Worship Musicians, Can We Talk About Christmas Eve Service?
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I know a lot of you who watch my channel are worship musicians in one form of another, so I think it’s time we talk about the Super Bowl of church weekends: Christmas Eve Service. Christmas Eve is such an interesting phenomenon in modern church culture. It’s probably the showiest weekend of the year, the highest production value, and of course, one of the highest pressure weekends to be a musician at church. After playing countless Christmas services over the years, I wanted to share my experience and how my relationship with Christmas Eve services has changed.
In this video, I'm peeling back the curtain on how I went from loving the performance, showy elements, and musical numbers associated with a Christmas service not caring for it much at all. It all started back on the High School Worship team. I got asked to play one year which was a big deal to me, because they only asked the A team players to play. We did the August Burns Red version of Carol of the Bells AND the 12 Days of Christmas by Relient K. It was an epic service, and it really set the precedent that you definitely wanted to be on the Worship Team for Christmas Eve, and that this was the time you got put on a service more close to a performance than any other weekend during the year.
After college, I played several Christmas Eve services where I got to do all the cool guitar Christmas Openers: Miraculum by Lincoln Brewster, Carol of The Bells by David Crowder, and of course the new fan favorite: The Little Drummer Boy by for King & Country. While learning the material was a challenge, I just wanted to play guitar at Christmas Eve every single year. And while the Christmas opening music was always a bit showy, the services were still services. It was about Jesus first and foremost. The message was equally as important as the music.
More recently I Music Directed a couple of Christmas Eve services at mega churches that took a more "Presentational" service approach. AKA, the service was more of a Christmas show that the congregation attended. We never had drummers, live animals synced to timecode, acrobats, or anything like that. But it was clear that the service was intended to be a show from start to finish. It would be 40-45 minutes of music, primarily flashy arrangements and vocal solos, and maybe a 10 minute reading of the Christmas story and that was it. Let me be clear, I'm not judging or condemning that kind of thing at all. It just felt foreign to me because it wasn't what I grew up in.
What this all made me realize was that I was craving a different kind of encounter with Jesus than I had before. I didn't need a Christmas show with flashy guitar moments. I just wanted an authentic service. I like standard Christmas songs, a great message, and ultimately, sharing in the joy of Christ's birth. And sure... maybe one cool musical number is not a bad time. At any rate, I feel like I can't be the only one. Anyone else who grew up in Christmas Eve mega church culture feel this way? Let me know in the comments. Also- I do believe God uses all kind of services both showy and not to build his Kingdom. This is just a personal preference. And to everyone out there gearing up to play Christmas Eve this year, I’m praying that God blesses your service, you’re playing, and that you have a really merry Christmas.
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Chapters
0:00 The Super Bowl of Church Services
1:17 High School Worship set the bar HIGH
2:20 Christmas Eve as a Guitarist
3:46 Christmas Eve as a Music Director
5:03 Something Changed
6:53 Searching for Authentic
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#churchguitar #christmaseve #christmaseveservice #worshipguitar #WorshipGuitarist #GuitarConfessions #worshipservice #churchmusic #churchmusician
@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
What are y’all playing for Christmas Eve?
@user-hi4nd2ij1m 6 ай бұрын
Two weeks late to the game but big props to your church for using August Burns Red & Relient K for Christmas Eve.
@user-hi4nd2ij1m 6 ай бұрын
Also, your perspective on worship is really neat. Please make more videos on how you balance worship culture and musicianship.
@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
Thank you!! I’m sure I will in some capacity-
@bluzzjazz 6 ай бұрын
As the lead electric, I went from years of playing 3,5,7,9 and 11:00 services, to not playing at all this year. We can hold about 1500 people for one service. I used to sit out the 7 and would go home for dinner with the family. This year, our WL decided to just an acoustic, keys and vocals service. As much as I missed playing, it was nice to just go and enjoy the service without being involved in it.
@Gage11213 6 ай бұрын
I’m with you man! Sometimes in an effort to draw people in we neglect the entire purpose: bringing glory to the Lord. Jesus drew huge crowds, but he also sent crowds running when the message got too real for them. I’m all about doing things with excellence, but we need to be God pleasers, not men pleasers. I’m thankful we have a worship pastor who also recognizes the importance of the gospel. Hope you had a merry Christmas my guy!
@lancemeroy 6 ай бұрын
Justin, thank you for putting my current thoughts into words. Im with you with your stance about Christmas services. Thank you for sharing this for others to reflect on as well. You’re awesome and your heart is so genuine 👏🏼
@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
Thank you so much homie! That's so kind of you to say. Merry Christmas!
@johnpasch9649 6 ай бұрын
Always relevant. I like your channel. Merry Christmas!!!
@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
Thank you John!! Merry Christmas!
@JohnnyMatthews 6 ай бұрын
I've played in churches with 100 people at a Christmas Eve service up to about 1500 across 3 services. Rarely over the last 25 years have I ever not played on Christmas Eve. It has so much to do with where my heart is at rather than the setlist, and that can be all over the place.
@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
For sure!! All I can say is, whether there’s 1000s or 100s, shredmas always feels a little weird to me haha. Just not my style.
@BrianVallotton 6 ай бұрын
Love ya man! Merry Christmas! I am a three chord kind of guy... okay, you can add a minor... ;-)
@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
Merry Christmas Brian!!
@johnpasch9649 6 ай бұрын
Btw: We’re playing some original music and on one of the songs I do some Chuck Berry type of twanging. So awesome! All for Jesus too.
@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
How fun!! Hope it's a blast!
@J_Walker 6 ай бұрын
Haha ABR’s version? Cool church. I’ve done TSO’s for church (and Miraculum), those are always fun.
@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
Haha well that was for the high school ministry service. Never saw that one make the main service. But yeah, all those bits can be fun sometimes!
@jaydenanderson53 6 ай бұрын
Dude, I’m with you. I grew up at a Megachurch, but we always had a really simple Christmas Eve service. We sang carols and did communion. We used to have a big Christmas production but that was always apart from the Christmas Eve service. Nowadays, in college, I play for a megachurch or two. One of the shows I was in is a lot more traditional and focused on more the worshipful aspects. Another church is very much that production thing. I guess for me it’s all about the Game. If you’re playing the game of production then do it well and don’t act like it’s not a game I guess. I still think God moves in those services 100%. I just am with you on preferring the more low-key, simple carols, candlelight, and communion. That’s where it’s at
@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
Yeah! I think the game is where I get lost in the sauce. For me, when we start thinking about church as a production or a battle of whose Christmas service can get the most attention/attendance or whatever metric you’re measuring, I think we’re missing the point. However, production is different from excellence. I think we should always strive for excellence whether it’s amped up or stripped back. Like you’ve said here. A well crafted service is what we all should strive for.
@ElmoRitter 6 ай бұрын
I get hired in every year to do these big services. Very respectfully, they never have the impact church-regulars hope they’ll have. It’s because the churches can never answer “who is this for?” If it’s for God, well it doesn’t feel that way to outsiders and often some insiders. If it’s for the regular church attendees, well that checks out from where I’m standing. Most every church service I’ve been hired to play for is doing the services for themselves but talking like it’s for the community. Its almost never for the community (hence my sizeable honorarium to play songs no outsider would know or enjoy) but there’s a big push to act like it is. I’m not giving advice or anything, just pointing out that it’s generally a confusing time for outsiders and a big fancy church service is just a big fancy thing that makes outsiders uncomfortable. Bringing non Christian’s to 100% of every Christmas service I’ve seen is just super awkward. Its weird so see all that money being spent knowing they’re most likely making little impact in the community. You could feed a family for a month with the honorarium I’m charging to play like 5 or 6 tunes for like 3 services. And it’s with tracks. I dunno just an outsiders take. It’s not a particularly self aware event and I don’t think it makes the impression American Christians think it’s having.
@Ranz-san 6 ай бұрын
😂elephants and ziplines
@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
🐘 🐪 🦓, let’s goooooo
@kodymiller1602 6 ай бұрын
I just hate how many chords are in the traditional carols. I'm convinced pianist made those. Some worship leaders are good about simplifying those, but others I've played with play all the chords.
@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
Hahaha yeah for sure. Tons of chord changes in Christmas tunes. Maybe just embrace the challenge? There’s something pretty satisfying about about getting all those chords.
@stanley1976 6 ай бұрын
It is rather annoying, I agree. My pastor thinks it's a good idea to leave all chords in some songs. He's obviously not a guitarist.
@hamills32 6 ай бұрын
Yeah, damn Charles Wesley, William Cummings and Felix Mendelssohn for giving us these songs that modern worship bands (of which I’m a part of) can’t play. Or, maybe serving the song is knowing when to step back from the song. Just a thought.
@noahfickel 6 ай бұрын
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@JustinMuncy 6 ай бұрын
Hahaha. Better. Much better.
@benjamin.kelley 6 ай бұрын
I HATE traditional Christmas hymns. As a drummer there's just nothing I can play. I'm used to playing modern worship music, and traditional music just brings me back to playing drums in pit orchestra - just really production-y. There's just also so many verses, no bridges and no pocket!