BROOKSTONE

WORSHIP

Brookstone Worship Team Information

Thank you for your interest in Brookstone Worship. It is our desire to create a team of godly, servant-minded people who want to bless the people of our church by leading them in Christ centered, God exalting, truth driven worship. So many scriptures tell us to sing and play instruments! At our campuses we lead with a band and praise team. At our Weaverville campus we are blessed to have a choir help in leading worship! We love the choir and love scriptures like those in 2 Chronicles 20 that put the choir on the front lines of battle leading songs of victory!

If you are interested in joining our band, praise team, or choir please read through this material. If you would like to be a part of the Weaverville campus choir we would LOVE for you to join us! Simply email our worship pastor jonathan.jordan@brookstonechurch.org to receive more information. If you would like to audition for the band please ﬁll out a Brookstone Worship Band Application and begin reading through the material about the Audition process.

First off, “worship” is much more than simply a time of singing songs of praise. The Bible teaches that worship is a lifestyle that seeks to honor God (Romans 12:1-2). We want to help the congregation and the team understand that when we sing, it is only one of many ways to worship God. Indeed we can bring God glory, honor and praise in every single aspect of our life, even eating and drinking (1 Corinthians 10:31)! We want people to understand the important truth that God desires a LIFE of worship from His followers!

LIVING A LIFE OF WORSHIP
Since God desires a life of worship from His followers, members of Brookstone Worship must be consistently

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pursuing living out lifestyles of worship. This means being someone who seeks to bring God glory in every aspect of their life (in their relationships (Eph. 4:2-3, 1 Co 6:18-20), in their media consumption (Phil 4:8), in their online behavior (Eph. 5:3-4), in their church attendance (Heb 10:25), service, giving, etc). We will not settle for having someone serving simply because they are a good (or even excellent). Being a member of Brookstone Worship is a position of spiritual leadership within the church, since you are both shepherding people spiritually through music and setting an example for them of what a life of worship looks like. For this reason members will be expected to be strong examples of faith, love, life, speech and purity (1 Timothy 4:12). If a member consistently fails to live a life worthy of the calling of Christ they will be asked to step down.

One of the main things we are looking for in Brookstone Worship members is a humble “servant’s heart”. We want team members who are willing to serve our congregation, by doing whatever they need to do, or are asked to do, in order to help this congregation be strengthened in their relationship and worship of Jesus.

SERVING THROUGH SIMPLICITY (STYLISTICALLY)

The ultimate goal of Brookstone Worship is to get out of the way by being as un-distracting as possible while we lead so that people can focus on Christ and not the worship team. For this reason we will strive for simplicity in our style, both in fashion and in music. Brookstone Worship members will be expected to dress modestly and humbly, not wearing clothes that are overly revealing or ﬂashy. On the musical side of things, we will strive for simplicity. Simplicity doesn't mean unskilled playing; quite the contrary, it means playing so well, singing so well, so tightly, so naturally and organically that people forget that we're even on stage and are able to enter in to sing directly to their King. It means that we minimize any overly ﬂashy and distracting musical parts and only play what helps people engage with the Lord. In essence it is about Him becoming greater and us becoming less (John 3:30).

PLAYING SKILLFULLY
As stated above, creating a seamless musical experience takes lots of skill. We desire for members of Brookstone Worship to be skillful musicians who are constantly looking to improve the talents God has given them. Indeed, the Lord Himself commands that we play skillfully for Him (Psalm 33:3). It will be expected of Brookstone Worship members that they practice their instrument on a weekly basis (outside of just Worship Team practice) and that they seek out ways to constantly be improving their playing. We will provide resources for team members to be encouraged to become even better musicians and team players. We want to be excellent and serve God and the congregation as best as we can.

THINK THEOLOGICALLY

Besides playing skillfully, we want team members to think theologically. That is, we want them to have a proper understanding of the Biblical doctrines about God, creation, sin, salvation, the church, worship and more. There will be opportunities and even assignments of study given out so that team members might know God’s truth in order to worship Him more fully and rightly (See John 4:22). Besides having team members who are theologically sound, we will strive to select songs that rightly teach and emphasize the truth of God’s Word in a thoughtful, accurate, and compelling way. Songs are one of the best ways to teach, and it is important that the members of our church leave each week with songs of substance in their minds and mouths. Jesus said that the Father seeks worshipers who will worship Him in Spirit and in TRUTH (John 4:22) and that if we are to worship Him, we MUST worship Him this way (v23).

VOLUNTEER BASED
Brookstone Worship is volunteer based. Ephesians 4:11-13, and 16 states that God has given the church pastors, teachers, and leaders in order to equip the saints for the work of the ministry so that the whole body might be strengthened and grow into maturity in Christ. In other words, God has freely given gifts to members of His church so that they might freely use them to bless the other believers (1 Corinthians 12:7) and spur them on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). This means we do not pay professional musicians to play. Brookstone Worship will be made up of godly, servant-minded, committed volunteers who want to help their fellow brothers and sisters worship Jesus fervently and passionately.

Brookstone Worship Band Audition Process

BROOKSTONE WORSHIP BAND APPLICATION

Thank you for your interest in serving on the Brookstone Worship Team! This information is to help you better understand the process, and some of the things we will take into consideration during the audition process. There are many factors that we consider when deciding whether or not a person is a good ﬁt, and truthfully, not everyone who auditions makes it. We know God will put you where He wants to use you most effectively. Here are some of the things we are looking for in team members. Please read through each one carefully!

CHARACTER – Are they godly, humble, and servant-minded? Do they have a heart for God, a love for His church, a thirst for His word, and a vibrant, real walk with Christ?

CRAFT – Do they have a high quality of musical ability? Are they highly efﬁcient on their instrument? Are they quick to adapt to musical changes and readjust their parts, or are they rigid and inﬂexible? Do they play well

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with the team? Do they listen to what others are playing and ﬁnd parts that ﬁt and compliment? Do they play what serves the song, or just play what they want? Are they simple and tasteful in their parts, or are they busy and distracting? Are they “tight” and locked in with the drums and other players? How is their timing? Are they able to play with a Click Track? Are they able to play many musical styles, or just one?
For singers, how is their tone? How is their pitch? Can they sing harmony, or only melody?

COMMITMENT– Are they constantly trying to get better as a musician? Are they practicing their instrument regularly, weekly, or not at all? Are they reading articles, watching videos, researching new gear, etc. to try and learn new techniques? Are they relentlessly pursuing growth and excellence? Are they showing up to church regularly, even on weeks they aren’t playing? Are they willing to help the team in other ways besides playing? Are they coming to rehearsals prepared with their parts learned and ready? Are they on time or early to rehearsals, or constantly late? Are they quick to fulﬁll obligations and duties of being on the team? Do they cancel last minute on weeks that they are scheduled?

COACHABILITY– Are they willing to take coaching and direction? Are they willing to change parts based on the desires of the leader? Is there a lack of receptiveness to input and direction? How do they respond to on-the-spot coaching during
rehearsal? Do they apply and implement the ideas presented in the training material?
CHEMISTRY – Musically, do they mesh well with the current team members? Does their style of playing ﬁt the style of Brookstone Church? Relationally, do they get along with the other team members? Are they easy going? Do they cause
drama? Are they fun to be around?

EXPRESSION – Are they a natural leader on the stage? Do they have a natural and expressive stage presence? Are they “into” the music when they are playing and leading? Do they express joy, passion, and worship naturally and in a non-
distracting way? Or are they bored looking, passionless, and unengaged?

COMMUNICATION – Are they quick to respond to the Planning Center Scheduling emails? Are they quick to respond to texts, phone calls, and other emails? Do they text or call when they’re (occasionally) running late? If they have an issue, do
they bring it up honestly and lovingly?

That covers most of the things we are looking for when auditioning new team members I hope you find this information helpful as you begin down this process.

THE AUDITION PROCESS
This is our typical audition process. We will be very honest and up front with you if we think there are areas we’d like to see you grow in before you are scheduled to serve.

You will be expected to learn your 'part' of the music sent to you ahead of your scheduled addition time. (you will receive charts and recordings).
Come to 2 Wednesday night rehearsals to observe
Come to 2 Wednesday night rehearsals to play (but not play on Sundays)

Thank you for taking the time to take these exciting steps toward serving God in music! Again, we know and believe God will put you where He will use you most effectively. I look forward to getting to know you during this process and help you get plugged in to the right place of service for you!

The next step? Schedule your audition!

Thank you,

Jonathan Jordan

Worship Pastor