No Rehearsal - No Play? No Way

Rules are excellent. Without them there is chaos. Rules are everywhere in society for a reason... to keep people safe and try to make things fair. I have been in praise teams that adhere to strong fast rules with no exceptions. For the most part it works out fine. Many praise teams, choirs, and worship leaders hold fast to the famous "No Rehearsal - No Play" rule. It definitely can help with attendance at rehearsal. It can help keep things fair and if everyone is aware of it and good with it, then it's all good right? Well... Here is another way of looking at it.

I tend to shy away from this rule for many reasons. I want folks to enjoy volunteering and serving. I don't want it to feel like a chore. I know how wednesday can come around sooner than you think. I'm sure "O gosh... I have rehearsal tonight" has been uttered since the first praise team was ever formed. I have uttered it many times myself lol. However, I would rather it be fun and rewarding as opposed to drudgery.

So with that said... here are a few ways to keep it fun, flowing and fast. Start on time! Nothing worse than people standing around looking at their watch. Even if everyone is not there... it's go time. Keep it moving and try not to spend too much time on any one part. Take a break and tell a joke or ask someone to update you all on the latest "thing" or "event" happening in the community... (dont let this turn into gossip LOL). If you do devotionals as part of your rehearsal. Keep them short and interesting.

Finally, when you are finished with rehearsal... let em' go!! You will notice they stand around and fellowship if you don't keep them too long. You know you are keeping them too long if they start looking at their phone or watch. This means theeir done! If you sense you've reached the law of deminishing returns... stop and let em' go. No need for football type stuff here.

I tend to take the view of "I'm thankful you are here" rather than "you better be here". We often talk about that aspect of serving. If they enjoy it, they will make greater effort to be there. Also, the turnover is likely to decrease. We don't have 2 platoons or teams. We happen to have 2 or 3 bass players but most of our folks have to be there every week. Realize what a sacrifice it is. Some have children, ailing parents and any number of things going on in their lives. Sometimes folks have things come up at the last minute. You just have to trust they will not take advantage of the team. If you sense that is happening you can take that person aside and just ask if everything is alright or, do you need a break from praise team. If they need time off... let them have it without feeling guilty! That will bring them back much quicker.

As you can tell, we have not instituted the "no rehearsal - no play" rule. It works for us. Probably won't work everywhere. As I mentioned, we dont have the luxury of "platooning". I would rather have a full band and team on Sunday than Wednesday any day. Having said that, if we are doing a new song that requires lots of time and someone has missed... I will suggest they just sleep in and take the day off.

So... keep reheasal fun and challenging, discuss how we all count on each other to be at rehearsal, extend that grace and speak privately if you feel they are taking advantage of the team.

Blessing to you and your team!