A Clear Message

One of my favorite college professors once said: “Everything that you do in front of an audience must be true, unless it’s a lie”. That sounds like a riddle, until you think about it. As worship artists we are not performing in a traditional sense, but when we minister in public, people are watching and responding to what we do, or say from beginning to end. If we don’t really believe it, how can we expect them to? We still need to be conscious of how we use space (or the stage), our facial expressions, and of how we enter and exit the space. Too many times, dancers, mimes and actors in the church are moving around before the scene or the music begins, and when they finish, they “break” character because they are unaware of the basics of stage presence. The correct thing to do is to at the beginning of any work is to remain still before the music begins, unless you are starting in silence. If you are moving around it tells the audience that you are unfocused, and they will lose interest in your presentation before you even get started. At the end of a ministry presentation, you can either hold the ending position until the lights go off, or wait a few seconds after the music is finished. At that time you can then leave the space either walking, still in character (or dancing) out. Remember that even if you think the audience can’t see you, they may be able to see the last person who exits so keep dancing until you are well out of their sight. If we become pedestrian too soon, that can be very distracting to the audience. We are the visual representation of God’s Word, and everything He does, is done well. Let’s represent Him in excellence!