Selecting Songs For Worship
As I’ve said before, the qualities you strive for in writing worship songs are the same ones you look for in selecting them for Sunday mornings or any time you are responsible to lead a gathering of believers in worship.
You want to look for songs that are easy to learn, hard to forget, emotionally touching and spiritually powerful. There are hundreds, even thousands, of titles to consider. It can be- come a mind-boggling process. Let’s say you find one with an interesting title—this sounds like the message you’re looking for. But—the tune is dull and unmemorable, or the words are trite and unlyrical, and the hooks are non-existent. Pass this one up. Your congregation may try to sing it because you ask them to and they’re good sports (after all, they’re a captive audience.) Then again, they may not. Watch your congregation. If half of them are dutifully clapping to the beat while gazing around the room with their mouths shut, that song isn’t working.
I would suggest some questions to ask yourself when planning a worship setlist:
1. What is the Holy Spirit saying to this congregation now?
2. What is the pastor speaking on in this service? This may or may not be important. Some pastors prefer the songs to relate thematically to the sermon, while others feel that a good worship experience is all that’s necessary.
3. Where are the people in their corporate experience, and what are they ready for now? Spiritually? Culturally?
4. What songs, and in what sequence, will best lead the people into an awareness of the Presence of God? Choose songs that move progressively through the gates, into the courts, then into the Throne Room. (Psalm 100:4) Avoid mere musical variety for its own sake.
5. Consider using at least one great hymn, then select worship songs that relate to its theme.
6. Know where you’re aiming, but be ready to change as the Spirit leads. A sensitive leader will on occasion go into a song that hadn’t been planned, because the Holy Spirit is doing something unanticipated among the people and the leader feels the need to linger on this theme and let God do his work. This can only happen in cases where the leader is mature and able to minister and has the trust and permission of the pastor. But if God wants to do something that we hadn’t planned for, it would be a shame to tell him, “Sorry, Lord, but You can’t do that. It isn’t printed in our bulletin.”
7. The handoff. What will the pastor do when you finish the worship time? He may want to continue in an unbroken stream of ministry. The handoff song should be carefully chosen to achieve this.
8. In all your praise and worship writing and leading, don’t forget Jesus. Not every song needs to be about Him, but with all the recent emphasis on Old Testament patterns of worship and setting psalms to music, He sometimes gets left out. But the preaching of the cross and the name of Jesus are where the life-changing power is. All the symbolism of the Old Testament altar consisted of types and shadows of which Jesus is the fulfillment. When you’re putting together a worship service, give some thought to this.
I admit that this process of putting a setlist together is one of my favorite tasks. It requires the same creativity that goes into writing songs. To do them well You are required to prayerfully imagine or forecast how believers may or may not respond to the musical journey you are assembling. You want your songs AND your set lists to bless and honor God as well as inspire your hearers to lift their hearts in sincere worship.
Let me encourage you to try putting together a few set lists using some of the suggestions above even if you’re not the “worship leader”. Think of them as 20-30 minute musical prayer journeys. Going through the process will make you aware of the challenge of helping others worship more creatively.
Paul Baloche
Paul is the worship pastor at Community Fellowship in Lindale, Texas, and is married to Rita. His songs include ‘Open the eyes of my heart’, ‘(Hosanna) Praise Is Rising’, and ‘Our God Saves’. For more info, visit www.leadworship.com
Thanks Paul. Great reminders on making the set a prayer journey and keeping the focus where it needs to be.
"Watch your congregation. If half of them are dutifully clapping to the beat while gazing around the room with their mouths shut, that song isn’t working"
what if thats what theyre are like all the time?!!!!!!!!!!
That happens to my church too, how??
Gorden (glaw),
I see that you live in Malaysia. That's quite far away, and the culture there will be quite different from the one in nothern Europe. It is not always meaningful to take this kind of advice and apply it directly even for me, and I live in Sweden, which is culturally quite close to the UK.
But other than that, in my experience when the congregation reacts like that, it might be because of several reasons. Of couse it might be because the worship leader/team it so musically untight or out of tune (instruments and/or song) that it's hard to sing along. And it might be because the people don't relate to the song, musically, lyrically and/or thematically. It can also be a matter of culture within the church. If most people are older, it might not even be a problem, maybe they are deeply captivated in worship it's just that they express it in a way that you don't see. Also, if you play music that people are not used to (like using modern worship when the church has a strong focus on older hymns) it might be that people like it, but are not used to the form and thus feel unsure of how to react.
Overall, it's important to remember that there is a tension between that as worship leaders we serve the congregation, yet what we do is not entertainment. The best thing to do is not always whatever gets the "audience" most fired up.
New Song
Nieuwste forumberichten
Really good stuff! Thanks Paul.
Really challenging to re-think our setlists around what the spirit is doing in our own congregation.
Tom
Tom Smith | Worship Central | Holy Trinity Brompton | London |