Do you remember what songs you used to lead the congregation last week? Did they have any tangible connection with your worship song list from the previous week? How about for the current week’s song list that you’re preparing? Is there a purposeful connection between what you sang last week and with what you will be preparing for the following week? These are questions that we as worship leaders should be asking. (more…)
Before you can choose a great worship song set, you must have a well-managed master song list to select from. When all of your charts are piled together in a large stack it can be quite frustrating, not to mention time consuming, to find the right songs that flow together in the desired key and/or tempo. Better to have the songs that make up your church’s worship repertoire organized in such a way as to make them readily accessible for whatever your need when crafting a set. (more…)
Seeking God and spending time in devotion away from platform is an absolute essential for worship leaders and worship team members. Plainly stated, worship should not be a Sunday-only experience. In fact it is the cultivation of our personal (private) relationship with God that is the foundation upon which we stand to lead others in worship. So how exactly do we pursue our personal devotion and worship with God? (more…)
I’m guessing that most worship teams work out the song arrangements of the worship set before Sunday morning.
During rehearsal they mapped out how each song will flow and determine how many times to repeat the chorus of a specific song or which song will start with chorus instead of the verse. After all, that is what rehearsals are for; nailing down the flow and specifics of the songs and the set. (more…)
When leading worship with others, whether it’s just you and another instrument or an entire band of musicians, it is crucial that the other players are able to see you. Even though you have most likely spent time rehearsing the songs and practicing specific arrangements, it is important to be able to communicate with the worship band during the worship service. To do this effectively, they need to be able to see you while on the stage. This means that you will need to arrange the physical placement of each musician on the platform so that they are not only able to hear each other well but to see each other as well. (more…)
Whenever I teach on worship and worship team dynamics I am usually asked, “What’s the best way to introduce a new song to the congregation?” Honestly, there is no set “best” way. There are many factors that come into play to answer this question and much depends on the congregation itself. Such as, “How actively do they participate in singing?” (more…)
For a Worship/Band Leader this may seem like a “No Brainer”. However, I am continually amazed at the stories that hear from worship musicians regarding the lack of preparation from their worship leader/ director and the sometimes-humorous chaos that follows. So here’s a WORSHIP TIP… Come to rehearsal prepared! What does it look like to be prepared? Here are a few suggestions. (more…)
One of the most often overlooked aspects of leading effective congregational worship is being able find the right balance of the right songs week in and week out. There are usually several competing aspects to finding and keeping the right mix.
On one hand, worship must be immediately accessible to the congregation. In other words, the people must have a certain level of familiarity with the songs so that they can more easily participate in singing. On the other hand, too much of the same ole’ songs will probably begin to create a level of apathy or boredom from those singing. (more…)
Have you ever been in the middle of a leading a time of worship and realized that the next song in the order of the set just doesn’t feel right?
Or simply wished that you had different song option to lead the congregation in that moment? I have and I know it’s a fairly common experience for other worship leaders as well. Its not that we weren’t diligent in thinking through and preparing the worship set. Sometimes we just don’t have all of the revelation needed regarding how the worship will flow or if the songs we’ve picked will fully support what God is doing in the moment; kind of a “… we only see in part…” type of thing (I Cor.13:9-10 ). (more…)
If you’re like me, you probably begin the process of selecting a worship set by either opening your worship song program and looking over the entire list of songs or perhaps you use the tried and true method of taking all of your hard copy song sheets and spreading them out all over the floor. No matter what method you use the goal is to find the right songs that reflect God’s heart for the worship set and that flow well together. (more…)
