Worship Essentials

Most people agree, churches don’t sing like they used to. Do a simple internet search on the subject and you will find several sources outlining the reasons why churches seem to be more passive about singing. I’ve written on the subject myself.

One reason is an unfamiliarity of the songs we are choosing. In this era of churches writing songs and a proliferation of songs available as Christian music and congregational music overlap more than ever, the sheer number of new songs we are singing may be overwhelming our congregations. I have a suggestion. Here are 3 lists to develop that can help you grow the confidence of your church and help them sing the songs of worship well. Organize Your Planning Approach by developing three lists that you keep at hand every time you plan worship that you update constantly.

1. Significant Songs (theme based – you are still integrating these, but they have great potential).
2. Legacy Hymns and Songs (your people know and LOVE to sing these).
3. New Songs – because of content and structure, these are songs your church should know, but don’t.

Once you have these lists, build each service with a mix of these titles, but lean toward the Significant list most of all. If you will bring back these songs often enough, you will move several of them to your Legacy list. And growing that list should be your goal.

You could think about it this way – sing three significant titles and two legacy songs for every new song. If you did, your church would grow in confidence and start to sing more. For some, it might be one new song a week while for others it could be once a month.

Every service should have at least one moment that the congregation can trust that they know the song so well, they can release their worship with full abandon. In those moments, you create the standard that all other songs will be measured by. As you grow their repertoire, you will have more and more songs that will invite this response. If you introduce a new song that a still doesn’t become significant to the congregation after a few times, move on from it. Consider bringing it back for another try at a later time.

Obviously, there will be times when a song comes along that is so right for the moment, it will be worth breaking the pattern to include it. As with any system, don’t become legalistic about serving the process. But, if you only rely on how you feel as you plan worship, you will gravitate to the few legacy songs you have, or to new ones, and neglect the vast number of songs in between. The confidence of your congregation will not grow, and they won’t know any songs to sing in the pivot moments of their lives.

To everyone’s spiritual benefit, grow the repertoire of your congregation.

In the wacked-out world of social media, a phenomenon has developed that until recently, had happened to everyone else. It has become so common that platforms like Twitter have a process where an account can be certified to protect against the “fake” accounts that can pop up overnight and take over someone’s identity.

In recent weeks, it has happened to me twice. Someone (or something) has taken over my name, pictures, and profile to create a social media account that was intended to look like it’s me – but it’s not me.  It hasn’t really bothered me that much, at least so far. As soon as I became aware of them, I was able to quickly have them removed.  A fake account can be a huge distraction to the real one and even misrepresent my belief. It’s important that I not tolerate one for very long. But, as I’ve thought about it, I’ve been reminded of another threat that is even more daunting and dangerous. It’s one that I’ve lived with for much longer than the internet has been around.

Fake Mike Harland existed way before Twitter. And, I wonder if you have a fake account from time to time too. It’s that personality that puts on a face of spirituality to sing, teach, or lead, all the while knowing that what is seen is not the whole story. The problem for anyone who stands on a platform – digital or otherwise – is that talent and skill can hide a great deal. Sometime, God even chooses to honor His Word through a person like that, and the visible results can further imply that something real must be going on in the speaker.  But we all know that’s not always true.

It seems to me that just like I keep a watch out for the fake accounts that can crop up in social media, I had better be even more diligent about watching out for this one. As a matter of fact, if everything is working like it should, my profile and personality shouldn’t matter at all because if what I’m doing is real, it won’t be about me anyway.

John, the forerunner of Jesus could have built a ton of followers in his fake account. But, he didn’t. He simply said, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”  (John 3:30)

May God help me keep a check on the fake account and blow it up every time it surfaces. Maybe we all should. Here’s how –

Stay in the Word.

Make prayer a real priority.

Keep relationships authentic.

Fight for purity in mind and deed.

And, delete the fake account every time it shows up so that Jesus can be the only One that shines as we serve Him.

1. Volunteer for Duty

Churches call for volunteers all the time – a need for host homes for the DiscipleNow, or more adults to chaperone the Kid’s ministry event, or just someone to serve potatoes in the Church Supper line. It goes on and on. But, often worship ministry leaders take the position that we are doing enough. “We’re the musicians and can’t be bothered with that other stuff,” is the way we can easily come across if we never step up as a volunteer for other ministries.

You will expand your influence if you will get shoulder to shoulder with other volunteers in your church in a ministry outside of the one you lead.

2. Teach a Bible Study Class

More than likely, by the time you are leading a worship ministry in a church, you are one the most trained Bible students in the whole fellowship. Why not put it to use? It could be that your Sunday schedule makes teaching in the Bible Study hour impossible for you, but there are other times you could lead a small group. If you are like me, you will find great joy in leading the music and then teaching a class or vice versa. We ask our choir members to do that all the time. Why can’t we do it?

As one of the teachers in our Discipleship ministry in churches I served, I grew relationships with other leaders and supported that ministry with service. In turn, I found those individuals more supportive of what we were doing in the Worship ministry and relationships that went beyond the ministry I was leading.

3. Be the Chief Listener to Your pastor’s Sermons

This is so simple yet can make a big difference. When the music part of the service is over, move to a nearby seat and become the most active listener in the room to your pastor’s message. And, do it every service you can even if it means hearing the same message more than once.

When a musician leaves the room before the sermon, he or she is sending to at least some of the congregation an unintended message. “My part is over. I’m not that interested in the rest of it.”  But, when the leader becomes a listener, you send a much healthier signal. “I’m a learner too. This part is vitally important. I’m supporting my pastor.”

Develop active listening skills to the preaching ministry and model for others how to listen and respond. When you do, you will encourage your pastor and demonstrate genuine interest in the whole church, not just your part.

Anyone can do these. I would encourage every Worship ministry leader to use these ways and find others to engage with the rest of the church outside of the worship ministry. If you do, you will find your influence growing and your relationships deepening beyond your small circle.

We have no right to influence anyone we are not willing to serve.

It’s the time of year when music ministries in many churches go into another gear. Those lingering days of November bleed into December and the countdown clock to the Christmas programs at church are staring us down. It can be a wonderful time, or an awful one.

Here are three points of focus that might help.

Keep Christ in the preparation of the Christmas program.  As rehearsals ramp up, make an intentional effort to maintain a positive atmosphere, full of levity, kindness, and spiritual focus. Don’t allow pressure to mount on you or anyone else. Remember, musicians are performers at heart and will degenerate to a performance mentality quickly. No one’s ego should be on the line here.

Instead of a constant focus on the production, focus on Christ – His Word, His presence, His glory.

Love the families of the people you lead – including yours.  Plan your rehearsals for maximum impact but minimum disruption to the families of your people.  Consider breaking them down into sections of the program instead of requiring everyone to be at everything and mostly sitting around.

Think about kids and their homework. Think about people’s work and the hectic build-up almost everyone feels as the year winds down. Every person you are leading has other responsibilities and priorities. Do the hard work of preparing rehearsals ahead of time that are fast paced and effective. Don’t fry your people physically leading up to the program and then expect them to be at their best, physically or spiritually. Build “breathing time” into the schedule.

Cancel a rehearsal if it gets too much. Your people will love you for it.

Pray.  Do a quick evaluation of how you are doing things now. How does prayer fit into your preparation? We say we believe in prayer and we say we understand that unless God moves, our work is in vain. Does the way you treat prayer in your rehearsals reflect this?

If not, it’s not too late to make a change. Spend quality time in rehearsals praying together. Develop a prayer guide for your team. Enlist a prayer team that is focused on specific aspects of the program. Constantly call your people to prayer.

Most of all, remember the words of Paul in Romans 11:36 –

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.”  (CSB)

Thanksgiving might be the holiday most closely aligned with worship that we have on the calendar. After all, gratitude is the key that unlocks the gate of worship. With it, we can proceed into the court of praise. Read Psalm 100.

So, to help with this opportunity, let me share four “P’s” that might help you enter into worship this Thanksgiving.

People. This week is a great time to be thankful for the people in your life. Parents, teachers, mentors, coaches, spouses, children – and new for me this year – grandchildren!  Do a quick inventory of the people God has blessed you with in your life, past and present. As you have opportunity, reach out to them this week and express your gratitude to God for their investment in your life!

Provision. The hymnwriter helps us here. “All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.”  (“Great is Thy Faithfulness” – Baptist Hymnal #96).  When you remember how God has provided for you in life – and His provision for our future in Christ – it gets pretty easy to have gratitude. This year also remember those who are struggling to identify God’s provision because of hurricanes and fires, or maybe even personal tragedy. Don’t miss the opportunity to be an instrument of provision to someone you know this Thanksgiving. The blessing will be yours!

Protection. Recently I was in an automobile accident. It was one of those “could have been a whole lot worse” kind of accidents. Except for stitches in my head, I was un-harmed. A few seconds either way, I might be writing a very different blog today.

It reminded me that God protects us every day, in ways we can see and in many ways we can’t see. Check out this chorus of a song my friend Luke Garrett helped me write years ago –

The unseen hand of God, the mystery of mercy,

That God Himself would hold me to His heart.

In the moments of my fear, in the times of sudden danger, he is near, and I am safe

In the unseen hands of God. 

Promise. For all that God has done for us, this may be the best one of all! He not only promises His presence in our present, He has promised us a future in His presence! I’m grateful today for all that we have to look forward to – not because the world is going to be better, but because heaven is our eternal home!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Are you longing to make your worship ministry biblically faithful, healthier, and more effective—but afraid the change will cause conflict in your church? Our guest today is a Dove award-winning songwriter, veteran worship leader, and experienced ministry coach.  He will provide the tools you will need to create worshipful praise without “starting a war.”

Click the link below to listen!

https://www.moodyradio.org/programs/in-the-market-with-janet-parshall/2018/11-2018/11.19.18-created-to-create—make-a-joyful-noise/