NEVER FAIL SONGS

What's one your "Never Fail" songs?

Meaning this - what's one song that your church always, always, always seems to dig. Usually, the sorts of tunes work with full band, one guitar, acapella, with pipe organ, with children's choir, etc.

Got any of those? Got a song or two that just always works?

What is it?

Confess Yourself...

SETLIST SIMULATOR #1

Alright....we're kicking off a brand new thing here at worshipnotes called the "Setlist Simulator."

As you guys know, I love resourcing - sharing ideas and songs and tips and lessons with each other to make us better at this very odd job of ours called 'worship leading.'

So here's where the Setlist Simulator is going to come in. For this new feature, I'm going to throw a setlist challenge out there. Your job is to take the info I come up with and then "build" a figurative list of songs, scriptures, prayers, videos, etc. to meet that challenge in the best way you see fit!

And the more specific, the better! Tell us what key you'd do a song in or how you'd transition from media to a hymn or how you'd teach something new to the congregation. It will be great creative exercise for you and a fantastic way for us to learn from each other.

Alright...here we go. Here's your first Setlist Simulator. Have fun!

Setup: "Back To School" weekend - Pastor is kicking off a new series focused on making a fresh commitment to ministry. Pastor will be using two-three New Testament text to challenge people to do more than just attend church - they need to serve! They need to live out of their gratitude for God's grace and provision.
Need: Twenty-five minutes of worship, relatively free flowing. (No announcements, special speakers, etc.) Pastor pretty intentional about having at least one song tied strongly to the sermon theme.
Special Additions: New volunteer director of greeter ministry wants to run a two minute informational video on how to sign up for Greeter Duty. Video is a fast-paced, lighthearted look at greeting ministries. Video was purchased from an online church video provider and has been downloaded onto projection computer for quick projection within the service.

What would you do?

LINK UP

Hey gang...

I've been following this blog in my reader for quite some time. The guy tends to talk a little too much about the "postmodern" movement for my tastes, but I think he's saying some really good stuff in today's recent post.

I think the idea of church labels bothers us all, but I think David Fitch puts it perspective in this post.

Check it out...and rather than comment on it here, get into the game on David's blog. I'm happy to send you all over there!

http://www.reclaimingthemission.com/

SOMETHING CLOSER

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with my friend, Kyle, about worship.

Kyle is a gifted vocalist and bass player, but his real passion is leading worship. As a college student, he gets a lot of opportunities to lead worship and he and I can spend hours talking about techniques and philosophy and song ideas and a whole host of other worship-related issues.

As we were talking, I was very passionately expressing the need for young worship leaders to watch other worship leaders. One of the most distressing things I come across in my worship travels is meeting young worship leaders who sit at home watching Passion DVDs or going to worship concerts by famous CCM/worship artists...unfortunately for a lot of young adults in worship, this is the only other worship they see (other than their own churches.)

My heart is to encourage young adult worship teams to branch out and experience Something Closer. The Passion DVDs are very cool and extremely moving. I love watching them. And I've been to more Paul Baloche concerts than I care to reveal. I get it...

But it's dangerous when our only exposure to worship leading is what I call "event worship." The dudes at Passion are great and so is Paul Baloche, but those things really aren't close to my life. And I believe that if I'm going to be excellent in what I do for my congregation, I need to find people who are good at it and who I can learn from. I'm talking about everyday folks from the church down the road or the worship leader at my parents' church - somebody that I can call on the phone and ask questions...somebody who's leading week in and week out, knowing his or her congregation and ministering as a pastor to them.

And then I realized that, for guys like Kyle, there's not always Something Closer.

Are there great worship leaders in your town? If you told young worship leaders to get out in the community and learn from those pastoring their congregations in worship, would those kids even be able to find anybody?
It convicts me and it should. I need to remember that, in addition to all of the main reasons why I should be good at my job, there's another side. To be Something Closer for those kids out there; to make myself, my songs and my resources available to those next generation leaders that God is raising up.

I think we're always in a scary place when we have a generation of leaders who have learned all they know from edited, packaged and polished and controlled releases (CD, video, etc.)

Think about those kids out there in your crowd who the Lord is calling...and be Something Closer for them.

CONFESS YOURSELF

Okay, gang...

What did you play on Sunday?

How was it?

GO.

GET OUTTA' HERE

If you follow this blog or my personal site, you know that I spent last week leading worship for youth camp in Pennsylvania.

I usually do five-to-ten travel dates each year leading worship. Usually, my "gigs" are smaller...dNow weekends or retreats. But last week I got to do a whole week of worship leading, which was really fun. I missed my family like crazy, but I had a blast playing with some great musicians in front of a group of kids that really had their heads on straight with regard to worship.

Just a couple of weeks before camp, somebody had asked me about travelling...they wanted to know what travelling "did" for me. What did I get out of going off and leading these things?

Since I don't travel very much, it was hard to think of an answer right off. I'm sure if I was on the road more, I'd see lots of benefits on a regular basis. But after thinking for awhile, I realized what travelling does...

It makes me better.

Everytime I come home from an event to lead worship at my church or at something more local, here's what I notice about my leading.

1. More Confidence
Every time I return, I feel like I approach worship with such a better attitude. I feel more confident about worship - not in anything I'm doing, but rather in worship itself. It's as if by immersing myself in a more dedicated way, I start to see all of the wonders of gathering as God's children to give Him praise. I find that I approach worship at home with more expectancy and more focus.
2. More Creativity
Leading worship over an extended period of time typically improves my skill level. I sing stronger, I'm much more comfortable on my guitar and I'm more at home in the songs, which frees me up to watch and listen to the crowd...which in turn, provides me the chance to be creative with the songs and sets...which in turn makes me a better worship pastor!
3. More Control
When I return home from a gig, I feel much more aware of worship. Because I've spent so much time at the "event," thinking, planning, praying, practicing, I come to "home worship" with a much better sense of purpose and control over what I'm bringing to the table.

So, here's my recommendation to all of my fellow worship leaders:


GET SOME GIGS!

Okay, maybe "gigs" isn't the best phrase for it, but I do think that there's some real value when we get out of our comfort zones and stretch ourselves musically and spiritually.

If you're interested in "Getting Out There" to lead worship as a guest, but don't really know how to make that happen, here are a couple of ideas that might help.

1. Associations - Chances are your church is in some sort of "association." This could be denominational or regional. Even if you're a part of a non-denominational church, chances are your church is still affiliated in some way. Typically, these like-minded fellowships are great places to get out of our comfort zones and take a shot at leading for folks we may not even know! Check with your pastor or youth pastor to learn more about regional meetings that might need some worship. You probably will get paid with a free hot-dog supper, but it's still a great (and pretty easy) way to road-test your chops.

2. Other Folks - Another great way of leading worship out in your community is to use your own connections. Maybe you have lunch with another worship leader in town once-a-month...what a great opportunity to plan something for both your praise teams to do! Maybe your church regularly brings in guest worship leaders from nearby...learn from those guys! Ask them how they got started.

3. Be A Partner - When you get a gig, the absolute smartest thing you can do is to get very involved in the event as soon as possible. Nabbing the gig and then not speaking with the event planners until the day before you play is pretty dangerous. Rather than adopt an attitude of "WE'RE THE BAND..." come at it like you would at your church. You're a part of a team that wants to do ministry - stay in dialogue with the folks bringing you in...get a clear picture of what they want and need for their event.

I know very few worship leaders who are out to get rich and famous. 99% of the leaders I know want to use their gifts to bring glory to God and to support the work of the church. Don't be afraid of pursuing these little experiments in worship leading - we learn a ton from them!

WN #5

Camp Confessional #3

Camp Confessional #2 (late!)

Camp Confessional #1

The Week To Come...

I HATE CROWDER

Actually, I don't.

I just know that somebody's gonna' start reading this post and immediately jump to that conclusion. But you shouldn't.

I like him. He's good. Great guitar player, fantastic band behind him, good songwriter...trendy as all getout.

But I am going to use him as an example.

I have to say that I'm really interested in the fact that Crowder won our little poll.

Here's why:

I talk about this over here, but I'll be honest - the survey is what got me thinking about it.

I think we as worship leaders do a really poor job of distinguishing between what we think is cool and what is actually beneficial to our congregations. (This is where having a very small readership helps...I know most everybody who voted. And where they go to church.)

When I see that the majority of you picked Crowder as the dream "guest leader," all these questions pop into my head.

1. Could your sound system handle Crowder's setup?
2. Do you have room on your stage for a DJ table?
3. Would they know "O Praise Him" or "Here Is Our King?" Would they know any Crowder tunes? Would they dig "Undignified" or "I Saw The Light?"

You see, while I like Crowder and I'd love to go see him play somewhere, I don't think he's the best fit for my church. I don't know that they'd "get it." Sure, our students would go nuts, but the whole church? Probably not so much.

Maybe I'm wrong and the people who voted are strangers to me who attend churches with which I am not familiar. Or maybe the voters are not worship leaders, and therefore not necessarily typically thinking of the church in a pastoral mindset.


But if not, let me say this: as worship leaders, we've got to balance this sort of stuff out. When somebody asks me who I'd want guest-leading, I don't need to pick the guy I think is coolest...I don't necessarily need to pick the guy that I think writes the most amazing songs.

I need to pick a guy that my church will dig; I need to pick a guy who can stretch us a little bit; I need to pick a guy who I can trust with my service.

I like to listen to Crowder live at Passion...but my church wouldn't be that. Would yours?

From my experience, I think probably the most congregationally friendly of our poll would have to be Baloche, Aaron Keyes or Lincoln Brewster. (Yes, yes...I know he wails, but if you watch him live, he's pretty great at engaging various congregations.)

So, I'm wondering...did you pick somebody 'cause they're cool-to-you or because they'd be good-for-your-people?

I'd love to know your thoughts on this, gang. If you think I'm off the mark, let me know. If you get what I'm saying or want to add something to the mix, please jump in there!