Local Leader Profile – Jason Muir

“Local Leader Profiles” is a WorshipPeriod.com series of spotlight interviews with worship leaders working and leading in a local church setting. They’ll each answer a series of the same questions to give us a snapshot of their church, their ministry and share some things they’re learning about God, the church, worship and leadership.

Name: Jason (Jay) Muir
Church: Moncton Wesleyan Church (Moncton, NB)
Church Size/Denomination: 1500 (Wesleyan)
Job Title: Pastor of Worship Arts
Years at this Job: 6 months
Years leading worship: 12
Primary instrument: Acoustic guitar
Worship Team size: 40 in total, 8 – 9 any given week
Favorite Worship song:
How Deep the Father’s Love (all time)
Glory to God Forever (currently)
Favorite Worship artist: Chris Tomlin
Favorite Book: Lord of the Rings Trilogy

What does a typical week look like for you?
Service evaluation and staff meeting takes up most of Monday. Tuesday’s begin the planning cycle for whatever Sunday we’re currently working on (usually the one right in front of us!). Tuesday nights our creative team meets to discuss and create, as the name implies. Wednesday’s are usually reserved for meetings, getting to know people and pastoral care type stuff. Thursday nights are Worship Team rehearsal. Friday’s we finalize our plan for Sunday. Saturday is a much needed day off.

What does a typical worship service look like for your church?
Worship through music, prayer, giving, a half hour message. Done. We like to baptize people every week if we can, so often we’ll have one or two baptisms thrown into each service. Occasionally use video, drama and dance to illustrate the message. Music is mostly contemporary/modern with a hymn thrown in.

What is your process for creating a set list/planning a service?
I’ll usually start by listening in prayer to things God might be trying to teach us about Himself, His character, His works, His word, etc., then build a set around one or two of those attributes. We start the service with 3 or 4 worship songs, so I usually try to have them relate to one another thematically and musically, in conjunction with a scriptural call to worship, or an appropriate video. Flow is very important, so I’ll give a lot of thought and arrangement time to how each song starts, ends and flows into the next.

It’s not really important to me that our opening set relate to the message that day, because the message usually comes quite a bit later in the service. If we’re planning music close to the message, like a response song or an extended time of response in worship, then it’s important that the songs relate to the message thematically, in my opinion.

What is your rehearsal routine with your team?
I try to get the music – chord charts and Mp3’s – out to them early in the week so they can be familiar with the songs by the time Thursday night rehearsal rolls around. We rehearse for two hours on Thursday night, then we refresh on Sunday morning for an hour or so before the service starts.

What have been some of the biggest influences in your worship leading?
I’ve learned some things at various concerts and conferences that have been very helpful. I’ve found Paul Baloche and Matt Redman are great teachers as well as worship leaders. Probably the biggest influence though is the time I spent with Andrew Wigston and Present Reality, just learning what it meant to be in a worship band. Not just a band, but a band of worshippers.

What is your biggest struggle or challenge in leading, currently?
Team-building and keeping people accountable when they’re not living up to things they’ve agreed to. I’m not very good at conflict.

What has been the biggest recent success in your church’s worship ministry as you see it?
I’m very new to MWC, so I think the biggest recent success is that my style and the worship leader I believe God has called me to be and gifted me to be actually seems to fit very well with where our congregation are at as worshippers themselves. It’s been cool to see.

What has God been teaching you lately about worship?
God is a Creator. He wants to do something new in our lives and worship each and every time we come before Him. So don’t pray that He’ll re-create something He did in the past. Ask Him for something new every week, every day.

Do you set goals for your worship ministry? If so, can you share some of your current ones?
Yes. I’m trying to develop specific teams for drama, dance, visual arts, etc. Also trying to develop a 4 band rotation in our music ministry. Worship ministry at MWC has had some leadership transition recently and so I’m just trying to get people involved, organized and inspired to be part of it again.

I also want to meet with each and every team member on a one-on-one basis at least once every year, just to get to know them as people. I really want to create a sense of true community in our worship teams.

What one piece of advice do you wish you had gotten when you first started leading worship?
New songs are great, but generally people want to worship through songs they love and know by heart. When they’re not focusing on the words or melody, they’re free to really glorify God.

(*edit)
For the gearheads, what equimpment/instruments do you use?
Acoustic Guitar – Takamine EN12C – it’s a road warrior with a great live
sound I’ve been schlepping around for 14 years now.

Electric Guitar – American Strat with Seymour Duncan L’il ’59 humbucker in
neck position and an Epiphone Sheraton II.

Amp – Vox AC30

Pedalboard – Barber TonePress, Crowther HotCake, Ibanez Tubescreamer TS9,
modded Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive, EH Small Stone phaser, Boss TU-2 Tuner, EH
Memory Man, Boss DD-20 Giga-delay, A/B/Y box.

(Jason grew up in Riverview, NB and is married to Barb. They are expecting twins in early 2010.)

All photos by Monique Pearson