The Worship Drummer’s Prayer

John Parker

The Worship Drummer’s Prayer John Parker

Copyright © 2015 by John Parker

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2015

Phatman Drums 4634 E Willow Point Ct Wichita, KS 67220 www.phatmandrums.com

Introduction For years I’ve had a poster from Zoro’s Commandments of R&B Drumming hanging right in front of my drum kit. I love the principles it teaches. It’s great for keeping yourself in check and making sure you have the proper mindset to be a great drummer. But I just always felt like it was missing a little something. It didn’t go quite far enough. In the last few months, it came to me: Zoro left his commandments just short of the spiritual realm. The poster speaks of respecting the creators of the groove and acknowledging the forefather of drumming. It focuses on playing a tight groove rather than amazing chops. It seemed to me a natural extension to apply these same commandments to my spiritual life as a Christian Worship Drummer. At the same time, I had been struggling to put together a drummer’s prayer. Something that was Biblically based and set my spirit right before I performed. I couldn’t get the words right in my head, and let’s face it, there’s not a lot of verses about drumming. Then I had the idea of taking Zoro’s commandments and forming a prayer around them. What you’ll find in this min-e-book is a devotional style walk through that prayer. There are 10 lines to the prayer, each focused on being a better drummer. Each line is supported by a Bible verse, and then I explain what the verse teaches us about being better drummers for Chirst. I hope you enjoy it and that it blesses you on your musical journey.

The Worship Drummer’s Prayer Father God, You are the Father of all music and the one true Creator of the groove.

My soul cries out to you through my drumming. Please accept my living sacrifice to Your name.

Send your Spirit of creativity on me and inspire me to take the music to new levels.

Humble me, Lord, and teach me to serve the groove.

Teach me that chops are subservient to groove. Let my love of Your music increase.

Please give me the commitment to hone my craft on the drums. Let me learn from those who have come before me.

And when I am done, Lord, let me use what I have learned to create a new generation of drummers to take my place in praising your name.

It is in Jesus' name that I pray, Amen

I.

You are the Father of all music and the one true Creator of the groove.

“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” (Revelation 4:11 NLT)

Isn't it funny that the Bible starts with a simple statement, "In the beginning, God created ...", and then in the last book of the bible we see it again, "For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” The point is quite clear: God created everything. This includes that mystical rhythmic force that binds all music together: the groove. No one ever taught you what the groove is, they didn’t have to. Watch a young baby when they first become aware of music. You can see in their movement they can feel the groove. They just get it. Music, its creation, its enjoyment, and the things it does to our minds and bodies are innate in all of us. There have even been studies suggesting that music, particularly drumming, can have healing properties for people afflicted with chronic pain or mental disorders. It’s like our bodies were designed by God to respond to rhythmic impulses. Regardless of whether you buy into studies like that, the point is still the same. Music, in particular the groove, has always existed. It's part of the difference between man and beast. God gave us the groove as a gift. Now it's up to us to decide what to do with it. I suggest we dedicate at least some of our efforts to using the groove to praise its Creator, and ours.

My soul cries out to you through my drumming. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the LORD. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. (Psalms 84:2 NLT)

Worship drumming isn't like every other gig you might get. We don't play for admiration of the crowds, for free gear from drum companies, or to attract the hotties. We play to praise our Lord and Savior. It's different. Or at least it should be. Imagine you were called to play at the Grammy's with a really big band. How would you prepare? How would you feel before you played? When you played? Afterwards? What if the President of the United States was there? How does that change the way you would play? Now what if the person who died for you was there. The person who saved your life . . . And the song you were playing was all about how it happened . . . You get where I'm going with this. Jesus Christ is at every single worship service you play . . . personally. The Bible tells us so (Matthew 18:20). So think about what that says about how we ought to prepare ourselves and play during worship.

It's hard, I get it. If you're like me and play almost every weekend, worship can start to feel like just another gig. It can even feel mundane. I find myself going through the motions all the time. It's true, but I hate it. That’s why this particular part of the prayer is so important to me. I need to be lit on fire when I worship. I need to remember who I'm really playing for. Maybe you do too.

Please accept my living sacrifice to Your name. And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. (Romans 12:1 NLT)

Paul points out in Romans 12 that God wants us to live a certain way, and to not go through the motions. Giving our bodies to God is the true way to worship. But what does that mean, in our particular context, especially? It can be a bit obvious that giving our bodies to God means to keep ourselves pure, free from drugs, alcohol, sexual impurity, and all other such sins. I don't really view giving those things up as a sacrifice. These are things that can destroy your soul, not things you can voluntarily give up in order to serve God better. That's baby food. Let's go deeper. Paul says to make our bodies a sacrifice to God. That means we have to lose something, or give something up. But what? What can we give up that could be a sacrifice that he wants? How about time? Or our motives? Or our hearts? Now the tires are starting to get some traction . . . As drummers we have tons of options for how to use our God given talents. We can play at clubs, bars, theaters, arenas, schools, even football fields. We can play uplifting music, fun music, sexy music, sad music, hating music, or loving music. Or we can even keep our gift to ourselves and just jam in our basements with our headphones on. Some of those options lead to acceptance and fame in the secular culture. Heck even the Christian culture has tremendous respect for people who have experience in the "real world."

But what if that acceptance and fame are what we sacrificed, at least a little bit, to God? What if we said, "playing at church isn't going to get me as much attention as playing at the club, but I'm willing to give that up as a sacrifice to God." Let's break it down even further. What if your friends all want to go hang out, but you haven't prepared for worship rehearsal? Can you sacrifice social time with friends to be devoted in preparing to lead worship? What if you're just plain

old fashioned tired, but you haven't hit the drums in two days? Can you sacrifice your energy to be a better player for God? Now let me roll this all back a bit before you must file me away as some pathetic loser who never has fun. There's nothing wrong with playing at a club, or school, or arena, or football field, or even a bar. By all means play wherever you can. But don't forget your God. Don't forget to make yourself a living sacrifice, through your drumming, to Him. He gave us our gift. Don't you think it would be right for us to give a little bit back to Him?

Send your Spirit of creativity on me and inspire me to take the music to new levels.

Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy. (Psalms 65:8 NLT)

Go to the zoo and check out all the animals. Look up at the night sky and marvel at the stars. Think about your own body and all the tiny systems that have to work just right to keep you alive. Our God is amazing! He created them from nothing. He didn't manipulate something that already existed. That is a power we humans have a hard time grasping. Now, drill down to you and me. God took that awesome power of creativity and put a tiny spark of it into each and every one of us. For some it manifests in building engines, others in raising families. For us, it comes out in our drumming. When I play drums, I can feel God's spirit of creativity welling up inside of me . . . when I allow it. When I pay attention. When I'm engaged in what I'm doing. Creativity isn't a passive thing. You can't go "brain dead" and hope something new and exciting comes out of the drums. You have to strive for it. You have to challenge yourself. You must intentionally strive to better yourself. The skills you have today are not sufficient to play everything your creative sprit will come up with. There's going to come a point when you'll hear something in your head and not have the faculties to bring it to life on the drums. That means you’re going to have to constantly seek out new abilities. Try taking lessons from someone. Watch drumming DVDs. Hit up YouTube. These can all be sources for finding new ways to develop your playing. But developing your skills is just the first part of becoming more creative. That's when you have to seek out new input. Listen to new bands. Try out new styles of music. Put the radio on a new station. Listen to something you "hate." It's amazing how listening to speed metal can change the way you approach worship drumming. The same is true for jazz, country, rock, dance, dubstep, and every other style of music. Finally, there's the scariest part of being creative: you're going to have to take some chances. Playing the chorus of "Friend of God" differently than anyone else in your band has ever played it is going

to take courage. Will the band like it? What if they don't? What if you don't play it right? Who cares? Take the chance! See what happens. If it doesn't work out, fine. Try something else next time. Never be scared to take a chance. (Now then, before every Worship Pastor in America pickets at my front door, let me put a caveat on that last statement. Sunday morning at 11:00 with 1,000 people in the auditorium may not be the best time to pull out that your latest 2 over 3 polyrhythm during Amazing Grace. You might wanna save that for rehearsal. That way if it bombs, you can get a second chance at it.) God put his spirit of creativity in us for a reason. Never be scared to let it out!

II.

Humble me, Lord, and teach me to serve the groove. For the LORD delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. (Psalms 149:4 NLT) The greatest among you must be a servant. (Matthew 23:11 NLT)

Humility . . . There's a novel idea for musicians. Wipe away the stars from your eyes and set aside your rockstar dreams. Forget all about the throngs of fans waiting to worship your prowess on the stage. Humility . . . Servitude . . . Hmmm. Not exactly what we aim for when we first pick up the sticks. But if any musicians ought to be the vanguards of humility and servitude in a band, it's drummers. Where do we typically get put on stage? In the back. How many solos do we get in the show? Maybe one, if the rest of the bands wants a break. You wanna get fired from a gig? Take a spontaneous trip down “fancy chop lane” in the middle of a set. You'll find out quick what your role in the band really is. Let's face it, the nature of drumming is to be a humble servant for the rest of the band. Set up a foundation. Build a solid groove so everyone else can solo over top of it. Serve. Then on the rare occasion when you get to stretch out, be ready and give it everything you've got. But until then groove, groove, groove and set up the rest of the band for success.

Teach me that chops are subservient to groove. “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. (Matthew 6:5 NLT)

In Jesus' time, the religious leaders would make a big show whenever they prayed. They wanted to be recognized for how great they were. You know the type in today's society. They might give tons of money to charity, but just so it gets them in the newspaper. They might serve in church, but just so they can brag to friends. They might play in the church band, but just so they can be seen by other musicians who might hire them for a "better" gig.

If you've read much of Jesus' words (you know, the funny red letters in the Bible), you know that he frequently made it a point that it doesn't matter what you do with your actions if your heart isn't in the right place. Humility and reverence always beat outward shows of “spirituality.” So what does this have to do with chops versus groove? Some drummers think of chops like their way of proving how great of a drummer they are. They throw in all sorts of fancy fills, not because the music calls for it, but because they want to show off. It's easy in the sterile environment of an e-book, to see how silly that is. But once you get on stage, watch out! That sweet new bit of 32nd note hot sauce can easily come out when it's not really appropriate, without you even thinking about it. And that's when the worst case scenario can happen: you break the groove. Even if you nailed the lick, but maybe the band couldn't follow you. Now for a brief second the groove is lost and you've got to scramble to get it back. And worse still, the congregation is now thinking about the drummer instead of the powerful lyric they just sang. Mission: failed. Instead, focus on the groove. Provide a foundation for the rest of the band to play over. Use your fills wisely to help propel the music into the next section of the song. Keep things flowing. Keep the congregation singing, swaying, and praising their God. Groove. Groove. Groove. Again, pay attention to the end of our passage when Jesus says that their worldly praise is all the religious leaders will receive. There's a counter message there: if you don't seek out only worldly praise, there is more praise waiting for you later. Don't worry about when or where. Just know that it's coming.

Let my love of Your music increase. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. (John 3:30 NLT)

Do you love to worship? No, really, do you? Or are you on stage because you like to play and this is your gig until you find something “better?” Wow, that one can hurt. But really, spend some time and think about it. Our job as worship leaders (yes, I even count drummers as worship leaders, after all we are in front of the congregation aren't we?) is to inspire the church to praise God through song. Our goal should be to let God speak through the music to everyone in the auditorium. We need to disappear into the background and let God do his work. There's no room for pride on God's stage. Commit to being a good stage presence. Be in the moment. Focus on what you're doing. Don't let your mind wander. Engage the crowd. Worship with them. Have fun, but stay reverent.

III.

Give me the commitment to hone my craft on the drums. Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you. (Psalms 37:5 NLT)

It can be easy to take your worship gig for granted. Maybe your church isn't the biggest. Maybe you only play on rare occasions. Maybe the band isn't very good. None of that matters. You still have to be the best you can be while you're behind the drums. That's where commitment comes in. Commit time at home to practice each day (whether you play at church this week or not). Practice your chops. Work out some new coordination ideas. Learn a new style. Do something. Each. Day. If you need inspiration, there's plenty of books, DVDs, and YouTube videos to get you going. Commit time at home to practice the worship set. As soon as you know what songs you're going to play, start listening to them. Pay attention to how the drummer (or track) plays the song. What do you like? What's characteristic to the song (the things you can't change)? What can you improve

on? What can you do to add your own style to it? Don't forget to think of the rest of the band when you practice. What do they need from you? What can you do to make the song easier for them? Think about simplifying the groove. Add fills to mark the passage of time in long sections. If you repeat a chorus several times, play it slightly different each time (but be consistent with the changes you make each time you play the song). Remember, be a servant.

Finally, commit to the last part of Psalm 37:5, God "will help you." If you trust and commit to Him, he will take care of you. I don't know what that specifically means for you (you probably don't either). But I know all of the times God has helped my drumming career - little things that fell into place at just the right time. Trust me, trust Him. And commit your drumming to Him, so he can help you!

Let me learn from those who have come before me. “Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 5:16 NLT)

We are all great, great, great grandchildren of the groove. God created groove and put it in mankind’s heart. Our forefathers manipulated it and formed it into modern drumming. Chick Webb,

Gene Krupa, Hal Blaine, Clyde Stubblefield, Jabo Starks, Ringo Starr, Earl Palmer, John Bonham, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Smith, Dave Weckl, Carter Beauford. These are our forefathers, men who took the groove to new levels and made drumming what it is today. And that's just a short list. God's commandment to honor our mothers and fathers has obvious meaning in our family lives. But it can have just as much meaning to the way we approach the drums. We honor our drumming forefathers by learning about them. When did they play? Who did they play with? What was going on culturally and musically in their time. How did they change drumming? Even if you don't play their style of music, what can you learn from them? I can speak from experience that understanding the lineage of drumming will make you a better player. When I learned how drumming as we know it started when slave owners took away

their slaves' instruments, it gave me a historical context and respect for the drums. When I discovered that jazz, in particular the shuffle, is the root of rock and roll, it changed the way I approached time keeping. When I learned how Little Richard and James Brown formed modern pop music, I adopted their drummers' styles into my own. Each step I took in learning about those who came before me changed the way I play drums today. Pull up YouTube and search for the drummers I listed above. Hop over to Wikipedia and learn about them. Check out Daniel Glass's DVD The Century Project or Steve Smith's History of the US Beat. You'll be amazed at what these players have done and are doing to modern drumming. Then you can truly honor your forefathers.

Earl Palmer; image credit nytimes.com

Jon Bonham; image credit thisdayinmusic.com

And when I am done, Lord, let me use what I have learned to create a new generation of drummers to take my place in praising your name.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 NLT)

One of my favorite things about being a drummer is the sense of community we share with our fellow drummers. Most every big time drummer does clinics throughout each year. Those that don't usually put out DVDs. Drummers just naturally share our ideas with each other. That makes us different from so many other musicians. As worship drummers, we should be doubly giving with our ideas and playing. Not only because it's the "drummer" thing to do, but because Christ commanded us to.

It's easy to take the Great Commission at the end of the gospel of Matthew and think of it in a very religious sense, complete with pipe organs and stained glass windows. But break it down into your daily life. We're not all called to be missionaries, or pastors, or small group leaders. Some of us are… drummers. But the commission still remains. So how do we fulfill Christ's commandment? By sharing our gifts with other drummers. By making more drummers, and better drummers. If you're the "senior" drummer, take time to meet the newer players and show them what it's like to play at your particular church. Talk to them about their favorite music and drummers. Share recordings that inspired you. Give them pointers on how to get the best results on stage. Most of all, listen to them and help guide them, while not demeaning their style or abilities.

If you're one of the newer guys, seek out the veterans. Ask them what it's like on stage, what's their biggest tip for playing at church, what's the one thing they wish they could share to the "younger" players. Talk about what you like about their playing and what you hope to bring to the band. Most of all, listen to them. Don't think of them as old school, but as seasoned players that know what's up. What we're talking about is discipleship: sharing your gifts with others and teaching them to worship Christ. By mentoring and creating a community of drummers, you’re doing exactly that. Just be yourself and help the other drummers in your church. It's that easy.

About the Author John Parker, a drummer for over 25 years, has been the presiding drummer at NewSpring Church in Wichita, Kansas since 2007. He officially joined the staff as Music Associate in 2012. Currently, John plays for all five weekend services at NewSpring in front of an average congregation of 6,000 people. The NewSpring Band also released two albums with John on the drums. Unrefined is a live worship recording from 2010 and Go Ahead. Sing! is a studio-produced album, available on iTunes, released in 2010. Beyond playing at NewSpring, John also has a successful career as a freelance performer and teacher throughout the Wichita area. He has performed with the Hutchinson Symphony Orchestra, Music Theater Wichita, and Crown Uptown Professional Dinner Theater as well as sitting in on numerous high school productions in the city. As an educator, John works hard to bring all of his experiences together to give his students a complete percussion knowledge. John has been teaching at his own private studio in Wichita since 2010 and at the Professional Drum School in Hutchinson since 2011. From 2012 to 2014, John served as Percussion Tech for the Buhler Band program in Buhler, Kansas. Since 2014, John has been an adjunct Percussion Coach for Trinity Academy in Wichita where he coaches the drumline, percussion ensemble, and assists with the concert and jazz bands. John has published two books, each focusing on different aspects of playing in a drumline. Drumline Technical Manual compiles all of the warm ups and exercises John routinely uses with the drumlines he works with along with 3 cadences and 3 solo snare pieces. Drumline to Drumset takes the step of applying common drumline exercises to the drumset to improve your groove, fills, and chops. John is an educational endorser with Vic Firth drumsticks and mallets, Sabian Cymbals, and Mapex Drums.