and led between 40-50 songs. At best I could do half of those with excellence in terms of style, range and execution. The reality was probably more like 15 songs clicked, where it made sense that I was leading those songs, and the band just really nailed it. Dividing the songs up between three other bands means the band I lead can do the songs that work best with our vision and ability. So not only does this model allow bands to become familiar with songs, but to choose the best songs for that band.

Rehearsal is tonight, and I’m excited for a new approach with old songs and old friends. Sunday is going to be beautiful, and it’s amazing that it’s just the beginning.