X:Worship (3.1)
I wanted to throw out something this week about chemistry. Amoung any team, whether it be sports, music, a workplace, or a group of leaders exist some type of chemistry.
Chemistry: Somewhat ambiguous and difficult to define, yet ironically easy to recognize when it is present. I like American Heritage’s third definition. The elements of a complex entity and their dynamic interrelation.
When all things just seem to click, when a glance is enough to communicate your thoughts, when things start to fail but you know each other so well that the recovery turns into something magical. When Jordan found Paxson beyond the arch (three times), when Montana found Clark in the back of the endzone, when Timberlake caused Janet’s wardrobe malfunction… That’s Chemistry.
It’s not always easy to develop. When personalities clash more than they mesh or when a new leader comes in and the transistion hurts it can take months just to form a soft chemistry. But it’s can be so important and so useful in a worship setting that to me it is quite possibly just as important as having all talented musicians.
Chemistry can hide the awkwardness of a guitar going out of tune. It can save the day when a song starts to fall apart or the leader starts in the wrong key. Chemistry allows for freedom to flow from one song to the next, even if the next song hasn’t been practiced in a while.
So, on a regular basis, without any warning and without anyone even knowing what’s going on, I throw down some No. 2 Pencils, a scantron, and a pH strip just to see what kinda chemistry we have at any given moment.
Sunday morning, after our main run through was the first test with this group. Man, did they pass with flying colors. They were getting ready to rock out on an intro song that I wasn’t a part of, but I asked them to hold off a minute. I proceeded to play Give Us Clean Hands (Charlie Hall), a song we have not played or practiced together at all. The next five minutes, we had IT (another ambiguous term)…
Not one mistake, not one player playing out of turn, not one person overpowering another. We flowed from top to bottom and back up again with the right dynamics, the right volume adjustments, the right lead ins and lead outs. Chemistry.
So, for that given time… it was greatness. Eventually we’ll get to the point where that is the standard and not the exception. It was nice to have such a pleasant surprise so early in this endeavor.
James, Josh, Travis… Good job guys.
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you have to admit, the powerpoint flowed like honey, as well…
The origin of the term is obscure. Chemistry evolved from the medieval practice of alchemy. It’s bases were laid by such men as Boyle, Lavoisier, Priestly, Berzelius, Avogadro, Dalton and Pasteur.
The main strengths of alchemy, chemistry and related topics are like books of secrets, with important offshoots into the occult sciences and witchcraft, Cabbalism, Rosicrucianism, Free Masonry and gypsy literature. Almost all of the latter are of alchemical interest and several date back to the 15th century.
Not to imply any connection to your experience but thought it was an interesting note.
That is the oddest, yet most interesting comment i’ve had on this blog yet…