In the sixth installment of Confessions of a Worship Musician, I am going to tackle the science of song selection. For the first five Confessions of a Worship Musician articles, click here: https://nickfrenchphr.wixsite.com/narrativesandnotions/blog/categories/worship
My oldest daughter had a birthday last week and we invited her over for dinner. Oddly enough, as I began to think about the evening’s events, I was inspired to write about the topic of worship set song selection. Let me explain.
I've been around many worship leaders in my life and I've read materials from/studied the habits of many worship leaders I admire. I've learned several approaches to song selection.
Some worship leaders embrace a very practical approach to song selection which asks the questions "which songs haven't we done in a while" or "which songs are our congregation's favorites". This is a great way to keep the congregation happy and ensure variety, which aren’t bad things.
Some worship leaders pick songs from the Top-20 christian radio hits, as these are easier for congregations to sing along. Some leaders only select songs they, themselves, like, allowing personal preference to be the top priority.
Some worship leaders work closely with the senior pastor to ensure the songs for any given service align with the sermon for that day, or at least support themes the pastor hopes to emphasize.
I know leaders who employ each of these methods and, like anything else, each approach has it's positives and negatives. The biggest issue I have with them is this: they seem to ignore the fact that worship isn't about us or our preferences.
Truth be told, I have employed each of these methods one time or another. I never really thought about the downside until a conversation with a dear friend. While explaining to me one day the changes his church had recently made with their music, he made the statement: "I'm not opposed to the new style, but you have to cater to the older folks, too".
I've been a party to probably hundreds of conversations where we discussed musical style in a worship setting. There's much to be said about this deep topic, but I won't go too deep in this post. I think I speak for most worship leaders when I say this: we are aware different generations have different musical preferences and we try not to offend with our musical selections. We are aware older church members usually don't like new "rock/contemporary/techno" music and younger church members usually don't like old "country/southern gospel" music. Balancing two styles within one congregation is at the top of the list of concerns for many worship leaders.
Here's the truth whether we like it or not: we can enter the presence of God with ANY type of music. The question for the church is this: will you allow yourself to give God what He deserves even if the music isn't your favorite type?
Now, let's get back to song selection. I appreciate that most worship leaders genuinely try to select songs that the congregation will embrace. But, I never really thought there was another side to his argument until my friend said it the way he did..."you have to cater to the old folks, too".
Friends, worship isn't about me; it's not about you, either. It's not about what the youth likes; it's not about what the elders like. The worship isn’t for us. It’s an offering - a gift - to our Father. If anyone is being "catered to" in a worship service, it's the Almighty.
Back to my daughter’s birthday dinner. When we planned her birthday dinner, we didn’t plan the menu around what we had in the pantry, neither did we prepare my favorite meal. We asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner, then we went to the store and bought the ingredients. See the connection?
I offer this as the ultimate guide to song selection: ask God what He wants. It's His gift anyway, right? As we prepare song lists, we should ask “God, how do you want your praise today?” In my experience, He’ll often take what we give Him, then turn it around to bless us. He may just want His children to love on Him, or He may want to bless His children while in His presence. I've witnessed services with very different atmospheres. Sometimes there is an outburst of joy in the room; sometimes a very somber, intimate feel. There are times we worship Him as King and other times we worship Him as Father. There are times we celebrate boldly and other times we bow in reverence. I'm convinced God manifests Himself in different ways at different times because, as His word says, He truly knows what we have need of.
Worship leaders, I encourage you to seek the heart of God over your services. As hard as it is, find time to be alone with God. Sit with your instrument or in a quiet room and just begin to engage Him. Let Him lead you in what He wants to hear for that particular service and what He wants to do in that particular service. I know it's easy to do, but we must avoid the trap of pleasing people more than we please God.
To the congregation, I encourage you to go easy on your worship team. They may not always sing songs you like and they may not sing songs the way you like them to be sung. If you disagree with the selection of songs, pray. Pray for God to change the worship leader's heart or to change your attitude. Because at the end of the day, remember...it's not about us. It's all about Him.
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